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TIME TO GET DIRTY! SILVER CROWN BACK ON THE DIRT SUNDAY AT TERRE HAUTE
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
TIME TO GET DIRTY! SILVER CROWN BACK ON THE DIRT SUNDAY AT TERRE HAUTE
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Terre Haute, Indiana.........When a new season beckons, a number of new driver/team combos come to the forefront to make a splash on the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series scene, which begins this Sunday, April 29, at the Terre Haute Action Track with the "Sumar Classic."
Just one year ago, it was the new combination of driver Chris Windom and team owner Gene Kazmark who stole the spotlight in their debut together at Terre Haute. For 2018, Windom once again finds himself in a similar realm, taking on a new endeavor, but with an experienced team. There's no other team that has been more of a consistent front runner over the past two-plus decades than Gene Nolen's team. With USAC Triple Crown champ Jerry Coons, Jr. from Tucson, Ariz. as a teammate, you couldn't ask for a better one-two punch than Nolen has in his familiar yellow cars this season.
Windom signed up for a full season campaign with Nolen, whose cars captured the 1998 and 2002 "Sumar" with driver Tony Elliott. Windom, the 2016 series driver champ from Canton, Ill. is one of four past "Sumar" winners in this year's field for the 18th running of the event, including three-time series champ Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, Calif. (2014), Shane Cockrum of Benton, Ill. (2015) and Greenfield, Indiana's C.J. Leary (2016).
2016 Sumar Classic winner C.J. Leary. (Jeremey Rhoades Photo)
A handful of drivers have reached the peak of victory in a Silver Crown car, but not yet at Terre Haute. Indianapolis, Indiana's Tyler Courtney scored the victory in the most recent dirt race in September's "4-Crown Nationals" at Rossburg, Ohio's Eldora Speedway. Ione, California's Justin Grant and Kokomo, Indiana's Shane Cottle have gotten the job done at each of the Illinois miles - Grant at Springfield in 2017 and Cottle at Du Quoin in 2007. David Byrne's lone win came on the pavement at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind. in 2014, but the Shullsburg, Wisconsin driver has shown continuous improvement on the dirt and could be a contender come Sunday.
Brady Bacon heads a list of USAC National feature winners in Sprints and Midgets who are striving to break through for their first win in the Silver Crown Series. Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Bacon is a two-time National Sprint champ who's making his first series start for the Klatt Enterprises team. Past "Joe James/Pat O'Connor Memorial" Salem (Ind.) Speedway Sprint Car winner Jacob Wilson of Crawfordsville, Ind. returns to action after being sidelined by injury since last August. Steve Buckwalter of Royersford, Pa. has been a standout in wing sprint cars and midgets over the years, collecting an Indiana Midget Week victory at Gas City I-69 Speedway in 2010. Two-time USAC Sprint Car winner Bill Rose of Plainfield, Ind. has a plethora of laps throughout the years at the Terre Haute Action Track, coming oh-so-close to victory on multiple occasions.
Past HPD Midget champ Austin Nemire of Sylvania, Ohio is back for a full-season run in his Nemire-Lesko Racing ride. Binghamton, New York's Coleman Gulick returns to the series for the first time since 2012. Terre Haute Action Track veterans Matt Goodnight of Winchester, Ind. and Troy, Missouri's Chris Fetter make the trek back to Terre Haute in their self-owned machines.
Past Silver Crown Rookies of the Year Aaron Pierce of Muncie, Ind. (2004), Casey Shuman of Tempe, Ariz. (2016) and Columbus, Indiana's Joss Moffatt (2017) will be joined by this year's new crop of Rookies. Warsaw, Indiana's Neil Shepherd, Denton, North Carolina's Johnny Petrozelle, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania's Dave Berkheimer and Korey Weyant of Springfield, Ill. each possess past Silver Crown experience at Terre Haute.
Meanwhile, New Castle, Indiana's Kyle Robbins and Pendleton, Indiana's have extensive experience under their belt on the Terre Haute half-mile in sprints and midgets, but this will be their first foray into gassing up a Silver Crown on the dirt after each made their debut on the pavement earlier this month at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.
Perhaps the most versatile background of any one driver in this year's Rookie class is Pleasant Valley, New York's Chris Dyson, the two-time American LeMans Series champion and three-time 24 Hours of LeMans competitor who recently finished as the runner-up at the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Trans Am competition, has made a handful of starts with USAC in midgets and sprints over the last few years, mainly on the west coast.
Austin Mundie of Dallas, Texas and Mike Haggenbottom of Levittown, Pa. come to Silver Crown racing from similar backgrounds in wing sprint car racing. Mundie comes from the 305 and 360 sprint car ranks, cutting his teeth at legendary venues such as Devil's Bowl Speedway. Haggenbottom is hardly a Rookie when it comes to seat time, but he arrives in the Silver Crown Series with an impressive resume that includes a URC Sprint Car title, a stint in ARCA and five Tri-State Racesaver Series championships.
Pit gates open at 1pm while the grandstands open at 2pm. An open pit party will take place from 2-3pm. Silver Crown cars hit the track for hot laps beginning at 4pm.
The pit party is free for everyone purchasing a ticket for the race. The pit area will be open from 2-3pm, allowing fans up-close and personal access to the drivers and cars of the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series. You can also watch and listen to USAC's pre-race show, "The Lowdown Before It Goes Down" LIVE from the pit area.
Tickets for the "Sumar Classic" can be purchased now at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2018-sumar-classic-at-terre-haute. Adult infield tickets start at just $15 while children age 11 and under are FREE! Adult grandstand tickets are $25.
The Terre Haute Action Track is located at 3901 South US Hwy 41, Terre Haute, IN, 47807.
For fans who are unable to make the trip in-person, the "Sumar Classic" will be streamed live on http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/. If you miss the love coverage or would like to watch the full event, you can catch it again a day later, on-demand, at www.Loudpedal.TV/.
"SUMAR CLASSIC" ENTRY LIST:
04 (R) NEIL SHEPHERD/Warsaw, IN (Shepherd Racing)
07 JACOB WILSON/Crawfordsville, IN (Wilson Brothers Racing)
6 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
7 (R) KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
8 (R) JOHNNY PETROZELLE/Denton, NC (Cornell-Petrozelle Racing)
9 (R) CHRIS DYSON/Pleasant Valley, NY (Chris Dyson Racing)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
17 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Gene Nolen Racing)
18 (R) TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 JERRY COONS, JR./Tucson, AZ (Gene Nolen Racing)
26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)
30 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Leary Racing)
31 (R) DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
32 JOSS MOFFATT/Columbus, IN (Williams & Wright Racing)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
47 (R) AUSTIN MUNDIE/Dallas, TX (Les Butler)
53 STEVE BUCKWALTER/Royersford, PA (SET Racing)
55 CASEY SHUMAN/Tempe, AZ (Bateman Racing)
63 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (DePalma Motorsports)
66 BILL ROSE/Plainfield, IN (Bill Rose Racing)
71 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Hardy Boys Racing)
81 SHANE COTTLE/Kokomo, IN (Curtis Williams)
89 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Fetter Racing)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
97 TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Hans Lein)
99 (R) KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
114 COLEMAN GULICK/Binghamton, NY (Team Scorpion)
124 (R) MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (Haggenbottom Racing)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series Rookie of the Year contender.
