$20,000 PRIZE AWAITS USAC SPRINT COMPETITORS AT OCTOBER’S LAWRENCEBURG FALL NATIONALS
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Lawrenceburg, Indiana (April 5, 2023)………All eyes are on Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway for this Saturday night’s Midwest season opener for the 2023 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship.
But since the schedule announcement, USAC competitors are buzzing in anticipation for Saturday night, October 7, when the annual running of the Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg will be bigger and better than ever with the feature event paying $20,000-to-win.
It’s all part of the inaugural NOS Energy Drink Hoosier Trifecta, which brings substantial increases to the winner’s share for this upcoming season’s Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo Speedway on August 26; the Haubstadt Hustler at Tri-State Speedway on September 16 and the Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg on October 7.
Throughout the “Trifecta,” USAC National Sprint Car competitors will be racing for up to $100,000 in prize money across those three marquee events in the state of Indiana during the 2023 season.
All competitors are aiming to take their shot at the top monetary prizes during these crown jewel events. Two series driving champions in particular who’ve won multiple USAC events at Lawrenceburg’s 3/8-mile dirt oval – Brady Bacon and C.J. Leary – shared their excitement and anticipation about this year’s Fall Nationals.
Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has earned an extensive amount of success at Lawrenceburg, winning three USAC Sprint Car features at the southeastern Indiana venue, including the Fall Nationals back in 2020. That one was big as it clinched himself the third of his now four series titles, but the $20 grand up for grabs this Fall would make the score even sweeter.
“I think it’s really good that tracks are stepping up to have these big races and I hope that fans and competitors reward them for that,” Bacon commended. “I feel like this year’s USAC schedule has a lot more flavor, and we’re going to some different places while big races are getting even bigger as those tracks looking to have signature events. I think that’s what needs to be done to elevate those events to reward everybody from the teams, the series and the fans at the track. I really hope it works out for them and I think it will.”
Leary’s early days of sprint car racing were molded at Lawrenceburg where he claimed the 2013 track championship as a 17-year-old. The veteran racer whose resume includes a 2019 USAC National Sprint Car tittle, has notched a pair of Lawrenceburg USAC victories, both of which came during Indiana Sprint Week in 2017 and 2020. But a first career Fall Nationals triumph sure sounds good to him.
“It’s super exciting to have even higher paying events on the schedule,” Leary exclaimed. “I kind of cut my teeth at Lawrenceburg, and whenever we weren’t racing USAC, we were going to Lawrenceburg every weekend and we won quite a few races down there at the beginning of my career. I’ve been fortunate to win a couple Indiana Sprint Week races there, the Spring and Fall races have eluded me thus far and I’ve never been able to finish one off. Maybe this is the year, and we’ll get the big check.”
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK TRIFECTA
The Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown will now pay $30,000-to-win for the 12th annual edition of the race at Kokomo Speedway on Saturday night, August 26.
At southwestern Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway, the winning stakes have climbed to $20,000-to-win for the 16th annual Haubstadt Hustler on Saturday night, September 16
Weeks later, a $20,000 winning prize has been posted for the Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg Speedway, set to go on Saturday night, October 7.
Additionally, a driver could either “Win, Place or Show,” which is awarded to the top performing driver after the three events. To WIN a $30,000 bonus, a driver would have to win all three events. To PLACE for an extra $20,000, a driver would need to finish second or better in all three events. To SHOW and pocket a $10,000 extra, a driver would need to finish on the podium (top-three) in all three events.
USAC has also put into place point fund increases for its three premier circle track divisions during the 2023 season along with an increased Triple Crown Award. Any driver who can claim all three titles – USAC Silver Crown, AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship – in 2023 will earn a $300,000 reward. If the Triple Crown money goes unclaimed, it rolls over to 2024 and the payout jumps up to $400,000. If no driver is able to triple-up in 2024, the Triple Crown prize rises to $500,000 in 2025.
National champions of USAC in 2023 can also double and even triple their point fund payout during the upcoming 2023 season with the “Win 2 Times 2” and “Win 3 Times 3” rewards programs.
USAC’s premier circle track divisions offer a base championship payout of $50,000 for the top points driver in the AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, $30,000 in the NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and $20,000 in Silver Crown.
If a driver can win two of the three championships in 2023, that driver will be able to “double” their overall reward. For example, a driver who captures both the sprint and midget titles will receive a base payout of $80,000 ($50,000 for sprint & $30,000 for midget). In turn, that money will double to $160,000 in total monetary rewards by scoring two titles.
Since 2019, USAC’s annual national points funds have increased 75 percent from a total of $200,000 to the $350,000 mark for the coming year in 2023. Out of the $350 grand total, a $200,000 is allotted for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship point fund, $100,000 for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and $50,000 for Silver Crown.
