BAKER’S DOZEN! SEAVEY ROLLS TO USAC SPRINT WIN #13 AT CIRCLE CITY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (July 31, 2024)………For some, the number 13 is an undesirable and unlucky numeral of sorts.  However, for Logan Seavey in particular, the number 13 fits neither of those categories.  Instead, it represents one of the most historic seasons in the history of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition.

The Sutter, Calif. native entered rarefied air during Wednesday night’s fourth round of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing at Indianapolis, Indiana’s Circle City Raceway.

There, Seavey took over the lead once and for all with seven laps remaining en route to his 13th victory of the USAC National Sprint Car season aboard his Abacus Racing/Honest Abe Roofing – Rockwell Security – Indy Custom Stone/DRC/Stanton Chevy.

Seavey is now just one of three drivers to achieve at least 13 wins during a single USAC National Sprint Car season, joining Tom Bigelow (14 in 1977), J.J. Yeley (13 in 2003) and Robert Ballou (13 in 2015).  Seavey now sits just one victory shy of the all-time single season series record of 14 set by Bigelow in 1977.

In the meantime, Seavey has won six of his past seven series starts, including three of the first four rounds of USAC Indiana Sprint Week.  Funny enough, he’s the first driver since himself in 2021 to capture wins in three of the first four rounds of ISW.  Amid all the hubbub, Seavey pushed his ISW point lead to 44 markers over Brady Bacon with three events remaining.

Furthermore, Seavey’s latest triumph was the 23rd of his USAC National Sprint Car career, equaling him with C.J. Leary and Roger McCluskey for 28th on the all-time list.

Lining up on the outside of the front row for the 30-lap feature, Seavey initially fell back to third on the opening lap as Ricky Lewis darted into the second spot in turn four while pole sitter Shane Cottle nestled into his groove up front to lead the initial seven circuits.

By lap six, Seavey had hustled his way back into second by dipping under Lewis in turn one, then made a beeline toward Cottle and the race lead.  Kyle Cummins followed suit to second a lap later as he worked his way under Lewis to slot into third behind Seavey.

For the next two trips around Circle City’s 1/4-mile dirt oval, Seavey wound it up on the top while Cottle paced around the bottom.  By lap eight, Seavey had tracked down Cottle and raced around the outside of him in turn four to beat Cottle at the line by 0.012 seconds.

Fifth running C.J. Leary fell by the wayside shortly thereafter on lap nine as he slowed dramatically on the back straight, which necessitated a yellow flag, prematurely finishing the night of the 2019 Indiana Sprint Week champion with a 26th place result.

By the midway point, Seavey, followed by the emerging Kevin Thomas Jr., plus Cottle and Kyle Cummins, had reached the thick of lapped traffic.  On lap 19, the close quarters nearly caught the frontrunners as 19th running Kyle Shipley flipped upside down in turn four right in the path of Seavey who veered left to successfully avoid contact.  Shipley walked away unscathed, but his race was finished.

When racing reconvened for the lap 20 restart, Thomas took full advantage of the newfound opportunity.  Thomas slid Seavey in turns three and four to swipe the top spot.  However, Seavey quickly countered the move and grabbed the top spot back from Thomas on the bottom of turn one.  As Seavey slid up the surface in turn two on lap 21, Thomas once again cut back under off turn two to reassume the position.

At that moment in time, Seavey felt that might’ve been the decisive moment for his race’s fate.

“I honestly thought I gave it away on that restart,” Seavey revealed.  “I was getting really loose, and I felt like I got myself where I needed to be.  I ran one horrendous lap there on that restart.  I just ran right through the middle, and I didn’t get aggressive against the cushion or protect the bottom.  I ran exactly where you can’t run on the racetrack and KTJ went right by me.  I thought that was it, and with the way he was sliding himself, it was going to be really hard to get a run.

On lap 22, a three-car stack-up in turn one halted the action as Harley Burns (19th), Kale Drake (20th) and Justin Grant (21st) all found themselves interconnected and stopped, promptly ending all three drivers’ evenings on the spot.

The ensuing restart saw Thomas enter low in turns one and three, then let his ride glide to the top of turns two and four, thus preventing Seavey from attempting a slide job.  On lap 24, however, Seavey was able to get to the inside of Thomas on the entry into turn one.  By the time the pair reached the exit of turn two, Seavey had positioned himself in prime position to make a run.  There, Seavey drag raced alongside Thomas down the length of the back straightaway and edged ahead in turn three to linquish a lead he wouldn’t relinquish the remainder of the way.

“He slipped up one little bit and I really shoved it in there,” Seavey said of his pass on Thomas for the lead.  “I heard him lift fairly late and it was one of those deals where, if he didn’t lift right then, I was going to be all over the brakes trying not to crash us both.  He cut me a little of a break there.  I thought he was going to get back under me with as much as he lifted.”

