By Richie Murray
Speedway, Indiana………
Brian Bouder photo
When the entry period concluded at noon on Wednesday, 118 USAC P1 Insurance Nationals Midgets had entered the September 5-6 event at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway Dirt Track, toppling the record book for most cars to ever to enter a USAC National Midget event in its 63 years of history.
The all-time highest car count in the series came in 1990 when 109 competed in the final race at the famed Ascot Park half-mile in Gardena, California for the annual “Turkey Night Grand Prix.”
The lineup literally contains an entire field of past USAC National Midget feature winners, 24 in total, and eight past series champs including Dave Darland (2001 & 2002), Tracy Hines (2015), Christopher Bell (2013), Tanner Thorson (2016), Jerry Coons, Jr. (2006 & 2007), Russ Gamester (1989), Spencer Bayston (2017) and J.J. Yeley (2013), who’ve all won feature events.
In addition, USAC Midget feature winners entered for the “BC39” include Steve Buckwalter, Shane Cottle, Zach Daum, Tyler Courtney, Critter Malone, Billy Wease, Justin Grant, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Shane Golobic, John Heydenreich, Davey Ray, Zeb Wise, Kevin Thomas, Jr., current series point leader Logan Seavey, Brady Bacon and Chad Boat.
Plus, you have a number of successful drivers who’ve yet to break into a USAC National Midget victory lane such as C.J. Leary, Chris Windom, Matt Westfall, Shane Cockrum, Tyler Thomas, the most recent USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car last weekend at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway and USAC Eastern Midget point leader Alex Bright.
Yeley is the lone driver in the field to have competed in both the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 during his career. However, he’s not the only one with stock car experience on the famed 2.5-mile paved oval surrounding the ¼-mile dirt track. Eight-time Brickyard starter Landon Cassill plans to make his USAC debut at the “BC39.”
Chase Briscoe has a plethora of experience of the fendered variety as well dirt track, open wheel cars. He combined those two talents to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ stop at Eldora Speedway in July.
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 5pm.
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 5pm.
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 and all the race info can be found on http://www.TheBC39.com/.
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DRIVEN2SAVELIVES “BC39” PRES. BY NOS ENERGY DRINK ENTRY LIST
(118 Cars Entered)
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 AUSTIN LANGENSTEIN/Scranton, PA (Seven, LLC)
7CH CRITTER MALONE/Pittsboro, IN (Seven, LLC)
7K MATT LUX/Manilla, IN (K & R Racing)
7p BRIAN PETERSON/Mukwonago, WI (Brian Peterson)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally 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 LANDON CASSILL/Cedar Rapids, IA (Brooke Shuman)
22 JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (John Heydenreich)
23 DAVID BUDRES/Beloit, WI (David Budres)
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)
31 RAY SEACH/Beloit, WI (David Budres)
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)
37 TERRY BABB/Decatur, IL (A.J. Felker Racing)
37x PAYTON PIERCE/Bridgeport, TX (A.J. Felker Racing)
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)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (G & R Racing)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner)
55 NICK DRAKE/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline)
56x MARK CHISHOLM/Cheyenne, WY (Mark Chisholm)
57 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
57A ANDREW FELKER/Carl Junction, MO (Bill Ecker)
57B CHASE McDERMAND/Springfield, IL (Bill Ecker)
57BC COLE BODINE/Rossville, IN (Clauson-Marshall Racing)
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)
71½ ROBERT BELL/Colfax, IA (Robert Bell)
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 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (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 TBA/TBA (Landon Simon Racing)
**(R) represents a USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year contender.