Archives for Sprint, Midget & Silver Crown Racing

SWANSON PERSEVERES IN MEMPHIS 100 WIN

Kody Swanson (in yellow) makes the winning pass on Bobby Santos with 21 laps remaining in Saturday’s “Memphis 100.” (Mike McElya Photo)
SWANSON PERSEVERES IN MEMPHIS 100 WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Millington, Tennessee (March 23, 2019)………It takes a master of a craft for an individual to adapt to anything thrown at them.
Kody Swanson has encountered countless tests throughout the offseason – in the weeks leading up to the first race and on both days of race weekend – yet he managed to ace them all, culminating in Saturday’s “Memphis 100” USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series victory at Memphis International Raceway.
At the conclusion of 2018, Swanson migrated to Nolen Racing after the closure of DePalma Motorsports with whom he won four of the previous five Silver Crown championships.  The team thrashed through the offseason to get their machines ready for the opener and had the foresight and the want-to to have two cars ready to go for Memphis.  As it turned out, they would need their full arsenal.
During Friday’s practice, Swanson practiced both of Nolen’s cars.  They had their primary car pulled apart on pit lane during the session after a brand-new driveshaft dealt them trouble.  Meanwhile, the team pulled out their backup and Swanson put some laps on it to make sure it was ready to run.  Swanson jumped back into the primary with a new driveshaft and proceeded to set the fastest lap of the afternoon.
Fast forward to raceday on Saturday, Swanson took to practice back in the primary before encountering what he described as a fluke engine part issue.  Nolen once again had to roll the backup car out where they tweaked on the chassis to get it to where Kody felt it was at its best.  Enter qualifying and Swanson put it on the pole position.
Easy as clockwork, right?  Of course not, but with Swanson as part of the operation, he almost makes it seem that way on the regular.
“I’m exhausted; I’m elated; I don’t even know what to feel,” Swanson exclaimed.  “I’m very grateful.  I haven’t been to my day job since Tuesday.  I could see the writing on the wall that we were already in a corner then.  We had guys that were there into the wee hours of the morning with me almost every night this week, then back at it the next day, just digging for all we were worth to be ready.  We got one ready and dug deep enough to get the other one ready just in case,” Swanson explained.  You hate to think you’d ever have a failure and need it, but we did, and it was ready to come in off the bench and do a great job for us.”
Swanson led the first five circuits from the pole position of the 100-lapper before David Byrne corralled Swanson and used an outside turn one pass to clear him for the point.  Eric Gordon capitalized and was able to grab second from Swanson just moments later on the back straightaway.  By lap eight, Swanson was fourth as hard-charging Aaron Pierce slipped by as well.
Matt Goodnight was the lone wall contact of the weekend, pounding the SAFER barrier between turns three and four on lap 10 to bring out a lengthy yellow, that ultimately resulted in a red flag for the cleanup.  He climbed from the car and walked away under his own power.  Fifth-running Kyle Hamilton also stopped during the incident and was relegated to the tail.
When racing resumed, Pierce was a man on a mission, sweeping by Gordon for second on the 25th lap and, one lap later, ripping by Byrne on the inside of turn three to snare the top spot.
Kody Swanson and the Nolen Racing crew celebrate their USAC Silver Crown season-opening victory Saturday at Memphis (Tenn.) International Raceway. (Rich Forman Photo)
Pierce had constructed a one-and-a-half second lead until lap 36 when he fell to the wayside with a driveline issue, putting him on the sidelines for the remainder of the afternoon.  That put two familiar foes, Swanson and Bobby Santos, at the front running one-two.
One lap following a restart, Santos made his move on Swanson, swiping the lead with an inside turn one pass just before the halfway mark, ultimately building a one-and-a-half second lead.  Coming into Memphis, Santos had won the series’ pavement opener in two-straight years and Swanson admitted tracking down Santos in a pavement Silver Crown car was no easy feat, but his faith and confidence never wavered.
“I did my homework enough to know that Memphis eats tires and that you need to be there at the end,” Swanson explained.  “I was glad to be in a good spot early and get the lead, but Bobby was coming strong through the middle.  I didn’t know if once he got the lead, we’d see him again.  I felt like we kind of stabilized there and got a couple restarts and got a chance to just start over.”
That chance seemingly arrived on the lap 71 restart when Swanson tracked Santos’ path and shot to the lead on the inside off turn two.  However, back in the pack, the machines of Travis Welpott (backstretch) and Austin Nemire (turn two) came to a stop to bring out the yellow, thus negating Swanson’s race-leading move.
With oil dry on the low line between turns one and two, Swanson had to alter his line entering and exiting the second turn as he went to work on Santos on the lap 79 restart.  It didn’t take long for the fruits of Swanson’s labor to pay dividends as Swanson was able to occupy the low line into turn three to overtake Santos for good.
Swanson still had to work his way through traffic down the stretch, weaving his way through as Santos kept a close watch.  Coming to the white flag, the cars of Chris Dyson and Byrne ran side-by-side into turn one.  Swanson looked for an escape and had to whoa up his ride, getting him a tad squirrely on entry, but recovered to drive around the outside of Dyson midway down the back straight and enter clear waters to win his 25th career USAC Silver Crown event.
Behind Swanson were a series of fascinating perseverance stories of their own.  Santos finished second after starting 21st on the grid due to having a push start on the initial start.  Grant was third after charging from 20th following a right rear tire change prior to the start.  Hamilton earned a career-best fourth after restarting from the tail following Goodnight’s early-race incident.  Rookie Joey Schmidt took fifth in his very first Silver Crown start.
Yet, at the front, it was Swanson once again, who admitted he hadn’t even been able to go to the gym lately because he had been at the shop so much.  After burning the midnight (and beyond) oil night-after-night, and through the trials and tribulations, the Kingsburg, Calif. native once again prevailed, and takes off in 2019 right from where he left off with a group as dedicated as he is to the craft.
“If I’ve learned anything over the last five years, it’s that the effort put in by the people you work with can make all the difference.  This Nolen bunch, so many people have stepped up and really tried to put their best foot forward and give it all we had.”
Contingency award winners Saturday at Memphis International Raceway were Kody Swanson (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Bobby Santos (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Mike Haggenbottom (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).
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USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: March 23, 2019 – Memphis International Raceway – Millington, Tennessee – “Memphis 100”
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 20, Nolen-20.830; 2. Kyle Hamilton, 6, Klatt-21.083; 3. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-21.096; 4. Bobby Santos, 22, DJ-21.120; 5. Chris Windom, 17, Goodnight/Byrd-21.209; 6. C.J. Leary, 10, DMW-21.314; 7. Eric Gordon, 78, Armstrong/Slinkard-21.340; 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 11, DHR/Byrd-21.405; 9. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-21.489; 10. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-21.559; 11. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-21.604; 12. Derek Bischak, 31, Bischak-21.715; 13. Bill Rose, 66, Rose-21.829; 14. Chris Dyson, 9, Dyson-21.837; 15. Joey Schmidt, 25, Pierce-21.900; 16. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott/EGR-21.927; 17. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-21.927; 18. Jason Conn, 88, DHR-21.983; 19. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-22.202; 20. Cody Gallogly, 81, Williams-22.245; 21. Cody Gerhardt, 60, Gerhardt-22.904; 22. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-22.992; 23. Jim Anderson, 92, Kazmark-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Bobby Santos (21), 3. Justin Grant (20), 4. Kyle Hamilton (2), 5. Joey Schmidt (14), 6. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7), 7. Eric Gordon (6), 8. Derek Bischak (9), 9. Chris Dyson (11), 10. David Byrne (3), 11. Kyle Robbins (18), 12. Cody Gerhardt (19), 13. Mike Haggenbottom (22), 14. Cody Gallogly (17), 15. Austin Nemire (8), 16. Travis Welpott (13), 17. C.J. Leary (5), 18. Aaron Pierce (10), 19. Bill Rose (12), 20. Chris Windom (4), 21. Jason Conn (15), 22. Matt Goodnight (16), 23. Jim Anderson (23). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Swanson, Laps 6-25 Byrne, Laps 26-35 Pierce, Laps 36-49 Swanson, Laps 50-79 Santos, Laps 80-100 Swanson.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Bobby Santos (21st to 2nd)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Mike Haggenbottom
NEW USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES POINTS: 1-Swanson-76, 2-Santos-67, 3-Grant-64, 4-Hamilton-61, 5-Schmidt-58, 6-Thomas-55, 7-Gordon-52, 8-Bischak-49, 9-Dyson-46, 10-Byrne-43.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES RACE: April 14, 2019 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – Fatheadz Eyewear “Sumar Classic”

