2023 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) (Josh James Artwork Photo)
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (October 25, 2023)………”Racing’s funny.”
That’s how Justin Grant reflected on the twists and turns he endured en route to his second consecutive USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National driving Championship in 2023 for TOPP Motorsports.
It’s a team that endured a nearly two-month struggle in the late spring/early summer months which overlapped with a change in team personnel and a period of confidence-shaking woes that found the team as far down as sixth in the standings, 83 points out of the lead, entering mid-summer.
What was not a laughing matter quickly turned into one of the most dominant stretches put together by any team in series history. For the last half of the season, Grant and his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy No. 4 were practically untouchable on their way to the $50,000 championship prize.
With a career-high 11 USAC National Sprint Car victories in 2023, including eight wins in his final 17 starts, Grant (Ione, Calif.) finished out the campaign with 13 straight top-tens to earn the title by a 109-point margin over yearlong challenger Brady Bacon. Grant became the 13th different point leader on September 9, one of a record six different drivers to lead the standings in 2023. The previous record was 12 lead changes among six drivers back in 2012.
In the process, Grant became the 10th driver to capture consecutive USAC National Sprint Car titles, joining Parnelli Jones (1960-61-62), Sheldon Kinser (1981-82), Rick Hood (1984-85), Steve Butler (1986-87-88), Robbie Stanley (1991-92-93), Brian Tyler (1996-97), Levi Jones (2009-10-11), Bryan Clauson (2012-13) and Brady Bacon (2020-21).
“It’s incredible to hear my name rattled off with all of those guys,” an awestruck Grant remarked. “It’s also something that’s not necessarily something flukey or obscure; it’s something that took work and is truly an accomplishment. A few of them were before my time, but obviously, I know of them and what they did, and a few of them are guys that I grew up watching and a few more of them are guys that were the top dogs when I moved to Indiana. Now, to be there with Brady, who is one of the best of our generation, is very cool. The last couple of years getting to battle with Brady has been very rewarding. He’s very good at what he does and is very good at running for championships. It’s taken a lot of work on my end to try and rise to the occasion.”
No championship is easy by any stretch of the imagination and Grant experienced his share of troubles in 2023. A strong beginning was earmarked by back-to-back series wins, including a complete sweep of the night at Tri-State Speedway and a score on the opening night of #LetsRaceTwo at Eldora. One night later at Eldora, Grant got upside down, setting off a string of five 13th place or worse results in a six-race stretch.
“It just seemed like we didn’t have a lot of speed, and the days that we did find some speed, I managed to crash or something, and it just seemed like we couldn’t get anything to go right,” Grant recalled. “I remember thinking that our championship hopes were pretty well squashed. We had kind of thrown it away at this point, and obviously, I’m going to keep doing my job, but I figured it was going to be pretty unlikely.”
When it rains, it pours, and after a push truck got the best of his car while being shoved away for qualifying on the opening night of Eastern Storm at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway, Grant was running mid-pack when Grant felt his confidence slipping away.
“I remember just riding around 10th or 11th one night during Eastern Storm and thinking I don’t know if I’ll ever win another race again. This might be it. I might not ever win again.”
However, a sigh of relief arrived by the end of the week when Grant won on the half-mile of Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway. But the positivity proved to be short lived. After an overall tumultuous Eastern Storm, Grant’s crew chief, Dylan Cook, made the surprising revelation that he was leaving the team to pursue other opportunities. In the aftermath, in stepped veteran crew chief Jeff Walker, a three-time USAC National Sprint Car entrant champ in 1998, 2000 and 2001.
Grant and Walker’s relationship dates all the way back to 2008-09 when Grant, then a recent BCRA Midget champ on the west coast, made the move to the Midwest to work and live with Walker. Grants explains that, back then, Walker taught him much of the knowledge he still uses to this day with Walker possessing the ability to get the best out of Grant and numerous others he’s helped along the way.