Once reestablishing the lead, Seavey’s voyage to victory was interrupted by a yellow flag that resulted when Mitchel Moles (6th) was found stopped backwards at the exit of turn four on lap 25.  Following shortly after, amid the battle for the 14th position, contact between Joey Amantea and Chance Crum on lap 27 resulted in Amantea getting into the outside back straightaway wall, then enduring a series of several vicious flips before landing in turn three.  Amantea climbed out and walked away from the incident, then had some choice words to share about the situation over the track’s public address system.

A little bit of time under the red flag situation allowed Seavey to make a few more adjustments to get himself dialed in for the final stretch run.

“It just gave me some time to work on my car a little bit with my knobs,” Seavey explained.  “Once I got back to the lead, I didn’t need a lot, but I knew I was going to protect, so I was able to tighten myself up a lot compared to how I need my car to run the cushion.  I ran a little bit of defense, which I don’t like to do, but with the racetrack the way it was, I was able to tighten myself up enough to run through the black like that and pick up the cushion.  You’re looking at who’s behind you to see if there’s a guy who’s really good at pounding the top, then maybe you might loosen yourself back up and try to get going on the top.  I knew where KTJ was good, and once he got to the lead, I saw his line and I knew if I could just take his line away, it would be really hard for him to pass me back.”

Long story short, Seavey did not get passed back.  Instead, he pulled away following the lap 27 restart to become the first three-time USAC National Sprint Car winner at Circle City.  Kevin Thomas Jr. crossed the line in second, 2.038 seconds back, with Shane Cottle third, Kyle Cummins fourth and Briggs Danner fifth.

Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) got back on track after his first three rounds of Indiana Sprint Week resulted in finishes of 9th, 21st and 20th, a destroyed racecar and another night plagued by a mechanical issue.  On this night, he led four laps and finished as the runner-up in his Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Eddie Gilstrap Motors – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) led the opening seven laps of the feature before finishing third in his Epperson Racing/Epperson Painting – PPG Paints – M2 Bearings/DRC/Speedway Chevy.  It was the veteran racer’s second consecutive third-place result during Indiana Sprint Week at Circle City.

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pa.) is back in his realm.  Twenty-four hours earlier, he suffered the ultimate heartache when engine woes sidelined him while leading the feature.  He got back in the groove at Circle City with a top-five run and he did it after starting 12th.  The plus-seven effort made him the night's hard charger.

Kale Drake (Collinsville, Okla.) qualified 30th and was buried deep in the field throughout the program.  In the end, Drake worked his way into the feature lineup via a sixth to second place run in the semi.  For that, he was rewarded with the ProSource Hard Work award.

Scotty Weir (Marion, Ind.) entered the event as one of the very few drivers to qualify for all three features thus far during Indiana Sprint Week.  However, Circle City was not his night.  He missed out on making the main event, but he didn't miss out on picking up a new right rear Hoosier Tire courtesy of Sam McGhee Motorsports.

Australia's Todd Hobson entered the night having never competed in an Indiana Sprint Week feature.  The Clyde, Victoria native changed that at Circle City by earning Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night accolades.

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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 31, 2024 – Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana – 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing

HONEST ABE ROOFING QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 15x, BGE Dougherty-11.957; 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3R, Rock Steady-12.120; 3. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland-12.144; 4. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-12.172; 5. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-12.208; 6. Shane Cottle, 2E, Epperson-12.221; 7. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-12.238; 8. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-12.246; 9. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.275; 10. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.315; 11. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-12.325; 12. Carson Garrett, 15, BGE Dougherty-12.359; 13. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin/Fox-12.413; 14. Kyle Shipley, 4u, AJR-12.489; 15. Todd Hobson, 77, Wingo-12.490; 16. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.494; 17. Xavier Doney, 74, Doney/Lawson-12.502; 18. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-12.526; 19. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-12.529; 20. Jake Swanson, 24, Simon-12.530; 21. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-12.538; 22. Chance Crum, 26, Crum-12.567; 23. Evan Mosley, 27, Barkdull-12.583; 24. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-12.604; 25. Chase Stockon, 5s, KO-12.606; 26. Kevin Newton, 14N, 2nd Law-12.609; 27. Frankie Guerrini, G3, F & F-12.609; 28. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-12.630; 29. Logan Calderwood, 4c, Ford-12.630; 30. Kale Drake, 2B, 2B Racing-12.656; 31. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, GGR-12.684; 32. Zack Pretorius, 9z, Pretorius-12.704; 33. Trey Osborne, 11T, Osborne-12.709; 34. Rylan Gray, 06, Gray-12.724; 35. Joey Amantea, 88J, JPA-12.731; 36. Jadon Rogers, 66, Amati-12.745; 37. Scotty Weir, 47x, Eades-12.748; 38. Matt Goodnight, 39G, Goodnight-12.793; 39. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.799; 40. Jack Hoyer, 11x, Hoyer-12.811; 41. R.J. Johnson, 77s, Sturgeon-12.811; 42. Brent Beauchamp, 11, Beauchamp-12.851; 43. Kayla Roell, 5K, KO-12.875; 44. Sam Hinds, 71H, Hinds-12.935; 45. Hunter Maddox, 24m, Maddox-13.435; 46. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-13.509.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Harley Burns, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Anton Hernandez, 5. C.J. Leary, 6. Chase Stockon, 7. Trey Osborne, 8. Logan Calderwood, 9. Scotty Weir, 10. R.J. Johnson, 11. Hunter Maddox, 12. Xavier Doney. NT

