May 31, 2025 | By Bill Wright

Brady Bacon masters USAC Sprint field at Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Ia.—Brady Bacon notched USAC win #61 on Friday, putting him just one shy of Dave Darland, who sits atop the all-time Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car list. The victory came on night #1 of the Avanti Windows and Doors Corn Belt Clash at the Knoxville Raceway, and was worth $9,000 to the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native. Ryan Timms notched his first career win with the Randall Roofing 360 class. It followed two previous wins in the 410 class here this season.

Chase Stockon led early in the 25-lap USAC main event, ahead of Brady Bacon, Briggs Danner, Kevin Thomas Jr. and RJ Johnson. Johnson and Thomas had the best early racing action, exchanging fourth place twice before lap seven was complete. Robert Ballou entered the top five on lap nine.

Up front, the lead trio stayed nose to tail for the majority of the race, entering lapped traffic at the halfway point. Slight miscues led to great racing. Danner shot around Bacon for second on lap 17 with a pass high in turn two, but Bacon came back on the low side of the same corner to recapture the spot two laps later.

Bacon stayed on the leader, and performed a slide job through turns three and four to pass Stockon for the point with six laps to go. The three cars stayed extremely close. Danner took advantage in lapped traffic with three to go to gain second from Stockon before a caution for debris on the frontstretch set up a green, white, checker finish.

Bacon led the rest of the way to win for the fifth time at this facility in the Dyson #20, ahead of Danner, Stockon, Ballou and Justin Grant. Hard-charger Kale Drake, Thomas, Kyle Cummins, Ryan Bernal and Jake Swanson rounded out the top ten. Leary set a new one-lap track record at 18.442 seconds in qualifying, while Grant, Ballou, Cummins and Carson Garrett won the heats. Wyatt Burks claimed the B main. Nick Marts’s night came to a close in qualifying as he hit the wall in turn one. Kayla Roell flipped hard in her heat, but was o.k. and returned to the B with a back-up car. AJ Johnson flipped in qualifying, but returned for his heat race.

Bacon will try to match Darland’s mark in the $15,000 to win finale here Saturday night.

“We were better than (Stockon) on the top,” said Bacon in Victory Lane. “But the bottom of two was really good, and he was a little bit better than us down there at the start of the race. It was about getting some momentum and getting a rhythm. We were getting a bit jammed up and getting up to lapped cars. I was just trying to go where he wasn’t, but Briggs was really good. He snuck by us a couple of times, and it was close on the backstretch a couple of times. This place is a chess match, and if you mess up, you pay dearly. I made a couple of mistakes, but we were able to get in the right place when it mattered. Once I was in front, I had a car to hold everyone off. We come here with a lot of confidence and with one goal…to win the race.”

“I felt more comfortable on top,” said Danner. “The bottom is hard to hit here, and we felt more comfortable on the top. We tried to keep the momentum going. I think we had a winning car, but it was the Cway things played out. Brady has won a couple races here. It’s our first time here, and we’re very happy. We’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

“We just had a couple incidences of lapped cars and judging them wrong and the wrong time,” said Stockon. “We missed the bottom in one and two. It was close (racing) you know. It sucks tasting victory there and not being able to pull it off for the guys, but we’re forever extending our notebook and we learned a lot tonight.”

Ryan Timms sat on the pole of the Randall Roofing 360 18-lap main event after a point invert of four. He paced the field early over Kerry Madsen, Carson McCarl, Austin McCarl and Tasker Phillips. The non-stop event went quickly.

Austin McCarl passed his brother Carson for third with a low side move in turn four on lap three, and on lap six, used a pass on the low side of two to take second from Madsen. Austin slowly reeled in Timms, making a bid for the lead at the halfway point. Timms was able to dive back under McCarl to maintain the lead. Carson McCarl made a low pass of Madsen for third on lap 11.

Timms continued to the checkers, banking $2,000 in the Liebig #10 and backing up his 410 win here last Saturday. Austin McCarl, Carson McCarl, Madsen and Phillips were the top five. Ryan Giles, Emerson Axsom, Parker Price-Miller, JJ Hickle and Chris Martin completed the top ten. All but Giles are expected to compete in the 410 class here on Saturday. Carson McCarl and Timms set quick time in their respective groups in the 45-car field. Alex Hill, Riley Goodno, Jack Anderson and Madsen won the heats. Clint Garner and Sawyer Phillips won twin B’s. Russell Potter turned over in his heat. He was uninjured, but done for the night.

