BACON-WINDOM-STOCKON: THE TALE OF THE TAPE

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (September 29, 2020)………In the course of a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season, many variables are at play in determining the championship frontrunners, with tracks of various lengths, banking and the like, plus the rigors of the road and a long stretch of races that can take its toll both physically, mentally and mechanically.

With one final race left this Saturday night, Oct. 3, at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway and the $10,000-to-win Fall Nationals, there’s only one factor, one race, one track to decide it all.

However, all those items mentioned in the opening paragraph have helped one driver get a bit of a head start toward the goal of a championship based on his performances in the events run up to this point.

That’s Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), the leading championship contender, who possesses a 30-point lead over Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.).  Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.), who runs third in the standings, is 40 points out of the lead and is the driver with the biggest hill to climb to reach the summit of a championship.

But all is plausible in this game.  All it takes is a single “off” night for one individual and a superb night for another to make up that ground in no time flat.  With a maximum of 84 points possible Saturday at Lawrenceburg, anything is possible.  A perfect night entails six points for fast qualifying time, eight for a heat win and 70 to capture a feature victory.

We’ve dug through all the past USAC National Sprint Car appearances at Lawrenceburg for Bacon, Windom and Stockon, and it’s pretty striking to see.

All three drivers have exactly one previous USAC National Sprint Car feature win at Lawrenceburg – Stockon (2012), Bacon (2015) and Windom (2017).  In 24 previous starts, Bacon leads the other two in terms of average qualifying position (8.4) and feature finishing position (5.8).  He’s also led the most number of races between the three (7) for the most number of laps (97).

Bacon and Windom have each won seven USAC Sprint heat races at “The Burg” in their careers. Windom has the largest sample size of previous experience at Lawrenceburg with 31 starts in 32 appearances.  His average qualifying position of 8.8 and average feature finish of 8.5 are solid but will most likely have to be better to catch Bacon on Saturday.  His 15 top-5 finishes in those 31 previous starts top all three title contenders.

Stockon’s 23 starts have produced an average qualifying position of 11.8 and an average finish of 10.9.  He’s led two of those races for a total of 39 laps and was the first among the three to win a USAC race at Lawrenceburg in 2012, which also served as Stockon’s first career series victory.

Perhaps, for some, those Lawrenceburg performances in the early years of their career should be stricken from the record as that was when they were just gaining experience.  Although, Bacon did nearly win his 2007 Burg USAC Sprint debut, finishing 2^nd to Levi Jones after leading all but the final lap, so let’s take a deeper look at each of these three wheelmen’s starts at Lawrenceburg since the beginning of the 2018 season.

In that five-race time frame from 2018 through the summer of 2020, Bacon’s 6.8 average qualifying time bests all three and his average finish of 4.2 has been excellent.  Windom’s average qualifying position of 10^th isn’t eye-catching, but it’s improved each time over the past five races since 2018.  His 3.4 average finish includes top-five finishes in all five starts since that point, which leads all drivers.  Stockon’s qualifying performances have resulted in top-four time trial runs in each of his last four appearance, and an average finish of 8.6 in the feature.

Stats of the past are interesting to look at but won’t tell the entirety of the tale this Saturday.  That will be decided on the track and not on calculators.  One night, one track and three drivers.  That’s where it’ll be decided.

Pits open for Saturday’s Fall Nationals at 3pm Eastern, front gates open at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:30pm, hot laps begin at 6pm and opening ceremonies at 7pm.  The event features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and KOI Auto Parts UMP Modifieds.  Adult general admission tickets are $25, kids 7-12 are $7, children 6 and under are free.  Pit passes are $35 apiece.

Saturday’s Fall Nationals from Lawrenceburg can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.

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PAST LAWRENCEBURG USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR PERFORMANCES:

BRADY BACON

24 Appearances * 24 Starts * Average Qualifying Position: 8.4 * Average Feature Finishing Position: 5.8 * Led 7 races for a total of 97 laps * 7 Heat Race wins * 1 Feature win * 12 Top-5 finishes

4/21/2007: Qualified 3^rd, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature – Led 29

7/11/2007: Qualified 6^th, Ran 2^nd in Semi, Finished 3^rd in Feature – Led 14

7/12/2007: Qualified 8^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 8^th in Feature

7/9/2008: Qualified 24^th, Ran 1^st Heat, Finished 8^th in Feature

7/10/2008: Qualified 16^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 8^th in Feature

10/2/2009: Qualified 2^nd, Ran 2^nd in Semi, Finished 20^th in Feature

4/6/2013: Qualified 12^th, Ran 2^nd in Heat, Finished 3^rd in Feature

7/14/2013: Qualified 4^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 3^rd in Feature

9/28/2013: Qualified 9^th, Ran 1^st in Semi, Finished 9^th in Feature

4/5/2014: Qualified 6^th, Ran 1^st in Semi, Finished 4^th in Feature

9/27/2014: Qualified 4^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature

4/4/2015: Qualified 14^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 7^th in Feature

7/12/2015: Qualified 2^nd, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 1^st in Feature – Led 24

10/3/2015: Qualified 10^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 4^th in Feature – Led 1

4/2/2016: Qualified 5^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 12^th Feature

7/10/2016: Qualified 13^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 7^th in Feature

10/1/2016: Qualified 15^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 9^th in Feature

7/9/2017: Qualified 5^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature – Led 2

