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

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK EXPANDS TO 8 RACES IN 2019

Speedway, Indiana.........Indiana Sprint Week will expand to its largest schedule in over a decade when the 32nd annual edition of the wildly-popular event arrives in 2019 for eight races in ten nights between July 18-27.

There have been only two other occasions when ISW featured eight USAC AMSOIL National Sprint races, in 2003 and 2007. The 2019 ISW schedule includes eight distinct tracks each with their own characteristics, ranging from relatively flat to high banks, from quarters to half-miles and from wide-sweeping turns to paperclip-shaped venues, offering a unique challenge to both driver and machine.

"This is a can't-miss swing that includes eight great facilities stretching all over the Hoosier state," USAC series coordinator Levi Jones said. "With passionate, loyal teams and fans marking Indiana Sprint Week on their calendars each year, adding one more race to an already great event just makes this series even better in 2019."

Indiana Sprint Week will begin on Thursday, July 18 at Gas City I-69 Speedway before heading northwest to Plymouth Speedway, which made its debut on the ISW schedule in 2018, the following night on Friday, July 19. From there, the series travels an hour south on U.S. 31 to Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 20. The first weekend concludes Sunday, July 21 in the southeastern part of the state at Lawrenceburg Speedway.

After a two-day hiatus, the series returns for a final four-day stretch that begins at the Terre Haute Action Track on Wednesday, July 24. Then, it's off to Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville on Thursday, July 25, Bloomington Speedway on Friday, July 26 and concludes with the ISW finale Saturday, July 27 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt.

Indiana Sprint Week debuted in 1988, but first became USAC-sanctioned in 1996. Since then, the event has grown from a single weekend to eight races over a week-and-a-half and has become the marquee event on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car trail that draws massive crowds and welcomes travelers from around the world, both driver and fan alike.

The USAC National Sprint Car division's winningest driver, Dave Darland, owns the most Indiana Sprint Week victories with 20. Levi Jones and Kevin Thomas have the most ISW titles with four. Chris Windom captured the most recent Indiana Sprint Week title.

2019 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE:
Thu., July 18: Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, Indiana
Fri., July 19: Plymouth Speedway - Plymouth, Indiana
Sat., July 20: Kokomo Speedway - Kokomo, Indiana
Sun., July 21: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, Indiana
Wed., July 24: Terre Haute Action Track - Terre Haute, Indiana
Thu., July 25: Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, Indiana
Fri., July 26: Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, Indiana
Sat., July 27: Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, Indiana

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

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

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Isaac Chapple

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Max Adams

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

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

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

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

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

GRANT STRIKES TWICE FOR OVAL NATIONALS NIGHT TWO VICTORY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Austin Williams

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Austin Williams

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Jace Vander Weerd

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

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

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

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

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

RESILIENT GRANT GRABS OVAL NATIONALS OPENER AT PERRIS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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**Meseraull flipped on lap 4 of the feature.

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

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

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Richard Vander Weerd

ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Max Adams

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Austin Williams

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

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

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

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