Archive for USAC
THOMAS EMERGES FROM THE WRECKAGE TO CELEBRATE 3RD HAUBSTADT HUSTLER WIN
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Kevin Thomas, Jr. became the first three-time winner of the 'Haubstadt Hustler' Saturday night at Tri-State Speedway. (Neil Cavanah Photo)
THOMAS EMERGES FROM THE WRECKAGE TO CELEBRATE 3RD HAUBSTADT HUSTLER WIN
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Haubstadt, Indiana......September 15, 2018 - An unprecedented accomplishment deserves an unprecedented celebration in Kevin Thomas, Jr.'s book.
Just moments after taking the checkered flag to become the first three-time winner of the "Haubstadt Hustler" at Tri-State Speedway, Thomas found himself sandwiched between a pile of racecars in turn one with heavy damage to the front end of his Dynamics, Inc./Mean Green - Jonathan Byrd/DRC/Speedway Chevy.
If it had been one lap earlier, it would've been a devastating heartbreaker for the Cullman, Alabama driver. Instead, it created a memorable celebration from the makeshift turn one junkyard as he emerged from the top of the roll cage to high-five his roommate and third-place finisher Jason McDougal who stacked his ride alongside that of Thomas.
"I've never had that happen. That was something special," Thomas exclaimed. "Immediately, I was kind of pissed off because I probably tore some crap up. But, at the end of the day, I'm the only person to win this race three times. I instantly went from a little frustrated to super pumped. When I got out, it was just a front end. We just won $10,000; we'll put another front end on it."
"Standing up in the middle of the corner on a wrecked racecar and doing a cage stand, it's not normal, but we got the job done," Thomas reflected. "Standing up on the four-wheeler with the crowd going nuts, that's something that'll definitely go down as something special in my memory, something that we'll still be talking about 10 years from now with our friends."
Thomas' voyage to get there began from the third spot behind front row starters Kent Schmidt and C.J. Leary. Schmidt sprinted to the lead on the opening lap, narrowly eclipsing Leary at the line by a foot. However, Leary took sole ownership of the lead entering turn one and would have a Master Lock on the spot for the bulk of the 40-lapper.
As Leary shined through much of the early stages, the night's most gnarly incident occurred on the 13th lap when third-running Schmidt's machine broke entering the third turn. Fourth-running and previous night's Terre Haute winner Brady Bacon was trailing just behind, but with nowhere to go, ramped over Schmidt's left rear wheel, snapped around backwards and flipped over. He was okay and, miraculously, restarted the race from the tail, ultimately finishing 14th.
Throughout the middle stages and within ten to go, Leary was in control, upping his lead to more than a second and a half while Thomas and McDougal duked it out for second. However, as can and will happen often in racing, lapped traffic came into play, at moments being a benefit to Leary and other times, ehh, not so much.
With four laps remaining, as soon as Leary's pace was stifled in traffic, it was almost as if you could hear the theme from the movie Jaws playing in the distance. As Leary drifted just a tad high off turn four, Thomas stuck his ride underneath Leary's, pulling side-by-side along each other in a drag race to the line to snare the lead, one in which he would not relinquish.
Thomas got a bit sideways between turns three and four coming to the checkered, but it was no harm, no foul, as he straightened it out, stood on the gas and finished out his fifth win of the year, followed by Leary, McDougal in his first ever visit to Tri-State, while Dave Darland and Carson Short rounded out the top-five.
Cullman, Alabama's Kevin Thomas, Jr. takes his second Tri-State Speedway USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory of the year in front of a packed house Saturday night in the 'Haubstadt Hustler.' (Neil Cavanah Photo)
"I've been in the same situation the past couple of weeks," Thomas admitted. "Leading is not necessarily the best place to be. C.J. skated up just a little bit off four and kind of got caught behind a lapped car. We were able to get up underneath him and beat him to one. As narrow as the track was, it wasn't necessarily blocking, but you could run a safe line where you don't have to run balls out and you can still make your car work and it makes it really hard to pass you. It's just one of those mind games. We were just trying to figure out the racetrack and it all played out in our favor tonight. We could do it all over again tomorrow and C.J. probably wins this race. We had a good racecar and luck on our side, finally."
Though he carried the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point lead coming into Tri-State, Thomas' name was MIA on the winners' list for quite a while. He was certainly well aware that it had been just a few days shy of three months since his last triumph. He's had many a good run, qualified well - 14 fast times, in fact - but just wasn't able to get over the hump. Now with a win under his belt and a 21-point advantage in the standings, he's now back at the top of his game heading to next Saturday's "4-Crown Nationals" at Eldora Speedway where he knows the gameplan.
"You have to win races in order to win this deal," Thomas point blanked. "Sunshine (Tyler Courtney) is right behind and he wins every three races it seems like. If you're not winning races, eventually those third places aren't going to do the job. With the way this championship is going, the consistency is what's got us back to the lead, but if you want to secure that lead, you're going to have to win. You have to score the most points every single night and you have to run away with it. As good as they are, when you have one bad night, have one flat tire, or have one little thing go wrong, there's 30 points. You have to give yourself a cushion. You can't bank on a 10-point cushion getting you through the year because it ain't."
