Archive for USAC
THOMAS’ LAST LAP REDEMPTION PAYS OFF WITH KOKOMO GP WIN
Posted by: | CommentsThe United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Kevin Thomas, Jr. scored a thrilling last-lap, last corner win during Saturday night's USAC NOS Energy Drink 'Kokomo Grand Prix.' (David Nearpass Photo)
THOMAS' LAST LAP REDEMPTION PAYS OFF WITH KOKOMO GP WIN
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana (April 6, 2019).........After an incident on the final lap of the Kokomo Speedway Sprint Car race that preceded Saturday night's USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature, perhaps it was fate that we would see Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Justin Grant meet again in some form or fashion on the second night of the "Kokomo Grand Prix."
Justin Grant got the best of Thomas in the sprint tilt, picking up the victory following a last-lap, side-by-side battle that wound up with Thomas on his head before making a beeline to the opposite end of the track to confront Grant.
When cooler heads prevailed, as luck would have it, a look at the starting lineup showed the two starting side-by-side in the second row of the midget main, setting the stage for round two of the duel which would once again come down to the final lap, but this time with the outcome the mirror opposite.
Thomas ran down Grant late in the going and, on the final corner of the final lap, reversed his fortunes with redemption, nipping Grant by half a front wheel at the stripe - or 0.015 seconds to be precise - to collect the fifth victory of his USAC National Midget career.
During the downtime for his early sprint car exit, the fire was burning inside KTJ, but instead of dwelling too much, he and his Petry Motorsports crew used the few extra minutes to reclaim focus on the next task at hand.
"We had a little bit of a mishap, but it happens," Thomas acknowledged. "It was unfortunate, but we had a little bit of time to get back here and make some changes to the midget because we had a decent idea of what it was going to do."
"I know people are going to want to pick at me and Grant because we crashed each other or whatever the case is," Thomas continued. "It's racing. We both race hard. It is what it is. We talked to each other in the podium picture and it's all good. It's just the way it goes. He's been my friend for a long time. He didn't crash me on purpose, but I'd get mad at my grandma if she crashed me. It's nothing against him; it's just my nature."
Thomas' desire and motivation for redemption was evident from the word 'go' as he charged from his fourth starting spot to slide to the point momentarily in the third turn on lap one, but the move wouldn't stick as Jason McDougal crossed over to reclaim the lead while Thomas fell back into line in fourth.
McDougal, the runner-up from the night before, would lay claim to the lead for the first seven circuits. Yet, on the lap eight restart, the door was open for Grant to slide past McDougal for the lead in the first turn. Grant was seeking a little redemption of his own following a heat race flip during Friday night's action.
Just prior to halfway, Friday winner Tyler Courtney began to make his surge, getting around teammate Chris Windom for the third position on lap 12. Three laps later, the series point leader found himself upside down in turn one. Incredibly, he was able to charge back to ninth at the checkered following repairs from the Clauson/Marshall Racing crew.
Restarts would play a starring role in the second half of the 30-lapper with a multitude of spins and stoppages taking place, the most serious of which came on the 21st lap when series Rookie Ethan Mitchell flipped wildly after tagging the turn one concrete. He walked away unscathed.
On the lap 21 restart, a scramble for position saw Windom attempt to slide McDougal for second, but it was one step forward, two steps back, as he fell back to fourth behind Thomas who took advantage of the opening to crack into third. With two to go, Thomas ripped by McDougal for second and the pursuit was set in motion toward Grant. Thomas blazed a trail to pull to the inside of Grant into turn one just moments after taking the white flag.
However, the pursuit had to wait as Cole Bodine's ride stopped in turn two, setting up a green-white-checkered finish.

Cullman, Alabama's Kevin Thomas, Jr. celebrates his fifth career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory and the first for Petry Motorsports following Saturday night's 'Kokomo Grand Prix' at Kokomo Speedway. (Adam Mollenkopf Photo)
Leading up to the final showdown, Thomas had been playing around with his shocks from the cockpit and altered his line until he found something that worked. Everything was clicking for the Cullman, Ala. native, and he had his eyes and ears open to any advantage he could find, even if it came from the other side of the fence.
"Once we got to second, I saw Grant's guys giving him the motion to go to the top in three and four," Thomas recalled. "I knew that it was going to be such a long way around that it would open up a slider. I knew where he was going to go because his guys told him to go there. He ran a good line around there and he was fast up there. It's just such a shorter point to drive straight across the track."
On the final restart, Thomas took a line lower than Grant into turns one and two on the 29th lap before following him up top between turns three and four as a surging Zeb Wise joined the fray, going high on entry before diamonding off below Thomas. Thomas held serve in second and remained within three car lengths of Grant in one and two on the final go-around.
Entering turn three for the final time, Grant remained topside as Thomas drove it in deeper than he had on any other lap, sliding right across the nose of Grant in turn four. Grant countered underneath in a race to the line, coming up inches short of Thomas and his Petry Motorsports/Bolted Spine Designs - Petry Excavating - Gray Auto/Bullet/Speedway Toyota. Grant took second ahead of Wise, McDougal and C.J. Leary.
Thomas rejoined Petry at the beginning of the 2019 season following a brief stint driving for the Greenfield, Ind. based team at the conclusion of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, rewarding the team with its first ever USAC National Midget victory.
"Getting a win for those guys is a big momentum builder," Thomas exclaimed. "Scott Petry has never seen his car win before (with USAC). That was pretty cool. I really enjoyed doing that for them. They bust their butts and I'm just glad it paid off. They've been wanting to win a USAC feature for so long and they've been close. They've just never really got there. But once you get that monkey off your back, they start coming easier."
Contingency award winners Saturday night at Kokomo Speedway were Zeb Wise (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Jason McDougal (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Auto Meter Third Heat Winner), Tucker Klaasmeyer (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Andrew Layser (KSE Racing Products/Sundollar Restoration Hard Charger), Jake Neuman (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Ethan Mitchell (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 6, 2019 - Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, Indiana - "Kokomo Grand Prix" - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.542; 2. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.663; 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-13.890; 4. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-13.908; 5. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-13.928; 6. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.990; 7. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-13.991; 8. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-14.049; 9. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.113; 10. Thomas Meseraull, 7R, RMS-14.154; 11. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-14.211; 12. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.236; 13. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.245; 14. Ace McCarthy, 28, Neuman-14.278; 15. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.300; 16. Jake Neuman, 3N, Neuman-14.335; 17. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.374; 18. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-14.374; 19. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-14.375; 20. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-14.413; 21. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-14.435; 22. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-14.535; 23. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-14.659; 24. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.751; 25. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-14.805; 26. Kyle O'Gara, 67F, SFH-15.005; 27. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-15.039; 28. Brent Watson, 17K, Watson-15.850; 29. Oliver Akard, 41, Akard-16.088.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. McDougal, 2. Carrick, 3. Wise, 4. Seavey, 5. T. Thomas, 6. Hollan, 7. Elledge, 8. Akard. 2:20.65
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Courtney, 2. Windom, 3. Darland, 4. Meseraull, 5. McCarthy, 6. Bodine, 7. O'Gara. 2:20.24
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. K. Thomas, 2. Colwell, 3. Boat, 4. Welch, 5. Hendricks, 6. Mitchell, 7. Cling. 2:25.39
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Klaasmeyer, 2. Grant, 3. Leary, 4. Coons, 5. Neuman, 6. Layser, 7. Watson. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Neuman, 2. Hendricks, 3. Hollan, 4. McCarthy, 5. Layser, 6. Bodine, 7. Mitchell, 8. T. Thomas, 9. O'Gara, 10. Elledge, 11. Cling, 12. Watson, 13. Akard. 2:48.13
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 2. Justin Grant (3), 3. Zeb Wise (6), 4. Jason McDougal (2), 5. C.J. Leary (8), 6. Chris Windom (1), 7. Tucker Klaasmeyer (12), 8. Logan Seavey (13), 9. Tyler Courtney (5), 10. Thomas Meseraull (10), 11. Jesse Colwell (15), 12. Chad Boat (7), 13. Jake Neuman (16), 14. Ace McCarthy (14), 15. Dillon Welch (11), 16. Andrew Layser (22), 17. Holley Hollan (17), 18. Jerry Coons, Jr. (20), 19. Zane Hendricks (19), 20. Cole Bodine (21), 21. Tanner Carrick (9), 22. Sterling Cling (24), 23. Dave Darland (18), 24. Ethan Mitchell (23). NT
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**Courtney flipped on lap 15 of the feature. Mitchell flipped on lap 21 of the feature. Carrick flipped on lap 30 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 McDougal, Laps 8-29 Grant, Lap 30 K. Thomas.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/SUNDOLLAR RESTORATION HARD CHARGER: Andrew Layser (16th to 22nd)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Jake Neuman
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Ethan Mitchell
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-358, 2-K. Thomas-354, 3-Leary-308, 4-Windom-305, 5-Wise-290, 6-Klaasmeyer-274, 7-Boat-273, 8-Seavey-266, 9-Carrick-243, 10-Colwell-234.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 17, 2019 - Tri-City Speedway - Granite City, Illinois - "River Town Showdown" - 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval
COURTNEY CLAIMS KOKOMO GP OPENER
Posted by: | CommentsThe United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

#7BC Tyler Courtney passes Kevin Thomas, Jr. en route to Friday's 'Kokomo Grand Prix' opening night win at Kokomo Speedway. (David Nearpass Photo)
COURTNEY CLAIMS KOKOMO GP OPENER
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana (April 5, 2019).........Tyler Courtney's grip of the "Kokomo Grand Prix" seems to be as firm as the grip he currently holds on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship following Friday night's victory at Kokomo Speedway, his second straight in the "GP" and his third in the first four races on the 2019 series' trail.
