Axsom Paces Field on Little 500 Practice Day
It was Emerson Axsom leading the way on Practice Day for the 76th Annual Little 500 Presented By UAW Wednesday afternoon. The Franklin, IN driver turned a lap of
11.106 early in the second session, just ahead of a pair of USAC stars in Logan Seavey and CJ Leary.
Having competed in the previous two Little 500’s for Clauson Marshall Racing, Axsom is contesting this year’s race with Gene Nolen Racing, a two-time winner of the event with Kody Swanson at the wheel. He has competed with the team in the past in both Sprint Car and Silver Crown competition.
His lap came early in the second session after putting on new tires following the break. In the first session, he was just outside the top-ten while the team worked on balance.
“We started off the day chasing balance on old tires, working on our balance and try to get the car driving right so when we bolted on stickers, we could hustle it pretty good,” said Axsom. “We normally have a pretty solid car when we come here, it’s been pretty fast in the past.”
While he feels confident going into Thursday’s CB Fabricating Pole Day for the 76th
Annual Little 500, he is unsure as to where he will exactly stack up compared to the rest of the field.
“It’s always tough in pavement racing with who’s putting on new rubber and who’s trying to lay down a lap. You never really know until you qualify and actually see that number put down on the board. We’re still chasing it and I’m sure the guys beside us are too. We just got to keep working at it so that when it comes time to qualify, we can lay down a lap and hopefully be at the top of the board.”
Reigning USAC Silver Crown and Midget national champion Logan Seavey was second on the board with an 11.148. CJ Leary, Shane Hollingsworth and defending race winner Jake Trainor rounded out the top-five. Other notables include former Little 500 winners Kody Swanson (6th), Tyler Roahrig (8th), Bobby Santos III (12th) and Jeff Bloom (29th), as well as 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman (15th).
Teams return tomorrow for CB Fabricating Pole Day at the Little 500. Practice will run from 11:30-1:15 before First Round Qualifying begins at 1:30. Grandstand admission is free.
The 76th Annual Little 500 presented by UAW will be held on Saturday, May 25th at
8:00pm. Tickets for the event are available now and are reserved seating only. All
tickets are $45 and can be purchased online HERE or by calling Anderson Speedway Monday through Friday from 10am-4pm. Practice for teams begins on Wednesday, May 22nd from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. CB Fabricating Pole Day is scheduled for Thursday, May 23rd from 11:30am – 3:30pm. Final practice and Bump Day is set for Friday, May
24th from 11:30am to 3:30pm. Grandstand admission is free for fans Wednesday
through Friday and race day tickets are reserved seating only. The event, including
practice and qualifying, will also be streamed live on DIRTVision. For more information
on the Little 500, visit us at andersonspeedway.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and
X.
Koty Geyer
