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JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL GOES INDOORS
WITH USAC MIDGETS SATURDAY NIGHT IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (December 16, 2021)………A boat load of wintertime talent will compete for Jason Leffler Memorial gold this Saturday night, December 18, as USAC Midgets go indoors for a non-points, special event – the $8,000-to-win Jason Leffler Memorial Presented by Fatheadz Eyewear at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin.
Among the near 40 entries expected to compete are inaugural Jason Leffler Memorial winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), who captured the race back in 2013. The lone past event winner will compete for veteran car owner Jack Harris.
Also entered for Saturday's race is 2013 USAC National Midget champion Christopher Bell (Norman, Okla.), a wintertime Southern Illinois Center midget winner in 2017. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series winner for Joe Gibbs at Daytona's Road Course will make his debut for RMS Racing, who won in December at Du Quoin in 2018.
Three-time USAC National Midget feature winner Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) won his very first at the Southern Illinois Center in March of 2019. Joining him on the Dave Mac Motorsports team for the weekend is Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), who recently earned Rookie of the Race honors with a 3rd place finish at the Turkey Night Grand Prix in Ventura, Calif.
NASCAR's Cup Series Rookie of the Year for 2021, Chase Briscoe (Mitchell, Ind.), has previous midget experience in December at the Southern Illinois Center, but Saturday night, in his Briscoe Racing ride, would mark his first career Jason Leffler Memorial appearance.
Daniel Robinson (Ewing, Ill.) is the most recent midget winner at the Southern Illinois Center, reigning triumphant in September at "The Center." He'll race for car owner A.J. Felker in Saturday night's round.
Making their first Southern Illinois Center appearances are west coast racers Cory Eliason and Chance Crum for Rudeen Racing. Eliason (Visalia, Calif.) has finished second in the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car standings in each of the last two years and nearly pulled off a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory in his first series start at Arizona Speedway in November. He's joined by Rudeen teammate and three-time 2021 USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature winner, Crum (Snohomish, Wash.).
The USAC Midget Special Event welcomes the 8th running of the Jason Leffler Memorial presented by Fatheadz Eyewear indoors for the first-time ever on the 1/5-mile dirt oval. The previous seven editions of the $8,000-to-win event have taken place at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill.
Saturday's lineup presents a complete program for Midgets with pits opening at 10am Central, pill draw at 11:30am, the drivers meeting at 2:30pm, hot laps at 3pm and opening ceremonies at 5pm with racing to follow, utilizing a format similar to the Chili Bowl with drivers accumulating points based on their advancement and finishing position during the heats and qualifying races, which will seed the starting lineup for the 50-lap feature.
Indoor pit stall rentals for midgets are $40 each (10' x 10' stall) which can be reserved until December 8 by messaging the Jason Leffler Memorial Race Facebook page.
Micro sprint preliminary events will take place the night before, on Friday, December 17, at the Southern Illinois Center, featuring Winged Outlaws, Non-Wing Outlaws, A Class (Wing), Restrictors and Junior Sprints with hot laps, heat races and semi-features while all main events will be held on Saturday.
On Friday, pits open at 10am Central with pill draw at noon, the drivers meeting at 4pm, hot laps at 4:30pm and racing to follow.
The thrills of midget racing on a dirt bullring in southern Illinois remain unchanged with the event's new venue. The Leffler Memorial has featured seven different winners in its previous seven editions. Since the dawn of the event in 2013, a new winner has emerged on each and every occasion.
The event honors the life and memory of Leffler, the four-time USAC National driving champion (1997-98-99 Midget & 1998 Silver Crown) who lost his life in a sprint car accident at New Jersey's Bridgeport Speedway in June of 2013.
Ten previous USAC-sanctioned midget events have been held at the Southern Illinois Center, including four in recent years during the month of December. Those wintertime classics were won by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2015), Tyler Courtney (2016), Christopher Bell (2017) and Thomas Meseraull (2018).
Saturday night's Jason Leffler Memorial can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
Tickets for the Jason Leffler Memorial Presented by Fatheadz Eyewear are now on sale at https://sneed-motorsports-llc.ticketleap.com/.
JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL ENTRY LIST:
08 Cannon McIntosh
08B Austin Barnhill
08m Mitchel Moles
3 Joel Thorpe
3N Jake Neuman
4A Dillon Silverman
4F Chad Frewaldt
5 Chase Briscoe
5K Jordan Kinser
5o Chase Howard
6D Don Dawson
7 Cody Beard
7XT Christopher Bell
11 Kayla Roell
14R Jody Rosenboom
15 R.J. Corson
15c Carter Chevalier
20 Derek Doerr
23 Patrick Lawson
26 Cory Eliason
26R Chance Crum
28Q Sean Quinn
35 Tyler Robbins
37 Daniel Robinson
38 Braydon Cromwell
41 Oliver Akard
51 Will Armitage
53 Sean Robbins
55 Chuck Walker
56 Garrett Thomas
56x Mark Chisholm
72 Sam Johnson
77s Travis Berryhill
81 Rylan Gray
88 Terry Babb
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)
JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL WINS:
1-Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, Tyler Courtney, Zach Daum, Daryn Pittman, Tanner Thorson & Tyler Thomas
PAST JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL RESULTS:
(2013-14 sanctioned by POWRi & 2015-present sanctioned by USAC)
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. Christopher 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
REUNION!
McDOUGAL REUNITES WITH DAIGH-PHILLIPS
FOR USAC SILVER CROWN DIRT IN 2022
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (December 16, 2021)………Jason McDougal will take on all five dirt races during the 2022 USAC Silver Crown National Championship season for Indianapolis, Indiana's Daigh-Phillips Motorsports.
It's a reunion between driver and team after McDougal previously competed for the Daigh-Phillips team in 2018-2019, winning twice in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition with the team's sprint car and turning in a spectacular drive for the team during the 2019 Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, charging from 25th to 6th.
Phillips fielded suggestions for 57 different drivers from fans, dads, wives, and mom's regarding who they'd like to see in the No. 27 for 2022. After consideration, it was decided the Broken Arrow, Okla. native will be back in the seat for 2022.
"I've always enjoyed racing with Steve and Carla (Phillips); and I'm ready to do it again," McDougal exclaimed when receiving word of the news.
McDougal has made nine career USAC Silver Crown starts, but only one for Phillips. McDougal made six series starts in 2021 for Klatt Enterprises with his best performance coming at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania's Williams Grove Speedway, starting from the pole and finishing 6th. He finished a career best 4th in 2018 at Ohio's Eldora Speedway for car owner Chris Dyson.
McDougal and Phillips will team up for all five 2022 dirt USAC Silver Crown races, starting May 1 at Indiana's Terre Haute Action Track, then June 18 at Pennsylvania's Port Royal Speedway, on August 20 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, on September 3rd at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois, and on September 23-24 at Ohio's Eldora Speedway.
SWANSON, BACON & KOFOID SHARE SPOTLIGHT AT 2021 USAC NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 10, 2021).........USAC National driving champions Kody Swanson, Brady Bacon and Buddy Kofoid shared the spotlight along with other 2021 USAC champions and special award recipients at Friday night's 66th USAC Night of Champions celebration at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis, Ind.
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NATIONAL CHAMPIONS:
Ninety-three total events took place throughout the 2021 USAC National season, beginning with high hopes, dreams and pristine machinery back in February in Ocala, Fla. for Winter Dirt Games, and closing out with a wheelstand at the conclusion of a historic Turkey Night Grand Prix in Ventura, Calif. It was a hectic and busy season, the busiest since 1977 in fact. This one, like all seasons, is one we'll forever treasure. And, for those of whom earned their way onto this stage Friday night, that was especially true.
SILVER CROWN 1ST PLACE DRIVER: Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, California
Initially announcing his intentions to only compete with the USAC Silver Crown series part-time in 2021, this was a championship that, admittedly, wasn't in the plans for Kody Swanson. Without a full-time ride on both dirt and pavement, he utilized a full assortment of resources to become the first driver to win the Silver Crown while driving for three different teams in a season – for Doran Racing, Chris Dyson Racing and the Mark Swanson Encore Team.
Totaling a series-high 4 wins, he was just the fifth driver to win races for multiple teams in a single season. Additionally, he became the first driver since Jimmy Sills in 1994 to win the Silver Crown championship while missing a race. With 5 poles, 304 laps led, 7 top-fives and 8 top-tens in 9 starts, he prevailed to score an unprecedented 6th USAC Silver Crown title.
SILVER CROWN 1ST PLACE ENTRANT: Rice Motorsports, Brownsburg, Indiana
Like father, like son. Robbie Rice had a dream to become a USAC Silver Crown champion and, this season, that dream was fully realized as a USAC Silver Crown entrant champion. In turn, it made him the first ever second-generation Silver Crown champ of any sort, following his father, Larry Rice, who won titles as a driver in 1977 and 1981. Their initial plans for 2021 were to compete solely on the dirt. However, mere weeks before the season opener, a pavement car was added to the team's arsenal, setting the course for an assault on the series championship. In their first full year of competition with driver Logan Seavey, the team won twice, at Selinsgrove and Eldora, to lock up the series' entrant title.
AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 1ST PLACE DRIVER: Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
RICHARD HOFFMAN AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 1ST PLACE ENTRANT: Dynamics, Inc., Loveland, Ohio
In 2021, Brady Bacon became just the third-ever driver to win at least four USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championships, joining Levi Jones and Steve Butler. His 36 top-five results and 41 top-tens throughout the 43-race season are the most in series history, breaking two records that Sheldon Kinser had held since 1977. He won five times in 2021 and his 40 career victories now stand 8th all-time alongside Gary Bettenhausen.
He's one of the best in the business, and his team is the all-time greatest, as Dynamics, Inc. / Hoffman Auto Racing collected the most all-time feature wins in series history and is now a 13-time entrant champ.
NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 1ST PLACE DRIVER: Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, California
NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 1ST PLACE ENTRANT: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Indiana
Buddy Kofoid set a new record in USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing in 2021. His 37 top-ten finishes were the most since Danny Caruthers in 1971 and his 28 top-fives were the most since Mel Kenyon in 1977. Along the way, there were six victories between he and Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, including the biggest charge of the season from 16th to 1st at Port City.
Together, they captured the Indiana Midget Week title and Kofoid also overcame a broken wrist and foot in late summer. This driver acclimated himself just fine, winning twice in his home state of California and finishing on the podium in each of the final three races to become the sixth teenager to win the series title, his first and the team's all-time record 11th.
NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 2ND PLACE DRIVER: Chris Windom, Canton, Illinois
NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 2ND PLACE ENTRANT: CB Industries, Mooresville, North Carolina
Over the past three-straight years, driver Chris Windom has slotted into all three positions on the podium in the final standings for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship. A 3rd in 2019 was followed by a title in 2020 and, in 2021, it went down to the wire once again where he ultimately finished 2nd. He and his CB Industries team tied for a series-high seven wins in 2021, including the 4-Crown Nationals, the Western World Championships and a $20,000 grand prize at Huset's Speedway. Driver Chris Windom and entrant CB Industries wound up as runner-up in points.
AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 2ND PLACE DRIVER: Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Alabama
AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 2ND PLACE ENTRANT: KT Motorsports, Whitestown, Indiana
No driver had more USAC National Sprint Car victories than Kevin Thomas Jr. with 9 this year, including the season opening Winter Dirt Games, plus the Haubstadt Hustler, the Fall Nationals and the Oval Nationals. He also scored his second career Indiana Sprint Week crown in July. It was his best overall season in several categories with 210 laps led, 29 top-fives, 37 top-tens and 6 fast qualifying times while making 43 starts. Kevin Thomas Jr. was your 2nd place USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car driver, and his own KT Motorsports team finished as the 2nd place entrant.
SILVER CROWN 2ND PLACE ENTRANT: BCR Group, Springfield, Ohio
Utilizing multiple drivers during the 2021 USAC Silver Crown season, Springfield, Ohio's BCR Group raced to a stirring victory on the Magic Mile of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on Labor Day weekend with driver Brian Tyler. For the veteran driver and team, it was their first ever race together after teaming up just one week before. Tyler, by the way, became the oldest driver to ever win a series race that afternoon in the BCR Group number 81 and also closed out the season with a third on the pavement at Toledo. The 2021 season was the team's best ever finals result in the USAC Silver Crown standings, finishing 2nd.
SILVER CROWN 2ND PLACE DRIVER: Logan Seavey, Sutter, California
SILVER CROWN ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Logan Seavey, Sutter, California
An exceptional first full-time season resulted in Logan Seavey's first two career USAC Silver Crown victories in August at Selinsgrove Speedway as well as the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora, which put him just 34-points behind Swanson in the final standings. The Sutter, California driver's runner-up finish in the points is the best in the series for a Rookie since Chris Windom was 2nd in 2013. He was the best Rookie finisher in 6 of the 10 events, also finishing as the runner-up at both Illinois dirt miles in Springfield and Du Quoin. Seavey was the 2nd place finishing driver in the USAC Silver Crown standings and he's also the series Rookie of the Year.
NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 3RD PLACE DRIVER: Justin Grant, Ione, California
NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET 3RD PLACE ENTRANT: RMS Racing, Western Springs, Illinois
The pairing of Justin Grant and RMS Racing made its debut in 2021, and once they hit their stride, they were one to contend with night-in, night-out. Picking up four scores this season at Lanco, Arizona, Merced and a $20,000 top prize in the Hangtown 100 at Placerville, together they led 77 laps and accrued 22 top-fives and 32 top-tens while starting all 40 events. It's the best career points finish with the series for both this driver and team. The 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget 3rd place driver is Ione, California's Justin Grant while the your 3rd place entrant is RMS Racing.
AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 3RD PLACE DRIVER: Justin Grant, Ione, California
AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR 3RD PLACE ENTRANT: TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Indiana
In 2021, Ione, California's Justin Grant became just the sixth driver ever to finish inside the top-three in points for the USAC Silver Crown, USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget standings all in the same season. He's now the only one to finish exactly in the third spot in all three in a single year! In each of the past three seasons, he's edged closer to the top with a 5th in 2019, a 4th in 2020 and a 3rd in 2021. Meanwhile, his TOPP Motorsports team performed phenomenally with its third-straight top-five finish in points. They won seven times this season, highlighted by a Smackdown score at Kokomo in August, leading them to a 3rd place finish in driver and entrant points.
SILVER CROWN 3RD PLACE DRIVER: Justin Grant, Ione, California
SILVER CROWN 3RD PLACE ENTRANT: Hemelgarn Racing, LaSalle, Michigan
For the fourth consecutive year, Justin Grant and Hemelgarn Racing finished inside the top-three of the USAC Silver Crown standings, ranking third overall in points in 2021 which was highlighted by an impressive win on the high banks of Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, Grant's first USAC National pavement feature win. Together, they led 67 laps, finished in the top-five three times at Winchester, Lucas Oil Raceway and Selinsgrove. The 3rd place USAC Silver Crown driver is Justin Grant and the 3rd ranking entrant is Hemelgarn Racing.
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INDIVIDUAL AWARDS: Friday night's special awards segment celebrates those individuals who represent two segments of the racing world in both the future and present tense. Some who've burst into a new discipline with extraordinary efforts. Some who are just at the beginning of their big-time auto racing journey. And each of whom have put in the long hours and sacrifice to receive their well-deserved moment in the spotlight.
USAC CHIEF MECHANIC OF THE YEAR: Jarrett Martin of Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports
Alongside Buddy Kofoid on his journey to the championship was the one who turned the wrenches on the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports number 67 – Jarrett Martin. Martin, who was named USAC's 2021 Chief Mechanic of the Year on Friday night. It was just three years ago the two were competing on track in sprint cars against each other. Over the last two years, they've become a dynamic force on the tour, picking up wins in two of the first three races in Ocala and Port City, plus two during Indiana Midget Week at Bloomington and Gas City, then down the stretch at Bakersfield and Merced all while leading a series-high 217 laps.
NATIONAL SPRINT CAR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nevada
Tanner Thorson's first season in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition was downright historic. His five wins are the most ever by a Rookie with the series. His fourth-place finish in the final standings was the best for any driver in the past 31 years. His seven fast qualifying times were also the most for a series Rookie ever. Starting all 43 events, he accumulated 22 top-fives and 32 top-tens. He's a past USAC National Midget champion in 2016. Now, the Minden, Nevada driver is the 2021 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year.
BOB STROUD NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Chase Randall, Waco, Texas
Finishing 11th overall in the standings, Waco, Texas' Chase Randall driver turned in impressive performances throughout 35 feature starts with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets in 2021, best among all first-year drivers. He led 6 laps and finished a season-best 3rd at Grandview Speedway, then nearly won the 100-lapper at Huset's Speedway before suffering a flat tire. With 12 top-ten finishes and 55 total laps led, he also set quick time during the Indiana Midget Week finale at Kokomo Speedway. Hailing from Waco, Texas, he's another who rose through the ranks as a USAC quarter midget champ and now he's the first Texan to capture Bob Stroud USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year honors since James McElreath in 1976.
NATIONAL MOST IMPROVED USAC DRIVER: Jake Swanson, Anaheim, California
At this time last year, this driver was in the process of migrating from California to the Midwest to chase his dream – to compete for a USAC National Sprint Car title. We've seen him grow by leaps and bounds over the past decade, capturing the 2017 USAC West Coast Sprint Car championship and winning with CRA. He's been consistently quick on the National trail, and after four runner-up finishes, finally became a USAC National winner late this season at Perris Auto Speedway, winning the closest finish of the entire USAC National slate. He started all 43 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car events, finishing in the top-five 13 times, and he was USAC's 2021 National Most Improved Driver.
DICK JORDAN AWARD: Pat Sullivan
For his dedication to USAC racing as announcer, writer, author and historian of USAC racing, Pat Sullivan was named the recipient of the Dick Jordan Award. Sullivan has announced more USAC events than any other individual. His boundless enthusiasm for the sport is contagious and Sullivan has long embodied the same devotion to the sport as his personal friend and colleague, the late USAC media guru Dick Jordan.
ROGER MCCLUSKEY AWARD: Ron Hemelgarn
Presented annually by the President of USAC in memory of USAC Executive Vice President and former champion driver Roger McCluskey, recognizing the standards of excellence in the sport of auto racing so astutely represented by McCluskey during his career as a USAC driver and official. Ron Hemelgarn has a deep-rooted love for auto racing, and as a longtime USAC Silver Crown team owner, sponsor and ambassador, the LaSalle, Mich. native was named the recipient of the Roger McCluskey award.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Levi Jones
Though he is moving into new territory with a new role at IndyCar, Jones' presence and influence in USAC racing as a driver and official will never be forgotten. A champion on and off the racetrack, Jones was recognized for his countless contributions to the club by USAC president and CEO Kevin Miller during a special ceremony early in Friday night's program.
MIKE CURB SUPER LICENSE NATIONAL CHAMPION: Justin Grant, Ione, California
But wait there's more! Justin Grant was the only driver to start all 93 USAC National features in 2021. As the 3rd place finisher in all three USAC National series this season, he accumulated the most total points among all drivers, and was the first driver this season to win in all three series. After previously earning the award in 2017, for the second time in his career, he is the Mike Curb Super License champion.
PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER: Justin Grant, Ione, California
Justin Grant took the lead of the ProSource Passing Master standings with three races remaining and kept a tight grip down the stretch of the 2021 season, advancing a combined 230 positions throughout the 93 USAC National features run during his campaign in the Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget. That was the most among all drivers this year, which earned him a $2,500 reward from ProSource, a longtime, great ambassador for USAC racing.
RACE ORGANIZER OF THE YEAR: Cody Brewer
A racer turned promoter, Cody Brewer, has done Yeoman's work into turning USAC's Mid-America Midget Week into a successful week of racing in the Great Plains states of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska over the last several seasons, turning races into major events at venues such as Red Dirt Raceway, Solomon Valley Raceway and Jefferson County Speedway. It's a job that hasn't gone unrecognized by racers, teams and fans, which has earned him and his crew high praise and acknowledgement as the Race Organizer of the Year.
USAC SPECIAL APPRECIATION (INDIVIDUAL): Dave Thompson
High school guidance counselor and wrestling coach by day, USAC official by night. Dave Thompson does it all. A tireless worker who'll go the extra yard to make sure to lend a helping hand on the racetrack as an infield worker and is there to lend a word of advice and wisdom when queried by his peers. Thompson has been a longtime mainstay as a USAC official, and his highly deserved special appreciation award was presented to him by Levi Jones.
JASON LEFFLER AWARD: Gary Stanton
The Jason Leffler award goes to recognize an individual whose intense appreciation of the sport's history is reflected in his professionalism and outstanding representation as an ambassador of the United States Auto Club and exhibiting the same standard of ideals upheld by the late Jason Leffler during his USAC racing career. Over the past half-century, Gary Stanton has exhibited those qualities ten-fold as a car owner, constructor, mechanic and champion. More than a half century later, those qualities have remained as strong as ever with his dedication to USAC and dirt track racing.
USAC .25 MIDGET SPIRIT OF YOUTH AWARD: Jeremy Reaves
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DEVELOPMENTAL SPRINT CAR & MIDGET SERIES
Six developmental Midget series, plus the Midwest Mini Sprint Association, took part in a total of 86 events spanning 15 different states in 2021 from the Northeast to the East Coast to the Midwest and the West Coast, producing five champions.
MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET: Jacob Denney, Galloway, Ohio
Coming off a championship season in 2020, Galloway, Ohio's Jacob Denney had no thoughts of resting on his laurels in 2021, going back-to-back this past year. This season, he accrued one of the most dominant USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget seasons in series history, winning 7 of the 13 points races, including a stretch of seven-straight between the months of July and August. He provided Team Taylor its fifth consecutive series title while winning at six different venues.
ENGLER MACHINE IMRA SPEED2 MIDGET: Mark McMahill, Peoria, Illinois
Mark McMahill truly hit his stride in 2021, rebounding from a winless 2020 campaign to score a series-high five victories, three times at Spoon River Speedway in Canton, Illinois, plus one each at the Champaign County Fairgrounds and East Moline Speedway where the Peoria, Ill. native became the third consecutive series driver to win the season finale en route to the Engler Machine IMRA SpeeD2 Midget championship.
DMA SPEED2 MIDGET: Seth Carlson, Stafford, Connecticut
Stafford, Connecticut's Seth Carlson did it for the first time in 2020, and for an encore performance in 2021, he did one even better by racing to his second consecutive USAC Dirt Midget Association driving championship on the strength of three victories, all of which came at the series' home track of Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vermont.
EASTERN FOCUS MIDGET: Jessica Bean, Farmland, Indiana
RADICAL FOCUS MIDGET: Jessica Bean, Farmland, Indiana
No woman has won more often in USAC National competition than her. No woman has won more USAC championships than her. In 2021, Farmland, Indiana's Jessica Bean added two more to her ever-growing list of unprecedented accomplishments with the series. She was victorious seven times in USAC Focus Midget racing this season, which paved the way for a fifth consecutive Eastern Midget title and a first career Radical Midget crown.
MIDWEST MINI SPRINT: Brandon Coffey, Bloomington, Indiana
A pair of Hoosier state victories in July and August at Putnamville and North Vernon made Bloomington, Indiana's Brandon Coffey good to the last drop in his quest to become the Midwest Mini Sprint Association champion for 2021.
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REGIONAL SPRINT & MIDGET SERIES
USAC's Regional Sprint Car and Midget series hit dirt tracks from coast-to-coast throughout 2021, producing seven USAC champions, including a number of multi-time titlists and a handful of first timers who made their debut on the stage.
AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT DRIVER: Damion Gardner, Concord, California
Rich Vogler, A.J. Foyt, Sleepy Tripp, Mel Kenyon, Dave Darland and Bryan Clauson. This year, Concord, California's Damion Gardner added his name to this exclusive cast of seven drivers who've reached 100 USAC feature victories in their racing career with six more scores in 2021 while also adding an 8th consecutive series championship, his 9th overall with the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car Series, which ties him for third in terms of all-time USAC titles.
WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA DRIVER: Brett Wilson, Coweta, Oklahoma
Coweta, Oklahoma's Brett Wilson became the first USAC Wingless Sprints Oklahoma champion in 2018. He followed that performance up by becoming the second ever series champion in 2019. In 2021, he became the first driver to be named a three-time titlist with the series. The all-time winningest series driver added two more wins to his tally this season, upping his victory total to 11.
WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT DRIVER: Kory Schudy, Battlefield, Missouri
One year after an injury shelved his title aspirations, Battlefield, Missouri's Kory Schudy put together a complete season in 2021 to capture his first career USAC championship. His moment arrived in 2021 by winning on three occasions which spurred a phenomenal run with only a single finish outside the top-five in 13 feature starts. He's the second ever USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Car champion driver, and he's number one this year.
WEST COAST SPRINT DRIVER: D.J. Johnson, Stockton, California
After making just two series starts throughout the past four years, Stockton, California's D.J. Johnson returned with authority in 2021, making 10 feature appearances which were highlighted by a trio of runner-up finishes at Tulare, Merced and Ventura. His eight overall top-five results led all drivers in that category and placed him in total control of the championship race from mid-May onward. He's a first-time USAC champ and he's the king of the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars in 2021.
RAPID TIRE SERVICE EAST COAST SPRINT DRIVER: Alex Bright, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
It's one of the greatest new rivalries we've seen in sprint car racing in some time. Alex Bright versus Briggs Danner. The two repeatedly reset the measuring stick as they traded win after win, punch after punch, as the top of standings repeatedly changed hands between the two throughout the summer. In the end, Collegeville, Pennsylvania's Alex Bright prevailed with a whopping 11 victories and 22 top-five finishes in 23 starts. After collecting the USAC / ARDC Eastern Midget championship in 2018, he put his name in the record book once again in 2021 as the USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Car champ.
WESTERN STATES MIDGET DRIVER: Blake Bower, Brentwood, California
Despite not reaching victory lane as a race winner throughout the 13-race tour, Brentwood, California's Blake Bower used consistency to put him in prime position in the season finale to reach the top. He did exactly that in 2021, carrying two new banners at the conclusion of a year's worth of work – USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year and series champion – becoming the first driver in 13 years to snag both honors within a single season.
MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET DRIVER: Chett Gehrke, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Five different drivers busted their way into victory lane throughout the 2021 USAC Midwest Regional Midget season. However, it was Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Chett Gehrke who made consistency the overarching theme, placing in the top-ten on nine occasions, which was three more than his next closest competitor, while his five top-fives were tops among all drivers. His third career USAC title follows previous crowns in 2007 with the Indiana Ford Focus Midgets and in 2020 with the Midwest Regional Midgets.
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PORT CITY RACEWAY TRACK CHAMPIONS:
The state of Oklahoma has been a hotbed of USAC racing talent over the past several seasons, and a track where many of them cut their teeth – Port City Raceway – celebrated its third season under the USAC banner in 2021 with six drivers in seven different divisions being crowned.
SPORTSMAN DRIVER: Bobby McIntosh, Tulsa, Oklahoma
With 5 wins, 18 top-fives and 24 top-tens to his credit, Tulsa, Oklahoma's Bobby McIntosh was a consistent frontrunner in nearly all his 31 starts this season at Port City and, by virtue of his performance, earned the Sportsman title for 2021.
JUNIOR SPRINT DRIVER: Tyler Crow, Drumright, Oklahoma
In 34 starts, Drumright, Oklahoma's Junior Sprint Champion Tyler Crow racked up an incredible 20 feature victories during his campaign in 2021. That's right, 20! He led all drivers in every statistical category with 27 top-fives and 30 top-tens to claim the title by a 101-point margin. He's your Junior Sprint champion. He's Drumright, Oklahoma's Tyler Crow!
A-CLASS DRIVER: Kris Carroll, Claremore, Oklahoma
NON-WING DRIVER: Kris Carroll, Claremore, Oklahoma
It's an admirable accomplishment to capture a race win during a season. A season championship is worth its weight in gold as well. Two championships in one season. Now, that's something that'll make you stand up in your seat. For Kris Carroll, that's how the micro sprint season unfolded at Port City with a combined 14 feature victories throughout the year in two different classes – A-Class and Non-Wing.
RESTRICTED DRIVER: Chase McDougal, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
We've seen his brother Jason McDougal win with USAC's National and Sprint Car and Midget divisions over the past few seasons. Now the time has come for the younger brother to make his own waves. With 3 wins, 9 top-fives and 20 top-tens in 31 starts, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Chase McDougal is Port City's Restricted Micro champ for 2021.
OUTLAW DRIVER: Cole Roberts, Owasso, Oklahoma
For the second consecutive season, Owasso, Oklahoma's Cole Roberts rose to the pinnacle of his division at Port City Raceway. Sporting 12 victories, 23 top-fives and 27 top-tens in all 27 of his feature starts, he's now a back-to-back Outlaw Micro champion.
TURF TIRE DRIVER: Ruben Morris, Oakhurst, Oklahoma Concluding the season by knocking out eight top-five finishes in his final nine starts, Oakhurst, Oklahoma's Ruben Morris was the model of consistency in 2021. Notching two wins among his 18 overall top-fives and 23 top-tens in each of his 23 starts at Port City, he locked up his first USAC title in the Turf Tire division. ===================
ACTION TRACK USA TRACK CHAMPIONS:
Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pennsylvania served as host to a myriad of events throughout the summer, culminating with four divisional champions in 2021.
SLINGSHOT DRIVER: Brett Bieber, Oley, Pennsylvania
Six years after capturing his first USAC crown, this driver scored four wins at the Kutztown, Pa. bullring in 2021. Hailing from Oley, Pennsylvania, your 2021 Action Track USA Slingshot champion, Brett Bieber.
JUNIOR SLINGSHOT DRIVER: Chase Schott, Lebanon, Pennsylvania
He wrapped up the title in grand fashion back on August 31, and comes to you from Lebanon, Pennsylvania. A four-time winner at Action Track USA this season, Chase Schott earned the 2021 Junior Slingshot championship.
HYPER RACING EVO INJECTION 600 SPRINT DRIVER: Steven Snyder Jr., Rising Sun, Maryland
Out of Rising Sun, Maryland, Steven Snyder Jr. captivated the micro sprint world this past season. A total of five victories elevated this driver to the top of the charts at Action Track USA this year, and you'll see him as part of the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports midget lineup at the Chili Bowl in January. He's a past USAC quarter midget national champion and he's the 2021 Hyper Racing EVO Injection 600 Sprint champion.
SPEEDSTR DRIVER: Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pennsylvania
We've seen Allentown, Pennsylvania's Briggs Danner tackle big block modifieds, micros, TQ Midgets, Sprint Cars, you name it. Anything with four wheels, he's driven and had success, and he's also a past USAC quarter midget titlist. He won nine times with the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars this season and was quick time and a top-five finisher with the USAC National Sprint Cars in 2021. In the meantime, he also mastered Action Track USA's SpeedSTR division, winning twice en route to the title.
USAC .25 NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONS
.25 MIDGET MULTIPLE CHAMPIONS
GUNNAR PIO, Light 160 Dirt, Senior Animal Dirt, Light World Formula Dirt, Formula Mod Dirt, Light 160 Pavement, Senior Animal Pavement, Light World Formula Pavement & Formula Mod Pavement
JACOB BIERMAN, Heavy 160 Dirt & Unrestricted Animal Dirt
CODY KONTRA, Junior Honda Dirt & Junior Animal Dirt
REED WHITNEY, Heavy Honda Pavement, Heavy 160 Pavement, Heavy World Formula Pavement
.25 MIDGET DIRT CHAMPIONS
DAVID MILOSZAR, Senior Honda Dirt
PEYTON KNECHT, Heavy Honda Dirt
LOGAN WATT, Heavy World Formula Dirt
.25 MIDGET PAVEMENT CHAMPIONS
COLTON KNAPP, Junior Honda Pavement
HAYDEN WISE, Senior Honda Pavement
BRISTOL SPICOLA, Junior Animal Pavement
MAX REAVES, Unrestricted Animal Pavement
$300K TRIPLE CROWN BONUS & BIGGER POINT FUNDS FOR 2022 USAC SEASON
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 11, 2021)………Winning championships will already pay substantially larger sums of money than ever before for the 2022 USAC National season, but there's even more at stake with the announcement of Double Down and Triple Crown bonuses. Much more at stake, in fact!
Any driver who can capture all three USAC National driving championships in 2022 – Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget – will earn a staggering $300,000 bonus in addition to their base payout.
Any driver who can score two of the three titles in 2022, that'll put a $150,000 bonus in their pocket at season's end.
Furthermore, the overall point fund for USAC's National divisions now totals $320,000, an increase of 60 percent since the 2019 season.
The pay for USAC's AMSOIL Sprint Car National champion has drastically risen to $50,000 to win in 2022 as part of a total point fund of $200,000. By comparison, the series' point fund was $125,000 just two seasons ago in 2019.
The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National champion will now collect a $25,000 reward in 2022, as part of a point fund overhaul for the series, which has seen a three-year increase from $50,000 to $80,000 since 2019.
USAC Silver Crown's champion in the coming year will take home $20,000 as part of an overall $40,000 point fund.
Entering USAC's 67th year of competition, Tony Stewart (1995) and J.J. Yeley (2003) remain the lone drivers to notch USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget championships all within the same season.
Six more drivers have won two of the three USAC National championships in a single season: Rich Vogler (1980 Sprint & Midget), Rick Hood (1985 Silver Crown & Sprint), Steve Butler (1988 Silver Crown & Sprint), Jason Leffler (1998 Silver Crown & Midget), Jerry Coons Jr. (2008 Silver Crown & Sprint), Levi Jones (Silver Crown & Sprint) in both 2010 and 2011.
NEW YEAR, DIVERSE ARRAY OF RACES
FOR 2022 USAC SILVER CROWN SERIES
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 10, 2021)………Eleven points paying events – six on pavement and five on dirt – make up the trail for the 2022 USAC Silver Crown National Championship season along with an additional special dash race, which marks the first occurrence of such a contest for the series in a quarter century.
The newest addition to the schedule takes the series to the speedy half-mile Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa. for the first time ever on June 18 amid the Eastern Storm tour for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship. The event will mark a true USAC National doubleheader with both the Silver Crown and National Sprint divisions contesting full programs on the same night.
On the pavement side of the equation, World Wide Technology Raceway, formerly known as Gateway when it most recently hosted the series in 2016. At 1.25 miles in length, the Madison, Ill. venue is the largest track the series will compete on during the 2022 campaign.
The dirt kicks off the season on May 1 with the 19th running of the Sumar Classic at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track, one of three dirt half-miles on the schedule along with Port Royal and Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, which welcomes the 40th edition of the 4-Crown Nationals on September 23-24.
The two iconic Illinois mile dirt tracks in Springfield and Du Quoin are an annual staple of fair season during the late summer months. The 59th running of the Bettenhausen 100 is slated for August 20 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds while the 71st edition of the Ted Horn 100 is locked in for Labor Day Weekend, September 3.
Three visits to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park are on tap for USAC Silver Crown racing in 2022, the most ever in a single season. Two 100-lap full-points races are scheduled at the .686-mile paved oval, on May 27 for the Carb Night Classic and on October 22 for the season finale on Open-Wheel Championship Saturday.
The first Silver Crown non-points special event since 1996 is headed to IRP for the USAC Silver Crown Shootout on June 30, which will feature a 10-car field fighting for the prize in a 25-lap sprint.
The summer months of June, July and August present a trio of events on half-mile, high-banked paved ovals, starting with Oregon, Wisconsin's Madison International Speedway, which brings the series to the Dairyland 100 for the third time on June 24.
Winchester Speedway's blazing fast, 37-degree banks served as the host of the closest USAC Silver Crown finish of the entire 2021 season. The legendary eastern Indiana venue is back on the docket for the second time this season with the Rich Vogler Classic.
The Glass City of Toledo, Ohio routinely proves to be a pivotal round for the series, and Toledo Speedway's ninth appearance on the USAC Silver Crown schedule is set for August 6 with the Rollie Beale Classic.
2022 USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
May 1: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Sumar Classic
May 27: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, IN | Carb Night Classic
Jun 18: Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA
Jun 24: Madison International Speedway | Oregon, WI | Dairyland 100
Jun 30: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, IN | USAC Silver Crown Shootout | Non-Points Special Event
Jul 21: Winchester Speedway | Winchester, IN | Rich Vogler Classic
Aug 6: Toledo Speedway | Toledo, OH | Rollie Beale Classic
Aug 19: World Wide Technology Raceway | Madison, IL
Aug 20: Illinois State Fairgrounds | Springfield, IL | Bettenhausen 100
Sep 3: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds | Du Quoin, IL | Ted Horn 100
Sep 23-24: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals
Oct 22: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, IN | Open-Wheel Championship Saturday
ROGERS GOES FULL-TIME WITH USAC SPRINTS IN 2022
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 10, 2021)………Two seasons ago, Jadon Rogers was setting quick time for the first time in his USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car career. One year ago, he was beginning to contend regularly for podium finishes.
In 2022, the 19-year-old recent high school graduate from Worthington, Ind. will take the next progressive step in his career as he goes full-time with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, planning to contest the entirety of the 51-race schedule for his father, Kyle Rogers, and Tim Engler.
Despite still being a teenager, Rogers already possesses seven years of sprint car racing under his belt, winning regularly on the local Indiana Sprint Car scene at places like Lincoln Park Speedway, Tri-State Speedway and Paragon Speedway in recent years as he's grown into becoming one of the contenders night-in, night-out, and capturing USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year honors in 2020.
Thinking of the journey that led him to this point of going on the full USAC tour for the first time has left Rogers flabbergasted, considering how far they've come each successive year, the success they've already attained and the aspirations they possess for the upcoming season.
"To come from one car, one motor and any spare parts we can pick up, and now winning seven races one year, nine races another year, it's crazy," Jadon exclaimed. "Now someone like Tim Engler is actually putting the backing into me to run the full deal, which is humbling to think that somebody has the confidence in me to do that."
Engler has backed Rogers' operation for the last couple of years, which has seen Rogers run Engler engines, Engler injection and so forth. Since graduating from high school earlier this year, Engler has even become Rogers' employer at his Princeton, Ind. business. Rogers will be competing in Engler's No. 14, which will be maintained by Jadon and Kyle at their home shop in Worthington.
"He's all in this year," Rogers said of Engler. "So, we're going to crazy with it and see if we can win a championship. There's so much that's going to be different – the amount of spare parts and just a lot of preparation things – that we haven't done before."
Rogers feels that, at many of the local tracks, he has the opportunity to win right out of the box. Yet, the USAC schedule will present to him a vast number of first-time venues that he's not faced at this point.
He finished a career best second with USAC in April of 2021 at Tri-State, then followed up in the following race with an impressive third at Ohio's Eldora Speedway in the first leg of #LetsRaceTwo. Later that same night, he ran 21st in what was an eye-opening experience, that was a first-hand account which proved to him consistency is key and a necessity in chasing a championship at this level.
"Brady Bacon is the most consistent guy in USAC Sprint Car racing, and that's why he's winning championships," Rogers pointed out. "That's where we've got to be. We can't have a third place run, then a 21st, and when we do, we've got to come back with another third-place run, or a win, or something to knock that off our shoulder. People have bad nights, but it just comes down to how your team handles it. Some teams can't even stay together for half a season. We've just got to stay positive and stay on track."
Rogers first full-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship begins February 17-18-19 with Winter Dirt Games XIII at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla.
LEARY TO COMPETE FOR USAC SILVER CROWN
TITLE WITH KLATT IN 2022
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 10, 2021)………C.J. Leary last competed for a USAC Silver Crown title during his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2015.
Seven years later, the Greenfield, Ind. native will take on the full series slate once more, this time as the driver of the Klatt Enterprises No. 6 for all 11 points paying events – six pavement and five dirt – in 2022.
Leary has competed regularly in Silver Crown competition over the past half-decade, most notably on the dirt, scoring victories during the 2016 Sumar Classic at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track and in the 2018 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio's Eldora Speedway.
Entering the offseason, Leary was working on his sprint car arsenal at the shop when an unexpected call came in from USAC Hall of Fame constructor, mechanic, team manager and winning driver Bob East who made an offer C.J. couldn't refuse.
"I think, in this new endeavor with Bob, Terry (Klatt) and Dave (Brzozowski), we're going to work really well together," Leary estimated. "With Silver Crown racing, I have a lot more experience with that, which I didn't have much of in the midgets. Bob has really good stuff."
Leary had a brief tenure as the driver of the FMR Racing car on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship tour in 2019 with East serving as one of the primary principles on the team. While the results didn't live up to either Leary or East's expectations, confidence remains in abundance for Leary that, in the "big cars," expectations will meet performance.
C.J. is a veteran of 38 starts in USAC Silver Crown competition, interestingly enough, exactly the same number of starts his father, Chuck Leary, accrued during his racing career. Just six of C.J.'s 38 starts have come on pavement, though, including his first series start in 2014 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. C.J.'s best result came at the same .686-mile paved oval with a ninth in May of 2015.
Despite the relative pavement experience, which also includes a pair of Little 500 starts and a dabble in pavement late models for a time, Leary is amped to jump back into the pavement Silver Crown discipline with both feet in the coming year, especially in the potent Klatt ride, which has won nine series events over the years with the likes of Bobby East, Kyle Hamilton and Brady Bacon dating back to 2004.
"I've had to race against Bob and Terry's car a lot whether Brady was driving it, or all the way back to (Bryan) Clauson," Leary recalled. "They've always had a car that was able to win the race. In Silver Crown racing, there are a lot of guys who have a car capable of winning and there are a lot of factors that play into actually winning a 100-miler. I know I can get it done and Bob can get it done, so I'm just really excited to see what we can do."
After winning a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2019, Leary is hungry to pursue a second in a different form. While USAC Sprint Car racing regularly consists of more than forty races annually, 30 laps in length, Silver Crown racing entails just a handful of events ranging from 50-100 laps, which requires being on the ball physically, mentally and mechanically each time out to put yourself into position to become the series champ, something C.J. greatly desires.
"If I could put a Silver Crown title on my resume, that would be awesome," Leary stated. "That's a crown jewel of mine, it's super prestigious and I'm going to give it 100 percent. Silver Crown racing in general is my favorite form of racing. I just love getting to go race Silver Crown cars. "
The 2022 USAC Silver Crown National Championship season for Leary, Klatt, East and Brzozowski gets underway May 1 at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track with the 19th running of the Sumar Classic, where Leary scored his first career series victory back in 2016.
USAC MIDGETS SET TO ROCK IT
WITH 38 RACE DOCKET IN 2022
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 9, 2021)………Coming off the busiest USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season in more than three decades, the series' drivers and teams will settle into a similar groove in 2022 with the release of the upcoming year's schedule, featuring 38 events from coast-to-coast.
The docket is highlighted by a bevy of heavyweight events such as the $20,000-to-win Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals in South Dakota on July 8-9-10. A figure of $20,000 is also up for grabs to the winner of the Hangtown 100 at California's Placerville Speedway on Nov. 17-18-19.
$10,000 showdowns are the name of the game on the second of two nights during the July 15-16 Midwest Midget Championship at Fairbury, Nebraska's Jefferson County Speedway.
Ten grand will also go into the pocket of the winner on the backend of back-to-back races during the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on Sept. 23-24.
The season will conclude once again Saturday night on the beach and under the lights of California's Ventura Raceway with $10,000 earmarked for the winner of the 81st running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix on Nov. 26.
The lucrative crown jewel, the BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, does not have a confirmed date as of press time. Stay tuned to www.usacracing.com and USAC's various social media channels when the info becomes available.
Launching the USAC National Midget season for the fourth consecutive season is Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. for two nights of Winter Dirt Games XIII on Feb. 11-12.
The sixth running of the Shamrock Classic indoors at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin will now be a non-points special event for the series on March 11-12.
April doubles are the standard in 2022 with Indiana's Kokomo Speedway welcoming the series for two complete events for the Kokomo Grand Prix on April 8-9. The case is the same on April 22-23 as the series makes the voyage to Tulsa, Okla. for the T-Town Midget Showdown at Port City Raceway.
June gets busy with a Thursday night jaunt over to Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. for the first time in three seasons on June 2. The very next night, drivers, teams and fans will cross the border into the Hoosier state for the 18th annual USAC Indiana Midget Week series, starting June 3 at Bloomington, followed by Lawrenceburg on June 4, Tri-State on June 5, Circle City on June 8, Lincoln Park on June 9, Gas City on June 10 and Kokomo on June 11.
Mid-America Midget Week begins with a return trip to the state of Oklahoma on July 12 at Red Dirt Raceway, then heading back north the following night on July 13 for the series' lone visit of the season to the state of Kansas for the Chad McDaniel Memorial at Beloit's Solomon Valley Raceway with the aforementioned Jefferson County dates pinpointed on July 15-16.
The Firemen's Nationals made a reemergence on the USAC National Midget calendar a season ago, and now the 38th running of the race takes shape in 2022 on Labor Day weekend, September 4.
Two evenings at the racy Missouri's Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex are on tap for Sept. 9-10 with the running of the John Hinck Championship.
The James Dean Classic brings both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC National Midgets together in a doubleheader spectacular at Gas City on Sept. 22.
On October 7, the Jason Leffler Memorial returns to its roots at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill. while Harvest Cup serves as the Midwest finale for the series on Oct. 8 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.
A busy November tour of California makes seven stops at four different tracks across 12 nights, which will ultimately decide the series champion. Starting things off is Bakersfield Speedway's November Classic on Nov. 15, followed by Placerville's Hangtown 100 on Nov. 17-18-19, two nights at Merced Speedway on Nov. 22-23 and the season-capping Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway on Nov. 26.
2022 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
Feb 11: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games
Feb 12: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games
Mar 11-12: Southern Illinois Center | Du Quoin, IL | Shamrock Classic | Non-Points Special Event
Apr 8: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Kokomo Grand Prix
Apr 9: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Kokomo Grand Prix
Apr 22: Port City Raceway | Tulsa, OK | T-Town Midget Showdown
Apr 23: Port City Raceway | Tulsa, OK | T-Town Midget Showdown
Jun 2: Tri-City Speedway | Granite City, IL
Jun 3: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Indiana Midget Week
Jun 4: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Indiana Midget Week
Jun 5: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Indiana Midget Week
Jun 8: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana Midget Week
Jun 9: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Indiana Midget Week
Jun 10: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | Indiana Midget Week
Jun 11: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Indiana Midget Week
Jul 8: Huset's Speedway | Brandon, SD | Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
Jul 9: Huset's Speedway | Brandon, SD | Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
Jul 10: Huset's Speedway | Brandon, SD | Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
Jul 12: Red Dirt Raceway | Meeker, OK | Tuesday Night Thunder
Jul 13: Solomon Valley Raceway | Beloit, KS | Chad McDaniel Memorial
Jul 15: Jefferson County Speedway | Fairbury, NE | Midwest Midget Championship
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway | Fairbury, NE | Midwest Midget Championship
Sep 4: Angell Park Speedway | Sun Prairie, WI | Firemen's Nationals
Sep 9: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex | Sweet Springs, MO | John Hinck Championship
Sep 10: Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex | Sweet Springs, MO | John Hinck Championship
Sep 22: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | James Dean Classic
Sep 23: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | BeFour The Crowns
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals
Oct 7: Wayne County Speedway | Wayne City, IL | Jason Leffler Memorial
Oct 8: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Harvest Cup
Nov 15: Bakersfield Speedway | Bakersfield, CA | November Classic
Nov 17: Placerville Speedway | Placerville, CA | Hangtown 100
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway | Placerville, CA | Hangtown 100
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway | Placerville, CA | Hangtown 100
Nov 22: Merced Speedway | Merced, CA | Midget Madness
Nov 23: Merced Speedway | Merced, CA | Midget Madness
Nov 26: Ventura Raceway | Ventura, CA | Turkey Night Grand Prix
TBA: The Dirt Track at IMS | Speedway, IN | BC39
2022 USAC SPRINT SCHEDULE:
51 DATES IN 10 STATES
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 9, 2021)………Fifty-one events are slated for the 67th season of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition in 2022, beginning as far south as Florida before hitting mid-season tours as far east as New Jersey and as far north as South Dakota, then rounding out the season with the crowning a new champion out west in California.
A number of events marks returns to venues after lengthy absences, in addition to first-time tracks and an array of changeups from recent years.
The series last competed at Chillicothe, Ohio's Atomic Speedway in 2010, albeit briefly, before rain washed away the remainder of the program. On April 16 of this year, USAC is back 28 years following its last feature event at the 3/8-mile dirt oval in 1994.
A hearty mid-May weekend makes a jaunt across the Mississippi River for three-straight USAC National Sprint Car races. Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. reenters the fold on May 12 after last holding a series race in 2017. The following night's venue, U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo., is the lone first-time host on the series schedule, which will be held on May 13. To round out the weekend, it's off to I-70 Motorsports Park in Odessa, Mo., which was last visited by the series in 1996 when it was still pavement. The one and only occasion of USAC Sprint Car racing at I-70 on dirt came in 1982.
The 52nd annual Tony Hulman Classic is the longest-tenured race on the series' schedule, dating back to 1971. The event has moved to the weekend for the upcoming season and has now doubled in size, going from one night to two on May 20-21, where it will now occupy two boxes on the calendar, with the second of two nights now paying $10,000-to-win for at Indiana's Terre Haute Action Track.
Indiana's newest dirt track, Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, is slated for two consecutive events during the Week of Indy, on May 25-26, with the second night there also paying $10,000-to-win.
A Badgerland weekend brings the USAC Sprint Cars to the state of Wisconsin on June 25-26. The first of the two nights takes the series to Wilmot Raceway for the first time since 2012 while Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie rolls out the red carpet for Thunder & Lightning division action after an absence since 2015.
The bulk of the schedule consists of tried and true, popular annual events across the board, starting off the campaign with Winter Dirt Games XIII at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. for three-straight nights on Feb. 17-18-19, with the latter of the trio of evenings paying $10,000 to the winner.
Indiana's Lawrenceburg Speedway kicks off the first Midwest race of the season on April 2 with southern Indiana staples, Bloomington Speedway and Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt serving up early season affairs on April 29 for the Larry Rice Classic and on April 30 for the Spring Showdown, respectively.
May brings us horsepower in the form of two-straight Eldora Speedway stops for #LetsRaceTwo alongside the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws on May 6-7 at the Rossburg, Ohio half-mile, both USAC events paying $10,000-to-win each night.
Eastern Storm takes the stage featuring six races in six nights during mid-June in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, starting at Grandview Speedway on June 14, Bridgeport (N.J.) Motorsports Park on June 15, Selinsgrove Speedway on June 16, and a return to Williams Grove Speedway for the initial time since 2018. The series rounds out with a USAC Silver Crown / USAC National Sprint Car doubleheader on June 18 at Port Royal Speedway with the Eastern Storm finale set for June 19 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway.
The Bill Gardner Sprintacular is annually spectacular, and the event provides back-to-back nights of activity on July 1-2 at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind., the finale paying $10,000 to the victor.
The following week, the series makes the trek to Brandon, South Dakota for the second edition of the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals, with three nights of USAC National Sprint Car and USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget doubleheaders on the card for July 8-9-10, the finale of which pays $20,000 for the triumphant driver.
The 35th edition of Indiana Sprint Week has expanded to eight events over a nine-night span between July 22-30, featuring seven familiar Hoosier-state venues as well as a first-time host on the annual USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship summer tour.
Gas City, Kokomo, Lawrenceburg, Terre Haute, Lincoln Park, Bloomington and Tri-State will be joined by Circle City in making 2022 tied for the largest ever Indiana Sprint Week slate. An eight-race schedule has also previously taken place in 2007 and 2019.
Sprint Car Smackdown XI welcomes USAC National Sprint Cars for three nights at Indiana's Kokomo Speedway on August 25-26-27, with a $15,000 top prize going to the winning driver on the final, championship night.
The final month of the season brings more high-powered, lucrative paying events with the $12,000-to-win Haubstadt Hustler on Sept. 17 at Tri-State Speedway, followed by the James Dean Classic at Indiana's Gas City I-69 Speedway on Sept. 22, which leads right into the $10,000-to-win 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora on Sept. 24 and the $10,000-to-win Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg on Oct. 1.
USAC Sprints close out the 2022 campaign on Nov. 3-4-5 with the Oval Nationals at California's Perris Auto Speedway, which concludes with a $15,000 payday going to the winner of the 26th running of the event.
Four TBA events are posted on the schedule during the latter stages of the season on September 16, September 30, October 28 and October 29.
2022 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
Feb 17: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games
Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games
Feb 19: Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | Winter Dirt Games
Apr 2: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN
Apr 16: Atomic Speedway | Chillicothe, OH
Apr 29: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Larry Rice Classic
Apr 30: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Spring Showdown
May 6: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | #LetsRaceTwo
May 7: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | #LetsRaceTwo
May 12: Lakeside Speedway | Kansas City, KS
May 13: U.S. 36 Raceway | Osborn, MO
May 14: I-70 Motorsports Park | Odessa, MO
May 20: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN
May 21: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Tony Hulman Classic
May 25: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Week of Indy
May 26: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Week of Indy
Jun 14: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA | Eastern Storm / Jesse Hockett Classic
Jun 15: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ | Eastern Storm
Jun 16: Selinsgrove Speedway | Selinsgrove, PA | Eastern Storm
Jun 17: Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, PA | Eastern Storm
Jun 18: Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA | Eastern Storm
Jun 19: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway | Bloomsburg, PA | Eastern Storm
Jun 25: Wilmot Raceway | Wilmot, WI
Jun 26: Angell Park Speedway | Sun Prairie, WI
Jul 1: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Bill Gardner Sprintacular
Jul 2: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Bill Gardner Sprintacular
Jul 8: Huset's Speedway | Brandon, SD | Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
Jul 9: Huset's Speedway | Brandon, SD | Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
Jul 10: Huset's Speedway | Brandon, SD | Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
Jul 22: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | Indiana Sprint Week
Jul 23: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Indiana Sprint Week
Jul 24: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Indiana Sprint Week
Jul 25: Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana Sprint Week
Jul 27: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Indiana Sprint Week / Don Smith Classic
Jul 28: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN | Indiana Sprint Week
Jul 29: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN | Indiana Sprint Week / Sheldon Kinser Memorial
Jul 30: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Indiana Sprint Week
Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown
Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown
Aug 27: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | Sprint Car Smackdown
Sep 16: TBA
Sep 17: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Haubstadt Hustler
Sep 22: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | James Dean Classic
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway | Rossburg, OH | 4-Crown Nationals
Sep 30: TBA
Oct 1: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | Fall Nationals
Oct 28: TBA
Oct 29: TBA
Nov 3: Perris Auto Speedway | Perris, CA | Oval Nationals
Nov 4: Perris Auto Speedway | Perris, CA | Oval Nationals
Nov 5: Perris Auto Speedway | Perris, CA | Oval Nationals
STOCKON TO DRIVE THE PINK 69 ON 2022 USAC SILVER CROWN TRAIL
Evansville, Indiana (December 9, 2021)………Chase Stockon has been named the new driver of the Pink 69 Racing No. for the dirt portion of the 2022 USAC Silver Crown trail.
Stockon, of Fort Branch, Ind., owns the ultimate Ironman mark of 324 consecutive USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature starts, but has made just four Silver Crown starts in his career dating to 2015.
A single Silver Crown appearance in 2021 for DMW Motorsports at the Illinois State Fairgrounds led to a 10th place finish in what was his first series in six seasons and gave him the appetite to do more racing with big cars in 2022. It all came to fruition when team owner Bill Floyd made the call.
"Bill and the Pink 69 team seem are committed to bringing a top-notch car to the Silver Crown series and I'm honored to be chosen as part of it," Stockon stated.
In addition to Stockon, a new 2022 Maxim chassis has been delivered to the Evansville, Ind. based team, whose participation in the series dates back to 2019 with driver Kyle Cummins where both learned the ropes of the series as Rookies.
Stockon takes the reins of car No. 69 following the mutual parting of ways between the team and Cummins after they made five starts together over the past two seasons.
"I am grateful that Kyle came on board with our new team and helped us through the learning curves," Floyd said. "Silver Crown was new to both of us and from the beginning we wanted to give it a full season. Kyle's busy Sprint car and Midget commitments, his thriving machining business, in addition to a growing family, made us both agree that its best to move in a different direction."
Stockon is renowned for his USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car success, having won 14 career series features. But he's ready to add more Silver Crown racing to his plate in the coming year and Floyd anticipates success on the half-mile and one-mile-long dirt tracks on the circuit.
"Chase is a dynamic driver who has proven to be a top performer," Floyd praised. "He excels at the larger, high-speed tracks and I'm excited for our team."
USAC SCHEDULES TO BE RELEASED DURING "USAC LIVE" FROM PRI
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 7, 2021)………Schedules for all three of USAC's national divisions and more will be part of "USAC Live" from the PRI Show in Indianapolis with six straight hours of programming on FloRacing on both Thursday and Friday, December 9-10.
You can look in live with USAC from 10am-4pm Eastern both days as a steady stream of USAC news, notes and features will be released in succession while a number of top USAC drivers and personalities will stop by for interviews discussing their upcoming plans for the 2022 season.
The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship schedule is set to be released at 10am on Thursday, followed by an hour of SRO World Challenge coverage at 11am, the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship schedule release at 1pm, USAC Cook Out .25 Midgets at 3pm and Road to Indy at 4pm.
On Friday, the USAC Silver Crown schedule is set for release at 10am Eastern with more SRO World Challenge coverage at 11am. The AMSOIL Racing Recap is set for noon and Porsche Sprint Challenge Series at 2pm.
In between, the debut of the 2021 season review videos for USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget racing will debut.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9:
10am: USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship Schedule Release
11am: SRO World Challenge
Noon: USAC Season Reviews, Etc.
1pm: USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship Schedule Release
2pm: USAC Season Reviews, Etc.
3pm: USAC Cook Out .25 Midgets
4pm: Road to Indy
(All Times Eastern)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10:
10am: USAC Silver Crown Schedule Release
11am: SRO World Challenge
Noon: AMSOIL Racing Recap
1pm: USAC Season Reviews, Etc.
2pm: Porsche Sprint Challenge Series
3-4pm: USAC Season Reviews, Etc.
(All Times Eastern)
HARD CHARGIN' GRANT IS USAC'S 2021 PASSING MASTER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (December 1, 2021)………Justin Grant's $20,000 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature victory at California's Placerville Speedway in November paid off in more ways than one.
The Ione, California native charged from seventh to first en route to his victory that night, which moved him to the top of the board for good in the ProSource Passing Master standings.
Grant kept a tight grip throughout the following three races to earn the Passing Master title with a total of 230 combined positions advanced throughout all 93 USAC National features run during the 2021 season in his Hemelgarn Racing Silver Crown car, TOPP Motorsports Sprint Car and RMS Racing Midget.
The 2020 USAC Silver Crown champion scored the top prize worth $2,500 from ProSource which rewarded the USAC licensed driver who passed the most total cars during feature events throughout USAC's Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget series.
"It's cool to be the one to pass the most cars, but I think it mostly means I need to work on my qualifying," Grant said with a laugh. "We didn't qualify as good as we normally do this year that I feel like, but we raced better than we usually do. In the end, I think that was a net gain for us."
Buck Rice from ProSource has been a longtime supporter of USAC and its racers, and 2021 marked the second year of the yearlong Passing Master Award, a gift which Grant is thankful for – an opportunity for drivers to make some extra dough after putting some extra work by consistently charging up through the field.
"Any time I get passing money, Buck says he wishes he wasn't giving it to me because he doesn't want me to have to work that hard," Grant said. "But it's awesome of Buck and ProSource to put up an award like that for us. It benefits guys like me who've had to dig out of some holes throughout the year."
Inaugural ProSource Passing Master champion Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) and Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) tied for second place with 209 positions advanced while Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) and Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) were knotted up for fourth 177 passes apiece.
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FINAL 2021 USAC PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER STANDINGS:
230-Justin Grant
209-Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
177-Thomas Meseraull & Logan Seavey
170-Brady Bacon
166-Kevin Thomas Jr.
126-Robert Ballou & Buddy Kofoid
106-Shane Cottle
92-Emerson Axsom
91-Jake Swanson
88-Kyle Cummins
84-C.J. Leary
78-Cannon McIntosh & Chase Stockon
74-Jason McDougal
64-Brenham Crouch
63-Daison Pursley
59-Jadon Rogers & Bryant Wiedeman
57-Chase Randall
51-Brandon Mattox
50-Matt Westfall
48-Kaylee Bryson
45-Jerry Coons Jr.
44-Hayden Williams
43-Mike Haggenbottom
42-Shane Cockrum & Paul Nienhiser
38-Tanner Carrick & Carmen Perigo
34-Brian Carber, Hayden Reinbold & Kody Swanson
33-Stevie Sussex
32-Chance Crum
31-Austin Nemire
30-Cole Bodine & Isaac Chapple
29-Steven Drevicki
27-Patrick Lawson & Ethan Mitchell
26-Mario Clouser
25-Dallas Hewitt
23-Bryan Gossel
22-Nick Bilbee & Kyle Jones
21-Ryan Timms
20-Charles Davis Jr. & Eric Gordon
19-Max Adams
18-Jake Day, Kyle Robbins, Mark Smith & Brian Tyler
17-Annie Breidinger, Trey Gropp & Kyle O'Gara
16-David Byrne
15-Matt Goodnight
14-Dave Berkheimer, Tyler Courtney, Briggs Danner & Travis Welpott
13-Jake Neuman & Taylor Reimer
12-Austin Barnhill & Chris Phillips
10-Chase Johnson, Davey Ray & Tyler Thomas
9-Corey Day, Noah Gass, Davey Hamilton Jr., Sam Johnson, Kyle Steffens & Scotty Weir
8-Terry Babb
7-Nathan Byrd & Chris Fetter
6-Casey Buckman, Jacob Denney, Carson Garrett & Brandon Morin
5-Clinton Boyles, Sterling Cling, Kenney Johnson, Tyler Roahrig & Steven Russell
4-Travis Buckley & Tanner Swanson
3-Jade Avedisian, Brent Beauchamp, Robert Bell, Derek Bischak, Timmy Buckwalter, Braydon Cromwell, Dave Darland, Taylor Ferns, Erik Karlsen, Ricky Lewis & Jonathan Shafer
2-Bobby Santos & Kent Schmidt
1-Brayden Fox, Russ Gamester, Riley Kreisel, Critter Malone, Mike McVetta, Stephen Schnapf & Ken Schrader
AXSOM TO CHASE 2022 USAC SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP WITH CMNR
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 2, 2021)………Clauson Marshall Newman Racing, Driven2SaveLives, an Indiana Donor Network Program, and Emerson Axsom have teamed up to compete for the 2022 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in the Driven2SaveLives #47BC sprint car.
Axsom, who has been behind the wheel of a sprint car for CMR in select races in 2021, will also run the Driven2SaveLives #39BC in select USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship events in 2022.
Clauson Marshall Racing (CMR), co-owned by Tim Clauson and Richard Marshall, was established in 2016 to compete in the USAC National Midget series. In 2017, CMR brought NASCAR Driver Ryan Newman on board as an additional co-owner of the Clauson Marshall Newman Racing (CMNR) USAC sprint car entry. In its first full season, CMNR and driver Tyler Courtney captured the USAC National Sprint Car championship.
The 17-year-old Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) competed full-time in the USAC National Midget Series for Petry Motorsports in 2021, winning twice and finishing 4th in the championship points standings. He stepped into the Driven2SaveLives Sprint Car in August of 2021 and quickly got up to speed. The 2022 season will be his first full season competing in a Clauson Marshall Newman Racing Driven2SaveLives Sprint Car as he vies for Rookie of the Year honors with the series.
"I'm super excited to be working with Clauson Marshall racing again and excited about the schedule we have put together," Axsom stated. "I have been working to be exactly where I am for a while now, so it feels great to have it finally pay off. I can't thank Tim, Diana, Richard, Jennifer, Taylor and everyone at CMR and Driven2SaveLives enough for continuing to believe in me. I am so thankful to be given the opportunity to live my dream while spreading awareness for organ and tissue donation in honor of Bryan Clauson."
"I am really excited to chase not only Rookie of the Year, but also the USAC National Sprint Car Championship with Emerson," team co-owner Tim Clauson exclaimed. "We were fortunate to get to audition Emerson during the latter part of 2021, and I was really impressed with the speed we had right out of the gate with no previous sprint car experience. As much as I was impressed with his speed, I was more impressed with the way he represented himself, our company and especially our partners out of the race car.
Getting an opportunity is the first step but taking full advantage of that opportunity is what leads to where we are today," Clauson continued. "One of the values we have as a company is to help grow the next generation of the sport, and there is little doubt in my mind that Emerson is going to be a big part of not only CMR's future but the sport's future as well."
"Indiana Donor Network has been a loyal partner since we formed our company," team co-owner Richard Marshall explained. "We are honored to have the opportunity to champion the Driven2SaveLives program again in 2022 with Emerson Axsom. This year, he demonstrated his talent on the track and a professional poise off the track, while representing the D2SL and CMR brands. I have no doubt this is going to be the team to watch in 2022."
Driven2SaveLives has partnered with Clauson Marshall Racing since 2017 and has been a key part of the Clauson Marshall Racing program since then. Axsom will run all USAC National Sprint Car races and selected Indiana Midget races in 2022 as well as other select races that fit in to the schedule.
Taylor McLean, Marketing Program Specialist at Indiana Donor Network, stated, "Driven2SaveLives, an Indiana Donor Network Program, is extremely excited to continue its partnership with Clauson Marshall Racing and Emerson Axsom. In a very short amount of time, Emerson has become an amazing ambassador for organ, tissue and eye donation and has helped our program reach more race fans. We are excited to expand on our racing program and reach teenagers who are going to be asked if they want to be donors at the BMV when they get their driver's license. We couldn't think of a better representative for our donor heroes as we continue to talk about the importance of signing up to be an organ donor within the racing community and as we expand talking to youth about the impact they can have on others."
KOFOID'S UPS & DOWNS LEAD HIM TO THE MOUNTAINTOP OF USAC MIDGETS IN 2021
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (December 1, 2021)………When posed the question prior to the start of his 2021 season of whether anything less than a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship would be a disappointment, Buddy Kofoid showed no hesitation in unequivocally acknowledging that fact.
After capturing Rookie of the Year honors in 2020, the Penngrove, Calif. driver elevated his game even more the following year, scoring the series title in his second full season of competition on the strength of six victories in a campaign that saw its share of triumphs and tribulations, including an injury that very easily could've derailed what became the 19-year-old driver's destiny.
The pressure, whether it's produced by Kofoid himself or thrust upon him, is what he thrives upon. An outlook of "championship and nothing less" gave the uber-talented Kofoid the chip on his shoulder that provided an unwavering edge needed to succeed at the national level.
"I bring that pressure on myself; I guess that's kind of how I work," Kofoid acknowledged. "To me, my job was to win the championship and that's what I was brought on to do. I knew that, and I knew I wouldn't accept anything less anyway. For me, personally, winning races and winning championships is what keeps you going. I like the pressure and, to me, if you don't get nervous, that's not a good thing. You get nervous because you care, and you want to do good, and you put that kind of pressure on yourself when you want to achieve something."
Returning to the fold with the same crew chief as the previous year – Jarrett Kramer – the same venerable Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team and high expectations from himself, his peers and the public, Kofoid came flying right out the box with victories in two of the first three events, including February's daytime opener at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. followed by the biggest charge by any driver during the season, a 16th to 1st performance to win at Tulsa, Oklahoma's Port City Raceway in April.
Adding victories at Bloomington Speedway and Gas City I-69 Speedway in June propelled Kofoid to the Indiana Midget Week title. A solid July saw three more top-ten finishes in four additional starts, which provided Kofoid a sturdy 37-point lead over defending series champion Chris Windom entering the second half of the season. But that's where things took an unexpected excursion.
A late model crash at Minnesota's Elko Speedway on July 24 resulted in a broken right wrist and a broken left foot for Kofoid. With an arm cast grooved to fit the curvature of his steering wheel, ala Jim Hurtubise, Kofoid finished 10th his first time out in the body armor at Pennsylvania's Grandview Speedway. Coupled with Windom's victory that same night, Kofoid's point lead was in jeopardy after being sliced down to 13.
Kofoid was forced to acclimate to his new clime inside the racecar, firstly merely discovering a new comfort level in the car. Since he couldn't close his right hand all the way, the team beefed up the steering wheel with extra padding on one side to make it fatter and easier to grip. Furthermore, the body on the right side of the car was spaced out a bit more in order for him to lift his arm up higher since he had no wrist movement.
"It was frustrating; It was a nuisance; and it hurt," Kofoid explained. "I made sure that I could race because I wanted that championship, and I accepted the challenges that it was going to bring. I made sure to get a custom, form-fitted cast and tried to take all the right steps to make myself as comfortable as I could. When your wrist movement is taken away, it forces you to chicken wing. With little stuff like that, we did as much as we could to help. It was definitely tough, and I feel like I float my right hand a lot. But when you take it away completely, you realize how much you actually use it."
While Kofoid didn't win with the cast, coming as close as second on two occasions at Pennsylvania's Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway and at South Dakota's Huset's Speedway, he continued to perform at a high level with 12 top-tens in 12 starts with the cast, including eight top-five results.
The spectacular run of consistency gave Kofoid the confidence that if he could run halfway decent with the cast, once he returned to normal, he felt like he would perform even better. Akin to running with ankle weights or swinging a fungo bat before going to the real deal, theoretically, everything would seemingly become easier once the medical shackles were released.
Despite that, Kofoid did lose his grip on the point lead following the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio's Eldora Speedway, falling behind Windom. However, that marked the final race Kofoid had to endure with the cast.
From that point forward, the season took on a new look for Kofoid beginning with the ensuing event in October at Indiana's Tri-State Speedway, which returned his full confidence despite a less-than-stellar finish that resulted in a dip further back in the point standings behind Windom. While battling for the race lead that night, Kofoid was involved in a kerfuffle that caused him to flip but managed to save face by returning to finish ninth in the final rundown.
At that juncture, Kofoid and team discovered something else that had been shackling their performance.
"We found out in October, after the cast came off, that the car that we had run during the summer months was built with a different kind of chromoly and it ended up not working really well for us," Kofoid detailed. "We really struggled with it, and once we got rid of that car and back to what all the other cars were like, and what my older car was like, that fixed some of those problems we were having. That started to help get our speed back and getting the cast off helped even more."
With knowledge of the car issue and now free of pain as he headed out west for the final nine events of the season, Kofoid felt a flip of the switch was coming soon in the Golden State.
"There's something about home state racing; it does something to you; I don't know what it is," Kofoid comprehended. "The start of the western swing was really where it started to click again like it had been the rest of the year."
Kofoid shot back ahead of Windom and into the point lead with his first victory in five months at Bakersfield Speedway on Nov. 16. However, a rough go in the Hangtown 100 opener at Placerville Speedway demoted Kofoid back to second in the standings, down 13 to Windom. The tables were turned the following night at Placerville as Kofoid took fifth and Windom uncharacteristically spun out on his own while leading the feature.
Kofoid never relinquished the point lead from that point forward, finishing on the podium in each of the final three races, starting with a second on the first night at Merced Speedway. His first career fast qualifying time with the series followed the next night, which was punctuated by a feature victory.
At the finale in Ventura, Calif., Kofoid wrapped up the championship by gaining four points in qualifying after timing in third quick. With house money, he took second place in the Turkey Night Grand Prix feature and celebrated an 89-point advantage in the final standings.
Kofoid became the sixth teenager to win the USAC National Midget driving title, joining Jeff Gordon (1990), Bobby East (2004), Christopher Bell (2013), Spencer Bayston (2017) and Cole Whitt (2008), who was the youngest to win it at age 17.
Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports' 11th entrant title is a new record, breaking the tie it held with Steve Lewis. Kunz's previous series entrant championships came in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The 40 races run in 2021 were the most contested by the USAC National Midget division since 49 were held in 1988, 33 years ago.
Kofoid became the sixth driver, and the first in seven seasons, to score the Indiana Midget Week title and the USAC National Midget championship in the same season. He joins Jerry Coons Jr. (2007), Bryan Clauson (2011), Darren Hagen (2012), Christopher Bell (2013) and Rico Abreu (2014) in that category.
For the first time since 1977, three drivers reached six wins or more during a USAC National Midget season: Tanner Thorson (7), Chris Windom (7) and Buddy Kofoid (6). Forty-four years ago, it was Johnny Parsons (10), Rich Vogler (6) and Sleepy Tripp (6).
Kofoid's mark of 37 top-tens during the 2021 USAC National Midget season was the most since Danny Caruthers in 1971. Kofoid's mark of 28 top-fives was also historic, with it being the most since Mel Kenyon 1977. All three drivers captured the championship during those respective seasons.
There were five first-time USAC National Midget winners in 2021, tied for the most over the last 13 seasons. Among them were Emerson Axsom, Daison Pursley, Kyle Cummins, Corey Day and Ryan Timms who, at just 15 years, 3 months and 12 days old, became the youngest feature winner in the history of the series with a victory at California's Placerville Speedway in November.
Chris Windom and Justin Grant each scored the most lucrative victories of the 2021 USAC National Midget season. Windom collected $20,000 at South Dakota's Huset's Speedway in September while Grant notched $20 Grand for himself with a victory in November at Placerville. Both races were 100-lappers, the two longest races on the schedule.
Waco, Texas native Chase Randall became the first Texan to capture USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year honors since James McElreath in 1976.
Kyle Larson became the first driver ever to win a USAC National Midget feature on dirt and the NASCAR Cup Series championship in the same season. The Elk Grove, Calif. driver won twice in 2021 with USAC, first at the BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August then again at his home track of Placerville in November.
Logan Seavey, meanwhile, became the first driver to win the season finales on dirt for all three of USAC's National divisions. In September, he etched his name as the winner of the final USAC Silver Crown race of the year on dirt at Eldora. In mid-November, he shut down the Arizona Speedway dirt oval for the final time with a triumph in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season finale, then finished off with a midget win in the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura in late-November. He also captured a score in June during Indiana Midget Week at Lawrenceburg.
Returning to victory lane during the 2021 season were Thomas Meseraull who scored four wins in four different months throughout the year as well as Tyler Courtney who moved into the top-five all-time in terms of USAC National feature victories at Eldora Speedway with his win in the race held the night before the 4-Crown Nationals.
==================================
2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET STAT LEADERS
Driver Champion: Buddy Kofoid
Entrant Champion: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67
Rookie of the Year: Chase Randall (11th)
Most Feature Wins: 7-Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Laps Led: 217-Buddy Kofoid
Top-Fives: 28-Buddy Kofoid
Top-Tens: 37-Buddy Kofoid
Fast Qualifying Times: 6-Tanner Thorson
Heat Race Wins: 10-Thomas Meseraull
Feature Starts: 40-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Most Positions Gained in a Feature: Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st) & Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jun 3: (I) Paragon Speedway – Paragon, IN
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Jun 4: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 5: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Tom Malloy #25)
Jun 6: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing #3G)
Jun 9: (I) Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Corey Day (Clauson Marshall Racing #47BC)
Jun 10: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jun 11: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 12: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jul 13: (M) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Jul 15: (M) Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, KS
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 16: (M) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 17: (M) (F) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
Aug 3: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Aug 4: (E) Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Aug 5: (E) Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 6: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 7: (E) Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Newmanstown, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Aug. 19: (F) The Dirt Track at IMS – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Kyle Larson (CB Industries #86x)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, WI
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Sep 10: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Sep 11: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 12: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Clauson Marshall Racing #7BC)
Sep 25: (F) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
WINNER: Ryan Timms (CB Industries #85T)
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
WINNER: Kyle Larson (Kyle Larson Racing #1K)
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Tom Malloy #25)
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(I) represents an Indiana Midget Week event
(M) represents a Mid-America Midget Week event
(E) represents an Eastern Midget Week event
(F) represents a race awarding feature points only
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 2586 Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, Calif.
2 2497 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
3 2372 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
4 2322 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.
5 2293 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
6 2214 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
7 1984 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.
8 1972 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
9 1892 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.
10 1852 Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Okla.
11 1488 Chase Randall (R), Waco, Texas
12 1281 Bryant Wiedeman (R), Colby, Kan.
13 1221 Brenham Crouch (R), Lubbock, Texas
14 1124 Ethan Mitchell, Mooresville, N.C.
15 1108 Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Okla.
16 909 Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, Okla.
17 777 Hayden Reinbold (R), Gilbert, Ariz.
18 690 Ryan Timms (R), Oklahoma City, Okla.
19 598 Hayden Williams (R), Auckland, N.Z.
20 581 Chance Crum (R), Snohomish, Wash.
21 529 Taylor Reimer (R), Bixby, Okla.
22 524 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.
23 485 Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, Calif.
24 481 Trey Gropp (R), Lincoln, Neb.
25 469 Corey Day (R), Clovis, Calif.
26 349 Sam Johnson, St. Peters, Mo.
27 313 Brian Carber (R), Pipersville, Pa.
28 294 Austin Barnhill (R), Wilmington, N.C.
29 278 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
30 264 Jade Avedisian (R), Clovis, Calif.
31 241 Cole Bodine, Rossville, Ind.
32 196 Travis Buckley (R), Auckland, N.Z.
33 176 Jonathan Shafer (R), Ashland, Ohio
34 144 Jake Neuman, New Berlin, Ill.
35 137 Tyler Thomas, Collinsville, Okla.
36 90 Blake Brannon (R), Morgan Hill, Calif.
37 90 Oliver Akard (R), Fort Myers, Fla.
38 77 Clinton Boyles, Greenwood, Mo.
39 72 Kenney Johnson (R), Bethany, Conn.
40 62 Jacob Denney (R), Galloway, Ohio
41 50 Emilio Hoover (R), Broken Arrow, Okla.
42 40 Blake Spicer (R), Marysville, Kan.
43 40 J.R. Ewing (R), Phillipsburg, Kan.
44 30 Tyler Nelson, Olathe, Kan.
45 30 Mariah Ede (R), Fresno, Calif.
46 20 Ryan Bickett (R), Ramona, S.D.
(R) = USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year Contender
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 2586 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#67)
2 2497 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#89)
3 2372 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#2J)
4 2322 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#15)
5 2214 Tom Malloy, El Monte, Calif. (#25)
6 2144 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#71K)
7 2138 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19T)
8 1984 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#7x)
9 1972 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#5)
10 1852 Dave Mac Motorsports, Bixby, Okla. (#08)
11 1488 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19A)
12 1281 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#01)
13 1221 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#97)
14 1124 Bundy Built Motorsports, Mooresville, N.C. (#19m)
15 909 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#71)
16 777 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)
17 730 Rudeen Racing, Liberty Lake, Wash. (#26)
18 636 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#85T)
19 634 Robert Dalby Motorsports, Chino, Calif. (#4)
20 598 BSL Racing, Auckland, N.Z. (#1NZ)
21 558 Mounce-Stout Motorsports, Collinsville, Okla. (#00)
22 529 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#25K)
23 524 Glenn Styres Racing, Ohsweken, Ont. (#3G)
24 469 Clauson Marshall Racing, Fishers, Ind. (#47BC)
25 442 Hayward Motorsports, Morrison, Ill. (#19)
26 410 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#84)
27 349 Sam Johnson Racing, O'Fallon, Mo. (#72J)
28 298 BSL Racing, Auckland, N.Z. (#7NZ)
29 278 TKH Motorsports, Sweet Springs, Mo. (#21H)
30 241 Clauson Marshall Racing, Fishers, Ind. (#39BC)
31 203 Dave Mac Motorsports, Bixby, Okla. (#17B)
32 176 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#67K)
33 155 Dave Mac Motorsports, Bixby, Okla. (#88)
34 144 Jim Neuman, New Berlin, Ill. (#3N)
35 137 Tyler Thomas Motorsports, Catoosa, Okla. (#91T)
36 111 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#98K)
37 107 Chris Lewis, Jackson, Mo. (#49)
38 97 Klatt Enterprises, Hastings, Neb. (#4x)
39 90 Brannon Corporation, Morgan Hill, Calif. (#40)
40 90 OMR Motorsports, Fort Myers, Fla. (#41)
41 77 RAMS Racing, Lees Summit, Mo. (#14s)
42 72 Jeff Johnson, Bethany, Conn. (#46)
43 70 RAMS Racing, Lees Summit, Mo. (#4A)
44 69 Team Ripper, Springfield, Ill. (#21KS)
45 62 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#35)
46 50 Team Ripper, Springfield, Ill. (#21K)
47 40 Terry John, Marysville, Kan. (#4s)
48 40 J.R. Ewing, Phillipsburg, Kan. (#2c)
49 30 Tyler Nelson Racing, Indianapolis, Ind. (#88x)
50 20 Mounce-Stout Motorsports, Collinsville, Okla. (#14H)
51 20 Ryan Bickett, Ramona, S.D. (#17H)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1488 Chase Randall (R), Waco, Texas
2 1281 Bryant Wiedeman (R), Colby, Kan.
3 1221 Brenham Crouch (R), Lubbock, Texas
4 777 Hayden Reinbold (R), Gilbert, Ariz.
5 690 Ryan Timms (R), Oklahoma City, Okla.
6 598 Hayden Williams (R), Auckland, N.Z.
7 581 Chance Crum (R), Snohomish, Wash.
8 529 Taylor Reimer (R), Bixby, Okla.
9 481 Trey Gropp (R), Lincoln, Neb.
10 469 Corey Day (R), Clovis, Calif.
11 313 Brian Carber (R), Pipersville, Pa.
12 294 Austin Barnhill (R), Wilmington, N.C.
13 264 Jade Avedisian (R), Clovis, Calif.
14 196 Travis Buckley (R), Auckland, N.Z.
15 176 Jonathan Shafer (R), Ashland, Ohio
16 90 Blake Brannon (R), Morgan Hill, Calif.
17 90 Oliver Akard (R), Fort Myers, Fla.
18 72 Kenney Johnson (R), Bethany, Conn.
19 62 Jacob Denney (R), Galloway, Ohio
20 50 Emilio Hoover (R), Broken Arrow, Okla.
21 40 Blake Spicer (R), Marysville, Kan.
22 40 J.R. Ewing (R), Phillipsburg, Kan.
23 30 Mariah Ede (R), Fresno, Calif.
24 20 Ryan Bickett (R), Ramona, S.D.
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
7-Tanner Thorson (Apr 11 at Port City Raceway, Jun 10 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 15 at Solomon Valley Raceway, Jul 16 at Jefferson County Speedway, Aug 5 at Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Aug 6 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway & Sep 5 at Angell Park Speedway)
7-Chris Windom (May 1 at Kokomo Speedway, Jun 12 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 3 at Grandview Speedway, Sep 11 at Huset's Speedway, Sep 12 Huset's Speedway, Sep 25 at Eldora Speedway & Nov 13 at Arizona Speedway)
6-Buddy Kofoid (Feb 6 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 10 at Port City Raceway, Jun 4 at Bloomington Speedway, Jun 11 at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Nov 16 at Bakersfield Speedway & Nov 24 at Merced Speedway)
4-Justin Grant (Aug 7 at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, Nov 12 at Arizona Speedway, Nov 20 at Placerville Speedway & Nov 23 at Merced Speedway)
4-Thomas Meseraull (Feb 8 at Bubba Raceway Park, Jun 3 at Paragon Speedway, Sep 10 at Huset's Speedway & Oct 9 at Tri-State Speedway)
2-Emerson Axsom (Apr 30 at Kokomo Speedway & Jul 17 at Jefferson County Speedway)
2-Kyle Larson (Aug 19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Nov 19 at Placerville Speedway)
2-Daison Pursley (Jul 13 at Red Dirt Raceway & Aug 4 at Action Track USA)
2-Logan Seavey (Jun 5 at Lawrenceburg Speedway & Nov 27 at Ventura Raceway)
1-Tyler Courtney (Sept 24 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Kyle Cummins (Jun 6 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Corey Day (Jun 9 at Circle City Raceway)
1-Ryan Timms (Nov 18 at Placerville Speedway)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
217-Buddy Kofoid
204-Chris Windom
163-Logan Seavey
134-Tanner Thorson
103-Emerson Axsom
90-Thomas Meseraull
78-Justin Grant
77-Daison Pursley
63-Kevin Thomas Jr.
55-Chase Randall
50-Cannon McIntosh
30-Corey Day & Ryan Timms
29-Kyle Cummins
26-Kaylee Bryson
23-Cory Eliason
20-Zeb Wise
16-Kyle Larson
14-Tyler Courtney
9-Sam Johnson
7-Alex Bright & Jason McDougal
2-Bryant Wiedeman
1-Jonathan Beason
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TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES
28-Buddy Kofoid
26-Chris Windom
22-Justin Grant
20-Emerson Axsom
14-Daison Pursley & Tanner Thorson
11-Logan Seavey
10-Thomas Meseraull & Kevin Thomas Jr.
8-Cannon McIntosh
3-Brady Bacon, Shane Golobic, Kyle Larson, Jason McDougal & Bryant Wiedeman
2-Spencer Bayston, Tyler Courtney, Brenham Crouch & Corey Day
1-Jade Avedisian, Alex Bright, Kaylee Bryson, Brian Carber, Tanner Carrick, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Cory Eliason, Carson Macedo, Ethan Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Chase Randall, Ryan Timms & Hayden Williams
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TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES
37-Buddy Kofoid
32-Justin Grant & Chris Windom
30-Tanner Thorson
29-Logan Seavey
28-Emerson Axsom
25-Daison Pursley
23-Kevin Thomas Jr.
20-Thomas Meseraull
17-Cannon McIntosh
12-Jason McDougal & Chase Randall
8-Bryant Wiedeman
7-Shane Golobic
5-Tanner Carrick, Brenham Crouch, Corey Day & Ryan Timms
4-Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Cummins, Cory Eliason, Kyle Larson, Ethan Mitchell, Taylor Reimer & Hayden Williams
3-Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Kaylee Bryson, Tyler Courtney, Zach Daum, Carson Macedo, Mitchel Moles & Zeb Wise
2-Spencer Bayston, Brian Carber, Chance Crum, Kyle Jones & Joe B. Miller
1-Jade Avedisian, Jonathan Beason, Ryan Bernal, Trey Gropp, Jake Neuman & Hayden Reinbold
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES
6-Tanner Thorson
4-Cannon McIntosh
3-Logan Seavey
2-Corey Day, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Spencer Bayston, Alex Bright, Kaylee Bryson, Shane Golobic, Buddy Kofoid, Carson Macedo, Ethan Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Chase Randall, Taylor Reimer & Bryan Wiedeman
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HEAT RACE WINS: (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension, Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
10-Thomas Meseraull
9-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid & Tanner Thorson
7-Cannon McIntosh, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom
5-Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall
4-Tanner Carrick, Brenham Crouch, Jason McDougal & Bryant Wiedeman
3-Kaylee Bryson & Logan Seavey
2-Cole Bodine, Corey Day, Cory Eliason, Shane Golobic, Carson Macedo, Taylor Reimer, Tyler Thomas, Ryan Timms & Hayden Williams
1-Austin Barnhill, Jonathan Beason, Alex Bright, Jake Bubak, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Chance Crum, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Chase Elliott, Michael Faccinto, Trey Gropp, Chase Johnson, Colby Johnson, Sam Johnson, Kyle Jones, Max McLaughlin, Thomas Meseraull, Aiden Purdue, Caden Sarale & Zac Taylor
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QUALIFYING RACE WINS
31-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Tyler Courtney, Brenham Crouch, Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh, Kevin Thomas Jr., Bryant Wiedeman & Chris Windom
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ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI-FEATURE WINS
3-Chase Randall & Kevin Thomas Jr.
2-Emerson Axsom, Brenham Crouch, Shane Golobic, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley & Logan Seavey
1-Chance Crum, Michael Faccinto, Trey Gropp, Carson Macedo, Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Jace Park, Karter Sarff, Jonathan Shafer, Tanner Thorson, Ryan Timms, Hayden Williams & Zeb Wise
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C-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney, Dylan Ito, Chance Morton & Logan Seavey
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney & Tanner Thorson
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FEATURE STARTS
40-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
39-Kevin Thomas Jr.
35-Chase Randall
32-Daison Pursley
30-Brenham Crouch
29-Bryant Wiedeman
26-Ethan Mitchell
23-Kaylee Bryson
22-Jason McDougal
17-Hayden Reinbold & Ryan Timms
15-Taylor Reimer & Hayden Williams
13-Chance Crum
12-Kyle Cummins & Trey Gropp
11-Tanner Carrick
9-Corey Day & Sam Johnson
8-Brian Carber, Jerry Coons Jr., Zach Daum & Shane Golobic
7-Jade Avedisian, Maria Cofer & Cory Eliason
6-Cole Bodine, Kyle Jones, Kyle Larson, Carson Macedo, Mitchel Moles, Zeb Wise & Kevin Woody Jr.
5-Brady Bacon, Austin Barnhill & Alex Bright
4-Colby Copeland, Chase Elliott, Michael Faccinto, Jonathan Shafer, Tyler Thomas & Glenn Waterland
3-Spencer Bayston, Jonathan Beason, Ryan Bernal, Travis Buckley, Tyler Courtney, Chad Frewaldt, Jimmy Glenn, Chase Johnson, Jake Neuman, Bryan Stanfill & Brandon Waelti
2-Lance Bennett, Clinton Boyles, Jake Bubak, Steve Buckwalter, Trevor Casey, Eric Heydenreich, Casey Hicks, Kenney Johnson, Michael Markey, Shannon McQueen, Joe B. Miller, Greg Mitchell, Kade Morton, Brant O'Banion, Daniel Robinson, Alex Sewell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jim Vanzant & Aaron Werner
1-Jake Andreotti, Blaze Bennett, Tanner Berryhill, Chase Briscoe, Jacob Denney, Carson Garrett, Tony Gomes, Colby Johnson, Tommy Kunsman, Trey Marcham, Shannon Mausteller, Ace McCarthy, Chase McDermand, Max McLaughlin, Jace Park, Keith Rauch, Matt Rechek, Jack Routson, Tyler Rust, Caden Sarale, Karter Sarff, Stephen Schnapf, Mark Sokol, Carson Sousa, Zac Taylor, Brett Wanner & Jeff Zelinski
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GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE RACE:
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Trey Marcham
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Ace McCarthy
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Hayden Williams
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Corey Day
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Jason McDougal
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Kaylee Bryson
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Emerson Axsom
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Thomas Meseraull
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Cannon McIntosh
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Daison Pursley
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Shane Golobic
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Chase Randall
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Spencer Bayston
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Tyler Rust
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – Justin Grant
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – Chase Randall
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Carson Macedo
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Justin Grant
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Cory Eliason
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Jade Avedisian
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Tanner Carrick (14th to 8th)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Daison Pursley (10th to 5th)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Chris Windom (13th to 4th)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Tanner Thorson (17th to 7th)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13rd to 3rd)
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (12th to 1st)
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Emerson Axsom (22nd to 11th)
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brian Carber (22nd to 10th)
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Corey Day (12th to 5th)
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Tanner Thorson (20th to 8th)
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (18th to 9th)
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Justin Grant (13th to 2nd)
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Logan Seavey (17th to 7th)
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Brenham Crouch (22nd to 11th)
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Buddy Kofoid (15th to 2nd)
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (15th to 8th)
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Alex Bright (16th to 6th)
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 6th)
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Woody Jr. (21st to 15th)
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Kevin Woody Jr. (20th to 11th)
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Emerson Axsom (19th to 5th)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti (22nd to 11th)
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Maria Cofer (20th to 12th)
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (16th to 8th)
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson (18th to 4th)
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Hayden Reinbold (20th to 15th)
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (20th to 10th)
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (17th to 3rd)
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – Chance Crum (23rd to 14th)
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – Chase Randall (23rd to 9th)
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (22nd to 11th)
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (17th to 9th)
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Justin Grant (24th to 11th)
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Tanner Carrick (22nd to 9th)
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Jason McDougal (14th to 10th)
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Justin Grant (17th to 3rd)
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Chase Randall (26th to 12th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Bryant Wiedeman
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Logan Seavey
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Daison Pursley
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Chase Randall
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Chase Randall
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Taylor Reimer
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Logan Seavey
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Jack Routson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Brant O'Banion
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Chance Crum
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Carson Garrett
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – Kaylee Bryson
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Brenham Crouch
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Tanner Carrick
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Brenham Crouch
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Colby Copeland
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Tanner Carrick
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Maria Cofer
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Maria Cofer
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Andrew Felker
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Emilio Hoover
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Brenham Crouch
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Noah Harris
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Kaylee Bryson
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Chett Gehrke
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Travis Buckley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brian Carber
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Trey Gropp
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Jason McDougal
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Sam Johnson
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Michael Markey
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Dan Bennett
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – J.R. Booth
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Casey Hicks
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Bryan Stanfill
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Chance Crum
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Maria Cofer & Ethan Mitchell
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Ryan Robinson & Mitchel Moles
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Chase Randall
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Jake Andreotti
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Chase Johnson
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Matt Mitchell
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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. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Tony Stewart & Tanner Thorson
17. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones, Kyle Larson & Dave Strickland
21. [24 wins] Billy Engelhart
22. [23 wins] Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich
28. [22 wins] Bobby East & Shorty Templeman
30. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader
34. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt
35. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Stan Fox & Jason Leffler
39. [18 wins] Dave Steele
40. [17 wins] Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley
42. [16 wins] Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens
48. [15 wins] Don Branson & Larry Rice
49. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner
53. [13 wins] Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman, Stevie Reeves & Chris Windom
58. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim & Ron Shuman
64. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos & Brad Sweet
70. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung & Chuck Weyant
76. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott, Justin Grant, Chuck Gurney & Buddy Kofoid
82. [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, Logan Seavey & Josh Wise
96. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Len Sutton & Johnnie Tolan
105. [6 wins] Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Arnie Knepper, Thomas Meseraull, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Roger West
118. [5 wins] Spencer Bayston, Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
129. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, 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, Sam Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, Rodger Ward & Zeb Wise
161. [3 wins] John Batts, Gays Biro, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Zach Daum, 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, Cannon McIntosh, Warren Mockler, 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
193. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Emerson Axsom, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, 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
229. [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, Tanner Carrick, 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, Larry McCloskey, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, 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, Ryan Timms, Randy Tolsma, Leo Tucker, Bob Veith, Joe Walter, 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
16. (25) Gary Bettenhausen
17. (24) Gene Hartley
18. (23) Tanner Thorson
19. (22) Stan Fox
20. (21) Don Branson, Tony Stewart, Shorty Templeman
23. (20) Bryan Clauson, Dan Drinan, Bobby East & Bobby Grim
27. (19) Jay Drake & Kyle Larson
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
41. (14) Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Jeff Gordon & Kenny Irwin Jr.
45. (13) George Benson, Jimmy Knight & J.J. Yeley
48. (12) Larry Rice & Josh Wise
50. (11) Brady Bacon, Danny Caruthers, Lonnie Caruthers, Russ Congdon, Tommy Copp, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader, Len Sutton, Brad Sweet & Sleepy Tripp
61. (10) George Amick, Pancho Carter, Allen Crowe, Logan Seavey, Billy Vukovich & Leroy Warriner
67. (9) A.J. Foyt, Doug Kalitta, Larry Patton, Stevie Reeves, Dave Strickland Jr. & Jerry Weeks
73. (8) Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Dana Carter, Rex Easton, Russ Gamester, Don Horvath, Kasey Kahne, Sammy Sessions, George Snider & Jack Turner
83. (7) Mike Bliss, Ray Elliott, Allen Heath, Cannon McIntosh, Billy Mehner, Andy Michner, Henry Pens, Lowell Sachs, Kody Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
93. (6) Chad Boat, Burt Foland, Brian Gerster, Mike Gregg, Kyle Hamilton, Lee Kunzman, Jerry McClung, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Don Vogler, Chris Windom & Billy Wood
105. (5) Merle Bettenhausen, Billy Boat, Steve Cannon, Ray Crawford, Kevin Doty, Ronnie Duman, Aaron Fike, Rick Goudy, Jeff Heywood, Eddie Johnson, Steve Knepper, Brad Kuhn, Andy Linden, Bobby Santos, Chris Shultz, Billy Shuman, Chuck Weyant & Mauri Wilson
123. (4) Johnny Anderson, Caleb Armstrong, Sonny Ates, Gary Byers, Dane Carter, Joe Corrigan, Zach Daum, Mike Fedorcak, Robby Flock, Danny Frye, Joe Garson, Shane Golobic, Chuck Gurney, Jim Hettinger, Arnie Knepper, Chuck Marshall, Danny McKnight, Jeff Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Gary Ponzini, Richard Powell, Porky Rachwitz, Ricky Shelton, Tom Steiner, Bruce Walkup, Rodger Ward, Roger West, & Zeb Wise
151. (3) Bob Cicconi, Cole Carter, Don Anderson, Donnie Beechler, Dwight Brown, Hank Butcher, Harry Beck, Jack Calabrase, Larry Dickson, Mario Clouser, Steve Buckwalter, Tony Bettenhausen, Tony Elliott, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Gene Force, Justin Grant, Bob Hare, Ted Hines, P.J. Jones, Greg Leffler, Grier Manning, Mack McClellan, Roger McCluskey, Thomas Meseraull, Ethan Mitchell, Johnny Moorhouse, Kenneth Nichols, Jerry Nuckles, Tim Pangborn, Forrest Parker, Johnnie Parsons, Johnny Roberts, Randy Roberts, Lloyd Ruby, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Tom Sellberg, Dale Swaim, Johnnie Tolan & Dillon Welch
192. (2) Sherman Armstrong Jr., Jack Bates, Gays Biro, Art Bisch, Dan Boorse, Kaylee Bryson, Tanner Carrick, 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, Daison Pursley, Levi Roberts, Johnny Rodriguez, Joe Saldana, Sam Sauer, Ryan Scott, Jigger Sirois, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danny Stratton, Russ Sweedler, Buddy Taylor, George Tichenor, Bud Tingelstad, Steve Troxell, Bobby Unser, Billy Wease, Ken Weiland, Cole Whitt & Carl Williams
255. (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, Duke Cook, Jay Cornell, A.J. Davis, Duke DeRosa, Danny Ebberts, Bob Ellingham, Dean Erfurth, Russ Faucett, Sarah Fisher, Dan Ford, Josh Ford, Danny Frye Jr., Jim Gates, Johnny Gavin, Roy Gillhamer, Roy Graham, Bob Gregg, Mike Groff, 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, Buddy Kofoid, Bill Kojis, Bill Kollman, Jim Lauri IV, Buddy Lee, Donnie Lehmann, Bob Lithgow, Eddie Loomis, Jim Bob Luebbert, Dave Lundy, Jim Malloy, Bobby Marshman, Larry McCloskey, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden, Al Miller, J.R. Miller, Stephanie Mockler, Mitchel Moles, 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, Taylor Reimer, 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, 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
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET OWNER 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: Don Kenyon, 1967: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1968: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1969: Jack Stroud, 1970: Doug Caruthers, 1971: Doug Caruthers, 1972: Shannon Buick Company, 1973: Doug Caruthers, 1974: Don Kenyon, 1975: Ron Tripp, 1976: Ron Tripp, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Doug & Dana Caruthers, 1979: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1980: Don Kenyon, 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
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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
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2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER & TEAM ROSTER:
A
MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (BSL Racing #7NZ)
�OLIVER AKARD/Fort Myers, FL (OMR Motorsports #41)
JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis #00)
JARETT ANDRETTI/Mooresville, NC (RMS Racing #18)
JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (CB Industries #84 & CB Industries #86)
EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports #15)
B
BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (TKH Motorsports #21H)
�AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC (Dave Mac Motorsports #17B & Sam Johnson Racing #17B)
KEVIN BAYER/Bixby, OK (Kenny & Kevin Bayer #91K)
SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (CB Industries #84)
JONATHAN BEASON/Broken Arrow, OK (Hard Eight Racing #8J)
BRETT BECKER/Odessa, TX (Brett Becker Racing #2B)
KYLE BEILMAN/Los Angeles, CA (Beilman Motorsports #31)
ROBERT BELL/Colfax, IA (Robert Bell #71B)
BLAZE BENNETT/Parker, CO (Blaze Bennett #10B)
DAN BENNETT/Akron, NY (Dan Bennett #5J)
LANCE BENNETT/Aurora, CO (Cappy Mason #10 & Cappy Mason #91)
RYAN BERNAL/Hollister, CA (Matt Wood Racing #87w)
TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK (Berryhill Family Racing #17)
�RYAN BICKETT/Ramona, SD (Ryan Bickett #17H)
JOEY BISHOP/Camarillo, CA (Bishop Motorsports #45)
COLE BODINE/Rossville, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing #39BC)
J.R. BOOTH/Flemington, N.J. (Shannon Mausteller #5A)
SAGE BORDENAVE/French Camp, CA (MF Motorsports #35x)
BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci #9)
CLINTON BOYLES/Greenwood, MO (RAMS Racing #14s)
�BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Brannon Corporation #40)
GLENN BRATTI/Springdale, AR (Glenn Bratti #24T)
KEVIN BREWER/Owasso, OK (Walrus Racing-Brewer Motorsports #47K)
ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Tom Malloy #25m)
CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN (Chase Briscoe Racing #5B)
KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71)
JAKE BUBAK/Arvada, CO (Patrick Bourke #27B)
�TRAVIS BUCKLEY/Auckland, NZ (BSL Racing #7NZ)
STEVE BUCKWALTER/Royersford, PA (Brian Buckwalter #25B)
BOBBY BUTLER/Upper Black Eddy, PA (Glenn Motorsports #12)
C
JORDAN CALENDINE/Peru, IN (Alan Calendine #38)
�BRIAN CARBER/Lewisberry, PA (Hayward Motorsports #19)
TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K & Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #98K)
ROBERT CARSON/Concord, CA (Karen & Howard Segur #99)
TREVOR CASEY/Altoona, IA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports #00 & Casey Racing #2c)
MICHAEL CLARK/Brazil, IN (Michael Clark #8)
MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Abacus Racing #57)
JESSE COLWELL/Red Bluff, CA (Jay Mounce & Gavin Stout #14H)
JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Central Motor Sports #85)
COLBY COPELAND/Roseville, CA (Tom Malloy #25m)
SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Danny Stamper #86)
TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing #7BC)
CADE COWLES/Coweta, OK (Gariss Racing #70)
IAN CREAGER/Covington, OH (Tod Creager #36)
�BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #97)
�CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing #26)
KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Glenn Styres Racing #3G)
D
CONOR DALY/Noblesville, IN (DiaEdge Racing #47D
MASON DAUGHERTY/Lawton, OK (Berryhill Family Racing #97m)
ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Bundy Built Motorsports #9m)
�COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Clauson Marshall Racing #47BC)
ANDREW DEAL/Caney, KS (Mike Deal #15D)
�JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Petry Motorsports #35)
JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson #21D)
TYLER DOLACKI/Fresno, CA (MF Motorsports #35)
E
�MARIAH EDE/Fresno, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71E)
TYLER EDWARDS/Salina, OK (Dragonfly Aviation #36x)
CORY ELIASON/Visalia, CA (Rudeen Racing #26)
CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Paul May Motorsports #9, Kyle Larson Racing #9 & CB Industries #84)
ANTHONY ESBERG/Kelseyville, CA (Anthony Esberg #1x)
THOMAS ESBERG/Kelseyville, CA (Thomas Esberg #8x)
�J.R. EWING/Phillipsburg, KS (J.R. Ewing #2c)
F
MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Marcie Campbell #7J & Graunstadt Enterprises #14)
ANDREW FELKER/Carl Junction, MO (RAB Racing #57A)
SANTINO FERRUCCI/Woodbury, CT (Dave Mac Motorsports #16)
CHAD FREWALDT/Kansas City, KS (Chad Frewaldt #4c & Chad Frewaldt #9F)
BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile #51)
G
RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (R & G, Inc. #46)
RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Kevin Arnold #43)
CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett #15x)
NOAH GASS/Mounds, OK (Randy Gass #20G)
CHETT GEHRKE/Broken Arrow, OK (A.J. Felker #37)
KAMERON GLADISH/Indianapolis, IN (Gladish Motorsports #4K)
JIMMY GLENN/Middletown, DE (Glenn Motorsports #7G)
SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Matt Wood Racing #17w)
TONY GOMES/Modesto, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports #73x)
JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing #2J)
RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN (Gray Racing #81G)
�TREY GROPP/Lincoln, NE (Jay Mounce & Gavin Stout #00 & Team Ripper #21KS)
MAX GUILFORD/Auckland, NZ (Benic Enterprises #3NZ)
H
NOAH HARRIS/Broken Arrow, OK (Jimmy Harris #20H)
RON HAZELTON/Chatsworth, CA (Ron Hazelton #15ws)
ERIC HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (Rich Heydenreich #11)
JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (John Givens #22)
CASEY HICKS/Westwood, KS (Casey Hicks #5H)
�EMILIO HOOVER/Broken Arrow, OK (Team Ripper #21K)
I
DYLAN ITO/Ventura, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports #73)
J
SHAWN JACKSON/Bear, DE (Shawn Jackson #7J)
CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (BSL Racing #7NZ & Six8 Motorsports #68)
COLBY JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Del Morris #17K)
KENNEY JOHNSON/Bethany, CT (Jeff Johnson #46)
KYLER JOHNSON/Quinter, KS (Kyler Johnson Racing #45x)
SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO (Sam Johnson Racing #72J)
CURTIS JONES/Sand Springs, OK (Curtis Jones Motorsports #10x)
KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Tri-Fecta Motorsports #7u)
ROBBY JOSETT/Santa Clarita, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports #73B)
COREY JOYNER/Concordia, KS (Corey Joyner #11H)
K
BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
TOMMY KOUNS/Lebanon, IN (Tommy Kouns #98)
RILEY KREISEL/Warsaw, MO (Ron Cox #19)
TOMMY KUNSMAN/Bethlehem, PA (Tommy Kunsman #21)
CARSON KVAPIL/Mooresville, NC (Marc Dailey #2MD)
L
GAGE LANEY/Owasso, OK (Jay Mounce & Gavin Stout #14H)
KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Kyle Larson Racing #1K & CB Industries #86x)
BILLY LAWLESS/Fresno, CA (Lawless Racing #17L)
C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Josh Ford Motorsports #89x)
AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Team Taylor Racing #11L)
BEAU LEMIRE/Placerville, CA (Lemire Racing #14)
RICKY LEWIS/Ventura, CA (NP Motorsports #1EM)
M
CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Tarlton Motorsports #21)
MICHAEL MAGIC/Winder, GA (Mike Magic #4m)
TREY MARCHAM/Newcastle, OK (Trey Marcham #32)
MICHAEL MARKEY/Hanover, PA (Michael Markey #7)
RANDY MAUSTELLER/Bloomsburg, PA (Randy Mausteller #21)
SHANNON MAUSTELLER/Selinsgrove, PA (Randy Mausteller #21m)
ACE McCARTHY/Tahlequah, OK (Jay Mounce & Gavin Stout #00 & MSW Motorsports #00)
CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Chase McDermand #40m)
JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises #4, Robert Dalby Motorsports #4, RAMS Racing #4A, Dean Alexander #5T & Hayward Motorsports #19)
CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports #08)
MAX McLAUGHLIN/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports #z8)
SHANNON McQUEEN/Bakersfield, CA (McQueen Racing #7)
THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing #7x)
JOE B. MILLER/Millersville, MO (Chris Lewis #49)
ZAC MILLIKIN/Pryor, OK (Hunt Brothers #3ps)
ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports #19m)
GREG MITCHELL/Parkersburg, WV (Greg Mitchell #001)
MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (J.W. Mitchell Motorsports #37m)
MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Matt Wood Racing #07w)
KALEB MONTGOMERY/Templeton, CA (Woodland Autosports #8w)
JAKE MORGAN/Elk Grove, CA (Luke OB Racing #45)
CHANCE MORTON/Coweta, OK (Blane Morton #7MF)
KADE MORTON/Coweta, OK (Blane Morton #8m)
N
TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson Racing #88)
JAKE NEUMAN/New Berlin, IL (Jim Neuman #3N)
RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing #6BC)
TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (NP Motorsports #1p)
O
BRANT O'BANION/Norfolk, NE (Aaron McDonald #9)
P
RYAN PADGETT/Anadarko, OK (NP Motorsports #1N, Phil Shapel #84J & Wayne Crow #98)
RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz #8)
JACE PARK/Overland Park, KS (CB Industries #87)
DAYLIN PERREIRA/Hilo, HI (Keliinoi Bros. Racing #8)
AIDEN PURDUE/Clinton, IL (Brian & Deidre Martin #11m & McCreery Motorsports #57D)
DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
R
�CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19A)
KEITH RAUCH/Thornton, CO (Patrick Bourke #27)
MATT RECHEK/Beaver Dam, WI (Shoestring Racing #38)
TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #25K & Dave Mac Motorsports #25K)
�HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (McCreery Motorsports #57D & RAB Racing #57K)
RYAN ROBINSON/Foresthill, CA (Del Morris #71R)
JODY ROSENBOOM/Rock Rapids, IA (Jody Rosenboom #14)
JACK ROUTSON/Waterman, IL (RAB Racing #57A)
KENDALL RUBLE/Vincennes, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin #11)
TYLER RUST/Haubstadt, IN (Jim Neuman #3x)
S
CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale #32)
KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Karter Sarff Racing #21K)
C.J. SARNA/Palm Desert, CA (C.J. Sarna #20)
JEFF SCHINDLER/Evansville, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin #11)
STEPHEN SCHNAPF/Newburgh, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin #11s)
LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Tom Malloy #25)
ALEX SEWELL/Broken Arrow, OK (Andy Sewell #8)
�JONATHAN SHAFER/Ashland, OH (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67K)
SHAUN SHAPEL/Wichita, KS (Phil Shapel #84s)
MIKE SNIDER/Kelseyville, CA (Lauren Snider #6K)
JARRETT SOARES/Discovery Bay, CA (Steven Soares #12)
MARK SOKOL/Doylestown, PA (Mark Sokol #50)
CARSON SOUSA/Red Bluff, CA (Jay Mounce & Gavin Stout #00)
�BLAKE SPICER/Marysville, KS (Terry John #4s)
ROBBY SPINO/Wallingford, CT (Jim Neuman #3x)
BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA (Griffiths Motorsport #75AU)
JEFF STASA/Kingman, KS (SBR Motorsports #91)
KURT STELLHORN/Red Bud, IL (Kurt Stellhorn #17x)
RICKY STENHOUSE JR./Olive Branch, MS (Clauson Marshall Racing #17s)
T
GARY TAYLOR/Snohomish, WA (Mike & Brian Dunlap #32)
ZAC TAYLOR/Green River, WY (Todd Henry #71T)
KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports #5)
TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK (Tyler Thomas Motorsports #91T)
TOMMY THOMPSON/Ten Mile, TN (Tommy Thompson #3T)
TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T & Dave Mac Motorsports #88)
�RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries #84 & CB Industries #85T)
V
JIM VANZANT/Prescott, AZ (Jim Vanzant #3v)
BEN VARNER/Harbor Springs, MI (Gladish Motorsports #25v)
W
BRANDON WAELTI/Sun Prairie, WI (Martin Racing #3w)
BRETT WANNER/Shoemakersville, PA (Jamie Speers #00)
GLENN WATERLAND/Christchurch, NZ (Glenn & Hayley Waterland #11c)
AARON WERNER/Colman, SD (Donovan Peterson Racing #11w)
�BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian #01)
BEN WIESZ/Colfax, CA (Colby Wiesz #21w)
�HAYDEN WILLIAMS/Auckland, NZ (BSL Racing #1NZ)
KYLE WILSON/Jenks, OK (Jay Wilson #05)
JEFF WIMMENAUER/New Whiteland, IN (Jeff Wimmenauer #15J)
CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries #89)
ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Matt Wood Racing #37w)
BRENDON WISELEY/Sand Springs, OK (Rick Horn #7w)
KEVIN WOODY JR./Victor, NY (Brian Buckwalter #0, Dave Mac Motorsports #10 & Brian Buckwalter #25B)
BEN WORTH/Coalinga, CA (Dean Alexander #5K)
Y
J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Rick Ware Racing #51)
Z
JEFF ZELINSKI/Joliet, IL (Roger Engstrom #18)
A.J. BENDER BREAKS THROUGH AT VENTURA
VENTURA, CA – NOVEMBER 28, 2021… Using a borrowed engine, A.J. Bender (San Diego, CA) raced to victory in Saturday's USAC West Coast Sprint Car portion of the "80th Turkey Night Grand Prix" at Ventura Raceway. Racing the family owned #21B K&R Motorsports / Schweitzer Racing DRC, the regular competitor with the USAC/CRA 410s and California Lightning Sprints earned $3,000 for his efforts. Ryan Bernal, Carson Macedo, top qualifier Troy Rutherford, and Chase Randall rounded out the top-five drivers.
While constant winds were taking their toll on the racing surface, the eighth starting Bender steadily made his way to fourth and within striking distance of the leaders. As Rutherford and Bernal had a torrid battle for the top spot, the changing track conditions worked into Bender's favor. As most of the racers chose the outside groove, Bender found traction on the bottom and within two laps had taken over the lead on lap 26. Still facing the challenge from Bernal, Bender escaped from the leader in series wins to score the biggest victory of his career.
Before winning his first USAC West Coast 360 main event, A.J. Bender was fourth in his heat race, finished second in his qualifying race, ran eighth in the dash, and ranked eighth out of the 28 racers in event points after Friday's action.
Using a passing points format, Troy Rutherford (Ojai, CA) emerged as Friday's Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier. Driving his Trench Shoring / Grimes Rock entry with a Roush-Yates Ford powerplant, Rutherford dominated the opening night by winning the Extreme Mufflers First Heat Race, Ultra Shield Products First Qualifier, and the $1,200 Rod End Supply Dash. The former Ventura track champion led 22 laps of the feature before scoring fourth at the checkered flags.
T.J. Smith (Fresno, CA) returned to USAC West Coast action and won the Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars Second Heat Race as well as the Saldana Racing Products Second Qualifier. Piloting Caden Sarale's #32 Tel-Tac / SB Properties CS9, the former Santa Maria track champion placed second in the dash, was second in event points, and finished twenty-first in the main event after an early exit.
Chase Randall (Waco, TX) made his first series start and won the Competition Suspension Incorporated Third Heat Race. Driving the family owned #9 Competition Suspension Incorporated / Eagle Chassis entry, Randall placed third in his qualifier, ranked fourth in event points, and scored fourth in the 30-lap main event.
Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) won Saturday's 12-lap Rod End Supply Semi-Main Event. Racing the May Motorsports' #8M Fastenal / Coopers Propane Maxim, Johnson ran fifth in his heat race, scored sixth in his qualifier, ranked twelfth in event points, and finished sixth in the feature after starting tenth.
After having mechanical issues on Friday, Max Adams (Loomis, CA) rebounded to earn Saturday's Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award with a twenty-first to seventh place run in the feature. Piloting Keith Ford's #73 Sun Valley AG Transport Triple X, Adams was twenty-eighth in event points and finished twelfth in the Semi-main to earn a starting spot in the main event.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, James Herrera (New Cuyama, CA) earned the event's Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award. Driving his #5J Cuyama Buckhorn / The Buck Stop Coffee Shop Maxim, Herrera was eighth in his heat race, ran eleventh in his qualifier, ranked twenty-fourth in passing points, and scored fourteenth in the semi-main.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Hoosier Racing Tires, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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 series Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SPECIAL EVENT RESULTS: November 26 & 27, 2021 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – "ARP 80th Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix"
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps – Held Nov. 26) 1. Troy Rutherford (#11 Rutherford), 2. Kyle Edwards (#39 Edwards), 3. Ryan Bernal (#57 Silva), 4. Brody Roa (#8O May), 5. Bradley Terrell (#43 Terrell), 6. Jason McDougal (#21K Kruseman), 7. Ricky Lewis (#3F Finkenbinder), 8. Ryan Timmons (#29T Timmons), 9. Joey Bishop (#45 Bishop), 10. Gage Cheek (#22 Cheek). NT.
SWAY-A-WAY TORSION BARS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps – Held Nov. 26) 1. T.J. Smith (#32 Sarale), 2. Carson Macedo (#21 Tarlton), 3. Tanner Boul (#99T Boul), 4. Jarrett Soares (#12 Soares), 5. Tristan Guardino (#15T Guardino), 6. Kaleb Montgomery (#73X Ford), 7. Nate Robinson (#0K Perkins), 8. Camie Bell (#29 Bell), 9. Colby Johnson (#38 Johnson). NT.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INCORPORATED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps – Held Nov. 26) 1. Chase Randall (#9 Randall), 2. Jacob Tuttle (#87P Tuttle), 3. Nick Robfogel (#3 Matterii), 4. A.J. Bender (#21B Bender), 5. Chase Johnson (#8M May), 6. Rick Hendrix (#15 Hendrix), 7. Jake Hodges (#4 Hodges), 8. James Herrera (#5J Herrera), 9. Max Adams (#73 Ford). NT.
ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFIER: (12 laps – Held Nov. 26) 1. Rutherford, 2. Macedo, 3. Randall, 4. Guardino, 5. Edwards, 6. Ch.Johnson, 7. Soares, 8. Montgomery, 9. Timmons, 10. Hendrix, 11. Herrera, 12. Boul, 13. Cheek, 14. Bell. NT.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS SECOND QUALIFIER: (12 laps – Held Nov. 26) 1. Smith, 2. Bernal, 3. Bender, 4. Lewis, 5. McDougal, 6. Robfogel, 7. Co.Johnson, 8. Terrell, 9. Hodges, 10. Robinson, 11. Tuttle, 12. Bishop.13. Roa. NT.
ROD END SUPPLY DASH: (15 laps – Held Nov. 26) 1. Troy Rutherford, 2. T.J. Smith, 3. Ryan Bernal, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Chase Randall, 6. Ricky Lewis, 7. Tristan Guardino, 8. A.J. Bender, 9. Nick Robfogel, 10. Jason McDougal. NT.
ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps – Held Nov. 27) 1. Ch.Johnson, 2. Edwards, 3. Terrell, 4. Montgomery, 5. Soares, 6. Boul, 7. Roa, 8. Tuttle, 9. Timmons, 10. Hodges, 11. Hendrix, 12. Adams, 13. Bishop, 14. Herrera, 15. Cheek, 16. Robinson, 17. Bell, 18. Co.Johnson. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, with starting positions – Held Nov. 27) 1. A.J. Bender (8), 2. Ryan Bernal (3), 3. Carson Macedo (5), 4. Troy Rutherford (1), 5. Chase Randall (4), 6. Chase Johnson (10), 7. Max Adams (21), 8. Jacob Tuttle (17), 9. Brody Roa (16), 10. Kyle Edwards (11), 11. Tanner Boul (15), 12. Rick Hendrix (20), 13. James Herrera (24), 14. Joey Bishop (22), 15. Cory Eliason (24, #21K Kruseman), 16. Tristan Guardino (7), 17. Bradley Terrell (12), 18. Ricky Lewis (6), 19. Kaleb Montgomery (13), 20. Jake Hodges (19), 21. T.J. Smith (2), 22. Ryan Timmons (18), 23. Nick Robfogel (9), 24. Jarrett Soares (14). NT.
----------------------------
**Lewis and Hodges flipped on lap 19 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Rutherford, Lap 14 Bernal, Laps 15-23 Rutherford, Laps 24-30 Bender.
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER: Troy Rutherford
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Max Adams (21st to 7th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: James Herrera
SEAVEY TAKES TURKEY NIGHT, KOFOID IS USAC MIDGET CHAMP
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ventura, California (November 27, 2021)………Logan Seavey knows how to close the curtain, fade to black and roll credits in style.
On Saturday night, Seavey slammed the door on the 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship campaign with a monumental score in Saturday's 80th running of the 98-lap ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix.
The season closing victory with the series at southern California's Ventura Raceway allowed Seavey to become the first driver to win the season finales on dirt for all three of USAC's National divisions.
In September of this year, he etched his name as the winner of the final USAC Silver Crown race of the year on dirt at Eldora Speedway. In mid-November, he shut down the Arizona Speedway dirt oval for the final time with a triumph in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season finale.
For a born and bred California racer such as Seavey, the best truly was saved for last.
The Sutter, Calif. native and his California based team led three different times for a total of 70 laps in the Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota, but their third time in the lead proved to be the charm.
Seavey swapped the lead with newly crowned USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Champion Buddy Kofoid a total of four times in a 25-lap span with Seavey taking the lead for good on the 42nd circuit, then controlling the remainder of the way with Kofoid in close quarters just behind.
The second victory of the year, and eighth of Seavey's USAC National Midget career, moved him into a tie for 80th on the all-time series win list alongside Brady Bacon, Merle Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Hank Butcher, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Ronnie Duman, Brian Gerster, Justin Grant, Kenny Irwin Jr, Eddie Johnson, Buddy Kofoid, Michael Lewis, Andy Michner and Josh Wise.
However, for Seavey, this particular win was, by far, the one they'll most cherish.
"Turkey Night has basically been number one on the list for our whole team," Seavey explained. "I'm from California, crewmen Jerome Rodela and Chris Tramel are both from California and (car owner) Tom Malloy is from California. This is the race we've been looking at all year and this is the race we've been preparing for. This is the biggest race of the year for us."
Saturday night's race was chock-full of historical USAC moments. Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) recorded Fatheadz Fast Qualifying time to become the first woman to win the pole in Turkey Night's grand history, which dates back to its inaugural running in 1934.
Her Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports counterpart, Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), qualified second and started alongside Bryson, making it the first time in USAC National Midget history that two women qualified first and second.
The duo led the field to the green with Bryson controlling the pace early on, leading the initial 17 laps of the event, which were the first ever in Turkey Night history led by a woman.
The action was interrupted early on by a crash in turn three on the 15th lap which involved both Brenham Crouch and Thomas Meseraull while they tussled for the 27th spot. Crouch was the unluckiest victim, getting upside down.
Meseraull started the race via provisional after falling ill earlier in the day, arriving at the track just about an hour before feature time. Both drivers were okay, although both dropped out early after initially returning to the track following the incident.
Just before the red, Seavey, who started the race from the ninth position, had surged from fifth to third in one fell swoop on lap 15. After the red, he remained on a rapid advance to the second spot on lap 17 around the outside of Reimer for second, then around the outside of Bryson for the race lead just moments later on lap 18.
Following Seavey through the grapevine was Kofoid who utilized a slider to gravitate into the lead in turn three on lap 26. Seavey subsequently returned the favor and powered around the outside of Kofoid in turn four to regain the lead on lap 28.
Back and forth, back and forth, they went with Kofoid charging back into the lead on lap 33, using the topside to make the successful maneuver, amid both he and Seavey encountering an intimate meeting with lapped traffic.
Kofoid's run proved to be short-lived yet again as, nine trips around the 1/5-mile dirt oval later, Seavey found a crevice to sneak back under Kofoid for the lead in turn one on lap 41 as the leaders continued to negotiate the endless logjam of lapped cars. It all came just in time, according to Seavey.
"When he went by for the lead, I knew it was going to be tough to get back," Seavey admitted. "He was really trying to get to the rubber first. Luckily, it wasn't quite in coming off four and I was able to drive back around him. We put on a decent race for a few laps, then the rubber came, and it was just hold on and save tires."
A yellow on lap 50 for 22nd running Emerson Axsom's backwards spin in turn one nearly collected the race leader, Seavey, as he darted right to narrowly avoid catastrophe. No harm, no foul. But the stoppage, as it turned out, would completely change the complexion of the race, something Seavey looked into his crystal ball and foretold.
"I kind of knew early that the rubber was coming, and I was just charging really hard to get to the front," Seavey detailed. "As soon as I got to the lead, it was full save. But then Buddy got me, and I thought at the time, that was going to be it.
For me, it was just like Silver Crown racing where you get to the lead and try to hold on for the rest of the race," Seavey continued. "That experience probably helped me a lot right there. I was able to get back by Buddy in lapped traffic and I saw him move down, so I knew he was feeling something on the bottom. As soon as I went by him, I went straight back to the bottom, and I wasn't moving after that."
And that's where he stayed throughout the remainder, never meandering from the bottom, which didn't allow Kofoid any room to search and make an attack even though he was able to get to Seavey's rear bumper numerous occasions throughout the second half of the race, keeping pace within one to five car lengths throughout.
Following a lap 85 restart in which 21st running Jade Avedisian spun in turn one and ninth-place Cannon McIntosh stopped with a flat right rear on the back straightaway, the 45-minute rule came into effect, forcing the feature to be red flagged and necessitating an open red situation for fuel and additional adjustments as long as tires did not leave the ground.
Mitchel Moles used the late-race restart with 15 laps remaining to blitz underneath and past Kyle Larson for third exiting turn two. One last caution hit with seven to go for a Cannon McIntosh spin between turns three and four, creating one more final restart for Seavey to handle.
Seavey expertly navigated the choppy waters, not allowing Kofoid much of a chance to get a bumper in edgewise. Although, there was once such occasion with five laps to go in which Kofoid got into Seavey, which received the full brunt of Seavey's attention at that point, even though time was running out on his right rear rubber, and Kofoid's too.
"Both of our tires were about gone," Seavey noted of he and Kofoid's right rears during the final laps. "I felt him bump me off four with a few to go and I knew it was time to go. I knew I had a little bit of tire left and kind of took off a little bit. I don't know how close he was at the end, but I was nervous. I ran hard the last five laps, and I was praying the last lap that we didn't blow a tire."
The tire remained strong and the driver in the seat stood tall. Seavey kept Kofoid at bay in the final round and delivered the final knockout blow with an exhilarating wheelstand as he raced under the checkered flag for his first Turkey Night winning experience with Kofoid, Moles, Larson and Bryson rounding out the top-five.
Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) already had knowledge of his USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship when he took the green flag in Saturday night's feature. The insurmountable 51-point lead allowed Kofoid to play with house money where he led twice for 11 laps to earn a career-best Turkey Night Grand Prix result of second in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Toyota/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) rounded out the podium in his first Turkey Night Grand Prix start, which earned him both a career best USAC National Midget feature finish and Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors to become just the seventh recipient of the award to finish inside the top-three, joining Kody Swanson (2nd in 2006), Levi Roberts (2nd in 2009), Dalton Armstrong (3rd in 2010), Ryan Bernal (3rd in 2012), Carson Macedo (3rd in 2016) and Cannon McIntosh (2nd in 2019).
Kyle Larson's fourth-place finish was, oddly enough, the lowest finishing position of his Turkey Night Grand Prix career. The Elk Grove, Calif. native also finished fourth in his Rookie year of 2011. However, he did continue his incredible run in the event to nine consecutive top-four finishes in nine career starts.
Prior to Saturday, the best Turkey Night Grand Prix finish by a woman was 13th by Denise Bennet in 1988. In 2021, three drivers finished 13th or better with Kaylee Bryson leading the way in fifth, Taylor Reimer eighth and Macdoel, California's Maria Cofer 13th.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 27, 2021 – Ventura Raceway Speedway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – 80th ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.678; 2. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.724; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.735; 4. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-11.740; 5. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-11.758; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-11.778; 7. Maria Cofer, 57, Abacus-11.782; 8. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-11.801; 9. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-11.813; 10. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-11.824; 11. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-11.834; 12. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.835; 13. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.845; 14. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-11.856; 15. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-11.875; 16. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.915; 17. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-11.923; 18. Chase Elliott, 9, Larson-11.979; 19. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-11.993; 20. Chance Crum, 26R, Rudeen-11.998; 21. Jade Avedisian, 86, CBI-12.022; 22. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-12.023; 23. Kaleb Montgomery, 8w, Woodland-12.053; 24. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.062; 25. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-12.062; 26. Zeb Wise, 37w, Wood-12.068; 27. Cory Eliason, 26, Rudeen-12.103; 28. Matt Mitchell, 37m, Mitchell-12.151; 29. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-12.205; 30. Chase Johnson, 68, Six8-12.227; 31. C.J. Leary, 89x, Ford-12.235; 32. Colby Copeland, 25m, Malloy-12.273; 33. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-12.297; 34. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.305; 35. Tyler Dolacki, 35, MF-12.307; 36. Ben Worth, 5K, Alexander-12.322; 37. Max Adams, 7NZ, BSL-12.326; 38. Carson Garrett, 15x, Garrett-12.358; 39. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.536; 40. Robby Josett, 73B, Ford-12.726; 41. Sage Bordenave, 35x, MF-12.730; 42. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.912; 43. Terry Nichols, 1p, NP-12.966; 44. Ron Hazelton, 15ws, Hazelton-13.101; 45. Ryan Padgett, 1N, NP-13.282; 46. Joey Bishop, 45, Bishop-13.311; 47. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-NT; 48. Ricky Lewis, 1EM, NP-NT; 49. Jason McDougal, 5T, Alexander-NT; 50. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFIER: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Chance Crum, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Zeb Wise, 6. Colby Copeland, 7. Dylan Ito, 8. Kaleb Montgomery, 9. Carson Garrett, 10. Tyler Dolacki, 11. Sage Bordenave, 12. Ron Hazelton, 13. Randi Pankratz. 2:25.65
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND QUALIFIER: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brenham Crouch, 2. Jade Avedisian, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Cory Eliason, 5. Chase Johnson, 6. Chase Elliott, 7. Brody Fuson, 8. Ben Worth, 9. Hayden Reinbold, 10. Ryan Padgett, 11. C.J. Sarna, 12. Jarrett Soares. 2:28.09
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD QUALIFIER: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Bryant Wiedeman, 2. Tanner Carrick, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Chase Randall, 6. Matt Mitchell, 7. Robby Josett, 8. Max Adams, 9. Caden Sarale, 10. Terry Nichols, 11. Joey Bishop, 12. C.J. Leary. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Zeb Wise, 2. Chase Johnson, 3. Colby Copeland, 4. Chase Randall, 5. Matt Mitchell, 6. Robby Josett, 7. Kaleb Montgomery, 8. Max Adams, 9. Chase Elliott, 10. Caden Sarale, 11. Hayden Reinbold, 12. Ryan Padgett, 13. Terry Nichols, 14. Tyler Dolacki, 15. Brody Fuson, 16. Ben Worth, 18. Dylan Ito. NT
FEATURE: (98 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (9), 2. Buddy Kofoid (3), 3. Mitchel Moles (4), 4. Kyle Larson (8), 5. Kaylee Bryson (1), 6. Justin Grant (11), 7. Ryan Bernal (10), 8. Taylor Reimer (2), 9. Tanner Thorson (20), 10. Zeb Wise (23), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (13), 12. Chase Randall (26), 13. Maria Cofer (7), 14. Kevin Thomas Jr. (22), 15. Chance Crum (14), 16. Colby Copeland (25), 17. Chris Windom (17), 18. Carson Macedo (19), 19. Cannon McIntosh (6), 20. Tanner Carrick (16), 21. Chase Johnson (24), 22. Chase Elliott (27-O), 23. Jade Avedisian (15), 24. Ryan Timms (5), 25. Brenham Crouch (12), 26. Cory Eliason (21), 27. Emerson Axsom (18), 28. Thomas Meseraull (28-P). NT
(O) represents a promoter's option
(P) represents a USAC provisional starter
**Jason McDougal flipped during practice. Dylan Ito flipped during the semi. Brenham Crouch flipped on lap 15 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Kaylee Bryson, Laps 18-25 Logan Seavey, Laps 26-27 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 28-32 Logan Seavey, Laps 33-41 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 42-98 Logan Seavey.
FINAL USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-2586, 2-Chris Windom-2497, 3-Justin Grant-2372, 4-Emerson Axsom-2322, 5-Tanner Thorson-2293, 6-Logan Seavey-2211, 7-Thomas Meseraull-1982, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1972, 9-Daison Pursley-1892, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1852.
FINAL OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-230, 2-Tanner Thorson-209, 3-Chris Windom-204, 4-Thomas Meseraull-178, 5-Logan Seavey-171, 6-Brady Bacon-170, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-167, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Buddy Kofoid-123, 10-Shane Cottle-106.
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Don Basile Rookie of the Race: Mitchel Moles
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Kaylee Bryson
Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner: Justin Grant
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Qualifier Winner: Brenham Crouch
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Qualifier Winner: Bryant Wiedeman
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Zeb Wise
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Chase Randall (26th to 12th)
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Matt Mitchell
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Maria Cofer
CANNON FIRES THE FIRST SHOT:
McINTOSH TOPS TURKEY NIGHT PRACTICE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ventura, California (November 26, 2021)………Cannon McIntosh led all challengers as the fastest driver in Friday night's USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship practice at California's Ventura Raceway.
The Bixby, Okla. native timed in with an 11.827 second lap in his Dave Mac Motorsports/DriveWFX.com – D.A. McIntosh – Smith Titanium/Spike/Speedway Toyota around the 1/5-mile dirt oval during the session, which was the final tune-up prior the 80th running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura on Saturday, November 27.
McIntosh took the track on Friday in the Dave Mac Motorsports No. 17B, renumbered to his traditional No. 08 for this weekend's activity. The No. 08 was out of commission following a last lap incident during Wednesday night's feature at Merced (Calif.) Speedway.
The last, and only prior visit by McIntosh to Ventura and Turkey Night, came in 2019 when he led a race-high 67 laps before finishing 2nd to Kyle Larson in the 98-lapper, and was subsequently named the Don Basile Rookie of the Race.
USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship point leader Buddy Kofoid was second overall in practice at 11.842. Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) holds a 47-point lead over defending series champion Chris Windom entering the season finale on Saturday. Windom (Canton, Ill.) was eighth overall.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) timed in third overall at 11.874 while Ryan Bernal (Hollister, Calif.) was fourth at 11.903 and the fastest Turkey Night Rookie, Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), was fifth at 11.954.
Forty-four cars took time in the practice. Three-time Turkey Night Grand Prix winner and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) did not participate in practice nor did Turkey Night Rookie and 2020 NASCAR Cup Series titlist Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Calif.) due to prior obligations.
Larson's No. 1K was driven in practice by Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) who was 29th quickest in the car. Thomas also practiced in his ride for Saturday's race, the Petry Motorsports No. 5, and timed in 20th quickest. Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.) practiced Elliott's No. 9, timing in 22nd overall. Golobic will compete in Matt Wood Racing's No. 17w on Saturday.
Automotive Racing Products, the title sponsor of the 80th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix, has added $15,000 to the event purse from top-to-bottom for the $10,000-to-win USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event at Ventura on Saturday night, November 27.
USAC Western States Midget champions Robby Flock (1986-1989-1993-2002) and Johnny Cofer (1994) will serve as co-grand marshals for Saturday's race.
Saturday's program features single-car qualifying, three last chance races and a 98-lap feature event for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship along with a USAC West Coast Sprint Car semi-feature and feature.
On Saturday, pits open at 11am Pacific, with the drivers meeting at 2:30pm, the grandstands opening at 3pm and cars on track at 3:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing.
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 $45 for members & $50 for non-members.
Race tickets are available now at www.venturaraceway.net.
The Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: November 26, 2021 – Ventura Raceway Speedway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – 80th ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix
PRACTICE: 1. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-11.827; 2. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.842; 3. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-11.874; 4. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-11.903; 5. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-11.954; 6. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.970; 7. Zeb Wise, 37w, Wood-12.019; 8. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-12.036; 9. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.042; 10. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.048; 11. Chase Johnson, 68, Six8-12.084; 12. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.089; 13. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-12.095; 14. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.125; 15. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.143; 16. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-12.161; 17. Jade Avedisian, 86, CBI-12.182; 18. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-12.197; 19. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-12.205; 20. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-12.207; 21. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-12.218; 22. Shane Golobic, 9, Larson-12.224; 23. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.235; 24. Maria Cofer, 57, Abacus-12.283; 25. Max Adams, 7NZ, BSL-12.314; 26. Chance Crum, 26R, Rudeen-12.316; 27. Kaleb Montgomery, 8w, Woodland-12.411; 28. C.J. Leary, 89x, Ford-12.413; 29. Kevin Thomas Jr., 1K, Larson-12.427; 30. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.433; 31. Carson Garrett, 15x, Garrett-12.437; 32. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.441; 33. Ben Worth, 5K, Alexander-12.458; 34. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-12.460; 35. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.490; 36. Ricky Lewis, 1EM, NP-12.524; 37. Tyler Dolacki, 35, MF-12.631; 38. Terry Nichols, 1p, NP-12.681; 39. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.780; 40. Sage Bordenave, 35x, MF-12.869; 41. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-12.900; 42. Joey Bishop, 45, Bishop-13.018; 43. Ron Hazelton, 15ws, Hazelton-13.063; 44. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-13.142.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 27, 2021 – Ventura Raceway Speedway – Ventura, California – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – 80th ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix
TURKEY NIGHT GP ROOKIE CLASS AIMS TO CONTEND SATURDAY AT VENTURA
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ventura, California (November 25, 2021)………Each year, the Turkey Night Grand Prix presents a massively talented crop of drivers from top to bottom, and this year, there's 22 of them with varying degrees of experience and racing backgrounds.
Among them are the Rookies who arrive to stake their claim and make their initial mark on this great race featuring USAC's NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, which will take place for the 80th time this Saturday night, November 27, at California's Ventura Raceway.
The award, named in memory of track owner, promoter and 1999 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Don Basile, made its debut in 1998 with Kasey Kahne the first recipient.
Over the years, the Don Basile Rookie of the Race honors at Turkey Night have been awarded to some of the most talented young racers in America. A glance at the list reveals some of the top names from the sport over the past two decades, including two race winners and seven who'll be in this year's field.
The race winners include the likes of Kyle Larson (2011) and Tanner Thorson (2013), along with a talented bunch who'll all be in the hunt for a win this Saturday night, including Ryan Bernal (2012), Carson Macedo (2016), Zeb Wise (2017), Jason McDougal (2018) and Cannon McIntosh (2019).
These are a group of individuals who've made an impact in their first appearance at the prestigious race early in their career before going onto achieve big things within the racing world.
This year's Rookie lineup has its own share of drivers who are on the cusp of big things themselves along with some who've already established themselves as household names in the sport.
Among those are 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.), a four-time USAC National Midget feature starter this season, who'll make his Turkey Night debut in a second car for Kyle Larson Racing.
Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) and Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) have already driven to victory lane with the USAC National Midgets in their young careers. Axsom has won twice and stands fourth in the series points while Timms recently won his first career USAC feature a week ago at Placerville (Calif.) Speedway, part of his 16 total sprint car and midget wins nationwide this season.
Cory Eliason (Visalia, Calif.) has finished in the top-ten in four of his six starts this season with the USAC National Midgets. The last two years, he's been a frontrunner with the All Star Circuit of Champions winged sprint cars, finishing as the runner-up in points during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Three women are Turkey Night Rookies in 2021, and both have had historic successes with the series in recent years. Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) and Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) are among the eight women in the history of USAC National Midget racing to have finished inside the top-ten during a series main event. Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), meanwhile, is one of six women to set fast qualifying time with the series, having done so a week ago at Placerville.
This year's USAC Western States champion, Blake Bower (Brentwood, Calif.), will attempt to make his first Turkey Night start as is USAC National Midgets' top Rookie for 2021, Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports teammate, Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.).
Seven-time Turkey Night Grand Prix winning car owner Keith Kunz has three Rookies in his stable on the Kunz/Curb-Agajanian team with USAC National Midget Rookies Reimer, as well as 2021 POWRi Midget champ Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) and Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas).
Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.), Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) and Caden Sarale (Stockton, Calif.) are among the experienced Turkey Night Rookies who've all made previous USAC National Midget starts this season on the tour.
They'll be joined by two-time 2021 USAC Western States Midget feature winner Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, Calif.), west coast winged sprint car standout Kaleb Montgomery (Templeton, Calif.), USAC Western States Midget regulars Dylan Ito (Ventura, Calif.) and Terry Nichols (Delano, Calif.), plus versatile wheelman Jarrett Soares (Discovery Bay, Calif.) and Anadarko, Oklahoma's Ryan Padgett.
Automotive Racing Products, the title sponsor of the 80th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix, has added $15,000 to the event purse from top-to-bottom for the $10,000-to-win USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event at Ventura on Saturday night, November 27.
Midget practice, plus USAC West Coast Sprint Car heat races, qualifiers and dash will take place on Friday, November 26 with the sprint car semi-feature and feature events, and the 98-lap USAC Midget season finale taking place on Saturday, November 27.
All tickets that are not reserved are $35. Reserved seats are $45 for ages 13 and older and $20 for ages 12 and under.
Race tickets are available now at www.venturaraceway.net.
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2021 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX MIDGET ROOKIES: (22)
00 JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
07w MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
1N RYAN PADGETT/Anadarko, OK (NP Motorsports)
1p TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (NP Motorsports)
8w KALEB MONTGOMERY/Templeton, CA (Woodland Autosports)
9 BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)
9E CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Kyle Larson Racing)
12 JARRETT SOARES/Discovery Bay, CA (Steven Soares)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports)
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
26 CORY ELIASON/Visalia, CA (Rudeen Racing)
26R CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)
32 CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)
51 BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
73 DYLAN ITO/Ventura, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries)
86 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (CB Industries)
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
PAST DON BASILE TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX ROOKIES OF THE RACE:
1998: Kasey Kahne
1999: Dave Steele
2000: Aaron Pollock
2001: Bobby East
2002: Jerome Rodela
2003: Ryan Durst
2004: Brad Loyet
2005: Kevin Swindell
2006: Kody Swanson
2007: Mike Murgoitio
2008: Nic Faas
2009: Levi Roberts
2010: Dalton Armstrong
2011: Kyle Larson
2012: Ryan Bernal
2013: Tanner Thorson
2014: Isaac Chapple
2015: Robert Dalby
2016: Carson Macedo
2017: Zeb Wise
2018: Jason McDougal
2019: Cannon McIntosh
2020: No Race
KOFOID MAKES CHAMPIONSHIP STATEMENT
WITH USAC MIDGET VICTORY AT MERCED
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Merced, California (November 24, 2021)………In crunch time, you've got to deliver the goods if you want to reap the awards.
Buddy Kofoid brought the hammer and nail to California's Merced Speedway on Wednesday night and, ultimately, arrived one step closer to sealing up the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship in the penultimate round of the series.
The Penngrove, Calif. native took control of the feature with 14 laps remaining, then prevailed following a bevy of late-race restarts to score his sixth series victory of the season in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Toyota/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Kofoid's ninth career USAC National Midget feature triumph equaled Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott, Justin Grant and Chuck Gurney for ninth on the all-time win list.
Most importantly, though, Kofoid extended his lead to 47 in the series' title race entering the season finale this Saturday night at southern California's Ventura Raceway for the Turkey Night Grand Prix where another standard Kofoid performance would cement a championship season.
Kofoid maximized his effort, and point total, to open and close the curtain on the evening at Merced, earning his long-awaited first career USAC National Midget fast time during Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying with a new one-lap track record run of 11.635, erasing the mark of 11.714 set by Carson Macedo 24 hours earlier.
Winning and winning often are two traits that make championship seasons easier to come by. After going more than five months sans a feature win, Kofoid broke through with a score at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway on Nov. 16 and one more for good measure, five races later.
And, speaking of breaking through, Kofoid's Merced win included a hurdle that had stood in his way for over a calendar year after finishing 2nd in both of his two most recent USAC National Midget feature starts at the track dating back an entire calendar year.
"It's really cool to get my sixth win," Kofoid said. "We were close here last year, so I'm glad that we could be one spot better and pick up another win. We got some more points, which is crucial going into Ventura. But there's nothing like winning; it's pretty damn cool."
Kofoid started his race from sixth while CB Industries teammates Jade Avedisian and Kofoid's championship challenger, Chris Windom, occupied the front row. Windom nailed the start and tore around the outside of Avedisian to take over the top spot.
By lap seven, Kofoid had clawed his way to second with a slider of Avedisian between turns three and four. Avedisian, the 15-year-old Californian making just her sixth career series start, wasn't gunshy on trading barbs with Kofoid as she countered Kofoid's move with one of her own in turn one on the eighth lap, retaking the lead briefly before Kofoid got the last word a half-lap later in turns three and four on the cushion.
A lap past halfway of the 30-lap distance, Kofoid tracked down Windom, diving underneath the defending champ in turn three to occupy the spot briefly, but Windom turned down with great zeal and blitzed past Kofoid off the fourth corner to maintain the lead by a half-car length.
Suddenly, on lap 17, seventh starting Tanner Carrick became a player in the game, crawling the bottom to position himself in third place alongside Windom in turn two. However, Kofoid kicked a shine and split between the pair at the exit of two, promptly shooting out the other side and into the lead while Carrick slotted into second ahead of Windom.
"When Chris gets out front, he can set a really good pace himself and, sometimes, it's hard to beat them when they're in clear air," Kofoid explained. "I felt like I could run the top really hard in turns one and two. If anything, I thought we were kind of even in three and four, then it just got too far around, so I just started sliding myself and picking it up off and it started to work. Luckily, (the track surface) started getting dark and I could see it taking rubber, so I got back up at the right time."
Carrick's thrill ride came to a crashing conclusion while running second, 1.1 ticks behind Kofoid, with only seven laps to go. At that moment, Carrick snagged the turn one cushion, sending him spiraling upside down over the banking and through turns one and two, to grandmother's house we go. Carrick walked away unscathed.
While Kofoid decidedly had everything check at the front of the field, Avedisian cut in between the championship contenders on the lap 24 restart to put herself into second and in a prime position with a shot at becoming the first woman to ever win a USAC National Midget feature event.
Thomas Meseraull (17th) walked away from a lap 26 flip in turn two, setting up a restart with five laps remaining that saw Kofoid once again establish the alpha role as the leader of the pack while Avedisian and Windom tussled it out for second, each taking their respective turns in front of the other until both Windom (top) and Grant (bottom) simultaneously jetted by Avedisian for second and third at the exit of turn two.
Meanwhile, those two were just a distant note to Kofoid during the final stretch, stretching out to a comfortably pleasant 1.529 second victory over Windom, Grant, Avedisian and Logan Seavey.
Windom's title defense now sees just a small glimmer of hope following Kofoid's recent tear. Windom makes note of the little things that have compounded of late in comparison to point leader Kofoid throughout USAC's western tour in November following the Canton, Illinois driver's runner-up finish in his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"They're just on their game now," Windom said of Kofoid and KKM. "We aren't on top of it. I made a couple mistakes at Placerville, and we just haven't been that good here. I felt really good the first part of that race, then we ran out of tire, and I was just barely hanging on for second at the end. Luckily, we still ended up second to keep it alive going into Ventura, but Buddy and his crew are on top of their game. They deserve where they're at. We'll go to Ventura, and you never know what can happen; we'll give it our best."
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) followed up Tuesday night's Merced victory with a third-place result on Wednesday night after starting 17th on the grid in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota. He's now finished five of the last six races on the podium and his 13-place advancement in the feature earned him KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors.
"We were really just rolling the infield berm right from the get-go," Grant recalled. "Our car was really good again, but we just got a little behind the eight-ball in qualifying, didn't win our heat race and started pretty deep. My car would dig up off the corners really really hard. As we got to the front, those guys would start sliding each other, and when they killed their momentum off the corner, we could get them there and just go after the next one. The bottom kind of went away the last two laps and we weren't able to get off turn four like we had earlier. But it was good night for us and everybody on this team."
With her fourth-place finish, Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) became the fifth female driver to record a top-five finish in a dirt USAC National Midget feature event. She joins the late Jeri Rice, Sarah McCune, Holly Shelton and Kaylee Bryson as the only ones to accomplish the feat.
Tucson, Arizona's Rice recorded a 5th place finish at Eagle (Neb.) Raceway in 1988. Perrysburg, Ohio's Sarah McCune was a 5th place finisher at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois in 2003. Shelton raced to a pair of 3rd place results in 2017 at both Lawrenceburg Speedway during Indiana Midget Week and at Solomon Valley Speedway in Kansas.
Other top-fives earned by ladies throughout the history of USAC National Midget racing that occurred on pavement include Zionsville's Bev Griffis, who finished 3rd at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in 1991, and Westfield, Indiana's Stephanie Mockler who took a 3rd at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2006 and 5th at Toledo (OH) Speedway in 2007. Taylor Ferns from Shelby Township, Michigan, took 5th at Fountain, Colorado's Pikes Peak International Raceway in 2013.
No woman has ever won a USAC National Midget, National Sprint Car or Silver Crown feature. The best ever finish for a woman in a USAC National event was a 2nd, earned by Sarah McCune at a midget race at Winchester in 1999.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 24, 2021 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.635 (New Track Record); 2. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-11.754; 3. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-11.760; 4. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-11.775; 5. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.789; 6. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-11.798; 7. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-11.800; 8. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.830; 9. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-11.866; 10. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-11.866; 11. Jade Avedisian, 86, CBI-11.873; 12. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-11.875; 13. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-11.906; 14. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.915; 15. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.933; 16. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.933; 17. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-11.945; 18. Chase Johnson, 7NZ, BLS-11.947; 19. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-11.969; 20. Maria Cofer, 57, Abacus-11.975; 21. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.982; 22. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.015; 23. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-12.020; 24. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.037; 25. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-12.053; 26. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.066; 27. Jason McDougal, 5T, Alexander-12.081; 28. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-12.167; 29. Kyle Beilman, 31, Beilman-12.192; 30. Chase Elliott, 9, Larson-12.299; 31. Santino Ferrucci, 16, Dave Mac-12.440; 32. Zeb Wise, 37w, Wood-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Kaylee Bryson, 4. Buddy Kofoid, 5. Ryan Bernal, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Bryant Wiedeman, 8. Kyle Beilman. 2:01.46
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Carrick, 2. Carson Macedo, 3. Jake Andreotti, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Kyle Larson, 6. Chase Johnson, 7. Chase Randall, 8. Chase Elliott. 2:03.06
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Jade Avedisian, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Brenham Crouch, 6. Shane Golobic, 7. Jason McDougal, 8. Santino Ferrucci. 2:03.02
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Maria Cofer, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Taylor Reimer, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Hayden Reinbold. 2:02.10
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Golobic, 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Taylor Reimer, 5. Brenham Crouch, 6. Jason McDougal, 7. Chase Johnson, 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9. Ryan Bernal, 10. Chase Randall, 11. Chance Crum, 12. Hayden Reinbold, 13. Chase Elliott, 14. Kyle Beilman, 15. Santino Ferrucci. 2:31.74
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
(P) represents a provisional starter
**Tanner Carrick flipped on lap 24 of the feature. Thomas Meseraull flipped on lap 26 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Chris Windom, Laps 17-30 Buddy Kofoid.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-2515, 2-Chris Windom-2468, 3-Justin Grant-2317, 4-Emerson Axsom-2299, 5-Tanner Thorson-2247, 6-Logan Seavey-2141, 7-Thomas Meseraull-1959, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1937, 9-Daison Pursley-1892, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1826.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-225, 2-Chris Windom-204, 3-Tanner Thorson-198, 4-Thomas Meseraull-178, 5-Brady Bacon-170, 6-Logan Seavey-163, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-159, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Buddy Kofoid-122, 10-Shane Cottle-106.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 27, 2021 – Ventura Raceway Speedway – Ventura, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 80th ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Thomas Meseraull
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Buddy Kofoid
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Tanner Carrick
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Shane Golobic
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Justin Grant (17th to 3rd)
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Chase Johnson
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Maria Cofer
NO STOPPING GRANT IN NON-STOP MERCED USAC MIDGET OPENER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Merced, California (November 23, 2021)………Throughout the month of November, Justin Grant has repeatedly shown how the west is won.
Traveling south, east and north throughout the first 31 races on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship schedule this season, the Ione, Calif. driver managed just one single victory.
In the past seven races, Grant has quadrupled his total to four wins on the season, including three of the last seven, and each of the last two.
The latest of those triumphs came Tuesday night in the first of two consecutive evenings at California's Merced Speedway where Grant tussled to-and-fro with Tanner Thorson throughout the entire 30-lap distance, securing the spot on lap six, then taking control of the preferred line to stave off the frequent challenges posed by Thorson.
Grant, for the first time in his career, won back-to-back USAC National Midget feature events, and he did it in record fashion during a non-stop, green-to-checkered race that was completed in 6:14.35, demolishing the former 30-lap track record for the series at the quarter-mile dirt oval, a 7:18.810 set by Tanner Thorson in 2020.
The victory, in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota, was the ninth of Grant's USAC National Midget career, tying him with Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott and Chuck Gurney for 76th place on the all-time list. Speaking of wins, it was Grant's 12th overall in USAC National competition this season, tying himself with Thorson for the most in the series. Grant has 4 Midget, 7 Sprint and 1 Silver Crown. Thorson has 7 midget and 5 sprint.
As for the recent flurry of additions to the win column for Grant, he chalks it up to good ol' fashioned momentum. Once the ball got rolling with an opening night win at Western World on November 12, followed by a 100-lap victory at Placerville on Nov. 20, the air of confidence became paramount for both driver and team, a self-assurance which carried over to even more success at Merced, where the team similarly won last year's opening night with driver Thomas Meseraull.
"I've had a great car all year, but I really think we just finally got a little bit of momentum," Grant explained. ''This series is so tough; everybody's so, so close. Just catching a little bit of momentum can change your whole year; it can turn your whole year around, and we've seen that here."
Grant began his race from the outside of the front row, alongside Thorson who jumped out to the early advantage at the drop of the green. However, Grant landed a barrage of sliders on Thorson that Thorson was able to counteract three different times throughout the first five circuits.
On lap six, Grant finally found the upper hand when he took a diamond approach between turns three and four. As Thorson slid through the middle, Grant dug in and powered underneath the 2016 USAC National Midget champ at the exit of turn four to lead by a half car length at the stripe.
"The first 10 laps, I had what was probably the best car I've ever driven," Grant revealed. "This thing was just wide open, and I was hardly moving my hands."
At the halfway point, Grant was in the midst of enjoying the relative comfort of a one-plus second lead as he navigated the topside of turns one and two and the bottom of turns three and four. However, as it goes on long green flag runs, a clear view out in front of him was on the brink of extinction as he continued his rapid descent on lapped traffic.
"Just watching lapped traffic, I was kind of running the top down there, then entering in the middle and coming off the bottom, and it got to where I couldn't catch lapped cars anymore," Grant explained. "I wasn't closing on them and I couldn't really get around them even if they were slow or just on the bottom, so I knew if I just stayed on the bottom, he was going to have to be a lot better than me to get around me, and I thought our car was good enough, so it wasn't going to be a problem."
Down to two car lengths by lap 19 and down to one car length by lap 20, Thorson was now wheel-to-wheel with Grant coming off the fourth corner with eight laps remaining, missing out on the lead by a mere half-car length at the line.
Thorson briefly appeared to have the bottom line to himself as the two entered turn one, but caught a crumb of the berm, and pushing him slightly up the track, erasing all the ground he had deleted from Grant. Five laps later, however, Thorson had caught back up to Grant in turn three, clipping the same pesky berm that wrote the epitaph for Thorson's second-straight Merced winning bid.
"I tried to run the top a little bit when I was leading down in three and four and tried to peel off," Thorson stated. "The fastest lane was on the bottom, so it would've taken a lot. I got to him at one point getting into turn three and got the left front on the berm and shot my chances right there."
Grant sensed the pressure and subsequently realized he had to safeguard his position ever so subtly as the laps ticked down.
"We were a little free at the end and I knew I had to protect," Grant remembered. "I figured Tanner would be getting better; his stuff digs up through the slick pretty good."
For the most part, Grant's path to victory down the stretch was unaffected as the lappers went straight to the top while Grant buckled in on the low line, keeping up his momentum through the turns, and in turn, the season, as was the theme of the night.
"I caught a lot of breaks with the lappers moving high and I was able to roll by," Grant recalled. "I didn't really break my momentum, which was huge. You don't want to get into a dogfight with Tanner. He's pretty good at dogfighting, but so am I. Between he and I, they usually get pretty rowdy. But we avoided that, and we ended up in victory lane."
With one more clip of the berm between turns three and four by Thorson, Grant was on easy street from there on out as he opened his lead up to seven car lengths by races' end, eventually closing the evening with a 0.515 second margin of victory over Thorson, Buddy Kofoid, Emerson Axsom and Cannon McIntohs.
"I've got to be the luckiest guy in the world, I tell you what," Grant exclaimed. "I've got a smoking hot wife, I've got great kids, I get to come out here and drive racecars and lappers just seem to move out of the way. I'm catching inverts all the time. I might be the luckiest guy in the world. I'll take them how I can get them anyway and I'll take all the help I can get. I love driving midgets and I love racing this car."
Thorson (Minden, Nev.) finished second for his best result since winning at Wisconsin's Angell Park Speedway on September 5. Thorson acknowledges he felt Grant was better at the start but did his best to fend him off at the start to lead the opening five laps in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – MVT – Smith Titanium/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.
Buddy Kofoid's third-place result, coupled with Chris Windom's 11th place finish, put Kofoid up on Windom in the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship standings by a relatively wide 41-point margin in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Toyota/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota with now just two races remaining.
Furthermore, new track records were rampant throughout the event with the one, 10, 12 and 30-lap records for USAC National Midgets at Merced falling.
The main man in Tuesday night's Fatheadz Qualifying was Carson Macedo, who set quick time and a new USAC National Midget track record with a blistering lap of 11.714 seconds, which broke the previous record of 11.838, set by Kyle Larson in 2020.
Chris Windom's time of 2:00.07 in Simpson Race Products Heat Race One obliterated the previous 10-lap record of 2:06.569, which was set by Thomas Meseraull in 2020.
Macedo's second track record of the night came during the Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature, when he paced the field for 12 laps in 2:28.240.
Merced's former one-lap track record holder and newly crowned NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Kyle Larson suffered engine woes during hot laps and qualifying. He returned for his heat race, driving from 8th to 5th which put him one spot out of a transfer position. In the semi-feature, Larson made a valiant charge from 15th to 8th, missing the final transfer spot and a position in the feature starting lineup by two positions.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 23, 2021 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Midget Madness
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-11.714 (New Track Record); 2. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-11.738; 3. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-11.826; 4. Zeb Wise, 37w, Wood-11.884; 5. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-11.932; 6. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-11.947; 7. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-11.969; 8. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.989; 9. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-11.997; 10. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-12.001; 11. Jason McDougal, 5T, Alexander-12.016; 12. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.020; 13. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.020; 14. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-12.026; 15. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.053; 16. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-12.056; 17. Jade Avedisian, 86, CBI-12.092; 18. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.100; 19. Maria Cofer, 57, Abacus-12.115; 20. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-12.116; 21. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-12.141; 22. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.141; 23. Jake Andreotti, 00A, Davis-12.148; 24. Chase Johnson, 7NZ, BLS-12.198; 25. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.215; 26. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-12.243; 27. Chase Elliott, 9, Larson-12.321; 28. Carson Sousa, 00, Mounce/Stout-12.421; 29. Kyle Beilman, 31, Beilman-12.527; 30. Santino Ferrucci, 16, Dave Mac-12.560; 31. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-NT; 32. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-NT; 33. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-NT (Time of 11.996 disallowed).
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Tanner Carrick, 5. Carson Macedo, 6. Taylor Reimer, 7. Jade Avedisian, 8. Bryant Wiedeman, 9. Kyle Beilman. 2:00.070 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kaylee Bryson, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Santino Ferrucci. 2:01.960
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Golobic, 2. Jason McDougal, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Maria Cofer, 5. Kyle Larson, 6. Jake Andreotti, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Chase Elliott. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Chase Johnson, 4. Ryan Bernal, 5. Brenham Crouch, 6. Zeb Wise, 7. Chase Randall, 8. Carson Sousa. 2:01.820
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Brenham Crouch, 5. Zeb Wise, 6. Jade Avedisian, 7. Jake Andreotti, 8. Kyle Larson, 9. Taylor Reimer, 10. Chance Crum, 11. Chase Elliott, 12. Hayden Reinbold, 13. Bryant Wiedeman, 14. Kyle Beilman, 15. Santino Ferrucci, 16. Chase Randall. 2:28.240 (New Track Record)
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 (New Track Record)
(P) represents a provisional starter
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Tanner Thorson, Laps 6-30 Justin Grant.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-2434, 2-Chris Windom-2393, 3-Justin Grant-2247, 4-Emerson Axsom-2236, 5-Tanner Thorson-2193, 6-Logan Seavey-2074, 7-Thomas Meseraull-1931, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1898, 9-Daison Pursley-1892, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1786.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-211, 2-Chris Windom-204, 3-Tanner Thorson-198, 4-Thomas Meseraull-178, 5-Brady Bacon-170, 6-Logan Seavey-163, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-159, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Buddy Kofoid-117, 10-Shane Cottle-106.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 24, 2021 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Jade Avedisian
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Carson Macedo
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Kaylee Bryson
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Shane Golobic
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Carson Macedo
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Jason McDougal (14th to 10th)
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Jake Andreotti
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Tanner Carrick
USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series
VENTURA'S "80TH TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX" STARTS FRIDAY
By Lance Jennings
NOVEMBER 23, 2021... The "80th Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix" starts this Friday, November 26th, with two nights of action featuring the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midgets and the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars. The event will begin with a special non-point program for the 360 Sprints, capped off with a 10-car, $1,200-to-win dash and the midgets will have several practice sessions on Friday. On the following night, the sprint cars will return for their non-point semi-main and the $3,000-to-win main event, along with the complete midget show. For both days, 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. The flag ceremony will be at 5:30pm with racing to follow. For more information, visit the track's website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.
For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- $50 (TOTAL) ENTRY FEE FOR BOTH NIGHTS OF THE SPECIAL EVENT.
- USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS ARE NOT REQUIRED.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE REQUIRED. THEY ARE AVAILABLE FOR RENT FOR $20 (TOTAL) FOR BOTH NIGHTS.
- TIRE RULE: Due to the current tire shortages, any Hoosier Right Rear Tire is legal for competition with the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars. All four corners must be Hoosier.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- 2021 ENGINE RULES: Legal ASCS spec cylinder head w/ 2 3/16 Injector/Restrictor; or 2 3/16 with any open legal head. All Open head must be within 1 degree of OEM Head. All heads ASCS and Open must be Chevy 23 degree plus or minus 1 degree. Ford 20 degree plus or minus 1 degree. Dodge 18 degree plus or minus 1 degree.
- 2021 WEIGHT RULE: 1,475 lbs. with driver for cars with an open cylinder head. Cars with an ASCS cylinder head must weigh 1,450 lbs. including driver.
- 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.
- ANY WINGLESS SPEC SPRINT is invited to race with the USAC West Coast Sprints and can run their rules 100 percent, including the tire rule.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
GRAND MARSHALLS: Robby Flock & Johnny Cofer.
FRIDAY FORMAT:
- PILL DRAW: Racers will pill draw for heat race lineups.
- A PASSING POINTS SYSTEM WILL BE USED FOR HEAT RACES AND QUALIFIERS.
- HEAT RACES: There will be no more than 10 cars per heat race for ten (10) laps each.
- QUALIFYING RACES: Qualifying races will be twelve (12) laps each, lined up by passing points with a four (4) car inversion.
- DASH: The top-10 cars in points will make the fifteen (15) lap dash. The lineup will be straight up by points. The overall point's leader after the dash will start on the pole position of Saturday's main event.
- DASH PURSE: 1-$1200, 2-$750, 3-$500, 4-$400, 5-$300, 6-$250, 7-$200, 8-$150, 9-$150, 10-$150.
SATURDAY FORMAT:
- SEMI-MAIN LINEUP: The lineup for the twelve (12) lap semi-main is based on total passing points from the Friday heat races and qualifiers. The lineup will be straight up by points.
- FEATURE: The main event will be thirty (30) laps with twenty-two (22) cars.
- FEATURE PURSE: 1-$3000, 2-$1500, 3-$800, 4-$750, 5-$700, 6-$650, 7-$600, 8-$500, 9-$400, 10-$300, 11-22-$200.
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 victory and the 360 Sprints have been a part of the prestigious event ever since. Chase Johnson topped the 2019 race and the show was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When the event was held at Irwindale Speedway in 2001, the USAC Western Pavement Sprint Cars joined the program. Tony Hunt took the checkered flag and NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart won the following year. Seven more drivers added the TNGP to their resume before the race was moved to the dirt at Perris Auto Speedway in 2012. A 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 eighteen (18) West Coast 360 events and twelve different drivers have claimed victory. Led by Tristan Guardino and Jake Swanson with three wins, Guardino also set the 1-lap track record of 11.958 on March 23, 2019. Troy Rutherford scored the June 26th main event and Ryan Timmons won the last Ventura appearance on October 16th.
After returning to USAC West Coast action in 2021, D.J. Johnson (Stockton, CA) won the series championship. The owner/driver of the #33 Bill's Tire Service of Pacheco / The Halstead Realty Eagle did not post a feature win, but his title run came on the strength of four heat race victories, one Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, eight top-five finishes, and 5 feature laps led. To date, the 2013 USAC Western Classic Rookie of the Year has two career West Coast triumphs, with both wins coming at Tulare in 2016.
Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA) finished second in the chase for championship. Driving the family owned #29T Timmons Auto & Truck Repair / Evergood Fine Foods Maxim, Timmons opened his year by claiming the March 12th USAC/CRA 410 win at Kern County with an iron block 360 engine. In West Coast action, the 2016 Rookie of the Year had one feature win, one heat race victory, two Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards and seven top-10 finishes, and 19 feature laps led on the season. With five career victories, Ryan is tied with Chase Johnson and Jake Swanson for thirteenth on the series win list.
By finishing third in the point chase, Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA) earned Rookie of the Year honors. Piloting the family owned #12 DenBeste Water Solutions / C&H Veteran Enterprises Maxim, Soares recorded one heat race victory, one Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, six top-10 finishes, and 2 feature laps led to his credit. Next year, the winged sprint car graduate will be looking to make a bid for the series championship.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) ranked fourth in the USAC West Coast 360 point standings. Racing the family owned #83 Excel Environmental / Liggett Trucking Maxim, Liggett posted has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four top-10 finishes, and three feature laps led on the year. The 2018 Champion has twelve career victories and sits third on the series win list.
Tanner Boul (Auberry, CA) placed fifth in the championship point chase. In limited action, the driver of the family owned #99T King Racing Products / BR Motorsports Triple X had one heat race victory, one Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, and four top-10 finishes to his credit. Tanner has been moving up the ranks and will have his sights on his first main event win.
After eleven point races, there were eight different winners on the USAC West Coast Sprint Car circuit. Chase Johnson led all drivers with three victories and Ryan Bernal scored two triumphs. Shawn Arriaga, "The Human Highlight Reel' Geoff Ensign. Cody Fendley, "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa, Troy Rutherford, and Ryan Timmons had one win on the season.
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.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks AMSOIL, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, 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 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
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. (*2001-2011 = USAC Western Pavement Sprints, 2016-Date = USAC West Coast Sprints)
VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Tristan Guardino – 11.958 (03/23/19)
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Chase Johnson, 2-Ryan Bernal, 1-Shawn Arriaga, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-Cody Fendley, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Troy Rutherford, 1-Ryan Timmons.
VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: (Includes Non-Point Races) 3-Tristan Guardino, 3-Jake Swanson, 2-Ryan Bernal, 2-Troy Rutherford, 1-Brady Bacon, 1-Tyler Courtney, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-Johnathon Henry, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Austin Liggett, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Ryan Timmons.
FINAL 2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. D.J. Johnson-658, 2. Ryan Timmons-532, 3. Jarrett Soares �-451, 4. Austin Liggett-373, 5. Tanner Boul-353, 6. Kyle Edwards-342, 7. Jake Hodges-291, 8. Jacob Tuttle �-266, 9. Kaleb Montgomery-257, 10. Brody Fuson �-256, 11. Ryan Bernal-241, 12. Chase Johnson-240, 13. Brody Roa-229, 14. Trent Carter-215, 15. Cody Fendley �-210, 16. Troy Rutherford-199, 17. James Herrera-182, 18. Travis Buckley-173, 19. Danny Faria Jr.-165, 20. Cody Smith-158.
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK - LOCATION
April 3: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
April 10: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Geoff Ensign)
June 12: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (CANCELLED)
June 26: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Troy Rutherford)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Cody Fendley)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Shawn Arriaga)
August 7: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 18: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
September 19: Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
October 9: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (CANCELLED)
October 10: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (CANCELLED)
October 16: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
November 26: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 27: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
-----------------------------------------------
* = Co-Sanctioned Event with VRA Sprints.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.
EXPANDED 8-RACE USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SET FOR 2022
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (November 22, 2021)………The 35th edition of Indiana Sprint Week has expanded to eight events over a nine-night span between July 22-30, 2022, featuring seven familiar Hoosier-state venues and a first-time host on the annual USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship summer tour.
Gas City, Kokomo, Lawrenceburg, Terre Haute, Lincoln Park, Bloomington and Tri-State will be joined by Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind. in making 2022 tied for the largest ever Indiana Sprint Week slate. An eight-race schedule has also taken place in 2007 and 2019.
The 2022 ISW schedule includes eight events, each paying $6,000-to-win and $600 to start, and features a total point fund of $20,000, with $10,000 going to the Indiana Sprint Week champion.
Eight distinct tracks with a rich history and unique characteristics each their own are on the docket, ranging from quarter miles to three-eighths to half-miles, with degrees of banking both flat and high throughout the mini-series, offering a unique challenge to both driver and machine throughout a rigorous week of racing.
For the ninth time overall, Gas City I-69 Speedway will host the ISW opener on Friday, July 22. The quarter mile has become the official kickoff for ISW throughout the past decade.
From there, the series travels due west the following day, Saturday, July 23, to the quarter-mile Kokomo Speedway, whose ISW origins date to the inaugural year of 1988.
The first weekend concludes Sunday, July 24. in the southeastern part of the state at the high-banked, 3/8-mile of Lawrenceburg Speedway.
The newest addition to the schedule, Circle City Raceway, will be the host on Monday night, July 25, at the quarter-mile dirt oval, which began operations during the 2021 season.
After a one-day break, the series returns for a final four-day stretch beginning at the famed half-mile Terre Haute Action Track on Wednesday, July 27, the largest track on the schedule.
Then, it's off to the world's fastest 5/16-mile, Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, on Thursday, July 28, who first hosted an ISW event in the inaugural year of its existence.
Working southbound and down, the quarter-mile red clay of Bloomington Speedway hosts ISW for the 34th year on Friday, July 29.
The series concludes with the ISW finale and championship decider on Saturday, July 30, at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, which has been the schedule host of the final race of the series since 2007.
Indiana Sprint Week debuted in 1988, but first became USAC-sanctioned in 1996. Since then, the event has grown from a single weekend to eight races over a week-and-a-half span and has become one of the marquee events, and most sought-after tickets, on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship schedule that draws massive crowds and welcomes travelers from around the world, both driver and fan alike.
The USAC National Sprint Car division's winningest driver, Dave Darland, owns the most Indiana Sprint Week victories with 20. Levi Jones and Kevin Thomas possess the most ISW titles with four. Kevin Thomas Jr. captured the most recent Indiana Sprint Week title in the summer of 2021.
2022 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE:
Fri., July 22: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana
Sat., July 23: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana
Sun., July 24: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana
Mon., July 25: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana
Wed., July 27: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana
Thu., July 28: Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana
Fri., July 29: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana
Sat., July 30: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana
TURKEY NIGHT ENTRY LIST
HITS 50-PLUS USAC MIDGETS FOR VENTURA
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ventura, California (November 23, 2021)………Two past winners highlight the 50-plus car USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget entry list for the 80th running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix on Saturday night, November 27, at southern California's Ventura Raceway.
The new NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.), has won the TNGP on three occasions in his career, the two most recent of which came at Ventura in 2016 and 2019. He scored his first win in the event in 2012 at Perris, Calif., and with one more victory this weekend, would become just the second driver to win the race at least four times. Ron Shuman has won the event a record eight times.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) captured his Turkey Night Grand Prix midget victory back in 2015 at Perris, Calif. The 2016 USAC National Midget champ has won seven series events in 2021, tied with Chris Windom for the most this season.
Throughout the field is an extensive list of champions, including Windom, the reigning USAC National Midget titlist who is waged in a fierce battle for this year's crown with first-time championship hopeful, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.).
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the 2018 USAC National Midget champion, is entered for the event as is 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), 2019 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) and even the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champ, Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.), who is making his bid as a Don Basile Rookie of the Race candidate this Saturday night.
USAC feature winners are scattered all throughout the field, all of whom dream that one of their next victories includes a coveted Turkey Night score. Those include Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.), Zeb Wise (Angola, Ind.) and recent first-time USAC National Midget feature winner, Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car front runner Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) is among the group still looking for a first career USAC National Midget feature victory as is two-time All Star Circuit of Champions runner-up Cory Eliason (Visalia, Calif.) who has been impressive in brief USAC Midget appearances, the debut of which came just two weeks ago.
The home state of California is represented by 30 of the 51 entered drivers. Among them are regional champions with USAC, including 2021 Western States Midget champion Blake Bower (Brentwood, Calif.), 2013-14 Western Classic Sprint Car titlist Ryan Bernal (Hollister, Calif.), 2012 Western States Dirt Midget champ David Prickett (Fresno, Calif.), plus 2018 BCRA Midget champ Maria Cofer (Macdoel, Calif.).
Automotive Racing Products, the title sponsor of the 80th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix, has added $15,000 to the event purse from top-to-bottom for the $10,000-to-win USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event at Ventura on Saturday night, November 27.
Midget practice, plus USAC West Coast Sprint Car heat races, qualifiers and dash will take place on Friday, November 26 with the sprint car semi-feature and feature events, and the 98-lap USAC Midget season finale taking place on Saturday, November 27.
All tickets that are not reserved are $35. Reserved seats are $45 for ages 13 and older and $20 for ages 12 and under.
Race tickets are available now at www.venturaraceway.net.
=========================
2021 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX ENTRY LIST: (51 PRE-ENTRIES)
00 CARSON SOUSA/Red Bluff, CA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
00A JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
07w MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1EM DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA (NP Motorsports)
1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Kyle Larson Racing)
1N �RYAN PADGETT/Anadarko, OK (NP Motorsports)
1p �TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (NP Motorsports)
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5K BEN WORTH/Coalinga, CA (Dean Alexander)
5T JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Dean Alexander)
7NZ CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (BSL Racing)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing) 1
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
8w �KALEB MONTGOMERY/Templeton, CA (Woodland Autosports)
9 BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)
9E CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Kyle Larson Racing)
9m ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Bundy Built Motorsports)
12 JARRETT SOARES/Discovery Bay, CA (Steven Soares)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports)
15ws RON HAZELTON/Chatsworth, CA (Ron Hazelton)
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19m ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
19T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
20 C.J. SARNA/Brea, CA (C.J. Sarna)
21 CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Tarlton Motorsports)
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Tom Malloy)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
25m COLBY COPELAND/Roseville, CA (Tom Malloy)
26 CORY ELIASON/Visalia, CA (Rudeen Racing)
26R CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)
32 CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)
37 MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (J.W. Mitchell Motorsports)
37w ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Matt Wood Racing)
51 �BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Abacus Racing)
67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
73 �DYLAN ITO/Ventura, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)
73B ROBBY JOSETT/Santa Clarita, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)
73x C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Josh Ford Motorsports)
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries)
86 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (CB Industries)
87w RYAN BERNAL/Hollister, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries)
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
� represents a Don Basile Rookie of the Race candidate
TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX MIDGET WINNERS:
1934: Bob Swanson
1935: Ted Sizemore
1936: Ronney Householder
1937: Ronney Householder
1938: Bob Swanson
1939: Mel Hansen
1940: Roy Russing
1941: Roy Russing
1945: Danny Oakes
1946: Perry Grimm
1947: Johnny McDowell
1948: Bill Vukovich
1949: Perry Grimm
1950: Bill Zaring
1951: Not Held
1952: Not Held
1953: Not Held
1954: Not Held
1955: Johnnie Parsons
1956: Edgar Elder
1957: George Amick
1958: Joe Garson
1959: Tony Bettenhausen
1960: A.J. Foyt
1961: A.J. Foyt
1962: Billy Cantrell
1963: Mel Kenyon
1964: Parnelli Jones
1965: Dick Atkins
1966: Parnelli Jones
1967: Gary Bettenhausen
1968: Sammy Sessions
1969: George Benson
1970: Gary Bettenhausen
1971: Billy Engelhart
1972: Tony Simon
1973: Billy Engelhart
1974: Danny McKnight
1975: Mel Kenyon
1976: Bubby Jones
1977: Gary Patterson
1978: Rick Goudy
1979: Ron Shuman
1980: Ron Shuman
1981: Ron Shuman
1982: Ron Shuman
1983: Kevin Olson
1984: Ron Shuman
1985: Brent Kaeding
1986: Warren Mockler
1987: Ron Shuman
1988: Chuck Gurney
1989: Chuck Gurney
1990: Stan Fox
1991: Stan Fox
1992: Ron Shuman
1993: Ron Shuman
1994: Jordan Hermansader
1995: Billy Boat
1996: Billy Boat
1997: Billy Boat
1998: Jay Drake
1999: Jason Leffler
2000: Tony Stewart
2001: Dave Steele
2002: Michael Lewis
2003: Dave Steele
2004: Bobby East
2005: Jason Leffler
2006: Billy Wease
2007: Dave Darland
2008: Bobby Santos
2009: Bryan Clauson
2010: Bryan Clauson
2011: Caleb Armstrong
2012: Kyle Larson
2013: Dave Darland
2014: Christopher Bell
2015: Tanner Thorson
2016: Kyle Larson
2017: Christopher Bell
2018: Christopher Bell
2019: Kyle Larson
2020: Not Held
TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX
RETURNS THIS SATURDAY WITH NEW DATE!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ventura, California (November 22, 2021)………Following a year's absence from the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix, USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing's greatest tradition returns in 2021 for its 80th edition with a brand-new date of Saturday night, November 27, at southern California's Ventura Raceway.
Star power is in abundance at this year's Turkey Night Grand Prix with recently crowned NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson set to pilot the Kyle Larson Racing No. 1K in the event as he attempts to defend his victory in the race from 2019. Larson, from Elk Grove, Calif. has previously won the race in 2012, 2016 and 2019. His three Turkey Night Midget wins are tied for second all-time, only behind Ron Shuman's eight.
Traditionally, the Turkey Night Grand Prix has been held on Thanksgiving night, but after several years of pondering the subject, and with the 2020 cancellation of the event due to COVID-19, promoters J.C. Agajanian Jr., Cary Agajanian and Ventura Raceway's Jim Naylor decided the time was right to make the move to a new Saturday night date on the beach.
"For the last 20 years, we've discussed moving the event," J.C. Jr. acknowledged. "Things change, families change, and we wanted to continue the tradition of it being held on Thursday night. But, once the virus came through, we discussed it with Jim Naylor and decided, if we were going to move the event, this would be the year to do it. All the signs pointed to doing it this year and I believe it will bring more local talent to the race and put more people in the grandstands."
The Agajanian family is legendary in the racing world and, particularly with the promotion of USAC racing events throughout much of the past century. The family, spearheaded by family patriarch J.C. Agajanian Sr., has annually promoted the event since 1955, a tradition which continued with his sons J.C. Jr. and Cary following their father's death in May of 1984.
Naylor, meanwhile, has been the sole promoter of Ventura Raceway ever since he personally financed the construction of the fairground facility in 1978. No group of individuals has more of a fondness for the Turkey Night Grand Prix, or as much of a stake in the game, as these three individuals, and it didn't go without extensive conversation on whether to stand pat or take action by making Saturday the new Turkey Night race day.
"Cary, Jim and I are traditionalists," J.C. Jr. acknowledges. "We come from racing families, we've been in racing all our lives and we do things the way they're supposed to be done, in our opinion. Fans have traditions at Turkey Night, eating turkey from their trailers and motorhomes in the parking lot of the racetrack, and it's a lot of fun. But there's always been the thought that maybe it might be a good idea to move it to the weekend."
The Agajanian family is used to making comebacks at the Turkey Night Grand Prix. Turkey Night began in 1934, but after the 1950 race, had completely vanished from the schedule. It was then, five years later, that J.C. Agajanian stepped in to revive and revitalize the event in 1955, where it's flourished in the 66 years since.
"My dad realized the importance of Turkey Night," Agajanian stated. "In 1955, he sent his PR people out to bring life back into the race at Ascot. From 1955 on have been the Aggie years at the Turkey Night Grand Prix. We wouldn't have had the race without him."
While being midget racing's most tenured event, the Turkey Night Grand Prix has seen a variety of venues over the years, both dirt and pavement, at Gilmore Stadium (1934–1950), Gardena Stadium (1955–1959), Ascot Park (1960–1974, 1976–1990), Speedway 605 (1975), Saugus Speedway (1991), Bakersfield Speedway (1992–1995, 1998), Perris Auto Speedway (1996, 2012–2015), Ventura Raceway (1997, 2016–2019, 2021–present) and Irwindale Speedway (1999–2011).
The constants with the Turkey Night Grand Prix since the mid-1950s have been midget racing in California promoted by the Agajanian family. But, until 1968, the race was 150 laps in length. From 1969-2006, the distance was changed to 100 where it remained until a chance meeting with a fan during the night of the 2006 race that, in turn, created a new tradition that stands to this day.
"A fan stopped by and asked me, 'wouldn't it be cool to make this 100-lapper into a 98-lapper in honor of your dad?' J.C. Jr. remembered. "I went, 'whoa, that's a great idea.' The only 98-lap race in the country, and 98 because that's been the number of our racecars all our lives. USAC said it was fine with them and the drivers said, I don't care how long Turkey Night is, as long as I'm leading the last lap."
No family has promoted more USAC National Midget events, or more USAC National events period, than the Agajanian family. J.C. Sr., alone, promoted 250 in his lifetime, 204 of which were Midget races. This year's 80th edition once again honors J.C. who brought Turkey Night back to life all those years ago.
"Turkey Night was so important to the industry, and not just to the west coast," Agajanian recalled. "The housing industry, the realtors and the automobile people realized that first of all, they needed more people to move out to California and, secondly, all the midget tracks back east are snowed-in or done during this time of year. They wanted to show off the fact that we're still running midgets this late in the year. That's how the race came to be."
A feather in the cap at the end of a long season still conjures up the emotions and the excitement for USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing's finest, and come Saturday night, November 27, 2021, ninety-eight laps, a $10,000 check, a kiss of the Aggie hat trophy and racing immortality is all that matters at Ventura Raceway.
Automotive Racing Products, the title sponsor of the 80th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix, has added $15,000 to the event purse from top-to-bottom when the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship arrives at southern California's Ventura Raceway for the prestigious event on Saturday night, November 27.
USAC West Coast Sprint Car heat races, qualifiers and dash will take place on Friday, November 26 with the sprint car semi-feature and feature events taking place on Saturday, November 27.
All tickets that are not reserved are $35. Reserved seats are $45 for ages 13 and older and $20 for ages 12 and under.
Race tickets are available now at www.venturaraceway.net.
============================
2021 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX USAC MIDGET ENTRY LIST: (51 PRE-ENTRIES)
00 CARSON SOUSA/Red Bluff, CA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
00A JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
07w MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1EM DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA (NP Motorsports)
1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Kyle Larson Racing)
1N �RYAN PADGETT/Anadarko, OK (NP Motorsports)
1p �TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA (NP Motorsports)
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5K BEN WORTH/Coalinga, CA (Dean Alexander)
5T JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Dean Alexander)
7NZ CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (BSL Racing)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
8w �KALEB MONTGOMERY/Templeton, CA (Woodland Autosports)
9 BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)
9E CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Kyle Larson Racing)
9m ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Bundy Built Motorsports)
12 JARRETT SOARES/Discovery Bay, CA (Steven Soares)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports)
15ws RON HAZELTON/Chatsworth, CA (Ron Hazelton)
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19m ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
19T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
20 C.J. SARNA/Brea, CA (C.J. Sarna)
21 CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Tarlton Motorsports)
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Tom Malloy)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
25m COLBY COPELAND/Roseville, CA (Tom Malloy)
26 CORY ELIASON/Visalia, CA (Rudeen Racing)
26R CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)
32 CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)
37 MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (J.W. Mitchell Motorsports)
37w ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Matt Wood Racing)
51 �BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA (Rusty Carlile)
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Abacus Racing)
67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
73 �DYLAN ITO/Ventura, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)
73B ROBBY JOSETT/Santa Clarita, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)
73x C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Josh Ford Motorsports)
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries)
86 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (CB Industries)
87w RYAN BERNAL/Hollister, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries)
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
� represents a Don Basile Rookie of the Race candidate
MERCED WE SAID!
USAC MIDGETS GO TWO-STRAIGHT NIGHTS
IN THE GOLDEN STATE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Merced, California (November 22, 2021)………For Thomas Meseraull and Tanner Thorson, Merced Speedway was a home away home to conclude the series' season one year ago.
While he is a native Californian, Meseraull's first visit to the quarter-mile dirt oval came during his victorious performance in the penultimate round of the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.
For Tanner Thorson, he rotated turns with two other drivers during the final six laps to capture the second night victory, etching his name into the record books as just the sixth driver, and the first in 20 years, to win both the first and last race during a USAC National Midget season while also establishing Merced's 30-lap track record in the process at 7:18.810.
Those two will arrive at Merced this Tuesday and Wednesday night, November 23-24, to defend their victories in rounds 38 and 39 of the 2021 season.
They'll have an eclectic group of drivers to contend with come the middle of this week with the past two NASCAR Cup Series champs, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, participating, as well as three-time Indianapolis 500 top-ten finisher Santino Ferrucci.
Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ from Elk Grove, Calif., owns the one-lap Merced USAC National Midget track record of 11.838 seconds, set in 2020, and was a 9th and 4th place finisher there in his only two appearances at the fairgrounds dirt track.
Dawsonville, Georgia's Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR Cup titlist, will make his debut at Merced. The son of 1988 NASCAR champion Bill Elliott, Chase has made three USAC National Midget feature starts in 2021, recently finishing 20th in last Saturday's Hangtown 100 at California's Placerville Speedway.
Ferrucci (Woodbury, Conn.) is a three-time Indianapolis 500 top-10 finisher in three career starts during the 2019-20-21 running of the May classic and will make his USAC National Midget debut in a car for Dave Mac Motorsports after making a few appearances with the midgets earlier this season, including the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., where he finished 10th in the semi-feature during his prelim night and 10th in the G-Main on the final night.
The USAC National Midget championship race is tight coming into the two nights at Merced. Buddy Kofoid holds a 19-point advantage over defending champ Chris Windom in the title fight. Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) led a race-high 22 laps on night two of last year before finishing second to Thorson. Windom, meanwhile, took 15th and 17th across the two nights.
Kofoid's five Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammates for Merced include last year's second-place finisher, Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.), plus Muskogee, Oklahoma's Kaylee Bryson (18th in 2020), and Colby, Kansas' Bryant Wiedeman (20th in 2020), plus first-time Merced starting hopefuls Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas).
Matt Wood shifts his focus from race promotion last week to car owner this week with four cars and drivers at Merced. Three of his cars finished in the top-10 in the event last year. Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.) took 6th while Ryan Bernal (Hollister, Calif.) was 7th and Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) was 10th. Four-time USAC National Midget winner Zeb Wise (Angola, Ind.) looks to improve upon his 19th finish from 2020.
Cannon McIntosh and Carson Macedo were top-ten finishers on both nights at Merced in 2020. McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) was 3rd and 8th while Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) turned in 4th and 7th place performances.
Logan Seavey will wheel the Tom Malloy No. 25, the same winning team that won the Merced finale last year when it was piloted by Thorson. Seavey, the recent Hangtown 100 overall points champion from Sutter, Calif., earned a best of 6th in two Merced starts during his last run. He's joined by Colby Copeland as a teammate, the Roseville, Calif. native who scored 14th and 17th a year ago.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was the victor of last Saturday's Hangtown 100 at Placerville, which netted him a $20,000 top prize. He drives for the RMS Racing team which captured the opening night win at Merced in 2020. The 2020 USAC Silver Crown champion pocketed a 9th place result at Merced in 2020 as his best.
Two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) took a best of 10th a year ago for Petry Motorsports, who'll team with first-time Merced racer and nine-time 2021 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car winner, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.).
Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.) was 24th in the event last year, but his biggest Merced moment came with the USAC Western States series where he won at on July 9 of this year after leading the final 18 laps. The 2021 USAC Western States Midget champion, Blake Bower (Brentwood, Calif.), was 3rd in the race and finished 4th on August 7 after leading a race-high 22 laps. Ben Worth (Coalinga, Calif.) led the first three on July 9th before finishing 5th and was 22nd in the 2020 USAC National Midget event there.
Top USAC National Midget Rookie Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) was 19th in his Merced debut run in 2020 and will team up with Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports cohorts, Merced first-timer Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) and defending winner Thorson.
Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) was 23rd in the event and will be joined on the Rudeen Racing team by Cory Eliason (Visalia, Calif.), a recent USAC National Midget newcomer and an 18th place finisher with the World of Outlaws at Merced in 2014.
Last Thursday's Hangtown 100 opening night winner and first-time USAC National Midget winner Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) will make his Merced midget debut this week along with CB Industries teammate and micro sprint standout, Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.).
Two-time USAC National Midget winner Jason McDougal found a new ride with Dean Alexander in time for the Hangtown 100. He'll hang around with the New Zealand car owner throughout the rest of the west coast trip following a 4th place showing on the second night at Placerville, Calif.
Three-time USAC National Midget winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) will return to action this week at Merced as a teammate to Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.), who's made the cross-country visit from the east coast.
Maria Cofer scored a BCRA Midget triumph at Merced in 2018 and led both USAC Western States Midget features in 2019 for a total of 24 laps. She's one of 20 Californians – half the field – expected to compete in this week's events along with Carson Sousa (Red Bluff, Calif.), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) and Caden Sarale (Stockton, Calif.).
325 previous USAC National Midget events have been held in California. Billy Cantrell, Parnelli Jones and Billy Vukovich lead all drivers with 15 series wins in the state.
Pit gates open at 2pm PT, drivers meeting at 4:30pm, front gates open at 5pm and cars on track at 5:30pm.
Adult tickets are $22, seniors & military are $20, kids 6-12 are $5 and age 5 and under are free.
Both Merced races this week will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
PROJECTED MERCED SPEEDWAY DRIVER ENTRIES:
CAR # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | ENTRANT
00 CARSON SOUSA/Red Bluff, CA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
00A JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
07w MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Kyle Larson Racing)
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5K BEN WORTH/Coalinga, CA (Dean Alexander)
5T JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Dean Alexander)
7NZ CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (BSL Racing)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing)
9 BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)
9E CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Kyle Larson Racing)
9m ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Bundy Built Motorsports)
10 SANTINO FERRUCCI/Woodbury, CT (Dave Mac Motorsports)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports)
17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19m ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
19T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
21 CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Tarlton Motorsports)
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Tom Malloy)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
25m COLBY COPELAND/Roseville, CA (Tom Malloy)
26 CORY ELIASON/Visalia, CA (Rudeen Racing)
26R CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)
32 CADEN SARALE/Stockton, CA (Caden Sarale)
37w ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Matt Wood Racing)
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Abacus Racing)
67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries)
86 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (CB Industries)
87w RYAN BERNAL/Hollister, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries)
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-2362, 2-Chris Windom-2344, 3-Justin Grant-2171, 4-Emerson Axsom-2165, 5-Tanner Thorson-2119, 6-Logan Seavey-2020, 7-Thomas Meseraull-1896, 8-Daison Pursley-1892, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1864, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1719.
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT MERCED SPEEDWAY:
1-Thomas Meseraull & Tanner Thorson
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT MERCED SPEEDWAY:
2020: Thomas Meseraull (11/20) & Tanner Thorson (11/21)
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT MERCED SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 11/21/2020 - Kyle Larson - 11.838 - 76.026 mph
10 Laps - 11/20/2020 - Thomas Meseraull - 2:06.569 - 71.108 mph
30 Laps - 11/21/2020 - Tanner Thorson - 7:18.810 (New Track Record)
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), 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), 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), 19. Zeb Wise (19), 20. Bryant Wiedeman (20), 21. Robert Dalby* (24), 22. Ben Worth (17), 23. Chance Crum (22), 24. Chase Johnson (9). 7:18.810 (New Track Record)
KODY SWANSON TEAMS WITH BERTRAND FOR 4 LOR MIDGET RACES IN 2022
Brownsburg, Indiana (November 21, 2021)………Kody Swanson has announced a partnership with Tim Bertrand and Bertrand Motorsports to compete in all four races with the 2022 Pavement Midget Series at Brownsburg, Indiana's Lucas Oil Raceway.
The dynamic duo of Swanson and Bertrand own an impressive 186 open wheel wins and a combined 22 championships across the midget, sprint car and Silver Crown ranks.
Swanson is USAC's winningest Silver Crown driver and the second winningest USAC driver in the 61-year history at the .686-mile paved oval with 13 total victories (4 Midget, 2 Sprint, 7 Silver Crown). He will team with Bertrand, a 10-time champion car owner with the Northeastern Midget Association, which regularly competes with wings.
Bertrand may be new to the non-wing midget ranks as a car owner, but no stranger to midgets. His accomplishments also include 10 NEMA titles, 94 National NEMA feature wins and 98 overall NEMA victories.
"We are very excited about the 2022 season," Bertrand said. "We've always tried to associate ourselves with the best in the business, starting off in midgets with the Cicconi family, Danny Drinan, Dan Esslinger/Esslinger Engineering, etc. I've been watching Kody for years and have been really impressed by his humble nature, family values, and of course, his tremendous talent. He is undoubtedly one of the best open wheel drivers in the world, in my opinion."
Swanson, the six-time USAC Silver Crown champion, and all-time USAC Silver Crown winner, has a resume of 88 career open wheel wins, 12 USAC sanctioned midget wins and three wins at the coveted Anderson Speedway "Little 500". Known as a humble, family man, Swanson, his wife Jordan, and two boys – Trevor and Adam, are devout supporters of open wheel auto racing.
"I'm fortunate to have been surrounded by great people throughout my career in racing," Swanson stated. "I'm very excited about the opportunity to work with Tim and the Bertrand Motorsports team. They have been incredibly successful throughout the Northeast and the NEMA series and have established themselves as one of the top teams in the history of winged midget racing.
Over the past few years, Tim has demonstrated his commitment to competing at Lucas Oil Raceway and the dedication to develop his non-wing program into a championship caliber team as well," Swanson continued. "I'm thankful for the opportunity to join them in their dedication and effort. I'm looking forward to working together more as we prepare for 2022 and can't wait to get on the track next spring,"
The duo will be sponsored by Bertrand's company, project44. One of the highest growth companies in the United States, project44 is the world's leading advanced transportation visibility platform, providing real time visibility to global organizations across all transportation modes (ocean, trucking, air, rail and parcel). During the Suez Canal crisis, as an example, project44 provided visibility to over 250 of the Fortune 500 to track their ocean containers, stuck in the Canal. Project44 raised a $200 million round of funding on a $1.2 billion valuation, from Goldman Sachs in May of 2021. Project44 was also recently ranked #1 on the FreightTech Index, beating out Amazon, after ranking #2 for the previous 3 years.
The midgets will compete four times at Lucas Oil Raceway in 2022, starting with Open-Wheel Opening Day on Saturday, March 26; the Carb Night Classic on Friday, May 27; Thursday Night Thunder Homecoming on Thursday, June 30; and Open-Wheel Championship Saturday on October 22.
All Midget and Sprint Car programs at Lucas Oil Raceway will be considered USAC non-points special events, meaning no points will be awarded toward the USAC National series' championship standings.
Additionally, all four midget events at Lucas Oil Raceway will pay $5,000 to win. The end-of-season "track championship" point fund will be worth $10,000, with the champion taking home $2,500. There will also be a bonus payout for the Rookie of the Year in midget competition at Lucas Oil Raceway.
HOMECOMING KING:
IT'S A $20,000 PAYDAY FOR GRANT AT HANGTOWN 100
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Placerville, California (November 20, 2021)……… "This 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."
Justin Grant fondly remembers those days of yesteryear at California's Placerville Speedway which set the course for his life's journey in the arena of auto racing – a path which has taken him from a teenage upstart BCRA Midget champion in 2007 to a USAC Silver Crown titlist in 2020 and as one of today's biggest USAC stars.
All those winding roads throughout the decades since weaved its way back to his stomping grounds, back to the 1/4-mile dirt oval located just a half hour away from his Ione, Calif. home and to the most lucrative victory of his racing career on Saturday night in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Grant tracked down USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship point leader Buddy Kofoid in front of a standing-room only crowd 14 laps from the finish of the 100-lapper, then slid past with authority and garnered himself a monumental victory worth $20,000 on the final night of the Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100.
His third series victory of the year moved him into a tie for 80th on the all-time USAC National Midget feature win list alongside Brady Bacon, Merle Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Hank Butcher, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Ronnie Duman, Brian Gerster, Kenny Irwin Jr., Eddie Johnson, Buddy Kofoid, Michael Lewis, Andy Michner and Josh Wise.
Winning at Placerville is meaningful in so many ways to Grant. It was there as a child where he once played in the dirt with his own toy racecars while watching from afar and dreaming of a day when he too could become one of those heroes he looked up to at a young age.
"My dad would bring me here and buy me diecast cars in turn one, and we'd sit up there and watch sprint car races," Grant revealed. "I have a lot of family here and it's close to home in front of all these fans. It's just a really special win."
Grant began his quest from the seventh position in the 28-car field, looking on as outside front row starter Zeb Wise slotted into the early race lead.
Prior to the feature, Friday night's Hangtown 100 prelim winner and top point driver, Kyle Larson, had his son, Owen, draw the inversion number with 12, 14 and 16 being the only available options. Owen pulled out a 12, meaning Larson would have to start the main event from the 12th position while the 12th place driver in weekend points, Taylor Reimer, started from the pole.
Larson's first bump in the road came on the 12th lap when he, Brenham Crouch (11th) and Tanner Carrick (18th) all tangled and stopped in between turns one and two. Larson went to the work area briefly then restarted as did Carrick, while Crouch was finished for the evening.
The top-two of Wise and sixth-starting Kofoid formed a two-car breakaway in the ensuing laps with Kofoid perusing the bottom of turns one and two while scouring the top of three and four as he studied his path to get by Wise. Kofoid passed the test and passed Wise as he dove past on the bottom of turn three 21 laps into the event.
Mere moments later, on lap 24, Grant and Wise banged wheels entering turn three with Grant forging way past and into the second spot.
From there on, the chase was on as Grant relentlessly pursued Kofoid for the lead, shadowing him low in turns one and two and on the top in turns three and four all while being encapsulated by the traffic that surrounded them as they encroached the halfway mark.
However, on lap 54, Michael Faccinto and Thomas Meseraull were engaged in a tussle for the 20th spot on the back straightaway, which resulted in Faccinto spinning right in the middle of the racetrack and in the direct path of the leaders. Kofoid swerved to miss as did Grant. However, Bryant Wiedeman (3rd) and Shane Golobic (4th) were the misfortunate ones caught up in the melee, as they both smashed into the front end of Faccinto. Wiedeman continued onward, but Golobic slid to a stop, requiring a right rear tire change.
The scheduled midway stop for fuel was signaled at that moment and, under open red conditions, teams topped off with fuel and made tweaks and adjustments to prepare for the final 47 laps.
Running 12th at the time of the red, Larson became one of the prime movers as soon as action resumed. Just six laps after the drop of the green, Larson ran sixth and was hauling. Just as soon as Larson put himself back into contention, heartbreak hit the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ on lap 67 when he drifted sideways on entry to turn one on the cushion, which sent him barrel-rolling over the banking. He was okay, and after quick repairs, returned to the fray.
Up front, lap after lap of pulling to the outside of Kofoid in one and two and to the inside in turns three and four finally paid off for Grant on lap 87 as he slid across the nose of Kofoid in turn three, drifting to the top of turn four, then promptly nipping Kofoid by a wheel at the line before slicing to the bottom of turn one to deny Kofoid a chance at retaliation.
"The track was really kind of momentum based there," Grant explained. "You got on a long run, and it was harder and harder to capitalize the more a guy could get in his rhythm. Buddy was killing us on the starts there early but this car really came around late. I kind of figured out in one and two I could enter outside his right rear a little bit and not lose any team and have way better angle up off two and then stay in the moisture down the backstretch."
On the ensuing restart following a turn two spin by 2019 race winner Larson, who finished 18th, Grant steadily constructed a two car lengths lead, which stretched out to four, then to six with just five laps remaining and nary a morsel of traffic or obstructions awaiting ahead.
Grant rounded the final corner with both eyes on the prize as he passed under the double checkers to win by a 0.959 second margin over Kofoid in second with Logan Seavey third, Chris Windom fourth and Carson Macedo rounding out the top-five.
Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) didn't shy away from expressing his disappointment in finishing second after leading a race high 66 laps in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Toyota/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota. While the disappointment of letting a win slip away took its immediate effect, Kofoid could also take some solace in the fact that he extended his USAC National point lead from 12 to 18 over Windom with just three races now remaining this season.
"It's pretty frustrating," Kofoid admitted. "I guess, at the end of the day, it was a good points night. It sucks to lead that many laps and lose it. Justin was just better on the long runs at the end, and I faded at the end. I was probably too good too early, but a second is nothing to hang your head about."
A late charge to a third-place finish paid off in a big way for Logan Seavey and his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota. But it was his total accumulation of points throughout the weekend that truly paid off with a $12,000 bonus being paid out as the overall Hangtown 100 points champion.
"I was really trying to give it away the first half of the race," Seavey recalled. "I just kept making mistakes, but I started coming on strongly at the end. My car kept getting better as the race went on and that's what you've got to do here in these 100 lap races. I think I may have hurt my tires a little too much at the beginning of the race which may have hurt me those last few laps. We were charging really hard those last 30 laps and I could really make the middle work in one and two and that's where I was gaining a lot of speed, then I was able to clear a slider down into three. That's really where I could make ground, and when the middle cleaned off, this thing came to life right when I needed to make some moves and win this point championship."
===================================
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 20, 2021 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-20 in overall points transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Carrick (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Colby Copeland (#25m Malloy), 3. Mitchel Moles (#07w Wood), 4. Ryan Timms (#85T CBI), 5. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), 6. Kyle Larson (#1K Larson), 7. Bryant Wiedeman (#01 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#5 Petry), 9. Mariah Ede (#71E Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 10. Caden Sarale (#32 Sarale), 11. Ben Worth (#5K Alexander), 12. Austin Barnhill (#17B Dave Mac), 13. Anthony Esberg (#1x Esberg). NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-20 in overall points transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson (#19T Reinbold-Underwood), 2. Blake Bower (#9 Boscacci), 3. Shane Golobic (#17w Wood), 4. Carson Macedo (#21 Tarlton), 5. Justin Grant (#2J RMS), 6. Michael Faccinto (#14 Graunstadt), 7. Emerson Axsom (#15 Petry), 8. Colby Johnson (#17K Morris), 9. Chase Elliott (#9E Larson), 10. Chance Crum (#26R Rudeen), 11. Dylan Ito (#73 Ford), 12. Ben Wiesz (#21w Wiesz). 2:04.455
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-20 in overall points transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Randall (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), 2. Brenham Crouch (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Logan Seavey (#25 Malloy), 4. Chase Johnson (#7NZ BLS), 5. Jade Avedisian (#86 CBI), 6. Maria Cofer (#57 Abacus), 7. Chris Windom (#89 CBI), 8. Jake Andreotti (#00A Davis), 9. Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), 10. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 11. Jake Morgan (#45 Luke OB), 12. Thomas Esberg (#8x Esberg). NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-20 in overall points transfer to the feature) 1. Cory Eliason (#26 Rudeen), 2. Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac), 3. Kaylee Bryson (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Ryan Robinson (#71R Morris), 5. Buddy Kofoid (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Jason McDougal (#5T Alexander), 7. Taylor Reimer (#25K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 8. Ryan Bernal (#87w Wood), 9. Zeb Wise (#37w Wood), 10. Carson Souza (#00 Mounce-Stout), 11. Mike Snider (#6K Snider), 12. Randi Pankratz (#8 Pankratz). NT
C-MAIN: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Dylan Ito, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Mariah Ede, 4. Jake Morgan, 5. Ben Worth, 6. Chase Elliott, 7. Ben Wiesz, 8. Mike Snider, 9. Randi Pankratz, 10. Austin Barnhill, 11. Ryan Bernal, 12. Thomas Esberg. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (20 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Michael Faccinto, 2. Tanner Carrick, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Kaylee Bryson, 5. Chase Randall, 6. Cory Eliason, 7. Chase Johnson, 8. Jade Avedisian, 9. Mitchel Moles, 10. Jake Andreotti, 11. Caden Sarale, 12. Carson Sousa, 13. Jake Morgan, 14. Dylan Ito, 15. Blake Bower, 16. Chance Crum, 17. Ryan Robinson, 18. Colby Johnson, 19. Hayden Reinbold, 20. Mariah Ede. NT
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
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Zeb Wise, Laps 21-86 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 87-100 Justin Grant.
(P) represents a provisional starter
(O) = represents a promoter's option
**Mariah Ede flipped during the semi. Hayden Reinbold flipped during the semi. Colby Johnson flipped during the semi. Ryan Robinson flipped during the semi. Blake Bower flipped during the semi. Kyle Larson flipped on lap 67 of the feature.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-2362, 2-Chris Windom-2344, 3-Justin Grant-2171, 4-Emerson Axsom-2165, 5-Tanner Thorson-2119, 6-Logan Seavey-2020, 7-Thomas Meseraull-1896, 8-Daison Pursley-1892, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1864, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1719.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-210, 2-Chris Windom-204, 3-Tanner Thorson-198, 4-Thomas Meseraull-178, 5-Brady Bacon-170, 6-Logan Seavey-160, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-159, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Buddy Kofoid-117, 10-Shane Cottle-106.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 23-24, 2021 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Hangtown 100 Points Champion: Logan Seavey
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Cory Eliason
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Tanner Carrick
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Chase Randall
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Cory Eliason
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Michael Faccinto
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Tanner Carrick (22nd to 9th)
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Chase Randall
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Colby Copeland
KYLE LARSON HANGS 'EM HIGH
WITH WIN ON HANGTOWN 100 NIGHT #2
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Placerville, California (November 19, 2021)………It was only a matter of time before Kyle Larson found his way back to USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship victory lane at California's Placerville Speedway.
Following the 2019 Hangtown 100 winner's sixth-place finish in Thursday's opener, the Elk Grove, Calif. native reacclimated himself to the track of his youth, where he honed his racing skills as a young phenom more than a decade earlier.
He put those attributes on full display during Friday's second event of the three-night Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100, starting seventh in the field for the 30-lap feature before rising his way up to the front, making the winning move nine laps from the finish with a dive under Emerson Axsom in turn four to score his second victory of the series' season in just three starts.
Larson's 25th career USAC National Midget feature victory moved him past Billy Engelhart on the all-time series win list. Larson now stands tied for 17th all-time alongside Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones and Dave Strickland.
The triumph elevated Larson to the top of the overall Hangtown 100 points standings as well, which the accumulation of will ultimately set the lineups for Saturday night's $20,000-to-win, 100-lap main event.
Seemingly any car Larson steps into, it's instantly a top-flite favorite to succeed. The combination of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion behind the wheel and his Kyle Larson Racing owned, FloRacing and HendrickCars.com sponsored Silva chassis with a Speedway engine required some ironing out on night one, but on night two, the combination had already proven itself as a winner.
"Thanks to everybody who took the time to build this car," Larson praised. "Nobody's got a car like it in the field, so it's neat to win out in our second race."
Larson spoke of the ability to be confident enough in the car to drive it deeper into the corner than his competition, a characteristic that certainly aided in his rapid advancement throughout the second half of the race.
"I was finally able to carry speed on entry and have grip and be confident with it," Larson explained. "That helped me kind of stay low in the center of three and four and when I could hit it right in one and two and exit low. My car got better and better throughout the race. I didn't want any cautions there at the end, but we were able to get good launches and kind of pull away a little bit."
Larson's outlook was in jeopardy early on, not by any of his own doing, but because of Mother Nature. A misty and rainy early afternoon delayed the program by well more than an hour, which resulted in a smothering and lingering fog which encompassed the 1/4-mile dirt oval during the preliminary events.
While a little digging was a must Larson could not avoid in his path to the front of the field from his inside row four starting position, USAC National Midget point leader Chris Windom was on a relatively easy street early in the going as he spurted out to a six-car-length lead from the outside of the front row.
However, lap three was the base of the first feature stoppage of the evening when Maria Cofer (10th) flipped in turn four. Caden Sarale (17th) attempted to avoid the upside-down Cofer but made slight contact with her idle machine before also coming to a stop himself. Both drivers restarted the event with Cofer 14th and Sarale 25th in what was his initial USAC feature start.
On the sixth lap, one of the most uncharacteristic events came via one of the most unlikely sources for such an incident. Series point leader, defending champion and race leader Chris Windom got sideways all by his lonesome on entry to turn one. As he tapped the brakes to righten the ship and avoid spinning all the way around, the car locked up, the engine shut off, and Windom was completely stopped.
Windom subsequently returned to the lineup to finish 15th while his point lead dwindled from 13 points up to 12 points down in an instant flash with just four races remaining.
The new race leader became series Rookie Bryant Wiedeman who led the field to the green on the lap six restart. However, his lead proved to be short-lived as Axsom charged around the outside of Wiedeman two laps later in turn four to lead lap eight and take control of the top spot, where he'd remain for the bulk of the event.
By midway, Larson had moved his way into third, using a variety of attack angles, first up top above the cushion, then a slice toward the bottom, which he used to carve his way past Wiedeman for the second position on lap 17, slotting himself squarely between the now third-running Wiedeman and race leader Axsom.
Lap-after-lap-after-lap, Larson swung to the top side of turns one and two, then made a beeline from the top of turn two to the bottom of turn three where he slid side-by-side with Axsom repeatedly, rinse, lather and repeat. However, time and time again, Axsom got enough of a drive in three and four to thwart Larson's exhaustive pursuit, but Larson remained hungry and confident that his persistence would pay off in droves soon enough.
"It was difficult," Larson acknowledged. "The track was so fast there. I got to third by a couple cars at the top of three and four. The momentum of the yellows, and when they fell, kind of helped me out. I found the line there in three and four right before one of the cautions and was able to really use that to my advantage with Emerson and Bryant running the top. That worked out, and I was thankful that Emerson didn't move down after I'd showed my nose so many times."
On the 22nd lap, Larson's constant hounding of Axsom paid dividends when he got the drive he so desired through turns three and four to slide up across and clear the chrome horn of Axsom at the exit of the fourth turn, all while the sizable crowd sent up a deafening roar of approval from under the covered grandstands.
Meanwhile, Cannon McIntosh escaped injury following the 14th place driver's flip along the front straightaway with just two laps remaining. He'd walk away from the incident unscathed.
The green-white-checkered finish presented a two-lap dash in which Larson went unheeded, unmatched and unbeatable as he reached the finish line first by a 0.663 second margin of victory over Axsom in second with Wiedeman third, Jason McDougal fourth and new point leader Buddy Kofoid in fifth.
Emerson Axsom's fine California stretch has been buttery smooth thus far with the Franklin, Ind. driver earning his second runner-up finish in the past three races in the Golden State after leading a race-high 14 laps in his Petry Motorsports/FK Rod Ends – Iron Born Studio/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota, a "T car" the team constructed following a major crash last weekend at Arizona Speedway.
"This is a backup car, and it took us a minute to get used to it, but I think we got it figured out after running second to Kyle. It's pretty cool, and I'm kind of out there fan-girling when the 1K goes by, but not really," Axsom said, accompanied by a sizable grin. "It's pretty cool because it's my dad and I working on this car. We got our speed back and now we've got one more night."
Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) led the first two laps of his USAC National Midget career early in Friday's feature and carried on to record the best finish of his young USAC career, a 3rd, behind Larson and Axsom in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/Coleman Power Sports – Yerf Dog/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"It was definitely a good run for our team," Wiedeman noted. "I goofed up last night pretty bad on my part. I had a chance at Bakersfield for a podium but made a couple mistakes there at the end. I'm glad to be on the podium, especially with a couple of the best USAC Midget drivers there are. I didn't really know where to run early on and let Axsom by me, then Larson got me on the restart. We're just going to keep clicking off these nights and keep working towards that first win."
Furthermore, two more of Weideman's Kunz/Curb-Agajanian teammates posted special nights. Taylor Reimer set fast time during Fatheadz Qualifying for the first time in her USAC National Midget career while Brenham Crouch set a new 10-lap record during his heat race at a time of 1:56.949.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 19, 2021 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.569; 2. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.668; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-11.696; 4. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.742; 5. Colby Copeland, 25m, Malloy-11.752; 6. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-11.776; 7. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.814; 8. Jake Andreotti, 00A, Davis-11.843; 9. Mike Snider, 6K, Snider-12.552.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-11.622; 2. Chance Crum, 26R, Rudeen-11.700; 3. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-11.760; 4. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-11.772; 5. Colby Johnson, 17K, Morris-11.800; 6. Carson Souza, 00, Mounce/Stout-11.851; 7. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.113; 8. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-12.197.
FLIGHT THREE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Maria Cofer, 57, Abacus-11.627; 2. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.646; 3. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-11.697; 4. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-11.699; 5. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-11.736; 6. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.880; 7. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-11.942; 8. Ben Worth, 5K, Alexander-11.973.
FLIGHT FOUR FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-11.572; 2. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-11.592; 3. Zeb Wise, 37w, Wood-11.688; 4. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-11.769; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-11.809; 6. Michael Faccinto, 14, Graunstadt-11.833; 7. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.453; 8. Anthony Esberg, 1x, Esberg-NT.
FLIGHT FIVE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-11.590; 2. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-11.623; 3. Ryan Robinson, 71R, Morris-11.708; 4. Jade Avedisian, 86, CBI-11.776; 5. Chase Johnson, 7NZ, BLS-11.792; 6. Austin Barnhill, 17B, Dave Mac-11.879; 7. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-12.001; 8. Ben Wiesz, 21w, Wiesz-12.659.
FLIGHT SIX FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.553; 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.687; 3. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-11.706; 4. Jason McDougal, 5T, Alexander-11.768; 5. Cory Eliason, 26, Rudeen-11.963; 6. Chase Elliott, 9E, Larson-12.069; 7. Jake Morgan, 45, Luke OB-13.298; 8. Thomas Esberg, 8x, Esberg-14.335.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Brenham Crouch (T), 2. Colby Copeland (T), 3. Justin Grant, 4. Jake Andreotti, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (T), 6. Tanner Carrick, 7. Kaylee Bryson, 8. Hayden Reinbold, 9. Mike Snider. 1:56.949 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Caden Sarale (T), 2. Colby Johnson, 3. Chris Windom (T), 4. Chase Randall, 5. Emerson Axsom (T), 6. Chance Crum, 7. Dylan Ito, 8. Carson Sousa. 1:59.97
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo (T), 2. Shane Golobic, 3. Buddy Kofoid (T), 4. Maria Cofer (T), 5. Blake Bower, 6. Mariah Ede, 7. Cannon McIntosh, 8. Ben Worth. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Michael Faccinto (T), 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Ryan Timms, 4. Zeb Wise (T), 5. Kyle Larson (T), 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Randi Pankratz, 8. Anthony Esberg. 1:59.883
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Johnson (T), 2. Logan Seavey (T), 3. Jade Avedisian, 4. Ethan Mitchell (T), 5. Ryan Robinson, 6. Ryan Bernal, 7. Ben Wiesz, 8. Austin Barnhill. NT
SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Jason McDougal (T), 2. Taylor Reimer (T), 3. Cory Eliason, 4. Bryant Wiedeman (T), 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Chase Elliott, 7. Thomas Esberg, 8. Jake Morgan. NT
FIRST ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Golobic, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Cory Eliason, 4. Ryan Robinson, 5. Jade Avedisian, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Jake Andreotti, 8. Blake Bower, 9. Ben Worth, 10. Kaylee Bryson, 11. Cannon McIntosh, 12. Jake Morgan, 13. Ben Wiesz, 14. Anthony Esberg, 15. Carson Sousa. NT
SECOND ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Timms, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Chase Randall, 6. Tanner Carrick, 7. Colby Johnson, 8. Mariah Ede, 9. Austin Barnhill, 10. Dylan Ito, 11. Chase Elliott, 12. Mike Snider, 13. Hayden Reinbold, 14. Randi Pankratz, 15. Thomas Esberg. NT
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
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Chris Windom, Laps 6-7 Bryant Wiedeman, Laps 8-21 Emerson Axsom, Laps 22-30 Kyle Larson.
(P) represents a provisional starter
(T) represents a heat race transfer
**Cannon McIntosh flipped during the third heat. Ryan Robinson flipped during the fifth heat. Bryant Wiedeman flipped during the sixth heat. Maria Cofer flipped on lap 3 of the feature. Cannon McIntosh flipped on lap 28 of the feature.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-2295, 2-Chris Windom-2283, 3-Emerson Axsom-2116, 4-Justin Grant-2101, 5-Tanner Thorson-2064, 6-Logan Seavey-1956, 7-Daison Pursley-1892, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1857, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1823, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1694.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-204 & Justin Grant-204, 3-Tanner Thorson-190, 4-Brady Bacon-170, 5-Thomas Meseraull-167, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-154, 7-Logan Seavey-152, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Buddy Kofoid-113, 10-Shane Cottle-106.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 20, 2021 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Justin Grant
Fatheadz Fast Qualifier: Taylor Reimer
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Brenham Crouch
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Caden Sarale
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Carson Macedo
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Michael Faccinto
First Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Shane Golobic
First Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Ryan Timms
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Justin Grant (24th to 11th)
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Ryan Robinson & Mitchel Moles
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Brenham Crouch
TIMMS BECOMES YOUNGEST USAC MIDGET
WINNER IN HANGTOWN 100 OPENER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Placerville, California (November 18, 2021)………At just 15 years, 3 months and 12 days old, Ryan Timms made history Thursday on night one of the Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100 at California's Placerville Speedway by becoming the youngest feature winner in the history of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.
The Oklahoma City, Okla. native rewrote the record books just a mere five months after Corey Day's triumph during Indiana Midget Week at Circle City Raceway, which he accomplished at 15 years, 6 months and 12 days old.
Although the victorious occasion marked Timms' first career series win, his performance also produced a d�j� vu moment that harkened back to the opening night of the most recent Hangtown 100 in 2019.
It was then and there two years ago that a Chad Boat-owned car started on the outside of the front row, took the lead at the drop of the green flag, and led all 30 laps en route to a first career USAC National Midget feature victory, that driver being Gio Scelzi.
One day shy of exactly two years later, a Chad Boat-owned car started on the outside of the front row, took the lead at the drop of the green flag, and led all 30 laps en route to a first career USAC National Midget feature victory, this time that driver being Ryan Timms.
In just his 12th career USAC National Midget feature start, Timms earned not only his first career win, but also his first career top-five finish after a previous best result of 6th in August's BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Full of potential, talent and poise, Timms' has earned 16 total sprint car and midget victories this season, including his first with USAC that arrived sooner than he would've even thought.
"It's just really unexpected," Timms admitted. "I got a really good start and I figured if I could just keep my momentum up on the top, they wouldn't have anything for me."
Timms ran roughshod through the field, never wavering from the high line in a non-stop feature that went green to checkered in a mere six minutes and 7.97 seconds in his CB Industries/Western Flyer Express – DriveWFX.com – PristineAuction.com/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
By lap seven, Timms had constructed a full-straightaway lead and was already on the cusp of sailing through the tail end of the field. Shortly thereafter, fifth starting Cannon McIntosh slid his way into the third position in turn three past Justin Grant, then a half a lap later, made the same maneuver on the opposite end of the racetrack to streak by Zeb Wise for second.
With the combination of Timms' fight through traffic and McIntosh now being in the clear and possessing a full head of steam, the naked eye could undoubtedly tell that Timms' advantage was sheared in half from a full-straightaway to just a half.
Timms made his escape through the jungle of machinery, clearing Colby Copeland in turn four on lap 24 to put him a lap down, then promptly stretching his lead to a full straightaway without a bit of traffic in his view and only six laps remaining. McIntosh quickly disposed of Copeland as well and quickly carved into Timms' lead in half once again, from a half-straightaway to a quarter-straightaway and closing.
With McIntosh now standing just a single car length back of Timms' coming to the white flag, the sands were filling the bottom of the hourglass. Timms stayed tried and true to the high line while McIntosh, who shadowed him up on the cushion, was forced to hatch a plan for an alternate path in order to get by.
In the final set of corners in turns three and four, Timms worked to the outside of 19th running Chase Randall, who occupied the bottom. McIntosh dove toward the infield berm but ran out of room in which to toss a possible slide job with Randall occupying the groove. Meanwhile, up top, Timms maintained the momentum and, subsequently, delivered victory number one.
McIntosh took second, three car lengths and 0.347 seconds behind Timms at the finish line, with Justin Grant third, Shane Golobic fourth and Emerson Axsom fifth.
Two nights after starting off his California Midget swing with a 15th place result at Bakersfield, Timms felt the swing of momentum, and the swing of emotion, take a path in his direction on this night, as one Oklahoman beat another Oklahoman for the $5,000 top prize.
"There was a bunch of lapped traffic and I figured he'd be right there, but I never saw his nose," Timms recalled of his battle to the finish with McIntosh. "It's been a pretty humbling trip. We'll have a great run then run dang near last the next night. So, to get this one is just awesome."
Of late, Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) has been among the quickest and most consistent in the series in his Dave Mac Motorsports/DriveWFX.com – D.A. McIntosh – Smith Titanium/Spike/Speedway Toyota. Although his streak of three consecutive Fatheadz Fast Qualifying times came to an end Thursday, he did record his second runner-up finish in his last three outings as he gets ever closer to his first series win of the season, but just ran out of time.
"I was really driving it hard," McIntosh said. "I honestly thought we had more laps left, then I saw the white and we just ran out of time there. It would've been nice to get a yellow and see what we could've done with the field bunched up without traffic but, sometimes, that's how it goes. I felt like we had a shot to win tonight. We have two more nights and I'm really excited because I feel like we have a really good racecar."
For the second consecutive race, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) rounded out the podium with a third-place finish in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota. Located about 30 miles or so from his hometown of Ione, Calif., for Grant, Placerville served as a homecoming of sorts, conjuring up memories of his early days of competition with the Bay Cities Racing Association, where he was the 2007 series champ.
"We want to get to victory lane every night, but if we can't win, coming out with a good solid run is a bonus, especially on a three-day event like this," Grant said. "We want to win Saturday and we're doing everything we can to put ourselves in a good position to do that. We're going to have to be a little better to beat those guys, though. They were ripping around there pretty good."
Four new track records were set on Thursday night at Placerville with Tanner Thorson recording the 23rd Fatheadz Fast Qualifying time of his career in USAC National Midget competition, moving him past Stan Fox for sole possession of 17th on the all-time list. Thorson's time of 11.397 broke the former one-lap track record of 11.979 seconds, set by Dillon Welch in 2019.
Thomas Meseraull's time of 1:57.13 in Simpson Race Products broke his own track record by more than 11 seconds during Simpson Racing heat one, completely demolishing his former mark of 2:08.68, set in 2019.
Thorson posted a second new track record of the evening for himself in the second of two Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Features. His time of 2:25.95 set the new standard for the 12-lap distance at the 1/4-mile dirt oval.
Timms' winning time of 6:07.97 signaled the fifth green-to-checker USAC National Midget feature this season and, by far, the fastest. Preceding non-stop races this season occurred on Aug. 3 at Pennsylvania's Grandview Speedway; Sept. 11 at South Dakota's Huset's Speedway; and Sept. 24 and Sept. 25 at Ohio's Eldora Speedway.
With his seventh-place feature finish, Chris Windom reclaimed the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship point lead by a 13-point margin over Buddy Kofoid, who scored a 14th place result. Five races now remain this season.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 18, 2021 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Maria Cofer, 57, Abacus-11.463, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-11.464, 3. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-11.533, 4. Jade Avedisian, 86, CBI-11.571, 5. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-11.600, 6. Ryan Robinson, 71R, Morris-11.620, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-11.624, 8. Chance Crum, 26R, Rudeen-11.640.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-11.605, 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.672, 3. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.818, 4. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-11.870, 5. Austin Barnhill, 17B, Dave Mac-11.951, 6. Carson Souza, 00, Mounce/Stout-12.311, 7. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.721, 8. Robert Carson, 99, Segur-NT.
FLIGHT THREE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-11.436, 2. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-11.456, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-11.546, 4. Michael Faccinto, 14s, Graunstadt-11.647, 5. Jake Andreotti, 00A, Davis-11.785, 6. Chase Johnson, 7NZ, BSL-11.854, 7. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.143, 8. Tony Gomes, 73x, Ford-NT (Time of 11.831 disallowed due to bypassing the scales).
FLIGHT FOUR FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-11.397 (New Track Record), 2. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-11.570, 3. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-11.612, 4. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-11.627, 5. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.710, 6. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.733, 7. Ben Worth, 5K, Alexander-11.778, 8. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.813.
FLIGHT FIVE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-11.546, 2. Zeb Wise, 37w, Wood-11.561, 3. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-11.594, 4. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-11.644, 5. Ben Wiesz, 21w, Wiesz-12.501, 6. Jake Morgan, 45, Luke OB-12.702, 7. Beau Lemire, 14, Lemire-NT.
FLIGHT SIX FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.590, 2. Cory Eliason, 26, Rudeen-11.685, 3. Colby Copeland, 25m, Malloy-11.709, 4. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-11.722, 5. Jason McDougal, 5T, Alexander-11.738, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-11.765, 7. Chase Johnson, 7NZ, BLS-11.785, 8. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.959.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull (T), 2. Shane Golobic (T), 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Cannon McIntosh (T), 5. Chance Crum, 6. Maria Cofer, 7. Jade Avedisian, 8. Ryan Robinson. 1:57.13 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Brenham Crouch (T), 2. Carson Sousa, 3. Chris Windom (T), 4. Bryant Wiedeman (T), 5. Dylan Ito, 6. Austin Barnhill, 7. Randi Pankratz. 2:01.21
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Colby Johnson (T), 2. Michael Faccinto, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Justin Grant (T), 5. Chase Randall (T), 6. Jake Andreotti, 7. Tony Gomes, 8. Caden Sarale. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Kaylee Bryson (T), 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Ryan Timms (T), 4. Emerson Axsom (T), 5. Blake Bower, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Ben Worth, 8. Hayden Reinbold. 1:58.21
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey (T), 2. Ryan Bernal, 3. Kyle Larson (T), 4. Zeb Wise (T), 5. Ben Wiesz, 6. Jake Morgan, 7. Beau Lemire. NT
SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-2 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Carrick (T), 2. Ethan Mitchell, 3. Chase Johnson, 4. Colby Copeland (T), 5. Jason McDougal, 6. Mitchel Moles, 7. Taylor Reimer (T), 8. Cory Eliason. NT
FIRST ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Michael Faccinto, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Maria Cofer, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Chase Johnson, 7. Carson Sousa, 8. Ben Worth, 9. Dylan Ito, 10. Austin Barnhill, 11. Chance Crum, 12. Beau Lemire, 13. Jade Avedisian.
SECOND ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Ryan Bernal, 4. Ethan Mitchell, 5. Blake Bower, 6. Cory Eliason, 7. Jason McDougal, 8. Ryan Robinson, 9. Hayden Reinbold, 10. Jake Andreotti, 11. Caden Sarale, 12. Ben Wiesz, 13. Jake Morgan, 14. Randi Pankratz. 2:25.95 (New Track Record)
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)
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Ryan Timms.
(P) represents a provisional starter
(T) represents a heat race transfer
**Beau Lemire flipped during qualifying.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-2250, 2-Buddy Kofoid-2237, 3-Justin Grant-2060, 4-Emerson Axsom-2049, 5-Tanner Thorson-2041, 6-Logan Seavey-1907, 7-Daison Pursley-1892, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1834, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1780, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1671.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-204, 2-Justin Grant-191, 3-Tanner Thorson-188, 4-Brady Bacon-170, 5-Thomas Meseraull-167, 6-Logan Seavey-149, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-148, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Buddy Kofoid-109, 10-Shane Cottle-106.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 19-20, 2021 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Carson Macedo
Fatheadz Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Brenham Crouch
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Colby Johnson
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Kaylee Bryson
First Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
First Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Tanner Thorson
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Thomas Meseraull (17th to 9th)
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Maria Cofer & Ethan Mitchell
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Tanner Carrick
LARSON EYES HANGTOWN 100 REPEAT
THIS WEEKEND AT PLACERVILLE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Placerville, California (November 17, 2021)………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."
It's also the place the Elk Grove, Calif. native will be competing at for three-straight nights of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing this coming weekend, Thursday-Friday-Saturday, November 18-19-20, during the second running of the Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100.
The three-night event will pay $5,000-to-win on each of the two preliminary night features on Thursday and Friday while the 100-lap main event on Saturday will pay $20,000-to-win. In addition, another $12,000 will be awarded to the overall Hangtown 100-point champion throughout the three nights.
Back in 2019, Larson chalked up another memorable moment at the northern California 1/4-mile dirt oval, starting 10th and laying claim as the winner of the richest event in USAC National Midget history, earning a total of $32,000 in total earnings for the evening.
In fact, Larson also scored wins in a pair of regional midget events at Placerville earlier that same season as a tune-up to Hangtown, his only aberration being the opening night of the 2019 Hangtown weekend when he was mired in the back, yet still charged from 23rd to finish 4th in the feature.
Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.) will team alongside Larson in a second Kyle Larson Racing machine for the Hangtown 100. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion has competed in three USAC National Midget events in 2021, highlighted by a heat race win in Ocala, Fla. in February.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) opened Hangtown 2019 with a runner-up result after starting 8th, then followed up with an 11th on the final night. Teaming up with Seavey in a second Tom Malloy-owned car this weekend is Colby Copeland (Roseville, Calif.) who was 22nd on night one and 14th in the following night's closer that year.
Seven Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports cars are entered for the event. Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.) has been a frequent winner at Placerville in a winged sprint car this season, capturing a Sprint Car Challenge Tour main event in March, plus three more of the winged 360 variety throughout the summer. He took 8th and 3rd on the two nights of the Hangtown 100 in 2019.
USAC National Midget point leader Buddy Kofoid's first Hangtown 100 start came on night two of the 2019 race, with the Penngrove, Calif. driver recording an 18th. He's joined on the KKM team by a slew of Hangtown 100 Rookies, including Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), Mariah Ede (Fresno, Calif.) and Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas).
Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.) has won in both a midget and sprint car at Placerville, wining with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars there in late 2019. He also was a victor with the USAC Western States Midgets at Placerville in 2013 and 2017. At his self-described "favorite racetrack in the world," the 2017 Indiana Midget Week champ was 5th on night one of the Hangtown 100 in 2019 and, most recently, scored a 360 Sprint Car win at the track in May.
Hangtown 100 promoter Matt Wood has entered four cars for the event with Golobic joined by Zeb Wise, Ryan Bernal and Mitchel Moles. Wise (Angola, Ind.) finished 24th in his lone Hangtown 100 appearance on night two in 2019. Bernal (Hollister, Calif.) was a 16th place finisher on night one of the event in 2019 and an impressive 4th on the second of two nights. Moles is a Rookie in the event but was the fastest qualifier with a new track record with the USAC National Midgets at South Dakota's Huset's Speedway in September.
Returning 2019 Hangtown feature starters include a myriad of USAC National Midget feature winners, highlighted by the likes of series champion Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) for one, who charged from 23rd to 13th on night two. Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) notched 14th and 17th place finishes, whereas Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) was 19th and 21st, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) 25th and 20th, and Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) 26th on night one.
Maria Cofer (Macdoel, Calif.) was a BCRA Midget feature winner at Placerville in 2018 and finished 4th earlier this year in USAC Western States Midget competition. Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.) took 3rd in the event with Michael Faccinto (Hanford, Calif.) 5th, Blake Bower (Brentwood, Calif.) 7th and Ben Wiesz (Colfax, Calif.) 9th.
Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.), the 2016 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year and 11-time 2020 World of Outlaws winner, led a race-high 23 laps in the 2019 WoO feature at Placerville before finishing 2nd behind Golobic.
More than half of the entries will be trying to crack into their first Hangtown 100 feature starting lineup. Jake Morgan (Elk Grove, Calif.) won a 360 non-wing sprint car race at Placerville in April of this year. Ryan Robinson (Foresthill, Calif.) captured a winged 360 sprint main event victory in May of 2021.
USAC National Midget feature winners in 2021 looking to make their first Hangtown 100 start this weekend include 2016 series champion Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), plus series winners Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) and Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), along with series veteran Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) and series Rookies Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Austin Barnhill (Wilmington, N.C.)
All Star Circuit of Champions runner-up Cory Eliason was a three-time Placerville winged 360 Sprint Car feature winner in 2017. His Rudeen Racing teammate, Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.), is a three-time USAC Midwest Regional Midget winner this season.
Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) will pilot a car from the same team (CB Industries), with the same car number (#84), that won the first ever Hangtown 100 feature with driver Gio Scelzi in 2019. Looking to become a first-time USAC winner is CBI teammate Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), who recently captured victory on the final night of Trophy Cup in Tulare, Calif.
Recently crowned USAC Western States Midget champ Blake Bower (Brentwood, Calif.) is in the Hangtown field for the first time while series winner Ben Worth (Coalinga, Calif.) seeks his first feature event start. They'll be joined by familiar western competitors, including Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.), both a past Gas City (Ind.) Speedway track champ and a multi-time USAC CRA Sprint Car feature winner.
Carson Sousa (Red Bluff, Calif.) makes his first Hangtown appearance and first USAC Midget appearance since 2019, along with fellow Californians, 2021 BCRA titlist Colby Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.), Tony Gomes (Modesto, Calif.), Randi Parnkratz (Atascadero, Calif.), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.), Lonny Alton (Cordova, Calif.), Beau Lemire (Placerville, Calif.) and 2019 BCRA champ, Robert Carson (Concord, Calif.).
On Thursday and Friday of the Hangtown 100, pits open at 9am Pacific, qualifying/heat race draft at 2:30pm, grandstands at 3pm, drivers meeting at 3pm, driver autographs from 4-4:30pm and on track at 4:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing.
On Saturday, pits open at 9am Pacific, grandstands at 3pm, drivers meeting at 4:15pm and on track at 5pm, followed by qualifying and racing.
Three-night reserved and general admission ticket packages for the Hangtown 100, along with single night tickets, are available at https://happsnow.com/event/Placerville-Speedway.
Reserved seating will make up rows J-T and General Admission will be comprised of rows A-I. Pit pass combo upgrades are also available for $20 each day.
Also sharing the card will be the BCRA/California Lightning Sprints, who are set to run without wings each night.
The expanded three-night event will utilize a modified Trophy Cup style format, featuring larger than normal inverts.
Camping is available on the El Dorado County Fairgrounds for the event and can be reserved by calling 530-621-5860.
All three nights of racing at the Hangtown 100 can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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2021 HANGTOWN 100 ENTRY LIST: (49 ENTRIES)
CAR # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | ENTRANT
00 CARSON SOUSA/Red Bluff, CA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
00A JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
07w MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Kyle Larson Racing)
1x MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (LKK Motorsports)
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5A LONNY ALTON/Rancho Cordova, CA (Lonny Alton)
5K BEN WORTH/Coalinga, CA (Dean Alexander)
7NZ CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (BSL Racing)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)
9E CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Kyle Larson Racing)
9m ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Bundy Built Motorsports)
14 BEAU LEMIRE/Placerville, CA (Lemire Racing)
14s MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Matt Streeter)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports)
17B AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC (Dave Mac Motorsports)
17K COLBY JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Del Morris)
17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19m ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
19T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
21 CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Tarlton Motorsports)
21w BEN WIESZ/Colfax, CA (Ben Wiesz)
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Tom Malloy)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
25x COLBY COPELAND/Roseville, CA (Tom Malloy)
26 CORY ELIASON/Visalia, CA (Rudeen Racing)
26R CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)
37w ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Matt Wood Racing)
45 JAKE MORGAN/Elk Grove, CA (Luke OB Racing)
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Abacus Racing)
67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71E MARIAH EDE/Fresno, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71R RYAN ROBINSON/Foresthill, CA (Del Morris)
73 TONY GOMES/Modesto, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)
84 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (CB Industries)
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries)
87w RYAN BERNAL/Hollister, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries)
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
99 ROBERT CARSON/Concord, CA (Karen & Howard Segur)
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-2202, 2-Chris Windom-2198, 3-Tanner Thorson-2010, 4-Justin Grant-1996, 5-Emerson Axsom-1991, 6-Daison Pursley-1893, 7-Logan Seavey-1864, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1788, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1753, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1604.
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT PLACERVILLE SPEEDWAY:
1-Kyle Larson & Gio Scelzi
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT PLACERVILLE SPEEDWAY:
2019: Gio Scelzi (11/19) & Kyle Larson (11/20)
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT PLACERVILLE SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 11/19/2019 - Dillon Welch - 11.979 - 75.132 mph
10 Laps - 11/19/2019 - Thomas Meseraull - 2:08.680 - 69.941 mph
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
BAKO-TO-BAKO:
KOFOID WINS 2ND STRAIGHT USAC MIDGET
NOVEMBER CLASSIC AT BAKERSFIELD
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bakersfield, California (November 16, 2021)………One year earlier at California's Bakersfield Speedway, Buddy Kofoid's pursuit of victory required a late-race duel that went right down to the wire.
On Tuesday night, Kofoid made it imperative to put closure on his latest Bakersfield duel early and decisively at the 1/3-mile dirt oval.
Kofoid stalked racelong leader Emerson Axsom before making the attack, then reloaded for a second shot, which sent him straight into the lead for good 13 laps from the finish.
From there, Kofoid withstood three separate restarts following a late avalanche of cautions, which he successfully navigated to earn his fifth USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory of the season, and his first since all the way back on June 11 during Indiana Midget Week at Gas City I-69 Speedway.
"I knew getting off to a good start would be critical, but (Axsom) got me both times," Kofoid remarked, referring to the initial aborted start followed by a complete restart at the green. "I tried a little bit of something the second time and it was still just a little hard to get going on the outside. He's running the top on both ends, so I decided I'll just try the middle/bottom in one and two and it kept sticking good. Early on, I felt like I wanted to flip over backwards because it was gripped up so much."
In the big picture, Kofoid's victory thrusted him into the series point lead over Chris Windom with six events remaining as he seeks his first USAC championship in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Toyota/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
It was certainly a victory that had been a longtime coming for the Penngrove, Calif. native who picked up his eighth career series win, placing him 80th on the all-time list alongside Brady Bacon, Merle Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Hank Butcher, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Ronnie Duman, Brian Gerster, Kenny Irwin Jr., Eddie Johnson, Michael Lewis, Andy Michner and Josh Wise.
Interestingly enough, Kofoid became the first driver to win USAC National Midget features at Bakersfield in consecutive years since current KKM team manager/driver coach Jay Drake captured two-straight in 1997 and 1998.
Furthermore, the win was the 121st for car owner Keith Kunz who now stands just 12 behind Steve Lewis for the most all-time. It was the first victory for the KKM team since Daison Pursley reached victory lane on August 4 at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa.
In victory lane, Kofoid dedicated the victory to teammate Daison Pursley who remains hospitalized following a crash during a USAC National Midget heat race last Saturday night at Arizona Speedway, as well as injured team member Shane Marquez.
Kofoid began his venture from the outside of the front row and had an inkling that time and track position were of utmost importance right from the get-go and not something to let go to chance. However, Axsom got the upper hand through the middle early on in a contentious side-by-side battle that saw Kofoid able to edge ahead on the bottom of turn two each lap throughout the first third of the race only to fall short with Axsom's outside momentum able to carry him back to the front.
Axsom, driving the blue-colored mobile instead of his normal red colored No. 15 after crashing it during a flip during last weekend's Western World at Arizona, hele steady with a two-car length lead over Kofoid as the race crossed over the halfway mark and moved into the thick of lapped traffic.
On lap 17, Axsom became a tad too sideways on his entry into turn three, allowing Kofoid to subsequently shoot past underneath. Axsom, steaming right rear tire and all, countered and cut back underneath to reclaim the lead at the exit of turn four. Exactly one trip around Bakersfield Speedway later, Axsom clung to a slim advantage, and when sliding from the bottom of turn three to the cushion atop turn four, his car became slightly askew, which was the crack in the window Kofoid needed to establish himself as the leader when he raced by to lead at the stripe with a single car length of separation between he and Axsom.
"I was just kind of biding my time, waiting for traffic, and I feel like I can contend with people or snooker them a little bit in traffic if I'm there, and I was able to do that," Kofoid explained. "Then, after that point, I just needed to move back to the top of one and two and just start running laps."
Kofoid was, for all intents and purposes, became unattainable at that point, especially without a bevy of traffic to contend with out in front following a barrage of cautions, beginning on lap 22 with 14th running Ethan Mitchell's ride going up in an eruption of white smoke.
World of Outlaws star and 2016 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year Carson Macedo became the next victim of circumstance on lap 25 when the 12th running driver biked in turn three, then plowed into the outside wall and the catchfence with the right side of his car before coming to a rest on all fours.
Jade Avedisian was the final contestant to find trouble, doing so while she competed for the 11th position alongside Chase Randall with the white flag right in their sights, which wound up with her in the wall and the car tipped over on its side.
Although his 1.669 second lead was abruptly erased, Kofoid found no issue whatsoever resuming his voyage during the final green-white-checkered restart which he engaged without issue as he raced away to a 1.130 second victory at the checkered over Axsom, who used a last corner crossover to gain back the runner-up spot ahead of Grant in third. Tanner Thorson was fourth with Cannon McIntosh fifth.
Axsom's second-place result was the Franklin, Indiana driver's first top-ten finish in his past five starts with the series in his Petry Motorsports/FK Rod Ends – Iron Born Studio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota. His second-place finish was his highest finishing position since Action Track USA back in early August.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) felt a little more racy toward the end of the 30-lapper in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota as the track became more technical, barely missing the second position in the final corner as Axsom raced back by to claim the spot.
Two track records were broken during the evening with Cannon McIntosh earning his third consecutive Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifying time with the series, the most recent of which broke Bakersfield's 26-year-old record for USAC Midgets at the track. McIntosh's lap of 12.347 was just a tick quicker than Billy Boat's time of 12.349, set in November of 1995.
Chase Randall, meanwhile, set a new 12-lap track record during the Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature, with his time of 2:31.417 breaking Brady Bacon's record of 2:35.690 from 2017.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 16, 2021 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – November Classic
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-12.347 (New Track Record); 2. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-12.454; 3. Jade Avedisian, 84, CBI-12.511; 4. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-12.528; 5. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-12.528; 6. Jason McDougal, 4, Dalby-12.560; 7. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.574; 8. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-12.582; 9. Chance Crum, 26R, Rudeen-12.595; 10. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.600; 11. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.601; 12. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.602; 13. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.607; 14. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.608; 15. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-12.616; 16. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.616; 17. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-12.646; 18. Tony Gomes, 73x, Ford-12.660; 19. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.664; 20. Cory Eliason, 26, Rudeen-12.674; 21. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.688; 22. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-12.742; 23. Mariah Ede, 71E, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.752; 24. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-12.796; 25. Michael Faccinto, 7J, Campbell-12.825; 26. Kevin Woody Jr., 10, Dave Mac-12.847; 27. Ben Worth, 5K, Alexander-12.890; 28. Maria Cofer, 57, Abacus-12.890; 29. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-12.941; 30. Chase Johnson, 7NZ, BSL-12.957; 31. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.999; 32. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-13.092; 33. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-13.149; 34. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-13.224.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Tanner Carrick, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Cannon McIntosh, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Chase Johnson, 8. Kevin Woody Jr., 9. Jake Andreotti. 2:07.787
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Tony Gomes, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Chase Randall, 6. Taylor Reimer, 7. Ben Worth, 8. Jason McDougal. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Kaylee Bryson, 4. Jade Avedisian, 5. Ethan Mitchell, 6. Brenham Crouch, 7. Maria Cofer, 8. Dylan Ito. 2:06.941
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Cory Eliason, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Michael Faccinto, 5. Ryan Timms, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Blake Bower, 8. Zach Daum. 2:05.251
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Randall, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Ryan Timms, 5. Brenham Crouch, 6. Taylor Reimer, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Chase Johnson, 9. Kevin Woody Jr., 10. Dylan Ito, 11. Ben Worth, 12. Maria Cofer, 13. Jake Andreotti, 14. Blake Bower, 15. Hayden Reinbold. 2:31.417 (New Track Record)
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
**Jade Avedisian flipped on lap 29 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Emerson Axsom, Laps 18-30 Buddy Kofoid.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-2202, 2-Chris Windom-2198, 3-Tanner Thorson-2010, 4-Justin Grant-1996, 5-Emerson Axsom-1991, 6-Daison Pursley-1893, 7-Logan Seavey-1864, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1788, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1753, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1604.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-201, 2-Justin Grant-188, 3-Tanner Thorson-184, 4-Brady Bacon-170, 5-Thomas Meseraull-159, 6-Logan Seavey-148, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-147, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Shane Cottle-106, 10-Buddy Kofoid-101.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 18-19-20, 2021 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Thomas Meseraull
Fatheadz Fast Qualifier: Cannon McIntosh
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Carson Macedo
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Cory Eliason
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Thomas Meseraull (22nd to 11th)
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Chance Crum
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Brenham Crouch
STAT BOOK:
WINDOM & THORSON ACCOMPLISH A FEAT THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE IN 43 YEARS!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bakersfield, California (November 16, 2021)………Over the last four decades, multiple drivers putting up big feature winning totals during a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship has occurred about as often as a barely cooked steak. It's rare.
But, with Chris Windom's victory last Saturday night during the Western World Championships at Arizona Speedway, he equaled Tanner Thorson with seven feature series wins this season.
Certainly, it's a noble accomplishment by both, but a deeper dig into the numbers shows that this is one of the most rare accomplishments in recent USAC history.
The last time two different drivers earned at least seven USAC National Midget wins in a single season was, in fact, 1978! That's 43 years ago for those of you playing at home. That season saw first-time series champ Rich Vogler and Sleepy Tripp score a grand total of 11 and eight wins, respectively.
Interestingly enough, this used to be a common occurrence in the early years of USAC when the Midget series schedule regularly reached 60-70 events per year, peaking at a whopping 79 races held in 1964.
Rex Easton (11) and George Amick (7) were the first duo to accomplish the feat in 1957. The trio of Jimmy Davies (9), Bob Wente (7) and Gene Hartley (7) duplicated seven-win seasons in 1960, marking the first time three drivers did the deal.
Mel Kenyon hit the still-standing high watermark of USAC National Midget feature single season wins during the 1967 season with 17 en route to the second of his seven career series driving championships. Billy Vukovich chimed in with seven victories of his own that same season.
In 1969, four different drivers hit on seven or more victories for the first and only time: Mel Kenyon (14), Bob Tattersall (11), Bob Wente (8) & Lee Kunzman (8).
Jimmy Davies notched seven or more amidst three consecutive championship seasons in 1960-61-62 while Kenyon collected three-in-a-row in 1967-68-69, the first two seasons of which resulted in championships two and three for the "King of Midgets."
For Windom and Thorson, however, their seasons aren't quite finished. They've still got seven races remaining, all in the state of California, starting on Tuesday, November 16 at Bakersfield Speedway for the November Classic. With seven to go, three more victories are needed to become the first double-digit race winner since Rich Vogler in 1988. Another record we could, perhaps, talk more about next week.
Bakersfield's round is followed by three-straight nights at the Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100 at Placerville Speedway on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 18-19-20.
The final stretch includes two dates at Merced Speedway on Tuesday, November 23 and Wednesday, November 24. The season comes to a close with the 80th running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway on its new date of Saturday night, November 27.
Tuesday at Bakersfield, the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets will be joined by the California Lightning Sprints.
The pits open at 2pm Pacific with the grandstands opening at 5pm, the drivers meeting at 5pm and cars on track at 5:30pm.
Adult general admission tickets are $20. Kids 6-12 general admission tickets are $10. Kids 5 and under general admission tickets are free. Pit passes are $45 for USAC members & $50 for non-members.
The NOS Energy Drink November Classic from Bakersfield, and all remaining USAC National Midget races, will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
SEASONS WITH AT LEAST TWO DRIVERS WINNING 7 OR MORE USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURES:
1957: Rex Easton (11) & George Amick (7)
1960: Jimmy Davies (9), Gene Hartley (7) & Bob Wente (7)
1961: Jimmy Davies (12) & A.J. Foyt (9)
1962: Jimmy Davies (9) & Bob Wente (8)
1963: Bob Wente (10) & Billy Cantrell (8)
1964: Tommy Copp (8), Mel Kenyon (7) & Parnelli Jones (7)
1965: Bob Tattersall (12), Mel Kenyon (7) & Mike McGreevy (7)
1966: Don Meacham (9) & Bob Tattersall (8)
1967: Mel Kenyon (17) & Billy Vukovich (10)
1968: Mel Kenyon (11) & Henry Pens (7)
1969: Mel Kenyon (14), Bob Tattersall (11), Bob Wente (8) & Lee Kunzman (8)
1970: Dave Strickland (10) & Jimmy Caruthers (7)
1971: Danny Caruthers (12) & Jimmy Caruthers (8)
1972: Pancho Carter (8) & Tom Bigelow (7)
1978: Rich Vogler (11) & Sleepy Tripp (8)
2021: Tanner Thorson (7) & Chris Windom (7)
==================================
2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET STAT LEADERS
Driver Point Leader: Chris Windom
Owner Point Leader: CB Industries #89
Leading Rookie Driver in Points: Chase Randall (11th)
Most Feature Wins: 7-Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Laps Led: 183-Chris Windom
Top-Fives: 24-Chris Windom
Top-Tens: 31-Buddy Kofoid
Fast Qualifying Times: 5-Tanner Thorson
Heat Race Wins: 9-Justin Grant & Thomas Meseraull
Feature Starts: 33-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Most Positions Gained in a Feature: Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st) & Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jun 3: (I) Paragon Speedway – Paragon, IN
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Jun 4: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 5: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Tom Malloy #25)
Jun 6: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing #3G)
Jun 9: (I) Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Corey Day (Clauson Marshall Racing #47BC)
Jun 10: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jun 11: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 12: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jul 13: (M) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Jul 15: (M) Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, KS
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 16: (M) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 17: (M) (F) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
Aug 3: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Aug 4: (E) Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Aug 5: (E) Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 6: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 7: (E) Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Newmanstown, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Aug. 19: (F) The Dirt Track at IMS – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Kyle Larson (CB Industries #86x)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, WI
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Sep 10: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Sep 11: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 12: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Clauson Marshall Racing #7BC)
Sep 25: (F) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(I) represents an Indiana Midget Week event
(M) represents a Mid-America Midget Week event
(E) represents an Eastern Midget Week event
(F) represents a race awarding feature points only
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 2138 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
2 2125 Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, Calif.
3 1942 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
4 1926 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
5 1918 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.
6 1893 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.
7 1814 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
8 1742 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.
9 1699 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
10 1537 Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Okla.
� = USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year Contender
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 2138 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#89)
2 2125 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#67)
3 1926 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#2J)
4 1918 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#15)
5 1893 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#71K)
6 1814 Tom Malloy, El Monte, Calif. (#25)
7 1787 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19T)
8 1742 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#7x)
9 1699 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#5)
10 1537 Dave Mac Motorsports, Bixby, Okla. (#08)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1348 Chase Randall, Waco, Texas
2 1009 Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, Texas
3 974 Bryant Wiedeman, Colby, Kan.
4 681 Hayden Reinbold, Gilbert, Ariz.
5 598 Hayden Williams, Auckland, N.Z.
6 481 Trey Gropp, Lincoln, Neb.
7 469 Corey Day, Clovis, Calif.
8 463 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Wash.
9 422 Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, Okla.
10 313 Brian Carber, Pipersville, Pa.
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
7-Tanner Thorson (Apr 11 at Port City Raceway, Jun 10 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 15 at Solomon Valley Raceway, Jul 16 at Jefferson County Speedway, Aug 5 at Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Aug 6 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway & Sep 5 at Angell Park Speedway)
7-Chris Windom (May 1 at Kokomo Speedway, Jun 12 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 3 at Grandview Speedway, Sep 11 at Huset's Speedway, Sep 12 Huset's Speedway, Sep 25 at Eldora Speedway & Nov 13 at Arizona Speedway)
4-Buddy Kofoid (Feb 6 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 10 at Port City Raceway, Jun 4 at Bloomington Speedway & Jun 11 at Gas City I-69 Speedway)
4-Thomas Meseraull (Feb 8 at Bubba Raceway Park, Jun 3 at Paragon Speedway, Sep 10 at Huset's Speedway & Oct 9 at Tri-State Speedway)
2-Emerson Axsom (Apr 30 at Kokomo Speedway & Jul 17 at Jefferson County Speedway)
2-Justin Grant (Aug 7 at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway & Nov 12 at Arizona Speedway)
2-Daison Pursley (Jul 13 at Red Dirt Raceway & Aug 4 at Action Track USA)
1-Tyler Courtney (Sept 24 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Kyle Cummins (Jun 6 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Corey Day (Jun 9 at Circle City Raceway)
1-Kyle Larson (Aug 19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1-Logan Seavey (Jun 5 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
183-Chris Windom
129-Tanner Thorson
113-Buddy Kofoid
93-Logan Seavey
90-Thomas Meseraull
77-Daison Pursley
72-Emerson Axsom
63-Kevin Thomas Jr.
55-Chase Randall
50-Cannon McIntosh
39-Justin Grant
30-Corey Day
29-Kyle Cummins
23-Cory Eliason
14-Tyler Courtney
9-Kaylee Bryson & Sam Johnson
7-Alex Bright, Kyle Larson & Jason McDougal
1-Jonathan Beason
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TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES
24-Chris Windom
22-Buddy Kofoid
17-Justin Grant
16-Emerson Axsom
14-Daison Pursley
12-Tanner Thorson
10-Thomas Meseraull & Kevin Thomas Jr.
8-Logan Seavey
5-Cannon McIntosh
3-Brady Bacon
2-Spencer Bayston, Tyler Courtney, Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Shane Golobic, Jason McDougal & Bryant Wiedeman
1-Alex Bright, Brian Carber, Tanner Carrick, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Cory Eliason, Kyle Larson, Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall & Hayden Williams
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TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES
31-Buddy Kofoid
28-Chris Windom
26-Justin Grant
25-Daison Pursley & Tanner Thorson
22-Emerson Axsom & Logan Seavey
21-Kevin Thomas Jr.
19-Thomas Meseraull
14-Cannon McIntosh
12-Chase Randall
10-Jason McDougal
5-Brenham Crouch, Corey Day & Bryant Wiedeman
4-Tanner Carrick, Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Cummins, Ethan Mitchell, & Hayden Williams
3-Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Tyler Courtney, Zach Daum, Shane Golobic & Ryan Timms
2-Spencer Bayston, Kaylee Bryson, Brian Carber, Chance Crum, Cory Eliason, Kyle Jones, Joe B. Miller, Taylor Reimer
1-Jonathan Beason, Trey Gropp, Kyle Larson, Mitchel Moles, Jake Neuman & Hayden Reinbold
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES
5-Tanner Thorson
3-Cannon McIntosh & Logan Seavey
2-Corey Day, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Spencer Bayston, Alex Bright, Shane Golobic, Ethan Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Chase Randall & Bryan Wiedeman
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HEAT RACE WINS: (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension, Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
9-Justin Grant & Thomas Meseraull
8-Emerson Axsom & Buddy Kofoid
7-Cannon McIntosh, Daison Pursley & Tanner Thorson
6-Kevin Thomas Jr.
5-Ethan Mitchell
4-Chase Randall, Bryant Wiedeman & Chris Windom
3-Jason McDougal
2-Cole Bodine, Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Taylor Reimer, Logan Seavey, Tyler Thomas, Ryan Timms & Hayden Williams
1-Austin Barnhill, Jonathan Beason, Alex Bright, Kaylee Bryson, Jake Bubak, Tanner Carrick, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Chance Crum, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Chase Elliott, Shane Golobic, Trey Gropp, Sam Johnson, Kyle Jones, Max McLaughlin, Thomas Meseraull, Aiden Purdue & Zac Taylor
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QUALIFYING RACE WINS
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Tyler Courtney, Cannon McIntosh, Kevin Thomas Jr & Chris Windom
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ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI-FEATURE WINS
2-Emerson Axsom, Brenham Crouch, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Chase Randall, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Chance Crum, Trey Gropp, Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Jace Park, Karter Sarff, Jonathan Shafer & Hayden Williams
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C-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney, Chance Morton & Logan Seavey
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney & Tanner Thorson
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FEATURE STARTS
33-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
32-Daison Pursley, Chase Randall & Kevin Thomas Jr.
23-Brenham Crouch & Ethan Mitchell
22-Bryant Wiedeman
18-Jason McDougal
17-Kaylee Bryson
15-Hayden Reinbold & Hayden Williams
12-Kyle Cummins & Trey Gropp
11-Chance Crum
10-Ryan Timms
9-Corey Day, Sam Johnson & Taylor Reimer
8-Brian Carber, Zach Daum & Jerry Coons Jr.
6-Cole Bodine, Kyle Jones & Kevin Woody Jr.
5-Brady Bacon, Austin Barnhill & Alex Bright
4-Tanner Carrick, Jonathan Shafer, Tyler Thomas & Glenn Waterland
3-Spencer Bayston, Jonathan Beason, Travis Buckley, Tyler Courtney, Chad Frewaldt, Jimmy Glenn, Shane Golobic, Mitchel Moles, Jake Neuman, Bryan Stanfill & Brandon Waelti
2-Jade Avedisian, Lance Bennett, Clinton Boyles, Jake Bubak, Steve Buckwalter, Trevor Casey, Maria Cofer, Cory Eliason, Chase Elliott, Eric Heydenreich, Casey Hicks, Kenney Johnson, Michael Markey, Shannon McQueen, Joe B. Miller, Greg Mitchell, Kade Morton, Brant O'Banion, Daniel Robinson, Alex Sewell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jim Vanzant & Aaron Werner
1-Blaze Bennett, Tanner Berryhill, Chase Briscoe, Jacob Denney, Carson Garrett, Tommy Kunsman, Kyle Larson, Trey Marcham, Shannon Mausteller, Ace McCarthy, Chase McDermand, Max McLaughlin, Jace Park, Keith Rauch, Matt Rechek, Jack Routson, Tyler Rust, Karter Sarff, Stephen Schnapf, Mark Sokol, Zac Taylor, Brett Wanner, Zeb Wise & Jeff Zelinski
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GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE RACE:
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Trey Marcham
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Ace McCarthy
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Hayden Williams
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Corey Day
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Jason McDougal
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Kaylee Bryson
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Emerson Axsom
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Thomas Meseraull
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Cannon McIntosh
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Daison Pursley
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Shane Golobic
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Chase Randall
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Spencer Bayston
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Tyler Rust
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – Justin Grant
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – Chase Randall
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Tanner Carrick (14th to 8th)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Daison Pursley (10th to 5th)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Chris Windom (13th to 4th)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Tanner Thorson (17th to 7th)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13rd to 3rd)
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (12th to 1st)
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Emerson Axsom (22nd to 11th)
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brian Carber (22nd to 10th)
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Corey Day (12th to 5th)
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Tanner Thorson (20th to 8th)
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (18th to 9th)
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Justin Grant (13th to 2nd)
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Logan Seavey (17th to 7th)
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Brenham Crouch (22nd to 11th)
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Buddy Kofoid (15th to 2nd)
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (15th to 8th)
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Alex Bright (16th to 6th)
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 6th)
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Woody Jr. (21st to 15th)
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Kevin Woody Jr. (20th to 11th)
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Emerson Axsom (19th to 5th)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti (22nd to 11th)
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Maria Cofer (20th to 12th)
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (16th to 8th)
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson (18th to 4th)
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Hayden Reinbold (20th to 15th)
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (20th to 10th)
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (17th to 3rd)
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – Chance Crum (23rd to 14th)
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – Chase Randall (23rd to 9th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Bryant Wiedeman
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Logan Seavey
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Daison Pursley
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Chase Randall
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Chase Randall
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Taylor Reimer
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Logan Seavey
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Jack Routson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Brant O'Banion
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Chance Crum
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Carson Garrett
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – Kaylee Bryson
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Andrew Felker
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Emilio Hoover
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Brenham Crouch
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Noah Harris
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Kaylee Bryson
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Chett Gehrke
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Travis Buckley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brian Carber
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Trey Gropp
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Jason McDougal
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Sam Johnson
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Michael Markey
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Dan Bennett
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – J.R. Booth
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Casey Hicks
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Bryan Stanfill
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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. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Tony Stewart & Tanner Thorson
17. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland
20. [24 wins] Billy Engelhart & Kyle Larson
22. [23 wins] Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich
28. [22 wins] Bobby East & Shorty Templeman
30. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader
34. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt
35. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Stan Fox & Jason Leffler
39. [18 wins] Dave Steele
40. [17 wins] Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley
42. [16 wins] Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens
48. [15 wins] Don Branson & Larry Rice
49. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner
53. [13 wins] Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman, Stevie Reeves & Chris Windom
58. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim & Ron Shuman
64. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos & Brad Sweet
70. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung & Chuck Weyant
76. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott & Chuck Gurney
80. [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
93. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Justin Grant, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Buddy Kofoid, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Logan Seavey, Len Sutton & Johnnie Tolan
105. [6 wins] Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Arnie Knepper, Thomas Meseraull, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Roger West
118. [5 wins] Spencer Bayston, Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
129. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, 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, Sam Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, Rodger Ward & Zeb Wise
161. [3 wins] John Batts, Gays Biro, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Zach Daum, 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, Cannon McIntosh, Warren Mockler, 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
193. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Emerson Axsom, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, 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
229. [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, Tanner Carrick, 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, Larry McCloskey, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, 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, 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
16. (25) Gary Bettenhausen
17. (24) Gene Hartley
18. (22) Stan Fox & Tanner Thorson
20. (21) Don Branson, Tony Stewart, Shorty Templeman
23. (20) Bryan Clauson, Dan Drinan, Bobby East & Bobby Grim
27. (19) Jay Drake & Kyle Larson
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
41. (14) Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Jeff Gordon & Kenny Irwin Jr.
45. (13) George Benson, Jimmy Knight & J.J. Yeley
48. (12) Larry Rice & Josh Wise
50. (11) Brady Bacon, Danny Caruthers, Lonnie Caruthers, Russ Congdon, Tommy Copp, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader, Len Sutton, Brad Sweet & Sleepy Tripp
61. (10) George Amick, Pancho Carter, Allen Crowe, Logan Seavey, Billy Vukovich & Leroy Warriner
67. (9) A.J. Foyt, Doug Kalitta, Larry Patton, Stevie Reeves, Dave Strickland Jr. & Jerry Weeks
73. (8) Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Dana Carter, Rex Easton, Russ Gamester, Don Horvath, Kasey Kahne, Sammy Sessions, George Snider & Jack Turner
83. (7) Mike Bliss, Ray Elliott, Allen Heath, Billy Mehner, Andy Michner, Henry Pens, Lowell Sachs, Kody Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
92. (6) Chad Boat, Burt Foland, Brian Gerster, Mike Gregg, Kyle Hamilton, Lee Kunzman, Jerry McClung, Cannon McIntosh, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Don Vogler, Chris Windom & Billy Wood
105. (5) Merle Bettenhausen, Billy Boat, Steve Cannon, Ray Crawford, Kevin Doty, Ronnie Duman, Aaron Fike, Rick Goudy, Jeff Heywood, Eddie Johnson, Steve Knepper, Brad Kuhn, Andy Linden, Bobby Santos, Chris Shultz, Billy Shuman, Chuck Weyant & Mauri Wilson
123. (4) Johnny Anderson, Caleb Armstrong, Sonny Ates, Gary Byers, Dane Carter, Joe Corrigan, Zach Daum, Mike Fedorcak, Robby Flock, Danny Frye, Joe Garson, Shane Golobic, Chuck Gurney, Jim Hettinger, Arnie Knepper, Chuck Marshall, Danny McKnight, Jeff Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Gary Ponzini, Richard Powell, Porky Rachwitz, Ricky Shelton, Tom Steiner, Bruce Walkup, Rodger Ward, Roger West, & Zeb Wise
151. (3) Bob Cicconi, Cole Carter, Don Anderson, Donnie Beechler, Dwight Brown, Hank Butcher, Harry Beck, Jack Calabrase, Larry Dickson, Mario Clouser, Steve Buckwalter, Tony Bettenhausen, Tony Elliott, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Gene Force, Justin Grant, Bob Hare, Ted Hines, P.J. Jones, Greg Leffler, Grier Manning, Mack McClellan, Roger McCluskey, Thomas Meseraull, Ethan Mitchell, Johnny Moorhouse, Kenneth Nichols, Jerry Nuckles, Tim Pangborn, Forrest Parker, Johnnie Parsons, Johnny Roberts, Randy Roberts, Lloyd Ruby, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Tom Sellberg, Dale Swaim, Johnnie Tolan & Dillon Welch
192. (2) Sherman Armstrong Jr., Jack Bates, Gays Biro, Art Bisch, Dan Boorse, Tanner Carrick, 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, Jim Mahoney, Jim McClean, Sarah McCune, Warren Mockler, Earl Motter, Ken Nichols, Hank Nykaza, Steve Paden, Danny Pens, Michael Pickens, Parker Price-Miller, Daison Pursley, Levi Roberts, Johnny Rodriguez, Joe Saldana, Sam Sauer, Ryan Scott, Jigger Sirois, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danny Stratton, Russ Sweedler, Buddy Taylor, George Tichenor, Bud Tingelstad, Steve Troxell, Bobby Unser, Billy Wease, Ken Weiland, Cole Whitt & Carl Williams
253. (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, Kaylee Bryson, Bob Burbridge, Larry Cannon, Roy Caruthers, Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bud Clemons, Johnny Cofer, Duke Cook, Jay Cornell, A.J. Davis, Duke DeRosa, Danny Ebberts, Bob Ellingham, Dean Erfurth, Russ Faucett, Sarah Fisher, Dan Ford, Josh Ford, Danny Frye Jr., Jim Gates, Johnny Gavin, Roy Gillhamer, Roy Graham, Bob Gregg, Mike Groff, 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, Jim Bob Luebbert, Dave Lundy, Carson Macedo, Jim Malloy, Bobby Marshman, Larry McCloskey, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden, Al Miller, J.R. Miller, Stephanie Mockler, Mitchel Moles, 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, 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
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET OWNER 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: Don Kenyon, 1967: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1968: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1969: Jack Stroud, 1970: Doug Caruthers, 1971: Doug Caruthers, 1972: Shannon Buick Company, 1973: Doug Caruthers, 1974: Don Kenyon, 1975: Ron Tripp, 1976: Ron Tripp, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Doug & Dana Caruthers, 1979: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1980: Don Kenyon, 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
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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
KOFOID AIMS TO MAKE A STATEMENT TUESDAY AT BAKERSFIELD
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bakersfield, California (November 15, 2021)………Coming up through the ranks in the earliest years of his racing career, Buddy Kofoid idolized Kyle Larson.
In November 2020's November Classic at California's Bakersfield Speedway, the two competed as teammates for the first time on the venerable Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team where, not only did Kofoid team up with him, he went toe-to-toe and prevailed.
"I can't believe we just beat Kyle," Kofoid exclaimed at the time. "As a young kid coming out of California and racing Outlaw Karts, I always looked up to him. Everyone already knows how good he is and racing with the best helps you become better."
While Larson won't be in attendance in this year's edition, Kofoid will be front and center. He enters this Tuesday night's November Classic on November 16 at Bakersfield in an even better spot on his second full season on the trail, winning four times and positioning himself right in the thick of the championship race.
Kofoid now stands at a 13-point deficit behind leader and defending champion, Chris Windom, the winner of the most recent series round last Saturday during the Western World Championships at Arizona Speedway.
Windom's only previous Bakersfield appearances came in 2019 where he won his heat but flipped on the 2nd lap of the feature. He restarted but only managed a 16th place finish. His most memorable Bakersfield moment came in 2020 where he raced from 20th to 6th to clinch the championship by one point in a wild and controversial final lap flourish. He'll be joined on the CB Industries team by series Rookies Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) and Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.).
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) won the November Classic at Bakersfield in 2018 in grand style by driving around Rico Abreu in the fourth turn on the 30th and final lap to score the victory, which also locked up the series title for him in one fell swoop.
Kofoid's KKM teammate Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.) finished inside the top-10 in three-straight Bakersfield USAC National Midget races with a 10th in 2017, a 6th in 2018 and another 10th in 2019. Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) made her debut in 2020 with a 15th while Bryant Weideman (Colby, Kans.) was 21st. Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas) will be aiming for his first Bakersfield start as will Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.).
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) is two-for-two in earning top-tens during his USAC National Midget career at Bakersfield, taking a best of 3rd in 2017 and 7th in 2020. The 2016 series champ is equaled with Windom as the winningest driver in the series this year, earning seven feature victories on the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports team, which will also have top series Rookie Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) in its arsenal.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) was a top-ten runner with the USAC National Midgets at Bakersfield all the way back in 2000, finishing 7th. In 2019 at the 1/3-mile dirt oval, Meseraull ripped through the pack from his 20th starting position to finish 8th and earn hard charger honors.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), a 2007 BCRA Midget titlist, earned his best Bakersfield result in USAC National Midget competition with a 5th in 2017. A 2018 USAC Western States Midget champion and a winner with the series at Bakersfield in 2016 and 2018, Michael Faccinto (Hanford, Calif.) led the first six laps and finished 9th in the 2017 November Classic.
USAC National Midget series vets Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) and Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) look to break through for their first wins of the season. Mitchell was the fastest qualifier during the 2020 November Classic at Bakersfield and finished a best of 17th in 2019, while McIntosh returns for his third appearance at Bakersfield after a career best 8th place result in 2020 and will team with Kevin Woody Jr. (Victor, N.Y.) on the Dave Mac Motorsports stable.
Lemoore, California's Carson Macedo, a past USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year, and third-place finisher in 2020 World of Outlaws points, will be eying his first career USAC National win in the Tarlton Motorsports ride after finishing 10th in the 2020 November Classic.
Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.) finished 4th in the November Classic in 2020 and has been undefeated in three different USAC series at Bakersfield this season. He captured the Western States Midget opener there in March after being the fastest qualifier. He won the USAC CRA round on the last lap after starting 16th. Finally, he scored in September with the West Coast Sprint Cars, coming all the way from 14th.
Ben Worth (Coalinga, Calif.) captured his first, and to date, only career USAC Western States Midget win in April of 2019 at Bakersfield, leading the final nine laps en route to victory. He's seeking his first Bakersfield USAC National Midget start on Tuesday.
Two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) returns to the lineup at Bakersfield following finishes at Bakersfield of 9th in 2018 and 6th in 2019. After a one-year absence, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) will be back at Bakersfield after finishing 14th in 2019. Thomas' Petry Motorsports' teammate, Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), took 12th in his lone Bakersfield start in 2020.
First-time Bakersfield USAC National Midget starters are all throughout the field, including recently crowned USAC Western States Midget champ, Blake Bower (Brentwood, Calif.), who finished 8th with the series there this year. Western States Midget runner-up Brody Fuson was the fastest qualifier with the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars at Bakersfield in Sept. He won his heat and finished 11th with the midgets there back in March.
Maria Cofer (Macdoel, Calif.) was 20th at Bakersfield's USAC Western States Midget round in March of 2021. Her father, Johnny, finished 3rd with the USAC National Midgets at Bako in 1993. Dylan Ito's uncle, George Ito, finished one spot behind Cofer in that same race with a 4th. Dylan's Josh Ford Motorsports teammate for Bako will be Tony Gomes (Modesto, Calif.).
Three-time USAC National Midget feature winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) will make his first attempt at a Bakersfield feature start this Tuesday. Looking for first November Classic starts include 2020-21 All Star Circuit of Champions runner-up Cory Eliason (Visalia, Calif.) and Rudeen Racing teammate Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.).
Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.) finished 5th with the USAC Western States Midgets in March of 2021. He'll try to crack his first November Classic lineup on Tuesday along with fellow Californians Carson Sousa (Red Bluff, Calif.) and Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.).
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, 22 series races have been held at the lightning-quick 1/3-mile that has been both paved and dirt throughout its history.
Jay Drake and Billy Vukovich are the winningest drivers with the series at Bakersfield with three victories apiece.
Tuesday at Bakersfield, the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets will be joined by the California Lightning Sprints.
The pits open at 2pm Pacific with the grandstands opening at 5pm, the drivers meeting at 5pm and cars on track at 5:30pm.
Adult general admission tickets are $20. Kids 6-12 general admission tickets are $10. Kids 5 and under general admission tickets are free. Pit passes are $45 for USAC members & $50 for non-members.
The NOS Energy Drink November Classic from Bakersfield will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-2138, 2-Buddy Kofoid-2125, 3-Tanner Thorson-1942, 4-Justin Grant-1926, 5-Emerson Axsom-1918, 6-Daison Pursley-1893, 7-Logan Seavey-1814, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1742, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1699, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1537.
PROJECTED BAKERSFIELD DRIVER ENTRIES:
00 CARSON SOUSA/Red Bluff, CA
00A JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA
4 JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL
5K BEN WORTH/Coalinga, CA
7J MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA
7NZ CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA
9 BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA
9m ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL
10 KEVIN WOODY JR./Victor, NY
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ
19m ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC
19T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV
21 CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK
26 CORY ELIASON/Visalia, CA
26R CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA
51 BRODY FUSON/Bakersfield, CA
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA
67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK
71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA
73 DYLAN ITO/Ventura, CA
73x TONY GOMES/Modesto, CA
84 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX
ON TOP OF THE WORLD: WINDOM RETURNS TO USAC MIDGET POINT LEAD WITH WESTERN WORLD WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 13, 2021)………Time and time again, it seems when Chris Windom is against the proverbial ropes, he's able to fight his way out of the corner, dig in and find something within himself that elevates him to another level, especially when it comes to "winning time" in the latter part of the year.
The Canton, Ill. native and USAC Triple Crown champion found himself in a similar position once more during Saturday night's 54th annual Western World Championships finale at Arizona Speedway.
One night after seeing his 13-point advantage vanish in the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship standings, the reigning series titlist rose to the occasion and put his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota back in victory lane for the seventh time this season, equaling Tanner Thorson as the winningest driver with the series thus far in 2021.
Windom's performance also elevated him back to the top of the standings by the same exact margin he came into the weekend with, 13, with the final seven races of the year in California taking place over the next couple of weeks.
"We're in a championship battle here, so it makes it even sweeter," Windom acknowledged of his 13th career series victory, which tied Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman and Stevie Reeves for 53rd all-time. "But (team owner) Chad (Boat) and I want to win races too. This is our seventh USAC win this year, so that's pretty cool. That's what we're here for; we want to win a championship and we want to win as many races as possible. We had a lot of smack talkers after we won the championship last year, so I'd like to shut them up and go win another one."
Windom's performance the night before was one that just didn't quite satisfy himself or the team, especially in a championship fight when every single inch and every single yard becomes of utmost importance, and a victory is as satisfying as it gets, no matter how you slice it.
"Any time you can get a win, it's a big momentum swing," Windom admitted. "I was frustrated after running sixth last night. To come here and back it up with a win is a testament to all these guys. All these guys on CB Industries gave me such a good racecar."
Windom fired off from the outside of the front row for the start of the $4,000-to-win, 30-lap main event, immediately finding a jewel of a line early on. Diamonding from top on entry to the bottom off exit, Windom stepped away from the rest of the field to the tune of 2.757 seconds in the first third of the event until the margin was erased by a yellow flag for 22nd running Kevin Woody Jr. who spun backward in turn one but returned to finish 18th.
Under yellow, 20th running Chase Randall also pulled to the infield work area. Randall started the feature 23rd in a backup Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports machine after damaging the primary via rear-end contact with the turn one outside wall in his heat race. Randall restarted and took the backup all the way to a 9th place finish, earning both KSE Racing Product Hard Charger honors and the GSP Quality Driving Performance of the Race.
Upon resumption on the 11th lap, Windom found beside him a challenger in Zach Daum, who pulled even with the leader at the exit of turn two. Daum's initial charge was short-lived, for the time being, as 8th running Tanner Thorson, the defending Western World Midget winner, slowed to bring out the caution. After a brief foray in the work area, Thorson returned, then promptly drove from the back of the pack to finish 6th.
For the five successive laps following the stoppage, Daum proved to be a thorn in Windom's side, pulling ahead to the lead briefly at the exit of turns two and four each lap until Windom blew by with the momentum firmly in hand, subsequently slamming the door on Daum and regaining all of his battleground on the straightaways.
Windom successfully staved off Daum's advances throughout the mid-section of the event with Daum's pursuit of a first USAC National Midget feature victory since 2014 going up in a cloud of smoke just 10 laps from the finish, relegating the Pocahontas, Ill. driver back to a disappointing 21st place finish in the final rundown.
Cannon McIntosh assumed the second position and mimicked Windom's line around the 1/3-mile dirt oval, but Windom was near perfect down the stretch, a run that was interrupted only by 4th place running Kevin Thomas Jr.'s mechanical demise on lap 22.
There was no answer for Windom, leaving no question to the final result on this evening as the laps waned during the final USAC National Midget event at the venue before its closure later this month. Despite being comfortably in control from an outside vantage point, Windom took preventative measures into his own hands and switched lanes while constructing an eight-car-length lead.
"It felt like the track moved around a little bit," Windom pointed out. "It felt like I was slowing down quite a bit down there in one and two toward the end. I kind of changed my line a little bit and moved to the bottom, and it was kind of sketchy in three and four."
Unfettered and untouched, Windom glided to victory once again at the San Tan Valley, Ariz. track by a 2.015 second margin to earn his third career Western World final night triumph after previously capturing a USAC National Sprint Car victory in 2016 and a USAC Southwest 360 Sprint Car score in 2017.
Windom was followed to the line by Cannon McIntosh in second with Thomas Meseraull third, Tanner Carrick fourth and Buddy Kofoid fifth.
McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) had his throttle hung wide open for practically the entire second half of the feature but managed to race to his best result since the Indiana Midget Week opener at Paragon (Ind.) Speedway on June 3, scoring a second-place finish at Arizona in his Dave Mac Motorsports/DriveWFX.com – D.A. McIntosh – Smith Titanium/Spike/Speedway Toyota. Earlier in the evening, McIntosh recorded his second consecutive fast time during Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying.
Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) took a solid third-place finish in the midget feature and was the only driver to finish inside the top-ten in both the midget and sprint car main events on Saturday night, the latter of which he finished fourth in. Meseraull delivered with a fine performance in his RMS Racing/EnviroFab – Response Management Services – Engler Machine/Spike/Speedway Toyota, which came 24 hours following a 13th place finish the night before.
