By Richie Murray
Speedway, Indiana (October 15, 2025)………Back on the road again!
The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship hits the highway for Kansas/Texas Two-Step this weekend, October 17-18.
First up is a return to Kansas’ Dodge City Raceway on Friday night, October 17, for the first time in 14 years, paying $6,000-to-win. To cap the weekend off, the series travels down south to the Texas panhandle for USAC’s first ever visit to Amarillo, Texas’ Route 66 Motor Speedway for $10,000-to-win.
As we head down the home stretch, here are the storylines to keep tuned to this weekend!
DODGE CITY WAR
It’s been 14 years since the USAC National Sprint Cars have paid a visit to Dodge City Raceway Park. Back in August 2011, USAC Hall of Famer Tracy Hines swept to victories on consecutive nights.
Chris Windom holds Dodge City’s one-lap USAC National Sprint Car track record of 15.261 seconds, set on the opening night of the 2011 weekend.
It’s been three years since USAC National Sprint Cars last raced anywhere in the state of Kansas with Brady Bacon scoring the victory at Kansas City’s Lakeside Speedway in May of 2022.
AMARILLO BY NIGHT
Never before has USAC raced in Amarillo. However, USAC National Sprint Cars have made five previous visits to the Lone Star State of Texas dating back to 1959, and the list of winners is a doozy, featuring five series champions and five drivers who are or will be inducted into the USAC Hall of Fame one day.
The first Texas visit came at Houston’s Meyer Speedway in 1959 where hometown hero A.J. Foyt tamed the field under the “Midwest” division moniker in what was the last series event held in the decade of the 1950s.
Don Branson edged Jim Hurtubise to the finish line by a mere two feet at Meyer the following year in early 1960. Rufus Jones, better known as Parnelli, got his revenge in October of 1960 at Meyer Speedway when he became the third-straight USAC Sprint Car driving champion to “walk-off” with a feature victory in the final race of the season.
The hiatus lasted 25 years before USAC Sprint Car racing returned to Texas in 1985, which presented a unique USAC vs CRA (California Racing Association) challenge. Rick Hood trailed Steve Butler for 29 of the 30 laps before roaring from behind in the final turn to beat Butler to the checkered flag.
Thirty eight years later, in 2023, Brady Bacon wired all 30 laps to earn his first career victory at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite after several years of trying to win both with and without a wing.
CUMMINS PLAYING WITH HOUSE MONEY
Kyle Cummins has already wrapped up the 2025 USAC National Sprint Car driving championship, but he’s still got records to chase.
For one, his lead currently stands at 358 points, just 11 shy of the all-time series record of 369, set by Pancho Carter in 1976.
Furthermore, Cummins has also tallied 41 top-tens and 35 top-fives with the series to date during the 2025 season. The all-time single season record in both categories belongs to Brady Bacon in 2021 with 41 top-tens and 36 top-fives. Cummins could very well set that record this weekend. Over his last 17 series starts, he has 17 top-tens and 15 top-fives.
GRANT & BRIGGS BACK IN KANSAS
Justin Grant and Briggs Danner have already experienced their fair share of success in the state of Kansas this year.
Grant has won in a USAC Silver Crown car and Midget this year in the Sunflower State, capturing the both back in May at the Belleville High Banks.
In July of this year, Danner raced his way to glory at Hutchinson’s Salt City Raceway with his first career Silver Crown victory.
This weekend, they’ll attempt to repeat their Kansas success.
JAKE SWANSON’S ROLLING
Few drivers have been as consistent of late as Jake Swanson.
His solid stretch of finishes over his seven most recent USAC National Sprint Car starts has seen him tally results of 5th-5th-5th-8th-5th-3rd-5th.
He’s among those looking to score his first USAC National Sprint Car win of the year, something he hasn’t achieved since July of 2023 at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway.
POINT OF ORDER
Although the race at the top of the USAC National Sprint Car standings is locked up, there are several battles throughout the rest of the top-10 that still remain up for grabs.
Forty-one points separate second and third in the standings between Mitchel Moles and Logan Seavey. Another 60 points stand between Kevin Thomas Jr. and Justin Grant for fourth and fifth. C.J. Leary and Jake Swanson find themselves one single point apart between seventh and eighth.
Meanwhile, the MPI Rookie of the Year race rages on with Gunnar Setser leading Hayden Reinbold by 10 markers entering the weekend.
