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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

C.J. Leary kisses the eagle after winning Saturday night's Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction at Perris Auto Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Perris, California (November 9, 2019).........In his seven previous Oval Nationals final night starts entering Saturday, C.J. Leary had never managed a finish better than 13th, a result hardly indicative of his performances throughout the years which have been plagued by the lack of Lady Luck's presence, including a mechanical issue that sidelined him while leading with 14 laps remaining one year ago.

The 2019 edition unfolded quite differently for the Greenfield, Ind. native on this particular evening, a story void of heartache, a story filled with triumph and joy.

Leary took over the lead with 24 laps remaining and mastered a rash of late-race restarts to capture the 24th annual Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction at southern California's Perris Auto Speedway.

It was a much-needed win for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship point leader and the crew of the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical - Mesilla Valley Transportation/Spike/Foxco Chevy in a myriad of ways.

For one, almost inconceivably, it had been nearly nine months and 29 races since his most recent USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory. Ironically, Leary's first win of the season came in the third race of the year in Ocala, Fla. Saturday's victory at Perris came in the third race from the conclusion of the series campaign.

Secondly, it provided a boon to a team in the midst of a close championship battle where every position means everything. Leary took care of that, earning max points with the win and gained 12 points on second-place Tyler Courtney in the title pursuit, 44 up, with two races remaining on the docket.

While Leary had experienced victory lane on Oval Nationals weekend prior to Saturday, that came during the 360 sprint portion in 2014. This one is special, however, considering how close he has come since then to notching a first 410 win at The PAS.

"Man, this is awesome," Leary exclaimed. "This race, I feel like, has escaped me three or four times in the past. I got the 360 Oval Nationals deal done a long time ago, but this definitely takes the cake. The white eagle is my favorite trophy to win."

Earlier in the evening, Leary captured victory in the six lap, six-car Super Six dash to claim the pole position for the 40-lap main event. However, outside front row occupant Chase Stockon ripped the top of turns one and two to take the lead on the opening circuit where he'd remain for the first 16 trips around the ½-mile until Leary utilized a drive off the bottom of turn two to grab the lead from Stockon on lap 17.

Leary opened up a three-car-length advantage over Stockon who was now involved in a tussle for second with Courtney, Brady Bacon and Chris Windom all under a proverbial blanket. Courtney dipped into turn three underneath Stockon to gain the second spot on the 23rd go-around and set forth toward Leary.

Leary and Courtney, who swapped the lead between them four times in last year's Oval Nationals final night feature, resumed their wrestling match in traffic for the top spot. On the 26th lap, Courtney almost parked it as he closed abruptly on Leary's tail tank at the entrance of turn three. Courtney slid sideways above the cushion, losing the 2nd and 3rd positions in the ensuing two laps to Stockon, then Bacon.

Thursday and Friday Perris winner Bacon was suddenly the man on the move as he began to track down Stockon for the second position until lap 29 when, unrelatedly, Max Adams came to a stop in turn two, necessitating a yellow flag. As Stockon slowed for the yellow, the trailing Bacon ramped over Stockon's left rear wheel and slid backwards to a stop without making wall contact. However, his bid for an Oval Nationals sweep was denied. He restarted from the tail, and eventually, worked his way back to a 12th place result at the checkered.

Leary's ninth USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory tied him with Mario Andretti, Hunter Schuerenberg and Robbie Stanley for 51st on the all-time series win list while also supplying Davey Jones with his sixth career Oval Nationals feature score as a crew chief. (Rich Forman Photo)

Down the stretch, several cautions wreaked havoc on Leary's flow with a flat right rear on teammate Logan Seavey's ride on lap 31, an Austin Liggett turn four flip on the 35th lap, a Justin Grant turn four spin on lap 37 and a debris caution for the exodus of bodywork on the nose of Damion Gardner's silver bullet. However, each time a stoppage occurred, Leary was superb on the restart, jaunting out to a three to four car length advantage each time, which no other seemed to have an answer for.

Chris Windom had worked his way underneath Stockon on the 33rd lap to get into contention with Leary, yet had to contend with preserving his second spot from the onslaught of attacks from both Stockon and Gardner in the waning laps, which went all to Leary's benefit as he closed out his ninth career series victory with a 1.624 second interval over Windom, Gardner, Stockon and Courtney.

Leary's ninth USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory tied him with Mario Andretti, Hunter Schuerenberg and Robbie Stanley for 51st on the all-time series win list while also supplying Davey Jones with his sixth career Oval Nationals feature score as a crew chief.

"I never really thought we would've just run the bottom the whole time, but figured we'd make the switch to the top and I just kept pulling away. Davey was giving some good hand signals from the trailer," Leary recalled. "He and I put a lot of time into these racecars and to come out here and win this one is (sweet)."

A roller coaster Oval Nationals for Windom (Canton, Ill.) saw him finishing 2nd twice this weekend following Thursday and Saturday's runner-up results while a 25th place run is sandwiched between the two nights that wound up with a seemingly successful, yet bittersweet night for the 2010 Oval Nationals winner.

"We're definitely happy, but it's a little frustrating," Windom admitted. "I feel like we run second or third every year and have some sort of issue that puts us starting in the fourth or fifth row. Overall, we've overcame a lot in the last 24 hours. Everybody on this team has done a phenomenal job all weekend to get us here."

"I didn't have anything for C.J., obviously, at the end," Windom added. "I felt like I did in the middle part of the race when I was passing guys. One of those late race cautions, I don't know if our right rear tire sealed over or what happened for sure, but I had no grip to the center of the corner anymore and he could just pull through three and four so much better. I just couldn't get there."

Three-time Oval Nationals victor Damion Gardner (Concord, Calif.) came away with a third-place run, continuing his streak of top-ten finishes on Saturday night of the event to 11 years running that came one night after an uncharacteristic early race incident took him out of contention while running second.

"It's points, it's winning the Oval Nationals, all the cautions and running out of fuel is always a concern, then the hood blew off. I was really worried that would be the two laps I needed to finish the race," Gardner said. "Last year, we literally sputtered to the checkered and that was a lot of drama there, so I was worried about that."

