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BACON BANKS $15,000 BC39 VICTORY AT IMS
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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
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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
SATURDAY’S RICH VOGLER CLASSIC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST REVEALED
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
#17 Chris Windom battles with #21 Eric Gordon. (Dave Olson Photo)
SATURDAY'S RICH VOGLER CLASSIC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST REVEALED
Brownsburg, Indiana.........A field of 22 cars is expected for this Saturday's, September 8, USAC Silver Crown "Rich Vogler Classic" at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis with former race winners and champions across the board.
Past LOR Silver Crown winners Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Bobby Santos, Ryan Newman, Russ Gamester and David Byrne are entered along with past champs K. Swanson, Newman, Chris Windom, Jerry Coons, Jr. and Dave Darland, plus 2012 Rookie of the Year Kyle Hamilton and current top Rookie Kyle Robbins, among many others.
Pits open at noon, with practice set for 3pm, qualifying at 6pm and racing at 7pm. The race will be live via pay-per-view on http://www.Speed51.com/ and tape-delayed for a later airing on MAVTV.
Advance adult general admission tickets are $25. Advance tickets for children 11 and under are $10. On the day of race, at the gate, adult general admission tickets are $25 and general admission tickets for children 11 and under are $10. Pit passes are $35 apiece.
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"RICH VOGLER CLASSIC" ENTRY LIST:
02 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bowman Racing)
2 RYAN NEWMAN/South Bend, IN (Johnny Vance Racing)
6 KYLE HAMILTON/Danville, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
7 (R) KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
17 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Gene Nolen Racing)
18 (R) TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 JERRY COONS, JR./Tucson, AZ (Gene Nolen Racing)
21 ERIC GORDON/Greenfield, IN (Armstrong Racing)
22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)
24 (R) MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (Haggenbottom Racing)
32 DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN (Williams & Wright Racing)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
60 (R) CODY GERHARDT/Fresno, CA (Cody Gerhardt)
63 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (DePalma Motorsports)
80 (R) TONI BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger Racing)
81 (R) CODY GALLOGLY/Pataskala, OH (Curtis Williams)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 (R) JIM ANDERSON/Joliet, IL (Gene Kazmark)
96 (R) AUSTIN BLAIR/Fairview Heights, IL (Blair Racing)
98 DAVEY HAMILTON, JR./Boise, ID (RPM/Fred Gormly)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender.
WINDOM’S PLAN COMES TOGETHER IN Du QUOIN TED HORN 100 VICTORY
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Chris Windom collected his second career 'Ted Horn 100' victory Saturday night at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. (Dallas Breeze Photo)
WINDOM'S PLAN COMES TOGETHER IN Du QUOIN TED HORN 100 VICTORY
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois.....September 2, 2018 - Every driver, every team has a plan when they enter the ring for 100 miles of USAC Silver Crown racing at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.
Sometimes those plans go awry and sometime those plans come to fruition. Then again, other times, the way things play out don't fit into either of those columns. Sometimes, you must take advantage of the hand you're dealt and see where it goes.
That was how Chris Windom's Sunday night played out down the stretch for the topsy-turvy conclusion to the latest edition of the "Ted Horn 100."
Not one, but two race leaders ran out of fuel during the final 13-lap stretch and the Canton, Illinois driver was poised to pounce, leading the final six laps to win his second "Ted Horn 100" in the last three years. He also became the first driver in a decade, since Brian Tyler in 2008, to sweep both Silver Crown races on the Illinois dirt miles of Du Quoin and Springfield in the same year.
Windom started eighth in the 30-car field aboard his Gene Nolen Racing/KECO Coatings/Maxim/Tranter Chevy. Meanwhile, up front, his teammate and outside front row starter Jerry Coons, Jr. notched the top spot, maneuvering around the outside of pole sitter Jacob Wilson to lead the opening six circuits.
Brady Bacon was a man in motion early on, riding the high line from the fourth starting spot to the lead past Coons on lap seven.
The race came to a halt on the 15th lap when J.C. Bland's rear axle snapped, sending him flipping over the inside guardrail on the back straightaway nearing the entrance to turn three.
The ensuing restart was a Flying Wallendas high wire act between Bacon and C.J. Leary, both running the fence at a torrid pace as they separated themselves from the pack until the second and final stoppage of the night on lap 34 when series Rookie Austin Mundie flipped it over in turn one and walked away unscathed.
When the time came to restart, race leader Bacon's car was unable to fire. His car was pushed to the infield without power and, being unable to restart due to a clutch issue, retired for the remainder of the evening.
