BEAN STRIKES AGAIN WITH 5TH STRAIGHT USAC EASTERN MIDGET TITLE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (December 27, 2021)………No woman has won more often in USAC competition than her. No woman has won more USAC championships than her.
And, in 2021, Jessica Bean added another item to her ever-growing list of unprecedented accomplishments with the United States Auto Club.
The Farmland, Ind. native was victorious four times in USAC Eastern SpeeD2 Midget racing this season, which paved the way for an unprecedented fifth consecutive Eastern Midget title after previous driving championships in 2017-18-19-20.
Bean scored the title with a 34-point margin of victory on the strength of four victories, including a last lap pass to win at West Virginia’s Ona Speedway in July during the first USAC event held at the track since 1969. She doubled up in the mid-south during the month of August at Kentucky Motor Speedway and Tennessee’s Veterans Motorplex. She finished up with another triumph at North Carolina’s Tri-County Motor Speedway, the 21st points-paying victory with the series.
The all-time winningest USAC Eastern SpeeD2 Midget driver, 55-time victor Chris Lamb (Colfax, N.C.), added a series-high six scores during the 2021 season while leading a series-best 159 laps.
An opening night victory for Lamb at Virginia’s Shenandoah Speedway in April was followed by more at Virginia’s Dominion Raceway in June, North Carolina’s Wake County Speedway and South Carolina’s Dillon Motor Speedway in July, plus the final two of the year in October at Dominion and Dillon once more. Starting just nine of the 13 events, Lamb finished 5th in the standings.
Hunter Wise (Allentown, Pa.) reached victory lane twice with the series for the second consecutive season, going on to finish 4th in the standings. He picked up both of his victories in the Volunteer State of Tennessee at Veterans Motorplex in May and again at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in August.
Sam Mazzo (Burns, Tenn.) raced to his first career series victory in May at Veterans Motorplex en route to a career-best runner-up finish in the standings. His six fast qualifying times in 2021 led all drivers and was double that of his closest competition.
Brady Allum (Gold Hill, N.C.) finished 3rd in the standings with nine top-fives and 11 top-tens throughout 2021, while leading a total of 17 laps.
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2021 USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET STAT LEADERS:
Driver Champion: Jessica Bean
Most Feature Wins: 6-Chris Lamb
Laps Led: 159-Chris Lamb
Top-Fives: 12-Jessica Bean
Top-Tens: 13-Jessica Bean & Sam Mazzo
Fast Qualifying Times: 6-Sam Mazzo
Feature Starts: 13-Jessica Bean & Sam Mazzo
2021 USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 897 Jessica Bean, Farmland, Ind.
2 863 Sam Mazzo, Burns, Tenn.
3 720 Brady Allum, Gold Hill, N.C.
4 645 Hunter Wise, Allentown, Pa.
5 610 Chris Lamb, Colfax, N.C.
6 516 Bradley Swift, Nashville, Tenn.
7 267 Buddy Campbell, Marietta, Ga.
8 240 Mason Hoskins, Hendersonville, Tenn.
9 240 Nathan Byrd, Goodyear, Ariz.
10 225 Peyton Ferree, Fredericksburg, Va.
11 205 Mike Creevan, Escalon, Calif.
12 178 Caleb Edington, Thomasville, N.C.
13 154 Logan Sulyi, Raleigh, N.C.
14 122 Kyle Cline, Apple Valley, Calif.
15 52 Devin Westover, Saratoga Springs, Utah
2021 USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS:
Mar 19: Havasu 95 Speedway – Lake Havasu, AZ (SE)
WINNER: Jessica Bean (Radical Racing #5)
Mar 20: Havasu 95 Speedway – Lake Havasu, AZ (SE)
WINNER: Jessica Bean (Radical Racing #5)
Apr 10: Shenandoah Speedway – Shenandoah, VA
WINNER: Chris Lamb (Radical Racing #9)
May 15: Veterans Motorplex – Greenbrier, TN
WINNER: Sam Mazzo (Mazzo Racing #31)
May 15: Veterans Motorplex – Greenbrier, TN
WINNER: Hunter Wise (Wise Racing #47)
Jun 5: Dominion Raceway – Spotsylvania, VA
WINNER: Chris Lamb (Radical Racing #9)
Jul 10: Ona Speedway – Ona, WV
WINNER: Jessica Bean (Radical Racing #5)
Jul 23: Wake County Speedway – Raleigh, NC
WINNER: Chris Lamb (Radical Racing #9)
Jul 24: Dillon Motor Speedway – Dillon, SC
WINNER: Chris Lamb (Radical Racing #9)
Aug 5: Kentucky Motor Speedway – Whitesville, KY
WINNER: Jessica Bean (Radical Racing #5)
Aug 6: Veterans Motorplex – Greenbrier, TN
WINNER: Jessica Bean (Radical Racing #5)
Aug 7: Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway – Nashville, TN
