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

THOMAS REPEATS $25K OVAL NATIONALS WIN; COURTNEY WINS USAC SPRINT TITLE ON TIEBREAKER

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Perris, California……November 10, 2018 – It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

That about sums of the rollercoaster of emotions Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Tyler Courtney endured at the conclusion of Saturday night’s Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction at Perris Auto Speedway.

Kevin Thomas, Jr. notched his second-straight “Oval Nationals” win worth $25,000, but lost the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car championship on a tiebreaker to Tyler Courtney who gained the one spot he needed on the final lap after it appeared as if his title chances had slipped through his fingertips just moments before.

After 40 races from coast-to-coast, and 40 laps around Perris, the 2018 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season concluded in the most dramatic of fashion, deadlocked at the top of the standings for the first time in the 63-year history of the series. It’s a record that will never be eclipsed, breaking the previous closest title race from 1965 when Johnny Rutherford defeated Greg Weld by 2.5 points.

Drama, agony, ulcers, heartbreak and, ultimately, joy were just a few of the ingredients in the mix during the final lap of the 23rd annual affair, which provided us with a nail-biter of a race on the track and on the Xcel Spreadsheet which was unlike any we’ve seen in recent times.

As he did Friday night, Courtney jumped out front once again at the start of the main event, although it was short-lived as Dave Darland escaped unscathed after a turn four flip on the opening lap.

On the complete restart, Courtney checked out from his outside front row starting spot while polesitter C.J. Leary cleared a charging Chase Stockon in turn two to lock up the second spot where he’d remain for much of the first half. That is until A.J. Bender became the second casualty of the young feature, flipping between turns three and four on the 14th lap before walking away under his own power.

Leary was salivating with thoughts of racing fortune when action resumed, sticking right to the bumper of Courtney until lap 16 when the two went wheel-to-wheel with Leary making the pass in turn two and narrowly leading before Courtney came right back at him for the spot on the following lap. Courtney made his move for the lead on the back straight, but Leary made a charge between three and four with Courtney just barely nipping Leary for the lead at the line this time.

On the 18th circuit, Leary was able to clear Courtney again in turn two to retake the lead and instantly began to widen the gap between he and Courtney to nearly a second and looked to be the head of the class.

With 14 laps remaining, Leary led the field entering turn one, but his ride appeared to be a handful as he wrestled with his steering wheel to get the car to turn. Courtney and Thomas, running second and third at the time, ate his lead up in the flick of a switch. Just moments later, the car of 22nd running Chris Gansen slowed to a stop at the inside of turn four to bring out the yellow. During the caution, Leary pulled into the work area to replace the right rear rubber. Though he returned to the track, his bid for a win was quashed for all intents and purposes and he’d soldier on to a 15th place finish.

That now placed the top-two in points in first and second on the track. Courtney came into the feature with a nine-point advantage and the objective was clear – finish fourth or better and the title was his regardless of what Thomas did. However, at the moment, the biggest single race payday of the year was just within reach and he was keen on putting that cherry on top of the pie with just 13 laps remaining.

Thomas worked on Courtney over the next handful of laps and, on lap 33, made his move around the outside of Courtney to grab the lead. Courtney was still in decent shape as he ran second, but one lap later, Chris Windom also scooted by and, suddenly, Courtney’s title bid was in a perilous state.

With four laps remaining, Stockon slipped by the suddenly fading Courtney for third while Bacon was suddenly breathing down his neck for fourth. Courtney was able to take a deep breath for a moment during the red with three laps remaining that resulted when R.J. Johnson flipped between turns one and two from which he’d walk away.

With three to go, leader Thomas and fourth-running Courtney were locked up at the top of the standings as they stood in the moment. Courtney’s role was clear. Do not let Bacon get by! However, Bacon put his ride up a lane higher than Courtney on the restart and drove around him in turn two to move into fourth and put Courtney on the outside looking in from fifth. One lap later, with 38 of the 40 laps complete, three-time “Ovals” winner Bud Kaeding slowed to a stop on the inside of turn four. The ensuing restart attempt also didn’t take as Max Adams stopped at the bottom of turn two.

Two laps remained for the final round of this yearlong boxing match that’s seen the point lead switch nine times among three drivers. As it stood on the lap 39 restart, Thomas was up on Courtney by three markers. Once the green flag fell, two distinct races were occurring for the race win and for fourth. Thomas held Stockon and Windom in check behind him for the race lead while Bacon handled Courtney as the field passed under the white flag.

Entering the first turn, suddenly, Bacon began to slow as his fuel tank began to run dry. Courtney was right there to capitalize and miraculously moved back into fourth and into the safe zone that he needed to be in to win the title.

Thomas finished the final lap of the final race of the season in grand fashion, winning the finale for the second consecutive season and becoming the first driver since Dave Darland in 2005-06 to win the “Oval Nationals” in successive years, while Stockon and Windom finished second and third, respectively.

“Two in a row here at the Oval Nationals! To come out of this place as the winner, that’s pretty humbling,” Thomas exclaimed. “It’s hard whenever you get those cautions late in the race. You just have to struggle on hitting the bottom. I knew I got the lead around Sunshine running the middle. On the last lap, I saw Stockon up there and I knew with the way his stuff rolls and with the way our car was working, I just straight gave up on the bottom. I was just ripping right through the middle.”

Meanwhile, Courtney clawed his way back to fourth to win the title via a tiebreaker. Both Courtney and Thomas finished with 2733 points, but Courtney’s 11 victories trumped Thomas’ 7, thus earning him the title in the closest points race in series history. Another 2018 champion, Damion Gardner, rounded out the top-five in the finish to collect his sixth-straight USAC/CRA Sprint Car crown and seventh overall.

“I didn’t want to make it that close,” Courtney said with a laugh. “We had a really good racecar tonight. It just kind of went away on us there. I couldn’t stick the middle like those guys were doing, but I’d rather have luck on our side than be good sometimes. I think we had a guy upstairs looking on us tonight. We’re doing all this in honor of Bryan Clauson. I’m honored to be a part of this. To come out our first year as a sprint car team and be the national champions is truly something special. It’s not something many people can do, and I’ve got a great group behind me. I’ve been busting my tail to get to this step and it took a lot of people believing in me along the way. It feels like everything’s paying off.”

Thomas was matter of fact when it came to the title race. Just one more win – one more position, even – would have provided him just enough points toward the championship.

“For this to come all the way down to the wire and actually tie in points, that’s pretty nuts,” Thomas reflected. “It was a hard-fought battle all year. We tied, but he won more races. That’s what got him here.”

At the beginning of this season, Courtney entered new territory, exiting the TOPP Motorsports team that he had accrued so much success with over the past two seasons, to join the newly-created sprint car team owned by Tim Clauson, Richard Marshall and 1999 USAC Silver Crown champion driver Ryan Newman. The goals may have been lofty to some, but this team meant business from day one and there’s no resting on their laurels according to Courtney.

“One of our goals was to be on the podium at the end of the year,” Courtney remembered. “Obviously, we try to exceed our goals and we came out with 11 wins and a championship. We’re going to go back to the drawing board, reset our goals, and come back and defend this title.”