That gave the lead to Leary who was a rocket right out of the box in his second race for the DMW Motorsports team, riding the high line to perfection and constantly extending his lead, up to over three seconds by the halfway point. As the laps wound down to 40 to go and 30 to go, Leary maintained a lead of between two and three seconds, with Windom in third another 10 whole seconds back.
While Windom had an inkling that both Leary and Courtney would run into issues with fuel, he wasn't exactly sure if or when he had to turn up the wick to catch them as he remained disciplined at his own pace.
"It's really hard in that situation," Windom explained. "I didn't know when to pick it up because we never got a caution. There really wasn't a right time to. I don't feel like I've really learned that until this year. You really have to pace yourself. It may not always work out but, nine times out of ten, it's going to work out because the pace those guys tried setting there, I didn't think was sustainable for 100 laps."
Chris Windom's triumph also added a third Du Quoin Silver Crown victory to car owner Gene Nolen's list of accomplishments, previously scoring wins with Johnny Parsons in 1992 and Tony Elliott in 1999. (Dallas Breeze Photo)
The furious pace on the long green flag run and running the high line for the entire duration of the race would soon rear its ugly head with 15 laps remaining. Courtney began to pulley the once untouchable Leary, ultimately passing the sputtering Leary on the 88th lap exiting turn two. Leary slowed considerably, but was able to nurse his ride home the rest of the way for a seventh place finish.
Now, Courtney was in control, and he too had no hesitation of letting up anytime soon, stretching his advantage over Windom to 5.4 seconds with six laps to go just before the proverbial rug got pulled out from beneath the Indianapolis, Indiana driver and his bid to claim his first win on a mile.
On lap 95, Courtney's thirsty engine sputtered off turn four, coasting down the front straightaway and gave way to Windom who had planned to be in contention at the end, but most probably not in the manner it ultimately did.
"I didn't think the race was going to play out that way," Windom admits. "I didn't think we'd go green for that long. I thought we'd get a caution with 20 or 30 to go, then I'd be able to race them for the lead. It never came, so then I started thinking with 20 to go that, with the pace they're setting, there's no way they're going to last. I got a little more nervous when there were 13 to go and they were still 13 seconds ahead of me. Finally, my spotter came over the radio and said the No. 10 and then the 97 was slowing. So, I knew it was our race to lose at that point."
"I moved down and tried to conserve fuel then because I started getting nervous that I was going to run out," Windom continued. These races are different every time. You never know what you're going to get. I don't think I've ever ran a Crown race at that pace for that long. I tried to manage it as long as I could. I've had to learn the hard way a lot of times here while leading. I've run out of fuel and crashed multiple times. I tried to take what I've learned from the past and put it to use here today."
That experience ultimately paid off for Windom, the 2016 series champ, as he was able to bring home his eighth career Silver Crown score to move into sole possession of 14th on the all-time list. The triumph also added a third Du Quoin Silver Crown victory to car owner Gene Nolen's list of accomplishments, previously scoring wins with Johnny Parsons in 1992 and Tony Elliott in 1999.
Same as Springfield, Windom led only a scant number of laps (15 in total between there and Du Quoin) but came away with two monster victories on his racing resume. Also similar was Kevin Thomas, Jr. finishing in the runner-up spot. Shane Cockrum took third ahead of Justin Grant with Kody Swanson rounding out the top-five.
Contingency award winners Sunday night at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds were Mike Haggenbottom (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chris Dyson (Wilwood Brakes 13th place finisher) and Terry James (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 2, 2018 - Du Quoin, Illinois - Du Quoin State Fairgrounds - "Ted Horn 100"
QUALIFYING: 1. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-30.214; 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-30.286; 3. C.J. Leary, 10, DMW-30.343; 4. Brady Bacon, 6, Klatt-30.452; 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 56, Foxco-30.474; 6. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-30.605; 7. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-30.650; 8. Chris Windom, 17, Nolen-30.670; 9. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-30.737; 10. Chris Urish, 77, Urish-30.739; 11. Tyler Courtney, 97, Lein-30.744; 12. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-30.806; 13. Joe Liguori, 4, Liguori-30.847; 14. Shane Cockrum, 71, Hardy-31.077; 15. Joey Moughan, 29, Moughan-31.183; 16. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-31.193; 17. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-31.214; 18. Jeff Swindell, 21, Swanson-31.296; 19. Austin Mundie, 47, Butler-31.408; 20. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-31.856; 21. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-31.874; 22. Bill Rose, 75, Rose-31.911; 23. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-31.941; 24. Brian Tyler, 12, Galas-32.199; 25. Steve Buckwalter, 53, Five Three-32.275; 26. Mike Haggenbottom, 124, Haggenbottom-32.311; 27. J.C. Bland, 5, Bland-32.340; 28. Korey Weyant, 99, Weyant-32.418; 29. Chris Dyson, 9, Dyson-32.792; 30. Terry Babb, 34, Morford-32.922; 31. Keith Burch, 24, Burch-33.090; 32. A.J. Fike, 14, McQuinn-33.125; 33. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott/Gorman-33.415; 34. Terry James, 23, Satterthwaite-33.778; 35. Jackie Burke, 33, Burke-33.807; 36. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-35.851; 37. Danny Long, 44, Long-NT; 38. Chris Fetter, 89, Fetter-NT.