Contingency award winners Saturday night at Tri-State Speedway were Brady Bacon (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Stephen Schnapf (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Chris Windom (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Carson Short (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chet Williams (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Kendall Ruble (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 15, 2018 - Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, Indiana - "Haubstadt Hustler" (Co-Sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series)
QUALIFYING: 1. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.810; 2. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-13.829; 3. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-13.847; 4. Stephen Schnapf, 61m, Edwards-13.904; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.906; 6. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.920; 7. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-13.960; 8. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-13.966; 9. Chet Williams, 38, Fortune-13.979; 10. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-13.979; 11. Kent Schmidt, 5K, Schmidt-13.989; 12. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-14.046; 13. Kendall Ruble, 17, Ruble-14.058; 14. Dakota Jackson, 3, Jackson-14.073; 15. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-14.085; 16. Carson Short, 5B, Briscoe-14.112; 17. Stevie Sussex, 17GP, Dutcher-14.260; 18. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox/Nigg-14.287; 19. Critter Malone, 7, Seven-14.310; 20. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-14.331; 21. Donny Brackett, 4B, Brackett-14.341; 22. Kyle Cummins, 3c, EZR/Cummins-14.378; 23. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-14.411; 24. Tony DiMattia, 50, TDM-14.456; 25. Josh Hodges, 11H, Pottorff/Short-14.564; 26. Daron Clayton, 5o, Schmidt-14.739; 27. Collin Ambrose, 36, Ambrose-14.748; 28. Shawn Arriaga, 56, Arriaga-14.759; 29. Brian Wallace, 27, Wallace-14.817; 30. Patrick Budde, 90, Budde-14.950; 31. Chad Boespflug, 11p, Pottorff/Short-15.147; 32. Chayse Hayhurst, 20, Hayhurst-15.237; 33. James Lyerla, 11, JL-15.328; 34. Eric Perrott, 45, Perrott-16.021.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Bacon, 2. Leary, 3. Cummins, 4. Brackett, 5. Gentry, 6. DiMattia, 7. Boespflug, 8. Mattox, 9. Hayhurst. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Schnapf, 2. Schmidt, 20 Ballou, 4. Chapple, 5. Clayton, 6. Arriaga, 7. Hodges, 8. Sussex, 9. Ambrose. 2:18.38
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Windom, 2. Darland, 3. Stockon 4. Short, 5. Williams, 6. Jackson, 7. Budde, 8. Perrott. 2:19.48
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas, 2. McDougal, 3. Grant, 4. Courtney, 5. Ruble, 6. Malone, 7. Wallace, 8. Lyerla. 2:16.96
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Clayton, 2. Gentry, 3. Williams, 4. Ruble, 5. Malone, 6. DiMattia, 7. Jackson, 8. Hodges, 9. Boespflug, 10. Mattox, 11. Lyerla, 12. Budde, 13. Arriaga, 14. Hayhurst, 15. Perrott, 16. Wallace, 17. Sussex. NT
FEATURE: (40 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 2. C.J. Leary (2), 3. Jason McDougal (8), 4. Dave Darland (7), 5. Carson Short (15), 6. Tyler Courtney (16), 7. Robert Ballou (10), 8. Chase Stockon (11), 9. Kyle Cummins (9), 10. Donny Brackett (13), 11. Stephen Schnapf (5), 12. Isaac Chapple (14), 13. Chet Williams (19), 14. Brady Bacon (6), 15. Critter Malone (21), 16. Kendall Ruble (20), 17. Chris Windom (4), 18. Daron Clayton (17), 19. Justin Grant (12), 20. Tony DiMattia (22), 21. Brandon Mattox (23), 22. Kent Schmidt (1), 23. Aric Gentry (18). NT
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**Bacon flipped on lap 13 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Schmidt, Laps 2-36 Leary, Laps 37-40 Thomas.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Carson Short (15th to 5th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Chet Williams
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Kendall Ruble
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Dakota Jackson
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Thomas-2132, 2-Courtney-2111, 3-Windom-2078, 4-Bacon-1852, 5-Darland-1830, 6-Stockon-1810, 7-Leary-1786, 8-Ballou-1739, 9-Grant-1703, 10-Chapple-1167.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 22 - Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, Ohio - 37th "4-Crown Nationals" presented by NKT.TV
BACON POURS IT ON IN HURTUBISE CLASSIC VICTORY
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Brady Bacon captured his second career 'Jim Hurtubise Classic' victory Friday night at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track. (Ryan Sellers Photo)
BACON POURS IT ON IN HURTUBISE CLASSIC VICTORY
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Terre Haute, Indiana......September 14, 2018 - It's certainly been a whirlwind week-plus of highs for Brady Bacon.
Last Thursday, he picked up a victory worth $15,000 in the BC39 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Monday, he became a father for the third time with the birth of daughter, Linley. And Friday, he hit the jackpot once again, winning his second career "Jim Hurtubise Classic" USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature at the Terre Haute Action Track.
"They say when it rains, it pours, and we needed some rain on our crops at home," Bacon said. "This has been a good little stretch. For some reason, new kids bring a lot of wins it seems like. We've won two championships the year the last two kids were born and now we got this one. We can win a lot of money from here to the end of the year with a lot of big paying races, so this is a good time to get momentum."
Bacon rolled off fifth in his own Brady Bacon Racing/Fatheadz Eyewear - Tel-Star Technologies/Triple X/Rider Chevy. Pole sitter Shane Cottle set the pace into turn one on the opening lap, but it was outside front row starter C.J. Leary who won the race to turn three to grab the lead where he'd remain for the first five circuits.
On lap six, Nick Bilbee and Josh Hodges tangled in turn one, sending Bilbee hard into the outside concrete to bring out the first stoppage of the night. Both were uninjured, but both were finished for the evening.
The caution closed the gap between Leary and the rapidly climbing Bacon for the lap six restart. Leary held the advantage when racing returned to green, but Bacon was close enough to apply pressure. Leary drifted a bit high on the exit of four and Bacon was there to capitalize on the bottom, ripping the lead away and, immediately, carving out a half-straightaway lead nearing the halfway point when Dave Darland slowed to a stop in turn two on lap 13.
When action resumed, second-place Robert Ballou was able to stay in touch with Bacon, bouncing along the bottom between turns three and four as he trailed five car lengths back.
The 2014 (Bacon) and 2015 (Ballou) "Hurtubise" winners were now set one/two with Bacon relentlessly attacking the top lap-after-lap, four wheels above the cush as Ballou put the chase on. But, with six laps remaining, Bacon nearly lost all those gains on the track and nearly gained a migraine, getting completely sideways between turns one and two. Bacon gathered up his mount and motored on, while Ballou was unable to erase any ground.
'They say when it rains, it pours, and we needed some rain on our crops at home. This has been a good little stretch. For some reason, new kids bring a lot of wins it seems like. We've won two championships the year the last two kids were born and now we got this one. We can win a lot of money from here to the end of the year with a lot of big paying races, so this is a good time to get momentum.' (Dallas Breeze Photo)
"We were kind of getting in above the cushion and got up a little too high," Bacon explained. "There must've been a big clump up there or some heavy stuff and it caught us and turned us sideways. Luckily, we were able to get it pointed straight."
What first appeared like a bout of misfortune turned into good fortune for the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native as he simultaneously danced with lapped traffic with Ballou hot on the trail.
"I squeezed by the 11 car (James Lyerla) and there wasn't a whole lot of extra room," Bacon recalled. "I had all four wheels above the cushion. But when things are going your way, you can get by with stuff that maybe you shouldn't be able to. Sometimes that's just the way it works and I'm glad it's my turn right now."
Tenth-running Justin Grant's car went up in smoke with five laps remaining to bring out the final yellow. On the ensuing restart, Bacon had the buffer of a lapped car in Isaac Chapple between he and Ballou to break away with any increment of a gain he could pocket. Bacon was as precise as the arc of an Olympic high diver while Ballou got around Chapple with relative ease, but he was playing catchup now and Bacon had no intentions of getting run down on this night, holding a steady interval and never missing a beat down the stretch to win for the 22nd time in his USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car career, tying him for 22nd on the all-time list alongside Rick Hood, Bubby Jones & Sam Sessions.
"We've struggled by my standards here this year," Bacon admitted. "We made some changes of what we thought would make it better and we really had a good racecar. I had a new shock on that we were trying tonight, and it was really good. We could stick anywhere we wanted at the beginning of the race and had a lot of grip into the center. That dictates your speed here, and I could carry momentum and not have to overdrive it to carry a lot of speed. We used our tire up a little bit, but that's kind of part of it here. I felt like if someone challenged me I could've gone a little bit harder, but it was nice to be able to get to the front as quick as we did."
