USAC NATIONAL MIDGET REVIEW: March 20, 2017
The spirit of Bryan Clauson was felt throughout the season-opening “Shamrock Classic.” The event, promoted by Bryan’s fiancée Lauren Stewart, brought 50 stars to the 2017 USAC Midget National Championship season opener to race for a winner’s share of Thirty-Nine-Hundred dollars in honor of Bryan who drove the number 39 to consecutive USAC National Midget titles in 2010 and 2011.
The only indoor venue on USAC’s national calendar: the one-sixth-mile dirt oval at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin was the scene where, as fortune would have it, the 39BC owned by Bryan’s father Tim, would begin the 50-lap feature from the pole position with driver Justin Grant at the controls.
However, it would be NASCAR Truck Star and past USAC National Midget champ Christopher Bell who would ultimately dart out to the lead by the second lap, steadily increasing his lead at the point where he would remain for the bulk of the contest.
With 17 laps remaining, Grant was able to slice into Bell’s lead as the two leaders diced their way through the throes of lapped traffic. Suddenly, a fortuitous bout of Irish luck came Grant’s way when Christopher Bell saw his chance of winning fade into the haze as the lapped cars of Korey Weyant and Chris Andrews tangled in front of him on the high side of turn four. Bell became trapped in a box with nowhere to go as he sought an escape. Grant’s move to the bottom just as the entanglement occurred proved to be a wise one as he was able to avoid the mayhem and come away with the lead on the ensuing green flag.
On the lap 34 restart, a new, but familiar member joined the fray at the front of the field in the name of defending “Shamrock Classic” winner Shane Golobic, who began the feature from the 14th spot. Golobic busted his way from fifth to second in quick fashion when action resumed and, soon enough, was right on the tail of Grant for the lead with 12 laps to go until clipping the berm on the inside of turn two. That dropped Golobic back a bit as Grant began to create a bit of separation between he and his CMR teammate.
Down the stretch, Golobic had reeled in Grant as the two weaved their way through the tail-end of the field. The two dipped and dove between the lapped cars of Weyant and Daniel Adler as the pair threaded through the eye of a needle in a game of racing limbo to see who could be the first to get the lowest on the racing surface.
Golobic repeatedly stuck a nose underneath Grant, but Grant never flinched an inch in the final laps as he fended off his hard-charging teammate to take the first USAC National Midget victory of his career.
Grant even rewrote the record books Saturday night by becoming the first driver in the 62-year history of USAC to record season-opening feature victories in both the National Sprint and National Midget divisions in a single year.
Now, the Ione, California driver finds himself in an envious early-season position - sitting atop the standings in both the USAC National Sprint and National Midget series - where he leads Golobic by three markers. Third-place finisher Jerry Coons, Jr. sits third in points ahead of Brady Bacon and Jake Neuman. Spencer Bayston, Gage Walker, series rookie Tanner Carrick, Chad Boat and Tanner Thorson are sixth through tenth.
The USAC Midget National Championship returns to action Friday and Saturday, April 7-8 for two consecutive nights of complete racing programs at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway for the “Kokomo Grand Prix.”
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UPCOMING USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT:
DATE: Friday & Saturday, April 7-8, 2017
SERIES: USAC Midget National Championship
TRACK: Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, Indiana) – 1/4-mile dirt oval
EVENT: “Kokomo Grand Prix” featuring the USAC National Midgets
STARTING TIMES: Front Gates open at 3pm. Pit gates open at 3pm.
TICKETS: Adult General Admission: $20. Pit Pass: $35. (Each night)
TRACK ADDRESS: 2455 N. Davis Rd., Kokomo, IN 46901
TRACK PHONE: (765) 459-3877
TRACK WEBSITE: http://kokomospeedway.net/
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live updates on https://www.facebook.com/usacracing/ and https://twitter.com/USACNation, plus available on the Race Monitor app on your phone.
