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SMACKDOWN UPS WINNER'S PRIZE TO $15,000 FOR 2021;
TICKETS GO ON SALE FEB. 8
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana (January 12, 2021).........Entering its 10th
year, Sprint Car Smackdown will be bigger and better than ever
with an increased share of $15,000 for the winner of the finale
along with increased payouts throughout the field for the
three-night event on August 26-27-28, 2021 at Indiana's Kokomo
Speedway.
"Smackdown" has been a premier event on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint
Car National Championship calendar since its inception in 2012.
Going into its 10th running, Kokomo Speedway promoter Reece
O'Connor felt the time was right to elevate the event to an even
higher level.
"This, being the 10th year, we felt we needed to step it up a
bit and try to make it an even more special event," O'Connor
said. "Not only is it 15,000 to win, but we're bumping second
place up as well and also making it $1,500 to start on the final
night."
"Smackdown" preliminary events on Thursday, Aug. 26 and Friday,
Aug. 27 will feature complete programs for the USAC AMSOIL
Sprint Car National Championship, culminating in 30-lap feature
races each night. Both nights will feature sprint cars only
without a support class.
On the third and final night, Saturday, Aug. 28, the $15,000 to
win 40-lap feature will close out the spectacular weekend in
grand fashion, which will be preceded by heat races, the popular
"King of the Hill" two-car races, and the final chance for
drivers to lock themselves into a coveted spot for the A-Main.
In a change from recent years, USAC Regional Midgets will now
serve as the support class to the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car
National Championship to form an enticing USAC doubleheader.
Ticket renewals for "Smackdown" will take place between February
8-12 from 9am-5pm EST. On February 15, tickets will open up to
all fans. The three-day pass is $85 and will include a pit pass
if purchased by March 31, saving you $10 at the gate. To
purchase tickets, call (815) 468-8690. Single-day tickets will
be sold at the main ticket window on race days. Reserved camping
will be sold at a later, to-be-announced date.
Chock full of highly competitive and unpredictable racing
action, the annual late-summer weekend at the quarter-mile dirt
oval, which is located about an hour north of Indianapolis, has
been a fan favorite since its debut a decade ago.
The event is one of the hottest tickets in all of racing and is
one of the most highly anticipated racing weekends of the year.
O'Connor loves treating the fans to great racing, great fun and
a great time in his role that has allowed him to witness the
event firsthand from its creation and its evolution from day
one.
"Even year one was kind of crazy," O'Connor remembered. "The
fans were really fired up and behind it, and they still are to
this day. We get the fans thanking us and appreciating us and
it's really about them more than anything. Without them, there
is no Smackdown."
Former winners of the final night of Sprint Car
Smackdown include Bryan Clauson (2012), Dave Darland
(2013-14-15), Kevin Thomas Jr. (2016), Tyler Courtney
(2017-19-20) and Justin Grant (2018).
$200,000 HUSET'S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONALS
SET FOR SEPT. 10-11-12, 2021
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Brandon, South Dakota (January 13, 2021).........The inaugural
Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals, featuring three consecutive
nights of USAC AMSOIL National 410 Sprint Car and USAC NOS
Energy Drink National Midget doubleheaders paying a purse
totaling $200,000, will be held September 10-11-12, 2021 at
Brandon, South Dakota's Huset's Speedway.
The major event instantly becomes the highest paying event of
the 2021 USAC National season, an event which culminates with
$20,000-to-win feature races on the final night for both the 410
Sprint Cars and Midgets. Tickets for the event will be available
for purchase on February 1 at
www.husetsspeedway.com.
The event will utilize a modified Trophy Cup format similar to
the one seen at the 2019 Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100, which used
inversions for preliminary events with the fastest qualifying
cars in the back having to work their way through the pack. Each
time cars are on track, drivers will be earning points via
passing and finishing order, and event promoter Matt Wood
believes Huset's 3/8-mile layout is the perfect fit for a show
of this caliber.
