By Richie Murray
Speedway, Indiana (September 26, 2024)………C.J. Leary has consistently run near the front of the field throughout the 2024 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season. Nonetheless, a fact that’s been stuck in his craw throughout much of the campaign is the absence of a victory, last winning with the series at Florida’s Ocala Speedway in February.
Even though Thursday night’s caution-free 20-lap inaugural Stoops Sprint Car Invitational at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway fell into the category of a non-points special event, victory was like a warm hug for the Greenfield, Ind. native and his BGE Dougherty Motorsports/Altoz – Valvoline – Hornbeck Concrete/DRC/1-Way Chevy.
And to do it at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Well, that’s priceless.
“It’s pretty special,” Leary beamed. “I didn’t know if we knew how to win anymore; it’s been a long time.”
Starting seventh, Leary quickly moved up into the top-three by the third lap, then made his strike at the halfway point when he combed the bottom past Mitchel Moles on lap 11, then raced past racelong leader Daison Pursley on the back stretch on the 12th lap to snag the lead.
This was the first official sprint car race contested at the 1/5-mile dirt oval. Shhh. Don’t tell. But there was a trial run of USAC Sprint Car racing at the IMS dirt track in 2022, a test in which Leary and others gained critical notes to add to their notebook in order to be ready when the time came to return.
“I came here and tested two years ago,” Leary remembered. “I feel like that gave me a little bit of an edge. We knew what gear to run and knew a little bit of what to expect. We ran some small tracks this year like Action Track USA and Macon, so our short track program has gotten better.”
Leary is well-known for his prowess on the larger, fast tracks such as Eldora and Lawrenceburg where he has excelled extensively. But this year has admittedly been a bit of a struggle to find victory lane on any track regardless of shape or size. So, a win at this place at this particular time was a more than welcome addition to his personal win list.
“Typically, we’re a little bit better on the bigger racetracks,” Leary acknowledged. “But this year, we haven’t been good at anything. Even though it’s an invitational race, it’s super cool to be in victory lane. I’ve run here since the start of the BC39 (in 2018), and I’ve never really done any good. So, it feels good to win something.”
On a track in which many naysayers and doomsdayers casted their doubts on regarding passing and competitiveness, even Leary was down in the doldrums after finding out his starting position. However, the seventh starting position just proved to be the sweet spot for Leary to make his charge from, and it even came in a car that he had previously had not-so-kind thoughts on.
“We’ve put a lot of effort into this,” Leary admitted. “Honestly, when they redrew the seven (pill), we were contemplating on not even running. But we came out here to put on a show for the fans. We had a really good racecar, and this thing was dialed in. The last time this car ran was at Kokomo during Indiana Sprint Week (in late July). It did pretty poorly and I didn’t like it that night. So, I think my opinion has changed a little bit. It’s obviously pretty good.”
After Leary took over the lead, for the final nine circuits, he was forced to fend off USAC’s most recent National Sprint Car winner, Daison Pursley, who rim-rode the circumference of the dirt track located within the confines of turn three inside the world famous 2.5-mile “Brickyard” that surrounds it.
While Leary stuck low, Pursley’s high line couldn’t get him any closer. In turn four on the final lap, Pursley ran out of room and clobbered the wall, briefly lifting him airborne. While Pursley continued on, he was no match for Leary who closed out the race with a 1.102 second margin of victory over Pursley, while Mitchel Moles, Robert Ballou and Kyle Cummins rounded out the top-five.
“We needed to make money,” Leary exclaimed. “I lost the transmission in my truck last week, so we’re going to have to pay for that. Hats off to (car owners) Broc (Garrett) and Doug (Dougherty) for sticking it out. I know it’s been a tough year, and we haven’t won as many as we wanted. But it’s not for a lack of effort. (Crewmen) Zack (Burks), my dad (Chuck Leary) and I have been pounding away in the shop, just trying to figure out what we’re missing and I think we might’ve caught on to something.”
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: September 26, 2024 – The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Stoops Sprint Car Invitational
FIRST QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-11.941; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-11.995; 3. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.041; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.094; 5. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.252.
SECOND QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-11.784; 2. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.786; 3. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-12.228; 4. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.262; 5. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-12.384.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Kyle Cummins, 4. Logan Seavey, 5. Chase Stockon. 1:40.202
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Robert Ballou, 3. Mitchel Moles, 4. Daison Pursley, 5. Kale Drake. 1:38.189
FEATURE: (20 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. C.J. Leary (7), 2. Daison Pursley (1), 3. Mitchel Moles (3), 4. Robert Ballou (5), 5. Kyle Cummins (4), 6. Logan Seavey (2), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), 8. Kale Drake (10), 9. Chase Stockon (9), 10. Carson Garrett (8). 4:15.600
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 Daison Pursley, Laps 12-20 C.J. Leary.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: October 11-12, 2024 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Greg Staab Memorial/Fall Nationals