The Indianapolis, Indiana driver raced to the lead just prior to the halfway point, utilizing the bottom of the racetrack to track down early race leader Kevin Thomas, Jr. on lap 15 and carry on to nab the eighth win of his career in his Clauson-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink/Spike/Stanton SR-11x, tying him for 77th all-time.
Courtney began his expedition from the outside of row three while pole sitter K. Thomas slid up past outside front row starter Thomas Meseraull in turn one for the point on the opening lap.
The first stoppage of the night arrived on the fourth lap of the main when Tony DiMattia took a tumble in turn four from which he walked away uninjured.
On the ensuing restart, K. Thomas once again spurted away to a relatively comfortable margin of one second while CMR teammates Chris Windom and Courtney battled side-by-side for the runner-up spot. Courtney found the bottom of the quarter-mile to his liking and quickly ate up enough ground to nip Windom at the line for second on lap six, just before the yellow flag flew for a turn two spin by Justin Peck.
When racing resumed, K. Thomas and Courtney formed a two-car breakaway to distance themselves from the herd. Courtney kept inching closer and closer, sticking right within earshot of Thomas nearing the midway point. On the 14th lap, Courtney's stick-to-itiveness paid off when he ran down K. Thomas, beating him to the entry of turn one before sliding up in front to nail down the lead.
Courtney had a plan and executed it perfectly on the bottom, something he attributes to his extensive experience watching, crewing and racing at Kokomo over the years.
"I ran the bottom all night, especially in (turns) three and four," Courtney explained. "It got pretty rough in one and two, so you had to search to find other ways to go. I knew the bottom was going to be the place to be. I watched a lot of races that were won here on the bottom, especially off of four. Watching those guys and learning from the best, Bryan (Clauson) being one of them, I was fortunate I got to watch him race a lot here and be a part of it. I think I would credit a lot to being a part of it and watching and take notes mentally and using it to capitalize here tonight."
Courtney's lead grew to two seconds by the 20th lap as K. Thomas became mired in lapped traffic, allowing Courtney to break away into his own zip code, albeit briefly, as Zane Hendricks slowed to a stop in turn two, thus resetting the landscape for the finish of the 30-lapper.
However, Courtney was unfazed with the lapped car of Cole Bodine separating he and K. Thomas, Windom and Jason McDougal in second, third and fourth. Courtney said 'sayonara' as a cornucopia of drivers behind him jostled for position. McDougal eventually prevailed with the second spot using a topside pass of K. Thomas in turn four on lap 24. But, with Courtney a distant three seconds ahead, McDougal needed a caution for any shot and, alas, he would receive one when Andrew Layser flipped between turns three and four on the 28th lap. He was uninjured.
The stage was set for a three-lap dash to the finish with Courtney leading and McDougal in second. Rewind back to last Labor Day Weekend and McDougal was in relatively the same position in Pevely, Mo. to win his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car race. He conquered that quest, and now had a similar storyline setting up for his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget score in his first ever drive for Steve Reynolds Motorsports.
Courtney had other plans, however.
"I didn't really know what I was going to get with Jason," Courtney pondered. "He's good at the end of races; he proved it last year at Pevely. I was a little bit in defense mode, but I knew I just needed to hit my marks and make three good laps there at the end to put ourselves in position to be where we were."
"I knew he'd be running the top because that's where he loves to be," Courtney continued. "But nobody had passed me on the bottom the whole night, so I knew if I could just run where they were running, nobody was going to go where I was going. It was just a matter of putting yourself in the right place at the right time."
Courtney stuck to his guns and burst away on the restart, never allowing McDougal to get anywhere close enough to throw a haymaker for the win, closing out his fifth career USAC National win at Kokomo (3 sprint, 2 midget) by just a tick under a full second ahead of a wheel-standing McDougal in second, followed by Windom, Zeb Wise and K. Thomas.
Contingency award winners Friday night at Kokomo Speedway were Dillon Welch (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Tanner Carrick (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Ethan Mitchell (Auto Meter Third Heat Winner), Zeb Wise (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Dave Darland (KSE Racing Products/Sundollar Restoration Hard Charger), Tyler Thomas (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Jake Neuman (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 5, 2019 - Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, Indiana - "Kokomo Grand Prix" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-12.665 (New Track Record); 2. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.695; 3. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-12.712; 4. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.747; 5. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.819; 6. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-12.844; 7. Tony DiMattia, 50, TDM-12.869; 8. Thomas Meseraull, 7R, RMS-12.904; 9. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-12.921; 10. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-12.936; 11. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.946; 12. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.957; 13. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.980; 14. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.022; 15. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-13.027; 16. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.033; 17. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.066; 18. Ace McCarthy, 28, Neuman-13.100; 19. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-13.107; 20. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-13.118; 21. Justin Peck, 17, Bus-13.146; 22. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-13.149; 23. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-13.247; 24. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-13.250; 25. Tyler Nelson, 88, Nelson-13.265; 26. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-13.283; 27. Jake Neuman, 3N, Neuman-13.289; 28. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-13.295; 29. Kyle O'Gara, 67F, SFH-13.458; 30. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-13.717; 31. Justin Dickerson, 21D, Dickerson-13.965; 32. Oliver Akard, 41, Akard-14.943.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Carrick, 2. K. Thomas, 3. Klaasmeyer, 4. Windom, 5. Welch, 6. Peck, 7. Nelson, 8. O'Gara. 2:10.06 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Courtney, 2. T. Thomas, 3. McDougal, 4. Boat, 5. McCarthy, 6. Hollan, 7. Cling, 8. Elledge. 2:12.78
AUTO METER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Mitchell, 2. Coons, 3. Leary, 4. Colwell, 5. DiMattia, 6. Neuman, 7. Dickerson, 8. Grant. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Wise, 2. Darland, 3. Meseraull, 4. Layser, 5. Seavey, 6. Hendricks, 7. Bodine. 2:13.62
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Seavey, 2. Welch, 3. Hollan, 4. Hendricks, 5. Peck, 6. DiMatta, 7. Neuman, 8. Bodine, 9. O'Gara, 10. Cling, 11. Elledge, 12. McCarthy, 13. Nelson. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. Jason McDougal (3), Chris Windom (4), 4. Zeb Wise (12), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (1), 6. Logan Seavey (8), 7. Thomas Meseraull (2), 8. Dillon Welch (7), 9. C.J. Leary (5), 10. Tanner Carrick (16), 11. Dave Darland (21), 12. Chad Boat (10), 13. Tyler Thomas (20), 14. Jesse Colwell (11), 15. Tucker Klaasmeyer (13), 16. Andrew Layser (15), 17. Holley Hollan (14), 18. Ethan Mitchell (24), 19. Cole Bodine (22), 20. Karsyn Elledge (23), 21. Zane Hendricks (18), 22. Jerry Coons, Jr. (17), 23. Justin Peck (19), 24. Tony DiMattia (9). NT
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**Boat flipped during practice. Grant flipped during the third heat. Nelson flipped during the semi. DiMattia flipped on lap 4 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 K. Thomas, Laps 15-30 Courtney.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/SUNDOLLAR RESTORATION HARD CHARGER: Dave Darland (21st to 11th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Tyler Thomas
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Jake Neuman
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-299, 2-K. Thomas-272, 3-Leary-244, 4-Windom-242, 5-Boat-228, 6-Wise-214, 7-Klaasmeyer-214, 8-Carrick-213, 9-Seavey-212, 10-Colwell-186.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: April 6, 2019 - Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, Indiana - "Kokomo Grand Prix" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
McINTOSH MASTERS MINI MAGIC MILE FOR FIRST USAC WIN
Posted by: | CommentsThe United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Cannon McIntosh picked up his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget win Saturday night in the 'Shamrock Classic' at the Southern Illinois Center. (Neil Cavanah Photo)
McINTOSH MASTERS MINI MAGIC MILE FOR FIRST USAC WIN
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (March 9, 2019).........Cannon McIntosh's grace under fire was demonstrated literally and figuratively in a multitude of manners Saturday night in the fourth annual "Shamrock Classic" at the Southern Illinois Center.