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2017 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (70) Justin Grant (Ione, CA)
2. (67) Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA)
3. (64) Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ)
4. (61) Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)
5. (49) Jake Neuman (R) (New Berlin, IL)
6. (39) Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, IN)
7. (37) Gage Walker (Fairland, IN)
8. (35) Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, CA)
9. (29) Chad Boat (Phoenix, AZ)
10. (23) Tanner Thorson (Minden, NV)
**(R) represents a USAC Midget National Championship Rookie Driver
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2017 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10)
1. (70) Clauson-Marshall Racing #39BC
2. (67) Clauson-Marshall Racing/Matt Wood Racing #17w
3. (64) Petry-Goff Motorsports #25
4. (61) FMR Racing #76m
5. (49) Jim Neuman #3N
6. (43) Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #21
7. (39) Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #97
8. (35) Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #71K
9. (29) Tucker-Boat Motorsports #84
10. (23) Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports #67
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2017 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Mar 18: &&& Du Quoin, IL - Southern Illinois Center
WINNER: Justin Grant (Clauson-Marshall Racing #39BC)
Apr 7: Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
Apr 8: Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
May 19: Granite City, IL – Tri-City Speedway
Jun 6: @@@ Montpelier, IN - Montpelier Motor Speedway
Jun 7: @@@ Gas City, IN - Gas City I-69 Speedway
Jun 8: @@@ Putnamville, IN - Lincoln Park Speedway
Jun 9: @@@ Bloomington, IN - Bloomington Speedway
Jun 10: @@@ Lawrenceburg, IN - Lawrenceburg Speedway
Jun 11: @@@ Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
Jul 1: Macon, IL – Macon Speedway
Jul 2: Lincoln, IL – Lincoln Speedway
Jul 3: Springfield, IL – Illinois State Fairgrounds Multi-Purpose Arena
Jul 22: TBA – TBA
Aug 1: Fairbury, NE – Jefferson County Speedway
Aug 2: Beloit, KS - Solomon Valley Raceway
Aug 4: Belleville, KS - Belleville High Banks
Aug 5: Belleville, KS - Belleville High Banks
Aug 13: *** York Haven, PA - Susquehanna Speedway
Aug 14: *** Spring Run, PA - Path Valley Speedway Park
Aug 15: *** Newmanstown, PA - Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway
Aug 17: *** Jonestown, PA – Linda’s Speedway
Sep 23: Rossburg, OH - Eldora Speedway
Oct 6: TBA – TBA
Oct 7: TBA – TBA
Oct 20: %%% Wayne City, IL - Wayne County Speedway
Nov 23: ### Ventura, CA - Ventura Raceway
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
Races noted with &&& represent an indoor race.
Races noted with @@@ represent Indiana Midget Week.
Races noted with *** represent a race with the USAC Eastern Midgets presented by ARDC.
Races noted with %%% represent a co-sanctioned race with POWRi.
Races noted with ### represent a Co-Sanctioned race with the USAC Western States Midget Championship.
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2017 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS:
1. (1) Justin Grant (Southern Illinois Center on Mar. 18)
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FEATURE LAPS LED:
1. (32) Christopher Bell
2. (18) Justin Grant
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TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES:
1. (1) Brady Bacon, Brent Beauchamp, Jerry Coons, Jr., Shane Golobic & Justin Grant
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TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES:
1. (1) Brady Bacon, Brent Beauchamp, Christopher Bell, Jerry Coons, Jr., Shane Golobic, Justin Grant, Josh Most, Jake Neuman, Tony Roney & Billy Wease
