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Courtney Connects in Bloomington IMW Victory
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Friday night's Bloomington 'Indiana Midget Week' winner Tyler Courtney from Indianapolis, Indiana. (David Nearpass Photo)
COURTNEY CONNECTS IN BLOOMINGTON IMW VICTORY
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Bloomington, Indiana (June 7, 2019).........On Friday morning, the engine that Tyler Courtney would use later that night was in the process of being rebuilt. On Friday night, that same engine helped power the Indianapolis, Ind. driver to victory in round four of "Indiana Midget Week" at Bloomington Speedway.
It had been a trying week for Clauson/Marshall Racing throughout the first three races of IMW. Courtney had gone through one engine and had a minor issue on another. Teammate Chris Windom went through two and another teammate, Andrew Layser, had to step into a backup as well.
Still, when the deck seemed stacked against them amidst trying circumstances, the team was able to persevere as Courtney drove to his fifth USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory of the year with only ten races in the books. In fact, his quick start already has him halfway to the double-digit win mark, something that hasn't been achieved in the series since Rich Vogler's magical 16-win season in 1988.
"It's crazy," Courtney said. "But, you know, I wouldn't want to do this with anybody else. These guys are never going to stop. The least I can do is do my job and give them 110 percent because I know they're going to give me 110 percent. It's been nuts, but if this was easy, everybody would do it. It's part of it."
Courtney started from the fourth spot, while Justin Grant bolted to the lead from the pole position, utilizing the high line as outside front row starter Thomas Meseraull followed in tow and Chad Boat worked the bottom.
Meanwhile, Thursday night's Lincoln Park hero Tanner Thorson saw his feature go from bad to worse, first spinning over the turn three banking to a stop on lap four while running 16th. Three laps later, as the Indiana Midget Week point leader coming in tried to work his way back through the field, he found contact at the bottom of turn one, bounced and flipped sidewinder style over the banking. Noah Gass and Jesse Colwell were also collected. Thorson walked away, but only Colwell restarted.
Back to the front, Boat had the low groove working, and had already moved into the second position by lap five. Following the incident, he went right back to the well on the bottom and was digging his way closer to race leader Grant, missing the point at the strip by a half car length at the conclusion of lap 8.
One lap later, series Rookie Karsyn Elledge, who had been having a career-best fifth place run at the time, caught the turn three lip and flipped over the banking. She walked away without injury but finished 22nd.
On the restart, the high/low battle between Grant and Boat would resume with Grant ripping the cush and Boat skimming inches from the infield tires. Boat surged once again, but Grant was precise on the high line, nipping Boat by the width of a dime at the stripe, 0.012 of a second to be precise.
Suddenly, series point leader Courtney emerged as a contender just behind Grant and Boat, carving through the middle as a third line came to fruition between turns three and four. By lap 17, they were three-wide for the lead with Courtney clearing around the outside of Boat in turn four for second and were still three-wide by the conclusion of the 18th lap.
"I saw where they'd blown the good stuff off the bottom," Courtney observed. "Chad was running the bottom and JG the top and I just had to go where they weren't. I did it once and it worked alright. I did it again a little differently and it worked pretty well. I knew if I could keep doing it, keep chipping away, chipping away, we were going to catch them."
Catching is one part of the equation, passing is another, and Grant was the class through the first two-thirds of the 30-lapper. However, it all went awry for Grant, Wednesday's Gas City winner, who had a right rear tire give way entering turn one on the 20th lap. He managed to control the car from jumping over the banking while Courtney did a masterful job of avoiding tagging the back of suddenly off-the-pace Grant who crawled around the quarter mile before stopping in turn four. Grant restarted, but only mustered a 20th place finish after leading a race-high 19 laps.
On the lap 20 restart, second-running Boat once again found solace on the low line, appearing to have the kind of surge that could carry him to the front, missing out on the lead by a mere 0.026 of a second to Courtney at the line. The bottom appeared to slightly fade for Boat who dropped back from Courtney by a few car lengths the following time by.
Taking Boat's place in second was opening night IMW winner Logan Seavey who found the outside rubber to run his fastest lap of the race with seven circuits remaining and was invading Courtney's fortress of solitude at the front. However, Courtney heard the oncoming freight train that was Seavey and moved off the middle line to go to the top and stifle Seavey's charge on the open path up on the cushion.
Tyler Courtney's third career 'Indiana Midget Week' victory Friday at Bloomington was also the 10th USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget win of his career, tying him for 68th on the all-time list with Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung & Chuck Weyant. (Rich Forman Photo)
"I figured somebody would be coming and the middle kind of went away there in three and four," Courtney recalled. "I started hearing somebody doing something and I knew it didn't sound like somebody on the bottom, so I knew I needed to get up and take their line away, run my own race and make sure I didn't fall off the track and do anything dumb the last few laps."
To get into a rhythm in a which a driver is trying to hit his marks lap-after-lap is key, but once those marks change midstream with another driver ready to pounce, it can present a difficult challenge, but Courtney was game.
"It's a big change, especially here," Courtney explained. "This place gets really technical. It gets slick up to a big curb. If you hit it too hard, you're throwing the nose. You take the chance of bouncing over it and you throw your whole race away. So, you have to kind of ease your way into it. I knew Logan was probably pounding (the cushion) a lot harder than I was. I just knew if I could stay smooth on it, we would be alright. I felt we had good enough speed to maintain up there."
During the final laps, Seavey remained about two car lengths behind the tail tank of Courtney and, on the final lap, fired one last shot, repositioning at the midway point of the back straightaway, angling his car toward the bottom of turn three. Seavey slid up between turns three and four, but had to tuck in behind the flawless Courtney who made no mistakes down the stretch to win his second-straight Bloomington USAC Midget race. Seavey took second ahead of Boat, hard-charging Chris Windom (from 22nd) and a career-best performance from the night's fast qualifier Ethan Mitchell to round out the top-five.
