2025 INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PREVIEW!

(Rich Forman Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

 Speedway, Indiana (July 23, 2025)………Since 1988, midsummer in the Hoosier State has been the focal point for drivers, teams, and the throngs of race fans from around the world who converge on Indiana for a weeklong extravaganza of sprint car racing unlike any other.

For the 38th straight season, and the 30th under the United States Auto Club (USAC) sanction, NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing provides a sensational slate of dirt tracks and drivers from across the nation vying to become the next to conquer one of the most grueling yet rewarding adventures of the year.

The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway kicks off the week with a twist on Thursday, July 24, for an invitational event that does not pay points toward the Indiana Sprint Week title race.

Honest Abe Roofing Lincoln Park Speedway will host the first ISW points race of the week on Friday, July 25. From there, the tour travels to Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 26, followed by dates at Lawrenceburg Speedway on Sunday, July 27, Circle City Raceway on Wednesday, July 30, the Terre Haute Action Track on Thursday, July 31, Bloomington Speedway on Friday, August 1, and the finale at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, August 2.

Eight events across 10 nights await one of the most anticipated events on the annual motorsports calendar. And here are some of the storylines to keep yourself affixed to!

$25,000 ISW CHAMPIONSHIP, $50,000 POINT FUND

First and foremost, the 2025 edition of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing will pay $25,000 to the champion with an overall point fund of more than $50,000.

The Indiana Sprint Week championship driver’s share of $25,000 exceeds the entire payout among the top eight for the 2024 series, which totaled $24,000.

Furthermore, the 2025 Indiana Sprint Week payout of $50,000 among the top eight in points will double that. The breakdown of pay for the top eight in the end-of-week standings is as follows: 1) $25,000, 2) $10,000, 3) $5,000, 4) $3,000, 5) $2,200, 6) $1,800, 7) $1,600, 8) $1,400.

The IMS opener will pay $10,000-to-win while the remaining seven events will pay out a feature winner’s share of $8,000.

Throughout ISW, the Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying Challenge will reward each fast qualifier with $200, plus an extra $200 for each additional fast time. For example, a driver would collect $200 for the first fast time, $400 for the second fast qualifying award, $600 for their third quick time of the week and so on.

Rod End Supply has added a $200 hard charger bonus at each feature throughout Indiana Sprint Week. Parallax Group will present a $500 reward to the Passing Master – the driver advancing the most total positions throughout Indiana Sprint Week. Additionally, ProSource will reward the slowest qualifying driver who advances to the feature with a $100 Hard Work bonus.

Semi-Feature transfer money has been upped for the non-transfer finishing positions of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th. Fifth will receive $300; sixth $275; seventh $250; eighth $225. All other non-transfers will receive $200.

Furthermore, as has been a tradition since 2010, the Indiana Sprint Week champion car owner will receive a custom, handcrafted Bridgeport Rocker courtesy of John Youngs from Vincennes, Ind.

SIX PAST ISW CHAMPS

Six past USAC Indiana Sprint Week Champions are vying for another title in 2025, including defending titlist Logan Seavey, plus Justin Grant, Kevin Thomas Jr., Chase Stockon, C.J. Leary, and Robert Ballou.

Seavey (Sutter, California) was masterful in 2024, winning three times en route to his first Indiana Sprint Week crown on the path to the USAC National Sprint Car championship, and is shooting to become the first back-to-back ISW titlist since Bryan Clauson in 2013-14.

Grant (Ione, California) collected the ISW title in 2022 and has finished inside the top five of the ISW points in five of the past six seasons since 2019.

Thomas (Cullman, Alabama) comes in as a two-time ISW champion in 2017 and 2021. And like Grant, Thomas also scored his very first career USAC National Sprint Car feature win during Indiana Sprint Week back in 2012.

Stockon (Fort Branch, Indiana.) has captured victories in both the opening and closing races of ISW during his career. He locked down an ISW championship in 2020.

Leary (Greenfield, Indiana) tripled up in 2019 with an Eastern Storm crown followed by an Indiana Sprint Week title and the USAC National Sprint Car championship all in a single season.

