By Richie Murray
Speedway, Indiana (October 13, 2024)………
Josh James Artwork Photo
Brady Bacon, by virtue of a victory at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway, plus two seconds and three thirds throughout the 10-race miniseries within the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship schedule, earned his second title with the series after capturing the inaugural crown in 2022.
For his efforts, Bacon pocketed a $10,000 bonus for himself as the Master of Going Faster driving champion while his crew chief, Matt Hummel, collected $2,500.
Throughout the Master of Going Faster series, Bacon never had an “off night” by any measure, recording eight top-fives and a perfect 10 for 10 on top-tens with his worst result being a seventh at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway during the 4-Crown Nationals.
Carrying a mere seven-point lead into the series finale’s 30-lap feature on Saturday at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, Bacon did what it took to add another piece on his overflowing mantle of USAC accomplishments by finishing sixth to edge out Daison Pursley by 11 points in the final tally.
“It was pretty tight going into the feature, tighter than I would’ve liked it to be,” Bacon admitted. “I knew that, with the way the track was, I was just trying not to do anything too stupid and crash just to maintain the Master of Going Faster points and get my guys some extra money.”
Bacon’s season has been another success story with him adding another feather in his cap aboard his Dynamics, Inc./Tom Hoffman Construction – Spankins Motorsports/Triple X/Rider Chevy. Though he was only able to manage a single win in the series, his average finish of 3.6 throughout the Master of Going Faster series made all the difference.
“The Hoffman 69 cars were pretty good on all different kinds of surfaces,” Bacon praised. “We haven’t won as much as I would’ve liked to this year. But we’re always in the front and that’s what enabled us to win that one.”
Bacon and Hummel have had a long association with one another and has proven to be the winning formula for many years now. Their communication level and symbiosis has overcome most any obstacle over the years, no matter how small or how tall.
“Matt’s been with me the whole time since I’ve had the team in my shop and for the last two championships,” Bacon detailed. “Just having that consistency is really valuable. Not having to discuss every little detail and changes we make throughout the night, that makes my job a lot easier. Billy (Lawhead) and Jamey (Neeley) have the car ready and we haven’t had many failures at all. We’re just ready if anything happens. We had to change a steering gear tonight and had to change a motor from last night. We just overcome stuff like that, kept our composure and clicked away to make our way to the front.”
Six different drivers graced victory lane throughout the 2024 Master of Going Faster series. Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey led all drivers with three wins, including the opener at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park, Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track and in the finale at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.
Two other drivers won twice. Locust Grove, Oklahoma’s Daison Pursley scored at both Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway, each of which were his first two career USAC National Sprint Car points-paying triumphs. Cullman, Alabama’s Kevin Thomas Jr. achieved likewise to earn a last lap, last corner victory at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway and a lucrative win at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway.
Single victories in the series belonged to Ione, California’s Justin Grant who capped a spectacular victory at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in the most spectacular of ways by flipping following the checkered flag. Princeton, Indiana’s Kyle Cummins notched one at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway while Bacon added his at Port Royal.
Spire Sports + Entertainment served as the presenting sponsor of the series. SS+E has been involved in numerous race promotion and marketing efforts for tracks and events on the USAC schedule in recent years. Founded in 2010, Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) has blossomed into a multi-tiered entity. Since then, SS+E has become a subsidiary of parent organization Spire Holdings, which includes a a diverse sports portfolio, including Spire Motorsports, SS+E, ECHL hockey teams the Rapid City (S.D.) Rush and the Greenville (S.C.) Swamp Rabbits and short track promotions company Track Enterprises.
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2024 BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOING FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT WINNERS
Feb 13: Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)
May 4: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
May 21: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)
Jun 1: Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)
Jun 14: Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, PA
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Jun 15: Port Royal Speedway | Port Royal, PA
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
July 27: Kokomo Speedway | Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Kyle Cummins (Petty Performance Racing #3p)
Sep 14: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Rock Steady Racing #3R)
Sep 21: Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH
WINNER: Daison Pursley (Team AZ Racing #21AZ)
Oct 12: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)
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2024 BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOING FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS
1. 666-Brady Bacon
2. 655-Daison Pursley
3. 652-Logan Seavey
4. 643-Kevin Thomas Jr.
5. 617-Kyle Cummins
6. 606-C.J. Leary
7. 599-Mitchel Moles
8. 574-Robert Ballou
9. 545-Justin Grant
10. 476-Chase Stockon
11. 431-Matt Westfall
12. 403-Carson Garrett
13. 373-Jake Swanson
14. 354-Briggs Danner
15. 298-Joey Amantea
16. 252-Jadon Rogers
17. 201-Hunter Maddox
18. 183-Ricky Lewis
19. 169-Charles Davis Jr.
20. 147-Alex Bright
21. 120-Korbyn Hayslett
22. 112-Saban Bibent
23. 111-Max Adams & Kale Drake
25. 108-Scotty Weir
26. 104-Brandon Mattox
27. 103-Chance Crum
28. 102-Shane Cottle & Tom Harris
30. 93-Rylan Gray
31. 82-Steven Drevicki
32. 80-Kayla Roell & Stevie Sussex
34. 75-J.J. Hughes
35. 72-Matt Goodnight
36. 68-Tye Mihocko
37. 61-Anton Hernandez
38. 60-Trey Osborne
39. 56-Hayden Reinbold
40. 54-Carmen Perigo
41. 52-Nick Bilbee
42. 50-Brian Ruhlman
43. 47-Chase Johnson & J.J. Yeley
45. 45-Harley Burns, Todd Hobson & Kendall Ruble
48. 42-Timmy Buckwalter
49. 41-Shawn Westerfeld
50. 40-Ryan Barr, Logan Calderwood & Jack Hoyer
53. 36-Kobe Simpson
54. 34-Paul Dues
55. 33-Dustin Beck & Zach Daum
57. 32-Brady Short
58. 31-Xavier Doney
59. 30-Braxton Cummings, Bryce Dues & Nate Schank
62. 29-Gunnar Setser
63. 28-Frankie Guerrini
64. 27-Wesley Smith
65. 26-John Mollick
66. 24- Nate Ervin, J.T. Ferry & Eric Schulz
69. 20-Donny Brackett, Aric Gentry, Austin Hawkins, Kevin Newton & Kyle Shipley
74. 11-Zack Pretorius & Carson Short
76. 10-Collin Ambrose, Robert Bell, Colton Booten, Troy Carey, Jason Cherry, Brayden Clark, Mario Clouser, Austin Cory, Braydon Cromwell, Michael Daugherty, Aaron Davis, Dakota Earls, Max Frank, Tyler Graves, Colin Grissom, Mike Haggenbottom, Brian Heitkamp, Tyler Hewitt, Sam Hinds, Chase Howard, Steve Irwin, Jack James, Keith Sheffer II, Kody Swanson, Nathan Seale, Sam Scott, Travis Thompson, Cody Williams & Mitch Wissmiller
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BUBBY JONES MASTER OF GOING FASTER PRESENTED BY SPIRE SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT POINTS CHAMPIONS
2022: Brady Bacon
2023: C.J. Leary
2024: Brady Bacon