The most serious accident of the night occurred during the third heat race when Daison Pursley was involved in a vicious flip at the entrance to the the high side of turn three while battling for fourth alongside Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammate, Buddy Kofoid. After several flips and somersaults, Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) was removed from the car and transported to an area hospital for further observation. Initial reports from the scene were that Pursley was awake and alert.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 13, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-15.264; 2. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.299; 3. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-15.335; 4. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-15.336; 5. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-15.357; 6. Cory Eliason, 26, Rudeen-15.404; 7. Tanner Carrick, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.409; 8. Jade Avedisian, 84, CBI-15.445; 9. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.455; 10. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-15.470; 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-15.472; 12. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.491; 13. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.516; 14. Chance Crum, 26R, Rudeen-15.569; 15. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.578; 16. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-15.583; 17. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-15.587; 18. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-15.587; 19. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-15.590; 20. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-15.655; 21. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.870; 22. Trevor Casey, 00, Mounce/Stout-16.007; 23. Kevin Woody Jr., 10, Dave Mac-16.426; 24. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-17.493.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Tanner Carrick, 3. Zach Daum, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Brenham Crouch, 7. Trevor Casey, 8. Chase Randall. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Jade Avedisian, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Taylor Reimer, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Ethan Mitchell, 8. Kevin Woody Jr. 2:06.40
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Buddy Kofoid, 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Kaylee Bryson, 6. Cory Eliason, 7. Jim Vanzant, 8. Daison Pursley. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (2), 2. Cannon McIntosh (6), 3. Thomas Meseraull (7), 4. Tanner Carrick (1), 5. Buddy Kofoid (11), 6. Tanner Thorson (12), 7. Justin Grant (17), 8. Logan Seavey (4), 9. Chase Randall (23), 10. Cory Eliason (9), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (16), 12. Emerson Axsom (8), 13. Kaylee Bryson (19), 14. Chance Crum (15), 15. Brenham Crouch (14), 16. Jade Avedisian (10), 17. Taylor Reimer (5), 18. Kevin Woody Jr. (21), 19. Trevor Casey (20), 20. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 21. Zach Daum (3), 22. Ethan Mitchell (18), 23. Jim Vanzant (22). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Chris Windom.
**Daison Pursley flipped during the third heat.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-2138, 2-Buddy Kofoid-2125, 3-Tanner Thorson-1942, 4-Justin Grant-1926, 5-Emerson Axsom-1918, 6-Daison Pursley-1893, 7-Logan Seavey-1814, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1742, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1699, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1537.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-198, 2-Justin Grant-186, 3-Tanner Thorson-183, 4-Brady Bacon-160, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-147, 6-Thomas Meseraull-144, 7-Logan Seavey-140, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Shane Cottle-106, 10-Buddy Kofoid-100.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 16, 2021 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – November Classic
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Chase Randall
Fatheadz Fast Qualifier: Cannon McIntosh
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Chase Randall (23rd to 9th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Kaylee Bryson
THE CLOSER: SEAVEY FINISHES USAC SPRINT SEASON AS WESTERN WORLD VICTOR
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 13, 2021)………If at first you don't succeed, then dust yourself off and try again.
Logan Seavey lived and breathed this particular proverb through and through during both nights of the 54th annual Western World Championships presented by San Tan Ford at Arizona Speedway.
On Friday night, the Sutter, Calif. native led 25 of 30 laps before one tiny mistake cost him the victory. The following evening, Seavey vowed not to repeat his misfortune nor his ultimate fate, and instead, fully intending to capitalize on the opportunity at hand with an outside front row starting spot and a winning race car in his grasp.
Seavey led all 30 circuits of Saturday's feature, only briefly relenting the top spot to C.J. Leary just past the halfway mark. Without a rattle, without a hesitation, Seavey calmly raced back by to capture the season finale for the USAC AMSOIL National and USAC CRA Sprint Cars.
It was Seavey's first USAC National Sprint Car victory since running off three-straight in succession during Indiana Sprint Week in July, a Western World triumph worth $7,500 after piloting the Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy to victory lane in the last ever USAC event to be held at the 1/3-mile dirt oval before its permanent closure later this month.
"It's awesome," Seavey exclaimed following his sixth career USAC National Sprint Car win, which equaled him for 75th place all-time alongside Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider and Dick Tobias. "We led so many laps last night. I really, really love this place and I hate that it's our last time coming here."
The main crux of finding redemption is slaying those small landmines that are constantly thrown in the direction of team and driver and are bound to trip up individuals on occasion. Seavey attempted to thwart those aspects, but ultimately resigned to be patient and wait for the track to come to him, as opposed to the reverse, as the surface changed throughout the duration.
"Last night, I got myself too tight with the shocks under yellow, trying to over-adjust, and I almost did the same thing tonight going the wrong way, getting myself freer," Seavey explained. "The rubber just wasn't quite as much as I thought it was there with a few to go. Then, it finally latched up and my car got really good.
It was maybe just a little overthinking on my end, but you've got to do everything you can to win these races," Seavey continued. "Everybody's so good and you've got to be perfect. It showed last night. We had a good car, good enough to win, and I messed up and gave it away. I knew I had I had a good car, and I could win tonight. I just had to do everything I could not to give this one away."
From the drop of the green, it was all Seavey as he sprinted to the lead from the outside of the front row, then surpassed pole sitter Austin Williams around the outside at the exit of turn four and promptly led the charge throughout the first half with C.J. Leary in tow on the high line, likewise, shooting around Williams on the top for the second position in turn four on lap two.
Seavey's 1.1 second lead over Leary began to dwindle in traffic and was carved in half by lap 18 when fifth running Kevin Thomas Jr.'s end-of-year misfortune continued with a flat right rear tire, which brought out the caution. Thomas returned to action but wound up a disappointing 22nd.
The stoppage put the traffic situation on the shelf and delivered Leary a golden opportunity that he nearly made work. With the top line paved in rubber, making a clean pass became a challenging proposition, but Leary was game.
On the first lap of the lap 18 restart, Leary stuck right to Seavey's rear bumper through turns one and two, and midway down the back straightaway, before diving to the bottom of turn three. However, Leary's momentum took him up the racetrack, to the very top off turn four, freeing the lane for Seavey to cross over back underneath and reclaim the lead.
"I knew my car was good up top," Seavey claimed. "Racing here in the past and knowing how clean the top got, I knew the rubber was coming. I got to lapped traffic and felt it coming, then a yellow came out and I freed myself way up for the rubber and I did it too early and about gave it away. C.J. got a huge run and about went by us. Luckily, I was able to hold on just long enough for the rubber to come."
With Leary's shot fired, Seavey was safe and sound for the final 13 laps as he contested the high line unchallenged the rest of the way, raising the interval to a whopping 3.127 seconds as he raced under the checkered flag with C.J. Leary second, Jake Swanson third, Thomas Meseraull fourth and newly crowned 2021 USAC National Sprint Car champion Brady Bacon rounding out the top-five.
Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) completed his season with a flurry of successful outings, finishing inside the top-five in each of his last five starts aboard his Michael Motorsports/Kodiak Products – Gray Auto – Valvoline/DRC/Cressman Ford.
Swanson's daring turn one pass of Meseraull for the third position with 10 laps remaining put the Anaheim, California driver on the podium for the seventh time with the USAC National Sprint Cars this year in his Team AZ Racing/Beaver Stripes – USW Cat Construction – RSS Industries – CSI/DRC/1-Way Chevy.
Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) clinched his fourth career USAC National Sprint Car driving championship on Friday night at Western World, but was officially crowned following Saturday night's finale, placing him as the third member of an exclusive club of drivers who've won at least four titles with the series: Levi Jones (2005-07-09-10-11) and Steve Butler (1986-87-88-90).
Furthermore, Bacon became the first back-to-back USAC National Sprint Car driving champion since Bryan Clauson in 2012-13. Meanwhile, the Dynamics, Inc. No. 69 for Bacon earned its unprecedented 13th series entrant title after previously being crowned in 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2016 and 2020.
Damion Gardner (Concord, Calif.) racked up an awe-inspiring eighth consecutive AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car driving championship, and ninth overall, this year while also providing entrant Mark Alexander and car No. 1 its eighth-straight series entrant title, and ninth overall. The Gardner and Alexander partnership has garnered previous series titles in 2013-14-15-16-17-18-19. No 2020 champion was crowned. Gardner first earned a USAC CRA driving championship in 2005 while Alexander first did so in the entrant category during the 2007 campaign.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 13, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.497; 2. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-14.601; 3. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.631; 4. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-14.780; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.829; 6. Tye Mihocko, 38, Crossno-14.852; 7. Jake Helsel, 44H, Helsel-14.882; 8. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-14.888; 9. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.924; 10. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-14.933; 11. Stevie Sussex, 34AZ, Grau-14.972; 12. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-15.175; 13. Kyle Shipley, 57, Stone-15.489; 14. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-15.539; 15. Caleb Stelzig, 21x, Stelzig-15.543; 16. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-15.820; 17. Ikaika O'Brien, 11o, O'Brien-15.896; 18. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-16.172; 19. Jimmy Pontin, 24, Pontin-16.397.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.847; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-14.904; 3. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-14.940; 4. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-15.026; 5. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-15.030; 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-15.049; 7. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-15.073; 8. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-15.115; 9. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-15.225; 10. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.303; 11. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-15.310; 12. Alex Banales, 5A, Baldwin/Fox-15.319; 13. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.330; 14. Colt Treharn, 77, Treharn-15.468; 15. Spencer Hill, 7D7, West-15.472; 16. Danny Mathus, 42, Mathus-15.775; 17. Daylin Perreira, 21p, Perreira-15.975; 18. Brent Yarnal, 29, Yarnal-16.159.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS / FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Caleb Stelzig, 7. Jake Helsel, 8. Kyle Shipley, 9. Ikaika O'Brien, 10. Jimmy Pontin. 2:05.70
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) / HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Tye Mihocko, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Tommy Malcolm, 6. Austin Grabowski, 7. Verne Sweeney, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. Brody Roa. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING / ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Cody Williams, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Chris Gansen, 8. Spencer Hill, 9. Daylin Perreira. 2:01.52 (New Track Record)
INDY RACE PARTS / COMPONENT REPAIR COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 4. Alex Banales, 5. Colt Treharn, 6. Danny Mathus, 7. Chris Bonneau, 8. Sterling Cling, 9. Brent Yarnal. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Stevie Sussex, 3. Tommy Malcolm, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Jake Helsel, 6. Sterling Cling, 7. Chris Gansen, 8. Cody Williams, 9. Caleb Stelzig, 10. Chris Bonneau, 11. Spencer Hill, 12. Colt Treharn, 13. Austin Grabowski, 14. Kyle Shipley, 15. Logan Calderwood, 16. Verne Sweeney , 17. Daylin Perreira, 18. Ikaika O'Brien, 19. Jimmy Pontin, 20. Danny Mathus, 21. Brent Yarnal. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. C.J. Leary (4), 3. Jake Swanson (5), 4. Thomas Meseraull (8), 5. Brady Bacon (15), 6. Justin Grant (7), 7. Tanner Thorson (6), 8. Chris Windom (11), 9. Shane Cottle (9), 10. Austin Williams (1), 11. Jake Helsel (14), 12. Brody Roa (16), 13. Stevie Sussex (20), 14. Tye Mihocko (12), 15. Sterling Cling (10), 16. Damion Gardner (18), 17. R.J. Johnson (17), 18. Charles Davis Jr. (19), 19. Cody Williams (23-P), 20. Alex Banales (22), 21. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (13), 22. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 23. Austin Grabowski (24-P), 24. Tommy Malcolm (21). NT
(P) represents a provisional starter
**Brody Roa flipped during the second heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Logan Seavey.
FINAL USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2944, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2824, 3-Justin Grant-2761, 4-Tanner Thorson-2656, 5-C.J. Leary-2652, 6-Chris Windom-2533, 7-Jake Swanson-2456, 8-Robert Ballou-1987, 9-Chase Stockon-1709, 10-Logan Seavey-1627.
FINAL AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1352, 2-Brody Roa-1314, 3-Austin Williams-1180, 4-Chris Gansen-1036, 5-Cody Williams-993, 6-Charles Davis Jr.-941, 7-Tommy Malcolm-929, 8-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-708, 9-Verne Sweeney-676, 10-Logan Williams-605.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-201, 2-Justin Grant-187, 3-Tanner Thorson-183, 4-Brady Bacon-170, 5-Thomas Meseraull-148, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-147, 7-Logan Seavey-141, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Shane Cottle-106, 10-Buddy Kofoid-100.
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Brody Roa
Fatheadz Eyewear / Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products / Flowdynamics First Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Competition Suspension, Inc. / Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Second Heat Winner: C.J. Leary
Indy Metal Finishing / All Coast Construction Third Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Indy Race Parts / Component Repair Company Fourth Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature Winner: Shane Cottle
KSE Racing Products / In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger: Brady Bacon (15th to 5th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Stevie Sussex
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Chris Gansen
Bill's Jerky Hard Luck Award: Chris Gansen
ICING ON THE CAKE:
GRANT CAPS BIRTHDAY WITH WIN
IN USAC MIDGET WESTERN WORLD OPENER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 12, 2021)………Friday night at Arizona Speedway, Justin Grant made it his personal mission to dispel an old, idiomatic proverb by proving that, yes indeed, you can have your cake and eat it too.
Grant's 31st birthday happened to fall on the same day as the opener for the 54th annual Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford, opening the biggest and most prized present with seven laps remaining in the feature event.
It was there where the Ione, Calif. native charged around racelong leader Cory Eliason, then fended off Buddy Kofoid down the stretch to snag his second USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory of the year in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Celebrating his seventh career series win was sweet and getting the opportunity to ride the steer in victory lane was just the icing on the cake, all fit for a driver who felt he was overdue for a follow-up triumph after last winning more than three months prior at Lanco in Pennsylvania.
"I haven't won nearly enough in it, so it feels good to get a win tonight," Grant exclaimed. "This thing was awesome, and I could just go to town, pounding the cushion there. It got pretty far around and pretty curby there in one and two. Buddy was running the bottom there and kinda showed me, and I was able to get back by him and get to the bottom. This thing could go anywhere."
Before the 24-car field even reached turn one on lap one, eighth starting Emerson Axsom launched into a moon shot, gaining major altitude after flipping into the catchfence between turns one and two before landing hard on the track surface of the 1/3-mile dirt oval. Axsom managed to climb out and walk away under his own power.
Grant started from the pole position but found himself relegated to second on the opening lap to Eliason and, ultimately, to third just before the midway point as Logan Seavey pulled alongside on the back straightaway, then counterpunched Grant's turn three slider by cutting a diamond back under at the exit of four to move into the runner-up position.
"I got off the bottom there on the start and I felt like, 'man, this thing is pretty good,'" Grant recalled. "But the top got cleaner and faster than I thought it was going to. I tried to slide (Eliason) on a restart and got to bouncing and let Logan go by us."
With just eight laps remaining, heartbreak hit the second-place car of Seavey whose right rear tire went flat entering the cushion in turn one. Seavey was unable to make the call for the restart, seeing his bid for victory end abruptly with a non-indicative 20th place showing, subsequently placing Grant back in the hunt in second place for the final eight lap flourish.
"I got to the top and just tried to pick my spots on the cushion there and see what made speed and what didn't to start trying to track Cory down," Grant explained. "I'm always better when the cushion gets cleaned off. Once it gets slick below, I can usually find some speed, so I just bided my time waiting for that slick line to get cleaned up to where I could pick and choose my marks and try to get this car to victory lane."
That moment had its foundations rooted on the lap 23 restart when Grant followed Eliason through turns one and two, then dove to the bottom in three and four only to see Eliason counter back underneath and stave off Grant's advance at the line by a single car length.
On this night, Eliason was making his first career USAC National Midget feature start, and the 2020 and 2021 All Star Circuit of Champions series runner-up looked the part of a seasoned midget racing vet 24 hours after turning the quickest overall lap in an open practice at the track on Thursday night.
But the seed had been planted within Eliason's subconscious. Eliason immediately invaded the groove one lane off the bottom of turn one on lap 24, sending his car trampolining up the racetrack, allowing Grant, Kofoid and Kevin Thomas Jr. to zip by and occupy the top-three positions while Eliason free-fell to fourth.
Kofoid attempted to pounce immediately, charging to the low side of turn three and sliding past Grant only to see Grant cross over and motor back by. In turn one on the following lap, Kofoid flashed low, but Thomas Jr. got even lower, so low in fact that the infield photographers even felt the need to take a step back.
Clearing Thomas Jr. was Kofoid who regrouped, regathered and returned for another run at Grant with four laps remaining, sliding across the nose of Grant once more turn three, but only momentarily, as Grant answered the challenge, cut back under and regained the position at the exit of four, then beelined to the bottom of turn one, thus preventing a retaliating slide job courtesy of Kofoid.
That sequence ultimately sealed the fate for both Grant and Kofoid on the opposite sides of the coin. Thereafter, Grant stretched his lead out to eight car lengths over Kofoid, whose race transformed into a quest to keep Thomas Jr. behind him on the final lap, which he did quite successfully.
Henceforth, Grant was by his lonesome on the way to victory, like a vapor trail in the empty air, blowing out the candles with a 0.917 second victory ahead of Kofoid, Thomas Jr., Eliason and Tanner Thorson.
With his runner-up result, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) erased a 13-point deficit to 6th place finisher Chris Windom for the lead in the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship standings. He now finds himself tied with Windom atop the standings at 2,061 points with eight races remaining in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Toyota/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) earned his first USAC National Midget podium finish since a race four months earlier this season at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Neb. on July 16, finishing 2nd in his Petry Motorsports/West Side Tractor Sales – Gray Auto/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 12, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-14.828; 2. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.960; 3. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-15.031; 4. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-15.066; 5. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-15.086; 6. Cory Eliason, 26, Rudeen-15.099; 7. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-15.099; 8. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-15.106; 9. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-15.120; 10. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.130; 11. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-15.150; 12. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.184; 13. Tanner Carrick, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.205; 14. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.219; 15. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-15.295; 16. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.321; 17. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-15.330; 18. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-15.372; 19. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.420; 20. Jade Avedisian, 84, CBI-15.421; 21. Chance Crum, 26R, Rudeen-15.481; 22. Kevin Woody Jr., 10, Dave Mac-15.948; 23. Trevor Casey, 00, Mounce/Stout-16.485; 24. Daylin Perreira, 8, Keliinoi-16.717; 25. Jim Vanzant, 3v, Vanzant-17.225.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Carrick, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Brenham Crouch, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Taylor Reimer, 7. Kaylee Bryson, 8. Kevin Woody Jr., 9. Jim Vanzant. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Buddy Kofoid, 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 7. Jade Avedisian, 8. Trevor Casey. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Cory Eliason, 6. Chase Randall, 7. Chance Crum, 8. Daylin Perreira. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. Buddy Kofoid (5), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 4. Cory Eliason (2), 5. Tanner Thorson (12), 6. Chris Windom (4), 7. Chase Randall (10), 8. Zach Daum (11), 9. Tanner Carrick (7), 10. Daison Pursley (15), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (16), 12. Cannon McIntosh (6), 13. Thomas Meseraull (20), 14. Chance Crum (23), 15. Ethan Mitchell (14), 16. Jade Avedisian (19), 17. Brenham Crouch (13), 18. Taylor Reimer (17), 19. Kevin Woody Jr. (21), 20. Logan Seavey (3), 21. Kaylee Bryson (18), 22. Trevor Casey (22), 23. Jim Vanzant (24), 24. Emerson Axsom (8). NT
**Emerson Axsom flipped on lap 1 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-23 Cory Eliason, Laps 24-30 Justin Grant.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-2061, 2-Buddy Kofoid-2061, 3-Daison Pursley-1882, 4-Tanner Thorson-1879, 5-Emerson Axsom-1871, 6-Justin Grant-1870, 7-Logan Seavey-1754, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1670, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1669, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1459.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-197, 2-Tanner Thorson-169, 3-Justin Grant-167, 4-Brady Bacon-158, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-147, 6-Logan Seavey-140, 7-Thomas Meseraull-140, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Shane Cottle-98, 10-Buddy Kofoid-94.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 13, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Justin Grant
Fatheadz Fast Qualifier: Cannon McIntosh
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Tanner Carrick
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Chance Crum (23rd to 14th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Thomas Meseraull
CLINCHED!
BACON CEMENTS USAC SPRINT TITLE WITH
WESTERN WORLD NIGHT #1 WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 12, 2021)………There's just something magical in the symbiosis between Brady Bacon and Western World.
The Broken Arrow, Okla. driver collected his 10th career victory in the event Friday night at Arizona Speedway as he tracked down racelong leader Logan Seavey with five laps remaining, then thwarted Seavey's comeback slider in the final corner on the final lap, driving back by to capture the victory in the 54th annual Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford opener for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship.
With his winning performance and Kevin Thomas Jr.'s subsequent misfortune, Bacon clinched the 2021 USAC National Sprint Car driving championship with one race remaining Saturday night.
Bacon's fourth career series title makes him just the third driver to capture at least four championships in his career, joining five-timer Levi Jones (2005-07-09-10-11) and fellow four-time titlist Steve Butler (1986-87-88-90) while also garnering Dynamics, Inc. a record-extending 13th series entrant championship.
The milestones were racked up in droves throughout the night with Bacon also becoming just the ninth driver to win at least 40 career USAC National Sprint Car feature events. His 40th ties him with Gary Bettenhausen for eighth on the all-time series win list.
Bacon's Western World record continues to be remarkable and impeccable ever since winning his first race in the esteemed event in 2009. He won two 360 c.i. non-wing sprint car races at Tucson, Arizona's USA Raceway in 2009 and repeated in the same division there once more in 2010 with the ASCS Canyon Region series.
Furthermore, at Peoria, Arizona's Canyon Speedway Park in 2012, Bacon was an ASCS Winged 360 Sprint Car feature winner. He returned to USA Raceway in 2015 to add a USAC National Sprint Car triumph.
When Western World migrated to Arizona Speedway in San Tan Valley, Ariz., Bacon's winning ways continued with USAC Southwest 360 Sprint Car scores in 2016-17-18, followed by a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget win in 2019 and, finally, his USAC National Sprint Car tally Friday night, displaying a knack for success in the event unlike any other.
"This race has been great to me over the years, and I've got another win tonight," Bacon exclaimed. "I've won at three different tracks that the Western World has been at. I don't know what it is about the race; we just seem to find our way to victory lane. It doesn't matter if it's wing, non-wing, 360, 410 or midget, there's just something about this race. There's great fans in Arizona and a lot of history here, and I'm glad to be a part of it."
Bacon started third in the 30-lap feature event aboard his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy while Arizona native and USAC National Sprint Car Rookie Sterling Cling led the charge to the green flag. However, it was outside front row starter Logan Seavey who established the pace up front from the get-go.
Drifting from third back to sixth on the opening lap, Bacon was forced to steadily work his way back into contention, to fifth on lap five, to fourth on lap seven and to third just past the midway point as he slid past his nearest championship foe, Kevin Thomas Jr., with a turn three slide job on lap 17.
Two laps later, Bacon surged past Jake Swanson for the second position, utilizing the bottom of turns one and two, then set his sights on tracking down the leader, Seavey, who, at that point in time, was mired knee deep in a tussle with myriad of cars on the tail end of the lead lap, thus shrinking the 1.5 interval in half between himself and Seavey.
That margin was scrunched up even more on the 22nd lap when the lapped cars of Jake Helsel and Caleb Stelzig tangled in turn three, sending Helsel spinning backwards to a stop. Second running Thomas Jr. was already committed and affixed to the bottom groove, and with nowhere to roam, connected right rear to right rear with Hessel, ending Hessel's evening and ending Thomas Jr. slim title chances for good when he came to a stop. Thomas Jr. did, however, restart and finish 13th.
With Bacon now right on the back bumper of Seavey with eight laps remaining, both drivers stayed attached to their comfort zones, Seavey striding on the cushion and Bacon rolling the bottom, which proved to be equal with both drivers side-by-side lap-after-lap, with nary a car length separating the two on laps 22-23-24-25.
It was the 26th lap that turned the tide in Bacon's favor after Seavey got tight on the cushion in turns one and two, sending him skating up the 1/3-mile dirt oval which allowed Bacon to break free with six car lengths of daylight between the two on the back straightaway.
Seavey regained his footing and began rapidly reeling in Bacon who had occupied the low line in turns one and two and the top in three and four during the late stages. Seavey took the high road in turns one and two to close within a car length of Bacon midway down the back straight.
"Three and four was kind of the question, I didn't know where I should be and whether I should stay on the bottom or go back to the top," Bacon quizzed. "I felt like it was going to have to be harder for someone else to pass me on the bottom that it would be for them to rip around me on the top if I made a mistake."
It was right there, at that moment, Seavey fired a deep shot at Bacon on the bottom of three, sliding three lengths ahead of Bacon before plowing his right rear into and over the edge of the turn four cushion. Bacon was prepared and had his front wheels pointed straight to the bottom of four to charge back by and cross the stripe 0.495 of a second ahead of Seavey with Tanner Thorson third, C.J. Leary fourth and Charles Davis Jr. fifth.
"It was easier to make a mistake on the top, I felt like, and the bottom is kind of my bread and butter and the top is probably his," Bacon noted. "It was just going to be whoever messed up. On the last lap, I messed up on the bottom of one and two and gave him a shot at me. Luckily, I had enough drive off the bottom of four to get back by him."
Despite coming up just short after leading a race-high 25 laps, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) displayed his reemergence after a rough go last weekend during three nights of racing in Perris, Calif. which saw all three finishes outside the top-ten. Seavey's second place performance was his best result with the series since a runner-up finish during the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio's Eldora Speedway in his Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) obliterated the one-lap USAC National Sprint Car track record at Arizona Speedway in Fatheadz Qualifying with a lap of 14.390 seconds, erasing the five-year-old record of 13.625, set by Chad Boespflug in 2016. Thorson was briefly in contention for the win with seven laps remaining before ultimately finishing third in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy, his 14th finish of sixth or better in his last 15 starts.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 12, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford0
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.390 (New Track Record); 2. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-14.549; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.609; 4. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-15.005; 5. Stevie Sussex, 34AZ, Grau-15.231; 6. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-15.267; 7. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-15.269; 8. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-15.290; 9. Jake Helsel, 44H, Helsel-15.415; 10. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.416; 11. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-15.548; 12. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-15.590; 13. Kyle Shipley, 57, Stone-15.610; 14. Tye Mihocko, 38, Crossno-15.677; 15. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-15.706; 16. Bruce St. James, 7K, St. James-15.771; 17. Spencer Hill, 7D7, West-16.061; 18. Jimmy Pontin, 24, Pontin-16.670; 19. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-19.960.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-14.700; 2. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.723; 3. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-14.873; 4. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-15.003; 5. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-15.046; 6. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-15.099; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-15.157; 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-15.170; 9. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-15.237; 10. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.269; 11. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-15.292; 12. Caleb Stelzig, 21x, Stelzig-15.465; 13. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-15.473; 14. Alex Banales, 5A, Baldwin/Fox-15.664; 15. Colt Treharn, 77, Treharn-15.844; 16. Daylin Perreira, 21p, Perreira-16.090; 17. Danny Mathus, 42, Mathus-16.213; 18. Ikaika O'Brien, 11o, O'Brien-16.314; 19. Tuesday Calderwood, 4c, Calderwood-16.355.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS / FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Helsel, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Stevie Sussex, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Tanner Thorson, 6. Logan Calderwood, 7. Austin Grabowski, 8. Kyle Shipley, 9. Spencer Hill, 10. Shane Cottle. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) / HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Tommy Malcolm, 6. Tye Mihocko, 7. Verne Sweeney, 8. Bruce St. James, 9. Jimmy Pontin. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING / ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Cody Williams, 5. Damion Gardner, 6. Chris Bonneau, 7. Colt Treharn, 8. Tuesday Calderwood, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Danny Mathus. NT
INDY RACE PARTS / COMPONENT REPAIR COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Caleb Stelzig, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Sterling Cling, 4. Chris Gansen, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 7. Alex Banales, 8. Daylin Perreira, 9. Ikaika O'Brien. NT
C-MAIN: (6 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Spencer Hill, 3. Daylin Perreira, 4. Jimmy Pontin, 5. Ikaika O'Brien, 6. Tuesday Calderwood, 7. Bruce St. James. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Damion Gardner, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Logan Calderwood, 8. Tye Mihocko, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Chris Bonneau, 11. Alex Banales, 12. Austin Grabowski, 13. Kyle Shipley, 14. Daylin Perreira, 15. Verne Sweeney, 16. Colt Treharn, 17. Spencer Hill, 18. Jimmy Pontin. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (3), 2. Logan Seavey (2), 3. Tanner Thorson (11), 4. C.J. Leary (5), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (8), 6. Chris Windom (23-P), 7. Austin Williams (15), 8. Justin Grant (17), 9. Brody Roa (16), 10. Tommy Malcolm (18), 11. Jake Swanson (4), 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (19), 13. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 14. Shane Cottle (22), 15. Damion Gardner (13), 16. R.J. Johnson (9), 17. Chris Gansen (21), 18. Verne Sweeney (24-P), 19. Caleb Stelzig (10), 20. Jake Helsel (7), 21. Sterling Cling (1), 22. Stevie Sussex (12), 23. Thomas Meseraull (14), 24. Cody Williams (20). NT
(P) represents a provisional starter
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Logan Seavey, Laps 26-30 Brady Bacon.
**Bruce St. James flipped during the C-Main. Tuesday Calderwood flipped during the C-Main.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2880, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2793, 3-Justin Grant-2696, 4-Tanner Thorson-2591, 5-C.J. Leary-2572, 6-Chris Windom-2477, 7-Jake Swanson-2386, 8-Robert Ballou-1987, 9-Chase Stockon-1709, 10-Logan Seavey-1548.
AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1315, 2-Brody Roa-1274, 3-Austin Williams-1132, 4-Chris Gansen-1026, 5-Cody Williams-968, 6-Charles Davis Jr.-907, 7-Tommy Malcolm-904, 8-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-679, 9-Verne Sweeney-666, 10-Logan Williams-605.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-197, 2-Tanner Thorson-177, 2-Justin Grant-176, 4-Brady Bacon-160, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-147, 6-Logan Seavey-140, 7-Thomas Meseraull-140, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Shane Cottle-106, 10-Buddy Kofoid-94.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA RACE: November 13, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Sterling Cling
Fatheadz Eyewear / Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products / Flowdynamics First Heat Winner: Jake Helsel
Competition Suspension, Inc. / Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Second Heat Winner: Charles Davis Jr.
Indy Metal Finishing / All Coast Construction Third Heat Winner: R.J. Johnson
Indy Race Parts / Component Repair Company Fourth Heat Winner: Caleb Stelzig
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature Winner: Tanner Thorson
KSE Racing Products / In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger: Justin Grant (17th to 8th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Logan Calderwood
Bill's Jerky Hard Luck Award: Logan Calderwood
Quick Study Eliason Fastest in USAC Midget Western World Practice
NOVEMBER 11, 2021
Cory Eliason (Visalia, Calif.) was the fastest overall in Thursday night's USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship practice session at Arizona Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)
QUICK STUDY ELIASON FASTEST
IN USAC MIDGET WESTERN WORLD PRACTICE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 11, 2021)………On the eve of what will be his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget appearance, Cory Eliason took to it like a natural, leading all drivers in Thursday night's practice at Arizona Speedway.
It was the final tune-up for the series leading into two-straight nights of racing in the 54th annual Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford at Arizona Speedway on Friday night, November 12 and Saturday night, November 13.
Eliason (Visalia, Calif.), the 2020-21 All Star Circuit of Champions championship runner-up, ripped around the 1/3-mile dirt oval with a time of 15.137 seconds in his Rudeen Racing/Rayce Rudeen Foundation – Hager Realty Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
The time set by Eliason unofficially equaled the official one-lap track record for the series at Arizona Speedway, set by Logan Seavey in 2020.
Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) was second overall, one-one thousandths of a second behind Eliason at 15.138. Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), the 2020 Western World opening night midget winner, was third at 15.188. Reigning Western World midget champion, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) timed in fourth at 15.211. Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) rounded out the top-five with a 15.212.
Series point leader, and defending series champion, Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), recorded the 15th fastest overall lap with a time of 15.559.
On Friday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
On Saturday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, autograph session from 4-4:35pm drivers meeting at 4:45pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
General admission adult tickets are $30, while kids 11 and under are just $10. Pit passes are $40 for adults and $15 for ages 7-12 and free for ages 6 and under. Western World tickets are on sale now at www.arizonaspeedway.net.
Both nights of racing at the Western World Championships can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: November 11, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
PRACTICE: 1. Cory Eliason, 26, Rudeen-15.137; 2. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.138; 3. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-15.188; 4. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.211; 5. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-15.212; 6. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-15.226; 7. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-15.274; 8. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-15.280; 9. Tanner Carrick, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.336; 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-15.341; 11. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-15.42; 12. Chance Crum, 26R, Rudeen-15.440; 13. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.498; 14. Jade Avedisian, 84, CBI-15.555; 15. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-15.559; 16. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.567; 17. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-15.723; 18. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.753; 19. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.824; 20. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-15.844; 21. Kevin Woody Jr., 10, Dave Mac-16.421; 22. Trevor Casey, 00, Mounce/Stout-17.075.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 12-13, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
SWANSON SPEEDS TO THE TOP IN USAC SPRINT WESTERN WORLD PRACTICE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 11, 2021)………Exactly one week following his first career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victory, Jake Swanson rose to the top of the pylon in Thursday night's practice for the series at Arizona Speedway.
The session was the kickoff to the final weekend of the series' season in conjunction with the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car Series for the final preparations prior to two-straight nights of racing in the 54th annual Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford at Arizona Speedway on Friday night, November 12 and Saturday night, November 13.
The Anaheim, Calif. native scurried around the 1/3-mile dirt oval with a best lap of 14.700 seconds during the three-hour practice in his Team AZ Racing/Beaver Stripes – USW Cat Construction – RSS Industries – CSI/DRC/1-Way Chevy.
Swanson has previously been victorious during Western World, scoring a 30-lap prelim night triumph in USAC Southwest 360 Sprint Car action in 2018. Earlier that same season, he also added a USAC CRA win at Arizona.
Following Swanson in practice were Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) at 14.813 with Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) third at 14.959, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) fourth at 15.097 and Brody Roa (Garden Grove, Calif.), who rounded out the top-five with a 15.141.
Championship contenders Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) did not participate in the practice session. Bacon leads the standings entering the final two races this weekend with a 52-point advantage over Thomas. Bacon is seeking his fourth series title while Thomas is pursuing his first.
Western World, an Arizona tradition which debuted in 1968, will feature a doubleheader this weekend with both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship co-sanctioned by the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car Series along with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.
On Friday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
On Saturday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, autograph session from 4-4:35pm drivers meeting at 4:45pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
General admission adult tickets are $30, while kids 11 and under are just $10. Pit passes are $40 for adults and $15 for ages 7-12 and free for ages 6 and under. Western World tickets are on sale now at www.arizonaspeedway.net.
Both nights of racing at the Western World Championships can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR PRACTICE RESULTS: November 11, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
PRACTICE: 1. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.700; 2. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.813; 3. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.959; 4. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-15.097; 5. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-15.141; 6. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-15.153; 7. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-15.194; 8. Stevie Sussex, 34AZ, Grau-15.231; 9. Jake Helsel, 44, Helsel-15.266; 10. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-15.295; 11. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-15.318; 12. Tye Mihocko, 38, Crossno-15.372; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-15.528; 14. Caleb Stelzig, 21, Stelzig-15.568; 15. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-15.608; 16. Alex Banales, 5A, Baldwin/Fox-15.663; 17. Bruce St. James, 7K, 15.707-15.707; 18. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-15.897; 19. Spencer Hill, 7D7, West-15.900; 20. Colton Treharn, 77, Treharn-16.088; 21. Kyle Shipley, 57, Stone-16.169; 22. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-16.173; 23. Tuesday Calderwood, 4c, Calderwood-16.461.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA RACES: November 12-13, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
USAC CHAMPS & NASCAR CHAMPS HEADLINE HANGTOWN 100 ENTRY LIST
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Placerville, California (November 11, 2021)………USAC champs, NASCAR champs, feature winners, racing veterans, phenoms and young guns - the entry list for the second running of the three-night Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event truly has it all.
The November 18-19-20 event at southern California's Placerville Speedway brings together the two most recent NASCAR Cup Series champions who'll also be teammates in the Hangtown 100 – Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.
Fresh off his first NASCAR title, Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) enters the event as the defending winner. He captured the inaugural Hangtown 100 at Placerville in 2019, pocketing $20,000 for winning the final night main event, plus an extra $12,000 as the overall point champion. Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.), the 2020 NASCAR king, will drive a team car to Larson in his Placerville debut.
Three past USAC National Midget champs will attempt to bag the big payday at Placerville, including reigning series champion Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), 2018 champ Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) and Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), all of whom have been victorious in USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget competition in 2021.
The homeland of California is well-represented in the driver lineup with Larson, Windom and Seavey being joined by 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), USAC superstars Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) and Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), plus winged sprint car standouts Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.), Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.) and Cory Eliason (Visalia, Calif.). Golobic is a past Indiana Midget Week champion (2017) while Macedo grabbed USAC's 2016 Regional Midget title.
You can also add in the versatility from USAC Midget winner and west coast sprint car winner Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.), 2018 USAC Western States Midget champion Michael Faccinto (Hanford, Calif.) and two-time USAC Regional Sprint Car champ Ryan Bernal (Hollister, Calif.).
USAC National Midget winners are based nationwide, and a number of others will be contenders to take over the throne from the natives on their own Golden State soil. Those include Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) and his Petry Motorsports teammate Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) as well as rising stars Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) and Zeb Wise (Angola, Ind.).
Looking to become a first-time USAC winner is Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), who recently captured victory on the final night of Trophy Cup in Tulare, Calif. as well as recently crowned USAC Western States Midget champ Blake Bower (Brentwood, Calif.).
The three-night event will pay $5,000-to-win on each of the two preliminary night features Thursday, Nov. 18 and Friday, Nov. 19 while the 100-lap main event on Saturday, Nov. 20 will pay $20,000-to-win. In addition, another $12,000 will be awarded to the overall point champion throughout the three nights.
Three-night reserved and general admission ticket packages for the Hangtown 100, along with single night tickets, are available at https://happsnow.com/event/Placerville-Speedway.
Reserved seating will make up rows J-T and General Admission will be comprised of rows A-I. Pit pass combo upgrades are also available for $20 each day.
Also sharing the card will be the BCRA/California Lightning Sprints, who are set to run without wings each night.
The expanded three-night event will utilize a modified Trophy Cup style format, featuring larger than normal inverts.
Camping is available on the El Dorado County Fairgrounds for the event and can be reserved by calling 530-621-5860.
To stay up to date with event news be sure and visit www.hangtown100.com and follow along on Twitter https://twitter.com/hangtown100.
The Placerville Speedway is located on the beautiful El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California. Take Hwy US-50 to Forni Road/Placerville Drive exit. Then go north on Placerville Drive to the Fairgrounds. The physical address is 100 Placerville Dr., Placerville, CA 95667. For more information on the Placerville Speedway log onto www.placervillespeedway.com.
HANGTOWN 100 ENTRY LIST: (44 ENTRIES)
CAR # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | ENTRANT
00 JAKE ANDREOTTI/Castro Valley, CA (Pete Davis)
00x CARSON SOUSA/Red Bluff, CA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
07w MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1K KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Kyle Larson Open Wheel)
1x MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (LKK Motorsports)
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5A LONNY ALTON/Rancho Cordova, CA (Lonny Alton)
7NZ CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (BSL Racing)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Kyle Larson Open Wheel)
9B BLAKE BOWER/Brentwood, CA (Tony Boscacci)
14 BEAU LEMIRE/Placerville, CA (Lemire Racing)
14s MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA (Matt Streeter)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports)
17B AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC (Dave Mac Motorsports)
17K COLBY JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Del Morris)
17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
21 BEN WIESZ/Colfax, CA (Ben Wiesz)
21T CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA (Tarlton Motorsports)
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Tom Malloy)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
25x COLBY COPELAND/Roseville, CA (Tom Malloy)
26 CORY ELIASON/Visalia, CA (Rudeen Racing)
26R CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)
37W ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Matt Wood Racing)
45 JAKE MORGAN/Elk Grove, CA (Luke OB Racing)
67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71K DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71R RYAN ROBINSON/Foresthill, CA (Del Morris)
84 JADE AVEDISIAN/Clovis, CA (CB Industries)
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries)
87W RYAN BERNAL/Hollister, CA (Matt Wood Racing)
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries)
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
97K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
99 ROBERT CARSON/Concord, CA (Karen & Howard Segur)
AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
USAC SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS WILL BE CROWNED AT 54TH WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Lance Jennings
NOVEMBER 10, 2021... After a hard fought Oval Nationals at Perris, the AMSOIL USAC/CRA and USAC National Sprint Car Champions will be crowned at Arizona Speedway's "54th Western World Championships presented by San Tan Ford." Promoted by Jonah Trussel, the prestigious event opens with a practice session on Thursday, November 11th (6:30pm), followed by two nights (November 12 & 13) of intense racing that also features the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midgets. Located at 47800 N. Ironwood Road in San Tan Valley, Arizona, the spectator gates on Friday and Saturday will open at 3:00pm with racing scheduled for 7:00pm. For more information, visit the track's website at arizonaspeedway.net or call 480.926.6688.
For those that cannot be at the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- The USAC National Rule Book will be followed in regards to weight rule (1,375 lbs. with driver).
- 2021 APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Hoosier 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A are legal with the USAC/CRA. Hoosier Tires are mandatory on all four corners and this follows the USAC National Series rulebook.
- 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.)
- 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.
- 2021 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.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY: Series officials will have transponders to rent at the track for those racers that do not have them.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
PRACTICE SESSION: The festivities will begin on Thursday, November 11th with a special practice session. Admission to the grandstands is FREE and cars will be on the track around 6:30pm. Adult pit passes are $30 and Kids (7-12) & (6 & Under) pit passes are $15.
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, "Sunshine" Tyler Courtney claimed his third consecutive Western World Championships and the winner's list is at the end of this release.
Since November 4, 2016, Arizona Speedway has held 14 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and eight different drivers have claimed victory. "Sunshine" Tyler Courtney leads all drivers with 4 wins and Chad Boespflug set the 1-lap track record of 14.625 on November 5, 2016. "The Demon" Damion Gardner topped the "Hall of Fame Classic" on October 2nd. A complete series win list at the San Tan Valley oval is at the end of this release.
Entering the twentieth point race, there have been eleven different winners in the campaign. "The Demon" Damion Gardner has six victories, while Max Adams, "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa, and "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams are tied with two wins. "The Macho Man: Brady Bacon, "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr., Chase Johnson, Carson Short, Jake Swanson, "KTJ" Kevin Thomas Jr., and Ryan Timmons have one win on the season.
Heading to the final nights at the San Tan Valley oval, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) has a 56-point lead over the competition. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner scored twenty-second in last Saturday's finale of the Oval Nationals. To date, the eight-time champion has posted six feature wins, eight Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, seven heat race victories, two Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Awards, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 125 feature laps led on the year. The "World's Fastest Sprint Car Driver" has eighty-nine series wins and will be looking to add the Western World Championships to his resume.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) is second in the championship point standings. Racing the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa scored twelfth in the Oval Nationals finale. At press time, the 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, five heat race victories, two Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Awards, fifteen top-10 finishes and 59 feature laps led in the campaign. With ten career victories, Brody will have his sights on winning the Western World and the series crown.
"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Corona, CA) ranks third in the chase for the championship. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Lucas Oil DRC, Williams finished seventh in last Saturday's semi-main event. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, thirteen top-10 finishes and 72 feature laps led to his credit. "The Big Game Hunter" has eleven career wins and will be looking to add his name to the winner's list of the Arizona classic.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) sits fourth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Driving the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen placed twentieth in last Saturday's feature of the Oval Nationals. At press time, the veteran driver has posted one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, fifteen top-10 finishes, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, and 9 feature laps led on the season. Chris will have his sights on earning his first USAC/CRA victory at Arizona Speedway.
"The Cadillac" Cody Williams (Norco, CA) ranks fifth in the point chase. Racing his #44 Trench Shoring / CRW Designs and Machining DRC, Williams ran fourteenth in the Oval Nationals finale. To date, the 2010 Victorville Sprint Car Champion has three heat race victories, nine top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led in the campaign. Cody has one career USAC/CRA win and will be looking to looking to earn his first triumph at the San Tan Valley oval.
Heading to Arizona Speedway, Austin Grabowksi (Riverside, CA) has clinched the Rookie of the Year honors. Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA). Jake Hodges (Camarillo, CA), Brent Owens (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI), and Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) were other rookies in contention.
"The Macho Man" Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) leads a talented roster from the AMSOIL USAC National Series. "KTJ" Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant, Tanner Thorson, C.J. Leary, Chris Windom, Jake Swanson, Robert Ballou, Chase Stockon, and Logan Seavey round out the top-ten drivers.
Arizona Speedway is located at 47800 N. Ironwood Road in San Tan Valley, Arizona, just five minutes from Mesa. To get to the track, exit Ironwood Drive on US 60, then head four miles south. Adult Tickets are $30, Senior Tickets are $30, Kids Tickets (11 & under) are $15 to $$20. For more event and ticket information, visit arizonaspeedway.net or call 480.926.6688.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, surfNsprint.com, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 6-Damion Gardner, 2-Max Adams, 2-Brody Roa, 2-Austin Williams, 1-Brady Bacon, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Carson Short, 1-Jake Swanson, 1-Kevin Thomas Jr., 1-Ryan Timmons.
SAN TAN VALLEY AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Tyler Courtney, 2-Damion Gardner, 2-Justin Grant, 2-Chris Windom, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Thomas Meseraull, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Jake Swanson.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Damion Gardner-1279, 2. Brody Roa-1223, 3. Austin Williams-1078, 4. Chris Gansen-992, 5. Cody Williams-940, 6. Tommy Malcolm-860, 7. Charles Davis Jr.-841, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-639, --. Verne Sweeney-639, 10. Logan Williams-605, 11. Matt McCarthy-590, 12. A.J. Bender-589, 13. Danny Faria Jr.-521, 14. Matt Mitchell-519, 15. Austin Grabowski �-459, 16. Chase Johnson-406, 17. Stevie Sussex-405, 18. Max Adams-316, 19. R.J. Johnson-312, 20. Brent Owens �-310.
2021 AMSOIL USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brady Bacon-2799, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr.-2747, 3. Justin Grant-2640, 4. Tanner Thorson �-2517, 5. C.J. Leary-2499, 6. Chris Windom-2421, 7. Jake Swanson-2336, 8. Robert Ballou-1987, 9. Chase Stockon-1709, 10. Logan Seavey-1475, 11. Shane Cottle-1257, 12. Kyle Cummins-1244, 13. Brandon Mattox-1050, 14. Jadon Rogers-1036, 15. Matt Westfall-972, 16. Thomas Meseraull-891, 17. Paul Nienhiser �-859, 18. Max Adams-695, 19. Cole Bodine �-660, 20. Mario Clouser-590.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
March 12: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park– Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
March 13: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
March 26: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
April 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
May 1: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
May 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
May 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 3: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (CANCELLED)
July 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
August 14: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
September 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Carson Short)
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
September 6: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
September 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
October 2: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Winner: Damion Gardner)
October 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Jake Swanson)
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brady Bacon)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.)
November 12: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 13: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.
SPRINT CAR SUNSET:
USAC SEASON FINISHES STRONG
AT ARIZONA'S WESTERN WORLD
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 11, 2021)………There's nothing quite like an Arizona sunset, with its iridescent pink, orange and purple hues igniting the southwestern sky.
There's also nothing quite like the moment the sun begins to fade into the horizon, and the horn is sounded for USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing to commence under the Arizona sky.
That's the setting this Friday and Saturday night, November 12-13, as the sun sets at the end of the trail for both the National and USAC CRA Sprint Car seasons with the final two races of the year taking place at San Tan Valley's Arizona Speedway for the 54th annual Western World Championships presented by San Tan Ford.
Brady Bacon and Kevin Thomas Jr. remain in a dog fight for the USAC National Sprint Car title with just 52 points of separation between the two and Bacon seeking his fourth title while Thomas has sights set on his first.
Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has been unflappable throughout the campaign, entering the weekend on a streak of 17-straight top-tens and eight top-fives in his last nine series starts. Bacon owns six Western World feature wins: ASCS Wingless Sprint Car wins in 2009 and 2010, then captured USAC Southwest 360 Sprint Car final night wins in 2016 and 2018, a prelim 360 score in 2017 and a USAC National Midget victory in 2019.
However, a USAC National Sprint Car win at the 1/3-mile dirt oval remains absent from Bacon's resume. But he's been oh-so-close, finishing 2nd in the 2017 opener, 3rd in both the 2016 opener and the final night in 2019 and 4th on the opening night in 2016.
Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) is fresh off a major score in last Saturday's Oval Nationals at California's Perris Auto Speedway. At Arizona, he's a USAC National Midget winner during Western World, which came in the 2019 opener. With the USAC National Sprint Cars there, Thomas finished a best of 2nd in 2019 on the final night and was 5th in the 2018 opener.
No driver has been as consistent of a frontrunner at Arizona in USAC National Sprint Car competition than 2017 series champion Chris Windom. The Canton, Ill. native swept to victories on both nights in 2016. He's also been 4th on four different occasions, in the 2017 opener, on both nights in 2017, and in the 2019 finale. He also corralled the Western World 360 Sprint Car feature in 2017 and collected the first night in 2016 for a total of four Western World wins.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) hit Western World paydirt for the first time with the USAC National Sprint Cars at Arizona in 2018. He reached the promised land yet again for the second time, first under sole USAC CRA sanctioning, in the 2020 opener. The 2020 Silver Crown champ also posted a 2nd at Western World in 2019's curtain riser.
Damion Gardner (Concord, Calif.) is on the cusp of an eighth consecutive (ninth overall) USAC CRA Sprint Car title, possessing a 56-point edge over Brody Roa. Gardner has won with USAC CRA on two occasions at Arizona, first in 2018, and as recently October 2 of this year. The spoils of a Western World victory have eluded him thus far after a pair of runner-up results on both nights of 2016, plus a 3rd in the 2018 lid-lifter.
Roa (Garden Grove, Calif.) stamped his legacy on Western World lore, garnering a 2015 final night triumph with the USAC Southwest 360 Sprint Cars when the event was held at USA Raceway in Tucson, Ariz. At Arizona, the 2019 Southwest champ has posted solid results in the latter half of the top-ten each year with a 9th in 2016, 6th in 2017, 7th in 2018 and 10th in 2019.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) owns a USAC Southwest Sprint Car score at Arizona Speedway, which he gained during the 2019 campaign with the 360 c.i. series. The Arizona Speedway one-lap USAC National Midget track record holder took a career-best 5th with the USAC National Sprints in 2018, a 9th in 2019 and a 10th in 2018.
Top USAC National Sprint Car Rookie Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) has a USAC National Midget win under his belt at Arizona Speedway, capturing the opener of the 2020 event. This weekend, however, will mark the 2016 USAC National Midget champ's Sprint Car debut at the track.
For Arizona car owner Bill Michael, one of his lifelong dreams is to win at Western World. He has a substantial shot at it this weekend with 2019 USAC National Sprint Car champ C.J. Leary at the controls. The Greenfield, Ind. native has been in the hunt at Western World in recent years, finishing 3rd in 2018 and 5th in 2019.
Arizona Speedway's winningest USAC Southwest Sprint Car driver is R.J. Johnson who's far and away the leader in that category with 19 career tallies. The Laveen, Arizonian put up a pair of Western World prelim Sprint Car wins with the 360s in both 2009 and 2013. His most successful run with the USAC National Sprint Cars at Arizona came in 2017 with a 9th in the opener and a career-best 3rd in the closer. R.J.'s father, Ricky Johnson, collected a non-wing 360 sprint car win in the 1995 Western World.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) broke through for his first career USAC National Sprint Car win last Thursday night at Perris. At Arizona, he broke through with a 30-lap Western World prelim victory in USAC Southwest 360 Sprint Car action in 2018. Earlier that same season, he added a USAC CRA win at Arizona. The 2017 USAC West Coast Sprint Car champ can count two top-ten runs with the USAC National Sprints at Arizona, an 8th in 2019 and a 10th in 2016.
Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Ariz.) has quite a hefty notebook of success stories at Arizona Speedway with eight USAC Southwest 360 Sprint Car wins to his credit. His, at the time, best career USAC National Sprint finish came via a 4th in 2019 at Western World, which was ultimately eclipsed by his 3rd place result at South Dakota's Huset's this past September.
Arizona's own Tye Mihocko (Phoenix, Ariz.) picked himself up a USAC Southwest 360 Sprint win at Arizona during the 2018 season. His lone USAC National Sprint Car feature start at the venue resulted in a 20th place showing during the first night of the 2018 event.
Returning to the Western World lineup this weekend are 2021 USAC CRA winners Austin Williams, Cody Williams and Max Adams. Austin (Yorba Linda, Calif.) took 9th in the 2019 program while brother Cody (Norco, Calif.) recorded an 18th in 2018. The third Williams brother, Logan (Yorba Linda, Calif.), was the 22nd place combatant in both 2017 and 2018. Adams (Loomis, Calif.), meanwhile, was 15th in 2019.
Tommy Malcolm (Corona, Calif.) brought the thunder for a 9th place finish in 2019, while Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, Calif.) was 16th in 2019 and Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, Calif.) penned a 20th in 2019.
Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.) led the first 13 laps of October's USAC CRA feature at Arizona before a mechanical issue sent him careening into the turn one wall. He looks to make his first USAC National Sprint Car start at Arizona after finishing 9th in the midget there in 2020. Johnson will pilot a car owned by Jack Yeley, a 1988 Western World winner in the Mighty Midget of Arizona portion of the program.
Fellow first-time USAC National Sprint Car starting hopefuls at Arizona Speedway this weekend include USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget winner Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.), plus Arizona's Sterling Cling (Tempe, Ariz.), Dennis Gile (Phoenix, Ariz.).
Also hailing from the Grand Canyon State are USAC Southwest Sprint Car and USAC Silver Crown veteran Brent Yarnal (Phoenix, Ariz.) and the Calderwood siblings from Goodyear, Ariz., Logan and Tuesday, who are the grandchildren of Dave Calderwood, a winning USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint and National Midget car owner during the 1990s.
Three-plus decade veteran and past California Racing Association feature winner Verne Sweeney (Lomita, Calif.) is on the road to Arizona following a 10th place USAC CRA finish in October while Sprint Car Rookie Alex Banales (West Lafayette, Ind.), seeks his first ever appearance at the track.
Forty-one previous USAC National Sprint Car events have been held in the state of Arizona. Bryan Clauson is the all-time leader in that category with five. Bob Cleberg was victorious in the inaugural Western World Championships held in 1968 at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Ariz.
On Friday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5:10pm. On Saturday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, autograph session from 4-4:35pm drivers meeting at 4:45pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
General admission adult tickets are $30, while kids 11 and under are just $10. Pit passes are $40 for adults and $15 for ages 7-12 and free for ages 6 and under. Western World tickets are on sale now at www.arizonaspeedway.net.
An open practice for sprint cars and midgets will take place on Thursday night, November 11 from 6:30-9:30pm Mountain. Pits open at Noon with a racer and pit crew appreciation BBQ in the pit area featuring free food and drinks set for 5-6pm.
On practice night, adult pit passes are $30, kids 7-12 pit passes are $15 and kids 6 and under pit passes are $15.
Both nights of racing at the Western World Championships can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2799, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2747, 3-Justin Grant-2640, 4-Tanner Thorson-2517, 5-C.J. Leary-2499, 6-Chris Windom-2421, 7-Jake Swanson-2336, 8-Robert Ballou-1987, 9-Chase Stockon-1709, 10-Logan Seavey-1475.
ARIZONA SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS:
3-Tyler Courtney
2-Chris Windom
1-Justin Grant, Thomas Meseraull & Chase Stockon
ARIZONA SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS:
2016: Chris Windom (11/4) & Chris Windom (11/5)
2017: Thomas Meseraull (11/3) & Chase Stockon (11/4)
2018: Justin Grant (11/2) & Tyler Courtney (11/3)
2019: Tyler Courtney (11/15) & Tyler Courtney (11/16)
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA:
5-Bryan Clauson
3-Jerry Coons Jr. & Tyler Courtney
2-Dave Darland, Bud Kaeding, Chase Stockon, Kevin Swindell, Chris Windom & Josh Wise
1-Mario Andretti, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Don Branson, Bob East, Chet Fillip, A.J. Foyt, Damion Gardner, Justin Grant, Darren Hagen, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Levi Jones, Mike Martin, Lealand McSpadden, Thomas Meseraull, Andy Michner & Brian Tyler
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT ARIZONA SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 11/5/2016 - Chad Boespflug - 14.625 - 82.051 mph
8 Laps - 11/5/2016 - Ryan Bernal - 2:05.61 - 76.427 mph
12 Laps - 11/4/2017 - Robert Ballou - 3:13.65 - 74.361 mph
PAST WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL NIGHT WINNERS:
1968: Bob Cleberg (Non-Wing Sprint)
1969: Bob Huebner (Non-Wing Sprint)
1970: Jerry McClung (Non-Wing Sprint)
1971: Jan Opperman (Non-Wing Sprint)
1972: Jan Opperman (Non-Wing Sprint)
1973: Earl Wagner (Non-Wing Sprint)
1974: Rick Ferkel (Non-Wing Sprint)
1975: Ron Shuman (Non-Wing Sprint)
1976: Bubby Jones (Non-Wing Sprint)
1977: Ron Shuman (Non-Wing Sprint)
1978: Lealand McSpadden (Non-Wing Sprint)
1979: Tim Green (Non-Wing Sprint)
1980: Jeff Swindell (Non-Wing Sprint)
1981: Ron Shuman (Non-Wing Sprint)
1982: Steve Kinser (Non-Wing Sprint)
1983: Steve Kinser (Non-Wing Sprint)
1984: Ron Shuman (Non-Wing Sprint)
1985: Steve Kinser (Winged Sprint) & Lealand McSpadden (Mighty Midgets of Arizona)
1986: Bobby Davis Jr. (Winged Sprint) & Ron Shuman (Mighty Midgets of Arizona)
1987: Steve Kinser (Winged Sprint) & Lealand McSpadden (Mighty Midgets of Arizona)
1988: Mark Kinser (Winged Sprint) & Jack Yeley (Mighty Midgets of Arizona)
1989: Sammy Swindell (Winged Sprint) & Gary Faucett (Midget)
1990: Steve Kinser (Winged Sprint)
1991: Danny Lasoski (Winged Sprint), Wayne Bennet (Non-Winged 360 Sprint) & Ron Shuman (Arizona Midget Racing Association)
1992: Steve Kinser (Winged Sprint), Bob Ream Jr. (Non-Winged 360 Sprint) & Bob Broseman (Midget)
1993: Lealand McSpadden (Non-Wing Sprint)
1994: Ron Shuman (Non-Wing Sprint)
1995: Lealand McSpadden (SCRA Sprint), Ricky Johnson (Non-Wing 360 Sprint) & Josh Pelkey (Midget)
1996: Steve Kinser (World of Outlaws Sprint)
1997: Mark Kinser (World of Outlaws Sprint)
1998: Tyler Walker (World of Outlaws Sprint)
1999: Donny Schatz (World of Outlaws Sprint)
2000: Jay Drake (SCRA Sprint)
2001: Jeremy Sherman (SCRA Sprint)
2002: Bud Kaeding (SCRA Sprint) & Jeremy Sherman (360 Sprint)
2003: Tony Elliott (SCRA Sprint) & Jeremy Sherman (360 Sprint)
2004: Bud Kaeding (USAC Sprint) & Josh Ford (360 Sprint)
2005: Dave Darland (USAC Sprint) & Cory Kruseman (360 Sprint)
2006: Josh Wise (USAC Sprint) & Cory Kruseman (360 Sprint)
2007: Jerry Coons Jr. (USAC Sprint) & Cory Kruseman (360 Sprint)
2008: Kevin Swindell (USAC Sprint) & Jesse Hockett (360 Sprint)
2009: Brady Bacon (ASCS Non-Wing Sprint) & Sammy Swindell (ASCS Winged Sprint)
2010: Brady Bacon (ASCS Non-Wing Sprint) & Donny Schatz (ASCS Winged Sprint)
2011: Tracy Hines (ASCS Non-Wing Sprint) & Donny Schatz (ASCS Winged Sprint)
2012: Bryan Clauson (ASCS Non-Wing Sprint) & Wayne Johnson (ASCS Winged Sprint)
2013: Bryan Clauson (USAC Southwest Sprint & USAC Midget)
2014: Matt Rossi (USAC Southwest Sprint) & Darren Hagen (USAC Midget)
2015: Bryan Clauson (USAC Sprint) & Brody Roa (USAC Southwest Sprint)
2016: Chris Windom (USAC Sprint) & Brady Bacon (USAC Southwest Sprint)
2017: Chase Stockon (USAC Sprint) & Chris Windom (USAC Southwest Sprint)
2018: Tyler Courtney (USAC Sprint) & Brady Bacon (USAC Southwest Sprint)
2019: Tyler Courtney (USAC Sprint) & Brady Bacon (USAC Midget)
2020: Tyler Courtney (USAC CRA Sprint) & Buddy Kofoid (USAC Midget)
PAST USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FEATURE RESULTS AT ARIZONA SPEEDWAY:
2016 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Damion Gardner, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Jerry Coons, Jr., 6. Ronnie Gardner, 7. Chad Boespflug, 8. Chase Stockon, 9. Brody Roa, 10. Jake Swanson, 11. Richard Vander Weerd, 12. Austin Williams, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Ryan Bernal, 15. R.J. Johnson, 16. Carson Macedo, 17. Mike Spencer, 18. Isaac Chapple, 19. Aaron Farney, 20. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 21. Max Adams, 22. Cody Williams, 23. Chris Gansen, 24. Jeremy Ellertson, 25. Dave Darland, 26. Stevie Sussex. NT
2016 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Damion Gardner, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Richard Vander Weerd, 7. Jerry Coons, Jr., 8. Ryan Bernal, 9. Carson Macedo, 10. Josh Hodges, 11. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 12. Chad Boespflug, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. C.J. Leary, 15. R.J. Johnson, 16. Brody Roa, 17. Thomas Meseraull, 18. Jake Swanson, 19. Max Adams, 20. Mike Spencer, 21. Matt Rossi, 22. Mike Martin, 23. Cody Williams, 24. Austin Williams. NT
2017 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Brady Bacon, 3, Robert Ballou, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Tyler Courtney, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Damion Gardner, 8. Chase Stockon, 9. R.J. Johnson, 10. Stevie Sussex, 11. Chad Boespflug, 12. Brody Roa, 13. Josh Hodges, 14. Mike Spencer , 15. Dave Darland, 16. Charles Davis Jr., 17. Jake Swanson, 18. Austin Williams, 19. Justin Grant, 20. Chris Gansen, 21. C.J. Leary, 22. Chet Williams, 23. Isaac Chapple, 24. Landon Cling. NT
2017 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Tyler Courtney, 6. Brody Roa, 7. Chad Boespflug, 8. Justin Grant, 9. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 10. Chris Windom, 11. Damion Gardner, 12. Josh Hodges, 13. Brady Bacon, 14. Dave Darland, 15. Stevie Sussex, 16. Jake Swanson, 17. Charles Davis, Jr., 18. Danny Faria, Jr., 19. Mike Spencer, 20. Austin Williams, 21. Isaac Chapple, 22. Logan Williams, 23. Chris Gansen, 24. Cody Williams. NT
2018 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Brody Roa, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Logan Seavey, 11. R.J. Johnson, 12. Chase Stockon, 13. Thomas Meseraull, 14. Isaac Chapple, 15. Matt Rossi, 16. Austin Williams, 17. Josh Hodges, 18. Cody Williams, 19. Danny Faria Jr., 20. Tye Mihocko, 21. Ryan Bernal, 22. Joel Rayborne, 23. Logan Williams, 24. Jason McDougal. NT
2018 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Dave Darland, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Damion Gardner, 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9. Chase Stockon, 10. Thomas Meseraull, 11. Ryan Bernal, 12. Jake Swanson, 13. Brody Roa, 14. Isaac Chapple, 15. Brady Bacon, 16. Josh Hodges, 17. R.J. Johnson, 18. Danny Sheridan, 19. Matt Rossi, 20, Austin Williams, 21. Stevie Sussex, 22. Logan Williams, 23. Joel Rayborne, 24. Cody Williams. NT
2019 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (5), 2. Justin Grant (4), 3. Jason McDougal (9), 4. Charles Davis, Jr. (16), 5. Stevie Sussex (24), 6. C.J. Leary (11), 7. Josh Hodges (13), 8. Chase Stockon (3), 9. Austin Williams (2), 10. Tommy Malcolm (23), 11. Jake Swanson (10), 12. Thomas Meseraull (18), 13. Damion Gardner (14), 14. R.J. Johnson (15), 15. Max Adams (21), 16. Chris Gansen (19), 17. Brady Bacon (12), 18. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (8), 19. Brody Roa (20), 20. Chris Windom (1), 21. Hunter Schuerenberg (7), 22. Kyle Shipley (22), 23. Dustin Clark (17), 24. Logan Seavey (6). NT
2019 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (5), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 3. Brady Bacon (2), 4. Chris Windom (10), 5. C.J. Leary (6), 6. Damion Gardner (4), 7. Josh Hodges (1), 8. Jake Swanson (8), 9. Logan Seavey (9), 10. Brody Roa (22), 11. Stevie Sussex (23), 12. R.J. Johnson (18), 13. Austin Williams (20), 14. Chase Stockon (13), 15. Thomas Meseraull (21), 16. Eric Wilkins (11), 17. Dustin Clark (17), 18. Chris Gansen (14), 19. Chris Bonneau (19), 20. Eddie Tafoya, Jr. (15), 21. Justin Grant (7), 22. Jason McDougal (16), 23. Charles Davis, Jr. (24), 24. Hunter Schuerenberg (12). NT
TURKEY NIGHT GP PURSE INCREASES BY $15,000 COURTESY OF ARP
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ventura, California (November 10, 2021)………Automotive Racing Products, the title sponsor of the 80th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix, has added $15,000 to the event purse from top-to-bottom when the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship arrives at southern California's Ventura Raceway for the prestigious event on Saturday night, November 27.
ARP, the world leader in fastener technology, is the title sponsor for the for the famed 98-lap race at the 1/5-mile dirt oval, a crown jewel race rich with tradition that dates back to 1934.
The payout increases are evident for all positions throughout the field with the winner's share being increased to $10,000, nearly double the payout from the most recent edition of Turkey Night in 2019, in addition to a specially designed trophy to commemorate the world-famous race.
Second and third place have also received substantial boosts with the runner-up spot being increased by two-grand to $5,000 while third will nearly double with the last spot on the podium now generating $3,500. In fact, each top-10 finisher will earn, at minimum, a $1,000 payday while paying a minimum of $600 to start.
Among the legends who've been victorious at the Turkey Night Grand Prix are Indianapolis 500 winners Bill Vukovich, Johnnie Parsons, A.J. Foyt and Parnelli Jones, plus multi-time National Champion Tony Bettenhausen, son Gary Bettenhausen, 111-time USAC National Midget winner Mel Kenyon, Bubby Jones and eight-time Turkey Night winner Ron Shuman.
IndyCar, NASCAR and USAC Triple Crown champ Tony Stewart has won at Turkey Night as has fellow USAC Triple Crown winner Dave Darland, Bryan Clauson and current NASCAR stars Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.
For the first time in 2021, the Turkey Night Grand Prix will be contested on Saturday, November 27 along with the main event for the USAC West Coast & VRA 360 Sprint Cars. Midget practice and Sprint Car prelims the night before on Friday, November 26.
The race will serve as the season finale for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Midgets in 2021.
Tickets for the Turkey Night Grand Prix are now on sale at www.venturaraceway.com. For more information, please call (805) 985-5433.
FEATURE PURSE BREAKDOWN FOR THE 2021 TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX:
1st: $10,000 | (Increase of $4,000)
2nd: $5,000 | (Increase of $2,000)
3rd: $3,500 | (Increase of +$1,500)
4th: $2,500 | (Increase of +$1,000)
5th: $2.000 | (Increase of +$750)
6th: $1,500 | (Increase of +$500)
7th: $1,200 | (Increase of +$300)
8th: $1,100 | (Increase of +$250)
9th: $1,050 | (Increase of +$250)
10th: $1,000 | (Increase of +$225)
11th: $950 | (Increase of +$200)
12th: $900 | (Increase of +$175)
13th: $875 | (Increase of +$175)
14th: $850| (Increase of +$175)
15th: $800 | (Increase of +$150)
16th: $775 | (Increase of +$150)
17th: $750 | (Increase of +$150)
18th: $725 | (Increase of +$150)
19th: $700 | (Increase of +$150)
20th: $675 | (Increase of +$150)
21st: $650 | (Increase of +$150)
22nd: $625 | (Increase of +$150)
23rd: $600 | (Increase of +$150)
24th: $600 | (Increase of +$150)
25th: $600 | (Increase of +$150)
26th: $600 | (Increase of +$150)
Semi-Feature Non-Transfers: $200 | (Increase of +100)
All Other Non-Transfers: $100
Best Finishing Double-Duty Driver in Midgets & Sprint Cars: $500
NASCAR STAR CHASE ELLIOTT ENTERS USAC'S HANGTOWN 100 AT PLACERVILLE
By: Gary Thomas
Placerville, California (November 10, 2021)………With excitement ramping up for the "Hangtown 100," race officials are thrilled to announce that 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott will make his Placerville Speedway debut at the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event to be held on November 18-19-20, 2021.
Elliott will be in competition at the event along with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, who just wrapped up the NASCAR Cup Series title last weekend. The 25-year-old Elliott has broadened his racing horizons this season, competing in several USAC events on the dirt, including the annual Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Next week's running of the Hangtown 100 will be Elliott's first taste of the famed Placerville Speedway red clay. The Dawsonville, Georgia native will be aboard a Midget owned by Kyle Larson Racing at the much-anticipated event.
"It's truly an exciting thing for everyone involved to have Chase Elliott compete at the Hangtown 100," said Placerville Speedway Promoter Scott Russell. "We are thrilled that Chase has decided to run the event along with his teammate Kyle Larson. Having the last two NASCAR Cup Series champions in action at the Hangtown 100 is unprecedented. We hope everyone has their tickets and will come enjoy three nights of spectacular USAC National Midget racing with us."
Elliott this season drove to a pair of NASCAR Cup Series victories to go along with his 15 top-five finishes. The second-generation racer has also earned the Most Popular Driver Award each of the past three seasons.
Three-night reserved and general admission ticket packages for the Hangtown 100, along with single night tickets are available at https://happsnow.com/event/Placerville-Speedway.
Reserved seating will make up rows J-T and General Admission will be comprised of rows A-I. Pit pass combo upgrades are also available for $20 each day.
The Hangtown 100 occurs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday November 18th, 19th and 20th and marks the second ever appearance by the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series to Placerville Speedway. Also sharing the card will be the BCRA / California Lightning Sprints, who are set to run without the wings each night.
The expanded three-night event will utilize a modified Trophy Cup style format, featuring larger than normal inverts. All the biggest names in USAC National Midget racing will be in action, as well as special guest appearances by some of racing's biggest stars.
To stay up to date with event news be sure and visit www.hangtown100.com and follow along on Twitter https://twitter.com/hangtown100
Camping is available on the El Dorado County Fairgrounds for the event and can be reserved by calling 530-621-5860.
The Placerville Speedway is located on the beautiful El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California. Take Hwy US-50 to Forni Road/Placerville Drive exit. Then go north on Placerville Drive to the Fairgrounds. The physical address is 100 Placerville Dr., Placerville, CA 95667.
For more information on the Placerville Speedway log onto www.placervillespeedway.com.
WESTERN'S BEST: USAC MIDGETS OPEN WESTERN SWING NOV. 12-13 AT ARIZONA
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 10, 2021)………Three-hundred-sixty-four nights after arriving at Arizona Speedway's Western World Championships for his first-ever USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget appearance, Buddy Kofoid became a Western World champion.
That accomplishment was realized in late November 2020 as the Penngrove, Californian led wire-to-wire from his outside front row starting spot, withstanding a steady challenge from Tanner Thorson as well as a late-race restart, to capture the victory in what he described as a "feather in his cap" to win at such a historic event.
One big step in 2019 was followed by major winning step in 2020. Now, this coming Friday and Saturday night, November 12-13, Kofoid looks to take the next leap into becoming a first-time USAC National Midget champion.
Kofoid trails point leader and reigning series champion Chris Windom by 13 points entering this weekend's two races at San Tan Valley's 1/3-mile Arizona Speedway for the 54th annual Western World Championships presented by San Tan Ford as the series begins its largest ever year-end western trip for the first two of nine races in a 16-day span.
Though traditionally a sprint car event since its debut in 1968, Western World has become a haven for spectacular midget racing in the Grand Canyon State, with such winners as Lealand McSpadden, Ron Shuman, Jack Yeley, Bryan Clauson, Darren Hagen and Brady Bacon over the past few decades.
This year's driver lineup boasts three past USAC National Midget feature winners at Arizona Speedway, featuring Kofoid, 2020 opening night winner Tanner Thorson and 2019 opening night victor, Kevin Thomas Jr. In addition to his victory, Kofoid finished fourth in the 2020 Western World midget opener the night prior.
USAC Triple Crown champion, Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), has won more often at the Western World than any other driver in this weekend's lineup, with three sprint car wins, including a sweep of the 2016 National Sprint features along with a USAC Southwest Sprint prelim victory that same weekend. He added another USAC Southwest win on the final night of Western World in 2017 as well. In the Midget at Arizona Speedway, Windom finished 7th on both nights of 2019, then was 8th and 4th in two rounds during the 2020 season.
Windom drives for Arizona native Chad Boat, who is the son of a past USAC National Midget winner in the state of Arizona, Billy Boat, who prevailed in a last lap thrash at Phoenix International Raceway in 1996. Joining Windom on the CB Industries team for the western tour are Western World Rookies Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), a 15-time winner in sprint car and midget competition this season, and a recent Trophy Cup final night winner in Tulare, Calif. Twelve-time 2021 micro sprint winner Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.) is also on board for her USAC National Midget debut.
Thorson (Minden, Nev.) was victorious in his Arizona Speedway midget debut in the 2020 Western World opener, capturing the midget feature on the final green-white-checkered restart, in which he started third. The 2016 series champ followed the performance up with a runner-up finish the next night while also setting fast time.
Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) will make his return to Midget racing at Arizona Speedway this weekend after notching a hard-fought victory in the debut for the series at the track in 2019. He then tallied a 6th place run the following night, adding to his solid weekend.
Just as he did one year ago, Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) enters Western World after having won in his last time out in USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget competition at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind. Meseraull also possesses winning experience at Arizona Speedway, having won the Western World Sprint Car opener in the 2017 event. His best Arizona Midget finish thus far is a 12th on the final night in 2020.
Meseraull's RMS Racing teammate is Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) is a two-time winner at Arizona, having captured the opening night Western World Sprint Car features in both 2018 and 2020. Grant finished in the 6th position on both nights of midget racing in 2020.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) has finished as the runner-up twice in his four previous Western World Midget starts at Arizona Speedway, doing so in the 2019 finale and the 2020 opener. He's a two-time Western World Midget fast qualifier and is also the one-lap and 12-lap track record holder for USAC Midgets at Arizona. His one-lap time of 15.137 was set on 11/13/2020. The 2018 USAC National Midget champion won at Arizona Speedway with the USAC Southwest Sprint Car series in 2019.
Like his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammate, Buddy Kofoid, Pursley made his first career USAC National Midget start during the 2019 Western World. The Locust Grove, Okla. driver turned around in 2020 and delivered two sensational performances with a 5th in the opener and a 3rd in the finale.
First-time Western World Midget starters in 2020 who are looking to up their scorecard in this weekend's events are third-place point man, Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), who was 13th in 2020 and Bixby, Oklahoma's Cannon McIntosh who stands 10th in the standings and finished 10th in 2020.
KKM teammates Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) took 11th on night two of 2020 while Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas) notched a 15th on night one after starting on pole. Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) tallied a 16th on night two of 2020.
Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports teammates Chase Randall and Hayden Reinbold are back for their second year at Western World. Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) scored a 17th while Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) finished 18th and enters the weekend as the leading contender for Rookie of the Year.
First-time Western World entrants include Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) for KKM along with series veteran Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.), plus Kevin Woody Jr. (Victor, N.Y.) in a second Dave Mac Motorsports car, Trevor Casey (Altoona, Iowa) for Mounce-Stout Motorsports and first-time series competitor Jim Vanzant (Prescott, Ariz.).
Eighty-three previous USAC National Midget events have been held in Arizona. In fact, the fourth ever race in series history occurred on March 31, 1956, at South Mountain Speedway in Phoenix, Ariz., a 100-lap feature won by National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Famer Johnnie Tolan, a two-time Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association champion in 1946-47, AAA Midwest Midget champion in 1950 & 1952, and AAA National Midget champion in 1952.
On Friday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5:10pm. On Saturday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, autograph session from 4-4:35pm drivers meeting at 4:45pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
General admission adult tickets are $30, while kids 11 and under are just $10. Pit passes are $40 for adults and $15 for ages 7-12 and free for ages 6 and under. Western World tickets are on sale now at www.arizonaspeedway.net.
An open practice for sprint cars and midgets will take place on Thursday night, November 11 from 6:30-9:30pm Mountain. Pits open at Noon with a racer and pit crew appreciation BBQ in the pit area featuring free food and drinks set for 5-6pm.
On practice night, adult pit passes are $30, kids 7-12 pit passes are $15 and kids 6 and under pit passes are $15.
Both nights of racing at the Western World Championships can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1996, 2-Buddy Kofoid-1983, 3-Emerson Axsom-1840, 4-Daison Pursley-1834, 5-Tanner Thorson-1814, 6-Justin Grant-1796, 7-Logan Seavey-1725, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1627, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1597, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1409.
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT ARIZONA SPEEDWAY:
1-Brady Bacon, Buddy Kofoid, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Tanner Thorson
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA:
7-Mel Kenyon
3-Gary Bettenhausen, Bobby East, Darren Hagen, Tracy Hines, Dave Steele & Tony Stewart
2-Christopher Bell, Merle Bettenhausen, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton, Chuck Gurney, Jason Leffler, Roger McCluskey, Chuck Rodee, Brad Sweet, Johnnie Tolan, Sleepy Tripp & J.J. Yeley
1-Chuck Arnold, Brady Bacon, Tom Bigelow, Billy Boat, Billy Cantrell, Bryan Clauson, Larry Dickson, Dan Drinan, Billy Engelhart, Robby Flock, Stan Fox, A.J. Foyt, Billy Garrett, Rick Goudy, Allen Heath, Parnelli Jones, Buddy Kofoid, Cory Kruseman, Kyle Larson, Michael Lewis, Jerry McClung, Bobby Olivero, Aaron Pollock, Larry Rice, Bobby Santos, Les Scott, Tom Sellberg, Bob Tattersall, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson, Rich Vogler, Billy Vukovich, Bruce Walkup & Bob Wente
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT ARIZONA SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap: 11/13/2020 - Logan Seavey - 15.137 - 79.197 mph
8 Laps: 11/15/2019 - Jesse Colwell - 2:07.777 - 75.056 mph
12 Laps: 11/14/2020 - Logan Seavey - 3:13.982 - 74.160 mph
PAST WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL NIGHT 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: Jeff Swindell
1981: Ron Shuman
1982: Steve Kinser
1983: Steve Kinser
1984: Ron Shuman
1985: Steve Kinser (Sprint) & Lealand McSpadden (Mighty Midgets of Arizona)
1986: Bobby Davis Jr. (Sprint) & Ron Shuman (Mighty Midgets of Arizona)
1987: Steve Kinser (Sprint) & Lealand McSpadden (Mighty Midgets of Arizona)
1988: Mark Kinser (Sprint) & Jack Yeley (Mighty Midgets of Arizona)
1989: Sammy Swindell (Sprint) & Gary Faucett (Midget)
1990: Steve Kinser
1991: Danny Lasoski (410 Sprint), Wayne Bennet (360 Sprint) & Ron Shuman (Arizona Midget Racing Association)
1992: Steve Kinser (410 Sprint), Bob Ream Jr. (360 Sprint) & Bob Broseman (Midget)
1993: Lealand McSpadden
1994: Ron Shuman
1995: Lealand McSpadden (410 Sprint), Ricky Johnson (360 Sprint) & Josh Pelkey (Midget)
1996: Steve Kinser
1997: Mark Kinser
1998: Tyler Walker
1999: Donny Schatz
2000: Jay Drake
2001: Jeremy Sherman
2002: Bud Kaeding (SCRA Sprint) & Jeremy Sherman (360 Sprint)
2003: Tony Elliott (SCRA Sprint) & Jeremy Sherman (360 Sprint)
2004: Bud Kaeding (USAC Sprint) & Josh Ford (360 Sprint)
2005: Dave Darland (USAC Sprint) & Cory Kruseman (360 Sprint)
2006: Josh Wise (USAC Sprint) & Cory Kruseman (360 Sprint)
2007: Jerry Coons Jr. (USAC Sprint) & Cory Kruseman (360 Sprint)
2008: Kevin Swindell (USAC Sprint) & Jesse Hockett (360 Sprint)
2009: Brady Bacon (360 Sprint) & Sammy Swindell (Winged)
2010: Brady Bacon (410 Sprint), R.J. Johnson (360 Sprint) & Donny Schatz (Winged)
2011: Tracy Hines (USAC Sprint) & Donny Schatz (Winged)
2012: Bryan Clauson & Wayne Johnson (Winged)
2013: Bryan Clauson (Sprint Car & USAC Midget)
2014: Matt Rossi (360 Sprint) & Darren Hagen (USAC Midget)
2015: Bryan Clauson (USAC Sprint) & Brody Roa (360 Sprint)
2016: Chris Windom (USAC Sprint) & Brady Bacon (360 Sprint)
2017: Chase Stockon (USAC Sprint) & Chris Windom (360 Sprint)
2018: Tyler Courtney (USAC Sprint) & Brady Bacon (360 Sprint)
2019: Tyler Courtney (USAC Sprint) & Brady Bacon (USAC Midget)
2020: Tyler Courtney (USAC CRA Sprint) & Buddy Kofoid (USAC Midget)
PAST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE RESULTS AT ARIZONA SPEEDWAY:
2019 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (1), 2. Zeb Wise (3), 3. Tanner Carrick (4), 4. Logan Seavey (6), 5. Carson Macedo (8), 6. Rico Abreu (7), 7. Chris Windom (11), 8. Tyler Courtney (5), 9. Jerry Coons, Jr. (14), 10. Brady Bacon (10), 11. Jason McDougal (15), 12. Gio Scelzi (2), 13. Tucker Klaasmeyer (23), 14. Kyle Cummins (21), 15. Jesse Colwell (19), 16. Cory Elliott (22), 17. Andrew Layser (12), 18. Holley Hollan (20), 19. Robert Dalby (9), 20. Daison Pursley (17), 21. Conor Daly (16), 22. C.J. Sarna (24), 23. Thomas Meseraull (18), 24. Karsyn Elledge (13), 25. Marvin Mitchell (23). NT
2019 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (2), 2. Logan Seavey (4), 3. Zeb Wise (1), 4. Tyler Courtney (6), 5. Rico Abreu (18), 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 7. Chris Windom (9), 8. Jerry Coons, Jr. (14), 9. Gio Scelzi (8), 10. Tanner Carrick (13), 11. Andrew Layser (11), 12. Daison Pursley (16), 13. Shannon McQueen (22), 14. Holley Hollan (19), 15. Kyle Cummins (17), 16. Noah Gass (23), 17. Conor Daly (20), 18. Karsyn Elledge (7), 19. Jason McDougal (15), 20. Tucker Klaasmeyer (10), 21. Jesse Colwell (3), 22. Buddy Kofoid (12), 23. Thomas Meseraull (21). NT
2020 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (3), 2. Logan Seavey (6), 3. Tyler Courtney (13), 4. Buddy Kofoid (2), 5. Daison Pursley (4), 6. Justin Grant (9), 7. Tanner Carrick (12), 8. Chris Windom (20), 9. Clinton Boyles (21), 10. Cannon McIntosh (11), 11. Spencer Bayston (5), 12. Bryant Wiedeman (10), 13. Jerry Coons Jr. (17), 14. Emerson Axsom (22), 15. Brenham Crouch (1), 16. Thomas Meseraull (19), 17. Noah Gass (7), 18. Andrew Layser* (23), 19. Cole Bodine (15), 20. Robert Dalby (18), 21. Kaylee Bryson (16), 22. Chase Johnson (14), 23. Chase Randall (8). NT
2020 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (2), 2. Tanner Thorson (6), 3. Daison Pursley (16), 4. Chris Windom (5), 5. Spencer Bayston (8), 6. Justin Grant (7), 7. Andrew Layser (13), 8. Logan Seavey (10), 9. Chase Johnson (19), 10. Tanner Carrick (4), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (14), 12. Thomas Meseraull (15), 13. Emerson Axsom (9), 14. Cannon McIntosh (12), 15. Robert Dalby (1), 16. Kaylee Bryson (18), 17. Hayden Reinbold* (23), 18. Chase Randall (11), 19. Noah Gass (20), 20. Brenham Crouch (22), 21. Clinton Boyles (21), 22. Tyler Courtney (3), 23. Cole Bodine (17). NT
BIGGEST WESTERN TOUR EVER! USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS BEGIN BUSIEST NOVEMBER SLATE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 9, 2021)………USAC's NOS Energy Drink National Midgets are headed west for the series' most expansive west coast trip ever.
A run of nine events in a 16-day span is set to begin this Friday and Saturday night, November 12-13, at Arizona Speedway for the 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford. Then, it's off to the Golden State of California for the final flourish of seven races to finish out the 40-race schedule.
Interestingly enough, the most recent time the USAC National Midget schedule reached a total of 40 events throughout the year prior to 2021 came in 1988, which is the highwater mark for end-of-season western voyages by the series.
That year, 33 years ago, featured seven venues, including two that are on this year's schedule – Bakersfield, Calif. and Ventura, Calif. – won by USAC's winningest driver, Rich Vogler, and upstart P.J. Jones, respectively. USAC Western States Midgets' all-time winner Sleepy Tripp scored at Raven Raceway in Tucson, Ariz. while Vogler was victorious once more at Hanford, Calif. Dave Strickland Jr., meanwhile, took the finale at El Centro, Calif.
Two defunct California venues – Fremont's Baylands Raceway Park and Gardena's Ascot Park – were on that '88 western tour with Kevin Olson the winner while Chuck Gurney took the third-from-last Turkey Night Grand Prix held at Ascot, which is now held on the beach at Ventura.
Ventura is where the 2021 journey ends on, but there's so much sandwiched between Arizona and Bakersfield in a short timeframe. After Arizona, the trail leads straight to California for the final seven, starting at Bakersfield Speedway's November Classic on Nov. 16, then three-in-a-row at Placerville Speedway for the Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100 on Nov. 18-19-20, twice at Merced Speedway on Nov. 23-24, then the finale at Ventura Raceway on Nov. 27 for the 80th running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix.
Just five years ago, the western tour consisted of just one race. Now, there's nearly a full, standalone docket of events that's truly large in the historical sense.
All roads leading west to the warmer climes in order to extend the racing season another month is a yearly tradition for USAC dating to the beginning, in 1956, and Edgar Elder's triumph at Gardena Stadium for the Turkey Night Grand Prix.
Tradition is history and history is tradition. Now, today's racing heroes of the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets are prepared to make history on the track.
The quest begins this weekend at Arizona Speedway on Friday with pits opening at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5:10pm. On Saturday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, autograph session from 4-4:35pm drivers meeting at 4:45pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
General admission adult tickets are $30, while kids 11 and under are just $10. Pit passes are $40 for adults and $15 for ages 7-12 and free for ages 6 and under. Western World tickets are on sale now at www.arizonaspeedway.net.
An open practice for sprint cars and midgets will take place on Thursday night, November 11 from 6:30-9:30pm Mountain. Pits open at Noon with a racer and pit crew appreciation BBQ in the pit area featuring free food and drinks set for 5-6pm.
Both nights of the Western World Championship racing can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
END-OF-THE-YEAR USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RACES IN THE WEST:
7 Races: 1988
6 Races: 1961, 1965, 1989 & 2019
5 Races: 1962, 1967, 1987 & 2020
4 Races: 1958, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2013 & 2014
3 Races: 1960, 1974, 1995, 1997 & 2002
2 Races: 1957, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2017 & 2018
1 Race: 1956, 1963, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2015 & 2016
==================================
2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET STAT LEADERS
Driver Point Leader: Chris Windom
Owner Point Leader: CB Industries #89
Leading Rookie Driver in Points: Chase Randall (11th)
Most Feature Wins: 7-Tanner Thorson
Laps Led: 153-Chris Windom
Top-Fives: 23-Chris Windom
Top-Tens: 29-Buddy Kofoid
Fast Qualifying Times: 5-Tanner Thorson
Heat Race Wins: 9-Justin Grant
Feature Starts: 31-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Most Positions Gained in a Feature: Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st) & Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jun 3: (I) Paragon Speedway – Paragon, IN WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Jun 4: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 5: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN WINNER: Logan Seavey (Tom Malloy #25)
Jun 6: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing #3G)
Jun 9: (I) Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN WINNER: Corey Day (Clauson Marshall Racing #47BC)
Jun 10: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jun 11: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 12: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jul 13: (M) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Jul 15: (M) Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, KS WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 16: (M) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 17: (M) (F) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
Aug 3: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Aug 4: (E) Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Aug 5: (E) Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 6: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 7: (E) Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Newmanstown, PA WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Aug. 19: (F) The Dirt Track at IMS – Indianapolis, IN WINNER: Kyle Larson (CB Industries #86x)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, WI WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Sep 10: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Sep 11: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 12: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Clauson Marshall Racing #7BC)
Sep 25: (F) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(I) represents an Indiana Midget Week event
(M) represents a Mid-America Midget Week event
(E) represents an Eastern Midget Week event
(F) represents a race awarding feature points only
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1996 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
2 1983 Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, Calif.
3 1840 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.
4 1834 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.
5 1814 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
6 1796 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
7 1725 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
8 1627 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.
9 1597 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
10 1409 Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Okla.
� = USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year Contender
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 1996 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#89)
2 1983 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#67)
3 1840 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#15)
4 1834 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#71K)
5 1796 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#2J)
6 1725 Tom Malloy, El Monte, Calif. (#25)
7 1659 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19T)
8 1627 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#7x)
9 1597 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#5)
10 1409 Dave Mac Motorsports, Bixby, Okla. (#08)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1242 Chase Randall, Waco, Texas
2 938 Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, Texas
3 882 Bryant Wiedeman, Colby, Kan.
4 681 Hayden Reinbold, Gilbert, Ariz.
5 598 Hayden Williams, Auckland, N.Z.
6 481 Trey Gropp, Lincoln, Neb.
7 469 Corey Day, Clovis, Calif.
8 422 Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, Okla.
9 388 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Wash.
10 313 Brian Carber, Pipersville, Pa.
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
7-Tanner Thorson (Apr 11 at Port City Raceway, Jun 10 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 15 at Solomon Valley Raceway, Jul 16 at Jefferson County Speedway, Aug 5 at Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Aug 6 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway & Sep 5 at Angell Park Speedway)
6-Chris Windom (May 1 at Kokomo Speedway, Jun 12 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 3 at Grandview Speedway, Sep 11 at Huset's Speedway, Sep 12 Huset's Speedway & Sep 25 at Eldora Speedway)
4-Buddy Kofoid (Feb 6 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 10 at Port City Raceway, Jun 4 at Bloomington Speedway & Jun 11 at Gas City I-69 Speedway)
4-Thomas Meseraull (Feb 8 at Bubba Raceway Park, Jun 3 at Paragon Speedway, Sep 10 at Huset's Speedway & Oct 9 at Tri-State Speedway)
2-Emerson Axsom (Apr 30 at Kokomo Speedway & Jul 17 at Jefferson County Speedway)
2-Daison Pursley (Jul 13 at Red Dirt Raceway & Aug 4 at Action Track USA)
1-Tyler Courtney (Sept 24 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Kyle Cummins (Jun 6 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Corey Day (Jun 9 at Circle City Raceway)
1-Justin Grant (Aug 7 at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway)
1-Kyle Larson (Aug 19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1-Logan Seavey (Jun 5 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
153-Chris Windom
129-Tanner Thorson
113-Buddy Kofoid
93-Logan Seavey
90-Thomas Meseraull
77-Daison Pursley
72-Emerson Axsom
63-Kevin Thomas Jr.
55-Chase Randall
50-Cannon McIntosh
32-Justin Grant
30-Corey Day
29-Kyle Cummins
14-Tyler Courtney
9-Kaylee Bryson & Sam Johnson
7-Alex Bright, Kyle Larson & Jason McDougal
1-Jonathan Beason
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TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES
23-Chris Windom
20-Buddy Kofoid
16-Emerson Axsom & Justin Grant
14-Daison Pursley
11-Tanner Thorson
9-Thomas Meseraull & Kevin Thomas Jr.
8-Logan Seavey
4-Cannon McIntosh
3-Brady Bacon
2-Spencer Bayston, Tyler Courtney, Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Shane Golobic, Jason McDougal & Bryant Wiedeman
1-Alex Bright, Brian Carber, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Kyle Larson, Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall & Hayden Williams
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TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES
29-Buddy Kofoid
26-Chris Windom
24-Justin Grant & Daison Pursley
23-Tanner Thorson
22-Emerson Axsom
21-Logan Seavey
20-Kevin Thomas Jr.
18-Thomas Meseraull
13-Cannon McIntosh
10-Jason McDougal & Chase Randall
5-Brenham Crouch, Corey Day & Bryant Wiedeman
4-Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Cummins, Ethan Mitchell, & Hayden Williams
3-Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Tyler Courtney, Shane Golobic & Ryan Timms
2-Spencer Bayston, Kaylee Bryson, Brian Carber, Tanner Carrick, Chance Crum, Zach Daum, Kyle Jones, Joe B. Miller, Taylor Reimer
1-Jonathan Beason, Trey Gropp, Kyle Larson, Mitchel Moles, Jake Neuman & Hayden Reinbold
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES
5-Tanner Thorson
3-Logan Seavey
2-Corey Day, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Spencer Bayston, Alex Bright, Shane Golobic, Cannon McIntosh, Ethan Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Chase Randall & Bryan Wiedeman
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEAT RACE WINS: (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension, Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
9-Justin Grant
8-Buddy Kofoid & Thomas Meseraull
7-Cannon McIntosh & Daison Pursley
6-Emerson Axsom & Tanner Thorson
5-Ethan Mitchell & Kevin Thomas Jr. 4-Chase Randall, Bryant Wiedeman & Chris Windom
3-Jason McDougal
2-Cole Bodine, Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Taylor Reimer, Logan Seavey, Tyler Thomas, Ryan Timms & Hayden Williams
1-Austin Barnhill, Jonathan Beason, Alex Bright, Kaylee Bryson, Jake Bubak, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Chance Crum, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Chase Elliott, Shane Golobic, Trey Gropp, Sam Johnson, Kyle Jones, Max McLaughlin, Thomas Meseraull, Aiden Purdue & Zac Taylor
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QUALIFYING RACE WINS
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Tyler Courtney, Cannon McIntosh, Kevin Thomas Jr & Chris Windom
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ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI-FEATURE WINS
2-Emerson Axsom, Brenham Crouch, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Chase Randall, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Chance Crum, Trey Gropp, Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Jace Park, Karter Sarff, Jonathan Shafer & Hayden Williams
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C-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney, Chance Morton & Logan Seavey
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney & Tanner Thorson
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FEATURE STARTS
31-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
30-Chase Randall & Kevin Thomas Jr.
23-Brenham Crouch & Ethan Mitchell
20-Bryant Wiedeman
18-Jason McDougal
15-Kaylee Bryson, Hayden Reinbold & Hayden Williams
12-Kyle Cummins & Trey Gropp
10-Ryan Timms
9-Chance Crum, Corey Day & Sam Johnson
8-Brian Carber & Jerry Coons Jr.
7-Taylor Reimer
6-Cole Bodine, Zach Daum & Kyle Jones
5-Brady Bacon, Austin Barnhill & Alex Bright
4-Jonathan Shafer, Tyler Thomas, Glenn Waterland & Kevin Woody Jr.
3-Spencer Bayston, Jonathan Beason, Travis Buckley, Tyler Courtney, Chad Frewaldt, Jimmy Glenn, Shane Golobic, Mitchel Moles, Jake Neuman, Bryan Stanfill & Brandon Waelti
2-Lance Bennett, Clinton Boyles, Jake Bubak, Steve Buckwalter, Tanner Carrick, Maria Cofer, Chase Elliott, Eric Heydenreich, Casey Hicks, Kenney Johnson, Michael Markey, Shannon McQueen, Joe B. Miller, Greg Mitchell, Kade Morton, Brant O'Banion, Daniel Robinson, Alex Sewell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Aaron Werner
1-Blaze Bennett, Tanner Berryhill, Chase Briscoe, Jacob Denney, Carson Garrett, Tommy Kunsman, Kyle Larson, Trey Marcham, Shannon Mausteller, Ace McCarthy, Chase McDermand, Max McLaughlin, Jace Park, Keith Rauch, Matt Rechek, Jack Routson, Tyler Rust, Karter Sarff, Stephen Schnapf, Mark Sokol, Zac Taylor, Brett Wanner, Zeb Wise & Jeff Zelinski
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GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE RACE:
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Trey Marcham
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Ace McCarthy
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Hayden Williams
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Corey Day
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Jason McDougal
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Kaylee Bryson
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Emerson Axsom
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Thomas Meseraull
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Cannon McIntosh
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Daison Pursley
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Shane Golobic
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Chase Randall
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Spencer Bayston
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Tyler Rust
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Tanner Carrick (14th to 8th)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Daison Pursley (10th to 5th)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Chris Windom (13th to 4th)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Tanner Thorson (17th to 7th)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13rd to 3rd)
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (12th to 1st)
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Emerson Axsom (22nd to 11th)
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brian Carber (22nd to 10th)
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Corey Day (12th to 5th)
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Tanner Thorson (20th to 8th)
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (18th to 9th)
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Justin Grant (13th to 2nd)
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Logan Seavey (17th to 7th)
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Brenham Crouch (22nd to 11th)
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Buddy Kofoid (15th to 2nd)
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (15th to 8th)
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Alex Bright (16th to 6th)
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 6th)
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Woody Jr. (21st to 15th)
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Kevin Woody Jr. (20th to 11th)
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Emerson Axsom (19th to 5th)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti (22nd to 11th)
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Maria Cofer (20th to 12th)
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (16th to 8th)
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson (18th to 4th)
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Hayden Reinbold (20th to 15th)
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (20th to 10th)
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (17th to 3rd)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Bryant Wiedeman
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Logan Seavey
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Daison Pursley
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Chase Randall
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Chase Randall
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Taylor Reimer
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Logan Seavey
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Jack Routson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Brant O'Banion
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Chance Crum
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Carson Garrett
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Andrew Felker
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Emilio Hoover
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Brenham Crouch
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Noah Harris
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Kaylee Bryson
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Chett Gehrke
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Travis Buckley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brian Carber
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Trey Gropp
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Jason McDougal
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Sam Johnson
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Michael Markey
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Dan Bennett
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – J.R. Booth
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Casey Hicks
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Bryan Stanfill
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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. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Tony Stewart & Tanner Thorson
17. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland
20. [24 wins] Billy Engelhart & Kyle Larson
22. [23 wins] Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich
28. [22 wins] Bobby East & Shorty Templeman
30. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader
34. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt
35. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Stan Fox & Jason Leffler
39. [18 wins] Dave Steele
40. [17 wins] Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley
42. [16 wins] Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens
48. [15 wins] Don Branson & Larry Rice
49. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner
53. [13 wins] Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman & Stevie Reeves
57. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim, Ron Shuman & Chris Windom
64. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos & Brad Sweet
70. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung & Chuck Weyant
76. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott & Chuck Gurney
80. [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
93. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Buddy Kofoid, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Logan Seavey, Len Sutton & Johnnie Tolan
104. [6 wins] Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Justin Grant, Arnie Knepper, Thomas Meseraull, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Roger West
118. [5 wins] Spencer Bayston, Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
129. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, 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, Sam Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, Rodger Ward & Zeb Wise
161. [3 wins] John Batts, Gays Biro, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Zach Daum, 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, Cannon McIntosh, Warren Mockler, 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
193. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Emerson Axsom, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, 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
229. [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, Tanner Carrick, 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, Larry McCloskey, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, 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, 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
16. (25) Gary Bettenhausen
17. (24) Gene Hartley
18. (22) Stan Fox & Tanner Thorson
20. (21) Don Branson, Tony Stewart, Shorty Templeman
23. (20) Bryan Clauson, Dan Drinan, Bobby East & Bobby Grim
27. (19) Jay Drake & Kyle Larson
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
41. (14) Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Jeff Gordon & Kenny Irwin Jr.
45. (13) George Benson, Jimmy Knight & J.J. Yeley
48. (12) Larry Rice & Josh Wise
50. (11) Brady Bacon, Danny Caruthers, Lonnie Caruthers, Russ Congdon, Tommy Copp, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader, Len Sutton, Brad Sweet & Sleepy Tripp
61. (10) George Amick, Pancho Carter, Allen Crowe, Logan Seavey, Billy Vukovich & Leroy Warriner
67. (9) A.J. Foyt, Doug Kalitta, Larry Patton, Stevie Reeves, Dave Strickland Jr. & Jerry Weeks
73. (8) Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Dana Carter, Rex Easton, Russ Gamester, Don Horvath, Kasey Kahne, Sammy Sessions, George Snider & Jack Turner
83. (7) Mike Bliss, Ray Elliott, Allen Heath, Billy Mehner, Andy Michner, Henry Pens, Lowell Sachs, Kody Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
92. (6) Chad Boat, Burt Foland, Brian Gerster, Mike Gregg, Kyle Hamilton, Lee Kunzman, Jerry McClung, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Don Vogler, Chris Windom & Billy Wood
103. (5) Merle Bettenhausen, Billy Boat, Steve Cannon, Ray Crawford, Kevin Doty, Ronnie Duman, Aaron Fike, Rick Goudy, Jeff Heywood, Eddie Johnson, Steve Knepper, Brad Kuhn, Andy Linden, Bobby Santos, Chris Shultz, Billy Shuman, Chuck Weyant & Mauri Wilson
121. (4) Johnny Anderson, Caleb Armstrong, Sonny Ates, Gary Byers, Dane Carter, Joe Corrigan, Zach Daum, Mike Fedorcak, Robby Flock, Danny Frye, Joe Garson, Shane Golobic, Chuck Gurney, Jim Hettinger, Arnie Knepper, Chuck Marshall, Cannon McIntosh, Danny McKnight, Jeff Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Gary Ponzini, Richard Powell, Porky Rachwitz, Ricky Shelton, Tom Steiner, Bruce Walkup, Rodger Ward, Roger West, & Zeb Wise
151. (3) Bob Cicconi, Cole Carter, Don Anderson, Donnie Beechler, Dwight Brown, Hank Butcher, Harry Beck, Jack Calabrase, Larry Dickson, Mario Clouser, Steve Buckwalter, Tony Bettenhausen, Tony Elliott, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Gene Force, Justin Grant, Bob Hare, Ted Hines, P.J. Jones, Greg Leffler, Grier Manning, Mack McClellan, Roger McCluskey, Thomas Meseraull, Ethan Mitchell, Johnny Moorhouse, Kenneth Nichols, Jerry Nuckles, Tim Pangborn, Forrest Parker, Johnnie Parsons, Johnny Roberts, Randy Roberts, Lloyd Ruby, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Tom Sellberg, Dale Swaim, Johnnie Tolan & Dillon Welch
192. (2) Sherman Armstrong Jr., Jack Bates, Gays Biro, Art Bisch, Dan Boorse, Tanner Carrick, 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, Jim Mahoney, Jim McClean, Sarah McCune, Warren Mockler, Earl Motter, Ken Nichols, Hank Nykaza, Steve Paden, Danny Pens, Michael Pickens, Parker Price-Miller, Daison Pursley, Levi Roberts, Johnny Rodriguez, Joe Saldana, Sam Sauer, Ryan Scott, Jigger Sirois, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danny Stratton, Russ Sweedler, Buddy Taylor, George Tichenor, Bud Tingelstad, Steve Troxell, Bobby Unser, Billy Wease, Ken Weiland, Cole Whitt & Carl Williams
253. (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, Kaylee Bryson, Bob Burbridge, Larry Cannon, Roy Caruthers, Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bud Clemons, Johnny Cofer, Duke Cook, Jay Cornell, A.J. Davis, Duke DeRosa, Danny Ebberts, Bob Ellingham, Dean Erfurth, Russ Faucett, Sarah Fisher, Dan Ford, Josh Ford, Danny Frye Jr., Jim Gates, Johnny Gavin, Roy Gillhamer, Roy Graham, Bob Gregg, Mike Groff, 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, Jim Bob Luebbert, Dave Lundy, Carson Macedo, Jim Malloy, Bobby Marshman, Larry McCloskey, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden, Al Miller, J.R. Miller, Stephanie Mockler, Mitchel Moles, 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, 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
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET OWNER 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: Don Kenyon, 1967: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1968: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1969: Jack Stroud, 1970: Doug Caruthers, 1971: Doug Caruthers, 1972: Shannon Buick Company, 1973: Doug Caruthers, 1974: Don Kenyon, 1975: Ron Tripp, 1976: Ron Tripp, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Doug & Dana Caruthers, 1979: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1980: Don Kenyon, 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
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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
STAT BOOK:
KTJ AIMS TO "HANG 10"
WITH USAC SPRINTS AT WESTERN WORLD
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 9, 2021)………Amid a career year in 2021, Kevin Thomas Jr.'s nine USAC AMSOIL Sprint National Championship feature victories have him on the brink of one of the most historical seasons in series history.
On just 10 past occasions, among eight drivers, the double-digit mark has been reached in terms of single season wins. With one more score in one of the final two races of the year at the 54th annual Western World Championships presented by San Tan Ford this weekend at Arizona Speedway, KTJ can join that elite crew.
The Cullman, Alabama native's ninth win last Saturday night in his KT Motorsports No. 9K at California's Perris Auto Speedway put him right on the cusp of an achievement which only a select few have previously encountered.
Tom Bigelow set the all-time record in 1977 with a blistering season consisting of 14 USAC National Sprint Car feature wins in Sherman Armstrong's No. 43. In fact, the year of 1977 produced the only such season in which multiple drivers had 10 wins or more. Pancho Carter hit exactly 10 that same year. Here's the kicker, though. Neither driver won the title. That honor belonged to seven-time feature winner Sheldon Kinser.
J.J. Yeley's near unbeatable USAC Triple Crown season of 2003 included 13 wins in the Sprint division alone for Tony Stewart Racing in its first year of USAC operation, a number matched by Robert Ballou in his title season of 2015, which was the most successful championship drive by a driver/owner in series history.
Two championship drivers – Larry Dickson and Pancho Carter – raced to 12 scores in 1968 and 1976, respectively. Dickson's 1968 campaign included half of those in succession when he tallied a USAC National Sprint Car record six-straight in the early part of the season for car owner Ray Smith before finishing out strong with Steve Stapp.
Stapp and Carter subsequently teamed up in the following decade of the 1970s, putting their best season together in 1976 with a dozen wins and a second series crown.
Dickson and Carter are also the lone two to reach 10 or more USAC Sprint wins in a season on two separate occasions. Dickson did it again in his second championship season of 1970, reaching exactly 10, for Kenny Lay's team. Carter, meanwhile, did the feat in consecutive years, winning 10 more for Stapp in 1977.
Bubby Jones force of a year in 1979 led all drivers with 11 triumphs, but still wasn't enough to overcome Greg Leffler in the final championship standings. Ol' Bub finished second in the points in what was a banner season for he and car owner Don Siebert. Shortly thereafter, Bubby promptly packed up and headed to the west coast to become a California Racing Association superstar at the dawn of the 1980s.
Tyler Courtney's dominant 2018 season made him a first-time USAC National driving champion as he collected a grand total of 11 Sprint wins in what was also the first USAC Sprint Car season for the new Clauson Marshall Newman Racing operation.
Nearly two decades before, Jay Drake got off the starting blocks at a torrid pace and continued his roll through mid-summer in the Keith Kunz Motorsports No. 67, taking 10 victories. A lack of a pavement ride until halfway through the year thwarted a grand opportunity for a championship, which he'd ultimately earn in 2004.
On top of that fact, Thomas also remains in the title chase, cutting rival Brady Bacon's lead to 52 markers entering Western World this Friday and Saturday night, November 12-13, at the 1/3-mile dirt oval in San Tan Valley, Arizona.
On Friday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5:10pm. On Saturday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, autograph session from 4-4:35pm drivers meeting at 4:45pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
General admission adult tickets are $30, while kids 11 and under are just $10. Pit passes are $40 for adults and $15 for ages 7-12 and free for ages 6 and under. Western World tickets are on sale now at www.arizonaspeedway.net.
An open practice for sprint cars and midgets will take place on Thursday night, November 11 from 6:30-9:30pm Mountain. Pits open at Noon with a racer and pit crew appreciation BBQ in the pit area featuring free food and drinks set for 5-6pm.
Both nights of the Western World Championship racing can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
MOST WINS IN A SINGLE USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SEASON:
14 WINS: Tom Bigelow (1977)
13 WINS: J.J. Yeley (2003) & Robert Ballou (2015)
12 WINS: Larry Dickson (1968) & Pancho Carter (1976)
11 WINS: Bubby Jones (1979) & Tyler Courtney (2018)
10 WINS: Larry Dickson (1970), Pancho Carter (1977) & Jay Drake (2000)
2021 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS
Most Wins: 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.
Driver Point Leader: Brady Bacon
Owner Point Leader: Dynamics, Inc. #69
Top Rookie in Points: Tanner Thorson
Most Laps Led: 222-Justin Grant
Most Top-Fives: 34-Brady Bacon
Most Top-Tens: 39-Brady Bacon
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 6-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
Most Heat Race Wins: 15-Robert Ballou
Most Feature Starts: 41-Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Biggest Charge of the Year: 4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Alex Bright (18th to 4th) | 6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – C.J. Leary (21st to 7th) | 7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 8th)
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 2799 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
2 2747 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
3 2640 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
4 2517 (R) Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
5 2499 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
6 2421 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
7 2336 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
8 1987 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.
9 1709 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.
10 1475 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
(R) represents a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 2799 Dynamics, Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)
2 2747 KT Motorsports, Whitestown, Ind. (#9K)
3 2640 TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Ind. (#4)
4 2517 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)
5 2499 Michael Motorsports, Chino Valley, Ariz. (#77m)
6 2421 Hayward Motorsports, Morrison, Ill. (#19)
7 2336 Team AZ Racing, Danville, Ind. (#21AZ)
8 2020 Ballou Motorsports, Tipton, Ind. (#12)
9 1709 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5s)
10 1611 Baldwin-Fox Racing, West Lafayette, Ind. (#5)
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 2517 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
2 859 Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, Ill.
3 660 Cole Bodine, Rossville, Ind.
4 455 Steven Drevicki, Reading, Pa.
5 436 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.
6 336 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.
7 228 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo.
8 228 Ricky Lewis, Ventura, Calif.
9 162 Ryan Thomas, Indianapolis, Ind.
10 155 Harley Burns, Brazil, Ind.
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 11: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Feb 12: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Apr 3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Apr 16: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Apr 17: (M) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Apr 22: Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Apr 23: Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Apr 24: BAPS Motor Speedway – York Haven, PA
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Apr 25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Spring Run, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
May 8: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #7BC)
May 8: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)
May 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (Hayward Motorsports #19)
Jun 15: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jun 16: (E) Bridgeport Speedway – Swedesboro, NJ
WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)
Jun 17: (E) Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jun 20: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Jul 1: Plymouth Speedway – Plymouth, IN
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Jul 2: (M) (A) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Jul 3: (M) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Jul 24: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jul 25: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
Jul 26: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
Jul 28: (I) Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
Jul 29: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Jul 30: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Jul 31: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Aug. 22: Paragon Speedway – Paragon, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Aug 27: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Aug 28: (F) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Sep 10: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Sep 11: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Sep 12: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Sep 17: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Sep 18: (M) (A) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #7BC)
Oct 1: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (Hayward Motorsports #19)
Oct 2: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Nov 4: (C) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)
Nov 5: (C) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Nov 6: (C) (F) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Nov 12: (C) Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 13: (C) Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS ------------------
(M) represents an event co-sanctioned by MSCS
(E) represents an Eastern Storm event
(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event
(C) represents an event with the USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Cars
(SE) represents a non-points, special event
(F) represents a race awarding feature points only
(A) represents a race awarding appearance points only
(P) represents an event co-sanctioned by POWRi WAR Sprints
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
9-Kevin Thomas Jr. (Feb 12 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 16 at Bloomington Speedway, Jun 20 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway, Jul 3 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Aug 22 at Paragon Speedway, Aug 28 at Kokomo Speedway, Sep 18 at Tri-State Speedway, Oct 2 at Lawrenceburg Speedway & Nov 6 at Perris Auto Speedway)
7-Justin Grant (Feb 11 at Bubba Raceway Park, Jun 15 at Grandview Speedway, Jun 17 at Selinsgrove Speedway, Jul 24 at Kokomo Speedway, Jul 31 at Tri-State Speedway, Aug 27 at Kokomo Speedway & Aug 28 at Kokomo Speedway)
5-C.J. Leary (Apr 24 at BAPS Motor Speedway, Jul 1 at Plymouth Speedway, Jul 2 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Sep 11 at Huset's Speedway & Sep 12 at Huset's Speedway)
5-Tanner Thorson (Apr 23 at Big Diamond Speedway, Apr 25 at Path Valley Speedway Park, Jul 29 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Sep 10 at Huset's Speedway & Sep 17 at Circle City Raceway)
4-Brady Bacon (Apr 3 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Apr 22 at Grandview Speedway, Jul 30 at Bloomington Speedway & Nov 5 at Perris Auto Speedway)
3-Logan Seavey (Jul 25 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Jul 26 at Gas City I-69 Speedway & Jul 28 at Terre Haute Action Track)
2-Robert Ballou (May 8 at Eldora Speedway & Jun 16 at Bridgeport Speedway)
2-Tyler Courtney (May 8 at Eldora Speedway & Sep 25 at Eldora Speedway)
2-Chris Windom (May 26 at the Terre Haute Action Track & Oct 1 at the Terre Haute Action Track)
1-Kyle Cummins (Apr 17 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Jake Swanson (Nov 4 at Perris Auto Speedway)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
222-Justin Grant
210-Kevin Thomas Jr.
158-C.J. Leary
146-Tanner Thorson
107-Logan Seavey
102-Brady Bacon
90-Jake Swanson
48-Chris Windom
44-Robert Ballou
39-Tyler Courtney
34-Kyle Cummins
26-Emerson Axsom
21-Jadon Rogers
17-Shane Cottle
12-Brady Short
10-Chase Stockon
6-Cole Bodine
2-Charles Davis Jr.
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TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES
34-Brady Bacon
29-Kevin Thomas Jr.
22-Justin Grant
21-Tanner Thorson
19-C.J. Leary
16-Chris Windom
12-Jake Swanson
9-Robert Ballou & Kyle Cummins
8-Logan Seavey
4-Shane Cottle & Tyler Courtney
3-Alex Bright & Chase Stockon
2-Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull & Jadon Rogers
1-Isaac Chapple, Briggs Danner, Charles Davis Jr., Buddy Kofoid, Brandon Mattox & Paul Nienhiser
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TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES
39-Brady Bacon
37-Kevin Thomas Jr.
36-Justin Grant
32-C.J. Leary
31-Chris Windom
30-Tanner Thorson
26-Jake Swanson
22-Robert Ballou
18-Logan Seavey
16-Shane Cottle
14-Chase Stockon
12-Kyle Cummins
10-Jadon Rogers
7-Alex Bright & Jason McDougal
6-Timmy Buckwalter & Thomas Meseraull
5-Tyler Courtney & Briggs Danner
4-Steven Drevicki, Paul Nienhiser & Matt Westfall
3-Emerson Axsom
2-Max Adams, Isaac Chapple, Charles Davis Jr., R.J. Johnson, Buddy Kofoid, Riley Kreisel, Brandon Mattox, Cannon McIntosh, Kendall Ruble, Brady Short, Stevie Sussex & Austin Williams
1-Ryan Bernal, Cole Bodine, Mario Clouser, Zach Daum, A.J. Hopkins, Chase Johnson, Tye Mihocko, Carmen Perigo, Daison Pursley, Brody Roa, Mark Smith & Scotty Weir
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FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (Presented by Fatheadz Eyewear)
6-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
5-Tanner Thorson
3-Timmy Buckwalter, Justin Grant & Logan Seavey
2-Jadon Rogers
1-Brent Beauchamp, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, Steven Drevicki, Damion Gardner, Jason McDougal, Chase Stockon, Jake Swanson & Chris Windom
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HEAT RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
15-Robert Ballou
11-Chris Windom
9-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
8-Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant & Chase Stockon
7-Thomas Meseraull & Jake Swanson
6-C.J. Leary & Tanner Thorson
4-Brandon Mattox & Logan Seavey
3-Max Adams, Briggs Danner & Jason McDougal
2-Emerson Axsom, Cole Bodine, Charles Davis Jr., Paul Nienhiser, & Brady Short
1-A.J. Bender, Ryan Bernal, Joey Biasi, Nick Bilbee, Alex Bright, Timmy Buckwalter, Sterling Cling, Mario Clouser, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland, Zach Daum, Carson Garrett, Chase Johnson, R.J. Johnson, Tye Mihocko, Davey Ray, Jadon Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Carson Short, Mark Smith, Stevie Sussex & Matt Westfall
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SEMI WINS
4-Paul Nienhiser & Jake Swanson
3-Logan Seavey & Chris Windom
2-Timmy Buckwalter, Isaac Chapple, Charles Davis Jr., C.J. Leary, Jadon Rogers & Tanner Thorson
1-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Alex Banales, Koby Barksdale, Nick Bilbee, Cole Bodine, Shane Cottle, Briggs Danner, Brandon Mattox, Thomas Meseraull, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Scotty Weir
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Jack James
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C-MAIN WINS
2-Brent Beauchamp
1-Cole Bodine, Mario Clouser, Tim Creech, Braydon Cromwell, Aric Gentry, Chayse Hayhurst, Brandon Mattox, Tye Mihocko, Stevie Sussex, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Ryan Thomas
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FEATURE STARTS
41-Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
36-Robert Ballou
35-Chase Stockon
27-Logan Seavey & Matt Westfall
25-Shane Cottle & Brandon Mattox
22-Kyle Cummins & Jadon Rogers
20-Thomas Meseraull
19-Paul Nienhiser
17-Jason McDougal
16-Max Adams & Cole Bodine
15-Mario Clouser
13-Isaac Chapple & Stevie Sussex
12-Charles Davis Jr. & Chase Johnson
10-Alex Bright & Steven Drevicki
9-Briggs Danner & Tye Mihocko
8-Timmy Buckwalter, Carson Short & Mark Smith
7-Emerson Axsom, Ricky Lewis & Carmen Perigo
6-Brent Beauchamp & Nash Ely
5-Nick Bilbee, Tyler Courtney, Carson Garrett, Cannon McIntosh & Scotty Weir
4-Alex Banales, Sterling Cling, Dave Darland, Dallas Hewitt, Stephen Schnapf, Brady Short & Eddie Tafoya Jr.
3-Koby Barksdale, A.J. Bender, Ryan Bernal, Harley Burns, Brayden Fox, Chad Frewaldt, Chris Gansen, Damion Gardner, Aric Gentry, J.J. Hughes, R.J. Johnson, Riley Kreisel, Matt Mitchell, Davey Ray, Brody Roa, Kendall Ruble, Glen Saville, Cam Schafer, Kent Schmidt, Cody Williams & Logan Williams
2-Collin Ambrose, Robert Bell, Joey Biasi, Shane Cockrum, Braydon Cromwell, Chris Gansen, Noah Gass, Dennis Gile, Max Guilford, Korbyn Hayslett, A.J. Hopkins, Buddy Kofoid, Kenny Miller III, Brandon Morin, Terry Richards, Kory Schudy, Verne Sweeney, Ryan Thomas, Austin Williams & Mitch Wissmiller
1-Garrett Abrams, Ryan Barr, Travis Berryhill, Saban Bibent, Mark Bitner, Patrick Budde, Richy Carnathan, Cindy Chambers, Brayden Clark, Anthony D'Alessio, Zach Daum, Paul Dues, Danny Faria Jr., Matt Goodnight, Austin Grabowski, Nic Harris, Chase Jones, Tyler Kendall, Jeremy Kerzman, Brandon Long, Tommy Malcolm, Critter Malone, Michael Markey, Matt McCarthy, Billy Ney, Justin Owen, Jeff Pellersels, Chris Phillips, Zack Pretorius, Daison Pursley, Chase Randall, Jake Scott, Alec Sipes, Brandon Spencer & Chet Williams
------------------------------------------------------------
GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Tyler Courtney
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Stevie Sussex
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Tye Mihocko
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Nic Harris
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Chris Windom
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Justin Grant
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Briggs Danner
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Brandon Mattox
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Isaac Chapple
5/8: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Brady Bacon
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Jake Swanson
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Jake Swanson
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – C.J. Leary
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – Alex Bright
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Max Adams
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Collin Ambrose
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Nick Bilbee
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Zack Pretorius
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Brandon Mattox
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Cole Bodine & Jason McDougal
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Braydon Cromwell
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Chase Stockon
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Koby Barksdale
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Cole Bodine
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Chase Johnson
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Brent Beauchamp
9/10: Huset's Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
9/11: Huset's Speedway – Charles Davis Jr.
9/12: Huset's Speedway – Jeremy Kerzman
9/17: Circle City Raceway – Jadon Rogers
9/18: Tri-State Speedway – Kyle Cummins
9/25: Eldora Speedway – Max Adams
10/1: Terre Haute Action Track – Chris Windom
10/2: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon
11/4: Perris Auto Speedway – Chris Gansen
11/5: Perris Auto Speedway – Carson Short
11/6: Perris Auto Speedway – Chris Windom
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (12th to 4th)
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (10th to 2nd)
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Robert Ballou (22nd to 9th)
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Robert Ballou (20th to 10th)
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Kyle Cummins (11th to 1st)
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Robert Ballou (13th to 3rd)
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Alex Bright (19th to 8th)
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Alex Bright (16th to 4th)
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Alex Bright (18th to 4th)
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Dallas Hewitt (21st to 15th)
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues (22nd to 13th)
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Tanner Thorson (22nd to 11th)
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Chris Windom (13th to 7th)
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Brady Bacon (14th to 4th)
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – Jake Swanson (20th to 7th)
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – C.J. Leary (21st to 7th)
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Brady Bacon (13th to 5th)
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (20th to 8th)
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 1st)
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (18th to 11th)
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Kyle Cummins (12th to 3rd)
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Jason McDougal (15th to 5th)
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Stevie Sussex (22nd to 9th)
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – A.J. Hopkins (21st to 10th)
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 8th)
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Chris Windom (18th to 5th)
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Chris Windom (10th to 2nd)
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Chase Stockon (18th to 10th)
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Emerson Axsom (15th to 7th)
9/10: Huset's Speedway – Brady Bacon (10th to 3rd)
9/11: Huset's Speedway – Chase Stockon (24th to 12th)
9/12: Huset's Speedway – C.J. Leary (9th to 1st)
9/17: Circle City Raceway – Robert Ballou (20th to 12th)
9/18: Tri-State Speedway – Robert Ballou (15th to 6th)
9/25: Eldora Speedway – Jadon Rogers (22nd to 10th)
10/1: Terre Haute Action Track – Shane Cottle (14th to 9th)
10/2: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Justin Grant (14th to 6th)
11/4: Perris Auto Speedway – Chris Windom (18th to 8th)
11/5: Perris Auto Speedway – Carson Short (24th to 15th)
11/6: Perris Auto Speedway – Chris Windom (19th to 8th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Noah Gass
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Jadon Rogers
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Carson Garrett
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Critter Malone
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Justin Grant
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Steven Drevicki
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Matt Westfall
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Paul Nienhiser
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Jake Swanson
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Cole Bodine
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Logan Seavey
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Logan Seavey
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – Matt Westfall
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – Chris Windom
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Brandon Mattox
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Mario Clouser
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Carson Short
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Jake Swanson
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Scotty Weir
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Stockon
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Nick Bilbee
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Kyle Cummins
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Justin Grant
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Jason McDougal
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Chase Randall
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Emerson Axsom
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Jadon Rogers
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Kyle Cummins
9/10: Huset's Speedway – Chase Stockon
9/11: Huset's Speedway – Terry Richards
9/12: Huset's Speedway – Mario Clouser
9/17: Circle City Raceway – Koby Barksdale
9/18: Tri-State Speedway – Jadon Rogers
9/25: Eldora Speedway – Nick Bilbee
10/1: Terre Haute Action Track – Mario Clouser
10/2: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Dallas Hewitt
11/4: Perris Auto Speedway – Brody Roa
11/5: Perris Auto Speedway – Damion Gardner
11/6: Perris Auto Speedway – Logan Seavey
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Matt Westfall
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Matt Goodnight
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Aaron Farney
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Brandon Mattox
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Cole Bodine
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Nash Ely
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Kyle Lick
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Mike Meyers
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Mike Meyers
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Brandon Mattox
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Paul Nienhiser
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Alex Banales
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Matt Westfall
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Alex Banales
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Max Adams
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Short
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Tye Mihocko
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Jordan Kinser
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Scotty Weir
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Chase Johnson
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Johnson
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Sterling Cling
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Critter Malone
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Tanner Thorson
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Scotty Weir
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Koby Barksdale
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Max Guilford
9/10: Huset's Speedway – Donovan Peterson
9/11: Huset's Speedway – Clinton Bruns
9/12: Huset's Speedway – Jeff Pellersels
9/17: Circle City Raceway – Scott Hampton
9/18: Tri-State Speedway – Sam Scott
9/25: Eldora Speedway – Chris Phillips
10/2: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Mitchell Davis
11/4: Perris Auto Speedway – Danny Faria Jr.
11/5: Perris Auto Speedway – Kyle Edwards
11/6: Perris Auto Speedway – Austin Williams
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STATS
ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS
1. [62 wins] Dave Darland
2. [52 wins] Tom Bigelow
3. [47 wins] Tracy Hines
4. [46 wins] Jack Hewitt
5. [45 wins] Larry Dickson
6. [42 wins] Pancho Carter
7. [41 wins] Bryan Clauson
8. [40 wins] Gary Bettenhausen
9. [39 wins] Brady Bacon
10. [37 wins] Sheldon Kinser
11. [36 wins] Kevin Thomas Jr.
12. [35 wins] Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler
14. [32 wins] Rollie Beale
15. [31 wins] Robert Ballou & Tyler Courtney
17. [30 wins] Chris Windom
18. [28 wins] Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Justin Grant, 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 & Sammy Sessions
32. [21 wins] Greg Weld
33. [17 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise & Bud Kaeding
36. [16 wins] Damion Gardner, Jud Larson & C.J. Leary
39. [15 wins] Bobby East, Cory Kruseman & Brian Tyler
42. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, Chase Stockon & Bruce Walkup
46. [13 wins] Steve Chassey
47. [12 wins] Eric Gordon
48. [11 wins] Daron Clayton, Elmer George, Tommy Hinnershitz & Greg Leffler
52. [10 wins] Kyle Cummins, Thomas Meseraull, Eddie Sachs, Tony Stewart & Johnny Thomson
57. [9 wins] Mario Andretti, Pat O'Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Robbie Stanley
61. [8 wins] Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford & Joe Saldana
65. [7 wins] Kevin Doty, Darren Hagen, Kenny Irwin Jr., Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Bobby Santos, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas, Bobby Unser & Josh Wise
75. [6 wins] Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider & Dick Tobias
83. [5 wins] Larry Cannon, Dana Carter, Shane Cottle, 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, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Cole Whitt
102. [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
115. [3 wins] Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Joe Barzda, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Jerry Daniels, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Andy Linden, Charlie Masters, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Doug Wolfgang
136. [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, 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 & Carl Williams
170. [1 win] Donnie Adams, A.J. Anderson, Brad Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Astone, Dick Atkins, Brent Beauchamp, 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, Stephen Schnapf, Carson Short, Billy Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Smokey Snellbaker, Wib Spalding, Greg Staab, Randy Standridge, Ron Standridge, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jake Swanson, 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, Matt Westfall, 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. (61) Tracy Hines
4. (43) Brady Bacon
5. (39) Levi Jones
6. (37) Larry Dickson
7. (36) Bryan Clauson
8. (35) Kevin Thomas Jr. & Rich Vogler
10. (31) Sheldon Kinser
11. (30) Pancho Carter
12. (29) Don Branson & C.J. Leary
14. (28) Justin Grant & Chase Stockon
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 & Damion Gardner
37. (13) Bobby East & Bruce Walkup
39. (12) Steve Chassey, Elmer George, Rick Hood, Jud Larson, Bill Puterbaugh, Joe Saldana & Chris Windom
46. (11) Jim Hurtubise, Jim McWithey & George Snider
49. (10) Sonny Ates
50. (9) Eddie Leavitt, Thomas Meseraull, Johnny Rutherford & Josh Wise
54. (8) Robert Ballou, Bubby Jones, Kelly Kinser, Pat O'Connor & Eddie Sachs
59. (7) Marvin Carman, Mark Cassella, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Cary Faas, Bud Kaeding, Jim Keeker, Cory Kruseman, Larry Rice, Hunter Schuerenberg, Carson Short, Mike Spencer, Johnny Thomson, Bud Tingelstad & Bobby Unser
74. (6) Mike Bliss, Daron Clayton, Derek Davidson, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jac Haudenschild, Tray House, James McElreath, Johnny Parsons, Ken Schrader & Logan Seavey
85. (5) Chad Boespflug, Cy Fairchild, Blake Fitzpatrick, Bob Frey, Tommy Hinnershitz, Andy Michner, Jan Opperman, Boston Reid, Tom Sneva, Robbie Stanley, Brad Sweet, Kevin Thomas & Tanner Thorson
98. (4) Jeff Bloom, Kevin Briscoe, Timmy Buckwalter, Billy Engelhart, Chet Fillip, Darren Hagen, Chuck Hulse, Kenny Jacobs, Van Johnson, Lee Kunzman, Ralph Liguori, Jim McElreath, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Joey Saldana, Terry Shepherd, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Bob Wente
118. (3) Tommy Astone, 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, Jake Swanson, Dean Thompson, Dick Tobias, Scotty Weir, Cole Whitt & John Wolfe
151. (2) Jarett Andretti, Mario Andretti, Keith Bloom, Chuck Booth, Don Brown, Duke Cook, Allen Crowe, Nic Faas, Larry Gates, Gene Lee Gibson, Bobby Grim, Coleman Gulick, Dave Hanna, Darl Harrison, Shane Hmiel, Josh Hodges, Marc Jessup, Brad Marvel, Max McGhee, Kevin Miller, Dustin Morgan, Charlie Musselman, Brad Noffsinger, Gary Patterson, Jiggs Peters, Byron Reed, Jerry Richert, Dave Roahrig, Jimmy Sills, Al Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Stevie Sussex, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Tyler Thomas, Bob Veith, Jerry Weeks, Johnny White, Carl Williams & Jacob Wilson
191. (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, Cotton Farmer, Dave Feese, Braylon Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Brayden 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, Joey Kerr, Russ Klar, Kyle Larson, Rich Leavell, Jason Leffler, Michael Lewis, John Logan, Ed Lynch Jr., Critter Malone, Louie Mann, Mike Mann, Charlie Masters, Rusty McClure, Nick McCormick, Jason McDougal, 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, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Billy Vukovich, Billy Vukovich III, Lennie Waldo, Buster Warke, Gus Wasson, Shawn Westerfeld, 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: Sam 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
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ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR OWNER 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.
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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
OVALMEISTER:
KTJ HUNTS DOWN 3RD CAREER
OVAL NATIONALS WIN AT PERRIS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Perris, California (November 6, 2021)………Like any young person raised on the sport of auto racing, having racing heroes of your own is a natural consequence.
Kevin Thomas Jr. is among those individuals.
One of the Cullman, Alabama native's racing heroes just so happens to be among the select gifted who, themselves, have won the Oval Nationals on three occasions.
Following his performance on Saturday night at southern California's Perris Auto Speedway, a new name, a new face was added to the books as one of four drivers to capture glory in the traditional November event three different times.
Kevin Thomas Jr. is now among those individuals.
Thomas joined Bud Kaeding (2001-02-07), Damion Gardner (2009-11-16) and Dave Darland (2005-06-13) to become the latest driver to earn three eagle trophies, accomplishing the feat in Saturday's finale for the 25th running of the Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction.
Thomas Jr. tracked down Justin Grant just four laps from the finish, then blazed a trail straight to racing immortality, straight to the land of legends, and straight to the realm of where several of the biggest sprint car racing names have cemented themselves as a hero of the Oval Nationals.
"This is a race I love to win," a choked-up Thomas stated. "I love taking home those eagles. It's emotional. It's our third one. Not many people have done that. I know Dave Darland has and he's one of my heroes. It's pretty cool to tie him."
Thomas' USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car leading ninth win of the season in his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy was especially pertinent based on how his weekend in Perris began – on the wrong side of a historic photo finish in Thursday's opener with winner Jake Swanson.
Following his runner up result, Swanson finished third on Friday and seemed to be on the cusp of breaking through. However, 40 laps annually present a test of wills, fortune (good and bad), and fortitude of position oneself in the right place at exactly the right time.
Starting fifth in the 25-car field, Thomas remained in constant pursuit of the leaders throughout the first three-quarters of the race. Meanwhile, at the head of the field, Grant had established a foothold in the lead from the outset as he powered around pole sitter and Super Six Dash winner C.J. Leary on lap one while all others continuously strategized how to reel him back in to their grasp.
A melee put a stoppage to the event just two laps in when 13th running Logan Williams spun sideways in turn four. He was then T-boned by the oncoming 20th place car of Matt Mitchell. Both came to a rest near the outside wall with damage. At the same time, 18th running Eddie Tafoya Jr. was collected in the incident and walloped the inside front straightaway wall. All drivers were uninjured but the same could not be said for their cars as all had their races come to a premature conclusion.
During the yellow, 7th running and fast qualifier Damion Gardner bowed out with brake issues that ended his bid for a record fourth Oval Nationals score, relegating hm to a 22nd place result.
Coming up on the halfway mark, Grant found a close encounter of the traffic kind in turn four when he and 19th place Dennis Gile met wheel-to-wheel, but Grant continued on safely, no harm-no foul, while the encroaching machines of Leary in 2nd, Tanner Thorson in 3rd and Thomas in 4th became stifled in the quagmire of lapped cars, which allowed Grant to build up his lead to 2.5 seconds.
However, the gridlock did help Thomas a bit further back as he picked and grinned his way around the outside of Thorson for 3rd at the stripe on lap 19, then struck once more in much cleaner air on lap 23 as he bolted past Leary around the outside on the front straightaway to move to 2nd.
In short order, Thomas downsized Grant's lead a full two seconds in the ensuing laps, turning the quickest lap amongst anybody in the entire race on the 25th circuit, ultimately charging around the outside of Grant to nip him by a wheel at the line on lap 31. Grant surged back ahead of Thomas on the bottom of turn one mere moments later, but now inherited a Noah's Ark of traffic within his view, two by two, marching high and low.
Grant and Thomas played the game with Grant drifting high and Thomas sticking low as they split Gile midway down the back straightaway with eight laps remaining. Grant staved off Thomas' charge for the time being with the topside cleared away and the bottom clamped down by the lappers.
"I knew that the 4 car was going to give it everything he had," Thomas recalled. "Whenever we got to lapped traffic, it was just about who was going to make the right move at the right time. We had a couple different opportunities to take advantage and I didn't do that at the right time, but everything happens for a reason."
That reason soon became clear when Thomas' shining moment rose with four laps remaining as he stuck the bottom in turns three and four while Grant negotiated the long road home up top on the cushion. A major run by Thomas shot him past Grant to a car length advantage at the line on the 37th lap and, from there on, Thomas took the stage front and center, all for his own as he began his countdown to victory.
A quick dismissal of the now-lapped car of Charles Davis Jr. by Thomas in turn one with two go put a mountainous, insurmountable half-straightaway separation between Thomas and Grant that completed the final chapter of the silver edition of the event which began 25 years earlier in 1996.
Thomas ran away to a final winning margin of 3.129 seconds at the finish line with Grant second, Leary third, Thorson fourth and point leader Brady Bacon rounding out the top-five.
"We got the win and I'm just so proud of these guys and everybody that's behind us," Thomas said in praise after corralling the $10,000 winning prize. "A lot of those people believed in me when a lot of people didn't. I'm fortunate to have all those people behind me and doing good things for us. They gave me one heck of a racecar and they read that track perfectly. They did their job 100 percent. That was a good one to drive."
Thomas' 36th career USAC National Sprint Car feature win moved him past Jon Stanbrough and Rich Vogler for sole possession of 11th on the all-time list. He now stands just one victory behind Sheldon Kinser for 10th all-time.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) led a race-high 35 laps of the 40-lap distance in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy, equaling his best career Oval Nationals final night result of 2nd place, which he also earned back in 2017.
"The bottom started getting narrow and the top stayed so dirty," Grant explained. "I had to slow down so much to try and get stuck on the bottom. I don't do a whole lot other than go pound the fence, so we usually leave that thing set on 'cushion kill.' When the bottom gets that narrow, it's hard on us. We figured if we were going to win this race, it was going to be on the boards, but when the bottom got that thin, I had to get so slow. KTJ was just better than we were at the end, and we really started fading with about 10 to go and got real bad with about five to go."
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) had a successful 2021 Oval Nationals, following up 4th place finishes in both prelims with a 3rd place result in Saturday night's finale aboard the Michael Motorsports/Kodiak Products – Gray Auto – Valvoline/DRC/Cressman Ford.
"This car was really consistent all weekend, which is something we haven't had a lot of the year," Leary admitted. "We've struggled and we've been really good, then we've been not so good. This weekend was not bad at all."
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 6, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 25th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: (Top-6 in Oval Nationals points did not qualify) 1. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-16.613; 2. Max Adams, 73 Ford-16.700; 3. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-16.790; 4. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.831; 5. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.867; 6. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-16.904; 7. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.912; 8. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.912; 9. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.923; 10. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-16.969; 11. Dennis Gile, 13G, Gile-16.982; 12. Alex Banales, 5A, Baldwin/Fox-17.018; 13. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-17.021; 14. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.030; 15. Chase Johnson, 2, Yeley-17.030; 16. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-17.086; 17. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-17.129; 18. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.140; 19. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-17.226; 20. Carson Short, 17, Snow-17.244; 21. Tye Mihocko, 38, Crossno-17.257; 22. Danny Faria Jr., 17v, Hollywood-17.337; 23. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.424; 24. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.549; 25. Brent Owens, 71, RMR-17.697; 26. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-18.120; 27. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-18.276; 28. Chris Muraoka, 73x, Ford-19.085.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Damion Gardner, 3. Logan Williams, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Matt Mitchell, 7. Danny Faria Jr., 8. Sterling Cling, 9. Brent Owens, 10. Chris Muraoka. 2:55.10
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. A.J. Bender, 2. Cody Williams, 3. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 4. Max Adams, 5. Dennis Gile, 6. Verne Sweeney, 7. Carson Short, 8. Shane Sexton, 9. Austin Williams. 2:54.62
INDY METAL FINISHING/ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION/INDY RACE PARTS/COMPONENT REPAIR COMPANY THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Chase Johnson, 4. R.J. Johnson, 5. Chris Gansen, 6. Tye Mihocko, 7. Kyle Edwards, 8. Alex Banales, 9. Dan Taylor. NT
FAST ARMED SUPER SIX DASH: (6 laps, finishing order set the first 3 rows of the feature) 1. C.J. Leary (#77m Michael), 2. Justin Grant (#4 TOPP), 3. Tanner Thorson (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 4. Brady Bacon (#69 Dynamics), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#9K KT), 6. Jake Swanson (#21AZ Team AZ). 1:42.75
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Matt Mitchell, 3. Carson Short, 4. Chris Gansen, 5. Tye Mihocko, 6. Dennis Gile, 7. Austin Williams, 8. Verne Sweeney, 9. Danny Faria Jr., 10. Alex Banales, 11. Kyle Edwards, 12. Shane Sexton, 13. Brent Owens, 14. Dan Taylor, 15. Chris Muraoka, 16. Sterling Cling.
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 2. Justin Grant (2), 3. C.J. Leary (1), 4. Tanner Thorson (3), 5. Brady Bacon (4), 6. Jake Swanson (6), 7. Shane Cottle (7), 8. Chris Windom (19), 9. Charles Davis Jr. (11), 10. R.J. Johnson (10), 11. A.J. Bender (12), 12. Brody Roa (16), 13. Logan Seavey (13), 14. Cody Williams (15), 15. Max Adams (9), 16. Carson Short (21), 17. Chase Johnson (17), 18. Dennis Gile (24), 19. Verne Sweeney (25-P), 20. Chris Gansen (22), 21. Tye Mihocko (23), 22. Damion Gardner (8), 23. Logan Williams (14), 24. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (18), 25. Matt Mitchell (20). NT
(P) represents a USAC CRA provisional starter
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Justin Grant, Lap 31 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 32-36 Justin Grant, Laps 37-40 Kevin Thomas Jr.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2799, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2747, 3-Justin Grant-2640, 4-Tanner Thorson-2517, 5-C.J. Leary-2499, 6-Chris Windom-2421, 7-Jake Swanson-2336, 8-Robert Ballou-1987, 9-Chase Stockon-1709, 10-Logan Seavey-1475.
AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1279, 2-Brody Roa-1223, 3-Austin Williams-1078, 4-Chris Gansen-992, 5-Cody Williams-940, 6-Tommy Malcolm-860, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-841, 8-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-639, 9-Verne Sweeney-639, 10-Matt McCarthy-590.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-197, 2-Justin Grant-167, 3-Tanner Thorson-162, 4-Brady Bacon-158, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-141, 6-Logan Seavey-140, 7-Thomas Meseraull-133, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Shane Cottle-98, 10-Buddy Kofoid-91.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA RACES: November 12-13, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Chris Windom
Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Damion Gardner
Simpson Race Products/Flowdynamics First Heat Winner: Logan Seavey
Competition Suspension, Inc./Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Second Heat Winner: A.J. Bender
Indy Metal Finishing/All Coast Construction/Indy Race Parts/Component Repair Company Third Heat Winner: Charles Davis Jr.
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature Winner: Chris Windom
KSE Racing Products/In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner/All Coast Construction Tony Jones Hard Charger: Chris Windom (19th to 8th)
Fast Armed Super Six Dash Winner: C.J. Leary
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Logan Seavey
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Austin Williams
Schoenfeld Hard Work Award: Tye Mihocko
Shawn McDonald Memorial 6th Place Qualifying Award: R.J. Johnson
Shawn McDonald Memorial 6th Place Feature Award: Jake Swanson
BRIGGS DANNER CAPS OFF WITH BRIDGEPORT WIN IN USAC EAST COAST FINALE
By: Nick Fillman, USAC ECSC
Swedesboro, New Jersey (November 5, 2021) ………Briggs Danner of Allentown, Pennsylvania capped off a great 2021 Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, presented by Capitol Renegade by winning his ninth feature event of the season, worth a series historic $3,000 pay day.
Davie Franek and Alex Bright lead the field to green for the final twenty-five lap feature event of the 2021 season at the Bridgeport Speedway, with Franek getting the jump on Bright for the race lead into turn one and two. Franek maintained his lead for the opening circuit of the feature event before Bright would work to the outside of Franek for the race lead at the completion of lap two.
Bright was looking to put a massive exclamation point on his historic 2021 season by picking up the final win of the season, but fifth starting Briggs Danner was foot to the floor fast and quickly worked his way into the third-place position by the completion of lap three. A pair of laps later, Danner had moved by Franek into the runner up position and began to close in on the tail tank of the Hummer Motorsports number twenty of leader Alex Bright.
Meanwhile behind the battle for the lead, Franek ran by his lonesome in third, but an absolute war was just beginning to form for positions four and five, with Damon Paul and Kenny Miller lll trading multiple slide jobs for position lap after lap. While, even further behind them a host of drivers like Nash Ely, Colin White, Joey Amantea, and more were three and sometimes four-wide for position early on in the feature event.
By lap seven, Danner was all over Bright for the race lead, and would work his way by to assume the race lead on lap eight of the feature event. Danner began to put some distance between himself and second place Alex Bright as the next handful of laps would go on, before the caution flag flew on lap twelve for a spinning Thomas Radivoy.
The lap twelve restart saw Danner, Bright, Franek, Miller lll and Paul nose to tail once again with one lap shy of half the race to go. As the green flag flew on the restart, the battle for the lead was absolutely ferocious as over the next four laps, Danner and Bright would exchange the race lead lap, after lap, after lap before Danner established a couple car length lead again over Bright as the field raced toward the conclusion of the feature event.
Just as before the caution flag flew, Kenny Miller lll and Damon Paul continued their incredible side by side battle at the tail end of the top five. Further behind them, Nash Ely, Joey Amantea, Colin White, and from the semi feature: Christian Bruno and Brenden Bright were putting on an amazing show trading positions inside the top ten with each and every lap that went by.
While battling hard for position just outside of the top five, Nash Ely and Joey Amantea would make contact heading into turns three and four, leaving Amantea with a collapsed front end and unable to continue in the feature event.
A seven-lap shootout would take place to cap off an exciting feature event with the top five remaining the same from the previous restart. Christian Bruno and Brenden Bright continued to be the stars of the top ten as they battled up from the Semi feature, bringing Bruce Buckwalter and Eric Jennings along with them, making the middle of the pack some of the most exciting racing of the whole season.
Danner again nailed the restart, but Bright would not let him get too far away. Danner showed no signs of slowing down as he set his sights on victory lane one more time in 2021. Bright held strong for second, with Franek again impressive in third. Kenny Miller and Damon Paul continued to wage their race long war for fourth and fifth as the laps went on as well.
Christian Bruno continued his march to the front of the field and had worked his way up into the seventh-place position and tried to reel in Nash Ely for sixth. Brenden Bright, Bruce Buckwalter Jr and Eric Jennings all from the semi feature, were rounding out the top ten in what was a tremendous battle for position.
But out front it did not matter, as Briggs Danner went on to collect the $3,000 paycheck, and his ninth win of the season over 2021 Points Champion Alex Bright, Davie Franek, Kenny Miller lll, and Damon Paul in what was easily a top five race of the year.
The win for Danner was his ninth of the season and helped to cap off a great year for the Gallagher Racing 5G Entry. While it may have turned into a rough season through the middle of the year with the untimely passing of car owner Bill Gallagher, and a freighting crash at the Selinsgrove Speedway, the team never lost their focus on winning races and trying to secure the championship. While they may have come up short in the championship hunt, the team, with driver, Briggs Danner were able to capture the 2021 Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, Presented by Capitol Renegade, Rookie of the Year honors, as Danner was in a league of his own as far as rookie drivers were concerned.
While Alex Bright and Hummer Motorsports were not doubt hopping to end their 2021 season with a massive walk off win, back-to-back runner up finishes, 22 of 23 events finishing inside the top five, and eleven wins left the team with a historic run on their way to being crowned the 2021, Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, Presented by Capitol Renegade Champions. Bright and team were night in and night out the most dominant car of the season, showing up every week with the mindset of winning each and every time the car hit the speedway. While we will probably not see too much of the Hummer Motorsports team in 2022, we certainly wish them all the best, and a massive congratulations on their dominant championship run.
Coming home in the third-place position in a very impressive run was veteran winged 360 sprint car driver Davie Franek. Franek has made two previous starts with the series at Orange County and Port Royal in 2020, and made his first, and final start of the year Friday at Bridgeport. The former Patriot Sprint, and URC Champion started on the pole of the feature event by virtue of making the redraw, lead lap one of the feature event, and held his own against the entire field of regular wingless drivers. We certainly hope to see Davie a few more times on the series trail in 2022.
While Kenny Miller lll was unable to grace victory lane in 2021, Miller was one of the most consistent cars whenever the team was pit-side. An early season internship for most of the season kept Miller from running full time with the series, but once the team returned in the late summer swing, the top ten and top five runs were rattled off week after week. While plans are not completely worked out for the team in 2022, we are hopeful to see one of the most exciting up and coming drivers in the series return to action and battle for victories, and possibly the 2022 championship.
Rounding out the top five, backing up his third place points run, was Stony Point, NY driver Damon Paul. The micro sprint veteran was a rookie on tour in 2021 with car owner Lou Cicconi Jr. and impressed many throughout the season. Paul was able to find victory lane one time in 2021 at the Winchester Speedway but put on many impressive runs from start to finish. As is the case with all our drivers and teams, we hope that Cicconi and driver Damon Paul will return next season as Paul continued to develop night after night behind the wheel of a sprint car.
One of the most impressive runs of the night belonged to a driver making his series debut in the form of Brenden Bright. The former micro sprint and midget regular, made his series debut in a second Hummer Motorsports entry as a teammate to brother Alex Bright. Brenden won the semi feature, and led the charge of Christian Bruno, Bruce Buckwalter and Eric Jennings through the field to the top ten, before Bruno ultimately got by him late in the race, earning him hard charger honors. Perhaps Bright has opened some eyes for 2022 and could possible find himself behind the wheel of a sprint car with the series a handful of times next season.
All of us here with the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series would like to that everyone that has made the 2021 season possible. Without all our sponsors, the incredible tracks that have allowed us to come into their facilities and put on our events, our amazing drivers and teams who may have supported us all season long, or just on a part time basis, and of course all of the amazing fans who have supported us through this journey none of this would be possible, and we thank you!
As the 2022 series schedule begins to take shape, stay tuned to our social media pages as always for all the latest news and information regarding the 2022 racing season!!
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USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE RACE RESULTS: November 5, 2021 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 5G-Briggs Danner (8), 2. 3BC-Nash Ely (5), 3. 23m-Kenny Miller III (4), 4. 88J-Joey Amantea (2), 5. 62-Brian Spencer (1), 6. 20x-Brenden Bright (7), 7. 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr. (10), 8. 22B-Troy Betts (9), 9. 16CW-Eric Jennings (3), 10. 12-Blaine Emery (6). NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 20-Alex Bright (1), 2. 57-Damon Paul (3), 3. 28F-Davie Franek (2), 4. 32K-Kyle Smith (4), 5. 7-Ed Aikin (6), 6. 17-Christian Bruno (9), 7. 67-Jason Cherry (8), 8. 96-Lee Kauffman (7), 9. 71-Chris Allen Jr. (5). NT
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 21-Carmen Perigo (9), 2. 32-Colin White (2), 3. 1Q-Thomas Radivoy (7), 4. 73-Al Cheney (4), 5. 56-Jermain Godshall (6), 6. 8-Larry Drake (8), 7. 3H-Heidi Hedin (3), 8. 8B-D.J. Hunt (5), 9. 74JR-J.R. Berry (1). NT
SEMI: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 20x-Brenden Bright (1), 2. 17-Christian Bruno (2), 3. 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr. (4), 4. 22B-Troy Betts (7), 5. 16CW-Eric Jennings (10), 6. 74JR-J.R. Berry (12), 7. 12-Blaine Emery (13), 8. 96-Lee Kauffman (8), 9. 67-Jason Cherry (5), 10. 8B-D.J. Hunt (9), 11. 3H-Heidi Hedin (6), 12. 8-Larry Drake (3), 13. 71-Chris Allen Jr. (11). NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Briggs Danner (5), 2. Alex Bright (2), 3. Davie Franek (1), 4. Kenny Miller III (6), 5. Damon Paul (7), 6. Nash Ely (3), 7. Christian Bruno (17), 8. Brenden Bright (16), 9. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. (18), 10. Eric Jennings (20), 11. Colin White (9), 12. Kyle Smith (11), 13. 7-Ed Aikin (14), 14. 62-Brian Spencer (13), 15. 1Q-Thomas Radivoy (8), 16. 56-Jermain Godshall (15), 17. 73-Al Cheney (12), 18. 21-Carmen Perigo (4), 19. 88J-Joey Amantea (10), 20. 22B-Troy Betts (19). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Davie Franek, Laps 2-7 Alex Bright, Laps 8-25 Briggs Danner.
FINAL USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE POINTS: 1-Alex Bright-1689, 2-Briggs Danner-1549, 3-Damon Paul-1255, 4-Nash Ely-1151, 5-Bruce Buckwalter Jr.-1051, 6-Kenny Miller III-981, 7-Steven Drevicki-954, 8-Joey Amantea-880, 9-Ed Aikin-870, 10-Tommy Kunsman-832.
BACON FINDS LAST LAP OVALS FORTUNE
AMID GRANT'S MISFORTUNE AT PERRIS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Perris, California (November 5, 2021)………In a season that has been earmarked by a consistency matched by no other individual, feature wins have been, rather surprisingly, relatively few and far between for USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship point leader, Brady Bacon.
As it turned out, all the Broken Arrow, Okla. native needed for that to occur was a little bit of good fortune to fall his way, somehow, someway.
Bacon became the leader for the third and final occasion while Justin Grant's car faltered with a broken nozzle line in Friday's night two of the Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction at southern California's Perris Auto Speedway.
Bacon cruised past the rapidly slowing Grant on the last of the 30th circuits to prevail with his fourth win of the year and marked his first time standing in victory lane since July's Indiana Sprint Week round at Bloomington Speedway.
The three-time series champion's 39th career USAC National Sprint Car feature win moved him to within one of Gary Bettenhausen for 8th on the all-time win list. Bacon's third career Perris win also went toward cementing his bid for a fourth career title as he incrementally elevated his lead from 63 to 64 with just three races left on the championship trail.
"We've had a good enough car to win a bunch of races this year and it just never went our way," Bacon explained. "Tonight, we probably didn't deserve to win but we did, so we'll take it after all the races we've lost throughout the year."
After experiencing a rare downward descent when starting from the front row during Thursday night's opener at The PAS, Bacon was bound and determined not to let history repeat itself on consecutive nights. Bacon led the opening three circuits before being overtaken by Thorson, then regained the top spot from him just past halfway, then saw his lead slip into the abyss with Grant getting by just three laps from the end.
"I made a mistake there by letting him by," Bacon recalled of Grant's late-race pass. "We just had a little luck on our side tonight and I was able to capitalize on that and get the win. I thought we had a pretty good car, but we just got a little tight there after those couple cautions, probably because of low air pressure, which caused it to push really bad off four. After he got me, I just tried to not make any mistakes and, if he did, I was going to be able to capitalize. Unfortunately for him, something happened, but we'll definitely take it after the year we've had."
Bacon initially lost the lead to Thorson on the fourth lap when Thorson went third to first within a half lap, first charging by Grant for second midway down the back straightaway, then dove to the bottom of turns three and four to swipe the lead from Bacon.
Following a front straightaway flip performed by Sterling Cling (24th), which also ensnarled Danny Faria Jr. (25th) on lap five, Grant relegated Bacon back to third on the sixth lap as Grant muscled his way under at the exit of turn four to put himself in the runner-up spot. Bacon ultimately regained the second position from Grant a mere three laps later.
Out front, Thorson continued to pull away on top, with everyone else following suit on the high line in their pursuit of the 2015 Turkey Night Grand Prix Midget winner when it was held at Perris.
Thorson, meanwhile, had lost his brakes about halfway through, and the issue came into focus as he attempted to put Tommy Malcolm a lap down in the running order with a turn one slider on the 17th lap that initially worked in his favor. However, as Thorson drifted past and glided up the racetrack, all momentum was lost, and opportunity was gained by both Malcolm to get his lap back momentarily as well as Bacon to race past and become the new leader.
As Bacon caressed a 2.089 second advantage with 10 laps remaining, Carson Short and Logan Williams were waging their own battle for the 17th position, which resulted in Williams enduring a rapid tumble after contact with both Short and the wall sent him on a wild ride of which he walked away from.
While Thorson went on the attack in turn two for second with Grant on lap 22, Grant had his sights set on ripping away Bacon's lead entering turn three. Grant ably pulled even with Bacon through the corners but was unable to make a successful go of it as of yet.
Grant tailed Bacon around the entire circumference of the half-mile dirt oval from his view a half-car length back as the two crossed underneath the flag stand with three laps to go. That's precisely where Grant made a swift maneuver to the bottom of turn one and stole the lead away with the race's distance waning in the balance.
Taken by utter and complete surprise just two laps later, Bacon pounced as Grant slowed to a crawl on the topside of the racetrack, clearing him between turns one and two as he cut underneath Grant with Thorson in tow to second. Thorson nearly climbed Grant's left rear tire coming off turn two, which stifled him momentarily, and allowed Bacon free reign to put the clamp and his stamp on the victory over Thorson, Kevin Thomas Jr., C.J. Leary and Thursday's winner Jake Swanson.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) finished a fine second after leading 13 laps in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) followed up Thursday's runner-up finish with a solid third on Friday in his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy. The 2017-18 Oval Nationals winner feels like he's got a good gameplan if the track conditions are similar to Thursday's and acknowledges having to find a little bit something more for conditions akin to those he faced on Friday night.
Six drivers – Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Brady Bacon, Tanner Thorson, C.J. Leary and Justin Grant ranked as the top-six overall points-getters throughout the first two evenings of the Oval Nationals. All six are locked into the first three rows of Saturday night's 40-lap main event. The starting order of those first three rows will be determined via a Super 6 Dash which pits six cars against each for a six-lap race with high stakes.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 5, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 25th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.434; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-16.486; 3. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.508; 4. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.576; 5. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-16.593; 6. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-16.634; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.653; 8. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.763; 9. Chase Johnson, 2, Yeley-16.781; 10. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-16.798; 11. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.803; 12. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-16.830; 13. Dennis Gile, 13G, Gile-16.862; 14. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-16.865; 15. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.885; 16. Max Adams, 73 Ford-16.916; 17. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.932; 18. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-17.004; 19. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-17.045; 20. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.058; 21. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-17.065; 22. Alex Banales, 5A, Baldwin/Fox-17.136; 23. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-17.148; 24. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-17.157; 25. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.173; 26. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-17.175; 27. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-17.181; 28. Danny Faria Jr., 17v, Hollywood-17.230; 29. Carson Short, 17, Snow-17.255; 30. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.295; 31. Tye Mihocko, 38, Crossno-17.388; 32. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.489; 33. Brent Owens, 71, RMR-17.516; 34. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-17.552; 35. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-18.025; 36. Chris Muraoka, 73x, Ford-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. A.J. Bender, 4. Carson Short, 5. Chase Johnson, 6. Dennis Gile, 7. Chris Gansen, 8. Matt McCarthy, 9. Brent Owens. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Damion Gardner, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Logan Williams, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Alex Banales, 7. Shane Sexton, 8. Verne Sweeney, 9. Sterling Cling. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING/ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Tommy Malcolm, 6. Cody Williams, 7. Brody Roa, 8. Tye Mihocko, 9. Dan Taylor. NT
INDY RACE PARTS/COMPONENT REPAIR COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Matt Mitchell, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Danny Faria Jr., 5. Kyle Edwards, 6. Charles Davis Jr., 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 8. Max Adams, 9. Chris Muraoka. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-8 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Cody Williams, 3. Chase Johnson, 4. Dennis Gile, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Tommy Malcolm, 7. Max Adams, 8. Sterling Cling, 9. Kyle Edwards, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 11. Brody Roa, 12. Alex Banales, 13. Shane Sexton, 14. Brent Owens, 15. Dan Taylor, 16. Matt McCarthy, 17. Tye Mihocko, 18. Chris Gansen, 19. Verne Sweeney. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Tanner Thorson (4), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 4. C.J. Leary (3), 5. Jake Swanson (6), 6. Shane Cottle (13), 7. Justin Grant (2), 8. Chris Windom (7), 9. Austin Williams (12), 10. Brody Roa (25-P), 11. Chase Johnson (10), 12. Charles Davis Jr. (9), 13. Damion Gardner (15), 14. Max Adams (17), 15. Carson Short (24), 16. Logan Seavey (22), 17. Dennis Gile (14), 18. Cody Williams (16), 19. Matt Mitchell (21), 20. Chris Gansen (26-P), 21. Tommy Malcolm (20), 22. R.J. Johnson (8), 23. A.J. Bender (18), 24. Logan Williams (11), 25. Sterling Cling (19), 26. Danny Faria Jr. (23). NT
(P) represents a USAC CRA provisional starter
**Matt McCarthy flipped during the semi. Sterling Cling flipped on lap 5 of the feature. Logan Williams flipped on lap 20 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Brady Bacon, Laps 4-16 Tanner Thorson, Laps 17-27 Brady Bacon, Laps 28-29 Justin Grant, Lap 30 Brady Bacon.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2741, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2677, 3-Justin Grant-2573, 4-Tanner Thorson-2456, 5-C.J. Leary-2435, 6-Chris Windom-2372, 7-Jake Swanson-2281, 8-Robert Ballou-1987, 9-Chase Stockon-1709, 10-Logan Seavey-1438.
AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1256, 2-Brody Roa-1184, 3-Austin Williams-1068, 4-Chris Gansen-969, 5-Cody Williams-905, 6-Tommy Malcolm-860, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-795, 8-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-616, 9-Verne Sweeney-614, 10-Matt McCarthy-590.
OVAL NATIONALS POINTS: (TOP-6 LOCKED INTO SATURDAY'S FEATURE) 1-Jake Swanson-285, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-284, 3-Brady Bacon-284, 4-Tanner Thorson-276, 5-C.J. Leary-270, 6-Justin Grant-252, 7-Chris Windom-233, 8-Austin Williams-232, 9-Shane Cottle-227, 10-Carson Short-212.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-186, 2-Justin Grant-167, 3-Tanner Thorson-162, 4-Brady Bacon-158, 5-Logan Seavey-140, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-137, 7-Thomas Meseraull-133, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Shane Cottle-98, 10-Buddy Kofoid-91.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA RACE: November 6, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 25th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Carson Short
Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Jake Swanson
Simpson Race Products/Flowdynamics First Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Competition Suspension, Inc./Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Indy Metal Finishing/All Coast Construction Third Heat Winner: R.J. Johnson
Indy Race Parts/Component Repair Company Fourth Heat Winner: Brady Bacon
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature Winner: Charles Davis Jr.
KSE Racing Products/In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger: Carson Short (24th to 15th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Damion Gardner
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Kyle Edwards
Schoenfeld Hard Work Award: Carson Short
Shawn McDonald Memorial 6th Place Qualifying Award: C.J. Leary
Shawn McDonald Memorial 6th Place Feature Award: Shane Cottle
HAIL MARY! SWANSON'S LAST LAP NETS FIRST USAC NATIONAL SPRINT WIN AT OVAL NATIONALS OPENER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Perris, California (November 4, 2021)………With four runner-up finishes throughout his first full USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season, Jake Swanson wasn't about to settle for yet another in his ongoing pursuit of a first career series victory during Thursday night's opener for the 25th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction at southern California's Perris Auto Speedway.
In fact, running second entering the final set of turns on the last lap wasn't sufficient enough to satisfy the Anaheim, Calif. native who was making his first trip back to his home track since becoming a permanent resident of Indiana about a year ago.
Swanson threw a "Hail Mary" through the marbles on the final circuit, removing himself from the bottom to take one last shot at the top of turn four. Swanson ignited the sky with a shower of sparks as his right-side wheels glanced off the outside front straightaway wall, then promptly brushed Thomas' left side wheels in a drag race to the finish line with Swanson ahead at the stripe by a mere 0.010 of a second for the closest finish of the year, and one of the closest in series history.
Not only was it dramatic, it was downright historic for Swanson who earned his first victory in what was his 84th career USAC National Sprint Car feature start. A long time coming and a long time to wait patiently, but his turn arrived Thursday night. A dream fully realized. A dream come true.
"I'm speechless. I'm absolutely speechless. I could cry I'm so happy," Swanson exclaimed after bringing his Team AZ Racing/Beaver Stripes – USW Cat Construction – RSS Industries – CSI/DRC/1-Way Chevy to USAC victory lane for the first time ever.
"I cannot say enough about this race team," Swanson continued. "This racecar was so dynamite. My race team is absolutely incredible, and I know it sounds clich�, but these guys are the best and I'm so glad to finally get this done for them. I can't thank everybody on the side of this racecar enough who has helped us and helped me get to the level I want to be at, and we finally accomplished that tonight."
Equipped with a new powerplant under the hood, Swanson started third on the grid, but for the majority of the distance, was resigned to chasing Thomas around the bottom of the 1/2-mile dirt oval all while simultaneously negotiating copious amounts of lapped traffic.
With six laps remaining, the cards fell in Swanson's favor after spying an opportunity on the back straightaway when Thomas split high to maneuver around the lapped car of Chris Gansen. With a big drive, Swanson cut under Gansen, making it three-wide as the trio hit turn three.
Thomas swung across both Gansen and Swanson, and back to the bottom with his left front tire teetering over the edge of the infield berm, but couldn't quite stick to the bottom, opening up the low line for Swanson to eke by for the lead exiting the fourth corner.
The moment was fleeting, as it turned out, when he became entrapped behind Logan Williams at the tail end of the lead lap entering low in turn one just a straightaway later. Thomas took to the top in one and two and gleefully reestablished his position at the head of the field on lap 26. At that precise moment, now back in second and chasing Thomas once again, Swanson readily admitted to nearly feeling resigned to the fact that a first win just might be out of reach.
"I was worried; I didn't really think I could do it," Swanson said. "He's so good on the bottom and it was just a chess match dealing with lapped traffic. I tried to split the lapped car there off turn two and it almost worked, then I tried to do it again, but the next few lappers were running too tight down there."
Swanson shadowed Thomas for four-straight laps until reaching the white flag, sitting just a single car length back, and even saw Bacon briefly edge ahead of him by a bumper for the second spot off turn two on the last lap. Swanson got back into the groove and carried his momentum back by Bacon and deeper into turn three than he had all evening, at any cost, and the ultimate result wound up as the proudest achievement of his racing career.
"I wasn't lifting," Swanson flatly stated. "It didn't matter if we hit the fence. It didn't matter if I flipped the length of the front straightaway. I was not going to lift. I was buried in it. I bounced off the fence, I bounced off him, and he gave me just enough room. I really appreciate that, so I didn't go for a ride. I didn't think I was going to get it, but all of a sudden, I found some grip either on the wall or right next to the wall and I think I got him by an inch or two. It was unreal."
Swanson dedicated the victory to his grandfather, who passed away recently while Kevin Thomas Jr. finished second and series point leader Brady Bacon took third, just a single car length behind the front two. Defending Oval Nationals winner C.J. Leary grabbed fourth while Justin Grant rounded out the top-five.
Pole sitter Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) came out on the short end of the photo finish in his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy, finishing second by the smallest of margins.
"It was wild," Thomas said. "It was a good race, though, and congrats to Jake. They've been working so hard and have been very, very close. We did all that and ran that close and that hard and we never touched each other. I've got a lot of respect for Jake and what he's done. Everybody on our crew did a great job and our car was good. I just got passed. It's not what we wanted, obviously, but we had a good solid run, and we'll try to duplicate it tomorrow and try to win a race."
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) collected yet another top-five – his 32nd in 39 series starts this year – while finishing third, 0.129 sec. behind the winner, aboard his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy. Bacon started on the outside of the front row but lost the spot to Swanson on lap two, yet still had a shot to win despite engine issues hampering the team throughout their night.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) became the second driver this season (Logan Seavey) to record Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier awards after previously doing so in early October at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track and Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway.
Three drivers got upside down throughout the night: Dan Taylor and Chris Gansen did so during qualifying, while Chris Muraoka flipped during the fourth heat. All drivers walked away without injury and, in fact, Gansen returned to action with the same car, transferring through his heat race finish 18th in the feature.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 4, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 25th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.487; 2. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-16.511; 3. Max Adams, 73 Ford-16.529; 4. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.532; 5. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.562; 6. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.613; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-16.675; 8. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-16.696; 9. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-16.736; 10. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-16.748; 11. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-16.753; 12. Chase Johnson, 2, Yeley-16.754; 13. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.770; 14. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-16.772; 15. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.810; 16. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-16.819; 17. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-16.862; 18. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-17.000; 19. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-17.024; 20. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.052; 21. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-17.084; 22. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.092; 23. Carson Short, 17, Snow-17.115; 24. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-17.125; 25. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.146; 26. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-17.162; 27. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.167; 28. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.206; 29. Dennis Gile, 13G, Gile-17.280; 30. Danny Faria Jr., 17v, Hollywood-17.322; 31. Tye Mihocko, 38, Crossno-17.342; 32. Alex Banales, 5A, Baldwin/Fox-17.507; 33. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-17.517; 34. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-17.880; 35. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-18.006; 36. Chris Muraoka, 25, Sure Can-18.199.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Brody Roa, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Logan Williams, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Dennis Gile, 7. Austin Grabowski, 8. Tommy Malcolm, 9. Chris Windom. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Chris Gansen, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Danny Faria Jr., 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Shane Sexton, 9. Cody Williams. 2:53.53
INDY METAL FINISHING/ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Short, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Max Adams, 5. Matt Mitchell, 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 7. Tye Mihocko, 8. Matt McCarthy, 9. Dan Taylor. 2:53.80
INDY RACE PARTS/COMPONENT REPAIR COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. A.J. Bender, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Damion Gardner, 5. Charles Davis Jr., 6. Kyle Edwards, 7. Alex Banales, 8. Chris Muraoka, 9. Chase Johnson. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-8 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Austin Williams, 3. Cody Williams, 4. Matt Mitchell, 5. Charles Davis Jr., 6. Verne Sweeney, 7. Austin Grabowski, 8. Matt McCarthy, 9. Danny Faria Jr., 10. Tye Mihocko, 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 12. Sterling Cling, 13. Tommy Malcolm, 14. Dennis Gile, 15. Kyle Edwards, 16. Shane Sexton, 17. Chase Johnson, 18. Dan Taylor. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jake Swanson (3), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 3. Brady Bacon (2), 4. C.J. Leary (5), 5. Justin Grant (7), 6. Tanner Thorson (6), 7. Austin Williams (9), 8. Chris Windom (18), 9. R.J. Johnson (10), 10. Max Adams (4), 11. Carson Short (8), 12. Shane Cottle (12), 13. Brody Roa (14), 14. Damion Gardner (17), 15. Charles Davis Jr. (23), 16. A.J. Bender (21), 17. Logan Williams (11), 18. Chris Gansen (15), 19. Matt Mitchell (16), 20. Logan Seavey (13), 21. Matt McCarthy (20), 22. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (25-P), 23. Verne Sweeney (22), 24. Cody Williams (19), 25. Austin Grabowski (24). NT
(P) represents a USAC CRA provisional starter
**Dan Taylor & Chris Gansen flipped during qualifying. Chris Muraoka flipped during the fourth heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-24 Kevin Thomas Jr., Lap 25 Jake Swanson, Laps 26-29 Kevin Thomas Jr., Lap 30 Jake Swanson.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2663, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2600, 3-Justin Grant-2515, 4-Tanner Thorson-2378, 5-C.J. Leary-2367, 6-Chris Windom-2315, 7-Jake Swanson-2210, 8-Robert Ballou-1987, 9-Chase Stockon-1709, 10-Logan Seavey-1406.
AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1212, 2-Brody Roa-1141, 3-Austin Williams-1017, 4-Chris Gansen-946, 5-Cody Williams-875, 6-Tommy Malcolm-836, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-749, 8-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-606, 9-Verne Sweeney-604, 10-Logan Williams-554.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-186, 2-Justin Grant-167, 3-Tanner Thorson-160, 4-Brady Bacon-158, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-135, 6-Logan Seavey-134, 7-Thomas Meseraull-133, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Shane Cottle-91.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA RACES: November 5-6, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 25th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Chris Gansen
Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products/Flowdynamics First Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Competition Suspension, Inc./Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Second Heat Winner: Brady Bacon
Indy Metal Finishing/All Coast Construction Third Heat Winner: Carson Short
Indy Race Parts/Component Repair Company Fourth Heat Winner: Jake Swanson
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature Winner: Chris Windom
KSE Racing Products/In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger: Chris Windom (18th to 8th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Brody Roa
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Danny Faria Jr.
Shawn McDonald Memorial Qualifying Award: Brady Bacon
Shawn McDonald Memorial Feature Award: Tanner Thorson
THORSON TOPS WEDNESDAY'S
USAC OVAL NATIONALS PRACTICE AT PERRIS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Perris, California (November 3, 2021)………Tanner Thorson recorded the fastest lap in Wednesday night's practice session at southern California's Perris Auto Speedway, the final tune-up prior to the start of the 25th running of the Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction.
The Minden, Nev. driver circled the 1/2-mile dirt oval with a time of 16.264 seconds in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy, the same team which won the most recent Oval Nationals with driver C.J. Leary in 2019.
Thorson is in the midst of his first full USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season and, likewise, is making his first Oval Nationals appearance this weekend.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), a 2019 USAC CRA victor at Perris, was second overall in practice at 16.269. Three-time series champ and current point leader Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was third at 16.329. Two-time Oval Nationals prelim feature winner Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was fourth at 16.358. Brody Roa, a two-time Perris AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car winner this year, rounded out the top-five at 16.469.
Thirty-nine cars are expected for this week's running of the Oval Nationals, which kicks off Thursday night, Nov. 4 with three-straight full nights of racing, with each evening offering qualifying, heats, semi-feature and feature events. The program resumes the following night on Friday, Nov. 5, with the grand finale taking place on Saturday night, Nov. 6.
The drivers meeting takes place at 4:30pm PT during each night of racing with cars slated to be on track at 5:30pm.
All three nights of racing will be shown LIVE on FloRacing at at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: November 3, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 25th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented By All Coast Construction
PRACTICE: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.264; 2. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.269; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.329; 4. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.358; 5. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.469; 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-16.555; 7. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-16.587; 8. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.609; 9. Carson Short, 17, Snow-16.662; 10. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-16.736; 11. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.839; 12. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-16.840; 13. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-16.872; 14. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-16.893; 15. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.966; 16. Max Adams, 73 Ford-17.047; 17. Alex Banales, 5A, Baldwin/Fox-17.103; 18. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.109; 19. Dennis Gile, 13G, Gile-17.157; 20. Danny Faria Jr., 17v, Hollywood-17.202; 21. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.238; 22. Chase Johnson, 2, Yeley-17.239; 23. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.376; 24. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-17.572; 25. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-17.954; 26. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-18.337; 27. Chris Muraoka, 25, Sure Can-19.089.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 4-5-6, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 25th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented By All Coast Construction
USAC NATIONALS RETURNS TO HUSET'S
WITH A NEW DATE IN JULY 2022!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (November 3, 2021)………The Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals returns to the USAC calendar in 2022 with a new date on July 8-9-10 at the Brandon, South Dakota 1/3-mile dirt oval.
The Friday, Saturday, Sunday night program will feature three consecutive nights of doubleheader events for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.
The inaugural event was held this past September with C.J. Leary (Sprint) and Chris Windom (Midget) each collecting $20,000 paydays on the final night. Both Leary and Windom also won Friday night's programs. Tanner Thorson (Sprint) and Thomas Meseraull (Midget) captured Thursday's opener.
Huset's first hosted USAC National Midget racing in 1996 with Kenny Irwin Jr. scoring the victory. A pair of USAC Sprint Car non-points special events were held in 2016 with Chad Boespflug the big winner on both nights.
Additional info and ticket sales for the 2022 Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals will be available soon at www.husetsspeedway.com.
FLOCK & COFER NAMED TURKEY NIGHT GP
CO-GRAND MARSHALS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ventura, California (November 2, 2021)………USAC Western States Midget champions Robby Flock and Johnny Cofer have been named co-grand marshals for the 80th running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix on Saturday night, November 27, at southern California's Ventura Raceway.
Flock (Murietta, Calif.) captured four USAC Western States Midget titles in three different decades – the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He earned his first in 1986, then was crowned as champion again in 1989, 1993 and 2002. His 51 USAC Western States feature victories rank second all-time, five of which came at Ventura.
Additionally, six USAC National Midget wins are a part of Flock's resume, with three in 1989 at Eagle, Neb., at Yuma, Ariz. and at Eldora Speedway's 4-Crown Nationals in Rossburg, Ohio. Further National wins came at El Centro, Calif. in 1992, the Belleville (Kan.) Midget Nationals in 1996 and at Mount Lawn Speedway in New Castle, Ind. in 1997.
Additionally, Flock made 12 Turkey Night Grand Prix starts between 1982 and 2005, finishing a best of second in the 1993 race.
Standing beside Flock on the podium that night in the third position was Cofer (Macdoel, Calif.), which was his best result in five Turkey Night midget starts between 1988 and 1996. The 1994 USAC Western States Midget titlist tallied half of his 10 career series wins at Ventura, and his lap of 11.675 sec. from 1995 still remains the one-lap track record to this day after 26 seasons.
Cofer can count two USAC National Midget wins to his credit with his first coming in 1991 at Rocky Mountain Speedway in Denver, Colo. while the second came arrived at Ventura during the 1994 campaign.
The 80th running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix will pay a winner's share of $10,000 for the feature winner of the storied USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship 98-lap feature event.
ARP, the world leader in fastener technology, is the title sponsor for the for the famed race at the 1/5-mile dirt oval that sits right on the beach. The event dates back to the origins of midget racing and maintains its prestige today as one of the crown jewels of dirt track auto racing.
For the first time in 2021, the Turkey Night Grand Prix will be contested on Saturday, November 27, with practice and sprint car prelims the night before on Friday, November 26.
The race will serve as the season finale for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Midgets in 2021.
Tickets for the Turkey Night Grand Prix are now on sale at www.venturaraceway.com. For more information, please call (805) 985-5433.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA & NATIONAL SPRINTS CLASH AT $10,000-TO-WIN PERRIS OVAL NATIONALS
By Lance Jennings
NOVEMBER 2, 2021... The chase for the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship heads to Perris Auto Speedway for the "25th Heimark/Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction." Promoted by Don Kazarian, the prestigious event opens with a special practice session on Wednesday, November 3rd, followed by three nights (November 4,5,6) of intense racing that also features the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars. With a total purse reaching over $98,000, the Thursday and Friday main events will pay $5,000-to-win, with Saturday's winner taking home $10,000. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds in Perris, California, the spectator gates at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will open at 5:00pm and racing is scheduled for 7:00pm. For more event information or advance tickets, visit perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134.
For those that cannot be at the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
PRACTICE NIGHT: The festivities will begin on Wednesday, November 3rd with a special practice session for cars that are only entered in the Oval Nationals. Admission to the grandstands is FREE and cars will be on the track around 5:00pm. The concession stands will be open with specials for fans in attendance.
ENTRY LIST: At press time, 34 cars have entered the event with more entries expected on race day. The current Oval Nationals pre-entry list is at the end of this release, courtesy of Perris Auto Speedway.
360 BONUS: The top three drivers using a 360 engine will receive an extra cash bonus at each night of the Oval Nationals. $500 for the top 360, $300 for second, and $200 for third. These bonuses are guaranteed. In addition, the top 360 driver who accumulates the most points over the three days will get a guaranteed starting spot in the USAC West Coast Sprint Car feature at the Turkey Night Grand Prix on the Ventura Raceway.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- The USAC National Rule Book will be followed in regards to weight rule (1,375 lbs. with driver).
- The race format is posted on perrisautospeedway.com
- 2021 APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Hoosier 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A are legal with the USAC/CRA. Hoosier Tires are mandatory on all four corners and this follows the USAC National Series rulebook.
- 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.)
- 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.
- 2021 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.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY: Series officials will have transponders to rent at the track for those racers that do not have them.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
Since 1996, the Budweiser Oval Nationals has been one of the most prestigious events for non-wing sprint car racing across the country. "The Professor" Jimmy Sills won the inaugural race and there have been sixteen different drivers that have claimed the checkered flags. Bud Kaeding, "The People's Champion" Dave Darland, and "The Demon" Damion Gardner lead all drivers with three Oval National wins. In 2019, Indiana's C.J. Leary added the eagle trophy to his collection and last year's show was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The winner's list is at the end of this release.
Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 230 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-two different drivers have claimed victory. "The Demon" Damion Gardner leads all drivers with 49 "home track" wins and Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012. This season, Gardner (three), "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (twice), "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams, and "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr. have claimed feature wins at the series' "home track." A complete USAC/CRA win list at Perris is at the end of this release.
Entering the seventeenth point race, there have been eight different winners with USAC/CRA. "The Demon" Damion Gardner has six victories, while Max Adams, "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa, and "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams are tied with two wins. "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr., Chase Johnson, Carson Short, and Ryan Timmons have one win on the season.
Heading to the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) has a 75-point lead over the competition. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner topped the October 23rd feature at Perris, To date, the eight-time champion has posted six feature wins, seven Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, seven heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 125 feature laps led on the year. The "World's Fastest Sprint Car Driver" has eighty-nine series wins and will be looking to continue his championship bid with his fourth Oval Nationals victory.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) is second in the championship point standings. Racing the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa scored fourth at Perris on October 23rd. At press time, the 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, five heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, fourteen top-10 finishes and 59 feature laps led in the campaign. With ten career victories, Brody will have his sights on adding the Oval Nationals to his resume.
"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) ranks third in the chase for the championship. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Lucas Oil DRC, Williams scored twenty-second at Perris after an early flip ended his night. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, eleven top-10 finishes and 72 feature laps led to his credit. "The Big Game Hunter" has eleven career wins and will be looking to join his father ("The Ripper" Rip Williams") on the Oval Nationals winner's list.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) sits fourth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Driving the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen led the first eight laps before scoring third in the Perris feature. At press time, the veteran driver has posted one heat race victory, one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, fifteen top-10 finishes, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, and 9 feature laps led on the season. Chris will have his sights on earning his first USAC/CRA victory at Perris Auto Speedway.
"The Cadillac" Cody Williams (Corona, CA) ranks fifth in the point chase. Racing his #44 Trench Shoring / CRW Designs and Machining DRC, Williams charged to a second place finish at Perris after starting eighth. To date, the 2010 Victorville Sprint Car Champion has three heat race victories, nine top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led in the campaign. Cody has one career USAC/CRA win and will be looking to looking to join his father ("The Ripper" Rip Williams") on the Oval Nationals winner's list.
Heading to Perris, Austin Grabowksi (Riverside, CA) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA). Jake Hodges (Camarillo, CA), Brent Owens (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI), and Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) are also in contention.
"The Macho Man" Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) leads a talented roster from the AMSOIL USAC National Series. "KTJ" Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant, Tanner Thorson, C.J. Leary, Chris Windom, Jake Swanson, Logan Seavey, and Shane Cottle have pre-entered the event.
Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California. Walk up tickets will be sold and advance tickets can be purchased online at perrisautospeedway.com or by calling 951.940.0134.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, surfNsprint.com, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS PRESENTED BY ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION WINNERS: 1996-Jimmy Sills, 1997-Rip Williams, 1998-Rodney Argo, 1999-Rickie Gaunt, 2000-Tony Jones, 2001-Bud Kaeding, 2002-Bud Kaeding, 2003-Cory Kruseman, 2004-Cory Kruseman, 2005-Dave Darland, 2006-Dave Darland, 2007-Bud Kaeding, 2008-Jesse Hockett, 2009-Damion Gardner, 2010-Chris Windom, 2011-Damion Gardner, 2012-Mike Spencer, 2013-Dave Darland, 2014-Robert Ballou, 2015-Bryan Clauson, 2016-Damion Gardner, 2017-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2018-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2019-C.J. Leary, 2020-Not Held.
2021 HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS PRESENTED BY ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION ENTRY LIST: (courtesy of Perris Auto Speedway) 1-Damion Gardner, 2-Chase Johnson, 4-Justin Grant, 4-Jake Hodges, 4G-Chris Gansen, 5-Logan Seavey, 5X-Alex Banales, 5X-Tommy Malcolm, 9K-Kevin Thomas Jr., 11O-Ikaika O'Brien, 12-Stevie Sussex, 17V-Danny Faria Jr., 19-Chris Windom, 19AZ-Tanner Thorson, 21-A.J. Bender, 21AZ-Jake Swanson, 25-Christopher Muraoka, 37-Matt Mitchell, 38-Tye Mihocko, 39E-Kyle Edwards, 44-Cody Williams, 47-Charles Davis Jr., 51-R.J. Johnson, 51T-Eddie Tafoya Jr., 52V-Trent Williams, 69-Brady Bacon, 72-Austin Grabowski, 74-Shane Sexton, 74X-Shane Cottle, 77M-C.J. Leary, 91R-Brody Roa, 92-Austin Williams, 92M-TBA, 98-Verne Sweeney.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 6-Damion Gardner, 2-Max Adams, 2-Brody Roa, 2-Austin Williams, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Carson Short, 1-Ryan Timmons.
PERRIS AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 49-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Matt Mitchell, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 5-Justin Grant, 4-Robert Ballou, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 4-Brody Roa, 3-Garrett Hansen, 2-Brady Bacon, 2-Charles Davis Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr., 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-Jake Swanson, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Jason York.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Damion Gardner-1172, 2. Brody Roa-1097, 3. Austin Williams-960, 4. Chris Gansen-912, 5. Cody Williams-850, 6. Tommy Malcolm-826, 7. Charles Davis Jr.-715, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-583, 9. Verne Sweeney-580, 10. Matt McCarthy-554, 11. Logan Williams-520, 12. A.J. Bender-481, 13. Danny Faria Jr.-473, 14. Matt Mitchell-438, 15. Austin Grabowski �-435, 16. Stevie Sussex-405, 17. Chase Johnson-324, 18. Ryan Timmons �-290, ---. Brent Owens �-290, 20. Jake Hodges �-280.
2021 AMSOIL USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brady Bacon-2590, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr.-2526, 3. Justin Grant-2449, 4. Tanner Thorson �-2311, 5. C.J. Leary-2295, 6. Chris Windom-2262, 7. Jake Swanson-2129, 8. Robert Ballou-1987, 9. Chase Stockon-1709, 10. Logan Seavey-1377, 11. Kyle Cummins-1244, 12. Shane Cottle-1100, 13. Brandon Mattox-1050, 14. Jadon Rogers-1036, 15. Matt Westfall-972, 16. Thomas Meseraull-891, 17. Paul Nienhiser �-859, 18. Cole Bodine �-660, 19. Mario Clouser-590, 20. Max Adams-574.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
March 12: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park– Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
March 13: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
March 26: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
April 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
May 1: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
May 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
May 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 3: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (CANCELLED)
July 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
August 14: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
September 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Carson Short)
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
September 6: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
September 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
October 2: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Winner: Damion Gardner)
October 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 12: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 13: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.
LOCKED & LOADED: OVAL NATS ENTRIES INCLUDES 4 PAST WINNERS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Perris, California (November 1, 2021)………Four past Oval Nationals winners are on the pre-entry list for this week's 25th running of the Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction on November 4-5-6 at southern California's Perris Auto Speedway.
Thirty-six cars are entered for the event which features such Perris headliners as three-time Oval Nationals winner Damion Gardner, the Concord, Calif. native, eight-time AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car champion and current point leader, who is seeking to become the first four-time Oval Nationals winner in this Saturday night's $10,000-to-win finale.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) enters as the defending Oval Nationals winner, collecting the top prize in 2019. The 2020 event was not held due to COVID-19 restrictions. Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) captured back-to-back Oval Nationals triumphs in 2017-2018. Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) became the youngest Oval Nationals winner at the age of 19 in 2010.
Prelim winners looking to break through for a monumental first Oval Nationals final night score this weekend include USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National championship point leader, and three-time champ, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.). Bacon swept both preliminary nights in 2019, same as Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) did in 2018. Brody Roa (Garden Grove, Calif.) notched his only career USAC National win in a prelim during the 2017 event.
In USAC CRA competition this season, Gardner has added three wins at The PAS, with Roa netting two, while both Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Ariz.) have added one. Austin is the son of 1997 Oval Nationals winner Rip Williams.
Making his Oval Nationals debut is Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), a 2015 Turkey Night Grand Prix USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature winner at Perris, who has won five times with the USAC National Sprints this year.
Another 2021 USAC National Sprint Car winning driver entered is Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) who, like Thorson, is a past USAC National Midget champion. Seavey is one of two drivers to win in all three USAC National divisions this year along with Grant.
This week, five-time USAC National Sprint Car winner Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) will make his first Oval Nationals appearance in 13 years. USAC National Sprint Car's top Rookie in 2017, Stevie Sussex (Laveen, Ariz.), returns to the Oval Nationals lineup.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Ariz.) and Matt Mitchell (Costa Mesa, Calif.) are all past USAC CRA feature winners at Perris who are looking to reach USAC National victory lane for the first time in their careers this weekend.
The Oval Nationals begins with practice from 6-9pm PT on Wednesday night, November 3. Three-straight full nights of racing, with each evening offering qualifying, heats, semi-feature and feature events, begins at Perris on Thursday, Nov. 4, then returns the following night on Friday, Nov. 5, with the grand finale taking place on Saturday night, Nov. 6.
The drivers meeting takes place at 4:30pm PT during each night of racing with cars slated to be on track at 5:30pm.
All three nights of racing will be shown LIVE on FloRacing at at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
PRE-ENTERED OVAL NATIONALS DRIVERS:
1 Damion Gardner/Concord, CA (Mark Alexander)
2 Chase Johnson/Penngrove, CA (Jack Yeley)
4 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (TOPP Motorsports)
4G Chris Gansen/Verdemont Heights, CA (Gansen Motorsports)
4x Jacob Hodges/Camarillo, CA (Jacob Hodges)
5 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Baldwin-Fox Racing)
5A Alex Banales/West Lafayette, IN (Baldwin-Fox Racing)
5x Tommy Malcolm/Corona, CA (Dino Napier)
9K Kevin Thomas Jr./Cullman, AL (KT Motorsports)
11o Ikaika O'Brien/Aiea, HI (Ikaika O'Brien)
12 Stevie Sussex/Laveen, AZ (Robbie & Gaye Allen)
13 Dennis Gile/Phoenix, AZ (Gene Gile Racing)
17v Danny Faria Jr./Tipton, CA (Hollywood Motorsports)
19 Chris Windom/Canton, IL (Hayward Motorsports)
19AZ Tanner Thorson/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
21 A.J. Bender/Ramona, CA (Rich Bender)
21AZ Jake Swanson/Anaheim, CA (Team AZ Racing)
25 Chris Muraoka/Waianae, HI (Sure Can LLC)
37 Matt Mitchell/Costa Mesa, CA (J.W. Mitchell Motorsports)
38 Tye Mihocko/Phoenix, AZ (Glenn Crossno)
39E Kyle Edwards/Fountain Valley, CA (Gordon Edwards)
44 Cody Williams/Norco, CA (Cody Williams)
47 Charles Davis Jr./Buckeye, AZ (Davis Race Team)
51 R.J. Johnson/Laveen, AZ (Ricky Johnson)
51T Eddie Tafoya Jr./Chino Hills, CA (Eddie Tafoya Sr.)
52v Trent Williams/Hesperia, CA (Ron & Brandi Williams)
69 Brady Bacon/Broken Arrow, OK (Dynamics, Inc.)
72 Austin Grabowski/Riverside, CA (Austin Grabowski)
73 Max Adams/Loomis, CA (Josh Ford Motorsports)
74 Shane Sexton/Warner Springs, CA (Stan Sexton)
74x Shane Cottle/Kansas, IL (Hodges Motorsports)
77m C.J. Leary/Greenfield, IN (Michael Motorsports)
91R Brody Roa/Garden Grove, CA (BR Performance)
92 Austin Williams/Corona, CA (Tom & Laurie Sertich)
92m TBA (Tom & Laurie Sertich)
98 Verne Sweeney/Lomita, CA (Ken Tracy)
MICHAEL FACCINTO IS KING AT HANFORD; BLAKE BOWER EARNS CHAMPIONSHIP
HANFORD, CA – OCTOBER 29, 2021… Charging from fourth, Michael Faccinto (Hanford, CA) raced to victory at Hanford's Keller Auto Speedway. Driving Marcie Campbell's #7J Marcie Campbell Realtor / Rodela Fabrication Spike, the 2018 Champion earned his first USAC Western States Midget win of the year at the season ending "Anthony Simone Classic." Frankie Guerrini, newly crowned champion and rookie of the year Blake Bower, Jake Andreotti, and Ben Worth chased Faccinto to the checkered flags.
Making his first start of 2021, pole-sitter Frankie Guerrini led the first sixteen laps on the lightning fast surface. Faccinto had made his way to second early in the feature and gradually reeled in the leader. With the laps winding down, the hometown driver powered to the top spot and led the final three circuits.
Before the program began, technical problems with the electronic scoring loop forced officials to cancel time trials. A passing point format was used and after running second to Colby Johnson in his heat race, Faccinto ranked third overall. In limited appearances, Michael finished the campaign placed twenty-second in championship points.
Equaling a feat by Nic Faas in 2008, Blake Bower (Brentwood, CA) clinched the championship and rookie of the year honors. Piloting Tony Boscacci's #9 Orland Public Auto Auction / Sold Buy Guys entry, Bower finished second to Jake Andreotti in his heat race, placed fourth in passing points, and ran third in the feature.
After heat race action was completed, Colby Johnson (Penngrove, CA) was the night's Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier. Racing the Robyn Morris owned #17K Morris Insurance Agency / Cal Crush Spike, Johnson won the 8-lap Extreme Mufflers / LMG Ag Products First Heat Race and scored tenth in the main event after an early flip. Colby finished the season ranked eleventh in USAC Western States Midget points and won the BCRA Championship.
Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, CA) won the night's Competition Suspension Inc. / Ultra Shield Race Products / Hanni Well Drilling Second Heat Race. Driving Pete Davis' #00 Hot Head Competition Heaters / Buchannan Automotive Stealth, Andreotti was second in passing points and finished fourth in the main event. In limited action, the rookie contender closed out the season ranked twelfth in points.
David Prickett (Fresno, CA) earned the night's Rod End Supply / Finish Line Promotions by Stephanie Odom Hard Charger Award with a seventh place run from eleventh. The pilot of the Nichols / Peckfelder #1NP NP Motorsports / Masters Design and Construction Spike missed his heat race due to mechanical problems. The team made repairs in time to compete in the season ending 20-lap main event. Despite missing several events, the veteran driver finished eleventh in the point standings.
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Finish Line Promotions by Stephanie Odom, FloRacing.com, Hanni Well Drilling, Hoosier Racing Tire, LMG Ag Products, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Superior Bearing and Supply, Ultra Shield Race Products, Walker Performance Filtration, Western Flyer Xpress, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Wireless 101, 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 on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 29, 2021 – Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, California – "Anthony Simone Classic" – co-sanctioned with BCRA
EXTREME MUFFLERS / LMG AG PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Colby Johnson (#17K Morris), 2. Michael Faccinto (#7J Campbell), 3. Frankie Guerrini (#71R Morris), 4. Ron Hazelton (#15 Hazelton), 5. C.J. Sarna (#20 Sarna). NT.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS / HANNI WELL DRILLING SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Jake Andreotti (#00 Davis), 2. Blake Bower (#9 Boscacci), 3. Ben Worth (#5K Alexander), 4. Brody Fuson (#51 Carlile), 5. Terry Nichols (#1N Nichols/Peckfelder). NT.
FEATURE: (20 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Michael Faccinto (4), 2. Frankie Guerrini (1), 3. Blake Bower (3), 4. Jake Andreotti (5), 5. Ben Worth (2), 6. Brody Fuson (7), 7. David Prickett, (11, #1NP Nichols/Peckfelder), 8. Ron Hazelton (8), 9. Terry Nichols (10), 10. Colby Johnson (6). NT.
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**Johnson flipped on lap one of the feature. Sarna did not start feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Guerrini, Laps 17-20 Faccinto.
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER: Colby Johnson
ROD END SUPPLY / FINISH LINE PROMOTIONS BY STEPHANIE ODOM HARD CHARGER: David Prickett (11th to 7th)
FINAL USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Blake Bower-862, 2-Brody Fuson-792, 3-C.J. Sarna-662, 4-Austin Liggett-549, 5-Ben Worth-471, 6-Chase Johnson-460, 7-Shannon McQueen-418, 8-Ron Hazelton-400, 9-Jarrett Soares-392, 10-David Prickett-386.
GOING BIG: LUCAS OIL RACEWAY REVEALS 2022 USAC SCHEDULE
Indianapolis, Indiana (October 27, 2021)………America's great race place, Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind., will host a bevy of mega events throughout the 2022 season for USAC Silver Crown, Sprint Cars and Midget racing at the .686-mile paved oval.
OPEN-WHEEL OPENING DAY: SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2022
The 2022 schedule on the Lucas Oil Raceway oval begins with Open-Wheel Opening Day, a doubleheader of open-wheel action on Saturday, March 26. Lucas Oil Raceway's Pavement Midget Championship will make its debut with a 35-lap, $5,000 to win feature as well as the return of Champion Sprint Cars for their own 35-lap, $5,000 to win feature.
All Midget and Sprint Car programs at Lucas Oil Raceway will be considered USAC non-points special events, meaning no points will be awarded toward the USAC National series' championship standings.
Additionally, this will be the first of four events on the 2022 Lucas Oil Raceway oval calendar that will host a Pavement Midget Championship feature, with each race paying $5,000 to win. The end-of-season "track championship" point fund will be worth $10,000, with the champion taking home $2,500. There will also be a bonus payout for the Rookie of the Year in midget competition at Lucas Oil Raceway.
An open test will be held on Friday, March 25 from 3:00 to 6:00 PM preceding this event for teams to prepare.
CARB NIGHT CLASSIC: FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022
The Carb Night Classic returns to Lucas Oil Raceway in 2022 on Friday, May 27. Featuring multiple classes of open-wheel racing on the Friday before the Indianapolis 500, it will be a night to remember.
The 2022 edition of the Carb Night Classic will feature Road to Indy's Indy Pro 2000 (90 laps) and USF2000 (75 laps) Championships, as well as a 30-lap National Pavement Midget Championship feature paying $5,000 to win and a 100-lap points-paying USAC Silver Crown National Championship race which pays $10,000 to win.
THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER HOMECOMING: THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2022
After being revived in 2021, the Thursday Night Thunder Homecoming will return in 2022 with a focus on celebrating the personalities and broadcasts that made the track a staple in living rooms across the country.
The event, which helped establish names like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne, will continue to build a foundation for racers of current and future generations.
This night will feature the third points race in the National Pavement Midget Championship (a 35-lap feature, $5,000 to win), Champion Sprint Cars (35-lap feature, $5,000 to win) and the exclusive USAC Silver Crown Shootout, a 10-car field fighting for $13,000 in prize money within a 25-lap non-points special event feature.
OPEN-WHEEL CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022
Capping off a busy oval season, Championship Saturday will feature three unique season-finales for the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, National Pavement Midget Championship and Sprint Cars – all in one day!
The Saturday, October 22 event will host the 100-lap, $10,000 to win USAC Silver Crown National Championship finale, as well as 40-lap, $5,000 to win features in the National Pavement Midget Championship and Sprint Cars.
Additionally, the 2022 A.J. Foyt Championship winner will be crowned on this day, adding a new name to a list of track champions that includes legends such as Jeff Gordon, Parnelli Jones, Ryan Newman and more.
HANFORD HOSTS USAC WESTERN STATES & BCRA MIDGET "CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT"
By Lance Jennings
OCTOBER 26, 2021... A champion will be crowned this Friday, October 29th, as the USAC Western States and the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) Midgets clash at Keller Auto Speedway. Promoted by Peter Murphy, the "Anthony Simone Classic" is the third appearance for the "mighty midgets" at the 3/8-mile oval. The action packed card will also showcase the NARC King of the West 410 Winged Sprint Cars and IMCA Stock Cars. In addition, the King of the West 410s will also hold a special non-winged main event in honor of "Mr. Excitement" Anthony Simone. Located on the Kings County Fairgrounds in Hanford, California, the Spectator Gates will open at 4:00pm, Hot Laps at 6:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track's website at kellerautospeedway.com.
For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- NO ENTRY FEE IN 2021. ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS OR TEMPORARY PERMITS (TPs) ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. TPs are $25 and Memberships are $150.
- 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.
- 2021 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 *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY.
- The USAC Western States Midget Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
Since June 6, 1986, the Kings County Fairgrounds has hosted 45 USAC Western States Midget races and thirty-one different drivers have claimed victory. Robby Flock scored the inaugural victory as Mitchel Moles and Brody Fuson topped the last two visits on the season. Billy Boat leads all drivers with six Hanford triumphs and Ronnie Day set the 1-lap qualifying track record of 15.555 on October 3, 1998. The series win list at Hanford is at the end of this release.
Leading rookie contender, Blake Bower (Brentwood, CA) has a 56-point lead over the competition. Piloting Tony Boscacci's #9 Orland Public Auto Auction / Mountain Cascade Inc. Spike, Bower raced from ninth to sixth at Ventura Raceway on October 16th. At press time, Blake has posted one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, eleven top-10 finishes, and 26 feature laps led on the year. Blake will be looking to end his championship bid with his first USAC win this Saturday night.
Ranked second in points, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA) still has a mathematical chance of winning the championship. Driving Rusty Carlile's #51 RacePa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson scored fifteenth at Ventura after an early exit. To date, the rookie contender has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Award, four heat race wins, eight top-10 finishes, and 41 feature laps led to his credit. Brody will have his sights on the crown by claiming another Hanford victory.
C.J. Sarna (Brea, CA) is third in the championship point standings. Racing his #20 ZMAX / Final Final Clothing Spike, Sarna finished seventh at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. At press time, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year has four heat race victories, three Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards, and eight top-10 finishes in the campaign. Sarna has one career victory and will have his sights winning at Keller Auto Speedway.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) sits fourth in USAC Western Midget point standings. The pilot of the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Liggett Trucking Spike skipped the night's action at Ventura. To date, the 2018 USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, seven top-10 finishes and 57 feature laps led in the campaign. With four career wins, Liggett is a threat to win on any given night.
Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) ranks fifth in the chase for the championship. Driving Bill Buckley's #7NZ Buckley Systems / Esslinger Engineering Bullet, Johnson scored third at Ventura after starting fifth in the main event. At press time, the versatile driver has two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, six top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led on the season. Chase has three career wins and will be looking to add a Hanford trophy to his collection.
While Bower leads the chase for rookie honors, Fuson (Bakersfield, CA), Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA), Tony Gomes (Modesto, CA), Colby Johnson (Penngrove, CA), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, CA), and Colton Raudman (Redding, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Ben Worth, Ron Hazelton, Dylan Ito, Colby Johnson, Jake Andreotti, Tony Gomes, Kyle Mentch, Alex Schutte, and more.
Colby Johnson leads the BCRA point standings. Brody Fuson, David Prickett, Blake Bower, Chase Johnson, Kyle Mentch, Shannon McQueen, Robert Carson, C.J. Sarna, and Jarrett Soares round out the top-10 drivers.
Keller Auto Speedway is located at the Kings County Fairgrounds at 801 South 10th Avenue in Hanford, California. General Admission Adult tickets are $20, General Admission Senior (62 and older), Active Military (ID Required), and General Admission Junior tickets (6 to 17) are $15. Kids tickets (5 and under) are FREE. For more event information, visit kellerautospeedway.com or the track's social media.
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Finish Line Promotions by Stephanie Odom, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Superior Bearing and Supply, Ultra Shield Race Products, Walker Performance Filtration, Western Flyer Xpress, 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
HANFORD USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TRACK RECORD: Ronnie Day – 15.555 (10/3/98)
HANFORD USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 6-Billy Boat, 4- Robby Flock, 3-Jimmy Sills, 2-Ronnie Day, 2-Alex Harris, 2-Rusty Rasmussen, 2-Ron Shuman, 1-Tommy Astone, 1-Donnie Beechler, 1-Ryan Bernal, 1-Cory Elliott, 1-Mark DeBeaumont, 1-Danny Ebberts, 1-Nic Faas, 1-Brody Fuson, 1-Joe Gaerte, 1-Ronnie Gardner, 1-Garrett Hansen, 1-Levi Jones, 1-Dallen McKenney, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Andy Michner, 1-Mitchel Moles, 1-Alex Schutte, 1-Ricky Shelton, 1-Tony Stewart, 1-Danny Stratton, 1-Matt Streeter, 1-Sleepy Tripp, 1-Rich Vogler, 1-Josh Wise.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 2-Brody Fuson, 2-Chase Johnson, 2-Austin Liggett, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Maria Cofer, 1-Colby Johnson, 1-Mitchel Moles, 1-Hayden Williams, 1-Ben Worth.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT STANDINGS: 1. Blake Bower �-788, 2. Brody Fuson �-732, 3. C.J. Sarna-648, 4. Austin Liggett-549, 5. Chase Johnson-460, 6. Shannon McQueen-418, 7. Ben Worth-405, 8. Jarrett Soares �-392, 9. Ron Hazelton-346, 10. David Prickett-334, 11. Dylan Ito-286, 12. Maria Cofer-282, 13. Colby Johnson �-281, 14. Jake Andreotti �-226, 15. Tony Gomes �-222, 16. Randi Pankratz-212, 17. Mitchel Moles-205, 18. Robby Josett-202, 19. Kyle Beilman-190, 20. Terry Nichols-173, ---. Kyle Mentch-173, 22. Troy Rutherford-151, 23. Mike Leach Jr.-117, 24. Colton Raudman �-116, 25. Alex Schutte-113, 26. Caden Sarale-107, 27. Matt Mitchell-104, 28. Joey Bishop-86, 29. Dylan Bloomfield-82, 30. Hayden Williams-80, 31. Logan Seavey-79, 32. Michael Faccinto-78, 33. Shane Golobic-77, 34. Ryan Bernal-75, ---. Travis Buckley-75, 36. Davey Ray-72, 37. Jade Avedisian-68, 38. Max Adams �-65, 39. Beau Lemire-58, 40. Floyd Alvis-56, 41. Ashlyn Rodriguez-55, 42. Michael Snider-54, ---. Matt Streeter-54, 44. Thomas Esberg-53, 45. Troy Morris III-50, ---. Sparky Howard-50, ---. Ronnie Gardner-50, ---. Robert Carson-50, 49. Ben Wiesz-49, ---. Gage Rucker-49, 51. Kenny Welch-46, 52. Kaleb Montgomery-36, 53. Jake Vermeer-27.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK – LOCATION
March 27: #Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 10: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Mitchel Moles)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Maria Cofer)
June 5: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Ben Worth)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
August 7: #Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Colby Johnson)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 11: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Hayden Williams)
October 9: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
October 10: #Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (CANCELLED)
October 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Jake Andreotti)
October 29: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Anthony Simone Classic)
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# = Co-Sanctioned Event with Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA)
This schedule is subject to change.
VanINWEGEN COLLECTS FIRST CAREER USAC EC WIN AT ORANGE COUNTY
By: Nick Fillman – USAC ECSC
Middletown, New York (October 23, 2021)………Local modified regular, and former USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series regular, Billy VanInwegen collected his first career victory with the Rapid Tire Services, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series on Saturday night at the conclusion of fourteen laps due to rain after half way.
Kenny Miller lll and winged 360 veteran Matt Tanner lead the field to green for the USAC East Coast portion of Eastern States Weekend 2021. Immediately the non-wing veteran Miller III took the race lead and would try to put some distance between himself and the rest of the field, by being glued to the bottom lane of the speedway. Matt Tanner was in second and found himself quickly under-fire from another modified regular at the speedway in the form of Brian Krummel.
Alex Bright had worked right behind the battle for the top three on the bottom lane of the speedway at the completion of lap one. As the field worked their way into turn three and four, Brian Krummel would lose the handle on the second Hamilton Racing entry and spin to the high side of the speedway. As Krummel was slowing to a stop, Briggs Danner made right rear to right rear contact with Krummel, with Danner being able to pull away.
Danner did suffer some right side damage on the Heffner Racing 5G entry, as the right side nerf bar would be caved in onto the rear tire with a slight tire rub, along with suffering right side header damage.
When the field returned to green Miller again bolted out to the race lead, with Bright sneaking under Matt Tanner for second, with Billy VanInwegen being the first driver to explore the fresh moisture that was laid down on the high side of the speedway. Danner would follow along in the tire tracks of Billy V on the high side of the speedway as well.
As the field worked to the completion of lap three, Billy V motored to the high side of turn three and four around the outside of both Bright and Miller to take the race lead on lap three. Bright tried to follow VanInwegen to the high side, but then opted for the middle, using a diamond line off of the corner to try and keep pace with the leader.
In the laps after the pass for the lead, Miller began to struggle on the bottom side of the speedway losing spots to Tanner, and eventually Briggs Danner who had worked his way into the top five by lap seven despite the tire rub and damage to the 5G entry. Danner would continue to work the high side of the speedway just as the race leader VanInwegen would and worked by Matt Tanner for third on lap eleven.
Tanner stuck to his line and would not quit on the bottom side of the speedway and worked back by Danner for the third place position on only two laps later on lap thirteen while both were trying their best to catch the leaders VanInwegen and Bright.
VanInwegen had a solid four car length lead over Bright as they began to encounter lapped traffic on the bottom side of the speedway. VanInwegen was strong up top and would allow Bright to draw closer on corner entry, and through the middle of the corner, but the momentum for VanInwegen off of the high side of the speedway allowed him to rocket off the corners and re-establish the distance between he and Bright.
Ultimately, the caution flag would fly on lap fourteen for rains that had persistently picked up over the course of the last two to three laps under green flag conditions. The field would be sent to the pit are of the Orange County Speedway as the track was lost due to increasing rain. The field would remain idle in the pit area as rains continued to fall on the speedway, lightening up at times, but not going away.
A decision was reached with USAC East Coast Official in the interest of time, for our traveling teams, many of them being at the speedway since eight A.M. or earlier, to make the results official being that the race was passed the halfway point and was legally completed, per USAC East Coast Rules.
Billy VanInwegen grabbed his first career Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, presented by Capitol Renegade victory over: Alex Bright, Matt Tanner, Briggs Danner, and Damon Paul.
VanInwegen backed up his run from last season at Orange County where he finished in the top three in his wingless sprint car series debut. The run last season lead to the opportunity for Billy V to be tabbed as the driver of the Bill Gallagher 5G entry for the bulk of the 2020 series tour after Timmy Buckwalter was injured in a modified incident. Billy V had many strong runs last season with the team, nearly picking up wins at Delaware International and at the famed Williams Grove Speedway. The win on Saturday night was the first for Billy and the VanDusen team, and they have intended their plans on making a few more shows with the series in 2022.
The incredible runs for Alex Bright and the Hummer Motorsports team continued on Saturday night at Orange County as the pair, who were not at the speedway last July, came home in a solid runner up finish. Bright had never race on the "Hard Clay" of the Orange County Speedway, but as he has all year, looked as strong as ever running at the front of the field. While Bright and team no doubt would have liked to see the rest of the feature event be run under green, they will have one more shot to crack victory lane at the Bridgeport Motorsports Park in two weeks.
Stephentown, NY driver Matt Tanner made his series debut on Saturday night aboard the no.17 entry that last season was piloted by VanInwegen in select wing and non-wing events. Tanner a veteran and multi time winner on the ESS and Patriot Sprint Series throughout New York aboard his family-owned 90 car, made quick work on Saturday night figuring out how to pilot a wingless sprint car. Tanner had a great second place effort in his heat race locking him into the redraw and ran an extremely impressive third in the feature event. Perhaps Tanner will venture out and try a few more wingless shows in the future with the series. Only time will tell.
Coming home fourth despite some feature event difficulties was Allentown, PA drive Briggs Danner. While Danner has cooled off some in terms collecting feature event wins, the team has been fast in their last two events. The rain and completion of the feature event after fourteen laps was a bit of a blessing for Danner and the Heffner 5G team as their right rear tire would more than likely have not survived the remaining eleven laps of the feature event following a nerf-bar rub after contact with a spinning Brian Krummel.
Rounding out the top five in Saturday's event was Stony Point, New York driver Damon Paul. If there was a driver who was more excited to be in the pit area and racing a sprint car during Eastern States Weekend than Damon Paul, we certainly did not encounter them! Paul who lives a short half hour drive away, has been to many ESW events in his lifetime, and was thrilled at the opportunity to run at his home track on the series trail. A one time winner on tour this season, Paul was able to collect another top five run after starting in the ninth place spot.
All of us at the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series would like to thank everyone involved at the Orange County Fair Speedway for their hospitality, along with Brett Hearn for not only bumping the winner's purse to $2,000, but our start money to $400. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to all of the teams who supported us on Saturday night. Whether they were from New York or some of our series regulars who made the trip up, we appreciate your support on Saturday night and all season long.
Up Next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, presented by Capitol Renegade is our series finale at the Bridgeport Motorsports Park on Friday, November 5th! The Friday night finale will pay a historic $2,500 to win, and $300 to start!
As always, stay up to date with the latest news, results, points, and much more by following along on our social media pages! On Facebook at: USAC East Coast Sprint Cars, and on Twitter at: @USACecsc.
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USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE RACE RESULTS: October 23, 2021 – Orange County Fair Speedway – Middletown, New York
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 23m-Kenny Miller III (1), 2. 56-Billy VanInwegen Jr. (4), 3. 16cw-Eric Jennings (5), 4. M1-Justin Mills (7), 5. 57-Damon Paul (2), 6. 1Q-Thomas Radivoy (6), 7. 96-Lee Kauffman (8), 8. 6-Steve Kyser (3), 9. 91-Mick D'Agostino (9). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 5G-Briggs Danner (1), 2. 17-Matt Tanner (2), 3. 20-Alex Bright (6), 4. 32K-Brian Krummel (4), 5. 17J-Jonathan Swanson (3), 6. 32-Colin White (7), 7. 98-Dan Malley (8), 8. 67-Jason Cherry (5). NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, shortened to 14 laps due to rain, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Billy VanInwegen Jr. (5), 2. Alex Bright (3), 3. Matt Tanner (2), 4. Briggs Danner (7), 5. Damon Paul (9), 6. Kenny Miller III (1), 7. Justin Mills (6), 8. Eric Jennings (8), 9. Jonathan Swanson (10), 10. Thomas Radivoy (11), 11. Brian Krummel (4), 12. Colin White (12), 13. Dan Malley (14), 14. Jason Cherry (16), 15. Lee Kauffman (13), 16. Mick D'Agostino (17), 17. Steve Kyser (15). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Kenny Miller III, Laps 3-14 Billy VanInwegen.
USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE POINTS: 1-Alex Bright-1614, 2-Briggs Danner-1471, 3-Damon Paul-1190, 4-Nash Ely-1089, 5-Bruce Buckwalter Jr.-1003, 6-Steven Drevicki-954, 7-Kenny Miller III-914, 8-Joey Amantea-850, 9-Tommy Kunsman-832, 10-Ed Aikin-829.
NEXT USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE RACE: November 5, 2021 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Penske Shocks $100: Billy VanInwegen
Penske Shocks $50: Alex Bright
Penske Shocks $25: Matt Tanner
Ultra Shield 3rd Place: Matt Tanner
Ultra Shield 6th Place: Kenny Miller lll
Vahlco Wheels $50 Hard Charger: Billy VanInwegen (5th to 1st)
DAMION GARDNER STRIKES AGAIN AT PERRIS
PERRIS, CA – OCTOBER 23, 2021… Starting sixth, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) powered by "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr. on the sixteenth lap and led the rest of the way to score the victory at Perris Auto Speedway. Racing Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner's 30-lap triumph was his sixth AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car win of the campaign. "The Cadillac" Cody Williams, Chris Gansen, "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa, and hard charger Eddie Tafoya Jr. rounded out the top-five drivers.
Starting on the pole position, Chris Gansen set a torrid pace and led the first eight circuits on the half-mile clay oval. September 25th Perris winner "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr. had sliced his way from third and took over the top spot. Davis was running strong until mid-race, when a rear tire began to lose air pressure. Gardner was now in striking distance and slipped past the multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion. From there, the night belonged to "The Demon."
Before claiming the 89th series win of his career, Gardner earned the Woodland Auto Display Fast Time honors in qualifying by posting a time of 16.149 over the 24-car roster. The eight-time champion ran second in his heat race to Tommy "Thunder" Malcolm and would leave the Lake Perris Fairgrounds with a 75-point lead heading to the 25th Heimark / Anheuser Busch Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction on November 4-6th.
Driving Dino Napier's #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Tommy "Thunder" Malcolm (Corona, CA) held off Gardner to win the Flowdynamics Incorporated First Heat Race. Malcolm had qualified thirteenth overall and finished seventh in the main event. The versatile driver ranks sixth in championship points.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) raced to victory in the night's 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. Piloting the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen was eighth fast in time trials and finished third in the feature after leading the opening laps. At press time, Chris is fourth in the USAC/CRA point chase.
Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, CA) won the program's All Coast Construction Third Heat Race. Racing the family owned #51T Specialty Fasteners / DRC Chassis entry, Tafoya qualified fifteenth overall and was the In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award winner with a fifth place run from fifteenth. The 2019 Rookie of the Year sits eighth in the point standings.
By qualifying sixth, "The Cadillac" Cody Williams (Norco, CA) was the Shawn McDonald Memorial Qualifying Award Winer. Driving his #44 Trench Shoring / CRW Design and Machine DRC, Williams ran fifth in his heat race and had one of his best nights of the season with a second place run. "The Cadillac" is currently fifth in the point standings.
A.J. Bender (San Diego, CA) claimed the night's Shawn McDonald Memorial Feature Award with a sixth place finish. Piloting the family owned #21B K&R Motorsports / Schweitzer Racing DRC, Bender was tenth quick in time trials and placed sixth in his heat race. In limited starts, the California Lightning Sprint Car veteran is twelfth in USAC/CRA points.
Making his first start of the year, Jace Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA) placed thirteenth in the feature and earned the Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award. Driving the family owned #88 Vander Weerd Construction / Stone Gate Development KPC, Jace was sixteenth fast in time trials and was fifth in his heat race. The 2010 Rookie of the Year is tied for 56th in points.
The USAC/CRA Sprint Cars are back in action at Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA) for the "25th Heimark / Anheuser Busch Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction" on November 4-6th.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 23, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-16.149; 2. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.184; 3. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-16.348; 4. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.508; 5. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.598; 6. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.605; 7. Stevie Sussex, 12, Allen-16.605; 8. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-16.637; 9. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.653; 10. A.J. Bender, 21B, Bender-16.679; 11. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.741; 12. Tye Mihocko, 38, Crossno-16.777; 13. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.786; 14. Trent Williams, 52V, Williams-16.887; 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.920; 16. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.006; 17. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.181; 18. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.283; 19. Jake Hodges, 4, Hodges-17.312; 20. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-17.565; 21. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-17.749; 22. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-17.583; 23. Ikaika O'Brien, 11O, O'Brien-17.618; 24. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-18.297.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. Gardner, 3. Roa, 4. Sussex, 5. Vander Weerd, 6. Bender, 7. Hodges, 8. O'Brien. 2:48.95
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gansen, 2. Mitchell, 3. Sweeney, 4. Davis, 5. McCarthy, 6. T.Williams, 7. Owens, 8. A.Williams. 2:49.60.
ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tafoya, 2. L.Williams, 3. Cling, 4. Mihocko, 5. C.Williams, 6. Grabowski, 7. Dyer, 8. Taylor. 2:49.63.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Damion Gardner (6), 2. Cody Williams (8), 3. Chris Gansen (1), 4. Brody Roa (4), 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (15), 6. A.J. Bender (10), 7. Tommy Malcolm (13), 8. Logan Williams (9), 9. Trent Williams (14), 10. Charles Davis Jr. (3), 11. Matt McCarthy (20), 12. Jake Hodges (19), 13. Jace Vander Weerd (16), 14. Verne Sweeney (17), 15. Ikaika O'Brien (22), 16. Dan Taylor (24), 17. Sterling Cling (5), 18. Brent Owens (23), 19. Austin Grabowski (18), 20. Tye Mihocko (12), 21. Matt Mitchell (11), 22. Austin Williams (7), 23. Stevie Sussex (2), 24. Jeff Dyer (21). NT.
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**A.Williams flipped on lap 15 of the feature. Mitchell flipped on lap 16 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Gansen, Laps 9-15 Davis, Laps 16-30 Gardner
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Eddie Tafoya (15th to 5th)
SHAWN McDONALD MEMORIAL QUALIFYING AWARD: Cody Williams
SHAWN McDONALD MEMORIAL FEATURE AWARD: A.J. Bender
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Jace Vander Weerd
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1172, 2-Brody Roa-1097, 3-Austin Williams-960, 4-Chris Gansen-912, 5-Cody Williams-850, 6-Tommy Malcolm-826, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-715, 8-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-583, 9-Verne Sweeney-580. 10-Matt McCarthy-554,
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: November 4-6 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – "25th Heimark / Anheuser Busch Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction" – Co-Sanctioned with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series
LEFFLER MEMORIAL GOES INDOORS FOR
USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT DEC. 18 AT Du QUOIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (October 21, 2021)………The Jason Leffler Memorial has been a staple of the racing calendar for much of the past decade, but on Saturday night, December 18, the eighth running of the event will see a new venue as the race goes indoors for the first time in its history.
The 8th running of the Jason Leffler Memorial Presented by Fatheadz Eyewear returns to the USAC schedule under the roof of the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin for a USAC Midget non-points special event that will pay $8,000 to win the 50-lap feature on the 1/5-mile dirt oval.
Initially, the event was to be held outdoors at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill. on October 8, but was rained out. With the event going indoors, rain is out of the question, but the thrills of midget racing on a dirt bullring in southern Illinois remain unchanged.
The Leffler Memorial has featured seven different winners in its previous seven editions. Since the dawn of the event in 2013, a new winner has emerged on each and every occasion.
The event honors the life and memory of Leffler, the four-time USAC National driving champion (1997-98-99 Midget & 1998 Silver Crown) who lost his life in a sprint car accident at New Jersey's Bridgeport Speedway in June of 2013.
A format similar to the Chili Bowl will be utilized with drivers accumulating points based on their advancement and finishing position during the heats and qualifying races, which will seed the feature lineup.
Ten previous USAC-sanctioned midget events have been held at the Southern Illinois Center, including four in recent years during the month of December. Those wintertime classics were won by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2015), Tyler Courtney (2016), Christopher Bell (2017) and Thomas Meseraull (2018). Daniel Robinson captured a USAC Midwest Regional Midget victory at SIC on September 1 of this year.
Event times, ticket prices and more will be announced shortly.
USAC TO SANCTION THREE SERIES
ON THE ROAD TO INDY
PALMETTO, Fla. – Andersen Promotions today announced a new agreement with the United States Auto Club (USAC Racing) to become the sanctioning body for the three racing series owned and operated by the organization – the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship and Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires as well as the new USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires.
Both USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 are key steps on the highly visible Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, a scholarship-supported driver development platform to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indianapolis 500. The recently announced USF Juniors is a pre-step to the ladder system offering its champion a scholarship package to enter USF2000.
USAC Racing has enjoyed a storied history since being formed in 1956 as a sanctioning body for the United States National Championship and the Indianapolis 500. While its portfolio is best known in the circle track arena with Silver Crown, Sprint, Midget and .25 Midget sanctioning, it now governs a diverse motorsports platform which also includes the SRO World Challenge, Porsche Sprint Challenge and the SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks.
"Thirty years ago when I first announced the USF2000 series launch in 1991, USAC stepped up and was my first sanctioning body," said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. "We've come full circle and I am very pleased to be back with them and look forward to a long-term relationship. USAC Racing is widely recognized for its operation of Midgets, Sprint cars and Silver Crown cars but they are also becoming increasingly prominent in road racing with Porsche and SRO. This is a great sanctioning body, and we are proud to be with them.
"I would also like to thank INDYCAR, which has sanctioned the Road to Indy since its inception in 2010. INDYCAR's focus is, understandably, on series it owns and operates. We'll continue to use their services on race weekends and look forward to our ongoing relationship as a support series where our drivers continue along their path toward the NTT INDYCAR SERIES."
USAC Racing sanctioning services will include licensing and membership management, which will result in cost savings for teams and drivers. Andersen Promotions will continue to contract the services of INDYCAR for Race Control, Timing & Scoring and the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team with all events on its 2022 calendar for USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 in support of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
The Road to Indy will be back in action later this month with its traditional Chris Griffis Memorial Open Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on October 30/31. The outing will feature all three levels of the ladder including Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, which is owned by INDYCAR and will continue to operate under its sanction.
About USAC: Since 1956, United States Auto Club (USAC Racing) has proven itself as being the most diversified motorsports sanctioning body in the world. It is the official sanctioning body of many of today's largest racing series including its own suite of circle track series in Silver Crown, Sprint, Midget and .25 Midget racing, SRO World Challenge, Porsche Sprint Challenge, NRX Rallycross, American Rally Association, International Snowmobile Racing, Robby Gordon Stadium Trucks, Ultra 4 Racing, Red Bull Scramble Series and USAC Karting. USAC has over 20,000 competitors racing at more than 1,000 sanctioned events globally.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS RETURN TO PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY
By Lance Jennings
OCTOBER 19, 2021... The championship battle for the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will continue this Saturday, October 23rd at Perris Auto Speedway. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the sixteenth point race will also feature the popular PAS Senior Sprint Cars. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds in Perris, California, the spectator gates at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will open at 5:00pm and racing is scheduled for 7:00pm. For more event information or advance tickets, visit perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134. For those that cannot be at the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
At intermission, there will be a candy giveaway for kids and a USAC/CRA driver/team meet and greet with the fans on the front straightaway.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- THE 2019 RULE BOOK will be followed in regards to race format and weight rule (1,325 lbs. with driver)
- 2021 APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Hoosier 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A are legal with the USAC/CRA. Hoosier Tires are mandatory on all four corners and this follows the USAC National Series rulebook.
- 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.)
- 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.
- 2021 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.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY: Series officials will have transponders to rent at the track for those racers that do not have them.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 229 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-two different drivers have claimed victory. "The Demon" Damion Gardner leads all drivers with 48 "home track" wins and Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012. This season, Gardner (twice), "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (twice), "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams, and "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr. have claimed feature wins at the series' "home track." A complete USAC/CRA win list at Perris is at the end of this release.
Heading to the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) has a 62-point lead over the competition. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner won the October 2nd "Hall of Fame Classic" at Arizona Speedway, At press time, the eight-time champion has posted five feature wins, five Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, seven heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, thirteen top-10 finishes, and 110 feature laps led on the year. The "World's Fastest Sprint Car Driver" has eighty-eight series wins and will be looking to continue his championship bid with another victory at The PAS!
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) ranks second in the chase for the championship. Racing the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa charged from ninth to score third at the "Hall of Fame Classic." At press time, the 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, five heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, thirteen top-10 finishes and 59 feature laps led in the campaign. With ten career victories, Brody will have his sights on gaining valuable points with a victory this Saturday night.
"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) sits third in the championship point standings. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Lucas Oil DRC, Williams finished second to Gardner at San Tan Valley after starting seventh. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, eleven top-10 finishes and 72 feature laps led to his credit. "The Big Game Hunter" has eleven career wins and will be looking to add another Perris trophy to his collection.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) is fourth in the USAC/CRA point chase. Driving the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen placed ninth in the October 2nd main event. At press time, the veteran driver has posted one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, fourteen top-10 finishes, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, and 1 feature lap led on the season. This Saturday night, Chris will have his sights on earning his first USAC/CRA victory at Perris Auto Speedway.
"The Cadillac" Cody Williams (Corona, CA) ranks fifth in the point standings. Racing his #44 Trench Shoring / CRW Designs and Machining DRC, Williams scored sixteenth at San Tan Valley after an early flip. To date, the 2010 Victorville Sprint Car Champion has three heat race victories, eight top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led in the campaign. Cody has one career USAC/CRA win and will be looking to claim his first triumph at his "home track."
Heading to Perris, Austin Grabowksi (Riverside, CA) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA). Jake Hodges (Camarillo, CA), Brent Owens (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI), and Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Tommy "Thunder" Malcolm, "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr., Verne Sweeney, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Matt McCarthy, Logan Williams, A.J. Bender, Matt Mitchell, "Speedy" Stevie Sussex, Jeff Dyer, Joel Rayborne, Steve Hix, Troy Rutherford, Dan Taylor, "T Dub" Trent Williams, 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 and over) are $25, Kids tickets (6-12) are $5, and Children's tickets (5 and under) are FREE. Walk up tickets will be sold and advance tickets can be purchased online at perrisautospeedway.com or by calling 951.940.0134.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, surfNsprint.com, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 5-Damion Gardner, 2-Max Adams, 2-Brody Roa, 2-Austin Williams, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Carson Short, 1-Ryan Timmons.
PERRIS AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 48-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Matt Mitchell, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 5-Justin Grant, 4-Robert Ballou, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 4-Brody Roa, 3-Garrett Hansen, 2-Brady Bacon, 2-Charles Davis Jr., 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr., 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-Jake Swanson, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Jason York.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Damion Gardner-1089, 2. Brody Roa-1027, 3. Austin Williams-931, 4. Chris Gansen-840, 5. Cody Williams-778, 6. Tommy Malcolm-766, 7. Charles Davis Jr.-665, 8. Verne Sweeney-539, 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-517, 10. Matt McCarthy-509, 11. Danny Faria Jr.-473, 12. Logan Williams-464, 13. A.J. Bender-423, 14. Matt Mitchell-408, 15. Austin Grabowski �-407, 16. Stevie Sussex-377, 17. Chase Johnson-324, 18. Ryan Timmons �-290, 19. Brent Owens �-261, 20. Jake Hodges �-239, 21. Jeff Dyer-233, 22. Joel Rayborne-223, 23. Steve Hix-215, 24. Max Adams-195, 25. R.J. Johnson-186, 26. Austin Liggett-182, 27. Shane Sexton �-169, 28. Troy Rutherford-160, 29. Dan Taylor-145, 30. Ikaika O'Brien �-141, 31. Nate Schank-141, 32. Austin Ervine-138, 33. Daniel Whitley-132, ---. Trent Williams-132, 35. Tony Gomes-129, 36. Ryan Bernal-122, 37. Rick Hendrix-119, 38. Carson Short-111, 39. Kaleb Montgomery-110, ---. Chris Bonneau-110, 41. Davey Ray-105, 42. Kyle Edwards-87, ---. Randy Nelson-87, 44. Shane Hopkins-79, 45. James Herrera-77, 46. Tanner Boul �-75, ---. Travis Buckley-75, 48. Jarrett Soares-72, 49. Trevor Schmid-68, 50. Jonas Reynolds-66, 51. Cal Smith-53, 52. Christopher Muraoka-51, 53. Ron Laplant-50, 54. Tyler Hatzikian-42, ---. Jake Helsel-42, 56. James Heling-41, 57. Gary Paulson-39, 58. Frank Herman-35, ---. Kalib Henry-35, ---. Jake Morgan-35, 61. Logan Calderwood-34, 62. Tom Hendricks-28, 63. Danny Sheridan-26, 64. Daylin Perreira-21, 65. Denny McNary-20, ---. Cody Smith-20, 67. Gary Marshall Jr.-10, ---. Sheldon Moniz-10, ---. Tony Richards-10, ---. Bradley Terrell-10, ---. Clint Motta-10, ---. Boy Moniz-10, ---. Nathan Johnson-10, ---. Ryan Owens-10, ---. Troy DeGaton-10.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
March 12: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park– Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
March 13: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
March 26: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
April 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
May 1: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
May 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
May 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 3: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (CANCELLED)
July 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
August 14: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
September 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Carson Short)
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
September 6: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
September 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
October 2: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Winner: Damion Gardner)
October 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 12: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 13: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.
GRANT STANDS ATOP CURB SUPER LICENSE POINTS
ENTERING NOVEMEBER USAC RACES
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (October 19, 2021)………Justin Grant has won in all three USAC National divisions in 2021, and his prowess in Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget competition has positioned the Ione, Calif. driver atop the Mike Curb Super License point standings entering the final month of the season in November.
Grant's combined total of 4639 points in the three divisions has given him a 199-point lead in the Curb points as he aspires for his second Super License title after winning previously in 2017.
Reigning champion Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) stands second behind Grant with Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) 3rd, Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) 4th and Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) 5th encompassing the top-five.
This is the 23rd consecutive year for the Mike Curb Super License, which will pay a $5,000 reward and a USAC Super License worth $750 to the driver who finishes with the most combined USAC National points in the three series throughout the season.
Previous Super License/USAC National Driver Championship titlists include Dave Darland (1999 & 2015), Tracy Hines (2000-2008-2013-2014), J.J. Yeley (2001-2002-2003), Jay Drake (2004), Josh Wise (2005-2006), Jerry Coons Jr. (2007), Cole Whitt (2009), Bryan Clauson (2010-2011-2012), Brady Bacon (2016), Justin Grant (2017), Tyler Courtney (2018-2019) and Chris Windom (2020).
Fourteen USAC National events remain in November – five Sprint Car and nine Midget. The five Sprint Car dates include three-straight nights at California's Perris Auto Speedway on Nov. 4-5-6 and back-to-back evenings at Arizona Speedway on Nov. 12-13.
The run of nine Midget events begins at Arizona Speedway on Nov. 12-13, then it's onto California for the final seven, starting at Bakersfield Speedway on Nov. 16, then three-in-a-row at Placerville Speedway on Nov. 18-19-20, twice at Merced Speedway on Nov. 23-25, then the finale at Ventura Raceway on Nov. 27.
2021 USAC MIKE CURB SUPER LICENSE POINT STANDINGS:
(As of October 19, 2021)
1. 4639 Justin Grant
2. 4440 Chris Windom
3. 4184 Kevin Thomas Jr.
4. 4125 Tanner Thorson
5. 3642 Logan Seavey
6. 3107 Brady Bacon
7. 2518 Thomas Meseraull
8. 2423 C.J. Leary
9. 2415 Jake Swanson
10. 2099 Robert Ballou
11. 1983 Buddy Kofoid
12. 1877 Kyle Cummins
13. 1840 Emerson Axsom
14. 1834 Daison Pursley
15. 1752 Chase Stockon
16. 1486 Shane Cottle
17. 1409 Cannon McIntosh
18. 1250 Matt Westfall
19. 1242 Chase Randall
20. 1112 Jason McDougal
21. 1050 Brandon Mattox
22. 1036 Jadon Rogers
23. 966 Ethan Mitchell
24. 938 Brenham Crouch
25. 901 Cole Bodine
26. 882 Bryant Wiedeman
27. 859 Paul Nienhiser
28. 681 Hayden Reinbold
29. 598 Hayden Williams
30. 590 Mario Clouser
31. 582 Kaylee Bryson
32. 574 Kody Swanson
33. 574 Max Adams
34. 505 Carmen Perigo
35. 481 Trey Gropp
36. 477 Stevie Sussex
37. 471 Isaac Chapple
38. 469 Corey Day
39. 455 Steven Drevicki
40. 436 Briggs Danner
41. 424 Charles Davis Jr.
42. 422 Ryan Timms
43. 404 Matt Goodnight
44. 399 Timmy Buckwalter
45. 392 David Byrne
46. 388 Chance Crum
47. 383 Kyle Robbins
48. 349 Sam Johnson
49. 348 Austin Nemire
50. 328 Shane Cockrum
51. 313 Brian Carber
52. 310 Travis Welpott
53. 305 Mike Haggenbottom
54. 294 Mark Smith
55. 292 Sterling Cling
56. 281 Brent Beauchamp
57. 280 Nick Bilbee
58. 265 Bobby Santos
59. 264 Austin Barnhill
60. 240 Riley Kreisel
61. 228 Carson Garrett
62. 228 Ricky Lewis
63. 224 Eric Gordon
64. 219 Taylor Reimer
65. 208 Dave Berkheimer
66. 204 Kyle O'Gara
67. 196 Travis Buckley
68. 187 Stephen Schnapf
69. 176 Jonathan Shafer
70. 167 Davey Ray
71. 166 Casey Buckman
72. 164 Brian Tyler
73. 162 Ryan Thomas
74. 159 Patrick Lawson
75. 155 Harley Burns
76. 152 Kendall Ruble
77. 148 Aaron Pierce
78. 146 Dave Darland
79. 145 Nathan Byrd
80. 144 Jake Neuman
81. 139 Dallas Hewitt
82. 137 Tyler Thomas
83. 126 Robert Bell
84. 125 Bryan Gossel
85. 125 Zack Pretorius
86. 123 Taylor Ferns
87. 122 Jerry Coons Jr.
88. 121 Kent Schmidt
89. 114 Critter Malone
90. 112 Terry Babb
91. 111 Tanner Carrick
92. 104 Tyler Roahrig
93. 103 Annie Breidinger
94. 95 Kyle Steffens
95. 93 Tyler Courtney
96. 91 Jake Day
97. 91 J.J. Hughes
98. 90 Blake Brannon
99. 90 Braxton Cummings
100. 90 Oliver Akard
101. 89 Tanner Swanson
102. 86 Chris Phillips
103. 85 Derek Bischak
104. 82 Brandon Morin
105. 82 Jim Anderson
106. 80 Noah Gass
107. 80 Brayden Fox
108. 79 Russ Gamester
109. 77 Clinton Boyles
110. 72 Kenney Johnson
111. 71 Joey Biasi
112. 62 Chris Fetter
113. 62 Jacob Denney
114. 60 Dustin Clark
115. 60 Mike McVetta
116. 60 Saban Bibent
117. 60 Zach Daum
118. 58 Davey Hamilton Jr.
119. 50 Emilio Hoover
120. 50 Wyatt Burks
121. 44 Ken Schrader
122. 43 Korey Weyant
123. 42 Nathan Moore
124. 40 Blake Spicer
125. 40 Craig Pellegrini
126. 40 J.R. Ewing
127. 39 Chase Johnson
128. 36 Danny Long
129. 34 Travis Berryhill
130. 33 Steven Russell
131. 30 Tyler Nelson
132. 23 Ryan Newman
133. 20 Anton Hernandez
134. 20 Brent Yarnal
135. 20 Chayse Hayhurst
136. 20 Chris Urish
137. 20 Erik Karlsen
138. 20 Joe Liguori
139. 20 Ryan Bickett
140. 20 Shane Butler
141. 16 Dave Peperak
142. 10 Aaron Farney
143. 10 Brian Gerster
144. 10 Cary Oliver
145. 10 Kyle Hamilton
146. 10 Ronnie Wuerdeman
JAKE ANDREOTTI GETS FIRST WIN AT VENTURA
VENTURA, CA – OCTOBER 16, 2021… Starting second, Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, CA) led 27 laps to earn his first career USAC Western States Midget triumph at Ventura Raceway. Racing the Pete Davis owned #00 Hot Head Competition Heaters / Buchannan Automotive Stealth, the rookie contender finished ahead of fast qualifier Logan Seavey, Chase Johnson, Robby Josett, and hard charger Dylan Ito.
Pole-sitter Mike Leach Jr. led the opening three circuits at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Searching for traction, the young driver bobbled and Andreotti sliced his way to the top spot. Once out front, Jake began to build a lead as Seavey took over second with Johnson close by in third. Seavey applied pressure to Andreotti for the lead, however, the young driver continued to hit his marks and sailed to the checkered flag.
Before winning the 30-lap main event, Andreotti qualified seventh overall out of the eighteen car roster and ran second to C.J. Sarna in his heat race. Racing a limited schedule, Jake heads to Hanford's final point race on October 29th ranked fourteenth in the point standings.
Making his first USAC Western start of the year, Logan Seavey (Brownsburg, IN) earned fast time honors in Woodland Auto Display Qualifying with a time of 11.889. Driving Tom Malloy's #25 Trench Shoring / Rodela Fabrication King, Seavey claimed third in his heat race and finished second in the feature. Preparing for November's "80th Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix" at Ventura, Logan sits thirty-first in points.
C.J. Sarna (Brea, CA) raced to victory in the night's Extreme Mufflers / Walker Performance Filtration First Heat Race. Piloting his #20 ZMAX / Final Final Lifestyle Spike, Sarna was ninth quick in time trials and scored seventh in the main event. At press time, the second generation driver is third in championship points.
Robby Josett (Santa Clarita, CA) won the night's Competition Suspension Inc. / Ultra Shield Race Products / Superior Bearing & Supply Second Heat Race. Racing Keith Ford's #73B Sun Valley AG Transport / Pacific Coast Maintenance Service TCR, Josett qualified tenth overall and scored fourth in the main event after starting eighth. The veteran driver left the seaside oval ranked eighteenth in the point chase.
Dylan Ito (Ventura, CA) earned the night's Rod End Supply / Finish Line Promotions by Stephanie Odom Hard Charger Award with a fifth place run from fourteenth. Driving Keith Ford's #73 Naturipe / Sun Valley AG Transport Triple X, Ito was fourteenth fast in qualifying and seventh in his heat race. Dylan left Ventura Raceway placed eleventh in the chase for the championship.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Caden Sarale (Stockton, CA) claimed the night's Wilwood Disc Brakes "Lucky 13 Award." Piloting his #32 Tel-Tac / Sarale Trucking CS9, Sarale qualified sixth overall and placed fifth in his heat race. In limited action, the second generation driver is twenty-sixth in USAC Western points.
Officials with the USAC Western States Midget Series want to give special thanks to Walker Performance Filtration, Superior Bearing and Supply, Western Flyer Xpress, Wireless 101, and Finish Line Promotions by Stephanie Odom for their additional sponsorship at Ventura.
The USAC Western States Midgets will return to action on Friday, October 29th, for their final point race / "Anthony Simone Classic" at Keller Auto Speedway (Hanford, CA).
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing.com, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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 on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 16, 2021 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATONS: 1. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-11.889; 2. Chase Johnson, 7NZ, Buckley-11.947; 3. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-12.152; 4. Ben Worth, 5K, Alexander-12.194; 5. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-12.281; 6. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.307; 7. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.424; 8. Mike Leach Jr., 33P, Leach-12.457; 9. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-12.515; 10. Robby Josett, 73B, Ford-12.576; 11. Tony Gomes, 1X, LKK-12.590; 12. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.600; 13. Troy Rutherford, 8W, Woodland-12.714; 14. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-12.998; 15. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-13.222; 16. Joey Bishop, 45, Bishop-13.409; 17. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-NT; 18. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS / WALKER PERFORMANCE FILTRATION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sarna, 2. Andreotti, 3. Seavey, 4. McQueen, 5. Bower, 6. Rutherford, 7. Hazelton. NT.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS / SUPERIOR BEARING & SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Josett, 2. Johnson, 3. Leach, 4. Worth, 5. Sarale, 6. Fuson, 7. Ito, 8. Bishop. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Jake Andreotti (2), 2. Logan Seavey (6), 3. Chase Johnson (5), 4. Robby Josett (8), 5. Dylan Ito (14), 6. Blake Bower (9), 7. C.J. Sarna (7), 8. Ron Hazelton (15), 9. Ben Worth (3), 10. Troy Rutherford (13), 11. Joey Bishop (16), 12. Mike Leach Jr. (1), 13. Caden Sarale (10), 14. Shannon McQueen (4), 15. Brody Fuson (12), 16. Randi Pankratz (17). NT. ---------------------------- **Fuson flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Gomes did not start feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Leach, Laps 4-30 Andreotti
ROD END SUPPLY / FINISH LINE PROMOTIONS BY STEPHANIE ODOM HARD CHARGER: Dylan Ito (14th to 5th) WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Caden Sarale
NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Blake Bower-788, 2-Brody Fuson-732, 3-C.J. Sarna-648, 4-Austin Liggett-549, 5-Chase Johnson-460, 6-Shannon McQueen-418, 7-Ben Worth-405, 8-Jarrett Soares-392, 9-Ron Hazelton-346, 10-David Prickett-334.
NEXT USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: October 29 – Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, California – "Anthony Simone Classic"
TIMMONS TOPS VENTURA FEATURE; JOHNSON EARNS CHAMPIONSHIP
VENTURA, CA – OCTOBER 16, 2021… Taking control from Kyle Edwards on the twelfth lap, Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA) scored his first USAC West Coast Sprint Car win of the season. Piloting the family owned #29T Timmons Auto & Truck Repair / Red Line Oil Maxim, Timmons won the 30-lap feature at Ventura Raceway over newly crowned champion D.J. Johnson, Caden Sarale, Troy Rutherford, and hard charger Jarrett Soares, who earned rookie of the year honors.
Making his first start of the year, Sarale led the first three laps from the pole position. With changing track conditions, Edwards slipped by the second generation driver for the top spot. As most drivers found the bottom groove to their liking, Edwards searched for another line to attack the speedway. Racing from third, Timmons took advantage of an Edwards miscue to grab the top spot nine laps later. Once out front, the night belonged to the former rookie of the year who earned the fifth series win of his career.
Before winning the season's final point race, Timmons qualified sixth overall out of the sixteen car roster and won the night's Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars Second Heat Race. Ryan finished the campaign ranked second in the chase for the championship.
Steve Hix (Ventura, CA) posted the first Woodland Auto Display fast time award of his career. Driving his #57 No Limit Motorsports / Raney Racing Engines Triple X, Hix placed third in his heat race and finished seventh in the main event. In limited starts, Hix finished twenty-ninth in the point standings.
Kyle Edwards (Fountain Valley, CA) took the checkered flags in the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers First Heat Race. Racing the family owned #39 Safehouse Security / Van Dyne Engineering Maxim, Edwards was seventh quick in time trials and placed sixth in the main event. Despite missing some key races, Kyle placed sixth in the USAC West Coast point chase.
Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA) earned the night's Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award with a fifth place run from tenth. Piloting the family owned #12 DenBeste Water Solutions / C&H Veteran Enterprises Maxim, Soares qualified ninth overall and ran fifth in his heat race. By finishing third in the point standings, Jarrett earned rookie of the year honors after a hard fought season.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Tanner Boul (Auberry, CA) claimed the night's Wilwood Disc Brakes "Lucky 13 Award." Piloting the family owned #99T King Racing Products / BR Motorsports Triple X, Boul was fourth quick in time trials and placed sixth in his heat race. Tanner closed out his 2021 campaign ranked fifth in championship points.
Ventura Raceway will feature the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars on November 26th and 27th as part of the "80th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix." The non-point special events will also showcase the USAC National Midget Series.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Hoosier Racing Tires, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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 series Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 16, 2021 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – co-sanctioned with VRA
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATONS: 1. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-12.586; 2. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-12.632; 3. Rick Hendrix, 15, Hendrix-12.679; 4. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-12.746; 5. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-12.773; 6. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-12.844; 7. Kyle Edwards, 39, Edwards-12.882; 8. Jake Hodges, 4, Hodges-13.066; 9. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-13.114; 10. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-13.145; 11. Joey Bishop, 45, Bishop-13.182; 12. Troy DeGaton, 39T, DeGaton-13.270; 13. Trent Carter, 13, Carter-13.310; 14. Bruce Douglass, 13X, Davis-13.368; 15. James Herrera, 5J, Herrera-13.398; 16. Hannah Mayhew, 43, Mayhew-13.551.
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Edwards, 2. Bishop, 3. Hix, 4. Johnson, 5. Soares, 6. Carter, 7. Herrera, 8. Hendrix. NT.
SWAY-A-WAY TORSION BARS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Timmons, 2. Sarale, 3. Rutherford, 4. DeGaton, 5. Hodges, 6. Boul, 7. Douglass, 8. Mayhew. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Ryan Timmons (3), 2. D.J. Johnson (4), 3. Caden Sarale (1), 4. Troy Rutherford (5), 5. Jarrett Soares (10), 6. Kyle Edwards (2), 7. Steve Hix (6), 8. Trent Carter (13), 9. Bruce Douglass (14), 10. Jake Hodges (9), 11. James Herrera (15), 12. Troy DeGaton (12), 13. Tanner Boul (8), 14. Joey Bishop (11), 15. Hannah Mayhew (16). NT.
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**Hendrix did not start feature
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Sarale, Laps 4-11 Edwards, Laps 12-30 Timmons.
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Jarrett Soares (10th to 5th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Tanner Boul
FINAL USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-D.J. Johnson-658, 2-Ryan Timmons-532, 3-Jarrett Soares-451, 4-Austin Liggett-373, 5-Tanner Boul-353, 6-Kyle Edwards-342, 7-Jake Hodges-291, 8-Jacob Tuttle-266, 9-Kaleb Montgomery-257, 10-Brody Fuson-256.
NEXT USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SPECIAL EVENTS: November 26 & 27 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – "80th Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix"
BATTLE FOR USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CROWN HEADS TO VENTURA
By Lance Jennings
OCTOBER 13, 2021... After a hard fought race at Hanford, the battle for the USAC Western States Midget Championship continues this Saturday, October 16th at Ventura Raceway (Ventura, CA). Promoted by Jim Naylor, the penultimate point race is also a tune-up for November's "80th Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix." The action packed card will also showcase the USAC West Coast versus VRA 360 Sprint Cars, Dwarf Cars, WMR Western Midgets, Hobby Stocks, and Motorcycles. 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. For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- NO ENTRY FEE IN 2021. ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS OR TEMPORARY PERMITS (TPs) ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. TPs are $25 and Memberships are $150.
- 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.
- 2021 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 *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY.
- The USAC Western States Midget Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
ADDITIONAL CASH BONUSES AT VENTURA:
- The first heat race winner will earn $100 cash (Thanks to Walker Performance Filtration).
- The second heat race winner will receive $100 cash (Thanks to Superior Bearing & Supply).
- The third heat race winner will earn $100 cash (Thanks to Western Flyer Xpress).
- The long haul award will receive $100 cash (Thanks to Wireless 101).
- The hard charger will earn $100 cash (Thanks to Finish Line Promotions by Stephanie Odom).
- Walker Performance Filtration will also award a complete filtration system to a random driver that supports midget racing through November 16th.
Since May 24, 1986, 151 USAC Western States Midget events have been held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Sleepy Tripp claimed the inaugural victory and leads all drivers with eighteen Ventura wins. Ben Worth took the checkered flags on June 5th and Hayden Williams took top honors on September 11th. At press time, Johnny Cofer holds the 1-lap qualifying record of 11.675, set on November 18, 1995 and a complete series Ventura win list is at the bottom of this release.
Heading to Ventura, Blake Bower (Brentwood, CA) has a 31-point lead over the competition. Driving Tony Boscacci's #9 Orland Public Auto Auction / Mountain Cascade Inc. Spike, Bower led four laps at Hanford before scoring fifth last Saturday night. At press time, the point leader has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, ten top-10 finishes, and 26 feature laps led to his credit. The rookie contender will be looking for his first USAC win at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA) ranks second in the chase for the championship. Racing Rusty Carlile's #51 RacePa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson won last Saturday's "Morrie Williams Memorial / Kenny Takeuchi Tribute" at Hanford. To date, the rookie contender has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Award, four heat race wins, eight top-10 finishes, and 41 feature laps led on the season. Brody will have his sights on gaining valuable points with a Ventura triumph.
C.J. Sarna (Brea, CA) has climbed to third in the championship point standings. Piloting his #20 ZMAX / Final Final Clothing Spike, Sarna placed eleventh at the Kings County Fairgrounds. At press time, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year has three heat race victories, three Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards, and seven top-10 finishes to his credit. Sarna has one career victory and will have his sights winning this Saturday night.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) sits fourth in USAC Western Midget point chase. The driver of the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Liggett Trucking Spike skipped the night's action at Hanford. To date, the 2018 USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, seven top-10 finishes and 57 feature laps led in the campaign. With four career wins, Liggett is a threat to win on any given night.
C.J. Sarna (Brea, CA) ranks fourth in the championship point chase. Racing his #20 ZMAX / Final Final Clothing Spike, Sarna placed fifteenth at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. To date, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year has three heat race victories, three Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards, and seven top-10 finishes to his credit. Sarna has one career victory and will have his sights winning at Keller Auto Speedway.
After running second to Brody Fuson at Hanford, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) has climbed to fifth in the point standings. Driving several cars, including Bill Buckley's #7NZ Buckley Systems / Esslinger Engineering Bullet, Johnson has posted two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, five top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led on the season. In limited appearances, the versatile driver is becoming a fan favorite.
While Bower leads the chase for rookie honors, Fuson (Bakersfield, CA), Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA), Tony Gomes (Modesto, CA), Colby Johnson (Penngrove, CA), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, CA), and Colton Raudman (Redding, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Shannon McQueen, Ben Worth, Ron Hazelton, Dylan Ito, Tony Gomes, Randi Pankratz, "The Panda" Terry Nichols, Jake Andreotti, Robby Josett, Troy Rutherford, Mike Leach Jr., 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 Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
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-Dennis Hart, 2-Johnathon Henry, 2-Brad Kuhn, 2-Kyle Larson, 2-Frank Pedregon, 2-Jerome Rodela, 2-Chuck West, 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-Stan Fox, 1-Russ Gamester, 1-Chuck Gurney, 1-Daryl Haugh, 1-Rick Hendrix, 1-A.J. Johnson, 1-Chase 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, 1-Ben Worth.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 2-Brody Fuson, 2-Chase Johnson, 2-Austin Liggett, 1-Maria Cofer, 1-Colby Johnson, 1-Mitchel Moles, 1-Hayden Williams, 1-Ben Worth.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT STANDINGS: 1. Blake Bower �-727, 2. Brody Fuson �-696, 3. C.J. Sarna-588, 4. Austin Liggett-549, 5. Chase Johnson-384, 6. Jarrett Soares �-382, 7. Shannon McQueen-374, 8. Ben Worth-351, 9. David Prickett-334, 10. Ron Hazelton-295, 11. Maria Cofer-282, 12. Colby Johnson �-281, 13. Dylan Ito-226, 14. Tony Gomes �-212, 15. Mitchel Moles-205, 16. Kyle Beilman-190, 17. Randi Pankratz-181, 18. Terry Nichols-173, ---. Kyle Mentch-173, 20. Jake Andreotti �-149, 21. Robby Josett-133, 22. Colton Raudman �-116, 23. Alex Schutte-113, 24. Troy Rutherford-105, 25. Matt Mitchell-104, 26. Dylan Bloomfield-82, 27. Hayden Williams-80, 28. Michael Faccinto-78, 29. Shane Golobic-77, 30. Ryan Bernal-75, ---. Travis Buckley-75, 32. Davey Ray-72, ---. Mike Leach Jr.-72, 34. Jade Avedisian-68, 35. Max Adams �-65, ---. Caden Sarale-65, 37. Beau Lemire-58, 38. Floyd Alvis-56, 39. Ashlyn Rodriguez-55, 40. Michael Snider-54, ---. Matt Streeter-54, 42. Thomas Esberg-53, 43. Troy Morris III-50, ---. Sparky Howard-50, ---. Ronnie Gardner-50, ---. Robert Carson-50, 47. Ben Wiesz-49, ---. Gage Rucker-49, 49. Kenny Welch-46, 50. Joey Bishop-44, 51. Kaleb Montgomery-36, 52. Jake Vermeer-27.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK – LOCATION
March 27: #Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 10: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Mitchel Moles)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Maria Cofer)
June 5: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Ben Worth)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
August 7: #Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Colby Johnson)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 11: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Hayden Williams)
October 9: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
October 10: #Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (CANCELLED)
October 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 29: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Anthony Simone Classic)
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# = Co-Sanctioned Event with Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA)
This schedule is subject to change.
TRIFECTA: SENSATIONAL SEAVEY MAKES USAC HISTORY WITH SILVER CROWN ROOKIE SEASON
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (October 14, 2021)………There have been scant few Rookies who were right in the thick of the USAC Silver Crown championship hunt going into the final event of the season.
Logan Seavey became one of those select few individuals during his 2021 campaign, getting as close as one point going into the season finale before, ultimately, finishing as the series runner-up behind now six-time series champion, Kody Swanson.
The Sutter, California driver's masterful efforts were good enough to earn himself 2021 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year honors, giving the past USAC National Midget champ a rare trifecta in the USAC National racing record books.
Seavey became just the second driver to earn Rookie of the Year honors in all three USAC National divisions in his career, joining Ryan Newman.
Seavey previously notched National Sprint Car and National Midget Rookie of the Year awards in 2018 as well. Newman was the National Midget top Rookie in 1995 and did so once again with Silver Crown in 1996 and National Sprint Cars in 1999.
The performance of Seavey also netted his Rice Motorsports team the series' entrant title in its first ever full-time try, giving both Rookie team and Rookie driver a satisfying conclusion to their debut season.
"I know it's a dream come true for (team owner) Robbie Rice as it is for me to be racing in this series, especially under the Rice Motorsports name," Seavey said. "It means a lot to him, and I'm happy I can be the guy doing it for him."
Seavey's Silver Crown journey with Rice Motorsports began in the 2020 season where he very nearly captured the Rookie of the Year title that season, coming up just five points shy of Bryan Gossel despite only making three starts. Seavey maintained his Rookie eligibility entering 2021 due to his total number of starts remaining under the five-start cutoff.
With that said, Seavey's initial intentions of capturing Rookie of the Year turned into season-long championship aspirations with the purchase of a pavement car from California's Ted Finkenbinder just mere weeks before the first race.
Quickly putting together the effort and instantly becoming a race-winning and championship-contending team in such a short amount of time is nothing short of extraordinary for the Fatheadz Eyewear – STIDA.com – Lucas Oil sponsored team which utilized a Beast chassis and a Foxco Chevy on pavement and a DRC/Pink Foxco Chevy on dirt.
"I have such an awesome team," Seavey reiterated. "Robbie has given me the opportunity of a lifetime to go Silver Crown racing. It's a huge dream of mine just to be able to drive one of these racecars. To be in contention for a championship in our first try is pretty unbelievable. I don't think anybody really saw it coming, even ourselves. We didn't even know we were going to be pavement racing this year until a couple weeks before the first race."
Seavey's second-place finish in the final standings ranks among the best all-time. In 1984, Dave Blaney became the first, and still only, Rookie to capture the Silver Crown championship. Eric Gordon (1990), Josh Wise (2005) and Chris Windom (2013) all finished as series runners-up during their initial years.
However, none of those listed above were able to win multiple races as Seavey did in 2021 on the half-mile dirt ovals of Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway and Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Only three Rookie drivers prior to Seavey had ever won twice: Jim Keeker (1992), Kenny Irwin Jr. (1994) and Kyle Larson (2011).
Likewise, Seavey also ended the longest drought of Rookie winners with the series, becoming the first to put his ride into victory lane in eight seasons, since Windom did so in 2013.
As expected, the dirt saw the bulk of the success for Seavey, Rice and the crew, featuring Ronnie Gardner. However, the early part of the season saw mixed results at the outset, leading 22 laps at Pennsylvania's Williams Grove Speedway before a steering issue knocked the team out just before halfway. An 8th place finish at Eldora in June followed, then the team truly hit its stride.
A win at Selinsgrove was followed up by consecutive second-place results on the Illinois dirt miles of Springfield and Du Quoin, then a second victory came in the series' return to Eldora during a dominating 4-Crown Nationals performance in September.
The pavement side of things saw steady finish after steady finish, led off by a 7th in May's season opener at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind., followed by an 11th in the series debut at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, an 8th at LOR and a 10th at Ohio's Toledo Speedway.
Most importantly, the team's goal of finishing all the pavement races came to fruition as they were running at the checkered flag in all four asphalt races, completing 395 of the 400 laps along the way.
With the foundation built and a year of groundwork laid down this season, a driving championship could be within reach heading into 2022 where they'll be earmarked as one of the odds-on favorites.
"Our dirt car was unbelievable," Seavey exclaimed. "The pavement car – we're still working on it. We just don't really have any experience in this kind of stuff, but we're getting better after every race. With the four races we did this year, we learned what we needed to do better and some things we can do to our racecar to make it better for these long races. We just struggle on the long runs, and that's what you've got to do to beat a guy like Kody."
Seavey was one of six drivers to start all 10 feature events on dirt and pavement. His eight top-10 finishes were tied with Swanson for the most in the series. His 169 laps ranked second only to Swanson with 304. Four top-five finishes by Seavey were dotted with the two best finishes by a Silver Crown Rookie this season.
In fact, Seavey was the top Rookie finisher in six of the 10 Silver Crown events: 7th on May 29 at Lucas Oil Raceway; 8th on June 26 at Eldora Speedway; 1st on August 8 at Selinsgrove Speedway; 2nd on August 21 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds; 2nd on September 6 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds; and 1st on September 25 at Eldora Speedway.
USAC'S WINTER DIRT GAMES XIII
DATES SET FOR FEBRUARY 2022
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ocala, Florida (October 14, 2021)………The dates are set to kick off the 2022 USAC National racing season!
The 13th edition of Winter Dirt Games at Ocala's Bubba Raceway Park will take place over two consecutive weekends in the month of February 2022 with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget and USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championships making their only visits to the state of Florida.
Winter Dirt Games XIII festivities begin on Thursday, February 10, with a practice night for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, followed by two-straight nights of complete shows for the series at the 3/8-mile D-shaped dirt track on Friday, February 11, and Saturday night's finale on February 12 in which the winner's share will be $5,000.
On-track action returns just a few nights later at Bubba Raceway Park with a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship practice night on Wednesday, February 16, followed by three nights in a row of racing on Thursday, February 17, on Friday, February 18, and the finale on Saturday, February 19, which pays $10,000-to-win.
USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets made their debut at Bubba Raceway Park in 2019 with Tyler Courtney sweeping both nights of feature events. Tanner Thorson and Chris Windom each scored Midget victories there in 2020. Buddy Kofoid and Thomas Meseraull each won the midget features in Ocala in 2021.
Twenty-eight previous USAC National Sprint Car events have been held at Bubba Raceway Park since 2011. Kevin Thomas Jr. and Justin Grant won features on each of the two nights back in February. Brady Bacon and Bryan Clauson are the winningest USAC Sprint Car drivers at Bubba's with four victories apiece.
Grant and Damion Gardner have each won three USAC Sprint features at Bubba's, while Tracy Hines, Tyler Courtney and Robert Ballou have each scored a pair of victories. Thomas Jr., Chris Windom, C.J. Leary, Darren Hagen, Dave Darland, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon and Hunter Schuerenberg have all won once.
USAC racing and the "Sunshine State" have a history that dates back to the club's origins in 1956. 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.
Likewise, Florida and USAC Midget racing have a history dating back to the initial years of the club. Only 24 times have USAC Midgets ventured to Florida over the years. Prior to the 2019 visit to Bubba's, the series took part in a 11-race series entitled the Tangerine Tournament in early 1957. Jimmy Knight, Sonny McDaniel, Andy Linden, Al Keller, Al Alpern, Leroy Warriner and Len Duncan were among the winners held at several different Florida venues. Linden took home the overall Tangerine Tournament crown.
USAC Midgets took on the pavement of New Smyrna Speedway for two nights in 2013, won by Bobby Santos and Kyle Larson. The first full USAC National Midget points races in Florida came in a weeklong span during 1963. Johnny Riva and Bob Wente were victorious at Palmetto Speedway while Chuck Rodee and Wente also picked up victories at Golden Gate Speedway. It was another 42 years before the series returned in 2005 for a non-points special event at Orlando Speed World Speedway, won by Josh Wise.
USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series
VENTURA HOSTS USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR "CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT"
By Lance Jennings
OCTOBER 12, 2021... This Saturday, October 16th, the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series will crown their champion at Ventura Raceway (Ventura, CA). Promoted by Jim Naylor, the final point race will also serve as a tune-up for November's "80th Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix." Co-sanctioned with the Ventura Racing Association (VRA), the event will also feature the USAC Western States Midgets, Dwarf Cars, WMR Western Midgets, Hobby Stocks, and Motorcycles. 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. For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- NO ENTRY FEE IN 2021. ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS OR TEMPORARY PERMITS (TPs) ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. TPs are $25 and Memberships are $150.
- 2021 ENGINE RULES: Legal ASCS spec cylinder head w/ 2 3/16 Injector/Restrictor; or 2 3/16 with any open legal head. All Open head must be within 1 degree of OEM Head. All heads ASCS and Open must be Chevy 23 degree plus or minus 1 degree. Ford 20 degree plus or minus 1 degree. Dodge 18 degree plus or minus 1 degree.
- 2021 WEIGHT RULE: 1,475 lbs. with driver for cars with an open cylinder head. Cars with an ASCS cylinder head must weigh 1,450 lbs. including driver.
- 2021 TIRE RULE: Due to the current tire shortages, any Hoosier Right Rear Tire is legal for competition with the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars. All four corners must be Hoosier.
- 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.
- ANY WINGLESS SPEC SPRINT is invited to race with the USAC West Coast Sprints and can run their rules 100 percent, including the tire rule.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
Since April 4, 2009, the Ventura County Fairgrounds has held seventeen West Coast 360 events and eleven different drivers have claimed victory. Led by Tristan Guardino and Jake Swanson with three wins, Guardino also set the 1-lap track record of 11.958 on March 23, 2019. Troy Rutherford won the last appearance at Ventura on June 26th.
Returning to USAC West Coast action, D.J. Johnson (Stockton, CA) holds a stout 134 point lead and has clinched the championship. Racing his #33 Bill's Tire Service of Pacheco / The Halstead Real Estate Eagle, Johnson scored fourth at Bakersfield on September 18th and missed the following night's debut at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park. The 2013 USAC Western Classic Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has yet to score a feature win this season, but has been very consistent by posting four heat race victories, one Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, seven top-10 finishes, and 5 feature laps led. Johnson has two career triumphs and will be looking to add Ventura to his win list.
Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA) ranks second in the chase for the championship. The pilot of the family owned #29T Timmons Auto & Truck Repair / Evergood Fine Foods Maxim skipped the Bakersfield and Kern County shows to race in the Midwest. At press time, the 2016 Rookie of the Year has two Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards and six top-10 finishes on the season. With four series wins to his credit, Ryan will have his sights on a victory at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA) has climbed to third in the point chase and has earned rookie of the year honors. Driving the family owned #12 DenBeste Water Solutions / C&H Veteran Enterprises Maxim, Soares finished eleventh at Bakersfield and fourth at Kern County. To date, the young driver has one heat race victory, and five top-10 finishes, and 2 feature laps led in the campaign. Jarrett will be looking to claim his first USAC West Coast victory this Saturday night.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) sits fourth in the USAC West Coast point standings. The pilot of the family owned #83 Excel Environmental / Liggett Trucking Maxim did not compete at Bakersfield and Kern County. At press time, the 2018 Champion has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four top-10 finishes and three feature laps led to his credit. With twelve career victories, Austin is a threat to win on any given night.
Tanner Boul (Auberry, CA) is fifth in the championship point chase. The driver of the family owned #99T King Racing Products / BR Motorsports Triple X did not compete at Bakersfield and Kern County. To date, the young driver has posted one heat race victory, one Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, and four top-10 finishes to his credit. Tanner will have his sights on earning his first win at Ventura Raceway.
Other rookie contenders are Jacob Tuttle (Oakley, CA), Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA), Cody Fendley (Placerville, CA), Cody Smith (Chico, CA), Logan Calderwood (Goodyear, AZ), Tuesday Calderwood (Goodyear, AZ), and Nate Schank (Santa Rosa, CA).
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Kyle Edwards, Kaleb Montgomery, Jake Hodges, Chase Johnson, Trent Carter, A.J. Bender, James Herrera, Troy Rutherford, Christopher Muraoka, Hannah Mayhew, Trent Williams, Steve Hix, and more.
A strong contingent of racers with the Ventura Racing Association (VRA) will be on hand. Veteran driver Rick Hendrix leads James Herrera, Jake Hodges, Chris Meredith, Travis Buckley, Troy Rutherford, Bruce Douglass, Hannah Mayhew, Joey Bishop, and Camie Bell.
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 AMSOIL, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, 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 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Tristan Guardino – 11.958 (03/23/19)
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Chase Johnson, 2-Ryan Bernal, 1-Shawn Arriaga, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-Cody Fendley, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Troy Rutherford.
VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: (Includes Non-Point Races) 3-Tristan Guardino, 3-Jake Swanson, 2-Ryan Bernal, 2-Troy Rutherford, 1-Brady Bacon, 1-Tyler Courtney, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-Johnathon Henry, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Austin Liggett, 1-Carson Macedo.
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. D.J. Johnson-584, 2. Ryan Timmons-453, 3. Jarrett Soares �-389, 4. Austin Liggett-373, 5. Tanner Boul-310, 6. Kyle Edwards-279, 7. Jacob Tuttle �-266, 8. Kaleb Montgomery-257, 9. Brody Fuson �-256, 10. Jake Hodges-244, 11. Ryan Bernal-241, 12. Chase Johnson-240, 13. Brody Roa-229, 14. Cody Fendley �-210, 15. Travis Buckley-173, 16. Danny Faria Jr.-165, 17. Trent Carter-163, 18. Cody Smith-158, 19. Logan Calderwood �-153, 20. A.J. Bender-146, 21. Kalib Henry-144, 22. James Herrera-139, 23. Tuesday Calderwood �-135, 24. Shane Hopkins-131, 25. Nate Schank �-130, 26. Troy Rutherford-127, 27. Christopher Muraoka-126, 28. Hannah Mayhew-105, 29. Geoff Ensign-78, 30. Daniel Whitley-77, 31. Shawn Arriaga-75, 32. Joe Stornetta Jr.-73, 33. Trent Williams-69, 34. Heath Holdsclaw-67, 35. Jace Vander Weerd-66, 36. Tristan Guardino-60, ---. Bradley Terrell-60, 38. Trevor Schmid-60, 39. Trey Walters-56, 40. Gary Paulson-55, 41. Steve Hix-53, 42. Matt Day-52, 43. Grasen Ternora-50, 44. Bob Davis-48, ---. Zack Albers-48, 46. Bruce Douglass-47, ---. Jake Morgan-47, ---. Jeff Dyer-47, 49. David Lindt-45, 50. Rick Hendrix-42, 51. Dylan Bloomfield-36, 52. Braidon Moniz-32, 53. Jimmy Trulli-27, 54. Tom Hendricks-25, 55. Matt Streeter-24, 56. Bill Cornwell-11, 57. Kala Keliinoi-10, ---. Michael Faccinto-10.
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK - LOCATION
April 3: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
April 10: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Geoff Ensign)
June 12: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (CANCELLED)
June 26: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Troy Rutherford)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Cody Fendley)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Shawn Arriaga)
August 7: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 18: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
September 19: Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
October 9: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (CANCELLED)
October 10: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (CANCELLED)
October 16: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
November 26: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 27: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with VRA Sprints.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: RICE ADDS A USAC SILVER CROWN TITLE OF HIS OWN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (October 13, 2021)………Like father, like son.
Robbie Rice had a dream to become a USAC Silver Crown champion, and in 2021, that dream was fully realized as the series' entrant champion, making him the first ever second-generation Silver Crown champ, following his father, Larry Rice, who won titles as a driver in 1977 and 1981.
The team materialized as a dirt-only outfit on the 2020 USAC Silver Crown trail, contesting three events with 2018 USAC National Midget champion and Silver Crown Rookie, Logan Seavey, at the wheel where they displayed immediate speed and brilliance that just scraped the surface of the potential the Brownsburg, Ind. team possessed.
During the offseason prior to the start of the 2021 campaign, the team's initial plans were to have Seavey compete solely on the dirt side of the equation. However, mere weeks before the season opener on the pavement of Brownsburg's Lucas Oil Raceway in late May, a pavement car was added to the team's arsenal, setting the course for an assault on the series championship.
"We got all the pavement stuff from (team owner) Ted Finkenbinder," Rice revealed. "He's such a nice guy and a diehard racer. Without his continued support, the pavement wouldn't have happened. He's been very patient."
A miniscule level of pavement experience presented a continuous learning curve throughout the season, with a crew consisting of Rice, who last appeared on the pavement as a USAC Sprint Car driver in 2001, and crew member Ronnie Gardner, the five-time USAC Western States Midget titlist who won all 23 of his series races on the dirt. Plus, there was Seavey, whose open wheel experience on the asphalt was zilch.
As expected, the team excelled on the dirt in 2021, capturing both Rice's and Seavey's first triumphs with the series by winning twice on the half-mile ovals of Pennsylvania's Selinsgrove Speedway in August's Bill Holland Classic and once more at Ohio's Eldora Speedway in September's 4-Crown Nationals, while adding a pair of second place results on the Illinois miles of Springfield and Du Quoin in August and September, respectively.
On the pavement, the expectations were tempered, but the team excelled in that area with steady and realistic goals in mind – to finish, to be there at the end. That aspiration was checked off with the team finishing all four paved events to completion while completing all but five of the 400 laps run this season.
"We really wanted to concentrate on the dirt this year and get a win and we accomplished that," Rice explained. "We also just wanted to finish all the laps on the pavement, and we did that also. We accomplished our main goals this year, so that's great. Logan got some laps and got some experience. Ronnie (Gardner) and I got some experience in the shop as well, so we'll be ready to hit it again next year."
Officially licensed as No. 222, Rice Motorsports became the highest-numbered car to score the USAC Silver Crown entrant title, surpassing the No. 111 which Snider-Foyt Racing utilized during the 1999 season. Furthermore, Rice Motorsports' 109-point gap between themselves and second place BCR Group was 109 points, the largest margin of victory in the entrant standings since 2015.
Like Kody Swanson's driving championship season, Rice Motorsports' entrant title initially wasn't in the plans. With a Rookie driver and a relatively new Silver Crown team with just three prior races under its belt entering the year, it just proves what big things can be accomplished when a small, but dedicated group puts it together to fulfill a dream.
"I think we surprised ourselves a little bit," Rice admitted. "I just wish my dad was here. It was his favorite division of all, and to do this with Ronnie and Logan, it's been special."
USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRANT CHAMPIONS:
1971: Leader Card Racers #4
1972: A.J. Foyt Enterprises #3
1973: Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing #2
1974: Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing #2
1975: George Middleton #55
1976: Louie Seymour & Sons #29
1977: Dave LeFevre #4
1978: Johnny Capels #21
1979: Leader Card Racers #30
1980: Delrose-Holt Racing #12
1981: Johnny Vance #3
1982: Steve Enslow #9
1983: Delrose-Holt Racing #9
1984: Ralph & Jim DePalma #58
1985: Damon Fortune #39
1986: Bob Hampshire #63
1987: Bob Hampshire #63
1988: Kenneth Jarrett Farms #10
1989: Junior Kurtz #30
1990: Bob Consani #54
1991: Fred Ede #4
1992: Kenneth Jarrett Farms #10
1993: Del McClure #69
1994: Gary Stanton #75
1995: Glen Niebel #25
1996: Gary Stanton #75
1997: Foxco Engineering #56
1998: Goetz Racing #9
1999: Snider-Foyt Racing #111
2000: Terry Riggs #37
2001: Paul Cook Racing #10
2002: East/Stewart Racing #9
2003: East/Stewart Racing #9
2004: East/Stewart Racing #9
2005: East/Stewart Racing #9
2006: Leffler/BK Racing #29
2007: BK Racing #29
2008: RW Motorsports #27
2009: BK Motorsports #29
2010: Tony Stewart Racing #10
2011: Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #10
2012: RW Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian Racing #17
2013: Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #10
2014: DePalma Motorsports #63
2015: DePalma Motorsports #63
2016: DePalma Motorsports #63
2017: DePalma Motorsports #63
2018: DePalma Motorsports #63
2019: Klatt Enterprises #6
2020: Hemelgarn Racing #91
2021: Rice Motorsports #222
TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS: OKTOBERFEST HITS MAIN STREET IN SPEEDWAY THIS FRIDAY
Speedway, Indiana (October 13, 2021)………Takin' it to the streets!
In conjunction with the Indianapolis 8-Hour endurance road race taking place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, USAC will be hosting Oktoberfest, a community event scheduled for Friday night, October 15.
Oktoberfest will be held on Main Street, between 13th Street and 16th Street, from 6pm to 10pm ET. The event will feature food to purchase, a beer garden, a showcase displaying elite racing cars, a celebration of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America Champions, and a free concert by Clayton Anderson. There is no admittance fee for the event.
Also taking place on the main stage will be the induction of innovator, car constructor, team owner and driver, the late, great Dan Gurney, into the USAC Hall of Fame.
A New Yorker by birth, but coming of age in Riverside, Calif., Gurney's impact also arrived early in his driving career with the United States Auto Club in 1958. That year, Gurney earned the inaugural USAC Road Racing Championship.
In his USAC racing career, Gurney amassed a total of six Road Racing division wins, including a series-leading five in 1962 and finished as the runner-up in the championship fight to Roger Penske that year before garnering one more victory the following year in 1963.
Gurney also won seven times as a driver on the USAC National Championship trail, finishing as the runner-up in the 1968 and 1969 Indianapolis 500-mile races.
As the team principle for All American Racers, Gurney's car captured both the USAC National entrant championship in 1974 and the Indianapolis 500 in 1975, both with driver Bobby Unser.
For the safety of residents and visitors, please be mindful of the street closures and parking restrictions noted by the Speedway PD. On-street parking is not allowed within this street closure area between 2pm until the conclusion of the event. Parking will be available on adjacent lots and streets.
2021 USAC SILVER CROWN SEASON REVIEW: IT TAKES 3 TO MAKE A THING GO RIGHT
Speedway Indiana (October 12, 2021)………This was a championship that, admittedly, wasn't in the plans for Kody Swanson.
Not that it was unlikely he could pull it off for a sixth time, but it was for the simple fact that he announced during the offseason that he was only going to compete in the pavement events on the USAC Silver Crown trail in 2021 while he also pursued part-time roles in stock cars and with the SRX series throughout the summer.
Without a full-time Silver Crown ride on both dirt and pavement, Swanson had to utilize a full assortment of resources. A ride in the No. 77 with sports car racing standout and new Silver Crown entrant Doran Racing was secure for all four pavement events. But the dirt was a different story.
Swanson obtained a ride with the Mark Swanson Encore Team No. 21 for both Eldora rounds, then was tabbed for driving duties in Chris Dyson Racing's No. 9 for Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway and the two Illinois dirt miles in Springfield and Du Quoin.
"I'm thankful that I had a chance with the Mark Swanson Encore Team and Chris Dyson to score points on the dirt," Swanson praised. "It was just one race at a time – that was it – and thought I might as well try to stay alive as long as I could."
While jumping back and forth between rides can be a difficult chore for most individuals without the aid of continuity and camaraderie that is a byproduct of being with a team for the full season, for Swanson, it presented an all-new challenge that he was willing to take on as the dawn of summer took hold.
In fact, on just 10 previous occasions did a driver win the Silver Crown championship by utilizing multiple cars throughout the season: Larry Rice (1977 & 1981), Ken Schrader (1982), Chuck Gurney (1989), Jimmy Sills (1990), Tony Stewart (1995), Ryan Newman (1999), J.J. Yeley (2002), Chris Windom (2016) and Swanson himself in 2019.
With that said, no driver had ever won the championship while competing for three different teams. That is, until Kody Swanson did it in 2021. None of the three teams were full-time entrants on both dirt and pavement, thus did not concern themselves with the prospects of a championship run, and instead, could go all-out and focus solely on winning races, all to the benefit of Kody.
"I'm so fortunate to have had three great race teams this year that put me in great cars and gave me great opportunities," Swanson said. "But I can't believe it all worked out like this."
During the year, Swanson became just the fifth driver to win USAC Silver Crown races for multiple teams in a single season, joining Steve Kinser in 1981 for Bill King and Johnny Vance; Brian Tyler in 2002 for Dynamics Inc. and Six-R Racing; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2007 for Carl Edwards/RE Technologies and Tony Stewart Racing; plus Cole Whitt in 2009 for CW Management Service and Johnny Vance.
After Swanson's victory in the season opener at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind. on May 29, the Kingsburg, California native's 88-race start streak (2nd all-time) came to an end at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa. with his first Silver Crown absence since 2011, a race won by Shane Cockrum.