LAST CHANCE RACE: (12 laps) 1. Haggenbottom, 2. Dyson, 3. Bland, 4. Burch, 5. Babb, 6. Weyant, 7. James, 8. Welpott, 9. Buckwalter, 10. Burke. 6:41.75
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (8), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 3. Shane Cockrum (14), 4. Justin Grant (9), 5. Kody Swanson (12), 6. David Byrne (6), 7. C.J. Leary (3), 8. Austin Nemire (17), 9. Joey Moughan (15), 10. Kyle Robbins (7), 11. Mike Haggenbottom (25), 12. Bill Rose (22), 13. Chris Dyson (26), 14. Tyler Courtney (11), 15. Shane Cottle (16), 16. Jerry Coons Jr. (2), 17. Jacob Wilson (1), 18. Joe Liguori (13), 19. Keith Burch (28), 20. Patrick Lawson (21), 21. Brady Bacon (4), 22. Matt Goodnight (20), 23. Chris Urish (10), 24. Austin Mundie (19), 25. Terry Babb (29), 26. Brian Tyler (24), 27. Korey Weyant (30), 28. J.C. Bland (27), 29. Russ Gamester (23), 30. Jeff Swindell (18). NT
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**Bland flipped on lap 15 of the feature. Mundie flipped on lap 34 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Coons, Laps 7-34 Bacon, Laps 35-87 Leary, Laps 88-94 Courtney, Laps 95-100 Windom.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER AWARD: Mike Haggenbottom (25th to 11th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Chris Dyson
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Terry James
NEW USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Swanson-583, 2-Grant-507, 3-Windom-503, 4-Byrne-439, 5-Coons-378, 6-Bobby Santos-329, 7-Robbins-326, 8-Welpott-319, 9-Goodnight-309, 10-Nemire-286.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 8 - Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis - Brownsburg, Indiana - "Rich Vogler Classic"
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"
USAC SILVER CROWN MAGIC RETURNS TO Du QUOIN THIS SUNDAY
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
2007 'Ted Horn 100' winner Shane Cottle. (Rich Forman Photo)
USAC SILVER CROWN MAGIC RETURNS TO Du QUOIN THIS SUNDAY
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois.........Simply put. The one-mile dirt oval at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds is magical.
The view of the moonlight dancing off the water in the infield and the thunderous roar of a full field of USAC Silver Crown Champ Cars reverberating off the covered grandstand is enough to make the hair on your neck stand up straight.
Du Quoin has been a staple of the USAC schedule since the club's founding in 1956, and, prior to that, with AAA dating to 1948, has routinely produced magic when it comes to the on-track action as well.
This Sunday, September 2, the series makes its third and final visit of the year to a classic one-mile dirt oval. The legendary Southern Illinois track known as the "Magic Mile" always seems to pull a barnburner out of its hat at the "Ted Horn 100."
Last year's race definitely fit into that category with Kingsburg, California's Kody Swanson flipped on the figurative switch in his patented style with ten laps remaining, passing Jeff Swindell in traffic to win his second career "Ted Horn 100," and first since his first career series victory in 2010.
This year, Swanson is among eight past "Ted Horn 100" winners in the 42-car field, the largest car count since 2002. In fact, last year's top-three all included past race winners. Runner-up finisher Shane Cockrum of nearby Benton, Ill. was a popular winner back in 2014 and 2015. Germantown, Tennessee's Jeff Swindell may have finished third in 2017, but he was the show for a good portion, leading 68 laps and nearly pulling off his first win at the track in 27 years.
Chris Windom of Canton, Ill. was victorious on the most recent one-mile dirt race back in August at the Illinois State Fairgrounds where he also guided Gene Nolen's car to its first win on the Springfield mile. Nolen's cars have won at Du Quoin twice, but not since the 1990s with Johnny Parsons in 1992 and Tony Elliott in 1999. Windom captured his lone Du Quoin score in 2016 aboard RPM/Fred Gormly's machine.