HIGH PLAINS THUNDER BONUS
The High Plains Thunder Bonus, a $2,000 prize awarded to the driver who earns the best overall points finish across the back-to-back nights of USAC National Sprint Car racing at Kansas’ Dodge City Raceway Park on Friday and at Route 66 Motor Speedway on Saturday.
The High Plains Thunder Bonus is designed to reward consistency across two demanding tracks on consecutive nights. Dodge City’s wide, sweeping surface and Amarillo’s fast Texas clay provide two very different challenges, pushing drivers to adapt quickly and prove themselves under pressure. If a tie occurs, the fastest qualifying lap at Amarillo will determine the winner.
ELITE BONUSES
Both of this weekend’s events will be co-sanctioned by USAC and the POWRi Elite Non-Wing Sprints.
ProSource is presenting an Elite driver bonus program for the weekend, offering extra cash to the top-10 drivers in the current Elite point standings each night.
Those bonuses include $100 to the top Elite qualifier, $250 to an Elite driver who wins a heat race, and $250 to the highest finishing Elite driver in the feature, $150 to the second highest Elite feature finisher and $100 to the third highest Elite feature finisher.
Among the drivers eligible for the bonuses are Elite point leader Paul White as well as Jason Howell, R.J. Miller, Bryan Debrick, Michael Merrell, Kobe Simpson, Caleb Stelzig, Joshua Hanna, Weston Gorham and Anton Hernandez.
RACE DETAILS
On Friday, October 17, at Kansas’ Dodge City Raceway Park, the program will feature the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, plus IMCA Hobby Stocks. Pits open at 1pm Central with the grandstands opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 5:30pm and hot laps at 6pm, followed by racing. General admission tickets are $25 for ages 13 & up. General admission tickets are free for ages 12 & under are free. Pit passes are $40.
On Saturday, October 18, at Amarillo, Texas’ Route 66 Motor Speedway, the docket consists of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the Air Compressor Solutions Street Stocks. Pits open on race day at Noon Central time with the front gates opening at 4:30pm, the drivers meeting at 5:15pm and hot laps at 6pm. Advance tickets are now on sale for the event at www.route66motorspeedway.net. General admission tickets are $35 apiece for ages 13 and up, $15 for ages 5-12 and free for ages 4 and under. Pit passes are $45 each for all ages.
Both events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://www.flosports.link/usac.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-3097, 2-Mitchel Moles-2739, 3-Logan Seavey-2698, 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-2631, 5-Justin Grant-2571, 6-Briggs Danner-2486, 7-C.J. Leary-2418, 8-Jake Swanson-2417, 9-Chase Stockon-2063, 10-Gunnar Setser-1990.
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT DODGE RACEWAY PARK:
2-Tracy Hines
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT DODGE RACEWAY PARK:
2011: Tracy Hines (8/12) & Tracy Hines (8/13)
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS IN KANSAS:
2-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou & Tracy Hines
1-Don Branson, Tony Elliott, Kenny Irwin Jr., Bubby Jones, Arnie Knepper, Jud Larson, Jim Mahoney, Thomas Meseraull, Smokey Snellbaker, Robbie Stanley, Dave Steele, Brian Tyler, Greg Weld, Carl Williams, Doug Wolfgang & J.J. Yeley
PAST DODGE CITY RACEWAY PARK USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RESULTS:
NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Hud Cone, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Damion Gardner, 8. Robert Ballou, 9. Blake Fitzpatrick, 10. Hunter Schuerenberg, 11. Bobby East, 12. Travis Rilat, 13. Keith Bloom Jr., 14. Patrick Stasa, 15. Josh Stephens, 16. Justin Schwien, 17. Zach Blurton, 18. Jordan Weaver, 19. Cody Brewer, 20. Jeff Stasa, 21. Tony Everhart, 22. Kris Miller, 23. C.J. Johnson, 24. Michael Williams. 8:18.18
NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Jon Stanbrough, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Travis Rilat, 7. Hunter Schuerenberg, 8. Bobby East, 9. Keith Bloom Jr., 10. Patrick Stasa, 11. Jeff Stasa, 12. Jordan Weaver, 13. Robert Ballou, 14. Tony Everhart, 15. Blake Fitzpatrick, 16. Zach Blurton, 17. Hud Cone, 18. Damion Gardner, 19. Kris Miller, 20. Michael Williams. NT
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS IN TEXAS:
1-Brady Bacon, Don Branson, A.J. Foyt, Rick Hood & Parnelli Jones