Eventually, Swanson became the first driver in 27 years to miss a race entirely and go on to win a USAC Silver Crown championship. Jimmy Sills had been the most recent to do so in 1994. Also accomplishing the feat were Gary Bettenhausen (1980 & 1983), Dave Blaney (1984), Rick Hood (1985), Jack Hewitt (1986), Chuck Gurney (1989), Jeff Gordon (1991), Mike Bliss (1993) and Sills (1994).
While Tyler Courtney obliterated the largest-ever Eldora Silver Crown field of 30 cars on June 26, an astute run from 15th to 3rd at Eldora for the Mark Swanson Encore Team suddenly changed the course of Kody's plans. Coupled with rough outings for several other championship frontrunners, Kody suddenly found himself thrusted into the title race, sitting second in the standings entering July.
The point lead belonged to Swanson despite missing out on a victory by a half car length to Justin Grant in the series' debut on the Winchester Speedway high banks in eastern Indiana in July. A 6th at Selinsgrove, Pa. came next, which kept him abreast at the top of the points entering two-straight rounds to finish out August that would cement his championship ambitions.
A dominating win at Lucas Oil Raceway on August 14 was followed by a rain-shortened score on the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, placing him 51 points ahead in the title race with a final three-race stretch on the horizon.
When things go as smoothly and as flawlessly as it did for Swanson throughout the first three-quarters of the year, despite possessing an abundance of confidence, it's only human to wonder if misfortune is lurking around the corner looking to strike a pose at a moment's notice. While running second on Labor Day at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds, Swanson's afternoon went to shambles as his ignition box faltered, forcing him to slow and stop on the back straightaway on lap 59. He'd return to the fray, albeit four laps down and finishing a season-worst 17th. Coupled with Logan Seavey's runner-up finish that day, Swanson's lead now stood at just 16.
Seavey's subsequent victory at Eldora's 4-Crown Nationals in late September and Swanson's 5th place result put the margin at just one single point, with Swanson leading going into the October 10 finale on the pavement of Ohio's Toledo Speedway, right in Swanson's wheelhouse, at a place where he'd won four previous times.
Swanson was dominant throughout, but a near catastrophe in lapped traffic with 17 laps remaining almost cost him everything in a mere split second. As Annie Breidinger spun sideways in turn three and was hit by Tyler Roahrig, Swanson had no time to avoid the carnage, hitting Roahrig in the rear bumper, which put a good-sized puncture in the nose and bent the front axle.
Surviving the melee, Swanson fended off Bobby Santos throughout the remainder of the 100-lapper to simultaneously win the season finale race and the championship, making Swanson the first driver to achieve that feat on three separate occasions after previously doing so in both 2014 and 2015.
It's just the 13th occasion that feat has been accomplished in the 51-year history of the series that a driver has "walked-off" with a win in the final race of the season and a driving title: Al Unser (1973), Bobby Olivero (1979), Gary Bettenhausen (1980), Jack Hewitt (1986), Steve Butler (1992), Jimmy Sills (1996), J.J. Yeley (2002 & 2003), Bobby East (2012) and Chris Windom (2016).
Four wins, 5 poles, 304 laps led, 7 top-fives and 8 top-tens in 9 starts is an amazing run by any stretch. To do it all with three separate teams is on the brink of astonishing. Kody continues to rewrite the record books and, once more, has rewritten what we consider to be astonishing. What we consider astonishing, for Kody, this has become a common occurrence for him do the types of things we thought never could be done. In 2021, Kody upped the ante and captured our imaginations once again.
"I thought it was a big success to win with Doran Racing in our first year together on the pavement," Swanson recapped. "It was a big success for Kent Wolters, Josh Carpenter, Ryan Roberts and I to put the 21 car together and come from 15th to 3rd at Eldora in the summer. And it was big for me to have a chance with Chris Dyson and Sean Michael and his whole team to get my first dirt win in three years at Springfield.
It's been a big year," Swanson continue. "I didn't do any of it alone and I certainly didn't do any of it without my wife (and spotter) Jordan. I'm just thankful."
Meanwhile, an exceptional Rookie season for Logan Seavey resulted in his first two career victories at Selinsgrove and the Fall race at Eldora, which put him just 34-points behind Swanson in the final standings and earned him series Rookie of the Year honors. His runner-up finish in the points is the best in the series since Chris Windom was 2nd in 2013.
Seavey's team, Rice Motorsports, secured the series' entrant championship in its first year of full-time competition. Team owner Robbie Rice joined his father, 1977 and 1981 Silver Crown driving champion Larry Rice, as a series champion himself.
The season also marks just the seventh time in which the driver champion and entrant champion were not on the same team: driver Larry Rice & entrant Johnny Vance (1981); driver Ken Schrader & entrant Steve Enslow (1982); driver Ryan Newman & entrant Snider-Foyt Racing (1999); driver Bobby East & entrant RW Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian Racing (2012); driver Chris Windom & entrant DePalma Motorsports (2016); driver Kody Swanson & entrant Klatt Enterprises (2019); and driver Kody Swanson & entrant Rice Motorsports (2021).
At 53 years, 10 months and 10 days old, Brian Tyler became USAC Silver Crown's oldest race winner after capturing a barnburner at Du Quoin in September, which was his first series start in two years. That surpassed the age record of Chet Fillip, who was 51 years, 2 months and 25 days when he won at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in 2008.
Tyler's win came following a gap of 10 years and 17 days since his most recent USAC Silver Crown victory, which was the second longest gap in series history behind Shane Cottle who set the record with a triumph at Selinsgrove in 2020 at 12 years, 11 months and 7 days. Both wins were achieved in the very same BCR Group No. 81.
Additionally, Tyler and Russ Gamester both wrapped up their 201st career USAC Silver Crown starts in the season finale at Toledo, tying them for the all-time record in that category alongside Dave Darland. Gamester became the second driver to reach the 200 start mark in August at Lucas Oil Raceway while Tyler became the third individual to hit 200 at Eldora in September.
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN STAT LEADERS:
Most Wins: 4-Kody Swanson
Driver Champion: Kody Swanson
Entrant Champion: Rice Motorsports #222
Rookie of the Year: Logan Seavey
Most Laps Led: 304-Kody Swanson
Most Top-Fives: 7-Kody Swanson
Most Top-Tens: 8-Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 5-Kody Swanson
Best Finish By A Rookie: Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway & Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (1st)
Most Feature Starts: 10-Dave Berkheimer, Justin Grant, Austin Nemire, Kyle Robbins, Logan Seavey & Travis Welpott
Most Positions Advanced in a Race: Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Kody Swanson (23rd to 1st) & Shane Cockrum (25th to 3rd)
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN SCHEDULE & RESULTS
May 29: (P#) Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Enterprises #77)
Jun 18: (D) Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, PA WINNER: Shane Cockrum (BLS Motorsports #71)
Jun 26: (D) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Chris Dyson Racing #9)
Jul 22 (P) Winchester Speedway – Winchester, IN WINNER: Justin Grant (Hemelgarn Racing #91)
Aug 8: (D) Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, PA WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports #22)
Aug 14: (P) Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Enterprises #77)
Aug 21: (D#) Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, IL WINNER: Kody Swanson (Chris Dyson Racing #9)
Sep 6: (D) Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, IL WINNER: Brian Tyler (BCR Group #81)
Sep 25: (D) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports #22)
Oct 10: (P#) Toledo Speedway – Toledo, OH WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Enterprises #77)
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(D) represents a dirt event
(P) represents a pavement event
# represents a daytime event
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN 1 574 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif. 2 540 Logan Seavey (R), Sutter, Calif. 3 394 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif. 4 392 David Byrne, Shullsburg, Wis. 5 386 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill. 6 383 Kyle Robbins, New Castle, Ind. 7 348 Austin Nemire, Sylvania, Ohio 8 328 Shane Cockrum, Benton, Ill. 9 310 Travis Welpott, Pendleton, Ind. 10 305 Mike Haggenbottom, Levittown, Pa. 11 286 Jake Swanson (R), Anaheim, Calif. 12 278 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio 13 265 Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass. 14 255 Carmen Perigo (R), Stoystown, Pa. 15 252 Matt Goodnight, Winchester, Ind. 16 239 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla. 17 224 Eric Gordon, Greenfield, Ind. 18 208 Dave Berkheimer, Mechanicsburg, Pa. 19 204 Kyle O'Gara (R), Beech Grove, Ind. 20 193 Jason McDougal (R), Broken Arrow, Okla. 21 182 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill. 22 166 Casey Buckman (R), Chandler, Ariz. 23 164 Brian Tyler, Parma, Mich. 24 159 Patrick Lawson, Edwardsville, Ill. 25 148 Aaron Pierce, Muncie, Ind. 26 145 Nathan Byrd (R), Goodyear, Ariz. 27 139 Dallas Hewitt, Troy, Ohio 28 128 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind. 29 125 Bryan Gossel, Fort Collins, Colo. 30 123 Taylor Ferns, Shelby Township, Mich. 31 122 Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Ariz. 32 112 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif. 33 112 Terry Babb, Decatur, Ill. 34 109 Kyle Cummins (R), Princeton, Ind. 35 104 Tyler Roahrig (R), Mishawaka, Ind. 36 103 Annie Breidinger (R), Hillsborough, Calif. 37 95 Kyle Steffens, St. Charles, Mo. 38 93 Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, Ind. 39 91 Jake Day (R), Abilene, Texas 40 89 Tanner Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif. 41 86 Chris Phillips (R), Plainfield, Ind. 42 85 Derek Bischak, Angola, Ind. 43 82 Jim Anderson, Joliet, Ill. 44 79 Russ Gamester, Peru, Ind. 45 74 Nick Bilbee (R), Indianapolis, Ind. 46 62 Chris Fetter, Troy, Mo. 47 61 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala. 48 60 Mike McVetta (R), Grafton, Ohio 49 58 Davey Hamilton Jr., Meridian, Idaho 50 44 Ken Schrader, Fenton, Mo. 51 43 Chase Stockon (R), Fort Branch, Ind. 52 43 Korey Weyant (R), Springfield, Ill. 53 42 Nathan Moore (R), Kaufman, Texas 54 39 Davey Ray, Davenport, Iowa 55 39 Chase Johnson (R), Penngrove, Calif. 56 36 Danny Long, Bonne Terre, Mo. 57 33 Steven Russell, Rochester, Ill. 58 25 Mark Smith, Sunbury, Pa. 59 23 Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind. 60 22 Charles Davis Jr. (R), Buckeye, Ariz. 61 20 Joe Liguori, Tampa, Fla. 62 20 Brent Yarnal (R), Phoenix, Ariz. 63 20 Erik Karlsen (R), Romulus, N.Y. 64 20 Chris Urish, Elkhart, Ill. 65 16 Dave Peperak (R), Clinton, Ind. 66 10 Kyle Hamilton, Danville, Ind. 67 10 Brian Gerster, Fishers, Ind. 68 10 Ronnie Wuerdeman (R), Cincinnati, Ohio 69 10 Cary Oliver (R), Buncombe, Ill.
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN OWNER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION 1 540 Rice Motorsports, Brownsburg, Ind. (#222) 2 431 BCR Group, Springfield, Ohio (#81) 3 394 Hemelgarn Racing, LaSalle, Mich. (#91) 4 392 Byrne Racing, Shullsburg, Wis. (#40) 5 383 KR Racing, Greenfield, Ind. (#7) 6 348 Nemire-Lesko Racing, Toledo, Ohio (#16) 7 328 BLS Motorsports, Benton, Ill. (#71) 8 310 Welpott Racing, Pendleton, Ind. (#18) 9 307 Klatt Enterprises, Hastings, Neb. (#6) 10 305 John Haggenbottom, Bristol, Pa. (#24) 11 299 Chris Dyson Racing, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (#9) 12 292 Doran Enterprises, Lebanon, Ohio (#77) 13 286 DMW Motorsports, Phoenix, Ariz. (#10) 14 278 Westfall Motorsports, Pleasant Hill, Ohio (#54) 15 265 DJ Racing, Boca Raton, Fla. (#22) 16 255 John Stehman, Halifax, Pa. (#52) 17 252 Goodnight Racing, Hartford City, Ind. (#39) 18 239 Five Three Motorsports, Joliet, Ill. (#53) 19 224 Brad & Tara Armstrong, Fountaintown, Ind. (#99) 20 209 Sam Pierce, Daleville, Ind. (#26) 21 208 Berkheimer Racing, Mechanicsburg, Pa. (#31) 22 204 SFHR Development, Indianapolis, Ind. (#1) 23 182 Hans Lein, Edgerton, Wis. (#97) 24 166 Mark Swanson Encore Team, West Des Moines, Iowa (#21) 25 166 C-Buck Racing, Chandler, Ariz. (#74) 26 162 DMW Motorsports, Phoenix, Ariz. (#110) 27 159 Patrick Lawson, Edwardsville, Ill. (#2) 28 145 Hamilton-Byrd Racing, Jamestown, Ind. (#11) 29 139 Dallas Hewitt, Fletcher, Ohio (#57) 30 128 Leary Racing, Greenfield, Ind. (#30) 31 125 Bryan Gossel, Fort Collins, Colo. (#06) 32 123 Taylor Ferns Racing, Shelby Township, Mich. (#155) 33 122 Patty Bateman, Murphysboro, Ill. (#55) 34 112 Terry Babb, Decatur, Ill. (#188) 35 109 Pink 69 Racing, Evansville, Ind. (#69) 36 103 Breidinger Motorsports, Hillsborough, Calif. (#80) 37 96 Tim Simmons, Cabot, Ark. (#3) 38 95 Steffens Motorsports, St. Charles, Mo. (#08) 39 91 Jake Day, Abilene, Texas (#42) 40 89 Bowman Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#02) 41 86 Nolen Racing, Greenwood, Ind. (#20) 42 85 Derek Bischak, Indianapolis, Ind. (#131) 43 82 Kazmark Motorsports, Joliet, Ill. (#92) 44 79 Gamester Racing, Peru, Ind. (#51) 45 70 Dick & Deborah Myers, Waterford, Mich. (#94) 46 66 Bill Rose Racing, Crawfordsville, Ind. (#66) 47 58 Hamilton-Byrd Racing, Jamestown, Ind. (#14) 48 43 Scott Weyant, Springfield, Ill. (#199) 49 42 Joe Moore, Kaufman, Texas (#48) 50 39 Cornell Racing Stables, Monee, Ill. (#8) 51 39 Goodnight Racing, Hartford City, Ind. (#17) 52 36 Danny Long, Bonne Terre, Mo. (#44) 53 34 Sammy & Mouren Fetter, Bridgeton, Mo. (#88) 54 33 McQuinn Motorsports, Springfield, Ill. (#14) 55 28 Fetter Racing, Troy, Mo. (#89) 56 25 L & M Motorsports, Sunbury, Pa. (#01) 57 23 Johnny Vance Racing Team, Dayton, Ohio (#2v) 58 20 Roger Williams, St. Paul, Ind. (#32) 59 20 Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz. (#29) 60 20 T.J. Karlsen, Romulus, N.Y. (#166) 61 20 Chris Urish, Lincoln, Ill. (#77) 62 16 Dave Peperak Motorsports, Clinton, Ind. (#177) 63 10 Wuerdeman Family Racing, Cincinnati, Ohio (#33) 64 10 Cary Oliver, Buncombe, Ill. (#11)
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN 1 540 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif. 2 286 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif. 3 255 Carmen Perigo, Stoystown, Pa. 4 204 Kyle O'Gara, Beech Grove, Ind. 5 193 Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Okla. 6 166 Casey Buckman, Chandler, Ariz. 7 145 Nathan Byrd, Goodyear, Ariz. 8 109 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind. 9 104 Tyler Roahrig, Mishawaka, Ind. 10 103 Annie Breidinger, Hillsborough, Calif. 11 91 Jake Day, Abilene, Texas 12 86 Chris Phillips, Plainfield, Ind. 13 74 Nick Bilbee, Indianapolis, Ind. 14 60 Mike McVetta, Grafton, Ohio 15 43 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind. 16 43 Korey Weyant, Springfield, Ill. 17 42 Nathan Moore, Kaufman, Texas 18 39 Chase Johnson, Penngrove, Calif. 19 22 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz. 20 20 Brent Yarnal, Phoenix, Ariz. 21 20 Erik Karlsen, Romulus, N.Y. 22 16 Dave Peperak, Clinton, Ind. 23 10 Ronnie Wuerdeman, Cincinnati, Ohio 24 10 Cary Oliver, Buncombe, Ill.
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RACE WINS:
4-Kody Swanson (May 29 at Lucas Oil Raceway, Aug 14 at Lucas Oil Raceway, Aug 21 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds & Oct 10 at Toledo Speedway)
2-Logan Seavey (Aug 8 at Selinsgrove Speedway & Sep 25 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Shane Cockrum (Jun 18 at Williams Grove Speedway)
1-Tyler Courtney (Jun 26 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Justin Grant (Jul 22 at Winchester Speedway)
1-Brian Tyler (Sep 6 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds)
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LAPS LED:
304-Kody Swanson
169-Logan Seavey
81-Bobby Santos
67-Justin Grant
53-Brian Tyler
51-Tyler Courtney
35-Aaron Pierce
28-Shane Cockrum & Jake Swanson
26-Jason McDougal
9-C.J. Leary
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TOP-FIVE FINISHES:
7-Kody Swanson
4-Shane Cockrum, Bobby Santos & Logan Seavey
3-Brady Bacon, David Byrne & Justin Grant
2-Jerry Coons Jr., Shane Cottle, Jake Swanson, Brian Tyler & Chris Windom
1-Tyler Courtney, Taylor Ferns, Davey Hamilton Jr., C.J. Leary, Kyle O'Gara, Aaron Pierce, Tyler Roahrig, Kyle Robbins, Kyle Steffens, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall
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TOP-TEN FINISHES:
8-Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson
5-David Byrne, Shane Cottle, Justin Grant & Kyle Robbins
4-Brady Bacon, Shane Cockrum, Bobby Santos, Jake Swanson & Matt Westfall
3-Austin Nemire, Kyle O'Gara & Carmen Perigo
2-Robert Ballou, Jerry Coons Jr., Taylor Ferns, Matt Goodnight, Dallas Hewitt, Brian Tyler, Travis Welpott & Chris Windom
1-Jim Anderson, Terry Babb, Derek Bischak, Casey Buckman, Nathan Byrd, Tyler Courtney, Russ Gamester, Eric Gordon, Mike Haggenbottom, Davey Hamilton Jr., Patrick Lawson, C.J. Leary, Jason McDougal, Aaron Pierce, Tyler Roahrig, Kyle Steffens, Chase Stockon, Tanner Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
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FEATURE STARTS:
10-Dave Berkheimer, Justin Grant, Austin Nemire, Kyle Robbins, Logan Seavey & Travis Welpott
9-David Byrne, Shane Cottle, Mike Haggenbottom & Kody Swanson
8-Matt Goodnight
6-Shane Cockrum, Eric Gordon, Jason McDougal, Carmen Perigo & Matt Westfall
5-Casey Buckman, Patrick Lawson & Jake Swanson
4-Terry Babb, Brady Bacon, Nathan Byrd, Bryan Gossel, Dallas Hewitt, Kyle O'Gara, Aaron Pierce & Bobby Santos
3-Robert Ballou, Annie Breidinger, Kyle Cummins, Jake Day, Taylor Ferns, Chris Fetter, Chris Phillips, Brian Tyler & Chris Windom
2-Jim Anderson, Nick Bilbee, Derek Bischak, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Russ Gamester, C.J. Leary, Mike McVetta, Nathan Moore, Tyler Roahrig, Ken Schrader, Kyle Steffens, Tanner Swanson & Korey Weyant
1-Charles Davis Jr., Davey Hamilton Jr., Chase Johnson, Erik Karlsen, Joe Liguori, Danny Long, Ryan Newman, Dave Peperak, Davey Ray, Steven Russell, Mark Smith, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Brent Yarnal
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
5-Kody Swanson
2-C.J. Leary
1-Tyler Courtney, Jason McDougal & Tanner Swanson
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GSP QUALIFYING DRIVING PERFORMANCE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Kody Swanson
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Shane Cockrum
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Kody Swanson
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Kyle O'Gara
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Travis Welpott
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Tyler Roahrig
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Jerry Coons Jr.
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Shane Cockrum
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Matt Westfall
Oct 10: Toledo Speedway – Brian Tyler
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TOP "ROOKIE" FINISHER OF THE RACE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Logan Seavey (7th)
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Jason McDougal (6th)
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (8th)
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Kyle O'Gara (5th)
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Logan Seavey (1st)
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Tyler Roahrig (2nd)
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Logan Seavey (2nd)
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Logan Seavey (2nd)
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (1st)
Oct 10: Toledo Speedway – Nathan Byrd (6th)
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Patrick Lawson (17th to 9th)
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Eric Gordon (22nd to 11th)
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Kody Swanson (15th to 3rd)
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Kyle O'Gara (15th to 5th)
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Travis Welpott (20th to 13th)
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Mike Haggenbottom (23rd to 11th)
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Kody Swanson (23rd to 1st)
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Jerry Coons Jr. (19th to 4th)
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Matt Westfall (14th to 2nd)
Oct 10: Toledo Speedway – Davey Hamilton Jr. (14th to 5th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Bryan Gossel
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Austin Nemire
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Jason McDougal
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Shane Cottle
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Travis Welpott
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Aaron Pierce
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Chris Phillips
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Kyle Steffens
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Carmen Perigo
Oct 10: Toledo Speedway – Tyler Roahrig
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STATS
ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WINS:
1. [34 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] Jimmy Sills
9. [11 wins] Bobby East
10. [10 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Mike Bliss & Bobby Santos
13. [9 wins] Tracy Hines
14. [8 wins] Tanner Swanson & Chris Windom
16. [7 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Rick Hood & George Snider
19. [6 wins] Tom Bigelow, Russ Gamester, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Ken Schrader & Al Unser
25. [5 wins] Mario Andretti, Donnie Beechler, Pancho Carter, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Bud Kaeding, Sheldon Kinser & Larry Rice
33. [4 wins] Shane Cockrum, Kyle Larson, Jeff Swindell & Rich Vogler
37. [3 wins] Steve Butler, Tyler Courtney, Cameron Dodson, A.J. Fike, Justin Grant, Levi Jones, Kasey Kahne, Jim Keeker, Steve Kinser, Bobby Olivero, Johnny Parsons, Aaron Pierce, Ron Shuman, Tony Stewart, Tyler Walker & Paul White
53. [2 wins] Pat Abold, Brady Bacon, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Larry Dickson, Billy Engelhart, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, C.J. Leary, Ryan Newman, Joe Saldana, Logan Seavey, 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, 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
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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
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN OWNER 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: Louis 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
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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
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
36-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, & Josh Wise
6-Gary Bettenhausen, Steve Chassey, Justin Grant, Jack Hewitt & Larry Rice
5-Kenny Irwin Jr., Aaron Pierce, 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, C.J. Leary, 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, Bobby Santos, 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, 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, Mat Neely, Roger Rager, Wayne Reutimann Jr., Bill Rose, Randy Tolsma, Billy Vukovich, Bruce Walkup & Doug Wolfgang
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STARTS:
201-Dave Darland, Russ Gamester & Brian Tyler
178-Jerry Coons Jr.
172-Tracy Hines
163-Jack Hewitt
151-Johnny Parsons
147-Tony Elliott & Eric Gordon
129-George Snider
125-Gary Hieber
117-Kody Swanson
115-Chuck Gurney
113-Bud Kaeding & Jimmy Sills
111-Dave Steele
110-John Heydenreich
104-Aaron Pierce
103-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
79-Donnie Beechler & Levi Jones
77-Rich Vogler & Chris Windom
76-Larry Dickson
74-Steve Chassey & Ryan Newman
73-Rich Tobias Jr.
72-Bobby East
71-David Byrne, Robby Flock & Sheldon Kinser
70-Steve Butler
68-Billy Engelhart
67-Joe Saldana
66-Shane Cottle & Brad Noffsinger
65-Jerry Nemire
63-Justin Grant
62-Ron Shuman
61-Bobby Santos
60-Randy Bateman & Wally Pankratz
59-Bill Rose
58-Rick Hood
55-Gary Irvin & Austin Nemire
54-Tom Capie, Shane Hollingsworth & Jacob Wilson
53-Chet Fillip & Jason Leffler
52-Wayne Reutimann Jr.
49-Tony Stewart
48-Mike Bliss & Ken Schrader
47-Bob Cicconi, Shane Cockrum & Patrick Lawson
46-Jim Keeker, Billy Vukovich & Bentley Warren
45-Derek Davidson & Jeff Swindell
43-Kenny Irwin Jr., Tanner Swanson & Tyler Walker
42-Dane Carter & Jon Stanbrough
41-Danny Milburn
40-Aaron Fike, Matt Goodnight, Andy Hillenburg, Warren Mockler & Chip Thomas
39-Tray House & Jim McElreath
38-C.J. Leary, Chuck Leary & Bobby Olivero
37-Pancho Carter, Duke Cook, Todd Kane, Rusty McClure, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Roger Rager & Chris Urish
36-Ed Carpenter, Ron Dunstan & Matt Westfall
35-Kyle Robbins
34-Ronnie Burke, Davey Hamilton, Kevin Huntley, Greg Staab & Kevin Thomas
33-Cary Faas, Jimmy Kite & Josh Wise
32-Brady Bacon & Brent Kaeding
31-Steve Cannon, Ron Gregory, Mike Haggenbottom, Arnie Knepper, Jim Mahoney, Mat Neely & Stevie Reeves
30-Terry Babb, 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, Bryan Clauson & Travis Welpott
26-Steve Buckwalter, Dan Drinan & Joe Liguori
25-Kasey Kahne, Nick Lundgreen & Jerry Miller
24-Pat Abold, Derek Hagar & Kenny Jacobs
23-Dave Berkheimer & Cameron Dodson
22-Billy Cassella, Kevin Doty, Bob Frey & Davey Ray
21-Kyle Hamilton & Walt Kennedy
20-Bill Baue, Dave Feese, John Starks & Randy Tolsma
19-Bruce Field, Brian Gerster, Gene Lee Gibson, Shane Hmiel, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden & Casey Shuman
18-Rollie Beale, Jackie Burke, Tyler Courtney, Mike Murgoitio, Al Unser & Jonathan Vennard
17-Jimmy Caruthers, Chris Fetter, A.J. Foyt, Sammy Sessions, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Kramer Williamson
16-Robert Ballou & Pablo Donoso
15-Paul Clark, P.J. Jones & Bruce Walkup
14-Jarett Andretti, Billy Boat, Carl Edwards, Taylor Ferns, Jeff Gordon, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Ralph Liguori, Boston Reid, Danny Smith, Smokey Snellbaker, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
13-Patrick Bruns, Tyce Carlson, Dana Carter, Jim Childers, Jac Haudenschild, Jackie Howerton, Jon Johnson, Greg Leffler, Andy Michner, Brian Paulus, Logan Seavey, Billy Wease, Rodney Weesner & Bud Wilmot
12-Derek Bischak, Brad Fox, Mike Gregg, Mike Hess, 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, Mike Peters, Tad Roach, Kyle Steffens, Greg Weld & Greg Wilson
10-Ronnie Day, Gary Gray, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, Bob Harkey, Page Jones, Terry Kawell, Danny Long, Jim Moughan, Kenneth Nichols, Paul Pitzer, Terry Pletch, Jack Runyon, Robert Smith & Robbie Stanley
9-Bobby Adkins, Chuck Amati, Caleb Armstrong, Toni Breidinger, Karl Busson, Bob Evans, Bryn Gohn, Bryan Gossel, Wayne Hammond, Dallas Hewitt, Jim Hurtubise, Rebel Jackson Jr., Chappy Knaack, Eddie Leavitt, Larry Martin, Jason McDougal, Joss Moffatt, Johnny Petrozelle & Johnny Rutherford
8-Jim Anderson, Joe Axsom, Christopher Bell, Casey Buckman, 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, Kyle O'Gara, Jan Opperman, Lee Osborne, Junior Parkinson, Carmen Perigo, Greg Peterson, Aaron Pollock, Tracy Potter, Steve Siegel, Mark Smith, Ryan Smith, Jake Swanson, 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, Chad Kemenah, Paul Koch, 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, Ryan Durst, Bob Ewell, Spike Gehlhausen, Kenny Gentry, Darren Hagen, Davey Hamilton Jr., Tom Hessert III, Larry Hoppes, John Hubbard, Marc Jessup, Doug Kalitta, Kevin Koch, Bill Kojis, Mike Lichty, Jeff Mitrisin, Don Nordhorn, Steven Russell, Brian Seidel, Jimmy Stinson, Jerry Stone & Mike Winblad
5-Sport Allen, Todd Beach, Barry Camp, Larry Cannon, Shane Carson, Mark Cassella, Kyle Cummins, John Hunt, Brad Kuhn, Rich Leavell, Donnie Lehmann, Jimmy Light, Mario Marietta, Brad Marvel, Mack McClellan, Kevin Olson, Chris Phillips, Mike Stroehle, Neil Shepherd, Jake Simmons, Red Stauffer, Sleepy Tripp, Terry Uehling, Korey Weyant, Cole Whitt & Rip Williams
4-Tony Armstrong, Steve Arpin, John Batts, Mike Brecht, Jimmy Brewer, David Bridges, Ray Bull, Keith Burch, Keith Butler, Nathan Byrd, 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, Rodney Ritter Jr., Billy Shuman, Dean Shirley, Donny Schatz, Tim Siner, Chase Stockon, 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, Jake Day, Troy DeCaire, Thad Dosher, Tommie Estes Jr., Dean Franklin, Jeff Gardner, Emmett Hahn, 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
2-Mike Adkins, Mike Andreeta, Tommy Astone, Todd Bammer, Randy Bauer, Dave Baumgartner, Nick Bilbee, Dean Billings, 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, Mike McVetta, Nathan Moore, Dustin Morgan, Aaron Mosley, Larry Neighbors, John Nervo, Lynn Paxton, Dave Peperak, Scott Pierovich, Troy Regier, Tyler Roahrig, 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, Brent Yarnal & Jack Ziegler
1-Bobby Allen, Taylor Andrews, Dakoda Armstrong, Jon Backlund, Tom Ball, Steve Barnett, Steve Barth, Jarid Blondel, Chad Boat, Ray Bragg, 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, 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, Jim Mills, Mark Monico, Mike Mosley, Jack Moulton Jr., Peter Murphy, Rick Muther, Fred Neighbors, Greg Nelson, Kevin Newton, Kyle Nicholas, 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., 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
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER & TEAM ROSTER:
A
JIM ANDERSON/Joliet, IL (Kazmark Motorsports #92)
B
TERRY BABB/Decatur, IL (Terry Babb #188)
BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Five Three Motorsports #53)
ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Chris Dyson Racing #9) & (Bill Rose Racaing #66)
DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing #31)
�NICK BILBEE/Indianapolis, IN (Tim Simmons #3)
DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak #131)
�ANNIE BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger Motorsports #80)
TONI BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger Motorsports #80)
�CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Racing #74)
�NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Hamilton-Byrd Racing #11)
DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing #40)
C
�TIM CREECH/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Fetter #89)
SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports #71)
JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman #55)
SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (BCR Group #81 & DMW Motorsports #110)
TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Dyson Racing #9)
�KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Pink 69 Racing #69)
D
�CHARLES DAVIS JR./Buckeye, AZ (Tim Simmons #3)
�JAKE DAY/Abilene, TX (Jake Day #42)
F
TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing #55)
CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Sammy & Mouren Fetter #88) & (Chris Fetter #89)
G
RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing #51)
BRIAN GERSTER/Fishers, IN (Dick & Deborah Myers #94)
MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing #39)
ERIC GORDON/Fortville, IN (Brad & Tara Armstrong #99)
BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel #06)
JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing #91)
H
MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom #24)
DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Meridian, ID (Hamilton-Byrd Racing #14)
KYLE HAMILTON/Danville, IN (Klatt Enterprises #6)
DALLAS HEWITT/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt #57)
�KIP HUGHES/Enid, OK (Kip Hughes #60)
J
�CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Goodnight Racing #17)
K
ERIK KARLSEN/Romulus, NY (T.J. Karlsen #166)
L
PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson #2)
C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Leary Racing #30)
JIMMY LIGHT/West Springfield, PA (Two-Three Motorsports #123)
JOE LIGUORI/Tampa, FL (Roger Williams #32)
DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long #44)
M
�JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises #6)
�MIKE McVETTA/Grafton, OH (Dick & Deborah Myers #94)
�NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Joe Moore #48)
N
AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing #16)
RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN (Johnny Vance Racing Team #2v)
O
�KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development #1)
�CARY OLIVER/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver #11)
P
�DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports #177)
�CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman #52)
�CHRIS PHILLIPS/Plainfield, IN (Nolen Racing #20)
AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce #26)
R
DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables #8)
�TYLER ROAHRIG/Mishawaka, IN (Klatt Enterprises #6)
KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing #7)
STEVEN RUSSELL/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports #14)
S
BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing #22)
KEN SCHRADER/Fenton, MO (Mark Swanson Encore Team #21)
�LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports #222)
MARK SMITH/Sunbury, PA (L & M Motorsports #01)
KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports #08)
�CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Tim Simmons #3) & (DMW Motorsports #110)
�JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports #10)
KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Chris Dyson Racing #9), (Mark Swanson Encore Team #21) & (Doran Enterprises #77)
TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bowman Racing #02)
T
KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Sam Pierce #26)
BRIAN TYLER/Parma, MI (BCR Group #81)
U
CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish #77)
W
TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing #18)
MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Motorsports #54)
�KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant #199)
CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Hans Lein #97)
�RONNIE WUERDEMAN/Cincinnati, OH (Wuerdeman Family Racing #33)
Y
�BRENT YARNAL/Phoenix, AZ (Brent Yarnal #29)
USAC'S LEVI JONES TAKES ON NEW ROLE
Speedway, Indiana (October 11, 2021)………Today, INDYCAR announced the addition of Levi Jones as the new Director for the INDY Lights Series.
Levi is leaving USAC after six years, serving most recently as the Vice President of Competition for USAC Racing and leading the Circle Track Division, which includes USAC Sprint Car, Midgets and Silver Crown Series.
Under Levi's tenure, the Circle Track division grew to its largest car counts in decades for all divisions and a record number of USAC National events for the 2021 tour.
Levi was also instrumental in establishing many new foundation events for USAC, most notably the BC39 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Levi is leaving a legacy during his tenure both as a driver and an executive for the United States Auto Club," stated Kevin Miller, President & CEO of USAC. "Levi's passion and dedication for the brand cannot be duplicated, and his oversight in the construction of the Dirt Track at IMS and the BC39 will forever put an exclamation point on his USAC era. We are excited for Levi in his new chapter with INDYCAR and will be proud to support him in his transition. The friendships and partnerships Levi has established throughout the sport applaud his time with USAC, and I will always treasure the partnership we had individually."
Levi will continue to oversee the National series as they move to the West Coast for November racing. In the coming weeks, USAC will announce organizational changes which will address a growing number of USAC properties and sanctioning partnerships.
BRODY FUSON SHINES AT HANFORD
HANFORD, CA – OCTOBER 9, 2021… Starting seventh, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA) took command on the sixth lap from Blake Bower and held off several challenges to score the Saturday night victory at Keller Auto Speedway. Driving Rusty Carlile's #51 Race Pa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson's 20-lap BCRA co-sanctioned win marked his second USAC Western States Midget triumph of the campaign. Fast qualifier Chase Johnson, Jake Andreotti, hard charger Jade Avedisian, and point leader Bower followed Brody to the checkered flags.
Before winning the "Morrie Williams Memorial / Kenny Takeuchi Tribute," Fuson qualified eleventh overall out of the fifteen car roster and won the night's Extreme Mufflers First Heat Race. During the feature, the Bakersfield driver found the bottom groove to his liking on the technical surface and raced to victory. Brody Fuson heads to Ventura ranked second in the point standings, just 39 markers behind fellow rookie contender Blake Bower.
In Woodland Auto Display Qualifying, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) earned his third fast time of the season. Making his first start in Bill Buckley's #7NZ Buckley Systems / Esslinger Engineering Bullet, Johnson ran second to Fuson in his heat race and the main event after challenging for the top spot. In limited appearances, Chase has climbed to fifth in the point standings.
Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, CA) returned to USAC Western States action and won the night's Competition Suspension Incorporated / Rod End Supply Second Heat Race. Racing the Pete Davis owned #00 Hot Head Competition Heaters / Buchannan Automotive Stealth, Andreotti was eighth quick in time trials and finished third in the main event. As this writing goes to press, the rookie contender is twentieth in the point chase.
In her first career USAC Western States Midget start, Jade Avedisian (Clovis, CA) earned the night's Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award with a fourth place run from eleventh. Driving Dean Alexander's #5K Walker Air Filtration / WFX Spike, Avedisian qualified tenth overall and finished second to Andreotti in her heat race. Jade left the Kings County Fairgrounds ranked thirty-fourth in points.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Dylan Bloomfield (Oakley, CA) claimed the night's Wilwood Disc Brakes "Lucky 13 Award." Piloting Bobby Brown's #14JR T&T Trucking / Simpson Race Products Spike, Bloomfield was fourteenth quick overall and scored fifth in his heat race. In limited action, the Wingless Spec Sprint graduate is twenty-sixth in championship points.
Officials with the USAC Western States Midget Series want to give special thanks to Walker Performance Filtration, Superior Bearing and Supply, Hoosier Tire West, drivewfx.com Trucking, and Wireless 101 for their additional sponsorship at Hanford.
Next Saturday, October 16th, the USAC Western States Midgets will battle at Ventura Raceway (Ventura, CA). The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars will join the action packed card at the Ventura County Fairgrounds for their final point race of the season.
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing.com, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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 on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 9, 2021 – Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, California – "Morrie Williams Memorial / Kenny Takeuchi Tribute" – co-sanctioned with Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA)
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATONS: 1. Chase Johnson, 7NZ, Buckley-16.594; 2. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-16.789; 3. Colby Johnson, 17K, Morris-16.939; 4. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-16.987; 5. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-17.229; 6. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-17.249; 7. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-17.250; 8. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-17.297; 9. Matt Streeter, 14, Graunstadt-17.321; 10. Jade Avedisian, 5K, Alexander-17.373; 11. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-17.461; 12. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-18.032; 13. Michael Snider, 6K, Snider-18.726; 14. Dylan Bloomfield, 14JR, Brown-NT; 15. Michael Faccinto, 7J, Campbell-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (6 laps) 1. Fuson, 2. Ch.Johnson, 3. Co.Johnson, 4. Streeter, 5. Soares, 6. Beilman, 7. Snider. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (6 laps) 1. Andreotti, 2. Avedisian, 3. McQueen, 4. Bower, 5. Bloomfield, 6. Hazelton, 7. Sarna. NT.
FEATURE: (20 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Brody Fuson (7), 2. Chase Johnson (6), 3. Jake Andreotti (2), 4. Jade Avedisian (11), 5. Blake Bower (3), 6. Jarrett Soares (10), 7. Kyle Beilman (9), 8. Matt Streeter (1), 9. Colby Johnson (4), 10. Shannon McQueen (5), 11. C.J. Sarna (8), 12. Michael Snider (13), 13. Dylan Bloomfield (14), 14. Ron Hazelton (12). NT.
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Streeter, Laps 2-5 Bower, Laps 6-20 Fuson.
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Jade Avedisian (11th to 4th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Dylan Bloomfield
NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Blake Bower-727, 2-Brody Fuson-696, 3-C.J. Sarna-588, 4-Austin Liggett-549, 5-Chase Johnson-384, 6-Jarrett Soares-382, 7-Shannon McQueen-374, 8-Ben Worth-351, 9-David Prickett-334, 10-Ron Hazelton-295.
NEXT USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: October 16 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California
THE KING IS CROWNED:
SWANSON TAKES TOLEDO FINALE,
USAC SILVER CROWN TITLE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Toledo, Ohio (October 10, 2021)………Kody Swanson possesses the rare and unique talent to make the extraordinary seem commonplace, and for the high majority of Sunday afternoon's USAC Silver Crown season finale at Ohio's Toledo Speedway, he performed just as you'd come to expect from the series' winningest driver.
The first 83.5 trips around the half-mile paved oval were relatively free of stress for Swanson, but a bit of turn three duress nearly derailed both his bid for the race win and another Silver Crown driving title.
With Swanson alone at the head of the field, the car of 13th running Annie Breidinger slid sideways against the turn three wall, right into the path of Tyler Roahrig, who T-boned Breidinger's idle machine at the top of the banking. Next in line was Swanson who smashed the left front of his nose and wheel into the rear bumper of Roahrig, testing the maximum limits of metal's unmalleable flexibility.
A major puncture wound to the nose and a bent axle became the battle scars Swanson carried for the final 13 circuits en route to victory, and despite all the lingering circumstances, Swanson remained untouchable and unmalleable in his own right.
His car seemingly bulletproof, his concentration impervious, Swanson masterfully thwarted a challenge from pavement master Bobby Santos during the final laps to record his fifth career Hemelgarn Racing Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic triumph and his unprecedented sixth career USAC Silver Crown championship.
"I'm so fortunate and so thankful for this entire Doran Racing team, all the effort they put in all year and for this race that I can screw something up and still have a chance for it at the end.
The lapped car spun in front of us, and Tyler (Roahrig) and I were already there and trying to figure out a way through because I knew Bobby (Santos) was coming," Swanson continued. "I bent the front axle up on this thing but, luckily, during the caution, I could scrub in front of the pits, and they could tell, 'hey it's going to fit.' That's part of it. It's your job to finish it in the end."
The only blemish on an otherwise spotless drive was as a victim of momentary circumstance in his Doran Enterprises/Glenn Farms – Lykins Energy Solutions/Beast/Lanci Ford, a race in which he captured the pole, led all 100 laps and earned a feature win, all while becoming just the third driver in history to sit on the pole, win the race and corral the series title all in a single day's work, and the first to do so in a quarter century – Jimmy Sills in 1996 and Steve Butler in 1992.
Swanson entered the day with a one-point lead over Logan Seavey in the championship race. After adding three points for winning the pole, Swanson carried a four-point advantage into the season's curtain closer, which had been slightly delayed by morning showers.
Jetting out to the early lead was Swanson while third-starting David Byrne slotted into second and was affixed to Swanson's rear bumper from the onset of the opening lap while outside front row starter Justin Grant, the defending series champ for one more day – slotted into third.
The same three continued to breakaway from the rest of the field throughout the first 20 laps until eighth running Kyle Robbins jettisoned his left rear wheel as he made his way down the front straightaway. As he skidded along the pavement, alongside his dribbling wheel/tire, he was dotted in the rear bumper by Davey Hamilton Jr. while both Seavey and Nathan Byrd scattered to and fro to successfully avoid a major catastrophe. The day, however, was finished for Robbins.
The most frightening incident of the day occurred on the 38th lap when contact between Jim Anderson (13th) and Taylor Ferns (14th) in turn two sent Anderson spinning 180 degrees, rear first, into the outside back straightaway wall. As Anderson's car sat motionless, a split second later, Travis Welpott (16th) ramped his right rear over the left front of Anderson, sending Welpott flipping down the back straightaway before bouncing back on all four wheels into the turn three infield grass.
All drivers walked away from the incident. Unrelated to the melee, third-running Grant was black flagged for spilling fluid onto the track. He'd ultimately return but dropped out on lap 48 while running 15th.
Swanson maintained a two second lead as the race hit the second half with Santos now becoming a player in the game with a move into second on lap 62 as he ripped around the outside of Byrne off the fourth turn. Suddenly, the gap between Santos and race leader Swanson began two dwindle, with nearly a full second cut off his lead.
Swanson put his championship competition of Seavey a lap down on lap 75 and was on cruise control, up 1.5 seconds at that particular point when the aforementioned near disaster between he, Breidinger and Roahrig occurred with 17 laps remaining. A highly noticeable gaping hole was visible on the front of Swanson's ride for the remainder of the race, in which he kept 2017 Toledo Silver Crown winner Santos at bay to score his 34th career series event by a 1.135 second margin over Santos, Brian Tyler, Byrne and Hamilton Jr.
Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) finished runner-up to Swanson Sunday at Toledo and finished his Silver Crown season with four starts and four top-three finishes – two seconds and two thirds – in his DJ Racing/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Simpson Race Products/Beast/Speedway Chevy.
Brian Tyler's first USAC Silver Crown pavement start since 2013 resulted in a third-place finish aboard his BCR Group/Flint Trucking – QS Quality Components – Duncan Oil/Beast/Kercher Chevy. For the Parma, Mich. native, it was first "podium" finish with the series on pavement since winning at New York's Oswego Speedway in 2009.
Furthermore, Tyler and Russ Gamester both wrapped up their 201st career USAC Silver Crown starts on Sunday at Toledo, tying them for the all-time record in that category alongside Dave Darland.
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 10, 2021 – Toledo Speedway – Toledo, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – Hemelgarn Racing Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran-15.064; 2. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-15.220; 3. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-15.342; 4. Bobby Santos, 22, DJ-15.422; 5. Taylor Ferns, 55, Ferns-15.470; 6. Kyle O'Gara, 1, SFHR-15.475; 7. Brian Tyler, 81, BCR-15.506; 8. Tyler Roahrig, 6, Klatt-15.541; 9. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-15.547; 10. Nathan Byrd, 11, Hamilton/Byrd-15.553; 11. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-15.566; 12. Logan Seavey, 222, Rice-15.622; 13. Jim Anderson, 92, Kazmark-15.650; 14. Davey Hamilton Jr., 14, Hamilton/Byrd-15.671; 15. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-15.683; 16. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-15.727; 17. Mike McVetta, 94, Myers-15.794; 18. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-15.962; 19. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-15.991; 20. Annie Breidinger, 80, Breidinger-16.031; 21. Jake Day, 42, Day-16.666; 22. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-17.669.
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
**Travis Welpott flipped on lap 38 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Kody Swanson.
FINAL USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-574, 2-Logan Seavey-540, 3-Justin Grant-394, 4-David Byrne-392, 5-Shane Cottle-386, 6-Kyle Robbins-383, 7-Austin Nemire-348, 8-Shane Cockrum-328, 9-Travis Welpott-285, 10-Mike Haggenbottom-305.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-176, 2-Justin Grant-165, 3-Tanner Thorson-160, 4-Brady Bacon-158, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-135, 6-Logan Seavey-134, 7-Thomas Meseraull-133, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Shane Cottle-91.
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Quality Driving Performance of the Night: Brian Tyler
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Davey Hamilton Jr. (14th to 5th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Tyler Roahrig
HE'S A WINNER: T-MEZ HANDLES TRI-STATE'S USAC MIDGET HARVEST CUP
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Haubstadt, Indiana (October 9, 2021)………Throughout the past calendar year, Thomas Meseraull has made a habit of changing the narratives at Haubstadt, Indiana's Tri-State Speedway.
One day shy of a full year ago, the San Jose, California driver erased two decades of frustration by scoring his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature victory.
During Saturday night's Harvest Cup, Meseraull, henceforth, became the first driver ever to score multiple USAC National Midget victories at the track, ending a string of 12 series races held at the 1/4-mile dirt oval since 1969 in which a different winning driver emerged each and every time.
However, Meseraull possessed a vision of victory on this evening, tracking down and passing racelong leader Kevin Thomas Jr. with just seven laps remaining for his fourth series victory of the season and the sixth of his career, tying himself with Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Justin Grant, Arnie Knepper, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. and Roger West.
"I thought before the race that we could win this; we're going to win this, but then I also thought, I can come back on the hook too," Meseraull pondered. "I'm super pumped we didn't come back on the hook with the RMS Racing number 7x. It's the last race of the year in the Midwest; we won it last year and we picked it off again."
Meseraull started seventh in the 22-car field aboard his EnviroFab – Response Management Services – Engler Machine/Spike/Speedway Toyota, initially dropping back to ninth on the opening lap before making a methodical march through the pecking order, one position per lap, to slide into the top-five by lap five.
"It's so tricky," Meseraull observed. "It's tough because I started peddling it there and I moved back a couple spots. Then I burned it in there wide open and got the right rear to stick and then just started doing that. When in doubt, stand on it."
Nearing midway, Thomas Jr. maintained full control up front after starting his race from the outside of the front row alongside pole sitter, Daison Pursley, all while a Haubstadt-style shuffle was raging for second, third and fourth among Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh and Meseraull. McIntosh handily slid past Kofoid for the runner-up spot on laps 12 and 13 in turn three while Kofoid was able to regain the second position with a similar cadence on the turn one and two end of the track.
On lap 14, however, the jockeying came to a head after Kofoid returned the favor in turn three by executing a slide job of his own on McIntosh, successfully drifting up to the cushion in turn four. But when McIntosh crossed over to the inside of Kofoid, and a surging Meseraull used a momentous run of the bottom, it created a sandwich effect which resulted in congestion and indigestion as McIntosh and Kofoid came together, sending Kofoid nose first into the outside wall before tumbling down the front straightaway.
Kofoid was more than okay as his car was taken to the work area and quickly repaired by the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports crew which sent him back onto the track for the restart, after which he promptly drove back into the top-10, ultimately finishing 9th but putting a slight dent in his pursuit of the series championship, falling 13 markers behind point leader Chris Windom after trailing by just two coming in.
As soon as the race resumed, Meseraull went nose to the grindstone, following the path of Daison Pursley who sprinted past McIntosh for second while Meseraull slotted into third.
Shortly thereafter, on lap 21, 13th running Ethan Mitchell walked away from a vicious flip between turns three and four. The Mooresville, N.C. driver had just picked up his fifth heat race win of the season earlier in the night.
At the head of the field, Thomas Jr. was in full pursuit of his first USAC National Midget feature victory triumph since the Western World Championships at Arizona Speedway in November of 2019, a span of 64 series events, yet Meseraull proved to be the naysayer in that regard as he posted his bid underneath Thomas at the exit of turn four on lap 23 with both slightly banging wheels, sending Meseraull scurrying sideways as he passed the stripe, still on the gas and still on the prowl.
Meseraull never ran astray from the bottom, and on lap 25, the persistence paid off as he launched past Thomas Jr. for the lead coming off turn two, just like he drew it up and how he figured it would all pan out.
"I've run second here enough to know that the bottom kind of comes back," Meseraull explained. "What a great race (Thomas Jr.) ran, but he was out front. He couldn't really see, and it's hard to make changes when you're out there. You just keep doing what you do."
Meseraull just kept doing what he does best, making the event exponentially exciting. But a yellow flag one lap later found three cars – Brenham Crouch (8th), Emerson Axsom (10th) and Sam Johnson (12th) – tangled up and stopped atop turn three.
On the final restart, the final five laps saw Meseraull treading the bottom while Thomas Jr. ringed the outside but was unable to make up any ground as he simultaneously fought to fend off Justin Grant for the runner-up spot. Meseraull finished his endeavor a car length and a half in front of Thomas Jr. at the checkered, 0.207 seconds ahead, with Grant third, Daison Pursley fourth and point leader Chris Windom fifth.
Meseraull pocketed the $4,000 winner's share while Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) led a race-high 24 laps in his Petry Motorsports/West Side Tractor Sales – Gray Auto/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota, explaining that he just couldn't stick the bottom as good as Meseraull could at the end. In the end, Thomas Jr. equaled his best result of the year, a 2nd place finish which he also achieved on two previous occasions this year.
Grant's night was a true roller coaster ride from start to finish. The Ione, California native broke something in the valve train as he was being pushed off for hot laps. A spare car was rolled out of the trailer, which Grant put in the main event by transferring through the heat.
Subsequently, Grant captured the accompanying Midwest Sprint Car Series feature held just before the midget main event where he started 17th and finished 3rd in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota, earning himself KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors for his efforts.
In qualifying, Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) earned his 22nd career Fatheadz fast qualifying time with the series, passing Don Branson, Tony Stewart and Shorty Templeman for 18th on the all-time list. His time of 13.266 seconds also surpassed the former track record held by Chris Windom, which was set in June of 2021 at 13.377.
Furthermore, Meseraull's time of 2:17.42 in Competition Suspension, Inc. heat race two broke his own decade-old 10-lap USAC National Midget track record at Tri-State Speedway. The time bested the former record of 2:20.38, which had been in the books since 2011 courtesy of Meseraull.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 9, 2021 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Harvest Cup
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-13.266 (New Track Record); 2. Jace Park, 87, CBI-13.457; 3. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-13.490; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3G, Styres-13.533; 5. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.538; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-13.571; 7. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.586; 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-13.603; 9. Sam Johnson, 72, Johnson-13.605; 10. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.636; 11. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-13.658; 12. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-13.683; 13. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-13.700; 14. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-13.706; 15. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.711; 16. Stephen Schnapf, 11m, Martin-13.789; 17. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-13.820; 18. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-13.821; 19. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-13.850; 20. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.865; 21. Carson Garrett, 15x, Garrett-13.901; 22. Shane Cottle, 86, Stamper-14.125; 23. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.210; 24. Jeff Schindler, 11, Martin-14.240; 25. Jake Neuman, 3N, Neuman-14.349; 26. Bryan Stanfill, 75AU, Griffiths-14.456; 27. Tyler Rust, 3x, Neuman-15.007; 28. Glenn Waterland, 11c, Waterland-15.247; 29. Austin Barnhill, 17B, Dave Mac-NT (Time of 14.186 disallowed due to missing the scales).
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Stephen Schnapf, 7. Kyle Cummins, 8. Jake Neuman, 9. Shane Cottle, 10. Glenn Waterland. 2:17.78
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Justin Grant, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Bryant Wiedeman, 6. Brenham Crouch, 7. Jace Park, 8. Austin Barnhill, 9. Hayden Reinbold, 10. Bryan Stanfill. 2:17.42 (New Track Record)
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Ethan Mitchell, 2. Kaylee Bryson, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Chase Randall, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Sam Johnson, 7. Carson Garrett, 8. Tyler Rust, 9. Jeff Schindler. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Jace Park, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Brenham Crouch, 4. Carson Garrett, 5. Jake Neuman, 6. Sam Johnson, 7. Tyler Rust, 8. Bryan Stanfill, 9. Hayden Reinbold 10. Jeff Schindler, 11. Glenn Waterland, 12. Stephen Schnapf, 13. Shane Cottle, 14. Austin Barnhill. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (7), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 3. Justin Grant (17), 4. Daison Pursley (1), 5. Chris Windom (14), 6. Kyle Cummins (10), 7. Logan Seavey (5), 8. Bryant Wiedeman (20), 9. Buddy Kofoid (3), 10. Tanner Thorson (6), 11. Kaylee Bryson (16), 12. Jace Park (9), 13. Carson Garrett (19), 14. Emerson Axsom (18), 15. Chance Crum (15), 16. Sam Johnson (12), 17. Tyler Rust (22), 18. Cannon McIntosh (4), 19. Brenham Crouch (11), 20. Ethan Mitchell (8), 21. Jake Neuman (21), 22. Chase Randall (13). NT
**Stephen Schnapf & Shane Cottle flipped during the semi. Buddy Kofoid flipped on lap 14 of the feature. Ethan Mitchell flipped on lap 21 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-24 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 25-30 Thomas Meseraull.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1996, 2-Buddy Kofoid-1983, 3-Emerson Axsom-1840, 4-Daison Pursley-1834, 5-Tanner Thorson-1814, 6-Justin Grant-1796, 7-Logan Seavey-1725, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1627, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1597, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1409.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-174, 2-Justin Grant-165, 3-Tanner Thorson-160, 4-Brady Bacon-158, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-134, 6-Logan Seavey-133, 7-Thomas Meseraull-133, 8-Robert Ballou-131, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Shane Cottle-91.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 12-13, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Western World Championships
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Tyler Rust
Fatheadz Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Ethan Mitchell
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jace Park
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Justin Grant
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Carson Garrett
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Bryan Stanfill
RAINED OUT:
FRIDAY'S JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL AT WAYNE CITY
Wayne City, Illinois (October 8, 2021)………The accumulation of precipitation, with more arriving overnight, has forced cancellation of the Friday night, October 8 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill.
The event was to be the 8th running of the Jason Leffler Memorial, honoring the late, great four-time USAC National champion driver.
The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season now continues this Saturday night, October 9, with Harvest Cup at Haubstadt, Indiana's Tri-State Speedway. The event will also include the Midwest Sprint Car Series and Midwest Mini Sprint Association.
Adult general admission tickets are $25, students aged 13-18 are $20 and kids aged 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $30.
Pits open at 2:30pm CT with grandstands opening at 3:30pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and hot laps at 5:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
SWANSON HOPES USAC SILVER CROWN SEASON'S
SWAN SONG PRESENTS A 6TH CHAMPIONSHIP
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Toledo, Ohio (October 7, 2021)………In one way, Kody Swanson has found himself in this position before – leading the USAC Silver Crown standings going into the final race.
In another sense, Swanson has rarely found himself in a position quite like the one he'll face during this Sunday afternoon's season finale at Ohio's Toledo Speedway for the October 10 Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic.
The Kingsburg, Calif. native possesses a lead by the narrowest of margins, one point, over Logan Seavey heading into the event. In his five championship seasons, Swanson came into the last race as the point leader in all five and remained at the top exiting the track in 2014-15-17-18-19, ranging from a slim 27-point win in 2014 to a whopping 142-point title victory in 2015.
The year 2016 is the closest in comparison to Swanson's current situation. A 10-point lead rested with Swanson in the season closer at Eldora Speedway but fighting back from an early race incident and a damaged racecar proved to be just barely too much to overcome, trailing race winner and champion Chris Windom by five in the final tally.
Swanson doesn't take his historic run of an unprecedented number of wins and championships for granted, readily acknowledging the difficulty for everything to click in unison, and the versatility it takes from all involved, to reach the ultimate goal.
"It's hard to win a championship in anything and the Silver Crown series has been at the top of the USAC ladder, historically," Swanson said. "It's really neat because it's one of the last remaining open wheel series that you still have to run on both dirt and pavement surfaces."
Clicking with one crew and one team in a single year is a study in success, but this season has put Swanson in three different situations with three different teams in just eight starts, on the dirt with both Chris Dyson Racing and the Mark Swanson Encore Team, plus the full pavement slate for Doran Racing.
His original intent was not set on competing for the full season and, despite missing a race, emerged at the front and is still in the driver's seat of the championship, trying to become the first non-perfect attendance driver to win the Silver Crown title since Jimmy Sills in 1994.
"It's neat to have a chance at a title, especially in a year like this, for sure," Swanson acknowledged. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity, but I'm not trying to get caught up in it. It's tough to race for points, and to race with it all on the line. One of the things I've been focusing on this year is just trying to focus on each race individually where a win will take care of itself."
Swanson has been victorious in the Toledo Silver Crown event four times in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2019. He's led 455 of the possible 800 laps ever run by Silver Crown cars at Toledo and he's also captured the pole four times in 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019, the first of which remains the track record to this day.
Yet, despite the success, Swanson describes the track as "tricky," a place where the speed sneaks up on you. With the corners being so long and the straightaways relatively short, space is at a premium and it's close-quarters, high-speed throughout.
With three points for the pole, three points for most laps led, a difference of three points between each position from 1-10, a difference of two points between positions 11-20, and one point separating each position from 21st on back, Swanson simply needs to stay one step ahead of his championship competition, Seavey.
"He's had a great year and has run really well, especially on the dirt," Swanson said in praise of Seavey. "But he's run well on the pavement too for not having that much experience, and they've put themselves in a good spot. He'll be ready. They've been ready all year long. It's up to us to go out and compete for it."
A lot of conjecture and endless thoughts of "what-if" are to be expected in a tight title race. But Swanson and the Doran team are dead-set on putting their fate into their own hands, no "but's" about it and leaving the "what-if's" behind.
"We're working hard in the shop to make sure that every base is covered, and everything's been looked at," Swanson revealed. "As far as race day, specifically, the goal is still the same – to be as fast as we can be, to qualify well, and try to win the race at the end of it. If we're there, everything will take care of itself."
Sunday's Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus R & M Recycling Late Model Sportsman and The Vault Factory Stocks.
The pits open at 8:30am ET and grandstands open at 11:15am with practice set for 11:30am. Racing will begin at 2pm.
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/.
Sunday's entire Toledo event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
TOLEDO SPEEDWAY USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:
1 �KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development)
6 �TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
11 �NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Hamilton-Byrd Racing)
14 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Hamilton-Byrd Racing)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)
24 MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)
26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
42 �JAKE DAY/Abilene, TX (Jake Day)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns Racing)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran Enterprises)
80 TONI BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger Motorsports)
81 BRIAN TYLER/Parma, MI (BCR Group)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 JIM ANDERSON/Joliet, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)
94 �MIKE MCVETTA/Grafton OH (Dick & Deborah Myers)
222 �LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
� USAC Silver Crown National Championship Rookie of the Year Contender
USAC WESTERN STATES & BCRA MIDGETS RUMBLE AT HANFORD SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings
OCTOBER 5, 2021... This Saturday, October 9th, the "mighty midgets" of the USAC Western States and the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) will clash at Keller Auto Speedway (Hanford, CA). Promoted by Peter Murphy, the "Morrie Williams Memorial / Kenny Takeuchi Tribute" will also feature the Kings of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Cars and NARC King of the West 410 Winged Sprint Cars. The Front Gates open at 4:00pm, Hot Laps at 6:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 7:00pm at the Kings County Fairgrounds. For more event information, visit the track's website at kellerautospeedway.com. For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- NO ENTRY FEE IN 2021. ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS OR TEMPORARY PERMITS (TPs) ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. TPs are $25 and Memberships are $150.
- 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.
- 2021 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 *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY.
- The USAC Western States Midget Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
After Placerville was forced to cancel Saturday's "Prospector Pandemonium," USAC Western States Midget Director Stephanie Odom was looking for options. After a few phone calls, a deal was reached with Peter Murphy and the midgets were added to the Hanford program.
Thanks to the series contingency sponsors, the Hanford heat races, lucky 13 award, and hard charger award will pay double certificates. In addition, $300 cash will be paid to the feature winner (Thanks to anonymous sponsors), the first heat race winner will earn $100 cash (Thanks to Walker Performance Filtration), the second heat race winner will earn $100 cash (Thanks to Superior Bearing & Supply), the third heat race winner will earn $100 cash (Thanks to drivewfx.com Trucking), a long haul award will pay $100 cash (Thanks to Wireless 101, "your authorized Cricket dealer.") Walker Performance Filtration will also award a complete filtration system to a random driver that supports midget racing between now and November 16th. A special thank you to goes to everyone for supporting the event at Hanford.
Since June 6, 1986, the Kings County Fairgrounds has hosted 44 USAC Western States Midget races and thirty different drivers have claimed victory. Robby Flock scored the inaugural victory and Mitchel Moles topped the last visit on April 10th. Billy Boat leads all drivers with six Hanford triumphs and Ronnie Day set the 1-lap qualifying track record of 15.555 on October 3, 1998. The series win list at Hanford is at the end of this release.
Entering the eleventh point race, Blake Bower (Brentwood, CA) has a 45-point lead over the competition. Driving Tony Boscacci's #9 Orland Public Auto Auction / Mountain Cascade Inc. Spike, Bower raced from fifth to third at Ventura on September 11th. To date, Blake has posted one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, nine top-10 finishes, and 22 feature laps led on the year. The rookie contender will be looking for his first USAC win this Saturday night.
Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA) is second in the chase for the championship. Racing Rusty Carlile's #51 RacePa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson scored eighteenth at Ventura after an early exit. At press time, the rookie contender has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Award, three heat race wins, seven top-10 finishes, and 26 feature laps led on the season. Brody will have his sights on adding a Hanford triumph to his resume.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) sits third in USAC Western Midget point standings. The pilot of the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Liggett Trucking Spike skipped the night's action at Ventura. To date, the 2018 USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, seven top-10 finishes and 57 feature laps led in the campaign. With four career wins, Liggett is a threat to win on any given night.
C.J. Sarna (Brea, CA) ranks fourth in the championship point chase. Racing his #20 ZMAX / Final Final Clothing Spike, Sarna placed fifteenth at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. To date, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year has three heat race victories, three Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards, and seven top-10 finishes to his credit. Sarna has one career victory and will have his sights winning at Keller Auto Speedway.
Ben Worth (Coalinga, CA) is fifth in the Western Midget point standings. The driver of Dean Alexander's #5K Walker Air Filtration / WFX Spike has missed some races to recover from back pain. At press time, the 2019 Rookie of the Year has posted one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, four top-10 finishes, and 29 feature laps led. Ben has two career wins and everyone with the USAC Western States Midget Series wishes him a speedy recovery.
While Bower leads the chase for rookie honors, Fuson (Bakersfield, CA), Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA), Tony Gomes (Modesto, CA), Colby Johnson (Penngrove, CA), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, CA), and Colton Raudman (Redding, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Shannon McQueen, Chase Johnson, Ron Hazelton, Kyle Mentch, Kyle Beilman, Colton Raudman, Alex Schutte, Jake Andreotti, and more.
Colby Johnson leads the BCRA point standings. Brody Fuson, David Prickett, Kyle Mentch, Robert Carson, Blake Bower, Floyd Alvis, Chase Johnson, Dylan Ito, and Shannon McQueen round out the top-10 drivers.
Keller Auto Speedway is located at the Kings County Fairgrounds at 801 South 10th Avenue in Hanford, California. General Admission Adult tickets are $20, General Admission Senior (62 and older), Active Military (ID Required), and General Admission Junior tickets (6 to 17) are $15. Kids tickets (5 and under) are FREE. For more event information, visit kellerautospeedway.com or the track's social media.
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
HANFORD USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET TRACK RECORD: Ronnie Day – 15.555 (10/3/98)
HANFORD USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 6-Billy Boat, 4- Robby Flock, 3-Jimmy Sills, 2-Ronnie Day, 2-Alex Harris, 2-Rusty Rasmussen, 2-Ron Shuman, 1-Tommy Astone, 1-Donnie Beechler, 1-Ryan Bernal, 1-Cory Elliott, 1-Mark DeBeaumont, 1-Danny Ebberts, 1-Nic Faas, 1-Joe Gaerte, 1-Ronnie Gardner, 1-Garrett Hansen, 1-Levi Jones, 1-Dallen McKenney, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Andy Michner, 1-Mitchel Moles, 1-Alex Schutte, 1-Ricky Shelton, 1-Tony Stewart, 1-Danny Stratton, 1-Matt Streeter, 1-Sleepy Tripp, 1-Rich Vogler, 1-Josh Wise.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 2-Chase Johnson, 2-Austin Liggett, 1-Maria Cofer, 1-Brody Fuson, 1-Colby Johnson, 1-Mitchel Moles, 1-Hayden Williams, 1-Ben Worth.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT STANDINGS: 1. Blake Bower �-663, 2. Brody Fuson �-618, 3. Austin Liggett-549, 4. C.J. Sarna-542, 5. Ben Worth-351, 6. David Prickett-334, 7. Jarrett Soares �-323, 8. Shannon McQueen-320, 9. Chase Johnson-304, 10. Maria Cofer-282, 11. Ron Hazelton-257, 12. Dylan Ito-226, 13. Colby Johnson �-225, 14. Tony Gomes �-212, 15. Mitchel Moles-205, 16. Randi Pankratz-181, 17. Terry Nichols-173, ---. Kyle Mentch-173, 19. Kyle Beilman-133, ---. Robby Josett-133, 21. Colton Raudman �-116, 22. Alex Schutte-113, 23. Troy Rutherford-105, 24. Matt Mitchell-104, 25. Hayden Williams-80, 26. Jake Andreotti �-77, 27. Shane Golobic-77, 28. Ryan Bernal-75, ---. Travis Buckley-75, 30. Davey Ray-72, ---. Mike Leach Jr.-72, 32. Michael Faccinto-68, 33. Max Adams �-65, ---. Caden Sarale-65, 35. Beau Lemire-58, 36. Floyd Alvis-56, 37. Ashlyn Rodriguez-55, 38. Thomas Esberg-53, 39. Troy Morris III-50, ---. Sparky Howard-50, ---. Ronnie Gardner-50, ---. Robert Carson-50, 43. Ben Wiesz-49, ---. Gage Rucker-49, 45. Kenny Welch-46, 46. Joey Bishop-44, 47. Dylan Bloomfield-41, 48. Kaleb Montgomery-36, 49. Jake Vermeer-27, 50. Michael Snider-13.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK – LOCATION
March 27: #Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 10: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Mitchel Moles)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Maria Cofer)
June 5: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Ben Worth)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
August 7: #Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Colby Johnson)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 11: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Hayden Williams)
October 9: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Morrie Williams Memorial / Kenny Takeuchi Tribute)
October 10: #Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (CANCELLED)
October 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 29: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Anthony Simone Classic)
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# = Co-Sanctioned Event with Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA)
USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series
USAC Western States Midget Series
OCTOBER 9TH PLACERVILLE EVENT IS CANCELLED; MIDGET RACE MOVED TO HANFORD
By Lance Jennings
OCTOBER 5, 2021... Placerville Speedway officials have announced that this Saturday's (October 9th) "Prospector Pandemonium" featuring the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars, USAC Western States Midgets, and Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) Midgets has been cancelled. Local fire departments have been using the El Dorado County Fairgrounds for staging and storing equipment to assist fire in cleanup efforts for the area. This has made it impossible for the facility to host the event.
A few weeks ago, Petaluma Speedway had announced the cancellation of the Sunday, October 10th, event that showcased the same three series.
After the Placerville cancellation, USAC Western States Midget and USAC West Coast Sprint Car Director Stephanie Odom was looking for options. The USAC Western States and BCRA Midgets will now battle at Hanford's Keller Auto Speedway this Saturday night. The Morrie Williams Memorial / Kenny Takeuchi Tribute will also showcase the Kings of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Cars and NARC King of the West 410 Winged Sprint Cars. For more information, visit kellerautospeedway.com.
The USAC West Coast and VRA Sprint Cars will clash at Ventura Raceway on Saturday, October 16th. D.J. Johnson (Stockton, CA) returned to West Coast action and will be crowned champion at the final point race. Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA) has earned Rookie of the Year honors after a hard fought battle with Jacob Tuttle and Brody Fuson. For more information, visit venturaraceway.com.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks AMSOIL, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, 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 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.
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car and USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK – LOCATION
April 3: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
April 10: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Geoff Ensign)
June 12: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (CANCELLED)
June 26: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Troy Rutherford)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Cody Fendley)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Shawn Arriaga)
August 7: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 18: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
September 19: Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
October 9: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (CANCELLED)
October 10: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (CANCELLED)
October 16: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
November 26: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 27: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with VRA Sprints.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK – LOCATION
March 27: #Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
April 10: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Mitchel Moles)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Maria Cofer)
June 5: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Ben Worth)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson)
August 7: #Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Colby Johnson)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 11: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Hayden Williams)
October 9: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Morrie Williams Memorial / Kenny Takeuchi Tribute)
October 10: #Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (CANCELLED)
October 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 29: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Anthony Simone Classic)
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# = Co-Sanctioned Event with Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA)
This schedule is subject to change.
THE LAST DANCE:
USAC SILVER CROWN FINALE
SET FOR SUNDAY AT TOLEDO!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Toledo, Ohio (October 6, 2021)………The closest championship race in USAC Silver Crown history pays a visit to Ohio's Toledo Speedway this Sunday afternoon, October 10, for the season finale, the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic.
This isn't your typical Sunday cruise, however. Sunday's matinee serves as the final race of USAC's 2021 Silver Crown season, with two drivers, Kody Swanson and Logan Seavey vying for the season title, separated by a single point.
Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) holds a one-point advantage in the standings entering the event. Swanson has won nearly everywhere on the Silver Crown trail, and the 1/2-mile paved oval of Toledo is near the forefront of his prolificity. He's the only driver to have started all seven USAC Silver Crown events at Toledo and has yet to finish outside the top-four in any of those seven starts.
The five-time Silver Crown champ is the defending Toledo race winner and has won the Rollie Beale Classic on four occasions, in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2019, all while leading 455 of the 800 laps ever run by Silver Crown cars at Toledo. He's also won the pole four times in 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019. His first, in 2011, remains the one-lap Silver Crown track record at Toledo – 14.809 sec. (121.548 mph avg.).
Meanwhile, Seavey's incredible Rookie season in the Silver Crown cars has brought him to within one-point entering the finale. While Seavey's prowess has undoubtedly been on the dirt, with two wins at Pennsylvania's Selinsgrove Speedway and Ohio's Eldora Speedway, he's been solid on the pavement as well with a 7th and 8th in two appearances at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind., and an 11th on the high banks of Winchester (Ind.) Speedway. For the 2018 USAC National Midget champ, this will be his first career Toledo experience.
In the championship realm, it's down to just those two, but it's not going to be just a two-horse race at the front of the field with several top guns looking to position themselves as a race winner at Toledo.
Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) is the only driver to win at Toledo Speedway in a USAC Sprint Car, Midget and Silver Crown car in his career, taking the checkered at the Rollie Beale Classic in 2017. A feather in his cap is being the most recent driver not named Kody Swanson to win with the series at Toledo. The pavement ace has finished inside the top-three in a Crown car at Toledo on four occasions, 3rd in 2012, 1st in 2017, 2nd in 2018 and 2nd again in 2019, in addition to a King of the Wing Sprint Car win there in 2017.
Brian Tyler (Parma, Mich.) has USAC winning experience at Toledo, capturing a USAC National Sprint Car round there during the 2001 season. Sunday will mark his first Silver Crown experience at Toledo since 2012, however. September's winner on the Magic Mile at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds finished 6th at Toledo in both 2010 and 2011.
It will be yet another monumental Silver Crown start for Tyler who, along with Russ Gamester, will both be making their 201st career starts this Sunday, which will tie Dave Darland for number one on the all-time list. Gamester (Peru, Ind.) has made three Silver Crown starts with a best of 11th in 2019. He took 8th with the USAC National Sprint Cars at Toledo in 2011 and was 4th during an Auto Value Super Sprint feature there in 2019.
Reigning series champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) set quick time in qualifying at Toledo in 2018. He's earned top-ten Toledo Silver Crown finishes with a 10th in both 2017 and 2018, then turned in a personal best 4th in 2019. His car is owned by race sponsor Ron Hemelgarn, who was also the winning owner for Buddy Lazier's 1996 Indianapolis 500 entry. Dennis LaCava was with the team on its big day a quarter century ago and will be turning the wrenches for Grant at Toledo this Sunday.
Muncie, Indiana's Aaron Pierce has Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown experience at Toledo and has finished in the top-five in three of his last four Toledo Silver Crown starts with a 5th in 2015 and 2018 and a best of 3rd in 2019. Pierce added an Auto Value Super Sprint feature score in 2019 at Toledo.
Shullsburg, Wisconsin's David Byrne has been a consistent frontrunner at Toledo, and on the pavement, throughout his USAC Silver Crown career. Three of the one-time series winner's Toledo starts have produced top-eight finishes with a best of 3rd in 2018 to go along with a 6th in 2015 and an 8th in 2017.
Austin Nemire, from nearby Sylvania, Ohio, made his first career Silver Crown start at Toledo in 2015, finishing 7th, then came back in 2018 with a solid 6th. Nemire has been consistently steady over the years at Toledo, taking a best finish of 6th in 2018, then was the hard charger in 2019, moving his way through the field to a 7th place finish after starting 20th.
Returning for Toledo Silver Crown starts are 2018 series Rookie of the Year, New Castle, Indiana's Kyle Robbins (11th in 2018); Pendleton, Indiana's Travis Welpott (9th in 2018); Winchester, Indiana's Matt Goodnight (8th in 2018); Hillsborough, California's Toni Breidinger (12th in 2018); Levittown, Pennsylvania's Mike Haggenbottom (12th in 2019); and Shelby Township, Michigan's Taylor Ferns who's making her first series start at Toledo since finishing 15th in 2012.
The Rollie Beale Classic's Rookie class includes Tyler Roahrig, who's won big twice at Toledo, scoring Glass City 200 stock car wins at the track in 2016 and 2018. He finished 2nd in his only Silver Crown start in August at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Also on board for their first Toledo USAC Silver Crown starts are 2014 USAC Pavement Midget champion Kyle O'Gara (Beech Grove, Ind.); plus Davey Hamilton Jr., whose grandfather, Ken Hamilton, was the 1986 USAC Supermodified champion while his dad, Davey Hamilton, finished 6th in the Toledo Silver Crown race back in 2017.
Aiming to make their first USAC Silver Crown starts at Toledo are 2012 USAC D1 Midget titlist Jim Anderson (Joliet, Ill.) and Dave Berkheimer from the legendary racing town of Mechanicsburg, Pa., who both appeared at Toledo in 2019, but mechanical issues hindered them from starting the event.
Mike McVetta is one of two Ohio natives in Sunday's field along with Nemire. McVetta (Wellington, Ohio) captured Midwest Supermodified Series (MSS) championships in 2018 and 2019 as well as the Buckeye Super Sprint title in 2011. He's already won in Ohio this season, scoring an International Supermodified Association event at Sandusky Speedway. The Dick and Deborah Myers owned team sure knows the fast way around Toledo. Their winged sprint car possesses the fastest lap ever turned at Toledo, a 12.096 set in 2018.
The versatile Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, Ariz.) eyes his fourth career Silver Crown start on Sunday, and his first at Toledo while Jake Day (Abilene, Texas) will make the long haul from the Lone Star State to compete in his first Rollie Beale Classic.
Sunday's event honors legendary Toledo native and 1973 USAC Sprint Car champion driver and also marks the eighth appearance by the series at Toledo since 2010.
Sunday's Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus R & M Recycling Late Model Sportsman and The Vault Factory Stocks.
The pits open at 8:30am ET and grandstands open at 11:15am with practice set for 11:30am. Racing will begin at 2pm.
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/.
Sunday's entire Toledo event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
ROLLIE BEALE CLASSIC ENTRY LIST:
1 �KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development)
6 �TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
11 �NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Hamilton-Byrd Racing)
14 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Hamilton-Byrd Racing)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)
24 MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)
26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
42 �JAKE DAY/Abilene, TX (Jake Day)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns Racing)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran Enterprises)
80 TONI BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger Motorsports)
81 BRIAN TYLER/Parma, MI (BCR Group)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 JIM ANDERSON/Joliet, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)
94 �MIKE MCVETTA/Grafton OH (Dick & Deborah Myers)
222 �LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
� USAC Silver Crown National Championship Rookie of the Year Contender
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-498, 2-Logan Seavey-497, 3-Shane Cottle-386, 4-Justin Grant-365, 5-Kyle Robbins-361, 6-David Byrne-331, 7-Shane Cockrum-328, 8-Austin Nemire-299, 9-Jake Swanson-286, 10-Travis Welpott-285.
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:
4-Kody Swanson
2-Jerry Coons Jr.
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)
PAST USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS AT TOLEDO SPEEDWAY:
2010 FEATURE: (150 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Kody Swanson, 3. Bobby East, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. A.J. Fike, 6. Brian Tyler, 7. Levi Jones, 8. Bud Kaeding, 9. Justin Carver, 10. Zach Daum, 11. Dave Darland, 12. Russ Gamester, 13. Derek Hagar, 14. Zach Martini, 15. Tanner Swanson, 16. Tracy Hines, 17. Shane Hollingsworth, 18. Jeff Swindell, 19. Troy DeCaire, 20. Jacob Wilson. NT
2011 FEATURE: (150 laps) 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Bobby East, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Brian Tyler, 7. Levi Jones, 8. Kyle Hamilton, 9. Shane Hollingsworth, 10. Eric Gordon, 11. Tracy Hines, 12. David Byrne, 13. Kyle Larson, 14. Derek Hagar, 15. A.J. Fike, 16. Russ Gamester, 17. Jimmy Kite, 18. Tanner Swanson, 19. Doug Berryman. NT
2012 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Bobby East, 3. Bobby Santos, 4. Kody Swanson, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Kyle Hamilton, 7. Tanner Swanson, 8. A.J. Fike, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Jacob Wilson, 11. Bud Kaeding, 12. Eric Gordon, 13. Brian Tyler, 14. Doug Berryman, 15. Taylor Ferns. 27:07.40
2015 FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Jacob Wilson, 3. A.J. Fike, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Aaron Pierce, 6. David Byrne, 7. Austin Nemire, 8. Dave Baumgartner, 9. Tracy Hines, 10. Rex Norris III, 11. C.J. Leary, 12. Tim Barber, 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Jimmy McCune, 15. Tanner Swanson, 16. Bobby Santos, 17. Kyle Hamilton, 18. Patrick Lawson. NT
2017 FEATURE: (103 laps) 1. Bobby Santos, 2. Kody Swanson, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Joe Liguori, 6. Davey Hamilton, 7. Joe Axsom, 8. David Byrne, 9. Annie Breidinger, 10. Justin Grant, 11. Troy Thompson, 12. Aaron Pierce, 13. Joss Moffatt, 14. Damion Gardner, 15. Matt Goodnight. 28:48.16
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
USAC SILVER CROWN TITLE FIGHTS: TALES FROM THE STAT BOOK
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Toledo, Ohio (October 4, 2021)………And then there were two.
The closest USAC Silver Crown title race ever makes its way to Ohio's Toledo Speedway for the season finale, the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic this Sunday afternoon, October 10.
Kingsburg, California's Kody Swanson leads the series standings entering the 100-lap event by one single solitary point over series newcomer, Sutter, California's Logan Seavey. That's less than the difference between one position in the feature, less than one fast qualifying time, and less than the bonus for leading the most laps.
Only one other time has the point difference been as close going into the final race. Similarly, in 2010, Levi Jones trailed Bud Kaeding by one entering the series' inaugural race at, guess where, Toledo.
In that one, Jerry Coons Jr. won the race, but it was Jones who ultimately edged Kaeding by a mere two points to win the driving championship, finishing seventh with Kaeding lurking just behind in eighth. Kaeding had been running ahead of Jones until 27 laps to go when he was involved in a three-car tangle on the backstretch. Kaeding continued but was unable to catch and pass Jones for the title.
One more spot gained and Kaeding would've been the champion. But that's the difference when so much is at stake and every sliver of a Silver Crown point matters.
That old adage of, "if the season ended today…" would make the 2021 Silver Crown championship duel the closest of all-time.
Three times has the final difference in Silver Crown points been exactly two points between first and second. Mike Bliss over Ron Shuman in 1993; Tony Stewart over Dave Darland in 1995; and the aforementioned narrow fight of Jones over Kaeding in 2010.
The margin has been single digits between the champion and the runner-up a total of eight times in the series' 50-year history: Jones prevailing over Jerry Coons Jr. by 3 in 2011; Coons Jr. over Darland by 5 in 2008; Chris Windom by 5 over Swanson in 2016; Bobby East by 6 over Windom in 2013; and Steve Butler over Jeff Swindell by 7 in 1992.
Meanwhile, Brian Tyler and Russ Gamester are expected to be in Sunday's Toledo field. Each recently reached the 200 starts mark in their Silver Crown careers – Tyler at Eldora on September 25 and Gamester at Lucas Oil Raceway on August 14. With one more start on Sunday, they'll both tie Dave Darland for the most career starts in series history at 201.
Furthermore, by making his 148th career Silver Crown start on Sunday at Toledo, Eric Gordon will move past Tony Elliott for eighth on the all-time series list in that category.
Sunday's Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus R & M Recycling Late Model Sportsman and The Vault Factory Stocks.
The pits open at 8:30am ET and grandstands open at 11:15am with practice set for 11:30am. Racing will begin at 2pm.
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/.
Sunday's entire Toledo event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
CLOSEST USAC SILVER CROWN FINAL POINT MARGINS (BY RANK):
1993: (2) Mike Bliss over Ron Shuman
1995: (2) Tony Stewart over Dave Darland
2010: (2) Levi Jones over Bud Kaeding
2011: (3) Levi Jones over Jerry Coons Jr.
2008: (5) Jerry Coons Jr. over Dave Darland
2016: (5) Chris Windom over Kody Swanson
2013: (6) Bobby East over Chris Windom
1992: (7) Steve Butler over Jeff Swindell
1990: (11) Jimmy Sills over Eric Gordon
2012: (12) Bobby East over Jerry Coons Jr.
1998: (16) Jason Leffler over Brian Tyler
2005: (19) Dave Steele over Josh Wise
1981: (23) Larry Rice over Rich Vogler
2014: (27) Kody Swanson over Tracy Hines
2000: (29) Tracy Hines over Dave Darland
1989: (38) Chuck Gurney over Johnny Parsons
2002: (38) J.J. Yeley over Dave Steele
2007: (38) Bud Kaeding over Wayne Reutimann Jr.
1996: (42) Jimmy Sills over Kenny Irwin Jr.
1979: (43) Bobby Olivero over Billy Engelhart
2006: (44) Bud Kaeding over Brian Tyler
2020: (46) Justin Grant over Kody Swanson
1999: (47) Ryan Newman over Russ Gamester
2004: (47) Dave Steele over Bud Kaeding
1988: (49) Steve Butler over Jack Hewitt
1997: (49) Dave Darland over Donnie Beechler
1991: (55) Jeff Gordon over Jimmy Sills
1978: (56) Pancho Carter over Gary Bettenhausen
2009: (59) Bud Kaeding over A.J. Fike
1973: (60) Al Unser over Mario Andretti
1975: (60) Jimmy Caruthers over Tom Bigelow
1976: (60) Billy Cassella over Johnny Parsons
2019: (60) Kody Swanson over Justin Grant
1983: (63) Gary Bettenhausen over Ken Schrader
1980: (65) Gary Bettenhausen over Pancho Carter
1982: (74) Ken Schrader over Mark Alderson
2001: (78) Paul White over Russ Gamester
2003: (81) J.J. Yeley over Dave Darland
1994: (82) Jimmy Sills over Chuck Gurney
2018: (82) Kody Swanson over Justin Grant
2017: (88) Kody Swanson over Jerry Coons Jr.
1977: (90) Larry Rice over Billy Vukovich
1971: (100) George Snider over Jim McElreath
1972: (100) A.J. Foyt over Al Unser
1984: (121) Dave Blaney over Gary Bettenhausen
2015: (142) Kody Swanson over Jerry Coons Jr.
1985: (159) Rick Hood over Sheldon Kinser
1974: (180) Mario Andretti over Tom Bigelow
1987: (314) Jack Hewitt over Steve Butler
1986: (489) Jack Hewitt over Steve Butler
=============================
2021 USAC SILVER CROWN STAT LEADERS:
Most Wins: 3-Kody Swanson
Driver Point Leader: Kody Swanson
Entrant Point Leader: Rice Motorsports #222
Leading Rookie in Points: Logan Seavey (2nd)
Most Laps Led: 204-Kody Swanson
Most Top-Fives: 6-Kody Swanson
Most Top-Tens: 7-Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 4-Kody Swanson
Best Finish By A Rookie: Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway & Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (1st)
Most Feature Starts: 9-Dave Berkheimer, Shane Cottle, Justin Grant, Austin Nemire, Kyle Robbins, Logan Seavey & Travis Welpott
Most Positions Advanced in a Race: Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Kody Swanson (23rd to 1st) & Shane Cockrum (25th to 3rd)
=======================
2021 USAC SILVER CROWN SCHEDULE & RESULTS
May 29: (P#) Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Enterprises #77)
Jun 18: (D) Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, PA WINNER: Shane Cockrum (BLS Motorsports #71)
Jun 26: (D) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Chris Dyson Racing #9)
Jul 22 (P) Winchester Speedway – Winchester, IN WINNER: Justin Grant (Hemelgarn Racing #91)
Aug 8: (D) Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, PA WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports #22)
Aug 14: (P) Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Enterprises #77)
Aug 21: (D#) Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, IL WINNER: Kody Swanson (Chris Dyson Racing #9)
Sep 6: (D) Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, IL WINNER: Brian Tyler (Curtis Williams #81)
Sep 25: (D) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports #22)
Oct 10: (P#) Toledo Speedway – Toledo, OH
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(D) represents a dirt event
(P) represents a pavement event
# represents a daytime event
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 498 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.
2 497 Logan Seavey (R), Sutter, Calif.
3 386 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.
4 365 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
5 361 Kyle Robbins, New Castle, Ind.
6 331 David Byrne, Shullsburg, Wis.
7 328 Shane Cockrum, Benton, Ill.
8 299 Austin Nemire, Sylvania, Ohio
9 286 Jake Swanson (R), Anaheim, Calif.
10 285 Travis Welpott, Pendleton, Ind.
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN OWNER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 497 Rice Motorsports, Brownsburg, Ind. (#222)
2 367 BCR Group, Springfield, Ohio (#81)
3 365 Hemelgarn Racing, LaSalle, Mich. (#91)
4 361 KR Racing, Greenfield, Ind. (#7)
5 331 Byrne Racing, Shullsburg, Wis. (#40)
6 328 BLS Motorsports, Benton, Ill. (#71)
7 299 Chris Dyson Racing, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (#9)
8 286 Nemire-Lesko Racing, Toledo, Ohio (#16)
9 285 DMW Motorsports, Phoenix, Ariz. (#10)
10 278 Welpott Racing, Pendleton, Ind. (#18)
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 497 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
2 286 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
3 255 Carmen Perigo, Stoystown, Pa.
4 193 Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Okla.
5 166 Casey Buckman, Chandler, Ariz.
6 152 Kyle O'Gara, Beech Grove, Ind.
7 109 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.
8 90 Nathan Byrd, Goodyear, Ariz.
9 86 Chris Phillips, Plainfield, Ind.
10 74 Nick Bilbee, Indianapolis, Ind.
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RACE WINS:
3-Kody Swanson (May 29 at Lucas Oil Raceway, Aug 14 at Lucas Oil Raceway & Aug 21 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds)
2-Logan Seavey (Aug 8 at Selinsgrove Speedway & Sep 25 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Shane Cockrum (Jun 18 at Williams Grove Speedway)
1-Tyler Courtney (Jun 26 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Justin Grant (Jul 22 at Winchester Speedway)
1-Brian Tyler (Sep 6 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds)
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LAPS LED:
204-Kody Swanson
169-Logan Seavey
81-Bobby Santos
67-Justin Grant
53-Brian Tyler
51-Tyler Courtney
35-Aaron Pierce
28-Shane Cockrum & Jake Swanson
26-Jason McDougal
9-C.J. Leary
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TOP-FIVE FINISHES:
6-Kody Swanson
4-Shane Cockrum & Logan Seavey
3-Brady Bacon, Justin Grant & Bobby Santos
2-David Byrne, Jerry Coons Jr., Shane Cottle, Jake Swanson & Chris Windom
1-Tyler Courtney, Taylor Ferns, C.J. Leary, Kyle O'Gara, Aaron Pierce, Tyler Roahrig, Kyle Robbins, Kyle Steffens, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Brian Tyler & Matt Westfall
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TOP-TEN FINISHES:
7-Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson
5-Shane Cottle, Justin Grant & Kyle Robbins
4- Brady Bacon, David Byrne, Shane Cockrum, Jake Swanson & Matt Westfall
3-Carmen Perigo & Bobby Santos
2-Robert Ballou, Jerry Coons Jr., Matt Goodnight, Dallas Hewitt, Austin Nemire, Kyle O'Gara, Travis Welpott & Chris Windom
1-Jim Anderson, Terry Babb, Derek Bischak, Casey Buckman, Tyler Courtney, Taylor Ferns, Russ Gamester, Eric Gordon, Mike Haggenbottom, Patrick Lawson, C.J. Leary, Jason McDougal, Aaron Pierce, Tyler Roahrig, Kyle Steffens, Chase Stockon, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Brian Tyler
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FEATURE STARTS:
9-Dave Berkheimer, Shane Cottle, Justin Grant, Austin Nemire, Kyle Robbins, Logan Seavey & Travis Welpott
8-David Byrne, Matt Goodnight, Mike Haggenbottom & Kody Swanson
6-Shane Cockrum, Eric Gordon, Jason McDougal, Carmen Perigo & Matt Westfall
5-Casey Buckman, Patrick Lawson & Jake Swanson
4-Terry Babb, Brady Bacon, Bryan Gossel, Dallas Hewitt,
3-Robert Ballou, Nathan Byrd, Kyle Cummins, Chris Fetter, Kyle O'Gara, Chris Phillips, Aaron Pierce, Bobby Santos & Chris Windom
2-Nick Bilbee, Derek Bischak, Annie Breidinger, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Jake Day, Taylor Ferns, C.J. Leary, Nathan Moore, Ken Schrader, Kyle Steffens, Tanner Swanson, Brian Tyler & Korey Weyant
1-Jim Anderson, Charles Davis Jr., Russ Gamester, Chase Johnson, Erik Karlsen, Joe Liguori, Danny Long, Mike McVetta, Ryan Newman, Dave Peperak, Davey Ray, Tyler Roahrig, Steven Russell, Mark Smith, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Brent Yarnal
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
4-Kody Swanson
2-C.J. Leary
1-Tyler Courtney, Jason McDougal & Tanner Swanson
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GSP QUALIFYING DRIVING PERFORMANCE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Kody Swanson
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Shane Cockrum
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Kody Swanson
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Kyle O'Gara
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Travis Welpott
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Tyler Roahrig
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Jerry Coons Jr.
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Shane Cockrum
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Matt Westfall
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TOP "ROOKIE" FINISHER OF THE RACE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Logan Seavey (7th)
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Jason McDougal (6th)
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (8th)
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Kyle O'Gara (5th)
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Logan Seavey (1st)
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Tyler Roahrig (2nd)
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Logan Seavey (2nd)
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Logan Seavey (2nd)
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (1st)
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Patrick Lawson (17th to 9th)
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Eric Gordon (22nd to 11th)
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Kody Swanson (15th to 3rd)
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Kyle O'Gara (15th to 5th)
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Travis Welpott (20th to 13th)
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Mike Haggenbottom (23rd to 11th)
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Kody Swanson (23rd to 1st)
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Jerry Coons Jr. (19th to 4th)
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Matt Westfall (14th to 2nd)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Bryan Gossel
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Austin Nemire
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Jason McDougal
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Shane Cottle
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Travis Welpott
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Aaron Pierce
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Chris Phillips
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Kyle Steffens
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Carmen Perigo
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STATS
ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WINS:
1. [33 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] Jimmy Sills
9. [11 wins] Bobby East
10. [10 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Mike Bliss & Bobby Santos
13. [9 wins] Tracy Hines
14. [8 wins] Tanner Swanson & Chris Windom
16. [7 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Rick Hood & George Snider
19. [6 wins] Tom Bigelow, Russ Gamester, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Ken Schrader & Al Unser
25. [5 wins] Mario Andretti, Donnie Beechler, Pancho Carter, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Bud Kaeding, Sheldon Kinser & Larry Rice
33. [4 wins] Shane Cockrum, Kyle Larson, Jeff Swindell & Rich Vogler
37. [3 wins] Steve Butler, Tyler Courtney, Cameron Dodson, A.J. Fike, Justin Grant, Levi Jones, Kasey Kahne, Jim Keeker, Steve Kinser, Bobby Olivero, Johnny Parsons, Aaron Pierce, Ron Shuman, Tony Stewart, Tyler Walker & Paul White
53. [2 wins] Pat Abold, Brady Bacon, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Larry Dickson, Billy Engelhart, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, C.J. Leary, Ryan Newman, Joe Saldana, Logan Seavey, 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, 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
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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
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN OWNER 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: Louis 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
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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
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
35-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, & Josh Wise
6-Gary Bettenhausen, Steve Chassey, Justin Grant, Jack Hewitt & Larry Rice
5-Kenny Irwin Jr., Aaron Pierce, 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, C.J. Leary, 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, Bobby Santos, 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, 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, Mat Neely, Roger Rager, Wayne Reutimann Jr., Bill Rose, Randy Tolsma, Billy Vukovich, Bruce Walkup & Doug Wolfgang
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STARTS:
201-Dave Darland
200-Russ Gamester & Brian Tyler
178-Jerry Coons Jr.
172-Tracy Hines
163-Jack Hewitt
151-Johnny Parsons
147-Tony Elliott & Eric Gordon
128-George Snider
125-Gary Hieber
116-Kody Swanson
114-Chuck Gurney
113-Bud Kaeding & Jimmy Sills
111-Dave Steele
110-John Heydenreich
103-A.J. Fike & Aaron Pierce
100-Larry Rice
94-Jay Drake & Paul White
91-J.J. Yeley
90-Tom Bigelow
88-Mark Alderson
84-Jason McCord
83-Gary Bettenhausen
79-Donnie Beechler & Levi Jones
77-Rich Vogler & Chris Windom
76-Larry Dickson
74-Steve Chassey & Ryan Newman
73-Rich Tobias Jr.
72-Bobby East
71-Robby Flock & Sheldon Kinser
70-Steve Butler & David Byrne
68-Billy Engelhart
67-Joe Saldana
66-Shane Cottle & Brad Noffsinger
65-Jerry Nemire
62-Justin Grant & Ron Shuman
60-Randy Bateman, Wally Pankratz & Bobby Santos
59-Bill Rose
58-Rick Hood
55-Gary Irvin
54-Tom Capie, Shane Hollingsworth, Austin Nemire & Jacob Wilson
53-Chet Fillip & Jason Leffler
52-Wayne Reutimann Jr.
49-Ken Schrader & Tony Stewart
48-Mike Bliss
47-Bob Cicconi, Shane Cockrum & Patrick Lawson
46-Jim Keeker & Bentley Warren
45-Derek Davidson, Jeff Swindell & Billy Vukovich
43-Kenny Irwin Jr., Tanner Swanson & Tyler Walker
42-Jon Stanbrough
41-Dane Carter & Danny Milburn
40-Aaron Fike, Matt Goodnight, Andy Hillenburg, Warren Mockler & Chip Thomas
39-Tray House & Jim McElreath
38-C.J. Leary & Bobby Olivero
37-Pancho Carter, Duke Cook, Todd Kane, Chuck Leary, Rusty McClure, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Roger Rager & Chris Urish
36-Ed Carpenter, Ron Dunstan & Matt Westfall
34-Ronnie Burke, Davey Hamilton, Kevin Huntley, Kyle Robbins, Greg Staab & Kevin Thomas
33-Cary Faas, Jimmy Kite & Josh Wise
32-Brady Bacon & Brent Kaeding
31-Steve Cannon, Ron Gregory, Arnie Knepper, Jim Mahoney, Mat Neely & Stevie Reeves
30-Terry Babb, Tim Barber, Teddy Beach, Jeff Bloom, Zach Daum, Stan Fox, Mike Haggenbottom, Manny Rockhold & Jerry Russell
29-Rocky Hodges & Michael Lewis
28-Dave Blaney & Bill Puterbaugh
27-Brad Armstrong & Bryan Clauson
26-Steve Buckwalter, Dan Drinan, Joe Liguori & Travis Welpott
25-Kasey Kahne & Nick Lundgreen
24-Pat Abold, Derek Hagar, Kenny Jacobs & Jerry Miller
23-Cameron Dodson
22-Dave Berkheimer, Billy Cassella, Kevin Doty, Bob Frey & Davey Ray
21-Kyle Hamilton & Walt Kennedy
20-Bill Baue, Dave Feese, John Starks & Randy Tolsma
19-Bruce Field, Brian Gerster, Gene Lee Gibson, Shane Hmiel, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden & Casey Shuman
18-Rollie Beale, Jackie Burke, Tyler Courtney, Mike Murgoitio, Al Unser & Jonathan Vennard
17-Jimmy Caruthers, Chris Fetter, A.J. Foyt, Sammy Sessions, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Kramer Williamson
16-Robert Ballou & Pablo Donoso
15-Paul Clark, P.J. Jones & Bruce Walkup
14-Jarett Andretti, Billy Boat, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Ralph Liguori, Boston Reid, Danny Smith, Smokey Snellbaker, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
13-Patrick Bruns, Tyce Carlson, Dana Carter, Jim Childers, Taylor Ferns, Jac Haudenschild, Jackie Howerton, Jon Johnson, Greg Leffler, Andy Michner, Brian Paulus, Billy Wease, Rodney Weesner & Bud Wilmot
12-Derek Bischak, Brad Fox, Mike Gregg, Mike Hess, Billy Pauch, Logan Seavey, 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, Mike Peters, Tad Roach, Kyle Steffens, Greg Weld & Greg Wilson
10-Ronnie Day, Gary Gray, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, Bob Harkey, Page Jones, Terry Kawell, Danny Long, Jim Moughan, Kenneth Nichols, Terry Pletch, Jack Runyon, Robert Smith & Robbie Stanley
9-Bobby Adkins, Chuck Amati, Caleb Armstrong, Toni Breidinger, Karl Busson, Bob Evans, Bryn Gohn, Bryan Gossel, Wayne Hammond, Dallas Hewitt, Jim Hurtubise, Rebel Jackson Jr., Chappy Knaack, Eddie Leavitt, Larry Martin, Jason McDougal, Joss Moffatt, Johnny Petrozelle, Paul Pitzer & Johnny Rutherford
8-Joe Axsom, Christopher Bell, Casey Buckman, 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, Thiago Medeiros, Jan Opperman, Lee Osborne, Junior Parkinson, Carmen Perigo, Greg Peterson, Aaron Pollock, Tracy Potter, Steve Siegel, Mark Smith, Ryan Smith, Jake Swanson, Sammy Swindell, Rick Treadway, Lennie Waldo, Carl Williams & Doug Wolfgang
7-Jim Anderson, 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, Joe McCarthy, Austin Mundie, Kyle O'Gara, Michael Roselli Jr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Alex Shanks, Pete Shepherd III, Mike Thomas, Billy Whitaker & Mitch Wissmiller
6-Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Mike Brooks, Bill Burks Jr., Kellen Conover, Palmer Crowell, 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, Steven Russell, Brian Seidel, Jimmy Stinson, Jerry Stone & Mike Winblad
5-Sport Allen, Todd Beach, Annie Breidinger, Barry Camp, Larry Cannon, Mark Cassella, Kyle Cummins, Davey Hamilton Jr., John Hunt, Brad Kuhn, Rich Leavell, Donnie Lehmann, Jimmy Light, Mario Marietta, Brad Marvel, Mack McClellan, Kevin Olson, Chris Phillips, Red Stauffer, Mike Stroehle, Neil Shepherd, Jake Simmons, Sleepy Tripp, Terry Uehling, Korey Weyant, Cole Whitt & Rip Williams
4-Tony Armstrong, Steve Arpin, John Batts, Mike Brecht, Jimmy Brewer, David Bridges, Ray Bull, Keith Burch, Keith Butler, Shane Carson, 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, Rodney Ritter Jr., Billy Shuman, Dean Shirley, Donny Schatz, Tim Siner, Chase Stockon, 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, Nathan Byrd, Gary Cameron II, Keith Campbell, Marv Carman, Roy Caruthers, Wayne Chinn, Bill Compton, Tim Cox, Erin Crocker, Troy DeCaire, Thad Dosher, Tommie Estes Jr., Dean Franklin, Jeff Gardner, Emmett Hahn, Darryl Haugh, Kelly Kinser, Lance Kobusch, Red Kunstbeck, Ricky Logan, Steve Long, Jim Malloy, Mike Martin, Zach Martini, Bob Meli, Larry Moore, Ryan Moore, Aaron Mosley, 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
2-Mike Adkins, Mike Andreeta, Tommy Astone, Todd Bammer, Randy Bauer, Dave Baumgartner, Nick Bilbee, Dean Billings, 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, Jake Day, 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, Nathan Moore, Dustin Morgan, Mike Mosley Jr., Larry Neighbors, John Nervo, Lynn Paxton, Dave Peperak, 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, Brent Yarnal & Jack Ziegler
1-Bobby Allen, Taylor Andrews, Dakoda Armstrong, Jon Backlund, Tom Ball, Steve Barnett, Steve Barth, Jarid Blondel, Chad Boat, Ray Bragg, 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, Dana Laliberte, Harold Leep, Jeff Leka, Ryan Litt, Ed Lynch Jr., Pepi Marchese, David McCreary, Dave McGough, Paul McMahan, Mike McVetta, Joe Melnick, Thomas Meseraull, Curt Michael, Jim Mills, Mark Monico, Mike Mosley, Jack Moulton Jr., Peter Murphy, Rick Muther, Fred Neighbors, Greg Nelson, Kevin Newton, Kyle Nicholas, Don O'Keefe, Jimmy Parsons, Billy Pauch Jr., Stan Ploski, Art Pollard, Jerry Potter, Richard Powell, Patrick Quinn, Ron Rae, Fred Rahmer, Robbie Ray, Byron Reed, David Reutimann, Jim Reynard, Tyler Roahrig, 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., 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
STAT BOOK: THORSON & WINDOM FIRST PAIR TO 6+ USAC MIDGET WINS IN TWO DECADES
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (October 5, 2021)………For the first time in 18 years, two different drivers have surpassed the six-win mark during a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season.
And get this. That's with, still, 11 events remaining on the schedule.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) leads all drivers this season with seven feature victories while Chris Windom has been en fuego of late, having recorded wins in three of his last four series starts to raise his tally to six entering this weekend's double slate of events on Friday, October 8, at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill. and on Saturday, October 9, at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.
It's a feat that, at one point, was semi-standard when seasons of 70-plus races were the norm between the 1950s and 1970s, occurring in all but two years during a span between 1956-1973.
In recent years, dueling six-win drivers have been more of an anomaly with just four past occurrences over the past 25-year span due to a concurrence of more parity at the top of the field in terms of equipment, and also having schedules that consist of a few less races, with 41 on the schedule in 2021, still the most since 1988.
Eventual series champion Jason Leffler and Tracy Hines both reached six wins in 1997. Ryan Newman hit seven and Dave Darland six in 1999. An early-season hot streak provided Jay Drake with six wins in 2000, equaled by series titlist Kasey Kahne. The nearly unstoppable season of J.J. Yeley in 2003 netted six wins while Tracy Hines denied Yeley with wins on six occasions.
Plenty of time remains this season for a third different driver to hit the six-win mark, which would be the first time since 1977, when Johnny Parsons (10), Rich Vogler (6) and Sleepy Tripp (6) all collected their fair share. The most prime candidates, at the moment, include four-time winner Buddy Kofoid as well as three-time victor Thomas Meseraull.
An all-time record of five drivers were at the six-win level in 1969, which is the second-largest season of total races in USAC National Midget history. Seventy-seven races were held that year with Mel Kenyon (14), Bob Tattersall (11), Bob Wente (8), Lee Kunzman (8) and Mike McGreevy (6) winning most often. Of note, a record 79 USAC National Midget events were held in 1964.
A hot streak this weekend, and/or out west in November, can put this year's talented crop at the forefront of history. We've already gotten our taste of it with its first occurrence in nearly two decades. Now, we see who else can join in on the fun.
Friday's 8th running of the Jason Leffler Memorial at Wayne County Speedway in southern Illinois features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, Hyper Non-Wing Outlaws, A-Class Non-Wing Non-Wing, Restrictors and Junior Sprints. Pits open at 3:30pm Central, grandstands at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:30pm and hot laps at 6:30pm. Tickets are $25 for general admission and free for ages 12 and under. Pit passes are $35 while kids age 10 and under are $20.
Saturday's Harvest Cup at Haubstadt, Indiana's Tri-State Speedway features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, Midwest Sprint Car Series and Midwest Mini Sprint Association. Adult general admission tickets are $25, students aged 13-18 are $20 and kids aged 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $30. Pits open at 2:30pm CT with grandstands opening at 3:30pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and hot laps at 5:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
YEARS OF MULTIPLE DRIVERS WITH 6 OR MORE USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS IN A SEASON:
1956: Shorty Templeman (9) & Jack Turner (6)
1957: Rex Easton (11), George Amick (7) & Shorty Templeman (6)
1960: Jimmy Davies (9), Bob Wente (7), Gene Hartley (7) & Leroy Warriner (6)
1961: Jimmy Davies (12) & A.J. Foyt (9)
1962: Jimmy Davies (9) & Bob Wente (8)
1963: Bob Wente (10), Billy Cantrell (8) & Parnelli Jones (6)
1964: Tommy Copp (8), Mel Kenyon (7), Parnelli Jones (7), Allen Heath (6) & Bob Wente (6)
1965: Bob Tattersall (12), Mel Kenyon (7), Mike McGreevy (7) & Chuck Rodee (6)
1966: Don Meacham (9) & Bob Tattersall (8)
1967: Mel Kenyon (17), Billy Vukovich (10) & Mike McGreevy (6)
1968: Mel Kenyon (11), Henry Pens (7) & Bob Tattersall (6)
1969: Mel Kenyon (14), Bob Tattersall (11), Bob Wente (8), Lee Kunzman (8) & Mike McGreevy (6)
1970: Dave Strickland (10), Jimmy Caruthers (7) & Jerry McClung (6)
1971: Danny Caruthers (12) & Jimmy Caruthers (8)
1972: Pancho Carter (8) & Tom Bigelow (7)
1973: Billy Engelhart (6) & Bobby Olivero (6)
1977: Johnny Parsons (10), Rich Vogler (6) & Sleepy Tripp (6)
1978: Rich Vogler (11) & Sleepy Tripp (8)
1997: Jason Leffler (6) & Tracy Hines (6)
1999: Ryan Newman (7) & Dave Darland (6)
2000: Jay Drake (6) & Kasey Kahne (6)
2003: J.J. Yeley (6) & Tracy Hines (6)
2021: Tanner Thorson (7) & Chris Windom (6)
==================================
2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET STAT LEADERS
Driver Point Leader: Chris Windom
Owner Point Leader: CB Industries #89
Leading Rookie Driver in Points: Chase Randall (11th)
Most Feature Wins: 7-Tanner Thorson
Laps Led: 153-Chris Windom
Top-Fives: 22-Chris Windom
Top-Tens: 28-Buddy Kofoid
Fast Qualifying Times: 4-Tanner Thorson
Heat Race Wins: 9-Justin Grant
Feature Starts: 30-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Most Positions Gained in a Feature: Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st) & Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jun 3: (I) Paragon Speedway – Paragon, IN WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Jun 4: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 5: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN WINNER: Logan Seavey (Tom Malloy #25)
Jun 6: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing #3G)
Jun 9: (I) Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN WINNER: Corey Day (Clauson Marshall Racing #47BC)
Jun 10: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jun 11: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 12: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jul 13: (M) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Jul 15: (M) Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, KS WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 16: (M) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 17: (M) (F) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
Aug 3: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Aug 4: (E) Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Aug 5: (E) Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 6: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 7: (E) Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Newmanstown, PA WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Aug. 19: (F) The Dirt Track at IMS – Indianapolis, IN WINNER: Kyle Larson (CB Industries #86x)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, WI WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Sep 10: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Sep 11: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 12: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Clauson Marshall Racing #7BC)
Sep 25: (F) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Oct 8: (F) Wayne County Speedway – Wayne City, IL
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(I) represents an Indiana Midget Week event
(M) represents a Mid-America Midget Week event
(E) represents an Eastern Midget Week event
(F) represents a race awarding feature points only
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1931 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
2 1929 Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, Calif.
3 1801 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.
4 1767 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.
5 1760 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
6 1726 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
7 1665 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
8 1549 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.
9 1523 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
10 1375 Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Okla.
� = USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year Contender
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 1931 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#89)
2 1929 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#67)
3 1801 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#15)
4 1767 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#71K)
5 1726 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#2J)
6 1665 Tom Malloy, El Monte, Calif. (#25)
7 1605 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19T)
8 1549 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#7x)
9 1523 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#5)
10 1375 Dave Mac Motorsports, Bixby, Okla. (#08)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1214 Chase Randall, Waco, Texas
2 909 Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, Texas
3 829 Bryant Wiedeman, Colby, Kan.
4 671 Hayden Reinbold, Gilbert, Ariz.
5 598 Hayden Williams, Auckland, N.Z.
6 481 Trey Gropp, Lincoln, Neb.
7 469 Corey Day, Clovis, Calif.
8 422 Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, Okla.
9 350 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Wash.
10 313 Brian Carber, Pipersville, Pa.
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
7-Tanner Thorson (Apr 11 at Port City Raceway, Jun 10 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 15 at Solomon Valley Raceway, Jul 16 at Jefferson County Speedway, Aug 5 at Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Aug 6 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway & Sep 5 at Angell Park Speedway)
6-Chris Windom (May 1 at Kokomo Speedway, Jun 12 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 3 at Grandview Speedway, Sep 11 at Huset's Speedway, Sep 12 Huset's Speedway & Sep 25 at Eldora Speedway)
4-Buddy Kofoid (Feb 6 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 10 at Port City Raceway, Jun 4 at Bloomington Speedway & Jun 11 at Gas City I-69 Speedway)
3-Thomas Meseraull (Feb 8 at Bubba Raceway Park, Jun 3 at Paragon Speedway & Sep 10 at Huset's Speedway)
2-Emerson Axsom (Apr 30 at Kokomo Speedway & Jul 17 at Jefferson County Speedway)
2-Daison Pursley (Jul 13 at Red Dirt Raceway & Aug 4 at Action Track USA)
1-Tyler Courtney (Sept 24 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Kyle Cummins (Jun 6 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Corey Day (Jun 9 at Circle City Raceway)
1-Justin Grant (Aug 7 at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway)
1-Kyle Larson (Aug 19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1-Logan Seavey (Jun 5 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
153-Chris Windom
129-Tanner Thorson
113-Buddy Kofoid
93-Logan Seavey
84-Thomas Meseraull
77-Daison Pursley
72-Emerson Axsom
55-Chase Randall
50-Cannon McIntosh
39-Kevin Thomas Jr.
32-Justin Grant
30-Corey Day
29-Kyle Cummins
14-Tyler Courtney
9-Kaylee Bryson & Sam Johnson
7-Alex Bright, Kyle Larson & Jason McDougal
1-Jonathan Beason
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TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES
22-Chris Windom
20-Buddy Kofoid
16-Emerson Axsom
15-Justin Grant
13-Daison Pursley
11-Tanner Thorson
8-Thomas Meseraull, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.
4-Cannon McIntosh
3-Brady Bacon
2-Spencer Bayston, Tyler Courtney, Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Shane Golobic, Jason McDougal & Bryant Wiedeman
1-Alex Bright, Brian Carber, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Kyle Larson, Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall & Hayden Williams
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TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES
28-Buddy Kofoid
25-Chris Windom
23-Justin Grant & Daison Pursley
22-Emerson Axsom & Tanner Thorson
20-Logan Seavey
19-Kevin Thomas Jr.
17-Thomas Meseraull
13-Cannon McIntosh
10-Jason McDougal & Chase Randall
5-Brenham Crouch & Corey Day
4-Jerry Coons Jr., Ethan Mitchell, Bryant Wiedeman & Hayden Williams
3-Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Shane Golobic & Ryan Timms
2-Spencer Bayston, Kaylee Bryson, Brian Carber, Tanner Carrick, Chance Crum, Zach Daum, Kyle Jones, Joe B. Miller, Taylor Reimer
1-Jonathan Beason, Trey Gropp, Kyle Larson, Mitchel Moles, Jake Neuman & Hayden Reinbold
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES
4-Tanner Thorson
3-Logan Seavey
2-Corey Day, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Spencer Bayston, Alex Bright, Shane Golobic, Cannon McIntosh, Ethan Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Chase Randall & Bryan Wiedeman
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HEAT RACE WINS: (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension, Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
9-Justin Grant
7-Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull & Daison Pursley
6-Emerson Axsom & Tanner Thorson
5-Kevin Thomas Jr.
4-Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall, Bryant Wiedeman & Chris Windom
3-Jason McDougal
2-Cole Bodine, Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Taylor Reimer, Logan Seavey, Tyler Thomas, Ryan Timms & Hayden Williams
1-Austin Barnhill, Jonathan Beason, Alex Bright, Kaylee Bryson, Jake Bubak, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Chance Crum, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Chase Elliott, Shane Golobic, Trey Gropp, Sam Johnson, Kyle Jones, Max McLaughlin, Thomas Meseraull, Aiden Purdue & Zac Taylor
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QUALIFYING RACE WINS
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Tyler Courtney, Cannon McIntosh, Kevin Thomas Jr & Chris Windom
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ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI-FEATURE WINS
2-Emerson Axsom, Brenham Crouch, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Chase Randall, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Chance Crum, Trey Gropp, Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Karter Sarff, Jonathan Shafer & Hayden Williams
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C-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney, Chance Morton & Logan Seavey
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney & Tanner Thorson
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FEATURE STARTS
30-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
29-Chase Randall & Kevin Thomas Jr.
22-Brenham Crouch & Ethan Mitchell
19-Bryant Wiedeman
18-Jason McDougal
15-Hayden Reinbold & Hayden Williams
14-Kaylee Bryson
12-Trey Gropp
11-Kyle Cummins
10-Ryan Timms
9-Corey Day
8-Brian Carber, Jerry Coons Jr., Chance Crum & Sam Johnson
7-Taylor Reimer
6-Cole Bodine, Zach Daum & Kyle Jones
5-Brady Bacon, Austin Barnhill & Alex Bright
4-Jonathan Shafer, Tyler Thomas, Glenn Waterland & Kevin Woody Jr.
3-Spencer Bayston, Jonathan Beason, Travis Buckley, Tyler Courtney, Chad Frewaldt, Jimmy Glenn, Shane Golobic, Mitchel Moles, Bryan Stanfill & Brandon Waelti
2-Lance Bennett, Clinton Boyles, Jake Bubak, Steve Buckwalter, Tanner Carrick, Maria Cofer, Chase Elliott, Eric Heydenreich, Casey Hicks, Kenney Johnson, Michael Markey, Shannon McQueen, Joe B. Miller, Greg Mitchell, Kade Morton, Jake Neuman, Brant O'Banion, Daniel Robinson, Alex Sewell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Aaron Werner
1-Blaze Bennett, Tanner Berryhill, Chase Briscoe, Jacob Denney, Tommy Kunsman, Kyle Larson, Trey Marcham, Shannon Mausteller, Ace McCarthy, Chase McDermand, Max McLaughlin, Keith Rauch, Matt Rechek, Jack Routson, Karter Sarff, Stephen Schnapf, Mark Sokol, Zac Taylor, Brett Wanner, Zeb Wise & Jeff Zelinski
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GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE RACE:
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Trey Marcham
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Ace McCarthy
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Hayden Williams
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Corey Day
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Jason McDougal
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Kaylee Bryson
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Emerson Axsom
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Thomas Meseraull
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Cannon McIntosh
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Daison Pursley
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Shane Golobic
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Chase Randall
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Spencer Bayston
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Tanner Carrick (14th to 8th)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Daison Pursley (10th to 5th)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Chris Windom (13th to 4th)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Tanner Thorson (17th to 7th)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13rd to 3rd)
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (12th to 1st)
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Emerson Axsom (22nd to 11th)
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brian Carber (22nd to 10th)
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Corey Day (12th to 5th)
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Tanner Thorson (20th to 8th)
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (18th to 9th)
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Justin Grant (13th to 2nd)
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Logan Seavey (17th to 7th)
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Brenham Crouch (22nd to 11th)
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Buddy Kofoid (15th to 2nd)
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (15th to 8th)
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Alex Bright (16th to 6th)
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 6th)
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Woody Jr. (21st to 15th)
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Kevin Woody Jr. (20th to 11th)
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Emerson Axsom (19th to 5th)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti (22nd to 11th)
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Maria Cofer (20th to 12th)
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (16th to 8th)
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson (18th to 4th)
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Hayden Reinbold (20th to 15th)
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (20th to 10th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Bryant Wiedeman
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Logan Seavey
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Daison Pursley
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Chase Randall
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Chase Randall
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Taylor Reimer
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Logan Seavey
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Jack Routson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Brant O'Banion
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Chance Crum
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Andrew Felker
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Emilio Hoover
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Brenham Crouch
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Noah Harris
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Kaylee Bryson
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Chett Gehrke
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Travis Buckley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brian Carber
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Trey Gropp
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Jason McDougal
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Sam Johnson
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Michael Markey
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Dan Bennett
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – J.R. Booth
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Casey Hicks
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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. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Tony Stewart & Tanner Thorson
17. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland
20. [24 wins] Billy Engelhart & Kyle Larson
22. [23 wins] Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich
28. [22 wins] Bobby East & Shorty Templeman
30. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader
34. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt
35. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Stan Fox & Jason Leffler
39. [18 wins] Dave Steele
40. [17 wins] Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley
42. [16 wins] Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens
48. [15 wins] Don Branson & Larry Rice
49. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner
53. [13 wins] Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman & Stevie Reeves
57. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim, Ron Shuman & Chris Windom
64. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos & Brad Sweet
70. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung & Chuck Weyant
76. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott & Chuck Gurney
80. [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
93. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Buddy Kofoid, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Logan Seavey, Len Sutton & Johnnie Tolan
104. [6 wins] Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Justin Grant, Arnie Knepper, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Roger West
117. [5 wins] Spencer Bayston, Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Thomas Meseraull, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
129. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, 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, Sam Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, Rodger Ward & Zeb Wise
161. [3 wins] John Batts, Gays Biro, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Zach Daum, 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, Cannon McIntosh, Warren Mockler, 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
193. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Emerson Axsom, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, 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
229. [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, Tanner Carrick, 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, Larry McCloskey, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, 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, 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
16. (25) Gary Bettenhausen
17. (24) Gene Hartley
18. (22) Stan Fox
19. (21) Don Branson, Tony Stewart, Shorty Templeman & Tanner Thorson
23. (20) Bryan Clauson, Dan Drinan, Bobby East & Bobby Grim
27. (19) Jay Drake & Kyle Larson
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
41. (14) Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Jeff Gordon & Kenny Irwin Jr.
45. (13) George Benson, Jimmy Knight & J.J. Yeley
48. (12) Larry Rice & Josh Wise
50. (11) Brady Bacon, Danny Caruthers, Lonnie Caruthers, Russ Congdon, Tommy Copp, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader, Len Sutton, Brad Sweet & Sleepy Tripp
61. (10) George Amick, Pancho Carter, Allen Crowe, Logan Seavey, Billy Vukovich & Leroy Warriner
67. (9) A.J. Foyt, Doug Kalitta, Larry Patton, Stevie Reeves, Dave Strickland Jr. & Jerry Weeks
73. (8) Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Dana Carter, Russ Gamester, Don Horvath, Kasey Kahne, Sammy Sessions, George Snider & Jack Turner
82. (7) Mike Bliss, Rex Easton, Ray Elliott, Allen Heath, Billy Mehner, Andy Michner, Henry Pens, Lowell Sachs, Kody Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
92. (6) Chad Boat, Burt Foland, Brian Gerster, Mike Gregg, Kyle Hamilton, Lee Kunzman, Jerry McClung, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Don Vogler, Chris Windom & Billy Wood
103. (5) Merle Bettenhausen, Billy Boat, Steve Cannon, Ray Crawford, Kevin Doty, Ronnie Duman, Aaron Fike, Rick Goudy, Jeff Heywood, Eddie Johnson, Steve Knepper, Brad Kuhn, Andy Linden, Bobby Santos, Chris Shultz, Billy Shuman, Chuck Weyant & Mauri Wilson
121. (4) Johnny Anderson, Caleb Armstrong, Sonny Ates, Gary Byers, Dane Carter, Joe Corrigan, Zach Daum, Mike Fedorcak, Robby Flock, Danny Frye, Joe Garson, Shane Golobic, Chuck Gurney, Jim Hettinger, Arnie Knepper, Chuck Marshall, Cannon McIntosh, Danny McKnight, Jeff Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Gary Ponzini, Richard Powell, Porky Rachwitz, Ricky Shelton, Tom Steiner, Bruce Walkup, Rodger Ward, Roger West, & Zeb Wise
151. (3) Bob Cicconi, Cole Carter, Don Anderson, Donnie Beechler, Dwight Brown, Hank Butcher, Harry Beck, Jack Calabrase, Larry Dickson, Mario Clouser, Steve Buckwalter, Tony Bettenhausen, Tony Elliott, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Gene Force, Justin Grant, Bob Hare, Ted Hines, P.J. Jones, Greg Leffler, Grier Manning, Mack McClellan, Thomas Meseraull, Ethan Mitchell, Johnny Moorhouse, Kenneth Nichols, Jerry Nuckles, Tim Pangborn, Forrest Parker, Johnnie Parsons, Johnny Roberts, Randy Roberts, Lloyd Ruby, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Tom Sellberg, Dale Swaim, Johnnie Tolan & Dillon Welch
191. (2) Sherman Armstrong Jr., Jack Bates, Gays Biro, Art Bisch, Dan Boorse, Tanner Carrick, 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, Jim Mahoney, Jim McClean, Roger McCluskey, Sarah McCune, Warren Mockler, Earl Motter, Ken Nichols, Hank Nykaza, Steve Paden, Danny Pens, Michael Pickens, Parker Price-Miller, Daison Pursley, Levi Roberts, Johnny Rodriguez, Joe Saldana, Sam Sauer, Ryan Scott, Jigger Sirois, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danny Stratton, Russ Sweedler, Buddy Taylor, George Tichenor, Bud Tingelstad, Steve Troxell, Bobby Unser, Billy Wease, Ken Weiland, Cole Whitt & Carl Williams
253. (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, Kaylee Bryson, Bob Burbridge, Larry Cannon, Roy Caruthers, Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bud Clemons, Johnny Cofer, Duke Cook, Jay Cornell, A.J. Davis, Duke DeRosa, Danny Ebberts, Bob Ellingham, Dean Erfurth, Russ Faucett, Sarah Fisher, Dan Ford, Josh Ford, Danny Frye Jr., Jim Gates, Johnny Gavin, Roy Gillhamer, Roy Graham, Bob Gregg, Mike Groff, 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, Jim Bob Luebbert, Dave Lundy, Carson Macedo, Jim Malloy, Bobby Marshman, Larry McCloskey, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden, Al Miller, J.R. Miller, Stephanie Mockler, Mitchel Moles, 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, 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
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET OWNER 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: Don Kenyon, 1967: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1968: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1969: Jack Stroud, 1970: Doug Caruthers, 1971: Doug Caruthers, 1972: Shannon Buick Company, 1973: Doug Caruthers, 1974: Don Kenyon, 1975: Ron Tripp, 1976: Ron Tripp, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Doug & Dana Caruthers, 1979: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1980: Don Kenyon, 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
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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
7 IN 7:
CAN TREND CONTINUE
IN FRIDAY'S LEFFLER MEMORIAL AT WAYNE CITY?
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Wayne City, Illinois (October 5, 2021)………Seven years. Seven races. Seven different winners.
That's the kind of unpredictability USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing annually brings to the 1/8-mile bullring of Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Illinois.
Since the dawn of the Jason Leffler Memorial in 2013, a new winner has emerged on each and every occasion, and with just one past winner of the event expected to compete in this Friday night's USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship on October 8, the trend may very well continue.
But not if Tanner Thorson has anything to say about it.
The Minden, Nevada drivers leads all competitors with seven series victories this season and enters as the defending Leffler Memorial winner.
In October of 2020, Thorson hunted down race-long leader Chris Windom with 11 laps remaining to capture the victory, a win that was quite meaningful as he and the race's namesake share a camaraderie with both being past USAC National Midget champions.
The $5,000-to-win event honors the life and memory of Leffler, the four-time USAC National driving champion (1997-98-99 Midget & 1998 Silver Crown) who lost his life in a sprint car accident at New Jersey's Bridgeport Speedway in June of 2013.
"This is one of the races I've wanted to win for a long time. I've never really been in the right situation, but now we did it.," said Thorson, the 2016 USAC National Midget champion. "I never knew Jason on a personal level, but I know a bunch of people who were really good friends with him and always talked about how good of a guy he was and that he was definitely a badass in the racecar. There's no two ways about that. I wish he was here to throw some sliders and race with us. This is an awesome event to win."
The 40-lap main event will pay feature points only to all USAC nationally licensed participating drivers and teams, and at this juncture, with every point being pivotal, Windom leads the series standings by just two over Buddy Kofoid entering Wayne City.
Windom (Canton, Ill.) led the first 29 laps of the 2020 Leffler Memorial before finishing second. The defending series champion also finished 6th at Wayne City in 2019 and paced the opening portion of the 2016 Leffler Memorial where he led the first seven laps, ultimately taking home a 4th place result.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) took a career-best 3rd in the event last season at Wayne City after previously finishing 10th at the Leffler Memorial in both 2015 and 2018.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif) has recorded top-five results in two of the past three editions of the Leffler Memorial. Grant finished 5th in 2019 after notching a best of 4th in 2018 and was 10th in 2020. Grant was a feature starter in the inaugural Leffler Memorial in 2013.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) finished inside the top-ten in the 2018 and 2019 Leffler Memorial. Seavey finished 9th during his USAC National Midget championship season of 2018 and bested that with a 4th in 2019.
Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) started on the pole and was in contention for the lead throughout much of the 2020 Leffler Memorial before a fence bang dropped him back to 4th in the final running order.
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) is one of several in the field eying a second career Leffler Memorial start, finishing 7th in the 2020 main while also setting a new 10-lap track record of 1:51.378 during a 10-lap heat race.
As freshmen last year, these now sophomores earned top-ten finishes in the 2020 event, including two-time 2021 winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), leading series Rookie Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and another two-time series winner in Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), 5th, 8th and 9th finishers, respectively.
Four-time 2021 USAC National Midget feature winner Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) was 17th in 2020 while Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) took 18th and Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) 20th.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) will make his return to the Leffler Memorial this Friday night after making his only previous start in the event two years ago in 2019, finishing 16th.
Meanwhile, series regulars Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.), Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas) and Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) are among those attempting to make their first Leffler Memorial feature start on Friday.
Friday's 8th running of the Jason Leffler Memorial at Wayne County Speedway in southern Illinois features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, Hyper Non-Wing Outlaws, A-Class Non-Wing Non-Wing, Restrictors and Junior Sprints. Pits open at 3:30pm Central, grandstands at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:30pm and hot laps at 6:30pm. Tickets are $25 for general admission and free for ages 12 and under. Pit passes are $35 while kids age 10 and under are $20.
It's all part of a doubleheader weekend for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship. The following night, on Saturday, October 9, at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind., Harvest Cup will feature the series along with MSCS Sprint Cars and MMSA Mini Sprints.
Both of this weekend's USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1931, 2-Buddy Kofoid-1929, 3-Emerson Axsom-1801, 4-Daison Pursley-1767, 5-Tanner Thorson-1760, 6-Justin Grant-1726, 7-Logan Seavey-1665, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1549, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1523, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1375.
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT WAYNE COUNTY (IL) SPEEDWAY:
10 Laps - 10/9/2020 - Kyle Cummins - 1:51.378
12 Laps - 10/21/2016 - Ryan Robinson - 2:19.19
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)
JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL WINS:
1-Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, Tyler Courtney, Zach Daum, Daryn Pittman, Tanner Thorson & Tyler Thomas
PAST JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL RESULTS:
(2013-14 sanctioned by POWRi & 2015-present sanctioned by USAC)
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. Christopher 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
HARVEST SEASON: USAC MIDGETS BID ADIEU TO MIDWEST THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AT TRI-STATE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Haubstadt, Indiana (October 5, 2021)………With a history dating back more than a half-century to 1969, USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets have made the jaunt to Haubstadt, Indiana's Tri-State Speedway just 12 times since that point in time.
However, each of those past dozen occasions have brought about a new feature winner rising to the occasion each time, the two most recent of which were also the driver's first career USAC National Midget feature victory.
And, for the first time since 1979, we receive a second opportunity to witness USAC National Midget racing on the 1/4-mile within the same calendar year. That moment arrives this Saturday night, October 9, at Harvest Cup. The most recent visit by the series to the most southern Indiana track on USAC's schedule came in June of this year.
Now, Kyle Cummins. We're all well-aware of his scores of wins in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car and MSCS competition at the track. However, June marked his first career midget victory as he never turned a wheel wrong throughout the night.
During the last Harvest Cup in October of 2020, the storyline was much the same. But while Cummins' triumph came in his 17th career series start, it was a much more long-awaited venture for Thomas Meseraull when, after more than two decades of trying, a USAC National Midget points-paying feature victory finally came his way in what was his 89th career start.
With an overheating engine and smoke pouring from the headers during the final laps, Meseraull became bottled up in traffic, then withstood a last lap, last corner surge from Tanner Thorson to win by a single car length at the line, with a margin of 0.119 sec. to spare while also providing RMS Racing with its first ever USAC National Midget feature win in one fell swoop.
Both Cummins and Meseraull will be in Saturday night's field, with both keen on picking up another victory to become the first two-time victor, this one paying $4,000-to-win.
Cummins finished 3rd in both of the Princeton, Ind. driver's previous Harvest Cup Midget starts in 2019 and 2020 while Meseraull's midget experience at the track goes back further than a decade, finishing 10th in 2010, 3rd in 2011, and 8th in 2019 and 3rd once more in June of 2021 in addition to his 2020 win. Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) also possesses the 10-lap record set in 2011, a time of 2:20.38.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) leads the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget standings by two points over Buddy Kofoid entering Saturday. Windom finished as the runner-up this past June, equaling his best previous result at the track, a 2nd in a 100-lapper in 2012. The USAC Triple Crown champ is also a winner at Tri-State in a sprint car, winning in the spring of 2017. Also in June, Windom set a new one-lap track for the USAC Midgets at TSS with a time of 13.377.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) made an impressive charge in the 2020 Harvest Cup, coming up narrowly short of winning at TSS, finishing 2nd. The 2016 USAC National Midget champion also was a hard charger in the 2019 Harvest Cup A-Main, starting 17th and finishing 9th. The 12-lap TSS USAC Midget track record belongs to Thorson, a 2:59.89 set in 2019.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) is a six-time USAC Sprint winner at TSS between 2013 and just three weeks ago when he notched another in the Haubstadt Hustler. He finished 2nd in the 2019 Harvest Cup midget race, leading twice for a total of eight laps. Running a string of consistency in the midget at TSS, he was 6th in the 2020 Harvest Cup and 5th in June 2021 during Indiana Midget Week.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) earned KSE Racing Products hard charger honors in the 2019 TSS USAC Midget Harvest Cup feature, ripping through the field to finish 5th after starting 16th. This summer, to end the month of July, Grant captured the Indiana Sprint Week finale at TSS and was 8th in the 2020 Harvest Cup Midget feature and 8th once more this past June.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) led the first seven laps of the 2019 USAC Midget go at TSS, with the 2018 USAC National Midget champ finishing 6th in the final rundown.
Returning for a second Harvest Cup start includes the likes of Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), who charged from 23rd to 5th in 2020. Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) was nearly equally impressive with a 22nd to 9th run in the same race. Leading series Rookie Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) made the Harvest Cup lineup in 2020, finishing 13th while 2020 TSS USAC National Sprint Car winner Stephen Schnapf (Newburgh, Ind.) finished 22nd that night in his USAC National Midget debut.
Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) finished 10th during Indiana Midget Week at TSS in June. Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) finished with an impressive 4th in the June round while Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) was also a top-ten occupier, finishing 7th. Series Rookies Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas) and Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), as well as veteran Ethan Mitchell all made their first TSS starts in June, finishing 15th, 16th and 22nd, respectively, and will be back for another start this weekend.
Saturday night's Harvest Cup at Haubstadt, Indiana's Tri-State Speedway features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, Midwest Sprint Car Series and Midwest Mini Sprint Association. Adult general admission tickets are $25, students aged 13-18 are $20 and kids aged 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $30. Pits open at 2:30pm CT with grandstands opening at 3:30pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and hot laps at 5:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
It's all part of a doubleheader weekend for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship. The preceding night, on Friday, October 8, at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill. will feature the series along with Hyper Non-Wing Outlaws, A-Class Non-Wing Non-Wing, Restrictors and Junior Sprints.
Both of this weekend's USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1931, 2-Buddy Kofoid-1929, 3-Emerson Axsom-1801, 4-Daison Pursley-1767, 5-Tanner Thorson-1760, 6-Justin Grant-1726, 7-Logan Seavey-1665, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1549, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1523, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1375.
TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS
1-Brady Bacon, Barry Butterworth, Lonnie Caruthers, Bryan Clauson, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Jason McDougal, Mike McGreevy, Thomas Meseraull, Johnny Parsons, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Sleepy Tripp
TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS
1969: Mike McGreevy (6/27)
1978: Sleepy Tripp (5/5)
1979: Johnny Parsons (6/15) & Barry Butterworth (8/24)
1980: Lonnie Caruthers (5/2)
2007: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (5/12)
2010: Bryan Clauson (5/8)
2011: Zach Daum (5/21)
2012: Brady Bacon (6/2)
2019: Jason McDougal (10/19)
2020: Thomas Meseraull (10/10)
2021: Kyle Cummins (6/11)
HARVEST CUP USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:
1-Jason McDougal & Thomas Meseraull
HARVEST CUP USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:
2019: Jason McDougal (10/19)
2020: Thomas Meseraull (10/10)
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 6/6/2021 - Chris Windom - 13.377 - 67.280 mph
3 Laps - 6/27/1969 - Bob Tattersall - 50.000 - 54.000 mph
8 Laps - 6/8/2011 - Hunter Schuerenberg - 1:43.14 - 69.808 mph
10 Laps - 5/21/2011 - Thomas Meseraull - 2:20.38 - 64.112 mph
12 Laps - 10/19/2019 - Tanner Thorson - 2:59.89 - 60.037 mph
40 Laps - 6/15/1979 - Johnny Parsons - 11:07.40 - 53.941 mph
50 Laps - 6/27/1969 - Mike McGreevy - 14:15.27 - 51.563 mph
PAST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS AT TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY:
1969 FEATURE: 1. Mike McGreevy, 2. Dave Strickland, 3. Roger West, 4. Les Scott, 5. Clark Templeman, 6. George McBeath, 7. Gary Irvin, 8. Dave Ward, 9. Bill Renshaw, 10. Sonny Ates, 11. Mel Cornett, 12. Rob Greentree, 13. Merle Bettenhausen, 14. Bob Tattersall, 15. Larry Kirkpatrick, 16. Mel Kenyon, 17. Jack Fitzpatrick, 18. Steve Troxell.
1978 FEATURE: 1. Sleepy Tripp, 2. Ron Shuman, 3. Lonnie Caruthers, 4. Mel Kenyon, 5. Steve Cannon, 6. Larry Gates, 7. Jeff Heywood, 8. Mack McClellan, 9. Steve Lotshaw, 10. Jeff Nuckles, 11. Ron Eden, 12. Dave Stoltz, 13. Bubby Jones, 14. Tim Pangborn, 15. Rich Vogler, 16. Jerry Weeks, 17. Stan Fox, 18. Chris Cumberworth, 19. Kevin Olson, 20. Wes Stafford.
1979 FEATURE: (6/15) 1. Johnny Parsons, 2. Jerry Weeks, 3. Steve Lotshaw, 4. Dana Carter, 5. Rick Goudy, 6. Rich Vogler, 7. Wes Stafford, 8. Barry Butterworth, 9. Stan Fox, 10. Lonnie Caruthers, 11. Lee Carey, 12. Ken Schrader, 13. Terry Wente, 14. Tim Pangborn, 15. Steve Cannon, 16. Mel Kenyon, 17. Ron Mullen, 18. Bob Wente, 19. Jerry Nuckles, 20. Chuck Gurney.
1979 FEATURE: (8/24) 1. Barry Butterworth, 2. Sleepy Tripp, 3. Rich Vogler, 4. Bob Wente, 5. Mel Kenyon, 6. Steve Lotshaw, 7. Lonnie Caruthers, 8. Chuck Gurney, 9. Ken Schrader, 10. Jeff Nuckles, 11. Warren Mockler, 12. Nick Gojmeric, 13. Chris Cumberworth, 14. Jerry Weeks, 15. Kenneth Nichols, 16. Bob Bennett, 17. Bill Renshaw, 18. Stan Fox, 19. Dave Ray, 20. Danny Frye, Jr.
1980 FEATURE: 1. Lonnie Caruthers, 2. Jerry Weeks, 3. Johnny Parsons, 4. Sleepy Tripp, 5. Steve Lotshaw, 6. Jeff Heywood, 7. Mel Kenyon, 8. Bob Wente, 9. Nick Gojmeric, 10. Marty Davis, 11. Warren Mockler, 12. Dave Keith, 13. Bob Bennett, 14. Kenneth Nichols, 15. Alan Brown, 16. Jerry Nuckles, 17. Tracy Potter, 18. Bob Carey, 19. Bobby Grim, Jr., 20. Jerry Harris.
2007 FEATURE: 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2. Hud Cone, 3. Darren Hagen, 4. Brad Kuhn, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Cole Carter, 7. Davey Ray, 8. Tom Hessert III, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Danny Stratton, 11. Kevin Swindell, 12. Shane Cottle, 13. Mike Hess, 14. Bobby East, 15. Levi Jones, 16. Brad Loyet, 17. Zach Daum, 18. Mat Neely, 19. Gary Taylor, 20. Donnie Lehmann, 21. A.J. Felker, 22. Nick Knepper, 23. Damion Gardner, 24. Josh Wise, 25. Dave Darland.
2010 FEATURE: 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Caleb Armstrong, 4. Shane Hmiel, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Dereck King, 7. Nick Knepper, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Brad Loyet, 10. Thomas Meseraull, 11. Henry Clarke, 12. Brad Kuhn, 13. Tim Siner, 14. Daniel Adler, 15. Shane Cockrum, 16. Kyle Hamilton, 17. Mario Clouser, 18. Tyler Robbins, 19. Levi Jones, 20. Kent Schmidt, 21. Hud Cone, 22. Bobby East, 23. Tracy Hines, 24. Austin Brown, 25. Davey Ray, 26. Evan Lents, 27. Alex Bowman, 28. Darren Hagen, 29. Gavin Galbraith, 30. Kellen Conover, 31. Andrew Felker, 32. Levi Roberts, 33. Travis Berryhill.
2011 FEATURE: 1. Zach Daum, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Darren Hagen, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Caleb Armstrong, 8. Davey Ray, 9. Bobby East, 10. Kyle Larson, 11. Kellen Conover, 12. Levi Jones, 13. Mario Clouser, 14. Travis Berryhill, 15. John Campbell, 16. Levi Roberts, 17. Bubba Altig, 18. Shane Cockrum, 19. Tanner Swanson, 20. Kody Aldrich, 21. Brady Bacon, 22. Kody Swanson, 23. Jimmy Simpson, 24. Seth Motsinger, 25. Kent Schmidt, 26. Chase Barber, 27. Michael Koontz, 28. Tyler Robbins, 29. Gavin Galbraith, 30. Mike Hess, 31. Brad Kuhn, 32. Doug Day, 33. Dalton Armstrong.
2012 FEATURE: 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Ryan Bernal, 6. Jerry Coons, Jr., 7. Darren Hagen, 8. Brett Anderson, 9. Levi Roberts, 10. Steve Buckwalter, 11. Andrew Felker, 12. Thomas Meseraull, 13. Davey Ray, 14. Mario Clouser, 15. Bobby East, 16. Caleb Armstrong, 17. Tyler Thomas, 18. Rico Abreu, 19. Cameron Hagin, 20. Dalton Armstrong, 21. Zach Daum, 22. Austin Brown, 23. Bubba Altig, 24. Chett Gehrke, 25. Colten Cottle, 26. Andy Malpocker, 27. Ryan Criswell, 28. Ted Hines, 29. Tyler Robbins, 30. Daniel Robinson, 31. Tracy Hines, 32. Mike Hess, 33. C.J. Leary, 34. Jimmy Simpson.
2019 FEATURE: (Starting position in parentheses) 1. Jason McDougal (5), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 3. Kyle Cummins (7), 4. Tyler Courtney (2), 5. Justin Grant (16), 6. Logan Seavey (1), 7. Tucker Klaasmeyer (18), 8. Thomas Meseraull (12), 9. Tanner Thorson (17), 10. Zeb Wise (19), 11. Chris Windom (11), 12. Tyler Thomas (8), 13. Jerry Coons, Jr. (13), 14. Robert Dalby (3), 15. Andrew Layser (10), 16. C.J. Leary (21), 17. Tanner Carrick (14), 18. Karsyn Elledge (9), 19. Critter Malone (15), 20. Jake Swanson (22), 21. Gio Scelzi (6), 22. Kendall Ruble (20).
2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (7), 2. Tanner Thorson (4), 3. Kyle Cummins (12), 4. Tyler Courtney (9), 5. Emerson Axsom (23*), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 7. Clinton Boyles (18), 8. Justin Grant (5), 9. Kaylee Bryson (22), 10. Chase Johnson (15), 11. Cole Bodine (2), 12. Buddy Kofoid (16), 13. Chase Randall (13), 14. Logan Seavey (17), 15. Jerry Coons Jr. (21), 16. Chris Windom (6), 17. Jason McDougal (3), 18. Sam Johnson (14), 19. Daison Pursley (11), 20. Brady Bacon (19), 21. Andrew Layser (1), 22. Stephen Schnapf (8), 23. Cannon McIntosh (20). NT
2021 FEATURE: (6/6) (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (3), 2. Chris Windom (6), 3. Thomas Meseraull (9), 4. Daison Pursley (1), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 6. Jason McDougal (15), 7. Cannon McIntosh (4), 8. Justin Grant (19), 9. Tanner Thorson (8), 10. Buddy Kofoid (2), 11. Corey Day (11), 12. Emerson Axsom (12), 13. Logan Seavey (5), 14. Cole Bodine (17), 15. Brenham Crouch (18), 16. Bryant Wiedeman (10), 17. Brian Carber (22), 18. Kaylee Bryson (21), 19. Trey Gropp (14), 20. Stephen Schnapf (20), 21. Hayden Williams (16), 22. Ethan Mitchell (13). NT
DAMION GARDNER WINS $4,000 "HALL OF FAME CLASSIC" AT SAN TAN VALLEY
SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ – OCTOBER 2, 2021… Leading the last 17 laps, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) claimed the $4,000 "Hall of Fame Classic" triumph at Arizona Speedway. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner earned his fifth AMSOIL Sprint Car win of the season ahead of "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams, "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa, "Thunder" Tommy Malcolm, and fast qualifier "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr.
Gardner began his night at the San Tan Valley oval by qualifying fourth overall out of the eighteen car roster. In dramatic fashion, "The Demon" won the night's 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror / Component Repair Company Second Heat race over Chris Gansen with last corner pass. Starting fourth in the main event, Gardner quickly moved to second and set after early leader Chase Johnson. Johnson was running strong, but crashed after a lap 13 restart due to a mechanical issue. From there, the eight-time champion sailed to his 88th career series win and holds a 62-point lead heading to Perris Auto Speedway on October 23rd. The non-winged 410 sprints will return to Arizona Speedway on November 12th and 13th for the "Western World Championships.
"Chargin" Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, AZ) took top honors in Woodland Auto Display Qualifying by posting a time of 15.205. Racing his #47 MP Environmental Service / Black Magic Bead Breaker RSS, the September 25th "Glenn Howard Classic" winner ran fourth in his heat race and scored fifth in the "Hall of Fame Classic." The multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion ranks seventh in the USAC/CRA point chase.
"Thunder" Tommy Malcolm (Corona, CA) drove to victory in the 10-lap Flowdynamics Incorporated / All Coast Construction First Heat Race. Piloting Dino Napier's #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm was ninth quick in time trials and finished fourth in the main event. The young driver left Arizona Speedway ranked sixth in championship points.
Chris Bonneau (Phoenix, AZ) earned the night's In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a sixth place run from thirteenth. Driving his #15 Priced Right Auto Sales / Competition Suspension Incorporated Triple X, Bonneau qualified thirteenth overall and ran seventh in his heat race. In limited starts, Chris is now tied with Kaleb Montgomery for thirty-ninth in the point standings.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) earned the Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award. Driving Jack Yeley's #2 Avanti / Apache Scapes entry, Johnson qualified sixth overall and led the first thirteen laps of the main event before a crash ended his night. Johnson left the Arizona Speedway ranked seventeenth in the chase for the championship.
The USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will take a break before returning to action at Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA) on October 23rd.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 2 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – "Hall of Fame Classic"
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.205; 2. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-15.213; 3. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-15.252; 4. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-15.367; 5. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-15.401; 6. Chase Johnson, 2, Yeley-15.478; 7. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-15.505; 8. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-15.538; 9. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-15.540; 10. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.549; 11. Stevie Sussex, 12, Allen-15.629; 12. Randy Nelson, 9X, Nelson-15.681; 13. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-15.994; 14. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-15.999; 15. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-16.202; 16. Daylin Perreira, 21P, Perreira-16.397; 17. Jake Helsel, 44H, Helsel-16.588; 18. Troy DeGaton, 39T, DeGaton-NT.
FLOWDYNAMICS / ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. C.Williams, 3. Sussex, 4. Davis, 5. R.J.Johnson, 6. A.Williams, 7. Bonneau, 8. Calderwood, 9. Helsel. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR / COMPONENT REPAIR COMPANY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Gansen, 3. Tafoya, 4. C.Johnson, 5. Roa, 6. Nelson, 7. Sweeney, 8. Perreira. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, with starting positions) 1. Damion Gardner (4), 2. Austin Williams (7), 3. Brody Roa (9), 4. Tommy Malcolm (1), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (6), 6. Chris Bonneau (13), 7. Stevie Sussex (11), 8. R.J. Johnson (8), 9. Chris Gansen (10), 10. Verne Sweeney (14), 11. Jake Helsel (17), 12. Randy Nelson (12), 13. Chase Johnson (2), 14. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (5), 15. Logan Calderwood (15), 16. Cody Williams (3). NT ---------------------------- **C.Williams flipped on lap 7 of the feature. Daylin Perreira did not start.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1- 13 C.Johnson, Laps 14-30 Gardner IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Chris Bonneau (13th to 6th) WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Chase Johnson BILLSJERKY.COM HARD LUCK: Cody Williams
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1089. 2-Brody Roa-1027, 3-Austin Williams-931, 4-Chris Gansen-840, 5-Cody Williams-778, 6-Tommy Malcolm-766, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-665, 8-Verne Sweeney-539, 9-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-517, 10-Matt McCarthy-509.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: October 23 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California
KTJ WINS 3RD FALL NATIONALS WITH LAST LAP CROSSOVER AT THE BURG
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Lawrenceburg, Indiana (October 2, 2021)………Kevin Thomas Jr. knew it was coming.
On the fly, he had to conjure up a plan on whether to fight the inevitable slide job on the final lap or just let it happen and prepare himself with a counter measure in response.
After missing his mark in turn one on the 30th and final lap of Saturday night's $10,000-to-win Fall Nationals at Indiana's Lawrenceburg Speedway, those exact thoughts raced through his mind with Chris Windom and Tanner Thorson already in hot pursuit and dead-set on denying his plan to become the first ever three-time winner in the event's history.
"I went down the front stretch to get the white flag and just told myself, 'do not miss this ridge' getting into turn one and, sure enough, I missed the whole thing," Thomas recalled. "I knew as soon as I was coming off two that somebody was going to have a run, and I knew one of the 19s was going to rip the top through one and two and slide me. My best option was to let him go, then hit the ridge in the middle of three and four and cross him over."
As it turned out, it was the straight 19 of Windom who was tailing Thomas on the last go around. Although the pressure hadn't been totally and forcefully applied up to that point during the final four lap stretch, Thomas sensed something was about to go down as he sought the best course of action for his defense.
"I knew he was coming," Thomas admitted. "I could hear him back there and I saw the top cleaning off. Where I'd been running was a little bit off the top, more through the middle. There was a ridge, but it was starting to go away there in three and four and especially in one and two. I was like, 'man, do I move? What do I do? I hadn't felt any pressure up to that point."
As the leader, it's practically impossible to tell what exactly is going on behind your back, and it became readily apparent coming to the white flag that Windom was setting up for one last hurrah to slide past Thomas in heroic fashion to score his first victory in the event after 14 consecutive years of trying.
The only question remained whether Windom would be able to retain his lead once he slid past, and how? After blazing a path around turns one and two, Windom shadowed Thomas' rear bumper for the entire length of the back straightaway before making a break toward the bottom of turn three.
Thomas watched Windom sail past his front bumper up to the cushion as he flicked the wheel to the left and traced the middle portion of the high banks. Windom took one more glance underneath, but Thomas had control in the palms of his hands as he motored off the final corner to defeat Windom by a 0.268 second margin, a mere one-and-a-half car length ahead, in his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
For Thomas, it was his third career Fall Nationals victory after previous triumphs arrived for him in the odd-numbered years of 2017, 2019 and now 2021. Furthermore, the 35th win of his USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship career sent him to 11th on the all-time list alongside Jon Stanbrough and Rich Vogler.
Thomas also became the first driver to reach the eight-win mark with the series this season, but for the longest time, it appeared outside front row starter Emerson Axsom had the upper hand as he led the first 12 laps and was already knee deep into traffic when disaster nearly befell, at the time, fourth-running Windom.
As Windom attempted to navigate his way around the tail end of the field, he encountered the car driven by 20th running J.J. Hughes. Windom ramped over the right rear tire of Hughes just before the entry to turn one but somehow, someway, did not get upside down and was able to untangle himself from the potential carnage and continue onward while Hughes slowed a stop in turn one with a completely flattened right rear.
Unluckiest in the deal was eighth running Robert Ballou who encountered the situation at full speed on the high side, at first, successfully avoiding Hughes, but was unable to avoid smacking the outside wall which ended his night prematurely as it also did for Hughes.
Under the yellow, fifth-running C.J. Leary suffered a flat right rear tire, which sent him to the work area for fresh rubber before returning to blitz his way back up through the pack to a 10th place result at the checkered.
With 14 to go, Thomas was able to pull himself completely alongside Axsom, but the 17-year-old driver who was making just his seventh career USAC Sprint start displayed the poise of a veteran in fending off his Petry Motorsports teammate on the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget trail.
Axsom, wheeling the same car that was raced to victory lane one week earlier by Tyler Courtney at Ohio's Eldora Speedway during the 4-Crown Nationals, kept Thomas at bay lap-after-lap until, exiting the fourth turn on lap 26. That is until Axsom's right rear tire suddenly gave away, forcing him to a complete stop in a heartbreaking moment that denied the Franklin, Ind. driver his first career series victory.
Thomas felt his eventual victory very well may not have occurred if not for Axsom's misfortune, giving praise to the young driver to seemingly had it all in hand before things went awry.
"I want to give a shout out to Emerson," Thomas acknowledged. "I don't think we would have won that race. That kid has a heck of a lot of talent and is really impressive in pretty much anything that he's gotten into. I love him to death. He's my teammate on the midget side of things and I've got a good relationship with him and his family. It was an unfortunate circumstance; they had that one.
He makes very swift moves in lapped traffic, so he doesn't really mess up that much," Thomas added in regards to Axsom. "I showed him a nose one time and he never moved. I don't know if he was going to make a mistake."
The one and only driver to start all 16 Fall Nationals feature events in his career, Windom (Canton, Ill.), came up just one spot short of his first win in the event in his Hayward Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Byrd – B & H Contractors – AMSOIL/DRC/Claxton Mopar. Instead, it wound up as Windom's fifth second place finish in the annual late-season race, which he previously accomplished in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2016.
"I feel like we were a little better than him at the end there," Windom hypothesized. "I couldn't quite get him squared up. It was really starting to get hard to throw a slider in one and two because he was running the middle, so I knew I had to time it right to make it work in three and four. I needed just one chance to attempt that and get a second chance at it to know where to stick it a little better because he was able to cross me back over there and get back by us."
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) swiftly set back-to-back Fatheadz Eyewear fast qualifying times this weekend with the series on Friday at Terre Haute and Saturday at Lawrenceburg in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy. He followed up a third-place finish during the summer at Lawrenceburg with another third in his debut Fall Nationals run on Saturday night.
In what has become an all too familiar storyline for Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) this season, Bacon flipped hard between turns one and two during the second heat race as a result of contact with C.J. Leary. The backup Dynamics, Inc. No. 69 was then rolled from the trailer where Bacon promptly utilized it to charge from 15th to 3rd in the semi-feature, then from 11th to 4th in the feature to earn the GSP Quality Driving Performance Award for the evening.
In almost a nearly identical situation, if you recall, Bacon sailed over the turn one and two wall at Terre Haute in May after contact from another car. The team brought the backup car out, which Bacon similarly drove from the tail to third in the semi, then to a third-place result in the feature event.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 2, 2021 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Fall Nationals
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.441; 2. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-13.647; 3. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.654; 4. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-13.664; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.738; 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-13.748; 7. Ryan Thomas, 77FR, Wingo-13.759; 8. Emerson Axsom, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-13.805; 9. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-13.849; 10. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.887; 11. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.902; 12. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.907; 13. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-13.938; 14. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.969; 15. Max Adams, 2E, Epperson-13.987; 16. Thomas Meseraull, 23s, Simon-14.036; 17. J.J. Hughes, 76, Hughes-14.206; 18. Justin Owen, 44, Fischesser-14.259; 19. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.314; 20. Keith Sheffer II, 86, Sheffer-14.337; 21. Dallas Hewitt, 18, Keen-14.401; 22. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-14.418; 23. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-14.566; 24. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-14.593; 25. Jacob Beck, 43B, Tibbits-14.638; 26. Nate Carle, 14c, Carle-14.732; 27. Mitchell Davis, 56, Davis-14.774; 28. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Parker-14.805; 29. Scotty Weir, 24, Simon-NT; 30. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Ryan Thomas, 8. Jason McDougal, 9. Tye Mihocko, 10. Jacob Beck. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. J.J. Hughes, 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Keith Sheffer II, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Ryan Barr, 9. Nate Carle, 10. Brady Bacon. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING/INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Max Adams, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Justin Owen, 4. Saban Bibent, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Jake Swanson, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Dallas Hewitt, 9. Mitchell Davis. 1:55.21
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Brandon Mattox, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Jason McDougal, 5. Ryan Thomas, 6. Dallas Hewitt, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Mitchell Davis, 9. Tye Mihocko, 10. Keith Sheffer II, 11. Ryan Barr, 12. Scotty Weir, 13. Nate Carle, 14. Jacob Beck, 15. Alex Banales. NT
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
**Brady Bacon flipped during the second heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-26 Emerson Axsom, Laps 27-30 Kevin Thomas Jr.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2590, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2526, 3-Justin Grant-2449, 4-Tanner Thorson-2311, 5-C.J. Leary-2295, 6-Chris Windom-2262, 7-Jake Swanson-2129, 8-Robert Ballou-1987, 9-Chase Stockon-1709, 10-Logan Seavey-1377.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-165, 2-Tanner Thorson-160, 3-Brady Bacon-158, 4-Justin Grant-151, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-134, 6-Logan Seavey-133, 7-Robert Ballou-131, 8-Thomas Meseraull-127, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Shane Cottle-91.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 4-5-6, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 25th Oval Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Brady Bacon
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Stockon
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Max Adams
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature Winner: Jake Swanson
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Justin Grant (14th to 6th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Dallas Hewitt
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Mitchell Davis
WINDOM JOINS HEWITT & GARY B.,
WINS #8 AT TERRE HAUTE'S HURTUBISE CLASSIC
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Terre Haute, Indiana (October 1, 2021)………Winning performances in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition at the Terre Haute Action Track are reserved for greatness.
None have been greater in this era at the western Indiana dirt oval than Chris Windom who engineered his eighth career series victory at Terre Haute on Friday night, elevating him into a three-way tie with USAC and National Sprint Car Hall of Famers Gary Bettenhausen and Jack Hewitt as the track's winningest USAC National Sprint Car drivers ever.
"That's pretty surreal," Windom acknowledged. "I wouldn't have ever thought I would get to this point. To tie somebody like Jack Hewitt, who I feel like has never lost on a half-mile when he raced, is pretty cool. This place has been good to me over the years. I love coming here anytime we can and, hopefully, we can get one more win to take over the lead solely."
Windom started third on the grid in the 22nd running of the Jim Hurtubise Classic Presented by Terre Haute Chevrolet, but quickly put himself into position to track down racelong leader Jake Swanson on the 18th lap of the 30-lap feature, then motored away to for his second series win of the year in his Hayward Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Byrd – B & H Contractors – AMSOIL/DRC/Claxton Mopar.
The Canton, Illinois driver entered the event as the only four-time winner of the Hurtubise Classic and left the premises as the lone five-time victor of the event in 2011, 2016, 2017, 2020 and now 2021. Furthermore, his 30th overall USAC National Sprint Car win equaled him with Tyler Courtney for 16th on the all-time list.
It's been a season that Windom readily admits has been somewhat of a rough go with "off nights" arriving more often than preferred throughout the campaign. It's been a season in which the highest of highs have both come at Terre Haute after capturing his only USAC Sprint Car victory of the season there during the Tony Hulman Classic in May.
This one was special. This place is special. And when Windom was close enough to make his move on Swanson just after the halfway point, he went all-in and it ultimately paid off with what was truly a historic Terre Haute milestone win.
"I just love this place," Windom exclaimed. "I love the speed and the technicality of it also. Our cars are just always so good here. Jake (Swanson) was really good early on and I felt like I would catch him, but he'd kind of pull away. When I got close enough to make a move, I had to make a move there. I knew I cleared him, but I knew it was close. Once you get to lapped traffic, it's really hard to get through. I wanted to clear him before we started getting into heavy lapped traffic because I knew we had the car to win."
Pole sitter Robert Ballou edged ahead initially at the start of the feature entering turn one, but Swanson quickly assumed control utilizing the outside groove, narrowly eclipsing Ballou at the stripe by a half car length at the conclusion of the opening lap, a position he'd remain in for the majority of the distance.
Just a tick later, Windom crawled the bottom around the inside guardrail to go past Ballou between turns three and four to slot into second on the third lap.
Meanwhile, Swanson was in the midst of constructing a 1.5 second lead, which began to shrink ever so slightly once he thrust himself into traffic by lap nine, seeing his lead dwindle by half in that time frame to where Windom had roped him in to within two to three car lengths.
By lap 12, Windom was able to position himself underneath Swanson entering turn one. Swanson biked slightly as he lifted both left side wheels while the right-side wheels were simultaneously nestled snugly on the cushion. Swanson pressed on and kept Windom at arm's length for the time being.
Splitting high and low between lapped traffic proved seamless for Swanson, yet a slight bobble in turn two on lap 17 proved to be his undoing as Windom instantly closed the gap between he and Swanson's rear bumper. Windom cut to the inside and attempted a slide job on Swanson for the lead to no avail, falling into line briefly before restuffing the cannon and taking aim once again in between the first and second turns.
There, Windom stuck his pass of Swanson, sliding from the bottom to top and forcing Swanson to 'whoa up' then watch Windom make his exodus down the back straightaway. Swanson remained just a car-length-and-a-half back until getting in above the cushion between turns one and two on lap 19, dropping him to half-straightway back, and spelling the end for Swanson's hopes and spelling good fortune for Windom on this particular evening.
Although tough sledding through traffic proved the be the path after surpassing Swanson with 13 laps remaining, Windom had no qualms, no issues and no hesitation as he stretched his lead out to 3.289 seconds by race's end with Swanson a distant second, Ballou third, point leader Brady Bacon fourth and Kevin Thomas Jr. fifth at the checkered.
A pleasant and joyful demeanor couldn't completely conceal the despair of Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) who once again became crushingly close to a first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature win after leading a race-high 17 laps. While a second place is nice, he's more than ready to find that elusive breakthrough triumph following his fourth runner-up result of the season in his Team AZ Racing/USW Cat Construction – RSS Industries – CSI/DRC/1-Way Chevy.
I'm really tired of losing," Swanson laid out. "The fact that we've done what we've done in such a short amount of time, I can't thank them enough for the opportunity. Obviously, it's frustrating, and I think we're due for a win. We're hungry for it and we'll just keep plugging away.
It was just one of those deals where I could tell (Windom) had the line, so you've got to make a choice as a driver whether to try and drive around him or whether you're going to try to cut underneath him. He did a good enough job sliding me to where he landed right in front of the racecar, and I couldn't really make either decision. It just broke my momentum and that's why he's a good racecar driver."
With his third-place finish, 2015 Jim Hurtubise Classic winner Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) recorded his best finish with the series since a second-place result at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway in June of this year aboard his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Berks Western Telecom/Triple X/Ott Chevy.
"I came here tonight with a totally different package, trying to get my balance right and I've struggled all year to get that," Ballou explained. "It was awful, so we threw the notebook at it and got it better. With the track changing the way it did, I don't have my shocks exactly where I need to be and, hopefully, by tomorrow we can get a little bit better of a gameplan and can finish two spots better."
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 1, 2021 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 22nd Jim Hurtubise Classic Presented by Terre Haute Chevrolet
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-19.377; 2. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-19.809; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-19.850; 4. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-19.874; 5. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-19.895; 6. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-19.897; 7. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-19.949; 8. Mario Clouser, 6, EZR-19.954; 9. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-20.039; 10. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-20.093; 11. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-20.161; 12. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-20.168; 13. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-20.170; 14. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Parker-20.185; 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-20.202; 16. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-20.209; 17. Harley Burns, 16, Burns-20.264; 18. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-20.379; 19. Mitch Wissmiller, 29, RMB-20.550; 20. Davey Ray, 14AJ, FattFro-20.584; 21. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-20.606; 22. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-20.687; 23. Brandon Morin, 98, Morin-20.706; 24. Patrick Budde, 90, Budde-22.220.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Max Adams, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Mitch Wissmiller, 8. Sterling Cling. 2:43.05
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Tye Mihocko, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Mario Clouser, 5. Harley Burns, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Davey Ray, 8. Brandon Morin. 2:45.84
INDY METAL FINISHING/INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Jason McDougal, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Patrick Budde. 2:42.02
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (3), 2. Jake Swanson (2), 3. Robert Ballou (1), 4. Brady Bacon (5), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 6. Tanner Thorson (9), 7. Logan Seavey (11), 8. C.J. Leary (12), 9. Shane Cottle (14), 10. Chase Stockon (6), 11. Jadon Rogers (15), 12. Max Adams (8), 13. Mario Clouser (10), 14. Justin Grant (4), 15. Jason McDougal (18), 16. Brandon Mattox (13), 17. Sterling Cling (22), 18. Matt Westfall (21), 19. Davey Ray (20), 20. Harley Burns (17), 21. Brandon Morin (23), 22. Tye Mihocko (16), 23. Patrick Budde (24), 24. Mitch Wissmiller (19). 10:31.97 (New Track Record)
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Jake Swanson, Laps 18-30 Chris Windom.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2525, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2451, 3-Justin Grant-2387, 4-C.J. Leary-2243, 5-Tanner Thorson-2236, 6-Chris Windom-2187, 7-Jake Swanson-2063, 8-Robert Ballou-1957, 9-Chase Stockon-1655, 10-Logan Seavey-1318.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-159, 2-Tanner Thorson-157, 3-Brady Bacon-151, 4-Justin Grant-143, 5-Logan Seavey-133, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-132, 7-Robert Ballou-131, 8-Thomas Meseraull-122, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Shane Cottle-88.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 2, 2021 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Fall Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Chris Windom
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Max Adams
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (14th to 9th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Mario Clouser
AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS EYE $4,000-TO-WIN CLASH AT ARIZONA SPEEDWAY
By Lance Jennings
SEPTEMBER 28, 2021... After a hard fought "Glenn Howard Classic" at Perris, the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will invade Arizona Speedway (San Tan Valley, AZ) this Saturday, October 2nd. Promoted by Jonah Trussel, the fifteenth point race will pay $4,000-TO-WIN. The action packed card will also feature the ASCS San Tan Ford Sprint Cars. The spectator gates will open at 4:00pm and racing is scheduled for 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track's website at arizonaspeedway.net or call 480.926.6688. For those that cannot be at the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- THE 2019 RULE BOOK will be followed in regards to race format and weight rule (1,325 lbs. with driver)
- 2021 APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Hoosier 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A are the only legal right rear tires with the series. Hoosier Tires are mandatory on all four corners. This is in preparation and compliance with the upcoming races with the USAC National Series.
- 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.)
- Arizona 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.
- 2021 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.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY: Series officials will have transponders to rent at the track for those racers that do not have them.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
Since November 4, 2016, Arizona Speedway has held 13 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and eight different drivers have claimed victory. "Sunshine" Tyler Courtney leads all drivers with 4 wins and Chad Boespflug set the 1-lap track record of 14.625 on November 5, 2016. A complete series win list at the San Tan Valley oval is at the end of this release.
Heading to Saturday's event in Arizona, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) has a 49-point lead over the competition. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner ran third in last Saturday's "Glenn Howard Classic" at Perris. To date, the eight-time champion has four feature wins, six Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, six heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, twelve top-10 finishes, and 93 feature laps led on the year. The "World's Fastest Sprint Car Driver" has eighty-seven USAC/CRA wins and will be looking to extend his lead win another win at Arizona Speedway.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) ranks second in the chase for the championship. Racing the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa scored a fifth place finish last Saturday night. At press time, the 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, five heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, twelve top-10 finishes and 59 feature laps led in the campaign. With ten career victories, Brody will have his sights on adding a victory at Arizona Speedway to his resume.
"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) sits third in the championship point chase. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Lucas Oil DRC, Williams ran second to "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr. at the "Glenn Howard Classic." To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, ten top-10 finishes and 72 feature laps led to his credit. "The Big Game Hunter" has eleven career wins and will be looking for his first triumph at San Tan Valley.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) is fourth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Driving the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen raced from ninth to sixth at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds. At press time, the veteran driver has posted one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, thirteen top-10 finishes, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, and 1 feature lap led on the season. This Saturday night, Chris will have his sights on earning his first USAC/CRA victory at Arizona Speedway.
"The Cadillac" Cody Williams (Corona, CA) ranks fifth in the USAC/CRA point chase. Racing his #44 Trench Shoring / CRW Designs and Machining DRC, Williams scored sixteenth at Perris after an early exit. To date, the 2010 Victorville Sprint Car Champion has three heat race victories, eight top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led in the campaign. Cody has one career USAC/CRA win and will be looking to stand on top of the podium this Saturday night.
Heading to Perris, Austin Grabowksi (Riverside, CA) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA). Brent Owens (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Jake Hodges (Camarillo, CA), Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI), and Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Tommy "Thunder" Malcolm, "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr., Matt McCarthy, Verne Sweeney, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Logan Williams, "Speedy" Stevie Sussex, R.J. Johnson, Chris Bonneau, Randy Nelson, and more.
Arizona Speedway is located at 47800 N. Ironwood Road in San Tan Valley, Arizona, just five minutes from Mesa. To get to the track, exit Ironwood Drive on US 60, then head four miles south. Adult Tickets are $20-$25, Senior Tickets are $20-$25, Kids Tickets (11 & under) are $5. For more event and ticket information, visit arizonaspeedway.net or call 480.926.6688.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, surfNsprint.com, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Damion Gardner, 2-Max Adams, 2-Brody Roa, 2-Austin Williams, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Carson Short, 1-Ryan Timmons.
SAN TAN VALLEY AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Tyler Courtney, 2-Justin Grant, 2-Chris Windom, 1-Damion Gardner, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-Thomas Meseraull, 1-Chase Stockon, 1-Jake Swanson.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Damion Gardner-1008, 2. Brody Roa-959, 3. Austin Williams-857, 4. Chris Gansen-787, 5. Cody Williams-738, 6. Tommy Malcolm-697, 7. Charles Davis Jr.-596, 8. Matt McCarthy-509, 9. Verne Sweeney-494, 10. Danny Faria Jr.-473, 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-471, 12. Logan Williams-464, 13. A.J. Bender-423, 14. Matt Mitchell-408, 15. Austin Grabowski �-407, 16. Stevie Sussex-319, 17. Ryan Timmons �-290, 18. Chase Johnson-281, 19. Brent Owens �-261, 20. Jake Hodges �-239, 21. Jeff Dyer-233, 22. Joel Rayborne-223, 23. Steve Hix-215, 24. Max Adams-195, 25. Austin Liggett-182, 26. Shane Sexton �-169, 27. Troy Rutherford-160, 28. Dan Taylor-145, 29. Ikaika O'Brien �-141, ---. Nate Schank-141, 31. Austin Ervine-138, 32. R.J. Johnson-133, 33. Daniel Whitley-132, ---. Trent Williams-132, 35. Tony Gomes-129, 36. Ryan Bernal-122, 37. Rick Hendrix-119, 38. Carson Short-111, 39. Kaleb Montgomery-110, 40. Davey Ray-105, 41. Kyle Edwards-87, 42. Shane Hopkins-79, 43. James Herrera-77, 44. Tanner Boul �-75, 45. Travis Buckley-75, 46. Jarrett Soares-72, 47. Trevor Schmid-68, 48. Jonas Reynolds-66, 49. Cal Smith-53, 50. Chris Bonneau-53, 51. Christopher Muraoka-51, 52. Ron Laplant-50, 53. Randy Nelson-45, 54. Tyler Hatzikian-42, 55. James Heling-41, 56. Gary Paulson-39, 57. Frank Herman-35, 58. Kalib Henry-35, 59. Jake Morgan-35, 60. Tom Hendricks-28, 61. Danny Sheridan-26, 62. Denny McNary-20, 63. Cody Smith-20, 64. Daylin Perreira-10, ---. Gary Marshall Jr.-10, ---. Sheldon Moniz-10, ---. Tony Richards-10, ---. Bradley Terrell-10, ---. Clint Motta-10, ---. Boy Moniz-10, ---. Nathan Johnson-10, ---. Ryan Owens-10.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
March 12: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park– Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
March 13: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
March 26: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
April 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
May 1: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
May 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
May 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 3: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (CANCELLED)
July 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
August 14: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
September 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Carson Short)
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
September 6: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
September 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Charles Davis Jr.)
October 2: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
October 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 12: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 13: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS AT TERRE HAUTE: USAC'S HURTUBISE CLASSIC FRIDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Terre Haute, Indiana (September 29, 2021)………In the long, storied history of the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track, few drivers have had the amount of success that Chris Windom has accrued in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition at the half-mile dirt oval.
The only four-time winner of the Jim Hurtubise Classic presented by Terre Haute Chevrolet will attempt to make it a high-five this Friday night, October 1, in the 22nd running of the event at western Indiana's Terre Haute Action Track.
In September of 2020 at Terre Haute, Windom pounced early, shooting to the lead on the opening lap from his starting spot inside the second row, then carved his way through a gridlock of traffic to gain a comfortable lead. Even a late-race restart was unable to deter Windom who forcefully put his foot down and ended all thoughts of being beaten on this occasion.
That victory allowed Windom to become the first four-time winner of the Jim Hurtubise Classic, surpassing the three accumulated by Jack Hewitt in 1990-91-95. Windom had previously won the Hurtubise Classic in 2011-16-17, the latter of which came during his USAC National Sprint Car championship season.
"With how good he was here, that's pretty special." Windom reflected on Hurtubise and his 2020 victory. "I honestly didn't know that could be broken, so that was really cool to find that out after the race. This place has been so good to me throughout my whole career. I love coming here and racing. We've always had a fast car here all those years."
Windom's lone victory of the 2021 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship came at Terre Haute during May's Tony Hulman Classic, which was his seventh series victory at the track. Windom stands at seven Terre Haute USAC Sprint triumphs, just one behind Gary Bettenhausen and Jack Hewitt for the most all-time.
The Canton, Ill. native has procured seven top-fives in his Hurtubise Classic career with four wins, plus a 2nd in 2015, a 3rd in 2018 and a 4th in 2019, the same night he also notched the fastest qualifying time and is one of five past Jim Hurtubise Classic winners who'll be in this Friday night's field: Brady Bacon (2014 & 2018), Chase Stockon (2012), Robert Ballou (2015) and Justin Grant (2019).
Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) leads the point standings in pursuit of his fourth career series championship. Bacon's Hurtubise Classic prowess shows five more top-ten results in addition to his two victories in 2014 and 2018, a 2nd in 2013, a 5th in 2020, a 7th in both 2016-17 and a 9th in 2015.
Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.), along with Windom, are the only two drivers to win the Tony Hulman Classic, the Don Smith Classic and the Jim Hurtubise Classic USAC Sprint events at Terre Haute in their careers. Stockon bagged a Hurtubise victory late in the 2012 season. He's finished inside the top-10 of the Hurtubise Classic in nine consecutive seasons with a 4th in 2016, 5th in 2014, 6th in 2017, 7th twice in 2015 & 19, 8th in 2018 & 2020 and 9th in 2013. He was also the fastest qualifier in 2016 and recently notched an MSCS win at THAT on August 15.
Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) has been behind the wheel of some of those spectacular moments at Terre Haute. He's been a fast qualifier for the Hurtubise Classic on three occasions in 2010-17-18. The 2015 USAC National Sprint Car champ has also finished as the runner-up in the event three times in addition to his victory; he was 2nd in 2012-14-18 and also had a top-five ride in 2020 with a 4th, plus a pair of 5th place results in 2010-11.
Grant (Rocklin, Calif.) won the Hurtubise Classic in 2019 and is the only driver to finish on the "podium" in each of the last two runnings of the event after earning 3rd in 2020. He added a second USAC Sprint win at Terre Haute during Indiana Sprint Week in late July of 2020. Grant had experienced the Hurtubise Classic top-five on just one other occasion prior to 2019, a 4th in 2017.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is the most recent USAC National Sprint Car feature winner at Terre Haute, scoring July's Indiana Sprint Week round at the famed half-mile dirt oval. In his Jim Hurtubise Classic debut in 2020, Seavey was forced into a backup car due to mechanical troubles in qualifying. After that misfortune, Seavey's night turned around after charging from the back of his heat race to transfer, then advanced from his 22nd starting spot to finish 9th in the feature to score KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) finished as the runner-up in the 2019 Hurtubise Classic, which was his best career finish in his nine starts in the event. The two-time Terre Haute USAC Sprint winner in 2013 and 2017 has won both the Tony Hulman Classic and the Don Smith Classic in his career but will try to add the Jim Hurtubise Classic to his "Big Three" win total on Friday. He ran 5th at the "Hurtubise" in 2018 and was also 6th in 2015, 7th in 2020 and 10th in 2012. He was also the fastest qualifier in 2013.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), the 2019 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ, has had top-five results in the Jim Hurtubise Classic on two occasions, taking 4th in 2018 and 5th in 2019. He did have a string of top-tens in the event that had been five years running with an 8th in 2015 as well as 9th in 2016 and 2017. However, his string was ended when a first lap incident knocked him out of the race in 2020 after earlier setting quick time. Leary is a past Sumar Classic USAC Silver Crown winner at Terre Haute in 2016.
Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) owns four career top-ten finishes at the Hurtubise Classic with a 4th as his best in 2014 along with a 6th in both 2018 and 2020 and a 7th in 2010. Meanwhile, Nick Bilbee (Indianapolis, Ind.) earned his best Hurtubise Classic run of 8th in his last start in 2019. Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.) has made five previous Hurtubise Classic starts, but is looking for his first top-10 performance in the event after a 20th place result in 2020. He finished 5th with MSCS in August at Terre Haute.
Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has made two Jim Hurtubise Classic starts, both of which have resulted in top-10 finishes, a 10th in 2018 and 6th in 2019, and was also 3rd in an MSCS show at Terre Haute on Aug. 15. Gas City's track champion from 2020, Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.), scored an 11th at the "Hurtubise" in 2019.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) is having one of the finest Rookie seasons in the history of the division with five wins this year. Friday will mark his debut appearance in the Hurtubise Classic following 11th and 8th place finishes in his two previous Terre Haute starts in May and July of 2021.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) will make his second Jim Hurtubise Classic appearance following a 15th place finish in 2020. Finishing one spot behind in that event was 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.), who took 16th as he also intends to make his second start in the event.
The race honors the late, great Jim Hurtubise, the 1993 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee who achieved what seemed nearly impossible, winning five consecutive USAC National Sprint Car feature events at Terre Haute between 1960 and 1962.
Hurtubise, of North Tonawanda, N.Y., stood the racing world on its ears in 1960 when he flirted with the 150-mph barrier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where he was that year's Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. National Championship wins for Hurtubise came at Sacramento, Calif., Langhorne, Pa. and Springfield, Ill. (twice), before suffering serious burns in an accident at Milwaukee, Wisc. in 1964.
He was the last driver to wheel a front-engine car at the Indianapolis 500 in 1968. A spectacular Sprint Car racer, he won 14 USAC features and was also an accomplished stock car racer, having won the 1966 Atlanta 500 NASCAR Cup race.
Friday's 22nd running of the Jim Hurtubise Classic presented by Terre Haute Chevrolet features both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the Schaeffer's Oil Indiana RaceSaver Sprints.
Pits open at 3pm EDT, grandstands at 4pm, drivers meeting at 5:45pm & hot laps at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing to follow. Adult general admission tickets are $25. Infield admission is $15. Kids 11 & under are FREE.
The Jim Hurtubise Classic can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2456, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2385, 3-Justin Grant-2344, 4-C.J. Leary-2188, 5-Tanner Thorson-2172, 6-Chris Windom-2107, 7-Jake Swanson-1989, 8-Robert Ballou-1886, 9-Chase Stockon-1601, 10-Logan Seavey-1263.
JIM HURTUBISE CLASSIC WINS:
4-Chris Windom
3-Jack Hewitt
2-Brady Bacon
1-Robert Ballou, Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott, Justin Grant, Tray House, Tony Jones, Rusty McClure, Jon Stanbrough, Robbie Stanley, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas & J.J. Yeley
PAST JIM HURTUBISE CLASSIC WINNERS:
1990: Jack Hewitt
1991: Jack Hewitt
1992: Rusty McClure
1993: Robbie Stanley
1994: Tray House
1995: Jack Hewitt
1996: Kevin Thomas
1997: J.J. Yeley
1998: Tony Elliott
1999: Tony Jones
2010: Jon Stanbrough
2011: Chris Windom
2012: Chase Stockon
2013: Jerry Coons Jr.
2014: Brady Bacon
2015: Robert Ballou
2016: Chris Windom
2017: Chris Windom
2018: Brady Bacon
2019: Justin Grant
2020: Chris Windom
TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK USAC SPRINT CAR WINS: (167 Points Races)
8-Gary Bettenhausen & Jack Hewitt
7-Chris Windom
6-Bubby Jones, Sheldon Kinser & J.J. Yeley
5-Jim Hurtubise, Levi Jones, Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler
4-Bud Kaeding & Roger McCluskey
3-Don Branson, Steve Butler, Pancho Carter, Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Jay Drake, Cary Faas, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Joe Saldana & Chase Stockon
2-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Rollie Beale, Tom Bigelow, Dave Darland, Justin Grant, Cory Kruseman, Johnny Rutherford, Dick Tobias, Kevin Thomas Jr., Bruce Walkup & Greg Weld
1-Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Mel Cornett, Larry Dickson, Ed Elisian, Tony Elliott, Aaron Farney, A.J. Foyt, Richard Griffin, Chuck Gurney, Tommy Hinnershitz, Tray House, Chet Johnson, Tony Jones, Doug Kalitta, Frankie Kerr, Steve Kinser, Eddie Leavitt, Andy Linden, Bobby Marshman, Charlie Masters, Rusty McClure, James McElreath, Jim McElreath, Jim McWithey, Jan Opperman, Terry Pletch, Larry Rice, Eddie Sachs, Logan Seavey, Sammy Sessions, Ron Shuman, George Snider, Robbie Stanley, Brad Sweet, Kevin Thomas & Bobby Unser
TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK USAC SPRINT CAR WINNERS:
1957: Ed Elisian (6/16) & Andy Linden (8/18)
1958: Eddie Sachs (6/22) & Tommy Hinnershitz (8/17)
1959: Don Branson (6/21) & Jim McWithey (8/16)
1960: Don Branson (6/12) & Jim Hurtubise (8/21)
1961: Jim Hurtubise (6/11) & Jim Hurtubise (8/13)
1962: Jim Hurtubise (6/17) & Jim Hurtubise (8/12)
1963: Roger McCluskey (6/16) & Bobby Marshman (8/11)
1964: A.J. Foyt (6/14) & Don Branson (8/9)
1965: Johnny Rutherford (6/13) & Johnny Rutherford (8/15)
1966: Roger McCluskey (6/19), Roger McCluskey (6/19) & Roger McCluskey (9/14)
1967: Bobby Unser (6/11), Greg Weld (6/11), Rollie Beale (8/13) & Greg Weld (9/10)
1968: Gary Bettenhausen (6/16), Larry Dickson (8/11) & Gary Bettenhausen (9/8)
1969: Gary Bettenhausen (8/10) & Gary Bettenhausen (10/19)
1970: Jim McElreath (6/21), Dick Tobias (8/9) & Bruce Walkup (9/13)
1971: George Snider (5/1) & Gary Bettenhausen (8/8)
1972: Bruce Walkup (4/30), Charlie Masters (6/11) & Rollie Beale (8/19)
1973: Joe Saldana (5/5), Mel Cornett (6/9) 7 Sammy Sessions (8/5)
1974: Gary Bettenhausen (4/14) & Sheldon Kinser (8/4)
1975: Pancho Carter (5/4), Joe Saldana (6/1), Gary Bettenhausen (8/3) & Tom Bigelow (9/21)
1976: Jan Opperman (5/1), Tom Bigelow (6/6), Gary Bettenhausen (8/1) & Chuck Gurney (10/31)
1977: James McElreath (5/7), Sheldon Kinser (6/5), Bubby Jones (7/31) & Pancho Carter (9/25)
1978: Dick Tobias (5/6), Billy Cassella (6/4) & Bubby Jones (9/24)
1979: Pancho Carter (5/5), Bubby Jones (5/6), Bubby Jones (6/3), Bubby Jones (8/5) & Bubby Jones (9/23)
1980: Eddie Leavitt (5/3), Steve Chassey (5/4), Joe Saldana (6/29), Rich Vogler (8/3) & Rich Vogler (9/21)
1981: Sheldon Kinser (5/3), Rich Vogler (8/9) & Sheldon Kinser (9/7)
1982: Chet Johnson (5/9), Sheldon Kinser (6/20), Steve Kinser (8/8) & Larry Rice (9/5)
1983: Jack Hewitt (5/8), Rich Vogler (6/19) & Jack Hewitt (8/28)
1984: Rick Hood (6/10) & Steve Butler (8/26)
1985: Ron Shuman (5/5), Rick Hood (6/9) & Rick Hood (8/25)
1986: Rich Vogler (5/4) & Sheldon Kinser (8/3)
1987: Steve Butler (5/3) & Steve Butler (5/23)
1990: Jack Hewitt (7/8)
1991: Jack Hewitt (7/7)
1992: Rusty McClure (7/12) & Cary Faas (10/11)
1993: Dave Darland (5/2) & Robbie Stanley (7/11)
1994: Cary Faas (5/1) & Tray House (7/17)
1995: Jack Hewitt (4/30) & Jack Hewitt (7/16)
1996: Doug Kalitta (5/12), Kevin Thomas (7/12) & Jack Hewitt (10/5)
1997: J.J. Yeley (6/27), J.J. Yeley (7/23) & Jack Hewitt (10/4)
1998: Cary Faas (5/29) & Tony Elliott (8/14)
1999: Tracy Hines (5/8), Tony Jones (6/17), Jerry Coons Jr. (6/18), Frankie Kerr (6/19) & Terry Pletch (7/21)
2000: Jay Drake (6/15), Richard Griffin (6/16), Jay Drake (6/18) & Jay Drake (7/28)
2001: Tracy Hines (5/19), Bud Kaeding (10/20) & Bud Kaeding (10/20)
2002: Jon Stanbrough (5/11), Cory Kruseman (7/27) & J.J. Yeley (10/5)
2003: J.J. Yeley (5/17), Tracy Hines (7/26), J.J. Yeley (8/14 Special Event) & J.J. Yeley (10/4)
2004: Cory Kruseman (5/22), J.J. Yeley (7/24) & Bud Kaeding (9/4)
2005: Levi Jones (7/22), Levi Jones (9/30) & Levi Jones (10/1)
2006: Daron Clayton (10/6) & Daron Clayton (10/7)
2007: Jon Stanbrough (5/19)
2008: Levi Jones (5/22)
2009: Levi Jones (5/21), Brad Sweet (7/15) & Jon Stanbrough (9/12)
2010: Jerry Coons Jr. (5/27), Jon Stanbrough (7/14) & Jon Stanbrough (9/11)
2011: Chris Windom (7/13) & Chris Windom (9/10)
2012: Bud Kaeding (5/24), Daron Clayton (7/18) & Chase Stockon (10/12)
2013: Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/17) & Jerry Coons Jr. (8/31)
2014: Dave Darland (5/21), Bryan Clauson (7/16) & Brady Bacon (9/18)
2015: Aaron Farney (7/15) & Robert Ballou (9/18)
2016: Robert Ballou (5/25), Chase Stockon (7/17) & Chris Windom (10/15)
2017: Chris Windom (9/15) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (10/14)
2018: Tyler Courtney (5/23), Tyler Courtney (7/25) & Brady Bacon (9/14)
2019: Chase Stockon (5/22), Tyler Courtney (7/24) & Justin Grant (9/13)
2020: Chris Windom (7/1), Justin Grant (7/29) & Chris Windom (9/18)
2021: Chris Windom (5/26) & Logan Seavey (7/28)
PAST JIM HURTUBISE CLASSIC FEATURE RESULTS:
1990 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Tony Weyant, 3. Rich Vogler, 4. Steve Butler, 5. Terry Shepherd, 6. Jeff Walker, 7. Jack Ziegler, 8. Kevin Thomas, 9. Jerry Nemire, 10. Tony Elliott, 11. Eric Gordon, 12. Jim Mahoney, 13. Bob Bowen, 14. Manny Rockhold, 15. Andy Stapp, 16. Dave Peperak, 17. Rick Howerton, 18. Ray Morgan, 19. George McCord, 20. Leon Gentry. NT
1991 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Johnny Parsons, 4. Frankie Kerr, 5. Terry Shepherd, 6. Steve Butler, 7. Bill Rose, 8. Brad Marvel, 9. Eric Gordon, 10. Robbie Stanley, 11. Tray House, 12. Chip Thomas, 13. Tony Weyant, 14. Dave Peperak, 15. Jeff O'Banion, 16. Jon Stanbrough, 17. Ray Morgan, 18. Billy Throckmorton, 19. Jeff Bloom, 20. Craig Keel. 12:34.17
1992 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Rusty McClure, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Steve Butler, 4. Robbie Stanley, 5. Jack Hewitt, 6. Greg Staab, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Kent Christian, 9. Jon Stanbrough, 10. Jerry Nemire, 11. Eric Gordon, 12. Dave Peperak, 13. Jim Keeker, 14. Cary Faas, 15. Doug Kalitta, 16. Tray House, 17. Jeff Donelson, 18. Bill Rose, 19. Brad Marvel, 20. Leon Gentry. NT
1993 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robbie Stanley, 2. Cary Faas, 3. Tony Elliott, 4. Danny Smith, 5. Tray House, 6. Eric Gordon, 7. Terry Shepherd, 8. Joe Roush, 9. Kent Christian, 10. Greg Staab, 11. Dave Peperak, 12. Jerry Nemire, 13. Bill Rose, 14. Steve Butler, 15. Doug Kalitta, 16. Leon Gentry, 17. Blake Hollingsworth, 18. Kevin Thomas, 19. Dave Darland, 20. Jack Hewitt. NT
1994 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tray House, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Kevin Thomas, 4. Brian Hayden, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. Eric Gordon, 7. Bill Rose, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Ray Morgan, 10. Cary Faas, 11. Brad Marvel, 12. Troy Link, 13. Aaron Mosley, 14. Denny Stewart, 15. Dr. Tom Black, 16. Derek Davidson, 17. Doug Kalitta, 18. Jack Hewitt, 19. Tony Stewart, 20. Jeff O'Banion. NT
1995 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Rusty McClure, 3. Brad Marvel, 4. Tray House, 5. Mark Cassella, 6. Bill Rose, 7. Tony Jarrett, 8. Kevin Doty, 9. Ray Morgan, 10. Kevin Thomas, 11. Doug Kalitta, 12. Eric Gordon, 13. Tony Elliott, 14. Terry Pletch, 15. Jeff O'Banion, 16. Jimmy Stinson, 17. Brian Hayden, 18. Tony Stewart, 19. Dave Peperak, 20. Greg Staab, 21. Dr. Tom Black, 22. Todd Kelley. NT
1996 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas, 2. Tony Stewart, 3. Brian Hayden, 4. Byron Reed, 5. Bill Rose, 6. Jason McCord, 7. Brad Marvel, 8. Billy Puterbaugh, Jr., 9. Brian Tyler, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Tony Elliott, 12. Kent Christian, 13. Gus Wasson, 14. Tray House, 15. Chris Beaver, 16. Todd Wohlford, 17. Terry Pletch, 18. Aaron Mosley, 19. Doug Kalitta, 20. Dave Steele, 21. Mark Cassella, 22. Tim Cox. NT
1997 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Mike Kirby, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Brian Hayden, 6. Cory Kruseman, 7. Tim Montgomery, 8. Steve Surniak, 9. Tony Elliott, 10. Kevin Doty, 11. Brian Tyler, 12. Troy Cline, 13. Bill Rose, 14. Tony Jarrett, 15. Derek Davidson, 16. Dave Peperak, 17. Chris Beaver, 18. Richard Griffin, 19. Cary Faas, 20. Russ Gamester, 21. Jack Hewitt, 22. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. NT
1998 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Kevin Thomas, 4. Derek Davidson, 5. Rusty McClure, 6. Robbie Rice, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Jack Hewitt, 9. Tim Cox, 10. Kent Christian, 11. Tim Montgomery, 12. Jason McCord, 13. Billy Puterbaugh, Jr., 14. Ron Smoker, 15. A.J. Anderson, 16. J.J. Yeley, 17. Kevin Doty, 18. Bill Rose, 19. Brian Hayden, 20. Dave Feese, 21. Tracy Hines, 22. Kevin Miller. NT
1999 FEATURE: (20 Laps) 1. Tony Jones, 2. Jac Haudenschild, 3. J.J. Yeley, 4. Steve Ostling, 5. Mike English, 6. Kevin Briscoe, 7. Jack Hewitt, 8. Troy Rutherford, 9. Cary Faas, 10. Rusty McClure, 11. Tony Elliott, 12. Kevin Thomas, 13. Jonathan Vennard, 14. Brian Hayden, 15. Brad Fox, 16. Cory Kruseman, 17. Troy Cline, 18. Terry Pletch, 19. Mike Boat, 20. A.J. Anderson. NT
2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Hunter Schuerenberg, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Jonathan Hendrick, 10. Tracy Hines, 11. J.J. Hughes, 12. Chase Stockon, 13. Bill Rose, 14. Jon Sciscoe, 15. Justin Grant, 16. Chris Windom, 17. Casey Riggs, 18. Henry Clarke, 19. Caleb Armstrong, 20. Kurt Gross, 21. Ty Deckard, 22. Blake Fitzpatrick, 23. Damion Gardner. NT
2011 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Levi Jones, 3. Hunter Schuerenberg, 4. Keith Bloom Jr., 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Casey Shuman, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Bobby East, 10. Blake Fitzpatrick, 11. Chase Stockon, 12. Jerry Coons Jr., 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Daron Clayton, 15. Hud Cone, 16. J.J. Hughes, 17. Damion Gardner, 18. Wes McIntyre, 19. Shane Cottle, 20. Brandon Mattox, 21. Bryan Clauson, 22. Kevin Studley. NT
2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Jerry Coons, Jr., 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Hunter Schuerenberg, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Bobby East, 10. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 11. Bud Kaeding, 12. Damion Gardner, 13. Braylon Fitzpatrick, 14. Tanner Swanson, 15. Coleman Gulick, 16. C.J. Leary, 17. Daren Krockenberger, 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Kurt Gross, 20. Kody Swanson, 21. Blake Fitzpatrick, 22. Brandon Mattox. NT
2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Chase Stockon, 10. Daron Clayton, 11. Kyle Cummins, 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 13. Shane Cottle, 14. Justin Grant, 15. Tyler Courtney, 16. Korey Weyant, 17. Nick Drake, 18. Kevin Studley, 19. Braylon Fitzpatrick, 20. Blake Fitzpatrick, 21. Jake Simmons, 22. Kurt Gross, 23. Brandon Mattox. 14:43.98
2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Brady Short, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Chris Windom, 11. Jon Stanbrough, 12. C.J. Leary, 13. Justin Grant, 14. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15. Hunter Schuerenberg, 16. Logan Jarrett, 17. Jarett Andretti, 18. Brandon Mattox, 19. Jac Haudenschild, 20. Chad Boespflug, 21. Bill Rose. 11:34.17
2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Chase Stockon, 8. C.J. Leary, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Tyler Courtney, 11. Thomas Meseraull, 12. Hunter Schuerenberg, 13. Shane Cottle, 14. Justin Grant, 15. Aaron Farney, 16. Tracy Hines, 17. Brady Short, 18. Jarett Andretti, 19. J.J. Hughes, 20. Kyle Robbins, 21. Mario Clouser, 22. Chad Boespflug. NT
2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Chad Boespflug. 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Tyler Courtney, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Jon Stanbrough, 9. C.J. Leary, 10. Aaron Farney, 11. Bret Mellenberndt, 12. Thomas Meseraull, 13. Dave Darland, 14. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15. Carson Macedo, 16. Corey Smith, 17. Isaac Chapple, 18. Kyle Robbins, 19. Joe Bares, 20. Nate McMillin, 21. J.J. Hughes, 22. Jeff Pritchett. NT
2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Chad Boespflug, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Aaron Farney, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Scotty Weir, 9. C.J. Leary, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Jon Stanbrough, 12. Robert Ballou, 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Josh Hodges, 15. Carson Short, 16. Kyle Robbins, 17. Mario Clouser, 18. J.J. Hughes, 19. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 20. Shane Cottle, 21. Isaac Chapple, 22. Aric Gentry. NT
2018 FEATURE: (30 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (5), 2. Robert Ballou (6), 3. Chris Windom (7), 4. C.J. Leary (2), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (12), 6. Shane Cottle (1), 7. Tyler Courtney (3), 8. Chase Stockon (4), 9. Stevie Sussex (11), 10. Jason McDougal (17), 11. Jarett Andretti (10), 12. Bill Rose (15), 13. Isaac Chapple (19), 14. James Lyerla (20), 15. Shawn Arriaga (21), 16. Brian VanMeveren (18), 17. Patrick Budde (23), 18. Carson Short (13), 19. Justin Grant (9), 20. Dave Darland (8), 21. Gabe Griffith (22), 22. Nick Bilbee (14), 23. Josh Hodges (16). NT
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (3), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 3. Tyler Courtney (9), 4. Chris Windom (6), 5. C.J. Leary (4), 6. Jason McDougal (7), 7. Chase Stockon (2), 8. Nick Bilbee (1), 9. Josh Hodges (11), 10. Carson Short (8), 11. Max Adams (17), 12. Isaac Chapple (15), 13. Dustin Smith (13), 14. Kyle Robbins (19), 15. Dustin Christie (18), 16. Aric Gentry (22), 17. Steve Thomas (21), 18. Brady Bacon (10), 19. Tye Mihocko (20), 20. Brian VanMeveren (16), 21. Mitch Wissmiller (14), 22. Bill Rose (12). NT
2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (3), 2. Dave Darland (1), 3. Justin Grant (2), 4. Robert Ballou (4), 5. Brady Bacon (5), 6. Shane Cottle (9), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 8. Chase Stockon (7), 9. Logan Seavey (22), 10. Anton Hernandez (8), 11. Carson Short (10), 12. Clinton Boyles (19), 13. Austin Williams (18), 14. J.J. Hughes (14), 15. Jake Swanson (12), 16. Jadon Rogers (17), 17. Tye Mihocko (16), 18. Max Adams (21), 19. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (20), 20. Brandon Mattox (11), 21. Jonathan Vennard (15), 22. C.J. Leary (6). NT
MIDWEST FINALE: $10,000-TO-WIN
FALL NATIONALS SATURDAY AT THE BURG
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Lawrenceburg, Indiana (September 29, 2021)………For Brady Bacon, it was an unconventional way to celebrate a victory, standing beside his hauler with his crew, family and friends by his side as the winner's trophy was presented to him following the 2020 Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg Speedway.
Bacon will try to repeat his feat, in a more conventional manner, in this Saturday night's 14th running of the $10,000-to-win Fall Nationals featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at southeastern Indiana's Lawrenceburg Speedway on October 2.
At the time, one year ago, Bacon was already cognizant of being crowned the 2020 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car championship by virtue of, what appeared to be, a second-place finish. Yet, after initial winner Tyler Courtney was found to be 15 pounds underweight during post-race tech inspection, Bacon was elevated to first place while Courtney was repositioned to the 22nd and final position in the results.
Any way the cookie crumbled for Bacon, he'd take it, especially when it pays $10,000, which he pocketed after emerging victorious in the event. While last year's Fall Nationals served as the season finale, this weekend's event holds the position as the Midwest finale before the series heads west for the final five events in Arizona and California in November.
Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finds himself in the driver's seat once again as the leader of the championship race heading into the Fall Nationals. The three-time champ owns three USAC scores at Lawrenceburg, with additional victory lane visits coming in the summer of 2015 and the spring of 2021.
At the Fall Nationals, Bacon has been the fastest qualifier in 2011 and has finished in the top-four four times over the years, including 2nd in 2014, 4th in 2015 and a runner-up finish in 2018 where he led 11 laps. He also scored a local victory at the track in May of this year.
Two-time Fall Nationals winner Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) won the first two editions of the event under Midwest Sprint Car Series sanction in 2007 and 2008, the first one coming on the former 1/4-mile and the latter coming on the 3/8-mile version. Ballou has been a Lawrenceburg USAC Sprint winner once before in his career, scoring the "W" during 2011 Indiana Sprint Week. At the Fall Nationals, the 2015 series champion has also finished 4th in 2017 and 5th in 2020.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) will join Ballou in their respective quests to become the first three-time Fall Nationals victor. Thomas has four career USAC National Sprint Car feature wins at Lawrenceburg, twice in 2013, then scored a first career Fall Nationals victory in 2017 followed by another in 2019. He also secured a 4th at the Fall Nationals in 2013, a runner-up finish in 2015 and had a 5th place run in 2018.
The very first of Chase Stockon's 13 career USAC National Sprint Car victories came at the Fall Nationals in 2012. He's started all 11 Fall Nationals under USAC sanction since 2009. The Fort Branch, Ind. native, who holds the ultimate ironman streak of 320 consecutive USAC National Sprint Car feature starts, also finished as the runner-up in the Fall Nationals during the 2013 race. He took 10th at the event in 2019.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) hasn't appeared in the Fall Nationals since his 2015 triumph six years ago. His first start in the event resulted in a solid 6th place finish back in 2012. His next came in 2015 when he took over the lead on lap two and dominated the rest of the distance in what was his second career series win at the time.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was triumphant in the 2018 Fall Nationals where he led the first lap and the final 18 mired in a spirited duel with Bacon. Four of Grant's 28 career USAC National Sprint wins have come at Lawrenceburg, with additional victories in 2012, 2014 and again during Indiana Sprint Week in 2019. He has six career top-five finishes at the Fall Nationals, including a 5th in 2013, a 4th in 2014, a 5th in 2016, a 3rd in 2017, a 1st in 2018 and a 3rd in 2019. He was the winner with the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series at The Burg in May of this year.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) enters as the most recent winner of a USAC National Sprint Car feature at Lawrenceburg, scoring a decisive victory during July's Indiana Sprint Week round. Back in June of 2021, Seavey swept both ends of the night, taking wins in both the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget portion and the ensuing Lawrenceburg Sprint car feature. The 2018 USAC National Midget champ's Fall Nationals debut in 2020 resulted in an 18th.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) is the only driver to finish inside the top-five in the past six editions of the Fall Nationals, and likewise, is the only driver to start all previous 15 Fall Nationals feature events since 2007. He's finished in the top-ten in all 11 previous Fall Nationals run under the sanctioning of USAC, but the Spring 2017 Burg USAC Sprint winner remains on the hunt for his first Fall Nationals triumph. Windom was 2nd and 3rd in 2009, 2nd in 2011, 2nd in 2012, 10th in 2013, 9th in 2014, 5th in 2015, 2nd in 2016, 7th in 2017, 4th in 2018, 5th in 2019 and 3rd in 2020.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) has raced to a pair of Lawrenceburg USAC Sprint Car victories during the Indiana Sprint Week round in both 2017 and 2019. The 2019 series champion also won the 2013 Lawrenceburg Speedway track championship and has finished in the top-three twice at the Fall Nationals in his career. He was 3rd in 2015 and 2nd in 2017. He has been 4th in each of the last two years in 2019 and 2020. In both 2015 and 2018, he was the fastest qualifier at the Fall Nationals.
Nick Bilbee (Indianapolis, Ind.) captured his second consecutive Lawrenceburg track championship this season by virtue of his four victories in weekly sprint car competition. He earned a USAC career best finish of 6th in the 2019 Fall Nationals and was the fastest qualifier in USAC Sprint Car competition at Lawrenceburg during the summer of 2018.
Likewise, Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.) has won at Lawrenceburg on the local level in each of the past two years, including once more this past May. His best Fall Nationals results in two career starts came via a 12th in the 2020 race.
Dickie Gaines (Mitchell, Ind.) captured a big USAC National Sprint Car victory at Lawrenceburg in 2005. The 2003 and 2019 Lawrenceburg track champion finished a best of 16th at the Fall Nationals in 2008.
Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) took 7th in the Fall Nationals of 2012. His ride for the Fall Nationals, the Hodges Motorsports No. 74x, won the event with Josh Hodges as the driver during the 2016 season. In fact, the Hodges car has finished in the top-10 at the Fall Nationals in 2016 (1st), 8th in 2017 and 10th in 2018. The 2016 run still stands as the fastest 30-lap USAC Sprint Car race in the history of Lawrenceburg Speedway at 7:21.09.
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) owns three career top-six results in his Fall Nationals career, led by a 4th in 2016, followed by a 5th in 2009 and a 6th most recently in 2020.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) has twice been a runner-up finisher during Indiana Midget Week at Lawrenceburg, in both 2017 and 2018. The 2016 USAC National Midget driving champion and leading USAC Sprint Car Rookie also earned fast qualifying honors at Lawrenceburg's IMW round in 2014. In USAC Sprint Car competition at Lawrenceburg, he finished a solid 3rd during July's Indiana Sprint Week round this year in which he also led a lap.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) was the fastest qualifier and a 9th place finisher in his Fall Nationals debut in 2020. This past July, Swanson came painfully close to his first career USAC National Sprint Car win at Lawrenceburg, finishing 2nd after leading a race-high 22 laps.
Top-10 finishers returning to the Fall Nationals lineup are Scotty Weir (Marion, Ind.), 8th in 2015, 9th in 2019 and 10th in 2009. Three-time track champion in 2007-09-15, Joss Moffatt (Columbus, Ind.), was a 5th place finisher in 2008. Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.) scored a 10th during the 2020 Fall Nationals, which was his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature start.
Further Fall Nationals veterans in the field include two-time USAC National Sprint Car winner, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Jason McDougal (17th in 2018); Pleasant Hill, Ohio's Matt Westfall (15th in 2018); Rushville, Indiana's Garrett Abrams (17th in 2017); and Columbus, Indiana's J.J. Hughes (17th in 2019 & 2020).
USAC National Most Improved Driver for 2020, Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.), is prepared to make his first Fall National starts this Saturday night as is 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) who set fast time during Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying at Lawrenceburg's USAC Sprint Car show in April of 2021. Saban Bibent (Cincinnati, Ohio) is in the same boat as Mattox and Rogers, trying to crack his first Fall Nationals starting field after winning locally at the track back in June.
Pits open for Saturday's Fall Nationals at 4pm Eastern with front gates opening at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:15pm and hot laps at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
The event features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and KOI Auto Parts UMP Modifieds. Adult general admission tickets are $30, kids 7-12 are $7, children 6 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
Saturday's Fall Nationals from Lawrenceburg can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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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)
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-Jon Stanbrough
4-Justin Grant, Jack Hewitt & Kevin Thomas Jr.
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, 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 (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)
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
WINDOM WEARS ANOTHER CROWN WITH FIRST ELDORA USAC MIDGET WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Rossburg, Ohio (September 25, 2021)………Chris Windom had already checked off a couple of the boxes at the 4-Crown Nationals in his illustrious USAC career.
First, there was a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car win added to his resume in 2013 followed by victories in the USAC Silver Crown division in both 2013 and 2016.
However, the one that had long eluded the Canton, Ill. native was a score in the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway.
After Saturday night's 39th running of the event, the reigning series champion could now check that one off the list as well, leading all 25 laps in a highwire, wire-to-wire thrill show in which he successfully fended off a barrage of bullets from challengers Spencer Bayston and Logan Seavey during the final laps of the non-stop, green-to-checker feature, which took less than eight minutes to complete.
By doing so, Windom became just the sixth driver to win all three of USAC's open wheel divisions at the 4-Crown Nationals in his career, joining Jack Hewitt, Dave Darland, Tyler Courtney, Jerry Coons Jr. and Kyle Larson in that regard.
The victory was the 12th of Windom's USAC National Midget career, equaling him with Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim and Ron Shuman for 57th on the all-time list, and successfully avenged his performance in Friday night's opener in which he led 11 laps before fading to third at the end.
Out of his 12 career USAC National Midget triumphs, this one, at the Big E, was a biggie for the USAC Triple Crown champion.
"I've wanted to win here in a midget pretty bad," Windom exclaimed. "Turns three and four were sketchy on the fence for 25 laps, but I just knew I had to run the heck out of it down there. Coming off the top in one and two, I felt like was gaining there instead of following it around.
I had to use a little more tire than I expected to after that one," Windom continued. "I had to run super hard to stay out front. The midgets are so tight on competition right now. All these guys are so good."
Windom started fourth in the main event, but already found himself in the lead by turn three of the opening lap as he charged around the outside of pole sitter Tanner Thorson, then withstood outside front row starter Spencer Bayston's side-by-side challenge down the entire length of the back straightaway before emerging in front of the pack to lead the first circuit of the $6,000-to-win affair.
Throughout the middle stages, Windom held a steady three-four-five car length lead over 2017 4-Crown Midget winner Bayston for a majority of the run as the cushion essentially became the wall, with Windom briefly kissing the outside concrete between turns three and four on multiple occasions as he knifed his way through the backend of the 20-car field.
With four laps remaining, the second, third and fourth place cars of Bayston, Seavey and Buddy Kofoid began to clamp down on Windom with just a single car length acting as the separation between the top-four cars as they freight-trained their way around the half-mile dirt oval.
On lap 23, Bayston found a kick in his step as he took a surge of momentum and utilized it to peek outside Windom at the exit of turn two. Unfortunately, for Bayston, that's where the racetrack ended and the outside wall met, with Bayston pounding his right rear tire off the perimeter, knocking him sideways, and forcing him to re-wrangle his machine which glanced off the wall once more for good measure before he was able to gather it up just as both Seavey and Kofoid raced by to his inside, dropping him to fourth.
Windom subsequently gained a bit of battleground for his own use as he upped his advantage to six car lengths once again now with Seavey in hot pursuit. Like he had been perfecting all weekend, Seavey carved through the middle groove to catch up to Windom and was a single car length behind entering the first turn just after seeing the white flag fly when he too saw his winning dreams dashed when his right rear tire met face-to-face with the outside wall on entry.
As a result, Seavey lost his ground, and was unable to throw one more jab at Windom during his final voyage through turns three and four.
Windom ultimately prevailed by 2.5 car lengths – a 0.304 second margin – with Seavey second, Bayston third, Kofoid fourth and Friday night's winner Tyler Courtney rounding out the top-five.
Windom's victory shot him ahead of Kofoid in the season-long USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship standings with a narrow two-point advantage in his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota while Kofoid now resides in second.
For the second straight evening, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) finished a close second aboard his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota. In now four USAC National Midget starts at Eldora, Seavey possesses a third-place finish in both 2018 and 2019, and a second on back-to-back nights in 2021.
Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) nearly pulled off his first USAC National Midget win since a 2018 victory at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, running second until a late-race mishap initially cost him two positions, from second to fourth, but he was able to find his way back to the "podium" a lap later, finishing third in his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall – TRD/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 25, 2021 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 39th 4-Crown Nationals Presented by NKT.TV
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac), 2. Daison Pursley (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Buddy Kofoid (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson-Marshall), 5. Bryant Wiedeman (#01 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Chance Crum (#26 Rudeen), 7. Austin Barnhill (#17B Dave Mac). 2:22.94
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey (#25 Malloy), 2. Emerson Axsom (#15 Petry), 3. Justin Grant (#2J RMS), 4. Spencer Bayston (#84 CBI), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#5 Petry), 6. Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), 7. Kaylee Bryson (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian). 2:23.95
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson (#19T Reinbold-Underwood), 2. Chase Randall (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), 3. Chris Windom (#89 CBI), 4. Brenham Crouch (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 6. Greg Mitchell (#001 Mitchell). 2:25.45
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (4), 2. Logan Seavey (5), 3. Spencer Bayston (2), 4. Buddy Kofoid (3), 5. Tyler Courtney (6), 6. Daison Pursley (8), 7. Cannon McIntosh (7), 8. Justin Grant (12), 9. Tanner Thorson (1), 10. Kevin Thomas Jr. (20), 11. Emerson Axsom (9), 12. Chase Randall (10), 13. Thomas Meseraull (15), 14. Bryant Wiedeman (11), 15. Hayden Reinbold (16), 16. Brenham Crouch (13), 17. Chance Crum (14), 18. Kaylee Bryson (17), 19. Austin Barnhill (19), 20. Greg Mitchell (18). 7:47.17
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Chris Windom.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1931, 2-Buddy Kofoid-1929, 3-Emerson Axsom-1801, 4-Daison Pursley-1767, 5-Tanner Thorson-1760, 6-Justin Grant-1726, 7-Logan Seavey-1665, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1549, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1523, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1375.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-157, 2-Tanner Thorson-154, 3-Brady Bacon-150, 4-Justin Grant-140, 5-Robert Ballou-131, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-130, 7-Thomas Meseraull-122, 8-Logan Seavey-121, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Kyle Cummins-84.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 8, 2021 – Wayne County Speedway – Wayne City, Illinois – 1/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Jason Leffler Memorial
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Spencer Bayston
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Logan Seavey
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Kevin Thomas Jr. (20th to 10th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Thomas Meseraull
ProSource Hard Work: Brenham Crouch
Rosewood Machine Precision Move of the Race: Logan Seavey
SUNSHINE'S DESIRE PREVAILS
IN 4-CROWN USAC SPRINT SCORE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Rossburg, Ohio (September 25, 2021)………Tyler Courtney had one goal and one goal only in mind coming into Saturday night's 39th running of the 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV at Eldora Speedway – to win all four divisions.
After running a distant fifth in the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature to begin the night, the Indianapolis, Ind. driver admitted to having to dig deep to shake off the disappointment heading into the 30-lap USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature.
Once the green flag was dropped, however, the burning desire immediately rekindled within, which he utilized to blitz from his sixth starting position and into the lead just nine laps from the finish past Logan Seavey.
Courtney prevailed with the victory after the two waged battle down the stretch, sending himself into 4-Crown Nationals history by becoming the first driver ever to win three consecutive USAC National Sprint Car features in the event after previously standing triumphant in both 2018 and 2019.
The 2018 USAC National Sprint Car champion was adamant down the stretch that the USAC Sprint Car race was one opportunity he and his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/NOS Turbo – ZMax/Spike/Chevy weren't going to let slip from their grasp.
"It was hard to find motivation after losing the first one," Courtney admitted. "We came here with one goal in mind and that was to win all four of them. It's unfortunate; I really wanted to win four. I'm more disappointed in myself more than anything. My guys bust their tails to make all three of these cars go fast and make my job easy. I feel like I probably didn't quite do my whole job in the midget feature, but I made sure to get every ounce out of it in the sprint car race."
Courtney's sixth career USAC National Sprint Car win at Eldora was the 11th overall of his career at the half-mile dirt oval in USAC competition. The 31st score of Courtney's USAC National Sprint Car career equaled Robert Ballou for 15th on the list.
Furthermore, Courtney's sixth overall victory at the 4-Crown Nationals made him the third winningest driver in the event's history, behind only Jack Hewitt's 19 and Dave Darland's seven.
He set the tone earlier in the night by recording his 14th career Fatheadz Eyewear fast qualifying time with the series, tying Billy Cassella for 34th all-time. That positioned Courtney sixth on the grid for the 30-lap main event.
However, it was Chris Windom who picked right up where he left off after wiring all 25 laps to capture the victory in the preceding midget feature. He'd soon find a familiar foe in Logan Seavey who slotted into second behind him on lap four fresh off a runner-up finish to Windom in said midget main event.
Seavey grabbed the upper hand on lap nine as he cruised through the middle on entry into turn three to glide past the rim-riding Windom. Two laps later, Courtney took the slider line into turn one to drift past Windom, smooching the wall with the right rear tire ever so slightly as he overtook the second position on lap 11.
Next up on Courtney's hit parade was the race lead. Taking the same slider line into the first turn on lap 13, Courtney carried a tad too much speed, which pulled him straight into the clutches of the wall. The contact was more than a kiss, but just a touch below a slobber knocker, which momentarily lifted his left side wheels off the track surface.
As Courtney wrestled back control, he witnessed his brief tenure up front dissipate to a nine car length deficit. But, anywhere, especially at Eldora, you can't count Courtney out. He returned to the fray at the front of the field on lap 17, sliding past Seavey in turn one but was unable to make it stick as Seavey crossed back under.
Ultimately, Courtney stuck to his guns, putting his right rear tire mere inches from the outside wall, and firing around the wide-open top-lane at wide-open speed, surpassing Seavey for the top spot by a single car length at the stripe at the conclusion of lap 22.
With that said, Seavey refused to go quietly into the night as he attempted to refute his trend of runner-up finishes in the midget on Friday and Saturday night. Seavey edged ahead of Courtney between turns one and two with seven laps to go and was right in the same spot in turns three and four during each of the next two laps.
However, with Seavey working the middle, Courtney's line right on the edge of the high side proved to be just right as he utilized the supersonic momentum to pull away in the final five laps and earn his second USAC National Sprint Car win of the year over Seavey, Windom, Justin Grant and Isaac Chapple.
Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) finished as the runner-up in his Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy after leading a race-high 13 laps, which served as his best career USAC National Sprint Car result at Eldora.
Windom (Canton, Ill.) followed up his winning 4-Crown midget performance with a solid third-place finish in his Hayward Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Byrd – B & H Contractors – AMSOIL/DRC/Claxton Mopar, making it his third "podium" finish in his last four feature starts with the series.
Grant (Sutter, Calif.) endured a vicious turn three flip during practice, which necessitated the TOPP Motorsports team pulling down the backup car for the remainder of the evening. Grant used the car to win his heat race, then finish fourth in the feature aboard his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
Chapple (Willow Branch, Ind.) scored his best finish of the 2021 USAC National Sprint Car season with a fifth in his Isaac Chapple Racing/Mike Martin Racing – KL – No Drama Zone – The Tin Plate/DRC/Ott Chevy. It was his third consecutive top-10 finish in the 4-Crown USAC Sprint feature after scoring a career best third in 2018 and a ninth in 2019.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 25, 2021 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 39th 4-Crown Nationals Presented by NKT.TV
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-16.123; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.178; 3. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-16.212; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-16.301; 5. Isaac Chapple, 52, Chapple-16.306; 6. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.323; 7. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-16.349; 8. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-16.458; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.476; 10. Thomas Meseraull, 23s, Simon-16.489; 11. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-16.579; 12. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-16.641; 13. Carmen Perigo, 21, Stehman-17.099; 14. Steven Drevicki, 19s, DeGre-17.105; 15. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-17.243; 16. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Parker-17.375; 17. Paul Dues, 87, Dues-17.432; 18. Dickie Gaines, 44, Soudrette-17.483; 19. Alex Banales, 5A, Baldwin/Fox-17.519; 20. Dustin Ingle, 2DI, Ingle-17.566; 21. Kyle May, 39x, May-17.680; 22. Davey Ray, 14AJ, FattFro-NT (Time of 16.510 disallowed due to not meeting minimum weight requirements).
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-16.171; 2. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-16.326; 3. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.352; 4. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.493; 5. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-16.507; 6. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-16.703; 7. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-16.727; 8. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-16.753; 9. Dallas Hewitt, 18, Keen-16.929; 10. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-17.171; 11. Chad Boespflug, 24, Simon-17.302; 12. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-17.355; 13. Brandon Whited, 15, Whited-17.436; 14. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-17.456; 15. Cole Bodine, 57, DCT-17.572; 16. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-17.583; 17. Chris Phillips, 6, Phillips-17.620; 18. Chet Williams, 38, Williams-17.732; 19. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-17.765; 20. Damon Cooley, 19c, Cooley-17.941; 21. Jake Scott, 66, McMurray-18.348.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Jason McDougal, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Isaac Chapple, 7. Carmen Perigo, 8. Alex Banales, 9. Paul Dues, 10. Braxton Cummings, 11. Kyle May. 2:20.31
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Davey Ray, 7. Tanner Thorson, 8. Dickie Gaines, 9. Dustin Ingle, 10. Steven Drevicki, 11. Tye Mihocko. 2:21.35
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Dallas Hewitt, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Brandon Whited, 7. Chad Boespflug, 8. Chris Phillips, 9. Cole Bodine, 10. Jake Scott, 11. Ryan Barr. 2:23.28
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Nick Bilbee, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Max Adams, 6. Damon Cooley, 7. Chet Williams, 8. Sterling Cling, 9. Matt Goodnight, 10. Max Guilford. 2:24.91
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Tye Mihocko, 2. Chris Phillips, 3. Max Guilford, 4. Ryan Barr, 5. Dickie Gaines, 6. Paul Dues, 7. Dustin Ingle, 8. Alex Banales, 9. Chet Williams, 10. Davey Ray, 11. Jake Scott, 12. Kyle May, 13. Damon Cooley. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Isaac Chapple, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Max Adams, 7. Chris Phillips, 8. Brandon Whited, 9. Matt Goodnight, 10. Carmen Perigo, 11. Ryan Barr, 12. Sterling Cling, 13. Braxton Cummings, 14. Max Guilford, 15. Chad Boespflug, 16. Cole Bodine, 17. Tye Mihocko. 3:51.59
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. Logan Seavey (5), 3. Chris Windom (2), 4. Justin Grant (7), 5. Isaac Chapple (12), 6. Brady Bacon (4), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 8. Shane Cottle (18), 9. Matt Westfall (15), 10. Jadon Rogers (22), 11. C.J. Leary (3), 12. Robert Ballou (11), 13. Nick Bilbee (9), 14. Chase Stockon (13), 15. Thomas Meseraull (8), 16. Max Adams (19), 17. Jason McDougal (16), 18. Brandon Mattox (21), 19. Kyle Cummins (17), 20. Jake Swanson (10), 21. Tanner Thorson (14), 22. Dallas Hewitt (20). 9:41.62
**Justin Grant flipped during practice. Matt Cooley flipped during the C-Main.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Chris Windom, Laps 9-21 Logan Seavey, Laps 22-30 Tyler Courtney.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2456, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2385, 3-Justin Grant-2344, 4-C.J. Leary-2188, 5-Tanner Thorson-2172, 6-Chris Windom-2107, 7-Jake Swanson-1989, 8-Robert Ballou-1886, 9-Chase Stockon-1601, 10-Logan Seavey-1263.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-157, 2-Tanner Thorson-154, 3-Brady Bacon-150, 4-Justin Grant-143, 5-Robert Ballou-131, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-130, 7-Logan Seavey-124, 8-Thomas Meseraull-122, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Kyle Cummins-84.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 1, 2021 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 22nd Jim Hurtubise Classic Presented by Terre Haute Chevrolet
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Max Adams
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tyler Courtney
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Logan Seavey
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Nick Bilbee
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Jadon Rogers (22nd to 10th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Nick Bilbee
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Chris Phillips
ProSource Hard Work Award: Jadon Rogers
Rosewood Machine Precision Move of the Race: Justin Grant
THIRD CROWN A CHARM FOR SEAVEY AT ELDORA'S USAC SILVER CROWN GO
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Rossburg, Ohio (September 25, 2021)………After finishing second in the first two legs of Saturday's 39th running of the 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, Logan Seavey felt he had played second fiddle more than enough.
When it came to the USAC Silver Crown nightcap on Saturday, Seavey pulled no punches right from word 'go' as he charged from sixth to second on lap one, and from second to first on the second lap, leading the final 49 circuits to corral his first victory at the half-mile dirt oval, which had seemed so elusive to the Sutter, Calif. native.
"I'm just happy to be here driving racecars and winning at Eldora is really, really cool," Seavey exclaimed. "This place is one of the coolest places you can win at. It sucks to be so close in the other classes and not get it done."
Seavey's second career USAC Silver Crown victory, the first of which came at Pennsylvania's Selinsgrove Speedway in August of this year, allowed him to close within one point of Kody Swanson in the championship standings entering the season finale on Sunday afternoon, October 10, at Ohio's Toledo Speedway.
Courtney seemed to be the odds-on favorite following his domination of Eldora during the first go-around for USAC Silver Crown racing at Eldora back in June. He started on the pole for Saturday night's event and slipped away to the lead on the opening lap.
However, the surging Rice Motorsports/Fatheadz Eyewear – STIDA.com – Lucas Oil/DRC/Pink Foxco Chevy of Seavey's was shot from the proverbial cannon as he scooted underneath the trio of Brady Bacon, Kody Swanson and Jake Swanson in quick succession on the back straightway during lap one to occupy second.
A half lap of following Courtney around Eldora was all Seavey endured before shooting his shot, diving to the inside of the 2017 4-Crown Silver Crown race winner, then sliding up to the middle line to put himself at the top of the pylon. Entering turn one moments later, Courtney returned fire, sliding his way back into the lead briefly. Yet, Seavey quickly crossed over and steered his way underneath and back in front of Courtney to retake the top spot.
Seavey cut a path through the middle that he devised and, henceforth, worked incredibly well for him in both the midget and sprint car races. His Silver Crown debut at the Big E on this night was an entirely different animal with more laps, bigger cars and a bigger fuel load at play. Lest we mention, he's still a USAC Silver Crown Rookie.
"I never really went to the top in three and four all weekend," Seavey revealed. "All my cars could cut through the middle so well; I didn't really have to. That just says a lot about my racecars. I ran 55 practice laps for this race right here and it turned out good for us. I would've liked to have beaten Sunshine (Tyler Courtney) heads up, but our car was really good and we'd already gotten to the lead before that. I'm sure he was pushing hard trying to get back to us. But it's just part of it."
The first instance of trouble during the event came on lap six when first-time Silver Crown starter Erik Karlsen and Austin Nemire tangled while running 24th and 25th, respectively. Karlsen continued onward to finish 23rd while Nemire exited the race with a knocked out front end, and a 27th place result.
Seavey promptly powered away on the ensuing restart to a 2.139 second interval over Courtney as Seavey began to cut through the thickness of lapped traffic. Amid all that, on lap 24, second-running Courtney devoured the outside turn one wall with the backend of his car, knocking his machine airborne and onto the left side wheels where he busted up the left rear wheel and flattened the tire, which required a swapping in the work area during the yellow.
No sweat for Seavey as the race hit the halfway mark where he reestablished a 2.272 second lead while the man on the move was 14th starting Matt Westfall, who beat K. Swanson to the bottom of turn three with 19 laps remaining, then ultimately cleared the five-time series champ in turn two a half lap later. Shane Cottle followed suit the following lap by surpassing K. Swanson while down near the inside wall entering the third turn.
With 10 laps remaining, Seavey enjoyed and maintained a comfortable 2.2 second lead over Westfall when Chase Johnson, making his Silver Crown debut, and Chris Phillips tangled in turn three while racing for 16th, sending Phillips into a 180-degree spin. A fraction of a moment later, Courtney's trying night continued and ended all in one fell swoop as he slid his car sideways, careening the right side of his car into the nose of Phillips, ending both driver's nights on the spot.
On the lap 41 restart, for the first time all race, Seavey had company in the form of Westfall who stuck right within earshot of Seavey, with both keeping their cars straight as an arrow as they worked low to middle on the surface.
Seavey kept Westfall at bay roughly three car lengths back as the two frontrunners raced under the white flag. Westfall made one last ditch effort in turns three and four, which resulted in him getting right to the back bumper of Seavey as he went a lane higher than usual. While Westfall made a gain, it wasn't enough to overcome Seavey off the final corner.
The victory went to Seavey with Westfall finishing a car length back in second, Cottle third, Bacon fourth and K. Swanson fifth.
With spotter, crew chief and five-time USAC Western States Midget driving champion Ronnie Gardner in his ear, Seavey was in a groove. By getting to the lead right away and feeling comfortable on the top, Seavey moved around in lapped traffic and could feel the track gripping up on the bottom, presenting the option for them to alter their plan of attack.
"I didn't really know where to go and Ronnie was kind of being quiet and letting me do my thing," Seavey explained. "He'd chime in with 'Westfall's gaining, Westfall's gaining,' then he got quiet, and I looked at the video board and he was basically on me the whole time. I don't know if moving down in one and two was the right call, but it worked out. I felt so good up on the fence, but I was getting worried they were just going to go by me in the rubber."
Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) equaled his best career USAC Silver Crown result with a second in his Westfall Motorsports/Lynn Cook – Bordner Welding – Lake City Bowl – Ray Marshall/Maxim/J & D Chevy. That equaled the 2002 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year's runner-up finish at Eldora in 2013.
Westfall experienced an engine issue during Friday's practice and qualifying, but after a day's work to get it purring again on Saturday, he nearly experienced that first career Silver Crown victory at the same place he collected his initial USAC National Sprint Car feature win in 2006, but felt he waited just a tad too late to make his final move on Seavey and felt he should've gone higher into turn three on the 50th and final lap.
Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) experienced a fuel line issue late in the race which had the DMW Motorsports/Advanced Materials Technologies – US Auto Cure/Meyer/Wilcox Chevy sputtering the last several laps. However, it wasn't enough to deter the veteran driver from tying his best career 4-Crown Silver Crown finish of third, which is where he previously finished at the event in both 2017 and 2018.
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 24-25, 2021 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 39th 4-Crown Nationals Presented by NKT.TV
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature, held on September 24) 1. Tyler Courtney, 9, Dyson-17.414; 2. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-17.532; 3. Brady Bacon, 53, Five Three-17.566; 4. Kody Swanson, 21, Swanson-17.975; 5. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-17.984; 6. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice-18.061; 7. Chase Johnson, 17, Goodnight-18.225; 8. Shane Cockrum, 71, BLS-18.283; 9. Dallas Hewitt, 57, Hewitt-18.299; 10. Kyle Cummins, 69, Pink 69-18.364; 11. Casey Buckman, 74, C-Buck-18.398; 12. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-18.509; 13. Shane Cottle, 110, DMW-18.524; 14. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-18.564; 15. Eric Gordon, 99, Armstrong-18.628; 16. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-18.634; 17. Chris Phillips, 20, Nolen-18.648; 18. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-18.707; 19. Terry Babb, 88, Babb-18.711; 20. Jason McDougal, 6, Klatt-18.766; 21. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-18.813; 22. Davey Ray, 8, Cornell-18.820; 23. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-18.867; 24. Brian Tyler, 81, BCR-18.904; 25. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-19.036; 26. Erik Karlsen, 166, Karlsen-19.093; 27. Nick Bilbee, 3, Simmons-19.116; 28. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-19.125; 29. Danny Long, 44, Long-19.263; 30. Chris Fetter, 89, Fetter-19.409; 31. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT; 32. Robert Ballou, 66, Rose-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature, held on September 24) 1. Davey Ray, 2. Brian Tyler, 3. Mike Haggenbottom, 4. Matt Goodnight, 5. Austin Nemire, 6. Erik Karlsen, 7. Travis Welpott, 8. Nick Bilbee, 9. Chris Fetter, 10. Danny Long. 3:54.24 (New Track Record)
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (6), 2. Matt Westfall (14), 3. Shane Cottle (13), 4. Brady Bacon (3), 5. Kody Swanson (4), 6. Eric Gordon (15), 7. Jake Swanson (2), 8. Dallas Hewitt (9), 9. Kyle Robbins (18), 10. Justin Grant (5), 11. Jason McDougal (20), 12. Davey Ray (21), 13. Carmen Perigo (16), 14. Terry Babb (19), 15. Shane Cockrum (8), 16. Kyle Cummins (10), 17. Chase Johnson (7), 18. Brian Tyler (22), 19. David Byrne (12), 20. Matt Goodnight (24), 21. Casey Buckman (11), 22. Mike Haggenbottom (23), 23. Erik Karlsen (26), 24. Dave Berkheimer (28-P), 25. Chris Phillips (17), 26. Tyler Courtney (1), 27. Austin Nemire (25), 28. Travis Welpott (27-P). 37:21.773
(P) represents a provisional starter
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Tyler Courtney, Laps 2-50 Logan Seavey.
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-498, 2-Logan Seavey-497, 3-Shane Cottle-386, 4-Justin Grant-365, 5-Kyle Robbins-361, 6-David Byrne-331, 7-Shane Cockrum-328, 8-Austin Nemire-299, 9-Jake Swanson-286, 10-Travis Welpott-285.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-157, 2-Tanner Thorson-154, 3-Brady Bacon-150, 4-Justin Grant-143, 5-Robert Ballou-131, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-130, 7-Logan Seavey-129, 8-Thomas Meseraull-122, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Kyle Cummins-84.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 10, 2021 – Toledo Speedway – Toledo, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – Hemelgarn Racing Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Quality Driving Performance of the Night: Matt Westfall
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tyler Courtney
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Matt Westfall (14th to 2nd)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Carmen Perigo
Rosewood Machine Precision Move of the Race: Matt Westfall
ProSource Hard Work: Erik Karlsen
CHARLES DAVIS JR. TOPS GLENN HOWARD CLASSIC AT THE PAS!
PERRIS, CA – SEPTEMBER 25, 2021… Starting on the pole position, "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, AZ) led all 30-laps to score the "Glenn Howard Memorial" victory at Perris Auto Speedway. Racing his #47 RSS Industries / MP Environmental Services RSS, Davis earned his first AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car win of the season over "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams, fast qualifier "The Demon" Damion Gardner, Eddie Tafoya Jr., and "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa.
Before holding off Logan and Austin Williams for the victory, Davis began his night at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds by qualifying eighth out of the nineteen-car roster. The multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion would finish second in his heat race to Matt McCarthy and is currently ranked seventh in the point standings.
"The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) posted his sixth Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award of the season with a time of 16.312. Piloting Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner finished seventh in his heat race after having mechanical issues and finished third in the main event. "The Demon" leads the point chase by 49 markers heading to Arizona Speedway.
Verne Sweeney (Lomita, CA) was triumphant in the 10-lap Flowdynamics Incorporated First Heat Race. Driving the Ken Tracy owned #98 Bill's Ol Fashion Jerky / Faas Cores DRC, Sweeney was sixteenth fast in time trials and the night's In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger with a tenth place run from sixteenth. The veteran driver has climbed to ninth in the championship standings.
Matt McCarthy (Riverside, CA) won the night's 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. Racing the family owned #28M Flowdymanics Incorporated / JFK Design Build DRC, McCarthy qualified fourteenth overall and ran thirteenth in the main event, taking the Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 honors. To date, the 2017 Rookie of the Year sits eighth in the chase for the championship.
"Speedy" Stevie Sussex (Tempe, AZ) claimed the 10-lap All Coast Construction Third Heat Race. Piloting Robbie and Gaye Allen's #12 ABC Ventures / Beaver Stripes Maxim, Sussex was twelfth quick in time trials and raced from twelfth to eighth in the feature. At press time, the former USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year is sixteenth in the point chase.
"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) took home the Shawn McDonald Memorial Qualifying Award by timing in sixth quick overall. Driving Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror / Phil and Eileen King DRC, Williams finished third in his heat race and had to settle for second in the "Glenn Howard Classic." The former co-rookie of the year ranks third in the point standings.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) claimed the night's Shawn McDonald Memorial Feature Award with a sixth place finish in the "Glenn Howard Memorial." Racing the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen qualified ninth overall and ran second to Stevie Sussex in his heat race. The veteran driver maintains a fourth place ranking in championship points.
The USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will head to Arizona Speedway (San Tan Valley, AZ) next Saturday, October 2nd as a tune up for November's "Western World Championships"
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 25, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – "Glenn Howard Classic"
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-16.312; 2. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.340; 3. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.369; 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.456; 5. Trent Williams, 52V, Williams-16.541; 6. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.560; 7. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.570; 8. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.617; 9. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-16.732; 10. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.772; 11. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.822; 12. Stevie Sussex, 12, Allen-16.871; 13. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.047; 14. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-17.121; 15. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-17.211; 16. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.285; 17. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-17.431; 18. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-17.955; 19. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-17.956.
FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sweeney, 2. L.Williams, 3. Tafoya, 4. Bender, 5. Taylor, 6. Grabowski, 7. Gardner. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. McCarthy, 2. Davis, 3. C.Williams, 4. Malcolm, 5. T.Williams, 6. Dyer. NT.
ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sussex, 2. Gansen, 3. A.Williams, 4. Roa, 5. Owens, 6. Sexton. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Charles Davis Jr. (1), 2. Austin Williams (3), 3. Damion Gardner (7), 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (4), 5. Brody Roa (5), 6. Chris Gansen (9), 7. Tommy Malcolm (11), 8. Stevie Sussex (12), 9. Trent Williams (8), 10. Verne Sweeney (16), 11. Brent Owens (15), 12. Shane Sexton (18), 13. Matt McCarthy (14), 14. Jeff Dyer (17), 15. Logan Williams (2), 16. Cody Williams (6), 17. A.J. Bender (10), 18. Austin Grabowski (13), 19. Dan Taylor (19). NT.
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Davis
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Verne Sweeney (16th to 10th)
SHAWN McDONALD MEMORIAL QUALIFYING AWARD: Austin Williams
SHAWN McDONALD MEMORIAL FEATURE AWARD: Chris Gansen
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Matt McCarthy
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1,008, 2-Brody Roa-959, 3-Austin Williams-857, 4-Chris Gansen-787, 5-Cody Williams-738, 6-Tommy Malcolm-697, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-596, 8-Matt McCarthy-509, 9-Verne Sweeney-494, 10-Danny Faria Jr.-473.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: October 2 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona
SUNSHINE WINS POLE FOR SATURDAY'S ELDORA USAC SILVER CROWN FEATURE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Rossburg, Ohio (September 24, 2021)………Tyler Courtney turned the quickest lap during Friday's Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying session to capture the pole for Saturday night's 50-lap USAC Silver Crown feature at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway.
The Indianapolis, Indiana native's lap of 17.414 seconds around the half-mile dirt oval bested the field of 32 drivers who were competing for starting spots to set the field for Saturday night's race, which will serve as the finale for the 39th running of the 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV.
Courtney, making his second USAC Silver Crown appearance of the year, captured the victory in the only other series race he competed in this season, in June, at Eldora, aboard his Chris Dyson Racing/Thetford – ProtectAll – Norcold – Racer Magazine/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
It's the second time Courtney will start the 4-Crown Silver Crown race from the pole, first doing so in 2016.
While Courtney and the top-20 qualifiers locked themselves into the feature event, the remaining cars competed in a 12-lap Qualifying Race on Friday night with the top-six finishers transferring. Davey Ray (Davenport, Iowa) was victorious in the event followed by 2002 4-Crown winner Brian Tyler (Parma, Mich.), Mike Haggenbottom (Levittown, Pa.), Matt Goodnight (Winchester, Ind.), Austin Nemire (Sylvania, Ohio) and first-time Silver Crown competitor Erik Karlsen (Romulus, N.Y.).
On Saturday, it's full programs for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, USAC Silver Crown and the All Star Circuit of Champions. Spectator gates open at Noon Eastern with a driver autograph session scheduled from 3-4 pm in the Fan Zone, followed by the drivers meeting at 4:30pm and hot laps at 6pm.
General admission tickets are $34 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $39 for adults and $9 for ages 12 and under.
The USAC portion of the 4-Crown Nationals can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 24, 2021 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 39th 4-Crown Nationals Presented by NKT.TV
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 9, Dyson-17.414; 2. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-17.532; 3. Brady Bacon, 53, Five Three-17.566; 4. Kody Swanson, 21, Swanson-17.975; 5. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-17.984; 6. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice-18.061; 7. Chase Johnson, 17, Goodnight-18.225; 8. Shane Cockrum, 71, BLS-18.283; 9. Dallas Hewitt, 57, Hewitt-18.299; 10. Kyle Cummins, 69, Pink 69-18.364; 11. Casey Buckman, 74, C-Buck-18.398; 12. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-18.509; 13. Shane Cottle, 110, DMW-18.524; 14. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-18.564; 15. Eric Gordon, 99, Armstrong-18.628; 16. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-18.634; 17. Chris Phillips, 20, Nolen-18.648; 18. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-18.707; 19. Terry Babb, 88, Babb-18.711; 20. Jason McDougal, 6, Klatt-18.766; 21. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-18.813; 22. Davey Ray, 8, Cornell-18.820; 23. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-18.867; 24. Brian Tyler, 81, BCR-18.904; 25. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-19.036; 26. Erik Karlsen, 166, Karlsen-19.093; 27. Nick Bilbee, 3, Simmons-19.116; 28. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-19.125; 29. Danny Long, 44, Long-19.263; 30. Chris Fetter, 89, Fetter-19.409; 31. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT; 32. Robert Ballou, 66, Rose-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Davey Ray, 2. Brian Tyler, 3. Mike Haggenbottom, 4. Matt Goodnight, 5. Austin Nemire, 6. Erik Karlsen, 7. Travis Welpott, 8. Nick Bilbee, 9. Chris Fetter, 10. Danny Long. NT
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses)
TO BE HELD ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-440, 2-Logan Seavey-424, 3-Justin Grant-322, 4-Shane Cottle-322, 5-Kyle Robbins-315, 6-David Byrne-306, 7-Shane Cockrum-295, 8-Austin Nemire-283, 9-Travis Welpott-270, 10-Mike Haggenbottom-243.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-154, 2-Chris Windom-154, 3-Brady Bacon-150, 4-Justin Grant-136, 5-Robert Ballou-131, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-120, 7-Thomas Meseraull-120, 8-Logan Seavey-118, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Kyle Cummins-84.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 25, 2021 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 4-Crown Nationals
COURTNEY COMPILES ELDORA HISTORY WITH 3RD STRAIGHT USAC MIDGET WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Rossburg, Ohio (September 24, 2021)………Prior to Tyler Courtney, no driver had ever won five consecutive USAC National Sprint Car races at Eldora Speedway.
Prior to Tyler Courtney, no driver had ever won three-straight USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget races at Eldora Speedway.
The former was achieved back in May and the latter on Friday night as the Indianapolis, Ind. native tracked down race leader Chris Windom near the halfway point of the non-stop, green-to-checker 25-lapper to win Friday night's #BeFourTheCrowns presented by NKT.TV feature event, backing up his two previous wins at the Big E in 2018 and 2019.
Courtney's unprecedented achievements allowed him to become just the fifth driver to reach double figures in terms of USAC National feature wins at the Rossburg, Ohio half-mile, joining Jack Hewitt (24 wins), Dave Darland (14), Rich Vogler (12) and Tracy Hines (11) in the exclusive club. Courtney now possesses five sprint wins, three midget and two Silver Crown victories under the USAC banner at the track.
The 2019 USAC National Midget champion's 19th career series victory equaled him for 35th on the all-time list alongside Jerry Coons Jr., Stan Fox and Jason Leffler.
"This is only our second time running the midget this year and (car owner/crew chief) Tim (Clauson) was on it," Courtney praised. "It's cool to put this car back in victory lane, especially here at Eldora. This is a tough weekend, especially with everything I'm trying to do. To get it off on the right foot is definitely really special."
Making just his second series appearance of the year in his Clauson Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink Turbo – ZMax Race Products/Spike/Stanton SR-11x, Courtney started his race from the third position and remained stagnant in the position while Windom pulled out to the lead from the pole and outside front row starter Emerson Axsom waged a battle on the bottom of the surface.
Windom continued to work up high, right rear tire right up on the outside wall, while Axsom put his left rear to the wall on the bottom to close within a car length of Windom at the start/finish line at the conclusion of lap five.
In the meantime, Courtney had been making steady and gradual inroads on Axsom. As Axsom shifted his focus to the top at the flag stand on the ninth lap, Courtney instantaneously undercut Axsom and shot to the bottom of turn one, gliding past the Eldora first timer for the runner up position.
Henceforth, Courtney put the scope on Windom, rattled the rubber against the outside wall as he pursued his prey. That moment came on lap 12 when Courtney lunged forth on the bottom of turn three, drifted upward to the wall, then subsequently slid himself through the middle in the first turn a half-lap later to prevent any sort of an attempted comeback from Windom.
"It's a big momentum thing, so I knew he was probably going to try and come back," Courtney admitted. "I felt really good going across there when I slid him the first time. I know I needed to close the door on him so he couldn't slide me back. I really love racing with Chris, and I haven't gotten to do it a whole lot this year."
Within just a few laps, Courtney constructed a demonstrative 10-car length lead that proved to be insurmountable down the stretch as he threaded through the tail-end of the field without any hiccups, as smooth and steady as the constant stream of water at Ludlow Falls.
Courtney's final winning margin of 2.987 seconds came over a late-surging Logan Seavey with Windom, point leader Buddy Kofoid and Fatheadz Fast Qualifier Spencer Bayston rounding out the top-five.
For Courtney, and those who came before him who are the best of the best at Eldora, the high line is where it's at. It's what sells T-shirts, makes race fans swoon, and what makes legends out of mere mortals. And it makes winners, as evidenced by Courtney who once again became just that on this night in a fourth different type of car at Eldora all within the last four-and-a-half months: USAC Midget, USAC Sprint, USAC Silver Crown car and World of Outlaws winged sprint car.
"I wasn't quite sure there at the beginning of the race, but I knew, if it kept getting higher over there, (the track) was going to keep coming to us," Courtney explained. "We were a little tight at the beginning, so I knew it was going to come to us at the end there. Luckily, I caught Chris and Emerson there at the right time where I passed them and didn't have to worry about them passing me back."
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) turned up the wick late, charging under, past and by Windom for the runner-up position coming to the white flag after working on him for the entire second half of the race in his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota. The end result turned out to be his third top-three USAC Midget finish at Eldora in three career starts.
"I felt like, in open track, I needed to clear him in three and four, and I could just never do that," Seavey detailed of his pursuit of Windom. I was really good through the middle, but then it made me struggle to get across the front stretch to get back to the top to get into one. I was giving up a lot getting into one with what I was doing, but a lapped car backed it down at the perfect time and I was able to hit the bottom there off four and go by him.
I definitely didn't expect to move down off the wall at all," Seavey continued. "But my car was really good on the top in one and two and right through the middle in three and four. This is the first time for these guys even seeing this racetrack and we ran second and I think we were really close. We were really close all day, just a tiny bit off quick time and second again in the feature."
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) led 11 laps and finished inside the top-four for the fifth consecutive feature in his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota, which marked his best career midget finish at Eldora. The result whittled the series championship point race down to a mere seven points behind point leader Kofoid.
"I felt like I was pretty good the first part of that race, then I think my tire went away a little more than these guys after looking at them in victory lane," Windom observed. "Obviously, Tyler is really good here and those two factors didn't help us at all. I think we'll be good for tomorrow night, though. This car is rolling; we've got to be a little better to beat him, but I think we'll be there."
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 24, 2021 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – #BeFourTheCrowns Presented by NKT.TV
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Spencer Bayston, 84, CBI-16.862; 2. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-16.869; 3. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-16.913; 4. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson Marshall-16.928; 5. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-16.954; 6. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-16.965; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-16.971; 8. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.046; 9. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-17.060; 10. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-17.109; 11. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.111; 12. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-17.204; 13. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.249; 14. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.282; 15. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-17.327; 16. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.336; 17. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-17.431; 18. Austin Barnhill, 17B, Dave Mac-17.563; 19. Greg Mitchell, 001, Mitchell-18.555; 20. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Bryant Wiedeman, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Brenham Crouch, 5. Spencer Bayston, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Greg Mitchell. 2:21.90
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Chance Crum, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Kaylee Bryson, 7. Hayden Reinbold. 2:23.21
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Chase Randall, 5. Cannon McIntosh, 6. Austin Barnhill. 2:21.72
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (3), 2. Logan Seavey (5), 3. Chris Windom (1), 4. Buddy Kofoid (7), 5. Spencer Bayston (6), 6. Tanner Thorson (8), 7. Daison Pursley (11), 8. Emerson Axsom (2), 9. Chase Randall (4), 10. Bryant Wiedeman (9), 11. Justin Grant (13), 12. Brenham Crouch (16), 13. Chance Crum (17), 14. Thomas Meseraull (15), 15. Hayden Reinbold (20), 16. Cannon McIntosh (12), 17. Kaylee Bryson (14), 18. Greg Mitchell (19), 19. Austin Barnhill (18), 20. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10). 7:43.13
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 Chris Windom, Laps 12-25 Tyler Courtney.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1868, 2-Chris Windom-1861, 3-Emerson Axsom-1760, 4-Tanner Thorson-1714, 5-Daison Pursley-1712, 6-Justin Grant-1677, 7-Logan Seavey-1598, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1512, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1480, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1323.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-154, 2-Chris Windom-154, 3-Brady Bacon-150, 4-Justin Grant-136, 5-Robert Ballou-131, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-120, 7-Thomas Meseraull-120, 8-Logan Seavey-118, 9-Buddy Kofoid-91, 10-Kyle Cummins-84.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 25, 2021 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 39th 4-Crown Nationals Presented by NKT.TV
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Logan Seavey
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Spencer Bayston
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Bryant Wiedeman
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Hayden Reinbold (20th to 15th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Chance Crum
ProSource Hard Work: Justin Grant
RAINED OUT: USAC JAMES DEAN CLASSIC AT GAS CITY
Gas City, Indiana (September 23, 2021)………Thursday night's fourth annual James Dean Classic at Indiana's Gas City I-69 Speedway has been canceled due to the accumulation of rain over the preceding days leading up to race day.
The event was to have featured a doubleheader for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.
The USAC racing season now continues onward to Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway on Friday and Saturday night, September 24-25, for the 39th running of the 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV.
On Friday, it's a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus USAC Silver Crown qualifying and a full program for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. Stands open at 2pm Eastern with the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On Saturday, it's full programs for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, USAC Silver Crown and the All Star Circuit of Champions. Spectator gates open at Noon Eastern with a driver autograph session scheduled from 3-4 pm in the Fan Zone, followed by the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On both nights at Eldora, general admission tickets are $34 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $39 for adults and $9 for ages 12 and under.
The USAC portions for this weekend's events from Eldora can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
PERRIS HOSTS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR "GLENN HOWARD CLASSIC" THIS SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings
SEPTEMBER 21, 2021... The battle for the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship returns to Perris Auto Speedway, this Saturday, September 25th. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the "Glenn Howard Classic" is one of the most prestigious dates on the calendar. The popular PAS Senior Sprint Cars for drivers 40 years and older will join the open wheel showcase. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds in Perris, California, the spectator gates at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will open at 5:00pm and racing is scheduled for 7:00pm. For more event information or advance tickets, visit perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134. For those that cannot be at the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
At intermission, there will be a candy giveaway for kids and a USAC/CRA driver/team meet and greet with the fans on the front straightaway.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- THE 2019 RULE BOOK will be followed in regards to race format and weight rule (1,325 lbs. with driver)
- 2021 APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Hoosier RD20, 105/18 HTW, 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A are legal with the series. Hoosier Tires are mandatory on all four corners. This will remain in effect until September 26th. Starting October 2nd at Arizona Speedway, the series will follow USAC National rules with the 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A as the only legal right rear tires. Hoosier Tires remain mandatory on all four corners
- 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.)
- 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.
- 2021 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.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY: Series officials will have transponders to rent at the track for those racers that do not have them.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- 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 228 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-two different drivers have claimed victory. "The Demon" Damion Gardner leads all drivers with 48 "home track" wins and Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012. In the last five "home track" events, Gardner won the April 24th "Sokola Shootout," Brody Roa topped the "70th Running of the Salute to Indy" on May 25th, Gardner scored the June 19th victory, "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams topped the July 17th show, and Roa claimed the California Racers Hall of Fame Night on August 21st. A complete series win list at Perris is at the end of this release.
Heading to the fourteenth point race, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) has a 44-point lead over the competition. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner placed fourth at Petaluma on September 6th, To date, the eight-time champion has four feature wins, five Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, six heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, eleven top-10 finishes, and 93 feature laps led on the year. The "World's Fastest Sprint Car Driver" has eighty-seven series wins and will be looking for his fifth "Glenn Howard Classic" triumph.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) ranks second in the championship point standings. Racing the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa finished third at Petaluma Speedway on September 6th. At press time, the 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, five heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, eleven top-10 finishes and 59 feature laps led in the campaign. With ten career victories, Brody will have his sights on adding the "Glenn Howard Classic" to his win list.
"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) sits third in the chase for the championship. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Lucas Oil DRC, Williams led all thirty laps to score the victory at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds. To date, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, nine top-10 finishes and 72 feature laps led to his credit. "The Big Game Hunter" has eleven career wins and will be looking for his third "Howard Classic" victory.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) is fourth in the USAC/CRA point chase. Driving the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen raced from fifteenth to tenth at Petaluma. At press time, the veteran driver has posted one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, twelve top-10 finishes, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, and 1 feature lap led on the season. This Saturday night, Chris will have his sights on earning his first USAC/CRA victory at Perris Auto Speedway.
"The Cadillac" Cody Williams (Corona, CA) has climbed to fifth in the point standings. Racing his #44 Trench Shoring / CRW Designs and Machining DRC, Williams placed fifth at Petaluma on September 6th. To date, the 2010 Victorville Sprint Car Champion has three heat race victories, eight top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led in the campaign. Cody has one career USAC/CRA win and will be looking to add the "Glenn Howard Classic" to his resume.
Heading to Perris, Austin Grabowksi (Riverside, CA) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA). Jake Hodges (Camarillo, CA), Brent Owens (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI), and Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Tommy "Thunder" Malcolm, "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr., "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr., Matt McCarthy, Verne Sweeney, Logan Williams, Matt Mitchell, Eddie Tafoya Jr., A.J. Bender, Stevie Sussex, Joel Rayborne, Steve Hix, Jeff Dyer, "T Dub" Trent Williams, 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 and over) are $25, Kids tickets (6-12) are $5, and Children's tickets (5 and under) are FREE. Walk up tickets will be sold and advance tickets can be purchased online at perrisautospeedway.com or by calling 951.940.0134.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, surfNsprint.com, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 4-Damion Gardner, 2-Max Adams, 2-Brody Roa, 2-Austin Williams, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Carson Short, 1-Ryan Timmons.
PERRIS AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 48-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Matt Mitchell, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 5-Justin Grant, 4-Robert Ballou, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 4-Brody Roa, 3-Garrett Hansen, 2-Brady Bacon, 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Chris Windom, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 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-Jake Swanson, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Jason York.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Damion Gardner-936, 2. Brody Roa-892, 3. Austin Williams-783, 4. Chris Gansen-725, 5. Cody Williams-696, 6. Tommy Malcolm-640, 7. Charles Davis Jr.-519, 8. Danny Faria Jr.-473, 9. Matt McCarthy-464, 10. Verne Sweeney-443, 11. Logan Williams-424, 12. Matt Mitchell-408, 13. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-401, 14. A.J. Bender-389, 15. Austin Grabowski �-377, 16. Ryan Timmons �-290, 17. Chase Johnson-281, 18. Stevie Sussex-262, 19. Jake Hodges �-239, 20. Joel Rayborne-223, 21. Brent Owens �-216, 22. Steve Hix-215, 23. Max Adams-195, ---. Jeff Dyer-195, 25. Austin Liggett-182, 26. Troy Rutherford-160, 27. Ikaika O'Brien �-141, ---. Nate Schank-141, 29. Austin Ervine-138, 30. R.J. Johnson-133, 31. Daniel Whitley-132, 32. Tony Gomes-129, 33. Shane Sexton �-127, 34. Ryan Bernal-122, 35. Rick Hendrix-119, 36. Dan Taylor-116, 37. Carson Short-111, 38. Kaleb Montgomery-110, 39. Davey Ray-105, 40. Kyle Edwards-87, 41. Trent Williams-80, 42. Shane Hopkins-79, 43. James Herrera-77, 44. Tanner Boul �-75, ---. Travis Buckley-75, 46. Jarrett Soares-72, 47. Trevor Schmid-68, 48. Jonas Reynolds-66, 49. Cal Smith-53, ---. Chris Bonneau-53, 51. Christopher Muraoka-51, 52. Ron Laplant-50, 53. Randy Nelson-45, 54. Tyler Hatzikian-42, 55. James Heling-41, 56. Gary Paulson-39, 57. Frank Herman-35, ---. Kalib Henry-35, ---. Jake Morgan-35, 60. Tom Hendricks-28, 61. Danny Sheridan-26, 62. Denny McNary-20, ---. Cody Smith-20, 64. Daylin Perreira-10, ---. Gary Marshall Jr.-10, ---. Sheldon Moniz-10, ---. Tony Richards-10, ---. Bradley Terrell-10, ---. Clint Motta-10, ---. Boy Moniz-10, ---. Nathan Johnson-10, ---. Ryan Owens-10.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
March 12: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park– Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
March 13: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
March 26: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
April 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
May 1: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
May 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
May 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 3: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (CANCELLED)
July 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
August 14: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
September 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Carson Short)
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
September 6: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
September 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Glenn Howard Classic)
October 2: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
October 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 12: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 13: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.
BIGGIE AT THE BIG E:
USAC SPRINTS TAKE ON THE 4-CROWN!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Rossburg, Ohio (September 22, 2021)………Seven past 4-Crown Nationals USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature winners head the field for this Saturday night's 39th edition of the event at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, presented by NKT.TV.
Seven past winners equals the number for the most past winners in the event, tying the seven which raced in the 2015 and 2018 events. The record 204th series event at the track will pay $6,000 to the feature winner.
Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.) enters the September 25 event as the victor in each of the past two 4-Crown USAC Sprint Car main events in 2018 and 2019. The 2018 series champ has, in fact, won five of the past six series races held at Eldora since 2018. His only non-win in that span came in a runner-up finish by a car length to Robert Ballou in May of 2021.
Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) is a six-time Eldora USAC Sprint Car winner with the second of those six coming during the 4-Crown in 2007. At the 4-Crown, the 2015 series titlist has also chalked up a 3rd in 2017 and a 5th in 2013.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) has finished inside the top-two twice in his 4-Crown USAC Sprint Car career, notching a 2017 victory followed by a 2nd place result in 2018. The 2019 series champion came away from his first 4-Crown visit with a 6th in 2012 followed by a 7th in 2014.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) laid down a victory in the 2016 4-Crown Nationals USAC Sprint Car race. The 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ sandwiched the triumph between top-five finishes in 2014, where he finished 3rd, in addition to a 5th in 2017 and a 3rd in 2019. He owns a total of three career USAC Sprint Car wins at Eldora.
Thomas Meseraull became the sixth and most recent driver to capture his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature win during the 4-Crown in 2015, joining Steve Kinser (1981), Kevin Doty (1994), Jimmy Sills (1996), Dickie Gaines (2004) and Brad Sweet (2008) in that regard. He's also carved out 8th place finishes in 2010 and 2017.
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) got his 4-Crown USAC Sprint win in a Sunday matinee during the 2014 campaign. The 2014-16-20 series king earned his first career "podium" finish at the 4-Crown in 2006, a 3rd. Since then, he's added a 2nd in 2017, another 3rd in 2016 and a 5th in 2019. He also scored a second Eldora win in May of 2018.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) doubled up in 2013 by winning both the USAC Sprint and Silver Crown main events at the 4-Crown. The 2017 series champion has been masterful at the 4-Crown in a USAC Sprint Car, adding a 2nd place finish in 2016 and 2019, a 3rd in 2012 and a 5th in 2018.
Experience at the Big E is a key component of getting around the half-mile dirt oval, and this group has it in droves. Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) finished 2nd during the 4-Crown USAC Sprint race in 2005 and finished 5th the year prior in 2004. Isaac Chapple (Willow Branch, Ind.) earned his first career USAC Sprint top-three finish in the 2018 4-Crown, taking 3rd, then followed up with a 9th in 2019.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) has finished inside the top-five in his last three 4-Crown USAC Midget starts, and he's done the same in USAC Sprint Car competition as well with a 4th place result in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as he seeks his first Eldora victory.
Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) possesses six career 4-Crown top-tens with a best of 4th in 2012, a pair of 6th place results in 2015 and 2018, as well as a 7th in 2016, an 8th in 2019 and a 9th in 2017.
Davey Ray (Davenport, Iowa) makes his return to a 4-Crown USAC Sprint Car entry list for the first time since 2007 where he finished 10th. He did two better back in 2006, finishing 8th. He won his first career USAC Sprint Car heat race at Eldora in 2004 and captured his second earlier this year in Ocala, Fla., a span of nearly 17 years.
Recently crowned, two-time Lawrenceburg Speedway track champ Nick Bilbee (Indianapolis, Ind.) has been a consistent finisher at the 4-Crown with an 8th in 2018 and a 10th in both 2016 and 2019.
Dallas Hewitt (Troy, Ohio), nephew of the all-time king in terms of 4-Crown feature wins with 19 total wins, Jack Hewitt, has had a handful of solid performances in his career at Eldora during the 4-Crown, finishing 6th in both 2016 and 2019, and was 7th in 2015. Back in May of 2017, Hewitt earned his best career USAC Sprint Car finish of 2nd.
Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) scored his one career USAC National Sprint Car victory at Eldora in 2006. His 4-Crown USAC Sprint record is marvelous with a 4th in 2004 as his best, followed by a 7th in 2019, an 8th in 2016, a 9th in 2010, and a pair of 10th place results in 2006 and 2017.
Getting back after it in a USAC Sprint Car at the 4-Crown are Stoystown, Pennsylvania's Carmen Perigo (11th in 2018 and 2019); Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Jason McDougal (12th in 2019); Auburn, Illinois' Mario Clouser (14th in 2019); Terre Haute, Indiana's Brandon Mattox (15th in 2014); Plainfield, Indiana's Chris Phillips (15th in 2019); and Winchester, Indiana's Matt Goodnight (18th in 2016).
Making a first 4-Crown USAC Sprint Car appearances is Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), a 2nd place midget finisher at Eldora in 2016; Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), a third-place midget finisher in 2018 and 2019; Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.), who scored a 3rd at Eldora back in May's USAC Sprint daytime show; and Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), who took 8th in the nighttime back during May 2021's #LetsRaceTwo weekend.
First-time 4-Crown USAC Sprint feature hopefuls include the likes of Evan Mosley (Lapel, Ind.), who's father, Aaron Mosley, finished 24th in the 1997 4-Crown. Add him with Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.), twice a winner on the USAC West Coast Sprint Car circuit last weekend; 2020 Gas City track champ Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.); four-time Paragon track champion Jake Scott (Morgantown, Ind.); Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.); Ryan Barr (Piqua, Ohio); Braxton Cummins (Bedford, Ind.); Max Guilford (Auckland, N.Z.); Paul Dues (Minster, Ohio); and Jack James (Harlan, Ind.).
On Friday, it's a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus USAC Silver Crown qualifying and a full program for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. Stands open at 2pm Eastern with the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On Saturday, it's full programs for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, USAC Silver Crown and the All Star Circuit of Champions. Spectator gates open at Noon Eastern with a driver autograph session scheduled from 3-4 pm in the Fan Zone, followed by the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On both nights at Eldora, general admission tickets are $34 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $39 for adults and $9 for ages 12 and under.
The USAC portions for this weekend's events from Gas City and Eldora can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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4-CROWN NATIONALS USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS:
5-Jack Hewitt
3-Tracy Hines
2-Steve Butler, Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding & Steve Kinser
1-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Kevin Doty, Dickie Gaines, Justin Grant, Kyle Larson, C.J. Leary, Thomas Meseraull, Larry Rice, Jimmy Sills, Danny Smith, Tony Stewart, Brad Sweet, Rich Vogler & Chris Windom
4-CROWN NATIONALS USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS:
1981: Steve Kinser (10/11)
1982: Steve Kinser (10/3)
1983: Jack Hewitt (9/25)
1985: Larry Rice (10/6)
1986: Rich Vogler (9/28)
1987: Tony Elliott (9/27)
1988: Steve Butler (9/25)
1989: Steve Butler (9/24)
1990: Jack Hewitt (9/30)
1991: Jack Hewitt (9/22)
1992: Danny Smith (10/4)
1993: Tony Elliott (10/3)
1994: Kevin Doty (9/25)
1995: Tony Stewart (9/23)
1996: Jimmy Sills (9/28)
1997: Jack Hewitt (9/20)
1998: Jack Hewitt (9/26)
1999: Dave Darland (9/25)
2000: Tracy Hines (9/30)
2001: Bud Kaeding (9/22)
2002: Bud Kaeding (9/21)
2004: Dickie Gaines (9/25)
2005: Levi Jones (9/24)
2006: Tracy Hines (9/23)
2007: Robert Ballou (9/22)
2008: Brad Sweet (9/20)
2009: Jerry Coons Jr. (9/26)
2010: Levi Jones (9/25)
2011: Kyle Larson (9/24)
2012: Tracy Hines (9/22)
2013: Chris Windom (9/21)
2014: Brady Bacon (9/21)
2015: Thomas Meseraull (9/26)
2016: Justin Grant (9/24)
2017: C.J. Leary (9/23)
2018: Tyler Courtney (9/22)
2019: Tyler Courtney (9/28)
ELDORA SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS:
13-Jack Hewitt
9-Larry Dickson & Tracy Hines
7-Pancho Carter & Rich Vogler
6-Robert Ballou, Rollie Beale, Tom Bigelow & Bubby Jones
5-Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland & Jac Haudenschild
4-Steve Butler, Kevin Doty, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Kevin Huntley & Sam Sessions
3-Billy Cassella, Rob Chaney, Jerry Coons Jr., Justin Grant, Rick Hood, Frankie Kerr, Sheldon Kinser, Lee Kunzman, Jud Larson, Greg Weld & J.J. Yeley
2-Brady Bacon, Gary Bettenhausen, Don Branson, Larry Cannon, Derek Davidson, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, Steve Kinser, Jan Opperman, Larry Rice, Mickey Shaw, George Snider, Bruce Walkup & Chris Windom
1-Mario Andretti, Chad Boespflug, Stan Bowman, Bryan Clauson, Allen Crowe, Dickie Gaines, Tray House Jackie Howerton, Arnie Knepper, Kyle Larson, C.J. Leary, Eddie Leavitt, Roger McCluskey, Thomas Meseraull, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Jerry Poland, Bill Puterbaugh, Byron Reed, Boston Reid, Red Riegel, Johnny Rutherford, Joe Saldana, Terry Shepherd, Jimmy Sills, Danny Smith, Jon Stanbrough, Robbie Stanley, Tony Stewart, Brad Sweet, Clark Templeman, Brian Tyler, Rick Ungar & Matt Westfall.
ELDORA SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT WINNERS:
1962: Stan Bowman (4/22) & Roger McCluskey (7/29)
1963: Allen Crowe (5/12)
1964: Johnny Rutherford (4/5) & Jud Larson (7/5)
1965: Jud Larson (4/18), Jud Larson (5/9), Red Riegel (7/3) & Don Branson (10/17)
1966: Arnie Knepper (4/3), Larry Dickson (4/17), Don Branson (7/3) & Mario Andretti (9/4)
1967: Rollie Beale (4/16), Mickey Shaw (7/2) & Rollie Beale (7/22)
1968: Rollie Beale (4/7), Larry Dickson (7/20) & Mickey Shaw (9/29)
1969: Tom Bigelow (4/6), Larry Cannon (6/8) & Greg Weld (7/26)
1970: Gary Bettenhausen (4/5), Greg Weld (5/2), Larry Dickson (7/25), Greg Weld (8/15) & Larry Dickson (9/11)
1971: Gary Bettenhausen (4/4), Sammy Sessions (6/12), Larry Dickson (7/24) & Bill Puterbaugh (9/19)
1972: Rollie Beale (4/2), Sammy Sessions (6/10), Lee Kunzman (7/22), Jerry Poland (9/17), Sammy Sessions (10/22) & Don Nordhorn (10/22)
1973: George Snider (4/1), Sammy Sessions (4/29), Lee Kunzman (8/11), Pancho Carter (9/16), Lee Kunzman (10/21) & Pancho Carter (10/21)
1974: Jan Opperman (3/31), Bruce Walkup (7/13), Pancho Carter (10/6) & Larry Cannon (10/6)
1975: Tom Bigelow (4/13), Rollie Beale (6/21), Billy Cassella (7/12), Rollie Beale (10/5) & Larry Dickson (10/5)
1976: Sheldon Kinser (3/28), Larry Dickson (4/11), Jackie Howerton (6/19), Clark Templeman (6/20), Jan Opperman (7/10), Tom Bigelow (8/7), Pancho Carter (9/19), Tom Bigelow (10/9), Pancho Carter (10/10) & Pancho Carter (10/10)
1977: Tom Bigelow (4/10), Bubby Jones (4/17), George Snider (4/17), Tom Bigelow (6/18), Bruce Walkup (6/19), Pancho Carter (7/9), Bubby Jones (9/18), Eddie Leavitt (10/9) & Bubby Jones (10/9)
1978: Joe Saldana (6/17) & Bubby Jones (9/17)
1979: Bubby Jones (4/29), Bubby Jones (6/2), Larry Rice (8/25), Billy Cassella (10/14) & Billy Cassella (10/14)
1980: Rich Vogler (4/6), Larry Dickson (7/26), Sheldon Kinser (10/12) & Larry Dickson (7/12)
1981: Dave Peperak (4/25), Sheldon Kinser (6/20), Rich Vogler (7/3) & Steve Kinser (10/11)
1982: Jack Hewitt (4/24), Jac Haudenschild (7/17) & Steve Kinser (10/3)
1983: Rich Vogler (6/4) Jack Hewitt (8/2) & Jack Hewitt (9/25)
1984: Jac Haudenschild (4/1), Steve Butler (4/28), Rick Hood (7/14) & Jack Hewitt (8/16)
1985: Jac Haudenschild (4/27), Rick Hood (4/28) & Larry Rice (10/6)
1986: Rich Vogler (4/5), Rick Hood (4/26) & Rich Vogler (9/28)
1987: Rich Vogler (3/28), Rick Ungar (4/25), Rich Vogler (6/13) & Tony Elliott (9/27)
1988: Jac Haudenschild (3/27), Jack Hewitt (4/23), Jack Hewitt (5/14), Jack Hewitt (6/18), Steve Butler (7/16) & Steve Butler (9/25)
1989: Steve Butler (9/24)
1990: Jack Hewitt (4/7) & Jack Hewitt (9/30)
1991: Jack Hewitt (9/22)
1992: Terry Shepherd (3/28) & Danny Smith (10/4)
1993: Robbie Stanley (3/27), Jack Hewitt (8/11) & Tony Elliott (10/3)
1994: Frankie Kerr (4/2), Tray House (6/25), Frankie Kerr (8/10) & Kevin Doty (9/25)
1995: Kevin Doty (4/1), Byron Reed (8/9) & Tony Stewart (9/23)
1996: Frankie Kerr (8/7) & Jimmy Sills (9/28)
1997: Kevin Huntley (3/29), Kevin Huntley (6/22), Brian Tyler (8/6) & Jack Hewitt (9/20)
1998: Kevin Doty (5/2), Dave Darland (5/24), Kevin Doty (6/20) & Jack Hewitt (9/26)
1999: Derek Davidson (3/27), Derek Davidson (5/1), Tracy Hines (5/30), Tracy Hines (7/28) & Dave Darland (9/25)
2000: Jay Drake (4/1), Dave Darland (4/29), Tony Elliott (5/28) & Tracy Hines (9/30)
2001: Tracy Hines (4/28), Jay Drake (6/22), J.J. Yeley (6/23) & Bud Kaeding (9/22)
2002: J.J. Yeley (5/26), Tony Elliott (6/22) & Bud Kaeding (9/21)
2003: Boston Reid (5/3), J.J. Yeley (5/25), Jon Stanbrough (6/21) & Jac Haudenschild (9/20 – SE)
2004: Jay Drake (6/19), Kevin Huntley (8/7) & Dickie Gaines (9/25)
2005: Jay Drake (4/30), Rob Chaney (5/29), Kevin Huntley (6/18), Rob Chaney (8/6) & Levi Jones (9/24)
2006: Jerry Coons Jr. (4/1), Rob Chaney (4/29), Matt Westfall (6/17) & Tracy Hines (9/23)
2007: Robert Ballou (4/28) & Robert Ballou (9/22)
2008: Tracy Hines (5/10), Tracy Hines (6/14) & Brad Sweet (9/20)
2009: Jerry Coons Jr. (4/11) & Jerry Coons Jr. (9/26)
2010: Robert Ballou (5/12) & Levi Jones (9/25)
2011: Kyle Larson (9/24)
2012: Tracy Hines (4/21), Dave Darland (7/28) & Tracy Hines (9/22)
2013: Chris Windom (9/21)
2014: Dave Darland (4/19) & Brady Bacon (9/21)
2015: Robert Ballou (5/8), Justin Grant (5/9) & Thomas Meseraull (9/26)
2016: Bryan Clauson (5/6), Chad Boespflug (5/7) & Justin Grant (9/24)
2017: Justin Grant (5/12), Robert Ballou (5/13) & C.J. Leary (9/23)
2018: Brady Bacon (5/11), Chris Windom (5/12) & Tyler Courtney (9/22)
2019: Tyler Courtney (5/10), Tyler Courtney (7/17) & Tyler Courtney (9/28)
2021: Tyler Courtney (5/8) & Robert Ballou (5/8)
PAST 4-CROWN NATIONALS RESULTS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY:
1981 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Sheldon Kinser, 3. Tom Bigelow, 4. Jack Hewitt, 5. Larry Rice, 6. Mark Alderson, 7. Gary Grissom, 8. Eddie Leavitt, 9. Steve Long, 10. Johnny Coogan, 11. Bob Kinser, 12. Jerry Nemire, 13. Larry Martin, 14. Red Bledsoe, 15. Greg Leffler, 16. Steve Chassey, 17. Dave Peperak, 18. Joe Saldana, 19. Jerry Miller, 20. Gary Gray.
