USAC NATIONAL SPRINTS MAKE MIDWEST DEBUT SATURDAY AT LAWRENCEBURG
March may have come in like a lion, but the hugely-anticipated month of April truly delivers the roar to the contingent of Midwest fans and drivers who have eagerly awaited this moment for the past six months. It’s the return of USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car racing to the state of Indiana, which arrives this Saturday night, April 1 at southeastern Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.
Ione, California’s Justin Grant has been dominant in the early part of the season after picking up the victory in the USAC National Sprint Car opener at “Winter Dirt Games VIII” in Ocala, Florida. He followed that up one night later by finishing second to Hunter Schuerenberg and, by virtue, stands at the top of the series standings heading to the Burg.
Grant’s early season success would not cease and desist at that moment. Less than a month after Ocala, Grant scored the USAC National Midget season opener in February's “Shamrock Classic” at Du Quoin’s Southern Illinois Center. The feat made him the first driver to win both the USAC National Sprint and National Midget season openers in the same season.
Grant’s odds just might be in his favor as two of his five career USAC Sprint wins have come at the high-banked three-eighths-mile oval in Lawrenceburg!
Hanford, California’s Chad Boespflug, the 2011 Lawrenceburg track champion, finished a strong second and fourth in the two Ocala races and sits third in points. Tied for seventh in the series standings are C.J. Leary and Jarett Andretti, who each have a Lawrenceburg track championship under their belt: Leary in 2013 and Andretti in 2016.
Chase Stockon, a Lawrenceburg winner in the fall of 2012, is fourth in the standings. Brady Bacon took the checkered at Lawrenceburg in the summer of 2015 and is fifth in points. Thomas Meseraull, a Burg winner in the fall of 2015, sits sixth while 2010 winner Jerry Coons, Jr. is tied for ninth. Hunter Schuerenberg (second) and Chris Windom (tied for ninth) are each seeking their first USAC win at Lawrenceburg.
In last year’s Midwest opener at Lawrenceburg, it was a war of attrition as car after car fell by the wayside on a chillingly cold and blustery day. But, in the end, the veteran Dave Darland conserved his machine from the wear and tear, surviving the 30-lapper to extend his miraculous streak of USAC National victories to 24 consecutive seasons.
Lawrenceburg has played the host of several April USAC National Sprint Car stops on-and-off since 2006. Previous April Lawrenceburg winners include Jon Stanbrough (2006), Levi Jones (2007), Josh Wise (2009), Jerry Coons, Jr. (2010), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (2013), Grant (2014), Logan Jarrett (2015) and Dave Darland (2016). Darland leads all drivers with seven career USAC National Sprint Car wins at Lawrenceburg and is the only driver to win a series race there in three different decades.
Pit gates open for Lawrenceburg’s season opener at 3pm while the front gates open at 5. Cars hit the track for hot laps at 6pm with opening ceremonies set to get underway at 7. Adult admission is $25. Kids 7-12 are $7. Children 6 and under are free! Pit passes are 30 bucks.
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2017 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (155) Justin Grant (Ione, CA)
2. (144) Hunter Schuerenberg (Sikeston, MO)
3. (141) Chad Boespflug (Hanford, CA)
4. (139) Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, IN)
5. (128) Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)
6. (120) Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, CA)
7. (99) C.J. Leary (Greenfield, IN) & Jarett Andretti (Mooresville, NC)
9. (96) Chris Windom (Canton, IL) & Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ)
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2017 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (155) Sam McGhee Motorsports #11
2. (144) Seth Motsinger Motorsports #2
3. (141) Dynamics, Inc. #69
4. (139) 32 TBI Racing #32
5. (128) Dooling/Hayward Motorsports #63
6. (120) Rick Pollock #21
7. (99) Leary Racing #30 & Andretti Autosport Short Track #18
9. (96) Baldwin Brothers Racing #5 & Gene Nolen Racing #20
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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
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)
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FEATURE LAPS LED:
1. (21) Justin Grant & Chris Windom
3. (9) Dave Darland
4. (7) Hunter Schuerenberg
5. (2) Thomas Meseraull
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TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES:
1. (2) Brady Bacon, Chad Boespflug & Justin Grant
4. (1) C.J. Leary, Thomas Meseraull, & Chase Stockon
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TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES:
1. (2) Brady Bacon, Chad Boespflug, Justin Grant, Thomas Meseraull, Hunter Schuerenberg & Chase Stockon
7. (1) Jarett Andretti, Jerry Coons, Jr., Kyle Cummins, Dave Darland, Josh Hodges, C.J. Leary, Carson Short & Chris Windom
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PROSOURCE FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
1. (1) Justin Grant & Carson Short
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HEAT RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension (CSI), Chalk Stix & Indy Race Parts):
1. (2) Chase Stockon
2. (1) Max McGhee, Landon Simon, Carson Short & Chris Windom
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SEMI WINS:
1. (1) Dave Darland & Max McGhee
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FEATURE STARTS:
1. (2) Jarett Andretti, Brady Bacon, Jeff Bland, Jr., Chad Boespflug, Isaac Chapple, Jerry Coons, Jr., Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Dave Darland, Aaron Farney, Justin Grant, Josh Hodges, C.J. Leary, Max McGhee, Thomas Meseraull, Hunter Schuerenberg, Carson Short, Landon Simon, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
22. (1) Rob Caho, Jr., Dallas Hewitt & Joe Liguori
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS “HARD CHARGER” OF THE RACE:
2/24: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (12 positions)
2/25: Bubba Raceway Park – Brady Bacon (8 positions)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHERS:
2/24: Bubba Raceway Park – Tyler Courtney
2/25: Bubba Raceway Park – Tyler Courtney
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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
35. [14 wins] Billy Cassella, Jim Hurtubise, Lee Kunzman, Bruce Walkup & Chris Windom
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