7 UP FOR LEARY AS 35 NEW USAC NATIONAL TRACK RECORDS WERE SET IN 2022

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 20, 2022)………Thirty-four (35) track records were established by 22 different drivers across USAC’s Silver Crown (4), NOS Energy Drink National Midget (9) and AMSOIL National Sprint Car (22) divisions throughout the 2022 season.

C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) was head and shoulders above all other drivers in terms of setting track records during the past season with seven in total, four more than any other driver.  He also was the only individual to establish new track records in multiple USAC National divisions this past year.

The 2019 USAC National Sprint Car titlist, Leary earned four new one-lap sprint car records in four different states during 2022: at Ohio’s Atomic Speedway, at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park, at Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway and at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

Leary even set a rare new three-lap standard during Sprint Car Smackdown’s King of the Hill at Kokomo Speedway.  At Atomic, he set two new records for the book with an eight-lap heat race performance in addition to his earlier one-lap qualifying run.  In the USAC Silver Crown series, Leary established a new record during the series debut at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.

In August at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., Kody Swanson became the first to reach 40 career USAC Silver Crown pole positions.  As it turned out, his fastest lap was also downright historic as he set a new world speed record for a traditional USAC Silver Crown car during the Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying session.

Swanson’s speed run clocked in at a time of 30.675 seconds, which translates to 146.699 mph, eclipsing the former speed record for a traditional Silver Crown car set by himself at Iowa Speedway with a 146.212 mph a decade ago in 2012.

The term “traditional” is used in this matter due to the utilization of a “New Generation” “Super Speedway” car that was used in competition solely during the years of 2006-07.  Aaron Pierce turned a qualifying lap of 175.012 mph during the brief era in USAC history at Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006.

Four new USAC track records were set on a record book “re-write” night at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in September of 2022.  Ethan Mitchell showed the way in single-lap qualifying, followed by Buddy Kofoid in his eight-lap heat race, Jace Park in the 12-lap semi-feature, and finally, Cannon McIntosh in the 30-lap feature event.

A total of five caution-free feature events took place throughout the 82-race USAC National campaign.  McIntosh’s Sweet Springs Midget performance was the lone standout among the midgets.  Meanwhile there were four in the sprint car division, starting off with Brady Bacon’s runs at Kansas’ Lakeside Speedway and Pennsylvania’s Bloomsburg Fair Raceway.

Additionally with the sprint cars, Robert Ballou tamed the series’ debut with a 30-lap romp on the new dirt of Missouri’s I-70 Speedway while Jake Swanson swept the night en route to a 30-lap score during the Western World Championships at Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway.

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TOTAL USAC NATIONAL TRACK RECORDS SET IN 2022 (BY DRIVER):

7-C.J. Leary (Silver Crown & Sprint)

3-Brady Bacon (Sprint)

3-Jake Swanson (Sprint)

2-Emerson Axsom (Sprint)

2-Jace Park (Midget)

2-Kody Swanson (Silver Crown)

1-Robert Ballou (Sprint)

1-Wyatt Burks (Sprint)

1-Kyle Cummins (Sprint)

1-Briggs Danner (Sprint)

1-Charles Davis Jr. (Sprint)

1-Shane Golobic (Midget)

1-Justin Grant (Midget)

1-Buddy Kofoid (Midget)

1-Chase McDermand (Midget)

1-Jason McDougal (Sprint)

1-Cannon McIntosh (Midget)

1-Ethan Mitchell (Midget)

1-Mitchel Moles (Sprint)

1-Taylor Reimer (Midget)

1-Jadon Rogers (Sprint)

1-Logan Seavey (Silver Crown)

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2022 USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TRACK RECORDS (4):

1-Lap

6/18/2022 | C.J. Leary | 21.402 | Port Royal Speedway - 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval - Port Royal, Pa.

8/19/2022 | Kody Swanson | 30.675 | Gateway Motorsports Park - 1.25 Mile Paved Oval - Madison, Ill.

50-Laps

6/18/2022 | Logan Seavey | 31:43.07 | Port Royal Speedway - 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval - Port Royal, Pa.

100-Laps

7/21/2022 | Kody Swanson | 35:44.816 | Winchester Speedway - 1/2-Mile Paved Oval - Winchester, Ind.