"Huset's is tailor-made for non-wing 410 sprint cars and
midgets," Wood said. "It's going to be crazy, crazy good racing.
We want to try to make this the premier event on USAC's schedule
every year. To do that, we have to have a wonderful facility, we
need seating for a bunch of people and a bunch of racers, then
throw a bunch of money at them, and I think that makes for a
pretty good mix for what I think is going to be one of the best
races of the year, quite honestly."
Only twice in USAC's history have series events been held at
Huset's. Kenny Irwin Jr. won the midget debut there in 1996
while Chad Boespflug swept both nights of a 410 sprint car meet
at the track in 2016. USAC Executive Vice President Levi Jones
is thrilled for the return of USAC racing to Huset's and of the
venue itself, which had seen an uncertain future in recent
years.
"It is truly exciting to witness the reemergence of Huset's
Speedway and to add a new event of this magnitude to the USAC
schedule alongside our already established events," Jones said.
"The Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals adds to what is a
sensational schedule of events for us in 2021, and we are
enthusiastic to have USAC's brand of Sprint Car and Midget
racing showcased for the great racefans of South Dakota."
Wood, who also promoted and staged the Hangtown 100 midget event
at Placerville (Calif.) Speedway in 2019, an event which was
canceled in 2020 due to the restrictions regarding the COVID-19
pandemic, found much success with his first large scale
promotion and is eager to create another "major" in the dirt
track racing world at Huset's.
"I really enjoyed the promoter's side of it, and I said, let's
find another venue and do something else," Wood stated. "We used
to race at Huset's, and it's always been one of my favorite
racetracks in the United States. Then, when I heard rumors that
Tod (Quiring) was going to buy it - we actually reached out to
him before he had it bought. Once he got it bought, he and I got
together, and I told him what I'd like to do, and he thought it
was a pretty neat idea. They were very excited about it."
It's not often that USAC AMSOIL National 410 Sprint Cars and
USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets race together on the same
event card at the same track, with just four other races sharing
that distinction in 2021. However, three straight nights of
doubleheader main events at one venue is unprecedented in USAC's
65-year history.
Couple that with a famed racetrack that had been closed for more
than three years before reopening last summer, Wood feels that
the anticipation will be tantamount amongst drivers and fans for
the event.
"I think there's a big, pent-up demand for it," Wood stated.
"We'll have a vendor midway and we'll have meet and greets with
the drivers. We're going to do everything we can do to make it
as fan friendly and as driver/racer friendly as we can. I look
at what a promoter can do just to make life easier. That's
really what we've done at the Hangtown 100 and what we're going
to do at Huset's. You've got three nights of racing; you don't
have to move your rigs and your travel expenses are minimal. The
more nights you can run at one place, the more efficient it
becomes. I think there's going to be a tremendous amount of
interest. Non-wing 410 sprint car and midget racing at Huset's
with a $200,000 purse will be amazing."
Additionally, Wood also hinted that he's not yet finished with
the creation of another monumental event on its way soon at a
track yet to be determined.
"The genesis of this deal is eventually I want to
do three events a year," Wood said. "We've got the Hangtown 100
and the Huset's Speedway USAC Nationals, which will both be
yearly deals, and we're going to add a third one next year to
complete the three. I'm pretty excited about having three big
events for people to come and enjoy."
MATTOX TAKES 2020
USAC NATIONAL MOST IMPROVED DRIVER HONORS
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (January 12,
2021).........For the 2020 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint
Car season, Brandon Mattox made the conscious decision
to step his game up and pay his full attention toward
improvement as he chased the full series tour for the
first time in his decade-plus career.
The leap has paid off not only in his
racecraft and in his accumulation of career-best
results, but also in the accolades department, as the
Terre Haute, Ind. driver was rewarded for his efforts
with the 2020 USAC National Most Improved Driver award.
