SWANSONS, SANTOS & WISE ENTER IRP’S MIDGET OPENER ON MARCH 26        

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Brownsburg, Indiana (March 18, 2022)………Four past USAC Midget winners at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park have entered for the Saturday, March 26 Open-Wheel Opening Day Special Event at the .686-mile paved oval in Brownsburg, Ind.

Among those filing their entries for the USAC Midget non-points event are the second ranking driver in terms of overall USAC victories at IRP, Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.).  Swanson owns 13 total USAC feature victories at IRP, two behind all-time leader Tracy Hines with 15.  Three of Swanson’s 13 IRP USAC wins have come behind the wheel of a midget, including two in 2021.  This time around, he’ll be making his debut in a car owned by perennial NEMA frontrunners Bertrand Motorsports.

Hailing from the northeast is Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.), who scored his third career IRP USAC Midget victory at IRP last June.  He’ll be sporting a somewhat new look in the event, in the seat of the Jeff West No. 51.

Tanner Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) will also have a different car to wheel in 2022 at IRP, this one for RMS Racing.  Tanner captured his lone USAC Midget win at IRP all the way back in 2010.

Josh Wise (Riverside, Calif.) enters the event as the most recent winner of a USAC Midget feature at IRP, getting the job done in August of 2021.  He’ll make his return in a car owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Alex Bowman.

Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is celebrating Open-Wheel Opening Day in style with FREE general admission to the racing events on Saturday, March 26.

Courtesy of Bald Spot Sports, fans are invited to attend Open-Wheel Opening Day for FREE with complimentary general admission for a can't miss doubleheader featuring a USAC Midget Special Event and the 500 Sprint Car Tour presented by Auto Value & Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores.

FREE tickets for the event can be had now at https://bit.ly/OpeningDayFREE.  Additional race info can be found at https://raceirp.com/openingday2022/.

The March 26 program begins with a 30-lap, $5,000 to win midget feature as well as a 30-lap, $5,000 to win sprint car feature.  The midget program is considered a USAC non-points special event, meaning no points will be awarded toward the USAC National series' championship standings.

The midget event will be the milestone 300th USAC sanctioned event on the IRP oval since its construction in 1961.

An open test is scheduled for the previous day, on Friday, March 25, from 3:00 to 6:00pm ET preceding this event to allow one final tune-up before race day.

On race day, March 26, the pits open at 10am ET with the drivers meeting at 12:30pm.  Sprint car and midget practice begins at 1pm, followed by sprint car qualifying at 3:15pm, midget qualifying at 3:40pm, opening ceremonies at 4pm, the sprint car feature at 4:15pm and the midget feature at 5:05pm.

For Open-Wheel Opening Day, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is offering free primitive camping to all fans.  Visit the link at https://raceirp.com/openingday2022/ to reserve your space.

All parking for Open-Wheel Opening Day will be placed in Lot 2.  Fans will still enter through the Main Gate off US Highway 136/Crawfordsville Road.

Individuals interested in reserved tickets, pit passes, or the Raceway Park Club for Open-Wheel Opening Day can visit https://raceirp.com/openingday2022/ to purchase.

The track will still offer a $25 reserved ticket (that also includes a Hot Dog, Chips and 20 oz Water/Soft Drink).  Pit passes are $35 apiece.

MIDGET ENTRY LIST:

1BR KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development)

3 TBA (Nick Bohanon Racing)

4 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./ (Klatt Enterprises)

7 COLE CARTER/Brownsburg, IN (Bertrand Motorsports)

7A DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

7K NICK HAMILTON/Danville, IN (Kenny & Reva Irwin)

9 JOHNNY ZYCH/Mendon, MA (John Zych)

14 BRANDON MAURER/Sherman, IL (Brandon Maurer)

17 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (RMS Racing)

17x CHAD NICHOLS/Colma, CA (Chad Nichols)

40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Western Speed Racing)

44 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bertrand Motorsports)

47 TODD BERTRAND/Suffield, CT (Bertrand Motorsports)

47D NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Bertrand Motorsports)

51 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (Jeff West)

55 JOSH WISE/Riverside, CA (Alex Bowman Racing)

60 CODY GERHARDT/Fresno, CA (Western Speed Racing)

75 RYAN SHILKUSKI/Spring Valley, IL (Ryan Shilkuski)

88 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Arata Brothers Racing)

99 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Guess Racing)