By Richie Murray p
Texarkana, Arkansas (September 5, 2024)………The natural state of a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car is when it’s sideways, slinging dirt and putting on an exhilarating show for the fans.
It seems fitting that the series heads to the Natural State of Arkansas this weekend, Friday-Saturday, September 6-7, for the Wingless Short Track Nationals at Texarkana 67 Speedway.
Both nights will feature full programs concluding in 30-lap features with Friday’s event paying $6,000-to-win and Saturday’s finale offering $10,000-to-win.
It’s the series’ lone trip of the season to Arkansas and one of the few in the nearly seven decade history of the United States Auto Club.
Now, let’s dig in and check out some of the storylines & tidbits to watch at Texarkana this weekend.
WESTFALL STANDS TALL AT TEXARKANA
Seventeen years, two months and twenty-three days. That was the wait Matt Westfall endured between his first and second career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victories. The dash in the years spanned from his 2006 triumph at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway to his latest score in 2023 at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67.
Now, one year later, Westfall hopes the wait between win number two and three isn’t nearly as long. A victory would go a long way toward stemming the tide of eight-straight USAC appearances without a top-10. It is worth noting that entering last year’s Texarkana race, Westfall hadn’t finished inside the top-10 in 10-straight appearances. After his victory a year ago, he finished the year strong with a pair of top-fives and four top-10s in his final five starts.
THE FINAL QUARTER OF THE TITLE RACE
Logan Seavey has held his USAC National Sprint Car point lead since February, and so far, has shown no signs of relenting as he carries an 82-point lead over Brady Bacon into the Texarkana round. The maximum points any one driver can earn in a night this weekend is 84.
Nine races also remain for Seavey to equal Tom Bigelow’s USAC record mark of 14 single season victories in 1977. You can’t call it a drought for the 13-time 2024 winner because that would be a silly assertion, but he’s now gone six-straight starts without a victory, his longest streak without a win thus far.
GRANT HEATING UP
Justin Grant has now won a USAC national feature event on each of the past three weekends, including four of the last five weekends.
This past month alone, Grant won five total races in the month of August, including three of his past five USAC National Sprint Car starts. Last year, he hit his stride late as well. In his final 10 USAC National Sprint Car starts between August and September of 2023, Grant won five, finished inside the top-five in eight and inside the top-10 in all 10.
This year, he’s far and away out of the championship race, residing eighth in the standings entering Texarkana and 430 points behind the leader. Now, it’s all about pride and collecting sweet paydays along the way for him and much of his competition out of championship contention.
DRAKE ON THE RISE
One of the interesting midseason developments over the course of the summer was the installment of Kale Drake into the seat of the 2B Racing ride, which had been driven to a pair of victories in 2023 by Logan Seavey and through the first part of 2024 by Jake Swanson and Wesley Smith.
Drake’s first USAC National Sprint Car experience came in a tough spot during the Indiana Sprint Week opener at Lincoln Park, which promptly landed him in a tougher spot – out in the parking lot! Since then, the Collinsville, Okla. native has settled in, gaining laps and experience throughout his first 10 starts, which led him to his first career top-10 finish with the series on the final night of Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway.
Now that his first top-10 is in the book, the goal is to continue his steady progression to top-fives, and ultimately, contending for wins. Two shots at Texarkana will be the next to add onto his ever-expanding bag of first-time experiences.
CO-SANCTIONED RACE
Both nights at Texarkana this weekend will be co-sanctioned by the ASCS Elite Non-Wing Series. At least the top-six in series points, and more, will be on hand to face off against the USAC national series’ best.
The top-six at the moment include R.J. Miller (Edgewood, Texas), Paul White (Temple, Texas), Mason Smith (Wichita Falls, Texas), Jason Howell (Fort Worth, Texas), Josh Hanna (Tyler, Texas) and Josh Hawkins (Whitehouse, Texas).
Yes, the Paul White mentioned above is the very same driver who captured the 2001 USAC Silver Crown driving championship after winning the Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway and sweeping both the Illinois dirt miles at Springfield and Du Quoin. In 2023, in what was his first USAC National Sprint Car start in 19 years, White finished a solid 11th at Texarkana.
A NATURAL STATE HISTORY
Arkansas’ history with USAC National Sprint Car racing is pretty brief when it comes right down to it. In fact, just five previous USAC National Sprint Car events have been held in The Natural State since 1985, which have been won by five different drivers.
Mike Ward scored his first USAC win in 1985 at West Memphis’ Riverside International Speedway. At Riverside in 2012, Brady Bacon earned the first of his 49 wins as a member of the Dynamics, Inc. / Hoffman Auto Racing team. In 2013, Bryan Clauson topped the field at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock. Dave Darland took top honors the following night at Riverside. Most recently, Matt Westfall dominated the field in the series debut at Texarkana with a 30-lap, wire-to-wire romp in 2023.