Contingency award winners Friday night at Bloomington Speedway were Ethan Mitchell (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Justin Grant (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Dave Darland (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Chad Boat (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Chris Windom (ProSource Passing Master/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger & ProSource Hard Work Award), Jerry Coons, Jr. (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Cannon McIntosh (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 7, 2019 - Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼- Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-11.652; 2. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.707; 3. Michael Pickens, 1NZ, RMS-11.750; 4. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-11.807; 5. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-11.824; 6. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-11.834; 7. Brady Bacon, 76m, FMR-11.840; 8. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-11.844; 9. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-11.865; 10. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-11.869; 11. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.877; 12. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-11.885; 13. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.888; 14. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.901; 15. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-11.909; 16. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-11.937; 17. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.946; 18. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-11.956; 19. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-11.982; 20. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.005; 21. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-12.021; 22. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-12.035; 23. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.054; 24. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-12.064; 25. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.075; 26. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-12.128; 27. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.153; 28. Kendall Ruble, 11m, Martin-12.216; 29. Michael Koontz, 17, Koontz-12.314; 30. Kyle Cummins, 2G, Yeley/Styres-12.315; 31. Sam Johnson, 72, Johnson-12.504; 32. Justin Dickerson, 21D, Dickerson-12.764; 33. Oliver Akard, 41, Akard-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Grant, 2. Courtney, 3. Hollan, 4. Windom, 5. McDougal, 6. Klaasmeyer, 7. Mitchell, 8. Koontz. 2:03.18 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. Thorson, 3. Elledge, 4. Gass, 5. Daum, 6. Layser, 7. Cummins, 8. Seavey. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas, 2. Colwell, 3. Pickens, 4. Carrick, 5. Wise, 6. Bacon, 7. Cling, 8. Johnson. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Boat, 2. Golobic, 3. Meseraull, 4. Coons, 5. McIntosh, 6. Bodine, 7. Dickerson, 8. Ruble. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Seavey, 2. Bacon, 3. McDougal, 4. Mitchell, 5. Layser, 6. Klaasmeyer, 7. McIntosh, 8. Wise, 9. Daum, 10. Bodine, 11. Koontz, 12. Cling, 13. Dickerson, 14. Akard. 2:40.02 (New Track Record)
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (4), 2. Logan Seavey (8), 3. Chad Boat (5), 4. Chris Windom (22), 5. Ethan Mitchell (7), 6. Brady Bacon (9), 7. Michael Pickens (6), 8. Thomas Meseraull (2), 9. Andrew Layser (10), 10. Shane Golobic (18), 11. Zach Daum (24), 12. Zeb Wise (23), 13. Jerry Coons, Jr. (12), 14. Tanner Carrick (11), 15. Tucker Klaasmeyer (13), 16. Jesse Colwell (21), 17. Jason McDougal (19), 18. Dave Darland (20), 19. Holley Hollan (16), 20. Justin Grant (1), 21. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (15), 22. Karsyn Elledge (3), 23. Noah Gass (17), 24. Tanner Thorson (14). NT
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**Thorson flipped on lap 7 of the feature. Elledge flipped on lap 9 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 Grant, Laps 20-30 Courtney.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE/ANDY PETERSON RE/MAX ACCLAIMED PROPERTIES HARD CHARGER: Chris Windom (22nd to 4th)
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Chris Windom
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Jerry Coons, Jr.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Cannon McIntosh
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-730, 2-Seavey-637, 3-Thomas-611, 4-Windom-584, 5-Wise-573, 6-Boat-525, 7-C.J. Leary-490, 8-Carrick-470, 9-Klaasmeyer-469, 10-Coons-450.
NEW INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Seavey-280, 2-Courtney-274, 3-Thorson-251, 4-Golobic-218, 5-McDougal-212, 6-Thomas-194, 7-Windom-187, 8-Coons-183, 9-Grant-181, 10-Boat-178.
NEW PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Windom-28, 2-Thorson-18, 3-Wise-18, 4-Boat-15, 5-McDougal-15, 6-Courtney-14, 7-Daum-14, 8-Seavey-12, 9-McIntosh-10, 10-Golobic-10.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 8, 2019 - Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval
Buckwalter Blasts to Big Diamond Victory
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Winner Timmy Buckwalter and family.
(Chad Warner Photo)
BUCKWALTER BLASTS TO BIG DIAMOND VICTORY
By: Nick Fillman - USAC East Coast Sprint Cars
Pottsville, Pennsylvania (June 7, 2019).........For the second time in their first four races together, Timmy Buckwalter piloted the Bill Gallagher-owned, Curt Michael-prepared entry into victory lane in Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series action.
The win for Buckwalter kicks off what is a busy schedule for the driver as he will compete in modified action on Saturday at Grandview Speedway before moving on to action next week with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series in their annual "Eastern Storm."
Buckwalter was able to maneuver his way to the heat race victory in a duel with Carmen Perigo which would send Buckwalter to the redraw. Timmy drew the second-place position, start him alongside Chandler Leiby.
As the field went to green Buckwalter slid back a couple of positions with Leiby grabbing the early race lead. A caution would quickly fly for Joe Biasi who clipped an infield tire and sent him spinning into the infield ending his night. As the field would go back to green Leiby would again work his way into the lead holding off challenges from Carson Short and Steven Drevicki.
The caution would again fly on lap 9 for Jonathan Swanson and Ryan Quackenbush bunching the field back up. On the ensuing restart Buckwalter would power to the outside around Leiby in turns three and four, taking the lead and looking to run away. Buckwalter would maintain a solid lead while the battle was on for positions two through seven. Steven Drevicki, Leiby, Short, Perigo, Strada, and Chris Allen were all in close competition with no driver feeling in comfortable control of their position. A caution flag would fly again on lap 16 for a spinning Eric Jennings, setting up a restart.
The restart would again see high contention for positions inside the top 10 with Drevicki moving into the second-place position. Other drivers would see highly contested action for spots in the top six. The final caution of the event would fly on lap 22 for Steve Surniak who ended up getting into an infield tire. The restart would be the chance the Drevicki wanted to try and grab the win away from Buckwalter, but it wasn't meant to be as Buckwalter would go on to take the checkers. Steven Drevicki would come home second, Carson Short third, Carmen Perigo made a strong high side move to grab fourth powering to the outside around Strada and Leiby, with Chandler Leiby collecting yet another top five finish.
While the night was great for some, it was bad for others, with some in the in between. The night started off rough for Ryan Quackenbush and Brian Riccio. Quackenbush would have the front end folded up on his machine on lap one, of heat one before collecting Riccio who would go for a series of flips into the infield. Riccio was making just his second start of the season before the flip.
Trevor Kobylarz would make his return to the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Series, following missing the last two events with engine issues. Kobylarz was out to a solid lead in heat race number three before an exploding left rear would end his heat race. Unfortunately, the tire failure broke the shock and other components off the Kobylarz car. The team opted to sit out for the remainder of the night to keep things fresh for the upcoming eastern swing.
Despite the troubles in the heat race for Ryan Quackenbush, and a caution early on in the feature, he would rebound with a solid effort to collect the Scotty Signs Hard Charger award. The New York turned Pennsylvania transplant has had a bit of an up and down season, but the team never quits and works hard to get to every event. They were rewarded with a solid finish and a few extra winnings on Friday night, proving that while they may get down, they're never out.
In their first race together Carson Short, and the Chris Dyson Racing, Sean Michael-prepared entry had a solid night. The team pulled the number one pill for the night and started on the pole of heat one. Carson would cruise to the heat victory before having a strong third place run in the feature event as a great tune up before next week's USAC National Sprint action.
The next event for the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series comes on Sunday, June 30th at the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park where the series will make their inaugural visit.
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USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: June 7, 2019 - Big Diamond Speedway - Pottsville, Pennsylvania
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Carson Short (#20 Dyson), 2. Joey Biasi (#B1 Biasi), 3. Chandler Leiby (#119 Leiby), 4. Bill Unglert (#33B Unglert), 5. Steve Surniak (#1ST Surniak), 6. John Stehman (#23 Stehman), 7. Craig Pellegrini, Jr. (#11A Pellegrini), 8. Ryan Quackenbush (#5Q TQT), 9. Brian Riccio (#09 Riccio). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Mark Bitner (#15 Bitner), 2. Eddie Strada (#42E Strada), 3. Steven Drevicki (#19 Drevicki), 4. Jake Winters (#1J Winters), 5. Austin Bishop (#11 Bishop), 6. Larry McVay (#83 McVay), 7. Heidi Hedin (#3H Hedin), 8. David Swanson (#117 Swanson). NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Timmy Buckwalter (#5G Gallagher), 2. Carmen Perigo (#21 Perigo), 3. Chris Allen, Jr. (#71 Allen), 4. Tyler Brehm (#21R Brehm), 5. Connor Leoffler (#22 Leoffler), 6. Eric Jennings (#32 Neiger/Hamilton), 7. Jonathan Swanson (#17J Swanson), 8. Trevor Kobylarz (#14 Kobylarz). NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer) 1. Jennings, 2. Stehman, 3. McVay, 4. Pellegrini, 5. J. Swanson, 6. Hedin, 7. D. Swanson. NT
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Timmy Buckwalter, 2. Steven Drevicki, 3. Carson Short, 4. Carmen Perigo, 5. Chandler Leiby, 6. Eddie Strada, 7. Chris Allen, Jr., 8. Bill Unglert, 9. Connor Leoffler, 10. Mark Bitner, 11. Tyler Brehm, 12. Austin Bishop, 13. Ryan Quackenbush, 14. John Stehman, 15. Eric Jennings, 16. Larry McVay, 17. Jonathan Swanson, 18. Jake Winters, 19. Steve Surniak, 20. Craig Pellegrini, Jr., 21. Joey Biasi. NT
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**Riccio flipped during the first heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Leiby, Laps 10-25 Buckwalter.
