Bacon Wins Wild BOSS Sprint Feature;
Nusbaum, Turner and Headley Jr. Star in Their Divisions
At Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday Night
GAS CITY, Ind., May 15 – The answer to the question “Who’s the Boss?” was Brady Bacon Friday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway, as the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series (BOSS) non-wing sprint cars staged a thriller at the quarter-mile dirt track.
After a violent start to the 25-lap main event with two separate flips by Ben Knight and defending track champion Max Adams, the top runners ran under a blanket numerous times in the beginning stages of the race, often three abreast.
That was more than a little exciting, but when they caught the tail of the field it became a sprint car feature for the ages. They weaved their way by other competitors, sometimes getting boxed in, sometimes having to take evasive action, sometimes clearing other drivers’ cars by the smallest of margins, and in a couple of cases making slight contact. Despite the pressure they had to keep a clear head, their tempers in check, and be patient while simultaneously going as fast as possible as they pursued the $2,000 winner’s check. In the end that went to Bacon, a native of Broken Arrow, Okla., who now lives in Richmond, Ind.
The other feature winners Friday night arguably had an easier time, as they “only” had to fight off the drivers behind them. Dillon Nusbaum of Warsaw, Ind., led all 20 laps of the modified feature; Ervin Turner of Marion, Ind., led all 15 laps of the street stock feature, and James Headley Jr. of Wabash, Ind., led all 15 laps of the hornet feature.
Bacon started ninth in the 24-car field for the sprint car feature in the Wedgewood Motorsports Triple XXX/J&D Chevy, which is sponsored by Glenn Farms, Fatheadz Eyewear and Drive WFX.
Knight, of Mooresville, Ind., flipped high in Turn 4 on the initial start. Adams, a native of Loomis, Calif., now living in Marion, Ind., flipped in almost the same place after contact with Shane Cottle of Kansas, Ill., on the second attempt to get the race underway. Both Knight and Adams got out of their cars under their own power, but Adams was transported to a local hospital afterwards for further evaluation.
Justin Grant, a native of Ione, Calif., now living in Avon, Ind., out-dragged everyone into the first turn on both of those starts driving Paul Hazen’s famous No. 57. He did the same for the third attempt that stuck. Cottle edged ahead on lap three for an instant but Grant fought back and was still leading when Bacon passed Cottle for second on lap eight and then set his sights on Grant.
Bacon dipped under Grant on the frontstretch on lap nine for the lead and led the rest of the way. Cottle passed Grant for second on lap 14, right before Max Guilford, who calls Auckland, New Zealand home, spun low in Turn 4 to bring out a yellow with 15 laps down. That gave Cottle a clear shot at Bacon for the restart with 10 laps remaining.
Bacon was up to the challenge, and with a clear track ahead of him he was able to accrue a 2.016-second advantage over Cottle at the line. Grant finished third. Last week’s winner, Thomas Meseraull of Waveland, Ind., placed fourth and Matt Westfall of Pleasant Hill, Calif., rounded out the top five.
Bacon set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 12.932 seconds on lap eight while he was taking second place. Tyler Kendall of Connersville, Ind., was the hard charger, as he started 22nd but finished 11th.
Nusbaum started second in the 20-lap modified feature, beat polesitter Andy Bishop of Gas City to lead lap one, and then led the remaining 19 laps too in a non-stop main event. Nusbaum had nearly a 2-second lead over Bishop at one point, but with two laps to go Bishop had cut that to just 0.395 of a second. At the checkered Bishop was 0.707 behind Nusbaum’s new Elite No. 17N with a Head Racing engine. Among its sponsors are Pro Strip Custom Powder Coating; Dairy Queen of Plymouth, Ind.; M.C. Wheeler and Sons; Quality Lawn Services; Westons Travel Agency and Sparkman Auto Auction.
Cole Sink of Fort Wayne, Ind., ran third every lap but lap two. He lost the spot to NASCAR veteran Kenny Schrader of Concord, N.C., on that lap, but got the position back on the following lap. Schrader finished fourth followed by last week’s winner, Bub Roberts of Warren, Ind.
Turner started third in the 17-car street stock feature but he passed both drivers who started in the front row, Larry Long of Tuscola, Ill., and James Williams of Wheatfield, Ind., to lead the whole way. There were five yellows to give the field ample opportunity to pass Turner, but he was up to the challenge each time with his No. 1, which is a Hobbs chassis powered by a Ron Flaugh Chevy engine. The car is sponsored by Erv’s Card Shack, Hobbs chassis and Barry Bunker Chevrolet. Chris Hunter of Kokomo, Ind., was the winning chief mechanic.
Bishop, who was doing double duty, and Lee Hobbs had a good battle for second. Hobbs got the position on lap seven and was 0.617 of a second behind Turner at the checkered. Tony Homan of St. Marys, Ohio came on strong in the late stages to finish third. Bishop held on for fourth and Williams finished fifth. Bishop set the fastest lap of the race on lap two with a time of 14.021 seconds.
Headley Jr. started on the pole of the 15-lap hornet feature and led the entire race. At first he was pressured by his father, James Headley of Marion, Ind., but the latter headed to the pits on lap nine, giving second to Jeremy Jones of Gas City.
Headley Jr. had a whopping 9.555-second lead over Jones at the checkered as well as his second feature victory in a row. Aaron Tatman of Lafayette, Ind., finished third and Brandon Lines of Marion, Ind., placed fourth. Kolton Sollars of Lafontaine, Ind., turned a 16th-place starting spot into a fifth-place finish.
Headley Jr.’s No. 00 is sponsored by Dudding’s Heating and Cooling, Shrouts Towing and his father.
In preliminary action Brayden Clark of Tipton, Ind., got upside down between Turns 1 and 2 at the start of the third sprint heat, but was unhurt. Luke Hall of Pleasant Hill, Ohio had a very violent flip and ended up outside Turn 2 with five laps complete in the first sprint B-main. Luckily he climbed out of his sprint car under his own power too.
Gas City is dark this coming Friday night, May 21, but the next day, Saturday, May 22, it hosts the Flo Racing All Star Circuit of Champions winged sprint cars plus the All Star TQ midgets in an event that has been on many people’s calendars since the day it was announced. The pit gate opens at 3 p.m. and the grandstands at 5 p.m. Hot laps are at 6 p.m. followed promptly by time trials. The racing starts at 7 p.m. An adult general admission for this show costs $30 and a pit pass $35.
On Memorial Day weekend Gas City is back to its Friday night format with its big Memorial Day Tribute on Friday, May 28 featuring the track’s core program of non-wing sprint cars, modifieds, street stocks and hornets. An adult general admission ticket for that show is $15, with kids 12 and under free. A pit pass costs $30. The pit gate will open at 3 p.m., the grandstands at 5 p.m., hot laps will be at 6:30 p.m. and the races start at 7:30 p.m.
The complete 2021 schedule and more information is on the track’s website at GasCityI69Speedway.com. Fans and competitors can also follow it on Twitter: @GasCitySpeedway; Instagram: @GasCitySpeedway and Facebook: GasCitySpeedwayOnTheGas.
Gas City I-69 Speedway is located on State Road 22, approximately a half-mile west of I-69, exit 259. The quarter-mile dirt oval is about halfway between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, and attracts drivers and fans from all over the Midwest.