MEMPHIS 100 ENTRY LIST REVEALED

#66 Bill Rose and #91 Justin Grant are entered for this Saturday’s “Memphis 100” at Memphis International Raceway. (Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Millington, Tennessee (March 19, 2019)………A strong field consisting of drivers from 10 states and two countries make up the field for this weekend’s USAC Silver Crown season-opening “Memphis 100” at Memphis International Raceway on Friday and Saturday, March 22-23.
Two past Silver Crown champions in Kody Swanson and Chris Windom will make their debut appearances at Memphis, while both are making their debuts with new teams.  Kingsburg, California’s Swanson, the winningest driver in series’ history, has won four of the last five titles for DePalma Motorsports.  With the closure of that team, Swanson has moved over to Nolen Racing.  Meanwhile, Windom, the 2016 Silver Crown champ from Canton, Ill., has switched seats from Nolen Racing to Goodnight Racing for an attack at another title.
More than one-third of the lineup owns a victory in Silver Crown competition during his career, including Swanson’s series-high 24 and Windom’s eight.  Franklin, Massachusetts’ Bobby Santos ranks in the top-ten on the all-time Silver Crown win list with 10.  Aaron Pierce of Muncie, Ind. has taken the checkered three times.  Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary won the second and most recent of his career in last year’s finale at Eldora.  Justin Grant of Ione, Calif. has scored twice in the Silver Crown division and, like Leary, both came on the dirt.  David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wisc.) and Eric Gordon (Fortville, Ind.) are each looking to notch Silver Crown victory number two.
Santos, Pierce and Gordon are among four drivers in the field who hold previous Silver Crown experience at Memphis, alongside Plainfield, Indiana’s Bill Rose.  Rose has also claimed two career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victories and is one of nine drivers in the lineup to have tallied in that division as well as Leary, Windom, Swanson, Santos, Pierce, Gordon, Grant and Kevin Thomas, Jr.
Cullman, Alabama’s Thomas is one of four drivers making their pavement Silver Crown debuts along with Pleasant Valley, New York’s two-time American LeMans Series champ Chris Dyson, Ellisville, Mississippi’s Joey Schmidt and Prince George, British Columbia’s Jason Conn.  The latter two, Schmidt and Conn, are aiming to make their first starts with the series Saturday at Memphis.
The remainder of the field consists of winners and veterans from the racing world, including two-time USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature winner Kyle Hamilton of Danville, Ind., who earned 2012 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year honors.  Last year, New Castle, Indiana’s Kyle Robbins was the top-Rookie in the series, finishing sixth in the standings.  Pendleton, Indiana’s Travis Welpott took seventh in last year’s points while Levittown, Pa.’s Mike Haggenbottom was 11th.
Top-ten points finishers from 2018, Matt Goodnight (8th) from Winchester, Ind. and Austin Nemire (10th) from Sylvania, Ohio are entered for Memphis along with a group of relative Silver Crown newcomers in Cody Gerhardt (Fresno, Calif.), Cody Gallogly (Pataskala, Ohio), Jim Anderson (Joliet, Ill.) and Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.).
On-track action at Memphis International Raceway gets underway on Friday, March 22, with pits opening at 10am Central, leading into a practice which begins at noon.
On Saturday, March 23, the pits open at 8am, with practice sessions running from 10-10:30am and 11-11:30am.  Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying hits the track at 11:45am.  An autograph session in the main concourse is set for 12:30 to 1:15pm.  Driver intros are slated for 2pm with the green flag for the “Memphis 100” set to fly at 2:20pm.
Adult General Admission tickets are $25.  Kids 12 and under General Admission tickets are $5.  Single-day pit passes are $40.  A two-day pit pass is $70.
The “Memphis 100” will be streamed LIVE on http://www.FloRacing.com.

MEMPHIS 100 ENTRY LIST: (23 drivers)

6  Kyle Hamilton / Danville, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

7 Kyle Robbins / New Castle, IN (KR Racing)

9 Chris Dyson / Pleasant Valley, NY (Chris Dyson Racing)

10 C.J. Leary / Greenfield, IN (DMW Motorsports)

11 Kevin Thomas, Jr. / Cullman, AL (DHR/Byrd Racing)

16 Austin Nemire / Sylvania, OH (Nemire Racing)

17 Chris Windom / Canton, IL (Goodnight/Byrd Racing)

18 Travis Welpott / Pendleton, IN (Welpott/Gorman Racing)

20 Kody Swanson / Kingsburg, CA (Nolen Racing)

22 Bobby Santos / Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

24 Mike Haggenbottom / Levittown, PA (Haggenbottom Racing)

25 Joey Schmidt / Ellisville, MS (Sam Pierce)

26 Aaron Pierce / Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)

31 Derek Bischak / Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)

39 Matt Goodnight / Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)

40 David Byrne / Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)

60 Cody Gerhardt / Fresno, CA (Cody Gerhardt)

66 Bill Rose / Plainfield, IN (Bill Rose)

78 Eric Gordon / Fortville, IN (Armstrong Racing)

81 Cody Gallogly / Pataskala, OH (Curtis Williams)

88 Jason Conn / Prince George, BC (Davey Hamilton Racing)

91 Justin Grant / Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 Jim Anderson / Joliet, IL (Gene Kazmark)

$50 GRAND BONUS UP FOR GRABS AT SHAMROCK CLASSIC

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (March 5, 2019)………Who’s going all-in this Saturday night when a hefty payday of $50,000 is up for grabs in the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Factory Canopies “Shamrock Classic” at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin?
The Factory Canopies “Pot of Gold” Challenge will provide the top-four drivers in passing points throughout the night an opportunity to pad their wallets with a $50,000 bonus.  Following the heats and qualifying races, if the top driver in passing points turns down the chance to go to the tail and go for $50K, the option will go on to the next driver and so on, but only the first four in passing points have that option.
The “Shamrock Classic” will offer appearance points only to drivers and their teams, no feature points.  That means there’s really nothing to lose in the grand scheme in terms of a championship campaign.  With a driver’s finishing position not being a part of the series title race, that creates more enticement for a team and driver to take on the challenge.
With it being the fourth annual event, the base winner’s share is $4000, meaning if a driver could complete the challenge and win from the tail, he or she would collect $54,000, which would be, by far, the richest take-home pay any driver has ever earned for a single race in the history of the USAC NOS Energy Midget National Championship.
Nearly sixty drivers have already signed on to compete in Saturday’s “Shamrock Classic,” including defending race winner and series champion Logan Seavey; reigning USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ and the winner of the series’ first two races this year, Tyler Courtney; 2017 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ Chris Windom; the youngest winner in series’ history, Zeb Wise; 2017 “Shamrock Classic” winner Justin Grant; 2018 series runner-up Chad Boat; Ocala USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victor C.J. Leary; 2018 Du Quoin Midget winner Thomas Meseraull; two-time USAC Sprint champ Brady Bacon, midget and sprint standout Kevin Thomas, Jr., 2018 “Jason Leffler Memorial” winner Tyler Thomas, plus USAC Triple Crown title-holders Dave Darland and Jerry Coons, Jr. among many others.
Greg and Kim Stewart have been selling event merchandise for over 25 years at racing events across the country.  They are proud to sponsor the entry fee portion of the 4th Annual “Shamrock Classic.”  As part of their sponsorship, every team who enters will receive a 25% off coupon valid at any 2019 event where Fast Lane Racing Apparel is set up and selling merchandise.  Your discount can also be used online at FastLaneRacingApparel.com.  Fast Lane Racing Apparel will have a booth in Du Quoin where you can purchase your racing merchandise needs.
In addition to USAC National Midget entry fees and the aforementioned discount, every fan in attendance at the “Shamrock Classic” will receive a Fast Lane Racing Apparel coupon valid at every major event at Eldora Speedway, Knoxville Nationals, and Knoxville Late Model Nationals.  Fans will receive this coupon upon entry to event.
On raceday, the Southern Illinois Center opens for parking at 8am (Central).  Front doors/ticket window opens at 10am.  Clear the building/check pit passes & tickets at 11am.  Micro Sprint drivers meeting at 11am.  Micro Sprint hot laps with heats immediately following at 12:30pm.  Public midget drivers meeting (front stretch grandstand) at 3pm.  Midget hot laps at 4pm.  (All Times Central)
General admission tickets are $20 for age 13 and up.  Children’s general admission tickets (Age 6-12) are $10.  Kids 5 and under are free.
The race will be live-streamed on http://www.FloRacing.com/.