SCOTTY SIGNS HARD CHARGER: Ryan Quackenbush (21st to 13th)
NEXT USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT RACE: June 30 - Glen Ridge Motorsports Park - Fultonville, New York
Thorson Triumphs in Frenzied IMW Round at Putnamville
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Tanner Thorson celebrates Thursday night's 'Indiana Midget Week' victory at Lincoln Park Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)
THORSON TRIUMPHS IN FRENZIED IMW ROUND AT PUTNAMVILLE
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (June 6, 2019).........There are comeback stories. And then there's the Tanner Thorson comeback story from Thursday night's third round of "Indiana Midget Week" from Lincoln Park Speedway.
With the wounds and scars still readily evident on his body after sustaining a broken left arm and right foot, a cracked sternum, broken ribs and a punctured lung following a multi-car incident on Highway 99 in Modesto, Calif. in March of this year, the Minden, Nevada native delivered a performance that he said is "definitely one I'll remember forever." And is one that will certainly remembered by those who were there to witness it as well.
Thorson used the bottom to capture the lead with just four laps remaining, enduring attack after attack from Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Kyle Larson to earn his 13th career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory, a dream scenario for the 2016 series champ in just his third race back since his injuries three months earlier.
"It's a dream come true again, to be honest," Thorson said. "I sat out for three months just wondering if I was going to be able to do it again. I've been having doubting feelings in my mind and I didn't know if I was going to be okay to run. I knew I probably could've run; I would've just had to change my ways. Obviously, it's hard to do that."
Thorson appeared to be the same driver as before and, perhaps recharged, following Tuesday's IMW opener at Montpelier and Wednesday's race at Gas City where he finished 2nd and 5th, respectively. Thorson had an uphill battle to climb at Lincoln Park, having to start from the 15th position.
"I knew at about lap five that I had a car to win," Thorson admitted. "When you know that in your mind, nothing can stop you at that point."
These truths were not self-evident initially as he remained on the cusp of the top-ten for the first third of the 30-lapper before steadily moving his way through the top half of the field. Early on, it appeared series point leader Tyler Courtney and Thomas Meseraull were on point, running one-two in a pair of lucky sevens and quickly separating themselves from the rest in the opening laps.
The sevens weren't so lucky entering turn one on lap five as Meseraull closed the gap on Courtney and the two made contact, sending Courtney into a spin and forcing Meseraull to stop, knocking them both out of contention for the victory. Meseraull eventually wound up 23rd while Courtney charged back through the pack to take an impressive 7th.
Montpelier winner Logan Seavey inherited the lead for the lap five restart, ringing the topside as Thomas put on the chase through the middle until the 11th lap when series Rookie of the Year contender Andrew Layser flipped between turns three and four, escaping injury.
On the ensuing restart, fifth-running Michael Pickens, who drove to victory during IMW at Lincoln Park in 2017, looped it between turns one and two. It was the second-straight night the Auckland, New Zealand midget racing star saw a front-running bid slip away.
Thomas stayed true to the middle and used a great drive off turn two to blast past defending champ Seavey on the 13th lap where he remained for the next several trips around the 5/16-mile dirt oval with a swarm behind him ready to attack with Seavey remaining close by and Thorson, plus Larson, digging low and high.
With seven laps remaining, Seavey fired the first shot that set forth a wild sequence of events that saw the lead change 13 unofficial times in a six-lap span.
First, on the 23rd lap, Thorson nudged his way past Thomas on the bottom of turn one. Thomas recovered to resume the point momentarily on the back straight. Seavey then fired his Bullet to the bottom of turn three to slide past Thomas. Thomas diamonded off midway through the corner and beat Seavey to the stripe just as Seavey dove low into one and up to the top past Thomas just as Thorson entered the frame on the bottom. Thomas proceeded to slither his way through the gap between Seavey and Thorson exiting turn two to reclaim the top spot. Seavey instantly reloaded and slid past Thomas entering turn three, but Thomas answered by sliding across the nose of Seavey off turn four. Seavey instantly turned left to throw another haymaker at Thomas at the start/finish line, but suddenly Thorson was there inside to make it three-wide at the line at the conclusion of lap 25.
Seavey chose the topside as Thomas shot down off the turn one banking to get a run that would propel him past Thorson midway down the back straightway and into turn three on the 26th circuit. Rinse and repeat, Thorson ably limboed underneath Thomas into turn one on lap 27, but Thomas counter-punched to get back by underneath exiting turn two. Thorson stayed in touch, and off turn four, surged past Thomas once again for the umpteenth time to nip him at the line by a wheel.
Just as soon as one might've thought Thorson had it covered, here arrived an orange streak ripping the high side with Kyle Larson in the seat. Larson used the momentum up top and appeared momentarily to have the edge with as quickly as he was erasing the gap coming to the white flag. Off turn four, however, Thomas slid up in front of Larson's lane on the outside, stifling his charge momentarily as the two made contact while Thorson was a mere two car lengths ahead of them out front.
Larson gave it one last shot on the high line of one and two, but snagged the turn two cushion with the right rear, then landed on the left rear, sending him off the track in a pirouette and a couple of endos toward the billboard that prematurely ended his final IMW run of the week from which he walked away uninjured.
On the green-white-checker finish, Thorson got a strong jump to stretch his lead out to roughly six car lengths, allowing him to go relatively unchallenged the rest of the way while a tussle for second saw Seavey dive into three past Thomas on the final lap to snare second, while Jerry Coons, Jr. utilized the bottom to squeak past Thomas by a bumper for third at the line - his best finish since a third-place run at the Southern Illinois Center in 2017. Chris Windom rounded out the top-five.
The clean, yet hard racing between Thorson, Thomas and Larson was a thrill to witness from the outside and from within the cockpit as well, which Thorson attributes to the respect each of these drivers has for each other.
"I think a lot of it was knowing how they race," Thorson explained. "I'm good buddies with KT and Larson and I've raced with both of them for years. We're going to be aggressive toward each other, but there's also a lot of respect. I respect Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Kyle Larson more than just about anybody in this pit. Those two people out of anybody are the ones that I would prefer to race with day in day out."