Contingency award winners Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway were R.J. Johnson (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner) Chris Windom (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Brady Bacon (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Dave Darland (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Max Adams (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Isaac Chapple (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Logan Seavey (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Logan Williams & Danny Faria, Jr. (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfers).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 10, 2018 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 23rd Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Thomas Meseraull, 77m, Michael-16.626; 2. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-16.636; 3. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-16.649; 4. Dave Darland, 12, Ballou-16.769; 5. Jason McDougal, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-16.810; 6. Logan Seavey, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.823; 7. Bud Kaeding, 16, Martin-16.865; 8. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.904; 9. R.J. Johnson, 92, Sertich-16.907; 10. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-16.968; 11. Chase Johnson, 36D, Goodnight/Thomas/Curb-Agajanian-16.971; 12. Logan Williams, 5J, Jory-17.049; 13. Max Adams, 5m, Adams-17.055; 14. Danny Sheridan, 15, Johnson-17.075; 15. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.090; 16. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-17.158; 17. Charles Davis, Jr., 50, Davis-17.171; 18. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.198; 19. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-17.206; 20. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.216; 21. Danny Faria, Jr., 42, Cheney-17.289; 22. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-17.317; 23. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-17.334; 24. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-17.344; 25. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-17.497; 26. Randy Waitman, 90, Waitman-17.614; 27. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Mihocko-17.666; 28. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.675; 29. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.699; 30. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-17.766; 31. Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-18.003; 32. Austin Ervine, 51, AJ-18.505; 33. Gary Marshall, Jr., 72, Marshall-19.794; 34. Frank Rodgers, 11x, Rodgers-19.942.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS / EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Adams, 3. Davis, 4. Hodges, 5. Faria, 6. Edwards, 7. McDougal, 8. Marshall, 9. Meseraull. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE / ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Windom, 2. A. Williams, 3. Sheridan, 4. Seavey, 5. McCarthy, 6. Bender, 7. Chapple, 8. Rodgers, 9. Waitman. 2:53.25

CHALK STIX / KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Bacon, 2. C. Johnson, 3. J. Vander Weerd, 4. Kaeding, 5. Liggett, 6. Malcolm, 7. Mihocko, 8. Swanson. 2:54.56

INDY RACE PARTS / BUTLERBUILT SEATS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. Roa, 3. C. Williams, 4. Gansen, 5. Sweeney, 6. Ervine, 7. L. Williams, 8. R. Vander Weerd. NT

BR MOTORSPORTS / KING RACING PRODUCTS SUPER SIX DASH: (6 laps, finish order sets feature lineup) 1. C.J. Leary (#30 Leary), 2. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson Marshall Newman), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (#69 Dynamics), 4. Chase Stockon (#32 32 TBI), 5. Justin Grant (#4 TOPP), 6. Damion Gardner (#4x Alexander). NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) FIRST SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Hodges, 2. Seavey, 3. Liggett, 4. J. Vander Weerd, 5. Bender, 6. L. Williams, 7. Malcolm, 8. McCarthy, 9. Sweeney, 10. Sheridan, 11. Ervine, 12. R. Vander Weerd. NT

PYROTECT RACING CELLS / ROD END SUPPLY SECOND SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kaeding, 2. McDougal, 3. Chapple, 4. C. Williams, 5. Gansen, 6. Faria, 7. Edwards, 8. Mihocko, 9. Rodgers, 10. Davis. 3:31.71

FEATURE: (40 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 2. Chase Stockon (4), 3. Chris Windom (8), 4. Tyler Courtney (2), 5. Damion Gardner (6), 6. Logan Seavey (15), 7. Austin Williams (14), 8. Justin Grant (5), 9. Brody Roa (10), 10. Chase Johnson (13), 11. Brady Bacon (7), 12. Danny Faria, Jr. (26), 13. Isaac Chapple (19), 14. Jace Vander Weerd (23), 15. C.J. Leary (1), 16. Logan Williams (25), 17. Chris Gansen (20), 18. Max Adams (11), 19. Bud Kaeding (18), 20. R.J. Johnson (12), 21. Cody Williams (22), 22. Jason McDougal (16), 23. Josh Hodges (17), 24. A.J. Bender (24), 25. Austin Liggett (21), 26. Dave Darland (9). NT

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**Meseraull flipped during the first heat. Gardner flipped during the Super 6 Dash. Darland flipped on the opening lap of the feature. Bender flipped on lap 14 of the feature. R.J. Johnson flipped on lap 38 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-15 Courtney, Lap 16 Leary, Lap 17 Courtney, Laps 18-26 Leary, Laps 27-32 Courtney, Laps 33-40 Thomas.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS / SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Logan Seavey (15th to 6th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Isaac Chapple

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Max Adams

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFERS: Logan Williams & Danny Faria, Jr.

FINAL USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-2733, 2-K. Thomas-2733, 3-Windom-2651, 4-Stockon-2343, 5-Bacon-2331, 6-Leary-2328, 7-Darland-2292, 8-Grant-2290, 9-Robert Ballou-1771, 10-Chapple-1572.

FINAL AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Gardner-1643, 2-Roa-1598, 3-A. Williams-1354, 4-C. Williams-1189, 5-Swanson-1173, 6-R.J. Johnson-1113, 7-Max Adams-1044, 8-L. Williams-976, 9-Faria-972, 10-Gansen-872.

More in this category: « TONY JONES OVAL NATIONALS HARD CHARGER PASSING POINTS 2018 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STATISTICAL REVIEW »

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

GRANT STRIKES TWICE FOR OVAL NATIONALS NIGHT TWO VICTORY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Perris, California……November 9, 2018 – When it comes to the first two nights of the 23rd annual Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction at Perris Auto Speedway, it seems you just can’t keep Justin Grant and Tyler Courtney away from each other in late-race situations.

It also appears that down the stretch of the season, you just can’t keep Justin Grant out of USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory lane as he collected his fifth win in the past seven races.

Lightning does in fact strike the same spot twice when it comes to the final two laps of the first two nights of the “Ovals.” Just like he did in Thursday’s opener, Justin Grant chased down Tyler Courtney in traffic coming to the white flag with the two making contact while battling for the lead in turn three.

For the second-straight night, Grant got the upper hand in the end with Courtney settling for a runner-up finish despite a dominant performance up to that point.

It led to a subdued victory lane celebration in which Grant chided himself for how it all went down in the end as he was gunning for race wins while Courtney was in the midst of a seriously tight points race on the final weekend of the season.

“I’m pretty disappointed in myself,” Grant admitted. “That’s not how I wanted to win that thing. I got tight against the cushion going into three right when he was getting sideways - my mistake. I’m really glad he didn’t get turned around and lose many points. The last thing I wanted to do was mess that up. That’s not how I wanted to win that race. My guys deserve it, but I feel really bad about it. It’s hard racing in traffic like that. There’s not a lot of options, but I certainly didn’t want to do that.”

Grant set fast qualifying time earlier in the evening while Courtney and fellow title contender Kevin Thomas, Jr. occupied the front row for the 30-lap feature. Courtney slotted himself into the lead ahead of Thomas on the opening lap when a melee ensued involving five cars: Brady Bacon, Dave Darland, Richard Vander Weerd, Brody Roa and Isaac Chapple, who tipped upside down. Chapple climbed out of the wreckage unscathed, but was finished for the night as was Roa, who saw his opportunity at a first USAC/CRA crown take a major blow.

Once action resumed, Courtney checked out, lifting the front wheels to the heavens as he ripped down the back straightaway. Meanwhile, Grant was already on the assault, jetting from fifth to fourth to third on laps two, three and four to settle in behind Chase Stockon and leader Courtney in the early going.

By lap nine, Grant and Stockon were exchanging recipes for sliders at both ends of the racetrack, ultimately securing the second spot on the 11th lap. However, Courtney used that opportunity to construct a six second lead as the race neared the midway point.

Simultaneously, Courtney began his approach of lapped traffic, setting a torrid pace as he avoided close calls with a pair of past USAC champs, first with bumper-to-bumper contact of Danny Faria, Jr. between turns three and four and near wheel-banger with R.J. Johnson at the flag stand. Grant munched more than a third out of Courtney’s lead in the process.