USAC SPRINT DOUBLEHEADER HITS THE HOOSIER STATE THIS FRIDAY-SATURDAY
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
USAC SPRINT DOUBLEHEADER HITS THE HOOSIER STATE THIS FRIDAY-SATURDAY
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
After a tumultuous month of inactivity brought upon by Mother Nature, the teams of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship are champing at the bit to get their season back on track this weekend with a doubleheader of action in southern Indiana, Friday, April 27, at Bloomington Speedway and Saturday, April 28, at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt.
Kevin Thomas, Jr. not only leads the series standings heading into the weekend, he was also the lone driver to win at both Bloomington and Haubstadt a year ago. In fact, the Cullman, Ala. driver is the only expected entrant for this weekend's events who has multiple wins at both venues. Additionally, Thomas was victorious at Bloomington in 2012 for his very first career series win. In 2013, Thomas won a pair of features at Tri-State.
His Dynamics, Inc. team has found a fortune of success over the years at both places, with three wins at Bloomington in 2005 with Tracy Hines, 2008 with Jerry Coons, Jr. and just last year with Chad Boespflug, who outdueled Chris Windom in an incredible, see-saw battle during the final laps. At Tri-State, Dynamics, Inc. has made it to victory lane with Tracy Hines in 2002 and Brady Bacon in 2015.
Last Spring, Chad Boespflug (top) won at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway while Chris Windom (bottom) captured the victory at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind., sites of this weekend's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car races. Al Steinberg Photo (Top) & David Nearpass Photo (Bottom).
Reigning series champion Windom is the only other expected driver for this weekend's races besides Thomas to capture victories at both tracks. The Canton, Ill. native nailed down a "W" at Tri-State last Spring and was tops at Bloomington back in 2011.
Tyler Courtney and Clauson Marshall Newman Racing have been a staple of the post-race victory lane photos in the early part of the 2018 USAC season, with two National Sprint Car victories at Ocala in February and a National Midget win in the "Kokomo Grand Prix" at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway a little over a week ago. The Indianapolis, Ind. driver notched his first Bloomington win during "Indiana Midget Week" last June. With Tim Clauson on the wrenches, a No. 7 has made it to Bloomington victory lane twice with Bryan Clauson in 2009 and 2015.
Past Bloomington USAC Sprint winners hoping to redo the deed this Friday night on the quarter-mile of red clay include 2016 Indiana Sprint Week feature winner Brent Beauchamp of Avon, Ind., 2007 and 2013 winner Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. as well as Tucson, Arizona's Jerry Coons, Jr. in 2008.
Local hero Kyle Cummins of Princeton, Ind. has won at Tri-State in each of the past two seasons and is always a top-threat at the quarter-mile paperclip in Haubstadt. Chase Stockon of nearby Fort Branch, Ind. picked up the season-opener in Ocala and is a past Haubstadt "Spring Showdown" winner in 2016. Carson Short of Marion, Ill. has been consistently fast everywhere he's been and Tri-State is the home of his lone USAC victory back in 2016. Robert Ballou, the 2015 USAC champ from Rocklin, Calif. snared the honors at Tri-State during the summer of 2014.
At Bloomington, cars hit the track at 6:30pm (Eastern). Adult general admission tickets are $20, children 12 and under are FREE and pit passes are $30. If you can't make it to the track in person, watch LIVE flag-to-flag coverage on www.SpeedShiftTV.com/.
At Tri-State, pits open at 3:30pm (Central) while the grandstands open at 4:30pm. Cars hit the track at 6pm. Adult tickets are $25, students age 13-18 are $20 and children 12 and under are FREE!
KOKOMO USAC P1 INSURANCE NATIONAL MIDGET RACE RESULTS
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
#7BC Tyler Courtney battles #67 Logan Seavey for the lead Friday night during the 'Kokomo Grand Prix' at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway. (Travis Branch Photo)
COURTNEY CLAIMS REDEMPTION ON KOKOMO GP NIGHT ONE
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana.........Waiting for redemption is a challenge. That's just what Tyler Courtney faced Friday at Kokomo Speedway on night one of the "Kokomo Grand Prix," featuring the USAC P1 Insurance Midget National Championship.
One month after missing the feature in the season-opener at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, Ill., Courtney was champing at the bit to return to what everyone has become accustomed to at Kokomo since August of last year by getting back to victory lane.
Courtney overcame an appetizing see-saw battle for the lead with the driver who became the star of Du Quoin last month, Logan Seavey. With one final slider to close the door, an avoidance of lapped traffic mayhem and a late-race restart, Courtney overcame all those obstacles to come through with his fourth-career series win and first of the season. It's a long way, figuratively and literally, from the lonely sideline he stood on in the most recent race.
"It was frustrating having to wait a month," Courtney begins. "You just have to take those nights. Unfortunately, you're going to have those and just hope that everyone else has a night like that at some point, but you have to come back and rebound as best you can. There hasn't been any racing lately, so we couldn't do anything. Our motto is 'you're only as good as your last race,' so you don't want to end on missing the show. "We tried to maximize points tonight, but just came up short in qualifying there. We were really good in the feature and Tim (Clauson) gave me a really good racecar. I think we definitely rebounded and showed that we're still in contention for this thing for the rest of the year."
Courtney, of Indianapolis, Ind., would roll off from the fifth position for the 30-lap feature while, up front, series point leader Seavey motored around the outside of pole sitter Kevin Thomas, Jr. to take the early lead. Seavey would stretch the lead out following a brief challenge from reigning series champ Spencer Bayston until a lap nine red flag for a Dave Darland "Tommy Tipover" in turn four. Darland would restart.
On the ensuing restart, Bayston drew the bow back and the let the arrow fly toward the cushion, sliding up in front of Seavey near the exit of turn two, nearly forcing Seavey into a complete halt, which created an opening for third-running Courtney to enter the fray on the inside and make it three-wide midway down the back straightaway. Seavey rolled through the alley between Courtney and Bayston like an Earl Anthony strike, pinning himself to the top spot as he drifted up to the turn three cushion.
Courtney remained on the bottom as Seavey ripped the top, with Courtney clasping to the advantage by a mere car length at the line at the conclusion of laps 10 and 11. On the 12th circuit, however, Courtney moved up to the middle to slow Seavey's charge, but the impressive series Rookie from Sutter, Calif. looked anything but a Rookie when he stuck it on the cushion, went right for the jugular and reclaimed the lead from Courtney at the exit of turn four.
