Roahrig Powers to James/O’Connor Memorial Victory, Claims Championship
After entering Howard Companies Championship Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway park with a slim lead in the championship standings, Tyler Roahrig spent the entire day on the offensive. Controlling his own destiny, Roahrig went on to out qualify his championship opponents to extend his points advantage. He then drove to victory lane in the 64th Running of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial to claim the 2023 Auto Value Bumper to Bumper 500 Sprint Car Tour Championship.
Joe James/Pat O’Connor Results
“I wish I knew, I would do it everywhere else,” Roahrig said when asked what the winning difference was. “Our car has been really great here and it's nice to pick up the 500 Sprint Car Tour Championship. It was a great race. I saw Kody [Swanson] get in the lead at the start and got a little nervous, but somehow we managed”
Tyler Roahrig pictured with Pat O’Connor son in victory lane - Aaron Skillman Photo
Roahrig entered the weekend with a three point lead over Kody Swanson in the championship standings. Swanson, the 2022 season champion, had matched Roahrig every step of the way as both drivers had two wins on the season going into the final event. Kyle O’Gara was the only other driver with multiple wins in 2023 as he too accumulated two wins. Swanson came home eighth and O’Gara finished with his third runner up position of the season, paving the way for Roahrig to claim the victory and the 2023 season championship.
“It's no secret we’ve struggled quite a bit this year in pretty much anything I've gotten into,” said Roahrig. “Most of that falls on me obviously, but IRP is a great place to come race at. I love coming here, it's one of my favorite tracks. I want to race here more.”
Another award was presented on Saturday night as Brad Hayes Racing driver, Jackson Macenko, brought home the Rookie of the Year honors. In his first non wing pavement sprint car season, Macenko amassed a total of eight top ten finishes and a single top five finish. Macenko came home seventh in his first trip to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, rounding out an already impressive rookie campaign.
Rookie of the Year, Jackson Macenko, being interviewed after the race - Aaron Skillman Photo
“Just really, really happy and proud of myself and the whole Brad Hayes Racing team for how this season went,” Macenko said at the conclusion of Saturday’s event. “I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to go sprint car racing with, and I owe a lot of it to them. Definitely wasn’t perfect. Really good rookie season with strong runs and getting better as the year goes on. I’m really excited for next year to hopefully start contending for more top fives, podiums, and maybe a few wins.”
The 2023 Auto Value Bumper to Bumper 500 Sprint Car Tour season saw nine points races run between early April to middle October. A total of 48 different sprint cars competed in a 500 Sprint Car Tour event in 2023. Five different drivers went to victory lane with three separate drivers winning multiple events. For more information on the 2023 season, and for updates on the upcoming 2024 schedule, follow the 500 Sprint Car Tour online and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (X).
