For the stars of the United States Auto Club and the small traveling crew who staff the club’s three national series, the season is an endurance test.
This year, events spanned both coasts from mid-February through Thanksgiving weekend. The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and USAC Silver Crown titles went down to the wire, while the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget National Championship seemed never in doubt.
Logan Seavey and Justin Grant were the dominant forces and both filled their scrapbooks with memories. Despite the dominance of this duo, other important storylines emerged as the sanctioning body concluded its 68th season.
USAC Sprint Cars
The USAC sprint car season will go down as one of the greatest championship fights in the club’s history. In the past there have been battles carried to the final day on the schedule, but in this case six different drivers led the standings and the top spot changed hands 13 times. It was unfortunate that rain halted the final weekend of racing, though, Grant had the title in hand.
As is customary, the journey began in Florida during February, but in a break from tradition the final laps were not turned in California. The opening events at Volusia Speedway Park were listed as special events, although the results foreshadowed a satisfying year for two participants.
Jake Swanson starred on opening night and was among those who climbed to the top of the standings over the course of the year. On night No. 2, Oklahoma’s Daison Pursley added to his remarkable return from serious injury while taking the first step toward earning rookie-of-the-year honors in the series.
Brady Bacon got on the board at Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park and before everyone returned to the frigid Midwest, Kyle Cummins improbably found victory lane. Cummins blew an engine at Volusia and seemed done for the trip. Fellow racer Chet Williams and friend Jay Harrington in a herculean effort got to Florida with a new powerplant. By the time the dust had settled, Cummins had a new sponsor and was in position to run the full USAC season for the first time.
Back on home turf, former champion C.J. Leary triumphed on the red clay of Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway. The following night, Grant, who had previously struggled at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind., shook off the past to get on the winner’s list.
Grant kept the ball rolling during the first night of a two-day show at Eldora Speedway, and he was atop the points and riding the wave. That all changed the next night when Grant’s success came to a crashing halt while Leary visited Eldora’s victory lane for the second time.
Grant was moving into position to battle for the lead when a lapped car bounced off the wall and landed in his path. After hard contact, Grant was done and seemed in a bit of a tailspin for weeks to follow. He later acknowledged the incident left him a bit banged up.
Brady Short scored the prestigious Tony Hulman Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track in May. At this point in the campaign Leary was atop the leaderboard. Then, it was time for Swanson to get hot, as he won three of the next four events, including the opening round of Eastern Storm at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway.
Not to be outdone Emerson Axsom stood on the top step of the podium at Pennsylvania’s Big Diamond Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway on the way to the Eastern Storm points title. Port Royal Speedway is a Justin Grant kind of track and the 2022 champ breathed a sigh of relief after celebrating a needed victory.
From there, the series stopped at Action Track U.S.A. in Kutztown, Pa. When Cummins saw the track, he said it reminded him of Tri-State Speedway. His peers should have packed up. In one of the surprise performances of the year, the entertaining 40-lap feature ran caution-free with Cummins romping from sixth-starting position to victory lane.
Bacon topped the next two races, leading to an appearance at Macon (Ill.) Speedway. The Macon events only offered appearance points, but Bacon and Mitchel Moles had checks to cash at the end of the weekend.