Courtney had no intention of being timid as he charged through traffic, slicing high and low between the tail end of the field. But, so was Grant. With ten to go, Grant on the scene trying his hand at a pair of sliders in turn three on laps 21 and 22 that he very nearly pulled off.

At some points, it appeared to be over, especially after smacking the concrete between turns three and four with six laps remaining that cost him valuable ground as the clock, and the laps, ticked away. But sand still remained in the hourglass for Grant as Courtney met a three-wide group of Josh Hodges, Max Adams and Damion Gardner involved in their own race for 13th, allowing Grant to reel Courtney in for one more run.

As the two raced to the white flag, Grant followed Courtney down the back straight with less than two car lengths separating the pair. Courtney entered high in turn three around the outside of Hodges. Grant followed suit with a big run on the cushion when Grant’s front bumper and Courtney’s rear bumper collided, resulting in Courtney performing a 90-degree angle turnabout while Grant escaped by the skin of his teeth between Courtney and the outside wall. Courtney miraculously gathered it up and carried on his merry way, albeit in second, with a championship-salvaging save considering the implications that would’ve transpired had he stalled it.

Grant finished off the final lap unchallenged, winning his fourth-straight feature event at Perris in as many starts this year. Courtney took second ahead of Kevin Thomas, Jr., Chris Windom and Stockon.

With the victory, Grant set a new, personal season-high of USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victories with five, moving him into a three-way tie for 42nd on the all-time series win list alongside Don Branson and Steve Chassey at 13 wins.

Courtney’s second-place run did allow him to open up his National point lead over Thomas from seven to nine heading into Saturday’s season finale. Meanwhile, in the CRA title race, Gardner and Roa had less than desirable finishes of 16th and 25th respectively. Gardner extended his lead to 33 as he aims to lock down his sixth-straight series crown and seventh overall.

Contingency award winners Friday night at Perris Auto Speedway were Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), R.J. Johnson (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Damion Gardner (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Chase Stockon (Angle Buildings Fifth Heat Winner), Austin Williams (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Chris Windom (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Jace Vander Weerd (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 9, 2018 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 23rd Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.868; 2. Jason McDougal, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-16.881; 3. Thomas Meseraull, 77m, Michael-16.944; 4. Bud Kaeding, 16, Martin-16.974; 5. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-16.978; 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-16.994; 7. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-17.063; 8. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-17.066; 9. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-17.069; 10. Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-17.115; 11. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.126; 12. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-17.127; 13. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-17.146; 14. Dave Darland, 12, Ballou-17.205; 15. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-17.211; 16. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-17.217; 17. Chase Johnson, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-17.255; 18. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-17.299; 19. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-17.300; 20. Max Adams, 5m, Adams-17.309; 21. Logan Seavey, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-17.310; 22. Logan Williams, 5J, Jory-17.335; 23. R.J. Johnson, 92, Sertich-17.350; 24. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-17.374; 25. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-17.438; 26. Danny Sheridan, 15, Johnson-17.471; 27. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-17.522; 28. Charles Davis, Jr., 50, Davis-17.629; 29. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.713; 30. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.773; 31. Dennis Gile, 13, Gile-17.812; 32. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.864; 33. Danny Faria, Jr., 42, Cheney-17.877; 34. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.898; 35. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-17.917; 36. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-18.027; 37. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Mihocko-18.096; 38. Randy Waitman, 90, Waitman-18.167; 39. Austin Ervine, 51, AJ-18.752; 40. Gary Marshall, Jr., 72, Marshall-19.169; 41. Frank Rodgers, 11x, Rodgers-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS / EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas, 2. Seavey, 3. Bacon, 4. Grant, 5. Rodgers, 6. Sheridan, 7. J. Vander Weerd. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE / ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. L. Williams, 3. McDougal, 4. Liggett, 5. C. Johnson, 6. Chapple, 7. Sweeney, 8. Mihocko. 2:54.17

CHALK STIX / KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. A. Williams, 3. Windom, 4. Leary, 5. Davis, 6. Faria, 7. Meseraull, 8. Waitman. 2:54.73

INDY RACE PARTS / BUTLERBUILT SEATS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Gardner, 2. Darland, 3. Roa, 4. Kaeding, 5. Bender, 6. C. Williams, 7. Gansen, 8. Ervine. 2:54.43

ANGLE BUILDINGS / ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Stockon, 2. Hodges, 3. R. Vander Weerd, 4. Adams, 5. Swanson, 6. McCarthy, 7. Edwards, 8. Marshall. 2:55.46

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Meseraull, 2. Swanson, 3. Chapple, 4. C. Johnson, 5. J. Vander Weerd, 6. Faria, 7. McCarthy, 8. Bender, 9. Edwards, 10. Gansen, 11. Mihocko, 12. Sweeney, 13. Waitman, 14. Marshall, 15. Rodgers, 16. Ervine, 17. Davis, 18. Sheridan, 19. C. Williams. NT

EVELYN PRATT FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (6), 2. Tyler Courtney (1), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (2), 4. Chris Windom (17), 5. Chase Stockon (3), 6. Brady Bacon (15), 7. C.J. Leary (8), 8. Thomas Meseraull (7), 9. Bud Kaeding (4), 10. Jason McDougal (5), 11. Logan Seavey (20), 12. Jake Swanson (10), 13. Austin Williams (12), 14. Max Adams (19), 15. Josh Hodges (23), 16. Damion Gardner (18), 17. Richard Vander Weerd (14), 18. Chase Johnson (16), 19. Austin Liggett (24), 20. Dave Darland (13), 21. Logan Williams (21), 22. R.J. Johnson (22), 23. Danny Faria, Jr. (26), 24. Cody Williams (25), 25. Brody Roa (9), 26. Isaac Chapple (11). 9:01.84

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**Gile flipped during qualifying. Malcolm flipped during qualifying. Davis flipped during the semi. Chapple & Roa flipped on the opening lap of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-28 Courtney, Laps 29-30 Grant.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS / SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Chris Windom (17th to 4th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Austin Williams

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Austin Williams

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Jace Vander Weerd

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-2672, 2-K. Thomas-2663, 3-Windom-2587, 4-Leary-2295, 5-Bacon-2290, 6-Stockon-2276, 7-Darland-2269, 8-Grant-2241, 9-Robert Ballou-1771, 10-Chapple-1535.

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Gardner-1585, 2-Roa-1552, 3-A. Williams-1302, 4-C. Williams-1166, 5-Swanson-1163, 6-R.J. Johnson-1090, 7-Max Adams-1017, 8-L. Williams-945, 9-Faria-933, 10-Gansen-843.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: November 10 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 23rd Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction

More in this category: « OVAL NATIONALS POINTS (After Night 2 of 3) TONY JONES OVAL NATIONALS HARD CHARGER PASSING POINTS »

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

RESILIENT GRANT GRABS OVAL NATIONALS OPENER AT PERRIS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Perris, California……November 8, 2018 – For better or worse, Justin Grant and TOPP Motorsports have learned how to be resilient this year.

They’ve successfully overcome their season-long, mountainous valley of struggles that kept them winless through their first 33 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car starts of 2018.

And, on Thursday night, the pair overcame humble beginnings that forced them to start from the fifth row in the A-Main for the opener for the 23rd annual Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction at Perris Auto Speedway.

There was no head-hanging with this bunch as they went to work with Grant methodically picking his way through the field and, with two laps remaining, came to a fork in the middle of the road. So, he took it.