A fuel leak during hot laps ignited the Bixby, Oklahoma driver's ride, giving the 16-year-old driver a scare he won't soon forget and forcing him to borrow crew member Grady Chandler's firesuit for the remainder of the night as a replacement.
"I got blisters on my ankle right now," McIntosh pointed out. "That was definitely the scariest moment of my life. I had flames up to my eyes and couldn't grab my belt. I was starting to freak out a little bit. There's a great crew around here to put the fire out. God was on my side there."
In turn, the flames lit a fuse under the young driver, and after relinquishing the lead to the defending series champ and reigning race winner, he refused to cave-in to the pressure, snookering Logan Seavey on a lap 30 restart and completed the remaining 21 laps at the point to win his first career USAC feature in just his second series' start.
By accumulating the most passing points throughout the evening, McIntosh earned the pole for the 50-lap feature. However, an opportunity arose that, for some, may have seemed too enticing to turn a blind eye to with a $50,000 bonus awaiting him if he could start from the tail and win the feature.
Yet, McIntosh turned down the opportunity, basically intimating that while the money is nice, he came here to win.
"Fifty-grand would be awesome," McIntosh admitted. "It would've been great to win all that money, but to me, winning that race was the money."
Instead, McIntosh took the pole and, from lap one, showed he wasn't gun shy next to outside front row starter Seavey, instantly rocketing out to a half-straightaway advantage in the opening laps as he quickly closed in on the tail end of the field.
With the bottom occupied, McIntosh had to figure whether to stay in line and try to sneak by on the bottom or snake around the outside to build his lead as Seavey made his blitzkrieg to the front, first around Andrew Layser on the 14th lap before clamping down on McIntosh.
On lap 20, Seavey was right on the cusp, delivering what seemed to be the knockout blow, as he drove around the outside of McIntosh in turn two and beat McIntosh to the position on the back straight before securing the lead exiting the fourth turn.
A turn four tangle on lap 29 sent Matt Veatch on his lid. He would restart. But this set up a lap 30 restart with Seavey and McIntosh running one-two. McIntosh wasn't exactly sure what he had left in the tank, but there was a lot on his mind.
"When (Seavey) got around me, he got me pretty good," McIntosh recalled. "I didn't know if we'd have anything left for him. I didn't know if the car was going away or what was going on. But the caution came out and just going through my mind was all kinds of things. My crew guy on the fence didn't know whether to tell me top or bottom. He's saying top and bottom. We went green and I went to the bottom and it worked. Once we took the lead and it was all good from there."
After multiple cautions with less than 20 laps remaining, the question remained whether Seavey would have something up his sleeve on the restarts in the same manner McIntosh did just moments before. McIntosh wasn't fazed in any aspect, motoring away to solidify his position at the top of the leaderboard.
Zeb Wise made a late-race run, sliding Seavey for second on the 36th lap, then began to make his run at McIntosh, reeling him in in a hurry. But the savvy McIntosh altered his path, moving to the high line in turns one and two while remaining on the inside berm in three and four.
"The bottom was pretty good most of the race," McIntosh explained. "Toward the end, especially one and two, it felt real sandy. I'm like 'it's going away.' Then one corner, going into one and two, I heard somebody on my outside and I knew I had to jump up. We were pretty good in three and four on the bottom, so I stayed on the bottom down there, but went to the top in one and two. We were pretty steady, so I figured we were good from there."
And that he definitely was, mastering one more restart with nine laps remaining to pull away for a 1.645-second victory over Chad Boat, Wise, Zach Daum and Justin Grant. In doing so, McIntosh became the fourth driver in the four-year history of the "Shamrock Classic" to win his first career USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature in the event following Shane Golobic (2016), Justin Grant (2017) and Logan Seavey (2018).
Contingency award winners Saturday night at the Southern Illinois Center were Dave Darland (Simpson Race Products First Qualifier Winner), Colten Cottle (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Qualifier Winner), Zach Daum (Auto Meter Third Qualifier Winner), Jesse Colwell (Indy Race Parts Fourth Qualifier Winner), Tanner Carrick (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Zane Hendricks (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfers), Jake Neuman (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfers), Chad Boat (Ricky Stenhouse, Jr./KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Karsyn Elledge (JetCo Best Appearing Car).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: March 9, 2019 - Southern Illinois Center - Du Quoin, Illinois - 4th Annual "Shamrock Classic"
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-40 in passing points after the heats transfer to qualifiers) 1. Daniel Robinson (#11 Harris), 2. Zeb Wise (#39BC Clauson/Marshall), 3. Cannon McIntosh (#08 Dave Mac), 4. Kaylee Bryson (#11B Dave Mac), 5. Tyler Robbins (#35T Robbins), 6. Howard Moore (#41 Chappue), 7. Nick Drake (#55D Cline), 8. Garet Williamson (#19 Mounce). NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-40 in passing points after the heats transfer to qualifiers) 1. Jesse Colwell (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Braydon Cromwell (#9 Mounce), 3. Logan Seavey (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Karsyn Elledge (#1 Tucker/Boat), 5. Cody Beard (#7 Beard), 6. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built), 7. Thomas Meseraull (#7R RMS), 8. C.J. Leary (#76m FMR). NT
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-40 in passing points after the heats transfer to qualifiers) 1. Tucker Klaasmeyer (#27 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Holley Hollan (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Justin Grant (#4A RAMS), 4. Joe Wirth (#77w Wirth), 5. Kendall Ruble (#11m Martin), 6. Derek Hagar (#9JR Hagar/Proctor), 7. Gage Rucker (#45L Amati), 8. Billy Wease (#12w Wease). NT
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-40 in passing points after the heats transfer to qualifiers) 1. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson/Marshall), 2. Matt Veatch (#57D McCreery), 3. Tony DiMattia (#50 DiMattia), 4. Tyler Nelson (#88 Nelson), 5. Colten Cottle (#56AP Young), 6. Chris Andrews (#95 Miller), 7. James Picardi (#127 Picardi). NT
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-40 in passing points after the heats transfer to qualifiers) 1. Tyler Thomas (#91T Thomas), 2. Jake Neuman (#3N Neuman), 3. Justin Peck (#17 Bus), 4. Zane Hendricks (#27z Hendricks), 5. Brady Bacon (#21H TKH), 6. Shane Morgan (#15m Morgan), 7. Michael Pickens (#1NZ RMS). NT
SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-40 in passing points after the heats transfer to qualifiers) 1. Tanner Carrick (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Andrew Layser (#47BC Clauson/Marshall), 3. Dave Darland (#36 RMS), 4. Zach Daum (#5D Daum), 5. Sterling Cling (#35 Petry), 6. Adam Taylor (#7T Taylor), 7. Thomas Chandler (#1T Roney). NT
SEVENTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-40 in passing points after the heats transfer to qualifiers) 1. Chad Boat (#84 Tucker/Boat), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (#5 Petry), 3. Cole Bodine (#15 Petry), 4. Chris Windom (#17BC Clauson/Marshall), 5. Tim Crawley (#4J Crawley), 6. Kyle O'Gara (#67F SFH), 7. Jerry Coons, Jr. (#25 Petry). NT
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 finishers transfer to qualifiers) 1. Pickens, 2. Andrews, 3. Meseraull, 4. Taylor, 5. Wease, 6. Williamson, 7. Rucker, 8. Cromwell, 9. Picardi, 10. Elledge. NT
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST QUALIFIER: (12 laps, top-12 overall in passing points after qualifiers transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. Seavey, 3. Carrick, 4. Veatch, 5. Hendricks, 6. Hagar, 7. Mitchell, 8. Beard, 9. Courtney, 10. Bryson. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND QUALIFIER: (12 laps, top-12 overall in passing points after qualifiers transfer to the feature) 1. Cottle, 2. Hollan, 3. Layser, 4. Boat, 5. Klaasmeyer, 6. Windom, 7. Leary, 8. Morgan, 9. Nelson, 10. Wirth. NT
AUTO METER THIRD QUALIFIER: (12 laps, top-12 overall in passing points after qualifiers transfer to the feature) 1. Daum, 2. McIntosh, 3. DiMattia, 4. Wise, 5. Neuman, 6. O'Gara, 7. Drake, 8. Ruble, 9. Crawley, 10. Peck. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH QUALIFIER: (12 laps, top-12 overall in passing points after qualifiers transfer to the feature) 1. Colwell, 2. K. Thomas, 3. Robinson, 4. Bacon, 5. Grant, 6. Moore, 7. Cling, 8. Bodine, 9. T. Thomas, 10. Robbins. NT
FIRST SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 finishers transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. Carrick, 3. Bacon, 4. Windom, 5. Hendricks, 6. Leary, 7. Drake, 8. Peck, 9. DiMattia, 10. Bodine, 11. Wirth, 12. Ruble, 13. Hagar, 14. Meseraull, 15. Pickens. NT
SECOND SEMI: (15 laps, top-4 finishers transfer to the feature) 1. Grant, 2. Boat, 3. O'Gara, 4. T. Thomas, 5. Neuman, 6. Moore, 7. Cling, 8. Andrews, 9. Nelson, 10. Beard, 11. Bryson, 12. Morgan, 13. Courtney, 14. Taylor, 15. Mitchell, 16. Robbins. NT
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Cannon McIntosh (1), 2. Chad Boat (15), 3. Zeb Wise (4), 4. Zach Daum (6), 5. Justin Grant (13), 6. Logan Seavey (2), 7. Tyler Courtney (21), 8. Andrew Layser (3), 9. Chris Windom (18), 10. Tucker Klaasmeyer (11), 11. Holley Hollan (8), 12. Jesse Colwell (7), 13. Tanner Carrick (14), 14. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (9), 15. Dave Darland (12), 16. Matt Veatch (10), 17. Kyle O'Gara (17), 18. Brady Bacon (16), 19. Colten Cottle (22), 20. Tyler Thomas (19), 21. Daniel Robinson (5). NT
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**Taylor flipped at the start of the sixth heat. Coons flipped in heat 7. Elledge flipped during the semi. Peck flipped during the third qualifier. Veatch flipped on lap 29 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 McIntosh, Laps 20-29 Seavey, Laps 30-50 McIntosh.
