Archive for USAC
Grant Gasses it to #GYATK Night Triumph
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
#4 Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) captured the victory in Wednesday's #GYATK Night at Kokomo Speedway.
(Adam Mollenkopf Photo)
GRANT GASSES TO #GYATK NIGHT TRIUMPH
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana (August 21, 2019).........Sprint Car Smackdown week began just as it left off the year before with Justin Grant racing to victory Wednesday in #GYATK Night following the Ione, California driver's victory in the Smackdown finale in 2018.
Grant emerged from a mid-race tussle with Brady Bacon and Thomas Meseraull, then slid by Bacon with eight laps remaining to score the victory in the non-points special event, a 27-lap feature race which Grant described as feeling like "slick track go-kart racing" around the quarter-mile dirt oval where one has to "figure out how big of a slider you can throw, then throw it and see if it sticks."
"Man, that was a heck of a race," Grant exclaimed. "It was an absolute blast to run. Maybe the only thing more fun than running it would've been watching it."
Grant had a good seat to watch early on as he went to work in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink - Bow Foundation - Challenger Construction/Maxim/Claxton Chevy, starting fifth in the 22-car field while Meseraull and Bacon occupied the front row where the two went toe-to-toe into turn one on the opening lap before Bacon blasted around the outside of Meseraull in turn two to occupy the lead.
Near the completion of the second lap, third-running Carson Short walked away uninjured after tangling with C.J. Leary off turn four and barrel-rolled twice down the front straightaway. Despite the incident, the Marion, Ill. driver's crew made repairs and he rejoined the field for the restart, ultimately racing to a 12th place finish at the checkered.
Once racing resumed, Meseraull was on the attack from the second position, sliding Bacon into turn one on lap four. Bacon countered underneath off turn and raced back to the point into turn three. Meseraull kept his foot in it and, with four wheels above the turn four cushion, managed to drive around Bacon to snare the race lead.
After a Max Adams tangle with the turn two wall on the fifth lap, Meseraull rode the rim out front, nearly dancing with the concrete in turns one and two on lap nine as he kept Bacon at arm's length distance behind in second.
Just before the halfway mark, the battle at the front became a three-way affair with Bacon applying pressure underneath Meseraull between turns three and four. That opened the door for Grant to slide under Bacon for second in turn one with 14 circuits remaining.
The trio went three-deep on the other end of the speedway in turn three, but Grant snagged the turn four cushion, popping the front wheels up, thus allowing Bacon to slide back by Grant into turn one. Grant was prepared and cut back underneath Bacon to retake second off two. Bacon wasn't ready to give in and drove back underneath Grant for second off turns three and four, nipping Grant by a car length at the line with Meseraull just two lengths ahead out front.
Grant got up on the wheel and drove around the outside of Bacon off turn two for second, then went for broke, throwing a slider into turn three by Meseraull as Bacon poked underneath both drivers to make it three-wide off turn four. Meseraull beat Grant to the line by a half-car length with Bacon a car length behind Grant.
Meseraull attempted to move up to the top line entering turn one with 11 to go, nearly making contact with Grant as Bacon shot underneath both to go to the point. Both Grant and Meseraull raced to the bottom entering turn three side-by-side with just micrometers separating the two while Bacon exited the fray with the lead on top by two car lengths at the line with 10 to go.
Grant entered turn one on the bottom, sliding up and nearly picking off two positions in one fell swoop, pulling even with Bacon in turn two while Meseraull found a rocky road atop the cushion, enduring a half-spin, but managed to keep going and avoid contact from the evasive actions of USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point leader C.J. Leary, putting him out of contention to battle for the win down the stretch.
Now, with two-thirds of the race in the book, it became a one-on-one contest between Bacon and Grant. Grant had a feeling he would be good to go once the chaos of a three-car war cleared. Easier said then done, but Grant made it happen with just eight to go.
"I knew we were pretty good if I could get those guys cleared," Grant explained. "It got so ledgy off of four, guys would hit that and get messed up. Fortunately, it wasn't upsetting us much. We could get a big run on guys and I could slide them into one and two and make enough grip there to not get crossed over."
There'd be no crossing over by the competition on the 20th lap as Bacon went to the middle line in turn one. Grant ventured lower and slid up in front of Bacon for the lead. Bacon nearly came to a complete stop in the process, almost killing the engine, but kept it fired and continued on, albeit two-and-a-half seconds now behind Grant.
Down the stretch, Grant ripped around lapped traffic, opening up a 3.398 second advantage at the checkered to capture the victory in the third edition of #GYATK Night over Bacon, Leary, Meseraull and Logan Seavey.
Grant and TOPP Motorsports form a formidable combo at Kokomo where Grant has won quite often and where TOPP has won the last two Smackdown finales with Grant (2018) and Tyler Courtney (2017). A non-points special event, such as Wednesday night's, allowed the team to try a few new things, and by all accounts, everything seemed to pan out excellently.
"Tonight, we had some stuff we've been thinking would work," Grant explained. "But it's been kind of a dice roll whether to do it or not. We threw it at it and boy did it work! We've been sketching out stuff on paper trying to figure out how to come up with the best mousetrap we can, and it makes you feel good when you hit it. A lot of the things we've been working on and trying and we're finally getting them to come together. I felt like during Indiana Sprint Week, we had a lot of speed, and we kind of found our legs again.