Contingency award winners Friday night at the Terre Haute Action Track were Robert Ballou (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Josh Hodges (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Dave Darland (Chalk Stix/Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Isaac Chapple (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Carson Short (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 14, 2018 - Terre Haute Action Track - Terre Haute, Indiana - "Jim Hurtubise Classic"
QUALIFYING: 1. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-19.621; 2. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-19.746; 3. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-19.877; 4. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-19.941; 5. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-20.017; 6. Shane Cottle, 5G, Goacher-20.062; 7. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-20.099; 8. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-20.126; 9. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-20.182; 10. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-20.184; 11. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-20.188; 12. Stevie Sussex, 17GP, Dutcher-20.197; 13. Carson Short, 21, RCM-20.211; 14. Nate McMillin, 24m, McMillin-20.234; 15. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-20.353; 16. Bill Rose, 6, Rose-20.399; 17. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-20.444; 18. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-20.579; 19. Brian VanMeveren, 24, VanMeveren-20.712; 20. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-20.788; 21. James Lyerla, 11, JL-20.801; 22. Shawn Arriaga, 56, Arriaga-21.010; 23. Gabe Griffith, 37, Griffith-22.112; 24. Patrick Budde, 90, Budde-22.413.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ballou, 2. Thomas, 3. Short, 4. Courtney, 5. Rose, 6. Grant, 7. VanMeveren, 8. Arriaga. 2:45.44
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Hodges, 2. Bacon, 3. Windom, 4. Leary, 5. Chapple, 6. McMillin, 7. Andretti, 8. Griffith. NT
CHALK STIX/INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. Bilbee, 3. McDougal, 4. Cottle, 5. Stockon, 6. Sussex, 7. Lyerla, 8. Budde. 2:47.59
FEATURE: (30 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (5), 2. Robert Ballou (6), 3. Chris Windom (7), 4. C.J. Leary (2), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (12), 6. Shane Cottle (1), 7. Tyler Courtney (3), 8. Chase Stockon (4), 9. Stevie Sussex (11), 10. Jason McDougal (17), 11. Jarett Andretti (10), 12. Bill Rose (15), 13. Isaac Chapple (19), 14. James Lyerla (20), 15. Shawn Arriaga (21), 16. Brian VanMeveren (18), 17. Patrick Budde (23), 18. Carson Short (13), 19. Justin Grant (9), 20. Dave Darland (8), 21. Gabe Griffith (22), 22. Nick Bilbee (14), 23. Josh Hodges (16). NT
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**McMillin flipped during the second heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Leary, Laps 6-30 Bacon.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (12th to 5th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Isaac Chapple
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Carson Short
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-K. Thomas-2062, 2-Courtney-2056, 3-Windom-2049, 4-Bacon-1817, 5-Darland-1769, 6-Stockon-1761, 7-Leary-1719, 8-Ballou-1687, 9-Grant-1678, 10-Chapple-1128.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 15 - Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, Indiana - "Haubstadt Hustler"
BACON BANKS $15,000 BC39 VICTORY AT IMS
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
BC39 winner Brady Bacon (right) poses with Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles in victory lane following his victory Thursday night. (Rich Forman Photo)
BACON BANKS $15,000 BC39 VICTORY AT IMS
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana....September 6, 2018 - Brady Bacon has won quite a few big races thus far in his racing career, but Thursday night, he put himself into a stratosphere unclaimed by any other: feature winner on the dirt track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Broken Arrow, Okla. native made his winning move in traffic with just eight laps remaining to score the Driven2SaveLives "BC39" presented by NOS Energy Drink victory worth $15,000, his first series win of 2018.
But if you're going to win one, and only one, all year, make it one to remember. Bacon relishes that fact for not only himself, but for his FMR Racing crew who've been through the battlefields with him for four years now, a group of individuals he doesn't take for granted.
"This is definitely up at the top," Bacon exclaimed. "It's a first-year event, but it's the first win on the dirt track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and no one can ever take that away. Obviously, there's a lot of things that make it special for me, the team, Bob (East), Brad (Noffsinger) and Frank (Manafort). As many years as those guys have been together and to still be winning, it's an honor to work with guys like that. To still want to work this hard takes a lot to be at the top. They've done all the work, made the investment in me and still think I'm at the top. This one's probably going to take a while to sink in."
After a lengthy rain delay that pushed the evening's event back several hours, the A-Main pushed off just after midnight for the Inaugural 39-lap race where Bacon set forth all the way back in the seventh position.
Pole sitter Kevin Thomas, Jr. was masterful early, spurting out front from the drop of the green to lead the first baker's dozen of laps, working the bottom as Tyler Courtney blitzed the top just about one to two car lengths behind Thomas in a lap-after-lap battle for supremacy.
Thomas created some separation between he and Courtney in the first-third of the event until a six-car melee ensued between turns three and four on the 14th lap, resulting in Tucker Klaasmeyer toppling over on the 14th lap. He was uninjured and did not restart.
The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Mike Roth Photo)
Once racing resumed, second-place Bacon made his presence felt as a contender, serving as Thomas' largest foil thus far, putting pressure on the Alabama driver as the two gapped the field.
On the 20th lap, Bacon fired his first shot across the bow, going stride-to-stride with Thomas into turn three, but Thomas was able to muscle his way back to the bottom to secure the line and the position. Bacon's move for the lead seemed imminent and, a lap later, he took another jab at Thomas off turn two, this time pulling the wheels off the ground, with a tad too much tightness at the moment, as his Brown & Miller Racing Solutions - Black Watch Farms - Mobil 1/Beast/Toyota roared to life.
The pressure was on Thomas as the pair hit lapped traffic. Thomas' line swung a little wider off the bottom as time wore on while Bacon's arching line stuck him to the bottom on exit like glue. Thomas' lead clung to life as he ripped from the high side of four off exit, swinging low like a sweet chariot across the nose of Bacon into turn one on lap 24 to retain the lead.
Traffic was plentiful on the bottom, forcing Thomas and Bacon to occupy the unclaimed high side nearing ten to go as Chad Boat suddenly entered the fray in third. Thomas slid out in turn four on lap 31 as Bacon tethered himself to the bottom and powered to the lead by a car length at the start/finish line. Thomas immediately darted to the bottom entering turn one as both he and Bacon put on a dueling Tokyo drift display through the corner while Boat emerged on the bottom to make it three-wide for the race lead down the back straight entering turn three.
"He wasn't leaving the door open for me until it got a little slicker," Bacon recalled. "He kept opening it wider and wider, and I was getting a better run. I just had to time it right. I got under him once and I thought I might've given it away by not staying in front of him. We were able to put enough pressure on him and made him think and move around a little bit, which allowed me to sneak underneath him. It was not over by any means because he had a really good racecar too and traffic could've gone in a number of ways."
BC39 winner #76m Brady Bacon goes wheels up while battling for the lead with Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Rich Forman Photo)
Indeed, it did, as Bacon remained on the high side and established some personal space, climbing the ladder to the top and ever-so-slightly, subtly pinning Thomas and Boat behind the lappers between turns one and two.
Boat's attack was relentless, and Bacon had to be as suave as possible down the stretch. The veteran two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ was unflappable, keeping Boat at bay in the final laps to win by a half-second over Boat, Thomas, Courtney and KSE Racing Products/ProSource Hard Charger Christopher Bell from 17th.
"I thought we had a really good car from the start," Bacon explained. "I knew I was going to be a little tight at the beginning. We had some wheelies going on, but I knew it was going to come to me. I could see some black come in on the track. We had a really good line where we could throw it sideways and come off straight on the bottom."
Bacon, who is expecting to become a father once again in the coming weeks with baby number three on the way, is eager to look at the big picture of things through what has been a tumultuous season in some ways with switching Sprint Car teams in the middle of the season and a series of misfortunes in the Silver Crown car despite being strong the majority of time, but without the results to show for. The results came through Thursday at IMS as he and his crew came to the forefront to notch down a prestigious victory.