ROD END SUPPLY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Chance Crum, 6. Kyle Shipley, 7. Kale Drake, 8. Brent Beauchamp, 9. Kevin Newton, 10. Matt Goodnight, 11. Troy Carey, 12. Rylan Gray. 2:09.648

T.J. FORGED THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Ricky Lewis, 4. Evan Mosley, 5. Brayden Fox, 6. Frankie Guerrini, 7. Joey Amantea, 8. Brandon Mattox, 9. Gabriel Gilbert, 10. Kayla Roell, 11. Todd Hobson. NT

CAR IQ FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Garrett, 2. Kyle Cummins, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Briggs Danner, 6. Kobe Simpson, 7. Jack Hoyer, 8. Zack Pretorius, 9. Jadon Rogers, 10. Sam Hinds, 11. Charles Davis Jr. NT

TRAILER ALARMS C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Kevin Newton, 2. Jadon Rogers, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Scotty Weir, 5. Rylan Gray, 6. Sam Hinds, 7. Hunter Maddox, 8. Matt Goodnight, 9. Kayla Roell, 10. Troy Carey, 11. Charles Davis Jr., 12. Xavier Doney. NT

ELLIOTT’S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Todd Hobson, 2. Kale Drake, 3. Kyle Shipley, 4. Chase Stockon, 5. Joey Amantea, 6. Jack Hoyer, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Kobe Simpson, 9. Frankie Guerrini, 10. Kevin Newton, 11. Logan Calderwood, 12. Brandon Mattox, 13. R.J. Johnson, 14. Scotty Weir, 15. Brent Beauchamp, 16. Jadon Rogers, 17. Trey Osborne. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (2), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 3. Shane Cottle (1), 4. Kyle Cummins (3), 5. Briggs Danner (12), 6. Brady Bacon (11), 7. Ricky Lewis (4), 8. Robert Ballou (10), 9. Carson Garrett (8), 10. Anton Hernandez (15), 11. Daison Pursley (9), 12. Matt Westfall (18), 13. Mitchel Moles (7), 14. Jake Swanson (19), 15. Chance Crum (21), 16. Todd Hobson (17), 17. Brayden Fox (14), 18. Chase Stockon (23), 19. Hunter Maddox (26-P), 20. Evan Mosley (22), 21. Joey Amantea (25-P), 22. Harley Burns (20), 23. Kale Drake (24), 24. Justin Grant (13), 25. Kyle Shipley (16), 26. C.J. Leary (6). NT

(P) represents a provisional starter

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Shane Cottle, Laps 8-19 Logan Seavey, Laps 20-23 Kevin Thomas Jr., Laps 24-30 Logan Seavey.

**Kyle Shipley flipped on lap 19 of the feature. Joey Amantea flipped on lap 27 of the feature.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-2026, 2-Brady Bacon-1920, 3-C.J. Leary-1827, 4-Daison Pursley-1819, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1737, 6-Mitchel Moles-1701, 7-Robert Ballou-1698, 8-Kyle Cummins-1624, 9-Justin Grant-1577, 10-Carson Garrett-1362.

NOS ENERGY DRINK USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PRESENTED BY HONEST ABE ROOFING POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-313, 2-Brady Bacon-269, 3-Kyle Cummins-263, 4-Daison Pursley-239, 5-Briggs Danner-225, 6-Mitchel Moles-222, 7-Ricky Lewis-220, 8-Robert Ballou-204, 9-C.J. Leary-199, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-189.

USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Logan Seavey-137, 2-Daison Pursley-135, 3-Robert Ballou-116, 4-C.J. Leary-103, 5-Kyle Cummins-96, 6-Justin Grant-93, 7-Joey Amantea-89, 8-Chase Stockon-86, 9-Brady Bacon-78, 10-Carson Garrett-70.

USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Shane Cottle-37, 2-Logan Seavey-29, 3-Ricky Lewis-28, 4-Anton Hernandez-27, 5-Chance Crum-26, 6-Brady Bacon-25, 7-Kyle Cummins-24, 8-Chase Stockon-22, 9-Jadon Rogers-19, 10-Rylan Gray-17.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 1, 2024 – Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Indiana – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – 37th Annual NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing / Don Smith Classic

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Driver: Brady Bacon (12.058)

Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary (11.957)

Spire Motorsports 7th Fastest Qualifier: Brady Bacon

Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Rod End Supply Second Heat Winner: Daison Pursley

T.J. Forged Third Heat Winner: Robert Ballou

Car IQ Fourth Heat Winner: Carson Garrett

Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Semi Winner: Todd Hobson

J & J Trucking Hard Charger: Briggs Danner (12th to 5th)

Spire Motorsports 7th Place Feature Finisher: Ricky Lewis

ProSource Hard Work: Kale Drake

Inferno Armor Fire Move of the Night: Todd Hobson

Sam McGhee Motorsports Hard Luck Award: Scotty Weir