Meanwhile, Anton Hernandez earned $1,539 for capturing the #GYATK Challenge, rewarding the best finisher among the group of drivers making their first appearance in a sprint car without a wing at Kokomo Speedway. Hernandez (Arlington, Texas) finished one spot out of the final transfer spot in the semi-feature.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: August 21, 2019 - Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, Indiana - #GYATK Night
QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.057; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.089; 3. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.127; 4. Chris Windom, 5G, Goacher-13.210; 5. Carson Short, 21, RCM-13.218; 6. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.240; 7. Dave Darland, 36D, Darland-13.281; 8. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-13.281; 9. Corey Smith, 66s, CS-13.328; 10. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-13.330; 11. Hunter Schuerenberg, 19BS, Reinbold/Underwood-13.337; 12. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.347; 13. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-13.365; 14. Timmy Buckwalter, 7, LNB-13.404; 15. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-13.411; 16. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-13.413; 17. Scotty Weir, 4p, Pedersen-13.428; 18. Max Adams, 5m, Adams-13.441; 19. Logan Seavey, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-13.528; 20. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-13.549; 21. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio-13.549; 22. Brian VanMeveren, 24, VanMeveren-13.563; 23. Anton Hernandez, 19c, Cooley-13.575; 24. David Hair, 44, Hair-13.586; 25. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-13.595; 26. Thomas Meseraull, 23s, Simon-13.598; 27. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-13.602; 28. Cole Ketcham, 41, Ketcham-13.626; 29. Brad Greenup, 4G, Greenup-13.632; 30. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 19, Hayward/Thomas-13.657; 31. Clinton Boyles, 57, Hazen-13.664; 32. Carmen Perigo, 21p, Perigo-13.672; 33. Dustin Smith, 77, Smith-13.678; 34. Paul Nienhiser, 9x, Nienhiser-13.728; 35. Scott Hampton, 59, Powell-13.771; 36. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-13.784; 37. Travis Hery, 21H, Hery-13.805; 38. Dustin Christie, 75, Christie-13.812; 39. Andrew Prather, 16K, Knight-13.908; 40. Aaron Leffel, 12L, Taylor-14.028; 41. Evan Mosley, 27, Mosley-14.100; 42. Brayden Clark, 42G, Jackson-14.118; 43. Parker Frederickson, wee34, Frederickson-14.150; 44. Ty Tilton, 42, Tilton-14.178; 45. Aaron Davis, 11, Davis-14.295; 46. Cooper Welch, 2, Welch-14.550; 47. Steve Thomas, 20, Thomas-14.613; 48. Jack James, 99, James-14.690; 49. Zack Pretorius, 39x, Goodnight-14.697; 50. Eric Perrott, 45, Perrott-14.968.
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5. Hunter Schuerenberg, 6. Clinton Boyles, 7. Carmen Perigo, 8. Zack Pretorius. 2:12.18
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Cole Ketcham, 3. Timmy Buckwalter, 4. Corey Smith, 5. Dustin Smith, 6. Travis Hery, 7. Paul Nienhiser, 8. Brayden Clark. NT
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Jason McDougal, 2. Scotty Weir, 3. Brandon Mattox, 4. Andrew Prather, 5. Aaron Davis, 6. Cooper Welch, 7. Dave Darland. NT
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Isaac Chapple, 3. Anthony D'Alessio, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Brayden Fox, 6. David Hair, 7. Aaron Leffel, 8. Jarett Andretti. NT
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Max Adams, 4. Anton Hernandez, 5. Dustin Christie, 6. Parker Frederickson, 7. Evan Mosley, 8. Matt Westfall, 9. Sterling Cling. NT
SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Short, 2. Chase Stockon, 3. Matt Goodnight, 4. Ty Tilton, 5. Brad Greenup, 6. Steve Thomas, 7. Jack James, 8. Eric Perrott, 9. Brian VanMeveren. NT
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Carmen Perigo, 2. Paul Nienhiser, 3. Evan Mosley, 4. Aaron Leffel, 5. Brayden Clark, 6. Zack Pretorius, 7. Jack James, 8. Eric Perrott. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 3. Clinton Boyles, 4. Hunter Schuerenberg, 5. Anton Hernandez, 6. Dustin Smith, 7. Andrew Prather, 8. Ty Tilton, 9. Carmen Perigo, 10. Travis Hery, 11. Paul Nienhiser, 12. Aaron Leffel, 13. Parker Frederickson, 14. Evan Mosley, 15. Dustin Christie, 16. Steve Thomas, 17. Cooper Welch, 18. Brad Greenup, 19. Aaron Davis, 20. David Hair, 21. Corey Smith, 22. Brayden Fox. NT
FEATURE: (27 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (5), 2. Brady Bacon (2), 3. C.J. Leary (4), 4. Thomas Meseraull (1), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Scotty Weir (9), 7. Chase Stockon (12), 8. Tyler Courtney (13), 9. Shane Cottle (11), 10. Chris Windom (19), 11. Jason McDougal (6), 12. Carson Short (3), 13. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (20), 14. Cole Ketcham (8), 15. Timmy Buckwalter (14), 16. Brandon Mattox (15), 17. Anthony D'Alessio (16), 18. Matt Goodnight (18), 19. Hunter Schuerenberg (22), 20. Isaac Chapple (10), 21. Max Adams (17), 22. Clinton Boyles (21). NT
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## Jarett Andretti flipped during the fourth heat. Sterling Cling flipped at the start of the fifth heat. Brian VanMeveren flipped during the sixth heat. Carson Short flipped on lap 2 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Brady Bacon, Laps 4-16 Thomas Meseraull, Laps 17-19 Brady Bacon, Laps 20-27 Justin Grant.
#GYATK CHALLENGE WINNER: Anton Hernandez
CRUME EVANS INSURANCE HARD CHARGER: Chris Windom (19th to 10th)
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: August 22-23-24, 2019 - Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, Indiana - Sprint Car Smackdown VIII
Ironman Stockon in Line for Record at Kokomo
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
#32 Chase Stockon has 281 consecutive USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car starts coming into the Aug. 22-24 Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway, three away from tying the all-time mark of 284 set by Levi Jones.
(David Nearpass Photo)
STOCKON IN LINE TO EQUAL CONSECUTIVE USAC SPRINT START RECORD AT KOKOMO
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana (August 20, 2019).........One of the ultimate ironman streaks is on the line for Chase Stockon as he prepares to equal the series' most consecutive starts streaks this week during Sprint Car Smackdown VIII at Aug. 22-24 at Kokomo Speedway.
Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) has made 281 consecutive USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature starts since 2012. If all were to go in accordance with his plans and he qualifies for the feature on all three nights of Smackdown, he would tie the mark on Saturday of 284-straight starts in the series, set by five-time series champ Levi Jones between 2004 and 2012.
Stockon would then be in line to set the new standard of 285-straight feature starts with the series on Friday, Aug. 30, in the River Town Showdown at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill.
During Stockon's streak, he's accumulated 12 feature victories, which are tied with Eric Gordon for 45th all-time. Stockon's 27 fast qualifying times during the streak rank 12th all-time, tied with Dave Steele.
To put Stockon's consecutive starts streak into perspective, only eight times in the 64-year history of USAC has a driver put together 100 or more starts in a row. Jones, of course, right now is tops with 284, followed by Stockon at 281. Dave Darland has done it twice, putting together 204 consecutive starts between 2012-17 and 106 between 2004-2008. Brady Bacon had 147 from 2013-17. Damion Gardner had 126 between 2008 and 2012. Tracy Hines made feature starts in 123-straight between 2009 and 2012.