After a brief tussle with Tyler Courtney, Ione, California’s Grant grabbed the lead in late-race fashion in much the same manner as he did in the “Western World” opener one week ago to score his fourth series win in the past six races.

In each of those previous three triumphs, he started from the front row. This one, however, feature the extra element of traffic to wade through on the way to the front.

“We started so far in the back, I got to see it all,” Grant said. “I kind of buried these guys tonight. I didn’t qualify well, and we weren’t very good in the heat race. They made some changes, got us dialed in and this thing was a rocket ship in the feature.”

Granted started 10th in the 26-car field, finding his rhythm early on as last year’s “Ovals” opening night winner Chase Stockon drove off to the lead after narrowly squeezing around Brady Bacon on the back straight for the point on the first of 30 circuits.

The night’s only red flag came on the fourth lap when C.J. Leary, Grant and Thomas Meseraull got stacked up off turn two while running 9th-10th-11th. Meseraull ramped over the back end of Grant and double barrel-rolled before walking away uninjured.

Through the middle stages, it appeared to be Courtney’s show once again as he slid Damion Gardner for second on the eighth lap, then began his pursuit of Stockon. Courtney presented his presence in turn three on the 12th lap, giving a sneak peak of his front bumper to Stockon who clung to the lead for just one more half a trip around the PAS. Courtney came right back at Stockon in turn one on lap 13 and slid to the front with ease and appeared to be gonzo, darting off to a 2.5-second lead past the midway point when the yellow fell for a flat left rear by Cody Williams.

At that point, most eyes were on Courtney at the top of the heap while Grant scrapped his way from seventh to second in succession, passing one car each lap from lap 12 through 17 as he swiftly bolted by Stockon in turn three following the lap 17 restart.

Grant closed rapidly toward Courtney who was seeking to extend his series-leading win tally to 12 this season. Grant gained ground, then lost some, as he hustled his ride around the half-mile, sometimes tapping the wall and banging the cushion as he laid it on the line with no championship implications like he did last year and, thus, had practically nothing to lose.

Once a strip of rubber began to appear on the surface in the late stages, it looked to be lights out for Grant’s opportunities. For it was easier to catch than it was to pass at the moment. With three to go, though, the car of Tommy Malcolm bounced off the turn two wall. As he was gathering it up, Courtney and Grant quickly swarmed. Courtney followed Malcolm into turn three, but Grant went right for the jugular, diving to the bottom and sliding wheel-to-wheel with Courtney when the two made contact – Grant’s right rear and Courtney’s left rear – which sent Courtney scooting up to the outside wall before he grabbed the wheel, punched the gas and motored onward, albeit in the runner-up position now.

On the final lap, Grant found himself in a similar position as Courtney the lap before. He pulled no punches, diving to the bottom of turn three and sliding across the nose of Malcolm to put his destiny into his own grasp. Courtney drove a line lower than both Grant and Malcolm through three and four, making one last run, but came up just two car lengths short as Grant continued his undefeated streak at Perris in 2018 for his third win of the season at the So Cal dirt oval. Courtney came home second ahead of Damion Gardner, Stockon and Kevin Thomas, Jr.

“I thought when it started laying rubber there, we were probably done, and we wouldn’t be able to get by Tyler there,” Grant admitted. “But he got caught behind the lapper and we fired it in there. He tried to drive around it at the last minute, but when you’re sliding across coming back to rubber, there’s not a lot you can do.”

It’s not ideal to get behind the proverbial eight-ball on a race night, or a season for that matter. But, that’s where Grant and TOPP have seemed to thrive the most. Now, they’re world beaters and the sky seems to be the limit for this pair moving forward in the TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – TOPP Performance Race Parts – The Bow Foundation/Maxim/TOPP.

Though disheartened about the finish, Courtney did manage to take over the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point lead by seven points over Thomas with two races remaining at Perris these next two nights. On the CRA side, Gardner extended his lead to 23 over Brody Roa.

Of note, to begin the night, Kevin Thomas, Jr. set a new USAC National Sprint Car single-season record for fast qualifying times, laying down his 15th fast time of the year to break Tom Bigelow’s mark of 14 in 1978.

Contingency award winners Thursday night at Perris Auto Speedway were Chris Windom (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Brady Bacon (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Damion Gardner (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Max Adams (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Justin Grant (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Richard Vander Weerd (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Austin Williams (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 8, 2018 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 23rd Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-16.455; 2. Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-16.504; 3. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-16.524; 4. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-16.612; 5. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-16.625; 6. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-16.664; 7. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-16.683; 8. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-16.715; 9. Logan Seavey, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.804; 10. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.820; 11. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.877; 12. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.931; 13. Max Adams, 5m, Adams-16.935; 14. Thomas Meseraull, 77m, Michael-16.939; 15. Jason McDougal, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-16.950; 16. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-16.988; 17. Danny Faria, Jr., 42, Cheney-17.052; 18. Dave Darland, 12, Ballou-17.063; 19. Chase Johnson, 36D, Goodnight/Thomas/Curb-Agajanian-17.091; 20. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-17.125; 21. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-17.146; 22. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.159; 23. Danny Sheridan, 15, Johnson-17.172; 24. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.200; 25. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-17.235; 26. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-17.292; 27. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.324; 28. R.J. Johnson, 92, Sertich-17.349; 29. Logan Williams, 5J, Jory-17.357; 30. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.377; 31. Bud Kaeding, 16, Martin-17.445; 32. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-17.604; 33. Charles Davis, Jr., 50, Davis-17.636; 34. Randy Waitman, 90, Waitman-17.642; 35. Dennis Gile, 13, Gile-17.700; 36. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-17.765; 37. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.783; 38. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Mihocko-17.835; 39. Gary Marshall, Jr., 72, Marshall-18.419; 40. Austin Ervine, 51, AJ-18.519; 41. Frank Rodgers, 11x, Rodgers-19.459; 42. Michael Faccinto, 8, Richardson-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS / EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Windom, 2. Hodges, 3. Grant, 4. Thomas, 5. Leary, 6. Malcolm, 7. McCarthy, 8. Kaeding, 9. Rodgers. 2:53.44

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE / ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Bacon, 2. Gansen, 3. R. Vander Weerd, 4. Swanson, 5. Faria, 6. J. Vander Weerd, 7. Liggett, 8. Sweeney. 2:55.32

CHALK STIX / KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Gardner, 2. Sheridan, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Darland, 5. Adams, 6. Davis, 7. A. Williams, 8. Mihocko. 2:53.39

INDY RACE PARTS / BUTLERBUILT SEATS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. Meseraull, 3. L. Williams, 4. C. Johnson, 5. Seavey, 6. Bender, 7. Waitman. NT

ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chapple, 2. Stockon, 3. Roa, 4. McDougal, 5. C. Williams, 6. Gile, 7. Edwards, 8. Ervine. 2:55.78

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Leary, 2. C. Williams, 3. Seavey, 4. Adams, 5. A. Williams, 6. J. Vander Weerd, 7. Bender, 8. Liggett, 9. Kaeding, 10. Davis, 11. McCarthy, 12. Faria, 13. Malcolm, 14. Gile, 15. Sweeney, 16. Waitman, 17. Mihocko, 18. Edwards, 19. Rodgers. NT

BILL PRATT FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (10), 2. Tyler Courtney (3), 3. Damion Gardner (4), 4. Chase Stockon (2), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (6), 6. C.J. Leary (7), 7. Brody Roa (9), 8. Logan Seavey (8), 9. Brady Bacon (1), 10. Jake Swanson (5), 11. Chris Windom (19), 12. Dave Darland (16), 13. Richard Vander Weerd (11), 14. Isaac Chapple (21), 15. Max Adams (12), 16. Danny Sheridan (20), 17. Chase Johnson (17), 18. Logan Williams (24), 19. Cody Williams (18), 20. R.J. Johnson (23), 21. Tommy Malcolm (26), 22. Chris Gansen (22), 23. Josh Hodges (15), 24. Austin Williams (25), 25. Thomas Meseraull (13), 26. Jason McDougal (14). NT

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**Meseraull flipped on lap 4 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Stockon, Laps 13-28 Courtney, Laps 29-30 Grant.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS / SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Justin Grant (10th to 1st)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Richard Vander Weerd

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Max Adams

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Austin Williams

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-2597, 2-K. Thomas-2590, 3-Windom-2520, 4-Darland-2239, 5-Leary-2238, 6-Bacon-2229, 7-Stockon-2208, 8-Grant-2160, 9-Robert Ballou-1771, 10-Chapple-1510.