In 2015, Ballou (Rocklin, California) experienced one of the most masterful seasons of all-time in USAC National Sprintcar competition, winning 13 times while also grabbing an Indiana Sprint Week title en route to the season championship.

RECORD WATCHING

Milestones are aplenty throughout Indiana Sprint Week 2025 and two of the most successful drivers in the history of the series are on the cusp of some pretty big ones.

Justin Grant currently stands at 323 consecutive USAC National Sprintcar feature starts dating back to 2016. That’s just one shy of Chase Stockon’s all-time record of 324. Grant also owns 97 career USAC feature wins. Three more would put him in exclusive company alongside Rich Vogler, A.J. Foyt, Sleepy Tripp, Mel Kenyon, Dave Darland, Bryan Clauson, and Damion Gardner as drivers with 100 or more career USAC sanctioned main event wins.

Brady Bacon is in for Indiana Sprint Week through at least the four events. His USAC National Sprint Car win total at press time is 61, just one behind Dave Darland’s all-time series record of 62. Justin Grant is lurking just behind with 60 career wins in what is a compelling race for the record.

SEEKING ISW GLORY & A TITLE

However, there are several drivers in wait who are seeking to earn their first USAC Indiana Sprint Week championship, five of whom currently reside inside the top 10 of the USAC National Sprint Car points.

USAC point leader Kyle Cummins has been on an absolute tear this year, winning seven times in 23 starts with only one finish outside the top 10 in that span. Cummins has also captured seven career Indiana Sprint Week victories, the most by any driver without an ISW title.

Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, California) corralled a feature victory in his debut ISW run in 2022 at Lincoln Park and has already won a weeklong USAC Eastern Storm tour through Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 2024. He hopes that’s just the precursor for an ISW championship this week.

Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pennsylvania) is heating up at just the right time. He comes in as the most recent ISW feature winner, taking the Bloomington finale of 2024, and is also the most recent USAC national winner, scoring last Saturday’s Silver Crown show at Kansas’ Salt City Speedway.

During the weeklong Eastern Storm tour in June, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) was a force, finishing inside the top five of the standings while finishing 5th, 4th, 6th, and 2nd in his final four starts of the week. He was an ISW feature winner at Lincoln Park in 2023.

Kale Drake (Collinsville, Oklahoma) began his Indiana Sprint Week by flying through the turn one billboards at Lincoln Park in 2024. This year, he’s been a contender for top fives and victories, and Indiana Sprint Week could very well provide that stage this week.

BREAKING AWAY & BREAKING THROUGH

A couple of other drivers are zeroed in on breaking through for a first career USAC Indiana Sprint Week feature triumph this week after notching at least one previous USAC National Sprint Car score.

Carson Garrett (Littleton, Colorado) flexed his muscles in the most recent USAC National Sprint Car race at Lincoln Park Speedway on July 5, becoming a first-time series winner in the process while grabbing a $10,000 prize.

No driver has won more local Indiana Sprintcar feature events during the decade of the 2020s than Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Indiana). He has 27 victories between 2020-2025, including three this year alone at Tri-State, Lincoln Park and Circle City, all of which are on the Indiana Sprint Week slate. He also has a USAC win to his credit in 2022 at Tri-State.

MAKING THE FIRST ONE A MEMORABLE ONE

Twenty drivers have won their first career USAC National Sprintcar feature during Indiana Sprint Week.

It’s a list that includes the likes of Brad Marvel, Brad Fox, Bill Rose, Derek Davidson, Terry Pletch, Cory Kruseman, Bud Kaeding, A.J. Anderson, Brady Short, Jeff Bland Juniorr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Blake Fitzpatrick, Casey Riggs, Justin Grant, Kevin Thomas Jr., Aaron Farney, Tyler Courtney, Kyle Cummins, Brent Beauchamp, and Carson Short.

It’s an occasion that hasn’t occurred in more than nine years, since the 2016 season, but could become a forefront storyline throughout the week if one of these names were to pop up at the top of the running order.

Like Kale Drake is intending to do, Hayden Reinbold also finds himself in the same spot, vying for a first career USAC National Sprintcar win during Indiana Sprint Week. Reinbold recently scored a 2nd and a 4th on consecutive nights at Lincoln Park in his two most recent series starts.