Chris Windom is one of those eight occasions as well, accumulating 132-straight starts since the 2016 season to hold the second longest active streak of starts. Justin Grant and Tyler Courtney stand at 98 starts in-a-row since the beginning of the 2017 season and would become the newest members of the exclusive 100-club if they compete in both Thursday and Friday night's feature events at Kokomo. Kevin Thomas, Jr. stands at 96 and could hit the 100-straight start mark in Granite City at the end of August.
The racing festivities at Kokomo first get underway on Wednesday, August 21, with #GYATK Night, a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car non-points Special Event in honor of the late, great Bryan Clauson, winner of the first Smackdown in 2012. Admission is FREE for all racefans. Driver pit passes are also all FREE courtesy of AllStar Performance. All gates open at 3pm Eastern, draw closes at USAC trailer at 6:10pm, drivers meeting in front grandstands at 6:15pm and cars on track at 6:30pm.
For the first two nights of Smackdown on Thursday, August 22 and Friday, August 23, all gates open at 3pm Eastern with cars on track at 6:45pm. Adult general admission tickets are $25 and children age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $35 apiece. 3-day advance reserved: $80.00, call 815-468-8690 for tickets. Advanced tickets sales will end on 8/19, after 8/19 3-day tickets can be purchased at the ticket window on race night for $85.00.
On the final night of Smackdown on Saturday, August 24, all gates open at 3pm Easter with cars on track at 6pm. Adult general admission tickets are $35 and children age 12 and under free. Pit passes are $45 apiece. The Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series will also be on the event card.
All three nights of Smackdown, in addition to #GYATK Night, will be shown live and on-demand on FloRacing. You can listen to live audio of each night on the USAC app and follow along with live timing and scoring on the Race-Monitor app as well as the USAC app.
ALL-TIME CONSECUTIVE USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FEATURE STARTS:
(Drivers with 100 or more)
1. (284) Levi Jones / 2004-2012
2. (281) Chase Stockon / 2012-Present
3. (204) Dave Darland / 2012-2017
4. (147) Brady Bacon / 2013-2017
5. (132) Chris Windom / 2016-Present
6. (126) Damion Gardner / 2008-2012
7. (123) Tracy Hines / 2009-2012
8. (106) Dave Darland / 2004-2008
TOP CURRENT CONSECUTIVE USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STARTS:
(Drivers with 50 or more)
1. (281) Chase Stockon / 2012-Present
2. (132) Chris Windom / 2016-Present
3. (98) Tyler Courtney / 2017-Present
4. (98) Justin Grant / 2017-Present
5. (96) Kevin Thomas, Jr. / 2017-Present
6. (68) Brady Bacon / 2017-Present
7. (64) C.J. Leary / 2017-Present
BC39 Field Soars Past 50 with Bacon, Bell, Larson and Other Top Stars Entered
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
2018 Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink winner Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, Okla.
(Mike Roth Photo)
BC39 FIELD SOARS PAST 50 WITH BACON, BELL, LARSON AND OTHER TOP STARS ENTERED
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (August 14, 2019).........Defending BC39 winner Brady Bacon, along with USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champions Christopher Bell, Jerry Coons, Jr. Dave Darland, Logan Seavey and Tanner Thorson, as well as NASCAR Monster Energy Cup winner Kyle Larson and a host of others, are among the latest drivers entered for the second running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink, as the field has now grown to 55 cars for the September 4-5 event at The Dirt Track at IMS.
Bacon, along with July Fairbury, Neb. winner Jason McDougal, are a part of the Broken Arrow, Okla. connection teamed with FMR Racing for the race. Bacon, a two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion, led the final nine laps to capture the inaugural event a year ago.
Three series champs in Bell (Norman, Okla.), Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) and Thorson (Minden, Nev.) lead an eight-car assault from the Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian stable, which also features May's NASCAR Monster Energy All-Star Race winner Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.), plus July Sweet Springs, Mo. winner Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, CA), plus series Rookie Jesse Colwell (Red Bluff, Calif.), Holley Hollan (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and Tucker Klaasmeyer (Paola, Kans.).
Two-time series champs Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) and Darland (Lincoln, Calif.) are part of an all-star Petry Motorsports contingent that also features Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) who led a race-high 30 laps and finished 3rd in last year's BC39 main event.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) took 7th in the 2018 BC39 and has already won once this season at Gas City I-69 Speedway during Indiana Midget Week, one of 12 different winners in the first 21 events of this season.
USAC Western States Midget point leader Robert Dalby (Anaheim, Calif.) returns for his second BC39 appearance. Dalby has won each of the last two USAC Western States Midget feature events at Merced Speedway and Santa Maria Raceway in California, the first two series victories for him in his career.
Clauson/Marshall Racing has entered their core group of four full-time USAC competitors for the event: Tyler Courtney, Chris Windom, Zeb Wise and Andrew Layser.
Defending USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.) leads all drivers with six USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature wins in 2019 and has led the standings since the start of the season. His CMR teammate, Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), runs second in the standings behind Courtney. Windom, the 2016 Silver Crown and 2017 National Sprint Car titlist, has won his first two National Midget races over the past two months.
Wise (Angola, Ind.) runs fourth in the standings with two recent victories to his credit during Pennsylvania Midget Week. He was victorious in last year's opening night Stoops Pursuit Race at the BC39. Andrew Layser is in his first year for CMR and tops the series' Rookie points by a commanding margin as he seeks to make his first BC39 feature start.
Michael Pickens, the winningest driver from New Zealand in the history of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing with four series wins, will roll with the RMS LLC team at the BC39 alongside teammate Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), a nine-time winner on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car trail and a winner of last December's Junior Knepper 55 Midget race at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin.
David Prickett (Fresno, Calif.), the 2012 USAC Western States Dirt Midget champ, will drive for Neverlift Motorsports in his second BC39 appearance. Meanwhile, Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio), a veteran of Kenyon Midget racing and the Little 500 at Anderson, will drive the famed yellow No. 61 for Mel Kenyon, USAC's winningest National Midget driver with 111 career victories and a four-time top-five finisher at the Indianapolis 500 between 1966 and 1973.
Spencer Bayston, the 2017 USAC National Midget champion from Lebanon, Ind. is entered, along with 2018 Jason Leffler Memorial winner Tyler Thomas (Collinsville, Okla.), USAC National Sprint Car feature winners Brent Beauchamp (Avon, Ind.) and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), plus past USAC Western States Midget champion Shannon McQueen (Bakersfield, Calif.) among many others.
Teams can file their entry for the event at www.thebc39.com/, where they may also purchase pit and parking passes for the two-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event.
