By Richie Murray
Speedway, Indiana………The car count for the Driven 2 Save Lives “BC39” presented by NOS Energy Drink has exceeded the century mark and is now flirting with the record books, hitting a whopping 109 cars on the latest tally for the September 5-6 USAC P1 Insurance National Midget spectacular on the new dirt track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 109 entries received thus far equals the long-standing record of cars for a USAC National Midget event, which was set in 1990 when that same number competed in the final race at the famed Ascot Park half-mile in Gardena, California for the annual “Turkey Night Grand Prix.”
The newest entries include those from four-time USAC National Midget feature winner Davey Ray of Davenport, Iowa, three-time USAC National Midget victor Zach Daum of Pocahontas, Illinois and Johnny Petrozelle of Denton, North Carolina, a regular with the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series and fifth-place finisher at this year’s “Hoosier Hundred.”
Previously announced entries include the nine filed by the Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian team, which features a loaded lineup of 2013 USAC National Midget and 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champ Christopher Bell of Broken Arrow, Okla. and current series point leader Logan Seavey of Sutter, Calif. among others.
The Clauson Marsahall Racing team’s All-Star cast includes five drivers who’ve reached USAC National Midget victory lane in their careers. Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis, Ind., Justin Grant of Ione, Calif. and series Rookie Zeb Wise of Angola, Ind. have all won this season. Multi-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup winner Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. of Olive Branch, Miss. and 2017 “Indiana Midget Week” champ Shane Golobic of Fremont, Calif. round out the lineup along with one to be announced entry.
The Dooling/Hayward two-car lineup includes the only driver to have won multiple races in both a USAC National Midget and USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car this season in Kevin Thomas, Jr. of Cullman, Ala. The team also has in its stables the most recent driver to win all three USAC National titles in a single season, J.J. Yeley of Phoenix, Arizona, also a veteran of both the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400.
The Petry/Goff trio has USAC Triple Crown champ Jerry Coons, Jr. of Tucson, Ariz., 2016 USAC Silver Crown/2017 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car titlist Chris Windom of Canton, Ill. and Rookie sensation Jason McDougal of Broken Arrow, Okla.
As you scroll down through the list of entries, it’s a who’s who of USAC Midget racing, including 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year Chase Briscoe, USAC Triple Crown champ Tracy Hines, two-time USAC National Sprint Car champ Brady Bacon and 2016 USAC National Midget champion Tanner Thorson.
Nine-time Indianapolis 500 starter Sarah Fisher will field a car for Dave Darland, the winningest USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car driver of all-time. Reigning USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car owner champion Baldwin Brothers Racing will field Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary, a recent “Indiana Sprint Week” winner at Bloomington Speedway, in their familiar orange No. 5.
Last Friday’s “Sprint Car Smackdown VII” winner Tyler Thomas of Collinsville, Okla. will be in his familiar No. 91T. Meanwhile, ARDC Midget champion and current USAC Eastern Midget point leader Alex Bright of Collegeville, Pa. has entered his own No. 77 in which he recently raced to 2nd and 4th place finishes during “Pennsylvania Midget Week.”
Also entered are a couple of drivers who’ve risen to the occasion on the biggest of stages. Shane Cottle of Kansas, Illl. captured titles during the first two editions of “Indiana Midget Week” in 2005 and 2006. Noblesville, Indiana’s Billy Wease, the 2006 “Turkey Night Grand Prix” winner, has signed in to drive the Amanda Wease No. 12w. Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania’s John Heydenreich will be in the saddle of his own No. 22. “Hot Rod,” as he is known, captured victory in the 1987 “Hut 100,” held that year at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
Twenty-two drivers on the list have raced to at least one victory in USAC’s National Midget division, including Steve Buckwalter (Royersford, Pa.), Darland, Cottle, Daum, Courtney, Critter Malone (Pittboro, Ind.), Hines, Wease, Grant, Stenhouse, Golobic, Bell, Thorson, Heydenreich, Coons, Ray, Wise, K. Thomas, Yeley, Seavey, Bacon and Boat.
