46TH “TONY HULMAN CLASSIC” WEDNESDAY AT TERRE HAUTE

Brady Bacon leads the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship by 19 points as the series heads into this Wednesday night’s 46th running of the “Tony Hulman Classic” at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track. He finished on the podium in 2013 and 2014, but has yet to win the traditional event. He’s never led the “Hulman,” but as a former winner at the “Action Track” in the fall of 2014 in the “Jim Hurtubise Classic,” Bacon has to rate as one of the pre-race favorites.

Bacon heads to Terre Haute on the heels of three consecutive runner-up finishes at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway and Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway. His lone victory this year came at Montpelier (Ind.) Motor Speedway in April.

One of America’s most revered open-wheel events, Wednesday’s race should include at least five former race winners. They are defending winner Robert Ballou, 1993 and 2014 winner Dave Darland, 2010 and 2013 winner Jerry Coons Jr., 2011 winner Chris Windom and 2002 and 2007 winner Jon Stanbrough. Darland, Coons or Stanbrough could join Cary Faas and Levi Jones as three-time race winners.

Nine drivers have scored victories in the first 11 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car races in 2016, including two new 2016 winners this past weekend in Indiana.

Kevin Thomas Jr. of Cullman, Ala. dominated Saturday night’s 30-lap race at Brownstown, leading all 30 laps in his Franklin Equipment/CEP Concrete DRC/Chevy. Bacon was second ahead of Darland, Meseraull and ProSource Fast Qualifier C.J. Leary. The victory was Thomas’ first in the series in 15 months.

Scotty Weir of Marion, Ind. finally ended his search for his first USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature victory after 115 starts since 2004 when he captured Friday’s “May Meltdown” at Gas City in his AAA/Carts & Parts DRC/Claxton. He passed Bacon on lap 17, slipped behind Bacon on lap 21 and regained the lead on the white-flag lap! Trailing runner-up Bacon were Thomas, Max McGhee and Tyler Courtney.

Meseraull was Friday’s ProSource fast qualifier while Chad Boespflug, Chase Stockon, Courtney, Leary, Stanbrough, Justin Grant and Shane Cottle won preliminaries sponsored by Simpson Race Products, Competition Suspension, Inc., Benic Enterprises and Indy Race Parts. Thomas grabbed Friday’s KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award at Gas City and Ballou was Saturday’s KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger at Brownstown.

In addition to the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars, the Scott’s Custom Colors UMP Modifieds will be in action, featuring a barrage of the best in the midwest, including NASCAR personality Ken Schrader.

Pits open Wednesday at 3:00, grandstands at 5:00, hotlaps begin shortly after 6:00, and racing will begin at 7:30. Grandstand admission is $25 for adults, $15 for the infield, and children 10 and under are free.

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UPCOMING USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT:

DATE: Wednesday, May 25, 2016

SERIES: USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship

TRACK: Terre Haute Action Track (Terre Haute, Indiana) – ½-mile dirt oval

EVENT: 46th “Tony Hulman Classic” featuring the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars and the Scott’s Custom Colors UMP Dirtcar Modifieds.

STARTING TIMES: Pits open at 3:00pm. Grandstands at 5:00pm. Hot Laps at 6:00pm. Racing at 7:30pm.

TICKETS: General admission tickets (adult): $25. Infield tickets (adult): $15. Children 10 and under are FREE!

A Superticket is being sold for a savings of 25% off of the regular three day prices. For just $60, a savings of $20, a fan will receive general admission to the following:

May 25: USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars / “Tony Hulman Classic” / Terre Haute Action Track (Terre Haute, Indiana)

May 26: USAC Silver Crown / “Hoosier Hundred” / Indiana State Fairgrounds (Indianapolis, Indiana)

May 27: USAC Silver Crown / “Carb Night Classic…The Race Before the 500” / Lucas Oil Raceway (Brownsburg, Indiana)

To purchase a Superticket, visit https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/the-week-of-indy or call (217) 764-3200.

TRACK ADDRESS: 3901 South US Hwy 41, Terre Haute, IN 47807

TRACK PHONE: Track Enterprises: (217) 764-3200. Race Day: (812) 232-4040

TRACK WEBSITE: http://trackenterprises.com/ & http://terrehauteactiontrack.net/

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2016 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):

(731) Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)

(712) Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, CA)

(649) Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, IN)

(631) C.J. Leary (Greenfield, IN)

(628) Dave Darland (Lincoln, IN)

(619) Kyle Cummins (Princeton, IN)

(573) Robert Ballou (Rocklin, CA)

(571) Chad Boespflug (Hanford, CA)

(525) Max McGhee (Camby, IN)

(442) Justin Grant (Ione, CA)

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2016 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP “ROOKIE” DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:

(153) Isaac Chapple (Willow Branch, IN)

(138) Cole Ketcham (Muncie, IN)

(133) Matt Goodnight (Winchester, IN)

(131) Kent Schmidt (Owensville, IN)

(84) Aric Gentry (Robards, KY)

(81) Tony DiMattia (Malvern, PA)

(32) James Lyerla (Hillsboro, IL)

(30) Tom Harris (Banbury, Oxfordshire, England)

(30) Robert Bell (Colfax, IA)

(20) Lee Dakus (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

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2016 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):

(731) Dynamics, Inc. #69

(712) Amati Racing #66

(649) 32/TBI Racing #32

(628) Jeff Walker/Curb-Agajanian Racing #11

(626) Michael Dutcher Motorsports #17GP

(619) Rock Steady Racing #3R

(573) Ballou Motorsports #1

(571) NineEight Motorsports/EZR #98E

(525) Sam McGhee Motorsports #17

(524) Baldwin Brothers Racing #5

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ALL-TIME “TONY HULMAN CLASSIC” WINNERS:

1971: George Snider, 1972: Bruce Walkup, 1973: Joe Saldana, 1974: Gary Bettenhausen, 1975: Pancho Carter, 1976: Jan Opperman, 1977: James McElreath, 1978: Dick Tobias, 1979: Pancho Carter, 1980: Eddie Leavitt, 1981: Sheldon Kinser, 1982: Chet Johnson, 1983: Jack Hewitt, 1984: Rick Hood, 1985: Ron Shuman, 1986: Rich Vogler, 1987: Steve Butler, 1988: Steve Butler, 1989: Rich Vogler, 1990: Jeff Bloom, 1991: Eric Gordon, 1992: Cary Faas, 1993: Dave Darland, 1994: Cary Faas, 1995: Jack Hewitt, 1996: Doug Kalitta, 1997: J.J. Yeley, 1998: Cary Faas, 1999: Terry Pletch, 2000: Jay Drake, 2001: Tracy Hines, 2002: Jon Stanbrough, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Cory Kruseman, 2005: Levi Jones, 2006: Daron Clayton, 2007: Jon Stanbrough, 2008: Levi Jones, 2009: Levi Jones, 2010: Jerry Coons Jr., 2011: Chris Windom, 2012: Bud Kaeding, 2013: Jerry Coons Jr., 2014: Dave Darland, 2015: Robert Ballou

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2016 USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS:

Feb 18: Ocala, FL – Bubba Raceway Park

WINNER: Bryan Clauson

Feb 19: Ocala, FL – Bubba Raceway Park

WINNER: Robert Ballou

Feb 20: Ocala, FL – Bubba Raceway Park

WINNER: Thomas Meseraull

Apr 2: Lawrenceburg, IN – Lawrenceburg Speedway

WINNER: Dave Darland

Apr 15: Bloomington, IN – Bloomington Speedway

WINNER: Bryan Clauson