"We were just really good the whole race," Gardner continued. "It was kind of tacky early, but at the end, we were really making ground. I got hung up behind a couple guys at the beginning and they were just kind of all over and it took me awhile to break free. Once I broke free, I ran those guys down from pretty far back. I knew they would be tough, there were five of them, so I just had to be patient, but that was all I had, that was it, I gave it all I had. I just didn't need the cautions at the end."

Contingency award winners Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway were Damion Gardner (Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display/Beaver Stripes Fast Qualifier), Austin Liggett (Simpson Race Products/Extreme Muffler/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions First Heat Winner & (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Max Adams (Competition Suspension, Inc./Circle Track Performance/Ultra Shield Race Products Second Heat Winner), Thomas Meseraull (AutoMeter/Saldana Racing Products/ButlerBuilt Seats Third Heat Winner & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Jace Vander Weerd (Indy Race Parts/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions/Sway-A-Way Racing Fourth Heat Winner), Austin Williams (Competition Suspension, Inc./Pyrotect Racing Cells Semi Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Competition Suspension, Inc./Pyrotect Racing Cells Semi Winner & Tony Jones KSE Racing Products/Specialty Fasteners/Saldana Racing Products Hard Charger), Cody Williams (ProSource Hard Work Award), Bill Rose (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer), Chris Bonneau (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer) and C.J. Leary (Sway-A-Way Racing Super Six Dash Winner & Jack Jory Halfway Leader).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL, CRA & SANDS CHEVROLET SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 9, 2019 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 24th Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction - ½-Mile Dirt Oval

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY/BEAVER STRIPES QUALIFYING: 1. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-16.362; 2. Max Adams, 73T, Ford-16.406; 3. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.491; 4. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-16.527; 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 19, Hayward/Thomas-16.543; 6. Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-16.553; 7. Chris Windom, 5G, Parallax/Goacher-16.560; 8. Logan Seavey, 19L, Reinbold/Underwood-16.684; 9. Bud Kaeding, 0, Williams-16.720; 10. Stevie Sussex, 12, Allen-16.752; 11. Thomas Meseraull, 13m, Gile-16.777; 12. Charles Davis, Jr., 47, Davis-16.782; 13. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-16.827; 14. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-16.853; 15. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-16.908; 16. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.914; 17. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-16.919; 18. Bill Rose, 6, Rose-16.929; 19. Brody Roa, 42, Cheney-16.959; 20. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-16.992; 21. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-17.015; 22. Hunter Schuerenberg, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-17.070; 23. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-17.077; 24. Dennis Gile, 13G, Gile-17.151; 25. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.153; 26. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.160; 27. Eddie Tafoya, Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.399; 28. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-17.643; 29. Joel Rayborne, 12B, Blair-17.818; 30. Will Perkins, 50, Perkins-18.902; 31. Frank Rodgers III, 6R, Rodgers-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Austin Liggett, 2. Damion Gardner, 3. Bud Kaeding, 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5. Sterling Cling, 6. Steve Hix, 7. Verne Sweeney, 8. Joel Rayborne. 2:56.98

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE/ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Max Adams, 2. Jake Swanson, 3. Stevie Sussex, 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5. Hunter Schuerenberg, 6. Chris Gansen, 7. Bill Rose, 8. Will Perkins. 2:54.48

AUTOMETER/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/BUTLERBUILT SEATS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Chris Windom, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Brody Roa, 6. Chris Bonneau, 7. Eddie Tafoya, Jr. 2:56.65

INDY RACE PARTS/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS/SWAY-A-WAY RACING FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Jace Vander Weerd, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Josh Hodges, 4. Charles Davis, Jr., 5. Cody Williams, 6. Dennis Gile. 2:56.28

SWAY-A-WAY RACING SUPER SIX DASH: (6 laps, finishing order sets first three rows of the feature) 1. C.J. Leary (#19AZ Reinbold/Underwood), 2. Chase Stockon (#32 32 TBI), 3. Justin Grant (#4 TOPP), 4. Brady Bacon (#69 Dynamics), 5. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson/Marshall/Newman), 6. Richard Vander Weerd (#10 Vander Weerd). 1:43.99

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/PYROTECT RACING CELLS FIRST SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Austin Williams, 2. Charles Davis, Jr., 3. Bud Kaeding, 4. Hunter Schuerenberg, 5. R.J. Johnson, 6. Bill Rose, 7. Dennis Gile, 8. Eddie Tafoya, Jr., 9. Verne Sweeney, 10. Steve Hix, 11. Will Perkins. 3:30.37

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/PYROTECT RACING CELLS SECOND SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 2. Brody Roa, 3. Stevie Sussex, 4. Cody Williams, 5. Tommy Malcolm, 6. Chris Bonneau, 7. Chris Gansen, 8. Sterling Cling, 9. Joel Rayborne, 10. Josh Hodges. 3:29.16

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (1), 2. Chris Windom (8), 3. Damion Gardner (7), 4. Chase Stockon (2), 5. Tyler Courtney (5), 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (16), 7. Jake Swanson (13), 8. Austin Williams (15), 9. Richard Vander Weerd (6), 10. Bud Kaeding (17), 11. Jace Vander Weerd (9), 12. Brady Bacon (4), 13. Thomas Meseraull (11), 14. R.J. Johnson (21), 15. Tommy Malcolm (22), 16. Charles Davis, Jr. (19), 17. Max Adams (12), 18. Logan Seavey (10), 19. Justin Grant (3), 20. Stevie Sussex (20), 21. Josh Hodges (23), 22. Cody Williams (24), 23. Chris Gansen (25), 24. Eddie Tafoya, Jr. (26), 25. Austin Liggett (14), 26. Brody Roa (18), 27. Chris Bonneau (28), 28. Hunter Schuerenberg (27). NT

**Austin Liggett flipped on lap 35 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Chase Stockon, Laps 17-40 C.J. Leary.

PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Cody Williams

TONY JONES/KSE RACING PRODUCTS/SPECIALTY FASTENERS/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (16th to 6th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Thomas Meseraull

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS: Bill Rose & Chris Bonneau

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Austin Liggett

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-2,192, 2-Tyler Courtney-2,148, 3-Brady Bacon-2,029, 4-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-2,027, 5-Chris Windom-2,020, 6-Justin Grant-2,012, 7-Chase Stockon-1,935, 8-Jason McDougal-1,493, 9-Carson Short-1,361, 10-Isaac Chapple-1,193.

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1,382, 2-Austin Williams-1,323, 3-Brody Roa-1,227, 4-Jake Swanson-1,138, 5-Chris Gansen-846, 6-Tommy Malcolm-829, 7-Charles Davis, Jr.-745, 8-Richard Vander Weerd-683, 9-Eddie Tafoya, Jr.-672, 10-R.J. Johnson-670.

NEW SANDS CHEVROLET USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Brody Roa-1,008, 2-R.J. Johnson-982, 3-Stevie Sussex-919, 4-Charles Davis, Jr.-884, 5-Jake Swanson-699, 6-Mike Martin-655, 7-Austin Williams-564, 8-Damion Gardner-509, 9-Matt Lundy-500, 10-Chris Bonneau-477.

FINAL PROSOURCE OVAL NATIONALS PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Bud Kaeding-17, 2-Austin Williams-15, 3-Kevin Thomas, Jr., 4-Damion Gardner-14, 5-Richard Vander Weerd-14, 6-Jake Swanson-14, 7-Justin Grant-13, 8-Brody Roa-13, 9-Chris Bonneau-13, 10-Chris Windom-12.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL, CRA & SANDS CHEVROLET SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE: November 15-16, 2019 - Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, Arizona - 52nd Western World Championships presented by San Tan Ford

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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Brady Bacon won for the second straight night at Perris Auto Speedway on Friday during the Oval Nationals. (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Perris, California (November 8, 2019).........It took Brady Bacon 27 starts over a span of 13 years to reach victory lane for the first time at California's Perris Auto Speedway on Thursday night.

It took just 24 hours for him to capture his second on Friday at night two of the 24th annual Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction.

The Broken Arrow, Okla. native delivered again on the southern California half-mile dirt oval for the second-straight night and became the first driver to repeat a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory on back-to-back nights since himself in July at Iowa's Knoxville Raceway - the only driver to accomplish the feat this season.

The two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion in 2014 and 2016 had to do it in a different style with a changed racing surface from the previous night, yet still preserved and persevered, leading all 30 laps in the process to score his sixth series win of 2019 and the 29th of his career, moving him past Levi Jones and J.J. Yeley and into a tie with Robert Ballou for 13th all-time.

"Last night was more my style of track than the one tonight which was something I don't necessarily excel at," Bacon admitted. "It was really rewarding, so I believe we're prepared for whatever tomorrow night throws at us. I'm proud of my guys for working hard. We weren't very good the last time we came here last year. We put our heads together and remembered as much as we could and put it with what we learned this year and it's obviously a pretty good package."

Bacon was originally slated to start 3rd on the grid, but a wild opening lap sequence would ultimately play into his favor. After the initial start was called back, the ensuing complete restart saw outside front row starter Tyler Courtney rip to the lead while pole sitter Damion Gardner slotted into second.

Exiting turn two, seven-time USAC/CRA champ Gardner ramped the K-Rail, up to the billboards, landed on his left side wheels, then bounced backward to a stop on the back straightaway. Steve Hix clipped Gardner's front end with his right rear wheel, signaling an end to the night for Hix and forced Gardner to the work area where repairs were made before sending him back into the fray, albeit four laps down when he returned.

The outside front row spot vacated by Gardner moved Bacon to the outside of the front row. Bacon got the upper hand of Courtney on the first try before a three-car melee between turns three and four involved fast qualifier Chris Windom, National point leader C.J. Leary and Jace Vander Weerd. Vander Weerd restarted while Leary took on new left rear rubber on his damaged mount in the work area. Windom, however, was not able to resume.

Brady Bacon's sixth USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car win of 2019 was also the 29th of his career, moving him past Levi Jones and J.J. Yeley and into a tie with Robert Ballou for 13th all-time.
(Rich Forman Photo)

The third complete restart was the charm with Grant diving to the bottom and going three-wide alongside Courtney and Bacon down the front straight with Grant poking ahead into one briefly before Bacon blasted off the top to secure the lead exiting the second turn.

Grant was Bacon's closest pursuant throughout the 30-lapper where he maintained a presence about 2-3 car lengths back of Bacon on the topside. Bacon ably pushed forward to a near one-second advantage at the halfway point with lapped traffic drawing nearer and nearer.

On the 18th lap, an opportunity presented itself for Grant as Bacon installed his navigational tactics on the lapped car of Bill Rose. Bacon was briefly caught up, and while Grant was able to reel in and catch Bacon, he wasn't in the position to perform the pick and roll past both.

The track was quickening down the stretch with both Bacon and Grant reeling off their fastest laps of the race on the white flag lap. Bacon corralled the lapped car of Hunter Schuerenberg in the waning laps but could only stay stride-for-stride with him as Schuerenberg logged his fastest laps as well. The narrow strip of rubber right through the middle proved succulent and any mistake that pushed a driver out of the groove could prove costly track position wise.

"I tried to start feeling around, but the rubber was getting so heavy," Bacon explained. "I figured if I couldn't pass a lapped car, they probably couldn't pass me, and I just tried not to slip up out of the rubber or anything. I tried entering above it and turning down to try and get a run, but it was just so narrow, you had to stay in the rubber the whole time. We took care of our tires and our car was hooked up, so I wasn't spinning (the tires). We had plenty left, which is a testament to how hard they've been working and hopefully we can continue this the rest of the year."

Bacon finished it off flawlessly, leading laps 1 through 30 for the second night in a row en route to a 0.649 second victory over Grant, Courtney, Chase Stockon and top USAC/CRA finisher Austin Williams in fifth.

Bacon, along with Courtney, Grant, Richard Vander Weerd, C.J. Leary and Chase Stockon accumulated enough points over the first two nights to lock themselves into Saturday night's feature event where they will occupy the first three rows in the starting lineup. The lineup will be determined following the Super Six Dash - a six lap shootout involving the six drivers to determine the first six starting spots for the 40-lap finale.