"It's super special for me," Mattox
exclaimed. "I started out as a local kid who just loved
sprint cars. We tried to run the USAC deal whenever they
came close and when it was in the budget. Last year, we
went out on a limb and decided that we were going to do
(the full tour) and it was the best decision of my life.
I made a lot of friends and we got a lot better."
The proof is in the pudding for the
34-year-old Mattox who entered the 2020 season with 41
career series starts with one career top-five finish,
three career top-ten results and a best points finish of
25th in 2018 in a USAC career that debuted in 2010.
Mattox upped his statistical output to
career bests in all categories, starting 24 of the 27
features, while scoring one top-five and four top-ten
finishes, and concluding the season with a 12th place
standing in the final points.
While the results were decidedly improved
across the board, so was the eye-test which showed him
to be highly competitive against the series' established
stars. It was a challenge that Mattox was keen on
pursuing, and the dividends have certainly paid off in
making him a contender at each event he travels to, and
making his name known across the USAC landscape.
"Being from Indiana, a lot of those guys
run locally also, so you get the taste of their talents
already." Mattox pointed out. "I want to be the best I
can be in this deal. I don't see me going anywhere else.
I love sprint cars and that's where my heart's at. "When
I pull into the track, my goal from day one was to just
have people know who I am and know they're going to have
to beat us that night. Once we got to a certain level on
the local deal, I felt like it was time to take that
next big leap."
"(As far as) racing experience, these
guys are the best," Mattox continued. "I say that every
time I get to talk to somebody about USAC. Those (guys)
are the best, so if you want to get better, you've got
to learn how to run with those guys. It definitely
helped our program out, and I feel it got us to another
level. Hopefully, we can build on that and get even
higher up the ladder."
Mattox has made steady improvement on the
local Indiana sprint car scene in recent years as well
with victories in 2020 at Brownstown Speedway's Fun
Fest, in 2019 at Bloomington Speedway's Bob Kinser
Memorial and a triumph at Chandler Motor Speedway in
2017. But, taking that leap to USAC at this particular
point in his career hinged on one pursuit, to become one
of those top players in the sport. But, along the way,
he's risen to a new level that has translated to more
success in his preparation and on the track.
Despite the long nights, the workload,
the travel and the other aspects that are involved in
competing on a national tour, Mattox finds appreciation
in the process, and that you can't really put it into a
true perspective of what it's like until you've done it
firsthand as he did throughout the 2020 season.
"It's a different level of racing, and
until you go out on the road and really do that, you
think you understand it until you do it," Mattox
explained. "Once you do it, you get more respect for
those guys and what their abilities are, and it helps
you. At this point in my career, I'm just trying to up
my own game, and that was our biggest reason to go. The
money's better, but it takes money to make this all
happen. We do it out of our own pocket. We've got a few
people who help us here and there, but we've got to do
well every night to get to the next race. That's
important to us."
"You've got to learn how to qualify with
those guys, which is something that has been an Achilles
heel for us for a while," Mattox continued. "But we
picked it up, learned how to free the car up, and we
learned how to get that speed early. That helped us out
a bunch and, honestly, just the wheel-to-wheel racing
with those guys every night. Those guys race just as
hard for 12th place. I can tell story after story of
when I thought I had a guy passed 10 times at
Putnamville by the flag stand, and he still ends up back
in front of me in turn one."
One area where Mattox saw exceptional
improvement was at a venue not all that physically far
from home, but one that had always felt far away from
his comfort zone - Kokomo Speedway. Never being his
strongest point, Mattox dug in, and figured it out
during late September's visit to the quarter-mile dirt
oval where he qualified fourth in his group, transferred
through his heat, started second in the feature and led
the first six laps of his USAC career before notching a
career-best fourth-place finish in what was truly a
night to remember, but a night he also hopes is just the
tip of the iceberg and a preview of more similar
performances in 2021.
