OCALA, Fla. — Eight past Winter Dirt Games feature winners are set for the battle to commence when the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season launches Feb. 11-13 at Bubba Raceway Park.
Forty-four cars are projected to compete in the three-night event, representing 14 different states. The record for the most cars to participate in a single Winter Dirt Games USACAMSOIL National Sprint event is 34, which was set on Feb. 20, 2014.
The first three USAC sprint car races ever run were held in the state of Florida in February of 1956, won by Bob Sweikert (Southland Speedway), Chuck Weyant (Jacksonville Speedway) and Pat O’Connor (Medley Speedway).
The inaugural Winter Dirt Games took place at East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla. The series debut at Bubba Raceway Park arrived in 2011. Both events were won by Damion Gardner, the all-time leader in Winter Dirt Games wins with five.
Defending series champion Brady Bacon leads the charge for this year’s crop after sweeping both nights of Winter Dirt Games at Ocala in 2020 to up his total to four all-time Winter Dirt Games victories after previous triumphs in 2014 and 2015, all for Dynamics, Inc.
Robert Ballou is one of only two drivers in this year’s field to have competed in the very first Winter Dirt Games feature in 2010, along with 1999 series champ, Dave Darland. Ballou has nabbed a pair of wins at Ocala, first in his USAC championship season of 2015 and again in 2016, while also notching one at East Bay in 2015. Darland, who has joined the Baldwin/Fox/Curb-Agajanian team for Florida this month, won in 2015 at Ocala.
Prior to Bacon, the most recent driver to score consecutive Winter Dirt Games USAC sprint features was Tyler Courtney.
Courtney won the last two of 2018 at Ocala for the, at the time, new Clauson-Marshall-Newman Racing USAC Sprint team, then proceeded to reel off two-straight with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets at the same track in 2019.
Along with Courtney, Chris Windom (is the only other individual who has won in both USAC National Sprint Car and National Midget competition during Winter Dirt Games at Ocala. Windom, the 2017 USAC Sprint king, won the sprint car opener there in 2019 and followed suit with the Midgets in the 2020 WDG finale. His Hayward Motorsports Sprint team won with the Midget at Ocala in 2020, driven by Tanner Thorson.
Justin Grant, the 2020Â USACÂ Silver Crown champion, captured the 2017Â USACÂ Sprint opener at Ocala, then celebrated victory once again there on the second night in 2019, this time for TOPP Motorsports.
C.J. Leary, one of eight USAC National champions in this year’s Ocala’s USAC sprint car field, led the way to victory in the 2019 WDG closer. He’s joined the team owned by Bill Michael for the 2021 season, which won a record 39 USAC Southwest sprint car features and four consecutive series championships between 2013-’16.
Chase Stockon won the 2018 Ocala opener in his own car, which he stepped out of mid-2020 to race full time for KO Motorsports. The 2019 Jason Leffler Memorial Award winner enters his 10th straight season as a full-time USAC National Sprint Car driver and carries a record 321 consecutive start streak.
Buddy Kofoid, who won the first of two USAC midget features at the track last week, will make his Winter Dirt Games USAC sprint car debut for Chris Dyson Racing.
The entries:
2e        Brent Beauchamp
3r         Kyle Cummins
4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Justin Grant
5Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Dave Darland
5g        Briggs Danner
5k        Kent Schmidt
5o        Paul Nienhiser
5s        Chase Stockon
5v        Jesse Vermillion
6Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Mario Clouser
7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Timmy Buckwalter
7bc      Tyler Courtney
8m       Kade Morton
9k        Kevin Thomas Jr.
12Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Ballou
14Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Davey Ray
15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Carson Garrett
17gp    Max Adams
18Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Shane Butler
19Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Chris Windom
19az    Tanner Thorson
20Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Buddy Kofoid
20x      Chayse Hayhurst
20g      Noah Gass
21az    Jake Swanson
22Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Chase Johnson
27Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Crain Pellegrini Jr.
28Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Brandon Mattox
28k      Kory Schudy
33m     Matt Westfall
34Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Sterling Cling
34w     Parker Frederickson
39Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Matt Goodnight
57Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Cole Bodine
61m     Jadon Rogers
69Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Brady Bacon
71Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Robert Bell
73Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Blake Vermillion
74Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Drew Rader
75Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Dustin Clark
77fr     Ryan Thomas
77m     C.J. Leary
77w     Stevie Sussex
91Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Riley Kreisel