Entries continue to pour in each and every day. Drivers and teams can enter the event at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2018-bc39. The cutoff for entering is noon this Wednesday, Aug. 29.
The Driven2SaveLives “BC39” presented by NOS Energy Drink kicks off the week of racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway leading up to the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, September 9.
The race will take place at the new quarter-mile dirt oval located inside turn three of the famed 2.5-mile oval and will include a unique format that concludes with a 39-lap feature Sept. 6 in the richest Midget racing event in recent history. The event will feature more than $70,000 in purse and incentives, including a $15,000 winner’s purse – the largest in Midget racing.
For the first night of action on Wednesday, September 5, will feature hot laps, heat races and a pursuit race. The public gates open at 3pm with cars set to get on track at 6:30pm.
On Thursday, September 6, on-track action will begin with hot laps, as all cars will practice with their respective qualifying races, before getting into the qualifying races and the alphabet mains, concluding with the A-Main event. The public gates open at 3pm with cars set to get on track at 6pm.
Tickets are now on sale for the Driven2SaveLives “BC39” presented by NOS Energy Drink at the Dirt Track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 5-6 featuring the USAC P1 Insurance Midget National Championship.
Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac or via phone at the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-8500.
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DRIVEN2SAVELIVES “BC39” PRES. BY NOS ENERGY DRINK ENTRY LIST
(109 cars as of August 27, 2018)
0 STEVE BUCKWALTER/Royersford, PA (Steve Buckwalter)
1BR DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN (SFH Racing Development)
1c BRANDON STEVENSON/Holstein, IA (Jody Rosenboom)
1K BRAYTON LYNCH/Springfield, IL (Rusty Kunz Racing)
1ST SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Daryl Saucier)
1T TYLER SHOEMAKER/Bloomington, IL (Jay Mounce)
2D MATT SHERRELL/Owasso, OK (Dan & Patricia Harris)
2ND JEB SESSUMS/Burleson, TX (Dan & Patricia Harris)
3 TBA (Ray Racing)
3D RICH DRANGMEISTER/Hobart, IN (Rich Drangmeister)
3N JAKE NEUMAN/New Berlin, IL (Jim Neuman)
4A CASEY SHUMAN/Tempe, AZ (RAMS Racing)
4D ROBERT DALBY/Anaheim, CA (Ken Dalby)
5 ®C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Baldwin Brothers Racing)
5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN (Briscoe Racing)
5D ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Daum Motorsports)
5T PRESLEY TRUEDSON/Kennedy, MN (Daum Motorsports)
5v JESSE VERMILLION/Greencastle, IN (Vermillion Racing)
5x ROY CARUTHERS/Indianapolis, IN (Boyle Racing Headquarters)
7 GAGE WALKER/Fairland, IN (Brian Walker)
7B AUSTIN BROWN/Belleville, IL (Factory BOSS Racing)
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson-Marshall Racing)
7CG TBA (Seven, LLC)
7CH CRITTER MALONE/Pittsboro, IN (Seven, LLC)
7p BRIAN PETERSON/Mukwonago, WI (Brian Peterson)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Randi Pankratz)
8c JOHNNY PETROZELLE/Denton, NC (Curt Cornell)
10 LANCE BENNETT/Aurora, CO (Bennett Motorsports)
11 TRACY HINES/New Castle, IN (Leader Card Racers)
11A ANTON HERNANDEZ/Arlington, TX (Brandon Gray)
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Chuck Taylor)
11T TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Chuck Taylor)
11Y TRAVIS YOUNG/Casey, IL (Travis Young)
12 J.B. GILBERT/Charleston, IL (J.B. Gilbert)
12w BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Amanda Wease)
14J HOLLEY HOLLAN/Broken Arrow, OK (Factory BOSS Racing)
14s McKENNA HAASE/Des Moines, IA (RAMS Racing)
14x JODY ROSENBOOM/Rock Rapids, IA (Jody Rosenboom)
15 ®JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Petry Motorsports)
15c CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17BC JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Clauson-Marshall Racing – Matt Wood)
