Swanson, Bacon & Kofoid Share Spotlight at 2021 USAC Night of Champions

Indianapolis, Indiana (December 10, 2021)………USAC National driving champions Kody Swanson, Brady Bacon and Buddy Kofoid shared the spotlight along with other 2021 USAC champions and special award recipients at Friday night’s 66th USAC Night of Champions celebration at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis, Ind.

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Ninety-three total events took place throughout the 2021 USAC National season, beginning with high hopes, dreams and pristine machinery back in February in Ocala, Fla. for Winter Dirt Games, and closing out with a wheelstand at the conclusion of a historic Turkey Night Grand Prix in Ventura, Calif. It was a hectic and busy season, the busiest since 1977 in fact. This one, like all seasons, is one we’ll forever treasure. And, for those of whom earned their way onto this stage Friday night, that was especially true.

Initially announcing his intentions to only compete with the USAC Silver Crown series part-time in 2021, this was a championship that, admittedly, wasn’t in the plans for Kody Swanson.  Without a full-time ride on both dirt and pavement, he utilized a full assortment of resources to become the first driver to win the Silver Crown while driving for three different teams in a season – for Doran Racing, Chris Dyson Racing and the Mark Swanson Encore Team.

Totaling a series-high 4 wins, he was just the fifth driver to win races for multiple teams in a single season. Additionally, he became the first driver since Jimmy Sills in 1994 to win the Silver Crown championship while missing a race. With 5 poles, 304 laps led, 7 top-fives and 8 top-tens in 9 starts, he prevailed to score an unprecedented 6th USAC Silver Crown title.

Like father, like son.  Robbie Rice had a dream to become a USAC Silver Crown champion and, this season, that dream was fully realized as a USAC Silver Crown entrant champion. In turn, it made him the first ever second-generation Silver Crown champ of any sort, following his father, Larry Rice, who won titles as a driver in 1977 and 1981. Their initial plans for 2021 were to compete solely on the dirt. However, mere weeks before the season opener, a pavement car was added to the team’s arsenal, setting the course for an assault on the series championship. In their first full year of competition with driver Logan Seavey, the team won twice, at Selinsgrove and Eldora, to lock up the series’ entrant title.

In 2021, Brady Bacon became just the third-ever driver to win at least four USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championships, joining Levi Jones and Steve Butler. His 36 top-five results and 41 top-tens throughout the 43-race season are the most in series history, breaking two records that Sheldon Kinser had held since 1977. He won five times in 2021 and his 40 career victories now stand 8th all-time alongside Gary Bettenhausen.

He’s one of the best in the business, and his team is the all-time greatest, as Dynamics, Inc. / Hoffman Auto Racing collected the most all-time feature wins in series history and is now a 13-time entrant champ.

Buddy Kofoid set a new record in USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing in 2021.  His 37 top-ten finishes were the most since Danny Caruthers in 1971 and his 28 top-fives were the most since Mel Kenyon in 1977. Along the way, there were six victories between he and Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, including the biggest charge of the season from 16^th to 1^st at Port City.

Together, they captured the Indiana Midget Week title and Kofoid also overcame a broken wrist and foot in late summer. This driver acclimated himself just fine, winning twice in his home state of California and finishing on the podium in each of the final three races to become the sixth teenager to win the series title, his first and the team’s all-time record 11th.

Over the past three-straight years, driver Chris Windom has slotted into all three positions on the podium in the final standings for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship. A 3rd in 2019 was followed by a title in 2020 and, in 2021, it went down to the wire once again where he ultimately finished 2nd. He and his CB Industries team tied for a series-high seven wins in 2021, including the 4-Crown Nationals, the Western World Championships and a $20,000 grand prize at Huset’s Speedway. Driver Chris Windom and entrant CB Industries wound up as runner-up in points.

No driver had more USAC National Sprint Car victories than Kevin Thomas Jr. with 9 this year, including the season opening Winter Dirt Games, plus the Haubstadt Hustler, the Fall Nationals and the Oval Nationals. He also scored his second career Indiana Sprint Week crown in July. It was his best overall season in several categories with 210 laps led, 29 top-fives, 37 top-tens and 6 fast qualifying times while making 43 starts. Kevin Thomas Jr. was your 2nd place USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car driver, and his own KT Motorsports team finished as the 2nd place entrant.