Instantly, Courtney aimed for the bottom of turn one and threw his slider, briefly taking the lead before Seavey cut back downhill off turn two to take back possession into turn three. Courtney reloaded and aimed for the bottom of turn four to slide back to the front yet again to lead lap 13. Seavey packed the gunpowder and fired another Bullet (by Spike) at Courtney in turn three, sliding all the way up to the cush which left the door open for Courtney to carry the momentum back to the point to pull ahead on the 14th lap.
'It was frustrating having to wait a month. You just have to take those nights. Unfortunately, you're going to have those and just hope that everyone else has a night like that at some point, but you have to come back and rebound as best you can. There hasn't been any racing lately, so we couldn't do anything. Our motto is 'you're only as good as your last race,' so you don't want to end on missing the show.' - Tyler Courtney
"This place is all about momentum, so you just have to try and kill his momentum as much as possible. It was tough to do," Courtney explained. "The kid (Seavey) is a tough racer and he's proven that by winning the first race of the year and a POWRi championship last year. He's a smart racer and people have taken note of that. I think it was a deal where a little bit more experience on my part came into play. I kind of knew where to cut his momentum off and where to pick mine back up. We made the right moves at the right time tonight and it worked in our favor."
A lap past halfway, Seavey whacked the turn four wall in pursuit of Courtney. As he gathered up his horse, Chad Boat got by him for second as Courtney extended his lead to a second-and-a-half, although the lead would begin to shrink as the frontrunners encountered lapped traffic.
The closest encounter came with five laps remaining as series Rookies Kyle Craker and Chase Jones tangled on the back straight, sending Jones sideways toward the infield grass just as the leaders were arriving on the scene, putting Courtney into a brief scare.
"It was pure pucker factor," Courtney said matter-of-factly. "I thought the 33 (Jones) was going to come right into the side of my right rear and I was going to go for a ride. I just jammed the throttle and squeaked out of there."
Despite the close calls in gridlock, Courtney was hoping for a clean and green run down the stretch.
"I wasn't hoping for a yellow," Courtney admits. "I wanted it to stay green because I thought we were really good through lapped traffic. I know that's where you can win or lose these races. Restarts are definitely tough. Then, to have to restart after the white flag came out, it's a tough deal. You really have to stay focused, hit your marks and make them perfect. These races aren't easy to win. Guys like Chad and Brady are veterans, so they know when to pounce and how to pounce. That's definitely in the back of your mind, but you just have to keep your nose down and do what you've been doing the whole race."
With Courtney seemingly control, the chessboard was reset when 12th running Tyler Thomas stalled atop the turn four cushion just as the white flag was waving, setting up a green-white checkered finish. On the GWC, Boat was able to hang with Courtney, just two car lengths separating the top-two as they crossed under the white. However, Courtney incrementally inched away from Boat on the final go-around to take the victory by a half-second over Boat, Brady Bacon, Bayston and fast qualifier Justin Grant.
With a pair of "Sprint Car Smackdown" wins and a "Kokomo Klash" score to close out 2017 and now a "Kokomo Grand Prix" triumph to begin 2018, Courtney has posted an undefeated mark since August of last year when he's made an appearance at Kokomo. Yet, with the competition as fierce as it is right now, Courtney won't allow himself to get complacent.
"If you get yourself too confident, you kind of get yourself in trouble," Courtney reminded himself. "I think anytime we come to this place, I feel pretty confident that I'm going to do my job to win. I've won with two different teams here now that have given me great cars and that definitely makes my job easier. Every win here is special. It's such a neat place and the O'Connors are great people who do a lot for our sport and put up a lot of our marquee events throughout the year. The best thing we can do to repay him is to put on a show like we did tonight."
Contingency award winners Friday night at Kokomo Speedway included Tucker Klaasmeyer (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Jerry Coons, Jr. (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Tyler Thomas (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Thomas Meseraull (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner & KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Dave Darland (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Tyler Nelson (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 13, 2018 - Kokomo, Indiana - Kokomo Speedway - "Kokomo Grand Prix"
QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Justin Grant, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall/Wood-13.154; 2. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.168; 3. Ryan Robinson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.241; 4. Spencer Bayston, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.261; 5. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.274; 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 15, Petry/Goff-13.373; 7. Brady Bacon, 76m, FMR-13.385; 8. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-13.400; 9. Holly Shelton, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.402; 10. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.428; 11. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-13.549; 12. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.550; 13. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.592; 14. Kyle Craker, 76E, FMR-13.604; 15. Brayton Lynch, 1K, RKR-13.612; 16. Thomas Meseraull, 63, Dooling-13.688; 17. Andrew Felker, 7F, Boss Factory Racing-13.689; 18. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry/Goff-13.696; 19. Kyle Schuett, 9k, Schuett-13.722; 20. Dave Darland, 91D, Thomas-13.770; 21. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-13.771; 22. Alex Bright, 77, Bright-13.804; 23. C.J. Leary, 4, TOPP-13.944; 24. Matt Moore, 9, Hergott/RayPro-13.976; 25. Tyler Nelson, 88T, Nelson-14.007; 26. Andrew Layser, 35, Bright-14.125; 27. Sam Johnson, 72, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.176; 28. Chase Jones, 33, Team RayPro-14.219; 29. Ethan Mitchell, 19M, Mitchell-14.301; 30. Kevin Studley, 57, Studley-14.302; 31. Chris Hettinger, 71H, Hettinger-14.487; 32. Bear Wood, 8JR, Wood-15.718; 33. Gage Walker, 7, Walker-19.423; 34. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Tucker/Boat-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Klaasmeyer, 2. Seavey, 3. Grant, 4. Felker, 5. Shelton, 6. Walker, 7. Nelson, 8. Mitchell, 9. Windom. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Coons, 2. K.Thomas, 3. Courtney, 4. Carrick, 5. Craker, 6. Hendricks, 7. Layser, 8. Studley, 9. Bright. 2:16.86
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. T.Thomas, 2. Bacon, 3. Robinson, 4. Schuett, 5. Leary, 6. Lynch, 7. Johnson, 8. Hettinger. 2:16.86
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Meseraull, 2. Wise, 3. Boat, 4. Bayston, 5. Darland, 6. Jones, 7. Moore, 8. Wood. 2:16.66
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Shelton, 2. Darland, 3. Bright, 4. Craker, 5. Jones, 6. Lynch, 7. Nelson, 8. Leary, 9. Hendricks, 10. Walker, 11. Moore, 12. Layser, 13. Johnson, 14. Studley, 15. Mitchell, 16. Wood, 17. Hettinger, 18. Windom. 2:46.01
FEATURE: (31 laps - starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (5), 2. Chad Boat (8), 3. Brady Bacon (7), 4. Spencer Bayston (3), 5. Justin Grant (6), 6. Zeb Wise (12), 7. Logan Seavey (2), 8. Thomas Meseraull (16), 9. Ryan Robinson (4), 10. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 11. Holly Shelton (9), 12. Tucker Klaasmeyer (13), 13. Dave Darland (20), 14. Andrew Felker (17), 15. Jerry Coons Jr. (18), 16. Brayton Lynch (15), 17. Tanner Carrick (10), 18. Kyle Craker (14), 19. Gage Walker (23). 20. Alex Bright (21), 21. Tyler Thomas (11), 22. Chase Jones (22), 23. Kyle Schuett (19), 24. Matt Moore (24). NT
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**Moore flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Darland flipped on lap 8 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Seavey, Laps 10-11 Courtney, Lap 12 Seavey, Laps 13-31 Courtney.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Thomas Meseraull (16th-8th)
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Tyler Nelson
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Dave Darland
NEW USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Seavey-131, 2-Grant-128, 3-Wise-126, 4-Boat-125, 5-Robinson-117, 6-Bacon-106, 7-Bayston-100, 8-Courtney-91, 9-K.Thomas Jr.-84, 10-Carrick-75.
