BEAN’S LAST LAP PASS TAKES ONA EASTERN WIN
Ona, West Virginia (July 11, 2021)………Jessica Bean made sure the first USAC event held at West Virginia’s Ona Speedway in 52 years was a memorable one.
After trailing Sam Mazzo for 34 of the 35 laps in Saturday’s feature, the Farmland, Ind. native raced past Mazzo on the 35th and final lap to collect her first points-paying USAC Eastern SpeeD2 Midget victory of the season.
Bean’s 22nd career USAC win also added another tally to her record as the winningest woman driver in the history of USAC racing.
Mazzo (Burns, Tenn.) finished a close second in his bid for a second Eastern series win this year while Chris Lamb (Colfax, N.C. took third, with fastest qualifier Brady Allum (Gold Hill, N.C.) fourth and Hunter Wise (Allentown, Pa.) fifth.
The event was the first race sanctioned by the United States Auto Club at the 7/16-mile paved Ona Speedway since 1969, a USAC National Sprint Car feature won by Lennie Waldo. Interestingly, at the time, the track was co-owned by Dick Clark of American Bandstand and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve fame.
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USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET RACE RESULTS: July 10, 2021 – Ona Speedway – Ona, West Virginia
QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Allum, 87, Allum-17.349; 2. Hunter Wise, 47, Wise-17.445; 3. Chris Lamb, 9, Radical-17.447; 4. Sam Mazzo, 31, Mazzo-17.482; 5. Jessica Bean, 5, Radical-17.532; 6. Eric Lewis, 4, Lewis-17.661; 7. Bradley Swift, 85, Swift-17.678.
FEATURE: (35 laps) 1. Jessica Bean, 2. Sam Mazzo, 3. Chris Lamb, 4. Brady Allum, 5. Hunter Wise, 6. Bradley Swift, 7. Eric Lewis. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-34 Sam Mazzo, Lap 35 Jessica Bean.
USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET POINTS: 1-Jessica Bean-345, 2-Sam Mazzo-320, 3-Hunter Wise-316, 4-Chris Lamb-270, 5-Bradley Swift-247, 6-Brady Allum-178, 7-Mason Hoskins-126, 8-Kyle Cline-122, 9-Mike Creevan-107, 10-Buddy Campbell-107.
NEXT USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: July 23, 2021 – Wake County Speedway – Raleigh, North Carolina