Contingency award winners Thursday night at Lincoln Park Speedway were Kyle Larson (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Jason McDougal (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Dave Darland (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Thomas Meseraull (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Jesse Colwell (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Tanner Thorson (ProSource Passing Master/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chad Boat (ProSource Hard Work Award), Holley Hollan (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Kyle Cummins (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 6, 2019 - Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Larson, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.383 (New Track Record); 2. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.496; 3. Michael Pickens, 1NZ, RMS-12.577; 4. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-12.706; 5. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.730; 6. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.738; 7. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.751; 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-12.765; 9. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.774; 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-12.792; 11. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.800; 12. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.816; 13. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-12.839; 14. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.849; 15. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-12.885; 16. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.898; 17. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.902; 18. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-12.971; 19. Kyle Cummins, 2G, Yeley/Styres-12.991; 20. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-13.003; 21. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-13.006; 22. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-13.021; 23. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.022; 24. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-13.066; 25. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-13.080; 26. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-13.096; 27. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.112; 28. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-13.214; 29. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-13.425; 30. Chris Baue, 9, Baue-13.445; 31. Sam Johnson, 72, Johnson-13.493; 32. Brady Bacon, 1ST, Saucier-13.493; 33. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-13.498; 34. Anton Hernandez, 8JR, Wood-13.747; 35. Michael Koontz, 17x, Koontz-NT; 36. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. McDougal, 2. Thorson, 3. Courtney, 4. Grant, 5. Larson, 6. Golobic, 7. Elledge, 8. Mitchell, 9. Cling. 2:14.82
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. Leary, 3. Seavey, 4. Coons, 5. Carrick, 6. Layser, 7. Hernandez, 8. Baue, 9. McIntosh. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Meseraull, 2. Klaasmeyer, 3. Pickens, 4. Wise, 5. Welch, 6. Johnson, 7. Cummins, 8. Hollan, 9. Koontz. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Colwell, 2. Thomas, 3. Daum, 4. Windom, 5. Boat, 6. Bodine, 7. Hendricks, 8. Gass, 9. Bacon. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Larson, 2. Boat, 3. Golobic, 4. Welch, 5. Carrick, 6. Layser, 7. Cummins, 8. Mitchell, 9. Bodine, 10. Johnson, 11. Cling, 12. McIntosh, 13. Hollan, 14. Elledge, 15. Baue, 16. Hernandez, 17. Koontz. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (15), 2. Logan Seavey (6), 3. Jerry Coons, Jr. (1), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 5. Chris Windom (14), 6. Shane Golobic (8), 7. Tyler Courtney (2), 8. Jesse Colwell (10), 9. Zach Daum (17), 10. Jason McDougal (18), 11. Zeb Wise (21), 12. Tucker Klaasmeyer (20), 13. Holley Hollan (23), 14. Justin Grant (11), 15. Michael Pickens (5), 16. Chad Boat (22), 17. Andrew Layser (12), 18. Tanner Carrick (9), 19. C.J. Leary (19), 20. Cole Bodine (24), 21. Kyle Larson (7), 22. Dillon Welch (13), 23. Thomas Meseraull (4), 24. Dave Darland (16). NT
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**Hendricks flipped during the fourth heat. Hollan flipped during the semi. Elledge flipped during the semi. Layser flipped on lap 11 of the feature. Larson flipped on lap 30 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Courtney, Laps 5-12 Seavey, Laps 13-26 Thomas, Laps 27-30 Thorson.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Tanner Thorson (15th to 1st)
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Chad Boat
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Holley Hollan
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Kyle Cummins
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-651, 2-K. Thomas-580, 3-Seavey-561, 4-Wise-534, 5-Windom-518, 6-Leary-490, 7-Boat-450, 8-Klaasmeyer-435, 9-Carrick-430, 10-Coons-408.
NEW INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Thorson-221, 2-Seavey-204, 3-Courtney-195, 4-McDougal-181, 5-Golobic-168, 6-Wise-167, 7-Thomas-163, 8-Grant-150, 9-Daum-144, 10-Coons-141.
NEW PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Thorson-18, 2-Wise-18, 3-Daum-14, 4-McDougal-13, 5-Boat-13, 6-Courtney-11, 7-McIntosh-10, 8-Windom-10, 9-Coons-9, 10-Layser-9.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 7, 2019 - Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
Grant Gets Redemption at Gas City Indiana Midget Week Rd. 2
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Justin Grant won his first career 'Indiana Midget Week' feature Wednesday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway. (David Nearpass Photo)
GRANT GETS REDEMPTION IN GAS CITY INDIANA MIDGET WEEK RD. 2
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Gas City, Indiana (June 5, 2019).........Less than 24 hours after what he termed was a "toolbox issue" that put him behind eight ball just prior to Tuesday's "Indiana Midget Week" opening night feature, Justin Grant found the ultimate redemption by scoring his first USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory of the season in round two of the series Wednesday at Gas City I-69 Speedway.
One way of looking at the six-night stretch of consecutive races that is "Indiana Midget Week" is as a grueling physical and mental test that can take a toll, especially when things don't go as anticipated. On the other side of the coin, an individual can look at the week as chance to immediately redeem yourself again and again, night-after-night, if an issue happens to arise along the journey.
Either way, there's no time to dwell on the past. Another opportunity for success is just around the corner. That's the path the Ione, California driver and his RAMS Racing crew chose to take.
"Last night, it's all over and everybody's upset," Grant recalled. "But, that's why there's more than one race a year. Let's go to the carwash. Let's do our jobs. Let's act like we're ready to win tomorrow."
"What's great about this team is its people constantly building you up," Grant explained. "Last night, I had a huge blunder on my part. I really let my car owners and my team down in our race prep. But the first text message I got after the race was from Rick Young who said, 'I'm not upset in the least. Every time I see that racecar on the track, I'm proud of it. Go win tomorrow.' Having that kind of support system and that kind of backing is huge. Just being able to shake that night off, nobody's more worried about it than you are, so just shake it off and go do your job tomorrow."
When that tomorrow arrived on Wednesday night, Grant went to work from the word "go," leading the troops into turn one from his outside front row starting spot. Meanwhile, pre-race favorite Kyle Larson, who started fifth, was shuffled back to ninth on the opening lap, forcing him into playing catchup mode for much of the 30-lap event.
Following a lap three caution for Jesse Colwell, who stopped in the infield grass at the bottom of turn one, Grant knew he had a good car. One of those indicators came from an unlikely source over the one-way radio.
"I felt really good out of the gate," Grant said. "It was a little tight, which was a good thing, but the track really came to us right out of the gate more or less. After that first caution, (USAC Race Director) Kirk Spridgeon said, 'alright, hustle around' to the second-place car. I thought we must be way out there. It got me a bit worried because I thought we were too good too early. If this thing goes away, we might be in trouble."
There was no indication of that happening any time soon as Grant proceeded to click off his best laps of the race, just less than a tenth off his qualifying time. Grant opened his lead to roughly eight car lengths over Jason McDougal nearing the midway point as the two lone past IMW champs collided at the exit of turn four while battling for eighth. Shane Golobic, the 2017 champ, and Jerry Coons, Jr., the 2007 titlist, made contact with Golobic inheriting the worst end of the deal, stopping, and necessitating a yellow flag.
One lap following the ensuing restart, on the 16th circuit, March "Shamrock Classic" winner Cannon McIntosh slipped into second under McDougal in turn four. Moments later, Colwell spun to a rest in turn four to bring out the yellow. That moment seemed to flip a switch for a pair of previous Gas City IMW winners in Michael Pickens (2017) and Larson (2013).
Justin Grant celebrated his first career 'Indiana Midget Week' win Wednesday at Gas City, which was also his fourth career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature victory. (David Nearpass Photo)
New Zealand's Pickens began the second half running sixth while Larson held down eighth. Steadily, the two moved forward nearly in tandem, with Larson hitting the top and Pickens alternating between the bottom and the middle as they worked their way past Tanner Thorson and McDougal, while both Pickens and Larson occupied positions three and four, respectively, with just five laps remaining.