Contingency award winners Friday night at Perris Auto Speedway were Chris Windom (Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display/Beaver Stripes Fast Qualifier & Competition Suspension, Inc./Pyrotect Racing Cells Semi Winner), Richard Vander Weerd (Simpson Race Products/Extreme Muffler/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions First Heat Winner & Richard Vander Weerd (KSE Racing Products/Specialty Fasteners/Saldana Racing Products Hard Charger), Bill Rose (Competition Suspension, Inc./Circle Track Performance/Ultra Shield Race Products Second Heat Winner), Austin Liggett (AutoMeter/Saldana Racing Products/ButlerBuilt Seats Third Heat Winner & ProSource Hard Work Award), Tyler Courtney (Indy Race Parts/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions/Sway-A-Way Racing Fourth Heat Winner), Bud Kaeding (Sway-A-Way Racing Fifth Heat Winner), Logan Seavey (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Thomas Meseraull (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Josh Hodges (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer) and Brady Bacon (Jack Jory Halfway Leader)

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL, CRA & SANDS CHEVROLET SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 8, 2019 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 24th Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction - ½-Mile Dirt Oval

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY/BEAVER STRIPES QUALIFYING: 1. Chris Windom, 5G, Parallax/Goacher-16.835; 2. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.930; 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 19, Hayward/Thomas-16.955; 4. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-16.964; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-17.121; 6. Eddie Tafoya, Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.136; 7. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-17.146; 8. Max Adams, 73T, Ford-17.172; 9. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-17.184; 10. Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-17.199; 11. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.222; 12. C.J. Leary, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-17.264; 13. Logan Seavey, 19L, Reinbold/Underwood-17.300; 14. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-17.361; 15. Bud Kaeding, 0, Williams-17.406; 16. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-17.428; 17. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-17.445; 18. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-17.470; 19. Brody Roa, 42, Cheney-17.518; 20. Hunter Schuerenberg, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-17.594; 21. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-17.612; 22. Chase Johnson, 68, Thomas-17.615; 23. Thomas Meseraull, 13m, Gile-17.631; 24. Charles Davis, Jr., 47, Davis-17.656; 25. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.674; 26. Stevie Sussex, 12, Allen-17.690; 27. Bill Rose, 6, Rose-17.766; 28. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-17.784; 29. Donnie Gansen, 4D, Gansen-17.790; 30. Dennis Gile, 13G, Gile-17.793; 31. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-17.864; 32. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.865; 33. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-17.888; 34. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-18.024; 35. Joel Rayborne, 12B, Blair-18.082; 36. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-18.149; 37. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-18.328; 38. Jeremy Ellertson, 98J, Ellertson-18.383; 39. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-18.515; 40. Will Perkins, 50, Perkins-18.824; 41. Frank Rodgers III, 6R, Rodgers-19.449.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Richard Vander Weerd, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Stevie Sussex, 5. Eddie Tafoya, Jr., 6. Chris Bonneau, 7. Tye Mihocko, 8. Frank Rodgers III, 9. Chris Windom. 2:52.87

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE/ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Bill Rose, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Jace Vander Weerd, 5. Tommy Malcolm, 6. Sterling Cling, 7. Verne Sweeney. 2.53.45

AUTOMETER/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/BUTLERBUILT SEATS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Austin Liggett, 2. Thomas Meseraull, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Josh Hodges, 6. Max Adams, 7. Steve Hix, 8. Jeremy Ellertson. NT

INDY RACE PARTS/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS/SWAY-A-WAY RACING FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Charles Davis, Jr., 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 6. Donnie Gansen, 7. Matt McCarthy, 8. Cody Williams. NT

SWAY-A-WAY RACING FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Bud Kaeding, 2. Damion Gardner, 3. Hunter Schuerenberg, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Chris Gansen, 6. Joel Rayborne, 7. Will Perkins, 8. Dennis Gile. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/PYROTECT RACING CELLS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 3. Max Adams, 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5. Josh Hodges, 6. Cody Williams, 7. Eddie Tafoya, Jr., 8. Dennis Gile, 9. Chris Gansen, 10. Steve Hix, 11. Tye Mihocko, 12. Chris Bonneau, 13. Sterling Cling, 14. Matt McCarthy, 15. Verne Sweeney, 16. Joel Rayborne, 17. Frank Rodgers III, 18. Will Perkins. 3:41.72

EVELYN PRATT FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (3), 2. Justin Grant (4), 3. Tyler Courtney (2), 4. Chase Stockon (5), 5. Austin Williams (6), 6. Logan Seavey (13), 7. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (8), 8. Richard Vander Weerd (19), 9. Bud Kaeding (14), 10. C.J. Leary (12), 11. Max Adams (9), 12. Brody Roa (17), 13. Thomas Meseraull (20), 14. Stevie Sussex (22), 15. Austin Liggett (24), 16. Jace Vander Weerd (11), 17. Jake Swanson (10), 18. Hunter Schuerenberg (18), 19. Eddie Tafoya, Jr. (26), 20. Damion Gardner (1), 21. Bill Rose (23), 22. Josh Hodges (25), 23. Charles Davis, Jr. (21), 24. Tommy Malcolm (16), 25. Chris Windom (7), 26. Steve Hix (27), 27. R.J. Johnson (15). NT

**Chase Johnson flipped during qualifying.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Brady Bacon.

PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Austin Liggett

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/SPECIALTY FASTENERS/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Richard Vander Weerd (19th to 8th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Thomas Meseraull

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Josh Hodges

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Logan Seavey

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-2,198, 2-Tyler Courtney-2,090, 3-Brady Bacon-1,990, 4-Justin Grant-1,987, 5-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-1,973, 6-Chris Windom-1,947, 7-Chase Stockon-1,873, 8-Jason McDougal-1,493, 9-Carson Short-1,361, 10-Isaac Chapple-1,193.

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1,318, 2-Austin Williams-1,274, 3-Brody Roa-1,204, 4-Jake Swanson-1,081, 5-Chris Gansen-823, 6-Tommy Malcolm-796, 7-Charles Davis, Jr.-714, 8-Matt McCarthy-655, 9-Eddie Tafoya, Jr.-649, 10-Richard Vander Weerd-637.