Utilizing multiple drivers during the 2021 USAC Silver Crown season, Springfield, Ohio’s BCR Group raced to a stirring victory on the Magic Mile of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on Labor Day weekend with driver Brian Tyler. For the veteran driver and team, it was their first ever race together after teaming up just one week before.  Tyler, by the way, became the oldest driver to ever win a series race that afternoon in the BCR Group number 81 and also closed out the season with a third on the pavement at Toledo. The 2021 season was the team’s best ever finals result in the USAC Silver Crown standings, finishing 2nd.

An exceptional first full-time season resulted in Logan Seavey’s first two career USAC Silver Crown victories in August at Selinsgrove Speedway as well as the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora, which put him just 34-points behind Swanson in the final standings. The Sutter, California driver’s runner-up finish in the points is the best in the series for a Rookie since Chris Windom was 2^nd in 2013. He was the best Rookie finisher in 6 of the 10 events, also finishing as the runner-up at both Illinois dirt miles in Springfield and Du Quoin. Seavey was the 2nd place finishing driver in the USAC Silver Crown standings and he’s also the series Rookie of the Year.

The pairing of Justin Grant and RMS Racing made its debut in 2021, and once they hit their stride, they were one to contend with night-in, night-out. Picking up four scores this season at Lanco, Arizona, Merced and a $20,000 top prize in the Hangtown 100 at Placerville, together they led 77 laps and accrued 22 top-fives and 32 top-tens while starting all 40 events. It’s the best career points finish with the series for both this driver and team. The 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget 3rd place driver is Ione, California’s Justin Grant while the your 3rd place entrant is RMS Racing.

In 2021, Ione, California’s Justin Grant became just the sixth driver ever to finish inside the top-three in points for the USAC Silver Crown, USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget standings all in the same season. He’s now the only one to finish exactly in the third spot in all three in a single year! In each of the past three seasons, he’s edged closer to the top with a 5th in 2019, a 4th in 2020 and a 3rd in 2021.  Meanwhile, his TOPP Motorsports team performed phenomenally with its third-straight top-five finish in points. They won seven times this season, highlighted by a Smackdown score at Kokomo in August, leading them to a 3rd place finish in driver and entrant points.

For the fourth consecutive year, Justin Grant and Hemelgarn Racing finished inside the top-three of the USAC Silver Crown standings, ranking third overall in points in 2021 which was highlighted by an impressive win on the high banks of Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, Grant’s first USAC National pavement feature win. Together, they led 67 laps, finished in the top-five three times at Winchester, Lucas Oil Raceway and Selinsgrove. The 3rd place USAC Silver Crown driver is Justin Grant and the 3rd ranking entrant is Hemelgarn Racing.

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Friday night’s special awards segment celebrates those individuals who represent two segments of the racing world in both the future and present tense. Some who’ve burst into a new discipline with extraordinary efforts. Some who are just at the beginning of their big-time auto racing journey. And each of whom have put in the long hours and sacrifice to receive their well-deserved moment in the spotlight.

Alongside Buddy Kofoid on his journey to the championship was the one who turned the wrenches on the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports number 67 – Jarrett Martin. Martin, who was named USAC’s 2021 Chief Mechanic of the Year on Friday night. It was just three years ago the two were competing on track in sprint cars against each other. Over the last two years, they’ve become a dynamic force on the tour, picking up wins in two of the first three races in Ocala and Port City, plus two during Indiana Midget Week at Bloomington and Gas City, then down the stretch at Bakersfield and Merced all while leading a series-high 217 laps.

Tanner Thorson’s first season in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition was downright historic. His five wins are the most ever by a Rookie with the series. His fourth-place finish in the final standings was the best for any driver in the past 31 years. His seven fast qualifying times were also the most for a series Rookie ever. Starting all 43 events, he accumulated 22 top-fives and 32 top-tens. He’s a past USAC National Midget champion in 2016. Now, the Minden, Nevada driver is the 2021 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year.

Finishing 11th overall in the standings, Waco, Texas’ Chase Randall driver turned in impressive performances throughout 35 feature starts with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets in 2021, best among all first-year drivers. He led 6 laps and finished a season-best 3rd at Grandview Speedway, then nearly won the 100-lapper at Huset’s Speedway before suffering a flat tire. With 12 top-ten finishes and 55 total laps led, he also set quick time during the Indiana Midget Week finale at Kokomo Speedway. Hailing from Waco, Texas, he’s another who rose through the ranks as a USAC quarter midget champ and now he’s the first Texan to capture Bob Stroud USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year honors since James McElreath in 1976.

At this time last year, this driver was in the process of migrating from California to the Midwest to chase his dream – to compete for a USAC National Sprint Car title. We’ve seen him grow by leaps and bounds over the past decade, capturing the 2017 USAC West Coast Sprint Car championship and winning with CRA. He’s been consistently quick on the National trail, and after four runner-up finishes, finally became a USAC National winner late this season at Perris Auto Speedway, winning the closest finish of the entire USAC National slate. He started all 43 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car events, finishing in the top-five 13 times, and he was USAC’s 2021 National Most Improved Driver.

For his dedication to USAC racing as announcer, writer, author and historian of USAC racing, Pat Sullivan was named the recipient of the Dick Jordan Award. Sullivan has announced more USAC events than any other individual. His boundless enthusiasm for the sport is contagious and Sullivan has long embodied the same devotion to the sport as his personal friend and colleague, the late USAC media guru Dick Jordan.

Presented annually by the President of USAC in memory of USAC Executive Vice President and former champion driver Roger McCluskey, recognizing the standards of excellence in the sport of auto racing so astutely represented by McCluskey during his career as a USAC driver and official. Ron Hemelgarn has a deep-rooted love for auto racing, and as a longtime USAC Silver Crown team owner, sponsor and ambassador, the LaSalle, Mich. native was named the recipient of the Roger McCluskey award.

Though he is moving into new territory with a new role at IndyCar, Jones’ presence and influence in USAC racing as a driver and official will never be forgotten. A champion on and off the racetrack, Jones was recognized for his countless contributions to the club by USAC president and CEO Kevin Miller during a special ceremony early in Friday night’s program.

But wait there’s more! Justin Grant was the only driver to start all 93 USAC National features in 2021. As the 3rd place finisher in all three USAC National series this season, he accumulated the most total points among all drivers, and was the first driver this season to win in all three series. After previously earning the award in 2017, for the second time in his career, he is the Mike Curb Super License champion.

Justin Grant took the lead of the ProSource Passing Master standings with three races remaining and kept a tight grip down the stretch of the 2021 season, advancing a combined 230 positions throughout the 93 USAC National features run during his campaign in the Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget. That was the most among all drivers this year, which earned him a $2,500 reward from ProSource, a longtime, great ambassador for USAC racing.

A racer turned promoter, Cody Brewer, has done Yeoman’s work into turning USAC’s Mid-America Midget Week into a successful week of racing in the Great Plains states of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska over the last several seasons, turning races into major events at venues such as Red Dirt Raceway, Solomon Valley Raceway and Jefferson County Speedway. It’s a job that hasn’t gone unrecognized by racers, teams and fans, which has earned him and his crew high praise and acknowledgement as the Race Organizer of the Year.

High school guidance counselor and wrestling coach by day, USAC official by night.  Dave Thompson does it all. A tireless worker who’ll go the extra yard to make sure to lend a helping hand on the racetrack as an infield worker and is there to lend a word of advice and wisdom when queried by his peers.  Thompson has been a longtime mainstay as a USAC official, and his highly deserved special appreciation award was presented to him by Levi Jones.

The Jason Leffler award goes to recognize an individual whose intense appreciation of the sport’s history is reflected in his professionalism and outstanding representation as an ambassador of the United States Auto Club and exhibiting the same standard of ideals upheld by the late Jason Leffler during his USAC racing career. Over the past half-century, Gary Stanton has exhibited those qualities ten-fold as a car owner, constructor, mechanic and champion. More than a half century later, those qualities have remained as strong as ever with his dedication to USAC and dirt track racing.

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Six developmental Midget series, plus the Midwest Mini Sprint Association, took part in a total of 86 events spanning 15 different states in 2021 from the Northeast to the East Coast to the Midwest and the West Coast, producing five champions.

Coming off a championship season in 2020, Galloway, Ohio’s Jacob Denney had no thoughts of resting on his laurels in 2021, going back-to-back this past year. This season, he accrued one of the most dominant USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget seasons in series history, winning 7 of the 13 points races, including a stretch of seven-straight between the months of July and August. He provided Team Taylor its fifth consecutive series title while winning at six different venues.

Mark McMahill truly hit his stride in 2021, rebounding from a winless 2020 campaign to score a series-high five victories, three times at Spoon River Speedway in Canton, Illinois, plus one each at the Champaign County Fairgrounds and East Moline Speedway where the Peoria, Ill. native became the third consecutive series driver to win the season finale en route to the Engler Machine IMRA SpeeD2 Midget championship.

Stafford, Connecticut’s Seth Carlson did it for the first time in 2020, and for an encore performance in 2021, he did one even better by racing to his second consecutive USAC Dirt Midget Association driving championship on the strength of three victories, all of which came at the series’ home track of Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vermont.

No woman has won more often in USAC National competition than her. No woman has won more USAC championships than her. In 2021, Farmland, Indiana’s Jessica Bean added two more to her ever-growing list of unprecedented accomplishments with the series. She was victorious seven times in USAC Focus Midget racing this season, which paved the way for a fifth consecutive Eastern Midget title and a first career Radical Midget crown.

A pair of Hoosier state victories in July and August at Putnamville and North Vernon made Bloomington, Indiana’s Brandon Coffey good to the last drop in his quest to become the Midwest Mini Sprint Association champion for 2021.

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USAC’s Regional Sprint Car and Midget series hit dirt tracks from coast-to-coast throughout 2021, producing seven USAC champions, including a number of multi-time titlists and a handful of first-timers who made their debut on the stage.

Rich Vogler, A.J. Foyt, Sleepy Tripp, Mel Kenyon, Dave Darland and Bryan Clauson. This year, Concord, California’s Damion Gardner added his name to this exclusive cast of seven drivers who’ve reached 100 USAC feature victories in their racing career with six more scores in 2021 while also adding an 8th consecutive series championship, his 9th overall with the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car Series, which ties him for third in terms of all-time USAC titles.

Coweta, Oklahoma’s Brett Wilson became the first USAC Wingless Sprints Oklahoma champion in 2018. He followed that performance up by becoming the second-ever series champion in 2019. In 2021, he became the first driver to be named a three-time titlist with the series. The all-time winningest series driver added two more wins to his tally this season, upping his victory total to 11.

One year after an injury shelved his title aspirations, Battlefield, Missouri’s Kory Schudy put together a complete season in 2021 to capture his first career USAC championship. His moment arrived in 2021 by winning on three occasions which spurred a phenomenal run with only a single finish outside the top-five in 13 feature starts. He’s the second-ever USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Car champion driver, and he’s number one this year.

After making just two series starts throughout the past four years, Stockton, California’s D.J. Johnson returned with authority in 2021, making 10 feature appearances which were highlighted by a trio of runner-up finishes at Tulare, Merced and Ventura. His eight overall top-five results led all drivers in that category and placed him in total control of the championship race from mid-May onward. He’s a first-time USAC champ and he’s the king of the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars in 2021.

It’s one of the greatest new rivalries we’ve seen in sprint car racing in some time. Alex Bright versus Briggs Danner. The two repeatedly reset the measuring stick as they traded win after win, punch after punch, as the top of standings repeatedly changed hands between the two throughout the summer. In the end, Collegeville, Pennsylvania’s Alex Bright prevailed with a whopping 11 victories and 22 top-five finishes in 23 starts. After collecting the USAC / ARDC Eastern Midget championship in 2018, he put his name in the record book once again in 2021 as the USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Car champ.

Despite not reaching victory lane as a race winner throughout the 13-race tour, Brentwood, California’s Blake Bower used consistency to put him in prime position in the season finale to reach the top. He did exactly that in 2021, carrying two new banners at the conclusion of a year’s worth of work – USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year and series champion – becoming the first driver in 13 years to snag both honors within a single season.

Five different drivers busted their way into victory lane throughout the 2021 USAC Midwest Regional Midget season. However, it was Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Chett Gehrke who made consistency the overarching theme, placing in the top-ten on nine occasions, which was three more than his next closest competitor, while his five top-fives were tops among all drivers. His third career USAC title follows previous crowns in 2007 with the Indiana Ford Focus Midgets and in 2020 with the Midwest Regional Midgets.

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The state of Oklahoma has been a hotbed of USAC racing talent over the past several seasons, and a track where many of them cut their teeth – Port City Raceway – celebrated its third season under the USAC banner in 2021 with six drivers in seven different divisions being crowned.

With 5 wins, 18 top-fives and 24 top-tens to his credit, Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Bobby McIntosh was a consistent frontrunner in nearly all his 31 starts this season at Port City and, by virtue of his performance, earned the Sportsman title for 2021.

In 34 starts, Drumright, Oklahoma’s Junior Sprint Champion Tyler Crow racked up an incredible 20 feature victories during his campaign in 2021. That’s right, 20! He led all drivers in every statistical category with 27 top-fives and 30 top-tens to claim the title by a 101-point margin. He’s your Junior Sprint champion. He’s Drumright, Oklahoma’s Tyler Crow!

It’s an admirable accomplishment to capture a race win during a season. A season championship is worth its weight in gold as well. Two championships in one season. Now, that’s something that’ll make you stand up in your seat. For Kris Carroll, that’s how the micro sprint season unfolded at Port City with a combined 14 feature victories throughout the year in two different classes – A-Class and Non-Wing.

We’ve seen his brother Jason McDougal win with USAC’s National and Sprint Car and Midget divisions over the past few seasons. Now the time has come for the younger brother to make his own waves. With 3 wins, 9 top-fives and 20 top-tens in 31 starts, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Chase McDougal is Port City’s Restricted Micro champ for 2021.

For the second consecutive season, Owasso, Oklahoma’s Cole Roberts rose to the pinnacle of his division at Port City Raceway. Sporting 12 victories, 23 top-fives and 27 top-tens in all 27 of his feature starts, he’s now a back-to-back Outlaw Micro champion.

Concluding the season by knocking out eight top-five finishes in his final nine starts, Oakhurst, Oklahoma’s Ruben Morris was the model of consistency in 2021. Notching two wins among his 18 overall top-fives and 23 top-tens in each of his 23 starts at Port City, he locked up his first USAC title in the Turf Tire division.

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Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pennsylvania served as host to a myriad of events throughout the summer, culminating with four divisional champions in 2021.

Six years after capturing his first USAC crown, this driver scored four wins at the Kutztown, Pa. bullring in 2021. Hailing from Oley, Pennsylvania, your 2021 Action Track USA Slingshot champion, Brett Bieber.

He wrapped up the title in grand fashion back on August 31, and comes to you from Lebanon, Pennsylvania. A four-time winner at Action Track USA this season, Chase Schott earned the 2021 Junior Slingshot championship.

Out of Rising Sun, Maryland, Steven Snyder Jr. captivated the micro sprint world this past season. A total of five victories elevated this driver to the top of the charts at Action Track USA this year, and you’ll see him as part of the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports midget lineup at the Chili Bowl in January. He’s a past USAC quarter midget national champion and he’s the 2021 Hyper Racing EVO Injection 600 Sprint champion.

We’ve seen Allentown, Pennsylvania’s Briggs Danner tackle big block modifieds, micros, TQ Midgets, Sprint Cars, you name it. Anything with four wheels, he’s driven and had success, and he’s also a past USAC quarter midget titlist. He won nine times with the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars this season and was quick time and a top-five finisher with the USAC National Sprint Cars in 2021. In the meantime, he also mastered Action Track USA’s SpeedSTR division, winning twice en route to the title.

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Sources; Richie Murray – USAC Media
2021 USAC National champions, left to right, Buddy Kofoid, Brady Bacon & Kody Swanson. (Dave Olson Photo)