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Gardner-1546, 2-Roa-1523, 3-A. Williams-1258, 4-C. Williams-1143, 5-Swanson-1121, 6-Johnson-1059, 7-Max Adams-977, 8-L. Williams-915, 9-Faria-910, 10-Gansen-833.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: November 9-10 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 23rd Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction

More in this category: « DARLAND MOVES INTO TIE FOR SECOND MOST USAC SPRINT FAST TIMES OVAL NATIONALS POINTS (After Night 1) »

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

Tyler Courtney became the 7th driver in the history of the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car series to win at least 11 races in a year Saturday night in the 'Western World' finale at Arizona Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

San Tan Valley, Arizona.....November 3, 2018 - Twenty-four hours prior to taking the green flag for Saturday night's 51st "Western World Championships" finale at Arizona Speedway, Tyler Courtney was lamenting how he threw away a victory in lapped traffic.

It was a mistake the Indianapolis, Indiana driver expressed he couldn't repeat when racing against competition that is at the top of their game.

Twenty-four hours later, Courtney was standing in victory lane, reversing the spell that cast him in the throes of lapped traffic. This time, it was he who capitalized in lapped traffic as he ran down Dave Darland with 13 laps remaining to win his 11th USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature of the season.

"I screwed myself with lapped cars last night and I was determined that I wasn't going to do that again," an adamant Courtney said.

Courtney started fifth on the field while, up front, fellow USAC National Sprint Car championship contender Chris Windom rocketed from his outside front row starting position to the lead past pole sitter Damion Gardner and quickly carved out a two-plus second advantage.

On the move and not wasting a single heartbeat was Courtney who advanced three spots to second on the opening lap, slithering around the outside of Dave Darland on the top of turn two to gain the position. Darland fought back to regain second on the fourth lap just before the night's first yellow flag fell for the stopped car of 2014 "Western World" winner Matt Rossi on lap five.

On the restart, Darland reared back and fired a slider into turn one. As Windom came off the top to launch his way off turn two, the duo nearly went hammer to nail. Windom got on the binders, which shuffled him out of the deck and back to fourth as Courtney and Leary shot past for second and third, respectively, while Darland carried onward with the race lead.

However, the lap six restart following top CRA Rookie Joel Rayborne's incident in turn four saw Leary wrestle the second position away from Courtney where he would remain until the ninth lap when Courtney eked between Leary and the turn two concrete to nab the runner-up position for the time being, with leader Darland now within earshot.

Whereas Courtney gave into impatience and trigger happiness on Friday night, Saturday night would prove to have a different outlook as he stuck to his guns up top. On lap 18, Courtney's stick-to-itiveness paid off as the two began to work their way into traffic. Darland went to the bottom of three and four to work by Rossi and R.J. Johnson, still maintaining the lead to the stripe.

Entering turn one, Darland drove it in the corner as straight as an arrow and slid to the top, cutting in front of Courtney's line up on the lip. Courtney countered underneath Darland and two raced wheel-to-wheel down the back straight of the 3/8-mile dirt oval with Darland clinging to a slight advantage into three. Courtney threw his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/NOS Energy Drink - Priority Aviation/Spike/Rider Chevy deep into turn three, shoulder-to-shoulder with Darland.

Darland appeared, momentarily, to have the momentum to ride back by Courtney on the outside, but, instead, snagged the right rear in the cushion just enough to lift the front wheel just a smidge. The two remained wheel-to-wheel all the way through the corner with Darland getting just a tad squirrely on exit, somehow avoiding contact with the distance between the two being roughly the circumference of a feline whisker, as Courtney raced to the lead at the line by two car lengths.

'I screwed myself with lapped cars last night and I was determined that I wasn't going to do that again.' - Tyler Courtney (Adam Mollenkopf Photo)

Moments later, Austin Williams slowed to bring out the yellow, setting up a restart with 11 to go that had Darland weighing his options, first peeking his front bumper to the inside of Courtney to no avail, but remaining in stalking mode with his hackles raised, just hoping for a Courtney mistake down the stretch on the narrowing groove up top.

The cameramen were in position, this author's headline was already halfway written, the checkered flag was in hand and all appeared to be settled on the final lap for Courtney when Rossi stopped at the flag stand to bring out the final yellow, setting up a green-white-checkered finish.

Courtney was hoping for an uneventful last restart and that's just what he got as Darland could not get close enough to the back bumper of Courtney to mount a challenge throughout the two-lap shootout. Courtney sealed the deal with a pair of laps that were in sync, with car and driver in perfect harmony to win by half a second over Darland, Leary, Windom and Logan Seavey.

Courtney's 11th win of the year positioned him as just the seventh driver to reach that number of victories within a single USAC National Sprint Car season, equaling him with Bubby Jones' 11-win season in 1979. With point leader Kevin Thomas, Jr. taking eighth in the feature, Courtney moved to within two points of the USAC National Sprint title with three races remaining on Nov. 8-9-10 at California's Perris Auto Speedway.

"We had high expectations coming into this year, but I think we've exceeded all of them," Courtney exclaimed. "But we're not done yet. We've got three races left and still have the big picture in mind. We've just got to keep doing what we're doing and plug along. You just got to let it play out."

Meanwhile, in the USAC/CRA Sprint Car standings, Gardner overtook Brody Roa atop the leaderboard in the standings by five points with three races left to go at Perris.

Contingency award winners Saturday night at Arizona Speedway were Isaac Chapple (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner / Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Tyler Courtney (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner / KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chase Stockon (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner) and Brody Roa (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 3, 2018 - Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, Arizona - 51st"Western World Championships"

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Dave Darland, 12, Ballou-15.235; 2. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-15.277; 3. Logan Seavey, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-15.298; 4. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-15.375; 5. Thomas Meseraull, 77m, Michael-15.434; 6. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-15.473; 7. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-15.503; 8. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-15.534; 9. Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-15.551; 10. Danny Sheridan, 15, Johnson-15.575; 11. Jason McDougal, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-15.631; 12. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-15.647; 13. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-15.649; 14. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-15.735; 15. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-15.793; 16. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-15.814; 17. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.822; 18. R.J. Johnson, 92, Sertich-15.866; 19. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-15.890; 20. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-15.908; 21. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-15.949; 22. Danny Faria, Jr., 42, Cheney-16.044; 23. Matt Rossi, 02, Rossi-16.109; 24. Dennis Gile, 13, Gile-16.117; 25. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-16.132; 26. Stevie Sussex, 12A, Allen-16.138; 27. Logan Williams, 5x, Jory-16.169; 28. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Mihocko-16.290; 29. Joel Rayborne, 12B, Blair-16.821.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS / EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chapple, 2. Swanson, 3. Bacon, 4. Darland, 5. Hodges, 6. Meseraull, 7. Gansen, 8. Rayborne. 2:10.11