RICKY STENHOUSE, JR./KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Chad Boat (15th to 2nd)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Tanner Carrick
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS: Zane Hendricks & Jake Neuman
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-216, 2-K. Thomas-207, 3-Leary-188, 4-Boat-184, 5-Klaasmeyer-175, 6-Windom-171, 7-Carrick-162, 8-Thorson-111, 9-Seavey-150, 10-Colwell-146.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: April 5-6, 2019 - Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, Indiana - "Kokomo Grand Prix"
USAC CHAMPS SEAVEY, SUNSHINE, WINDOM ENTER SHAMROCK AS CAR COUNT NEARS 60
Posted by: | CommentsThe United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Two-time USAC National champion Chris Windom has entered for Saturday's 'Shamrock Classic.' (Dave Olson Photo)
USAC CHAMPS SEAVEY, SUNSHINE, WINDOM ENTER SHAMROCK AS CAR COUNT NEARS 60
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (March 4, 2019).........Three more USAC National champs - Logan Seavey, Tyler Courtney and Chris Windom, have entered the fray for this Saturday's Factory Canopies "Shamrock Classic" USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series race on March 9 at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, where the car count has exploded to close to 60 entries for the fourth annual event.
Seavey, the defending USAC National Midget champ from Sutter, Calif., returns as the reigning "Shamrock Classic" winner, which served as the first USAC win of his career. He leads a group of five from the Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian stable, including Tucker Klaasmeyer, Holley Hollan, Jesse Colwell and Tanner Carrick.
Courtney, the reigning USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ, is also a USAC Midget victor on the indoor 1/6-mile dirt oval, winning the 2016 "Junior Knepper 55" special event. The Indianapolis, Ind. driver arrives as the point leader after capturing the first two races in February in Ocala, Fla.
Courtney's Clauson Marshall Racing counterpart, Windom, aims to make his first "Shamrock Classic" start this Saturday. The Canton, Ill. driver has won twice on the adjacent Du Quoin State Fairgrounds mile in a Silver Crown car in 2016 and 2018. Last year's third-place finisher Zeb Wise and series' Rookie of the Year contender Andrew Layser make up the rest of the stout CMR lineup.
Justin Grant won the "Shamrock" back in 2017 for his first career series win and hopes to become the first driver to enter victory lane twice in USAC competition at the Southern Illinois Center for RAMS Racing. Chad Boat could be a prime candidate to score his first after finishing seventh a year ago en route to a runner-up finish in the standings for Tucker/Boat Motorsports. C.J. Leary kicked off his FMR Racing debut with a pair of top-fives in Ocala to begin 2019.
Billy Wease was victorious in the 2006 "Turkey Night Grand Prix," while a little bit of international flavor arrives in Michael Pickens from New Zealand, who has raced to four career USAC National Midget wins. He'll pilot the RMS LLC #1NZ, the same team which won last December's Southern Illinois Center Midget race with driver Thomas Meseraull.
Also entered for the "Shamrock Classic" are one-third of the list of USAC Triple Crown title-holders who own championships in Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and National Midget competition have entered, including Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. in the RMS LLC No. 36 and Jerry Coons, Jr. of Tucson, Ariz. aboard the Petry Motorsports No. 25. Meanwhile, 2014 and 2016 USAC National Sprint Car titlist Brady Bacon will wheel the Kelly Hinck-owned No. 21H.
Among the other standouts and past USAC National feature winners entered for the "Shamrock" are 2014 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year Kevin Thomas, Jr. of Cullman, Ala. in the Petry Motorsports No. 5. He finished in the runner-up spot in both his initial outings this season in Ocala, Fla. in February.
San Jose, California's Meseraull is the most recent winner of indoor USAC Midget racing in Du Quoin, capturing the victory in last December's "Junior Knepper 55," driving the RMS LLC No. 7R, with whom he returns to for this race.
Last fall, Tyler Thomas became the first driver to win his first career USAC National Sprint and Midget races in the same season since Kyle Larson in 2011. He won that first midget race in Wayne City, Ill. last October and returns to Du Quoin in his own No. 91T.
Fast Lane Racing Apparel is sponsoring FREE race entry for all USAC NOS Energy Midget National Championship teams competing in the March 9 "Shamrock Classic" at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin.
By using coupon code FASTLANE in the box at the link: www.usacracing.ticketspice.com/2019-shamrock-classic-car-entry?fbclid=IwAR1xBSM-QaldijxzhMhFBLZDBuAOMjxDF9gEGbxHkYk4EJzPu6yJUmuUhwo&utm_source=USAC%20CHAMPS%20SEAVEY,%20SUNSHINE,%20WINDOM%20ENTER%20SHAMROCK%20AS%20CAR%20COUNT%20NEARS%2060&utm_campaign=Analytics&utm_medium=email, teams will be able to enter their midget for FREE until Monday, March 4 at 11pm (Central Time) when the offer expires. Pre-entries will be published on Tuesday, March 5.
The fourth annual event presents a hefty payday of $50,000 up for grabs when the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets compete in the 1/6-mile indoor dirt oval located in southern Illinois.
The Factory Canopies "Pot of Gold" Challenge will provide the top-four drivers in passing points throughout the night an opportunity to pad their wallets with a $50,000 bonus. Following the heats and qualifying races, if the top driver in passing points turns down the chance to go to the tail and go for $50K, the option will go on to the next driver and so on, but only the first four in passing points have that option.
The "Shamrock Classic" will offer appearance points only to drivers and their teams, no feature points. That means there's really nothing to lose in the grand scheme in terms of a championship campaign. With a driver's finishing position not being a part of the series title race, that creates more enticement for a team and driver to take on the challenge.
With it being the fourth annual event, the base winner's share is $4000, meaning if a driver could complete the challenge and win from the tail, he or she would collect $54,000, which would be, by far, the richest take-home pay any driver has ever earned for a single race in the history of the USAC NOS Energy Midget National Championship.
Greg and Kim Stewart have been selling event merchandise for over 25 years at racing events across the country. They are proud to sponsor the entry fee portion of the 4th Annual "Shamrock Classic." As part of their sponsorship, every team who enters will receive a 25% off coupon valid at any 2019 event where Fast Lane Racing Apparel is set up and selling merchandise. Your discount can also be used online at FastLaneRacingApparel.com. Fast Lane Racing Apparel will have a booth in Du Quoin where you can purchase your racing merchandise needs.
In addition to USAC National Midget entry fees and the aforementioned discount, every fan in attendance at the "Shamrock Classic" will receive a Fast Lane Racing Apparel coupon valid at every major event at Eldora Speedway, Knoxville Nationals, and Knoxville Late Model Nationals. Fans will receive this coupon upon entry to event.