With the expansion of grandstand seating around the quarter-mile dirt oval, teams purchasing pit passes for the BC39 will be able to add a grandstand seat. Five-hundred reserved seats in Tier 3 (lower level) have been made available for purchase at a discounted rate until August 15. Unsold tickets as of August 15 will be made available at public prices and may sell out.
There are three options for viewing the racing action and also having pit pass access. You can purchase a competitor pit pass only where no seat is included with limited viewing of the track. Secondly, you can purchase a competitor pit pass with reserved seating included, which are available in the lower level of the main grandstands. Both options are available on www.thebc39.com/.
Competitor/crew seating has been added as a special general admission-only section in the main grandstand for the upcoming Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink at The Dirt Track at IMS on September 4-5. Pits are located outside turns three and four this year, giving competitors and crews direct access to the grandstands.
Competitors and crews have two options: 1) Purchase reserved seats at IMS.com/BC39 and upgrade to a pit pass there or... 2) Purchase a reserved 2-day pit pass at usacracing.ticketspice.com/2019-bc39 and upgrade to include a seat in the general seating section for crews/competitors only.
Additionally, parking will also be available on both ends of the track for those with infield parking passes.
Each entry filed will come with two VIP parking passes for inside parking at IMS. All others must either purchase inside parking or park outside of turns three and four of the 2.5-mile paved oval track.
Spectator tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets.
The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, Sept. 3 with team parking at noon. From 4-6pm, catch five USAC icons at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum's USAC Stars: From the Dirt Track to the Brickyard series. The event will feature legends Don and Mel Kenyon, and current drivers Michael Pickens, Chris Windom and Chad Boat. Pat Sullivan, longtime USAC public address announcer, historian, and author, will emcee this evening of entertaining banter and thrilling stories.
Tickets are available to Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum members for $15 and non-members for $20. Limited seating. Tickets must be purchased in advance. For more information or to buy tickets, contact Kelly Hartman at khartman@brickyard.com.
Following the event, make your way to USAC headquarters, just across the street from the IMS Administration office at 4910 W. 16th Street, where drivers will draw for their heat race positions at the BC39 opening night races. All cars entered will be randomized into a draft order for the heat race draft. Teams will be able to pick their heat race spot, either in person with a representative, or remotely through USAC officials. Any unrepresented team will be given the first available spot. The heat race position draft is open to the public with team members getting priority into the new USAC worldwide headquarters. Food and beverages will be available.
On track action begins Wednesday, Sept. 4, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 4pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm. Heat races and the Stoops Pursuit race will conclude the night's racing action.
The finale, on Thursday, Sept. 5, will have the public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7:30pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
BC39 ENTRY LIST (55 cars as of 8/14/2019)
1NZ MICHAEL PICKENS/Auckland, NZ (RMS LLC)
1ST TBA (Daryl Saucier)
2 RYAN HALL/Midlothian, TX (Mark Bush)
2x MATT LINDER/Hoschton, GA (Mark Bush)
3N JAKE NEUMAN/New Berlin, IL (Jim Neuman)
4A JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RAMS Racing)
4D ROBERT DALBY/Anaheim, CA (Ken Dalby)
5 KEVIN THOMAS, JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
7u KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Trifecta Motorsports)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS LLC)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Baue)
9H EMILIO HOOVER/Broken Arrow, OK (James Hoover)
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Chuck Taylor)
11T TBA (Chuck Taylor)
14H TBA (Mike Dickerson)
15 DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN (Petry Motorsports)
15J JEFF WIMMENAUER/Indianapolis, IN (Jeff Wimmenauer)
15s SHANNON McQUEEN/Bakersfield, CA (Broc Garrett)
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17 JUSTIN PECK/Monrovia, IN (Bus Racing Team)
17BC CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
19 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Brodie Hayward)
20 CODY WEISENSEL/Sun Prairie, WI (Kevin Weisensel)
21 CHRISTOPHER BELL/Norman, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson)
22Q DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA (Neverlift Motorsports)
25 JERRY COONS, JR./Tucson, AZ (Petry Motorsports)
27 TUCKER KLAASMEYER/Paola, KS (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
28 ACE McCARTHY/Tahlequah, OK (Jim Neuman)
35 TBA (Petry Motorsports)
39BC ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
41 OLIVER AKARD/Ft. Myers, FL (Dan Akard)
43 BRENT BEAUCHAMP/Avon, IN (Kevin Arnold)
47BC ANDREW LAYSER/Collegeville, PA (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
50 TONY DiMATTIA/Malvern, PA (Tony DiMattia Motorsports)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner)
56A COLTEN COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Travis Young)
57A TBA (Bill Ecker)
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (McCreery Motorsports)
57K KEVIN STUDLEY/Plainfield, IN (Kevin Studley)
61 TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, Ohio (Mel Kenyon)
67 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
67K HOLLEY HOLLAN/Broken Arrow, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71 JESSE COLWELL/Red Bluff, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71s CODY SWANSON/Norco, CA (Marcie Campbell)
76E BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)
76m JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson)
91T TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK (Brian Thomas)
97 KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
97A AUSTIN O'DELL/Rochester, IL (Patrick O'Dell)
98 TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
USAC Hall of Fame Class of 2019: Capels, Clauson, Jordan, Steele
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
USAC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2019: CAPELS, CLAUSON, JORDAN, STEELE
Speedway, Indiana (August 14, 2019).........USAC's newest Hall of Fame class members have been named for 2019 with Johnny Capels, Bryan Clauson, Dick Jordan and Dave Steele receiving the votes to make up the eighth class of inductees, who will be formally inducted on Wednesday, September 4, during the Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
New Mexico native Capels is a five-time National Championship-winning chief mechanic, winning back-to-back USAC National Championships with driver Joe Leonard in 1971-72, plus USAC Champ Dirt Car titles with Al Unser in 1973, Mario Andretti in 1974 and as a chief mechanic/car owner for Pancho Carter in 1978. He was also victorious as a USAC Sprint Car driver in 1968 and served in the roles of USAC Senior VP and Director of Competition in 1992, USAC President and COO from 1997 to 2001 and as Chairman of the Board of Directors for USAC from 2002 to 2010.
Clauson, of Noblesville, Ind. won 112 USAC races as a driver between 2004 and his 2016 passing and is one of just six drivers to reach the 100-win mark during his career with the club. Clauson ranks seventh on both the USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget wins list with 41 and 38 wins, respectively, in each division. He also scored two career USAC Silver Crown victories. He captured the overall USAC National Driver Championship in 2010-11-12, USAC National Midget championships in 2010-11 and USAC National Sprint Car titles in 2012 and 2013.