Meanwhile, up front, race leader Grant was enjoying a nice half-straightaway cushion over McIntosh with a first win for the Grant/RAMS combo seemingly within grasp. As Grant saw the white flag on the horizon, however, 16th running Tucker Klaasmeyer slid off the edge in turn four, forcing a green-white-checker finish for Grant, McIntosh, Pickens, Larson and a host of others.
Grant's pattern around the quarter mile was a circle, swinging out to the wall on the straightaways, then straight to the bottom in the turns. He'd keep his NOS Energy Drink - Rockwell Security - MPV Express/Bullet/Stanton SR-11 tighter on the bottom when he heard noise from a trailing car, then opened it a bit wider when the atmosphere became a bit quieter.
However, for Grant, it was anything but quiet on the lap 29 restart.
"On the second to last restart, I let the motor get loaded up and it didn't take off," Grant recalled. Then I got tight, then I missed the bottom, then I was hanging off four, then I was hanging down the front stretch. I'm like 'oh god, here it goes.' Fortunately, our car was good enough and I was able to get back to the bottom of (turn) one quick enough and shut the door on that. I thought, just stick the bottom from here and we'll be good."
That plan would be drafted into action one last time following a Coons and Karsyn Elledge tangle on the front straightaway, forcing one final GWC try where Grant executed perfectly on the bottom to slip away from McIntosh and disallow any move generated from him into one.
Third-running Pickens' bid for a repeat Gas City IMW win evaporated as he ran out of fuel on the restart. At the head of the field, Grant distanced himself from McIntosh by four car lengths with both seeking their initial IMW win. Heading into turn three, McIntosh had a nice run through the middle on entry, then angled his car down toward the infield tires at the exit of turn four. Grant swung just a tad wide at the exit, but it was still good enough by two car lengths to capture his fourth career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory over McIntosh with Larson, McDougal and new IMW point leader Thorson rounding out the top-five.
Contingency award winners Wednesday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway were Shane Golobic (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Tyler Courtney (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner & ProSource Passing Master/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Holley Hollan (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Logan Seavey (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Andrew Layser (ProSource Hard Work Award & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Ethan Mitchell (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 5, 2019 - Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.349; 2. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-12.416; 3. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.421; 4. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.450; 5. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-12.455; 6. Kyle Larson, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.457; 7. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-12.503; 8. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-12.524; 9. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.561; 10. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.569; 11. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-12.594; 12. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-12.630; 13. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-12.663; 14. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.673; 15. Michael Pickens, 1NZ, RMS-12.701; 16. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-12.702; 17. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.720; 18. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-12.734; 19. Kyle Cummins, 1G, Yeley/Styres-12.735; 20. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.753; 21. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-12.756; 22. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.773; 23. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.779; 24. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.829; 25. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-12.897; 26. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-12.923; 27. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.928; 28. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-12.938; 29. Anton Hernandez, 8JR, Wood-12.939; 30. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.976; 31. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-12.994; 32. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-13.080; 33. Michael Koontz, 17x, Koontz-13.093; 34. Justin Peck, 17, Bus-13.106; 35. Brady Bacon, 1ST, Saucier-13.320; 36. Chris Baue, 9, Baue-13.473; 37. Oliver Akard, 41, Akard-13.537; 38. Critter Malone, 7, Seven-13.611; 39. Brent Watson, 17K, Watson-14.561; 40. Davey Ray, 8, Cornell-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. Klaasmeyer, 3. Leary, 4. Larson, 5. Daum, 6. Coons, 7. Welch, 8. Hernandez, 9. Koontz, 10. Ray. 2:05.54 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Hollan, 2. Bodine, 3. Colwell, 4. McIntosh, 5. Pickens, 6. Cummins, 7. Hendricks, 8. Bacon, 9. Watson, 10. Windom. 2:05.68
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Seavey, 2. Wise, 3. Golobic, 4. Grant, 5. Gass, 6. Thorson, 7. Layser, 8. Cling, 9. Peck, 10. Akard. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas, 2. Boat, 3. Elledge, 4. McDougal, 5. Carrick, 6. Darland, 7. Mitchell, 8. Malone, 9. Baue, 10. Meseraull. 2:06.32
C-MAIN: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Bacon, 2. Mitchell, 3. Peck, 4. Koontz, 5. Baue, 6. Watson, 7. Malone. 1:43.50
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Thorson, 2. Pickens, 3. Coons, 4. Carrick, 5. Layser, 6. Daum, 7. Mitchell, 8. Darland, 9. Bacon, 10. Cummins, 11. Cling, 12. Gass, 13. Hernandez, 14. Windom, 15. Welch, 16. Peck, 17. Koontz. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Cannon McIntosh (3), 3. Kyle Larson (5), 4. Jason McDougal (4), 5. Tanner Thorson (7), 6. Tyler Courtney (15), 7. Zach Daum (12), 8. Tanner Carrick (13), 9. Chris Windom (23), 10. Zeb Wise (18), 11. C.J. Leary (1), 12. Logan Seavey (14), 13. Andrew Layser (22), 14. Holley Hollan (17), 15. Shane Golobic (6), 16. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (16), 17. Karsyn Elledge (10), 18. Cole Bodine (21), 19. Jesse Colwell (11), 20. Jerry Coons, Jr. (8), 21. Tucker Klaasmeyer (19), 22. Michael Pickens (9), 23. Chad Boat (20). NT
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**Akard flipped during the third heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Grant.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Tyler Courtney (15th to 6th)
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Andrew Layser
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Andrew Layser
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Ethan Mitchell
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-593, 2-K. Thomas-512, 3-Wise-488, 4-Seavey-483, 5-Leary-458, 6-Windom-455, 7-Boat-416, 8-Carrick-401, 9-Klaasmeyer-389, 10-Colwell-341.
NEW INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Thorson-144, 2-Courtney-137, 3-McDougal-130, 4-Seavey-126, 5-Wise-121, 6-McIntosh-119, 7-Grant-110, 8-Golobic-109, 9-Carrick-106, 10-Thomas-95.
PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Courtney-11, 2-McIntosh-10, 3-Coons-9, 4-Layser-9, 5-Wise-8, 6-Thomas-7, 7-Boat-7, 8-Daum-6, 9-McDougal-5, 10-Carrick-5.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 6, 2019 - Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval
Seavey Seizes Montpelier Indiana Midget Week Opener
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Logan Seavey celebrates the victory in Tuesday's 'Indiana Midget Week' opener at Montpelier. (Rich Forman Photo)
SEAVEY SEIZES MONTPELIER INDIANA MIDGET WEEK OPENER
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Montpelier, Indiana (June 4, 2019).........He had to wait until the month of June, but Logan Seavey returned to the championship form he used to win last year's USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget title when he arrived at Montpelier Motor Speedway Tuesday night for the "Indiana Midget Week" opener.
It became readily apparent following an incident during his heat race that forced him to restart from the tail. From there, he carved his way through the field to win on a last lap, corner pass. The thread continued into the feature where he had to slide by Zeb Wise not once, but twice, after a yellow forced him into 'Take Two.'
Seavey got to the front on the seventh lap and never surrendered despite having to wade through heavy traffic on a tricky track surface with a swarm of hungry drivers behind him seeking the same promised land for their first time in 2019.
The Sutter, Calif. native drove to his fourth career USAC win along with his first "Indiana Midget Week" triumph just one race after he finally broke through for his first top-five of the season, a second place run in Granite City, Ill. that, in a sense, foreshadowed what was to come at Montpelier after a rough start to his Sophomore USAC season.