Bacon Sizzles in Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented by NOS Energy Drink Victory

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Press Release

Bacon Sizzles in Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented by NOS Energy Drink Victory

INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018 – Brady Bacon passed pole sitter Kevin Thomas with seven laps to go and hung on to win the inaugural Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by NOS Energy Drink on Thursday night at The Dirt Track at IMS.

Bacon, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, earned $15,000 for the win in the 39-lap USAC P1 Insurance National Midget Championship A-Main feature in the No. 76M car fielded by FMR Racing. It was the first USAC Midget victory of the season for Bacon, 28, a two-time USAC Sprint Car National Champion.

Afternoon rain forced a four-hour delay before heat races could start during the first-ever event on the new quarter-mile clay oval inside Turn 3 of the famed IMS asphalt oval. A capacity crowd, which included retired NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Cup Series standout Ryan Blaney, witnessed history as Bacon added his name to a list of inaugural featured race winners at IMS.

“This team stepped up for the big race and the big money,” Bacon said. “I want to thank everyone who made this happen, all the hard work today just to make the race happen with Mother Nature getting involved. It turned out to be a great race. I know I was holding my breath there for a few laps.”

Chad Boat, the son of 1998 Indianapolis 500 pole winner Billy Boat, finished second. Thomas was third, with Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis finishing fourth in a car fielded by Clauson-Marshall Racing. Tim Clauson, father of race namesake Bryan Clauson, co-owns Courtney’s car.

The historic first race on the new dirt track honored late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson and increased awareness of the Indiana Donor Network and its Driven2SaveLives campaign.

Thomas led the first 32 laps in the No. 63 car fielded by Joe Dooling. Bacon started seventh but climbed to second just before a six-car pileup in Turn 4 triggered a caution with 28 laps to go. Boat had jumped to fourth, behind Courtney, by that point after starting 10th.

The top four remained static during caution periods with 25 laps remaining and 23 laps remaining. With 19 laps remaining, Boat passed Courtney for third as the race stayed caution-free until the end.

Thomas, Bacon and Boat then reached a dense thicket of traffic with 13 laps to go, but Thomas stayed out front despite multiple attempts by Bacon to take the lead on the fast, tacky track, which featured a wide cushion of dirt on the high line.

Bacon made his decisive move in Turn 4 with seven laps remaining, passing Thomas for the lead with a powerful move in the low groove. Boat jumped to second one lap later and set his sights on Bacon but never pulled even with the “Macho Man” over the last five laps.

“We’ve been usually the best guy on the bottom, and the track was really tricky with the cushion being so big from the rain. That’s kind of what we gambled on. We wanted to really get a lot of acceleration off the bottom and really stick it in sideways like that. They gave me a perfect race car.”

Said Boat: “They gave me a great car. You want to win at the Speedway, so second kind of stings right now. But what a good car.”

NASCAR stars Christopher Bell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fifth and 11th, respectively. Zeb Wise, a 15-year-old from Angola, Indiana, finished 14th in a Clauson-Marshall Racing car after winning the Stoops Pursuit race Wednesday night on the first evening of competition.

Robert Dalby, from Anaheim, California, was transported to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis with non-life-threatening injuries after his No. 4D flipped into the air and rolled end over end after landing in an incident in the fourth qualifying race. Dalby was awake and alert.

TYLER THOMAS FINDS SMACKDOWN REDEMPTION AT KOKOMO

TYLER THOMAS FINDS SMACKDOWN REDEMPTION
AT KOKOMO
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana………”Smackdown” can find a way to toy with one’s emotions from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows on occasion.
Tyler Thomas has lived on both ends of the spectrum within the last calendar year, seeing near-certain victory slip from his grasp at the last moment in 2017. But the Collinsville, Okla. native decided to place fate into his own hands Friday, leading the final half of night two of “Smackdown VII” to earn his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory. Meanwhile, his victory was also the first USAC score for longtime series car owner and sponsor Epperson Racing.
“I don’t even know what to say; I’m kind of scatterbrained right now,” a stunned T. Thomas exclaimed. “Thank you, Tony Epperson, Millie and their entire family for giving me a shot. Our first outing was Indiana Sprint Week and we kind of had a rough week. It hasn’t been that easy this week either, but we sure as hell got the job done tonight.”
The combination had shown speed in their limited appearances together over the last month, but luck never seemed to find its way to them until Friday where he launched his 30-lap assault from the outside of the second row.
Robert Ballou owned the first lap, riding the cushion to a 10-car-length advantage by the conclusion of lap one and would own the first half of the feature as well, occupying the top spot for the first 15 laps. Meanwhile, T. Thomas worked his way up to second on the opening lap, getting around Justin Grant and Jarett Andretti to slot into the runner-up position behind Ballou.
“I was just trying to follow Robert there for the first half of the race and maybe wait until the end to make a move,” Thomas explained. “I really just wanted to finish and lock it in for tomorrow. (The track) was tricky and I about turned it over myself in (turns) one and two.”
It was a true test of skill and bravery in turn two, which sucked in a number of victims throughout the night. Clinton Boyles flipped on his lid on the tenth lap. Then, just three laps later, Andretti tagged the turn two concrete while running third and began flipping wildly. Fourth-place runner Kevin Thomas, Jr. had no time to react and mashed into Andretti’s ride mid-tumble and began flipping as well. Both drivers walked away unharmed. Thomas actually restarted following repairs in the work area and finished with a 14th place result.
When action resumed, Ballou appeared unfazed up front, riding by his lonesome until the 16th circuit when he too gnashed the turn two wall of voodoo and flipped. He walked away uninjured. By virtue, T. Thomas inherited the lead for the lap 16 restart, but he assumed control with none other than Tyler Courtney on his tail tank. He being the winner of the past three “Smackdown” features dating to 2017, not to mention last year’s Saturday night finale in which he defeated T. Thomas for the win on the final restart.
T. Thomas’ and his new Maxim chassis were determined to not let history repeat itself down the stretch as Courtney inched forward ever closer in the final laps until 2017 series Rookie of the Year Stevie Sussex became the fourth and final flipper of the feature within the confines of the turn two concrete from which he walked away.
T. Thomas was keen on making patience and focus his mantra in the latter stages, easier to say than to do in a pressurized environment, with a first victory cooling on the window sill, just within sight and with all five senses stimulated.
“For the last half, I really focused on calming down and maybe enter slower and not hit the wall as hard,” T. Thomas said. “It’s really hard to do when you’re leading, and you haven’t won yet.”
On the final lap with Courtney in hot pursuit, T. Thomas banged the turn two wall on exit, thrusting his machine forward with a bit of bite down the back straightaway. However, the rubber to concrete meeting for Courtney in turn two was just a little too much, knocking his car slightly askew on exit, thus allowing T. Thomas a sliver of separation that he utilized to complete his arduous task of finally, finally breaking into victory lane in USAC National competition after numerous heartbreaks.
Coming off his victory a night earlier, Courtney was second ahead of Grant, Brady Bacon and Dave Darland.
Those five, incidentally, are also the top-five in cumulative “Smackdown VII” points, locking them into Saturday night’s feature and King of the Hill Qualifying session along with K. Thomas, Chris Windom and Jason McDougal.
Contingency award winners Friday night at Kokomo Speedway were Kevin Thomas, Jr. (ProSource Fast Qualifier & Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Brady Bacon (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Jason McDougal (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Chase Stockon (KSE Racing Products/Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Hard Charger), Shane Cottle (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Chris Windom (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), C.J. Leary (Saldana Racing Products/High Side Designs First Non-Transfer) and Scotty Weir (Hoosier Racing Tire Perseverance Award).