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE / ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. Johnson, 3. Grant, 4. Sheridan, 5. A. Williams, 6. Sussex, 7. Faria. 2:12.18

CHALK STIX / KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS / ROD END SUPPLY THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas, 2. Rossi, 3. Windom, 4. Bernal, 5. Seavey, 6. McDougal, 7. L. Williams. 2:12.02

INDY RACE PARTS / BUTLERBUILT SEATS / ROD END SUPPLY FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Stockon, 2. Leary, 3. Roa, 4. Gardner, 5. Mihocko, 6. Gile, 7. C. Williams. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) / ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Meseraull, 2. Hodges, 3. Seavey, 4. A. Williams, 5. Sussex, 6. L. Williams, 7. Mihocko, 8. Gile, 9. Gansen, 10. Rayborne, 11. McDougal. 3:15.18

FEATURE: (30 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (5), 2. Dave Darland (6), 3. C.J. Leary (4), 4. Chris Windom (2), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Justin Grant (3), 7. Damion Gardner (1), 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (13), 9. Chase Stockon (14), 10. Thomas Meseraull (8), 11. Ryan Bernal (16), 12. Jake Swanson (9), 13. Brody Roa (17), 14. Isaac Chapple (11), 15. Brady Bacon (20), 16. Josh Hodges (18), 17. R.J. Johnson (15), 18. Danny Sheridan (10), 19. Matt Rossi (19), 20. Austin Williams (12), 21. Stevie Sussex (21), 22. Logan Williams (22), 23. Joel Rayborne (24), 24. Cody Williams (23). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Windom, Laps 5-17 Darland, Laps 18-30 Courtney.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS / SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (13th to 8th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Brody Roa

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Isaac Chapple

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Tye Mihocko

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-K. Thomas-2521, 2-Courtney-2519, 3-Windom-2471, 4-Darland-2195, 5-Leary-2178, 6-Bacon-2175, 7-Stockon-2138, 8-Grant-2084, 9-Robert Ballou-1771, 10-Chapple-1461.

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Gardner-1470, 2-Roa-1465, 3-A. Williams-1235, 4-C. Williams-1115, 5-Swanson-1068, 6-Johnson-1030, 7-Max Adams-943, 8-Faria-900, 9-L. Williams-882, 10-Gansen-803.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: November 8-9-10 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 23rd Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction

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

Justin Grant poses with a pair of bulls after winning Friday's 'Western World Championships' Night 1 USAC AMSOIL National/CRA Sprint Car feature at Arizona Speedway. (Adam Mollenkopf Photo)

GRANT GROOVES AT WESTERN WORLD OPENER

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

San Tan Valley, Arizona.....November 2, 2018 - In a nutshell, the opening night of the 51st "Western World Championships" is a microcosm of the way the 2018 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season has unfolded for Justin Grant and TOPP Motorsports.

Just when you began to count this pair out, here they are, back with gusto in the autumn of Friday night's 30-lapper at Arizona Speedway and in the autumn of the racing season.

After relinquishing the lead twice - on lap 7 and lap 18 - Grant didn't let himself get thrown far from the bull. He grabbed it by the horns and charged back into contention, for the final time with five laps remaining, escaping between Tyler Courtney and the outside turn two wall like a matador side stepping the brunt of a bull's charge to score his third USAC National Sprint Car feature victory in his last four starts.

It was the Ione, California native's 11th win with the series, moving him past Tony Stewart on the career wins list and into a tie for 45thalongside Daron Clayton, Greg Leffler and Chase Stockon.

Grant began the race from the pole position, initially crawling the bottom into turn one to get past outside front row starter C.J. Leary for the lead. By the time Grant got to turn three, he went topside as Kevin Thomas, Jr and Damion Gardner gave chase on the bottom.

Thomas dug his way to the lead off the fourth turn on the seventh lap to snare the lead. But his time up front was already fleeting as Grant charged back on the outside off turn two the following lap and slammed the door in turn three to yank the low line away from Thomas.

Grant shuffled his line, going to the shelf between turns one and two and skimming the bottom of three and four, searching the 3/8-mile dirt oval for any potential gains while Thomas and Gardner see-sawed the runner-up spot.

At the halfway mark, Logan Williams got sideways between turns one and two as the front runners bore down on him. While Williams was able to right his ship, Gardner and Thomas got bogged up just enough that allowed fourth-running Courtney to capitalize and skedaddle his way around both from fourth to second in one fell swoop off turn four. Moments later, seventh-running Jason McDougal was found turned around in turn two to bring out the feature's lone stoppage.

On the ensuing restart, Courtney and Gardner both stuck their hands in the cookie jar between turns one and two, racing three-wide with leader Grant momentarily before Grant was able to pop his way out of the crowd and escape with the lead.

A lap later, though, the story would take a turn as Courtney used a massive run off the cushion in turn four to blast past Grant like his shoes were stuck in mud.

However, stories have chapters. And Grant was more than eager to write a different ending than one might have suspected based on Courtney's 10 victories this year. But, Grant had no cliffhanger or sequel in mind. This one was going to have a concise, fairytale ending.

Grant never let Courtney stray too far as they both religiously ripped the topside. Once traffic came into play, Courtney came off the top to split between the lapped cars of Danny Faria, Jr. and Tye Mihocko between turns three and four, which allowed Grant to draw nearer. Courtney tried the 7/10 split again in turn one while Grant nailed his boots up top.

As Courtney slid across the track toward the turn two wall on the 26th lap, Grant had two choices: lift and relent the position or gas it up and go like hell. He chose the latter and escaped with the lead with roughly the width of a dime to spare between he and contact.

Courtney took one final shot at Grant on the final lap with a slider into turn one. Grant stamped the throttle, banging off the turn two concrete as he jetted back around Courtney one final time to bring home a 0.892 second victory over Courtney, Gardner, Chris Windom and Thomas.

'On tracks like this, you end up being a sitting duck when you're the leader and the track is moving around. Once (Courtney) got by us, I jumped up there behind him and he left us half a hole over there and I wasn't planning on losing this race tonight.' - Justin Grant (Rich Forman Photo)

Grant was an user of the entire racetrack on this night, from the bottom to the top, searching and scouring the land like Amerigo Vespucci for 30 laps. Once he got passed just after halfway, he found the fast way around, but all he needed was a little bit of daylight that he could use to get by Courtney and conquer the land they call victory lane.

"We were leading early and then went to the bottom," Grant recalled. "On tracks like this, you end up being a sitting duck when you're the leader and the track is moving around. Once (Courtney) got by us, I jumped up there behind him and he left us half a hole over there and I wasn't planning on losing this race tonight! This 4 car has been amazing and I'm having a blast. I've won a lot of races against the concrete and on the fence. I don't know if I've ever run one that hard on the concrete and hit it quite that many times."

Unlike Grant, Indianapolis, Indiana's Courtney was simultaneously racing for a feature win as well as a series title. While he did gain six points on Thomas with four races remaining on the National trail, he felt like this was one he let slip away.

"I threw one away tonight," Courtney admitted. "I got a little impatient there in traffic and wasted a lot of time with lapped cars. You just can't make mistakes like that when you're racing against guys that are at the top of their game."

A pair of title races were in play tonight. The National Sprint points have tightened up slightly with Thomas now holding a 28-point lead over Courtney with Windom 60 markers behind the leader. The CRA standings have shrunk as well with Brody Roa holding the edge by nine points over Gardner.