NEXT USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: April 14 - Kokomo (IN) Speedway - "Kokomo Grand Prix"
SANTOS GOES BACK-TO-BACK IN PHOENIX SILVER CROWN OPENER
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
#63 Kody Swanson and eventual winner #22 Bobby Santos battle for the lead during Saturday's 'Phoenix Copper Cup' at ISM Raceway. (Al Steinberg Photo)
SANTOS GOES BACK-TO-BACK IN PHOENIX SILVER CROWN OPENER
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Phoenix, Arizona....April 6-7, 2018 - Each year, it seems the ongoing tug-of-war for pavement supremacy on the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car circuit is waged between Bobby Santos and Kody Swanson.
In the 2018 season opener, the duo once again picked up right where they left off in a memorable stop at the tri-oval of ISM Raceway where the two fought tooth-and-nail during a side-by-side battle that lasted two laps at speeds nearing 150mph with both never turning a single wheel in the wrong spot.
Although the starring roles remained unaltered on this day, a plot twist had Santos trying to overcome a turbulent beginning in which he dropped to the tail of the field following an early-race pit stop.
Santos' precision was downright surgical as he rose up the scoring pylon, ultimately surging ahead on the inside of Swanson on lap 80, then rocketed away during the final laps to score his second-straight "Phoenix Copper Cup" victory.
Santos, of Franklin, Mass., became the first to capture a Phoenix Silver Crown victory in consecutive years since Dave Steele won five in a row between 2002 and 2006, something that doesn't stray too far from Santos' mind when he competes here in the Valley of the Sun.
"It's right up there," Santos exclaimed. "To win back-to-back is really cool. Although, for a minute there, I didn't expect to be sitting here. We had a good car all day today, but we kind of missed (the setup) at the start of the race. This means a lot. One of my idols is Dave Steele. He owned this place. I feel like he's pushing me a little bit."
Santos' early trouble commenced as he pushed up the racetrack between turns one and two on multiple occasions early in the going, dropping him from his second starting position to 10th by lap ten. Following a caution for a Kyle Robbins turn one spin on lap 17, Santos' crew chief and father, Bob, made the decision to pull him into pit lane for a few adjustments that seemed to do the trick.
Although Santos would have his work cut out for him, restarting 16th on the lap 22 restart with quite a few heavy-hitters serving as the rabbits that Santos would have to chase down, including a strong Kyle Hamilton who led a race-high 54 laps, plus Chris Windom, Swanson, David Byrne and Justin Grant. Meanwhile, Santos was lurking just behind in sixth by the midway point.
Bobby Santos picked up his third career USAC victory at ISM Raceway Saturday. In 2009, he won in USAC Midget competition before winning the Silver Crown events in 2017 and 2018. (Al Steinberg Photo)
On lap 53, Windom got caught behind the lapped car of Breidinger toward the end of the back stretch. Windom dove low, flat lining his momentum while Swanson and Byrne chose the high road to cruise past them all to take second and third, respectively.
On lap 66, Hamilton was seemingly in control in his first series start since the 2015 season. Yet, exiting turn four, the pack freight-trained him on the inside as Hamilton slowed dramatically, eventually coming to a rest on the back stretch to prompt a yellow flag.
Thirty laps remained on the restart, leaving a full-out sprint to the finish. Running fourth, Santos quickly disposed of Windom on lap 73 with an inside move in turn three. Two laps later, Santos said adios to Byrne as he bagged second with just a quarter of the race remaining.
Patience was not in the cards at this moment as Santos immediately caught Swanson and pressurized the three-time series champ, putting them nose-to-tail just inches apart. Santos then dove to the inside of Swanson moments later, engaging in a full two-lap, clean, Ben Hur-style wheel-to-wheel war that Santos emerged victorious with on lap 80.
"Racing side-by-side at a place like this is really cool and lot of fun," Santos explained. "You never know what (Kody) has left. Last year, Kody made a late-race charge and, in another couple laps, he could've beat us. I had that in the back of my mind that, at that point, I needed to get past him and get away from him. Racing here, I've never had to try so hard and be so up-on-the-wheel for 100 laps. Ten years ago, I used to ride for 50 and race for 50. Now we're racing for 100."
From there, Santos had but a few lappers to overcome as a cloud of attrition cast itself over a few of the front runners in the final laps, including Windom and Byrne. But that cloud dissipated for Santos over the 100-miler, as he pulled away for a commanding victory over Swanson, Grant, Eric Gordon and hard charger/top Rookie finisher Cody Gerhardt.
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USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: April 6-7, 2018 - Phoenix, Arizona - ISM Raceway - "Phoenix Copper Cup"
QUALIFYING: (Held April 6) 1. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-25.326; 2. Bobby Santos, 22, DJ Racing-25.363; 3. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-25.438; 4. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-25.550; 5. Kyle Hamilton, 6, Klatt-25.623; 6. Chris Windom, 17, Nolen-25.653; 7. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-25.836; 8. Eric Gordon, 21, Armstrong-25.893; 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-25.986; 10. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-26.012; 11. A.J. Russell, 3, Finkenbinder-26.384; 12. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott/Gorman-26.569; 13. Cody Gerhardt, 60, Gerhardt-27.450; 14. Bill Rose, 66, Rose-27.466; 15. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR Racing-27.476; 16. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-27.624; 17. Toni Breidinger, 80, Breidinger-27.914; 18. Jesse Dunham, 126, Pierce-28.262.
FEATURE: (100 laps - Held April 7) 1. Bobby Santos, 2. Kody Swanson, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Eric Gordon, 5. Cody Gerhardt, 6. Travis Welpott, 7. David Byrne, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Matt Goodnight, 10. Aaron Pierce, 11. Kyle Hamilton, 12. Bill Rose, 13. Jesse Dunham, 14. Toni Breidinger, 15. Austin Nemire, 16. A.J. Russell, 17. Jerry Coons Jr., 18. Kyle Robbins. 58:07.875
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 Byrne, Laps 12-65 Hamilton, Laps 66-79 Swanson, Laps 80-100 Santos.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER AWARD: Cody Gerhardt (13th to 5th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Jesse Dunham
NEW USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Santos & Swanson-70, 3-Grant-64, 4-Gordon-51, 5-Gerhardt-48, 6-Welpott-45, 7-Byrne-42, 8-Windom-39, 9-Goodnight-36, 10-Hamilton-34.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: April 29 - Terre Haute, IN - Terre Haute Action Track - "Sumar Classic"
SEAVEY SEAMLESS IN “SHAMROCK CLASSIC”
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
SEAVEY SEAMLESS IN "SHAMROCK CLASSIC"
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois.........In its brief three-year history, the "Shamrock Classic" has annually been the home of first-time USAC P1 Insurance National Midget feature winners.