"It's been a season of adversity and overcoming obstacles," Bacon detailed. "Having a solid deal here in the midget helps a lot. Everyone who's involved has pitched in and done their part above and beyond what anyone should expect anyone to do.
Driver Robert Dalby of Anaheim, Calif. was transported to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for non-life-threatening injuries following his accident during the fourth qualifying race.
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USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 6, 2018 - The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, Indiana - Driven2SaveLives "BC39" presented by NOS Energy Drink
FIRST QUALIFIER: (10 laps) 1. Logan Seavey (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Christopher Bell (#21 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Shane Golobic (#17w Clauson Marshall/Wood), 4. Zeb Wise (#39BC Clauson Marshall), 5. Alex Bright (#77 Bright), 6. Cole Bodine (#57BC Clauson Marshall), 7. Anton Hernandez (#11A Gray), 8. Nick Drake (#55 Cline), 9. Karsyn Elledge (#83 Tucker/Boat), 10. Roy Caruthers (#5x Boyle), 11. Austin Langenstein (#7CG Seven), 12. Jesse Vermillion (#5v Vermillion). NT
SECOND QUALIFIER: (10 laps) 1. Jake Neuman (#3N Neuman), 2. Tyler Thomas (#91T Thomas), 3. Gage Walker (#7 Walker), 4. Jason McDougal (#15 Petry), 5. Tucker Klaasmeyer (#27 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Tanner Carrick (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 7. Ryan Smith (#67R SFHR), 8. Riley Kreisel (#37K Felker), 9. Ray Seach (#31 Budres), 10. Presley Truedson (#5T Daum), 11. Olivia Bennett (#77x Bennett), 12. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built). 2:06.99
THIRD QUALIFIER: (10 laps) 1. Jerry Coons, Jr. (#25 Petry), 2. David Budres (#23 Budres), 3. Critter Malone (#7CH Seven), 4. Brian Karraker (#29J Jarrett), 5. Sam Johnson (#72 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 6. Terry Babb (#37 Felker), 7. Tyler Nelson (#88 Nelson), 8. Justin Dickerson (#21D Dickerson), 9. C.J. Leary (#5 Baldwin), 10. Trey Osborne (#11T Taylor), 11. Travis Young (#11Y Young), 12. Matt Lux (#7K K & R), 13. Chase McDermand (#57B Ecker). NT
FOURTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps) 1. Holly Shelton (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Dillon Welch (#99p Ronk), 3. Zane Hendricks (#27z Tucker/Boat), 4. Matt Westfall (#54 Bordner), 5. Dakota Jackson (#17D Koontz), 6. Korey Weyant (#99w Mounce), 7. Jeb Sessums (2NDHarris), 8. Andy Bradley (#49 Bradley), 9. Aaron Leffel (#11L Taylor), 10. Lance Bennett (#10 Bennett), 11. Robert Dalby (#4D Dalby), 12. Kyle May (#39 May), 13. Daniel Robinson (#57D McCreery). NT
FIFTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps) 1. Chad Boat (#84 Tucker/Boat), 2. Andrew Layser (#35L Bright), 3. Brayton Lynch (#1K RKR), 4. Davey Ray (#33 RayPro), 5. Austin O'Dell (#97A O'Dell), 6. Russ Gamester (#51 Gamester), 7. Glenn Waterland (#11c Waterland), 8. Alex Schriever (#25s Davis), 9. Tyler Shoemaker (#1T Mounce), 10. Landon Cassill (#21x Shuman), 11. Bryan Drollinger (#71x Drollinger). NT
SIXTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps) 1. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (#17s Clauson Marshall), 2. Justin Grant (#17BC Clauson Marshall/Wood), 3. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson Marshall), 4. Matt Sherrell (#2D Harris), 5. Braydan Willmington (#89 RayPro), 6. Kyle O'Gara (#67F SFHR), 7. Mark Chisholm (#56x Fifty6x), 8. Brian Peterson (#7p Peterson), 9. Chase Jones (#33c RayPro), 10. Payton Pierce (#37x Felker). NT
SEVENTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (#63 Dooling), 2. Shane Cottle (#1ST Saucier), 3. Andrew Felker (57A Ecker), 4. Gio Scelzi (#25x Malloy), 5. Chase Briscoe (#5B Briscoe), 6. Chris Baue (#35x Baue), 7. Kevin Studley (#57K Studley), 8. Robby Spino (#46 Johnson), 9. Maria Cofer (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 10. John Heydenreich (#22 Heydenreich), 11. McKenna Haase (#14s RAMS), 12. Randi Pankratz (#8 Pankratz). NT
EIGHTH QUALIFIER: (10 laps) 1. Chris Windom (#35 Petry), 2. Brady Bacon (#76m FMR), 3. Ryan Robinson (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Landon Simon (#24 LSR), 5. J.J. Yeley (#63D Dooling), 6. Dave Darland (#1BR SFHR), 7. Dylan Peterson (#25p Peterson), 8. Carson Garrett (#15c Garrett), 9. David Prickett (#24x Neverlift), 10. Chris Urish (#77u Casson), 11. J.B. Gilbert (#56Y Fifty6x), 12. Conor Daly (#1 LSR), 13. Nate Foster (#57F Foster). 2:09.30
ALSO AT THE TRACK: Johnny Petrozelle (#8c Cornell), Casey Shuman (#4A RAMS), Logan Arnold (#43 Arnold), Rich Drangmeister (#18 Drangmeister), Zach Daum (#5D Daum), Nick Hamilton (#32 Hamilton) & Shane Cockrum (#91 Harris)
FEATURE: (39 laps) 1. Brady Bacon (7), 2. Chad Boat (10), 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (1), 4. Tyler Courtney (2), 5. Christopher Bell (17), 6. Alex Bright (8), 7. Justin Grant (6), 8. Holly Shelton (9), 9. Jerry Coons, Jr. (5), 10. Ryan Robinson (3), 11. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (11), 12. Chris Windom (22), 13. Logan Seavey (23), 14. Zeb Wise (14), 15. Shane Cottle (13), 16. Jason McDougal (25), 17. Maria Cofer (24), 18. Terry Babb (20), 19. Brayton Lynch (4), 20. David Budres (19), 21. Brian Karraker (21), 22. Tyler Thomas (18), 23. Tucker Klaasmeyer (15), 24. Jake Neuman (16), 25. Dillon Welch (12), 26. Dave Darland (26). NT
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**Young flipped during the third qualifier. Dalby flipped during the fourth qualifier. Klaasmeyer flipped on lap 14 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 K. Thomas, Laps 31-39 Bacon.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Christopher Bell (17th to 5th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Logan Seavey
NEXT USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 22 - Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, Ohio - 37th Annual "4-Crown Nationals"
WISE WINS PURSUIT, BRIGHT HIGH POINT MAN IN BC39 OPENER
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
WISE WINS PURSUIT, BRIGHT HIGH POINT MAN IN BC39 OPENER
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana.........Wednesday's opening night of the Driven2SaveLives "BC39" presented by NOS Energy Drink began a new era of racing at the Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, set inside turn three of the surrounding world-famous 2.5-mile paved oval.
