2021 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK REVIEW
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) celebrates the 2021 NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL championship with his wife, Whitney. (Ryan Sellers Photo)
2021 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK REVIEW
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (August 2, 2021)………USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week 2021 is officially in the books. As we let the ink dry on the paper and close the books on its 34th annual edition, we look back on another memorable year for one of the most anticipated and embraced events each year.
We felt the heat. We sheltered from the rain. We witnessed Justin Grant bookend with victories to start and end the week. We experienced Logan Seavey lay down the first three-race win streak for the series in eight years. We saw tempers flare between CJ Leary and Tanner Thorson, who became a first-time Indiana Sprint Week winner. We marvelled at the Brady Bacon and the Dynamics, Inc. team’s comeback to win after engine trouble the night before.
And, in the end, we crowned a new multi-time champion in Kevin Thomas Jr. aboard his KT Motorsports/Dr. Pepper Presents the Ronald McDonald House Charities/DRC/Speedway Chevy who earned the $10,000 reward as the titlist.
And through it all, we were reassured how special of an event this truly is with eight nights of USAC AMSOIL National Sprintcar racing at seven tracks during a nine-night span with massive amounts of diehard race fans, campers and a large throng of drivers putting it on the line for your entertainment and for their shot at glory.
Eighty-five different drivers competed during Indiana Sprint Week. That was the most since 2005! Plus, the 54 drivers who signed in at Kokomo Speedway were the most for an Indiana Sprint Week event since 2008 at Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell, Ind.
Ten drivers made feature starts in all seven events: Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant, CJ Leary, Logan Seavey, Jake Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson and Chris Windom. Nine started all seven without the aid of a provisional, which Chris Windom utilized after having to go to a backup car at Lawrenceburg.
Seavey’s three-straight Indiana Sprint Week victories were the most since Kevin Thomas Jr. won three consecutively in 2013. Jay Drake also captured three-straight Indiana Sprint Week wins in 2000 as did Cory Kruseman during the 2002 series. The longest winning streak in Indiana Sprint Week history belongs to Jon Stanbrough with four-in-a-row between 2006-07.
Grant’s wins in the opener at Kokomo Speedway and in the finale at Tri-State Speedway marked just the sixth time a driver has won both the first and last Indiana Sprint Week race and the first such occasion in 17 years. Danny Smith was the first to accomplish the feat in 1989, followed by Kelly Kinser in 1994, Dave Darland in 1998, Cory Kruseman in 2002 and J.J. Yeley in 2004.
At 18 laps, the race at Kokomo was the shortest Indiana Sprint Week feature in the history of the series and the first rain-shortened, completed event in ISW’s 34-year run.
Four drivers led the Indiana Sprint Week standings at one point in time. Brayden Fox headed the standings after the rain-abbreviated Gas City race. Bacon led the longest for four races following Kokomo, Lawrenceburg, Gas City (Part 2) and Terre Haute.
Seavey took over the reins of the standings after the rounds at Lincoln Park and Bloomington and led the standings entering the feature on the final night at Tri-State by nine over Bacon and by 10 over Thomas Jr.
With Seavey finishing 14th, Bacon 8th and Thomas Jr. 2nd, Thomas Jr. leap frogged both to earn his second career Indiana Sprint Week Championship and becoming the 10th multi-time champion of the event. The unrelated Kevin Thomas won four in 1992-93-95-96 as did Levi Jones in 2004-08-09-12. Dave Darland won three in 1998-2001-2007. Two-time ISW champs include Chuck Amati (1989-90), JJ Yeley (1997 & 2003), Cory Kruseman (2002 & 2005), Jon Stanbrough (2006 & 2010), Chris Windom (2011 & 2018), Bryan Clauson (2013 & 2014) and now Kevin Thomas Jr. (2017 & 2021).
With a whopping 52 positions advanced throughout 2021 NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week by AMSOIL, Stevie Sussex earned himself the moniker of ProSource Passing Master for the seven-race series. Sussex also sported one of the most popular liveries throughout Indiana Sprint Week, paying homage to The Mystery Machine featured of Scooby Doo fame.
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINT STANDINGS
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 486 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
2 469 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
3 464 Logan Seavey, Sutter, Calif.
4 461 Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
5 452 Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
6 438 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
7 424 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Ind.
8 408 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, Calif.
9 371 Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
10 353 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, Calif.
2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK SCHEDULE & RESULTS
July 23: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Rained Out After Qualifying (Rescheduled for July 26)
July 24: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
July 25: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
July 26: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
July 28: Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, IN
WINNER: Logan Seavey (Baldwin-Fox Racing #5)
July 29: Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, IN
WINNER: Tanner Thorson (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)
July 30: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, IN
WINNER: Brady Bacon (Dynamics, Inc. #69)
July 31: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN
WINNER: Justin Grant (TOPP Motorsports #4)
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2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STATISTICS
2021 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK FEATURE WINS
3-Logan Seavey (July 25 at Lawrenceburg Speedway, July 26 at Gas City I-69 Speedway & July 28 at the Terre Haute Action Track)
2-Justin Grant (July 24 at Kokomo Speedway & July 31 at Tri-State Speedway)
1-Brady Bacon (July 30 at Bloomington Speedway)
1-Tanner Thorson (July 29 at Lincoln Park Speedway)
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STATS: (1988-2021)
ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS:
20-Dave Darland
16-Jon Stanbrough
12-Cory Kruseman
9-J.J. Yeley
7-Bryan Clauson
6-Jay Drake, Danny Smith & Kevin Thomas Jr.
5-Kevin Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Tony Elliott, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Brady Short & Kevin Thomas
4-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Jack Hewitt, Levi Jones, Kelly Kinser & Logan Seavey
3-Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines, & Hunter Schuerenberg
2-Chuck Amati, Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Rick Hood, Bud Kaeding, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom
1-A.J. Anderson, Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Chad Boat, Shane Cottle, Derek Davidson, Cary Faas, Aaron Farney, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Tray House, Bob Kinser, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Carson Short, Mickey Smith, Brad Sweet, Tanner Thorson, Brian Tyler & Cole Whitt
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ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK CHAMPIONS:
1988: Randy Kinser, 1989: Chuck Amati, 1990: Chuck Amati & Gary Trammell, 1991: Bob Kinser, 1992: Kevin Thomas, 1993: Kevin Thomas, 1994: Kelly Kinser, 1995: Kevin Thomas, 1996: Kevin Thomas, 1997: J.J. Yeley, 1998: Dave Darland, 1999: Tony Elliott, 2000: Jay Drake, 2001: Dave Darland, 2002: Cory Kruseman, 2003: J.J. Yeley, 2004: Levi Jones, 2005: Cory Kruseman, 2006: Jon Stanbrough, 2007: Dave Darland, 2008: Levi Jones, 2009: Levi Jones, 2010: Jon Stanbrough, 2011: Chris Windom, 2012: Levi Jones, 2013: Bryan Clauson, 2014: Bryan Clauson, 2015: Robert Ballou, 2016: Brady Bacon, 2017: Kevin Thomas Jr., 2018: Chris Windom, 2019: C.J. Leary, 2020: Chase Stockon, 2021: Kevin Thomas Jr.
NO PRESSURE ON ZMARZLIK AFTER LATVIAN GP WIN