INDIANAPOLIS — Among the 72 competitors at this year’s Driven2SaveLives BC39, only one driver will have a chance to become the event’s first repeat winner during Saturday night’s $20,039-to-win feature.
And it’s none other than four-time USAC sprint car champion Brady Bacon.
After winning the inaugural event at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2018, Bacon has become a force at the annual event that remembers the late Bryan Clauson, despite only racing a midget about twice a year.
Along with his BC39 victory, he’s logged 16th-, third- and eighth-place finishes during his ensuing trio of appearances.
With former winners Zeb Wise (2019), Kyle Larson (2021) and Buddy Kofoid (2022) unable to race on Saturday night due to schedule conflicts, Bacon will be the sole victor to carry the torch at the quarter-mile dirt oval.
“I think we have a good shot to repeat,” Bacon said. “We’re raced every one of them and should kind of know what the track’s going to do, so hopefully we can kind of have a leg up on the competition.”
Based on how his TKH Motorsports teammate Kameron Key ran during Thursday night’s prelim — finishing sixth in the feature — Bacon is optimistic the team has once again found a competitive setup.
“Kameron Key’s car is pretty similar to mine, different engine, but the car itself is the same,” Bacon said. “So we can kind of take notes from what we did that worked on his car tonight and apply that to my car. It’s good having a teammate in that aspect.”
Bacon has already enjoyed a successful campaign this year.
In April, he pulled off his first World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series win at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway. But in the USAC sprint car points chase, he’s been unable to track down Justin Grant for the lead, despite seven victories in the series.
“I’ve been kind of close to (an Outlaw win) a few times and that was definitely something on my bucket list that I really wanted to do. I finally got it and it felt really good,” Bacon said. “We’ve won a lot of big money races with USAC, but we’re going to have to have a little luck on our side to pick that (championship) off.”
Prior to the USAC National Sprint Car Championship’s visit to Ohio’s Eldora Speedway last week, Bacon was only 15 points behind Grant. However, an engine issue in the feature forced the No. 69 to pit and finish 22nd.
Bacon is 66 points behind Grant with three races remaining.
“We’ve got some $20,000 to win, $10,000 to win, some winged races left and then the BC39 here,” Bacon said. “There’s still money to be made and we’re going to try to get as many as we can.”
That starts with his $5,000-to-win Friday night prelim at the BC39.