Speedway, Indiana (February 26, 2025)………Justin Grant has teamed up with CB Industries to chase after a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship in 2025.
Grant (Ione, California) will pilot the CBI No. 87 Spike/Speedway Toyota sponsored by NOS Energy Drink, TRD, PristineAuction.com and Avanti Windows & Doors for the full tour, just one year after CBI collected the USAC National Midget title with driver Daison Pursley who has departed full-time status with the team.
Coming into a situation with a team that is fresh off a championship has Grant aiming to become the next to add his name to the list.
“I’m very excited to be stepping into a championship caliber seat and I’m hopeful that we can go win CB Industries another championship,” Grant exclaimed. “(Team owner) Chad (Boat) has won a couple of them now with different guys and I’m excited to go and try to add my name to that list and check off another box.”
What Grant is referring to is the USAC Triple Crown. Grant has previously checked off titles with the USAC Silver Crown series in 2020 and with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2022-2023. Only eight drivers belong to that club who have earned status as a career USAC Triple Crown champion: Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines, Chris Windom and Logan Seavey.
Furthermore, the dynamic of Grant’s rides across the board also frees him up to chase after the incomparable single season USAC Triple Crown in which a driver can win all three USAC national titles in a single season, a feat accomplished only twice before by Tony Stewart (1995) and J.J. Yeley (2003).
“I’ve been a lot more hands-on in the past with most all my rides,” Grant explained. “This will be the first time that I just show up and drive in quite a while. That’s something I’m excited about and it’s a big part of why I did this, and why I wanted to go run for Chad. Obviously, his cars have the speed, and the team has the capability to go and win a championship. But beyond that, it frees me up to focus on driving and frees up some bandwidth across the board as well. I feel like that will help me to continue to chase the Sprint Car and Silver Crown titles by just freeing up some things off my plate.”
Grant comes to CBI after competing with RMS Racing for the 2021-2024 USAC National Midget seasons, finishing as the runner-up in the standings in both 2022 and 2023, accumulating 12 feature wins, including the BC39, the Turkey Night Grand Prix and the Hangtown 100.
“I’m grateful for the time I spent with RMS Racing these past four years,” Grant reflected. “We were able to win some big races, accomplish many goals and made a lot of great memories.”
It’s a bit of an unusual situation Grant finds himself in for 2025. After all, he will also be entering his ninth consecutive year as the driver of the Hemelgarn Racing Silver Crown ride and his eighth straight season as the driver of the TOPP Motorsports sprint car. With that said, it also marks the first time he’s changing midget teams since 2020.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had to put my seat in a different car,” Grant revealed. “I’m not much of a bounce-arounder. I like to put my seat in and stay awhile if I can. It’s definitely a new experience going in and trying to mesh with a new team.”
However, Grant and CBI aren’t exactly starting from scratch. This past January, the pairing made its debut at the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma, finishing fifth in the preliminary feature before taking 18th in the Saturday night main. It was an experience to gain some knowledge, chemistry and get some forward momentum heading into the USAC season.
“I would’ve liked to have run a little better at the Chili Bowl, but I felt like we got along really well and had fun with Chad and the crew,” Grant said. “I think our personalities meshed well and I feel like we’ll be able to work well together to have a successful season.”
Grant enters the 2025 season with three career USAC national driving championships, while ranking ninth in career national victories with 79. Furthermore, his 86 career USAC victories (national and regional) have him just 14 shy of becoming just the eighth driver to reach 100 wins. Despite that, a midget championship has eluded him, but he intends to change that in the coming year.
“I want to win a USAC Midget championship badly,” Grant stated. “But that’s not the only reason I’m doing it. I enjoy racing midgets. I think they’re fun and there’s a big part of me that really enjoys beating up and down the road going racing. I get to drive really good racecars for really good teams and that’s awesome. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. The goal is to go win a championship and try to win some big races and complete a triple crown for myself. This year, I feel like I’m in a good position to go try and chase some of the championship bonuses as well.”
Grant begins his pursuit of a USAC National Midget title and the USAC Triple Crown as well as the Mike Curb USAC National Drivers Championship with the season opening USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship events on April 25-26 at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway for the Kokomo Grand Prix.