 

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 24, 2018 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – “Sprint Car Smackdown VII”
PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-12.740; 2. Logan Seavey, 5B, Briscoe-12.988; 3. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-13.036; 4. Tyler Thomas, 2E, Epperson-13.058; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.079; 6. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.117; 7. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-13.130; 8. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-13.133; 9. Kyle Cummins, 3c, EZR/Cummins-13.146; 10. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-13.147; 11. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-13.148; 12. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-13.171; 13. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-13.178; 14. Clinton Boyles, 57, Hazen-13.204; 15. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.269; 16. Carmen Perigo, 21, Stehman-13.369; 17. Shane Cottle, 5G, Goacher-13.369; 18. Carson Short, 5CB, Briscoe-13.370; 19. Timmy Buckwalter, 7, LNB-13.394; 20. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.451; 21. Dakota Jackson, 3R, Rock Steady-13.503; 22. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-13.568; 23. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox/Nigg-13.577; 24. Stevie Sussex, 17GP, Dutcher-13.580; 25. Colten Cottle, 5c, Cottle-13.596; 26. Scotty Weir, 22s, Simon-13.613; 27. Dustin Smith, 77, Smith-13.685; 28. Tony DiMattia, 50, TDM-13.703; 29. Dallas Hewitt, 18x, Keen-13.754; 30. Cole Ketcham, 41, Ketcham-13.756; 31. Chet Williams, 38, Fortune-13.832; 32. Brian Karraker, 23, Karraker-14.013; 33. Paul Dues, 87, Dues-14.146; 34. Joe Liguori, 44, Liguori-14.245; 35. Brian VanMeveren, 24, VanMeveren-14.375; 36. Gabe Griffith, 37, Griffith-14.943.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. K. Thomas, 2. S. Cottle, 3. Grant, 4. Windom, 5. Cummins, 6. C. Cottle, 7. Hewitt, 8. Dues, 9. Jackson. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Bacon, 2. Ballou, 3. Chapple, 4. Short, 5. Boyles, 6. Seavey, 7. Weir, 8. Ketcham, 9. Liguori. 2:15.36
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. Darland, 3. Andretti, 4. Mattox, 5. Buckwalter, 6. Westfall, 7. Williams, 8. VanMeveren, 9. Smith. 2:18.24
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. McDougal, 2. Sussex, 3. T. Thomas, 4. Stockon, 5. Karraker, 6. DiMattia, 7. Perigo, 8. Griffith, 9. Leary. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Boyles, 2. Seavey, 3. Cummins, 4. Weir, 5. Westfall, 6. Jackson, 7. Leary, 8. C. Cottle, 9. Buckwalter, 10. Hewitt, 11. Williams, 12. Smith, 13. Ketcham, 14. Perigo, 15. Dues, 16. DiMattia, 17. Karraker, 18. Liguori, 19. VanMeveren, 20. Griffith. 2:56.50
FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Thomas (4), 2. Tyler Courtney (5), 3. Justin Grant (3), 4. Brady Bacon (9), 5. Dave Darland (10), 6. C.J. Leary (22), 7. Jason McDougal (11), 8. Chris Windom (12), 9. Chase Stockon (17), 10. Carson Short (16), 11. Logan Seavey (7), 12. Matt Westfall (14), 13. Shane Cottle (15), 14. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (6), 15. Kyle Cummins (8), 16. Scotty Weir (21), 17. Dakota Jackson (18), 18. Isaac Chapple (19), 19. Stevie Sussex (24), 20. Timmy Buckwalter (23), 21. Robert Ballou (2), 22. Jarett Andretti (1), 23. Clinton Boyles (13), 24. Brandon Mattox (20). NT
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**Jackson flipped during the first heat. Boyles flipped on lap 10 of the feature. Andretti and K. Thomas flipped on lap 13 of the feature. Sussex flipped on lap 27 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-15 Ballou, Laps 16-30 T. Thomas.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS HARD CHARGER: Chase Stockon (17th to 9th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Shane Cottle
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/HIGH SIDE DESIGNS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: C.J. Leary
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Chris Windom
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Windom-1861, 2-Courtney-1846, 3-K. Thomas-1838, 4-Bacon-1630, 5-Darland-1615, 6-Stockon-1599, 7-Leary-1560, 8-Grant-1531, 9-Ballou-1464, 10-Chad Boespflug-1084.
NEW “SMACKDOWN VII” POINTS: 1-Courtney-332, 2-Grant-321, 3-T. Thomas-313, 4-Bacon-312, 5-Darland-308, 6-K. Thomas-295, 7-Windom-293, 8-McDougal-292, 9-Cummins-277, 10-Stockon-270.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: August 25 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – “Sprint Car Smackdown VII”

COURTNEY CHARGES TO SMACKDOWN NIGHT 1 VICTORY AT KOKOMO

COURTNEY CHARGES TO SMACKDOWN NIGHT 1
VICTORY AT KOKOMO
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana………Throughout the 2018 season, it almost seems as if Tyler Courtney owns a share of land down in the infield at the start/finish line.  With eight USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victories to his credit, his footprint has already been imprinted on several different victory lanes this year.
However, the one victory lane he seems to have a stranglehold of lately is Kokomo Speedway on “Smackdown” weekend.
In Thursday night’s “Smackdown VII” opener, the Indianapolis, Indiana driver became the first to win three consecutive “Smackdown” features, winning the final two nights of last year’s edition before capturing his latest, leading the final 11 laps after sliding past last year’s opening night victor C.J. Leary on the way to his 14th career series victory, tying him with the likes of Billy Cassella, Jim Hurtubise, Lee Kunzman and Bruce Walkup on the all-time list aboard the Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/Priority Aviation – Competition Suspension, Inc./Spike/Rider Chevy.
Leary slid up to the lead on the opening lap from his pole starting position, while Courtney slotted into the fourth spot.  By lap four, though, Courtney was applying the pressure on the winningest “Smackdown” driver of all-time, Dave Darland, for second.  After swapping the spot with Darland multiple times, Courtney reemerged with the second position, clearing Darland off turn four.
However, Courtney immediately found himself having to overcome a substantial deficit as Leary set the tone up front.  By the time Leary reached lapped traffic, Courtney remained a half-straightaway back, ripping the top along with Leary as lapped traffic tethered themselves to the bottom of the racetrack.
Little by little, Courtney found his rhythm and began to close the gap on Leary just a few ticks at a time when seventh-running Kevin Thomas, Jr. slowed to a stop in turn three with a flat right rear tire.  At the time, Leary and Courtney were separated by less than a second, but those two held an advantage in excess of 7.5 seconds over third when the yellow flew.
When you’re mired in lapped traffic, a yellow flag can go one of two ways: it can either clear out the traffic that’s holding you up or it can clear up the traffic that your opponent could’ve gotten caught behind.  Either way, Courtney feels like it this was his race to win.
“I didn’t really need a caution,” Courtney admits.  “You get in a rhythm there and you don’t know if you’re going to be able to get back in that rhythm.  You just kind of hit and miss, especially when it’s tricky like it was on the top.  I felt like we were better, and we could’ve gotten him without a caution, but the caution definitely didn’t hurt, and I was able to get back into my rhythm.”
On the lap 20 restart, some may have expected Courtney to deliver his slider on the entry into turn one, but instead, he waited patiently and saved his for the next go-around after he built his momentum through three and four, ultimately pulling the trigger entering turn one on the 21st circuit, sliding up the top past Leary for the race lead.
“I couldn’t really get a good restart off four,” Courtney explained.  “I just couldn’t get enough grip off the bottom and he could always pull me a little bit.  I knew if I could maintain it through one and two, I was really good through three and four, so I maintained through one and two and I got a run through three and four and felt like I was going to have a good enough run to clear him by what I felt was a fair enough amount, and we did.  I expected a slider; he threw one and I stayed in it and drove around him.  From there, I just got to run my own race there for the last ten laps.”
Thursday night “Smackdown VII” winner Tyler Courtney. (Travis Branch Photo)
Nonetheless, Leary remained in hot pursuit of Courtney as he tried to get himself back in the game, but while exiting turn four, Leary’s right rear tire kissed the concrete wall.  As he ramped up the wall and the fence, it appeared certain he was going on his lid, but that was not the case as he miraculously landed back on all fours and kept on going, albeit two spots further behind the leader with the lap counter melting away.
Down the stretch, Courtney underwent a couple of challenges that he successfully overcame following his ricochet off the turn two wall on lap 23.  From that point, he withstood a restart that saw Justin Grant and Brady Bacon enter the fray, thought they were not able to hang as Courtney who drove away for a 3.656 second margin of victory over Leary, who made a miraculous comeback to move from fourth to second in the final four laps past Grant and Bacon.  Bacon was third ahead of Grant and USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point leader Chris Windom.
Contingency award winners Thursday night at Kokomo Speedway were Justin Grant (ProSource Fast Qualifier), Shane Cottle (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Chris Windom (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Dave Darland (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Brady Bacon (KSE Racing Products/Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Hard Charger), Scotty Weir (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Dakota Jackson (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Matt Westfall (Saldana Racing Products/High Side Designs First Non-Transfer), Josh Hodges (Hoosier Racing Tire Perseverance Award) and Chad Boespflug (High Side Designs First Flipper).

