Editor’s note: From IMS. I will have my story up later today, plus a preview of IndyCar at Laguna Seca.
| INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, July 24, 2025) – Justin Grant continued his knack for winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, capturing the opening race of the 38th annual USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing on Thursday night at The Dirt Track at IMS.Grant added his seventh USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship victory this season and 61st of his career to a win in the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature on the opening night of the BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors on July 1 at The Dirt Track. Grant, from Ione, California, also won the BC39 feature race in 2023 on the 1/5th-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the 2.5-mile IMS oval. “It’s the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Grant said. “I probably raced a little rougher than most of the sprint car guys like to race, but I come in here off the BC39, and maybe old habits die hard. I want to win at this place.” Grant, who started fifth in the 20-car field, took the lead for the first time and for good with 16 laps remaining in the 35-lap feature. He earned $10,000 for the victory in the No. 4 TOPP Motorsports car.Logan Seavey finished second in the No. 57 Abacus Racing car, followed by pole sitter Robert Ballou in the No. 12 Ballou Motorsports machine. Ballou led the first 19 laps, but Grant used both the top and bottom grooves of the clay oval to climb from fifth to second. With 16 laps to go, Grant used the high line in Turns 3 and 4 to power past Ballou, whose car started to emit white plumes of smoke from its left side.Seavey passed Ballou for second on the next lap and set his sights on Grant. A three-car tangle in Turn 2 triggered the final caution of the feature race with nine laps to go. Grant got a strong jump on the restart, pulling away slightly. But Seavey found grip and slid under Grant in Turns 1 and 2 to nose slightly ahead with eight laps remaining. But Grant used the low line to quickly power ahead of Seavey on the back straightaway and eased away over the final seven laps for the prestigious victory. “It was really, really tough,” Grant said. “The pace was really fast, and the top was so fast you had to kind of make some things happen there. I’m sure I didn’t make too many friends, but I wanted to get down here to Victory Lane. “I love racing here. I think this little track is amazing. I’m the biggest hater of small racetracks in the world, and one of my favorite ones is this one. It’s kind of funny. We’ve really come a long way on our short-track stuff. I’m kind of a half-mile kind of guy. Just super excited to be here.” USAC Indiana Sprint Week, a cornerstone of sprint car racing in the Hoosier State since 1988, has captivated fans for decades with its thrilling action and rich legacy. The 2025 Indiana Sprint Week schedule consists of eight events at eight different racetracks across a 10-night span between July 24-Aug. 2. C.J. Leary captured the only previous visit by the USAC National Sprint Cars to The Dirt Track at IMS in September 2024, a 20-lap, non-points exhibition race during the BC39.] The focus at the Racing Capital of the World now turns to Brickyard Weekend, featuring the Pennzoil 250 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday and the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG for the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday. Practice for both series takes place Friday. Visit IMS.com to buy tickets or for more information. |
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 