On raceday, the Southern Illinois Center opens for parking at 8am (Central). Front doors/ticket window opens at 10am. Clear the building/check pit passes & tickets at 11am. Micro Sprint drivers meeting at 11am. Micro Sprint hot laps with heats immediately following at 12:30pm. Public midget drivers meeting (front stretch grandstand) at 3pm. Midget hot laps at 4pm. (All Times Central)
General admission tickets are $20 for age 13 and up. Children's general admission tickets (Age 6-12) are $10. Kids 5 and under are free.
The race will be live-streamed on www.FloRacing.com/.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET ENTRY LIST:
08 Cannon McIntosh / Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1 Karsyn Elledge / Mooresville, NC (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
1NZ Michael Pickens / Auckland, NZ (RMS LLC)
1T Thomas Chandler / Festus, MO (Roney Racing)
2 Chris Baue / Indianapolis, IN (Chris Baue)
3N Jake Neuman / New Berlin, IL (Jim Neuman)
4A Justin Grant / Ione, CA (RAMS Racing)
4J Tim Crawley / Benton, AR (Tim Crawley)
5 Kevin Thomas, Jr. / Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5D Zach Daum / Pocahontas, IL (Daum Motorsports)
7 Cody Beard / Huntingburg, IN (Cody Beard)
7BC Tyler Courtney / Indianapolis, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
7R Thomas Meseraull / San Jose, CA (RMS LLC)
7T Adam Taylor / Dwight, IL (Taylor Motorsports)
8B Kimberly Bradach / Mooresville, NC (Bradach Racing)
8w Chad Wisnicky / Mooresville, NC (Bradach Racing)
9 Braydon Cromwell / Lone Jack, MO (Mounce Motorsports)
9JR Derek Hagar / Marion, AR (Hagar/Proctor Racing)
11 Daniel Robinson / Ewing, IL (Jack Harris)
11B Kaylee Bryson / Muskogee, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
11L Aaron Leffel / Springfield, OH (Team Taylor Racing)
11m Kendall Ruble / Vincennes, IN (Martin Racing)
12 Billy Wease / Noblesville, IN (Amanda Wease)
15 Cole Bodine / Rossville, IN (Petry Motorsports)
15m Shane Morgan / Morton, IL (Shane Morgan)
17 Justin Peck / Monrovia, IN (Bus Racing Team)
17BC Chris Windom / Canton, IL (Clauson Marshall Racing)
19 Garet Williamson / Columbia, MO (Mounce Motorsports)
19m Ethan Mitchell / Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
21H Brady Bacon / Broken Arrow, OK (Kelly Hinck)
21KS Karter Sarff / Mason City, IL (Steve Reynolds Motorsports/Team Ripper Racing)
25 Jerry Coons, Jr. / Tucson, AZ (Petry Motorsports)
27 Tucker Klaasmeyer / Paola, KS (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
27z Zane Hendricks / Stillwater, OK (Zane Hendricks Racing)
35 Sterling Cling / Tempe, AZ (Petry Motorsports)
35T Tyler Robbins / Collinsville, IL (Tyler Robbins)
36 Dave Darland / Lincoln, IN (RMS LLC)
39BC Zeb Wise / Angola, IN (Clauson Marshall Racing)
41 Oliver Akard / Ft. Myers, FL (Dan & Shellie Akard)
41x Howard Moore / Memphis, TN (Chris Chappue)
47BC Andrew Layser / Collegeville, PA (Clauson Marshall Racing)
50 Tony DiMattia / Malvern, PA (Tony DiMattia Motorsports)
55 Nick Knepper / Belleville, IL (Nick Knepper)
55D Nick Drake / Mooresville, NC (Nick Drake)
56AP Colten Cottle / Kansas, IL (Travis Young)
67 Logan Seavey / Sutter, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
67F Kyle O'Gara / Beech Grove, IN (SFH Racing Development)
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)
76m C.J. Leary / Greenfield, IN (FMR Racing)
77w Joe Wirth / Waterloo, IL (Wirth Racing)
84 Chad Boat / Phoenix, AZ (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
88 Tyler Nelson / Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson)
88x Terry Babb / Decatur, IL (Terry Babb)
91T Tyler Thomas / Collinsville, OK (Tyler Thomas Motorsports)
95 Chris Andrews / Tulsa, OK (Jim Miller)
127 James Picardi / Mapleton, IL (James Picardi)
MICRO SPRINT ENTRY LIST
1G Bryant Paver / Columbia, MO (Bryant Paver)
P1 Parker Leek / Warsaw, IN (Ryan Leek)
3m Tres Mehler / Oblong, IL (BlackSheep Speedlab)
5 Zach Boden / Cambridge, WI (Zach Boden)
5T Ryan Timms / Oklahoma City, OK (Ryan Timms)
9 Chase Randall / Waco, TX (Chase Randall)
11B Colton Booten / Marion, IL (Colton Booten)
11BX Kaylee Bryson / Muskogee, OK (Sawyer Chassis)
T11 Brad Thompson / Crawfordsville, IN (Brad Thompson)
12 Corbin Gurley / Hebron, IN (Team VW/Audi Racing)
12c Jacob Patton / Bethalto, IL (Jacob Patton)
12s Ayrton Gennetten / Gravois Mills, MO (Ayrton Gennetten)
14H Harley Hollan / Broken Arrow, OK (Driven Midwest)
16 Garrett Britton / Benton, IL (Garrett Britton)
18 Steve Finn / Collinsville, IL (Steve Finn)
21 Brenton Lamb / Warsaw, IN (Brandie Lamb)
21H Brady Bacon / Broken Arrow, OK (Kelly Hinck)
21x Eli Harris / Kokomo, IN (Eli Harris)
22E Chris Wilner / Carmel, IN (Chris Wilner)
22H Jessee Holt / Columbus, IN (Jessee Holt)
27H Zach Hubbard / Benton, IL (Zachery Hubbard)
27HX Jimmy Wells / Wayne City, IL (Jimmy Wells)
27J Randy Johns / Bunker Hill, IN (Randy Johns)
28 Gunner Ramey / Sedalia, MO (Driven Midwest)
29 Scott Sawyer / Jenks, OK (Sawyer Chassis)
35 Tyler Robbins / Collinsville, IL (Tyler Robbins)
38m Koert Mehler / Oblong, IL (BlackSheep Speedlab)
40 Devin Feger / East Peoria, IL (Devin Feger)
44 Trevin Littleton / Jacksonville, IL (Greg Littleton)
44p Paul Nienhiser / Chapin, IL (Paul Nienhiser)
51B Joe B. Miller / Millersville, MO (Joe B. Miller)
53 Sean Robbins / Collinsville, IL (Sean Robbins)
56 Joe Faloon / Rochester, IL (John Faloon)
56m Nate McMillin / Rosedale, IN (John Faloon)
57 Cole Bodine / Rossville, IN (Joe Mooney)
65E Chad Elliott / Cottage Hills, IL (Chad Elliott)
69 Blake Lamb / Warsaw, IN (Blake Lamb)
71 Jake Cheatham / Bethalto, IL (Jake Cheatham)
71m TBA / TBA (Paul May)
72 Michael Brummitt / Mt. Zion, IL (Michael Brummitt)
77JR Denver Larsen / Shiocton, WI (Denver Larsen)
88 B.J. Gatewood / Caruthersville, MO (B.J. Gatewood)
91A Tyler Fitzpatrick / Middleville, MI (Tyler Fitzpatrick)
93 Matt Carr / Fayetteville, NC (Matt Carr)
187 Jake Dohner / Janesville, WI (Jake Dohner)
187x Landon Crawley / Benton, AR (Landon Crawley)
711 TBA / TBA (Paul May)
777 Dylan Larsen / Shiocton, WI (Dylan Larsen)
LEARY LOGS FIRST WIN FOR NEW TEAM IN WINTER DIRT GAMES X FINALE
Posted by: | CommentsThe United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

C.J. Leary and Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports recorded their first victory Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park. (Rich Forman Photo)
LEARY LOGS FIRST WIN FOR NEW TEAM IN WINTER DIRT GAMES X FINALE
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Ocala, Florida (February 16, 2019).........The first weekend with a new race team is normally a period when driver and team get accustomed to one another and learn on-the-fly how to win races together.
There were very few bumps in the road for C.J. Leary and Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports throughout "Winter Dirt Games X," which culminated Saturday night with the combo's first USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory together at Bubba Raceway Park.
Leary was highly successful on the USAC trail in his own family car over the past several seasons. This past offseason, Leary made the move to the Arizona-based team, bringing with him a familiar face to a new setting to make the transition as smooth as silk.