 

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 23, 2018 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – “Sprint Car Smackdown VII”
PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.643; 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-12.699; 3. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-12.738; 4. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-12.826; 5. Tyler Thomas, 2E, Epperson-12.842; 6. Kyle Cummins, 3c, EZR/Cummins-12.866; 7. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-12.900; 8. Chad Boespflug, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-12.909; 9. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-12.963; 10. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-12.988; 11. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-13.022; 12. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-13.060; 13. Dakota Jackson, 3R, Rock Steady-13.065; 14. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-13.069; 15. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.111; 16. Logan Seavey, 5B, Briscoe-13.136; 17. Shane Cottle, 5G, Goacher-13.157; 18. Scotty Weir, 22s, Simon-13.174; 19. Carson Short, 5CB, Briscoe-13.218; 20. Timmy Buckwalter, 7, LNB-13.270; 21. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-13.307; 22. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-13.310; 23. Colten Cottle, 5c, Cottle-13.318; 24. Carmen Perigo, 21, Stehman-13.345; 25. Dallas Hewitt, 2, Hewitt-13.388; 26. Tony DiMattia, 50, TDM-13.436; 27. Stevie Sussex, 17GP, Dutcher-13.439; 28. Clinton Boyles, 57, Hazen-13.470; 29. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-13.488; 30. Chet Williams, 38, Fortune-13.548; 31. Brian Karraker, 23, Karraker-13.593; 32. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox/Nigg-13.710; 33. Brian VanMeveren, 24, VanMeveren-13.911; 34. Paul Dues, 87, Dues-13.926; 35. Chad Wilson, 14, Wilson-14.362.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. S. Cottle, 2. Bacon, 3. T. Thomas, 4. Grant, 5. Hodges, 6. Westfall, 7. Jackson, 8. Hewitt, 9. VanMeveren. 2:13.69
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. K. Thomas, 2. Weir, 3. Chapple, 4. Stockon, 5. Cummins, 6. DiMattia, 7. Andretti, 8. Williams, 9. Dues. NT
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Windom, 2. Leary, 3. Courtney, 4. Short, 5. Sussex, 6. C. Cottle, 7. Karraker, 8. Wilson, 9. Ballou. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. Buckwalter, 3. McDougal, 4. Perigo, 5. Boyles 6. Mattox, 7. Seavey, 8. Boespflug. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Cummins, 2. Ballou, 3. Seavey, 4. Jackson, 5. Andretti, 6. Hodges, 7. Westfall, 8. Boyles, 9. C. Cottle, 10. DiMattia, 11. Mattox, 12. Karraker, 13. Sussex, 14. Hewitt, 15. Wilson, 16. Williams, 17. Dues, 18. VanMeveren. 2:47.54
FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (4), 2. C.J. Leary (1), 3. Brady Bacon (8), 4. Justin Grant (6), 5. Chris Windom (10), 6. Dave Darland (3), 7. Jason McDougal (11), 8. Kyle Cummins (7), 9. Tyler Thomas (2), 10. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 11. Chase Stockon (9), 12. Jarett Andretti (13), 13. Scotty Weir (17), 14. Carson Short (18), 15. Logan Seavey (15), 16. Tony DiMattia (24), 17. Dakota Jackson (12), 18. Isaac Chapple (20), 19. Carmen Perigo (21), 20. Robert Ballou (14), 21. Timmy Buckwalter (19), 22. Shane Cottle (16), 23. Josh Hodges (22), 24. Matt Westfall (23). NT
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**Boespflug flipped during the fourth heat. Buckwalter flipped after the checkered flag in the fourth heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Leary, Laps 21-30 Courtney.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS HARD CHARGER: Brady Bacon (8th to 3rd)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Scotty Weir
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/HIGH SIDE DESIGNS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Matt Westfall
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Dakota Jackson
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Windom-1807, 2-K. Thomas-1789, 3-Courtney-1767, 4-Bacon-1561, 5-Darland-1550, 6-Stockon-1548, 7-Leary-1505, 8-Grant-1459, 9-Ballou-1433, 10-Boespflug-1084.
NEW “SMACKDOWN VII” POINTS: 1-Courtney-166, 2-Leary-161, 3-Grant-161, 4-Bacon-157, 5-Darland-157, 6-Windom-152, 7-K. Thomas-151, 8-T. Thomas-148, 9-Cummins-147, 10-McDougal-145.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: August 24-25 – Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana – “Sprint Car Smackdown VII”

BC39 ENTRY LIST UP TO 76 AS DARLAND, LEARY AND BRIGHT SIGN IN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

 