"At Kokomo, we've definitely left with
our tails between our legs there more times than not,"
Mattox recalled. "That was one of those places where I
had to learn to get the car right and learn how to race
the racetrack. That's actually one of the big tracks I'm
excited to go back to because I think we take a pretty
good package there and, once again, those guys are good
there, even at the local level on a Sunday night show
there. To kind of get on top of that mountain was big
for us; it was big for our season, even being late in
the season, because it gives us a lot of momentum going
into next year too."
Going on the road involves taking on a
new proposition of seeing a variety of new racetracks
that haven't been frequented by oneself. However, Mattox
thrives on it, both as an opportunity and as a chance to
encounter new experiences, racing or otherwise.
"I'm excited to go back east. That was
one of the trips that I always said that, before I
retired, we'd load up and go out there and do that deal,
and we get to go twice this year. Hopefully I like the
first trip, so the second trip will be fun," Mattox said
with a laugh.
"We bought a motor this past summer from
some guys out there and instantly made some friends, and
they're all like 'come to our shop, hang out,'" Mattox
explained. "So, I think it'll be a fun trip just to get
out there. I like being on the road; I've got a family,
so I miss being at home after that first night or two,
but I like seeing new tracks. I think it rounds you as a
driver. You don't fall into the lull of running the same
ol' places. You've really got to learn your car and I
think it helps sharpen you as a driver."
Another reason to go on the road is to
right the wrongs of his racing past and avenge prior
encounters at certain racetracks that he'd like to alter
his lasting memories of.
"I'll tell you someplace else I'm excited
to go is Eldora," Mattox stated. "Last year, we kind of
got robbed from going there (due to COVID-19
cancellations). As a matter of fact, I ran USAC there
before in years past for the 4-Crown and stuff like
that. I like Eldora. It's a neat place and I owe Eldora
one. It got me the last time I was there (in 2015). It
was one of those nights where we had to load it up and
left with our tail between our legs and said we'd be
back, but we just never really have had the chance to
get back, so I'm excited to get back there and turn some
laps."
Mattox begins his 2021 USAC AMSOIL
National Sprint Car tour with three consecutive nights
of racing on Feb. 11-12-13 at Bubba Raceway Park in
Ocala, Fla. for Winter Dirt Games XII, the first three
of 50 events scheduled for the year.
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BACON LOOKS TO 2021:
CHASING A 4TH TITLE & DOUBLING HIS PROMOTION GAME
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (January 10, 2021).........Compared to his first
two USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car driving championships in 2014
and 2016, the crown Brady Bacon achieved during the 2020 season hit
differently.
Apart from those first two titles, where the Broken Arrow, Okla.
native was solidified first and foremost as a wheelman by trade, in
2020, Bacon took a more hands-on approach to the proceedings from
the ground-up, from the construction of the cars, to the fine-tuning
throughout the season to extend the Dynamics, Inc. team's record of
series entrant championships to 12 alongside crewman D.J. Lebow and
2020 USAC Chief Mechanic of the Year, Matt Hummel.
"This one was a little different," Bacon acknowledges. "We have a
little more responsibility with the team now, so it's a little more
gratifying than the first two. We house the cars and everything at
my shop in Union City, Ohio. D.J. and I work throughout the week
whereas, on the other two that I won, I just showed up with my
helmet bag and talked to the team about setups and stuff, but now we
do it all in-house."
"We took a lot of pride in the cars we built this year," Bacon
continued. "We made some changes for the tracks we struggled at, and
we performed well at those tracks, which was the difference in
winning the championship. I'm really proud to get Hoffman their 12th
and my third. It was an up-and-down year, so to end it on high note
was very exciting."
Bacon's 2020 highlight reel included a repeat victory of the $20,000
Brandt Corn Belt Nationals at Iowa's Knoxville Raceway, a pair of
wins at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind. and a
season-ending Fall Nationals score at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway,
the final of their season-leading six feature triumphs.