"The cool thing was Andy (Reinbold) brought me and (crew chief) Davey (Jones) on as a team since we had already been working together and we get along so well on and off the track," Leary pointed out. "I'm just learning this new racecar and this new engine package is quite a bit different than what I was running the past couple of years on our family car. We did a lot of unique things to the racecar and it paid off for us down here in Florida."
Winning this early on in the season is always a good sign that things are clicking. With a 6th, 2nd and a 1st during the three-night mini-series, plus the early season point lead, the team is already enjoying the fruits of their labor after thrashing to get their operation ready to go for the new year.
"We had high expectations with this new team," Leary exclaimed. "Andy gave us the best of everything. Davey and I have put a lot of hours into this car. Just to see it pay off is really awesome for Davey and me. I'm sure it is for Andy just because he's spent a lot of money getting this thing where it is. This kind of caps off that he hired the right two guys."
Leary started the 30-lapper from the outside of the front row alongside Robert Ballou. Ballou got the initial jump to the lead, but Leary wasn't taken aback.
"He got the jump on us at the start," Leary recalled. "The outside lane was pretty slick, and I knew the bottom still had pretty good moisture. I knew he was probably going to get the jump on us, so I was hoping to cross him over into (turn) one."
However, Leary slid into second behind race leader Ballou as the two hit the back stretch of the 3/8-mile D-shaped dirt track. The first stoppage came early as Dave Darland and Kent Schmidt tangled off turn four. Both would be finished for the evening.
Following the lap two restart, Ballou extended his lead as Leary fought with Kevin Thomas, Jr. for the second spot. But, gradually, Leary was able to chip away at Ballou's lead as the frontrunners began to work lapped traffic by lap nine where Leary was able to take a sneak peek underneath Ballou heading into turn one.
Leary retained his presence just a few car lengths behind Ballou when, on the 12th lap, Ballou drifted high off turn four, allowing Leary underneath to grab the lead.
"I just stalked him there and then we had that yellow," Leary remembered. "Our car was really good on the restarts, and when he made that small mistake in three and four, it got tight on him and let us capitalize, drive up under him and it was pretty smooth sailing from there."

C.J. Leary's 8th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car win moves him to 54th on the all-time list alongside Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford and Joe Saldana. (Rich Forman Photo)
Leary's only close encounters were dealing with lappers and having to endure multiple restarts down the stretch, first on lap 21 for an excursion by Friday night winner Justin Grant and on lap 28 for a turn four Matt Westfall spin. The restart with just three laps remaining pit Leary versus Thomas back in second. Usually a caution with a late-race lead is something to fret about, but Leary had no qualms.
"I was just really happy to see those yellows to be real honest," Leary reiterated. "I normally hate seeing yellows when I'm the leader. This 19AZ was super fast on the restarts and we were digging hard. I'm just happy to be with this new team. It's a great way to start the season off."
On the lap 28 restart, Leary bolted to a five-car-length lead that built to six, seven, eight, nine, then ten car lengths that would prove to be insurmountable in the final stanza, with the Greenfield, Indiana driver pulling away for a 1.502 second victory over Thomas. Tyler Courtney made a substantial charge on the final restart from sixth to third. Chase Stockon was fourth with opening night winner Chris Windom rounding out the top-five.
Courtney captured the title of Passing Master courtesy of Indiana Mafia/Hughes Racing/Flamingo Sandy worth an extra $800, picking off a total of 25 cars throughout the USAC Sprint feature events of "Winter Dirt Games X."
Contingency award winners Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park were Timmy Buckwalter (Fatheadz Eyewear/EPA Photography Fast Qualifier), Justin Grant (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Dakota Jackson (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Chad Boespflug (Auto Meter Third Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Indy Race Parts Semi Winner & KSE Racing Products/ProSource Hard Charger), Joey Biasi (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Chad Boespflug (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Stephen Schnapf (ProSource Hard Work) and Ty Tilton (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 16, 2019 - Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, Florida - "Winter Dirt Games X"
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/EPA PHOTOGRAPHY QUALIFYING: 1. Timmy Buckwalter, 7, LNB-13.689; 2. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-13.715; 3. Damion Gardner, 20, Dyson-13.750; 4. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-13.783; 5. Chris Windom, 5G, Goacher-13.789; 6 Kevin Thomas, Jr., 19, Hayward/Thomas-13.800; 7. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.841; 8. C.J. Leary, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.883; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.894; 10. Carson Short, 21, RCM-13.930; 11. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.966; 12. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.005; 13. Joey Biasi, B1, Biasi-14.011; 14. Dakota Jackson, 3, Jackson-14.067; 15. Chad Boespflug, 98e, EZR-14.095; 16. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.096; 17. Kent Schmidt, 5K, KO-14.105; 18. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.117; 19. Dave Darland, 5, Briscoe/Curb-Agajanian-14.159; 20. Ty Tilton, 42, Tilton-14.178; 21. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-14.337; 22. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-14.417; 23. Travis Hery, 21H, Hery-14.423; 24. Dustin Christie, 75, Christie-14.511; 25. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-14.860; 26. Stephen Schnapf, 61m, Edwards-14.999; 27. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-15.555.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer) 1. Grant, 2. Short, 3. Biasi, 4. Stockon, 5. Darland, 6. Buckwalter, 7. Courtney, 8. Chapple, 9. Gass. 1:54.88
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer) 1. Jackson, 2. Leary, 3. Windom, 4. Schmidt, 5. McDougal, 6. Cummins, 7. Schnapf, 8. Tilton, 9. Hery. 1:56.19
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer) 1. Boespflug, 2. Thomas, 3. Bacon, 4. Ballou, 5. Westfall, 6. Gardner, 7. Christie, 8. Goodnight, 9. Bell. 1:56.05
INDY RACE PARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer) 1. Courtney, 2. Buckwalter, 3. Gardner, 4. Cummins, 5. Chapple, 6. Schnapf, 7. Gass, 8. Tilton, 9. Goodnight, 10. Hery, 11. Christie, 12. Bell. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (2), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 3. Tyler Courtney (9), 4. Chase Stockon (3), 5. Chris Windom (5), 6. Robert Ballou (1), 7. Jason McDougal (6), 8. Damion Gardner (8), 9. Carson Short (10), 10. Timmy Buckwalter (7), 11. Brady Bacon (12), 12. Kyle Cummins (11), 13. Chad Boespflug (15), 14. Joey Biasi (13), 15. Isaac Chapple (20), 16. Stephen Schnapf (22), 17. Matt Westfall (18), 18. Matt Goodnight (23), 19. Noah Gass (21), 20. Dakota Jackson (14), 21. Justin Grant (16), 22. Dave Darland (19), 23. Kent Schmidt (17). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 Ballou, Laps 12-30 Leary.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Tyler Courtney (9th to 3rd)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Chad Boespflug
PROSOURCE HARD WORK: Stephen Schnapf
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Ty Tilton
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Joey Biasi
HUGHES RACING/INDIANA MAFIA/FLAMINGO SANDY PASSING MASTER: Tyler Courtney (25)
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Leary-216, 2-Thomas-214, 3-Stockon-194, 4-Grant-183, 5-Windom-181, 6-Courtney-174, 7-Ballou-171, 8-Gardner-158, 9-Buckwalter-155, 10-Short-155.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: March 30, 2019 - Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, Indiana
GRANT SURVIVES AND THRIVES IN WINTER DIRT GAMES NIGHT 2
Posted by: | CommentsThe United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Justin Grant celebrates his victory on night two of 'Winter Dirt Games X' Friday at Bubba Raceway Park. (Rich Forman Photo)
GRANT SURVIVES AND THRIVES IN WINTER DIRT GAMES NIGHT 2
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Ocala, Florida (February 15, 2019).........Justin Grant has won a few and lost a few in the same manner throughout his racing career. He's now won and lost in the same manner at Bubba Raceway Park following his USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory Friday on night two of "Winter Dirt Games X."
The Ione, Calif. native won a "survival of the fittest" competition, so to speak, that saw several cars fall by the wayside with tire wear, including race leader Chris Windom with two laps remaining. That sent Grant to the front of the pack where he drove to his second career "Winter Dirt Games" triumph aboard his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink - Bow Foundation - Challenger Construction/Maxim/Claxton Chevy.
It was the 14th USAC National Sprint Car win of Grant's career, tying him for 38th on the all-time list alongside Billy Cassella, Jim Hurtubise, Lee Kunzman and Bruce Walkup.
Grant began the 30-lapper from the second position alongside pole starter C.J. Leary, who got the jump on Grant at the drop of the green flag and quickly constructed a half-straightaway advantage by the sixth lap and would dominate the first half of the feature.
