2019 USAC Sprints at Gas City I-69 Speedway

Top Competitors Slated For James Dean Classic

The last time the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars visited Indiana’s Gas City I-69 Speedway, it resulted in a photo finish. Thursday, they're back!

Sep 24, 2019 by Richie Murray

Top Competitors Slated For James Dean Classic

The last time the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars visited Indiana’s Gas City I-69 Speedway in July, a sliver of a tip of a single strand of hair separated the top-two at the finish line.

Watch 2019 USAC Sprints @ Gas City 1-69 Speedway LIVE

This Thursday (Sept. 26) USAC hits the quarter-mile dirt oval straight up I-69 for the second running of the James Dean Classic. Last year's event was as memorable as possible as Kevin Thomas, Jr. raced to victory in the waning laps with less than five to go to collect the win. He is currently sitting in fourth in the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car standings with a single victory on his resume this year. However, the Cullman, Ala. native has won twice with USAC at Gas City in his career. First in 2013 then again in late 2018. Thomas has a good amount of success at Gas City, winning June’s sprint race during Indiana Midget Week. He was fifth during Indiana Sprint Week in July and has won his heat race in both the midget and sprint each time he’s hit the track with USAC at Gas City this season.

There hasn’t been a more consistent finisher throughout the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season than C.J. Leary. As the USAC National Sprint point leader, Leary has finished in the top 10 in all but one of his 26 feature starts in 2019. He leads all drivers. In his last three USAC Sprint appearances at Gas City, he’s finished 1^st, 2^nd and 2^nd. He won the ISW round in 2017 at Gas City and, just this past July, led 29.999 of the 30-lap ISW feature to finish 2^nd by a whisker behind Shane Cottle.

For Tyler Courtney, Gas City is where his USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car career kicked into gear. The Indianapolis, Ind. native raced from dead last to win the 2016 ISW round after an opening lap spin. Each of the last three times Courtney’s hit the track at Gas City in USAC competition, he’s won his heat race, and also captured the heat victory in last year’s James Dean Classic as well as during IMW and ISW events during 2019. This year, he leads both the USAC Sprint and Midget divisions in terms of heat race victories with a combined 19 between the two series.

Two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ Brady Bacon is a Gas City USAC Sprint winner, leading the final 14 laps to score the victory in the Spring of 2015. The Broken Arrow, Okla. driver finished 4^th in July during the ISW round at Gas City.

Justin Grant enters Gas City fresh off a first career USAC Sprint win at the Terre Haute Action Track, a place where he had won before in a Silver Crown car. A similar situation awaits the Ione, Calif. native Thursday at Gas City where he led all 30 laps to score a win during Indiana Midget Week in June. He’s yet to win a USAC Sprint Car feature at Gas City, though. He took 8^th in last year’s James Dean Classic and was 10^th during ISW at Gas City in July.

Likewise, Chris Windom is seeking his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph Thursday at Gas City. The Canton, Ill. driver was the fastest qualifier for the James Dean Classic in September of 2018 and went on to finish a solid 4^th in that night’s feature. He followed it up with a 3^rd place run during ISW in July.

Watch 2019 USAC Sprints @ Gas City 1-69 Speedway LIVE

Chase Stockon recently took over as the ultimate ironman of the USAC National Sprint Car division, where he now stands alone at 286 consecutive starts in the series dating back to 2012. He won the ISW round at Gas City in 2015 and was 5^th in last year’s James Dean Classic.

Jason McDougal hasn’t reached victory lane at Gas City yet in a USAC event, but he’s been rock solid in each of his last three appearances there. In last year’s James Dean Classic, the native of Broken Arrow, Okla. was battling for 3^rd coming to the white flag when he was involved in a tangle that sent him to an 18^th place finish. He was 4^th in a midget race during IMW this past June and 6^th during ISW in Julym where he won his heat race as well.

Carson Short (Marion, Ill.), who is 9^th in the USAC standings, recorded the fastest time this past July during Indiana Sprint Week. It was one of his three this year and the seventh of his USAC National Sprint Car career, where he owns one victory (2016) at Tri-State Speedway.

Willow Branch, Indiana’s Isaac Chapple nearly won his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature in the 2018 James Dean Classic. He started his night off with a heat race victory, then proceeded to lead the first 25 laps of the 30-lap event before finishing a career-best 3rd place.

Two-time Gas City I-69 Speedway track champion Shane Cottle owns eight USAC National victories in his career. Five of the eight wins have come at Gas City where he started 18^th and captured the victory on the final lap of July’s spectacular ISW round. He edged C.J. Leary at the line for his third USAC Sprint win to go along with two USAC Midget victories.

Dave Darland has won twice at Gas City and 62-times overall in USAC National Sprint Car competition. He also took 6^th in last season’s initial James Dean Classic. The Lincoln, Ind. driver was the top dog at Gas City in USAC National Sprint Car features at Gas City in 2009 and 2011.

Scotty Weir, is sitting in fourth place in Gas City sprint car points. He won his first and only career USAC National Sprint Car feature in 2016 at Gas City. He claimed his heat race at Gas City in July during Indiana Sprint Week.

No driver has been more successful at Gas City this season than Thomas Meseraull, a seven-time winner on the weekly level at the track in 2019. He's in position to secure the track title. Meseraull was a master on the opening night of Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo Speedway in August to tally a win in the USAC Sprint Car column this year as well.

Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill) and Tyler Hewitt (Marion, Ind.) have all won on the weekly sprint circuit at Gas City this year and will be tough to beat come Thursday.

Watch 2019 USAC Sprints @ Gas City 1-69 Speedway LIVE

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-1,835, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,720, 3-Brady Bacon-1,647, 4-Kevin Thomas, Jr.-1,637, 5-Justin Grant-1,629, 6-Chris Windom-1,626, 7-Chase Stockon-1,585, 8-Jason McDougal-1,381, 9-Carson Short-1,361, 10-Isaac Chapple-1,058.

2018 JAMES DEAN CLASSIC FEATURE RESULTS: (Starting position in parentheses)

1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Isaac Chapple (2), 4. Chris Windom (6), 5. Chase Stockon (3), 6. Dave Darland (12), 7. Kyle Cummins (18), 8. Justin Grant (7), 9. Tyler Thomas (8), 10. Clinton Boyles (20), 11. Shane Cottle (9), 12. Matt Westfall (13), 13. Brady Bacon (14), 14. Carson Short (16), 15. Tyler Hewitt (22), 16. Tony DiMattia (15), 17. Tyler Courtney (17), 18. Jason McDougal (1), 19. Josh Hodges (11), 20. Dallas Hewitt (21), 21. Dustin Ingle (19), 22. Thomas Meseraull (10). NT

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

1. (6) Jon Stanbrough

2. (3) Shane Cottle & Tracy Hines

4. (2) Cory Kruseman, Dave Darland, Hunter Schuerenberg, J.J. Yeley & Kevin Thomas, Jr.

9. (1) Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, C.J. Leary, Chase Stockon, Cole Whitt, Daron Clayton, Jay Drake, Levi Jones, Scotty Weir & Tyler Courtney

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR WINNERS AT GAS CITY I-69 SPEEDWAY:

2002: Cory Kruseman (7/19)

2003: J.J. Yeley (5/30) & J.J. Yeley (7/18)

2004: Tracy Hines (4/30)

2005: Jay Drake (6/3) & Cory Kruseman (7/20)

2006: Shane Cottle & Jon Stanbrough (7/19)

2007: Jon Stanbrough (6/14), Daron Clayton (7/13) & Jon Stanbrough (7/14)