WINDOM CASHES IN ON USAC NATIONAL SPRINT MIDWEST OPENER AT THE BURG
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Chris Windom finished the 2016 season as the hottest driver in all of USAC, but once the calendar flipped over to 2017, lady luck could not be found by his side.
Through the first couple of races to begin the 2017 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car calendar, the Canton, Illinois native had managed just 8th and 16th place finishes at Ocala, Florida’s “Winter Dirt Games.” The latter race being especially deflating as Windom fell out of the lead after losing a right rear tire with just seven laps remaining.
Another flip of the calendar from March to April was all Windom needed, but it came along with a track he had yet to tame in USAC competition in southeastern Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway
In almost a cruel manner, Windom had finished as the runner-up on five different occasions during his career in USAC competition, including last Fall’s most recent stop on the tour. But, as has been the case over the past couple years in any type of car, any type of event, the race for victory is going to have to go through Chris Windom.
Windom began the 30-lap feature from the outside of the front row alongside polesitter Chad Boespflug. But by the time the field reached turn one of lap one, mayhem ensued as both occupants of the third row were wiped out in a frightening double-flip. Dave Darland and Chase Stockon were able to walk away, but their respective races were over just as they had begun.
When racing resumed, Boespflug initially held the advantage into turn one, but Windom answered with a big run down the banking off turn two to blast around the outside of Boespflug and grab the lead. Once clear, Windom shot away to a full-straightaway lead by the time the caution fell for the slowing car of Carson Short on lap nine.
With Windom’s lead erased, the field was reset for the ensuing restart and that provided Hunter Schuerenberg his opportunity to charge as he squeezed, with just inches to spare, between Jon Stanbrough, Shawn Westerfeld and Tyler Courtney off of four before running down Stanbrough for the third spot.
Schuerenberg was a rocketship as he outdueled Boespflug for second in turn three. Schuerenberg’s chase was now aimed at running down Windom for the lead, but the pursuit would end abruptly in a massive way when he biked it in turn one, sending him into a violent series of barrel-rolls before coming to a rest near the turn two wall. Schuerenberg was able to climb out of his battered machine and walk away from the breathtaking accident.
Just past the halfway point, Windom neared the tail end of the field, weaving his way through the lapped traffic as a trail of sparks began to stream out of his orange number 5. Windom was working both pedals on entry, and if the brakes went out, they went out, which would seem to make it a bit of a hairy situation for many. But, Windom was on a rail as he negotiated the lappers, clearing them by the 24th lap.
However, with Shane Cottle coming to a rest backwards on the inside of turn four with five laps remaining, the yellow flag would fly and bunch up the field for one final run to the checkered.
As Windom ventured up to the top of turn one on the lap 26 restart, Boespflug made one last go of it as he tried to slide up in front of Windom between turns one and two. The second, third and fourth verses were the same as the first. Windom never batted an eye as he cruised around the outside of Boespflug to take the advantage for good, distancing himself from Boespflug by 1.3 seconds at race end to shed the label of perennial Lawrenceburg runner-up by leading all 30 laps on his way to victory. Chad Boespflug was second ahead of Justin Grant.
Windom’s first ever April USAC triumph vaulted him into fifth in the USAC National Sprint Car standings. Grant continues to stand atop the points after three-straight top-three finishes to begin the season. He leads by 14 over Chad Boespflug, Chase Stockon and Hunter Schuerenberg.