Thursday night winner Chris Windom began to creep his way toward Leary in lapped traffic, knocking down the interval to eight tenths by the 18th lap. Leary slid high between turns three and four on lap 20, allowing Windom to skate by on the bottom to grab the lead.
The race up front saw the leaders stick inside, trying to not make any mistakes by missing the line and saving the equipment in order to make the full distance in one piece in what, up to that point, had been a caution-free race. That is, until Fatheadz Eyewear fast qualifier and new one-lap track record holder Carson Short stopped on the front straightaway with a flat right rear tire while running sixth.
Meanwhile, Grant was mired in fourth, thinking about his own fate after preserving his equipment for the duration of the race up to that point. But this was the moment he decided to pull the trigger, quickly picking off Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Leary in quick succession to get to second on the restart with only Windom, the race leader, left in his sights, though Windom held a relatively comfortable advantage.
However, a yellow on lap 29 shifted the entire outlook as Brady Bacon (12th) and Jason McDougal (13th) simultaneously pulled to the top of turn one, both suffering from flat right rear tires. Under yellow, Windom discovered a devastating blow as his front right tire deflated, forcing him to pit and putting him out of contention for the win before, ultimately, finishing 21st.
Grant was now positioned as the leader for the green-white-checkered finish as several thoughts raced through his mind, mainly the rubber issue that had befallen a few others.
"I was a bit worried I'd used too much tire trying to get back to Windom," Grant recalled. "That was my only concern once he puled off. I wish I had let him go, but you never know how these things are going to play out. I was definitely low on air by the end. Once you start cooking the tires like that, it starts knocking the air out of them and the thing was porpoising bad off the corner. I know I'd done all I could to save the tire, but I still knew it was going to be close."
Another instance that weighed on Grant was a repeat of the 2016 "Winter Dirt Games" finale when he believed he had the victory sewn up. However, cataloging that moment in his memory served as a reminder on this particular night that this deal wasn't over just quite yet.

It was the 14th USAC National Sprint Car win of Grant's career, tying him for 38th on the all-time list alongside Billy Cassella, Jim Hurtubise, Lee Kunzman and Bruce Walkup. (Al Steinberg Photo)
"I've lost a race here in the middle of three and four, blowing a tire coming to the checker," Grant remembered. "The last time I was leading down the back stretch in a rubber race here, I thought 'yeah we made it.' I refused to think it tonight until I was past the flag stand."
"I tried to ride as much as I could early and stay out of the black as long as I could," Grant continued. "In the race I lost, (Thomas) Meseraull won by staying out of the rubber for a good portion of it. He got in the rubber for a few laps, maintained it, then got out of the rubber, then back in the rubber. I tried to stay out of the rubber until it got fast enough that I had to be in it and not worry about losing one or two spots."
On the restart, Grant's preservation had equaled perseverance as he said 'sayonara' right from the restart and drove away to a 1.712 second victory over Leary, KSE Racing Products/ProSource Hard Charger Tyler Courtney from 22nd, Chad Boespflug and Thomas.
Grant owes some of his gratitude toward what he's learned from his competitors and other cars he's competed in throughout his career.
"You're running a lot of Silver Crown races with Kody Swanson and he's so good at that," Grant points out. "He makes you figure out how to do it. It's a bit harder to maintain in a sprint car because you can get behind. Had Windom not fallen out, we would've been caught behind. We wouldn't have been able to get to him short of him getting tight or doing something in the rubber. He'd been spot on until that point. We caught a big break with him falling out. We've got a long year and we want to win the race, but we need to make it to the finish. If we ran second, then we were going to run second. It's not worth blowing a tire over when you're setting out to do the full tour."
Grant had a sluggish start when he moved to the TOPP Motorsports team at the beginning of 2018. The combo rallied to win five races in a seven-race stretch toward the end of the season. In 2019, it took them just two races to reach victory lane.
"Every win in the No. 4 car is the most rewarding win," Grant admitted. "It just feels like every time I've pulled into victory lane, it's the most rewarding win I've ever had. These guys sticking by me meant so much to me last year. Kevin Birchmeier is such a great leader. He wouldn't let us get down even when wanted to get down. He made us figure it out and kept our heads up. A lot of owners get down on you and start looking for the next great thing; he just kept pumping us up, kept building us up."
"(Crew Chief) Mark (Shambarger) and I took a while to jell," Grant continued. Now we get along great. I'm surprised he never killed me, but we all survived and we're all here. Its great now. We're going to keep riding it as long as we can and, hopefully, it stays this good and we keep rolling along. I've been around this game long enough to know that it comes in waves, so try to enjoy it while you're riding high and dig through when you're low. Sprint car racing is tough. It's not easy. I feel like if you don't enjoy the process and the struggle, then you're not going to make it very long."
Contingency award winners Friday night at Bubba Raceway Park were Carson Short (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Justin Grant (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), C.J. Leary (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Damion Gardner (Auto Meter Third Heat Winner), Robert Ballou (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Dakota Jackson (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Robert Ballou (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Tyler Courtney (KSE Racing Products/ProSource Hard Charger & ProSource Hard Work) and Travis Hery (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 15, 2019 - Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, Florida - "Winter Dirt Games X"
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Carson Short, 21, RCM-13.398 (New Track Record); 2. Chris Windom, 5G, Goacher-13.428; 3. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.459; 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 19, Hayward/Thomas-13.475; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.520; 6. C.J. Leary, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.599; 7. Damion Gardner, 20, Dyson-13.608; 8. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.668; 9. Timmy Buckwalter, 7, LNB-13.687; 10. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-13.701; 11. Chad Boespflug, 98e, EZR-13.749; 12. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.809; 13. Dakota Jackson, 3, Jackson-13.835; 14. Kent Schmidt, 5K, KO-13.861; 15. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-13.910; 16. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-13.954; 17. Joey Biasi, B1, Biasi-13.962; 18. Stephen Schnapf, 61m, Edwards-13.963; 19. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.983; 20. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.995; 21. Dustin Christie, 75, Christie-14.046; 22. Dave Darland, 5, Briscoe/Curb-Agajanian-14.105; 23. Ty Tilton, 42, Tilton-14.108; 24. Travis Hery, 21H, Hery-14.200; 25. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-14.597; 26. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-15.510; 27. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-NT; 28. Daron Clayton, 5o, KO-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Grant, 2. Short, 3. Buckwalter, 4. Biasi, 5. Christie, 6. Jackson, 7. Gass. 1:56.48
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Leary, 2. Windom, 3. Darland, 4. Schnapf, 5. Schmidt, 6. Goodnight, 7. Bell. 1:56.72
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Gardner, 2. Bacon, 3. Courtney, 4. Westfall, 5. Boespflug, 6. Chapple, 7. Tilton. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Ballou, 2. Stockon, 3. Thomas, 4. McDougal, 5. Cummins, 6. Hery, 7. Clayton. 2:00.00
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Jackson, 2. Boespflug, 3. Chapple, 4. Schmidt, 5. Goodnight, 6. Cummins, 7. Hery, 8. Gass, 9. Christie, 10. Bell. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. C.J. Leary (1), 3. Tyler Courtney (22), 4. Chad Boespflug (11), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 6. Damion Gardner (7), 7. Timmy Buckwalter (9), 8. Chase Stockon (8), 9. Dave Darland (21), 10. Kyle Cummins (12), 11. Dakota Jackson (13), 12. Isaac Chapple (15), 13. Robert Ballou (20), 14. Carson Short (6), 15. Brady Bacon (4), 16. Jason McDougal (16), 17. Joey Biasi (17), 18. Matt Goodnight (10), 19. Matt Westfall (19), 20. Stephen Schnapf (18), 21. Chris Windom (5), 22. Kent Schmidt (14). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 Leary, Laps 20-28 Windom, Laps 29-30 Grant.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Tyler Courtney (22nd to 3rd)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Robert Ballou
PROSOURCE HARD WORK: Tyler Courtney
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Travis Hery
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Dakota Jackson
HUGHES RACING/INDIANA MAFIA/FLAMINGO SANDY PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Darland-21, 2-Courtney-19, 3-Boespflug-17, 4-Ballou-12, 5-Grant-10, 6-Leary-5, 7-Buckwalter-5, 8-Windom-4, 9-Chapple-3, 10-Cummins-2.
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Grant-152, 2-Thomas-139, 3-Leary-139, 4-Stockon-128, 5-Windom-115, 6-Ballou-111, 7-Boespflug-108, 8-Darland-105, 9-Bacon-104, 10-Courtney-103.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: February 16, 2019 - Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, Florida - "Winter Dirt Games X"
LAST LAP HERO WINDOM SCORES OCALA USAC SPRINT OPENER
Posted by: | CommentsThe United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Chris Windom celebrates Thursday night's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season-opening victory at Bubba Raceway Park. (Rich Forman Photo)
LAST LAP HERO WINDOM SCORES OCALA USAC SPRINT OPENER
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Ocala, Florida (February 14, 2019).........Chris Windom led just one lap in Thursday's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season opener at Bubba Raceway Park, but it was the one that paid the most as the Canton, Ill. driver prevailed on a wild final lap scramble that saw three different race leaders edge ahead at one point in an instant Valentine's Day classic.