In the inaugural running in 2016, it was Shane Golobic. One year ago, it was Justin Grant.
Saturday night's third annual proved to be no exception as Logan Seavey, in his first USAC start aboard the Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian No. 67, captured the pot of gold at the Southern Illinois Center, leading all 50 laps to score his first career series win in the season opener.
With the departure of 2016 series champ Tanner Thorson, Seavey is and was fully aware of the big shoes he had to fill when he strapped into his new ride. But the 2017 POWRi champ was more than ready to step into the role seamlessly.
"Driving the number 67 is pretty iconic," Seavey acknowledged. "When you get hired for a job to do, you have to do your job. After the Chili Bowl, I raised my own expectations a lot. We ran really well, and I got comfortable really quickly. I figured we could win some races if everything fell our way, but I didn't think this would be the place we'd do it. Everything went our way tonight and that's how it goes sometimes."
The 1/6-mile indoor dirt track regularly presents a unique set of challenges that make it stand apart from other venues on the schedule. In fact, the stout KKM team only had three of its seven cars qualify for the feature by transferring through the preliminary events Saturday night. As the third-straight first-time series winner in the race, the question comes to mind whether this track has a character that puts all competitors at square one, or whether it's being in the right equipment at the right time and the right place. Seavey believes each factor play a prominent role.
"I definitely think it's a little of both," Seavey agreed. "I don't know if 'random' is the right word, but at this track a lot of really good drivers don't run very well and a lot of guys that might not run great at other places show up here and run really well."
A track rework prior to the main event presented a narrow groove at the start of the 50-lapper, which played to Seavey's benefit as he glued his car to the bottom on corner entry and never let go of his grip, despite a brief foray to the middle as he started to work on lapped traffic.
"One of the first times I got to the lappers, the track was still pretty good, and I thought I had to do something," Seavey recalled. "I kind of moved up to the middle and Ryan (Robinson) showed me a nose. At that point, I pretty much committed to the bottom. Traditionally here, a lot of times, you'll start on the bottom and then they'll jump up to the top. The top just never really cleaned off, built a ledge or anything to hold you. It seemed like you would just fall off and weren't able to carry any speed up there. After I saw the top wasn't really cleaning off up there, I just knew as long as I stuck the bottom, and no one did anything really crazy on the top, I was going to be all right."
With less than 10 laps remaining, Seavey encountered a slew of lapped traffic that briefly threw a wrench in his pursuit of victory. As he, Brent Beauchamp and Zeb Wise ran nose-to-tail, one-two-three, Seavey had a split decision to make, but the Sutter, California native stuck to his guns.
"I knew the laps were winding down, so I knew one of those guys might get antsy and maybe try to move me off the bottom or make a hero lap on the top and get something going," Seavey recounted. "I knew I just had to make perfect laps, especially the restarts, and nail the bottom of one and two. As long as we went through there clean, I felt like I could get around the bottom as good as anybody. As long as I went through there cleanly, I felt like I was clean until I ran down lapped traffic."
"I was just watching the lappers and seeing if they were making up any ground on the top and if maybe I'd be able to do it," Seavey continued. "But any lapper that went up there lost ground, so I figured as long as I stuck to the bottom, I'd much rather see somebody rip around me on the top than me going to the top and letting them pass me on the bottom."
With three to go, the traffic would clear by virtue of a caution for the stopped cars of Jerry Coons, Jr. and Tony Roney in turn one. That provided Seavey an open racetrack, which he fully took advantage of, immediately opening up an eight car-length lead on Beauchamp once the green flag fell.
"The thing took off so good," Seavey beamed. "A lot of times, the yellows just fell our way, right when we got to the lappers. They would start to slow us down, but the cautions came out perfectly for us. Sometimes everything goes your way. That's how it was for us tonight "
Seavey captured the victory ahead of two other drivers seeking their first USAC National Midget win - Beauchamp and fellow Rookie Zeb Wise. Teammate Ryan Robinson was fourth while Justin Grant had to use a provisional, yet managed to charge through the field and finish fifth after starting 21st.
Contingency award winners Saturday night at the Southern Illinois Center include Brent Beauchamp (Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner), Dave Darland (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Qualifier Winner, Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Matt Moore (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Terry Babb (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Kyle O'Gara & Tyler Courtney (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfers).
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USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: March 10, 2018 - Du Quoin, Illinois - Southern Illinois Center - Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts "Shamrock Classic"
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Terry Babb (#37 Felker), 2. C.J. Leary (#11A Gray), 3. Tony Roney (#1T Roney), 4. Justin Grant (#17BC Clauson/Marshall), 5. Thomas Meseraull (#63 Dooling), 6. Glen Saville (#37T Felker), 7. Jake Neuman (#3N Neuman), 8. Howard Moore (#41 Chappue). NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Kyle O'Gara (#67F SFH), 2. Zeb Wise (#39BC Clauson/Marshall), 3. Tyler Nelson (#91 Harris), 4. Zane Hendricks (#27z Tucker/Boat), 5. Mark Chisholm (#56x Fifty6x), 6. Kyle May (#39 May), 7. Joe B. Miller (#51B Neuman), 8. Andy Bradley (#49 Bradley). NT
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Brent Beauchamp (#11 B & B), 2. Gage Walker (#7 Walker), 3. Harli White (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Dave Darland (#68 SFH), 5. Brayton Lynch (#1K RKR), 6. Josh Hawkins (#80 Hawkins), 7. Sam Johnson (#72 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 8. Colten Cottle (#37x Felker). NT
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Ryan Robinson (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Chad Boat (#84 Tucker/Boat), 3. Tucker Klaasmeyer (#27 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (#15 Petry/Goff), 5. Daniel Robinson (#57D McCreery), 6. Daniel Adler (#50 Adler), 7. Robert Bell (71½ Bell). NT
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Logan Seavey (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Jerry Coons, Jr. (#25 Petry/Goff), 3. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson/Marshall), 4. Chris Andrews (#95 Miller), 5. Kory Schudy (#28 Sawyer), 6. Tony Lawrence (#45 Lawrence). NT
SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tyler Thomas (#91T Thomas), 2. Tanner Carrick (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Wesley Smith (#44 Smith), 4. Matt Moore (#9 Hergott), 5. Ryan Hall (#2 Bush), 6. Spencer Bayston (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 7. Brady Bacon (#76m FMR). NT
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Beauchamp, 2. Neuman, 3. R. Robinson, 4. Carrick, 5. Klaasmeyer, 6. Hall, 7. Boat, 8. Schudy, 9. Bayston, 10. Johnson, 11. Meseraull. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. Darland, 2. Seavey, 3. Bacon, 4. H. Moore, 5. Nelson, 6. Courtney, 7. Hendricks, 8. May, 9. Grant, 10. Saville, 11. Smith. NT