15-year-old Zeb Wise captured the victory in the Stoops Pursuit, a 20-lap elimination race in which you would be eliminated if you were passed. Coming to the white flag, the Angola, Ind. native went on the offense, sliding by Alex Bright in turn four on the penultimate lap to win the $1500 payday. In doing so, he put the 39BC in victory lane at the BC39, a fitting tribute to the late, great USAC champ in which the event is named for.
In preliminary action, Tyler Courtney completed an IMS Dirt Track version of a spin and win to become the first official winner of a race at the quarter-mile dirt oval, sliding to halt midway through the ten-lapper while leading, but the Indianapolis, Ind. driver got up on the wheel and drove it back to the front to capture the win in heat race one. Meanwhile, David Prickett and Tyler Nelson were involved in a tangle that resulted in a double-flip. Both walked away.
In heat race two, Macdoel, California's Maria Cofer, subbing for the injured Spencer Bayston, became the first female winner in the history of the Dirt Track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, getting to the point on the second lap from her outside front row starting spot.
Cullman, Alabama's Kevin Thomas, Jr. shot from fifth to first by lap two and never looked back, dominating heat race three to take the victory.
Shane Cottle of Kansas, Ill. wired the field in heat race four, leading all 10 laps to score the victory. Behind him, a torrid battle ensued as Dillon Welch ripped the fence lap after lap alongside Brian Karraker, but Karraker was able to get the spot to finish second on the final lap behind Cottle.
Tucker Klaasmeyer drove from seventh to first by halfway as the Paola, Kansas driver cruised to a two-second victory in heat race five.
An enthralling heat six saw USAC Triple Crown champ J.J. Yeley and Shane Golobic dip and dive, exchanging the front spot numerous times, with Yeley spraying the concrete with soil as he flirted with the turn two concrete each time he exited turn two in his journey to victory lane.
Jason McDougal and Steve Buckwalter banged wheels, nerf bars, you name it, in their torrid battle for the lead for the majority of heat race seven. A wheel-to-wheel, slider fest raged on until McDougal slipped on the berm near the end. Buckwalter, of Royersford, Pa. took control and raced on to victory. Zach Daum walked away from a turn two flip during the heat.
When Norman, Oklahoma's Christopher Bell starts from the pole, it's trouble for pretty much everyone else. The 2013 USAC National Midget champ put it to the competition, winning heat race eight handily.
It was a tale of two different lines in heat nine between Chad Boat and Tyler Thomas. But, the difference in this one was the two repeatedly swapped the lead back and forth, exchanging slider after slider after slider before Collinsville, Oklahoma's Thomas rode the rim in turn four to nip Boat at the line for the victory.
Foresthill, California's Ryan Robinson controlled heat race 10 from the outset, leading every lap despite starting fifth. Brayton Lynch followed suit, advancing from eighth to a second-place finish, rapidly closing on Robinson during the final laps as Robinson biked it on the cushion and motored on.
Alex Bright of Collegeville, Pa. was the lone winner from the back row, taking heat race 11 from the ninth starting spot after engaging in a furious battle with Davey Ray in the early going. Bright became the night's high-point man heading into Thursday's finale.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. made a late rally to challenge Brady Bacon on the final lap, but Bacon, the two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ out of Broken Arrow, Okla. was perfect, leading the final nine laps to win heat race 12.
The "BC39" continues Thursday night, September 6 at IMS with the final events taking place, beginning with the eight qualifying races before moving into the main events and concluding with the 39-lap A-Main. The pits open at 8am, drivers meeting in the pagoda at 3pm and cars hitting the track at 5pm. All times Eastern.
The event will be streamed LIVE via pay-per-view on http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/ while LIVE audio can be heard for FREE on the USAC app. A one-hour show recapping both nights of the "BC39" will air this Friday, September 7, at 6pm Eastern on NBC Sports.
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USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 5, 2018 - The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, Indiana - Driven2SaveLives "BC39" presented by NOS Energy Drink
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson Marshall), 2. Dave Darland (#1BR SFHR), 3. Randi Pankratz (#8 Pankratz), 4. Matt Lux (#7K K & R), 5. Payton Pierce (#37x Felker), 6. Brian Peterson (#7p Peterson), 7. Tyler Nelson (#88 Nelson), 8. David Prickett (#24x Neverlift), 9. Bryan Drollinger (#71x Drollinger). NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Maria Cofer (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Zeb Wise (#39BC Clauson Marshall), 3. Chris Windom (#35 Petry), 4. Nick Drake (#55 Cline), 5. Zane Hendricks (#27z Tucker/Boat), 6. Shane Cockrum (#91 Harris), 7. Austin O'Dell (#97A O'Dell), 8. Presley Truedson (#5T Daum), 9. Kyle May (#39 May). 2:15.21
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (#63 Dooling), 2. Jerry Coons, Jr. (#25 Petry), 3. Logan Seavey (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 4. Cole Bodine (#57BC Clauson Marshall), 5. Daniel Robinson (#57D McCreery), 6. Chris Urish (#77u Casson), 7. McKenna Haase (#14s RAMS), 8. John Heydenreich (#22 Heydenreich), 9. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built). NT
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Shane Cottle (#1ST Saucier), 2. Brian Karraker (#29J Jarrett), 3. Dillon Welch (#99p Ronk), 4. Holly Shelton (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Kevin Studley (#57K Studley), 6. Robert Dalby (#4D Dalby), 7. Andy Bradley (#49 Bradley), 8. Jesse Vermillion (#5v Vermillion), 9. Billy Wease (#12w Wease). NT
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tucker Klaasmeyer (#27K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Terry Babb (#37 Felker), 3. Casey Shuman (#4A RAMS), 4. Andrew Felker (57A Ecker), 5. Karsyn Elledge (#83 Tucker/Boat), 6. Critter Malone (#7CH Seven), 7. Braydan Willmington (#89 RayPro), 8. Nate Foster (#57F Foster), 9. Landon Cassill (#21x Shuman). NT
SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. J.J. Yeley (#63D Dooling), 2. Shane Golobic (#17w Clauson Marshall/Wood), 3. Chase Jones (#33c RayPro), 4. Sam Johnson (#72 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Landon Simon (#24 LSR), 6. Dakota Jackson (#17D Koontz), 7. Gio Scelzi (#25x Malloy), 8. Rich Drangmeister (#18 Drangmeister), 9. Tracy Hines (#11 Leader Card). NT
SEVENTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Steve Buckwalter (#0 Buckwalter), 2. Jake Neuman (#3N Neuman), 3. Matt Westfall (#54 Bordner), 4. Jason McDougal (#15 Petry), 5. David Budres (#23 Manic), 6. Riley Kreisel (#37K Felker), 7. Dylan Peterson (#25p Peterson), 8. Roy Caruthers (#5x Boyle), 9. Zach Daum (#5D Daum). NT
EIGHTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Christopher Bell (#21 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Korey Weyant (#99w Mounce), 3. Lance Bennett (#10 Bennett), 4. Tyler Shoemaker (1T Mounce), 5. Carson Garrett (#15c Garrett), 6. Anton Hernandez (#11A Gray), 7. Glenn Waterland (#11c Waterland), 8. Justin Dickerson (#21D Dickerson), 9. Chris Baue (#35x Baue). NT
NINTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tyler Thomas (#91T Thomas), 2. Chad Boat (#84 Tucker/Boat), 3. Gage Walker (#7 Walker), 4. Chase Briscoe (#5B Briscoe), 5. Kyle O'Gara (#67F SFHR), 6. Tanner Carrick (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 7. Olivia Bennett (#77x Bennett), 8. Jeb Sessums (2ND Harris). NT
TENTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Ryan Robinson (#71 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Brayton Lynch (#1K RKR), 3. Russ Gamester (#51 Gamester), 4. Ryan Smith (#67R SFHR), 5. Andrew Layser (#35L Bright), 6. Chase McDermand (#57B Ecker), 7. Logan Arnold (#43 Arnold), 8. Johnny Petrozelle (#8c Cornell), 9. Conor Daly (#1 LSR). 2:17.93
ELEVENTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Alex Bright (#77 Bright), 2. Travis Young (#11Y Young), 3. Davey Ray (#33 RayPro), 4. Trey Osborne (#11T Taylor), 5. Mark Chisholm (#56x Fifty6x), 6. Alex Schriever (#25s Davis), 7. J.B. Gilbert (#56Y Fifty6x), 8. Robby Spino (#46 Johnson), 9. Nick Hamilton (#32 Hamilton). NT
TWELFTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Brady Bacon (#76m FMR), 2. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (#17s Clauson Marshall), 3. C.J. Leary (#5 Baldwin), 4. Justin Grant (#17BC Clauson Marshall/Wood), 5. Aaron Leffel (#11L Taylor), 6. Matt Sherrell (#2D Harris), 7. Joey Moughan (#29 Casson), 8. Ray Seach (#31 Budres), 9. Austin Langenstein (#7CG Seven). NT
ALSO AT THE TRACK: Michael Koontz (#17K Koontz)
STOOPS PURSUIT RACE: (20 laps) 1. Wise, 2. Bright, 3. Stenhouse, 4. Yeley, 5. Coons, 6. Klaasmeyer, 7. Lynch, 8. Westfall, 9. Cottle, 10. Boat, 11. Weyant, 12. Young, 13. Lux, 14. Jones, 15. R. Robinson, 16. Bacon, 17. T. Thomas, 18. Karraker, 19. Babb, 20. Cofer, 21. Buckwalter, 22. C. Bell, 23. Grant, 24. Courtney, 25. K. Thomas. NT
REMAINDER OF PROGRAM TO BE COMPLETED THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018
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**Koontz flipped during practice. Prickett and Nelson flipped during the first heat. Daum flipped during the seventh heat. Sessums flipped during the ninth heat. C. Bell and Jones flipped during the pursuit.
NEW USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Seavey-830, 2-Bacon-732, 3-Bayston-728, 4-Boat-727, 5-Grant-689, 6-Courtney-679, 7-Carrick-652, 8-K. Thomas-634, 9-Wise-533, 10-R. Robinson-480.
BC39 POINTS: 1-Bright-160, 2-Klaasmeyer-155, 3-Babb-153, 4-Weyant-148, 5-Lynch-148, 6-Courtney-145, 7-K. Thomas, 8-R. Robinson-145, 9-Wise-143, 10-Buckwalter-135.
NEXT USAC P1 INSURANCE MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 6 - The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, Indiana - Driven2SaveLives "BC39" presented by NOS Energy Drink
McDOUGAL WINS FIRST WITH LATE RACE PASS OF ROOMIE AT I-55
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Jason McDougal of Broken Arrow, Okla. won his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car race Saturday night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. (Rich Forman Photo)
McDOUGAL WINS FIRST WITH LATE RACE PASS OF ROOMIE AT I-55
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Pevely, Missouri......September 1, 2018 - Back at the end of May, Jason McDougal moved from his Broken Arrow, Oklahoma home to the state of Indiana to further his racing career.
Sight unseen, at the invitation of fellow racer Kevin Thomas, Jr., McDougal became roommates with Thomas and his wife Whitney at their home.
Fast forward to Saturday night and the final restart with five laps remaining in the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car debut at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. McDougal put his Daigh-Phillips Motorsports/DRC/Foxco Chevy up on the rail and outdueled Thomas on the final restart with five laps remaining to pick up his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature victory.
It's been quite a run for McDougal who has quickly made a name for himself in the USAC ranks over the past handful of months, an opportunity he said wouldn't have been possible had it not been for the driver he defeated on night two of the Brandt "River Town Showdown."
"It was actually his idea for me to be here," McDougal explained. "He gave me this opportunity, honestly, to be doing this right now. Without him, I wouldn't be here. I know he's down on himself right now for losing, but I know, deep down, he's proud."
Initially, it was McDougal who held the point on the opening lap by mere inches as he tussled to and fro with Chase Stockon for the first three laps, with Stockon emerging at the forefront as an incident in turn three shook up the look at the front when Thomas and Robert Ballou made contact battling for the third position in turn three.
Thomas took a hop, skip and a jump before landing on all fours and motoring on. Meanwhile, Ballou took the worst of it, sliding sideways to a stop in the middle of turn three. He restarted from the tail and made a miraculous charge back through the field to a third-place finish by race's end.
By lap 12, the leaders had hit L.A. rush hour construction zone traffic with cars spread from the inside wall to the outside concrete, leaving not much room for the frontrunners to maneuver. It would take precise precision, which Thomas used to thread the eye of the needle between Stockon and the lapped car of Chuck Walker in turn three on lap 13 to grab the lead. Stockon went down swinging, racing back to the bottom, wheel-to-wheel with Thomas until Thomas secured the position.
In the scramble, you could throw an electric blanket over the top seven, which ultimately was tail-ended by McDougal where he had dropped to and would remain throughout the midway point. McDougal steadily worked his way back toward the front, to fourth by lap 18 and to third by the 19th lap behind Thomas and now Courtney, the previous night's winner in Granite City, Ill., who threw multiple figurative punches at Thomas with a slider in turn one on the 21st lap to take the lead before Thomas returned the favor in turn four to reclaim the spot later that same lap.
On the 25th lap, one of the most frightening incidents of the season occurred as Walker climbed the front straightaway wall and got into the catch fencing in turn one, tearing down several posts and links as he helicoptered across the track upside down with pieces and parts of his yellow racecar strewn about the property.
Walker climbed out of the wreckage and walked away under his own power with a severely damaged machine. The ensuing carnage resulted in a nearly one-hour red flag period, forcing drivers to sit, wait, and ponder what they would do on this final restart.
McDougal and the team decided not to make a single mechanical change during the open red, but there was a benefit to it all for McDougal that wasn't associated with bringing out any tools or tool accessories.
McDougal became the second driver in the last three races to pick up his first career series victory, joining fellow Okie Tyler Thomas, who won just eight days earlier at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)
"Honestly, having that long red kind of helped," McDougal said. "I was getting a little tired on that long green run. I knew I had to concentrate, hit my marks and not worry about what everyone else was going to do. We had it rolling pretty good early and we were trying the top. After the first couple of laps, it seemed like it went right around the bottom and I fell back, then the top picked back up. We were pretty consistent all night around the top."