Ricky Lewis (Camarillo, California) just finished on the podium in his most recent USAC National Sprint Car start at Lincoln Park to start July, taking third. He’s also been a star on the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprintcar scene this season where he leads the standings and has won seven features in 12 series starts.

Similar to Reinbold, Gunnar Setser (Columbus, Indiana) is also a USAC National Sprint Car Rookie who is taking on his first run at Indiana Sprint Week. Setser has finished a best of 5th this season and is with the KO Motorsports team who captured the 2020 Indiana Sprint Week title with Chase Stockon.

THE POINT OF IT ALL

Unquestionably, Kyle Cummins has been on a tear of late and thus leads the USAC National Sprint Car standings by an 87-point margin and has held the top position since February.

With eight races across 10 nights during ISW, things can turn on a dime with one bad night here or there, or conversely, stringing together consistent fine runs throughout the week.

Now Cummins is laser-focused on emerging from the week unscathed and coming out of the other side of ISW with a firmer grip on the season long title.

In 15 of the 29 Indiana Sprint Weeks held under USAC sanction since 1996, one driver has entered ISW as the USAC National Sprintcar point leader, left ISW as the point leader and wound up as the champion at year’s end: Brian Tyler (1996 & 1997), Dave Darland (1999), Tony Elliott (2000), Tracy Hines (2002), J.J. Yeley (2003), Jay Drake (2004), Levi Jones (2009-2010-2011), Brady Bacon (2016 & 2021), C.J. Leary (2019), Justin Grant (2022) and Logan Seavey (2024).

On six other occasions, a driver entered and exited ISW as the USAC National Sprintcar point leader but wound up short of the USAC national title at the close of the season: Kevin Thomas (1998), Dave Darland (2001), Levi Jones (2008), Jon Stanbrough (2012) and Justin Grant (2017 & 2020).

Five other times, a driver entered ISW as the point leader but left the week trailing the USAC season championship standings, and ultimately, missed out on the year-end USAC crown: Jay Drake (2005), Darren Hagen (2007), Dave Darland (2013), Chase Stockon (2015) and Jake Swanson (2023).

There have been three moments in which a driver entered ISW as the point leader, lost it by the end of ISW, but then regained it in time to score the USAC National Sprint Car title at the end of the campaign: Josh Wise (2006), Brady Bacon (2014) and Tyler Courtney (2018).

RACE DETAILS

For more details, starting times and ticket info, please visit www.usacracing.com, go to the USAC National Sprintcar schedule and click on the Event Info tab next to each event.

All USAC Indiana Sprint Week events can be watched live and on-demand at https://flosports.link/usac.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINTCAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-1624, 2-Justin Grant-1537, 3-Mitchel Moles-1401, 4-Logan Seavey-1334, 5-Briggs Danner-1301, 6-Robert Ballou-1258, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1211, 8-Jake Swanson-1194, 9-C.J. Leary-1158, 10-Kale Drake-1151.

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK STATS: (1988-2024)

INDIANA SPRINT WEEK CHAMPIONS

1988: Randy Kinser (Bloomington, Indiana)

1989: Chuck Amati (Freeman Spur, Illinois)

1990: Chuck Amati (Freeman Spur, Illinois) & Gary Trammell (Bloomington, Indiana)

1991: Bob Kinser (Bloomington, Indiana)

1992: Kevin Thomas (Danville, Indiana)

1993: Kevin Thomas (Danville, Indiana)

1994: Kelly Kinser (Bloomington, Indiana)

1995: Kevin Thomas (Danville, Indiana)

1996: Kevin Thomas (Danville, Indiana)

1997: J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Arizona)

1998: Dave Darland (Lincoln, Indiana)

1999: Tony Elliott (Kokomo, Indiana)

2000: Jay Drake (Val Verde, California)

2001: Dave Darland (Lincoln, Indiana)

2002: Cory Kruseman (Ventura, California)

2003: J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Arizona)

2004: Levi Jones (Olney, Illinois)

