2020 Shamrock Classic | USAC Midgets

Past Winners Justin Grant & Cannon McIntosh Enter Shamrock Classic

Past Winners Justin Grant & Cannon McIntosh Enter Shamrock Classic

Past winners Justin Grant and Cannon McIntosh are among the latest entries of the Shamrock Classic.

Feb 29, 2020 by Richie Murray
Past Winners Justin Grant & Cannon McIntosh Enter Shamrock Classic

Past Shamrock Classic winners Justin Grant and Cannon McIntosh are among the latest entries for the 5th annual USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget event.

The list of competitors has ballooned to 33 with more entries continuing to be filed each day for the race at the 1/6-mile indoor dirt oval in Du Quoin.

Grant (Ione, Calif.), the 2017 “Shamrock” winner, will pilot a car for RAMS Racing with whom he captured victory one year ago during the Indiana Midget Week round at Gas City I-69 Speedway.

Watch Shamrock Classic LIVE!

Reigning “Shamrock” victor McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.), meanwhile, will compete as one of four entries from the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team alongside five-time series winner Zeb Wise (Angola, Ind.) and standout Rookie of the Year contenders Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) and Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.).

Additional latest entries come from Hayward Motorsports and drivers Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) and Gage Rucker (Bellflower, Mo.).  Thorson, the 2016 USAC National Midget champion, was victorious in the 2020 season opener at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. in early February.

Petry Motorsports has filed Shamrock Classic entries for Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), who scored the team’s first two triumphs with the series in 2019 at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway and Arizona Speedway.  He’ll be joined by 2017 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year and 2019 USAC National Most Improved Driver Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.).

Collinsville, Oklahoma’s Tyler Thomas, a winner in both USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car and National Midget competition during his career, will drive his familiar No. 91T, entered by Brian Thomas.

Watch Shamrock Classic LIVE!

Earlier entries for the “Shamrock” including reigning series champ Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.), 7th place finisher in last year’s event after starting 21st.  He is also a past victor in USAC Midget competition at the 1/6-mile indoor dirt oval, capturing the non-points special event Junior Knepper 55 in December of 2016.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), the 2014 and 2016 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion, is undefeated thus far in USAC National features in 2020, sweeping both nights in a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. in mid-February.  He’s one of just two drivers to have started in the feature event of all four previous editions of the Shamrock Classic with 4th place finishes in both 2016 and 2017 serving as his best.  He also took 14th in 2018 and 18th in his most recent start in 2019.

Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) leads the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget standings entering the event following a victory on the second night of the Winter Dirt Games in Ocala.  The 2016 USAC Silver Crown and 2017 National Sprint Car champ took 9th in his first career Shamrock Classic start a year ago.

Watch Shamrock Classic LIVE!

Among the other early Shamrock Classic midget entries include 2019 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Rookie of the Year, Andrew Layser (Collegeville, Pa.), who comes into the event off his best career series result of 3rd in Ocala and finished 8th in his Shamrock debut in 2019.

Tyler Nelson (Olathe, Kans.), a USAC Regional Midget winner at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway in 2019 and a Shamrock Classic starter in 2018 is entered and will be joined by last year’s USAC Western States Midget titlist Robert Dalby (Anaheim, Calif.), five-time USAC Western States Midget champion Ronnie Gardner (Corona, Calif.) and 2017 USAC Gulf Coast Midget champ Kyle Jones, all of whom are vying their first Shamrock Classic starts.

Micros will complete the majority of their program on Friday night, starting at 6:30pm Central and culminating with dashes to set up Saturday’s events.  Only last chance races and the feature will be mixed into a full program for the National Midget Series, which will feature a passing-points format with both heat races and qualifying races.

The “Shamrock Classic” features appearance points only for competitors chasing the NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship, so all eyes will be on the top prize, elevated to $5,000 for the fifth annual event thanks to event sponsors DM Machine, WWT Raceway, and Fast Lane Racing Apparel.