CHALK STIX THIRD QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. K. Thomas, 2. Leary, 3. T. Thomas, 4. Roney, 5. Walker, 6. Babb, 7. Miller, 8. Chisholm, 9. Lynch, 10. Bradley. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH QUALIFIER: (12 laps) 1. M. Moore, 2. Andrews, 3. Wise, 4. Coons, 5. D. Robinson, 6. Hawkins, 7. R. Bell, 8. O'Gara, 9. Lawrence, 10. White, 11. C. Cottle. 2:18.22 (New Track Record)
FIRST SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Leary, 2. Boat, 3. Neuman, 4. Babb, 5. O'Gara, 6. H. Moore, 7. White, 8. Chisholm, 9. Johnson, 10. Miller, 11. Cottle, 12. Smith, 13. Klaasmeyer, 14. Bradley, 15. Lynch, 16. Bell. NT
SECOND SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Roney, 2. D. Robinson, 3. Bacon, 4. Hawkins, 5. Courtney, 6. Saville, 7. May, 8. Bayston, 9. Meseraull, 10. Lawrence, 11. Hendricks, 12. Schudy, 13. Grant, 14. May, 15. Greth, 16. Andrews. NT
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Brent Beauchamp (2), 3. Zeb Wise (9), 4. Ryan Robinson (4), 5. Justin Grant (21), 6. Dave Darland (3), 7. Chad Boat (14), 8. Gage Walker (8), 9. Terry Babb (18), 10. Daniel Robinson (15), 11. Tanner Carrick (10), 12. Jake Neuman (16), 13. Matt Moore (5), 14. Brady Bacon (17), 15. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (11), 16. Spencer Bayston (20), 17. Jerry Coons, Jr. (7), 18. Tony Roney (13), 19. Tyler Thomas (22), 20. Tyler Nelson (6), 21. Josh Hawkins (19), 22. C.J. Leary (12). NT
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**Chisholm flipped during the first heat. Chisholm flipped during the third qualifier. Bradley flipped during the third qualifier. Hawkins flipped on lap 32 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-50 Seavey.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Terry Babb (18th to 9th)
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Kyle O'Gara & Tyler Courtney
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Matt Moore
NEW USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Seavey-70, 2-Wise-64, 3-R. Robinson-61, 4-Grant-58, 5-Darland-55, 6-Boat-52, 7-Walker-49, 8-Carrick-41, 9-Neuman-39, 10-M. Moore-37.
NEXT USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: April 13-14 - Kokomo, Indiana - Kokomo Speedway - "Kokomo Grand Prix"
COURTNEY CHECKS OUT FOR 2ND STRAIGHT “WINTER DIRT GAMES” WIN IN OCALA
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
COURTNEY CHECKS OUT FOR 2ND STRAIGHT "WINTER DIRT GAMES" WIN IN OCALA
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
February 17, 2018 Ocala, Florida....In the spirit of the Winter Olympic games, Tyler Courtney's performance on Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park could only be described as flawless - even coming from the Russian judge.
No, you won't find any triple axels or double lutzes in his 30-lap performance, but you will find the precise execution of a race where nary a single wheel was turned wrong lap-after-lap on his way to a commanding USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature win, his second in as many nights at "Winter Dirt Games" in his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/Priority Aviation - Competition Suspension, Inc./Spike/Rider Chevy.
"I think it handled even better tonight," Courtney revealed. "We were able to go pretty much anywhere I put it. Hats off to Tim (Clauson) and the guys. They've worked their tails off since the week after the Chili Bowl leading up to this. This is the least I can do to repay those guys for the hours and the blood, sweat and tears that go into this. This is a really a good way to start off the year. Obviously, it's early, so you can't really worry about points, but it definitely puts us in a good spot heading into Lawrenceburg."
Tyler Courtney won his second straight USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park in the 'Winter Dirt Games' finale. (Rich Forman Photo)
From the drop of the green, pole sitter Courtney checked out, last seen headed northbound on I-75 out of Ocala carrying the winner's check under his arm. Only Chris Windom was able to present a brief challenge in the early stages of the event before falling back into line.
Windom, the defending series champ, charged from fifth to second on the opening lap past a stout group that included C.J. Leary, Chad Boespflug and Dave Darland. Yet, by midway, Courtney had ridden the cushion to more than a half-straightaway lead over Windom, who could never get close enough to present a challenge to Courtney in a race that went caution-free for the final 27 laps following a lap three caution for the stoppage of Garrett Aitken.
"I knew on that one and only restart, I could hear a guy behind me, so I kind of picked it up a little bit to see if I could either gain or lose the motor sound in my ear," Courtney explained. "It kept getting quieter and quieter, so I knew I had to be doing something right. I just kept chugging away and hitting my marks as I searched to see if the track was changing or not. We were able to work through lapped traffic nicely. When they got the move over flag, they either held their ground or moved once and didn't move again. It makes it a lot easier when the lapped cars are good like that. You try not to worry about the guys behind you, you try to worry about your own race, but it's nice when you come in and they say you had a pretty big lead."
When all was said and done, Courtney wrapped up a dominating 2.5 second victory over Windom, Boespflug, Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Darland to become the first driver to win back-to-back USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car features this early in the season since Tracy Hines in 2013.
"Winter Dirt Games" is unique in that it is almost like a mini-season within a season. It's a three-race excursion separated on its own island on the schedule in the month of February, preceding the bulk of the season which typically gets underway in late March, early April. In this case, it's a full six weeks until the next series event, March 31 at Indiana's Lawrenceburg Speedway.
'We had a semi-frustrating night the first time out, we just put our nose to the ground and kept digging. I think it obviously proved that if you stay focused on your goals, you can achieve them.' - Tyler Courtney (Al Steinberg Photo)
There may not be much, mechanically-speaking, that a team can take away from what they learned at a uniquely-shaped venue such as the 3/8-mile D-shaped track at Bubba Raceway Park and apply it to the high-banks of Lawrenceburg, but there are certain aspects of it that a driver and crew can learn from each other that will benefit them when the season gets in full swing despite the substantial time off over the next month-and-a-half. After a relatively rough showing, and an 11th place finish in Thursday night's season opener, Courtney and CMNR found something amongst themselves.
"Don't give up," Courtney noted. "We had a semi-frustrating night the first time out, we just put our nose to the ground and kept digging. I think it obviously proved that if you stay focused on your goals, you can achieve them."
"You have to stay humble and keep plugging away," Courtney continued. "I know these guys are going to go back to the shop and get her all maintenanced up and go through everything, just like we're restarting the season again. Luckily, for me, I get to go to Vegas and get to run for Mike Phulps and his 360 team here in the next week or so, so I get to stay fresh, then I get to hop into the midget at Du Quoin (on March 10). As a team, we really don't have a whole lot of downtime here. It makes things a little easier, but anytime you can stay in a racecar, it's beneficial to driving. The more laps you get, the better you're going to get."