Jordan, of Brownsburg, Ind., was USAC's public/media relations man for over half a century from 1968 until his death in 2019, and it's safe to say, no individual has witnessed more USAC events than he. Jordan devoted his entire working life to publicizing the club's drivers and events, working with the media, as well as preserving the club's rich history with his thorough race reports, statistics and record-keeping. One of the most respected individuals in all racing media, the recognition Jordan received from around the racing world because of his contributions have been extensive.
Tampa, Fla. native Steele racked up one of the greatest careers in the history of USAC, ultimately becoming a two-time Silver Crown driving champion in 2004 and 2005 and one of the club's most accomplished drivers in the decades of the 1990 and 200s. Steele earned 60 USAC National victories, all of which came on pavement, including 16 Silver Crown, 26 National Sprint Car and 18 Midget. A two-time Little 500 winner at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway where he earned his final USAC win in 2009, Steele passed away in 2017 following a crash on the opening lap of a Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series event at Florida's Desoto Speedway.
The USAC Hall of Fame began in 2012 and has previously inducted 80 individuals over the past seven years: J.C. Agajanian, Mario Andretti, Earl Baltes, Henry Banks, Rollie Beale, Gary Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, George Bignotti, Tom Binford, Don Branson, Clint Brawner, Steve Butler, Jimmy Bryan, Duane Carter, Pancho Carter, Jimmy Caruthers, Russ Clendenen, Donald Davidson, Jimmy Davies, Willie Davis, Frankie Delroy, Mike Devin, Larry Dickson, Bob East, Tony Elliott, A.J. Foyt, Paul Goldsmith, Chuck Gurney, Gene Hartley, Butch Hartman, Jack Hewitt, Bob Higman, Tommy Hinnershitz, Gus Hoffman, Lindsey Hopkins, Tony Hulman, Jim Hurtubise, Parnelli Jones, Don Kenyon, Mel Kenyon, Dick King, Sheldon Kinser, Jud Larson, Jason Leffler, Steve Lewis, Howard Linne, Bill Lipkey, Fred Lorenzen, Roger McCluskey, Rick Mears, Norm Nelson, Pat O'Connor, Kevin Olson, Roger Penske, Larry Rice, Lloyd Ruby, Johnny Rutherford, Troy Ruttman, Eddie Sachs, Ken Schrader, Bob & Gene Shannon, Jimmy Sills, Don Smith, Robbie Stanley, Steve Stapp, Tony Stewart, Bob Stroud, Bob Tattersall, Shorty Templeman, Johnny Thomson, Sleepy Tripp, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Rich Vogler, Rodger Ward, A.J. Watson, Bob Wente, Don White & Bob Wilke.
BC39 Entry List Continues to Climb
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
#17BC Chris Windom of Canton, Ill.
(Cameron Neveu Photo)
BC39 ENTRY LIST CONTINUES TO CLIMB
Speedway, Indiana (August 7, 2019).........The point leading and winningest team in the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship this season, plus an international racing star, an electrifying talent, a Western States Midget champion and a car owned by the winningest driver in the history of the series, headline the latest group of entries for the second running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink at the Dirt Track at IMS on Sept. 4-5.
Clauson/Marshall Racing has entered their core group of four full-time USAC competitors for the event: Tyler Courtney, Chris Windom, Zeb Wise and Andrew Layser.
Defending USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.) leads all drivers with six USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature wins in 2019 and has led the standings since the start of the season. His CMR teammate, Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), runs second in the standings behind Courtney. Windom, the 2016 Silver Crown and 2017 National Sprint Car titlist, has won his first two National Midget races over the past two months.
Wise (Angola, Ind.) runs fourth in the standings with two recent victories to his credit during Pennsylvania Midget Week. He was victorious in last year's opening night Stoops Pursuit Race at the BC39. Andrew Layser is in his first year for CMR and tops the series' Rookie points by a commanding margin as he seeks to make his first BC39 feature start.
Michael Pickens, the winningest driver from New Zealand in the history of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing with four series wins, will roll with the RMS LLC team at the BC39 alongside teammate Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), a nine-time winner on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car trail and a winner of last December's Junior Knepper 55 Midget race at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin.
David Prickett (Fresno, Calif.), the 2012 USAC Western States Dirt Midget champ, will drive for Neverlift Motorsports in his second BC39 appearance. Meanwhile, Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio), a veteran of Kenyon Midget racing and the Little 500 at Anderson, will drive the famed yellow No. 61 for Mel Kenyon, USAC's winningest National Midget driver with 111 career victories and a four-time top-five finisher at the Indianapolis 500 between 1966 and 1973.
Those drivers join a talented list of entries, which also includes 2017 USAC National Midget champion Spencer Bayston from Lebanon, Ind., 2018 Jason Leffler Memorial winner Tyler Thomas (Collinsville, Okla.), USAC National Sprint Car feature winners Brent Beauchamp (Avon, Ind.) and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), plus past USAC Western States Midget champion Shannon McQueen (Bakersfield, Calif.) among many others.
Teams can file their entry for the event at www.thebc39.com/, where they may also purchase pit and parking passes for the two-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event.
With the expansion of grandstand seating around the quarter-mile dirt oval, teams purchasing pit passes for the BC39 will be able to add a grandstand seat. Five-hundred reserved seats in Tier 3 (lower level) have been made available for purchase at a discounted rate until August 15. Unsold tickets as of August 15 will be made available at public prices and may sell out.
There are three options for viewing the racing action and also having pit pass access. You can purchase a competitor pit pass only where no seat is included with limited viewing of the track. Secondly, you can purchase a competitor pit pass with reserved seating included, which are available in the lower level of the main grandstands. Both options are available on www.thebc39.com/.
You may also purchase a grandstand seat from IMS with a pit pass upgrade, which is available at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/.
Each entry filed will come with two VIP parking passes for inside parking at IMS. All others must either purchase inside parking or park outside of turns three and four of 2.5-mile paved oval track.
Spectator tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Brady Bacon was victorious in the inaugural BC39 in 2018, collecting $15,000 for the victory, which featured a USAC National Midget single event record 110 entries.
The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, Sept. 3 with team parking at noon. From 4-6pm, catch five USAC icons at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum's USAC Stars: From the Dirt Track to the Brickyard series. The event will feature legends Don and Mel Kenyon, and current drivers Michael Pickens, Chris Windom and Chad Boat. Pat Sullivan, longtime USAC public address announcer, historian, and author, will emcee this evening of entertaining banter and thrilling stories.
Tickets are available to Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum members for $15 and non-members for $20. Limited seating. Tickets must be purchased in advance. For more information or to buy tickets, contact Kelly Hartman at khartman@brickyard.com.