NEW SANDS CHEVROLET USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Brody Roa-985, 2-R.J. Johnson-947, 3-Stevie Sussex-896, 4-Charles Davis, Jr.-853, 5-Mike Martin-655, 6-Jake Swanson-647, 7-Austin Williams-515, 8-Matt Lundy-500, 9-Chris Bonneau-454, 10-Damion Gardner-445.

NEW PROSOURCE OVAL NATIONALS PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Richard Vander Weerd-14, 2-Brody Roa-13, 3-Justin Grant-12, 4-Chris Bonneau-12, 5-Hunter Schuerenberg-11, 6-Austin Liggett-11, 7-Logan Seavey-10, 8-Bud Kaeding-10, 9-Tyler Courtney-9, 10-Damion Gardner-8.

NEW OVAL NATIONALS POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-283, 2-Tyler Courtney-266, 3-Justin Grant-264, 4-Richard Vander Weerd-256, 5-C.J. Leary-245, 6-Chase Stockon-242, 7-Austin Williams-239, 8-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-239, 9-Damion Gardner-233, 10-Chris Windom-231.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL, CRA & SANDS CHEVROLET SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE: November 9, 2019 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 24th Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction

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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Brady Bacon strikes the Macho Man pose after winning Thursday's Oval National opener at Perris Auto Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Perris, California (November 7, 2019).........In 26 previous USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car starts at Perris Auto Speedway, Brady Bacon was in contention in the majority of them, garnering 17 top-tens and nine top-fives between 2006 and 2018.

However, in start 27 on Thursday, Bacon finally tasted the sweet nectar of victory at the southern California ½-mile, leading all 30 laps from the pole position to capture opening night of the 24th annual Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction.
"I think we've run second on prelim nights probably five or six times and been in the top-five a couple times on the final night, so this is awesome to get this monkey off our back," a relieved Bacon said. "Now, we can just go ahead and win a couple more this weekend."

The long-awaited victory couldn't have come a moment too soon for the 2014 and 2016 series champ from Broken Arrow, Okla., who hadn't scored a triumph with the series since a two-night sweep of Iowa's Knoxville Raceway in July, four months ago in his Dynamics, Inc./Mean Green - Fatheadz Eyewear - Tel-Star/Triple X/Rider Chevy.

Brady Bacon's Thursday night victory was the fifth of his 2019 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season and the 28th of his career with the series, moving him into a tie for 14th all-time with Levi Jones and J.J. Yeley. (Rich Forman Photo)

"This late in the year, this win definitely helps going into the winter," Bacon admitted. "We had a dry spell, a little bit of bad luck, led at Lawrenceburg and stuff like that. Hopefully, we can kind of get that momentum we had earlier this summer and carry it on for the rest of the year."

Bacon started up front and was rarely challenged throughout the duration of the 30-lapper, save for a few instances in traffic later in the battle. However, at the start, Bacon slipped under outside front row starter Chris Windom and led the charge by a car-length by the time the pair hit the back straightaway.

The first stoppage came early when the two USAC National Sprint Car title contenders, C.J. Leary and Tyler Courtney, collided in turn two on the fourth lap while battling for the fifth spot. The contact between Leary's right rear and the left side of Courtney's ride flattened Courtney's left rear-tire. As Courtney scrambled to regain control of his car, Leary's teammate, Logan Seavey, came upon the scene and struck Courtney, heavily damaging the front end of Seavey.

Both Courtney and Seavey returned to action following time in the work area. Seavey struggled to a 21st place result while Courtney charged back through the pack to take 8th, a night Courtney would soon rather forget after enduring a wild flip in turn three on the second lap of his qualifying run. Courtney's Clauson/Marshall/Newman Racing team made extensive repairs to the car and returned with the very same car to win their heat a short time later.

When action resumed, Bacon jumped back out to a one-plus second lead while seven-time USAC/CRA champ Damion Gardner began to close on Windom for the runner-up position.

Nearing the midway point, and in the throes of lapped traffic, Gardner made the move to second with an inside pass of Windom in turns one and two, but was stifled after encountering the lapped car of Chris Gansen on the low line of three, forcing Gardner to throttle back and allowing Windom to surge ahead on the top side for the position.

Once Windom cleared Gardner, he began to rapidly reel in Bacon as the leader surfed inside the green room of a barrel wave, trying to keep unfazed with a heavy task on his horizon.

However, just as Windom sensed the smell of blood in the water, a spin by Dennis Gile in turn three removed traffic from the equation for the time being and supplied Bacon with room to maneuver, a clear mind and a clear track ahead with the lapped car of Eddie Tafoya, Jr. separating the top-two of Bacon and Windom on the restart.

Under yellow, Windom signaled for Tafoya to stay low on the track surface so the top shelf would be wide open for himself on the high line while in pursuit of Bacon. Windom resumed his chase of Bacon who held the advantage once again, but just as lapped traffic loomed, the yellow for the stopped car of three-time Oval Nationals winner and 10th running Bud Kaeding who rested backwards on the bottom berm of turn two with eight laps to go.

On lap 24, Windom came as close as he'd get all night to Bacon, pulling within a half-car length of Bacon on the bottom between turns one and two. Bacon held onto a firm Kung Fu grip of the lead exiting the second turn and began to inchworm away from Windom down the stretch.

Windom relentlessly tried to gain any ground he could to pounce on a possible Bacon misstep. But none were to be had by Bacon as Windom got above the cushion between turns three and four with four laps to go, disallowing another shot at Bacon.

Bacon finished off the deal with a 0.974 second victory, the fifth of his 2019 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season and the 28th of his career with the series, moving him into a tie for 14th all-time with Levi Jones and J.J. Yeley.

"I thought we had a pretty good balance there," Bacon said. "We were good at the beginning, and still pretty good at the end. I felt like we were fading a little bit with those yellows at the end, but we'll make some adjustments and be ready (for Friday and Saturday)."

Windom (Canton, Ill.) had a solid 2nd place run in his Parallax Group-Goacher Racing/NOS Energy Drink - Parallax Power Supply/Twister/Claxton Mopar, earning his sixth consecutive top-five finish, which is the longest current active streak in the series.