Contingency award winners Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park include Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Indiana Mafia Fast Qualifier), Robert Ballou (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Kody Swanson (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Timmy Buckwalter (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Chris Windom (KSE Racing Products/ProSource Hard Charger), Kyle Cummins (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Johnny Petrozelle (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer), Mario Clouser (ProSource Hard Work Award) and Isaac Chapple (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 17, 2018 - Ocala, Florida - Bubba Raceway Park - "Winter Dirt Games 9"
QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-13.900; 2. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-14.033; 3. Logan Seavey, 5B, Briscoe-14.094; 4. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-14.241; 5. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-14.249; 6. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.274; 7. Chad Boespflug, 98, NineEight-14.275; 8. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-14.312; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.343; 10. Kyle Cummins, 3c, EZR/Cummins-14.375; 11. Carson Short, 21, RCM-14.375; 12. Brady Bacon, 63, Dooling-Hayward/RCR-14.412; 13. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-14.439; 14. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-14.458; 15. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-14.482; 16. Nick Bilbee, 2E, Epperson-14.483; 17. Kent Schmidt, 5K, Schmidt-14.492; 18. Kody Swanson, 3R, Rock Steady-14.675; 19. Timmy Buckwalter, 7, LNB-14.707; 20. Garrett Aitken, 32A, Aitken-14.860; 21. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.863; 22. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-14.887; 23. Landon Simon, 24, LSR-14.924; 24. Johnny Petrozelle, 59, Petrozelle-15.007; 25. Mario Clouser, 6, MCM-15.078; 26. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-15.330; 27. Slater Helt, 22s, Helt-15.355; 28. Frank Carlsson, 20, Carlsson-16.271.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Ballou, 2. Thomas, 3. Chapple, 4. Darland, 5. Schmidt, 6. Clouser, 7. Mattox. 1:56.48
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Swanson, 2. Cummins, 3. Andretti, 4. Windom, 5. Grant, 6. Martin, 7. Bell. 1:55.66
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Buckwalter, 2. Short, 3. Stockon, 4. Boespflug, 5. Seavey, 6. Simon, 7. Helt. 1:56.18
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Courtney, 2. Bacon, 3. Leary, 4. Aitken, 5. Bilbee, 6. Petrozelle, 7. Carlsson. 1:56.06
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Grant, 2. Bilbee, 3. Seavey, 4. Mattox, 5. Clouser, 6. Simon, 7. Petrozelle, 8. Schmidt, 9. Martin, 10. Bell, 11. Helt, 12. Carlsson. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (1), 2. Chris Windom (5), 3. Chad Boespflug (2), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (6), 5. Dave Darland (3), 6. C.J. Leary (4), 7. Robert Ballou (9), 8. Carson Short (11), 9. Justin Grant (8), 10. Brady Bacon (12), 11. Logan Seavey (7), 12. Chase Stockon (15), 13. Kyle Cummins (10), 14. Jarett Andretti (14), 15. Nick Bilbee (16), 16. Kody Swanson (17), 17. Timmy Buckwalter (18), 18. Isaac Chapple (13), 19. Mario Clouser (22), 20. Garrett Aitken (19), 21. Brandon Mattox (20), 22. Landon Simon (21). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Courtney.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Chris Windom (5th to 2nd)
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Johnny Petrozelle
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Kyle Cummins
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Mario Clouser
INDIANA MAFIA FAST QUALIFIER AWARD: Kevin Thomas, Jr.
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Isaac Chapple
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Thomas-227, 2-Windom-219, 3-Courtney-209, 4-Boespflug-182, 5-Leary-179, 6-Cummins-172, 7-Stockon-170, 8-Ballou-170, 9-Grant-168, 10-Short-164.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: March 31 - Lawrenceburg, Indiana - Lawrenceburg Speedway
FLORIDA IS SUNSHINE’S STATE AFTER WINNING “WINTER DIRT GAMES” NIGHT 2
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
FLORIDA IS SUNSHINE'S STATE AFTER WINNING "WINTER DIRT GAMES" NIGHT 2
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Ocala, Florida.........The evolution of Tyler Courtney's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car career has progressed by leaps and bounds over the past few seasons. In 2016, he broke into the win column for the first time. In 2017, he had a career-high five series wins. For 2018, the next logical step would be to contend for a series title.
Although the season is admittedly early, Courtney took a big leap toward that goal after a dominating performance Friday on night two of "Winter Dirt Games 9" at Bubba Raceway Park as he drove his Clauson-Marshall-Newman Racing/Priority Aviation - Competition Suspension, Inc./Spike/Rider Chevy to the front on lap three and led the remaining 28 laps to score his first victory for the team in their new sprinter.
Ocala has been a battleground that has proven to be a thorn in Courtney's side throughout his career. Four of his five starts at the 3/8-mile D-shaped track coming into Friday had resulted in finishes of 11th or worse. After a rough start a year ago and an equally tumultuous beginning on Thursday night, the Indianapolis, Indiana native licked his war wounds and arrived in a new frame of mind, a trait he said he didn't possess at this point last season.
"If I was in this position a year ago, I probably would've struggled again tonight," Courtney admits. "I took last year and learned how to handle myself from one night to the next, especially on a long trip like this. You just have to take last night and put it behind you and reset and give your team your best effort because you know they're going to give you their best effort every night. This is a really good way to start off the trip and year, especially since last year I think I came out either 14th or 15th in points. That makes the road to hoe a long one. This is really cool to start this way with a new team. There's always question marks, but I think we kind of threw those away tonight and, hopefully, made a statement that we're here to be a contender all year."
In 2017, Courtney's performance was clicking at a steady beat with TOPP Motorsports as he posted the best numbers of his career across the board. During the offseason, however, Courtney made the bold jump to Clauson-Marshall-Newman Racing full-time, the same team he competes with on the USAC Midget National Championship trail. For most, it takes more than a moment to jell properly with the team and its operations, but Courtney has a familiarity with these particular surroundings as a driver that is second to none, making the adaptation to each other in just the snap of a finger.
'If I was in this position a year ago, I probably would've struggled again tonight. I took last year and learned how to handle myself from one night to the next, especially on a long trip like this. You just have to take last night and put it behind you and reset and give your team your best effort because you know they're going to give you their best effort every night.' - Tyler Courtney (Rich Forman Photo)
"Tim (Clauson) has been a huge part of my career since I started in sprint cars and midgets," Courtney said. "Tim and I have such a close relationship with our head guy, and my roommate, Rizzy (Tyler Ransbottom). We're one big family here, so it's really special, especially to bring out a throwback car that Rizzy and Tim and everyone got to be a part of. Having a family atmosphere like this makes a transition like switching from a team that you ran with for two years a lot easier. The trust and the confidence level is there because I ran with them in the midgets last year, and I think we proved that tonight.