And so, the stage had been set with the established Thomas leading the young, upstart McDougal for the final restart.
While Thomas stayed tried and true to the bottom of the track, McDougal simply threw caution to the wind and ripped the top with relentless abandon, surging past Thomas with four laps to go. Thomas hung on tightly and tried not to let go of his fading grip of the lead, but McDougal had his ride and the topside of the racetrack working in unison, like a bullet train on a monorail.
McDougal was flawless with the laps dwindling and wouldn't be denied on this particular night, bringing home his first checkered flag with USAC. McDougal became the second driver in the last three races to pick up his first career series victory, joining fellow Okie Tyler Thomas, who won just eight days earlier at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway.
New series point leader, by one, Thomas, finished second ahead of Ballou, Courtney and Justin Grant.
It was only McDougal's fourth USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car race in the No. 71p for Steve and Carla Phillips, owners of 17 series wins with Darland between 2013 and 2015.
Contingency award winners Saturday night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 were Robert Ballou (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Jason McDougal (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Chalk Stix/Indy Race Parts Third Heat Winner), Korey Weyant (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Jadon Rogers (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher & Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 1, 2018 - Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 - Pevely, Missouri - Brandt "River Town Showdown"
QUALIFYING: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-12.440; 2. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-12.548; 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-12.626; 4. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.719; 5. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-12.797; 6. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-12.842; 7. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-12.868; 8. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-12.869; 9. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-12.977; 10. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-12.983; 11. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.032; 12. Joe B. Miller, 51B, Miller-13.107; 13. Jadon Rogers, 14J, Rogers-13.144; 14. Mario Clouser, 6, MCM-13.203; 15. Mitch Wissmiller, 1, Wissmiller-13.392; 16. Scottie Gretzmacher, 16G, Gretzmacher-13.424; 17. Chet Williams, 38, Fortune-13.432; 18. Korey Weyant, 99w, Weyant-13.569; 19. Wade Seiler, 7s, Seiler-13.608; 20. Chuck Walker, 55, Walker-13.878; 21. Patrick Budde, 90, Budde-14.381; 22. Adam Parmeley, 21B, Parmeley-14.854.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Ballou, 2. Windom, 3. Darland, 4. Courtney, 5. Rogers, 6. Seiler, 7. Parmeley. 1:44.38 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. McDougal, 2. Williams, 3. Grant, 4. Leary, 5. Bacon, 6. Clouser, 7. Walker. 1:45.85
CHALK STIX/INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas, 2. Chapple, 3. Stockon, 4. Weyant, 5. Wissmiller, 6. Budde, 7. Miller. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jason McDougal (2), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 3. Robert Ballou (3), 4. Tyler Courtney (6), 5. Justin Grant (11), 6. C.J. Leary (8), 7. Dave Darland (7), 8. Chris Windom (10), 9. Chase Stockon (1), 10. Korey Weyant (18), 11. Isaac Chapple (9), 12. Mario Clouser (14), 13. Jadon Rogers (13), 14. Chet Williams (17), 15. Scottie Gretzmacher (16), 16. Patrick Budde (21), 17. Adam Parmeley (22), 18. Wade Seiler (19), 19. Chuck Walker (20), 20. Brady Bacon (5), 21. Joe B. Miller (12), 22. Mitch Wissmiller (15). NT
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**Walker flipped on lap 25 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 McDougal, Laps 2-12 Stockon, Laps 13-14 Thomas, Laps 15-16 Stockon, Laps 17-26 Thomas, Laps 27-30 McDougal.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Korey Weyant (18th to 10th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Jadon Rogers
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Jadon Rogers
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-K. Thomas-1997, 2-Courtney-1996, 3-Windom-1979, 4-Darland-1738, 5-Bacon-1735, 6-Stockon-1704, 7-Leary-1651, 8-Grant-1650, 9-Ballou-1606, 10-Chapple-1087.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 7 - Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, Indiana
COURTNEY DELIVERS A STONE COLD PERFORMANCE IN GRANITE CITY
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Tyler Courtney earned his ninth USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car win of the year Friday night at Tri-City Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)
COURTNEY DELIVERS A STONE COLD PERFORMANCE IN GRANITE CITY
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Granite City, Illinois......August 31, 2018 - Tyler Courtney hasn't visited Tri-City Speedway that often throughout his racing career. In fact, Friday night marked just the fourth visit to the 3/8-mile dirt oval for the Indianapolis, Indiana driver. But, each time, it's been in a different type of car, from a micro, to a midget and to a winged sprint car.
Yet, it doesn't seem to matter what type of track Courtney visits this year. If it has a victory lane, seemingly, Courtney knows how to find his way there after 30 laps, which he did again for the ninth time this season in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition, leading the final 21 laps and warding off an all-out assault from Brady Bacon and Kevin Thomas, Jr. during the final laps to score his 15th career series win on night one of the Brandt "River Town Showdown" in his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/Priority Aviation - Competition Suspension, Inc./Spike/Rider Chevy. The triumph ties him with Bobby East, Cory Kruseman, Jud Larson & Brian Tyler for 33rd all-time.
Courtney rolled off from the fourth-starting position, while C.J. Leary rocketed around the outside of pole sitter Chase Stockon to occupy the top spot off turn two on the opening lap, where he would remain for the first nine circuits.
On the tenth lap, Courtney seized the opportunity, diving to the bottom of turn one and sliding up in front of Leary to capture the lead. Leary surged back toward Courtney and the two made contact off the exit of turn two, sending Courtney sideways down the back straightaway. Courtney recovered as Leary made an attempt to reclaim his once-owned land up front to no avail.
Following a yellow for Kyle Stearns losing a wheel on his machine with 10 laps complete, Courtney was dominant up front with a clear track ahead of him after the lap 11 restart, breaking away to a 1.5 second advantage in the ensuing laps. Meanwhile, a jostling of position took place just behind with Bacon slipping by Leary for second off turn two on the 14th lap and, moments later, Thomas getting around Leary for the third position.
With less than ten to go, Courtney began to find himself mired in a minefield of traffic. As the heart rate began to race and the interval began to shrink, the plot thickened. One false step and the race could be handed over to the surging Bacon. Courtney took every action and reaction he could to stay afloat, splitting between the lapped cars of Daron Clayton and Mario Clouser entering turn one with six laps remaining to create some sorely-needed separation and buy a little bit of time.
"The lapped cars didn't want to go a lap down," Courtney recalled. "They're racing and doing their job. It's part of it. You have to get around them and just hope that you get around them at the right time and hope the guy behind you is going to struggle as well. Tonight, that wasn't the case. Once I got around him, he seemed to be right on my butt."
With four laps to go, Courtney drifted into turn one to split between lappers Isaac Chapple and Jadon Rogers. As Courtney swung wide, Bacon was glued to the bottom and found the drive to surge ahead to the lead briefly. Moments later, at the exit of two, Courtney looked like a rock in a slingshot, finding the grip to blast back past Bacon around the outside of the back straight to retake the lead.
Like Rockwell, Courtney felt like somebody, namely Bacon, was watching him and his every move, so he figured he'd better take action sooner rather than later.