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2017 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (228) Justin Grant (Ione, CA)
2. (214) Chad Boespflug (Hanford, CA)
3. (175) Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, IN)
4. (173) Hunter Schuerenberg (Sikeston, MO)
5. (172) Chris Windom (Canton, IL)
6. (152) Jarett Andretti (Mooresville, NC)
7. (145) Josh Hodges (Tijeras, NM)
8. (134) Shane Cottle (Kokomo, IN)
9. (128) Landon Simon (Tipp City, OH)
10. (128) Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)
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2017 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (228) Sam McGhee Motorsports #11
2. (214) Dynamics, Inc. #69
3. (175) 32 TBI Racing #32
4. (173) Seth Motsinger Motorsports #2
5. (172) Baldwin Brothers Racing #5
6. (152) Andretti Autosport Short Track #18
7. (145) Hodges Motorsports #74x
8. (135) Pace Racing #44
9. (128) Dooling/Hayward #63
10. (128) Landon Simon Racing #24
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2017 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS:
Feb 23: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park
WINNER: Rained Out
Feb 24: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park
WINNER: Justin Grant
Feb 25: Ocala, FL - Bubba Raceway Park
WINNER: Hunter Schuerenberg
Apr 1: Lawrenceburg, IN - Lawrenceburg Speedway
WINNER: Chris Windom
Apr 14: Bloomington, IN - Bloomington Speedway
Apr 15: Haubstadt, IN - Tri-State Speedway
Apr 21: Plymouth, IN – Plymouth Speedway
Apr 22: Montpelier, IN - Montpelier Motor Speedway
May 12: Rossburg, OH - Eldora Speedway
May 13: Rossburg, OH - Eldora Speedway
May 19: Granite City, IL – Tri-City Speedway
May 20: Pevely, MO – Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55
May 24: Terre Haute, IN - Terre Haute Action Track
Jun 2: Greenwood, NE – I-80 Speedway
Jun 3: Knoxville, IA – Knoxville Raceway
Jun 13: %%% Bechtelsville, PA - Grandview Speedway
Jun 14: %%% Abbottstown, PA - Lincoln Speedway
Jun 15: %%% Mechanicsburg, PA – Williams Grove Speedway
Jun 17: %%% Port Royal, PA – Port Royal Speedway
Jun 18: %%% York Haven, PA - Susquehanna Speedway
Jun 30: Putnamville, IN - Lincoln Park Speedway
Jul 7: *** Gas City, IN - Gas City I-69 Speedway
Jul 8: *** Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
Jul 9: *** Lawrenceburg, IN - Lawrenceburg Speedway
Jul 12: *** Terre Haute, IN - Terre Haute Action Track
Jul 13: *** Putnamville, IN - Lincoln Park Speedway
Jul 14: *** Bloomington, IN - Bloomington Speedway
Jul 15: *** Haubstadt, IN - Tri-State Speedway
Jul 28: TBA - TBA
Jul 29: Kansas City, KS – Lakeside Speedway
Jul 30: Moberly, MO – Randolph County Raceway
Aug 23: (SE) Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
Aug 24: Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
Aug 25: Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
Aug 26: Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
Sep 15: Terre Haute, IN - Terre Haute Action Track
Sep 16: Haubstadt, IN - Tri-State Speedway
Sep 23: Rossburg, OH - Eldora Speedway
Sep 30: Lawrenceburg, IN - Lawrenceburg Speedway
Oct 6: TBA – TBA
Oct 7: TBA – TBA
Nov 3: ### Queen Creek, AZ - Arizona Speedway
Nov 4: ### Queen Creek, AZ - Arizona Speedway
Nov 9: ### Perris, CA - Perris Auto Speedway
Nov 10: ### Perris, CA - Perris Auto Speedway
Nov 11: ### Perris, CA - Perris Auto Speedway
Races noted with (SE) represent a non-points-paying "Special Event"
Races noted with %%% represent Eastern Storm
Races noted with @@@ represent California Sprint Week.
Races noted with *** represent Indiana Sprint Week
Races noted with ### represent a race with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series.
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2017 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS:
FEATURE WINS:
1. (1) Justin Grant (Feb. 24 at Bubba Raceway Park)
(1) Hunter Schuerenberg (Feb. 25 at Bubba Raceway Park)
(1) Chris Windom (Apr. 1 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)
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FEATURE LAPS LED:
1. (51) Chris Windom
2. (21) Justin Grant
3. (9) Dave Darland
4. (7) Hunter Schuerenberg
5. (2) Thomas Meseraull
