PUTNAMVILLE, Ind. — It’s been two years since there has been a USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week feature at Lincoln Park Speedway. Rain washed away last year’s feature after heat races.
The non-winged sprint cars will be back on the 5/16-mile dirt oval for round five of Indiana Sprint Week Thursday night. The track has hosted 22 ISW races since the inception of the week-long series in 1988.
Although there wasn’t an ISW race last year, the track has hosted the USAC Sprint Cars four times since last year’s scheduled event. C.J. Leary and Kevin Thomas Jr. won on consecutive nights in June to collect their first series victories at the track.
Both remain on the quest for a first Indiana Sprint Week triumph at LPS, an achievement that has been recorded by four drivers expected to compete in Thursday night’s event. For each, at the time, it was their first USAC victory at Lincoln Park.
Robert Ballou and Brady Bacon both won during Lincoln Park’s Indiana Sprint Week round, then went on to win the Indiana Sprint Week championship – the following year. Ballou won at LPS in 2014 and took the ISW crown in 2015. Bacon notched the LPS 30-lapper in 2015 and the ISW title in 2016. Ballou repeated an ISW win at LPS in 2017.
Brady Short snagged the LPS ISW trophy in 2016 while Kyle Cummins was lights out in 2019 and is the most recent winner of the event.
Bacon won twice more at Lincoln Park in 2020 during the Bill Gardner Sprintacular and took the backend of a doubleheader later in the year. He’s tied with Ballou for the most ISW scores at LPS among drivers set to race for their fourth on Thursday night, as they both pursue number four. Dave Darland leads all drivers with six ISW LPS victories, but will not compete after suffering a stroke back in April of this year.
Shane Cottle and Chase Stockon can also count themselves as USAC National Sprint Car feature winners at LPS, both doing so recently in 2020. Cottle has also twice won in USAC Midwest Regional Midget competition at Lincoln Park this year.
Winning experience at Lincoln Park is prevalent throughout Thursday’s field with A.J. Hopkins, Jason McDougal, Logan Seavey, Jake Swanson, Cannon McIntosh and Tye Mihocko all recording victories on the local level. Hopkins has won five times already this year while Swanson has collected a pair on his own.
Meanwhile, McDougal, McIntosh, Mihocko and Seavey have all won once apiece at Lincoln Park this season.
Tanner Thorson and Chris Windom have connected on USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget successes at Lincoln Park and aim to translate that to their bigger brethren, the sprint cars, on Thursday. Thorson has won on three occasions in 2016, 2019 and again in June of 2021. Windom was the victor at LPS during Indiana Midget Week in 2020.
Thursday’s NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competing for a $6,000 top prize. Super Stocks are also on the event card.