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12/17/20 2:19 PM 30 NEW TRACK RECORDS SET IN 2020 USAC COMPETITION

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30 NEW TRACK RECORDS SET IN 2020 USAC COMPETITION

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (December 17, 2020)………Thirty new track records were set by 21 different drivers across USAC’s three national divisions during the 2020 season.

No driver earned more of them in the past year than Tanner Thorson with three.* The Minden, Nev. native set the 8-lap standard in June at Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway, which just so happened to be his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car appearance.

The 2016 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champ also set two new one-lap records with the Midgets, first on the opening weekend of the season at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., then once again during Eastern Midget Week at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa.

Thorson and C.J. Leary were the lone drivers to snare new track records in multiple divisions during the year.* Leary established the one-lap standard during Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying in the inaugural USAC Silver Crown run at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway in August.* Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) then snagged another record, for three laps, during the semifinal of the B & W Auto Mart King of the Hill during Sprint Car Smackdown IX in August at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway.

The breakdown of new track records by division went 21 for the Midgets, 7 for Sprint Cars and 2 for Silver Crown.* Of the 30 track records, 27 of them were former records that were broken while three were newly established during first-time appearances for Silver Crown at Selinsgrove, plus the 10-lap Midget mark by Kevin Thomas Jr. at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Okla. and the 1-lap time at Caney Valley Speedway in Caney, Kan. turned in by Cannon McIntosh.

A handful of the new records set this year overtook the standard that had been imprinted into the history books a long period of time, spanning multiple decades.

Aaron Pierce’s time of 6:36.928 during the qualifying race for the Hoosier Hundred set a brand new 12-lap USAC Silver Crown track record at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, eclipsing the former mark of 6:42.010, which had been held by Gene Lee Gibson since Sept. 10, 1988.

Robert Ballou set two brand new track records for sprint cars without a wing at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway during July’s Corn Belt Nationals.* His 10-lap performance in the third heat race of 3:09.379 lowered the previous record set by Richard Griffin in a 1991 CRA event by more than 10 seconds.* Ballou’s 16-lap time during the semi-feature of 5:25.068 broke the former record at Knoxville set by Eddie Leavitt in 1978 by a whopping 18 seconds.

Jonathan Beason’s time of 2:03.059 in heat race one of the November Classic at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway defeated the former 10-lap Midget track record that had been held by Shane Scully since 1997.

The “King of the Midgets,” Mel Kenyon, had hung onto the one-lap Midget record at Paragon (Ind.) Speedway since 1985.* That event 35 years ago had been the last time series had visited the 3/8-mile dirt track prior to 2020.* Perhaps, unsurprisingly, with the evolution and advancements made in the three-and-a-half decades since, that record was substantially lowered to 14.813 sec. by Kyle Larson during time trials for the Indiana Midget Week opener in June.

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NEW USAC NATIONAL TRACK RECORD HOLDERS IN 2020:

3-Tanner Thorson (2 Midget & 1 Sprint)

2-C.J. Leary (1 Silver Crown & 1 Sprint)

2-Robert Ballou (2 Sprint)

2-Logan Seavey (2 Midget)

2-Cannon McIntosh (2 Midget)

2-Sam Johnson (2 Midget)

2-Kyle Larson (2 Midget)

2-Tyler Courtney (2 Midget)

1-Aaron Pierce (1 Silver Crown)

1-Jadon Rogers (1 Sprint)

1-Dave Darland (1 Sprint)

1-Chase Stockon (1 Sprint)

1-Daison Pursley (1 Midget)

1-Jonathan Beason (1 Midget)

1-Zeb Wise (1 Midget)

1-Rico Abreu (1 Midget)

1-Thomas Meseraull (1 Midget)

1-Kevin Thomas Jr. (1 Midget)

1-Ace McCarthy (1 Midget)

1-Justin Grant (1 Midget)

1-Kyle Cummins (1 Midget)

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USAC SILVER CROWN TRACK RECORDS SET IN 2020:

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Indiana State Fairgrounds - 1-Mile Dirt Oval - Indianapolis, Indiana

12 Laps******** 8/23/2020********* Aaron Pierce*************** 6:36.928************** 108.836 mph

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Selinsgrove Speedway – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania

1 Lap************ 8/9/2020*********** C.J. Leary********************** 21.676****************** 83.041 mph

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORDS SET IN 2020:

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Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 - 1/3 Mile Dirt Oval - Pevely, Missouri

10 Laps******** 6/7/2020*********** Jadon Rogers********************** 2:29.867********** 79.991 mph***

12 Laps******** 6/7/2020*********** Dave Darland********************** 2:40.932********** 89.389 mph

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Knoxville Raceway - 1/2 Mile Dirt Oval - Knoxville, Iowa

10 Laps******** 7/11/2020********* Robert Ballou********************** 3:09.379********** 95.048 mph

12 Laps******** 7/10/2020********* Chase Stockon******************** 4:26.089********** 81.176 mph

16 Laps******** 7/11/2020********* Robert Ballou********************** 5:25.068********** 88.597 mph

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Kokomo Speedway - 1/4 Mile Dirt Oval - Kokomo, Indiana

3 Laps********** 8/29/2020********* C.J. Leary****************************** 40.950************** 65.934 mph

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Plymouth Speedway - 3/8 Mile Dirt Oval - Plymouth, Indiana

8 Laps********** 6/26/2020********* Tanner Thorson***************** 1:53.920********** 94.803 mph

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK NATIONAL MIDGET TRACK RECORDS SET IN 2020:

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Action Track USA – 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval – Kutztown, Pennsylvania

1 Lap************ 8/5/2020*********** Tanner Thorson******************* 11.146************** 64.597 mph

10 Laps******** 8/5/2020*********** Daison Pursley********************* 1:58.010********** 61.012 mph

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Arizona Speedway – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – San Tan Valley, Arizona

1 Lap************ 11/13/2020****** Logan Seavey*********************** 15.137************** 79.197 mph

12 Laps******** 11/14/2020****** Logan Seavey*********************** 3:13.982********** 74.160 mph

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Bakersfield Speedway - 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval - Bakersfield, California

10 Laps******** 11/17/2020****** Jonathan Beason***************** 2:03.059********** 97.417 mph

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Bubba Raceway Park - 3/8-Mile Dirt D-Shaped Track - Ocala, Florida

1 Lap************ 2/8/2020*********** Tanner Thorson******************* 13.724************** 98.368 mph

8 Laps********** 2/8/2020*********** Zeb Wise********************************* 1:52.636********** 95.884 mph

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Caney Valley Speedway - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval – Caney, Kansas

1 Lap************ 7/19/2020********* Cannon McIntosh*************** 13.285************** 67.746 mph

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Gas City I-69 Speedway - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Gas City, Indiana

12 Laps******** 6/17/2020********* Rico Abreu***************************** 2:43.872********** 65.905 mph

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Jefferson County Speedway - 1/5-Mile Dirt Oval - Fairbury, Nebraska

12 Laps******** 7/17/2020********* Sam Johnson************************ 2:24.855********** 59.646 mph

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Merced Speedway - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Merced, California

1 Lap************ 11/21/2020****** Kyle Larson**************************** 11.838************** 76.026 mph

10 Laps******** 11/21/2020****** Thomas Meseraull************** 2:06.569********** 71.108 mph

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Paragon Speedway - 3/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Paragon, Indiana

1 Lap************ 6/16/2020********* Kyle Larson**************************** 14.813************** 91.136 mph

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Port City Raceway - 1/8-Mile Dirt Oval – Tulsa, Oklahoma

1 Lap************ 5/23/2020********* Cannon McIntosh*************** 9.398**************** 47.883 mph

10 Laps******** 5/22/2020********* Kevin Thomas Jr.****************** 1:38.966********** 45.470 mph

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Red Dirt Raceway - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Meeker, Oklahoma

1 Lap************ 7/21/2020********* Tyler Courtney********************* 13.108************** 68.660 mph

8 Laps********** 7/21/2020********* Sam Johnson************************ 1:49.580********** 65.705 mph

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Southern Illinois Center - 1/6-Mile Dirt Oval - Du Quoin, Illinois

10 Laps******** 3/7/2020*********** Ace McCarthy*********************** 1:49.218********** 54.936 mph*

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Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex - 1/6-Mile Dirt Oval - Sweet Springs, Missouri

1 Lap************ 9/4/2020*********** Tyler Courtney********************* 11.863************** 50.577 mph

10 Laps******** 9/4/2020*********** Justin Grant*************************** 2:03.358********** 48.639 mph

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Wayne County Speedway - 1/8-Mile Dirt Oval - Wayne City, Illinois

10 Laps******** 10/9/2020********* Kyle Cummins*********************** 1:51.378********** 40.403 mph

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