But it was winning the opening two nights of the season in February
at Bubba Raceway Park, a two-night sweep of Winter Dirt Games, that
set the tone and served as a harbinger of things to come. The signal
was clear after performances in recent years at Ocala that were
described by Bacon as "terrible." Bacon and team had seemingly
strengthened their weaknesses and were a top-five threat, at worst,
on any given night.
Shortly thereafter, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shutting operations
down worldwide for much of everybody in all walks of life, including
USAC racing. However, while three-plus months passed by, the next
task on Bacon's itinerary wasn't getting back behind the wheel, it
was his debut as a race promoter - a pair of USAC NOS Energy Drink
National Midget events in late May in his home state of Oklahoma,
which signaled a return to racing for the first time in a relative
eternity.
The inaugural two-night event proved to be a rousing success, and
from there, once it was time to get back in the driver's seat, the
success naturally translated to the cockpit, sending Bacon on his
path toward the championship and subsequently rose him up the ranks
of the USAC National Sprint Car division's all-time leaderboards.
His 358 series starts rank 10th all-time while his 35 feature wins
also place him 10th, equaled with Rich Vogler and Jon Stanbrough.
Bacon has never been a so-called "stat watcher," but once his name
began appearing amid the top echelon of drivers from throughout the
past six-and-a-half decades of the series, he admitted that it has
started to hit him as he's taken a peek of the lists of late,
although there is still much work to do and many goals left to
achieve and accomplish in his career.
"I never really did until we started creeping up the win list,"
Bacon said. "To see the names you're beside or surpassed and the
ones you're catching up to, it's pretty cool. I'm about to turn 31
and by no means do I feel like I'm close to the end of my career, so
I feel like I can win a lot more races. Obviously, we'd like to be
at the top of the list and win the most championships, but I don't
really look that far ahead. I'm just trying to prepare for each
season as best as we can and make any improvements we think we need
to make.
Now a man of multiple hats on both sides of the racing equation,
Bacon looks forward to promoting events that are meaningful to him,
not only in his racing life, but also in his personal life, such as
Port City, where he honed his racing craft as a young man and a
venue which returns to the Midget schedule in 2021 on April 9-10.
But what made the highly successful driver in the prime of his
career decide to put "race promoter" on his resume?
"I'd been thinking about it and talking with (wife) Xia Xianna for a
while," Bacon said. "I didn't want to do something just normal. I
wanted it to be a special event. With Mike & Meghan (Eubanks) buying
the track, and running it, it just kind of all fell into place. We
worked really hard to make that first one work, and we're working
really hard to make the second one even bigger. Everyone had a good
time, and the racing was phenomenal. We thought we could do it if we
just worked as hard as we do at everything else. The first one
seemed to prove that, and we're hoping to replicate that success in
2021."
In addition to Port City, Bacon's promotional efforts have extended
to the USAC Silver Crown Series and to another location and place
that has been the setting of some of the most major occurrences in
his life, including his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car
feature win in 2008, the same day in which he also met his future
significant other.
"We've also added a Silver Crown race at Winchester," Bacon noted of
the Sunday, May 9, 2021 series debut on the paved high banks of the
eastern Indiana paved track. "Winchester is also a special track to
us. Winchester changed my life; I met my wife there and we now live
in Winchester, so I think that makes it more gratifying that the
places we have these races at also have a special place in my life."
With Winchester sporting a paved surface, that removes one item of
stress away from the equation for Bacon, who has sought out other
avenues to bring value and entertainment to drivers and teams at the
event.
"It'll be interesting to see how things at Winchester go," Bacon
pondered. "My number one priority at Port City was to stay on top of
track prep to make sure the racing was good. Winchester is what it
is. It's exciting to watch cars go around there, period. I'm just
trying to find ways to use my time that I'm not spending on the
track to make the race more enjoyable for the fans and competitors.
We've got some cool ideas and I'm looking forward to it."
Although he's not ready to hang up the helmet and firesuit any time
soon, Bacon compared the feeling of reward and accomplishment
between promoting a successful race and winning a race as a driver.
"It's a little different," Bacon said when comparing promoting to
driving. "(Promoting) is a lot more stretched out, obviously. You're
working the whole night. I don't think I really underestimated it,
but it confirmed how much work it is if you really want to do it
right and staying up with the racetrack. It's a different feeling,
but during the night at Port City, I was never thinking I should be
in a car. I'm glad I didn't try to race and promote at the same
time. I think both would suffer. That'll pretty much limit our
promotional endeavors for the next few years, hopefully, because I
don't want to promote and compete at the same time."
Only seven drivers reside in USAC National Sprint Car division's
three championship club: Parnelli Jones (1960-61-62), Larry Dickson
(1968-70-75), Sheldon Kinser (1977-81-82) and Robbie Stanley
(1991-92-93), while just two others - Steve Butler (1986-87-88-90) &
Levi Jones (2005-07-09-10-11) have won four or more. Bacon has an
opportunity to reach four in 2021, and is confident in his pursuit,
which has been years in the making and is now paying its dividends.
"I don't see a reason why we couldn't," Bacon said point blank.
"We've kept our program the same over the last few years, which I
think has helped us to fine-tune everything since I first got back
in my own car, when it was the No. 99. You think you have everything
the same, of what you think is going to work, and it took a long
time to find those little details that might've been different or
needed to be changed. We've just nicked away at those things and
tried to perfect everything. I feel like we've gotten better and
faster every year, and hopefully we'll better and faster again in
2021."
The 2021 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car season
begins with three consecutive nights of racing on Feb. 11-12-13 at
Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. for Winter Dirt Games XII, the
first three of 50 events scheduled for the year.
MATT HUMMEL NAMED
2020 USAC CHIEF MECHANIC OF THE YEAR
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (January 9, 2021).........If there's one
particular moment that fully encapsulated the sense of pride and
preparedness 2020 USAC Chief Mechanic of the Year Matt Hummel, Brady
Bacon and Dynamics, Inc. undertake before, after and during a USAC
AMSOIL National Sprint Car event, it was an early-summer night in
June 2020 where the team's fortunes were put to the ultimate test.
At that juncture, Bacon had yet to finish outside the top-ten and
was just within earshot of the series point lead. A nasty flip by
Bacon on the fourth lap of the feature that night seemingly spelled
disaster at first glance with the car being returned to the team's
pit with heavy damage on the hook.
The evening was salvaged when the crew, led by Hummel, thrashed
during the red flag period to repair the car, refusing to toss in
the towel, and miraculously returned Bacon to the track in mere
minutes, just in time for the resumption. With a caved-in tail tank
and all, Bacon blitzed back through the field to finish 9th.
Although it was still relatively early in the campaign, it was one
of those moments you made sure to make a mental note of. If the
championship race were to come down to the wire with Bacon involved
in the thick of it, this very well could tell the tale of whether
they'd become champions or not.
Even more than just the points aspect of the ordeal, it was the
mentality. Racing seasons are chock full of obstacles, but none
more than 2020 with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on everyone's initial
plans from March onward. With the normal offseason, the team did
its usual prep and arrived at Ocala, Florida's Bubba Raceway Park
with both guns blazing, sweeping both nights of Winter Dirt Games
with a pair of feature victories after charging from ninth each
night.
Then, the worldwide pandemic hit, forcing teams back into
hibernation mode for the time being and allowing them a chance at
practically a second offseason to prepare for the coming busy
stretch with race-after-race stacked upon each other throughout the
racing summer.
Preparedness and being ready for anything, to expect the unexpected,
formulated the root of Hummel and the team's mantra for the
campaign, "just make it happen," resulting in Bacon ultimately
capturing his third USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car driving title
while Dynamics, Inc. extended its record to 12 series entrant
championships. And, Matt Hummel, an 11-time USAC National Midget
feature starter as a driver himself behind the wheel during the
decade of the 2000s, was rewarded as USAC's Chief Mechanic of the
Year.
"The year started off great in Florida, then we had such a down
period of time," Hummel recalled. "I think between D.J. (Lebow) and
Brady at the shop, they did a lot of stuff to get us fully prepared
for the season. Once we got rolling again, it seemed like it got
really busy with everything packed together. It's just a testament
to the team. Yeah, we had some obstacles, but I think I learned
from Brady to just get it taken care of; it's going to work out, and
that's how it happened."
Hummel and Bacon have raced against each other on-track and have
formed a bond over the years that dates back more than a decade.
After working together and finding success, separately, Bacon's
driving career was on the rise as was Hummel's FK Indy shock
business on Gasoline Alley in Indianapolis, Ind.
When the opportunity arose a few years back, Hummel and Bacon
rejoined to form a formidable pairing, one that managed to withstand
a slew of engine-related issues midsummer in 2020 to win a
season-high six events, twice each at Ocala, Fla. and Lincoln Park
Speedway in Putnamville, Ind., plus once each in the financially
lucrative Brandt Corn Belt Nationals at Iowa's Knoxville Raceway
($20,000) and the season-ending Fall Nationals at Lawrenceburg
(Ind.) Speedway worth $10,000.
A
large part of the equation of the success is Hummel and Bacon's
communication, with Bacon's feedback allowing Hummel to make the
necessary adjustments and also provide him the best shock possible
to meet any desired task. And, although Hummel never really thought
he would be in this position as a USAC championship winning crew
chief, the reward is more than satisfying.
"I never really looked at being a chief mechanic on a USAC team and
winning a championship as a goal of mine," Hummel admitted. "It's
gratifying that I can be an integral part to the success of the
team. We've had our struggles in year's past. I'd get down a
little bit, he'd get down a little bit. Then, we'd have
discussions, and he'd be like, 'we're going to work this out. We're
going to figure it out.' I think, this year, we truly did figure it
out because we can only count maybe one or two occasions where we
showed up at the racetrack and, come feature time, we just missed
it. Other than that, we felt like we were a top-five car, at worst,
even on tracks that maybe weren't our forte. It just goes to show,
yeah, I'm the crew chief, but it's the team that makes it work."
With a strong foundation built, built on preparedness that has
brought about a high amount of success, Hummel is looking highly
forward to what the 2021 season brings. But, more than anything,
the 40-year-old crew chief is most looking forward to normality.
"I'm excited. I'm glad to see the schedule. It's a
great schedule with a lot of diversity in it. That'll be cool for
us to go to some different places and get back to normal and know
that we're going here and it's not Sunday, 'hey we might race here,
Friday or Saturday, we'll let you know,'" Hummel said with a laugh.
Aggressive Schedule On-Deck for United Rebel
Sprint Series Season
BERLIN, Kansas (January 6, 2020) – The
Lucas Oil POWRi United Rebel Sprint Series Presented by Mel Hambelton Ford
Racing is preparing to head into their sixteenth consecutive season of
Sprint Car racing throughout Kansas and surrounding areas. The heat will be
turned up come April, as the United Rebel Sprint Series releases a thrilling
and aggressive tentative schedule. Many new tracks have been put into the
upcoming events, such as US 36 Raceway in Osborn , Missouri , Bethany
Speedway in Bethany , Missouri , and I-70 Motorsports Complex in Odessa ,
Missouri .
The green flag is set to fly over the 2021
season on April 17, as United Rebel Sprint Series drivers take on the season
opener at 81 Speedway . The month of May will kick-off with a two-day swing
in Colorado before returning to the stomping grounds of Kansas to hit tracks
in Dodge City , LaCrosse, and Wichita .
June will tentatively see the first United
Rebel Sprint Series sanctioned race at US 36 Raceway and Bethany Speedway in
Missouri before hitting Dodge City Raceway Park and 81 Speedway .
July is slated open with the annual
Belleville High Banks Independence Day event before heading toward the
Wheatshocker Nationals at RPM Speedway on July 10th and 11th. The month will
then close with the Bull Ring Nationals at Rush County Speedway on July 30th
and 31st.
A sweltering August will kick off with the
3rd Annual Belleville 305 Sprint Nationals taking place atop the famed
Belleville High Banks half-mile. United Rebel Sprint Series drivers then
head to the coveted Bob Salem Memorial at Oberlin Speedway on August 13th
and 14th.
The Lubbock Wrecker Service 305 Nationals is
slated to take place September 23rd through 25th at I-70 Motorsports Complex
in Odessa , Missouri . The United Rebel Sprint Series exhilarating season
will conclude with the Dodge City Raceway Park 305 Nationals on October 7th,
8th, and 9th.
For more information on rules, results,
schedules, and more visit the URSS official website
www.unitedrebelsprintseries.com. To stay up to date, visit their FB page:
United Rebel Sprint Series (URSS).
2021 URSS SCHEDULE (TENTATIVE)
APRIL 17_____81 SPEEDWAY , WICHITA , KS
APRIL 24_____DCRP, DODGE CITY , KS
MAY 8 _______EL PASO CO. RACEWAY, CALHAN, CO
MAY 9 _______PHILLIPS CO. RACEWAY, HOLYOKE,
CO
MAY 15 ______DCRP, DODGE CITY , KS
MAY 21 ______RUSH CO. SPEEDWAY , LACROSSE,
KS
MAY 22 ______81 SPEEDWAY , WICHITA , KS
JUNE 4 ______US 36 RACEWAY, CAMERON , MO
(T)
JUNE 5 ______BETHANY SPEEDWAY , BETHANY ,
MO (T)
JUNE 12 _____DCRP, DODGE CITY , KS
JUNE 19 _____81 SPEEDWAY , WICHITA , KS
JULY 4 ______BELLEVILLE HIGHBANKS,
BELLEVILLE , KS
JULY 10 _____RPM SPEEDWAY , HAYS KS
JULY 11______RPM SPEEDWAY , HAYS KS
JULY 16 _____DCRP, DODGE CITY KS
JULY 17 _____DCRP, DODGE CITY KS
JULY 23 _____US 36 RACEWAY, CAMERON , MO
(T)
JUNE 24 _____BETHANY SPEEDWAY , BETHANY , MO
(T)
JULY 30 _____RUSH CO. SPEEDWAY , LACROSSE,
KS
JULY 31 _____RUSH CO. SPEEDWAY , LACROSSE,
KS
AUG 5 _______BELLEVILLE HIGHBANKS,
BELLEVILLE KS (PRACTICE)
AUG 6 ______ BELLEVILLE HIGHBANKS,
BELLEVILLE KS
AUG 7 ______ BELLEVILLE HIGHBANKS,
BELLEVILLE KS
AUG 13 _____OBERLIN SPEEDWAY , OBERLIN , KS
AUG 14 _____OBERLIN SPEEDWAY , OBERLIN , KS
AUG 21 _____ DCRP, DODGE CITY , KS
SEPT 11 _____DCRP, DODGE CITY , KS
SEPT 18 _____81 SPEEDWAY , WICHITA , KS
SEPT 23 _____I-70 MOTORSPORTS PARK , ODESSA
, MO
SEPT 24 _____I-70 MOTORSPORTS PARK , ODESSA
, MO
SEPT 25 _____I-70 MOTORSPORTS PARK , ODESSA
, MO
OCT 7 _______DCRP, DODGE CITY , KS
OCT 8 _______DCRP, DODGE CITY , KS
OCT 9 _______DCRP, DODGE CITY , KS
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