1982 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Danny Smith, 3. Ron Shuman, 4. Keith Kauffman, 5. Smokey Snellbaker, 6. Sheldon Kinser, 7. Greg Staab, 8. Jac Haudenschild, 9. Chuck Amati, 10. Larry Rice, 11. Dana Carter, 12. Roger Rager, 13. Steve Long, 14. Gary Gray, 15. Larry Martin, 16. Dave Peperak, 17. Tony Elliott, 18. Ken Schrader. 14:48.76
1983 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Johnny Parsons, 3. Ken Schrader, 4. Larry Rice, 5. Rick Hood, 6. Tony Elliott, 7. Steve Butler, 8. Larry Martin, 9. Danny Milburn, 10. George Snider, 11. John Andretti, 12. Leon Gentry, 13. Bud Wilmot, 14. Ken Rice, 15. Johnny Coogan, 16. Bill Tyler, 17. Steve Siegel, 18. Mark Alderson, 19. Tom Bigelow, 20. Sheldon Kinser. NT
1984: Rained Out
1985 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Larry Rice, 2. Steve Butler, 3. Rick Hood, 4. Sheldon Kinser, 5. Kevin Thomas, 6. Warren Mockler, 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Tom Bigelow, 9. Jerry Nemire, 10. Louie Mann, 11. Terry Shepherd, 12. Tim Bookmiller, 13. Mark Cummins, 14. Denny Donaldson, 15. Paul Huntington, 16. Jerry Russell, 17. Jack Ziegler, 18. Manny Rockhold, 19. Greg Staab, 20. Rich Leming, 21. Ron Mullen, 22. Keith Campbell, 23. Randy Standridge, 24. Rich Vogler. 10:12.63
1986 FEATURE: (30 laps - Held Sept. 28) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. Kenny Jacobs, 3. Steve Butler, 4. Jack Hewitt, 5. Dave Blaney, 6. Tom Bigelow, 7. Larry Rice, 8. Rick Hood, 9. Sheldon Kinser, 10. Tony Elliott, 11. Bobby Adkins, 12. Tim Bookmiller, 13. Warren Mockler, 14. Keith Campbell, 15. Jerry Russell, 16. Manny Rockhold, 17. Greg Staab, 18. Alan Brown, 19. Mike Helm, 20. Jeff Donelson, 21. Jerry Nemire, 22. Louie Mann, 23. Bill Tyler, 24. Dave Darland. 15:57.22
1987 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Jack Hewitt, 3. Steve Butler, 4. Kenny Jacobs, 5. Rich Vogler, 6. Andy Stapp, 7. Greg Staab, 8. Tray House, 9. Kevin Thomas, 10. Rick Hood, 11. Dave Feese, 12. Bill Tyler, 13. Jack Ziegler, 14. Bobby Adkins, 15. Rusty McClure, 16. Mark Alderson, 17. Andy Hillenburg, 18. Larry Rice, 19. Kent Christian, 20. Jerry Russell, 21. Tim Bookmiller, 22. Jerry Nemire, 23. Larry Hillerud, 24. Mike Helm, 25. Kevin Huntley, 26. Ray Morgan. NT
1988 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Steve Butler, 2. Jerry Russell, 3. Mark Alderson, 4. Greg Staab, 5. Terry Shepherd, 6. Tray House, 7. Rodney Duncan, 8. Rich Vogler, 9. Tony Elliott, 10. Jack Hewitt, 11. Larry Rice, 12. Jerry Nemire, 13. George Snider, 14. Dave Feese, 15. Bill Tyler, 16. Jeff Gordon, 17. Rusty McClure, 18. Mike Helm, 19. Blake Hollingsworth, 20. Leon Gentry, 21. Rick Ungar, 22. Kevin Huntley, 23. Rick Hood, 24. Ken Rice. NT
1989 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Steve Butler, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Greg Staab, 4. Mark Alderson, 5. Andy Stapp, 6. Larry Rice, 7. Kevin Thomas, 8. Rich Vogler, 9. Ray Morgan, 10. Tom Bigelow, 11. Wayne Hammond, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Ron Glidden, 14. Jim Moulis, 15. Dane Ronk, 16. Joe Roush, 17. Jack Hewitt, 18. Ron Mullen, 19. Bill Tyler, 20. Kevin Huntley, 21. Steve Imel, 22. Rocky Hodges, 23. Eric Gordon, 24. Tim Bookmiller. NT
1990 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Jimmy Sills, 3. Rick Hood, 4. Tray House, 5. Danny Smith, 6. Steve Butler, 7. Jac Haudenschild, 8. Eric Gordon, 9. Russ Gamester, 10. Brad Marvel, 11. Robbie Stanley, 12. Dane Ronk, 13. Rusty McClure, 14. Cary House, 15. Jerry Caryer, 16. Brian Tyler, 17. Bill Tyler, 18. Jeff Gordon, 19. Danny Milburn, 20. Bimbo Atkins, 21. Greg Staab, 22. Tony Elliott, 23. Rick Howerton, 24. Chuck Gurney. NT
1991 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Terry Shepherd, 3. Steve Butler, 4. Danny Smith, 5. Jimmy Sills, 6. Robbie Stanley, 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Johnny Beaber, 9. Rusty McClure, 10. Kerry Madsen, 11. Billy Boat, 12. Stevie Reeves, 13. Jeff Donelson, 14. Kent Christian, 15. Donnie Adams, 16. Gary Fisher, 17. Tray House, 18. Eric Gordon, 19. Russ Gamester, 20. Johnny Parsons, 21. Brad Marvel, 22. Rocky Hodges, 23. Chuck Gurney, 24. Jeff Bloom. NT
1992 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Danny Smith, 2. Terry Shepherd, 3. Rusty McClure, 4. Steve Butler, 5. Kevin Doty, 6. Jack Hewitt, 7. Cary Faas, 8. Robbie Stanley, 9. Byron Reed, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Tray House, 12. Tony Elliott, 13. Greg Staab, 14. Kevin Thomas, 15. Brad Marvel, 16. Bill Rose, 17. Donnie Adams, 18. Johnny Beaber, 19. Brian Hayden, 20. Doug Kalitta, 21. Tommy Nichols, 22. Eric Gordon, 23. Tony Stewart, 24. Jimmy Sills. NT
1993 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Tray House, 3. Robbie Stanley, 4. Rusty McClure, 5. Kevin Thomas, 6. Johnny Parsons, 7. Steve Butler, 8. Stevie Reeves, 9. Ron Shuman, 10. Chip Thomas, 11. Eric Gordon, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Bobby Marcum, 14. Mark Goodfleisch, 15. Kenny Irwin Jr., 16. Doug Kalitta, 17. Brian Hayden, 18. Chuck Wilson, 19. Jerry Nemire, 20. Brian Tyler, 21. Jack Hewitt, 22. Mike Mann, 23. Gary Fisher, 24. Bruce Sims. NT
1994 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Doty, 2. Cary Faas, 3. Tony Elliott, 4. Kevin Thomas, 5. Jimmy Stinson, 6. Brad Marvel, 7. Eric Gordon, 8. Kent Christian, 9. Bill Rose, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Chip Thomas, 12. Doug Kalitta, 13. Al Thomas, 14. Duffy Smith, 15. Ray Morgan, 16. Page Jones, 17. Danny Smith, 18. Jerry Nemire, 19. Ray Kenens, 20. Jon Stanbrough, 21. Tray House, 22. Rusty McClure, 23. Greg Staab, 24. Kenny Dunlap. NT
1995 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tony Stewart, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Kevin Thomas, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Jack Hewitt, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Rusty McClure, 8. Doug Kalitta, 9. Greg Staab, 10. Tray House, 11. Bill Rose, 12. Brad Marvel, 13. Cory Kruseman, 14. Brian Hayden, 15. Kevin Doty, 16. Derek Davidson, 17. Eric Gordon, 18. Jimmy Stinson, 19. Robby Flock, 20. Kurt Hawkins, 21. Jack Straman, 22. Mark Cassella, 23. Cary Faas, 24. Byron Reed. NT
1996 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jimmy Sills, 2. Jack Hewitt, 3. Johnny Parsons, 4. Cory Kruseman, 5. Mark Cassella, 6. Tony Elliott, 7. John Heydenreich, 8. Tim Cox, 9. Kevin Thomas, 10. Terry Pletch, 11. Derek Davidson, 12. Bill Rose, 13. Doug Kalitta, 14. Cary Faas, 15. Kent Christian, 16. Brian Tyler, 17. Kevin Doty, 18. Eric Gordon, 19. Brian Hayden, 20. Jon Stanbrough, 21. Tray House, 22. Dave Darland, 23. Jimmy Stinson, 24. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. NT
1997 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Kevin Doty, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Derek Davidson, 6. Kevin Thomas, 7. Brian Tyler, 8. Kevin Huntley, 9. Doug Kalitta, 10. Bill Rose, 11. Brian Hayden, 12. Terry Pletch, 13. Robby Flock, 14. Jimmy Stinson, 15. J.J. Yeley, 16. Tim Cox, 17. Kent Christian, 18. Tony Elliott, 19. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 20. Jon Stanbrough, 21. Eric Gordon, 22. Dean Billings, 23. Rusty McClure, 24. Aaron Mosley. 9:27.21
1998 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Tony Elliott, 4. J.J. Yeley, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Derek Davidson, 7. Todd Kane, 8. Rob Chaney, 9. Brian Tyler, 10. Kevin Thomas, 11. Robbie Rice, 12. Rusty McClure, 13. Nick Naber, 14. Steve Surniak, 15. Greg Wilson, 16. Brian Hayden, 17. Jimmy Sills, 18. Tim Cox, 19. Eric Gordon, 20. Brian Gerster, 21. Bill Rose, 22. Kevin Huntley, 23. John Heydenreich, 24. Kent Christian. NT
1999 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Tony Elliott, 4. Jimmy Sills, 5. Rob Chaney, 6. Rusty McClure, 7. Danny Smith, 8. Brian Tyler, 9. Kevin Doty, 10. Johnny Parsons, 11. Kevin Thomas, 12. Roger Chaudion, 13. Steve Surniak, 14. J.J. Yeley, 15. Terry Pletch, 16. Tim Clark, 17. Bill Rose, 18. John Heydenreich, 19. Jay Drake, 20. Jerry Coons Jr., 21. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 22. Rocky Hodges, 23. Cary Faas, 24. Richard Ott. NT
2000 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Eric Gordon, 4. Jay Drake, 5. Kasey Kahne, 6. Jimmy Sills, 7. J.J. Yeley, 8. Bud Kaeding, 9. Brian Tyler, 10. Todd Kane, 11. Derek Davidson, 12. Greg Wilson, 13. Dave Darland, 14. Robbie Rice, 15. Chris LaFollette, 16. Bill Rose, 17. Mike Brecht, 18. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 19. Levi Jones, 20. Jon Stanbrough, 21. Brandon Petty, 22. Jack Hewitt, 23. Kevin Doty, 24. Kevin Thomas. NT
2001 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bud Kaeding, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Jay Drake, 4. Greg Wilson, 5. Bill Rose, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Robbie Rice, 8. Derek Davidson, 9. Mike Brecht, 10. Rob Chaney, 11. Levi Jones, 12. Brian Tyler, 13. Ed Carpenter, 14. John Heydenreich, 15. Brandon Petty, 16. Tony Elliott, 17. Kent Christian, 18. Sport Allen, 19. Tracy Hines, 20. Dickie Gaines, 21. Nick Naber, 22. Dave Darland, 23. Kevin Thomas, 24. Jack Hewitt. NT
2002 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bud Kaeding, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Cory Kruseman, 4. Jonathan Vennard, 5. Travis Rilat, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Boston Reid, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Jay Drake, 10. Levi Jones, 11. Brian Tyler, 12. Derek Davidson, 13. Marc Jessup, 14. Rob Chaney, 15. Terry Babb, 16. John Wolfe, 17. Dave Darland, 18. Brandon Petty, 19. Terry Pletch, 20. Matt Westfall, 21. Dickie Gaines, 22. Tony Elliott, 23. Shane Cottle, 24. Brad Noffsinger. NT
2003 FEATURE: Not Held
2004 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dickie Gaines, 2. Jac Haudenschild, 3. Rob Chaney, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Bud Kaeding, 7. Josh Wise, 8. Bill Rose, 9. Cory Kruseman, 10. Boston Reid, 11. Sammy Swindell, 12. Josh Ford, 13. Shane Hollingsworth, 14. Brian Tyler, 15. Levi Jones, 16. Roger Rager, 17. Davey Ray, 18. Jimmy Stinson, 19. Dave Darland, 20. Jay Drake, 21. Jon Stanbrough, 22. Tyler Walker, 23. Mike Brecht, 24. Kevin Huntley, 25. Matt Brun. NT
2005 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Levi Jones, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Bill Rose, 7. Tyler Walker, 8. Dickie Gaines, 9. Jonathan Vennard, 10. Tom Hessert III, 11. Josh Wise, 12. Don Droud Jr., 13. Kevin Huntley, 14. Casey Shuman, 15. Jay Drake, 16. Justin Marvel, 17. Darren Hagen, 18. Matt Westfall, 19. Ryan Pace, 20. Rob Chaney, 21. Bud Kaeding, 22. Brad Sweet, 23. Mat Neely, 24. Daron Clayton. NT
2006 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Josh Wise, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Mat Neely, 6. Darren Hagen, 7. Hunter Schuerenberg, 8. Davey Ray, 9. Bud Kaeding, 10. Matt Westfall, 11. Shane Hollingsworth, 12. Shane Cottle, 13. Scotty Weir, 14. Robert Ballou, 15. Brady Short, 16. Rex Norris III, 17. Levi Jones, 18. Dickie Gaines, 19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 20. Jerry Coons Jr., 21. Jay Drake, 22. Brian Tyler, 23. Daron Clayton, 24. Mike Brecht, 25. Rob Chaney, 26. Jon Stanbrough. NT
2007 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Darren Hagen, 3. Jesse Hockett, 4. Brad Sweet, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Damion Gardner, 7. Brady Short, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Rob Chaney, 10. Davey Ray, 11. Chris Windom, 12. Kevin Swindell, 13. Gary Taylor, 14. Levi Jones, 15. Brady Bacon, 16. Mat Neely, 17. Bill Rose, 18. Matt Westfall, 19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 20. Matt Mitchell, 21. Shane Cottle, 22. Hunter Schuerenberg, 23. Dustin Morgan, 24. Daron Clayton. NT
2008 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brad Sweet, 2. Mike Brecht, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Dickie Gaines, 5. Jesse Hockett, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Cole Whitt, 8. Damion Gardner, 9. Scotty Weir, 10. Derek Hagar, 11. Chris Windom, 12. Darren Hagen, 13. J.J. Yeley, 14. Shane Cottle, 15. Tracy Hines, 16. Critter Malone, 17. Jon Stanbrough, 18. John Memmer, 19. Josh Clemons, 20. Chad Boat, 21. Jeff Bland Jr., 22. Robert Ballou, 23. Brady Bacon, 24. Dave Darland. NT
2009 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Scotty Weir, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Brad Sweet, 6. Darren Hagen, 7. Levi Jones, 8. Cole Whitt, 9. Robert Ballou, 10. Damion Gardner, 11. Chad Boat, 12. Jon Stanbrough, 13. Matt Westfall, 14. Josh Wise, 15. Henry Clarke, 16. Chris Windom, 17. Jonathan Hendrick, 18. Brady Short, 19. Nic Faas, 20. Bryan Clauson, 21. Rob Chaney, 22. Kevin Thomas Jr., 23. John Memmer, 24. Mitch Wissmiller, 25. Chase Stockon. 14:43.39
2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Levi Jones, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Bud Kaeding, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Mike Brecht, 8. Thomas Meseraull, 9. Matt Westfall, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Scotty Weir, 12. Hunter Schuerenberg, 13. Jeff Bland Jr., 14. Chase Stockon, 15. J.J. Hughes, 16. Casey Riggs, 17. Brett Burdette, 18. Shane Hmiel, 19. Jonathan Hendrick, 20. Randy Hannagan, 21. Tracy Hines, 22. Henry Clarke, 23. Chris Windom, 24. Mitch Wissmiller. NT
2011 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kyle Larson, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Bobby East, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Hunter Schuerenberg, 6. Bud Kaeding, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Daron Clayton, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Derek Hagar, 11. Damion Gardner, 12. Bryan Clauson, 13. Keith Bloom Jr., 14. Matt Westfall, 15. Hud Cone, 16. Jonathan Hendrick, 17. Scotty Weir, 18. Chase Stockon, 19. Chris Windom, 20. Casey Riggs, 21, Jerry Coons Jr., 22, Robert Ballou, 23. Coleman Gulick, 24. Justin Grant. NT
2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Robert Ballou, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Wes McIntyre, 10. Scotty Weir, 11. Matt Westfall, 12. Bud Kaeding, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Dallas Hewitt, 15. Steve Irwin, 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 17. Coleman Gulick, 18. Damion Gardner, 19. A.J. Hopkins, 20. Kevin Thomas Jr., 21. Todd Kane, 22. Kyle Larson, 23. Mitch Wissmiller, 24. Mike Brecht. NT
2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Jac Haudenschild, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Gary Taylor, 8. Justin Grant, 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 10. Jarett Andretti, 11. Mike Brecht, 12. Wes McIntyre, 13. Kyle Cummins, 14. Bill Rose, 15. Matt Westfall, 16. Luke Hall, 17. C.J. Leary, 18. Nick Drake, 19. Tyler Courtney, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. Daron Clayton, 22. Mike Miller, 23. Chase Stockon, 24. Brady Bacon, 25. Dallas Hewitt. NT
2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Hunter Schuerenberg, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. C.J. Leary, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Shane Cockrum, 10. Kody Swanson, 11. Matt Westfall, 12. Logan Hupp, 13. Dave Darland, 14. Robert Ballou, 15. Brandon Mattox, 16. Kevin Thomas Jr., 17. Chase Stockon, 18. Steve Irwin, 19. Dallas Hewitt, 20. Brandon Whited, 21. Landon Simon, 22. Jon Stanbrough, 23. Scott Hampton, 24. Chad Boespflug. NT
2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Kody Swanson, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Scotty Weir, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Dallas Hewitt, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Tyler Courtney, 12. Nick Bilbee, 13. Hunter Schuerenberg, 14. Dickie Gaines, 15. Shane Cockrum, 16. Shane Cottle, 17. Brandon Whited, 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Tracy Hines, 20. Jarett Andretti, 21. Brady Bacon, 22. Aaron Farney, 23. Kevin Thomas Jr., 24. Landon Simon, 25. C.J. Leary. NT
2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Tyler Courtney, 6. Dallas Hewitt, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Matt Westfall, 9. Josh Hodges, 10. Nick Bilbee, 11. Brandon Whited, 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 13. Bret Mellenberndt, 14. Jarett Andretti, 15. Isaac Chapple, 16. Thomas Meseraull, 17. Jerry Coons Jr., 18. Matt Goodnight, 19. Carson Short, 20. Aaron Farney, 21. Chad Boespflug, 22. Kody Swanson, 23. Scotty Weir, 24. Landon Simon, 25. C.J. Leary. NT
2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Kevin Thomas, 5. Justin Grant, 6. Scotty Weir, 7. Chris Windom, 8. Thomas Meseraull, 9. Chase Stockon, 10. Matt Westfall, 11. Shane Cottle, 12. Tyler Courtney, 13. Nick Bilbee, 14. Josh Hodges, 15. Tyler Thomas, 16. Kyle Cummins, 17. Chad Boespflug, 18. Isaac Chapple, 19. Bill Rose, 20. Kody Swanson, 21. Aric Gentry, 22. Dave Darland, 23. Dallas Hewitt. NT
2018 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Isaac Chapple, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Chris Windom, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Nick Bilbee, 9. Dickie Gaines, 10. Brady Bacon, 11. Carmen Perigo, 12. Shane Cottle, 13. Dakota Jackson, 14. Matt Westfall, 15. Dustin Ingle, 16. Ty Tilton, 17. Justin Grant, 18. Jason McDougal, 19. Robert Ballou, 20. Aric Gentry, 21. Timmy Buckwalter, 22. Jacob Wilson. NT
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. Chris Windom (5), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 5. Brady Bacon (3), 6. Dallas Hewitt (8), 7. Matt Westfall (16), 8. Chase Stockon (7), 9. Isaac Chapple (13), 10. Nick Bilbee (18), 11. Carmen Perigo (15), 12. Jason McDougal (12), 13. Scotty Weir (17), 14. Mario Clouser (11), 15. Chris Phillips (22), 16. Dave Darland (20), 17. Dustin Clark (14), 18. Corey Smith (21), 19. Max Adams (9), 20. Kory Crabtree (10), 21. Josh Hodges (19), 22. C.J. Leary (2). NT
2020 FEATURE: Not Held
CROWN 'EM: USAC SILVER CROWN
DIALS IN ELDORA'S 4-CROWN FRI.-SAT.
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Rossburg, Ohio (September 22, 2021)………A 32-car pre-entry list for this weekend's 39th running of the 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV signifies the largest USAC Silver Crown car count for the event at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway in two decades.
The lineup is packed full of past 4-Crown winners, series champions and those hungry for a breakthrough on Friday and Saturday, September 24-25.
Silver Crown's weekend kicks off with practice and qualifying on Friday night followed by a brief practice session and the $8,000-to-win 50-lap race on Saturday night to conclude the 4-Crown festivities.
We've already gotten a taste of Silver Crown racing at Eldora Speedway earlier this season. Tyler Courtney's route to a second career Eldora USAC Silver Crown triumph this past June was in the realm of categorical perfection from start-to-finish after topping the charts in both practice sessions and leading all 50 laps of the night's feature.
Starting second in the 31-car field was the only "blemish" on an otherwise flawless evening after missing out on the pole on his qualifying run. Courtney more than made up for it, walloping the field with a 7.986 second margin of victory in the Chris Dyson Racing No. 9. He's previously won in Silver Crown competition at The Big E in 2017 and also started from the pole en route to a 3rd place finish in 2016.
Brian Tyler (Parma, Mich.) made his return to the Silver Crown series a memorable one at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds on Sept. 6, winning in his first series start in two seasons. He's won at Eldora on multiple occasions, first in a USAC Sprint Car in 1997 and again in 2002 in the 4-Crown Silver Crown 50-lapper.
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) won the most recent 4-Crown Silver Crown race at Eldora in 2019 and has, in fact, finished inside the top-eight in all six of his series starts there with a 4th in 2016, 5th in 2015, 5th in 2017, another 5th in June of 2021 and 8th in 2018.
On the pole for this past June's race was C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) who made a banzai run to the checkered flag in winning the 2018 Silver Crown go at Eldora, in addition to 8th place results there in 2015 and 2019.
Current series point leader and five-time Silver Crown champ Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) has never won a race at Eldora. He'll make his Silver Crown return with the Mark Swanson Encore Team with whom he finished 3rd for back in June. He's finished a best of 2nd in 2015 and won the pole in 2017. Swanson's 4-Crown Silver Crown results run the gamut of the top-10 at Eldora with a 4th in 2019, 5th in 2016, 5th in 2018, 8th in 2013, 9th in 2012 and 9th in 2014.
Taking 6th at Eldora's Silver Crown go back at the start of summer was Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) who won his only career USAC National Sprint Car feature at Eldora in 2006. Meanwhile, at Eldora in a Silver Crown car, he's been phenomenal in minimal appearances over the past two decades. He finished a career best 2nd in 2013, was 5th in 2002, 9th in 2004 and 7th in 2019 after charging from the 27th starting position in just 50 laps.
Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) scored a top-10 Silver Crown result with a 10th at Eldora in June of 2021. He won the most recent USAC Sprint Car race held at Eldora in May during the second half of the #LetsRaceTwo USAC National Sprint Car weekend, his 6th overall at the track. He'll compete for Bill Rose Racing Saturday at Eldora where he earned his best career Silver Crown result of 2nd in 2012. He's also been 6th in 2011, 8th in 2010 and 9th in 2017.
Reigning USAC Silver Crown champ Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) has been victorious three times in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Eldora and has finished solidly at Eldora throughout his Silver Crown career. Grant took 2nd in 2016, was 3rd in 2019, 6th in 2015, 6th in 2017 and 7th in 2018.
Troy, Ohio's Dallas Hewitt owns both his best career USAC Silver Crown result and USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car result at Eldora. He finished 7th in the Silver Crown car back in June of this year and was 2nd in a Sprint Car at Eldora in May of 2017. Dallas is the nephew of Jack Hewitt, the winningest Silver Crown driver of all-time at Eldora with eight victories.
Leading series Rookie and squarely in the championship hunt is Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.). His first Eldora USAC Silver Crown experience proved to be solid, finishing 8th after starting 13th. Seavey also finished 3rd twice with the USAC National Midgets at the track in 2018 and 2019.
Finishing 9th in June was Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) who won the pole in 2018 and has finished inside the top-five on six occasions in Silver Crown competition during the 4-Crown at Eldora, including in each of his past three starts, led by 3rd place results in 2017 and 2018; 4th in 2008 and 2015; 5th in 2006 and 2019, the latter of which he started 24th.
Loads of 4-Crown Silver Crown experience is apparent throughout the substantial field, all of whom are striving for a first victory at the half-mile dirt oval.
Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.) won the opening Silver Crown round on the dirt in June at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania. At Eldora, he's turned in impressive results, including a 3rd in 2013, 4th in 2014 and 7th in 2015.
Eric Gordon's (Fortville, Ind.) USAC Silver Crown experience dates back to 1990 where he finished 7th in his Rookie season, which resulted in a 2nd place finish in the final standings. Gordon also took 2nd in 1991, 3rd in 1997, 5th in 1994, 6th in 1995, 7th in 1993 and 10th in 2019.
Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) set his first career Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifying time at Williams Grove in June, setting a new track record in the process. In the Crown car at Eldora, he finished 4th in his first career series start in 2018 and started on the front row in 2019. His Klatt Enterprises ride won the 4-Crown Silver Crown 50-lapper at Eldora with Bacon as the driver in 2019.
One-time USAC Silver Crown race winner David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wis.) finished a best of 8th at Eldora in 2017 while Kyle Robbins (New Castle, Ind.) was 9th in 2018. Matt Goodnight (Winchester, Ind.) raced from 25th to 9th at Eldora in 2019.
Jerry Nemire made 14 career USAC Silver Crown starts at Eldora between 1981 and 2013, which included 9th place finishes in both 1986 and 1991. His grandson Austin Nemire (Sylvania, Ohio) has carried the Nemire torch into Silver Crown racing at Eldora over the past half-decade where he's made six starts, finishing a best of 11th in 2018.
Veterans of 4-Crown Eldora Silver Crown action also include Troy, Missouri's Chris Fetter (11th in 2016); Decatur, Illinois' Terry Babb (15th in 1998 & 2002); Levittown, Pennsylvania's Mike Haggenbottom (15th in 2018); Pendleton, Indiana's Travis Welpott (17th in 2018); Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania's Dave Berkheimer (19th in 2018).
They're all joined by top-10 Eldora USAC Sprint Car finishers Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), a 3rd place Silver Crown finisher at Selinsgrove, Pa. and Du Quoin, Ill. this season, as well as Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.).
Carmen Perigo (Stoystown, Pa.), a three-time top-10 finisher in 2021, will make his second Silver Crown appearance at Eldora, as will Casey Buckman (Chandler, Ariz.), 8th at Springfield. Plainfield, Indiana's Chris Phillips finished 16th in his first USAC Silver Crown foray on Eldora's high banks in June, finishing 16th.
Davey Ray (Davenport, Iowa) makes his USAC Silver Crown after a five-year hiatus from the series for the Cornell Racing Stables. Ray's last 4-Crown Silver Crown appearance came in 2016 while he finished a best of 12th in the event back in 2005.
Recently crowned, two-time Lawrenceburg Speedway track champ Nick Bilbee (Indianapolis, Ind.) has been a consistent finisher at the 4-Crown in a sprint car with an 8th in 2018 and a 10th in both 2016 and 2019. He'll been in the seat of Tim Simmons' No. 3 for his third run in the Silver Crown series and first at Eldora.
Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.), twice a winner on the USAC West Coast Sprint Car circuit last weekend, will attempt to make his first Silver Crown main event after two tries earlier this year. Mechanical trouble hit the car at Williams Grove and the postponement of Du Quoin by two days has prevented his long-awaited debut.
Seventy-one-year-old Vietnam War veteran Danny Long (Bonne Terre, Mo.) has been a traditional sight on the one-mile dirt ovals throughout the past couple decades. This weekend, however, will mark the first time he'll haul his Silver Crown car to compete at Eldora.
First-time Silver Crown entrant Erik Karlsen is a CRSA 305 Sprint Car champion at New York's Canandaigua Speedway and a veteran of Empire Super Sprints competition.
On Friday, it's a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus USAC Silver Crown qualifying and a full program for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. Stands open at 2pm Eastern with the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On Saturday, it's full programs for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, USAC Silver Crown and the All Star Circuit of Champions. Spectator gates open at Noon Eastern with a driver autograph session scheduled from 3-4 pm in the Fan Zone, followed by the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On both nights at Eldora, general admission tickets are $34 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $39 for adults and $9 for ages 12 and under.
The USAC portions from both nights of the 4-Crown Nationals can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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4-CROWN NATIONALS USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (32 CARS)
3 Nick Bilbee/Indianapolis, IN (Tim Simmons)
6 Jason McDougal/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
7 Kyle Robbins/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
8 Davey Ray/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables)
9 Tyler Courtney/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 Jake Swanson/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
16 Austin Nemire/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
17 Chase Johnson/Penngrove, CA (Goodnight Racing)
18 Travis Welpott/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 Chris Phillips/Plainfield, IN (Nolen Racing)
21 Kody Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Mark Swanson Encore Team)
22 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
24 Mike Haggenbottom/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)
31 Dave Berkheimer/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
39 Matt Goodnight/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 David Byrne/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
44 Danny Long/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
52 Carmen Perigo/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
53 Brady Bacon/Broken Arrow, OK (Five Three Motorsports)
54 Matt Westfall/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)
57 Dallas Hewitt/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt)
66 Robert Ballou/Rocklin, CA (Bill Rose Racing)
69 Kyle Cummins/Princeton, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 Shane Cockrum/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
74 Casey Buckman/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Racing)
81 Brian Tyler/Parma, MI (BCR Group)
88 Terry Babb/Decatur, IL (Terry Babb)
89 Chris Fetter/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
91 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
99 Eric Gordon/Greenfield, IN (Brad & Tara Armstrong)
110 Shane Cottle/Kansas, IL (DMW Motorsports)
166 Erik Karlsen/Romulus, NY (Erik Karlsen)
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-440, 2-Logan Seavey-424, 3-Justin Grant-322, 4-Shane Cottle-322, 5-Kyle Robbins-315, 6-David Byrne-306, 7-Shane Cockrum-295, 8-Austin Nemire-283, 9-Travis Welpott-270, 10-Mike Haggenbottom-243.
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 9/23/2005 - Josh Wise - 15.334 - 117.386 mph
15 Laps - 9/22/2006 - Paul White - 4:16.18 - 105.395 mph
20 Laps - 9/28/1996 - Dave Darland - 5:53.42 - 101.862 mph
50 Laps - 9/23/2006 - Mat Neely - 14:59.56 - 100.049 mph
60 Laps - 4/25/1982 - Danny Smith - 23:23.80 - 76.934 mph
4-CROWN NATIONALS USAC SILVER CROWN WINS:
8-Jack Hewitt
4-Dave Darland
2-Bryan Clauson, Chris Windom, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Larry Rice, Ron Shuman & Steve Butler
1-Brady Bacon, Steve Kinser, Brian Tyler, C.J. Leary, Christopher Bell, Jimmy Sills, Ken Schrader, Kevin Huntley, Kyle Larson, Mat Neely & Tyler Courtney
4-CROWN NATIONALS USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS:
1981: Steve Kinser (10/11)
1982: Ron Shuman (10/3)
1983: Ken Schrader (9/25)
1985: Larry Rice (10/6)
1986: Jack Hewitt (9/28)
1987: Larry Rice (9/27)
1988: Jack Hewitt (9/25)
1989: Jack Hewitt (9/24)
1990: Steve Butler (9/30)
1991: Jack Hewitt (9/22)
1992: Steve Butler (10/4)
1993: Ron Shuman (10/3)
1994: Jack Hewitt (9/25)
1995: Jack Hewitt (9/23)
1996: Jack Hewitt (9/28)
1997: Kevin Huntley (9/20)
1998: Jack Hewitt (9/26)
1999: Jimmy Sills (9/25)
2000: J.J. Yeley (9/30)
2001: J.J. Yeley (9/22)
2002: Brian Tyler (9/21)
2004: Dave Darland (9/25)
2005: Dave Darland (9/24)
2006: Mat Neely (9/23)
2007: Jerry Coons Jr. (9/22)
2008: Dave Darland (9/20)
2009: Dave Darland (9/26)
2010: Bryan Clauson (9/25)
2011: Kyle Larson (9/24)
2012: Bryan Clauson (9/22)
2013: Chris Windom (9/21)
2014: Jerry Coons Jr. (9/21)
2015: Christopher Bell (9/26)
2016: Chris Windom (9/24)
2017: Tyler Courtney (9/23)
2018: C.J. Leary (9/22)
ELDORA SPEEDWAY USAC SILVER CROWN WINS:
8-Jack Hewitt
4-Dave Darland
2-Steve Butler Bryan Clauson, Jerry Coons, Jr., Steve Kinser, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman & Chris Windom, J.J. Yeley,
1-Brady Bacon, Christopher Bell, Tyler Courtney, Kevin Huntley, Kyle Larson, C.J. Leary, Mat Neely, Ken Schrader, Jimmy Sills, Danny Smith & Brian Tyler
ELDORA SPEEDWAY USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS:
1981: Steve Kinser (4/26) & Steve Kinser (10/11)
1982: Danny Smith (4/25) & Ron Shuman (10/3)
1983: Ken Schrader (9/25)
1985: Larry Rice (10/6)
1986: Jack Hewitt (9/28)
1987: Larry Rice (9/27)
1988: Jack Hewitt (9/25)
1989: Jack Hewitt (9/24)
1990: Steve Butler (9/30)
1991: Jack Hewitt (9/22)
1992: Steve Butler (10/4)
1993: Ron Shuman (10/3)
1994: Jack Hewitt (9/25)
1995: Jack Hewitt (9/23)
1996: Jack Hewitt (9/28)
1997: Kevin Huntley (9/20)
1998: Jack Hewitt (9/26)
1999: Jimmy Sills (9/25)
2000: J.J. Yeley (9/30)
2001: J.J. Yeley (9/22)
2002: Brian Tyler (9/21)
2004: Dave Darland (9/25)
2005: Dave Darland (9/24)
2006: Mat Neely (9/23)
2007: Jerry Coons, Jr. (9/22)
2008: Dave Darland (9/20)
2009: Dave Darland (9/26)
2010: Bryan Clauson (9/25)
2011: Kyle Larson (9/24)
2012: Bryan Clauson (9/22)
2013: Chris Windom (9/21)
2014: Jerry Coons, Jr. (9/21)
2015: Christopher Bell (9/26)
2016: Chris Windom (9/24)
2017: Tyler Courtney (9/23)
2018: C.J. Leary (9/22)
2019: Brady Bacon (9/28)
2021: Tyler Courtney (6/26)
PAST 4-CROWN NATIONALS RESULTS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY:
1981 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Steve Kinser (18), 2. Larry Rice (3), 3. Gary Bettenhausen (1), 4. Jack Hewitt (4), 5. Mark Alderson (6), 6. Ken Schrader (8), 7. Sheldon Kinser (7), 8. Greg Leffler (10), 9. Chuck Amati (11), 10. Bud Wilmot (14), 11. Jerry Nemire (20), 12. Karl Busson (12), 13. Larry Martin (16), 14. Manny Rockhold (15), 15. Bill Puterbaugh (13), 16. Danny Milburn (19), 17. Tracy Potter (17), 18. Jeff Bloom (9), 19. Larry Dickson (5), 20. Tom Bigelow (2). 17:19.70
1982 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ron Shuman (4), 2. Steve Kinser (1), 3. Ken Schrader (7), 4. Greg Staab (13), 5. Joe Saldana (14), 6. Roger Rager (20), 7. Mark Alderson (5), 8. Dana Carter (19), 9. Smokey Snellbaker (12), 10. Jim Moughan (15), 11. Danny Milburn (16), 12. Keith Kauffman (10), 13. Jerry Weeks (8), 14. Manny Rockhold (17), 15. Ed Angle (11), 16. Mike Winblad (18), 17. Rich Vogler (3), 18. Walt Kennedy (2), 19. Larry Rice (9), 20. Sheldon Kinser (6). 24:21.01
1983 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ken Schrader (2), 2. Rick Hood (6), 3. Jack Hewitt (1), 4. Sheldon Kinser (8), 5. Larry Rice (10), 6. George Snider (4), 7. Duke Cook (15), 8. Mark Alderson (11), 9. Johnny Parsons (5), 10. Bud Wilmot (16), 11. Rich Vogler (9), 12. Gary Hieber (13), 13. Jerry Nemire (3), 14. Steve Siegel (18), 15. Billy Vukovich (17), 16. Billy Pauch (7), 17. Manny Rockhold (20), 18. Tom Bigelow (12), 19. Steve Butler (14), 20. Ralph Liguori (19). 19:10.24
1984 FEATURE: Rained Out
1985 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Larry Rice (10), 2. Rick Hood (1), 3. Johnny Parsons (6), 4. Sheldon Kinser (7), 5. Steve Butler (2), 6. Duke Cook (11), 7. Kramer Williamson (16), 8. Rich Vogler (5), 9. Joe Saldana (4), 10. John Andretti (21), 11. Bruce Field (15), 12. Mark Alderson (8), 13. Jerry Nemire (9), 14. Danny Milburn (12), 15. John Batts (20), 16. Fred Rahmer (22), 17. Bob Cicconi (17), 18. Tom Bigelow (3), 19. Bud Wilmot (19), 20. Mike Johnson (13), 21. Frankie Kerr (14), 22. Warren Mockler (18), 23. Paul Clark (23). NT
1986 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (7), 2. Billy Engelhart (18), 3. Sheldon Kinser (2), 4. Kenny Jacobs (1), 5. Dave Blaney (8), 6. Danny Milburn (20), 7. Jeff Bloom (11), 8. Paul Clark (14), 9. Jerry Nemire (22), 10. Warren Mockler (6), 11. Manny Rockhold (16), 12. Mark Alderson (12), 13. Steve Butler (5), 14. Larry Rice (10), 15. Tom Bigelow (3), 16. Jerry Russell (17), 17. Bobby Adkins (13), 18. Rich Vogler (4), 19. Tony Elliott (23), 20. Duke Cook (19), 21. Rick Hood (9), 22. Charlie Workman (21), 23. Red Kunstbeck (15). NT
1987 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Larry Rice (4), 2. Steve Butler (5), 3. Rick Hood (1), 4. Jack Hewitt (2), 5. Kenny Jacobs (3), 6. Andy Hillenburg (10), 7. Jeff Swindell (6), 8. Jim Childers (19), 9. Mark Alderson (7), 10. Charlie Swartz (24), 11. Dave Feese (14), 12. Tray House (13), 13. Jon Johnson (15), 14. Gary Hieber (23), 15. Paul Clark (8), 16. Rich Vogler (9), 17. Rusty McClure (22), 18. Jerry Nemire (12), 19. Manny Rockhold (11), 20. Bill Tyler (21), 21. Ron Dunstan (17), 22. Steve Chassey (16), 23. Jeff Bloom (20), 24. Warren Mockler (18). NT
1988 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (2), 2. Steve Butler (1), 3. Larry Rice (10), 4. Greg Staab (14), 5. Mark Alderson (15), 6. Andy Hillenburg (11), 7. Tray House (17), 8. Joe Melnick (12), 9. George Snider (7), 10. Ron Dunstan (24), 11. Jerry Nemire (6), 12. Jeff Bloom (16), 13. Rusty McClure (21), 14. Tony Elliott (8), 15. Jon Johnson (19), 16. Paul Huntington (20), 17. Bill Tyler (18), 18. Rich Vogler (13), 19. Steve Chassey (9), 20. Gene Lee Gibson (4), 21. Gary Irvin (5), 22. Rick Hood (3), 23. Bob Frey (23), 24. Donnie Beechler (22). NT
1989 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (2), 2. Rich Vogler (1), 3. Steve Butler (3), 4. Larry Rice (10), 5. Mark Alderson (4), 6. Johnny Parsons (5), 7. Andy Hillenburg (6), 8. Tony Elliott (11), 9. Rocky Hodges (19), 10. Danny Milburn (12), 11. Wayne Hammond (16), 12. Bob Cicconi (8), 13. Jerry Nemire (15), 14. Chip Thomas (13), 15. Russ Gamester (9), 16. Greg Staab (20), 17. Walt Kennedy (7), 18. Gary Irvin (14), 19. Ron Dunstan (17), 20. Mark Sokola (18), 21. Brent Whited (21). NT
1990 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Steve Butler (2), 2. Jack Hewitt (3), 3. Chuck Gurney (4), 4. Larry Rice (6), 5. Johnny Parsons (12), 6. Stan Fox (5), 7. Eric Gordon (7), 8. Dave Darland (13), 9. Danny Smith (22), 10. Mark Alderson (14), 11. Brian Tyler (15), 12. Tray House (17), 13. Danny Milburn (20), 14. Robbie Stanley (18), 15. Jerry Russell (16), 16. Ron Dunstan (23), 17. Wally Pankratz (10), 18. Bob Cicconi (19), 19. Gary Irvin (11), 20. Jerry Nemire (21), 21. Stevie Reeves (9), 22. George Snider (8), 23. Jimmy Sills (1). 16:30.53
1991 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (8), 2. Eric Gordon (6), 3. Terry Shepherd (7), 4. Tray House (16), 5. Warren Mockler (20), 6. Wally Pankratz (18), 7. Brad Marvel (23), 8. Larry Rice (15), 9. Jerry Nemire (17), 10. Russ Gamester (2), 11. Ron Dunstan (24), 12. Blake Hollingsworth (19), 13. Jim Mahoney (12), 14. Steve Chassey (9), 15. Rick Ungar (21), 16. Billy Boat (4), 17. George Snider (11), 18. Jimmy Sills (10), 19. Chuck Gurney (13), 20. Jeff Gordon (1), 21. Stevie Reeves (3), 22. Johnny Parsons (14), 23. Chip Thomas (22), 24. Stan Fox (5). NT
1992 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Steve Butler (1), 2. Tony Elliott (12), 3. Tray House (9), 4. Tony Stewart (2), 5. Jeff Swindell (5), 6. Stevie Reeves (15), 7. Robbie Stanley (24), 8. Donnie Beechler (23), 9. Chip Thomas (14), 10. Rusty McClure (8), 11. Brent Kaeding (13), 12. Greg Staab (6), 13. Stan Fox (11), 14. Tyce Carlson (17), 15. Blake Hollingsworth (18), 16. Jerry Nemire (16), 17. Ray Joe Fager (22), 18. Johnny Parsons (7), 19. Jimmy Sills (10), 20. Ron Dunstan (19), 21. Russ Gamester (3), 22. Tom Ball (21), 23. Dave Darland (20), 24. Jack Hewitt (4). NT
1993 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ron Shuman (2), 2. Chuck Gurney (4), 3. Donnie Beechler (3), 4. Steve Butler (1), 5. Johnny Parsons (10), 6. Tray House (16), 7. Eric Gordon (7), 8. Stan Fox (14), 9. Mike Bliss (8), 10. Tony Elliott (5), 11. Rusty McClure (9), 12. Stevie Reeves (11), 13. Jim Keeker (21), 14. Chip Thomas (12), 15. Greg Wilson (18), 16. Tyce Carlson (13), 17. Bobby Marcum (15), 18. Greg Staab (6), 19. Tony Stewart (17), 20. Blake Hollingsworth (22), 21. Ron Dunstan (20), 22. Robbie Stanley (19), 23. Dan Drinan (23). 21:10.44
1994 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (7), 2. Chuck Gurney (1), 3. Jimmy Sills (2), 4. Kevin Doty (5), 5. Eric Gordon (10), 6. Rusty McClure (9), 7. Kenny Irwin Jr. (13), 8. Chip Thomas (12), 9. Dave Darland (22), 10. Jon Stanbrough (18), 11. Steve Barnett (14), 12. Mike Bliss (4), 13. Jerry Nemire (16), 14. Kevin Thomas (21), 15. Robby Flock (19), 16. Bill Rose (17), 17. Randy Tolsma (15), 18. Derek Davidson (20), 19. Kevin Huntley (6), 20. Danny Smith (23), 21. Donnie Beechler (11), 22. Cary Faas (8), 23. Stan Fox (3). NT
1995 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (13), 2. Tony Stewart (14), 3. Dave Darland (5), 4. Kenny Irwin Jr. (4), 5. Johnny Parsons (3), 6. Eric Gordon (15), 7. Jimmy Sills (1), 8. Kevin Thomas (22), 9. Jim Keeker (17), 10. Rusty McClure (9), 11. Cary Faas (20), 12. Robby Flock (12), 13. Bill Rose (19), 14. George Snider (10), 15. Keith Butler (24), 16. Chuck Gurney (2), 17. Brian Tyler (21), 18. Rocky Hodges (8), 19. Chuck Leary (23), 20. Donnie Beechler (11), 21. Kevin Doty (7), 22. Byron Reed (6), 23. Tony Elliott (16), 24. Jon Stanbrough (18). 16:39.34
1996 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (5), 2. Jimmy Sills (2), 3. Bill Rose (15), 4. Dave Darland (13), 5. Johnny Parsons (4), 6. Cary Faas (10), 7. Mark Cassella (3), 8. Brian Tyler (22), 9. Donnie Beechler (19), 10. Rusty McClure (11), 11. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (12), 12. Eric Gordon (24), 13. Jerry Nemire (20), 14. Brian Hayden (8), 15. Robby Flock (14), 16. Cory Kruseman (7), 17. Kenny Irwin Jr. (21), 18. Chip Thomas (6), 19. Dan Drinan (17), 20. Ryan Newman (9), 21. Tracy Hines (18), 22. Kevin Doty (16), 23. Jim Keeker (23). (Chuck Gurney disqualified after finishing 2nd for failing to meet minimum weight) (1). NT
1997 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Huntley (4), 2. Ryan Newman (16), 3. Eric Gordon (22), 4. Tracy Hines (15), 5. Russ Gamester (3), 6. Brian Tyler (2), 7. Johnny Parsons (5), 8. Dave Darland (7), 9. Bill Rose (19), 10. Jim Keeker (24), 11. Jimmy Sills (1), 12. Donnie Beechler (6), 13. J.J. Yeley (14), 14. Terry Pletch (12), 15. Robby Flock (17), 16. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (9), 17. Derek Davidson (11), 18. Kevin Doty (21), 19. Tony Stewart (13), 20. Chuck Gurney (8), 21. Brian Hayden (18), 22. Kevin Thomas (23), 23. Tim Clark (20), 24. Jack Hewitt (10). NT
1998 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (2), 2. Dave Darland (3), 3. Todd Kane (16), 4. Kevin Huntley (9), 5. Jimmy Sills (1), 6. Derek Davidson (7), 7. Brian Tyler (6), 8. Tony Elliott (14), 9. Ryan Newman (18), 10. J.J. Yeley (4), 11. Jimmy Stinson (20), 12. Aaron Mosley (15), 13. Greg Wilson (13), 14. Jay Drake (8), 15. Terry Babb (21), 16. Jason Leffler (23), 17. Jerry Coons Jr. (24), 18. Kevin Thomas (12), 19. Donnie Beechler (19), 20. Rusty McClure (11), 21. Ricky Shelton (22), 22. Russ Gamester (10), 23. Robby Flock (5), 24. Tracy Hines (17). 16:44.29
1999 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jimmy Sills (1), 2. Jack Hewitt (11), 3. J.J. Yeley (2), 4. Greg Wilson (8), 5. Todd Kane (16), 6. Robbie Rice (20), 7. Tracy Hines (13), 8. Ryan Newman (17), 9. Tony Elliott (6), 10. Paul White (9), 11. Eric Gordon (14), 12. Donnie Lehmann (23), 13. Rich Tobias Jr. (19), 14. Russ Gamester (7), 15. Jimmy Stinson (21), 16. Rick Treadway (18), 17. Danny Smith (12), 18. Brad Fox (22), 19. Jay Drake (4), 20. Jerry Nemire (24), 21. Dave Darland (5), 22. Rusty McClure (3), 23. Bill Rose (10), 24. Brian Tyler (15). NT
2000 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (1), 2. Dave Darland (17), 3. Greg Wilson (15), 4. Brad Noffsinger (9), 5. Tracy Hines (8), 6. Jack Hewitt (7), 7. Tony Elliott (3), 8. Derek Davidson (14), 9. John Heydenreich (22), 10. Brian Tyler (2), 11. Paul White (19), 12. Brad Fox (10), 13. Terry Pletch (16), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (21), 15. Russ Gamester (13), 16. Jimmy Sills (4), 17. Jay Drake (5), 18. Kasey Kahne (20), 19. Rob Chaney (24), 20. Ryan Newman (18), 21. Bill Rose (6), 22. Robbie Rice (23), 23. Todd Kane (11), 24. Ed Carpenter (12). NT
2001 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (1), 2. Jay Drake (13), 3. Paul White (10), 4. Rich Tobias Jr. (14), 5. Tony Elliott (9), 6. Jason McCord (18), 7. Robbie Rice (17), 8. Russ Gamester (22), 9. Dave Steele (24), 10. Brian Tyler (23), 11. Aaron Fike (15), 12. Bud Kaeding (3), 13. Jac Haudenschild (8), 14. Roger Rager (16), 15. Bill Rose (20), 16. Ed Carpenter (4), 17. Eric Gordon (21), 18. Brad Noffsinger (2), 19. Tracy Hines (5), 20. Derek Davidson (6), 21. Todd Kane (7), 22. Kevin Huntley (11), 23. Jerry Coons Jr. (12), 24. John Heydenreich (19). NT
2002 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brian Tyler (5), 2. Jay Drake (1), 3. Tracy Hines (8), 4. Rich Tobias Jr. (18), 5. Matt Westfall (10), 6. Russ Gamester (3), 7. Nick Lundgreen (20), 8. Jason McCord (24), 9. John Heydenreich (12), 10. Rob Chaney (14), 11. Brad Noffsinger (11), 12. J.J. Yeley (13), 13. Dave Darland (19), 14. John Starks (25), 15. Terry Babb (21), 16. Derek Davidson (4), 17. Dave Steele (23), 18. Dickie Gaines (15), 19. Cory Kruseman (17), 20. Dane Carter (26), 21. Jonathan Vennard (22), 22. Tony Elliott (2), 23. Terry Pletch (16), 24. Aaron Fike (6), 25. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 26. Travis Rilat (9). NT
2003 FEATURE: Not Held
2004 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Darland (1), 2. Kevin Huntley (8), 3. Mike Brecht (22), 4. Rich Tobias Jr. (12), 5. Levi Jones (15), 6. Jon Stanbrough (6), 7. Rob Chaney (16), 8. Aaron Pierce (23), 9. Matt Westfall (19), 10. John Heydenreich (18), 11. Jay Drake (14), 12. Tony Elliott (20), 13. Bud Kaeding (11), 14. Dickie Gaines (13), 15. Paul White (10), 16. Dave Steele (17), 17. Nick Lundgreen (4), 18. Jerry Coons Jr. (5), 19. Jason McCord (25), 20. Shane Hollingsworth (21), 21. Davey Ray (24), 22. Brian Tyler (9), 23. Jac Haudenschild (2), 24. Boston Reid (7), 25. Tyler Walker (3). NT
2005 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Darland (2), 2. Mat Neely (13), 3. John Heydenreich (15), 4. Kevin Huntley (12), 5. Rob Chaney (8), 6. Jay Drake (9), 7. Josh Wise (1), 8. Rich Tobias Jr. (24), 9. Nick Lundgreen (18), 10. Dave Steele (19), 11. Ron Gregory (22), 12. Davey Ray (10), 13. Jon Stanbrough (4), 14. Brian Tyler (6), 15. Bud Kaeding (16), 16. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (21), 17. Levi Jones (3), 18. Paul White (20), 19. Cole Carter (17), 20. Dickie Gaines (11), 21. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 22. Bill Rose (14), 23. Tyler Walker (5), 24. Jimmy Stinson (23). NT
2006 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mat Neely (1), 2. Mike Brecht (10), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 4. Dave Darland (9), 5. Shane Cottle (8), 6. Dickie Gaines (20), 7. Bud Kaeding (7), 8. Levi Jones (14), 9. Jon Stanbrough (18), 10. Tracy Hines (16), 11. Ron Gregory (23), 12. Rob Chaney (15), 13. Aaron Pierce (21), 14. Dave Steele (17), 15. Johnny Parsons (24), 16. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (22), 17. Mitch Wissmiller (11), 18. Teddy Beach (19), 19. Josh Wise (12), 20. Jay Drake (6), 21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2), 22. Davey Ray (4), 23. Brian Tyler (5), 24.Paul White (13). 14:59.56
2007 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 2. Dave Darland (8), 3. Mat Neely (4), 4. Aaron Pierce (6), 5. Brian Tyler (5), 6. Billy Wease (11), 7. Kevin Huntley (12), 8. Paul White (10), 9. Levi Jones (2), 10. Dickie Gaines (14), 11. Bud Kaeding (3), 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (7), 13. Jon Stanbrough (15), 14. Shane Cottle (13), 15. Tim Barber (17), 16. Darren Hagen (18), 17. A.J. Fike (23), 18. Mike Murgoitio (24), 19. Chappy Knaack (19), 20. Mike Stroehle (22), 21. Wayne Reutimann Jr. (27), 22. Shane Hollingsworth (16), 23. Cameron Dodson (26), 24. Ron Gregory (25), 25. Jesse Hockett (9), 26. Russ Gamester (20), 27. John Heydenreich (21). NT
2008 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Darland (3), 2. Brian Tyler (6), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 4. Shane Cottle (8), 5. Levi Jones (5), 6. Kevin Huntley (11), 7. Shane Hollingsworth (13), 8. Bud Kaeding (4), 9. Jon Stanbrough (9), 10. Tracy Hines (2), 11. Mike Stroehle (12), 12. Mat Neely (10), 13. A.J. Fike (19), 14. Kevin Swindell (21), 15. Chad Boat (22), 16. Randy Bateman (24), 17. Bill Rose (23), 18. Chris Urish (20), 19. Dustin Morgan (16), 20. Patrick Bruns (17), 21. J.J. Yeley (18), 22. Kody Swanson (7), 23. Russ Gamester (15), 24. Derek Hagar (14). NT
2009 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Darland (4), 2. Shane Hmiel (6), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 4. Cole Whitt (8), 5. Josh Wise (7), 6. Shane Hollingsworth (13), 7. Brian Tyler (12), 8. Bud Kaeding (2), 9. Levi Jones (11), 10. Zach Daum (16), 11. Kody Swanson (23), 12. Randy Bateman (21), 13. A.J. Fike (18), 14. Von McGee (19), 15. Tracy Hines (5), 16. Justin Carver (17), 17. Jon Sciscoe (22), 18. Jon Stanbrough (9), 19. Russ Gamester (24), 20. Bill Rose (14), 21. Derek Hagar (1), 22. Mike Brecht (10), 23. Donnie Beechler (15), 24. Patrick Bruns (20). NT
2010 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bryan Clauson (2), 2. Dave Darland (3), 3. Levi Jones (1), 4. Shane Hmiel (4), 5. Todd Kane (13), 6. Bud Kaeding (6), 7. Jon Stanbrough (8), 8. Robert Ballou (16), 9. Shane Hollingsworth (14), 10. Brian Tyler (12), 11. Derek Hagar (15), 12. Kody Swanson (18), 13. Jeff Swindell (5), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 15. Bill Rose (19), 16. Bobby East (11), 17. Zach Daum (20), 18. Tracy Hines (21), 19. Randy Bateman (22), 20. A.J. Fike (26), 21. Kellen Conover (23), 22. Mike Hess (24), 23. Shane Cottle (9), 24. Russ Gamester (25), 25. Justin Carver (10), 26. Tanner Swanson (17). NT
2011 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (1), 2. Levi Jones (2), 3. Bryan Clauson (4), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 5. Tracy Hines (10), 6. Robert Ballou (13), 7. Tanner Swanson (22), 8. Bobby East (16), 9. Todd Kane (15), 10. Hunter Schuerenberg (8), 11. Kody Swanson (14), 12. Mike Hess (17), 13. Kellen Conover (18), 14. Derek Hagar (11), 15. Shane Cockrum (21), 16. Shane Hollingsworth (7), 17. Dave Darland (3), 18. Bud Kaeding (5), 19. Brian Tyler (9), 20. Jon Stanbrough (20), 21. Randy Bateman (23), 22. Russ Gamester (12), 23. Craig Dori (19). NT
2012 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bryan Clauson (2), 2. Robert Ballou (3), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (5), 4. Bobby East (1), 5. Bud Kaeding (6), 6. Tracy Hines (4), 7. Brian Tyler (9), 8. Shane Hollingsworth (11), 9. Kody Swanson (13), 10. Tanner Swanson (14), 11. Russ Gamester (10), 12. Rich Tobias Jr. (15), 13. Steve Adams (16), 14. Shane Cockrum (12), 15. Dave Darland (7), 16. Mitch Wissmiller (8). NT
2013 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (5), 2. Matt Westfall (4), 3. Shane Cockrum (10), 4. Taylor Ferns (13), 5. Dave Darland (9), 6. Bobby East (1), 7. Joe Liguori (12), 8. Kody Swanson (7), 9. Tracy Hines (2), 10. Patrick Lawson (15), 11. Jarett Andretti (14), 12. Jerry Nemire (17), 13. Robert Ballou (20), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 15. Christopher Bell (3), 16. Tad Roach (19), 17. John Hunt (16), 18. Kellen Conover (18), 19. Mitch Wissmiller (8), 20. Chris Urish (11). NT
2014 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 2. Chris Windom (5), 3. Tracy Hines (4), 4. Shane Cockrum (10), 5. Bobby East (3), 6. Bryan Clauson (6), 7. Aaron Pierce (8), 8. Jacob Wilson (12), 9. Kody Swanson (2), 10. Russ Gamester (17), 11. Caleb Armstrong (9), 12. C.J. Leary (7), 13. Patrick Lawson (15), 14. Christopher Bell (16), 15. Davey Ray (11), 16. Jack Hewitt (14), 17. Robert Ballou (13). NT
2015 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Christopher Bell (1), 2. Kody Swanson (2), 3. Chris Windom (4), 4. Shane Cottle (8), 5. Brady Bacon (3), 6. Justin Grant (9), 7. Shane Cockrum (6), 8. C.J. Leary (7), 9. Steve Buckwalter (13), 10. Jerry Coons Jr. (5), 11. A.J. Fike (15), 12. David Byrne (17), 13. Dallas Hewitt (20), 14. Chase Stockon (12), 15. Aaron Pierce (11), 16. Austin Nemire (16), 17. Tanner Thorson (19), 18. Dave Darland (10), 19. Chris Fetter (18), 20. Terry Babb (14). 25:00.532
2016 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (2), 2. Justin Grant (7), 3. Tyler Courtney (1), 4. Brady Bacon (5), 5. Kody Swanson (4), 6. Jeff Swindell (3), 7. Dave Darland (6), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (9), 9. Shane Cottle (22), 10. Bill Rose (11), 11. Chris Fetter (12), 12. Aaron Pierce (17), 13. Steve Buckwalter (8), 14. Joe Liguori (18), 15. Dakota Jackson (19), 16. Austin Nemire (13), 17. David Byrne (15), 18. Davey Ray (10), 19. Mitch Wissmiller (21), 20. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (20), 21. Dave Berkheimer (23), 22. C.J. Leary (16), 23. Casey Shuman (14). 34:40.811
2017 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (2), 2. Chris Windom (6), 3. Shane Cottle (8), 4. Dave Darland (7), 5. Brady Bacon (18), 6. Justin Grant (9), 7. Hunter Schuerenberg (5), 8. David Byrne (4), 9. Robert Ballou (11), 10. Jerry Coons Jr. (10), 11. Matt Goodnight (17), 12. Steve Buckwalter (16), 13. Joe Liguori (13), 14. Dakota Jackson (14), 15. Joss Moffatt (21), 16. Austin Nemire (22), 17. Mark Smith (12), 18. Chris Fetter (20), 19. C.J. Leary (3), 20. Kody Swanson (1), 21. Aaron Pierce (15), 22. Johnny Petrozelle (19). NT
2018 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (8), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 3. Shane Cottle (1), 4. Jason McDougal (7), 5. Kody Swanson (5), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 7. Justin Grant (12), 8. Brady Bacon (4), 9. Kyle Robbins (11), 10. Jacob Wilson (16), 11. Austin Nemire (15), 12. Bill Rose (20), 13. Steve Buckwalter (19), 14. Matt Goodnight (9), 15. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 16. Dave Darland (23), 17. Travis Welpott (14), 18. Chris Fetter (18), 19. Dave Berkheimer (21), 20. Aaron Pierce (22), 21. Tyler Courtney (6), 22. Chris Windom (3), 23. David Byrne (13). NT
2019 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (4), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (1), 3. Justin Grant (5), 4. Kody Swanson (3), 5. Shane Cottle (24), 6. Chris Windom (6), 7. Matt Westfall (27), 8. C.J. Leary (10), 9. Matt Goodnight (25), 10. Eric Gordon (19), 11. Chad Kemenah (7), 12. Jimmy Light (14), 13. Ronnie Wuerdeman (9), 14. Kyle Robbins (8), 15. David Byrne (13), 16. Bill Rose (16), 17. Mike Haggenbottom (21), 18. Travis Welpott (12), 19. Austin Mundie (18), 20. Terry Babb (22), 21. Austin Nemire (20), 22. Dave Berkheimer (26), 23. Jason McDougal (2), 24. Tyler Courtney (11), 25. Dallas Hewitt (17), 26. Steve Buckwalter (15), 27. John Heydenreich (23). 23:29.46
2020: Not Held
DOUBLE E: TWO-STRAIGHT NIGHTS
OF USAC MIDGETS AT ELDORA FRI. & SAT.
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Rossburg, Ohio (September 22, 2021)………For the first 38 years of the 4-Crown Nationals, we have been treated to competition unlike you'll find anyplace else as a full field of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets attack the half-mile dirt oval of Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
A massive swarm of two, three and four-wide on the banks is enough to make you hold your breath for the entire 25-lap distance and provides all of us a one-of-a-kind thrill each year.
Now, you can make that two-of-a-kind.
Two programs over two nights are set for the midgets this Friday and Saturday night, September 24-25, at Eldora with a slight twist in the format for the 39th running of the 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV.
Friday's midget program will utilize the traditional format of single-car qualifying, followed by heat races, semi-feature (if needed) and a 25-lap feature event paying $4,000-to-win, with the starting lineup based on qualifying results and heat race winners, as standard.
The format for Saturday's midget event will not include qualifying. Instead, heat race lineups will be based on the finishing order of Friday's event. Friday night's feature winner will receive the one seed with the second-place finisher getting the second seed, and so on. For Saturday, those seeds, in essence, will act as the official qualifying time.
The number one seed will line up in the 6th position of Saturday's heat race one and the number two seed will line up in the 6th position of heat race two, and so forth. From there on, the "traditional" USAC format for a three heat race format will take over with the top-five transferring/getting their qualifying time back from each of the three heat races, etc.
The fastest top-six "seeds" who transfer through the heats will occupy the first three rows of Saturday's feature, followed by heat race winners, then the balance of the field based on their seeds, to set the starting lineup for the 25-lap finale paying $6,000-to-win.
Furthermore, Friday will be a full points event, awarding points for qualifying, heats and the feature event. Saturday's event will pay points for the feature only.
Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.) enters as the winner of the last two 4-Crown USAC National Midget events in 2018 and 2019. The 2019 series champ can become the first driver to win three consecutive USAC National Midget features at Eldora. Only Rich Vogler (1985-86) and Kyle Larson (2011-12) have won two-in-a-row at the 4-Crown before him.
Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) is the most recent driver not named Tyler Courtney to win a midget race at the 4-Crown, scoring the victory during his USAC National Midget championship season of 2017. He was also 7th in his Rookie year of 2015. He'll pilot a second CB Industries car as a teammate to 2020 series champ Chris Windom.
Windom (Canton, Ill.) finished a best of 6th in his last midget go at Eldora. Windom has won the USAC Sprint (2013) and USAC Silver Crown (2013 & 2016) portions of the 4-Crown before but will try to become the sixth driver to win all three USAC open wheel classes at the 4-Crown in his career, which has only previously been done by Courtney, Jack Hewitt, Dave Darland, Jerry Coons Jr. and Kyle Larson.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) finished as the runner-up in the 4-Crown midget feature of 2018 and was 7th in 2019. Grant was the 2016 4-Crown feature victor with the USAC National Sprint Cars.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) won his first USAC National Sprint Car feature ever at the 4-Crown in 2015. He'll try to add a midget score to the tally as he makes his first Eldora midget appearance since that same year six years ago when he finished 9th. He was also a 10th place midget finisher in 2012.
Looking for his first Eldora win of any kind is Kevin Thomas Jr., a top-five finisher in each of the last three midget appearances at the 4-Crown. The 2014 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year from Cullman, Ala. took a best of 4th in 2018 and was 5th in both 2015 and 2019.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) has notched seven victories on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship tour in 2021. One of those he'd like to add to the resume is Eldora where he's finished inside the top-10 in all five of his previous starts. The 2016 series champ was a best of 2nd at Eldora that same year, and was also 4th in 2015, 5th in 2017, 6th in 2013 and 10th in 2019.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) has been lightning-quick in his only USAC National Midget appearances at Eldora, finishing 3rd during his championship season of 2018 and was 3rd again in 2019.
For many drivers, however, this will be their first jaunt to Eldora in a midget. For series point leader Buddy Kofoid, this isn't exactly his first go-around at Eldora or at the 4-Crown. In 2019, the Penngrove, California driver finished 4th in the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car feature event at the 4-Crown.
A trio of USAC National Midget feature winners will be making their first stops at the Big E this weekend, including two-time 2021 winners Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) and Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.). Bixby, Oklahoma's Cannon McIntosh, owner of three career USAC National Midget wins, will test the high banks for the initial time.
Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), in her second year with the series, will tackle Eldora for the first time as will leading Rookie of the Year candidate Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), who is on his way to the 4-Crown along with fellow series first-timers Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas), Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), three-time 2021 USAC Midwest Regional Midget winner Chance Crum, Austin Barnhill (Wilmington, N.C.), Greg Mitchell (Parkersburg, W.Va.) and Kyle Simon (Covington, Ohio), who finished 5th in his first and only career series start back in 2020 at the Southern Illinois Center.
This will be the 52nd and 53rd USAC National Midget events held at Eldora since Bob Wente's victory in 1964. While this will mark the first instance of back-to-back nights of midget racing at the 4-Crown, series events have been held on consecutive days at Eldora just once before. It happened for the first and only time 20 years ago in 2001 during the Buckeye Nationals with Jay Drake and Dave Darland taking the wins.
On Friday, it's a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus USAC Silver Crown qualifying and a full program for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. Stands open at 2pm Eastern with the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On Saturday, it's full programs for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, USAC Silver Crown and the All Star Circuit of Champions. Spectator gates open at Noon Eastern with a driver autograph session scheduled from 3-4 pm in the Fan Zone, followed by the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On both nights at Eldora, general admission tickets are $34 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $39 for adults and $9 for ages 12 and under.
The USAC portions for this weekend's events from Gas City and Eldora can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 9/25/2004 - Mike Hess - 15.801 - 113.917 mph
3 Laps - 8/24/1969 - Jimmy Caruthers - 59.070 - 91.417 mph
4 Laps - 6/20/1976 - Sleepy Tripp - 1:19.58 - 90.475 mph
6 Laps - 9/25/1999 - Dean Franklin - 1:47.87 - 100.121 mph
8 Laps - 9/24/2016 - Rico Abreu - 2:08.94 - 111.680 mph
10 Laps - 9/22/2001 - Donnie Lehmann - 2:53.76 - 103.591 mph
12 Laps - 9/22/2007 - Danny Stratton - 3:28.13 - 103.781 mph
20 Laps - 10/11/1981 - Ken Schrader - 6:26.50 - 93.144 mph
25 Laps - 9/30/2000 - Kasey Kahne - 7:05.68 - 105.713 mph
40 Laps - 8/29/1964 - Bobby Marshman - 12:57.71 - 92.579 mph
4-CROWN USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE WINS:
4-Rich Vogler
3-Jack Hewitt
2-Rico Abreu, Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland, Jay Drake, Tracy Hines, Kyle Larson, Johnny Parsons & J.J. Yeley
1-Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Bryan Clauson, Jerry Coons Jr., Robby Flock, Stan Fox, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Steve Knepper, Ken Schrader, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tony Stewart, Danny Stratton & Brad Sweet
4-CROWN USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS:
1981: Ken Schrader (10/11)
1982: Rich Vogler (10/3)
1983: Johnny Parsons (9/25)
1984: Rained Out
1985: Rich Vogler (10/6)
1986: Rich Vogler (9/28)
1987: Jack Hewitt (9/27)
1988: Rich Vogler (9/25)
1989: Robby Flock (9/24)
1990: Stan Fox (9/30)
1991: Jeff Gordon (9/22)
1992: Johnny Parsons (10/4)
1993: Jack Hewitt (10/3)
1994: Steve Knepper (9/25)
1995: Tony Stewart (9/23)
1996: Tracy Hines (9/28)
1997: Jay Drake (9/20)
1998: Jack Hewitt (9/26)
1999: Dave Darland (9/25)
2000: Kasey Kahne (9/30)
2001: J.J. Yeley (9/22)
2002: Jay Drake (9/21)
2003: Not Held
2004: Dave Darland (9/25)
2005: Danny Stratton (9/24)
2006: Tracy Hines (9/23)
2007: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (9/22)
2008: J.J. Yeley (9/20)
2009: Brad Sweet (9/26)
2010: Jerry Coons, Jr. (9/25)
2011: Kyle Larson (9/24)
2012: Kyle Larson (9/22)
2013: Rico Abreu (9/21)
2014: Bryan Clauson (9/21)
2015: Christopher Bell (9/26)
2016: Rico Abreu (9/24)
2017: Spencer Bayston (9/23)
2018: Tyler Courtney (9/22)
2019: Tyler Courtney (9/28)
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE WINS AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY:
5-Dave Darland & Rich Vogler
3-J.J. Yeley, Jack Hewitt & Jay Drake
2-Johnny Parsons, Ken Schrader, Kyle Larson, Rico Abreu, Tracy Hines & Tyler Courtney
1-Bob Wente, Bobby East, Bobby Marshman, Brad Sweet, Bryan Clauson, Bubby Jones, Christopher Bell, Dana Carter, Danny Stratton, Jeff Gordon, Jerry Coons, Jr., Joe Saldana, Kasey Kahne, Mel Kenyon, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Robby Flock, Spencer Bayston, Stan Fox, Steve Knepper & Tony Stewart
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY:
1964: Bob Wente (6/13) & Bobby Marshman (8/29)
1969: Mel Kenyon (8/24)
1976: Dana Carter (6/20)
1977: Bubby Jones (6/19)
1979: Rich Vogler (4/29) & Joe Saldana (8/25)
1981: Ken Schrader (10/11)
1982: Rich Vogler (10/3)
1983: Ken Schrader (6/4) & Johnny Parsons (9/25)
1985: Rich Vogler (10/6)
1986: Rich Vogler (9/28)
1987: Jack Hewitt (9/27)
1988: Rich Vogler (9/25)
1989: Robby Flock (9/24)
1990: Stan Fox (9/30)
1991: Jeff Gordon (9/22)
1992: Johnny Parsons (10/4)
1993: Jack Hewitt (10/3)
1994: Steve Knepper (9/25)
1995: Tony Stewart (9/23)
1996: Tracy Hines (9/28)
1997: Jay Drake (9/20)
1998: Jack Hewitt (9/26)
1999: Dave Darland (9/25)
2000: Kasey Kahne (9/30)
2001: Jay Drake (6/22), Dave Darland (6/23) & J.J. Yeley (9/22)
2002: J.J. Yeley (6/22) & Jay Drake (9/21)
2003: Dave Darland (6/21)
2004: Bobby East (6/19) & Dave Darland (9/25)
2005: Dave Darland (6/18) & Danny Stratton (9/24)
2006: Tracy Hines (9/23)
2007: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (9/22)
2008: J.J. Yeley (9/20)
2009: Brad Sweet (9/26)
2010: Jerry Coons, Jr. (9/25)
2011: Kyle Larson (9/24)
2012: Kyle Larson (9/22)
2013: Rico Abreu (9/21)
2014: Bryan Clauson (9/21)
2015: Christopher Bell (9/26)
2016: Rico Abreu (9/24)
2017: Spencer Bayston (9/23)
2018: Tyler Courtney (9/22)
2019: Tyler Courtney (9/28)
PAST 4-CROWN NATIONALS RESULTS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY:
1981 FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Ken Schrader, 2. Bob Cicconi, 3. Sherwin Armstrong, 4. Mel Kenyon, 5. Eddie Leavitt, 6. Tom Bigelow, 7. Joe Saldana, 8. Kevin Olson, 9. Steve Cannon, 10. Jerry Nuckles, 11. Warren Mockler, 12. Jerry Weeks, 13. Sherman Armstrong Jr., 14. Steve Lotshaw, 15. Joe Roush, 16. Jeff Nuckles, 17. Dave Keith, 18. Mack McClellan, 19. Larry Rice.
1982 FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. Ken Schrader, 3. Ron Shuman, 4. Tom Bigelow, 5. Larry Rice, 6. Jeff Nuckles, 7. Kevin Olson, 8. Billy Engelhart, 9. Steve Knepper, 10. Smokey Snellbaker, 11. Danny Milburn, 12. Dana Carter, 13. Jimmy White, 14. Ken Hopkins, 15. Dean Billings, 16. Steve Kinser, 17. Alan Brown, 18. Mel Kenyon.
1983 FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Johnny Parsons, 2. Rich Vogler, 3. Mel Kenyon, 4. Tom Bigelow, 5. Larry Rice, 6. Ken Schrader, 7. Steve Knepper, 8. Jerry Nuckles, 9. Steve Cannon, 10. Stan Fox, 11. Jeff Nuckles, 12. Paul Clark, 13. Sam Isenhower, 14. Kenneth Nichols, 15. Warren Mockler, 16. Alan Brown, 17. John Andretti, 18. Mack McClellan, 19. Bob Cicconi, 20. John Batts, 21. Dick Pole, 22. Roy Caruthers. 15:01.08
1984 FEATURE: Rained Out
1985 FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. Mel Kenyon, 3. Tom Bigelow, 4. Steve Knepper, 5. Paul Clark, 6. Larry Rice, 7. Kevin Doty, 8. Bob Cicconi, 9. Mark Alderson, 10. John Andretti, 11. Sam Isenhower, 12. Don Tyler, 13. Larry Hillerud, 14. Dave Ray, 15. Kenneth Nichols, 16. Jerry Russell, 17. Jim Hines, 18. Dean Billings, 19. Roy Caruthers, 20. Kurt Mayhew, 21. Pepi Marchese, 22. Jim Bradford, 23. Ric Burdine, 24. Lars Lein. NT
1986 FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. Tom Bigelow, 3. Mel Kenyon, 4. Steve Enlow, 5. Kevin Doty, 6. Ronnie Burke, 7. Terry Wente, 8. Warren Mockler, 9. Steve Lotshaw, 10. Russ Gamester, 11. Dave Ray, 12. Roy Caruthers, 13. Todd Holderfield, 14. Jim Bradford, 15. Nick Kruse, 16. Don Schilling, 17. Michael Lang, 18. Merrill Calvert, 19. Jack Hewitt, 20. Don Tyler, 21. Jerry Weeks, 22. Kurt Mayhew, 23. Paul Clark, 24. Kenneth Nichols.
1987 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Kevin Olson, 3. Steve Knepper, 4. Jerry Russell, 5. Mike Streicher, 6. Mel Kenyon, 7. Danny Frye Jr., 8. Terry Wente, 9. Dan Boorse, 10. Lou Cicconi Jr., 11. Paul Rochelle, 12. Sam Isenhower, 13. Stevie Reeves, 14. Jim Hines, 15. Ron Glidden, 16. George Wilkins, 17. Ted Hines, 18. Harry McConnell, 19. Rich Vogler, 20. Kevin Huntley, 21. John Heydenreich, 22. Ronnie Burke, 23. Steve Butler, 24. Roger McCluskey Jr.
1988 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. John Heydenreich, 3. Mel Kenyon, 4. Dan Boorse, 5. Kevin Olson, 6. Terry Wente, 7. Dean Billings, 8. Ronnie Burke, 9. Harry McConnell, 10. Ron Glidden, 11. Joe Roush, 12. Lou Cicconi Jr., 13. Jim Hines, 14. Bob Cicconi, 15. Brett Mowrey, 16. Ron Dunstan, 17. Kurt Mayhew, 18. Gary Halteman, 19. Jim Bradford, 20. Roger McCluskey Jr., 21. Stan Fox, 22. Donnie Lehmann, 23. Warren Halligan, 24. Tony Elliott.
1989 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Robby Flock, 2. Rich Vogler, 3. Steve Knepper, 4. Russ Gamester, 5. Kevin Olson, 6. Mike Streicher, 7. Harry McConnell, 8. Mel Kenyon, 9. Dean Billings, 10. Roger McCluskey Jr., 11. Dean Erfurth, 12. Ted Hines, 13. Terry Wente, 14. Kurt Mayhew, 15. Donnie Adams, 16. Steve Parkes, 17. Doug Wright, 18. Daryl Campbell, 19. Ric Burdine, 20. Brett Pool, 21. John Heydenreich, 22. Johnny Parsons, 23. Kenneth Nichols, 24. Stan Fox.
1990 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Stan Fox, 2. Johnny Parsons, 3. Steve Knepper, 4. Kevin Olson, 5. Tony Elliott, 6. Daryl Campbell, 7. John Heydenreich, 8. Ron Glidden, 9. Ted Hines, 10. Harry McConnell, 11. John Meyers, 12. Mel Kenyon, 13. Larry Rice, 14. Dean Billings, 15. Tyce Carlson, 16. Mike Streicher, 17. Stevie Reeves, 18. Roy Caruthers, 19. Jeff Gordon, 20. Rick Hood, 21. Jack Hewitt, 22. Russ Gamester. (Race winner Wally Pankratz's car failed to pass the post-race fuel check and was disqualified). NT
1991 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Jeff Gordon, 2. Jimmy Sills, 3. John Heydenreich, 4. Stan Fox, 5. Stevie Reeves, 6. Kevin Doty, 7. Chuck Gurney, 8. Johnny Parsons, 9. Mike Streicher, 10. Jack Hewitt, 11. Doug Kalitta, 12. Terry Wente, 13. Robbie Stanley, 14. Ron Glidden, 15. Greg Vernetti, 16. Russ Gamester, 17. Steve Knepper, 18. Tony Elliott, 19. Wally Pankratz, 20. Donnie Beechler, 21. Dan Boorse, 22. Roy Caruthers, 23. Dave Strickland, Jr., 24. Don Tyler. NT
1992 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Johnny Parsons, 2. Kevin Doty, 3. Steve Knepper, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Donnie Beechler, 6. Jack Hewitt, 7. Stan Fox, 8. Mike Streicher, 9. Eric Gordon, 10. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 11. Stevie Reeves, 12. Andy Pierce, 13. Brent Kaeding, 14. Dan Boorse, 15. John Heydenreich, 16. Ted Hines, 17. Brian Gerster, 18. Chip Thomas, 19. Jimmy McCune, 20. Tyce Carlson, 21. Ken Rice, 22. Nick Kruse, 23. Jimmy Sills, 24. Donnie Lehmann. 7:41.23
1993 FEATURE: (25 laps-Held Oct. 3) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Page Jones, 3. Stevie Reeves, 4. Tony Stewart, 5. Stan Fox, 6. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Mike Bliss, 9. Tyce Carlson, 10. Chuck Leary, 11. Andy Michner, 12. Johnny Parsons, 13. Brian Gerster, 14. Dale Ballinger, 15. John Heydenreich, 16. Jack Runyon, 17. Kenneth Nichols, 18. Tracy Hines, 19. Dan Drinan, 20. Steve Barth, 21. Randy Koch. NT
1994 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Steve Knepper, 2. Stan Fox, 3. Donnie Beechler, 4. Page Jones, 5. Tony Stewart, 6. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 7. Robby Flock, 8. John Heydenreich, 9. Tony Elliott, 10. Dean Billings, 11. Steve Barth, 12. Brian Gerster, 13. Jeff Sands, 14. Tracy Hines, 15. Dan Drinan, 16. Andy Pierce/Andy Michner, 17. David Bridges, 18. Kevin Doty, 19. Roger McCluskey, 20. Jack Hewitt, 21. Tyce Carlson, 22. Andy Michner. NT
1995 FEATURE: (25 laps - Held Sept. 23) 1. Tony Stewart, 2. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 3. Steve Knepper, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Robby Flock, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Johnny Parsons, 8. Ted Hines, 9. Nate Law, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Jack Runyon, 12. Ronnie Johncox, 13. Randy Roberts, 14. Chuck Leary, 15. Brian Gerster, 16. Kevin Doty, 17. Andy Michner, 18. Ryan Newman, 19. Jeff Hunt, 20. Cory Kruseman, 21. Donnie Beechler, 22. Jay Drake. NT
1996 FEATURE: (25 laps-Held Sept. 28) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Cory Kruseman, 3. Ted Hines, 4. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 5. Carl Olsen, 6. Doug Kalitta, 7. Kenneth Nichols, 8. Walt Stearly, 9. Donnie Lehmann, 10. Dan Drinan, 11. Russ Gamester, 12. Jack Hewitt, 13. Jeff Sands, 14. Kevin Doty, 15. Nate Law, 16. Tony Elliott, 17. Jason Leffler, 18. Steve Barth, 19. Dean Erfurth, 20. Ryan Newman, 21. Roger McCluskey Jr., 22. Steve Knepper. NT
1997 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Tony Stewart, 3. Jason Leffler, 4. Jack Hewitt, 5. Robby Flock, 6. Tony Elliott, 7. Derek Davidson, 8. Ted Hines, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Jeff Sands, 11. Kevin Thomas, 12. Andy Michner, 13. Donnie Lehmann, 14. David Bridges, 15. Mark Freeland, 16. Brian Gerster, 17. Dan Drinan, 18. Tim Dietz, 19. J.J. Yeley, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. Kevin Doty, 22. Dave Darland. NT
1998 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Jay Drake, 6. Jimmy Sills, 7. Brian Tyler, 8. Jason Leffler, 9. Jerry Coons, Jr., 10. Matt Westfall, 11. John Heydenreich, 12. Bill Baue, 13. Robby Flock, 14. Clay Klepper, 15. Chuck Leary, 16. Mark Freeland, 17. Jerry Nemire, 18. Kevin Myers, 19. Derek Davidson, 20. Ted Hines, 21. Ricky Shelton, 22. J.J. Yeley. NT
1999 FEATURE: (25 Laps-Held Sept. 25) 1. Dave Darland, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Jay Drake, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Tony Elliott, 6. Jerry Coons, Jr., 7. Clay Klepper, 8. Jack Hewitt, 9. Mark Freeland, 10. Donnie Lehmann, 11. Kevin Doty, 12. A.J. Fike, 13. Steve Knepper, 14. Rick Treadway, 15. Michael Lewis, 16. Jason Lynch, 17. Ted Hines, 18. A.J. Felker (MCI), 19. Mike Hess, 20. Ed Carpenter, 21. Travis Welpott, 22. Wayne Chinn, 23. John Nervo, 24. Dean Franklin. NT
2000 FEATURE: (25 laps - Held September 30) 1. Kasey Kahne, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Jay Drake, 5. Michael Lewis, 6. Jeff Flesher, 7. Kevin Doty, 8. Tony Elliott, 9. A.J. Fike, 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 11. Sarah McCune, 12. Dean Franklin, 13. Donnie Lehmann, 14. Aaron Fike, 15. Ryan Scott, 16. Scott Hatton, 17. Matt Westfall, 18. Travis Welpott, 19. Tony Beaber, 20. John Nervo, 21. Dean Erfurth, 22. Clay Klepper. 7:05.68
2001 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Steve Paden, 4. Aaron Fike, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Jerry Coons, Jr., 7. Steve Knepper, 8. Donnie Lehmann, 9. Brian Gerster, 10. A.J. Fike, 11. John Nervo, 12. Craig Carey, 13. Mike Hess, 14. Mark Freeland, 15. Travis Welpott, 16. Bill Baue, 17. Jerry Nemire, 18. Tracy Hines, 19. Ryan Scott, 20. Jay Drake, 21. Wayne Chinn, 22. Tony Elliott. 7:07.53
2002 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Jay Drake, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Bobby East, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Ryan Scott, 8. Cory Kruseman, 9. Aaron Fike, 10. Bud Kaeding, 11. Nick Lundgreen, 12. Don Droud, Jr., 13. Ed Stimely, Jr., 14. Matt Brun, 15. Tom Hessert, 16. Mark Freeland, 17. Marc Dailey, 18. Steve Paden, 19. John Heydenreich, 20. Cole Carter, 21. Ron Gregory, 22. A.J. Fike, 23. Teddy Beach. 7:59.85
2003 FEATURE: Not Held
2004 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Bobby East, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Davey Ray, 6. Brian Gerster, 7. Todd Beach, 8. Mike Hess, 9. Tom Hessert, 10. A.J. Fike, 11. Travis Miniea, 12. Nick Lundgreen, 13. Brad Kuhn, 14. Billy Wood, 15. Cole Carter, 16. Craig Carey, 17. Jay Drake, 18. Shane Hollingsworth, 19. Josh Wise, 20. Sammy Swindell, 21. Matt Brun. NT
2005 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Danny Stratton, 2. Josh Wise, 3. Davey Ray, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Jay Drake, 7. Johnny Rodriguez, 8. Bryan Clauson, 9. Tom Hessert III, 10. Brad Kuhn, 11. Travis Miniea, 12. Jon Stanbrough, 13. Cole Carter, 14. Ron Gregory, 15. Brett Anderson, 16. Bill Rose, 17. Brad Loyet, 18. Dane Carter, 19. Thomas Briggs, 20. Levi Jones, 21. Eric Wilkins, 22. Jerry Coons Jr. NT
2006 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Adam Clarke, 3. Darren Hagen, 4. Davey Ray, 5. Jerry Coons, Jr., 6. Josh Wise, 7. Danny Stratton, 8. Brad Mosen, 9. Jon Stanbrough, 10. Brady Bacon, 11. Jay Drake, 12. Brad Loyet, 13. Dustin Morgan, 14. Michael Pickens, 15. Leon Bacon, 16. Teddy Beach, 17. Tom Hessert III, 18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 19. Shane Hollingsworth, 20. Levi Jones, 21. Shane Cottle, 22. J.J. Yeley, 23. Don Droud, Jr. NT
2007 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2. Brad Loyet, 3. Kevin Swindell, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Shane Hollingsworth, 6. Matt Mitchell, 7. Davey Ray, 8. Cole Whitt, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Danny Stratton, 11. Brad Mosen, 12. Dustin Morgan, 13. Chris Windom, 14. Bobby East, 15. Darren Hagen, 16. Don Droud Jr., 17. Brady Bacon, 18. Russ Harper, 19. Jerry Coons Jr., 20. Ryan Smith, 21. Gary Taylor, 22. Brad Sweet, 23. Brad Kuhn, 24. Michael Pickens. NT
2008 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Brad Sweet, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Cole Whitt, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Mike Hess, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Brad Loyet, 10. Darren Hagen, 11. Cole Carter, 12. Chris Windom, 13. Shane Hollingsworth, 14. Dustin Morgan, 15. Dakoda Armstrong, 16. Gary Altig, 17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 18. Chad Boat, 19. Brad Kuhn, 20. Jonathan Hendrick, 21. Tracy Hines, 22. Steve Buckwalter. NT
2009 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Brad Sweet, 2. Brad Kuhn, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Cole Whitt, 8. Zach Daum, 9. Henry Clarke, 10. Bobby East, 11. Dakoda Armstrong, 12. Caleb Armstrong, 13. Cale Conley, 14. Chase Barber, 15. Jonathan Hendrick, 16. Chad Boat, 17. Shane Hollingsworth, 18. Critter Malone, 19. Tracy Hines, 20. Josh Wise, 21. Shane Hmiel. NT
2010 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Brad Kuhn, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Bobby East, 6. Darren Hagen, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Matt Westfall, 9. Jonathan Hendrick, 10. Zach Daum, 11. Levi Roberts, 12. Henry Clarke, 13. Bob Shreffler, 14. Chase Barber, 15. Shane Hmiel, 16. Levi Jones, 17. Craig Heathcote. NT
2011 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Kyle Larson, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Darren Hagen, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Bobby East, 7. Brad Kuhn, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Tanner Swanson, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Zach Daum, 12. Mario Clouser, 13. Kody Swanson, 14. Chase Barber, 15. Dalton Armstrong, 16. Bob Shreffler, 17. Caleb Armstrong, 18. Brent Beauchamp, 19. Matt Westfall. NT
2012 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Kyle Larson, 2. Brad Kuhn, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Bobby East, 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Rico Abreu, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Davey Ray, 10. Thomas Meseraull, 11. Taylor Ferns, 12. Dalton Armstrong, 13. Chase Barber, 14. Chris Windom, 15. Tracy Hines, 16. Dave Darland. NT
2013 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Rico Abreu, 2. Christopher Bell, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Bobby East, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Alex Bright, 9. Darren Hagen, 10. Caleb Armstrong, 11. Taylor Ferns, 12. Shane Cockrum, 13. Stratton Briggs, 14. Dalton Armstrong, 15. Chris Windom, 16. Brady Bacon, 17. Bryan Clauson, 18. Kellen Conover. NT
2014 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Christopher Bell, 3. Darren Hagen, 4. Zach Daum, 5. Shane Cockrum, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Isaac Chapple, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Steven Drevicki, 10. Parker Price-Miller, 11. Rico Abreu, 12. Tanner Thorson, 13. Chris Windom. NT
2015 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Rico Abreu, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Steven Drevicki, 7. Spencer Bayston, 8. Tony DiMattia, 9. Thomas Meseraull, 10. Ryan Greth, 11. Tyler Thomas, 12. Brady Bacon, 13. Austin Nemire, 14. Isaac Chapple, 15. Davey Ray, 16. Todd Wills, 17. Bryan Clauson, 18. Robert Bell, 19. Kevin Wills, 20. Steve Buckwalter. NT
2016 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Rico Abreu, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Chad Boat, 5. Holly Shelton, 6. Davey Ray, 7. Carson Macedo, 8. Ryan Robinson, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Dave Darland, 11. Andrew Felker, 12. Justin Grant, 13. Jake Neuman, 14. Isaac Chapple, 15. Jake Blackhurst, 16. Bear Wood, 17. Robert Bell, 18. Tyler Courtney, 19. Eric Hein, 20. Gary Gipson, 21. Ryan Greth, 22. Spencer Bayston, 23. Steve Buckwalter. NT
2017 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Shane Golobic, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Tanner Thorson, 6. Holly Shelton, 7. Chad Boat, 8. Tanner Carrick, 9. Tyler Thomas, 10. Alex Bright, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Brayton Lynch, 13. Adam Pierson, 14. Bear Wood, 15. Chase Jones, 16. Justin Grant, 17. Tyler Courtney. NT
2018 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Tanner Carrick, 6. Holly Shelton, 7. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 8. Ryan Robinson, 9. Jason McDougal, 10. Brady Bacon, 11. Hank Davis, 12. Sam Johnson, 13. Chad Boat, 14. Zane Hendricks, 15. Chase Jones, 16. Alex Bright, 17. Andrew Layser, 18. Jerry Coons Jr., 19. Chris Windom, 20. Spencer Bayston, 21. Zeb Wise. NT
2019 FEATURE: (25 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. Tanner Carrick (2), 3. Logan Seavey (3), 4. Rico Abreu (5), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 6. Chris Windom (9), 7. Justin Grant (10), 8. Zeb Wise (8), 9. Tucker Klaasmeyer (18), 10. Tanner Thorson (7), 11. Chad Boat (11), 12. Holley Hollan (17), 13. Dave Darland (14), 14. Jesse Colwell (13), 15. Karsyn Elledge (19), 16. Andrew Layser (16), 17. Sam Johnson (15), 18. Jerry Coons, Jr. (1), 19. Jason McDougal (12). NT
2020 FEATURE: Not Held
TYLER ON BRINK OF 200TH START SATURDAY AT ELDORA: USAC SILVER CROWN STAT BOOK
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Rossburg, Ohio (September 21, 2021)………Few racers have reached the 100 start mark with the USAC Silver Crown National Championship. Even fewer have reached 200 starts in their career.
If all goes according to plan, Brian Tyler will reach his 200th career series start this Saturday night, September 25, during the 39th running of the 4-Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, joining Dave Darland (201) and Russ Gamester (200) as the only other drivers to have reached the mark.
Tyler also enters as the most recent series winner, taking the victory in his 199th career start at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois on September 6.
By winning in his 199th USAC Silver Crown start, Tyler became the most experienced driver to win a race in the series' 51-year history, not only in terms of age, but also in career starts at the time of his victory. Tyler broke his own record for winning the deepest into his Silver Crown career.
The Parma, Mich. Native previously won in his 170th start at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2011. In fact, nine of Tyler's victories came in his first 100 starts and nine more have come in his second 100, illustrating how he's been at the top of the game consistently throughout his career with the series, which dates back to 1990.
After celebrating 100 starts, Tyler also won at the Illinois State Fairgrounds during start 109 in 2005; start 113 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway in 2006; start 119 at Indiana's O'Reilly Raceway Park in 2006; start 130 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in 2007; start 144 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2007; start 145 at Du Quoin in 2008; start 150 at Richmond in 2009; and start 153 at New York's Oswego Speedway in 2009.
Dave Darland, the 1997 series champ, owns the second most wins after his 100th start, trailing only Tyler. Subsequent victories have come at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2003 (start 107); the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2004 (114); Eldora in 2004 (124); Eldora in 2005 (132); Indiana's Terre Haute Action Track in 2008 (147); Eldora in 2008 (152) and Eldora again in 2009 (157).
A series champion in 1999, Tracy Hines captured victories in start 101 at Du Quoin in 2005; start 103 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2006; start 104 at Du Quoin in 2006; start 107 at Homestead in 2007; start 129 at Lucas Oil Raceway in 2001; and start 155 at the Belleville High Banks in Kansas during the 2013 season.
Five-time champion and current point leader Kody Swanson's win tallying continues to grow with five of his record 33 wins coming after start 100. Now at 115 starts, Swanson won his 100th start on the dot at Indiana's Salem Speedway in 2019; then captured start 102 at Lucas Oil in 2019; start 105 at Salem in 2020; and has added three more this year alone in starts 109 and 113 at Lucas Oil and, most recently, start 114 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
Jerry Coons Jr., the 2008 titlist, has won five more after reaching 100, winning starts 103 and 115 at Ohio's Toledo Speedway in 2010 and 2012; plus starts 104 and 113 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2011 and 2012; in addition to start 134 at Eldora in 2014.
Jack Hewitt notched the first of final four at Eldora in start 104 in 1996 and start 128 at The Big E in 1998. The 1986 and 1987 champ's 141st start brought him back to victory lane at Terre Haute in 1999 and, finally, in start 153 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2000 for the 23rd time in his Silver Crown career.
Tony Elliott took the mile at the Indiana State Fairgrounds during his 101st start in 2000 and his 117th in 2001. His 119th start provided him his fifth and final career win in 2002 at Terre Haute.
Three-time champion Jimmy Sills became the first to win on his 100th career Silver Crown start at the Cal Expo State Fairgrounds in 1999. Two-time champ Dave Steele got his final series win in the New Generation Car at Iowa Speedway in 2006. Johnny Parsons became the first driver to own both 100 starts and a series victory after his 1995 score at Du Quoin in his 102nd start.
Friday at Eldora Speedway begins a triple shot of USAC racing Friday and Saturday night, Sept. 24-25, for the 39th running of the Four Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV.
On Friday, it's a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus USAC Silver Crown qualifying and a full program for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. Stands open at 2pm Eastern with the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On Saturday, spectator gates open at Noon Eastern with a driver autograph session scheduled from 3-4 pm in the Fan Zone, followed by the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On both nights at Eldora, general admission tickets are $34 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $39 for adults and $9 for ages 12 and under.
The USAC portions for this weekend's events from Gas City and Eldora can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN STAT LEADERS:
Most Wins: 3-Kody Swanson
Driver Point Leader: Kody Swanson
Entrant Point Leader: Rice Motorsports #222
Leading Rookie in Points: Logan Seavey (2nd)
Most Laps Led: 204-Kody Swanson
Most Top-Fives: 5-Kody Swanson
Most Top-Tens: 6-Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 4-Kody Swanson
Best Finish By A Rookie: Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Logan Seavey (1st)
Most Feature Starts: 8-Dave Berkheimer, Shane Cottle, Justin Grant, Austin Nemire, Kyle Robbins, Logan Seavey & Travis Welpott
Most Positions Advanced in a Race: Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Kody Swanson (23rd to 1st) & Shane Cockrum (25th to 3rd)
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN SCHEDULE & RESULTS
May 29: (P#) Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Enterprises #77)
Jun 18: (D) Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, PA WINNER: Shane Cockrum (BLS Motorsports #71)
Jun 26: (D) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Chris Dyson Racing #9)
Jul 22 (P) Winchester Speedway – Winchester, IN WINNER: Justin Grant (Hemelgarn Racing #91)
Aug 8: (D) Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, PA WINNER: Logan Seavey (Rice Motorsports #22)
Aug 14: (P) Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Enterprises #77)
Aug 21: (D#) Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, IL WINNER: Kody Swanson (Chris Dyson Racing #9)
Sep 6: (D) Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, IL WINNER: Brian Tyler (Curtis Williams #81)
Sep 24-25: (D) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
Oct 10: (P#) Toledo Speedway – Toledo, OH
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(D) represents a dirt event
(P) represents a pavement event
# represents a daytime event
(SE) represents a non-points special event
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 440 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.
2 424 Logan Seavey (R), Sutter, Calif.
3 322 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
4 322 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.
5 315 Kyle Robbins, New Castle, Ind.
6 306 David Byrne, Shullsburg, Wis.
7 295 Shane Cockrum, Benton, Ill.
8 283 Austin Nemire, Sylvania, Ohio
9 270 Travis Welpott, Pendleton, Ind.
10 243 Mike Haggenbottom, Levittown, Pa.
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN OWNER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 424 Rice Motorsports, Brownsburg, Ind. (#222)
2 340 BCR Group, Springfield, Ohio (#81)
3 322 Hemelgarn Racing, LaSalle, Mich. (#91)
4 315 KR Racing, Greenfield, Ind. (#7)
5 306 Byrne Racing, Shullsburg, Wis. (#40)
6 295 BLS Motorsports, Benton, Ill. (#71)
7 283 Nemire-Lesko Racing, Toledo, Ohio (#16)
8 279 Chris Dyson Racing, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (#9)
9 270 Welpott Racing, Pendleton, Ind. (#18)
10 243 John Haggenbottom, Bristol, Pa. (#24)
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 424 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
2 234 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
3 218 Carmen Perigo, Stoystown, Pa.
4 152 Kyle O'Gara, Beech Grove, Ind.
5 152 Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Okla.
6 144 Casey Buckman, Chandler, Ariz.
7 90 Nathan Byrd, Goodyear, Ariz.
8 78 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.
9 68 Annie Breidinger, Hillsborough, Calif.
10 68 Chris Phillips, Plainfield, Ind.
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RACE WINS:
3-Kody Swanson (May 29 at Lucas Oil Raceway, Aug 14 at Lucas Oil Raceway & Aug 21 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds)
1-Shane Cockrum (Jun 18 at Williams Grove Speedway)
1-Tyler Courtney (Jun 26 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Justin Grant (Jul 22 at Winchester Speedway)
1-Logan Seavey (Aug 8 at Selinsgrove Speedway)
1-Brian Tyler (Sep 6 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds)
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LAPS LED:
204-Kody Swanson
120-Logan Seavey
81-Bobby Santos
67-Justin Grant
53-Brian Tyler
50-Tyler Courtney
35-Aaron Pierce
28-Shane Cockrum & Jake Swanson
26-Jason McDougal
9-C.J. Leary
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TOP-FIVE FINISHES:
5-Kody Swanson
4-Shane Cockrum
3-Justin Grant, Bobby Santos & Logan Seavey
2-Brady Bacon, David Byrne, Jerry Coons Jr., Jake Swanson & Chris Windom
1-Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Taylor Ferns, C.J. Leary, Kyle O'Gara, Aaron Pierce, Tyler Roahrig, Kyle Robbins, Kyle Steffens, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Brian Tyler
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TOP-TEN FINISHES:
6-Logan Seavey & Kody Swanson
4-David Byrne, Shane Cockrum, Shane Cottle, Justin Grant & Kyle Robbins,
3-Brady Bacon, Carmen Perigo, Bobby Santos, Jake Swanson & Matt Westfall
2-Robert Ballou, Jerry Coons Jr., Matt Goodnight, Austin Nemire, Kyle O'Gara, Travis Welpott & Chris Windom
1-Jim Anderson, Terry Babb, Derek Bischak, Casey Buckman, Tyler Courtney, Taylor Ferns, Russ Gamester, Mike Haggenbottom, Dallas Hewitt, Patrick Lawson, C.J. Leary, Jason McDougal, Aaron Pierce, Tyler Roahrig, Kyle Steffens, Chase Stockon, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Brian Tyler
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FEATURE STARTS:
8-Dave Berkheimer, Shane Cottle, Justin Grant, Austin Nemire, Kyle Robbins, Logan Seavey & Travis Welpott
7-David Byrne, Matt Goodnight, Mike Haggenbottom & Kody Swanson
5-Shane Cockrum, Eric Gordon, Patrick Lawson, Jason McDougal, Carmen Perigo & Matt Westfall
4- Bryan Gossel, Casey Buckman & Jake Swanson
3-Terry Babb, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Nathan Byrd, Chris Fetter, Dallas Hewitt, Kyle O'Gara, Aaron Pierce, Bobby Santos & Chris Windom
2-Nick Bilbee, Derek Bischak, Annie Breidinger, Jerry Coons Jr., Kyle Cummins, Jake Day, Taylor Ferns, C.J. Leary, Nathan Moore, Chris Phillips, Ken Schrader, Kyle Steffens, Tanner Swanson & Korey Weyant
1-Jim Anderson, Tyler Courtney, Charles Davis Jr., Russ Gamester, Joe Liguori, Danny Long, Mike McVetta, Ryan Newman, Dave Peperak, Tyler Roahrig, Steven Russell, Mark Smith, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas Jr., Brian Tyler & Brent Yarnal
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
4-Kody Swanson
2-C.J. Leary
1-Jason McDougal & Tanner Swanson
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TOP "ROOKIE" FINISHER OF THE RACE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Logan Seavey (7th)
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Jason McDougal (6th)
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (8th)
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Kyle O'Gara (5th)
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Logan Seavey (1st)
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Tyler Roahrig (2nd)
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Logan Seavey (2nd)
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Logan Seavey (2nd)
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Patrick Lawson (17th to 9th)
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Eric Gordon (22nd to 11th)
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Kody Swanson (15th to 3rd)
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Kyle O'Gara (15th to 5th)
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Travis Welpott (20th to 13th)
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Mike Haggenbottom (23rd to 11th)
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Kody Swanson (23rd to 1st)
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Jerry Coons Jr. (19th to 4th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Bryan Gossel
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Austin Nemire
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Jason McDougal
Jul 22: Winchester Speedway – Shane Cottle
Aug 8: Selinsgrove Speedway – Travis Welpott
Aug 14: Lucas Oil Raceway – Aaron Pierce
Aug 21: Illinois State Fairgrounds – Chris Phillips
Sep 6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Kyle Steffens
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STATS
ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WINS:
1. [33 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] Jimmy Sills
9. [11 wins] Bobby East
10. [10 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Mike Bliss & Bobby Santos
13. [9 wins] Tracy Hines
14. [8 wins] Tanner Swanson & Chris Windom
16. [7 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Rick Hood & George Snider
19. [6 wins] Tom Bigelow, Russ Gamester, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Ken Schrader & Al Unser
25. [5 wins] Mario Andretti, Donnie Beechler, Pancho Carter, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Bud Kaeding, Sheldon Kinser & Larry Rice
33. [4 wins] Shane Cockrum, Kyle Larson, Jeff Swindell & Rich Vogler
37. [3 wins] Steve Butler, Tyler Courtney, Cameron Dodson, A.J. Fike, Justin Grant, Levi Jones, Kasey Kahne, Jim Keeker, Steve Kinser, Bobby Olivero, Johnny Parsons, Aaron Pierce, Ron Shuman, Tony Stewart, Tyler Walker & Paul White
53. [2 wins] Pat Abold, Brady Bacon, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Larry Dickson, Billy Engelhart, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, C.J. Leary, Ryan Newman, Joe Saldana, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Whitt, Josh Wise & Doug Wolfgang
69. [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, 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., Logan Seavey, Danny Smith, Kevin Thomas, Rich Tobias Jr., Chris Urish, Billy Vukovich & Jacob Wilson
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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
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN OWNER 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: Louis 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
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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
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
35-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, & Josh Wise
6-Gary Bettenhausen, Steve Chassey, Justin Grant, Jack Hewitt & Larry Rice
5-Kenny Irwin Jr., Aaron Pierce, Jeff Swindell & Al Unser
4-Donnie Beechler, Bryan Clauson, Larry Dickson, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Rick Hood, Jim Keeker, Sheldon Kinser, Kyle Larson, C.J. Leary, Brad Noffsinger, Joe Saldana, George Snider, Brian Tyler & Greg Weld
3-Mario Andretti, Mike Bliss, Steve Butler, Pancho Carter, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Robby Flock, Shane Hmiel, Ryan Newman, Bobby Santos, 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, 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, Mat Neely, Roger Rager, Wayne Reutimann Jr., Bill Rose, Randy Tolsma, Billy Vukovich, Bruce Walkup & Doug Wolfgang
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STARTS:
201-Dave Darland
200-Russ Gamester
199-Brian Tyler
178-Jerry Coons Jr.
172-Tracy Hines
163-Jack Hewitt
151-Johnny Parsons
147-Tony Elliott
146-Eric Gordon
128-George Snider
125-Gary Hieber
115-Kody Swanson
114-Chuck Gurney
113-Bud Kaeding & Jimmy Sills
111-Dave Steele
110-John Heydenreich
103-A.J. Fike & Aaron Pierce
100-Larry Rice
94-Jay Drake & Paul White
91-J.J. Yeley
90-Tom Bigelow
88-Mark Alderson
84-Jason McCord
83-Gary Bettenhausen
79-Donnie Beechler & Levi Jones
77-Rich Vogler & Chris Windom
76-Larry Dickson
74-Steve Chassey & Ryan Newman
73-Rich Tobias Jr.
72-Bobby East
71-Robby Flock & Sheldon Kinser
70-Steve Butler
69-David Byrne
68-Billy Engelhart
67-Joe Saldana
66-Brad Noffsinger
65-Shane Cottle & Jerry Nemire
62-Ron Shuman
61-Justin Grant
60-Randy Bateman, Wally Pankratz & Bobby Santos
59-Bill Rose
58-Rick Hood
55-Gary Irvin
54-Tom Capie, Shane Hollingsworth & Jacob Wilson
53-Chet Fillip, Jason Leffler & Austin Nemire
52-Wayne Reutimann Jr.
49-Ken Schrader & Tony Stewart
48-Mike Bliss
47-Bob Cicconi & Patrick Lawson
46-Shane Cockrum, Jim Keeker & Bentley Warren
45- Derek Davidson, Jeff Swindell & Billy Vukovich
43- Kenny Irwin Jr., Tanner Swanson & Tyler Walker
42-Jon Stanbrough
41-Dane Carter & Danny Milburn
40-Aaron Fike, Andy Hillenburg, Warren Mockler & Chip Thomas
39-Matt Goodnight, Tray House & Jim McElreath
38-C.J. Leary & Bobby Olivero
37-Pancho Carter, Duke Cook, Todd Kane, Chuck Leary, Rusty McClure, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Roger Rager & Chris Urish
36-Ed Carpenter & Ron Dunstan
35-Matt Westfall
34-Ronnie Burke, Davey Hamilton, Kevin Huntley, Greg Staab & Kevin Thomas
33-Cary Faas, Jimmy Kite, Kyle Robbins & Josh Wise
32-Brent Kaeding
31-Brady Bacon, 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-Terry Babb, Mike Haggenbottom, Rocky Hodges & Michael Lewis
28-Dave Blaney & Bill Puterbaugh
27-Brad Armstrong & Bryan Clauson
26-Steve Buckwalter, Dan Drinan & Joe Liguori
25-Kasey Kahne, Nick Lundgreen & Travis Welpott
24-Pat Abold, Derek Hagar, Kenny Jacobs & Jerry Miller
23-Cameron Dodson
22-Billy Cassella, Kevin Doty & Bob Frey
21-Dave Berkheimer, Kyle Hamilton, Walt Kennedy & Davey Ray
20-Bill Baue, Dave Feese, John Starks & Randy Tolsma
19- Bruce Field, Brian Gerster, Gene Lee Gibson, Shane Hmiel, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden & Casey Shuman
18-Rollie Beale, Jackie Burke, Mike Murgoitio, Al Unser & Jonathan Vennard
17-Jimmy Caruthers, Tyler Courtney, Chris Fetter, A.J. Foyt, Sammy Sessions, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Kramer Williamson
16-Robert Ballou & Pablo Donoso
15-Paul Clark, P.J. Jones & Bruce Walkup
14-Jarett Andretti, Billy Boat, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Ralph Liguori, Boston Reid, Danny Smith, Smokey Snellbaker, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
13-Patrick Bruns, Tyce Carlson, Dana Carter, Jim Childers, Taylor Ferns, Jac Haudenschild, Jackie Howerton, Jon Johnson, Greg Leffler, Andy Michner, Brian Paulus, Billy Wease, Rodney Weesner & Bud Wilmot
12-Derek Bischak, Brad Fox, Mike Gregg, Mike Hess, 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, Mike Peters, Tad Roach, Logan Seavey, Kyle Steffens, Greg Weld & Greg Wilson
10-Ronnie Day, Gary Gray, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, Bob Harkey, Page Jones, Terry Kawell, Danny Long, Jim Moughan, Kenneth Nichols, Terry Pletch, Jack Runyon, Robert Smith & Robbie Stanley
9-Bobby Adkins, Chuck Amati, Caleb Armstrong, Toni Breidinger, Karl Busson, Bob Evans, Bryn Gohn, Bryan Gossel, Wayne Hammond, Jim Hurtubise, Rebel Jackson Jr., Chappy Knaack, Eddie Leavitt, Larry Martin, Joss Moffatt, Johnny Petrozelle, Paul Pitzer & Johnny Rutherford
8-Joe Axsom, Christopher Bell, Cole Carter, Mel Cornett, Chris Cumberworth, Doug Didero, Paul Durant, Ray Joe Fager, Larry Gates, Ken Hamilton, Darl Harrison, Dallas Hewitt, Roy Hicks, Rod Holshouser, Dakota Jackson, Mike Johnson, Frankie Kerr, Jason McDougal, Thiago Medeiros, Jan Opperman, Lee Osborne, Junior Parkinson, Greg Peterson, Aaron Pollock, Tracy Potter, Steve Siegel, Mark Smith, Ryan Smith, Sammy Swindell, Rick Treadway, Lennie Waldo, Carl Williams & Doug Wolfgang
7-Jim Anderson, John Andretti, Casey Buckman, 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, Joe McCarthy, Austin Mundie, Kyle O'Gara, Carmen Perigo, Michael Roselli Jr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Alex Shanks, Pete Shepherd III, Jake Swanson, Mike Thomas, Billy Whitaker & Mitch Wissmiller
6-Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Mike Brooks, Bill Burks Jr., Kellen Conover, Palmer Crowell, 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, Steven Russell, Brian Seidel, Jimmy Stinson, Jerry Stone & Mike Winblad
5-Sport Allen, Todd Beach, Annie Breidinger, Barry Camp, Larry Cannon, Mark Cassella, Davey Hamilton Jr., John Hunt, Brad Kuhn, Rich Leavell, Donnie Lehmann, Jimmy Light, Mario Marietta, Brad Marvel, Mack McClellan, Kevin Olson, Red Stauffer, Mike Stroehle, Neil Shepherd, Jake Simmons, Sleepy Tripp, Terry Uehling, Korey Weyant, Cole Whitt & Rip Williams
4-Tony Armstrong, Steve Arpin, John Batts, Mike Brecht, Jimmy Brewer, David Bridges, Ray Bull, Keith Burch, Keith Butler, Shane Carson, Herb Copeland, Kyle Cummins, 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, Chris Phillips, Rodney Ritter Jr., Billy Shuman, Dean Shirley, Donny Schatz, Tim Siner, Chase Stockon, 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, Nathan Byrd, Gary Cameron II, Keith Campbell, Marv Carman, Roy Caruthers, Wayne Chinn, Bill Compton, Tim Cox, Erin Crocker, Troy DeCaire, Thad Dosher, Tommie Estes Jr., Dean Franklin, Jeff Gardner, Emmett Hahn, Darryl Haugh, Kelly Kinser, Lance Kobusch, Red Kunstbeck, Ricky Logan, Steve Long, Jim Malloy, Mike Martin, Zach Martini, Bob Meli, Larry Moore, Ryan Moore, Aaron Mosley, 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
2-Mike Adkins, Mike Andreeta, Tommy Astone, Todd Bammer, Randy Bauer, Dave Baumgartner, Nick Bilbee, Dean Billings, 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, Jake Day, 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, Nathan Moore, Dustin Morgan, Mike Mosley Jr., Larry Neighbors, John Nervo, Lynn Paxton, Dave Peperak, 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, Brent Yarnal & Jack Ziegler
1-Bobby Allen, Taylor Andrews, Dakoda Armstrong, Jon Backlund, Tom Ball, Steve Barnett, Steve Barth, Jarid Blondel, Chad Boat, Ray Bragg, 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, Kraig Kinser, Dana Laliberte, Harold Leep, Jeff Leka, Ryan Litt, Ed Lynch Jr., Pepi Marchese, David McCreary, Dave McGough, Paul McMahan, Mike McVetta, Joe Melnick, Thomas Meseraull, Curt Michael, Jim Mills, Mark Monico, Mike Mosley, Jack Moulton Jr., Peter Murphy, Rick Muther, Fred Neighbors, Greg Nelson, Kevin Newton, Kyle Nicholas, Don O'Keefe, Jimmy Parsons, Billy Pauch Jr., Stan Ploski, Art Pollard, Jerry Potter, Richard Powell, Patrick Quinn, Ron Rae, Fred Rahmer, Robbie Ray, Byron Reed, David Reutimann, Jim Reynard, Tyler Roahrig, 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., 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
REBELS WITH A CAUSE:
USAC MIDGETS' JAMES DEAN CLASSIC THURSDAY AT GAS CITY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Gas City, Indiana (September 21, 2021)………For Cannon McIntosh, last September began and closed in very much the same manner – with a victory in the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship ranks.
The second of those, and the most recent, came last September at Indiana's Gas City I-69 Speedway. Oh, what Cannon would give to be back in victory lane for the first time since that moment in time, a whole calendar year later, during this Thursday night's James Dean Classic at Gas City on September 23 in a doubleheader program also featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship.
The Bixby, Oklahoma native started his 30-lap feature from the fourth position, but he wasn't long for staying content with his position for as he blasted to the second spot on the opening lap by splitting between the two front row occupants.
The pursuit of Pursley by McIntosh came to a head on the second lap when McIntosh showed a nose to Pursley while entering on the bottom of turn one. Pursley slid up just a tad at the exit of turn two and McIntosh powered past to occupy the race lead.
Still up nearly two seconds as the race's end approached, McIntosh possessed total control, keeping his car as straight as possible coming off turns two and four on the slightly slickened surface, gliding smoothly through traffic as he raced his way to his third career USAC National Midget feature win by a grand margin of 1.791 seconds.
McIntosh is one of five past Gas City USAC National Midget winners in the field for Thursday night along with Tanner Thorson, Spencer Bayston, Justin Grant and Buddy Kofoid.
Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) is the most recent series winner at Gas City, capturing the Indiana Midget Week round in June after leading all 30 laps. In last year's James Dean Classic, starting deep from the 18th position, the current series point leader carved his way up to a 7th place finish.
Thorson (Minden, Nev.) won his first career USAC National Midget feature at Gas City in 2015. The 2016 series champion went 17th to 4th during the 2020 James Dean Classic to earn KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors and was a big mover once again this past June during Indiana Midget Week at Gas City, going 20th to 8th.
Grant (Ione, Calif.) is both a winner in USAC National Midget competition and is also a past James Dean Classic feature winner. The reigning USAC Silver Crown champion netted an Indiana Midget Week win at Gas City in 2019 and captured the Sprint Car portion of the "James Dean" in 2020.
Making his first Gas City USAC National Midget appearance since 2017 is Spencer Bayston in a CB Industries team car to Windom. Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.), the 2017 USAC National Midget champ, won his first career series race at Gas City in 2016.
Defending USAC National Midget champion Chris Windom is also the defending winner of the James Dean Classic…in a sprint car. The Canton, Ill. USAC Triple Crown champ was 9th in the midget at the James Dean Classic a year ago.
Likewise, Kevin Thomas Jr. has captured his share of James Dean Classic glory, taking the inaugural edition in the sprint car back in 2018. Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) finished 6th during Indiana Midget Week this past June. He's a two-time USAC National Sprint Car feature winner in his career at Gas City, getting his first at the 1/4-mile dirt oval in 2013.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) was victorious in the most recent USAC National Sprint Car race held at Gas City during Indiana Sprint Week in July of 2021. He earlier scored a USAC Sprint win during the same event in 2020. With the midget in the 2020 James Dean Classic, he finished 13th. He started 11th and finished with an admirable 3rd during Indiana Midget Week in 2021.
Tyler Courtney returns to the USAC National Midget ranks for the second time this season. The series championship in 2019 set quick time in the midget at the 2020 James Dean Classic before finishing 2nd in the feature. The Indianapolis, Ind. driver holds the 10-lap Gas City USAC Midget track record of 2:05.54, set in 2019. His first career USAC National Sprint Car win came at Gas City in 2016 when he restarted last on the grid and came back to win.
Thomas Meseraull and Chance Crum both possess USAC Midwest Regional Midget wins at Gas City in 2021. Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) scored in May while Crum locked up the win in July. Meseraull, the 2019 Gas City Sprint Car champ, finished 15th in the midget at the 2020 James Dean Classic, but was 10th during Indiana Midget Week in June.
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) traveled 11th to 3rd during the James Dean Classic Midget feature in 2020. Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) went top-five a year ago in the race, finishing 5th, and was 2nd here in June of 2021. Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has twice been a USAC National Midget feature winner in his career. He started from the pole this past June at Gas City.
Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammates Daison Pursley and Kaylee Bryson each own one James Dean Classic start, both in 2020. Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) went 8th in that race while Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) tallied a 19th. Both were top-ten finishers this past June during IMW with Pursley 4th and Bryson 9th.
Chase Randall, Hayden Reinbold, Bryant Wiedeman and Brenham Crouch were among those who made their first USAC National Midget appearance at the James Dean Classic in 2020. Randall (Waco, Texas) finished 20th while Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) took 22nd. Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) and Crouch (Lubbock, Texas) missed the transfer spot a year ago, but returned to the lineup this past June at Gas City with Wiedeman finishing 23rd and Crouch 16th.
Glenn Waterland (Christchurch, N.Z.) has made four USAC National Midget starts this year and was 9th in USAC Midwest Regional action at the track in July. Austin Barnhill (Wilmington, N.C.) recently made the first three feature starts of his USAC National Midget career two weeks ago at South Dakota's Huset's Speedway and will be making his James Dean Classic debut this Thursday night.
In a doubleheader with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Gas City on Thursday, Sept. 23, adult general admission tickets are $30. Kids 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Pit gates open at 3pm ET with the grandstands opening at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:45pm and hot laps at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
Thursday's event from Gas City can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1799, 2-Chris Windom-1789, 3-Emerson Axsom-1705, 4-Daison Pursley-1655, 5-Tanner Thorson-1651, 6-Justin Grant-1633, 7-Logan Seavey-1520, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1471, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1450, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1288.
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:
JAMES DEAN CLASSIC USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:
2020: Cannon McIntosh (9/25)
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:
2-Shane Cottle, Darren Hagen & Kyle Larson
1-Spencer Bayston, Steve Buckwalter, Jerry Coons Jr., Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Brad Kuhn, Cannon McIntosh, Michael Pickens, Davey Ray & 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)
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
"STATE"-ING THE CASE FOR USAC MIDGETS: TALES FROM THE STAT BOOK
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (September 20, 2021)………Only four previous times has the top-five of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship point standings represented drivers encompassing five different United States.
That's the case that's been stated thus far with 28 races in the books and 14 remaining, as the series heads for three-straight nights of competition this week, leading off Thursday, Sept. 23, at Indiana's Gas City I-69 Speedway followed by two consecutive evenings at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway on Friday, Sept. 24, and Saturday, Sept. 25.
As it stands now, the points show five different states from the Midwest to the South to the West inside the top-five with California's Buddy Kofoid leading by a mere 10 points over Illinois' Chris Windom with Indiana's Emerson Axsom third (-94), Oklahoma's Daison Pursley fourth (-144) and Tanner Thorson fifth (-148).
Keep in mind, racers are nomadic by nature. For example, the "hometown" listed does not necessarily represent their current residence. In other cases, the current residence was used in lieu of the driver's hometown for which they are most associated with. For this purpose, locations of the drivers were taken straight from the USAC records utilizing the particular location the driver was announced from at that moment in time.
It's somewhat of a recent phenomenon to have such an array of state representation from sea-to-shining sea, and across the fruited plain, at the forefront of the standings. However, despite this happening twice within the last six years, the roots of such an occurrence first came in 1962.
The geographically beneficial city of Monticello, Indiana, for midget racing purposes, was home to resident Jimmy Davies, who collected his third consecutive USAC National Midget title in 1962 over Missouri's 1963 series champ Bob Wente; Californian National Midget Hall of Famer Tommy Copp; 1969 champ Bob Tattersall from Illinois and seven-time series titlist Mel Kenyon, originally from Davenport, Iowa.
The Midwest was in force during the 1991 season with Findlay, Ohio's Mike Streicher scoring the season title over Indiana's Stevie Reeves with Michigan's Doug Kalitta third; Wisconsin's Stan Fox fourth; and Illinois' Steve Knepper rounding out the top-five.
The 2016 season represented the influx of western-based drivers that had become prominent throughout the past couple of decades. Tanner Thorson of Nevada captured the crown by an 18-point margin over Indiana's Spencer Bayston, Oklahoma's Brady Bacon, Arizona's Chad Boat and California's Carson Macedo.
Most recently, the 2020 season saw the closest margin of championship – one – which centered on the bordering state drivers of Chris Windom from Illinois and Tyler Courtney from Indiana. Nevada's Thorson was a close third with Rookie Buddy Kofoid settling into the fourth spot with Oklahoma's Cannon McIntosh slotting into the fifth spot.
Those power-five and a whole of others will look stake their claim to become the next series champion with a three-night romp through Indiana and Ohio this weekend.
In a doubleheader with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Gas City on Thursday, Sept. 23, adult general admission tickets are $30. Kids 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Pit gates open at 3pm ET with the grandstands opening at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:45pm and hot laps at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
Then, it's onto Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway for a triple shot of USAC racing Friday and Saturday night, Sept. 24-25, for the 39th running of the Four Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV.
On Friday, it's a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus USAC Silver Crown qualifying and a full program for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. Stands open at 2pm Eastern with the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On Saturday, spectator gates open at Noon Eastern with a driver autograph session scheduled from 3-4 pm in the Fan Zone, followed by the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On both nights at Eldora, general admission tickets are $34 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $39 for adults and $9 for ages 12 and under.
The USAC portions for this weekend's events from Gas City and Eldora can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET STAT LEADERS
Driver Point Leader: Buddy Kofoid
Owner Point Leader: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67
Leading Rookie Driver in Points: Chase Randall (11th)
Most Feature Wins: 7-Tanner Thorson
Laps Led: 129-Tanner Thorson
Top-Fives: 20-Chris Windom
Top-Tens: 26-Buddy Kofoid
Fast Qualifying Times: 4-Tanner Thorson
Heat Race Wins: 9-Justin Grant
Feature Starts: 28-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Most Positions Gained in a Feature: Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st) & Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jun 3: (I) Paragon Speedway – Paragon, IN
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Jun 4: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 5: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Tom Malloy #25)
Jun 6: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing #3G)
Jun 9: (I) Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Corey Day (Clauson Marshall Racing #47BC)
Jun 10: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jun 11: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 12: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jul 13: (M) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Jul 15: (M) Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, KS
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 16: (M) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 17: (M) (F) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
Aug 3: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Aug 4: (E) Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Aug 5: (E) Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 6: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 7: (E) Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Newmanstown, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Aug. 19: (F) The Dirt Track at IMS – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Kyle Larson (CB Industries #86x)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, WI
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Sep 10: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Sep 11: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 12: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Sep 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
Sep 25: (F) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
Oct 8: (F) Wayne County Speedway – Wayne City, IL
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(I) represents an Indiana Midget Week event
(M) represents a Mid-America Midget Week event
(E) represents an Eastern Midget Week event
(F) represents a race awarding feature points only
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1799 Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, Calif.
2 1789 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
3 1705 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.
4 1655 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.
5 1651 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
6 1633 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
7 1520 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
8 1471 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.
9 1450 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
10 1288 Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Okla.
� = USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year Contender
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 1799 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#67)
2 1789 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#89)
3 1705 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#15)
4 1655 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#71K)
5 1633 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#2J)
6 1520 Tom Malloy, El Monte, Calif. (#25)
7 1496 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19T)
8 1471 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#7x)
9 1450 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#5)
10 1288 Dave Mac Motorsports, Bixby, Okla. (#08)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1120 Chase Randall, Waco, Texas
2 834 Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, Texas
3 743 Bryant Wiedeman, Colby, Kan.
4 603 Hayden Reinbold, Gilbert, Ariz.
5 598 Hayden Williams, Auckland, N.Z.
6 481 Trey Gropp, Lincoln, Neb.
7 469 Corey Day, Clovis, Calif.
8 422 Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, Okla.
9 313 Brian Carber, Pipersville, Pa.
10 277 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Wash.
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
7-Tanner Thorson (Apr 11 at Port City Raceway, Jun 10 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 15 at Solomon Valley Raceway, Jul 16 at Jefferson County Speedway, Aug 5 at Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Aug 6 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway & Sep 5 at Angell Park Speedway)
5-Chris Windom (May 1 at Kokomo Speedway, Jun 12 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 3 at Grandview Speedway, Sep 11 at Huset's Speedway & Sep 12 Huset's Speedway)
4-Buddy Kofoid (Feb 6 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 10 at Port City Raceway, Jun 4 at Bloomington Speedway & Jun 11 at Gas City I-69 Speedway)
3-Thomas Meseraull (Feb 8 at Bubba Raceway Park, Jun 3 at Paragon Speedway & Sep 10 at Huset's Speedway)
2-Emerson Axsom (Apr 30 at Kokomo Speedway & Jul 17 at Jefferson County Speedway)
2-Daison Pursley (Jul 13 at Red Dirt Raceway & Aug 4 at Action Track USA)
1-Kyle Cummins (Jun 6 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Corey Day (Jun 9 at Circle City Raceway)
1-Justin Grant (Aug 7 at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway)
1-Kyle Larson (Aug 19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1-Logan Seavey (Jun 5 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
129-Tanner Thorson
117-Chris Windom
113-Buddy Kofoid
93-Logan Seavey
84-Thomas Meseraull
77-Daison Pursley
72-Emerson Axsom
55-Chase Randall
50-Cannon McIntosh
39-Kevin Thomas Jr.
32-Justin Grant
30-Corey Day
29-Kyle Cummins
9-Kaylee Bryson & Sam Johnson
7-Alex Bright, Kyle Larson & Jason McDougal
1-Jonathan Beason
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TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES
20-Chris Windom
18-Buddy Kofoid
16-Emerson Axsom
15-Justin Grant
13-Daison Pursley
11-Tanner Thorson
8-Thomas Meseraull & Kevin Thomas Jr.
6-Logan Seavey
4-Cannon McIntosh
3-Brady Bacon
2-Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Shane Golobic, Jason McDougal & Bryant Wiedeman
1-Alex Bright, Brian Carber, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Kyle Larson, Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall & Hayden Williams
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TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES
26-Buddy Kofoid
23-Chris Windom
22-Justin Grant
21-Emerson Axsom & Daison Pursley
20-Tanner Thorson
18-Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.
17-Thomas Meseraull
12-Cannon McIntosh
10-Jason McDougal
9-Chase Randall
5-Brenham Crouch & Corey Day
4-Jerry Coons Jr., Ethan Mitchell & Hayden Williams
3-Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Kyle Cummins, Shane Golobic, Ryan Timms & Bryant Wiedeman
2-Kaylee Bryson, Brian Carber, Tanner Carrick, Chance Crum, Zach Daum, Kyle Jones, Joe B. Miller, Taylor Reimer
1-Jonathan Beason, Tyler Courtney, Trey Gropp, Kyle Larson, Mitchel Moles, Jake Neuman & Hayden Reinbold
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES
4-Tanner Thorson
3-Logan Seavey
2-Corey Day, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Shane Golobic, Cannon McIntosh, Ethan Mitchell, Mitchel Moles, Chase Randall & Bryan Wiedeman
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HEAT RACE WINS: (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension, Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
9-Justin Grant
7-Thomas Meseraull & Daison Pursley
6-Emerson Axsom, Buddy Kofoid & Cannon McIntosh
5-Kevin Thomas Jr.
4-Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
3-Jason McDougal, & Bryant Wiedeman
2-Cole Bodine, Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Taylor Reimer, Tyler Thomas, Ryan Timms & Hayden Williams
1-Austin Barnhill, Jonathan Beason, Alex Bright, Kaylee Bryson, Jake Bubak, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Chance Crum, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Chase Elliott, Shane Golobic, Trey Gropp, Sam Johnson, Kyle Jones, Max McLaughlin, Thomas Meseraull, Aiden Purdue, Logan Seavey, Zac Taylor
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QUALIFYING RACE WINS
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Tyler Courtney, Cannon McIntosh, Kevin Thomas Jr & Chris Windom
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ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI-FEATURE WINS
2-Emerson Axsom, Brenham Crouch, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Chase Randall, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Chance Crum, Trey Gropp, Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Karter Sarff, Jonathan Shafer & Hayden Williams
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C-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney, Chance Morton & Logan Seavey
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney & Tanner Thorson
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FEATURE STARTS
28-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
27-Chase Randall & Kevin Thomas Jr.
22-Ethan Mitchell
20-Brenham Crouch
18-Jason McDougal
17-Bryant Wiedeman
15-Hayden Williams
13-Hayden Reinbold
12-Kaylee Bryson & Trey Gropp
11-Kyle Cummins
10-Ryan Timms
9-Corey Day
8-Brian Carber, Jerry Coons Jr. & Sam Johnson
7-Taylor Reimer
6-Cole Bodine, Chance Crum, Zach Daum & Kyle Jones
5-Brady Bacon & Alex Bright
4-Jonathan Shafer, Tyler Thomas, Glenn Waterland & Kevin Woody Jr.
3-Austin Barnhill, Jonathan Beason, Travis Buckley, Chad Frewaldt, Jimmy Glenn, Shane Golobic, Mitchel Moles, Bryan Stanfill & Brandon Waelti
2-Lance Bennett, Clinton Boyles, Jake Bubak, Steve Buckwalter, Tanner Carrick, Maria Cofer, Chase Elliott, Eric Heydenreich, Casey Hicks, Kenney Johnson, Michael Markey, Shannon McQueen, Joe B. Miller, Kade Morton, Jake Neuman, Brant O'Banion, Daniel Robinson, Alex Sewell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Aaron Werner
1-Spencer Bayston, Blaze Bennett, Tanner Berryhill, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Jacob Denney, Tommy Kunsman, Kyle Larson, Trey Marcham, Shannon Mausteller, Ace McCarthy, Chase McDermand, Max McLaughlin, Keith Rauch, Matt Rechek, Jack Routson, Karter Sarff, Stephen Schnapf, Mark Sokol, Zac Taylor, Brett Wanner, Zeb Wise & Jeff Zelinski
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GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE RACE:
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Trey Marcham
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Ace McCarthy
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Hayden Williams
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Corey Day
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Jason McDougal
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Kaylee Bryson
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Emerson Axsom
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Thomas Meseraull
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Cannon McIntosh
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Daison Pursley
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Shane Golobic
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Chase Randall
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Tanner Carrick (14th to 8th)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Daison Pursley (10th to 5th)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Chris Windom (13th to 4th)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Tanner Thorson (17th to 7th)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13rd to 3rd)
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (12th to 1st)
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Emerson Axsom (22nd to 11th)
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brian Carber (22nd to 10th)
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Corey Day (12th to 5th)
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Tanner Thorson (20th to 8th)
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (18th to 9th)
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Justin Grant (13th to 2nd)
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Logan Seavey (17th to 7th)
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Brenham Crouch (22nd to 11th)
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Buddy Kofoid (15th to 2nd)
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (15th to 8th)
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Alex Bright (16th to 6th)
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 6th)
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Woody Jr. (21st to 15th)
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Kevin Woody Jr. (20th to 11th)
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Emerson Axsom (19th to 5th)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti (22nd to 11th)
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Maria Cofer (20th to 12th)
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (16th to 8th)
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson (18th to 4th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Bryant Wiedeman
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Logan Seavey
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Daison Pursley
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Chase Randall
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Chase Randall
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Taylor Reimer
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Logan Seavey
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Jack Routson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Brant O'Banion
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Andrew Felker
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Emilio Hoover
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Brenham Crouch
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Noah Harris
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Kaylee Bryson
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Chett Gehrke
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Travis Buckley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brian Carber
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Trey Gropp
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Jason McDougal
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Sam Johnson
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Michael Markey
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Dan Bennett
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – J.R. Booth
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Casey Hicks
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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. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Tony Stewart & Tanner Thorson
17. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland
20. [24 wins] Billy Engelhart & Kyle Larson
22. [23 wins] Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich
28. [22 wins] Bobby East & Shorty Templeman
30. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader
34. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt
35. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Stan Fox & Jason Leffler
38. [18 wins] Tyler Courtney & Dave Steele
40. [17 wins] Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley
42. [16 wins] Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens
48. [15 wins] Don Branson & Larry Rice
49. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner
53. [13 wins] Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman & Stevie Reeves
57. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim & Ron Shuman
63. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos, Brad Sweet & Chris Windom
70. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung & Chuck Weyant
76. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott & Chuck Gurney
80. [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
93. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Buddy Kofoid, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Logan Seavey, Len Sutton & Johnnie Tolan
104. [6 wins] Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Justin Grant, Arnie Knepper, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Roger West
117. [5 wins] Spencer Bayston, Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Thomas Meseraull, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
129. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, 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, Sam Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, Rodger Ward & Zeb Wise
161. [3 wins] John Batts, Gays Biro, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Zach Daum, 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, Cannon McIntosh, Warren Mockler, 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
193. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Emerson Axsom, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, 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
229. [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, Tanner Carrick, 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, Larry McCloskey, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, 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, 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
16. (25) Gary Bettenhausen
17. (24) Gene Hartley
18. (22) Stan Fox
19. (21) Don Branson, Tony Stewart, Shorty Templeman & Tanner Thorson
23. (20) Bryan Clauson, Dan Drinan, Bobby East & Bobby Grim
27. (19) Jay Drake & Kyle Larson
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
41. (14) Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Jeff Gordon & Kenny Irwin Jr.
45. (13) George Benson, Jimmy Knight & J.J. Yeley
48. (12) Larry Rice & Josh Wise
50. (11) Brady Bacon, Danny Caruthers, Lonnie Caruthers, Russ Congdon, Tommy Copp, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader, Len Sutton, Brad Sweet & Sleepy Tripp
61. (10) George Amick, Pancho Carter, Allen Crowe, Logan Seavey, Billy Vukovich & Leroy Warriner
67. (9) A.J. Foyt, Doug Kalitta, Larry Patton, Stevie Reeves, Dave Strickland Jr. & Jerry Weeks
73. (8) Christopher Bell, Dana Carter, Russ Gamester, Don Horvath, Kasey Kahne, Sammy Sessions, George Snider & Jack Turner
81. (7) Spencer Bayston, Mike Bliss, Rex Easton, Ray Elliott, Allen Heath, Billy Mehner, Andy Michner, Henry Pens, Lowell Sachs, Kody Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
92. (6) Chad Boat, Burt Foland, Brian Gerster, Mike Gregg, Kyle Hamilton, Lee Kunzman, Jerry McClung, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Don Vogler, Chris Windom & Billy Wood
103. (5) Merle Bettenhausen, Billy Boat, Steve Cannon, Ray Crawford, Kevin Doty, Ronnie Duman, Aaron Fike, Rick Goudy, Jeff Heywood, Eddie Johnson, Steve Knepper, Brad Kuhn, Andy Linden, Bobby Santos, Chris Shultz, Billy Shuman, Chuck Weyant & Mauri Wilson
121. (4) Johnny Anderson, Caleb Armstrong, Sonny Ates, Gary Byers, Dane Carter, Joe Corrigan, Zach Daum, Mike Fedorcak, Robby Flock, Danny Frye, Joe Garson, Shane Golobic, Chuck Gurney, Jim Hettinger, Arnie Knepper, Chuck Marshall, Cannon McIntosh, Danny McKnight, Jeff Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Gary Ponzini, Richard Powell, Porky Rachwitz, Ricky Shelton, Tom Steiner, Bruce Walkup, Rodger Ward, Roger West, & Zeb Wise
151. (3) Bob Cicconi, Cole Carter, Don Anderson, Donnie Beechler, Dwight Brown, Hank Butcher, Harry Beck, Jack Calabrase, Larry Dickson, Mario Clouser, Steve Buckwalter, Tony Bettenhausen, Tony Elliott, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Gene Force, Justin Grant, Bob Hare, Ted Hines, P.J. Jones, Greg Leffler, Grier Manning, Mack McClellan, Thomas Meseraull, Ethan Mitchell, Johnny Moorhouse, Kenneth Nichols, Jerry Nuckles, Tim Pangborn, Forrest Parker, Johnnie Parsons, Johnny Roberts, Randy Roberts, Lloyd Ruby, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Tom Sellberg, Dale Swaim, Johnnie Tolan & Dillon Welch
191. (2) Sherman Armstrong Jr., Jack Bates, Gays Biro, Art Bisch, Dan Boorse, Tanner Carrick, 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, Jim Mahoney, Jim McClean, Roger McCluskey, Sarah McCune, Warren Mockler, Earl Motter, Ken Nichols, Hank Nykaza, Steve Paden, Danny Pens, Michael Pickens, Parker Price-Miller, Daison Pursley, Levi Roberts, Johnny Rodriguez, Joe Saldana, Sam Sauer, Ryan Scott, Jigger Sirois, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danny Stratton, Russ Sweedler, Buddy Taylor, George Tichenor, Bud Tingelstad, Steve Troxell, Bobby Unser, Billy Wease, Ken Weiland, Cole Whitt & Carl Williams
253. (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, Kaylee Bryson, Bob Burbridge, Larry Cannon, Roy Caruthers, Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bud Clemons, Johnny Cofer, Duke Cook, Jay Cornell, A.J. Davis, Duke DeRosa, Danny Ebberts, Bob Ellingham, Dean Erfurth, Russ Faucett, Sarah Fisher, Dan Ford, Josh Ford, Danny Frye Jr., Jim Gates, Johnny Gavin, Roy Gillhamer, Roy Graham, Bob Gregg, Mike Groff, 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, Jim Bob Luebbert, Dave Lundy, Carson Macedo, Jim Malloy, Bobby Marshman, Larry McCloskey, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden, Al Miller, J.R. Miller, Stephanie Mockler, Mitchel Moles, 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, 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
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET OWNER 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: Don Kenyon, 1967: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1968: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1969: Jack Stroud, 1970: Doug Caruthers, 1971: Doug Caruthers, 1972: Shannon Buick Company, 1973: Doug Caruthers, 1974: Don Kenyon, 1975: Ron Tripp, 1976: Ron Tripp, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Doug & Dana Caruthers, 1979: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1980: Don Kenyon, 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
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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
TALES FROM THE STAT BOOK:
USAC SPRINT BALANCE 1977 VS. 2021
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (September 20, 2021)………What if I told you that the 2021 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season may be the most balanced ever?
Well then, you very well may be correct.
Entering this weekend's multiple series races on Thursday, Sept. 23, at Indiana's Gas City I-69 Speedway and Saturday, Sept. 25, at Ohio's Eldora Speedway, four different drivers have won five or more races during this USAC National Sprint Car tour.
Throughout the 66-year history of USAC National Sprint Car competition, that's occurred just once before, 44 years ago in 1977.
In the 35 contests completed thus far in 2021, four drivers have already won a total of four feature events with Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr. leading with seven scores, while C.J. Leary and Tanner Thorson have each notched five apiece.
Nine races remain on the campaign, providing an opportunity for drivers on the "bubbling under" charts to rise up and become the unprecedented fifth member of the club, namely series point leader Brady Bacon who stands at three.
At the conclusion of the 51-race 1977 season, 15 drivers landed in victory lane with four wheelmen above the Mercator line of five wins during the season. Tom Bigelow hit an all-time record 14 wins that season with Pancho Carter tallying 10 himself. In fact, that's the only instance of two different reaching double-digit wins in a single season. Meanwhile, both Bubby Jones and the season's champion, Sheldon Kinser, came away with seven triumphs apiece.
Additionally, Bacon's 43rd career Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying time on Friday night at Indianapolis, Indiana's Circle City Raceway allowed him to become the track's current one-lap track record for both USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars and USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets after scoring quick time back in June at CCR during Indiana Midget Week.
Bacon's career fast time count of 43 with the series still stands 18 behind the next closest competitor, Tracy Hines, who's 61 ranks third all-time. Tom Bigelow remains the all-time USAC National Sprint Car fast time leader with 65 while Dave Darland resides second with 62.
Kevin Thomas Jr.'s 34th career USAC National Sprint Car feature victory, which came Saturday night at Haubstadt, Indiana's Tri-State Speedway, places him just one behind Jon Stanbrough and Rich Vogler for 11th on the all-time series win list.
Of note, all five KO Motorsports cars of Chase Stockon (5th), Daison Pursley (8th), Jason McDougal (9th), Kent Schmidt (14th) and Carson Garrett (21st) started Saturday night's feature at Tri-State, marking the first time in USAC National Sprint Car history that five cars from the same team made the same feature event.
Jason McDougal's performance during Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying at Tri-State was his first career fast time with the series. He's the fourth driver to earn his first career USAC National Sprint Car fast qualifying time this year with the series, joining Thorson, Briggs Danner and Steven Drevicki.
Next up for the series is a double shot this Thursday night, Sept. 23, for the fourth annual James Dean Classic at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway featuring both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.
At Gas City, adult general admission tickets are $30. Kids 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Pit gates open at 3pm ET with the grandstands opening at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:45pm and hot laps at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
Then, it's onto Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway for a triple shot of USAC racing Friday and Saturday night, Sept. 24-25, for the 39th running of the Four Crown Nationals presented by NKT.TV.
On Friday, it's a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus USAC Silver Crown qualifying and a full program for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. Stands open at 2pm Eastern with the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On Saturday, spectator gates open at Noon Eastern with a driver autograph session scheduled from 3-4 pm in the Fan Zone, followed by the drivers meeting at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.
On both nights at Eldora, general admission tickets are $34 for adults and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved tickets are $39 for adults and $9 for ages 12 and under.
The USAC portions for all of this weekend's events from Gas City and Eldora can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
2021 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS
Most Wins: 7-Justin Grant & Kevin Thomas Jr.
Driver Point Leader: Brady Bacon
Owner Point Leader: Dynamics, Inc. #69
Top Rookie in Points: Tanner Thorson
Most Laps Led: 185-Justin Grant
Most Top-Fives: 29-Brady Bacon
Most Top-Tens: 33-Brady Bacon
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 6-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
Most Heat Race Wins: 15-Robert Ballou
Most Feature Starts: 33-Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Biggest Charge of the Year: 4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Alex Bright (18th to 4th) | 6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – C.J. Leary (21st to 7th) | 7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 8th)
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 2392 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
2 2324 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
3 2275 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
4 2145 (R) Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
5 2140 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
6 2034 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
7 1964 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
8 1842 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.
9 1559 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.
10 1213 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.
(R) represents a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 2392 Dynamics, Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)
2 2324 KT Motorsports, Whitestown, Ind. (#9K)
3 2275 TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Ind. (#4)
4 2145 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)
5 2140 Michael Motorsports, Chino Valley, Ariz. (#77m)
6 2034 Hayward Motorsports, Morrison, Ill. (#19)
7 1964 Team AZ Racing, Danville, Ind. (#21AZ)
8 1875 Ballou Motorsports, Tipton, Ind. (#12)
9 1559 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5s)
10 1482 Rock Steady Racing, Dupont, Ind. (#3R)
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 2145 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
2 859 Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, Ill.
3 650 Cole Bodine, Rossville, Ind.
4 445 Steven Drevicki, Reading, Pa.
5 436 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.
6 252 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.
7 228 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo.
8 228 Ricky Lewis, Ventura, Calif.
9 130 Ryan Thomas, Indianapolis, Ind.
10 128 Harley Burns, Brazil, Ind.
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 11: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Feb 12: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Apr 3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Apr 16: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Apr 17: (M) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Apr 22: Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Apr 23: Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Apr 24: BAPS Motor Speedway – York Haven, PA
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Apr 25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Spring Run, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
May 8: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #7BC)
May 8: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)
May 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (Hayward Motorsports #19)
Jun 15: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jun 16: (E) Bridgeport Speedway – Swedesboro, NJ
WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)
Jun 17: (E) Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jun 20: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Jul 1: Plymouth Speedway – Plymouth, IN
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Jul 2: (M) (A) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Jul 3: (M) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Jul 24: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jul 25: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
Jul 26: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
Jul 28: (I) Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
Jul 29: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Jul 30: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Jul 31: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Aug. 22: Paragon Speedway – Paragon, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Aug 27: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Aug 28: (F) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Sep 10: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Sep 11: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Sep 12: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Sep 17: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Sep 18: (M) (A) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Sep 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
Oct 1: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
Oct 2: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
Nov 4: (C) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
Nov 5: (C) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
Nov 6: (C) (F) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
Nov 12: (C) Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 13: (C) Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS ------------------
(M) represents an event co-sanctioned by MSCS
(E) represents an Eastern Storm event
(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event
(C) represents an event with the USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Cars
(SE) represents a non-points, special event
(F) represents a race awarding feature points only
(A) represents a race awarding appearance points only
(P) represents an event co-sanctioned by POWRi WAR Sprints
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
7-Justin Grant (Feb 11 at Bubba Raceway Park, Jun 15 at Grandview Speedway, Jun 17 at Selinsgrove Speedway, Jul 24 at Kokomo Speedway, Jul 31 at Tri-State Speedway, Aug 27 at Kokomo Speedway & Aug 28 at Kokomo Speedway)
7-Kevin Thomas Jr. (Feb 12 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 16 at Bloomington Speedway, Jun 20 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway, Jul 3 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Aug 22 at Paragon Speedway, Aug 28 at Kokomo Speedway & Sep 18 at Tri-State Speedway)
5-C.J. Leary (Apr 24 at BAPS Motor Speedway, Jul 1 at Plymouth Speedway, Jul 2 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Sep 11 at Huset's Speedway & Sep 12 at Huset's Speedway)
5-Tanner Thorson (Apr 23 at Big Diamond Speedway, Apr 25 at Path Valley Speedway Park, Jul 29 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Sep 10 at Huset's Speedway & Sep 17 at Circle City Raceway)
3-Brady Bacon (Apr 3 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Apr 22 at Grandview Speedway & Jul 30 at Bloomington Speedway)
3-Logan Seavey (Jul 25 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Jul 26 at Gas City I-69 Speedway & Jul 28 at Terre Haute Action Track)
2-Robert Ballou (May 8 at Eldora Speedway & Jun 16 at Bridgeport Speedway)
1-Tyler Courtney (May 8 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Kyle Cummins (Apr 17 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Chris Windom (May 26 at the Terre Haute Action Track)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
185-Justin Grant
173-Kevin Thomas Jr.
158-C.J. Leary
133-Tanner Thorson
94-Logan Seavey
87-Brady Bacon
71-Jake Swanson
44-Robert Ballou
34-Kyle Cummins
30-Tyler Courtney
27-Chris Windom
21-Jadon Rogers
17-Shane Cottle
12-Brady Short
10-Chase Stockon
6-Cole Bodine
2-Charles Davis Jr.
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TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES
29-Brady Bacon
24-Kevin Thomas Jr.
19-Justin Grant
18-Tanner Thorson
16-C.J. Leary
13-Chris Windom
9-Kyle Cummins
8-Robert Ballou & Jake Swanson
7-Logan Seavey
4-Shane Cottle
3-Alex Bright, Tyler Courtney & Chase Stockon
2-Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Jadon Rogers
1-Briggs Danner, Charles Davis Jr., Buddy Kofoid, Brandon Mattox, & Paul Nienhiser
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TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES
33-Brady Bacon
31-Justin Grant & Kevin Thomas Jr.
27-C.J. Leary
25-Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
21-Robert Ballou & Jake Swanson
15-Logan Seavey
12-Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins & Chase Stockon
9-Jadon Rogers
7-Alex Bright & Jason McDougal
6-Timmy Buckwalter & Thomas Meseraull
5-Briggs Danner
4-Tyler Courtney, Steven Drevicki & Paul Nienhiser
3-Emerson Axsom & Matt Westfall
2-Buddy Kofoid, Riley Kreisel, Brandon Mattox, Cannon McIntosh, Kendall Ruble, Brady Short & Stevie Sussex
1-Ryan Bernal, Cole Bodine, Isaac Chapple, Mario Clouser, Zach Daum, Charles Davis Jr., A.J. Hopkins, Chase Johnson, Tye Mihocko, Carmen Perigo, Daison Pursley, Mark Smith & Scotty Weir
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FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (Presented by Fatheadz Eyewear)
6-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
3-Timmy Buckwalter, Justin Grant & Logan Seavey
2-Jadon Rogers & Tanner Thorson
1-Brent Beauchamp, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, Steven Drevicki, Jason McDougal, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
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HEAT RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
15-Robert Ballou
8-Kyle Cummins & Chris Windom
7-Brady Bacon, Chase Stockon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
6-Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Thomas Meseraull Jake Swanson & Tanner Thorson
4-Brandon Mattox
3-Briggs Danner & Jason McDougal
2-Emerson Axsom, Cole Bodine, Paul Nienhiser, Logan Seavey & Brady Short
1-Max Adams, Ryan Bernal, Joey Biasi, Alex Bright, Timmy Buckwalter, Sterling Cling, Mario Clouser, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland, Zach Daum, Charles Davis Jr., Carson Garrett, Chase Johnson, Tye Mihocko, Davey Ray, Jadon Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Mark Smith, Stevie Sussex & Matt Westfall
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SEMI WINS
4-Paul Nienhiser
3-Logan Seavey & Jake Swanson
2-Timmy Buckwalter, Isaac Chapple, C.J. Leary, Jadon Rogers
1-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Alex Banales, Koby Barksdale, Nick Bilbee, Cole Bodine, Shane Cottle, Briggs Danner, Charles Davis Jr., Brandon Mattox, Thomas Meseraull, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson, Scotty Weir & Chris Windom
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Jack James
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C-MAIN WINS
2-Brent Beauchamp
1-Cole Bodine, Mario Clouser, Tim Creech, Braydon Cromwell, Aric Gentry, Chayse Hayhurst, Brandon Mattox, Stevie Sussex, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Ryan Thomas
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FEATURE STARTS
35-Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
33-Robert Ballou
32-Chase Stockon
25-Matt Westfall
22-Brandon Mattox
21-Kyle Cummins & Logan Seavey
19-Shane Cottle, Paul Nienhiser & Jadon Rogers
18-Thomas Meseraull
16-Cole Bodine
14-Mario Clouser & Jason McDougal
13-Stevie Sussex
12-Isaac Chapple
10-Max Adams, Alex Bright, Steven Drevicki & Chase Johnson
9-Briggs Danner & Charles Davis Jr.
8-Timmy Buckwalter & Mark Smith
7-Ricky Lewis, Tye Mihocko & Carmen Perigo
6-Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp & Nash Ely
5-Carson Garrett, Cannon McIntosh, Carson Short & Scotty Weir
4-Alex Banales, Nick Bilbee, Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland, Stephen Schnapf & Brady Short
3-Koby Barksdale, Ryan Bernal, Brayden Fox, Chad Frewaldt, Aric Gentry, Riley Kreisel, Kendall Ruble, Glen Saville, Cam Schafer & Kent Schmidt
2-Collin Ambrose, Robert Bell, Joey Biasi, Harley Burns, Sterling Cling, Shane Cockrum, Braydon Cromwell, Chris Gansen, Noah Gass, Max Guilford, Korbyn Hayslett, Dallas Hewitt, A.J. Hopkins, J.J. Hughes, Buddy Kofoid, Kenny Miller III, Davey Ray, Terry Richards, Kory Schudy & Eddie Tafoya Jr.
1-Garrett Abrams, Ryan Barr, Travis Berryhill, Mark Bitner, Richy Carnathan, Cindy Chambers, Brayden Clark, Anthony D'Alessio, Zach Daum, Paul Dues, Matt Goodnight, Nic Harris, Chase Jones, Tyler Kendall, Jeremy Kerzman, Brandon Long, Critter Malone, Michael Markey, Brandon Morin, Billy Ney, Jeff Pellersels, Chris Phillips, Zack Pretorius, Daison Pursley, Chase Randall, Jake Scott, Alec Sipes, Brandon Spencer, Ryan Thomas, Chet Williams & Mitch Wissmiller
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GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Tyler Courtney
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Stevie Sussex
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Tye Mihocko
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Nic Harris
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Chris Windom
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Justin Grant
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Briggs Danner
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Brandon Mattox
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Isaac Chapple
5/8: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Brady Bacon
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Jake Swanson
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Jake Swanson
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – C.J. Leary
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – Alex Bright
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Max Adams
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Collin Ambrose
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Nick Bilbee
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Zack Pretorius
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Brandon Mattox
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Cole Bodine & Jason McDougal
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Braydon Cromwell
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Chase Stockon
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Koby Barksdale
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Cole Bodine
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Chase Johnson
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Brent Beauchamp
9/10: Huset's Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
9/11: Huset's Speedway – Charles Davis Jr.
9/12: Huset's Speedway – Jeremy Kerzman
9/17: Circle City Raceway – Jadon Rogers
9/18: Tri-State Speedway – Kyle Cummins
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (12th to 4th)
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (10th to 2nd)
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Robert Ballou (22nd to 9th)
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Robert Ballou (20th to 10th)
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Kyle Cummins (11th to 1st)
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Robert Ballou (13th to 3rd)
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Alex Bright (19th to 8th)
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Alex Bright (16th to 4th)
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Alex Bright (18th to 4th)
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Dallas Hewitt (21st to 15th)
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues (22nd to 13th)
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Tanner Thorson (22nd to 11th)
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Chris Windom (13th to 7th)
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Brady Bacon (14th to 4th)
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – Jake Swanson (20th to 7th)
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – C.J. Leary (21st to 7th)
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Brady Bacon (13th to 5th)
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (20th to 8th)
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 1st)
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (18th to 11th)
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Kyle Cummins (12th to 3rd)
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Jason McDougal (15th to 5th)
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Stevie Sussex (22nd to 9th)
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – A.J. Hopkins (21st to 10th)
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 8th)
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Chris Windom (18th to 5th)
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Chris Windom (10th to 2nd)
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Chase Stockon (18th to 10th)
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Emerson Axsom (15th to 7th)
9/10: Huset's Speedway – Brady Bacon (10th to 3rd)
9/11: Huset's Speedway – Chase Stockon (24th to 12th)
9/12: Huset's Speedway – C.J. Leary (9th to 1st)
9/17: Circle City Raceway – Robert Ballou (20th to 12th)
9/18: Tri-State Speedway – Robert Ballou (15th to 6th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Noah Gass
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Jadon Rogers
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Carson Garrett
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Critter Malone
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Justin Grant
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Steven Drevicki
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Matt Westfall
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Paul Nienhiser
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Jake Swanson
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Cole Bodine
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Logan Seavey
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Logan Seavey
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – Matt Westfall
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – Chris Windom
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Brandon Mattox
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Mario Clouser
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Carson Short
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Jake Swanson
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Scotty Weir
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Stockon
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Nick Bilbee
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Kyle Cummins
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Justin Grant
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Jason McDougal
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Chase Randall
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Emerson Axsom
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Jadon Rogers
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Kyle Cummins
9/10: Huset's Speedway – Chase Stockon
9/11: Huset's Speedway – Terry Richards
9/12: Huset's Speedway – Mario Clouser
9/17: Circle City Raceway – Koby Barksdale
9/18: Tri-State Speedway – Jadon Rogers
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Matt Westfall
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Matt Goodnight
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Aaron Farney
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Brandon Mattox
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Cole Bodine
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Nash Ely
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Kyle Lick
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Mike Meyers
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Mike Meyers
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Brandon Mattox
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Paul Nienhiser
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Alex Banales
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Matt Westfall
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Alex Banales
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Max Adams
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Short
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Tye Mihocko
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Jordan Kinser
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Scotty Weir
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Chase Johnson
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Johnson
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Sterling Cling
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Critter Malone
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Tanner Thorson
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Scotty Weir
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Koby Barksdale
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Max Guilford
9/10: Huset's Speedway – Donovan Peterson
9/11: Huset's Speedway – Clinton Bruns
9/12: Huset's Speedway – Jeff Pellersels
9/17: Circle City Raceway – Scott Hampton
9/18: Tri-State Speedway – Sam Scott
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STATS
ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS
1. [62 wins] Dave Darland
2. [52 wins] Tom Bigelow
3. [47 wins] Tracy Hines
4. [46 wins] Jack Hewitt
5. [45 wins] Larry Dickson
6. [42 wins] Pancho Carter
7. [41 wins] Bryan Clauson
8. [40 wins] Gary Bettenhausen
9. [38 wins] Brady Bacon
10. [37 wins] Sheldon Kinser
11. [35 wins] Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler
13. [34 wins] Kevin Thomas Jr.
14. [32 wins] Rollie Beale
15. [31 wins] Robert Ballou
16. [30 wins] Tyler Courtney
17. [29 wins] Chris Windom
18. [28 wins] Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Justin Grant, 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 & Sammy Sessions
32. [21 wins] Greg Weld
33. [17 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise & Bud Kaeding
36. [16 wins] Damion Gardner, Jud Larson & C.J. Leary
39. [15 wins] Bobby East, Cory Kruseman & Brian Tyler
42. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, Chase Stockon & Bruce Walkup
46. [13 wins] Steve Chassey
47. [12 wins] Eric Gordon
48. [11 wins] Daron Clayton, Elmer George, Tommy Hinnershitz & Greg Leffler
52. [10 wins] Kyle Cummins, Thomas Meseraull, Eddie Sachs, Tony Stewart & Johnny Thomson
57. [9 wins] Mario Andretti, Pat O'Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Robbie Stanley
61. [8 wins] Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford & Joe Saldana
65. [7 wins] Kevin Doty, Darren Hagen, Kenny Irwin Jr., Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Bobby Santos, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas, Bobby Unser & Josh Wise
75. [6 wins] Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider & Dick Tobias
83. [5 wins] Larry Cannon, Dana Carter, Shane Cottle, 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, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Cole Whitt
102. [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
115. [3 wins] Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Joe Barzda, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Jerry Daniels, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Andy Linden, Charlie Masters, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Doug Wolfgang
136. [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, 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 & Carl Williams
170. [1 win] Donnie Adams, A.J. Anderson, Brad Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Astone, Dick Atkins, Brent Beauchamp, 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, 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, Matt Westfall, Chuck Weyant, Johnny White, Rip Williams, Jacob Wilson & Eddie Wirth
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (1956-Present)
1. (65) Tom Bigelow
2. (62) Dave Darland
3. (61) Tracy Hines
4. (43) Brady Bacon
5. (39) Levi Jones
6. (37) Larry Dickson
7. (36) Bryan Clauson
8. (35) Kevin Thomas Jr. & Rich Vogler
10. (31) Sheldon Kinser
11. (30) Pancho Carter
12. (29) Don Branson & C.J. Leary
14. (28) Justin Grant & Chase Stockon
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
35. (13) Tyler Courtney, Bobby East, Damion Gardner & Bruce Walkup
39. (12) Steve Chassey, Elmer George, Rick Hood, Jud Larson, Bill Puterbaugh, Joe Saldana & Chris Windom
46. (11) Jim Hurtubise, Jim McWithey & George Snider
49. (10) Sonny Ates
50. (9) Eddie Leavitt, Thomas Meseraull, Johnny Rutherford & Josh Wise
54. (8) Robert Ballou, Bubby Jones, Kelly Kinser, Pat O'Connor & Eddie Sachs
59. (7) Marvin Carman, Mark Cassella, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Cary Faas, Bud Kaeding, Jim Keeker, Cory Kruseman, Larry Rice, Hunter Schuerenberg, Carson Short, Mike Spencer, Johnny Thomson, Bud Tingelstad & Bobby Unser
74. (6) Mike Bliss, Daron Clayton, Derek Davidson, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jac Haudenschild, Tray House, James McElreath, Johnny Parsons, Ken Schrader & Logan Seavey
85. (5) Chad Boespflug, Cy Fairchild, Blake Fitzpatrick, Bob Frey, Tommy Hinnershitz, Andy Michner, Jan Opperman, Boston Reid, Tom Sneva, Robbie Stanley, Brad Sweet & Kevin Thomas
97. (4) Jeff Bloom, Kevin Briscoe, Timmy Buckwalter, Billy Engelhart, Chet Fillip, Darren Hagen, Chuck Hulse, Kenny Jacobs, Van Johnson, Lee Kunzman, Ralph Liguori, Jim McElreath, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Joey Saldana, Terry Shepherd, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Bob Wente
117. (3) Tommy Astone, 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
149. (2) Jarett Andretti, Mario Andretti, Keith Bloom, Chuck Booth, Don Brown, Duke Cook, Allen Crowe, Nic Faas, Larry Gates, Gene Lee Gibson, Bobby Grim, Coleman Gulick, Dave Hanna, Darl Harrison, Shane Hmiel, Josh Hodges, Marc Jessup, Brad Marvel, Max McGhee, Kevin Miller, Dustin Morgan, Charlie Musselman, Brad Noffsinger, Gary Patterson, Jiggs Peters, Byron Reed, Jerry Richert, Dave Roahrig, Jimmy Sills, Al Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Stevie Sussex, Jake Swanson, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Tyler Thomas, Tanner Thorson, Bob Veith, Jerry Weeks, Johnny White, Carl Williams & Jacob Wilson
191. (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, Cotton Farmer, Dave Feese, Braylon Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Brayden 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, Joey Kerr, Russ Klar, Kyle Larson, Rich Leavell, Jason Leffler, Michael Lewis, John Logan, Ed Lynch Jr., Critter Malone, Louie Mann, Mike Mann, Charlie Masters, Rusty McClure, Nick McCormick, Jason McDougal, 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, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Billy Vukovich, Billy Vukovich III, Lennie Waldo, Buster Warke, Gus Wasson, Shawn Westerfeld, 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: Sam 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
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ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR OWNER 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.
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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
CHASE JOHNSON DOUBLES UP AT KERN COUNTY
BAKERSFIELD, CA – SEPTEMBER 19, 2021… After winning the previous night at Bakersfield Speedway, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) topped the USAC West Coast Sprint Car debut at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (Bakersfield, CA). Driving the potent May Motorsports' #8M Fastenal / Coopers Propane Maxim, Johnson took command on the fourth circuit and was not to be denied. A.J. Bender, Brody Fuson, leading rookie contender Jarrett Soares, and Jacob Tuttle followed the Rod End Supply Hard Charger to the checkered flags.
Before claiming the fourth series victory of his career, Johnson was the night's Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier and established a new track record of 14.604 over the nine car roster. Chase finished third in his heat race and also won the companion BCRA Midget main event. In his three starts of the campaign, Johnson has three feature wins and has climbed to twelfth in the point standings.
Travis Buckley (Auckland, NZ) scored the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers Heat Race victory at Kern County. Racing Cory Kruseman's Sprint Car and Midget Driving School / FK Rod Ends #21K machine, Buckley was fifth fast in time trials and scored sixth in the feature. After his third start, Travis is ranked fifteenth in championship points.
The non-winged USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars will return to action on Saturday, October 9th at Placerville Speedway (Placerville, CA) for the "Prospector Pandemonium." The USAC Western States and Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) Midgets will share the spotlight at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Hoosier Racing Tires, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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 series Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 19, 2021 – The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Chase Johnson, 8M, May-14.604 (New Track Record); 2. Brody Fuson, 51, Van Meter-14.630; 3. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.677; 4. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-14.990; 5. Travis Buckley, 21K, Kruseman-15.071; 6. Jacob Tuttle, 87P, Tuttle-15.368; 7. Christopher Muraoka, 25, Muraoka-15.395; 8. James Herrera, 5J, Herrera-15.792; 9. Jeff Dyer, 29, Bell-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Buckley, 2. Soares, 3. Johnson, 4. Bender, 5. Fuson, 6. Tuttle, 7. Muraoka, 8. Herrera, 9. Dyer. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Chase Johnson (4), 2. A.J. Bender (2), 3. Brody Fuson (3), 4. Jarrett Soares (1), 5. Jacob Tuttle (6), 6. Travis Buckley (5), 7. James Herrera (8), 8. Christopher Muraoka (7), 9. Jeff Dyer (9). NT. ---------------------------- FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Fuson, Laps 2-3 Soares, Laps 4-30 Johnson. ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Chase Johnson (4th to 1st)
NEW USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-D.J. Johnson-584, 2-Ryan Timmons-453, 3-Jarrett Soares-389, 4-Austin Liggett-373, 5-Tanner Boul-310, 6-Kyle Edwards-279, 7-Jacob Tuttle-266, 8-Kaleb Montgomery-257, 9-Brody Fuson-256, 10-Jake Hodges-244.
NEXT USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE: October 9 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – "Prospector Pandemonium"
CHASE JOHNSON GOES FROM LAST TO FIRST AT BAKERSFIELD
BAKERSFIELD CA – SEPTEMBER 18, 2021… After arriving from a flight in time for his heat race, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) started fourteenth and won the main event at Bakersfield Speedway. Driving the potent May Motorsports' #8M Fastenal / Coopers Propane Maxim, Johnson took command on lap sixteen and sailed to his second USAC West Coast Sprint Car triumph of the season. In doing so, the night's Rod End Supply Hard Charger finished ahead of Trent Carter, A.J. Bender, point leader D.J. Johnson, and Travis Buckley.
Before scoring his third career victory with the series, Chase Johnson claimed a fifth place finish in his heat race. As the writing goes to press, the versatile driver has climbed to seventeenth in championship points with limited starts.
In Woodland Auto Display Qualifying, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA) and Kyle Edwards (Fountain Valley, CA) topped Jace Vander Weerd's 2014 track record of 12.597. Piloting Bob and Toni Van Meter's #51 American Fabrication / Fred Cummings Motorsports Spike, Fuson set the new standard of 12.354 over the fourteen car roster. The rookie contender ran fourth in his heat race and briefly led the feature before scoring ninth. Brody left Bakersfield Speedway ranked thirteenth in points, while Edwards is sixth in the point chase.
Steve Hix (Ventura, CA) raced to victory in the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers First Heat Race. Piloting his #57 No Limit Motorsports / Raney Racing Engines Triple X, Hix led the first six laps before scoring fourteenth in the main event. The veteran driver heads to Kern County Raceway Park ranked forty-first in the point standings.
Travis Buckley (Auckland, NZ) returned to USAC West Coast action and won the 10-lap Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars Second Heat Race. Racing Cory Kruseman's Sprint Car and Midget Driving School / FK Rod Ends #21K entry, Buckley was tenth fast in qualifying and finished fifth in the feature after starting seventh. Travis has climbed to twenty-fourth in points.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Christopher Muraoka (Waianae, HI) earned the night's Wilwood Disc Brakes Luck 13 Award. Driving his #25 Sure Can LLC / O'Brien Race Cars Triple X, Muraoka qualified twelfth overall and was seventh in his heat race. In Limited starts, Christopher is thirtieth in the point standings.
The non-winged USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars are back in action tomorrow, September 19th, at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (Bakersfield, CA).
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Hoosier Racing Tires, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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 series Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 18, 2021 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Brody Fuson, 51, Van Meter-12.354 (New Track Record); 2. Kyle Edwards, 39, Edwards-12.532; 3. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-12.749; 4. Trent Carter, 13, Carter-12.754; 5. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-12.787; 6. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-12.804; 7. Jacob Tuttle, 87P, Tuttle-12.876; 8. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-12.919; 9. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-13.021; 10. Travis Buckley, 21K, Kruseman-13.152; 11. Hannah Mayhew, 43, Mayhew-13.416; 12. Christopher Muraoka, 25, Muraoka-13.440; 13. Matt Day, 97, Day-NT; 14. Chase Johnson, 8M, May-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Hix, 2. Mayhew, 3. Tuttle, 4. Fuson, 5. Bender, 6. Day, 7. D.Johnson. NT.
SWAY-A-WAY TORSION BARS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Buckley, 2. Rutherford, 3. Soares, 4. Edwards, 5. C.Johnson, 6. Carter, 7. Muraoka. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Chase Johnson (14), 2. Trent Carter (9), 3. A.J. Bender (10), 4. D.J. Johnson (8), 5. Travis Buckley (7), 6. Hannah Mayhew (11), 7. Kyle Edwards (5), 8. Matt Day (13), 9. Brody Fuson (6), 10. Troy Rutherford (4), 11. Jarrett Soares (2), 12. Jacob Tuttle (3), 13. Christopher Muraoka (12), 14. Steve Hix (1). NT.
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Hix, Laps 7-13 Rutherford, Laps 14-15 Fuson, Laps 16-30 C.Johnson
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Chase Johnson (14th to 1st)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Christopher Muraoka
NEW USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-D.J. Johnson-584, 2-Ryan Timmons-453, 3-Austin Liggett-373, 4-Jarrett Soares-318, 5-Tanner Boul-310, 6-Kyle Edwards-279, 7-Kaleb Montgomery-257, 8-Jake Hodges-244, 9-Ryan Bernal-241, 10-Brody Roa-229.
NEXT USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE: September 19 – The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, California
4 OF A KIND:
KTJ JETS TO FOURTH HAUBSTADT HUSTLER WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Haubstadt, Indiana (September 18, 2021)………It wasn't all that long ago that Kevin Thomas Jr. considered himself lapped traffic at Tri-State Speedway.
Three years removed from his last moment of exuberance at the Haubstadt, Indiana quarter mile, the all-time leader in Haubstadt Hustler victories was back on top with his fourth career win in the 14th edition of the 40-lap event on Saturday night.
The 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2021 Haubstadt Hustler winner rose to the lead on lap 18 where he took advantage of a fortuitous opportunity in traffic when the two frontrunners collided. Thomas then led the final 23 circuits to become $12,000 richer in the event co-sanctioned by the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the Midwest Sprint Car Series.
In the ensuing years after his most recent Tri-State Speedway win, the Cullman, Alabama driver's USAC results at the track were unfathomable considering he now stands ahead of Daron Clayton and is now tied with Kyle Cummins as the winningest USAC Sprint Car driver at TSS with six scores in his career.
In five USAC starts between 2019-2020, Thomas finished better than 14th just once. In 2021, however, his program has taken a turn for the better with a 7th in April; 2nd in July; and capped it off with a victory on Saturday in his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
"I was lapped traffic here for two years," Thomas reflected. "I veered away from the normal things we did, so we just went back to the drawing board, figured some things out and went back to our normal package. We just gave it everything we've got, and it worked out. It's been a work in progress for the last couple years to get back to our normal form here. I think after a few times being here and running on the podium and having good races, 40 laps is what we needed."
Thomas' 34th career USAC National Sprint Car feature victory places him just one behind Jon Stanbrough and Rich Vogler for 11th on the all-time series win list, four of which have now come in the lucrative Haubstadt Hustler.
"It's pretty cool," Thomas said of his Tri-State success. "There's a lot of people that are really good here who've been doing it a long time. Cummins being one of them, Clayton being the other. They're showmen around this place, so it's good to be in the same category as them."
Thomas' seventh series win of the year has already equaled his most successful USAC National Sprint Car season in terms of feature victories after also winning seven in 2013 and 2018. And it all came after having to make some alterations to his ride to get it prepared to go the distance.
"It's been a bit of an up and down night," Thomas said. "I had to change a rear end earlier today. I haven't won at Haubstadt in what seems like forever, so it's fun to come back and win the Haubstadt Hustler again. It was a good showing for us and I'm super happy for our guys."
Thomas started fourth and remained in the position for the first 12 laps while pole sitter and 2015 Haubstadt Hustler winner Brady Short led the opening lap, which were his first laps led in a USAC National Sprint Car feature since winning the Indiana Sprint Week round at Lincoln Park Speedway more than five years earlier in July of 2016.
Short's initial run at the front was short lived, however, as he slid straight up the track on his entry in turn one on the second lap, allowing the defending Haubstadt Hustler winner, Chase Stockon, a wide-open shot underneath to claim the top spot.
Short kept in close touch with Stockon, not allowing the 2021 MSCS titlist to construct a profound chasm between himself and his challengers. Short was the teeter to Stockon's totter, and on lap seven, it was Short's turn to repossess control of the race lead when he used the bottom side to charge past Stockon at the exit of turn four.
Subsequently constructing a 1.4 second lead, Short held control as July Tri-State USAC Sprint winner Justin Grant slotted into second. On lap 16, Grant chiseled a full second off Short's advantage as Short skidded up the surface in turn four while trying to wade his way through the backend of the field.
Push came to shove on the 18th lap in turn four when the 21st running car of Max Adams became sideways at the exit of turn four. The nose of Adams' car contacted the passing car of Short, which ricocheted him into Grant, knocking both airborne and askew, clearing a path for both Thomas and Cummins to race by on the outside and take over the top two spots.
"Early in the race, it gets a little tight whenever we get around lapped cars just because the track is still a little narrow," Thomas explained. "It's 40 laps, so they have to do that in order for us to have a good race there at the end. It's just unfortunate for (Short and Grant) because they were really fast. I don't really think I would've had a whole lot for them."
In pursuit of Thomas for the next 16 successive laps, Cummins' bid for a third career Haubstadt Hustler crown ended on lap 34. Cindy Chambers, running 22nd, and another car made contact between turns three and four, knocking out the front end of Chambers machine as it veered straight into the path of Cummins who ramped over her left rear tire, performed a 180-degree spin, and came to a stop after bouncing his left rear tire against the outside turn four wall.
Cummins managed to restart and finish in the 11th position. Meanwhile, Chambers, who used an MSCS provisional, became the fifth woman driver to start a USAC National Sprint Car feature event, joining Katlynn Leer, Jordan Weaver, Shauna Hogg and Sheila Rankin. Chambers finished 22nd.
From there on out, for the final seven lap stretch, Thomas was unrattled as he whisked away from the field virtually unchallenged to grab the checkered flag by a 2.216 second margin over Justin Grant, Brady Bacon, Tanner Thorson and Chase Stockon.
Justin Grant's prowess in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Tri-State has been solid this year with the Ione, California driver earning a 4th in the spring, followed by a win in July and a runner-up finish on Saturday in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy. His previous best finish in the Haubstadt Hustler came in a sixth-place performance in 2020.
"I think we're finally getting it figured out," Grant said of his recent performances at Tri-State. "I didn't want to think that last time in case it was just a fluke. The guys gave me a great car again. We were pretty good tonight, but we were maybe a little bit too good, too early and it got loose at the end. So, we'll note it and try to come back stronger for the next 40-lapper."
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) swapped cars for Saturday night's Haubstadt Hustler following a fourth-place result on Friday night at Circle City Raceway. One night later, it was a typical, gold standard Bacon result with a third-place finish in his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy, which marked his fifth consecutive top-five finish with the series.
"We're usually good here in the feature," Bacon said. "We just struggled at getting a decent starting spot. I could at least see the front tonight and we were able to get to third. The track had a little more grip to start with than we're used to here, so it kind of threw us off a little bit. Every time we think we're getting something figured out, it throws us a little curveball. But, usually in the feature, everything gets back to normal and we're pretty good."
Of note, all five KO Motorsports cars of Chase Stockon (5th), Daison Pursley (8th), Jason McDougal (9th), Kent Schmidt (14th) and Carson Garrett (21st) started Saturday night's feature, marking the first time in USAC National Sprint Car history that five cars from the same team made the same feature event.
McDougal's performance during Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying was the first career fast time for the driver in USAC National Sprint Car competition.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 18, 2021 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Haubstadt Hustler (Co-Sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series)
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.562; 2. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-13.721; 3. Stephen Schnapf, 11s, Martin-13.862; 4. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-13.933; 5. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-13.949; 6. Critter Malone, 7, Seven-14.131; 7. Stan Beadles, 84, Beadles-14.167; 8. James Lyerla, 11, JL-14.349; 9. Eddie Vancil, 7v, Vancil-14.984; 10. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-17.268.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kendall Ruble, 17, Ruble-13.525; 2. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-13.704; 3. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.911; 4. Cindy Chambers, 18c, Chambers-14.010; 5. Collin Ambrose, 36, Ambrose-14.081; 6. Dylan Moan, 17D, Moan-14.120; 7. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.126; 8. Braydon Cromwell, 77s, Sturgeon-14.312; 9. Carson Garrett, 15KO, KO-14.323.
FLIGHT THREE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-13.399; 2. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.483; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.569; 4. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.675; 5. Koby Barksdale, 16K, Knight-13.724; 6. Emerson Axsom, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.867; 7. Sam Scott, 7s, Scott-13.924; 8. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.070; 9. Tres Mehler, 5A, Hawkins-NT.
FLIGHT FOUR FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-13.404; 2. Daison Pursley, 5KO, KO-13.494; 3. Kent Schmidt, 5K, KO-13.762; 4. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.819; 5. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-14.029; 6. Matt Humphrey, 79, Humphrey-14.391; 7. Kyle Stearns, 87, Stearns-14.797; 8. Ted Kirkpatrick, 63LK, Sturgeon-15.082; 9. Chris Robling, 23, Kolehouse/Scott-15.663.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Stephen Schnapf, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Critter Malone, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Stan Beadles, 8. James Lyerla, 9. Aric Gentry, 10. Eddie Vancil. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Short, 2. Kendall Ruble, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Cindy Chambers, 7. Collin Ambrose, 8. Dylan Moan, 9. Braydon Cromwell. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Jason McDougal, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Koby Barksdale, 7. Sam Scott, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Tres Mehler. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Kent Schmidt, 5. Max Adams, 6. Matt Humphrey, 7. Kyle Stearns, 8. Ted Kirkpatrick, 9. Chris Robling. NT
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Aric Gentry, 2. James Lyerla, 3. Braydon Cromwell, 4. Ted Kirkpatrick, 5. Chris Robling, 6. Eddie Vancil, 7. Dylan Moan, 8. Brandon Mattox. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Koby Barksdale, 5. Max Adams, 6. Aric Gentry, 7. Sam Scott, 8. James Lyerla, 9. Collin Ambrose, 10. Cindy Chambers, 11. Kyle Stearns, 12. Braydon Cromwell, 13. Ted Kirkpatrick, 14. Stan Beadles, 15. Matt Humphrey, 16. Critter Malone. NT
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
(P represents an MSCS provisional starter)
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Brady Short, Laps 2-6 Chase Stockon, Laps 7-17 Brady Short, Laps 18-40 Kevin Thomas Jr.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2392, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2324, 3-Justin Grant-2275, 4-Tanner Thorson-2145, 5-C.J. Leary-2140, 6-Chris Windom-2034, 7-Jake Swanson-1964, 8-Robert Ballou-1842, 9-Chase Stockon-1559, 10-Logan Seavey-1213.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-154, 2-Tanner Thorson-152, 3-Brady Bacon-150, 4-Justin Grant-134, 5-Robert Ballou-131, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-120, 7-Thomas Meseraull-119, 8-Logan Seavey-115, 9-Buddy Kofoid-88, 10-Kyle Cummins-84.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 23, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Kyle Cummins
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Jason McDougal
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Stockon
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Brady Short
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Robert Ballou (15th to 6th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Jadon Rogers
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Sam Scott
THORSON THREADS THE NEEDLE TO CIRCLE CITY USAC SPRINT WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (September 17, 2021)………No driver has won more often during the 2021 USAC National season than Tanner Thorson. Likewise, no driver has been victorious more often under the Friday night lights this season than he.
The Minden, Nevada driver added another one to his most prolific USAC campaign yet on this particular Friday evening, leading all 30 laps and threading the needle to avoid catastrophe along the way en route to the win in the series' debut at Circle City Raceway, the first USAC National Sprint Car event held at a dirt track in Indianapolis, Indiana since 1984.
Thorson collected his series-leading 12th USAC National victory of the year, five of which have come on a Friday night. His fifth USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victory of the season came amid a close call early in the going after leading the first 10 laps of the event in relatively comfortable fashion.
On lap 11, as Thorson was just beginning to work his way into traffic, turn two became calamity corner. With Thorson following just feet behind, the 20th and 21st place cars of Travis Berryhill and Jadon Rogers made bumper-to-bumper contact at the top of the second turn, sending Berryhill into a spin.
The quick acting Thorson mashed the gas, shot the narrow gap, and split the difference between Rogers and Berryhill to escape without harm and without foul in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – CSI – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy.
"I know I had to show my nose," Thorson explained. "I kind of poked my nose in there and was kind of hoping they'd jump out of the throttle. As soon as I got next to them, the guy outside of me jumped in the throttle and got into the back of him. I just jumped out of the throttle and rolled right between them."
As Thorson escaped the escapade, the same couldn't be said for a few others. Berryhill's landing spot for his spin just happened to be right into the path of second-running Brady Bacon who locked up his brakes and broadsided the sitting car of Berryhill at the bottom of turn two before coming to a stop.
Moments later, 17th running Ricky Lewis clipped the turn three infield tire and flipped wildly several times, eventually coming to a rest upside down in turn four. The Ventura, Calif. native, who was up until 9am that morning constructing his brand-new racecar, walked away without injury.
When action resumed, it was second-running Kevin Thomas Jr. taking repeated runs at Thorson at the top of the pedestal. Thomas worked the bottom with Thorson never straying from the top. Thomas came within a half-car length of Thorson at the stripe on both laps 13 and 14, then gradually slipped back to a full length on lap 15, two lengths on lap 16 and more beyond the 17th circuit.
During Thomas Jr.'s surge, similar circumstances were occurring for Emerson Axsom, who ran ninth during the lap 11 restart and had worked his way up to third by the time eighth running Thomas Meseraull spun to a stop onto the edge of the infield grass in turn two on lap 21.
On the ensuing lap 22 restart, Axsom pulled no punches and wasted little time in continuing his spurt to the front of the field. In turn three, Axsom shot to the bottom to slide past Thomas Jr. However, midway through the turn, as Axsom skated up to the cushion, his car became just a tad too sideways.
The trailing Thomas Jr. tried but couldn't avoid the contact, his front bumper nudging the left side nerf bar of Axsom, which straightened Axsom out. Both kept going, after nearly halting. As they gathered their horses up, Chris Windom and Jake Swanson raced under the pair while C.J. Leary went around the outside of both, completely knocking both out of the top-five in the running order.
The trouble that transpired behind was a-okay with Thorson, free without a major challenge the rest of the way to win the $5,000 top prize with Windom, Swanson, Bacon (who restarted 20th on lap 11) and Leary rounding out the top-five.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) finished as the runner-up, 3.092 seconds behind Thorson in his Hayward Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Byrd – B & H Contractors – AMSOIL/DRC/Claxton Mopar.
"I was just holding him off there at the end," Windom recalled of keeping J. Swanson at bay. "We probably weren't the winning car there, but we got a little better on the last restart. I adjusted on my shocks a little bit but didn't quite get tight enough to be good off the bottom all while Tanner was hitting his marks on the top. It was kind of hard to reel him in at that point.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) had a tumultuous ride on the way to a 3rd place result in what was his fourth podium finish of the season in his Team AZ Racing/USW Cat Construction – RSS Industries – CSI/DRC/1-Way Chevy. An incident during the heat race forced his crew to swap out front ends, and ultimately, the team was forced to transfer their way through the night's semi-feature.
Swanson's first appearance at the 1/4-mile dirt oval led him from a 10th place starting spot and into the top-three at a venue he likened to a Midwest version of California's Ventura Raceway.
"The fact that we can dig ourselves out of these holes, that's big. That means a lot," Swanson said. "You have to be able to do that; that's what wins races and wins championships. I don't think we wanted to practice changing front ends, but we did. We can fine tune. It was good to drive by guys and roll up through there, but we just need to start up front to feel like we'll be in position. We can't have bad luck like that in those heat races and have problems like that because it just buries you too deep."
Brady Bacon's (Broken Arrow, Okla.) 43rd career Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying time on Friday night allowed him to become the current Circle City Speedway one-lap track record for both USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars and USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets after scoring quick time back in June at CCR during Indiana Midget Week.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 17, 2021 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.163 (New Track Record); 2. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.301; 3. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-12.330; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-12.346; 5. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-12.363; 6. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.370; 7. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.438; 8. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-12.449; 9. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.541; 10. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-12.558; 11. Max Adams, 2E, Epperson-12.605; 12. Koby Barksdale, 16K, Knight-12.627; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 23s, Simon-12.644; 14. J.J. Hughes, 76, Hughes-12.663; 15. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.676; 16. Brent Beauchamp, 29, LB-12.705; 17. Ricky Lewis, 11, Lewis-12.749; 18. Emerson Axsom, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.785; 19. Travis Berryhill, 77s, Sturgeon-12.796; 20. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.872; 21. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.991; 22. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-13.028; 23. Braydon Cromwell, 77, Sturgeon-13.059; 24. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-13.169; 25. Andrew Prather, P8, Prather-13.210; 26. Scott Hampton, 51, Slinkard-13.251.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Brent Beauchamp, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Jason McDougal, 7. Max Guilford, 8. Andrew Prather, 9. Travis Berryhill. 2:07.99 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Max Adams, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. J.J. Hughes, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Ricky Lewis, 7. Scott Hampton, 8. Braydon Cromwell, 9. Jake Swanson. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Koby Barksdale, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Justin Grant, 8. Jadon Rogers. 2:13.31
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Jason McDougal, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Ricky Lewis, 6. Travis Berryhill, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Scott Hampton, 9. Braydon Cromwell, 10. Max Guilford, 11. Andrew Prather. NT
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
**Andrew Prather flipped during the semi. Ricky Lewis flipped on lap 11 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Tanner Thorson.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2342, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2274, 3-Justin Grant-2225, 4-Tanner Thorson-2095, 5-C.J. Leary-2090, 6-Chris Windom-1984, 7-Jake Swanson-1914, 8-Robert Ballou-1792, 9-Chase Stockon-1509, 10-Logan Seavey-1183.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-154, 2-Tanner Thorson-149, 3-Brady Bacon-145, 4-Justin Grant-133, 5-Robert Ballou-122, 6-Thomas Meseraull-119, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-117, 8-Logan Seavey-115, 9-Buddy Kofoid-88, 10-Kyle Cummins-84.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 18, 2021 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Haubstadt Hustler (Co-Sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series)
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Jadon Rogers
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Max Adams
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jake Swanson
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Robert Ballou (20th to 12th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Koby Barksdale
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Scott Hampton
D.J. JOHNSON LEADS USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CARS TO BAKERSFIELD & KERN COUNTY
By Lance Jennings
SEPTEMBER 14, 2021... Starting this Saturday, the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars are set for two nights of action. On September 18, the traditional 360s will return to Bakersfield Speedway (Bakersfield, CA) for their only appearance of the season. Promoted by Scott Schweitzer, the ninth point race will also feature Hobby Stocks, American Stocks, Mod Lites, and the California Lightning Sprints. The Pit Gates will open at 2:30pm, the Front Gates will open at 4:00pm, and Racing is scheduled for 6:00pm at "The West's Fastest 1/3-Mile High Banked Clay Oval." Located at 5001 North Chester Extension in Bakersfield, California, more event information can be found at bakersfieldspeedway.com or by calling 661.393.3373.
The following night, Sunday, September 19th, the series will make their first ever visit to The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (KCRP). The action packed card will also showcase the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) Midgets, California Lightning Sprints, and Mod Lites. The Pit Gates will open at 2:00PM, the Front Gates open at 3:00PM, with Racing scheduled at 6:00PM. Located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard in Bakersfield, California, more event information can be found at kernraceway.com or by calling 661.835.1264.
For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of both night's action over the internet.
BAKERSFIELD & KCRP NOTES:
- In addition to the regular series contingency awards, Series Coordinator Stephanie Odom has announced an extra $100 cash bonus for hard charger this weekend.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- NO ENTRY FEE IN 2021. ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS OR TEMPORARY PERMITS (TPs) ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. TPs are $25 and Memberships are $150.
- 2021 ENGINE RULES: Legal ASCS spec cylinder head w/ 2 3/16 Injector/Restrictor; or 2 3/16 with any open legal head. All Open head must be within 1 degree of OEM Head. All heads ASCS and Open must be Chevy 23 degree plus or minus 1 degree. Ford 20 degree plus or minus 1 degree. Dodge 18 degree plus or minus 1 degree.
- 2021 WEIGHT RULE: 1,475 lbs. with driver for cars with an open cylinder head. Cars with an ASCS cylinder head must weigh 1,450 lbs. including driver.
- 2021 TIRE RULE: Due to the current tire shortages, any Hoosier Right Rear Tire is legal for competition with the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars. All four corners must be Hoosier.
- 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.
- ANY WINGLESS SPEC SPRINT is invited to race with the USAC West Coast Sprints and can run their rules 100 percent, including the tire rule.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
Since April 25, 2009, Bakersfield Speedway has hosted fifteen West Coast Sprint Car events. Eleven different drivers have claimed victory, led by Davey Pombo with three wins. Chase Johnson won the last Bakersfield show on March 16, 2019 and Jace Vander Weerd set the 1-lap track record of 12.597 on March 22, 2014. A complete Bakersfield series win list is at the bottom of this release.
Heading to Bakersfield, D.J. Johnson (Stockton, CA) has a 64-point advantage over the competition. Driving his #33 Bill's Tire Service of Pacheco / The Halstead Real Estate Eagle, Johnson ran second to Chase Johnson at Merced's "Kevin Triplett Memorial" on August 7th. At press time, the 2013 USAC Western Classic Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has four heat race victories, one Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, six top-10 finishes, and 5 feature laps led on the season. D.J. has two career wins and will be looking to add both winning trophies to his collection.
Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA) is second in the championship point chase. Racing the family owned #29T Timmons Auto & Truck Repair / Evergood Fine Foods Maxim, Timmons finished fourth at the Merced County Fairgrounds. To date, the 2016 Rookie of the Year has two Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards and six top-10 finishes on the season. With four series wins, Ryan won the March USAC/CRA 410 opener at Kern County with his 360 and will have his sights on gaining valuable points by sweeping the weekend.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) ranks third in the USAC West Coast point standings. The pilot of the family owned #83 Excel Environmental / Liggett Trucking Maxim did not compete at Merced's "Kevin Triplett Memorial." At press time, the 2018 Champion has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four top-10 finishes and three feature laps led to his credit. With twelve career victories, Austin is a threat to win on any given night.
Tanner Boul (Auberry, CA) has climbed to fourth in the chase for the championship. Driving the family owned #99T King Racing Products / BR Motorsports Triple X, Boul led the opening three laps at Merced before scoring third at the checkered flags. To date, the young driver has posted one heat race victory, one Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, and four top-10 finishes on the season. Tanner will be looking to earn his first wins this Saturday and Sunday.
Leading rookie contender Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA) sits fifth in the USAC West Coast point chase. Racing the family owned #12 DenBeste Water Solutions / C&H Veteran Enterprises Maxim, Soares finished seventh in the Merced feature. At press time, the young driver has one heat race victory, and four top-10 finishes in the campaign. Jarrett will have his sights on claiming his first USAC West Coast feature wins.
Other rookie contenders are Cody Fendley (Placerville, CA). Jacob Tuttle (Oakley, CA), Cody Smith (Chico, CA), Logan Calderwood (Goodyear, AZ), Tuesday Calderwood (Goodyear, AZ), Nate Schank (Santa Rosa, CA), and Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA).
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Kaleb Montgomery, Jake Hodges, Kyle Edwards, "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr., Trent Carter, James Herrera, Daniel Whitley, and more.
Bakersfield Speedway is located at 5001 North Chester Extension in Bakersfield, California. Fan tickets are $20, Kids tickets (6 to 12) are $10, and Children Tickets (5 and under) are FREE. For more Bakersfield event information, visit the track's website at www.bakersfieldspeedway.com or call 661.393.3373.
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 $20, Junior tickets are $10, and Children Tickets (5 and under) are FREE. CAMPING IS FREE. For more KCRP information, visit kernraceway.com or by call 661.835.1264.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks AMSOIL, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, 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 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
BAKERSFIELD USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Jace Vander Weerd – 12.597 (03/22/14)
BAKERSFIELD USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Davey Pombo, 2-Ryan Bernal, 2-Troy Rutherford, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Danny Faria Jr., 1-Bud Kaeding, 1-Ricky Kirkbride, 1-Peter Murphy, 1-Craig Stidham, 1-Ryan Timmons, 1-Richard Vander Weerd.
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Ryan Bernal, 1-Shawn Arriaga, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-Cody Fendley, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Troy Rutherford.
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. D.J. Johnson-517, 2. Ryan Timmons-453, 3. Austin Liggett-373, 4. Tanner Boul-310, 5. Jarrett Soares �-271, 6. Kaleb Montgomery-257, 7. Jake Hodges-244, 8. Ryan Bernal-241, 9. Brody Roa-229, 10. Kyle Edwards-217, 11. Cody Fendley �-210, 12. Danny Faria Jr.-165, 13. Jacob Tuttle �-159, 14. Cody Smith �-158, 15. Logan Calderwood �-153, 16. Kalib Henry-144, 17. Tuesday Calderwood �-135, 18. Shane Hopkins-131, 19. Nate Schank �-130, 20. Brody Fuson �-126, 21. Trent Carter-90, 22. James Herrera-86, 23. Chase Johnson-84, 24. Geoff Ensign-78, 25. Daniel Whitley-77, 26. Troy Rutherford-76, 27. Shawn Arriaga-75, 28. Joe Stornetta Jr.-73, 29. Trent Williams-69, 30. Heath Holdsclaw-67, 31. Jace Vander Weerd-66, 32. Tristan Guardino-60, ---. Bradley Terrell-60, ---. Trevor Schmid-60, 35. Trey Walters-56, 36. Gary Paulson-55, 37. Grasen Ternora-50, 38. Bob Davis-48, ---. Zack Albers-48, 40. Bruce Douglass-47, ---. Jake Morgan-47, 42. David Lindt-45, 43. Hannah Mayhew-43, 44. Rick Hendrix-42, ---. Travis Buckley-42, 46. Christopher Muraokoa-36, ---. Dylan Bloomfield-36, 48. Braidon Moniz-32, 49. Jimmy Trulli-27, 50. Tom Hendricks-25, 51. Matt Streeter-24, 52. Bill Cornwell-11, 53. Steve Hix-10, ---. Kala Keliinoi-10, ---. Michael Faccinto-10.
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK - LOCATION
April 3: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
April 10: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Geoff Ensign)
June 12: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (CANCELLED)
June 26: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Troy Rutherford)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Cody Fendley)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Shawn Arriaga)
August 7: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 18: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
September 19: Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA
October 9: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Prospector Pandemonium)
October 10: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (CANCELLED)
October 16: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
November 26: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 27: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with VRA Sprints.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.
CIRCLE THE DATE: USAC SPRINTS DEBUT AT CIRCLE CITY FRIDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (September 15, 2021)……… A dirt track in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana last played host to a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event 37 years ago.
This Friday night, September 17, the newly opened Circle City Raceway will bring the Thunder and Lightning division of USAC back to Indianapolis as the headliner at the site of the Marion County Fairgrounds on the southeast side of Indy.
Twenty-eight previous dirt USAC National Sprint Car races have been held inside Indianapolis between 1961-1984, with all but one of those occurring at the one-mile Indiana State Fairgrounds. The first of those 28 was held at Indianapolis Raceway Park during its brief tenure as a .686-mile dirt track for one weekend in 1961. It was paved shortly after and remains so to this day six decades later.
One previous USAC National event has been held at the track thus far with the NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship taking center stage in June during Indiana Midget Week, which produced a first-time series winner in Corey Day.
Sprint Cars were also on hand that night and became the first taste of Circle City Raceway's 1/4-mile dirt oval for several drivers expected to take part in this Friday's event.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Brady Bacon (Dynamics #69) won the Midwest Sprint Car Series feature that evening after earlier winning his heat race. The three-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion's fortunes extended to the midget as well where he set quick time and established the one-lap track record before going on to finish a solid third in the feature.
San Jose, California's Thomas Meseraull (Yeley #2) finished as the runner-up to Bacon in the sprint car that night and was running as high as sixth just before midway of the midget feature before experiencing trouble, which knocked him out of contention. Like Bacon, Meseraull has winning experience at Circle City, winning a winged sprint car feature there in July.
Sutter, California's Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox #5) took third in the sprint car and was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger in the midgets, carving his way through the field to a seventh-place result after starting 22nd. Seavey's sprint car teammate, Lafayette, Indiana's Alex Banales (Baldwin-Fox #5x) finished 17th.
Fairland, Indiana's Brent Beauchamp (LB #29) won the first sprint car heat at Circle City in June, then scored a fourth place run in the feature. Meanwhile, Fort Branch, Indiana's Chase Stockon (KO #5s) rounded out the top-five that night.
Cullman, Alabama's Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT #9K), a six-time USAC Sprint winner in 2021, notched a runner-up finish in the Indiana Midget Week A-Main. His midget teammate, Franklin, Indiana's Emerson Axsom, will compete in the Clauson Marshall Newman No. 39BC Sprint Car on Friday night. CMR previously scored a pair of All Star Circuit of Champions wins at Circle City Raceway in May with driver Tyler Courtney and again at CCR in a midget with Day.
USAC's top National Sprint Car Rookie, four-time winner from Minden, Nev. Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood #19AZ), charged from 16th to 8th in the midget in June at Circle City. Canton, Illinois' Chris Windom (Hayward #19), the 2017 USAC Sprint Car champ, won his midget heat, then finished 12th in June's feature. Ione, California's Justin Grant (TOPP #4), who leads USAC Sprints in 2021 with seven wins, was a 21st place finisher in the midget feature following a mid-race tangle.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Jason McDougal (KO #5m) was one of four drivers to make the feature lineup for both the sprint and midget features at Circle City, finishing 22nd in the sprint and 24th in the midget back in June.
Norman, Oklahoma's Koby Barksdale (Knight #16K) will wheel the car that finished 21st during June's sprint car feature. He'll be joined by several other drivers and teams taking their first shot at the newest venue on the USAC schedule.
Friday night's event at Circle City will present racing action for both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets.
Tickets are available at https://market.myracepass.com/store/tickets/?i=1225941&store=28122 or at the gate on race day. Adult general admission tickets are $25, kids aged 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
Pits open at 3pm ET with grandstands opening at 5:30pm and hot laps at 6pm with qualifying & racing immediately following.
The entire event from Circle City this Friday can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2271, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2215, 3-Justin Grant-2176, 4-C.J. Leary-2023, 5-Tanner Thorson-2019, 6-Chris Windom-1912, 7-Jake Swanson-1841, 8-Robert Ballou-1749, 9-Chase Stockon-1460, 10-Kyle Cummins-1183.
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS ON INDIANAPOLIS DIRT TRACKS:
5-Tom Bigelow
3-Pancho Carter, A.J. Foyt & Joe Saldana
2-Billy Cassella & Sheldon Kinser 1-Larry Dickson, Bubby Jones, Lealand McSpadden, Don Nordhorn, Ken Schrader, Billy Shuman, Ron Shuman, George Snider, Dick Tobias & Bruce Walkup
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS ON INDIANAPOLIS DIRT TRACKS:
1961: A.J. Foyt (5/28 at Indianapolis Raceway Park)
1973: Billy Shuman & Don Nordhorn (6/8 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1974: A.J. Foyt & A.J. Foyt (5/24 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1975: Joe Saldana & George Snider (5/23 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1976: Pancho Carter & Larry Dickson (6/4 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds) and Sheldon Kinser, Bruce Walkup & Pancho Carter (7/31 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1977: Tom Bigelow & Tom Bigelow (5/27 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds) and Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter & Tom Bigelow (7/2 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1978: Lealand McSpadden, Billy Cassella & Dick Tobias (5/26 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1979: Tom Bigelow, Bubby Jones & Billy Cassella (5/25 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1980: Sheldon Kinser (5/26 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1981: Joe Saldana (5/22 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1982: Ron Shuman (5/28 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1983: Ken Schrader (5/21 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
1984: Joe Saldana (5/12 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds)
DO THE HUSTLE: $12,000 HAUBSTADT HUSTLER HITS TRI-STATE SATURDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Haubstadt, Indiana (September 15, 2021)………You can always count on the Haubstadt Hustler to bring the extra. Extra laps, extra money and extra-ordinary racing competition.
It's 40 laps. It's $12,000-to-win. It's the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and Midwest Sprint Car Series at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.!
This Saturday night's 14th edition of the event on September 18 is the biggest yet, with increased pay throughout the field and features four past Haubstadt Hustler winners Kevin Thomas Jr., Kyle Cummins, Chase Stockon and Brady Short, in addition to Tri-State USAC National Sprint Car winners Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Chris Windom, Justin Grant and Stephen Schnapf, plus 2021 Haubstadt MSCS winners Jadon Rogers, Critter Malone and many more.
Chase Stockon, from nearby Fort Branch, Ind., comes into Saturday as the reigning Haubstadt Hustler king, winning the 2020 event, which was his second career TSS USAC Sprint score after winning initially in the Spring of 2016. Besides his win, Stockon's Haubstadt Hustler stat sheet displays constant consistency with nine top-tens in total to go along with three consecutive 5th place runs between 2014-15-16. He was also victorious at Tri-State's MSCS Hoosier Sprint Nationals on Aug. 14 of this year.
Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) is the only three-time winner of the Haubstadt Hustler, capturing his trio in 2013-17-18, and his five overall USAC Sprint Car feature wins at Tri-State rank second all-time. Thomas also collected a 2nd at the Hustler in 2015, plus a 4th in 2016 and a 7th in 2012.
Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) arrives as the winningest USAC National Sprint Car feature winner at Tri-State, capturing his sixth and most recent during the 2021 Spring Showdown back in April. Unsurprisingly, his resume at the Haubstadt Hustler is top-notch. His two victories in the event came in 2016 and 2019. He was also 2nd in 2017, 3rd in 2010 and 2014, and was 5th in 2013. He was also the fastest qualifier for the Haubstadt Hustler in 2020. Cummins has won at Tri-State a total of three occasions this year, leading all drivers in that category.
Short (Bedford, Ind.) notched a victory in the 2015 Haubstadt Hustler, one of his two career USAC Sprint wins at "The Class Track." He's also recorded runner-up finishes in the inaugural edition of the event in 2008 and again in 2013, as well as a 3rd in 2009, a 7th in 2017 and 9th in 2019.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) captured his first career Tri-State USAC National Sprint Car feature win in July of 2021 during the Indiana Sprint Week closer. Grant was the fastest qualifier at the 2019 Haubstadt Hustler but ran into trouble just before midway of the feature event. His best final placement at the "Hustler" came in 2016 where he finished 8th followed by a 10th in 2017. Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.), charged from 14th to 2nd in his first Haubstadt Hustler start in 2020 which remains his best career series finish in USAC National Sprint Car competition. The 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has won twice at Tri-State with MSCS this season with victories in the Memorial Weekend Classic and the Summer Shootout.
Veteran Critter Malone (Pittsboro, Ind.) has annually made the haul to TSS to compete in USAC Sprint Car events throughout the past decade. At the 2020 Haubstadt Hustler, the two-time USAC National Midget feature winner turned in his best career USAC National Sprint Car feature finish with a 4th. The son of former longtime USAC Chief Starter Shim Malone was also 6th at the Haubstadt Hustler in 2019, 7th in 2010 and 10th in 2011 at the "Hustler." He won his first career race at Tri-State on September 5 during MSCS's Labor Day Weekend Challenge.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) looks to make his first Haubstadt Hustler start since 2017. Meseraull won his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature at Tri-State in October 2020. He finished 3rd in the inaugural Haubstadt Hustler in 2008 and equaled that performance with another 3rd in 2017.
Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) scored a Tri-State win in a thrilling USAC National Midget A-Main during the 2019 season. In his first career Haubstadt Hustler start in 2018, the two-time USAC National Sprint Car feature winner earned his best finish in the event, a 3rd.
Three drivers – Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou and Chris Windom – have prior USAC National Sprint Car wins at Tri-State but are seeking a first Haubstadt Hustler triumph this Saturday. Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) won there in early 2015. The two-time USAC National Sprint champ's Haubstadt Hustler record has a 3rd in 2013, a 4th in 2015 and a 5th in 2011.
Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) won the 2014 Indiana Sprint Week finale at TSS. He's come close to taking home the top honors at the Haubstadt Hustler, finishing 2nd in 2014, and 3rd in both 2012 and 2020. The 2015 USAC National Sprint titlist notched the fastest qualifying time at the 2018 Haubstadt Hustler.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) corralled his TSS USAC victory back in April of 2017. The 2017 USAC National Sprint Car driving champion's six top-tens in the Haubstadt Hustler have been highlighted by top runs up to 5th on three occasions in 2012, 2019 and 2020, plus a 6th in 2016-17 and 8th in 2015.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) is more than ready to breakthrough for a first Tri-State USAC National Sprint Car win after four previous wins in MSCS competition at the track. Last Sunday's $20,000 winner at Huset's Speedway in South Dakota led 44 total laps over the 2018 and 2019 installments of the Haubstadt Hustler that led to finishes of 2nd in 2018 and 3rd in 2019, which serve as his two best performances. The 2019 USAC National Sprint Car titlist also took home an 8th in 2020, plus 9th place results in 2015 & 17.
A nice crop of Haubstadt Hustler Rookies, three of which are currently within the top-10 of the series standings coming in, will be taking their shots, including Tanner Thorson, Logan Seavey and Jake Swanson.
Well on his way to earning USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year honors is Thorson (Minden, Nev.), who finished 8th and 5th in his first two Tri-State USAC Sprint appearances this season after finishing a best of 2nd at TSS during a USAC National Midget feature in October 2020.
Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) will be making his first career Haubstadt Hustler appearance this Saturday. He set fast time during qualifying for the Indiana Sprint Week round at TSS in August of 2020, ultimately finishing 12th in the main event. His first ever USAC Sprint Car ride at Tri-State resulted in a 3rd place finish in the Spring of 2018. In one TSS appearance this year, in July, he was 14th.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), seventh in the series' standings, finished 11th and 12th at Tri-State this season. He's joined in the event by Haubstadt Hustler veterans Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.) who finished a career-best 10th in the 2020 race.
Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) was a personal-best 3rd in the 2016 Haubstadt Hustler to go along with a 10th in 2013. Stephen Schnapf (Newburgh, Ind.) scored his lone career USAC National Sprint Car win at Tri-State in 2020's Spring Showdown. His two Haubstadt Hustler starts resulted in an 11th in both 2018 and 2019. Kendall Ruble (Vincennes, Ind.) punched in a career best 4th with USAC in the 2019 Haubstadt Hustler.
Kent Schmidt (Owensville, Ind.), team manager for the KO Motorsports car of Chase Stockon that won the 2020 Haubstadt Hustler, finished 11th in 2020, which was his best result as a driver in the event.
The $12,000-to-win event will utilize the format regularly used by the Midwest Sprint Car Series. The night will be led off by group qualifying to set the heat race lineups and conclude with a 40-lap feature event.
USAC and MSCS have co-sanctioned the event since 2011. The first three events held in 2008-09-10 came under the MSCS banner solely. Jeff Bland Jr. was victorious in the inaugural Haubstadt Hustler in 2008.
The Midwest Mini Sprint Association will also be in action on Saturday night at Tri-State. The pits open at 3pm Central, grandstands at 4pm and hot laps at 6:30pm. Adult general admission tickets are $30, students (ages 13-18) are $20 and 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
The entire event from Tri-State this Saturday can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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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
TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS
6-Kyle Cummins
5-Daron Clayton & Kevin Thomas Jr.
4-Cory Kruseman
3-Rick Hood
2-Hunter Schuerenberg, Brady Short, Jon Stanbrough & Chase Stockon
1-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Steve Butler, Dave Darland, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Blake Fitzpatrick, Damion Gardner, Justin Grant, Tracy Hines, Kenny Jacobs, Levi Jones, Casey Riggs, 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)
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.
C.J. SEES $20,000 USAC SPRINT CAR PAYDAY AT HUSET'S USAC NATIONALS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (September 12, 2021)………When C.J. Leary gets on a roll, he's routinely displayed his ability to ride that hot streak as long as he possibly can.
In fact, since 2016, no driver has won two-in-a-row more often in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature events than the Greenfield, Ind. native with five.
Sunday night, during the inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals, Leary became the first driver in the series' 2021 season to win consecutive races on multiple occasions, also doing the same in July at Plymouth, Ind. and Putnamville, Ind.
Leary turned the Brandon, South Dakota 1/3-mile dirt oval into his personal ATM as he followed Saturday's preliminary win with the biggest payday of his racing career during Sunday's finale, collecting a payday of $20,000 by capturing the 40-lap victory.
Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) became the third different race leader on lap 19 after Logan Seavey and Chris Windom exchanged the lead five different times in the first half of the event. Leary tracked down the leaders just one lap prior to midway, and ultimately propelled past Windom for the top spot, then fended off challenges from both Chris Windom and Brady Bacon down the stretch to score a biggie in his Michael Motorsports/Kodiak Products – Gray Auto – Valvoline/DRC/Cressman.
"I hit the setup really good two nights in a row," Leary revealed. "That's kind of unheard of in sprint car racing. It's usually just 'get it close, and let the driver drive it.' I gave all I had tonight, and during the last yellow, I looked at the jumbo screen and saw that there were only five laps to go, and I was like, 'man, I've got to get up on the wheel If I really want to win this $20-grand because I knew Brady and Chris were hungry to win too.'"
Pole sitter Seavey hopped into driver's seat of the 24-car field on the initial start, leading the opening circuit-and-a-quarter when Robert Ballou and Windom, running second and third, made contact, sending Ballou's left front wheel ramping over Windom's right rear in turn one. Ballou glanced off the outside wall, then stopped with a flat left front tire on his machine. Ballou would return to finish 11th.
Seavey struck the first blow by leading each of the first three laps before Windom stormed by around the outside to lead lap four. Seavey ducked back under Windom to etch his name and number on laps five and six until Windom came roaring back topside to the point on the seventh go-around. Seavey flexed his muscles one more time as he scooted back by on the bottom of turns one and two to reassume the number one position.
Bacon turned up the thermostat on Windom by edging ahead in turn two on lap nine, which caught Windom's attention as he gritted his teeth to shoot by both Bacon and Seavey in quick succession to snare the lead around the bottom berm with nine laps now completed and it's where he'd remain until the 19th lap.
Meanwhile, Leary's run was beginning to take shape as he rocketed past Bacon for third on the lowline in turn two on lap 11, then maneuvered his way by Seavey for second in the same spot five laps later, this time in the thick of the forest of traffic.
Once clear, Leary scooped chunks out of Windom's once commanding lead, from five car lengths behind to two car lengths in arrears and then nosing in front of Windom as the pair of past USAC National Sprint Car champion split above and below 18th running Isaac Chapple in an electrically hair-raising endeavor entering the third turn with Leary shooting out the other side of the tunnel as the race leader.
With five laps remaining, Leary and Windom approached the 13th running car of Mario Clouser to put him a lap down. Leary followed Clouser through the middle while Windom went two steps higher up to the cushion in turns three and four. Windom whirled past the pair and became the new race leader for a split-second when the yellow was displayed for early race leader Logan Seavey who slowed and endured an agonizing crawl down the back straightaway with mechanical issues sending him to the sidelines.
With the yellow, Windom was repositioned back into the position he possessed during the last scored lap – second. Now with lapped traffic absent from the equation, it was time for Leary to prepare for another war, this time with three-time series champ Bacon.
Bacon clawed his way past Windom for second, and then applied the heavy pressure to Leary, looking high and low to no avail as Leary withstood all of the above to win by a 0.582 margin over Bacon, Windom, Tanner Thorson and Kevin Thomas Jr., who finished as the driver who recorded the most points throughout the entirety of the three-night USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car racing event Huset's.
Leary endured traffic, and he endured pressure from two of the best in the business in Bacon and Windom on the homestretch. In the end , he endured trials and tribulations, some of which he attributed to placing him directly in victory lane at the conclusion of the evening.
"That lapped traffic was tough," Leary said. "Actually, it might've won me the race. I caught Clouser there, and he was ripping the top in three and four and I'd been kind of diamonding it. He was slowly driving away from me off of four. So, I was like, 'man, maybe the top finally came in down there.' On the restart, I moved up there and I felt like it was treacherous. I had to go elbows up and give her all she had. It won me the race over there, for sure. That was a helluva race and I had a lot of fun. I've never won $20 grand before."
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), who'd twice won $20,000-to-win USAC National Sprint Car races at Iowa's Knoxville Raceway in 2019-20, came up just short in his bid for another hefty padding of his wallet, finishing in the second position in his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy.
"I wasn't aggressive enough at the beginning, but with the way the track was, I didn't really know what it was going to do," Bacon explained. "It was actually slicker at the beginning than it was at the end. We had a really good car, and we were able to sneak by Windom on a restart. My only shot was to get under C.J. entering turns one and two before he cut down, but I just couldn't quite get there with two to go. I just had to take what we could get there."
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) thought he had the deal sealed with five laps remaining. However, an untimely caution relegated him from first to second, then ultimately third at the finish line in his Hayward Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Byrd – B & H Contractors – AMSOIL/DRC/Claxton Mopar. A similar caution while leading Friday's midget race saw him shuffled the USAC career Triple Crown champion back to second in the end, a feat Windom wasn't all that excited to repeat in Sunday night's sprint car race.
"That's $20,000 down to whatever we got for third," Windom lamented. "I felt like we had it there. We got by (Leary) and I think that would've been the race. It's another caution here this week that put me in a bad spot. That's racing though. You never know when they're going to come out. This weekend, they just haven't been on my side."
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 12, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Ryan Bernal (#17w Wood), 2. Jason McDougal (#5m KO), 3. Robert Ballou (#12 Ballou), 4. Tanner Thorson (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 5. Jake Swanson (#21AZ Team AZ), 6. Brady Bacon (#69 Dynamics), 7. Chad Frewaldt (#4F Frewaldt), 8. Jeff Pellersels (#X Pellersels), 9. Robert Bell (#71 Bell), 10. Donovan Peterson (#11xs Peterson). 2:09.61 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Chase Stockon (#5s KO), 2. Terry Richards (#18 Richards), 3. Isaac Chapple (#52 Chapple), 4. Mario Clouser (#6 EZR), 5. C.J. Leary (#77m Michael), 6. Chris Windom (#19 Hayward), 7. Thomas Meseraull (2 Yeley), 8. Cam Schafer (#97 Roach), 9. Clinton Bruns (#7 Bruns). 2:11.51
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Charles Davis Jr. (#47 Davis), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#9K KT), 3. Matt Westfall (#33m Marshall), 4. Justin Grant (#4 TOPP), 5. Alex Banales (#5x Baldwin-Fox), 6. Brandon Mattox (#28 Mattox), 7. Jeremy Kerzman (#3K Kerzman), 8. Glen Saville (#19L Layton), 9. Logan Seavey (#5 Baldwin-Fox). NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Alex Banales, 2. Cam Schafer, 3. Glen Saville, 4. Jeremy Kerzman, 5. Jeff Pellersels, 6. Clinton Bruns, 7. Donovan Peterson, 8. Robert Bell. NT
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (9), 2. Brady Bacon (8), 3. Chris Windom (4), 4. Tanner Thorson (10), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 6. Justin Grant (3), 7. Chase Stockon (6), 8. Jason McDougal (12), 9. Thomas Meseraull (7), 10. Ryan Bernal (14), 11. Robert Ballou (2), 12. Jake Swanson (13), 13. Mario Clouser (15), 14. Matt Westfall (18), 15. Brandon Mattox (17), 16. Charles Davis Jr. (5), 17. Logan Seavey (1), 18. Isaac Chapple (16), 19. Terry Richards (19), 20. Cam Schafer (22), 21. Chad Frewaldt (20), 22. Glen Saville (23), 23. Jeremy Kerzman (24), 24. Alex Banales (21). NT
**Glen Saville flipped during the third heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Logan Seavey, Lap 4 Chris Windom, Laps 5-6 Logan Seavey, Lap 7 Chris Windom, Lap 8 Logan Seavey, Laps 9-18 Chris Windom, Laps 19-40 C.J. Leary.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2271, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2215, 3-Justin Grant-2176, 4-C.J. Leary-2023, 5-Tanner Thorson-2019, 6-Chris Windom-1912, 7-Jake Swanson-1841, 8-Robert Ballou-1749, 9-Chase Stockon-1460, 10-Kyle Cummins-1183.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-148, 2-Brady Bacon-143, 3-Tanner Thorson-134, 4-Justin Grant-131, 5-Thomas Meseraull-119, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-117, 7-Logan Seavey-115, 8-Robert Ballou-114, 9-Kyle Cummins-84, 10-Buddy Kofoid-79.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 17, 2021 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Jeremy Kerzman
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Ryan Bernal
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Chase Stockon
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Charles Davis Jr.
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Alex Banales
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: C.J. Leary (9th to 1st)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Mario Clouser
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Jeff Pellersels
WINDOM BANKS 20-GRAND AS 100-LAP
HUSET'S USAC NATIONALS MIDGET WINNER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (September 12, 2021)………In a race where multiple leaders fell by the wayside, Chris Windom found himself in a seemingly envious position with 15 laps to go in Sunday night's $20,000-to-win, 100-lap USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature at the inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals in Brandon, South Dakota.
However, Windom had already been entrenched in this scenario multiple times throughout the weekend with varying degrees of success.
With just less than five laps left in the preceding, accompanying USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature, for just a brief, fleeting moment, Windom thought he had the $20,000 prize just within his grasp.
When the yellow flag fell, it negated Windom's pass for the lead, with the end result putting him third in the final order, necessitating the Canton, Ill. native to hit the reset button for the ensuing long-distance midget feature up next.
Taking the lead with just 15 laps remaining in the midget feature after leader Chase Randall's flat right rear tire drama, subsequent turn one wall contact and flip, Windom experienced no interruptions and no technical difficulties en route to finally grabbing the $20,000 victory Sunday night in his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"This definitely makes up for not winning the sprint car race," Windom said with a grin. "That was a fun race. This thing was so good. I didn't feel really good the first 50 laps, but I felt like we were maintaining. The next 50, when the track kind of moved to the top, I could run that diamond line down there. It was just so good."
Windom had experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in USAC Midget competition throughout the weekend at Huset's. On Friday, he was leading late, but was passed as he changed lines during the green-white-checkered finish, knocking him back to second in the final results. On Saturday, Windom reversed his fortunes by leading the final nine laps to reign victorious.
The reigning series champ started seventh in Sunday night's finale, which was dominated early by top series Rookie and pole sitter Randall for the first 13 laps and Kevin Thomas Jr. between laps 14 through 19.
Eighth starting Cannon McIntosh's first name was aptly fitting as he stormed around the outside of Thomas Jr. to the lead between turns three and four on lap 20 when Thomas Jr. became stifled in traffic behind the car of Casey Hicks, which aided McIntosh in his rush to the front.
McIntosh's raid of the field was just as breathtaking as the lightning quick pace of the race in the first half as the first 42 laps clicked off in the blink of an eye without a stoppage. But that's where the heartache and heartbreaks began.
With everything seemingly going to perfection and possessing a four second lead, McIntosh began to slow dramatically on the back straightaway with a completely flat right rear tire. That initiated the first yellow flag period, which ultimately led into the previously scheduled eight-minute red flag break for the field to add fuel and make adjustments.
Jason McDougal assumed his role as the new race leader when action resumed on lap 50, which proved to be short-lived. Fourth running Thomas Meseraull spun on his own between turns one and two, setting off a chain reaction of events behind him which resulted in ninth-place Mitchel Moles flipping upside down in an incident from which he walked away.
Also caught up in the melee were Daison Pursley who continued onward after slight contact with the rear bumper of the already-in-the-process-of-spinning Meseraull. Shane Golobic, meanwhile, contacted the spinning Meseraull square in the side of his nerf bar. After repairs, Golobic returned to the fray to finish seventh.
The first race leader of the night became the first race leader of the second half of the 100-lapper with Randall blitzing his way around the outside of McDougal on the lap 50 restart (part two). Thomas Jr. occupied the bottom as he waged war for second with McDougal up top while Windom slotted into fourth.
Another turn one incident halted activity on lap 56 as a tangle in turn one saw Chance Crum, Justin Grant, Austin Barnhill and a backwards facing Meseraull all parked on the banking. Barnhill became the only driver to restart with the remaining three cars suffering terminal damage or mechanical issues.
A steadily surging Windom took the third position from Thomas Jr. on lap 68, then four laps later, snagged second from McDougal with a turn three slider on lap 72.
Windom then chased down Randall for the lead, taking multiple shots, sliding even and sliding past the young Texan, but Randall had an answer each and every time. Randall was prepared once again in turns three and four when Windom dove low into turn three, blazing past Randall, who succinctly turned his car downhill and raced back underneath and ahead of Windom off turn four.
Mere moments later, disaster struck Randall whose right rear tire went flat prior to his entry on the cushion in turn one, forcing him into the outside wall and sending him flipping down the banking. The stunning result ended Randall's bid to become the first driver to win his first career USAC National Midget feature in a 100-lap race since Zach Daum at Haubstadt, Indiana's Tri-State Speedway in the 2011 Hut 100.
With clear sailing ahead, new race leader Windom was not going to be denied over the final 15-lap stretch, instantaneously posting a half-straight lead as a furious battle between Buddy Kofoid, Thomas Jr. and Pursley swarmed in the distance despite a lap 91 tangle between Austin Barnhill and Lance Bennett in turn two, which created one more final restart opportunity with five to go.
Windom put all challengers to rest once more, opening a six car length advantage and closing with a final margin of victory of 0.751 at the checkered flag with Buddy Kofoid, Daison Pursley, KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Tanner Thorson (from 18th) and Kevin Thomas Jr. rounding out the top-five.
Windom has been a master tradesman at the 30-lappers with all 10 of his previous USAC National Midget victories prior to Sunday night coming at that distance. The USAC Triple Crown champ admitted he needed all the allotted time, and then some, as he didn't begin to make much headway until the 50-lap mark on his way to his fifth series win of the season and 11th of his career.
"I didn't really get there until the second half of the race," Windom explained. "Chase was running a really good race. He shouldn't hang his head and there's nothing he could've done. I just kept putting pressure on him and, unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about his tire blowing. I felt, hopefully, we would've been able to get by him.
I felt like we had the best car," Windom continued. "I felt like the line I was running through one and two was good; and I felt like I was making really good speed through three and four over the last 30-40 laps. I felt like, if I didn't screw up, it was going to be tough to get around us. That's how it was, and we get to take that $20,000 home."
Like Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, which Windom has won at on four occasions in his USAC career, Windom feels now like Huset's Speedway is a home-away-from-home in South Dakota.
"You could run the bottom for the first 50 laps, but it seems like the line gravitated up to the top every night for every race," Windom noted. "This place is so fun running the top. It's like a mini-Eldora and I love Eldora. This is pretty sweet and I'm proud of all my guys."
With a cast on his hand, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) got progressively better each night throughout his weekend at Huset's finishing 4th on Friday, 3rd on Saturday and 2nd on Sunday in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Toyota/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"I don't feel like I've gone away," Kofoid stated. "Part of it has been figuring out how to run with the cast and I've got less of a cast now, so I can grip the wheel a little bit better. We fell off a little bit, then we got the car back to going really good. We had three good runs this weekend but none of them were wins, unfortunately. Before that last red, I felt like I was the best car and was catching those guys. That red didn't really help me."
Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) finished the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals as the driver who accumulated the most total points in USAC National Midget competition throughout the three nights of racing, finishing 3rd on Sunday night in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/IWX – TRD – Toyota/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"One-hundred laps is a long time, and when you knock off those first 50 in one stretch, it's pretty tiring, to say the least," Pursley admitted. "A lot of guys did fall out, but I got by Chris (Windom) pretty quickly, and then we had that fuel stop and you could change a little bit of stuff. He got really, really good. But we'll take a third and keep on digging."
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 12, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Emerson Axsom (#15 Petry), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#5 Petry), 3. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 4. Ryan Timms (#85T CBI), 5. Logan Seavey (#25 Malloy), 6. Shane Golobic (#17w Wood), 7. Mitchel Moles (#07w Wood), 8. Aaron Werner (#11w Peterson). 2:12.56 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Daison Pursley (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac), 3. Brenham Crouch (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Buddy Kofoid (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Chance Crum (#26 Rudeen), 6. Tanner Thorson (#19T Reinbold/Underwood), 7. Austin Barnhill (#17B Dave Mac), 8. Lance Bennett (#10 Mason). 2:15.12
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Justin Grant (#2J RMS), 2. Jason McDougal (#19 Hayward), 3. Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), 4. Chase Randall (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), 5. Chad Frewaldt (#9F Frewaldt), 6. Casey Hicks (#5H Hicks), 7. Chris Windom (#89 CBI). NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (7), 2. Buddy Kofoid (11), 3. Daison Pursley (12), 4. Tanner Thorson (18), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 6. Logan Seavey (6), 7. Shane Golobic (10), 8. Jason McDougal (4), 9. Brenham Crouch (15), 10. Emerson Axsom (2), 11. Ryan Timms (16), 12. Chad Frewaldt (20), 13. Brant O'Banion (24), 14. Austin Barnhill (19), 15. Aaron Werner (21), 16. Casey Hicks (22), 17. Chase Randall (1), 18. Lance Bennett (23), 19. Chance Crum (13), 20. Justin Grant (14), 21. Thomas Meseraull (9), 22. Mitchel Moles (5), 23. Cannon McIntosh (8), 24. Hayden Reinbold (17). NT
**Mitchel Moles flipped on lap 50 of the feature. Chase Randall flipped on lap 86 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Chase Randall, Laps 14-19 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 20-42 Cannon McIntosh, Laps 43-49 Jason McDougal, Laps 50-85 Chase Randall, Laps 86-100 Chris Windom.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1799, 2-Chris Windom-1789, 3-Emerson Axsom-1705, 4-Daison Pursley-1655, 5-Tanner Thorson-1651, 6-Justin Grant-1633, 7-Logan Seavey-1520, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1471, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1450, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1288.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-154, 2-Tanner Thorson-148, 3-Brady Bacon-143, 4-Justin Grant-131, 5-Thomas Meseraull-119, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-117, 7-Logan Seavey-115, 8-Robert Ballou-114, 9-Buddy Kofoid-88, 10-Kyle Cummins-84.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 23, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – James Dean Classic
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Chase Randall
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Daison Pursley
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Tanner Thorson (18th to 4th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Brant O'Banion
Bright Extends Points Lead With Ninth Win Of 2021 Season
Winchester, VA. September 11th, 2021. Nick Fillman, USAC ECSC.
At the conclusion of twenty five hard fought laps, Alex Bright of Collegeville, PA was able to collect his ninth win of the season in dramatic fashion over Carmen Perigo Jr, and continue to add to his points lead on the 2021 Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, Presented by Capitol Renegade.
Following heat race action, and the redraw for the top eight starting positions in the feature event field, Bruce Buckwalter Jr who is continuing to develop as a sprint car driver, and Alex Bright would lead the field to green for the twenty five lap feature event at the Winchester Speedway.
The initial green flag of the feature event immediately saw bright make his move around the outside of Buckwalter to take the lead for the feature event. Bright was would work the middle lane of the very slick, and technical surface of the Winchester Speedway, with Buckwalter on the bottom as the field completed the first pair of laps.
The car that was most noticeably on the move was veteran driver Carmen Perigo Jr who was picking off cars lap by lap, quickly finding himself in the third place position by the completion of lap four. Perigo was utilizing the extreme high side of the speedway to work his way up, and was catching the lead duo in rapid fashion, with Perigo moving into the runner up position by the conclusion of lap six.
Bright was the leader in front of the field with Perigo glued to the tail tank, as they completed laps with Bright running the middle, and Perigo on the high side blocking the runs of Perigo lap after lap. Buckwalter was solidly in third, with Drevicki holding a steady fourth. The most intense battle on track outside of the battle for the lead was between Eric Jennings, Kenny Miller lll and Joey Amantea early on, who remained three wide and trading positions at the back half of the top ten for numerous laps with Jennings holding onto fifth as the field reached the half way point.
Carmen Perigo appeared to have a much faster car than Bright while continuing to run the outside lane of the track, but simply would run out of room as the duo would come off of the turns onto the straightaways. The two would be virtually inseparable, clicking off laps and quickly finding less than ten laps to go. Meanwhile, the battle for fifth through eighth remained even more intense as fifteenth starting Colin White entered the battle for the top five, ad would secure that honor on lap sixteen. Jennings, Amantea, and Miller continued to battle with no position outside of fifth being safe.
On lap seventeen of the feature event Perigo finally got the run he was looking for, and got around Bright for the race lead at the line heading into turn one. Bright was able to pull the slide job in the middle of turns one and two and break the momentum of Perigo around the high-side of the speedway and take the lead back as they made their way down the back straightaway.
Perigo continued to give Bright everything he could with no contact being made between the lead duo as the laps continued to wind down. Ultimately Perigo would not have enough to get back by Bright for the lead as Alex Bright would go on to score his ninth win of the season. Perigo had to settle for second, with Buckwalter a strong third, Drevicki and a hard charging Colin White rounding out the top five.
What else could be said about Alex Bright and the Hummer Motorsports team on the 2021 Series trail? They have been lights out suffering only one DNF, and that was due to an accident battling inside the top five at Action Track USA. With the win on Saturday night at the Winchester Speedway, and a rare off night for Briggs Danner, Bright has extended his points lead to the largest it has been all season long with a 73 point advantage over Danner with five races remaining. While the gap may be at its biggest point of the season, anything can happen in racing, and five races is more than enough time for Danner to mount a charge back for the points lead.
Coming home in second yet again was veteran driver Carmen Perigo Jr. Perigo has been the most consistent of any driver in the series at the Winchester Speedway nearly picking up the win last season in the series debut losing the lead on the last lap to Steven Drevicki. Perigo finished third after leading early in July, and was the bridesmaid yet again on Saturday night. In addition to the runner up effort on Saturday, Perigo nearly collected the win at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds over Briggs Danner adding to the many chances Perigo has had to find victory lane. Perigo has been busy this season, and recently completed a pair of runs in Illinois with the USAC Silver Crown series as well. Perigo may not be a regular competitor with the series, but one thing is certain, every time the 21 car enters the pit area they are a threat for the win.
Bruce Buckwalter is in his sophomore season of sprint car racing, and this season has been improving consistently week after week. Buckwalter has usually found himself just outside the top five many times during the 2021 season, but Saturday night a well earned podium finish was afforded to the Buckwalter team. Buckwalter has been fast both times the series has been to Winchester, where he is noticeably comfortable as Buckwalter has experience in an ARDC Midget, and it shows.
Steven Drevicki found himself inside the top five yet again, and has begun to find a rhythm that is more of what is expected of the three time champion. This season has been full of ups and downs for Drevicki, and team, but over the last two weeks they have stabilized and finished solidly inside the top five. Drevicki is still piloting what is his normal 410 powered car rather than the family's 360 car, but the increased comfort should help Drevicki as they prepare to head back to the mid west in two weeks to the Gas City Speedway and Eldora Speedway.
Rounding out the top five with a very impressive run was 2021 Series rookie Colin White. Colin had a very strong run going in the series first stop to the Winchester Speedway in July, but it was unfortunately cut short due to engine issues aboard the Hamilton Racing 32. White was making big moves in his heat race, but grabbed a piece of the wall with the tail tank of his entry, and fell all the way back to the eight place spot in his heat. By way of the deep heat race finish, he would start fifteenth in the feature event, and methodically worked his way from the back, to the front of the field in the feature. White used all three lines on track, low, middle and high to pass cars, and perhaps with the benefit of a caution, may have advanced even further in the top five and competed for the win. A strong and impressive run for the talented rookie driver.
Coming home in sixth just outside the top five, but worthy of a shoutout was Bloomingburg, NY driver Eric Jennings. Jennings made the long haul down to Virginia bringing his crate powered car along, instead of his usual ride aboard the Weslowski 16cw entry. While being down on horsepower, Jennings held his own in the slick, and came away with a near top five effort on Saturday night.
Up next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, Presented by Capitol Renegade is the third stop of the season to the always entertaining Bridgeport Motorsports Park as a part of Danny Serrano weekend on September 25th. Follow along with the series and all our news, photos, and other updates on Twitter at: @USACecsc, and on Facebook at: USAC East Coast Sprint Cars.
USAC EC at Winchester Results:
Heat 1 (8 Laps, 4 Redraw): 1. 3BC Nash Ely, 2. 23m Kenny Miller, 3. 19 Steven Drevicki, 4. 14 Eric Jennings, 5. 67 Jason Cherry, 6. 57 Damon Paul, 7. 5G Briggs Danner, 8. 32 Colin White.
Heat 2 (8 Laps, 4 Redraw): 1. 21 Carmen Perigo Jr, 2. 20 Alex Bright, 3. 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr, 4. 88J Joey Amantea, 5. 7 Ed Aikin, 6. 17m Christian Bruno, 7. 38s Tom Savage, 8. 83s Billy Ney.
Feature Event (25 Laps): 1. 20 Alex Bright, 2. 21 Carmen Perigo Jr, 3. 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr, 4. 19 Steven Drevicki, 5. 32 Colin White, 6. 14 Eric Jennings, 7. 88J Joey Amantea, 8. 23m Kenny Miller, 9. 17m Christian Bruno, 10. 7 Ed Aikin, 11. 3BC Nash Ely, 12. 67 Jason Cherry, 13. 57 Damon Paul, 14. 5G Briggs Danner, 15. 38s Tom Savage, 16. 83s Billy Ney.
Feature lap leaders: Alex Bright (1-16, 18-25), Carmen Perigo (17).
Penske Shocks $100 Award: Alex Bright
Penske Shocks $50 Award: Carmen Perigo Jr
Penske Shocks $25 Award: Bruce Buckwalter Jr
Ultra Shield 3rd Place: Bruce Buckwalter Jr
Ultra Shield 6th Place: Eric Jennings
Vahlco Wheels Hard Charger $50 award: Colin White (15th to 5th).
USAC EC Points as of 09/11:
1. Alex Bright 1385
2. Briggs Danner 1312 (-73)
3. Nash Ely 1020 (-365)
4. Damon Paul 990 (-395)
5. Bruce Buckwalter 911 (-474)
6. Steven Drevicki 882 (-503)
7. Tommy Kunsman 832 (-553)
8. Joey Amantea 821 (-564)
9. Mike Thompson 790 (-595)
10. Kenny Miller lll 781 (-604)
HAYDEN WILLIAMS GOES WIRE-TO-WIRE AT VENTURA
VENTURA, CA – SEPTEMBER 11, 2021… Making his first start with the USAC Western States Midget Series, Hayden Williams (Auckland, NZ) led all 30-laps to win at Ventura Raceway. Driving Bill Buckley's #1NZ Esslinger Engineering / Lucas Oil Bullet, Williams started on the outside of the front row and sailed to the $1,200 victory. Travis Buckley, point leader Blake Bower, Matt Mitchell, and Caden Sarale followed Williams to the checkered flags.
Before scoring his first main event victory, Williams was fifth quick out the nineteen car roster and won the night's 10-lap Competition Suspension Incorporated / Rod End Supply Second Heat Race. The New Zealand based driver left the Ventura County Fairgrounds ranked twenty-fifth in the point chase.
In Woodland Auto Display Qualifying, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) earned his second fast time of the campaign. Racing the Beilman Motorsports' #31B Dave.com / Walt Johnson Motorsports Spike, Johnson ran second to C.J. Sarna in his heat race and placed sixth in the main event. In limited starts, Chase has climbed to ninth in the point standings.
C.J. Sarna (Brea, CA) raced to victory in the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers First Heat Race. Piloting his #20 ZMax / Final Final Spike, Sarna qualified sixteenth overall and finished fifteenth in the feature. The former co-rookie of the year heads to Placerville ranked fourth in the chase for the championship.
Robby Josett (Santa Clarita, CA) returned to action and won the 10-lap Ultra Shield Race Products / Rod End Supply Third Heat Race. Driving Keith Ford's #73B Edgewater Construction / Sun Valley AG Transport Triple X, Josett was twelfth quick in time trials and scored seventh in the main event .In limited starts, Robby is tied for twentieth in championship points.
Colby Johnson (Penngrove, CA) earned the night's Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award with an eighth place run from nineteenth. Racing Dean Alexander's #5K Walker Air Filtration / WFX Spike, Johnson qualified nineteenth and placed fifth in his heat race. At press time, Colby has moved to thirteenth in points.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Ron Hazelton (Chatsworth, CA) claimed the night's Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award. Piloting his #15 TRC Transmission / West Evans Motorsports Beast, Hazleton was seventeenth fast in time trials and ran sixth in his heat race. The veteran driver has moved to eleventh in points.
On Saturday, October 9th, the USAC Western States and Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) Midgets will clash at Placerville Speedway (Placerville, CA) for the "Prospector Pandemonium." The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars will join the action packed card.
The USAC Western States Midget Series thanks AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing.com, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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 on the USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 11, 2021 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Chase Johnson, 31B, Beilman-12.072; 2. Blake Bower, 9, Boscacci-12.427; 3. Troy Rutherford, 8W, Woodland-12.475; 4. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.529; 5. Hayden Williams, 1NZ, Buckley-12.566; 6. Travis Buckley, 7NZ, Buckley-12.603; 7. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-12.650; 8. Caden Sarale, 32, Sarale-12.654; 9. Matt Mitchell, 68, Six8-12.776; 10. Gage Rucker, 11K, Kruseman-12.818; 11. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-12.857; 12. Robby Josett, 73B, Ford-13.093; 13. Mike Leach Jr., 33P, Leach-13.094; 14. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-13.331; 15. Joey Bishop, 45, Bishop-13.481; 16. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-13.517; 17. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-13.715; 18. Tony Gomes, 1X, LKK-NT; 19. Colby Johnson, 5K, Alexander-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sarna, 2. Ch.Johnson, 3. Fuson, 4. Ito, 5. Co.Johnson, 6. Rucker, 7. Leach. NT.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Williams, 2. Sarale, 3. Pankratz, 4. Bower, 5. Soares, 6. Hazelton. NT.
ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS / ROD END SUPPLY THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Josett, 2. Buckley, 3. Rutherford, 4. Bishop, 5. Mitchell, 6. Gomes. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Hayden Williams (2), 2. Travis Buckley (1), 3. Blake Bower (5), 4. Matt Mitchell (11), 5. Caden Sarale (10), 6. Chase Johnson (6), 7. Robby Josett (7), 8. Colby Johnson (19), 9. Gage Rucker (12), 10. Randi Pankratz (15), 11. Jarrett Soares (13), 12. Joey Bishop (16), 13. Ron Hazelton (17), 14. Troy Rutherford (4), 15. C.J. Sarna (8), 16. Dylan Ito (9), 17. Mike Leach Jr. (14), 18. Brody Fuson (3), 19. Tony Gomes (18). NT
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*Mitchell flipped on lap 1 of the third heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Williams
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Colby Johnson (19th to 8th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Ron Hazelton
NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Blake Bower-663, 2-Brody Fuson-618, 3-Austin Liggett-549, 4-C.J. Sarna-542, 5-Ben Worth-351, 6-David Prickett-334, 7-Jarrett Soares-323, 8-Shannon McQueen-320, 9-Chase Johnson-304, 10-Maria Cofer-282.
NEXT USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: October 9 – Placerville Speedway – Placerville, California – "Prospector Pandemonium"
WINDOM FINDS HIS MIDGET GROOVE TO WIN HUSET'S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONALS NIGHT #2
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (September 11, 2021)………For the second consecutive evening, Chris Windom found himself taking over the lead just nine laps from the finish of the 30-lap USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature event at Brandon, South Dakota's Huset's Speedway.
On Friday, however, Windom's mercurial move to the bottom while leading left the top open and resulted in an unhappy Windom finishing second and champing at the bit to right the wrongs the next time he hit the track.
The Canton, Ill. driver was beside himself at the moment, and made a pledge to himself that given the same scenario, he'd certainly not change course on his own accord in round number two of the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals.
Come Saturday night, Windom found himself in a similar spot. Starting sixth, he climbed to second by lap four, stalked leader Daison Pursley throughout the first two-thirds of the race, then slid his way into the lead on lap 22 of the 30-lap distance, staying loyal to the topside throughout the duration.
Windom ultimately score his redemptional fourth USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship victory of the year in his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Saturday night's $5,000 triumph was the 10th of Windom's USAC National Midget career, tying him for 69th all-time with Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung and Chuck Weyant.
Following a large range of emotions over the past two nights, Windom made it abundantly clear his preference for the result that came in his "green-to-checker" run over his "green-white-checkered" finish that came just 24 hours earlier.
"(Car owner) Chad (Boat) had this car so good the last two nights," Windom said. "I was really frustrated after losing last night. I was definitely not coming off the top tonight and I felt like I was not going to lose this race."
Windom took his first shot at Pursley for the lead in turn one just past the halfway mark on lap 16, diving to the bottom briefly to slide his way by Pursley. Unable to make the move stick, Windom tucked into line behind Pursley as Logan Seavey posed a brief challenge to Windom for the second position.
Moments later, in turn one on the 17th lap, series point leader Buddy Kofoid saw a glimpse of daylight to slot in between Windom and Seavey for the third position as he dove his way into turn one. While sliding up the racetrack in front of Seavey, Seavey banged his right rear tire off the cushion, and subsequently got on the bike by lifting both left side tires. When his car came back to all fours, Seavey's left front tire landed atop Kofoid's right rear. As Seavey gathered up his car and his senses, Kofoid had sped away with the third position for his own taking.
As Pursley drew closer to lapped traffic, he found himself coerced into leaving the comfort of the topside to cut below 19th running Hayden Reinbold. As soon as Pursley traveled to the low groove in turns three and four, Windom quickly ate up all the ground Pursley left unguarded up top.
When Pursley drifted back uphill to the top on the front straight behind Reinbold, Windom had a full head of steam and zeroed in on the opportunity, driving downhill from the top of turn four to the bottom of turn one, completing the pass as he broad slid into the lane located a few feet from the outside wall just ahead of the chrome on Pursley's front bumper.
All the right moves in all the right places, that's how Windom's race was going to go down on this night.
"When you're running second, you can kind of tell where you're gaining a little time on the guy who's leading," Windom explained. "I'd get him coming off each corner a little bit, but the midgets are so close in speed here, it's really hard to close up on a guy, so when you get there, you've got to make the right move. I made one early and I wasn't close enough. I had to rebound and run him back down."
Once Windom cleared Reinbold while utilizing a turn one slider just eight laps from the close, it was lights out for the rest of the field as Windom separated himself from Pursley to collect the win by a 0.977 second margin. Pursley finished in the second position with Kofoid third, Seavey fourth and Shane Golobic fifth.
Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) led a race-high 22 laps before finishing as the runner-up in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/IWX – TRD – Toyota/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota, which marked his second consecutive top-five finish at Huset's after finishing fifth on Friday, along with his eighth top-10 in his last nine starts.
Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Okla.) upped his Huset's performance from fourth on Friday to third on Saturday in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – Toyota/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota, which helped him maintain a slight 13-point advantage over Windom in the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship standings.
Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) recorded his first career fast time with the series during Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying with a new Huset's Speedway USAC National Midget one-lap track record of 12.776 in his Matt Wood Racing/Southern Pacific Farms – Elk Grove Ford/Spike/Stanton SR-11x. Moles finished 12th in the night's feature.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 11, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-12.776 (New Track Record); 2. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.847; 3. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-12.856; 4. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-12.877; 5. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.910; 6. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.989; 7. Austin Barnhill, 17B, Dave Mac-13.179; 8. Aaron Werner, 11w, Peterson-13.731; 9. Casey Hicks, 5H, Hicks-13.794.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-12.908; 2. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-12.961; 3. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.967; 4. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-12.987; 5. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-13.032; 6. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.043; 7. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-13.079; 8. Chad Frewaldt, 4c, Frewaldt-13.795; 9. Blaze Bennett, 10B, Bennett-13.953.
FLIGHT THREE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.850; 2. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-12.989; 3. Maria Cofer, 57, Abacus-13.011; 4. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.026; 5. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-13.097; 6. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-13.106; 7. Jason McDougal, 19, Hayward-13.127; 8. Lance Bennett, 10, Mason-13.636.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Austin Barnhill, 2. Mitchel Moles, 3. Brenham Crouch, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Aaron Werner, 9. Casey Hicks. 2:20.08
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Chase Randall, 7. Chad Frewaldt, 8. Blaze Bennett, 9. Ethan Mitchell. 2:17.91
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Golobic, 2. Jason McDougal, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Chance Crum, 7. Maria Cofer, 8. Lance Bennett. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (6), 2. Daison Pursley (1), 3. Buddy Kofoid (7), 4. Logan Seavey (3), 5. Shane Golobic (12), 6. Justin Grant (13), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 8. Thomas Meseraull (16), 9. Cannon McIntosh (10), 10. Chance Crum (5), 11. Emerson Axsom (8), 12. Mitchel Moles (11), 13. Tanner Thorson (15), 14. Chase Randall (18), 15. Ryan Timms (14), 16. Jason McDougal (17), 17. Maria Cofer (19), 18. Brenham Crouch (2), 19. Hayden Reinbold (20), 20. Chad Frewaldt (21), 21. Austin Barnhill (4), 22. Aaron Werner (23), 23. Casey Hicks (25), 24. Lance Bennett (22), 25. Blaze Bennett (24). 7:31.12 (New Track Record)
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Daison Pursley, Laps 22-30 Chris Windom.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1732, 2-Chris Windom-1719, 3-Emerson Axsom-1662, 4-Justin Grant-1610, 5-Daison Pursley-1591, 6-Tanner Thorson-1590, 7-Logan Seavey-1465, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1448, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1392, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1265.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-144, 2-Brady Bacon-137, 3-Justin Grant-131, 4-Tanner Thorson-123, 5-Thomas Meseraull-116, 6-Robert Ballou-114, 7-Logan Seavey-112, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-108, 9-Kyle Cummins-84, 10-Buddy Kofoid-79.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 12, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Shane Golobic
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Mitchel Moles
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Austin Barnhill
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Shane Golobic
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Thomas Meseraull (16th to 8th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Tanner Thorson
LEARY SPRINTS TO HUSET'S USAC NATIONALS
NIGHT TWO TRIUMPH
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (September 11, 2021)………"Man, I love winning races."
C.J. Leary has a knack for doing just that, and when everything comes together on both sides of the coin, that's when reaching victory lane becomes a reality just as it did on Saturday during the second night of the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals in Brandon, South Dakota.
The Greenfield, Ind. native charged from sixth to first with a quick progression through the field that saw him come within inches of taking the lead on the opening lap. Finally, on lap three, Leary stuck the position, then withstood a plethora of late-race restarts to score his fourth USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature win of the season in his Michael Motorsports/Kodiak Products – Gray Auto – Valvoline/DRC/Cressman.
Leary's 15th career triumph moved him into 38th all-time on the USAC National Sprint Car win list, equaling Bobby East, Cory Kruseman and Brian Tyler.
"When you get a really good racecar, it gives you a ton of confidence," Leary explained after collecting $5,000 for his winning efforts. "Last night, I didn't know how good our racecar was. We all started back there, and we were all kind of running the same speed. We started sixth tonight, made quick work, and got to the front. That was the key to winning the race."
The initial start to the 30-lap feature was halted by a melee involving several cars. Initiated by fourth-starting Mario Clouser's spin in turn two, collected into the carnage was Kevin Thomas Jr. who nosed into the left side nerf bar of the spinning Clouser. Justin Grant ramped his right rear over the front bumper of Thomas. Logan Seavey spun to the inside in a valiant effort to avoid the altercation. Glen Saville clipped Thomas and flipped over. Matt Westfall nearly did the same as Saville, but was hit in his car's undercarriage by Alex Banales, which rotated Westfall back on all four wheels.
All drivers were unharmed in the incident, and all were able to restart, with Thomas carving all the way from near the tail of the 24-car field to finish fifth with Seavey eighth, Clouser 11th, Grant 14th, Banales 20th, Westfall 23rd and Saville 24th.
When action resumed, Leary, the 2019 USAC National Sprint Car driving champion, burst by Tanner Thorson, Jason McDougal, Ryan Bernal and Brady Bacon in quick succession, and soon found himself side-by-side with pole sitter Charles Davis Jr. at the conclusion of the opening lap, with Leary missing out on the lead by a half-car length at the stripe.
At the end of lap two, the difference between the two was about an inch with Davis just a sliver of a hair ahead of Leary. Moments later, Leary powered by Davis with a slider entering turn one to occupy his position at the head of the field while Bacon slotted into second one lap later as the first pair of positions embarked on a two-car breakaway in the early going.
Twelve laps in, the frontrunners were now hustling their way through the backend of the field with Leary splitting between the two lapped cars of Westfall and Chad Frewaldt in turn three. Bacon attempted to go underneath both lappers on the following lap in turns one and two, but lost the momentum, which Jake Swanson now possessed and utilized to rip around Bacon for the runner-up spot nearing midway.
It became a match of point/counterpoint between Leary and Swanson with each of Leary's escape artist maneuvers being repeatedly answered without an ounce of hesitation by Swanson. Leary completed a double-slider with seven laps remaining between turns three and four with Leary and Chapple bouncing wheels off each other at the exit of turn four. Swanson retaliated by swiftly overtaking both and positioned himself to within a single car length with five laps remaining.
Following in close-quarters with Leary's rear bumper was a hungry Swanson, a three-time runner-up finisher this season who's yet to breakthrough with a first career USAC National Sprint Car feature win. Swanson's hopes for that breakthrough found a roadblock when he bounced off the turn one cushion on lap 26, dropping him back and forcing him to watch as Leary began to stretch his lead out.
With the white flag unfurled, that's when things got a tad hairy. In their joust for the fourth position, Thorson jumped to the inside of turn one in an attempt to surpass Ryan Bernal. Thorson's front wheels climbed over the infield berm on entry and contact was made between Thorson's right rear and Bernal's left front, sending Bernal backwards hard into the outside wall.
Sixth-running Robert Ballou was caught up as a victim in the fracas as he plowed into Bernal, which spun him around backwards against the wall. Meseraull, in ninth, also slid to a stop to avoid contact with Bernal and Ballou, both of whom were unable to restart while Meseraull returned to finish just where he had been, in ninth.
On the restart, Leary's prowess of the 1/3-mile rolled on without interruption toward a five-car-length advantage while the fight for second was on. Second-running Swanson, however, banged the right rear tire off the turn four cushion coming to the white flag, allowing both Thorson and Davis to glide by on the low slide while Swanson fell back to fifth momentarily, but was able to drive back past Bacon to grab the fourth spot on the final lap.
Leary finished off his duties with a 0.640 second victory over Thorson, Davis and Swanson, which made it an all-Arizona team top-four with the Grand Canyon State's Michael Motorsports (Chino Valley), Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports (Gilbert), Davis Race Team (Buckeye) and Team AZ Racing (Phoenix) earning the top-four finishing spots.
A succession of late yellows made for an arduous journey to the checkered flag for Leary, but it resulted in reaching the promised land once again, and for the first time in South Dakota.
"Those late yellows are always tough," Leary lamented. "You never really know where to go and whether you should protect or just keep doing what you're doing. The racetrack took rubber at the end, and I was trying to figure out if it was faster to rail the top or come down a lane and get in the rubber. Lapped traffic was hectic too, but we hit this setup pretty good on the 77m."
Friday night Huset's winner Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) finished second to record his third consecutive top-two feature result with the series in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – CSI – MVT/Spike/Stanton Chevy, which was marred by a late-race incident with Bernal and Ballou.
"First off, I want to apologize to Ryan and Ballou," Thorson said. "I don't think (Ryan) expected me to be down there. I caught the berm with my left front and got into him. I take full responsibility for that one. I did what I had to do there after that to get to second and (car owner) Andy (Reinbold) gave me a great car to do that."
Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Ariz.) celebrated unlike any other for a driver who just earned a third-place finish. The 53-year-old veteran performed a cage stand while simultaneously chugging a can of beer on the front straightaway following his best career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car finish, a third in his Davis Race Team/MP Environmental – Black Magic Bead Breaker – RSS Industries/DRC/Ott Chevy.
"It was awesome," Davis exclaimed. "We really got the car figured out there yesterday. I screwed up in qualifying so badly; the car was just so tight. I knew I had to win that heat race and that's all there was to it. That was the only way we were going to be in the show without having to run the B-main. I had no idea it was going to start me on the front row, so everybody was happy about that."
In Fatheadz Eyewear qualifying, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) recorded his third consecutive fast time aboard his Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy before going on to finish eighth in the feature event.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 11, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.591; 2. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-12.617; 3. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.727; 4. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.780; 5. Mario Clouser, 6, EZR-12.875; 6. Cam Schafer, 97, Roach-12.958; 7. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.966; 8. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.011; 9. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-13.206.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.589; 2. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-12.695; 3. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-12.719; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-12.860; 5. Chad Frewaldt, 4F, Frewaldt-13.139; 6. Glen Saville, 19L, Layton-13.285; 7. Jeremy Kerzman, 3K, Kerzman-13.553; 8. Jeff Pellersels, X, Pellersels-13.728; 9. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-13.911.
FLIGHT THREE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.688; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.712; 3. Ryan Bernal, 17w, Wood-12.825; 4. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.844; 5. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-12.848; 6. Isaac Chapple, 52, Chapple-12.998; 7. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.075; 8. Terry Richards, 18, Richards-13.396; 9. Clinton Bruns, 7, Bruns-13.931.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Mario Clouser, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Cam Schafer, 8. Alex Banales, 9. Chase Stockon. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Logan Seavey, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Chad Frewaldt, 6. Glen Saville, 7. Robert Bell, 8. Jeff Pellersels, 9. Jeremy Kerzman. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Jason McDougal, 3. Isaac Chapple, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Ryan Bernal, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Justin Grant, 8. Terry Richards, 9. Clinton Bruns. 2:23.90
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (8 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Brandon Mattox, 2. Isaac Chapple, 3. Alex Banales, 4. Terry Richards, 5. Cam Schafer, 6. Robert Bell, 7. Clinton Bruns, 8. Jeff Pellersels. 2:00.15 (New Track Record)
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (6), 2. Tanner Thorson (7), 3. Charles Davis Jr. (1), 4. Jake Swanson (9), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 6. Brady Bacon (2), 7. Chris Windom (10), 8. Logan Seavey (11), 9. Thomas Meseraull (12), 10. Brandon Mattox (18), 11. Mario Clouser (4), 12. Chase Stockon (24), 13. Terry Richards (21), 14. Justin Grant (13), 15. Isaac Chapple (19), 16. Ryan Bernal (3), 17. Robert Ballou (14), 18. Chad Frewaldt (16), 19. Cam Schafer (22), 20. Alex Banales (20), 21. Robert Bell (23), 22. Jason McDougal (5), 23. Matt Westfall (15), 24. Glen Saville (17). NT
**Glen Saville flipped on lap 1 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Charles Davis Jr., Laps 3-30 C.J. Leary.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2204, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2157, 3-Justin Grant-2121, 4-Tanner Thorson-1958, 5-C.J. Leary-1953, 6-Chris Windom-1848, 7-Jake Swanson-1802, 8-Robert Ballou-1708, 9-Chase Stockon-1408, 10-Kyle Cummins-1163.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-147, 2-Brady Bacon-137, 3-Justin Grant-131, 4-Tanner Thorson-128, 5-Thomas Meseraull-119, 6-Logan Seavey-115, 7-Robert Ballou-114, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-111, 9-Kyle Cummins-84, 10-Buddy Kofoid-79.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 12, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Charles Davis Jr.
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Robert Ballou
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Charles Davis Jr.
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Brandon Mattox
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Chase Stockon (24th to 12th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Terry Richards
T-MEZ'S HUSET'S HEROICS NET SOUTH DAKOTA USAC MIDGET SCORE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (September 10, 2021)………With the checkered flag in his sight, Thomas Meseraull resigned himself to a third-place finish in Friday night's Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals feature for the NOS Energy Drink National Midgets in Brandon, South Dakota.
Running inside the top-five throughout the first 29 laps, Meseraull saw his hopes of victory dashed on the final lap as leader Chris Windom and a surging Mitchel Moles raced into the distance on the back straightaway while Meseraull seemed destined for a third-place fate.
However, divine intervention swept over the speedway in the form of a yellow flag for Meseraull due to Cannon McIntosh's stop in turn two which brought about not only a halt to the race, but also sent Meseraull back to second and provided him another shot with a green-white-checkered bout waiting ahead for the first series race at the track since 1996.
Meseraull assaulted the cushion as Windom altered his route by taking the low line into turn one on the lap 30 restart. Without hesitation, Meseraull stuck to his guns and charged around Windom, ultimately completing the pass at the exit of turn four coming to the white flag.
Not to be denied, Meseraull locked it up on the final lap by turning his best lap of the contest on the 31st and final lap to win the $5,000 prize by a 0.672 second margin in his RMS Racing/EnviroFab – Response Management Services – Engler Machine/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
The San Jose, Californian led 16 laps of the BC39 at The Dirt Track at IMS before an incident knocked him out of the event while racing for the lead with less than five laps to go. In his most recent start last Sunday at Wisconsin's Angell Park Speedway, Meseraull led the first 22 before giving way to Thorson to whom he finished second.
After leading 38 of the 69 laps in his last two USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget starts, all Meseraull was asking for was a little luck, a bit of a break, to help guide him to a long-awaited checkered flag. Just like he drew it up. Well, maybe not exactly.
"We had a little bit of luck go our way," Meseraull proudly stated. "We've been so good lately; we were second last week, and we've just been plugging away. The last five nights, I feel like we had the fastest car and, tonight, I felt like we were going to run third. We opted for a harder tire, and it looks like it played out to our advantage. Hats off to my guys for making the right calls tonight."
While the ending belonged to Meseraull, the first two-thirds of the race was all Kevin Thomas Jr.'s, who boasted a solid lead early on from his outside front row starting position. His Petry Motorsports teammate, Emerson Axsom, however, fell to trouble early while running 10th as his car went up smoke before one lap was even completed, dropping him from nine points down in the series championship race to 47 behind point leader Buddy Kofoid.
As Thomas was controlling the head of the pack, Meseraull was charging up through the field from his sixth starting position, sliding Kofoid for fourth on lap nine in turn one, then subsequently drifting by Daison Pursley for the third position exiting turn four on lap 11.
At the midway point, Windom swarmed Thomas Jr. and the two exchanged the lead multiple times for a two-lap span on both ends of the racetrack with Windom sliding Thomas and Thomas countering each and every uppercut by racing back by to resume his position in the lead.
Finally gaining a semblance of breathing room from Windom over the ensuing laps, Thomas maintained a four to five car length advantage over Windom as he entered on the turn three cushion, just as he had done to perfection the previous 21 trips this evening around the 1/3-mile dirt oval.
This time, however, was something quite different. Thomas' right rear tire went down on the entry, sending him into the outside wall. Now driving on just the rim, Thomas coasted to a stop, putting him out of the race with a 19th place finish.
Lurking behind Windom just prior to the yellow was Meseraull who was now elevated to second for the restart, but not for long, as it turned out, when Fatheadz Fast Qualifier and new one-lap track record holder Shane Golobic charged under to move into second.
Meseraull tapped Golobic's rear bumper on the back straight with five to go, just to let him know he had no intentions of going away. A lap later, Meseraull delivered by ripping around the outside of Golobic at thee exit of turn four on lap 27.
On the final lap, Meseraull took one last shot at Windom in turn one with a slider, coming up just a tad short in his bid before falling back into line. Meanwhile, the two Matt Wood Racing cars driven by Golobic and Moles were firmly planted on the bottom and digging.
Moles, quite appropriately, was the one who hit paydirt by getting a drive past both Golobic and Meseraull in turn two, then quickly ran down the high-riding Windom in turn three just as the initial call from race control came over the radio to throw the yellow for the stopped car of ninth running Cannon McIntosh in turn two.
With the field re-racked for a final two-lap dash to the checkered, Windom was the leader with Meseraull second, Golobic third and Moles back to fourth due to the running order being reverted back to the last completed lap.
When action resumed, Windom altered course and shot right to the bottom of turn one while Meseraull carried onward on the top, gliding by around the outside to occupy the lead once and for all to get the victory over Windom, Golobic, Kofoid and Daison Pursley, while Moles slipped back to sixth.
"I was kind of surprised to see him go to the bottom other than the Wood guys who were working on getting us, but that's what those guys do. They're good on the bottom everywhere, every year. But momentum is key, and I just ripped the lip."
It was a tough pill to swallow for Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) who seemed to be in position to win his fourth of the year aboard the CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota. Yet, he chose to alter his path on the final restart, heading to the bottom after being right on top practically all throughout.
"I just completely gave that one away," Windom admitted. "I tried to save my tire on the top, then the Matt Wood Racing cars started making the bottom work. I thought that, on a restart, it might work for one lap down there as we were coming to green-white-checkered. I just screwed myself and I should've stayed on the top where I was good. I'm pretty disappointed leading all that, saving my tires and losing it. But it is what it is."
Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.) finished third in his Matt Wood Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Elk Grove Ford – Royal Truck Body/Spike/Stanton SR-11x, his best series finish since finishing third at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway in November of 2018. Earlier in the evening, Golobic broke Tracy Hines' long-standing 25-year-old one-lap USAC National Midget track record of 13.923. Golobic's time of 12.923 was exactly one second faster than the former record set a quarter of a century ago.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 10, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.923 (New Track Record); 2. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-13.052; 3. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-13.088; 4. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-13.096; 5. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.114; 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-13.115; 7. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-13.134; 8. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-13.195; 9. Austin Barnhill, 17B, Dave Mac-13.230; 10. Jody Rosenboom, 14x, Rosenboom-13.426.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-13.021; 2. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-13.044; 3. Maria Cofer, 57, Abacus-13.062; 4. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.091; 5. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.164; 6. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-13.234; 7. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-13.244; 8. Chad Frewaldt, 4c, Frewaldt-13.438; 9. Blaze Bennett, 10B, Bennett-NT.
FLIGHT THREE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-13.001; 2. Jason McDougal, 19, Hayward-13.122; 3. Brady Bacon, 21H, TKH-13.157; 4. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-13.196; 5. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.234; 6. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-13.302; 7. Aaron Werner, 11w, Peterson-13.913; 8. Lance Bennett, 91, Mason-13.933; 9. Brant O'Banion, 9, McDonald-13.936; 10. Casey Hicks, 5H, Hicks-14.047.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Chance Crum, 4. Chase Randall, 5. Brenham Crouch, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Shane Golobic, 8. Ethan Mitchell, 9. Jody Rosenboom, 10. Austin Barnhill. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Cannon McIntosh, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Maria Cofer, 8. Chad Frewaldt, 9. Blaze Bennett. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Jason McDougal, 5. Mitchel Moles, 6. Brant O'Banion, 7. Lance Bennett, 8. Casey Hicks, 9. Aaron Werner, 10. Justin Grant. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Chance Crum, 2. Ethan Mitchell, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Austin Barnhill, 5. Brant O'Banion, 6. Chad Frewaldt, 7. Casey Hicks, 8. Aaron Werner, 9. Blaze Bennett, 10. Jody Rosenboom, 11. Lance Bennett. NT
FEATURE: (31 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (6), 2. Chris Windom (4), 3. Shane Golobic (5), 4. Buddy Kofoid (7), 5. Daison Pursley (1), 6. Mitchel Moles (12), 7. Logan Seavey (13), 8. Jason McDougal (9), 9. Chase Randall (3), 10. Chance Crum (17), 11. Brenham Crouch (16), 12. Maria Cofer (20), 13. Ethan Mitchell (18), 14. Hayden Reinbold (19), 15. Austin Barnhill (22), 16. Cannon McIntosh (11), 17. Brady Bacon (8), 18. Ryan Timms (15), 19. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 20. Chad Frewaldt (24), 21. Tanner Thorson (14), 22. Justin Grant (21), 23. Brant O'Banion (23), 24. Emerson Axsom (10). NT
**Justin Grant flipped during the third heat. Lance Bennett flipped during the semi.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 22-29 Chris Windom, Laps 30-31 Thomas Meseraull.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1668, 2-Chris Windom-1649, 3-Emerson Axsom-1621, 4-Justin Grant-1555, 5-Tanner Thorson-1553, 6-Daison Pursley-1524, 7-Logan Seavey-1404, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1399, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1340, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1219.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-139, 2-Brady Bacon-130, 3-Justin Grant-123, 4-Tanner Thorson-121, 5-Robert Ballou-114, 6-Logan Seavey-109, 7-Thomas Meseraull-108, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-102, 9-Kyle Cummins-84, 10-Buddy Kofoid-78.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 11-12, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Thomas Meseraull
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Shane Golobic
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Maria Cofer (20th to 12th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Ethan Mitchell
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Casey Hicks
THORSON THRIVES AFTER CLOSE CALL TO WIN HUSET'S USAC SPRINTS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (September 10, 2021)………Following a bitterly disappointing end to his run in the midget feature less than 30 minutes before strapping in to go again in the sprint car, Tanner Thorson lived up to the adage, "the best revenge is living well" during Friday's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature on the opening night of the inaugural USAC Nationals.
In the immediacy of jumping out of his damaged midget that sat facing the outside turn two wall, Thorson turned his focus to the sprint car and his upcoming leading role on the pole for the evening's 25-lap nightcap.
A smooth sail for 23 of the 25-lap distance hit choppy waters as Thorson neared scoring what appeared to be a relatively stress-free feature win.
However, that wasn't the case as race leader Thorson became sideways in turn four, resulting in he and and 16th running Charles Davis Jr. locking horns. With both cars sideways and nearly going on their own respective wild rides, the yellow flag was displayed while Thorson somehow managed to escape the calamity without stopping or spinning.
By the skin of his teeth, Thorson (Minden, Nev.) resumed, then promptly engaged in his own personal green-white-checkered contest with Thomas Meseraull, who prevailed in a much similar situation in the preceding midget feature.
Thorson stayed tried and true on the topside for the remaining two circuits to capture his fourth series victory of the season in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – CSI – MVT/Spike/Stanton Chevy.
The four feature wins by Thorson have surpassed the most by a USAC National Sprint Car Rookie since Michael Lewis won three in 2003. It was also Thorson's series-leading 11th overall USAC National feature victory this season, with seven in the midget added to four more in the sprint car.
"It was my bad. I got in there pretty hard trying to clear both (Ryan) Bernal and Charles. That was all my bad," Thorson revealed. "It paid off in the end for us because we had a fast racecar. Starting there on the bottom, then working on the bottom, I feel like helped us for the first few laps."
Eventually moving to the top shortly thereafter, that's where Thorson performed most of his work, building a cushion of 1.5 seconds over his front row counterpart, Meseraull, who started second and followed Thorson in sync around the perimeter of the racetrack.
Meseraull managed to whittle a full second off Thorson's lead in traffic, but once Thorson hit clear air once again, the interval grew back to 1.5 seconds until the flashing yellow lights for the Thorson/Davis slight tangle restacked the deck with two laps remaining.
Without traffic, Thorson stepped away to put a stamp on a winning performance while multiple battles raged back behind he and second-running Meseraull.
Tenth-starting Brady Bacon dipped underneath Robert Ballou for the third spot in turn three coming to the white flag while, simultaneously, Ballou and Jake Swanson touched wheels, getting Ballou's car into a peculiar sideways position momentarily before he gathered it up and motored back past Kevin Thomas Jr. who had briefly nosed ahead off turn four for fourth.
Up front, it was all Thorson who put the race on ice with a 0.715 second margin of victory over Meseraull, Bacon and Ballou with Thomas Jr. rounding out the top-five.
For Meseraull, it was a sterling night with a midget win followed by a second-place result in his Yeley Racing/Avanti Windows & Doors – Apache Scapes – CK Electric/Twister/Claxton Mopar sprint car. The runner-up finish marks the San Jose, California driver's best with the series since winning the Sprint Car Smackdown opener at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway in 2019. Furthermore, the second-place finish is the best by a Jack Yeley-owned car with the series since Kevin Swindell finished second at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, during the 2008 season.
"I'm pretty excited about putting the ol' 2 up here on the podium," Meseraull said. "How about that? Hats off to Jack Yeley. We just really haven't been all that great in this thing. He put the super tune to it because here we are on the podium."
In regard to the big payouts throughout the week with $5,000-to-win on the Friday and Saturday night programs, plus a $20,000 winner's share for Sunday night's finales, Meseraull was cautious about his mindset toward it.
"For me, it's so important to not pay attention to the money because I will drive this thing right into the fence if it paid enough money," Meseraull said point blankly. "That's what happens when you put the money on the line. I really don't care about the money. I'm going to try to go forward, rip the lip, bang sliders, you know, do what I love to do best."
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) put his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy back into the top-five for the 17th time in his last 20 starts to extend his series point lead to an even 50 as he pursues a fourth career USAC National Sprint Car driving title. His advancement from the 10th starting spot to finish third also earned him KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors for the evening.
"We were running fourth, and we got a really good run off the bottom and kind of poked him out of the way there," Bacon explained of his late-race pass of Ballou to round out the podium. "We were going to get freight-trained if we were going to be following. Twenty-five laps just isn't enough to come from 10th when you have to pass good cars, but I think we had a car capable of winning for sure."
In qualifying, Logan Seavey set a new one-lap track record for USAC National Sprint Cars at Huset's Speedway with a time of 12.576 seconds, taking over the best all-time speed at the track from Kevin Thomas Jr. who held the former mark of 12.711, set in 2016.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 10, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.576 (New Track Record); 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-12.674; 3. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.900; 4. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-12.916; 5. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.953; 6. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.183; 7. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-13.379; 8. Cam Schafer, 97, Roach-13.570; 9. Jeremy Kerzman, 3K, Kerzman-13.850; 10. Clinton Bruns, 7, Bruns-14.293.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.787; 2. Mario Clouser, 6, EZR-12.888; 3. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-12.900; 4. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.988; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-13.277; 6. Chad Frewaldt, 4F, Frewaldt-13.505; 7. Jeff Pellersels, X, Pellersels-13.583; 8. Donovan Peterson, 11xs, Peterson-13.818; 9. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-14.260.
FLIGHT THREE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.595; 2. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.654; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.773; 4. Ryan Bernal, 17w, Wood-12.912; 5. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-13.022; 6. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.222; 7. Isaac Chapple, 52, Chapple-13.513; 8. Terry Richards, 18, Richards-13.663; 9. Glen Saville, 19L, Layton-13.688.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Cam Schafer, 7. Clinton Bruns, 8. Matt Westfall, 9. Alex Banales, 10. Jeremy Kerzman. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Robert Bell, 6. Jeff Pellersels, 7. Donovan Peterson, 8. Mario Clouser, 9. Chad Frewaldt. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, winner plus top-5 in points transfer to the feature) 1. Jason McDougal, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Isaac Chapple, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Charles Davis Jr., 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Ryan Bernal, 8. Terry Richards, 9. Glen Saville. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Cam Schafer, 3. Chad Frewaldt, 4. Alex Banales, 5. Robert Bell, 6. Glen Saville, 7. Donovan Peterson, 8. Jeremy Kerzman, 9. Clinton Bruns, 10. Terry Richards. NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (1), 2. Thomas Meseraull (2), 3. Brady Bacon (10), 4. Robert Ballou (3), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 6. Jake Swanson (4), 7. Justin Grant (8), 8. Logan Seavey (11), 9. Jason McDougal (5), 10. Chris Windom (6), 11. C.J. Leary (12), 12. Brandon Mattox (14), 13. Chase Stockon (7), 14. Ryan Bernal (17), 15. Mario Clouser (13), 16. Charles Davis Jr. (19), 17. Matt Westfall (16), 18. Isaac Chapple (15), 19. Glen Saville (24), 20. Jeff Pellersels (18), 21. Alex Banales (22), 22. Robert Bell (23), 23. Cam Schafer (20), 24. Chad Frewaldt (21). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Tanner Thorson.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2149, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2099, 3-Justin Grant-2086, 4-Tanner Thorson-1891, 5-C.J. Leary-1883, 6-Chris Windom-1796, 7-Jake Swanson-1741, 8-Robert Ballou-1679, 9-Chase Stockon-1369, 10-Kyle Cummins-1163.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-139, 2-Brady Bacon-137, 3-Justin Grant-124, 4-Tanner Thorson-121, 5-Robert Ballou-114, 6-Logan Seavey-112, 7-Thomas Meseraull-108, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-106, 9-Kyle Cummins-84, 10-Emerson Axsom-78.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 11-12, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Track – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Robert Ballou
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: C.J. Leary
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Jason McDougal
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Charles Davis Jr.
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Brady Bacon (10th to 3rd)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Chase Stockon
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Donovan Peterson
HUSET'S WELCOMES MIDGET RETURN
AFTER 25 YEARS FOR USAC NATIONALS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (September 9, 2021)………USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets have competed in the state of South Dakota just six times in the 66-year history of the series.
This weekend, the series will compete in three shows on back-to-back-to-back nights in the Mount Rushmore State at the inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals Friday-Saturday-Sunday, September 10-11-12.
USAC National Midgets last competed at Huset's a quarter of a century ago in 1996 with Kenny Irwin Jr. winning the feature en route to the series title.
Six previous South Dakota USAC National Midget races have produced six different winners between 1976-1996: Steve Cannon (1976 in Huron), Sleepy Tripp (1976 in Rapid City), Johnny Parsons (1977 in Huron), Rich Vogler (1977 in Hartford), Ken Schrader (1982 in Hartford) and Kenny Irwin Jr. (1996 at Huset's).
All three nights this weekend will pay feature points only. Friday and Saturday's 30-lap feature events pay $5,000-to-win while Sunday night's finale is 100 laps in length and pays $20,000-to-win and $1,000 to start as part of a three-night purse totaling in excess of $200,000.
A handful of drivers in this weekend's USAC National Midget lineup possess only previous sprint car experience at Huset's back in 2016. One-time 2021 series winner Justin Grant finished 3rd and 2nd in USAC National Sprint Car competition five years ago. Grant's RMS Racing teammate, Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), won his heat and finished 4th that night.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) recorded the fastest lap ever turned by a USAC Sprint Car at Huset's in 2016 with a time of 12.711. He won his heat and finished 6th on the first night, then collected a 7th place result on the second of two nights.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Driving Champion, was 10th in a USAC Sprint Car on opening night 2016. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) flipped during the feature just four laps from the finish in his 2016 sprint car run, which knocked him out of competition for the weekend.
The majority of the weekend belongs to Huset's Midget racing first-timers, which include six of the top-10 in the current points. Point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) has won on four occasions this season and leads a tight, nine-point championship race over Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), who has won twice and finished inside the top-five in nine of his last 10 series starts.
No driver has won more often this year, or last year, than 2016 USAC National Midget champ Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), who won his series-leading seventh feature in the most recent round last Sunday night at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. He stands fifth overall in points.
Shane Golobic (Penngrove, Calif.) is entered in race promoter Matt Wood's midget. The one-time USAC National Midget winner, 2016 series runner-up, and 2017 Indiana Midget Week champion will make his first series appearance of the season.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is one of two drivers, along with Justin Grant, to win in all three USAC National divisions this year: Midget, Sprint & Silver Crown. The 2018 USAC National Midget titlist is seventh in the standings with one series victory to his credit this year in the midgets.
Seavey is among the 10 drivers on the pre-entry list who are pulling double-duty by competing in both the USAC Sprint Car and Midget divisions at Huset's along with Bacon, Grant, Meseraull, Thomas, Windom, Thorson, Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.) and Chad Frewaldt (Kansas City, Kan.).
McDougal, along with Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) and Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) are all USAC National Midget feature winners making their Huset's debuts as is three-time USAC National Midget fast qualifier Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) and 2021 series top-Rookie Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), along with fellow series Rookies Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Austin Barnhill (Wilmington, N.C.).
Jody Rosenboom (Rock Rapids, Iowa) is the all-time winningest 360 Sprint Car driver at Huset's, was the 2008 360 track champ. The 2004 Huset's Speedway 360 Rookie of the Year and 2006 410 RoY currently leads the Midwest Sprint Touring Series point standings.
Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) is a three-time USAC Midwest Regional Midget winner in 2021. Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) has been a victor with both POWRi Midget and ASCS Sprint Cars throughout the season. Maria Cofer (Macdoel, Calif.) has been a one-time winner with the USAC Western Midgets during the year.
Casey Hicks (Westwood, Kan.) resides third Central States Midget Series points. Brothers Lance Bennett (Aurora, Colo.) and Blaze Bennett (Parker, Colo.) are representatives from the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association on their way to Huset's. Lance resides third in the standings, Blaze 20th.
A Thursday practice night begins the festivities for both divisions on September 9 starting at 6pm Central. Pit gates will open at Noon Central, and the front gates will open at 4pm. Pit passes are $20 for practice night and the stands will be open to all fans for free admission. Engine heat takes place at 5pm, followed by a quick drivers meeting at 5:45pm, then moving right along into the first practice session at 6pm.
For the first two nights of racing at Huset's on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11, pit gates open at Noon Central. The front gates will open at 4pm with the drivers meeting at 3:30pm and engine heat and cars on track at 5:15pm. The Sprint Car and Midget features will each pay $5,000 to win on Friday and Saturday.
On the final night, championship night, on Sunday, Sept. 12, pit gates open at Noon Central. The front gates will open at 3pm with the drivers meeting at 4:15pm and cars on track at 4:45pm. The Sprint Car and Midget features will each pay $20,000 to win on Sunday.
General admission tickets each night are $35 for adults, $20 for youths age 6-12 and free for children age 5 and under. Reserved tickets are available now in advance at www.USACnationals.com.
If you can't make it to the event in person, all three nights of racing action at the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1607, 2-Emerson Axsom-1598, 3-Chris Windom-1582, 4-Justin Grant-1532, 5-Tanner Thorson-1530, 6-Daison Pursley-1466, 7-Logan Seavey-1352, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1329, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1315, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1188.
PAST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS IN SOUTH DAKOTA:
7-20-1976: Steve Cannon | State Fairgrounds Speedway | Huron, SD
7-21-1976: Sleepy Tripp | Black Hills Speedway | Rapid City, SD
7-3-1977: Johnny Parsons | State Fairgrounds Speedway | Huron, SD
7-7-1977: Rich Vogler | Hartford Speedway | Hartford, SD
8-1-1982: Ken Schrader | Hartford Speedway | Hartford, SD
7-30-1996: Kenny Irwin, Jr. | Huset's Speedway | Brandon, SD
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT HUSET'S SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 7/30/1996 - Tracy Hines - 13.923 - 86.102 mph
8 Laps - 7/30/1996 - Kenny Irwin Jr. - 1:58.03 - 81.254 mph
12 Laps - 7/30/1996 - Cory Kruseman - 3:02.33 - 78.899 mph
PAST HUSET'S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS:
1996 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 2. Kevin Doty, 3. Jay Drake, 4. Brian Gerster, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Jeff Sands, 7. Cory Kruseman, 8. Donnie Lehmann (#30), 9. Carl Olsen, 10. Gary Howard, 11. John Heydenreich, 12. Boyd Calvert, 13. Mark Boice, 14. Scott Hansen, 15. Dave Strickland, Jr., 16. Steve Barth, 17. Keith Rauch, 18. Dennis Parker. (David Bridges disqualified for failing to meet specs regarding fuel). NT
BOWER-FUSON USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT BATTLE RESUMES AT VENTURA
By Lance Jennings
SEPTEMBER 8, 2021... The "mighty midgets" of the USAC Western States will invade the Ventura Raceway (Ventura, CA), this Saturday, September 11th. Promoted by Jim Naylor, the tenth point race will also feature VRA Senior Sprints, IMCA Mod Lites, WMR Western Midgets, VRA Hobby Stocks, and IMCA Sport Mods. 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. For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS: - NO ENTRY FEE IN 2021. ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS OR TEMPORARY PERMITS (TPs) ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. TPs are $25 and Memberships are $150. - 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. - 2021 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 *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event. - FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY. - ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY. - TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY. - The USAC Western States Midget Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
Since May 24, 1986, 150 USAC Western States Midget events have been held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Sleepy Tripp claimed the inaugural victory and leads all drivers with eighteen Ventura wins. When the series last visited the seaside oval on June 5th, Ben Worth took the checkered flags. At press time, Johnny Cofer holds the 1-lap qualifying record of 11.675, set on November 18, 1995 and a complete series Ventura win list is at the bottom of this release.
Heading to Ventura, Blake Bower (Brentwood, CA) has a slim seven-point lead over the competition. Driving Tony Boscacci's #9 Orland Public Auto Auction / Mountain Cascade Inc. Spike, Bower scored fourth at Merced's "Kevin Triplett Memorial" on August 7th. At press time, Blake has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, five heat race victories, eight top-10 finishes, and 22 feature laps led on the year. The rookie contender will be looking for his first USAC win this Saturday night.
Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA) ranks second in the USAC point standings. Racing Rusty Carlile's #51 RacePa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson ran second to Colby Johnson at Merced. To date, the rookie contender has posted one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Award, three heat race wins, seven top-10 finishes, and 26 feature laps led on the season. The rookie contender will have his sights on adding a Ventura first place trophy to his collection.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) sits third in the chase for the championship. The pilot of the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Liggett Trucking Spike skipped the USAC/BCRA event at Merced. At press time, the 2018 USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Champion has two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, seven top-10 finishes and 57 feature laps led in the campaign. With four career wins, Liggett is a threat to win on any given night.
C.J. Sarna (Brea, CA) is fourth in the championship point standings. Racing his #20 ZMAX / Final Final Clothing Spike, Sarna finished third at the Merced County Fairgrounds. To date, the 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year has two heat race victories, three Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards, and seven top-10 finishes to his credit. Sarna has one career triumph and will have his sights winning at Ventura Raceway.
Ben Worth (Coalinga, CA) ranks fifth in the championship point standings. The driver of Dean Alexander's #5K Walker Air Filtration / WFX Spike has missed some races to recover from back pain. At press time, the 2019 Rookie of the Year has posted one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, four top-10 finishes, and 29 feature laps led. Ben has two career wins and it is unknown if he will be in action at Ventura.
While Bower leads the chase for rookie honors, Fuson (Bakersfield, CA), Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA), Tony Gomes (Modesto, CA), Colby Johnson (Penngrove, CA), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, CA), and Colton Raudman (Redding, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are David Prickett, Ron Hazelton, Dylan Ito, "The Panda" Terry Nichols, Kyle Beilman, Randi Pankratz, Robby Josett, Troy Rutherford, 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 AMSOIL, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC Western States Midget Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events. ----------------------------------------------- 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.