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TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES:
1. (3) Chad Boespflug & Justin Grant
3. (2) Brady Bacon
4. (1) C.J. Leary, Thomas Meseraull, Landon Simon, Jon Stanbrough, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
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TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES:
1. (3) Chad Boespflug & Justin Grant
3. (2) Jarett Andretti, Brady Bacon, Josh Hodges, Thomas Meseraull, Hunter Schuerenberg, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
10. (1) Jerry Coons, Jr., Shane Cottle, Kyle Cummins, Dave Darland, C.J. Leary, Carson Short, Landon Simon, Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Thomas, Jr. & Shawn Westerfeld
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PROSOURCE FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
1. (2) Justin Grant
2. (1) Carson Short
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HEAT RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension (CSI), Chalk Stix & Indy Race Parts):
1. (3) Chase Stockon
2. (1) Nick Bilbee, Jeff Bland, Jr., Shane Cottle, Max McGhee, Landon Simon, Carson Short & Chris Windom
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SEMI WINS:
1. (1) Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland & Max McGhee
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FEATURE STARTS:
1. (3) Jarett Andretti, Jeff Bland, Jr., Chad Boespflug, Isaac Chapple, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Dave Darland, Justin Grant, Josh Hodges, Max McGhee, Hunter Schuerenberg, Carson Short, Landon Simon, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
16. (2) Brady Bacon, Jerry Coons, Jr., Kyle Cummins, Aaron Farney, Dallas Hewitt, C.J. Leary & Thomas Meseraull
23. (1) Nick Bilbee, Rob Caho, Jr., Joe Liguori, Corey Smith, Jon Stanbrough, Kody Swanson, Kevin Thomas, Jr., Tyler Thomas & Shawn Westerfeld
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS “HARD CHARGER” OF THE RACE:
2/24: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (16th to 4th)
2/25: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (13th to 5th)
4/1: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Shane Cottle (21st to 10th)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHERS:
2/24: Bubba Raceway Park – Tyler Courtney
2/25: Bubba Raceway Park – Tyler Courtney
4/1: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tyler Thomas
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS:
1. [59 wins] Dave Darland
2. [52 wins] Tom Bigelow
3. [47 wins] Tracy Hines
4. [46 wins] Jack Hewitt
5. [45 wins] Larry Dickson
6. [42 wins] Pancho Carter
7. [41 wins] Bryan Clauson
8. [40 wins] Gary Bettenhausen
9. [37 wins] Sheldon Kinser
10. [35 wins] Jon Stanbrough & Rich Vogler
12. [32 wins] Rollie Beale
13. [28 wins] Levi Jones & J.J. Yeley
15. [26 wins] Robert Ballou, Tony Elliott & Dave Steele
18. [25 wins] Steve Butler & Jay Drake
20. [23 wins] A.J. Foyt & Roger McCluskey
22. [22 wins] Rick Hood, Bubby Jones & Sam Sessions
25. [21 wins] Greg Weld
26. [17 wins] Brady Bacon, Jerry Coons, Jr., Parnelli Jones & Bud Kaeding
30. [16 wins] Damion Gardner
31. [15 wins] Bobby East, Cory Kruseman, Jud Larson, Brian Tyler & Chris Windom
36. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Jim Hurtubise, Lee Kunzman & Bruce Walkup
40. [13 wins] Don Branson & Steve Chassey
42. [12 wins] Eric Gordon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
44. [11 wins] Daron Clayton & Greg Leffler
46. [10 wins] Tony Stewart
47. [9 wins] Mario Andretti, Hunter Schuerenberg & Robbie Stanley
50. [8 wins] Mike Bliss, Chet Fillip, Johnny Rutherford, Joe Saldana, & Chase Stockon
55. [7 wins] Kevin Doty, Darren Hagen, Kenny Irwin, Jr., Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Bobby Santos, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas, Bobby Unser & Josh Wise
65. [6 wins] Kevin Briscoe, Jac Haudenschild, Jason McCord, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, George Snider & Dick Tobias