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HEAT RACE WINS: (Presented by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension, Inc., Chalk Stix & Indy Race Parts)
1. (1) Jerry Coons, Jr., Colten Cottle, Justin Grant, Tony Roney Tyler Thomas & Matt Veatch
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QUALIFYING RACE WINS:
1. (1) Brent Beauchamp, Christopher Bell, Justin Grant & Billy Wease
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C-MAIN WINS:
1. (1) Tyler Courtney
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SEMI WINS:
1. (1) Brady Bacon & Shane Golobic
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FEATURE STARTS:
1. (1) Daniel Adler, Chris Andrews, Brady Bacon, Spencer Bayston, Brent Beauchamp, Christopher Bell, Chad Boat, Tanner Carrick, Mark Chisholm, Jerry Coons, Jr., Colten Cottle, Shane Golobic, Justin Grant, Joe B. Miller, Josh Most, Jake Neuman, Justin Peck, Tony Roney, Tanner Thorson, Gage Walker, Billy Wease & Korey Weyant
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS “HARD CHARGER” OF THE RACE
Mar 18: Southern Illinois Center - Shane Golobic (14th to 2nd)
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WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHERS:
Mar 18: Southern Illinois Center – Gage Walker
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ALL-TIME USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE WINS
1. [111 wins] Mel Kenyon
2. [95 wins] Rich Vogler
3. [78 wins] Bob Wente
4. [63 wins] Bob Tattersall
5. [59 wins] Sleepy Tripp
6. [48 wins] Jimmy Davies
7. [38 wins] Bryan Clauson
8. [35 wins] Tracy Hines
9. [31 wins] Gene Hartley & Chuck Rodee
11. [30 wins] Dave Darland, Mike McGreevy & Johnny Parsons
14. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen & Tony Stewart
16. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland
19. [24 wins] Bill Engelhart
20. [23 wins] Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich
25. [22 wins] Bobby East & Shorty Templeman
27. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader
31. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt
32. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Stan Fox & Jason Leffler
35. [18 wins] Dave Steele
36. [17 wins] Christopher Bell, Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley
39. [16 wins] George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens
44. [15 wins] Rico Abreu, Don Branson & Larry Rice
47. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Kyle Larson, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner
51. [13 wins] Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman & Stevie Reeves
55. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim, & Ron Shuman
61. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos & Brad Sweet
67. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung, Tanner Thorson & Chuck Weyant
74. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Tony Elliott & Chuck Gurney
77. [8 wins] Merle Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Hank Butcher, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Ronnie Duman, Brian Gerster, Kenny Irwin Jr, Eddie Johnson, Michael Lewis, Andy Michner & Josh Wise
89. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Len Sutton, & Johnnie Tolan
98. [6 wins] Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Arnie Knepper, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland, Jr., & Roger West
109. [5 wins] Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. & Jerry Weeks
119. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, Ray Elliott, Aaron Fike, Danny Frye, Billy Garrett, Mike Gregg, Jim Hettinger, John Heydenreich, Bubby Jones, Levi Jones, Andy Linden, Bobby Marshman, Roger McCluskey, Billy Mehner, Ken Nichols, Jeff Nuckles, Jan Opperman, Gary Ponzini, Davey Ray, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Sam Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, & Rodger Ward
