By Richie Murray
Speedway, Indiana (September 14, 2023)………Seventy (70) USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets are now entered for the fifth running of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 on September 27-30 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The latest additions to the lineup include driver Cannon McIntosh and the Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports team. The Bixby, Okla. native finished as the runner-up in the 2022 BC39 and led a race-high 20 of the 39 laps at the 1/4-mile dirt track.
Additionally, Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) has officially been added as the seventh driver for the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports stable. The 2021 fifth place finishing BC39 driver will pilot car No. 68 for the reigning BC39 winning team.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) led the first ever laps in BC39 history during the inaugural 2018 event in which he finished third. KTJ will be behind the wheel of the Crouch Motorsports No. 1 for the 2023 edition of the race.
Also filing BC39 entries today were Louisiana driver Chelby Hinton who’ll wheel a car owned by Klatt Enterprises and wrenched by USAC Hall of Famer Bob East. North Carolina’s Austin Barnhill will drive for Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports. Kevin Cook (Winchester, Ind.) will be in the seat of his own No. 9p.
** The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25, at www.TheBC39.com. **
Previously filing their entries to compete in this year’s BC39 were Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), the 2018 BC39 winner, plus 2022 BC39 winner, Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.), who will be participating during Wednesday and Thursday’s preliminary rounds.
Current USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point leader and 2018 series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is entered as well as two-time USAC National champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and 2019 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National champion C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.).
The always exciting Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) is entered after contending for the win in each of the past two editions of the BC39 in 2021-22 as is top USAC Silver Crown Rookie Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) who owns the best finish by a woman in BC39 history with a 7th in 2022.
USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons (Tucson, Ariz.) is entered for the four-night event as is three-time USAC National Midget winner Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), 2023 series winner Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) and USAC national feature winner Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio).
Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, the winning team of the 2022 running of the BC39, has entered seven cars for the event, including entries for series for 2023 USAC National Midget winners Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.), plus Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Mariah Ede (Fresno, Calif.).
The 2022 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year, Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), will make his second BC39 appearance this year after leading the initial 12 laps of last year’s BC39. Two-time USAC National Midget feature winner Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) will also return to the BC39 as well as first-time 2023 USAC National Midget feature winner Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) and recent series winner Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.).
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.
The final cutoff for all BC39 entries is Monday, September 25.
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 DRIVEN2SAVELIVES BC39 ENTRIES
(70 cars as of September 14, 2023)
08 Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)
1 Kevin Thomas Jr. (Crouch Motorsports)
1D Landon Brooks (RAMCO Speed Group)
1G Connor Wolf (RAMCO Speed Group)
1z Justin Zimmerman (Justin Zimmerman)
2 Justin Grant (RMS Racing)
3G Kyle Cummins (Glenn Styres Racing)
4 Chelby Hinton (Klatt Enterprises)
5J Josh Hodge (Josh Hodge Racing)
5s Scott Orr (Josh Hodge Racing)
6 Isaac Chapple (Doug Hall)
7c Josh Bilicki (RAMCO Speed Group)
7m Kyle Jones (RAMCO Speed Group)
7p Zach Daum (RAMCO Speed Group)
7x Thomas Meseraull (RMS Racing)
8 Randi Pankratz (Wally Pankratz)
8x Jeff Schindler (Jeff Schindler)
9 Wes Pinkerton (Wes Pinkerton)
9p Kevin Cook (Kevin Cook)
10A Tommy Colburn (MWR Technology)
10c Mark McMahill (MWR Technology)
11 Clinton Boyles (Scott Beierle)
11L Aaron Leffel (Team Taylor Racing)
14 C.J. Leary (Legacy Autosport)
17B Austin Barnhill (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)
18N Weston Gorham (Kelly Gorham)
19 Daison Pursley (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19AZ Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19m Ethan Mitchell (Bundy Built Motorsports)
19T Mitchel Moles (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19x TBA (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
21D Justin Dickerson (Mike Dickerson)
21H Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports)
21J Kameron Key (TKH Motorsports)
21K Karter Sarff (Jayme Sarff)
22 John Heydenreich (John Heydenreich)
22p Taylor Courtney (RAMCO Speed Group)
23 Preston Lattomus (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
25 Jacob Denney (Tom Malloy)
25K Taylor Reimer (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
25m Jake Andreotti (Tom Malloy)
27 Keith Rauch (Bourke Motorsports)
27B Jake Bubak (Bourke Motorsports)
32 Gary Taylor (Brian Dunlap)
36 Ian Creager (Tod Creager)
40 Chase McDermand (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
40B Blake Brannon (Blake Brannon)
40x Zach Wigal (Chase McDermand)
41 Oliver Akard (Team OMR)
44 Adam Andretti (Jeff Johnson)
46 Kenney Johnson (Jeff Johnson)
54 Matt Westfall (Steve Bordner)
56 Mitchell Davis (Pat O’Dell)
57 Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing)
57A Daniel Robinson (RAB Racing)
58 Daniel Whitley (Abacus Racing)
67 Ryan Timms (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
67K Buddy Kofoid (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
68 Emerson Axsom (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 Jade Avedisian (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71E Mariah Ede (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71T Kyler Johnson (Todd Henry)
81 Bryant Wiedeman (CB Industries)
85 Jerry Coons Jr. (Central Motorsports)
86 Brent Crews (CB Industries)
89 Kaylee Bryson (CB Industries)
97 Gavin Miller (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
99 TBA (Carson-Segur Racing)
99K Robert Carson (Carson-Segur Racing)
118 Scott Evans (Scott Evans)