2005: Cory Kruseman (Ventura, California)

2006: Jon Stanbrough (Avon, Indiana)

2007: Dave Darland (Lincoln, Indiana)

2008: Levi Jones (Olney, Illinois)

2009: Levi Jones (Olney, Illinois)

2010: Jon Stanbrough (Avon, Indiana)

2011: Chris Windom (Canton, Illinois)

2012: Levi Jones (Olney, Illinois)

2013: Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, Indiana)

2014: Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, Indiana)

2015: Robert Ballou (Rocklin, California)

2016: Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma)

2017: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Alabama)

2018: Chris Windom (Canton, Illinois)

2019: C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Indiana)

2020: Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Indiana)

2021: Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Alabama)

2022: Justin Grant (Ione, California)

2023: Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma)

2024: Logan Seavey (Sutter, California)

ALL-TIME INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS:

20-Dave Darland

16-Jon Stanbrough

12-Cory Kruseman

9-Justin Grant & J.J. Yeley

7-Bryan Clauson, Kyle Cummins & C.J. Leary

6-Jay Drake, Danny Smith & Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Robert Ballou, Kevin Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott, Brady Short & Kevin Thomas

4-Brady Bacon, Jack Hewitt, Levi Jones, Kelly Kinser & Logan Seavey

3-Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines & Hunter Schuerenberg

2-Chuck Amati, Shane Cottle, Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Rick Hood, Bud Kaeding, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom

1-A.J. Anderson, Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Chad Boat, Derek Davidson, Cary Faas, Aaron Farney, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Tray House, Bob Kinser, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Mitchel Moles, Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Carson Short, Mickey Smith, Jake Swanson, Brad Sweet, Tanner Thorson, Brian Tyler & Cole Whitt

ALL-TIME INDIANA SPRINT WEEK WINS:

 20-Dave Darland

16-Jon Stanbrough

12-Cory Kruseman

10-Justin Grant

9-J.J. Yeley

8-Kyle Cummins

7-Bryan Clauson, C.J. Leary & Logan Seavey

6-Jay Drake, Danny Smith & Kevin Thomas Jr.

5-Brady Bacon, Robert Ballou, Kevin Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Tony Elliott, Brady Short & Kevin Thomas

4-Jack Hewitt, Levi Jones & Kelly Kinser

3-Daron Clayton, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines & Hunter Schuerenberg

2-Chuck Amati, Shane Cottle, Kevin Doty, Tim Gee, Rick Hood, Bud Kaeding, Thomas Meseraull, Chase Stockon & Chris Windom

1-A.J. Anderson, Emerson Axsom, Brent Beauchamp, Jeff Bland Jr., Chad Boat, Briggs Danner, Derek Davidson, Cary Faas, Aaron Farney, Blake Fitzpatrick, Brad Fox, Dickie Gaines, Damion Gardner, Tray House, Bob Kinser, Mike Mann, Brad Marvel, Mitchel Moles, Mat Neely, Terry Pletch, Casey Riggs, Bill Rose, Carson Short, Mickey Smith, Jake Swanson, Brad Sweet, Tanner Thorson, Brian Tyler & Cole Whitt

ALL-TIME USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK LAPS LED (USAC ERA 1996-2024)

431-Dave Darland

413-Jon Stanbrough

276-Cory Kruseman

249-Justin Grant

242-Brady Bacon

220-Kevin Thomas Jr.

205-Robert Ballou

187-J.J. Yeley

186-C.J. Leary

176-Jay Drake

173-Bryan Clauson

148-Chris Windom

147-Logan Seavey

133-Kyle Cummins

124-Levi Jones

121-Tracy Hines

103-Hunter Schuerenberg

101-Tyler Courtney

98-Kevin Briscoe

97-Brady Short

94-Jerry Coons Jr.

85-Chase Stockon

82-Jack Hewitt

76-Tony Elliott

68-Daron Clayton & Thomas Meseraull

63-Jake Swanson

57-Shane Cottle & Bud Kaeding

52-Brad Sweet

51-Briggs Danner

50-Derek Davidson

43-Cole Whitt

42-Chad Boespflug

38-Carson Short

36-Dami