A particularly rough two-night Macon (Ill.) Speedway outing in July saw Grant involved in crashes on both nights, the first of which sent him veering into the infield, and ultimately, striking a Cadillac Escalade push truck, wedging the nose of his car under its rear bumper. While gone midget racing the following week, Walker was busy at work in the team’s Gasoline Alley shop, going through the inventory before calling Grant and alerting him that he’d found some stuff that wasn’t quite right. It’s a piece of the puzzle that Grant fondly describes as Walker going “full J-Dub.”
“I had complained on the way home from Macon – I was more complaining about myself – but I just didn’t know if it was me and I just didn’t know what was going on. I couldn’t feel the racecar. I wasn’t sure if I was messed up or something else is messed up or what, but I just felt completely lost with the car. He’s like, ‘oh, Levi (Jones) and I had this happen one time and he said the same thing that he couldn’t feel the racecar. We’re going to fix that, and you’ll get back to kicking their asses again.’ Just having that, whether there was something actually wrong or not, gave me the belief that it wasn’t me and that we were going to be good again. Having that just helped me find my way back.”
Things seemingly turned on a dime from that point forward. The next race out, Grant stole a last lap victory from Robert Ballou during the USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week opener at Gas City I-69 Speedway and he never slowed down from there on. It was the first of his three wins during Indiana Sprint Week, which saw him collect additional scores at Lawrenceburg Speedway and the Terre Haute Action Track.
However, August marked the most successful and lucrative single weekend of his career when he nailed down three consecutive victories in as many nights at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway to become the first driver in the 12-year history of Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown to sweep his way to three successive feature triumphs in one weekend. His take home pay for Saturday night alone was $44,500, pocketing the base pay of $30,000 while also adding a cool $500 per each lap led.
Grant proceeded to sweep the USAC Sprint season at Gas City with a James Dean Classic triumph in September, then secured a win in what turned out to be the season finale, a $20,000 payday in October’s Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg. In doing so, Grant became the 11th driver to win the final race of his championship season, joining Eddie Sachs (1958), Tommy Hinnershitz (1959), Parnelli Jones (1960), Pancho Carter (1974), Sheldon Kinser (1977 & 1982), Steve Butler (1988), Josh Wise (2006), Levi Jones (2011) and Brady Bacon (2020).
It all started with confidence being re-instilled in Grant. Kevin Birchmeier’s TOPP Motorsports team has had Grant in the seat for the past six consecutive seasons, and now their reward includes back-to-back USAC National Sprint Car championships.
“We were able to turn it around just because the team at TOPP Motorsports with Kevin Birchmeier who has always had my back 110 percent,” Grant praised. “The more I struggle, the more he’s pumping me up. I’ve driven for a lot of car owners and that’s pretty rare. I’m always super grateful for Kevin and it’s a different experience driving racecars when you know that the people you’re driving for are in your corner no matter what. That allows you to be comfortable and able to work through things to get back to where you need to be. When you’re trying to force it back, it never works.”
To win a championship with Walker is the reward of a journey that started 15 years ago. Walker helped Grant buy his first passenger car when he was a teenager and when Walker became available after parting ways with Sterling Cling Racing this past summer, Grant swooped him up in a heartbeat. In fact, Walker was set on retirement, insisting that he was finished before the call came from Grant. The initial plan of just helping Grant for a few weeks suddenly transformed into a role for the rest of the season, and now Walker is prepared to chase a third-straight USAC Sprint title with Grant in 2024.
Grant harbors no hard feelings about Cook’s exodus from the team and insisted that Cook was doing his job just fine. However, Grant admitted that, on occasion, a little bit of a shakeup and a fresh outlook can re-spark things. And with the combination of TOPP and Walker, Grant felt he was at his best.
“With the environment at TOPP Motorsports, Kevin allows me to be my best and then getting J-Dub involved really made me be my best,” Grant said. “I like winning, and I like seeing my name on those all-time lists, but it’s extra rewarding to get to do it for an owner like Kevin. Kevin hired me in 2018 after I got released from the Sam McGhee Motorsports car when we lost the championship and has stuck with me ever since, so it’s special for me to be able to win races for him and win him championships.”
“And being able to win one for Jeff,” Grant continued. “He’s the one who brought me to the Midwest and taught me a lot of what I know and got me started. He’s been in a pretty big lull, so to get him back and be part of him winning races again, and doing all that, feels really, really good. It feels like a little bit of repayment for what he has done for me over the years.”
For the fourth consecutive year, and sixth time overall, Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) finished top-two in the series standings on the strength of seven victories. His $20,000 Haubstadt Hustler victory in September at Tri-State gave him his 53rd career USAC National Sprint Car feature win, pushing him up to second all-time in series victories past Tom Bigelow. Additionally, by adding a pair of victories at Macon (Illinois) and at Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Texas), Bacon became the new record holder of the most different states won in by a USAC National Sprint Car driver. Bacon now stands alone at 14.
Furthermore, Bacon picked up his second career USAC Indiana Sprint Week championship in 2023, which was highlighted in round three of the series at Lawrenceburg where he was light at the scales in tech inspection after qualifying. The penalty forced him to start from the tail in all proceeding events throughout the evening. In the feature, he managed to make the biggest charge of the entire USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season when he advanced from his 22nd starting position to finish third.
One year after corralling Rookie of the Year honors, Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) finished third in the standings for Clauson Marshall Newman Racing. The highlight of the season came in June when Axsom won on back-to-back nights in Pennsylvania at Big Diamond Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway, which vaulted him to the Eastern Storm title.
Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) equaled his career high with four USAC National Sprint Car wins, including a comeback victory at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park, which involved the team blowing their only two engines they brought with them prior to the race. Receiving a third engine just in the nick of time that was driven through the night from Indiana, the Rock Steady Racing team installed the new powerplant under the hood in a hotel parking lot and proceeded to win a $10,000 payday.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) piloted his Team AZ Racing ride to a career high four wins and a career best fifth place finish in the points. Among his quartet of victories was a last lap pass of Bacon to win a $12,000 top prize at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) won three series features and was rewarded with a $10,000 top prize for earning the Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment championship. Leary, in his first season with the BGE Dougherty Motorsports team, became the titlist after tallying the most points throughout a 10-race miniseries at 10 different tracks within the USAC National Sprint Car season.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) and 2B Racing got hot late in the season, winning twice in September in spectacular fashion with a last lap pass of Shane Cottle for the victory at Indiana’s Circle City Raceway followed by a complete sweep of the USAC portion of the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway where he won a Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown feature on the very same night within the span of a couple hours.
Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) won once for Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports in the series debut on the 1/5-mile Macon Speedway in July. During the series’ first ever visit to Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway in September, Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) returned to USAC National Sprint Car victory lane for the first time since 2006. The 17-year, two month and 23-day span between series victories was a new USAC record, surpassing the previous mark of 12 years, 11 months and 4 days between wins by Doug Wolfgang between 1978-1991. In doing so, he also provided veteran car owner Ray Marshall his long-awaited first USAC score.
Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) finished 11th in the overall series standings for KO Motorsports to earn USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year honors for the 2023 season, just less than two years after suffering a severe spinal cord injury which required several months of recovery in a hospital and rehabilitation center. Pursley scored a non-points special event victory on Valentine’s Day at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park.
Bacon led all series drivers with 262 feature laps led throughout 2023. Bacon also topped all drivers with five fast qualifying times and 25 top-fives in 36 starts while Axsom notched a series-best 29 top-tens. Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) was the heat race master of the season, picking up 12 victories. Meanwhile, five drivers started all 36 feature events, including Axsom, Bacon, Ballou, Grant and Leary.
Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.), who finished eighth in the standings, became just the fifth driver in USAC National Sprint Car history to finish inside the top-10 of the point standings in at least 12 consecutive years dating back to 2012. The only drivers with as many or more consecutive top-five points finishes in the series are Dave Darland (1997-2018), Sheldon Kinser (1974-1987), Levi Jones (2001-2012) and Chris Windom (2010-2021).
The racing community grieved the death of competitor Justin Owen (Harrison, Ohio) who succumbed to injuries following a qualifying accident on April 8 at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway after his car made contact with the outside wall and flipped multiple times in turn three. The 26-year-old Owen was the reigning Lawrenceburg sprint car track champion at the time of his death. Owen’s passing was the first in USAC National Sprint Car racing since Don Townsend in a 2005 practice crash at Ohio’s Mansfield Motorsports Park. Owen’s incident was the first fatal accident with the USAC National Sprint Car division on dirt since Jeff Thickstun at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1984.
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2023 USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS
Driver Champion: Justin Grant
Entrant Champion: TOPP Motorsports
Most Feature Wins: 11-Justin Grant
Top Rookie in Points: 11th-Daison Pursley
Most Laps Led: 262-Brady Bacon
Most Top-Fives: 25-Brady Bacon
Most Top-Tens: 29-Emerson Axsom
Most Fast Qualifying Times: 5-Brady Bacon
Most Heat Race Wins: 12-Robert Ballou
Most Feature Starts: 36-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant & C.J. Leary
Biggest Charge of the Year: Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon (22nd to 3rd)
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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1. 2329 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
2. 2220 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
3. 2159 Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Ind.
4. 2101 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
5. 2040 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
6. 2011 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.
7. 1977 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.
8. 1755 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.
9. 1750 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
10. 1733 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, Calif.
11. 1660 (R) Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.
12. 1630 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio
13. 1373 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colo.
14. 1335 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
15. 921 Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Ind.
16. 892 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.
17. 770 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pa.
18. 766 Max Adams, Loomis, Calif.
19. 633 Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, Calif.
20. 623 Brandon Mattox, Terre Haute, Ind.
21. 528 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz.
22. 436 (R) Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pa.
23. 335 Sterling Cling, Tempe, Ariz.
24. 322 Eddie Tafoya Jr., Chino Hills, Calif.
25. 319 Brent Beauchamp, Fairland, Ind.
26. 262 Mario Clouser, Auburn, Ill.
27. 221 Brady Short, Bedford, Ind.
28. 211 (R) Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.
29. 205 (R) Dalton Stevens, Scurry, Texas
30. 164 (R) Xavier Doney, Odessa, Mo.
31. 153 Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.
32. 148 (R) Zack Pretorius, Yorktown, Ind.
33. 143 (R) Tom Harris, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK
34. 110 (R) Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.
35. 110 (R) Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind.
36. 109 Cole Bodine, Rossville, Ind.
37. 98 Dallas Hewitt, Troy, Ohio
38. 95 Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Okla.
39. 95 (R) Travis Millar, Wandin North, Victoria, AU
40. 92 (R) Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Ind.
41. 88 J.J. Hughes, Jasper, Ind.
42. 76 (R) Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio
43. 70 (R) Ryan Barr, Piqua, Ohio
44. 60 (R) Devan Myers, Delphi, Ind.
45. 44 Brian Hayden, Fillmore, Ind.
46. 10 Critter Malone, Pittsboro, Ind.
(R) represents a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie
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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANT POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. ENTRANT, TEAM LOCATION
1. 2329 TOPP Motorsports, Rochester, Ind. (#4)
2. 2220 Dynamics, Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)
3. 2159 Clauson Marshall Newman Racing, Fishers, Ind. (#47BC)
4. 2105 Rock Steady Racing, Dupont, Ind. (#3R)
5. 2101 Team AZ Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#21AZ)
6. 2040 BGE Dougherty Motorsports, Evansville, Ind. (#15x)
7. 1977 Ballou Motorsports, Tipton, Ind. (#12)
8. 1755 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5s)
9. 1750 2B Racing, Marion, Ind. (#2B)
10. 1733 Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports, Gilbert, Ariz. (#19AZ)
11. 1660 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5p)
12. 1630 Ray Marshall Motorsports, Forest, Ohio (#33m)
13. 1383 Michael Dutcher Motorsports, Cicero, Ind. (#17GP)
14. 1373 BGE Dougherty Motorsports, Evansville, Ind. (#15)
15. 770 Epperson Racing, Camby, Ind. (#2E)
16. 770 Hogue Racing Enterprises, Westampton, N.J. (#39)
17. 623 Brandon Mattox Racing, Brazil, Ind. (#28)
18. 566 Cheney Racing, Glendora, Calif. (#42)
19. 556 Baldwin-Fox Racing, West Lafayette, Ind. (#5)
20. 528 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz. (#47)
21. 436 JPA Racing, Cresco, Pa. (#88J)
22. 338 Max & Scott Adams, Marion, Ind. (#5x)
23. 335 Sterling Cling Racing, Tempe, Ariz. (#34)
24. 322 Eddie Tafoya Sr., Chino Hills, Calif. (#51T)
25. 307 Chris Dyson Racing, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (#20)
26. 262 Mario Clouser Motorsports, Chatham, Ill. (#6)
27. 261 On The Gass Racing, Advance, Ind. (#17)
28. 221 Randy Edwards, Evansville, Ind. (#61m)
29. 205 Stevens Racing Holdings, Ennis, Texas (#99x)
30. 173 Lauren Beauchamp, Needham, Ind. (#11)
31. 166 Wedgewood Motorsports, Cincinnati, Ohio (#98)
32. 164 Doney-Lawson Racing, Odessa, Mo. (#74)
33. 161 Hodges Motorsports, Albuquerque, N.M. (#74x)
34. 158 Gray Brothers, Greenfield, Ind. (#06)
35. 148 Jeff Pretorius, Yorktown, Ind. (#9z)
36. 143 Tom Harris Motorsport, Tipton, Ind. (#84)
37. 140 Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind. (#16TH)
38. 127 Paul Hazen, Columbia City, Ind. (#57)
39. 112 Brian Hayden Racing, Fillmore, Ind. (#2H)
40. 110 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5K)
41. 109 4J Motorsports, Mooresville, Ind. (#14)
42. 109 Kevin Bodine, Rossville, Ind. (#57B)
43. 95 KO Motorsports, Owensville, Ind. (#5m)
44. 95 Travis Millar, Wandin North, Victoria, AU (#93AU)
45. 92 Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Ind. (#i1)
46. 88 John Hughes, Jasper, Ind. (#76)
47. 88 Jennifer Hewitt, Fletcher, Ohio (#21)
48. 70 Barr Family, Piqua, Ohio (#21B)
49. 60 Devan Myers, Bringhurst, Ind. (#75)
50. 10 Seven LLC, Pittsboro, Ind. (#7)
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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1. 1660 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Okla.
2. 436 Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pa.
3. 211 Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Ind.
4. 205 Dalton Stevens, Scurry, Texas
5. 164 Xavier Doney, Odessa, Mo.
6. 148 Zack Pretorius, Yorktown, Ind.
7. 143 Tom Harris, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK
8. 110 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Ind.
9. 110 Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Ind.
10. 95 Travis Millar, Wandin, North Vic.
11. 92 Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Ind.
12. 76 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio
13. 70 Ryan Barr, Piqua, Ohio
14. 60 Devan Myers, Delphi, Ind.
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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Feb 13: (SE) Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL
WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)
Feb 14: (SE) Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL
WINNER: Daison Pursley (KO Motorsports #5p)
Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)
Apr 15: (MS) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
May 5: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
May 6: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)
May 23: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
May 24: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)
May 25: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Jun 3: (MW) Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA
WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)
Jun 13: (E) Grandview Speedway – Bechtelsville, PA
WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)
Jun 15: (E) Big Diamond Speedway – Pottsville, PA
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)
Jun 16: (E) Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, PA
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)
Jun 17: (E) Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, PA
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jun 18: (E) (A) Action Track USA – Kutztown, PA
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, WI
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Jul 3: (MS) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Jul 7: (A) Macon Speedway – Macon, IL
WINNER: Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
Jul 8: (A) Macon Speedway – Macon, IL
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Jul 21: (I) Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jul 22: (I) Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: C.J. Leary (BGE Dougherty Motorsports #15x)
Jul 23: (I) Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jul 24: (I) Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Jul 26: (I) Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Jul 27: (I) Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Jake Swanson (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)
Jul 28: (I) Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Emerson Axsom (Clauson Marshall Newman Racing #47BC)
Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Aug 26: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Sep 7: (AE) Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Sep 9: (AE) Texarkana 67 Speedway – Texarkana, AR
WINNER: Matt Westfall (Ray Marshall Motorsports #33m)
Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (2B Racing #2B)
Sep 16: (MS) (F) Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Logan Seavey (2B Racing #2B)
Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
—————— KEY DEFINITIONS ——————
(SE) represents a non-points, special event
(F) represents an event awarding feature points only
(MS) represents an event co-sanctioned by the Midwest Sprint Car Series
(AE) represents an event co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing
(MW) represents an event with the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Association Sprint Cars
(E) represents an Eastern Storm event
(A) represents an event awarding appearance points only
(I) represents an Indiana Sprint Week event
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2023 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS
11-Justin Grant (Apr 15 at Tri-State Speedway, May 5 at Eldora Speedway, Jun 17 at Port Royal Speedway, Jul 21 at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Jul 23 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Jul 26 at the Terre Haute Action Track, Aug 24 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 25 at Kokomo Speedway, Aug 26 at Kokomo Speedway, Sep 21 at Gas City I-69 Speedway & Oct 7 at Lawrenceburg Speedway)
7-Brady Bacon (Feb 16 at Bubba Raceway Park, May 23 at the Terre Haute Action Track, Jun 24 at Wilmot Raceway, Jul 3 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Jul 8 at Macon Speedway, Sep 7 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway & Sep 16 at Tri-State Speedway)
4-Kyle Cummins (Feb 18 at Bubba Raceway Park, May 25 at Circle City Raceway, Jun 18 at Action Track USA & Jul 24 at Circle City Raceway)
4-Jake Swanson (May 24 at Circle City Raceway, Jun 3 at Knoxville Raceway, Jun 13 at Grandview Speedway & Jul 27 at Lincoln Park Speedway)
3-Emerson Axsom (Jun 15 at Big Diamond Speedway, Jun 16 at Williams Grove Speedway & Jul 28 at Bloomington Speedway)
3-C.J. Leary (Apr 14 at Bloomington Speedway, May 6 at Eldora Speedway & Jul 22 at Kokomo Speedway)
2-Logan Seavey (Sep 15 at Circle City Raceway & Sep 23 at Eldora Speedway)
1-Mitchel Moles (Jul 7 at Macon Speedway)
1-Matt Westfall (Sep 9 at Texarkana 67 Speedway)
NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT WINS:
1-Daison Pursley (Feb 14 at Volusia Speedway Park)
1-Jake Swanson (Feb 13 at Volusia Speedway Park)
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FEATURE LAPS LED
262-Brady Bacon
253-Justin Grant
111-Emerson Axsom
105-C.J. Leary
102-Kyle Cummins & Jake Swanson
44-Logan Seavey
31-Robert Ballou
30-Matt Westfall
23-Jadon Rogers
18-Mitchel Moles
17-Xavier Doney
16-Timmy Buckwalter
15-Carson Garrett & Thomas Meseraull
14-Briggs Danner
12-Shane Cottle
5-Max Adams
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TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES
25-Brady Bacon
23-Justin Grant
20-Kyle Cummins
17-Emerson Axsom
13-C.J. Leary & Jake Swanson
11-Robert Ballou
9-Logan Seavey
8-Mitchel Moles
7-Kevin Thomas Jr.
5-Jadon Rogers & Chase Stockon
4-Shane Cottle
3-Briggs Danner, Carson Garrett, Daison Pursley & Matt Westfall
2-Timmy Buckwalter & Thomas Meseraull
1-Max Adams, Dustin Beck, Xavier Doney & Jason McDougal
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TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES
29-Emerson Axsom
28-Justin Grant & C.J. Leary
27-Kyle Cummins
26-Brady Bacon
24-Robert Ballou & Jake Swanson
20-Mitchel Moles
18-Logan Seavey & Chase Stockon
14-Daison Pursley & Kevin Thomas Jr.
13-Matt Westfall
10-Carson Garrett
9-Shane Cottle & Briggs Danner
8-Jadon Rogers
6-Thomas Meseraull
4-Max Adams
2-Joey Amantea, Brent Beauchamp, Alex Bright, Timmy Buckwalter, Charles Davis Jr. & Xavier Doney
1-Dustin Beck Mario Clouser, Colten Cottle, Zach Daum, Steven Drevicki, Cody Gardner, Anton Hernandez, J.J. Hughes, Chase Johnson, Kyle Jones, Riley Kreisel, Ricky Lewis, Jason McDougal, Brody Roa, Kendall Ruble, Brady Short, Kody Swanson, Scotty Weir & Justin Zimmerman
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FAST QUALIFYING TIMES
5-Brady Bacon
4-Kyle Cummins & C.J. Leary
3-Justin Grant & Jake Swanson
2-Robert Ballou, Mitchel Moles, Daison Pursley & Logan Seavey
1-Shane Cottle, Brayden Fox, Ricky Lewis, Jason McDougal, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Matt Westfall
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HEAT RACE / QUALIFYING RACE WINS (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Rod End Supply, T.J. Forged & Car IQ)
12-Robert Ballou
11-Justin Grant
10-Mitchel Moles
9-Emerson Axsom
8-Brady Bacon & Kyle Cummins
7-Carson Garrett, C.J. Leary & Matt Westfall
6-Chase Stockon
5-Charles Davis Jr. & Kevin Thomas Jr.
4-Jadon Rogers
3-Jake Swanson
2-Brent Beauchamp, Shane Cottle, Steven Drevicki & Thomas Meseraull
1-Max Adams, Joey Amantea, Dustin Beck, Mario Clouser, Colten Cottle, Chance Crum, Briggs Danner, Geoff Ensign, Rylan Gray, Korbyn Hayslett, Anton Hernandez, Dallas Hewitt, Kyle Jones, Larry Kingseed Jr., Ricky Lewis, Brandon Mattox, Trey Osborne, Zack Pretorius, Kendall Ruble, Logan Seavey, Brady Short, Wesley Smith, Mitch Wissmiller & Justin Zimmerman
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SEMI WINS
5-Mitchel Moles
3-Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley, Chase Stockon & Kevin Thomas Jr.
2-C.J. Leary, Brandon Mattox, Jake Swanson & Logan Seavey
1-Emerson Axsom, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Carson Garrett, Zack Pretorius, Jadon Rogers, Carson Short, Matt Westfall & J.J. Yeley
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D-MAIN WINS
1-Brayden Clark & Rylan Gray
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C-MAIN WINS
1-Joey Amantea, Saban Bibent, Colten Cottle, Ivan Glotzbach, Dustin Ingle, Brandon Mattox, Jadon Rogers & John Sluss
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FEATURE STARTS
36-Emerson Axsom, Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Justin Grant & C.J. Leary
35-Daison Pursley, Logan Seavey, Chase Stockon & Jake Swanson
34-Kyle Cummins & Matt Westfall
33-Mitchel Moles
31-Carson Garrett
27-Kevin Thomas Jr.
20-Jadon Rogers
19-Max Adams
16-Shane Cottle
15-Briggs Danner
14-Brandon Mattox
13-Charles Davis Jr. & Thomas Meseraull
9-Joey Amantea
8-Geoff Ensign & Eddie Tafoya Jr.
7-Brent Beauchamp, Alex Bright & Sterling Cling
6-Mario Clouser
5-Ricky Lewis, Tye Mihocko, Trey Osborne & Brady Short
4-Timmy Buckwalter, Chance Crum, Braxton Cummings, Rylan Gray, Dalton Stevens, Stevie Sussex, Kody Swanson & Justin Zimmerman
3-Cole Bodine, Colten Cottle, Dave Darland, Xavier Doney, Steven Drevicki, Tom Harris, Korbyn Hayslett, Jack Hoyer, Hunter Maddox, Matt Mitchell, Zack Pretorius & Scotty Weir
2-Dustin Beck, Harley Burns, Tim Creech, Mitchell Davis, Brayden Fox, Aric Gentry, Anton Hernandez, Dallas Hewitt, J.J. Hughes, Kyle Jones, Jordan Kinser, Preston Lattomus, Carmen Perigo, Brody Roa, Kayla Roell & Kendall Ruble
1-Garrett Abrams, Ed Aikin, Greg Alt, Saban Bibent, Nick Bilbee, Donny Brackett, Andy Bradley, Bobby Butler, Logan Calderwood, Nathan Carle, Isaac Chapple, Zach Daum, Austin DeBlauw, Paul Dues, Logan Faucon, Cody Gardner, Ivan Glotzbach, Kurt Gross, Allen Hafford, Brian Hayden, Tyler Hewitt, Todd Hobson, Jason Howell, Steve Irwin, Chase Johnson, Larry Kingseed Jr., Riley Kreisel, James Lyerla, Jason McDougal, Travis Millar, Kyle Moody, Billy Pauch Jr., Clayton Rossman, Brian Ruhlman, Adyn Schmidt, Stephen Schnapf, Jake Scott, Sam Scott, Keith Sheffer II, Carson Short, Cameron Smith, Wesley Smith, Travis Thompson, Matt VanderVere, Dan Wade, Paul White, Mitch Wissmiller & J.J. Yeley
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2023 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFIERS
Feb 16: Bubba Raceway Park – Jason McDougal
Feb 18: Bubba Raceway Park – Chase Stockon
Apr 14: Bloomington Speedway – Kevin Thomas Jr.
Apr 15: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant
May 5: Eldora Speedway – Brady Bacon
May 6: Eldora Speedway – Matt Westfall
May 23: Terre Haute Action Track – Mitchel Moles
May 24: Circle City Raceway – Justin Grant
May 25: Circle City Raceway – Justin Grant
Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – Jake Swanson
Jun 13: Grandview Speedway – Kyle Cummins
Jun 15: Big Diamond Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jun 16: Williams Grove Speedway – Thomas Meseraull
Jun 17: Port Royal Speedway – Daison Pursley
Jun 18: Action Track USA – Kyle Cummins
Jun 24: Wilmot Raceway – Jake Swanson
Jul 3: Lincoln Park Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jul 7: Macon Speedway – Logan Seavey
Jul 8: Macon Speedway – Kyle Cummins
Jul 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Brayden Fox
Jul 22: Kokomo Speedway – Kyle Cummins
Jul 23: Lawrenceburg Speedway – C.J. Leary
Jul 24: Circle City Raceway – C.J. Leary
July 26: Terre Haute Action Track – Robert Ballou
July 27: Lincoln Park Speedway – Brady Bacon
July 28: Bloomington Speedway – Brady Bacon
Aug 24: Kokomo Speedway – Robert Ballou
Aug 25: Kokomo Speedway – Ricky Lewis
Sep 7: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – C.J. Leary
Sep 9: Texarkana 67 Speedway – Jake Swanson
Sep 15: Circle City Raceway – Shane Cottle
Sep 16: Tri-State Speedway – Mitchel Moles
Sep 21: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Brady Bacon
Sep 23: Eldora Speedway – C.J. Leary
Oct 7: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Brady Bacon
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GREEN APU GREEN FLAG CHALLENGE FEATURE FIRST LAP LEADERS
Jun 3: Knoxville Raceway – C.J. Leary