Windom's victory gave the venerable Goacher Racing team just its second career USAC National Sprint Car feature win, their first such appearance in USAC victory lane in 27 years! You'll have to go all the way back to the 1992 season to find Goacher Racing's lone previous series' win with driver Danny Smith in the "4-Crown Nationals" at Eldora Speedway.
The offseason was a tumultuous one for Windom with the unexpected closure of Baldwin Brothers Racing, for which he won the 2017 series title. That put him in the precarious position of ride-hunting during the short offseason, where he landed with a new team surrounded by some familiar faces and some new, but all with the same expectations of success, which they brought to fruition in their first outing of 2019.
"I brought (Crew Chief) Derek Claxton along with me," Windom pointed out. "Obviously, we're very familiar with each other and have had a lot of success together. I kind of molded the whole deal together I feel like. Everyone worked equally hard to put this whole deal together over the winter and I'm thankful to them for giving me the opportunity to do it. Between Jason (Goacher), Joe (Brandon) and Derek, and everybody here helping, I think it came together alright for night one."
From the fourth starting position, Windom had his work cut out for him from the word 'go' with Thomas starting from the pole position. Thomas, also debuting a new ride this season, immediately bolted to a 1.5 second lead in the early-going until Tyler Courtney, going for his fifth-straight USAC score in Ocala rode the outside wall from the entrance of turn three until midway between three and four before coming to a rest. The damage was extensive on the right side of the car, sending him to the sidelines for the remainder of the night.
On a lap 12 restart nearing the midway point, leader Thomas entered turn one a tad lower in a defensive move to block Windom's slide attempt. Windom tried the slider on an earlier lap seven restart that caught the attention of Thomas'. Both times the move wasn't able to pay off for Windom, although it put Thomas on guard.
"You've got to hound the guy and let him know you're there," Windom reiterated. "But, when you make your move, you got to make it count. This place is such a momentum racetrack that if you slide a guy and miss the slider, and get too sideways, you're going to kill all your momentum, get passed and fall back to third or fourth. You've got to time your slide job to where you keep your momentum and not really lose any speed."
With nine to go, as the frontrunners encountered lapped traffic, Windom slung it to the bottom of turn one and slid up in front of Thomas in turn two. The two collided, Windom's rear bumper with the front bumper of Thomas, slowing both down only momentarily. Thomas stayed with it ran down Windom in turn three a half-lap later to reclaim the lead for a brief moment before Windom countered and beat Thomas back to turn one. Thomas counterpunched and got back by Windom for the top spot again as Grant now entered the fray to make it a three-car party.
Windom's repeated bid to secure his position in front of race-long leader Thomas would come up snake eyes until turn one of the final circuit. Thomas had an inkling that Windom would be on the attack underneath, scooting down a lane to protect, but Windom was able to limbo a tick lower, sliding in front of Thomas as the pair made their way through turn two. Thomas slipped a bit high over the cushion, allowing Grant to get by on the inside.
Grant rode the wave of momentum on the throttle into turn three for the final time, slipping under Windom at Mach-10 speed to snare the lead away with only one turn remaining. However, Grant cooked it in and got his ride sideways on exit, slowing his momentum toward the checkered. Windom took a slight evasive action to avoid clipping Grant's right rear tire to get to the line and finish out an incredible final lap to complete a 0.354 second margin of victory in his Goacher Racing/NOS Energy Drink - Parallax Power Supply - Jonathan Byrd's/DRC/Claxton Mopar.
Thomas also got by Grant in the final turn to finish second. Grant held on to nip Chase Stockon for third at the line by six-hundredths of a second while Robert Ballou rounded out the top-five.
While the top was undoubtedly the fastest away around throughout the 30-lap feature, you can't pass if you don't take chances by coloring outside the lines every once in a while, when the opportunity arises.
"It was fastest around the top and you had to make sure you made the exact right move, or you'd lose a spot or two spots if you missed it," Windom explained. "I tried to time it just right so that I had a big run on KT. On that last lap, he tried to block my slide job into turn one. Fortunately, I got lower than him and was able to slide up in front of him there. I knew the big crossover was coming and I didn't know exactly what to do going into three and four. I carried my momentum around the top and it looked like (Grant) got too sideways to clear the slider back on me."
Windom's 22nd career USAC National Sprint Car victory moves him into a four-way tie for 24th all-time, along with Rick Hood, Bubby Jones and Sam Sessions.
Contingency award winners Thursday night at Bubba Raceway Park were Carson Short (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Matt Goodnight (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Robert Ballou (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), C.J. Leary (Auto Meter Third Heat Winner), Justin Grant (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Dakota Jackson (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Chad Boespflug (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger & ProSource Hard Work).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: February 14, 2019 - Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, Florida - "Winter Dirt Games X"
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Carson Short, 21, RCM-13.477 (New Track Record); 2. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.529; 3. Chris Windom, 5G, Goacher-13.718; 4. Kent Schmidt, 5K, KO-13.767; 5. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.800; 6. Kyle Cummins, 3R, Rock Steady-13.863; 7. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 19, Hayward/Thomas-13.869; 8. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-13.932; 9. Dakota Jackson, 3, Jackson-14.045; 10. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.054; 11. C.J. Leary, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.088; 12. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.129; 13. Travis Hery, 21H, Hery-14.159; 14. Timmy Buckwalter, 7, LNB-14.252; 15. Damion Gardner, 20, Dyson-14.307; 16. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-14.309; 17. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-14.461; 18. Dave Darland, 5, Briscoe/Curb-Agajanian-14.527; 19. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.718; 20. Stephen Schnapf, 61m, Edwards-14.726; 21. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-14.929; 22. Joey Biasi, B1, Biasi-15.151; 23. Paul Dues, 87, Dues-15.202; 24. Ty Tilton, 42, Tilton-15.215; 25. Dustin Christie, 75, Christie-15.456; 26. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-15.553; 27. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-15.803; 28. Daron Clayton, 5o, KO-NT; 29. Chad Boespflug, 98e, EZR-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Goodnight, 2. Chapple, 3. Bacon, 4. Short, 5. Hery, 6. Christie, 7. Jackson. 1:52.17
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Ballou, 2. Darland, 3. Stockon, 4. Cummins, 5. Buckwalter, 6. Gass, 7. Biasi. 1:50.92 (New Track Record)
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Leary, 2. Gardner, 3. Windom, 4. Thomas, 5. Westfall, 6. Bell, 7. Dues. 1:51.64
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Grant, 2. Schnapf, 3. Courtney, 4. Boespflug, 5. Schmidt, 6. McDougal, 7. Tilton. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Buckwalter, 2. Jackson, 3. Schmidt, 4. McDougal, 5. Hery, 6. Biasi, 7. Westfall, 8. Gass, 9. Christie, 10. Bell. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (4), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (1), 3. Justin Grant (12), 4. Chase Stockon (5), 5. Robert Ballou (10), 6. C.J. Leary (11), 7. Brady Bacon (3), 8. Kyle Cummins (2), 9. Dave Darland (18), 10. Carson Short (6), 11. Timmy Buckwalter (14), 12. Chad Boespflug (22), 13. Dakota Jackson (9), 14. Jason McDougal (16), 15. Damion Gardner (15), 16. Matt Westfall (23), 17. Travis Hery (13), 18. Tyler Courtney (8), 19. Kent Schmidt (7), 20. Joey Biasi (21), 21. Isaac Chapple (20), 22. Matt Goodnight (17), 23. Stephen Schnapf (19). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-29 Thomas, Lap 30 Windom.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Chad Boespflug (22nd to 12th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Dakota Jackson
PROSOURCE HARD WORK: Chad Boespflug
HUGHES RACING/INDIANA MAFIA/SANDY NISSEN PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Boespflug-10, 2-Grant-9, 3-Darland-9, 4-Ballou-5, 5-Leary-5, 6-Windom-4, 7-Buckwalter-3, 8-McDougal-2, 9-Stockon-1, 10-Biasi-1.
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Windom-80, 2-Thomas-72, 3-Grant-72, 4-Stockon-72, 5-Ballou-66, 6-Leary-63, 7-Bacon-60, 8-Cummins-55, 9-Short-54, 10-Darland-53.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: February 15-16, 2019 - Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, Florida - "Winter Dirt Games X"