"Overall, it was a really solid night," Windom stated. "Brady (Bacon) was better than us early on. I think, once we moved up there, we were just as good as him, but he was probably just a little better than us overall tonight. I was hoping we would stay in lapped traffic there and we could race with those guys, but he got the restarts right when he needed them. (My crew) has been working hard all night to get us in this position and I think we've got a good car for the rest of the weekend."

Third-place finisher Richard Vander Weerd (Visalia, Calif.) may run a limited schedule, but he showed no inkling of any rust as he recorded his best USAC National Sprint Car feature finish since a 3rd place run on the final night of the Oval Nationals in 2016 in his Ron Vander Weerd/Vander Weerd Construction - Maxwell Industries/DRC/Shark Chevy.

"These guys run 60 races a year or more, but I've run probably about 15 to 20 this year so far," Vander Weerd explained. "But I run this track a lot more. Them racing a lot more is an advantage, but me running here more is an advantage too. (The car) was good at the end; we were a little too snug down in (turns) one and two, but it made up for it over in three and four where it was dry slick. Bacon and Windom are tough guys, so I can't complain about finishing 3rd behind them."

Gardner finished fourth while Leary rounded out the top-five and, in the process, upped his lead in the National standings from 47 to 55 over Courtney with four races remaining. Gardner, likewise, extended his CRA lead as did Brody Roa in the Southwest tally.

Contingency award winners Thursday night at Perris Auto Speedway were C.J. Leary (Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display/Beaver Stripes Fast Qualifier), Justin Grant (Simpson Race Products/Extreme Muffler/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions First Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Competition Suspension, Inc./Circle Track Performance/Ultra Shield Race Products Second Heat Winner), Damion Gardner (AutoMeter/Saldana Racing Products/ButlerBuilt Seats Third Heat Winner), Charles Davis, Jr. (Indy Race Parts/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions/Sway-A-Way Racing Fourth Heat Winner), Chris Windom (Sway-A-Way Racing Fifth Heat Winner), Max Adams (Competition Suspension, Inc./Pyrotect Racing Cells Semi Winner & Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Austin Liggett (ProSource Hard Work Award), Brody Roa (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Hunter Schuerenberg (KSE Racing Products/Specialty Fasteners/Saldana Racing Products Hard Charger), Chris Gansen (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer) and Brady Bacon (Jack Jory Lap 15 Leader).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL, CRA & SANDS CHEVROLET SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 7, 2019 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 24th Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction - ½-Mile Dirt Oval

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY/BEAVER STRIPES QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.362; 2. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-16.407; 3. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-16.512; 4. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.519; 5. Chris Windom, 5G, Parallax/Goacher-16.560; 6. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.591; 7. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-16.602; 8. Logan Seavey, 19L, Reinbold/Underwood-16.639; 9. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 19, Hayward/Thomas-16.643; 10. Bud Kaeding, 0, Williams-16.659; 11. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.734; 12. Thomas Meseraull, 13m, Gile-16.740; 13. Max Adams, 73T, Ford-16.745; 14. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-16.820; 15. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-16.829; 16. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-16.884; 17. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-16.909; 18. Donnie Gansen, 4D, Gansen-16.949; 19. Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-17.052; 20. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.057; 21. Stevie Sussex, 12, Allen-17.057; 22. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-17.060; 23. Brody Roa, 42, Cheney-17.063; 24. Charles Davis, Jr., 47, Davis-17.084; 25. Jason McDougal, 42x, Cheney-17.087; 26. Hunter Schuerenberg, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-17.107; 27. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-17.145; 28. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-17.181; 29. Bill Rose, 6, Rose-17.252; 30. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-17.311; 31. Dennis Gile, 13G, Gile-17.408; 32. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-17.498; 33. Eddie Tafoya, Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.610; 34. Jeremy Ellertson, 98J, Ellertson-17.654; 35. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-17.656; 36. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-17.671; 37. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-17.794; 38. Will Perkins, 50, Perkins-18.034; 39. Joel Rayborne, 12B, Blair-18.715; 40. Chase Johnson, 68, Thomas-NT; 41. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-NT; 42. Frank Rodgers III, 6R, Rodgers-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Hunter Schuerenberg, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Chris Gansen, 7. Dennis Gile, 8. Matt McCarthy. 2:51.31

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE/ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5. Jace Vander Weerd, 6. Josh Hodges, 7. Steve Hix, 8. Tye Mihocko. 2:52.85

AUTOMETER/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/BUTLERBUILT SEATS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Damion Gardner, 2. Brody Roa, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Austin Liggett, 5. Max Adams, 6. Donnie Gansen, 7. Eddie Tafoya, Jr. 2:51.35

INDY RACE PARTS/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS/SWAY-A-WAY RACING FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Charles Davis, Jr., 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Richard Vander Weerd, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Bill Rose, 7. Jeremy Ellertson, 8. Joel Rayborne. NT

SWAY-A-WAY RACING FIFTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Cody Williams, 3. Bud Kaeding, 4. Stevie Sussex, 5. Chris Bonneau, 6. Jason McDougal, 7. Sterling Cling, 8. Chase Johnson. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/PYROTECT RACING CELLS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Max Adams, 2. Jace Vander Weerd, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Chris Gansen, 6. Josh Hodges, 7. Chris Bonneau, 8. Donnie Gansen, 9. Dennis Gile, 10. Jeremy Ellertson, 11. Steve Hix, 12. Eddie Tafoya, Jr., 13. Bill Rose, 14. Matt McCarthy, 15. Tye Mihocko, 16. Joel Rayborne, 17. Frank Rodgers, 18. Verne Sweeney. NT