149. [3 wins] Brady Bacon, John Batts, Gays Biro, Chad Boat, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Zach Daum, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Drew Fornoro, Gene Gennetten, Rick Goudy, Bob Hare, Bob Hauck, Jeff Heywood, Bill Homeier, Sam Isenhower, Jim Keeker, Jim McClean, Warren Mockler, Dave Moses, Earl Motter, Jerry Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Johnnie Parsons, Porky Rachwitz, Johnny Riva, Johnny Roberts, Lowell Sachs, Billy Shuman, Tom Steiner, Bobby Unser & Billy Wease
182. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, Johnny Cofer, Mel Cornett, Cotton Farmer, Terry Farrar, Joe Garson, Chuck Gurney, Jr., Kyle Hamilton, Bob Hogle, Rick Hood, P.J. Jones, Critter Malone, Jimmy McCune, Michael Pickens, Aaron Pollock, Barry Reed, Lloyd Ruby, Joe Saldana, Tom Sellberg, Tony Simon, Danny Stratton, Kody Swanson, Kevin Thomas, Jr., Steve Troxell, Don Vogler, Bruce Walkup, Terry Wente, Johnny White, Tommy White & Cole Whitt
218. [1 win] John Andretti, Mario Andretti, Mike Appio, Dick Atkins, Paul Bates, Spencer Bayston, Harry Beck, Bud Bogard, Tony Bonadies, Dan Boorse, Don Boorse, Dwight Brown, Steve Buckwalter, Barry Butterworth, Gary Byers, Larry Cannon, Tyce Carlson, Ed Carpenter, Dane Carter, Billy Cassella, Bill Chennault, Bill Clemons, Roy Cook, Jr., Ryan Durst, Edgar Elder, Todd Forbes, Joe Gaerte, Bradley Galedrige, Steve Gennetten, Elmer George, Potsy Goacher, Shane Golobic, David Gough, Justin Grant, Ron Gregory, Norm Hall, Bob Harkey, Vern Harriman, Scott Hatton, Al Herman, Jordan Hermansader, Mike Hess, Jim Hines, Ted Hines, Shane Hmiel, Dean Holden, Blake Hollingsworth, Chuck Hulse, Buddy Irwin, Eddie Jackson, Van Johnson, Brent Kaeding, Bud Kaeding, Jimmy Kirk, Kevin Koch, Randy Koch, Bill Kollman, Cory Kruseman, Michael Lang, Greg Leffler, Larry McCloskey, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, J.R. Miller, Travis Miniea, Russ Moynagh, Richard Myhre, Dick Northam, Hank Nykaza, Brian Olson, Danny O'Neill, Jim Packard, Wally Pankratz, Forrest Parker, Gene Pastor, Gary Patterson, Danny Pens, Jiggs Peters, Dick Pole, Richard Powell, Buddy Rackley, Keith Rauch, Dave Ray, Jimmy Reece, Bob Richards, Bruce Robey, Johnny Rodriguez, Gene Roehl, Jack Runyon, Sam Sauer, Dutch Schaefer, Ryan Scott, Frank Secrist, Jimmy Sills, Jigger Sirois, Lee Smith, Ron Smoker, Ned Spath, J.P. Standley, Graham Standring, Jerry Stone, Tanner Swanson, Buddy Taylor, Randy Tolsma, Leo Tucker, Bob Veith, Joe Walter, Eric Wilkins, Mauri Wilson, Doug Wolfgang & Billy Wood
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONS
1956: Shorty Templeman; 1957: Shorty Templeman; 1958: Shorty Templeman; 1959: Gene Hartley; 1960: Jimmy Davies; 1961: Jimmy Davies; 1962: Jimmy Davies; 1963: Bob Wente; 1964: Mel Kenyon; 1965: Mike McGreevy; 1966: Mike McGreevy; 1967: Mel Kenyon; 1968: Mel Kenyon; 1969: Bob Tattersall; 1970: Jimmy Caruthers; 1971: Danny Caruthers; 1972: Pancho Carter; 1973: Larry Rice; 1974: Mel Kenyon; 1975: Sleepy Tripp; 1976: Sleepy Tripp; 1977: Mel Kenyon; 1978: Rich Vogler; 1979: Steve Lotshaw; 1980: Rich Vogler; 1981: Mel Kenyon; 1982: Kevin Olson; 1983: Rich Vogler; 1984: Tom Bigelow; 1985: Mel Kenyon; 1986: Rich Vogler; 1987: Kevin Olson; 1988: Rich Vogler; 1989: Russ Gamester; 1990: Jeff Gordon; 1991: Mike Streicher; 1992: Stevie Reeves; 1993: Stevie Reeves; 1994: Tony Stewart; 1995: Tony Stewart; 1996: Kenny Irwin Jr.; 1997: Jason Leffler; 1998: Jason Leffler; 1999: Jason Leffler; 2000: Kasey Kahne; 2001: Dave Darland; 2002: Dave Darland; 2003: J.J. Yeley; 2004: Bobby East; 2005: Josh Wise; 2006: Jerry Coons, Jr.; 2007: Jerry Coons, Jr.; 2008: Cole Whitt; 2009: Brad Kuhn; 2010: Bryan Clauson (Overall) & Darren Hagen (Pavement); 2011: Bryan Clauson (Overall) & Darren Hagen (Pavement); 2012: Darren Hagen (Overall), Darren Hagen (Pavement) & Darren Hagen (Dirt); 2013: Darren Hagen (Pavement) & Christopher Bell (Dirt); 2014: Rico Abreu; 2015: Tracy Hines; 2016: Tanner Thorson