GUNSLINGER! SETSER SECURES CLOSEST EVER USAC SPRINT CAR ROOKIE BATTLE IN 2025

(Josh James Artwork Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (November 11, 2025)………In what was the closest first year driver battle in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship history, Gunnar Setser prevailed by a mere four points to earn Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year honors in 2025.

The Columbus, Indiana native put together a solid first year with the series, which included a pair of top-five finishes and a best result of fifth at both Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway and Indiana’s Circle City Raceway to finish 10th in the overall standings.

At 16 years old, and just a few days before his 17th birthday, Setser became the third youngest Rookie of the Year in the history of USAC National Sprint Car racing. Only Chad Boat (2008) and C.J. Leary (2012) were younger.

Furthermore, Setser became the second KO Motorsports driver in the past three seasons to score USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year along with Daison Pursley in 2023.

Racing was ever-present in Gunnar’s upbringing. His father, Jason Setser, was the 2016 UMRA King of the TQs midget champion. Jason also raced midgets, stock cars and late models, and was also proficient in sprint cars, capturing the 2000 Lawrenceburg Speedway track title.

Gunnar, himself, cut his teeth in the micro sprint ranks at such Indiana dirt tracks as Logansport’s U.S. 24 Speedway and Peru’s Circus City Speedway where winning was a frequent occurrence, including a staggering 16 in his first year of competition.

Lately, Gunnar has been racking up the Rookie of the Year accolades everywhere he turns, earning the same award at the 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals, as well as with the POWRi Midgets in 2024 and the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans in 2024.

Throughout the 49-race series schedule in 2025, Setser and Hayden Reinbold traded barbs back-and-forth, exchanging the Rookie point lead seven different times. On several occasions, the two drivers finished within a spot of each other in the feature results. To be precise, that occurred eight different times!

It seemed everywhere you looked on any given night, Setser’s No. 5G and Reinbold’s No. 19 were battling for position.

“It seemed like one of us would do better one night, and then the other would do better the next night,” Setser said of the see-saw points battle with Reinbold. “It was always pretty close, but during the last few races, we went ahead a little bit and that gave us a little bit of breathing room. We were just going at it back and forth the whole time. It never ended. It was very close, and it was a good fight.”

In fact, the “breathing room” was fairly air-tight. Entering the final weekend of the season at Central Arizona Raceway in late October, Setser’s lead over Reinbold stood at 14 points. It grew to 31 entering the final night, and pretty much required Setser to finish mid-pack or better in order to clinch. However, things didn’t turn out to be so straightforward.

“We were just trying to do our thing, but over the last two nights, I really started to feel the pressure,” Setser admitted. “We knew we had a pretty good lead going in, and we knew we had to finish the races to be able to do that.”

While running 12th with six laps remaining in the feature, Setser’s right rear tire shredded. Restarting at the tail with fresh rubber, Setser managed to muster a 19th. Meanwhile, Reinbold had carved his way up from his 18th starting spot to finish seventh. The final tally showed that Setser took the Rookie title by a mere two on track positions.

A proud moment for sure, but the result in the finale was certainly not indicative of the kind of season Setser put together in what was one of the finest USAC National Sprint Car Rookie runs in recent memory. He led 17 feature laps and garnered 13 heat race wins while starting 48 of the 49 feature events, all without the aid of a provisional.

Over the past 18 seasons, Setser is just the third Rookie driver to finish inside the top-10 of the USAC National Sprint Car standings, joining Tyler Courtney (9th in 2013), Tanner Thorson (4th in 2021) and Emerson Axsom (5th in 2022). Now, he joins the list of those who’ve achieved the ultimate reward for freshman success in USAC National Sprint Car racing.

“It means a lot,” Setser stated. “It was definitely a tough season with a lot of ups and downs with all the new tracks I got to run and the tough competition we faced.”

Setser’s biggest learning curve with the series went right along that line at a variety of venues ranging from flat bullrings to half-mile high banked dirt ovals.

“Learning how to run the cushion was probably the biggest one for me,” Setser recollected. “I figured it out fairly quickly, but it’s different at every track you go to. Also, it’s hard to qualify well all the time. There would be a couple nights where we’re hard charging and getting up through the field, then something would happen. I’d prefer to start up front as it usually gets you a better finishing spot, but once you get near the top-five, it’s really hard to get past those guys. They’re a really tough group and everybody’s pretty even up there.”

Across the board, Setser was quick to point out his biggest thrill of the year, which occurred during September’s 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway where he suffered a flat left rear tire while running eight in the feature at the midway point of the 30-lap feature. Restarting 23rd, Setser surged back through the field to an eighth place finish in just 15 laps.

“I feel like that was probably the most fun for me,” Setser noted. “We were just ripping there!”

Setser wishes to recognize those who made this opportunity possible, including his parents, Kent Schmidt, Brian Davis and D.J. Ott of KO Motorsports as well as Rick Russell of Midwest Tube Mills.

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:

1971: Darl Harrison, Tiffin, Ohio

1972: Billy Cassella, Weirton, West Virginia

1973: Rich Leavell, Elwood, Indiana

1974: Lee Osborne, Lebanon, Pennsylvania

1975: Marvin Carman, Union City, Michigan

1976: Roger Rager, Mound, Minnesota

1977: Eddie Leavitt, Kearney, Missouri

1978: Tim Richmond, Ashland, Ohio

1979: Jerry Carman, Burlington, Michigan

1980: Frank Riddle, Tampa, Florida

1981: Steve Long, Indianapolis, Indiana (co)

1981: Johnny Coogan, Alexandria, Indiana (co)

1982: Danny Milburn, Indianapolis, Indiana

1983: Dean Shirley, Middletown, Illinois

1984: Jerry Russell, Springfield, Illinois

1985: Terry Shepherd, Warsaw, Indiana

1986: Kenny Jacobs, Holmesville, Ohio

1987: Rick Ungar, Garrettsville, Ohio

1988: Dean Jacobs, Fredericksburg, Ohio

1989: Eric Gordon, Greenfield, Indiana

1990: Rick Howerton, Indianapolis, Indiana

1991: Tony Stewart, Columbus, Indiana

1992: Gary Cameron II, Tulsa, Oklahoma

1993: Kenny Irwin Jr., Indianapolis, Indiana

1994: Bobby Smith, Martinsville, Indiana

1995: Mark Cassella, Weirton, West Virginia

1996: Gus Wasson, Bloomdale, Ohio

1997: J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, Arizona

1998: Tracy Hines, New Castle, Indiana

1999: Ryan Newman, South Bend, Indiana

2000: Bud Kaeding, Campbell, California

2001: Ed Carpenter, Indianapolis, Indiana

2002: Boston Reid, Logansport, Indiana

2003: Michael Lewis, Noblesville, Indiana (co)

2003: Mat Neely, Robinson, Illinois (co)

2004: Josh Ford, Camarillo, California (co)

2004: Josh Wise, Riverside, California (co)

2005: Darren Hagen, Riverside, California

2006: Scotty Weir, Marion, Indiana

2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch, Mississippi

2008: Chad Boat, Phoenix, Arizona

2009: Henry Clarke, Villa Park, California

2010: Justin Grant, Ione, California

2011: Coleman Gulick, Binghamton, New York

2012: C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Indiana

2013: Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, Indiana

2014: Jarett Andretti, Mooresville, North Carolina

2015: Aaron Farney, Brookston, Indiana

2016: Isaac Chapple, Willow Branch, Indiana

2017: Stevie Sussex, Tempe, Arizona

2018: Timmy Buckwalter, Douglassville, Pennsylvania (co)

2018: Logan Seavey, Sutter, California (co)

2019: Dustin Clark, Washington, Indiana

2020: Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Indiana

2021: Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nevada

2022: Emerson Axsom, Franklin, Indiana

2023: Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Oklahoma

2024: Hunter Maddox, Bedford, Indiana

2025: Gunnar Setser, Columbus, Indiana