17D DAKOTA JACKSON/Elizabethtown, IN (Koontz Racing)
17K MICHAEL KOONTZ/Bloomington, IN (Koontz Racing)
17s RICKY STENHOUSE, JR./Olive Branch, MS (Clauson-Marshall Racing)
17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA (Clauson-Marshall Racing/Matt Wood)
19m ®ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
21 CHRISTOPHER BELL/Norman, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Justin Dickerson)
21K KARTER SARFF/Mason City, IL (Steve Reynolds)
21T TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Steve Reynolds/Rip Jetson)
21x TBA/TBA (Brooke Shuman)
22 JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (John Heydenreich)
24 LANDON SIMON/Tipp City, OH (Landon Simon Racing)
24x DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA (Neverlift Motorsports)
25 JERRY COONS, JR./Tucson, AZ (Petry Motorsports)
25p DYLAN PETERSON/Sioux Falls, SD (Vance Peterson)
25s ALEX SCHRIEVER/Sioux Falls, SD (Jeff Davis)
25x GIO SCELZI/Fresno, CA (Tom Malloy)
27 TUCKER KLAASMEYER/Paola, KS (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
27z ®ZANE HENDRICKS/Stillwater, OK (Tucker-Boat Motorsports)
29 JOEY MOUGHAN/Springfield, IL (Tom Casson)
29J BRIAN KARRAKER/Dongola, IL (Tony Jarrett)
33 DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Team RayPro)
33c CHASE JONES/Indianapolis, IN (Team RayPro)
35 CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Petry Motorsports)
35L ANDREW LAYSER/Collegeville, PA (Alex Bright Racing)
35x CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Baue)
39 KYLE MAY/New Palestine, IN (Kyle May)
39BC ®ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Clauson-Marshall Racing)
43 LOGAN ARNOLD/Franklin, IN (Kevin Arnold)
46 KENNEY JOHNSON/Bethany, CT (Jeff Johnson)
46x ROBBY SPINO/Wallingford, CT (Robby Spino)
49 ANDY BRADLEY/Bloomington, IN (Andy Bradley)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner)
56x MARK CHISHOLM/Cheyenne, WY (Mark Chisholm)
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
57A ANDREW FELKER/Carl Junction, MO (Bill Ecker)
57B CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Bill Ecker)
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (McCreery Motorsports)
57F NATE FOSTER/Greenwood, IN (Nate Foster)
57K KEVIN STUDLEY/Brownsburg, IN (Kevin Studley)
63 KEVIN THOMAS, JR./Cullman, AL (Joe Dooling)
63D J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Joe Dooling)
67 ®LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
67F KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFH Racing Development)
67K HOLLY SHELTON/Sacramento, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
67R RYAN SMITH/Kunkletown, PA (SFH Racing Development)
71 RYAN ROBINSON/Foresthill, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71x BRYAN DROLLINGER/Lomita, CA (Drollinger Racing)
72 ®SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
76E TBA (FMR Racing)
76m BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)
77 ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Alex Bright Racing)
77u CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Tom Casson)
77x OLIVIA BENNETT/Aurora, CO (Bennett Motorsports)
83 KARSYN ELLEDGE/Mooresville, NC (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
84 CHAD BOAT/Phoenix, AZ (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
85 ®KYLE CRAKER/Lewisberry, PA (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson Racing)
89 BRAYDAN WILLMINGTON/Marulan, New South Wales, Australia (Team RayPro)
91 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (Harris Racing)
91T TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK (Brian Thomas)
93K RILEY KREISEL/Warsaw, MO (DKR Motorsports)
97 TBA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
97A AUSTIN O’DELL/Springfield, IL (Pat O’Dell)
99p DILLON WELCH/Carmel, IN (Kami Ronk)
99w KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Jay Mounce)
TBA (Clauson-Marshall Racing)
**(R) = a USAC P1 Insurance National Midget Rookie of the Year contender.