Indeed, they proved that, and it didn't take very long. As C.J. Leary and Kevin Thomas, Jr. tussled for position up front for the first two circuits, fourth-starting Courtney was precise, motoring to the outside of Thomas in turn two on lap three for second, then splitting between he and Leary to his outside as he dove to the bottom in turn three to snare the lead.
The sense of urgency was palpable in Courtney's mind and he knew he needed to take advantage of the space on the track afforded to him before it was discovered by Leary and/or Thomas.
"I knew I needed to get there," Courtney obliges. "I was running that next groove up from where they were and it stuck. I knew it was only a matter of time before they got there too. So, I knew I needed to get by them and get going. Luckily, I was able to get that done in one lap and didn't have to mess around too long. Once you get out front, you can maintain your own pace and run your own race instead of having to chase them and push your stuff. This place is pretty abrasive on tires, so to be able to get out and feel comfortable and manage my stuff, it's a huge advantage compared to those guys."
Seemingly nothing could slow Courtney's pace despite multiple cautions in the first half of the 30-lapper. Courtney simply walked away each time, spurting out to a half-straightaway lead by the eighth lap as he rode the lip up front.
An inadvertent yellow closed up things at the midway point when fifth-running Carson Short made a miraculous save to somehow avoid crunching the tail tank against the outside concrete. Short was repositioned to eighth in the order, the position he was in when the yellow flag was thrown.
That, in turn, erased Courtney's substantial advantage. On the lap 16 restart, an under-the-weather Leary managed to hang with Courtney for the ensuing two laps, but, gradually, Courtney and his CMNR ride proved to be too much for anybody else to handle on this night.
The only flip during the feature event came on lap 19 when Chris Windom and pole sitter Jarett Andretti made wheel-to-wheel contact while battling for the fourth position. Andretti got the worst end of the deal after hopping Windom's right rear and careening hard into the backstretch wall before flipping over. Andretti was uninjured. Windom continued.
On the ensuing restart, Courtney took the tried and true line on the cushion to distance himself from Leary. Nearing the final lap, Courtney's biggest challenge was a bevy of lapped traffic that included Isaac Chapple, Kent Schmidt and Brandon Mattox who ran high, low and middle as they battled for their own positions. Fortunately, for Courtney, he was able to part the sea of machinery and cut through the gridlock without a hindrance to his interval between he and second-place Leary as he raced to a 1.791-second victory over Leary, Thomas, Windom and fast qualifier Kyle Cummins.
As opposed to last year, the start of Courtney's 2018 season has been golden. A title is quite far off in the grand scheme of things, but getting out of the gate in such a positive manner not only provides points toward that goal, but boosts team morale and confidence to the point where running successfully comes second nature.
"Winning races is the reason we race, but there's the big picture at the end and that's a championship," Courtney said without missing a beat. "Not having to play catchup makes life a little easier, but you can't just take three nights like this and think you're good for the rest of the year. You have to finish this trip out strong and keep doing what you're doing. It's 40-plus nights of grueling, intense racing and this is probably the deepest field we've had in many years. It's going to be a fun season!"
Contingency award winners Friday night at Bubba Raceway Park include Kyle Cummins (Indiana Mafia Fast Qualifier), Nick Bilbee (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Robert Ballou (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner, KSE Racing Products/ProSource Hard Charger & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Tyler Courtney (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Kent Schmidt (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Mike Martin (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer), Brandon Mattox (ProSource Hard Work Award) and Brady Bacon (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 16, 2018 - Ocala, Florida - Bubba Raceway Park - "Winter Dirt Games 9"
QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Cummins, 3c, EZR/Cummins-14.297; 2. Carson Short, 21, RCM-14.358; 3. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-14.389; 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-14.410; 5. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-14.500; 6. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-14.538; 7. Logan Seavey, 5B, Briscoe-14.562; 8. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-14.605; 9. Tyler Clem, 14c, Clem/TSR-14.620; 10. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-14.678; 11. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-14.679; 12. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-14.683; 13. Brady Bacon, 63, Dooling-Hayward/RCR-14.688; 14. Chad Boespflug, 98, NineEight-14.717; 15. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.741; 16. Garrett Aitken, 32A, Aitken-14.752; 17. Timmy Buckwalter, 7, LNB-14.768; 18. Mario Clouser, 6, MCM-14.800; 19. Kody Swanson, 3R, Rock Steady-14.806; 20. Kent Schmidt, 5K, Schmidt-14.808; 21. Nick Bilbee, 2E, Epperson-14.840; 22. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.904; 23. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-15.076; 24. Slater Helt, 22s, Helt-15.272; 25. Johnny Petrozelle, 59, Petrozelle-15.304; 26. Landon Simon, 24, LSR-15.403; 27. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-15.493; 28. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-15.586; 29. Frank Carlsson, 20, Carlsson-15.810.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Bilbee, 2. Bacon, 3. Cummins, 4. Leary, 5. Buckwalter, 6. Petrozelle, 7. Carlsson, 8. Clem. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Ballou, 2. Boespflug, 3. Windom, 4. Short, 5. Stockon, 6. Clouser, 7. Simon. 1:59.36
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Courtney, 2. Chapple, 3. Swanson, 4. Grant, 5. Seavey, 6. Martin, 7. Mattox. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Schmidt, 2. Darland, 3. Thomas, 4. Andretti, 5. Aitken, 6. Bell, 7. Helt. 2:.05.16
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Seavey, 2. Stockon, 3. Aitken, 4. Clouser, 5. Mattox, 6. Buckwalter, 7. Martin, 8. Bell, 9. Carlsson, 10. Simon, 11. Helt. 3:12.52
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (4), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 4. Chris Windom (9), 5. Kyle Cummins (6), 6. Dave Darland (10), 7. Carson Short (5), 8. Chad Boespflug (12), 9. Brady Bacon (11), 10. Chase Stockon (7), 11. Justin Grant (13), 12. Mario Clouser (15), 13. Robert Ballou (20), 14. Timmy Buckwalter (14), 15. Nick Bilbee (19), 16. Logan Seavey (8), 17. Kody Swanson (16), 18. Landon Simon (23), 19. Kent Schmidt (17), 20. Isaac Chapple (21), 21. Brandon Mattox (22), 22. Jarett Andretti (1), 23. Garrett Aitken (18). NT
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**Clem flipped during the first heat. Andretti flipped on lap 19 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Leary, Laps 3-30 Courtney.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Robert Ballou (20th to 13th)
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Mike Martin
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Robert Ballou
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Brandon Mattox
INDIANA MAFIA FAST QUALIFIER AWARD: Kyle Cummins
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Brady Bacon
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Thomas-153, 2-Windom-142, 3-Courtney-131, 4-Cummins-128, 5-Stockon-125, 6-Grant-117, 7-Leary-115, 8-Boespflug-113, 9-Ballou-110, 10-Short-108.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: Feb. 17 - Ocala, Florida - Bubba Raceway Park - "Winter Dirt Games 9"