Following the event, make your way to USAC headquarters, just across the street from the IMS Administration office at 4910 W. 16th Street, where drivers will draw for their heat race positions at the BC39 opening night races. All cars entered will be randomized into a draft order for the heat race draft. Teams will be able to pick their heat race spot, either in person with a representative, or remotely through USAC officials. Any unrepresented team will be given the first available spot. The heat race position draft is open to the public with team members getting priority into the new USAC worldwide headquarters. Food and beverages will be available.
On track action begins Wednesday, Sept. 4, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 2pm. Public gates open at 3pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 4pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm. Heat races and the Stoops Pursuit race will conclude the night's racing action.
The finale, on Thursday, Sept. 5, will have the public gates opening at 3pm and cars on track for practice at 4pm, with qualifying races to follow at 5pm. Opening ceremonies are slated for 7:30pm and immediately followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
BC39 ENTRY LIST (38 cars as of 8/7/2019)
1NZ MICHAEL PICKENS/Auckland, NZ (RMS LLC)
1ST TBA (Daryl Saucier)
2 RYAN HALL/Midlothian, TX (Mark Bush)
2x MATT LINDER/Hoschton, GA (Mark Bush)
3N JAKE NEUMAN/New Berlin, IL (Jim Neuman)
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
7u KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Trifecta Motorsports)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS LLC)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Baue)
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Chuck Taylor)
11T TBA (Chuck Taylor)
14H TBA (Mike Dickerson)
15J JEFF WIMMENAUER/Indianapolis, IN (Jeff Wimmenauer)
15s SHANNON McQUEEN/Bakersfield, CA (Broc Garrett)
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17 JUSTIN PECK/Monrovia, IN (Bus Racing Team)
17BC CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
19 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Brodie Hayward)
20 CODY WEISENSEL/Sun Prairie, WI (Kevin Weisensel)
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson)
22Q DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA (Neverlift Motorsports)
28 ACE McCARTHY/Tahlequah, OK (Jim Neuman)
39BC ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
41 OLIVER AKARD/Ft. Myers, FL (Dan Akard)
43 BRENT BEAUCHAMP/Avon, IN (Kevin Arnold)
47BC ANDREW LAYSER/Collegeville, PA (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
50 TONY DiMATTIA/Malvern, PA (Tony DiMattia Motorsports)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner)
56A COLTEN COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Travis Young)
57A TBA (Bill Ecker)
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (McCreery Motorsports)
57K KEVIN STUDLEY/Plainfield, IN (Kevin Studley)
61 TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, Ohio (Mel Kenyon)
71s CODY SWANSON/Norco, CA (Marcie Campbell)
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson)
91T TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK (Brian Thomas)
97A AUSTIN O'DELL/Rochester, IL (Patrick O'Dell)
Viral Sensation to Winning Sensation: Seavey Scores at Lanco
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Logan Seavey captured Saturday night's Pennsylvania Midget Week finale at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway.
(Chad Warner Photo)
VIRAL SENSATION TO WINNING SENSATION:SEAVEY SCORES AT LANCO
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Newmanstown, Pennsylvania (August 3, 2019).........In Logan Seavey's last visit to Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, he was the star of the show, putting four wheels on the fence to escape unscathed around a stopped car.
The viral video, the Sports Center top play, the T-shirts and all the notoriety followed. However, the Sutter, Calif. native still had a score to settle. Overshadowed by the fence climb was the fact that he finished third. Seavey was cool with all the accolades, but more than that, the defending USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Champion just wants to win.
And he did just exactly that on Saturday night in the Pennsylvania Midget Week finale at Lanco, with all four wheels firmly planted on the 1/8-mile dirt bullring's victory lane.
"It's pretty cool what happened last year," Seavey reminisced. "I got a lot of publicity and sold a lot of T-shirts this year. That's pretty cool because it's going to Grady (Chandler) and his family. But yeah, I'd much rather be in victory lane than third like last year. It's just a good way to end the week. We've struggled the first four nights, but I knew coming here, our cars would be really good. It's the kind of track our car excels at. I knew this is the racetrack I'd get around well. I knew if there was a place this week, we were going to be good, it was here. I just had to do my job and put together 40 laps."
Seavey began his race from the third spot and engaged in a slider session with leading series Rookie Andrew Layser for second in the early going. Seavey slid past Layser in turn one on lap four, but Layser cut back under to return the favor to Seavey entering turn three. Seavey finally made the move stick on lap five in the first turn to slot into second while Chad Boat held a healthy full-straightaway three second lead over Seavey and point leader Courtney, who drifted into third past Layser.
Two-time ARDC Midget champ Steven Drevicki came to a stop in turn four on the fifth lap to bring out the first yellow of the night, erasing Boat's substantial advantage. With Seavey right on his tail tank, Boat was immediately put to the test. Seavey slid his way to the front multiple times, but Boat was able to fend him off for the time being. That is, until lap nine, when Seavey finally slid and stuck the position ahead of Boat for the race lead.
Wednesday's Action Track USA and Friday's Linda's Speedway winner Zeb Wise slowed to a stop on the 11th lap while running fifth, putting an end to his bid to pick up a third Pennsylvania Midget Week victory in the past four nights.
Seavey ringed the top side as Courtney put on the chase. On the 14th lap, Seavey stumbled ever so slightly on the turn four cushion, allowing Courtney to close in and open up the door for a turn one slider, but with his attention piqued, Seavey was prepared and drove back downhill off turn two to resume his place atop the leaderboard.
A yellow on lap 25 fell following Kevin Thomas, Jr.'s version of a fence ride between turns three and four which flattened his right rear while running third. After a stop for new rubber, Thomas drove his way back to a solid fourth-place finish.
On the restart, Courtney was ready to pounce at any inkling of a mistake by Seavey. On a small track in which a single lap clicks off just a shy over ten seconds, there's not much of a place where a driver can sustain one little bobble here or a jumped cushion there, which can make all the difference. Courtney hung close to Seavey when racing resumed but snagged the cushion twice with ten and nine laps to go, turning what once was a couple car lengths into a two second disadvantage.
"I knew, especially the first few laps after restarts, I had to not make any mistakes," Seavey said. "I felt like once I got a few clean laps in, I felt good enough to where I could distance myself a little. As a racer, you kind of know when you're making good laps and when you're not. I know when our cars are good and I'm making good laps, it's going to be really hard to be better than that."
Twelfth-running Steve Craig took a hard tumble in turn one on the 33rd lap to bring out the red and the final stop of the evening. Craig climbed from the wreckage under his own power.