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-Dennis Hart, 2-Johnathon Henry, 2-Brad Kuhn, 2-Kyle Larson, 2-Frank Pedregon, 2-Jerome Rodela, 2-Chuck West, 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-Stan Fox, 1-Russ Gamester, 1-Chuck Gurney, 1-Daryl Haugh, 1-Rick Hendrix, 1-A.J. Johnson, 1-Chase 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, 11Ben Worth.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET WINS: 2-Chase Johnson, 2-Austin Liggett, 1-Maria Cofer, 1-Brody Fuson, 1-Colby Johnson, 1-Mitchel Moles, 1-Ben Worth.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINT STANDINGS: 1. Blake Bower �-589, 2. Brody Fuson �-582, 3. Austin Liggett-549, 4. C.J. Sarna-501, 5. Ben Worth-351, 6. David Prickett-334, 7. Shannon McQueen-320, 8. Maria Cofer-282, 9. Jarrett Soares �-278, 10. Chase Johnson-236, 11. Ron Hazelton-217, 12. Mitchel Moles-205, 13. Dylan Ito-190, 14. Tony Gualda �-184, 15. Terry Nichols-173, ---. Kyle Mentch-173, 17. Colby Johnson �-172, 18. Kyle Beilman-133, 19. Randi Pankratz-132, 20. Colton Raudman �-116, 21. Alex Schutte-113, 22. Jake Andreotti �-77, ---. Shane Golobic-77, 24. Ryan Bernal-75, 25. Robby Josett-73, 26. Davey Ray-72, 27. Michael Faccinto-68, 28. Max Adams �-65, 29. Troy Rutherford-60, 30. Beau Lemire-58, 31. Floyd Alvis-56, 32. Ashlyn Rodriguez-55, 33. Thomas Esberg-53, 34. Troy Morris III-50, ---. Sparky Howard-50, ---. Ronnie Gardner-50, ---. Robert Carson-50, 38. Ben Wiesz-49, 39. Kenny Welch-46, 40. Mike Leach Jr.-41, ---. Dylan Bloomfield-41, 42. Matt Mitchell-39, 43. Kaleb Montgomery-36, 44. Jake Vermeer-27, 45. Michael Snider-13.
2021 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES SCHEDULE DATE – TRACK – LOCATION March 27: #Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson) April 10: #Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Mitchel Moles) April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett) May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Maria Cofer) June 5: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Ben Worth) July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson) July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Austin Liggett) July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Brody Fuson) August 7: #Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Colby Johnson) August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED) September 11: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA October 9: #Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Prospector Pandemonium) October 10: #Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA October 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA October 29: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Tom Tarlton Classic) ----------------------------------------------- # = Co-Sanctioned Event with Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) This schedule is subject to change.
NORTHBOUND TO SOUTH DAKOTA: SPRINTS HEAD FOR HUSET'S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONALS SEPT. 10-11-12
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (September 8, 2021)………The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship travels up and down the road, north, south, east and west throughout the 2021 season.
This weekend, however, marks the series' northernmost road trip of the year, to Brandon, South Dakota's Huset's Speedway for three consecutive nights of doubleheaders with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 10-11-12.
The inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals marks the first-ever USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car points races in the state of South Dakota. Two previous series events were held at Huset's in 2016 but were scored as non-points special events.
All three nights this weekend will pay feature points only, but it pays big time in the wallet too with Friday and Saturday paying $5,000-to-win while Sunday night's finale is $20,000-to-win and $1,000 to start as part of a total three-night purse totaling in excess of $200,000.
A number of drivers entered for this weekend's event were in competition during the 2016 races at Huset's. Seven-time 2021 series winner Justin Grant finished 3rd and 2nd on each night five years ago. Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) led the first 16 laps en route to a 2nd place finish on night one in 2016 and followed it up with a 5th on night two.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) won his heat and finished 4th in the 2016 opener. Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) recorded the fastest lap ever turned by a USAC Sprint Car at Huset's in 2016 with a time of 12.711. He won his heat and finished 6th on the first night, then collected a 7th place result on the second of two nights.
Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) was the hard charger in his Huset's debut, racing from 18th to 8th. The 2015 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car titlist notched a 10th the following night. Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), the 2017 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ, was 10th on opening night 2016.
A pair of USAC National Sprint Car champions ran into trouble during their visit to Huset's in 2016. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) flipped on his qualifying run and was a scratch for the remainder of the weekend. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) flipped during the feature just four laps from the finish, which knocked him out of competition for the weekend. Clinton Bruns (Little Rock, Iowa) missed the transfer spot for the 2016 race but will try to find a bit of redemption this weekend.
USAC regulars making their first Huset's visits this weekend include three-time 2021 USAC Sprint Car feature winners Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) and Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), plus the seventh-place ranking driver in the standings, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.).
They're joined by USAC National Sprint Car feature winners Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) as well as 2018 USAC Southwest Sprint Car champ Charles Davis Jr (Buckeye, Ariz.) and 2020 USAC National Most Improved Driver Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.).
Isaac Chapple (Willow Branch, Ind.), the 2016 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, will make his first run at Huset's as will POWRi WAR Sprint Car point leader Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.), and sprint car Rookies Alex Banales (Lafayette, Ind.) and Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colo.).
Chad Frewaldt (Kansas City, Kan.) comes to Huset's from the Great Plains as does Robert Bell (Colfax, Iowa), while several drivers from the region within earshot of Huset's will be on hand, including Minnesotans Jeff Pellersels (Woodbury, Minn.), Tony Rustad (Pipestone, Minn.), Jori Hughes (Tower, Minn.) and Cam Schafer (Little Canada, Minn.).
Wyoming driver Zac Taylor (Green River, Wyo.) has won a heat race in USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship competition this season. He'll be on hand at Huset's as will David Zitterich (Sioux Falls, S.D.).
A Thursday practice night begins the festivities for both divisions on September 9 starting at 6pm Central. Pit gates will open at Noon Central, and the front gates will open at 4pm. Pit passes are $20 for practice night and the stands will be open to all fans for free admission. Engine heat takes place at 5pm, followed by a quick drivers meeting at 5:45pm, then moving right along into the first practice session at 6pm.
For the first two nights of racing at Huset's on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11, pit gates open at Noon Central. The front gates will open at 4pm with the drivers meeting at 3:30pm and engine heat and cars on track at 5:15pm. The Sprint Car and Midget features will each pay $5,000 to win on Friday and Saturday.
On the final night, championship night, on Sunday, Sept. 12, pit gates open at Noon Central. The front gates will open at 3pm with the drivers meeting at 4:15pm and cars on track at 4:45pm. The Sprint Car and Midget features will each pay $20,000 to win on Sunday.
General admission tickets each night are $35 for adults, $20 for youths age 6-12 and free for children age 5 and under. Reserved tickets are available now in advance at www.USACnationals.com.
If you can't make it to the event in person, all three nights of racing action at the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2085, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2041, 3-Justin Grant-2034, 4-C.J. Leary-1842, 5-Tanner Thorson-1821, 6-Chris Windom-1753, 7-Jake Swanson-1686, 8-Robert Ballou-1618, 9-Chase Stockon-1332, 10-Kyle Cummins-1163.
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PAST HUSET'S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS:
2016: Chad Boespflug (8/20) & Chad Boespflug (8/21)
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TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT HUSET'S SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 8/20/2016 - Kevin Thomas Jr. - 12.711
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PAST HUSET'S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS:
2016 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Chad Boespflug, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Brady Short, 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 7. Ryan Bernal, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Bud Kaeding, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. Dustin Smith, 14. Mark Dobmeier, 15. Rob Caho, Jr., 16. Tim Kaeding, 17. Mike Martin, 18. Matt Goodnight, 19. Alex Schriever, 20. Scotty Weir, 21. Bret Mellenberndt, 22. Brady Bacon, 23. Dylan Peterson, 24. Landon Simon. NT
2016 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (35 laps) 1. Chad Boespflug, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Bud Kaeding, 4. Ryan Bernal, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Dustin Smith, 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 8. Brady Short, 9. Scotty Weir, 10. Robert Ballou, 11. Dave Darland, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. Mark Dobmeier, 14. Alex Schriever, 15. Landon Simon, 16. Thomas Meseraull, 17. Chris Windom, 18. Matt Goodnight, 19. Rob Caho Jr., 20. Mike Martin, 21. Bret Mellenberndt, 22. Dylan Peterson, 23. Tim Kaeding, 24. Aaron Reutzel. NT
NEWEST CLASS OF NATIONAL MIDGET AUTO
RACING HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (September 9, 2021)………Danny Frye Sr., Jimmy LaManna, Ken Nichols, Fred "Jiggs" Peters, Lowell Sachs and Art Shanoian were announced 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 Hall, last Sunday.
Frye Sr. was a two-time SLARA Champion, who started out in the 1940's on the tough Oklahoma-Texas. A great benefactor to midget racing, he helped many an up-and-coming young driver.
LaManna was a three-time Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association Champion, taking the crown in 1961, 1964 and 65, driving for Sam Rodriguez and Harry Conklin.
Nichols was the 1973 Bay Cities Racing Association Champion, an extremely versatile driver, but known for his dominance on the pavement. He drove for some of the top owners of his day, Bob Rosen, Lenny Gonsel, Art Shanoian and the Zarounians.
Peters was the 1961 American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) Champion. He was known for being one of the best long distance drivers, twice capturing the Trenton 250-miler and 100-milers at Langhorne and Williams Grove. After retirement from driving, he became an official in the sport and an ambassador with numerous historic racing groups.
Sachs was a six-time driver champion, three of which came with the tough United Racing Association's blue circuit (URA) in 1962, 1963 and 1964 and three with the United States Racing Club (USRC) in 1967, 1968 and 1970.
Shanoian, the 1973 car owner champion with BCRA, competed across four decades, and whose orange #17 Benson Offy was synonymous with winning. He was known more as a win chaser than a points chaser. He is already in the BCRA Hall of Fame along with Calistoga and Clovis Speedways Halls of Fame.
The 37th annual Luncheon-Induction Ceremony for the six will be held on the Friday Jan. 14, 2022. The event will be held at Fair Meadow Hall on the Tulsa (Okla.) Fairgrounds adjacent to the Expo Center which will be hosting the Chili Bowl Nationals. Their plaques will be on permanent display in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame at Angell Park Speedway (Sun Prairie, Wis.).
For additional information, contact Barb Hellyer at kingdoodlebug@sbcglobal.net
AUSTIN WILLIAMS GOES WIRE-TO-WIRE AT PETALUMA
PETALUMA, CA – SEPTEMBER 7, 2021… Leading all 30-laps, "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba, CA) earned his second AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory of the year at Petaluma Speedway. Driving the Tom and Laurie Sertich owned #92 Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror DRC, Williams scored the rare Monday night victory ahead of hard charger Chase Johnson, "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa, "The Demon" Damion Gardner, and "The Cadillac" Cody Williams.
Williams opened the night at the Sonoma-Maria Fairgrounds by qualifying seventh overall out of the fifteen cars in attendance. "The Big Game Hunter" finished third in his heat race and would start on the outside of the front row in the main event. After scoring his eleventh career victory, Austin moved up to sixth on the winner's list and heads to Perris Auto Speedway ranked third in points.
After fifteen cars took to the track in Woodland Auto Display Qualifying, young Daniel Whitley (Ferndale, CA) took top honors by posting a time of 14.148. Racing Ted Finkenbinder's #3F Western Industrial X-Ray Eagle with a 360 engine, Whitley placed seventh in his heat race and ran fifth in the main event. In limited starts, the Spec Sprint regular sits thirty-first in the point standings.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Riverside, CA) drive to victory in the 10-lap Flowdynamics Incorporated First Heat Race. Piloting the BR Performance / HD Industries Eagle, Roa was ninth fast in time trials and charged to third in the feature after starting ninth. The 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion is second in the point chase, just 44 points behind Damion Gardner.
After winning the finale of the "Louie Vermeil Classic" at Chico the previous night, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) won the 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner qualified second overall and placed fourth in the main event at Petaluma.
Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) earned the night's In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a second place run from eighth. Racing the May Motorsports' #8M Fastenal / Coopers Propane Maxim with a 360 engine, Johnson was fourth fast in qualifying and ran fifth in his heat race. In limited starts, the versatile driver has climbed to seventeenth in championship points.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) earned the Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award. Driving John McCarthy's #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams qualified sixth overall and finished thirteenth in the main event. Logan left the Petaluma Speedway ranked eleventh in the point standings.
The USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will take a break before returning to action at Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA) on September 25th for the "Glenn Howard Classic."
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 6, 2021 – Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Daniel Whitley, 3F, Finkenbinder-14.148; 2. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-14.191; 3. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.277; 4. Chase Johnson, 8M, May-14.321; 5. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-14.415; 6. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.420; 7. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-14.446; 8. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-14.503; 9. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-14.574; 10. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-14.635; 11. Verne Sweeney, 98, Sweeney-14.722; 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.923; 13. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.963; 14. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-15.070; 15. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.190.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Roa, 2. C.Williams, 3. A.Williams, 4. Davis, 5. Malcolm, 6. Gansen, 7. Whitley, 8. Sweeney. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Tafoya, 3. L.Williams, 4. McCarthy, 5. Johnson, 6. Grabowski, 7. Timmons. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Austin Williams (2), 2. Chase Johnson (8), 3. Brody Roa (9), 4. Damion Gardner (6), 5. Daniel Whitley (7), 6. Cody Williams (5), 7. Charles Davis Jr. (4), 8. Tommy Malcolm (13), 9. Matt McCarthy (1), 10. Chris Gansen (15), 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (12), 12. Austin Grabowski (14), 13. Logan Williams (3), 14. Ryan Timmons (10). NT.
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**Verne Sweeney did not start feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 A.Williams
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Chase Johnson (8th to 2nd)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Logan Williams
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-936, 2-Brody Roa-892, 3-Austin Williams-783, 4-Chris Gansen-725, 5-Cody Williams-696, 6-Tommy Malcolm-640, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-519, 8-Danny Faria Jr.-473, 9-Matt McCarthy-464, 10-Verne Sweeney-443.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: September 25 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – "Glenn Howard Classic"
THORSON'S BACK-TO-BACK 7-WIN SEASONS
AMONG ALL-TIME BEST (STAT BOOK)
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (September 8, 2021)………Coming off a late-season flurry a year ago that provided him with a career-best seven victories in a single season, Tanner Thorson has already equaled that mark through the first 25 races of the 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season.
His series-leading seventh victory of the season came last Sunday at Wisconsin's Angell Park Speedway, and he now faces three more potential shots at adding to his win total this coming weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 10-11-12, at the inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals in Brandon, South Dakota.
Thorson's back-to-back seven win USAC National Midget seasons are relatively rare. In fact, over the past four decades, only one other driver has accomplished the feat – Christopher Bell in 2013 and 2014.
Just 10 drivers throughout the past 66 years of USAC National Midget racing have won at least seven feature events in consecutive seasons, a list in which Thorson of Minden, Nev. has now joined.
The list includes Gene Hartley (1959-60), Jimmy Davies (1960-61-62), Bob Wente (1962-63), Mel Kenyon (1964-65 & 1967-68-69), Bob Tattersall (1965-66), Jimmy Caruthers (1970-71), Sleepy Tripp (1975-76), Rich Vogler (1978-79), plus Bell (2013-14) and now Thorson (2020-21).
All seven of Thorson's wins have come aboard the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – MVT – Smith Titanium/Spike/Stanton SR-11x at Port City Raceway, Lincoln Park Speedway, Solomon Valley Raceway, Jefferson County Speedway, Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Bloomsburg Fair Raceway and Angell Park Speedway.
The latest of his victories, worth $5,000, at Angell Park was the 27th of Thorson's USAC National Midget career, tying him with Tony Stewart and Gary Bettenhausen for 14th all-time.
Thorson, the 2016 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion, has already won series features in five different months this season and leads in laps led as well with 129, and four fast qualifying times, while his seven wins are among his 10 top-tens.
Penngrove, Calif. driver Buddy Kofoid's championship point lead has shrunk to single digits with just nine separating he and Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) entering Huset's. Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports holds the same margin of lead in the entrant standings over Petry Motorsports.
Only 25 points out of the championship lead is reigning titlist Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), who leads all drivers with 17 top-fives while fourth in the standings is Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), 85 points behind the leader, who owns a series-leading eight heat race wins.
Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) maintains his stranglehold of the Rookie of the Year race, 267 points ahead of his nearest fellow Rookie, and is 11th overall in the tally.
Nine drivers have started all 25 features run this far in 2021: Axsom, Grant, Kofoid, Thorson, Windom, Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) and Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.).
A Thursday practice night begins the festivities for both divisions on September 9 starting at 6pm Central. Pit gates will open at Noon Central, and the front gates will open at 4pm. Pit passes are $20 for practice night and the stands will be open to all fans for free admission. Engine heat takes place at 5pm, followed by a quick drivers meeting at 5:45pm, then moving right along into the first practice session at 6pm.
All will head this weekend to South Dakota's Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals for what will be a first-time endeavor for all participants with it being the first time in 25 years that USAC National Midgets have competed at the track.
For the first two nights of racing at Huset's on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11, pit gates open at Noon Central. The front gates will open at 4pm with the drivers meeting at 3:30pm and engine heat and cars on track at 5:15pm. The Sprint Car and Midget features will each pay $5,000 to win on Friday and Saturday.
On the final night, championship night, on Sunday, Sept. 12, pit gates open at Noon Central. The front gates will open at 3pm with the drivers meeting at 4:15pm and cars on track at 4:45pm. The Sprint Car and Midget features will each pay $20,000 to win on Sunday.
General admission tickets each night are $35 for adults, $20 for youths age 6-12 and free for children age 5 and under. Reserved tickets are available now in advance at www.USACnationals.com.
If you can't make it to the event in person, all three nights of racing action at the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET STAT LEADERS
Driver Point Leader: Buddy Kofoid
Owner Point Leader: Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67
Leading Rookie Driver in Points: Chase Randall (11th)
Most Feature Wins: 7-Tanner Thorson
Laps Led: 129-Tanner Thorson
Top-Fives: 17-Chris Windom
Top-Tens: 23-Buddy Kofoid
Fast Qualifying Times: 4-Tanner Thorson
Heat Race Wins: 8-Justin Grant
Feature Starts: 25-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Most Positions Gained in a Feature: Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st) & Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Tulsa, OK
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jun 3: (I) Paragon Speedway – Paragon, IN
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing #7x)
Jun 4: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 5: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Tom Malloy #25)
Jun 6: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing #3G)
Jun 9: (I) Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Corey Day (Clauson Marshall Racing #47BC)
Jun 10: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jun 11: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67)
Jun 12: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Jul 13: (M) Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, OK
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Jul 15: (M) Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, KS
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 16: (M) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Jul 17: (M) (F) Jefferson County Speedway – Fairbury, NE
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Petry Motorsports #15)
Aug 3: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Chris Windom (CB Industries #89)
Aug 4: (E) Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K)
Aug 5: (E) Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, NJ
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 6: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Aug 7: (E) Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Newmanstown, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (RMS Racing #2J)
Aug. 19: (F) The Dirt Track at IMS – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Kyle Larson (CB Industries #86x)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, WI
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19T)
Sep 10: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
Sep 11: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
Sep 12: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
Sep 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
Sep 24: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
Oct 8: (F) Wayne County Speedway – Wayne City, IL
Oct 9: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
Nov 12: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 13: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 16: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
Nov 18: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 19: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 20: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA
Nov 23: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 24: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA
Nov 27: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(I) represents an Indiana Midget Week event
(M) represents a Mid-America Midget Week event
(E) represents an Eastern Midget Week event
(F) represents a race awarding feature points only
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1607 Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, Calif.
2 1598 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.
3 1582 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
4 1532 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
5 1530 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
6 1466 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.
7 1352 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
8 1329 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.
9 1315 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
10 1188 Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Okla.
� = USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year Contender
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 1607 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#67)
2 1598 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#15)
3 1582 CB Industries, Mooresville, N.C. (#89)
4 1532 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#2J)
5 1466 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Columbus, Ind. (#71K)
6 1375 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19T)
7 1352 Tom Malloy, El Monte, Calif. (#25)
8 1329 RMS Racing, Western Springs, Ill. (#7x)
9 1315 Petry Motorsports, Greenfield, Ind. (#5)
10 1188 Dave Mac Motorsports, Bixby, Okla. (#08)
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1010 Chase Randall, Waco, Texas
2 743 Bryant Wiedeman, Colby, Kan.
3 720 Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, Texas
4 598 Hayden Williams, Auckland, N.Z.
5 520 Hayden Reinbold, Gilbert, Ariz.
6 481 Trey Gropp, Lincoln, Neb.
7 469 Corey Day, Clovis, Calif.
8 321 Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, Okla.
9 313 Brian Carber, Pipersville, Pa.
10 219 Taylor Reimer, Bixby, Okla.
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2021 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
7-Tanner Thorson (Apr 11 at Port City Raceway, Jun 10 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 15 at Solomon Valley Raceway, Jul 16 at Jefferson County Speedway, Aug 5 at Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Aug 6 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway & Sep 5 at Angell Park Speedway)
4-Buddy Kofoid (Feb 6 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 10 at Port City Raceway, Jun 4 at Bloomington Speedway & Jun 11 at Gas City I-69 Speedway)
3-Chris Windom (May 1 at Kokomo Speedway, Jun 12 at Kokomo Speedway & Aug 3 at Grandview Speedway)
2-Emerson Axsom (Apr 30 at Kokomo Speedway & Jul 17 at Jefferson County Speedway)
2-Thomas Meseraull (Feb 8 at Bubba Raceway Park & Jun 3 at Paragon Speedway)
2-Daison Pursley (Jul 13 at Red Dirt Raceway & Aug 4 at Action Track USA)
1-Kyle Cummins (Jun 6 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Corey Day (Jun 9 at Circle City Raceway)
1-Justin Grant (Aug 7 at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway)
1-Kyle Larson (Aug 19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1-Logan Seavey (Jun 5 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
129-Tanner Thorson
113-Buddy Kofoid
93-Logan Seavey
85-Chris Windom
82-Thomas Meseraull
72-Emerson Axsom
56-Daison Pursley
32-Justin Grant
30-Corey Day
29-Kyle Cummins
27-Cannon McIntosh
12-Kevin Thomas Jr.
9-Kaylee Bryson & Sam Johnson
7-Alex Bright & Kyle Larson
6-Chase Randall
1-Jonathan Beason
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TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES
17-Chris Windom
16-Emerson Axsom
15-Justin Grant & Buddy Kofoid
10-Daison Pursley & Tanner Thorson
7-Thomas Meseraull & Kevin Thomas Jr.
5-Logan Seavey
4-Cannon McIntosh
3-Brady Bacon
2-Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Jason McDougal & Bryant Wiedeman
1-Alex Bright, Brian Carber, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Kyle Larson, Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall & Hayden Williams
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TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES
23-Buddy Kofoid
21-Justin Grant
20-Emerson Axsom & Chris Windom
19-Tanner Thorson
18-Daison Pursley
16-Kevin Thomas Jr.
15-Thomas Meseraull & Logan Seavey
11-Cannon McIntosh
8-Jason McDougal & Chase Randall
5-Corey Day
4-Jerry Coons Jr., Brenham Crouch, Ethan Mitchell & Hayden Williams
3-Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Kyle Cummins, Ryan Timms & Bryant Wiedeman
2-Kaylee Bryson, Brian Carber, Tanner Carrick, Zach Daum, Kyle Jones, Joe B. Miller, Taylor Reimer
1-Jonathan Beason, Tyler Courtney, Trey Gropp, Kyle Larson, Jake Neuman & Hayden Reinbold
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES
4-Tanner Thorson
3-Logan Seavey
2-Corey Day, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Alex Bright, Cannon McIntosh, Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall & Bryan Wiedeman
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HEAT RACE WINS: (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension, Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
8-Justin Grant
6-Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull & Daison Pursley
5-Emerson Axsom & Kevin Thomas Jr.
4-Buddy Kofoid, Ethan Mitchell, Chase Randall & Chris Windom
3-Jason McDougal, Tanner Thorson & Bryant Wiedeman
2-Cole Bodine, Brenham Crouch, Corey Day, Taylor Reimer, Tyler Thomas, Ryan Timms & Hayden Williams
1-Jonathan Beason, Alex Bright, Kaylee Bryson, Jake Bubak, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Chance Crum, Kyle Cummins, Zach Daum, Chase Elliott, Trey Gropp, Sam Johnson, Kyle Jones, Max McLaughlin, Thomas Meseraull, Aiden Purdue, Logan Seavey, Zac Taylor
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QUALIFYING RACE WINS
1-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Tyler Courtney, Cannon McIntosh, Kevin Thomas Jr & Chris Windom
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ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI-FEATURE WINS
2-Emerson Axsom, Brenham Crouch, Justin Grant, Daison Pursley, Chase Randall, Logan Seavey & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Trey Gropp, Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Karter Sarff, Jonathan Shafer & Hayden Williams
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C-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney, Chance Morton & Logan Seavey
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Jacob Denney & Tanner Thorson
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FEATURE STARTS
25-Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Thomas Meseraull, Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
24-Chase Randall & Kevin Thomas Jr.
21-Ethan Mitchell
17-Brenham Crouch & Bryant Wiedeman
15-Jason McDougal & Hayden Williams
12-Kaylee Bryson & Trey Gropp
11-Kyle Cummins
10-Hayden Reinbold
9-Corey Day
8-Brian Carber, Jerry Coons Jr. & Sam Johnson
7-Taylor Reimer & Ryan Timms
6-Cole Bodine, Zach Daum & Kyle Jones
5-Alex Bright
4-Brady Bacon, Jonathan Shafer, Tyler Thomas, Glenn Waterland & Kevin Woody Jr.
3-Jonathan Beason, Travis Buckley, Chance Crum, Jimmy Glenn, Bryan Stanfill & Brandon Waelti
2-Clinton Boyles, Jake Bubak, Steve Buckwalter, Tanner Carrick, Chase Elliott, Eric Heydenreich, Kenney Johnson, Michael Markey, Shannon McQueen, Joe B. Miller, Kade Morton, Jake Neuman, Daniel Robinson, Alex Sewell & Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
1-Spencer Bayston, Tanner Berryhill, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Jacob Denney, Tommy Kunsman, Kyle Larson, Trey Marcham, Shannon Mausteller, Ace McCarthy, Chase McDermand, Max McLaughlin, Keith Rauch, Matt Rechek, Jack Routson, Karter Sarff, Stephen Schnapf, Mark Sokol, Zac Taylor, Brett Wanner, Zeb Wise & Jeff Zelinski
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GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE RACE:
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Trey Marcham
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Ace McCarthy
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Hayden Williams
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Corey Day
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Jason McDougal
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Kaylee Bryson
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Emerson Axsom
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Thomas Meseraull
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Cannon McIntosh
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Daison Pursley
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Tanner Carrick (14th to 8th)
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Daison Pursley (10th to 5th)
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Buddy Kofoid (16th to 1st)
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Chris Windom (13th to 4th)
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Tanner Thorson (17th to 7th)
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (13rd to 3rd)
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (12th to 1st)
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Emerson Axsom (22nd to 11th)
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brian Carber (22nd to 10th)
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Logan Seavey (22nd to 7th)
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Corey Day (12th to 5th)
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Tanner Thorson (20th to 8th)
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (18th to 9th)
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Justin Grant (13th to 2nd)
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Logan Seavey (17th to 7th)
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Brenham Crouch (22nd to 11th)
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Buddy Kofoid (15th to 2nd)
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Thomas Meseraull (15th to 8th)
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Alex Bright (16th to 6th)
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 6th)
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Kevin Woody Jr. (21st to 15th)
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Kevin Woody Jr. (20th to 11th)
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Emerson Axsom (19th to 5th)
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Brandon Waelti (22nd to 11th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Bryant Wiedeman
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Logan Seavey
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Daison Pursley
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Apr 30: Kokomo Speedway – Logan Seavey
May 1: Kokomo Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Chase Randall
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chris Windom
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Emerson Axsom
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Chase Randall
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Taylor Reimer
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Logan Seavey
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Ethan Mitchell
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Sep 5: Angell Park Speedway – Jack Routson
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS
Feb 6: Bubba Raceway Park – Andrew Felker
Feb 8: Bubba Raceway Park – Emilio Hoover
Apr 10: Port City Raceway – Brenham Crouch
Apr 11: Port City Raceway – Noah Harris
Jun 3: Paragon Speedway – Cole Bodine
Jun 4: Bloomington Speedway – Kaylee Bryson
Jun 5: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Chett Gehrke
Jun 6: Tri-State Speedway – Travis Buckley
Jun 9: Circle City Raceway – Bryant Wiedeman
Jun 10: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brian Carber
Jun 11: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Randall
Jun 12: Kokomo Speedway – Trey Gropp
Jul 13: Red Dirt Raceway – Jason McDougal
Jul 15: Solomon Valley Raceway – Sam Johnson
Jul 16: Jefferson County Speedway – Jake Bubak
Jul 17: Jefferson County Speedway – Hayden Reinbold
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway – Michael Markey
Aug 4: Action Track USA – Dan Bennett
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – J.R. Booth
Aug 19: The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Tanner Thorson
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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. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Tony Stewart & Tanner Thorson
17. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland
20. [24 wins] Billy Engelhart & Kyle Larson
22. [23 wins] Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich
28. [22 wins] Bobby East & Shorty Templeman
30. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader
34. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt
35. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Stan Fox & Jason Leffler
38. [18 wins] Tyler Courtney & Dave Steele
40. [17 wins] Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley
42. [16 wins] Rico Abreu, George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens
48. [15 wins] Don Branson & Larry Rice
49. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner
53. [13 wins] Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman & Stevie Reeves
57. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim & Ron Shuman
63. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos & Brad Sweet
69. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung & Chuck Weyant
75. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Chad Boat, Tony Elliott, Chuck Gurney & Chris Windom
80. [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
93. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Buddy Kofoid, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Logan Seavey, Len Sutton & Johnnie Tolan
104. [6 wins] Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Justin Grant, Arnie Knepper, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. & Roger West
117. [5 wins] Spencer Bayston, Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
128. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, 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, Thomas Meseraull, Ken Nichols, Jeff Nuckles, Jan Opperman, Michael Pickens, Gary Ponzini, Davey Ray, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Sam Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, Rodger Ward & Zeb Wise
161. [3 wins] John Batts, Gays Biro, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Zach Daum, 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, Cannon McIntosh, Warren Mockler, 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
193. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Emerson Axsom, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, 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
229. [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, Tanner Carrick, 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, Larry McCloskey, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, 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, 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
16. (25) Gary Bettenhausen
17. (24) Gene Hartley
18. (22) Stan Fox
19. (21) Don Branson, Tony Stewart, Shorty Templeman & Tanner Thorson
23. (20) Bryan Clauson, Dan Drinan, Bobby East & Bobby Grim
27. (19) Jay Drake & Kyle Larson
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
41. (14) Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Jeff Gordon & Kenny Irwin Jr.
45. (13) George Benson, Jimmy Knight & J.J. Yeley
48. (12) Larry Rice & Josh Wise
50. (11) Brady Bacon, Danny Caruthers, Lonnie Caruthers, Russ Congdon, Tommy Copp, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader, Len Sutton, Brad Sweet & Sleepy Tripp
61. (10) George Amick, Pancho Carter, Allen Crowe, Logan Seavey, Billy Vukovich & Leroy Warriner
67. (9) A.J. Foyt, Doug Kalitta, Larry Patton, Stevie Reeves, Dave Strickland Jr. & Jerry Weeks
73. (8) Christopher Bell, Dana Carter, Russ Gamester, Don Horvath, Kasey Kahne, Sammy Sessions, George Snider & Jack Turner
81. (7) Spencer Bayston, Mike Bliss, Rex Easton, Ray Elliott, Allen Heath, Billy Mehner, Andy Michner, Henry Pens, Lowell Sachs, Kody Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
92. (6) Chad Boat, Burt Foland, Brian Gerster, Mike Gregg, Kyle Hamilton, Lee Kunzman, Jerry McClung, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Don Vogler, Chris Windom & Billy Wood
103. (5) Merle Bettenhausen, Billy Boat, Steve Cannon, Ray Crawford, Kevin Doty, Ronnie Duman, Aaron Fike, Rick Goudy, Jeff Heywood, Eddie Johnson, Steve Knepper, Brad Kuhn, Andy Linden, Bobby Santos, Chris Shultz, Billy Shuman, Chuck Weyant & Mauri Wilson
121. (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, Cannon McIntosh, Danny McKnight, Jeff Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Gary Ponzini, Richard Powell, Porky Rachwitz, Ricky Shelton, Tom Steiner, Bruce Walkup, Rodger Ward, Roger West, & Zeb Wise
150. (3) Bob Cicconi, Cole Carter, Don Anderson, Donnie Beechler, Dwight Brown, Hank Butcher, Harry Beck, Jack Calabrase, Larry Dickson, Mario Clouser, Steve Buckwalter, Tony Bettenhausen, Tony Elliott, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Gene Force, Shane Golobic, Justin Grant, Bob Hare, Ted Hines, P.J. Jones, Greg Leffler, Grier Manning, Mack McClellan, Thomas Meseraull, Ethan Mitchell, Johnny Moorhouse, Kenneth Nichols, Jerry Nuckles, Tim Pangborn, Forrest Parker, Johnnie Parsons, Johnny Roberts, Randy Roberts, Lloyd Ruby, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Tom Sellberg, Dale Swaim, Johnnie Tolan & Dillon Welch
191. (2) Sherman Armstrong Jr., Jack Bates, Gays Biro, Art Bisch, Dan Boorse, Tanner Carrick, 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, Jim Mahoney, Jim McClean, Roger McCluskey, Sarah McCune, Warren Mockler, Earl Motter, Ken Nichols, Hank Nykaza, Steve Paden, Danny Pens, Michael Pickens, Parker Price-Miller, Daison Pursley, Levi Roberts, Johnny Rodriguez, Joe Saldana, Sam Sauer, Ryan Scott, Jigger Sirois, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danny Stratton, Russ Sweedler, Buddy Taylor, George Tichenor, Bud Tingelstad, Steve Troxell, Bobby Unser, Billy Wease, Ken Weiland, Cole Whitt & Carl Williams
253. (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, Kaylee Bryson, Bob Burbridge, Larry Cannon, Roy Caruthers, Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bud Clemons, Johnny Cofer, Duke Cook, Jay Cornell, A.J. Davis, Duke DeRosa, Danny Ebberts, Bob Ellingham, Dean Erfurth, Russ Faucett, Sarah Fisher, Dan Ford, Josh Ford, Danny Frye Jr., Jim Gates, Johnny Gavin, Roy Gillhamer, Roy Graham, Bob Gregg, Mike Groff, 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, Jim Bob Luebbert, Dave Lundy, Carson Macedo, Jim Malloy, Bobby Marshman, Larry McCloskey, Jimmy McCune, 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, 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
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET OWNER 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: Don Kenyon, 1967: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1968: Mel & Don Kenyon, 1969: Jack Stroud, 1970: Doug Caruthers, 1971: Doug Caruthers, 1972: Shannon Buick Company, 1973: Doug Caruthers, 1974: Don Kenyon, 1975: Ron Tripp, 1976: Ron Tripp, 1977: Sherman Armstrong, 1978: Doug & Dana Caruthers, 1979: 3-K Racing Enterprises, 1980: Don Kenyon, 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
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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
ODOM NAMED USAC SERIES DIRECTOR
FOR WESTERN STATES MIDGETS & 360 SPRINTS
Speedway, Indiana (September 8, 2021)………Stephanie Odom has been named the series director for both USAC's Western States Midget and West Coast 360 Sprint Car divisions.
Odom, a native of Nipomo, Calif., will begin her role as series director starting with this Saturday night's USAC Western States Midget event at California's Ventura Raceway on September 11. Julie Tanaka will also be a part of each series' administrative needs.
"I look forward to having both Stephanie and Julie lead these two series that USAC aims to grow for tracks, fans and competitors on the west coast," USAC Executive Vice President Levi Jones said.
Odom has recently served as a scorer for both USAC National and Western racing events throughout the country during the last few seasons and has been a writer, columnist and publicist for dirt track racing in her career.
For many years, Tanaka has served in an administrative role for USAC's western racing divisions and is a past winner of the Evelyn Pratt award for her contributions to the sport.
STAT BOOK: GRANT & KTJ'S BACK & FORTH USAC SPRINT BATTLE CARRIES INTO HUSET'S
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media Brandon, South Dakota………(September 8, 2021)………Alternating feature wins has been the name of the game of late for both Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr. in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship over the past five races.
Following Grant's victory during the Indiana Sprint Week finale on July 31 at Tri-State Speedway, the two have followed each other in a game of one upmanship since that point that carries into this weekend's Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals at the 1/3-mile dirt oval in Brandon, South Dakota on September 10-11-12.
Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) followed up with a victory at Paragon Speedway on Aug. 22. Grant (Ione, Calif.) roared back with an opening night victory during Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo Speedway on Aug. 27. Thomas got the upper hand during the daylight at Kokomo on Aug. 28. Later that same night, Grant was back on top as the Smackdown king at Kokomo, which also set a new USAC record.
At no point in the 66-year history of USAC National Sprint Car racing have two drivers alternated victories for five consecutive races. Until now.
On seven past occasions, drivers have alternated wins for four-straight feature contests, with some notable occurrences delivered via some of the greatest rivalries in series history.
Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt swapped USAC Sprint victories in September of 1961 with Rufus Parnell getting the job done in a grueling 100-lapper at Salem, Ind. as well as on the neighboring Ohio dirt of New Bremen Speedway en route to his second-straight series title. Sandwiched between Parnelli's wins were A.J.'s at New York's Lancaster Speedway and Pennsylvania's Reading Fairgrounds.
Between 1968-1971, USAC's greatest sprint car rivalry was born and raised, an era christened as the "Larry & Gary Show." The key players were Larry Dickson and Gary Bettenhausen who not only alternated feature wins twice for four-straight races in both 1968 and 1970. They both also alternated series championships for four years straight between 1968-71, Dickson winning in '68 and '70 while Gary B. cashed in during the '69 and '71 seasons. Impressively, when one won the title, the other finished second.
In 1968, Dickson won the first end of the doubleheader at New Bremen while Bettenhausen answered in the second leg of the twin 50-lap features. Dickson stormed back for victory on the Dayton (Ohio) Speedway high banks followed by Gary B. scoring once again in the series' debut at Iowa's Knoxville Raceway.
The second time it occurred, in 1970, Dickson manhandled the Capitol Super Speedway banks in Oregon, Wis. (now known as Madison International Speedway). Gary B. capitalized at Indianapolis Raceway Park's 50-lapper, with Dickson checking off another win at New Bremen with Bettenhausen laying down the final gauntlet on the pavement of I-70 Speedway in Missouri.
Rich Vogler and Tom Bigelow answered each other with successive victories in July of 1981. "Rapid Rich" scored on the borderland dirt/pavement high banks of Ohio's Eldora Speedway and Indiana's Winchester Speedway. Splitting between and around the Vogler triumphs was Bigelow who earned his final two career series victories in that stretch, first at Kokomo, Ind., then notched his 52nd and final USAC Sprint score at Beaver Dam, Wis., which stood as an all-time record for career wins until surpassed by Dave Darland 33 years later in 2014.
Sheldon Kinser and Steve Butler achieved the same in midsummer of 1984 on a variety of Hoosier-state dirt tracks. Kinser bagged his first win of the four-race set at Lincoln Park Speedway. Butler picked up the win 24 hours later at Paragon Speedway. One week later, Sheldon was back on top at Bloomington Speedway while Butler once again controlled the pace at Paragon in the follow-up affair.
The year of 1986 was dominated for the summer stretch by champions Rick Hood and Sheldon Kinser. Hood notched a pair on the quarter-miles of Lawrenceburg, Ind. and "Little" Springfield Speedway. Before and after Springfield, Sheldon had his heyday on the big half-mile of Terre Haute, Ind. and the world's fastest 5/16-mile dirt track at Lincoln Park.
Prior to 2021, the last such occasion that featured at least four consecutive alternating A-Main winners came at the tail end of the 1998 season and spilled over to the beginning of the 1999 campaign.
Derek Davidson became a first-time winner on the USAC trail at Red Hill Raceway in Illinois in the penultimate round of '98 while Steele closed out the year with a masterful performance at Winchester, Ind. Davidson opened up 1999 in victory lane at Eldora while Steele tallied another in the second round, once again at Winchester.
Already in uncharted territory at this point, Grant and Thomas will continue their trend of back-and forth front-running supremacy this weekend at Huset's Speedway for three consecutive nights of doubleheaders with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 10-11-12, for the inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals.
A Thursday practice night begins the festivities for both divisions on September 9 starting at 6pm Central. Pit gates will open at Noon Central, and the front gates will open at 4pm. Pit passes are $20 for practice night and the stands will be open to all fans for free admission. Engine heat takes place at 5pm, followed by a quick drivers meeting at 5:45pm, then moving right along into the first practice session at 6pm.
For the first two nights of racing on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11, pit gates open at Noon Central. The front gates will open at 4pm with the drivers meeting at 3:30pm and engine heat and cars on track at 5:15pm. The Sprint Car and Midget features will each pay $5,000 to win on Friday and Saturday.
On the final night, championship night, on Sunday, Sept. 12, pit gates open at Noon Central. The front gates will open at 3pm with the drivers meeting at 4:15pm and cars on track at 4:45pm. The Sprint Car and Midget features will each pay $20,000 to win on Sunday.
General admission tickets each night are $35 for adults, $20 for youths age 6-12 and free for children age 5 and under. Reserved tickets are available now in advance at www.USACnationals.com.
If you can't make it to the event in person, all three nights of racing action at the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS
Most Wins: 7-Justin Grant
Driver Point Leader: Brady Bacon
Owner Point Leader: Dynamics, Inc. #69
Top Rookie in Points: Tanner Thorson
Most Laps Led: 185-Justin Grant
Most Top-Fives: 25-Brady Bacon
Most Top-Tens: 28-Brady Bacon
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.
Most Heat Race Wins: 13-Robert Ballou
Most Feature Starts: 30-Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Biggest Charge of the Year: 4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Alex Bright (18th to 4th) | 6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – C.J. Leary (21st to 7th) | 7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 8th)
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 2085 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
2 2041 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
3 2034 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
4 1842 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
5 1821 (R) Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
6 1753 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
7 1686 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
8 1618 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.
9 1332 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.
10 1163 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.
(R) represents a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 2085 Dynamics, Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)
2 2041 KT Motorsports, Whitestown, Ind. (#9K)
3 2034 TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Ind. (#4)
4 1842 Michael Motorsports, Chino Valley, Ariz. (#77m)
5 1821 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)
6 1753 Hayward Motorsports, Morrison, Ill. (#19)
7 1686 Team AZ Racing, Danville, Ind. (#21AZ)
8 1651 Ballou Motorsports, Tipton, Ind. (#12)
9 1432 Rock Steady Racing, Dupont, Ind. (#3R)
10 1332 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5s)
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1821 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
2 859 Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, Ill.
3 650 Cole Bodine, Rossville, Ind.
4 445 Steven Drevicki, Reading, Pa.
5 436 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.
6 252 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.
7 204 Ricky Lewis, Ventura, Calif.
8 178 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo.
9 130 Ryan Thomas, Indianapolis, Ind.
10 128 Harley Burns, Brazil, Ind.
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 11: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Feb 12: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Apr 3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Apr 16: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Apr 17: (M) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Apr 22: Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Apr 23: Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, PA WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Apr 24: BAPS Motor Speedway – York Haven, PA WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Apr 25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Spring Run, PA WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
May 8: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #7BC)
May 8: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)
May 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN WINNER: Chris Windom (Hayward Motorsports #19)
Jun 15: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jun 16: (E) Bridgeport Speedway – Swedesboro, NJ WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)
Jun 17: (E) Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, PA WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jun 20: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Jul 1: Plymouth Speedway – Plymouth, IN WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Jul 2: (M) (A) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Jul 3: (M) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Jul 24: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jul 25: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
Jul 26: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
Jul 28: (I) Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
Jul 29: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Jul 30: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Jul 31: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Aug. 22: Paragon Speedway – Paragon, IN WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Aug 27: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Aug 28: (F) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Sep 10: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
Sep 11: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
Sep 12: (F) Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
Sep 17: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
Sep 18: (M) (F) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
Sep 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
Oct 1: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
Oct 2: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
Nov 4: (C) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
Nov 5: (C) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
Nov 6: (C) (F) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
Nov 12: (C) Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 13: (C) Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS ------------------
(M) represents an event co-sanctioned by MSCS
(E) represents an Eastern Storm event
(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event
(C) represents an event with the USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Cars
(SE) represents a non-points, special event
(F) represents a race awarding feature points only
(A) represents a race awarding appearance points only
(P) represents an event co-sanctioned by POWRi WAR Sprints
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
7-Justin Grant (Feb 11 at Bubba Raceway Park, Jun 15 at Grandview Speedway, Jun 17 at Selinsgrove Speedway, Jul 24 at Kokomo Speedway, Jul 31 at Tri-State Speedway, Aug 27 at Kokomo Speedway & Aug 28 at Kokomo Speedway)
6-Kevin Thomas Jr. (Feb 12 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 16 at Bloomington Speedway, Jun 20 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway, Jul 3 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Aug 22 at Paragon Speedway & Aug 28 at Kokomo Speedway)
3-Brady Bacon (Apr 3 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Apr 22 at Grandview Speedway & Jul 30 at Bloomington Speedway)
3-C.J. Leary (Apr 24 at BAPS Motor Speedway, Jul 1 at Plymouth Speedway & Jul 2 at Lincoln Park Speedway)
3-Logan Seavey (Jul 25 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Jul 26 at Gas City I-69 Speedway & Jul 28 at Terre Haute Action Track)
3-Tanner Thorson (Apr 23 at Big Diamond Speedway, Apr 25 at Path Valley Speedway Park & Jul 29 at Lincoln Park Speedway)
2-Robert Ballou (May 8 at Eldora Speedway & Jun 16 at Bridgeport Speedway)
1-Tyler Courtney (May 8 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Kyle Cummins (Apr 17 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Chris Windom (May 26 at the Terre Haute Action Track)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
185-Justin Grant
150-Kevin Thomas Jr.
108-C.J. Leary
88-Logan Seavey
87-Brady Bacon
78-Tanner Thorson
71-Jake Swanson
44-Robert Ballou
34-Kyle Cummins
30-Tyler Courtney
21-Jadon Rogers
17-Shane Cottle
15-Chris Windom
6-Cole Bodine
5-Chase Stockon
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TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES
25-Brady Bacon
20-Kevin Thomas Jr.
18-Justin Grant
13-C.J. Leary & Tanner Thorson
11-Chris Windom
9-Kyle Cummins
7-Robert Ballou & Logan Seavey
6-Jake Swanson
4-Shane Cottle
3-Alex Bright & Tyler Courtney
2-Jason McDougal, Jadon Rogers & Chase Stockon
1-Briggs Danner, Buddy Kofoid, Brandon Mattox, Thomas Meseraull & Paul Nienhiser
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TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES
28-Brady Bacon
27-Justin Grant
26-Kevin Thomas Jr.
24-C.J. Leary
21-Chris Windom
20-Tanner Thorson
19-Robert Ballou
17-Jake Swanson
13-Logan Seavey
12-Kyle Cummins
11-Shane Cottle
9-Jadon Rogers & Chase Stockon
7-Alex Bright
6-Timmy Buckwalter
5-Briggs Danner
4-Tyler Courtney, Steven Drevicki, Jason McDougal & Paul Nienhiser
3-Thomas Meseraull & Matt Westfall
2-Emerson Axsom, Buddy Kofoid, Riley Kreisel, Cannon McIntosh, Kendall Ruble, Stevie Sussex
1-Cole Bodine, Isaac Chapple, Mario Clouser, Zach Daum, A.J. Hopkins, Chase Johnson, Brandon Mattox, Tye Mihocko, Carmen Perigo, Brady Short, Mark Smith & Scotty Weir
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FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (Presented by Fatheadz Eyewear)
6-Kevin Thomas Jr.
5-Brady Bacon
3-Timmy Buckwalter & Justin Grant
2-Jadon Rogers & Tanner Thorson
1-Brent Beauchamp, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, Steven Drevicki, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
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HEAT RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
13-Robert Ballou
8-Kyle Cummins & Chris Windom
7-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
6-Jake Swanson & Tanner Thorson
5-Justin Grant, C.J. Leary & Chase Stockon
4-Brandon Mattox & Thomas Meseraull
3-Briggs Danner
2-Cole Bodine, Jason McDougal, Paul Nienhiser & Logan Seavey
1-Emerson Axsom, Joey Biasi, Alex Bright, Timmy Buckwalter, Sterling Cling, Mario Clouser, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland, Zach Daum, Carson Garrett, Chase Johnson, Tye Mihocko, Davey Ray, Jadon Rogers, Stephen Schnapf, Brady Short, Mark Smith, Stevie Sussex & Matt Westfall
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SEMI WINS
4-Paul Nienhiser
3-Logan Seavey
2-Timmy Buckwalter, Isaac Chapple, C.J. Leary, Jadon Rogers & Jake Swanson
1-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Koby Barksdale, Nick Bilbee, Cole Bodine, Shane Cottle, Briggs Danner, Thomas Meseraull, Tanner Thorson, Scotty Weir & Chris Windom
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Jack James
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C-MAIN WINS
2-Brent Beauchamp
1-Cole Bodine, Mario Clouser, Tim Creech, Braydon Cromwell, Chayse Hayhurst, Brandon Mattox, Stevie Sussex, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Ryan Thomas
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FEATURE STARTS
30-Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
28-Robert Ballou
27-Chase Stockon
21-Matt Westfall
20-Kyle Cummins
19-Paul Nienhiser
18-Shane Cottle, Brandon Mattox & Logan Seavey
17-Jadon Rogers
16-Cole Bodine
14-Thomas Meseraull
13-Stevie Sussex
11-Mario Clouser
10-Alex Bright, Steven Drevicki & Chase Johnson
9-Briggs Danner, Isaac Chapple & Jason McDougal
8-Max Adams, Timmy Buckwalter, & Mark Smith
7-Tye Mihocko & Carmen Perigo
6-Charles Davis Jr., Nash Ely & Ricky Lewis
5-Brent Beauchamp, Cannon McIntosh, Carson Short & Scotty Weir
4-Emerson Axsom, Nick Bilbee, Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland & Carson Garrett
3-Brayden Fox, Riley Kreisel, Stephen Schnapf & Brady Short
2-Joey Biasi, Harley Burns, Sterling Cling, Shane Cockrum, Braydon Cromwell, Chris Gansen, Noah Gass, Aric Gentry, Max Guilford, Korbyn Hayslett, Dallas Hewitt, A.J. Hopkins, Buddy Kofoid, Kenny Miller III, Davey Ray, Kendall Ruble, Kent Schmidt, Kory Schudy & Eddie Tafoya Jr.
1-Garrett Abrams, Collin Ambrose, Alex Banales, Koby Barksdale, Ryan Barr, Mark Bitner, Richy Carnathan, Brayden Clark, Anthony D'Alessio, Zach Daum, Paul Dues, Matt Goodnight, Nic Harris, J.J. Hughes, Chase Jones, Tyler Kendall, Brandon Long, Critter Malone, Michael Markey, Brandon Morin, Billy Ney, Chris Phillips, Zack Pretorius, Chase Randall, Jake Scott, Alec Sipes, Brandon Spencer, Ryan Thomas, Chet Williams & Mitch Wissmiller
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GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Tyler Courtney
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Stevie Sussex
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Tye Mihocko
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Nic Harris
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Chris Windom
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Justin Grant
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Briggs Danner
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Brandon Mattox
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Isaac Chapple
5/8: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Brady Bacon
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Jake Swanson
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Jake Swanson
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – C.J. Leary
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – Alex Bright
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Max Adams
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Collin Ambrose
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Nick Bilbee
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Zack Pretorius
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Brandon Mattox
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Cole Bodine & Jason McDougal
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Braydon Cromwell
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Chase Stockon
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Koby Barksdale
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Cole Bodine
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Chase Johnson
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Brent Beauchamp
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (12th to 4th)
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (10th to 2nd)
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Robert Ballou (22nd to 9th)
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Robert Ballou (20th to 10th)
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Kyle Cummins (11th to 1st)
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Robert Ballou (13th to 3rd)
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Alex Bright (19th to 8th)
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Alex Bright (16th to 4th)
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Alex Bright (18th to 4th)
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Dallas Hewitt (21st to 15th)
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues (22nd to 13th)
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Tanner Thorson (22nd to 11th)
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Chris Windom (13th to 7th)
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Brady Bacon (14th to 4th)
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – Jake Swanson (20th to 7th)
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – C.J. Leary (21st to 7th)
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Brady Bacon (13th to 5th)
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (20th to 8th)
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 1st)
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (18th to 11th)
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Kyle Cummins (12th to 3rd)
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Jason McDougal (15th to 5th)
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Stevie Sussex (22nd to 9th)
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – A.J. Hopkins (21st to 10th)
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 8th)
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Chris Windom (18th to 5th)
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Chris Windom (10th to 2nd)
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Chase Stockon (18th to 10th)
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Emerson Axsom (15th to 7th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Noah Gass
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Jadon Rogers
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Carson Garrett
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Critter Malone
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Justin Grant
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Steven Drevicki
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Matt Westfall
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Paul Nienhiser
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Jake Swanson
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Cole Bodine
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Logan Seavey
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Logan Seavey
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – Matt Westfall
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – Chris Windom
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Brandon Mattox
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Mario Clouser
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Carson Short
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Jake Swanson
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Scotty Weir
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Stockon
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Nick Bilbee
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Kyle Cummins
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Justin Grant
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Jason McDougal
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Chase Randall
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Emerson Axsom
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Jadon Rogers
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Kyle Cummins
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Matt Westfall
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Matt Goodnight
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Aaron Farney
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Brandon Mattox
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Cole Bodine
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Nash Ely
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Kyle Lick
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Mike Meyers
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Mike Meyers
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Brandon Mattox
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Paul Nienhiser
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Alex Banales
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Matt Westfall
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Alex Banales
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Max Adams
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Short
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Tye Mihocko
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Jordan Kinser
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Scotty Weir
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Chase Johnson
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Johnson
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Sterling Cling
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Critter Malone
8/22: Paragon Speedway – Tanner Thorson
8/27: Kokomo Speedway – Scotty Weir
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Koby Barksdale
8/28: Kokomo Speedway – Max Guilford
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STATS
ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS
1. [62 wins] Dave Darland
2. [52 wins] Tom Bigelow
3. [47 wins] Tracy Hines
4. [46 wins] Jack Hewitt
5. [45 wins] Larry Dickson
6. [42 wins] Pancho Carter
7. [41 wins] Bryan Clauson
8. [40 wins] Gary Bettenhausen
9. [38 wins] Brady Bacon
10. [37 wins] Sheldon Kinser
11. [35 wins] Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler
13. [33 wins] Kevin Thomas Jr.
14. [32 wins] Rollie Beale
15. [31 wins] Robert Ballou
16. [30 wins] Tyler Courtney
17. [29 wins] Chris Windom
18. [28 wins] Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Justin Grant, 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 & Sammy Sessions
32. [21 wins] Greg Weld
33. [17 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise & Bud Kaeding
36. [16 wins] Damion Gardner & Jud Larson
38. [15 wins] Bobby East, Cory Kruseman & Brian Tyler
41. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, C.J. Leary, Chase Stockon & Bruce Walkup
46. [13 wins] Steve Chassey
47. [12 wins] Eric Gordon
48. [11 wins] Daron Clayton, Elmer George, Tommy Hinnershitz & Greg Leffler
52. [10 wins] Kyle Cummins, Thomas Meseraull, Eddie Sachs, Tony Stewart & Johnny Thomson
57. [9 wins] Mario Andretti, Pat O'Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Robbie Stanley
61. [8 wins] Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford & Joe Saldana
65. [7 wins] Kevin Doty, Darren Hagen, Kenny Irwin Jr., Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Bobby Santos, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas, Bobby Unser & Josh Wise
75. [6 wins] Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider & Dick Tobias
83. [5 wins] Larry Cannon, Dana Carter, Shane Cottle, 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, Logan Seavey & Cole Whitt
101. [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
114. [3 wins] Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Joe Barzda, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Jerry Daniels, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Andy Linden, Charlie Masters, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith, Tanner Thorson & Doug Wolfgang
136. [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, 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 & Carl Williams
170. [1 win] Donnie Adams, A.J. Anderson, Brad Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Astone, Dick Atkins, Brent Beauchamp, 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, 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, Matt Westfall, Chuck Weyant, Johnny White, Rip Williams, Jacob Wilson & Eddie Wirth
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (1956-Present)
1. (65) Tom Bigelow
2. (62) Dave Darland
3. (61) Tracy Hines
4. (42) Brady Bacon
5. (39) Levi Jones
6. (37) Larry Dickson
7. (36) Bryan Clauson
8. (35) Kevin Thomas Jr. & Rich Vogler
10. (31) Sheldon Kinser
11. (30) Pancho Carter
12. (29) Don Branson & C.J. Leary
14. (28) Justin Grant & Chase Stockon
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
35. (13) Tyler Courtney, Bobby East, Damion Gardner & Bruce Walkup
39. (12) Steve Chassey, Elmer George, Rick Hood, Jud Larson, Bill Puterbaugh, Joe Saldana & Chris Windom
46. (11) Jim Hurtubise, Jim McWithey & George Snider
49. (10) Sonny Ates
50. (9) Eddie Leavitt, Thomas Meseraull, Johnny Rutherford & Josh Wise
54. (8) Robert Ballou, Bubby Jones, Kelly Kinser, Pat O'Connor & Eddie Sachs
59. (7) Marvin Carman, Mark Cassella, Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Cary Faas, Bud Kaeding, Jim Keeker, Cory Kruseman, Larry Rice, Hunter Schuerenberg, Carson Short, Mike Spencer, Johnny Thomson, Bud Tingelstad & Bobby Unser
74. (6) Mike Bliss, Daron Clayton, Derek Davidson, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jac Haudenschild, Tray House, James McElreath, Johnny Parsons & Ken Schrader
84. (5) Chad Boespflug, Cy Fairchild, Blake Fitzpatrick, Bob Frey, Tommy Hinnershitz, Andy Michner, Jan Opperman, Boston Reid, Tom Sneva, Robbie Stanley, Brad Sweet & Kevin Thomas
96. (4) Jeff Bloom, Kevin Briscoe, Timmy Buckwalter, Billy Engelhart, Chet Fillip, Darren Hagen, Chuck Hulse, Kenny Jacobs, Van Johnson, Lee Kunzman, Ralph Liguori, Jim McElreath, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Joey Saldana, Logan Seavey, Terry Shepherd, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Bob Wente
117. (3) Tommy Astone, 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
149. (2) Jarett Andretti, Mario Andretti, Keith Bloom, Chuck Booth, Don Brown, Duke Cook, Allen Crowe, Nic Faas, Larry Gates, Gene Lee Gibson, Bobby Grim, Coleman Gulick, Dave Hanna, Darl Harrison, Shane Hmiel, Josh Hodges, Marc Jessup, Brad Marvel, Max McGhee, Kevin Miller, Dustin Morgan, Charlie Musselman, Brad Noffsinger, Gary Patterson, Jiggs Peters, Byron Reed, Jerry Richert, Dave Roahrig, Jimmy Sills, Al Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Stevie Sussex, Jake Swanson, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Tyler Thomas, Tanner Thorson, Bob Veith, Jerry Weeks, Johnny White, Carl Williams & Jacob Wilson
191. (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, Cotton Farmer, Dave Feese, Braylon Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Brayden 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, Joey Kerr, Russ Klar, Kyle Larson, Rich Leavell, Jason Leffler, Michael 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, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Billy Vukovich, Billy Vukovich III, Lennie Waldo, Buster Warke, Gus Wasson, Shawn Westerfeld, 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: Sam 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
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ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR OWNER 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.
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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
TYLER TOPS TED HORN 100 IN Du QUOIN FOR FIRST USAC WIN IN A DECADE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (September 6, 2021)………In his storied USAC Silver Crown career, which has spanned three decades and 199 starts, perhaps none were more improbable than his performance Monday afternoon at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois.
For instance, it was his first run in the BCR Group/Flint Trucking – QS Quality Components – Duncan Oil/Maxim/Kercher Chevy, taking the reins of the ride exactly two weeks earlier following the parting of ways between the team and longtime driver Shane Cottle.
Secondly, it had been two years since the Parma, Michigan driver last sat in the seat of a USAC Silver Crown car, keeping the fires burning in the meantime by winning in a Gold Crown car at several of the most famed road racing circuits in the United States.
Tyler returned to the series in grand fashion to "steal their lunch money" so to speak, by charging from 11th to 1st to win his second career Ted Horn 100, and first since 2008, at the Magic Mile.
On the other hand, it wasn't all that improbable considering the fact that we've witnessed Brian Tyler do this before. Many times. In fact, his 18th career USAC Silver Crown victory ranks him third on the all-time list.
With a mid-race snooker of Kody Swanson for the lead, then thwarting repeated challenges from Logan Seavey down the stretch, Tyler's performance put him in the win column with the series for the first time in more than a decade, since a victory on the Springfield Mile in 2011.
Furthermore, Tyler's stretch of 10 years and 17 days between USAC Silver Crown wins is the second longest gap in series history. Cottle set the record in 2020 at 12 years, 11 months and 7 days, and achieved the feat in the same BCR Group No. 81 that Tyler won with at Du Quoin on Monday afternoon.
In doing so, at 53 years, 10 months and 10 days old, Tyler became USAC Silver Crown's oldest race winner, surpassing the record of Chet Fillip, who was 51 years, 2 months and 25 days when he won at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in 2008.
"They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I think we still got it," Tyler smirked. "I got to thank the guys on the 81 car. They gave me a really good car. I've taken a couple years off, but not by choice. It's just under circumstances of what's been going on. It feels really good to be back and I love the miles anyhow."
After winning his 35th career USAC Silver Crown Fatheadz pole award, series point leader Kody Swanson jetted off with the lead and controlled the early stages, only being slightly pestered by fellow two-time Ted Horn 100 winner Shane Cockrum.
Meanwhile, a tad further back, Tyler was already knifing his way under and around the frontrunners, peeking into the top-five by lap 16 as he followed the path of Jake Swanson to move past Matt Westfall. Two laps later, Tyler cashed in a two-for-one deal as he blasted by J. Swanson on the bottom entering turn three for fourth, then found the path to overtake Seavey for third mere seconds later exiting the fourth turn.
On the lap 22 restart, Tyler blasted by Cockrum underneath to slot into second off turn two. J. Swanson and Seavey both shot by Cockrum for third and fourth, respectively, as Cockrum dropped all the way back to fifth with a deflating right rear tire.
A caution for the stopped car of Korey Weyant in turn four on lap 24 provided Cockrum a bit of a break as his crew changed the tire under the yellow flag period and returned him to action where he drove all the way back from the tail to finish fifth in the final tally.
On Cockrum's path back to the front, the afternoon's lone red flag was displayed on the 32nd lap when contact between Travis Welpott and Cockrum for the 21st spot resulted in Welpott smashing into the outside turn one wall, which sent him flipping over twice. Welpott walked away from the incident.
With the two breaking away at the midway point and working traffic, Tyler took advantage of Swanson's check up in turn two as he approached 21st running Jason McDougal. As Swanson whoa'd up, that presented Tyler the red carpet on the bottom to roar underneath and assume the position at the top of the leaderboard.
"I've raced with Kody a long time along with some of these other guys," Tyler said. "I knew if I could keep the pressure on Kody, sooner or later, he was going to make a mistake. Once I got the lead, the biggest thing I did was concentrate on hitting my marks and trying not to make that same mistake. I knew the boys were champing at the rear bumper. I just had to be smooth and straight try not to make any mistakes."
As Tyler opened up a 4.396 second lead, second running Kody Swanson's afternoon went to shambles as his ignition box faltered, forcing him to slow and stop on the back straightaway on lap 59. K. Swanson returned to the fray, albeit four laps down and finishing a season-worst 17th.
As Tyler upped his lead throughout the second half back up to three seconds, Seavey prevailed in his tussle with J. Swanson as he slipped into second on the low line in turn two on lap 74. Cutting right to the quick, Seavey sliced Tyler's lead majorly from three seconds to two to 1.4 when the yellow fell for 12th running Aaron Pierce who slammed the outside wall in turn four. Also under the yellow, Dave Berkheimer's day ended when his car caught fire just before the entrance to the pits in turn four.
Tyler nailed the lap 81 restart to build a solid five car length gap over Seavey. However, Seavey steadily began to claw his way back into Tyler's consciousness by shaving off two of those lengths over the next lap as it became a battle between the most experienced Ted Horn 100 driver in the field in Tyler (19 starts) and a Ted Horn 100 Rookie, Seavey, who also does happen to own an ARCA Stock Car victory in 2018.
Seavey stalked his potential prey and took a look to the outside of Tyler off turn four on lap 93 to no avail as Tyler maintained and even slightly extended his lead to eight tenths. Gnashing his teeth to get one more shot on lap 98, Seavey drifted high at the entry to turn one and lost substantial ground, allowing Tyler to gain another half second.
Tyler put a stake in the ground and powered away to a 0.915 second victory over runner-up Seavey, Jake Swanson in third and KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Jerry Coons Jr. in fourth after starting 19th. Local racing hero Shane Cockrum rounded out the top-five with a fifth-place finish.
With it being the first daytime USAC Silver Crown race held at Du Quoin since 2002, Tyler felt he might have had an upper hand in that department over all challengers.
"I've raced at Du Quoin when it was a day show probably before most of these kids were born," said Tyler, who made his first Ted Horn 100 start under the sun in 1996. "So, I think I might've had the upper hand on them."
It was second again on a dirt mile for Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) as he finished in the runner-up spot for the second consecutive time with the series in his Rice Motorsports/Fatheadz Eyewear – STIDA.com – Lucas Oil/DRC/Pink Foxco Chevy. However, his solid finish coupled with K. Swanson's woes put Seavey within 16 points in the championship race with just two events remaining.
"He's an experienced racer and he's really good at Silver Crown racing," Seavey said of Tyler. "I'm still learning how to manage these races. I'm just going too slow in the beginning and giving up too much track position. But I felt like our tires were going to be killed, then I got out, looked at our tire and it looks awesome."
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) scored his best run on a dirt mile, and equaled his best career series finish, with a third on Monday at Du Quoin, making it two series Rookies on the podium with he and Seavey. Swanson piloted the DMW Motorsports/Advanced Materials Technologies – US Auto Cure – Phoenix Pavers/DRC/Wilcox Chevy in his Du Quoin debut.
"It's cool to be up here on the podium," J. Swanson exclaimed. "I feel like we had a good enough racecar to maybe have something for the end. That's what I was really wanting to do. Kody and Tyler seemed like they were really going hard, and I didn't know if I could push it any harder. I wanted to save because I was banking on that late race yellow. I don't know if it would've helped or not. We were running pretty fat, and it started to sputter there at the end on us, but they filled this thing full of fuel. We could've probably leaned it down and it would've made it the whole race and maybe been a little quicker at the end and gave us a shot. But it's hard to say."
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 6, 2021 – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – Ted Horn 100
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 9, Dyson-31.587; 2. Shane Cockrum, 71, BLS-31.606; 3. Dallas Hewitt, 57, Hewitt-31.787; 4. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice-32.016; 5. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-32.017; 6. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-32.185; 7. Shane Cottle, 110, DMW-32.229; 8. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-32.253; 9. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-32.267; 10. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-32.324; 11. Brian Tyler, 81, Williams-32.383; 12. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-32.383; 13. Terry Babb, 188, Babb-32.407; 14. Ken Schrader, 21, Swanson-32.411; 15. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-32.607; 16. Chris Fetter, 88, Fetter-32.607; 17. Casey Buckman, 74, C-Buck-32.655; 18. Jason McDougal, 6, Klatt-32.671; 19. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-32.788; 20. Jerry Coons Jr., 55, Bateman-32.813; 21. Kyle Cummins, 69, Pink 69-33.141; 22. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-33.180; 23. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-33.379; 24. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-33.388; 25. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-33.422; 26. Korey Weyant, 99, Weyant-33.926; 27. Nick Bilbee, 3, Simmons-34.178; 28. Danny Long, 44, Long-34.290; 29. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-34.363; 30. Chris Urish, 77, Urish-NT.
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
**Travis Welpott flipped on lap 32 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-47 Kody Swanson, Laps 48-100 Brian Tyler.
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-440, 2-Logan Seavey-424, 3-Justin Grant-322, 4-Shane Cottle-322, 5-Kyle Robbins-315, 6-David Byrne-306, 7-Shane Cockrum-295, 8-Austin Nemire-283, 9-Travis Welpott-270, 10-Mike Haggenbottom-243.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-115, 2-Brady Bacon-114, 3-Justin Grant-116, 4-Tanner Thorson-118, 5-Robert Ballou-97, 6-Logan Seavey-91, 7-Thomas Meseraull-103, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-94, 9-Kyle Cummins-68, 10-Buddy Kofoid-75.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 24-25, 2021 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 4-Crown Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Quality Driving Performance of the Night: Shane Cockrum
Fatheadz Eyewear / Southern Illinois Sports Productions / Richard Blakely Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson
KSE Racing Products / Tucker's Automotive Repair & Tire Hard Charger: Jerry Coons Jr. (19th to 4th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Kyle Steffens
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:
September 5, 2021 – Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, California – "13th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic"
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Chase Johnson, 8M, May-13.500; 2. Kaleb Montgomery, 8, Richardson-13.591; 3. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-13.750; 4. Ryan Bernal, 17W, Wood-13.752; 5. Daniel Whitley, 3F, Finkenbinder-13.775; 6. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-13.803; 7. Carson Short, 17, Snow-13.838; 8. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-13.846; 9. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.861; 10. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-13.915; 11. Jake Morgan, 2SB, Miller-13.990; 12. Trevor Schmid, 2, Schmid-14.031; 13. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-14.070; 14. Shane Hopkins, 51, Sperry-14.125; 15. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.220; 16. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-14.220; 17. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-14,318; 18. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.327; 19. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-14.342; 20. Ron Laplant, 69, SixNine-14.353; 21. Gary Paulson, 51X, Paulson-14.380; 22. Nate Schank, 1$, Schank-14.391; 23. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-14.585; 24. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-14.593; 25. Cody Smith, 5, Smith-14.775; 26. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.916; 27. Tony Gomes, 73, Ford-15.188; 28. Christopher Muraoka, 25, Muraoka-15.403; 29. Nathan Johnson, 85, Johnson-16.020; 30. Ryan Owens, 26R. Owens-16.615; 31. Boy Moniz, 1S, Moniz-NT; 32, Denny McNary, 77, McNary-NT.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Davis, 2. Faria, 3. C.Johnson, 4. Whitley, 5. Gansen, 6. Paulson, 7. Smith, 8. N.Johnson. NT
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. C.Williams, 3. A.Williams, 4. Hopkins, 5. Montgomery, 6. Grabowski, 7. Schank, 8. Owens. NT.
ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Short, 2. Roa, 3. Gomes, 4. Timmons, 5. Tafoya, 6. McCarthy, 7. Morgan, 8. L,Williams. NT.
COMPONENT REPAIR COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Bernal, 3. Schmid, 4. Laplant, 5. Sweeney, 6. Soares, 7. Muraoka. NT.
BILLSJERKY.COM SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Montgomery, 2. L.Williams, 3. Paulson, 4. Soares, 5. Tafoya, 6. Schank, 7. Sweeney, 8. Morgan, 9. Gansen, 10. Smith, 11. Owens, 12. Muraoka, 13. N.Johnson, 14. Grabowski, 15. McCarthy. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Damion Gardner (8), 2. Charles Davis Jr. (9), 3. Brody Roa (5), 4. Chase Johnson (6), 5. Cody Williams (10), 6. Tony Gomes (21), 7. Danny Faria Jr. (12), 8. Daniel Whitley (3), 9. Shane Hopkins (13), 10. Ryan Bernal (4), 11. Tommy Malcolm (16), 12. Nate Schank (19), 13. Chris Gansen (23), 14. Ron Laplant (17), 15. Trevor Schmid (11), 16. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (22), 17. Jarrett Soares (15), 18. Gary Paulson (18), 19. Carson Short (1), 20. Austin Williams (2), 21. Logan Williams (14), 22. Ryan Timmons (20), 23. Kaleb Montgomery (7). NT ---------------------------- FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 A.Williams, Laps 11-28 Gardner, Lap 29 Roa, Lap 30 Gardner. IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Tony Gomes (21st to 6th) WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Chris Gansen
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-862, 2-Brody Roa-820, 3-Austin Williams-707, 4-Chris Gansen-679, 5-Cody Williams-630, 6-Tommy Malcolm-587, 7-Danny Faria Jr.-473, 8-Charles Davis Jr.-460, 9-Verne Sweeney-432, 10-Matt McCarthy-413.
FINAL LOUIE VERMEIL CLASSIC POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-156, 2-Brody Roa-138, 3-Tony Gomes-129, 4-Chase Johnson, 5-Charles Davis Jr.-125, 6-Cody Williams-124, 7-Ryan Bernal-122, 8-Carson Short-111, 9-Austin Williams-101, 10-Danny Faria Jr.-93.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: September 6 – Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, California
SIX YEARS LATER…
THORSON GETS REDEMPTION AT ANGELL PARK
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (September 5, 2021)………Six years. That's how long Tanner Thorson had to wait for his moment of redemption on Sunday night during the 37th running of the Firemen's Nationals at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin's Angell Park Speedway.
During the 2015 Firemen's Nationals, Thorson led 29 and 3/4 of the 30 laps around the 1/3-mile dirt oval before Rico Abreu slid past on the final corner to steal the win from him by mere inches.
Mind you, Thorson (Minden, Nev.) has been a frequent frontrunner at Angell Park over the years, notching a Badger win on Memorial Day Weekend in 2014. At the Firemen's Nationals, he's been 3rd and 2nd on consecutive nights in 2014 and was 3rd at the 2017 Firemen's Nationals.
However, a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature win at Angell Park had alluded him, largely due to the series' six-year absence from the venue.
Thorson's sabbatical lasted until the lap 22 restart on Sunday night when he went third to first in rapid-fire succession, first past Justin Grant for second, then by Thomas Meseraull for the lead with eight laps remaining to score his series-leading seventh victory of the year and coupled with his three USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car scores, became the first driver to reach the double-digit win mark with USAC this season.
The victory, worth $5,000, was the 27th of Thorson's USAC National Midget career, tying him with none-other-than Tony Stewart and Gary Bettenhausen for 14th all-time.
All of it came following a little bit of a mechanical issue early on, which was rectified, then resolved after the changes in the track surface throughout the 30-lap duration played right into the hands of Thorson and his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – MVT – Smith Titanium/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.
"We had some motor problems in that heat race," Thorson revealed. "We helped it a little there and fixed a couple things and it wasn't quite enough, but it seemed to help us tonight with how slick it got. I don't really set up my car for the beginning of the race. I knew how good Thomas and Justin were at the start, but I felt like my car was going to come in there at the end."
Thorson started third while an all RMS Racing front row of Meseraull and Grant jockeyed for position during the initial two laps before Meseraull spurted by on the outside to secure the race lead.
Meseraull remained in total control throughout the first two-thirds of the 30-lapper, upping his lead to nearly a full second just five laps in, then to 1.5 sec. at the halfway mark, as he began to put the tail end of the field a lap down in the running order.
Comfortably on top, Meseraull was forced to the bottom on lap 17 as the lapped car of Jack Routson, making his series debut, occupied the same line. Meseraull drifted back to the top after sliding by Routson and reaffirmed his preferred path without losing a single bit of his advantage as the train of Grant, Thorson and Kevin Thomas Jr. followed in suit on the cushion.
Just then, as Meseraull began to assert his foot on the collective throat of the field with nine laps remaining, 12th running Cannon McIntosh's car went up a major plume of smoke down the front straightaway, forcing him to a stop and necessitating a yellow.
Without traffic being a contributing factor for the restart, the advantage went straight back to Thorson, third in the line, who had just begun to find his footing in a major way on the bottom line and was in the process of getting into second past Grant when the yellow flag fell.
"I felt like Thomas, Justin and I were all kind of the same speed," Thorson explained. "I got right on Justin's bumper for most of the race and just couldn't really get to him or get to a spot where I could get by him. A couple of those lapped cars we were passing, they were keeping up with us a little bit more on the bottom. But I knew on that restart, I had to go for it."
And he did, as he resumed his flirtation with the low line and nosed underneath Grant for second in turn two on the lap 22 restart, briefly making it three-wide with he, Grant alongside in the middle, and Meseraull up top, tossing dirt at the National Midget Hall of Fame building as he blitzed past.
Thorson completed his pass of Grant with a slide into turn three, which put him right in lockstep with Meseraull. By the time the two got to turn one and two, it was game over as Thorson forged ahead, clearing Meseraull at the exit of turn two, then proceeded to run away ala Del Shannon, closing out with a 2.555 second margin of victory over Meseraull, Grant, Chris Windom and Logan Seavey.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) led a race-high 22 laps and earned his best result with the series since a similar runner-up finish exactly one month earlier at New Jersey's Bridgeport Motorsports Park on Aug. 5. On Sunday, Meseraull, a Badger Midget winner at Angell Park on July 4 of this year, followed up his second-place USAC run with another Badger win immediately after.
"This thing is always so good," Meseraull said of his RMS Racing/EnviroFab – Response Management Services – Engler Machine/Spike/Speedway Toyota. "We kind of killed our tires there and, maybe if I had moved to the bottom, I could've held him off, but this thing was so good up top, just letting her eat. I love this place. This is hands down my favorite midget track in the country. I don't know why. We don't race here a lot, but when we do get to race here, I love it."
Justin Grant's only previous Angell Park experience prior to Sunday night came in a sixth place performance during a 2015 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National feature event. Grant (Ione, Calif.) put the second RMS Racing car on the podium on this night in what was first ever midget appearance at the famed track aboard his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"I had a good car, but we just weren't quite as good as Tanner and Thomas," Grant admitted. "Those guys were really good. They were dialed in. We were close, but just not quite good enough. I struggled to get hooked around the bottom. We were pretty good, but we just felt like we were a third-place car and that's where we ended up."
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 5, 2021 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Firemen's Nationals
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.463; 2. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-15.503; 3. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-15.571; 4. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-15.588; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-15.602; 6. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-15.622; 7. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-15.695; 8. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-15.802; 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-15.817; 10. Chase McDermand, 40, McDermand-15.853; 11. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-15.858; 12. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.893; 13. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-15.973; 14. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-16.127; 15. Trey Gropp, 00, Mounce/Stout-16.360; 16. Daniel Robinson, 57D, McCreery-16.387; 17. Jack Routson, 57A, RAB-16.453; 18. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.454; 19. Glenn Waterland, 11c, Waterland-16.846; 20. Jeff Zelinski, 18, Engstrom-16.874; 21. Matt Rechek, 38, Shoestring-16.913; 22. Brandon Waelti, 3w, Martin-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Randall, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Daison Pursley, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Chase McDermand, 6. Daniel Robinson, 7. Brandon Waelti, 8. Glenn Waterland. 2:47.36
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Ethan Mitchell, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Jeff Zelinski, 7. Jack Routson. 2:47.54
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Trey Gropp, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Matt Rechek. 2:45.90
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
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-22 Thomas Meseraull, Laps 23-30 Tanner Thorson.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1607, 2-Emerson Axsom-1598, 3-Chris Windom-1582, 4-Justin Grant-1532, 5-Tanner Thorson-1530, 6-Daison Pursley-1466, 7-Logan Seavey-1352, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1329, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1315, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1188.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-137, 2-Brady Bacon-130, 3-Justin Grant-123, 4-Tanner Thorson-121, 5-Robert Ballou-109, 6-Logan Seavey-106, 7-Thomas Meseraull-103, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-102, 9-Kyle Cummins-79, 10-Buddy Kofoid-75.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 10-11-12, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Brandon Waelti
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Randall
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Brandon Waelti (22nd to 11th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Jack Routson
BRIGHT CLAIMS 8TH EAST COAST WIN AT DELAWARE INT'L
By: Nick Fillman – USAC ECSC
Delmar, Delaware (September 4, 2021).........For the eighth time on the 2021 Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series presented by Capitol Renegade trail, Alex Bright of Collegeville, PA claimed the checkered flag at the conclusion of the twenty-five lap main event, doing so once again on Saturday night at Delaware International Speedway.
Allentown, PA's Briggs Danner and Mount Pocono, PA's Joey Amantea lead the field to green for the initial start of the future event, with Amantea getting a bit of a big jump over Danner leading to a no start call. The second attempt to get the feature rolling went much smoother with Danner and Amantea drag racing to the line for the lead, and into turn one.
Things continued on being smooth until the middle of turns three and four when sixth starting Damon Paul went for a spin. Paul's car spinning ended up collecting Colin White who went for a series of small tumbles, and also collected Jonathan Swanson and Aiden Borden who both suffered no damage in the accident.
Third time was the charm as the field finally got underway for round eighteen of USAC East Coast Competition. Briggs Danner grabbed the early lead with Kenny Miller lll quickly moving into second, with Alex Bright in third. Early on, Danner and Bright went directly to the top of the speedway where they are both most comfortable, with Miller digging away on the bottom where he has been known to run, and the line that afforded him his first ever feature win last season at the Delaware International Speedway.
Three time series champion Steven Drevicki had worked his way into the top five by using the inside line of the speedway as well, while Chris Allen joined Danner and Bright on the high side on both ends of the speedway. Amantea began to fall a bit and found himself running in the sixth place position in the top half of the feature event.
Bright, using the topside would be able to work around Miller for second and being his charge after race leader Briggs Danner, who had established a lead of just a few car-lengths. Miller kept digging away on the bottom in third with Drevicki draped all over the tail tank of Miler. The lead cars were utilizing the high side of the speedway in turns one and two, with the majority of the field then diving to the bottom in three and four.
Danner maintained the lead with Bright in second but drawing ever closer to the leader as Danner was having difficulty entering turn three and four on the bottom side. Miller and Drevicki continued to battle for third and fourth, with Allen remaining on the high side of the speedway trying everything he could to reel in the top four as the field approached lap ten. Bright made a big move to the inside of Danner as lap ten was scored and tried to take the race lead away, but the momentum of the high side carried Danner around Bright for the lead.
The second caution flag of the feature event flew on lap ten as Joey Amantea made contact with the inside barriers breaking the front end on the 88J entry ending a strong run for the rookie driver.
The field would go back to green with just fifteen laps remaining, an all-out dash for the feature win around the half mile at Delaware International. Danner was the leader over Bright, Miller, Drevicki, and Allen. The battle for sixth through eight was about to kick off with Buckwalter, Betts, and Nash Ely all trying to get inside the top five as well.
When the green flag flew, Bright nailed the restart and quickly dove to the inside of Danner as they entered turn one, pulling off the massive slide job and getting the race lead as the duo exited corner number two. As the field raced down the back stretch, Kenny Miller III drew alongside Danner for second, and at the completion of lap eleven, Bright was the leader with Miller in second, Danner third, Drevicki fourth and Allen fifth.
On the next circuit of the speedway, Danner utilized the high line in one and two, to blast back by Miller for second, and close the door on him as they entered turn number three.
With the short amount of laps remaining, and continuing to click off, drivers all over the speedway began making as many moves as they could to improve their position. As the field neared the ten to go mark, Bright had established a massive lead over Danner, Drevicki and Miller fought tooth and nail for a number of laps before Drevicki, utilizing the high side in turn one, moved by Miller for third. Miller held fourth with Allen pedaling hard in fifth. The best battles on the track were the three car fight for sixth through eighth, and a two car duel for ninth and tenth.
Bruce Buckwalter Jr., Troy Betts, and 14th starting Nash Ely were swapping positions every lap with Buckwalter on the bottom, Betts ripping the cushion, and Ely utilizing all three lanes to try and find his way by the cars in front of him. Behind them but closing in on the three car fight in front of them, was a tooth and nail battle between sixteenth starting Ed Aikin and Mike Thompson.
Aikin rolled around the bottom of the speedway with Thompson up top on the cushion making up ground just as he had been in his heat race. The battle between the six cars at the back half of the top ten was more than intense with the positions changing back and forth nearly every lap as the feature neared its conclusion.
Bright had absolutely no problems getting through lapped traffic and had opened a straightaway lead over Danner. Danner remained in second with a good sized gap over Drevicki, Miller, and Allen. Buckwalter continued to hold off the challenges of Betts and Ely, with Aikin getting the best of Thompson. Damon Paul who had to start at the rear of the field following his lap one spin had worked his way into eleventh and was trying to catch Aikin and Thompson for the top ten, but he would run out of time to get the job done.
As the checkered flag flew, Alex Bright cruised to his eighth win of the season, drawing him even with Danner once again for season long win totals, Danner, Drevicki, Miller, and Allen would be the top five. On the last lap of the feature event, Bruce Buckwalter didn't quite get into turn three as hard as he wanted, allowing Troy Betts to get by for sixth. Buckwalter held off Ely for seventh, with Aikin grabbing ninth besting Thompson in their own duel for position.
Coming off a successful trip to the Kokomo Speedway Smackdown last week, Alex Bright picked up right where he left off in USAC East Coast competition. Bright grabbed the heat race win and got the best of Danner for yet another feature win. Unfortunately for Bright, his points lead only grew by three points, as the duo who have been the best of the season have finished in positions one or two the last three events in a row. The points gap for Bright is now at 33 points over Danner with just five races remaining on the series trail.
Briggs Danner has been nothing but impressive this season, racking up wins and podium finishes all season long. But what may be the most astonishing part of the whole season, is the fact that many of the tracks on the series trial Danner has either never seen before, or never run on before in any kind of car.
That was the case on Saturday at Delaware International, but just as the rest of the season has gone, you'd hardly know it was the teenager's first time on the speedway. Danner collected an impressive heat win from the ninth place starting position and redrew the pole for the feature event. Danner did everything he could to grab another feature win, and chip away at the point lead of Bright, but came up just a bit short on Saturday night.
Steven Drevicki was the second driver from the series to head west to Kokomo last week, and while the trip may not have been the results they were looking for, running with the best in the nation certainly any driver and their program. Following a flip two weeks ago at Bedford, Drevicki was back in the Fitzpatrick team 19 car, his usual ride for 410 sprint car competition. Drevicki has shown speed in all events they have run with the car, continually improving his finishing positions, resulting with a podium run on Saturday night. While this season is certainly on the downside for the Drevicki racing team, they have shown a good deal of speed in many of the events run this season.
Morgantown, PA's Kenny Miller III has been a welcome addition back to the field since the completion of his summer internship, and the sophomore driver has certainly not missed a beat behind the wheel of a sprint car, immediately getting into the top five since returning. Miller notched his first ever sprint car win last season at the Delaware International Speedway and was looking to repeat that effort on Saturday.
When it comes to running the bottom lane of any track on tour, Miller is just about as good as they get, with Saturday night being no different. Miller utilized the bottom to perfection, getting second away from Danner, before fading some in the late stages of the feature event. If the top five and podium runs continue for Miller, there's a very strong chance he could end up back in victory lane with the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series.
Rounding out the top five with a great effort was Old Bridge, N.J.'s Chris Allen Jr. Allen has had an up and down year and hasn't been full time with the series as in prior years. Allen ran the teams back up car two weeks ago at the Bedford Speedway, and an unfortunate parts failure sent him into the turn one wall leaving the car with heavy damage. Luckily, that weekend Allen and team picked up their primary Maxim Chassis 71 car from its frame repair, and it made its return to series action Saturday at Delaware International. Allen ran strong all night, coming home in fifth in the team's first race back with the primary car.
While the team has not graced victory lane yet this season, they continue to be right on the door step of getting career win number two. With only five races left on the series trail this season, time is running out, but perhaps with the primary car back in action, the team can break through and grab their first win of the season.
Up next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, presented by Capitol Renegade, is the second of two visits to the Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Virginia. Saturday's show will be another show featuring $300 to start thanks to sponsor E. Schneider and Sons Inc.
As always, follow along with the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series on our social media pages! On Twitter at: @USACecsc, or on Facebook at: USAC East Coast Sprint Cars.
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USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE RACE RESULTS: September 4, 2021 – Delaware International Speedway
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 5G-Briggs Danner (9), 2. 57-Damon Paul (8), 3. 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr. (1), 4. 71-Chris Allen Jr. (6), 5. 22B-Troy Betts (7), 6. 32-Colin White (4), 7. 83s-Billy Ney (10), 8. 17J-Jonathan Swanson (3), 9. 56-Jermain Godshall (2), 10. 67-Jason Cherry (5). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 20-Alex Bright (1), 2. 88J-Joey Amantea (2), 3. 19-Steven Drevicki (6), 4. 23m-Kenny Miller III (9), 5. 11-Mike Thompson (10), 6. 117-David Swanson (3), 7. 3BC-Nash Ely (5), 8. 7-Ed Aikin (7), 9. 7B-Aidan Borden (8), 10. 27c-Craig Pellegrini (4). NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Alex Bright (4), 2. Briggs Danner (1), 3. Steven Drevicki (7), 4. Kenny Miller III (3), 5. Chris Allen Jr. (5), 6. Troy Betts (9), 7. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. (8), 8. Nash Ely (14), 9. Ed Aikin (16), 10. Mike Thompson (10), 11. Damon Paul (6), 12. Billy Ney (13), 13. David Swanson (12), 14. Jonathan Swanson (15), 15. Aidan Borden (18), 16. Craig Pellegrini (20), 17. Jason Cherry (19), 18. Jermain Godshall (17), 19. Joey Amantea (2), 20. Colin White (11). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1-10 Briggs Danner, Laps 11-20 Alex Bright.
USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE POINTS: 1-Alex Bright-1308, 2-Briggs Danner-1275, 3-Nash Ely-971, 4-Damon Paul-950, 5-Bruce Buckwalter Jr.-841, 6-Tommy Kunsman-832, 7-Steven Drevicki-815, 8-Mike Thompson-790, 9-Joey Amantea-764, 10-Kenny Miller III-725.
NEXT USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE RACE: September 25, 2021 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Penske Shocks $100 Award: Alex Bright
Penske Shocks $50 Award: Briggs Danner
Penske Shocks $25 Award: Steven Drevicki
Ultra Shield 4th Place: Kenny Miller lll
Ultra Shield 6th Place: Troy Betts
Vahlco Wheels Hard Charger: Ed Aikin (16th to 9th)
SMITH SOARS TO LAWSON MEMORIAL VICTORY AT I-35 IN USAC MWRA GO
By: Ray Cunningham
Winston, Missouri (September 4, 2021)………Saturday night at I-35 Speedway Wesley Smith, driving the John Helm/WSR #12, broke the curse of bad results to win the inaugural Lawson Memorial for USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Cars.
Wyatt Burks took second over Kory Schudy, Luke Howard, Don Droud Jr., Chris Parkinson, Tom Curran, Chad Goff and Brad Wyatt with Chad Frewaldt rounding out the top-10 in the 22-car field.
The change of fortune for the Billings, Missouri chauffeur came after rains blasted the greater Kansas City area, causing cancellations throughout the region on Saturday night.
As a result, it led to a lightning fast and tacky surface at I-35 Speedway which was perfect for Smith who blasted his way to victory using both the high side, and then the low side, to pass the leader Burks for his third Wholesale Batteries USAC MWRA Sprint Car victory of 2021 and a career best "Lucky Number 7" sprint car win in all groups this season after a DNF cost him the points lead at the Winston track last time out.
"The Sheriff" Wyatt Burks from Topeka, Kansas, had a great night of racing as well, driving the Wyatt Burks Racing #11w, finishing second place, after taking the lead at the start of the 25 lapper until being passed by Smith.
Point Leader Kory Schudy of Battlefield, Mo., racing the JSR #28 of Jon Sawyer, continued to impress with yet another finish on the podium in MWRA after winning the first two races at I-35 Speedway in 2021.
Overland Park, Kansas driver "Cool Hand Luke" Howard, fresh off the football field playing under the Friday Night Lights, topped his best result from earlier this year of fifth place at the Northwest Missouri track by coming home in fourth, and Lincoln, Nebraska's Don Droud Jr., racing the Mark Burch #1m, duplicated his fifth place result from the last time they ran at I-35 on August 21.
After sitting out a few races for health concerns, Chris Rupard of Kansas City, Kansas won the Design Source Flooring Hard Charger Award, racing from 21st place to 12th. Earlier, Parkinson, Burks, and Smith, took the three heat race victories.
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USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RESULTS: September 4, 2021 – I-35 Speedway – Winston, Missouri
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 65-Chris Parkinson (3), 2. 1m-Don Droud Jr. (6), 3. 4F-Chad Frewaldt (7), 4. 33L-Mark Lane (1), 5. 7x-Lance Silvers (4), 6. 45-Jesse Bebee (2), 7. 7J-Nathan James (8), 8. 717-Garrett Alexander (5). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 11w-Wyatt Burks (2), 2. 2-Luke Howard (4), 3. 26-Zach Clark (1), 4. 2x-Kyle Lewis (6), 5. 81A-Chris Morgan (3), 6. 41-Brad Wyatt (7), 7. 22R-Chris Rupard (5). NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 12-Wesley Smith (2), 2. 28-Kory Schudy (4), 3. 11x-Tom Curran (1), 4. 74-Xavier Doney (6), 5. 9-Chad Goff (3), 6. 27J-Justin Johnson (5), 7. 93-Buddy Parker (7). NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Wesley Smith (5), 2. Wyatt Burks (2), 3. Kory Schudy (7), 4. Luke Howard (6), 5. Don Droud Jr. (3), 6. Chris Parkinson (4), 7. Tom Curran (11), 8. Chad Goff (16), 9. Brad Wyatt (14), 10. Chad Frewaldt (1), 11. Zach Clark (10), 12. Chris Rupard (21), 13. Mark Lane (12), 14. Lance Silvers (13), 15. Buddy Parker (20), 16. Jesse Bebee (19), 17. Justin Johnson (17), 18. Chris Morgan (15), 19. Xavier Doney (9), 20. Garrett Alexander (22), 21. Kyle Lewis (8), 22. Nathan James (18). NT
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Kory Schudy-1990, 2-Wesley Smith-1930, 3-Chris Parkinson-1710, 4-Chad Goff-1640, 5-Wyatt Burks-1450, 6-Xavier Doney-1355, 7-Luke Howard-1230, 8-Zach Clark-1220, 9-Dakota Earls-1150, 10-Heath Murry-905.
NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR RACE: September 5, 2021 – Bethany Speedway – Bethany, Missouri
CARSON SHORT WINS NIGHT #1 OF THE LOUIE VERMEIL CLASSIC
CHICO, CA – SEPTEMBER 4, 2021… In his first start with the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, Carson Short (Marion, IL) led all 30-laps to win the opening night of the 13th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic at Silver Dollar Speedway. Driving Clayton Snow's #17 United Mold Inc. / Gary Silva Ranches Triple X,, Short started on the pole position and sliced his way through traffic to claim the $5,000 prize. Series point leader, "The Demon' Damion Gardner, "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams, and Ryan Bernal rounded out the top-five drivers.
Before claiming the main event, Short qualified seventh out of the thirty-five cars in attendance and won the night's 10-lap All Coast Construction Third Heat Race. The Illinois driver enters the Sunday night finale tied with Gardner in the Vermeil Classic event points.
In Woodland Auto Display Qualifying, eight drivers topped the five year old track record held by Jake Swanson. Tony Gomes (Modesto, CA) set the new standard of 12.972 in Keith Ford's #73 CAM 2 Blue Blood Racing Oil / Sun Valley AG Transport Triple X.. Gomes flipped in the first 10-lap heat race, scoring eighth, rebounded to win the 12-lap BillsJerky.com Semi-Main and take fifth in the feature.
Matt McCarthy (Riverside, CA) raced to victory in the 10-lap Flowdynamics Incorporated First Heat Race. Piloting the family owned #28M Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, McCarthy was twenty-first quick in time trials and placed sixteenth in the main event. The former USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year has climbed to tenth in the championship point chase.
Nate Schank (Santa Rosa, CA) returned to USAC/CRA action and won the 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. Racing the family owned #1$ Joe Hunt Magnetos / Industrial Machine Maxim, Schank qualified twenty-second overall and finished fourteenth in the main event. In limited starts, the second generation driver ranks thirty-fourth in series points.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) topped the 10-lap Component Repair Company Fourth Heat Race. Driving the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa was twelfth fast in time trials and charged from eleventh to sixth in the main event. The 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion ranks second in USAC/CRA standings and sixth in Louie Vermeil points.
'Thunder" Tommy Malcolm (Corona, CA) earned the night's In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a twelfth place run from twenty-second. Before earning a $650 bonus, the pilot of Dino Napier's #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim was thirty-second fast in time trials, ran fifth in his heat race, and placed sixth in the semi-main. The young driver is sixth in the point standings.
The non-winged USAC/CRA Sprint Cars are back at Silver Dollar Speedway (Chico, CA) for the Sunday finale of the "Louie Vermeil Classic." The winged 410 NARC King of the West Sprint Cars will share the action packed card. On Monday, September 6th, the traditional 410s will invade the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds and clash at Petaluma Speedway (Petaluma, CA).
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 4, 2021 – Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, California – "13th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic"
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Tony Gomes, 73, Ford-12.972 (New Track Record); 2. Kalib Henry. 33, Case-13.120; 3. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-13.159; 4. Ryan Bernal, 17W, Wood-13.197; 5. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-13.200; 6. Chase Johnson, 8M, May-13.221; 7. Carson Short, 17, Snow-13.242; 8. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-13.326; 9. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-13.370; 10. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-13.464; 11. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-13.482; 12. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-13.482; 13. Shane Hopkins, 51, Sperry-13.552; 14. Kaleb Montgomery, 8, Richardson-13.570; 15. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-13.611; 16. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-13.665; 17. Trevor Schmid, 2, Schmid-13.666; 18. Daniel Whitley, 3F, Finkenbinder-13.679; 19. Jake Morgan, 2SB, Miller-13.729; 20. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-13.730; 21. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-13.847; 22. Nate Schank, 1$, Schank-13.867; 23. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-13.892; 24. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-14.007; 25. Bradley Terrell, 3T, Finkenbinder-14.046; 26. Ron Laplant, 69, Laplant-14.061; 27. Gary Paulson, 51X, Paulson-14.180; 28. Cody Smith, 5, Smith-14.220; 29. Tony Richards, 4, Richards-14.298; 30. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.321; 31. Sheldon Moniz, 1S, Moniz-14.396; 32. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.409; 33. Denny McNary, 77, McNary-14.927; 34. Christopher Muraoka, 25, Muraoka-14.954; 35. Clint Motta, 92Z, Schmid-15.642.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. McCarthy, 2. C.Williams, 3. Schmid, 4. A.Williams, 5. Hopkins, 6. Tafoya, 7. Laplant, 8. Gomes. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Schank, 2. Henry, 3. Johnson, 4. Montgomery, 5. Whitley, 6. Moniz, 7. Motta, 8. L.Williams, 9. Paulson. NT.
ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Short, 2. Gardner, 3. Timmons, 4. Soares, 5. Malcolm, 6. Smith, 7. Morgan, 8. Faria. NT.
COMPONENT REPAIR COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Roa, 2. Davis, 3. Gansen, 4. Bernal, 5. Sweeney, 6. Grabowski, 7. Richards, 8. McNary. NT.
BILLSJERKY.COM SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Gomes, 2. Hopkins, 3. Morgan, 4. Tafoya, 5. Faria, 6. Malcolm, 7. L.Williams, 8. Grabowski, 9. Paulson, 10. Moniz, 11. McNary, 12. Whitley, 13. Sweeney, 14. Smith, 15. Richards. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Carson Short (1), 2. Damion Gardner (5), 3. Austin Williams (30, 4. Ryan Bernal (4), 5. Tony Gomes (7), 6. Brody Roa (11), 7. Cody Williams (9), 8. Chase Johnson (2), 9. Chris Gansen (8), 10. Charles Davis Jr. (15), 11. Kaleb Montgomery (13), 12. Tommy Malcolm (22), 13. Jarrett Soares (10), 14. Nate Schank (19), 15. Danny Faria Jr. (14), 16. Matt McCarthy (18), 17. Logan Williams (23), 18. Ryan Timmons (20), 19. Shane Hopkins (12), 20. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (21), 21. Trevor Schmid (16), 22. Kalib Henry (6), 23. Jake Morgan (17). NT.
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Terrell, Muraoka, and Sweeney flipped during qualifications. Gomes flipped on lap 1 of the first heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Short
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Tommy Malcolm (22nd to 12th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Jarrett Soares
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-784, 2-Brody Roa-745, 3-Austin Williams-677, 4-Chris Gansen-642, 5-Cody Williams-565, 6-Tommy Malcolm-538, 7-Verne Sweeney-422, 8-Danny Faria Jr.-414, 9-Matt Mitchell-408,10-Matt McCarthy-403.
LOUIE VERMEIL CLASSIC POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-78, -Carson Short-78, 3-Austin Williams-71, 4-Ryan Bernal-69; 5-Tony Gomes-68, 6-Brody Roa-63, 7-Cody Williams-59, 8-Chase Johnson-56, 9-Chris Gansen-52, 10-Charles Davis Jr.-43.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: September 5 – Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, California – "13th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic"
Du QUOIN's TED HORN 100 POSTPONED
TO MONDAY AFTERNOON, SEPT. 6
Du Quoin, Illinois (September 4, 2021)………Saturday's Ted Horn 100 USAC Silver Crown event has been postponed to early Monday during the daytime on September 6 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois.
Rain, which began in the morning and more forecasted throughout the day and night on Saturday has forced the postponement of the 100-mile event to Monday, which will make it the first daytime Silver Crown race at Du Quoin since 2002 and the first held on Labor Day Monday since 2000.
Thirty-five USAC Silver Crown drivers are entered for the Ted Horn 100 and features six previous event winners, including Kansas, Illinois' Shane Cottle (2007), Parma, Michigan's Brian Tyler (2008), Kingsburg, California's Kody Swanson (2010 & 2017), Elkhart, Illinois' Chris Urish (2013), Benton, Illinois' Shane Cockrum (2014 & 2015) and Canton, Illinois' Chris Windom (2016 & 2018).
Swanson (2014-15-17-18-19) and Windom (2016) are among the five past USAC Silver Crown driving champions in the field, joined by Fenton, Missouri's Ken Schrader (1982), Tucson, Arizona's Jerry Coons Jr. (2008) and reigning champ Justin Grant (2020) out of Ione, Calif.
The event will feature the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 27th Annual Bill Oldani Memorial Prelims for UMP Modifieds.
Monday pits and registration open at 7am Central. The ticket office and grandstands open at 9am. The drivers meeting will be held at 9:15am. USAC Silver Crown practice takes place from 10-11:10am, with Silver Crown Fatheadz Qualifying at 11:30am, followed by UMP Modified hot laps and feature before concluding with the USAC Silver Crown Ted Horn 100.
Sunday's event schedule for ARCA is unchanged with pits opening at 11:00am, grandstands at 2:00pm, with practice at 4:15pm, qualifying at 6:00pm, Modified heats at 6:30pm, and the Southern Illinois 100 presented by Lucas Oil at 8:05pm.
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 (presale) for each day are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Tickets at the gate on race day are $30 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Pit passes are $35 for members and $40 for non-member adults. Pit passes are $20 for children 11 and under.
Monday's Ted Horn 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
THE GUIDE: 100 MILES AT Du QUOIN AWAIT
USAC SILVER CROWN ON SATURDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (September 2, 2021)………Labor Day weekend and champ cars at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – a time and place which harkens back to nearly three-quarters-of-a-century ago when racing began at the southern Illinois one-mile dirt oval known as the Magic Mile.
This Saturday night's Ted Horn 100 on September 4 remembers the life of the three-time AAA National Champion in 1946, 1947 and 1948 who recorded a record nine straight top-four finishes at the Indianapolis 500 between 1936-48 before perishing in a champ car accident at Du Quoin near the end of the 1948 season.
The event also celebrates speed, Americana and 100 miles of tenacity, precision, management and pride that the field of 35 drivers will take with them in the 49th Silver Crown event held at the picturesque Du Quoin racetrack.
Six past Ted Horn 100 winners are in Saturday night's field, including series point leader Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), who won the first of his 33 career Silver Crown races at Du Quoin in 2010, then became a two-time winner of the event in 2017 following a late-race pass with just 10 laps remaining. The five-time series champ has twice started from the pole at Du Quoin in both 2015 and 2016.
Shane Cockrum, who hails 20 miles east of the Magic Mile in Benton, Ill., is a fellow two-time Ted Horn 100 winner, capturing back-to-back victories in 2014 and 2015, which were topped only by his team's impromptu leap into the infield lake following each of the two wins. Like Swanson, Cockrum is both a Du Quoin winner and a victor on the Silver Crown trail in 2021, scoring the dirt opener in June at Williams Grove.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) has won twice in his career at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, scoring two in a three-year span in both 2016 and 2018, the first of which came during his Silver Crown championship season.
Chris Urish (Elkhart, Ill.) is one of six drivers to have won his one and only USAC Silver Crown race at Du Quoin, enjoying the spoils of victory in 2013. The others to do the deed are Bubby Jones (1976), Billy Vukovich (1979), Stevie Reeves (1991), Rich Tobias Jr. (2003) and Jacob Wilson (2019). Urish would certainly like to add another this Saturday.
Past Ted Horn 100 winners Shane Cottle (2007) and Brian Tyler (2008) will head to Du Quoin debuting in a pair of new rides. Cottle (Kansas, Ill.), also a two-time Du Quoin pole winner in 2007 and 2008, will pilot the DMW Motorsports No. 110 while Tyler takes over the reins of Cottle's former ride, the BCR Group No. 81.
Tyler is equaled with Jerry Coons Jr. as the most experienced Ted Horn 100 driver in the field with each possessing 19 starts under their respective belts. Tyler's debut at Du Quoin came in 1996 while Coons, the 2008 Silver Crown titlist, made his first start during the 1998 race. Coons finished a best of 2nd at Du Quoin in 2001, and his four career Du Quoin poles are the most in USAC Silver Crown's 50-year history at the track.
Justin Grant has won on the Mini Magic Mile at the adjacent Southern Illinois Center in USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget competition, capturing the Shamrock Classic in 2017. Grant nearly pulled off the double on both the big and small track, finishing 2nd on the mile in USAC Silver Crown competition to Wilson in 2019.
Ken Schrader's Du Quoin success is paramount and the Fenton, Missouri native has had his fair share in a variety of cars. His 11 Du Quoin feature victories are the most all-time with three ARCA Stock Car wins in 2006-07-13, a CARS Late Model score in 2006, and seven modified triumphs between 2011 and 2019. His best Silver Crown result came via a third-place performance in 1983.
Past top-10 Du Quoin Silver Crown performers in Saturday's field include one-time series winner, Shullsburg, Wisconsin's David Byrne (6th in 2018); New Castle, Indiana's 2018 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year, Kyle Robbins (10th in 2018); and Winchester, Indiana's Matt Goodnight (10th in 2019).
A pair of Du Quoin top-ten finishers have a family lineage of Silver Crown success at the track with Austin Nemire and Steven Russell. Austin (Sylvania, Ohio) finished 8th in 2018 while his grandfather, Jerry Nemire, earned a result of 7th in 1981. Steven (Rochester, Ill.), meanwhile, took 10th in 2014 while his father, and chassis builder, Jerry Russell, raced to a 5th place in 1990.
Dallas Hewitt (Troy, Ohio) and Korey Weyant (Springfield, Ill.) have also followed in the family footsteps to race champ cars at Du Quoin. Dallas, a 24th place finisher in 2019, is the nephew of three-time Ted Horn 100 winner Jack Hewitt, who captured victories in 1986-87-93. Korey, 27th in 2018, is the great nephew of Chuck Weyant, a three-time Du Quoin champ car starter with AAA in 1952-53 and with USAC in 1959, who finished a best of 10th in that 1953 event.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is a Silver Crown Rookie and is second in the series standings entering the event. But he is certainly no Rookie when it comes to the Du Quoin Mile. In 2018, Seavey raced to victory with the ARCA Stock Cars and nearly pulled it off again the following year, finishing 2nd after starting 10th.
USAC National winners Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) and Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) are each making their Du Quoin debuts. The same can be said for USAC west coast racing standouts Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) and Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.). Swanson led the first 28 miles of his Silver Crown career in August at Springfield.
Carmen Perigo (Stoystown, Pa.) is the second-ranking Rookie in the standings and was a force during the last mile race at Springfield, running as high as second during the midway point. Nick Bilbee (Indianapolis, Ind.) will make his first run on a mile this Saturday night. Bilbee's great uncle, Dick Newkirk, sponsored driver Danny Milburn for two runs at Du Quoin in 1989 and 1990, the latter of which Milburn finished 12th in.
On the flip side, Du Quoin Silver Crown experience runs rampant throughout the field with St. Charles, Missouri's Kyle Steffens (13th in 2019) having won a modified event at the Mile on Labor Day Weekend 2001 as a 16-year-old. Chandler, Arizona's Casey Buckman (11th in 2019) is coming off his best career series finish with an 8th at Springfield on Aug. 21. Levittown, Pennsylvania's Mike Haggenbottom (11th in 2018) won Du Quoin's 12-lap Silver Crown qualifying race in 2018. Fellow Pa. native, from West Springfield, Jimmy Light (12th in 2019) and Edwardsville, Illinois' Patrick Lawson (12th in 2014) will be in the field as will Troy, Missouri's Chris Fetter (14th in 2015).
Terry Babb (Decatur, Ill.) finished one spot out of the final transfer spot during the qualifying race at Du Quoin in 1989, just missing out on what would've been his first career Silver Crown start. He'd have to wait until 1998 to make his first Du Quoin lineup, which serves as his best career finish at the track, a 16th.
Pleasant Hill, Ohio's Matt Westfall last made a USAC Silver Crown start at Du Quoin in 2004. The three-time top-10 finisher in 2021 was a best of 17th at the track during his 2002 Rookie of the Year campaign. Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.) was 19th at Du Quoin in 2019 while Danny Long (Bonne Terre, Mo.) was 23rd in both 2016-17 and Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) collected a 29th in 2019.
Saturday's Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 27th Annual Bill Oldani Memorial Prelims for UMP Modifieds.
Pits and registration open at 1pm Central. The ticket office and grandstands open at 4pm. USAC Silver Crown practice takes place from 5-6:10pm, with Silver Crown Fatheadz Qualifying at 6:30pm, UMP Modified heat races at 7:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown Ted Horn 100 at 8:15pm.
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 (presale) are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Tickets at the gate on race day are $30 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Pit passes are $35 for members and $40 for non-member adults. Pit passes are $20 for children 11 and under.
Saturday's Ted Horn 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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TED HORN 100 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (35 CARS)
08 Kyle Steffens/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
2 Patrick Lawson/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)
3 Nick Bilbee/Indianapolis, IN (Tim Simmons)
6 Jason McDougal/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
7 Kyle Robbins/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
9 Kody Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 Jake Swanson/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
14 Steven Russell/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports)
16 Austin Nemire/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
17 Chase Johnson/Penngrove, CA (Goodnight Racing)
18 Travis Welpott/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
21 Ken Schrader/Fenton, MO (Mark Swanson Encore Team)
22 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
24 Mike Haggenbottom/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)
31 Dave Berkheimer/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
39 Matt Goodnight/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 David Byrne/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
44 Danny Long/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
52 Carmen Perigo/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
54 Matt Westfall/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)
55 Jerry Coons Jr./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)
57 Dallas Hewitt/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt)
66 TBA
69 Kyle Cummins/Princeton, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 Shane Cockrum/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
74 Casey Buckman/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Racing)
77 Chris Urish/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 Brian Tyler/Parma, MI (BCR Group)
88 Chris Fetter/Troy, MO (Sammy & Mouren Fetter)
91 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
97 Chris Windom/Canton, IL (Hans Lein)
99 Korey Weyant/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
110 Shane Cottle/Kansas, IL (DMW Motorsports)
123 Jimmy Light/West Springfield, PA (Two-Three Motorsports)
188 Terry Babb/Decatur, IL (Terry Babb)
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-408, 2-Logan Seavey-357, 3-Justin Grant-308, 4-Shane Cottle-267, 5-Kyle Robbins-266, 6-Austin Nemire-266, 7-David Byrne-254, 8-Travis Welpott-251, 9-Mike Haggenbottom-243, 10-Shane Cockrum-237.
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
2010: Kody Swanson
2011: Kyle Larson
2013: Chris Urish
2014: Shane Cockrum
2015: Shane Cockrum
2016: Chris Windom
2017: Kody Swanson
2018: Chris Windom
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, 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, Jimmy Sills, George Snider, Chuck Stevenson, Jeff Swindell, Johnny Thomson, Bud Tingelstad, Rich Tobias Jr., Brian Tyler, 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.
2-Gary Bettenhausen, Shane Cottle, Dave Darland, Chuck Gurney, Jack Hewitt, Larry Rice, Jimmy Sills, Kody Swanson, Al Unser & Tyler Walker
1-Mark Alderson, Mario Andretti, Teddy Beach, Donnie Beechler, Tom Bigelow, Ed Carpenter, Pancho Carter, Bryan Clauson, 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
THE GUIDE: ALL EYES ON ANGELL PARK
FOR USAC MIDGET RETURN ON SUNDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (September 2, 2021)………When one thinks of midget racing, it's not long before a particular 1/3-mile dirt track in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin comes to mind.
It's seen legendary moments. It's seen its fair share of racing heroes. It's been absent from the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship schedule for the past six years!
For the 47th time, Angell Park Speedway is back as the host of USAC National Midget racing, and for the first time since 2015, with its marquee event, the Firemen's Nationals, and this Sunday night, September 5, celebrates its 37th running with $5,000-to-win up for grabs.
USAC has sanctioned or co-sanctioned the Firemen's Nationals off and on throughout the history of the event, first between 1986-91, then again from 2009-11 and, finally, from 2014-15. National Midget Hall of Famer Billy Engelhart was the winner of the inaugural Firemen's Nationals in 1982.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) was victorious in the most recent Firemen's Nationals held in 2019, sanctioned at the time by POWRi. The 2018 USAC National Midget champ has made three starts in the event, finishing 2nd in 2018 and 6th in 2017.
Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) has won the Firemen's National on two occasions, both in 2013 and 2017. In USAC National Midget competition at Angell Park, Daum has taken 5th three times during the successive years of 2012-13-14.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) won quite recently in Badger Midget competition on July 4 at Angell Park. He was also a victor of Badger's Open Wheel Showdown at the track in 2019. In his lone USAC National Midget start Angell Park in 2012, Meseraull collected a 10th.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) has been a frequent frontrunner at Angell Park, notching a Badger win on Memorial Day Weekend in May of 2014. At the Firemen's Nationals, he was 3rd and 2nd on consecutive nights in July 2014 and took 2nd again in the 2015 edition. During the second place run in the 2015 Firemen's Nationals, Thorson led 29 and three-quarters of the 30 lap distance before being nipped at the line by a matter of inches at the hands of his then teammate Rico Abreu. More recently, Thorson was 3rd at the 2017 Firemen's Nationals.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) was triumphant during a POWRi Midget feature at Angell Park in 2015. He also owns the one-lap track record for USAC National Sprint Cars at the track, which he set back in 2015. He was a top-10 finisher with the Sprints that night (10th). His best performance in the Firemen's Nationals came in 2015 with a 3rd place result and he was also 8th on night one in 2014.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) has bagged numerous frontrunning performances at Angell Park dating back to his first appearance in 2007. He took 5th with the USAC National Midgets there in 2012 and was 4th on both nights of the Firemen's Nationals in 2014. In USAC National Sprint Car competition, Windom has been a runner-up in 2012 and a 3rd place finisher in 2014. This past June, he finished 7th at Angell Park with the winged IRA Sprint Cars.
Three-time USAC National Midget feature winner Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) earned a fine 2nd place finish in the 2019 Firemen's Nationals. In that same event, two-time 2021 USAC feature winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) tallied a 10th place.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), fourth in USAC National Midget points going into Sunday's program, was 6th in a 2015 USAC Sprint Car run at Angell Park.
Meanwhile, the 41-point separation from first to third-place entering the month of September in the current USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship standings between Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) and reigning series champ Windom is the slimmest it's been at this juncture of the season in a decade since 2011 when 24 separated Darren Hagen, Bryan Clauson and Kyle Larson.
Sun Prairie's own, Brandon Waelti, has won numerous midget races at Angell Park over the years and was the 2016 Badger Midget champion. He's joined by top USAC National Midget Rookie Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and veteran Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, North Carolina) as well as series Rookies Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), all of whom are first-time Angell Park visitors.
It's been six years since the series last made a visit to Angell Park, a thriller won by Rico Abreu on the final corner on the last lap. The track has hosted 46 previous USAC National Midget events since Larry Rice's victory in 1970 and can count many of the greatest individuals in the history of the sport among those who've won there, a list which includes 16 USAC National champions: Abreu, Rice, Bryan Clauson, Kevin Olson, Brad Kuhn, Christopher Bell, Bobby Olivero, Jeff Gordon, Jerry Coons Jr., Josh Wise, Levi Jones, Pancho Carter, Rich Vogler, Stevie Reeves, Tom Bigelow and Tracy Hines.
Bryan Clauson owns the most USAC National Midget victories at Angell Park with six, while additional multi-time winners include Kevin Olson (5), Brad Kuhn (3), Christopher Bell (3), Larry Rice (2) and Rico Abreu (2).
Sunday's Firemen's Nationals will have the pits opening at 1:30pm CT, stands open at 4pm, drivers meeting at 4:15 and hot laps at 5pm, followed immediately by qualifying and racing.
Tickets are available in advance at https://angellpark.racing/tickets/. Adult tickets (18+) are $25. Adults (62+) are $20. Students (12-17) are $12. Kids (6-11) are $5.
Sunday's Firemen's Nationals will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1554, 2-Emerson Axsom-1534, 3-Chris Windom-1513, 4-Justin Grant-1462, 5-Tanner Thorson-1450, 6-Daison Pursley-1405, 7-Logan Seavey-1290, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1254, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1252, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1155.
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
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, 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)
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
ENTRY LIST! 6 PAST WINNERS
IN SATURDAY'S Du QUOIN SILVER CROWN FIELD
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (August 31, 2021)………Six past Ted Horn 100 winners are among a 34-driver lineup vying for USAC Silver Crown glory when they take on the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds one-mile dirt oval this Saturday night, September 4, at the southern Illinois series staple.
Those super six include Kansas, Illinois' Shane Cottle (2007), Parma, Michigan's Brian Tyler (2008), Kingsburg, California's Kody Swanson (2010 & 2017), Elkhart, Illinois' Chris Urish (2013), Benton, Illinois' Shane Cockrum (2014 & 2015) and Canton, Illinois' Chris Windom (2016 & 2018).
Swanson and Windom are among the five past USAC Silver Crown driving champions in the field, joined by Fenton, Missouri's Ken Schrader (1982), Tucson, Arizona's Jerry Coons Jr. (2008) and reigning champ Justin Grant (2020) out of Ione, Calif.
All nine of the individuals listed above have USAC Silver Crown winning experience with August 9 Selinsgrove, Pa. winner Logan Seavey eying a first Du Quoin score in his first Silver Crown visit as well as David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wis.) who returns to Du Quoin in search of his first dirt win with the series.
Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) are all USAC National winners who are seeking a breakthrough first-time Silver Crown score at Du Quoin.
Further Illinois representation comes from Steven Russell (Rochester, Ill.), Korey Weyant (Springfield, Ill.) and Terry Babb (Decatur, Ill.).
Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.) won at the Du Quoin mile in a UMP Modified as a 16-year-old in 2000. Additional "Show-Me Staters" Danny Long (Bonne Terre, Mo.) and Chris Fetter (Troy, Mo.) have been frequent Du Quoin Silver Crown visitors throughout the decade and will cross the Mississippi River once again this Saturday night.
Additional Indiana contingent is brought to you via Nick Bilbee (Indianapolis, Ind.), 2018 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year, Kyle Robbins (New Castle, Ind.), Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.) and Matt Goodnight (Winchester, Ind.), plus Ohioans Austin Nemire (Sylvania, Ohio) and Dallas Hewitt (Troy, Ohio).
Westerners Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.) and Casey Buckman (Chandler, Ariz.) will make the trip along with easterners Mike Haggenbottom (Levittown, Pa.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Carmen Perigo (Stoystown, Pa.) and Jimmy Light (West Springfield, Pa.).
Saturday's Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 27th Annual Bill Oldani Memorial Prelims for UMP Modifieds.
Pits and registration open at 1pm Central. The ticket office and grandstands open at 4pm. USAC Silver Crown practice takes place from 5-6:10pm, with Silver Crown Fatheadz Qualifying at 6:30pm, UMP Modified heat races at 7:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown Ted Horn 100 at 8:15pm.
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 (presale) are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Tickets at the gate on race day are $30 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Pit passes are $35 for members and $40 for non-member adults. Pit passes are $20 for children 11 and under.
Saturday's Ted Horn 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
TED HORN 100 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (34 CARS)
08 Kyle Steffens/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
3 Nick Bilbee/Indianapolis, IN (Tim Simmons)
6 Jason McDougal/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
7 Kyle Robbins/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
9 Kody Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 Jake Swanson/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
14 Steven Russell/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports)
16 Austin Nemire/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
17 Chase Johnson/Penngrove, CA (Goodnight Racing)
18 Travis Welpott/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
21 Ken Schrader/Fenton, MO (Mark Swanson Encore Team)
22 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
24 Mike Haggenbottom/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)
31 Dave Berkheimer/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
39 Matt Goodnight/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 David Byrne/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
44 Danny Long/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
52 Carmen Perigo/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
54 Matt Westfall/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)
55 Jerry Coons Jr./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)
57 Dallas Hewitt/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt)
66 TBA
69 Kyle Cummins/Princeton, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 Shane Cockrum/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
74 Casey Buckman/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Racing)
77 Chris Urish/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 Brian Tyler/Parma, MI (BCR Group)
88 Chris Fetter/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
91 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
97 Chris Windom/Canton, IL (Hans Lein)
99 Korey Weyant/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
110 Shane Cottle/Kansas, IL (DMW Motorsports)
123 Jimmy Light/West Springfield, PA (Two-Three Motorsports)
188 Terry Babb/Decatur, IL (Terry Babb)
PRACTICE NIGHT ADDED TO HUSET'S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONALS SCHEDULE
Brandon, South Dakota (August 31, 2021)………The $236,000 inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals will now officially begin one night earlier with the addition of a dedicated practice night on Thursday, September 9, for USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets and USAC AMSOIL National 410 c.i. Sprint Cars.
The extra night of preparation will provide teams get acquainted, and reacquainted, with the 1/3-mile dirt oval in Brandon, South Dakota. USAC's Sprint Car division will be making its first Huset's visit since 2016 while the USAC Midgets last made the trip a quarter of a century ago in 1996.
For many of the drivers, this will be their first Huset's foray the extra track time will provide ample time to make extra preparation and adjustments in preparation for three-straight nights of USAC doubleheaders for both series on September 10-11-12 at Huset's, which features a total purse of $236,000.
"It's the USAC Nationals, it's Huset's Speedway, it's over $200,000 in prize money, and we wanted to give teams a chance to get everything dialed in for three big nights of racing in front of the best fans out there," promoter Matt Wood said.
On Thursday's practice night, pit gates will open at Noon Central. Engine heat takes place at 5pm, followed by a quick pit meeting at 5:45pm, then moving right along into the first practice session at 6pm. Each competitor will get two opportunities to practice.
Pit passes for practice day will be $20. Teams must be registered in order to practice. Rigs may be left overnight. Motorhomes that are not attached to a race trailer will not be allowed in the pit area.
Pit gates open at Noon Central all four days. The front gates will open at 4pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 3pm on Sunday.
Three-day event pit passes will also be available to purchase on Thursday, so team members do not have to go registration again on race days. Single day pit passes are $40 while three-day pit passes are $120.
Registrations can be completed online at www.USACnationals.com. Online registration ends on September 5, at 11:59pm Central. Teams not registered online before the cut-off will have to stand in line at the track to register before being allowed to park in the pit area or to practice.
Sixth USAC National Championship for Swanson Closer at Du Quoin
Springfield Winner Has Large Silver Crown Point Lead
By Jay Hardin
Track Enterprises Staff
Du Quoin, IL-(August 30, 2021)-Kingsburg, California's Kody Swanson was his usual humble self as he accepted the winner's check and trophy for winning the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. It would have been completely out of character had Swanson exited the car and boasted about his accomplishments in the USAC Silver Crown Series. Even if he had been boastful there is no one that could have disputed those claims. Swanson's 2021 season has been nothing short of amazing and he stands on the precipice of an unprecedented sixth USAC national championship.
Kody Swanson fully intended to cut back on his time in the mighty uprights after the 2020 season. Swanson was the all-time leader in Silver Crown race wins, he had five Silver Crown titles and was one of fifteen drivers who could say they won a 100-miler on all three of the fairground dirt miles. He had little left to prove in the big cars. Other opportunities began popping up for the likeable Californian including stock cars and sports cars. As a result, Swanson announced he would not be running the Silver Crown cars on the dirt, running only the pavement races for a new team.
External forces combined to eliminate the Hoosier Hundred and the Sumar at Terre Haute from the schedule. The season opener came on May 29 at Lucas Oil Raceway with Swanson leading 37 laps for the new Doran team and winning the 100-lap event. Swanson passed on the dirt event at Williams Grove but a call from Kent Wolters put him in the Swanson Encore 21 at Eldora where he finished third. A new track record with Doran and a second at Winchester put him back in the point lead by four over Justin Grant. Swanson followed that with yet another win at Lucas Oil Raceway and the win at Springfield put him 51 points ahead of Logan Seavey and 100 ahead of Justin Grant with three races (including the Horn 100) left.
Kody Swanson is known for his calm demeanor behind the wheel, and it was never more evident at Springfield. In fact, many railbirds compare him to Al Unser or Rick Mears for his abilit100 ahead of Justin Grant with three races (including the Horn 100) left.
Kody Swanson is known for his calm demeanor behind the wheel and it was never more evident at Springfield. In fact, many railbirds compare him to Al Unser or Rick Mears for his ability to manage his race car and come on strong in the final laps. At Springfield Swanson set fast time but was relegated to 23rd starting position due to changing tires. He calmly marched through the field and took the lead just past halfway with rain on the horizon. Rain during the lap 76 red flag period stopped the restart and Swanson had his third Bettenhausen 100 in hand, and a solid point lead.
Kody Swanson is slated to run the Horn 100 at Du Quoin with the same Dyson team that won at Springfield and Eldora, and crew chief Sean Michael who won twice last year with Kyle Larson at the wheel. Swanson won the Horn 100 as a rookie in 2010 and again in 2017.
Practice for the USAC Silver Crown championship cars begins Saturday, September 4 at 5 p.m. with qualifying slated at 6:30 and the Ted Horn 100 at 8:15 p.m.
Tickets will be available on raceday 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.
For full event details, visit www.trackenterprises.com.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
PETALUMA HOSTS RARE MONDAY USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR EVENT
By Lance Jennings
AUGUST 30, 2021... On Monday, September 6th, the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will conclude their Northern California Swing at Petaluma Speedway (Petaluma, CA). Promoted by Rick Faeth, the thirteenth point race will also feature IMCA Modifieds, Dwarf Cars, and Mini Stocks. The Pit Gates will open at noon, The Front Gates open at 4:00pm, Practice starts at 5:00pm, and Racing at "The Fastest 3/8 Mile Dirt Oval in Northern California" will begin at 6:00pm. For event information, visit the track's website at petaluma-speedway.com or call 707.763.7223 (RACE). For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of both night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- THE 2019 RULE BOOK will be followed in regards to race format and weight rule (1,325 lbs. with driver)
- 2021 APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Hoosier RD20, 105/18 HTW, 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A are legal with the series. Hoosier Tires are mandatory on all four corners. This will remain in effect until September 26th. Starting October 2nd at Arizona Speedway, the series will follow USAC National rules with the 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A as the only legal right rear tires. Hoosier Tires remain mandatory on all four corners
- 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.)
- 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.
- PETALUMA MUFFLER RULE: The Flowmaster "Suitcase" 53545-10 and the Spin Tech 1545P Super Stock ARE THE ONLY MUFFLERS ALLOWED AT PETALUMA SPEEDWAY AND SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY. *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- PETALUMA TARP RULE: Tarps are mandatory under all racecars in the pit area and must stick out at least one foot at each side.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY: Series officials will have transponders to rent at the track for those racers that do not have them.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
Since June 20, 2009, the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds has held eight AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and seven different drivers have claimed victory. Five-time champion, Mike Spencer leads all drivers with two Petaluma wins and Jake Swanson set the 1-lap track record of 13.457 on September 7, 2015. "Dynamite" David Cardey won the 2009 Petaluma debut and Chase Johnson topped the last USAC/CRA visit on September 2, 2019. A complete series win list at Petaluma is at the end of this release.
At press time, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) has a 24-point lead over the competition. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner placed fifth at the Perris "California Racers Hall of Fame Night" on August 21st. At press time, the eight-time champion has three feature wins, five Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, eight top-10 finishes, and 74 feature laps led on the year. The "World's Fastest Sprint Car Driver" has eighty-86 series wins and will be looking to gain valuable points with a win at Petaluma Speedway.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) ranks second in the USAC/CRA championship standings. Racing the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa scored his second win of the campaign at the "California Racers Hall of Fame Night." To date, the 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion has also posted three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, eight top-10 finishes and 58 feature laps led in the campaign. With ten career victories, Brody will have his sights on adding Petaluma to his win list.
"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) sits third in the chase for the championship. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Lucas Oil DRC, Williams scored twenty-third at Perris after mechanical issues ended his night. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, seven top-10 finishes and 32 feature laps led to his credit. "The Big Game Hunter" has ten career wins and will be looking to add another Petaluma Speedway trophy to his collection.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) sits fourth in the championship point chase. Driving the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen scored fourth at Perris on August 21st. To date, the veteran driver has one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 1 feature lap led on the season. Chris will have his sights on breaking through at Petaluma with a feature win.
"The Cadillac" Cody Williams (Corona, CA) has climbed to fifth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Racing his #44 Trench Shoring / CRW Designs and Machining DRC, Williams charged from twelfth to finish third at the "California Racers Hall of Fame Night." At press time, the 2010 Victorville Sprint Car Champion has three heat race victories, five top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led in the campaign. With one career victory, Williams is running a limited schedule and might skip the action at Petaluma and Chico.
Heading to Petaluma, Austin Grabowksi (Riverside, CA) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Jake Hodges (Camarillo, CA), Brent Owens (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA), Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI), and Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Tommy "Thunder" Malcolm, Verne Sweeney, Matt Mitchell, "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr., Matt McCarthy, "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr., Logan Williams, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Steve Hix, Austin Liggett, Bud Kaeding, Chase Johnson, and more.
Petaluma Speedway is located on the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California at 100 Fairgrounds Drive. Adult Grandstand Tickets are $25 and Senior Tickets (65 & Over) are $22. Military Tickets are $22, Junior Tickets (12-15) are $14, Children Tickets (6-11) are $14, and Kids (5 & Under) are FREE. For more information, visit the track's website at petaluma-speedway.com or call 707.763.7223 (RACE).
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, surfNsprint.com, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Damion Gardner, 2-Max Adams, 2-Brody Roa, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Ryan Timmons, 1-Austin Williams.
PETALUMA AMSOIL USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Jake Swanson – 13.457 (09/07/15)
PETALUMA AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Mike Spencer, 1-Ryan Bernal, 1-David Cardey, 1-Tyler Courtney, 1-Damion Gardner, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Austin Williams.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Damion Gardner-706, 2. Brody Roa-682, 3. Austin Williams-606, 4. Chris Gansen-590, 5. Cody Williams-506, 6. Tommy Malcolm-498, 7. Verne Sweeney-412, 8. Matt Mitchell-408, 9. A.J. Bender-389, 10. Danny Faria Jr.-380, 11. Matt McCarthy-364, 12. Charles Davis Jr.-335, 13. Logan Williams-325, 14. Austin Grabowski �-315, 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-297, 16. Stevie Sussex-262, 17. Jake Hodges �-239, 18. Joel Rayborne-223, 19. Brent Owens �-216, 20. Steve Hix-215, 21. Max Adams-195, ---. Jeff Dyer-195, 23. Ryan Timmons �-192, 24. Austin Liggett-182, 25. Troy Rutherford-160, 26. Ikaika O'Brien �-141, 27. Austin Ervine-138, 28. R.J. Johnson-133, 29. Shane Sexton �-127, 30. Rick Hendrix-119, 31. Dan Taylor-116, 32. Davey Ray-105, 33. Kyle Edwards-87, 34. Trent Williams-80, 35. Chase Johnson-78, 36. James Herrera-77, 37. Tanner Boul �-75, ---. Travis Buckley-75, 39. Jonas Reynolds-66, 40. Nate Schank-58, 41. Cal Smith-53, ---. Chris Bonneau-53, 43. Randy Nelson-45, 44. Tyler Hatzikian-42, 45. James Heling-41, 46. Frank Herman-35, 47. Kaleb Montgomery-32, 48. Christopher Muraokoa-31, 49. Tom Hendricks-28, 50. Danny Sheridan-26, 51. Daylin Perreira-10, ---. Gary Marshall Jr.-10.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
March 12: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park– Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
March 13: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
March 26: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
April 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
May 1: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
May 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
May 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 3: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (CANCELLED)
July 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
August 14: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
September 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 6: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA
September 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Glenn Howard Classic)
October 2: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Hall of Fame Classic)
October 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 12: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 13: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
CHICO'S "LOUIE VERMEIL CLASSIC" ON TAP FOR USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS
By Lance Jennings
AUGUST 30, 2021... This Labor Day Weekend, September 4th & 5th, the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will invade Silver Dollar Speedway (Chico, CA) for the "13th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic." Promoted by HMC Promotions, the highly anticipated event honors the former Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) director and will also showcase the winged King of the West NARC 410 Sprint Cars and the WRA Vintage Cars. Among the festivities, fans can also enjoy wine tasting, beer tasting, and live music at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds. The pit gates will open at 1:00pm, spectator gates at 4:00pm, time trials at 5:30pm, with racing scheduled for 6:30pm. For more event information or advance tickets, visit louievermeilclassic.com or call 916.773.7223. To get more Silver Dollar Speedway information, visit silverdollarspeedway.com or call 530.350.7275. For those that cannot be at the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- THE 2019 RULE BOOK will be followed in regards to race format and weight rule (1,325 lbs. with driver)
- 2021 APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Hoosier RD20, 105/18 HTW, 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A are legal with the series. Hoosier Tires are mandatory on all four corners. This will remain in effect until September 26th. Starting October 2nd at Arizona Speedway, the series will follow USAC National rules with the 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A as the only legal right rear tires. Hoosier Tires remain mandatory on all four corners
- 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.)
- 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.
- CHICO MUFFLER RULE: The Flowmaster "Suitcase" 53545-10 and the Spin Tech 1545P Super Stock ARE THE ONLY MUFFLERS ALLOWED AT SILVER DOLLAR AND PETALUMA SPEEDWAY. *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY: Series officials will have transponders to rent at the track for those racers that do not have them.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
The festivities will actually begin on Friday, September 3rd, with the Calistoga Speedway Hall of Fame Dinner. The 2020 and 2021 inductees are Dick Golden, Paul Worden, Dewey Gatson, Ray Smith, Shane Scott, Gene Figone, and the Hunt Family (Tommy, Jeanne, Tony, and Laurie).
As this writing goes to press, both nights at Chico will pay $5,000-to-win and $500-to-start. The Louie Vermeil Classic will pay over $100,000 to the USAC/CRA and the King of the West NARC groups, including lap money, fast time bonus, hard charger bonus, best finishing 360 bonus, and contingencies. Rico Abreu leads all drivers with three Vermeil Classic finale wins and Jake Swanson topped the last event at Calistoga in 2019. A complete event finale win list is at the end of this release.
Since September 8, 2011, the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds has held 6 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and four different drivers have claimed victory. "The Demon" Damion Gardner leads all drivers with three Chico wins and Jake Swanson set the 1-lap track record of 13.353 on September 8, 2016. Kyle Larson won the 2011 Chico debut and Chase Johnson topped the last USAC/CRA visit on September 6, 2018. A complete series win list at Silver Dollar is at the end of this release.
Heading to the Vermeil Classic, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) has a 24-point lead over the competition. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner placed fifth at the Perris "California Racers Hall of Fame Night" on August 21st. At press time, the eight-time champion has three feature wins, five Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, eight top-10 finishes, and 74 feature laps led on the year. The "World's Fastest Sprint Car Driver" has eighty-86 series wins and will be looking for his second "Louie Vermeil Classic" triumph.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) ranks second in the USAC/CRA championship standings. Racing the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa scored his second win of the campaign at the "California Racers Hall of Fame Night." To date, the 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion has also posted three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, eight top-10 finishes and 58 feature laps led in the campaign. With ten career victories, Brody will have his sights on adding the "Louie Vermeil Classic" to his win list.
"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) sits third in the chase for the championship. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Lucas Oil DRC, Williams scored twenty-third at Perris after mechanical issues ended his night. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, seven top-10 finishes and 32 feature laps led to his credit. "The Big Game Hunter" has ten career wins and will be looking to add a Silver Dollar Speedway trophy to his collection.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) sits fourth in the championship point chase. Driving the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen scored fourth at Perris on August 21st. To date, the veteran driver has one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 1 feature lap led on the season. Chris will have his sights on earning his first USAC/CRA victory at the "Louie Vermeil Classic."
"The Cadillac" Cody Williams (Corona, CA) has climbed to fifth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Racing his #44 Trench Shoring / CRW Designs and Machining DRC, Williams charged from twelfth to finish third at the "California Racers Hall of Fame Night." At press time, the 2010 Victorville Sprint Car Champion has three heat race victories, five top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led in the campaign. With one career victory, Williams is running a limited schedule and might skip the action at Chico and Petaluma.
Heading to Chico, Austin Grabowksi (Riverside, CA) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Jake Hodges (Camarillo, CA), Brent Owens (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA), Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI), and Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Tommy "Thunder" Malcolm, Verne Sweeney, Matt Mitchell, "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr., Matt McCarthy, "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr., Logan Williams, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Steve Hix, Austin Liggett, Bud Kaeding, Chase Johnson, and more.
Silver Dollar Speedway is located on the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds at 2357 Fair Street in Chico, California. Reserved tickets are $40, General Admission tickets are $35 and Kids tickets (6-12) are $10. Walk up tickets will be sold and advance tickets can be purchased online at louievermeilclassic.com or by calling 916.773.7223.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, surfNsprint.com, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
LOUIE VERMEIL CLASSIC WINNERS: 2008-Kevin Swindell; 2009-Mike Spencer; 2010-Damion Gardner; 2011-Mike Spencer; 2012-Kyle Hirst, 2013-Kyle Larson, 2014-Rico Abreu, 2015-Rico Abreu, 2016-Thomas Meseraull, 2017-Rico Abreu, 2018-Colby Copeland, 2019-Jake Swanson, 2020-CANCELLED.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Damion Gardner, 2-Max Adams, 2-Brody Roa, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Ryan Timmons, 1-Austin Williams.
CHICO AMSOIL USAC/CRA 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Jake Swanson – 13.353 (09/08/16)
CHICO AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Damion Gardner, 1-Ryan Bernal, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Kyle Larson.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Damion Gardner-706, 2. Brody Roa-682, 3. Austin Williams-606, 4. Chris Gansen-590, 5. Cody Williams-506, 6. Tommy Malcolm-498, 7. Verne Sweeney-412, 8. Matt Mitchell-408, 9. A.J. Bender-389, 10. Danny Faria Jr.-380, 11. Matt McCarthy-364, 12. Charles Davis Jr.-335, 13. Logan Williams-325, 14. Austin Grabowski �-315, 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-297, 16. Stevie Sussex-262, 17. Jake Hodges �-239, 18. Joel Rayborne-223, 19. Brent Owens �-216, 20. Steve Hix-215, 21. Max Adams-195, ---. Jeff Dyer-195, 23. Ryan Timmons �-192, 24. Austin Liggett-182, 25. Troy Rutherford-160, 26. Ikaika O'Brien �-141, 27. Austin Ervine-138, 28. R.J. Johnson-133, 29. Shane Sexton �-127, 30. Rick Hendrix-119, 31. Dan Taylor-116, 32. Davey Ray-105, 33. Kyle Edwards-87, 34. Trent Williams-80, 35. Chase Johnson-78, 36. James Herrera-77, 37. Tanner Boul �-75, ---. Travis Buckley-75, 39. Jonas Reynolds-66, 40. Nate Schank-58, 41. Cal Smith-53, ---. Chris Bonneau-53, 43. Randy Nelson-45, 44. Tyler Hatzikian-42, 45. James Heling-41, 46. Frank Herman-35, 47. Kaleb Montgomery-32, 48. Christopher Muraokoa-31, 49. Tom Hendricks-28, 50. Danny Sheridan-26, 51. Daylin Perreira-10, ---. Gary Marshall Jr.-10.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
March 12: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park– Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
March 13: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
March 26: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
April 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
May 1: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
May 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
May 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 3: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (CANCELLED)
July 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
August 14: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
September 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 6: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA
September 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Glenn Howard Classic)
October 2: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Hall of Fame Classic)
October 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 12: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 13: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.
FROM ROAD RACING TO THE DIRT MILE: BRIAN TYLER MAKES USAC SILVER CROWN RETURN SATURDAY AT Du QUOIN'S TED HORN 100
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (August 30, 2021)………One of USAC Silver Crown racing's most prolific drivers in terms of victories and starts, Brian Tyler, will return to the USAC Silver Crown National Championship after a two-year hiatus for this Saturday night's Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois.
Tyler (Parma, Mich.) will drive the Curtis Williams-owned No. 81 that had been wheeled by Shane Cottle for the past seven seasons. As previously announced, Cottle will finish out the dirt portion of the series this season for DMW Motorsports starting Saturday at Du Quoin.
Cottle and Tyler are good friends and actually competed as teammates for Contos Racing during the Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway on nine occasions between 2009-2018. But all in good fun, Tyler had a message for Cottle for when it's time to hit the track at Du Quoin.
"Shane told me, 'I might get the seat out of the dirt car, and you can use the one out of the pavement car because I might have a ride for Du Quoin,'" Tyler recalled Cottle telling him. "I said, well, 'I hope you're there because you're really going to feel bad when you get beat by your old car!' That's just the way we joke back and forth."
The Curtis Williams team sits third in USAC Silver Crown entrant points with three races remaining. The plan is to have Tyler finish out the season with the team starting Saturday at Du Quoin, before moving onto the final two races on Sept. 24-25 at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, and on Oct. 10 at Ohio's Toledo Speedway.
Finishing the final three races would put Tyler at 201 career USAC Silver Crown starts, which would tie him for the most all-time series starts with Dave Darland. But, for now, the focus for Tyler is on race number 199 at Du Quoin where he's previously won at in 2008 – one of his 17 career wins, which ranks third all-time – and where he's finished as the runner-up twice in 2004 and 2005. Then, they'll take it from there.
"We're going to do this race-to-race," Tyler said. "I'm going to run it and we're going to see how we get along, how well we work together and see what happens. I love the Silver Crown cars and I really like the miles. I'm looking forward to going back."
Curtis Williams' crew chief, Malcolm Lovelace, has long admired the skills of Tyler, the 1996-97 USAC National Sprint Car champion. After attempting to secure Tyler's employment with the team on a pavement only basis in year's past, the timing was right, and the opportunity rose this time around to make it a reality.
"We've tried to get Brian before when Shane (Cottle) stopped running the pavement for us a few years ago," Lovelace explained. "But he had other racing commitments during the races we were trying to get him for. I raced against his brother, Bill Tyler, in USAC back in the 1970s and 1980s. We knew Brian a little bit anyway but, I called him up and we put that together last Monday."
Despite being two years removed from his most recent USAC Silver Crown start in 2019, Tyler hasn't a bit of rust on him as he's stayed busy as a full-time competitor on the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) trail. Tyler earned his road racing license just last year and has been competing regularly in road course racing events over the past couple of seasons, with quite a big twist.
Tyler has been a driver in the NASA Super Unlimited class aboard a Gold Crown car, the former USAC-sanctioned machines designed for superspeedway use that competed on the pavement tracks of the USAC Silver Crown series between 2006-07.
The class competes at road racing venues such as Barber Motorsports Park, Sebring International Raceway and at Daytona International Speedway, just to name a few, with an eclectic array of equipment.
"I race against Vipers, Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaros, Daytona Prototypes and old IndyCars. It's a run what you brung class; there's no rules," Tyler revealed. "We've been first or second just about every place we've been at when we didn't DNF. We're as fast as anybody there most of the time.'
Tyler's quest is akin to Rodger Ward's upset during a 1959 Formula Libre contest at the Lime Rock Park road course in Connecticut – in which he and his Ken Brenn Offy-powered midget defeated a mix of elite sports cars. He particularly got a kick from going head-to-head and defeating road course specific cars such as Daytona Prototypes at Sebring with his so called "straight, front axle model A," raising the ire of his competition.
"(Officials) didn't have any idea where to put me," Tyler tells. "So, they stuck me in with all the Daytona Prototypes. So, I'm running against a quarter to half-a-million dollar cars with this this old Gold Crown car. There were like 15 of us there and I was seventh quick in qualifying and was running seventh or eighth in the race when we broke a clutch."
Tyler's NASA racing endeavors are described as a class designed for any four wheel (non-formula) vehicles that do not fit in any other NASA class and are heavily prepared for serious speed. Performance modifications are unlimited, and the only restrictions are those pertaining to safety.
You can't pigeonhole Tyler into one particular class. As a veteran of IndyCar, NASCAR Trucks and Busch series competition, Tyler has always been prepared for serious speed, especially at Du Quoin, where he returns Saturday night to the place he's made 19 prior starts dating back to 1996 with his most recent series start coming there in 2019.
A jack of all trades who makes his living away from the racetrack fixing any type of equipment that rolls up in the driveway of his Mount Pleasant, North Carolina home, whether it's lawnmowers, boat, tractor, bulldozers, cars and trucks, Tyler has shown the ability to master the same type of versatility on the racetrack, and he's received that opportunity once again beginning Saturday under the lights of the "Magic Mile."
Saturday's Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 27th Annual Bill Oldani Memorial Prelims for UMP Modifieds.
Pits and registration open at 1pm Central. The ticket office and grandstands open at 4pm. USAC Silver Crown practice takes place from 5-6:10pm, with Silver Crown Fatheadz Qualifying at 6:30pm, UMP Modified heat races at 7:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown Ted Horn 100 at 8:15pm.
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 (presale) are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Tickets at the gate on race day are $30 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Pit passes are $35 for members and $40 for non-member adults. Pit passes are $20 for children 11 and under.
Saturday's Ted Horn 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
6TH USAC SILVER CROWN TITLE ON THE BRINK FOR SWANSON ENTERING Du QUOIN
By: Jay Hardin – Track Enterprises Staff
Du Quoin, Illinois (August 30, 2021)………Kingsburg, California's Kody Swanson was his usual humble self as he accepted the winner's check and trophy for winning the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in August.
It would have been completely out of character had Swanson exited the car and boasted about his accomplishments in the USAC Silver Crown Series. Even if he had been boastful, there is no one that could have disputed those claims.
Swanson's 2021 season has been nothing short of amazing and he stands on the precipice of an unprecedented sixth USAC national championship entering this Saturday night's Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on September 4 in Southern Illinois.
Kody Swanson fully intended to cut back on his time in the mighty uprights after the 2020 season. Swanson was the all-time leader in Silver Crown race wins, he had five Silver Crown titles and was one of 15 drivers who could say they won a 100-miler on all three of the fairgrounds dirt miles. He had little left to prove in the big cars.
Other opportunities began popping up for the likeable Californian including stock cars and sports cars. As a result, Swanson announced he would not be running the Silver Crown cars on the dirt, running only the pavement races for Doran Racing.
External forces combined to eliminate the Hoosier Hundred and the Sumar at Terre Haute from the schedule. The season opener came on May 29 at Lucas Oil Raceway with Swanson leading 37 laps and winning the 100-lap event.
Swanson passed on the dirt event at Williams Grove but a call from Kent Wolters put him in the Mark Swanson Encore Team No. 21 at Eldora where he finished third.
A new track record with Doran and a second at Winchester put him back in the point lead by four over Justin Grant. Swanson followed that with yet another win at Lucas Oil Raceway and the win at Springfield put him 51 points ahead of Logan Seavey and 100 ahead of Justin Grant with three races (including the Horn 100) left.
Kody Swanson is known for his calm demeanor behind the wheel, and it was never more evident at Springfield. In fact, many railbirds compare him to Al Unser or Rick Mears for his ability to manage his race car and come on strong in the final laps.
At Springfield, Swanson set fast time but was relegated to 23rd starting position due to changing his right rear tire. He calmly marched through the field and took the lead just past halfway with rain on the horizon. Rain during the lap 76 red flag period stopped the restart and Swanson had his third Bettenhausen 100 in hand, and a solid point lead.
Kody Swanson is slated to run Saturday's Ted Horn 100 at Du Quoin with the same Chris Dyson Racing team that won at Springfield and Eldora, and crew chief Sean Michael who won twice last year with Kyle Larson at the wheel.
Swanson won the Horn 100 as a rookie in 2010 and again in 2017. Practice for the USAC Silver Crown championship cars begins Saturday, September 4 at 5 p.m. central with qualifying slated at 6:30 and the Ted Horn 100 at 8:15 p.m.
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.
COTTLE GETS NEW USAC SILVER CROWN RIDE
FOR SATURDAY AT Du QUOIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (August 30, 2021)………Shane Cottle will find himself in a different USAC Silver Crown ride for the first time in nearly a decade when the series hits the track this Saturday night, September 4, for the Ted Horn 100 on the Magic Mile of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois.
Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) will pilot the DMW Motorsports No. 110 Saturday at both Du Quoin and on September 24-25 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, as the fourth-ranking driver in 2021 USAC Silver Crown points will finish out the season on the dirt tracks.
The announcement comes after the parting of ways between the longest-tenured USAC Silver Crown driver and owner pairing of Cottle and the Springfield, Ohio-based BCR Group No. 81, which he's made 39 series starts in over the course of the past seven seasons since their first outing in 2015, highlighted by a victory in the 2020 season opener at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway.
The last time Cottle drove in the USAC Silver Crown series for any team other than the BCR Group, it was with McQuinn Motorsports in 2012.
Cottle and BCR went separate ways following the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield during late August and Cottle didn't remain a free agent for long. Cottle called up DMW Motorsports car owner Mickey Meyer out of Arizona and a deal was struck instantaneously.
"He's been wanting me to drive it for a while," Cottle said of Meyer. "I called him up and said, 'I'm available,' and he said, 'all right, we're going to Du Quoin.'"
While the Cottle/Meyer partnership is new for the USAC Silver Crown series, the two have worked together in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition during June's Eastern Storm, which saw Cottle turn in his best performance of the season, leading a race-high 16 laps and finishing second in the feature during the round at New Jersey's Bridgeport Motorsports Park.
"I've worked with Mickey before, and I think we'll be pretty decent right out of the box," Cottle said. "Mickey is pretty sharp on setup stuff, and every time I've driven his sprint car, we were pretty quick. He puts together a good car."
Cottle, a floor installer by day and racer at night, has made 63 career USAC Silver Crown starts with two career wins. He'll now pair with teammate Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), who'll pilot the DMW Motorsports No. 10. Swanson finished a career-best third at Selinsgrove on August 8 of this year, then led 28 laps and finished sixth at Springfield on August 21.
In the same Springfield race, Chase Stockon drove the No. 110, running inside the top-five for a good portion before finishing 10th in the final tally.
Saturday's Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 27th Annual Bill Oldani Memorial Prelims for UMP Modifieds.
Pits and registration open at 1pm Central. The ticket office and grandstands open at 4pm. USAC Silver Crown practice takes place from 5-6:10pm, with Silver Crown Fatheadz Qualifying at 6:30pm, UMP Modified heat races at 7:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown Ted Horn 100 at 8:15pm.
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 (presale) are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Tickets at the gate on race day are $30 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Pit passes are $35 for members and $40 for non-member adults. Pit passes are $20 for children 11 and under.
Saturday's Ted Horn 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
$236,000 PURSE ANNOUNCED FOR HUSET'S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONALS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (August 30, 2021)………The payout for the inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals has continued to grow by leaps and bounds with a final purse totaling $236,000 announced for the event featuring three-straight nights of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget and USAC AMSOIL National 410 c.i. Sprint Car doubleheaders on September 10-11-12 in Brandon, South Dakota.
The $236,000 figure makes the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals the highest combined purse for a USAC points-paying National Sprint Car and Midget doubleheader.
Nights one and two, on Friday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Sept. 11, will showcase a unique format that begins with each driver drawing and placing themselves into a group to qualify, followed by heat races, last chance qualifiers and feature events for both the Midget and Sprint Car divisions.
Night one and two preliminary features for both sprint cars and midgets will pay $5,000 to win and $500 to start each night. Prelim night sprint car features will be 25 laps each night with midgets racing for 30 laps.
During the final night, Championship Night on Sunday, September 12, no qualifying will be held. All lineups will be based off the accumulation of points earned throughout the first two nights. Two new champions will be crowned with a 40-lap feature for the Sprint Cars and a 100-lap main event for the Midgets with each being rewarded a $20,000 payday for their efforts. Both A-mains on Championship Night will also reward starters with a minimum of $1,000 to start.
The event is the highest paying event of the 2021 USAC National season. Tickets and driver/team registration for all three nights of the event are on sale now at www.USACnationals.com.
Only twice in USAC's history have series events been held at the 3/8-mile dirt oval of Huset's Speedway. Kenny Irwin Jr. won the midget debut there in 1996 while Chad Boespflug swept both nights of a 410 sprint car meet at the track in 2016.
Seeing an uncertain future in recent years, Huset's Speedway was rescued and purchased by longtime sprint car owner and, more recently, track owner Tod Quiring, and is under the management of Doug Johnson, who also manages Quiring's other track acquisition, the Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota.
Matt Wood, a long time sprint car and midget team owner, who recently joined forces with USAC and entered the promotion side of things with the inaugural running of the Hangtown 100 in Placerville, Calif. in 2019, is also the promoter of the USAC Nationals.
Pit gates open at Noon Central all three days. The front gates will open at 4pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 3pm on Sunday. Pit Passes are $40 per day or $120 for a three-day pass.
2021 HUSET'S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONALS FORMAT: (NIGHTS ONE & TWO)
Pill draw draft to determine order of heat race selection.
Heat race placement selection (driver picks which heat to participate in and the order to qualify. Qualifying: All cars qualify – 6 groups determined by heat race. Cars will qualify in the order picked by drivers. 36 points will be given for fast time in each group, and minus three points per position thereafter.
Six 10 lap Heat Races: Top 8 cars inverted in heats by qualifying points/time. 36 points will be given for first place, and minus 3 points per position thereafter. Three cars - first place (regardless of point total), and the two highest in total points (total points include qualifying and heat points) in each heat - transfer to Night One & Two A-Main. All others to Night One & Two Last Chance Qualifiers.
Three 12 lap Last Chance Qualifiers: Total points from qualifying and heat race finishes will be used to line up LCQ's. Lineups will be straight up based on points. The top 3 in total points will start on the pole in each respective LCQ. The next 3 in total points will start outside pole in each respective LCQ, and so on. The top 2 from each LCQ will transfer to the Night One & Two A-Main but will not earn LCQ points. 50 points awarded for 3rd place minus 2 points for each position thereafter.
A-Main: 30 laps for midgets, 25 laps for sprint cars. 24 Cars - 1st place and 2 highest in points from heat races plus 2 transfers from each LCQ. LCQ cars will line up by points behind direct transfers out of heats. Top 12 in total points will line up inverted. The next 6 in total points transferring directly out of the heats will line up 13 – 18 straight up. LCQ transfers will line up behind heat race transfers straight up based on points. 100 points awarded to the A-Main first place and minus 2 per position thereafter.
(CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT)
No Qualifying. Lineups based on total points from night one and night two (CUMULATIVE).
Six 10 lap Heat Races: Top 8 cars inverted in heats by total points from night one. 36 points will be given for first place, and minus 3 points per position thereafter. Total points will then be tallied to line up D, C, B, and A-Mains. Top 20 in points go to A-Main, positions 21-36 in points go to B-Main, positions 37-52 in points go to C-Main, and all others to D-Main.
D-Main: 10 Laps. Top 4 transfer to tail of C-Main. No points awarded.
C-Main: 15 Laps, 20 Cars. Top 4 transfer to tail of B-Main. No points awarded.
B-Main: 20 Laps, 20 Cars. Top 4 transfer to tail of A-Main. No points awarded.
A-Main: 100 Laps for midgets, 40 laps for sprint cars. 24 Cars. Top 12 inverted by points, followed by next 8 in points lined straight up, followed by B-Main transfers 1-4. 150 points awarded for first place and minus 3 points per position thereafter. Yellow laps counted for first 50 laps of midget feature.
**Ties in overall points will revert to qualifying times.
**Promoter reserves the right to add provisionals to the Championship Night A-Main.
**Possible mandatory fuel stop between laps 40-50 of Championship Night A-Main.
SMACKDOWN GRANTED: JUSTIN GRANT WINS $15,000 AT KOKOMO
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media\
Kokomo, Indiana (August 28, 2021)………In essence, Saturday night's 40-lap Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown X feature at Indiana's Kokomo Speedway came down to a two-lap conquest for Justin Grant.
A frequent storyboard for the event throughout its first decade has demonstrated that a final restart and, consequently, how one responds to it, can ultimately decide a driver's fate regardless of the success that led up to that point.
Case in point came earlier in the day for Kevin Thomas Jr. and Logan Seavey, and the same was true for Grant himself who faced, and conquered, a similar scenario just 24 hours earlier versus Kyle Cummins at the quarter-mile dirt oval.
This time, $15,000 was on the line, and the green-white-checkered conclusion gave us a Grant/Thorson gem that provoked both to bring out all the stops in order to put this one in their personal win column.
Race leader Grant answered Thorson's slide job in turn one by returning the favor in turn three, then fending Thorson off on the final circuit to claim his second career Smackdown victory (2018), making him the third multi-time winner in the event's history (Dave Darland and Tyler Courtney) in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
"Smackdown comes down to late-race restarts like this a lot," Grant explained. "You never know that you have it. Even when it's green and going well, these guys are so good, and everyone that we race with is so tough and so savvy at what they do. It's easy to get snookered on a restart; you got to do your job as good as you can."
TOPP Motorsports became the second three-time Smackdown winning team following previous scores with Tyler Courtney in 2017 and Grant in 2018. Phillips Motorsports also won three-straight with Dave Darland in 2013-14-15.
Additionally, Grant's 28th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car win tied him with series champions Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Levi Jones and J.J. Yeley for 18th on the all-time list, and it took nearly everything the Ione, Calif. driver could generate out of himself and out of the car.
"I was smashing this thing off the fence all the way around," Grant recalled. "I about crashed coming to the checkered. It's hot. I'm out of breath. That was 40 laps of everything this car had."
The race belonged to Thorson for the first 15 revolutions, holding a lead upwards of a full second until he became trapped in a box between the cars of Matt Westfall and Stevie Sussex at the tail end of the lead lap on the bottom of turn one. That halted Thorson's progress momentarily and gave Grant the go-ahead to levy a full-on attack.
Grant ducked under Westfall midway down the back straight, then tossed his car all the way from the bottom of turn three to the top of turn four, which screamed right past the front bumper of Thorson, who turned down and answered the bell to edge Grant at the stripe by a whisker.
Reloaded and ready to fire again, Grant made a beeline to the bottom of turn one and stuck the slider in turn two to secure the lead with 24 laps still remaining. With Grant upping his lead to more than two seconds, much seemed to be relatively well in hand. However, the car of Scotty Weir nearly spun in front of him in turns one and two, hampering Grant's progress, undotting his i's and uncrossing his t's as his advantage melted to just a single second in the blink of an eye.
With two to go, any and all daylight for Grant was overcasted as eighth-running Shane Cottle slowed dramatically with a ball of flame and smoke emanating from his ride, putting an end to his evening and setting up one final restart.
Grant was an up-close and personal witness to Thorson snagging the lead away from him on the lap 29 restart in turn one. Grant took it right back in turn three, rising right up to the outside wall in the fourth turn and giving it a kiss with the right rear. Taking the white flag, Grant slid himself from the middle to the top in turns one and two in an attempt to stifle Thorson's momentum.
"He was able to slide me there and I was afraid that was going to happen just with the moisture being low on the front stretch, but I didn't want to give up the speed down the back stretch," Grant explained. "It worked out, and I was able to get him crossed back over and then just go on defense and block his sliders when he was throwing them to try to make momentum when he wasn't."
Thorson climbed the ladder as he charged from the bottom of turn three to the top in turn four, coming up short and falling into line behind Grant, who subsequently ricocheted his right rear tire and right front tire off the outside wall, yet maintained control, and led Thorson across the line underneath the double checkers by a margin of 0.773 sec.
As the leaders crossed the finish line, a melee took place in the aftermath of the battle for the seventh spot which resulted in both C.J. Leary and Jake Swanson flipping through turns three and four. Kyle Cummins also became entangled and nosed into the turn four wall. All drivers walked away with Leary, Swanson and Cummins finishing 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively.
Grant and crew had two schools of thought and two approaches to take set-up wise entering Smackdown. The path ultimately chosen became the winning combination on this night, and twice throughout the weekend.
"I felt pretty confident around the middle section of the race; I felt like we had a pretty good car," Grant said. "But there at the end, it got all shaken up. We went back and forth on this car whether to make it drive forward really, really hard or have momentum around the fence with a lot of stability. We went back and forth all week but ultimately decided, if we were going to win this thing, it was going to be momentum around the fence. The first couple of laps after a restart, we're a sitting duck because we don't launch, but we do go out and rail around the fence better that way. It's a gamble but tonight it paid off."
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) had the best Smackdown "Rookie" performance in the history of the event, running through all three rounds of the brackets to claim the B & W Auto Mart King of the Hill title, then finished as the runner-up in the feature in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – CSI – MVT/Spike/Stanton Chevy, which garnered him The Frolic Bar & Grill Smackdown X Rookie of the Year award.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) was the only driver to finish inside the top-three during both events held at Kokomo on Saturday, under the sun and under the moon, finishing third to close out the night cap in his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 28, 2021 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown X – (Nighttime Event)
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFIER: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cottle (#74x Hodges), 2. Brent Beauchamp (#29 LB), 3. Scotty Weir (#4p Pedersen), 4. Chase Johnson (#22 Goodnight), 5. Max Guilford (#79BT Goodnight), 6. Steven Drevicki (#19s DeGre), 7. Zack Pretorius (#9z Pretorius), 8. Ryan Barr (#21B Barr). 2:17.150
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND QUALIFIER: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson (#21AZ Team AZ), 2. Max Adams (#57 Hazen), 3. Stevie Sussex (#77 Wingo), 4. Koby Barksdale (#16K Knight), 5. Anthony D'Alessio (#01 D'Alessio), 6. Tye Mihocko (#2E Epperson), 7. David Hair (#44 Hair), 8. Cole Bodine (#57x DCT). NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD QUALIFIER: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers (#14 Rogers), 2. Emerson Axsom (#39BC Clauson Marshall Newman), 3. Mario Clouser (#6 EZR), 4. Jason McDougal (#5m KO), 5. Sterling Cling (#34 Cling), 6. Brayden Clark (#42 Jackson-Clark), 7. Matt Goodnight (#39 Goodnight), 8. Jack James (#99 James). 2:13.683
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull (#2 Yeley), 2. Chase Stockon (#5s KO), 3. Matt Westfall (#33m Marshall), 4. Alex Bright (#20 Hummer), 5. Ryan Thomas (#77FR Wingo), 6. Brandon Mattox (#28 Mattox), 7. Brandon Long (#12 Ballou), 8. Ted Kirkpatrick (#63LK Sturgeon). NT
B & W AUTO MART KING OF THE HILL FIRST QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #1 Justin Grant (#4 TOPP) defeats #8 Kyle Cummins (#3R Rock Steady).
B & W AUTO MART KING OF THE HILL SECOND QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #4 Tanner Thorson (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood) defeats #5 Brady Bacon (#69 Dynamics).
B & W AUTO MART KING OF THE HILL THIRD QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #2 Logan Seavey (#5 Baldwin-Fox) defeats #7 Chris Windom (#19 Hayward).
B & W AUTO MART KING OF THE HILL FOURTH QUARTERFINAL: (3 laps) #6 Kevin Thomas Jr. (#9K KT) defeats #3 C.J. Leary (#77m Michael).
B & W AUTO MART KING OF THE HILL FIRST SEMIFINAL: (3 laps) #4 Tanner Thorson defeats #1 Justin Grant.
B & W AUTO MART KING OF THE HILL SECOND SEMIFINAL: (3 laps) #6 Kevin Thomas Jr. defeats #3 C.J. Leary.
B & W AUTO MART KING OF THE HILL FINAL: (3 laps) #4 Tanner Thorson defeats #6 Kevin Thomas Jr.
THE FROLIC BAR & GRILL C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Brandon Mattox, 2. Brayden Clark, 3. Steven Drevicki, 4. Brandon Long, 5. Ryan Barr, 6. David Hair, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Ted Kirkpatrick, 9. Jack James. 2:25.587
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Scotty Weir, 2. Mario Clouser, 3. Stevie Sussex, 4. Chase Johnson, 5. Jason McDougal, 6. Matt Westfall, 7. Max Guilford, 8. Alex Bright, 9. Koby Barksdale, 10. Sterling Cling, 11. Steven Drevicki, 12. Brandon Long, 13. Brayden Clark, 14. Ryan Thomas, 15. Brandon Mattox, 16. Anthony D'Alessio. NT
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (3), 2. Tanner Thorson (1), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 4. Brady Bacon (6), 5. Logan Seavey (4), 6. Chris Windom (7), 7. Emerson Axsom (15), 8. Chase Stockon (16), 9. Jadon Rogers (11), 10. Mario Clouser (18), 11. C.J. Leary (5), 12. Jake Swanson (10), 13. Kyle Cummins (8), 14. Jason McDougal (21), 15. Brent Beauchamp (13), 16. Stevie Sussex (19), 17. Shane Cottle (9), 18. Thomas Meseraull (12), 19. Chase Johnson (20), 20. Scotty Weir (17), 21. Matt Westfall (22), 22. Max Adams (14). NT
**Cole Bodine flipped during the second heat. C.J. Leary & Jake Swanson flipped on lap 30 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Tanner Thorson, Laps 17-40 Justin Grant.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2085, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2041, 3-Justin Grant-2034, 4-C.J. Leary-1842, 5-Tanner Thorson-1821, 6-Chris Windom-1753, 7-Jake Swanson-1686, 8-Robert Ballou-1618, 9-Chase Stockon-1332, 10-Kyle Cummins-1163.
FINAL SMACKDOWN X PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Cole Bodine-23, 2-Chase Stockon-20, 3-Steven Drevicki-20, 4-Max Adams-16, 5-Brady Bacon-14, 6-Mario Clouser-14, 7-Logan Seavey-12, 8-Shane Cottle-12, 9-Jason McDougal-12, 10-Justin Grant-11.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-137, 2-Brady Bacon-130, 3-Justin Grant-123, 4-Tanner Thorson-118, 5-Robert Ballou-109, 6-Thomas Meseraull-103, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-101, 8-Logan Seavey-100, 9-Kyle Cummins-79, 10-Emerson Axsom-75.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 10-11-12, 2021 – Huset's Speedway – Brandon, South Dakota – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track – Inaugural Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Smackdown X ProSource Passing Master: Cole Bodine
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Brent Beauchamp
B & W Auto Mart King of the Hill: Tanner Thorson
The Frolic Bar & Grill Smackdown X Rookie of the Year: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner: Shane Cottle
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Qualifier Winner: Jake Swanson
Indy Metal Finishing Third Qualifier Winner: Jadon Rogers
Indy Race Parts Fourth Qualifier Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Scotty Weir
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Emerson Axsom (15th to 7th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Kyle Cummins
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Max Guilford
ProSource Hard Work Winner: Chase Johnson
Quick Car Fastest in Hot Laps: Mario Clouser
KTJ BRINGS THE HEAT TO WIN MIDDAY SMACKDOWN PRELIM AT KOKOMO
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media\
Kokomo, Indiana (August 28, 2021)………In a sun-splashed matinee performance by the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, a sliver of daylight was all Kevin Thomas Jr. needed.
On a restart with five laps remaining, the Cullman, Ala. native slipped by leader Logan Seavey, who glanced off the wall between turns one and two, cracking open a window of opportunity for Thomas to drive through to victory Saturday afternoon during the final prelim of the weekend for Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown X at Indiana's Kokomo Speedway.
The afternoon affair couldn't have come soon enough for Thomas, of Cullman, Ala., admitting his confidence was a little low following Friday night's 11th place finish, which snapped his streak of 16 consecutive top-10 finishes with the series.
The 2016 Smackdown and Kokomo champ got back on track at just the right time in the heat of the day, scoring his sixth USAC National Sprint Car feature win of the year while piloting his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
Thomas began his race from the third position, but the initial individual on the move off the starting blocks was Friday night winner Justin Grant who launched from his fourth starting spot to split between front row starters Matt Westfall and Jadon Rogers exiting turn four on the opening lap, putting Grant at the top of the pecking order in quick fashion.
Following Chase Johnson's ramp up the turn four wall 11 laps into the event that necessitated a yellow, on the ensuing restart, it appeared as if Thomas may soon be the one to overtake Grant for the top spot as he checked high, then raked the bottom while Grant occupied the bottom/middle. However, Seavey took both by surprise and burst from third to first around the outside exiting turn four to assume the lead.
Thomas, never shy to express his candor, spoke of the up-and-down nature of this portion of the race, which saw him bounce back-and-forth between challenging for the lead before quickly being relegated back to third in the rundown.
"I felt we were good," Thomas relayed. "I didn't know the top was going to come in that early. When I was restarting behind Justin there, I took a peek at it, and I didn't think it was that good; it looked pretty dirty. The next thing you know, Justin and I are down there stuck in the middle of the racetrack. Seavey goes blowing by us, then I made a few bad decisions and I let Brady get back by me. I just had to do a few little things there in the cockpit, mainly getting my crap together. I knew I had a good racecar; I just had to do what I needed to do."
Brady Bacon then entered the fray, taking third from Grant on lap 13, then second from Thomas on lap 14 with a dazzling flick of the steering wheel that cut him from the top of four to the bottom of one and into the runner-up spot at the halfway point.
With six to go and running third, Thomas took note of a couple of slight slip-ups that worked to his advantage. Race leader Seavey got a tad tight on the cushion and tapped the wall, forcing second-running Bacon to chock up ever so slightly just behind Seavey. Thomas, meanwhile, had already committed to the bottom and went unfettered past Bacon and into the second position.
When 10th running Emerson Axsom spun a stop in turn two on lap 26, that closed the slight gap that existed between Seavey and Thomas and put them back into a restart scenario. Seavey's car lifted the left rear on the entry to turn one, sending his car skating across the cushion. With Seavey's tap of the wall and resulting scrubbed speed, Thomas had gone by and become the new leader.
From that point onward, four trips around the quarter-mile dirt oval were all safe and sound for Thomas who notched his 33rd career USAC National Sprint Car feature win, elevating his total above that of USAC and National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Rollie Beale for sole possession of 13th all-time.
For Seavey, it was oh-so-close after leading a race-high 15 laps in his Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy. The Sutter, California driver had to settle for second, 1.723 seconds behind Thomas, and readily admitted he could've done without the yellows.
"The track got cleaner and cleaner and was gripping up, actually," Seavey explained. "I think I just got myself a little too tight. I was just trying not to make too big of adjustments, but I knew the track was getting slicker and slower. I just couldn't get off the corners as good as I needed to and made a little bit of an adjustment, but I just didn't run hard enough there on those last couple laps. I just really didn't need the yellows. KTJ just found a little bit better line in one and two. It was so treacherous, and then the top at exit got really slick and it just lost everything that made it good in the beginning of the race and I just didn't move with the racetrack. To be leading and knowing the track's changing, you just don't know where to go. He figured it out and I just need to be a little bit better."
Brady Bacon became a major player in his bid for victory late in the going in his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy, ultimately finishing third to remain up front with a healthy lead of the standings in pursuit of his fourth career series crown.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 28, 2021 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown X – (Daytime Event)
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-12.863; 2. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.971; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-13.149; 4. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.163; 5. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-13.288; 6. Alex Bright, 20, Hummer-13.293; 7. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-13.351; 8. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.404; 9. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-13.492; 10. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-13.509; 11. Koby Barksdale, 16K, Knight-13.516; 12. Cole Bodine, 57x, DCT-13.519; 13. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-13.631; 14. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.856; 15. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.866; 16. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.141; 17. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-14.180; 18. Jack James, 99, James-14.262; 19. Ted Kirkpatrick, 63LK, Sturgeon-14.267; 20. Brandon Long, 12, Ballou-14.371; 21. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-14.717.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.102; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.122; 3. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-13.187; 4. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-13.200; 5. Scotty Weir, 4p, Pedersen-13.246; 6. Emerson Axsom, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-13.356; 7. Stevie Sussex, 77, Wingo-13.468; 8. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.486; 9. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.493; 10. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.504; 11. Mario Clouser, 6, EZR-13.532; 12. Brent Beauchamp, 29, LB-13.544; 13. Chase Johnson, 22, Goodnight-13.563; 14. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-13.778; 15. Max Adams, 57, Hazen-13.856; 16. Tye Mihocko, 2E, Epperson-13.908; 17. Ryan Thomas, 77FR, Wingo-14.003; 18. Steven Drevicki, 19s, DeGre-14.517; 19. Brayden Clark, 42, Jackson/Clark-14.719; 20. David Hair, 44, Hair-14.773.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Max Guilford, 6. Koby Barksdale, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Zack Pretorius, 9. Anthony D'Alessio, 10. Ryan Barr, 11. Ted Kirkpatrick.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Cole Bodine, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Matt Westfall, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Alex Bright, 6. Brandon Long, 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Jack James, 9. Brandon Mattox, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Max Adams, 3. Mario Clouser, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Scotty Weir, 6. Stevie Sussex, 7. Jake Swanson, 8. Chase Johnson, 9. Ryan Thomas, 10. Brayden Clark.
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Jason McDougal, 6. Brent Beauchamp, 7. Steven Drevicki, 8. Tye Mihocko, 9. Thomas Meseraull, 10. David Hair.
THE FROLIC BAR & GRILL C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Ryan Thomas, 2. Anthony D'Alessio, 3. Tye Mihocko, 4. Steven Drevicki, 5. Jack James, 6. David Hair, 7. Brayden Clark, 8. Ryan Barr, 9. Ted Kirkpatrick, 10. Brandon Long. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Scotty Weir, 4. Alex Bright, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Chase Johnson, 7. Koby Barksdale, 8. Max Guilford, 9. Sterling Cling, 10. Brandon Mattox, 11. Matt Goodnight, 12. Jason McDougal, 13. Tye Mihocko, 14. Brent Beauchamp, 15. Anthony D'Alessio, 16. Steven Drevicki, 17. Ryan Thomas, 18. Zack Pretorius. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 2. Logan Seavey (6), 3. Brady Bacon (7), 4. Justin Grant (4), 5. C.J. Leary (8), 6. Tanner Thorson (5), 7. Jake Swanson (11), 8. Shane Cottle (12), 9. Chris Windom (9), 10. Chase Stockon (18), 11. Cole Bodine (10), 12. Kyle Cummins (19), 13. Jadon Rogers (2), 14. Matt Westfall (1), 15. Stevie Sussex (17), 16. Thomas Meseraull (16), 17. Emerson Axsom (15), 18. Scotty Weir (13), 19. Mario Clouser (20), 20. Max Adams (22), 21. Alex Bright (14), 22. Chase Johnson (21), 23. Brandon Long (23-P). NT
(P) represents a provisional starter
**Eddie Tafoya flipped during the second heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 Justin Grant, Laps 11-25 Logan Seavey, Laps 26-30 Kevin Thomas Jr.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-2024, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1977, 3-Justin Grant-1964, 4-C.J. Leary-1801, 5-Tanner Thorson-1754, 6-Chris Windom-1698, 7-Jake Swanson-1647, 8-Robert Ballou-1618, 9-Chase Stockon-1283, 10-Kyle Cummins-1126.
SMACKDOWN X POINTS: (Top-8 Locked Into Saturday Night Feature) 1-Justin Grant-678, 2-Logan Seavey-659, 3-C.J. Leary-659, 4-Tanner Thorson-658, 5-Brady Bacon-654, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-646, 7-Chris Windom-641, 8-Kyle Cummins-627.
SMACKDOWN X PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Cole Bodine-23, 2. Steven Drevicki-16, 3-Max Adams-14, 4-Brady Bacon-12, 5-Logan Seavey-12, 6-Shane Cottle-12, 7-Chase Stockon-12, 8-Kyle Cummins-10, 9-Jake Swanson-10, 10-Justin Grant-9.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-136, 2-Brady Bacon-128, 3-Justin Grant-121, 4-Tanner Thorson-118, 5-Robert Ballou-109, 6-Thomas Meseraull-103, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-101, 8-Logan Seavey-100, 9-Kyle Cummins-79, 10-Buddy Kofoid-71.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 28, 2021 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown X
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Chase Johnson
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: C.J. Leary
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Cole Bodine
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Brady Bacon
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jake Swanson
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Chase Stockon (18th to 10th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Jadon Rogers
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Koby Barksdale
ProSource Hard Work Winner: Max Adams
GRANT'S LATE FLURRY NETS FRIDAY
SMACKDOWN WIN AT KOKOMO
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media\
Kokomo, Indiana (August 27, 2021)………Justin Grant had kind of won everything in the record book as far as USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway goes.
In 2018, the Ione, California native won the 40-lap Sprint Car Smackdown finale, just after he had been victorious in the three-lap King of the Hill championship round. Just one month ago, Grant added an 18-lap, rain-shortened feature win to his Kokomo USAC resume.
One thing that was missing – a standard 30-lap USAC feature at Kokomo.
That item was finally crossed off the list during Friday night's Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown X opener at the quarter-mile dirt oval in a 30-lap feature that was anything but standard.
After setting Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifying time earlier in the evening, Grant charged his way through the field, engaging in a no holds barred duel which witnessed he and Kyle Cummins repeatedly swapping the lead for three laps straight until Grant took over for good and secured his series-leading sixth victory of the season in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
The triumph was the 27th of Grant's USAC National Sprint Car career, moving him ahead of Tony Elliott and Dave Steele for sole possession of 21st all-time in the series record book.
As opposed to July's abbreviated finish that was not all that unwelcome in Grant's pursuit of victory, in Friday night's showdown, Grant needed virtually every lap offered, and every ounce of racing acumen he could muster, to get the job done.
"We needed that one to go to the end, for sure," Grant said with a grin. "Man, tonight was like prime Kokomo. Just pound the fence and try not to make mistakes. I just kept working, trying to figure out how to get off four. Early in the race, I couldn't get off four very good, so I kept working, kept working, and we finally got to where we could."
Pole sitter C.J. Leary opened up the festivities by possessing the lead in the early going, but quickly, a challenge was put forth by the driver who had swept both Smackdown prelims one year earlier, Kyle Cummins. Blasting from his fourth starting position, Cummins dug in and surged past Leary off turn four to nip Leary by a wheel at the line at the completion of lap three.
Moments later, ninth-running Brady Bacon was stopped in turn four following a tangle. With the lap completed and scored, Cummins assumed his role as the new race leader. However, at Kokomo, many times it seems the leader is not in total and outright control and, more like, under constant attack.
Following the yellow, Tanner Thorson was rolling, zipping by Leary for second at the exit of turn four on the fifth lap. A little blip above the turn three cushion for Cummins on lap nine allowed the gap between he and Thorson to shrink, and put Thorson, a 2020 Kokomo USAC National Midget winner, in prime position to throttle past Cummins at the exit of turn four on lap 12, pointing his front wheels to the sky as he took ownership of the number one spot.
Entering the second half of the affair meant entering the back half of the field as Thorson and Cummins became engulfed in a high-speed game of warfare. With cars stacked two and three-wide, Thorson had to choose the right door, switching high and low when needed until he and Cummins nearly got caught up in Stevie Sussex's collision with the turn one wall. All narrowly avoided catastrophe, except for 17th running Sussex, who saw an early dismissal from the race with heavy damage to his machine.
For better or worse, that provided a wide open space for the leaders to maneuver in front of them without the aid, or disruption, of traffic down the stretch. As it turned out, the advantage went to Cummins who glided the cushion crisply on lap 22 between turns one and two, which rocketed him around Thorson and into the lead with just eight laps remaining.
One lap later, big trouble hit Wednesday's Bob Darland Memorial Kokomo winner Robert Ballou, who snap-rolled with force into the turn one catchfence. Ballou had been running fifth at the time but was eliminated from the competition with a 22nd place result. Ballou was uninjured.
Grant was in hot pursuit of Thorson just prior to the yellow as he followed Cummins' path on the top side while Thorson worked the bottom around the infield tires. On the 25th lap, Thorson made a bid to get back to the top in turn four but washed up the track just enough to open an alley underneath for Grant to slide through and into the second position.
Thomas Meseraull, running 19th, slowed and stopped on the back straightway on lap 27 to bring out the yellow and reset the itinerary once again for a four-lap shootout. Second-running Grant fired the first shot, sliding past Cummins in turn one. Cummins crossed back under Grant, forcing Grant to reload and try once more in turn three. Cummins retaliated with another cross over in response, beating Grant to the stripe by inches.
Now, it was Cummins' turn to be the slider and Grant the slidee on lap 28 with Cummins successful in his endeavor. Grant turned back and slid Cummins into the third turn. Cummins cranked the wheel, got the car turned down hill and beat Grant to the line to complete lap 28 a car length ahead. Grant took the bull by the horns and made the next one stick in turn one as he forced Cummins to 'whoa up' as he drifted up in front of Cummins' front bumper, causing him to lose precious momentum.
"On the restart there, Kyle got kind of tight and lost the nose," Grant recalled. "I slid him into one and I felt like I could wear him down on the cushion and at least break his momentum, and we were able to. Fortunately, nobody rolled by us while we were racing each other. That was a heck of a lot of fun. I sure had a heck of a good time too."
Grant instantly took off and it was "curtains" from there. Cummins got all four wheels above the cushion in turns three and four on his way to take the white flag, which cost him even more time, and gave an opening for Chris Windom to sneak by on the bottom of turn four for second after starting 10th.
The victory went to Grant with Windom taking second, Cummins third, Leary fourth and Thorson rounding out the top-five.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) collected KSE Racing Products/Irvin King Hard Charger honors after starting 10th and clawing all the way up to a runner-up finish where he made a run at the win during the final laps of the feature aboard his Hayward Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Byrd – B & H Contractors – AMSOIL/DRC/Claxton Mopar.
"It feels good coming from 10th there to run second," Windom acknowledged. "I knew Justin was going to be running the top and I knew he'd be sliding Kyle there. I thought maybe we could sneak one out on the bottom as they were sliding each other back-and-forth. I just lost a little bit of time at the end, but we made it close."
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) led a race-high 16 laps and came up just two laps short of reeling off a third-straight Smackdown prelim feature win dating back to 2020. However, Cummins did continue his impressive streak of consecutive top-three finishes during Smackdown, which now stands at five, after finishing third in his Rock Steady Racing/Mid-America Safety Solutions – Project Oversight/Mach-1/Cummins Chevy.
"On the restart, I got a little bit of a push and just kind of let Justin play the slider game," Cummins explained. "We kept going back-and-forth, back-and-forth. Going into one and two, right at the end, I was going to stay in it, but I decided to let off and it didn't let me turn down good enough to get a good run down the back stretch. I wish I could've had another shot at him because he could've played the 'let off' game. But it's fine. It's just racing."
Meanwhile, Grant's 28th career Fast Qualifying time with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars moved him past Dave Steele and into a tie with Chase Stockon for 14th in series history.
==========================================
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 27, 2021 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown X
FLIGHT ONE FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.579; 2. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-12.789; 3. Brent Beauchamp, 29, LB-12.805; 4. Stevie Sussex, 77, Wingo-12.844; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.882; 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-12.985; 7. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.001; 8. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.030; 9. Alex Bright, 20, Hummer-13.093; 10. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.124; 11. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-13.165; 12. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.210; 13. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-13.233; 14. Andrew Prather, P8, Prather-13.345; 15. Koby Barksdale, 16K, Knight-13.370; 16. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-13.402; 17. Tye Mihocko, 2E, Epperson-13.425; 18. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.462; 19. Cole Bodine, 57x, DCT-13.598; 20. Danny Faria Jr., 17GP, Dutcher-13.618; 21. Tyler Hewitt, 97, Hewitt-13.948; 22. Parker Frederickson, 34F, Frederickson-14.040; 23. Jack James, 99, James-14.536.
FLIGHT TWO FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.668; 2. Emerson Axsom, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-12.766; 3. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-12.811; 4. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-12.822; 5. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-12.853; 6. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-12.883; 7. Mario Clouser, 6, EZR-12.991; 8. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.019; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.187; 10. Scotty Weir, 4p, Pedersen-13.193; 11. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-13.216; 12. Ryan Thomas, 77FR, Wingo-13.224; 13. Chase Johnson, 22, Goodnight-13.324; 14. Max Adams, 57, Hazen-13.396; 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-13.504; 16. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-13.576; 17. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-13.599; 18. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-13.646; 19. Brayden Clark, 42, Jackson/Clark-13.708; 20. Brandon Long, 02, Long-13.791; 21. Steven Drevicki, 19s, DeGre-13.992; 22. Ted Kirkpatrick, 63LK, Sturgeon-14.947; 23. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Brent Beauchamp, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Cole Bodine, 7. Tye Mihocko, 8. Matt Goodnight, 9. Koby Barksdale, 10. Jack James, 11. Tyler Hewitt, 12. Alex Bright. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Stevie Sussex, 7. Andrew Prather, 8. Zack Pretorius, 9. Parker Frederickson, 10. Braydon Cromwell, 11. Danny Faria Jr. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Jason McDougal, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Mario Clouser, 7. Chase Johnson, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 9. Max Guilford, 10. Steven Drevicki, 11. Brayden Clark. 2:14.81
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Matt Westfall, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Max Adams, 6. Scotty Weir, 7. Ryan Thomas, 8. Ted Kirkpatrick, 9. Anthony D'Alessio, 10. Sterling Cling, 11. Brandon Long. NT
THE FROLIC BAR & GRILL C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Cole Bodine, 2. Tye Mihocko, 3. Max Guilford, 4. Steven Drevicki, 5. Brayden Clark, 6. Zack Pretorius, 7. Ted Kirkpatrick, 8. Jack James, 9. Tyler Hewitt, 10. Parker Frederickson. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Stevie Sussex, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Mario Clouser, 5. Alex Bright, 6. Cole Bodine, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Max Adams, 9. Ryan Thomas, 10. Andrew Prather, 11. Steven Drevicki, 12. Matt Goodnight, 13. Tye Mihocko, 14. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 15. Max Guilford, 16. Koby Barksdale, 17. Brandon Mattox, 18. Chase Johnson. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (6), 2. Chris Windom (10), 3. Kyle Cummins (4), 4. C.J. Leary (1), 5. Tanner Thorson (5), 6. Brady Bacon (11), 7. Logan Seavey (12), 8. Shane Cottle (14), 9. Jadon Rogers (16), 10. Matt Westfall (7), 11. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 12. Jake Swanson (18), 13. Emerson Axsom (3), 14. Chase Stockon (17), 15. Cole Bodine (23), 16. Mario Clouser (20), 17. Alex Bright (22), 18. Brent Beauchamp (2), 19. Steven Drevicki (21-P), 20. Jason McDougal (19), 21. Thomas Meseraull (9), 22. Robert Ballou (8), 23. Stevie Sussex (15). NT
(P) represents a provisional starter
**Danny Faria Jr. flipped during the second heat. Brandon Mattox & Chase flipped during the semi. Robert Ballou flipped on lap 23 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 C.J. Leary, Laps 3-11 Kyle Cummins, Laps 12-21 Tanner Thorson, Laps 22-28 Kyle Cummins, Laps 29-30 Justin Grant.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1952, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1900, 3-Justin Grant-1895, 4-C.J. Leary-1735, 5-Tanner Thorson-1689, 6-Chris Windom-1644, 7-Robert Ballou-1618, 8-Jake Swanson-1587, 9-Chase Stockon-1233, 10-Kyle Cummins-1080.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-136, 2-Brady Bacon-124, 3-Justin Grant-121, 4-Tanner Thorson-118, 5-Robert Ballou-109, 6-Thomas Meseraull-103, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-99, 8-Logan Seavey-96, 9-Kyle Cummins-72, 10-Buddy Kofoid-71.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: August 28, 2021 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown X
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Cole Bodine
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Matt Westfall
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Shane Cottle
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Chris Windom (10th to 2nd)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Emerson Axsom
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Scotty Weir
ProSource Hard Work Winner: Cole Bodine
COCKRUM RIDES MOMENTUM INTO Du QUOIN SEPT. 4
By: Jay Hardin – Track Enterprises Staff
Du Quoin, Illinois (August 27, 2021) Shane Cockrum of Benton, Illinois rocked the 68-year-old grandstand at the Du Quoin State Fair when he won the 2014 Ted Horn 100 USAC Silver Crown championship event.
A second trip into the infield lake in celebration of a back to back win in 2015 shook the grandstand rafters even more.
The Franklin County Fire Chief and second generation race driver heads to Du Quoin on Saturday night, September 4, with momentum on his side in search of a third win in the Labor Day Weekend classic.
Cockrum rolls into southern Illinois coal country with a brand new race car and race team for 2021. Longtime owner Dave Hardy retired after the 2019 campaign and Cockrum was able to pick up a ride last year with Five Three Motorsports. This year, a new Maxim chassis and a new yellow, red and black paint scheme carried Cockrum and BLS Motorsports to a win at Williams Grove.
Cockrum and several others went to the back of the field in Springfield's Bettenhausen 100 on August 21 after a tire change. Much like eventual Bettenhausen winner, Cockrum bided his time coming through the field and was running a very strong third before the rain came on lap 76.
The BLS team set out to run a limited schedule in 2021 appearing only at the Silver Crown series dirt events. Unfortunately, two of the dirt events were lost – the Sumar Classic at Terre Haute due to rain and the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds due to the track's closure.
However, Cockrum qualified seventh at Williams Grove and led the last 28 laps for his fourth series win. At Eldora in June, Cockrum qualified 21st and finished 12th at the end of 50 laps. Cockrum finished fourth at Selinsgrove after starting seventh. At Springfield, the team qualified 11th but started 25th after the tire change. As a result, Cockrum finds himself 10th in the 2021 point standings while running a limited schedule.
The son of Midwest racing legend Cliff Cockrum, much was expected of Shane when he began his racing career. He was a popular figure at local race tracks and gained experience on the Du Quoin mile racing in the Oldani Memorial modified event. Two years after making his first championship car start, he got to the front of the field during the 2013 Horn 100 only to run shy on fuel. It was a mistake that would be repeated again.
Shane led 41 miles in 2014 and backed off at the end of the Horn 100 to save fuel reaching the finish line first. In 2015, he led 33 circuits and took home his second Du Quoin trophy. Fifth, second and third Horn 100 finishes followed before a mechanical issue forced him to miss the show in 2019. COVID prevented the 2020 Horn 100 from being contested.
Shane Cockrum can join Tony Bettenhausen, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Gary Bettenhausen, Jack Hewitt and Chuck Gurney as drivers with at least three championship car wins on the Du Quoin Magic Mile.
Practice for the USAC Silver Crown championship cars begins Saturday, September 4, at 5 p.m. Central with qualifying slated at 6:30 and the Ted Horn 100 at 8:15 p.m. 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.
SMACKDOWN OPENER RAINED OUT,
ON AS SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY,
DOUBLE EVENTS ON SATURDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana (August 26, 2021)………Thursday night's Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown X opener at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway was rained out after persistent showers doused the surface just prior to hot laps for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship.
Smackdown will continue as scheduled on Friday night, August 27, with hot laps beginning at 6:30pm Eastern.
On Saturday, August 28, the Smackdown program will begin with hot laps at 3pm Eastern and the first full program to follow immediately thereafter with qualifying, heats, last chance races and feature events.
Once the first program on Saturday is completed, a 90-minute break will follow with Smackdown's "finale" being run as scheduled on Saturday night.
If you purchased Smackdown wristbands for Thursday's race through TracPass, please hold onto them. The wristbands will be good to use for admission at Kokomo on Friday or the first program on Saturday during Smackdown. Thursday's wristbands are not valid for use to gain admission during Saturday night's program.
On Friday at Kokomo, the pits open at 3pm Eastern, grandstands open at 3pm, driver's meeting at 6pm and hot laps at 6:30pm, with qualifying and racing immediately following. For new ticket buyers, general admission tickets are $30 and kids 12 and under are free.
On Saturday at Kokomo, general admission tickets are $35, kids 12 and under are free. USAC Midwest Regional Midgets will also be on hand.
Reserved seating, three-day passes can be purchased on race night for $95.
All events during Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
3 NIGHTS OF USAC SPRINT CAR BLISS: SMACKDOWN X AT KOKOMO AUG. 26-27-28
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana (August 25, 2021)………One night at Kokomo Speedway with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship is enticing, enthralling and spectacular.
Once you multiple that by three, and add nearly 50 cars to the mix, you've got Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown X, my friend. The anticipation grows with each night, reaching a fever pitch for the finale with each feature starting driver strutting out to their theme song and the sound of the filled-to-the-gills grandstands.
Then, it's time to strap in, tighten the belts, pull the visor down and go 40 laps for $15,000-to-win and $1,500-to-start. There's nothing quite like it, and we're ready to experience it once again this week, August 26-27-28.
The feature events during the first two nights of Smackdown on Thursday and Friday are 30 laps in length, and will pay points toward determining Saturday's lineups, with B & W Auto Mart King of the Hill's one-on-one event using a bracket to determine the top-eight positions for the feature event, with the winner of all three rounds securing the pole.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) captured the Smackdown finale victory in 2018, which stood as the 2017 and 2019 track champion's lone USAC National Sprint Car feature win at Kokomo until this past July when he won a rain-shortened Indiana Sprint Week round. The reigning USAC Silver Crown champ also scored the King of the Hill title in 2018.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) took Smackdown top honors on the final night of the 2016 edition. The 2016 Kokomo track champion has collected a total of three USAC National Sprint Car wins at the quarter-mile dirt oval, once in 2013 and twice during Smackdown in 2016.
Seven drivers in this year's Smackdown field have won a prelim feature but are still shooting for that coveted win on the final night.
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) earned his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph at Kokomo in 2016 during Indiana Sprint Week, then punched in two more in 2020 by becoming the first driver in Smackdown history to sweep both prelims. He has finished as the runner-up in each of the two past Smackdown finales in 2019 and 2020.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) won not only his first Kokomo feature, but also earned his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory to boot on the second prelim night of Smackdown in 2019. The 2018 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion took 5th on the final night of Smackdown a night later for his best result in the event thus far.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) has won three USAC National Sprint Car races at Kokomo. Meseraull reigned victorious during the 2019 Smackdown opener after winning the Indiana Sprint Week round there in the two prior years of 2017 and 2018. However, his best final night Smackdown result thus far is an 8th during the most recent edition in 2020.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) is a past Kokomo track champion in 2015 and has three career USAC National Sprint wins at the track, including the first of his career back in 2016 during a Smackdown prelim and once again during a prelim in 2017 in addition to an Indiana Sprint Week round in 2020. The 2019 USAC National Sprint Car champ has finished inside the top-ten in each of his last six Smackdown final night starts, including 3rd in each of the last three in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) won the second night prelim of Smackdown in 2015. The 2020 Indiana Sprint Week champion was the runner-up on the final night of Smackdown that same weekend in 2015 and was 3rd in 2013.
Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) captured the 2015 Smackdown opener during his USAC National Sprint Car championship season. His best Smackdown final night finish came in 2014 when he collected a 2nd.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), a three-time USAC National Sprint Car winner at Kokomo, scored two of those during Smackdown prelim nights in 2012 and 2015. The 2010 and 2018 Kokomo track champ has earned Smackdown final night bests of 3rd in 2016 and 4th in both 2013 and 2015.
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has been all around the top-five in his Smackdown career, finishing inside the top-five four times on the final night of the event in his career. He earned a best of 4th in 2014 and 2020, and a pair of 5ths in both 2012 and 2018. However, the three-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ in 2014, 2016 & 2020 has won three career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget events at Kokomo, including the first of his career as a 16-year-old all the way back in 2006. Bacon, the 2020 Kokomo track champ, is the only three-time champion of Smackdown's King of the Hill in 2014-15-20.
USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget standouts Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) and Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) have each won midget races at Kokomo in their careers. Thorson, the leading AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie, and Axsom, will make their Smackdown debuts.
Joining in the fray are a slew of Smackdown veterans eying their first Kokomo USAC National Sprint Car wins, including Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.), the four-time track champ in 2004-05-07-11, who has won with the series this year at Putnamville, Ind. and possesses Smackdown final night finishes of 2nd in 2013 and 7th place results in both 2012 and 2014.
Eying his first Kokomo USAC National Sprint Car win is Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.), the four-time track champ in 2004-05-07-11 and possesses a best Smackdown final night finish of 2nd in 2013. Scotty Weir (Marion, Ind.), like Cottle, is a USAC National Sprint Car feature winner, but is looking for that breakthrough at Kokomo, where he captured track titles in 2008 and 2012.
Smackdown returnees include USAC National Sprint Car feature winners Jason McDougal and Brent Beauchamp. McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was the top Rookie in 2018, finishing 4th, while Beauchamp (Fairland, Ind.) was 18th back in 2016. They join Loomis, California's Max Adams (14th in 2019) and Marion, Indiana's Tyler Hewitt (15th in 2017), who holds Kokomo's 8-lap track record of 1:49.60 set in 2013.
Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) was 17th at Smackdown on the final night in 2017; 2020 USAC National Most Improved Driver Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.) was 17th in 2020; 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) was 18th in 2020; 2019 USAC/CRA Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, Calif.) was 19th in 2020; 2017 USAC West Coast Sprint Car champ Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) was 21st in 2020.
All trying to make their first Smackdown feature lineup are Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), who is a one-time USAC National Sprint Car feature winner and also won the BOSS portion of 2019 Smackdown and won again on the local level in 2020. He's joined by a group of invaders from both coasts: 2013 & 2015 USAC West Coast Sprint Car champion Danny Faria Jr. (Tipton, Calif.), three-time USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion Steven Drevicki (Reading, Pa.) and current USAC East Coast point leader Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.).
First-time Smackdown hopefuls aiming to start their first Smackdown feature this week are 2017 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Stevie Sussex (Mesa, Ariz.) and multi-time USAC western series winner Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.), as well as Anthony D'Alessio (Apollo Beach, Fla.), Brandon Long (Wichita Falls, Texas), Tye Mihocko (Phoenix, Ariz.), Braydon Cromwell (Lone Jack, Mo.), Alex Banales (Lafayette, Ind.), Zack Pretorius (Yorktown, Ind.), Koby Barksdale (Norman, Okla.), Sterling Cling (Tempe, Ariz.), Parker Frederickson (Kokomo, Ind.), Matt Goodnight (Winchester, Ind.), Brayden Clark (Tipton, Ind.), David Hair (Indianapolis, Ind.), Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.), Steve Irwin (Fenton, Mich.), Ted Kirkpatrick (Waterloo, Ill.), Max Guilford (Auckland, N.Z.) and Jack James (Harlan, Ind.).
Sixty-eight previous USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car events have been held at Kokomo Speedway since 1981. Twenty-seven of the 68 events have been held during Sprint Car Smackdown, which debuted in 2012. Past final night winners of Sprint Car Smackdown include Bryan Clauson (2012), Dave Darland (2013-14-15), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (2016), Tyler Courtney (2017-19-20) and Justin Grant (2018).
On Thursday and Friday at Kokomo, the pits open at 3pm Eastern, grandstands open at 3pm, driver's meeting at 6pm and hot laps at 6:30pm, with qualifying and racing immediately following. General admission tickets are $30, kids 12 and under are free.
On Saturday at Kokomo, the pits open at 3pm Eastern, grandstands open at 3pm, driver's meeting at 5:30pm and hot laps at 6pm, with racing immediately following. General admission tickets are $35, kids 12 and under are free. USAC Midwest Regional Midgets will also be on hand.
Reserved seating, three-day passes can be purchased on race night for $95.
All three nights of Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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EXPECTED SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN ENTRIES:
01 ANTHONY D'ALESSIO/Apollo Beach, FL (D'Alessio Motorsports)
02 BRANDON LONG/Wichita Falls, TX (Brandon Long)
2 THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (Yeley Racing)
2E TYE MIHOCKO/Phoenix, AZ (Epperson Racing)
3R KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Rock Steady Racing)
4 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (TOPP Motorsports)
4p SCOTTY WEIR/Marion, IN (Scott Pedersen)
4x BRAYDON CROMWELL/Lone Jack, MO (Mike Cromwell)
5 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Baldwin-Fox Racing)
5m JASON MCDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (KO Motorsports)
5s CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (KO Motorsports)
5x ALEX BANALES/Lafayette, IN (Baldwin-Fox Racing)
6 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Eberhardt-Zirzow Racing)
9K KEVIN THOMAS, JR./Cullman, AL (KT Motorsports)
9z ZACK PRETORIUS/Yorktown, IN (Jeff Pretorius)
12 ROBERT BALLOU/Rocklin, CA (Ballou Motorsports)
14 JADON ROGERS/Worthington, IN (Kyle Rogers)
16K KOBY BARKSDALE/Norman, OK (Knight Racing)
17GP DANNY FARIA JR./Tipton, CA (Dutcher Motorsports)
19 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Hayward Motorsports)
19AZ TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19s STEVEN DREVICKI/Reading, PA (DeGre Motorsports)
20 ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Hummer Motorsports)
21AZ JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (Team AZ Racing)
22 CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA (Goodnight Racing)
28 BRANDON MATTOX/Terre Haute, IN (Brandon Mattox Racing)
29 BRENT BEAUCHAMP/Fairland, IN (LB Racing)
33m MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Ray Marshall Motorsports)
34 STERLING CLING/Tempe, AZ (Sterling Cling Racing)
34x PARKER FREDRICKSON/Kokomo, IN (Frederickson Racing)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
39BC EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing)
42 BRAYDEN CLARK/Tipton, IN (Roy Jackson & Mark Clark)
44 DAVID HAIR/Indianapolis, IN (David Hair)
51T EDDIE TAFOYA JR./Chino Hills, CA (Eddie Tafoya Sr.)
57 MAX ADAMS/Loomis, CA (Paul Hazen)
57x COLE BODINE/Rossville, IN (DCT Operation)
61 STEVE IRWIN/Fenton, MI (Don Smith)
63LK TED KIRKPATRICK/Waterloo, IL (Tyler Sturgeon Racing)
69 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Dynamics, Inc.)
74x SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Hodges Motorsports)
77m C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Michael Motorsports)
77s STEVIE SUSSEX/Mesa, AZ (Tyler Sturgeon Racing)
79BT MAX GUILFORD/Auckland, NZ (Goodnight Racing)
97 TYLER HEWITT/Marion, IN (Tyler Hewitt)
99 JACK JAMES/Harlan, IN (Jack James)
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1891, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1852, 3-Justin Grant-1814, 4-C.J. Leary-1667, 5-Tanner Thorson-1619, 6-Robert Ballou-1587, 7-Chris Windom-1569, 8-Jake Swanson-1542, 9-Chase Stockon-1196, 10-Kyle Cummins-1008.
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)
SMACKDOWN KING OF THE HILL WINNERS:
2012: Tracy Hines
2013: Chase Stockon
2014: Brady Bacon
2015: Brady Bacon
2016: Tyler Courtney
2017: Kevin Thomas Jr.
2018: Justin Grant
2019: Tyler Courtney
2020: Brady Bacon
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT KOKOMO SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 7/12/2014 - Dave Darland - 12.405 - 72.551 mph
3 Laps - 8/29/2020 - C.J. Leary - 40.950 - 65.934 mph
6 Laps - 7/23/2003 - Mike Spencer - 1:32.52 - 58.366 mph
8 Laps - 7/13/2013 - Tyler Hewitt - 1:49.60 - 65.693 mph
10 Laps - 8/26/2017 - Chris Windom - 2:10.23 - 69.109 mph
12 Laps - 8/22/2014 - Dave Darland - 2:41.06 - 67.056 mph
15 Laps - 8/27/2016 - Tyler Thomas - 3:28.93 - 64.615 mph
30 Laps - 8/23/2019 - Logan Seavey - 6:48.92 - 66.028 mph
KOKOMO SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS:
9-Dave Darland
8-Tony Elliott
6-Tyler Courtney
4-Bryan Clauson
3-C.J. Leary, Chris Windom, Jack Hewitt, Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Thomas Jr. Kyle Cummins & Thomas Meseraull
2-Justin Grant
1-Brad Marvel, Bud Kaeding, Chad Boat, Chase Stockon, Cory Kruseman, Dean Shirley, Hunter Schuerenberg, J.J. Yeley, Jay Drake, Kelly Kinser, Kevin Thomas, Levi Jones, Logan Seavey, Rich Vogler, Robert Ballou, Russ Gamester, Tom Bigelow & Tyler Thomas
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)
PAST SPRINT CAR SMACKDOWN FINAL NIGHT FEATURE RESULTS:
2012 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Dave Darland, 5. Kyle Larson, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Hunter Schuerenberg, 10. Thomas Meseraull, 11. Jonathan Hendrick, 12. Casey Shuman, 13. Scotty Weir, 14. Damion Gardner, 15. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 17. Chase Briscoe, 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Robert Ballou, 20. Chad Boespflug, 21. Coleman Gulick, 22. Brent Beauchamp, 23. Blake Fitzpatrick, 24. Chase Stockon. NT
2013 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Tracy Hines, 10. Tyler Courtney, 11. Casey Shuman, 12. Robert Ballou, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Gary Taylor, 15. Wes McIntyre, 16. Daron Clayton, 17. Kyle Robbins, 18. Chris Gurley, 19. Braylon Fitzpatrick, 20. Thomas Meseraull, 21. Logan Jarrett, 22. Chad Boespflug. NT
2014 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9. Chase Stockon, 10. Kyle Cummins, 11. Logan Jarrett, 12. Chad Boespflug, 13. Brady Short, 14. Tracy Hines, 15. Max McGhee, 16. Josh Spencer, 17. Brian Karraker, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Casey Shuman, 20. Landon Simon, 21. Jerry Coons Jr., 22. Tyler Courtney, 23. Chris Windom. NT
2015 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Justin Grant, 8. Brady Short, 9. C.J. Leary, 10. Tracy Hines, 11. Shane Cottle, 12. Chad Boespflug, 13. Ryan Bernal, 14. Brady Bacon, 15. Robert Ballou, 16. Tyler Courtney, 17. Scotty Weir, 18. Jerry Coons Jr., 19. Max McGhee, 20. Thomas Meseraull, 21. Hunter Schuerenberg, 22. Kyle Robbins. NT
2016 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Chad Boespflug, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Kyle Cummins, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Tyler Courtney, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. C.J. Leary, 10. Tyler Thomas, 11. Shane Cottle, 12. Jon Stanbrough, 13. Logan Jarrett, 14. Robert Ballou, 15. Aaron Farney, 16. Chase Stockon, 17. Jarett Andretti, 18. Brent Beauchamp, 19. Kyle Robbins, 20. Colten Cottle, 21. Zach Daum, 22. Thomas Meseraull. NT
2017 FEATURE: (43 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Tyler Thomas, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Scotty Weir, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Justin Grant, 7. C.J. Leary, 8. Jarett Andretti, 9. Chad Boespflug, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Hunter Schuerenberg, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. Kody Swanson, 14. Josh Hodges, 15. Tyler Hewitt, 16. Kyle Cummins, 17. Mario Clouser, 18. Chris Windom, 19. Kevin Thomas Jr., 20. Brady Bacon, 21. Isaac Chapple, 22. Shane Cottle. NT
2018 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. Tyler Courtney (5), 3. C.J. Leary (10), 4. Jason McDougal (4), 5. Brady Bacon (6), 6. Chris Windom (8), 7. Dave Darland (2), 8. Tyler Thomas (3), 9. Chase Stockon (12), 10. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7), 11. Jarett Andretti (14), 12. Dakota Jackson (15), 13. Logan Seavey (9), 14. Kyle Cummins (11), 15. Scotty Weir (13), 16. Carson Short (17), 17. Isaac Chapple (18), 18. Clinton Boyles (16), 19. Tyler Hewitt (20), 20. Corey Smith (23), 21. Brian VanMeveren (21), 22. Shane Cottle (22), 23. Landon Simon (19). NT
2019 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (1), 2. Kyle Cummins (4), 3. C.J. Leary (2), 4. Justin Grant (5), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (8), 7. Brady Bacon (9), 8. Chris Windom (18), 9. Jason McDougal (10), 10. Chase Stockon (6), 11. Hunter Schuerenberg (11), 12. Scotty Weir (13), 13. Josh Hodges (22), 14. Max Adams (23), 15. Isaac Chapple (20), 16. Dustin Smith (14), 17. Corey Smith (21), 18. Carson Short (12), 19. Timmy Buckwalter (16), 20. Dave Darland (15), 21. Thomas Meseraull (#41w RNS) (3), 22. Cole Ketcham (19), 23. Landon Simon (17). NT
2020 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. Kyle Cummins (5), 3. C.J. Leary (2), 4. Brady Bacon (1), 5. Buddy Kofoid (3), 6. Chris Windom (8), 7. Logan Seavey (10), 8. Thomas Meseraull (4), 9. Chase Stockon (7), 10. Shane Cottle (17), 11. Tyler Thomas (18), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (12), 13. Dave Darland (11), 14. Robert Ballou (9), 15. Dakota Jackson (21), 16. Charles Davis Jr. (14), 17. Brandon Mattox (20), 18. Jadon Rogers (23), 19. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (22), 20. Clinton Boyles (13), 21. Jake Swanson (16), 22. Justin Grant (15), 23. Carson Short (19). NT
$5,000-TO-WIN FOR USAC MIDGETS'
ANGELL PARK RETURN ON SEPT. 5
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (August 23, 2021)………USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing returns to the famed Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on Sunday night, September 5, for the Firemen's Nationals, which will feature an increased payout with $5,000
going to the winner of the event.
In fact, it's an increase in payout throughout the entire field, from top-to-bottom, and is among the trend of increased payouts that has become the norm throughout the 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget season. The full Angell Park purse can be seen below.
Twenty-one of the 24 events run thus far in 2021 have featured a minimum increase of $1,000 at the top.
It's been six years since USAC National Midget racing last made a visit to Angell Park, a thriller won by Rico Abreu on the final corner on the last lap in the summer of 2015.
The 1/3-mile dirt oval has hosted 46 previous USAC National Midget events since Larry Rice's victory in 1970 and can count many of the greatest individuals in the history of the sport among those who've won there, a list which includes 16 USAC National champions: Abreu, Rice, Bryan Clauson, Kevin Olson, Brad Kuhn, Christopher Bell, Bobby Olivero, Jeff Gordon, Jerry Coons Jr., Josh Wise, Levi Jones, Pancho Carter, Rich Vogler, Stevie Reeves, Tom Bigelow and Tracy Hines.
Bryan Clauson owns the most USAC National Midget victories at Angell Park with six, while additional multi-time winners include Kevin Olson (5), Brad Kuhn (3), Christopher Bell (3), Larry Rice (2) and Rico Abreu (2).
Angell Park's tradition of racing dates back to the 1930s while the Firemen's Nationals' origins go back to 1982, won by Billy Engelhart.
The event will also feature the Badger Midgets and Wisconsin wingLESS Sprints.
MIDGET FEATURE POINTS/PURSE STRUCTURE:
POS. PURSE
1 $5,000
2 $2,000
3 $1,200
4 $1,000
5 $900
6 $700
7 $600
8 $550
9 $525
10 $500
11 $450
12 $425
13 $400
14 $375
15 $350
16 $325
17 $300
18 $300
19 $300
20 $300
21 $300
22 $300
Non-Transfers: $100
KTJ GOES NON-STOP TO WIN FIRST PARAGON USAC SPRINT RUN IN 23 YEARS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Paragon, Indiana (August 22, 2021)………In what has been a renaissance 2021 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season following a winless 2020 campaign, Kevin Thomas Jr. added one more tally to his ever-growing win list for this year, conquering a Sunday night, caution-free duel between he and Logan Seavey at Indiana's Paragon Speedway.
In the series' return to the 3/8-mile dirt oval following a 23-year absence, Thomas couldn't hardly wait to end his personal absence from victory lane, moving to the lead past Seavey eight laps in, then spending the remaining 23-lap distance trying to simultaneously press through lapped traffic while keeping Seavey behind him.
Thomas' 32nd career USAC National Sprint Car feature win tied him with USAC and National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Rollie Beale for 13th on the all-time win list and provided Thomas with a win in both the final race leading into Indiana Sprint Week in July at Putnamville, Ind. as well as the first race leading out of Indiana Sprint Week Sunday at Paragon.
In fact, Thomas, of Cullman, Ala., is the first driver in more than two decades to capture the Indiana Sprint Week title, then win the first race held afterward. Only Tony Elliott (1999) and Jay Drake (2000) have previously accomplished the feat.
Oh, and wedged between those two victories, he also was crowned as the Indiana Sprint Week king. The Paragon win further demonstrated that Thomas' roll is still ongoing and shows no sign of letting up in the latter half of the year for he and his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
"I'm glad to get the win," Thomas stated. "It's been a long time since we've been to Paragon, and I'm glad we're back. It's a fun little racetrack. It's a good win for us, and coming right after winning Sprint Week, it just carries over momentum-wise."
Pole sitter C.J. Leary initially edged ahead at the start for the first three-quarters of a lap, but off turn four, Seavey muscled his way through on the cushion to reach the point from his outside front row starting position while Thomas followed suit on the topside past Leary exiting the fourth corner to slot into second.
Thomas hovered all over the back bumper of Seavey as the pair crossed the stripe to complete lap eight. Seavey went straight the top through turns one and two while Thomas stuck the middle and surged ahead to take over the race lead at the exit of turn two.
The name of the game for the remaining two-thirds of the race was traffic, and both Thomas and Seavey blasted their way through the back half of the field with precision, Seavey remaining a half second back and desperately trying to reel himself back into contention.
Any single mistake or misstep in negotiating the racetrack itself or another car would prove costly, and twice throughout the middle portion of the race, Seavey got oh-so-close to the back of Thomas but encountered issues atop the tricky curb between turns three and four that cost himself a half-second of ground each time on laps 14, 17 and 24.
Running two distinct lines – Thomas through the middle and Seavey up top – the two worked on the 14th place car of semi-feature winner Koby Barksdale as Seavey closed the gap to two car lengths with three laps remaining. Thomas pulled to the inside of Barksdale exiting turn two as Barksdale hiked the front end and veered right just as Thomas was overtaking him to his left field of vision, leaving nothing but open space in front of the leaders for the final two-lap run to the checkered.
Crossing under the white flag, less than two car lengths separated both Thomas and Seavey. Thomas nailed his path through turns one and two to open up a separation of six car lengths that ultimately proved insurmountable. In turns three and four, Thomas slid through the middle and up to the top to take away Seavey's line at the exit of turn four to be greeted by twin checkers for the fifth time during this season with the series.
Thomas' 0.375 second margin of victory at the finish line put him ahead of Seavey, Kyle Cummins, point leader Brady Bacon and KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Chris Windom, who came all the way from 18th to finish 5th.
For the duration of his time up front, Thomas was unsure of himself regarding where to attack the racetrack. Lapped cars dictated that in certain aspects, so Thomas found a tactic that worked for him and pushed him to victory lane once again, the fifth different month he's won in this year: February, April, June, July and August.
"The whole race, I was kind of in defense mode," Thomas recalled. "I felt alright at the beginning after the track work. Once I got to the lead, about five to eight laps later, I didn't know where to run. I saw lapped cars pulling me certain places and I wasn't really good where they were getting me. I tried other things and ended up sliding myself for 30 laps."
It had been a span of 22 days since the most recent USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event and Thomas had run seven USAC National Midget races in that timeframe. Thomas relished the opportunity to get back to work in the No. 9K sprinter, while his crew chief Davey Jones offered some poignant advice.
"It feels good," Thomas said. "I like getting back in the sprint car, and running the midget during our off weeks really keeps me up to par. But after qualifying, Davey said if you don't quit driving that thing like a midget, we're going to have trouble. I enjoy doing it, and I enjoy racing sprint cars and coming to new places."
The resulting success has moved Thomas to within 39 of Bacon's series point lead as he seeks his first career USAC National championship. Offering a quick quip regarding his championship outlook, Thomas got right to the point to show where his mindset is with so many races lying ahead.
"I ain't even going to talk about that," Thomas remarked.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) led the first seven laps and took second to Thomas in his Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy. For Seavey, it was his second consecutive day of finishing second after finishing in the runner-up spot to Kody Swanson in Saturday afternoon's USAC Silver Crown event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.
"I had a lot of runs at him, but it's so hard to get an opportunity to pass here, especially when you have to pass good cars," Seavey explained. "We were struggling to lap guys, and it's really narrow down the straightaways, which makes it tough to go by people. You really have to clear them through the corner or else you're kind of in trouble.
(Thomas) ran just a little better than I did in the beginning," Seavey continued. "I was just floating around the middle and my car wasn't wanting to be there. Once he went by, he started hammering the cushion. It was tricky and it was over the edge; you have to ease it up there and ease it back off. I feel like that was an awesome race. It's been many years since we've been back here, and to put on a race like that, is really cool."
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) scored his third-straight top-four finish with USAC in his Rock Steady Racing/Mid-America Safety Solutions – Project Oversight/Mach-1/Cummins Chevy. His dad, Mark, won at Paragon. Kyle has won at Paragon numerous times in his career. While hoping to get a first USAC win on Sunday night, Cummins admittedly was pleased to finish third and pleased just to finish, all things considered.
"I wish we had a little bit better car there at the end," Cummins said. "At the beginning, I was really good. It was pretty hard to pass, and it was a pretty tricky cushion. I don't think ever figured it out in turns one and two. In the heat race, we had a fuel filter plug up, so we thrashed and changed all kinds of stuff. I'm glad we just finished the race to be honest."
Thomas' time of 8:28.95 in the non-stop, green-to-checker feature shattered a 39-year-old record for USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car racing at Paragon. The 30-lap record for the series, formerly held by Rich Vogler, was set in 1982 with a time of 12:01.780.
USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget standouts Emerson Axsom and Chase Randall made their USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car debuts Sunday at Paragon. Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) won his heat race and finished 10th in the feature while Randall (Waco, Texas) ran second in his heat and collected a 13th place result in the feature.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 22, 2021 – Paragon Speedway – Paragon, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-14.905; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-15.017; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-15.061; 4. Shane Cockrum, 17G, On The Gass-15.067; 5. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-15.094; 6. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-15.184; 7. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-15.218; 8. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-15.273; 9. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-15.283; 10. Emerson Axsom, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-15.308; 11. Brandon Spencer, 22, Spencer-15.334; 12. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-15.373; 13. Koby Barksdale, 16K, Knight-15.455; 14. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-15.493; 15. Ricky Lewis, 11, Lewis-15.513; 16. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-15.539; 17. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-15.541; 18. Jake Scott, 33, Miller-15.546; 19. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-15.673; 20. Brandon Morin, 98, Morin-15.713; 21. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-15.759; 22. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-15.826; 23. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-15.851; 24. Kyle Shipley, 0G, Shipley-16.010; 25. Tye Mihocko, 2E, Epperson-16.125; 26. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-16.178; 27. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-16.366; 28. Tony Helton, 87, Miller-16.681; 29. Justin Meneely, 100, Meneely-17.414; 30. Dave Gross, 37, Gross-19.403.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Jason McDougal, 3. Shane Cockrum, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Kyle Cummins, 6. Brayden Fox, 7. Tye Mihocko, 8. Tony Helton, 9. Braxton Cummings, 10. Koby Barksdale. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Chase Randall, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Brandon Morin, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Justin Meneely, 10. Brandon Spencer. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING/INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Jake Scott, 8. Kyle Shipley, 9. Alex Banales, 10. Dave Gross. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Koby Barksdale, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Jake Scott, 4. Brayden Fox, 5. Brandon Morin, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Tye Mihocko, 8. Tanner Thorson, 9. Brandon Spencer, 10. Alex Banales, 11. Tony Helton, 12. Justin Meneely, 13. Dave Gross, 14. Braxton Cummings, 15. Kyle Shipley. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 2. Logan Seavey (2), 3. Kyle Cummins (6), 4. Brady Bacon (9), 5. Chris Windom (18), 6. C.J. Leary (1), 7. Robert Ballou (19), 8. Justin Grant (5), 9. Jason McDougal (13), 10. Emerson Axsom (7), 11. Jake Swanson (10), 12. Tanner Thorson (23-P), 13. Chase Randall (14), 14. Koby Barksdale (11), 15. Brayden Fox (16), 16. Jake Scott (15), 17. Brandon Mattox (21), 18. Brandon Morin (22), 19. Tye Mihocko (20), 20. Chase Stockon (8), 21. Jadon Rogers (12), 22. Ricky Lewis (17), 23. Shane Cockrum (3). 8:28.95 (New Track Record)
(P) represents a provisional starter
**Braxton Cummings flipped during the first heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Logan Seavey, Laps 8-30 Kevin Thomas Jr.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1891, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1852, 3-Justin Grant-1814, 4-C.J. Leary-1667, 5-Tanner Thorson-1619, 6-Robert Ballou-1587, 7-Chris Windom-1569, 8-Jake Swanson-1542, 9-Chase Stockon-1196, 10-Kyle Cummins-1008.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-128, 2-Brady Bacon-119, 3-Tanner Thorson-118, 4-Justin Grant-116, 5-Robert Ballou-109, 6-Thomas Meseraull-103, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-97, 8-Logan Seavey-91, 9-Kyle Cummins-71, 10-Buddy Kofoid-71.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: August 26-27-28, 2021 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Koby Barksdale
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Kyle Cummins
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Logan Seavey
Indy Metal Finishing/Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Koby Barksdale
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Chris Windom (18th to 5th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Chase Randall
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Tanner Thorson
BRODY ROA WINS "CALIFORNIA RACERS HALL OF FAME NIGHT" AT PERRIS
PERRIS, CA – AUGUST 21, 2021… Starting seventh, Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) raced past "Speedy" Stevie Sussex on lap 28 and captured the $2,500 "California Racers Hall of Fame Night" victory at Perris Auto Speedway. Driving the BR Performance owned #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa scored his second AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car win of the season and the tenth triumph of his career. Sussex, "The Cadillac" Cody Williams, Chris Gansen, and point leader "The Demon" Damion Gardner followed Roa to the checkered flags.
A special thanks goes to Chris Holt and everyone that contributed to the "California" Racers Hall of Fame Night." The Perris and former Ascot infield announcer raised over $13,000 in additional prize money and bonuses for the night's events.
Before winning the 30-lap feature, Roa earned the night's $2,100 "Woodland Auto Display / Billy Wilkerson Fast Time Award" over the 27-car roster with a time of 16.440. The 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car champion tied for second with Gardner in the Junior Kurtz / Bill Simpson Trophy Dash points, placed fifth in his heat race, and won the 12-lap billsjerky.com semi-main. Brody left the Lake Perris Fairgrounds ranked second in the standings, just 24 points behind Gardner.
With a one point margin of victory over Roa and Gardner, Matt Mitchell (Yorba Linda, CA) won the $2,000 Junior Kurtz / Bill Simpson Trophy Dash. Driving his #37 Roy Miller Freight Lines / Pit Boss Jacks Maxim, Mitchell topped the four segment, 3-lap dashes special event. The former USAC West Coast Sprint Car Champion qualified second overall, scored third in his heat race, and finished twentieth in the feature after an early tangle ended his night. Heading to the "Louie Vermeil Classic" at Chico, Matt sits eighth in the point standings.
"The Cadillac" Cody Williams (Corona, CA) raced to victory in the 10-lap Flowdynamics Incorporated First Heat Race. Piloting his #44 Trench Shoring / CRW Design & Machine DRC, Williams was thirteenth fast in time trials and charged to third in the main event after starting twelfth. The former Victorville Sprint Car Champion has climbed to fifth in the chase for the championship.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) returned to USAC/CRA action and won the 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. Racing the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Liggett Trucking Maxim, Liggett qualified fourteenth overall and finished twentieth in the main event after an early wreck ended his night. At press time, the former USAC West Coast Sprint Car Champion has climbed to twenty-fourth in points.
"Thunder" Tommy Malcolm (Corona, CA) topped the 10-lap All Coast Construction Third Heat Race. Driving Dino Napier's #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm was fifteenth fast in time trials and charged from fourteenth to eighth in the main event. The young driver left Perris Auto Speedway ranked fifth in the championship point chase.
Jeff Dyer (Yucca Valley, CA) earned the night's In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a twelfth place run from twenty-second. Debuting the Cal-Sun Racing #39 Glenn Sels Engineering / John Springstead Racing ITI, Dyer was twenty-third fast in time trials, ran seventh in his heat race, and placed ninth in the semi-main. In limited starts, the veteran California Lightning Sprint driver sits twenty-second in the point chase.
"Speedy" Stevie Sussex (Tempe, AZ) earned the Shawn McDonald Memorial Qualifying Award, while "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr. (Tipton, CA) was the Shawn McDonald Memorial Feature Award winner. Joel Rayborne (West Covina, CA) scored the Wilwood Disc Brakes Luck 13 Award in the main event.
The non-winged USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will prepare for three nights action, staring Saturday, September 4 and the following night at Silver Dollar Speedway (Chico, CA) for the two-night "Louie Vermeil Classic." The winged 410 NARC King of the West Sprint Cars will share the action packed card. On Monday, September 6th, the traditional 410s will invade the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds and clash at Petaluma Speedway (Petaluma, CA).
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 21, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – "California Racers Hall of Fame Night"
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.440; 2. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.598; 3. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.610; 4. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-16.692; 5. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-16.720; 6. Stevie Sussex, 12, Allen-16.726; 7. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.737; 8. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-16.742; 9. A.J. Bender, 21B, Bender-16.808; 10. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-16.810; 11. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.876; 12. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-16.885; 13. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.962; 14. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-17.078; 15. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-17.178; 16. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.191; 17. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.268; 18. Jake Hodges, 4, Hodges-17.517; 19. Joel Rayborne, 12B, Blair-17.635; 20. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-17.640; 21. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-17.723; 22. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-17.814; 23. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-17.867; 24. Austin Ervine, 21, AJ-18.219; 25. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-18.383; 26. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Bellegante-19.445; 27. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-20.407.
JUNIOR KURTZ / BILL SIMPSON TROPHY DASH: (Four 3 Lap Dashes) 1. Matt Mitchell (7 points), 2. Damion Gardner (6 points), 2. Brody Roa (6 points), 4. Austin Williams (5 points). NT.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. C.Williams, 2. Gardner, 3. Davis, 4. Gansen, 5. Roa, 6. Sweeney, 7. Owens, 8. Rayborne, 9. Sexton. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Liggett, 2. Johnson, 3. Mitchell, 4. Rutherford, 5. L.Williams, 6. Grabowski, 7. Dyer, 8. Hix, 9. Marshall. NT.
ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. Bender, 3. Faria, 4. Sussex, 5. McCarthy, 6. Hodges, 7. Ervine, 8. Taylor, 9. A.Williams. NT.
BILLSJERKY.COM SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Roa, 2. Sweeney, 3. L.Williams, 4. Grabowski, 5. Hix, 6. Hodges, 7. McCarthy, 8. Owens, 9. Dyer, 10. Rayborne, 11. Ervine, 12. Sexton, 13. Marshall, 14. Taylor, 15. A.Williams. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Brody Roa (7), 2. Stevie Sussex (3), 3. Cody Williams (12), 4. Chris Gansen (9), 5. Damion Gardner (5), 6. Danny Faria Jr. (11), 7. R.J. Johnson (1), 8. Tommy Malcolm (14), 9. Logan Williams (10), 10. Austin Grabowski (16), 11. Verne Sweeney (15), 12. Jeff Dyer (22), 13. Joel Rayborne (18), 14. Jake Hodges (17), 15. Brent Owens (21), 16. Steve Hix (19), 17. A.J. Bender (8), 18. Troy Rutherford (4), 19. Austin Liggett (13), 20. Matt Mitchell (6), 21. Matt McCarthy (20), 22. Charles Davis Jr. (2), 23. Austin Williams (23). NT.
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**McCarthy flipped on lap 2 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Johnson, Laps 2-27 Sussex, Laps 28-30 Roa.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Jeff Dyer (22nd to 12th)
SHAWN McDONALD MEMORIAL QUALIFYING AWARD: Stevie Sussex
SHAWN McDONALD MEMORIAL FEATURE AWARD: Danny Faria Jr.
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Joel Rayborne
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-706, 2-Brody Roa-682, 3-Austin Williams-606, 4-Chris Gansen-590, 5-Cody Williams-506, 6-Tommy Malcolm-498, 7-Verne Sweeney-412, 8-Matt Mitchell-408, 9-A.J. Bender-389, 10-Danny Faria Jr.-380.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: September 4&5 – Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, California – "Louie Vermeil Classic"
23RD TO 1ST: SWANSON CHARGES TO
RAIN-SHORTENED BETTENHAUSEN 100 WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Springfield, Illinois (August 21, 2021)………Kody Swanson knew he had a long row to hoe starting from the 23rd position during Saturday afternoon's Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
As it turned out, he didn't even need the full 100-mile distance to make it to the lead.
The Kingsburg, Calif. native carved his way through the field to take the lead on lap 61, then led what wound up being the final 16 miles, when a red flag for a crash and subsequent rain with 76 laps completed forced a premature finish to the 58th running of the event for the USAC Silver Crown National Championship.
That turned the Bettenhausen 100 into the Bettenhausen 76 and marking the first rain-shortened race for the USAC Silver Crown series since the 1998 Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
The hard charging effort put in by Swanson from 23rd was the second furthest back any winner has started at Springfield in the USAC Silver Crown division, only trailing Kenny Irwin Jr.'s all-time series record run from 28th to 1st in 1995.
Swanson's victory was also his third in the champ cars at the Springfield Mile after previously winning in 2014-15, making him the 10th driver to win at the track on three occasions, joining Chuck Gurney (7), A.J. Foyt (4), Jack Hewitt (4), Brian Tyler (4), Mario Andretti (3), Tony Bettenhausen (3), Dave Darland (3), Al Unser (3) and Rodger Ward (3) in that group.
Saturday's victory also put the five-time series champion and current series point leader back in victory lane on the dirt for the first time in three years, since the 2018 Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. It's a fact that was not lost on Swanson.
"It's been three years, not that it's been bothering me," Swanson said with a slight laugh.
Swanson's qualifying lap was blistering at 30.075 seconds, which translates to 119.701 mph around the one-mile dirt oval. But, as it turned out, it was a blistering lap in more ways than one, a lap which necessitated a right rear tire change prior to the feature.
Therefore, by rule, he gave up his position on the pole, instead taking new rubber, a gamble that turned out to be well worth the risk for he and his Chris Dyson Racing/Thetford – ProtectAll – Norcold – Racer Magazine/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
"We had to change the tire because I made an error in qualifying," Swanson admitted. "I ran it harder than I needed to, spun the tires harder than I needed to, blistered it, and we weren't sure it was going to make it. Rather than wonder all race if we could make it, you put a tire on, you go on the attack, do your job and get it done."
And that's just what he did. He was one of five drivers to opt for a fresh right rear tire, forcing them all to near the back of the 31-car field. A handful of other teams had a variety of mechanical issues on the start that ultimately pushed Swanson up to 23rd.
On the start, Jerry Coons Jr. moved to the initial lead on the bottom as new pole sitter Logan Seavey stepped to the topside and charged back into the lead where he'd remain for the initial 16 miles.
Lap 17, fourth starting Jake Swanson was the man on the move, powering underneath Seavey between turns three and four to assume the top spot.
By that point in time, Kody had well-established himself inside the top-10, while Seavey tucked in behind the rear bumper of J. Swanson against the inner guardrail while J. Swanson's DMW Motorsports' teammate, Chase Stockon, was grinding on the cushion back in the third position.
J. Swanson led a freight train around the bottom as the field settled in and felt their machines out for the middle section of the contest with Seavey, Justin Grant, the reigning series champ, and a surging K. Swanson in tow, nose-to-tail in a seven-car pack.
Seavey looked to the high side; he looked to the low side; all to no avail as he worked on J. Swanson. However, on the 45th lap, Seavey's balance of urgency and patience paid dividends as he dug in and found the drive in the middle of the second corner to blitz past J. Swanson and become the leader for the second time in the event.
Just past the halfway mark, Justin Grant, who had just elevated himself to the second spot, slowed dramatically off the pace, dropping out on lap 51 and finished 20th, seriously putting a crimp in his bid for a repeat series title.
Cue up the band as K. Swanson simultaneously saw Grant slow and also blast around the non-related J. Swanson to go from fourth to second instantaneously and began to rope Seavey in one chunk at a time.
Another major player joined the mix after the halfway point in Carmen Perigo, the series Rookie who was making his first Springfield start. The mustachioed Perigo used the high side to put himself into the top-five after running as low as 20th during the first restart on the 14th lap.
"Wind him up and watch him go" then successively picked the next few off in the following laps, ultimately racing around the outside of K. Swanson for the second position in turns one and two on lap 57. Perigo ultimately faded slightly toward the end to fifth and was also docked four positions for jumping the lap 34 restart and was repositioned to ninth in the final rundown.
It was go time for K. Swanson as he kept the pressure pressed on Seavey, getting a big bite off turn four under Seavey coming to lap 61, which gave him the edge to out drag race Seavey to the bottom of turn one and become the new race leader. K. Swanson bumped his lead up from a half-second to a full-second as the laps ticked away and the skies began to threaten.
Just then, on lap 77, while battling for 13th, Nathan Moore's front bumper and the rear bumper of Patrick Lawson went chrome-to-chrome entering the first turn. The long slide backwards into the unforgiving concrete sent Lawson flipping over twice while Moore performed a 720 degree "helicopter" before landing on all fours. Heavy damage was evident on both cars, but both were able to walk away.
Under the red, the skies opened up and the rain began to fall. With the ever-increasing rain falling, a raceable track was lost. With the combination of the one-mile track surface not being able to be rolled in until the rain stopped 45 minutes later – which would last another two to three hours to get back into race shape – and the time allotment allowed for the event before the night's concert was scheduled for the fairgrounds stage at the start/finish line, the race was checkered with 76 laps completed and leader Kody Swanson declared the winner for the third-time this season and for the 34th time in his career.
"Sorry about the rain, but it was a swamp in three and four before we even stopped," K. Swanson stated. "I understand the decision. We wanted to get to 100 laps."
"These guys gave me a great racecar, and I'm thankful to be able to pass some cars and be a part of it there at the end," K. Swanson added. "I hated to see Justin Grant's misfortune. We had to beat a bunch of great racers up there to be able to sneak away with one and I'm really proud of that."
Logan Seavey led a race-high 32 laps in his Rice Motorsports/Fatheadz Eyewear – STIDA.com – Lucas Oil/DRC/Pink Foxco Chevy, keeping him with well within the series title fight versus K. Swanson with three races remaining. The Sutter, Calif. driver also put his Rice Motorsports team in total control of the series entrant championship, which they now lead by 49 markers.
"I just love racing these racecars and I've got a really good one to drive," Seavey praised. "My tire was probably good to go another 100 laps. I feel like once I got going there, we were catching up to Kody. He did a good job, and they knew the rain was coming. They pushed hard and got to the lead, and they ran the race better than I did, and that's what it is."
Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.) turned in his third top-four finish in four starts this season with a third-place run at Springfield in his BLS Motorsports/Hustler Turf Equipment – Ben's Lawn Service & Trailer Sales/Maxim/Kistler Chevy, noting that he believed he had something in store for K. Swanson if the race was able to go the full distance.
"I think so; that's kind of what we were doing," Cockrum acknowledged. "We were saving and hoping for those last 15 to 20 miles and that's how most of the Silver Crown races end up. We had a few opportunities early to probably get by Kody and I backed off because I thought there were going to be laps 80, 90 and that 100th lap. I wish we could've made those laps. I think we had something for them, but mother nature is out of our control."
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 21, 2021 – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – Bettenhausen 100
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 9, Dyson-30.075; 2. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice-30.223; 3. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-30.406; 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 55, Bateman-30.739; 5. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-30.783; 6. Robert Ballou, 66, Rose-30.863; 7. Jason McDougal, 6, Klatt-30.917; 8. Chase Stockon, 110, DMW-31.039; 9. Terry Babb, 188, Babb-31.206; 10. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-31.337; 11. Shane Cockrum, 71, BLS-31.355; 12. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-31.386; 13. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-31.423; 14. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-31.513; 15. Chris Phillips, 20, Nolen-31.877; 16. Casey Buckman, 74, C-Buck-32.134; 17. Shane Cottle, 81, BCR-32.136; 18. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-32.394; 19. Chris Fetter, 88, Fetter-32.460; 20. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-32.500; 21. Dallas Hewitt, 57, Hewitt-32.521; 22. Korey Weyant, 99, Weyant-32.944; 23. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-33.055; 24. Nathan Moore, 48, Moore-33.152; 25. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-33.484; 26. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-33.520; 27. Steven Russell, 14, McQuinn-34.793; 28. Dave Peperak, 177, Peperak-34.944; 29. Danny Long, 44, Long-NT; 30. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT; 31. Cary Oliver, 11, Oliver-NT; 32. Ken Schrader, 21, Swanson-NT; 33. Kyle Cummins, 69, Pink 69-NT; 34. Brady Bacon, 53, Five Three-NT; 35. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-NT; 36. Chris Windom, 97, Lein-NT; 37. Chris Urish, 77, Urish-NT; 38. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, shortened to 76 laps due to rain, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (23), 2. Logan Seavey (1), 3. Shane Cockrum (25), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 5. Kyle Steffens (9), 6. Jake Swanson (4), 7. Matt Westfall (2), 8. Casey Buckman (12), 9. Carmen Perigo (13), 10. Chase Stockon (5), 11. Austin Nemire (19), 12. Kyle Robbins (8), 13. Chris Phillips (11), 14. Travis Welpott (14), 15. Steven Russell (20), 16. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 17. Patrick Lawson (27), 18. Nathan Moore (18), 19. Korey Weyant (16), 20. Justin Grant (10), 21. Ken Schrader (22), 22. Terry Babb (6), 23. Shane Cottle (26), 24. Chris Fetter (29), 25. Matt Goodnight (7), 26. Dallas Hewitt (15), 27. Dave Peperak (21), 28. Jason McDougal (24), 29. Dave Berkheimer (28), 30. Robert Ballou (30). NT
**Patrick Lawson flipped on lap 77 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Logan Seavey, Laps 17-44 Jake Swanson, Laps 45-60 Logan Seavey, Laps 61-76 Kody Swanson.
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-408, 2-Logan Seavey-357, 3-Justin Grant-308, 4-Shane Cottle-267, 5-Kyle Robbins-266, 6-Austin Nemire-266, 7-David Byrne-254, 8-Travis Welpott-251, 9-Mike Haggenbottom-243, 10-Shane Cockrum-237.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-118, 2-Justin Grant-116, 3-Chris Windom-115, 4-Brady Bacon-114, 5-Thomas Meseraull-103, 6-Robert Ballou-97, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-94, 8-Logan Seavey-91, 9-Buddy Kofoid-71, 10-Kyle Cummins-68.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 4, 2021 – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – Ted Horn 100
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Quality Driving Performance of the Night: Jerry Coons Jr.
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson
KSE Racing Products / Tucker's Automotive Repair & Tire Hard Charger: Kody Swanson (23rd to 1st)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Chris Phillips
AXSOM TO MAKE USAC SPRINT DEBUT WITH CMR SUNDAY AT PARAGON
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 20, 2021)………Emerson Axsom will make his USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship debut this Sunday, August 22, at Indiana's Paragon Speedway aboard the Clauson Marshall Racing/Driven2SaveLives No. 39BC.
Additionally, Axsom will also pilot the car throughout Sprint Car Smackdown X on August 26-27-28 at Indiana's Kokomo Speedway.
The Franklin, Ind. driver has been a standout in his first full season on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship trail with two feature victories and currently stands second in series points.
Axsom's only previous sprint car racing experience has occurred on the pavement, both at Indiana's Anderson Speedway, finishing 6th on July 10 and 4th on July 31. But the upcoming week will be totally new to Axsom as he pairs with the 2018 USAC National Sprint Car winning team.
However, every challenge thrust upon Axsom thus far has seen the 16-year-old racer quickly adapt to each and every challenge thrown his way.
"I'm super excited to have an opportunity in a car with so much history for my sprint car debut," Axsom stated. "I am honored to be able to spread awareness about organ donation and Indiana Donor Network's Driven2SaveLives program through racing and to keep the legacy of Bryan Clauson and the No. 39BC car going. I'm super thankful for Taylor McLean, Tim Clauson, Diana Clauson, Richard Marshall, Jennifer Marshall and everyone at Clauson Marshall Racing for the opportunity, and I cannot wait for the future with such a great team."
Cole Bodine had driven the CMR No. 39BC sprinter on 10 occasions this year, finishing a best of 8th at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway in April of this year.
"First and foremost, I want to thank Cole Bodine for the time and effort he has given to CMR, our family and Driven2SaveLives over the last two years. He is a racer who came to me with a dream and was willing to work for the opportunity he earned. We wish him nothing but success as he continues his racing career.
My passion for the sport is rooted in working with the next generation of drivers and I feel really fortunate to be able to give Emerson his first taste of driving a sprint car," Clauson continued. "What he, his family and team have done at the National Midget level has been impressive. We will run a flex schedule as he continues to chase the USAC National Midget Championship in the Petry Motorsports No. 15. I am looking forward to being a small part in what I am sure will be a big future for Emerson in the sport."
On Sunday at Paragon, USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars and Bombers are on the event card. General admission tickets are $30 while ages 10 and under are free. The pits open at 3pm ET, stands at 4:30pm and hot laps at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
Every lap of Sunday's Paragon USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car event will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
AXSOM TO MAKE USAC SPRINT DEBUT
WITH CMR SUNDAY AT PARAGON
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Paragon, Indiana (August 20, 2021)………Four months ago – where were you? Unfortunately, many of us were standing in the rain at Paragon Speedway during the first try for USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car racing at the track since 1998.
Mother Nature prolonged the wait just a bit longer, pushing back the long-awaited arrival of the series four months into the future to Sunday night, August 22. And, my friends, the future has now finally arrived.
That brings to question the date, July 25, 1998, where were you? Saving Private Ryan was the number one movie at the box office and Shania Twain's "You're Still the One" was still dominating the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Not to mention, at that time, many of today's racing stars were still in quarter midgets, diapers, or still years down the road.
That date also marked the most recent occasion the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars competed at Indiana's Paragon Speedway, the 3/8-mile dirt oval just southwest of Indianapolis, an absence which ends this Sunday night.
Paragon has hosted 19 previous appearances by the series dating back to 1981. Steve Butler has the most USAC Sprint wins at the track with three while Derek Davidson won the most recent, in 1998, which was his first career series victory.
Funny enough, the first two USAC Sprint races held at Paragon resulted in two first-time series winners in Rick Hood (1981) and Chuck Amati (1982) while the last three did so as well, with Kevin Briscoe (1997), Bill Rose (1997) and Davidson (1998) all notching their firsts. Seven of the 19 races have produced first-time USAC winners with those five, plus Brad Doty (1988) and Joe Gaerte (1988) also doing the same.
This Sunday's race will undoubtedly produce a first-time Paragon winner under USAC sanction. However, numerous of the expected entrants for the event have experienced their fair share of success over the years at the track which first hosted racing in 1954.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) has finished as the runner-up on three occasions with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars this year and remains in search of his first series win. The 2017 USAC West Coast Sprint Car champion is Paragon Speedway's most recent feature winner on Aug. 13 during Fan Appreciation Night.
Like Swanson, A.J. Hopkins (Brownsburg, Ind.) is a prime candidate to join the list of drivers to win their first USAC Sprint features at Paragon. Hopkins captured the 2020 track championship there with five victories and he won twice more back in 2019 and twice already this year.
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) has posted 12 victories at Paragon between 2003 and 2019. Winning sprint car races at Paragon is a family tradition with his father, Mark Cummins, winning in a winged sprint car there in 1990 and 1991.
Early in his career, Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) earned the sprint car track championship at Paragon in 2008. Stockon grabbed a handful of victories at Paragon between 2005-11 before heading onto the USAC National Sprint Car trail full-time starting in 2012.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) captured the 68-lap Chuck Amati Classic races in 2010 and 2013, and one of his very first sprint car victories came as a 14-year-old at Paragon back in 2005. More recently, Windom scored 4th place finish with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets in 2020 and was the fastest qualifier during Indiana Midget Week in June of this year.
Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) has earned a pair of victories at Paragon himself in both the 2015 King of Indiana Sprint Car Series (KISS) race as well as the 2018 Chuck Amati Classic.
Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) has been a frequent winner at Paragon over the last couple of years, winning twice in 2020 and four times in 2019.
Brady Short (Bedford, Ind.) has found his way to victory lane too at Paragon, with a pair of Chuck Amati Classic scores in 2011 and 2016 in addition to another victory at Paragon in 2011.
Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) has won twice at Paragon, including the 2017 Chuck Amati Classic and the 2011 KISS event. Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.) captured a Paragon win in 2013. Brandon Morin (Jasonville, Ind.) has two victories at Paragon in 2012 and 2017.
Several more of this weekend's expected Sprint Car entries competed at Paragon during Indiana Midget Week over the past couple of seasons. Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) finished 2nd and led a race high 16 laps in 2020. Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) finished 5th in 2020 and did two better in 2021 with a 3rd. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) raced from the C to the B to the A where he started 22nd and finished 8th in 2020, then followed up with a 5th in 2021. Jason McDougal was 6th in 2021. Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) won his heat and finished 10th in 2020. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finished 18th in 2020.
Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) is set to make his USAC National Sprint Car debut on Sunday at Paragon. He scored an 8th during Indiana Midget Week there in June of this year.
Harley Burns' (Brazil, Ind.) father, Eric Burns, won at Paragon on four occasions between 1996-2001. Brayden Fox's (Avon, Ind.) father, Brad Fox, competed numerous times at Paragon and the car, the famed white No. 53, was a perennial winner throughout the mid to late 2000s everywhere, including Paragon.
They join a slew of talented individuals who've made their mark in the sport, including USAC National Sprint champion C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), a three-time USAC National Sprint Car winner in 2021.
Jake Scott (Morgantown, Ind.) is a four-time Paragon track champion in 2012-13-15-18 and a winner on the local level there back in May. Josh Cunningham (Spencer, Ind.) is a Paragon heavy hitter, capturing seven track championships in 2004-10-11-14-16-17-19.
On Sunday at Paragon, USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars and Bombers are on the event card. General admission tickets are $30 while ages 10 and under are free. The pits open at 3pm ET, stands at 4:30pm and hot laps at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
If you have not done so yet, tickets purchased through the track from the April 18 USAC rain out can be used at Paragon this Sunday as well as at Bloomington Speedway and Lincoln Park Speedway at a race later during the 2021 season.
Every lap of Sunday's Paragon USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car event will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1826, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1770, 3-Justin Grant-1755, 4-C.J. Leary-1606, 5-Tanner Thorson-1580, 6-Robert Ballou-1531, 7-Chris Windom-1508, 8-Jake Swanson-1494, 9-Chase Stockon-1168, 10-Kyle Cummins-934.
PARAGON SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS:
3-Steve Butler
2-Jack Hewitt & Jon Stanbrough
1-Chuck Amati, Kevin Briscoe, Derek Davidson, Brad Doty, Joe Gaerte, Rick Hood, Kelly Kinser, Sheldon Kinser, Bill Rose, Ken Schrader, Kevin Thomas & Rich Vogler
PARAGON SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS:
1981: Rick Hood (9/9)
1982: Chuck Amati (5/15) & Rich Vogler (7/28)
1983: Ken Schrader (4/17), Jack Hewitt (7/27) & Kelly Kinser (9/15)
1984: Steve Butler (7/19) & Steve Butler (8/15)
1985: Sheldon Kinser (7/3)
1987: Steve Butler (8/29)
1988: Brad Doty (5/7) & Joe Gaerte (9/9)
1994: Kevin Thomas (6/4)
1995: Jack Hewitt (7/8)
1996: Jon Stanbrough (7/6) & Jon Stanbrough (7/27)
1997: Kevin Briscoe (7/5) & Bill Rose (7/26)
1998: Derek Davidson (7/25)
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT PARAGON SPEEDWAY
1 Lap - 7/27/1996 - Mark Cassella - 14.886 - 90.689 mph
6 Laps - 8/15/1984 - Leon Thickstun - 1:36.130 - 84.261 mph
8 Laps - 7/19/1984 - Sheldon Kinser - 2:06.560 - 85.335 mph
10 Laps - 7/27/1983 - Bill Tyler - 2:44.670 - 81.982 mph
12 Laps - 7/6/1996 - Kevin Thomas - 3:30.760 - 76.865 mph
30 Laps - 7/28/1982 - Rich Vogler - 12:01.780 - 56.111 mph
USAC ANNOUNCES 2021 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (August 20, 2021)………The United States Auto Club has announced its eight inductees in the class of 2021 for induction into the USAC Hall of Fame.
The list includes car owner/mechanic Doug Caruthers; driver Jay Drake; car owner/mechanic Galen Fox; driver Jeff Gordon; driver/car owner/builder/innovator Dan Gurney; car owner/mechanic Ray Nichels; car owner/official/promoter Johnny Vance; and track owner/promoter Joe Shaheen.
Each of the eight honorees will officially be inducted during a ceremony on a date yet to be determined.
DOUG CARUTHERS
Californian Doug Caruthers' 97 victories as a USAC National Midget entrant between 1962-78 ranks among the winningest car owners in the history of the series. In fact, his 65 wins from 1970-78 made him the winningest car owner during the entire decade of the 1970s.
Caruthers won four USAC National Midget entrant championships, in 1970 with son Jimmy Caruthers, in 1971 with a combination of sons Jimmy and Danny Caruthers, again in 1973 with the trio of Jimmy, Pancho Carter and Tommy Astone, and one final time with Rich Vogler in 1978.
The 1971 season stands as the most successful single-season in series' history with 21 feature car owner wins for Caruthers.
Caruthers was also the recipient of the Jim Blunk Award during the 1976 USAC banquet, presented to him for his frequent contributions to the sport of USAC Midget racing.
JAY DRAKE
Val Verde, California's Jay Drake stood on the main stage as a USAC driving champion on four occasions, first as a back-to-back USAC TQ Midget champion in 1990-91, then a USAC Western States Midget titlist in 1996, and finally, capturing the USAC National Sprint Car championship in 2004.
His 2000 season was legendary, winning 17 USAC national races throughout, which marked the second most in a year at the time. In total, Drake owns five USAC Silver Crown wins, 25 with the USAC National Sprint Cars, including the 1998 Joe James/Pat O'Connor Memorial at Salem, Ind., the 2000 National Open at Terre Haute, Ind. and was the 2000 Indiana Sprint Week titlist.
Drake's prowess in the USAC National Midgets resulted in 17 feature triumphs. Among them were the 1997 & 2002 4-Crown Nationals, the 1998 Turkey Night Grand Prix, the 2000 Hut 100 and the first ever Indiana Midget Week feature held at Lawrenceburg, Ind. in 2005.
GALEN FOX
Bloomington, Indiana's Galen Fox forged his two most successful racing pairings with two of the most successful racers of their era two decades apart – Sheldon Kinser in the 1970s and Dave Darland in the 1990s. However, it was Fox's association with New York car owner Dick Hammond that set the tone for a run that featured 30 USAC National Sprint Car wins and 19 in the USAC Silver Crown division.
Utilizing the "Genesee Beer Wagon," driver Sheldon Kinser won the 1977 USAC National Sprint Car title for Fox and Hammond's Gohr Distributing team. In 1980, Gohr captured its lone USAC National Sprint Car entrant title thanks to a combined five victories from Kinser and Tom Bigelow.
In the meantime, the team was a stalwart on the IndyCar trail, even finishing 5th at the 1987 Indianapolis 500 with driver Gary Bettenhausen.
Under the Foxco Engineering banner with sons Brad and Steve, Galen hired Dave Darland for his USAC Silver Crown car in 1995, and together they'd win the 1997 USAC driving and entrant titles while scoring 14 victories along the way between 1995-2009, with Darland winning the team's third, fourth and fifth Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1995, 1996 and 2004, respectively.
Fox was honored with the USAC Mechanical Achievement award in 2003.
JEFF GORDON
Making the move as a teenage sensation from Vallejo, Calif. to Pittsboro, Ind., Gordon was a racing prodigy who made an instant impact on the USAC racing scene by winning his first career USAC National Midget race in his first ever series start during the 1989 Night Before the 500 at Indianapolis Raceway Park en route to series Rookie of the Year honors.
Most notable was his association with car owner Rollie Helmling and the iconic Diet Pepsi No. 4 with which Gordon ran roughshod in his brief USAC National Midget career between 1989-91, winning 12 times and capturing the 1990 series title. In that time, Gordon became the first true breakout star from ESPN's venerable Thursday and Saturday Night Thunder series.
Gordon added five more victories in USAC National Sprint Car competition, then took on the USAC Silver Crown series where he won the first two races of the 1991 season at Phoenix International Raceway and at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, which paved the way for Gordon to collect the series' driving title for car owner Fred Ede.
DAN GURNEY
There are slim to none facets of auto racing that Dan Gurney did not have a hand in throughout his illustrious career, as an innovator, a car constructor, team owner and driver.
A New Yorker by birth, but coming of age in Riverside, Calif., Gurney's impact also arrived early in his driving career with the United States Auto Club in 1958. That year, Gurney earned the inaugural USAC Road Racing Championship.
In his USAC racing career, Gurney amassed a total of six Road Racing division wins, including a series-leading five in 1962 and finished as the runner-up in the championship fight to Roger Penske that year before garnering one more victory the following year in 1963.
Gurney also won seven times as a driver on the USAC National Championship trail, finishing as the runner-up in the Indianapolis 500 in 1968 and 1969.
As the owner of All American Racers, Gurney's team scored 21 wins under the USAC "Indy Car" banner with an entrant championship in 1974 and an Indianapolis 500 win in 1975, both with driver Bobby Unser.
RAY NICHELS
No single person won more often in USAC's Stock Car division than crew chief/mechanic and team owner Ray Nichels, who gathered up 70 series victories as entrant between 1961-72.
The stout Nichels Engineering ride saw its drivers race to USAC Stock Car championships on three occasions, first with Paul Goldsmith going back-to-back in 1961-62. Once more, the Nichels team found the brass ring with driver Don White capturing the series title in 1967.
Nichels' prepared racecars were potent; they were dominant; and they attracted many of the highest profile names of the day to race, and win, in his cars. White won 36 of his series record 53 victories as a driver for Nichels while Goldsmith was the victor 22 times for the northwest Indiana based team.
In 1950, Nichels and driver Paul Russo constructed their own racecar inside the basement of Russo's Hammond, Ind. home. The innovatively lightweight car, nicknamed "Basement Bessie," was promptly disassembled then reconstructed once outside the home, then transported to compete in that year's Indianapolis 500.
As the wrench on the SUMAR Special for driver Pat O'Connor, the pair put the car on the pole for the Indianapolis 500 in 1957, and less than a month later, set a new track record during the Race of Two Worlds at Monza, Italy in 1957.
JOHNNY VANCE
Johnny Vance, of Dayton, Ohio, was a second-generation car owner whose instantly-recognizable Aristocrat Products-sponsored cars were a force on both the USAC Silver Crown and National Sprint Car trails for decades. However, his 50+ years of involvement with USAC began with a two-decade tenure as a Chief Steward, Supervisor and Technical Chairman of the Sprint Car division beginning in the early 1960s. He also served as steward at the Indianapolis 500 for many years and also headed USAC's Mini-Indy division.
At the turn of the 1980s, Vance shifted gears to become a participant where he left an indelible mark on the sport over the next 30+ years.
Vance's equipment was top-of-the-line and the drivers who sat in the seats of his racecars were top-shelf. Vance was a two-time USAC National Sprint Car owner champion in 1990 and 1998 and possesses 44 career USAC National Sprint Car owner wins and eight with the USAC Silver Crown division.
One of Vance's greatest lasting legacies is as the founder of the 4-Crown Nationals at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, an idea conceived by Vance in 1981 to showcase all four of USAC's National divisions on one track on a single weekend: Silver Crown, National Sprint, National Midget and the Stock Car series.
JOE SHAHEEN
Springfield Speedway in Illinois was a frequent stop on the USAC National Midget tour from the time of the club's inception through the 1987 season. Throughout that entire time, there was one mainstay – Joe Shaheen.
Shaheen served as the owner, operator and promoter of the dirt bullring affectionately known as "Little Springfield," which served as the host for 92 USAC National Midget events in the three decade span and became an annual host of USAC National Sprint Car races at his track when the series was opened up to compete at venues less than a half-mile in length.
Shaheen, a veteran of World War II, also owned Shaheen's Tire and Auto Glass and was a tireless promoter of USAC racing. Despite Shaheen's Springfield Speedway being closed for three-and-a-half decades, it still remains one of USAC's most oft-visited racetracks.
Shaheen received the Jim Blunk Award during the 1984 USAC banquet based on his contributions to the sport of USAC Midget racing.
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: Doug Caruthers, Jay Drake, Galen Fox, Jeff Gordon, Dan Gurney, Ray Nichels, Johnny Vance & Joe Shaheen
SEAVEY CROWNED AS BC39'S PASSING MASTER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (August 20, 2021)………With 26 positions advanced throughout the two nights of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Logan Seavey was crowned as the ProSource Passing Master for his hard charging efforts during the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink.
"I can't thank ProSource enough for putting up the money for this award," Seavey said. "We didn't exactly want to be in a position where we had to pass so many cars. Obviously, we wanted to be a lot better, but this is how it goes sometimes. You take what you can get."
Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) passed six cars in his heat race on Wednesday night. An early dropout during his qualifying race on Thursday night subjected Seavey to the "alphabet soup" where he went 7th to 1st in the C-Main in his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota.
He then spurted from the back of the pack (15th) to snag the 6th and final transfer spot on the final corner during the semi-feature, which the 2018 USAC National Midget champion considered the highwater mark for his evening.
"The semi was the highlight of our night," Seavey recalled. "I think we were ninth taking the white and they all got bottled up on the bottom, and we were able to rip around them there in a last ditch effort."
Seavey then traveled from 20th to 15th in the feature event, moving him into a three-way tie at 26 alongside Tanner Thorson and Bryant Wiedeman. However, since Thorson was required to use a provisional to start the feature and Wiedeman missed the feature entirely, the tiebreaker and the $500 bonus were awarded to Seavey.
Furthermore, provisional starters were ineligible to receive feature points toward their passing master total. Passes made during Wednesday night's Stoops Pursuit race also did not count toward the overall total.
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FINAL BC39 PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER STANDINGS:
26-Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson & Bryant Wiedeman
18-Emerson Axsom
16-Chase Briscoe
15-Chance Crum & Jacob Denney
12-Kyle Larson
11-Rylan Gray
10-Brady Bacon, Buddy Kofoid, Hayden Williams & Sam Johnson
9-Justin Grant, Spencer Bayston & Thomas Meseraull
8-Daison Pursley, Chris Windom & Ryan Newman
7-Ryan Timms, Karter Sarff, Zeb Wise & Trevor Casey
6-Jerry Coons Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr., Kaylee Bryson & Hayden Reinbold
4-Tyler Courtney, Tyler Edwards, Russ Gamester, Jason McDougal, Cannon McIntosh, Daniel Robinson, Ben Varner & Kevin Woody Jr.
3-Robert Bell, Cole Bodine, Maria Cofer, Brenham Crouch, Kyle Cummins, Tommy Kouns, Randi Pankratz, Jeff Schindler, Zac Taylor & J.J. Yeley
2-Ronnie Gardner, Billy Lawless, Ethan Mitchell, Jonathan Shafer & Bryan Stanfill
1-Ian Creager, Conor Daly, Corey Day, Justin Dickerson, Chase Elliott, Kameron Gladish, Carson Kvapil, Aiden Purdue, Chase Randall & Glenn Waterland
0-Austin Barnhill, Tanner Berryhill, Blake Brannon, Shane Cottle, Carson Garrett, John Heydenreich, Riley Kreisel, Aaron Leffel, Taylor Reimer, Gary Taylor & Jeff Wimmenauer
UNDENIED:
LARSON THRILLS IN SPECTACULAR BC39 VICTORY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (August 19, 2021)………It was chaos. It was mayhem. It was heart palpitating. But, in the end, the third running of the USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink will best be remembered by a one word description - "Larson."
One night after capturing victory in the Stoops Pursuit at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson warded off a continuous onslaught of haymakers, bombs and sliders, all while simultaneously wheeling his way to the front, enduring the mental gymnastics along the way, then holding off challenges from the likes of USAC national champions Justin Grant and Brady Bacon during the final five lap stint to win the $15,000 prize.
Larson's BC39 victory was the 24th win of his USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget career, moving him inside the top-20 on the all-time list in his CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall – Billy Boat Performance Exhaust/Spike/Speedway.
"These midgets are so fun and fun on a track like this," Larson said of the quarter-mile dirt track inside turn three of the famed 2.5-mile IMS oval. "This is the perfect midget track. They did such a good job building this place, the size, the dimensions, the banking, the dirt, everything, the track prep is great. Hats off to the whole crew here. That was so much fun."
Starting fourth, Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) remained relatively status quo as he remained hovering in the fourth and fifth positions for the majority of the first half of the race while a succession of leaders took their turns at the front with Grant controlling the opening circuit before Pursley got a drive off the fourth corner to race past and into lead on the second lap.
Grant didn't surrender easily, however, reassuming the top spot back under Pursley between turns one and two. Yet, Pursley secured the position for good by the time the two reached turns three and four moments later.
Barging onto the scene in short order was fifth starting Thomas Meseraull who surpassed Grant, then immediately began his assault on Pursley for the lead, which saw him come within a foot of leading at the line on lap seven when eighth running Chris Windom dug into the third turn cushion and tumbled. He was okay.
Holding a one-second lead throughout the next several laps, Pursley connected with the cushion multiple times, resulting in Meseraull closing right to the rear bumper of Pursley. On the 17th lap, Pursley snagged the turn four curb with a mighty force, knocking him off his course and giving free reign to Meseraull to charge under for first while Larson elevated from fourth to third to second in a two-lap span between laps 17-19.
Larson worked the high side while Meseraull hammered his stake to the bottom. On the 22nd lap, Larson used the fence to surge ahead of Meseraull by a wheel at the line. The next time around, the infield tire-dwelling Meseraull drifted from bottom to top at the exit of four. Larson was prepared, and immediately swung to the bottom off turn four, straight-lining to the entry of one with the top spot in his possession.
Over the next handful of laps, the pair swapped their lines. Anywhere they could do to find a shot to get passed, the opportunity was taken. Banging the cushion or bouncing off the wall, nothing was out of bounds in this endless tug of war that saw Meseraull rise back to the top of rung while simultaneously drifting side-by-side up to the top of turn four when Larson clobbered the curb, knocking him askew and taking the door off the hinges for Meseraull to revisit the front yet again with 15 laps remaining.
Extending his lead up to 1.118 seconds with five laps remaining, Meseraull seemed to be in tip-top shape, all things considered, possessing his biggest lead yet while Larson and Grant both lost ground while engaging in their own thrill show for the runner-up spot.
With that being said, everything you thought you knew about this race up until that point had all turned to a figment of the past when seventh running Cannon McIntosh spun and stopped with five laps to go in turn three.
On the lap 35 restart, Larson utilized a massive drive off the bottom of turn two to overtake Meseraull, then aimed straight for the top of turn three while Meseraull took the slider line through the middle, and Grant took a variation of a slider line off the bottom, all at full-slide, three-wide, up to the turn four wall. Meseraull and Larson subsequently banged right rear to left rear wheels, sending Larson bouncing off the wall and Meseraull into a 180-degree spin with his front end knocked out.
That signified "game over" and instant heartbreak for Meseraull after leading 16 laps, the second consecutive BC39 feature in which he's led the most laps, after heading the field for 18 in 2019.
"It's hard to get away from people here," Larson explained. "The entry is so long around, and the bottom is so far in, that they can throw sliders. I got by TMez there, and I tried to shut the door in one and two, but I didn't get down there low enough. He obviously knew to get to the top at that point and I thought the race was over, but we got some restarts there and I did an okay job. Then, we just got to sliding each other. It was chaos, but a lot of fun from my seat."
Upon the resumption, Larson began sliding himself into turns one and three where he intended to enter on the bottom, then slide up to the curb at the top of the turn on exit. But that proved perilous and troublesome for Larson coming to three to go when he snaggled the turn four cushion, sending him stumbling for balance. Seemingly coming from off the grid was Brady Bacon who exploded into second on the low side, a half car length behind Larson at the line with a mere half car length back at the stripe.
On the back straight of lap 37, the race was now three-wide with Bacon on the bottom, Larson in the middle of the sandwich and Grant riding the wave up against the concrete. Larson and Grant touched wheels at the entry of turn three while Bacon ducked under both to put himself momentarily with a car length lead until Larson gathered it back up and nipped Bacon at the line by a slim, slim margin.
With Tom Hansing's white flag just within sight, Grant made a monster run at Larson in turn three, sliding all the way across the nose or Larson, bouncing his right rear tire off the outside wall as Larson crossed over, drove back under Grant as well as Bacon who still remained down in the trenches, securing the line around the infield tires.
Akin to breathing through a straw at this point in time, Larson found no breathing room whatsoever as he used the momentum off the top on the final lap to put away Bacon on the bottom of turns one and two while Grant was just a tad too far back to make one more banzai run into turn three.
Larson sped under the checkered flag 0.220 of a second – a single car length – ahead of Grant, with Bacon third, Pursley fourth and KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Emerson Axsom rounding out the top-five after starting 19th on the grid.
"I had a lot of thoughts running through my head on what to do, but I kind of screwed it all up that whole last restart," Larson recalled. "I slid myself a few times, and I shouldn't have been doing that, but I knew Justin was running the top of one and two there. I slid myself and slammed the curb every time in four, and then Brady got to my inside. Justin was there and slid us, or something. It was wild. I did not do a good job that last restart but, thankfully, I put a decent last lap together and snuck away with the win. I'll take it. It's cool to win this race in honor of Bryan (Clauson). This event's grown into something really big and I'm glad to be a part of it.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) freely admitted he wasn't all that great early in the feature, but once it got on the fence, he felt he was pretty equal with Larson, but in the end, came up a little bit short to earn his third consecutive top-two feature finish with the series in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management. Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"Man, I hate running second to this guy," Grant said of Larson. "I tell you what. I don't have to tell you he's good. But man, he's good. Playing the slider game, and doing that back and forth, he does it as good or better than anybody. It's tough to get him beat. We had a couple chances there and didn't get them played quite right. I had to take a pretty big bomb to get out in front of him there in three and four and I killed the motor; I hit the cushion. Just a ton of fun, but I hate running second. I don't care who it's too. It really bums me out. I like winning races."
Brady Bacon's bid to become the first two-time winner of the BC39 came in a third-place performance in his TKH Motorsports/Dahmer Powertrain – Fatheadz Eyewear – Champion Oil/Triple X/Stanton SR-11x. Settling in on the low line, the 2018 race winner nearly pulled it off after deciding early on that the high line wasn't going to be his thing on this night.
"I tried the top a couple times and I'm like ehhhh, I don't think I'm going to get it done up there, so I started making some adjustments, trying to make my line good on the bottom. We actually started keeping up and, when they were racing with each other, we could gain ground. I think I almost led a lap there, and almost snuck in for the win. That was my game plan and I think if we could've run a couple better laps there at the end, I might've had a shot. They can slide or die all they want, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to try and outsmart everybody, and we came close tonight."
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 19, 2021 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink
SIMPSON RACE PRODCUTS FIRST QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Brady Bacon (#21H TKH), 2. Justin Grant (#2J RMS), 3. Buddy Kofoid (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Jason McDougal (#4 Klatt), 5. Kaylee Bryson (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Zac Taylor (#71T Henry), 7. Carson Kvapil (#2MD Dailey), 8. J.J. Yeley (#51 Ware), 9. Conor Daly (#47D DiaEdge), 10. Ben Varner (#25v Gladish), 11. Russ Gamester (#46 R & G).
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. SECOND QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac), 2. Cole Bodine (#39BC Clauson Marshall), 3. Spencer Bayston (#84 CBI), 4. Hayden Williams (#1NZ BSL), 5. Gary Taylor (#32 Dunlap), 6. Sam Johnson (#72J Johnson), 7. Daniel Robinson (#57D McCreery), 8. Jonathan Shafer (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 9. Tommy Kouns (#98 Kouns), 10. Kameron Gladish (#4K Gladish), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (#01 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 12. Logan Seavey (#25 Malloy).
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson Marshall), 2. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), 3. Kyle Larson (#86x CBI) 4. Kyle Cummins (#3G Styres), 5. Shane Cottle (#86 Stamper), 6. Chase Randall (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), 7. Chance Crum (#26 Rudeen), 8. Carson Garrett (#15x Garrett), 9. Jeff Schindler (#11 Martin), 10. Justin Dickerson (#21D Dickerson), 11. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 12. Aaron Leffel (#11L Taylor).
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#5 Petry), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), 3. Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), 4. Aiden Purdue (#11m Martin), 5. Zeb Wise (#37 Wood), 6. Trevor Casey (#2c Casey), 7. Maria Cofer (#57 Abacus), 8. Rylan Gray (#81G Gray), 9. Randi Pankratz (#8 Pankratz), 10. Austin Barnhill (#17B Johnson), 11. Robert Bell (#71B Bell), 12. Jacob Denney (#35 Petry).
FIFTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Emerson Axsom (#15 Petry), 2. Ryan Timms (#85T CBI), 3. Corey Day (#47BC Clauson Marshall), 4. Brenham Crouch (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Karter Sarff (#21K Sarff), 6. Chase Elliott (#9 May), 7. Ryan Newman (#6BC Clauson Marshall), 8. Ian Creager (#36 Creager), 9. Tanner Berryhill (#17 Berryhill), 10. Tanner Thorson (#19T Reinbold-Underwood).
SIXTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Chris Windom (#89 CBI), 2. Daison Pursley (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Taylor Reimer (#25K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Chase Briscoe (#5B Briscoe), 5. Tyler Edwards (#36x Dragonfly), 6. Ronnie Gardner (#43 Arnold), 7. Kevin Woody Jr. (#10 Dave Mac), 8. Bryan Stanfill (#75AU Griffiths), 9. Blake Brannon (#40 Brannon), 10. Glenn Waterland (#11c Waterland), 11. Billy Lawless (#17L Lawless).
FIRST D-MAIN: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the C-main) 1. Jacob Denney, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Rylan Gray, 4. Glenn Waterland, 5. Kevin Woody Jr., 6. Ian Creager, 7. Jeff Schindler, 8. Robert Bell, 9. Kameron Gladish, 10. Blake Brannon, 11. Austin Barnhill, 12. Aaron Leffel. NT
SECOND D-MAIN: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the C-main) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Ryan Newman, 4. Jonathan Shafer, 5. Ben Varner, 6. Russ Gamester, 7. Conor Daly, 8. Randi Pankratz, 9. Billy Lawless, 10. Tommy Kouns, 11. Justin Dickerson.
C-MAIN: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the semi) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Zac Taylor, 3. Chance Crum, 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Tanner Thorson, 6. Sam Johnson, 7. Trevor Casey, 8. Maria Cofer, 9. Jacob Denney, 10. Rylan Gray, 11. Daniel Robinson, 12. Carson Kvapil, 13. Shane Cottle, 14. Ryan Newman, 15. Gary Taylor, 16. Carson Garrett, 17. J.J. Yeley, 18. Hayden Reinbold, 19. Bryan Stanfill, 20. Ronnie Gardner.
SEMI: (20 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Karter Sarff, 2. Kaylee Bryson, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Chase Briscoe, 5. Hayden Williams, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Tanner Thorson, 8. Zeb Wise, 9. Taylor Reimer, 10. Chase Randall, 11. Bryant Wiedeman, 12. Sam Johnson, 13. Chance Crum, 14. Zac Taylor, 15. Aiden Purdue, 16. Ethan Mitchell, 17. Tyler Edwards, 18. Chase Elliott, 19. Jason McDougal, 20. Brenham Crouch.
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).
(P) represents a provisional starter
ALSO AT THE TRACK: John Heydenreich (#22 Givens) & Jeff Wimmenauer (#15J Wimmenauer)
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Justin Grant, Laps 2-16 Daison Pursley, Laps 17-21 Thomas Meseraull, Laps 22-23 Kyle Larson, Laps 24-34 Thomas Meseraull, Laps 35-39 Kyle Larson.
**Jacob Denney flipped during practice. Brenham Crouch flipped during practice. Bryant Wiedeman flipped during the second qualifier. Gary Taylor flipped during the C-Main. Chase Randall flipped during the semi. Aiden Purdue flipped during the semi. Chris Windom flipped on lap 6 of the feature. Corey Day flipped on lap 18 of the feature.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1554, 2-Emerson Axsom-1534, 3-Chris Windom-1513, 4-Justin Grant-1462, 5-Tanner Thorson-1450, 6-Daison Pursley-1405, 7-Logan Seavey-1290, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1254, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1252, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1155.
FINAL BC39 PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-26, 2-Tanner Thorson-26, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-26, 4-Emerson Axsom-18, 5-Chase Briscoe-16, 6-Chance Crum-15, 7-Jacob Denney-15, 8-Kyle Larson-12, 9-Rylan Gray-11, 10-Brady Bacon-10.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-118, 2-Justin Grant-116, 3-Chris Windom-115, 4-Brady Bacon-114, 5-Thomas Meseraull-103, 6-Robert Ballou-97, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-94, 8-Logan Seavey-91, 9-Buddy Kofoid-71, 10-Kyle Cummins-68.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 5, 2021 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Pepsi Nationals
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
BC39 ProSource Passing Master: Logan Seavey
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Tanner Thorson
ProSource Hard Work: Logan Seavey & Hayden Williams
Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner: Brady Bacon
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Qualifier Winner: Cannon McIntosh
Indy Metal Finishing Third Qualifier Winner: Tyler Courtney
Indy Race Parts Fourth Qualifier Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Karter Sarff
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Emerson Axsom (19th to 5th)
Saldana Race Products First Non-Transfer: Tanner Thorson
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Kevin Thomas Jr.
KYLE LARSON LOOTS STOOPS PURSUIT AT IMS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (August 18, 2021)………Kyle Larson admitted he got a little lucky during the final segment of Wednesday's Stoops Pursuit on night one of the USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Race leader Kyle Cummins' misfortune resulted in Larson's good fortune as the Elk Grove, Calif. native took advantage of Cummins' turn four slide and stop coming to the white flag.
Larson went virtually unchallenged over the final two circuits to earn his second consecutive Stoops Pursuit victory, a unique 25-lap race split into five segments in which cars are eliminated from the competition by either being passed or stopping after being involved in an accident.
"It would've been tough to get by him with the line he was running," Larson noted of Cummins. "I put a couple of good corners together there to track him down a little bit, then he just over-rotated there. I got lucky for sure."
While several others fell victim to the latter, Larson was the champion of the former by virtue of advancing a total of 15 positions from his 16th starting spot, earning a base prize of $1,500 and $100 for each car he passed, padding his wallet with a solid $3,000 payday for his efforts in the CB Industries/PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall – Billy Boat Performance Exhaust/Spike/Speedway.
Just as he did in 2019, Larson took over the lead for the final two laps. However, Wednesday's edition was a slightly less chaotic Stoops Pursuit ending for Larson than the viral video seen around the world following the final lap of the 2019 event in which two cars flipped and Larson remained as the last one standing, quite literally.
Nonetheless, Larson became the last one standing once again in the sense that he was practically flawless while others faltered. Larson kept his nose relatively clean around the tight confines of the quarter-mile dirt oval and took advantage of a succession of opportunities that arose, including when Grant slipped over the turn four cushion on the start of the fifth and final segment, allowing Larson to slip into second with five laps remaining.
"There's a lot that happens in that race," Larson acknowledged. "It's hard to keep track of where you're running and where you need to finish and try not to be too aggressive in those earlier rounds. I knew (Justin) Grant was really good and I knew if he passed people, he was going to eliminate cars in front of us. It kind of worked out, and a couple mistakes in front of me allowed me to get the win."
With the white flag in sight, Cummins, in his first BC39 experience, held a four car length lead over Cummins as he grooved the low side of the racetrack while Larson worked up top. As he navigated turn four, Cummins became a tick sideways, spelling disaster as his car slid to a halt.
All Cummins could muster at that point was a dejected flip of the visor, a raised palm to the sky, and a wonder of what could've been after leading a race-high 18 of the 25 laps.
Larson turned his fastest lap on the final lap to record a 1.118 second victory with Tanner Thorson second, 2018 BC39 feature victor Brady Bacon third, Justin Grant fourth and 2018 Stoops Pursuit winner Zeb Wise fifth. All drivers finishing the top-five started no better than 12th.
With just one final night BC39 feature experience in his career, a 9th in 2019, Larson feels he's finally got the handle back on his car during what was his first appearance in a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget event of any kind since November of 2020. It certainly didn't take long to knock off the so-called rust heading into Thursday's BC39 finale.
"I finally felt a little bit more comfortable there, especially those last five," Larson said. "I got to run really hard, bend it hard and get good grip. It's been awhile since I've been in a midget, so I'm not familiar enough with being that sideways, but I'm getting the hang of it here and we should be good tomorrow."
The Stoops Pursuit got off to a hectic start on the opening lap when third-starting Aiden Purdue became sideways in turn two, ultimately collecting 10 other cars in the melee, including Corey Day, Spencer Bayston, Ryan Timms, Buddy Kofoid, Logan Seavey, Thomas Meseraull, Chris Windom, Chase Elliott, Kaylee Bryson and Ryan Newman.
Due to the rule of stopping after being involved in an accident, all 11 were eliminated from the event just as soon as their races began.
Cole Bodine led the first five laps of the Stoops Pursuit before being overtaken by Kyle Cummins. Bodine's race ended on lap nine following contact with Justin Grant while battling for second.
Eight heat races were held Wednesday night with Cole Bodine, Chase Randall, Tyler Courtney, Aiden Purdue, Justin Grant, Ryan Timms, Corey Day and Kyle Cummins taking wins.
Grant, who charged from sixth to first in heat race five, is the high-point man heading into Thursday night's finale, which kicks off with six qualifying races.
Riley Kreisel was the lone flip of the night during heat race eight, walking away uninjured from an incident in which he dug his right rear tire into the cushion and barrel-rolled into turn three.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 18, 2021 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink
SIMPSON RACE PRODCUTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Cole Bodine (#39BC Clauson Marshall), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), 3. Karter Sarff (#21K Sarff), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#5 Petry), 5. Bryant Wiedeman (#01 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 7. Blake Brannon (#40 Brannon), 8. Kevin Woody Jr. (#10 Dave Mac).