"It's been a frustrating start to the year," Seavey admitted. "Really, ever since (roommate and crew chief) Connor (Ridge) and I have been working together, we've just been on kill every time we're at the racetrack. He's really good about that. We just feed off each other's energy and it just makes it a lot of fun to go racing with someone like that. We're just having fun right now, and every time I have fun, I normally run up front. So, it's a good feeling."
Seavey started the 30-lapper from the pole but was beat to the punch in turn one by outside front row starter Wise. Fourth-starting Tanner Thorson, making his first appearance since February after sustaining serious injuries in a highway crash, put in a bid below Seavey for second on the back straightaway, but Seavey was able to clear Thorson by turn three where the high line was the chosen path and track position was imperative right from the get-go.
"It was really tricky out there," Seavey recalled. "I think we all knew the rubber was coming, but just didn't know when. When Zeb beat me on the start, I was kind of surprised, but it was still just a little bit greasy on the bottom. He got a really good start and I was just tracking him from there. I knew our car was a little bit better and I just knew I had to make my move at the right time and not give him any second chances. But, as soon as I did, the yellow came out. That wasn't what we were planning for."
When Thomas Meseraull slowed to a stop atop turn four on the fifth lap, it came just a tick after Seavey used a monster slider to clear Wise for the lead between turns one and two. The resulting yellow negated the move and positioned Seavey behind Wise for the ensuing restart, thus forcing him to re-rack and try the move once more.
Seavey stayed right with Wise for the two laps following the restart and was right on his bumper as the two crossed the stripe. Seavey threw it down to the infield tires in turn one and slid up in front of Wise in turn two before driving away to distance himself from Wise by more than a second at the halfway mark as he split his way through lapped traffic.
Tuesday's win was Logan Seavey's fourth career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory and his first during 'Indiana Midget Week.'
(David Nearpass Photo)
"Once we were able to get back by him again, not too long after that, the rubber came like we were kind of expecting," Seavey remembered. "I was trying to take it easy on the tires. If you run too hard with these things, you can blow the tires right off it. After that, I had to take it easy, try to be smart in lapped traffic and not allow myself to lose the race. The rubber's always tricky, and you never really know what's going on behind you. You just have to run your own race."
Truth is, there was a lot going on behind him, with Wise and a rapidly closing Thorson trying to take advantage of any misstep Seavey might make through traffic as they remained on the rail up top and Seavey dipped down off the line to dispose of the lappers.
"It's tough to decide when you want to do it and when you can time it right," Seavey explained. "The first five, six lapped cars were easy to get by. The track hadn't completely laid rubber yet. When it locked down, that made it really tough. I tried to pull out of line three or four times to get by, which made me kind of rethink my moves. Every time I did that, I probably lost half a second. Do you stay in line and follow them or try to get another car in between you and second place? These are the decisions you have to make. Sometimes you make the wrong ones, but, luckily, everything went smooth tonight."
It did for him, although when Thorson slid by Wise for second with five laps remaining, he was running a tick quicker than Seavey, but Seavey made all the right moves through traffic down the stretch to notch his first victory of the year over Thorson, Wise, point leader Tyler Courtney and Dillon Welch.
Contingency award winners Tuesday night at Montpelier Motor Speedway were Tyler Courtney (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Tanner Carrick (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Logan Seavey (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Zach Daum (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Cannon McIntosh (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Jerry Coons, Jr. (ProSource Passing Master/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chad Boat (ProSource Hard Work Award), Michael Pickens (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Noah Gass (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 4, 2019 - Montpelier Motor Speedway - Montpelier, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.029; 2. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.046; 3. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-14.160; 4. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-14.190; 5. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.199; 6. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.199; 7. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-14.231; 8. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-14.268; 9. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-14.298; 10. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.331; 11. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.338; 12. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-14.413; 13. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-14.465; 14. Michael Pickens, 1NZ, RMS-14.466; 15. Billy Wease, 12, Wease-14.473; 16. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.488; 17. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-14.518; 18. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-14.551; 19. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.618; 20. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.639; 21. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-14.644; 22. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.651; 23. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-14.726; 24. Kyle Cummins, 1G, Yeley/Styres-14.773; 25. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-14.800; 26. Michael Koontz, 17K, Koontz-14.832; 27. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-14.884; 28. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-14.932; 29. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-14.940; 30. Tyler Nelson, 88, Nelson-14.983; 31. Anton Hernandez, 8JR, Wood-14.988; 32. Chris Baue, 9, Baue-15.063; 33. Brady Bacon, 1ST, Saucier-15.752; 34. Ryan Padgett, 98p, Crow-15.830; 35. Oliver Akard, 41, Akard-16.407; 36. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-19.097; 37. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-NT; 38. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carrick, 2. Thomas, 3. Grant, 4. Golobic, 5. Elledge, 6. Hollan, 7. Cling, 8. Koontz, 9. Colwell, 10. Akard. 2:04.77 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Seavey, 2. McDougal, 3. Boat, 4. Klaasmeyer, 5. Bodine, 6. Darland, 7. Wease, 8. Hernandez, 9. Welch. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Daum, 2. Courtney, 3. Coons, 4. Pickens, 5. Leary, 6. Bacon, 7. Meseraull, 8. Layser, 9. Nelson. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. McIntosh, 2. Wise, 3. Thorson, 4. Windom, 5. Gass, 6. Baue, 7. Hendricks, 8. Cummins, 9. Padgett. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Meseraull, 2. Leary, 3. Welch, 4. Darland, 5. Cummins, 6. Hendricks, 7. Gass, 8. Layser, 9. Koontz, 10. Bacon, 11. Baue, 12. Hollan, 13. Hernandez, 14. Bodine, 15. Nelson, 16. Colwell, 17. Cling, 18. Elledge, 19. Wease, 20. Akard. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Tanner Thorson (4), 3. Zeb Wise (2), 4. Tyler Courtney (6), 5. Dillon Welch (7), 6. Shane Golobic (5), 7. Jason McDougal (12), 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (15), 9. Tanner Carrick (3), 10. Chris Windom (11), 11. Jerry Coons, Jr. (20), 12. Cannon McIntosh (21), 13. Michael Pickens (9), 14. C.J. Leary (13), 15. Chad Boat (22), 16. Zach Daum (17), 17. Zane Hendricks (16), 18. Justin Grant (10), 19. Kyle Cummins (18), 20. Tucker Klaasmeyer (19), 21. Jesse Colwell (23), 22. Dave Darland (14), 23. Andrew Layser (24), 24. Thomas Meseraull (8). NT
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**Cling flipped during qualifying. Darland flipped during the second heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Wise, Laps 7-30 Seavey.
PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER/KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Jerry Coons, Jr. (20th to 11th)
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Chad Boat
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Michael Pickens
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Noah Gass
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-530, 2-K. Thomas-473, 3-Wise-438, 4-Seavey-436, 5-Leary-411, 6-Windom-409, 7-Boat-386, 8-Klaasmeyer-359, 9-Carrick-351, 10-Coons-341.
NEW INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Seavey-79, 2-Thorson-78, 3-Courtney-74, 4-Wise-71, 5-Golobic-64, 6-Welch-63, 7-McDougal-59, 8-Thomas-56, 9-Carrick-56, 10-Windom-48.
PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Coons-9, 2-McIntosh-9, 3-Thomas-7, 4-Boat-7, 5-McDougal-5, 6-Thorson-2, 7-Courtney-2, 8-Welch-2, 9-Windom-1, 10-Daum-1.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 5, 2019 - Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
Biasi Dominates Bridgeport for USAC East Coast Win
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Winner Joey Biasi of Mary D, Pennsylvania
(Chad Warner Photo)
BIASI DOMINATES BRIDGEPORT FOR USAC EAST COAST WIN
By: Nick Fillman
Swedesboro, New Jersey (May 26, 2019).........Joey Biasi of Mary D, Pennsylvania wrapped up a dominant weekend by cruising to a convincing win in the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Cars feature event at the Design for Vision, Sunglass Central 3/8ths mile oval at the Bridgeport Speedway.
Biasi started out the weekend by collecting a second place on Friday at the Trail-ways Speedway, and a win at the Path Valley speedway in wingless Super Sportsman Sprint car competition and wrapped up the weekend with another checkered at Bridgeport.
Biasi was able to jump out to the lead from the pole position following the heat race redraw. Biasi was challenged as best as he could by Chandler Leiby in the feature event. A caution for a spinning Craig Pellegrini on lap 2 would bring the field together for a restart. Following the restart, the top two settled in as the feature laps started to wind down and caught the back of the field. As the leaders entered lapped traffic, Leiby would try his best to try and work to the low side of Biasi, especially in turns three and four.
The top two would battle for position through the lapped traffic, with Leiby waiting for Biasi to make a mistake. Timmy Buckwalter who started in the 9th position for the feature event would methodically work his way up through the field to the top five near the halfway point. Buckwalter would utilize the lapped traffic the front of the field was encountering to slide passed Eddie Strada for the third-place position. Unfortunately for Buckwalter and Leiby it would be as far as they could go as Joey Biasi would take the checkers.
The speed for Biasi at Bridgeport is no surprise as Biasi was involved in a heavy battle with Coleman Gulick for last year's inaugural feature event win at the new 3/8ths mile oval but ended up in the second spot. Biasi has been fast all season with the USAC Series since returning from injury. Biasi was injured in a frightening hot lap session crash at the Lincoln Speedway and was left with a broken arm. Biasi was forced to miss the show at Delaware International, but since his return Biasi has collected a top 10, top 4, and now has returned to victory lane.
The string of consistent finishes continues for Steven Drevicki and Chandler Leiby who both would finish in the top five. Drevicki and Leiby are positions one and two in the points standings. Both drivers have also finished in the top five in every feature event so far this season. Drevicki leads the way with two wins, while Leiby is still searching for his first series win, but he is ever so close.
Up next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series is a return trip to the Big Diamond Speedway on June 7th for their second show of the year at the Speedway.
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USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: May 26, 2019 - Bridgeport Speedway - Swedesboro, New Jersey
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Mark Bitner (#15 Bitner), 2. Chandler Leiby (#119 Leiby), 3. Bill Unglert (#33B Unglert), 4. Chris Allen, Jr. (#71 Allen), 5. Larry Drake (#8L Drake), 6. Larry McVay (#83 McVay), 7. Kevin Darling (#9D Darling). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Joey Biasi (#B1 Biasi), 2. Eric Jennings (#32 Neiger/Hamilton), 3. Kyle Lick (#8 Lick), 4. Ryan Quackenbush (#5Q TQT), 5. Jonathan Swanson (#17J Swanson), 6. David Swanson (#117 Swanson), 7. Zack Burd (#5z Burd). NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Eddie Strada (#42E Strada), 2. Timmy Buckwalter (#5G Gallagher), 3. Steven Drevicki (#19 Drevicki), 4. Mike Thompson (#39 Hogue), 5. Brian Riccio (#09 Riccio), 6. Craig Pellegrini, Jr. (#11A Pellegrini), 7. Heidi Hedin (#3H Hedin). NT
SEMI: (8 laps, top-5 transfer) 1. McVay, 2. D. Swanson, 3. Burd, 4. Hedin, 5. Pellegrini, 6. Darling. NT
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Joey Biasi, 2. Chandler Leiby, 3. Timmy Buckwalter, 4. Eddie Strada, 5. Steven Drevicki, 6. Bill Unglert, 7. Chris Allen, Jr., 8. Mark Bitner, 9. Kyle Lick, 10. Eric Jennings, 11. Ryan Quackenbush, 12. Brian Riccio, 13. Mike Thompson, 14. Kevin Darling, 15. Larry McVay, 16. Larry Drake, 17. Jonathan Swanson, 18. David Swanson, 19. Heidi Hedin, 20. Craig Pellegrini, Jr., 21. Zack Burd. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Biasi.
SCOTTY SIGNS HARD CHARGER: Kevin Darling (21st to 14th)
NEW USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT POINTS: 1-Steven Drevicki-360, 2-Chandler Leiby-342, ,3-Eddie Strada-326, 4-Chris Allen, Jr.-303, 5-Bill Unglert-262, 6-Ryan Quackenbush-235, 7.Eric Jennings-226, 8-Joey Biasi-207, 9-Carmen Perigo-198, 10-Mike Thompson-185.
NEXT USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT RACE: June 7 - Big Diamond Speedway - Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Hamilton Hustles to Big Payday at Dave Steele Carb Night Classic
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
2019 'Dave Steele Carb Night Classic' winner Kyle Hamilton.
(Rich Forman Photo)
HAMILTON HUSTLES TO BIG PAYDAY AT DAVE STEELE CARB NIGHT CLASSIC
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (May 24, 2019).........One year ago, it was a May to forget for Kyle Hamilton. It seemed as if everywhere he turned, bad luck was staring back at him square in the eyes.
One year later, the May tide has turned in his favor. After putting his car on the front row for the "Little 500" the day before, Hamilton followed up on Friday night with his first career USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series victory in the Dave Steele "Carb Night Classic" at Lucas Oil Raceway, pocketing a cool $14,750 for his efforts.
"Last year, it didn't seem like anything could go right mechanically," Hamilton recalled. "Our 'Little 500' car broke, my teammate Brady (Bacon)'s dirt car broke, we broke right out the box here at (LOR) and had to start the race from the tail with no practice laps. This year, we're on the front row of the 'Little 500' and we qualified third tonight at LOR. I thought, 'well, this is going a lot better.' But, honestly, tonight was the night I was a little bit more worried about being slow. We've always struggled here, and I didn't want to disappoint my team, but I was a little nervous inside.
"I grew up about 15 minutes from here and I'd always tell my buddies that we're racing at LOR," Hamilton continued. "But I kind of hesitated because I was always so bad here. To say we pulled one off in a Silver Crown car on a big night is pretty cool to me."
Truth is, the tide had turned for Hamilton before the month of May, overcoming circumstances that could've thwarted quality runs to finish fourth at Memphis and sixth at Toledo. On Friday, the Danville, Ind. driver put his Klatt Enterprises/Beast Chassis - Wilwood Disc Brakes/Beast/Ford on the outside of the front row for the 100-lapper at the .686-mile paved oval.
Meanwhile, up front was Kody Swanson who started from the pole after taking the Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier Award and $1,000 bonus from Mac and Carol Steele. Kody dominated the first half as he attempted to go three-for-three in pavement races on the season and extend his series-record of consecutive pavement Silver Crown wins to seven.
Four-time LOR Silver Crown winner Bobby Santos charged past Hamilton on the ninth lap with an inside turn one pass to move to second. From there, Santos began to reel in Kody and applied pressure for the lead as those two separated from Hamilton in third.