Speedway, Indiana………The latest flurry of entries has pushed the driver roster for the Driven2SaveLives “BC39” presented by NOS Energy Drink to 76 for the USAC P1 Insurance National Midget event that will be held September 5-6 at the new Dirt Track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Among those are three entries from the team owned by nine-time Indianapolis 500 starter Sarah Fisher.  Leading the group for SFHR is USAC’s all-time winningest AMSOIL National Sprint Car driver Dave Darland, who recently won a pair of races during “Indiana Sprint Week.”  The Lincoln, Indiana native is the only driver to reside in the top-ten on all three of USAC’s National series’ win lists, ranking 10thwith 30 career USAC National Midget feature victories.
Darland will be joined on the team by World of Outlaws and All Star Circuit of Champions winner Ryan Smith of Kunkletown, Pa. and 2014 USAC Pavement Midget Series champion Kyle O’Gara of Beech Grove, Ind.
Reigning USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car owner champion Baldwin Brothers Racing will field Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary, a recent “Indiana Sprint Week” winner at Bloomington Speedway, in their familiar orange No. 5.  Earlier this season, Leary was behind the wheel of Brandon Gray’s No. 11A, which will be driven at IMS by Anton Hernandez of Arlington, Texas.
ARDC Midget champion and current USAC Eastern Midget point leader Alex Bright of Collegeville, Pa. has entered his own No. 77 in which he recently raced to 2nd and 4th place finishes during “Pennsylvania Midget Week.”
Former USAC announcer and current Fox Sports and MRN personality Dillon Welch jumps into a midget on occasion, but never skips a beat getting up to speed.  The 2016 “Chili Bowl” Saturday night A-Main starter will wheel the No. 99p for car owner Kami Ronk.
Jay Mounce has entered two cars for USAC Sprint Car and Silver Crown veteran Korey Weyant of Springfield, Ill. and Tyler Shoemaker of Bloomington, Ill.
Among the others entered previously include a venerable who’s who of USAC Midget racing, including NASCAR stars Kyle Larson, 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year Chase Briscoe, USAC Triple Crown champ Tracy Hines, Jerry Coons, Jr. and J.J. Yeley, who is also a veteran of both the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400, plus Monster Energy NASCAR Cup multi-time winner Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champ Christopher Bell, AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Cars’ winningest driver, Damion Gardner, USAC Silver Crown and National Sprint Car titlist Chris Windom, current USAC National Midget point leader Logan Seavey, two-time USAC National Sprint Car champ Brady Bacon and 2017 USAC National Midget champ Spencer Bayston.
Entries are continuing to be filed each and every day.  Drivers and teams can enter the event at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2018-bc39.
The Driven2SaveLives “BC39” presented by NOS Energy Drink kicks off the week of racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway leading up to the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, September 9.
The race will take place at the new quarter-mile dirt oval located inside turn three of the famed 2.5-mile oval and will include a unique format that concludes with a 39-lap feature Sept. 6 in the richest Midget racing event in recent history. The event will feature more than $70,000 in purse and incentives, including a $15,000 winner’s purse – the largest in Midget racing.
For the first night of action on Wednesday, September 5, will feature hot laps, heat races and a pursuit race.  The public gates open at 3pm with cars set to get on track at 6:30pm.
On Thursday, September 6, on-track action will begin with hot laps, as all cars will practice with their respective qualifying races, before getting into the qualifying races and the alphabet mains, concluding with the A-Main event.  The public gates open at 3pm with cars set to get on track at 6pm.
Tickets are now on sale for the Driven2SaveLives “BC39” presented by NOS Energy Drink at the Dirt Track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 5-6 featuring the USAC P1 Insurance Midget National Championship.
Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac or via phone at the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-8500.
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DRIVEN2SAVELIVES “BC39” PRES. BY NOS ENERGY DRINK ENTRY LIST
(76 cars as of August 14, 2018)
1 KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
1K BRAYTON LYNCH/Springfield, IL (Rusty Kunz Racing)
1ST SHANE COTTLE/Kokomo, IN (Daryl Saucier)
1T TYLER SHOEMAKER/Bloomington, IL (Jay Mounce)
2D MATT SHERRELL/Owasso, OK (Dan & Patricia Harris)
2ND JEB SESSUMS/Burleson, TX (Dan & Patricia Harris)
3 TBA (Ray Racing)
3N JAKE NEUMAN/New Berlin, IL (Jim Neuman)
4D ROBERT DALBY/Anaheim, CA (Ken Dalby)
5 ®C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Baldwin Brothers Racing)
5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN (Briscoe Racing)
5x ROY CARUTHERS/Indianapolis, IN (Boyle Racing Headquarters)
7 GAGE WALKER/Fairland, IN (Brian Walker)
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson-Marshall Racing)
7CG TBA (Seven, LLC)
7CH CRITTER MALONE/Pittsboro, IN (Seven, LLC)
7p BRIAN PETERSON/Mukwonago, WI (Brian Peterson)
10 LANCE BENNETT/Aurora, CO (Bennett Motorsports)
11 TRACY HINES/New Castle, IN (Leader Card Racers)
11A ANTON HERNANDEZ/Arlington, TX (Brandon Gray)
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Chuck Taylor)
11T TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Chuck Taylor)
11Y TRAVIS YOUNG/Casey, IL (Travis Young)
15 ®JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Petry Motorsports)
15c CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17BC JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Clauson-Marshall Racing – Matt Wood)
17D DAKOTA JACKSON/Elizabethtown, IN (Koontz Racing)
17K MICHAEL KOONTZ/Bloomington, IN (Koontz Racing)
17s RICKY STENHOUSE, JR./Olive Branch, MS (Clauson-Marshall Racing)
17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Clauson-Marshall Racing/Matt Wood)
21 CHRISTOPHER BELL/Norman, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Justin Dickerson)
24 LANDON SIMON/Tipp City, OH (Landon Simon Racing)
24x DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA (Neverlift Motorsports)
25 JERRY COONS, JR./Tucson, AZ (Petry Motorsports)
25p DYLAN PETERSON/Sioux Falls, SD (Vance Peterson)
25s ALEX SCHRIEVER/Sioux Falls, SD (Jeff Davis)
25x DAMION GARDNER/Concord, CA (Tom Malloy)
27 TUCKER KLAASMEYER/Paola, KS (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
27z ®ZANE HENDRICKS/Stillwater, OK (Tucker-Boat Motorsports)
35 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Petry Motorsports)
35L ANDREW LAYSER/Collegeville, PA (Alex Bright Racing)
35x CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Baue)
39 KYLE MAY/New Palestine, IN (Kyle May)
39BC ®ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Clauson-Marshall Racing)
46 KENNEY JOHNSON/Bethany, CT (Jeff Johnson)
46x ROBBY SPINO/Wallingford, CT (Robby Spino)
49 ANDY BRADLEY/Bloomington, IN (Andy Bradley)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner)
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (McCreery Motorsports)
57K KEVIN STUDLEY/Brownsburg, IN (Kevin Studley)
63 KEVIN THOMAS, JR./Cullman, AL (Joe Dooling)
63D J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Joe Dooling)
67 ®LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
67F KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFH Racing Development)
67K HOLLY SHELTON/Sacramento, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
68 DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN (SFH Racing Development)
69 RYAN SMITH/Kunkletown, PA (SFH Racing Development)
71 RYAN ROBINSON/Foresthill, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71x BRYAN DROLLINGER/Lomita, CA (Drollinger Racing)
72 ®SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
76E TBA (FMR Racing)
76m BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)
77 ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Alex Bright Racing)
77x OLIVIA BENNETT/Aurora, CO (Bennett Motorsports)
83 KARSYN ELLEDGE/Mooresville, NC (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
84 CHAD BOAT/Phoenix, AZ (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson Racing)
89 BRAYDAN WILLMINGTON/Marulan, New South Wales, Australia (Team RayPro)
91 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Harris Racing)
91T TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK (Brian Thomas)
97 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
99p DILLON WELCH/Carmel, IN (Kami Ronk)
99w KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Jay Mounce)
TBA (Clauson-Marshall Racing)

Tickets Go On Sale July 18 for Inaugural Dirt Track Race at IMS

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Press Release

Tickets Go On Sale July 18 for Inaugural Dirt Track Race at IMS

Reserved Seats Start at $35 for Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by NOS Energy Drink

INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, July 16, 2018 – Tickets for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by NOS Energy Drink, the inaugural event at The Dirt Track at IMS, will go on sale to the general public Wednesday, July 18 at IMS.com.

The United States Auto Club P1 Insurance Midget National Championship event will take place Wednesday, Sept. 5 and Thursday, Sept. 6 on the new quarter-mile clay oval located inside Turn 3 of the famous IMS asphalt oval. The event honors late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson and increases awareness of the Indiana Donor Network and its Driven2SaveLives campaign.

The 39-lap feature event will be the richest in Midget racing, with more than $70,000 in purse and incentives, including a $15,000 winner’s purse.

Fans can gain early, pre-sale access to the limited number of seats in the temporary infield grandstand by visiting IMS.com/BC39 today — Monday, July 16 — and completing the information form.

“Anticipation for the first race at The Dirt Track at IMS has continued to grow since we announced the Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by NOS Energy Drink in late June,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “These will be special, historic nights for short-track racing, and we can’t wait to start five straight days of fantastic action at IMS, including the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line, with a unique event filled with some of the finest drivers and teams in America.”

On Thursday, Sept. 6 for qualifying and the BC39 feature race, the temporary infield grandstand adjacent to The Dirt Track at IMS will be sold as Reserved Seats, with prices ranging from $35-$55 until July 31. Availability is limited and prices will increase Aug. 1, so fans are encouraged to buy early to get the best seats at the best prices.

Due to anticipated demand, the Northeast Vista grandstands outside Turn 3 of the IMS asphalt oval also will be available Thursday, Sept. 6 for General Admission seating. General Admission tickets in Northeast Vista start at $20, increasing to $25 on Race Day. Children 15 and under will be admitted for free to the General Admission area when accompanied by an adult ticket holder. Northeast Vista ticket holders will not have access to the IMS infield and will not be eligible to purchase a Pit Pass.

On Wednesday, Sept. 5 for practice and heat races, the temporary infield grandstand at The Dirt Track will be available for General Admission seating, with prices starting at $25 and increasing Aug. 1. Children 15 and under will be admitted for free Sept. 5 when accompanied by an adult ticket holder.

Fans can get even closer to the action by purchasing a Pit Pass for one or both days. Pit passes start at $20 per day, increasing to $25 per day at the gate. Pit Pass holders also must have a General Admission or Reserved Seat ticket, as the Pit Pass is not valid for gate admission.

Camping and prepaid parking also will be available for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by NOS Energy Drink on Sept. 5-6. Visit www.ims.com/bc39 for more information.

COURTNEY CAPITALIZES IN LINCOLN PARK’S “SPRINTACULAR”

COURTNEY CAPITALIZES
IN LINCOLN PARK’S “SPRINTACULAR”
 