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Chase Randall (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), 2. Chase Elliott (#9 May), 3. Buddy Kofoid (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Chris Windom (#89 CBI), 5. Hayden Williams (#1NZ BSL), 6. Carson Garrett (#15x Garrett), 7. Jacob Denney (#35 Petry), 8. Justin Dickerson (#21D Dickerson), 9. Tommy Kouns (#98 Kouns). NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson Marshall), 2. Kaylee Bryson (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Chase Briscoe (#5B Briscoe), 4. Zac Taylor (#71T Henry), 5. Jason McDougal (#4 Klatt), 6. Emerson Axsom (#15 Petry), 7. Chance Crum (#26 Rudeen), 8. Ben Varner (#25v Gladish), 9. Jeff Schindler (#11 Martin).
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Aiden Purdue (#11m Martin), 2. Logan Seavey (#25 Malloy), 3. Brady Bacon (#21H TKH), 4. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), 5. Maria Cofer (#57 Abacus), 6. J.J. Yeley (#51 Ware), 7. Robert Bell (#71B Bell), 8. Kameron Gladish (#4K Gladish), 9. Randi Pankratz (#8 Pankratz).
SIMPSON RACE PRODCUTS FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Justin Grant (#2J RMS), 2. Kyle Larson (#86x CBI), 3. Taylor Reimer (#25K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Austin Barnhill (#17B Johnson), 5. Brenham Crouch (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Tanner Thorson (#19T Reinbold-Underwood), 7. Russ Gamester (#46 R & G), 8. Rylan Gray (#81G Gray), 9. Trevor Casey (#2c Casey).
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Ryan Timms (#85T CBI), 2. Daison Pursley (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Tanner Berryhill (#17 Berryhill), 4. Shane Cottle (#86 Stamper), 5. Carson Kvapil (#2MD Dailey), 6. Ronnie Gardner (#43 Arnold), 7. Tyler Edwards (#36x Dragonfly), 8. Billy Lawless (#17L Lawless), 9. Jeff Wimmenauer (#15J Wimmenauer).
INDY METAL FINISHING SEVENTH HEAT: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Corey Day (#47BC Clauson Marshall), 2. Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), 3. Bryan Stanfill (#75AU Griffiths), 4. Gary Taylor (#32 Dunlap), 5. Daniel Robinson (#57D McCreery), 6. Conor Daly (#47D DiaEdge), 7. Ryan Newman (#6BC Clauson Marshall), 8. Aaron Leffel (#11L Taylor), 9. John Heydenreich (#22 Givens).
INDY RACE PARTS EIGHTH HEAT: (10 laps, passing points) 1. Kyle Cummins (#3G Styres), 2. Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac), 3. Spencer Bayston (#84 CBI), 4. Zeb Wise (#37 Wood), 5. Sam Johnson (#72J Johnson), 6. Glenn Waterland (#11c Waterland), 7. Jonathan Shafer (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 8. Ian Creager (#36 Creager), 9. Riley Kreisel (#19 Cox).
STOOPS PURSUIT: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kyle Larson (16), 2. Tanner Thorson (18), 3. Brady Bacon (22), 4. Justin Grant (12), 5. Zeb Wise (24), 6. Kyle Cummins (4), 7. J.J. Yeley (23), 8. Chase Briscoe (5), 9. Emerson Axsom (20), 10. Tyler Courtney (14), 11. Daison Pursley (10), 12. Cole Bodine (2), 13. Conor Daly (26), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 15. Chase Randall (6), 16. Aiden Purdue (3), 17. Corey Day (7), 18. Spencer Bayston (8), 19. Ryan Timms (9), 20. Buddy Kofoid (11), 21. Logan Seavey (13), 22. Thomas Meseraull (15), 23. Chris Windom (17), 24. Chase Elliott (19), 25. Kaylee Bryson (21), 26. Ryan Newman (25). NT
STOOPS PURSUIT LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Cole Bodine, Laps 6-23 Kyle Cummins, Laps 24-25 Kyle Larson.
**Riley Kreisel flipped during the eighth heat.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1511, 2-Chris Windom-1490, 3-Emerson Axsom-1476, 4-Tanner Thorson-1398, 5-Justin Grant-1395, 6-Daison Pursley-1344, 7-Logan Seavey-1257, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1231, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1215, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1132.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-118, 2-Justin Grant-116, 3-Chris Windom-115, 4-Brady Bacon-111, 5-Thomas Meseraull-103, 6-Robert Ballou-97, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-94, 8-Logan Seavey-86, 9-Buddy Kofoid-68, 10-Kyle Cummins-68.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 19, 2021 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink
GRANT SEEKS SECOND BETTENHAUSEN 100 SATURDAY AT SPRINGFIELD
By Jay Hardin – Track Enterprises Staff
Springfield Illinois (August 16, 2021)………Ione, California's Justin Grant reached a milestone in 2017 by claiming his first 100-mile USAC Silver Crown National Championship win at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Grant reached a second milestone when he captured his first USAC Silver Crown title in 2020.
The USAC star is looking to repeat both milestones in 2021.
Winning the Saturday, August 21, Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield would make Grant a two time Springfield winner and go a long way to assisting him in his quest for a second national championship.
Long recognized as one of the stars of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, Grant's natural progression was to the bigger cars, landing one part-time deal in 2012 with legendary championship owner/chief mechanic Bob Hampshire and DePalma Motorsports. The combination had limited success with Grant finishing 13th at the Hoosier Hundred and missing the Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield.
The next season, Grant secured a ride with Marc Longworth for the Hoosier Hundred and went from 18th to 6th. However, rides for the other two miles failed to materialize.
Grant's big break appeared in 2015 when he teamed with owner Chris Carli. A fifth in the Hoosier Hundred was followed by a pole at Springfield and a fourth at Du Quoin. Grant appeared on the cusp of breaking through for that elusive one-mile dirt track win. The 2016 season saw the team make just 2 starts on the dirt miles, with mechanical issues forcing Grant out of the Hoosier Hundred and he ended up 19th at Du Quoin.
Grant got an even bigger break in 2017 as 1996 Indianapolis winning car owner Ron Hemelgarn joined forces with Carli. While the Hoosier Hundred was lost to rain, the combination worked at Springfield, starting on the outside of the front row and leading 79 of 100 miles to claim his first Silver Crown series win as well as his first Bettenhausen 100.
Grant then won at Terre Haute in 2018 for his second series win again with Hemelgarn.
In the pandemic plagued 2020 season, Grant had top finishes, but no victories, and joined legends such as Jimmy Caruthers and Billy Cassella as drivers who won the Silver Crown championship without the benefit of a win during the championship season.
Grant has been a consistent performer in 2021 and pulled off his first pavement win in the big cars by narrowly beating Kody Swanson to the line in the Rich Vogler Classic at Winchester. However, an 18th place finish and crash at Lucas Oil Raceway in the Hoosier Classic dropped him to third in the current standings.
Grant edged Kyle Larson for his second pole at Springfield last year and led the opening ten circuits. A win at Springfield would close the points gap to leader Kody Swanson with just three races remaining after the Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield.
Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of the first Silver Crown Series race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the series itself.
The 58th Bettenhausen 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship & the 28th Annual Illinois Sportsman Nationals DIRTcar Racing Sportsman prelims.
Pits and registration open at 7am Central. The ticket office and grandstands open at 9am. The drivers meeting will take place at 9:30am. Silver Crown practice runs from 10-11:10am followed by Fatheadz Eyewear qualifying at 11:30am Sportsman hot laps at Noon, Silver Crown semi-feature at 12:30pm, Sportsman heats at 1pm, pre-race ceremonies at 1:30pm and the USAC Silver Crown Bettenhausen 100 race 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 park in infield with no infield or pit passes.
Every lap of Saturday's Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
SCHRADER RETURNS TO USAC SILVER CROWN SATURDAY AT SPRINGFIELD
By Jay Hardin – Track Enterprises Staff
Springfield, IL (August 18, 2021)………The excitement of the return of the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the annual weekend of auto racing was enhanced when it was announced that 1982 USAC Silver Crown champion, NASCAR star and fan favorite Ken Schrader would return to pilot one of the big cars in the annual Bettenhausen 100 championship race this Saturday, August 21, on the Springfield Mile.
Schrader returns to Springfield on Saturday aboard the Mark Swanson Encore Team/Rosewood Machine & Tool – Jet Star/Maxim/Moyle Toyota No. 21. The car was most recently driven at Springfield last October by David Gravel, who charged from 26th to 2nd in his series debut. Kody Swanson drove the car to a 3rd place finish at Eldora Speedway this past June.
Jeff Swindell piloted the Swanson ride to a 3rd at Springfield in 2017 and also recorded a 2nd, 3rd and 4th at Du Quoin.
Schrader has won events on the Springfield Mile in virtually every type of race car imaginable, save one, the 96-inch wheelbase beasts whose lineage goes back to the very first days of auto racing.
One of the most well-known and versatile drivers in American auto racing, Schrader has raced for well over 40 years. He continues to travel to short tracks across the United States competing against local and national heroes while still taking time to sign autographs or pose for pictures with his legions of fans. Winning, versatility, and an engaging personality have made him one of the most popular racing drivers in the country.
His foray into big-time auto racing began with his USAC Stock Car debut in 1979. A year later, Ken secured a ride in the last event of the 1980 USAC Silver Crown Series as a teammate to Gary Bettenhausen on the powerful Delrose-Holt team. He immediately set the car on the pole for the 1980 MAB Paints 100 at Terre Haute, his first start in one of the big cars. Ken got a big break in 1981 when Southern Indiana car owner Damon G. "Blackie" Fortune hired Schrader to drive his Silver Crown machine.
Schrader's Rose Brothers sponsored Beck chassis didn't win a race in 1982 though he came close to winning the 100-mile dream event at Springfield in May of 1982. Top finishes made him a contender for the 1982 title, but the car had a problem at the season finale at Nazareth. Fellow driver Sheldon Kinser surrendered his Ben Leyba ride to Schrader, allowing Ken to make the race and win the crown. It was that gesture that caused Ken and his wife to name their son Sheldon.
Schrader has six starts in Silver Crown cars at Springfield with three top-10 finishes. His last start came for owner George Middleton in 1985. While he made an attempt for Dennis McQuinn in 2018, should Ken make the field Saturday it will be a record 36 years between championship starts at Springfield. What else has Ken Schrader done on the Springfield Mile? Well, he won the 1998 Allen Crowe 100 ARCA race, won the 1983 Rex Easton Memorial USAC Midget race and won the June 1998 Modified event.
August 21 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Silver Crown Series race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the 87th anniversary of the first national championship race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Practice for the big cars begins at 10 a.m. Central with Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying at 11:30. The Bettenhausen 100 is scheduled to push off at approximately 2 p.m. Tickets are available by calling Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200 or at the Illinois State Fair Box Office.
40 USAC SILVER CROWN CARS EXPECTED
FOR SPRINGFIELD ON SATURDAY!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Springfield, Illinois (August 18, 2021)………Three former Bettenhausen 100 winners are part of an expected field of 40 USAC Silver Crown drivers for the 58th running of the event on the one-mile dirt oval at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield this Saturday, August 21.
Past Bettenhausen 100 winners in Saturday's massive lineup include two-time winner in 2014-15, Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), who captured the most recent USAC Silver Crown race win and leads the points entering the 100-mile race at the Springfield Mile. Springfield's 2017 winner Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and 2018 victor Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) are in the lineup as well. All three drivers are also past USAC Silver Crown champions.
In fact, the field features an outstanding number of USAC National champions throughout its lineup, including Silver Crown titlists Ken Schrader (Fenton, Mo.) and Jerry Coons Jr. (Patty Bateman), plus USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champs Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) and C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), in addition to 2018 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the winner of the most recent dirt race on the USAC Silver Crown schedule.
The list of USAC Silver Crown winners on the trail who are seeking a first Springfield victory with the series consists of David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wis.), Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.) and Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.).
USAC National Sprint Car and Midget winners vying for a breakthrough in the USAC Silver Crown series are Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.), Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) and Dave Peperak (Clinton, Ind.), whose last appearance with the series came in 1983!
They'll be joined by an impressive array of drivers who'll make up the largest field for a USAC Silver Crown event since the 2018 Springfield race.
The 58th Bettenhausen 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship & the 28th Annual Illinois Sportsman Nationals DIRTcar Racing Sportsman Prelims.
Pits and registration open at 7am Central. The ticket office and grandstands open at 9am. The drivers meeting will take place at 9:30am. Silver Crown practice runs from 10-11:10am followed by Fatheadz Eyewear qualifying at 11:30am Sportsman hot laps at Noon, Silver Crown semi-feature at 12:30pm, Sportsman heats at 1pm, pre-race ceremonies at 1:30pm and the USAC Silver Crown Bettenhausen 100 race 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 park in infield with no infield or pit passes.
Every lap of Saturday's Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
BETTENHAUSEN 100 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (40 CARS)
08 Kyle Steffens/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
2 Patrick Lawson/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)
11 Cary Oliver/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver)
14 Steven Russell/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports)
6 Jason McDougal/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
7 Kyle Robbins/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
9 Kody Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 Jake Swanson/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
16 Austin Nemire/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
18 Travis Welpott/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 Chris Phillips/Plainfield, IN (Nolen Racing)
21 Ken Schrader/Fenton, MO (Mark Swanson Encore Team)
22 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
24 Mike Haggenbottom/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)
30 C.J. Leary/Greenfield, IN (Leary Racing)
31 Dave Berkheimer/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
39 Matt Goodnight/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 David Byrne/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
44 Danny Long/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
47 Austin Mundie/Kaufman, TX (Les & Patty Butler)
48 Nathan Moore/Kaufman, TX (Nathan Moore)
52 Carmen Perigo/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
53 Brady Bacon/Broken Arrow, OK (Five Three Motorsports)
54 Matt Westfall/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)
55 Jerry Coons Jr./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)
57 Dallas Hewitt/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt)
66 Robert Ballou/Rocklin, CA (Bill Rose Racing)
69 Kyle Cummins/Princeton, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 Shane Cockrum/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
74 Casey Buckman/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Racing)
77 Chris Urish/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 Shane Cottle/Kansas, IL (BCR Group)
88 Chris Fetter/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
91 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
97 Chris Windom/Canton, IL (Hans Lein)
99 Korey Weyant/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
110 Chase Stockon/Fort Branch, IN (DMW Motorsports)
123 Jimmy Light/West Springfield, PA (Two-Three Motorsports)
177 Dave Peperak/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak)
188 Terry Babb/Decatur, IL (Terry Babb)
BC39 FORMAT EXPLAINED
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 17, 2021)………Following Tuesday night's heat race draft at the Brickyard Crossing, the starting lineups have been set for all eight heat races that will take place on the opening night of the USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink Wednesday night, August 18, at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The format for Wednesday's program will feature all cars on the track. Each heat race will be 10 laps in length. Points for the heats will be accumulated based on finishing position and total number of positions gained. Cars will be positioned into qualifying races on Thursday night, August 19, for the second and final night of the BC39.
The Stoops Pursuit race on Wednesday night is a 25-lap race split into five-lap segments. The field will include 24 starters – heat race winners plus the highest point earner in each heat are eligible, along with promoter's options. The starting lineup is inverted by fastest heat race time, with promoter's options starting at the rear. Every five laps, USAC will throw a competition flag, 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.
On Thursday, all cars are eligible for the six qualifying races. Qualifying races will be 10 laps each with the top-six starting positions inverted and the top point earner from Wednesday's heat races starting sixth in each qualifier.
Total points from the heat races and qualifying races will be added to set the feature starting lineup, along with transfers from the B-Main, C-Main and front of the D-Main races. The top-16 overall in accumulated points will start straight-up in the first eight rows of the feature.
D-Mains: 12 laps. Includes cars 45-76 in points. The top three finishers in each D-Main transfer into the C-Main.
C-Main: 15 laps. Includes cars 31-44 in points, plus the top three finishers from each D-Main. The top six finishers transfer to the B-Main.
B-Main (Semi-Feature): 20 laps. Includes cars ranked 17-30 in points, plus the top-six finishers from the C-Main. The top six finishers transfer to the night's A-Main feature event.
The 39-lap A-Main feature will have 22 starters, plus two USAC provisional starters (if applicable) and two IMS options.
The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 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.
On track action for the BC39 begins Wednesday, August 18, starting with pits/registration opening at 10am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 5pm and opening ceremonies at 6:30pm. Heat races will begin at 7:30pm and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action at 9pm.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have pits/registration opening at 10am Eastern, public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4:30pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5:30pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple 12-lap D-Mains, the 15-lap C-Main, the 20-lap semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Every lap of the BC39 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
SIMPSON RACE PRODCUTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps)
Kevin Woody Jr. (#10 Dave Mac) | Cole Bodine (#39BC Clauson Marshall)
Blake Brannon (#40 Brannon) | Bryant Wiedeman (#01 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian)
Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central) | Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood)
Karter Sarff (#21K Sarff) | Kevin Thomas Jr. (#5 Petry)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. SECOND HEAT: (10 laps)
Chase Randall (#19A Reinbold-Underwood) | Justin Dickerson (#21D Dickerson)
Chase Elliott (#9 May) | Carson Garrett (#15x Garrett)
Tommy Kouns (#98 Kouns) | Jacob Denney (#35 Petry)
Hayden Williams (#1NZ BSL) | Buddy Kofoid (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian)
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps)
Zac Taylor (#71T Henry) | Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson Marshall)
Ben Varner (#25v Gladish) | Kaylee Bryson (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian)
Jeff Schindler (#11 Martin) | Chance Crum (#26 Rudeen)
Chase Briscoe (#5B Briscoe) | Emerson Axsom (#15 Petry)
Jason McDougal (#4 Klatt)
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps)
Robert Bell (#71B Bell) | Aiden Purdue (#11m Martin)
Kameron Gladish (#4K Gladish) | Maria Cofer (#57 Abacus)
Randi Pankratz (#8 Pankratz) | Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built)
Brady Bacon (#21H TKH) | Logan Seavey (#25 Malloy)
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps)
Taylor Reimer (#25K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian) | Austin Barnhill (#17B Johnson)
Russ Gamester (#46 R & G) | Brenham Crouch (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian)
Tanner Thorson (#19T Reinbold-Underwood) | Justin Grant (#2J RMS)
Trevor Casey (#2c Casey) | Kyle Larson (#86x CBI)
SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps)
Carson Kvapil (#2MD Dailey) | Tanner Berryhill (#17 Berryhill)
Shane Cottle (#86 Stamper) | Ryan Timms (#85T CBI)
Billy Lawless (#17L Lawless) | Daison Pursley (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian)
Jeff Wimmenauer (#15J Wimmenauer) | Ronnie Gardner (#43 Arnold)
Tyler Edwards (#36x Dragonfly)
SEVENTH HEAT: (10 laps)
Ryan Newman (#6BC Clauson Marshall) | Corey Day (#47BC Clauson Marshall)
Conor Daly (#47D DiaEdge) | Gary Taylor (#32 Dunlap)
Bryan Stanfill (#75AU Griffiths) | John Heydenreich (#22 Givens)
Aaron Leffel (#11L Taylor) | Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS)
Daniel Robinson (#57D McCreery)
EIGHTH HEAT: (10 laps)
Sam Johnson (#72J Johnson) | Jonathan Shafer (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian)
Kyle Cummins (#3G Styres) | Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac)
Glenn Waterland (#11c Waterland) | Zeb Wise (#37 Wood)
Riley Kreisel (#19 Cox) | Spencer Bayston (#84 CBI)
Ian Creager (#36 Creager)
AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS HEADLINE PERRIS "CALIFORNIA RACERS HALL OF FAME NIGHT"
By Lance Jennings
AUGUST 16, 2021... The battle for the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Championship resumes this Saturday, August 21st, at Perris Auto Speedway. Promoted by Don Kazarian, the "California Racers Hall of Fame Night" is one of the most anticipated and lucrative dates on the schedule. The open wheel showcase will also feature the PAS Senior Sprints and the Western Racing Association Vintage Cars (Display). Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds in Perris, California, the spectator gates at "America's Premier Dirt Track" will open at 5:00pm and racing is scheduled for 7:00pm. For more event information or advance tickets, visit perrisautospeedway.com or call 951.940.0134. For those that cannot be at the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night's action over the internet.
At intermission, there will be a candy giveaway for kids and a USAC/CRA driver/team meet and greet with the fans on the front straightaway.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- THE 2019 RULE BOOK will be followed in regards to race format and weight rule (1,325 lbs. with driver)
- 2021 APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Hoosier RD20, 105/18 HTW, 105/16 Medium, 105/18 Hard, and 105/18 F85A are also legal with the series. Hoosier Tires are mandatory on all four corners.
- 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.)
- 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.
- 2021 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.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY: Series officials will have transponders to rent at the track for those racers that do not have them.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
The "California Racers Hall of Fame Night" continues the rich tradition of honoring those that have contributed to Southern California Sprint Car Racing. The popular event began in 1996 as the "Jack Kindoll Classic" and when the gates open at 5:00pm, there will be a special autograph session at the PAS Sports Bar. At press time, legends Jimmy Oskie, Brad Noffsinger, Eddie Wirth, John Redican, Stan Atherton, Tony "The Tiger" Simon, and "Super" Rickie Gaunt have confirmed that they will be in attendance. There are rumors of more surprise guests for fans to meet and greet at the autograph session.
At press time, thirteen drivers have won the "California Racers Hall of Fame Night / Jack Kindoll Classic" events. 2006 USAC/CRA Champion, "The Kruser" Cory Kruseman leads all drivers with six victories and Jake Swanson joined the winner's list in 2019 over Richard Vander Weerd, Brody Roa, "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr., and "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams. The race was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
Led by Perris and Ascot infield announcer Chris Holt, additional prize money has been raised for Saturday's "California Racers Hall of Fame Night." The "Billy Wilkerson Fast Time Award" winner will earn $2,100 and an extra $1,000 if the track record is broken. For the fastest four qualifiers that accept the challenge, the "Junior Kurtz / Bill Simpson Trophy Dash" (four 3-lap rotating dashes) will pay $2,000 to the winner with a $4,000 purse. There is an additional $6,000 in lap money as well as extra cash bonuses up for grabs. A special thanks goes out to Chris Holt and everyone that contributed to the event.
Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 227 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car events and forty-two different drivers have claimed victory. "The Demon" Damion Gardner leads all drivers with 48 "home track" wins and Nic Faas set the 1-lap track record of 15.833 on February 25, 2012. In the last four "home track" events, Gardner won the "Sokola Shootout," Brody Roa topped the "70th Running of the Salute to Indy," Gardner scored the June 19th victory, and "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams topped the July 17th show. A complete series win list at Perris is at the end of this release.
Heading to the tenth point race, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) has a 36-point lead over the competition. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner scored thirteenth at Perris on July 17th. At press time, the eight-time champion has three feature wins, five Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, seven top-10 finishes, and 74 feature laps led on the year. The "World's Fastest Sprint Car Driver" has eighty-86 series wins and will be looking for his fifth "California Racers Hall of Fame Night" triumph.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) is second in the chase for the championship. Racing the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Eagle, Roa finished second to Austin Williams at Perris on July 17th. To date, the 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion has one feature win, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, seven top-10 finishes and 55 feature laps led in the campaign. With nine career wins, Brody will have his sights on adding the "California Racers Hall of Fame Night" to his resume.
"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) ranks third in the championship point standings. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Lucas Oil DRC, Williams charged from fifth to win the July 17th main event at Perris Auto Speedway. At press time, the 2009 Co-Rookie of the Year has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, seven top-10 finishes and 32 feature laps led to his credit. "The Big Game Hunter" has ten career wins and will be looking for another "home track" victory.
Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) sits fourth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Driving the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Cam 2 Blue Blood Oil Maxim, Gansen placed seventh at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds. To date, the veteran driver has posted one In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award, nine top-10 finishes, and 1 feature lap led on the season. This Saturday night, Chris will have his sights on earning his first victory with USAC/CRA.
Tommy "Thunder" Malcolm (Corona, CA) is fifth in the championship point chase. Racing Dino Napier's #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&B Powder Coating Maxim, Malcolm scored fifteenth in the July 17th Perris feature. At press time, the young driver has one heat race victory and five top-10 finishes in the campaign. Tommy "Thunder" will be looking for the first USAC/CRA win of his career this Saturday night.
Heading to Perris, Austin Grabowksi (Riverside, CA) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Jake Hodges (Camarillo, CA), Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA), Brent Owens (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI), and Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are "The Cadillac" Cody Williams, Matt Mitchell, Verne Sweeney, A.J. Bender, Matt McCarthy, "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr., "Chargin" Charles Davis Jr., Eddie Tafoya Jr., Logan Williams, "Speedy" Stevie Sussex, Joel Rayborne, Steve Hix, Jeff Dyer, Austin Liggett, "T Dub" Trent Williams, 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 and over) are $25, Kids tickets (6-12) are $5, and Children's tickets (5 and under) are FREE. Walk up tickets will be sold and advance tickets can be purchased online at perrisautospeedway.com or by calling 951.940.0134.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, surfNsprint.com, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race 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.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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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.
CALIFORNIA RACERS HALL OF FAME NIGHT / JACK KINDOLL CLASSIC WINNERS: 1996-Lee Brewer Jr., 1997-Rip Williams, 1998-Cory Kruseman, 1999-Richard Griffin, 2000-Cory Kruseman, 2001-Cory Kruseman, 2002-Steve Ostling, 2003-Lance Gremett, 2004-Rickie Gaunt, 2005-Cory Kruseman, 2006-Tony Jones, 2007-Cory Kruseman, 2008-Damion Gardner, 2009-Mike Spencer, 2010-Mike Spencer, 2011-Mike Spencer, 2012-Mike Spencer, 2013-Cory Kruseman, 2014-Damion Gardner, 2015-Damion Gardner, 2016-Damion Gardner, 2017-R.J. Johnson, 2018-Austin Williams, 2019-Jake Swanson, 2020-CANCELLED.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Damion Gardner, 2-Max Adams, 1-Chase Johnson, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Ryan Timmons, 1-Austin Williams.
PERRIS AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR WINS: 48-Damion Gardner, 24-Mike Spencer, 19-Tony Jones, 17-Cory Kruseman, 9-Nic Faas, 8-David Cardey, 8-Richard Vander Weerd, 7-Rip Williams, 6-Bryan Clauson, 6-Mike Kirby, 6-Matt Mitchell, 6-Danny Sheridan, 6-Austin Williams, 5-Rickie Gaunt, 5-Justin Grant, 4-Robert Ballou, 4-Dave Darland, 4-R.J. Johnson, 3-Garrett Hansen, 3-Brody Roa, 2-Brady Bacon, 2-Darren Hagen, 2-Jesse Hockett, 2-Levi Jones, 2-Blake Miller, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr., 2-Chris Windom, 1-Chad Boespflug, 1-Greg Bragg, 1-Daron Clayton, 1-Charles Davis Jr., 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-Jake Swanson, 1-Scotty Weir, 1-Jason York.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Damion Gardner-638, 2. Brody Roa-602, 3. Austin Williams-579, 4. Chris Gansen-524, 5. Tommy Malcolm-441, 6. Cody Williams-434, 7. Matt Mitchell-374, 8. Verne Sweeney-368, 9. A.J. Bender-353, 10. Matt McCarthy-340, 11. Danny Faria Jr.-319, 12. Charles Davis Jr.-306, 13. Eddie Tafoya Jr.-297, 14. Logan Williams-277, 15. Austin Grabowski �-271, 16. Jake Hodges �-203, 17. Max Adams-195, 18. Ryan Timmons �-192, 19. Stevie Sussex-189, 20. Joel Rayborne-185, 21. Steve Hix-183, 22. Brent Owens �-182, 23. Jeff Dyer-155, 24. Austin Liggett-149, 25. Ikaika O'Brien �-141, 26. Austin Ervine-128, 27. Troy Rutherford-126, 28. Rick Hendrix-119, 29. Shane Sexton �-117, 30. Dan Taylor �-106, 31. Davey Ray-105, 32. Kyle Edwards-87, 33. Trent Williams-80, 34. Chase Johnson-78, 35. James Herrera-77, 36. Tanner Boul �-75, ---. Travis Buckley-75, 38. R.J. Johnson-74, 39. Jonas Reynolds-66, 40. Nate Schank-58, 41. Cal Smith-53, ---. Chris Bonneau-53, 43. Randy Nelson-45, 44. Tyler Hatzikian-42, 45. James Heling-41, 46. Frank Herman-35, 47. Kaleb Montgomery-32, 48. Christopher Muraokoa-31, 49. Tom Hendricks-28, 50. Danny Sheridan-26, 51. Daylin Perreira-10.
2021 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
March 12: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park– Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
March 13: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
March 26: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Max Adams)
April 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
May 1: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
May 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Chase Johnson)
May 22: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
June 19: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 3: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)
July 16: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (CANCELLED)
July 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Austin Williams)
August 14: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 21: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (California Racers Hall of Fame Night)
September 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 6: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA
September 25: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Glenn Howard Classic)
October 2: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Hall of Fame Classic)
October 23: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 12: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 13: *Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
-----------------------------------------------
* = Co-Sanctioned Event with AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars.
This schedule is subject to change.
TWO-TIME USAC BETTENHAUSEN 100 WINNER SWANSON RETURNS TO SPRINGFIELD SATURDAY
By: Jay Hardin - Track Enterprises Staff
Springfield, IL (August 17, 2021)………Five-time USAC Silver Crown champion Kody Swanson had a plan to limit his USAC Silver Crown events to just the pavement events coming in to 2021. Limiting time in the big cars would allow Swanson to pursue other forms of the sport including stock cars and road racing.
However, Swanson won twice on the pavement at Lucas Oil Raceway Park and finished second at Winchester. Swanson's pavement finishes, combined with the loss of two dirt events from the schedule, put him atop the 2021 standings.
A call from the Chris Dyson Racing team altered Swanson's 2021 plans. A chance at top flight equipment on dirt was too much to pass up and Swanson ran the Dyson car to 6th at Selinsgrove and now owns a 48-point lead in the standings entering this Saturday's August 21st's 58th running of the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.
Not only will the Californian be looking for a third Bettenhausen win he would be in the running for an unprecedented sixth Silver Crown Series title.
Dyson crew chief Sean Michael ran a second car for two races in 2020 with Michael listed as the entrant. Michael teamed with Kyle Larson and the two were unbeatable in the races they entered. Larson won the Hoosier Hundred and then dominated the Bettenhausen 100 leading 90 of the 100 miles. Swanson stands a good chance of becoming a three-time winner at Springfield with Michael preparing Dyson's car.
The new Doran Enterprises team entered its first ever Silver Crown event at Lucas Oil Raceway in May with Swanson moving from his 2020 Nolen ride to Doran. The combination clicked immediately as Kody set second quick time and took the lead from Bobby Santos on lap 64 on the way to his 31st Silver Crown series win.
The Doran/Swanson combination set a new track record at Winchester in late July and the driver battled with defending Silver Crown national champion Justin Grant losing to Grant by just a few feet at the finish.
Only 14 drivers have more than one championship race win in the 86-year history of national championship racing at the Illinois State Fair. Kody Swanson is one of the 14 as are Tony Bettenhausen, Gary Bettenhausen, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Jack Hewitt and Chuck Gurney.
Swanson's first race on the Springfield Mile came in 2008 when he finished 4th. He led all 100 miles in his 6th start for his first win in 2014 and led 43 after coming from the 16th spot for win number two in 2015. Swanson is 12th on the all-time money won list in Springfield Silver Crown races.
August 21 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Silver Crown Series race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the series itself. Practice for the big cars begins at 10 a.m. Central with Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying at 11:30. The Bettenhausen 100 is scheduled to push off at approximately 2 p.m.
Tickets are available by calling Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200 or at the Illinois State Fair Box Office.
The Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
BC39: THE PREVIEW By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 17, 2021)………Even though it's only in its third edition, when one thinks of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink, the mind immediately thinks "big," "major," "prestige."
The setting of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the heart-racing on-track activity and an electric atmosphere form the crux of the event that pushes it to "can't miss" status. At the core of the event is its soul, with the driver talent being more than enough to make you salivate.
This year's list includes 72 of the best of the best, the cream of the crop, all vying to add their names to an exclusive, longed-for list, to become a BC39 winner, an Indianapolis Motor Speedway winner, with just 39 laps around a quarter-mile dirt track separating themselves from racing immortality, one of the sport's most coveted trophies and a $15,000 prize.
The Draft Party on Tuesday night, August 17, Brickyard Crossing located at 4400 W. 16th Street from 6-9pm ET will set the heat race lineups for Wednesday night's opener on August 18. Eight heat races will be contested on Wednesday and conclude with the 25-lap Stoops Pursuit.
Qualifying races will kick off Thursday's final night of BC39 activity on August 19 and works its way down from the D-Main to the C, to the B and to the 39-lap A-Main feature event.
PAST WINNERS:
The event boasts two past BC39 winners in Brady Bacon (2018) and Zeb Wise (2019). Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Bacon captured the inaugural BC39 victory three years ago, leading the last nine laps after making the winning move in traffic. The three-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion is the only driver to lead laps in both features in the event's history, leading four laps late before being involved in a tangle with seven laps remaining.
Wise, of Angola, Ind., was victorious in the main event in 2019, leading on two non-consecutive occasions between laps 19-28 as well as the last seven from 33-39. Wise has won main events in both years of the race, also taking a spectacular score in the 2018 Stoops Pursuit with a pass two laps from the checkered.
CLOSE CALL CONTENDERS:
Two handfuls of drivers in the field have gotten themselves close to the promised land of a BC39 victory in their careers, which resulted in a top-10 finish.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) leads all in laps led in the BC39's two-year history. He ran at the front of the pack for 30 laps in 2018 before finishing 3rd. In 2019, he recorded an 8th place result.
Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.) is one of two drivers (Chad Boat) to finish inside the top-five in both BC39 starts, finishing 4th in 2018 and 2nd in 2019 after starting 20th, marking the biggest ever charge through the field in the event's history.
Meanwhile, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), the series' most recent winner on Aug. 7 at Pennsylvania's Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, is one of four drivers to finish in the top-10 of both BC39 feature races, joining Boat, Thomas and Courtney.
Reigning USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) finished 3rd in 2019. The 2020 champ is one of eight past USAC National Midget champions in this year's BC39 field alongside Russ Gamester (1989), J.J. Yeley (2003), Jerry Coons Jr. (2006 & 2007), Tanner Thorson (2016), Spencer Bayston (2017), Logan Seavey (2018) and Courtney (2019). Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) finished 5th in the BC39 in 2019 while Coons was a best of 9th in 2018.
Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) is the hottest race driver on planet earth right now, fresh off a Knoxville Nationals victory last Saturday night. Larson's best result in a BC39 A-Main was 9th in 2019, but his most memorable result came in the Stoops Pursuit the night before in which he was the last car standing, literally, en route to the final lap victory while two of his fellow competitors flipped in front of and beside him.
FEATURE RETURNEES:
Without going into too much depth, let's just say that a BC39 lineup from any year does not lack in depth. You have champions, feature winners, NASCAR stars, INDYCAR stars, and so on and so on, all throughout the field. And that just may be the semi-feature lineup we're speaking of.
A smattering of drivers have made starts in the BC39 feature, but have seen misfortune fall their way and, most certainly, are eying even bigger and better things this coming week to move up the leaderboard, most of whom have won multiple USAC National Midget features in their career.
Among those are Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) who led the first 19 laps of the 2019 BC39 before being involved in an accident midway through the feature, which resulted in a non-indicative 19th place finish. Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was 16th in 2018 after running near the top-five late before getting embroiled in a tangle. Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) flipped late in 2019 to finish 18th. Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) took 20th in 2019.
Chase Briscoe and Maria Cofer are both seeking first career USAC National Midget feature wins. NASCAR Rookie of the Year contender and IMS Road Course winner with the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Briscoe (Mitchell, Ind.), took 24th in the 2019 BC39. Cofer (Macdoel, Calif.), a multi-time winner on the USAC Western States Midget trail and a BCRA Midget champ to boot, was 17th in 2018.
LOOKING TO CRACK INTO THEIR FIRST FEATURE:
Even more have returned to The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after previous BC39 appearances, which saw them come up just short of cracking the main event lineup.
USAC Triple Crown champion J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Ariz.) is the lone driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400 and the BC39 in his career, but is still going after his feature start in the event. Same is the case with Conor Daly (Noblesville, Ind.) who led the most laps (40) at the 2021 Indianapolis 500 just less than three months ago.
Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) and John Heydenreich (Bloomsburg, Pa.) are highly-successful veterans of the sport gunning for a coveted spot in the BC39 feature lineup, as is two-time USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget titlist Aaron Leffel (Springfield, Ohio).
Also shooting for a first BC39 A-Main start after previous tries are a number of drivers whose locales span the width of the United States and expand around the globe. Christchurch, New Zealand's Glenn Waterland is one of two Kiwis in the field. Starting on the west coast, Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, Calif.) will make her return as will Carson Garrett from the Rockies of Littleton, Colo. Entering from the Great Plains are Iowa's Robert Bell (Colfax, Iowa) along with Missouri's Sam Johnson (St. Peters, Mo.) and Riley Kreisel (Warsaw, Mo.).
Daniel Robinson (Ewing, Ill.) comes to us from the Illini state while Hoosiers Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.), Justin Dickerson (Pittsboro, Ind.) and Jeff Wimmenauer (New Whiteland, Ind.) race in their homeland to tackle a first career BC39 feature start. Full-time USAC National Midget competitor Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) arrives from the east coast.
BC39 "ROOKIES"
The list of BC39 "Rookies" and first-timers is staggering. Not only do you have USAC National Midget feature winners, you have USAC champions, the current USAC National Midget point leader, a NASCAR champion, a Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 champion, all of whom have never contested a lap at The Dirt Track at IMS coming into this year.
Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) leads the USAC National Midget point standings entering the BC39, which will pay feature points only on Thursday night and appearance points to all others. It's almost shocking that 2016 USAC National Midget champion Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) is a Rookie in the event, but this will, in fact, mark the first appearance of the six-time series winner in 2021.
Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.) is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, and is taking the wheel for his first BC39 foray after three previous USAC National Midget starts this year.
Ryan Newman (South Bend, Ind.) is a 13-time USAC National Midget feature winner, a 1995 series Rookie of the Year and the 1999 USAC Silver Crown champ. He's gone on to win 18 NASCAR Cup races, including the 2008 Daytona 500 and the 2013 Brickyard 400 at IMS.
New Zealand midget champion Hayden Williams (Auckland, N.Z.) is making his BC39 debut as will 2021 USAC National Midget feature winners Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.), Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.) and Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), plus top series Rookie Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and five-time USAC Western States Midget champion Ronnie Gardner (Corona, Calif.).
The talented seven-car Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports bunch has a combined zero laps at the BC39 with all being Rookies this year. Kofoid and Pursley join Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas) and Jonathan Shafer (Ashland, Ohio) in their first BC39 experiences.
Versatile wheelman Gary Taylor (Snohomish, Wash.) will take his first shot at the BC39 along with 2020 USAC IMRA SpeeD2 Midget champion Bryan Stanfill (Bakersfield, Calif.), 2020 USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget champ Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), recent USAC National top-10 finisher Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) as well as Kevin Woody Jr. (Victor, N.Y.), the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger from each of the last two series events.
Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) has been a winner on the USAC Midwest Regional Midget circuit this year while Ian Creager (Covington, Ohio) has found victory lane with the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets. Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) has been victorious with ASCS while Tanner Berryhill (Bixby, Okla.) has twice started NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2.5-mile paved oval at IMS, finishing 29th in 2013 and 30th in 2014.
Mooresville, North Carolina's Carson Kvapil will make his USAC debut in the BC39 this week. Carson's father Travis Kvapil is the 2003 NASCAR Truck Series champion and made seven Brickyard 400 starts at IMS between 2005 and 2014.
Kvapil is joined by a whole host of first-time BC39 entrants, a list which includes Trevor Casey (Altoona, Iowa), Kameron Gladish (Indianapolis, Ind.), Jeff Schindler (Evansville, Ind.), Aiden Purdue (Clinton, Ill.), Austin Barnhill (Wilmington, N.C.), Billy Lawless (Fresno, Calif.), Karter Sarff (Mason City, Ill.), Ben Varner (Harbor Springs, Mich.), Tyler Edwards (Salina, Okla.), Blake Brannon (Morgan Hill, Calif.), Joe B. Miller (Millersville, Mo.), Zac Taylor (Green River, Wyo.), Rylan Gray (Greenfield, Ind.) and Tommy Kouns, who shares a hometown of Lebanon, Ind. with the USAC Midget's all-time king, Mel Kenyon.
THE DETAILS
The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 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.
The USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink gets amped up on Tuesday, August 17, with the BC39 Draft Party where drivers will choose their heat race positions for the opening night of the BC39. The Draft Party will be held at the Brickyard Crossing located at 4400 W. 16th Street in Indianapolis, Ind. from 6-9pm ET. FloRacing will have live coverage of the draft beginning at 7pm.
On track action for the BC39 begins Wednesday, August 18, starting with pits/registration opening at 10am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 5pm and opening ceremonies at 6:30pm. Heat races will begin at 7:30pm and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action at 9pm.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have pits/registration opening at 10am Eastern, public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4:30pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5:30pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple 12-lap D-Mains, the 15-lap C-Main, the 20-lap semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Every lap of the BC39 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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ENTRY LIST: 2021 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 POWERED BY NOS ENERGY DRINK
(72 entries)
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1NZ HAYDEN WILLIAMS/Auckland, NZ (BSL Racing)
2c TREVOR CASEY/Altoona, IA (Casey Racing)
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)
2MD CARSON KVAPIL/Mooresville, NC (Marc Dailey Racing)
3G KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Glenn Styres Racing)
4 JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
4K KAMERON GLADISH/Indianapolis, IN (Gladish Motorsports)
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN (Chase Briscoe Racing)
6BC RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Paul May Motorsports)
10 KEVIN WOODY JR./Victor, NY (Dave Mac Motorsports)
11 JEFF SCHINDLER/Evansville, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin)
11c GLENN WATERLAND/Christchurch, NZ (Glenn & Hayley Waterland)
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Team Taylor Racing)
11m AIDEN PURDUE/Clinton, IL (Brian & Deidre Martin)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports)
15J JEFF WIMMENAUER/New Whiteland, IN (Jeff Wimmenauer)
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17 TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK (Berryhill Family Racing)
17B AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC (Sam Johnson Racing)
17L BILLY LAWLESS/Fresno, CA (Lawless Racing)
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Petry Motorsports)
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19K RILEY KREISEL/Warsaw, MO (Ron Cox)
19M ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
19T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson)
21H BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (TKH Motorsports)
21K KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Karter Sarff Racing)
22 JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (John Givens)
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Tom Malloy)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
25v BEN VARNER/Harbor Springs, MI (Gladish Motorsports)
26 CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)
32 GARY TAYLOR/Snohomish, WA (Mike & Brian Dunlap)
35 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Petry Motorsports)
36 IAN CREAGER/Covington, OH (Tod Creager)
36x TYLER EDWARDS/Salina, OK (Dragonfly Aviation)
37 ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Matt Wood Racing)
39BC COLE BODINE/Rossville, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Brannon Corporation)
43 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Kevin Arnold)
46 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (R & G, Inc.)
47BC COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Clauson Marshall Racing)
47D CONOR DALY/Noblesville, IN (DiaEdge Racing)
49 JOE B. MILLER/Millersville, MO (Chris Lewis)
51 J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Rick Ware Racing)
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Abacus Racing)
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (Daniel Robinson)
67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
67K JONATHAN SHAFER/Ashland, OH (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71B ROBERT BELL/Colfax, IA (Robert Bell)
71K DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71T ZAC TAYLOR/Green River, WY (Todd Henry)
72J SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO (Sam Johnson Racing)
75AU BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA (Griffiths Motorsport)
81G RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN (Gray Racing)
84 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (CB Industries)
85 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Central Motor Sports)
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries)
86 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Danny Stamper)
86x KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (CB Industries)
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries)
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
98 TOMMY KOUNS/Lebanon, IN (Tommy Kouns)
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1511, 2-Chris Windom-1490, 3-Emerson Axsom-1476, 4-Tanner Thorson-1398, 5-Justin Grant-1395, 6-Daison Pursley-1344, 7-Logan Seavey-1257, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1231, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1215, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1132.
PAST BC39 FEATURE WINNER:
2018: Brady Bacon
2019: Zeb Wise
PAST STOOPS PURSUIT WINNERS:
2018: Zeb Wise
2019: Kyle Larson
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT THE DIRT TRACK AT IMS:
10 Laps - 9/6/2018 - Jake Neuman - 2:06.99
PAST BC39 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
BC39 FORMAT EXPLAINED
With 72 drivers entered, the competition to make the field for the USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink will be almost as intense as that in the feature event August 18-19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Only about a third of the entries for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship race on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will qualify for the main event on Thursday night (Aug. 19).
The United States Auto Club (USAC) is using an action-packed format to trim the huge, star-studded field to the feature starting lineup paying $15,000-to-win.
The main event will award feature points only toward the season-long USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship standings for all licensed drivers and entrants.
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.
Take a look at the format:
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18:
The format for Wednesday's program will feature all cars on the track. However, this will not be for qualifying as is usually done for the majority of USAC National events. Instead, all cars will draw randomly for heat race positions and do a hot lap with their heat. There will only one round of hot laps.
While the race for victory will be paramount, the battle for points will be just as essential and filled with pressure. Each car will gain points based on passes and their finishing position, which will determine starting position in the qualifying races on Thursday night.
Each of the eight (8) heat races will be 10 laps in length with the starting lineups determined by the heat race "draft" on Tuesday night at the Brickyard Crossing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Points for the heats will be accumulated by finishing position and total number of positions gained or lost. Cars will be positioned into qualifying races Thursday based on the "passing points" accumulated in Wednesday's heats.
The Stoops Pursuit race Wednesday night is a 25-lap race split into five-lap segments. The field will include 24 starters – heat race winners plus the highest point earner in each heat are eligible, along with promoter's options. The starting lineup is inverted by fastest heat race time, with promoter's options starting at the rear. Every five laps, USAC will throw a competition flag, 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.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19:
All cars are eligible for Thursday's six qualifying races. Qualifying races will be 10 laps each with top-six starting positions inverted and the top point earner from Wednesday's heat races starting sixth.
Total points from the heat races and qualifying races will be added to set the feature starting lineup, along with transfers from the B-Main, C-Main and front of the D-Main races. The top-16 overall in accumulated points will start straight-up in the first eight rows of the feature.
D-Mains: 12 laps. Includes cars 45-76 in points. The top three finishers in each D-Main transfer into the C-Main.
C-Main: 15 laps. Includes cars 31-44 in points, plus the top three finishers from each D-Main. The top six finishers transfer to the B-Main.
B-Main (Semi-Feature): 20 laps. Includes cars ranked 17-30 in points, plus the top-six finishers from the C-Main. The top six finishers transfer to the night's A-Main feature event.
The 39-lap A-Main feature will have 22 starters, plus two USAC provisional starters (if applicable) and two IMS options.
THE DETAILS
The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 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.
The USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink gets amped up on Tuesday, August 17, with the BC39 Draft Party where drivers will choose their heat race positions for the opening night of the BC39. The Draft Party will be held at the Brickyard Crossing located at 4400 W. 16th Street in Indianapolis, Ind. from 6-9pm ET. FloRacing will have live coverage of the draft beginning at 7pm.
On track action for the BC39 begins Wednesday, August 18, starting with pits/registration opening at 10am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 5pm and opening ceremonies at 6:30pm. Heat races will begin at 7:30pm and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action at 9pm.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have pits/registration opening at 10am Eastern, public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4:30pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5:30pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple 12-lap D-Mains, the 15-lap C-Main, the 20-lap semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Every lap of the BC39 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
STOOPS PURSUIT TO PUT EXCLAMATION POINT
ON WEDNESDAY'S BC39 OPENER!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 16, 2021)………We've seen the highlights. We've watched in awe. We've watched the highlights again and again and again.
The Stoops Pursuit race returns this Wednesday night, August 18, at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the unique 24-car, 25-lap race will conclude night one's festivities for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship's Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink at the quarter-mile dirt oval.
Back in 2019, Kyle Larson literally became the last man standing on the final lap of the Stoops Pursuit during the opening night of the BC39, surviving and thriving during the final five-lap stint in which just three drivers remained in contention: Larson, Justin Grant and Michael Pickens.
The trio entered the back straightaway on the final lap off turn two under a proverbial blanket. Pickens dove underneath Larson entering turn three on the final lap. As both went for the same piece of real estate at the entrance of turn three, Pickens' right rear tire climbed Larson's left front, sending Pickens flipping wildly and Larson into a 360 spin at the edge of the infield.
Moments later, Grant seemed to have a clear path to victory on the top side, but instead, banged his right rear tire off the turn three wall, sending himself into a series of barrel rolls against the concrete.
With a cloud of dirt kicked up from the infield and his car's camber askew, Larson pointed his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/Curb Records/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota in the right direction, tip-toed around the bottom of the fourth turn and gassed his way back to the finish line as the winner.
Now two years removed from that race, some highlight viewers still comment, "Why were there only three cars," and so forth and so on.
The basic reasoning is that this is an event unlike any other in midget racing. The details are that it is a 25-lap race split into five 5-lap segments. The field will include 24 starters consisting of Wednesday night's heat race winners plus the highest point earner from each heat, with promoter's options starting at the rear.
The starting lineup is inverted by fastest heat race time. Every five laps, a competition yellow will be displayed. When the yellow flag is flown, all cars with a net loss in position, or that were stopped on track after being involved in an accident, will be eliminated from the event and called upon to pull to the infield.
A checkered flag ends the final segment, with the winner earning $1,500 plus $100 for each position gained.
Zeb Wise won the inaugural Stoops Pursuit in 2018 while Kyle Larson was victorious in the most recent edition in 2019.
The USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink gets amped up on Tuesday, August 17, with the BC39 Draft Party where drivers will choose their heat race positions for the opening night of the BC39. The Draft Party will be held at the Brickyard Crossing located at 4400 W. 16th Street in Indianapolis, Ind. from 6-9pm ET. FloRacing will have live coverage of the draft beginning at 7pm.
On track action for the BC39 begins Wednesday, August 18, starting with pits/registration opening at 10am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 5pm and opening ceremonies at 6:30pm. Heat races will begin at 7:30pm and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action at 9pm.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have pits/registration opening at 10am Eastern, public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4:30pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5:30pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple 12-lap D-Mains, the 15-lap C-Main, the 20-lap semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
$77,100 NIGHT FOR SWANSON CAPPED OFF WITH HOOSIER CLASSIC SILVER CROWN WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (August 14, 2021)………On a night in which he pocketed a total of $77,100 in total prizes, Kody Swanson saved his best for his last in an encore performance during Saturday night's inaugural Hoosier Classic USAC Silver Crown feature at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind.
After winning the Sprint Car feature and finishing third in the midget earlier in the evening, the Kingsburg, Calif. native wrapped up the evening with a dominant, picture-perfect Silver Crown performance at the .686-mile paved oval, leading all 100 laps in his Doran Enterprises/Glenn Farms – Lykins Energy Solutions/Beast/Lanci Ford.
By winning two of the three features throughout the program, Swanson netted the Fatheadz Challenge $50,000 bonus and, added in with his $12,000 Silver Crown victory, $1,100 pole award courtesy of Fatheadz Eyewear and PJ1, along with his winnings from the sprint car and midget events, it totaled the richest day for any driver walking out of a Lucas Oil Raceway USAC event, surpassing the $60,280 captured by Dave Steele following his sweep of the Mopar Twin 25 Midget races in 2002.
Swanson's 2021 season includes five Lucas Oil Raceway victories (2 Silver Crown, 2 Midget & 1 Sprint), which has elevated him to second on the track's all-time USAC win list with 13, just two behind Tracy Hines at the top. His seventh overall Silver Crown win at the track also made him LOR's all-time winningest driver with the series, surpassing younger brother Tanner Swanson's six.
Every race for Swanson seemingly brings another record, another milestone, another mind-boggling moment that is recorded in the record books. But with so much at play, with all the preceding noteworthy tidbits and the hefty paycheck awaiting, Swanson felt the heart pumping at a bit of a higher rate in anticipation for this particular night.
"Kevin Doran and everybody that's a part of this 77 team have been working really hard and worked really hard today," Swanson praised. "I was probably a little grumpy just because the pressure was getting to me, and I know what's at stake. Everybody kept working and never quit and I'm really thankful for the opportunity to race for them and what we've been able to accomplish at Lucas Oil Raceway this year."
With his LOR victory, Swanson has now opened up a 48-point lead in the USAC Silver Crown standings as he chases a record-extending, unparalleled sixth series championship. This all coming despite missing a race at Williams Grove Speedway in June at a time when his plans didn't include a full run at another championship. But, now in the driver's seat of the title race once again, Swanson is game for whatever it takes.
"I wasn't planning on it," Swanson admitted. "I wasn't running for points and was trying to do different things to make some new opportunities in my career. But at this point, to be in a great situation with a chance, and a couple people willing to stick me in a couple of dirt cars down the stretch, maybe we'll give it a shot."
From the pole, Swanson was dominant early, often and throughout, immediately gapping the field to the tune of 1.253 seconds in the early stages.
After 15th running Shane Cottle stopped in turn four to prompt a caution on lap 38, eighth running Ryan Newman took a detour to the pit area with mechanical trouble, which cost him a lap and nine positions back to 17th, where he'd run until lap 58 when he was forced to bow out for good. The 1999 USAC Silver Crown champ, who was making his first series start in two years, finished with a 20th place result.
The driver on the move through the middle portion of the race was seventh starting Tyler Roahrig in his USAC Silver Crown debut. The 2021 Little 500 Sprint Car winner at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway powered under Tanner Swanson for the third spot between turns three and four on the 45th lap, then subsequently chased down David Byrne for second on the 50th lap and jetted past in turn one for the runner-up position.
Reigning USAC Silver Crown champ Justin Grant, running 14th, took a huge hit in more ways than one on the 81st lap when he spun sideways at the exit of turn four and slammed backwards against the infield front straightaway wall, knocking him out of the race and delivering a massive blow to his title chances. Grant was one point out of the lead and second in the standings coming in, but now resides in third, a distant 50 points behind.
Trouble also found fourth-running Derek Bischak with 13 laps remaining as he slowed to a stop at the entrance to the pits in turn three. It was a heartbreaker for the Angola, Ind. driver who was on pace to post his best career USAC Silver Crown finish.
The biggest melee of the night occurred on lap 94 as Tanner Swanson and Aaron Pierce touched wheels while battling for fifth in between turns one and two. The contact was made between Tanner's right from tire and Pierce's left rear, sending Pierce spinning to the bottom of turn two. Nathan Byrd, running 10th, attempted to take evasive action, but collided with Pierce, knocking both out of the race and heavily damaging both machines.
Meanwhile, ninth running Eric Gordon also stopped on the back straightaway. His car was loaded up and carried back to the pits.
The yellow flag period, and the ensuing cleanup during the caution laps, which counted up to lap 98, created a green-white-checkered finish scenario.
When the green flag was displayed, Roahrig was able to hang with K. Swanson for the first of the two laps, maintaining a distance of one to two car lengths. However, on the second lap of the GWC, and final lap of the race, K. Swanson ably stretched his lead out, ultimately prevailing by a 0.988 margin over Roahrig, Santos, Tanner Swanson and Byrne.
Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.) demonstrated one of the most impressive USAC Silver Crown debuts in recent memory in his Klatt Enterprises/Wilwood Disc Brakes – Lucas Oil – Brown & Miller Racing Solutions/Beast/J & D Ford.
Roahrig became just the second driver in the last 28 years to finish inside the top-two in his first USAC Silver Crown start. David Gravel was the most recent to do so, finishing second at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2020. Prior to that occurrence, the most recent occasion of a top-two debut came on pavement and was turned in by P.J. Jones at Lucas Oil Raceway in 1994.
"I didn't forecast a second place right at first, but this is a great team," Roahrig acknowledged. "There's a reason this car is always fast. Terry Klatt and Bob East put a good piece under me. I can't say I'm totally surprised because I'm in good stuff, but I've still got work to do here. This place is really tough and I'm sure the car's still probably better than the driver. That was a lot of fun. I think these cars fit me because of my background with late models."
Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) finished his Hoosier Classic with three consecutive podium finishes with a third in the sprint car, a second in the midget, and closed out with another third-place result in his DJ Racing/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Simpson Race Products/Beast/Speedway Chevy Silver Crown car.
"Overall, I can't complain," Santos said. "We were just not as good as we wanted to be. But I can't be upset. It was still a good night. We've always got to keep working on it, keep making changes and just keep getting better. It's just never good enough."
Ninth-place finisher Russ Gamester reached a milestone on Saturday night by making his 200th career USAC Silver Crown start, becoming the second driver to reach the 200 mark. He remains just one behind Dave Darland (201), who owns the all-time record in that category.
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 14, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – Hoosier Classic
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/PJ1 QUALIFYING: (Two-Lap Average) 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran-20.803; 2. Tanner Swanson, 02, Bowman-20.862; 3. Bobby Santos, 22, DJ-21.060; 4. Derek Bischak, 131, Bischak-21.087; 5. Ryan Newman, 2v, Vance-21.094; 6. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-21.162; 7. Tyler Roahrig, 6, Klatt-21.244; 8. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-21.272; 9. Logan Seavey, 222, Rice-21.333; 10. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-21.360; 11. Kyle O'Gara, 1, SFHR-21.376; 12. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-21.493; 13. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-21.570; 14. Eric Gordon, 99, Armstrong-21.632; 15. Shane Cottle, 81, BCR-21.705; 16. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-21.725; 17. Taylor Ferns, 55, Ferns-21.725; 18. Nathan Byrd, 11, Hamilton/Byrd-21.861; 19. Joe Liguori, 32, Williams-21.933; 20. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-21.965; 21. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-22.203; 22. Annie Breidinger, 80, Breidinger-22.238; 23. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-22.652; 24. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-23.045; 25. Jake Day, 42, Day-23.416; 26. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-26.032.
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
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Kody Swanson.
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-335, 2-Logan Seavey-287, 3-Justin Grant-285, 4-Shane Cottle-247, 5-David Byrne-244, 6-Kyle Robbins-227, 7-Austin Nemire-225, 8-Travis Welpott-216, 9-Mike Haggenbottom-212, 10-Bobby Santos-198.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-118, 2-Justin Grant-116, 3-Chris Windom-115, 4-Brady Bacon-111, 5-Thomas Meseraull-103, 6-Robert Ballou-97, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-94, 8-Logan Seavey-86, 9-Buddy Kofoid-68, 10-Kyle Cummins-68.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 21, 2021 – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, Illinois – 1-Mile Dirt Oval – Bettenhausen 100
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Quality Driving Performance of the Night: Tyler Roahrig
Fatheadz Eyewear/PJ1 Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Mike Haggenbottom (23rd to 11th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Aaron Pierce
SWANSON FINDS MISSING PUZZLE PIECE
IN HOOSIER CLASSIC SPRINT WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (August 14, 2021)………Coming into Saturday night's inaugural Hoosier Classic, the only absent piece Kody Swanson had on his Lucas Oil Raceway puzzle from the 2021 season was a sprint car victory.
He filled in that missing space just fine in the 50-lap main event, becoming just the second driver to win a USAC Silver Crown, Midget and Sprint Car feature at Brownsburg, Indiana's Lucas Oil Raceway in the same season. Mike Bliss had been the only prior driver to accomplish the feat, doing so during back-to-back years in 1993 and 1994.
Swanson's $10,000 victory was the third sprint car win of his career under the USAC banner at the .686-mile paved oval, leading the final 29 laps in his Doran Enterprises/Glenn Farms – Lykins Energy Solutions/Beast/Binks Chevy. The race was a USAC non-points special event for the sprint cars.
Saturday's feature was just the fourth 50-lap Sprint Car race at the track and the first in half a century. Parnelli Jones won the first 50-lap USAC Sprint Car feature at Lucas Oil Raceway, then known as Indianapolis Raceway Park, in 1961. A.J. Foyt followed Parnelli with a 50-lap score in 1962 while Gary Bettenhausen won the most recent in 1970.
Though it originated under auspicious beginnings with not being able to discover the speed they thought they'd have in hot laps and qualifying, Swanson and team found what they needed in the feature and picked their way back to the place Swanson had been 11 previous times in his LOR career – victory lane.
"That sprint car race was tough because we weren't where we needed to be," Swanson stated. But once I got to the lead, there were no excuses left. I had to finish it.
I'm thankful for everyone at Doran Racing and for how hard they worked today," Swanson continued. "It wasn't pretty. We missed a lot of practice chasing some gremlins, but nobody ever gave up. We kept going until the buzzer sounded in qualifying. We took a gamble in the feature and, luckily, it paid off for us."
Swanson started seventh in the 26-car field after qualifying fourth overall in a unique two-lap qualifying average format. With a 10-car inversion, that moved Swanson to the inside of row four on the grid and, from there, he quickly moved to fifth on lap one, then split between Caleb Armstrong and Billy Wease in turn four to stake third on lap two. By lap 12, Swanson had charged to second underneath Taylor Ferns in turn one and was well on his merry way toward the front.
Meanwhile, Aaron Pierce had blasted by everyone on the initial start, leading the opening lap after starting in the fourth spot, opening up a sizable lead through the first 20 laps. However, the yellow flag dropped on lap 20 as early challenger Ferns slowed to a stop in turn four, closing the gap for the frontrunners on the ensuing restart, thus setting up the game changing move by Swanson.
A lap after the restart, on lap 22, Swanson dove to the bottom of turn one underneath Pierce. When Swanson slid up, he found himself in a side-by-side silhouette with Pierce. The two were seemingly tethered together all the way from the entry of turn one to the exit of turn four before Swanson broke free, beating Pierce to the stripe by a half car length.
"I felt like the only place I was really gaining on Aaron, at that point in time, was on entry," Swanson explained. "I had to just get in there and try to get beside him. He left me room and I tried to leave him room too. Once I got there, I had to finish it because if I didn't clear him then, I may not ever get another chance. It was a hard race, and hard coming from seventh."
Once Swanson slipped by Pierce on lap 22, it was a free-for-all behind his back bumper as Kyle O'Gara slotted into second underneath Pierce in between turns three and four, and ditto for Bobby Santos who corralled third from Pierce in the same locale on the 24th circuit.
Swanson went undenied and unchallenged for the remainder of the way, racking up his 12th Lucas Oil Raceway USAC feature victory and his first Kenny Irwin Jr. Memorial trophy. O'Gara finished second with Santos third, Tanner Swanson fourth and Pierce rounding out the top-five.
Tyler Roahrig earned a $500 bonus from PJ1 for his two-lap qualifying average time of 20.799. The 2021 Little 500 winner dropped out of the feature while running seventh with 18 laps remaining.
USAC SPRINT CAR SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: August 14, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Track – Hoosier Classic
PJ1 QUALIFYING: (Two-Lap Average) 1. Tyler Roahrig, 5, Klatt-20.799; 2. Bobby Santos, 22A, DJ-20.893; 3. Kyle O'Gara, 67, SFHR-20.985; 4. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran-21.051; 5. Taylor Ferns, 55F, Ferns-21.121; 6. Tanner Swanson, 4, Nolen-21.128; 7. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-21.130; 8. Caleb Armstrong, 7c, Neal-21.144; 9. Billy Wease, 12w, Wease-21.185; 10. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-21.316; 11. Joe Liguori, 13, Liguori-21.435; 12. Nick Hamilton, 32, Hamilton-21.448; 13. Dakoda Armstrong, 1, Neal-21.501; 14. Kyle Robbins, 17R, KR-21.652; 15. Bryan Gossel, 6G, Gossel-21.662; 16. Jake McElfresh, 12, Powell-21.673; 17. Tony Main, 74, Main-21.698; 18. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-21.800; 19. Chris Neuenschwander, 10, Koehler-21.947; 20. Brian Vaughn, 71, Carmany-22.118; 21. Justin Harper, 53, TCJ-22.126; 22. Mark Hall, 45, Hallmark-22.600; 23. Chris Jagger, 27, Jagger-22.802; 24. Gary Dunkle, 34, Dunkle-23.591, 25. Nathan Byrd, 11, Hamilton/Byrd-NT; 26. Derek Bischak, 131, Bischak-NT.
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (7), 2. Kyle O'Gara (8), 3. Bobby Santos (9), 4. Tanner Swanson (5), 5. Aaron Pierce (4), 6. Caleb Armstrong (3), 7. Joe Liguori (11), 8. Nick Hamilton (12), 9. Kyle Robbins (14), 10. Dakoda Armstrong (13), 11. Bryan Gossel (15), 12. Tony Main (17), 13. Travis Welpott (18), 14. Brian Vaughn (20), 15. Jake McElfresh (16), 16. Mark Hall (22), 17. Billy Wease (2), 18. Tyler Roahrig (10), 19. Chris Neuenschwander (19), 20. Justin Harper (21), 21. Taylor Ferns (6), 22. Chris Jagger (23), 23. Gary Dunkle (24), 24. Russ Gamester (1), 25. Nathan Byrd (25), 26. Derek Bischak (26). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Aaron Pierce, Laps 22-50 Kody Swanson.
WISE THE LATE RACE HERO
IN MIDGET WIN AT HOOSIER CLASSIC
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (August 14, 2021)………Josh Wise had a one-track mind Saturday night during the final laps of the inaugural Hoosier Classic Browns Oil Champion Midget feature at Brownsburg, Indiana's Lucas Oil Raceway.
When the opportunity presented itself four laps from the finish of the 50-lap feature, Wise went on the attack and swiped the victory with a daring pass of Bobby Santos between turns one and two to score his first career victory at the track in dramatic fashion.
The $10,000 win was the first for the Riverside, Calif. native in Midget competition under USAC's banner since a score at Wisconsin's Angell Park Speedway all the way back in 2009. Saturday night's event was a non-points special event for USAC.
To Wise, winning is something that'll never go out of style. Similar things can be said about the tried and true setup on his Alex Bowman Racing/Valvoline - Brown & Miller Racing Solutions - Smith Titanium/Beast/Stanton SR-11x.
"What's funny is I ran the same setup on this thing in 2009 the last time I ran here," Wise revealed. "It's about getting the details right and hard work. Alex gets this thing ready in the shop himself and It's just a beautiful racecar. I'm super lucky to be here."
While the 2005 USAC National Midget titlist and 2006 USAC National Sprint Car champion has won many a race in his career, he left little doubt that this one was special.
"I can't even catch my breath right now, I'm so pumped," Wise exclaimed. "I've got to thank Alex for letting me run this thing. I've had so much fun this year."
Wise, a veteran of 158 NASCAR Cup starts, qualified second in time trials, which required a two-lap average to determine each driver's time. With a 10-car invert, Wise started his journey from the ninth position, which saw him quickly knife his way into second in only eight laps.
Pole sitter Mario Clouser, piloting a tribute painted similarly to the famed Steve Lewis-owned "Nine" cars from yesteryear, controlled the field for the first four laps until June LOR Midget winner Bobby Santos stormed by for the first position with a dive bomb to the bottom of turn one, then cleared Clouser with ease.
The first altercation of the midget feature came on the 11th lap as Cole Carter dueled side-by-side with Kyle O'Gara for the fifth spot. Suddenly, Carter lost control at the exit of turn two, sending his car spinning and nosing head first into the inside back straightaway wall, promptly putting an unwelcome ending to his evening.
Throughout the majority of the event, it was a three-car procession up front with Santos leading a freight train that included Wise and Kody Swanson in lockstep formation. Wise took his shots at Santos on multiple occasions, pulling even midway through the turns before having to fall back into line.
Wise constantly was forced to navigate the precarious position of trying to surpass Santos with one hand while simultaneously attempting to fend off K. Swanson with the other.
Shortly thereafter, Thomas Meseraull, who had worked his way from 21st to 6th and was under Nick Hamilton in a tussle for fifth at the time, spun sideways and performed a long broad slide and skid to a stop at the exit of turn four on the 27th lap. Meseraull ultimately finished 13th.
Tenth running Nathan Byrd found major trouble on the 33rd lap when his car darted left, then right, as he entered turn one before slamming hard into the outside wall. He climbed away from the wreckage, out of the race, and with a 12th place result.
As Santos continued to hold serve up front, entering the final five laps of the event, the ninth running car of Justin Grant crawled to a stop in turn two to force out a yellow, which erased Santos' .681 second lead, bunched up the field and created one final restart, one that Wise most certainly needed for the sequence that played out next.
On the lap 47 restart, Wise showed a nose to the inside of Santos on the front straightaway before shooting below the apron in turn one. That gave Wise the space to get a run and pull even with Santos between turns one and two. The two were dead even into two when Wise surged ahead, and Santos dropped into line behind Wise getting off the corner.
"Bobby was running a really good line," Wise explained. "It was really hard to set up a pass on him and he was holding me really tight. He was going to win it if that late caution hadn't come out. I just made up my mind that if I was on his bumper, I was going to sail it in there and hope that I didn't make contact with him, and it worked out. I could tell he was tight, so if I could get him up off his line, I knew he'd get tight and that was just enough."
Santos took a run right back at Wise in turn three to no avail, then nearly got Wise back in turn one on the following try on lap 48 utilizing the same maneuver in the same spot that Wise had gotten him the lap before. However, Wise kept his foot on the throttle and motored away.
However, on lap 48, the 10th running car of Jake Trainor stopped on the front straightaway, setting up yet another redux between Wise, Santos and K. Swanson. A superb restart by Wise denied any motion or notion that Santos or K. Swanson might've had as the lap counter ticked down to zero.
Wise's return to victory lane was capped by a 0.553 margin over Santos, K. Swanson, Chuck Gurney Jr. and Tanner Swanson.
For Gurney, a two-time USAC National Midget feature winner at LOR in 2008-09, it was his first time behind the wheel since 2011, a fine showing for the man who regularly serves as the assistant crew chief for the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship team.
K. Swanson pocketed a $500 bonus for setting quick time with the midgets on Saturday night courtesy of PJ1. For Kody, it was his fifth consecutive midget fast qualifying time at LOR dating back to August of 2020.
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BROWNS OIL CHAMPION USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: August 14, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Track – Hoosier Classic
PJ1 QUALIFYING: (Two-Lap Average) 1. Kody Swanson, 25, Rodela-21.199; 2. Josh Wise, 55, Bowman-21.337; 3. Tanner Swanson, 7K, Petry/Irwin-21.380; 4. Kyle O'Gara, 1BR, SFHR-21.392; 5. Bobby Santos, 29, Seymour/West-21.459; 6. Nick Hamilton, 7KR, Petry/Irwin-21.470; 7. Cole Carter, 7, Bertrand-21.579; 8. Todd Bertrand, 47, Bertrand-21.685; 9. Justin Grant, 3, Bohanon-21.701; 10. Mario Clouser, 99, Guess-21.704; 11. Jake Trainor, 8, Trainor-21.829; 12. Dalton Armstrong, 7A, C & A-21.832; 13. Chuck Gurney Jr., 51, West-21.899; 14. Nathan Byrd, 47D, Bertrand-21.954; 15. Cody Gerhardt, 60, Western Speed-22.138; 16. Johnny Zych, 9, Zych-22.232; 17. Saban Bibent, 77, Doran-22.614; 18. Blake Brannon, 40, Western Speed-22.880; 19. Ryan Shilkuski, 75, Shilkuski-24.334; 20. Taylor Ferns, 55F, Ferns-NT; 21. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-NT; 22. Bret Sanderson, 66, Sanderson-NT; 23. Annie Breidinger, 80, Breidinger-NT; 24. Tyler Nelson, 33, Hamilton-NT; 25. Brian Karraker, 3BK, Bohanon-NT; 26. Logan Seavey, 25m, Malloy-NT.
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Josh Wise (9), 2. Bobby Santos (6), 3. Kody Swanson (10), 4. Chuck Gurney Jr. (13), 5. Tanner Swanson (8), 6. Mario Clouser (1), 7. Cody Gerhardt (15), 8. Johnny Zych (16), 9. Nick Hamilton (5), 10. Jake Trainor (11), 11. Justin Grant (2), 12. Nathan Byrd (14), 13. Thomas Meseraull (21), 14. Taylor Ferns (20), 15. Kyle O'Gara (7), 16. Saban Bibent (17), 17. Dalton Armstrong (12), 18. Todd Bertrand (3), 19. Cole Carter (4), 20. Ryan Shilkuski (19), 21. Annie Breidinger (23), 22. Tyler Nelson (24), 23. Brian Karraker (25), 24. Bret Sanderson (22), 25. Blake Brannon (18), 26. Logan Seavey (26). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Mario Clouser, Laps 5-46 Bobby Santos, Laps 47-50 Josh Wise.
BC39 FIELD IS SET AT 77 FOR AUG. 18-19 USAC MIDGET EVENT!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 13, 2021)………USAC stars. NASCAR stars. INDYCAR stars. International racing stars. The 77 driver entry list has it all for the August 18-19 USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink Midget event at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The final entries have been set following last night's deadline expiring at midnight Eastern time with the largest car count of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season competing for a $15,000-to-win A-Main prize on the 1/4-mile dirt oval located inside turn three of the famed 2.5-mile paved oval, which will pay feature points only to all USAC National Midget licensed drivers and entrants.
Among the 77 BC39 entries are one NASCAR Cup Series title, and 42 NASCAR Cup Series wins among Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.), Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.) and Ryan Newman (South Bend, Ind.); two Indianapolis Motor Speedway NASCAR winners, Chase Briscoe (Mitchell, Ind.) on the road course with the Xfinity Series and Newman on the oval with the Cup series.
Forty laps led and two Indianapolis 500 top-10 finishes are in the BC39 field between Conor Daly (Noblesville, Ind.) and J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Ariz.).
The BC39 field consists of a total of 23 total USAC National driving championships among Yeley, Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.), Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.), Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) and Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), plus a New Zealand Midget champion in Hayden Williams (Auckland, N.Z.).
A staggering 205 combined USAC National Midget feature wins have been achieved by 25 members of the BC39 lineup: Larson, Newman, Yeley, Windom, Coons, Bacon, Courtney, Thorson, Gamester, Bayston and Seavey in addition to current series point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), John Heydenreich (Bloomsburg, Pa.), Zeb Wise (Angola, Ind.), Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.), Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) and Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.).
Lastly, but not least of all, the field contains the only two previous BC39 feature winners in Brady Bacon (2018) and Zeb Wise (2019).
Three-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion and 2018 inaugural BC39 winner Bacon will be on hand as will Wise, who'll wheel the Matt Wood Racing No. 37 in this year's event and was victorious in the most recent BC39 held in 2019, making the winning pass seven laps from the finish to win the $15,000 event. He also scored the first midget victory of any kind at The Dirt Track at IMS during the Stoops Pursuit in 2018.
Larson, the NASCAR Cup Series superstar and 23-time USAC National Midget feature winner, will be behind the wheel of the CB Industries No. 86, the team with which he dominated with en route to the 2020 Indiana Midget Week title.
As one of four entrants out of the CB Industries stable, Larson will be joined by past USAC National Midget champions Windom and Bayston as well as race Rookie Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.). Larson finished 9th in his lone BC39 feature start in 2019 but won the preceding night's Stoops Pursuit in one of the most dramatic endings in motorsports history.
Windom the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National champion, aims to make his third start in the event following a 3rd place finish in 2019. Bayston, the series' 2017 king, will go after his second start in the event following a 20th place result in 2019. Seavey captured the 2018 series crown and will also be eying a third BC39 start after finishing a personal best 5th in 2019.
Yeley is one of the most decorated drivers in USAC history, capturing a total of five National championships with the club, including becoming the second driver to win all three USAC National titles in the same season in 2003 (Tony Stewart, 1995). Yeley is also the only driver to compete in the BC39, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in his career.
Thorson and Kofoid lead two of the top teams with the series and both are making their BC39 debuts this year. Thorson, the 2016 USAC National Midget champion, is one of three Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports entries along USAC Rookies Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.).
Kofoid is one of seven entries from the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports bunch, all of whom are BC39 Rookies, with Kofoid being joined by two-time series winner Pursley, Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas), Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Jonathan Shafer (Ashland, Ohio).
New Zealand midget champion Williams brings an international flair to the event in a BSL Racing machine while versatile wheelman Gary Taylor has filed his entry to compete for car owners Mike and Brian Dunlap.
2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Elliott will make his BC39 debut this year. The driver with the most laps led in this year's Indianapolis 500, Daly, will make his third consecutive appearance in the BC39. NASCAR Rookie of the Year contender Briscoe, the winner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series' Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on the 2.439 mile road course in 2020, aims to make his second-straight BC39 feature start.
Newman (South Bend, Ind.), an 18-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, will compete in one of four Clauson Marshall Racing entries. Newman captured the 2008 Daytona 500 and the 2013 Brickyard 400 on the 2.5-mile paved oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was a USAC National champion earlier in his career with the Silver Crown series in 1999.
Two-time USAC National champion and recent Kings Royal winner, Courtney, returns for a third BC39 start after finishing 4th in 2018 and charged from 20th to 2nd in the 2019 event. CMR teammates joining Newman and Courtney include the series' youngest ever winner, Day, along with series veteran Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.).
The RMS Racing team of reigning USAC Silver Crown champion Grant and Meseraull, a two-time winner in the USAC National Midget division this year, is entered for the BC39 while Terry Klatt and Bob East have entered a car for multi-time USAC National Midget feature winner McDougal.
USAC career Triple Crown champion and 2018 ninth-place BC39 finisher Coons Jr. is entered along with 1989 USAC National Midget champion Gamester who is making his third-straight appearance in the event.
Two-time 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature winner Axsom will get his first taste of BC39 experience this year. Cottle has won twice on the USAC Regional Midget trail in 2021 and seeks his first BC39 start since 2018 while 1987 Hut 100 and 1990 Chili Bowl winner Heydenreich will make his third appearance in the event.
McIntosh is one of the top young guns on the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget trail, having won three times in his career. He made his BC39 debut in 2019, garnering the last transfer spot in the semi-feature and finishing 18th in the feature after flipping with nine laps remaining.
The BC39 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.
The USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink gets amped up on Tuesday, August 17, with the BC39 Draft Party where drivers will choose their heat race positions for the opening night of the BC39. The Draft Party will be held at the Brickyard Crossing located at 4400 W. 16th Street in Indianapolis, Ind.
The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, August 17, with team parking at Noon Eastern. On track action begins Wednesday, August 18, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 4pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm. Heat races and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have the public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7:30pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
This year's Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink also will be the conclusion of nearly a week of exciting action on the road course and The Dirt Track at IMS. The NASCAR-INDYCAR tripleheader takes place Aug. 13-15, with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR Xfinity Series conducting separate races Saturday, Aug. 14 and the NASCAR Cup Series racing on the IMS road course for the first time Sunday, Aug. 15.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Visit www.IMS.com for more information on tickets to all IMS events in 2021.
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ENTRY LIST: 2021 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 POWERED BY NOS ENERGY DRINK
(77 entries)
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1NZ HAYDEN WILLIAMS/Auckland, NZ (BSL Racing)
2c TREVOR CASEY/Altoona, IA (Casey Racing)
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)
2MD CARSON KVAPIL/Mooresville, NC (Marc Dailey Racing)
3G KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Glenn Styres Racing)
4 JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
4K KAMERON GLADISH/Indianapolis, IN (Gladish Motorsports)
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN (Chase Briscoe Racing)
6BC RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Paul May Motorsports)
9m ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Bundy Built Motorsports)
10 KEVIN WOODY JR./Victor, NY (Dave Mac Motorsports)
11 JEFF SCHINDLER/Evansville, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin)
11c GLENN WATERLAND/Christchurch, NZ (Glenn & Hayley Waterland)
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Team Taylor Racing)
11m AIDEN PURDUE/Clinton, IL (Brian & Deidre Martin)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports)
15J JEFF WIMMENAUER/New Whiteland, IN (Jeff Wimmenauer)
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17 TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK (Berryhill Family Racing)
17B AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC (Sam Johnson Racing)
17L BILLY LAWLESS/Fresno, CA (Lawless Racing)
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Petry Motorsports)
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19K RILEY KREISEL/Warsaw, MO (Ron Cox)
19M ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
19T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson)
21H BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (TKH Motorsports)
21K KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Karter Sarff Racing)
22 JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (John Givens)
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Tom Malloy)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
25v BEN VARNER/Harbor Springs, MI (Gladish Motorsports)
26 CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)
32 GARY TAYLOR/Snohomish, WA (Mike & Brian Dunlap)
35 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Petry Motorsports)
36 IAN CREAGER/Covington, OH (Tod Creager)
37 ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Matt Wood Racing)
38 CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Craig Dori)
39BC COLE BODINE/Rossville, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Brannon Corporation)
41 OLIVER AKARD/Fort Myers, FL (OMR Motorsports)
43 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Kevin Arnold)
46 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (R & G, Inc.)
47BC COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Clauson Marshall Racing)
47D CONOR DALY/Noblesville, IN (DiaEdge Racing)
49 JOE B. MILLER/Millersville, MO (Chris Lewis)
51 J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Rick Ware Racing)
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Abacus Racing)
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (Daniel Robinson)
63 FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA (F & F Racing)
67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
67K JONATHAN SHAFER/Ashland, OH (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71B ROBERT BELL/Colfax, IA (Robert Bell)
71K DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71T ZAC TAYLOR/Green River, WY (Todd Henry)
72 SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO (Sam Johnson Racing)
75AU BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA (Griffiths Motorsport)
81G RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN (Gray Racing)
84 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (CB Industries)
85 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Central Motor Sports)
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries)
86 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Danny Stamper)
86x KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (CB Industries)
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson Racing)
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries)
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
98 TOMMY KOUNS/Lebanon, IN (Tommy Kouns)
116 SCOTT EVANS/Rhome, TX (Scott Evans)
MIDGET RACING INVADES HOOSIER CLASSIC
TRIPLEHEADER THIS SATURDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (August 13, 2021)………Midget racing has long had a home at Brownsburg, Indiana's Lucas Oil Raceway over the past six decades. After an absence of several years in the middle part of the past decade, midget racing has become a monthly can't-miss experience at the .686-mile paved oval.
In fact, this Saturday night's 50-lap $10,000-to-win Browns Oil Service Champion Midget event will be the 142nd Midget event held at the track under the USAC banner since the venue's opening in 1961, and the fourth alone this year, the most Midget races held at LOR since the 1997 season.
Saturday's midget event is a non-points, special event for the series, instead, paying plenty in terms of money and pride.
The unequivocal pavement open wheel dominators of this generation – Bobby Santos, Kody Swanson and Tanner Swanson – have, unsurprisingly, been victorious in a midget at LOR in their careers.
In the last four rounds of midget competition at LOR over the past two seasons, both Santos and Kody Swanson have won two features each. Santos (Franklin, Mass.) has won three times overall dating back to 2006 and won at LOR in June of this year as well, one of his 11 total LOR USAC victories at the track. The 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion was 3rd with the midgets at LOR in May of this year and 4th in July.
Kody (Kingsburg, Calif.) possesses similar stats as Santos in their tug-of-war of supremacy at LOR with 11 overall USAC wins and three in the midget. He won his first in 2010 and has added to his total with two more this year in May and July. Kody has also been the fastest qualifier in each of his last four Midget appearances at LOR in 2020-21 and finished as the runner-up to Santos in June.
Younger brother Tanner Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) has won his fair share of USAC races at LOR with seven in his career, with his first coming back in the 2010 Night Before the 500 Midget and has added six more in the Silver Crown cars in the decade since. Tanner's finished consistently within the top-five this year in LOR midget features with at 4th in May, a 3rd in June and a 5th in July.
Chuck Gurney Jr. (Livermore, Calif.) hasn't been behind the wheel of a racecar in USAC competition since 2011. The current Assistant Crew Chief for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports' USAC National Midget team knows his way to the front at Lucas Oil Raceway in a midget. The son of 1989 USAC Silver Crown champ Chuck Gurney won both of his races with the USAC National Midgets at LOR, bagging back-to-back scores in both 2008 and 2009.
Similarly away from the cockpit of a midget for a lengthy period of time, Josh Wise (Riverside, Calif.) has become a force this season at LOR, performing and finishing progressively better in each of his three starts. The 2005 USAC National Midget and 2006 USAC National Sprint Car champion was 7th at LOR in May, then followed it up by leading two laps and finishing 4th in June. In July, he turned in his best performance yet this year, finishing 2nd after leading the first 18 laps of the 30-lap feature.
Top-five midget finishers Thomas Meseraull, Justin Grant and Nick Hamilton return to action Saturday night at LOR. Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) was the runner-up in May and also finished 5th in June. Reigning USAC Silver Crown champ Grant (Ione, Calif.) was 5th in May. Hamilton (Danville, Ind.) garnered a 3rd in July and a 7th in June.
Returnees from the top-10 set of LOR Midget feature finishers this year include the likes of Cole Carter, Jake Trainor, Kyle O'Gara, Dalton Armstrong, Cody Gerhardt and Tyler Roahrig. Carter (Brownsburg, Ind.), son of the first career USAC Triple Crown champion, Pancho Carter, finished a best of 6th in both June and July. Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) standout Trainor (Medway, Mass.) has finished in the top-10 on all three occasions this season at LOR, topped by a 6th in May.
O'Gara (Beech Grove, Ind.), the 2014 USAC Pavement Midget champion, took 8th in May. Dalton Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.), the 2010 USAC Regional Midget and USAC Wolverine Midget titlist, was 8th this past July. Cody Gerhardt (Fresno, Calif.) is a three-time USAC national champ, in the Western Ford Focus Pavement Midget, California North Ford Focus Midget and California South Ford Focus Midget divisions in 2010 and was 9th at LOR in June and 10th in July. The 2021 Little 500 Sprint Car winner, Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.), finished 10th in his LOR Midget debut this past June.
Mario Clouser and Bret Sanderson have each finished within the top-10 in their careers with the USAC Midgets at LOR in year's past. Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) was 5th in 2012 while Sanderson (Gary, Ind.) collected a 6th in 2014.
They'll be joined a whole host of returnees to the driver lineup for Saturday's race who've competed at LOR this season, including Goodyear, Arizona's Nathan Byrd (11th in June). Morgan Hill, California's Blake Brannon (12th in May) was the 2016 USAC Western Restricted HPD Midget champion. Shelby Township, Michigan's Taylor Ferns (12th in July) scored the 2011 USAC D1 Midget title.
Mendon, Massachusetts' Johnny Zych (13th in May) captured NEMA titles in 2013-15-16. Fellow NEMA standout, Suffield, Connecticut's Todd Bertrand (18th in May) was the NEMA champion in 2020. Indianapolis, Indiana's John Sluss (14th in June) earned the 1998 USAC Regional Midget championship at the Indianapolis Speedrome.
Hillsborough, California's Annie Breidinger was 19th in May; Spring Valley, Illinois' Ryan Shilkuski was 22nd in May; Sherman, Illinois' Brandon Maurer has turned laps at LOR in practice, but has yet to start a feature event at the track entering Saturday.
The inaugural Hoosier Classic will feature all three open wheel divisions back-to-back-to-back under the Saturday night lights, concluding with a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Championship Sprint Car feature, followed by a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Browns Oil Champion Midget feature and the grand finale, a 100-lap USAC Silver Crown race paying $12,000-to-win.
Saturday's schedule will have the gates opening at 11am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting at 2:50pm; stands opening at 3pm; sprint car practice at 3:30pm; midget practice at 4:20pm; USAC Silver Crown practice at 5:10pm; sprint car qualifying at 6pm; midget qualifying at 6:45pm; Silver Crown qualifying at 7:30pm; and opening ceremonies at 8:05pm.
Main events get underway at 8:30pm Eastern, leading off with the sprint car feature followed by the midget feature at 9:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown feature at 10pm.
The 2021 Hoosier Classic trifecta will also feature drivers competing on The Oval at Lucas Oil Raceway for their shot at taking home a staggering $100,000.
The Fatheadz $100K Challenge is up for grabs to anyone that can win all three of the Hoosier Classic races (Sprint, Midget and USAC Silver Crown). If a driver and team can win two of those three events, they will collect $50,000.
The addition of these prizes instantly elevates what was going to be the biggest payday in grassroots pavement open-wheel racing to now another stratosphere with a potential winner taking home a total of $132,000 for winning three big races over the course of one night.
Hoosier Classic tickets are now on sale at www.bit.ly/HoosierClassic. General admission tickets are $25, with children age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $35.
Friday's Hoosier Classic tickets will be honored for Saturday admission, and original ticketholders will be contacted by the Lucas Oil Raceway ticketing team. Camping will still open on Thursday, August 12.
The Hoosier Classic will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
HOOSIER CLASSIC MIDGET ENTRY LIST:
1BR KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR)
3 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Bohanon)
4 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)
7 COLE CARTER/Brownsburg, IN (Bertrand)
7A DALTON ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Armstrong)
7K TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Irwin-Petry)
7KR NICK HAMILTON/Danville, IN (Irwin-Petry)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS)
8 JAKE TRAINOR/Medway, MA (Trainor)
9 JOHNNY ZYCH/Mendon, MA (Zych)
14 BRANDON MAURER/Sherman, IL (Maurer)
14AJ JOHN SLUSS/Indianapolis, IN (RayPro)
17 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Bertrand)
25 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Rodela)
29 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (Seymour/West)
33 TBD (RayPro)
40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Brannon)
47 TODD BERTRAND/Suffield, CT (Bertrand)
51 CHUCK GURNEY JR./Livermore, CA (West)
55 JOSH WISE/Riverside, CA (Bowman)
55F TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)
60 CODY GERHARDT/Fresno, CA (Gerhardt)
66 BRET SANDERSON/Gary, IN (Sanderson)
75 RYAN SHILKUSKI/Spring Valley, IL (Shilkuski)
80 ANNIE BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger)
99 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Guess)
USAC MIDGET WINS AT LUCAS OIL RACEWAY:
7-Johnny Parsons
6-Dan Drinan, Tracy Hines, Mel Kenyon & Kenneth Nichols
5-Ryan Newman, Dave Steele, Tony Stewart & Rich Vogler
4-Jeff Gordon, Doug Kalitta & Jason Leffler
3-Bob Cicconi, Stan Fox, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Santos, Don Schilling, Kody Swanson, Sleepy Tripp & Bob Wente
2-Mike Bliss, Billy Engelhart, Bryan Clauson, Jack Calabrase, Jimmy Caruthers, Aaron Fike, Nick Fornoro Jr., Brian Gerster, Chuck Gurney Jr., Darren Hagen, Jim Hettinger, Kenny Irwin Jr., Lee Kunzman, Mack McClellan & Andy Michner
1-Tommy Astone, Gary Bettenhausen, Merle Bettenhausen, Don Branson, Pancho Carter, Bobby East, Mike Fedorcak, Mike Gregg, Ron Gregory, Ted Hines, Sam Isenhower, Jim Keeker, Kyle Larson, Greg Leffler, Michael Lewis, Steve Lotshaw, Jan Opperman, Henry Pens, Stevie Reeves, Ken Schrader, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Swindell, Randy Tolsma & Billy Vukovich
BC39 FIELD EXPLODES TO 77,
LARSON, YELEY & McINTOSH ENTER!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 12, 2021)………Kyle Larson, J.J. Yeley and Cannon McIntosh have officially filed their entries for the August 18-19 USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink as the entry list has exploded to a staggering 77 entries for the Midget racing event at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Teams can file their entry for the event at https://www.thebc39.com/ until the deadline on Thursday, August 12, which has been EXTENDED to midnight Eastern. Also, there on the website, individuals may also purchase tickets, pit and parking passes for the two-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event.
Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.), the NASCAR Cup Series superstar and 23-time USAC National Midget feature winner, will be behind the wheel of the CB Industries No. 86, the team with which he dominated with en route to the 2020 Indiana Midget Week title.
As one of four entrants out of the CB Industries stable, Larson will be joined by past USAC National Midget champions Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) and Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.) as well as race Rookie Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.). Larson finished 9th in his lone BC39 feature start in 2019 but won the preceding night's Stoops Pursuit in one of the most dramatic endings in motorsports history.
Yeley (Tucson, Ariz.) is one of the most decorated drivers in USAC history, capturing a total of five National championships with the club, including becoming the second driver to win all three USAC National titles in the same season in 2003 (Tony Stewart, 1995). Yeley is also the only driver to compete in the BC39, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in his career.
McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) is one of the top young guns on the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget trail, having won three times in his career. He made his BC39 debut in 2019, garnering the last transfer spot in the semi-feature and finishing 18th in the feature after flipping with nine laps remaining.
Zeb Wise (Angola, Ind.), who'll wheel the Matt Wood Racing No. 37 in this year's event, was victorious in the most recent BC39 held in 2019, making the winning pass seven laps from the finish to win the $15,000 event. He also scored the first midget victory of any kind at The Dirt Track at IMS during the Stoops Pursuit in 2018.
Three-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion and 2018 inaugural BC39 winner Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) will be on hand as will newly-crowned 2021 Indiana Sprint Week champion Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.).
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) and Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) lead two of the top teams with the series and both are making their BC39 debuts this year. Thorson, the 2016 USAC National Midget champion, is one of three Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports entries along USAC Rookies Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.).
Kofoid, the current USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point leader, is one of seven entries from the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports bunch, all of whom are BC39 Rookies, with Kofoid being joined by two-time series winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas), Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Jonathan Shafer (Ashland, Ohio).
New Zealand midget champion Hayden Williams brings an international flair to the event in a BSL Racing machine while versatile wheelman Gary Taylor has filed his entry to compete for car owners Mike and Brian Dunlap.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National champion, aims to make his third start in the event following a 3rd place finish in 2019. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) captured the 2018 series crown and will also be eying a third BC39 start after finishing a personal best 5th in 2019. Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.), the series' 2017 king, will go after his second start in the event following a 20th place result in 2019.
2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.) will make his BC39 debut this year. The driver with the most laps led in this year's Indianapolis 500, Conor Daly (Noblesville, Ind.), will make his third consecutive appearance in the BC39. NASCAR Rookie of the Year contender Chase Briscoe (Mitchell, Ind.), the winner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series' Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on the 2.439 mile road course in 2020, aims to make his second-straight BC39 feature start.
Ryan Newman will compete in one of four Clauson Marshall Racing entries. Newman (South Bend, Ind.), an 18-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, captured the 2008 Daytona 500 and the 2013 Brickyard 400 on the 2.5-mile paved oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was a USAC National champion earlier in his career with the Silver Crown series in 1999.
Two-time USAC National champion and recent Kings Royal winner, Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.), returns for a third BC39 start after finishing 4th in 2018 and charged from 20th to 2nd in the 2019 event. CMR teammates joining Newman and Courtney include the series' youngest ever winner, Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.), along with series veteran Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.).
The RMS Racing team of reigning USAC Silver Crown champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), a two-time winner in the USAC National Midget division this year, is entered for the BC39 while Terry Klatt and Bob East have entered a car for multi-time USAC National Midget feature winner Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.).
USAC career Triple Crown champion and 2018 ninth-place BC39 finisher Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) is officially entered along with 1989 USAC National Midget champion Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) who is making his third consecutive appearance in the event.
Two-time 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature winner Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) will get his first taste of BC39 experience this year. Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) has won twice on the USAC Regional Midget trail in 2021 and seeks his first BC39 start since 2018 while 1987 Hut 100 and 1990 Chili Bowl winner John Heydenreich (Bloomsburg, Pa.) will make his third appearance in the event.
The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 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.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Brady Bacon (2018) and Zeb Wise (2019) have captured victories in the first two editions of the BC39.
The USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink gets amped up on Tuesday, August 17, with the BC39 Draft Party where drivers will choose their heat race positions for the opening night of the BC39. The Draft Party will be held at the Brickyard Crossing located at 4400 W. 16th Street in Indianapolis, Ind.
The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, August 17, with team parking at Noon Eastern. On track action begins Wednesday, August 18, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 4pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm. Heat races and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have the public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7:30pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
This year's Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink also will be the conclusion of nearly a week of exciting action on the road course and The Dirt Track at IMS. The NASCAR-INDYCAR tripleheader takes place Aug. 13-15, with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR Xfinity Series conducting separate races Saturday, Aug. 14 and the NASCAR Cup Series racing on the IMS road course for the first time Sunday, Aug. 15.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Visit www.IMS.com for more information on tickets to all IMS events in 2021.
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ENTRY LIST: 2021 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 POWERED BY NOS ENERGY DRINK
(77 entries as of August 12, 2021)
01 BRYANT WIEDEMAN/Colby, KS (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1NZ HAYDEN WILLIAMS/Auckland, NZ (BSL Racing)
2c TREVOR CASEY/Altoona, IA (Casey Racing)
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RMS Racing)
2MD CARSON KVAPIL/Mooresville, NC (Marc Dailey Racing)
3G KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN (Glenn Styres Racing)
4 JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
4K KAMERON GLADISH/Indianapolis, IN (Gladish Motorsports)
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN (Chase Briscoe Racing)
6BC RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA (Paul May Motorsports)
9m ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Bundy Built Motorsports)
11 JEFF SCHINDLER/Evansville, IN (Brian & Deidre Martin)
11c GLENN WATERLAND/Christchurch, NZ (Glenn & Hayley Waterland)
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Team Taylor Racing)
11m AIDEN PURDUE/Clinton, IL (Brian & Deidre Martin)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Petry Motorsports)
15J JEFF WIMMENAUER/New Whiteland, IN (Jeff Wimmenauer)
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17 TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK (Berryhill Family Racing)
17B AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC (Sam Johnson Racing)
17L BILLY LAWLESS/Fresno, CA (Lawless Racing)
19A CHASE RANDALL/Waco, TX (Petry Motorsports)
19AZ HAYDEN REINBOLD/Gilbert, AZ (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19K RILEY KREISEL/Warsaw, MO (Ron Cox)
19M ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
19T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson)
21H BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (TKH Motorsports)
21K KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Team Ripper)
22 JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (John Givens)
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Tom Malloy)
25K TAYLOR REIMER/Bixby, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
25v BEN VARNER/Harbor Springs, MI (Bryan Flook)
26 CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA (Rudeen Racing)
32 GARY TAYLOR/Snohomish, WA (Mike & Brian Dunlap)
35 JACOB DENNEY/Galloway, OH (Petry Motorsports)
36 IAN CREAGER/Covington, OH (Tod Creager)
37 ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Matt Wood Racing)
38 CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Craig Dori)
39BC COLE BODINE/Rossville, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Brannon Corporation)
41 OLIVER AKARD/Fort Myers, FL (OMR Motorsports)
43 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA (Kevin Arnold)
46 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (R & G, Inc.)
47BC COREY DAY/Clovis, CA (Clauson Marshall Racing)
47D CONOR DALY/Noblesville, IN (DiaEdge Racing)
49 JOE B. MILLER/Millersville, MO (Chris Lewis)
51 J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Rick Ware Racing)
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Abacus Racing)
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (Daniel Robinson)
63 FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA (F & F Racing)
67 BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
67K JONATHAN SHAFER/Ashland, OH (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71B ROBERT BELL/Colfax, IA (Robert Bell)
71K DAISON PURSLEY/Locust Grove, OK (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71T ZAC TAYLOR/Green River, WY (Todd Henry)
72 SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO (Sam Johnson Racing)
75AU BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA (Griffiths Motorsport)
81G RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN (Gray Racing)
84 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (CB Industries)
85 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Central Motor Sports)
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK (CB Industries)
86 KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (CB Industries)
86c SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Danny Stamper)
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson Racing)
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (CB Industries)
97 BRENHAM CROUCH/Lubbock, TX (Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
98 TOMMY KOUNS/Lebanon, IN (Tommy Kouns)
116 SCOTT EVANS/Rhome, TX (Scott Evans)
TBA (Dave Mac Motorsports)
USAC SILVER CROWN POUNDS THE PAVEMENT SATURDAY AT LUCAS OIL RACEWAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (August 12, 2021)………An offseason switch to a new team proved to be no issue whatsoever for Kody Swanson during this past May's USAC Silver Crown season opener at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind.
The Kingsburg, Californian's first run in the Doran Enterprises No. 77 gave him his sixth career USAC Silver Crown victory at Lucas Oil Raceway, tying him with his younger brother, Tanner Swanson, for the most all-time Silver Crown victories at the .686-mile paved oval.
The Brothers Swanson are deadlocked atop the pecking order entering this Saturday night's 100-lap, $12,000-to-win Hoosier Classic event at Lucas Oil on August 14, part of a tripleheader of open wheel races that night along with the Browns Oil Champion Midgets and Champion Sprint Cars.
Kody and Tanner are part of the 27 car field lineup for the 52nd Silver Crown race to be held at Lucas Oil Raceway, which has hosted a series event each year since 1985. Kody enters as the series point leader by one single point as he seeks to grab an unprecedented sixth series crown.
Tanner, also of Kingsburg, Calif.), won the pole for the May race, but accrued mechanical issues at the start, then was involved in an accident early once he got rolling, which knocked him out of a repeat LOR victory.
Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) owns four Silver Crown wins at LOR in his career, part of his 11 overall at the track. He's already won twice there this year, corralling both ends of a Sprint Car and Midget doubleheader on June 17. In May's Silver Crown opener, Santos led the first 63 laps before finishing 2nd.
Eighteen-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Ryan Newman (South Bend, Ind.) makes his return to USAC Silver Crown competition after a two-year hiatus. Newman, the 1999 USAC Silver Crown champion, is a six-time USAC feature winner with five midget victories and one in the Silver Crown car between 1997 and 1999.
David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wis.) won his lone Silver Crown race in spectacular fashion at LOR in 2014 with a last lap, last corner pass of Tanner Swanson. Byrne earned his best finish of the season in May at LOR, starting 3rd and finishing 3rd.
Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.), a Lucas Oil Raceway Silver Crown winner in 2000, is primed to make history on Saturday. With another feature start, he'd become just the second driver to reach 200 starts with the series. Dave Darland leads all drivers with 201. Saturday will be the 1989 USAC National Midget champion's first Silver Crown appearance of the year.
Greenfield, Indiana's Eric Gordon is a three-time winner at LOR, all in a Sprint Car, back in 1990-91-92. The 1990 Milwaukee Silver Crown winner and nine-time Little 500 winner finished 15th in May, dropping out with 22 laps remaining due to a handling issue.
Reigning USAC Silver Crown champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) comes into Saturday's event after winning his first career pavement race with the series at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in late July. He finished 4th at Lucas Oil Raceway in the spring of this year.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), meanwhile, goes into the weekend as the most recent USAC Silver Crown winner, having been victorious last Sunday night on the dirt at Pennsylvania's Selinsgrove Speedway. Seavey, the leading series Rookie and third overall in the standings, finished 7th in his pavement Silver Crown debut in May.
This past May's Little 500 winner at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.), will make his first career USAC Silver Crown appearance on Saturday in the Klatt Enterprises No. 6, which won at LOR in the spring of 2019 with driver Kyle Hamilton.
Aaron Pierce (Muncie, Ind.) is a three-time USAC Silver Crown winner but is looking to race into victory lane for the first time at Lucas Oil Raceway in his career with the series on Saturday. He's previously won the pole and finished as the runner-up at LOR with the Silver Crown series.
Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) finished 8th at LOR in the Spring and is a two-time USAC Silver Crown winner on dirt, and led the series point standings earlier this season.
Women racers Taylor Ferns and Toni Breidinger each possess USAC Silver Crown experience at LOR. Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) finished 5th in her only series start of the year thus far, finishing 5th at LOR. Breidinger (Hillsborough, Calif.) will make her season debut on Saturday.
Joe Liguori (Tampa, Fla.), grandson of four-decade USAC feature winner Ralph Liguori will make his first Silver Crown appearance of the season Saturday at LOR, joining the remainder of the group, who all competed in this past May's season opener at the track.
Patrick Lawson (Edwardsville, Ill.) was the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger back in May, racing from 17th to 9th. Austin Nemire (Sylvania, Ohio) took a solid 10th in the same race, just ahead of New Castle, Indiana's Kyle Robbins (11th), Beech Grove, Indiana's Kyle O'Gara (12th), Fort Collins, Colorado's Bryan Gossel (13th) and Levittown, Pennsylvania's Mike Haggenbottom (14th).
A handful more experienced mechanical issues and/or incidents that knocked them out early back in May: Winchester, Indiana's Matt Goodnight (16th) dropped out due to handling; Pendleton, Indiana's Travis Welpott due to a broken driveshaft (20th) and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania's Dave Berkheimer, who endured a fuel pickup issue.
Jake Day (Abilene, Texas) and Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, Ariz.) were involved in separate incidents that knocked them out of the race early back in May. Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.), the 2019 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year, could not make the start in May after qualifying due to Little 500 commitments when the race was postponed to the next morning.
The inaugural Hoosier Classic will feature all three open wheel divisions back-to-back-to-back under the Saturday night lights, concluding with a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Championship Sprint Car feature, followed by a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Browns Oil Champion Midget feature and the grand finale, a 100-lap USAC Silver Crown race paying $12,000-to-win.
Saturday's schedule will have the gates opening at 11am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting at 2:50pm; stands opening at 3pm; sprint car practice at 3:30pm; midget practice at 4:20pm; USAC Silver Crown practice at 5:10pm; sprint car qualifying at 6pm; midget qualifying at 6:45pm; Silver Crown qualifying at 7:30pm; and opening ceremonies at 8:05pm.
Main events get underway at 8:30pm Eastern, leading off with the sprint car feature followed by the midget feature at 9:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown feature at 10pm.
The 2021 Hoosier Classic trifecta will also feature drivers competing on The Oval at Lucas Oil Raceway for their shot at taking home a staggering $100,000.
The Fatheadz $100K Challenge is up for grabs to anyone that can win all three of the Hoosier Classic races (Sprint, Midget and USAC Silver Crown). If a driver and team can win two of those three events, they will collect $50,000.
The addition of these prizes instantly elevates what was going to be the biggest payday in grassroots pavement open-wheel racing to now another stratosphere with a potential winner taking home a total of $132,000 for winning three big races over the course of one night.
Hoosier Classic tickets are now on sale at www.bit.ly/HoosierClassic. General admission tickets are $25, with children age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $35.
Friday's Hoosier Classic tickets will be honored for Saturday admission, and original ticketholders will be contacted by the Lucas Oil Raceway ticketing team. Camping will still open on Thursday, August 12.
The Hoosier Classic will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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HOOSIER CLASSIC USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:
02 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bowman)
06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Gossel)
1 KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR)
2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Lawson)
2v RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN (Vance)
6 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)
7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR)
11 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Hamilton-Byrd)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott)
22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ)
24 MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (Haggenbottom)
26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer)
32 JOE LIGUORI/Tampa, FL (Williams & Wright Racing)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight)
40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne)
42 JAKE DAY/Abilene, TX (Day)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester)
55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran)
80 TONI BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger)
81 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Williams)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn)
99 ERIC GORDON/Fortville, IN (Armstrong)
131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Bischak)
222 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice)
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-259, 2-Justin Grant-258, 3-Logan Seavey-238, 4-Shane Cottle-226, 5-Kyle Robbins-205, 6-David Byrne-186, 7-Shane Cockrum-173, 8-Travis Welpott-173, 9-Austin Nemire-173, 10-Chris Windom-172.
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT LUCAS OIL RACEWAY:
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
150 Laps - 7/11/1987 - Jeff Bloom - 1:02:32.109 - 98.728 mph
USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT LUCAS OIL RACEWAY:
6-Kody Swanson & Tanner Swanson
5-Mike Bliss
4-Bobby Santos
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 LUCAS OIL RACEWAY:
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)
RYAN NEWMAN RETURNS TO USAC SILVER CROWN FOR SATURDAY'S HOOSIER CLASSIC
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (August 12, 2021)………After a two-year hiatus from USAC Silver Crown racing, Ryan Newman will return to the driver's seat for this Saturday night's inaugural Hoosier Classic on August 14 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind.
Newman will drive in the 100-lap, $12,000-to-win event for Johnny Vance Racing in a car being constructed by 2005 Night Before the 500 winner Michael Lewis.
During his full-time USAC career in the late 1990s, Newman was a force at Lucas Oil Raceway, then known as Indianapolis Raceway Park. There, the South Bend, Indiana native won a total of six USAC features, five of which came behind the wheel of a midget and once in a USAC Silver Crown car during his championship season in 1999.
In fact, both of Newman's first career USAC National Midget victory in 1997 as well as his initial Silver Crown triumph in 1999 came at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Following his USAC Silver Crown championship, Newman moved to the south where he's been a regular in the NASCAR Cup Series for the past two decades. His NASCAR Cup resume consists of 51 poles and 18 victories and includes wins in the 2008 Daytona 500 and the 2013 Brickyard 400.
Newman's ride for Saturday night is in tribute to Vance, who passed away in 2017. Vance was a USAC official, promoter and one of the winningest car owners in USAC history, earning three National car owner titles and 52 National wins. Newman raced in the USAC National Sprint Car and Silver Crown Series for Vance during the late 1990s-early 2000s.
Saturday's inaugural Hoosier Classic will feature all three open wheel divisions back-to-back-to-back under the Saturday night lights, concluding with a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Championship Sprint Car feature, followed by a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Browns Oil Champion Midget feature and the grand finale, a 100-lap USAC Silver Crown race paying $12,000-to-win.
Saturday's schedule will have the gates opening at 11am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting at 2:50pm; stands opening at 3pm; sprint car practice at 3:30pm; midget practice at 4:20pm; USAC Silver Crown practice at 5:10pm; sprint car qualifying at 6pm; midget qualifying at 6:45pm; Silver Crown qualifying at 7:30pm; and opening ceremonies at 8:05pm.
Main events get underway at 8:30pm Eastern, leading off with the sprint car feature followed by the midget feature at 9:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown feature at 10pm.
The 2021 Hoosier Classic trifecta will also feature drivers competing on The Oval at Lucas Oil Raceway for their shot at taking home a staggering $100,000.
The Fatheadz $100K Challenge is up for grabs to anyone that can win all three of the Hoosier Classic races (Sprint, Midget and USAC Silver Crown). If a driver and team can win two of those three events, they will collect $50,000.
The addition of these prizes instantly elevates what was going to be the biggest payday in grassroots pavement open-wheel racing to now another stratosphere with a potential winner taking home a total of $132,000 for winning three big races over the course of one night.
Hoosier Classic tickets are now on sale at www.bit.ly/HoosierClassic. General admission tickets are $25, with children age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $35.
Friday's Hoosier Classic tickets will be honored for Saturday admission, and original ticketholders will be contacted by the Lucas Oil Raceway ticketing team. Camping will still open on Thursday, August 12.
The Hoosier Classic will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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HOOSIER CLASSIC USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:
02 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bowman)
06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Gossel)
1 KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR)
2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Lawson)
2v RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN (Vance)
6 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)
7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR)
11 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Hamilton-Byrd)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott)
22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ)
24 MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (Haggenbottom)
26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer)
32 JOE LIGUORI/Tampa, FL (Williams & Wright Racing)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight)
40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne)
42 JAKE DAY/Abilene, TX (Day)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester)
55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran)
80 TONI BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger)
81 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Williams)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn)
99 ERIC GORDON/Fortville, IN (Armstrong)
131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Bischak)
222 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice)
SPRINT CARS ROAR FOR 50 LAPS,
$10,000-TO-WIN AT SATURDAY'S HOOSIER CLASSIC
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (August 12, 2021)………The highest-paying Sprint Car race ever held at Lucas Oil Raceway is set to hit this Saturday night, August 14, as part of the inaugural Hoosier Classic tripleheader at the .686-mile paved oval in Brownsburg, Ind.
The Sprint Car portion of the show is a non-points paying evening for USAC. But what it doesn't pay in points will certainly be made up in terms of money with $10,000 going to the winner of the 50-lap feature.
The 82nd Sprint Car event held at Lucas Oil Raceway under the USAC banner will be just the third such feature that is 50 laps in length, and the first in more than a half century.
Parnelli Jones won the first 50-lap USAC Sprint Car feature at Lucas Oil Raceway, then known as Indianapolis Raceway Park, in 1961. A.J. Foyt followed Parnelli with a 50-lap score in 1962 while Gary Bettenhausen won the most recent in 1970.
Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) owns four sprint car victories at LOR in 2006, 2007, 2011 and again in June of 2021. He led all 40 laps after earning fast qualifying time back in June and owns 11 all-time USAC victories at LOR with four each coming in the Sprint Car and Silver Crown cars, and three in the midget.
Kody, meanwhile, shares the same amount of victories as Santos at LOR with 11 in his career. Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) swept the night in 2020 with the sprint car at LOR, setting quick time and winning the feature, then finished 2nd to Santos in June of this year. Among Swanson's 11 LOR wins are six in Silver Crown, three in midgets and twice in a sprint car, the first of which came in 2011.
Tanner Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) has won at LOR seven times overall – six in Silver Crown and once in midgets – but never before in a sprint car. He's finished 2nd and 3rd in USAC National Sprint Car competition at LOR in 2011 and was 5th there in 2020. His Nolen Racing ride was victorious with his older brother Kody at the controls in 2020.
Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) has been a winner at LOR in a USAC Silver Crown car on a sun-drenched afternoon back in August of 2000. In his latest sprint car appearance at LOR in 2020, he was 19th.
USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) has knocked on the door for quite awhile to break through for a first LOR victory, finishing as the runner-up on two occasions with the USAC Sprint Cars there in 2010. Likewise for Aaron Pierce (Muncie, Ind.) who took 2nd in the 2020 Sprint Car race.
The Little 500's 2021 winner at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.), has made two sprint car starts at LOR, finishing 4th in 2020 and 10th in 2021. Billy Wease (Noblesville, Ind.) scored a podium with a 3rd in June of this year and also garnered a 7th in 2020.
Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.) and Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.) were both top-five finishers back in June with Bischak earning a 4th and Armstrong 5th. Finishing just behind them in order of June's feature finish who are also returning for Saturday's race, are Shirley, Indiana's Brian Vaughn (6th) and Beech Grove, Indiana's Kyle O'Gara (7th). Meanwhile, Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.) was 10th in 2020 while last year's USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year Bryan Gossel (Fort Collins, Colo.) was 11th.
Returning to the lineup for a shot at another Sprint Car start Saturday at LOR are June starters, Shelby Township, Michigan's Taylor Ferns (11th), Denver, Indiana's Justin Harper (14th) and Elwood, Indiana's Jake McElfresh (15th), plus 2020 starters, Tampa, Florida's Joe Liguori (12th), Grand Rapids, Michigan's Teddy Alberts (14th), Warsaw, Indiana's Chris Jagger (17th), New Haven, Indiana's Chris Neuenschwander (21st) and Danville, Indiana's Nick Hamilton (22nd).
Aiming for first LOR Sprint Car starts are Kyle Robbins (New Castle, Ind.) and Caleb Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.), both of whom are past USAC Silver Crown Rookies of the Year, Robbins in 2018 and Armstrong in 2014. Tony Main (Farmland, Ind.) and Mark Hall (Frankton, Ind.) are both Little 500 veterans with extensive pavement experience and are both charging after their first start at LOR.
The inaugural Hoosier Classic will feature all three open wheel divisions back-to-back-to-back under the Saturday night lights, concluding with a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Championship Sprint Car feature, followed by a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Browns Oil Champion Midget feature and the grand finale, a 100-lap USAC Silver Crown race paying $12,000-to-win.
Saturday's schedule will have the gates opening at 11am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting at 2:50pm; stands opening at 3pm; sprint car practice at 3:30pm; midget practice at 4:20pm; USAC Silver Crown practice at 5:10pm; sprint car qualifying at 6pm; midget qualifying at 6:45pm; Silver Crown qualifying at 7:30pm; and opening ceremonies at 8:05pm.
Main events get underway at 8:30pm Eastern, leading off with the sprint car feature followed by the midget feature at 9:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown feature at 10pm.
The 2021 Hoosier Classic trifecta will also feature drivers competing on The Oval at Lucas Oil Raceway for their shot at taking home a staggering $100,000.
The Fatheadz $100K Challenge is up for grabs to anyone that can win all three of the Hoosier Classic races (Sprint, Midget and USAC Silver Crown). If a driver and team can win two of those three events, they will collect $50,000.
The addition of these prizes instantly elevates what was going to be the biggest payday in grassroots pavement open-wheel racing to now another stratosphere with a potential winner taking home a total of $132,000 for winning three big races over the course of one night.
Hoosier Classic tickets are now on sale at www.bit.ly/HoosierClassic. General admission tickets are $25, with children age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $35.
Friday's Hoosier Classic tickets will be honored for Saturday admission, and original ticketholders will be contacted by the Lucas Oil Raceway ticketing team. Camping will still open on Thursday, August 12.
The Hoosier Classic will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
HOOSIER CLASSIC SPRINT CAR ENTRY LIST:
1 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Armstrong)
4 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Nolen)
5 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)
6G BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Gossel)
7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR)
7c CALEB ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Neal)
10 CHRIS NEUENSCHWANDER/New Haven, IN (Neuenschwander)
12 JAKE McELFRESH/Elwood, IN (Powell)
12w BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Wease)
13 JOE LIGUORI/Tampa, FL (Liguori)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott)
22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ)
26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Pierce)
27J CHRIS JAGGER/Warsaw, IN (Jagger)
31 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Bischak)
32 NICK HAMILTON/Danville, IN (Hamilton)
44 TEDDY ALBERTS/Grand Rapids, MI (Alberts)
45 MARK HALL/Frankton, IN (Hall)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester)
53 JUSTIN HARPER/Denver, IN (TCJ)
55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)
64 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Brewer)
67 KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR)
71 BRIAN VAUGHN/Shirley, IN (Vaughn)
74 TONY MAIN/Farmland, IN (Main)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran)
ALL-TIME LUCAS OIL RACEWAY USAC SPRINT CAR WINS:
8-Tracy Hines
6-Dave Steele
5-Mike Bliss
4-Parnelli Jones & Bobby Santos
3-Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Eric Gordon, Tony Stewart & Rich Vogler
2-Steve Butler, A.J. Foyt, Shane Hmiel, Kenny Irwin Jr., Gene Lee Gibson, Jason McCord, Andy Michner & Kody Swanson
1-Rollie Beale, Gary Bettenhausen, Jeff Bloom, Don Branson, Dana Carter, Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bobby East, Bob Frey, Jeff Gordon, Wayne Hammond, Bubby Jones, Jim Keeker, Sheldon Kinser, Lee Kunzman, Jim Mahoney, Roger McCluskey, Lee Osborne, Sammy Sessions, Greg Staab, Brian Tyler, Greg Weld & J.J. Yeley
JEFF GORDON TO SERVE AS BC39 HONORARY STARTER, TURN LAPS AUG. 18
By: IMS.com
INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021) – NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and five-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon will serve as honorary starter for night one of the USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink on Wednesday, Aug. 18 at The Dirt Track at IMS.
As a part of his duties, Gordon will wave the green flag for the Stoops Pursuit race at 8 p.m. (ET) Wednesday on the quarter-mile dirt track located inside Turn 3 of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Additionally, before Gordon climbs into the flag stand, he will turn exhibition laps in a Clauson Marshall Racing United States Auto Club Midget car in front of the crowd, something he hasn't done in nearly 30 years.
"Like so many others, racing on dirt played a huge role in my driving career, so it was very special to get the opportunity to make some laps recently at The Dirt Track at IMS," Gordon said. "I had forgotten how much fun it was to slide a dirt midget around a quarter-mile dirt track. With the BC39 coming up, it creates a great opportunity to come back and do it again.
"I'm very thankful to everyone at IMS for making this possible, and I'm excited to be the honorary starter for night one. I'm also thankful to my longtime friend Tim Clauson and Clauson Marshall Racing for providing me a great car to drive. It's going to be a fun night!"
Gordon will drive a white Clauson Marshall Racing USAC Midget car. It will feature Gordon's name on the front of the car and logos from Driven2SaveLives, the namesake of the race, and the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion's pediatric cancer foundation benefitting families and kids with cancer.
"Jeff's success on short tracks across the Midwest propelled him to a national stage, and with that he truly helped develop and bring popularity to grassroots racing across the country," IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. "I can't wait for him to return to his roots here at IMS for all of us to appreciate what he's done for our local short tracks and for our fans to see one of their favorite adopted Hoosiers back in a USAC Midget car."
The appearance of Gordon, the 1989 USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year, 1990 USAC National Midget Series champion and 1991 USAC Silver Crown Series champion, will be just one part of a spectacular lineup of activities scheduled for night one of the two-night grassroots racing event.
"When Jeff said he wanted to run laps on a race-prepped IMS Dirt Track, my immediate thought was to get him here to do it for the BC39," Clauson Marshall Racing co-owner Tim Clauson said. "Although it's only exhibition laps in nature, I am really excited to get to share with the fans the enjoyment of watching Jeff back on the dirt."
USAC champions and NASCAR and INDYCAR stars will hit the dirt Wednesday for hot lap sessions and heat races the same night Gordon serves in his honorary starter duties. After Gordon lights up the crowd, a selection of drivers from the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink field will take part in the Stoops Pursuit race.
On Thursday, Aug. 19, the field will run hot lap sessions before qualifying races set the lineups for the five main races that will dwindle the field down into the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink feature race. Tickets are still available for the USAC National Midget event at www.IMS.com.
HOOSIER CLASSIC TRIPLEHEADER SHIFTS TO
SATURDAY ONLY SCHEDULE, AUGUST 14
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 10, 2021)………A massive weekend of Sprint Car, Midget and USAC Silver Crown at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind., has now all been condensed to one day.
The Hoosier Classic, originally scheduled over two nights, will now entirely take place within a single day, this Saturday, August 14, at the .686-mile paved oval.
The shift to a Saturday-only schedule of events has been put into place due to a less-than-ideal weather forecast for the originally scheduled Hoosier Classic opener on Friday.
The inaugural Hoosier Classic will feature all three open wheel divisions back-to-back-to-back on under the Saturday night lights, concluding with a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Championship Sprint Car feature, followed by a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Browns Oil Champion Midget feature and the grand finale, a 100-lap USAC Silver Crown race paying $12,000-to-win.
Saturday's schedule will now have the gates opening at 11am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting at 2:50pm; stands opening at 3pm; sprint car practice at 3:30pm; midget practice at 4:20pm; USAC Silver Crown practice at 5:10pm; sprint car qualifying at 6pm; midget qualifying at 6:45pm; Silver Crown qualifying at 7:30pm; and opening ceremonies at 8:05pm.
Main events get underway at 8:30pm Eastern, leading off with the sprint car feature followed by the midget feature at 9:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown feature at 10pm.
The 2021 Hoosier Classic trifecta will also feature drivers competing on The Oval at Lucas Oil Raceway for their shot at taking home a staggering $100,000.
The Fatheadz $100K Challenge is up for grabs to anyone that can win all three of the Hoosier Classic races (Sprint, Midget and USAC Silver Crown). If a driver and team can win two of those three events, they will collect $50,000.
The addition of these prizes instantly elevates what was going to be the biggest payday in grassroots pavement open-wheel racing to now another stratosphere with a potential winner taking home a total of $132,000 for winning three big races over the course of one night.
Due to the schedule change, the previously announced 25-lap USAC Silver Crown Shootout non-points special event has been removed from the schedule.
The racing at LOR coincides with a massive weekend of racing scheduled in central Indiana. Just down the road at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, a new NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, the Big Machine Spiked Coolers GP, will also be held on Saturday before the NASCAR Cup Series' Verizon 200 at the Brickyard 400 takes the road course for the first time on Sunday, August 15.
Hoosier Classic tickets are now on sale at www.bit.ly/HoosierClassic. General admission tickets are $25, with children age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $35.
Friday's Hoosier Classic tickets will be honored for Saturday admission, and original ticketholders will be contacted by the Lucas Oil Raceway ticketing team. Camping will still open on Thursday, August 12.
For competitors, the test session scheduled for Thursday will still run as previously planned. Individuals with questions may contact the track at LucasOilRaceway@NHRA.com.
The Hoosier Classic will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
NEW HOOSIER CLASSIC SCHEDULE | SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2021:
11:00am: Gate 2 & Pit Gates Open
2:50pm: Drivers Meeting
3:00pm: Stands Open
3:30pm: Sprint Car Practice (45 minutes)
4:20pm: Midget Practice (45 minutes)
5:10pm: USAC Silver Crown Practice (45 minutes)
6:00pm: Sprint Car Qualifying
6:45pm: Midget Qualifying
7:30pm: USAC Silver Crown Qualifying
8:05pm: Opening Ceremonies
8:30pm: Sprint Car Feature (50 Laps)
9:15pm: Midget Feature (50 Laps)
10:00pm: Silver Crown Feature (100 Laps)
(All times Eastern)
80 RACECARS ENTERED TO COMPETE AT SATURDAY'S HOOSIER CLASSIC!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 10, 2021)………A total of 80 racecars have been pre-entered for the Inaugural Hoosier Classic this Saturday, August 14, at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind.
26 Sprint Cars, 27 Midgets and 27 USAC Silver Crown cars are expected to compete Saturday with a wide array of talent throughout the field gunning for the richest purse in the .686-mile paved oval's 60-year history with a grand total of $132,000 up for grabs if one driver is able to win all three features on the same night.
Lucas Oil Raceway USAC dominators Kody and Tanner Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) and Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) are among those competing in all three events. Reigning USAC Silver Crown champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) will contest two of the three events along with USAC National Midget champion and LOR Silver Crown winner, Russ Gamester and USAC Silver Crown winner Aaron Pierce (Muncie, Ind.).
USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) is among those entered for at least one of the divisions along with two-time USAC National champion Jose Wise (Riverside, Calif.) as well as 2018 USAC National Midget titlist and most recent USAC Silver Crown winner, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), and USAC Silver Crown winner Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.).
Lucas Oil Raceway winners run up-and-down the list with Chuck Gurney Jr. (Livermore, Calif.) returning to the cockpit of a midget for the first time in a decade along with LOR Silver Crown winner David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wis.) and LOR Sprint Car victor Eric Gordon (Greenfield, Ind.).
The inaugural Hoosier Classic will feature all three open wheel divisions back-to-back-to-back under the Saturday night lights, concluding with a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Championship Sprint Car feature, followed by a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Browns Oil Champion Midget feature and the grand finale, a 100-lap USAC Silver Crown race paying $12,000-to-win.
Saturday's schedule will have the gates opening at 11am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting at 2:50pm; stands opening at 3pm; sprint car practice at 3:30pm; midget practice at 4:20pm; USAC Silver Crown practice at 5:10pm; sprint car qualifying at 6pm; midget qualifying at 6:45pm; Silver Crown qualifying at 7:30pm; and opening ceremonies at 8:05pm.
Main events get underway at 8:30pm Eastern, leading off with the sprint car feature followed by the midget feature at 9:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown feature at 10pm.
The 2021 Hoosier Classic trifecta will also feature drivers competing on The Oval at Lucas Oil Raceway for their shot at taking home a staggering $100,000.
The Fatheadz $100K Challenge is up for grabs to anyone that can win all three of the Hoosier Classic races (Sprint, Midget and USAC Silver Crown). If a driver and team can win two of those three events, they will collect $50,000.
The addition of these prizes instantly elevates what was going to be the biggest payday in grassroots pavement open-wheel racing to now another stratosphere with a potential winner taking home a total of $132,000 for winning three big races over the course of one night.
Hoosier Classic tickets are now on sale at www.bit.ly/HoosierClassic. General admission tickets are $25, with children age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $35.
Friday's Hoosier Classic tickets will be honored for Saturday admission, and original ticketholders will be contacted by the Lucas Oil Raceway ticketing team. Camping will still open on Thursday, August 12.
For competitors, the test session scheduled for Thursday, August 13, will still run as previously planned. Individuals with questions may contact the track at LucasOilRaceway@NHRA.com.
The Hoosier Classic will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
====================
SPRINT CAR ENTRY LIST
1 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Armstrong)
4 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Nolen)
5 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)
6G BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Gossel)
7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR)
7c CALEB ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Neal)
10 CHRIS NEUENSCHWANDER/New Haven, IN (Neuenschwander)
12 JAKE McELFRESH/Elwood, IN (Powell)
12w BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Wease)
13 JOE LIGUORI/Tampa, FL (Liguori)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott)
22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ)
26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Pierce)
27J CHRIS JAGGER/Warsaw, IN (Jagger)
31 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Bischak)
32 NICK HAMILTON/Danville, IN (Hamilton)
44 TEDDY ALBERTS/Grand Rapids, MI (Alberts)
45 MARK HALL/Frankton, IN (Hall)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester)
53 JUSTIN HARPER/Denver, IN (TCJ)
55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)
64 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Brewer)
67 KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR)
71 BRIAN VAUGHN/Shirley, IN (Vaughn)
74 TONY MAIN/Farmland, IN (Main)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran)
MIDGET ENTRY LIST
1BR KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR)
3 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Bohanon)
4 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)
7 COLE CARTER/Brownsburg, IN (Bertrand)
7A DALTON ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Armstrong)
7K TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Irwin-Petry)
7KR NICK HAMILTON/Danville, IN (Irwin-Petry)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS)
8 JAKE TRAINOR/Medway, MA (Trainor)
9 JOHNNY ZYCH/Mendon, MA (Zych)
14 BRANDON MAURER/Sherman, IL (Maurer)
14AJ JOHN SLUSS/Indianapolis, IN (RayPro)
17 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Bertrand)
25 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Rodela)
29 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (Seymour/West)
33 TBD (RayPro)
40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Brannon)
47 TODD BERTRAND/Suffield, CT (Bertrand)
51 CHUCK GURNEY JR./Livermore, CA (West)
55 JOSH WISE/Riverside, CA (Bowman)
55F TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)
60 CODY GERHARDT/Fresno, CA (Gerhardt)
66 BRET SANDERSON/Gary, IN (Sanderson)
75 RYAN SHILKUSKI/Spring Valley, IL (Shilkuski)
80 ANNIE BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger)
99 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Guess)
333 TBD (RayPro)
SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:
02 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bowman)
06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Gossel)
1 KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR)
2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Lawson)
6 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)
7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR)
11 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Hamilton-Byrd)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott)
22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ)
24 MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (Haggenbottom)
26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight)
40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne)
42 JAKE DAY/Abilene, TX (Day)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester)
55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran)
80 TONI BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger)
81 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Williams)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn)
92 TBD (Kazmark)
99 ERIC GORDON/Fortville, IN (Armstrong)
131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Bischak)
222 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice)
TBA (TBA)
BC39 ENTRY LIST HITS 50! USAC CHAMPS WINDOM, SEAVEY & BAYSTON JOIN IN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 10, 2021)………The entry list for the August 18-19 USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink has surpassed 50 cars with the additions of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champions Chris Windom, Logan Seavey and Spencer Bayston to the absolutely stacked field for the highly-anticipated third running of the event at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
To be precise, 52 teams have filed their entries thus far for the BC39, with more expected to file in the coming days as the deadline for entries looms this Thursday, August 12, at Noon Eastern.
Teams can file their entry for the event at https://www.thebc39.com/, where individuals may also purchase tickets, pit and parking passes for the two-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event.
Windom (Canton, Ill.), the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National champion, aims to make his third start in the event following a 3rd place finish in 2019. Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) captured the 2018 series crown and will also be eying a third BC39 start after finishing a personal best 5th in 2019. Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.), the series' 2017 king, will go after his second start in the event following a 20th place result in 2019.
Bayston and Windom are two pieces of the three-driver lineup for CB Industries along with series Rookie and first-time BC39 entrant Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.). They'll be joined in the field by fellow new entries and USAC National Midget feature winners Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) and Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), two veteran drivers who are both seeking their first BC39 feature starts.
Already previously entered for the BC39 are USAC's three-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion and 2018 inaugural BC39 winner Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), who will be on hand as will newly-crowned 2021 Indiana Sprint Week champion Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.).
2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.) will make his BC39 debut this year. The driver with the most laps led in this year's Indianapolis 500, Conor Daly (Noblesville, Ind.), will make his third consecutive appearance in the BC39. NASCAR Rookie of the Year contender Chase Briscoe (Mitchell, Ind.), the winner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series' Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on the 2.439 mile road course in 2020, aims to make his second-straight BC39 feature start.
Ryan Newman will compete in one of four Clauson Marshall Racing entries. Newman (South Bend, Ind.), an 18-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, captured the 2008 Daytona 500 and the 2013 Brickyard 400 on the 2.5-mile paved oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was a USAC National champion earlier in his career with the Silver Crown series in 1999.
Two-time USAC National champion and recent Kings Royal winner, Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.), returns for a third BC39 start after finishing 4th in 2018 and charged from 20th to 2nd in the 2019 event. CMR teammates joining Newman and Courtney include the series' youngest ever winner, Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.), along with series veteran Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.).
Also new to the 2021 BC39 entry list is the RMS Racing team of reigning USAC Silver Crown champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), a two-time winner in the USAC National Midget division this year. Terry Klatt and Bob East have entered a car for multi-time USAC National Midget feature winner Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.). USAC career Triple Crown champion and 2018 ninth-place BC39 finisher Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) is officially entered along with 1989 USAC National Midget champion Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) who is making his third consecutive appearance in the event.
Two-time 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature winner Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) will get his first taste of BC39 experience this year. Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) has won twice on the USAC Regional Midget trail in 2021 and seeks his first BC39 start since 2018 in August.
The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 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.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Brady Bacon (2018) and Zeb Wise (2019) have captured victories in the first two editions of the BC39.
The USAC Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink gets amped up on Tuesday, August 17, with the BC39 Draft Party where drivers will choose their heat race positions for the opening night of the BC39. The Draft Party will be held at the Brickyard Crossing located at 4400 W. 16th Street in Indianapolis, Ind.
The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, August 17, with team parking at Noon Eastern. On track action begins Wednesday, August 18, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 4pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm. Heat races and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have the public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7:30pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
This year's Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink also will be the conclusion of nearly a week of exciting action on the road course and The Dirt Track at IMS. The NASCAR-INDYCAR tripleheader takes place Aug. 13-15, with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR Xfinity Series conducting separate races Saturday, Aug. 14 and the NASCAR Cup Series racing on the IMS road course for the first time Sunday, Aug. 15.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Visit www.IMS.com for more information on tickets to all IMS events in 2021.
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ENTRY LIST: 2021 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 POWERED BY NOS ENERGY DRINK
(52 entries as of August 10, 2021)
1K TBA (Rusty Kunz/RMS Racing)
2c TREVOR CASEY/Altoona, IA
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA
2MD CARSON KVAPIL/Mooresville, NC
3G KYLE CUMMINS/Princeton, IN
4B JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK
4K KAMERON GLADISH/Indianapolis, IN
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL
5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN
6BC RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA
9 CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA
9m ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL
11 JEFF SCHINDLER/Evansville, IN
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH
11m AIDEN PURDUE/Clinton, IL
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO
17 TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK
17B AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC
19K RILEY KREISEL/Warsaw, MO
19M ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN
21H BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK
25 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA
25v BEN VARNER/Harbor Springs, MI
26 CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA
36 IAN CREAGER/Covington, OH
38 CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL
39BC COLE BODINE/Rossville, IN
40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA
41 OLIVER AKARD/Fort Myers, FL
43 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA
46 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN
47BC COREY DAY/Clovis, CA
47D CONOR DALY/Noblesville, IN
49 JOE B. MILLER/Millersville, MO
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA
63 FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA
72 SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO
75AU BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA
81G RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN
84 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN
85 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ
85T RYAN TIMMS/Oklahoma City, OK
86 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS
89 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL
99 COLTON HEATH/Marysville, WA
116 SCOTT EVANS/Rhome, TX
SANTA MARIA RACEWAY HAS SUSPENDED OPERATIONS; RACES CANCELLED
By Lance Jennings
AUGUST 9, 2021... Earlier today, officials with Santa Maria Raceway have announced that they are suspending operations. From their social media post "It is with deep regret that we are forced to announce the indefinite suspension of operations at Stadium805 and the Santa Maria Raceway. The ongoing efforts of the County of San Luis Obispo and the Costa Pacifica Estates Homeowners Association to shut down our facility, and the legal fees defending the actions, has made it financially impossible to continue operating this facility in the way it has operated for decades. This is extremely frustrating as from the beginning we have made every effort to operate under the direct guidance from the County of San Luis Obispo."
The announcement also states that there are two contracted events that will be run at the facility in August. Those events are non-racing related. All upcoming races at Santa Maria Raceway have been cancelled.
USAC officials are looking into other options for the dates that were scheduled at Santa Maria. As of this writing, the following races are cancelled:
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES:
August 14: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Bud Stanfield Memorial)
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES:
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Ron Otto Memorial)
USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET SERIES:
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Ron Otto Memorial)
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will return to Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA) on Saturday, August 21st, for the "California Racers Hall of Fame Night."
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series will clash at Bakersfield Speedway (Bakersfield, CA) on Saturday, September 18th. The following night, the series will make their first appearance at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (Bakersfield, CA).
The USAC Western States Midgets will battle at Ventura Raceway (Ventura, CA) on Saturday, September 11th.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series, or the USAC Western States Midgets, 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 Sprint, USAC West Coast, Sprint, and USAC Western States Midget Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the United States Auto Club (USAC). You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
SEAVEY SEIZES SELINSGROVE
FOR FIRST USAC SILVER CROWN WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania (August 8, 2021)………If Logan Seavey felt he had a score to settle with Pennsylvania half-mile dirt tracks, nobody would blame him, entering Sunday night's Bill Holland Classic USAC Silver Crown event at Selinsgrove Speedway.
It was at Selinsgrove in which the Sutter, California driver made his first career Silver Crown start on this same weekend one year ago, an experience which went swimmingly until the final corner of the final lap when a flat right rear tire sealed his fate, dropping him from 4th all the way back to 10th in the final tally.
This past June at fellow PA battleground Williams Grove Speedway, Seavey was in control of the race nearing midway, leading for 22 laps until a stripped Pitman Arm ended the bid for a first career USAC Silver Crown score.
On Sunday at Selinsgrove, once Seavey catapulted to the lead on the ninth lap, there wasn't am obstruction that was going to trip him up on his quest, although a caution with two laps to go tossed a monkey wrench into those plans for a moment.
Seavey thwarted a last ditch effort by second-running C.J. Leary on the first lap of a green-white-checkered shootout, then pulled away once more for good measure to win his first career USAC Silver Crown race worth $8,075 in celebration of the track's 75th anniversary, and whose first race was won by Holland, the 1949 Indianapolis 500 victor and National Sprint Car Hall of Famer from the Keystone state.
Aboard his Rice Motorsports/Fatheadz Eyewear – STIDA.com – Lucas Oil/DRC/Pink Foxco Chevy, Seavey became the first "first-time" Silver Crown race winner since Jacob Wilson at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds in 2019.
A succession of race winners have proceeded to victory lane thus far during the first half of the season with five different drivers capturing victories during the first five events to start the season. That's the first time that's happened since 2013.
After a number of close calls coming into what was his eighth career series start, Seavey made Sunday's Selinsgrove stop his turn on the merry-go-round of race winners.
"I feel like we had a great chance to win Williams Grove, but it got taken from us with a part failure," Seavey recalled. "We have speed right now, which is awesome, and it's cool to get my first Silver Crown win. I love this series. I know I'm new at it but I'm just having so much fun."
After bursting onto the USAC scene as the champion in his Rookie National Midget season of 2018, Seavey has since branched out to USAC's AMSOIL National Sprint Car division, recently winning three-in-a-row during Indiana Sprint Week, and has now translated that success to Silver Crown racing.
In fact, Seavey has now won feature events in all three of USAC's National series in 2021, joining Justin Grant in the exclusive club, which Grant put himself in one night before.
But with Silver Crown being his newest foray, and with talented individual crewman Robbie Rice, Ronnie Gardner and Joe Devin at the helm of the team, Seavey feels right at home.
"Growing up, I always just wanted to race midgets," Seavey revealed. "As soon as I got to the National series, I realized I was doing okay in midgets, but I feel like this fits me so well. It's a perfect mixture of running hard and saving your tires, trying to find speed and the balance of both, and it's going so well. I've got a really good racecar and it drives like a dream."
The dream became a reality for Seavey on the initial start, charging on the bottom to within a car length of the high-riding Leary at the line on the opening lap after starting third.
Multiple stoppages lulled the beginning stages of the race with defending race winner and sixth-starting Shane Cottle being knocked out on the second lap as he rolled to a stop on the back straightaway. He'd return but ultimately dropped by the wayside for good 32 laps into the race, finishing 18th.
Leary continued his role as a rim rider as he led following the restart while Jake Swanson slipped into second past Seavey, who remained a car length behind, on laps six and seven. Seavey carved his way around the bottom to regain second from J. Swanson by a half-car length at the line.
Moments later, the second of the two early race casualties came on the eighth lap when three-time Selinsgrove 360 c.i. Sprint Car champ Mark Smith, who had just passed Matt Westfall for 10th, slid up and tagged the outer guardrail in turns three and four with his right rear tire, sending him flipping multiple times before coming to a rest on his wheels, putting an early end to his first series start in four seasons.
One lap after the restart, on lap 10, Seavey surged to the lead underneath Leary, beating the pole sitter and Selinsgrove one-lap USAC Silver Crown track record holder to the stripe by a couple feet before completing the pass in turn one.
For most intents and purposes, that proved to be the winning move for the next 53 laps as Seavey began to stretch the lead out to a full second as he worked a unique line, crawling the bottom of turns three and four, while entering on the topside of one and two with Leary and J. Swanson following in pursuit.
At the halfway mark, Seavey's interval had grown to a full straightaway over Leary, who gapped J. Swanson behind the lapped cars of Austin Nemire and Matt Goodnight.
With 22 to go, Seavey caught yet another cluster of traffic, which did somewhat stifle him momentarily. Leary, in response, shaved off two full seconds from Seavey's lead to 3.2 seconds as Seavey continued to try to find his way past Goodnight, Nemire & Windom.
Seavey's lead shrunk further to 2.8 seconds with 17 laps to go with Leary gradually reeling him in, but Seavey found clean air after driving around the outside of Windom to put him a lap down. Leary subsequently turned his best lap of the race with 11 to go, turning up the wick as much as he could to try to run down the dominant Seavey.
All doubt for Seavey was removed with four laps to go when he drove around the lapped car of Mike Haggenbottom, which provided him with a free and clear path ahead just as Leary had cut the lead to under 3 seconds.
Yet, the drama unfolded with two laps to go when 15th running Matt Goodnight stopped on the back straightaway to bring out the yellow flag, thus setting up a two-lap dash to the finish and repositioning the lapped cars to the tail, by rule, and placing Leary right on Seavey's rear bumper for the green-white-checkered conclusion.
Leary posed an immediate challenge to Seavey by swinging to the bottom between turns one and two, edging ahead momentarily at the exit of two but was unable get enough of a push to remain ahead as Seavey stretched the lead out once again, and for the final time, by turning the fastest lap of the entire race on the final laps to earn a 1.089 second triumph over Leary, J. Swanson, Shane Cockrum and Justin Grant.
After remaining in control without much in the way of challenge for 65 or so laps, the yellow flag was the absolute last thing Seavey wanted to see. He knew he had the best stuff, as he had proved throughout, but what were the driver's behind saving in the proverbial tank? It's a difficult dichotomy to untangle, and Seavey had a moment to run through it all in his mind before the green reemerged.
"I was just trying to stay calm," Seavey recalled. "I knew we were fast and, obviously, we had a good car and had speed all day. We had a pretty decent gap all day, but it's a little bit nerve wracking knowing maybe they know something we don't. I felt like I was going so slow to take care of my tire and I know they were doing the same thing and were probably banking on mine being a little worse. You kind of expect a late caution because you feel like somebody's going to blow a tire or something. With two to go, it's about the worst time it can happen."
A heartbreaking second-place finish for C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) last year at Selinsgrove was replaced by a bit more satisfying of a runner-up finish on Sunday, which began with him lowering his own personal USAC Silver Crown track record at Selinsgrove with a time of 21.185 in Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying in his Leary Racing/Leary Construction – Gray Auto – Valvoline/DRC/1-Way Toyota.
"We're a lot happier than we were last year after such a good run," Leary admitted. "It was another good run tonight; the car was really good. We gambled with the softer tire, and I waited too long. I let Logan get too big of a lead. I felt like I was running him down a little bit there in traffic, but it was just too much to overcome and on that restart, I saw Chris (Windom), and right before the yellow, he was yarding me off the bottom of two. I was like, 'man, I might be able to make that work.' I just tried to run hard enough to keep Jake (Swanson) behind me. I was going to do that to Logan, but he was so good there early and I let him get too far away. These races are so hard to win, and a lot of strategy goes into it. Ours just didn't play out tonight."
Similarly to Seavey, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) made his USAC Silver Crown debut at Selinsgrove in 2020, then returned to stand on the podium, finishing a career-best third in his DMW Motorsports/Advanced Materials Technologies – US Auto Cure – Phoenix Pavers/DRC/Wilcox Chevy.
"We were really good," Swanson said. "I just feel like there's a few things I could've done better there to get by C.J. I think I squeezed a little bit too hard too early and used up my stuff to where I could just maintain with them. At the end of it, I was just hoping I could keep up with them and maybe in a position to capitalize on something. These guys are really good and it's rare when they make mistakes, but when they do, it's still hard to capitalize on. I'm really happy, really pumped with our result, our best finish."
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 8, 2021 – Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Bill Holland Classic
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-21.185 (New Track Record); 2. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-21.398; 3. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice-21.590; 4. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-21.682; 5. Kody Swanson, 9, Dyson-21.702; 6. Shane Cottle, 81, BCR-21.975; 7. Shane Cockrum, 71, BLS-22.034; 8. Mark Smith, 01, L & M-22.105; 9. Brady Bacon, 53, Five-Three-22.224; 10. Chris Windom, 97, Lein-22.283; 11. Jason McDougal, 6, Klatt-22.428; 12. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-22.474; 13. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-22.867; 14. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-23.301; 15. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-23.804; 16. Nick Bilbee, 3, Simmons-24.092; 17. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-24.192; 18. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-24.251; 19. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-24.348; 20. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-24.379; 21. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT (Time of 23.936 disallowed).
FEATURE: (75 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (3), 2. C.J. Leary (1), 3. Jake Swanson (2), 4. Shane Cockrum (7), 5. Justin Grant (4), 6. Kody Swanson (5), 7. Matt Westfall (12), 8. Brady Bacon (9), 9. Carmen Perigo (13), 10. Kyle Robbins (15), 11. Chris Windom (10), 12. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 13. Travis Welpott (20), 14. Austin Nemire (18), 15. Nick Bilbee (16), 16. Matt Goodnight (19), 17. Dave Berkheimer (21), 18. Shane Cottle (6), 19. Mark Smith (8), 20. David Byrne (14), 21. Jason McDougal (11). NT
**Mark Smith flipped on lap 8 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 C.J. Leary, Laps 10-75 Logan Seavey.
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-259, 2-Justin Grant-258, 3-Logan Seavey-238, 4-Shane Cottle-226, 5-Kyle Robbins-205, 6-David Byrne-186, 7-Shane Cockrum-173, 8-Travis Welpott-173, 9-Austin Nemire-173, 10-Chris Windom-172.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-118, 2-Justin Grant-116, 3-Chris Windom-115, 4-Brady Bacon-111, 5-Thomas Meseraull-103, 6-Robert Ballou-97, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-94, 8-Logan Seavey-85, 9-Buddy Kofoid-68, 10-Kyle Cummins-68.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 13-14, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Oval – Hoosier Classic
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Quality Driving Performance of the Night: Travis Welpott
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Travis Welpott (20th to 13th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Travis Welpott
FIRST THINGS FIRST:
GRANT GETS FIRST USAC MIDGET WIN OF THE YEAR AT LANCO
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Newmanstown, Pennsylvania (August 7, 2021)………Finishing second on any given night can be considered a solid result in the high majority of circumstances.
Finishing second four times without a win when the season is more than halfway complete. Now, that can start to get on your nerves a little bit.
Justin Grant entered Saturday night's Eastern Midget Week finale at Newmanstown, Pennsylvania's Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in that exact scenario. With a large number of quality runs throughout this year's campaign, it's been a matter of being good, but not good enough for their liking.
With four second place finishes throughout the 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget season, Grant and RMS Racing found the perfect formula to put them on top at Lanco with the Ione, Calif. driver banging the rails around the high-banked, 1/8-mile dirt oval, leading the final 18 circuits and fending off point leader Buddy Kofoid down the stretch to win the 40-lap feature.
Grant's breakthrough also made him the first driver of the season to win in all three USAC National series – Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget – all cars in which he's won in during the last 17 days.
Four second-place finishes is enough to test the patience of any team that expects to win. Grant and RMS had been in contention all year long, posting runner-up results in four different months: April at Oklahoma's Port City Raceway, June at Kokomo Speedway, July at Oklahoma's Red Dirt Raceway and August at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway, the latter of which came just 24 hours prior to his Lanco triumph.
A victory a long time coming, perhaps, with an occasion that was cause for both a celebration and a sigh of relief for all involved with the RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota number 2J.
"It feels great to get this car into victory lane, finally," Grant exhaled. "Everybody really works really hard on this car, and they've given me a great car all year long. We've run second a ton and I was just getting frustrated and getting tired of not getting these guys a win. It feels really good to do it for them."
Grant began his race from the pole position but didn't stay there too long as outside front row starter, and winner of the two most recent Eastern Midget Week races, Tanner Thorson, motored away to the lead for the opening two trips.
Outside second row starter Emerson Axsom, meanwhile, burst to the head of the field by dipping under Thorson between turns one and two on the third lap. Axsom then countered Thorson's slide job attempt moments later in turn three to secure the position for the time being.
The first stoppage of the feature came on lap six when 10th running Cannon McIntosh launched like a missile into the turn one catchfence. He walked away without injury after the vicious flip, but his night was ended prematurely, relegating him to a finish of 22nd in the final rundown.
While Axsom remained in control on the 19th lap, Grant and Daison Pursley were in the midst of a manic duel for second. Grant made an attempt for the position underneath while Pursley attempted to eke around the outside of Grant. Pursley ran out of room at the exit and ramped up the guardrail with his right side wheels before coming back down on all fours.
Pursley crunched the outside wall once more mere seconds later in turn three, then again in turn one. Slowing in the middle of the groove on the back straightaway, Pursley was nailed in the tail tank by Brett Wanner who stopped following the contact and was subsequently tagged by Chase Randall. Wanner exited the race, credited with finishing 20th, while Randall resumed to finish 8th.
The third try proved to be the charm for Grant following the restart. Between turns three and four on the 20th lap, Grant fired his first shot by slide jobbing Axsom, but Axsom quickly cut down and reemerged at the front of the field. Grant proceeded with another try in turn one on lap 21 with the same result. Grant tucked in behind Axsom and followed in three and four, setting up the clincher with a slider in turn one that stuck, and also stuck him into the lead on the 22nd lap.
Axsom took one more grasp at the lead, briefly getting by Grant in turn one on lap 24, but Grant buckled down, passed him back underneath and took off in a race that was plagued by a bevy of cautions early on.
The yellow flag struck again on the 25th lap when Thomas Meseraull backed into the turn three wall, collecting Taylor Reimer, Hayden Reinbold and Kevin Woody Jr. in the process. Meseraull and Reimer bowed out with extensive damage while Reinbold and Woody continued onward with Woody ultimately earning KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors for a second consecutive race, advancing from 20th to a career best 11th place finish at Lanco.
Just three laps after Grant spurted away with a fantastic lap 25 restart in which he exploded out to a 1.265 sec. lead, trouble found fifth running Kevin Thomas Jr. who slowed with a puff of smoke emanating from the headers and a trail of fluid showering the track behind him. That necessitated a red flag in order for the track crew to bring out the tiller to help clean up the oiled down surface between turns one and two.
With nine laps remaining, Kofoid had tracked down Axsom and raced by for second in turn one, while Grant held a near insurmountable advantage ahead of Kofoid, 2.5 seconds in front, an interval which was soon erased when the night's third red flag was displayed for Hayden Reinbold (11th) and Kenney Johnson (12th) who both flipped down the front straightaway. Johnson exited the battle with a 15th place result while Reinbold resumed to finish out the race and collect a career-best series finish of 10th.
The plethora of yellows threw a monkey wrench into Grant's visions of triumph at Lanco, making him have to withstand restart after restart from a precarious position, in the lead, where anything can, may and will happen at any time.
"You never know how good you're going to get away on the restart," Grant explained. "These little places are so susceptible to receiving a big bomb into one. Then, it all goes out the window. It doesn't matter how good your car is. Then, it becomes a matter of playing the sliders and the crossover. Fortunately, we didn't have to do any of that. This car was awesome, it would just drive away on the restarts."
Now with Kofoid on his rear bumper for the restart with eight laps to go, Grant dug deep and laid down a perfect restart once again, distancing himself from Kofoid almost instantaneously while carrying a five car length lead ahead of Kofoid as he crossed the stripe to complete the 33rd lap.
Any visions Kofoid had of tracking down Grant were for naught as Grant kept Kofoid in check, an arm's length away, during the final restart run. The only hiccup came as Grant clobbered the turn three guardrail coming to the white flag, but it ultimately became a prime case for "no harm, no foul."
Grant closed out his sixth career USAC National Midget feature win by a 0.670 second margin with Buddy Kofoid second, Emerson Axsom third, Chris Windom fourth and Daison Pursley fifth.
For Grant, enduring the season-long wait for the win and the near hour it took to complete Saturday night's feature, were met with much the same response from Grant – not a moment too soon.
"By the end of that thing, I had the brakes burned off it and I think the motor was blowing up," Grant revealed. "I'm pretty sure I packed the right rear wheel. We were limping her home there at the end."
A test of will and patience was on full display this evening with Grant conquering a venue in which he previously possessed a best finish of 7th in both 2018 and 2020. With a fondness for Lanco's elbows up style, the desired result didn't come to Grant until this night, on a track and surface that was right within his wheelhouse.
"I've always really liked this place; it's always a ton of fun," Grant stated. "It's a lot of work around here. I was hustling for all 40 laps there. The track was cool. I love a curb on the wall where you get to put on a show and go as fast as you can go for all the fans."
One year ago this weekend, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) served as the spotter for Grant in a USAC Silver Crown race at Selinsgrove Speedway. One year later, Kofoid repeated his runner-up finish from Lanco in 2020 by finishing second again in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – IWX/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota, his best result since breaking his wrist and foot in a stock car crash on July 24 at Elko Speedway in Minnesota, as he continues the healing process and trying to get as comfortable as humanly possible with a cast on his right arm.
"You just had to be perfect on the top, but even the best make mistakes," Kofoid said. "I saw Justin make a mistake, and right when he'd make one, I would follow him and make the same mistake. I'd stay with him, make a mistake, and he'd pull away, then I'd get back to him, but I couldn't quite get close enough to get a shot at him."
Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) finished all five of his Eastern Midget Week starts within the top-five with two second-place results at Grandview and Action Track USA, followed by two fifths at Bridgeport and Bloomsburg, and rounding out the mini-series with a 3rd at Lanco in his Petry Motorsports/FK Rod Ends – Iron Born Studio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"For my second year in a midget, I still consider myself a rookie," Axsom said. "It's super tough to do well on these types of tracks and it sucks to be so fast all week and not get a win, but we'll get there. This car is so good.
I wanted to get to the lead early and set the pace," Axsom continued. "I felt like every time I got a good lead, a caution would come out or a red would come out. It made it really tough on me to get back in a rhythm. Justin's a veteran and is used to this kind of stuff and is used to putting it up against the wall. But I think, overall, we did really well tonight."
In Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying, Daison Pursley became the first driver ever to reach the 9-second bracket at Lanco with a new track record time of 9.972 seconds. His personal first career quick time with the series continued a trend which saw a new one-lap track record at all five events and venues consecutively throughout Eastern Midget Week.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 7, 2021 – Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Newmanstown, Pennsylvania – 1/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Eastern Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-9.972 (New Track Record); 2. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-10.025; 3. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-10.084; 4. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-10.121; 5. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.184; 6. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-10.298; 7. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-10.372; 8. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-10.414; 9. Hayden Williams, 1NZ, BSL-10.429; 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-10.445; 11. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-10.484; 12. Alex Bright, 25m, Malloy-10.491; 13. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.525; 14. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-10.579; 15. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-10.592; 16. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-10.621; 17. Brett Wanner, 00, Speers-10.874; 18. Jimmy Glenn, 7G, Glenn-11.188; 19. Mark Sokol, 50, Sokol-11.605; 20. Kenney Johnson, 46, Johnson-11.634; 21. Glenn Waterland, 11c, Waterland-11.999; 22. Kevin Woody Jr., 25B, Buckwalter-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Emerson Axsom, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Kevin Woody Jr., 7. Mark Sokol, 8. Taylor Reimer. 1:50.172
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Randall, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Brett Wanner, 7. Kenney Johnson. 1:46.508 (New Track Record)
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Alex Bright, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Hayden Williams, 5. Jimmy Glenn, 6. Glenn Waterland, 7. Cannon McIntosh. 1:47.477
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. Buddy Kofoid (3), 3. Emerson Axsom (4), 4. Chris Windom (10), 5. Daison Pursley (6), 6. Tanner Thorson (2), 7. Logan Seavey (5), 8. Chase Randall (7), 9. Hayden Williams (11), 10. Hayden Reinbold (15), 11. Kevin Woody Jr. (20), 12. Jimmy Glenn (21), 13. Ethan Mitchell (13), 14. Glenn Waterland (19), 15. Kenney Johnson (18), 16. Kevin Thomas Jr. (12), 17. Thomas Meseraull (8), 18. Taylor Reimer (22), 19. Mark Sokol (17), 20. Brett Wanner (16), 21. Alex Bright (14), 22. Cannon McIntosh (9). NT
**Cannon McIntosh flipped on lap 6 of the feature. Hayden Reinbold & Kenney Johnson flipped on lap 32 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Tanner Thorson, Laps 3-22 Emerson Axsom, Laps 23-40 Justin Grant.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1511, 2-Chris Windom-1490, 3-Emerson Axsom-1476, 4-Tanner Thorson-1398, 5-Justin Grant-1395, 6-Daison Pursley-1344, 7-Logan Seavey-1257, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1231, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1215, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1132.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-118, 2-Justin Grant-116, 3-Chris Windom-115, 4-Brady Bacon-110, 5-Thomas Meseraull-103, 6-Robert Ballou-97, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-94, 8-Logan Seavey-83, 9-Buddy Kofoid-68, 10-Kyle Cummins-68.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: August 18-19, 2021 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered By NOS Energy Drink
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Daison Pursley
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Daison Pursley
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Chase Randall
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Kevin Woody Jr. (20th to 11th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Ethan Mitchell
TWICE IS NICE:
THORSON GOES BACK-TO-BACK AT BLOOMSBURG
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania (August 6, 2021)………For the second consecutive night, a first-time venue on the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget trail produced a familiar result for Tanner Thorson.
Twenty-four hours after trouncing the field by half a lap in the series' debut at New Jersey's Bridgeport Speedway, the Minden, Nevada native found a slightly different route to victory on Friday night in the first-ever series event at the newly-renovated Bloomsburg Fair Raceway in Pennsylvania.
With 10 laps remaining, Thorson found himself a distant second while Thomas Meseraull ruled the roost up front. However, a tangle that ensued as Meseraull was attempting to lap Glenn Waterland signaled the end of Meseraull's victory ambitions.
As the new leader, Thorson never relented down the stretch to earn his series-leading sixth USAC National Midget feature win of the season in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – The Healing Tree – Eddie Gilstrap Motors/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.
Thorson's win was the 26th of his USAC National Midget career, elevating him past Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones and Dave Strickland for sole possession of 16th on the all-time list, and just one win behind Gary Bettenhausen and Tony Stewart for 14th.
Friday night at Bloomsburg marked Thorson's fourth career Eastern Midget Week feature score, tying him with Chad Boat for the most all-time in the seven-year history of the series. The win was also the fourth time in Thorson's USAC National Midget career that he's won consecutive feature events, and the second time this year alone.
Thorson has won feature races in a variety of different ways throughout his career. In that period of time, he's learned to not be picky about how a win comes along. You take them any way you can get them. The main ingredient to it all is putting yourself into position in the chance that things do go awry, and you're right there to capitalize on the situation at hand.
How it played out wasn't quite exactly how Thorson drew it up, but it was he who wrapped it up once again for his ninth overall USAC National feature win of the season between Midgets and Sprint Cars, which has already made 2021 Thorson's most successful USAC season of his career.
"It's definitely better to be lucky than good sometimes," Thorson admitted. "I feel bad for Thomas and his crew. They were really, really fast. I don't know if we would've had anything for him. My car was getting better and better there on that long green flag run, but I don't know. Thomas was good; there's no doubt about that. I'm really happy for my team. This Reinbold-underwood team is awesome. I switched over to them, and it's the best decision I've ever made in my racing career."
Thorson started the 30-lap feature from the sixth position after earlier notching his 21st career Fatheadz Fast Qualifying time with the USAC National Midgets, tying him for 19th all-time with Tony Stewart, Don Branson and Shorty Templeman.
Pennsylvanian Alex Bright broke out to the early lead from his pole starting position, but fourth-starting Thomas Meseraull was initially the show, bulleting by Kevin Thomas Jr. and Daison Pursley amid a three-car tussle for the runner-up position, gaining the second spot in a harrowing manner when Pursley got loose on the high side exit of turn four. Meseraull ramped his own right rear tire over Pursley's left front and continued onward as Pursley faltered back to fifth in the order.
Meseraull ultimately tracked down Bright on the eighth lap off the bottom exit of turn four to occupy the lead where he'd remain a sole proprietor of throughout the middle stages of the event, checking out to a commanding 1.6 second lead until 12th running Chase Randall slowed to a stop with a rear-end issue on lap 13.
With his lead erased, Bright found his second wind on the lap 13 restart, sliding deep past Meseraull into turn three. Yet, Meseraull countered back under to retake the lead at the line by a car length before withstanding another Bright punch to the body on lap 14 in the same spot that Meseraull thwarted.
All along, lurking on the bottom just behind Meseraull and Bright was Thorson, performing similarly to the manner in which he did the previous night at Bridgeport, circling the bottom to lunge forward, underneath and past Bright on lap 17. By that point, though, Meseraull had reestablished his 1.5 second lead and was in total command as he began to work through traffic.
Within Meseraull's sight as he worked turns one and two on the 21st lap was 19th running Glenn Waterland. As Waterland occupied the middle lane, Meseraull swept up from the bottom of turn one on entry toward the top, contact was made between Meseraull's front bumper and Waterland's rear bumper, sending both into a 180-degree spin before stopping.
It was a bitterly disappointing conclusion for Meseraull who returned to the fold and climbed back to 11th at the checkered flag while Waterland was 18th.
On the ensuing restart, and for the final nine lap run, Thorson maintained control of the race. Although second-running Justin Grant was able to keep Thorson right within his crosshairs, he was unable to draw any closer to the 2016 USAC National Midget driving champion who closed out with a 0.223 second victory over Grant, Cannon McIntosh, Bright and Emerson Axsom.
"It's always great when you can win at least one of the races on a swing like this. To be able to win two is pretty special," Thorson said. "The competition is really stout. It used to be where you're competing with about only five, six or seven guys that could win the race, but now I feel like the top-12 to 15 on almost any given night are in contention to win."
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) finished as the runner-up in USAC National Midget competition for the fourth time this season in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Sill looking for his first USAC National Midget feature win for RMS, Grant is joyous to "not be wadded up in a big ball" after a trying week which saw him endure a wild opening lap flip at Action Track USA and was in the thick of contact during Bloomsburg's accompanying USAC East Coast Sprint Car feature that sent him into a spin while leading. Grant hoped for one more opportunity to get at Thorson late, but a win was not in the cards for the reigning USAC Silver Crown champ.
"That last restart was a great opportunity for us to try to close the gap and win the race, but I got goobered up on the berm off four and spun my tires down the front stretch," Grant recalled. "This series is tough, and these guys are really tough. When you spin the tires like that, you can't leave the entry open, so I had to protect on the first lap to not get mugged into one. That kind of killed my chance to really get ringing around the top and make some momentum to throw a slider on Tanner into three. From there, we were just trying to run him down. We were good, but he was good as well and it was just hard to close that gap."
Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) flashed from 5th to 3rd during a late-race stretch that provided him his first podium finish with the series since a second-place result at Paragon Speedway during Indiana Midget Week on June 3 in his Dave Mac Motorsports/DriveWFX.com – SBS Shocks – D.A. McIntosh/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"We had a really good car, so I was able to put it wherever I needed to there at the end," McIntosh remembered. "I knew the car deserved to be up a couple more spots, so I just drove it as hard as I could at the end to try and get us on the podium, and it's good to be back here. This team deserves it; everybody works pretty hard and, hopefully, that gets us closer to where we want to be, which is a win.
Every time we've had speed lately, things just haven't gone our way to show how much speed we've really built up," McIntosh continued. "It's been there recently. We just haven't been able to make it happen. It's good to show it tonight. We obviously wanted to be a couple spots higher, but we can't complain about being on the podium."
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 6, 2021 – Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Eastern Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-15.600 (New Track Record); 2. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-15.653; 3. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-15.711; 4. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-15.748; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-15.808; 6. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.858; 7. Alex Bright, 25m, Malloy-15.872; 8. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.883; 9. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-15.899; 10. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-15.986; 11. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.026; 12. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-16.041; 13. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-16.058; 14. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.145; 15. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-16.197; 16. Kenney Johnson, 46, Johnson-16.470; 17. Eric Heydenreich, 11, Heydenreich-16.859; 18. Michael Markey, 7, Markey-16.875; 19. Kevin Woody Jr., 25B, Buckwalter-17.163; 20. Jimmy Glenn, 7G, Glenn-17.211; 21. J.R. Booth, 5A, Mausteller-17.518; 22. Glenn Waterland, 11c, Waterland-17.526; 23. Dan Bennett, 5J, Bennett-17.609; 24. Shannon Mausteller, 21m, Mausteller-18.375; 25. Randy Mausteller, 21, Mausteller-18.819; 26. John Heydenreich, 22, Givens-NT; 27. Bobby Butler, 12, Glenn-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Alex Bright, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Kenney Johnson, 7. Kevin Woody Jr., 8. Glenn Waterland, 9. Randy Mausteller. 2:42.345
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Taylor Reimer, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Eric Heydenreich, 5. Jimmy Glenn, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Dan Bennett, 8. Buddy Kofoid, 9. Bobby Butler. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh, 2. Chase Randall, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Ethan Mitchell, 6. Michael Markey, 7. J.R. Booth, 8. Shannon Mausteller. 2:45.484
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Kenney Johnson, 4. Kevin Woody Jr., 5. Michael Markey, 6. Glenn Waterland, 7. Shannon Mausteller, 8. J.R. Booth, 9. John Heydenreich (#21), 10. Dan Bennett. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (6), 2. Justin Grant (5), 3. Cannon McIntosh (7), 4. Alex Bright (1), 5. Emerson Axsom (10), 6. Daison Pursley (2), 7. Logan Seavey (8), 8. Chris Windom (12), 9. Buddy Kofoid (9), 10. Taylor Reimer (11), 11. Thomas Meseraull (4), 12. Hayden Reinbold (14), 13. Ethan Mitchell (15), 14. Kenney Johnson (16), 15. Kevin Woody Jr. (21), 16. Michael Markey (18), 17. Eric Heydenreich (17), 18. Glenn Waterland (20), 19. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 20. Jimmy Glenn (19), 21. Shannon Mausteller (22), 22. Chase Randall (13). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Alex Bright, Laps 8-20 Thomas Meseraull, Laps 21-30 Tanner Thorson.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1435, 2-Chris Windom-1424, 3-Emerson Axsom-1404, 4-Tanner Thorson-1336, 5-Justin Grant-1317, 6-Daison Pursley-1273, 7-Logan Seavey-1196, 8-Thomas Meseraull-1194, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1180, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1103.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-118, 2-Justin Grant-116, 3-Brady Bacon-110, 4-Chris Windom-109, 5-Thomas Meseraull-103, 6-Robert Ballou-97, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-94, 8-Logan Seavey-83, 9-Kyle Cummins-68, 10-Buddy Kofoid-67.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 7, 2021 – Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – Newmanstown, Pennsylvania – 1/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Eastern Midget Week
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Logan Seavey
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Kevin Woody Jr. (21st to 15th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Ethan Mitchell
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: J.R. Booth
THORSON THUMPS FIELD IN BRIDGEPORT'S USAC MIDGET DEBUT
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Swedesboro, New Jersey (August 5, 2021)………It had been 32 years since USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets last turned a wheel in the state of New Jersey.
At the conclusion of Thursday's Eastern Midget Week round three at Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Thorson found himself ahead of the field by 32 light years, or so it seemed, as he scored the most dominating victory of the season in the series' first ever visit to the 4/10-mile high banked dirt oval.
Thorson flexed his way into the lead on the fifth lap past pole sitter Emerson Axsom, then steadily increased the gap between he and the rest of the field throughout the 30-lap duration to win by a staggering 8.429 seconds, putting all but the top-eight finishers a lap down in the 21-car field aboard his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – The Healing Tree/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.
It marked the series-leading fifth USAC National Midget feature triumph of the season for the Minden, Nevada native, and the eighth overall combined between the USAC National Midget and Sprint Car series.
Thorson found his groove nearly instantaneously, making a beeline to the inside from his outside second row starting spot in turn one on the opening lap to slot into second behind Axsom. After sliding away from the bottom between turns three and four at the end of the first lap, Cannon McIntosh slid under to take away second from him on the bottom of turns one and two.
Lesson learned for Thorson.
Thorson went straight back to the inside line in three and four on the second lap and whipped past McIntosh for the runner-up spot where he quickly began to shrink the gap between himself and race leader Axsom.
The feature's lone caution came on lap five when 10th running Zach Daum's engine expired in a dramatic manner with a big ball of flame emanating from the car before quickly dissipating. Daum steered his coasting car right to the extinguisher, then hopped out in a jiff with his steering wheel in hand, officially out of the race.
The bottom wasn't only the shortest way around, but also the fastest way around for Thorson on the lap five restart. There, Thorson was hooked up, wheels up, right around the infield tires in turns three and four as he scooted to the lead and never lost any speed on his fastball for the remainder of the distance.
"As soon as I rolled out there, I saw there was a bunch of grip and I figured the modifieds had made the bottom hooked up for us," Thorson recalled. "As soon as I fired off, I went down there and was able to feel it out and knew that was going to be the place to be."
Thomas Meseraull found the same path to his liking as he raced past Axsom on lap eight for the second position. However, by then, Thorson was in the midst of a tear, up by a straightaway on lap 10 and by a half lap on at the midway point on lap 15.
As Buddy Kofoid muscled his way into the third spot with nine laps remaining, Thorson remained ahead by 7.5 seconds and ever-growing as he split between and breezed by everybody in his path, putting the likes of series winners Daison Pursley and Justin Grant a lap down on his torrid pace as he entered the top-10…to lap them.
With an average feature finish of 11th over his last three series starts, Thorson put himself back on top for the 25th time in his USAC National Midget career, surpassing Billy Engelhart in terms of wins and tying himself with Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones and Dave Strickland for 16th on the all-time list.
"We've struggled the last couple nights, I feel like," Thorson said. "Just the fact that our team has worked so hard together, it has definitely paid off and shows."
Thorson's midget victory comes after a 12th place finish in a USAC National Sprint Car feature in his only previous Bridgeport experience during Eastern Storm in June. He admitted feeling the struggle linger on into tonight following a fifth-place finish in his heat race. Thorson finally found the perfect recipe on Thursday night during the feature.
"Midgets and sprint cars are obviously a little different," Thorson stated. "With the sprint car, it was kind of hard to run the bottom here. I think the midget has so much side load that you can load it off on the bottom and be stuck way, way better than a sprint car."
Thomas Meseraull had endured a tumultuous first two nights of Eastern Midget Week, first at Grandview Speedway where his right rear was toppled by a push truck at the start of the feature. The following night at Action Track USA, his race ended with a first lap feature incident while battling for the lead. Thursday night saw the San Jose, California native score his best result since winning the Indiana Midget Week opener at Paragon Speedway more than two months earlier, earning a runner-up finish in his RMS Racing/EnviroFab – Response Management Services – Engler Machine/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"When it got slick, it went slick, slick," Meseraull explained of the track conditions on his path to the front. "Modifieds weren't running the bottom, but the midgets, they'll run the bottom pretty good compared to a lot of bigger cars with a lot of weight. I saw Tanner (Thorson) down there starting to roll the bottom. We really weren't set up to run down there. I might've had something if we had geared for the bottom, but Tanner drove away. I feel like the team deserves this. We've been on the road for the last 40 days, I feel like. It's been a grind, but it's nice to be up on the podium with this car."
Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), casted up with a broken right wrist and broken left foot, toughed it out to earn a second consecutive podium finish in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – IWX/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota, finishing third at Bridgeport and extending his series point lead to 19 markers over fourth-place feature finisher Chris Windom.
"Toward the bottom was the fastest line, but my car was pretty good all over and I don't think we were quite set up to run the bottom with us not expecting the track to do that," Kofoid said. "I could make up a lot of ground early on by sliding myself and splitting guys. The bottom came in and it got dirty where I couldn't really run my line through the middle or run the fence. It was another pretty good points night and I'm glad to be on the podium again. I just need to be two spots better."
Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) earned his first career USAC National Midget fast time during Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying. The decade-plus veteran of the series set the top time and established a track record on the same night he made his 68th career series feature start. Bright knows these banks of Bridgeport Motorsports Park well. He played a major role in the reconstruction of the track by operating the bulldozer that carved out the high banks in 2020.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 5, 2021 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey – 4/10-Mile Dirt Oval – Eastern Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Alex Bright, 25m, Malloy-16.275 (New Track Record); 2. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-16.311; 3. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-16.327; 4. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-16.342; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-16.378; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-16.383; 7. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-16.413; 8. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-16.443; 9. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-16.468; 10. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-16.521; 11. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.521; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-16.524; 13. Jonathan Shafer, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.566; 14. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.569; 15. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.588; 16. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.730; 17. Hayden Williams, 1NZ, BSL-16.770; 18. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-16.799; 19. Travis Buckley, 7NZ, BSL-17.121; 20. Kevin Woody Jr., 25B, Buckwalter-17.382; 21. Jimmy Glenn, 7G, Glenn-17.675; 22. Shawn Jackson, 7J, Jackson-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Alex Bright, 4. Hayden Reinbold, 5. Jonathan Shafer, 6. Travis Buckley, 7. Chase Randall. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Taylor Reimer, 6. Hayden Williams, 7. Kevin Woody Jr. 2:14.20 (New Track Record)
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Justin Grant, 5. Tanner Thorson, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 7. Jimmy Glenn. 2:15.84
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (4), 2. Thomas Meseraull (3), 3. Buddy Kofoid (7), 4. Chris Windom (5), 5. Emerson Axsom (1), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (14), 7. Cannon McIntosh (2), 8. Alex Bright (6), 9. Chase Randall (9), 10. Justin Grant (11), 11. Daison Pursley (8), 12. Hayden Williams (17), 13. Logan Seavey (10), 14. Taylor Reimer (13), 15. Jonathan Shafer (15), 16. Ethan Mitchell (18), 17. Hayden Reinbold (16), 18. Kevin Woody Jr. (20), 19. Travis Buckley (19), 20. Jimmy Glenn (21), 21. Zach Daum (12). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Emerson Axsom, Laps 5-30 Tanner Thorson.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1386, 2-Chris Windom-1367, 3-Emerson Axsom-1339, 4-Tanner Thorson-1255, 5-Justin Grant-1240, 6-Daison Pursley-1212, 7-Thomas Meseraull-1146, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1145, 9-Logan Seavey-1135, 10-Cannon McIntosh-1031.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-113, 2-Justin Grant-113, 3-Brady Bacon-110, 4-Chris Windom-105, 5-Thomas Meseraull-103, 6-Robert Ballou-97, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-94, 8-Logan Seavey-82, 9-Kyle Cummins-68, 10-Buddy Kofoid-67.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 6, 2021 – Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Eastern Midget Week
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Cannon McIntosh
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Alex Bright
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 6th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Logan Seavey
SMALL IN STATURE, BIG IN THRILLS:
USAC MIDGETS VISIT LANCO SATURDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Newmanstown, Pennsylvania (August 5, 2021)………Sometimes, the biggest dynamite comes in the smallest of packages.
That's what Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway provides with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets, which arrive at the 1/8-mile, high-banked dirt oval for the sixth consecutive year on Saturday night, August 7, for the fifth and final installment of 2021 USAC Eastern Midget Week.
Two drivers in this Saturday night's field have tamed the wickedly fast beast that gives you little time to think, blink or even wink. An annual slider-fest, a three-and-four-wide delight, both Tanner Thorson and Logan Seavey have each claimed their throne here at the Newmanstown, Pennsylvania super-bullring.
Thorson needed all the heroics he could muster to pull off a last-lap, last corner pass to take the victory in the inaugural Lanco race during his championship season of 2016. In 2017, the Minden, Nev. native repeated the feat as a Lanco victor once again in relative comfort this time, leading all 40 laps. A four-time 40-lap USAC National Midget winner, Thorson also took fifth at Lanco in 2020.
Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), meanwhile, has finished inside the top-three in both of his Lanco starts. He went viral with a four-wheel, fence-riding measure to avoid a stopped car between turns three and four before going on to finish 3rd during his championship season of 2018. The next year, in 2019, he one-upped himself by winning the main event.
A pair of champions and current USAC point leaders in Buddy Kofoid and Alex Bright have finished in the runner-up spot at Lanco. Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), the current USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point leader, was 2nd in 2020 while Bright (Collegeville, Pa.), the 2016 ARDC champ, 2018 USAC Eastern Midget titlist and current USAC East Coast Sprint Car point leader, was 2nd in 2018.
Previous top-ten Lanco runners include Bixby, Oklahoma's Cannon McIntosh (3rd in 2020); Cullman, Alabama's Kevin Thomas Jr. (4th in 2019); Canton, Illinois' Chris Windom (6th in 2019); Locust Grove, Oklahoma's Daison Pursley (6th in 2020) and Ione, California's Justin Grant (7th in both 2018 & 2020). Windom is the defending USAC National Midget champion while Grant is the reigning USAC Silver Crown titlist. Pursley, meanwhile, recently won Wednesday's Eastern Midget Week round at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa.
Lanco USAC Midget veterans returning to the lineup include Franklin, Indiana's Emerson Axsom (14th in 2020), who is the only driver to win a 40-lap USAC National Midget feature thus far in 2021 at Nebraska's Jefferson County Speedway in July. Furthermore, joining the event are Mooresville, North Carolina's Ethan Mitchell (13th in 2020); Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania's Eric Heydenreich (14th in 2017); Bethlehem, Pennsylvania's Tommy Kunsman (15th in 2018); Bear, Delaware's Shawn Jackson (16th in 2018); Bethany, Connecticut's Kenney Johnson (17th in 2016); and Victor, New York's Kevin Woody Jr. (20th in 2018).
Two-time 2021 USAC National Midget feature winner Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) will be among those making his Lanco debut as will New Zealanders Hayden Williams (Auckland), Travis Buckley (Auckland) and Glenn Waterland (Christchurch).
First-time Lanco USAC Midget visitor Max McLaughlin (Mooresville, N.C.), a K & N East & Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified winner, will drive a second Bundy Built Motorsports Midget alongside teammate Ethan Mitchell. Max is the son of past NASCAR Busch Series standout Mike McLaughlin.
USAC Rookies Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), Michael Markey (Hanover, Pa.) and Dan Bennett (Akron, N.Y.) will be on hand at Lanco for the first time in USAC National Midget competition.
Saturday's $4,000-to-win Eastern Midget Week round number five at Lanco will feature the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and Wingless 600 Mini Sprints.
On Saturday race day, pits open for trailer parking at 1pm ET. Pit admission sales begin at 4pm. Gates open for general admission ticket holders at 5pm. The USAC drivers meeting takes place at 6pm. USAC hot laps begin at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.
Advanced tickets are $25 for adults (ages 13 and up) and $7.00 for youth (ages 6 - 12). Adult general admission tickets will cost $20 with youth tickets (ages 6 - 12) priced at $5. Children under the age of six will be admitted free Pit admission will be $35. USAC and Lanco members will get pit admission for $30.
Every lap of all five Eastern Midget Week event will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
2021 EASTERN MIDGET WEEK SCHEDULE:
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA
Aug 4: Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway | Bloomsburg, PA
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway | Newmanstown, PA
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT LANCO'S CLYDE MARTIN MEMORIAL SPEEDWAY:
1 Laps - 8/4/2018 - Spencer Bayston - 10.129
10 Laps - 8/4/2018 - Tyler Courtney - 1:46.75
12 Laps - 8/16/2016 - Holly Shelton - 2:15.80
PAST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT LANCO'S CLYDE MARTIN MEMORIAL SPEEDWAY:
2016: Tanner Thorson
2017: Tanner Thorson
2018: Zeb Wise
2019: Logan Seavey
2020: Tyler Courtney
PAST RESULTS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT LANCO'S CLYDE MARTIN MEMORIAL SPEEDWAY:
2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Tyler Thomas, 4. Jim Radney, 5. Ryan Robinson, 6. Chad Boat, 7. Brenden Bright, 8. Tommy Kunsman, 9. Holly Shelton, 10. Carson Macedo, 11. Steve Buckwalter, 12. Tony DiMattia, 13. Brady Bacon, 14. Brett Arndt, 15. Alex Bright, 16. Josh Heckman, 17. Kenney Johnson, 18. Gage Walker, 19. Justin Grosz, 20. Eric Heydenreich, 21. Nick Wean, 22. Brett Wanner, 23. Trevor Kobylarz. NT
2017 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Spencer Bayston, 5. Shane Golobic, 6. Chad Boat, 7. Tim Buckwalter, 8. Tanner Carrick, 9. Tony DiMattia, 10. Landon Simon, 11. Kenny Miller, III, 12. Ryan Greth, 13. Andrew Layser, 14. Eric Heydenreich, 15. Holly Shelton, 16. Adam Pierson, 17. Brayton Lynch, 18. Alex Bright, 19. Tommy Kunsman, Jr., 20. Shawn Jackson, 21. Kenney Johnson, 22. Justin Grant. NT
2018 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Zeb Wise (3), 2. Alex Bright (11), 3. Logan Seavey (1), 4. Adam Pierson (9), 5. Brady Bacon (4), 6. Tanner Carrick (8), 7. Justin Grant (7), 8. Andrew Layser (19), 9. Spencer Bayston (6), 10. Tyler Courtney (5), 11. Chad Boat (13), 12. Kenny Miller (14), 13. Brayton Lynch (12), 14. Ethan Mitchell (18), 15. Tommy Kunsman (15), 16. Shawn Jackson (21), 17. Jason Rice (20), 18. Brenden Bright (22), 19. Timmy Buckwalter (10), 20. Kevin Woody, Jr. (17), 21. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (2), 22. Kenney Johnson (16). NT
2019 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (3), 2. Tyler Courtney (4), 3. Jason McDougal (12), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 5. Jerry Coons, Jr. (10), 6. Chris Windom (9), 7. Andrew Layser (1), 8. Tucker Klaasmeyer (13), 9. Tanner Carrick (7), 10. Chad Boat (2), 11. Karsyn Elledge (8), 12. Steve Craig (14), 13. Zeb Wise (6), 14. Steven Drevicki (11), 15. Jamie Speers (15). NT
2020 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. Buddy Kofoid (5), 3. Cannon McIntosh (15), 4. Tanner Carrick (1), 5. Tanner Thorson (19), 6. Daison Pursley (9), 7. Justin Grant (3), 8. Chase Johnson (4), 9. Cole Bodine (11), 10. Robert Dalby (10), 11. Dillon Welch (8), 12. Kyle Cummins (17), 13. Ethan Mitchell (20), 14. Emerson Axsom (16), 15. Jeff Champagne (13), 16. Chris Windom (2), 17. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 18. Steve Buckwalter (18), 19. Andrew Layser (12), 20. Jimmy Glenn (22), 21. Kenney Johnson (21), 22. Alex Bright (14). NT
BC39 DRAFT PARTY SET TO KICK OFF FESTIVITIES AUG. 17 The Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink gets amped up on Tuesday, August 17, the night before the dirt flies at The Dirt Track at IMS with the BC39 Draft Party.
Make your way to the Brickyard Crossing located at 4400 W. 16th Street in Indianapolis, Ind. where drivers will choose their heat race positions for the opening night (August 18) of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink.
All cars entered will be randomized into picking order for the heat race draft. Teams will be able to pick their heat race spot, either in person with a representative or remotely through USAC officials. Any unrepresented team will be given the first available spot. The heat race position draft is open to the public with team members getting priority into the Brickyard Crossing.
Teams without representation at the Draft Party will move to the bottom of the draft selection order.
The kickoff event is a fan-friendly celebration with IMS, the Indiana Donor Network, NOS Energy Drink, USAC drivers and officials to host a fan friendly party for the BC39 featuring drivers, displays, food and beverages. The party runs from 6pm Eastern to 9pm with the draft set to begin at 6:30pm.
Nearly 50 drivers have already entered the two-night racing spectacular including NASCAR's Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman and Chase Briscoe, plus INDYCAR's Conor Daly and USAC National champions Justin Grant, Tyler Courtney, Jerry Coons Jr., Russ Gamester and inaugural BC39 winner Brady Bacon, along with many more.
The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, August 17, with team parking at Noon Eastern. On track action begins Wednesday, August 18, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 4pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm. Heat races and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have the public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7:30pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
This year's Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink also will be the conclusion of nearly a week of exciting action on the road course and The Dirt Track at IMS. The NASCAR-INDYCAR tripleheader takes place Aug. 13-15, with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR Xfinity Series conducting separate races Saturday, Aug. 14 and the NASCAR Cup Series racing on the IMS road course for the first time Sunday, Aug. 15.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Competitors can file their entry for the BC39 at www.TheBC39.com.
Visit www.IMS.com for more information on tickets to all IMS events in 2021.
PURSLEY SLICES THROUGH FOR USAC WIN #2 AT ACTION TRACK USA
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Kutztown, Pennsylvania (August 4, 2021)………If you keep on racing, the levee's goin' to break. And, eventually, the wins are going to flood in.
With his first win coming in the 47th start of his career in mid-July, it took Daison Pursley just five more to capture his second career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory on Wednesday night during the second round of Eastern Midget Week at Kutztown, Pennsylvania's Action Track USA.
"That's what a lot of people have been telling me," Pursley said. "The first one is always hard to get, then you start clicking them off. This kind of shows that that's true."
The box score reads that the Locust Grove, Okla. driver led all 30 laps of the feature in succession after starting from the pole position, but it took a roundabout venture en route from point A to point B in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/IWX – TRD – Curb/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota at the 1/5-mile, newly re-banked dirt oval.
A tumultuous first lap resulted in devastating consequences for a couple of frontrunners, both from the RMS Racing stable. As Pursley led the field midway down the back straightway, he received a tap on the rear bumper from Meseraull that sent him up the racetrack. Emerson Axsom shot by both drivers from third to first while Meseraull ducked under to second through turns three and four.
Side-by-side exiting turn four, outside-riding Axsom pulled the front wheels off the ground. Simultaneously, he and Meseraull banged wheels, sending Meseraull into a 180-degree spin as the field whizzed past near the flag stand. The oncoming car of Justin Grant collided with his RMS teammate, Meseraull, and flipped over in a series of twists and turns before landing at the entry to turn one. Grant immediately tossed out the steering wheel and crawled his way out from the wreckage.
Under the red, Meseraull went on a full sprint around the perimeter of the infield to vigorously confront the still strapped-in Axsom on the back straightaway. After a stern meeting of words and hand gestures, Meseraull parted with a 21st place finish while Grant was scored 22nd.
With a complete restart on tap, Pursley reassumed his place on the pole position where he spurted away with the race lead. However, all efforts proved to be short-lived when a six-car tangle ensued in turn one at the conclusion of lap one when third-running Tanner Thorson spun in turn one, which collected Logan Seavey (5th), Cannon McIntosh (8th) and Kevin Thomas Jr. (9th).
A separate tangle in the back at the same moment also forced the stoppage of both Eric Heydenreich and Michael Markey, both of whom were making their first series starts of the year. Those two returned to the field as did Thorson and Seavey, who finished 9th and 12th, respectively. Damage to the front ends of McIntosh and Thomas knocked both out of the race prematurely.
With 10 laps remaining, Axsom had tracked down and tightened the leash on Pursley, beginning a succession of three consecutive Axsom slide jobs over the next two laps entering turns one and three. However, each time, Pursley managed to cross over successfully and regain the lead.
Pursley gained an ounce of freedom with a slide job on the lapped car of his teammate, Jonathan Shafer, with eight laps remaining that, conversely, pinned his nemesis, Axsom, with Shafer now separating the two in the meantime.
Bottled up with two laps remaining and, seemingly, appearing to have his roadway blocked, Axsom began to dig back into contention, Pursley bounced off the turn one cushion just inches from the outer wall on his right side and mere inches from the rear bumper of Zach Daum just ahead of him. Pursley jet-streamed right through the barely-existent gap that remained between the tail-end lead lap cars of Daum and Chase Randall halfway down the back straightaway.
That proved to be the winning move for Pursley as he shot through the gap and subsequently, created his own gap between he and second place finisher Axsom at the checkered flag, 0.967 second ahead at the checkered with a wounded Buddy Kofoid third, Hayden Williams finishing a career-best fourth and Chris Windom rounding out the top-five a night after winning at Grandview Speedway.
"Going through lapped traffic there, I feel like it's usually better to be in second," Pursley explained. "When I first hit traffic, I started biding my own time and knew that I had a little bit of a gap with what (car owner) Keith (Kunz) was telling me. I knew it was going to be a number of laps before sliders started getting thrown. When I got to traffic, and as soon as (Emerson) threw that one, I got up on the wheel and started really not making any friends with the lapped cars out there, but I feel that's what you've got to do to win these races."
For the second consecutive night, Franklin, Indiana's Emerson Axsom briefly took over the lead late before dropping back to second shortly thereafter, instead having to settle for a runner-up finish in his Petry Motorsports/FK Rod Ends – Iron Born Studio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Yet, it was the opening lap accident between he and Meseraull that had the crowd in a frenzy. "I haven't seen the replay, so I'm not sure," Axsom stated. "But, either way, if I did wreck him, I'm sorry.
We've been super consistent since the second half of Indiana Midget Week. I saw a tweet that said we had made up the most points since that time. Our cars are good; KTJ's is good. Everyone on the crew is working together. It all helps. Hopefully, we can just keep riding the wave and keep having these good runs."
Buddy Kofoid was cast in body armor at Action Track USA after suffering both a broken right wrist and a broken left foot in a late model accident at Minnesota's Elko Speedway on July 24. With a cast grooved to fit the curvature of his steering wheel, ala Jim Hurtubise, Kofoid steered his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – IWX/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota to a solid third-place result.
"Towards the end, it's hard to speculate, but I think we were just as fast if not a little faster (than Axsom and Pursley)," Kofoid said. "At the end, when the track got slicker and dirtier, I was able to chip away just a little bit. It's so narrow around the top, you can't afford to get off the top. With a broken wrist and a broken foot, I guess a third isn't too bad."
Tanner Thorson's 20th career Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifying time with the USAC National Midgets at Action Track USA tied him for 22nd on the all-time list alongside Bryan Clauson, Dan Drinan, Bobby East and Bobby Grim.
Thorson's time of 10.881 in resulted in a new one-lap track record for the series at Action Track USA while Thomas Meseraull's time of 1:54.72 in heat race three set a new 10-lap track record.
===================================
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 4, 2021 – Action Track USA – Kutztown, Pennsylvania – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Eastern Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-10.881 (New Track Record); 2. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-10.885; 3. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-10.984; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-11.006; 5. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.006; 6. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-11.023; 7. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.043; 8. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-11.102; 9. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.127; 10. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-11.128; 11. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-11.129; 12. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-11.143; 13. Hayden Williams, 1NZ, BSL-11.198; 14. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.217; 15. Alex Bright, 25m, Malloy-11.290; 16. Jonathan Shafer, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.306; 17. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-11.394; 18. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-11.406; 19. Travis Buckley, 7NZ, BSL-11.489; 20. Michael Markey, 7m, Markey-11.542; 21. Kevin Woody Jr., 0, Buckwalter-11.632; 22. Eric Heydenreich, 11, Heydenreich-11.777; 23. Glenn Waterland, 11c, Waterland-12.274; 24. Dan Bennett, 5J, Bennett-12.288; 25. Mark Sokol, 50, Sokol-12.472.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Hayden Williams, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Zach Daum, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Jonathan Shafer, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Eric Heydenreich, 8. Mark Sokol, 9. Travis Buckley. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Ethan Mitchell, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Buddy Kofoid, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Michael Markey, 8. Glenn Waterland. 1:55.89
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Alex Bright, 4. Chase Randall, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Taylor Reimer, 7. Dan Bennett. 1:54.72 (New Track Record)
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Taylor Reimer, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Travis Buckley, 5. Eric Heydenreich, 6. Michael Markey, 7. Glenn Waterland, 8. Dan Bennett, 9. Mark Sokol. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (1), 2. Emerson Axsom (4), 3. Buddy Kofoid (3), 4. Hayden Williams (7), 5. Chris Windom (13), 6. Alex Bright (16), 7. Ethan Mitchell (8), 8. Taylor Reimer (11), 9. Tanner Thorson (6), 10. Chase Randall (18), 11. Zach Daum (12), 12. Logan Seavey (10), 13. Hayden Reinbold (15), 14. Jonathan Shafer (17), 15. Travis Buckley (19), 16. Michael Markey (20), 17. Glenn Waterland (22), 18. Eric Heydenreich (21), 19. Cannon McIntosh (14), 20. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 21. Thomas Meseraull (2), 22. Justin Grant (5). NT
**Justin Grant flipped on lap 1 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Daison Pursley.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1314, 2-Chris Windom-1296, 3-Emerson Axsom-1273, 4-Justin Grant-1192, 5-Tanner Thorson-1177, 6-Daison Pursley-1163, 7-Logan Seavey-1091, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1084, 9-Thomas Meseraull-1071, 10-Cannon McIntosh-971.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-112, 2-Tanner Thorson-110, 3-Brady Bacon-110, 4-Chris Windom-104, 5-Thomas Meseraull-102, 6-Robert Ballou-97, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-86, 8-Logan Seavey-82, 9-Kyle Cummins-68, 10-Buddy Kofoid-63.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 5, 2021 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey – 4/10-Mile Dirt Oval – Eastern Midget Week
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Thomas Meseraull
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Hayden Williams
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Ethan Mitchell
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Alex Bright (16th to 6th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Hayden Reinbold
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Dan Bennett
BLOOMSBURG BLOSSOMS
WITH USAC MIDGET DEBUT FRIDAY!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania (August 4, 2021)………Over the past three-quarters of a century, Bloomsburg Fair Raceway has served as the hosts of a vast array of motorsports series with the likes of NASCAR's Grand National series, AAA Sprint Cars, ARDC Midgets and, most recently, USAC's AMSOIL National Sprint Car division, paying a visit to the fairgrounds oval.
Never before, however, has the venue seen USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing, which debuts at the newly-refurbished 3/8-mile dirt oval on Friday, August 6, for round four of Eastern Midget Week.
After its closure for three-plus decades, the new track was constructed over the winter and spring months of 2021, and the ghosts of racing's past at Bloomsburg still reign, a list that includes the like of 1949 Indianapolis 500 winner Bill Holland; NASCAR's first multi-time champion Herb Thomas; 1958 USAC Midwest Sprint Car champ Eddie Sachs and the great Jiggs Peters, just to name a few.
Among this Friday's USAC Midget participants at Bloomsburg, only seven have previous experience, which all came during the Eastern Storm stop by the USAC National Sprint Cars back in June of 2021.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) led all 30 laps en route to victory at Bloomsburg. The recently-crowned Indiana Sprint Week champ has been superb in a midget over the last couple of months only finishing outside the top-ten once in that span.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) finished 2nd to Thomas in the Sprint run at Bloomsburg a couple months back. The 2016 USAC National Midget driving champion has won twice during Eastern Midget Week in his career.
Pennsylvanian standout Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) raced to a 5th place finish at Bloomsburg with the USAC National Sprint Cars in June. The 2016 ARDC and 2018 USAC Eastern Midget titlist leads the USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Car standings and will be one of a handful of drivers pulling double-duty on Friday night.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), the 2021 Eastern Midget Week opening night winner at Grandview Speedway, endured a trying night at Bloomsburg in June. The reigning USAC National Midget champion and USAC Triple Crown king flipped during qualifying but returned to run 13th in the feature.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the 2018 USAC National Midget champ, finished 14th at Bloomsburg in June while defending USAC Silver Crown champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was 21st and Michael Markey (Hanover, Pa.) was 23rd. For Markey, the night marked his USAC National Sprint Car debut while this week, during Eastern Midget Week, finds him making his first appearances in the USAC National Midget series.
John Heydenreich (Bloomsburg, Pa.), the 1990 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals winner, will compete at his hometown track where he raced and won in a midget back in 1980s.
Max McLaughlin (Mooresville, N.C.), a K&N East & Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified winner will drive a second Bundy Built Motorsports Midget alongside teammate Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.). Max is the son of past NASCAR Busch standout Mike McLaughlin.
With it being the series' first ever visit to Bloomsburg, the high majority of the field will be taking in their first Bloomsburg experience on Friday night. Among them are championship point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) as well as USAC National Midget feature winners Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) and Steve Buckwalter (Royersford, Pa.) trying to tally a win for the first time at Bloomsburg.
Series veterans from the east, Kevin Woody Jr. (Victor, N.Y.), Tommy Kunsman (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Shawn Jackson (Bear, Dela.), will be on hand along with New Zealanders Hayden Williams (Auckland), Travis Buckley (Auckland) and Glenn Waterland (Christchurch).
USAC Rookies on board for Bloomsburg this Friday include Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Dan Bennett (Akron, N.Y.).
Friday's Eastern Midget Week round four at Bloomsburg features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars.
Pits open at 4pm Eastern, stands 4pm and racing at 7pm. Adult admission tickets are $20, students 13-18 are $10 with kids 12 and under free.
Every lap of all five Eastern Midget will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
2021 EASTERN MIDGET WEEK SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, Aug 3: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA
Wednesday, Aug 4: Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA
Thursday, Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ
Friday, Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway | Bloomsburg, PA
Saturday, Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway | Newmanstown, PA
D�J� GRANDVIEW FOR WINDOM IN EASTERN MIDGET WEEK OPENER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania (August 3, 2021)………This scene looked all too familiar for Chris Windom.
Two years ago, in the most recent edition of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing at Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania's Grandview Speedway, Windom experienced a roller coaster final lap in which he saw his race lead slip away in the first turn only to race back past Tyler Courtney for the narrow win.
Fast forward to Tuesday night's Ken Brenn Midget Masters at Grandview, the landscape Windom found himself in was eerily similar, but this time, the situation involved Emerson Axsom along with a rich tapestry of lapped traffic.
Nose-to-tail as Windom and Axsom crossed under the white flag, Windom became boxed in behind the lapped cars of Bundy Built Motorsports teammates Ethan Mitchell and Zach Daum, who were racing side-by-side down the front straightaway.
With Windom choosing the high line path entering turn one, the door inherently opened for Axsom to slide past both Windom and Mitchell. Windom rotated his car, cut to the bottom of turn two and raced back past Axsom midway down the back straightaway, dove under Daum a tick of the Timex later in turn three and finished off a hectic final lap with a 0.788 second winning margin over Axsom.
"I didn't really want it to be that exciting," Windom said with a smile. "I got to the Bundy cars, and they were running side by side. I know they didn't know I was there, and they were running their own race. I literally had nowhere to go. I just had to wait for one of them t make a mistake to get by them. Emerson was able to put a move on me there, but luckily we were able to get back by him."
Windom started the 30-lap feature event from the pole position in his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota. However, it was outside front row starter, series Rookie Chase Randall, who controlled the race right from the green and throughout the early stages.
At the conclusion of lap seven, Windom had "the diamond" working as he went topside in turn three, then cut to the bottom off turn four carrying an enormous amount of momentum. Windom roared past Randall on the bottom of turn one before sliding to the top in turn two. Randall cut back under Windom and the pair silhouetted each other for the entirety of the back straightaway.
However, Randall carried just a tad bit too much speed into turn three, causing him to drift up over the cushion exiting turn four, which allowed Axsom to scoot by Randall and into the runner spot with a slide job in turn one mere moments later.
The high majority of the second half of the race saw Windom in an unrelenting tug-of-war with the tail end of the field as he sought to break free from Axsom. When Windom caught Rookie Jonathan Shafer at the back end of the field, Axsom capitalized on the hand that was dealt and managed to close right on the rear bumper of Windom. As soon as Windom found his way past Shafer in turn three on lap 19, the comforting feeling didn't last long as Axsom mimicked Windom a half lap later past Shafer and was right back on Windom's trail.
With five to go, Windom carved a path past the now lapped car of New Zealand's Hayden Williams on the bottom of turn three to gain roughly 10 lengths on Axsom and, shortly thereafter, encountered Mitchell and Daum running side-by-side competing in their own tussle for the 14th position.
Once Axsom slid Williams in turn one, the gap that existed between he and Windom rapidly dissipated to less than a single car length entering the turns. With the white flag in full view coming off turn four, Windom veered down to the bottom off turn four, making it three-wide with Mitchell and Daum to his outside.
Windom made the split-second decision to dart right to the top of turn one on the final lap, which got him caught behind Mitchell. Using Mitchell as a sort of pick, when Axsom drifted by both to momentarily take away the race lead, Windom's instincts drove him to the bottom of two, straight past Axsom, straight past Daum too going into three.
Finally, Windom had room to breathe as he rocketed off turn four to win his third USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature of the 2021 season and the seventh of his career ahead of Axsom, Randall and Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier Kevin Thomas Jr. with Tanner Thorson rounding out the top-five.
Although coming close to his third career series victory in his Petry Motorsports/FK Rod Ends – Iron Born Studio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota, Axsom feels he and the team are starting to put together a full night race-after-race, which has seen the Franklin, Indiana driver earn, far and away, the most points since that span nine races ago with him earning 631 points, Kevin Thomas Jr. with 569, series point leader Buddy Kofoid at 538, Chris Windom at 532 and Daison Pursley at 528.
"Chris doesn't make mistakes," Axsom said after observing this firsthand. "It's hard to run him down and it's even harder to pass him. Lapped traffic hurt us there at the end, but that's how we ran him down. It's part of racing. I thought we had him there for a second, but I knew he'd be able to diamond it off turn two because, in lapped traffic, he was really good doing that and sometimes pulled away from me doing that. I knew it was going to be tough to slide him, but when I saw the white, I saw an opening and I went for it. We came up short, but we had a really good car."
In a week where he's poised to make a big run toward the head of the Rookie class in USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget competition, Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) earned his best career result with a third-place finish in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/Bush's Chicken – AME Electrical – CSI/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.
"It's been a long time coming," Randall said. "We've made a huge improvement throughout the year, and we can only go up from here. I'm just glad to finally get a podium with these guys and to do it with this team."
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) salvaged what could've very well been a demoralizing end to the night for the driver of the RMS Racing/EnviroFab – Response Management Services – Engler Machine/Spike/Speedway Toyota. After a misfortunate interaction with a truck while being pushed off for the feature, Meseraull's ride suffered a bent shock and a flattened tire. After a brief period of time in the work area, Meseraull was provided his spot back in the 15th position where he proceeded to drive up to an 8th place finish to earn KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger honors for the evening.
"We can't actually start without a push truck, so we appreciate all the push trucks for coming out," Meseraull stated. "Luckily, my guys had stuff prepared and we were able to get a new right rear shock on it. We didn't quite have it set up the way I had hoped with a single adjustment right rear shock, but we were really good. The RMS Racing number 7x hasn't had much luck in the last, let's say 10 races, so we're looking to turn that around, take this hard charger and move on to tomorrow."
Interestingly, every time USAC National Midgets were on track on Tuesday night, somebody was setting a new track record. Kevin Thomas Jr. broke Kyle Larson's one-lap record for the series at the 1/3-mile dirt oval. All three heat races lowered the former eight-lap mark at the track by multiple seconds with Alex Bright's run being the fastest of them all. Jonathan Shafer laid down a new 10-lap record while the green-to-checker feature finish established a brand-new 30-lap all-time record for Chris Windom.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 3, 2021 – Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Ken Brenn Midget Masters / Eastern Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR / CLEVER GIRL WINERY QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-13.970 (New Track Record); 2. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.105; 3. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-14.126; 4. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-14.133; 5. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-14.143; 6. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-14.165; 7. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-14.186; 8. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-14.213; 9. Jonathan Shafer, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.239; 10. Taylor Reimer, 25K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.242; 11. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.253; 12. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-14.263; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-14.264; 14. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-14.270; 15. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.295; 16. Alex Bright, 25m, Malloy-14.309; 17. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-14.325; 18. Tommy Kunsman, 21, Kunsman-14.669; 19. Hayden Williams, 1NZ, BSL-14.745; 20. Shawn Jackson, 7, Jackson-14.752; 21. Steve Buckwalter, 25B, Buckwalter-14.822; 22. Kevin Woody Jr., 0, Buckwalter-14.939; 23. Michael Markey, 7m, Markey-15.024; 24. Travis Buckley, 7NZ, BLS-15.158; 25. Dan Bennett, 5J, Bennett-16.031; 26. Oliver Akard, 41, OMR-NT; 27. John Heydenreich, 22, Givens-NT (Time of 15.092 disallowed due to missing the scales).
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Alex Bright, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Taylor Reimer, 7. Hayden Williams, 8. Kevin Woody Jr., 9. Dan Bennett. 1:53.83 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Buddy Kofoid, 5. Chase Randall, 6. Hayden Reinbold, 7. Michael Markey, 8. John Heydenreich, 9. Shawn Jackson. 1:54.62
INDY METAL FINISHING / INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Tommy Kunsman, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Jonathan Shafer, 7. Steve Buckwalter, 8. Travis Buckley, 9. Oliver Akard. 1:56.92
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (10 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Jonathan Shafer, 2. Taylor Reimer, 3. Hayden Reinbold, 4. Steve Buckwalter, 5. Hayden Williams, 6. Travis Buckley, 7. Kevin Woody Jr., 8. Michael Markey, 9. Dan Bennett, 10. Oliver Akard, 11. Shawn Jackson. 2:35.22 (New Track Record)
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (1), 2. Emerson Axsom (4), 3. Chase Randall (2), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 5. Tanner Thorson (3), 6. Daison Pursley (6), 7. Justin Grant (8), 8. Thomas Meseraull (15), 9. Cannon McIntosh (10), 10. Buddy Kofoid (9), 11. Logan Seavey (17), 12. Alex Bright (7), 13. Taylor Reimer (12), 14. Zach Daum (14), 15. Ethan Mitchell (11), 16. Hayden Williams (19), 17. Steve Buckwalter (20), 18. Jonathan Shafer (16), 19. Hayden Reinbold (13), 20. Tommy Kunsman (18), 21. Kevin Woody Jr. (21), 22. Travis Buckley (22). 7:45.45 (New Track Record)
**Oliver Akard flipped during the semi.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Chase Randall, Laps 7-30 Chris Windom.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1244, 2-Chris Windom-1231, 3-Emerson Axsom-1198, 4-Justin Grant-1158, 5-Tanner Thorson-1120, 6-Daison Pursley-1086, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1054, 8-Logan Seavey-1047, 9-Thomas Meseraull-1039, 10-Cannon McIntosh-939.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-112, 2-Tanner Thorson-110, 3-Brady Bacon-110, 4-Thomas Meseraull-102, 5-Robert Ballou-97, 6-Chris Windom-96, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-86, 8-Logan Seavey-82, 9-Kyle Cummins-68, 10-Buddy Kofoid-63.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 4, 2021 – Action Track USA – Kutztown, Pennsylvania – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Eastern Midget Week
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Emerson Axsom
Fatheadz Eyewear / Clever Girl Winery Fast Qualifier: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Alex Bright
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Daison Pursley
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jonathan Shafer
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Thomas Meseraull (15th to 8th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Taylor Reimer
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Michael Markey
BC39 ENTRY LIST SURPASSES 40!
RYAN NEWMAN, SUNSHINE & GRANT OFFICIALLY ENTER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (August 3, 2021)………Ryan Newman, Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant and Thomas Meseraull are among the latest drivers to file their entries for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink, which now has 43 cars confirmed for the two-night USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget event on August 18-19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Driver registration officially open until Noon Eastern on Thursday, August 12, for the third running of the event. Teams can file their entry for the event at https://www.thebc39.com/, where they may also purchase tickets, pit and parking passes for the two-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event.
Newman will compete in one of four Clauson Marshall Racing entries alongside Tyler Courtney, Corey Day and Cole Bodine. Newman (South Bend, Ind.), an 18-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, captured the 2008 Daytona 500 and the 2013 Brickyard 400 on the 2.5-mile paved oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was a USAC National champion earlier in his career with the Silver Crown series in 1999.
Two-time USAC National champion and recent Kings Royal winner, Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.), returns for a third BC39 start after finishing 4th in 2018 and charged from 20th to 2nd in the 2019 event. CMR teammates joining Newman and Courtney include the series' youngest ever winner, Corey Day (Clovis, Calif.), along with series veteran Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.).
Also new to the 2021 BC39 entry list is the RMS Racing team of reigning USAC Silver Crown champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), a two-time winner in the USAC National Midget division this year. Terry Klatt and Bob East have entered a car for multi-time USAC National Midget feature winner Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.).
Previously entered for the event are 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.) who will make his BC39 debut this year. The driver with the most laps led in this year's Indianapolis 500, Conor Daly (Noblesville, Ind.), will make his third consecutive appearance in the BC39. NASCAR Rookie of the Year contender Chase Briscoe (Mitchell, Ind.), the winner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series' Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on the 2.439 mile road course in 2020, aims to make his second-straight BC39 feature start.
Furthermore, USAC's three-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion and 2018 inaugural BC39 winner Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) will be on hand, plus 2021 USAC Indiana Sprint Week champion and 2018 BC39 third-place finisher Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.).
USAC titlists are in abundance with USAC career Triple Crown champion and 2018 ninth-place BC39 finisher Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) officially entered along with 1989 USAC National Midget champion Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) who is making his third consecutive appearance in the event.
Two-time 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature winner Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) will get his first taste of BC39 experience this year. Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) has won twice on the USAC Regional Midget trail in 2021 and seeks his first BC39 start since 2018 in August.
The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 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.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Brady Bacon (2018) and Zeb Wise (2019) have captured victories in the first two editions of the BC39.
The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, August 17, with team parking at Noon Eastern followed by the heat race position draft at the USAC office, located at 4910 W. 16th Street, adjacent from turn one of IMS oval at 5:30pm. All cars entered will be randomized into a draft order for the heat race draft. Teams will be able to pick their heat race spot, either in person with a representative, or remotely through USAC officials. Any unrepresented team will be given the first available spot.
On track action begins Wednesday, August 18, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 4pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm. Heat races and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have the public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7:30pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
This year's Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink also will be the conclusion of nearly a week of exciting action on the road course and The Dirt Track at IMS. The NASCAR-INDYCAR tripleheader takes place Aug. 13-15, with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR Xfinity Series conducting separate races Saturday, Aug. 14 and the NASCAR Cup Series racing on the IMS road course for the first time Sunday, Aug. 15.
Visit www.IMS.com for more information on tickets to all IMS events in 2021.
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ENTRY LIST: 2021 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 POWERED BY NOS ENERGY DRINK
(43 entries as of August 3, 2021)
1K TBA (Rusty Kunz/RMS Racing)
2c TREVOR CASEY/Altoona, IA
2J JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA
2MD CARSON KVAPIL/Mooresville, NC
4B JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK
4K KAMERON GLADISH/Indianapolis, IN
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL
5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN
6BC RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN
7x THOMAS MESERUALL/San Jose, CA
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA
9 CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA
9m TBA (Bundy Built Motorsports)
11 JEFF SCHINDLER/Evansville, IN
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH
11m TBA (Brian & Deidre Martin)
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN
17 TANNER BERRYHILL/Bixby, OK
17B AUSTIN BARNHILL/Wilmington, NC
19K RILEY KREISEL/Warsaw, MO
19M ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN
21H BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK
25v BEN VARNER/Harbor Springs, MI
26 CHANCE CRUM/Snohomish, WA
38 TBA (Craig Dori)
39BC COLE BODINE/Rossville, IN
40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA
43 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA
46 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN
47BC COREY DAY/Clovis, CA
47D CONOR DALY/Noblesville, IN
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA
63 FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA
72 SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO
75AU BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA
81G RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN
85 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ
86 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS
99 COLTON HEATH/Marysville, WA
116 SCOTT EVANS/Rhome, TX
FIRST TIME EVER:
USAC MIDGETS AT BRIDGEPORT THURSDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bridgeport, New Jersey (August 3, 2021)………It's been 32 years since the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets have visited the Garden State of New Jersey, but this coming Thursday, August 5, the three-plus decade hiatus comes to a close as the series makes its debut at Bridgeport Motorsports Park for round three of Eastern Midget Week, the first time the mini-series has ventured outside of the state of Pennsylvania in its seven-year history.
USAC series have competed at the venue in recent years with Bridgeport hosting the Eastern Storm tour for the AMSOIL National Sprint Cars three times between 2018-2021 as well as the Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars in that same time frame.
For those individuals who've competed with the national series at Bridgeport over the last couple of seasons, they were greeted by a newly reconverted 4/10-mile dirt oval. Past USAC National Sprint Car events prior to 2021 have been held on the former 3/8-mile dirt oval which was located inside of the now-defunct 5/8-mile dirt track.
A handful of name drivers do have experience on the newer 4/10-mile dirt oval and have also had their fair share of successes at Bridgeport in its previous iteration as well.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was the fastest qualifier with the USAC National Sprint Cars at Bridgeport in June of 2021 before going on to finish 6th in that night's feature. The reigning USAC Silver Crown champion finished 8th in 2018 in the Sprint Car at Bridgeport before upping his performance to a 3rd in 2019.
Defending USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion Chris Windom (Ione, Calif.) took 3rd in the June 2021 Eastern Storm USAC Sprint Car feature at Bridgeport. The USAC Triple Crown champ led 11 laps and finished 2nd after his involvement in a memorable back-and-forth tussle throughout the 30-lap distance. Windom also collected an 8th place finish with the sprint car at Bridgeport in 2019.
Kevin Thomas Jr. was the fastest qualifier and the winner of the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car debut at Bridgeport in 2018. The Cullman, Ala. driver followed up with a runner-up finish during the series' visit in 2019 and was 10th on the new track in June of 2021.
The 2016 USAC National Midget champion and two-time Eastern Midget Week feature winner, Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), had a 12th place USAC Sprint Car feature result in June of 2021. USAC's 2018 National Midget titlist, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), was 13th in his Eastern Storm Sprint Car run in June of 2021.
Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) played a major role in the construction of the all-new and current 4/10-mile version of Bridgeport Motorsports Park. The 2016 ARDC and 2018 USAC Eastern Midget champion operated the bulldozer that carved out the high banks. He tamed those same banks with a USAC East Coast Sprint Car win there in July of 2021.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) is always a thrill show at any venue he participates. Twice a USAC National Midget feature winner in 2021, Meseraull made a charge during his debut at Bridgeport in a sprint car during Eastern Storm 2018, cutting through the field to 9th after starting 18th on the grid.
Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) was 17th on the former 3/8-mile Bridgeport Motorsports Park dirt oval in a sprint car during Eastern Storm 2018.
A plethora of Bridgeport Motorsports Park USAC National debuts are in order throughout the Thursday night's event with series winners Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) and Steve Buckwalter (Royersford, Pa.) making the trek to the track along with series veterans Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) and Kevin Woody Jr. (Victor, N.Y.).
USAC Rookies on board for Bridgeport include Kiwi invaders Hayden Williams (Auckland, N.Z.) and Travis Buckley (Auckland, N.Z.), along with Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), Jonathan Shafer (Ashland, Ohio) and Jason Bennett (Akron, N.Y.).
USAC's National Midget history dates back more than six decades ago when 1957-58 Indoor Midget champion Chuck Rodee scored a 100-mile victory at the Fairgrounds in Trenton. The longest midget races in USAC history took place in the state of New Jersey in 1959 and 1960 when Jiggs Peters and Bobby Marshman/Jimmy Davies each won 250-mile races at Trenton, respectively. The Marshman/Davies combo win was the only time in series history that two drivers were credited with a shared victory.
Seven of New Jersey's previous 14 USAC National Midget events have been held at Trenton, with two at Wall Stadium in 1963, the first night of which was won by Parnelli Jones, who was fresh off his Indianapolis 500 win. Old Bridge Speedway hosted the series in 1964 while Flemington Speedway was the venue for the three most recent of dates in 1971-86-89, the final two of which were won by John Heydenreich, who remains active as a driver to this day.
Thursday's Eastern Midget Week round number three from Bridgeport features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and Modifieds.
Pits open at 3pm Eastern, stands 4:30pm, drivers meeting at 5:30pm and cars on track at 6pm followed by qualifying and racing.
Adult admission tickets are $28, ages 10 to 15 are $15, Children 9 and under will be admitted free.
Every lap of all five Eastern Midget will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
2021 EASTERN MIDGET WEEK SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, Aug 3: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA
Wednesday, Aug 4: Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA
Thursday, Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ
Friday, Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway | Bloomsburg, PA
Saturday, Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway | Newmanstown, PA
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1191, 2-Chris Windom-1154, 3-Emerson Axsom-1123, 4-Justin Grant-1098, 5-Tanner Thorson-1053, 6-Daison Pursley-1023, 7-Logan Seavey-999, 8-Thomas Meseraull-983, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-983, 10-Cannon McIntosh-888.
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS IN NEW JERSEY: (1956-2020)
2-Bobby Marshman & John Heydenreich
1-Billy Vukovich, Bob Harkey, Jimmy Davies, Chuck Rodee, Eddie Johnson, Jiggs Peters, Jimmy Kirk, Johnny Parsons, Mel Kenyon, Parnelli Jones & Tom Bigelow
EASTERN MIDGET WEEK WINS: (2015-2020)
4-Chad Boat
3-Zeb Wise
2-Rico Abreu, Tyler Courtney & Tanner Thorson
1-Chris Windom, Justin Grant & Logan Seavey
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT BRIDGEPORT MOTORSPORTS PARK:
PAST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT BRIDGEPORT MOTORSPORTS PARK:
PAST RESULTS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT BRIDGEPORT MOTORSPORTS PARK:
None
GRAND OPENING TO USAC'S EASTERN MIDGET WEEK COMES TUESDAY AT GRANDVIEW!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania (August 2, 2021)………Three past USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champions Chris Windom, Tanner Thorson and Logan Seavey as well as June Eastern Storm Grandview winner Justin Grant and the current leader in the series title race, Buddy Kofoid, are among the heavyweights headed out to begin Eastern Midget Week for the Ken Brenn Midget Masters on Tuesday night, August 3, at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania.
The 1/3-mile Grandview dirt oval has hosted just three previous USAC National Midget events, which were won by Rich Vogler in 1988, Russ Gamester in 1989 and Chris Windom in 2019, all USAC National Midget champions in their own right.
Windom (Canton, Ill.) has started every USAC National Sprint Car feature held at Grandview since 2007 and owns one USAC National Midget start there. The USAC Triple Crown champion's winning performance in 2019 came in a race in which he lost the lead on the final lap in turn one, then regained it back on the back straightaway to win by a single car length in an instant thriller.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) has won in both the USAC National Sprint Car and USAC Silver Crown divisions this year but would love to check a first USAC National Midget win for 2021 off the list this Tuesday at Grandview where he was victorious in a 40-lap USAC Sprint Car race in June of 2021 during Eastern Storm.
Thorson (Minden, Nev.) hasn't finished outside the top-four in any of his three previous Grandview USAC starts. He finished 4th in his lone Grandview USAC Midget appearance in 2019, earning hard charger honors after starting all the way back in 15th. The 2016 USAC National Midget champ has also made two USAC National Sprint Car starts at Grandview in 2021, taking home 3rd and 4th place finishes.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) enters Eastern Midget Week fresh off an Indiana Sprint Week championship. He finished 6th in his lone Grandview USAC Midget run in 2019. Grandview's one-lap USAC National Sprint Car track record holder owns six-straight top-five finishes with the sprints at the track, including a 2nd in April of 2021.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) finished 10th in his only USAC National Midget appearance at Grandview in 2019 and finished 13th aboard a USAC National Sprint Car there in June.
Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) possesses the 12-lap USAC National Sprint Car track record at Grandview and was 9th here in the sprint car in 2019. That same year, in the midget, he won his heat race then went on to a 13th place feature finish at Grandview.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) took a personal best 4th with the USAC National Sprint Cars at Grandview in 2016. His first USAC National Midget experience at Grandview will come this Tuesday.
Same for Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.), the USAC East Coast Sprint Car point leader, who finished 3rd with the series in May. In two USAC National Sprint Car starts at Grandview this year, the 2018 USAC Eastern Midget champ finished the A-Main 7th and 8th. Bright will pilot a team car to Logan Seavey for owner Tom Malloy.
Point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) will make his first USAC National Midget appearance at Grandview on Tuesday. He does have previous experience there in a wing sprint car, finishing 21st during the Hodnett Cup in June of 2021 during Pennsylvania Sprint Speed Week.
For most of the field, Tuesday will present their first Grandview experience, including 2021 first-time USAC National Midget winners Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) and Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), along with a handful of previous winners looking for a breakthrough win in 2021 such as Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) and 2010 ARDC Midget champ Steve Buckwalter (Royersford, Pa.).
Kiwis Hayden Williams and Travis Buckley (Auckland, N.Z.) are on the way to Grandview for their debuts as are series veterans Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) and Kevin Woody Jr. (Victor, New York), plus series Rookies Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), Jonathan Shafer (Ashland, Ohio) and Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), who'll be making her debut with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports.
The Ken Brenn Midget Masters is dedicated to Ken Brenn Sr., a winning open wheel and dirt track modified stock car owner for three decades (1954-1983). Brenn's midget racing involvement included a long association (1954-1972) with the American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) where he was president from 1969-1970. Plus, he was also a five-time ARDC champion car owner (1963-1964, 1968-1969 and 1971) and listed on the ARDC's honor roll as a lifetime member.
Brenn's efforts in making auto racing a safer sport included designing a universally-accepted roll bar for Midgets in 1958. He owned the first USAC Sprint Car to ever use a roll cage in 1966. He was further instrumental in making roll cages – and shoulder harnesses – mandatory for ARDC in 1970.
Grandview's Eastern Midget Week opener on Tuesday night, August 3, features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship & 358 Modifieds.
Gates open at 5pm Eastern, drivers meeting at 5:45pm and hot laps 6:15pm followed by qualifying and racing.
Adult admission tickets are $28, Children 6 to 11 are $10, Children 5 and under will be admitted free. Advance tickets are available by calling (443) 513-4456.
Every lap of all five Eastern Midget will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 EASTERN MIDGET WEEK SCHEDULE:
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA
Aug 4: Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway | Bloomsburg, PA
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway | Newmanstown, PA
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1191, 2-Chris Windom-1154, 3-Emerson Axsom-1123, 4-Justin Grant-1098, 5-Tanner Thorson-1053, 6-Daison Pursley-1023, 7-Logan Seavey-999, 8-Thomas Meseraull-983, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-983, 10-Cannon McIntosh-888.
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 7/30/2019 - Kyle Larson - 14.310 - 83.019 mph
8 Laps - 7/30/2019 - Tyler Courtney - 1:58.97 - 80.612 mph
PAST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY:
1988: Rich Vogler
1989: Russ Gamester
2019: Chris Windom
PAST RESULTS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY:
1988 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. Billy Hughes, 3. Bill Case Jr., 4. Dave Ray, 5. Bob Cicconi, 6. Ron Dunstan, 7. Dennis Schaeffer, 8. Randy Mausteller, 9. Warren Halligan, 10. J.R. Booth, 11. Dick Williams, 12. John Heydenreich, 13. Brett Mowrey, 14. Ross Triol, 15. Johnny Parsons, 16. Russ Gamester, 17. Ron Lauer, 18. P.J. Roberts, 19. Sandy Rochelle, 20. Hank Rogers Jr., 21. Doug Craig, 22. Terry Wente, 23. Duke Pavlick, 24. Gary Halteman. NT
1989 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Russ Gamester, 2. Rich Vogler, 3. Johnny Parsons, 4. Bill Case, 5. J.R. Booth, 6. John Heydenreich, 7. Gary Halteman, 8. Randy Mausteller, 9. Phil DiMario, 10. Warren Halligan, 11. Tom Howe, 12. Monnie Wonder, 13. Charles Ayres, 14. Mike Piersig, 15. Mike Streicher, 16. Bob Cicconi, 17. Billy Hughes, 18. Mares Stellfox, 19. Brian Jacobs, 20. John Palaia, 21. Kevin Olson, 22. Art Lawshe Sr., 24. Frank Fiore Jr. NT
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (3), 2. Tyler Courtney (5), 3. Tanner Carrick (7), 4. Tanner Thorson (15), 5. Chad Boat (8), 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (2), 7. Tucker Klaasmeyer (10), 8. Kyle Larson (6), 9. Jerry Coons, Jr. (9), 10. Logan Seavey (14), 11. Zeb Wise (1), 12. Andrew Layser (13), 13. Jason McDougal (4), 14. Karsyn Elledge (12), 15. Shawn Jackson (17), 16. Zach Curtis (24), 17. Steven Drevicki (11), 18. Steve Buckwalter (16), 19. Kevin Woody, Jr. (21), 20. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. (18), 21. Steve Craig (22), 22. Brett Conkling (23), 23. Bobby Butler (20), 24. Ryan Greth (19). NT
WHERE THE ACTION IS: USAC MIDGETS WEDNESDAY IN KUTZTOWN, PA!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Kutztown, Pennsylvania (August 3, 2021)………Few racetracks have a verb embedded right into its name. Few racetracks are also able to consistently live up to the word "Action" as consistently as Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
Another new first-time winner will emerge in round number two of Eastern Midget Week this Wednesday night, August 4, at Action Track USA, which marks the third foray for the USAC Midget National Championship to the 1/5-mile dirt oval with previous visits taking place in 2019 and 2020.
There are champions and race winners all across the board who are certainly up to the task to be the one standing above the rest on Wednesday night.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) owns the one-lap USAC National Midget record at Action Track USA of 11.146, set in 2020. The 2016 series champion has finished inside the top-four in both of his starts at the track with a 4th in 2019 and a 2nd in 2020.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) was the hardest charger in the field in 2019, blitzing through the tight confines from his 12th starting position to finish 3rd. He was involved in a tangle near the halfway point in 2020 and finished 13th.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) led the first seven laps of the inaugural series feature at Action Track USA in 2019 where the 2018 USAC National Midget champion finished 6th.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car winner this past June in the state of Pennsylvania, finished 4th in his Action Track Midget run in 2020.
Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) picked up a total of 13 positions in the feature alone during the 2020 event, finishing 5th after starting 18th, the single biggest mover over the past two seasons of USAC Midget racing at Action Track USA.
Current series point leader and 2021 Indiana Midget Week champion Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) took a 7th place result in his maiden Action Track USA voyage in 2020 while Daison Pursley grabbed a 10th after earlier setting the track's 10-lap track record of 1:58.01 during a winning semi-feature performance.
Recently-crowned Indiana Sprint Week champion Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) finished 9th in the Eastern Midget Week round at Action Track USA in 2019. Thomas' Petry Motorsports teammate Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), a two-time series winner in 2021, was 16th at Action Track USA in 2020 after also winning his heat race.
Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) has won at Action Track USA in its weekly micro sprint program. In the midget there, the 2016 ARDC and 2018 USAC Eastern Midget champ took 11th in 2020. Meanwhile, Buckwalter's teammate, Kevin Woody Jr. (Victor, N.Y.) was 20th in 2020 and Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.), a podium finisher earlier this April at the Port City Raceway bullring in Tulsa, Okla., finished 22nd in both 2019 and 2020.
First-time Action Track USA visitors include two-time 2021 USAC National Midget winner Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), plus three-time USAC National Midget feature winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) in a Bundy Built Motorsports team car to Ethan Mitchell, plus Southern Hemisphere's Hayden Williams (Auckland, N.Z.) and Travis Buckley (Auckland, N.Z.), along with series Rookies Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Jonathan Shafer (Ashland, Ohio).
Wednesday's Eastern Midget Week at Action Track USA features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and the Hyper Racing/EVO Injection 600cc Mini Sprints.
Pits open at 3pm Eastern, stands 4:30pm, drivers meeting at 5:15pm and cars on track at 6pm followed by qualifying and racing.
Adult general admission tickets are $25, seniors $22, children 6-12 are $10, kids 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $35 apiece.
Every lap of all five Eastern Midget will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 EASTERN MIDGET WEEK SCHEDULE:
Aug 3: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA
Aug 4: Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA
Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ
Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway | Bloomsburg, PA
Aug 7: Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway | Newmanstown, PA
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1191, 2-Chris Windom-1154, 3-Emerson Axsom-1123, 4-Justin Grant-1098, 5-Tanner Thorson-1053, 6-Daison Pursley-1023, 7-Logan Seavey-999, 8-Thomas Meseraull-983, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-983, 10-Cannon McIntosh-888.
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT ACTION TRACK USA:
1 Lap - 8/5/2020 - Tanner Thorson - 11.146 - 64.597 mph
10 Laps - 8/5/2020 - Daison Pursley - 1:58.01 - 61.012 mph
PAST USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT ACTION TRACK USA:
2019: Zeb Wise
2020: Tyler Courtney
PAST RESULTS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT ACTION TRACK USA:
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Zeb Wise (4), 2. Kyle Larson (5), 3. Chris Windom (12), 4. Tanner Thorson (3), 5. Tyler Courtney (6), 6. Logan Seavey (2), 7. Andrew Layser (14), 8. Jason McDougal (9), 9. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7), 10. Jerry Coons, Jr. (11), 11. Tanner Carrick (10), 12. Billy Pauch, Jr. (17), 13. Tucker Klaasmeyer (16), 14. Chad Boat (1), 15. Steven Drevicki (15), 16. Karsyn Elledge (18), 17. Alex Yankowski (21), 18. Bobby Butler (20), 19. Brett Conkling (22), 20. Timmy Buckwalter (8), 21. Alex Bright (24), 22. Ethan Mitchell (13), 23. Kameron Morral (19), 24. Shawn Jackson (23). NT
2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (2), 2. Tanner Thorson (6), 3. Christopher Bell (7), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Cannon McIntosh (18), 6. Chase Johnson (5), 7. Buddy Kofoid (4), 8. Tanner Carrick (14), 9. Robert Dalby (1), 10. Daison Pursley (13), 11. Alex Bright (8), 12. Cole Bodine (10), 13. Chris Windom (12), 14. Alex Yankowski (17), 15. Andrew Layser (11), 16. Emerson Axsom (9), 17. Dillon Welch (15), 18. Eric Heydenreich (21), 19. Jeff Champagne (20), 20. Kevin Woody Jr. (22), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (19), 22. Ethan Mitchell (16). NT
2021 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK REVIEW
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (August 2, 2021)………USAC's Indiana Sprint Week 2021 is officially in the books. As we officially let the ink dry on the paper and close the books on its 34th annual edition, we look back another memorable year for one of the most anticipated and embraced events each year.
We felt the heat. We sheltered from the rain. We witnessed Justin Grant bookend with victories to start and end the week. We experienced Logan Seavey lay down the first three-race win streak for the series in eight years. We saw tempers flare between C.J. Leary and Tanner Thorson, who became a first-time Indiana Sprint Week winner. We marveled at the Brady Bacon and the Dynamics, Inc. team's comeback to win after engine trouble the night before.
And, in the end, we crowned a new multi-time champion in Kevin Thomas Jr. aboard his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy who earned the $10,000 reward as the titlist.
And through it all, we were reassured how special of an event this truly is with seven eight nights of USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car racing at seven tracks during a nine-night span with massive amounts of diehard race fans, campers and a large throng of drivers putting it on the line for your entertainment and for their shot at glory.
Eighty-five different drivers competed during Indiana Sprint Week. That was the most since 2005! Plus, the 54 drivers that signed in at Kokomo Speedway were the most for an Indiana Sprint Week event since 2008 at Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell, Ind.
Ten drivers made feature starts in all seven events: Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson and Chris Windom. Nine started all seven without the aid of a provisional, which Chris Windom utilized after having to go to a backup car at Lawrenceburg.
Seavey's three-straight Indiana Sprint Week victories were the most since Kevin Thomas Jr. won three consecutively in 2013. Jay Drake also captured three-straight Indiana Sprint Week wins in 2000 as did Cory Kruseman during the 2002 series. The longest winning streak in Indiana Sprint Week history belongs to Jon Stanbrough with four-in-a-row between 2006-07.
Grant's wins in the opener at Kokomo Speedway and in the finale at Tri-State Speedway marked just the sixth time a driver has won both the first and last Indiana Sprint Week race in a single year, and the first such occasion in 17 years. Danny Smith was the first to accomplish the feat in 1989, followed by Kelly Kinser in 1994, Dave Darland in 1998, Cory Kruseman in 2002 and J.J. Yeley in 2004.
At 18 laps, the race at Kokomo was the shortest Indiana Sprint Week feature in the history of the series and the first rain-shortened, completed event in ISW's 34-year run.
Four drivers led the Indiana Sprint Week standings at one point in time. Brayden Fox headed the standings after the rain-abbreviated Gas City race. Bacon led the longest for four races following Kokomo, Lawrenceburg, Gas City (Part 2) and Terre Haute.
Seavey took over the reins of the standings after the rounds at Lincoln Park and Bloomington and led the standings entering the feature on the final night at Tri-State by nine over Bacon and by 10 over Thomas Jr.
With Seavey finishing 14th, Bacon 8th and Thomas Jr. 2nd, Thomas Jr. leap frogged both to earn his second career Indiana Sprint Week champion and becoming the 10th multi-time champion of the event. The unrelated Kevin Thomas won four in 1992-93-95-96 as did Levi Jones in 2004-08-09-12. Dave Darland won three in 1998-2001-2007. Two-time ISW champs include Chuck Amati (1989-90), J.J. Yeley (1997 & 2003), Cory Kruseman (2002 & 2005), Jon Stanbrough (2006 & 2010), Chris Windom (2011 & 2018), Bryan Clauson (2013 & 2014) and now Kevin Thomas Jr. (2017 & 2021).
With a whopping 52 positions advanced throughout 2021 NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL, Stevie Sussex earned himself the moniker of ProSource Passing Master for the seven-race series. Sussex also sported one of the most popular liveries throughout Indiana Sprint Week, paying homage to The Mystery Machine featured of Scooby Doo fame.
Please enjoy this presentation of race recaps, complete statistics, tidbits, historical notes and more as we look back on NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL 2021.
FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2021: GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY – GAS CITY, INDIANA – 1/4-MILE DIRT OVAL
The anticipation and the electric atmosphere of the long-awaited Indiana Sprint Week opener was dampened after heavy showers doused Gas City I-69 Speedway following Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying.
The Qualifying session was completed before the rain arrived with Brayden Fox (Avon, Ind.) earning quick time honors for the first time in his USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car career with a time of 11.916 seconds, besting the field of 50 cars and drivers in time trials.
Because the qualifying session was completed prior to the rain, the points earned counted toward both the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car and Indiana Sprint Week standings with all drivers and entrants earning qualifying points, plus 10 appearance points.
Because of that, Fox actually held the Indiana Sprint Week point lead following the abbreviated Gas City opener with 16 points.
The event was rescheduled for Monday night, July 26, with a completely new program, beginning with hot laps, qualifying and followed by racing.
50 Entries
FAST QUALIFIER: Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-11.916
SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2021: KOKOMO SPEEDWAY – KOKOMO, INDIANA – 1/4-MILE DIRT OVAL
Justin Grant had never experienced a victory quite like he did Saturday night at Indiana's Kokomo Speedway.
Just two nights after scoring a 100-lap, long distance USAC Silver Crown race, the Ione, California native reigned triumphant in one of the shortest feature events in the 66-year history of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing.
Under threatening skies that hovered over the top of Kokomo's quarter-mile dirt oval, Grant raced to the lead on the ninth lap past Kevin Thomas Jr., then remained at the head of the field when the skies let loose, halting the race with 18 of 30 laps complete.
A feature event is considered complete when more than half of the scheduled laps are completed. When it became apparent that the rain was going to make the resumption of the event an impossibility, Grant was declared the winner in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
With the falling precipitation causing the mass exodus from both the capacity-filled grandstands and pit area, the traditional victory lane celebration and the resulting jubilation was a little more muted than usual.
Instead, the hoopla was traded in for a quick exit from the pit area followed by a post-race meal at a nearby Rally's. Grant has no qualms with that. A win is a win no matter how you slice it, and Grant certainly earned this one before the proverbial buzzer sounded.
"I'll take them anyway I can get them," Grant declared. "This one paid more per lap than anyone I've ever won!"
The 18-lap, rain-shortened feature has much historical significance within the USAC record books with it being the first-ever rain-shortened Indiana Sprint Week main event in the series' 34-year history.
Saturday's truncated race placed it tied for the third-shortest completed feature race in USAC Sprint Car history. Doug Wolfgang won both ends of twin 15-lappers at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. during the 1991 season. Jim McWithey won an 18-lap USAC Midwest Sprint Car race, rain-shortened from 30 circuits, at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track in 1959.
The last completed, rain-shortened USAC National Sprint Car feature of any kind prior to Saturday came at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway in 2006, a race won by Darren Hagen with 35 of 40 laps in the books when it was called.
54 Entries
FAST QUALIFIER: Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.594
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Kyle Cummins, Kevin Thomas Jr., Robert Ballou & Tanner Thorson
D-MAIN WINNER: Jack James
C-MAIN WINNER: Stevie Sussex
SEMI WINNER: Logan Seavey
FEATURE RESULTS: (Starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (3), 2. Brady Bacon (6), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 4. C.J. Leary (2), 5. Tanner Thorson (9), 6. Kyle Cummins (7), 7. Chris Windom (4), 8. Jadon Rogers (5), 9. Robert Ballou (8), 10. Logan Seavey (10), 11. Shane Cottle (18), 12. Brent Beauchamp (11), 13. Jake Swanson (12), 14. Chase Johnson (13), 15. Cannon McIntosh (17), 16. Braydon Cromwell (14), 17. Cole Bodine (23-P), 18. Thomas Meseraull (15), 19. Stevie Sussex (22), 20. Max Guilford (20), 21. Brady Short (21), 22. Jason McDougal (19), 23. Brandon Mattox (16). NT
(P) represents a provisional starter
SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2021: LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY – LAWRENCEBURG, INDIANA – 3/8-MILE DIRT OVAL
USAC's most recent event at Indiana's Lawrenceburg Speedway came to be known as "Logan Seavey Night" during early June of this year when he swept both the USAC Indiana Midget Week feature and the accompanying local sprint car A-Main on the very same night.
As it just so happened, that marvelous showing in the Spring was just a prelude to an unforgettable midsummer encore performance.
Seavey delivered a Sunday night spectacular in round two of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL feature at the southeastern Indiana 3/8-mile dirt oval that he'd been the dominant force at just seven weeks prior.
Seven weeks later, Seavey was the winner once again on the high banks of "The Burg" in his Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy to become just the third driver to earn victories in both an Indiana Midget Week and Indiana Sprint Week feature at the same track in the same season.
Jerry Coons Jr. won both an IMW and ISW feature at Kamp Motor Speedway in 2007 while Bryan Clauson equaled the feat at Bloomington Speedway in 2013.
Seavey's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car score on this night was the third of his career and was also the second triumph added to his Indiana Sprint Week resume, coming exactly a year and a day following his first one in the 2020 opener at Gas City.
Meanwhile, Seavey, who joined the Baldwin-Fox team in early May, provided the distinctive orange No. 5 its first USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature win since an Eastern Storm victory at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway more than three years ago in 2018 with driver Chris Windom.
"It feels so good," Seavey exclaimed. "I feel like every time I've been here, I've been good. This year, everything's coming together."
41 Entries
FAST QUALIFIER: Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.707
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Chase Johnson, C.J. Leary, Robert Ballou & Cole Bodine
C-MAIN WINNER: Eddie Tafoya Jr.
SEMI WINNER: Nick Bilbee
FEATURE RESULTS: (Starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (4), 2. Jake Swanson (2), 3. Tanner Thorson (1), 4. Brady Bacon (6), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 6. C.J. Leary (10), 7. Robert Ballou (8), 8. Justin Grant (19), 9. Kyle Cummins (13), 10. Shane Cottle (16), 11. Cole Bodine (9), 12. Chase Johnson (7), 13. Scotty Weir (3), 14. Nick Bilbee (21), 15. Chris Windom (22-P), 16. Stevie Sussex (11), 17. Chase Stockon (20), 18. Jadon Rogers (17), 19. Jason McDougal (14), 20. Cannon McIntosh (18), 21. Tye Mihocko (15), 22. Paul Nienhiser (23-P), 23. Thomas Meseraull (24), 24. Tyler Kendall (12).
(P) represents a provisional starter
MONDAY, JULY 26, 2021: GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY – GAS CITY, INDIANA – 1/4-MILE DIRT OVAL
On a rare Monday night appearance for USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing, Logan Seavey grabbing the headlines has become the most common of occurrences.
The Sutter, California racer went back-to-back on multiple levels during Monday's NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL event at Gas City I-69 Speedway, which had been postponed by rain from the previous Friday night.
Seavey not only repeated his Gas City ISW feature win from a year ago, but also captured his second victory in the series within a 24-hour span after topping the field at Lawrenceburg Speedway on Sunday night in his Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy.
Seavey raced from the fourth starting position to the lead on the second lap of Monday's 30-lap main event after rocketing past race leader Jake Swanson. Seavey persevered on a "giddy-up" quarter-mile surface which had been hammered by a substantial amount of rainfall over the weekend, leading the final 29 laps and requiring a set of proverbial spurs to get the job done.
"What a different Gas City then I had ever seen," Seavey exclaimed. "I've only been here a handful of times and I honestly had no idea where I needed to be on the racetrack. I didn't know if anybody was close; it felt like there was someone on me the whole time. I felt like I couldn't put together two laps the same. I think that's just how the racetrack was. It was a 'cowboy up' place."
Monday's Gas City race was the fourth of its kind in the 34-year history of Indiana Sprint Week. Just three previous Monday ISW installments had been held coming into the night with J.J. Yeley winning at Twin Cities Raceway Park in 2002; Dave Darland at Kokomo Speedway in 2012; and C.J. Leary at Gas City in 2017.
46 Entries
FAST QUALIFIER: Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.809
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Jason McDougal, Robert Ballou, Jake Swanson & Brady Bacon
C-MAIN WINNERS: Brent Beauchamp
SEMI WINNER: Tanner Thorson
FEATURE RESULTS: (Starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (4), 2. Brady Bacon (8), 3. Kyle Cummins (12), 4. Jake Swanson (2), 5. Jason McDougal (1), 6. Tanner Thorson (9), 7. Chris Windom (5), 8. Justin Grant (14), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 10. Tye Mihocko (3), 11. Robert Ballou (7), 12. Jadon Rogers (13), 13. Chase Stockon (21), 14. Stevie Sussex (19), 15. C.J. Leary (15), 16. Cannon McIntosh (22), 17. Chase Johnson (17), 18. Brandon Mattox (20), 19. Chase Jones (6), 20. Cole Bodine (18), 21. Zack Pretorius (11), 22. Thomas Meseraull (16). NT
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2021: TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK – TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA – 1/2-MILE DIRT OVAL
Logan Seavey entered the start of this past week with just two career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature wins in a span of 50 starts.
In a span of three series starts, the Sutter, California native has surpassed his entire win output throughout his first three seasons by scoring his third consecutive victory on Wednesday night at the Terre Haute Action Track, round four of NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL.
Seavey's trifecta of victories began Sunday at Lawrenceburg Speedway, continued Monday at Gas City I-69 Speedway and now has reached official "streak" status with his third win in his last three tries, leading all 30 laps at Terre Haute aboard the Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy.
The third win of Seavey's personal hat trick was special in a myriad of manners, but most of all, it came at Terre Haute, a place in which so few have tamed throughout its 60-plus year history. A win at this place is something special, something memorable, something remarkable. Seavey was all of those things and more on Wednesday night at the Don Smith Classic.
"To win at Terre Haute is unlike anything I've ever done in my career; this is awesome," Seavey exclaimed. "To beat (Justin) Grant too just makes it that much sweeter. He's one of the best here and I had to run 110 percent every lap to keep him behind us."
Seavey's three-straight Indiana Sprint Week victories put him in rarified air and are the most since Kevin Thomas Jr. won three consecutively in 2013. Jay Drake also captured three-straight Indiana Sprint Week wins in 2000 as did Cory Kruseman during the 2002 series.
The longest winning streak in Indiana Sprint Week history belongs to Jon Stanbrough with four-in-a-row between 2006-07.
36 Entries
FAST QUALIFIER: Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-20.039
HEAT RACE WINNER: Tanner Thorson, Chris Windom, Tye Mihocko & Logan Seavey
SEMI WINNER: Jake Swanson
FEATURE RESULTS: (Starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Justin Grant (4), 3. Chris Windom (7), 4. Brady Bacon (12), 5. Jason McDougal (15), 6. Chase Stockon (3), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 8. Tanner Thorson (8), 9. Shane Cottle (13), 10. C.J. Leary (5), 11. Kyle Cummins (21), 12. Jake Swanson (10), 13. Nick Bilbee (2), 14. Shane Cockrum (16), 15. Tye Mihocko (9), 16. Brandon Mattox (20), 17. Charles Davis Jr. (18), 18. Matt Westfall (19), 19. Mario Clouser (11), 20. Max Guilford (22), 21. Robert Ballou (14), 22. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (17). NT
THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2021: LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY – PUTNAMVILLE, INDIANA – 5/16-MILE DIRT OVAL
High heat, high emotion and high intensity were the main ingredients of a dramatic ending between drivers Tanner Thorson and C.J. Leary during Thursday night's USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week By AMSOIL feature event at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind.
A last lap caution set up a green-white-checkered finish that Tanner Thorson utilized for one last shot. On the lap 30 restart, Thorson slid from the bottom of turn one up toward the top of turn two while Leary occupied the high side, nestled snugly against the cushion.
While the two were dead even, wheel-to-wheel near the top of turn two, Leary's car biked on the curb, getting both left side wheels airborne before landing on all fours and skidding at the exit atop the second turn. No contact was made between the two cars as Thorson raced by underneath to take over the lead while Windom followed suit to second, although Leary briefly returned to the runner-up spot on the 31st and final lap before Windom retook the spot off turn two.
Thorson, who had earlier posted his second Fatheadz Eyewear fast qualifying time of Indiana Sprint Week, led just the final two laps in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – CSI – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy, crossing under the double checkers 0.707 seconds ahead of Windom, Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Logan Seavey.
Seavey possessed a three-race Indiana Sprint Week winning streak coming into Lincoln Park as he attempted to equal Jon Stanbrough's record of four consecutive ISW victories over the course of 2006 and 2007.
But on this night, it was Thorson's turn in just about the most dramatic of ways imaginable as Leary unbelted, hopped out of his car and made a beeline to "greet" Thorson in victory lane while Leary's racecar continued to roll across the infield driverless until petering out halfway across the 5/16-mile dirt oval.
As Thorson came to a stop to celebrate, Leary put his foot down, quite literally, on the nose of Thorson's car. Immediately, Thorson rose from his seat and the two exchanged blunt words, muffled only by the protection of their head sock and helmet, while also gesturing their displeasure quite animatedly.
47 Entries
FAST QUALIFIER: Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.553
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Kyle Cummins, Brady Bacon, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Brandon Mattox
C-MAIN WINNER: Braydon Cromwell
SEMI WINNER: Chris Windom
FEATURE RESULTS: (Starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (6), 2. Chris Windom (11), 3. C.J. Leary (3), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 5. Logan Seavey (4), 6. Jason McDougal (2), 7. Jake Swanson (10), 8. Justin Grant (12), 9. Stevie Sussex (22), 10. Jadon Rogers (13), 11. Cole Bodine (1), 12. Chase Stockon (15), 13. Kyle Cummins (8), 14. Brent Beauchamp (17), 15. Robert Ballou (14), 16. Brandon Spencer (21), 17. Matt Westfall (19), 18. Brandon Mattox (9), 19. Carson Short (16), 20. Chris Gansen (20), 21. Shane Cottle (18), 22. Brady Bacon (7). NT
FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2021: BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY – BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – 1/4-MILE DIRT OVAL
Twenty-four hours earlier, Brady Bacon and the Dynamics, Inc. crew experienced the lowest of lows when a magneto issue knocked the team out of the feature at Lincoln Park Speedway before the green flag had even been waved.
Twenty-four hours later, the team was standing in victory lane, celebrating its first series victory in more than three months on Friday night following the Sheldon Kinser Memorial, the sixth and penultimate round of the 34th annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL at Bloomington Speedway.
Once again, resiliency from the Bacon/Hoffman/Dynamics camp was on full display, as for the second year in a row, the team endured a similar magneto fate at Lincoln Park one night, then bounced back the following evening with a feature victory for the Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy.
"It's just a testament to the whole Hoffman team," Bacon praised. "When something goes wrong, we put our noses down and keep working. We know we're doing the right thing, it's just that sometimes things get out of your control. You just can't get down about it. You just plug away and keep trying."
Bacon's 38th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory was a special one indeed. The triumph broke a tie the Broken Arrow, Okla. native held with the race's namesake, Sheldon Kinser, for ninth all-time.
36 Entries
FAST QUALIFIER: Brent Beauchamp, 29, LB-11.273
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Chase Stockon, Thomas Meseraull, Robert Ballou & Jake Swanson
SEMI WINNER: Logan Seavey
FEATURE RESULTS: (Starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (5), 2. Kyle Cummins (4), 3. C.J. Leary (1), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 5. Robert Ballou (7), 6. Shane Cottle (15), 7. Logan Seavey (12), 8. Jake Swanson (10), 9. Jadon Rogers (13), 10. A.J. Hopkins (21), 11. Chase Stockon (8), 12. Chris Windom (2), 13. Justin Grant (22), 14. Tye Mihocko (14), 15. Tanner Thorson (6), 16. Braydon Cromwell (19), 17. Brent Beauchamp (11), 18. Stevie Sussex (16), 19. Cole Bodine (17), 20. Brady Short (18), 21. Chase Johnson (20), 22. Thomas Meseraull (9). NT
SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2021: TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY – HAUBSTADT, INDIANA – 1/4-MILE DIRT OVAL
It's a rare instance when both the first and second-place finishers of a race can celebrate in unison for their own, separate personal accomplishments.
For Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr., that was the scene on Saturday night following the finale for USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week By AMSOIL at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt.
Both veteran racers cut their own slice of triumph, one as a race winner at a track that has been a longtime nemesis, and another who reached the zenith of his racing summer.
Grant bookended the beginning and end of the seven-race ISW slate with a feature win at Kokomo to start and a Tri-State feature win to conclude the 34th annual edition of the series while Thomas capped the points race with a crown as the ISW champion for the second time in his career, and for the first time since 2017.
"We had some issues through the middle of sprint week," Grant acknowledged after leading the final 29 laps of the 30-lap race aboard his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy. "We started it with a win and ended it with a win. It was good, and we won a race at Haubstadt. I can't believe it!"
Only five other drivers had won both the first and the last feature race during a single Indiana Sprint Week, and the first to do it in 17 years. Danny Smith was the first to accomplish the feat in 1989, followed by Kelly Kinser in 1994, Dave Darland in 1998, Cory Kruseman in 2002 and J.J. Yeley in 2004.
37 Entries
FAST QUALIFIER: Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-13.590
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Kyle Cummins, Jason McDougal, Tanner Thorson & Brady Short
SEMI WINNER: Jadon Rogers
FEATURE RESULTS: (Starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (4), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 3. Chase Stockon (5), 4. Kyle Cummins (9), 5. Tanner Thorson (7), 6. C.J. Leary (3), 7. Jadon Rogers (10), 8. Brady Bacon (22), 9. Brady Short (8), 10. Kendall Ruble (6), 11. Robert Ballou (18), 12. Jake Swanson (17), 13. Jason McDougal (1), 14. Logan Seavey (13), 15. Chris Windom (12), 16. Chris Gansen (21), 17. Cole Bodine (19), 18. Stephen Schnapf (11), 19. Kent Schmidt (15), 20. Aric Gentry (14), 21. Shane Cottle (16), 22. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (20). NT
CHAMPIONSHIP EPILOGUE
Thomas' second place finish in the finale at Tri-State Speedway was more than good enough to clinch the title by 17 points over Bacon, with Seavey, Thorson and Grant rounding out the top-five. Thomas' $10,000 prize for winning the Indiana Sprint Week championship was accompanied by the traditional rocker going to the ISW championship team, which is a hand-built creation constructed out of cherry wood, series #036, by John Youngs and is serial #036.
As it panned out, Thomas was the lone driver who finished inside the top-five of the final 2021 ISW point standings not to win a race during the series. Once again, for the fourth consecutive year, the Indiana Sprint Week champion driver went winless throughout their run following Chris Windom (2018), C.J. Leary (2019) and Chase Stockon (2020).
Funny enough, Thomas remains the only ISW champion to also win a feature during the same week since doing so in 2017. It's a monumental task to put up seven straight nights of successful runs without a major mechanical failure, accident or any other occurrence that can take the whole operation off the rails, especially with the competition level being what it is. Thomas and team were sublime in getting the job done in the KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
"You've just got to be consistent with these guys," Thomas explained. "They're just so balls out every time they get around you. They're all wanting to win the race. (My crew) stayed consistent and kept their composure. We all know that I don't do that very well, so I'm glad I have those guys behind my back as well as my wife to talk me back down from certain circumstances on the way home.
"You have bad nights and people that are really fast have bad nights," Thomas continued. "Brady had an engine issue that set him back for the night. You've just got to be at the right place at the right time and we had a good solid week. That was good enough to win and I'm so proud of everybody, our team, our sponsors, it's just so much fun. I love doing this, and to win another Sprint Week is really special."
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STAT LEADERS
Driver Champion: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Most Wins: 3-Logan Seavey
Most Laps Led: 66-Logan Seavey
Most Top-Fives: 5-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
Most Top-Tens: 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 2-Brady Bacon & Tanner Thorson
Most Heat Race Wins: 4-Robert Ballou
Most Feature Starts: 7-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Biggest Charge of the Week: 7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 8th)
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINT STANDINGS
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 486 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
2 469 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
3 464 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
4 461 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
5 452 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
6 438 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
7 424 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.
8 408 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
9 371 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
10 353 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.
11 321 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.
12 310 Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Okla.
13 302 Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Ind.
14 272 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.
15 209 Stevie Sussex, Mesa, Ariz.
16 204 Cole Bodine, Rossville, Ind.
17 189 Tye Mihocko, Phoenix, Ariz.
18 184 Chase Johnson, Penngrove, Calif.
19 154 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.
20 147 Brandon Mattox, Terre Haute, Ind.
21 132 Brent Beauchamp, Fairland, Ind.
22 124 Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Okla.
23 120 Chris Gansen, Verdemont Heights, Calif.
24 118 Brady Short, Bedford, Ind.
25 117 Eddie Tafoya Jr., Chino Hills, Calif.
26 110 Braydon Cromwell, Lone Jack, Mo.
27 105 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz.
28 99 Max Guilford, Auckland, N.Z.
29 82 Nick Bilbee, Indianapolis, Ind.
30 75 Chase Jones, Greenwood, Ind.
31 72 Scotty Weir, Marion, Ind.
32 70 Alex Banales, Lafayette, Ind.
33 69 A.J. Hopkins, Brownsburg, Ind.
34 63 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio
35 61 Shane Cockrum, Benton, Ill.
36 60 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.
37 50 Anthony D'Alessio, Apollo Beach, Fla.
50 Kyle Edwards, Fountain Valley, Calif.
39 49 Kendall Ruble, Vincennes, Ind.
40 46 Brayden Fox, Avon, Ind.
41 45 Carson Short, Marion, Ill.
42 45 Zack Pretorius, Yorktown, Ind.
43 41 Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, Ill.
44 40 Dustin Clark, Washington, Ind.
40 Evan Mosley, Lapel, Ind.
40 Gabriel Gilbert, Greenwood, Ind.
40 Harley Burns, Brazil, Ind.
40 Ryan Barr, Piqua, Ohio
40 Ryan Bond, Haubstadt, Ind.
50 37 Tyler Kendall, Connersville, Ind.
51 32 Stephen Schnapf, Newburgh, Ind.
52 31 Brandon Spencer, Nashville, Ind.
53 30 Jack James, Harlan, Ind.
30 Jordan Kinser, Bloomington, Ind.
30 Korbyn Hayslett, Troy, Ohio
30 Matt Goodnight, Winchester, Ind.
30 Matt McDonald, Pittsboro, Ind.
58 27 Kent Schmidt, Owensville, Ind.
59 26 Mario Clouser, Auburn, Ill.
60 26 Aric Gentry, Robards, Ky.
61 20 Alec Sipes, Bloomington, Ind.
20 Brayden Clark, Tipton, Ind.
20 Critter Malone, Pittsboro, Ind.
20 Dan Clodfelter, Rockville, Ind.
20 Dickie Gaines, Mitchell, Ind.
20 Garrett Aitken, Paris, Ill.
20 Ricky Lewis, Ventura, Calif.
20 Tayte Williamson, Rushsylvania, Ohio
20 Tyler Hewitt, Marion, Ind.
70 10 Chet Williams, Newburgh, Ind.
10 Clinton Boyles, Greenwood, Mo.
10 Colten Cottle, Kansas, Ill.
10 Cooper Welch, Sheridan, Ind.
10 David Hair, Indianapolis, Ind.
10 Dylan Moan, Sumner, Ill.
10 J.J. Hughes, Columbus, Ind.
10 Jake Scott, Morgantown, Ind.
10 Jessica Swanson, Westlake Village, Calif.
10 Joss Moffatt, Columbus, Ind.
10 Mitchell Davis, Auburn, Ill.
10 Riley Kreisel, Warsaw, Mo.
10 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio
10 Sam Scott, Patoka, Ind.
10 Shey Owens, Indianapolis, Ind.
10 Stan Beadles, Owensville, Ind.
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE & RESULTS
July 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Rained Out After Qualifying (Rescheduled for July 26)
July 24: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
July 25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
July 26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
July 28: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
July 29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
July 30: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
July 31: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STATISTICS
2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE WINS
3-Logan Seavey (July 25 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, July 26 at Gas City I-69 Speedway & July 28 at the Terre Haute Action Track)
2-Justin Grant (July 24 at Kokomo Speedway & July 31 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Brady Bacon (July 30 at Bloomington Speedway)
1-Tanner Thorson (July 29 at Lincoln Park Speedway)
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE LAPS LED
66-Logan Seavey
39-Justin Grant
37-C.J. Leary
23-Jake Swanson
16-Brady Bacon
9-Kevin Thomas Jr.
6-Cole Bodine
3-Tanner Thorson
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES
5-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
4-Logan Seavey & Tanner Thorson
3-Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant & C.J. Leary
2-Jason McDougal, Jake Swanson & Chris Windom
1-Robert Ballou & Chase Stockon
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES
7-Kevin Thomas Jr.
6-Brady Bacon, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey & Tanner Thorson
5-Kyle Cummins
4-Jadon Rogers, Jake Swanson & Chris Windom
3-Robert Ballou, Shane Cottle & Jason McDougal
2-Chase Stockon
1-A.J. Hopkins, Tye Mihocko, Kendall Ruble, Brady Short & Stevie Sussex
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (Presented by Fatheadz Eyewear)
7/23: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Brayden Fox
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Brady Bacon
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Tanner Thorson
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Kevin Thomas Jr.
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Tanner Thorson
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Brent Beauchamp
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Jadon Rogers
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK HEAT RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
4-Robert Ballou
3-Kyle Cummins & Tanner Thorson
2-Brady Bacon, Jason McDougal, Jake Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Cole Bodine, Chase Johnson, C.J. Leary, Brandon Mattox, Thomas Meseraull, Tye Mihocko, Logan Seavey, Brady Short, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SEMI WINS
2-Logan Seavey
1-Nick Bilbee, Jadon Rogers, Jake Swanson, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK C-MAIN WINS
1-Brent Beauchamp, Braydon Cromwell, Stevie Sussex & Eddie Tafoya Jr.
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK D-MAIN WINS
1-Jack James
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE STARTS
7-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
6-Cole Bodine, Shane Cottle, Jason McDougal, Jadon Rogers & Chase Stockon
5-Stevie Sussex
4-Chase Johnson, Brandon Mattox, Thomas Meseraull & Tye Mihocko
3-Brent Beauchamp, Cannon McIntosh & Brady Short
2-Nick Bilbee, Braydon Cromwell, Chris Gansen, Max Guilford, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Matt Westfall
1-Mario Clouser, Shane Cockrum, Charles Davis Jr., Aric Gentry, A.J. Hopkins, Chase Jones, Tyler Kendall, Paul Nienhiser, Zack Pretorius, Kendall Ruble, Kent Schmidt, Stephen Schnapf, Carson Short, Brandon Spencer & Scotty Weir
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Nick Bilbee
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Zack Pretorius
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Brandon Mattox
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Cole Bodine & Jason McDougal
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Braydon Cromwell
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Chase Stockon
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Shane Cottle (18th to 11th)
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Kyle Cummins (12th to 3rd)
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Jason McDougal (15th to 5th)
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Stevie Sussex (22nd to 9th)
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – A.J. Hopkins (21st to 10th)
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 8th)
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE "HARD WORK" OF THE RACE
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Stevie Sussex
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Nick Bilbee
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Cannon McIntosh
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Max Guilford
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Stevie Sussex
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – A.J. Hopkins
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Brady Bacon
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Jake Swanson
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Scotty Weir
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Chase Stockon
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Nick Bilbee
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Kyle Cummins
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Justin Grant
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Jason McDougal
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS
7/24: Kokomo Speedway – Tye Mihocko
7/25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Jordan Kinser
7/26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Scotty Weir
7/28: Terre Haute Action Track – Chase Johnson
7/29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Chase Johnson
7/30: Bloomington Speedway – Sterling Cling
7/31: Tri-State Speedway – Critter Malone
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STATS: (1988-2021)
ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS:
20-Dave Darland
16-Jon Stanbrough
12-Cory Kruseman
9-J.J. Yeley
7-Bryan Clauson
6-Jay Drake, Danny Smith & Kevin Thomas Jr.
5-Kevin Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Tony Elliott, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Brady Short & Kevin Thomas
4-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Jack Hewitt, Levi Jones, Kelly Kinser & Logan Seavey
3-Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines, & Hunter Schuerenberg
2-Chuck Amati, Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Rick Hood, Bud Kaeding, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
1-A.J. Anderson, Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Chad Boat, Shane Cottle, Derek Davidson, Cary Faas, Aaron Farney, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Tray House, Bob Kinser, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Carson Short, Mickey Smith, Brad Sweet, Tanner Thorson, Brian Tyler & Cole Whitt
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK CHAMPIONS:
1988: Randy Kinser, 1989: Chuck Amati, 1990: Chuck Amati & Gary Trammell, 1991: Bob Kinser, 1992: Kevin Thomas, 1993: Kevin Thomas, 1994: Kelly Kinser, 1995: Kevin Thomas, 1996: Kevin Thomas, 1997: J.J. Yeley, 1998: Dave Darland, 1999: Tony Elliott, 2000: Jay Drake, 2001: Dave Darland, 2002: Cory Kruseman, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Levi Jones, 2005: Cory Kruseman, 2006: Jon Stanbrough, 2007: Dave Darland, 2008: Levi Jones, 2009: Levi Jones, 2010: Jon Stanbrough, 2011: Chris Windom, 2012: Levi Jones, 2013: Bryan Clauson, 2014: Bryan Clauson, 2015: Robert Ballou, 2016: Brady Bacon, 2017: Kevin Thomas Jr., 2018: Chris Windom, 2019: C.J. Leary, 2020: Chase Stockon, 2021: Kevin Thomas Jr.
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-FIVE FINISHES (1988-2021)
66-Dave Darland
51-Jon Stanbrough
45-Levi Jones
33-Tony Elliott & Chris Windom
32-Brady Bacon
31-J.J. Yeley
30-Kevin Thomas Jr.
29-Bryan Clauson
25-Cory Kruseman
23-Robert Ballou
22-Shane Cottle, Justin Grant & Kevin Thomas
20-Jerry Coons Jr.
19-Jay Drake, Tracy Hines, C.J. Leary & Chase Stockon
15-Brady Short
14-Kevin Briscoe, Bill Rose & Hunter Schuerenberg
13-Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins & Bud Kaeding
10-Jack Hewitt & Randy Kinser
9-Derek Davidson & Danny Smith
8-Damion Gardner, Brian Hayden, Bob Kinser, Kelly Kinser & Thomas Meseraull
7-Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Darren Hagen, Tray House, 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, Jason McDougal, Joe Roush & Logan Seavey
4-Mike Mann, Carson Short, Brad Sweet & Tanner Thorson
3-Jeff Bland Jr., Bobby East, Aaron Farney, Jesse Hockett, Rick Hood, Kevin Huntley, Tony Jarrett, 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 & Jake Swanson
1-Garrett Aitken, Jarett Andretti, Chris Beaver, Ryan Bernal, Keith Bloom Jr., Mike Bowling, Kent Christian, Hud Cone, Troy Cline, Mike English, Cary Faas, Gary Fisher, Josh Ford, Russ Gamester, 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, 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
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-10 FINISHES (USAC ERA 1996-2021)
97-Dave Darland
74-Jon Stanbrough
66-Levi Jones
59-Chris Windom
53-Brady Bacon
49-Robert Ballou
47-Shane Cottle
46-Jerry Coons Jr.
45-Bryan Clauson
43-Cory Kruseman & Kevin Thomas Jr.
42-Tracy Hines
41-Justin Grant
40-J.J. Yeley
39-Tony Elliott & Chase Stockon
34-C.J. Leary
31-Jay Drake
30-Brady Short
25-Kyle Cummins
24-Hunter Schuerenberg
21-Tyler Courtney, Damion Gardner, Bud Kaeding & Bill Rose
20-Kevin Thomas
19-Chad Boespflug
17-Kevin Briscoe
16-Derek Davidson, Darren Hagen, Brian Hayden & Scotty Weir
15-Thomas Meseraull
14-Dickie Gaines
13-Daron Clayton, Carson Short & Josh Wise
12-Kevin Doty
11-Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Brad Sweet & Cole Whitt
10-Logan Seavey
9-A.J. Anderson, Jack Hewitt, Josh Hodges & Jason McDougal
8-Jarett Andretti & Jeff Bland Jr.
7-Chad Boat, Bobby East, Blake Fitzpatrick, Coleman Gulick, Todd Kane, Justin Marvel, Boston Reid, Casey Shuman & Brian Tyler
6-Kent Christian, Troy Cline, Eric Shively, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Tanner Thorson
5-Brent Beauchamp, Christopher Bell, Shane Hollingsworth, Tony Jarrett, Dustin Morgan, Jadon Rogers, Jeremy Sherman & Mike Spencer
4-Hud Cone, Aaron Farney, Jesse Hockett, A.J. Hopkins, Critter Malone, Wes McIntyre, Brandon Petty, Robbie Rice, Brody Roa, Jimmy Sills, Jake Swanson, Matt Westfall & John Wolfe
3-A.J. Anderson, Josh Ford, Brad Fox, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jonathan Hendrick, Dakota Jackson, Rusty McClure, Casey Riggs, Derek Scheffel, Jon Sciscoe, Neil Shepherd & Steve Surniak
2-Ryan Bernal, Eric Burns, Kenny Carmichael, Henry Clarke, Charles Davis Jr., Mike English, Danny Holtsclaw, Kasey Kahne, Mike Kirby, Jason Knoke, Chris LaFollette, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Brandon Mattox, Max McGhee, 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, Chris Beaver, Kevin Besecker, Keith Bloom Jr., Timmy Buckwalter, Brett Burdette, Mark Cassella, Mark Clark, Shane Cockrum, Chris Coers, 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, Tye Mihocko, Matt Mitchell, Vince Osman, Richard Ott, Dave Peperak, Davey Ray, Jason Robbins, Kyle Robbins, Eric Roberts, Joe Roush, Alex Shanks, Corey Smith, Dustin Smith, Stevie Sussex, Lee Underwood, Jonathan Vennard, Danny Williams Jr., Rip Williams, Greg Wilson & Kyle Wissmiller
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK LAPS LED (USAC ERA 1996-2021)
431-Dave Darland
413-Jon Stanbrough
276-Cory Kruseman
216-Kevin Thomas Jr.
187-J.J. Yeley
176-Jay Drake
173-Bryan Clauson & C.J. Leary
159-Brady Bacon
148-Chris Windom
146-Robert Ballou
124-Levi Jones
121-Tracy Hines
103-Hunter Schuerenberg
101-Tyler Courtney
98-Kevin Briscoe
97-Brady Short
95-Justin Grant
94-Jerry Coons Jr. & Logan Seavey
83-Kyle Cummins
82-Jack Hewitt
80-Chase Stockon
76-Tony Elliott
68-Daron Clayton & Thomas Meseraull
57-Bud Kaeding
52-Brad Sweet
50-Derek Davidson
49-Shane Cottle
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-Bill Rose
26-Robbie Rice, Stephen Schnapf & Scotty Weir
25-Brad Fox
24-John Memmer
23-Cary Faas, Brandon Petty & Jake Swanson
22-Darren Hagen, & Brian Tyler
21-A.J. Anderson, Brent Beauchamp & Eric Shively
20-Kevin Doty
18-Boston Reid
16-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-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, Jeremy Sherman & Jonathan Vennard
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK HEAT RACE WINS (USAC ERA 1996-2021)
31-Dave Darland
30-Jon Stanbrough
26-Shane Cottle
25-Robert Ballou
19-Brady Bacon & Cory Kruseman
18-Chris Windom
17-Brady Short
14-C.J. Leary
13-Jerry Coons Jr.
12-Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott, Tracy Hines & Thomas Meseraull
11-Chad Boespflug, Levi Jones & J.J. Yeley
10-Bryan Clauson, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant & Chase Stockon
9-Hunter Schuerenberg, & Kevin Thomas Jr.
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
4-Daron Clayton, Hud Cone, Brian Hayden, Danny Holtsclaw, Logan Jarrett, Jason McDougal, Corey Smith, Matt Westfall, Cole Whitt & Mitch Wissmiller
3-A.J. Anderson, Jarett Andretti, Brad Fox, Jack Hewitt, Mike Kirby, Justin Marvel, Brandon Mattox, Wes McIntyre, Boston Reid, Derek Scheffel, John Scott, Casey Shuman, Dustin Smith, Brad Sweet & Tanner Thorson
2-Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Troy Cline, Tim Cox, Derek Davidson, Charles Davis Jr., Kris Deckard, Bobby East, Aaron Farney, Josh Ford, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, Tray House, Dakota Jackson, Todd Kane, Mike Mann, Bret Mellenberndt, Dustin Morgan, Casey Riggs, Brody Roa, Stephen Schnapf, Logan Seavey, Alex Shanks, Jake Swanson, Kody Swanson, Greg Wilson, Josh Wise & Kyle Wissmiller
1-Max Adams, Rodney Argo, Chris Beaver, Ryan Bernal, Nick Bilbee, Keith Bloom Jr., Cole Bodine, Eric Burns, Josh Burton, Mark Cassella, Isaac Chapple, Roger Chaudion, Dustin Christie, Henry Clarke, Anthony D'Alessio, Ron Dennis, Kevin Doty, Cary Faas, Jared Fox, Brian Gerster, Travis Gregg, Bart Grider, Kurt Gross, Chris Gurley, Chayse Hayhurst, Tom Hessert III, Jesse Hockett, A.J. Hopkins, J.J. Hughes, Marc Jessup, Chase Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Joey Kerr, Jordan Kinser, Jason Knoke, Critter Malone, Brad Marvel, Rusty McClure, Max McGhee, John Memmer, Tye Mihocko, 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, Gary Taylor, Tyler Thomas, Michael Trimble, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Ricky Williams & John Wolfe
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (USAC ERA 1996-2021)
12-Dave Darland
9-Justin Grant
8-Brady Bacon & Levi Jones
7-Tracy Hines, Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Thomas Jr. & J.J. Yeley
6-Daron Clayton & Richard Griffin
5-Bryan Clauson, Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott & Hunter Schuerenberg
4-Tyler Courtney, Jay Drake & C.J. Leary
3-Cory Kruseman, Carson Short, Chase Stockon, Brad Sweet & Josh Wise
2-Robert Ballou, Brent Beauchamp, Chad Boat, Chad Boespflug, 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, Derek Davidson, Kevin Doty, Bobby East, Nic Faas, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brayden Fox, 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
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE STARTS (USAC ERA 1996-2021)
155-Dave Darland
119-Jon Stanbrough
96-Jerry Coons Jr.
88-Chris Windom
86-Shane Cottle & Tracy Hines
85-Robert Ballou
84-Levi Jones
70-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
66-Chase Stockon
65-Cory Kruseman
62-Justin Grant & Hunter Schuerenberg
61-C.J. Leary
60-Brady Short
58-Tony Elliott
56-Bryan Clauson
53-Chad Boespflug, Damion Gardner & Thomas Meseraull
50-J.J. Yeley
49-Kyle Cummins
47-Jay Drake & Scotty Weir
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
30-A.J. Anderson & Carson Short
28-Kent Christian, Dickie Gaines & Justin Marvel
27-Josh Hodges & Kevin Thomas
25-Mat Neely & Brandon Petty
24-Josh Wise
23-Terry Pletch & Casey Shuman
22-Jeff Bland Jr. & Brian Tyler
21-Brent Beauchamp, Isaac Chapple, Jack Hewitt, Mike Spencer & Brad Sweet
19-Brandon Mattox, Derek Scheffel & Cole Whitt
18-Blake Fitzpatrick & Matt Westfall
17-Kevin Doty, Aaron Farney & Jason McDougal
16-Hud Cone, Bobby East, Shane Hollingsworth, Critter Malone, Dustin Morgan & Brody Roa
15-Dustin Smith & Tyler Thomas
14-Henry Clarke, Jesse Hockett, Dakota Jackson, Wes McIntyre & Eric Shively
13-Chad Boat, Troy Cline, Coleman Gulick, A.J. Hopkins, Jake Swanson & Richard Vander Weerd
12-Logan Jarrett, Robbie Rice, Logan Seavey & Jonathan Vennard
11-Ryan Bernal, Josh Ford, Eric Gordon, Tony Jarrett, Todd Kane, Mike Mann, Jadon Rogers & Corey Smith
10-Max Adams, Eric Burns, Kenny Carmichael, Charles Davis Jr., Jonathan Hendrick, Boston Reid, Kyle Robbins, John Scott, Tim Spindler, Kyle Wissmiller & John Wolfe
9-Tom Hessert III, Danny Holtsclaw, Kevin Miller, Matt Mitchell, Steve Surniak & Kody Swanson
8-Shane Cockrum, Richard Griffin, Chase Johnson, Mike Kirby, Jimmy Laser, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Casey Riggs, Jeremy Sherman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Kevin Swindell
7-Timmy Buckwalter, Tim Cox, Andrew Elson, Brad Fox, J.J. Hughes, Jason Knoke, Rusty McClure, Max McGhee, Joe Roush, Neil Shepherd, Josh Spencer, Tanner Thorson, Jace Vander Weerd & Mitch Wissmiller
6-Christopher Bell, Cole Bodine, Tony DiMattia, Jared Fox, Marc Jessup, Ryan Pace, Jason Robbins, Troy Rutherford, Jimmy Sills, Stevie Sussex & Michael Trimble
5-Keith Bloom Jr., Clinton Boyles, Cary Faas, Chris Gurley, Shane Hmiel, Jordan Kinser, Jon Sciscoe, Brian VanMeveren & Ricky Williams
4-Caleb Armstrong, Nick Bilbee, Dustin Clark, Mario Clouser, Rickie Gaunt, Bart Grider, Ted Hines, Tye Mihocko, Aaron Mosley, Kent Schmidt, Stephen Schnapf, Landon Simon, Mark Smith, Gus Wasson & Greg Wilson
3-Chris Beaver, Mike Boat, Donny Brackett, Chase Briscoe, Brett Burdette, Michael Burthay, Zach Daum, Mike English, 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, Kendall Ruble, Alex Shanks, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Gary Taylor, Danny Williams Jr., Rip Williams & Jeff Wilson
2-Rodney Argo, Ethan Barrow, Donnie Beechler, Robert Bell, Kevin Besecker, Greg Bragg, Mark Cassella, Roger Chaudion, Mark Clark, Braydon Cromwell, Kris Deckard, Ty Deckard, Ron Dennis, Gregg Dillion, Nic Faas, Russ Gamester, Chris Gansen, Aric Gentry, Travis Gregg, Max Guilford, Tom Harris, Rick Hayden, Tray House, 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, Terry Richards, Eric Roberts, Bryan Ruble, Bryan Stanfill, Dave Steele, Greg Stephens, Leon Thickstun & Shawn Westerfeld
1-Garrett Abrams, Nick Adams, Garrett Aitken, Marc Arnold, Chris Babcock, Koby Barksdale, Dean Billings, J.C. Bland, Steve Buckwalter, Wyatt Burks, Josh Burton, Cole Carter, Kevin Chambers, Rob Chaney, Chris Coers, Colten Cottle, 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, Riley Kreisel, David McCreary, Austin Mero, Jerry Miller Jr., Ray Morgan, Jim Moughan, Nick Naber, Wil Newlin, Paul Nienhiser, Vince Osman, Steve Ott, Seth Parker, Mark Perry III, Chris Phillips, Michael Pickens, Bart Pletch, Brett Pool, Zack Pretorius, Travis Rilat, Charlie Sarver, Jason Setser, Danny Sheridan, Jake Simmons, Bobby Smith, Eric Smith, Brandon Spencer, J.T. Stapp, Bobby Stines, Joe Stornetta, Lee Underwood, Chris Urish, Chet Williams & Rick Ziehl
Damon Paul Breaks Through For First Career Win at Winchester
Winchester, VA. July 31st, 2021. Nick Fillman, USAC ECSC
Damon Paul of Stony Point, NY capitalized on a late race restart to move by race leader Carmen Perigo Jr, coupled with his ever growing confidence and speed to collect his first ever Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series Presented by Capitol Renegade victory.
The twenty-five lap feature event was lead to the green for the first time ever by rookie driver Colin White, with veteran Carmen Perigo Jr to his outside as the field began the feature event. Perigo quickly established himself in front of the field as the cars began to battle for position, fighting for all the grip they could on the extremely slick and unique surface of the Winchester Speedway.
Quickly, eighth place starter Alex Bright moved by a handful of cars early on and found himself on the rear bumper of Briggs Danner, battling for position inside the top five of the feature event. One other driver quickly on the move was Steven Drevicki who had battled his way inside the top eight by lap four of the feature from his tenth place starting spot.
The battle for position throughout the field was intense as the preferred line of the speedway was right around the bottom of the track hugging the inside wall. The margin for error was extremely small as one small miss of a corner could allow as many as three drivers to get by a driver at any given time early on in the feature event.