Contingency award winners Friday night at Arizona Speedway were Brody Roa (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner & KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chris Windom (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), R.J. Johnson (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Dave Darland (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Thomas Meseraull (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Jake Swanson (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: November 2, 2018 - Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, Arizona - 51st"Western World Championships"

QUALIFYING: 1. Thomas Meseraull, 77m, Michael-15.204; 2. Logan Seavey, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-15.257; 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-15.279; 4. Jason McDougal, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-15.305; 5. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-15.309; 6. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-15.358; 7. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-15.362; 8. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-15.377; 9. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-15.390; 10. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-15.422; 11. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-15.431; 12. Dave Darland, 12, Ballou-15.440; 13. Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-15.501; 14. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-15.525; 15. Danny Faria, Jr., 42, Cheney-15.552; 16. Stevie Sussex, 12A, Allen-15.569; 17. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-15.594; 18. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-15.653; 19. R.J. Johnson, 92, Sertich-15.685; 20. Danny Sheridan, 15, Johnson-15.711; 21. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-15.836; 22. Matt Rossi, 02, Rossi-15.851; 23. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.892; 24. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-16.159; 25. Joel Rayborne, 12B, Blair-16.167; 26. Logan Williams, 5x, Jory-16.170; 27. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-16.181; 28. Dennis Gile, 13, Gile-16.236; 29. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Mihocko-16.376; 30. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-16.398.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Roa, 2. Gardner, 3. Chapple, 4. Meseraull, 5. Courtney, 6. Swanson, 7. Mihocko, 8. Rayborne. 2:42.24

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Windom, 2. Seavey, 3. Bacon, 4. Bernal, 5. A. Williams, 6. Rossi, 7. L. Williams. 2:39.60

CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Johnson, 2. Stockon, 3. Leary, 4. Thomas, 5. Faria, 6. Gansen, 7. C. Williams. 2:36.99

INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. McDougal, 3. Hodges, 4. Grant, 5. Sussex, 6. Sheridan, 7. Gile. 2:29.45

SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. A. Williams, 3. Rossi, 4. Faria, 5. Mihocko, 6. L. Williams, 7. Gansen, 8. C. Williams, 9. Gile, 10. Rayborne, 11. Sheridan, 12. Sussex, 13. Swanson. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. Tyler Courtney (7), 3. Damion Gardner (9), 4. Chris Windom (10), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 6. C.J. Leary (2), 7. Brody Roa (15), 8. Brady Bacon (13), 9. Dave Darland (12), 10. Logan Seavey (5), 11. R.J. Johnson (17), 12. Chase Stockon (11), 13. Thomas Meseraull (6), 14. Isaac Chapple (18), 15. Matt Rossi (19), 16. Austin Williams (8), 17. Josh Hodges (20), 18. Cody Williams (23), 19. Danny Faria, Jr. (14), 20. Tye Mihocko (22), 21. Ryan Bernal (16), 22. Joel Rayborne (24), 23. Logan Williams (21), 24. Jason McDougal (3). NT
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**Sussex flipped during the semi.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Grant, Lap 6 Thomas, Laps 7-17 Grant, Laps 18-25 Courtney, Laps 26-30 Grant.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Brody Roa (15th to 7th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Thomas Meseraull

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Jake Swanson

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Chris Gansen

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-K. Thomas-2464, 2-Courtney-2436, 3-Windom-2404, 4-Bacon-2136, 5-Darland-2117, 6-Leary-2104, 7-Stockon-2084, 8-Grant-2022, 9-Robert Ballou-1771, 10-Chapple-1418.

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Roa-1422, 2-Gardner-1413, 3-A. Williams-1211, 4-C. Williams-1092, 5-Swanson-1022, 6-Johnson-994, 7-Max Adams-943, 8-Faria-890, 9-L. Williams-858, 10-Gansen-793.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 3 - Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, Arizona - 51st "Western World Championships"

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

#7BC Tyler Courtney was the fastest on 'Western World' practice night. (Rich Forman File Photo)

SUNSHINE TOPS WESTERN WORLD PRACTICE NIGHT

San Tan Valley, Arizona.........Tyler Courtney led all drivers in practice Thursday night at Arizona Speedway in preparation for the 51strunning of the "Western World Championships" Friday and Saturday night, November 2-3.

Courtney, of Indianapolis, Ind., ripped around the 3/8-mile with the top time of 14.943 seconds aboard his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/NOS Energy Drink - Priority Aviation/Spike/Rider Chevy. Jason McDougal was the only other driver under 15 seconds at 14.958. Justin Grant was third ahead of Chris Windom, Brady Bacon, Thomas Meseraull, Kevin Thomas, Jr., Chase Stockon, Isaac Chapple and Dave Darland.

The open practice featured cars and drivers competing in both the USAC AMSOIL National/CRA Sprint Car event as well as the Southwest Sprint Car race. A handful of drivers took laps in both their 410 and 360-powered rides Thursday night, including C.J. Leary, Thomas, Stockon and Darland.

Make sure to catch all the action from both nights of "Western World" live on http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/ and/or listen to the live audio feed on the USAC app.
On both nights of Western World, the pits open at 2pm and front gates at 3pm. The drivers meeting is at 4:30pm with cars set to hit the track at 5:25pm Mountain time.

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR PRACTICE RESULTS: November 1, 2018 - Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, Arizona - 51st"Western World Championships"

1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-14.943; 2. Jason McDougal, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-14.958; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-15.096; 4. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-15.195; 5. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-15.202; 6. Thomas Meseraull, 77m, Michael-15.237; 7. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-15.304; 8. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-15.307; 9. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-15.355; 10. Dave Darland, 12, Ballou-15.369; 11. Stevie Sussex, 12A, Allen-15.592; 12. Danny Sheridan, 15, Johnson-15.684; 13. Tye Mihocko, 5T, Mihocko-15.707; 14. Colton Hardy, 74, Hardy-15.723; 15. C.J. Leary, 33-15.870; 16. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 73, Ford-15.877; 17. Shon Deskins, 7, Deskins-15.926; 18. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-16.042; 19. Chase Stockon, 1AZ-16.144; 20. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-16.217; 21. Nick Aiuto, 27, Aiuto-16.255; 22. Caleb Saiz, 42, Saiz-16.269; 23. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-16.432; 24. Joel Rayborne, 12x, Rayborne-16.586; 25. #68-16.611; 26. Travis Oldfield, 38, Oldfield-16.612; 27. Spencer Hill, 11w, Hill-16.707; 28. Matt Lundy, 98, Lundy-16.762; 29. Dave Darland, 2, Yeley-16.763; 30. J.R. Bonesteel, 0, Yeley-16.872; 31. #72-17.258.

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

Justin Grant captured his second $10K-to-win USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature in the last three nights Saturday at Lawrenceburg Speedway's 'Fall Nationals.' (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana.....September 29, 2018 - Justin Grant's wait to win his second USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature of the season didn't take nearly as long as it took to get his first.

Following his first series victory in nearly 16 months on Thursday, the Ione, Calif. native only had to endure two more nights to tally up his next triumph, Saturday's "Fall Nationals" at Lawrenceburg Speedway.

The waiting may be the hardest part, but patience does reap its own rewards in the end. For the second time in three nights, Grant pocketed 10-grand by virtue of his victory in the TOPP Motorsports/TOPP Performance Race Parts - The Bow Foundation/Maxim/TOPP Gaerte.

"It's been a rough year and we can definitely use the money at the Grant household. We're happy to have it," Grant said with a laugh. "To win one race that pays anything against these guys right now is awesome. To win a couple big ones in a single weekend, you can't ask for better than that. I feel like a sprint car driver again. I'm having a blast and remembering why I do this stuff now."

