By Richie Murray
Daison Pursleyโs conquests in USACโs AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget divisions saw him pass a total of 199 cars in just 62 feature starts throughout the 2023 season.
Those efforts paid off for the Locust Grove, Okla. driver as he earned the title of ProSource Passing Master for the 2023 season in his KO Motorsports sprint car and Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports midget.
Pursley earned a $2,500 for the passing master honors and will be honored during the Friday night, December 8, USAC Night of Champions at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis.
He becomes the third different winner of the season-long Passing Master award which rewards the USAC nationally licensed driver who advanced the most positions during feature events throughout the entirety of USACโs 2023 national season between Silver Crown, Sprint Cars and Midgets.
Since 2020, longtime USAC supporter ProSource Buck Rice has offered the reward with past winners including Chris Windom (2020) and Justin Grant (2021 & 2022). This time around, itโs Pursleyโs turn, and he is grateful to become the latest to earn the badge of honor.
โBuck does a lot for this sport whether itโs passing master or hard charger throughout the night,โ Pursley noted. โHeโs always there to hand you your money and congratulate you. It just goes to show that USAC and its supporters are always coming up with these cool awards to give drivers who have had a little hard luck and still get a reward. Itโs cool to pick that up, and weโre all thankful for Buckโs support throughout the years. It helps all of us get up and down the road.โ
Officially, Pursleyโs biggest advancement of the 2023 USAC season came during Septemberโs Firemenโs Nationals midget race at Wisconsinโs Angell Park Speedway. After a rough go in qualifying where he nearly got upside down, Pursley picked his way through the field, starting on the tail in 23rd before driving up to a 9th place result.
But of all the hard charging efforts that stand out, it was his 14th to 2nd run in the sprint car during Eastern Storm at Pennsylvaniaโs Williams Grove Speedway where he nearly broke through for his first points-paying victory with the series. Itโs one he has a tinge of regret, thinking he couldโve made his move for the lead just a bit sooner.
In the midget at Beloit, Kansasโ Mitchell County Speedway, Pursley traveled from 18th to 6th, and by the end of the race, felt he had the fastest car on the track, but just ran short of laps.
At times, Pursley felt as if he was able to get a lot of those spots because of his aggressiveness on the initial start. With no time or laps wasted, he was always on the loudpedal.
โIt shows that we just never quit throughout the night,โ Pursley praised. โWe didnโt let our qualifying time discourage us for the rest of the night. We were able to keep grinding and clicking away and thatโs what I feel I do as a driver. Iโm always trying to inch forward whether itโs one spot or one inch, and I feel like Iโm always trying. As soon as the green flag drops, youโve got to be going forward and Iโm very thankful for the group I had around me in the midget and the sprint car that allowed me to pull that off.โ
Prior to the 2023 season, Pursley was pretty much known for his midget racing experience, namely due to his full-time seasons on the USAC national tour in 2020 and 2021. But in 2023, he became one of the new stars on USACโs National Sprint Car circuit, earning Rookie of the Year honors.
Itโs a pace of lifestyle he has embraced as he continues to pick up the accolades just just two years since a severe spinal injury nearly derailed his life and career before his determined comeback.
โBeing a full-time USAC Midget and Sprint Car guy, your schedule is just busy,โ Pursley laid out. โThereโs just no time for rest, and if you want to do it, youโve got to be a true racecar driver and love this stuff at heart. Where I feel like Iโve learned a lot this year is just being versatile enough to get inside of a midget and then into a sprint car. The rudest awakening was the fact that these cars are different, and you have to keep that in the back of your mind on how to drive each one of them. Youโve got about three laps of practice each night to start out. It requires you to figure it out on the fly.โ
Pursley accomplished both disciplines with flying colors this year, and now itโs true when they say, he’s USACโs master of passing in 2023.
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2023 FINAL USAC PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER STANDINGS:
1. 199-Daison Pursley
2. 173-Logan Seavey
3. 142-Justin Grant
4. 136-Emerson Axsom
5. 106-Shane Cottle
6. 105-Matt Westfall
7. 100-Robert Ballou
8. 95-Chase Stockon
9. 92-Brady Bacon
10. 91-Mitchel Moles
11. 89-Jacob Denney
12. 78-Hayden Reinbold
13. 77-Kyle Cummins
14. 73-Kevin Thomas Jr.
15. 68-Bryant Wiedeman
16. 67-Jake Andreotti
17. 65-C.J. Leary
18. 64-Ryan Timms
19. 63-Gavin Miller
20. 62-Carson Garrett
21. 58-Thomas Meseraull
22. 55-Jade Avedisian
23. 54-Jadon Rogers
24. 53-Kaylee Bryson
25. 50-Taylor Ferns & Jake Swanson
27. 45-Taylor Reimer
28. 43-Wayne Johnson
29. 41-Tanner Thorson
30. 40-Cannon McIntosh
31. 39-Joey Amantea & Travis Welpott
33. 37-Jerry Coons Jr.
34. 32-Chance Crum
35. 28-Mario Clouser
36. 26-Trey Burke, Briggs Danner, Jesse Love & Chase McDermand
40. 24-Bryan Gossel
41. 23-Gregg Cory
42. 22-Brent Beauchamp & Kody Swanson
44. 20-Max Adams
45. 18-Tyler Courtney
46. 17-Dave Berkheimer
47. 16-Russ Gamester & Brandon Mattox
49. 15-Alex Bright, Casey Buckman, Mike McVetta & Ethan Mitchell
53. 14-Bobby Santos
54. 13-Shane Cockrum & Daniel Whitley
56. 10-Derek Bischak & Davey Hamilton Jr.
58. 9-Dakoda Armstrong, Patrick Bruns, Xavier Doney & Carmen Perigo
62. 8-Cole Bodine, Chris Fetter, Tyler Roahrig & Kyle Steffens
66. 7-Nathan Byrd, Trey Osborne, Eddie Tafoya Jr. & Ryan Thomas
70. 6-Steve Buckwalter, Sterling Cling, Charles Davis Jr., Ivan Glotzbach, Nathan Moore, Kyle O’Gara, Steven Russell & Brady Short
78. 5-Mark Smith & Billy Wease
80. 4-Chris Urish & Korey Weyant
82. 3-Mariah Ede, Danny Long, Travis Millar, Tom Paterson & Brent Yarnal
87. 2-Mark Bitner, Chase Dietz, Dallas Hewitt, Davey Ray, Brian Ruhlman & Tanner Swanson
93. 1-Brenham Crouch, Ava Gropp, Matt Mitchell, Kyle Robbins & Dalton Stevens