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana………The roots of Tyler Courtney’s association with Lincoln Park Speedway run deep.  In fact, his grandparents, Mike and Verla Farrar, owned and operated the joint for nearly two decades between 1981 and 1996.
Courtney didn’t get to experience much of his family’s era at the helm of the 5/16-mile dirt oval since he was a little tyke at the time.  But on Friday night, he was able to experience what it was like to own victory lane at Lincoln Park, leading the final eight laps, and taking advantage of late-race misfortune that befell race leader Kevin Thomas. Jr., to win the 4th annual “Bill Gardner Sprintacular.”
Courtney had been knocking on the proverbial door at LPS in recent years, finishing in the runner-up spot in his first ever USAC appearance at the track in 2013 and again in his most recent stop there during the summer of 2017.
Courtney, a four-time series winner coming into the 30-lapper, began the race from the fifth spot while fellow four-time winner Thomas rocketed to the lead around pole sitter Jordan Kinser on the opening from his outside front row starting position.
The going got rough early with fifth-place driver Brady Bacon suffering a flat left rear tire on the second lap.  On the ensuing restart, a tangle ensued between multiple cars exiting the fourth turn.  Past track champ Brent Beauchamp became the victim suffering the worst wound as he rode over a wheel and barrel-rolled down the front straightaway.  He walked away unscathed.
Immediately following the red, Thomas opened a half-straightaway lead on the field and it wasn’t long before the leaders entered the tail end of lapped traffic.  On the 10th lap, Thomas and Isaac Chapple had a close encounter of third turn kind, but Thomas escaped and continued to dominate with authority.
Tyler Courtney won his first Lincoln Park Speedway USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature Friday night. Courtney’s grandparents, Mike and Verla Farrar, owned and operated the track for nearly two decades between 1981 and 1996. (Travis Branch Photo)
On lap 17, what would prove to be the move of the race came to fruition, when Courtney slipped by A.J. Hopkins for the second position in turn one.  The two made contact with each other in the process with Courtney’s rear bumper and Hopkins left front wheel shaking hands.  Yet, Thomas remained off into the great wide open ahead of Courtney who, at that point, seemed to have merely captured the battle for second in the background.
However, the topsy-turviness of racing would rear its head on the 23rd lap when race leader Thomas bucked the turn two cushion with his right rear tire, jackknifing the car to the right off the corner and sending him into a pair of aerial spirals before landing backdown on all fours beyond the ledge of the track.  Though Thomas would bid adieu to his fifth win of the year, his health was okay and, in fact, he would restart the race from the tail, eventually driving up to a 16th place result.
Courtney had no qualms about “inheriting” the lead.  To be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities, one must place themselves in a position to win.  That’s what he did and where he was tonight and has been for pretty much throughout the entire 2018 season.
“It’s all about putting yourself in the right position,” Courtney explained.  “There are going to be nights where KT’s going to be on the winning side of that.  There’ll be nights where somebody else is on the winning side of that and I’ll be on the losing side, and so on and so forth.  But you must put yourself in a position to be on the winning side of that.  We’re doing that night in and night out.  As tough as this series is, to put yourself in a position to win every night is crucial, especially in this tight points championship that we got going on right now.”
Multiple cars would occupy the space between new leader Courtney and second-place A.J. Hopkins for the lap 23 restart.  Courtney swiftly launched away as Hopkins quickly excused the two lapped cars to pull within earshot of Courtney, creating a top-two breakaway from all challengers.
The breakaway became just a single party in the final laps as Courtney made a reservation for two in victory lane for he and his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/Priority Aviation – Competition Suspension, Inc./Spike/Rider Chevy to win  the 11th USAC National Sprint Car feature of his career, tying Daron Clayton, Greg Leffler and Chase Stockon for 44th all-time.
Winner Tyler Courtney (middle) is flanked by 2nd place finisher A.J. Hopkins (left) and 3rd place finisher Jason McDougal (right). (David Nearpass Photo)
Hopkins, Jason McDougal (from 22nd), Chris Windom (from 21st) and Kinser rounded out the top-five.  The finishes by Hopkins, McDougal, and Kinser were all career bests in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition.
Meanwhile, Courtney became the first to reach his fifth series feature win of the season and took over possession of the series point lead by six over Thomas heading into the 31st edition of “Indiana Sprint Week,” which begins July 20 at Plymouth Speedway.  While Courtney is optimistic, he remains realistic.
“Both of those numbers going into ‘Indiana Sprint Week’ are cool, but, unfortunately, we’re not even halfway through the season yet.  You just have to keep racing like you’ve been racing, and it will piece itself together.  I think we’re in a really good spot.  We have a really good car and group behind us.”
Contingency award winners Friday night at Lincoln Park Speedway included Thomas Meseraull (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Tim Creech (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Justin Grant (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Jason McDougal (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Carson Short (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Kent Schmidt (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 6, 2018 – Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana – 4th”Bill Gardner Sprintacular”
QUALIFYING: 1. Carson Short, 21, RCM-12.467; 2. Kody Swanson, 3R, Rock Steady-12.560; 3. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-12.734; 4. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-12.793; 5. A.J. Hopkins, 4J, 4J Motorsports-12.840; 6. Tony DiMattia, 50, TDM-12.874; 7. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-12.884; 8. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-12.896; 9. Jordan Kinser, 70, Hurst-12.897; 10. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-12.903; 11. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-12.951; 12. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox/Nigg-12.966; 13. Kent Schmidt, 5K, Schmidt-13.047; 14. Brian VanMeveren, 24B, Silvers-13.102; 15. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-13.113; 16. Nate McMillin, 24m, McMillin-13.129; 17. Thomas Meseraull, 5B, Briscoe-13.129; 18. Tim Creech, 2c, Creech-13.143; 19. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.179; 20. Brent Beauchamp, 34, Olson-13.198; 21. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.210; 22. Colten Cottle, 5c, Cottle-13.225; 23. Mario Clouser, 6, MCM-13.287; 24. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-13.323; 25. Chad Boespflug, 98, NineEight-13.335; 26. Ben Knight, 16K, Knight-13.349; 27. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-13.398; 28. Jason McDougal, 21K, Krockenberger-13.433; 29. Shelby VanGilder, 22v, VanGilder-13.517; 30. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-13.525; 31. Kyle Cummins, 3c, EZR/Cummins-13.558; 32. Matt McDonald, 5m, McDonald-13.666; 33. Shane Cockrum, 04, Burton-13.773; 34. Brady Ottinger, 4B, 4J Motorsports-14.190; 35. Harley Burns, 16, Rolison-14.242; 36. Eric Burns, 99B, Gasway-14.278; 37. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-14.706.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Meseraull, 2. Kinser, 3. Ballou, 4. Hopkins, 5. Short, 6. Schmidt, 7. Cockrum, 8. VanGilder, 9. Boespflug, 10. Bell. 2:12.38
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Creech, 2. C. Cottle, 3. Leary, 4. DiMattia, 5. Andretti, 6. Swanson, 7. Knight, 8. VanMeveren, 9. Ottinger. NT
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Grant, 2. Stockon, 3. Thomas, 4. Bacon, 5. Windom, 6. Clouser, 7. Chapple, 8. H. Burns, 9. Cummins. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Courtney, 2. Darland, 3. Beauchamp, 4. Mattox, 5. Hodges, 6. McDougal, 7. McMillin, 8. McDonald, 9. E. Burns. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Short, 2. McDougal, 3. Clouser, 4. Hodges, 5. Windom, 6. Swanson, 7. Chapple, 8. McMillin, 9. VanGilder, 10. Schmidt, 11. Bell, 12. Ottinger, 13. Boespflug, 14. E. Burns, 15. VanMeveren, 16. Cockrum, 17. McDonald, 18. Knight. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (5), 2. A.J. Hopkins (4), 3. Jason McDougal (22), 4. Chris Windom (21), 5. Jordan Kinser (1), 6. Thomas Meseraull (13), 7. Dave Darland (20), 8. Brandon Mattox (12), 9. Robert Ballou (17), 10. Josh Hodges (9), 11. Brady Bacon (6), 12. C.J. Leary (10), 13. Carson Short (7), 14. Kody Swanson (8), 15. Chase Stockon (11), 16. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (2), 17. Isaac Chapple (23), 18. Mario Clouser (19), 19. Justin Grant (15), 20. Tony DiMattia (3), 21. Tim Creech (14), 22. Brent Beauchamp (16), 23. Colten Cottle (18). NT
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**Andretti flipped during the second heat.  Beauchamp flipped on lap 2 of the feature.  Thomas flipped on lap 23 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-22 Thomas, Laps 23-30 Courtney.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Jason McDougal (22nd to 3rd)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Carson Short
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Kent Schmidt
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-1260, 2-Thomas-1254, 3-Windom-1241, 4-Ballou-1102, 5-Stockon-1086, 6-Bacon-1080, 7-Darland-1042, 8-Leary-994, 9-Grant-983, 10-Boespflug-833.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 20 – Plymouth Speedway – Plymouth, Indiana – 31st “Indiana Sprint Week”