Carmen Perigo held a steady lead as the field approached the half way point of the feature with Damon Paul all over Bruce Buckwalter for second. Rounding out the top five was Briggs Danner in fourth under heavy fire from Alex Bright in fifth as both had recently passed Mike Thompson who was still right on the rear bumpers of both Bright and Danner as they battled for position.
Damon Paul utilized an extremely low line of the speedway to get underneath Bruce Buckwalter for the runner up spot on lap twelve, and begin to set his sights on the rear tail tank of race leader Carmen Perigo. Briggs Danner, feeling the pressure of Bright inside the top five, made contact with the left rear of Bruce Buckwalter while trying to pass for third on lap fifteen, leaving the Gallagher Racing entry spinning to a stop in turn three and four. The ensuing restart had Perigo remaining the race leader, however the lead that he had built over the rest of the field was now gone, drawing Damon Paul to the rear of the leader Perigo. The rest of the top five following the spin by Danner would be: Buckwalter, Bright, Thompson, and in sixth, Steven Drevicki.
As the field went green with ten laps to go in the race, Damon Paul quickly dove to the bottom running an extremely low and straight line off of the corners to sneak by Carmen Perigo for the race lead on lap sixteen. Paul set sail on the rest of the field as Perigo began to search around the bottom side of the speedway trying to find anything to catch up to leader Paul who was beginning to run out to a sizable lead.
While Paul stretched his legs at the front of the pack, Alex Bright drew closer and closer to the rear bumper of the 21 entry of Perigo with only a handful of laps to go. Positions inside the top five remained relatively uncontested as Buckwalter had settled into fourth, and Thompson running a solid fifth. Just outside the top five, an intense duel between Steven Drevicki and Lou Cicconi began with Cicconi utilizing a higher groove to work to the outside of Drevicki on more than one occasion. Bright had moved by Perigo for the runner up spot on lap twenty-two of the feature, just before the caution flag flew on lap twenty-three for a slowing Colin White with issues.
The restart order left Bright with a prime opportunity to pass Paul for the race lead with: Perigo, Buckwalter, Thompson, and a battle between Drevicki and Cicconi rounding out the top six of the feature event. Paul nailed the restart and put a comfortable in place over Bright and the rest of the field, with positions inside the top five again remaining mostly uncontested. As the final two laps clicked away, Paul held his lead with Bright peddling as hard as he could trying to catch the rookie driver for the race lead. Meanwhile, Cicconi had moved passed Drevicki in the battle for sixth, but the two were still a sizable distance behind race leader Damon Paul and the rest of the podium.
The final two laps were nothing but smooth sailing for the twenty year-old driver from New York, as "The Demon" Damon Paul went on to collect his first career USAC East Coast Feature event win. Bright, Perigo, Buckwalter, and Thompson would round out the top five in what was a very diverse night of racing for the bulk of the field.
The first win for Damon Paul was something that the team was clearly on the verge of accomplishing over the last handful of events with Paul running consistently up front in heat race action, and always working inside the top five of the feature event in recent weeks. For whatever reason, the team had not been able to put a complete night together and wound up with results that were not exactly conducive to how fast they had been. Saturday night was a different story, as the team nailed the nights set up finishing second in their heat, and having an extremely well handling car for the feature event. The win on Saturday night in northern Virginia, was more than worth the over six hour drive Paul and team put in on Saturday to compete, and nearly every week are among our longest haul drivers. Saturday's win was more than deserved, and established Paul as front runner and pick to win for the remainder of the season.
Coming home in second with yet another consistent run, was Collegeville, PA's Alex Bright. Bright advanced the most positions in the feature event of redraw cars, as Bright unfortunately drew the eight pill on a track where starting position is paramount. Bright methodically worked his way to the front of the pack aboard his Hummer Motorsports entry, and capitalized on the misfortune of Briggs Danner to retake the series points lead heading into our next event. As mentioned before, the points championship is far from over, and it is surely not the last time the two drivers will switch positions at the top of the points standings.
The third place effort for Sotystown, PA driver Carmen Perigo was a bit bittersweet as the veteran driver started from the pole of the feature event, lead the first fifteen laps, and unfortunately faded a bit late in the running. Post feature in his extremely jovial way, Perigo stated he was sick of leading races at Winchester without having the victories, as last season Perigo lost the lead late in the race to Steven Drevicki and came home second. Luckily for Perigo, third time could be the charm as the series makes a return visit to the Winchester Speedway in September where Perigo again will have another shot at the win.
An up and down weekend at Georgetown and Bridgeport last week for Bruce Buckwalter was backed up with yet another solid run for the sophomore campaigner as he collected his second fourth place finish in three races. Bruce has found his stride as of late, and despite engine issues, and an unfortunate accident while running inside the top ten at Bridgeport, continues to make gains toward winning a feature event with the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series.
Rounding out the top five with an impressive run was third generation driver Mike Thompson. Mike has been splitting his time between wingless 360 racing with the USAC East Coast Sprint cars, and running winged with the URC 360 sprint cars. Thompson admittedly has a bit more affection for the wingless side of sprint car racing, and like many other drivers on tour this season, has continually improved as the year has progressed. Thompson battled early on for the heat race victory in heat two before relinquishing the lead and second to Briggs Danner and Damon Paul, but the young driver had one of his best runs of the season in the feature event and came home with a very respectable fifth place run.
While not finishing inside the top five, the efforts of three driver were more than worth noting on Saturday night. Lou Cicconi, Steven Drevicki, and Kenny Miller lll all had their own unique story line on Saturday night, in what was a very competitive and diverse top ten run down. Finishing sixth was longtime open wheel veteran Lou Cicconi who won the battle for the position after multiple laps side by side with Steven Drevicki. The start on Saturday for Lou was his first since the series made a stop at the Bedford Speedway in May. Saturday night was also the debut of a brand new X-1 Chassis for Cicconi. The new combo appeared to have worked as Cicconi came away with a season high sixth, in addition to being the winning car owner with Damon Paul. A great night for the Cicconi Racing team.
Seventh place belonged to three time champion Steven Drevicki. While the result may not be a stellar one, or what we're accustomed to seeing from the Reading, PA driver, it was a step in the right direction for Drevicki in what has been a challenging season. Drevicki has suffered bad luck, flips, and freak accidents all throughout the 2021 season. While Drevicki's primary car is still away getting worked on, 410 Car owner Greg Fitzpatrick allowed Drevicki to take their car to Winchester with Drevicki's 360 engine on Saturday. Drevicki and team made progress in the feature event, and came away with a respectable top ten run.
Finally in eighth, and collecting the Vahlco Wheels Hard Charger Award coming from sixteenth to eight, was Kenny Miller lll. Miller who is not a full time series regular in 2021 due to Internship commitments, has poked around here and there throughout the season attending races when they can. Miller was battling for a redraw spot in his heat race before suffering a flat tire, rendering him with a DNF in the heat. Miller started deep and passed cars on a very difficult track. A sign of the talent and speed that Miller is capable of producing whenever their entry rolls through the pit gates.
Next up for the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series is a double header weekend along side two different USAC National Touring series. Friday August 6th at the Bloomsburg Fair Grounds the series will make its first ever stop, along side the NOS Energy, USAC National Midget Series. From there, the tour rolls on to the third and final stop of the year to the Selinsgrove Speedway on August 8th along side the stars and cars of the USAC Silver Crown Series in a very unique pairing for the second season in a row.
As always, stay up to date with the lates photos, news, updates, and much more by following along with our social media pages! On Twitter at @USACecsc, and on Facebook at USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series.
USAC East Coast at Winchester Results:
Heat 1 (10 Laps, 4 redraw): 1. 20 Alex Bright, 2. 83 Bruce Buckwalter, 3. 32 Colin White, 4. 10m Mike Meyers, 5. 67 Jason Cherry, 6. 75 Lou Cicconi, 7. 7 Ed Aikin, 8. 3BC Nash Ely, 9. 38s Tom Savage.
Heat 2 (10 Laps, 4 redraw): 1. 5G Briggs Danner, 2. 57 Damon Paul, 3. 11 Mike Thompson, 4. 21 Carmen Peirgo, 5. 19 Steven Drevicki. 6. 88J Joey Amantea, 7. 12w Troy Fraker, 8. 23m Kenny Miller lll.
Feature Event (25 Laps): 1. 57 Damon Paul, 2. 20 Alex Bright, 3. 21 Carmen Perigo Jr, 4. 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr, 5. 11 Mike Thompson, 6. 75 Lou Cicconi, 7. 19 Steven Drevicki, 8. 23m Kenny Miller, 10. 88J Joey Amantea, 11. 10M Mike Meyers, 12. 7 Ed Aikin, 13. 67 Jason Cherry, 14. 38S Tom Savage, 15. 12w Troy Fraker, 16. 32 Colin White, 17. 3BC Nash Ely.
Feature Lap Leaders: Carmen Perigo Jr (1-15), Damon Paul (16-25).
Penske Shocks $100 Winner: Damon Paul
Penske Shocks $50 Winner: Alex Bright
Penske Shocks $25 Winner: Carmen Perigo Jr
Ultra Shield 3rd Place: Carmen Perigo Jr
Ultra Shield 6th Place: Lou Cicconi
Vahlco Wheels Hard Charger: Kenny Miller lll (16th to 8th)
USAC East Coast Points Standings Following Saturday:
20 Alex Bright 934
5G Briggs Danner 925 (-9)
Nash Ely 685 (-249)
Damon Paul 672 (-262)
Tommy Kunsman 595 (-339)
Joey Amantea 585 (-249)
Bruce Buckwalter Jr 581 (-353)
Steven Drevicki 579 (-355)
Mike Thompson 561 (-373)
Chris Allen Jr 543 (-391)
TRI-STATE FINALE GOES TO GRANT,
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK CROWN IS ALL KTJ'S
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Haubstadt, Indiana (July 31, 2021)………It's a rare instance when both the first and second-place finishers of a race can celebrate in unison for their own, separate personal accomplishments.
For Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr., that was the scene on Saturday night following the finale for USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week By AMSOIL at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt.
Both veteran racers cut their own slice of triumph, one as a race winner at a track that has been a longtime nemesis, and another who reached the zenith of his racing summer.
Grant bookended the beginning and end of the seven-race ISW slate with a feature win at Kokomo to start and a Tri-State feature win to conclude the 34th annual edition of the series while Thomas capped the points race with a crown as the ISW champion for the second time in his career, and for the first time since 2017.
"We had some issues through the middle of sprint week," Grant acknowledged after leading the final 29 laps of the 30-lap race aboard his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy. "We started it with a win and ended it with a win. It was good, and we won a race at Haubstadt. I can't believe it!"
Only five other drivers had won both the first and the last feature race during a single Indiana Sprint Week, and the first to do it in 17 years. Danny Smith was the first to accomplish the feat in 1989, followed by Kelly Kinser in 1994, Dave Darland in 1998, Cory Kruseman in 2002 and J.J. Yeley in 2004.
Grant's 26th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory worth $6,000 moved him past Steve Butler, Jay Drake and Parnelli Jones on the all-time list and into a tie for 22nd with Tony Elliott and Dave Steele.
There's never a dull moment at Tri-State, for as easily as you think you have it handled, there's something always there to contend with whether it's the unpredictable nature of the style of racing on the 1/4-mile paperclip or the fact that traffic seems to come up quickly, even for a leader who was as "checked out" as Grant was.
"There were a couple times where I was all squirrelled up," Grant remembered. "Fortunately, the thing would get digging and drive again. It certainly wasn't the prettiest race I've ever won but it was enough to get the job done."
Jackie Young, just days removed from earning a gold medal for Women's 3x3 basketball at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, presented the winner's trophy to Grant in victory lane.
A succession of middling finishes throughout the past decade had Grant searching for answers on how to run up front at Tri-State. The answer came to him via his father-in-law, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame driver and ace wrench turner Bubby Jones, who assisted Grant in a number of manners prior to his passing in 2020.
"He's not with us, but I've got to thank Bubby," Grant recognized. "He knew how to get around here. He gave me a setup to run here a few years back and we were really fast, but I crashed the thing. We struggled and I kind of got away from it, then went back to the notebook and put Bubby's set up back on it. It's got Bubby's ladder and Bubby's shocks. It's got the whole Bub tech tune. He's not here, but I wish he was."
Both Grant's and Thomas' paths to victory intersected each other throughout the race with Thomas leading the first lap from his outside front row starting position just before fourth-starting Grant power surged under Thomas in turn four to gain the lead on the very next lap.
Entering the 30-lap feature, Grant found himself on the outside looking in in terms of an Indiana Sprint Week title with five drivers remaining eligible. Logan Seavey led by nine with Brady Bacon nine back in second, Thomas third (-10), Tanner Thorson (-26) and C.J. Leary (-46).
Seavey was mired mid-pack throughout much of the feature. Earlier in heat race number two, Seavey was caught up in an incident that put him behind the eight ball for the remainder of the night, flipping his machine and necessitating a run through the semi-feature.
Previous night's Bloomington Speedway winner Bacon faced a slightly different variation of struggledom in his own right at Tri-State with the team missing out on hot laps while they were busy swapping out the engine for another bullet prior to qualifying. A qualifying run chock full of challenges tested the team throughout the night, ultimately positioning themselves on the tail for the feature where they subsequently charged from 22nd to finish 8th, a valiant effort to capture KSE Racing Products Hard Chargers honors, but only enough to get to second in the final ISW standings.
Meanwhile, Kevin Thomas Jr. was in about as good of a position as you could ask for, sitting outside the front row for the main event where simply maintaining the position throughout the duration, while easier said than done, would put him in a prime position for the title.
That quest for Thomas very nearly became his undoing when the lapped car of Cole Bodine spun sideways in turn four on the 17th lap, right in front of Thomas, who narrowly escaped getting collected.
Down the stretch, and on multiple restarts, nobody had an answer for Grant, or for Thomas for that matter, who remained between a half second and a full second behind Grant who strummed his way through a bevy of traffic to score his series-leading fifth feature win of the year by a margin of 0.814 over Thomas.
Thomas' second place finish was more than good enough to clinch the title by 17 points over Bacon, with Seavey, Thorson and Grant rounding out the top-five. Thomas' $10,000 prize for winning the Indiana Sprint Week championship was accompanied by the traditional rocker going to the ISW championship team, which is a hand-built creation constructed out of cherry wood, series #036, by John Youngs and is serial #036.
As it panned out, Thomas was the lone driver who finished inside the top-five of the final 2021 ISW point standings not to win a race during the series. Once again, for the fourth consecutive year, the Indiana Sprint Week champion driver went winless throughout their run following Chris Windom (2018), C.J. Leary (2019) and Chase Stockon (2020).
Funny enough, Thomas remains the only ISW champion to also win a feature during the same week since doing so in 2017. It's a monumental task to put up seven straight nights of successful runs without a major mechanical failure, accident or any other occurrence that can take the whole operation off the rails, especially with the competition level being what it is. Thomas and team were sublime in getting the job done in the KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
"You've just got to be consistent with these guys," Thomas explained. "They're just so balls out every time they get around you. They're all wanting to win the race. (My crew) stayed consistent and kept their composure. We all know that I don't do that very well, so I'm glad I have those guys behind my back as well as my wife to talk me back down from certain circumstances on the way home.
"You have bad nights and people that are really fast have bad nights," Thomas continued. "Brady had an engine issue that set him back for the night. You've just got to be at the right place at the right time and we had a good solid week. That was good enough to win and I'm so proud of everybody, our team, our sponsors, it's just so much fun. I love doing this, and to win another Sprint Week is really special."
Behind Grant and Thomas at the finish line were Chase Stockon from nearby Fort Branch, Ind. who finished off a rollercoaster ride of a week by equaling his best finish of the season with a third after they switched to a different chassis than the one he had campaigned throughout the first six ISW events, wheeling the KO Motorsports/Hutson John Deere – Superior Tank & Trailer – Ravens/Velocity/Fisher Chevy to the podium.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 31, 2021 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT ONE: 1. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-13.590; 2. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.686; 3. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-13.743; 4. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-13.767; 5. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.777; 6. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-13.807; 7. Kent Schmidt, 5K, KO-13.823; 8. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-13.963; 9. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-14.016; 10. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.037; 11. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.160; 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.243; 13. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-14.320; 14. Sam Scott, 7s, Scott-14.431; 15. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.451; 16. Chet Williams, 38, Williams-14.487; 17. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-15.165; 18. Ryan Bond, 7R, Bond-15.381; 19. Charles Davis Jr., 47D, Davis-NT.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT TWO: 1. Kendall Ruble, 17, Ruble-13.969; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.982; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-13.985; 4. Stephen Schnapf, 11, Martin-14.002; 5. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.069; 6. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-14.076; 7. Chase Johnson, 22, Goodnight-14.105; 8. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-14.229; 9. A.J. Hopkins, 04, Burton-14.292; 10. Stan Beadles, 84, Beadles-14.294; 11. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-14.364; 12. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-14.367; 13. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.444; 14. Critter Malone, 7, Seven-14.472; 15. Dustin Clark, 75, Clark-14.638; 16. Alec Sipes, 99, Sipes-14.697; 17. Dylan Moan, 17D, Moan-15.578; 18. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-15.663.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Kent Schmidt, 7. Stevie Sussex, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Alex Banales. 2:16.021
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jason McDougal, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Chet Williams, 7. Sam Scott, 8. Logan Seavey, 9. Ryan Bond. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Kendall Ruble, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. A.J. Hopkins, 6. Chase Johnson, 7. Dustin Clark, 8. Cole Bodine, 9. Dylan Moan. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Short, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Chris Gansen, 4. Stephen Schnapf, 5. Critter Malone, 6. Thomas Meseraull, 7. Stan Beadles, 8. Alec Sipes, 9. Aric Gentry. 2:20.315
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Aric Gentry, 3. Kent Schmidt, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Cole Bodine, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Critter Malone, 8. A.J. Hopkins, 9. Stan Beadles, 10. Stevie Sussex, 11. Chase Johnson, 12. Dustin Clark, 13. Sam Scott, 14. Alec Sipes, 15. Ryan Bond, 16. Dylan Moan, 17. Chet Williams, 18. Brandon Mattox, 19. Thomas Meseraull. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (4), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 3. Chase Stockon (5), 4. Kyle Cummins (9), 5. Tanner Thorson (7), 6. C.J. Leary (3), 7. Jadon Rogers (10), 8. Brady Bacon (22), 9. Brady Short (8), 10. Kendall Ruble (6), 11. Robert Ballou (18), 12. Jake Swanson (17), 13. Jason McDougal (1), 14. Logan Seavey (13), 15. Chris Windom (12), 16. Chris Gansen (21), 17. Cole Bodine (19), 18. Stephen Schnapf (11), 19. Kent Schmidt (15), 20. Aric Gentry (14), 21. Shane Cottle (16), 22. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (20). NT
**Logan Seavey flipped during the second heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 2-30 Justin Grant.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1826, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1770, 3-Justin Grant-1755, 4-C.J. Leary-1606, 5-Tanner Thorson-1580, 6-Robert Ballou-1531, 7-Chris Windom-1508, 8-Jake Swanson-1494, 9-Chase Stockon-1168, 10-Kyle Cummins-934.
FINAL USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK BY AMSOIL POINTS: 1-Kevin Thomas Jr.-486, 2-Brady Bacon-469, 3-Logan Seavey-464, 4-Tanner Thorson-461, 5-Justin Grant-452, 6-C.J. Leary-438, 7-Kyle Cummins-424, 8-Jake Swanson-408, 9-Chris Windom-371, 10-Robert Ballou-353.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-111, 2-Tanner Thorson-110, 3-Brady Bacon-110, 4-Robert Ballou-97, 5-Chris Windom-96, 6-Thomas Meseraull-95, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-85, 8-Logan Seavey-76, 9-Kyle Cummins-68, 10-Buddy Kofoid-63.
FINAL INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Stevie Sussex-52, 2-Brady Bacon-51, 3-Justin Grant-46, 4-Kyle Cummins-45, 5-Shane Cottle-41, 6-Chris Windom-36, 7-Chase Stockon-36, 8-Tanner Thorson-30, 9-Logan Seavey-26, 10-Max Guilford-26.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 22, 2021 – Paragon Speedway – Paragon, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Chase Stockon
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Jadon Rogers
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Jason McDougal
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Brady Short
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jadon Rogers
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Brady Bacon (22nd to 8th)
ProSource Hard Work Award: Brady Bacon
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Jason McDougal
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Critter Malone
BACON FINDS REDEMPTION AT BLOOMINGTON'S SHELDON KINSER MEMORIAL
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bloomington, Indiana (July 30, 2021)………Twenty-four hours earlier, Brady Bacon and the Dynamics, Inc. crew experienced the lowest of lows when a magneto issue knocked the team out of the feature at Lincoln Park Speedway before the green flag had even been waved.
Twenty-four hours later, the team was standing in victory lane, celebrating its first series victory in more than three months on Friday night following the Sheldon Kinser Memorial, the sixth and penultimate round of the 34th annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL at Bloomington Speedway.
Once again, resiliency from the Bacon/Hoffman/Dynamics camp was on full display, as for the second year in a row, the team endured a similar magneto fate at Lincoln Park one night, then bounced back the following evening with a feature victory for the Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy.
"It's just a testament to the whole Hoffman team," Bacon praised. "When something goes wrong, we put our noses down and keep working. We know we're doing the right thing, it's just that sometimes things get out of your control. You just can't get down about it. You just plug away and keep trying."
Bacon's 38th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory was a special one indeed. The triumph broke a tie the Broken Arrow, Okla. native held with the race's namesake, Sheldon Kinser, for ninth all-time.
The victory also proved special as it thrusted Bacon back into the thick of the Indiana Sprint Week championship race following heartache the night prior that dropped him from first to fourth. Heading into Saturday's finale at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Bacon now rides just 12 points behind point leader Logan Seavey in his quest to earn a first ISW crown since 2016.
Despite having not won a USAC National Sprint Car feature since April 22 at Pennsylvania's Grandview Speedway, Bacon had constantly found himself in contention at the front, as proven by recording a series-high 22 top-fives throughout his first 25 starts. As proven time and time again, even when the racing gods weren't exactly on their side for the night, the team found a way to plug away and find success substantially more often than not.
"Sometimes the racing luck just doesn't go your way," Bacon acknowledged. "We just know that it's coming. It comes in waves. Some guys have good luck like Seavey went on a tear and started in the front every night and was able to capitalize and win. We're able to grind it out even if we get dealt a bad hand and able to get a good finish when we're capable of doing that. That's how we're going to try to win this championship. If we get lucky, we might even pull off Sprint Week."
Bacon started fifth in the 22-car, 30-lap main event and had a front row seat for a tumultuous first lap which saw the front row of pole sitter C.J. Leary and Chris Windom take the fight side-by-side through turns one and two.
Atop the turn two cushion on the opening lap, Windom become airborne, landed on all fours and spun 180 degrees to a stop in an incident nearly reminiscent of the much-ballyhooed altercation between Leary and Thorson on Thursday at Lincoln Park. Windom restarted from the tail and worked his way back to a 12th place finish at the checkered.
During the first third of the event, it became a three-car breakaway at the front with Leary leading fourth starting Kyle Cummins and Bacon. Bacon worked tirelessly on Cummins for the second position, and with the three running nose-to-tail, Bacon managed to slide up in front of Cummins exiting turn four to slot right in between the first and third place cars.
Closing in on the tail end of traffic on lap 13, third-running Cummins fell away from contention momentarily as he lost his footing over the turn two banking and dropped back into the distance.
Two laps later, on the 15th circuit, the same fate befell race leader Leary who found himself over the edge in turn two, losing the top spot to Bacon who raced by underneath, then subsequently dropped to third four laps later as Cummins charged his way back into the runner-up spot.
Meanwhile, sixth-starting Tanner Thorson had navigated his way up into the thick of the battle by racing past Leary in traffic for the third position on lap 23 amid his pursuit of a second-straight win after racing to victory the night before.
Leary reemerged in front of Thorson with a bottom side maneuver off turn four to lead by a car length at the line on lap 24. However, Thorson cut back under Leary off turn two on lap 25 to retake second, then had Leary pinned on the bottom behind the lapped car of Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier Brent Beauchamp between the third and fourth turn.
While Bacon desperately tried to navigate a path by a three-wide swath of lapped traffic at the back end of the field, his nearest pursuant Thorson's run in second was short-lived, however, as, one lap later, Thorson's bid for a repeat victory came to a halt when his right rear tire gave way on the back straightaway, necessitating the yellow flag. Thorson returned with a new right rear tire to finish 15th, suffering a severe crimp in his hopes for an Indiana Sprint Week championship in his first attempt.
Despite finding himself in a whirlwind logjam, a yellow flag to clear the path wasn't necessarily the thing Bacon wanted to see at that moment. Everything else, however, fit him to a T on this particular night.
"The yellow at the end kind of worried me because I had a pretty good rhythm going even despite the lapped traffic," Bacon explained. "I think I was about to pick through them. We've worked really hard on (our slick track program) and, for the first part of this week, we didn't get to utilize much of it. The tracks were pretty hammer down and put us out of our comfort zone a little bit. But tonight, it was pretty slick."
During the final five-lap sprint to the checkered flag, Bacon went undeniably unchallenged as he scored his third series victory of the year and his second with the USAC National Sprint Cars at Bloomington, and first since 2019, by a 1.448 second margin over Kyle Cummins, C.J. Leary and Kevin Thomas Jr. with Robert Ballou rounding out the top-five.
"I look forward to this race during Indiana Sprint Week every year; we're usually pretty good here," Bacon acknowledged. "The cushion made me a little nervous because that's not really our forte. We kind of put all our eggs in the slick basket and it worked out for us."
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) earned his best result of 2021 Indiana Sprint Week with a second-place finish in his Rock Steady Racing/Mid-America Safety Solutions – Project Oversight/Mach-1/Cummins Chevy, recovering from a bitterly disappointing end the night before at Lincoln Park when a last lap incident negated what was going to be a top-five finish.
"Brady is really, really good here running right through the middle; I don't know how he does it," Cummins pondered. "I tried a little bit and, a couple times, I felt like I had a little bit of grip. His drive off and side bite on the straightaway is unbelievable.
All in all, it was a pretty good night for us," Cummins continued. "We struggled a little bit in the heat race, and we made some changes. Starting up front is a huge deal. Any of these USAC races, starting up front is a big deal. I was doing all I could do around the top, and when he came by me, I changed my shocks, changed my line a little bit, and it just didn't seem to help. There at the end, I thought maybe I had a little bit of something, and then he just pulled away from me. He's really good here and we just need to get our car a little bit better, then we can start clicking off some wins."
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) finished third for the second consecutive night aboard his Michael Motorsports/Kodiak Products – Gray Auto – Valvoline/DRC/Cressman Ford after leading the first 14 laps of the 30-lap affair.
"We just didn't get the car quite tight enough," Leary admitted. "This is Indiana Sprint Week. These guys are tough. I felt like I could roll the bottom there at the end and maybe get Kyle back. I knew Brady was going to be too good the way he was rolling right through the middle. I want to apologize to Chris Windom for missing the bottom a little bit there on the start and sliding up. We didn't really make contact, but I feel like I may have scared him a bit and he got into the cushion."
Brent Beauchamp (Fairland, Ind.) earned his third career Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifying time with the USAC National Sprint Cars and his first during Indiana Sprint Week since the series opener in 2012 at Gas City I-69 Speedway.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 30, 2021 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL – Sheldon Kinser Memorial
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Brent Beauchamp, 29, LB-11.273; 2. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-11.289; 3. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.342; 4. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-11.363; 5. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-11.375; 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-11.402; 7. Charles Davis Jr., 47D, Davis-11.426; 8. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-11.433; 9. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-11.445; 10. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-11.446; 11. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Parker-11.463; 12. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-11.466; 13. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-11.479; 14. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-11.487; 15. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-11.491; 16. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-11.497; 17. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-11.538; 18. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-11.579; 19. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-11.590; 20. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-11.608; 21. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-11.619; 22. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-11.631; 23. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-11.669; 24. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-11.669; 25. Chase Jonson, 22, Goodnight-11.675; 26. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-11.725; 27. A.J. Hopkins, 04, Burton-11.866; 28. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-11.877; 29. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-11.889; 30. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-11.934; 31. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-11.991; 32. Dickie Gaines, 44, Soudrette-12.100; 33. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-12.130; 34. Dustin Clark, 75, Clark-12.145; 35. Carson Short, 2E, Epperson-12.169; 36. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, Gilbert-12.384.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Chase Johnson, 5. Brady Short, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Jadon Rogers, 8. Kyle Edwards, 9. Brent Beauchamp. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Stevie Sussex, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Sterling Cling, 7. Dustin Clark, 8. Chris Gansen, 9. Alex Banales. 2:09.30
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. A.J. Hopkins, 4. Tye Mihocko, 5. Braydon Cromwell, 6. Carson Short, 7. Charles Davis Jr., 8. Max Guilford, 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Jason McDougal, 6. Cole Bodine, 7. Dickie Gaines, 8. Gabriel Gilbert, 9. Anthony D'Alessio. 2:10.70
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. Brent Beauchamp, 4. Braydon Cromwell, 5. Brady Short, 6. Cole Bodine, 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 9. Dickie Gaines, 10. Dustin Clark, 11. Alex Banales, 12. Chris Gansen, 13. Gabriel Gilbert, 14. Kyle Edwards, 15. Brandon Mattox, 16. Charles Davis Jr., 17. Anthony D'Alessio, 18. Max Guilford, 19. Jason McDougal, 20. Carson Short. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (5), 2. Kyle Cummins (4), 3. C.J. Leary (1), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 5. Robert Ballou (7), 6. Shane Cottle (15), 7. Logan Seavey (12), 8. Jake Swanson (10), 9. Jadon Rogers (13), 10. A.J. Hopkins (21), 11. Chase Stockon (8), 12. Chris Windom (2), 13. Justin Grant (22), 14. Tye Mihocko (14), 15. Tanner Thorson (6), 16. Braydon Cromwell (19), 17. Brent Beauchamp (11), 18. Stevie Sussex (16), 19. Cole Bodine (17), 20. Brady Short (18), 21. Chase Johnson (20), 22. Thomas Meseraull (9). NT
**Max Guilford flipped during the semi.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 C.J. Leary, Laps 15-30 Brady Bacon.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1772, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1696, 3-Justin Grant-1678, 4-C.J. Leary-1542, 5-Tanner Thorson-1514, 6-Robert Ballou-1484, 7-Chris Windom-1466, 8-Jake Swanson-1449, 9-Chase Stockon-1092, 10-Kyle Cummins-865.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK BY AMSOIL POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-427, 2-Brady Bacon-415, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-412, 4-Tanner Thorson-395, 5-Justin Grant-375, 6-C.J. Leary-374, 7-Jake Swanson-363, 8-Kyle Cummins-355, 9-Chris Windom-329, 10-Robert Ballou-306.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-108, 2-Justin Grant-108, 3-Brady Bacon-96, 4-Chris Windom-96, 5-Thomas Meseraull-95, 6-Robert Ballou-90, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-85, 8-Logan Seavey-76, 9-Buddy Kofoid-63, 10-Kyle Cummins-63.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 31, 2021 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Braydon Cromwell
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Brent Beauchamp
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Stockon
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Jake Swanson
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Logan Seavey
KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger: A.J. Hopkins (21st to 10th)
ProSource Hard Work Award: A.J. Hopkins
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Justin Grant
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Sterling Cling
HIGH DRAMA AT LINCOLN PARK: THORSON THRILLS IN INDIANA SPRINT WEEK ROUND #5
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (July 29, 2021)………High heat, high emotion and high intensity were the main ingredients of a dramatic ending between drivers Tanner Thorson and C.J. Leary during Thursday night's USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week By AMSOIL feature event at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind.
A last lap caution set up a green-white-checkered finish that Tanner Thorson utilized for one last shot. On the lap 30 restart, Thorson slid from the bottom of turn one up toward the top of turn two while Leary occupied the high side, nestled snugly against the cushion.
While the two were dead even, wheel-to-wheel near the top of turn two, Leary's car biked on the curb, getting both left side wheels airborne before landing on all fours and skidding at the exit atop the second turn. Thorson raced by underneath to take over the lead while Windom followed suit to second, although Leary briefly returned to the runner-up spot on the 31st and final lap before Windom retook the spot off turn two.
Thorson, who had earlier posted his second Fatheadz Eyewear fast qualifying time of Indiana Sprint Week, led just the final two laps in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – CSI – Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Stanton Chevy, crossing under the double checkers 0.707 seconds ahead of Windom, Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Logan Seavey.
Seavey possessed a three-race Indiana Sprint Week winning streak coming into Lincoln Park as he attempted to equal Jon Stanbrough's record of four consecutive ISW victories over the course of 2006 and 2007.
But on this night, it was Thorson's turn in just about the most dramatic of ways imaginable as Leary unbelted, hopped out of his car and made a beeline to "greet" Thorson in victory lane while Leary's racecar continued to roll across the infield driverless until petering out halfway across the 5/16-mile dirt oval.
As Thorson came to a stop to celebrate, Leary put his foot down, quite literally, on the nose of Thorson's car. Immediately, Thorson rose from his seat and the two exchanged blunt words, muffled only by the protection of their head sock and helmet, while also gesturing their displeasure quite animatedly.
Just as Seavey did last Sunday at Lawrenceburg, Thorson followed up his June Indiana Midget Week feature score at Lincoln Park with an Indiana Sprint Week win at the same venue in July. By doing so, Thorson became fourth ever driver to earn both victories at the same track in the same season, joining Seavey, Jerry Coons Jr. at Kamp Motor Speedway in 2007 and Bryan Clauson at Bloomington Speedway in 2013.
As with many situations in auto racing, one driver has an opinion on what went down while the other may have the complete opposite view from their vantage point. This particular occasion was no exception.
"I was going to apologize to C.J. for cutting it close, but he did the same thing at Path Valley," Thorson said. "I was just kind of waiting for him to (make a mistake). He just kept getting tighter and tighter on the top. He probably could've crossed me back over, been back in the lead and won the damn thing. Hats off to my guys. (Crew chief Tyler Ransbottom) has been working really, really hard to get me more and more comfortable. This 19AZ is on rails. It's clicking."
On the other hand, despite earning his best finish of Indiana Sprint Week and his best result with the series since winning at Lincoln Park back on July 2, Leary wasn't too peachy when all was said and done. The Greenfield, Ind. racer was in the driver's seat of another likely victory after leading a race-high 23 laps that resulted in a bitterly unfulfilling third-place finish in his Michael Motorsports/Kodiak Products – Gray Auto – Valvoline/DRC/Cressman Ford.
Likewise to Thorson, Leary had his opinion on the interaction with he and Thorson at the end.
"We had the fastest car," Leary said matter of factly. "Tanner Thorson, no respect. He drives everybody in the midget ranks like that and he's beginning to drive everybody in the sprint car ranks like that. Us sprint car drivers ain't going to buy that."
Thorson started his 30-lap race from the sixth position. Up front for the first six laps of the race was pole sitter Cole Bodine, only interrupted by the first terse interaction of the feature on lap four when Robert Ballou and Justin Grant contacted each other for the 10th position, sending Grant spinning to a stop.
On the lap five restart, Leary mounted a challenge toward Bodine for the lead, sliding by between turns three and four before Bodine cut back under off turn four to reestablish the top spot. However, on the seventh go-around, Leary stuck the bottom of turns one and two to secure the spot from Bodine.
Thorson, meanwhile, worked his way by Kevin Thomas Jr. for third on lap eight and overtook Bodine on the bottom of turn three soon after for the runner-up position on the 10th lap and began his pursuit of Leary and the race lead.
Leary and the trailing Thorson split their way through the lapped traffic with less than 10 laps to go, with Leary picking and grinning his way through a potential minefield that can spell disaster if not dissected properly.
It nearly did on lap 26 for leader Leary. While racing for the 12th spot with five laps remaining, Grant and Bodine connected in turn one with Grant climbing over Bodine's left side tires, sending both spinning to a stop in the middle of the racetrack, which also collected 16th running Brandon Mattox in the process. Leary was just a car width to the outside of the incident, and narrowly avoided them all, as did Stevie Sussex.
Sussex wound up with B & W Auto Mart / KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors by finishing 9th after starting 22nd while Grant and Bodine carved their way back through the field to finish 8th and 11th, respectively.
Resuming with just five to go and a clear track ahead of him, Leary appeared to have the race fully in control until a final lap accident halted Shane Cottle (5th) and Chase Stockon (6th) at the flag stand. Sitting backwards with terminal damage to his ride, Cottle spotted Thomas driving by during the yellow flag and fired his steering wheel at Thomas' car.
That set up the final restart which led Thorson getting one last shot, elevating him to the spot and driving away to his third victory of the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season, and his USAC-leading seventh combined win of the season between the National Sprint Cars and NOS Energy Drink National Midgets.
Splitting between the fracas of Thorson and Leary on the final restart was Chris Windom in his Hayward Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Byrd – B & H Contractors – AMSOIL/DRC/Claxton Mopar. Starting 11th, the Canton, Ill. native moved around the surface, running the diamond pattern to advance nine positions in the field and very nearly took advantage of all that transpired at the end, coming up one spot short of his first series win since May.
"I don't know what those two did," Windom said of the Thorson and Leary incident. I was coming across the bottom when I saw those two up there together. I wanted to try to throw a bomb on both of them but I kind of misjudged it and went back to the top. Overall, it was a great night for us. We had to come out of the semi-feature, then came from the fifth row up to second there in the feature. We get one step closer every night. We finished 3rd last night and 2nd tonight. We'll just go to Bloomington tomorrow and win, I guess."
Logan Seavey has taken over the point lead of Indiana Sprint Week with two races remaining on Friday, July 30 at Bloomington Speedway and on Saturday, July 31 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt. Seavey holds a 15-point lead over Thorson with Kevin Thomas Jr. third, 22 points back.
Brady Bacon had led the Indiana Sprint Week points standings for the high majority of time thus far. However, on Thursday at Lincoln Park, Bacon did not even get the chance to take the green flag for the feature due to a mag issue after his car sheared a roll pin while pushing out for the feature, concluding Bacon's run of 13 consecutive top-five finishes with the series dating back to May 8.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 29, 2021 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT ONE: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.553; 2. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.627; 3. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-12.634; 4. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-12.699; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.821; 6. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-12.864; 7. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.943; 8. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.048; 9. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.061; 10. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-13.075; 11. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.126; 12. Brandon Spencer, 22s, Spencer-13.235; 13. Charles Davis Jr., 47D, Davis-13.248; 14. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-13.260; 15. Chase Johnson, 22, Goodnight-13.290; 16. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-13.299; 17. A.J. Hopkins, 04, Burton-13.430; 18. Shane Cockrum, 17G, On The Gass-13.505; 19. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-13.561; 20. Alec Sipes, 99, Sipes-13.651; 21. Dickie Gaines, 44, Soudrette-13.684; 22. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-13.688; 23. Jake Scott, 33, Miller-13.830; 24. Dan Clodfelter, 19c, Clodfelter-13.965.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT TWO: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-12.676; 2. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-12.866; 3. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-12.877; 4. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-12.882; 5. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-12.971; 6. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.992; 7. Colten Cottle, 5c, Cottle-13.091; 8. Carson Short, 2E, Epperson-13.135; 9. Brent Beauchamp, 34, Olson-13.267; 10. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.293; 11. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-13.311; 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-13.349; 13. Matt McDonald, 5mc, McDonald-13.362; 14. Harley Burns, 16, Burns-13.396; 15. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-13.412; 16. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-13.440; 17. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-13.539; 18. Shey Owens, 17s, Owens-13.568; 19. Evan Mosley, 27, Mosley-13.574; 20. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, Gilbert-13.703; 21. Jessica Swanson, 5T, Daming-13.809; 22. Ryan Bond, 7R, Bond-NT; 23. Tye Mihocko, 47, Eades-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Chase Johnson, 8. A.J. Hopkins, 9. Alex Banales, 10. Jake Scott, 11. Charles Davis Jr., 12. Dickie Gaines. 2:09.325 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Jason McDougal, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Anthony D'Alessio, 7. Shane Cockrum, 8. Braydon Cromwell, 9. Brandon Spencer, 10. Kyle Edwards, 11. Dan Clodfelter, 12. Alec Sipes. 2:13.982
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Chris Gansen, 3. Brent Beauchamp, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Brayden Fox, 6. Stevie Sussex, 7. Colten Cottle, 8. Matt McDonald, 9. Thomas Meseraull, 10. Jessica Swanson. 2:16.135
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brandon Mattox, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Cole Bodine, 5. Carson Short, 6. Max Guilford, 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 8. Harley Burns, 9. Gabriel Gilbert. 2:19.861
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Braydon Cromwell, 2. A.J. Hopkins, 3. Max Guilford, 4. Shane Cockrum, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Jake Scott, 7. Gabriel Gilbert, 8. Kyle Edwards, 9. Alex Banales, 10. Dan Clodfelter, 11. Jessica Swanson, 12. Dickie Gaines. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Carson Short, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Brandon Spencer, 6. Stevie Sussex, 7. Chase Johnson, 8. Colten Cottle, 9. Charles Davis Jr., 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 11. Brayden Fox, 12. Shane Cockrum, 13. A.J. Hopkins, 14. Braydon Cromwell, 15. Max Guilford, 16. Harley Burns, 17. Matt McDonald, 18. Anthony D'Alessio. NT
FEATURE: (31 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (6), 2. Chris Windom (11), 3. C.J. Leary (3), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 5. Logan Seavey (4), 6. Jason McDougal (2), 7. Jake Swanson (10), 8. Justin Grant (12), 9. Stevie Sussex (22), 10. Jadon Rogers (13), 11. Cole Bodine (1), 12. Chase Stockon (15), 13. Kyle Cummins (8), 14. Brent Beauchamp (17), 15. Robert Ballou (14), 16. Brandon Spencer (21), 17. Matt Westfall (19), 18. Brandon Mattox (9), 19. Carson Short (16), 20. Chris Gansen (20), 21. Shane Cottle (18), 22. Brady Bacon (7). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Cole Bodine, Laps 7-29 C.J. Leary, Laps 30-31 Tanner Thorson.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1693, 2-Justin Grant-1636, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1628, 4-C.J. Leary-1471, 5-Tanner Thorson-1470, 6-Chris Windom-1420, 7-Robert Ballou-1418, 8-Jake Swanson-1392, 9-Chase Stockon-1043, 10-Paul Nienhiser-859.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK BY AMSOIL POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-366, 2-Tanner Thorson-351, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-344, 4-Brady Bacon-336, 5-Justin Grant-333, 6-Jake Swanson-306, 7-C.J. Leary-303, 8-Chris Windom-283, 9-Kyle Cummins-280, 10-Jason McDougal-252.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-108, 2-Justin Grant-99, 3-Chris Windom-96, 4-Thomas Meseraull-95, 5-Brady Bacon-92, 6-Robert Ballou-88, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-85, 8-Logan Seavey-71, 9-Buddy Kofoid-63, 10-Kyle Cummins-61.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 30, 2021 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL – Sheldon Kinser Memorial
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Cole Bodine & Jason McDougal
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Brady Bacon
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Brandon Mattox
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts / Hoosier Auto Race Fans Semi Winner:
KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger: Stevie Sussex (22nd to 9th)
ProSource Hard Work Award: Stevie Sussex
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Kyle Cummins
American Racing Ministries Final Transfer: Stevie Sussex
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Chase Johnson
Hoosier Auto Race Fans C-Main Winner: Braydon Cromwell
HAT TRICK! SEAVEY WINS 3RD STRAIGHT USAC
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RACE AT TERRE HAUTE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Terre Haute, Indiana (July 28, 2021)………Logan Seavey entered the start of this past week with just two career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature wins in a span of 50 starts.
In his three most recent series starts, the Sutter, California native has surpassed his entire win output throughout his first three seasons by scoring his third consecutive victory on Wednesday night at the Terre Haute Action Track, round four of NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL.
Seavey's trifecta of victories began Sunday at Lawrenceburg Speedway, continued Monday at Gas City I-69 Speedway and now has reached official "streak" status with his third win in his last three tries, leading all 30 laps at Terre Haute aboard the Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy.
The third win of Seavey's personal hat trick was special in a myriad of manners, but most of all, it came at Terre Haute, a place in which so few have tamed throughout its 60-plus year history. A win at this place is something special, something memorable, something remarkable. Seavey was all of those things and more on Wednesday night at the Don Smith Classic.
"To win at Terre Haute is unlike anything I've ever done in my career; this is awesome," Seavey exclaimed. "To beat (Justin) Grant too just makes it that much sweeter. He's one of the best here and I had to run 110 percent every lap to keep him behind us."
Seavey's three-straight Indiana Sprint Week victories puts him in rarified air and are the most since Kevin Thomas Jr. won three consecutively in 2013. Jay Drake also captured three-straight Indiana Sprint Week wins in 2000 as did Cory Kruseman during the 2002 series.
The longest winning streak in Indiana Sprint Week history belongs to Jon Stanbrough with four-in-a-row between 2006-07.
What makes Seavey and Baldwin's ongoing magical ride during the past week even more astounding is that, in their first eight USAC feature starts together since teaming up in early May, the best finish they had managed to this point was a 9th at Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway on July 1. Although, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the multiple wins Seavey and Baldwin have achieved together on the local level this year at Lincoln Park and Kokomo Speedways.
Call it "clicking," hitting your stride," or what have you, but Seavey and the Baldwin team have positioned themselves as the team to beat, although that proposition has been one that other teams have found impossible to accomplish over the past three races.
"I don't know what it is," Seavey admitted. "We've raced a lot around Indiana this year and have been really good. We went to Eastern Storm, and we were not good at all. We were down on confidence quite a bit, then showed up this week and we've just been on kill every lap. I feel like I'm finally running good races again. It's been awhile since I've put some good races together and I feel like I'm finally doing that. I'm just able to show how fast this car is. (Crew chief) Derek (Claxton) is so good, and he deserves every bit of this."
Seavey hooked the pole for the start of the 30-lap feature and quickly established his presence at the front of the field on the opening lap, hugging the inner guardrail as he motored by outside front row starter Nick Bilbee. Meanwhile, fourth starting Justin Grant took the high road past Chase Stockon in turns three and four for third, then laid down a slide job on Bilbee for the second position entering turn one on the second lap.
A two-car break headed by Seavey and Grant forged an unstoppable force in the early going until the ninth lap when Robert Ballou and Eddie Tafoya Jr., running 14th and 15th respectively, simultaneously flipped after contact on the back straightaway. Both drivers were uninjured, but the night was finished prematurely for both.
When the field began to roll once again, it was discovered that third-place running Kevin Thomas Jr. had a flat right front tire. Under the caution, Thomas paid a visit to the work area where the KT Motorsports team went to work, swapping out the tire for another before rejoining the field. Thomas subsequently charged from the tail of the field to finish seventh.
On the ensuing lap nine restart, Grant fired off a slider into turn one, clearing Seavey by three car lengths midway through the corner on his way up to the cushion. Meanwhile, Tanner Thorson pulled completely even with Grant as he worked the bottom. Seavey, now momentarily third, shot the gap exiting turn two and split between both Grant and Thorson to reclaim the lead.
A handful of laps of utter perfection sent Seavey from being on the receiving end of being slid to holding a full two second lead in just a couple of laps. That remained the interval throughout the middle stages of the race. However, with 10 laps to go, Grant, the defending winner of Terre Haute's Indiana Sprint Week feature, began to steadily close the gap a couple tenths at a time.
Down to one second with 10 to go, Grant relentlessly pursued Seavey on the high side as the pair cruised by a steady wave of lapped cars occupying the low line around the inside guardrail.
Five car lengths, four car lengths, three, two and, finally, just one separated the two entering turn one with four laps remaining. Grant never quite found the space to make a slide job attempt a reality with the low line being occupied. A slight blip against the turn two cushion with two laps remaining all but settled the score as precious real estate was lost and the laps tick, tick, ticking away.
Although Grant made up the ground that he lost by the next lap, he couldn't gain back the time. Seavey, on the other hand, had an open E-ZPass lane ahead of him as he navigated the high side around the speedway to lock up yet another feature victory by a 0.756 second margin over Grant.
More than 10 seconds behind the top-two at the finish line was Chris Windom in third with Brady Bacon fourth and Jason McDougal bringing it home fifth after starting 15th, which brought him KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger honors for the evening.
Seavey has quickly put himself into Indiana Sprint Week championship contention with the trio of winning performance, and now stands just four points behind the ultra-consistent Bacon with three races remaining. Right now, Seavey's the unbeatable machine that nobody's been able to stifle over the past week. The amazing run continued Wednesday at Terre Haute, a venue which Seavey conceded was not his forte, until this night, that is.
"I thought, going into this week, that this is probably my worst track on the schedule, and we showed up and won," Seavey noted. "It just goes to show how good these guys are and I'm just glad to be driving it."
Grant (Ione, Calif.) came up just one position short of becoming the second driver to win the Indiana Sprint Week feature at Terre Haute in back-to-back years (Tyler Courtney in 2018-19) aboard his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
"I could reel him in, but I couldn't do much with him once I got to him," Grant acknowledged. "We had a good car, but It was hard for me to do anything. I could get to him but then the exits were kind of slick. So, you were just running on momentum. When I got to him, it was tough to mount enough of a charge to slide him. I thought that one restart was my chance at him there, and I slid by him and got up over the cushion, then he was able to get me back at the other end. That was kind of it. I got tight and up near the fence at that point, then we were having to chase him back down. We could get to him, but I really feel like I could've followed him around another 30 laps. I don't know if we would've been able to do anything with him barring a major mistake out of him, but he didn't make any."
Seven-time Terre Haute USAC National Sprint Car winner Windom (Canton, Ill.) finally reached the "podium" for his first top-three finish with the series since a third at New Jersey's Bridgeport Motorsports Park nine races ago in his Hayward Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Byrd – B & H Contractors – AMSOIL/DRC/Claxton Mopar.
"This is our place, so it's upsetting when we don't win here," Windom stated. "I couldn't get rolling enough there early in the race. Those guys just didn't make any mistakes. Once I got back to third, I felt like I was just as good as them, but I started searching and they got away from me and there was never a caution to try and race them again. I was just searching there a lot, trying to hope a caution would come out and I know where the best line to be was. To get this car back in the top-three feels good and I hope we can click some more off the rest of the week."
In Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying, Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) recorded his series-leading sixth fast time of the season with the series and the 35th of his career, which tied him with Rich Vogler for eighth on the all-time list.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 28, 2021 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL / Don Smith Classic
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-20.039; 2. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-20.214; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-20.256; 4. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-20.307; 5. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-20.323; 6. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-20.328; 7. Mario Clouser, 6, EZR-20.403; 8. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-20.436; 9. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-20.516; 10. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-20.520; 11. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-20.565; 12. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-20.571; 13. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-20.638; 14. Cannon McIntosh, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-20.670; 15. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-20.681; 16. Shane Cockrum, 17G, On The Gass-20.698; 17. Chase Johnson, 22, Goodnight-20.712; 18. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-20.736; 19. Tye Mihocko, 47, Eades-20.749; 20. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-20.757; 21. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-20.830; 22. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-20.842; 23. Charles Davis Jr., 47D, Davis-20.933; 24. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-20.940; 25. Riley Kreisel, 91, DKR-20.942; 26. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-20.957; 27. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-20.966; 28. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-20.979; 29. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-21.050; 30. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-21.091; 31. Carson Short, 2E, Epperson-21.097; 32. Chase Jones, 81G, Gray-21.436; 33. Harley Burns, 9, Schepper-21.477; 34. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-21.497; 35. Dan Clodfelter, 19c, Clodfelter-21.997; 36. Ryan Bond, 7R, Bond-22.275.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Chase Johnson, 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Riley Kreisel, 9. Harley Burns. 2:48.84
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 4. Nick Bilbee, 5. Cannon McIntosh, 6. Cole Bodine, 7. Max Guilford, 8. Chris Gansen, 9. Thomas Meseraull. 2:48.74
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tye Mihocko, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Charles Davis Jr., 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Jason McDougal, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Mario Clouser, 8. Carson Short, 9. Dan Clodfelter. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Matt Westfall, 3. Shane Cockrum, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Chase Jones, 7. Jadon Rogers, 8. Ryan Bond, 9. Kyle Cummins. 2:49.72
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Brandon Mattox, 3. Max Guilford, 4. Mario Clouser, 5. Jason McDougal, 6. Kyle Cummins, 7. Chase Johnson, 8. Stevie Sussex, 9. Carson Short, 10. Jadon Rogers, 11. Cole Bodine, 12. Harley Burns, 13. Chris Gansen, 14. Dan Clodfelter, 15. Sterling Cling, 16. Chase Jones, 17. Ryan Bond, 18. Cannon McIntosh. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Justin Grant (4), 3. Chris Windom (7), 4. Brady Bacon (12), 5. Jason McDougal (15), 6. Chase Stockon (3), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 8. Tanner Thorson (8), 9. Shane Cottle (13), 10. C.J. Leary (5), 11. Kyle Cummins (21), 12. Jake Swanson (10), 13. Nick Bilbee (2), 14. Shane Cockrum (16), 15. Tye Mihocko (9), 16. Brandon Mattox (20), 17. Charles Davis Jr. (18), 18. Matt Westfall (19), 19. Mario Clouser (11), 20. Max Guilford (22), 21. Robert Ballou (14), 22. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (17). NT
**Cannon McIntosh flipped during the semi. Sterling Cling flipped during the semi. Robert Ballou & Eddie Tafoya Jr. flipped on lap 9 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Logan Seavey.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1662, 2-Justin Grant-1581, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1556, 4-C.J. Leary-1402, 5-Tanner Thorson-1388, 6-Robert Ballou-1379, 7-Chris Windom-1345, 8-Jake Swanson-1333, 9-Chase Stockon-1003, 10-Paul Nienhiser-859.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK BY AMSOIL POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-305, 2-Logan Seavey-301, 3-Justin Grant-278, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-272, 5-Tanner Thorson-269, 6-Jake Swanson-249, 7-Kyle Cummins-243, 8-C.J. Leary-234, 9-Chris Windom-212, 10-Robert Ballou-201.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-103, 2-Justin Grant-95, 3-Thomas Meseraull-95, 4-Brady Bacon-92, 5-Robert Ballou-88, 6-Chris Windom-87, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-84, 8-Logan Seavey-71, 9-Buddy Kofoid-63, 10-Kyle Cummins-61.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 29, 2021 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Brandon Mattox
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Tye Mihocko
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Logan Seavey
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Jake Swanson
KSE Racing Products / B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger: Jason McDougal (15th to 5th)
ProSource Hard Work Award: Max Guilford
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Nick Bilbee
American Racing Ministries Final Transfer: Kyle Cummins
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Chase Johnson
USAC PARTNERS WITH OPENFENDER, THE WORLD'S FIRST SPONSORSHIP MARKETPLACE FOR MOTORSPORTS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (July 28, 2021)………It's been two years since we've been a witness to a USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL feature at Putnamville, Indiana's Lincoln Park Speedway, with rain washing away last year's activities following the heat races.
It's "back on the saddle" time for the series at Lincoln Park this Thursday night, July 29, at the 5/16-mile dirt oval for round #5 of Indiana Sprint Week, which has been hosted by LPS 22 previous times since the inaugural year of the series in 1988.
Despite the two-year feeling of emptiness from the absence of an Indiana Sprint Week main event at Lincoln Park, the series' drivers and teams have competed four times since with C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) and Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) winning on consecutive nights there just less than four weeks ago. For both drivers, it was their first career Lincoln Park Speedway USAC National Sprint Car feature victory.
Both remain on the quest for a first Indiana Sprint Week triumph at LPS, an achievement that has been recorded by four drivers expected to compete in Thursday night's event. For each, at the time, it was their first USAC win at Lincoln Park.
Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) and Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) both won during Lincoln Park's Indiana Sprint Week round, then went on to win the whole shebang – the Indiana Sprint Week championship – the following year. Ballou won at LPS in 2014 and took the ISW crown in 2015. Bacon did, likewise, notching the LPS 30-lapper in 2015, then the ISW title in 2016. Ballou repeated an ISW win at LPS in 2017.
Brady Short (Bedford, Ind.) snagged the LPS ISW win in 2016 while Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) was lights out in 2019 and is the most recent winner of the event two years ago.
Bacon won twice more at Lincoln Park in 2020 during the Bill Gardner Sprintacular and took the backend of a doubleheader later in the year. He's tied with Ballou for the most ISW scores at LPS among drivers set to race for their fourth on Thursday night, as they both pursue number four. Dave Darland leads all drivers with six ISW LPS victories but will not compete after suffering a stroke back in April of this year.
Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) and Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) can also count themselves as USAC National Sprint Car feature winners at LPS, both doing so recently in 2020. Cottle has also twice won in USAC Midwest Regional Midget competition at Lincoln Park this year.
Winning experience at Lincoln Park is prevalent throughout Thursday's field with A.J. Hopkins, Jason McDougal, Logan Seavey, Jake Swanson, Cannon McIntosh and Tye Mihocko all recording victories on the local level. Hopkins (Brownsburg, Ind.) has won five times already this year at LPS while Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) has collected a pair on his own.
Meanwhile, McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.), McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Mihocko (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) have all won once apiece at Lincoln Park in 2021. Brent Beauchamp (Fairland, Ind.) captured the track championship twice in 2012 and did so again in 2017. Current Lincoln Park Speedway championship point leader Brayden Fox (Avon, Ind.) set quick time in the abbreviated Indiana Sprint Week opener at Gas City I-69 Speedway last Friday.
Tanner Thorson and Chris Windom have connected on USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget successes at Lincoln Park and aim to translate that to their bigger brethren, the sprint cars, on Thursday. Thorson (Minden, Nev.) has won on three occasions in 2016, 2019 and again in June of 2021. Windom (Canton, Ill.) was the victor at LPS during Indiana Midget Week in 2020.
Thursday's NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competing for a $6,000 top prize. Super Stocks are also on the event card.
Pits open at 4:30pm EDT with grandstands opening at 4:30pm, drivers meeting at 6pm and hot laps at 6:30pm followed by qualifying & racing.
General admission grandstand tickets are $30. Kids 10 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members, $35 for non-members & free for kids 10 and under.
Every lap of all seven USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL races will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE:
Saturday, July 24: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN
Sunday, July 25: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN
Monday, July 26: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN
Wednesday, July 28: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN
Thursday, July 29: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN
Friday, July 30: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN
Saturday, July 31: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 7/26/2018 - Brady Bacon - 12.276 - 91.642 mph
6 Laps - 8/23/1997 - Bill Rose - 1:22.90 - 81.423 mph
8 Laps - 7/29/2001 - Bryon Walters - 1:46.75 - 84.309 mph
10 Laps - 7/16/2017 - Chris Windom - 2:10.33 - 86.319 mph
12 Laps - 7/14/2014 - Jon Stanbrough - 2:40.15 - 84.296 mph
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS AT LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY:
6-Dave Darland
2-Robert Ballou, Jay Drake, Jack Hewitt & Cory Kruseman
1-Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, Kyle Cummins, Dickie Gaines, Tim Gee, Brady Short, Danny Smith, Jon Stanbrough & Kevin Thomas
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINNERS AT LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY:
1988: Tim Gee (8/6)
1989: Danny Smith (7/26)
1990: Dave Darland (7/28)
1991: Jack Hewitt (7/25)
1992: Kevin Thomas (8/1)
1997: Jack Hewitt (7/27)
1998: Dave Darland (7/26)
1999: Dave Darland (7/24)
2000: Jay Drake (7/29)
2001: Jon Stanbrough (7/21)
2002: Cory Kruseman (7/20)
2003: Jay Drake (7/19)
2004: Cory Kruseman (7/17)
2005: Dave Darland (7/19)
2012: Dave Darland (7/22)
2013: Bryan Clauson (7/18)
2014: Robert Ballou (7/17)
2015: Brady Bacon (7/16)
2016: Brady Short (7/14)
2017: Robert Ballou (7/16)
2018: Dave Darland (7/26)
2019: Kyle Cummins (7/25)
ALL-TIME LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY USAC SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS
6-Dave Darland
5-Sheldon Kinser
3-Brady Bacon & Robert Ballou
2-Steve Butler, Jerry Coons Jr., Jay Drake, Cory Kruseman & Jon Stanbrough
1-Chuck Amati, Chad Boespflug, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Brad Fox, Dickie Gaines, Jack Hewitt, Kelly Kinser, C.J. Leary, Brady Short, Chase Stockon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
ALL-TIME LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY USAC SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINNERS
1981: Sheldon Kinser (9/16)
1983: Kelly Kinser (5/25) & Sheldon Kinser (8/24)
1984: Chuck Amati (5/23) & Sheldon Kinser (7/18)
1985: Sheldon Kinser (5/4) & Steve Butler (9/7)
1986: Steve Butler (5/17) & Sheldon Kinser (8/23)
1997: Jack Hewitt (7/27) & Dave Darland (8/23)
1998: Dave Darland (7/26) & Brad Fox (8/15)
1999: Dave Darland (7/24)
2000: Jay Drake (7/29)
2001: Jon Stanbrough (7/21)
2002: Cory Kruseman (7/20)
2003: Jay Drake (7/19)
2004: Cory Kruseman (7/17)
2005: Dave Darland (7/19)
2010: Dickie Gaines (7/24) & Jon Stanbrough (9/10)
2012: Dave Darland (7/22)
2013: Chad Boespflug (7/4) & Bryan Clauson (7/18)
2014: Jerry Coons Jr. (7/4) & Robert Ballou (7/17)
2015: Jerry Coons Jr. (7/4) & Brady Bacon (7/16)
2016: Robert Ballou (7/1) & Brady Short (7/14)
2017: Robert Ballou (7/16)
2018: Tyler Courtney (7/6) & Dave Darland (7/26)
2019: Kyle Cummins (7/25)
2020: Shane Cottle (7/3), Brady Bacon (7/4), Chase Stockon (9/12) & Brady Bacon (9/12)
2021: C.J. Leary (7/2) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/3)
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.
PAST INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RESULTS AT LINCOLN PARK SPEEDWAY:
1988 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Tim Gee, 2. Randy Kinser, 3. Terry Shepherd, 4. Kevin Thomas, 5. Tony Elliott, 6. Pete Abel, 7. Eric Gordon, 8. Jeff Donelson, 9. Bob Kinser, 10. Dallas Kinser 1989 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Danny Smith, 2. Randy Kinser, 3. Tray House, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Chuck Amati, 6. Joe Roush, 7. Todd Shields, 8. Eric Gordon, 9. Mike Mann, 10. Kerry Norris, 11. Bill Rose, 12. Dink Glidden, 13. Art Wendt, 14. Steve Imel, 15. Gary Fisher, 16. Shane Kinser, 17. Bob Kinser, 18. Jack Hewitt
1990 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Dave Darland (Darland #36D), 2. Bob Kinser (Bayless #17B), 3. Chuck Amati (Tate #66), 4. Tony Elliott (Winterbotham #6), 5. Dave Peperak (Ram #77), 6. Gary Fisher (Evans #79), 7. Bill Rose (Rose #6), 8. Mark Owsley (Owsley #6x), 9. Gary Trammell (Tate #4), 10. Jim Whiteside (Whiteside #66), 11. Kevin Thomas (Orem #37), 12. Steve Imel (Contos #5c), 13. Terry Pletch (Pletch #29), 14. Ray Kenens (Kenens #K9), 15. Kent Christian (Christian #4x), 16. Jon Stanbrough (Stanbrough #81), 17. Brad Marvel (Black #2m), 18. Scott Fisher
1991 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Jack Hewitt (Murphy #23m), 2. Tony Elliott (Newkirk #17), 3. Dave Darland (Darland #36D), 4. Bill Rose (Rose #6), 5. Mike Mann (Mann #37m), 6. Bob Kinser (Bayless #17B), 7. Dave Peperak (Ram #77), 8. Kevin Thomas (Orem #37), 9. Troy Link (Link #49), 10. Randy Kinser (Hurst #9), 11. Phil Hedges (Hedges #41), 12. Terry Shepherd (Chapman #4N), 13. Gary Trammell (Tate #4), 14. Jim Whiteside (Whiteside #66), 15. Sammy Keen (Keen #11), 16. Gary Fisher (Evans #79), 17. Tim Bookmiller (Bookmiller #42), 18. Sheldon Kinser Jr. (Kinser #2J)
1992 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Kevin Thomas (Hazen #57), 2. Dave Darland (Goacher #5G), 3. Jon Stanbrough (Stanbrough #81), 4. Larry Bland (Tate #66), 5. Joe Roush (Roush #36), 6. Tray House (Frampton #95), 7. Brian Hayden (Hayden #2H), 8. Nick Adams (Adams #44A), 9. Mike Mann (Mann #37m), 10. Tony Ploughe (Ploughe #32), 11. Denny Stewart (Stewart #33), 12. Bill Rose (Rose #6), 13. Phil Hedges (Hedges #41), 14. Allen Barr (Black #12), 15. Cary Faas (Faas #37), 16. Doug Kalitta (Utopia #12p), 17. Bruce Sims (Sims #15s), 18. Dallas Kinser (Lambertson #8L)
1997 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Jon Stanbrough, 4. Richard Griffin, 5. Kevin Doty, 6. Brian Hayden, 7. J.J. Yeley, 8. Brad Fox, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Robbie Rice, 11. Derek Davidson, 12. Joe Roush, 13. Danny Williams Jr., 14. Gus Wasson, 15. Justin Marvel, 16. Jeff O'Banion, 17. Mike Kirby, 18. Bill Rose, 19. Jerry Miller Jr., 20. Dave Peperak, 21. Cory Kruseman, 22. Aaron Mosley. NT
1998 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Kevin Thomas, 4. Kevin Doty, 5. Robbie Rice, 6. Rusty McClure, 7. Brian Hayden, 8. Jay Drake, 9. J.J. Yeley, 10. Kevin Miller, 11. Brad Fox, 12. Cory Kruseman, 13. Kent Christian, 14. Cary Faas, 15. Brandon Petty, 16. Derek Davidson, 17. Jimmy Sills, 18. Troy Cline, 19. Aaron Mosley, 20. Rickie Gaunt, 21. Mike Boat, 22. Greg Wilson. NT
1999 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Cory Kruseman, 4. Kevin Briscoe, 5. Bill Rose, 6. Tony Elliott, 7. Kevin Doty, 8. Billy Puterbaugh, Jr., 9. Rusty McClure, 10. Eric Burns, 11. Justin Marvel, 12. Robbie Rice, 13. A.J. Anderson, 14. Tracy Hines, 15. Jay Drake, 16. Kevin Miller, 17. Aaron Mosley, 18. Mike Mann, 19. Bobby Smith, 20. Eric Gordon, 21. Terry Pletch, 22. Cary Faas. NT
2000 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. J.J. Yeley, 4. Jerry Coons, Jr., 5. Cory Kruseman, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Bud Kaeding, 8. Derek Davidson, 9. Eric Burns, 10. Todd Kane, 11. Brian Hayden, 12. Brandon Petty, 13. Kevin Briscoe, 14. Dave Darland, 15. A.J. Anderson, 16. Jeff Wilson, 17. Jason Setser, 18. Derek Scheffel, 19. Tracy Hines, 20. Mike Mann, 21. Bill Rose, 22. Jon Stanbrough. NT
2001 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Brian Hayden, 4. Jay Drake, 5. Cory Kruseman, 6. Bill Rose, 7. Terry Pletch, 8. Tony Elliott, 9. J.J. Yeley, 10. Levi Jones, 11. Jason Knoke, 12. Ande Possman, 13. Mike Mann, 14. Derek Davidson, 15. Troy Rutherford, 16. Eric Shively, 17. Gregg Dillion, 18. Kenny Carmichael, 19. Brandon Petty, 20. Derek Scheffel, 21. A.J. Anderson, 22. Tracy Hines. NT
2002 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Eric Shively, 3. A.J. Anderson, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Levi Jones, 6. Tony Elliott, 7. Kevin Miller, 8. Boston Reid, 9. Derek Davidson, 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 11. Kent Christian, 12. Brian Hayden, 13. Troy Rutherford, 14. Jimmy Laser, 15. Jay Drake, 16. Kevin Thomas, 17. Brandon Petty, 18. Dave Darland, 19. Aaron Mosley, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. J.J. Yeley, 22. Bill Rose, 23. Kevin Briscoe. NT
2003 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jay Drake, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Mat Neely, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. Tony Elliott, 7. Jerry Coons, Jr., 8. Damion Gardner, 9. Levi Jones, 10. A.J. Anderson, 11. Boston Reid, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Terry Pletch, 14. Jimmy Laser, 15. Mitch Wissmiller, 16. Charles Davis, Jr., 17. Brian Hayden, 18. Bud Kaeding, 19. Mike Spencer, 20. Justin Marvel, 21. Scott Orr, 22. Cory Kruseman, 23. John Scott. NT
2004 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Dickie Gaines, 3. Josh Wise, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Bud Kaeding, 6. Shane Hollingsworth, 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Brian Lee, 9. Josh Ford, 10. Danny Williams, Jr., 11. Jay Drake, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Damion Gardner, 14. Brian Tyler, 15. Mike Spencer, 16. Tom Hessert, 17. Kris Deckard, 18. John Scott, 19. Brad Kuhn, 20. J.J. Yeley, 21. Charles Davis, Jr., 22. Brian Gerster, 23. Jon Stanbrough, 24. Critter Malone. NT
2005 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Cory Kruseman, 4. Josh Wise, 5. Levi Jones, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. A.J. Anderson, 8. Tony Elliott, 9. Jay Drake, 10. Damion Gardner, 11. Bud Kaeding, 12. Daron Clayton, 13. Brady Short, 14. Darren Hagen, 15. Derek O'Dell, 16. Critter Malone, 17. Bill Rose, 18. Justin Marvel, 19. Jonathan Vennard, 20. Brandon Petty, 21. Mat Neely, 22. Jon Stanbrough, 23. Jimmy Laser, 24. Dickie Gaines. NT
2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Levi Jones, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Coleman Gulick, 8. Hunter Schuerenberg, 9. Jonathan Hendrick, 10. Thomas Meseraull, 11. Daron Clayton, 12. Chad Boespflug, 13. J.C. Bland, 14. Chris Windom, 15. C.J. Leary, 16. Robert Ballou, 17. Chris Gurley, 18. Damion Gardner, 19. Jon Sciscoe, 20. Chase Stockon, 21. A.J. Hopkins, 22. Jace Vander Weerd, 23. Jerry Coons Jr., 24. Tracy Hines, 25. Richard Vander Weerd. NT
2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Christopher Bell, 3. Brady Short, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Robert Ballou, 8. Chad Boespflug, 9. Brent Beauchamp, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12. Kyle Cummins, 13. Wes McIntyre, 14. Jace Vander Weerd, 15. Tracy Hines, 16. Seth Parker, 17. Shane Cottle, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Nick Drake, 20. Richard Vander Weerd, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Chase Briscoe, 23. Hunter Schuerenberg, 24. Scotty Weir. NT
2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Brady Short, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Chad Boespflug, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Tracy Hines, 12. Richard Vander Weerd, 13. Hunter Schuerenberg, 14. Aaron Farney, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Casey Shuman, 17. C.J. Leary, 18. Mark Smith, 19. Jerry Coons Jr., 20. Chris Windom, 21. Justin Grant, 22. Tyler Courtney, 23. Kevin Thomas Jr., 24. Brent Beauchamp, 25. Jeff Bland Jr. NT
2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Hunter Schuerenberg, 5. Brady Short, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Scotty Weir, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. Max McGhee, 14. Josh Hodges, 15. Bryan Clauson, 16. Brent Beauchamp, 17. Chris Phillips, 18. Shane Cottle, 19. Thomas Meseraull, 20. Jake Swanson, 21. Carson Short, 22. Chad Boespflug, 23. C.J. Leary, 24. Mitch Wissmiller. NT
2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Short, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Chad Boespflug, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Tyler Courtney, 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 10. Dave Darland, 11. Brady Bacon, 12. Aaron Farney, 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Tyler Thomas, 15. Brent Beauchamp, 16. C.J. Leary, 17. Justin Grant, 18. Logan Jarrett, 19. Chris Windom, 20. Zach Daum, 21. Isaac Chapple, 22. Hunter Schuerenberg, 23. J.J. Hughes, 24. Jon Stanbrough. NT
2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Chad Boespflug, 4. Brady Short, 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 6. Justin Grant, 7. Josh Hodges, 8. Aaron Farney, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Thomas Meseraull, 12. Chase Stockon, 13. Ryan Bernal, 14. Jerry Coons Jr., 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Tyler Thomas, 17. Kody Swanson, 18. Nate McMillin, 19. Kyle Cummins, 20. C.J. Leary, 21. Jon Stanbrough, 22. Brent Beauchamp. NT
2018 FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Darland (2), 2. Chris Windom (6), 3. A.J. Hopkins (10), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 5. Justin Grant (12), 6. Carson Short (3), 7. C.J. Leary (17), 8. Chad Boespflug (1), 9. Chase Stockon (5), 10. Brody Roa (18), 11. Kyle Cummins (22), 12. Jordan Kinser (14), 13. Isaac Chapple (20), 14. Robert Ballou (23), 15. Shane Cockrum (9), 16. Brady Bacon (7), 17. Brandon Mattox (19), 18. Timmy Buckwalter (11), 19. Brent Beauchamp (13), 20. Josh Hodges (15), 21. Tyler Courtney (21), 22. Dakota Jackson (16), 23. Tyler Thomas (8). NT
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kyle Cummins (1), 2. Brady Bacon (3), 3. C.J. Leary (2), 4. Tyler Courtney (4), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7), 6. Carson Short (6), 7. Brandon Mattox (10), 8. Justin Grant (9), 9. Shane Cottle (22), 10. Chris Windom (16), 11. Mario Clouser (8), 12. Brady Short (21), 13. Jason McDougal (20), 14. Chase Stockon (11), 15. Thomas Meseraull (12), 16. Josh Hodges (13), 17. Max Adams (17), 18. A.J. Hopkins (15), 19. Dave Darland (18), 20. Brian VanMeveren (14), 21. Jadon Rogers (19), 22. Jordan Kinser (5), 23. Isaac Chapple (23), 24. Dustin Christie (24). NT
USAC PARTNERS WITH OPENFENDER, THE WORLD'S FIRST SPONSORSHIP MARKETPLACE FOR MOTORSPORTS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Francisco, California, (July 28, 2021) - USAC Racing and OpenFender partner to support racers through their USAC career from all around the world.
Levi Jones, a 5 time USAC Sprint Car Champion is looking forward to the partnership with OpenFender, "We're thrilled to partner with OpenFender "the virtual sports agent" to further the success of our drivers with more sponsors and fan engagement. USAC is dedicated to our drivers and teams and supports this new sponsorship platform that makes it easy for drivers and teams to get necessary funding. One goal of the United States Auto Club is to foster a healthy, competitive environment where drivers can grow and excel in their racing careers. OpenFender is just another opportunity for this! Using this platform, we look forward to helping our drivers increase their exposure to fans, supporters and potential sponsors/partners."
OpenFender features two functions for the Driver – "Boost" and "Sponsorship". The "Boost" function is a place for supporters to quickly engage and support their favorite driver. Similar to the Twitch or GoFundMe concept, with just one click, a supporter can donate any amount of money to show their support and give their favorite driver a "boost."
The Sponsorship Function is built for any driver in any discipline of racing. The driver can create a campaign, which is a place for the driver to share sponsorship location availability. Locations can vary from branding on the car to social media and race experience partnerships. The sponsorship campaign is fully customizable for any racer in any discipline of motorsports and e-sports.
OpenFender is the common thread between fans, sponsors and racers, Mason Filippi has spent the last two years developing the platform and is excited to partner with USAC, a world renowned racing organization. "OpenFender bridges the gap between racers and the motorsports community. We developed OpenFender to help racers from their first event through their entire career. USAC is the perfect partner to launch OpenFender. USAC racing has immensely talented drivers and some of the best fans in motorsport. Our hope is to see larger grids across all of racing and more fans in touch with the drivers."
Drivers, you have the green light, go to OpenFender.com to start your campaign and grow your fanbase.
Race fans, the marketplace is open, visit OpenFender and give your favorite driver a boost.
The second half of NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL begins Wednesday night, July 28, at the Terre Haute Action Track. (Dave Olson Photo)
...AND ACTION! INDIANA SPRINT WEEK'S
2ND HALF LAUNCHES WEDNESDAY AT TERRE HAUTE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Terre Haute, Indiana (July 27, 2021)………Justin Grant is one of four past Don Smith Classic winners who'll comprise the field for the 11th running of the event on Wednesday night, July 28, which honors the longtime racing supporter, car owner, sponsor, director and Terre Haute businessman who was an inductee of both the USAC Hall of Fame (2014) and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (1995).
In the most recent incarnation of the NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL / Don Smith Classic in 2020 at the Terre Haute Action Track, Grant confided that he ran every lap harder than the last one down the stretch.
He figured if he didn't get it done on the last lap, he needed to run the thing harder the next time. Finally, he worked his courage up to run it hard enough to get by Chase Stockon on the final lap for the victory.
Grant capitalized on a pair of late-race cautions and an "overtime" period to score the dramatic victory which was marked by a succession of unfortunate timing for race leader Stockon as he experience the ultimate misfortune in the final two green-white-checkered restarts.
Taking a line a car width or two above Stockon just before the first and second yellow near the end of the main event, Grant wasn't able to get the oomph off turn two to make the move stick. The third time proved to be a charm, however, as the Ione, Calif. lived up to the refrain, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
Grant kicked off the 2021 NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL opener last Saturday at Kokomo with another win and would love nothing more than to open up the second leg of the Hoosier State tour the same way.
Grant is joined by fellow Don Smith Classic winners Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) and Chase Stockon (2016) in the lineup. Thomas won the event in both 2013 and 2017. Both Bacon and Thomas have won at Terre Haute twice in their USAC National Sprint Car careers while Windom captured it in 2011 and Chase Stockon too back in 2016. Stockon has won three USAC National Sprint Car A-Mains at Terre Haute, coming in 2012, 2016 and 2019.
Windom has won a grand total of seven USAC National Sprint Car features at the Terre Haute Action Track, which is second all-time behind Gary Bettenhausen and Jack Hewitt at eight. Windom has won three of the past four series features at Terre Haute, twice in 2020 and again during the latest edition in May of 2021.
Past Terre Haute USAC Sprint winners seeking a first Don Smith Classic score this Wednesday include Indiana Sprint Week and overall USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point leader Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), who is a two-time winner at the half-mile dirt oval at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds in his career in both 2014 and 2018 and owns the one-lap USAC track record of 19.225.
A 7th place finisher at Terre Haute's ISW round in 2020, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) enters Wednesday 2nd in the ISW standing following victories in each of the two most recent Indiana Sprint Week features, Sunday at Lawrenceburg and Monday at Gas City, and will attempt to go for three-in-a-row at Terre Haute. The most recent driver to win three Indiana Sprint Week races in a row was Kevin Thomas Jr. in 2013.
The longest winning streak in Indiana Sprint Week history belongs to Jon Stanbrough with four-in-a-row between 2006-07. Jay Drake captured three-straight in 2000 while Cory Kruseman did likewise in 2002 as did Thomas in 2013.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) will make his Terre Haute Indiana Sprint Week debut Wednesday and enters as the third-place driver in the ISW standings. Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) has finished 12th in both of his previous ISW runs at Terre Haute and enters 5th in ISW points.
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) is 6th in the ISW standings entering the southern swing of the seven-race series. Cummins won at Terre Haute with the Midwest Sprint Car Series this past May. C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), 8th in ISW points, won with the USAC Silver Crown series at Terre Haute in 2016. He finished 4th last season, the best result of his ISW career at Terre Haute.
One of the most tenured and treasured stops on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car calendar greets the tour for the 167th points race in series history at the famed Terre Haute Action Track on Wednesday night, July 28, for the resumption of the "second-half" of the 34th annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL schedule – the Dorsett Automotive Don Smith Classic.
Terre Haute has held 18 previous Indiana Sprint Week races since its debut on the slate in 1997.
Wednesday's Don Smith Classic / NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and Modifieds. Pits open at 3pm EDT, grandstands at 4pm, drivers meeting at 6pm and hot laps at 6:30pm with qualifying & racing to follow.
General admission grandstand tickets are $30. Infield admission is $15. Kids 11 and under are free when accompanied by a parent. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
Every lap of all seven USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL races will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE:
Saturday, July 24: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN | WINNER: Justin Grant
Sunday, July 25: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN | WINNER: Logan Seavey
Monday, July 26: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN | WINNER: Logan Seavey
Wednesday, July 28: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN
Thursday, July 29: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN
Friday, July 30: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN
Saturday, July 31: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1596, 2-Justin Grant-1503, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1491, 4-Robert Ballou-1351, 5-C.J. Leary-1347, 6-Tanner Thorson-1331, 7-Jake Swanson-1287, 8-Chris Windom-1273, 9-Chase Stockon-940, 10-Paul Nienhiser-859.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK BY AMSOIL POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-239, 2-Logan Seavey-223, 3-Tanner Thorson-212, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-207, 5-Jake Swanson-203, 6-Kyle Cummins-201, 7-Justin Grant-200, 8-C.J. Leary-179, 9-Robert Ballou-173, 10-Chris Windom-140.
TERRE HAUTE INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RACE WINNERS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO WIN THE ISW TITLE THAT YEAR: 6 – J.J. Yeley (1997), Jay Drake (2000), Cory Kruseman (2002), Jon Stanbrough (2010), Chris Windom (2011) & Bryan Clauson (2014)
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT THE TERRE HAUTE:
1 Lap - 5/21/2014 - Brady Bacon - 19.225 - 93.628 mph
4 Laps - 5/4/1986 - Larry Gates - 1:36.18 - 74.860 mph
6 Laps - 5/17/2003 - Kurt Gross - 2:07.21 - 84.899 mph
8 Laps - 10/12/2012 - Hunter Schuerenberg - 2:39.40 - 90.339 mph
10 Laps - 6/17/2000 - Jon Stanbrough - 3:29.13 - 86.071 mph
12 Laps - 9/10/2011 - Jon Stanbrough - 4:02.90 - 88.925 mph
30 Laps - 5/29/1998 - Cary Faas - 10:56.90 - 82.204 mph
40 Laps - 5/4/1975 - Pancho Carter - 15:52.96 - 75.554 mph
50 Laps - 8/13/1967 - Rollie Beale - 22:41.72 - 66.093 mph
DON SMITH CLASSIC WINS:
2-Tyler Courtney & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Bryan Clauson, Daron Clayton, Aaron Farney, Justin Grant, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
TERRE HAUTE USAC SPRINT CAR WINS: (165 Points Races & 1 Special Event)
8-Gary Bettenhausen & Jack Hewitt
7-Chris Windom
6-Bubby Jones, Sheldon Kinser & J.J. Yeley
5-Jim Hurtubise, Levi Jones, Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler
4-Bud Kaeding & Roger McCluskey
3-Don Branson, Steve Butler, Pancho Carter, Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons, Jr, Tyler Courtney, Jay Drake, Cary Faas, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Joe Saldana & Chase Stockon
2-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Rollie Beale, Tom Bigelow, Dave Darland, Justin Grant, Cory Kruseman, Johnny Rutherford, Dick Tobias, Kevin Thomas, Jr., Bruce Walkup & Greg Weld
1-Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Mel Cornett, Larry Dickson, Ed Elisian, Tony Elliott, Aaron Farney, A.J. Foyt, Richard Griffin, Chuck Gurney, Tommy Hinnershitz, Tray House, Chet Johnson, Tony Jones, Doug Kalitta, Frankie Kerr, Steve Kinser, Eddie Leavitt, Andy Linden, Bobby Marshman, Charlie Masters, Rusty McClure, James McElreath, Jim McElreath, Jim McWithey, Jan Opperman, Terry Pletch, Larry Rice, Eddie Sachs, Sam Sessions, Ron Shuman, George Snider, Robbie Stanley, Brad Sweet, Kevin Thomas & Bobby Unser
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK:
2-Tyler Courtney & J.J. Yeley
1-Bryan Clauson, Daron Clayton, Jay Drake, Aaron Farney, Justin Grant, Tracy Hines, Levi Jones, Cory Kruseman, Terry Pletch, Jon Stanbrough, Chase Stockon, Brad Sweet, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Chris Windom
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINNERS AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK:
1997: J.J. Yeley (7/23)
1999: Terry Pletch (7/21)
2000: Jay Drake (7/28)
2002: Cory Kruseman (7/27)
2003: Tracy Hines (7/26)
2004: J.J. Yeley (7/24)
2005: Levi Jones (7/22)
2009: Brad Sweet (7/15)
2010: Jon Stanbrough (7/14)
2011: Chris Windom (7/13)
2012: Daron Clayton (7/18)
2013: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7/17)
2014: Bryan Clauson (7/16)
2015: Aaron Farney (7/15)
2016: Chase Stockon (7/17)
2018: Tyler Courtney (7/25)
2019: Tyler Courtney (7/24)
2020: Justin Grant (7/29)
DON SMITH CLASSIC WINNERS:
2011: Chris Windom (7/13)
2012: Daron Clayton (7/18)
2013: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7/17)
2014: Bryan Clauson (7/16)
2015: Aaron Farney (7/15)
2016: Chase Stockon (7/17)
2017: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (10/14)
2018: Tyler Courtney (7/25)
2019: Tyler Courtney (7/24)
2020: Justin Grant (7/29)
TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK USAC SPRINT CAR WINS:
8-Gary Bettenhausen & Jack Hewitt
7-Chris Windom
6-Bubby Jones, Sheldon Kinser & J.J. Yeley
5-Jim Hurtubise, Levi Jones, Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler
4-Bud Kaeding & Roger McCluskey
3-Don Branson, Steve Butler, Pancho Carter, Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons, Jr, Tyler Courtney, Jay Drake, Cary Faas, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Joe Saldana & Chase Stockon
2-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Rollie Beale, Tom Bigelow, Dave Darland, Justin Grant, Cory Kruseman, Johnny Rutherford, Dick Tobias, Kevin Thomas, Jr., Bruce Walkup & Greg Weld
1-Billy Cassella, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Mel Cornett, Larry Dickson, Ed Elisian, Tony Elliott, Aaron Farney, A.J. Foyt, Richard Griffin, Chuck Gurney, Tommy Hinnershitz, Tray House, Chet Johnson, Tony Jones, Doug Kalitta, Frankie Kerr, Steve Kinser, Eddie Leavitt, Andy Linden, Bobby Marshman, Charlie Masters, Rusty McClure, James McElreath, Jim McElreath, Jim McWithey, Jan Opperman, Terry Pletch, Larry Rice, Eddie Sachs, Sam Sessions, Ron Shuman, George Snider, Robbie Stanley, Brad Sweet, Kevin Thomas & Bobby Unser
TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK USAC SPRINT CAR WINNERS:
1957: Ed Elisian (6/16) & Andy Linden (8/18)
1958: Eddie Sachs (6/22) & Tommy Hinnershitz (8/17)
1959: Don Branson (6/21) & Jim McWithey (8/16)
1960: Don Branson (6/12) & Jim Hurtubise (8/21)
1961: Jim Hurtubise (6/11) & Jim Hurtubise (8/13)
1962: Jim Hurtubise (6/17) & Jim Hurtubise (8/12)
1963: Roger McCluskey (6/16) & Bobby Marshman (8/11)
1964: A.J. Foyt (6/14) & Don Branson (8/9)
1965: Johnny Rutherford (6/13) & Johnny Rutherford (8/15)
1966: Roger McCluskey (6/19), Roger McCluskey (6/19) & Roger McCluskey (9/14)
1967: Bobby Unser (6/11), Greg Weld (6/11), Rollie Beale (8/13) & Greg Weld (9/10)
1968: Gary Bettenhausen (6/16), Larry Dickson (8/11) & Gary Bettenhausen (9/8)
1969: Gary Bettenhausen (8/10) & Gary Bettenhausen (10/19)
1970: Jim McElreath (6/21), Dick Tobias (8/9) & Bruce Walkup (9/13)
1971: George Snider (5/1) & Gary Bettenhausen (8/8)
1972: Bruce Walkup (4/30), Charlie Masters (6/11) & Rollie Beale (8/19)
1973: Joe Saldana (5/5), Mel Cornett (6/9) 7 Sammy Sessions (8/5)
1974: Gary Bettenhausen (4/14) & Sheldon Kinser (8/4)
1975: Pancho Carter (5/4), Joe Saldana (6/1), Gary Bettenhausen (8/3) & Tom Bigelow (9/21)
1976: Jan Opperman (5/1), Tom Bigelow (6/6), Gary Bettenhausen (8/1) & Chuck Gurney (10/31)
1977: James McElreath (5/7), Sheldon Kinser (6/5), Bubby Jones (7/31) & Pancho Carter (9/25)
1978: Dick Tobias (5/6), Billy Cassella (6/4) & Bubby Jones (9/24)
1979: Pancho Carter (5/5), Bubby Jones (5/6), Bubby Jones (6/3), Bubby Jones (8/5) & Bubby Jones (9/23)
1980: Eddie Leavitt (5/3), Steve Chassey (5/4), Joe Saldana (6/29), Rich Vogler (8/3) & Rich Vogler (9/21)
1981: Sheldon Kinser (5/3), Rich Vogler (8/9) & Sheldon Kinser (9/7)
1982: Chet Johnson (5/9), Sheldon Kinser (6/20), Steve Kinser (8/8) & Larry Rice (9/5)
1983: Jack Hewitt (5/8), Rich Vogler (6/19) & Jack Hewitt (8/28)
1984: Rick Hood (6/10) & Steve Butler (8/26)
1985: Ron Shuman (5/5), Rick Hood (6/9) & Rick Hood (8/25)
1986: Rich Vogler (5/4) & Sheldon Kinser (8/3)
1987: Steve Butler (5/3) & Steve Butler (5/23)
1990: Jack Hewitt (7/8)
1991: Jack Hewitt (7/7)
1992: Rusty McClure (7/12) & Cary Faas (10/11)
1993: Dave Darland (5/2) & Robbie Stanley (7/11)
1994: Cary Faas (5/1) & Tray House (7/17)
1995: Jack Hewitt (4/30) & Jack Hewitt (7/16)
1996: Doug Kalitta (5/12), Kevin Thomas (7/12) & Jack Hewitt (10/5)
1997: J.J. Yeley (6/27), J.J. Yeley (7/23) & Jack Hewitt (10/4)
1998: Cary Faas (5/29) & Tony Elliott (8/14)
1999: Tracy Hines (5/8), Tony Jones (6/17), Jerry Coons, Jr. (6/18), Frankie Kerr (6/19) & Terry Pletch (7/21)
2000: Jay Drake (6/15), Richard Griffin (6/16), Jay Drake (6/18) & Jay Drake (7/28)
2001: Tracy Hines (5/19), Bud Kaeding (10/20) & Bud Kaeding (10/20)
2002: Jon Stanbrough (5/11), Cory Kruseman (7/27) & J.J. Yeley (10/5)
2003: J.J. Yeley (5/17), Tracy Hines (7/26), J.J. Yeley (8/14 Special Event) & J.J. Yeley (10/4)
2004: Cory Kruseman (5/22), J.J. Yeley (7/24) & Bud Kaeding (9/4)
2005: Levi Jones (7/22), Levi Jones (9/30) & Levi Jones (10/1)
2006: Daron Clayton (10/6) & Daron Clayton (10/7)
2007: Jon Stanbrough (5/19)
2008: Levi Jones (5/22)
2009: Levi Jones (5/21), Brad Sweet (7/15) & Jon Stanbrough (9/12)
2010: Jerry Coons, Jr. (5/27), Jon Stanbrough (7/14) & Jon Stanbrough (9/11)
2011: Chris Windom (7/13) & Chris Windom (9/10)
2012: Bud Kaeding (5/24), Daron Clayton (7/18) & Chase Stockon (10/12)
2013: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7/17) & Jerry Coons, Jr. (8/31)
2014: Dave Darland (5/21), Bryan Clauson (7/16) & Brady Bacon (9/18)
2015: Aaron Farney (7/15) & Robert Ballou (9/18)
2016: Robert Ballou (5/25), Chase Stockon (7/17) & Chris Windom (10/15)
2017: Chris Windom (9/15) & Kevin Thomas, Jr. (10/14)
2018: Tyler Courtney (5/23), Tyler Courtney (7/25) & Brady Bacon (9/14)
2019: Chase Stockon (5/22), Tyler Courtney (7/24) & Justin Grant (9/13)
2020: Chris Windom (7/1), Justin Grant (7/29) & Chris Windom (9/18)
2021: Chris Windom (5/26)
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.
PAST INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RESULTS AT THE TERRE HAUTE ACTION TRACK:
1997 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Mike Kirby, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Brian Hayden, 6. Cory Kruseman, 7. Tim Montgomery, 8. Steve Surniak, 9. Tony Elliott, 10. Kevin Doty, 11. Brian Tyler, 12. Troy Cline, 13. Bill Rose, 14. Tony Jarrett, 15. Derek Davidson, 16. Dave Peperak, 17. Chris Beaver, 18. Richard Griffin, 19. Cary Faas, 20. Russ Gamester, 21. Jack Hewitt, 22. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. NT
1999 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Terry Pletch, 2. Jack Hewitt, 3. J.J. Yeley, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Todd Kane, 6. Kevin Briscoe, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Kevin Thomas, 9. Kevin Doty, 10. Kenny Carmichael, 11. Bill Rose, 12. Rusty McClure, 13. Robbie Rice, 14. Cory Kruseman, 15. Derek Scheffel, 16. Eric Gordon, 17. Kevin Miller, 18. Tracy Hines, 19. Brad Fox, 20. Jay Drake, 21. Jerry Coons, Jr., 22. Mike Mann. NT
2000 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Kasey Kahne, 3. Jon Stanbrough, 4. Bud Kaeding, 5. Derek Davidson, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Terry Pletch, 8. Jack Hewitt, 9. Cory Kruseman, 10. Tony Elliott, 11. Brian Tyler, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Jonathan Vennard, 14. Bill Rose, 15. Brandon Petty, 16. Justin Marvel, 17. Eric Gordon, 18. Eric Burns, 19. Jerry Coons, Jr., 20. J.J. Yeley, 21. Derek Scheffel, 22. Kevin Briscoe. NT
2002 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Jay Drake, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. J.J. Yeley, 6. Boston Reid, 7. Eric Shively, 8. Jason Knoke, 9. Kevin Thomas, 10. A.J. Anderson, 11. Dave Darland, 12. Jon Stanbrough, 13. Justin Marvel, 14. Levi Jones, 15. Brandon Petty, 16. Derek Davidson, 17. Troy Rutherford, 18. Kevin Briscoe, 19. Scott Orr, 20. Jerry Coons, Jr., 21. Dickie Gaines, 22. Jonathan Vennard. NT
2003 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Cory Kruseman, 5. Troy Cline, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Derek Scheffel, 8. Jay Drake, 9. Jerry Coons, Jr., 10. Charles Davis, Jr., 11. Dave Darland, 12. Marc Jessup, 13. A.J. Anderson, 14. Mike Spencer, 15. Eric Gordon, 16. Kent Christian, 17. Tony Elliott, 18. Mat Neely, 19. Brian Tyler, 20. Brian Hayden, 21. Kyle Wissmiller, 22. Bud Kaeding, 23. Derek Davidson. NT
2004 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Cory Kruseman, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Jay Drake, 7. Matt Westfall, 8. Marc Jessup, 9. Troy Cline, 10. Dickie Gaines, 11. Shane Cottle, 12. Josh Ford, 13. Tony Elliott, 14. Bud Kaeding, 15. Shane Hollingsworth, 16. Charles Davis, Jr., 17. Justin Marvel, 18. Brad Kuhn, 19. Terry Pletch, 20. Tom Hessert III, 21. Kyle Wissmiller, 22. Jim Moughan. NT
2005 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Levi Jones, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Bud Kaeding, 5. Josh Wise, 6. Critter Malone, 7. Justin Marvel, 8. Cory Kruseman, 9. Mat Neely, 10. Damion Gardner, 11. Jonathan Vennard, 12. Jerry Coons, Jr., 13. Jay Drake, 14. Darren Hagen, 15. John Wolfe, 16. Shane Hollingsworth, 17. Tom Hessert III, 18. Jimmy Laser, 19. Jon Stanbrough, 20. Brady Short, 21. Bill Rose, 22. Dickie Gaines. NT
2009 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brad Sweet, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Dave Darland, 4. Cole Whitt, 5. Josh Wise, 6. Damion Gardner, 7. Levi Jones, 8. Chad Boat, 9. Scotty Weir, 10. J.J. Yeley, 11. Tracy Hines, 12. Robert Ballou, 13. Bryan Clauson, 14. Darren Hagen, 15. Hunter Schuerenberg, 16. Hud Cone, 17. Henry Clarke, 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Bud Kaeding, 20. Shane Cottle, 21. Kyle Cummins, 22. Dustin Morgan. NT
2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Daron Clayton, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Coleman Gulick, 8. Blake Fitzpatrick, 9. Mike Spencer, 10. Matt Mitchell, 11. Shane Hmiel, 12. Henry Clarke, 13. Brady Short, 14. Kyle Robbins, 15. J.J. Hughes, 16. Hud Cone, 17. Caleb Armstrong, 18. Chris Windom, 19. Shane Cottle, 20. Levi Jones, 21. Damion Gardner, 22. Robert Ballou, 23. Ricky Williams. NT
2011 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Keith Bloom, 3. Jon Stanbrough, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Damion Gardner, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Mike Spencer, 10. Levi Jones, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Wes McIntyre, 13. Dustin Morgan, 14. Chad Boespflug, 15. Critter Malone, 16. Blake Fitzpatrick, 17. Tracy Hines, 18. Hunter Schuerenberg, 19. Chase Stockon, 20. Justin Grant, 21. Jonathan Hendrick, 22. Daron Clayton, 23. Coleman Gulick. NT
2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Daron Clayton, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Coleman Gulick, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Damion Gardner, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Bryan Clauson, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Darren Hagen, 12. Shane Cottle, 13. Dave Darland, 14. Chase Stockon, 15. Hunter Schuerenberg, 16. Blake Fitzpatrick, 17. Wes McIntyre, 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. Chad Boespflug, 20. C.J. Leary, 21. Kevin Thomas Jr., 22. Justin Grant. NT
2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Hunter Schuerenberg, 7. Brady Short, 8. Wes McIntyre, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Shane Cottle, 11. Christopher Bell, 12. Bryan Clauson, 13. Ryan Bernal, 14. C.J. Leary, 15. Bill Rose, 16. Tyler Courtney, 17. Dave Darland, 18. Gary Taylor, 19. Jerry Coons Jr., 20. Casey Shuman, 21. Jake Simmons, 22. Tracy Hines, 23. Justin Grant. NT
2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Brady Short, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Shane Cottle, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Chase Briscoe, 13. Aaron Farney, 14. C.J. Leary, 15. Tyler Courtney, 16. Kevin Thomas Jr., 17. Logan Jarrett, 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. Brody Roa, 20. Casey Shuman, 21. Kody Swanson, 22. Brian Hayden, 23. Jarett Andretti, 24. Jon Stanbrough. NT
2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Aaron Farney, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Chad Boespflug, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Justin Grant, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Shane Cottle, 11. Hunter Schuerenberg, 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Chris Windom, 15. Scotty Weir, 16. J.J. Hughes, 17. Landon Simon, 18. Logan Jarrett, 19. Thomas Meseraull, 20. Carson Short, 21. Brady Short, 22. Mitch Wissmiller. NT
2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Aaron Farney, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Logan Jarrett, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Bryan Clauson, 10. C.J. Leary, 11. Max McGhee, 12. Chad Boespflug, 13. Dave Darland, 14. Thomas Meseraull, 15. Jon Stanbrough, 16. Carson Short, 17. Riley Kreisel, 18. Jarett Andretti, 19. Tyler Thomas, 20. Bret Mellenberndt, 21. Kevin Thomas, Jr.. 22. Tom Harris. NT
2018 FEATURE: (30 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (5), 2. Robert Ballou (9), 3. Justin Grant (10), 4. Brady Bacon (2), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 6. Chris Windom (14), 7. Jason McDougal (13), 8. Timmy Buckwalter (15), 9. Jerry Coons, Jr. (17), 10. Dave Darland (11), 11. C.J. Leary (4), 12. Jake Swanson (7), 13. Chase Stockon (6), 14. Chad Boespflug (16), 15. Matt Westfall (12), 16. Thomas Meseraull (21), 17. Isaac Chapple (20), 18. Scotty Weir (8), 19. Josh Hodges (19), 20. Carson Short (22), 21. Tyler Thomas (1), 22. Tony DiMattia (23), 23. Shane Cockrum (18), 24. Robert Bell (24). 12:03.22
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. Justin Grant (2), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 4. Brady Bacon (14), 5. Chris Windom (1), 6. C.J. Leary (5), 7. Carson Short (12), 8. Max Adams (16), 9. Chase Stockon (8), 10. Kyle Cummins (3), 11. Josh Hodges (10), 12. Isaac Chapple (11), 13. Dustin Smith (18), 14. Scotty Weir (20), 15. Brandon Mattox (15), 16. Brian VanMeveren (7), 17. Brody Roa (17), 18. Nate McMillin (22), 19. Dustin Christie (21), 20. Jason McDougal (19), 21. Terry Richards (13), 22. Tom Harris (9). NT
2020 FEATURE: (32 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (4), 2. Chris Windom (7), 3. Chase Stockon (2), 4. C.J. Leary (6), 5. Shane Cottle (8), 6. Brady Bacon (3), 7. Logan Seavey (10), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 9. Dave Darland (13), 10. Robert Ballou (19), 11. Kyle Cummins (14), 12. Jake Swanson (1), 13. Charles Davis Jr. (17), 14. Carson Short (11), 15. Brandon Mattox (16), 16. Matt Westfall (20), 17. Nate McMillin (22), 18. Clinton Boyles (15), 19. Dennis Gile (9), 20. Dustin Smith (21), 21. Chase Johnson (12), 22. Max Adams (18). NT
FIRST BATCH OF BC39 ENTRIES REVEALED!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana (July 27, 2021)………The event remains three weeks away, but the entries for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink are beginning to file in with several major names officially announcing their intentions to compete in the two-night USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget event on August 18-19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A scan of the entries thus far reveals an eclectic mix of USAC's major stars and notables from other racing disciplines who aim to take their shot at ascending to the BC39 throne.
The list includes 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott (Dawsonville, Ga.) who will make his BC39 debut this year. The driver with the most laps led in this year's Indianapolis 500, Conor Daly (Noblesville, Ind.), will make his third consecutive appearance in the BC39. NASCAR Rookie of the Year contender Chase Briscoe (Mitchell, Ind.), the winner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series' Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on the 2.439 mile road course in 2020, aims to make his second-straight BC39 feature start.
They are joined by USAC's three-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion and 2018 inaugural BC39 winner Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), plus four-time 2021 USAC National Sprint Car feature winner and 2018 BC39 third-place finisher Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.).
USAC champions are in abundance with USAC career Triple Crown champion and 2018 ninth-place BC39 finisher Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) officially entered along with 1989 USAC National Midget champion Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) who is making his third consecutive appearance in the event.
Two-time 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature winner Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) will get his first taste of BC39 experience this year. Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) has won twice on the USAC Regional Midget trail in 2021 and seeks his first BC39 start since 2018 in August. Tyler Thomas (Collinsville, Okla.), the 2018 Jason Leffler Memorial winner in Wayne City, Ill., goes after his third BC39 feature start. Five-time USAC Western States Midget champion Ronnie Gardner (Corona, Calif.) shoots for his first career start and appearance at the BC39.
BC39 returnees include Randi Pankratz (Atascadero, CA), Riley Kreisel (Warsaw, Mo.), Frankie Guerrini (San Rafael, Calif.), Bryan Stanfill (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Tyler Nelson (Olathe, Kan.).
The group of first-time BC39 "Rookie" participants has in it Carson Kvapil (Mooresville, N.C., Kameron Gladish (Indianapolis, Ind.), Ben Varner (Harbor Springs, Mich.), Blake Brannon (Morgan Hill, Calif.), Rylan Gray (Greenfield, Ind.) and Scott Evans (Rhome, Texas).
The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 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.
Driver registration is now officially open for the third running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink on August 18-19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Teams can file their entry for the event at https://www.thebc39.com/, where they may also purchase tickets, pit and parking passes for the two-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event.
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
Brady Bacon (2018) and Zeb Wise (2019) have captured victories in the first two editions of the BC39.
The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, August 17, with team parking at Noon Eastern followed by the heat race position draft at the USAC office, located at 4910 W. 16th Street, adjacent from turn one of IMS oval at 5:30pm. All cars entered will be randomized into a draft order for the heat race draft. Teams will be able to pick their heat race spot, either in person with a representative, or remotely through USAC officials. Any unrepresented team will be given the first available spot.
On track action begins Wednesday, August 18, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm Eastern. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 4pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm. Heat races and the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night's racing action.
The finale, on Thursday, August 19, will have the public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7:30pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
This year's Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink also will be the conclusion of nearly a week of exciting action on the road course and The Dirt Track at IMS. The NASCAR-INDYCAR tripleheader takes place Aug. 13-15, with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR Xfinity Series conducting separate races Saturday, Aug. 14 and the NASCAR Cup Series racing on the IMS road course for the first time Sunday, Aug. 15.
Visit www.IMS.com for more information on tickets to all IMS events in 2021.
ENTRY LIST: 2021 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 POWERED BY NOS ENERGY DRINK
2MD CARSON KVAPIL/Mooresville, NC
4K KAMERON GLADISH/Indianapolis, IN
5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL
5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA
9 CHASE ELLIOTT/Dawsonville, GA
15 EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN
19K RILEY KREISEL/Warsaw, MO
21H BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK
25v BEN VARNER/Harbor Springs, MI
40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA
43 RONNIE GARDNER/Corona, CA
46 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN
47D CONOR DALY/Noblesville, IN
63 FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA
75AU BRYAN STANFILL/Bakersfield, CA
81G RYLAN GRAY/Greenfield, IN
85 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ
86 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS
91T TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK
116 SCOTT EVANS/Rhome, TX
LOGAN'S RUN: SEAVEY GOES BACK-TO-BACK
IN INDIANA SPRINT WEEK AT GAS CITY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Gas City, Indiana (July 26, 2021)………On a rare Monday night appearance for USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing, Logan Seavey grabbing the headlines has become the most common of occurrences.
The Sutter, California racer went back-to-back on multiple levels during Monday's NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL event at Gas City I-69 Speedway, which had been postponed by rain from the previous Friday night.
Seavey not only repeated his Gas City ISW feature win from a year ago, but also captured his second victory in the series within a 24-hour span after topping the field at Lawrenceburg Speedway on Sunday night in his Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy.
Seavey raced from the fourth starting position to the lead on the second lap of Monday's 30-lap main event after rocketing past race leader Jake Swanson. Seavey persevered on a "giddy-up" quarter-mile surface which had been hammered by a substantial amount of rainfall over the weekend, leading the final 29 laps and requiring a set of proverbial spurs to get the job done.
"What a different Gas City then I had ever seen," Seavey exclaimed. "I've only been here a handful of times and I honestly had no idea where I needed to be on the racetrack. I didn't know if anybody was close; it felt like there was someone on me the whole time. I felt like I couldn't put together two laps the same. I think that's just how the racetrack was. It was a 'cowboy up' place."
Monday's Gas City race was the fourth of its kind in the 34-year history of Indiana Sprint Week. Just three previous Monday ISW installments had been held coming into the night with J.J. Yeley winning at Twin Cities Raceway Park in 2002; Dave Darland at Kokomo Speedway in 2012; and C.J. Leary at Gas City in 2017.
Just like Leary did four years prior, Seavey followed Sunday's Lawrenceburg winning performance with a Monday encore that also resulted in victory at Gas City, making for a most-successful double-dip for the 2018 USAC National Midget driving champion.
Jake Swanson, the runner-up to Seavey one night earlier, shot to the lead on the initial lap around the outside of pole sitter Jason McDougal in turns one and two as McDougal and the third-place car of Tye Mihocko snagged their right rear into the crevice on the bottom groove.
However, Swanson's lead wasn't long for the world with Seavey shooting the gap between Swanson and McDougal exiting turn four, leaving Seavey just inches away from being in the lead at the stripe. Seavey carried his momentum to the bottom of turn one, then slid up in front of Swanson to complete the pass for position by turn two on lap two.
Just 10 laps in, Seavey had built himself a cushy lead of nearly five seconds and was a little more than a full straightaway ahead of Swanson and approaching tje early stages of battling traffic.
Eighth-starting Brady Bacon had already made his way into the third spot in the first-third of the race and had gotten the diamond pattern game going strong where he entered high in turn one, slowed, rotated and pitched the car sideways to where he was able to travel in a straight line from the top of turn one to the bottom exiting turn two without scrubbing speed.
On the 11th lap, Bacon shined on like a crazy diamond by streaming past Swanson for the second position and began the process of trying to track down Seavey. However, Bacon received a sliver of hope in his pursuit of Seavey when 9th running Chase Jones spun to a stop between turns three and four to bring out the caution.
Now positioned right on the rear bumper of Seavey for the lap 12 restart, Seavey ended any notion of a Bacon challenge with a tremendous restart to distance himself from Bacon by a straightaway until hitting lapped traffic once again within the final 10 lap stanza.
Once in the throng of the back end of the field, the game at hand for Seavey was the prevention of making a detrimental mistake that allowed Bacon to capitalize. Bacon managed to move himself within a couple car lengths of the lead behind Seavey, but not much more than that while Seavey was demonstratively lifting his left rear on the entry into turn one to escape the breathing down his neck courtesy of Bacon while a wall of potential challengers stood ahead between he and his fourth career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature win during the final laps.
"I knew the slightest mistake could cause me to lose a second in a hurry," Seavey explained. "I was driving really hard the whole race, and at the end, I was really getting nervous because I wasn't gaining on the lapped cars as much as I thought I would. I didn't know if something was working different. I wasn't very good on the bottom either so I just kind of committed to blowing through the holes there. She biked a few times, but (Crew Chief) Derek (Claxton) has this car so good and so stable that I'm able to do that and that's what won us the race tonight."
Seavey executed with precision and without a notable hiccup or miscue that could have been taken advantage of, winning by a 0.788 margin over Brady Bacon, Kyle Cummins and Jake Swanson while Jason McDougal rounded out the top-five.
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) turned in another patented consistent run that increased his point lead in both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship standings as well as in the Indiana Sprint Week title race in his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy.
"We tightened up quite a bit because we knew we were going to have to move around to pass quite a few good cars in front of us," Bacon said. "We couldn't commit to the top, so we were pretty tight and that's how we were able to maneuver around and get to second. Once we got there and he had an open track, we didn't quite have enough car to run up there with (Seavey). We were diamonding one and two and hoping he might mess up off two, but he never really made any mistakes, at least not big enough ones for me to capitalize on. Everyone was making some mistakes in the holes; it was hard not to. We did what we had to do, rebounding from qualifying bad, winning our heat, got a decent starting spot and passed some good cars in the feature to keep us in the hunt."
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) collected KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger honors by starting 12th and finishing 3rd in his Rock Steady Racing/Mid-America Safety Solutions – Project Oversight/Mach-1/Cummins Chevy.
"It separated the men from the boys there a little bit," Cummins said of the track. "I'm flat worn out and I'm glad we have a break. We started 12th and decided that the track was going to be rough and that we were going to sail it around the top. We changed a whole bunch of stuff and got the car pretty loose. There at the beginning, I was actually really good picking them off, then the track kind of went away and I did a little shock adjustment. We just had the overall chassis too loose."
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 26, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT ONE: 1. Chase Jones, 81G, Gray-11.835; 2. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-11.929; 3. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-11.984; 4. Tye Mihocko, 47, Eades-12.001; 5. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-12.010; 6. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-12.041; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.065; 8. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-12.086; 9. Chase Johnson, 22, Goodnight-12.095; 10. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.097; 11. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.146; 12. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-12.176; 13. Clinton Boyles, 57, Boyles-12.207; 14. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-12.217; 15. Cannon McIntosh, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-12.234; 16. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-12.234; 17. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-12.307; 18. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-12.397; 19. Harley Burns, 16, Burns-12.412; 20. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-12.417; 21. Ricky Lewis, 11, Lewis-12.427; 22. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-12.457; 23. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-NT.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT TWO: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.809; 2. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-11.853; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-11.854; 4. Paul Nienhiser, 5N, KO-11.965; 5. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-11.965; 6. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-11.983; 7. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-12.031; 8. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-12.044; 9. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-12.045; 10. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-12.112; 11. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-12.173; 12. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.210; 13. Shane Cockrum, 17G, On The Gass-12.212; 14. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.220; 15. Scotty Weir, 23s, Simon-12.257; 16. Brayden Clark, 42, Jackson/Clark-12.341; 17. Brent Beauchamp, 29, LB-12.362; 18. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, Gilbert-12.405; 19. Charles Davis Jr., 47D, Davis-12.489; 20. Jack James, 99, James-12.623; 21. Matt McDonald, 5mc, McDonald-12.649; 22. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-12.695; 23. Evan Mosley, 27, Mosley-12.757.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jason McDougal, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Chase Jones, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Clinton Boyles, 7. Harley Burns, 8. Ricky Lewis, 9. Matt Goodnight, 10. Alex Banales, 11. Chase Johnson, 12. Zack Pretorius. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Tye Mihocko, 5. Brayden Fox, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 8. Sterling Cling, 9. Anthony D'Alessio, 10. Chris Gansen, 11. Braydon Cromwell. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Stevie Sussex, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Tanner Thorson, 6. Shane Cockrum, 7. Brent Beauchamp, 8. Evan Mosley, 9. Matt McDonald, 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Charles Davis Jr., 12. Scotty Weir. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Cole Bodine, 5. Paul Nienhiser, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Ryan Barr, 8. Brayden Clark, 9. Jack James, 10. Max Guilford, 11. Gabriel Gilbert. NT
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Brent Beauchamp, 2. Braydon Cromwell, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Matt Goodnight, 6. Brayden Clark, 7. Evan Mosley, 8. Harley Burns, 9. Sterling Cling, 10. Ryan Barr, 11. Jack James, 12. Chris Gansen, 13. Alex Banales, 14. Gabriel Gilbert, 15. Matt McDonald. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Zack Pretorius, 4. Chase Johnson, 5. Brandon Mattox, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Brayden Fox, 9. Clinton Boyles, 10. Brent Beauchamp, 11. Charles Davis Jr., 12. Max Guilford, 13. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 14. Shane Cockrum, 15. Shane Cottle, 16. Anthony D'Alessio, 17. Paul Nienhiser. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (4), 2. Brady Bacon (8), 3. Kyle Cummins (12), 4. Jake Swanson (2), 5. Jason McDougal (1), 6. Tanner Thorson (9), 7. Chris Windom (5), 8. Justin Grant (14), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 10. Tye Mihocko (3), 11. Robert Ballou (7), 12. Jadon Rogers (13), 13. Chase Stockon (21), 14. Stevie Sussex (19), 15. C.J. Leary (15), 16. Cannon McIntosh (22), 17. Chase Johnson (17), 18. Brandon Mattox (20), 19. Chase Jones (6), 20. Cole Bodine (18), 21. Zack Pretorius (11), 22. Thomas Meseraull (16). NT
**Chase Johnson flipped during the first heat. Paul Nienhiser flipped during the semi. Anthony
D'Alessio flipped during the semi.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Jake Swanson, Laps 2-30 Logan Seavey.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1596, 2-Justin Grant-1503, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1491, 4-Robert Ballou-1351, 5-C.J. Leary-1347, 6-Tanner Thorson-1331, 7-Jake Swanson-1287, 8-Chris Windom-1273, 9-Chase Stockon-940, 10-Paul Nienhiser-859.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK BY AMSOIL POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-239, 2-Logan Seavey-223, 3-Tanner Thorson-212, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-207, 5-Jake Swanson-203, 6-Kyle Cummins-201, 7-Justin Grant-200, 8-C.J. Leary-179, 9-Robert Ballou-173, 10-Chris Windom-140.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-103, 2-Thomas Meseraull-95, 3-Justin Grant-93, 4-Robert Ballou-88, 5-Brady Bacon-84, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-84, 7-Chris Windom-83, 8-Logan Seavey-71, 9-Buddy Kofoid-63, 10-Cannon McIntosh-59.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 28, 2021 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Zack Pretorius
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tanner Thorson
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jason McDougal
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Robert Ballou
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Jake Swanson
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Brady Bacon
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Tanner Thorson
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Kyle Cummins (12th to 3rd)
ProSource Hard Work Award: Cannon McIntosh
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Chase Stockon
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Scotty Weir
$10,000-TO-WIN FOR ARP TURKEY NIGHT GP
AT VENTURA ON NOV. 27
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ventura, California (July 26, 2021)………The 80th running of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix will pay a winner's share of $10,000 for the feature winner of the storied USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event on Saturday, November 27, 2021, at California's scenic Ventura Raceway in Ventura, Calif.
ARP, the world leader in fastener technology, is the title sponsor for the for the famed 98-lap Turkey Night Grand Prix race at the 1/5-mile dirt oval that sits right on the beach. The event dates back to the origins of midget racing and maintains its prestige today as one of the crown jewels of dirt track auto racing.
That prestige has ARP thrilled to be involved in an event with such a steep, rich history, which in turn, has them sweetening the purse with this year's Turkey Night Grand Prix midget feature winner now receiving a $10,000 check from ARP and a specially-designed trophy to commemorate the world famous race.
"ARP is proud to be part of the history and of a race that dates back to 1934 and has produced so many great winners," said Chris Raschke, director of sales and marketing for ARP.
For the first time in 2021, the Turkey Night Grand Prix will be contested on Saturday, November 27, with practice and sprint car prelims the night before on Friday, November 26.
The race will serve as the season finale for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Midgets in 2021.
Among the legends who've been victorious at the Turkey Night Grand Prix are Indianapolis 500 winners Bill Vukovich, Johnnie Parsons, A.J. Foyt and Parnelli Jones, plus multi-time National Champion Tony Bettenhausen, son Gary Bettenhausen, 111-time USAC National Midget winner Mel Kenyon, Bubby Jones and eight-time Turkey Night winner Ron Shuman.
IndyCar, NASCAR and USAC Triple Crown champ Tony Stewart has won at Turkey Night as has fellow USAC Triple Crown winner Dave Darland, Bryan Clauson and current NASCAR stars Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.
Tickets for the Turkey Night Grand Prix go on sale to the public on August 1. For more information, please call (805) 985-5433.
SEAVEY'S BURG ENCORE DELIVERS
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RD. 2 WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Lawrenceburg, Indiana (July 25, 2021)………USAC's most recent event at Indiana's Lawrenceburg Speedway came to be known as "Logan Seavey Night" during early June of this year when he swept both the USAC Indiana Midget Week feature and the accompanying local sprint car A-Main on the very same night.
As it just so happened, that marvelous showing in the Spring was just a prelude to an unforgettable midsummer encore performance.
Seavey delivered a Sunday night spectacular in round two of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL feature at the southeastern Indiana 3/8-mile dirt oval that he'd been the dominant force at just seven weeks prior.
Seven weeks later, Seavey was the winner once again on the high banks of "The Burg" in his Baldwin-Fox Racing/Fox Paving – Claxton Engines/DRC/Claxton Chevy to become just the third driver to earn victories in both an Indiana Midget Week and Indiana Sprint Week feature at the same track in the same season.
Jerry Coons Jr. won both an IMW and ISW feature at Kamp Motor Speedway in 2007 while Bryan Clauson equaled the feat at Bloomington Speedway in 2013.
Seavey's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car score on this night was the third of his career and was also the second triumph added to his Indiana Sprint Week resume, coming exactly a year and a day following his first one in the 2020 opener at Gas City.
Meanwhile, Seavey, who joined the Baldwin-Fox team in early May, provided the distinctive orange No. 5 its first USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature win since an Eastern Storm victory at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway more than three years ago in 2018 with driver Chris Windom.
"It feels so good," Seavey exclaimed. "I feel like every time I've been here, I've been good. This year, everything's coming together."
The fourth-starting Seavey was in the hunt throughout the duration of the 30-lapper despite the race for the lead over the first two-thirds of the event being hotly contest by front row starters Jake Swanson and Tanner Thorson who exchanged slide jobs on both ends of the racetrack, first coming courtesy of Thorson in turn one and then Swanson following in kind in turn two. Thorson fired another shot in turn one on the lap, getting by momentarily until Swanson countered off two to secure the lead, which he'd hold onto for the first 17 laps.
Thorson thwarted Seavey's advances a third of the way through the event, responding to Seavey's slider for second with a crossover exiting turn two to reoccupy the position.
By midway, the chapter had been turned to a quagmire of heavy traffic for the frontrunners. Swanson commanded the race by eight car lengths, but his progress stalled out as he attempted to put reigning Indiana Sprint Week champion Chase Stockon a lap down. On the 18th lap, Thorson followed Stockon on the top line, which opened the bottom door for Thorson to slot his way into the top spot.
However, Swanson wasn't apt to fall by the wayside so quickly and so easily, returning to the inside of Thorson off turns three and four, and just barely being nipped at the line by Thorson. Swanson glided from the bottom of turn one to the top of turn two to put his number 21AZ back on the top of the pylon.
Moments later, Seavey entered into the fray on the bottom of the back straightaway when Thorson sliced between Seavey and Swanson in an attempt to slide past Swanson into turn three. Swanson kept his foot in it, never lifting, no hesitating, and eked around Thorson's right side wheels to reassume the number one position.
Thorson reengaged and, using the machine of Stockon as a sort of "pick," climbed the ladder from the bottom of turn one to the top of turn two to pocket the top spot back for himself on lap 22. However, simultaneously, 22nd running Paul Nienhiser stopped in turn four to bring out the yellow, negating Thorson's move and sending him back to second behind Swanson, who was now clear of traffic after the caution.
On the restart, the man on the move was Seavey who quickly surpassed Thorson on lap 22, then set his sights on running down Swanson. On lap 24, Seavey's eyes were affixed on the ride of Swanson. Just then, Swanson became sideways on the topside at the exit of turn two, allowing Seavey to charge under for the lead.
Six laps later, just one corner from the race win and with the checkered flag literally within his sight, a half-track behind him, Justin Grant and Jadon Rogers made wheel-to-wheel contact with each other while battling for eighth, sending Rogers tumbling upside down on the 30th lap. Rogers was uninjured.
With the incident taking place, for Seavey, the altercation put the kibosh on a surefire feature win and forced him to partake in a tense green-white-checkered finish with Swanson and Thorson right on his tail tank.
The pressurized situation quite naturally presented a certain magnitude of stress, but Seavey was game for the challenge as he waited patiently to return to work.
"The red coming to the checker was a heartbreaker," Seavey recalled. "You've got to sit there for five minutes under red and figure out what you've got to do better to keep these guys behind you because they're doing the same thing. This motor, I think I pushed out all the water under the red and pushed half the power steering fluid out. I don't know how many more laps we had in her."
Undeniable is the label Seavey was working under on the final restart as the battle raged for second behind him between Thorson and Swanson, with Thorson edging ahead initially before Swanson, with a severely bent radius rod and all, scraped his way back into the runner-up spot.
The advantage went to Seavey with the second-place bicker between Swanson and Thorson firing on all cylinders. With absolutely nothing serving as a deterrent, Seavey went free and easy to the finish line, gapping Swanson and Thorson in the process to the tune of a 1.161 second margin at the finish line. Swanson took second with Thorson third, Brady Bacon fourth and Kevin Thomas Jr. fifth.
"I had a pretty decent restart and just tried to protect from there," Seavey explained. "I kind of slid myself there on the last lap. I knew doing that would probably be safe if I didn't screw it up. It's just so hard to cross over a slider. I couldn't afford to get slid there on the last lap."
In his first eight USAC starts for the Baldwin-Fox operation since joining them in May, Seavey hadn't finished better than ninth at Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway. Sunday night at Lawrenceburg, the team finally hit the sweet spot in USAC competition.
"Hats off to (crew chief) Derek (Claxton)," Seavey praised. "This thing's a dream to drive. I was almost running flat out around here at the end. Derek has this thing so driveable. It really fits how I like to drive. I ran really, really straight and you have to have a free car to do that, and you can run really hard against the cushion that way. He just trusts me and knows what I need to get around this track. I'm sure it's a little bit different than what he's used to, but he does what I need and sees what I need to go fast. We're able to do that fairly effortlessly. It doesn't take a whole of communication between us and that's nice. This car does exactly what I want it to do and that makes my job easy."
After leading a race-high 22 laps, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) had to settle with a runner-up finish for the third time during the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season aboard his Team AZ Racing/Honey Shine – USW Cat Construction – RSS Industries – CSI/DRC/1-Way Chevy. A first career series win has eluded him thus far, but Swanson firmly believes his day will soon arrive.
"It's getting old running second," Swanson admitted. "I can't hang my head too much, though. I've got really smart guys on my racecar and, if I keep doing my job, it's going to come. I just couldn't get off turn two there; I started to get tight. But man, it definitely hurts to run second again."
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) established himself as a bonafide Indiana Sprint Week championship threat, rising to third in the standings following his performance on Sunday night in Lawrenceburg in which he led a lap and finished in the third position driving his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – CSI – MVT/Spike/Stanton Chevy.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) overcame some early mechanical woes that included an engine issue which required the changing of mags and boxes before ultimately deciding to completely swap the engine out after the heat race. After a flat left rear tire due to contact between he and Nick Bilbee on lap two, Grant's crew got new rubber swapped on, allowing Saturday night's Kokomo winner to rejoin the field from the tail to finish eighth, which earned the Ione, California driver KSE Racing Products/Irvin King Hard Charger honors for the evening.
In Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying, Brady Bacon earned his second consecutive fast time with the Indiana Sprint Week series over the past two evenings, and also achieved the 42nd of his USAC National Sprint Car career, fourth on the all-time list.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 25, 2021 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT ONE: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.707; 2. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-13.825; 3. Tyler Kendall, 20, Kendall-13.928; 4. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.946; 5. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.969; 6. Tye Mihocko, 47, Eades-13.994; 7. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-14.013; 8. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-14.026; 9. Chase Johnson, 22, Goodnight-14.050; 10. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-14.054; 11. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.113; 12. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-14.123; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-14.146; 14. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-14.147; 15. Paul Nienhiser, 5N, KO-14.247; 16. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-14.501; 17. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-14.574; 18. J.J. Hughes, 76, Hughes-14.591; 19. Charles Davis Jr., 47D, Davis-14.627; 20. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-14.716; 21. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-14.774.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT TWO: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-13.808; 2. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-13.989; 3. Scotty Weir, 23s, Simon-14.112; 4. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.284; 5. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-14.284; 6. Jordan Kinser, 17G, On The Gass-14.296; 7. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-14.383; 8. Cannon McIntosh, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-14.392; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.398; 10. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-14.508; 11. Saban Bibent, 98, Wedgewood-14.519; 12. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-14.524; 13. Chase Jones, 81G, Gray-14.530; 14. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-14.560; 15. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-14.560; 16. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.624; 17. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-14.730; 18. Joss Moffatt, 5J, Moffatt/Wright-14.744; 19. Tayte Williamson, 20, 88 Speed Shop-15.466; 20. Ricky Lewis, 43B, Tibbits-17.488.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Johnson, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Paul Nienhiser, 7. Tyler Kendall, 8. Thomas Meseraull, 9. Charles Davis Jr., 10. Chris Gansen, 11. Alex Banales. 2:21.38
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Tye Mihocko, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Nick Bilbee, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Ryan Barr, 8. Kyle Edwards, 9. Chris Windom, 10. J.J. Hughes. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Jason McDougal, 4. Scotty Weir, 5. Chase Jones, 6. Max Guilford, 7. Korbyn Hayslett, 8. Braydon Cromwell, 9. Tayte Williamson, 10. Saban Bibent. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Cole Bodine, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Jordan Kinser, 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Stevie Sussex, 9. Joss Moffatt, 10. Ricky Lewis. 2:37.12
C-MAIN: (6 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) , 1. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 2. Max Guilford, 3. Chris Gansen, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Tayte Williamson, 6. Ricky Lewis, 7. Alex Banales, 8. Kyle Edwards. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Nick Bilbee, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Stevie Sussex, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Jadon Rogers, 6. Tyler Kendall, 7. Jordan Kinser, 8. Korbyn Hayslett, 9. Max Guilford, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Braydon Cromwell, 12. Chase Jones, 13. Paul Nienhiser, 14. Ryan Barr, 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 16. Sterling Cling, 17. Chris Gansen, 18. Charles Davis Jr. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (4), 2. Jake Swanson (2), 3. Tanner Thorson (1), 4. Brady Bacon (6), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 6. C.J. Leary (10), 7. Robert Ballou (8), 8. Justin Grant (19), 9. Kyle Cummins (13), 10. Shane Cottle (16), 11. Cole Bodine (9), 12. Chase Johnson (7), 13. Scotty Weir (3), 14. Nick Bilbee (21), 15. Chris Windom (22-P), 16. Stevie Sussex (11), 17. Chase Stockon (20), 18. Jadon Rogers (17), 19. Jason McDougal (14), 20. Cannon McIntosh (18), 21. Tye Mihocko (15), 22. Paul Nienhiser (23-P), 23. Thomas Meseraull (24), 24. Tyler Kendall (12). NT
(P) represents a provisional starter
**Saban Bibent flipped during the third heat. Jadon Rogers flipped on lap 30 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Jake Swanson, Lap 18 Tanner Thorson, Laps 19-23 Jake Swanson, Laps 24-30 Logan Seavey.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1521, 2-Justin Grant-1448, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1439, 4-C.J. Leary-1307, 5-Robert Ballou-1302, 6-Tanner Thorson-1266, 7-Jake Swanson-1218, 8-Chris Windom-1211, 9-Chase Stockon-902, 10-Paul Nienhiser-848.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK BY AMSOIL POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-164, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-155, 3-Tanner Thorson-147, 4-Justin Grant-145, 5-Logan Seavey-145, 6-C.J. Leary-139, 7-Jake Swanson-134, 8-Kyle Cummins-130, 9-Robert Ballou-124, 10-Shane Cottle-102.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-100, 2-Thomas Meseraull-95, 3-Robert Ballou-88, 4-Justin Grant-87, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 6-Chris Windom-83, 7-Brady Bacon-78, 8-Logan Seavey-68, 9-Buddy Kofoid-63, 10-C.J. Leary-55.
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Stevie Sussex-24, 2-Chase Jones-13, 3-Cole Bodine-11, 4-Brayden Clark-10, 5-Brady Bacon-7, 6-Shane Cottle-7, 7-Chase Stockon-7, 8-Korbyn Hayslett-6, 9-Critter Malone-6, 10-Tanner Thorson-5.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 26, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Nick Bilbee
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Johnson
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: C.J. Leary
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Cole Bodine
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Nick Bilbee
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Justin Grant (19th to 8th)
ProSource Hard Work Award: Nick Bilbee
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Scotty Weir
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Jordan Kinser
GRANT STORMS TO RAIN-SHORTENED
KOKOMO INDIANA SPRINT WEEK VICTORY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana (July 24, 2021)………Justin Grant had never experienced a victory quite like he did Saturday night at Indiana's Kokomo Speedway.
Just two nights after scoring a 100-lap, long distance USAC Silver Crown race, the Ione, California native reigned triumphant in one of the shortest feature events in the 66-year history of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing.
Under threatening skies that hovered over the top of Kokomo's quarter-mile dirt oval, Grant raced to the lead on the ninth lap past Kevin Thomas Jr., then remained at the head of the field when the skies let loose, halting the race with 18 of 30 laps complete.
A feature event is considered complete when more than half of the scheduled laps are completed. When it became apparent that the rain was going to make the resumption of the event an impossibility, Grant was declared the winner in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
With the falling precipitation causing the mass exodus from both the capacity-filled grandstands and pit area, the traditional victory lane celebration and the resulting jubilation was a little more muted than usual.
Instead, the hoopla was traded in for a quick exit from the pit area followed by a post-race meal at a nearby Rally's. Grant has no qualms with that. A win is a win no matter how you slice it, and Grant certainly earned this one before the proverbial buzzer sounded.
"I'll take them anyway I can get them," Grant declared. "This one paid more per lap than anyone I've ever won!"
The 18-lap, rain-shortened feature has much historical significance within the USAC record books with it being the first-ever rain-shortened Indiana Sprint Week main event in the series' 34-year history.
Saturday's truncated race placed it tied for the third-shortest completed feature race in USAC Sprint Car history. Doug Wolfgang won both ends of twin 15-lappers at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. during the 1991 season. Jim McWithey won an 18-lap USAC Midwest Sprint Car race, rain-shortened from 30 circuits, at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track in 1959.
The last completed, rain-shortened USAC National Sprint Car feature of any kind prior to Saturday came at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway in 2006, a race won by Darren Hagen with 35 of 40 laps in the books when it was called.
While mother nature was on the forefront of many minds as the feature pushed away on Saturday night beneath and beside lightning-filled skies, Grant admitted that the weather situation certainly was, at least, in the back of his mind while the task at hand of racing taking precedence and being first and foremost on the brain.
But in USAC National Sprint Car competition, it's always imperative to reach the front as soon as you possibly can, but with a short distance ahead, and the likes of Kevin Thomas Jr. and C.J. Leary ahead of yourself on the front row, whether there's weather or no weather, it's a chore.
From the third starting position, Grant quickly slotted into second along the bottom of turns one and two on the opening lap, underneath, while Thomas Jr. spurted away topside to lead the opening stages.
The only stoppage of the feature came on the sixth lap when 19th running Brandon Mattox flipped nose-and-tail down the front straightaway, separating the fuel tank from the racecar as the Terre Haute, Ind. driver landed upside down straddling the start/finish line. When the car was tipped back over onto its four wheels, a brief oil fire broke out on the right side headers but was quickly extinguished.
When racing resumed with the lap seven restart, Grant put a move on Thomas Jr., diving underneath in turn one and sliding past for the race lead, only to be counteracted by Thomas Jr.'s reemergence to the front, back under in turns three and four. Entering turn one on lap eight, Thomas Jr. closed the door on Grant, taking away his line and his run on the top side of the first turn.
The following lap, which ultimately turned out to be the midway point of the feature – lap nine – saw Grant rear back his slingshot and fire a shot across the bow of Thomas Jr. in turn one. Once again, Thomas Jr. ripped right past Grant on the back straightway on the bottom entering turn three. However, Grant was prepared, and instantly turned back down between turns three and four, slipping past Thomas Jr. for good.
"I remember being a really long way back going into one," Grant recalled of the initial pass for the lead. "(Thomas Jr.) went to slide me back into three, and I let him go, then slid him as he was sliding me and kind of got him corner pocketed off four where he had to let us go. I felt like we were in pretty good shape once we got to the front."
After spending his time prior to the red flag searching every which-a-way, Grant found his groove just prior to the early race halt. He put his discovery into full execution directly afterward.
"I was pretty good in three and four," Grant said. "We were both pretty much just ripping the top in three and four and I was kind of moving around in one and two trying to find something that worked for me. I kind of found it right before the red. Luckily, after the red, I was able find that line where I could slide myself and catch the cushion in two. I felt pretty confident with that and stuck with that the entire race."
When raindrops kept falling on the heads of the field at lap 18, and Grant holding an eight-car-length lead over new second-place runner Brady Bacon, the red flag was displayed for extensive moisture. Several moments later, when water began to pool inside the perimeter of the racetrack, the plug was pulled, and the event was officially complete with Grant the winner for the fourth time overall in his Indiana Sprint Week career, and first time in the ISW series at Kokomo.
Grant's 25th career USAC National Sprint Car feature win moved him into 24th on the all-time list alongside past series champions Steve Butler, Jay Drake and Parnelli Jones.
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) earned his 41st career USAC National Sprint Car fast qualifying time, which ranks fourth on the all-time series list. His 2nd place finish in the A-Main marked the third consecutive year Bacon has finished as the runner-up in the Indiana Sprint Week round at Kokomo in his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy. The 2016 Indiana Sprint Week champion leads the ISW standings exiting Kokomo.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) led the first nine laps of the feature en route to a 3rd place result in his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy. The final spot on the podium was KTJ's best Indiana Sprint Week finish at Kokomo since earning a 3rd in 2016. He won the round in 2013.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 24, 2021 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week By AMSOIL
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT ONE: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.594; 2. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-12.683; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.858; 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-12.948; 5. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-12.958; 6. Chase Johnson, 22, Goodnight-12.993; 7. Scotty Weir, 4p, Pedersen-13.078; 8. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.086; 9. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-13.161; 10. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-13.293; 11. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-13.337; 12. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-13.367; 13. Dustin Clark, 75, Clark-13.463; 14. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-13.463; 15. Tyler Hewitt, 57, Hazen-13.473; 16. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-13.541; 17. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-13.558; 18. Harley Burns, 16, Burns-13.610; 19. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.619; 20. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-13.673; 21. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-13.786; 22. Critter Malone, 7, Seven-13.885; 23. David Hair, 44, Hair-14.157; 24. Jack James, 99, James-14.229; 25. Tayte Williamson, 20, 88 Speed Shop-14.493; 26. Ryan Bond, 7R, Bond-15.518; 27. Cooper Welch, 2w, Welch-NT.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT TWO: 1. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-13.061; 2. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.152; 3. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-13.167; 4. Brent Beauchamp, 29, LB-13.233; 5. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.327; 6. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-13.373; 7. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-13.385; 8. Cannon McIntosh, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-13.388; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.426; 10. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.441; 11. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-13.458; 12. Jordan Kinser, 17G, On The Gass-13.503; 13. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-13.525; 14. Tye Mihocko, 47, Eades-13.599; 15. Garrett Aitken, 32, Aitken-13.624; 16. Paul Nienhiser, 5N, KO-13.643; 17. Evan Mosley, 27, Mosley-13.656; 18. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.669; 19. Charles Davis Jr., 47D, Davis-13.763; 20. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-13.787; 21. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-13.798; 22. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-13.835; 23. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-13.868; 24. Mitchell Davis, 56, Davis-13.900; 25. Brayden Clark, 42, Jackson/Clark-14.030; 26. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-14.067; 27. Chase Jones, 81G, Gray-14.466.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Tyler Hewitt, 6. Max Guilford, 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Matt Goodnight, 9. Zack Pretorius, 10. Alex Banales, 11. Cooper Welch, 12. Tayte Williamson, 13. David Hair, 14. Scotty Weir. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Brady Short, 3. Jason McDougal, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Critter Malone, 6. Logan Seavey, 7. Chris Gansen, 8. Ryan Barr, 9. Ryan Bond, 10. Jack James, 11. Harley Burns, 12. Chase Johnson, 13. Dustin Clark. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Charles Davis Jr., 7. Brayden Fox, 8. Korbyn Hayslett, 9. Stevie Sussex, 10. Chase Jones, 11. Brayden Clark, 12. Evan Mosley, 13. Garrett Aitken. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Braydon Cromwell, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Jordan Kinser, 6. Brent Beauchamp, 7. Cole Bodine, 8. Tye Mihocko, 9. Paul Nienhiser, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Anthony D'Alessio, 12. Mitchell Davis, 13. Kyle Edwards. 2:18.24
THE FROLIC BAR & GRILL D-MAIN: (6 laps, shortened to 0 laps due to accident, top-6 transfer to the C-main) 1. Jack James, 2. Mitchell Davis, 3. Tayte Williamson, 4. Brayden Clark, 5. Kyle Edwards, 6. Chase Jones. NT
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Stevie Sussex, 2. Evan Mosley, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Cole Bodine, 5. Harley Burns, 6. Ryan Barr, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Charles Davis Jr., 9. Sterling Cling, 10. Brayden Clark, 11. Chase Jones, 12. Korbyn Hayslett, 13. David Hair, 14. Kyle Edwards, 15. Jack James, 16. Tayte Williamson, 17. Alex Banales, 18. Critter Malone, 19. Anthony D'Alessio, 20. Mitchell Davis. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Chase Johnson, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Brent Beauchamp, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Max Guilford, 7. Tye Mihocko, 8. Jordan Kinser, 9. Paul Nienhiser, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 11. Chase Stockon, 12. Tyler Hewitt, 13. Matt Goodnight, 14. Cole Bodine, 15. Brayden Fox, 16. Chris Gansen, 17. Dustin Clark, 18. Evan Mosley. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, shortened to 18 laps due to rain, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (3), 2. Brady Bacon (6), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 4. C.J. Leary (2), 5. Tanner Thorson (9), 6. Kyle Cummins (7), 7. Chris Windom (4), 8. Jadon Rogers (5), 9. Robert Ballou (8), 10. Logan Seavey (10), 11. Shane Cottle (18), 12. Brent Beauchamp (11), 13. Jake Swanson (12), 14. Chase Johnson (13), 15. Cannon McIntosh (17), 16. Braydon Cromwell (14), 17. Cole Bodine (23-P), 18. Thomas Meseraull (15), 19. Stevie Sussex (22), 20. Max Guilford (20), 21. Brady Short (21), 22. Jason McDougal (19), 23. Brandon Mattox (16). NT
(P) represents a provisional starter
**Garrett Aitken flipped during the third heat. Ryan Bond & Cooper Welch flipped during the D-Main. Anthony D'Alessio & Mitchell Davis flipped during the C-Main. Brandon Mattox flipped on lap 6 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 9-18 Justin Grant.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1449, 2-Justin Grant-1392, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1369, 4-C.J. Leary-1244, 5-Robert Ballou-1242, 6-Tanner Thorson-1196, 7-Chris Windom-1178, 8-Jake Swanson-1143, 9-Chase Stockon-866, 10-Paul Nienhiser-825.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK BY AMSOIL POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-92, 2-Justin Grant-89, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-85, 4-Tanner Thorson-77, 5-Kyle Cummins-77, 6-C.J. Leary-76, 7-Chris Windom-68, 8-Logan Seavey-66, 9-Jadon Rogers-65, 10-Robert Ballou-64.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-100, 2-Thomas Meseraull-94, 3-Robert Ballou-87, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 5-Chris Windom-83, 6-Justin Grant-76, 7-Brady Bacon-76, 8-Logan Seavey-65, 9-Buddy Kofoid-63, 10-Cannon McIntosh-53.
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 25, 2021 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Cannon McIntosh
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kyle Cummins
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Logan Seavey
The Frolic Bar & Grill D-Main: Jack James
KSE Racing Products / Irvin King Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (18th to 11th)
ProSource Hard Work Award: Stevie Sussex
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Jake Swanson
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Tye Mihocko
GAS CITY INDIANA SPRINT WEEK OPENER RAINED OUT, RESCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, JULY 26
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Gas City, Indiana (July 23, 2021)………Friday night's 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL opening event was rained after heavy showers doused Gas City I-69 Speedway following Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying.
The event has been rescheduled for Monday night, July 26, with a completely new program, beginning with hot laps and followed by qualifying and racing.
Spectators and pit pass holders from Friday night may use their wristbands to gain re-entry for Monday's rescheduled event.
Monday's date will retain the same schedule with pits opening at 3pm EDT, front gates open at 5pm, drivers meeting at 6pm with cars on track at 6:30pm and qualifying/racing immediately following.
For attendees without a Friday wristband, general admission tickets are $30, kids 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
Friday's Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying session at Gas City was completed before the rain arrived. Brayden Fox (Avon, Ind.) earned quick time honors for the first time in his USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car career with a time of 11.916 seconds, besting the field of 50 cars and drivers in time trials.
Because the qualifying session was completed prior to the rain, the points earned will count toward both the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car and Indiana Sprint Week standings with all drivers and entrants earning qualifying points, plus 10 appearance points.
Fox holds the Indiana Sprint Week point lead with 16, followed by Anaheim, California's Jake Swanson with 15; Sutter, California's Logan Seavey with 14; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Brady Bacon with 13; Princeton, Indiana's Kyle Cummins with 12; Minden, Nevada's Tanner Thorson with 11; while the remaining 44 drivers are tied with 10.
Indiana Sprint Week's first weekend of competition resumes Saturday, July 24, at Kokomo Speedway and Sunday, July 25, at Lawrenceburg Speedway before returning to Gas City on Monday, July 26.
Every lap of all seven USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL races will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 23, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT ONE: 1. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-11.937; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-11.961; 3. Jason McDougal, 5m, KO-12.027; 4. Scotty Weir, 4p, Pedersen-12.065; 5. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.133; 6. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-12.158; 7. Jordan Kinser, 17G, On The Gass-12.166; 8. Evan Mosley, 27, Mosley-12.169; 9. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-12.223; 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-12.241; 11. Stevie Sussex, 77s, Sturgeon-12.272; 12. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.275; 13. Cannon McIntosh, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-12.283; 14. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-12.334; 15. Tye Mihocko, 47, Eades-12.367; 16. Garrett Aitken, 32, Aitken-12.396; 17. Tyler Hewitt, 57, Hazen-12.404; 18. Korbyn Hayslett, 1H, Hayslett-12.422; 19. Chase Jones, 81G, Gray-12.439; 20. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-12.472; 21. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-12.519; 22. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-12.576; 23. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-12.725; 24. Ryan Bond, 7R, Bond-12.750; 25. Matt McDonald, 5mc, McDonald-12.784.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT TWO: 1. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-11.916; 2. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin-11.940; 3. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-11.969; 4. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.970; 5. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-11.997; 6. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.037; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-12.038; 8. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-12.043; 9. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-12.068; 10. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-12.113; 11. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-12.192; 12. Brady Short, 61m, Edwards-12.203; 13. Brent Beauchamp, 29, LB-12.214; 14. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.236; 15. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-12.239; 16. Paul Nienhiser, 5N, KO-12.242; 17. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.266; 18. Tyler Kendall, 20, Kendall-12.305; 19. Chase Johnson, 22, Goodnight-12.466; 20. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-12.507; 21. Charles Davis Jr., 47D, Davis-12.551; 22. Ryan Barr, 21B, Barr-12.702; 23. Jack James, 99, James-12.748; 24. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, Gilbert-12.836; 25. Dustin Clark, 75, Clark-13.008.
REMAINDER OF PROGRAM RAINED OUT
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1370, 2-Justin Grant-1313, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1294, 4-Robert Ballou-1188, 5-C.J. Leary-1178, 6-Tanner Thorson-1130, 7-Chris Windom-1120, 8-Jake Swanson-1099, 9-Chase Stockon-856, 10-Paul Nienhiser-815.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK BY AMSOIL POINTS: 1-Brayden Fox-16, 2-Jake Swanson-15, 3-Logan Seavey-14, 4-Brady Bacon-13, 5-Kyle Cummins-12, 6-Tanner Thorson-11, (44 drivers tied for 7th).
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-96, 2-Thomas Meseraull-94, 3-Robert Ballou-87, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 5-Chris Windom-83, 6-Justin Grant-74, 7-Brady Bacon-72, 8-Logan Seavey-65, 9-Buddy Kofoid-63, 10-C.J. Leary-51.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 24, 2021 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Brayden Fox
GRANT SAVES BEST FOR LAST,
WINS USAC'S RICH VOGLER CLASSIC BY A HALF CAR LENGTH
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Winchester, Indiana (July 22, 2021)……… Justin Grant had to muster every ounce of grit, determination and moxie on the last lap of Thursday night's 100-lap Rich Vogler Classic presented by The Pallet Builder USAC Silver Crown National Championship race at Indiana's Winchester Speedway.
Driving that point home is the fact that the driver chasing Grant on the green-white-checkered dash to the finish, Kody Swanson, posted his fastest lap of the race on the 100th and final lap in his pursuit of the win.
Simultaneously, Grant answered the bell by laying down his fastest lap of the entire race on the 100th and final lap to keep Swanson behind him.
At the line, Grant finished just a miniscule half car length ahead of Swanson in a dramatic ending to the heavyweight slugfest in the series' debut on the 37-degree banked, three stories high oval.
Now a fully-fledged, first-time USAC Silver Crown winner on the pavement, the triumph marked Grant's first of any kind on a hard surface since a BCRA Midget feature score in 2006 at California's Madera Speedway.
"It's a bit surreal for me to be standing at Winchester as a winner. As a kid who watched races here on TV, thinking, 'boy, that's the gnarliest thing I've ever seen,' I would've thought that was outside the realm of possibility growing up," Grant exclaimed. "I'm a kid who dreamed of racing USAC and to come here and win means the world to me, and there's not a better group of guys that I could do it with."
The Rich Vogler Classic win was also extra special for Grant's car owner, Ron Hemelgarn, who fielded Vogler as his driver in the 1987 Indianapolis 500, starting 11th and finishing 20th.
Standing in the Hemelgarn Racing team's Gasoline Alley shop following the conclusion of last year's championship season, crew chief Dennis LaCava had one more goal in mind that was still on the table for 2021 – winning a pavement USAC Silver Crown race.
"I'm really itching to get Justin (Grant) his first pavement Silver Crown win," LaCava said at the time. "I want to be able to say I was a part of that."
That moment came Thursday night when Grant, LaCava and Hemelgarn made their ambition a reality by notching the team's first victory lane appearance in nearly three seasons. It was the third career series victory for Grant after tallying the Illinois State Fairgrounds and Terre Haute Action Track rounds in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Grant started fifth on the Winchester grid in his Hemelgarn Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Super Fitness – Hemelgarn Enterprises/Beast/Speedway Ford and remained relatively status quo throughout the first quarter of the race as pole sitter Swanson launched away to lead the first four laps and outside front row starter Bobby Santos charged to the lead on lap five after diving to the bottom in turn three past Swanson.
Santos held strong up front until 16th running Patrick Lawson stopped in turn three to bring out the yellow. Moments following the ensuing restart, third-running Aaron Pierce kicked a shine, stood up in the seat and cut below Swanson for the second position on the back straightaway, then under Santos exiting turn four to rise from third to the lead on the 23rd circuit.
In the resulting shuffle, Grant moved to second with David Byrne now third, while 15th starting Kyle O'Gara had raced his way all the way up to fourth. Subsequently, Santos and Swanson were suddenly relegated to fifth and sixth, respectively.
Instantly, Pierce blitzed away to a two-second advantage over the field during the following 20 laps. However, just before halfway, Grant had noticeably reeled Pierce in and was just a half-second back in the center of lapped traffic when 12th running Nathan Byrd began leaking fluid from his car, knocking him out of the race, and forcing another yellow.
With Grant on Pierce's rear bumper, Grant made his bid for the lead on the 57th lap, deep sea diving low off turn four underneath Pierce. Though he came just a wheel short of the lead on that lap, Grant carried his substantial momentum into turn one, and despite getting squirrely on entry, got the handle back and motored past Pierce for the lead on the 58th trip. Seconds later, Swanson found his way back to second while Santos slotted into third, pushing Pierce back to fourth.
Grant candidly stated that he had never felt this good on pavement before in his career as he waded through lapped traffic, with holes developing just when he needed it at exactly the right time to keep Swanson's relentless pursuit at bay.
Keenly aware of Swanson's prowess of winning races by virtue of his marksmanship in lapped traffic, Grant sought every edge he could muster to push through and gain some much needed breathing room.
Grant acknowledged he pushed a little harder early on in the race and felt that Swanson had saved his equipment at the forefront of the race. But the reasoning behind that particular tactful gameplan was sound with Grant not desiring to put himself in the position of having to pass Swanson late in the race. Instead, he wanted to force Swanson into having to find his way around him late.
However, when Shane Cottle's Panhard bar broke with 15 laps remaining, causing him to spin atop the turn four banking, all gameplans were out the window. All that stood in front of Grant was the driver who stood behind him – Swanson.
"I had to give myself a little bit of a pep talk on one of those last runs, like, 'hey you've won a championship, you haven't won a pavement race. Stick this thing in the fence if you need to stick this thing in the fence. Drive this son a gun."
After hyping himself up even more, Grant forged ahead when racing resumed with eight laps to go. Swanson maintained his position just two car lengths back and was right on the rear bumper of Grant when the yellow dropped for 10th running Austin Nemire who spun to a stop in turn two, putting Grant in the position to now have to again outduel Swanson, the five-time series champion, in a green-white-checkered showdown.
"On the green white checkered, with the tires and brakes a little cold, I ran 90-95 percent on lap one and, on lap two, I ran it 100-110 percent," Grant explained. "I about gave it away in three and four. I smoked it down in there kind of low to protect my entry a bit because I had been passing guys by diving underneath them into three, but I didn't get in as deep as I think I needed to, and I didn't make it up the hill; I landed short. It made my apex tight, and I got a little push coming off, like 'oh no, that's not good.' I tried to get it turned back down the hill and, man, I thought we beat Kody to the line, but he was sucking my stickers off right at the line. Like, 'did we get it, did we get it?'
Grant did get it, as a matter of fact, by a fraction of a tenth of a second, or 0.050 sec. to be exact.
Swanson finished as the runner-up ahead of Bobby Santos, Aaron Pierce and Kyle O'Gara who finished a career-best fifth after starting 15th, which earned him both the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award and the GSP Quality Driving Performance of the night.
Swanson is a great friend of Grant's beyond the racetrack. In fact, Swanson was ordained and officiated Grant's wedding to wife Ashley. However, the two have a Silver Crown embargo. As fellow competitors, they don't allow themselves to talk about Silver Crown racing, but the two provided plenty for the people to talk about on Thursday night.
Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) earned his third podium finish in three USAC Silver Crown starts this season aboard his Doran Enterprises/Glenn Farms – Lykins Energy Solutions/Beast/Lanci Ford after winning at Lucas Oil Raceway and finishing third at Eldora. Those three performances have pushed Swanson into the series point lead despite missing one race at the Williams Grove Speedway race in June.
Likewise, Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) collected another podium finish this season in the DJ Racing/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Simpson Race Products/Beast/Speedway Chevy after earlier finishing 2nd at Lucas Oil Raceway in May. Santos led 63 laps at LOR and 18 more Thursday night at Winchester for a total of 81, which leads all drivers in that category this season.
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 22, 2021 – Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Paved Oval – Rich Vogler Classic presented by The Pallet Builder
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran-14.459 (New Track Record); 2. Bobby Santos, 22, DJ-14.817; 3. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-14.969; 4. Eric Gordon, 99, Armstrong-15.061; 5. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-15.227; 6. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-15.310; 7. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-15.459; 8. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-15.536; 9. Shane Cottle, 81, BCR-15.555; 10. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-15.689; 11. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-15.690; 12. Derek Bischak, 131, Bischak-15.732; 13. Nathan Byrd, 11, Hamilton/Byrd-16.093; 14. Logan Seavey, 222, Rice-16.117; 15. Kyle O'Gara, 1, SFHR-16.118; 16. Mike McVetta, 94, Myers-16.308; 17. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-16.395; 18. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-16.718; 19. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (5), 2. Kody Swanson (1), 3. Bobby Santos (2), 4. Aaron Pierce (3), 5. Kyle O'Gara (15), 6. Travis Welpott (7), 7. Matt Goodnight (8), 8. Kyle Robbins (11), 9. Derek Bischak (12), 10. David Byrne (6), 11. Logan Seavey (14), 12. Austin Nemire (10), 13. Shane Cottle (9), 14. Nathan Byrd (13), 15. Eric Gordon (4), 16. Mike Haggenbottom (18), 17. Mike McVetta (16), 18. Patrick Lawson (17), 19. Dave Berkheimer (19). 37:06.331 (New Track Record)
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Kody Swanson, Laps 5-22 Bobby Santos, Laps 23-57 Aaron Pierce, Laps 58-100 Justin Grant.
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-204, 2-Justin Grant-200, 3-Shane Cottle-199, 4-Logan Seavey-165, 5-David Byrne-163, 6-Kyle Robbins-162, 7-Austin Nemire-138, 8-Travis Welpott-136, 9-Bobby Santos-134, 10-Matt Goodnight-134.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-96, 2-Thomas Meseraull-94, 3-Robert Ballou-87, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 5-Chris Windom-83, 6-Justin Grant-74, 7-Brady Bacon-72, 8-Logan Seavey-65, 9-Buddy Kofoid-63, 10-C.J. Leary-51.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 8, 2021 – Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Bill Holland Classic
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Quality Driving Performance of the Night: Kyle O'Gara
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Kody Swanson
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Kyle O'Gara (15th to 5th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Shane Cottle
ELLIOTT, DALY TO DRIVE IN USAC'S BC39
AUG. 18-19 AT THE DIRT TRACK AT IMS
By: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, July 22, 2021) – Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott and NTT INDYCAR SERIES veteran Conor Daly were named to drive entries in the third Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink on Aug. 18-19 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Elliott will compete in the United States Auto Club (USAC) NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship event for the first time. He will drive the No. 9 entry fielded by Paul May Motorsports.
Daly raced in 2018 and 2019 in this event on the quarter-mile dirt track inside Turn 3 of IMS. The event didn't take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year Daly will drive the No. 47D entry fielded by Diaedge Racing.
Tickets are on sale now at IMS.com/BC39. Reserved seat ticket prices for qualifying and the feature event Thursday, Aug. 19 start at $35, the same price as in 2019.
Elliott, 25, earned his first Cup Series championship last season with Hendrick Motorsports. He is fifth in the Cup Series standings this season with two victories, qualifying him for the NASCAR Playoffs for all six seasons of his full-time Cup career.
Georgia native Elliott made two USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget starts in February at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida, finishing 14th and 18th. Elliott also raced in the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals in January.
Daly, 29, from Noblesville, Indiana, is a two-time veteran of the Chili Bowl, racing in the indoor classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2019 and 2020.
The BC39 event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 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.
This year's Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink also will be the conclusion of nearly a week of exciting action on the road course and The Dirt Track at IMS. The NASCAR-INDYCAR tripleheader takes place Aug. 13-15, with the Big Machine Spiked Coolers for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard for the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday, Aug. 14 and the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard for the NASCAR Cup Series on the IMS road course for the first time Sunday, Aug. 15.
BONUS CONTINGENCIES ADDED FOR 2021 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (July 22, 2021)………A number of bonus awards have been added to the upcoming 34th annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL series July 23-July 31, 2021.
At the conclusion of the week, the driver who advances the most total positions from their starting spots in all prelim and feature events throughout the entirety of ISW will receive $500 as the ProSource Passing Master. Provisional starters each night are ineligible to receive feature points toward the passing master total.
Additionally, another $100 each night will go to the Hard Charger, which is the driver who advances the most positions from their starting spot during the feature event. The hard charger awards at Terre Haute, Lincoln Park and Bloomington will come courtesy of B & W Auto Mart of Bloomington, Indiana.
The ProSource Hard Work Award will present $100 each night to the slowest qualifier who transfers to the feature event.
Fast Qualifying time each night will be sponsored by Fatheadz Eyewear, who'll honor the driver clocking in the fastest in time trials with a $100 bonus. Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension Inc., Indy Metal Finishing and Indy Race Parts proudly sponsor each of the four heat races while Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts is the title sponsor of the semi-feature.
The GSP Driving Performance of the Night rewards a driver for an exceptional performance at each event throughout the USAC National season and will carry the same $100 prize for all seven nights of Indiana Sprint Week.
While the top-six finishers of the semi-feature will transfer to the feature event, drivers finishing 7th through 12th place in the semi will walk away with a bit more incentive in their pockets - $200 apiece. All other non-transfers will receive $150.
Additionally, each feature event throughout NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week will now pay $6,000-to-win and $600 to start for a total of $26,300 in nightly feature payouts throughout the 34th annual edition of the series which features seven events during a nine-night span between July 23-31.
The top-eight in the final standings of Indiana Sprint Week will be "in the money" with a new record of $10,000 going to the series champion, plus $4,000 for 2nd, $2,000 for 3rd, $1,250 for 4th, $1,000 for 5th, $750 for 6th, $600 for 7th and $400 for 8th.
KSE Racing Products supports the Hard Charger and Wilwood Brakes will reward the 13th place finisher each night. Saldana Racing Products is the sponsor of the first non-transfer and the "sweep," if a driver can set fast time in qualifying, win their heat race, then capture the victory in the feature event all in one night.
AMSOIL is the title sponsor of the USAC National Sprint Car championship. NOS Energy Drink is the title sponsor of Indiana Sprint Week as well as the USAC Midget National Championship. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire of the United States Auto Club. FloRacing is the official video partner of the United States Auto Club.
Added to their Indiana Sprint Week support, ProSource has posted a $2,500 year-end reward to the driver who passes the most total cars during the feature events throughout USAC's 2021 Silver Crown, National Sprint and National Midget season.
USAC would like to give specials thanks VP Racing Fuels – the official fuel of USAC; Racing Electronics – the official communications provider of USAC and iRacing, the official motorsport simulation of USAC and Honda Generators – the official generator of USAC.
Eddie Gilstrap Motors of Salem, Indiana has provided the official pace truck for all USAC National events during the 2021 season, including Indiana Sprint Week.
Tickets will be available at the gate at each track during the entirety of Indiana Sprint Week.
Every lap of all seven USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL races will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE:
Friday, July 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN
Saturday, July 24: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN
Sunday, July 25: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN
Wednesday, July 28: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN
Thursday, July 29: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN
Friday, July 30: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN
Saturday, July 31: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN
UP IN KOKOMO: USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK
ROUND #2 HITS SATURDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana (July 21, 2021)………All C.J. Leary needed was a little luck on his side during the Kokomo Speedway round of Indiana Sprint Week last year.
Following an incident the night before at Gas City, the 2019 Indiana Sprint Week champ found lady luck at Kokomo with just three laps remaining when race leader Tyler Courtney spun.
From thereon after inheriting the lead, Leary was fully en route to winning time as he dashed away to the victory. It was an encounter by Leary and his former team owner during the post-race at Gas City that, as it turned out, may have provided a little bit of that good fortune for Leary that night at Kokomo.
"Last night, I went over and talked to (team owner) Andy (Reinbold) after the race. I was like, 'man we should've won this one last year and now you guys won it this year for some redemption. You guys got all the luck. I'm going to pit next to you tomorrow and steal some of that luck.' (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports crew chief Tyler Ransbottom) came over after tonight's race and said, 'don't ever pit next to me again,'" Leary said at the time, with a laugh.
Leary enters this Saturday's, July 24, second round of NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint by AMSOIL as the reigning race winner. The 2015 Kokomo track champ earned his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature win there during Smackdown weekend of 2016. The 2019 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion also finished 3rd in 2019 and also booked top-ten runs of 8th in 2017, 9th in 2018 and 10th in 2014.
Leary will be joined in the field by previous Kokomo Indiana Sprint Week winners: 2016 track champion and 2017 ISW titlist Kevin Thomas Jr. from Cullman, Alabama, who was the 2013 Kokomo ISW winner. Princeton, Indiana's Kyle Cummins won his first ever USAC National Sprint Car race during the 2016 Kokomo ISW round. San Jose, California's Thomas Meseraull scored back-to-back ISW Kokomo wins in 2017-18. Canton, Illinois' USAC Triple Crown champion, 2010 & 2018 Kokomo track champ, and twice an ISW champion in 2011 & 2018, Chris Windom, raced to a Kokomo ISW score in 2019.
Four more wheelman, Chase Stockon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant and Logan Seavey have each tasted the sweet nectar of victory in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Kokomo over the years.
Reigning Indiana Sprint Week champion Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) won at Kokomo in 2015 during a Smackdown prelim night as did 2015 ISW king Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.). Grant, the 2017 and 2019 Kokomo track champ from Ione, Calif., garnered a Smackdown belt in 2018. Seavey snared his first career USAC National Sprint Car triumph during Smackdown 2019.
Veterans of Indiana Sprint Week at Kokomo who are vying for first-ever ISW wins at the track include 2004-05-07-11 track champion Shane Cottle from Kansas, Ill. (4th in 2010); Marion, Illinois' Carson Short (2nd in 2017); and the unrelated Brady Short of Bedford, Ind. (2nd in 2010).
Also on hand will be Marion, Indiana's Scotty Weir, the 2008 & 2012 Kokomo Sprint Car track champ (4th in 2006 & 5th in 2019); Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Jason McDougal (11th in 2019); Penngrove, California' Chase Johnson (11th in 2020); Buckeye, Arizona's Charles Davis Jr. (12th in 2003); Terre Haute, Indiana's Brandon Mattox (15th in 2020) and Pittsboro, Indiana's Critter Malone (16th in 2003), who scored his first USAC National Midget feature victory at Kokomo in 1993.
Anaheim, California's Jake Swanson (16th in 2018) has nearly pulled off a first USAC National win this season as has Worthington, Indiana's Jadon Rogers (19th in 2020). They're joined by Apollo Beach, Florida's Anthony D'Alessio (20th in 2019) and Fairland, Indiana's Brent Beauchamp (23rd in 2014).
A lengthy list of talented drivers eye their first ever Kokomo Indiana Sprint Week feature start, including top USAC Rookie, Minden, Nevada's Tanner Thorson, who captured a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature win at Kokomo in 2020.
To the list, add on the 10th ranking USAC National Sprint Car driver in points, Paul Nienhiser (Chapin, Ill.), plus three-time USAC National Midget feature winner Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Stevie Sussex (Mesa, Ariz.), Brandon Long (Wichita Falls, Texas), Korbyn Hayslett (Troy, Ohio), Braydon Cromwell (Lone Jack, Mo.), Zack Pretorius (Yorktown, Ind.), Piqua, Ohio's Ryan Barr and Bloomington, Indiana's Jordan Kinser, who hopes to become the first Kinser to start a Kokomo ISW feature since Bob Kinser and Sheldon Kinser Jr. did so in 1995.
USAC CRA Sprint Car invaders Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, Calif.) and Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, Calif.) are making the trek out to the Hoosier state to compete at Kokomo as are Garrett Aitken (Paris, Ill.), Sterling Cling (Tempe, Ariz.), Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.), Matt Goodnight (Winchester, Ind.), David Hair (Indianapolis, Ind.), Tye Mihocko (Phoenix, Ariz.), Brayden Fox (Avon, Ind.), Chase Jones (Greenwood, Ind.) and Max Guilford (Auckland, N.Z.).
Except for a few years in the mid-2000s, Kokomo Speedway has been a staple of the NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL schedule from day one in 1988. Twenty-nine previous installments of ISW at the �-mile have taken place over the years. Dave Darland is the all-time winningest sprint car driver in track history and also owns the most ISW wins (4) and total USAC National Sprint Car victories (9) at Kokomo.
Kokomo's NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL event features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship vying for the $6,000 winner's share and are joined by the Thunder Cars.
On Saturday, pits open at 3pm EDT, front gates open at 3pm, drivers meeting at 6pm with cars on track at 6:30pm and qualifying/racing immediately following.
General admission tickets are $30, kids 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
Every lap of all seven USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL races will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE:
Friday, July 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN
Saturday, July 24: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN
Sunday, July 25: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN
Wednesday, July 28: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN
Thursday, July 29: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN
Friday, July 30: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN
Saturday, July 31: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT KOKOMO SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 7/12/2014 - Dave Darland - 12.405 - 72.551 mph
3 Laps - 8/29/2020 - C.J. Leary - 40.950 - 65.934 mph
6 Laps - 7/23/2003 - Mike Spencer - 1:32.52 - 58.366 mph
8 Laps - 7/13/2013 - Tyler Hewitt - 1:49.60 - 65.693 mph
10 Laps - 8/26/2017 - Chris Windom - 2:10.23 - 69.109 mph
12 Laps - 8/22/2014 - Dave Darland - 2:41.06 - 67.056 mph
15 Laps - 8/27/2016 - Tyler Thomas - 3:28.93 - 64.615 mph
30 Laps - 8/23/2019 - Logan Seavey - 6:48.92 - 66.028 mph
KOKOMO SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS:
9-Dave Darland
8-Tony Elliott
6-Tyler Courtney
4-Bryan Clauson
3-C.J. Leary, Chris Windom, Jack Hewitt, Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Thomas Jr. Kyle Cummins & Thomas Meseraull
1-Brad Marvel, Bud Kaeding, Chad Boat, Chase Stockon, Cory Kruseman, Dean Shirley, Hunter Schuerenberg, J.J. Yeley, Jay Drake, Justin Grant, Kelly Kinser, Kevin Thomas, Levi Jones, Logan Seavey, Rich Vogler, Robert Ballou, Russ Gamester, Tom Bigelow & Tyler Thomas
KOKOMO SPEEDWAY INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINNERS:
1988: Tim Gee
1989: Danny Smith
1990: Chuck Amati
1991: Dave Darland
1992: Tony Elliott
1993: Kevin Thomas
1994: Kelly Kinser
1995: Mike Mann
1996: Brad Marvel
1997: J.J. Yeley
1998: Tony Elliott
1999: Cory Kruseman
2000: Jay Drake
2001: Tony Elliott
2003: Bud Kaeding
2006: Jon Stanbrough
2007: Jon Stanbrough
2008: Dave Darland
2009: Chad Boat
2010: Levi Jones
2011: Hunter Schuerenberg
2012: Dave Darland
2013: Kevin Thomas Jr.
2014: Dave Darland
2016: Kyle Cummins
2017: Thomas Meseraull
2018: Thomas Meseraull
2019: Chris Windom
KOKOMO SPEEDWAY INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS:
4-Dave Darland
3-Tony Elliott
2-Thomas Meseraull & Jon Stanbrough
1-Chuck Amati, Chad Boat, Kyle Cummins, Jay Drake, Tim Gee, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, Kelly Kinser, Cory Kruseman, C.J. Leary, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Hunter Schuerenberg, Danny Smith, Kevin Thomas Kevin Thomas Jr. Chris Windom & J.J. Yeley
KOKOMO WINNERS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO WIN THE INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TITLE THAT YEAR:
6: Chuck Amati (1990), Kevin Thomas (1993), Kelly Kinser (1994), J.J. Yeley (1997), Jay Drake (2000) & Jon Stanbrough (2006)
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.
PAST INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RESULTS AT KOKOMO SPEEDWAY:
1988 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Tim Gee, 2. Kelly Kinser, 3. Terry Shepherd, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Randy Kinser, 6. Dink Glidden, 7. Art Wendt, 8. Joe Miller, 9. Mike Mann, 10. Pete Abel, 11. Dave Darland, 12. Tim Bookmiller, 13. Eric Gordon, 14. Brad Boyer, 15. Jeff Gordon, 16. Kevin Thomas, 17. Tim Norman, 18. Tray House
1989 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Danny Smith, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Chuck Amati, 4. Tom Chalk, 5. Kevin Huntley, 6. Todd Shields, 7. Bimbo Atkins, 8. Joe Roush, 9. Jeff Walker, 10. Joey Saldana, 11. Tim Bookmiller, 12. Mike Mann, 13. Randy Kinser, 14. Kevin Atkins, 15. Terry Pletch, 16. Tray House, 17. Ray Kenens, 18. Van Gurley
1990 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Chuck Amati, 2. Gary Trammell, 3. Bill Rose, 4. Joe Roush, 5. Kevin Thomas, 6. Bob Kinser, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. John Mapes, 9. Ray Kenens, 10. Brian Hayden, 11. Blake Hollingsworth, 12. Steve Imel, 13 Tony Elliott, 14. Terry Pletch, 15. Joe Davis, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Tony Ploughe, 18. Gary Fisher
1991 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Kevin Thomas, 3. Terry Shepherd, 4. Jeff Walker, 5. Tony Elliott, 6. Kevin Atkins, 7. Bimbo Atkins, 8. Bill Rose, 9. Gary Fisher, 10. Mike Mann, 11. Tim Bookmiller, 12. Tray House, 13. Tony Ploughe, 14. Bob Kinser, 15. Tony Jarrett, 16. Jon Stanbrough, 17. Jack Hewitt, 18. Rick Ungar
1992 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Rusty McClure, 3. Gary Fisher, 4. Brad Marvel, 5. Bob Kinser, 6. Kurt Hawkins, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Kevin Thomas, 9. Mike Mann, 10. Bill Rose, 11. Tony Ploughe, 12. Kent Christian, 13. Tony Jarrett, 14. Ray Kenens, 15. Dallas Kinser, 16. Bub Dutton, 17. Dave Darland, 18. Brian Hayden
1993 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Kevin Thomas, 2. Brad Marvel, 3. Tray House, 4. Doug Kalitta, 5. Dave Peperak, 6. Joe Roush, 7. Kent Christian, 8. Tim Bookmiller, 9. Gary Fisher, 13. Tony Elliott, 14. Dave Darland
1994 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Kelly Kinser, 2. Todd Kelley, 3. Danny Smith, 4. Tony Jarrett, 5. Bob Kinser, 6. Joe Miller, 7. Rob Roberts, 8. Jeff Pritchard, 9. Tommy Rockwell, 10. Greg Bugher, 11. Rick Barlow, 12. Tom Patterson, 13. Tony Ploughe, 14. Tom Wright, 15. Terry Pletch, 16. Mike Mann
1995 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Mike Mann, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Kevin Thomas, 4. Bob Kinser, 5. Kurt Hawkins, 6. Sheldon Kinser Jr., 7. Kent Christian, 8. Joe Roush, 9. Derek Davidson, 10. Jeff O'Banion, 11. Brad Marvel, 12. Jon Stanbrough, 13. Chris Beaver, 14. Tony Jarrett, 15. Tray House, 16. Danny Williams Jr., 17. Dave Darland, 18. Brian Hayden
1996 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brad Marvel, 2. Derek Davidson, 3. Kevin Thomas, 4. Bill Rose, 5. Joe Roush, 6. Tony Elliott, 7. Kent Christian, 8. Mike Mann, 9. Doug Kalitta, 10. Tray House, 11. Ray Kenens, 12. Terry Pletch, 13. Greg Stephens, 14. Brian Tyler, 15. Jack Hewitt, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Dave Steele, 18. Tony Ploughe, 19. Tony Jarrett, 20. Brian Hayden, 21. Dave Peperak, 22. Robbie Rice. NT
1997 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Kevin Thomas, 6. Cory Kruseman, 7. Mike Kirby, 8. Bill Rose, 9. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 10. Troy Cline, 11. Dave Peperak, 12. Mike Mann, 13. Tony Jarrett, 14. Joe Roush, 15. Greg Stephens, 16. Brian Tyler, 17. Dustin Smith, 18. Chris Beaver, 19. Derek Davidson, 20. Kent Christian, 21. Terry Pletch, 22. Kurt Hawkins. 8:34.95
1998 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Robbie Rice, 4. Terry Pletch, 5. Cory Kruseman, 6. Jeremy Sherman, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Tony Jarrett, 9. Bill Rose, 10. Kevin Thomas, 11. J.J. Yeley, 12. Brian Hayden, 13. Corey Smith, 14. Joe Roush, 15. Troy Cline, 16. Kevin Doty, 17. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 18. Mike Kirby, 19. Rickie Gaunt, 20. Jay Drake, 21. Richard Griffin, 22. Rusty McClure. NT
1999 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Rusty McClure, 3. Mike Mann, 4. Kevin Briscoe, 5. Terry Pletch, 6. Tony Jarrett, 7. Kent Christian, 8. Todd Kane, 9. Tony Elliott, 10. Jason Robbins, 11. Justin Marvel, 12. Kevin Doty, 13. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 14. Kevin Thomas, 15. Jack Hewitt, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Eric Shively, 18. Tony Ploughe, 19. Joe Roush, 20. A.J. Anderson, 21. Charlie Sarver. (J.J. Yeley disqualified for rules infraction) NT
2000 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Cory Kruseman, 3. Jon Stanbrough, 4. Brandon Petty, 5. Bill Rose, 6. Tony Jarrett, 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Justin Marvel, 9. Terry Pletch, 10. Kasey Kahne, 11. Dustin Smith, 12. Bud Kaeding, 13. Kevin Briscoe, 14. Todd Kane, 15. Tracy Hines, 16. Eric Gordon, 17. Levi Jones, 18. Kent Christian, 19. A.J. Anderson, 20. Mike Mann, 21. Jack Hewitt, 22. J.J. Yeley. NT
2001 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Jeremy Sherman, 3. Bud Kaeding, 4. J.J. Yeley, 5. Brian Tyler, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Kevin Thomas, 8. Kevin Briscoe, 9. Eric Shively, 10. Bill Rose, 11. Levi Jones, 12. Dickie Gaines, 13. Mike English, 14. Kent Christian, 15. Mike Mann, 16. Jack Hewitt, 17. Corey Smith, 18. Mark Clark, 19. Dustin Smith, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. Derek Davidson, 22. Jay Drake. NT
2003 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bud Kaeding, 2. Cory Kruseman, 3. J.J. Yeley, 4. Brian Hayden, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. Derek Davidson, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Shane Cottle, 10. Mark Clark, 11. Tracy Hines, 12. Charles Davis Jr., 13. John Scott, 14. Jay Drake, 15. Jerry Coons Jr., 16. Critter Malone, 17. A.J. Anderson, 18. Casey Shuman, 19. Michael Burthay, 20. Matt Westfall, 21. Eric Shively, 22. Tony Elliott. NT
2006 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Mat Neely, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Scotty Weir, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Dickie Gaines, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Josh Wise, 10. Jay Drake, 11. Ryan Pace, 12. Cory Kruseman, 13. Bryan Stanfill, 14. Ron Dennis, 15. Jerry Coons Jr., 16. Darren Hagen, 17. Casey Shuman, 18. Jesse Hockett, 19. Brad Sweet, 20. Daron Clayton, 21. Josh Ford, 22. Shane Hollingsworth, 23. Bart Grider, 24. Kent Christian. NT
2007 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Cole Whitt, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Darren Hagen, 5. Dustin Morgan, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 8. Neil Shepherd, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Cory Kruseman, 11. Scotty Weir, 12. Chris Windom, 13. Jesse Hockett, 14. Shane Hollingsworth, 15. Jerry Coons Jr., 16. Brady Short, 17. Shane Cottle, 18. Mat Neely, 19. Robert Ballou, 20. Kevin Swindell, 21. Daron Clayton, 22. Josh Spencer, 23. Jeff Bland Jr., 24. Mitch Wissmiller. NT
2008 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Cole Whitt, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Bryan Clauson, 9. Damion Gardner, 10. Dustin Morgan, 11. Scotty Weir, 12. Jeff Bland Jr., 13. Robert Ballou, 14. Jon Stanbrough, 15. Brett Burdette, 16. Chad Boespflug, 17. Shane Cottle, 18. Chris Windom, 19. Casey Shuman, 20. Dickie Gaines, 21. Thomas Meseraull, 22. Ryan Pace, 23. Henry Clarke, 24. Hunter Schuerenberg, 25. Brad Sweet. NT
2009 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chad Boat, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Jon Stanbrough, 4. Brad Sweet, 5. Hud Cone, 6. Blake Fitzpatrick, 7. Levi Jones, 8. Josh Wise, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Darren Hagen, 11. Cole Whitt, 12. Casey Shuman, 13. Thomas Meseraull, 14. Scotty Weir, 15. Dave Darland, 16. J.J. Yeley, 17. Bobby East. 18. Damion Gardner, 19. Shane Hmiel, 20. Hunter Schuerenberg, 21. Henry Clarke, 22. Robert Ballou, 23. Tracy Hines. NT
2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Levi Jones, 2. Brady Short, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Dave Darland, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Blake Fitzpatrick, 9. Tracy Hines, 10. Henry Clarke, 11. Shane Hmiel, 12. Matt Mitchell, 13. Jonathan Hendrick, 14. Bud Kaeding, 15. Daron Clayton, 16. Justin Grant, 17. Chase Stockon, 18. Mike Spencer, 19. Darren Hagen, 20. Robert Ballou, 21. Jeff Bland Jr., 22. Jon Stanbrough, 23. Kurt Gross, 24. Bobby East, 25. Damion Gardner. NT
2011 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Hunter Schuerenberg, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Mike Spencer, 6. Casey Riggs, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Coleman Gulick, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Damion Gardner, 11. Levi Jones, 12. Robert Ballou, 13. Shane Cottle, 14. Scotty Weir, 15. Tracy Hines, 16. Blake Fitzpatrick, 17. Bobby East, 18. Keith Bloom, 19. Kyle Robbins, 20. J.J. Hughes, 21. Chris Gurley, 22. Matt Mitchell, 23. Chad Boespflug, 24. Jon Stanbrough, 25. Kevin Thomas Jr. NT
2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Hunter Schuerenberg, 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Casey Shuman, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 10. Bobby East, 11. Matt Mitchell, 12. Robert Ballou, 13. Damion Gardner, 14. Chris Windom, 15. Scotty Weir, 16. Jonathan Hendrick, 17. Jon Stanbrough, 18. Chad Boespflug, 19. C.J. Leary, 20. Logan Jarrett, 21. Tracy Hines, 22. Coleman Gulick, 23. Jace Vander Weerd, 24. Kyle Cummins, 25. Brent Beauchamp. NT
2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Wes McIntyre, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Christopher Bell, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Chad Boespflug, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Hunter Schuerenberg, 9. Scotty Weir, 10. Brady Short, 11. Tracy Hines, 12. Jon Stanbrough, 13. Brady Bacon, 14. Robert Ballou, 15. Chase Stockon, 16. Shane Cottle, 17. Tyler Courtney, 18. Casey Shuman, 19. Jerry Coons Jr., 20. Kyle Cummins, 21. Davey Ray, 22. Jace Vander Weerd, 23. Richard Vander Weerd, 24. Justin Grant, 25. Ryan Bernal. NT
2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Hunter Schuerenberg, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Robert Ballou, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Thomas Meseraull, 10. C.J. Leary, 11. Jon Stanbrough,12. Jerry Coons Jr., 13. Brady Short, 14. Chase Stockon,15. Tyler Courtney, 16. Tracy Hines, 17. Richard Vander Weerd, 18. Scotty Weir, 19. Chad Boespflug, 20. Shane Cockrum, 21. Jarett Andretti, 22. Daron Clayton, 23. Brent Beauchamp, 24. Matt Westfall, 25. Shane Cottle. NT
2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Chad Boespflug, 7. Tyler Courtney, 8. Jarett Andretti, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Shane Cottle, 11. Thomas Meseraull, 12. Tyler Thomas, 13. Logan Jarrett, 14. Chase Stockon, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Aaron Farney, 17. Max McGhee, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Bryan Clauson, 20. Kent Schmidt, 21. Hunter Schuerenberg, 22. Jon Stanbrough, 23. Josh Hodges, 24. Cole Ketcham. NT
2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Carson Short, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Tyler Courtney, 5. Kyle Cummins, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 8. C.J. Leary, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Robert Ballou, 11. Ryan Bernal. 12. A.J. Hopkins, 13. Chase Stockon, 14. Brady Short, 15. Chad Boespflug, 16. Aaron Farney, 17. Josh Hodges, 18. Jarett Andretti, 19. Kody Swanson, 20. Hunter Schuerenberg, 21. Justin Grant, 22. Brody Roa, 23. Isaac Chapple, 24. Brent Beauchamp. NT
2018 FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (4), 2. Chase Stockon (6), 3. Justin Grant (3), 4. Chris Windom (5), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 6. Dave Darland (7), 7. Tyler Courtney (12), 8. Tyler Thomas (10), 9. C.J. Leary (14), 10. Josh Hodges (21), 11. Kyle Cummins (1), 12. Brady Bacon (11), 13. Timmy Buckwalter (9), 14. Brody Roa (16), 15. Kody Swanson (15), 16. Jake Swanson (17), 17. Chad Boespflug (23), 18. Matt Westfall (24), 19. Jason McDougal (13), 20. Carson Short (18), 21. Isaac Chapple (22), 22. Clinton Boyles (20), 23. Jarett Andretti (2), 24. Robert Ballou (19). NT
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (3), 2. Brady Bacon (1), 3. C.J. Leary (6), 4. Kyle Cummins (10), 5. Scotty Weir (2), 6. Carson Short (5), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 8. Justin Grant (18), 9. Tyler Courtney (15), 10. Chase Stockon (7), 11. Jason McDougal (4), 12. Jarett Andretti (20), 13. Shane Cottle (12), 14. Brody Roa (16), 15. Shane Cockrum (14), 16. Koby Barksdale (9), 17. Dave Darland (21), 18. Brandon Mattox (22), 19. Brian VanMeveren (24), 20. Anthony D'Alessio (17), 21. Thomas Meseraull (13), 22. Isaac Chapple (23), 23. Dakota Jackson (19), 24. Josh Hodges (8). NT
2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (2), 2. Brady Bacon (6), 3. Justin Grant (4), 4. Robert Ballou (7), 5. Chase Stockon (10), 6. Kyle Cummins (5), 7. Carson Short (1), 8. Shane Cottle (14), 9. Chris Windom (13), 10. Logan Seavey (8), 11. Chase Johnson (19), 12. Dave Darland (11), 13. A.J. Hopkins (21), 14. Tyler Courtney (3), 15. Brandon Mattox (9), 16. Thomas Meseraull (17), 17. Kevin Thomas Jr. (22), 18. Clinton Boyles (16), 19. Jadon Rogers (24), 20. Jerry Coons Jr. (20), 21. Max Adams (18), 22. Dustin Smith (23), 23. Critter Malone (15), 24. Colten Cottle (12). NT
THE BURG IS THE WORD
FOR USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RD. 3 SUNDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Lawrenceburg, Indiana (July 22, 2021)………Entering the previous year's NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL round at Lawrenceburg Speedway, it had been three years since a driver had gone "back-to-back" by scoring consecutive victories in the annual tour of the Hoosier state.
The very same driver who achieved the aforementioned feat in 2017, C.J. Leary, became the latest individual to accomplish the job, a feat which took everything the Greenfield, Ind. driver could muster.
"Man, that was a workout," Leary, the 2019 Indiana Sprint Week champ, exclaimed. "Lawrenceburg Speedway was elbows up tonight; definitely had the spurs on and took all I had. Typically, it's a breeze in the park for me since I have so many laps here, but tonight, it was everything I had, and using all the experience I've put together the past 10 years here."
Leary's Lawrenceburg experience includes a sprint car championship at the track during the 2013 season, plus the 2017 ISW score that launched him into a succession of ISW feature victories on two-straight nights that summer as well.
Coming into this Sunday night's, July 25, third round of 2021 Indiana Sprint Week, Leary brings in an impressive streak as the only driver to finish inside the top-five of the Lawrenceburg ISW event in each of the last five years since 2017.
Leary's pair of Lawrenceburg ISW feature victories are tied for the most among drivers in this Sunday's field alongside Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) who won his very first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car race there during the summer of 2012, then collected another in 2019.
Also achieving status as an Indiana Sprint Week winner at Lawrenceburg, and taking a shot at their second this Sunday, are Mitchell, Indiana's 2003 & 2019 Lawrenceburg track champion, Dickie Gaines (2005); Bedford, Indiana's Brady Short (2008); Rocklin, California's Robert Ballou (2011); Cullman, Alabama's Kevin Thomas Jr. (2013); and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Brady Bacon (2015). Bacon has been the victor of the two most recent USAC National Sprint Car events at Lawrenceburg in October 2020 and in April 2021.
Chase Stockon (2012), Thomas Meseraull (2015) and Chris Windom (2017) have all stood in victory lane at Lawrenceburg following a USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph. None of the trio have cracked their way into the win column during Indiana Sprint Week yet, and all are among the major players come Sunday.
Defending Indiana Sprint Week champ Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) won the first USAC National Sprint Car event of his career at Lawrenceburg in 2012, and his best career ISW Burg result came in 2020 with a 4th. Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) took home a 7th during ISW at Lawrenceburg in 2017. Meanwhile, Windom (Canton, Ill.), the 2011 and 2018 ISW champion, has finished as the runner-up of Lawrenceburg's ISW round on three occasions in 2011, 2019 and 2020.
USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookies Tanner Thorson and Paul Nienhiser will make their first Indiana Sprint Week appearances at Lawrenceburg. Thorson (Minden, Nev.) ran 13th at Lawrenceburg in April's USAC show while Nienhiser (Chapin, Ill.) took 7th.
June Burg winner Saban Bibent (Cincinnati, Ohio) will attempt to make his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature start on Sunday in the Wedgewood Motorsports #98, a car which finished 2nd with driver Brady Bacon behind the wheel during a weekly program at Lawrenceburg in June.
Veterans of Lawrenceburg ISW top-ten finishes among Sunday's lineup of drivers include the likes Kansas, Illinois' Shane Cottle (2nd in 2005), Marion, Indiana's Scotty Weir (4th in 2007), Marion, Illinois' Carson Short (5th in 2019 & 2020), Buckeye, Arizona's Charles Davis Jr. (6th in 2004), Princeton, Indiana's Kyle Cummins (7th in 2020), Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Jason McDougal (7th in 2019), Pleasant Hill, Ohio's Matt Westfall (8th in 2004), Penngrove, California's Chase Johnson (9th in 2020) as well as Sutter, California's Logan Seavey (6th in 2020), who won both a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature and a weekly sprint car show at Lawrenceburg on the same night this past June.
Returning for another go this Sunday who've performed in a Lawrenceburg ISW feature in recent years are reigning track champion and current point leader Nick Bilbee of Indianapolis, Indiana (21st in 2016) as well as 2018 track champ Garrett Abrams of Rushville, Ind. (19th in 2015).
They're joined by Anaheim, California's Jake Swanson (12th in 2018), Columbus, Indiana's J.J. Hughes (16th in 2020), 2020 USAC National Most Improved Driver Brandon Mattox of Terre Haute, Indiana (18th in 2020); 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Jadon Rogers of Worthington, Ind. (22nd in 2020); Auburn, Illinois' Mario Clouser (24th in 2017); and Chino Hills, California's Eddie Tafoya Jr. (19th in 2020) who'll be joined by first-time Indiana Sprint Week competitor and fellow AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car series regular Chris Gansen of Verdemont Heights, Calif.
Twenty-five previous Indiana Sprint Week events have been held at Lawrenceburg since 1997 while 65 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car events have taken place there since 1983. Dave Darland owns the record for most ISW feature victories (5) and overall USAC National Sprint Car feature wins (7) at Lawrenceburg.
Lawrenceburg's NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL event features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship vying for the $6,000 winner's share and are joined by the Modifieds.
On Saturday, pits open at 3pm EDT, grandstands open at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:15pm with hot laps at 6pm and qualifying/racing immediately following.
General admission tickets are $30, kids 7-12 are $7, children 6 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
Every lap of all seven USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL events will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE:
Friday, July 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN
Saturday, July 24: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN
Sunday, July 25: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN
Wednesday, July 28: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN
Thursday, July 29: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN
Friday, July 30: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN
Saturday, July 31: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT LAWRENCEBURG:
1 Lap - 7/9/2008 - Levi Jones - 12.926 - 104.441 mph
8 Laps - 9/28/2013 - Tracy Hines - 1:51.91 - 96.506 mph
10 Laps - 7/10/2008 - Cole Whitt - 2:18.19 - 97.692 mph
12 Laps - 10/1/2016 - Stevie Sussex - 2:51.39 - 94.521 mph
30 Laps - 10/1/2016 - Josh Hodges - 7:21.09 - 91.818 mph
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:
5-Dave Darland
3-Jon Stanbrough
2-Kevin Briscoe, Bryan Clauson, Justin Grant & C.J. Leary
1-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Jeff Bland Jr., Tyler Courtney, Dickie Gaines, Jack Hewitt, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Brian Tyler
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINNERS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:
1997: Brian Tyler (7/19)
1998: Dave Darland (7/18)
1999: Jack Hewitt (7/22)
2000: Kevin Briscoe (7/22)
2001: Dave Darland (7/26)
2002: Kevin Briscoe (7/25)
2003: Jon Stanbrough (7/24)
2004: Jon Stanbrough (7/22)
2005: Dickie Gaines (7/21)
2007: Jon Stanbrough (7/11) & Dave Darland (7/12)
2008: Jeff Bland Jr. (7/9) & Brady Short (7/10)
2009: Dave Darland (7/10)
2010: Dave Darland (7/9)
2011: Robert Ballou (7/10)
2012: Justin Grant (7/15)
2013: Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/14)
2014: Bryan Clauson (9/27)
2015: Brady Bacon (7/12)
2016: Bryan Clauson (7/10)
2017: C.J. Leary (7/9)
2018: Tyler Courtney (7/22)
2019: Justin Grant (7/21)
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:
7-Dave Darland
5-Jon Stanbrough
4-Justin Grant, Jack Hewitt & Kevin Thomas Jr.
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, Kevin Doty, Jay Drake, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Josh Hodges, Logan Jarrett, Thomas Meseraull, Rodney Ritter, Jr., Brady Short, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas, Chris Windom, Josh Wise & J.J. Yeley
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:
1983: Danny Milburn (9/18)
1984: Rick Hood (6/9) & Danny Milburn (9/16)
1985: Rick Hood (6/8)
1986: Rick Hood (6/7)
1988: Jack Hewitt (6/4)
1989: Rodney Ritter Jr. (7/1)
1992: Kevin Thomas (8/8)
1993: Jack Hewitt (7/10)
1994: Jon Stanbrough (6/18)
1995: Jack Hewitt (7/1)
1996: Mark Cassella (8/31)
1997: Brian Tyler (7/19) & Brian Tyler (8/30)
1998: Kevin Doty (5/30), Dave Darland (7/18) & Dave Darland (8/29)
1999: Kevin Briscoe (6/5), Jack Hewitt (7/22) & Tony Elliott (8/28)
2000: Kevin Briscoe (7/22) & Tony Elliott (8/26)
2001: Dave Darland (7/26)
2002: Kevin Briscoe (7/25)
2003: J.J. Yeley (5/31), Jay Drake (6/1) & Jon Stanbrough (7/24)
2004: Jon Stanbrough (7/22)
2005: Dickie Gaines (7/21)
2006: Jon Stanbrough (4/22)
2007: Levi Jones (4/21), Jon Stanbrough (7/11) & Dave Darland (7/12)
2008: Jeff Bland Jr. (7/9) & Brady Short (7/10)
2009: Josh Wise (4/18), Dave Darland (7/10), Jerry Coons Jr. (8/22 Special Event) & Damion Gardner (10/2)
2010: Jerry Coons Jr. (4/17) & Dave Darland (7/9)
2011: Robert Ballou (7/10), Levi Jones (10/1)
2012: Justin Grant (7/15) & Chase Stockon (9/29)
2013: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4/6), Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/14) & Bryan Clauson (9/28)
2014: Justin Grant (4/5) & Bryan Clauson (9/27)
2015: Logan Jarrett (4/4), Brady Bacon (7/12) & Thomas Meseraull (10/3)
2016: Dave Darland (4/2), Bryan Clauson (7/10) & Josh Hodges (10/1)
2017: Chris Windom (4/1), C.J. Leary (7/9) & Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9/30)
2018: Tyler Courtney (7/22) & Justin Grant (9/29)
2019: Justin Grant (7/21) & Kevin Thomas, Jr. (10/5)
2020: C.J. Leary (7/26) & Brady Bacon (10/3)
LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY ISW WINNERS WHO'VE GONE ON TO WIN THE ISW TITLE THAT YEAR: 3 – Dave Darland (1998, 2001 & 2007)
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.
PAST INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RESULTS AT LAWRENCEBURG SPEEDWAY:
1997 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brian Tyler, 2. Bill Rose, 3. Chris Beaver, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Russ Gamester, 6. Brian Hayden, 7. Troy Cline, 8. J.J. Yeley, 9. Cary Faas, 10. Vince Osman, 11. Kevin Thomas, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Jeff O'Banion, 14. Tony Jarrett, 15. Kent Christian, 16. Jon Stanbrough, 17. Derek Davidson, 18. Dave Peperak, 19. Cory Kruseman, 20. Jack Hewitt, 21. Richard Griffin, 22. Sheldon Kinser Jr. NT
1998 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Kevin Thomas, 3. Tony Elliott, 4. Jeremy Sherman, 5. Greg Wilson, 6. Jack Hewitt, 7. Richard Griffin, 8. Brian Hayden, 9. Jason McCord, 10. Kevin Doty, 11. Mike Mann, 12. Dustin Smith, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Gary Howard, 15. Rodney Argo, 16. Steve Surniak, 17. Rusty McClure, 18. Kevin Miller, 19. Donnie Beechler, 20. Derek Davidson, 21. Eric Gordon, 22. Tim Cox. NT
1999 FEATURE: (30 Laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Terry Pletch, 6. Kevin Doty, 7. Jay Drake, 8. Jimmy Sills, 9. Justin Marvel, 10. Todd Kane, 11. Billy Puterbaugh, Jr., 12. Kent Christian, 13. Jeff O'Banion, 14. Kevin Thomas, 15. Eric Burns, 16. Kevin Miller, 17. Kenny Carmichael, 18. Steve Surniak, 19. Joe Roush, 20. Jason Robbins, 21. Jon Stanbrough, 22. Brian Tyler. NT
2000 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Briscoe, 2. Jay Drake, 3. Tony Elliott, 4. Jerry Coons, Jr., 5. Justin Marvel, 6. Eric Gordon, 7. Brandon Petty, 8. Bud Kaeding, 9. Todd Kane, 10. Jeff Wilson, 11. Dave Darland, 12. Levi Jones, 13. Jonathan Vennard, 14. Eric Burns, 15. Cory Kruseman, 16. Bill Rose, 17. Jon Stanbrough, 18. Derek Davidson, 19. Jack Hewitt, 20. Dickie Gaines, 21. Richard Ott, 22. Corey Smith. NT
2001 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Jay Drake, 3. Bud Kaeding, 4. Mike English, 5. Kevin Thomas, 6. Dickie Gaines, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Brian Hayden, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Eric Roberts, 11. Robbie Rice, 12. Brian Tyler, 13. Tony Elliott, 14. J.J. Yeley, 15. Derek Scheffel, 16. Terry Pletch, 17. Tracy Hines, 18. Brandon Petty, 19. Gregg Dillion, 20. Eric Burns, 21. Bill Rose, 22. Eric Shively. NT
2002 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Briscoe, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Cory Kruseman, 6. Dustin Smith, 7. Chris Coers, 8. Boston Reid, 9. Kevin Thomas, 10. Tim Spindler, 11. Eric Shively, 12. Dickie Gaines, 13. Jerry Coons, Jr., 14. Terry Pletch, 15. Derek Davidson, 16. Troy Rutherford, 17. Travis Gregg, 18. Michael Burthay, 19. A.J. Anderson, 20. Tony Elliott, 21. Matt Westfall, 22. Jimmy Laser, 23. Kent Christian. NT
2003 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Dickie Gaines, 4. Bud Kaeding, 5. Eric Gordon, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Jay Drake, 9. Tim Spindler, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Critter Malone, 12. Shane Hollingsworth, 13. Derek Davidson, 14. A.J. Anderson, 15. Mike Spencer, 16. Kent Christian, 17. Travis Rilat, 18. Cory Kruseman, 19. Jerry Coons, Jr., 20. Brian Hayden, 21. Shane Cottle, 22. Jason Robbins, 23. Brian Tyler. NT
2004 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Dickie Gaines, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Cory Kruseman, 5. Casey Shuman, 6. Charles Davis Jr., 7. Kevin Besecker, 8. Matt Westfall, 9. Bud Kaeding, 10. Kent Christian, 11. Justin Marvel, 12. Josh Wise, 13. Josh Ford, 14. A.J. Anderson, 15. Jay Drake, 16. Tom Hessert III, 17. Kenny Carmichael, 18. John Scott, 19. Davey Ray, 20. Shane Cottle, 21. Rick Ziehl, 22. Darren Hagen, 23. Travis Gregg, 24. Corey Smith. NT
2005 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dickie Gaines, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Jerry Coons, Jr., 4. Shane Hollingsworth, 5. Mat Neely, 6. Jay Drake, 7. John Wolfe, 8. Cory Kruseman, 9. Jon Stanbrough, 10. Tom Hessert III, 11. Bud Kaeding, 12. Matt Westfall, 13. Darren Hagen, 14. Josh Wise, 15. Casey Shuman, 16. Brad Sweet, 17. Scotty Weir, 18. Levi Jones, 19. Damion Gardner, 20. Kevin Besecker, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Corey Smith, 23. Kevin Briscoe, 24. Bill Rose. NT
2007 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Kevin Swindell, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Levi Jones, 9. Daron Clayton, 10. Shane Cottle, 11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 12. Josh Ford, 13. Mat Neely, 14. Shane Hollingsworth, 15. Scotty Weir, 16. Brady Short, 17. Michael Trimble, 18. Tim Spindler, 19. Neil Shepherd, 20. Brad Sweet, 21. Kyle Robbins, 22. Mike Spencer, 23. Damion Gardner, 24. Chad Boespflug, 25. Brandon Petty, 26. Dustin Morgan. NT
2007 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Brady Short, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Scotty Weir, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Cory Kruseman, 7. Chris Windom, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Darren Hagen, 10. Jeff Bland Jr., 11. Mat Neely, 12. Matt Westfall, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 15. Jesse Hockett, 16. Dustin Morgan, 17. Tim Spindler, 18. Damion Gardner, 19. Brandon Petty, 20. Michael Trimble, 21. Mike Spencer, 22. Kevin Swindell, 23. Jerry Coons Jr., 24. Daron Clayton, 25. Hunter Schuerenberg. NT
2008 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps – Presented by Watson Gravel) 1. Jeff Bland Jr., 2. Levi Jones, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Brad Sweet, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Hunter Schuerenberg, 10. Darren Hagen, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Chris Windom, 13. Scotty Weir, 14. Jesse Hockett, 15. Ryan Pace, 16. Robert Ballou, 17. Thomas Meseraull, 18. Chad Boat, 19. Daron Clayton, 20. Jon Stanbrough, 21. Cole Whitt, 22. Dustin Morgan, 23. Neil Shepherd, 24. Brady Short. NT
2008 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps – Presented by Watson Gravel) 1. Brady Short, 2. Hunter Schuerenberg, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Dave Darland, 6. Cole Whitt, 7. Darren Hagen, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Scotty Weir, 11. Levi Jones, 12. Jeff Bland Jr., 13. Chad Boat, 14. Blake Fitzpatrick, 15. Tracy Hines, 16. Brad Sweet, 17. Zach Martini, 18. Josh Spencer, 19. Jesse Hockett, 20. Kyle Robbins, 21. Jon Stanbrough, 22. Robert Ballou, 23. Damion Gardner, 24. Kyle Wissmiller. NT
2009 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Chad Boat, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. Henry Clarke, 7. Nic Faas, 8. Jeff Bland Jr., 9. Darren Hagen, 10. Cole Whitt, 11. Blake Fitzpatrick, 12. Hud Cone, 13. Shane Cottle, 14. Brady Short, 15. Josh Wise, 16. Caleb Armstrong, 17. Damion Gardner, 18. Kevin Thomas Jr., 19. Joss Moffatt, 20. Shane Hmiel, 21. Hunter Schuerenberg, 22. Tracy Hines, 23. Jerry Coons Jr. NT
2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Brady Short, 3. Bobby East, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Damion Gardner, 6. Hunter Schuerenberg, 7. Daron Clayton, 8. Justin Grant, 9. Blake Fitzpatrick, 10. Bryan Clauson, 11. Jeff Bland Jr., 12. Tracy Hines, 13. Jerry Coons Jr., 14. Jon Stanbrough, 15. Ricky Williams, 16. Caleb Armstrong, 17. John Memmer, 18. Henry Clarke, 19. Robert Ballou, 20. Kurt Gross, 21. Matt Mitchell, 22. Chris Windom, 23. Shane Cottle, 24. Casey Riggs. NT
2011 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Justin Grant, 5. Bobby East, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Brady Short, 9. Shane Cottle, 10. Levi Jones, 11. Jon Stanbrough, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Mike Spencer, 14. Damion Gardner, 15. Keith Bloom, 16. Daron Clayton, 17. Coleman Gulick, 18. Dustin Morgan, 19. Andrew Elson, 20. Blake Fitzpatrick, 21. Hunter Schuerenberg, 22. Casey Riggs, 23. Chad Boespflug, 24. Kevin Thomas Jr. NT
2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Damion Gardner, 3. Coleman Gulick, 4. Hunter Schuerenberg, 5. Levi Jones, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Jon Stanbrough, 9. Chase Stockon, 10. Bobby East, 11. Matt Mitchell, 12. Jerry Coons Jr., 13. Darren Hagen, 14. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15. Brent Beauchamp, 16. Logan Hupp, 17. C.J. Leary, 18. Wes McIntyre, 19. Dave Darland, 20. Jace Vander Weerd, 21. Dakota Jackson, 22. Bryan Clauson, 23. Shane Cottle, 24. Jonathan Hendrick, 25. Chris Windom. NT
2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Dave Darland, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Wes McIntyre, 7. Justin Grant, 8. Christopher Bell, 9. Robert Ballou, 10. Richard Vander Weerd, 11. Jon Stanbrough, 12. Tracy Hines, 13. Ted Hines, 14. Hunter Schuerenberg, 15. Jerry Coons Jr., 16. Chris Windom, 17. Ryan Bernal, 18. Chad Boespflug, 19. C.J. Leary, 20. Tyler Courtney, 21. Kyle Cummins, 22. Shawn Westerfeld, 23. Scotty Weir, 24. Chase Stockon, NT
2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Aaron Farney, 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 7. Jarett Andretti, 8. Jon Stanbrough, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Hunter Schuerenberg, 11. Scotty Weir, 12. Shawn Westerfeld, 13. Chad Boespflug, 14. Thomas Meseraull, 15. Logan Jarrett, 16. Chase Stockon, 17. Landon Simon, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Garrett Abrams, 20. Kyle Cummins, 21. Kody Swanson, 22. Josh Hodges, 23. Bill Rose. NT
2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Chris Windom, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Josh Hodges, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Kyle Cummins, 9. Robert Ballou, 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Jarett Andretti, 12. Chase Stockon, 13. Jon Stanbrough, 14. Zach Daum, 15. Landon Simon, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Tyler Thomas, 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. Hunter Schuerenberg, 20. Logan Jarrett, 21. Nick Bilbee, 22. Chad Boespflug, 23. Kyle Wissmiller, 24. Joss Moffatt. NT
2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 4. Dave Darland, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Brody Roa, 9. Brady Short, 10. Jarett Andretti, 11. Josh Hodges, 12. Tyler Courtney, 13. Ryan Bernal, 14. Justin Grant, 15. Hunter Schuerenberg, 16. Jon Stanbrough, 17. Carson Short, 18. Kody Swanson, 19. Chad Boespflug, 20. Aaron Farney, 21. Kyle Cummins, 22. Chase Stockon, 23. Isaac Chapple, 24. Mario Clouser. NT
2018 FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (2), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7), 3. Brady Bacon (14), 4. Chris Windom (15), 5. C.J. Leary (4), 6. Dave Darland (5), 7. Robert Ballou (21), 8. Scotty Weir (13), 9. Brody Roa (10), 10. Josh Hodges (16), 11. Jerry Coons, Jr. (24), 12. Jake Swanson (12), 13. Chase Stockon (18), 14. Justin Grant (22), 15. Shane Cottle (3), 16. Isaac Chapple (9), 17. Jason McDougal (20), 18. Carson Short (11), 19. Brent Beauchamp (8), 20. Chad Boespflug (1), 21. Landon Simon (19), 22. Nick Bilbee (6), 23. Thomas Meseraull (17), 24. Timmy Buckwalter (23). NT
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Chris Windom (1), 3. C.J. Leary (6), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 5. Carson Short (4), 6. Brady Bacon (8), 7. Jason McDougal (10), 8. Chase Stockon (7), 9. Kyle Cummins (9), 10. Tyler Courtney (16), 11. Dave Darland (22), 12. Max Adams (3), 13. Dickie Gaines (15), 14. Dustin Christie (20), 15. Isaac Chapple (19), 16. Dakota Jackson (21), 17. Scotty Weir (14), 18. Josh Hodges (12), 19. Brian VanMeveren (11), 20. Jarett Andretti (13), 21. Brody Roa (18), 22. Thomas Meseraull (17). NT
2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (2), 2. Chris Windom (5), 3. Brady Bacon (3), 4. Chase Stockon (4), 5. Carson Short (7), 6. Logan Seavey (1), 7. Kyle Cummins (15), 8. Justin Grant (6), 9. Chase Johnson (11), 10. Robert Ballou (22), 11. Thomas Meseraull (16), 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (10), 13. Dave Darland (13), 14. Matt Westfall (21), 15. Jarett Andretti (8), 16. J.J. Hughes (14), 17. Jerry Coons Jr. (20), 18. Brandon Mattox (23), 19. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (19), 20. Shane Cottle (9), 21. Max Adams (17), 22. Jadon Rogers (18), 23. Tyler Courtney (12). NT
LIVIN' THE DREAM: GOODNIGHT TO RACE USAC SILVER CROWN CAR AT HOME TRACK
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media Winchester, Indiana (July 21, 2021)………Growing up in Winchester, Indiana, the draw of the nearby 37 degree banked, half-mile paved oval was a magnet to Matt Goodnight.
Everywhere the Winchester, Indiana born and raised racer traveled, and seemingly every time he looked up, there it was – Winchester Speedway – right within his sightline.
Young Goodnight was able to witness first-hand in the grandstands the awe-inspiring speed and competition of sprint car and midget racing at the venerable century-plus old venue.
And whenever he traveled to any place out of town in the surrounding area, Goodnight's route took him past the track multiple times a week and sent him yearning for a day when he could race on those banks.
That day has now become a reality, and this Thursday night, July 22, Goodnight gets the opportunity to live out his ultimate dream – competing in a USAC race at Winchester Speedway – during the USAC Silver Crown National Championship's Rich Vogler Classic presented by The Pallet Builder.
It's a long-awaited event in multiple senses. USAC Silver Crown is currently in its 51st year of competition and is making its first visit, and the event arrives after being rained out on its originally scheduled date of May 9.
The wait is more than worth it for the 35-year-old Goodnight, especially when you've dreamed about this day for the entirety of your life.
"It's awesome; it's really a dream come true," Goodnight exclaimed. "I grew up watching midgets and sprints at Winchester and I've always looked at it and dreamed about getting to run a racecar there."
Goodnight did finish 5th with the King of the Wing Sprint Car Series at Winchester in 2016 and has competed in a stock car there on numerous occasions. But competing at the track in a series in which he has been a regular competitor with over the past several seasons is an experience on another level, in a myriad of ways, and he got his first sensation of wheeling a Silver Crown car around the speedway in May of this year during an open test.
"It's not like anything else," Goodnight explained. "The G-Forces pulling you down instead of the right is something that you don't get to experience very often. Winchester is smooth, so you get to carry a lot of speed. It looks like a pretty big racetrack, but when you're going that fast around there, it doesn't look quite as big."
Away from the racetrack, Goodnight is a plant manager for The Pallet Builder's Hartford City, Ind. complex, which is owned and operated by the Goodnight family, and specializes in the repair and recycling of pallets. Goodnight works alongside his father and sister at the business, which has three locations in Indiana, and one each in California, Wisconsin and Oklahoma, and is the presenting sponsor of Thursday's race.
One year ago, Goodnight finished a career-best 4th in the final USAC Silver Crown standings. This year hasn't been as kind thus far, standing 18th in points with three races completed. However, there's nothing sweeter than home sweet home to recharge the batteries, and that's Winchester Speedway for Goodnight.
"I want to continuously get better on the pavement," Goodnight said. "I used to be a pavement stock car guy and I've got a special place in my heart for the pavement stuff, but it's taken us a lot longer than I've wanted it to get comfortable. In May, we made a lot of gains in that department just getting comfortable with the car, the steering and understanding all of that stuff. I feel like we're good on the dirt. On the pavement, there are the four big guys we're always chasing, and I'd like to be in their realm at some point in time. That's our goal to improve on the pavement side of things and make really big gains on."
On race day, the pits open at Noon ET with the drivers meeting set for 3pm on the front stretch, practice at 4pm, Fatheadz Qualifying at 6pm, a driver's autograph session at 6:30pm in the midway, driver introductions at 7:45pm, opening ceremonies at 8pm and the 100-lap main event at 8:15pm.
Reserved seats are $30 apiece, while general admission tickets are $20, and just $10 for children aged 6 to 12. Tickets are available in advance at www.winchesterspeedway.com/tickets.
The race will be shown LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STANDS ON THE GAS
THIS FRIDAY AT GAS CITY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Gas City, Indiana (July 21, 2021).........Last year's introduction to NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL at Gas City I-69 Speedway produced one of the wildest finishes in the history of the series, punctuated by a memorable duel between Logan Seavey and Kevin Thomas Jr. that truly defined the fine line between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Competing for nearly the entirety of the second half of the 30-lap feature side-by-side for the lead, Seavey and Thomas tangled in turn three while working their way past a lapped car on the final lap, sending both of the frontrunners over the turn three cushion. Thomas' car came to a stop while Seavey motored on without stopping, bent draglink and all.
From thereon, Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) finished off the victory in a green-white-checkered battle with Chase Stockon to collect his first career ISW victory and enters this Friday night's, July 23 Indiana Sprint Week opener undefeated at Gas City in ISW competition, standing one-for-one.
Once again, for the 10th time, Gas City I-69 Speedway will host the Indiana Sprint Week opener. The quarter-mile dirt oval has previously hosted the ISW opener in its debut on the schedule 2002 and each year between 2011-16, then again in 2019-20.
Seavey is among four past Gas City Indiana Sprint Week winners slated to compete this Friday night along with Stockon, C.J. Leary and Shane Cottle.
Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) scored the ISW Gas City victory in 2015 and notched another top-flight result a year ago with a runner-up finish. The reigning Indiana Sprint Week champ has also finished 5th at GC in 2014, 8th in 2013, 9th in 2017 and 10th in 2012.
Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) beat the rain to reign victorious during ISW at Gas City in 2017. The 2019 Indiana Sprint Week champion, Leary snagged a 2nd place finish that same year at GC.
Two-time track champ Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) is always a threat to win at Gas City during Indiana Sprint Week, and finally broke through in 2019, winning the closest finish ever in USAC National Sprint Car history after starting from the 18th position. In fact, over the past two seasons of ISW at Gas City, Cottle has advanced a total of 31 positions in the feature alone. Among his seven top-five Gas City ISW results are a 2nd in 2013, a 4th in 2016 and 5th place finishes in 2007-08-11-12. He also won USAC National Sprint Car features at Gas City in 2006 and 2008.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) very nearly pulled off his first Gas City ISW victory in 2020, but the 2017 ISW champ has won twice in USAC National Sprint Car competition at GC in both 2013 and 2018. During Indiana Sprint Week there, he's finished 5th twice in 2015 and 2019, and was 9th in 2013.
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) collected a USAC National Sprint car feature win at Gas City in 2015. The 2016 Indiana Sprint Week champion has been highly consistent over the years at GC, earning four top-five results with a 4th as his best in 2019 and a 5th in 2007, 2016 and 2017. The three-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ owns Gas City's 10-lap track record of 2:01.65, set in 2015.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) is the most recent USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature winner at Gas City, scoring a late September 2020 victory. During ISW's Gas City rounds, he was 2nd in 2014 and 3rd in 2020 after recording the fastest qualifying time. Also on his ISW Gas City resume are finishes of 8th in 2017 and 10th in 2019.
Two-time (2011 & 2018) Indiana Sprint Week titlist Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) has a USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph in his back pocket, winning in the fall of 2019. At Gas City during ISW, the USAC Triple Crown champion has stood on the "podium" five times with a best of 2nd in 2011, and 3rd place results in 2014-16-17-19.
Scotty Weir (Marion, Ind.) got his lone USAC National Sprint Car feature win at Gas City in the spring of 2016. During ISW at the racetrack located just off I-69, Weir has been 3rd in 2009, 4th in 2007, 5th in 2010, 6th in 2016, 7th in 2007 and 8th in 2012.
Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.), the 2015 Indiana Sprint Week champ, hasn't yet won a USAC National Sprint Car feature at Gas City, but has come oh-so-close, leading late in 2017 before finishing 2nd and was also 3rd in 2011, 4th in 2015 and 8th in 2016.
Looking for breakthrough performances in the win column at Gas City are Bedford, Indiana's Brady Short (6th in 2007); one-lap track record holder and 2019 track champ, San Jose, California's Thomas Meseraull (5th in 2020 & 7th in 2017); Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Jason McDougal (6th in 2019); Princeton, Indiana's Kyle Cummins (4th in 2020 & 8th in 2019); Marion, Illinois' Carson Short (6th in 2020) and Pleasant Hill, Ohio's Matt Westfall (10th in 2020).
Indiana Sprint Week Rookies Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) and Paul Nienhiser (Chapin, Ill.) will be on hand. Thorson won his first career USAC National Midget feature at Gas City in 2015.
They'll be joined by a number of USAC stalwarts eager for a first career USAC National Sprint Car feature win like 2017 USAC West Coast Sprint Car champion Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), 2020 USAC National Most Improved Driver Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.), 2020 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.), USAC Sprint Car Rookie Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.), 2017 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Stevie Sussex (Mesa, Ariz.) and 2018 USAC Southwest Sprint Car champ Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Ariz.), in addition to USAC CRA Sprint Car invaders Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, Calif.) and Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, Calif.) and more!
Gas City's NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL event features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship vying for the $6,000 winner's share along with the 600cc Non-Wing Micro Sprints.
On Friday, pits open at 3pm ET, front gates open at 5pm, drivers meeting at 6pm with cars on track at 6:30pm and qualifying/racing immediately following.
General admission tickets are $30, kids 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
Every lap of all seven USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL races will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE:
Friday, July 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN
Saturday, July 24: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN
Sunday, July 25: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN
Wednesday, July 28: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN
Thursday, July 29: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN
Friday, July 30: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN
Saturday, July 31: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT GAS CITY:
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
GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS:
5-Jon Stanbrough
2-Cory Kruseman
1-Bryan Clauson, Daron Clayton, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland, Levi Jones, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon, Cole Whitt & J.J. Yeley
GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINNERS:
2002: Cory Kruseman (7/19)
2003: J.J. Yeley (7/18)
2005: Cory Kruseman (7/20)
2006: Jon Stanbrough (7/19)
2007: Daron Clayton (7/13) & Jon Stanbrough (7/14)
2008: Cole Whitt (7/11)
2009: Levi Jones (7/11)
2010: Jon Stanbrough (7/10)
2011: Dave Darland (7/8)
2012: Bryan Clauson (7/13)
2013: Jon Stanbrough (7/12)
2014: Jon Stanbrough (7/11)
2015: Chase Stockon (7/10)
2016: Tyler Courtney (7/8)
2017: C.J. Leary (7/10)
2019: Shane Cottle (7/18)
2020: Logan Seavey (7/24)
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:
6-Jon Stanbrough
3-Shane Cottle & Tracy Hines
2-Cory Kruseman, Dave Darland, Hunter Schuerenberg, J.J. Yeley & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, Tyler Courtney, Daron Clayton, Jay Drake, Justin Grant, Levi Jones, C.J. Leary, Logan Seavey, 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)
GAS CITY ISW FEATURE WINNERS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO WIN THE INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TITLE THAT YEAR:
6 – Cory Kruseman (2002 & 2005), J.J. Yeley (2003), Jon Stanbrough (2006 & 2010) & Levi Jones (2009)
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.
PAST INDIANA SPRINT WEEK RESULTS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:
2002 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. J.J. Yeley, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Jay Drake, 5. Levi Jones, 6. Boston Reid, 7. Derek Davidson, 8. Kevin Briscoe, 9. Eric Shively, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Jon Stanbrough, 12. Tony Elliott, 13. Kevin Thomas, 14. Shane Hollingsworth, 15. Brian Hayden, 16. Jerry Coons, Jr., 17. A.J. Fike, 18. Bill Rose, 19. John Wolfe, 20. Marc Jessup, 21. Justin Marvel, 22. Troy Rutherford, 23. Terry Pletch, 24. A.J. Anderson. NT
2003 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Jay Drake, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Boston Reid, 5. Terry Pletch, 6. Critter Malone, 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Damion Gardner, 9. Bud Kaeding, 10. Cory Kruseman, 11. Shane Hollingsworth, 12. Michael Burthay, 13. Dave Darland, 14. Jimmy Laser, 15. Brian Hayden, 16. Mat Neely, 17. Jason Robbins, 18. Marc Jessup, 19. Justin Marvel, 20. Jerry Coons, Jr., 21. John Wolfe, 22. Tony Elliott, 23. Tim Spindler. NT
2005 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Levi Jones, 3. Justin Marvel, 4. Dickie Gaines, 5. Jay Drake, 6. Bill Rose, 7. Darren Hagen, 8. Josh Wise, 9. John Wolfe, 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 11. Mat Neely, 12. A.J. Anderson, 13. Kent Christian, 14. Critter Malone, 15. Bart Grider, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Dustin Smith, 18. Brandon Petty, 19. Casey Shuman, 20. Damion Gardner, 21. Bud Kaeding, 22. Daron Clayton, 23. Tracy Hines, 24. Jon Stanbrough, NT
2006 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Levi Jones, 3. A.J. Anderson, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Casey Shuman, 6. Brad Sweet, 7. Daron Clayton, 8. Bryan Clauson, 9. Brandon Petty, 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Brady Short, 12. Shane Hollingsworth, 13. Josh Wise, 14. Scotty Weir, 15. Ron Dennis, 16. Shane Cottle, 17. Darren Hagen, 18. Jay Drake, 19. Jesse Hockett, 20. Mat Neely, 21. Dickie Gaines, 22. Ed Hassler, 23. Kyle Wissmiller, 24. Josh Spencer. NT
2007 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Daron Clayton, 2. Levi Jones, 3. Darren Hagen, 4. Scotty Weir, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Cory Kruseman, 8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 9. Dave Darland, 10. Jon Stanbrough, 11. Shane Hollingsworth, 12. Damion Gardner, 13. Robert Ballou, 14. Hunter Schuerenberg, 15. Jesse Hockett, 16. Brady Short, 17. Josh Ford, 18. Kevin Swindell, 19. Chad Boespflug, 20. Josh Spencer, 21. Matt Westfall, 22. Bret Mellenberndt, 23. A.J. Anderson, 24. Cole Whitt. NT
2007 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Levi Jones, 3. Dustin Morgan, 4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 5. Jesse Hockett, 6. Brady Short, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Cory Kruseman, 9. Shane Hollingsworth, 10. Kyle Robbins, 11. Brady Bacon, 12. Hunter Schuerenberg, 13. Brett Burdette, 14. Kevin Swindell,15. Mat Neely, 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 17. Dave Darland, 18. Neil Shepherd, 19. Robert Ballou, 20. Michael Trimble, 21. Brad Sweet, 22. Shane Cottle, 23. Brandon Petty, 24. Darren Hagen. NT
2008 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cole Whitt, 2. Darren Hagen, 3. Brad Sweet, 4. Jon Stanbrough, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Chris Windom, 11. Scotty Weir, 12. Brady Bacon, 13. Hunter Schuerenberg, 14. Chad Boat, 15. Daron Clayton, 16. Cory Kruseman, 17. Sammy Imel, 18. Damion Gardner, 19. Ryan Pace, 20. Steve Ott, 21. Jesse Hockett, 22. A.J. Anderson, 23. Jeff Bland, 24. Brady Short. NT
2009 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Levi Jones, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Scotty Weir, 4. Chad Boat, 5. Blake Fitzpatrick, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Mike Spencer, 9. Damion Gardner, 10. Hud Cone, 11. Bobby East, 12. Nic Faas, 13. Casey Shuman, 14. Jerry Coons Jr., 15. Josh Wise, 16. Keith Bloom Jr., 17. Cole Whitt, 18. Darren Hagen, 19. Robert Ballou, 20. Thomas Meseraull, 21. Henry Clarke, 22. Ryan Kaplan, 23. Brad Sweet, 24. Tracy Hines. NT
2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Mike Spencer, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Scotty Weir, 6. Daron Clayton, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Brett Burdette, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Damion Gardner, 12. Jonathan Hendrick, 13. Blake Fitzpatrick, 14. Ted Hines, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Brady Short, 17. Hunter Schuerenberg, 18. Jeff Bland Jr., 19. Bud Kaeding, 20. Andrew Elson, 21. Justin Grant, 22. Gregg Bragg, 23. Henry Clarke, 24. Matt Mitchell, 25. Ricky Williams. NT
2011 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Chad Boespflug, 8. Coleman Gulick, 9. Daron Clayton, 10. Tracy Hines, 11. Bobby East, 12. Hunter Schuerenberg, 13. Mike Spencer, 14. Levi Jones, 15. Brady Short, 16. Damion Gardner, 17. Wes McIntyre, 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Andrew Elson, 20. Thomas Meseraull, 21. J.J. Hughes, 22. Jonathan Hendrick, 23. Ryan Pace, 24. Chris Gurley. 6:25.08
2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Shane Cottle, 6. Jon Sciscoe, 7. Damion Gardner, 8. Scotty Weir, 9. Jonathan Hendrick, 10. Chase Stockon, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 13. Bobby East, 14. Chad Boespflug, 15. Darren Hagen, 16. Hunter Schuerenberg, 17. Chris Gurley, 18. Thomas Meseraull, 19. C.J. Leary, 20. Coleman Gulick, 21. Brent Beauchamp, 22. Tracy Hines, 23. Robert Ballou, 24. Andrew Elson. NT
2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Hunter Schuerenberg, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Chad Boespflug, 7. Christopher Bell, 8. Chase Stockon, 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 10. Chris Windom, 11. Tyler Courtney, 12. Brady Bacon, 13. Richard Vander Weerd, 14. Justin Grant, 15. Brady Short, 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 17. Gary Taylor, 18. Ryan Bernal, 19. Wes McIntyre, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. C.J. Leary, 22. Mark Smith, 23. Casey Shuman, 24. Scotty Weir. NT
2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jon Stanbrough, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Chase Stockon, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Shane Cockrum, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Jimmy Light, 10. Bryan Clauson, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Brady Short, 13. Richard Vander Weerd, 14. Robert Ballou, 15. Shane Cottle, 16. Kevin Thomas, Jr. 17. Thomas Meseraull, 18. Hunter Schuerenberg, 19. Jarett Andretti, 20. Josh Spencer, 21. C.J. Leary, 22. Gary Taylor, 23. Mark Smith, 24. Chad Boespflug, 25. Scotty Weir. NT
2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Hunter Schuerenberg, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Scotty Weir, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Brady Bacon, 10. Brady Short, 11. Jarett Andretti, 12. C.J. Leary, 13. Chris Windom, 14. Chad Boespflug, 15. Thomas Meseraull, 16. Tyler Courtney, 17. Jon Stanbrough, 18. Tracy Hines, 19. Justin Grant, 20. Kyle Robbins, 21. Aaron Farney, 22. Logan Jarrett. NT
2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Max McGhee, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. A.J. Hopkins, 10. Zach Daum, 11. Kyle Robbins, 12. Hunter Schuerenberg, 13. Chase Stockon, 14. Kyle Cummins, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Aaron Farney, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Brent Beauchamp, 20. Justin Grant, 21. Chad Boespflug, 22. Thomas Meseraull, 23. Kevin Thomas Jr., 24. Isaac Chapple. NT
2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Chad Boespflug, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Shane Cottle, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Justin Grant, 9. Chase Stockon, 10. Josh Hodges, 11. Tyler Courtney, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Jarett Andretti, 14. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 15. Kody Swanson, 16. Brady Short, 17. Hunter Schuerenberg, 18. Kyle Cummins, 19. Aaron Farney, 20. Tyler Thomas, 21. Brody Roa, 22. Ryan Bernal, 23. A.J. Hopkins. NT
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Shane Cottle (18), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Chris Windom (9), 4. Brady Bacon (5), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (1), 6. Jason McDougal (6), 7. Dakota Jackson (4), 8. Kyle Cummins (8), 9. Brent Beauchamp (20), 10. Justin Grant (3), 11. Cole Ketcham (17), 12. Chase Stockon (11), 13. Max Adams (22), 14. Josh Hodges (16), 15. Chad Boespflug (23), 16. Carson Short (7), 17. Isaac Chapple (14), 18. Brian VanMeveren (24), 19. Corey Smith (15), 20. Dave Darland (21), 21. A.J. Hopkins (19), 22. Thomas Meseraull (10), 23. Tyler Courtney (12), 24. Scotty Weir (13). NT
2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Chase Stockon (4), 3. Justin Grant (10), 4. Kyle Cummins (7), 5. Thomas Meseraull (13), 6. Carson Short (12), 7. Shane Cottle (21), 8. Brady Bacon (5), 9. Jarett Andretti (8), 10. Matt Westfall (16), 11. Chris Windom (2), 12. Tyler Thomas (11), 13. C.J. Leary (6), 14. Clinton Boyles (15), 15. Brandon Mattox (18), 16. Dustin Smith (20), 17. Wyatt Burks (14), 18. Kyle Robbins (22), 19. Jadon Rogers (24), 20. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 21. Dave Darland (19), 22. Robert Ballou (9), 23. A.J. Hopkins (17), 24. Robert Bell (23). NT
COTTLE ATOP THE USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS
HEADING INTO WINCHESTER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Winchester, Indiana (July 20, 2021)………Three races. Three winners. That's been the USAC Silver Crown season in a nutshell so far as the series heads for its first foray on the 37 degree high banks of Indiana's Winchester Speedway this Thursday night, July 22.
Kody Swanson (Lucas Oil Raceway), Shane Cockrum (Williams Grove Speedway) and Tyler Courtney (Eldora Speedway) have already won thus far with the series this season.
However, it's a man who hasn't yet won that leads the championship entering mid-July, that being Shane Cottle, the only driver to have finished in the top-10 in all three of his starts with an 8th at Lucas Oil, a 2nd at Williams Grove and a 9th at Eldora.
Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) leads the points by a 28-point margin while he and the Springfield, Ohio based BCR Group team look to take control as they both vie for their first series championship.
Cottle, a veteran of 60 starts with the series since his 2006 debut, had one of the finest seasons of his Silver Crown career in 2020, winning his first series race in 13 years, and finishing 6th in the final standings despite missing a race. For Cottle, that ranked as his best season performance since 2008 in which he finished 5th in points.
The 49-year-old racer is already well ahead of that pace this year, leading the point standings for the first time in his career as the pilot of the BCR Group/Flint Trucking – QS Quality Components – Duncan Oil – Kercher Engines entry that is crew chiefed by Malcolm Lovelace.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) remains at the head of the Rookie of the Year standings, 5th overall in the series points. Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.), who led the first 63 laps of the opener at Lucas Oil, leads all drivers in total laps led with 63.
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) and Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) have each made only two starts apiece, but have made both count with top-five results in each of their appearances. Swanson has made the biggest charge of the season (+12) with a 15th to 3rd run at Eldora.
The series boasts three different winners in the first three races, and also can say the same as far as pole winners too with Tanner Swanson (Lucas Oil), Jason McDougal (Williams Grove) and C.J. Leary (Eldora) each taking their turn at leading the field.
McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has provided the best start and finish by a Rookie with a 6th place finish at Williams Grove after starting the pole, the best result thus far among all members of the 2021 Rookie class.
Meanwhile, 12 drivers have started all three features, two on the dirt and one on the pavement: Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wis.), Shane Cottle, Matt Goodnight (Winchester, Ind.), Eric Gordon (Fortville, Ind.), Bryan Gossel (Fort Collins, Colo.), Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), Mike Haggenbottom (Levittown, Pa.), Austin Nemire (Sylvania, Ohio), Kyle Robbins (New Castle, Ind.), Logan Seavey and Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.).
This Thursday at Winchester, the pits open at Noon ET with the drivers meeting set for 3pm on the front stretch, practice at 4pm, Fatheadz Qualifying at 6pm, a driver's autograph session at 6:30pm in the midway, driver introductions at 7:45pm, opening ceremonies at 8pm and the 100-lap main event at 8:15pm.
Reserved seats are $30 apiece, while general admission tickets are $20, and just $10 for children aged 6 to 12. Tickets are available in advance at www.winchesterspeedway.com/tickets.
The race will be shown LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
2021 USAC SILVER CROWN STAT LEADERS:
Most Wins: 1-Shane Cockrum, Tyler Courtney & Kody Swanson
Driver Point Leader: Shane Cottle
Entrant Point Leader: BCR Group
Leading Rookie in Points: Logan Seavey (5th)
Most Laps Led: 63-Bobby Santos
Most Top-Fives: 2-Brady Bacon, Kody Swanson & Chris Windom
Most Top-Tens: 3-Shane Cottle
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 1-C.J. Leary, Jason McDougal & Tanner Swanson
Best Finish By A Rookie: Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Jason McDougal (6th)
Most Feature Starts: 3-Dave Berkheimer, David Byrne, Shane Cottle, Matt Goodnight, Eric Gordon, Bryan Gossel, Justin Grant, Mike Haggenbottom, Austin Nemire, Kyle Robbins, Logan Seavey & Travis Welpott
Most Positions Advanced in a Race: Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Kody Swanson (15th to 3rd)
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN SCHEDULE & RESULTS
May 29: (P#) Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN
WINNER: Kody Swanson (Doran Enterprises #77)
Jun 18: (D) Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, PA
WINNER: Shane Cockrum (BLS Motorsports #71)
Jun 26: (D) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Chris Dyson Racing #9)
Jul 22 (P) Winchester Speedway – Winchester, IN
Aug 8: (D) Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, PA
Aug 13: (P) Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN (SE)
Aug 14: (P) Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN
Aug 21: (D#) Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, IL
Sep 4: (D) Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, IL
Sep 25: (D) Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
Oct 10: (P#) Toledo Speedway – Toledo, OH
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
(D) represents a dirt event
(P) represents a pavement event
(SE) represents a non-points special event
# represents a daytime event
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 162 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.
2 134 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.
3 131 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
4 127 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
5 124 Logan Seavey (R), Sutter, Calif.
6 120 David Byrne, Shullsburg, Wis.
7 119 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
8 113 Kyle Robbins, New Castle, Ind.
9 112 Shane Cockrum, Benton, Ill.
10 101 Mike Haggenbottom, Levittown, Pa.
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN OWNER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 162 BCR Group, Springfield, Ohio (#81)
2 131 Hans Lein, Edgerton, Wis. (#97)
3 127 Hemelgarn Racing, LaSalle, Mich. (#91)
4 124 Rice Motorsports, Brownsburg, Ind. (#222)
5 120 Byrne Racing, Shullsburg, Wis. (#40)
6 119 Five Three Motorsports #53
7 119 Chris Dyson Racing, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (#9)
8 113 KR Racing, Greenfield, Ind. (#7)
9 112 BLS Motorsports, Benton, Ill. (#71)
10 105 Klatt Enterprises, Hastings, Neb. (#6)
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2021 USAC SILVER CROWN ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 124 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
2 95 Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Okla.
3 85 Carmen Perigo, Stoystown, Pa.
4 60 Casey Buckman, Chandler, Ariz.
5 51 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
6 39 Kyle O'Gara, Beech Grove, Ind.
7 35 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.
8 31 Chris Phillips, Plainfield, Ind.
9 29 Annie Breidinger, Hillsborough, Calif.
10 27 Jake Day, Abilene, Texas
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RACE WINS:
1-Shane Cockrum (Jun 18 at Williams Grove Speedway)
1-Tyler Courtney (Jun 26 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Kody Swanson (May 29 at Lucas Oil Raceway)
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LAPS LED:
63-Bobby Santos
50-Tyler Courtney
37-Kody Swanson
28-Shane Cockrum
26-Jason McDougal
24-Justin Grant
22-Logan Seavey
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TOP-FIVE FINISHES:
2-Brady Bacon, Kody Swanson & Chris Windom
1-David Byrne, Shane Cockrum, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Taylor Ferns, Justin Grant, Kyle Robbins, Bobby Santos & Kevin Thomas Jr.
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TOP-TEN FINISHES:
3-Shane Cottle
2-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant, Logan Seavey, Kody Swanson & Chris Windom
1-Jim Anderson, David Byrne, Shane Cockrum, Tyler Courtney, Taylor Ferns, Mike Haggenbottom, Dallas Hewitt, Patrick Lawson, Jason McDougal, Austin Nemire, Carmen Perigo, Kyle Robbins, Bobby Santos, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall
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FEATURE STARTS:
3-Dave Berkheimer, David Byrne, Shane Cottle, Matt Goodnight, Eric Gordon, Bryan Gossel, Justin Grant, Mike Haggenbottom, Austin Nemire, Kyle Robbins, Logan Seavey & Travis Welpott
2-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Casey Buckman, Shane Cockrum, Jason McDougal, Carmen Perigo, Kody Swanson, Matt Westfall & Chris Windom
1-Jim Anderson, Terry Babb, Annie Breidinger, Nathan Byrd, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Charles Davis Jr., Jake Day, Taylor Ferns, Chris Fetter, Dallas Hewitt, Patrick Lawson, C.J. Leary, Nathan Moore, Kyle O'Gara, Chris Phillips, Bobby Santos, Jake Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Brent Yarnal
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FATHEADZ EYEWEAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
1-C.J. Leary, Jason McDougal & Tanner Swanson
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TOP "ROOKIE" FINISHER OF THE RACE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Logan Seavey (7th)
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Jason McDougal (6th)
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Logan Seavey (8th)
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Patrick Lawson (17th to 9th)
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Eric Gordon (22nd to 11th)
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Kody Swanson (15th to 3rd)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER:
May 29: Lucas Oil Raceway – Bryan Gossel
Jun 18: Williams Grove Speedway – Austin Nemire
Jun 26: Eldora Speedway – Jason McDougal
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STATS
ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WINS:
1. [31 wins] Kody Swanson
2. [23 wins] Jack Hewitt
3. [17 wins] Brian Tyler
4. [16 wins] Dave Steele
5. [15 wins] J.J. Yeley
6. [14 wins] Dave Darland & Chuck Gurney
8. [12 wins] Jimmy Sills
9. [11 wins] Bobby East
10. [10 wins] Gary Bettenhausen, Mike Bliss & Bobby Santos
13. [9 wins] Tracy Hines
14. [8 wins] Tanner Swanson & Chris Windom
16. [7 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Rick Hood & George Snider
19. [6 wins] Tom Bigelow, Russ Gamester, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Ken Schrader & Al Unser
25. [5 wins] Mario Andretti, Donnie Beechler, Pancho Carter, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Bud Kaeding, Sheldon Kinser & Larry Rice
33. [4 wins] Shane Cockrum, Kyle Larson, Jeff Swindell & Rich Vogler
37. [3 wins] Steve Butler, Tyler Courtney, Cameron Dodson, A.J. Fike, Levi Jones, Kasey Kahne, Jim Keeker, Steve Kinser, Bobby Olivero, Johnny Parsons, Aaron Pierce, Ron Shuman, Tony Stewart, Tyler Walker & Paul White
52. [2 wins] Pat Abold, Brady Bacon, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Larry Dickson, Billy Engelhart, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Ryan Newman, Joe Saldana, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Whitt, Josh Wise & Doug Wolfgang
69. [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, 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
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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
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN OWNER 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: Louis 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
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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
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
31-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, & Josh Wise
6-Gary Bettenhausen, Steve Chassey, Justin Grant, Jack Hewitt & Larry Rice
5-Kenny Irwin Jr., Aaron Pierce, Jeff Swindell & Al Unser
4-Donnie Beechler, Bryan Clauson, 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, Tyler Courtney, Robby Flock, Shane Hmiel, C.J. Leary, Ryan Newman, Bobby Santos, 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, 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, Mat Neely, Roger Rager, Wayne Reutimann Jr., Bill Rose, Randy Tolsma, Billy Vukovich, Bruce Walkup & Doug Wolfgang
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STARTS:
201-Dave Darland
199-Russ Gamester
198-Brian Tyler
176-Jerry Coons Jr.
172-Tracy Hines
163-Jack Hewitt
151-Johnny Parsons
147-Tony Elliott
144-Eric Gordon
128-George Snider
125-Gary Hieber
114-Chuck Gurney
113-Bud Kaeding & Jimmy Sills
111-Dave Steele
110-John Heydenreich & Kody Swanson
103-A.J. Fike
100-Aaron Pierce & Larry Rice
94-Jay Drake & Paul White
91-J.J. Yeley
90-Tom Bigelow
88-Mark Alderson
84-Jason McCord
83-Gary Bettenhausen
79-Donnie Beechler & Levi Jones
77-Rich Vogler
76-Larry Dickson & Chris Windom
74-Steve Chassey
73-Ryan Newman & Rich Tobias Jr.
72-Bobby East
71-Robby Flock & Sheldon Kinser
70-Steve Butler
68-Billy Engelhart
67-Joe Saldana
66-Brad Noffsinger
65-David Byrne & Jerry Nemire
62-Ron Shuman
60-Randy Bateman, Shane Cottle & Wally Pankratz
59-Bill Rose
58-Rick Hood & Bobby Santos
56-Justin Grant
55-Gary Irvin
54-Tom Capie, Shane Hollingsworth & Jacob Wilson
53-Chet Fillip & Jason Leffler
52-Wayne Reutimann Jr.
49-Tony Stewart
48-Mike Bliss & Austin Nemire
47-Bob Cicconi & Ken Schrader
46-Jim Keeker & Bentley Warren
45-Derek Davidson, Jeff Swindell & Billy Vukovich
43-Shane Cockrum, Kenny Irwin Jr., Patrick Lawson & Tyler Walker
42-Jon Stanbrough & Tanner Swanson
41-Dane Carter & Danny Milburn
40-Aaron Fike, Andy Hillenburg, Warren Mockler & Chip Thomas
39-Tray House & Jim McElreath
38-Bobby Olivero
37-Pancho Carter, Duke Cook, Todd Kane, C.J. Leary, Chuck Leary, Rusty McClure, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Roger Rager & Chris Urish
36-Ed Carpenter & Ron Dunstan
35-Matt Goodnight
34-Ronnie Burke, Davey Hamilton, Kevin Huntley, Greg Staab & Kevin Thomas
33-Cary Faas, Jimmy Kite & Josh Wise
32-Brent Kaeding & Matt Westfall
31-Steve Cannon, Ron Gregory, Arnie Knepper, Jim Mahoney, Mat Neely & Stevie Reeves
30-Brady Bacon, Tim Barber, Teddy Beach, Jeff Bloom, Zach Daum, Stan Fox, Manny Rockhold & Jerry Russell
29-Rocky Hodges & Michael Lewis
28-Dave Blaney, Bill Puterbaugh & Kyle Robbins
27-Brad Armstrong, Terry Babb & Bryan Clauson
26-Steve Buckwalter & Dan Drinan
25-Mike Haggenbottom, Kasey Kahne, Joe Liguori & Nick Lundgreen
24-Pat Abold, Derek Hagar, Kenny Jacobs & Jerry Miller
23-Cameron Dodson
22-Billy Cassella, Kevin Doty & Bob Frey
21-Kyle Hamilton, Walt Kennedy & Davey Ray
20-Bill Baue, Dave Feese, John Starks, Randy Tolsma & Travis Welpott
19-Bruce Field, Brian Gerster, Gene Lee Gibson, Shane Hmiel, Jimmy McCune, Lealand McSpadden & Casey Shuman
18-Rollie Beale, Jackie Burke, Mike Murgoitio, Al Unser & Jonathan Vennard
17-Jimmy Caruthers, Tyler Courtney, A.J. Foyt, Sammy Sessions, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Kramer Williamson
16-Dave Berkheimer & Pablo Donoso
15-Robert Ballou, Paul Clark, Chris Fetter, P.J. Jones & Bruce Walkup
14-Jarett Andretti, Billy Boat, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Ralph Liguori, Boston Reid, Danny Smith, Smokey Snellbaker, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
13-Patrick Bruns, Tyce Carlson, Dana Carter, Jim Childers, Jac Haudenschild, Jackie Howerton, Jon Johnson, Greg Leffler, Andy Michner, Brian Paulus, Billy Wease, Rodney Weesner & Bud Wilmot
12-Taylor Ferns, Brad Fox, Mike Gregg, Mike Hess, 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, Mike Peters, Tad Roach, Greg Weld & Greg Wilson
10-Derek Bischak, Ronnie Day, Gary Gray, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, Bob Harkey, Page Jones, Terry Kawell, Jim Moughan, Kenneth Nichols, Terry Pletch, Jack Runyon, Robert Smith & Robbie Stanley
9-Bobby Adkins, Chuck Amati, Caleb Armstrong, Toni Breidinger, Karl Busson, Bob Evans, Bryn Gohn, Wayne Hammond, Jim Hurtubise, Rebel Jackson Jr., Chappy Knaack, Eddie Leavitt, Danny Long, Larry Martin, Joss Moffatt, Johnny Petrozelle, Paul Pitzer, Johnny Rutherford & Kyle Steffens
8-Joe Axsom, Christopher Bell, Cole Carter, Mel Cornett, Chris Cumberworth, Doug Didero, Paul Durant, Ray Joe Fager, Larry Gates, Bryan Gossel, Ken Hamilton, Darl Harrison, Roy Hicks, Rod Holshouser, Dakota Jackson, Mike Johnson, Frankie Kerr, Thiago Medeiros, Jan Opperman, Lee Osborne, Junior Parkinson, Greg Peterson, Aaron Pollock, Tracy Potter, Steve Siegel, Ryan Smith, Sammy Swindell, Rick Treadway, Lennie Waldo, Carl Williams & Doug Wolfgang
7-Jim Anderson, 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, Joe McCarthy, Austin Mundie, Michael Roselli Jr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Alex Shanks, Pete Shepherd III, Mark Smith, Mike Thomas, Billy Whitaker & Mitch Wissmiller
6-Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Mike Brooks, Bill Burks Jr., Kellen Conover, Palmer Crowell, Ryan Durst, Bob Ewell, Spike Gehlhausen, Kenny Gentry, Darren Hagen, Tom Hessert III, Dallas Hewitt, Larry Hoppes, John Hubbard, Marc Jessup, Doug Kalitta, Kevin Koch, Bill Kojis, Mike Lichty, Jeff Mitrisin, Don Nordhorn, Logan Seavey, Brian Seidel, Jimmy Stinson, Jerry Stone & Mike Winblad
5-Sport Allen, Todd Beach, Casey Buckman, Barry Camp, Larry Cannon, Mark Cassella, Davey Hamilton Jr., John Hunt, Brad Kuhn, Rich Leavell, Donnie Lehmann, Jimmy Light, Mario Marietta, Brad Marvel, Mack McClellan, Jason McDougal, Kyle O'Gara, Kevin Olson, Steven Russell, Red Stauffer, Mike Stroehle, Neil Shepherd, Jake Simmons, Sleepy Tripp, Terry Uehling, Cole Whitt & Rip Williams
4-Tony Armstrong, Steve Arpin, John Batts, Mike Brecht, Annie Breidinger, Jimmy Brewer, David Bridges, Ray Bull, Keith Burch, Keith Butler, Shane Carson, 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, Carmen Perigo, Rodney Ritter Jr., Billy Shuman, Dean Shirley, Donny Schatz, Tim Siner, Jake Swanson, 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, Marv Carman, Roy Caruthers, Wayne Chinn, Bill Compton, Tim Cox, Erin Crocker, Kyle Cummins, Troy DeCaire, Thad Dosher, Tommie Estes Jr., Dean Franklin, Jeff Gardner, Emmett Hahn, Darryl Haugh, Kelly Kinser, Lance Kobusch, Red Kunstbeck, Ricky Logan, Steve Long, Jim Malloy, Mike Martin, Zach Martini, Bob Meli, Larry Moore, Ryan Moore, Aaron Mosley, Mike Ordway, Gary Patterson, Chris Phillips, Gary Ponzini, Rusty Rasmussen, Wayne Reutimann, Robbie Rice, Travis Rilat, A.J. Russell, Zach Schiff, Frankie Schneider, Ryan Scott, Terry Shepherd, Ron Smoker, Chase Stockon, Kevin Studley, Brad Sweet, Buz Tapply, Cale Thomas, Dick Tobias, Rick Ungar, Korey Weyant, Tony Weyant, George White, Jim Whiteside & Greg Wooley
2-Mike Adkins, Mike Andreeta, Tommy Astone, Todd Bammer, Randy Bauer, Dave Baumgartner, Dean Billings, 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, Mike Mosley Jr., Larry Neighbors, John Nervo, 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, Brent Yarnal & Jack Ziegler
1-Bobby Allen, Taylor Andrews, Dakoda Armstrong, Jon Backlund, Tom Ball, Steve Barnett, Steve Barth, Jarid Blondel, Chad Boat, Ray Bragg, Jerry Bruce, Bob Brutto, Nathan Byrd, 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, Jake Day, 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, Kraig Kinser, 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, Jim Mills, Mark Monico, Nathan Moore, Mike Mosley, Jack Moulton Jr., Peter Murphy, Rick Muther, Fred Neighbors, Greg Nelson, Kevin Newton, Kyle Nicholas, Don O'Keefe, Jimmy Parsons, Billy Pauch Jr., Dave Peperak, Stan Ploski, Art Pollard, Jerry Potter, Richard Powell, Patrick 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., 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
BACON LEADS USAC SPRINT STANDINGS
INTO INDIANA SPRINT WEEK
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (July 20, 2021)………Leading the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship standings at midseason is generally a good thing, you'd surmise.
Rolling into the halfway point of the campaign can be seen as a barometer, a measuring stick, if you will, that can provide a window to how the rest of the year will play out, not that it always does.
However, there's this midsummer exam that pops up each year that can either make or break a year for a driver and team on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car trail. A little seven race in nine-night adventure known as NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week, which runs from July 23-31.
And, depending on how an Indiana Sprint Week goes, those seven races and nine days can either seem like Shangri-La or as painful as biting directly onto the end of a dinner fork.
Since USAC began sanctioning Indiana Sprint Week in 1996, there's been a split across all manners of how the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point leaders has dealt with the week. In one category, there are drivers/teams that entered Indiana Sprint Week possessing the USAC National Sprint Car point lead, exited ISW with the USAC point lead and finished the USAC season as the overall champion.
That group encompasses the majority, 12 drivers in that 25-year span: Brian Tyler (1996-97), Dave Darland (1999), Tony Elliott (2000), Tracy Hines (2002), J.J. Yeley (2003), Jay Drake (2004), Levi Jones (2009-10-11), Brady Bacon (2016) and C.J. Leary (2019).
On four of those 12 occasions, that particular driver also collected the Indiana Sprint Week championship in the process: J.J. Yeley (2003) Levi Jones (2009), Brady Bacon (2016) and C.J. Leary (2019). Not surprisingly, those four drivers and their respective seasons of success rank as four of the most dominant USAC championship strangleholds in recent memory.
Four more instances had one driver leading the USAC National Sprint Car standings coming into Indiana Sprint Week, relinquishing grasp of the lead during the week, and never regaining it back.
That happened in 2005 with Levi Jones leapfrogging both Dave Darland and USAC point leader Jay Drake during the ISW finale at Terre Haute in which Jones won en route to his first USAC title. Jay Drake, the defending USAC champ at the time, fell back to fourth at season's end.
Jones did the same in 2007, erasing a two-point deficit to USAC leader Darren Hagen entering ISW, and by the end of the week, Jones held a staggering 100-point lead in the USAC season standings, which he'd close out handily by 85 points at the season closer.
Bryan Clauson's victory in the 2013 ISW finale at Bloomington elevated him into the USAC National Sprint Car points lead past Dave Darland, which also netted him an Indiana Sprint Week championship and the eventual USAC championship crown with Dave Darland a close second after he led coming into ISW.
Similarly, Chase Stockon had the hold on the USAC championship standings riding into 2015 Indiana Sprint Week, and even won the opener of ISW before Ballou's relentless consistency bounced Stockon from the top spot, and provided Ballou one of the most spectacular years in USAC Sprint history with 13 total wins – surprisingly none of which came during ISW – plus an ISW title and a USAC championship.
Three times, a driver lost his USAC championship lead during ISW, then fought back into the lead post-Indiana Sprint Week to claim the USAC title. That occurred in 2006 when Josh Wise led coming into ISW, lost the USAC lead to Levi Jones, and regained it back on the path to the USAC championship. Same for Brady Bacon in 2014 who lost the overall USAC lead during ISW, then churned out a splendid second half of the season to win his first USAC title.
Tyler Courtney accomplished the feat, likewise, in 2018, seeing his point lead slip away amidst Indiana Sprint Week as a red-hot Chris Windom was crowned the ISW champ and the new USAC point leader. Yet, a strong run down the stretch of the year saw Courtney tie Kevin Thomas Jr. for the USAC championship in the finale at Perris, Calif. but was declared the USAC driver champion based on the tiebreaker of most wins.
In the past four seasons, only once has a driver led the USAC National Sprint Car standings going into Indiana Sprint Week, as he went out of Indiana Sprint Week, and also finished up as the champion at the conclusion of the season. That's C.J. Leary in 2019.
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) goes into this coming week with a 54-point advantage in the USAC standings. Not one to falter or struggle much in any circumstance, the 2016 ISW championship holds the key in the driver's seat as the USAC point leader coming in.
More often than not, the trend holds true for the USAC point leader throughout Indiana Sprint Week. If they're at the top of their game, they can be unstoppable. Bacon did just that in 2016, and has his sights on being the one to beat yet again.
The first stage of ISW travels to Gas City I-69 Speedway on Friday, July 23; followed by nearby Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 24, with the wicked fast Lawrenceburg Speedway rounding up the first weekend on Sunday, July 25.
After two days away from the racetrack, the action resumes at the half-mile Terre Haute Action Track on Wednesday, July 28, then it's onto Putnamville's Lincoln Park Speedway Thursday, July 29, onward to the red clay of Bloomington Speedway on Friday, July 30, and the finale at Haubstadt's Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, July 31.
Tickets will be available at the gate at the racetrack each night throughout Indiana Sprint Week.
All seven Indiana Sprint Week events will be shown LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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2021 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS
Most Wins: 3-Justin Grant & Kevin Thomas Jr.
Driver Point Leader: Brady Bacon
Owner Point Leader: Dynamics, Inc. #69
Top Rookie in Points: Tanner Thorson
Most Laps Led: 107-Kevin Thomas Jr.
Most Top-Fives: 14-Brady Bacon
Most Top-Tens: 15-Brady Bacon & Robert Ballou
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 3-Brady Bacon, Timmy Buckwalter & Kevin Thomas Jr.
Most Heat Race Wins: 8-Robert Ballou
Most Feature Starts: 16-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
Biggest Charge of the Year: 4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Alex Bright (18th to 4th) and 6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – C.J. Leary (21st to 7th)
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1357 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
2 1303 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
3 1284 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
4 1178 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.
5 1168 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
6 1119 (R) Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
7 1110 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
8 1084 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
9 846 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.
10 805 (R) Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, Ill.
(R) represents a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1 1357 Dynamics, Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)
2 1303 TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Ind. (#4)
3 1284 KT Motorsports, Whitestown, Ind. (#9K)
4 1178 Ballou Motorsports, Tipton, Ind. (#12)
5 1168 Michael Motorsports, Chino Valley, Ariz. (#77m)
6 1119 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)
7 1110 Hayward Motorsports, Morrison, Ill. (#19)
8 1084 Team AZ Racing, Danville, Ind. (#21AZ)
9 847 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5s)
10 821 Rock Steady Racing, Dupont, Ind. (#3R)
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1119 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
2 805 Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, Ill.
3 436 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.
4 400 Steven Drevicki, Reading, Pa.
5 329 Cole Bodine, Rossville, Ind.
6 178 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo.
7 162 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.
8 155 Ricky Lewis, Ventura, Calif.
9 100 Ryan Thomas, Indianapolis, Ind.
10 88 Harley Burns, Brazil, Ind.
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 11: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Feb 12: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Apr 3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Apr 16: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Apr 17: (M) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Apr 22: Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Apr 23: Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Apr 24: BAPS Motor Speedway – York Haven, PA
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Apr 25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Spring Run, PA
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
May 8: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Tyler Courtney (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #7BC)
May 8: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)
May 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Chris Windom (Hayward Motorsports #19)
Jun 15: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jun 16: (E) Bridgeport Speedway – Swedesboro, NJ
WINNER: Robert Ballou (Ballou Motorsports #12)
Jun 17: (E) Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jun 20: (E) Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, PA
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Jul 1: Plymouth Speedway – Plymouth, IN
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Jul 2: (M) (A) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: C.J. Leary (Michael Motorsports #77m)
Jul 3: (M) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (KT Motorsports #9K)
Jul 23: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
Jul 24: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
Jul 25: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
Jul 28: (I) Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
Jul 29: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
Jul 30: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
Jul 31: (I) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
Aug 27: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
Aug 28: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
Sep 10: Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
Sep 11: Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
Sep 12: Huset's Speedway – Brandon, SD
Sep 17: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
Sep 18: (M) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
Sep 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
Sep 25: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
Oct 1: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
Oct 2: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
Nov 4: (C) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
Nov 5: (C) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
Nov 6: (C) Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
Nov 12: (C) Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
Nov 13: (C) Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ
------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS ------------------
(M) represents an event co-sanctioned by MSCS
(E) represents an Eastern Storm event
(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event
(C) represents an event with the USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Cars
(SE) represents a non-points, special event
(A) represents a race awarding appearance points only
(P) represents an event co-sanctioned by POWRi WAR Sprints
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2021 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
4-Kevin Thomas Jr. (Feb 12 at Bubba Raceway Park, Apr 16 at Bloomington Speedway, Jun 20 at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway & Jul 3 at Lincoln Park Speedway)
3-Justin Grant (Feb 11 at Bubba Raceway Park, Jun 15 at Grandview Speedway & Jun 17 at Selinsgrove Speedway)
3-C.J. Leary (Apr 24 at BAPS Motor Speedway, Jul 1 at Plymouth Speedway & Jul 2 at Lincoln Park Speedway)
2-Brady Bacon (Apr 3 at Lawrenceburg Speedway & Apr 22 at Grandview Speedway)
2-Robert Ballou (May 8 at Eldora Speedway & Jun 16 at Bridgeport Speedway)
2-Tanner Thorson (Apr 23 at Big Diamond Speedway & Apr 25 at Path Valley Speedway Park)
1-Tyler Courtney (May 8 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Kyle Cummins (Apr 17 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Chris Windom (May 26 at the Terre Haute Action Track)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
113-Kevin Thomas Jr.
110-Justin Grant
71-Brady Bacon
69-C.J. Leary
49-Tanner Thorson
48-Jake Swanson
44-Robert Ballou
30-Tyler Courtney
21-Jadon Rogers
17-Shane Cottle
15-Chris Windom
14-Kyle Cummins
5-Chase Stockon
4-Kyle Cummins
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TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES
17-Brady Bacon
12-Justin Grant & Kevin Thomas Jr.
8-C.J. Leary
7-Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
6-Robert Ballou
4-Shane Cottle Kyle Cummins & Jake Swanson
3-Alex Bright & Tyler Courtney
2-Jadon Rogers
1-Briggs Danner, Buddy Kofoid, Brandon Mattox, Thomas Meseraull, Paul Nienhiser & Chase Stockon
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TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES
18-Brady Bacon
17-Justin Grant
16-Kevin Thomas Jr.
15-Robert Ballou & C.J. Leary
13-Chris Windom
12-Jake Swanson
11-Tanner Thorson
7-Alex Bright
6-Timmy Buckwalter & Shane Cottle
5-Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner & Chase Stockon
4-Tyler Courtney, Steven Drevicki & Paul Nienhiser
3-Thomas Meseraull, Jadon Rogers & Logan Seavey
2-Buddy Kofoid, Riley Kreisel, Cannon McIntosh & Matt Westfall
1-Cole Bodine, Isaac Chapple, Zach Daum, Chase Johnson, Brandon Mattox, Carmen Perigo, Kendall Ruble, Mark Smith, Stevie Sussex & Scotty Weir
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FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (Presented by Fatheadz Eyewear)
5-Kevin Thomas Jr.
3-Brady Bacon, Timmy Buckwalter
2-Justin Grant
1-Shane Cottle, Briggs Danner, Steven Drevicki, Jadon Rogers, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
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HEAT RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension Inc., Indy Metal Finishing & Indy Race Parts)
8-Robert Ballou
5-Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant & Chris Windom
4-Brady Bacon, Chase Stockon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
3-Briggs Danner, C.J. Leary, Brandon Mattox, Jake Swanson & Tanner Thorson
2-Paul Nienhiser
1-Joey Biasi, Alex Bright, Timmy Buckwalter, Sterling Cling, Mario Clouser, Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland, Zach Daum, Carson Garrett, Thomas Meseraull, Davey Ray, Stephen Schnapf, Mark Smith & Stevie Sussex
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SEMI WINS
4-Paul Nienhiser
2-Timmy Buckwalter, Isaac Chapple & C.J. Leary
1-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Cole Bodine, Briggs Danner, Thomas Meseraull, Jadon Rogers & Logan Seavey
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C-MAIN WINS
1-Brent Beauchamp, Mario Clouser, Tim Creech & Chayse Hayhurst
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FEATURE STARTS
19-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
18-Paul Nienhiser
17-Chase Stockon
16-Matt Westfall
13-Brandon Mattox
9-Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Briggs Danner, Isaac Chapple & Steven Drevicki
8-Cole Bodine, Alex Bright, Timmy Buckwalter & Mark Smith
7-Mario Clouser, Thomas Meseraull, Carmen Perigo, Jadon Rogers & Logan Seavey
6-Max Adams & Nash Ely
5-Charles Davis Jr., Ricky Lewis & Stevie Sussex
4-Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland, Carson Garrett, Chase Johnson & Carson Short
3-Riley Kreisel
2-Joey Biasi, Nick Bilbee, Harley Burns, Sterling Cling, Brayden Fox, Noah Gass, Korbyn Hayslett, Dallas Hewitt, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh, Tye Mihocko, Kenny Miller III, Davey Ray, Stephen Schnapf, Kory Schudy & Scotty Weir
1-Garrett Abrams, Collin Ambrose, Alex Banales, Ryan Barr, Mark Bitner, Richy Carnathan, Brayden Clark, Anthony D'Alessio, Zach Daum, Paul Dues, Aric Gentry, Matt Goodnight, Nic Harris, A.J. Hopkins, J.J. Hughes, Critter Malone, Michael Markey, Billy Ney, Chris Phillips, Kendall Ruble, Kent Schmidt, Alec Sipes, Ryan Thomas, Chet Williams & Mitch Wissmiller
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GSP QUALITY DRIVING PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Tyler Courtney
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Stevie Sussex
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Tye Mihocko
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Nic Harris
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Chris Windom
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Justin Grant
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Briggs Danner
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Brandon Mattox
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Isaac Chapple
5/8: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Brady Bacon
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Jake Swanson
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Jake Swanson
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – C.J. Leary
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – Alex Bright
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Max Adams
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Collin Ambrose
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS "HARD CHARGER" OF THE RACE
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (12th to 4th)
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (10th to 2nd)
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Robert Ballou (22nd to 9th)
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Robert Ballou (20th to 10th)
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Kyle Cummins (11th to 1st)
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Robert Ballou (13th to 3rd)
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Alex Bright (19th to 8th)
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Alex Bright (16th to 4th)
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Alex Bright (18th to 4th)
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Dallas Hewitt (21st to 15th)
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues (22nd to 13th)
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Tanner Thorson (22nd to 11th)
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Chris Windom (13th to 7th)
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Brady Bacon (14th to 4th)
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – Jake Swanson (20th to 7th)
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – C.J. Leary (21st to 7th)
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Brady Bacon (13th to 5th)
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (20th to 8th)
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 1st)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Noah Gass
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Jadon Rogers
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tanner Thorson
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Carson Garrett
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Critter Malone
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Justin Grant
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Steven Drevicki
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Matt Westfall
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Paul Nienhiser
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Jake Swanson
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Cole Bodine
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Logan Seavey
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Logan Seavey
6/17: Selinsgrove Speedway – Matt Westfall
6/20: Bloomsburg Fair Speedway – Chris Windom
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Brandon Mattox
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Mario Clouser
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Carson Short
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SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER
2/11: Bubba Raceway Park – Matt Westfall
2/12: Bubba Raceway Park – Matt Goodnight
4/3: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Aaron Farney
4/16: Bloomington Speedway – Brandon Mattox
4/17: Tri-State Speedway – Cole Bodine
4/22: Grandview Speedway – Nash Ely
4/23: Big Diamond Speedway – Kyle Lick
4/24: BAPS Motor Speedway – Mike Meyers
4/25: Path Valley Speedway Park – Mike Meyers
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Paul Dues
5/8: Eldora Speedway – Brandon Mattox
5/26: Terre Haute Action Track – Paul Nienhiser
6/15: Grandview Speedway – Alex Banales
6/16: Bridgeport Speedway – Matt Westfall
7/1: Plymouth Speedway – Alex Banales
7/2: Lincoln Park Speedway – Max Adams
7/3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Short
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STATS
ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS
1. [62 wins] Dave Darland
2. [52 wins] Tom Bigelow
3. [47 wins] Tracy Hines
4. [46 wins] Jack Hewitt
5. [45 wins] Larry Dickson
6. [42 wins] Pancho Carter
7. [41 wins] Bryan Clauson
8. [40 wins] Gary Bettenhausen
9. [37 wins] Brady Bacon & Sheldon Kinser
11. [35 wins] Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler
13. [32 wins] Rollie Beale
14. [31 wins] Robert Ballou & Kevin Thomas Jr.
16. [30 wins] Tyler Courtney
17. [29 wins] Chris Windom
18. [28 wins] Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Levi Jones & J.J. Yeley
22. [26 wins] Tony Elliott & Dave Steele
24. [25 wins] Steve Butler, Jay Drake & Parnelli Jones
27. [24 wins] Justin Grant
28. [23 wins] Roger McCluskey
29. [22 wins] Rick Hood, Bubby Jones & Sammy Sessions
32. [21 wins] Greg Weld
33. [17 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Jim Hurtubise & Bud Kaeding
36. [16 wins] Damion Gardner & Jud Larson
38. [15 wins] Bobby East, Cory Kruseman & Brian Tyler
41. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, C.J. Leary, Chase Stockon & Bruce Walkup
46. [13 wins] Steve Chassey
47. [12 wins] Eric Gordon
48. [11 wins] Daron Clayton, Elmer George, Tommy Hinnershitz & Greg Leffler
52. [10 wins] Kyle Cummins, Thomas Meseraull, Eddie Sachs, Tony Stewart & Johnny Thomson
57. [9 wins] Mario Andretti, Pat O'Connor, Hunter Schuerenberg & Robbie Stanley
61. [8 wins] Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford & Joe Saldana
65. [7 wins] Kevin Doty, Darren Hagen, Kenny Irwin Jr., Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Bobby Santos, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas, Bobby Unser & Josh Wise
75. [6 wins] Chad Boespflug, Kevin Briscoe, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider & Dick Tobias
83. [5 wins] Larry Cannon, Dana Carter, Shane Cottle, 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 & Cole Whitt
100. [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
113. [3 wins] Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Joe Barzda, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Jerry Daniels, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Andy Linden, Charlie Masters, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Doug Wolfgang
134. [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, Jiggs Peters, Jerry Poland, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Logan Seavey, Mickey Shaw, Terry Shepherd, Dean Shirley, Brad Sweet, Bob Sweikert, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Mike Spencer, Tanner Thorson, Bud Tingelstad, Billy Vukovich, Mike Ward & Carl Williams
170. [1 win] Donnie Adams, A.J. Anderson, Brad Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Astone, Dick Atkins, Brent Beauchamp, 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, 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, Matt Westfall, Chuck Weyant, Johnny White, Rip Williams, Jacob Wilson & Eddie Wirth
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (1956-Present)
1. (65) Tom Bigelow
2. (62) Dave Darland
3. (61) Tracy Hines
4. (40) Brady Bacon
5. (39) Levi Jones
6. (37) Larry Dickson
7. (36) Bryan Clauson
8. (35) Rich Vogler
9. (34) Kevin Thomas Jr.
10. (31) Sheldon Kinser
11. (30) Pancho Carter
12. (29) Don Branson & C.J. Leary
14. (28) Chase Stockon
15. (27) Justin Grant & 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
35. (13) Tyler Courtney, Bobby East, Damion Gardner & Bruce Walkup
39. (12) Steve Chassey, Elmer George, Rick Hood, Jud Larson, Bill Puterbaugh, Joe Saldana & Chris Windom
46. (11) Jim Hurtubise, Jim McWithey & George Snider
49. (10) Sonny Ates
50. (9) Eddie Leavitt, Thomas Meseraull, Johnny Rutherford & Josh Wise
54. (8) Robert Ballou, Bubby Jones, Kelly Kinser, Pat O'Connor & Eddie Sachs
59. (7) Marvin Carman, Mark Cassella, Shane Cottle, Cary Faas, Bud Kaeding, Jim Keeker, Cory Kruseman, Larry Rice, Hunter Schuerenberg, Carson Short, Mike Spencer, Johnny Thomson, Bud Tingelstad & Bobby Unser
73. (6) Mike Bliss, Daron Clayton, Kyle Cummins, Derek Davidson, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jac Haudenschild, Tray House, James McElreath, Johnny Parsons & Ken Schrader
84. (5) Chad Boespflug, Cy Fairchild, Blake Fitzpatrick, Bob Frey, Tommy Hinnershitz, Andy Michner, Jan Opperman, Boston Reid, Tom Sneva, Robbie Stanley, Brad Sweet & Kevin Thomas
96. (4) Jeff Bloom, Kevin Briscoe, Timmy Buckwalter, Billy Engelhart, Chet Fillip, Darren Hagen, Chuck Hulse, Kenny Jacobs, Van Johnson, Lee Kunzman, Ralph Liguori, Jim McElreath, Don Nordhorn, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Joey Saldana, Terry Shepherd, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Bob Wente
116. (3) Tommy Astone, 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, Logan Seavey, Brady Short, Danny Smith, Tony Stewart, Dean Thompson, Dick Tobias, Scotty Weir, Cole Whitt & John Wolfe
147. (2) Jarett Andretti, Mario Andretti, Brent Beauchamp, Keith Bloom, Chuck Booth, Don Brown, Duke Cook, Allen Crowe, Nic Faas, Larry Gates, Gene Lee Gibson, Bobby Grim, Coleman Gulick, Dave Hanna, Darl Harrison, Shane Hmiel, Josh Hodges, Marc Jessup, Brad Marvel, Max McGhee, Kevin Miller, Dustin Morgan, Charlie Musselman, Brad Noffsinger, Gary Patterson, Jiggs Peters, Byron Reed, Jerry Richert, Dave Roahrig, Jadon Rogers, Jimmy Sills, Al Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Stevie Sussex, Jake Swanson, Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Tyler Thomas, Bob Veith, Jerry Weeks, Johnny White, Carl Williams & Jacob Wilson
191. (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, 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, Joey Kerr, Russ Klar, Kyle Larson, Rich Leavell, Jason Leffler, Michael 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, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Billy Vukovich, Billy Vukovich III, Lennie Waldo, Buster Warke, Gus Wasson, Shawn Westerfeld, 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: Sam 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
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ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR OWNER 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.
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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
CHRISTMAS IN JULY: NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK OPENS FRIDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (July 19, 2021)………When it comes right down to it, nothing else compares.
For many, it's habitual. It's a summertime ritual. Year after year, and now in its 34th annual iteration, it still stands on it's own as a dirt track, open wheel enthusiast's holiday, a mecca of sorts, that draws in individuals from coast-to-coast, sea-to-shining-sea, and even from other hemispheres, for one purpose.
That reason is USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week.
The hotbed of traditional sprint car racing in the Hoosier State takes center stage for seven USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship events in a nine-day span July 23-31, with drivers chasing a $6,000 feature winner's reward each night in their pursuit of the ultimate crown, an Indiana Sprint Week title worth $10,000.
The first stage of ISW travels to Gas City I-69 Speedway on Friday, July 23; followed by nearby Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 24, with the wicked fast Lawrenceburg Speedway rounding up the first weekend on Sunday, July 25.
After two days away from the racetrack, the action resumes at the half-mile Terre Haute Action Track on Wednesday, July 28, then it's onto Putnamville's Lincoln Park Speedway Thursday, July 29, onward to the red clay of Bloomington Speedway on Friday, July 30, and the finale at Haubstadt's Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, July 31.
Six drivers in this year's Indiana Sprint Week lineup will be chasing yet another Indiana Sprint Week crown, including defending ISW champion Chase Stockon of Fort Branch, Ind., who stepped into the KO Motorsports ride just before the start of the 2020 series and returned their investment with a consistent week of results that came without the aid of a victory, and paved the way for him to take the point lead in the final race and collect the series title.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) parlayed his consistency throughout Indiana Sprint Week 2019 to capture the ISW championship en route to the USAC National Sprint Car championship at season's end, one of six drivers to win both in the same year: J.J. Yeley (2003), Levi Jones (2009), Bryan Clauson (2013), Robert Ballou (2015) and Brady Bacon (2016).
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) is a two-time champ of the series, having won Indiana Sprint Week crowns in both 2011 and 2018. He's one of nine drivers to become a multi-time ISW titlist, joining four-time champs Kevin Thomas and Levi Jones, as well as three-time ISW king Dave Darland, plus two-timers Chuck Amati, J.J. Yeley, Cory Kruseman, Jon Stanbrough and Bryan Clauson.
The last three, and five of the last six, Indiana Sprint Week champions cruised to the title by a slew of spectacular runs that were absent a victory throughout the week. Among those who've done likewise are champions Robert Ballou (2015) and Brady Bacon (2016), an occurrence which has been achieved on 12 occasions since Indiana Sprint Week debuted in 1988.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) is the most recent Indiana Sprint Week champion to also win an ISW feature during the week four years ago, winning the round at Bloomington that year, which is where he also earned his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph, which came during during ISW, back in the 2012 season.
In fact, 20 different drivers have won the first ever USAC National Sprint Car feature during Indiana Sprint Week since USAC began sanctioning the event a quarter of a century ago in 1996, but none in the past four years.
That group includes Brad Marvel (1996 Kokomo), Brad Fox (1997 Bloomington), Bill Rose (1997 Paragon), Derek Davidson (1998 Paragon), Terry Pletch (1999 Terre Haute), Cory Kruseman (1999 Bloomington), Bud Kaeding (2000 Twin Cities), A.J. Anderson (2001 Bloomington), Brady Short (2006 Bloomington), Jeff Bland Jr. (2008 Lawrenceburg), Hunter Schuerenberg (2009 Tri-State), Blake Fitzpatrick (2010 Tri-State), Casey Riggs (2011 Brownstown), Justin Grant (2012 Lawrenceburg), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2012 Bloomington), Aaron Farney (2015 Terre Haute), Tyler Courtney (2016 Gas City), Kyle Cummins (2016 Kokomo), Brent Beauchamp (2016 Bloomington) and Carson Short (2016 Tri-State).
Indiana Sprint Week history can't be recited without beginning with the name Dave Darland, the three-time ISW champ who owns a whopping 20 ISW feature wins in his career, most all-time. For the first time in Indiana Sprint Week's 34-year history, Darland is not expected to participate as he continues his recovery from an April stroke. Darland owns the number one spot in practically every ISW statistical category, leading in wins, laps led, top-fives, top-tens, feature starts, heat race wins and fast qualifying times.
Among this year's crop of Indiana Sprint Week talent, Kevin Thomas Jr. owns six career ISW feature victories with Kyle Cummins, C.J. Leary and Brady Short at five apiece; Robert Ballou at four; Brady Bacon and Justin Grant at three; Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon and Chris Windom at two; while Brent Beauchamp, Shane Cottle, Logan Seavey and Carson Short one.
Top series Rookies Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) and Paul Nienhiser (Chapin, Ill.) both reside within the top-10 in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car points, and both will also be making their Indiana Sprint Week debuts this coming week.
Thorson, already a two-time winner in USAC Sprint Car competition this season, as well as Nienhiser, are among several standouts vying for a first Indiana Sprint Week feature win, along with 2017 USAC West Coast Sprint Car champion Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), 2002 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), 2020 USAC National Most Improved Driver Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Ind.), 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.), 2017 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Stevie Sussex (Mesa, Ariz.) and 2018 USAC Southwest Sprint Car champ Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Ariz.) as well as the talented Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.), Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) and Tye Mihocko (Phoenix, Ariz.).
For all but Thorson and Westfall in the group listed above, their first Indiana Sprint Week win would also be their first victory in the USAC National Sprint Car division.
The AMSOIL USAC CRA contingent is bringing two of its representatives in Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, Calif.) and Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, Calif.). Tafoya (13th in CRA points) is making his second consecutive visit to the Hoosier State for ISW while, for Gansen, it will be his first. Gansen currently ranks 4th in the CRA series points.
Tickets will be available at the gate at the racetrack each night throughout Indiana Sprint Week. All seven Indiana Sprint Week events will be shown LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1357, 2-Justin Grant-1303, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1284, 4-Robert Ballou-1178, 5-C.J. Leary-1168, 6-Tanner Thorson-1119, 7-Chris Windom-1110, 8-Jake Swanson-1084, 9-Chase Stockon-846, 10-Paul Nienhiser-805.
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2021 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE:
Friday, July 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway | Gas City, IN
Saturday, July 24: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN
Sunday, July 25: Lawrenceburg Speedway | Lawrenceburg, IN
Wednesday, July 28: Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN
Thursday, July 29: Lincoln Park Speedway | Putnamville, IN
Friday, July 30: Bloomington Speedway | Bloomington, IN
Saturday, July 31: Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN
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.
ALL-TIME INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS:
20-Dave Darland
16-Jon Stanbrough
12-Cory Kruseman
9-J.J. Yeley
7-Bryan Clauson
6-Jay Drake, Danny Smith & Kevin Thomas Jr.
5-Kevin Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Tony Elliott, C.J. Leary, Brady Short & Kevin Thomas
4-Robert Ballou, Jack Hewitt, Levi Jones & Kelly Kinser
3-Brady Bacon, Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons Jr., Justin Grant, Tracy Hines, & Hunter Schuerenberg
2-Chuck Amati, Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Rick Hood, Bud Kaeding, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
1-A.J. Anderson, Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Chad Boat, Shane Cottle, Derek Davidson, Cary Faas, Aaron Farney, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Tray House, Bob Kinser, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Logan Seavey, Carson Short, Mickey Smith, Brad Sweet, Brian Tyler & Cole Whitt
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ALL-TIME INDIANA SPRINT WEEK CHAMPIONS:
1988: Randy Kinser, 1989: Chuck Amati, 1990: Chuck Amati & Gary Trammell, 1991: Bob Kinser, 1992: Kevin Thomas, 1993: Kevin Thomas, 1994: Kelly Kinser, 1995: Kevin Thomas, 1996: Kevin Thomas, 1997: J.J. Yeley, 1998: Dave Darland, 1999: Tony Elliott, 2000: Jay Drake, 2001: Dave Darland, 2002: Cory Kruseman, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Levi Jones, 2005: Cory Kruseman, 2006: Jon Stanbrough, 2007: Dave Darland, 2008: Levi Jones, 2009: Levi Jones, 2010: Jon Stanbrough, 2011: Chris Windom, 2012: Levi Jones, 2013: Bryan Clauson, 2014: Bryan Clauson, 2015: Robert Ballou, 2016: Brady Bacon, 2017: Kevin Thomas Jr., 2018: Chris Windom, 2019: C.J. Leary, 2020: Chase Stockon
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ALL-TIME INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-FIVE FINISHES (1988-2020)
66-Dave Darland
51-Jon Stanbrough
45-Levi Jones
33-Tony Elliott
31-Chris Windom & J.J. Yeley
29-Bryan Clauson
27-Brady Bacon
25-Cory Kruseman & Kevin Thomas Jr.
22-Robert Ballou, Shane Cottle & Kevin Thomas
20-Jerry Coons Jr.