“I wasn’t really sure where the preferred line was going to be,” said Timms in Victory Lane. “I got a good initial start and got to the top in one. That’s where I made the least amount of mistakes now is on the top, so I just felt a lot more comfortable choosing to run the top, until someone showed me a nose. I think when we got to lapped traffic, Austin showed me a nose. He slid me, and I got up over the cushion. I had to be an inch or two from the wall. I got really lucky I didn’t hit it a few times. Once I got over it, it set me up perfectly to drive back by him on the bottom. I saw (lapped traffic) around the bottom and figured if I got at least a car or two in each corner, we’d be alright.”

Join us Saturday, May 31 for the Avanti Windows and Doors Corn Belt Clash finale paying $15,000 for the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Cars main event! The 410 class will join them on Saturday, making for a great night of racing at Knoxville! For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!


Avanti Windows and Doors Corn Belt Clash Night #1 Results

Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 21AZ-CJ Leary, Greenfield, IN, 00:18.442(NTR) (1); 2. 20-Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK, 00:18.523(5); 3. 33P-RJ Johnson, Laveen, AZ, 00:18.719(2); 4. 3R-Kevin Thomas Jr, Cullman, AL, 00:18.804(9); 5. 39-Briggs Danner, Allentown, PA, 00:18.850(14); 6. 92-Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, IN, 00:18.854(12); 7. 5T-Jake Swanson, Anaheim, CA, 00:18.918(26); 8. 19AZ-Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, CA, 00:18.949(17); 9. 4-Justin Grant, Ione, CA, 00:18.966(21); 10. 17X-Ryan Bernal, Hollister, CA, 00:19.005(31); 11. 66-Jadon Rogers, Worthington, IN, 00:19.025(30); 12. 93-AJ Johnson, Oskaloosa, IA, 00:19.041(4); 13. 2B-Kale Drake, Collinsville, OK, 00:19.124(10); 14. 12-Robert Ballou, Rocklin, CA, 00:19.213(13); 15. 3P-Kyle Cummins, Princeton, IN, 00:19.293(28); 16. 6-Logan Calderwood, Goodyear, AZ, 00:19.299(8); 17. 57-Logan Seavey, Sutter, CA, 00:19.311(18); 18. 21K-Kobe Simpson, Bonham, TX, 00:19.438(7); 19. 11W-Wyatt Burks, Topeka, KS, 00:19.469(3); 20. 15-Carson Garrett, Littleton, CO, 00:19.489(20); 21. 2-Stevie Sussex III, Tempe, AZ, 00:19.609(24); 22. 47-Charles Davis Jr, Buckeye, AZ, 00:19.695(27); 23. 4K-Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, IN, 00:19.758(15); 24. 19-Hayden Reinbold, Gilbert, AZ, 00:19.845(23); 25. 5G-Gunnar Setser, Columbus, IN, 00:19.854(22); 26. 4X-Braydon Cromwell, Lone Jack, MO, 00:19.866(19); 27. 75-Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust., 00:20.228(16); 28. 11B-Ben Woods, Newton, IA, 00:20.372(25); 29. T4-Tyler Graves, Chariton, IA, 00:20.781(6); 30. 82-Vinny Ward, Springfield, IL, 00:21.036(11); 31. N3-Nicholas Marts, Lucas, IA, 00:23.286(29)

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:42.7: 1. 4-Justin Grant(4); 2. 2B-Kale Drake(3); 3. 21AZ-CJ Leary(6); 4. 39-Briggs Danner(5); 5. 57-Logan Seavey(2) / 6. 5G-Gunnar Setser(7); 7. 2-Stevie Sussex III(1); 8. T4-Tyler Graves(8)

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:44.1: 1. 12-Robert Ballou(3); 2. 20-Brady Bacon(6); 3. 17X-Ryan Bernal(4); 4. 92-Chase Stockon(5); 5. 47-Charles Davis Jr(1) / 6. 21K-Kobe Simpson(2); 7. 4X-Braydon Cromwell(7); 8. 82-Vinny Ward(8)

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. 3P-Kyle Cummins(3); 2. 5T-Jake Swanson(5); 3. 33P-RJ Johnson(6); 4. 66-Jadon Rogers(4); 5. 75-Glen Saville(7) / 6. (DNF) 11W-Wyatt Burks(2); 7. (DNF) 4K-Kayla Roell(1); DNS - N3-Nicholas Marts

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:48.7: 1. 15-Carson Garrett(2); 2. 3R-Kevin Thomas Jr(6); 3. 19AZ-Mitchel Moles(5); 4. 19-Hayden Reinbold(1); 5. 6-Logan Calderwood(3) / 6. 93-AJ Johnson(4); 7. 11B-Ben Woods(7)

B main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. 11W-Wyatt Burks(1); 2. 2-Stevie Sussex III(3); 3. 5G-Gunnar Setser(4); 4. 21K-Kobe Simpson(2) / 5. 4X-Braydon Cromwell(6); 6. T4-Tyler Graves(8); 7. 11B-Ben Woods(5); 8. 4K-Kayla Roell(9); 9. 82-Vinny Ward(7); DNS - 93-AJ Johnson