SWANSON EQUALS UNSER WITH 4TH STRAIGHT HOOSIER HUNDRED WIN

Kody Swanson celebrates his fourth-straight “Hoosier Hundred” win Thursdaynight at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. (Dallas Breeze Photo)
SWANSON EQUALS UNSER WITH 4TH STRAIGHT HOOSIER HUNDRED WIN
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Indianapolis, Indiana………Al Unser and Kody Swanson.  Of course, Al Unser’s place in the history of the sport has long ago been cemented.  Kody Swanson’s legacy continues to grow with each race, each year.
Following Thursday night’s 63rd running of the “Hoosier Hundred,” those two names will forever be linked as drivers who’ve mastered the 100-mile event at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in four consecutive attempts.  Unser got the job done in 1970-71-72-73 and now Swanson in 2014-15-16-18 (2017 was rained out).
It’s a feat that the Kingsburg, California driver admits he’s unsure will ever sink in.  But this had a slightly different feel for the three-time Silver Crown champion.  Rather than settling in and then pouncing to the lead about two-thirds of the way in as he had during his first three wins, Swanson became the rabbit early on after starting from the pole position, setting the pace.
“Sometimes coming from fourth or sixth is ideal here,” Swanson explained.  “Winning the pole is important and getting those three bonus points is important.  Two years ago, it proved that every point counts.  I’ve won the pole before and still rode in third or fourth for a while.  Tonight, the racetrack was different.  I know the other three all came about the same way, but believe it or not, it wasn’t just by design.  You try to run each race independently, try to manage your tires, your situation, your brakes and they happened to work out the same as those ones.  I’d say it’s coincidence as much as anything.”
“Obviously, the later it gets, the more time becomes of the essence,” Swanson continued.  “The way the racetrack was, I didn’t feel like I wanted to be fourth or sixth because there are a lot of good cars and maybe you don’t have as many passing opportunities to get them back.  I was okay with leading early, for a little while, but the harder they wanted to press, the less I was okay with it.  I didn’t want to get off my game because of what was going on behind me.”
At the start, Swanson set the tone, but two-time Du Quoin “Ted Horn 100” winner Shane Cockrum was an early challenger, peeking the nose of his No. 71 high and low on both ends of the racetrack on lap 12 before falling into line.  There wasn’t much time for riding around, though, and eight laps later, two-time USAC National Sprint Car champ Brian Tyler stormed to second past Cockrum and quickly closed in on leader Swanson.
A yellow on lap 21 slowed the pace for a moment, but not Tyler’s.  Tyler checked high, he checked low and, on lap 29, got a run on Swanson down the front straightaway that propelled him into the lead on lap 29.  Tyler quickly put a large gap between he and Swanson which grew to four-plus seconds by lap 40 when the yellow flag flew following series Rookie Kyle Robbins’ turn three wall contact.
Sometimes plans change mid-stream and, when constant pressure was being applied to from Tyler, Swanson admitted that the game plan changed.
“It’s hard,” Swanson admits.  “I’m trying to win the Depalmas a fifth-straight title, which has never been done.  If I had let somebody outthink me, and I blow a tire and give it away, then that’s on me.  I got to a spot where I couldn’t do it anymore. He got a big run and that seemed like the right time to change strategy a little bit and I tried to save as much as I could.  If I’m going to be behind, I might as well save everything I can.”
Kody Swanson equaled Al Unser’s record of four-straight “Hoosier Hundred” wins set from 1970-73. (Rich Forman Photo)
“The racetrack was different and what it was going to require was different,” Swanson continued.  “I hated leading early.  I mean, I just hated it.  Cockrum was good and (Shane) Cottle was good.  I knew Tyler would be good too.  If Tyler qualifies in the top-18, he’s going to be good.  I know that from being his teammate.  He was pushing hard, and I wasn’t going to hold him off for 70 (laps) in a row.  He wanted to go faster than I felt I could go at the time.”
Following the lap 44 restart, Tyler reestablished a stranglehold at the front, but in racing, things can change in a hurry.  On the 56th lap, Tyler made contact with a piece of brake rotor that came off Chris Windom’s car, sending Tyler hard into the outside wall and ending dreams of a first “Hoosier Hundred” victory for the veteran driver.
During that 12-lap stint following the restart, Swanson was fully-entrenched in his game plan, hanging a little bit closer to Tyler than before the yellow.
“We caught a caution there and I felt like I tried to stay with him a little bit and felt like I could,” Swanson said.  “It wasn’t as easy to run him down as I was hoping.  I felt like we could stay with him, and maybe the longer it went, the more things would come to us.  You watch their cars and I could tell he was very good through the corner and good off the corner.  I felt like we were running awful hard and I absolutely hated to see that happen to him.  Brian’s been a teammate, he’s a friend of mine and I know he’s been after a “Hoosier Hundred” win for a long time.  I can’t say that I would’ve gotten him, but I was going to give it everything I had at the end, but so would he, and he’s very good.”
When racing resumed, the show came down to a two-horse race between Swanson and Cockrum.  Swanson established his dominance by never wavering from 10-15 car-length lead as the two orchestrated a cat-and-mouse chase through lapped traffic.  However, each time Cockrum seemed to move his chess piece past one obstacle, Swanson picked one off himself and never gave Cockrum an opportunity to shave off any of the interval.
A lap 88 yellow for a turn three crash involving Jerry Coons, Jr. erased the gap, albeit momentarily.  Swanson never allowed Cockrum to get close enough to challenge, finishing out an incredible run of success on the Indy Mile, winning by 2.7 seconds over Cockrum, Tyler Courtney, Cottle and a career-best finish for birthday boy Johnny Petrozelle.
The win was the 21st of Swanson’s Silver Crown career, moving him to within two of Jack Hewitt’s record 23 victories.
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USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: May 24, 2018 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Indiana State Fairgrounds – 63rd “Hoosier Hundred”
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-33.522; 2. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-33.722; 3. Shane Cockrum, 71, Hardy Boys-33.921; 4. Chris Windom, 17, Nolen-34.496; 5. Brian Tyler, 12, Galas-34.626; 6. Tyler Courtney, 97, Lein-34.749; 7. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-34.808; 8. Chris Dyson, 9, Dyson-34.843; 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-34.946; 10. A.J. Fike, 711, Hardy-Boys-35.049; 11. Joe Liguori, 4, Liguori-35.053; 12. Jeff Swindell, 21, Swanson-35.089; 13. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR Racing-35.136; 14. Coleman Gulick, 114, Team Scorpion-35.251; 15. Kevin Thomas Jr., 56, Foxco-35.307; 16. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-35.370; 17. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-35.400; 18. Johnny Petrozelle, 8, Cornell/Petrozelle-35.484; 19. Mike Haggenbottom, 124, Haggenbottom-35.563; 20. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-35.651; 21. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-35.723; 22. J.C. Bland, 5, BBE-35.730; 23. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-35.745; 24. Austin Mundie, 47, Butler-35.818; 25. Brady Bacon, 6, Klatt-35.985; 26. Neil Shepherd, 04, Shepherd-36.021; 27. Dave Darland, 75, Rose-36.244; 28. Casey Shuman, 55, Bateman-36,297; 29. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-36.306; 30. Steve Buckwalter, 53, Five-Three-36.415; 31. Bill Rose, 66, Rose-36.556; 32. Korey Weyant, 99, Weyant-36.722; 33. Daniel Robinson, 43, Felker/Nix-37.476; 34. Ken Schrader, 14, McQuinn-37.525; 35. Austin Nemire, 16, Nemire/Lesko-38.843; 36. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-39.734; 37. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-41.079; 38. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Shepherd, 2. Shuman, 3. Bacon, 4. Darland, 5. Buckwalter, 6. Weyant, 7. Lawson, 8. Rose, 9. Robinson, 10. Welpott, 11. Schrader, 12. Nemire, 13. Berkheimer.
FEATURE: (100 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Shane Cockrum (3), 3. Tyler Courtney (6), 4. Shane Cottle (2), 5. Johnny Petrozelle (18), 6. Jacob Wilson (21), 7. Joe Liguori (11), 8. David Byrne (15), 9. Dave Darland (28), 10. Austin Mundie (24), 11. Austin Nemire (29), 12. Matt Goodnight (19), 13. Chris Windom (4), 14. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 15. Casey Shuman (26), 16. Chris Dyson (8), 17. Korey Weyant (30), 18. Jerry Coons Jr. (9), 19. Brady Bacon (25), 20. Steve Buckwalter (27), 21. Justin Grant (16), 22. Travis Welpott (32), 23. Brian Tyler (5), 24. C.J. Leary (7), 25. Kyle Robbins (31), 26. Kevin Thomas Jr. (13), 27. J.C. Bland (22), 28. Russ Gamester (20), 29. Jeff Swindell (12), 30. Neil Shepherd (23), 31. Coleman Gulick (14), 32. A.J. Fike (10).
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-28 Swanson, Laps 29-55 Tyler, Laps 56-100 Swanson.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER AWARD: Dave Darland (28th to 9th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Chris Windom
NEW USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Swanson-286, 2-Grant-205, 3-Byrne-188, 4-Windom-180, 5-Nemire-168, 6-Goodnight-155, 7-Welpott-147, 8-Coons-145, 9-Pierce-138, 10-Bobby Santos-137.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR RACE May 25 – Brownsburg, IN – Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis – “Dave Steele Carb Night Classic”
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