WINNER: Hunter Wise (Wise Racing #47)
Sep 18: Tri-County Motor Speedway – Hudson, NC
WINNER: Jessica Bean (Radical Racing #5)
Oct 2: Dominion Raceway – Spotsylvania, VA
WINNER: Chris Lamb (Radical Racing #9)
Oct 23: Dillon Motor Speedway – Dillon, SC
WINNER: Chris Lamb (Radical Racing #9)
Nov 12: Havasu 95 Speedway – Lake Havasu, AZ (SE)
WINNER: Casey Tillman (Creevan Racing #99R)
Nov 13: Havasu 95 Speedway – Lake Havasu, AZ (SE)
WINNER: Chris Lamb (Radical Racing #9)
**(SE) represents a non-points special event
2021 USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET FEATURE WINS:
6-Chris Lamb (Apr 10 at Shenandoah Speedway, Jun 5 at Dominion Raceway, Jul 23 at Wake County Speedway, Jul 24 at Dillon Motor Speedway, Oct 2 at Dominion Raceway & Oct 23 at Dillon Motor Speedway
4-Jessica Bean (Jul 10 at Ona Speedway, Aug 5 at Kentucky Motor Speedway, Aug 6 at Veterans Motorplex & Sep 18 at Tri-County Motor Speedway)
2-Hunter Wise (May 15 at Veterans Motorplex & Aug 7 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway)
1-Sam Mazzo (May 15 at Veterans Motorplex)
NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT FEATURE WINS:
2-Jessica Bean (Mar 19 at Havasu 95 Speedway & Mar 20 at Havasu 95 Speedway)
1-Chris Lamb (Nov 13 at Havasu 95 Speedway)
1-Casey Tillman (Nov 12 at Havasu 95 Speedway)
2021 USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET FEATURE LAPS LED:
159-Chris Lamb
125-Sam Mazzo
71-Jessica Bean
67-Hunter Wise
17-Brady Allum
10-A.J. Sanders
6-Kyle Cline
2021 USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES:
12-Jessica Bean
11-Sam Mazzo
9-Brady Allum
8-Hunter Wise
7-Chris Lamb
6-Bradley Swift
3-Nathan Byrd & Mason Hoskins
2-Peyton Ferree
1-Kyle Cline, Caleb Edington, Chuck Groat & A.J. Sanders
2021 USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES:
13-Jessica Bean & Sam Mazzo
11-Brady Allum
10-Hunter Wise
9-Chris Lamb
8-Bradley Swift
5-Buddy Campbell
4-Nathan Byrd, Mike Creevan, Peyton Ferree & Mason Hoskins
3-Caleb Edington, Eric Lewis & Logan Sulyi
2-Kyle Cline & Kenyon Zitizka
1-Chuck Groat, Randy Jahoda, A.J. Sanders, Jake Tretow & Devin Westover
2021 USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET FEATURE STARTS:
13-Jessica Bean & Sam Mazzo
11-Brady Allum
10-Hunter Wise
9-Chris Lamb & Bradley Swift
5-Buddy Campbell
4-Nathan Byrd, Mike Creevan, Peyton Ferree & Mason Hoskins
3-Caleb Edington, Eric Lewis & Logan Sulyi
2-Kyle Cline & Kenyon Zitizka
1-Chuck Groat, Randy Jahoda, A.J. Sanders, Jake Tretow & Devin Westover
2021 USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
6-Sam Mazzo
3-Jessica Bean
2-Brady Allum
1-Hunter Wise
ALL-TIME USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET FEATURE WINS: (FULL POINTS EVENTS)
55-Chris Lamb
21-Jessica Bean
18-Scott Hunter & Chase Scott
14-Nolan Allison
9-Nick Drake & Bradley Riethmeyer
8-Jared Irvan
6-Jeremy Frankoski
5-Jarett Andretti, Mark Burt, Eric Coomes, Sam Hatfield & Matt Lundstrom
4-Rick Fedrizzi, Ryan Krachun, Michael Mohelski, Jake Nelke, Tanner Swanson & Hunter Wise
3-Neal Allison, Tyler Corriher, Marc Dailey, George Kurtz, Andrew Layser, Wil Raber, Robbie Ray & James Robertson
2-Cole Custer, Nic Davidson, A.J. Davis, Connor Gross, Blaine Leydig, Aron Oakley, Ross Rankine, Michael Sboro & Michael Ward
1-Cody Acton, Toby Alfrey, Brit Andersen, Christopher Bell, Jake Blackhurst, Kyle Bonsignore, Calvin Carroll, Nikki Carroll, Adam Clarke, Josh Clemons, Kevin Conway, Tyler Cottongim, Dylan Duhaime, Derek Fisher, Jake Garcia, Terry Hall, Brandon Hartsell, Justin Hommel, Steven Intravaia, Josh Lakatos, Preston Lattomus, Joe Liguori, Brad Loyet, Sam Mazzo & Bradley Swift
ALL-TIME USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET FEATURE WINS: (NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENTS)
5-Chris Lamb
4-Jessica Bean
2-Dan Cugini
1-Chad LaBastie, Jon Seaman, Casey Tillman & Mike Ward
USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET DRIVER CHAMPIONS:
2004: Chase Scott
2005: Chase Scott
2006: Chase Scott
2007: Tanner Swanson
2008: Bradley Riethmeyer
2009: Jeremy Frankoski
2010: Scott Hunter (Eastern & Carolina)
2011: Nick Drake (Overall), Scott Hunter (Dirt) & Jarett Andretti (Pavement)
2012: Jared Irvan
2013: Chris Lamb
2014: Scott Hunter
2015: Chris Lamb
2016: Chris Lamb
2017: Jessica Bean
2018: Jessica Bean
2019: Jessica Bean
2020: Jessica Bean
2021: Jessica Bean