SPEEDWAY, Ind. — “Racing’s funny.”
That’s how Justin Grant reflected on the twists and turns he endured en route to his second consecutive USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship with TOPP Motorsports.
It’s a team that endured a nearly two-month struggle in the late spring/early summer months which overlapped with a change in team personnel and a period of confidence-shaking woes that found the team as far down as sixth in the standings, 83 points out of the lead, entering mid-summer.
What was not a laughing matter quickly turned into one of the most dominant stretches put together by any team in series history. For the last half of the season, Grant and his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy No. 4 were practically untouchable on their way to the $50,000 championship prize.
With a career-high 11 USAC National Sprint Car victories in 2023, including eight wins in his final 17 starts, Grant finished the campaign with 13 straight top-10 finishes to earn the title by a 109-point margin over Brady Bacon.
Grant became the 13th different point leader on September 9, one of a record six different drivers to lead the standings in 2023. The previous record was 12 lead changes among six drivers back in 2012.
Grant became the 10th driver to capture consecutive USAC National Sprint Car titles, joining Parnelli Jones (1960-61-62), Sheldon Kinser (1981-82), Rick Hood (1984-85), Steve Butler (1986-87-88), Robbie Stanley (1991-92-93), Brian Tyler (1996-97), Levi Jones (2009-10-11), Bryan Clauson (2012-13) and Bacon (2020-21).
“It’s incredible to hear my name rattled off with all of those guys,” an awestruck Grant remarked. “It’s also something that’s not necessarily something flukey or obscure; it’s something that took work and is truly an accomplishment. A few of them were before my time, but obviously, I know of them and what they did, and a few of them are guys that I grew up watching and a few more of them are guys that were the top dogs when I moved to Indiana.
“Now, to be there with Brady, who is one of the best of our generation, is very cool,” Grant said. “The last couple of years getting to battle with Brady has been very rewarding. He’s very good at what he does and is very good at running for championships. It’s taken a lot of work on my end to try and rise to the occasion.”
No championship is easy by any stretch of the imagination and Grant experienced his share of challenges. After and up-and-down start to the season, Grant learned crew chief, Dylan Cook, was leaving the team in mid-June.
In stepped veteran crew chief Jeff Walker, a three-time USAC National Sprint Car entrant champ in 1998, 2000 and 2001, and a longtime Grant supporter.
Getting Back On Track
After a couple of rough outings, Walker was going through the inventory before calling Grant and alerting him that he’d found some stuff that wasn’t quite right. It’s a piece of the puzzle that Grant fondly describes as Walker going “full J-Dub.”
“I had complained on the way home from Macon – I was more complaining about myself – but I just didn’t know if it was me and I just didn’t know what was going on,” Grant recalled. “I couldn’t feel the race car. I wasn’t sure if I was messed up or something else is messed up or what, but I just felt completely lost with the car.
“He’s like, ‘Oh, Levi (Jones) and I had this happen one time and he said the same thing that he couldn’t feel the race car. We’re going to fix that, and you’ll get back to kicking their asses again,’” Grant related. “Just having that, whether there was something actually wrong or not, gave me the belief that it wasn’t me and that we were going to be good again. Having that just helped me find my way back.”
Things seemingly turned on a dime from that point forward. The next race out, Grant stole a last lap victory from Robert Ballou during the USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week opener at Gas City I-69 Speedway and he never slowed down. It was the first of his three wins during Indiana Sprint Week.
However, August marked the most successful and lucrative single weekend of his career when he nailed down three consecutive victories in as many nights at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway to become the first driver in the 12-year history of Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown to sweep his way to three successive feature triumphs in one weekend. His take home pay for Saturday night alone was $44,500, pocketing the base pay of $30,000 while also adding a cool $500 per each lap led.
Grant won twice more during the stretch run of the season, rewarding team owner Kevin Birchmeier for the confidence he’s shown in Grant with a second consecutive series title.
“We were able to turn it around just because the team at TOPP Motorsports with Kevin Birchmeier who has always had my back 110 percent,” Grant praised. “The more I struggle, the more he’s pumping me up. I’ve driven for a lot of car owners and that’s pretty rare. I’m always super grateful for Kevin and it’s a different experience driving racecars when you know that the people you’re driving for are in your corner no matter what. That allows you to be comfortable and able to work through things to get back to where you need to be. When you’re trying to force it back, it never works.”
To win a championship with Walker is the reward of a journey that started 15 years ago. Walker helped Grant buy his first passenger car when he was a teenager and when Walker became available after parting ways with Sterling Cling Racing this past summer, Grant swooped him up in a heartbeat.
“Being able to win one for Jeff,” Grant continued. “He’s the one who brought me to the Midwest and taught me a lot of what I know and got me started. He’s been in a pretty big lull, so to get him back and be part of him winning races again, and doing all that, feels really, really good. It feels like a little bit of repayment for what he has done for me over the years.”