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. 20-Brady Bacon(5); 2. 39-Briggs Danner(2); 3. 92-Chase Stockon(1); 4. 12-Robert Ballou(8); 5. 4-Justin Grant(7); 6. 2B-Kale Drake(15); 7. 3R-Kevin Thomas Jr(3); 8. 3P-Kyle Cummins(9); 9. 17X-Ryan Bernal(13); 10. 5T-Jake Swanson(11); 11. 21AZ-CJ Leary(6); 12. 33P-RJ Johnson(4); 13. 19AZ-Mitchel Moles(12); 14. 57-Logan Seavey(17); 15. 11W-Wyatt Burks(19); 16. 15-Carson Garrett(10); 17. 5G-Gunnar Setser(23); 18. 2-Stevie Sussex III(20); 19. 47-Charles Davis Jr(21); 20. 21K-Kobe Simpson(18); 21. 19-Hayden Reinbold(22); 22. 75-Glen Saville(24); 23. 6-Logan Calderwood(16); 24. 66-Jadon Rogers(14). Lap Leaders: Stockon 1-20, Bacon 21-25. Hard-charger: Drake.

USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kyle Cummins-875, 2-Justin Grant-818, 3-Mitchel Moles-676, 4-Robert Ballou-672, 5-Logan Seavey-656, 6-Kale Drake-636, 7-Briggs Danner-626, 8-Jake Swanson-622, 9-C.J. Leary-621, 10-Kevin Thomas Jr.-568.

PARALLAX GROUP USAC NATIONAL PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kale Drake-112, 2-C.J. Leary-54, 3-Briggs Danner-41, 4-Robert Ballou-39, 5-Chase Stockon-37, 6-Gunnar Setser-34, 7-Justin Grant-32, 8-Jadon Rogers-30, 9-Kyle Cummins-24, 10-Kyle Jones-22.

CORN BELT CLASH PARALLAX GROUP PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Kale Drake-10, 2-Brady Bacon-8, 3-Gunnar Setser-8, 4-Robert Ballou-6, 5-Wyatt Burks-6, 6-Justin Grant-5, 7-Ryan Bernal-5, 8-Stevie Sussex-5, 9-Kevin Thomas Jr.-4, 10-Jake Swanson-4.


Randall Roofing 360 Sprints

Time Trials Group One (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 27-Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:15.941(1); 2. 1TAZ-Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 00:15.950(8); 3. 86-Timothy Smith, Rocheport, MO, 00:15.987(7); 4. 24-Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:16.012(21); 5. 88-Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:16.019(2); 6. 4W-Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.023(3); 7. 22-Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.025(19); 8. 09-Matt Juhl, Tea, SD, 00:16.028(14); 9. 44-Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA, 00:16.044(11); 10. 01-Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, CA, 00:16.050(4); 11. 77X-Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can., 00:16.132(5); 12. 22X-Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.146(22); 13. 83-Kurt Mueller, Reynolds, IL, 00:16.264(10); 14. 40-Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 00:16.267(18); 15. 21-Cam Sorrels, Hallsville, MO, 00:16.286(12); 16. 17B-Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD, 00:16.319(6); 17. 4G-Cole Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 00:16.339(16); 18. 6-Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA, 00:16.386(17); 19. 11B-Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, OK, 00:16.887(20); 20. 1A-John Anderson, Des Moines, IA, 00:17.044(23); 21. 38-Logan Alexander, Lacona, IA, 00:17.076(9); 22. 03-Shayle Bade, Lincoln, NE, 00:17.168(15); 23. 31-McCain Richards, Burlington, IA, 00:17.726(13)

Time Trials Group Two (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 10-Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK, 00:15.765(3); 2. 55-Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 00:15.815(2); 3. 4-Cameron Martin, Ankeny, IA, 00:15.922(4); 4. 27W-Emerson Axsom, Franklin, IN, 00:16.001(18); 5. 2M-Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA, 00:16.046(7); 6. 63-JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA, 00:16.188(12); 7. 99-Tony Rost, Utica, NE, 00:16.200(14); 8. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 00:16.226(17); 9. 71-Parker Price Miller, Kokomo, IN, 00:16.243(22); 10. 17-Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA, 00:16.253(19); 11. 17A-Jack Anderson, Newton, IA, 00:16.293(8); 12. 23W-Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN, 00:16.370(9); 13. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA, 00:16.549(21); 14. 24H-Kade Higday, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.572(13); 15. 5A-Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.670(20); 16. 14-Aidan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.723(11); 17. 33-Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.770(16); 18. 3R-Russell Potter, Boonville, MO, 00:16.946(1); 19. 4J-Tuesday Calderwood, Goodyear, AZ, 00:17.079(6); 20. 13G-Gaige Weldon, Hinton, IA, 00:17.115(10); 21. T4-Tyler Graves, Chariton, IA, 00:18.197(15); 22. 32-Riley Valentine, Terril, IA, 00:18.985(5)