RACE DETAILS
This weekend’s Wingless Short Track Nationals at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship (co-sanctioned by ASCS Elite Non-Wing), plus the ASCS Elite Outlaw 410 Winged Sprint Cars.
On Friday, September 6, the pits open at Noon Central. Grandstands open at 5pm. Hot laps begin at 7pm with qualifications and racing to follow. General admission tickets are $25. Kids age 6-11 are $5. Kids age 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $40. Children age 5 and under are free.
On Saturday, September 7, the pits open at Noon Central. Grandstands open at 5pm. Hot laps begin at 7pm with qualifications and racing to follow. General admission tickets are $30. Kids age 6-11 are $5. Kids age 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $40. Children age 5 and under are free.
Both nights of the Wingless Short Track Nationals can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.
==================
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2415, 2-Brady Bacon-2333, 3-Daison Pursley-2190, 4-C.J. Leary-2170, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2097, 6-Mitchel Moles-2092, 7-Robert Ballou-2043, 8-Justin Grant-1985, 9-Kyle Cummins-1952, 10-Carson Garrett-1548.
ASCS ELITE NON-WING SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-R.J. Miller-527, 2-Paul White-491, 3-Mason Smith-480, 4-Jason Howell-461, 5-Joshua Hanna-447, 6-Josh Hawkins-400, 7-Raven Culp-338, 8-Rhett Butler-329, 9-Cooper Sullivan-328, 10-Ricky Lewis-300.
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT TEXARKANA 67 SPEEDWAY:
1-Matt Westfall
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT TEXARKANA 67 SPEEDWAY:
2023: Matt Westfall (9/9)
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CARS AT TEXARKANA 67 SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap – 9/9/2023 – Jake Swanson – 14.311
10 Laps – 9/9/2023 – Emerson Axsom – 2:35.06
12 Laps – 9/9/2023 – Logan Seavey – 3:08.44
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS IN ARKANSAS:
1-Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, Dave Darland, Mike Ward & Matt Westfall
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR FEATURE RESULTS IN ARKANSAS: (1985-2023)
JULY 6, 1985 RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Mike Ward, 2. Sheldon Kinser, 3. J.T. Hayes, 4. Manny Rockhold, 5. Bud Ward, 6. Mike Brewer, 7. Ray Joe Fager, 8. Ray Bugg, 9. Steve Byrd, 10. Rick Hood, 11. Corky Green, 12. Jim Cofer, 13. Lee Brewer Jr., 14. Mark Zorich, 15. Mike Walker, 16. Ronnie Daniels, 17. Kenny Conrad, 18. Mike Hoover, 19. Paul Hart, 20. David Smith. NT
AUGUST 8, 2012 RIVERSIDE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Hunter Schuerenberg, 4. Anthony Nicholson, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Zach Pringle, 7. Chase Stockon, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Tim Crawley, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Chris Windom, 12. Damion Gardner, 13. Brad Bowden, 14. Jerod Roller, 15. Cody Brewer, 16. Dale Howard, 17. Wade Oliver, 18. Jordon Mallett, 19. Tracy Hines, 20. Bobby East, 21. Jon Stanbrough, 22. Kevin Thomas Jr., 23. Wes McIntyre. NT
SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 I-30 SPEEDWAY FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Brady Bacon, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Tim Crawley, 6. Zach Pringle, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Tyler Courtney, 9. Derek Hagar, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Jordon Mallett, 12. Joe Young, 13. Anthony Nicholson, 14. Chase Stockon, 15. Keaton Dobbs, 16. Nick Drake, 17. Chet Williams, 18. Nathan Moore, 19. Jerod Roller, 20. Robert Ballou, 21. Rick Pringle, 22. Cody Gardner, 23. Tommy Snellgrove. NT
SEPTEMBER 7, 2013 RIVERSIDE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Keaton Dobbs, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Derek Hagar, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. Nick Drake, 10. Brady Bacon, 11. Jordon Mallett, 12. Chet Williams, 13. Kevin Thomas Jr., 14. Tim Crawley, 15. Kyle Cummins, 16. Chase Stockon, 17. Anthony Nicholson, 18. Ronnie Howard, 19. Wade Oliver, 20. Zach Pringle, 21. Chad Jones, 22. Jerod Roller. NT
SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 TEXARKANA 67 SPEEDWAY FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Matt Westfall (3), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Chase Stockon (10), 4. Justin Grant (7), 5. Mitchel Moles (8), 6. Emerson Axsom (9), 7. Jake Swanson (6), 8. Robert Ballou (1), 9. Cody Gardner (14), 10. Kyle Cummins (16), 11. Paul White (17), 12. Daison Pursley (13), 13. Kyle Jones (21), 14. Brody Roa (2), 15. Brady Bacon (4), 16. Logan Seavey (12), 17. Jason Howell (18), 18. Jack Hoyer (11), 19. Jadon Rogers (20), 20. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (19), 21. Kevin Thomas Jr. (15), 22. Justin Zimmerman (22). NT