By Richie Murray
Speedway, Indiana (August 23, 2023)………USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr. is among the latest entries for the 2023 Driven2SaveLives BC39.
A total of 21 cars and drivers are now set to compete in the fifth running of the event which features an extended four days of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing on September 27-30 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The BC39 regularly presents the highest USAC car counts of the year. The 2022 event produced 85 entries, fifth most in the 68-year history of USAC National Midget racing. The newest look at the 2023 entry list is at the bottom of this release.
Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) has captured all three of USAC’s national championships in his career in Midgets, Silver Crown and Sprint Cars. Also new to the BC39 entry list are three-time USAC National Midget winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) who currently sits second in series points.
Denney’s Tom Malloy teammate, Rookie Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) will make his BC39 debut this year, and he’s joined by USAC national feature winner Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio).
The first class of BC39 entries arrived last week and featured 2023 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.), plus three entries from Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports consisting of two-time series winner and 2022 series Rookie of the Year Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), plus two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) and teammate Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.).
A familiar name to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, “Andretti,” has posted his entry for the BC39. Adam Andretti (Brownsburg, Ind.) recently competed on the IMS Road Course with the Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli. Andretti is the younger brother of 1983 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year John Andretti, the son of Aldo Andretti and the nephew of 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner, Formula 1 champion and four-time IndyCar champion Mario Andretti.
DRIVER REGISTRATION IS OPEN
Driver registration is now officially open for the fifth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39. Teams can file their entry for the event at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2023-bc39, where they may also purchase grandstand tickets, pit and parking passes for the event.
There are three options for viewing the racing action and also having pit pass access. You can purchase a competitor pit pass only where no seat is included with limited viewing of the track.
Secondly, you can purchase a competitor pit pass with reserved seating included, which are available in the lower level of the main grandstands.
You may also purchase a grandstand seat from the IMS ticketing site with a pit pass upgrade. Competitors must enter IMS via the 16th Street tunnel.
Each entry filed will come with two VIP parking passes for inside parking at IMS, intended for driver and entrant. All others must either purchase inside parking or park outside of turns three and four of 2.5-mile paved oval track.
Spectator tickets are also available www.TheBC39.com. Spectators are to enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway via 30th Street.
The event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside turn three at IMS will continue to honor late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson and increase awareness of and participation in the Indiana Donor Network and Driven2SaveLives.
Brady Bacon (2018), Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021) and Buddy Kofoid (2022) have captured victories in the first four editions of the BC39.
The BC39 officially gets underway on Tuesday, September 26 with team parking at 3pm Eastern followed by a BC39 Welcome Party at 6pm at USAC Headquarters.
On track action begins Wednesday, September 27, beginning with the drivers meeting in the IMS Media Room at 3pm Eastern. Public gates open at 4pm with cars hitting the track for practice at 7pm, followed by the incredibly exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race which will conclude the night’s racing action at 9pm. In this event, 25 cars will start and compete in five, five-lap segments. If a driver gets passed in any segment, they are eliminated.
For Thursday and Friday, September 28-29, the field will be split into two with one half of the field competing on night one and the other half competing on night two. On both nights, public gates open at 4pm Eastern with hot laps at 6pm, followed by qualifying, opening ceremonies, heat races, the C-Main, the Semi-Feature and the Feature event.
The finale, on Saturday, September 30, will have the public gates opening at 4pm and cars on track for practice at 6pm, followed by opening ceremonies at 7pm and the main events, starting with the D-Main, multiple C-Mains, Semi-Feature and the 39-lap Feature event paying $20,039-to-win.
2023 DRIVEN2SAVE BC39 ENTRIES:
(21 cars as of August 23, 2023)
1D Landon Brooks
1G Connor Wolf
7c Josh Bilicki
7m Kyle Jones
7p Zach Daum
11L Aaron Leffel
18N Weston Gorham
19 Daison Pursley
19AZ Hayden Reinbold
19T Mitchel Moles
21D Justin Dickerson
22p Taylor Courtney
25 Jacob Denney
25m Jake Andreotti
36 Ian Creager
41 Oliver Akard
44 Adam Andretti
46 Kenney Johnson
54 Matt Westfall
85 Jerry Coons Jr.
118 Scott Evans