GAS CITY AND KOKOMO THE HOT TICKET FOR USAC SPRINTS THIS FRI./SUN.
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
An Indiana state double-dip for the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars is on tap this weekend with a pair of events on Friday, September 7, at Gas City I-69 Speedway and Sunday, September 9, at Kokomo Speedway.
The Gas City trip marks the return of the series to the quarter-mile oval for the first time since July of 2017 when Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary emerged with the victory in a wild one, passing Robert Ballou with five laps remaining to score the win.
Thirty USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car events have been held at Gas City since debuting on the schedule in 2002. Expected entrants for Friday’s race who’ve been victorious in a USAC event at Gas City include Shane Cottle of Kansas, Ill. (2006 & 08), Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. (2009 & 11), Kevin Thomas, Jr. of Cullman, Ala. (2013), Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, Okla. (2015), Chase Stockon of Fort Branch, Ind. (2015), Scotty Weir of Marion, Ind. (2016), Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis, Ind. (2016) and Leary (2017).
The victories for Cottle, Weir and Courtney were each their first visits to victory lane in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition. Speaking of that fact, the most recent occasion the series was on Hoosier state soil produced a first-time winner as well in Collinsville, Oklahoma’s Tyler Thomas, who won at Kokomo a couple weeks back on the second night of “Sprint Car Smackdown VII.” The following night’s finale was rained out and will be made up this Sunday at Kokomo Speedway.
The unique format will feature qualifying races, plus the “King of the Hill” two-car, three lap shootouts that pits the top-8, locked in A-Main drivers competing for their starting spots in the night’s A-Main, which leads into the last chance races and concludes with the 40-lap A-Main.
The top-8 drivers locked into Sunday’s feature include “Smackdown” point leader Tyler Courtney, winner of last Friday’s Sprint feature at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. Justin Grant is second ahead of Tyler Thomas, Brady Bacon, Dave Darland, Kevin Thomas, Jr., Chris Windom and Jason McDougal, who was victorious for the first time in USAC competition last Saturday at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Missouri, then followed it up with a local win at Kokomo.
C.J. Leary leads the B & W Auto Mart Passing Master Award standings, passing a total of 16 cars throughout the preliminary and feature events throughout the two nights of “Smackdown” run thus far.
Friday night at Gas City, the pits open at 3pm, front gates at 4:30pm and cars on track at 6:30pm. Adult general admission tickets are $25 while kids 12 and under are free and pit passes are $30 apiece.
Sunday at Kokomo, all gates open at 2pm. Cars hit the track at 5pm with racing to immediately follow. Additionally, a program for the BOSS Sprint Series will be held in addition to USAC’s “Smackdown” program. General admission tickets are $35. Kids 10 & under tickets are free with paid adult (general admission only). Pit passes for all ages are $45.
Three-day “Smackdown” ticketholders must turn in their wristband at the ticket window in exchange for a new one. Tickets that were already redeemed are NOT valid for re-entry. It is only the wristband that will be accepted as a rain check, no exceptions.
The Kokomo race will be streamed live on http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/. Both Gas City and Kokomo will be available to watch on-demand a day after the event is run on http://www.Loudpedal.TV/ and you can listen to both live on the USAC app.