BACON’S 2019 CORN BELT SWEEP FOLLOWS LONG LINE OF DOMINATING WEEKEND PERFORMANCES

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Knoxville, Iowa (July 6, 2020)………Pure dominance in racing occurs when one driver is practically unbeatable on a particular day, night, weekend or year.

We’ve seen dominating performances in recent times via nightly sweeps by such drivers as Tyler Courtney when he recorded fast qualifying time, won his heat and the feature all in a single night twice during USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition in 2019 at both Terre Haute and Eldora as well as winning all three series features at Eldora last year (and four consecutive overall at the track) dating back to 2018.

We’ve seen the likes of Tom Bigelow’s record 14 wins in 1977 and the brilliance of both J.J. Yeley (2003) and Robert Ballou’s (2015) 13-win, championship seasons.

However, another type of dominance is the one built over a single weekend at one track, in one particular type of car when a driver and team just click and become invincibly unconquerable.

Brady Bacon did just that one year ago during the inaugural Brandt Corn Belt Nationals at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway, which returns for a second annual edition this Friday and Saturday, July 10-11, at the famed half-mile dirt oval.

After winning Friday night’s Corn Belt prelim in 2019, the Broken Arrow, Okla. driver masterfully dominated to win Saturday night, leading all 30 laps en route to an absurd 8.286 sec. triumph that was worth $20,000 to the two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion (2014 & 2016) in a race that was never in doubt from start to finish.

Though Bacon’s weekend sweep was something to behold, it has actually happened 31 previous times in which a driver has won all feature races during an entire weekend worth of USAC National Sprint Car feature victories at one track, one location, including he himself who did the same thing at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. back in February.

Four drivers entered for this weekend’s Corn Belt Nationals have previously accomplished the feat, including Robert Ballou in 2014 at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway, Chris Windom in 2016 at Arizona Speedway, and the aforementioned Bacon and Courtney in 2019.

Steve Chassey is the leader in the clubhouse in this category as the only driver to win all three USAC National Sprint Car feature events on a single weekend at one track.  He did it in a two-day span over Labor Day Weekend of 1979, winning all three on the high banks of Indiana’s Winchester Speedway.

Competitor entry for the 2nd annual Brandt Corn Belt Nationals July 10-11 at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway is available.  Competition applications can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17iNwV8-F1iaTpNtnu9mWLHRj9Maj61Ik/view?usp=sharing.

There, you can print out the form, fill it out and either mail, fax or drop off, along with the entry fee, at the Knoxville Raceway ticket office.  You can mail your form and fee to Knoxville Raceway, Box 347, Knoxville, Iowa 50138 or by fax at 641-842-2899.  Knoxville Raceway is located at 624 N. Lincoln, Knoxville, Iowa.  Competitors are urged to enter the event quickly.

The event, co-sanctioned by the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the POWRi Lucas Oil War Sprint Car League, features two complete nights of sprint car racing action with each night culminating with a feature race, the Friday, July 10 main event paying $5,000-to-win and the Saturday, July 11 finale paying $20,000-to-win.

Spectator tickets for the inaugural Brandt Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Nationals are available at https://mpv.tickets.com/schedule/?agency=KNXV_PL_MPV&orgid=54409#view=list&includePackages=true or by calling the Knoxville Raceway ticket office at 641-842-5431. Tickets start at $25 for adults on Thursday and $30 for Saturday.

Gates open each night at Knoxville at 5:30pm Central with hot laps set for 6:45pm.

Brady Bacon dominated both ends of the inaugural Brandt Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Nationals in 2019, walking away with a two-night total of $25,000 between his two victories.

All drivers and teams competing in the event that possess a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car license will be awarded 50 appearance points each night of the Corn Belt Nationals, which will go toward the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car championship standings.  No prelim or feature points.

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WEEKEND FEATURE SWEEPS AT ONE TRACK:

1961: Jim Hurtubise (8/27 & 8/27 at Langhorne Speedway – Langhorne, Pa.)

1965: Johnny Rutherford (8/28 & 8/29 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds – St. Paul, Minn.)

1966: Roger McCluskey (6/19 & 6/19 at the Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Ind.)

1967: Mario Andretti (7/16 & 7/16 at Oswego Speedway – Oswego, N.Y.)

1968: Greg Weld (7/27 & 7/27 at the Reading Fairgrounds – Reading, Pa.)

1969: Sammy Sessions (8/3 & 8/3 at Pocono International Raceway (Pocono, Pa.)

1973: Pancho Carter (10/14 & 10/14 at Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Ind.)

1974: A.J. Foyt (5/24 & 5/24 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds – Indianapolis, Ind.)

1974: Tom Bigelow (8/25 & 8/25 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds – St. Paul, Minn.)

1975: Marvin Carman (10/12 & 10/12 at Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Ind.)

1976: Pancho Carter (10/10 & 10/10 at Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio)

1976: Pancho Carter (10/17 & 10/17 at Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Ind.)

1977: Tom Bigelow (5/27 & 5/27 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds – Indianapolis, Ind.)

1977: Bubby Jones (7/23 & 7/24 at Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Ind.)

1977: Pancho Carter (10/16 & 10/16 at Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Ind.)

1979: Steve Chassey (9/2, 9/3 & 9/3 at Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Ind.)

1979: Billy Cassella (10/14 & 10/14 at Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio)

1991: Doug Wolfgang (6/12 & 6/12 at Tri-City Speedway – Granite City, Ill.)

2001: Bud Kaeding (10/20 & 10/20 at the Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Ind.)

2005: Levi Jones (9/30 & 10/1 at the Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Ind.)

2006: Daron Clayton (10/6 & 10/7 at the Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Ind.)

2007: Jerry Coons Jr. (11/9 & 11/10 at Manzanita Speedway – Phoenix, Ariz.)

2008: Kevin Swindell (11/7 & 11/8 at Manzanita Speedway – Phoenix, Ariz.)

2010: Damion Gardner (2/8 & 2/10 at East Bay Raceway Park – Gibsonton, Fla.)

2011: Tracy Hines (8/12 & 8/13 at Dodge City Raceway Park – Dodge City, Kans.)

2011: Bryan Clauson (10/28 & 10/29 at Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, Ariz.)

2014: Robert Ballou (11/7 & 11/8 at Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, Calif.)

2016: Chris Windom (11/4 & 11/5 at Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Ariz.)

2019: Brady Bacon (7/5 & 7/6 at Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa)

2019: Tyler Courtney (11/15 & 11/16 at Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Ariz.)

2020: Brady Bacon (2/13 & 2/14 at Bubba Raceway Park - Ocala, Fla.)