"I knew someone had to be close because I wasn't getting through (turns) one and two very well, but I didn't know what else to do," Courtney replayed. "He showed me a nose there and I thought he was running all the way at the bottom. So, I went down to the bottom and he drove around me on the outside. I was kind of like, 'man, I don't know what to do here.' Luckily, we had a yellow there where I could regroup and look at the track a little better. I knew I was going to have to protect and I knew the (Thomas) was going to race (Bacon) really hard, which, obviously, played in our favor."
Tyler Courtney picked up his 15th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car win Friday night at Tri-City Speedway, tying him with Bobby East, Cory Kruseman, Jud Larson and Brian Tyler for 33rd all-time. (Rich Forman Photo)
One lap later, the two switched roles entering turn one. Courtney stuck to the bottom and Bacon swept out wide from the bottom of one to the top of two. Bacon found the traction on the topside of the exit of turn two to pull ahead entering the third turn, but Courtney slid up in front of Bacon to maintain the top spot just as the yellow flew for an incident involving fifth-place running Justin Grant and Clouser between turns one and two, setting up one final restart for the win.
"Three laps are a lot with the guys we got in the series right now," Courtney admitted. "I knew they were going to have to be three perfect ones."
Courtney got a good jump on the field, but it was Thomas who was the one to watch down the stretch as he put himself right into contention for the victory, shooting past Bacon off turn four with two laps to go, then running down and applying some serious pressure to Courtney.
Courtney admits those final laps following the restart weren't exactly perfect, but they got the job done, holding off one final attempt by Thomas into turn three on the final go-around to win his ninth race of the year over Thomas, Bacon, Robert Ballou and Dave Darland.
Courtney became only the second driver in the last 15 seasons to have nine USAC National Sprint Car wins before the end of August and the first since Ballou's nine at this same juncture in 2015. Ballou eventually tallied up 13 total wins, second-most in a single season behind Tom Bigelow's record 14 in 1977.
Also, of note, Courtney became the newest series point leader by a single marker over Windom. Just six points behind the leader in the third position is Thomas in one of the closest point races in the history of the sport.
Contingency award winners Friday night at Tri-City Speedway were Isaac Chapple (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner & Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Jason McDougal (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Zach Daum (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Joe B. Miller (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Daron Clayton (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chet Williams (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Patrick Budde (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 31, 2018 - Tri-City Speedway - Granite City, Illinois - Brandt "River Town Showdown"
QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-14.316 (New Track Record); 2. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-14.529; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.536; 4. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-14.596; 5. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-14.631; 6. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-14.638; 7. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-14.697; 8. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-14.699; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-14.809; 10. Mitch Wissmiller, 1, Wissmiller-14.851; 11. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-14.854; 12. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-14.860; 13. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-14.942; 14. Jadon Rogers, 14J, Rogers-15.171; 15. Kent Schmidt, 5K, Schmidt-15.182; 16. Joe B. Miller, 51B, Miller-15.221; 17. Mario Clouser, 6, MCM-15.284; 18. Chet Williams, 38, Fortune-15.543; 19. Steve Thomas, 20, Thomas-15.640; 20. Wade Seiler, 7s, Seiler-15.758; 21. Kyle Stearns, 87, Stearns-15.781; 22. Adam Parmeley, 21B, Parmeley-16.582; 23. Patrick Budde, 90, Budde-16.622; 24. Daron Clayton, 5o, Schmidt-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chapple, 2. K. Thomas, 3. Stockon, 4. Courtney, 5. Wissmiller, 6. Miller, 7. S. Thomas, 8. Paremeley. 2:00.69
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. McDougal, 2. Darland, 3. Clouser, 4. Windom, 5. Bacon, 6. Rogers, 7. Seiler, 8. Budde. 1:59.12 (New Track Record)
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daum, 2. Leary, 3. Ballou, 4. Schmidt, 5. Williams, 6. Stearns, 7. Grant. 2:02.90
INDY RACE PARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Miller, 2. Clayton, 3. Grant, 4. Rogers, 5. Seiler, 6. S. Thomas, 7. Stearns, 8. Budde, 9. Parmeley. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (4), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (6), 3. Brady Bacon (5), 4. Robert Ballou (9), 5. Dave Darland (11), 6. Chris Windom (3), 7. Zach Daum (12), 8. Justin Grant (7), 9. Chase Stockon (1), 10. Joe B. Miller (16), 11. Isaac Chapple (13), 12. Daron Clayton (22), 13. Chet Williams (18), 14. Mario Clouser (17), 15. Kent Schmidt (15), 16. Jadon Rogers (14), 17. Steve Thomas (19), 18. Jason McDougal (8), 19. Wade Seiler (20), 20. C.J. Leary (2), 21. Mitch Wissmiller (10), 22. Kyle Stearns (21). NT
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**Clayton flipped during qualifying.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Leary, Laps 10-30 Courtney.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Daron Clayton (22nd to 12th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Chet Williams
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Patrick Budde
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Isaac Chapple
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-1924, 2-Windom-1923, 3-K. Thomas-1918, 4-Bacon-1703, 5-Darland-1680, 6-Stockon-1651, 7-Leary-1591, 8-Grant-1586, 9-Ballou-1531, 10-Chad Boespflug-1084.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: September 1 - Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 - Pevely, Missouri - Brandt "River Town Showdown"
BITNER WINS AT PORT ROYAL; DREVICKI TAKES EAST COAST TITLE
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
BITNER WINS AT PORT ROYAL; DREVICKI TAKES EAST COAST TITLE
Port Royal, PA........Mark Bitner of Columbus, New Jersey led all 20 laps to win Saturday night's USAC East Coast Sprint finale, but second-place finisher Steven Drevicki polished off the 2018 series championship. Eddie Strada, Chandler and Joey Biasi rounded out the "top-five" at the finish.
USAC EAST COAST SPRINT RACE RESULTS: August 25, 2018 - Port Royal, Pennsylvania - Port Royal Speedway
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Chandler Leiby (#119 Leiby), 2. Steven Drevicki (#19 Drevicki), 3. Bill Unglert (#33B Unglert), 4. Joey Biasi (#B1 Biasi), 5. Eric Jennings (#32 Neiger/Hamilton), 6. Joe Kata (#B1x Biasi), 7. Jason Cherry (#67c Cherry). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Eddie Strada (#5G Gallagher), 2. Mark Bitner (#15 Bitner), 3. Trey Hivner (#7 TH Racing), 4. Chris Allen Jr. (#71 Allen), 5. Trevor Kobylarz (#14B Kobylarz), 6. Ryan Quackenbush (#5Q RQR Racing), 7. Brian Riccio (#09 Riccio). NT
FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Mark Bitner, 2. Steven Drevicki, 3. Eddie Strada, 4. Chandler Leiby, 5. Joey Biasi, 6. Bill Unglert, 7. Chris Allen Jr., 8. Eric Jennings, 9. Ryan Quackenbush, 10. Joe Kata, 11. Trey Hivner, 12. Jason Cherry, 13. Trevor Kobylarz, 14. Brian Riccio. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Bitner.
FINAL USAC EAST COAST SPRINT POINTS: 1-Drevicki-512, 2-Biasi-468, 3-Strada-452, 4-Leiby-439, 5-Ryan Godown-347, 6-Bitner-323, 7-Kobylarz-320, 8-Quackenbush-316, 9-Unglert-283, 10-Jennings-273.