Peru, Indiana's Russ Gamester is back in the familiar No. 51, which is the same combo that won at Du Quoin in the daylight back in 1997. Shane Cottle of Kansas, Ill. won in a white and red colored car for Contos Racing in 2007 and will sport the same colors this Sunday in Curtis Williams' No. 81.
It's been a decade since Brian Tyler won at Du Quoin, but the Pleasant Garden, North Carolina driver is hungrier than ever in the Galas Racing No. 12 in which he led in until midway at this year's "Hoosier Hundred" at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
Elkhart, Illinois driver Chris Urish led only three laps in the 2013 Du Quoin race, but those were the ones that counted the most as he earned his lone Silver Crown victory.
Justin Grant of Ione, Calif. finished sixth last year and owns the second spot in the series points heading into Du Quoin, 79 behind leader Swanson. David Byrne is fourth in the standings behind Windom in third. Byrne had a 28th place result in last year's 100-miler, dropping out after 41 laps with engine trouble.
USAC Triple Crown champs Jerry Coons, Jr. of Tucson, Ariz. (5th in points) and Lincoln, Indiana's Dave Darland (15th in points) have both had a victory at Du Quoin elude them over their legendary careers. Coons ran fifth last year after winning the pole position. Darland, meanwhile, started 12th and finished 12th.
A tight Rookie points race has emerged following Kyle Robbins strong sixth place run at the Springfield mile. The New Castle, Ind. racer is now only 26 behind Pendleton, Indiana's Travis Welpott is the battle. Veteran Matt Goodnight of Winchester, Ind. is sandwiched between the two in points in the eighth spot.
Windom, Cockrum, Urish and Cottle are all Illinois natives who've struck gold at Du Quoin over the years and are among the 10 from the Land of Lincoln to enter along with Patrick Lawson (Edwardsville), J.C. Bland (Springfield), Joey Moughan (Springfield), Terry Babb (Decatur), A.J. Fike (Galesburg) and Korey Weyant (Springfield).
Pits and registration open at 1pm. The ticket office and grandstands open at 4pm. Silver Crown practice runs from 5pm to 6:10pm. Qualifying is set for 6:30pm. The Qualifying race is scheduled for 7:15pm. Pre-race ceremonies begin at 7:45pm with the 100-mile "Ted Horn 100" green flag set for 8:15pm.
Advance adult tickets are $25. Advanced children 11 and under are $10. On the day of the race, adult are $30. Children 11 and under are $10. Adult pit passes are $35 apiece. Pit passes for children 11 and under are $20.
If you miss it live or want to watch all the action again, catch it one www.Loudpedal.TV/ with on-demand coverage the very next day. You can also listen to flag-to-flag coverage LIVE on the USAC app.
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"TED HORN 100" ENTRY LIST: (42 Cars Entered)
04 (R) NEIL SHEPHERD/Warsaw, IN (Shepherd Racing)
07 JACOB WILSON/Crawfordsville, IN (Wilson Brothers Racing)
2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)
4 JOE LIGUORI/Tampa, FL (Liguori Racing)
5 J.C. BLAND/Springfield, IL (Bland Brothers Enterprises)
6 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
7 (R) KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
8 (R) JOHNNY PETROZELLE/Denton, NC (Cornell-Petrozelle Racing)
9 (R) CHRIS DYSON/Pleasant Valley, NY (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Mickey Meyer)
12 BRIAN TYLER/Mt. Pleasant, NC (Galas Motorsports)
14 KEN SCHRADER/Fenton, MO (Dennis & Dave McQuinn)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
17 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Gene Nolen Racing)
18 (R) TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 JERRY COONS, JR./Tucson, AZ (Gene Nolen Racing)
21 JEFF SWINDELL/Germantown, TN (Swanson Racing)
23 TERRY JAMES/St. Louis, MO (Todd Satterthwaite)
24 (R) KEITH BURCH/Farmington, MO (Keith Burch)
29 JOEY MOUGHAN/Springfield, IL (Joey Moughan)
31 (R) DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
33 JACKIE BURKE/Houston, TX (Jackie Burke)
34 TERRY BABB/Decatur, IL (Ken Morford)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
41 A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL (Dave & Dennis McQuinn)
44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
47 (R) AUSTIN MUNDIE/Dallas, TX (Les Butler)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
56 (R) KEVIN THOMAS, JR./Cullman, AL (Foxco Racing)
63 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (DePalma Motorsports)
71 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Hardy Boys Racing)
75 BILL ROSE/Plainfield, IN (Bill Rose Racing)
77 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Curtis Williams)
89 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Fetter Racing)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN (Gene Kazmark)
97 TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Hans Lein)
99 (R) KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
124 (R) MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (Haggenbottom Racing)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender.