BILL PRATT FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (1), 2. Chris Windom (2), 3. Richard Vander Weerd (3), 4. Damion Gardner (4), 5. C.J. Leary (6), 6. Justin Grant (11), 7. Jace Vander Weerd (7), 8. Tyler Courtney (5), 9. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9), 10. Austin Williams (16), 11. Chase Stockon (14), 12. Hunter Schuerenberg (23), 13. Brody Roa (21), 14. Tommy Malcolm (17), 15. Jake Swanson (18), 16. Thomas Meseraull (12), 17. Bud Kaeding (10), 18. Cody Williams (15), 19. Charles Davis, Jr. (22), 20. Max Adams (13), 21. Logan Seavey (8), 22. Austin Liggett (24), 23. Stevie Sussex (19), 24. R.J. Johnson (20), 25. Josh Hodges (25), 26. Eddie Tafoya, Jr. (28), 27. Chris Gansen (26), 28. Dennis Gile (27). NT

**Chase Johnson flipped during practice. Tyler Courtney flipped during qualifying. Jason McDougal and Sterling Cling flipped at the start of the fifth heat.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Brady Bacon

PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Austin Liggett

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/SPECIALTY FASTENERS/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Hunter Schuerenberg (23rd to 12th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Brody Roa

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Chris Gansen

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Max Adams

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-2,073, 2-Tyler Courtney-2,018, 3-Chris Windom-1,920, 4-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-1,914, 5-Brady Bacon-1,913, 6-Justin Grant-1,913, 7-Chase Stockon-1,804, 8-Jason McDougal-1,493, 9-Carson Short-1,361, 10-Isaac Chapple-1,193.

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-1,288, 2-Austin Williams-1,205, 3-Brody Roa-1,160, 4-Jake Swanson-1,046, 5-Chris Gansen-813, 6-Tommy Malcolm-772, 7-Charles Davis, Jr.-684, 8-Matt McCarthy-645, 9-Eddie Tafoya, Jr.-623, 10-R.J. Johnson-605.

NEW SANDS CHEVROLET USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Brody Roa-941, 2-R.J. Johnson-917, 3-Stevie Sussex-856, 4-Charles Davis, Jr.-823, 5-Mike Martin-655, 6-Jake Swanson-612, 7-Matt Lundy-500, 8-Austin Williams-446, 9-Chris Bonneau-444, 10-Michael Curtis-433.

NEW PRO SOURCE OVAL NATIONALS PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Hunter Schuerenberg-11, 2-Justin Grant-8, 3-Brody Roa-8, 4-Chris Bonneau-8, 5-Austin Williams-6, 6-Chris Windom-5, 7-Damion Gardner-5, 8-Tyler Courtney-5, 9-Josh Hodges-5, 10-C.J. Leary-4.

NEW OVAL NATIONALS POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-144, 2-Brady Bacon-140, 3-Damion Gardner-140, 4-Richard Vander Weerd-136, 5-C.J. Leary-135, 6-Tyler Courtney-129, 7-Justin Grant-126, 8-Jace Vander Weerd-119, 9-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-117, 10-Chase Stockon-108.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL, CRA & SANDS CHEVROLET SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACES: November 8-9, 2019 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 24th Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction

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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Eventual winner Kevin Thomas, Jr. (#19) battles with Justin Grant for the lead during Saturday night's Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway.
(Ryan Sellers Photo)

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (October 5, 2019).........Kevin Thomas, Jr. was bound and determined not to make any mistakes entering Saturday's Fall Nationals at Indiana's Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Exactly one week earlier at Eldora Speedway, the Cullman, Ala. native had a pair of chances, first in the sprint car feature where he led the first 18 laps of the 30-lap race before slapping the turn four wall and losing the lead. Later that same night, he was a dominant figure in the Silver Crown main, leading the first 40 circuits of the 50-lapper before wall contact again knocked him out of the lead.

Saturday at Lawrenceburg, flawless was the word that comes to mind in describing Thomas' run down the stretch to win his second Fall Nationals in the last three years, a $10,000 grand prize and his 27th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature, moving him past Tony Elliott and Dave Steele and into a tie for 16th on the all-time list alongside Brady Bacon.

"I know our stuff's running really well and I like Lawrenceburg already," Thomas said. "For us to come down here and have speed right off the bat, it's just something we've been really working hard for this whole year. We've had our ups and downs, got a win and struggled a little bit. We've had pretty much every variation of luck and runs and what not. It's just nice for the hard work these guys have put in at the shop to show on the track."

Thomas began the race from the 5th position in his Hayward Thomas Motorsports/McDonald's - Dr. Pepper/DRC/Speedway Chevy while, up front, the two front row combatants - Justin Grant and Brady Bacon nearly met calamity as they took the green flag. Grant got sideways at the start/finish line, dropping back to 4th before working his way back to 3rd by the end of the initial lap while point leader C.J. Leary raced around the outside of Bacon to lead the opening two laps.

Bacon returned with authority on the third lap, driving back by Leary to retake the lead as Grant regathered himself to challenge Leary for the runner-up spot with Thomas in fourth just behind. Grant nabbed the second position with a turn one slider past Leary on the eighth lap, while Thomas followed suit with a similar move in the same spot for third past Leary on lap nine.

Meanwhile, Bacon set a blistering pace up front, turning the fastest lap of the race just moments prior on lap six and jetted into traffic with a 2.791 second lead by lap 12 when Aric Gentry slowed to bring out the first caution. That moved the front runners out of traffic and into clean air.

Bacon resumed his prowess at the front through the middle stages of the 30-lapper on this night which honored the memory of longtime car owner Richard Hoffman with whom Bacon drove for in his two USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car championship seasons in 2014 and 2016.

On the 18th lap, a flat right rear on the car of three-time 2019 series winner Kyle Cummins necessitated another yellow flag as he stopped on the high side at the entrance of turn one. Moments later, under caution, the air from leader Bacon's tire, and his night, had deflated, handing over the lead to Grant as a result. Bacon drove to the work area for fresh rubber after leading a race-high 17 laps, then restarted from the tail and made a valiant effort to race back to a 7th place finish at the checkered.

The race was now in Grant's hands with 12 laps remaining as he sought to become the first driver ever to win three consecutive USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car features at Lawrenceburg. With that said, restarting from the lead at this joint can be a precarious position to reside in, and second-running Thomas felt he was in the prime spot.

