USAC Sprint Car Series at Lawrenceburg Speedway Full Report - Lawrenceburg Indiana
A trackside report and images by Don Culver - Image editing by Mark Roden of MRA Racing Images
31 August 2023
On Sunday afternoon July 23rd 2023, Indy Car managed to run a 220 mile race in an hour and 40 minutes. The original Indy Car feeder series, the AMSOIL sponsored USAC Sprint Car Series, took approximately the same amount of time to get in the 10 mile (30 lap) “A” Main at the dirt bull ring in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
Prior to a rain delay there were hot laps, qualifying, heats, and the Semi. The only casualty during the preliminaries was Logan Calderwood, who flipped during hot laps.
Qualifying was led by C.J. Leary 1st, Kevin Thomas Jr. 2nd, and Brady Bacon 3rd. Bacon, however, failed inspection and went to the rear of the field for the feature. Alex Bright moved into the 3rd starting slot. More on Brady Bacon later.
Heat 1 went to C.J. Leary in the #15x. Heat 2 went to Robert Ballou in the #12. Heat 3 went to Chase Stockton in the #5s.
Heat 4 went to Mitchel Moles in the #19az. The Semi Feature was won by Matt Westfall in the #33m.
Storm clouds were visible to the northwest, and doppler radar clearly indicated that rain was approaching.
USAC decided to attempt to run the 30-lap race prior to the rain but it was not to be. The full field was on track and forming up when the mild drizzle worsened.
The cars were flagged off the track and sent back to the pits. During the rain delay there was much activity in the pits led by C.J. Leary doing the primary work himself.
Leary’s was not the only team preparing to run a wet track:
After an approximate one hour delay the track was deeemed ready to run. The heavy rain went south of the track and did not affect the track much.
After the obligatory four abreast parade lap the field split into two abreast for the green flag. The green flag waved for only a second before the second row starters #21 Jake Swanson and #27 Alex Bright tangled at the starting line.
Bright came off worst in the indecent. Rescue workers had to cut him free from the wreck. He surrered a broken wrist and lung contusions in the accident. He managed a wave to the crowd and vowed he will return to action as soon as possible. The red flag lasted several minutes while Bright was removed from his wrecked car.
On the restart Justin Grant took command. Half way through the event Carson Garrett took a run at Grant but only managed to brush the wall. Grant extended his lead. On lap 23 Garrett fell victim to a flat tire, possibly from his wall brush a few laps earlier. This time he had hard contact with the wall and his night was over.
On the restart C.J. Leary made a move on second place Swanson and then the leader. It was a fantastic move that earned him the lead. It did not last long. Leary hit rough ground and flipped out of the lead as well as the race. Another Red flag.
Leary battling Thomas just prior to the wreck.
The track did not stay green for long. On lap 27 Rober Ballou went for a multiple barrel roll through turns 3 and 4. He came to a stop right side up and unharmed, but he was also done for the evening.
By this time the drivers and fans were ready for a checked flag rather than another yellow or red. Grant reassumed command and took that checker.
There were some dramatics on the final lap. As you may recall Brady Bacon was sent to the rear of the field due to a failed tech inspection. Bacon worked the entire 30 laps and took advantage of every restart. Entering turn 3 on the final lap Bacon threw it into a slide and got by Kevin Thomas Jr. Thomas was as sideways as Bacon, but Brady finished third and earned a podium for a great run from the back.
The Podium Winner Justin Grant
Second: Jake Swanson
Third: Brady Bacon
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