6/13/2018
Brady Bacon
Bacon Storms East after Pair of Heartland Top Fives
Lonnie Wheatley, WINCHESTER, Ind. (June 13, 2018) – Following a weekend in the heartland, Brady Bacon and the Brady Bacon Racing No. 99 Sprint Car are eastbound and down for USAC’s Eastern Storm.
The Eastern Storm for the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car series consists of six nights of racing at six different tracks throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York beginning at Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway on Thursday night. From there the path leads to Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, Port Royal Speedway on Saturday, BAPS Motor Speedway on Sunday, New Jersey’s Bridgeport Speedway on Monday and then New York’s Weedsport Speedway on Tuesday.
The two-time USAC Sprint Car champion carries momentum into the Eastern Storm after posting finishes of fourth at Nebraska’s I-80 Speedway and third at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway in USAC Sprint Car action last weekend.
With Imperial Wagyu Beef coming on board as primary sponsor for the Heartland double, the weekend got off to a promising start with a solid qualifying effort at I-80 Speedway that put Bacon outside the front row of the feature after heat race action. Bacon went on to carry his mount to a fourth-place finish atop the 4/10-mile Nebraska oval.
“The car felt good early in the night, but we lost the balance in the feature,” Bacon explains. “The smallest of changes can make a big difference, so we were just able to hang on for fourth.”
It was on to the Sprint Car Capital of the world on Saturday night where Bacon picked off a win in 2011. And for some time, it looked like Bacon just might add another Knoxville win to the books.
After timing in sixth-quick and then racing to a second-place heat race finish, Bacon led the feature field to the green flag and immediately jumped into the lead. Bacon had the race well in hand for the first half of the race before a faulty bleeder slowed his pace. Bacon ultimately surrendered the point on the 20th of 30 laps and managed to hold on to a third place finish.
“Qualifying was really tight at Knoxville,” Bacon says. “The times were really close together, it was like a winged race. Then we were able to get out front in the feature and the car was really good until we had a bleeder malfunction, we really lost a lot of traction.”
Finishes of fourth and third certainly have Bacon and crew going in the right direction.
“We’re definitely going in the right direction by getting consistent top fives,” Bacon comments. “I feel like we’re a threat to win each night, we’re gaining on it.”
Thus far, Bacon has finished among the top ten in nine of 11 USAC Sprint Car features this season with a handful of top-five runs.
He looks to build upon those stats over the six-race Eastern Storm that begins at Grandview. It could be a good starting point for Bacon, as he raced to victory lane in last year’s Eastern Storm opener at Grandview Speedway.
Brady Bacon Racing is bolstered by the support of partners including Fatheadz Eyewear, Tel-Star Technology/Port City Raceway, Gene Frankowiak, Cimarron Cycle Works, Priority Aviation, Triple-X Race Co., FMR Racing, FK Indy, Heath Clips Lawn Care, Elliot’s Custom Trailers and Carts, B&S Cattle, Lucas Oil Products, Kiser’s Truck and Auto, Smiley’s Racing Products, Keizer Wheels, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, FK Rod Ends, DMI, Walker Filters, ProGlide Coatings, Octane Ink, CP Carrillo, PAC Racing Allstar Performance, Simpson Racing Products, Driver Websites, Engler Machine and Tool, Wilwood Engineering, Schroth Racing, Smith Precision Products, KSE Racing Products, King Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, FSR Radiators, LRB Mfg. Indy Race Parts and Imperial Wagyu Beef.
2018 Quick Stats: 41 races, 3 wins, 17 top-fives, 24 top-tens.
Quick Results:
Friday, June 8 – 4th in USAC National Sprint Cars at I-80 Speedway (Greenwood, NE)
Saturday, June 9 – 3rd in USAC National Sprint Cars at Knoxville (IA) Raceway
Up Next: USAC Amsoil National Sprint Cars Eastern Storm
Thursday, June 14 – Grandview Speedway (Bechtelsville, PA)
Friday, June 15 – Williams Grove Speedway (Mechanicsburg, PA)
Saturday, June 16 – Port Royal Speedway (Port Royal, PA)
Sunday, June 17 – BAPS Motor Speedway (York Haven, PA)
Monday, June 18 – Bridgeport Speedway (Swedesboro, NJ)
Tuesday, June 19 – Weedsport Speedway (Weedsport, NY)
For those unable to catch the racing action in person, five of the six events (all except Bridgeport) are available via PPV at https://www.speedshifttv.com/.
Keep Track: Keep track of Brady Bacon’s on-track action including schedule and results at http://www.bradybaconracing.com/, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Brady-Bacon-278125555137/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BradyBaconRacin.
If you would like Brady Bacon Racing press releases e-mailed directly to you, send your e-mail address to Lonnie Wheatley at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
Penning the recurring series of “The Wheatley Chronicles” articles on www.sprintcarmania.com, Lonnie Wheatley provides media, public relations and more for select tracks, drivers and events. For more information, Wheatley may be contacted at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
(Collin Markle photo)
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley