By Dick Jordan
The final AMSOIL USAC National Sprint race in the Midwest this season promises to offer a number of interesting battles as the series visits Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway for Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win “Fall Nationals.”
To kick things off, the ProSource Fast Time Award, which has been a season-long tradition, has grown to a $1,000 bonus with the additional support of a number of contributors. Drivers Chase Stockon, Kody Swanson, Dave Darland and Brady Bacon are also eyeing the season-ending ProSource Fast Time Challenge bonus of $2,500 which goes to the driver posting the most fast times in 2015 USAC National racing. Stockon has seven so far, while Swanson has six and Darland and Bacon have five.
The return of Logan Jarrett, the Kokomo driver who has been absent since mid-August, is also expected to demand attention, since he won the Lawrenceburg feature in April.
Darland and Kevin Thomas Jr. continue to battle for the 2015 Mike Curb Super License bonus of $5,000, which will be awarded at the USAC National Awards Dinner to the driver who amasses the most USAC National points between the Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget series. Thomas has a 36-point lead over Darland entering the Lawrenceburg race with 74 points available Saturday.
Thomas Meseraull comes to Lawrenceburg fresh from his initial AMSOIL USAC National Sprint victory after capturing last week’s “4-Crown Nationals” at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Don’t forget the battle for USAC’s AMSOIL National Championship too! Robert Ballou has a slim 25-point lead over Stockon and is only 35 points ahead of Darland. Again, 74 points are available Saturday. Only seven races remain on the 2015 calendar. Ballou has totaled 10 feature wins already this season and would like to add Lawrenceburg to his total.
Jon Stanbrough hopes to tie Darland as the winningest USAC driver in Lawrenceburg history. He has five career wins there, while Darland has six.
Tracy Hines, who has announced his intention to curtail his full-time racing career, hopes to land his initial USAC feature victory of the season, which would mark the 20th consecutive year he has won at least one USAC National race.