Grant pushed to the lead from his outside front row starting spot around pole sitter Dave Darland on the initial lap, but any early momentum he gained was stifled when C.J. Leary found trouble in turn one on the second lap, sending him into a wild flip and a not-so-graceful landing. Leary, who had earlier set fast time, won his heat and had moved from sixth to fourth on the opening lap, gingerly exited his war-torn machinery and would ultimately have to take a visit for X-rays on his neck and back.

On the ensuing restart, second-running Bacon put his tail up on the fence and used a diamond move to run Grant down like a cheetah tracking down a gazelle, blowing by Grant for the lead midway down the back straightaway. Grant fought back, trying to slide underneath Bacon, but each time, Bacon's diamond shined brighter than 10 karats, pulling away and stretching out his lead until Brandon Spithaler's turn four spin and small flare-up flame brought out the caution on lap 12. Grant now had a reprieve and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.

"I was running the bottom in (turns) three and four and shortcutting it to the cushion, staying out of the holes getting into one," Grant recalled. "But I was kind of hanging off two. I knew I was hanging there, but I didn't know if you could run in above the holes or through the holes into one and two and diamond down. And I knew Leary had gotten into the fence in one, so I figured that's what he had done. So, I was a bit hesitant to try it. When Brady drove by us doing the diamond off two, I followed him for a few laps and figured out how our car wanted to get through there to do it right. I felt like we were nipping at his lead a little bit."

Grant immediately rared back his axe and took his first swing in turn one on the lap 12 restart, sliding up in front of Bacon briefly for the point. Bacon got back by, but Grant had wrapped his lasso to the #99 of Bacon by then. When push came to shove at the exit of turn four on the 13th lap, Grant was there to capitalize and move his way back into the lead.

"On the restart, I was able to get in, slide him and chalk him up," Grant remembered. "He went to block the slider into three and got to bouncing and we were able to sneak by. I felt like his car was a little better in turns one and two and I was freed up enough to run three and four hard and he just got to bouncing. Once we figured out how to use the holes in one and two and get the diamond down off two, I felt really good and I didn't know if anybody had anything for us once we got rolling in that line. I couldn't do it faster than how I was doing it. Every time during the cautions, I started to settle down in the seat and I reminded myself I've got no stake in points in this deal and I really need the money. It's 10-grand to win. If there's a night to hang one in the fence trying to win, this is the night."

As Bacon tussled with Courtney for the second spot, Grant gained some leeway to a one-second-plus lead until lap 22 when lapped traffic came into play. Grant was in expert mode as he navigated through the back part of the field, keeping Bacon at an arm's length distance entering the final five laps.

The distance became closer and nearer, with Bacon cutting the interval to eight tenths, six tenths and, finally, four tenths. On the final lap, Bacon had one more bullet in the chamber as he followed Grant into turn one. However, his right rear caught the outer concrete, took a hop and skip that was enough for Grant to gain back his breathing space, which he used to secure his second USAC National Sprint Car victory of the season (and the weekend) and the 10th of his career, tying him with Tony Stewart for 48th all-time.

'It's been a rough year and we can definitely use the money at the Grant household. We're happy to have it. To win one race that pays anything against these guys right now is awesome. To win a couple big ones in a single weekend, you can't ask for better than that. I feel like a sprint car driver again. I'm having a blast and remembering why I do this stuff now.' - Justin Grant (Ryan Sellers Photo)

After a seven-month dry spell in USAC competition since Grant and TOPP paired up at the beginning of the 2018 season, the two have finally found the recipe for success that so many felt this combo was capable of all along.

"We've been gaining on them a little bit around Indiana Sprint Week time," Grant explained. "The big kick is we found stuff with the cars and got our engine program ripping a lot better. The motors are hitting really hard now and it's just letting me do a lot of stuff that I couldn't do before. I can get in the cushion and I've got enough motor to get myself out of trouble now. Between that, having a few good runs and getting some confidence going, we're feeling like we know what we're doing again."

Bacon finished second ahead of Courtney, Chris Windom and Kevin Thomas, Jr. Windom had to move to a backup car after a violent flip during qualifying in his primary, picking up hard charger honors after racing from 18th to 4th. Thomas, meanwhile, had his point lead clenched up to 34 points over Courtney in second and 62 in front of Windom in third.

Contingency award winners Saturday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway were C.J. Leary (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Carson Short (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Brady Bacon (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Indy Race Parts Semi Winner), Dakota Jackson (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Brian VanMeveren (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier) and Chris Windom (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger).

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 29, 2018 - Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, Indiana - "Fall Nationals"

QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-13.877; 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-13.946; 3. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-13.954; 4. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.998; 5. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-14.028; 6. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-14.105; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.122; 8. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-14.181; 9. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-14.207; 10. Shane Cottle, 5G, Goacher-14.238; 11. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-14.267; 12. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-14.271; 13. Brian VanMeveren, 24, VanMeveren-14.351; 14. Carson Short, 5B, Briscoe-14.383; 15. Dickie Gaines, 44, Soudrette-14.391; 16. Dakota Jackson, 3, Jackson-14.457; 17. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.506; 18. Justin Peck, 04, Burton-14.535; 19. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-14.549; 20. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-14.563; 21. Dallas Hewitt, 18H, Keen-14.585; 22. Tyler Thomas, 2E, Epperson-14.741; 23. Tony DiMattia, 50, TDM-14.754; 24. Garrett Abrams, 32A, Abrams-14.808; 25. Brandon Spithaler, 77, Gagliardi-14.942; 26. Frank Rodgers, 11, Rodgers-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Leary, 2. Jackson, 3. Grant, 4. Cottle, 5. Stockon, 6. VanMeveren, 7. T. Thomas, 8. Spithaler, 9. Bilbee. 2:00.05

COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Short, 2. Westfall, 3. Andretti, 4. Darland, 5. K. Thomas, 6. Windom, 7. DiMattia, 8. Rodgers, 9. Courtney. NT

CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Bacon, 2. Gaines, 3. Hodges, 4. Peck, 5. McDougal, 6. Chapple, 7. Hewitt, 8. Abrams. 1:57.93

INDY RACE PARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. Windom, 3. Chapple, 4. Hewitt, 5. T. Thomas, 6. Spithaler, 7. Bilbee, 8. VanMeveren, 9. DiMattia, 10. Abrams, 11. Rodgers. 2:58.67

FEATURE: (30 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Brady Bacon (4), 3. Tyler Courtney (7), 4. Chris Windom (18), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 6. Dave Darland (1), 7. Jarett Andretti (11), 8. Chase Stockon (3), 9. Isaac Chapple (8), 10. Josh Hodges (9), 11. Dallas Hewitt (19), 12. Tyler Thomas (20), 13. Dakota Jackson (13), 14. Nick Bilbee (16), 15. Matt Westfall (14), 16. Justin Peck (15), 17. Jason McDougal (12), 18. Shane Cottle (10), 19. Dickie Gaines (17), 20. Brandon Spithaler (21), 21. C.J. Leary (6). NT
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**Windom flipped during qualifying. Leary flipped on lap 2 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Grant, Laps 2-12 Bacon, Laps 13-30 Grant.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Chris Windom (18th to 4th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Dakota Jackson

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Brian VanMeveren

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Brian VanMeveren

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-K. Thomas-2397, 2-Courtney-2363, 3-Windom-2335, 4-Bacon-2081, 5-Darland-2063, 6-Leary-2043, 7-Stockon-2038, 8-Grant-1947, 9-Robert Ballou-1771, 10-Chapple-1383.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 5 - Lake Ozark Speedway - Eldon, Missouri