One of the major storylines developing throughout the race was Tanner Swanson's decision to accept the "Come from the Back Challenge" during driver introductions. By doing so, he forfeited his outside front row spot to start from the tail and go for a $10,000 bonus by way of Legacy Motorsports and Gatekeeper Services. By lap 13, Tanner was already in the top-ten, and by lap 30, had entered the top-five, reminiscent of his 22nd to 2nd charge through the field one year prior.
On the 33rd lap, Hamilton caught up to Santos, driving to the inside of Santos in turn one and going wheel-to-wheel, toe-to-toe before prevailing off turn two with the second spot, but trailing Kody in the lead by over a second.
Kody and Hamilton weaved their way through lapped traffic, Hamilton mimicking every Swanson move and not allowing the four-time Silver Crown champ to slip away just as Matt Goodnight stopped on the back straight away to bring out the caution just one lap short of halfway. Under yellow, fifth-running Tanner Swanson pitted to let air out of his left rear tire, to which he later admitted to using up too much of his tires early on.
With the yellow, that cleared the traffic situation for the time-being, although, for Hamilton in second, he couldn't have imagined what occurred next when Kody failed to take off on the lap 54 restart, handing over the lead to Hamilton with a clear track ahead of him. Kody coasted around to the pit area with an apparent engine issue that put an end to the four-time LOR Silver Crown winner's bid for five.
Hamilton continued to build his lead up through lap 63 when the caution came out for Chris Windom, who's nightmarish 24 hours came to an end crumpled against the turn one wall after smoke poured from the back of the car entering one. Derek Bischak was also caught up in the incident, riding over Windom's front end, putting an end to the evening for both drivers.
Windom rode out a hellacious flip during the "Hoosier Hundred" at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Thursday night, and rode out a frightening Indy Lights wreck on Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday afternoon before smacking the turn one wall at LOR. He walked away once again uninjured.
On the lap 73 restart, Santos used a run on the inside of Hamilton, sliding up in front of Hamilton in turn one to secure the position as the pair exited turn two. One lap later, the roles were reversed, and Hamilton drove it hard into turn one underneath Santos to slot into the top spot.
Hamilton chalks up momentarily losing the lead to inexperience in this situation, making it doubly-tough with a driver like Santos making you pay. But Hamilton knew he had something and drove back by to reclaim the position.
"Honestly, I don't have a ton of experience leading Silver Crown races," Hamilton admitted. "I didn't know how aggressive to be on the restart. I'd say Santos is one of the more aggressive guys and one of the best who does it. He sent it on down there and it stuck. Immediately, once I got behind him, I could tell I was really digging better than him coming off the corners. I had to throw another haymaker at him going into one and it stuck again."
Incredibly, Hamilton proceeded to reel off his best four laps of the race on laps 74-75-76-77. But on the move was Tanner who ripped around the outside of Santos in turn two on the 76th lap. Tanner began to chip into Hamilton's lead, cutting the interval down to less than a second as the two began to work lapped traffic with less than 20 laps remaining.
Friday's 'Dave Steele Carb Night Classic' victory was the first of his USAC Silver Crown career. (David Nearpass Photo)
Hamilton's spotter was brother and fellow racer Nick Hamilton who played it coy when speaking to Kyle over the radio, only giving him the basics and keeping Kyle focused on running his own race.
"I think he was trying to play it conservatively on the radio because I was running some good times," Hamilton said. "He just kept telling me how many laps were left, but he didn't say if there was any pressure from behind. So, I kept the hammer down. When we got to lapped traffic, I kind of figured when I looked up at the board that Tanner was going to be trying to make a run of some sort. He's one of the best here. Nick never said how many car lengths back he was. But I think if he would've told me, I would've started to miss my marks."
Hamilton dipped under the lappers down the stretch as Tanner tried everything he could to keep up the pace, but Hamilton's car seemed to get better and better in the final laps, stretching out to a comfortable advantage that proved to be a tall and impossible task for his closest competition.
"As the laps went on, the car kept getting better and better," Hamilton explained. "I have to give hats off to Bob East. He sure knows how to set up a car to get around here. We just kept working at it and working at it. It really wasn't as much the setup as it was Bob's coaching. He just kept telling me to keep my momentum up and explained to me how LOR is such a momentum track. We were able to roll the center a lot better than we'd ever have here."
Hamilton closed out his winning performance with a victory margin of 4.186 over Tanner Swanson, Santos, Justin Grant and Eric Gordon, who picked up an extra $1,000 from Carl Edwards for his hard-charging performance from 16th to 5th.
With the win, Hamilton became the first "first-time" winner of a pavement USAC Silver Crown race since David Byrne at LOR in 2014. This win was special in a number of ways, though, for Hamilton, a local kid who grew up watching and idolizing Dave Steele perform his racing heroics at LOR, and now joins him as a Silver Crown winner at the very same track.
"I watched Dave Steele run here a lot growing up," Hamilton remembered. "I raced over at the (Indiana State) Fairgrounds at Mini Indy when I was a kid and every night that the midgets, sprint cars or silver crown cars were at (LOR), we'd come out and watch. It seemed like Steele was either going for the win, challenging for the win or winning several of the races. He was one of my heroes I looked up to as a 'pavement only' driver."
Contingency award winners Friday night at Lucas Oil Raceway included Kody Swanson (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier & $1,000 Mac & Carol Steele Fast Qualifier Bonus), Tanner Swanson (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Eric Gordon (Carl Edwards $1,000 Hard Charger Bonus) and Mike Haggenbottom (WIlwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).
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USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: May 24, 2019 - Lucas Oil Raceway - Brownsburg, Indiana - "Dave Steele Carb Night Classic"
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 20, Nolen-20.562; 2. Tanner Swanson, 02, Bowman/Elmore-20.678; 3. Kyle Hamilton, 6, Klatt-20.812; 4. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-20.983; 5. Bobby Santos, 22, DJ-21.105; 6. Chris Windom, 17, Goodnight/Byrd-21.272; 7. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-21.288; 8. Derek Bischak, 31, Bischak-21.670; 9. Cody Gallogly, 81, Williams-21.688; 10. Brian Gerster, 94, Ram-21.821; 11. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 11, DHR/Byrd-21.830; 12. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-21.841; 13. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-21.930; 14. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-22.033; 15. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-22.164; 16. John Heydenreich, 43, Felker-22.263; 17. Eric Gordon, 78, Armstrong/Slinkard-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kyle Hamilton (2), 2. Tanner Swanson (17), 3. Bobby Santos (4), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Eric Gordon (16), 6. David Byrne (6), 7. Brian Gerster (9), 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (10), 9. Austin Nemire (12), 10. Cody Gallogly (8), 11. Kyle Robbins (11), 12. John Heydenreich (15), 13. Mike Haggenbottom (14), 14. Chris Windom (5), 15. Derek Bischak (7), 16. Kody Swanson (1), 17. Matt Goodnight (13). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-53 K. Swanson, Laps 54-72 Hamilton, Lap 73 Santos, Laps 74-100 Hamilton.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Tanner Swanson (17th to 2nd)
CARL EDWARDS HARD CHARGER: Eric Gordon (16th to 5th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Mike Haggenbottom
NEW USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES POINTS: 1-Swanson-253, 2-Grant-247, 3-Santos-198, 4-Thomas-198, 5-Hamilton-186, 6-Byrne-175, 7-Gordon-158, 8-Nemire-154, 9-Haggenbottom-150, 10-Robbins-139.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES RACE: June 14, 2019 - Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