9/30/2017: Qualified 9^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 6^th in Feature

7/22/2018: Qualified 18^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 3^rd in Feature

9/29/2018: Qualified 3^rd, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature – Led 11

7/21/2019: Qualified 3^rd, Ran 1^st in Semi, Finished 6^th in Feature

10/5/2019: Qualified 5^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 7^th in Feature – Led 16

7/26/2020: Qualified 5^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 3^rd in Feature

CHRIS WINDOM

32 Appearances, 31 Starts * Average Qualifying Position: 8.8 * Average Feature Finishing Position: 8.5 * Led 3 races for a total of 52 laps * 7 Heat race wins * 1 Feature win * 15 Top-5 finishes * Has 1 USAC National Midget win at Lawrenceburg

4/21/2007: Qualified 28^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 15^th in Feature

7/11/2007: Qualified 10^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 4^th in Feature

7/12/2007: Qualified 12^th, Ran 4^th in Semi, Finished 7^th in Feature

7/9/2008: Qualified 10^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 12^th in Feature

7/10/2008: Qualified 8^th, Ran 5^th in Heat, Finished 9^th in Feature

4/18/2009: Qualified 23^rd, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 14^th in Feature

10/2/2009: Qualified 6^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 3^rd in Feature – Led 19

4/17/2010: Qualified 11^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature

7/9/2010: Qualified 18^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 22^nd in Feature

7/10/2011: Qualified 8^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature

10/1/2011: Qualified 10^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature

7/15/2012: Qualified 6^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 25^th in Feature – Led 3

9/29/2012: Qualified 4^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature

4/6/2013: Qualified 9^th, Ran 4^th in Semi, Finished 23^rd in in Feature

7/14/2013: Qualified 19^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 16^th in Feature

9/28/2013: Qualified 14^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 10^th in Feature

4/5/2014: Qualified 10^th, Ran 2^nd in Heat, Finished 13^th in Feature

9/27/2014: Qualified 20^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 9^th in Feature

4/4/2015: Qualified 32^nd, Used Provisional, Finished 22^nd in Feature

7/12/2015: Qualified 15^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 9^th in Feature

10/3/2015: Qualified 17^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 5^th in Feature

4/2/2016: Qualified 21^st, Did Not Make Feature

7/10/2016: Qualified 11^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 3^rd in Feature

10/1/2016: Qualified 6^th, Ran 5^th in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature

4/1/2017: Qualified 8^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 1^st in Feature – Led 30

7/9/2017: Qualified 12^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 6^th in Feature

9/30/2017: Qualified 2^nd, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 7^th in Feature

7/22/2018: Qualified 19^th, Ran 2^nd in Heat, Finished 4^th in Feature

9/29/2018: Qualified 20^th, Ran 2^nd in Semi, Finished 4^th in Feature

7/21/2019: Qualified 11^th, Ran 2^nd in Semi, Finished 2^nd in Feature

10/5/2019: Qualified 8^th, Ran 1^st in Semi, Finished 5^th in Feature

7/26/2020: Qualified 2^nd, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature

CHASE STOCKON

24 Appearances, 23 Starts * Average Qualifying Position: 11.8 * Average Feature Finishing Position: 10.9 * Led 2 races for a total of 39 laps * 5 Heat race wins * 1 Feature win * 5 Top-5 finishes

10/2/2009: Qualified 30^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 24^th in Feature

7/9/2010: Qualified 19^th, Did Not Make Feature

10/1/2011: Qualified 27^th, Ran 8^th in Heat, Finished 18^th in Feature

7/15/2012: Qualified 11^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 9^th in Feature

9/29/2012: Qualified 7^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 1^st in Feature – Led 30

4/6/2013: Qualified 3^rd, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 2^nd in Feature – Led 9

7/14/2013: Qualified 5^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 24^th in Feature

9/28/2013: Qualified 8^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 2^nd – Led 15

4/5/2014: Qualified 12^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 6^th in Feature

9/27/2014: Qualified 8^th, Ran 3^rd in Heat, Finished 6^th in Feature

4/4/2015: Qualified 2^nd, Ran 1^st in Semi, Finished 6^th in Feature

7/12/2015: Qualified 10^th, Used a Provisional, Finished 16^th in Feature

10/3/2015: Qualified 12^th, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 7^th in Feature

4/2/2016: Qualified 17^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 4^th in Feature

7/10/2016: Qualified 26^th, Ran 6^th in Semi, Finished 12^th in Feature

10/1/2016: Qualified 5^th, Ran 4^th in Semi, Finished 11^th in Feature

4/1/2017: Qualified 2^nd, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 23^rd in Feature

7/9/2017: Qualified 30^th, Used a Provisional, Finished 22^nd in Feature

9/30/2017: Qualified 14^th, Ran 1^st in Heat, Finished 14^th in Feature

7/22/2018: Qualified 22^nd, Ran 2^nd in Heat, Finished 13^th in Feature

9/29/2018: Qualified 4^th, Ran 5^th in Heat, Finished 8^th in Feature

7/21/2019: Qualified 2^nd, Ran 2^nd in Semi, Finished 8^th in Feature

10/5/2019: Qualified 3^rd, Ran 4^th in Heat, Finished 10^th in Feature

7/26/2020: Qualified 3^rd, Ran 2^nd in Heat, Finished 4^th in Feature