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2022 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TRACK RECORDS (9):

1-Lap

7/8/2022 | Shane Golobic | 12.718 | Huset’s Speedway – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Brandon, S.D.

9/9/2022 | Ethan Mitchell | 11.361 | Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex - 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval - Sweet Springs, Mo.

10-Laps

7/10/2022 | Chase McDermand | 2:10.61 | Huset’s Speedway – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – Brandon, S.D.

9/9/2022 | Buddy Kofoid | 2:02.13 | Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex - 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval - Sweet Springs, Mo.

10/7/2022 | Justin Grant | 1:43.92 | Wayne County Speedway - 1/8-Mile Dirt Oval - Wayne City, Ill.

12-Laps

6/2/2022 | Jace Park | Tri-City Speedway - 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval - Granite City, Ill.

9/9/2022 | Jace Park | 2:35.70 | Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex - 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval - Sweet Springs, Mo.

11/23/2022 | Taylor Reimer | Merced Speedway - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Merced, Calif.

30-Laps

9/9/2022 | Cannon McIntosh | 6:45.81 | Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex - 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval - Sweet Springs, Mo.

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2022 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TRACK RECORDS (22):

1-Lap

4/16/2022 | C.J. Leary | 12.862 | Atomic Speedway – Chillicothe, Ohio

5/14/2022 | Emerson Axsom | 15.856 | I-70 Speedway - .450-Mile Dirt Oval - Odessa, Mo.

6/15/2022 | C.J. Leary | 14.779 | Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, N.J.

6/26/2022 | C.J. Leary | 13.765 | Angell Park Speedway - 1/3 Mile Dirt Oval - Sun Prairie, Wis.

7/8/2022 | Emerson Axsom | 12.464 | Huset’s Speedway - 1/3 Mile Dirt Oval - Brandon, S.D.

7/25/2022 | Mitchel Moles | 11.819 | Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Ind.

7/26/2022 | C.J. Leary | 12.284 | Kokomo Speedway - 1/4 Mile Dirt Oval - Kokomo, Ind.

10/29/2022 | Jake Swanson | 16.127 | Cocopah Speedway - 3/8 Mile Dirt Oval – Somerton, Ariz.

3-Laps

8/27/2022 | C.J. Leary | 39.543 | Kokomo Speedway - 1/4 Mile Dirt Oval - Kokomo, Ind.

6-Laps

2/19/2022 | Kyle Cummins | 1:32.62 | Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, Fla.

8-Laps

4/16/2022 | C.J. Leary | 1:55.52 | Atomic Speedway – Chillicothe, Ohio

5/14/2022 | Jason McDougal | 2:13.29 | I-70 Speedway - .450-Mile Dirt Oval - Odessa, Mo.

6/19/2022 | Briggs Danner | 2:11.42 | Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, Pa.

6/26/2022 | Brady Bacon | 2:03.72 | Angell Park Speedway - 1/3 Mile Dirt Oval - Sun Prairie, Wis.

10/28/2022 | Charles Davis Jr. | 2:14.08 | Cocopah Speedway - 3/8 Mile Dirt Oval – Somerton, Ariz.

10-Laps

5/14/2022 | Wyatt Burks | 3:03.19 | I-70 Speedway - .450-Mile Dirt Oval - Odessa, Mo.

9/16/2022 | Jadon Rogers | 2:04.23 | Circle City Raceway - 1/4 Mile Dirt Oval - Indianapolis, Ind.

12-Laps

9/16/2022 | Jake Swanson | 2:39.26 | Circle City Raceway - 1/4 Mile Dirt Oval - Indianapolis, Ind.

30-Laps

5/12/2022 | Brady Bacon | 9:56.04 | Lakeside Speedway – 4/10-Mile Dirt Oval - Kansas City, Kan.

5/14/2022 | Robert Ballou | 9:52.36 | I-70 Speedway - .450-Mile Dirt Oval - Odessa, Mo.

6/19/2022 | Brady Bacon | 8:51.95 | Bloomsburg Fair Raceway – Bloomsburg, Pa.

10/29/2022 | Jake Swanson | 9:45.759 | Cocopah Speedway - 3/8 Mile Dirt Oval – Somerton, Ariz.