The Terre Haute Action Track has been home to many a great race and moment over the past 70-plus seasons, and Chase Stockon’s stirring drive to victory on Thursday night certainly added to the 1/2-mile dirt oval’s legendary lore.

Amid a racelong duel that saw Stockon and Ballou officially exchange the lead four times at the stripe and countless more times unofficially, Stockon (Fort Branch, Indiana) surged to the lead on the white flag lap, then survived a green-white-checkered restart to earn his first USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victory in nearly five years.

The Fort Branch, Indiana native’s score during USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing arrives after a span of 160 USAC National Sprint Car feature starts without a victory dating back to September 2020.

In the process, Stockon provided longtime car owners Tom and Laurie Sertich and their Moose Racing team their first ever USAC National Sprint Car victory. Sprint Car team owners on the west coast since 1994, the husband and wife duo migrated to Indiana from their California home in recent years, hired Stockon to drive and have now been rewarded with the greatest moment in their three-plus decade history as a team.

Stockon also achieved his fourth career USAC National Sprint Car victory at Terre Haute and his 15th overall with the series, tying Bobby East, Cory Kruseman and Brian Tyler for 41st place all-time. His second career triumph in the Don Smith Classic is also monumental as well as the former Terre Haute Action Track promoter and area businessman was instrumental in the early years of Stockon’s budding racing career.

As if Stockon could do any more to add to his accolades, his latest victory on Thursday night also came in what was his 500th career USAC National Sprint Car start. He’s now one of four drivers to reach the mark, joining Dave Darland, Brady Bacon and Robert Ballou.

To boot, Stockon won the race with a broken right hand suffered exactly one week earlier during a crash in the USAC Indiana Sprint Week opener at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and just five days removed from the Lawrenceburg round where the team was pitted at the track, but unable to compete in the event due to an issue with the trailer door.

It’s been a whirlwind of an Indiana Sprint Week experience thus far for Stockon, Sertich and their Tom & Laurie Sertich/Brown Brothers Excavating – Dewig Meats – Lucas Oil/DRC/Kistler Chevy. But in the end, it all paid off in reigning victorious following one of the all-time great races in Action Track history.

“This is awesome,” an elated Stockon exclaimed. “We’ve had a lot of speed, but we’ve fought through a lot of adversity this year. This team has no quit in them. That’s all I can ask for. We’re definitely happy to be on the top step here.”

USAC Indiana Sprint Week Results From Terre Haute Action Track

1. Chase Stockon (1)

 2. Robert Ballou (2)

 3. Kyle Cummins (4)

 4. C.J. Leary (7)

5. Jake Swanson (11)

6. Logan Seavey (10)

7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3)

 8. Mitchel Moles (6)

9. Kale Drake (9)

10. Ricky Lewis (8)

11. Nick Bilbee (13)

12. Briggs Danner (5)

13. Gunnar Setser (14)

14. Kayla Roell (22)

15. Hayden Reinbold (23)

16. Travis Millar (19)

 17. Brandon Mattox (17)

 18. Hunter Maddox (21)

 19. Joey Amantea (20)

 20. Kyle Shipley (18)

 21. Logan Calderwood (12)

 22. Saban Bibent (16)

 23. Nate Schank (24)

24. Charles Davis Jr. (15). NT