Heat one (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, 2:01.6: 1. 77X-Alex Hill(1*); 2. 44-Chris Martin(2*); 3. 88-Austin McCarl(4*); 4. 27-Carson McCarl(6*); 5. 86-Timothy Smith(5*); 6. 22-Ryan Leavitt(3); 7. 83-Kurt Mueller(7); 8. 4G-Cole Garner(9); 9. 21-Cam Sorrels(8); 10. 11B-Kaylee Bryson(10); 11. 38-Logan Alexander(11); 12. 31-McCain Richards(12)

Heat two (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, 2:01.1: 1. 22X-Riley Goodno(1*); 2. 1TAZ-Tasker Phillips(6*); 3. 4W-Jamie Ball(4*); 4. 09-Matt Juhl(3*); 5. 01-Thomas Meseraull(2); 6. 24-Terry McCarl(5*); 7. 40-Clint Garner(7); 8. 17B-Ryan Bickett(8); 9. 6-Dustin Selvage(9); 10. 03-Shayle Bade(11); 11. 1A-John Anderson(10)

Heat three (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, 2:01.9: 1. 17A-Jack Anderson(1*); 2. 71-Parker Price Miller(2*); 3. 2M-Ryan Giles(4*); 4. 10-Ryan Timms(6*); 5. 4-Cameron Martin(5*); 6. 99-Tony Rost(3*); 7. 4J-Tuesday Calderwood(10); 8. 5W-Lucas Wolfe(7); 9. 5A-Alex Vande Voort(8); 10. 33-Alan Zoutte(9); 11. T4-Tyler Graves(11)

Heat four (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, NT: 1. 55-Kerry Madsen(6*); 2. 17-Tyler Groenendyk(2*); 3. 63-JJ Hickle(4*); 4. 27W-Emerson Axsom(5*); 5. 23W-Scott Winters(1); 6. 3P-Sawyer Phillips(3); 7. 24H-Kade Higday(7); 8. 13G-Gaige Weldon(10); 9. 14-Aidan Zoutte(8); 10. 3R-Russell Potter(9); 11. 32-Riley Valentine(11)

B main one (started), 10 Laps, 3:04.2: 1. 40-Clint Garner(4); 2. 22-Ryan Leavitt(1) / 3. 17B-Ryan Bickett(5); 4. 6-Dustin Selvage(8); 5. 01-Thomas Meseraull(2); 6. 4G-Cole Garner(6); 7. 83-Kurt Mueller(3); 8. 21-Cam Sorrels(7); 9. 03-Shayle Bade(10); 10. 11B-Kaylee Bryson(9); 11. 38-Logan Alexander(12); 12. 1A-John Anderson(11); 13. 31-McCain Richards(13)

B main two (started), 10 Laps, 3:01.7: 1. 3P-Sawyer Phillips(1); 2. 24H-Kade Higday(3) / 3. 23W-Scott Winters(2); 4. 5W-Lucas Wolfe(4); 5. 5A-Alex Vande Voort(6); 6. 13G-Gaige Weldon(8); 7. 4J-Tuesday Calderwood(5); 8. 14-Aidan Zoutte(7); 9. 33-Alan Zoutte(9); 10. T4-Tyler Graves(11); 11. 32-Riley Valentine(10); DNS - 3R-Russell Potter

A main (started), 18 Laps, 5:43.2: 1. 10-Ryan Timms(1); 2. 88-Austin McCarl(5); 3. 27-Carson McCarl(2); 4. 55-Kerry Madsen(3); 5. 1TAZ-Tasker Phillips(4); 6. 2M-Ryan Giles(6); 7. 27W-Emerson Axsom(8); 8. 71-Parker Price Miller(14); 9. 63-JJ Hickle(12); 10. 44-Chris Martin(11); 11. 4W-Jamie Ball(9); 12. 86-Timothy Smith(7); 13. 77X-Alex Hill(13); 14. 22X-Riley Goodno(17); 15. 24-Terry McCarl(15); 16. 09-Matt Juhl(19); 17. 40-Clint Garner(21); 18. 4-Cameron Martin(10); 19. 17A-Jack Anderson(16); 20. 17-Tyler Groenendyk(18); 21. 22-Ryan Leavitt(23); 22. 24H-Kade Higday(22); 23. 99-Tony Rost(20); DNS – 24. 3P-Sawyer Phillips. Lap Leader: Timms 1-18. Hard-charger: Price-Miller.