72. [5 wins] Chad Boespflug, Larry Cannon, Dana Carter, Derek Davidson, Gene Lee Gibson, Jeff Gordon, Justin Grant, Chuck Gurney, Shane Hmiel, Kevin Huntley, Frankie Kerr, Kelly Kinser, Eddie Leavitt, Jim Mahoney, Andy Michner, Johnny Parsons, Bill Puterbaugh & Cole Whitt
90. [4 wins] Rob Chaney, Cary Faas, Jesse Hockett, Steve Kinser, Michael Lewis, Thomas Meseraull, Don Nordhorn, Lee Osborne, Red Riegel, Ken Schrader, Al Smith & Danny Smith
102. [3 wins] Chuck Amati, Sonny Ates, Jeff Bloom, Mark Cassella, Shane Cottle, Jerry Daniels, Bob East, Bob Frey, Dickie Gaines, Wayne Hammond, Tray House, Kenny Jacobs, Tony Jones, Kyle Larson, Ralph Liguori, Charlie Masters, Mike Mosley, Larry Rice, Ron Shuman, Mitch Smith & Doug Wolfgang
123. [2 wins] Chad Boat, Marvin Carman, Ed Carpenter, Kyle Cummins, Brad Doty, Nic Faas, Cy Fairchild, Brad Fox, Arnie Knepper, Danny Lasoski, Mack McClellan, James McElreath, Lealand McSpadden, Danny Milburn, Mat Neely, Ryan Newman, Jerry Poland, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Mickey Shaw, Terry Shepherd, Dean Shirley, Brad Sweet, Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Mike Spencer, Bud Tingelstad, Billy Vukovich, Mike Ward & Carl Williams
153. [1 win] Donnie Adams, A.J. Anderson, Brad Armstrong, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Astone, Dick Atkins, Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Stan Bowman, Alan Brown, Karl Busson, Johnny Capels, David Cardey, Bob Cicconi, Henry Clarke, Troy Cline, Duke Cook, Mel Cornett, Tyler Courtney, Allen Crowe, Bill Engelhart, Cotton Farmer, Aaron Farney, Gary Fedewa, Blake Fitzpatrick, Joe Gaerte, Russ Gamester, Rickie Gaunt, Elmer George, Brian Gerster, Todd Gibson, Ron Gregory, Richard Griffin, Garrett Hansen, Jerry Hansen, Jim Hemmings, Josh Hodges, Bob Hogle, Jackie Howerton, Chuck Hulse, Logan Jarrett, Marc Jessup, Gordon Johncock, Chet Johnson, Page Jones, Bob Kinser, Mike Kirby, C.J. Leary, Fred Linder, Steve Long, Hank Lower, Brett Mann, Bobby Marshman, Larry Martin, Mike Martin, Brad Marvel, Justin Marvel, Rusty McClure, Bob McCoy, Jim McElreath, Bobby Olivero, Gary Patterson, Billy Pauch, Dave Peperak, Jiggs Peters, Aaron Pierce, Paul Pitzer, Terry Pletch, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Bud Randall, Byron Reed, Boston Reid, Rodney Ritter, Jr., David Roahrig, Carson Short, Billy Shuman, Jimmy Sills, Smokey Snellbaker, Wib Spalding, Greg Staab, Randy Standridge, Ron Standridge, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kody Swanson, Tanner Swanson, Mike Sweeney, Jeff Swindell, Clark Templeman, Bill Tyler, Rick Ungar, Lennie Waldo, Tyler Walker, Scotty Weir, Kenny Weld, Bob Wente, Matt Westfall, Johnny White, Rip Williams, Jacob Wilson & Eddie Wirth
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ALL-TIME USAC SPRINT CAR DRIVER CHAMPIONS:
1956: Pat O'Connor (Midwest) & Tommy Hinnershitz (Eastern); 1957: Elmer George (Midwest) & Bill Randall (Eastern); 1958: Eddie Sachs (Midwest) & Johnny Thomson (Eastern); 1959: Don Branson (Midwest) & Tommy Hinnershitz (Eastern); 1960: Parnelli Jones (Midwest) & A.J. Foyt (Eastern); 1961: Parnelli Jones; 1962: Parnelli Jones; 1963: Roger McCluskey; 1964: Don Branson; 1965: Johnny Rutherford; 1966: Roger McCluskey; 1967: Greg Weld; 1968: Larry Dickson; 1969: Gary Bettenhausen; 1970: Larry Dickson; 1971: Gary Bettenhausen; 1972: Sam Sessions; 1973: Rollie Beale; 1974: Pancho Carter; 1975: Larry Dickson; 1976: Pancho Carter; 1977: Sheldon Kinser; 1978: Tom Bigelow; 1979: Greg Leffler; 1980: Rich Vogler; 1981: Sheldon Kinser; 1982: Sheldon Kinser; 1983: Ken Schrader; 1984: Rick Hood; 1985: Rick Hood; 1986: Steve Butler; 1987: Steve Butler; 1988: Steve Butler; 1989: Rich Vogler; 1990: Steve Butler; 1991: Robbie Stanley; 1992: Robbie Stanley; 1993: Robbie Stanley; 1994: Doug Kalitta; 1995: Tony Stewart; 1996: Brian Tyler; 1997: Brian Tyler; 1998: Tony Elliott; 1999: Dave Darland; 2000: Tony Elliott; 2001: J.J. Yeley; 2002: Tracy Hines; 2003: J.J. Yeley; 2004: Jay Drake; 2005: Levi Jones; 2006: Josh Wise; 2007: Levi Jones; 2008: Jerry Coons, Jr.; 2009: Levi Jones; 2010: Levi Jones (Dirt) & Shane Hmiel (Pavement); 2011: Levi Jones (Dirt) & Bobby Santos (Pavement); 2012: Bryan Clauson; 2013: Bryan Clauson; 2014: Brady Bacon; 2015: Robert Ballou; 2016: Brady Bacon