Grant slid himself into turn one on the lap 19 restart and drifted to the top of turn two while Thomas rode the lip, building his momentum as he came off the turn two banking and made his bid for the lead with a turn three slider past Grant. Grant countered Thomas off four and the pair raced side-by-side into down the front straight until Thomas slammed the door on Grant on the bottom of one. Both drifted wheel-to-wheel up to the top of the second turn when Thomas propelled off the lip and shot away to secure the point.

"Whenever you're at these places and you restart around the top, it opens up a lane for somebody to slide you," Thomas explained. "I got the luxury of being in second to witness that and seeing the run that you could get. I just never wanted to go back to a restart because I know he's going to throw it if he got the chance. I just didn't want to give him that chance."

That chance came just a lap later after Max Adams stopped on the low side of turns one and two, forcing a restart with just 10 laps remaining where Grant took his shot but came up snake eyes as he tried to slide by Thomas in turn one.

"Our car was really good, but if you get to racing, it doesn't really matter how good your car is, you might get shuffled back a few positions," Thomas noted. "I just wanted to make sure I got that jump getting into one, and our car was perfect. I could lean up right there against the cushion, put the pedal to the floor and just go. It was relatively simple to drive, and that says a lot for this place because it can be pretty taxing on you and the racecar and everything else."

Thomas' idea of an ideal track surface is slick to a cushion, and that's exactly what he got on this night which suited himself and his car nicely as he built up a three second lead while Grant and Leary traded slide jobs for four-straight trips around the 3/8-mile dirt oval between laps 21-24. Leary made one final attempt on Grant in three on lap 24, just narrowly missing as Grant drove around the outside to reemerge with the spot. Leary, meanwhile, left the door open for Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier Tyler Courtney to capitalize and slide past in turn one for 3rd on lap 25.

Kevin Thomas, Jr.'s win Saturday night at Lawrenceburg was his 27th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature victory, moving him past Tony Elliott and Dave Steele and into a tie for 16th on the all-time list alongside Brady Bacon.
(Dallas Breeze Photo)

One lap later, the most serious accident of the night occurred when first-time USAC Sprint Car feature starter Justin Owen jumped the cushion in turn four, slid down the track and collected the oncoming car of 2018 Lawrenceburg track champion Garrett Abrams who ramped over and flipped wildly as a result. Abrams walked away uninjured.

Under red and with four laps remaining, Thomas had time to think and ponder his next move and Grant's possible motives on the ensuing restart. It's a mental game of sorts to not let overthinking the situation come into play.

"Your mental state whenever you get four laps to go is to not make a mistake," Thomas said. "But if you think about it too long, you'll make a mistake. You just got to get going there, get through the first corner and then you get back in your rhythm. That first corner can be hell. If you make a wrong move or slip your tires on the restart, they're going to be there to pounce."

However, Thomas nailed it precisely, withstanding Grant's challenge and him in the distance to battle it out for second with Courtney who pounced for the runner-up position with three laps remaining then held off Grant's charge to retake 2nd a half-lap later in turn three.

Up front, Thomas had a comfy cushion over Courtney and a front row seat for the checkered flag where he became one of just five drivers to win at least four career USAC Sprint feature at Lawrenceburg, joining Dave Darland (7), Jon Stanbrough (5), Grant (4) and Jack Hewitt (4). Second went to Courtney 1.26 seconds back while Grant, Leary and Chris Windom rounded out the top-five.

Contingency award winners Saturday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway were Tyler Courtney (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Kyle Cummins (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner & Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Dustin Clark (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Chris Windom (Indy Race Parts Semi Winner), Mario Clouser (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Jarett Andretti (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Steve Thomas (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 5, 2019 - Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, Indiana - Fall Nationals - 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-13.831; 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 19, Hayward/Thomas-14.188; 3. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-14.195; 4. C.J. Leary, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.238; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.261; 6. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-14.270; 7. Joss Moffatt, 5J, Moffatt/Wright-14.385; 8. Chris Windom, 5G, Parallax/Goacher-14.403; 9. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.408; 10. Max Adams, 5m, Adams-14.431; 11. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-14.475; 12. Dustin Smith, 77, Smith-14.484; 13. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-14.527; 14. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-14.527; 15. Scotty Weir, 39, Goodnight-14.529; 16. Mario Clouser, 6, MCM-14.560; 17. Dave Darland, 43m, Tibbits-14.692; 18. Dustin Clark, 75, Clark-14.764; 19. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-14.773; 20. Justin Owen, 4J, Owen-14.845; 21. J.J. Hughes, 76, Hughes-14.897; 22. Garrett Abrams, 32A, Abrams-15.089; 23. Tyler Kendall, 20K, Kendall-15.200; 24. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-15.246; 25. Steve Thomas, 20, Thomas-15.488; 26. Eric Perrott, 45, Perrott-16.494.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kyle Cummins, 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Mario Clouser, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Max Adams, 6. Isaac Chapple, 7. Garrett Abrams, 8. Steve Thomas, 9. Joss Moffatt. 1:55.43

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 2. Jarett Andretti, 3. Nick Bilbee, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Justin Owen, 6. Tyler Kendall, 7. Eric Perrott, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Dave Darland. NT

AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Dustin Clark, 2. Scotty Weir, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. J.J. Hughes, 6. Josh Hodges, 7. Aric Gentry, 8. Dustin Smith. NT

INDY RACE PARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Josh Hodges, 3. Garrett Abrams, 4. Dustin Smith, 5. Tyler Kendall, 6. Isaac Chapple, 7. Aric Gentry, 8. Steve Thomas, 9. Eric Perrott. 3:08.89

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

**Garrett Abrams flipped on lap 26 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 C.J. Leary, Laps 3-18 Brady Bacon, Laps 19-30 Kevin Thomas, Jr.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Jarett Andretti (13th to 8th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Mario Clouser

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Steve Thomas

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Kyle Cummins

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-2,003, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,956, 3-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-1,861, 4-Justin Grant-1,850, 5-Chris Windom-1,843, 6-Brady Bacon-1,837, 7-Chase Stockon-1,757, 8-Jason McDougal-1,483, 9-Carson Short-1,361, 10-Isaac Chapple-1,193.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 11, 2019 - Terre Haute Action Track - Terre Haute, Indiana - Wabash Clash - 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval