Top Storylines Heading into the Championship Saturday at Indianapolis Raceway Park
Top Storylines Heading into the Championship Saturday at Indianapolis Raceway Park
First Two Time Tour Champion?:
Inaugural series champion, Kody Swanson, finds himself in familiar territory. Heading into Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Championship Saturday with the chance to clinch the 500 Sprint Car Tour Championship. In 2022, the inaugural season, Swanson was in a close battle with Dakoda Armstrong going into a winner take all Championship event. In 2023, Swanson again went to IRP with a chance to clinch the championship but came up short. Now, Swanson has a chance to become the first multi-time champion of the series as he maintains a 30 points lead over Billy Wease going into the final night.
IRP Championship Racetrack:
For the third consecutive season, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will play host to the championship event for the 500 Sprint Car Tour. The track has been a staple on the 500 Sprint Car Tour since its inception in the winter of 2021. Having held five events in three seasons, including Saturday’s event, the track is tied with Berlin Raceway for hosting the most events outside of Anderson Speedway. Championship Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will be the final event of the season for the USAC Silver Crown Series, National Pavement Midgets, Echo Tech/Focus Midgets, and the 500 Sprint Car Tour. Kody Swanson is leading the points championship for both the USAC Silver Crown Series and the 500 Sprint Car Tour and can clinch the championship in both divisions, on the same night, for the second time in three seasons.
Macenko Rebuild - Take #3:
Adversity has struck the Brad Hayes Racing stable once again. For the third time in the 2024 season, Jackson Macenko and Brad Hayes Racing will be showing up to the race track with a rebuilt race car. The first incident followed a parts failure during a private test which caused Macenko to hit the turn 4 wall at Anderson Speedway. The team was able to rebuild and qualify for the Little 500. Macenko then got caught up in an incident with Logan Seavey during the Little 500 where the chassis was unable to be repaired. The team purchased a brand new chassis and raced it until an accident at Anderson Speedway on October 5th . On Lap 44, Cole Sink lost a wheel headed into Turn 1. Macenko had nowhere to go and made contact with the turn 1 wall damaging the third chassis of the season. Brad Hayes Racing sprung into action and purchased a new BEAST Chassis from Aaron Pierce. The car has been rebuilt and they are ready to take on Championship Saturday at IRP.
Invasion from the Northeast:
Competitors from the East Coast are making their way West to compete in the final 500 Sprint Car Tour event of 2024. Jake Trainor, the 2023 Little 500 winner, will make his return to the series for the first time since he competed in the Auto Value Michigan Swing at Kalamazoo Speedway and Berlin Raceway. The young driver has performed well at IRP and will look for his first win of the season with the series. Fellow Massachusetts native, Anthony Nocella, will make his official 500 Sprint Car Tour debut. Nocella competed in this year’s Little 500 event, a non points earning event. Chase Locke out of New Hampshire will be making his first start with the 500 Sprint Car Tour across both points earning, and non earning events. Locke has made starts in the Jeff West/IPC Midget at IRP this season. Both Locke and Nocella will be looking to figure out IRP rather quickly as they try to take down some of the top names in the 500 Sprint Car Tour.
Roahrig has been bad fast at IRP:
Tyler Roahrig has won three out of the last four 500 Sprint Car Tour events at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. In addition he has captured two pole positions in his four sprint car starts at IRP. The Plymouth, Indiana driver currently leads the 500 Sprint Car Tour in 2024 wins, but finds himself on the outside looking in in terms of the points championship after missing multiple races. A win in the final race of the year won't help his championship push, but could play a major role in determining the final point outcomes for the championship leaders. The #56 CB Fabricating machine will be one to watch on Championship Saturday.
Rookie of the Year battle comes down to last race:
An intense and tightly fought Rookie of the year battle comes down to the final race of the season. Tim Creech, the current ROY leader, and Nathan Byrd are the only two competitors from the original five to still be in contention for the award. It became a two man race after Olivia Shelbo, Brady Allum, and Trey Burke had issues throughout the season. Cole Sink came onto the season halfway through the year and has performed exceptionally well, but the two headed monster of Creech and Byrd had pulled too far ahead. Currently separated by only 55 points going into Championship Saturday, every point will matter for both Creech and Byrd as they look to clinch the Rookie of the year crown.
Race Details:
Championship Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is set for Saturday, October 19th at 5:30pm. Pit gates for the event will open at 9am and spectator gates will open at 12pm. 500 Sprint Car Tour practice begins at 12:30pm and qualifying is set for 3:35pm. The 500 Sprint Car Tour feature is set to begin at 6:05pm and will be a 40-lap event. Tickets to the event are all general admission and are $25. You can purchase your tickets online by clicking HERE. All 500 Sprint Car Tour action will be streamed LIVE on DIRTVision with FloRacing providing coverage of the USAC Silver Crown Series and the National Pavement Midgets.
The 2024 500 Sprint Car Tour season will see nine point earning events across a ten race schedule from early April to mid October. The 76th Annual Little 500 will once again be a non-points earning event for the series, filling out the ten race schedule in its traditional Memorial Day Weekend slot. All races, including the 76th Annual Little 500, will be streamed LIVE on DIRTVision. For more information on the 500 Sprint Car Tour visit: 500sprintcartour.com and be sure to follow on social media (Facebook: 500 Sprint Car Tour | Twitter (X): @500SprintTour | Instagram: @500sprintcartour).