Seavey led the path up top with Courtney in his shadow on the resumption with seven laps remaining. Any slight misstep by Seavey would result in Courtney gaining the upper hand, and that moment nearly arrived with five to go.
"I got tight in the center with four to go in one and two," Seavey recalled. "I got in too low and slid up to the cushion. Anytime you slide up to it like that, you're going to get tight. It's just one of those deals where the easier you try to run and try to pace yourself to not make a mistake, the more mistakes you're going to make."
Logan Seavey's triumph Saturday at Lanco gave him the distinction of being the only driver to claim a victory during Indiana Midget Week, Mid-America Midget Week and Pennsylvania Midget Week in 2019.
(Michael Fry Photo)
Courtney raced to the inside of Seavey entering turn three and the two went toe-to-toe through the corner, with Seavey bouncing his right rear tire off the outside turn four guardrail and surging back ahead at the exit of four, gaining enough steam through turns one and two to lead by five car lengths by the time the top-two hit the back straight with the laps dwindling. This gave Seavey at no point a chance to just ride it out. Instead, he put himself in the mindset of a driver doing the chasing instead of being chased.
"I committed to running as hard as I could and acted like there was somebody ahead of me that I had to run down," Seavey explained. "That's normally when I'm at my best, when I'm running as hard as I can. Everybody on the USAC tour is so fast, you have to be at 100 percent every lap or they're going to eat you up."
After nearly seeing the win slip away, Seavey nailed down his third victory of the year by 0.785 sec. over Courtney, KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Jason McDougal (from 12th), Thomas and Jerry Coons, Jr.
Seavey's victory was the sixth of his USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget career, tying him with Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro, Jr., Arnie Knepper, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland, Jr. and Roger West for 101st all-time.
The triumph also gave Seavey the distinction of being the only driver to claim a victory during Indiana Midget Week, Mid-America Midget Week and Pennsylvania Midget Week in 2019.
McDougal captured the victory in the six-lap Dash for Cash, which pit the top-two finishers in each heat race plus the two fastest qualifiers who finished outside the top-two in the heats. McDougal took home $300 for his win, Coons $150 for second and Chris Windom $100 for finishing third. Drevicki collected $50 courtesy of Low Down & Dirty for finishing sixth.
Contingency award winners Saturday night at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway were Zeb Wise (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Chris Windom (Simpson Race Products/Competition Suspension, Inc. First Heat Winner) and Jason McDougal (AutoMeter/Indy Race Parts Second Heat Winner, Dash for Cash Winner & KSE Racing Products Hard Charger).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 3, 2019 - Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway - Newmanstown, Pennsylvania - 1/8-Mile Dirt Oval - Pennsylvania Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-10.248; 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-10.270; 3. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-10.340; 4. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.342; 5. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-10.361; 6. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-10.389; 7. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.525; 8. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-10.565; 9. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-10.595; 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-10.607; 11. Steven Drevicki, 12, Heckman-10.647; 12. Jason McDougal, 76m, FMR-10.670; 13. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.805; 14. Bobby Butler, 5B, Myers-10.972; 15. Steve Craig, 55, Craig-11.417; 16. Jamie Speers, 00, Speers-12.074.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Steven Drevicki, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Zeb Wise, 5. Chad Boat, 6. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 7. Tanner Carrick, 8. Steve Craig. 1:46.10 (New Track Record)
AUTOMETER/INDY RACE PARTS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Jason McDougal, 2. Jerry Coons, Jr., 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Karsyn Elledge, 6. Andrew Layser, 7. Bobby Butler, 8. Jamie Speers. NT
DASH FOR CASH: (6 laps) 1. Jason McDougal, 2. Jerry Coons, Jr., 3. Chris Windom, 4. Zeb Wise, 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 6. Steven Drevicki. NT
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (3), 2. Tyler Courtney (4), 3. Jason McDougal (12), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 5. Jerry Coons, Jr. (10), 6. Chris Windom (9), 7. Andrew Layser (1), 8. Tucker Klaasmeyer (13), 9. Tanner Carrick (7), 10. Chad Boat (2), 11. Karsyn Elledge (8), 12. Steve Craig (14), 13. Zeb Wise (6), 14. Steven Drevicki (11), 15. Jamie Speers (15). NT
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**Steve Craig flipped on lap 33 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Chad Boat, Laps 9-40 Logan Seavey.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Jason McDougal (12th to 3rd)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Zeb Wise
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Tyler Courtney-1,467, 2-Chris Windom-1,353, 3-Logan Seavey-1,300, 4-Zeb Wise-1,236, 5-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-1,234, 6-Chad Boat-1,158, 7-Jerry Coons, Jr.-1,097, 8-Tanner Carrick-1,079, 9-Jason McDougal-1,019, 10-Tucker Klaasmeyer-984.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 30, 2019 - Tri-City Speedway - Granite City, Illinois - River Town Showdown - 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval
Wise Makes All the Right Moves at Linda’s
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Zeb Wise proudly holds the pedal car trophy after capturing Friday night's Pennsylvania Midget Week feature at Linda's Speedway.
(Michael Fry Photo)
WISE MAKES ALL THE RIGHT MOVES AT LINDA'S
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Jonestown, Pennsylvania (August 2, 2019).........In six Pennsylvania Midget Week starts over the past two seasons, Zeb Wise has accumulated three victories and a runner-up finish. In fact, all three of his USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget wins have come in the Keystone State.
Just two days earlier, the 16-year-old Angola, Ind. driver won a furious battle with Kyle Larson. The night prior, he was fast qualifier and led late in the going. Friday night, in the series' second-ever visit to Linda's Speedway, Wise returned to the win column with a late-race pass of teammate Tyler Courtney, sneaking by on the white flag lap to capture the victory in his Clauson-Marshall Racing/Driven2SaveLives - Sundollar Restoration/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.
Safe to say, Wise has taken a liking to Pennsylvania soil in his young career.
"Pennsylvania's been really nice to me," Wise exclaimed. "Tonight was a really good night. We qualified a little badly and weren't sure where we were going to end up. These little bullrings are kind of my forte and we got it done."
Wise had his work cut out for him, lining up eighth on the grid for the 30-lap main event. Early on, however, Tanner Thorson appeared to be the class of the field, racing from the outside of the front row to gain a half-straightaway lead by lap five over leading series Rookie contender and Pennsylvania native Andrew Layser, who started fourth.
On the eighth lap, pole sitter Kevin Thomas, Jr. reemerged into contention, exchanging sliders on both ends of the racetrack with Layser for the runner-up spot until Layser slid sideways to a stop between the middle of turns three and four to bring out the first yellow of the night.
When racing resumed, Thomas was on the hunt to run down Thorson as he sought his first series win since a last-lap Kokomo Grand Prix triumph in April. Thomas made gains through the middle to pull side-by-side with Thorson for the race lead nearing the midway point.
As the pair came off turn four wheel-to-wheel and headed for the crossed flags signaling the midway point, Thorson's right rear tire went flat before coming to a halt in turn one. Thorson ran three more laps before pulling in, taking an 18th place result.
Thorson's misfortune was to the benefit of Thomas who now occupied the lead as well as series point leader Tyler Courtney who now slotted into second. From the get-go at the start of the second half of the event, Thomas took the high road as Courtney clamped down on the bottom. Both remained even throughout the corners on both ends of the quarter-mile dirt oval, but Thomas had enough momentum in his back pocket to blitz by Courtney to lead by a half car length at the stripe on laps 17 and 18.
The two stuck to their guns on the following laps, but Courtney was able to get a better pull off the exit of turn two to charge into turns three and four with just enough gusto to nip Courtney at the line. The song remained the same on laps 21 and 22 as the two battled side-by-side on each entire lap with Courtney slowly able to gain bits and pieces of ground to distance himself from Thomas, finally grabbing some semblance of breathing room on lap 24 by three car lengths.
Just further back, third-running Wise was playing the role of a keen observer, watching his competition, then adjusting his plan of attack to see how it would play out in the ensuing laps.
"For the longest time, I was just up ripping the top," Wise recalled. "On that last restart, Sunshine started working the bottom under KT and I saw it working. I figured it was just going to get better and better as the top went away. So, I dropped down there and felt it out for a few laps."
With a mere five laps remaining, Wise, who had been running third since the halfway mark, began a sudden surge on the bottom, first by the rim-riding Thomas on the 26th lap, then had CMR teammate and race leader Courtney next in the pecking order.
Two laps were left on the board and Wise was closing on Courtney. Entering turn three, the two encountered the lapped car of Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. on the bottom. Courtney took a quick scan and opted to go to the top to maneuver around the outside while Wise followed Buckwalter down low and crossed under the white flag a car length ahead of Courtney.
All three of Zeb Wise's career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victories have come during Pennsylvania Midget Week, including Friday night's at Linda's Speedway.
(Lee Greenawalt Photo)
With a slower car firmly planted on the path he intended to pursue, Wise still knew he needed a little luck to fall his way despite carrying the lead into the first turn.
"Once I got by KT and as the laps wound down, we got to a few more lapped cars," Wise remembered. "When Sunshine made the decision to go to the top on the last lap, I decided to stick the bottom and pray that the lapped car would miss the bottom just a little bit. He did. Into one, he missed it just a little bit, so I shoved my nose in there."
For Wise, it worked out to perfection as he pulled out to a four-car length lead entering the bottom of turn three. Second-running Courtney re-entered the bottom line, but this time, he was staring at the back of Wise who sprinted off the final corner to win by 0.537 sec.
Courtney, who earlier set quick time and won his heat, just barely missed his opportunity at picking up the night's sweep. He finished in the runner-up position for the second time during Pennsylvania Midget Week ahead of Thomas, Chris Windom and Jason McDougal, who rounded out the top-five.
By virtue of winning, Wise was awarded a one-of-a-kind pink Linda's Speedway edition pedal car, a unique trophy that Wise plans to proudly show off when he takes it back home.
"I didn't know that was the trophy," Wise admitted. "When they handed it to me, I was pretty surprised. Obviously, that's not an usual trophy that you get. I think we're going to put it in the shop right up front so everyone can see it."
Contingency award winners Friday night at Linda's Speedway were Tyler Courtney (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier & Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Tanner Carrick (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (AutoMeter/Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner), Zeb Wise (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Steven Drevicki (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 2, 2019 - Linda's Speedway - Jonestown, Pennsylvania - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Pennsylvania Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.582; 2. Jason McDougal, 76m, FMR-12.748; 3. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.783; 4. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-12.813; 5. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.858; 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-12.863; 7. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.879; 8. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.964; 9. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-13.003; 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.049; 11. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.075; 12. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-13.089; 13. Timmy Buckwalter, 29, Seymour-13.170; 14. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.246; 15. Tommy Kunsman, 21, Kunsman-13.323; 16. Steve Buckwalter, 25B, Buckwalter-13.367; 17. Steven Drevicki, 12, Heckman-13.455; 18. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr., 83, Buckwalter-13.577; 19. Bobby Butler, 5B, Myers-13.708; 20. Steve Craig, 55, Craig-13.789; 21. Zach Curtis, 75, Curtis-14.571; 22. Kenney Johnson, 46, Johnson-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 4. Jerry Coons, Jr., 5. Steve Buckwalter, 6. Bobby Butler, 7. Timmy Buckwalter. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Carrick, 2. Jason McDougal, 3. Zeb Wise, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Tanner Thorson, 6. Steven Drevicki, 7. Steve Craig. 2:14.31
AUTOMETER/INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 2. Tommy Kunsman, 3. Chad Boat, 4. Karsyn Elledge, 5. Andrew Layser, 6. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr., 7. Zach Curtis.
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Zeb Wise (8), 2. Tyler Courtney (6), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (1), 4. Chris Windom (7), 5. Jason McDougal (5), 6. Logan Seavey (11), 7. Jerry Coons, Jr. (3), 8. Tanner Carrick (13), 9. Chad Boat (9), 10. Steve Buckwalter (15), 11. Karsyn Elledge (12), 12. Tommy Kunsman (14), 13. Steven Drevicki (16), 14. Andrew Layser (4), 15. Bobby Butler (18), 16. Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. (17), 17. Zach Curtis (19), 18. Tanner Thorson (2), 19. Tucker Klaasmeyer (10). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Tanner Thorson, Laps 15-18 Kevin Thomas, Jr., Laps 19-28 Tyler Courtney, Laps 29-30 Zeb Wise.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Zeb Wise (8th to 1st)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Steven Drevicki
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Tyler Courtney-1,390, 2-Chris Windom-1,290, 3-Logan Seavey-1,222, 4-Zeb Wise-1,188, 5-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-1,162, 6-Chad Boat-1,109, 7-Jerry Coons, Jr.-1,032, 8-Tanner Carrick-1,031, 9-Jason McDougal-947, 10-Tucker Klaasmeyer-932.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 3, 2019 - Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway - Newmanstown, Pennsylvania - Pennsylvania Midget Week - 1/8-Mile Dirt Oval
