A field of 89 drivers – one of the largest in USAC National Midget Series history – is set to compete Wednesday, Aug. 3 and Thursday, Aug. 4 at the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented by WeatherTech at The Dirt Track at IMS.
This is the second-largest field ever for the event on the quarter-mile dirt oval located inside Turn 3 of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, topped only by the record 110 entries for the inaugural event in 2018.
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But there’s more to this prestigious event than car count. The star power is very, very bright.
Headlining the drivers who will compete are a pair of BC39 winners, including 2021 winner and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and four-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion Brady Bacon, who won the inaugural in 2018.
The entry list also consists of three of the seven USAC Triple Crown champions to have won the Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget titles in their careers – J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr. and Chris Windom.
Other USAC national champions are sprinkled throughout the field, including defending USAC National Midget champion Buddy Kofoid, Justin Grant, Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis, C.J. Leary of Greenfield, Indiana, Logan Seavey and Russ Gamester of Peru, Indiana.
The field also includes a handful of stars making a rare start in a midget, including Brickyard 400 and Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman of South Bend, Indiana, and NASCAR Cup Series drivers Chase Briscoe of Mitchell, Indiana and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Three notable drivers will make their BC39 debuts this week: 10-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion Donny Schatz, four-time Indianapolis 500 starter Zach Veach and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed.
Seven women also are entered, trying to become the first woman to win a USAC National Midget feature: Shannon McQueen, Michelle Decker, Taylor Reimer, Maria Cofer, Kaylee Bryson, Mariah Ede and Jade Avedisian.
Three countries (United States, Australia and New Zealand) are represented, along with 18 states (Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin).
Public gates open at 4 p.m. Wednesday, with hot lap sessions starting at 6 p.m., followed by opening ceremonies at 7 p.m. Heat races and the exciting Stoops Pursuit feature race will conclude the night’s racing action. 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan will turn exhibition laps in the Driven2SaveLives Clauson Marshall Racing midget between the heat laps and the Stoops Pursuit.
Gates open again at 3 p.m. Thursday, with practice at 4 p.m. Qualifying races start at 5 p.m. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 7:30 p.m., immediately followed by the main feature events, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
This event seeks to honor the memory of USAC champion Bryan Clauson, who died after a racing accident in August 2016, by promoting organ donation through the Indiana Donor Network. Clauson saved multiple lives as an organ donor.
Tickets are available at IMS.com.