19-Jay Drake, Justin Grant & Tracy Hines
18-Chase Stockon
16-C.J. Leary
15-Brady Short
14-Kevin Briscoe, Bill Rose & Hunter Schuerenberg
13-Tyler Courtney & Bud Kaeding
10-Kyle Cummins, Jack Hewitt & Randy Kinser
9-Derek Davidson & Danny Smith
8-Damion Gardner, Brian Hayden, Bob Kinser, Kelly Kinser & Thomas Meseraull
7-Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Darren Hagen, Tray House, 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-Mike Mann Carson Short & Brad Sweet
3-Jeff Bland Jr., Bobby East, Aaron Farney, Jesse Hockett, Rick Hood, Kevin Huntley, Tony Jarrett, Jason McDougal, 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, Mike English, Cary Faas, Gary Fisher, Josh Ford, Russ Gamester, 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, Joey Saldana, Derek Scheffel, Stephen Schnapf, Logan Seavey, 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
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INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TOP-10 FINISHES (USAC ERA 1996-2020)
97-Dave Darland
74-Jon Stanbrough
66-Levi Jones
55-Chris Windom
47-Brady Bacon
46-Robert Ballou & Jerry Coons Jr.
45-Bryan Clauson
44-Shane Cottle
43-Cory Kruseman
42-Tracy Hines
40-J.J. Yeley
39-Tony Elliott
37-Chase Stockon
36-Kevin Thomas Jr.
35-Justin Grant
31-Jay Drake
29-Brady Short
28-C.J. Leary
24-Hunter Schuerenberg
21-Tyler Courtney, Damion Gardner, Bud Kaeding & Bill Rose
20- Kyle Cummins & Kevin Thomas
19-Chad Boespflug
17-Kevin Briscoe
16-Derek Davidson, Darren Hagen, Brian Hayden & Scotty Weir
15-Thomas Meseraull
14-Dickie Gaines
13-Daron Clayton, Carson Short & Josh Wise
12-Kevin Doty
11-Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Brad Sweet & Cole Whitt
9-A.J. Anderson, Jack Hewitt & Josh Hodges
8-Jarett Andretti & Jeff Bland Jr.
7-Chad Boat, Bobby East, Blake Fitzpatrick, Coleman Gulick, Todd Kane, Justin Marvel, Boston Reid, Casey Shuman & Brian Tyler
6-Kent Christian, Troy Cline, Jason McDougal, Eric Shively & Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
5-Brent Beauchamp, Christopher Bell, Shane Hollingsworth, Tony Jarrett, Dustin Morgan, Jeremy Sherman & Mike Spencer
4-Hud Cone, Aaron Farney, Jesse Hockett, Critter Malone, Wes McIntyre, Brandon Petty, Robbie Rice, Brody Roa, Logan Seavey, Jimmy Sills, Matt Westfall & John Wolfe
3-A.J. Anderson, Josh Ford, Brad Fox, Eric Gordon, Richard Griffin, Jonathan Hendrick, A.J. Hopkins, Dakota Jackson, Rusty McClure, Casey Riggs, Derek Scheffel, Jon Sciscoe, Neil Shepherd & Steve Surniak
2-Ryan Bernal, Eric Burns, Kenny Carmichael, Henry Clarke, Charles Davis Jr., Mike English, Danny Holtsclaw, Kasey Kahne, Mike Kirby, Jason Knoke, Chris LaFollette, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Brandon Mattox, Max McGhee, Kevin Miller, Tim Montgomery, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Stephen Schnapf, John Scott, Tim Spindler, Kevin Swindell, Tyler Thomas, Richard Vander Weerd & Jeff Wilson
1-Max Adams Garrett Aitken, Chris Beaver, Kevin Besecker, Keith Bloom Jr., Timmy Buckwalter, Brett Burdette, Mark Cassella, Mark Clark, Shane Cockrum, Chris Coers, 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, Davey Ray, Jason Robbins, Kyle Robbins, Eric Roberts, Jadon Rogers, Joe Roush, Kendall Ruble, Alex Shanks, Corey Smith, Dustin Smith, Lee Underwood, Jonathan Vennard, Danny Williams Jr., Rip Williams, Greg Wilson & Kyle Wissmiller
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INDIANA SPRINT WEEK LAPS LED (USAC ERA 1996-2020)
431-Dave Darland
413-Jon Stanbrough
276-Cory Kruseman
207-Kevin Thomas Jr.
187-J.J. Yeley
176-Jay Drake
173-Bryan Clauson
148-Chris Windom
146-Robert Ballou
143-Brady Bacon
136-C.J. Leary
124-Levi Jones
121-Tracy Hines
103-Hunter Schuerenberg
101-Tyler Courtney
98-Kevin Briscoe
97-Brady Short
94-Jerry Coons Jr.
83-Kyle Cummins
82-Jack Hewitt
80-Chase Stockon
76-Tony Elliott
68-Daron Clayton & Thomas Meseraull
57-Bud Kaeding
56-Justin Grant
52-Brad Sweet
50-Derek Davidson
49-Shane Cottle
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-Bill Rose
28-Logan Seavey
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 & Eric Shively
20-Kevin Doty
18-Boston Reid
16-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-Mat Neely & Jimmy Sills
6-Jarett Andretti, Terry Pletch & Dustin Smith
5-John Wolfe
4-Kent Christian, Blake Fitzpatrick & Derek Scheffel
3-Keith Bloom Jr. & Rickie Gaunt
1-Jesse Hockett, Logan Jarrett, Rusty McClure, Dustin Morgan, Jeremy Sherman & Jonathan Vennard
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INDIANA SPRINT WEEK HEAT RACE WINS (USAC ERA 1996-2020)
31-Dave Darland
30-Jon Stanbrough
26-Shane Cottle
21-Robert Ballou
19-Cory Kruseman
17-Brady Bacon & Chris Windom
16-Brady Short
13-Jerry Coons Jr. & C.J. Leary
12-Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott & Tracy Hines
11-Chad Boespflug, Levi Jones, Thomas Meseraull & J.J. Yeley
10-Bryan Clauson & Justin Grant
9-Hunter Schuerenberg & Chase Stockon
8-Kent Christian, Jay Drake, Carson Short & Kevin Thomas
7-Kenny Carmichael, Kyle Cummins, Damion Gardner, Terry Pletch, & Kevin Thomas Jr.
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
4-Daron Clayton, Hud Cone, Brian Hayden, Danny Holtsclaw, Logan Jarrett, Corey Smith, Matt Westfall, Cole Whitt & Mitch Wissmiller
3-A.J. Anderson, Jarett Andretti, Brad Fox, Jack Hewitt, Mike Kirby, Justin Marvel, Wes McIntyre, Boston Reid, Derek Scheffel, John Scott, Casey Shuman, Dustin Smith & Brad Sweet
2-Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Troy Cline, Tim Cox, Derek Davidson, Charles Davis Jr., Kris Deckard, Bobby East, Aaron Farney, Josh Ford, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, Tray House, Dakota Jackson, Todd Kane, Mike Mann, Brandon Mattox, Jason McDougal, Bret Mellenberndt, Dustin Morgan, Casey Riggs, Brody Roa, Stephen Schnapf, Alex Shanks, Kody Swanson, Greg Wilson, Josh Wise & Kyle Wissmiller
1-Max Adams, Rodney Argo, Chris Beaver, Ryan Bernal, Nick Bilbee, Keith Bloom Jr., Eric Burns, Josh Burton, Mark Cassella, Isaac Chapple, Roger Chaudion, Dustin Christie, Henry Clarke, Anthony D'Alessio, Ron Dennis, Kevin Doty, Cary Faas, Jared Fox, Brian Gerster, Travis Gregg, Bart Grider, Kurt Gross, Chris Gurley, Chayse Hayhurst, Tom Hessert III, Jesse Hockett, A.J. Hopkins, J.J. Hughes, Marc Jessup, Kasey Kahne, Joey Kerr, 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, Logan Seavey, Jason Setser, Neil Shepherd, Jimmy Sills, Landon Simon, Tim Spindler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Stephens, Gary Taylor, Tyler Thomas, Michael Trimble, Richard Vander Weerd, Jonathan Vennard, Ricky Williams & John Wolfe
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INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FAST QUALIFYING TIMES (USAC ERA 1996-2020)
12-Dave Darland
9-Justin Grant
8-Levi Jones
7-Tracy Hines, Jon Stanbrough & J.J. Yeley
6-Brady Bacon, Daron Clayton, Richard Griffin & Kevin Thomas Jr.
5-Bryan Clauson, Jerry Coons Jr., Tony Elliott & Hunter Schuerenberg
4-Tyler Courtney, Jay Drake & C.J. Leary
3-Cory Kruseman, Carson Short, Chase Stockon, Brad Sweet & Josh Wise
2-Robert Ballou, Chad Boat, Chad Boespflug, Justin Marvel, Kevin Miller, Brandon Petty, Boston Reid, Logan Seavey & Scotty Weir
1-Brent Beauchamp, Nick Bilbee, Keith Bloom Jr., Kevin Briscoe, Mark Cassella, Shane Cottle, 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, Bill Rose, Neil Shepherd, Jeremy Sherman, Jimmy Sills, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Thomas, Shawn Westerfeld, Rip Williams, Chris Windom, Mitch Wissmiller & John Wolfe
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INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STARTS (USAC ERA 1996-2020)
155-Dave Darland
119-Jon Stanbrough
96-Jerry Coons Jr.
86-Tracy Hines
84-Levi Jones
81-Chris Windom
80-Shane Cottle
78-Robert Ballou
65-Cory Kruseman
62-Hunter Schuerenberg
63-Brady Bacon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
60-Chase Stockon
58-Tony Elliott
57-Brady Short
56-Bryan Clauson
55-Justin Grant
54-C.J. Leary
53-Chad Boespflug & Damion Gardner
50-J.J. Yeley
49-Thomas Meseraull
47-Jay Drake
46-Scotty Weir
42-Kyle Cummins
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
30-A.J. Anderson
29-Carson Short
28-Kent Christian, Dickie Gaines & Justin Marvel
27-Josh Hodges & Kevin Thomas
25-Mat Neely & Brandon Petty
24-Josh Wise
23-Terry Pletch & Casey Shuman
22-Jeff Bland Jr. & Brian Tyler
21-Isaac Chapple, Jack Hewitt, Mike Spencer & Brad Sweet
19-Derek Scheffel & Cole Whitt
18-Brent Beauchamp & Blake Fitzpatrick
17-Kevin Doty & Aaron Farney
16-Hud Cone, Bobby East, Shane Hollingsworth, Critter Malone, Dustin Morgan, Brody Roa & Matt Westfall
15-Brandon Mattox, Dustin Smith & Tyler Thomas
14-Henry Clarke, Jesse Hockett, Dakota Jackson, Wes McIntyre & Eric Shively
13-Chad Boat, Troy Cline, Coleman Gulick & Richard Vander Weerd
12-A.J. Hopkins, Logan Jarrett, Robbie Rice & Jonathan Vennard
11-Ryan Bernal, Josh Ford, Eric Gordon, Tony Jarrett, Todd Kane, Mike Mann, Jason McDougal & Corey Smith
10-Max Adams, Eric Burns, Kenny Carmichael, Jonathan Hendrick, Boston Reid, Kyle Robbins, John Scott, Tim Spindler, Kyle Wissmiller & John Wolfe
9-Charles Davis Jr., Tom Hessert III, Danny Holtsclaw, Kevin Miller, Matt Mitchell, Steve Surniak & Kody Swanson
8-Richard Griffin, Mike Kirby, Jimmy Laser, Dave Peperak, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Casey Riggs, Jeremy Sherman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Kevin Swindell
7-Timmy Buckwalter, Shane Cockrum, Tim Cox, Andrew Elson, Brad Fox, J.J. Hughes, Jason Knoke, Rusty McClure, Max McGhee, Joe Roush, Neil Shepherd, Josh Spencer, Jace Vander Weerd & Mitch Wissmiller
6-Christopher Bell, Tony DiMattia, Jared Fox, Marc Jessup, Ryan Pace, Jason Robbins, Troy Rutherford, Jimmy Sills, Jake Swanson, & Michael Trimble
5-Keith Bloom Jr., Clinton Boyles, Cary Faas, Chris Gurley, Shane Hmiel, Jordan Kinser, Jadon Rogers, Jon Sciscoe, Logan Seavey, Brian VanMeveren & Ricky Williams
4-Caleb Armstrong, Dustin Clark, Rickie Gaunt, Bart Grider, Ted Hines, Chase Johnson, Aaron Mosley, Landon Simon, Mark Smith, Gus Wasson & Greg Wilson
3-Chris Beaver, Mike Boat, Donny Brackett, Chase Briscoe, Brett Burdette, Michael Burthay, Mario Clouser, Zach Daum, Mike English, A.J. Fike, Kurt Gross, Kasey Kahne, Brad Kuhn, Brad Marvel, Jason McCord, Nate McMillin, Bret Mellenberndt, John Memmer, Jeff O'Banion, Richard Ott, Ande Possman, Davey Ray, Kent Schmidt, Stephen Schnapf, Alex Shanks, Gary Taylor, Danny Williams Jr., Rip Williams & Jeff Wilson
2-Rodney Argo, Ethan Barrow, Donnie Beechler, Robert Bell, Kevin Besecker, Nick Bilbee, Greg Bragg, Mark Cassella, Roger Chaudion, Mark Clark, Kris Deckard, Ty Deckard, Ron Dennis, Gregg Dillion, Nic Faas, Russ Gamester, Travis Gregg, Tom Harris, Rick Hayden, Tray House, 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, Terry Richards, Eric Roberts, Bryan Ruble, Kendall Ruble, Bryan Stanfill, Dave Steele, Greg Stephens, Leon Thickstun & Shawn Westerfeld
1-Garrett Abrams, Nick Adams, Garrett Aitken, Marc Arnold, Chris Babcock, Koby Barksdale, Dean Billings, J.C. Bland, Steve Buckwalter, Wyatt Burks, Josh Burton, Cole Carter, Kevin Chambers, Rob Chaney, Chris Coers, Colten Cottle, Jesse Cramer, Buddy Cunningham, Anthony D'Alessio, Eric Davis, Mitchell Davis, J.R. Douglas, Nick Drake, Aric Gentry, 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, Tony Jones, Doug Kalitta, Ryan Kaplan, Brian Karraker, Ray Kenens, Joey Kerr, Riley Kreisel, David McCreary, Austin Mero, Jerry Miller Jr., Ray Morgan, Jim Moughan, Nick Naber, Wil Newlin, 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, Jake Simmons, Bobby Smith, Eric Smith, J.T. Stapp, Bobby Stines, Joe Stornetta, Stevie Sussex, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Lee Underwood, Chris Urish, Chet Williams & Rick Ziehl
MOST INDIANA SPRINT WEEK TITLES:
4 - Levi Jones & Kevin Thomas
CLOSEST POINTS BATTLE:
1990 - TIE (Chuck Amati and Gary Trammell)
MOST LOPSIDED POINTS BATTLE:
2000 - 76 points (Jay Drake over Tony Elliott)
KENT CORRALS 65TH HUTCHINSON GRAND NATIONALS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Hutchinson, Kansas (July 16, 2021)………Tim Kent of Bristow, Oklahoma took advantage of race-long leader Riley Kreisel's mechanical misfortune to win Friday night's 65th annual Hutchinson Grand Nationals 20-lap feature at the Kansas State Fairgrounds.
The event was sanctioned by both USAC Wingless Sprints Oklahoma and the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association.
Kreisel led early before retiring with just four laps remaining, allowing Kent to race into the lead and score the victory on the half-mile dirt oval.
Koby Barksdale was leading the first heat race when, on the final lap, he tagged the turn three wall and flipped. He was checked out at the hospital and later cleared with a little racing rheumatism.
The event was a full points race for USAC WSO and a non-points special event for USAC MWRA.
USAC WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA / USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: July 16, 2021 – Kansas State Fairgrounds – Hutchinson, Kansas – 65th O'Reilly Auto Parts Hutchinson Grand National Auto Races
FIRST HEAT: (6 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 53-Brett Wilson [2], 2. 91-Riley Kriesel [8], 3. 58-T.J. Cain [1], 4. 79-Tim Kent [7], 5. 6s-Spencer Martinez [3], 6. 31m-Eric Matthews [5], 7. 35-J.C. Wilson [6], 8. 22-Koby Barksdale [4]. NT
DASH: (6 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. Riley Kreisel [1], 2. Tim Kent [2], 3. Brett Wilson [6], 4. Eric Matthews [4], 5. Spencer Martinez [5], 6. J.C. Wilson [3], 7. T.J. Cain [7], 8. Koby Barksdale [8]. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. Tim Kent [1], 2. Eric Matthews [6], 3. Spencer Martinez [5], 4. Brett Wilson [4], 5. J.C. Wilson [7], 6. T.J. Cain [2], 7. Riley Kreisel [3], 8. Koby Barksdale [8]. NT
**Koby Barksdale flipped during the first heat.
USAC WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA POINTS: 1-Brett Wilson-552, 2-Tim Kent-480, 3-J.C. Wilson-435, 4-Ty Hulsey-365, 5-Craig Carroll-363, 6-Spencer Martinez-337, 7-Harlan Hulsey-333, 8-Wyatt Burks-269, 9-Eric Matthews-261, 10-T.J. Cain-260.
NEXT USAC WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA RACE: July 31, 2021 – Oklahoma Sports Park – Ada, Oklahoma
NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR RACE: August 6, 2021 – Lakeside Speedway – Kansas City, Kansas
Winner Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, Calif.)
AUSTIN WILLIAMS MAKES MOST OF PERRIS RETURN
By: Lance Jennings – USAC Media
PERRIS, CA – JULY 17, 2021… After reclaiming the lead on lap 27 with a dramatic "slide job" on lapped traffic and "The Demon" Damion Gardner, "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) raced to victory at Perris Auto Speedway.
Piloting the Tom and Laurie Sertich owned #92 Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror / CSI Construction DRC, Williams scored his first AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car triumph of the campaign. With ten career victories to his credit, Austin is now tied with Nic Faas, Mike Kirby, and his father "The Ripper" Rip Williams for sixth overall on the USAC/CRA win list.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa, hard charger Eddie Tafoya Jr., "The Cadillac" Cody Williams, and "Speedy" Stevie Sussex rounded out the top-five drivers.
Starting on the pole position, "Thunder" Tommy Malcolm had his sights on his first career win and led the first two circuits. Austin Williams, who sliced his way from fifth, took command from Malcolm on the half-mile oval and set a torrid pace. The sixth starting Damion Gardner was moving forward and grabbed the lead from Williams with a "turn three slider" on lap twenty. Gardner began to extend his lead, but Williams rallied and powered to the lead seven laps later. Action was soon halted for a hard hit between Malcolm and Matt Mitchell that brought out a red flag. Both drivers were ok. Before the restart, the second running Gardner had to retire with mechanical issues and Roa was now on Williams' bumper. From there, the night belonged to "The Big Game Hunter."
Before winning the 30-lap feature, Austin Williams was second fast in time trials and won the night's Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. The former co-rookie of the year heads to Santa Maria ranked third in the chase for the championship.
Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, CA) earned the night's In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a third place run from twelfth. Racing the family owned #51T Specialty Fasteners / DRC Chassis entry, Tafoya qualified twelfth overall, ran third in his heat race, and left the Lake Perris Fairgrounds sitting thirteenth in points.
"The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) claimed the fifth Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award (96th career) of the season. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner finished second in his heat race to A.J. Bender and earned the night's Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award after mechanical issues sidelined the point leader, placing Damion thirteenth in the main event.
A.J. Bender (San Diego, CA) took the checkered flag in the 10-lap Flowdynamics Inc. First Heat Race. Piloting the family owned #21 K&R Motorsports / Schweitzer Racing DRC, Bender qualified thirteenth overall and scored eighteenth in the main event. The former California Lightning Sprint Rookie of the Year heads to Santa Maria ranked ninth in the point chase.
Veteran driver, Verne Sweeney (Lomita, CA) took Ken Tracy's #98 Bill's Ol Fashion Jerky / Faas Cores DRC to victory in the 10-lap All Coast Construction Third Heat Race. Verne was fifteenth quick in time trials and placed tenth in the main event after starting fifteenth. At press time, Sweeney has climbed to eighth in the championship standings.
The non-winged USAC/CRA Sprint Cars are back in action on Saturday, August 14th at Santa Maria Raceway (Santa Maria, CA) for the "Bud Stanfield Memorial."
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: July 17, 2021 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-16.377; 2. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.403; 3. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.553; 4. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.600; 5. Stevie Sussex, 12, Allen-16.735; 6. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-16.803; 7. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-16.814; 8. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-16.818; 9. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-16.825; 10. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-16.847; 11. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.956; 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.958; 13. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.960; 14. Charles Davis Jr., 11C, Turner/Wheeler-16.990; 15. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.099; 16. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-17.195; 17. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.417; 18. Joel Rayborne, 12B, Blair-17.561; 19. Jonas Reynolds, 0, Reynolds-17.605; 20. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-17.654; 21. Dan Taylor, T5, Taylor-17.933; 22. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-17.948.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Bender, 2. Gardner, 3. Roa, 4. Malcolm, 5. Bonneau, 6. McCarthy, 7. Owens, 8. Reynolds. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. A.Williams, 2. Davis, 3. Rutherford, 4. C.Williams, 5. Sussex, 6. Grabowski, 7. Dyer. NT.
ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sweeney, 2. Mitchell, 3. Tafoya, 4. L.Williams, 5. Gansen, 6. Rayborne, 7. Taylor. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Austin Williams (5), 2. Brody Roa (3), 3. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (12), 4. Cody Williams (11), 5. Stevie Sussex (7), 6. Matt McCarthy (10), 7. Chris Gansen (9), 8. Chris Bonneau (16), 9. Charles Davis Jr. (14), 10. Verne Sweeney (15), 11. Austin Grabowski (17), 12. Jeff Dyer (20), 13. Damion Gardner (6), 14. Matt Mitchell (4), 15. Tommy Malcolm (1), 16. Jonas Reynolds (19), 17. Logan Williams (2), 18. A.J. Bender (13), 19. Joel Rayborne (18), 20. Dan Taylor (21), 21. Troy Rutherford (8), 22. Brent Owens (22). NT
**Mitchell and Malcolm flipped on lap 27 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Malcolm, Laps 3-19 A.Williams, Laps 20-26 Gardner, Laps 27-30 A.Williams.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Eddie Tafoya Jr. (12th to 3rd)
SHAWN McDONALD MEMORIAL QUALIFYING AWARD: Logan Williams
SHAWN McDONALD MEMORIAL FEATURE AWARD: Matt McCarthy
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Damion Gardner
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-638, 2-Brody Roa-602, 3-Austin Williams-579, 4-Chris Gansen-524, 5-Tommy Malcolm-441, 6-Cody Williams-434, 7-Matt Mitchell-374, 8-Verne Sweeney-368, 9-A.J. Bender-353, 10-Matt McCarthy-340.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: August 14 – Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, California – "Bud Stanfield Memorial"
Winner Will Armitage (Athens, Ill.)
(Joe Putnam Photo)
AXSOM RACKS HIM A $10-GRAND
USAC MIDGET VICTORY AT JEFFERSON COUNTY
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Fairbury, Nebraska (July 17, 2021)………As a Rookie making just his third career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget start a year ago at Fairbury, Nebraska's Jefferson County Speedway, Emerson Axsom made his initial statement in the series by leading until three laps to go before finishing as the runner-up.
Since that time, as the Franklin, Ind. driver has progressed and gained an entire year of experience on the tour, he never let that particular race slip from his memory bank with the thought that, if he had the chance to get that one back, he'd be the winner this time around.
Axsom put those lessons and ambitions into action Saturday night during the Mid-America Midget Week finale, the Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt's Sanitation, where he led the final eight laps on the 1/5-mile dirt oval to score a $10,000 prize in his Petry Motorsports/FK Rod Ends – Iron Born Studio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"Last year, we said that if that had been this year, we would've won that race. To say that and then to actually do it, that feels pretty good right now," Axsom said. "The biggest thing is seat time and figuring out how much is too much and how little is too little. I've kind of found the sweet spot here lately."
Axsom's pursuit of his second career USAC National Midget feature victory didn't come without a bit of friction late in the going which led to a hearty chorus of reactions from the throng of fans packed into the covered grandstand.
Axsom led the first of the 40 laps, crawling the bottom to reach the front of the field, then waged in a side-by-side battle for much of the first quarter of the event alongside pole sitter Logan Seavey. The war was chock full of lead swaps and crossovers that Seavey maintained control over for the opening seven laps until New Zealand's Hayden Williams, running 22nd, tipped over in turn one.
Seavey promptly commanded the race lead following the restart for seven more laps when, on lap 14, seventh running Tanner Thorson and sixth-place Cannon McIntosh made front bumper to rear bumper contact, sending McIntosh spinning and also collecting eighth-place Thomas Meseraull who did a 90-degree rotation in an attempt to avoid the melee. Further down the track, Thorson stopped on the back straightaway. All three were able to restart from the tail.
On the resumption of lap 17th running Jake Bubak was caught in a sandwich as he tried to split between Tyler Thomas and Kyle Jones on the back straightway. The resulting contact sent the Coloradan barrel-rolling to bring out the red flag. Bubak was uninjured, but the damage proved too extensive for him to return from.
When the green flag dropped again, Seavey slipped away to distance himself from Axsom who subsequently lost the second position to Justin Grant on the 15th lap and the third spot to Kevin Thomas Jr. on the 19th lap. Axsom regained 3rd a lap later on the 20th circuit and raced back into 2nd on the 21st go-around.
Grant, meanwhile, dueled with Axsom until lap 23 when near contact almost caused Grant to stall his machine in turn two, dropping him back to 5th.
Moments later, the yellow flag was displayed for 9th running Chase Randall and Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association point leader Zac Taylor, who both came to a rest in the fourth turn. Randall was parked with a flat left rear tire while Taylor was aimed backwards adjacent to Randall. Randall came back to finish 13th while Taylor bowed out in the 20th position.
At the time prior to the yellow, Seavey possessed a full straightaway lead of 1.7 seconds that was erased from the board. K. Thomas blitzed back into 2nd on lap 24 at the line as the trio of Seavey, K. Thomas and Axsom were staged three-wide exiting turn four. K. Thomas ultimately lost the runner-up spot to his Petry Motorsports teammate Axsom on lap 26.
Axsom chased down Seavey and, on lap 31, slid under Seavey for the race lead, holding briefly, but Seavey countered to retake the spot as the two crossed the line nose-to-tail.
The pressure was turned up to the melting point as the leaders encountered the final car on the lead lap, 11-time Rocky Mountain Midget champion Keith Rauch, with eight laps remaining as the entire event reached a fever pitch.
With Seavey leading and Axsom just a car length behind entering turn one on the 33rd lap, Axsom's front bumper and the left side of Seavey's rear bumper met chrome to chrome, sending Seavey into a 360 degree spin in turn two. By rule, with the yellow flown for his 360 spin, Seavey was sent to the tail for the restart, while Axsom assumed his role as the new race leader.
"Really, I think what caused it was the lapped car," Axsom explained. "Logan went in over the cushion a little extra high to diamond it. When he got on the brakes and turned down, it was already sideways from turning down. I expected him to kind of follow him through or slide him the next corner. I was on the brakes hard. If I wanted to wreck Logan, I would've done it on lap two; I definitely didn't mean to. I'm glad we won, and I felt we had the fastest car anyway, but I wish we could've done it a little bit better."
It was bitter disappointment for Seavey after leading a race-high 31 laps, owns the Jefferson County Speedway one-lap track record and owned the majority of Saturday night's event until "the moment" occurred.
"I had a great racecar, but it sucks to be in a position to win and not get it done," Seavey admitted. "For the most part, I was getting through traffic pretty well and didn't really get stuck behind many cars. I saw the 27 (Rauch) was running the top in one and two and the bottom in three and four. He kind of had a different entry into turn one. I thought he was going to the bottom, so I sent it to the top. I got on the brakes to not get in the back of a lapped car.
Obviously, Emerson was pretty close," Seavey continued. "I don't think he went in there to crash me or anything. If he wanted to crash me, he had plenty of opportunities before that. He just didn't slow down as much as I did, and I went around. It's just part of it. It sucks to lose any race. It sucks a lot to lose a race that pays 10 grand."
After the hullaballoo, Axsom now had to finish off eight more laps with his teammate, K. Thomas and the ever-surging point leader Buddy Kofoid, running third after starting all the way back in 15th.
Kofoid slid past K. Thomas in turn two on lap 34, then quickly erased the half-second gap that existed between he and Axsom. Kofoid tried a slider on Axsom in turn two with three to go that came up short and fell back into line just as the final yellow came out for contact between Thorson and Grant, running in the 6th and 7th positions, respectively, resulting in Thorson spinning and stopping on the bottom of turn three. Thorson's two-race winning came streak came to an end as a result, finishing the week with a 19th place result.
Axsom got a clean restart with three laps remaining, holding Kofoid at bay for the time being. Coming to the white flag, Kofoid inched closer, but encountered a rough patch against the turn two cushion and fell over the perimeter of the track surface on the back straight, essentially extinguishing all hope for a victory bid for the point leader.
Axsom, who had spent the previous night playing badminton until 4am and battled with fellow driver Sam Johnson in a friendly game in the pit area prior to Saturday's hot laps, closed out his victory on the racetrack by a 0.572 second margin over Kofoid with Chris Windom, Justin Grant and Daison Pursley rounding out the top-five.
Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) extended his USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget lead by three to 37 points with a 15th to 2nd surge in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Mobil 1 – TRD – IWX/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota that earned him the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger award for the evening.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) remains second place in the standings following his third-place result in the feature event, piloting his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota to his fifth-straight top-six feature result.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 17, 2021 – Jefferson County Speedway– Fairbury, Nebraska – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt's Sanitation / Mid-America Midget Week
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), 2. Buddy Kofoid (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Justin Grant (#2J RMS), 4. Tanner Thorson (#19T Reinbold-Underwood), 5. Austin Barnhill (#17B Johnson), 6. Travis Buckley (#7NZ BSL), 7. Keith Rauch (#27 Bourke), 8. Jason McDougal (#4 Klatt). 2:03.560
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#5 Petry), 3. Tyler Thomas (#91T Thomas), 4. Logan Seavey (#25 Malloy), 5. Hayden Williams (#1NZ BSL), 6. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), 7. Chase Randall (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), 8. J.R. Ewing (#2c Ewing). NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Zac Taylor (#71T Henry), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), 3. Brenham Crouch (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Chris Windom (#89 CBI), 5. Sam Johnson (#72J Johnson), 6. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), 7. Shannon McQueen (#7 McQueen). 2:06.96
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Bubak (#27B Bourke), 2. Daison Pursley (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Emerson Axsom (#15 Petry), 4. Kyle Jones (#7u Tri-Fecta), 5. Trey Gropp (#00 Mounce-Stout), 6. Kyler Johnson (#45x KJR), 7. Blake Spicer (#4s John). 2:02.97
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Trey Gropp, 2. Chase Randall, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Sam Johnson, 5. Keith Rauch, 6. Shannon McQueen, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Austin Barnhill, 9. Kyler Johnson, 10. Blake Spicer, 11. J.R. Ewing, 12. Hayden Williams, 13. Travis Buckley. NT
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Emerson Axsom (3), 2. Buddy Kofoid (15), 3. Chris Windom (4), 4. Justin Grant (2), 5. Daison Pursley (14), 6. Cannon McIntosh (8), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (20), 9. Brenham Crouch (13), 10. Thomas Meseraull (7), 11. Trey Gropp (12), 12. Tyler Thomas (19), 13. Chase Randall (16), 14. Logan Seavey (1), 15. Kyle Jones (18), 16. Sam Johnson (17), 17. Shannon McQueen (22), 18. Keith Rauch (21), 19. Tanner Thorson (6), 20. Zac Taylor (10), 21. Hayden Williams (23-P), 22. Jake Bubak (9), 23. Ethan Mitchell (11). NT
P represents a provisional starter
**Hayden Williams flipped on lap 7 of the feature. Jake Bubak flipped on lap 14 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Emerson Axsom, Laps 2-32 Logan Seavey, Laps 33-40 Emerson Axsom.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1191, 2-Chris Windom-1154, 3-Emerson Axsom-1123, 4-Justin Grant-1098, 5-Tanner Thorson-1053, 6-Daison Pursley-1023, 7-Logan Seavey-999, 8-Thomas Meseraull-983, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-983, 10-Cannon McIntosh-888.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-96, 2-Thomas Meseraull-94, 3-Robert Ballou-87, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 5-Chris Windom-83, 6-Brady Bacon-72, 7-Justin Grant-70, 8-Buddy Kofoid-63, 9-Logan Seavey-62, 10-C.J. Leary-51.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 3, 2021 – Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania – Eastern Midget Week
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Daison Pursley
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Zac Taylor
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Jake Bubak
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Trey Gropp
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Buddy Kofoid (15th to 2nd)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Chase Randall
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Hayden Reinbold
THORSON THROTTLES TO 2ND STRAIGHT USAC MIDGET SCORE, WINS JEFFERSON COUNTY NIGHT #1
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Fairbury, Nebraska (July 16, 2021)………With his engine steaming in victory lane, Tanner Thorson estimated he had barely cracked the throttle throughout the 30-lap duration of Friday night's Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt's Sanitation at Fairbury, Nebraska's Jefferson County Speedway.
The same could be said for Thorson himself, who has used the mid-summer Mid-America Midget Week to bring the heat to the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship tour in winning his second career series feature at the 1/5-mile dirt oval after earlier winning back in 2017.
Meanwhile, Thorson became the first driver to win back-to-back races during the 2021 season, doing so on consecutive nights after capturing the victory in Thursday's Chad McDaniel Memorial at bordering Kansas' Solomon Valley Raceway just 24 hours earlier.
The two performance weren't exactly mirror reflections of each other with Friday's wire-to-wire triumph seeming like a relative cakewalk in comparison to the previous night's hard-charging win aboard his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – The Healing Tree/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.
At Jefferson County, the Minden, Nevada native earned a front row starting spot and possessed a stranglehold from the outset of the green, all this despite having to overcome the high-stakes burden of traffic that allowed Kevin Thomas Jr. to move right on in and clamp down mid-race.
The $4,000 victory for Thorson was the first time he's won back-to-back USAC National Midget features since his championship season of 2016. Interestingly enough, Friday also marked the first time in the series that any driver has won features on consecutive nights in quite nearly, exactly one year ago, on the 2020 Mid-America Midget Week tour. Tyler Courtney was victorious on July 18-19 of 2020 at Jefferson County and at Caney Valley Speedway in Kansas, respectively.
Thorson's 24th career USAC National Midget feature score moved him into a tie for 19th all-time with Billy Engelhart while also elevating him above the likes of Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kyle Larson, Kevin Olson and Billy Vukovich on the all-time series' win list.
Beginning his pursuit from the pole, Thorson slid up in front of outside front row starter Kevin Thomas Jr. and quickly obtained control in the early stages with a single car length lead at the stripe.
Moment later, however, the feature's first stoppage saw 10th running Jerry Coons Jr. barrel rolling in turn three in an incident which also involved Jason McDougal, Ryan Timms and Kaylee Bryson. All drivers were okay, but Coons' damage was enough to signal an end to his race.
On the ensuing restart, while turning the corner and headed toward the green flag, a chain reaction at the head of the pack had its effects ricochet throughout the entire field, practically. In the resulting melee, five cars were knocked askew and came to a rest on track, including Buddy Kofoid (7th), Kyle Jones (8th), Daison Pursley (9th), Kaylee Bryson (17th) and Thomas Meseraull (18th). All drivers involved were able to resume, albeit from the back of the field.
When the action finally found its footing and the laps began to tick away, Thorson led a three-car breakaway with K. Thomas and Windom tagging along just less than a mere couple car lengths back, while a full straightaway separated the trio and fourth-running Ethan Mitchell with one-third of the race in the books.
By midway, traffic was first and foremost on the mind of the leaders as Thorson sought space to escape his entanglement within the web with the lap counter winding down to less than 10 circuits remaining. There, at that moment, Thorson was momentarily caught up trying to press his way past the final lead lap running car of Tyler Thomas.
With Thorson catching the rear bumper of T. Thomas, but finding difficulty in putting him a lap down, K. Thomas mounted a charge and managed to pull even to the inside of Thorson between turns one and two with eight laps remaining. Using T. Thomas as a pick of sorts, Thorson swept past and had K. Thomas and Windom now pinned behind T. Thomas, which provided a shred of light for Thorson to check out for the remaining balance of the event.
At the finish, Thorson's final margin of victory was 1.131 seconds over Kevin Thomas Jr. with Chris Windom, Emerson Axsom and Justin Grant rounding out the top-five.
Despite the pressure, Thorson was as cool as the other side of the pillow in equaling point leader Buddy Kofoid as the winningest series driver of the season with four wins apiece.
"I figured he would be there," Thorson said of K. Thomas. "He's really good at running the bottom and I figured he was there. I was just trying to hit my marks as best I could and get by the lapped cars. They were kind of holding me up for a minute there and I was getting nervous. I saw KTJ poke his nose in a couple times, and I just had to hold my composure, look forward and go for it."
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) turned in yet another fine run in his Petry Motorsports/Gray Auto – FK Rod Ends/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota, finishing inside the top-ten for the seventh time in his eight previous starts, equaling his best finish of the season, a 2nd, which he also earned in June at Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) collected a fourth consecutive top-six feature finish with the series, overcoming three-straight results outside the top-ten prior to this successful string of good fortune in the driver's seat of his CB Industries/NOS Energy Drink – PristineAuction.com – K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Fifth place feature finisher Justin Grant blazed the fastest 10-lap trail for USAC National Midgets at Jefferson County Speedway, finishing the fourth heat race with a time of 1:50.360, which lowered the track record for the distance by nearly six seconds, which was previously held by Tanner Carrick since 2019.
Daison Pursley endured a rough and tumble evening which began with a massive nose-to-tail turn one flip during hot laps. Pursley recovered after his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team successfully repaired the car and Pursley subsequently recorded the second fastest qualifying time to earn the night's GSP Quality Driving Performance award before going on to win the semi-feature and finishing 12th in the feature after being involved in the lap two restart kerfuffle.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) kept his undefeated qualifying record alive by recording his fourth career Jefferson County Speedway Fatheadz Fast Qualifying time on Friday night. More amazingly, those four fast times have come in just four appearances at the track, in 2018, twice in 2019 and again in his return on Friday night.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 16, 2021 – Jefferson County Speedway– Fairbury, Nebraska – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt's Sanitation / Mid-America Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-10.710; 2. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.712; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.745; 4. Trey Gropp, 00, Mounce/Stout-10.827; 5. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-10.840; 6. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-10.840; 7. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-10.865; 8. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-10.869; 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-10.871; 10. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-10.911; 11. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.913; 12. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-10.919; 13. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.921; 14. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-10.948; 15. Sam Johnson, 72J, Johnson-10.951; 16. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-10.967; 17. Jason McDougal, 4, Klatt-10.994; 18. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.999; 19. Kyle Jones, 7u, Tri-Fecta-11.017; 20. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-11.053; 21. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-11.074; 22. Jerry Coons Jr., 85, Central-11.083; 23. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-11.184; 24. Jake Bubak, 27B, Bourke-11.195; 25. Austin Barnhill, 17B, Johnson-11.222; 26. Travis Buckley, 7NZ, BLS-11.268; 27. Brett Becker, 2B, Becker-11.282; 28. Kyler Johnson, 45x, KJR-11.367; 29. Zac Taylor, 71T, Henry-11.387; 30. Keith Rauch, 27, Bourke-11.400; 31. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.411; 32. Cade Cowles, 70, Gariss-11.672; 33. Shaun Shapel, 84s, Shapel-12.014; 34. Blake Spicer, 4s, John-12.324; 35. J.R. Ewing, 2c, Ewing-12.795; 36. Hayden Williams, 1NZ, BSL-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Thomas, 2. Bryant Wiedeman, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Jason McDougal, 7. Zac Taylor, 8. Austin Barnhill, 9. Shaun Shapel. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Brenham Crouch, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Chase Randall, 7. Keith Rauch, 8. Blake Spicer, 9. Travis Buckley. 1:51.210
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Jones, 2. Kaylee Bryson, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Buddy Kofoid, 5. Shannon McQueen, 6. Sam Johnson, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Brett Becker, 9. J.R. Ewing. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Ethan Mitchell, 5. Trey Gropp, 6. Jake Bubak, 7. Hayden Williams, 8. Cade Cowles, 9. Kyler Johnson. 1:50.360 (New Track Record)
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Jason McDougal, 4. Trey Gropp, 5. Chase Randall, 6. Sam Johnson, 7. Jake Bubak, 8. Austin Barnhill, 9. Hayden Reinbold, 10. Zac Taylor, 11. Kyler Johnson, 12. Keith Rauch, 13. Cade Cowles, 14. Shaun Shapel, 15. Hayden Williams, 16. Shannon McQueen, 17. Blake Spicer, 18. Travis Buckley. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (1), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 3. Chris Windom (4), 4. Emerson Axsom (5), 5. Justin Grant (8), 6. Logan Seavey (11), 7. Ethan Mitchell (3), 8. Trey Gropp (13), 9. Thomas Meseraull (18), 10. Cannon McIntosh (20), 11. Brenham Crouch (22), 12. Daison Pursley (12), 13. Bryant Wiedeman (17), 14. Buddy Kofoid (6), 15. Chase Randall (14), 16. Ryan Timms (16), 17. Sam Johnson (19), 18. Kyle Jones (7), 19. Jason McDougal (21), 20. Kaylee Bryson (15), 21. Tyler Thomas (9), 22. Jerry Coons Jr. (10). NT
**Daison Pursley flipped during practice. Jerry Coons Jr. flipped on lap 2 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Tanner Thorson.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1124, 2-Chris Windom-1090, 3-Emerson Axsom-1053, 4-Justin Grant-1037, 5-Tanner Thorson-1028, 6-Daison Pursley-965, 7-Logan Seavey-964, 8-Thomas Meseraull-940, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-931, 10-Cannon McIntosh-833.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-96, 2-Thomas Meseraull-94, 3-Robert Ballou-87, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 5-Chris Windom-82, 6-Brady Bacon-72, 7-Justin Grant-70, 8-Logan Seavey-62, 9-C.J. Leary-51, 10-Buddy Kofoid-50.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 17, 2021 – Jefferson County Speedway– Fairbury, Nebraska – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt's Sanitation / Mid-America Midget Week
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Daison Pursley
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Logan Seavey
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Tyler Thomas
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Jerry Coons Jr.
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Kyle Jones
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Daison Pursley
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Brenham Crouch (22nd to 11th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Bryant Wiedeman
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Jake Bubak
THORSON REIGNS IN USAC'S
CHAD McDANIEL MEMORIAL AT SOLOMON VALLEY
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Beloit, Kansas (July 15, 2021)………Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
After making three consecutive attempts that brought him closer and closer to the lead, Tanner Thorson's diligence paid off when he slid past Emerson Axsom with just five laps remaining to score Thursday night's Mid-America Midget Week victory in the 10th running of the Chad McDaniel Memorial at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kansas.
Thorson's third series win of the year was the 23rd in USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget competition, moving the Minden, Nevada native into the top-20 on the all-time list alongside Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kyle Larson, Kevin Olson and Billy Vukovich.
Most recently winning with the series on June 10 of this year during Indiana Midget Week at Lincoln Park Speedway, Thorson has endured somewhat of a rollercoaster ride of sorts in terms of his feature results this season. He went back to the basics at LPS after implementing some new ideas into his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – The Healing Tree/Spike/Stanton SR-11x earlier in the year.
The back to the basics approach paid off once again Thursday night at Solomon Valley.
"Hopefully, we keep clicking off these wins," Thorson exclaimed after his $4,000 triumph. "I love midget racing, especially when we're running good, obviously. I feel like I've learned all the tricks in the book as far as midget racing. Now it's just a matter of keeping it simple."
The simplified method worked initially, but following his June win, he had finished 8th, 19th and 11th in his three most recent series starts entering the night. During the monthlong break in the schedule between the conclusion of Indiana Midget Week and the start of Indiana Midget Week, Thorson went through every inch of the racecar with a fine-tooth comb to make sure he'd ascend back into his familiar spot as a prime contender.
"Everything was gone through over and over," Thorson explained. "I squared the car about 20 times, just scratching my head, scaling, chassis dyno, you name it. I did everything in my power to get my car better and I think it shows.
On Tuesday at Red Dirt, a little bit was on my side as a driver, and not being comfortable," Thorson continued. "I did a couple things in the cockpit to suit me. After my accident and due to wrecks that I've had in the past, I'm just not as flexible and can't really fit in the cars and use the throttle and the brake as well as I used to be, I'd say. I built this car in one night and threw the seat in, so it wasn't necessarily comfortable, and I was fighting other stuff. I never really had time to think about my cockpit and me inside of it. I got the motor running good, got the car working good, got my cockpit good, and now we're good."
Starting from the fifth position in the 23-car field, Thorson felt he was just hanging on, so to speak, during the early stages of the 30-lap feature while point leader and pole sitter Buddy Kofoid controlled the pace of the race up front for the first half of the event.
Fourth starting Cannon McIntosh was an early contender, clamping down, then sliding past Kofoid in the first turn on the eighth lap. A half-lap later, Kofoid returned the favor on the 1/4-mile dirt oval, powering under McIntosh to retake the position just as 23rd starting Thomas Meseraull found trouble, spinning backwards to a stop on the front straightaway with major damage to the left front of his racecar.
The incident knocked Meseraull out of the race, concluding what was a tumultuous night after earlier setting quick time in Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying for just the third time in his career. While running second on the final corner of the final lap in the Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature, Meseraull got caught up with a spinning, lapped car, which caused him to flip and, subsequently, knocked him out of a transfer spot, and forced him to use a provisional.
On the ensuing restart, McIntosh found a hitch in his giddy-up in turn two, which opened the door for Emerson Axsom to slip by for the second position, followed shortly thereafter by Thorson who maneuvered his way into the third spot by McIntosh on lap 10, and finally cleared McIntosh for the spot on lap 12 after exchanging the position multiple times.
Reaching the halfway point, Kofoid remained the possessor of a full second lead over Axsom with Thorson in third and McIntosh and Kaylee Bryson challenging each other for fourth. On the 16th circuit, McIntosh attempted to slide into turn three and snag the position away from Bryson.
As the two came within close quarters of each other, Bryson became sideways atop the cushion, spinning sideways down the middle of the racetrack, right into the path of Tuesday's Red Dirt winner, and teammate, Daison Pursley. The resulting contact knocked the front end out on Pursley, putting him out of the race. Meanwhile, Bryston restarted her race from the tail and, unfortunately, misfortune continued.
New fourth place in the running order Kevin Thomas Jr. locked up the brakes to avoid contact with another car as the accordion effect bunched up the field on the lap 16 restart between turns one and two, ending his undefeated 2-0 record in the Chad McDaniel Memorial following previous wins in 2015 and 2018 in his only two prior event starts. Thomas restarted and ultimately finished 13th.
Just one lap following the restart, Axsom put on the moves to matriculate his way into the race lead as he slid past racelong leader Kofoid in turn three and made the car stick as he tickled the edge of the turn four cushion with precision. Kofoid cut back under while Thorson took the bottom line off turn four to briefly make it a three-wide contest for the lead with Axsom securing the advantage by a hair at the line.
Thorson officially slotted in the second spot a lap later on the 18th go-around with Justin Grant 3rd. Meanwhile, Buddy Kofoid went Tom Petty free fallin' all the way back to 7th in just a few short laps before gathering it up and driving back to an eventual 4th place result.
A stoppage on lap 23 took 4th running McIntosh officially out of contention as he hopped over the banking between turns one and two with just eight laps remaining. He'd finish out with a 16th place result for the evening.
The restart saw Thorson take run-after-run at Axsom for the lead, lining up his shot midway down the back straightaway by aiming the car straight to the bottom of turn three and sliding up to the top by the time he reached turn four. Shot one had him pull his front bumper right to Axsom's tail tank. Shot two saw him pull to within a half-length. Shot three witnessed Thorson pull exactly wheel-to-wheel with Axsom before falling back into line for lap 26 when the persistence finally paid off.
"I just kept poking at him, poking at him and I was getting a little bit closer because I was driving it harder and harder into turn three," Thorson explained. "With that being said, every time I drove it harder getting into three, he was actually pulling me a little bit down the back stretch. I knew I had to kind of shoot it off in there and I was hoping for him to mess up. He and Buddy were messing up every once in a while there on the top since it was really tricky to run and technical. I figured I gave him enough shots, and I figured he knew I was there. At that point, I was just going for it. I feel like I gave him enough warning shots that I was there - firing the rifles off in the air – just to let him know I was here."
On the 26th lap, Thorson gave it one more shot, coming right toward Axsom as he performed a full-speed drift into turns three and four. As Thorson slid across Axsom's front bumper, Axsom pitched the car sideways and lifted and pitched the car sideways as Thorson drove by and set sail toward another victory.
However, a lap 29 incident involving Chase Randall and Kaylee Bryson, while battling for 12th, sent Bryson flipping high in the sky down the front straightaway. She was oaky, and briskly walked her way from the front stretch to turn three to confront Randall for a brief chat. Bryson was finished for the night, finishing 20th while Randall took 12th.
The green-white-checkered finish resulted in no change at the front as Thorson held his ground throughout the final two circuits to become the newest first-time Chad McDaniel Memorial winner by a 0.339 second interval over Emerson Axsom, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid and Bryant Wiedeman, who equaled his best career USAC finish with a 5th.
Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) led nine laps but came up just shy of reaching USAC National Midget victory lane for the second time in his career in the Petry Motorsports/FK Rod Ends – Iron Born Studio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
"He gave me the option to lift," Axsom recalled. "It was either lift or jump his right rear, which is just a good slider I guess. If I didn't lift, I probably would've been the red. I got on the brakes hard there, and it just played out how it did. It wasn't his fault, it wasn't my fault, it was just kind of hard racing. I think we kind of gave one away there. We had a really fast racecar and, when we were racing for the lead, we passed Buddy and a lot of other fast racecars that aren't easy to pass."
For the third-straight series event, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) finished inside the top-three in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota. After a 21st place qualifying run, Grant won his heat race, which elevated him to the ninth starting position in the feature where he proceeded to a finish of 3rd.
"I've been burying us pretty good in these features, so I've been having to take chunks when I can," Grant admitted. "I had another awesome car and I got to the front plenty early to have a shot there. USAC Midgets are tough and it's a lot of fun racing, though. It keeps you on your game and you have to drive hard. When you see an opening, you've got to try and drive through it."
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) gripped the wheel on a gripped up track and blasted from the 17th starting position to finish 7th in Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Rodela Specialty Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota.
Daison Pursley's time of 2:32.00 in the Elliotts Custom Trailers & Carts Semi-Feature set a new 12-lap track record for USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing at Solomon Valley Raceway.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 15, 2021 – Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 10th Chad McDaniel Memorial / Mid-America Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.223; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-12.247; 3. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-12.248; 4. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-12.301; 5. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.320; 6. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.331; 7. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-12.334; 8. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-12.348; 9. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.357; 10. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.358; 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 85, Central-12.371; 12. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-12.372; 13. Jason McDougal, 4, Klatt-12.374; 14. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.391; 15. Jake Bubak, 27B, Bourke-12.398; 16. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-12.424; 17. Hayden Williams, 1NZ, BSL-12.425; 18. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-12.427; 19. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.446; 20. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-12.455; 21. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-12.484; 22. Kyle Jones, 7u, Tri-Fecta-12.506; 23. Trey Gropp, 00, Mounce/Stout-12.514; 24. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.574; 25. Keith Rauch, 27, Bourke-12.591; 26. Kyler Johnson, 45x, KJR-12.653; 27. Sam Johnson, 72J, Johnson-12.697; 28. Travis Buckley, 7NZ, BLS-12.752; 29. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.797; 30. Brett Becker, 2B, Becker-13.044; 31. Corey Joyner, 11H, Joyner-13.610; 32. Ryan Padgett, 84J, Shapel-13.649; 33. Shaun Shapel, 84s, Shapel-13.833; 34. Blake Spicer, 4s, John-14.797; 35. J.R. Ewing, 2c, Ewing-15.699.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Jason McDougal, 3. Hayden Williams, 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Daison Pursley, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Keith Rauch, 9. Shaun Shapel. 2:05.77
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Kaylee Bryson, 5. Kyle Jones, 6. Shannon McQueen, 7. Kyler Johnson, 8. Brett Becker, 9. Blake Spicer. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ethan Mitchell, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Trey Gropp, 4. Jake Bubak, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Sam Johnson, 7. Ryan Timms, 8. Corey Joiner, 9. J.R. Ewing. 2:05.09
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brenham Crouch, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Zach Daum, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Chase Randall, 6. Travis Buckley, 7. Chris Windom, 8. Ryan Padgett. 2:05.61
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Ryan Timms, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Chase Randall, 5. Shannon McQueen, 6. Kyle Jones, 7. Sam Johnson, 8. Keith Rauch, 9. Hayden Reinbold, 10. Kyler Johnson, 11. Travis Buckley, 12. Brett Becker, 13. Thomas Meseraull, 14. Corey Joyner, 15. Shaun Shapel, 16. J.R. Ewing, 17. Ryan Padgett, 18. Jerry Coons Jr. 2:32.00 (New Track Record)
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (5), 2. Emerson Axsom (7), 3. Justin Grant (9), 4. Buddy Kofoid (1), 5. Bryant Wiedeman (2), 6. Chris Windom (13), 7. Logan Seavey (17), 8. Zach Daum (14), 9. Ryan Timms (12), 10. Hayden Williams (18), 11. Brenham Crouch (10), 12. Chase Randall (20), 13. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 14. Ethan Mitchell (8), 15. Jake Bubak (16), 16. Cannon McIntosh (4), 17. Trey Gropp (22), 18. Kyle Jones (21), 19. Shannon McQueen (19), 20. Kaylee Bryson (3), 21. Daison Pursley (11), 22. Jason McDougal (15), 23. Thomas Meseraull (23-P). NT
P represents a provisional starter
**Thomas Meseraull flipped during the semi. Kaylee Bryson flipped on lap 29 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 17-25 Emerson Axsom, Laps 26-30 Tanner Thorson.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1080, 2-Chris Windom-1020, 3-Emerson Axsom-984, 4-Justin Grant-971, 5-Tanner Thorson-953, 6-Daison Pursley-917, 7-Logan Seavey-900, 8-Thomas Meseraull-887, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-859, 10-Cannon McIntosh-784.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-96, 2-Robert Ballou-87, 3-Thomas Meseraull-85, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 5-Chris Windom-81, 6-Brady Bacon-72, 7-Justin Grant-67, 8-Logan Seavey-57, 9-C.J. Leary-51, 10-Buddy Kofoid-50.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: July 16-17, 2021 – Jefferson County Speedway– Fairbury, Nebraska – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt's Sanitation / Mid-America Midget Week
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Emerson Axsom
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Thomas Meseraull
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Emerson Axsom
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Ethan Mitchell
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Brenham Crouch
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Daison Pursley
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Logan Seavey (17th to 7th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Sam Johnson
SEEDING TO SET LINEUP FOR SATURDAY'S USAC
MID-AMERICA MIDGET WEEK FINALE AT FAIRBURY, NEB.
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Fairbury, Nebraska (July 15, 2021)………This Saturday night's $10,000-to-win USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget event at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Nebraska will feature a unique format to seed the field based on Friday night's finishing order.
The Midwest Midget Championship at the 1/5-mile dirt oval, the Mid-America Midget Week finale, begins on Friday, July 16, and will utilize the traditional format of single-car qualifying, followed by heat races, semi-feature and a 30-lap feature event paying $4,000-to-win, with the starting lineup based on qualifying results and heat race winners.
The format for the Saturday, July 17, portion of the program will not include qualifying. Instead, heat race lineups will be based on the finishing order of Friday's event. Friday night's feature winner will receive the one seed with the second-place finisher getting the second seed, and so on. For Saturday, those seeds, in essence, will act as the official qualifying time.
The number one seed will line up in the 6th position of Saturday's heat race one and the number two seed will line up in the 6th position of heat race two, and so forth. From there on, the "traditional" USAC format will take over with the top-four transferring from each of the four heat races, top-six from the semi, etc.
The fastest top-six "seeds" who transfer through the heats will occupy the first three rows of Saturday's feature, followed by heat race winners, then the balance of the field based on their seeds, to set the starting lineup for the 40-lap finale paying $10,000-to-win and $500 to start.
Of note, Friday night's provisional feature starters will receive their seed based on their finishing order in the semi-feature rather than where they finished in the feature.
Furthermore, Friday will be a full points event, awarding points for qualifying, heats and the feature event. Saturday's event will pay points for the feature only.
General admission tickets to the event are just $20 for adults on Friday night and $25 on Saturday with High School students and younger just $5 each night. Reserved seating is $25 per night (available in two-day packages only) and are available online at www.jeffersoncountyspeedway.com under the "Buy Tickets" tab.
Unlimited general admission tickets will be sold day of show beginning at 5pm CDT with reserved seating only presale as described above. All-access pit passes will be unlimited and available at the pit gate on day of show only.
Gates open at 5pm with cars on track at 6:30pm CDT each night with a free concert each night after the races at the beer garden.
Camping with electric and water hookups is available just a few hundred feet from the track by reserving online at www.jeffersoncountyspeedway.com under the "Buy Tickets" tab. Additional camping and area information is available at https://www.visitoregontrail.org/ or http://fairburychamber.org/.
For more information, follow the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MidwestMidgetChampionship or call 405-823-8095.
Both nights of the Midwest Midget Championship from Jefferson County Speedway will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
USAC MIDGETS AT SOLOMON VALLEY
POSTPONED TO THURSDAY, JULY 15
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Beloit, Kansas (July 14, 2021)………A persistent rain shower hit Solomon Valley Raceway just as hot laps were set to roll onto the track Wednesday night, then was followed by continuous heavy rain throughout the following hours, forcing postponement of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship's Chad McDaniel Memorial to Thursday night, July 15, at the Beloit, Kansas 1/4-mile dirt oval.
Ticket and pit pass holders from Wednesday night may use their wristbands in order to gain re-entry on Thursday night at Solomon Valley. For all others, general admission tickets are just $20 with high school students and younger just $5. All access passes are available as well for $35 and available at the pit gate on the day of the show only.
The timetable remains the same for Thursday night's event with gates opening at 5pm (Central) with the drivers meeting at 6pm and cars on track at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing to follow.
Thirty-seven USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets entered Wednesday's event at Solomon Valley and were greeted with a packed grandstand full of thrilled racing fans. Since cars pushed and took to the track for wheel packing earlier in the evening, all USAC Nationally licensed drivers and entrants received 10 appearance points toward the championship standings.
Thursday's 10th running of the Chad McDaniel Memorial features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and the NOW600 Non-Wing & Restricted Micro Sprints.
The Chad McDaniel Memorial from Solomon Valley Raceway will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
Mid-America Midget Week resumes on Thursday night, July 15 at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kansas; then concludes with two nights at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Neb. on July 16 and on July 17, with the finale paying $10,000 to the winner.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 14, 2021 – Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Mid-America Midget Week
CARS & DRIVERS IN ATTENDANCE: (37) Trey Gropp (#00 Mounce-Stout), Bryant Wiedeman (#01 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac), Hayden Williams (#1NZ BSL), Brett Becker (#2B Becker), J.R. Ewing (#2c Ewing), Justin Grant (#2J RMS), Jason McDougal (#4 Klatt), Blake Spicer (#4s John), Kevin Thomas Jr. (#5 Petry), Shannon McQueen (#7 McQueen), Travis Buckley (#7NZ BSL), Kyle Jones (#7u Tri-Fecta), Thomas Meseraull (#7x RMS), Chase Elliott (#9 May), Zach Daum (#9m Bundy Built), Corey Joyner (#11H Joyner), Emerson Axsom (#15 Petry), Chase Randall (#19A Reinbold-Underwood), Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood), Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), Tanner Thorson (#19T Reinbold-Underwood), Logan Seavey (#25 Malloy), Keith Rauch (#27 Bourke), Jake Bubak (#27B Bourke), Kyler Johnson (#45x KJR), Buddy Kofoid (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Kaylee Bryson (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Daison Pursley (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), Sam Johnson (#72J Johnson), Ryan Padgett (#84J Shapel), Shaun Shapel (#84s Shapel), Jerry Coons Jr. (#85 Central), Ryan Timms (#85T CBI), Chris Windom (#89 CBI), Jeff Stasa (#91 SBR), Brenham Crouch (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian).
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1012, 2-Chris Windom-963, 3-Emerson Axsom-909, 4-Justin Grant-899, 5-Daison Pursley-888, 6-Tanner Thorson-872, 7-Thomas Meseraull-858, 8-Logan Seavey-841, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-811, 10-Cannon McIntosh-745.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-92, 2-Robert Ballou-87, 3-Thomas Meseraull-85, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 5-Chris Windom-74, 6-Brady Bacon-72, 7-Justin Grant-61, 8-C.J. Leary-51, 9-Buddy Kofoid-50, 10-Logan Seavey-47.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 15, 2021 – Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Mid-America Midget Week
FAIRBURY, NEBRASKA PITS USAC MIDGETS'
BEST FOR TWO NIGHTS JULY 16-17
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Fairbury, Nebraska (July 14, 2021)………"Fairbury" is the rallying chant synonymous with mid-summer for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship for the past half-decade, and the 2021 edition at Fairbury, Nebraska's Jefferson County Speedway is primed to be bigger and better than ever.
That applies to the driver's wallets as well for the Riverside Chevrolet Midwest Midget Championship presented by Westin Packaged Meats and Schmidt's Sanitation, co-sanctioned by USAC and the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association for the Friday and Saturday night, July 16-17 event.
Friday night's purse has been elevated to $4,000-to-win for the 30-lapper while Saturday night's purse for the 40-lap feature will pay an event record $10,000 winner's share and $500 to start and in excess of $40,000 in total prize money.
The Midwest Midget Championship officially begins on Thursday night, July 15 with practice from 5-7pm CDT followed by a shrimp boil and barbecue to follow, which is open to all race teams, crews and fans at the campground north of the track with a free concert in the beer garden following each night of racing action as well.
In the opener of last year's Midwest Midget Championship, Chris Windom withstood Buddy Kofoid's repeated, relentless challenges down the stretch, including during a hellacious final four lap trophy dash to the finish.
In a 30-lap feature that was stop-and-start throughout, with a number of cautions and a pair of red flags impeding the proceedings, Windom worked his way to the lead just prior to midway after pole sitter Ethan Mitchell led the first four laps of his USAC career while Cannon McIntosh controlled the front of the pack from lap five until Windom worked his way by on the 12th circuit just following a restart.
As Windom began to track down traffic that was running three and four-wide at times, Kofoid was right on his trail, closing to within a couple car lengths of Windom with four laps remaining. After a caution, Kofoid was setting up his next move that he ultimately made with two laps remaining, sliding by Windom entering the first turn with little room to spare. Windom made contact with the rear bumper of Kofoid, elevating all four wheels off the racing surface.
Once Windom landed on all fours, he took off straight for the bottom of turn three as Daison Pursley stuck a nose in to the battle to briefly make it three-wide on the back straightaway. Windom got to the bottom first, exited off turn four and, as he sped underneath the white flag, attempted to jet back to the bottom of turn one, resulting in contact between Kofoid's front chrome and Windom's rear bumper.
That move slowed up Windom's momentum off turn two, but Kofoid was only able to get half a car length under Windom as Windom made a beeline back to the bottom of turn three, forcing Kofoid and Pursley to try high as a last ditch effort, to no avail, as Windom sprinted to the checkered flag by two car lengths over Kofoid.
In 2020, Windom became the second driver in as many years to win a race at Jefferson County, then go on to capture the USAC National Midget championship. Tyler Courtney did the same in 2019. In addition to his victory, Windom (Canton, Ill.) has also finished inside the top-ten at Jefferson County in 2019 (3rd & 9th) and 2020 (4th).
Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) won the opening night at Jeff. Co. in 2019, which was his first career USAC National Midget feature victory. This weekend, McDougal will compete for Hastings, Neb. based Klatt Enterprises, and has also earned a 6th there on the second in 2019 and a 7th in 2018.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) has seen both ends of the spectrum at Jefferson County, finishing dead last in his first run in 2017 and followed it up with a victory in 2018, leading all 40 laps along the way.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) led the final 16 circuits in capturing a 2017 triumph at Jefferson County. A 3rd place result on the final night in 2020 came after setting quick time during qualifying on the opening night. The 2016 series champion also took an 8th in 2019 and a 10th in 2016.
Tyler Thomas (Collinsville, Okla.) has come to picking up a victory at Jefferson County, finishing inside the top-five on four occasions. In 2016, the past Jason Leffler Memorial victory finished as the runner-up in the series' debut at the track. In 2017, Thomas led the initial 24 laps and collected a 3rd place result in addition to a 4th in 2020 and a 5th in 2019 to go along with a 6th in 2019 and an 8th in 2018.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) owns the one-lap Jefferson County Speedway USAC National Midget track record of 10.685 sec., set in 2019. In fact, the 2018 series champ has been the fastest qualifier on three occasions at the track, first in 2018 and twice in 2019, and finished 2nd in 2018 and 3rd in 2019, added with a 7th in 2019.
Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) has finished in the top-ten in all six of his USAC National Midget starts at Jefferson County since 2017 with a best of 4th and 5th in 2019. The USAC Triple Crown champion also scored a 6th in 2018, 7th in 2020, 8th in 2017 (after starting 14th) and 10th in 2020.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) has won a USAC National feature before in Nebraska, albeit in a sprint car in 2018 at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb. At Jefferson County, Thomas has finished on the podium twice, leading four laps and finishing 2nd in 2019, one year after finishing 3rd in 2018.
Current series point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) was in contention for the win all the way to the finish line on the opening night in 2020 with 2nd on night one and a 5th in 2020. Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) charged from 9th to 2nd and led two laps late, just three laps from the checkered, in a runner-up result in 2020, one night after an 8th in his debut at the track.
Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) tallied a pair of notable performances in his first two rounds at Jefferson County in 2020, with a 3rd and 6th place results on each night. Cannon McIntosh collected a quick time award in 2020 before snagging 5th and 8th place finishes throughout the weekend.
Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) collected a solid 6th place result in 2020 as did Sam Johnson (St. Peters, Mo.), who was 9th on both nights in 2020, earning hard chargers on the opening night after starting 19th, while also putting his name in the record by books by setting a new 12-lap standard for USAC National Midgets at the venue, a 2:24.855 during the semi-feature.
Returning to the lineup this weekend at Jefferson County are 11-time Rocky Mountain Midget champ, Thornton, Colorado's Keith Rauch (13th in 2016), a one-time USAC National Midget winner back in 1990 at Imperial Valley Raceway in El Centro, Calif. Furthermore, 2012 USAC Western States Midget champ, Bakersfield, California's Shannon McQueen (13th in 2019) and Nebraska's own, Lincoln's Trey Gropp (20th in 2020).
Rocky Mountain contingent, Aurora, Colorado's Lance Bennett (14th in 2016); Green River, Wyoming's Zac Taylor (16th in 2020); Brighton, Colorado's Tony Rossi (18th in 2020); and Parker, Colorado's Blaze Bennett (21st in 2018) are among those scheduled to be on hand, just to name a few.
Seeing Jefferson County Speedway for the first-time are two-time 2021 series winner Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), along with fellow Rookies Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas), Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), Brett Becker (Odessa, Texas), along with New Zealanders Hayden Williams and Travis Buckley, three-time POWRi Midget titlist Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) and 2017 USAC Gulf Coast SpeeD2 Midget champion Kyle Jones (Kennedale, Texas).
Winged sprint car veteran Jake Bubak (Arvada, Colo.) will take on Jefferson County for the first-time ever as will 15-year-old Blake Spicer (Phillipsburg, Kan.), who'll get his introduction to USAC National Midget racing throughout Mid-America Midget Week.
Twenty-eight previous USAC National Midget races have been held in the state of Nebraska. USAC Triple Crown champion Tracy Hines has the most victories of any driver in the
state with three. Wilke-Pak Racers has won the most of any team in the state with five.
General admission tickets to the event are just $20 for adults on Friday night and $25 on Saturday with High School students and younger just $5 each night. Reserved seating is $25 per night (available in two-day packages only) and are available online at www.jeffersoncountyspeedway.com under the "Buy Tickets" tab.
Unlimited general admission tickets will be sold day of show beginning at 5pm CDT with reserved seating only presale as described above. All-access pit passes will be unlimited and available at the pit gate on day of show only.
Gates open at 5pm CDT with qualifying at 6:30pm and racing at 7pm with a free concert each night after the races at the beer garden.
Camping with electric and water hookups is available just a few hundred feet from the track by reserving online at www.jeffersoncountyspeedway.com under the "Buy Tickets" tab. Additional camping and area information is available at https://www.visitoregontrail.org/ or http://fairburychamber.org/.
For more information, follow the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MidwestMidgetChampionship or call 405-823-8095.
Both nights of the Midwest Midget Championship from Jefferson County Speedway will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
Mid-America Midget Week features four USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship races in three different Great Plains states during a five night span July 13-17. It all begins on July 13 date at Meeker, Oklahoma's Red Dirt Raceway; followed by a date on Wednesday, July 14 at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kansas; then concludes with two nights at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Neb. on July 16 and on July 17, with the finale paying $10,000 to the winner.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-941, 2-Chris Windom-894, 3-Emerson Axsom-852, 4-Justin Grant-820, 5-Tanner Thorson-814, 6-Thomas Meseraull-802, 7-Daison Pursley-798, 8-Logan Seavey-781, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-732, 10-Jason McDougal-693.
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS IN NEBRASKA:
3-Tracy Hines
2-Kasey Kahne, Steve Cannon & Tyler Courtney
1-Bobby Olivero, Chad Boat, Chris Windom, Danny Stratton, Dave Darland, Dave Strickland Jr., Davey Ray, Dean Billings, Jason Leffler, Jason McDougal, Jeff Gordon, Justin Grant, Page Jones, Ricky Shelton, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Robby Flock, Sleepy Tripp, Tanner Thorson & Tony Elliott
JEFFERSON COUNTY SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS:
2-Tyler Courtney,
1-Chad Boat, Justin Grant, Jason McDougal, Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom
JEFFERSON COUNTY SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:
2016: Chad Boat (8/2)
2017: Tanner Thorson (8/1)
2018: Justin Grant (7/14)
2019: Jason McDougal (7/12) & Tyler Courtney (7/13)
2020: Chris Windom (7/17) & Tyler Courtney (7/18)
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT JEFFERSON COUNTY SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap - 7/12/2019 - Logan Seavey - 10.685 - 67.384 mph
10 Laps - 7/12/2019 - Tanner Carrick - 1:56.27 - 61.925 mph
12 Laps - 7/17/2020 - Sam Johnson - 2:24.855 - 59.646 mph
PAST RESULTS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT JEFFERSON COUNTY SPEEDWAY:
2016 FEATURE: (35 laps) 1. Chad Boat, 2. Tyler Thomas, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Spencer Bayston, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 8. Holly Shelton, 9. Ryan Robinson, 10. Tanner Thorson, 11. Brayton Lynch, 12. Chett Gehrke, 13. Keith Rauch, 14. Lance Bennett, 15. Bob Harr, 16. John Klabunde, 17. Dustin Weland, 18. Terry Goodwin, 19. Ryan Greth, 20. Dave Darland, 21. Anton Hernandez, 22. Jeff Stasa. NT
2017 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Tyler Thomas, 4. Shane Golobic, 5. Christopher Bell, 6. Spencer Bayston, 7. Tyler Courtney, 8. Jerry Coons, Jr., 9. Ryan Robinson, 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 11. Chad Boat, 12. Holly Shelton, 13. Tanner Carrick, 14. Joe B. Miller, 15. Clinton Boyles, 16. Brayton Lynch, 17. Chett Gehrke, 18. Paul Babich, 19. Jeff Stasa, 20. John Klabunde, 21. Tyler Nelson, 22. Justin Grant. NT
2018 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Logan Seavey (6), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 4. Tanner Carrick (3), 5. Brady Bacon (10), 6. Jerry Coons, Jr. (7), 7. Jason McDougal (9), 8. Tyler Thomas (11), 9. Spencer Bayston (5), 10. Kyle Craker (15), 11. Cole Bodine (16), 12. Chad Boat (8), 13. Brayton Lynch (12), 14. Sam Johnson (14), 15. Tyler Courtney (1), 16. Maria Cofer (17), 17. Dustin Weland (19), 18. Glenn Waterland (20), 19. Lance Bennett (18), 20. Zane Hendricks (13), 21. Blaze Bennett (21), 22. Curtis Spicer (22). NT
2019 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Jason McDougal (4), 2. Tyler Courtney (12), 3. Chris Windom (3), 4. Chad Boat (9), 5. Jerry Coons, Jr. (10), 6. Tyler Thomas (14), 7. Logan Seavey (6), 8. Andrew Layser (7), 9. Zeb Wise (11), 10. Robert Dalby (2), 11. Brady Bacon (16), 12. Tanner Carrick (13), 13. Tanner Thorson (1), 14. Ethan Mitchell (18), 15. Sam Johnson (15), 16. Shannon McQueen (17), 17. Lance Bennett (19), 18. Curtis Spicer (22), 19. Olivia Bennett (20), 20. Tucker Klaasmeyer (8), 21. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 22. Tyler Seavey (23), 23. A.J. Valim (21). NT
2019 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (1), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (2), 3. Logan Seavey (6), 4. Jerry Coons, Jr. (4), 5. Tyler Thomas (11), 6. Jason McDougal (8), 7. Tanner Carrick (7), 8. Tanner Thorson (3), 9. Chris Windom (9), 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer (10), 11. Zeb Wise (15), 12. Chad Boat (5), 13. Shannon McQueen (13), 14. Andrew Layser (18), 15. Sam Johnson (16), 16. Ethan Mitchell (12), 17. Curtis Spicer (22), 18. Brady Bacon (14), 19. Robert Dalby (17), 20. Lance Bennett (19), 21. Tyler Seavey (20), 22. Olivia Bennett (23), 23. A.J. Valim (21).
2020 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (5), 2. Buddy Kofoid (8), 3. Daison Pursley (12), 4. Tyler Thomas (9), 5. Cannon McIntosh (4), 6. Ethan Mitchell (1), 7. Andrew Layser (15), 8. Emerson Axsom (13), 9. Sam Johnson (19), 10. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 11. Tanner Carrick (11), 12. Tanner Thorson (6), 13. Cole Bodine (14), 14. Keith Rauch (16), 15. Chris Sheil (22), 16. Zac Taylor (21), 17. Emilio Hoover (17), 18. Tony Rossi (18), 19. Kaylee Bryson (10), 20. Carson Garrett (20), 21. Robert Dalby (2), 22. Tyler Courtney (7). NT
2020 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (1), 2. Emerson Axsom (9), 3. Tanner Thorson (4), 4. Chris Windom (3), 5. Buddy Kofoid (2), 6. Daison Pursley (11), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (13), 8. Cannon McIntosh (6), 9. Sam Johnson (7), 10. Tanner Carrick (14), 11. Robert Dalby (18), 12. Ethan Mitchell (5), 13. Kaylee Bryson (12), 14. Andrew Layser (16), 15. Cole Bodine (8), 16. Carson Garrett (19), 17. Curtis Spicer (21), 18. Keith Rauch (20), 19. Tyler Thomas (15), 20. Trey Gropp (17), 21. Emilio Hoover (10), 22. Tony Rossi (22). NT
PURSLEY PROCURES FIRST USAC
NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET WIN AT RED DIRT
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Meeker, Oklahoma (July 13, 2021)………Daison Pursley had made 46 previous starts in his USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget career coming into Tuesday Night Thunder's Mid-America Midget Week opener at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Oklahoma.
Close calls, laps led, heartbreak, he's certainly had his share in his young career. But, on this night, his 47th series start wound up quite differently as the native Oklahoman from Locust Grove, located two hours west of Red Dirt, won one for the home crowd.
Pursley's first USAC National Midget triumph came moments after a late-race restart in which he hustled around the high side of the quarter-mile to race past both Zach Daum for 2nd and Kevin Thomas Jr. for 1st in quick succession, then raced away for commanding 3.471 second victory in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/IWX – TRD – Curb Records/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.
In doing so, Pursley became the fourth first-time winner of the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget season in just the first 15 races, joining Emerson Axsom (Kokomo), Kyle Cummins (Tri-State) and Corey Day (Circle City) in that group. That's already the second most total in a single season since 2009, trailing only the 2019 campaign which saw five first-time series winners.
The monumental night also saw Pursley win the accompanying NOW600 Micro Sprint feature just prior to the start of the midget A-Main, which also came in a KKM owned machine.
"It feels amazing," Pursley said following his first USAC win. "I feel like I've been waiting for this one for a long time. It's finally happened and it's pretty cool to get it done in my home state in front of all these fans; it was a packed house tonight. The track was phenomenal; you could run the bottom early and then the track widened out really, really well. The top was hard to run and a little bit treacherous, which makes you get up on your toes."
Speaking of the top, the 30-lap feature race was halted just as soon as it started when Pursley's teammate, fellow third-row starter, leading series Rookie and first-time USAC fast qualifier Bryant Wiedeman biked on the cushion in the first corner of the first lap, sending him barrel rolling over the banking and ending his race prematurely. A dejected Wiedeman walked away uninjured.
When action resumed, a furious battle at the front of the field was waged between pole sitter Jonathan Beason and outside front row starter Kaylee Bryson. Beason remained true to the low line while Bryson stuck to the high side with the two seemingly connected by a string as they raced in lock step time after time after time.
Bryson led lap one by a car length before Beason took his turn at the front on lap two by a length. Bryson reemerged at the front on lap three by a car length and by inches at the line on laps four and five before extended the gap to a single car length on the sixth lap. On the seventh circuit, Beason followed Bryson to the top, which allowed third-starting Kevin Thomas Jr. to scoot by on the bottom for the runner-up position.
Entering the 11th lap, Bryson was cruising up top in her pursuit to become the first woman to win a USAC National Midget feature. However, a snag of the cushion in turn two knocked her sideways. As she wrestled back control, Thomas raced by on the bottom and into the lead.
However, as Thomas diced his way through traffic, Bryson fought her way back into contention, crossing the stripe in a literal dead heat (0.0 second margin between the two) on the 14th lap. Moments later, Bryson found trouble with the turn two curb again as Thomas blitzed away to a full second advantage over Bryson while seventh starting Zach Daum crawled the bottom past Bryson for the second position on lap 16.
The feature's only yellow flag came on lap 21 when Bryson, now running third, got entangled as she tried to fight her way through lapped traffic with her and 20th running Trey Gropp making contact and stopping both atop turn three. Kyle Jones (21st) found no room to escape and became involved in the incident as well, causing major damage to the right front of his ride and putting him out of the race. Bryson and Gropp restarted with Bryson finishing 18th and Gropp 21st.
During the yellow flag period, Pursley was now slotted third and was plotting his next move with just 10 laps remaining. Pursley possesses substantial prior experience competing in micro sprints at Red Dirt and recalled putt-putting around the bottom more often than not. But, right here, right now, Pursley had nothing of the kind on his mind.
"Early on, I was ripping the top in one and two and just trying stuff," Pursley explained. "KTJ was really strong on the bottom at both ends, and I knew I wasn't going to beat him just following him. I ventured up there a little bit before they did and, when we got to lapped traffic, I could move around better than they could. I feel like that's just the pros of being in third. When you're the leader like that, you don't know where to run.
I hadn't run the top at all in three and four," Pursley continued. "I was telling myself I knew KTJ wasn't going to get off the bottom. Zach (Daum) was really good down there also, and I knew if I wanted to win the race, I had to get up there. (Crew chief) Beau (Binder) was giving me signals to get up there and reassured me that it was fast and that I could do it."
Pursley did just that, speeding around Daum on the initial lap following the restart then, two laps later, tearing around the outside of Thomas in turn two and immediately distancing himself from Thomas, increasing the gap each and every lap for his last eight revolutions around Red Dirt Raceway.
Pursley finished things off with a flourish, taking home $4,000 for his efforts while Grant, Daum, Thomas and Chris Windom, who started 12th, rounded out the top-five at the checkered.
For car owner Keith Kunz, the victory marked the 119th of his career with the USAC National Midgets, just 14 behind the all-time leader, Steve Lewis.
After nearly two full years of trying, Pursley's breakthrough moment with USAC came Tuesday night, which arrives as a sort of a momentary solace, but also signifies what, he hopes, is the first of many more to come.
"It's a relief right now but I definitely don't want to stop now, and I don't see a reason to stop," Pursley stated. "We've been really good throughout the year. We've, unfortunately, gotten upside down a couple times and that set us back. We've really been working on the car, really fine-tuning it and getting comfortable again. To come back and pick up this win at the start of this long week here is pretty cool."
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) went on a passing rampage down the stretch to finish in the runner-up spot, moving from 7th to 2nd during the final five laps after starting 13th on the grid in his RMS Racing/NOS Energy Drink – EnviroFab – Response Management Services/Spike/Speedway Toyota, which earned him KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors for the evening.
"The curb was tall and gnarly and if you got above it, it was a ton of fun," Grant expounded. "We were plenty good on the bottom, but I moved off there early and thought I should try and get the top sorted because I thought that's where this was going to end up. I like running the top better than I like rolling around the infield tires anyway. (Crew chief) Donnie (Gentry) and I talked and decided to get this thing stable against the curb so I could go out and smash it, and that's what we did. He gave me a really stable racecar; I could pick my parks and take as big of a bite out of the cushion as I wanted, and it was a lot of fun."
Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) had made all 163 of his USAC National Midget career starts since 2007 in the Daum Motorsports #5D. Tuesday, Daum took his first ride aboard the Bundy Built Motorsports/5D Speed Shop/Spike/Bundy Built Honda and promptly earned his best USAC finish since the 2016 season, taking third, and equaling the team's best ever USAC finish, which Ethan Mitchell also achieved back in April of this year at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Okla.
"It's cool for me because I haven't really run a midget all year," Daum acknowledged. "It's cool to get back into a midget and get comfortable. Obviously, the car runs really well, and they've got the motor running really well. It's definitely a good package."
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 13, 2021 – Red Dirt Raceway – Meeker, Oklahoma – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Mid-America Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Bryant Wiedeman, 01, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.160; 2. Daison Pursley, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.176; 3. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-13.254; 4. Chase Randall, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-13.314; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5, Petry-13.321; 6. Logan Seavey, 25, Malloy-13.323; 7. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.325; 8. Jonathan Beason, 8J, Hard Eight-13.335; 9. Chris Windom, 89, CBI-13.371; 10. Justin Grant, 2J, RMS-13.375; 11. Trey Gropp, 00, Mounce/Stout-13.450; 12. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.458; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-13.472; 14. Tanner Thorson, 19T, Reinbold/Underwood-13.493; 15. Zach Daum, 9m, Bundy Built-13.496; 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 85, Central-13.503; 17. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.510; 18. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-13.510; 19. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.517; 20. Hayden Williams, 1NZ, BSL-13.545; 21. Jason McDougal, 4, Klatt-13.583; 22. Tanner Berryhill, 17, Berryhill-13.631; 23. Kyle Jones, 7u, Tri-Fecta-13.653; 24. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-13.655; 25. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-13.669; 26. Ryan Timms, 85T, CBI-13.683; 27. Trey Marcham, 32T, Marcham-13.689; 28. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-13.719; 29. Andrew Deal, 15D, Deal-13.749; 30. Sam Johnson, 72J, Johnson-13.824; 31. Travis Buckley, 7NZ, BLS-13.986; 32. Noah Harris, 20H, Harris-13.987; 33. Ryan Padgett, 98, Crow-14.238; 34. Cade Cowles, 70, Gariss-14.322; 35. Brett Becker, 2B, Becker-14.483; 36. Chase Elliott, 9, May-NT; 37. Brendon Wiseley, 7w, Horn-NT; 38. Mason Daugherty, 97m, Berryhill-NT (Time of 14.511 disallowed-underweight).
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ethan Mitchell, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Jason McDougal, 7. Andrew Deal, 8. Shannon McQueen, 9. Mason Daugherty, 10. Ryan Padgett. 1:52.32
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brenham Crouch, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Tanner Berryhill, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Justin Grant, 7. Ryan Timms, 8. Sam Johnson, 9. Cade Cowles. 1:50.32
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Daum, 2. Kyle Jones, 3. Emerson Axsom, 4. Kaylee Bryson, 5. Trey Marcham, 6. Trey Gropp, 7. Brett Becker, 8. Hayden Reinbold, 9. Travis Buckley. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Cannon McIntosh, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Buddy Kofoid, 4. Jonathan Beason, 5. Hayden Williams, 6. Chase Randall, 7. Tyler Thomas, 8. Noah Harris, 9. Chase Elliott. 1:49.120 (New Track Record)
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Randall, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Hayden Williams, 6. Tyler Thomas, 7. Jason McDougal, 8. Ryan Timms, 9. Trey Gropp, 10. Sam Johnson, 11. Trey Marcham, 12. Andrew Deal, 13. Noah Harris, 14. Hayden Reinbold, 15. Travis Buckley, 16. Shannon McQueen, 17. Chase Elliott, 18. Cade Cowles, 19. Brett Becker, 20. Mason Daugherty. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (5), 2. Justin Grant (13), 3. Zach Daum (7), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 5. Chris Windom (12), 6. Buddy Kofoid (15), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (18), 8. Jonathan Beason (1), 9. Logan Seavey (11), 10. Chase Randall (10), 11. Tanner Thorson (17), 12. Thomas Meseraull (16), 13. Emerson Axsom (4), 14. Cannon McIntosh (14), 15. Brenham Crouch (9), 16. Ethan Mitchell (8), 17. Hayden Williams (19), 18. Kaylee Bryson (2), 19. Tyler Thomas (22), 20. Tanner Berryhill (20), 21. Trey Gropp (23-P), 22. Kyle Jones (21), 23. Bryant Wiedeman (6). NT
P represents a provisional starter.
**Bryant Wiedeman flipped on lap 1 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Kaylee Bryson, Lap 2 Jonathan Beason, Laps 3-10 Kaylee Bryson, Laps 11-22 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 23-30 Daison Pursley.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-1002, 2-Chris Windom-953, 3-Emerson Axsom-899, 4-Justin Grant-889, 5-Daison Pursley-878, 6-Tanner Thorson-862, 7-Thomas Meseraull-848, 8-Logan Seavey-831, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-801, 10-Cannon McIntosh-735.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-92, 2-Robert Ballou-87, 3-Thomas Meseraull-85, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 5-Chris Windom-74, 6-Brady Bacon-72, 7-Justin Grant-61, 8-C.J. Leary-51, 9-Buddy Kofoid-50, 10-Logan Seavey-47.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 14, 2021 – Solomon Valley Raceway – Beloit, Kansas – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Mid-America Midget Week
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Kaylee Bryson
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Bryant Wiedeman
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Ethan Mitchell
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Brenham Crouch
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Zach Daum
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Cannon McIntosh
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Chase Randall
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Justin Grant (13th to 2nd)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Emerson Axsom
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Jason McDougal
CHAD McDANIEL MEMORIAL RETURNS TO REVITALIZED SOLOMON VALLEY RACEWAY JULY 14
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Beloit, Kansas (July 11, 2021)………Three years have passed since the Chad McDaniel Memorial has last been contested, but for the first time since 2018, the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship races in memory of their fallen comrade on Wednesday night, July 14, at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kansas.
The quarter-mile dirt oval in the heart of north central Kansas has served as the host of all nine previous runnings of the Chad McDaniel Memorial race since 2010. McDaniel, from nearby Concordia, Kan., lost his life in a USAC National Midget event at Iowa's Knoxville Raceway in 2009.
The 10th running of the event comes amid a revival of the track which had sat dormant for some time and had been overgrown by Mother Nature. In June, through a valiant effort by several individuals donating their time and effort, the track was revitalized in preparation for Wednesday's event.
The Chad McDaniel Memorial boasts five different winners in its previous nine editions with Brad Kuhn winning the inaugural race in 2010, Scott Hatton in 2012, Christopher Bell in 2013 & 2017, Bryan Clauson in 2014 & 2016 and Kevin Thomas Jr. in 2015 & 2018. The 2011 race was rained out just prior to the feature.
Kevin Thomas Jr. is the only past Chad McDaniel Memorial winner in this year's field and brings an undefeated record of 2 and 0 with him. Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) won in his only two appearances at the track in both 2015 and 2018 and also led all 30 laps in wire-to-wire fashion on each occurrence.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) has been knocking on the door for a first Solomon Valley victory, finishing as the runner-up in both 2015 and 2016. The 2016 series champ also collected a 4th at the Chad McDaniel Memorial in 2017 and a 7th in 2014.
Reigning USAC Silver Crown champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) has finished on the podium in both of his Solomon Valley runs with a 2nd in 2017 and a 3rd in 2018.
During his USAC National Midget championship season, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) finished as the runner-up to Thomas in his solo Solomon Valley start.
Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) recently surpassed the 400 start mark in his USAC National Midget career, with the 2006-2007 series champion making four of those starts at Solomon Valley. He finished a best of 3rd in 2013 and added another top-10 with a 10th in 2017.
Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) took fourth in his maiden Solomon Valley run in 2018 while defending USAC National Midget titlist Chris Windom collected a 6th in 2018. Sam Johnson (St. Peters, Mo.) also possesses previous USAC experience at Solomon Valley, tallying a 19th in 2018.
Eleven-time Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association champion Keith Rauch (Thornton, Colo.), a one-time USAC National Midget winner back in 1990 at Imperial Valley Raceway in El Centro, Calif., enters this year's event and previously competed in the first Chad McDaniel Memorial in 2010, running 8th on both nights when it was a two-night event. He took 9th in 2014 and was a best of 7th in 2015.
The Solomon Valley first-timers include a vast, talented group, four of which currently stand inside the top-ten in the points. Among those are point leader and four-time 2021 series winner Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.); one-time winner and 3rd in points, Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.); two-time winner and 6th in points, Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.); 7th in points and seeking a first USAC National Midget win, Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.).
Three-time career series winner Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) will make his first stop at Solomon Valley as will home state driver and leading series Rookie Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.); along with fellow Rookies Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas), Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.).
Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.), Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), Trey Gropp (Lincoln, Neb.), Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and New Zealanders Hayden Williams and Travis Buckley are set for Solomon Valley debuts and have made appearances with the USAC National Midgets this season.
Brett Becker (Odessa, Texas) will make his first USAC Midget appearance since 2019 on Wednesday after missing the transfer for the Chad McDaniel Memorial feature the year prior in 2018.
Winged sprint car veteran Jake Bubak (Arvada, Colo.) will take on Solomon Valley for the first-time as will Blake Spicer (Phillipsburg, Kan.), who'll contest his first career USAC National Midget event on what will be his 15th birthday.
Wednesday's 10th running of the Chad McDaniel Memorial features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and the NOW600 Non-Wing & Restricted Micro Sprints.
Gates open at 5pm (Central) with the drivers meeting at 5:45pm and hot laps at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing to follow.
General admission tickets are just $20 with high school students and younger just $5. All access passes are available as well for $35 and available at the pit gate on the day of the show only.
The Chad McDaniel Memorial from Solomon Valley Raceway will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
The Red Dirt event kicks off Mid-America Midget Week, which features four USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship races in three different Great Plains states during a five night span July 13-17.
Mid-America Midget Week begins on July 13 date at Meeker, Oklahoma's Red Dirt Raceway; followed by a date on Wednesday, July 14 at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kansas; then concludes with two nights at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Neb. on July 16 and on July 17, with the finale paying $10,000 to the winner.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-941, 2-Chris Windom-894, 3-Emerson Axsom-852, 4-Justin Grant-820, 5-Tanner Thorson-814, 6-Thomas Meseraull-802, 7-Daison Pursley-798, 8-Logan Seavey-781, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-732, 10-Jason McDougal-693.
CHAD McDANIEL MEMORIAL WINS:
2-Christopher Bell, Bryan Clauson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
1-Scott Hatton & Brad Kuhn
CHAD McDANIEL MEMORIAL WINNERS:
2010: Brad Kuhn (6/4)
2011: Rained Out (7/28)
2012: Scott Hatton (7/27)
2013: Christopher Bell (7/30)
2014: Bryan Clauson (7/29)
2015: Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/28)
2016: Bryan Clauson (8/3)
2017: Christopher Bell (8/2)
2018: Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/11)
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT SOLOMON VALLEY RACEWAY:
1 Lap - 7/11/2018 - Holly Shelton - 11.944
10 Laps - 8/3/2016 - Ryan Greth - 2:02.67
PAST CHAD McDANIEL FEATURE RESULTS:
2010 NIGHT #1: 1. Brad Kuhn, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Brad Loyet, 4. Austin Brown, 5. Matt Sherrell, 6. Daniel Adler, 7. Mike Hess, 8. Keith Rauch, 9. Patrick Stasa, 10. Shane Cockrum, 11. Joe Boyles, 12. Chris Sheil, 13. Jeff Stasa, 14. Todd Plemons, 15. Julee Jamison, 16. Andrew Felker, 17. Bob Harr, 18. Greg Schaefer, 19. John Campbell, 20. Chett Gehrke, 21. Tony Rossi, 22. Cole Wood.
2010 NIGHT #2: 1. Brad Kuhn, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Brad Loyet, 4. Austin Brown, 5. Daniel Adler, 6. Andrew Felker, 7. Chett Gehrke, 8. Keith Rauch, 9. Matt Sherrell, 10. Mike Hess, 11. Todd Plemons, 12. Patrick Stasa, 13. Tim Siner, 14. Chris Sheil, 15. Jeff Stasa, 16. Joe Boyles, 17. Justin Mallo, 18. Garett Hood, 19. Kevin Bayer, 20. Greg Schaefer, 21. Rich Camfield, 22. John Campbell, 23. Shane Cockrum.
2011: RAINED OUT
2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Scott Hatton, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Jonathan Beason, 4. Matt Sherrell, 5. Chett Gehrke, 6. Blake Hahn, 7. Austin Brown, 8. Daniel Robinson, 9. Garrett Aitken, 10. Tim Siner, 11 Andy Malpocker, 12. Cameron Hagin, 13. Riley Emmel, 14. Garett Hood, 15. C.J. Johnson, 16. Darren Kingston, 17. Jake Blackhurst, 18. Don Droud Jr., 19. Brad Kuhn, 20. Gavin Galbraith, 21. Randy Bowyer, 22. Andrew Felker, 23. Terry Goodwin.
2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Rico Abreu, 3. Jerry Coons, Jr., 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Darren Hagen, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Brad Kuhn, 8. Bryan Clauson, 9. Tanner Thorson, 10. Cody Ledger, 11. Shane Golobic, 12. Andrew Felker, 13. C.J. Johnson, 14. Garett Hood, 15. Dalton Armstrong, 16. Bob Harr, 17. Jeff Stasa, 18. Caleb Armstrong, 19. Chett Gehrke, 20. Cody Brewer, 21. Cole McDaniel, 22. Randy Boyer. NT
2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Zach Daum, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Christopher Bell, 5. Rico Abreu, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Tanner Thorson, 8. Isaac Chapple, 9. Keith Rauch, 10. Michael Pickens, 11. Bob Harr, 12. C.J. Johnson, 13. Randy Boyer, 14. Cody Brewer, 15. Garett Hood. NT
2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Spencer Bayston, 5. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 6. Cody Brewer, 7. Keith Rauch, 8. Bob Harr, 9. David Wheeler, 10. Mark Hamilton, 11. Bryan Clauson, 12. Christopher Bell, 13. C.J. Johnson, 14. Garett Hood, 15. Troy Simpson, 16. Zach Daum, 17. Jerry Coons, Jr. 18. Chett Gehrke, 19. Isaac Chapple, 20. Tyler Thomas. NT
2016 FEATURE: (35 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Spencer Bayston, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Chad Boat, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Dave Darland, 8. Ryan Robinson, 9. Tyler Thomas, 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 11. Holly Shelton, 12. Chett Gehrke, 13. Casey Shuman, 14. Bob Harr, 15. Keith Rauch, 16. Jeff Stasa, 17. Ryan Oerter, 18. Terry Goodwin, 19. Ryan Greth, 20. Matt Johnson, 21. Anton Hernandez, 22. Cody Brewer, 23. Brayton Lynch. NT
2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Holly Shelton, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Spencer Bayston, 7. Brayton Lynch, 8. Tanner Carrick, 9. Shane Golobic, 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 11. Chad Boat, 12. Tyler Nelson, 13. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 14. Joe B. Miller, 15. Troy Simpson, 16. Tyler Thomas, 17. Tyler Courtney, 18. Chett Gehrke, 19. Ryan Robinson, 20. Matt Johnson, 21. Cody Brewer, 22. Paul Babich. NT
2018 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (1), 2. Logan Seavey (2), 3. Justin Grant (5), 4. Jason McDougal (8), 5. Tanner Carrick (9), 6. Holly Shelton (6), 7. Chad Boat (3), 8. Tyler Courtney (7), 9. Kyle Craker (10), 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer (15), 11. Spencer Bayston (13), 12. Brady Bacon (11), 13. Ryan Robinson (4), 14. Jerry Coons, Jr. (12), 15. Maria Cofer (17), 16. Zane Hendricks (16), 17. Holley Hollan (20), 18. Cole Bodine (21), 19. Sam Johnson (19), 20. Dave Darland (18), 21. Tyler Thomas (14), 22. Shaun Shapel (22). NT
TUESDAY NIGHT THUNDER BOOMS AT RED DIRT
FOR MID-AMERICA MIDGET WEEK OPENER
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Meeker, Oklahoma (July 11, 2021)………The 1/4-mile length red carpet is rolled out for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship's Tuesday Night Thunder on Tuesday night, July 13, at Meeker, Oklahoma's Red Dirt Raceway for the first event of 2021 Mid-America Midget Week.
In the series' most recent appearance at Red Dirt in 2021, Tanner Thorson found a sort of redemption for himself after losing the lead in the final laps of a race two nights earlier. This time around, at Red Dirt, faced with a similar scenario on a late restart, Thorson made sure his ultimate fate was going to play out differently, this time in his favor.
A late caution had stifled Thorson's near five-second advantage with just three laps remaining a year ago at Red Dirt. By rule, lapped cars were moved to the tail. As it turned out, Thorson had to endure three shots at a final restart due to a succession of yellows that halted his quest.
On the third and final try, which went clean and green, Thorson wasn't to be denied on this night, ridding himself of the recent plague of unfavorable fortune to win by 0.598 of a second.
The Sooner State love has been reciprocated in 2021 with the Minden, Nev. native becoming, quite literally, a resident of the state of Oklahoma, making the move to the Owasso area during the offseason.
Furthermore, Thorson subsequently became a USAC National Midget feature winner in Oklahoma, the most recent in fact, back in April at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, which was his first for Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, for whom the 2016 series champion won for again in June during Indiana Midget Week at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind.
Thorson's lone Red Dirt start outside of his win resulted in an 8th in 2019, a race won by Logan Seavey. Seavey hasn't finished worse than 2nd in either of his two Red Dirt starts. He led the final seven circuits to capture the 2019 race, which came one year after he led a race-high 13 laps and finished as the runner-up during his 2018 championship season.
Reigning USAC National Midget champion Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) has finished inside the top-five in both of his Red Dirt runs. The seventh and most recent USAC Triple Crown champion led a single lap in 2019 before finishing 3rd, then raced to a 5th place finish in 2020.
Jerry Coons Jr. is the only driver to finish within the top-4 in all three of USAC's Red Dirt USAC Midget races run since 2018. The USAC Triple Crown champion took 4th in 2018 and 4th again in 2019 after leading four laps late in the going. His best result there came just last year in 2020, finishing 3rd.
Current championship point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) took 4th in his debut Red Dirt appearance in 2020. Fellow 2020 Rookie Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) was 6th in his first start there in the same 2020 event.
Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) earned his best career Red Dirt USAC result in 2018 with a 7th but led on two separate occasions for a total of nine laps early on in the 2019 feature before being caught up in an accident.
Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) made his very first career USAC National Midget feature start at his home state Red Dirt Raceway in 2018, finishing 18th. McIntosh upped his performance in the following years with a best thus far of 7th in 2020 while leading briefly for one lap.
Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr. have each raced to Red Dirt top-tens with Grant (Ione, Calif.) tallying a 6th in 2018 while Thomas (Cullman, Ala.) garnered an 8th during the same event in 2018.
Unrelated to Kevin, Tyler Thomas (Collinsville, Okla.) possesses a pair of top-ten results at Red Dirt in USAC National Midget competition with a best of 9th in 2020, following a 10th in 2019. Jonathan Beason (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has been the hard charger at Red Dirt in each of the last two seasons, starting 17th and finishing 5th in 2019, then proceeded from 18th to 8th in 2020.
Making return visits to Red Dirt with the USAC National Midgets are 2017 USAC Micro Sprint champion Daison Pursley (12th in 2020); 2012 USAC Western States Midget champion, Bakersfield, California's Shannon McQueen (13th in 2019); Mooresville, North Carolina's Ethan Mitchell (13th in 2020); St. Peters, Missouri's Sam Johnson (14th in 2020); Lincoln, Nebraska's Trey Gropp (17th in 2020); Coweta, Oklahoma's Chance Morton (20th in 2020); Muskogee, Oklahoma's Kaylee Bryson (20th in 2021) and more.
Red Dirt debuts come via two-time 2021 USAC National Midget feature winner Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), leading series Rookie Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.), Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas), Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.), J.R. Ewing (Phillipsburg, Kan.), plus Auckland, New Zealand natives Hayden Williams and Travis Buckley.
In the 16 previous USAC National Midget races held in the state of Oklahoma, only two drivers have been victorious on multiple occasions, that being Tanner Thorson and 1963 champ Bob Wente.
At Red Dirt, the gates open at 5pm (Central), drivers meeting at 5:45pm and hot laps at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing to follow. The NOW600 Non-Wing Micros are also on the event card.
General admission is just $25 with high school students and younger just $5 and children under five are admitted for free. 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 are available as well for $35 and available at the pit gate on the day of the show only.
Tuesday Night Thunder from Red Dirt Raceway will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
The Red Dirt event kicks off Mid-America Midget Week, which features four USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship races in three different Great Plains states during a five night span July 13-17.
Mid-America Midget Week begins on July 13 date at Meeker, Oklahoma's Red Dirt Raceway; followed by a date on Wednesday, July 14 at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kansas; then concludes with two nights at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Neb. on July 16 and on July 17, with the finale paying $10,000 to the winner.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-941, 2-Chris Windom-894, 3-Emerson Axsom-852, 4-Justin Grant-820, 5-Tanner Thorson-814, 6-Thomas Meseraull-802, 7-Daison Pursley-798, 8-Logan Seavey-781, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-732, 10-Jason McDougal-693.
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT RED DIRT RACEWAY:
1-Christopher Bell, Logan Seavey & Tanner Thorson
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT RED DIRT RACEWAY:
2018: Christopher Bell (7/10)
2019: Logan Seavey (7/9)
2020: Tanner Thorson (7/21)
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS IN OKLAHOMA:
2-Tanner Thorson & Bob Wente
1-John Batts, Christopher Bell, Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Tyler Courtney, Jimmy Davies, Justin Grant, Buddy Kofoid, Lloyd Ruby, Logan Seavey, Sleepy Tripp & Roger West
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT RED DIRT RACEWAY:
1 Lap - 7/21/2020 - Tyler Courtney - 13.108 - 68.660 mph
8 Laps - 7/21/2020 - Sam Johnson - 1:49.580 - 65.705 mph
10 Laps - 7/10/2018 - Tyler Thomas - 2:24.03 - 62.487 mph
PAST RED DIRT RACEWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS:
2018 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Christopher Bell (6), 2. Logan Seavey (5), 3. Tanner Carrick (7), 4. Jerry Coons, Jr. (10), 5. Brady Bacon (3), 6. Justin Grant (4), 7. Jason McDougal (11), 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (14), 9. Spencer Bayston (18), 10. Tyler Courtney (2), 11. Chad Boat (19), 12. Holly Shelton (15), 13. Ryan Robinson (1), 14. Tucker Klaasmeyer (21), 15. Tyler Thomas (17), 16. Brayton Lynch (24), 17. Jonathan Beason (9), 18. Cannon McIntosh (20), 19. Zane Hendricks (8), 20. Kyle Craker (16), 21. Cole Bodine (23), 22. Ace McCarthy (12), 23. Maria Cofer (22), 24. Dave Darland (13). NT
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (9), 2. Zeb Wise (7), 3. Chris Windom (11), 4. Jerry Coons, Jr. (15), 5. Jonathan Beason (17), 6. Matt Sherrell (16), 7. Chad Boat (13), 8. Tanner Thorson (3), 9. Tucker Klaasmeyer (10), 10. Tyler Thomas (19), 11. Jesse Colwell (14), 12. Tanner Carrick (6), 13. Shannon McQueen (18), 14. Hank Davis (22), 15. Robert Dalby (21), 16. Tyler Courtney (1), 17. Jason McDougal (2), 18. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 19. Andrew Deal (20), 20. Holley Hollan (12), 21. Cannon McIntosh (4), 22. Zane Hendricks (8). NT
2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (1), 2. Tyler Courtney (6), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 4. Buddy Kofoid (5), 5. Chris Windom (3), 6. Emerson Axsom (11), 7. Cannon McIntosh (4), 8. Jonathan Beason (18), 9. Tyler Thomas (9), 10. Andrew Layser (10), 11. Robert Dalby (20), 12. Daison Pursley (13), 13. Ethan Mitchell (2), 14. Sam Johnson (7), 15. Cole Bodine (17), 16. Tanner Carrick (15), 17. Trey Gropp (14), 18. Steven Shebester (12), 19. Shannon McQueen (22), 20. Chance Morton (21), 21. Kaylee Bryson (16), 22. Ace McCarthy (19). NT
USAC CORN BELT CLASH RAINED OUT AT KNOXVILLE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Knoxville, Iowa (July 10, 2021)………Steady, continuous and heavy rain began to fall just prior to hot laps, causing Saturday's Brandt Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Clash at Iowa's Knoxville to be rained out.
The event was co-sanctioned by the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association and POWRi WAR Sprint Car Series.
The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season resumes on Friday night, July 23, with the opener of the 34th annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 10, 2021 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – Brandt Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Clash – Co-Sanctioned by the Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association & POWRi Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series
CARS & DRIVERS IN ATTENDANCE: (31) Don Droud Jr. (#1m Burch), Thomas Meseraull (#2 Yeley), Jason Billups (#2x Billups), Justin Grant (#4 TOPP), Braydon Cromwell (#4x Cromwell), Paul Nienhiser (#5N KO), Chase Stockon (#5s KO), Mario Clouser (#6 EZR), Lance Silvers (#7x Silvers), Kevin Thomas Jr. (#9K KT), Justin Zimmerman (#9w Williams), Wyatt Burks (#11w Burks), Robert Ballou (#12 Ballou), Doug Sylvester (#12s Sylvester), Dakota Earls (#15E Earls), Chris Windom (#19 Hayward), Tanner Thorson (#19AZ Reinbold/Underwood), Jake Swanson (#21AZ Team AZ), Zach Clark (#26 C & C), Mark Lane (#33L Lane), Wesley Smith (#44 Smith), Chris Parkinson (#65 Parkinson), Max Grogan (#66m Grogan), Brady Bacon (#69 Dynamics), Robert Bell (#71 Bell), Xavier Doney (#74 Lawson), Terry Babb (#76 Babb), C.J. Leary (#77m Michael), Chad Tye (#88 Tye), Riley Kreisel (#91 DKR), A.J. Johnson (#93x Germar).
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 23, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Track – 34th NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week
WIN A RIDE IN THE AMSOIL 2-SEATER SPRINT CAR DURING INDIANA SPRINT WEEK!
Speedway, Indiana (July 8, 2021)………It's time to go big and take the ride of your life as a passenger in the all-new AMSOIL 2-seater sprint car during one of the seven nights of USAC's NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week July 23-31!
In partnership with AMSOIL, you will have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to enter to win a ride in the AMSOIL 2-seater sprint car during Indiana Sprint Week.
Here's how to enter. Visit https://usacracing.redpodium.com/amsoil-two-seater-social-campaign and fill out the form with your selection of night to ride. Follow USAC Racing AND AMSOIL Racing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Winners will be selected by a random drawing for each race day. If selected, your name will be announced at the track, on social media and you will be notified via text message or email with details. One entry is allowed per email address and phone number.
Entrants must be 18 years or older as of their date of entry in this promotion in order to qualify. File your entry between July 5 and July 19 to be eligible for the USAC/AMSOIL 2-Seater Contest. Your entry must be received within the specified entry period.
Complete contest rules can be found at: https://usacracing.redpodium.com/amsoil-two-seater-social-campaign.
NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week 2021 begins at Gas City I-69 Speedway on Friday, July 23, with Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 24, and Lawrenceburg Speedway on Sunday, July 25, rounding out the first wave of ISW.
After two days away from the racetrack, teams and drivers get back on the horse with the Terre Haute Action Track's Don Smith Classic on Wednesday, July 28, Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday, July 29, Bloomington Speedway's Sheldon Kinser Memorial on Friday, July 30, and Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, July 31.
$20,000 ON THE LINE FOR USAC SPRINTS AT SATURDAY'S CORN BELT CLASH
Knoxville, Iowa (July 7, 2021)………The richest one-day USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship event of the year is upon us, and for the majority of the last two seasons in the event, there's been one driver who's constantly been the one all others have been chasing – Brady Bacon.
Bacon goes for his third-straight BRANDT Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Clash victory in the third-running of the event this Saturday night, July 10, at Iowa's Knoxville Raceway, sanctioned by the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association and the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint Car Series.
The Corn Belt conversation begins with Bacon. The three-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion from Broken Arrow, Okla. is the winningest driver with the series at the half-mile dirt oval, emerging victorious on four occasions. His prowess at the Corn Belt Clash over the past couple of years has been phenomenal, including a two-night sweep of the inaugural Corn Belt Nationals in 2019, a 2nd place finish in the 2020 prelim and a dominating final night win in last year's finale, which has netted him a total of $48,000 in prize money between 2019-2020 for those four races alone.
Bacon's success at Knoxville dates to his Rookie USAC season of 2006 where he scored a pair of runner-up finishes on two-straight nights of Midget racing, leading a combined 11 laps in the process. In his first USAC Sprint Car appearance at Knoxville in 2010, Bacon was 2nd again. The following year, in 2011, the eventual two-time series champ authored a complete sweep of the night, recording quick time in qualifying, winning his heat and scoring the feature victory. In 2017, he ran 10th in the main and, in 2018, he led the first 19 laps of the 30-lap event, ultimately finishing 3rd.
Bacon owns both the 25 and 30-lap USAC Sprint Car track records at Knoxville, each of which were set during the Corn Belt Clash. The 25-lap record of 9:11.86 was notched in 2019 while the 30-lap mark of 10:19.56 made its way into the books in 2020.
Ione, California's Justin Grant was the king of Knoxville in 2017, leading all 30 laps en route to the victory. When Grant returned with his new team in 2018, TOPP Motorsports, he didn't miss much of a beat, finishing 4th in the main event. In 2019, he was 5th and 6th on each of the two nights and was the fastest qualifier on the second night. In 2020, the reigning USAC Silver Crown champion finished on the podium each night at Knoxville, taking 3rd on night one and 2nd on night two.
Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) was the fastest qualifier at Knoxville in 2017 and his lap of 18.548 still stands as the one-lap USAC National Sprint Car track record. The Cullman, Ala. driver's Knoxville results in 2019 were solid with a 3rd on night one and a 4th on night two. On the first night, he led three laps. He was also 7th in 2017 and 10th in 2018. In 2020, Thomas took home a 13th on night one and 16th on night two and enters the event having won $7,000 during last Saturday's Bill Gardner Sprintacular at Indiana's Lincoln Park Speedway.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) is the only driver to have finished in the top-five at Knoxville in each of the past four years. He continued that streak in 2020 with a 5th on night one, in addition to fast qualifying time, and earned a 3rd on the final night. He was the fastest qualifier on night one in 2019, then finished 9th in the feature. The 2019 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion started 4th and finished 2nd on night two. After capturing a semi-feature victory in 2017 at Knoxville, he turned up the wick to finish 5th that night and climbed up the pylon to a runner-up result in 2018.
Chris Windom finished 4th on both nights of the Corn Belt Clash in 2020. He led nine laps and finished 2nd in the 2019 Corn Belt opener while garnering a 5th on night two. The Canton, Ill. native was 2nd behind Bacon at Knoxville in 2011 following an 8th place finish in 2010. The 2017 series champion scored feature finishes of 6th in 2017 and 9th in 2018. His 6th place result in 2017 came in a hard-charging performance in which he started from the 18th starting position.
Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) set not one, but two Knoxville USAC Sprint Car track records on the same evening during the 2020 Corn Belt Clash, rewriting the books with a new 10-lap time of 3:09.379 and a 16-lap mark of 5:25.068. The 2015 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ took hard charger honors on the final night, finishing 8th after starting 19th. His first USAC start at Knoxville came in 2010, finishing 7th, which is where he also finished in 2018. Thus far, his best Knoxville result came in a runner-up performance in 2017.
Chase Stockon's productivity at Knoxville has displayed solid results of note, a 4th in 2017 6th in 2018 and a 7th and 8th in two 2019 starts serves as his best results in the event. In 2020, the Fort Branch, Ind. driver set a brand-new 12-lap USAC Sprint Car track record at Knoxville with a time of 4:26.089 and raced to feature finishes of 11th on night one and 9th on night two.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) has been knocking on the door for a first career USAC National Sprint Car win in 2021. The 2017 USAC West Coast Sprint Car champion's first foray to Knoxville for the Corn Belt Clash in 2020 resulted in a pair of top-ten finishes, an 8th on the first night and a 10th on the second night.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), likewise, made his Knoxville debut during the 2020 Corn Belt Clash. The first evening netted the 2018 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion the hard charger honors after powering from his 20th starting position to finish 9th.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) was in the same boat last year as a first-time Knoxville Raceway visitor, with the 2016 USAC National Midget champ finishing 15th and 11th throughout the two nights of Corn Belt action. He currently leads the Rookie of the Year standings with the USAC National Sprint Cars entering Saturday's contest.
Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) returns to the Corn Belt Clash for the first time since 2019 where he finished 18th and 17th in his first two Knoxville feature starts in USAC National Sprint Car competition. He currently leads the POWRi Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series standings entering the event.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) has yet to compete at Knoxville, but will do so for the initial time this weekend in the Yeley Racing No. 2, the first appearance of the team in USAC Sprint Car competition at Knoxville since 2010 where driver Kyle Larson finished 17th.
USAC Rookie Paul Nienhiser (Chapin, Ill.) has prior experience at Knoxville with a wing, but the 2019 MOWA champion will contest his first series event at the track without one while Mitch Wissmiller (Saybrook, Ill.) and Robert Bell (Colfax, Iowa) will make return visits to Knoxville as they attempt to make their first Corn Belt Clash feature starting field.
A strong crop from the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association have announced their intentions to race in this weekend's Corn Belt Clash, a handful of whom have prior experience in the event.
Wyatt Burks (Topeka, Kans.) enters as the defending USAC MWRA champion, and was 11th and 13th in 2019 and 12th and 15th in 2020 at the Corn Belt Clash and started on the pole for 2020's prelim night feature.
Lincoln, Nebraska's Don Droud, Jr., a top-five finisher in a USAC Midget at Knoxville in 2006 and a former one-lap track record holder at the half-mile in a wing sprint car, finished 13th on night one in 2019. The MWRA championship runner-up for 2020 was 19th and 17th at the Corn Belt one year ago.
MWRA point leader and two-time 2021 winner Wesley Smith (Billings, Mo.) was a 10th place finisher on the opening night of the Corn Belt Clash in 2020 and was a night one Corn Belt heat winner and 12th place feature finisher in 2019.
Three-time and defending POWRi WAR champion Riley Kreisel (Warsaw, Mo.) has won with WAR, with MWRA and ran inside the top-ten with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars as recently as a week ago. He scored his best Corn Belt finish of 12th on the final night in 2020 after starting on the front row the evening before.
Fellow USAC MWRA regulars who have Corn Belt Clash experience but are aiming to crack the starting field for the first time in the event include Chris Parkinson (Gladstone, Mo.) Jason Billups (Holt, Mo.), Terry Richards (Denton, Neb.) and Braydon Cromwell (Lone Jack, Mo.). The lineup of first-time Knoxville invaders from MWRA consist of J.D. Black (Grain Valley, Mo.), Dakota Earls (Independence, Mo.), Mark Lane (Blue Springs, Mo.) and Xavier Doney (Odessa, Mo.).
Although Bacon has had a relative stranglehold on the Corn Belt Clash over the past two years, the four USAC National Sprint Car events contested on half-mile dirt tracks this year have produced four different winners: Tyler Courtney (Eldora Speedway), Robert Ballou (Eldora Speedway), Chris Windom (Terre Haute Action Track) and Justin Grant (Selinsgrove Speedway).
All drivers and teams competing in the event that possess a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car license will be awarded 50 appearance points for the Corn Belt Nationals, which will go toward the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car championship standings. No prelim or feature points will be issued.
Time trials will consist of two cars at a time for two laps each with the best time of the two counting as the official time for each driver. Heat races are 8 laps apiece with the top-6 qualifiers inverted in each heat. The top-4 finishers will transfer to the A-Main with finishers 5-8 going to the B-Main and finishers 9th through the balance of the field going to the C-Main.
The top-4 finishers from the C-Main will transfer to the tail of the B-Main. The top-8 finishers from the B-Main will transfer to the tail of the A-Main. The A-Main feature is 30 laps in length and will invert the top-8 starters for the event based on their qualifying time.
This Saturday night at Knoxville, general admission tickets are $30 at the gate and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved seats are $35 in advance and $10 for ages 12 and under. Tickets are on sale now at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com.
Pits open at 2pm Central with sign-in at 3:30pm and the draw closing at 5:45pm. The drivers meeting takes place at 6pm with engine warm-up at 6:15pm followed by hot laps.
FloRacing will have live coverage of the entire USAC portion of the BRANDT Corn Belt Clash (practice, qualifying, prelims and the main event) exclusively at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1307, 2-Justin Grant-1253, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1234, 4-Robert Ballou-1128, 5-C.J. Leary-1118, 6-Tanner Thorson-1069, 7-Chris Windom-1060, 8-Jake Swanson-1034, 9-Chase Stockon-796, 10-Paul Nienhiser-755.
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Wesley Smith-1275, 2-Kory Schudy-1260, 3-Chris Parkinson-1060, 4-Wyatt Burks-1050, 5-Chad Goff-975, 6-Zach Clark-945, 7-Xavier Doney-875, 8-Dakota Earls-770, 9-Zach Sanders-765, 10-Luke Howard-740.
POWRI LUCAS OIL WAR SPRINT CAR SERIES POINTS: 1-Mario Clouser-2150, 2-Wesley Smith-1930, 3-Xavier Doney-1890, 4-Riley Kreisel-1890, 5-Anthony Nicholson-1410, 6-Joe B. Miller-1390, 7-Zach Daum-1080, 8-Kory Schudy-1060, 9-Mitchell Moore-880, 10-Wyatt Burks-840.
CORN BELT CLASH WINNERS:
2019: Brady Bacon (7/6)
2020: Brady Bacon (7/11)
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT KNOXVILLE RACEWAY:
4-Brady Bacon
2-Tyler Courtney
1-Bud Kaeding, Dick Tobias, Gary Bettenhausen, Justin Grant, Sammy Sessions, Sammy Swindell, Sheldon Kinser & Tom Bigelow
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT KNOXVILLE RACEWAY:
1968: Gary Bettenhausen (9/6)
1971: Dick Tobias (6/5)
1972: Sammy Sessions (6/3)
1973: Tom Bigelow (6/3)
1982: Sheldon Kinser (6/5)
1988: Sammy Swindell (6/11)
2010: Bud Kaeding (8/8)
2011: Brady Bacon (8/7)
2017: Justin Grant (6/3)
2018: Tyler Courtney (6/9)
2019: Brady Bacon (7/5) & Brady Bacon (7/6)
2020: Tyler Courtney (7/10) & Brady Bacon (7/11)
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT KNOXVILLE RACEWAY:
1 Lap - 6/3/2017 - Kevin Thomas Jr. - 18.548 - 97.046 mph
8 Laps - 8/8/2010 - Bryan Clauson - 2:38.80 - 90.680 mph
10 Laps - 7/11/2020 - Robert Ballou - 3:09.379 - 95.048 mph
12 Laps - 7/10/2020 - Chase Stockon - 4:26.089 - 81.176 mph
16 Laps - 7/11/2020 - Robert Ballou - 5:25.068 - 88.597 mph
25 Laps - 7/6/2019 - Brady Bacon - 9:11.86 - 82.195 mph
30 laps - 7/11/2020 - Brady Bacon - 10:19.56 - 87.668 mph
40 Laps - 6/3/1972 - Sammy Sessions - 16:21.23 - 73.377 mph
PAST CORN BELT CLASH FEATURE RESULTS:
2019 PRELIM FEATURE: (25 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (6), 2. Chris Windom (1), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 4. Tyler Courtney (10), 5. Justin Grant (7), 6. Ryan Bernal (9), 7. Chase Stockon (5), 8. Jason McDougal (20), 9. C.J. Leary (8), 10. Matt Westfall (2), 11. Wyatt Burks (12), 12. Wesley Smith (11), 13. Don Droud, Jr. (13), 14. Korey Weyant (21), 15. Nick Bilbee (16), 16. Timmy Buckwalter (4), 17. Josh Hodges (22), 18. Mario Clouser (23), 19. Carson Short (19), 20. Dave Darland (15), 21. Anthony Nicholson (18), 22. Riley Kreisel (24), 23. Chad Boespflug (14), 24. Landon Simon (17). 9:11.86 (New Track Record)
2019 FINAL NIGHT FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (2), 2. C.J. Leary (4), 3. Tyler Courtney (6), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 5. Chris Windom (8), 6. Justin Grant (1), 7. Jason McDougal (7), 8. Chase Stockon (3), 9. Ryan Bernal (12), 10. Carson Short (11), 11. Matt Westfall (9), 12. Korey Weyant (23), 13. Wyatt Burks (10), 14. Josh Hodges (20), 15. Nick Bilbee (14), 16. Dave Darland (19), 17. Mario Clouser (16), 18. Steve Irwin (24), 19. Kory Schudy (22), 20. Anthony Nicholson (21), 21. Riley Kreisel (13), 22. Chad Boespflug (15), 23. Timmy Buckwalter (18), 24. Wesley Smith (17). 11:08.75
2020 PRELIM FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (3), 2. Brady Bacon (4), 3. Justin Grant (6), 4. Chris Windom (9), 5. C.J. Leary (8), 6. Ryan Bernal (14), 7. Carson Short (7), 8. Jake Swanson (10), 9. Logan Seavey (20), 10. Wesley Smith (19), 11. Chase Stockon (17), 12. Wyatt Burks (1), 13. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16), 14. Nick Bilbee (5), 15. Tanner Thorson (18), 16. Riley Kreisel (2), 17. Matt Westfall (15), 18. Shane Cottle (22), 19. Don Droud Jr. (23), 20. Jack Wagner (21), 21. Brian VanMeveren (12), 22. Dustin Clark (13), 23. Robert Ballou (11), 24. Dennis Gile (24). NT
2020 FINAL NIGHT FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Justin Grant (2), 3. C.J. Leary (3), 4. Chris Windom (5), 5. Tyler Courtney (4), 6. Ryan Bernal (8), 7. Carson Short (6), 8. Robert Ballou (19), 9. Chase Stockon (7), 10. Jake Swanson (10), 11. Tanner Thorson (14), 12. Riley Kreisel (15), 13. Logan Seavey (13), 14. Nick Bilbee (9), 15. Wyatt Burks (11), 16. Kevin Thomas Jr. (12), 17. Don Droud Jr. (23), 18. Shane Cottle (21), 19. Matt Westfall (17), 20. Dennis Gile (20), 21. Dustin Clark (16), 22. Wesley Smith (18), 23. Glen Saville (24), 24. Dave Darland (22). 10:19.560
INAUGURAL USAC EAST COAST IRON COWBOY CLASSIC BELONGS TO DANNER
By: Nick Fillman, USAC ECSC
Kutztown, Pennsylvania (July 7, 2021)………Briggs Danner of Allentown, PA utilized his knowledge of Action Track USA, to score the first ever Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, Presented by Capitol Renegade feature event win at the speedway.
Chris Allen Jr. and Nash Ely would share the front row for the feature event, with Chris Allen Jr. jumping out to the early race lead. Ely would initially hold onto the second position, until the completion of lap three as Briggs Danner would move into the runner up spot and begin his charge toward the leader Allen.
Allen quickly found the back of the field on lap seven, with Danner all over Allen for the race lead, and multiple times, alongside the leader challenging for the top spot. While Allen and Danner would battle for the top spot, an all-out war would rage on between Nash Ely, Damon Paul, Tommy Kunsman, and Colin White for positions three through six. The four-pack of former and current micro sprint drivers utilized their experience to battle among themselves for position, many times being three wide with multiple slide jobs in each corner.
The intense racing action would come to a halt on lap ten as Jason Cherry and Mike Meyers would make contact, followed by Steve Wilbur riding the turns one and two wall before ending up, upside-down with the red flag displayed.
Allen lead the field to the lap ten restart over Danner, Kunsman, Paul, and White with twenty laps to go. Allen got off to a great start putting a bit of a gap over Danner as the field went back into action. Allen held the lead, with Danner again reeling the leader back in and again, pulling side by side with Allen for the lead of the feature event. While Danner and Allen fought side by side for the race lead, Alex Bright was flying through the field and was just outside the top five as the field drew in on the half way point of the feature event. Bright cracked into the top five on lap fifteen and joined the still furious battle for positions inside the top five.
On lap fifteen, Danner utilizing a major drive off the high side of turn four, got the necessary drive to finally work passed Allen for the race lead. As Danner took the lead, the action inside the top five remained incredible. Damon Paul, Tommy Kunsman, Alex Bright, and Nash Ely continued to throw slider after slider for position as the laps wound down in the feature event.
On lap twenty-one, Bright threw a slide job on Kunsman for the fourth spot, on the field. Bright's car would stall out some, with Kunsman turning back down to the inside of Bright for position. Kusman would make contact with the left front of Alex Bright, collapsing the front end of the Hummer Motorsports 20 car, leaving point leader Bright stopped on the exit of turn four. As Bright's car was coming to a stop, Nash Ely was left with nowhere to go, and was collected with Bright in turn four. Bright and Ely would unfortunately be unable to restart the feature event.
On what would be the final restart of the event with nine laps to go, Danner nailed the restart and pulled away from Allen and the rest of the field. Yet again, the battle for the top five was incredibly intense with Paul, Kunsman, White, and Bruce Buckwalter Jr. heavily contending for positions. Eventually, the top five would settle in with Paul, Kunsman, and White holding down positions in the top five as the bulk of the field rode the cushion around the high side of the speedway.
As the laps wound down, Briggs Danner again found himself in USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series Victory Lane for the fifth time of the 2021 season, and regained the points lead following the incident involving Alex Bright.
For the fifth time of the season, and sixth time of his career, Briggs Danner parked the Bill Gallagher owned 5G entry in victory lane. Danner has been lights out so far in the 2021 season, with only a blown tire to blame for the teams only blemish on the season thus far. Danner and team have been on another level so far in 2021, with Alex Bright and Hummer Motorsports being the team's closest competition so far. Due to the finish of Bright, Danner regained the points lead by only eleven markers over Bright, with plenty of racing left to go.
Chris Allen Jr. appears to have found his stride again as the New Jersey native has rattled off back to back podium finishes in his last two starts. Allen has missed two events so far but remains solidly within the top ten in series points. While a shot at the title may not be possible for the team, they are well on their way to being able to compete for series victories once again.
Damon Paul of Stony Point, NY found himself on the podium for the very first time in 2021 on Wednesday at Action Track USA. The twenty year old driver has plenty of laps around the Pennsylvania oval, competing first in slingshots, before moving to USAC SpeedSTRs, and 600cc Micro Sprints. Paul utilized his knowledge of the speedway, along with the rest of the top five, to put on a show and win the battle for third in the back half of the top five. Paul and the Lou Cicconi Racing team have had plenty of speed with their rookie driver and have now notched their first of what may be many, podium finishes.
Coming off of a career best second place on Friday night, Tommy Kunsman looked to keep his momentum rolling on Wednesday at Action Track USA. Kunsman scored a fourth place run in the heat race from his eight place starting spot, earning him a redraw spot for the feature event at the front of the field. Kunsman was involved heavily with the best battles on track many times over the course of the future event in the middle of three wide action and giving and receiving many slide jobs for position. Kunsman has worked his way to third in series points and has established himself as a fixture at the front of the series field.
Rounding out the top five, scoring back to back top five runs was Colin White. It should come as no surprise that White would have a solid run at Action Track USA as the young driver is the defending 600cc Micro Sprint Champion at the speedway. While not getting to run the series full time in 2021, White has impressed in limited runs, most recently scoring a fourth at Big Diamond and a fifth at Action Track. While White is not done with his races behind the wheel of the Hamilton 32 entry, hopefully White can join the tour full time in 2022.
Up next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, Presented by: Capitol Renegade, is the first ever trip for the series to the newly redesigned and reopened Bloomsburg Fairgrounds! A handful of our drivers made the first ever trip to the speedway in June as a part of the USAC National Series annual "Eastern Storm." The Friday, July 16th program will also feature the first of two double header programs with the URC 360 sprint cars, offering fans the "best of both worlds" in one night at the same track.
As always, stay up to date with all the latest series news, results, photos, points, and much more by following along on our social media pages! On Twitter at: @USACecsc, or on Facebook at: USAC East Coast Sprint Cars.
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USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE RACE RESULTS: July 7, 2021 – Action Track USA – Kutztown, Pennsylvania
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 5G-Briggs Danner [3], 2. 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr. [1], 3. 71-Chris Allen Jr. [2], 4. 21K-Tommy Kunsman [8], 5. 10m-Mike Myers [4], 6. 12-Blaine Emery [7], 7. 88J-Joey Amantea [9], 8. 7B-Aidan Borden [5], 9. 2-Chris Allen Sr. [6]. NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 3BC-Nash Ely [3], 2. 57-Damon Paul [6], 3. 11-Mike Thompson [2], 4. 32-Colin White [8], 5. 59-Steve Wilbur [9], 6. 3H-Heidi Hedin [7], 7. 57x-Ricky Rutt [5], 8. 67-Jason Cherry [1], 9. 20-Alex Bright [4]. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. Briggs Danner [3], 2. Chris Allen Jr. [1], 3. Damon Paul [6], 4. Tommy Kunsman [5], 5. Colin White [4], 6. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. [7], 7. Mike Myers [9], 8. Joey Amantea [13], 9. Blaine Emery [11], 10. Mike Thompson [8], 11. Aidan Borden [15], 12. Heidi Hedin [12], 13. Ricky Rutt [14], 14. Alex Bright [18], 15. Nash Ely [2], 16. Steve Wilbur [10], 17. Jason Cherry [16], 18. Chris Allen Sr. [17]. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-15 Chris Allen Jr., Laps 16-30 Briggs Danner.
USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE POINTS: 1-Briggs Danner-720, 2-Alex Bright-709, 3-Tommy Kunsman-595, 4-Steven Drevicki-523, 5-Nash Ely-518, 6-Damon Paul-477, 7-Joey Amantea-451, 8-Chris Allen Jr.-426, 9-Kenny Miller III-422, 10-Bruce Buckwalter Jr.-411.
NEXT USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE RACE: July 16, 2021 – Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
SWEETENED SUNDAY FOR USAC MIDGETS
AT SWEET SPRINGS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Sweet Springs, Missouri (July 7, 2021)………Multiple lead changes, down to the wire, photo finishes. That's sort of the norm for USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing at Missouri's Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex, home of the series' return this Sunday night, July 11.
To sweeten the pot, competitors will be chasing an elevated purse, which will pay $6,000 to the feature winner and $400 to start, an increase in payout from top-to-bottom for the 40-lap John Hinck Championship feature event at the 1/6-mile dirt oval.
Four previous appearances by the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship to Missouri's Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex have resulted in events featuring multiple lead changes each year with no less than three drivers taking part in the top spot swap.
In the series' inaugural run at Sweet Springs in 2018, Logan Seavey made the winning pass on Cole Bodine with just four laps remaining. In 2019's return, Tanner Carrick made it to the front with just three laps remaining in a topsy-turvy finish. On night one of 2020, Cannon McIntosh tracked down Chris Windom on the final lap to win the race by a nose, the closest finish of the entire 2020 USAC season at 0.056 seconds.
On night two at Sweet Springs in 2020, Buddy Kofoid endured a ferocious charge from McIntosh three-quarters of the race in, then had to hold off the then-reigning champ Tyler Courtney to score the win, which as it turned out, was the 6th closest finish of the year 0.180 seconds.
In fact, Sweet Springs was the only track to have multiple races within the top-six closest USAC finishes of 2020.
Three past Sweet Springs USAC Midget winners are on board for this weekend's events: the first, Logan Seavey and the two most recent, Cannon McIntosh and Buddy Kofoid.
All three of those drivers, along with Tanner Carrick in 2019, have one thing in common – they all drove and won at Sweet Springs for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, giving the venerable team an undefeated 4-0 record at the 1/6-mile dirt oval entering the weekend.
Current series point leader and recent Indiana Midget Week champion, Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), found redemption in his Sweet Springs debut in 2020. In the night one opener, Kofoid's race was over just a half-lap in after he and Justin Grant went for mighty flip down the back straightaway, ending both driver's evenings. Kofoid returned the following night to lead the final 12 laps en route to scoring his long-awaited first career series win.
Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) made headlines in 2020 with her first career Fatheadz Fast Qualifying time with the series at Sweet Springs for KKM/Curb-Agajanian. By doing so, she became just the fifth female to accomplish the feat in the 66-year history of the USAC National Midget division. Her best Sweet Springs result came with a 10th in 2020.
Eying first career Sweet Springs USAC National Midget starts are leading series Rookie of the Year contenders Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) and Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas), part of the KKM stable.
Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the 2018 USAC National Midget champ, now driving Tom Malloy's No. 25, was the fastest qualifier and feature winner in the inaugural Sweet Springs race back during his championship season.
Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) was the lone driver to lead both nights at Sweet Springs in 2020. He led just one, the final one, on night one, then led 14 and was in a position to win before being involved in a late incident while battling for the lead with Kofoid, ultimately dropping McIntosh back to 12th at the checkered. He'll pilot the family owned Dave Mac Motorsports No. 08 throughout the weekend.
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) will drive for Terry and Kelly Hinck's TKH Motorsports team this weekend at Sweet Springs. Terry and Kelly are the sons of the race's namesake, John Hinck. Bacon last competed in the event in 2019, also for Hinck. That same night, Bacon picked up the accompanying micro sprint feature at Sweet Springs for TKH. Bacon finished a best of 4th in the midget at Sweet Springs in 2018.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) holds the 10-lap USAC National Midget track record at Sweet Springs with a 2:03.358, set on night one in 2020. His best feature results came in a 9th place performance in 2018.
Reigning series champion Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) enters as the most recent feature winner on the tour, at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway on June 12. Windom was the fastest qualifier at Sweet Springs in 2019 and has been on the "podium" in all three of his starts there, finishing 3rd in 2019 and again on night two in 2020. His runner-up result on night one of 2020 came in bitter fashion after being passed on the outside by Cannon McIntosh on the final corner.
Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) has finished inside the top-ten in both of his Sweet Springs starts, finishing 5th and 9th on back-to-back nights in 2020. Meseraull, an early season winner in Ocala, Fla., recently won a USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature last Friday at Indiana's Gas City I-69 Speedway, on his birthday, in fact.
Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) did likewise at Sweet Springs. His two top-ten results at Sweet Springs in 2020 came in consecutive 6th place finishes. Edging closer to his first career USAC National win, Pursley hopes to join Carrick and Kofoid as the third driver to earn his first career USAC National Midget win at Sweet Springs.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.), a two-time series winner this season, has made three starts at Sweet Springs. The 2016 USAC National Midget champ's two most recent runs have been his two best, a 4th on night one and a 10th on night two in 2020.
Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) is back in the Robert Dalby Motorsports No. 4, this weekend. McDougal finished a best of 4th in 2019 while Dalby finished 8th behind the wheel on night one in 2020.
Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) has made three Sweet Springs starts with a 17th as his best on night two of 2020. His last two starts in April resulted in back-to-back top-tens, a career-best 3rd at Port City and an 8th in the opener at the Kokomo Grand Prix.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) returns to Sweet Springs after two previous starts, which resulted in a best finish of 6th in 2019. Missouri's Sam Johnson (St. Peters, Mo.) won his heat race in 2019 and earned a best feature result of 12th in 2018.
Kokomo Grand Prix's 2020 opening night winner Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) made two starts at Sweet Springs in 2020, finishing 13th and 15th on night one and two, respectively.
Two-time USAC National Midget champion Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) will be back in the seat of the Central Motorsports No. 85. Coons recently earned his 400th career series start in June and finished 7th at Sweet Springs in 2019. Coons has won a USAC National Midget feature in the state of Missouri before, taking the victory in 2006 at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo.
Chad Winfrey (Gladstone, Mo.) returns to Sweet Springs after collecting an 18th in 2019 while Trey Gropp (Lincoln, Neb.) made single start, on night two of 2020, taking 20th.
Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports Rookies Chase Randall (Waco, Texas) and Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) are each planning on making their first Sweet Springs USAC feature starts as will Hayward Motorsports' USAC Midget Rookie, Brian Carber (Pipersville, Pa.).
Sunday's event will also feature the Non-Wing Outlaw Micro Sprints.
On Sunday, pits open at 2:30pm CDT with the pit sweep occurring at 3pm. Front gates open at 4pm while cars hit the track at 6pm CDT with qualifying and racing to immediately follow.
General admission tickets for Sunday at Sweet Springs are $20 with children age 12 and under free. USAC member pit passes are $30 with non-members $35. Tickets will be available at the gate on both race days.
The John Hinck Championship at Sweet Springs will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
The Sweet Springs event kicks of Mid-America Midget Week, which features five USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship races in four different Great Plains states during a seven night span July 11-17.
Mid-America Midget Week begins on July 11 at Missouri's Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex, followed by a July 13 date at Meeker, Oklahoma's Red Dirt Raceway; July 14 at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kansas; then concludes with two nights at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Neb. on July 16 and on July 17, with the finale paying $10,000 to the winner.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-941, 2-Chris Windom-894, 3-Emerson Axsom-852, 4-Justin Grant-820, 5-Tanner Thorson-814, 6-Thomas Meseraull-802, 7-Daison Pursley-798, 8-Logan Seavey-781, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-732, 10-Jason McDougal-693.
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT SWEET SPRINGS:
1 Lap - 9/4/2020 - Tyler Courtney - 11.863 - 50.577 mph
10 Laps - 9/4/2020 - Justin Grant - 2:03.358 - 48.639 mph
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT SWEET SPRINGS MOTORSPORTS COMPLEX:
1-Tanner Carrick, Buddy Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh & Logan Seavey
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT SWEET SPRINGS MOTORSPORTS COMPLEX:
2018: Logan Seavey (7/15)
2019: Tanner Carrick (7/14)
2020: Cannon McIntosh (9/4) & Buddy Kofoid (9/5)
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS IN MISSOURI:
3-Mike McGreevy, Henry Pens & Bob Wente
2-Danny Frye, Arnie Knepper, Steve Knepper, Bob Tattersall & Rich Vogler
1-Steve Cannon, Tanner Carrick, Bill Chennault, Jerry Coons Jr., Tommy Copp, Jimmy Davies, Jay Drake, Rex Easton, A.J. Foyt, Steve Gennetten, Buddy Kofoid, Jason Leffler, Jerry McClung, Cannon McIntosh, Andy Michner, J.R. Miller, Richard Powell, Stevie Reeves, Logan Seavey, Dave Strickland, Joe Walter & Terry Wente
PAST FEATURE RESULTS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT SWEET SPRINGS:
2018 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (7), 2. Cole Bodine (1), 3. Ryan Robinson (5), 4. Brady Bacon (4), 5. Tyler Courtney (3), 6. Christopher Bell (14), 7. Spencer Bayston (21), 8. Tanner Carrick (2), 9. Justin Grant (12), 10. Chad Boat (11), 11. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (10), 12. Sam Johnson (13), 13. Zach Daum (19), 14. Jerry Coons, Jr. (22), 15. Brayton Lynch (24), 16. Tucker Klaasmeyer (8), 17. Holly Shelton (23), 18. Riley Kreisel (9), 19. Tyler Thomas (20), 20. Zane Hendricks (15), 21. Kyle Craker (18), 22. Jake Neuman (17), 23. Karter Sarff (16), 24. Jason McDougal (6). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Bodine, Laps 5-12 Carrick, Laps 13-36 Bodine, Laps 37-40 Seavey.
2019 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tanner Carrick (5), 2. Zeb Wise (9), 3. Chris Windom (7), 4. Jason McDougal (4), 5. Chad Boat (15), 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (8), 7. Jerry Coons, Jr. (16), 8. Daniel Robinson (23), 9. Tucker Klaasmeyer (11), 10. Andrew Layser (2), 11. Cole Bodine (17), 12. Tyler Courtney (3), 13. Joe Boyles (20), 14. Chad Frewaldt (21), 15. Casey Hicks (22), 16. Logan Seavey (1), 17. Brady Bacon (12), 18. Chad Winfrey (18), 19. Clinton Boyles (14), 20. Ethan Mitchell (13), 21. Sam Johnson (10), 22. Curtis Spicer (19), 23. Tanner Thorson (6). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Andrew Layser, Laps 3-37 Tyler Courtney, Laps 38-40 Tanner Carrick.
2020 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cannon McIntosh (13), 2. Chris Windom (7), 3. Tyler Courtney (10), 4. Tanner Thorson (11), 5. Thomas Meseraull (5), 6. Daison Pursley (12), 7. Andrew Felker (17), 8. Robert Dalby (8), 9. Tanner Carrick (3), 10. Kaylee Bryson (14), 11. Spencer Bayston (4), 12. Andrew Layser (21), 13. Emerson Axsom (1), 14. Ace McCarthy (20), 15. Trey Marcham (22), 16. Noah Gass (19), 17. Jesse Love (15), 18. Cole Bodine (18), 19. Ethan Mitchell (23), 20. Chase Johnson (16), 21. Clinton Boyles (2), 22. Buddy Kofoid (6), 23. Justin Grant (9). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Clinton Boyles, Laps 2-16 Tanner Carrick, Laps 17-29 Chris Windom, Lap 30 Cannon McIntosh.
2020 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (7), 2. Tyler Courtney (2), 3. Chris Windom (6), 4. Tanner Carrick (11), 5. Spencer Bayston (8), 6. Daison Pursley (4), 7. Andrew Layser (19), 8. Clinton Boyles (3), 9. Thomas Meseraull (16), 10. Tanner Thorson (23), 11. Jesse Love (13), 12. Cannon McIntosh (5), 13. Trey Marcham (14), 14. Chase Johnson (9), 15. Emerson Axsom (15), 16. Kaylee Bryson (10), 17. Ethan Mitchell (24), 18. Noah Gass (18), 19. Justin Grant (1), 20. Trey Gropp (22), 21. Cole Bodine (17), 22. Ace McCarthy (21), 23. Andrew Felker (20), 24. Robert Dalby (12). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Tyler Courtney, Laps 15-28 Cannon McIntosh, Laps 29-40 Buddy Kofoid.
UNIQUE 25-LAP USAC SILVER CROWN SHOOTOUT
DEBUTS AUG. 13 AT LUCAS OIL RACEWAY
Indianapolis, Indiana (July 7, 2021)………The inaugural 10-car, 25-lap USAC Silver Crown Shootout will kickstart a busy weekend of Hoosier Classic festivities on the .686-mile paved oval August 13-14 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind.
The non-points Silver Crown Shootout special event will take place on Friday night, August 13 and features a unique format which carries a top prize of $2,500-to-win and $1,000 to start.
"This a great addition to the Hoosier Classic," said Lucas Oil Raceway General Manager Kasey Coler. "We wanted to add something to our Friday night as we kick off the Fatheadz Eyewear $100K Challenge with Sprint Cars and thought that the addition of a random draw, low lap count USAC Silver Crown Shootout would be an exciting element for the fans. This weekend is shaping up to be one of the biggest in the grassroots pavement open wheel world."
One 45-minute practice session will begin the Silver Crown Shootout followed by two rounds of qualifying, in order of slowest to fastest based on practice speeds. Both rounds of qualifying will consist of two laps for each car with the average time between those two laps counting as the official qualifying speed.
At the conclusion of qualifying, the 10 fastest overall in time trials will be locked in for the feature event. The feature lineup will be based on a random draw for the 25-lap main event in which yellow flag laps will not count.
The Silver Crown Shootout purse will pay $2,500 to the winner; $2,000 for 2nd; $1,500 for 3rd; $1,300 for 4th; $1,150 for 5th; and $1,000 each for the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th, for a total purse of $13,450.
Push starts are encouraged for the event and there is no entry free for Silver Crown Shootout competitors on Friday night, August 13. Night one of the Hoosier Classic will feature both the Silver Crown Shootout and Sprint Cars, which are chasing a $10,000-to-win prize in their 50-lap feature.
On night two, Saturday night, August 14, the action continues at Lucas Oil Raceway with another Hoosier Classic doubleheader comprising of Midgets competing for a $10,000-to-win top prize along with a full, points-paying 100-lap USAC Silver Crown event paying $12,000-to-win.
The racing at LOR coincides with a massive weekend of racing scheduled in central Indiana. Just down the road at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, a new NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, the Big Machine Spiked Coolers GP, will also be held on Saturday before the NASCAR Cup Series' Verizon 200 at the Brickyard 400 takes the road course for the first time on Sunday, August 15.
The 2021 Hoosier Classic trifecta will also feature drivers competing on The Oval at Lucas Oil Raceway for their shot at taking home a staggering $100,000.
The Fatheadz $100K Challenge is up for grabs to anyone that can win all three of the Hoosier Classic races (Sprint, Midget and the 100-lap USAC Silver Crown race). The Silver Crown Shootout is not included in the challenge. If a driver and team can win two of those three events, they will collect $50,000.
The addition of these prizes instantly elevates what was going to be the biggest payday in grassroots pavement open-wheel racing to now another stratosphere with a potential winner taking home a total of $132,000 for winning three big races over the course of two days.
Hoosier Classic tickets are now on sale at: https://nhra.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetGroupList?prc=2021HOOSIERCLASSIC&caller=PR&linkID=nhra&RDAT=&RSRC
A full event schedule will be released at a later date.
2021 USAC SILVER CROWN SHOOTOUT PURSE:
1. $2,500
2. $2,000
3. $1,500
4. $1,300
5. $1,150
6. $1,000
7. $1,000
8. $1,000
9. $1,000
10. $1,000
KNOXVILLE: A HALF-CENTURY CATALOG
OF USAC SPRINT CAR HISTORY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Knoxville, Iowa (July 6, 2021)………There's only one Knoxville Raceway. And it's just once a year that the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship will pay a visit to the half-mile located in south central Iowa during the 2021 campaign.
That moment arrives this Saturday night, July 10, with the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Clash, paying the richest single-day purse of the entire season for the series with a winner's share of $20,000 for the 30-lap USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature, co-sanctioned by both the Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association and the Lucas Oil POWRI WAR Sprint Car League.
Super Modifieds, and later Sprint Cars, sans the wing, have a rich history at Knoxville Raceway, dating back more than a half-century. The Knoxville Nationals were run primarily without the use of wings between 1961-1981, as was its weekly program, with a few exceptions, all along the way.
USAC National Sprint Car history at the track spans throughout many time frames. Without cages (1968), with the newly mandated cages (1971), with wings (1988), and without wings in every spot in between.
The first USAC National Sprint Car race held at Knoxville in 1968, not only was conducted without wings, but without cages, where a young Gary Bettenhausen, the newest edition of the "Tinley Park Express," drove the Willie Davis Chevy powered sprinter to the checkered flag. Greg Weld, the 1963 Knoxville Nationals winner in his own right, set quick time.
With cages affixed to their rides the next time around in 1971, Eastern invader Dick "Toby" Tobias ventured westbound where the 1997 inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, located just beyond turn two at Knoxville, captured his only USAC victory on the western side of the Mississippi River.
Sammy Sessions buzzed to a flag-to-flag, 40-lap victory in June of 1972 at Knoxville. It's a seminal win that vaulted the Nashville, Michigan driver to the midseason point lead and, subsequently, his first and only career USAC National Sprint Car driving title later that same year.
Tom Bigelow scored his initial victory on the 1973 USAC Sprint car circuit right at Knoxville. Bigelow's Knoxville victory was a real thriller as he fought off the challenges of Billy Engelhart, Tony Simon and, finally, Rollie Beale to post his first USAC win of the year. Beale finally wound up a close second with young Pancho Carter finishing third after a spectacular drive from the 18th starting position in an event which was delayed by rain. Warmups saw Karl Busson, making only his second appearance after being injured at Reading, Pa., in March, flip his new Bernie Cedoz Sprinter on the fourth turn. Joe Saldana, in an attempt to avoid Busson's flipping car, also got upside down. Both drivers were kept at the Knoxville Hospital overnight and then released. Busson suffered a dislocated left elbow and rib injuries. Saldana had a mild concussion and facial lacerations.
Sheldon Kinser's USAC "Thunder & Lightning" Sprint car series point lead, and eventual third series championship, blossomed as a result of his 1982 victory at Knoxville. Sheldon drove the Ben's Tire Clinic Chevy to victory in the 25-lap feature at Knoxville Raceway. Jack Hewitt flipped during qualifications at Knoxville while Parsons dumped during his heat race.
Sammy Swindell, the 1983 Knoxville Nationals winner, scored his first-ever USAC feature victory at the half-mile dirt track in 1988. That came not only with a cage, but with a wing, during the brief era of USAC sprouting aerodynamics devices atop their roll cages during occasional events between 1987-1991. Swindell drove the TMC Chevy to a $4,000 victory in the 25-lapper at Knoxville, beating Randy Smith to the checkered flag.
Bud Kaeding didn't care of it was a rental car, a shopping cart or a sprint car. In 2010, the Campbell, California native had won at Knoxville. Kaeding nearly led the entire unusual distance of 26 laps to claim the non-wing Knoxville Sprint Nationals in 2010. Scotty Weir (1) and Brady Bacon (3) led early before Kaeding pulled alongside Bacon and roared around the outside of turn four to take the lead and the victory.
Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, Okla. won the 2011 26-lap Knoxville Non-Wing Nationals, leading the final 14 laps, making a clean sweep of the night after earning the fastest qualifier honors, winning the first heat race, then moved past defending race winner Bud Kaeding when he "biked" and spun to a stop on lap 13, relinquishing the lead to Bacon.
Justin Grant made it a night to remember as he led wire-to-wire to win the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars' return to the famed Knoxville Raceway in 2017 after a six-year hiatus. Grant, of Ione, California, was in a class of his own throughout the 30-lap main event. However, early on in the night, Grant couldn't have anticipated the end result would go as smoothly as it did following a rocky beginning. The team fine-tuned their way throughout the evening, swapping out parts and pieces on the Sam McGhee Motorsports until they hit the sweet spot in time for the main event.
One year prior, Tyler Courtney rode out one of the wildest flips of the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season when the series visited Knoxville Raceway. Three-hundred-seventy-one days later, in 2018, the next chapter of Courtney's Knoxville story played out like a fairy-tale as he swept each and every challenge he confronted: fast qualifying time. Check. Heat race win. Check. Winning the 30-lap main event. Check. Victory lane. Another check, but one he was able to hoist high over his head.
Following qualifying on the opening night of the inaugural Corn Belt Nationals in 2019, Brady Bacon and the Dynamics, Inc. team certainly had their work cut out for them. On the second of two qualifying laps, the engine began to sound sour. Immediately after pulling into the infield pit area, the team immediately went to work to swap out the engine for a new bullet under the hood. Under time constraints, the team prevailed. Under duress for much of the caution-free 25-lap main event, the team once again prevailed, firing on all cylinders figuratively and literally to capture the victory.
As it turned out, Brady Bacon's strength in Friday's opener was just a prelude sampling of how strong he and his Dynamics, Inc. were in Saturday night's Corn Belt Nationals finale in 2019. Bacon backed up his opening night victory at Knoxville with a simply dominating win in the closer, leading all 30 laps en route to an 8.286 sec. triumph worth $20,000 that was never in doubt from start to finish.
In essence, it didn't take long for Tyler Courtney to get to the front of the field in the 2020 Corn Belt Nationals opener. In another sense, however, the wait was more than long enough after a bevy of early season misfortune. The 2018 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion started 3rd on the grid for the 25-lapper, but instantly split between both front row occupants Wyatt Burks and Riley Kreisel through the middle of turn one, then powered off turn two and never looked back the remainder of the distance.
A three-and-a-half hour rain delay and an engine swap just prior to the feature couldn't deny Brady Bacon from Corn Belt Nationals domination for the second consecutive year in an event that concluded in the wee hours of early Sunday after a heavy half-hour-long storm doused the half-mile dirt oval with moisture just prior to hot laps, forcing a lengthy delay that set back the start of the festivities until about a quarter to 11pm Central time.
When things wrapped up just after 3am with a non-stop, green-to-checkered feature, the Corn Belt king had reclaimed his throne and a $20,000 winner's share which came following an engine change before the feature as more of a preventative measure due to a persistent oil leak. With some down time between races, the decision was made, and they decided they weren't going to take any chances risking it.
This Saturday night at Knoxville, general Admission tickets are $30 are $30 at the gate and free for ages 12 and under. Reserved seats are $35 in advance and $10 for ages 12 and under. Tickets on sale now at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com.
Pits open at 2pm Central with the drivers meeting at 6pm and cars hitting the track at 6:15pm.
FloRacing will have live coverage of the entire USAC portion of the BRANDT Corn Belt Clash (practice, qualifying, prelims and the main event) exclusively at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT KNOXVILLE RACEWAY:
4-Brady Bacon
2-Tyler Courtney
1-Bud Kaeding, Dick Tobias, Gary Bettenhausen, Justin Grant, Sam Sessions, Sammy Swindell, Sheldon Kinser & Tom Bigelow
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT KNOXVILLE RACEWAY:
1968: Gary Bettenhausen (9/6)
1971: Dick Tobias (6/5)
1972: Sam Sessions (6/3)
1973: Tom Bigelow (6/3)
1982: Sheldon Kinser (6/5)
1988: Sammy Swindell (6/11)
2010: Bud Kaeding (8/8)
2011: Brady Bacon (8/7)
2017: Justin Grant (6/3)
2018: Tyler Courtney (6/9)
2019: Brady Bacon (7/5) & Brady Bacon (7/6)
2020: Tyler Courtney (7/10) & Brady Bacon (7/11)
RAISED PURSES & LARGEST EVER POINT FUND FOR USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK 2021
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (July 6, 2021)………The most highly-anticipated week of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing each summer will feature its largest point fund ever in 2021 with the NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week fund now paying $20,000 in total prize money and $10,000-to-win.
Additionally, each feature event throughout NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week will now pay $6,000-to-win and $600 to start for a total of $26,300 in nightly feature payouts throughout the 34th annual edition of the series which features seven events during a nine-night span between July 23-31.
The top-eight in the final standings of Indiana Sprint Week will be "in the money" with a new record of $10,000 going to the series champion, plus $4,000 for 2nd, $2,000 for 3rd, $1,250 for 4th, $1,000 for 5th, $750 for 6th, $600 for 7th and $400 for 8th.
NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week 2021 will feature a familiar look, leading off the first weekend at Gas City I-69 Speedway on Friday, July 23, with Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 24, and Lawrenceburg Speedway on Sunday, July 25, rounding out the first wave of ISW.
After two days away from the racetrack, teams and drivers get back on the horse with the Terre Haute Action Track's Don Smith Classic on Wednesday, July 28, Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday, July 29, Bloomington Speedway's Sheldon Kinser Memorial on Friday, July 30, and Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, July 31.
Past Indiana Sprint Week champions in this year's field include defending titlist Chase Stockon (2020), C.J. Leary (2019), Chris Windom (2011 & 2018), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2017), Brady Bacon (2016) and Robert Ballou (2015).
Indiana Sprint Week's complete list of champions boasts Randy Kinser (1988), Chuck Amati (1989 & 1990), Gary Trammell (1990), Bob Kinser (1991), Kevin Thomas (1992-1993-1995-1996), Kelly Kinser (1994), J.J. Yeley (1997 & 2003), Dave Darland (1998-2001-2007), Tony Elliott (1999), Jay Drake (2000), Cory Kruseman (2002 & 2005), Levi Jones (2004-2008-2009-2012), Jon Stanbrough (2006 & 2010) and Bryan Clauson (2013 & 2014).
Levi Jones and Kevin Thomas own the most Indiana Sprint Week championships with four apiece while Dave Darland possesses the most feature victories with 20.
Indiana Sprint Week's inaugural edition occurred in 1988 and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club every year since 1996.
FloRacing will provide live coverage for all seven nights of 2021 NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
2021 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINT FUND PAYOUT:
1. $10,000
2. $4,000
3. $2,000
4. $1,250
5. $1,000
6. $750
7. $600
2021 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK NIGHTLY FEATURE PAYOUT:
1. $6,000
2. $3,000
3. $2,000
4. $1,500
5. $1,250
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
**Non-Transfers: $150
SWEET SPRINGS ELEVATED TO $6K TO WIN
FOR USAC MIDGETS JULY 11
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Sweet Springs, Missouri (July 5, 2021)………When the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship pays a visit to Missouri's Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex, it's wild, it's unpredictable and it's good to the last drop.
Now, on Sunday night, July 11, series competitors will be chasing an elevated purse, which will pay $6,000 to the feature winner and $400 to start, an increase in payout from top-to-bottom for the 40-lap John Hinck Championship feature event at the 1/6-mile dirt oval. The full purse is listed at the bottom of this press release.
The Sweet Springs event kicks of Mid-America Midget Week, which features five USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship races in four different Great Plains states during a seven night span July 11-17.
Mid-America Midget Week begins on July 11 at Missouri's Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex, followed by a July 13 date at Meeker, Oklahoma's Red Dirt Raceway; July 14 at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kansas; then concludes with two nights at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Neb. on July 16 and the finale on July 17 which will pay $10,000 to the winner.
Four previous USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget events have been held at Sweet Springs, all of which featured memorable late-race duels for the win.
Logan Seavey captured the inaugural running in 2018 with the winning pass coming four laps from the finish. Tanner Carrick won his first career series race in 2019 just three laps from the conclusion.
Last year, on the opening night at Sweet Springs, Cannon McIntosh won the race with a stirring last lap maneuver to score the victory. On the second night, Buddy Kofoid thrived to fend off and defeat past series champion Tyler Courtney to the checkered during the final laps to score his first career series triumph.
Sweet Springs will welcome the sport's top stars this Sunday, including past series champions, Minden, Nevada's Tanner Thorson (2016); Sutter, California's Logan Seavey (2018) and Canton, Illinois' Chris Windom (2020) as well as a slew of 2021 series winners like point leader Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) and Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), plus 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), and series race winners Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.), McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) and many more.
The event will also feature the Non-Wing Outlaw Micro Sprints.
On Sunday, pits open at 2:30pm CDT with the pit sweep occurring at 3pm. Front gates open at 4pm while cars hit the track at 6pm CDT with qualifying and racing to immediately follow.
General admission tickets for Sunday at Sweet Springs are $20 with children age 12 and under free. USAC member pit passes are $30 with non-members $35. Tickets will be available at the gate on both race days.
The John Hinck Championship at Sweet Springs will be streamed live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
SWEET SPRINGS JULY 11 MIDGET FEATURE POINTS/PURSE STRUCTURE:
POS. PTS. PURSE
1 70 $6,000
2 67 $3,000
3 64 $1,500
4 61 $1,000
5 58 $800
6 55 $700
7 52 $600
8 49 $550
9 46 $525
10 43 $500
11 41 $475
12 39 $450
13 37 $440
14 35 $430
15 33 $420
16 31 $410
17 29 $400
18 27 $400
19 25 $400
20 23 $400
21 23 $400
22 23 $400
Non-Transfers: $100
BRIGHT CAPITALIZES ON MISFORTUNE FOR BIG DIAMOND USAC EAST COAST VICTORY
By: Nick Fillman, USAC ECSC
Pottsville, Pennsylvania (July 2, 2021)………Alex Bright of Collegeville, PA, utilized a late race restart to out duel Tommy Kunsman for his fourth victory of the Rapid Tire Service, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series Presented by Capitol Renegade season.
On what was supposed to be the second of three nights of consecutive action for Valley Forge Inc "Mini Speedweek", 21 USAC East Coast Sprint Cars entered the pit area of the Big Diamond Speedway for competition for what would be the only feature event of the weekend.
Following three heat race events and the feature event redraw, Tommy Kunsman Jr and Alex Bright shared the front row for the evenings twenty-five lap main event. Kunsman grabbed the initial lead on the start, quickly driving away from Alex Bright and putting some distance on Bright for the race lead.
The car that was moving through the field quicker than any other was Briggs Danner. Danner had moved from his eight place starting spot into the third place position by lap three and moved passed Bright for the runner up spot on lap four. Danner quickly disposed of Bright and reeled in Kunsman for the race lead before the caution flag flew on lap four for a spun Jason Cherry in turns one and two.
On the ensuing restart, Danner would be glued to the rear bumper of Kunsman as the two looked to pull away from the remainder of the field. Alex Bright, Colin White, and Chris Allen rounded out the top five during the restart. Danner tried the inside and the outside groove on Kunsman as the two battled for the race lead before Danner would move by and take the lead from Kunsman coming off of turn four to complete lap ten.
Briggs Danner quickly set sail on the rest of the field, with Kunsman, Bright, White, and Bruce Buckwalter as the top five. As Danner encountered the back half of the field on lap thirteen and began the lapping process, Alex Bright managed to catch the rear bumper of Kunsman and being pressuring Kunsman for the runner up position.
On lap nineteen of the feature event, Kunsman and Bright drastically caught the rear bumper of Danner as it appeared the Bill Gallagher entry was slowing into turns there and four. Bright had just made a move on Kunsman for the runner up spot when the caution flag flew for the slowing car of Danner. While the field was slowing, an unfortunate brake befell Steven Drevicki as he would make contact with an inside tractor tire ending his night and dumping a large amount of water onto the front stretch. With the amount of water being on the speedway, the red flag was thrown to allow for a safe cleanup of the speedway.
Due to the timing of the caution, the pass by Bright on Kunsman would be negated and Kunsman would retain his position and inherit the race lead. The lap nineteen restart saw Kunsman leading: Bright, Allen, White, and Buckwalter with only six laps remaining. Tommy Kunsman had a solid restart as the field came to Nicole Flood's green flag, with a bit of distance back to second place runner Alex Bright.
As the laps would quickly wind down, Bright caught up to the rear of Kunsman on lap twenty-one and began to pressure Kunsman for the race lead. Kunsman initially held off the charges of Bright on the bottom side of the speedway, before ultimately relinquishing the race lead to Bright at the completion of lap twenty-three. Bright drove away from Kunsman in the closing two laps and found himself in victory lane for the fourth time during the 2021 season. Kunsman would score a career best second place effort, with Chris Allen, Colin White, and Nash Ely rounding out the top five.
With his fourth victory of the 2021 season and the misfortune on Friday night for Briggs Danner, Bright extended his points lead for the series by 31 markers and gained a slight bit of breathing room over his toughest competitor on tour. Bright pulled back even in the win column with Danner on Friday night as the two remain neck and neck, going shot for shot, as the series season is unfolding. No doubt the duo will both be the drivers to beat as the series moves to Action Track USA on Wednesday July 7th for the first ever event to be contested at the speedway. A track where Danner and Bright have been competitors over the last number of seasons in Micro Sprint and USAC SpeedSTR competition.
Tommy Kunsman of Bethlehem, PA, finished a career best second place on Friday night in his rookie campaign. The former midget driver has been more than impressive thus far on the 2021 series tour, tackling tracks that he has not seen before with a sprint car, and making his first starts ever with a sprint car. Kunsman has finished outside of the top ten only one time in the nine events that have been completed so far. Kunsman's consistency and determination for a series victory has also kept them within reasonable distance of the season long points chase moving into third should some issues arise for the top two. Only time will tell when Kunsman will add his name to the list of feature winners in USAC East Coast competition.
Chris Allen Jr. made his return to the series after missing our last event at the Selinsgrove Speedway. The two time top three finisher in series points has struggled so far this season, but a solid run at the Lincoln Speedway before an unfortunate spin, and a completed podium effort at the Big Diamond Speedway have been more of what the CA Motorsports team is more accustomed too. Unfortunately for Allen, the teams home race at the New Egypt Speedway has been lost due to weather, and a rescheduling date is currently being discussed.
Fourth place belonged to rookie runner Colin White who recorded his best finish of the season though only running three events. White was well on his way to a potential top five finish in April at the Port Royal Speedway before a flip ended his night and resulted in a DNF. The defending Action Track USA 600cc micro sprint champion has been fast each and every time the Hamilton Motorsports entry has taken to the surface so far in 2021. Look for White to continue his improvements in the remaining starts scheduled for the team.
Rounding out the top five was Sinking Spring, PA driver Nash Ely. Ely has been consistent all season long running just inside and just outside the top five in multiple events this season. Ely was one of many drivers who competed in both the Keystone Invasion, and the Eastern Storm swings that the USAC National Sprint Car Series completed on the East Coast with Ely consistently making shows and holding his own. Ely finds himself inside the top five in points as the smooth runs for the eighteen year old continue to pile up.
Finishing just outside of the top five in the sixth place position was Bruce Buckwalter Jr. Bruce missed our last two events at the Lincoln and Selinsgrove Speedways following engine trouble at the Williams Grove Speedway. Engine repairs have been made, and the Buckwalter team showed plenty of speed Friday night at the Big Diamond Speedway.
Up next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series presented by Capitol Renegade, is the first ever visit by the series to Action Track USA in Kutztown, PA for the "Iron Cowboy Classic" 30 lap feature event, which will pay $2,000 to the feature winner thanks to sponsor E. Schneider & Sons.
Keep up to date with all of the latest results, news, photos, and updates by following along on our socials! On Facebook at: USAC East Coast Sprint Cars, and on Twitter at: @USACecsc.
USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE RACE RESULTS: July 2, 2021 – Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, Pennsylvania
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 17J-Jonathan Swanson [1], 2. 5G-Briggs Danner [6], 3. 83s-Billy Ney [2], 4. 71-Chris Allen Jr. [7], 5. 10-Joe Kata [4], 6. 64-Richy Carnathan [3].
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 20-Alex Bright [1], 2. 19-Steven Drevicki [5], 3. 32-Colin White [4], 4. 11-Mike Thompson [2], 5. 67-Jason Cherry [6], 6. 57-Damon Paul [7], 7. 88J-Joey Amantea [3].
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 21K-Tommy Kunsman [2], 2. 3BC-Nash Ely [3], 3. 83-Bruce Buckwalter Jr. [4], 4. 17-Christian Bruno [7], 5. 117-David Swanson [6], 6. 5z-Zack Burd [1], 7. 23m-Kenny Miller III [5].
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. Alex Bright [2], 2. Tommy Kunsman [1], 3. Chris Allen Jr. [10], 4. Colin White [4], 5. Nash Ely [9], 6. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. [6], 7. Kenny Miller III [20], 8. Jonathan Swanson [5], 9. Mike Thompson [11], 10. Briggs Danner [8], 11. Christian Bruno [12], 12. Billy Ney [3], 13. Joe Kata [13], 14. David Swanson [15], 15. Rich Carnathan [16], 16. Jason Cherry [14], 17. Steven Drevicki [7], 18. Zack Burd [18].
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Tommy Kusman, Laps 10-19 Briggs Danner, Laps 20-23 Tommy Kunsman, Laps 24-25 Alex Bright.
USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR PRESENTED BY CAPITOL RENEGADE POINTS: 1-Alex Bright-673, 2-Briggs Danner-642, 3-Tommy Kunsman-529, 4-Steven Drevicki-523, 5-Nash Ely-477, 6-Kenny Miller III-422, 7-Damon Paul-406, 8-Joey Amantea-400, 9-Jonathan Swanson-361, 10-Chris Allen Jr.-353.
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Penske Shocks 1st Place: Alex Bright $100
Penske Shocks 2nd Place: Tommy Kunsman Jr $75
Penske Shocks 3rd Place: Chris Allen $50
Ultra Shield 4th Place: Colin White
Ultra Shield 8th Place: Jonathan Swanson
Vahlco Wheels Hard Charger: Kenny Miller lll (20th to 7th) Winner Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) (David Nearpass Photo) COTTLE WIRES ALL 20 FOR LINCOLN PARK USAC REGIONAL MIDGET WIN By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (July 3, 2021)………Shane Cottle has been a winner and a frequent frontrunner in the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car portion of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular over the years.
On Saturday night at Putnamville, Indiana's Lincoln Park Speedway, the Kansas, Ill. driver added a USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature victory to his Sprintacular resume, leading all 20 laps from his pole starting position aboard the Danny Stamper/Guyer Farms – A.J. Adams & Sons – Nutrien Ag Solutions/Spike/Esslinger.
For Cottle, it was his second USAC Regional Midget win of the year at Lincoln Park after capturing the series' most recent visit to the 5/16-mile dirt oval in April. "The car was good all night," Cottle stated. "We just had to stick it on the bottom and hope that nobody went around me on the outside."
After winning his heat race, Cottle claimed the number one position in the starting field, and on the start, shot his way underneath outside front row starter, heat race winner and fast qualifier Hayden Reinbold.
Cottle had to contend with traffic throughout much of the caution-free event as he occupied the low line, putting all but the first six finishers in the 15-car field a lap down.
Reinbold pursued Cottle for the majority of the race and got right to the back bumper of Cottle entering turn three on the 11th lap, but overcooked it just a tad, causing him to lose ground as he checked up and regathered the car up and carried onward.
Cottle never wavered from rolling the bottom in turns three and four and through the middle in turns one and two. Reinbold mounted a late charge and closed to within a single car length of Cottle exiting turn two on the final lap.
However, Cottle throttled away from the challenge, pulling a nice wheelstand as he crossed the finish line to put an exclamation point on the evening, winning by four car lengths at the checkered flag over Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) with Bryan Stanfill (Bakersfield, Calif.), Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) and Tyler Nelson (Olathe, Kan.) rounding out the top-five while defending series champion and current point leader Chett Gehrke (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finished 7th.
USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – Bill Gardner Sprintacular
QUALIFYING: 1. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.724; 2. Tyler Nelson, 88, Nelson-13.857; 3. Shane Cottle, 86, Stamper-13.906; 4. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-14.225; 5. Bryan Stanfill, 75AU, Griffiths-14.343; 6. Jeff Beasley, 83B, Beasley-14.368; 7. Jonathan Miller, 67, Miller-14.544; 8. Chett Gehrke, 10, Moore-14.722; 9. Billy Lawless, 17L, Lawless-14.739; 10. Justin Dickerson, 21D, Dickerson-14.765; 11. Jeff Schindler, 11, Martin-14.766; 12. Glenn Waterland, 11c, Waterland-14.898; 13. Kayla Roell, 4K, Martin-14.913; 14. Mark Nieft Jr., 20N, Nieft-15.892; 15. Don Epley, 12x, Rocket-17.169; 16. Ryan Thomas, 1FR, Wingo-NT.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Bryan Stanfill, 3. Billy Lawless, 4. Chett Gehrke, 5. Jeff Schindler, 6. Jonathan Miller, 7. Justin Dickerson, 8. Glenn Waterland. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Hayden Reinbold, 2. Chance Crum, 3. Tyler Nelson, 4. Kayla Roell, 5. Mark Nieft Jr., 6. Jeff Beasley, 7. Don Epley. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Bryan Stanfill, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Tyler Nelson, 6. Billy Lawless, 7. Chett Gehrke, 8. Kayla Roell, 9. Glenn Waterland, 10. Justin Dickerson, 11. Jeff Schindler, 12. Mark Nieft Jr., 13. Don Epley, 14. Jonathan Miller, 15. Jeff Beasley. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Shane Cottle.
USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET POINTS: 1-Chett Gehrke-256, 2-Tyler Nelson-252, 3-Bryan Stanfill-247, 4-Shane Cottle-228, 5-Jeff Beasley-190, 6-Chance Crum-175, 7-Kayla Roell-161, 8-Jeff Schindler-109, 9-Abby Hohlbein-99, 10-Emerson Axsom-75.
NEXT USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET RACE: July 9, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana Winner Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) and his victory lane guest, Charlie Leffler. KODY SWANSON STRIKES AGAIN AT RACEWAY PARK MIDGET SHOW By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (July 3, 2021)………Kody Swanson admitted he needed to take a bit of a different approach than the one he took in his most recent midget outing after finishing second at Brownsburg, Indiana's Lucas Oil Raceway in June.
On Saturday night, he figured he needed to hit the "go" button just a little quicker.
The Kingsburg, Calif. native did just that in the Independence Showdown at the .686-mile paved oval en route to victory in the Brown's Oil Champion / USAC Midget non-points special event, revisiting LOR victory lane for already the third time this season, and the second time in midget competition.
"I owed (car owner Jerome (Rodela) one," Swanson said. "Last time, I brought a Silver Crown driver. He needed a midget driver to get it done early and I was too patient and too kind. Today, I knew I needed to be aggressive. I've been watching old videos to try and figure out how to race midgets again. I'm pretty pumped about this one. That was pretty cool working through the traffic."
After setting quick time in qualifying, the eight-car inversion put Swanson on the outside of row four. By the end of lap one, Swanson had charged to third while third-starting Josh Wise had raced to second past pole sitter Jake Trainor in turn one, then dove under outside front row starter Cole Carter in turn three for the early lead.
Swanson worked his way by Carter on the inside of turn two on lap two, then spent the following 18 laps stalking his prey while Wise led the opening laps at LOR for the second-straight race after leading the first two circuits in June.
"The first 10 (laps) make all the difference," Swanson stated. "By me being too slow early (in June's race), I didn't even give myself a chance. Tonight, I didn't want to make that mistake again. I knew it was time to be up on it from the very first corner and to put this car in places it could go and try to make my way through there and put on a show."
Applying constant pressure to Wise, Swanson made his bid for the lead on the 19th lap by swinging to the bottom of turn one and drifting up in front of the 2005 USAC National Midget champion at the entry to turn two. Wise ducked under Swanson and the pair raced side-by-side the entire length of the back straightaway before Swanson emerged with the advantage in turn three.
Swanson was able to pull away thereafter to earn his 11th career win at LOR (3 Midget, 2 Sprint, 6 Silver Crown), winning by a relatively comfortable 2.096 second margin over Wise, Nick Hamilton, Bobby Santos and Tanner Swanson.
After leading all 30 laps during his May midget triumph at LOR, it took Swanson two-thirds of the race to get to the head of the pack. Swanson acknowledged it wasn't merely about being patient in his pursuit of Wise, he simply wasn't "there" just quite yet.
"I wasn't good enough in the middle of the race," Swanson recalled. "I got distracted and was watching Josh instead of where I needed to be. Jerome's car deserves to go faster than what I was giving it and I was glad to figure it out and finish it for him."
USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Track – Independence Showdown
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 25, Rodela-20.966; 2. Nick Hamilton, 7KR, Irwin/Petry-21.138; 3. Tanner Swanson, 7K, Irwin/Petry-21.170; 4. Dalton Armstrong, 7A, C & A-21.269; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-21.278; 6. Cole Carter, 7, Bertrand-21.297; 7. Josh Wise, 55, Bowman-21.313; 8. Jake Trainor, 8, Trainor-21.403; 9. Tyler Roahrig, 4, Klatt-21.405; 10. Bobby Santos, 29, Seymour/West-21.420; 11. Taylor Ferns, 55F, Ferns-21.621; 12. Johnny Zych, 9, Zych-21.689; 13. Jason McDougal, 80, Breidinger-21.766; 14. Cody Gerhardt, 60, Western Speed-21.782; 15. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-22.172; 16. John Sluss, 14AJ, RayPro-22.403; 17. Kyle O'Gara, 1BR, SFHR-NT; 18. Nathan Byrd, 33, RayPro-NT. FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Josh Wise, 3. Nick Hamilton, 4. Bobby Santos, 5. Tanner Swanson, 6. Cole Carter, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Dalton Armstrong, 9. Jake Trainor, 10. Cody Gerhardt, 11. Tyler Roahrig, 12. Taylor Ferns, 13. Blake Brannon, 14. Nathan Byrd, 15. Johnny Zych, 16. John Sluss, 17. Jason McDougal, 18. Kyle O'Gara. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Josh Wise, Laps 19-30 Kody Swanson.
NEXT USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT: August 14, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Track – Hoosier Classic Winner Damion Gardner (Concord, Calif.) (Lance Jennings Photo) GARDNER ADDS SANTA MARIA'S USAC CRA DOUG FORT MEMORIAL TO RESUME By: Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – JULY 3, 2021… Continuing his assault on the record books, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) raced to his third AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory of the campaign.
Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner powered by Verne Sweeney on the fourteenth lap, withstood multiple caution flags, and shook free from all challengers to win the $3,000 "12th Annual Doug Fort Memorial" at Santa Maria Raceway.
Fast qualifier "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa, "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr., "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams, and Sweeney rounded out the top-five drivers.
Before winning the 86th USAC/CRA main event of his career, "The Demon" was second quick in time trials, placed fourth in his heat race, and now heads to Perris Auto Speedway on July 17th with a 62-point advantage.
Rookie driver, Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI) scored the night's In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a twelfth place run from eighteenth. Racing his #11O Marshall's Automotive DRC, O'Brien qualified eighteenth overall, ran third in his heat race, earned the BillsJerky.com Long Tow Award, and now ranks twenty-third in the standings.
Starting on the pole position, Verne Sweeney (Lomita, CA) was looking for the first USAC/CRA triumph of his career. After getting a great start, the veteran driver had held off challenges for the first thirteenth circuits. Up from fifth, Gardner navigated the technical track and found an outside line to his liking. After taking command from Sweeney, Gardner faced constant pressure from Faria throughout the main event and a late surge from Roa.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) earned the seventh Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award of his career at Santa Maria. The pilot of the BR Performance owned #91R HD Industries Eagle had recorded a time of 14.003 over the 22-car roster, won the Flowdynamics First Heat Race, ran second to Gardner in the feature after charging from the back twice. At press time, the former USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Champion is second in the point chase.
A.J. Bender (San Diego, CA) took the checkered flag in the 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. Racing the family owned #21 K&R Motorsports DRC, Bender qualified fourteenth overall, finished twentieth in the feature after an early exit, and sits ninth in the point standings.
Rookie contender, Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) took his #74 Sexton / Gatlin Racing owned Triple X backed by Piston Pete's Brewery to his first career USAC/CRA heat race victory. Before topping the 10-lap All Coast Construction Third Heat Race, Sexton was fifteenth fast in qualifications, finished eleventh at Santa Maria, and sits forty-first in points.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Jeff Dyer (Yucca Valley, CA) claimed the night's Wilwood Disc Brakes' Lucky 13 Award. One of the few drivers to also race with the companion California Lightning Sprints, the driver of the Cal-Sun Racing #39 Justice Brothers Stinger qualified sixteenth, ran second to Roa in his heat race, and now ranks twenty-eighth in points while running a limited schedule.
The traditional USAC/CRA Sprint Cars are back in action on Saturday, July 16th at Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA).
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, California – "12th Annual Doug Fort Memorial"
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-14.003; 2. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-14.536; 3. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.541; 4. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-14.641; 5. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-14.645; 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.739; 7. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-14.789; 8. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.795; 9. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-14.799; 10. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-14.801; 11. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.846; 12. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-14.864; 13. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-15.019; 14. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.088; 15. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-15.326; 16. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-15.394; 17. James Herrera, 5J, Herrera-15.448; 18. Ikaika O'Brien, 11O, O'Brien-15.608; 19. Christopher Muraokoa, 25, Murakoa-15.690; 20. Travis Buckley, 21K, Kruseman-15.772; 21. Frank Herman, 2K, Kruseman-16.812; 22. Danny Sheridan, 73, Ford-NT.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Roa, 2. Dyer, 3. Gansen, 4. Sweeney, 5. Muraokoa, 6. Timmons, 7. Faria, 8. Sheridan. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Bender, 2. L.Williams, 3. Malcolm, 4. Gardner, 5. Buckley, 6. A.Williams, 7. Herrera. NT.
ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sexton, 2. C.Williams, 3. O'Brien, 4. McCarthy, 5. Owens, 6. Tafoya, 7. Herman. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Damion Gardner (5), 2. Brody Roa (6), 3. Danny Faria Jr. (7), 4. Austin Williams (8), 5. Verne Sweeney (1), 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (9), 7. Chris Gansen (3), 8. Logan Williams (11), 9. Matt McCarthy (12), 10. Tommy Malcolm (2), 11. Shane Sexton (15), 12. Ikaika O'Brien (18), 13. Jeff Dyer (16), 14. Travis Buckley (20), 15. Frank Herman (21), 16. James Herrera (17), 17. Brent Owens (10), 18. Christopher Muraokoa (19), 19. Danny Sheridan (22), 20. A.J. Bender (14), 21. Cody Williams (4), 22. Ryan Timmons (13). NT.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Sweeney, Laps 14-30 Gardner.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Ikaika O'Brien (18th to 12th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Jeff Dyer
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-588, 2-Brody Roa-526, 3-Austin Williams-496, 4-Chris Gansen-468, 5-Tommy Malcolm-403, 6-Cody Williams-368, 7-Matt Mitchell-328. 8-Danny Faria Jr.-319, 9-A.J. Bender-318, 10-Verne Sweeney-317.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: July 17 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California Winner Ian Creager (Covington, Ohio) DOOR OPENS FOR CREAGER TO WIN USAC MW THUNDER AT WAYNESFIELD By: Brian Liskai
Waynesfield, Ohio (July 3, 2021)………Ian Creager survived a caution with just two laps to go and drove to the win in Saturday night's USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget non-points special event at Ohio's Waynesfield Raceway Park.
"On that restart, I was mad at myself when two guys got by me but then the red came out and they told me the one was penalized for being beside me before the cone. I just had to concentrate on hitting my marks," said Creager beside his Donners Bay Resort, Concept Machine/KSD Insurance/Site X Inc. backed #36.
Gunnar Lucius grabbed the early lead of the 20-lap A-main with Creager holding onto second. Lucius built a sizeable lead until a lapped car spun in front of him, collecting him on lap 13.
Creager inherited the lead and held off Bryce Massingill and Creager until a caution flew with just two laps to go.
On the lap 19 restart, officials determined Jacob Denney had jumped the restart, which was followed by a red flag. Denney was moved back two spots, giving the lead back to Creager who drove to the win.
USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Waynesfield Raceway Park – Waynesfield, Ohio
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting position in brackets) 1. Gunnar Lucius (#22 Lucius) [2], 2. Jacob Denney (#11T Taylor) [5], 3. Zack Gingerich (#8z Gingerich) [3], 4. Ryan Moran (#01 Moran) [9], 5. Cory Guingrich (#42 Guingrich) [4], 6. Taylor Nibert (#11L Taylor) [7], 7. Seth Stiefel (#2s Stiefel) [6], 8. Jody Paul (#5 Paul) [8]. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting position in brackets) 1. Ian Creager (#36 Creager) [7], 2. Kyle Dager (#2 Dager) [5], 3. Abby Hohlbein (#11H Hohlbein) [1] , 4. Zane Briggs (#10 Briggs) [6], 5. Cody Dye (#4T Dye) [8], 6. Jon Watson (#20s Watson) [2], 7. Kyle Kriegbaum (#12 Kriegbaum) [3], 8. Steven Gresham (#27G Gresham) [4]. NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting position in brackets) 1. Bryce Massingill (#12m Massingill) [2], 2. Stratton Briggs (#71 Briggs) [5], 3. Tom Hessel (#7T Hessel) [1], 4. Bryce Dues (#23D Dues) [4], 5. Adam Schmenk (#6s Schmenk) [8], 6. Alex Watson (#3 Watson) [6], 7. Mike Nash (#17 Nash) [3], 8. Carl Peterson (#49p Peterson) [7]. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps, starting position in brackets) 1. Ian Creager [1], 2. Bryce Massingill [6], 3. Stratton Briggs [3], 4. Jacob Denney [5], 5. Kyle Dager [4], 6. Abby Hohlbein [8], 7. Alex Watson [18], 8. Bryce Dues [12], 9. Zack Gingerich [7], 10. Cory Guingrich [13], 11. Adam Schmenk [15], 12. Carl Peterson [24], 13. Jon Watson [17], 14. Mike Nash [21], 15. Zane Briggs [11], 16. Steven Gresham [23], 17. Seth Stiefel [19], 18. Kyle Kriegbaum [20], 19. Jody Paul [22], 20. Ryan Moran [10], 21. Cody Dye [14], 22. Tom Hessel [9], 23. Gunnar Lucius [2], 24. Taylor Nibert [16]. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Gunnar Lucius, Laps 13-20 Ian Creager.
NEXT USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: July 9, 2021 – Jackson County Speedway – Jackson, Ohio Winner Mark McMahill (Peoria, Ill.) McMAHILL REPEATS WITH IMRA AT SPOON RIVER By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Canton, Illinois (July 3, 2021)………Mark McMahill led all 20 laps, but it didn't come without a challenge levied down the stretch as the Peoria, Ill. native raced to his second consecutive USAC Engler IMRA SpeeD2 Midget feature victory Saturday night at Spoon River Speedway in Canton, Ill.
In the process, McMahill's third IMRA win of the year extended his point advantage in the standings to 39 as he chases a first career series championship.
McMahill started from the outside of the front row and quickly passed Jake Sollenberger at the green flag and led from there forward.
Will Armitage began his race from the eighth position and was charging at the finish, placing second behind McMahill at the line. McMahill led all 20 laps with Armitage as the runner-up while Brent Burrows, Doug Canham and Sollenberger rounded out the top-five.
USAC ENGLER IMRA SPEED2 MIDGET RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Spoon River Speedway – Canton, Illinois
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. 57-Mark McMahill, 2. 18-Tyler Roth, 3. 7x-Doug Canham, 4. 51-Brent Burrows, 5. 7B-Dave Baugh, 6. 11-Cody Meyer. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. 5-Jake Sollenberger, 2. 15m-Shane Morgan, 3. 24-Bart Andrews, 4. 51R-Will Armitage, 5. 0-Russell Johnston. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Mark McMahill, 2. Will Armitage, 3. Brent Burrows, 4. Doug Canham, 5. Jake Sollenberger, 6. Tyler Roth, 7. Cody Meyer, 8. Bart Andrews, 9. Shane Morgan, 10. Russell Johnston, 11. Dave Baugh. NT
USAC ENGLER IMRA SPEED2 MIDGET POINTS: 1-Mark McMahill-555, 2-Brent Burrows-516, 3-Will Armitage-448, 4-Jake Sollenberger-425, 5-Tyler Roth-411, 6-Kevin Battefeld-386, 7-Charles Kunz-320, 8-Bart Andrews-234, 9-Cody Gerdes-199, 10-Abby Hohlbein-184.
NEXT USAC ENGLER IMRA SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: July 10, 2021 – Spoon River Speedway Rained Out Events:
June 30 USAC Midwest Regional Midgets Circle City Raceway Indianapolis, Indiana
July 1 USAC Midwest Regional Midgets Paragon Speedway Paragon, Indiana
July 1 USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars Orange County Fair Speedway Middletown, New York
July 3 USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars New Egypt Speedway New Egypt, New Jersey
July 3 USAC DMA Midgets Bear Ridge Speedway Bradford, Vermont
DAMION GARDNER ADDS SANTA MARIA'S "DOUG FORT MEMORIAL" TO RESUME
SANTA MARIA, CA – JULY 3, 2021… Continuing his assault on the record books, "The Demon" Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) raced to his third AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory of the campaign. Driving Mark Alexander's #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner powered by Verne Sweeney on the fourteenth lap, withstood multiple caution flags, and shook free from all challengers to win the $3,000 "12th Annual Doug Fort Memorial" at Santa Maria Raceway. Fast qualifier "The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa, "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr., "The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams, and Sweeney rounded out the top-five drivers.
Before winning the 86th USAC/CRA main event of his career, "The Demon" was second quick in time trials, placed fourth in his heat race, and now heads to Perris Auto Speedway on July 17th with a 62-point advantage.
Rookie driver, Ikaika O'Brien (Oahu, HI) scored the night's In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a twelfth place run from eighteenth. Racing his #11O Marshall's Automotive DRC, O'Brien qualified eighteenth overall, ran third in his heat race, earned the BillsJerky.com Long Tow Award, and now ranks twenty-third in the standings.
Starting on the pole position, Verne Sweeney (Lomita, CA) was looking for the first USAC/CRA triumph of his career. After getting a great start, the veteran driver had held off challenges for the first thirteenth circuits. Up from fifth, Gardner navigated the technical track and found an outside line to his liking. After taking command from Sweeney, Gardner faced constant pressure from Faria throughout the main event and a late surge from Roa.
"The Pride of Garden Grove" Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) earned the seventh Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award of his career at Santa Maria. The pilot of the BR Performance owned #91R HD Industries Eagle had recorded a time of 14.003 over the 22-car roster, won the Flowdynamics First Heat Race, ran second to Gardner in the feature after charging from the back twice. At press time, the former USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Champion is second in the point chase.
A.J. Bender (San Diego, CA) took the checkered flag in the 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. Racing the family owned #21 K&R Motorsports DRC, Bender qualified fourteenth overall, finished twentieth in the feature after an early exit, and sits ninth in the point standings.
Rookie contender, Shane Sexton (Warner Springs, CA) took his #74 Sexton / Gatlin Racing owned Triple X backed by Piston Pete's Brewery to his first career USAC/CRA heat race victory. Before topping the 10-lap All Coast Construction Third Heat Race, Sexton was fifteenth fast in qualifications, finished eleventh at Santa Maria, and sits forty-first in points.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Jeff Dyer (Yucca Valley, CA) claimed the night's Wilwood Disc Brakes' Lucky 13 Award. One of the few drivers to also race with the companion California Lightning Sprints, the driver of the Cal-Sun Racing #39 Justice Brothers Stinger qualified sixteenth, ran second to Roa in his heat race, and now ranks twenty-eighth in points while running a limited schedule.
The traditional USAC/CRA Sprint Cars are back in action on Saturday, July 16th at Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA).
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, California – "12th Annual Doug Fort Memorial"
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-14.003; 2. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-14.536; 3. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.541; 4. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-14.641; 5. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-14.645; 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.739; 7. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-14.789; 8. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.795; 9. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-14.799; 10. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-14.801; 11. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.846; 12. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-14.864; 13. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-15.019; 14. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.088; 15. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-15.326; 16. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-15.394; 17. James Herrera, 5J, Herrera-15.448; 18. Ikaika O'Brien, 11O, O'Brien-15.608; 19. Christopher Muraokoa, 25, Murakoa-15.690; 20. Travis Buckley, 21K, Kruseman-15.772; 21. Frank Herman, 2K, Kruseman-16.812; 22. Danny Sheridan, 73, Ford-NT.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Roa, 2. Dyer, 3. Gansen, 4. Sweeney, 5. Muraokoa, 6. Timmons, 7. Faria, 8. Sheridan. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Bender, 2. L.Williams, 3. Malcolm, 4. Gardner, 5. Buckley, 6. A.Williams, 7. Herrera. NT.
ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sexton, 2. C.Williams, 3. O'Brien, 4. McCarthy, 5. Owens, 6. Tafoya, 7. Herman. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Damion Gardner (5), 2. Brody Roa (6), 3. Danny Faria Jr. (7), 4. Austin Williams (8), 5. Verne Sweeney (1), 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (9), 7. Chris Gansen (3), 8. Logan Williams (11), 9. Matt McCarthy (12), 10. Tommy Malcolm (2), 11. Shane Sexton (15), 12. Ikaika O'Brien (18), 13. Jeff Dyer (16), 14. Travis Buckley (20), 15. Frank Herman (21), 16. James Herrera (17), 17. Brent Owens (10), 18. Christopher Muraokoa (19), 19. Danny Sheridan (22), 20. A.J. Bender (14), 21. Cody Williams (4), 22. Ryan Timmons (13). NT.
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Sweeney, Laps 14-30 Gardner.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Ikaika O'Brien (18th to 12th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Jeff Dyer
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-588, 2-Brody Roa-526, 3-Austin Williams-496, 4-Chris Gansen-468, 5-Tommy Malcolm-403, 6-Cody Williams-368, 7-Matt Mitchell-328. 8-Danny Faria Jr.-319, 9-A.J. Bender-318, 10-Verne Sweeney-317.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: July 17 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California
THOMAS' SPECTACULAR CHARGE FROM 14TH TO 1ST NETS USAC SPRINTACULAR
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (July 3, 2021)………On the two prior occasions this season in which Kevin Thomas Jr. began his feature race from the back half of the field, the final result was about as satisfying as a room temperature soda on a hot summer day.
However, after starting 14th in Saturday night's 22-car feature lineup, the Cullman, Ala. native rapidly ascended through the field, securing the lead just six laps from the finish of the 40-lap event to quench his thirst with a Bill Gardner Sprintacular victory worth $7,000 in his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper – McDonald's – KT Construction Services/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
Thomas' newly-minted fourth USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory of the season now leads all drivers in that particular category and was also the 31st of his career, elevating him past Tyler Courtney and into a tie with Robert Ballou for 14th on the all-time list.
But the charge from outside row seven to 1st is one which will be bandied about for some time and marked the single biggest advancement for a feature winner since Shane Cottle won from the 18th position at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway in 2019.
Saturday night's 13 spot advancement to the top of the leaderboard is one which Thomas estimates as a personal-best in his storied career with many chapters still yet to be written.
"I've never won from that far back, I don't think," Thomas pondered. "That was a lot of fun there, just battling through the field and doing whatever we had to do to win."
During the previous two nights, Thomas recorded consecutive Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifying times, which resulted in smaller, yet successful surges, from 6th to 3rd at Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway on Thursday and 8th to 4th at Lincoln Park on Friday.
Funny enough, as it turned out, Thomas' winning night was initiated by a poor qualifying, run by his standards. Much to his chagrin, a runner-up finish behind Jake Swanson in heat race one prevented him from a surefire top-ten starting spot if he had won said heat.
"We ran fourth last night and we weren't real pleased with it," Thomas remembered. "Then, I did an awful job of qualifying. The crew worked on it and worked on it after not winning the heat race set us back a little bit, but they got the tune on it tonight. I'm just real fortunate to drive this racecar with these guys working on it and the people we have behind us."
While Thomas's journey from the center of the starting lineup commenced, the early occupant of the race lead early on was outside front row starter Justin Grant, who had reached a milestone 300th career series start just 24 hours earlier at the 5/16-mile dirt oval. Grant split between pole sitter Riley Kreisel and third-starting Brady Bacon on the path to the lead at the exit of turn two.
Bacon surpassed the feature winner on each of the previous two nights with the series, C.J. Leary, for 3rd on the fifth lap, and then raced by Kreisel for second on lap six. Bacon quickly cut to the quick and tracked down Bacon by the 15th lap, sliding past Grant in turn three to take his turn up front and in the lead.
Grant remained in stride with Bacon despite losing his stranglehold on the first position, and as the two raced off turn four, the pair touched wheels – Bacon's left rear and Grant's right front met face-to-face, pitching Grant sideways before he recovered without an instance of hesitation before tracking down Bacon on lap 20 in turn three, slithering past to reassume his position at the head of the class.
However, a new contender had entered the fray on the bottom with Thomas breezing around the infield tires and into second by Bacon on the 22nd lap and coming within a single car length of Grant at the stripe. For the next several laps, Thomas hounded Grant like a bulldog pursues a porkchop.
With seven laps remaining and amid the negotiating of the tail end of the field, Thomas got the run he so desperately needed on the bottom of turns one and two, edging ahead by a half car length into turn three. As Grant put the nose straight into the cushion at the entry of turn three, Thomas was smooth as silk on the low line, beating Grant to the line by the same half car length margin.
Grant managed to get right back to Thomas' rear bumper coming to the white flag as he took a gander for himself at the bottom in turns three and four. Thomas ventured through the middle of one and two on the final lap as Grant repositioned himself at the top.
"It's easy to not screw up in the middle," Thomas explained. "You don't have to worry about anything except maybe a guy's right rear. One end (of the track) is way different than the other. We were really good down here through the middle and really, everywhere we went, I had the car to maneuver around, but down there, I'm a sissy when it comes to running the top like that. I just wasn't going to do it. I just stuck to the bottom."
Midway down the back straight on the 40th and final go-around, Grant trailed by five car lengths, but made up substantial ground in turns three and four. Thomas followed the final car on the lead lap, Robert Ballou, on the bottom, then drifted wide at the exit onto the front straightaway crossing the line just a car length ahead of Grant, with a full head of steam on the outside, with a difference of 0.080 sec. between the two, the closest finish of the 2021 season thus far through 19 events.
Following Thomas and Grant were series point leader Bacon, C.J. Leary and Shane Cottle, who won the accompanying USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature earlier in the evening.
Thomas' hard-earned victory came over Grant, with whom he now edges ahead of in terms of most USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature wins this season (4). Thomas was tenacious in his pursuit of Grant throughout the second half, and Thomas knew he had to pay his dues if order to not sing blues, and he know it wasn't going to come easy.
"We're good friends, but he's going to race the crap out of you as long as he can," Thomas said of Grant. "I had to stay patient and not give up on the bottom, and that's how I got there. It was getting a little bit clean, but people were running a little bit lower and throwing some dust up on it. I was a little worried about that but it's just the way it worked out. Sometimes you run from the back, sometimes you win, sometimes you start up front, and sometimes you just run right where you started. It's just the ups and downs and, sometimes, it's all in one night."
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) led early and often, more so than any other driver in the field, on his way a runner-up finish aboard his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
"I would've liked to have come out on top of that one; we were close but not quite," Grant lamented. "My guys gave me a great racecar. This car is fast what seems like night-in and night-out. We're up here (on the podium) a lot, but you hate to let ones get away. I was pretty committed to the top there, and I was going to just keep beating it to death and see if we could make it work. I'm not very good at running the bottom, so I just try to pound the curb until it doesn't work. KT and I were both racing hard and wanted to win. It's what puts on good races and that's why we like doing this; it's a lot of fun."
Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was the lone driver to lead laps during the feature on both nights of the seventh running of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular, possessing the lead for 20 laps on Friday and five more just prior to midway on Saturday before ultimately finishing 3rd in his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts – TelStar/Triple X/Rider Chevy.
"We've had cars good enough to compete for wins," Bacon said. "We just kind of have to wait for the circumstances to come our way. We had a shot, but KT was just better than us tonight. We'll just try to get a little bit better. We're not really good when the cushion gets that big. That kind of challenged us a little bit, but actually, KT was better than us down where our bread and butter is on the bottom. So, I was kind of searching around and I was actually a little better on the top in three and four. I'm just not quite as good at doing that than some people. I think we were kind of equal at the end, but KT just got himself into position to win."
Earlier in the night, Shane Cottle recorded his first Fatheadz Fast Qualifying time with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars since Pennsylvania's Port Royal Speedway six years earlier in 2015. It was the seventh total of his career with the series.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – Bill Gardner Sprintacular – Co-Sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT ONE: 1. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-12.721; 2. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-12.889; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.970; 4. Riley Kreisel, 91, DKR-13.005; 5. Carson Garrett, 15KO, KO-13.093; 6. Cannon McIntosh, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-13.111; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-13.186; 8. Ryan Thomas, 77FR, Wingo-13.301; 9. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.654; 10. Harley Burns, 16, Burns-13.885; 11. Alec Sipes, 99, Sipes-13.889; 12. Nate McMillin, 57R, Robinson-13.968; 13. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-13.980; 14. Stephen Schnapf, 11, Martin-14.029; 15. Collin Ambrose, 36, Ambrose-14.034; 16. Dan Clodfelter, 19c, Clodfelter-14.037; 17. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, Gilbert-14.185; 18. Ryan Bond, 7R, Bond-14.382.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT TWO: 1. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.923; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.190; 3. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-13.219; 4. Mario Clouser, 6, EZR-13.255; 5. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-13.394; 6. Paul Nienhiser, 5N, KO-13.447; 7. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.486; 8. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.514; 9. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.549; 10. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.565; 11. Carson Short, 2E, Epperson-13.647; 12. Brady Short, 11p, Pottorff-13.724; 13. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.760; 14. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-13.936; 15. Tim Creech, 2c, Creech-14.002; 16. Jake Scott, 33, Miller-14.275; 17. Shey Owens, 17s, SNO-14.393; 18. Cindy Chambers, 18c, DC-14.558; 19. Brian Carber, 2, Yeley-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Justin Grant, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Alec Sipes, 7. Gabriel Gilbert, 8. Collin Ambrose. 2:17.13
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Riley Kreisel, 4. Harley Burns, 5. Ryan Thomas, 6. Nate McMillin, 7. Stephen Schnapf, 8. Ryan Bond, 9. Dan Clodfelter. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Carson Short, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Cole Bodine, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Brayden Fox, 8. Tim Creech, 9. Shey Owens. 2:17.58
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Mario Clouser, 4. Paul Nienhiser, 5. Brady Short, 6. Brandon Mattox, 7. Zach Daum, 8. Jake Scott, 9. Cindy Chambers. 2:15.57
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Cole Bodine, 2. Carson Garrett, 3. Brayden Fox, 4. Robert Ballou, 5. Stephen Schnapf, 6. Collin Ambrose, 7. Brady Short, 8. Nate McMillin, 9. Jake Scott, 10. Tim Creech, 11. Zach Daum, 12. Alec Sipes, 13. Ryan Thomas, 14. Shey Owens, 15. Gabriel Gilbert, 16. Cindy Chambers, 17. Ryan Bond, 18. Brandon Mattox. NT
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (14), 2. Justin Grant (2), 3. Brady Bacon (3), 4. C.J. Leary (4), 5. Shane Cottle (6), 6. Jake Swanson (7), 7. Tanner Thorson (5), 8. Kyle Cummins (18), 9. Riley Kreisel (1), 10. Cannon McIntosh (12), 11. Chase Stockon (16), 12. Cole Bodine (8), 13. Carson Short (19), 14. Carson Garrett (10), 15. Paul Nienhiser (13), 16. Brayden Fox (11), 17. Robert Ballou (20), 18. Chris Windom (15), 19. Mario Clouser (9), 20. Stephen Schnapf (21), 21. Collin Ambrose (22), 22. Harley Burns (17). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Justin Grant, Laps 15-19 Brady Bacon, Laps 20-34 Justin Grant, Laps 35-40 Kevin Thomas Jr.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1307, 2-Justin Grant-1253, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1234, 4-Robert Ballou-1128, 5-C.J. Leary-1118, 6-Tanner Thorson-1069, 7-Chris Windom-1060, 8-Jake Swanson-1034, 9-Chase Stockon-796, 10-Paul Nienhiser-755.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Robert Ballou-87, 2-Tanner Thorson-86, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-83, 4-Thomas Meseraull-81, 5-Brady Bacon-72, 6-Chris Windom-67, 7-C.J. Leary-51, 8-Justin Grant-50, 9-Logan Seavey-45, 10-Buddy Kofoid-41.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 10, 2021 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – Corn Belt Clash – Co-Sanctioned by the USAC Midwest Wingless Racing Association & Lucas Oil POWRi WAR Sprints
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Collin Ambrose
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Shane Cottle
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Jake Swanson
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: C.J. Leary
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Tanner Thorson
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Brady Bacon
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Cole Bodine
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 1st)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Carson Short
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Brady Short
KODY SWANSON STRIKES AGAIN
AT RACEWAY PARK USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (July 3, 2021)………Kody Swanson admitted he needed to take a bit of a different approach than the one he took in his most recent midget outing after finishing second at Brownsburg, Indiana's Lucas Oil Raceway in June.
On Saturday night, he figured he needed to hit the "go" button just a little quicker.
The Kingsburg, Calif. native did just that in the Independence Showdown at the .686-mile paved oval en route to victory in the Brown's Oil Champion / USAC Midget non-points special event, revisiting LOR victory lane for already the third time this season, and the second time in midget competition.
"I owed (car owner Jerome (Rodela) one," Swanson said. "Last time, I brought a Silver Crown driver. He needed a midget driver to get it done early and I was too patient and too kind. Today, I knew I needed to be aggressive. I've been watching old videos to try and figure out how to race midgets again. I'm pretty pumped about this one. That was pretty cool working through the traffic."
After setting quick time in qualifying, the eight-car inversion put Swanson on the outside of row four. By the end of lap one, Swanson had charged to third while third-starting Josh Wise had raced to second past pole sitter Jake Trainor in turn one, then dove under outside front row starter Cole Carter in turn three for the early lead.
Swanson worked his way by Carter on the inside of turn two on lap two, then spent the following 18 laps stalking his prey while Wise led the opening laps at LOR for the second-straight race after leading the first two circuits in June.
"The first 10 (laps) make all the difference," Swanson stated. "By me being too slow early (in June's race), I didn't even give myself a chance. Tonight, I didn't want to make that mistake again. I knew it was time to be up on it from the very first corner and to put this car in places it could go and try to make my way through there and put on a show."
Applying constant pressure to Wise, Swanson made his bid for the lead on the 19th lap by swinging to the bottom of turn one and drifting up in front of the 2005 USAC National Midget champion at the entry to turn two. Wise ducked under Swanson and the pair raced side-by-side the entire length of the back straightaway before Swanson emerged with the advantage in turn three.
Swanson was able to pull away thereafter to earn his 11th career win at LOR (3 Midget, 2 Sprint, 6 Silver Crown), winning by a relatively comfortable 2.096 second margin over Wise, Nick Hamilton, Bobby Santos and Tanner Swanson.
After leading all 30 laps during his May midget triumph at LOR, it took Swanson two-thirds of the race to get to the head of the pack. Swanson acknowledged it wasn't merely about being patient in his pursuit of Wise, he simply wasn't "there" just quite yet.
"I wasn't good enough in the middle of the race," Swanson recalled. "I got distracted and was watching Josh instead of where I needed to be. Jerome's car deserves to go faster than what I was giving it and I was glad to figure it out and finish it for him."
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USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Track – Independence Showdown
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 25, Rodela-20.966; 2. Nick Hamilton, 7KR, Irwin/Petry-21.138; 3. Tanner Swanson, 7K, Irwin/Petry-21.170; 4. Dalton Armstrong, 7A, C & A-21.269; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-21.278; 6. Cole Carter, 7, Bertrand-21.297; 7. Josh Wise, 55, Bowman-21.313; 8. Jake Trainor, 8, Trainor-21.403; 9. Tyler Roahrig, 4, Klatt-21.405; 10. Bobby Santos, 29, Seymour/West-21.420; 11. Taylor Ferns, 55F, Ferns-21.621; 12. Johnny Zych, 9, Zych-21.689; 13. Jason McDougal, 80, Breidinger-21.766; 14. Cody Gerhardt, 60, Western Speed-21.782; 15. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-22.172; 16. John Sluss, 14AJ, RayPro-22.403; 17. Kyle O'Gara, 1BR, SFHR-NT; 18. Nathan Byrd, 33, RayPro-NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Josh Wise, 3. Nick Hamilton, 4. Bobby Santos, 5. Tanner Swanson, 6. Cole Carter, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Dalton Armstrong, 9. Jake Trainor, 10. Cody Gerhardt, 11. Tyler Roahrig, 12. Taylor Ferns, 13. Blake Brannon, 14. Nathan Byrd, 15. Johnny Zych, 16. John Sluss, 17. Jason McDougal, 18. Kyle O'Gara. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Josh Wise, Laps 19-30 Kody Swanson.
NEXT USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT: August 14, 2021 – Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Indiana – .686-Mile Paved Track – Hoosier Classic
COTTLE WIRES ALL 20 FOR LINCOLN PARK USAC REGIONAL MIDGET WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (July 3, 2021)………Shane Cottle has been a winner and a frequent frontrunner in the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car portion of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular over the years.
On Saturday night at Putnamville, Indiana's Lincoln Park Speedway, the Kansas, Ill. driver added a USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature victory to his Sprintacular resume, leading all 20 laps from his pole starting position aboard the Danny Stamper/Guyer Farms – A.J. Adams & Sons – Nutrien Ag Solutions/Spike/Esslinger.
For Cottle, it was his second USAC Regional Midget win of the year at Lincoln Park after capturing the series' most recent visit to the 5/16-mile dirt oval in April.
"The car was good all night," Cottle stated. "We just had to stick it on the bottom and hope that nobody went around me on the outside."
After winning his heat race, Cottle claimed the number one position in the starting field, and on the start, shot his way underneath outside front row starter, heat race winner and fast qualifier Hayden Reinbold.
Cottle had to contend with traffic throughout much of the caution-free event as he occupied the low line, putting all but the first six finishers in the 15-car field a lap down.
Reinbold pursued Cottle for the majority of the race and got right to the back bumper of Cottle entering turn three on the 11th lap, but overcooked it just a tad, causing him to lose ground as he checked up and regathered the car up and carried onward.
Cottle never wavered from rolling the bottom in turns three and four and through the middle in turns one and two. Reinbold mounted a late charge and closed to within a single car length of Cottle exiting turn two on the final lap.
However, Cottle throttled away from the challenge, pulling a nice wheelstand as he crossed the finish line to put an exclamation point on the evening, winning by four car lengths at the checkered flag over Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) with Bryan Stanfill (Bakersfield, Calif.), Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) and Tyler Nelson (Olathe, Kan.) rounding out the top-five while defending series champion and current point leader Chett Gehrke (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finished 7th.
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USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET RESULTS: July 3, 2021 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – Bill Gardner Sprintacular
QUALIFYING: 1. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.724; 2. Tyler Nelson, 88, Nelson-13.857; 3. Shane Cottle, 86, Stamper-13.906; 4. Chance Crum, 26, Rudeen-14.225; 5. Bryan Stanfill, 75AU, Griffiths-14.343; 6. Jeff Beasley, 83B, Beasley-14.368; 7. Jonathan Miller, 67, Miller-14.544; 8. Chett Gehrke, 10, Moore-14.722; 9. Billy Lawless, 17L, Lawless-14.739; 10. Justin Dickerson, 21D, Dickerson-14.765; 11. Jeff Schindler, 11, Martin-14.766; 12. Glenn Waterland, 11c, Waterland-14.898; 13. Kayla Roell, 4K, Martin-14.913; 14. Mark Nieft Jr., 20N, Nieft-15.892; 15. Don Epley, 12x, Rocket-17.169; 16. Ryan Thomas, 1FR, Wingo-NT.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Bryan Stanfill, 3. Billy Lawless, 4. Chett Gehrke, 5. Jeff Schindler, 6. Jonathan Miller, 7. Justin Dickerson, 8. Glenn Waterland. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Hayden Reinbold, 2. Chance Crum, 3. Tyler Nelson, 4. Kayla Roell, 5. Mark Nieft Jr., 6. Jeff Beasley, 7. Don Epley. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Hayden Reinbold, 3. Bryan Stanfill, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Tyler Nelson, 6. Billy Lawless, 7. Chett Gehrke, 8. Kayla Roell, 9. Glenn Waterland, 10. Justin Dickerson, 11. Jeff Schindler, 12. Mark Nieft Jr., 13. Don Epley, 14. Jonathan Miller, 15. Jeff Beasley. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Shane Cottle.
USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET POINTS: 1-Chett Gehrke-256, 2-Tyler Nelson-252, 3-Bryan Stanfill-247, 4-Shane Cottle-228, 5-Jeff Beasley-190, 6-Chance Crum-175, 7-Kayla Roell-161, 8-Jeff Schindler-109, 9-Abby Hohlbein-99, 10-Emerson Axsom-75.
NEXT USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET RACE: July 9, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana
LEARY BACKS IT UP WITH THE BACK-UP
AT LINCOLN PARK
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (July 2, 2021)………"We can't win all three if we don't win tonight."
That was the mantra C.J. Leary relayed to crew member Maison Hadley prior to leaving the shop on Thursday morning as the team embarked on this weekend's three-race USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car slate in a three-night span.
The Greenfield, Ind. native knocked out the first phase Thursday night at Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway, then carried the winning formula into Friday night's Bill Gardner Sprintacular opener at Putnamville, Indiana's Lincoln Park Speedway where the 2019 series champion started 11th in the 23-car field, then tracked down Jake Swanson and slid by for the lead just three laps from the finish to earn his second win in as many nights.
Victories throughout Leary's career have seemingly arrived in bunches. In fact, eight of his now 14 career USAC National Sprint Car feature triumphs have come in consecutive races. The 14th score moved him past Steve Chassey and into a tie with Billy Cassella, Lee Kunzman, Chase Stockon and Bruce Walkup for 41st all-time.
Leary's weekend thus far has already doubled his win output from the first 16 races of the season. After a U-Joint malfunction at Bloomsburg (Pa.) Fair Raceway during qualifying on June 20, Leary was forced to pull down the untested "backup" Michael Motorsports/Kodiak Products – Gray Auto – Valvoline/DRC/Cressman Ford machine that the team had constructed this past Winter.
The new car went 21st to 7th at Bloomsburg in its first outing, won at Plymouth on Thursday in its second test, then aced the third exam on Friday. Leary feels they've finally found the comfort, the confidence and the stride they'd been longing after for the first several months of the season, yet it came after an inauspicious beginning to the evening at Lincoln Park.
"I think we've hit on something," Leary relayed. "This second car has been really good, but I don't know what happened in group qualifying tonight. We started our night off 34th quick. I don't think I've ever been that bad before. I said these races were hard to win if you aren't on the front row, and I kind of debunked that idea."
It was in Plymouth's victory lane the night before that Leary declared that particular sentiment after winning from the pole, but he'd have to dig in deep for 30 laps on the 5/16-mile dirt oval after having to begin his race from the inside of row six.
An adverse start to the feature saw contact between fifth-starting Kyle Cummins and the rear bumper of fellow third row inhabitant Shane Cottle on the bottom of turn one on the opening lap, which sent Cummins into a 180-degree loop and stopping at the edge of the infield and the racing surface.
Meanwhile, up at the top of turn one, as the trailing field scrambled to miss the melee, 16th starting Ryan Thomas climbed the wheel of another car and flipped wildly over the banking. The first-time USAC National Sprint Car feature starter was uninjured.
While Leary was picking his way through the pack, outside front row starter Brady Bacon had established his footprint as the driver to beat early on. Once Bacon surpassed pole sitter Zach Daum in turn on the initial lap, he quickly applied the hammer forcefully to nail down a half-straightaway lead within the first three laps while third-starting Jake Swanson slotted into the runner-up spot past Daum.
Methodically, Swanson edged his way closer and closer to Bacon, decreasing his deficit from 1.7 seconds to 1.2 between lap nine and lap 11, and dropping the interval another half-second to 0.7 on lap 13. By the 15th circuit, Swanson had arrived right at the rear bumper of Bacon entering the first turn.
A narrow escape of misfortune for both Bacon and Swanson came on the 15th lap when Bacon entered the high line of turn one, then rotated his car to dart straight down to the bottom of turn two. Not fully expecting that sequence to unfold was Swanson who narrowly avoided contact between his right front wheel and Bacon's left rear corner.
A similar occurrence came to a head on lap 17 for Swanson and Bacon between turns one and two. Swanson's heart skipped a beat for a second time, but after straightening his car out, Swanson didn't miss a beat in re-tracking down Bacon for the race lead, which he did amid traffic, making a beeline off the turn four cushion, then sliding up in front of Bacon in turn one just inches apart from each other without a single ounce of contact.
Three laps later, Leary tore around the outside of Bacon in turns one and two for the second spot, then rapidly encroached on Swanson's territory at the front.
Interestingly enough, Leary was unsure of where he stood in the running order at the moment despite being just one position out of the lead. However, it didn't take long after that for Leary to realize where he stood and the opportunity that lie ahead of him.
"I passed Brady there late in the race and I really didn't know what position I was in at that point," Leary explained. "I looked up and saw Jake and didn't really see anybody else. I was like, 'I don't think someone could be that far ahead.' I reeled him in, got a couple good sliders on him, and I thought I finally had him cleared there when the red came out"
Leary had slid past Swanson between turns three and four on both lap 26 and 27, but each time, Swanson cut back underneath to beat Leary to the line by a half-car length with four laps to go and by half a wheel with three laps remaining when the red flag was displayed for a turn two flip by 14th running Cole Bodine.
With Leary in deep contemplation as he awaited the close of the red flag period, he was fully conscious Swanson was going be "elbows up" and tough to pass. However, Leary stuck to his guns and tried the same turn three maneuver once more when action resumed on the 28th lap. Nonetheless, Swanson had an answer by matriculating his way back under Leary to get to the line first by a full car length with two laps left.
Leary took the game to the other end of the racetrack on lap 29, diving to the bottom at the entry of turn one and gliding his way past Swanson to the top in turn two. Swanson momentarily stumbled atop the turn two cushion, losing momentum as he managed to pull himself even with Leary's left rear midway down the back straightaway.
Responding with a resounding shut of the door, Leary collapsed on the low line at the approach to turn three, keeping Swanson behind him to lead the way to the stripe for the first time. Leary secured his position at the front for the remaining lap-and-a-half to become the third three-time series winner of 2021, joining Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr. as the leaders in the clubhouse.
Leary's advancement from 11th to 1st equaled the furthest back any winner has started this year. Kyle Cummins also won from the 11th position at Haubstadt, Indiana's Tri-State Speedway in April.
Swanson and Leary are good friends and were Alex Bowman Racing teammates during the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals this past January. For the second time this season, Swanson led laps but ultimately finished 2nd in his Team AZ Racing/USW Cat Construction – RSS Industries – CSI – Lucas Oil/DRC/1-Way Chevy. That equaled the best career series finish for the Anaheim, California native who remains on the hunt for his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature win.
"It hurts. I really, really want that USAC win," Swanson admitted. "C.J. is a really good racecar driver, and to be running up front with these guys, it says a lot about this race team; it says a lot about how far we've come in just a short amount of time. All we can do is race and figure out how we can be better. I feel like I raced pretty good. I don't know if there's a few things I could've done different or better. I feel like, in hindsight, I should've done this or that, but at the same time, if it would've gone green all the way, who knows? Either way, C.J. was obviously a little bit better there. He could slide up to (the cushion) and hit it, and he had a lot of drive."
Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) was victorious on the opening night of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular one year ago after starting sixth. Starting from the same sixth position again on Friday night, Cottle worked his way to a third-place finish aboard his Hodges Motorsports/Ortega's Appliance – CSI – Parts Plus/DRC/J & D Chevy, and felt, with just a little bit more time, he might've had a little something for Leary and Swanson at the finish.
"The track was a little technical and you had to hit your marks really good," Cottle noted. "The slick coming off of two, if you missed that, you were a sitting duck. The Hodges team put a good car under me. I screwed up after that red there late. I got it too tight and pushed the nose there. I thought I had something for them there. I'll take that one and put it on my shoulders. These guys work their butts off, and I appreciate everything they do."
Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) picked up KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors in what was his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature start, driving from the 20th starting spot to finish 8th in his Daigh-Phillips Motorsports/Frank & Jill Daigh – Hitch-It – Jockish Flowers/DRC/Foxco Chevy. The performance came just 24 hours following a crash while running in a transfer spot during the semi-feature at Plymouth, which delayed his highly-anticipated initial series start by one day.
In Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying, Kevin Thomas Jr. earned his season-leading fifth "quick time" and the 34th of his USAC National Sprint Car career, putting him just one shy of Rich Vogler for eighth on the all-time list.
The co-sanctioned event with the Midwest Sprint Car Series utilized the MSCS format, which included group qualifying and a top-four heat race inversion rather than USAC's traditional single-car qualifying, top-six heat race inversion. Due to the nature of differing program format from the standard USAC event, 50 appearance points for all licensed USAC National Sprint Car drivers and entrants were issued regardless of finishing position.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 2, 2021 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – Bill Gardner Sprintacular – Co-Sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-12.638; 2. Carson Garrett, 15KO, KO-12.652; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.728; 4. Mario Clouser, 6, EZR-12.796; 5. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-12.841; 6. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-12.882; 7. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-12.887; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.912; 9. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.919; 10. Cannon McIntosh, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-13.001; 11. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.050; 12. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.114; 13. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.151; 14. Riley Kreisel, 91, DKR-13.160; 15. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-13.184; 16. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.194; 17. Harley Burns, 16, Burns-13.202; 18. Ryan Thomas, 77FR, Wingo-13.215; 19. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-13.218; 20. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.264; 21. Kyle Shipley, 0G, Shipley-13.297; 22. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.321; 23. Carson Short, 2E, Epperson-13.368; 24. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-13.371; 25. Paul Nienhiser, 5N, KO-13.497; 26. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Parker-13.536; 27. Alec Sipes, 99, Sipes-13.577; 28. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-13.586; 29. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-13.617; 30. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-13.634; 31. Robert Carrington, 34c, Carrington-13.665; 32. Stephen Schnapf, 11, Martin-13.697; 33. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, Gilbert-13.784; 34. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-13.823; 35. Chris Babcock, 35, Babcock-13.871; 36. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-13.894; 37. Braxton Cummings, 71B, Cummings-13.993; 38. Shayna Ensign, 9, Sylvia-14.226; 39. Tim Creech, 2c, Creech-14.245; 40. Collin Ambrose, 36, Ambrose-14.245; 41. Cindy Chambers, 18c, DC-14.289; 42. Braydon Cromwell, 4c, Cromwell-14.299; 43. Stan Beadles, 84, Beadles-14.349; 44. Nate McMillin, 57R, Robinson-14.373; 45. Ryan Bond, 7R, Bond-15.656.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Ryan Thomas, 5. Paul Nienhiser, 6. Max Guilford, 7. Anthony D'Alessio, 8. Chris Babcock, 9. Shayna Ensign. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jake Swanson, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Alec Sipes, 5. Collin Ambrose, 6. Braydon Cromwell, 7. Nate McMillin, 8. Tim Creech, 9. Ryan Bond. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Cole Bodine, 5. Carson Garrett, 6. Max Adams, 7. Brayden Fox, 8. Gabriel Gilbert, 9. Robert Carrington. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Zach Daum, 2. Carson Short, 3. Harley Burns, 4. Mario Clouser, 5. Braxton Cummings, 6. Sterling Cling, 7. Brandon Mattox, 8. Zack Pretorius, 9. Stan Beadles. NT
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Riley Kreisel, 4. Cannon McIntosh, 5. Thomas Meseraull, 6. Tye Mihocko, 7. Stephen Schnapf, 8. Cindy Chambers, 9. Kyle Shipley. NT
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the semi) 1. Tim Creech, 2. Chris Babcock, 3. Zack Pretorius, 4. Shayna Ensign, 5. Kyle Shipley, 6. Gabriel Gilbert, 7. Stan Beadles, 8. Cindy Chambers, 9. Ryan Bond. NT
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Paul Nienhiser, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. Max Adams, 4. Carson Garrett, 5. Tye Mihocko, 6. Brayden Fox, 7. Braydon Cromwell, 8. Braxton Cummings, 9. Brandon Mattox, 10. Max Guilford, 11. Anthony D'Alessio, 12. Nate McMillin, 13. Stephen Schnapf, 14. Tim Creech, 15. Collin Ambrose, 16. Chris Babcock. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (11), 2. Jake Swanson (3), 3. Shane Cottle (6), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 5. Brady Bacon (2), 6. Chris Windom (4), 7. Justin Grant (10), 8. Cannon McIntosh (20), 9. Zach Daum (1), 10. Chase Stockon (12), 11. Paul Nienhiser (21), 12. Robert Ballou (13), 13. Mario Clouser (19), 14. Riley Kreisel (15), 15. Kyle Cummins (5), 16. Alec Sipes (17), 17. Carson Garrett (23-P), 18. Carson Short (9), 19. Harley Burns (14), 20. Cole Bodine (18), 21. Tanner Thorson (7), 22. Thomas Meseraull (22), 23. Ryan Thomas (16). NT
(P) represents an MSCS provisional starter
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Brady Bacon, Laps 21-28 Jake Swanson, Laps 29-30 C.J. Leary.
**Nate McMillin flipped during the second heat. Robert Carrington flipped during the third heat. Ryan Thomas flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Cole Bodine flipped on lap 27 of the feature.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1235, 2-Justin Grant-1177, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1157, 4-Robert Ballou-1098, 5-C.J. Leary-1044, 6-Chris Windom-1027, 7-Tanner Thorson-1005, 8-Jake Swanson-971, 9-Chase Stockon-750, 10-Paul Nienhiser-717.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-86, 2-Robert Ballou-84, 3-Thomas Meseraull-81, 4-Brady Bacon-72, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-70, 6-Chris Windom-67, 7-C.J. Leary-51, 8-Justin Grant-50, 9-Logan Seavey-45, 10-Buddy Kofoid-41.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 3, 2021 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track – Bill Gardner Sprintacular – Co-Sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Thomas Meseraull
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Jake Swanson
Indy Metal Finishing Third Heat Winner: Brady Bacon
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Zach Daum
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Paul Nienhiser
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Cannon McIntosh (20th to 8th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Mario Clouser
Bright Capitalizes on Misfortune for Big Diamond Victory Bright Capitalizes on Misfortune for Big Diamond Victory
Selinsgrove, PA. July 2nd, 2020. Nick Fillman, USAC ECSC.
Alex Bright of Collegeville, PA, utilized a late race restart to out duel Tommy Kunsman for his fourth victory of the Rapid Tire Service, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series Presented by Capitol Renegade season.
On what was supposed to be the second of three nights of consecutive action for Valley Forge Inc "Mini Speedweek", 21 USAC East Coast Sprint Cars entered the pit area of the Big Diamond Speedway for competition for what would be the only feature event of the weekend.
Following three heat race events and the feature event redraw, Tommy Kunsman Jr and Alex Bright shared the front row for the evenings twenty-five lap main event. Kunsman grabbed the initial lead on the start, quickly driving away from Alex Bright and putting some distance on Bright for the race lead.
The car that was moving through the field quicker than any other was Briggs Danner. Danner had moved from his eight place starting spot into the third place position by lap three, and moved passed Bright for the runner up spot on lap four. Danner quickly disposed of Bright and reeled in Kunsman for the race lead before the caution flag flew on lap four for a spun Jason Cherry in turns one and two.
On the ensuing restart, Danner would be glued to the rear bumper of Kunsman as the two looked to pull away from the remainder of the field. Alex Bright, Colin White, and Chris Allen rounded out the top five during the restart. Danner tried the inside and the outside groove on Kunsman as the two battled for the race lead before Danner would move by and take the lead from Kunsman coming off of turn four to complete lap ten.
Briggs Danner quickly set sail on the rest of the field, with Kunsman, Bright, White, and Bruce Buckwalter as the top five. As Danner encountered the back half of the field on lap thirteen and began the lapping process, Alex Bright managed to catch the rear bumper of Kunsman and being pressuring Kunsman for the runner up position.
On lap nineteen of the feature event, Kunsman and Bright drastically caught the rear bumper of Danner as it appeared the Bill Gallagher entry was slowing into turns there and four. Bright had just made a move on Kunsman for the runner up spot, when the caution flag flew for the slowing car of Danner. While the field was slowing, an unfortunate brake befell Steven Drevicki as he would make contact with an inside tractor tire ending his night, and dumping a large amount of water onto the front stretch. With the amount of water being on the speedway, the red flag was thrown to allow for a safe clean up of the speedway.
Due to the timing of the caution, the pass by Bright on Kunsman would be negated and Kunsman would retain his position, and inherit the race lead. The lap nineteen restart saw Kunsman leading: Bright, Allen, White, and Buckwalter with only six laps remaining. Tommy Kunsman had a solid restart as the field came to Nicole Flood's green flag, with a bit of distance back to second place runner Alex Bright.
As the laps would quickly wind down, Bright caught up to the rear of Kunsman on lap twenty-one and began to pressure Kunsman for the race lead. Kunsman initially held off the charges of Bright on the bottom side of the speedway, before ultimately relinquishing the race lead to Bright at the completion of lap twenty-three. Bright drove away from Kunsman in the closing two laps, and found himself in victory lane for the fourth time during the 2021 season. Kunsman would score a career best second place effort, with Chris Allen, Colin White, and Nash Ely rounding out the top five.
With his fourth victory of the 2021 season and the misfortune on Friday night for Briggs Danner, Bright extended his points lead for the series by 31 markers, and gained a slight bit of breathing room over his toughest competitor on tour. Bright pulled back even in the win column with Danner on Friday night as the two remain neck and neck, going shot for shot, as the series season is unfolding. No doubt the duo will both be the drivers to beat as the series moves to Action Track USA on Wednesday July 7th for the first ever event to be contested at the speedway. A track where Danner and Bright have been competitors over the last number of seasons in Micro Sprint and USAC Speedstr competition.
Tommy Kunsman of Bethlehem, PA, finished a career best second place on Friday night in his rookie campaign. The former midget driver has been more than impressive thus far on the 2021 series tour, tackling tracks that he has not seen before with a sprint car, and making his first starts ever with a sprint car. Kunsman has finished outside of the top ten only one time in the nine events that have been completed so far. Kunsman's consistency and determination for a series victory has also kept them within reasonable distance of the season long points chase moving into third should some issues arise for the top two. Only time will tell when Kunsman will add his name to the list of feature winners in USAC East Coast competition.
Chris Allen Jr made his return to the series after missing our last event at the Selinsgrove Speedway. The two time top three finisher in series points has struggled so far this season, but a solid run at the Lincoln Speedway before an unfortunate spin, and a completed podium effort at the Big Diamond Speedway have been more of what the CA Motorsports team is more accustomed too. Unfortunately for Allen, the teams home race at the New Egypt Speedway has been lost due to weather, and a rescheduling date is currently being discussed.
Fourth place belonged to rookie runner Colin White who recorded his best finish of the season though only running three events. White was well on his way to a potential top five finish in April at the Port Royal Speedway before a flip ended his night and resulted in a DNF. The defending Action Track USA 600cc micro sprint champion has been fast each and every time the Hamilton Motorsports entry has taken too the surface so far in 2021. Look for White to continue his improvements in the remaining starts scheduled for the team.
Rounding out the top five was Sinking Spring, PA driver Nash Ely. Ely has been consistent all season long running just inside and just outside the top five in multiple events this season. Ely was one of many drivers who competed in both the Keystone Invasion, and the Eastern Storm swings that the USAC National Sprint Car Series completed on the East Coast with Ely consistently making shows and holding his own. Ely finds himself inside the top five in points as the smooth runs for the eighteen year old continue to pile up.
Finishing just outside of the top five in the sixth place position was Bruce Buckwalter Jr. Bruce missed our last two events at the Lincoln and Selinsgrove Speedways following engine trouble at the Williams Grove Speedway. Engine repairs have been made, and the Buckwalter team showed plenty of speed Friday night at the Big Diamond Speedway.
Up next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series presented by Capitol Renegade, is the first ever visit by the series to Action Track USA in Kutztown, PA for the "Iron Cowboy Classic" 30 lap feature event, which will pay $2,000 to the feature winner thanks to sponsor E. Schneider & Sons.
Keep up to date with all of the latest results, news, photos, and updates by following along on our socials! On Facebook at: USAC East Coast Sprint Cars, and on Twitter at: @USACecsc.
USAC East Coast at Big Diamond 07-02 Results:
Heat 1 (8 laps, all transfer, 3 redraw): 1. 17J Jonathan Swanson, 2. 5G Briggs Danner 3. 83s Billy Ney, 4. 71 Chris Allen Jr, 5. 10 Joe Kata, 6. 64 Rich Carnathan, 7. 12 Blaine Emery (DNS).
Heat 2 (8 laps, all transfer, 3 redraw): 1. 20 Alex Bright, 2. 19 Steven Drevicki, 3. 32 Colin White, 4. 11 Mike Thompson, 5. 67 Jason Cherry, 6. 57 Damon Paul (DNF), 7. 88J Joey Amantea (DNF).
Heat 3 (8 laps, all transfer, 3 redraw): 1. 21K Tommy Kunsman Jr, 2. 3BC Nash Ely, 3. 83 Bruce Buckwalter, 4. 17M Christian Bruno, 5. 117 David Swanson, 6. 5Z Zack Burd, 7. 23M Kenny Miller lll.
Feature Event (25 Laps): 1. 20 Alex Bright, 2. 21K Tommy Kunsman, 3. 71 Chris Allen, 4. 32 Colin White, 5. 3BC Nash Ely, 6. 83 Bruce Buckwalter, 7. 23M Kenny Miller lll, 8. 17J Jonathan Swanson, 9. 11 Mike Thompson, 10. 5G Briggs Danner, 11. 17m Christian Bruno, 12. 83S Billy Ney, 13. 10 Joey Kata, 14. 117 David Swanson, 15. 64 Rich Carnathan, 16. 67 Jason Cherry, 17. 19 Steven Drevicki, 18. 5Z Zack Burd. DNS: 57 Damon Paul, 88J Joey Amantea, 12 Blaine Emery.
Lap Leaders: Tommy Kusman (1-9), Briggs Danner (10-19), Tommy Kunsman (20-23), Alex Bright (24-25).
Penske Shocks 1st Place: Alex Bright $100 Penske Shocks 2nd Place: Tommy Kunsman Jr $75 Penske Shocks 3rd Place: Chris Allen $50 Ultra Shield 4th Place: Colin White Ultra Shield 8th Place: Jonathan Swanson Vahlco Wheels Hard Charger: Kenny Miller lll +13
Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Presented By Capitol Renegade Points: Alex Bright 673 Briggs Danner 642 (-31) Tommy Kunsman 529 (-144) Steven Drevicki 523 (-150) Nash Ely 477 (-196) Kenny Miller lll 422 (-251) Damon Paul 406 (-267) Joey Amantea 400 (-273) Jonathan Swanson 361 (-312) Chris Allen Jr 353 (-320)
LEARY'S "BACKUP" PLAN
BECOMES A WINNING PLAN AT PLYMOUTH
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Plymouth, Indiana (July 1, 2021)………On occasion, the backup plan ultimately becomes the master plan.
A bad vibration and a broken U-Joint forced driver C.J. Leary and his Michael Motorsports team to pull down the spare car from the trailer for the most recent USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car event at Bloomsburg (Pa.) Fair Raceway 12 days earlier.
Following a 21st to 7th to charge in the Bloomsburg feature, the team stuck with the "backup" car and engine for the series' Thursday night round at Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway, where Plan B came to fruition as the Greenfield, Ind. driver and Chino Valley, Ariz. based team raced to their second victory of the year in a non-stop 30-lap contest that was completed in a tick under eight minutes.
Leary entered Plymouth with just one top-five result in his last eight starts with the series, but Plymouth proved to be a "get-right" track for he and his Michael Motorsports/Kodiak Products – Gray Auto – Valvoline/DRC/Cressman Ford, with the No. 77m feeling just the same to Leary as it did when he left Bloomsburg – fast.
The victory was the 13th USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph for Leary, the 2019 series champion. That surpassed Eric Gordon on the series win list and now equals him with Steve Chassey for 45th all-time.
Pole sitter Leary and fifth-starting Justin Grant entered Thursday's event as the only two drivers to finish inside the top-three in each of their last two visits to the 3/8-mile Plymouth dirt oval.
Leary, in fact, had finished 2nd in 2019 and 3rd in 2020, and also owns the one-lap USAC track record at Plymouth. He also has winning experience there, capturing the non-sanctioned 2016 Tony Elliott Classic.
On this night, Leary sought the winning formula once again at Plymouth, gliding his way to the lead after a side-by-side tussle into turns one and two on the opening lap with outside front row starter, and series Rookie, Paul Nienhiser with Leary emerging as the leader by the time the pack hit the back straightaway.
Third-starting Tanner Thorson soon slotted into the second spot past Nienhiser on the second circuit while Grant, likewise, slipped underneath Nienhiser for the third position on lap three.
As Leary fashioned a half-straightaway lead throughout the first half of the event and entered into a frenetic fray of lapped traffic, the war waged on for positions two, three and four in his vapor trail. At the halfway point, Fatheadz Eyewear fastest qualifier Kevin Thomas Jr. blitzkrieged from 4th to 2nd on the back straightaway past both Grant and Thorson in unison, while Grant followed suit by Thorson for 3rd off the bottom of turn four.
As Leary began to distance himself from Thomas, it was Grant who began to close on Thomas for 2nd. On the 24th lap, Thomas became entangled in the middle of the racing surface exiting turn two as he worked his way around a slower car. That provided the upper hand of momentum to Grant, who conducted a slide job in turn three that moved him past Thomas and immediately set him forth on his course to clamp down on the distant Leary.
Ever so quickly, Grant now had Leary right within his scope, quickly eating up ground that put Grant within a single car length of Leary's rear bumper with just three laps remaining. However, when Grant snagged the turn four cushion with his right rear tire that same lap, the "ground" was now a substantial unoccupied space between the two.
Grant was put in catch-up mode once again, but ably reeled Leary back in to affix himself right back into contention, and to the rear bumper of Leary as the pair entered turn one on the final lap. Nonetheless, Grant was unable to get any closer than that snapshot right there while an unfazed Leary sealed the door shut for his first series score since April by a 0.605 second margin over Grant, Thomas, Thorson and Brady Bacon, who rounded out the top-five by earning KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors after starting 13th.
While the fans in the stands had the advantage of an overhead view of the on-track action, Leary's view from the cockpit was slightly different. At no point did Leary see or hear Grant, and never once did he feel the pressure and the anticipation of Grant's constant presence in the waning laps, as did we.
"We got that track position that I think is really crucial here," said Leary, who started the 30-lap feature from the pole position. "We've been good here in the past but have never been able to pick up a USAC win. I had to slide a couple guys in traffic, but I never really heard anybody pressure me. I was surprised I didn't hear anybody, but I just got on cruise control out there, hit my marks, and made sure I got a good bite off the cushion.
The cushion was banked off the wall in two and you could really get a bunch of speed down the back stretch off that," Leary continued. "If you missed it, I felt like that was an opportunity to get passed, and a guy could slide you in three and four with how wide the racetrack got. Without ever hearing Justin, I was just making sure I didn't do anything stupid and give it away at the end."
One recent notable addition to the Leary/Michael team since early June of this year is Jason McDougal, a multi-time USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget and USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car winner who, himself, finished 5th at Plymouth in a USAC Sprint Car feature in 2019. McDougal has traded in a steering wheel for a wrench on USAC Sprint Car race nights, and along with team owner Michael, crew members Mason Hadley and father, Chuck Leary, they form the core that contributed to the winning effort at Plymouth.
"Having an extra guy that knows what's going on and can jump in and do anything and help me make good setup decisions is good," C.J. said of McDougal. "We put our heads together; we both watch the track; and we both have a lot of hands-on experience with racing. It's tough doing it all, driving the truck, washing the car, doing maintenance on the car, driving the car and making the setup calls, it's a lot for one person to do."
Grant (Ione, Calif.) remains the lone multi-time USAC National Sprint Car winner at Plymouth but came up one spot short of becoming the first three-time victor at the track Thursday night in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – MPV Express – TOPP Industries – The Bow Foundation/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
"We were good," Grant acknowledged. "I could run to Leary's bumper, but there's so much momentum when it's on the curb like that. When I'd get to his bumper, it would almost slow me down to his speed. I had trouble going faster than him when I was right behind him. When it was kind of an open track, I could run him down. I always seemed to have a row of lappers there rolling the bottom where I couldn't really peel off and pull off the slider. Not that it was going to be easy to do, he was going to have to miss off of two and I was going to have to nail it, and I was going to have to have an open lane to do it. It just never all worked out on the same lap. Then, I busted the wall, the cushion, or something there with a few laps to go; got away from me and I had to run him back down. That may have squandered any opportunity that did arise."
Thomas earned his 33rd career USAC National Sprint Car Fast Qualifying time earlier in the evening, moving him to within two of Rich Vogler for eighth all-time. In the feature, the Cullman, Alabama native finished 3rd, following up his Bloomsburg victory with his fifth top-four finish in his last six starts aboard the KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper – McDonald's – KT Construction Services/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
"I think a lot of our passes were because of lapped traffic," Thomas admitted. "I didn't really feel as good as we looked. Once we got all strung around the top, C.J. had us covered, then Justin slid back by us and took off. We've just got to do a little work when it gets to that, and the majority of that is me."
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 1, 2021 – Plymouth Speedway – Plymouth, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Track
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-13.231; 2. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.273; 3. Thomas Meseraull, 47, Eades-13.353; 4. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-13.398; 5. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.398; 6. Paul Nienhiser, 5N, KO-13.414; 7. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-13.470; 8. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-13.484; 9. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-13.537; 10. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.554; 11. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.567; 12. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-13.587; 13. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-13.628; 14. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.664; 15. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.674; 16. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-13.710; 17. Mario Clouser, 6, EZR-13.801; 18. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.980; 19. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.084; 20. Brayden Clark, 42, Jackson/Clark-14.159; 21. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-14.215; 22. Cannon McIntosh, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-14.248; 23. Max Adams, 57, Hazen-14.268; 24. Alex Banales, 5x, Baldwin/Fox-14.296; 25. Max Guilford, 79BT, Goodnight-14.410; 26. Jack James, 99, James-14.517; 27. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-14.540.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Kevin Thomas Jr., 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Robert Ballou, 7. Jadon Rogers, 8. Cannon McIntosh, 9. Max Guilford. 1:52.510 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Mario Clouser, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Matt Westfall, 6. Cole Bodine, 7. Max Adams, 8. Brayden Clark, 9. Jack James. 1:53.29
INDY METAL FINISHING/INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Brandon Mattox, 4. Paul Nienhiser, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Sterling Cling, 7. Thomas Meseraull, 8. Anthony D'Alessio, 9. Alex Banales. 1:57.920
ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Cole Bodine, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Jadon Rogers, 5. Max Adams, 6. Brayden Clark, 7. Anthony D'Alessio, 8. Alex Banales, 9. Sterling Cling, 10. Jack James, 11. Cannon McIntosh, 12. Max Guilford. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (1), 2. Justin Grant (5), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 4. Tanner Thorson (3), 5. Brady Bacon (13), 6. Jake Swanson (4), 7. Shane Cottle (15), 8. Paul Nienhiser (2), 9. Logan Seavey (12), 10. Chase Stockon (7), 11. Robert Ballou (19), 12. Chris Windom (8), 13. Brandon Mattox (18), 14. Cole Bodine (11), 15. Thomas Meseraull (10), 16. Matt Westfall (14), 17. Mario Clouser (9), 18. Kyle Cummins (16), 19. Anthony D'Alessio (21), 20. Brayden Clark (20), 21. Jadon Rogers (17), 22. Max Adams (22). 7:56.94
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 C.J. Leary.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1185, 2-Justin Grant-1127, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1107, 4-Robert Ballou-1048, 5-C.J. Leary-994, 6-Chris Windom-977, 7-Tanner Thorson-955, 8-Jake Swanson-921, 9-Chase Stockon-700, 10-Paul Nienhiser-667.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Tanner Thorson-86, 2-Robert Ballou-83, 3-Thomas Meseraull-81, 4-Brady Bacon-72, 5-Chris Windom-67, 6-Kevin Thomas Jr.-66, 7-Justin Grant-47, 8-Logan Seavey-45, 9-Buddy Kofoid-41, 10-C.J. Leary-41.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 2-3, 2021 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 5/16-Mile Dirt Track
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
GSP Driving Performance of the Night: Max Adams
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Stockon
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Mario Clouser
Indy Metal Finishing / Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Thomas Meseraull
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Brady Bacon (13th to 5th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Brandon Mattox
RALPH WILKE, TWO-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN OWNER CHAMP, PASSES AWAY AT AGE 90
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Ralph Wilke, the Wisconsin native whose midgets won 16 USAC National Midget features and whose dirt championship car won USAC titles in both 1971 and 1979, passed away Monday, June 28, 2021 at the age of 90.
Ralph was the second generation of the famed Wilke family with extensive involvement in auto racing. His father, Bob, fielded entries in USAC's National Championship, Sprint Car, Midget and Road Racing divisions from the earliest days of USAC, taking Leader Card Racers entries to six USAC National car owner championships in 1959-60-62-64-67-68, and three Indianapolis 500 wins with Rodger Ward in 1959 & 1962 and with Bobby Unser in 1968.
During that time, Ralph operated the family business and fielded racecars on a part-time basis. Wilke-owned midgets captured 16 USAC National Midget feature victories between 1959 and 1964 along with co-entrant Gus Wessel. The first of Ralph's 16 USAC National Midget wins as a car owner came at Illiana Motor Speedway with driver Chuck Weyant on June 13, 1959, just two weeks following Leader Card's first Indianapolis 500 triumph.
Ralph's midgets were driven by the era's greatest racing talent with Don Branson leading all drivers with seven USAC National Midget wins in his car, including Ralph's last with the series in 1964 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds dirt mile in southern Illinois. Weyant and Ward won twice in the midgets for Ralph, while Parnelli Jones, Bobby Marshman, Bob Tattersall, Bob Wente and Johnny White each won once.
Bob Wilke passed away following the 1970 season and Ralph, the president of the family business, Leader Cards, Inc., took over the reins of the race team, continuing its winning ways on USAC National Championship circuit with driver Mike Mosley collecting victories in 1971 at Trenton, N.J. and, finally, at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway in 1974.
Ralph Wilke's USAC Dirt Champ Car was victorious in the third race ever held in what is now known as the Silver Crown National Championship. That came at Du Quoin in 1971 with the steering wheel in the hands of George Snider who went on to win the inaugural Dirt Champ Car season title that same year.
Between 1975-1976, the team went on a tear with the USAC Dirt Cars, winning four-in-a-row with driver Tom Bigelow at Du Quoin, the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, the Indiana State Fairgrounds and the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The Minnesota victory was the first "Silver Crown" race held on pavement.
Ralph's team won again on the Dirt Champ Car trail in 1977 at Du Quoin with Bigelow and twice more with Bobby Olivero during his 1979 championship season at the Springfield, Illinois and Indiana State Fairgrounds dirt miles which netted Ralph his second championship with the series that year.
Olivero won once more for Ralph at the Springfield Mile in 1982, and under the "Wilke Racers" banner with sons Mark and Greg Wilke, the Silver Crown team won twice more, in 1989 with Rich Vogler at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and in 1991 at Du Quoin with Stevie Reeves.
With Ralph at the helm of the Leader Card racing operation, the team won its sixth and final USAC National Sprint Car race during the 1973 season with driver Mel Cornett picking up his lone career series victory at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track. Cornett had earlier won for Ralph on nine occasions in Badger Midget competition between 1966-67 at Hales Corners Speedway.
Ralph remained a regular annual entrant for the Indianapolis 500 and the complete USAC and CART IndyCar trails through the 1994 season.
Following his retirement from the family business, Ralph returned to his racing roots with the family-owned midget team alongside his sons, who added on to their previous USAC National Midget championships in 1984 and 1987 with additional owner titles in 2005 with driver Tracy Hines and Jerry Coons Jr. and again in 2007 with Coons.
In all, the Wilke family has amassed a total of 136 USAC National feature victories (84 midget, 35 IndyCar, 10 Silver Crown, 6 Sprint Car and 1 combined Silver Crown/IndyCar event.)
USAC sends it sincere condolences to the Wilke family and their many friends within the racing community.
PLYMOUTH POWERS UP
WITH USAC SPRINTS THURSDAY NIGHT
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Plymouth, Indiana (June 28, 2021)………When Justin Grant rolled through Plymouth Speedway last year to become the first two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car winner at the northern Indiana 3/8-mile dirt oval, he was classified as "red hot."
Granted, some of that had to do with the extensive sunburn he was sporting after a recent kayaking trip, but for the Ione, Calif. native, the Plymouth win provided him, at the time, his third series win in his four most recent starts.
Entering this Thursday night's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car event on July 1 at Plymouth, Grant has the opportunity to achieve something similar – three out of five with the series – after winning twice during mid-June's Eastern Storm tour at Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania's Grandview Speedway and Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway.
Grant found instant success in the series' inaugural visit to Plymouth in 2017, leading all 30 caution-free laps wire-to-wire and, in the process, established the 30-lap track record of 7:36.34. He's been a solid citizen at Plymouth in all five of his previous USAC visits, winning again in 2020, and was 8th in May 2018, a 4th in July 2018 and a 3rd in 2019.
Grant is one of three past Plymouth USAC National Sprint Car winners who'll be in Thursday night's field along with Kevin Thomas Jr. and Brady Bacon.
Kevin Thomas Jr. owns a pair of USAC National Sprint track records at Plymouth. The 10-lap mark of 2:12.03 from May 2018 belongs to the Cullman, Ala. driver as does the 12-lap standard from July 2018 at 2:43.81. KTJ swept the night in May 2018 by setting fast qualifying time, winning his heat race and putting the cherry on top with a feature win, leading the last eight laps in a race that was ultimately decided on a last lap battle for the victory with Robert Ballou. Additionally, Thomas has added a 6th in 2020, a 10th in 2017 and a 9th in July 2018. Also, of note, KTJ won his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature at Plymouth in 2015.
While Brady Bacon's 9th place finish at Plymouth doesn't look like a whole lot at first glance on paper. As it turned out, it was one of the most defining moments of the 2020 championship season for the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma driver and his Dynamics, Inc. crew, led by 2020 USAC Chief Mechanic of the Year, Matt Hummel. The team endured a massive flip on lap four of the main event, thrashed during the scant few minutes of downtime that were available in the pit area, repaired the car and got back on track where they charged from the tail and into the top-ten. Bacon won comfortably at Plymouth in July of 2018, while also adding a 5th in May 2018 and was 4th in 2019.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) captured a USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature win at Plymouth in 2016. Just last year, Plymouth marked the 2016 USAC National Midget champion's first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car start where he impressed mightily, winning his heat race and setting a new eight-lap track record in the process at 1:53.920. Thorson then finished 2nd in the feature after starting 8th, turning in one of the most impressive debuts in series history.
Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) has led laps in three of his five Plymouth starts. He led two in May 2018 in finishing 4th. In July of that same year, he led the first 15 before dropping back to 7th in the final rundown, then led the opening lap and finished 8th in 2019. In what was his record 300th consecutive USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car start at Plymouth in 2020, Stockon equaled his best at the track with a 4th. In his first visit to Plymouth in 2017, Stockon set quick time during qualifying and finished 6th in the main.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) has been a consistent contender at Plymouth in USAC Sprint Cars. The career USAC Triple Crown champion and 2017 USAC National Sprint Car titlist took 8th at Plymouth in 2017, earned a heat race victory in May 2018, finished a best of 2nd in the July 2018 feature, and led 11 laps and finished 6th in 2019.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) is a past winner in a Sprint Car at Plymouth, winning the unsanctioned Tony Elliott Classic there in 2016. He also holds claim to the USAC one-lap track record around Plymouth at 12.996, set in July 2018. The 2019 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion has finished inside the top-three in each of his last two Plymouth USAC Sprint starts with a 2nd in 2019 and a 3rd in 2020. He also scored a 10th in May 2018 and an 8th in July 2018.
Recent Eastern Storm champion and 2015 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car titlist Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) nearly won Plymouth's USAC Sprint round in May 2018, holding the lead going into turn three on the final lap, ultimately finishing 3rd after getting sideways in turn four, his best result at the track thus far.
Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) took 7th as his best USAC Sprint result at Plymouth in 2017. Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) was 9th in 2019; Pleasant Hill, Ohio's Matt Westfall was 11th in 2019; Auburn, Illinois' Mario Clouser was 12th in 2020 after starting 23rd and finished 3rd at Plymouth in a non-sanctioned show back in May 2021; Terre Haute, Indiana's Brandon Mattox was 14th with USAC in 2020.
A handful-plus of drivers aiming to make their first career USAC National Sprint Car starts at Plymouth include 2018 USAC National Midget champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), 2017 USAC West Coast Sprint Car champion Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), 2019 MOWA Sprint Car titlist Paul Nienhiser (Chapin, Ill.) and Cole Bodine (Rossville, Ind.), a 4th place finisher there for a local show in June of 2021, as well as recent first-time USAC National Sprint Car starter Alex Banales (Lafayette, Ind.).
Three-time USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature winner, and a victor on the local level at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway in June, Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), is set to make his first career USAC National Sprint Car start of any kind Thursday night at Plymouth for Daigh-Phillips Motorsports.
The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship will be joined by the Non-Wing Micros at Plymouth. Pits open at 3pm EDT, front gates open at 4pm and hot laps at 6pm, with qualifying and racing immediately following. General admission tickets are $30, kids 6-12 are $10 while children 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $35 apiece.
FloRacing will provide live coverage of Thursday night's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car event at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-1121, 2-Justin Grant-1050, 3-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1032, 4-Robert Ballou-1005, 5-Chris Windom-930, 6-C.J. Leary-917, 7-Tanner Thorson-886, 8-Jake Swanson-859, 9-Chase Stockon-649, 10-Paul Nienhiser-612.
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT PLYMOUTH SPEEDWAY:
2-Justin Grant
1-Brady Bacon, Tyler Courtney & Kevin Thomas Jr.
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT PLYMOUTH SPEEDWAY:
2017: Justin Grant (4/21)
2018: Kevin Thomas Jr. (5/5) & Brady Bacon (7/20)
2019: Tyler Courtney (7/19)
2020: Justin Grant (6/26)
TRACK RECORDS – USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT PLYMOUTH SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap: 7/20/2018 – C.J. Leary – 12.996
8 Laps: 6/26/2020 - Tanner Thorson - 1:53.920
10 Laps: 5/5/2018 – Kevin Thomas Jr. – 2:12.03
12 Laps: 7/20/2018 – Kevin Thomas Jr. – 2:43.81
30 Laps: 4/21/2017 – Justin Grant – 7:36.34
PAST USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS AT PLYMOUTH SPEEDWAY:
APRIL 2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Chad Boespflug, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Jon Stanbrough, 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Brady Short, 12. Colten Cottle, 13. Landon Simon, 14. Kyle Robbins, 15. Jarett Andretti, 16. Dave Darland, 17. Aaron Pierce, 18. C.J. Leary, 19. Tyler Hewitt, 20. Aaron Farney, 21. Isaac Chapple, 22. Josh Spencer. 7:36.34
MAY 2018 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (6), 2. Tyler Courtney (3), 3. Robert Ballou (11), 4. Chase Stockon (4), 5. Brady Bacon (7), 6. Dave Darland (2), 7. Carson Short (5), 8. Justin Grant (9), 9. Chad Boespflug (8), 10. C.J. Leary (10), 11. Chris Windom (15), 12. Shane Cottle (17), 13. Jarett Andretti (1), 14. Kyle Cummins (16), 15. Tony DiMattia (12), 16. Clinton Boyles (13), 17. Johnny Petrozelle (19), 18. Robert Bell (20), 19. Isaac Chapple (14), 20. Daylan Chambers (18), 21. Aric Gentry (21), 22. Joe Stornetta (22). NT
JULY 2018 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (4), 2. Chris Windom (5), 3. Dave Darland (8), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Tyler Courtney (12), 6. Carson Short (9), 7. Chase Stockon (2), 8. C.J. Leary (6), 9. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7), 10. Thomas Meseraull (13), 11. Isaac Chapple (1), 12. Tyler Thomas (11), 13. Brody Roa (18), 14. Josh Hodges (15), 15. Jarett Andretti (10), 16. Timmy Buckwalter (16), 17. Joe Stornetta (14), 18. Robert Ballou (22), 19. Chad Boespflug (19), 20. Kody Swanson (20), 21. Matt Westfall (17), 22. Shane Cottle (21), 23. Tony DiMattia (23). NT
JULY 2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. C.J. Leary (7), 3. Justin Grant (9), 4. Brady Bacon (3), 5. Jason McDougal (4), 6. Chris Windom (1), 7. Dakota Jackson (13), 8. Chase Stockon (2), 9. Kyle Cummins (15), 10. Josh Hodges (8), 11. Matt Westfall (19), 12. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (11), 13. Max Adams (10), 14. Carson Short (18), 15. Mitchell Davis (16), 16. Isaac Chapple (23), 17. Dustin Ingle (5), 18. Jarett Andretti (22), 19. Thomas Meseraull (17), 20. Zane Hendricks (20), 21. Clinton Boyles (21), 22. Brandon Mattox (14), 23. Terry Richards (12), 24. Dustin Clark (24). NT
JUNE 2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. Tanner Thorson (8), 3. C.J. Leary (6), 4. Chase Stockon (3), 5. Dave Darland (2), 6. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 7. Carson Short (11), 8. Max Adams (10), 9. Brady Bacon (4), 10. Anton Hernandez (9), 11. Chris Windom (5), 12. Mario Clouser (23), 13. Matt Westfall (17), 14. Brandon Mattox (14), 15. Brandon Long (19), 16. Dustin Smith (18), 17. Anthony D'Alessio (12), 18. Blake Vermillion (20), 19. Jesse Vermillion (21), 20. Steve Irwin (16), 21. Kurt Gross (22), 22. Tye Mihocko (15), 23. Chris Phillips (13). NT
PURSE BOOSTED TO $7,000-TO-WIN, $600-TO-START FOR BILL GARDNER SPRINTACULAR FINALE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (June 28, 2021)………The Saturday night finale of this weekend's Bill Gardner Sprintacular will feature its biggest payout yet with USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competitors chasing the $7,000-to-win prize, and $600 to start, during the 40-lap main event at Putnamville, Indiana's Lincoln Park Speedway on July 3.
The seventh annual Bill Gardner Sprintacular features two consecutive nights of USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car racing on July 2-3 at the 5/16-mile dirt oval with Friday night paying $5,000-to-win and $500 to start and Saturday night paying the elevated purse of a $7,000 winner's share and $600 to start. The full breakdown of the payout is posted below.
The boosted purse for the Bill Gardner Sprintacular becomes the latest event on the 2021 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship with a larger payout, joining past 2021 events, Winter Dirt Games at Florida's Bubba Raceway Park ($10,000); a brand-new Keystone Invasion tour of Pennsylvania in April with four consecutive $6,000-to-win shows; back-to-back $10,000-to-win events in May at Ohio's Eldora Speedway; and a pair of $6,000 and $7,500 events at Kansas' Lakeside Speedway, which was ultimately rained out.
Events later this season also share the increase in pay along with the August 26-27-28 Sprint Car Smackdown finale at Indiana's Kokomo Speedway, paying $15,000-to-win and $1,500-to-start; the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals in South Dakota on September 10-11-12, which pays $20,000-to-win for the final night's winner; as well as a $12,500 going to the victor of the Haubstadt Hustler on September 18 at Tri-State Speedway, just to name a few.
This weekend's Bill Gardner Sprintacular at Lincoln Park Speedway will feature the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship co-sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series (MSCS), plus Modifieds, Super Stocks and Bombers.
Friday's Bill Gardner Sprintacular event will utilize the MSCS format, which features group qualifying as well as an H15 or Medium on the right rear and concludes with a 30-lap feature. Saturday's show will use the standard USAC format of single-car qualifying to seed the starting lineups leading up to the night's 40-lap feature race.
Past winners of the Bill Gardner Sprintacular at LPS include Jerry Coons, Jr. (2015 USAC) & Robert Ballou (2015 MSCS); Robert Ballou (2016 USAC) & Thomas Meseraull (2016 MSCS); Kevin Thomas Jr. (2017 MSCS); Tyler Courtney (2018 USAC) & Justin Grant (2018 MSCS); Kyle Cummins (2019 MSCS); and Shane Cottle (2020 USAC/MSCS) & Brady Bacon (2020 USAC/MSCS).
Both night at Lincoln Park on July 2-3, the pits open at 3pm EDT with front gates opening at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm. Qualifying and racing will immediately follow. General admission tickets for each night are $30 apiece with kids age 10 and under are free. Pit passes are $35 with kids age 10 and under free.
FloRacing will provide live coverage for both nights of the USAC/MSCS Bill Gardner Sprintacular at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
JULY 3 BILL GARDNER SPRINTACULAR FEATURE POINTS/PURSE STRUCTURE
POS. PTS. PURSE
1 70 $7,000
2 67 $3,000
3 64 $1,500
4 61 $1,250
5 58 $1,100
6 55 $950
7 52 $925
8 49 $900
9 46 $850
10 43 $800
11 41 $750
12 39 $725
13 37 $700
14 35 $675
15 33 $650
16 31 $625
17 29 $600
18 27 $600
19 25 $600
20 23 $600
21 23 $600
22 23 $600
**Non-Transfers: 10 points, $150
SMITH WINS BORDER WAR SHOWDOWN AT 81
By: Ray Cunningham
Park City, Kansas (June 26, 2021)………From the "agony of defeat" just one week ago to "the thrill of victory" Saturday night at 81 Speedway, Billings, Missouri's Wesley Smith was back to where he has been most of the 2021 season, celebrating a victory in the 2nd annual Border Showdown featuring the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association vs. USAC Wingless Sprints Oklahoma.
Smith bested Overland Park, Kansas driver Luke Howard, Odessa, Missouri's Xavier Doney, Coweta, Oklahoma's Brett Wilson, and Battlefield, Missouri racer Kory Schudy.
For Smith, driving the John Helm/WSR Racing #12, this was sweet redemption after losing the lead following a green, white, checker finish at Central Missouri Speedway last Saturday in a race he dominated for 24 of the 25 laps.
Saturday night at South Central Kansas's premier dirt track, Smith was the hunter, chasing teenage gunner Howard, who was having a great run driving the Howard Racing No. 2H wrenched by three-time WAR champ Rick Smith. Smith caught the ever-improving Howard with 10 laps to go after a slight bobble by the Jayhawker on the cushion.
From there, the racing continued to be heart-stopping as Howard chased leader Smith thru lapped traffic along with contenders Doney, Wilson, and the winner of the last two MWRA main events, Schudy, in a race that went 25 laps without a yellow flag.
As the leaders came around for double checkered flags, Smith lost power just before the finish line but was able to withstand the onslaught of "Cool Hand Luke," and the "X-Man" Doney to win his second Midwest Wingless Sprint feature of 2021, and his fifth overall this season.
Earlier in the evening, on a beautiful night for racing in the Sunflower State, Wesley Smith won his heat race as did WSO point leader and two-time champ Brett Wilson, and Gladstone, Missouri's Chris Parkinson.
After a weekend off, USAC MWRA will head to Iowa to race on July 10 in the 3rd annual Corn Belt Clash at the famed half-mile oval of Knoxville Raceway, in a non-points special event
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USAC MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION & USAC WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA RACE RESULTS: June 26, 2021 – 81 Speedway – Park City, Kansas
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 12-Wesley Smith [2], 2. 11w-Wyatt Burks [1], 3. 74-Xavier Doney [6], 4. 28-Kory Schudy [8], 5. 24c-Craig Carroll [7], 6. 21-Harlan Hulsey [4], 7. 31m-Eric Matthews [3]. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 53-Brett Wilson [1], 2. 41-Brad Wyatt [2], 3. 26-Zach Clark [3], 4. 7m-Heath Murry [5], 5. 6s-Spencer Martinez [4], 6. 9-Chad Goff [7], 7. 35-J.C. Wilson [6], 8. 24H-Ty Hulsey [9], 9. 7D-David Baxter [8]. NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 65-Chris Parkinson [1], 2. 2H-Luke Howard [6], 3. 2-Kyle Lewis [4], 4. 20G-Noah Gass [5], 5. 79-Tim Kent [2], 6. 7x-Lance Silvers [7], 7. 15E-Dakota Earls [3]. NT
ALSO AT THE TRACK: 58-T.J. Cain
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. Wesley Smith [2], 2. Luke Howard [1], 3. Xavier Doney [3], 4. Brett Wilson [4], 5. Kory Schudy [6], 6. Chris Parkinson [5], 7. Wyatt Burks [8], 8. Chad Goff [14], 9. Craig Carroll [12], 10. Kyle Lewis [9], 11. J.C. Wilson [18], 12. Tim Kent [16], 13. Heath Murry [11], 14. Zach Clark [10], 15. Ty Hulsey [19], 16. Harlan Hulsey [17], 17. Dakota Earls [20], 18. Spencer Martinez [13], 19. Lance Silvers [15]. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-15 Luke Howard, Laps 16-25 Wesley Smith.
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Wesley Smith-1275, 2-Kory Schudy-1260, 3-Chris Parkinson-1060, 4-Wyatt Burks-1050, 5-Chad Goff-975, 6-Zach Clark-945, 7-Xavier Doney-875, 8-Dakota Earls-770, 9-Zach Sanders-765, 10-Luke Howard-740.
USAC WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA POINTS: 1-Brett Wilson-422, 2-Ty Hulsey-365, 3-Craig Carroll-363, 4-Harlan Hulsey-333, 5-J.C. Wilson-310, 6-Wyatt Burks-269, 7-David Baxter-258, 8-Spencer Martinez-202, 9-Wesley Smith-150, 10-Luke Howard-142.
NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR RACE: July 10, 2021 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa – Brandt Corn Belt Clash (Non-Points Special Event)
NEXT USAC WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA RACE: July 16, 2021 – Kansas State Fairgrounds – Hutchinson, Kansas
STANFILL STANDS TALL AT BLOOMINGTON
Bloomington, Indiana (June 25, 2021).........Bryan Stanfill captured his first career USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature victory Friday night at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway.
Starting fourth, Stanfill (Bakersfield, Calif.) led the final 10 laps of the 15-lap event after taking the lead from Tyler Nelson on the sixth circuit. Nelson later ran into mechanical trouble which knocked him out of the race early, finishing 8th.
Driving the Griffiths Motorsports No. 75AU, Stanfill was followed to the line by defending series champion and new series point leader Chett Gehrke (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Max Adams (Loomis, Calif.), Brayton Lynch (Springfield, Ill.) and Jeff Schindler (Evansville, Ind.).
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USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET RACE RESULTS: June 25, 2021 – Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. Tyler Nelson (#88 Nelson) [2], 2. Chett Gehrke (#10 Moore) [4], 3. Jeff Schindler (#11 Martin) [3], 4. Bryan Stanfill (#75AU Griffiths) [9], 5. Billy Lawless (#17L Lawless) [1], 6. Max Adams (#37 Felker) [8], 7. Jeff Beasley (#83 Beasley) [6], 8. Brayton Lynch (#37s Felker) [7], 9. Kayla Roell (#4K Roell) [5]. NT
FEATURE: (15 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. Bryan Stanfill [4], 2. Chett Gehrke [2], 3. Max Adams [6], 4. Brayton Lynch [8], 5. Jeff Schindler [3], 6. Billy Lawless [5], 7. Jeff Beasley [7], 8. Tyler Nelson [1], 9. Kayla Roell [9]. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Tyler Nelson, Laps 6-15 Bryan Stanfill.
USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET POINTS: 1-Chett Gehrke-199, 2-Tyler Nelson-188, 3-Bryan Stanfill-176, 4-Jeff Beasley-154, 5-Shane Cottle-150, 6-Chance Crum-107, 7-Kayla Roell-107, 8-Abby Hohlbein-99, 9-Emerson Axsom-75, 10-Thomas Meseraull-74.
NEXT USAC MIDWEST REGIONAL MIDGET RACE: June 30, 2021 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana
#11 Troy Rutherford (Ojai, Calif.)
(Lance Jennings Photo)
TROY RUTHERFORD SPRINTS
TO WEST COAST SPRINT VICTORY AT VENTURA
By: Lance Jennings
VENTURA, CA – JUNE 26, 2021… After facing heavy pressure from Austin Liggett, Troy Rutherford raced to the 30-lap victory at Ventura Raceway. Piloting his #11 Trench Shoring / Grimes Rock Maxim, Rutherford earned the seventh $1,500 USAC West Coast Sprint Car win of his career. 2018 champion Austin Liggett, point leader D.J. Johnson, "T-Dub" Trent Williams, and 2016 Champion Brody Roa chased the veteran driver to the VRA co-sanctioned checkered flags.
Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA) scored the night's Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award with a sixth place run from fourteenth. The 2016 Rookie of the Year qualified twelfth overall, took fourth in his heat race, and goes to Merced ranked third in the point standings.
Starting on the pole position, Rutherford grabbed the early lead and set a torrid place at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. As the battle raged behind for position, the former track champion built a solid advantage over the field. Moving from sixth, Liggett had worked his way to second and began to close on the leader. Within several laps, Austin challenged for the top spot and took command on the fourteenth circuit. Once out front, Liggett soon faced traffic that slowed his progress. Rutherford took advantage and powered to the lead on lap seventeen. Austin looked to return the favor and made final challenge off the last corner. With the checkered flags waving in front of a packed grandstand, the night belonged to Rutherford.
At the start of the night, Jacob Tuttle (Oakley, CA) posted his second career Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award. The driver of the Ted Finkenbinder's #3F Eagle registered a time of 12.350 on the fifth-mile oval over the 23-car field. Tuttle finished fifth in his heat race, scored seventeenth in the main event, and sits twenty-eighth in points after his first race of the campaign.
The night's 10-lap heat race victories went to Johnson (Extreme Mufflers First Heat), Hannah Mayhew (Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars Second Heat), and 2019 Champion, Tristan Guardino (Competition Suspension Incorporated / Ultra Shield Race Products Third Heat).
After scoring thirteenth in the feature, veteran driver Rick Hendrix (Palmdale, CA) claimed the night's Wilwood Disc Brakes' Lucky 13 Award. The multi-time USAC Champion was sixteenth quick in time trials, scored fourth in his heat race, and sits twenty-sixth in points after one night of competition.
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 26, 2021 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California – Co-Sanctioned With Ventura Racing Association (VRA)
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Jacob Tuttle, 3F, Finkenbinder-12.350; 2. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-12.435; 3. Trent Williams, 52V, Williams-12.687; 4. Brody Roa, 8M, May-12.700; 5. Kyle Edwards, 39, Edwards-12.831; 6. Jake Hodges, 4, Hodges-12.869; 7. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-12.882; 8. Nate Schank 1$, Schank-12.929; 9. Trent Carter, 13, Carter-12.934; 10. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-12.939; 11. Bruce Douglass, 13X, Davis-12.947; 12. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-12.954; 13. Tom Hendricks, 14, Hendricks-12.995; 14. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-13.038; 15. Tristan Guardino, 15T, Guardino-13.077; 16. Rick Hendrix, 15, Hendrix-13.166; 17. Hannah Mayhew, 43, Mayhew-13.295; 18. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-13.342; 19. Christopher Muraokoa, 25, Muraokoa-13.453; 20. Travis Buckley, 21K, Kruseman-13.890; 21. James Herrera, 5J, Herrera-14.127; 22. Kala Keliinoi, 1K, Kruseman-NT; 23. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT RACE: (10 laps) 1. Johnson, 2. Roa, 3. Rutherford, 4. Hendrix, 5. Tuttle, 6. Muraokoa, 7. Hendricks. NT.
SWAY-A-WAY TORSION BARS SECOND HEAT RACE: (10 laps) 1. Mayhew, 2. Liggett, 3. Douglass, 4. Edwards, 5. Boul, 6. Buckley, 7. Schank. NT.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT RACE: (10 laps) 1. Guardino, 2. Carter, 3. Soares, 4. Timmons, 5. Williams, 6. Hodges, 7. Herrera. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Troy Rutherford (1), 2. Austin Liggett (6), 3. D.J. Johnson (3), 4. Trent Williams (10), 5. Brody Roa (5), 6. Ryan Timmons (14), 7. Tristan Guardino (7), 8. Trent Carter (2), 9. Jake Hodges (11), 10. Nate Schank (12), 11. Bruce Douglass (13), 12. Travis Buckley (20), 13. Rick Hendrix (17), 14. Hannah Mayhew (8), 15. Christopher Muraokoa (19), 16. James Herrera (21), 17. Jacob Tuttle (9), 18. Tanner Boul (16), 19. Jarrett Soares (18), 20. Kyle Edwards (4), 21. Tom Hendricks (15). NT.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Rutherford, Laps 14-16 Liggett, Laps 17-30 Rutherford.
ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Ryan Timmons (14th to 6th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Rick Hendrix
NEW USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-D.J. Johnson-277, 2-Austin Liggett-260, 3-Ryan Timmons-236, 4-Brody Roa-229, 5-Tanner Boul-148, 6-Kyle Edwards-140, 7-Kaleb Montgomery-137, 8-Cody Fendley-132, 9-Danny Faria Jr.-110, 10-Jake Hodges-91.
NEXT USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE: July 9 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California
Winner Wesley Smith (Billings, Mo.)
(Lonnie Wheatley Photo)
SMITH WINS MIDWEST WINGLESS / WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA BORDER WAR AT 81
By: Ray Cunningham
Park City, Kansas (June 26, 2021)………From the "agony of defeat" just one week ago to "the thrill of victory" Saturday night at 81 Speedway, Billings, Missouri's Wesley Smith was back to where he has been most of the 2021 season, celebrating a victory in the 2nd annual Border Showdown featuring the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association vs. USAC Wingless Sprints Oklahoma.
Smith bested Overland Park, Kansas driver Luke Howard, Odessa, Missouri's Xavier Doney, Coweta, Oklahoma's Brett Wilson, and Battlefield, Missouri racer Kory Schudy.
For Smith, driving the John Helm/WSR Racing #12, this was sweet redemption after losing the lead following a green, white, checker finish at Central Missouri Speedway last Saturday in a race he dominated for 24 of the 25 laps.
Saturday night at South Central Kansas's premier dirt track, Smith was the hunter, chasing teenage gunner Howard, who was having a great run driving the Howard Racing No. 2H wrenched by three-time WAR champ Rick Smith. Smith caught the ever-improving Howard with 10 laps to go after a slight bobble by the Jayhawker on the cushion.
From there, the racing continued to be heart-stopping as Howard chased leader Smith thru lapped traffic along with contenders Doney, Wilson, and the winner of the last two MWRA main events, Schudy, in a race that went 25 laps without a yellow flag.
As the leaders came around for double checkered flags, Smith lost power just before the finish line but was able to withstand the onslaught of "Cool Hand Luke," and the "X-Man" Doney to win his second Midwest Wingless Sprint feature of 2021, and his fifth overall this season.
Earlier in the evening, on a beautiful night for racing in the Sunflower State, Wesley Smith won his heat race as did WSO point leader and two-time champ Brett Wilson, and Gladstone, Missouri's Chris Parkinson.
After a weekend off, USAC MWRA will head to Iowa to race on July 10 in the 3rd annual Corn Belt Clash at the famed half-mile oval of Knoxville Raceway, in a non-points special event
USAC MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION & USAC WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA RACE RESULTS: June 26, 2021 – 81 Speedway – Park City, Kansas
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 12-Wesley Smith [2], 2. 11w-Wyatt Burks [1], 3. 74-Xavier Doney [6], 4. 28-Kory Schudy [8], 5. 24c-Craig Carroll [7], 6. 21-Harlan Hulsey [4], 7. 31m-Eric Matthews [3]. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 53-Brett Wilson [1], 2. 41-Brad Wyatt [2], 3. 26-Zach Clark [3], 4. 7m-Heath Murry [5], 5. 6s-Spencer Martinez [4], 6. 9-Chad Goff [7], 7. 35-J.C. Wilson [6], 8. 24H-Ty Hulsey [9], 9. 7D-David Baxter [8]. NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. 65-Chris Parkinson [1], 2. 2H-Luke Howard [6], 3. 2-Kyle Lewis [4], 4. 20G-Noah Gass [5], 5. 79-Tim Kent [2], 6. 7x-Lance Silvers [7], 7. 15E-Dakota Earls [3]. NT
ALSO AT THE TRACK: 58-T.J. Cain
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in brackets) 1. Wesley Smith [2], 2. Luke Howard [1], 3. Xavier Doney [3], 4. Brett Wilson [4], 5. Kory Schudy [6], 6. Chris Parkinson [5], 7. Wyatt Burks [8], 8. Chad Goff [14], 9. Craig Carroll [12], 10. Kyle Lewis [9], 11. J.C. Wilson [18], 12. Tim Kent [16], 13. Heath Murry [11], 14. Zach Clark [10], 15. Ty Hulsey [19], 16. Harlan Hulsey [17], 17. Dakota Earls [20], 18. Spencer Martinez [13], 19. Lance Silvers [15]. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-15 Luke Howard, Laps 16-25 Wesley Smith.
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Wesley Smith-1275, 2-Kory Schudy-1260, 3-Chris Parkinson-1060, 4-Wyatt Burks-1050, 5-Chad Goff-975, 6-Zach Clark-945, 7-Xavier Doney-875, 8-Dakota Earls-770, 9-Zach Sanders-765, 10-Luke Howard-740.
USAC WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA POINTS: 1-Brett Wilson-422, 2-Ty Hulsey-365, 3-Craig Carroll-363, 4-Harlan Hulsey-333, 5-J.C. Wilson-310, 6-Wyatt Burks-269, 7-David Baxter-258, 8-Spencer Martinez-202, 9-Wesley Smith-150, 10-Luke Howard-142.
NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR RACE: July 10, 2021 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa – Brandt Corn Belt Clash (Non-Points Special Event)
NEXT USAC WINGLESS SPRINTS OKLAHOMA RACE: July 16, 2021 – Kansas State Fairgrounds – Hutchinson, Kansas
Winner Justin Davis (Spencer, Ind.)
DAVIS RULES TRI-STATE'S MMSA SUMMER SHOOTOUT
MIDWEST MINI SPRINT ASSOCIATION RESULTS: June 26, 2021 – Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana – Summer Shootout – 41 entries
HOOSIER SPEED QUICK TIME: Jeff Schindler
FEATURE: 1. Justin Davis, 2. Brad Strunk, 3. Jeff Schindler, 4. Kayla Roell, 5. Dean Parker, 6. Cody Gardner, 7. Nolan Kiefer, 8. Aaron Roell, 9. Zach Daum, 10. Jeremy Huebner, 11. Josh Hixson, 12. Sam Alloway, 13. Jac Nickles, 14. Greg Dedrick Jr., 15. Bryan Brewer, 16. Brandon Justus, 17. Brendon Cascadden, 18. Jaylon Mills, 19. Brandon Coffey, 20. Cody Trammell, 21. Aydn Schmidt. NT
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
SPEC Racing Engines Heat Winners: Aydn Schmidt, Kayla Roell, Bryan Brewer & Brad Strunk
Rod End Supply Podium, Feature Event: Justin Davis, Brad Strunk & Jeff Schindler
Keizer Aluminum Wheel Top-Five Of The Race: Dean Parker
Wilwood Brakes Good Break Of The Race 7th Place: Nolan Kiefer
Saldana Racing Products Lucky 13th Place: Jac Nickles
Hinchman Top Running Rookie: Nolan Kiefer
Langley Excavating Hard Charger: Samantha Alloway
Bailey Chassis Top Runner: Justin Davis
Hyper Racing Lucky Draw: Brandon Justus
Swat Pest B-Main Winner: Nolan Kiefer & Brandon Justus
AFCO Shocking Moment of the Race: Sam Meny Flipped in Turn 3
Rained Out Events:
June 25
USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets
Gas City I-69 Speedway
Gas City, Indiana
June 27
USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midgets
Kokomo Speedway
Kokomo, Indiana
Canceled Due to Power Outage:
June 26
USAC Midwest Regional Midgets
Wayne County Speedway
Wayne City, Illinois
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