Brady Bacon took no chances on his cool down lap at the Feb. 15 USAC National Sprint Car Winter Dirt Games XI victory at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida.
Following a mishap during his heat race that saw him drop from a surefire win to having to transfer through the semi in order to qualify for the feature, Bacon was once again the class of the field, driving from ninth to first to capture his second consecutive series main event win in as many nights at the 3/8-mile D-shaped dirt track.
All the meanwhile, the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native was adamant to make sure a victory wasn’t going to slip through his fingers twice in one night.
“We made an extra lap in the feature. I wasn’t going to stop until we knew it was over,” Bacon said.
On paper, Saturday’s results were a carbon copy of Friday’s — a mesmerizing charge to the front that began from the inside of the fifth row. However, with the way all the elements transpired for Bacon, he wouldn’t have it any other way en route to his 31st career USAC National Sprint Car feature win and his fourth career Winter Dirt Games sprint car score, tying him for second with Bryan Clauson and one behind Damion Gardner.
Entering the Feb. 14 USAC Sprint Car National Championship season opener, the most recent time Bacon left Bubba Raceway Park with a top-five finish was three years ago.
Furthermore, the Oklahoma native’s most recent victory at the 3/8-mile tri-oval came five years prior, leaving him more than eager to quash the early season dry spell that lingered over him entering the 2020 season.
On a weekend that’s been anything but a dry spell with heavy rain washing out Thursday’s intended opener and threatening Friday’s second go with persistent afternoon showers, Bacon rid himself of the early-season cloud of recent years by taking the lead with just four laps remaining to score his third career Winter Dirt Games feature victory.
The win for Bacon notched another milestone for the two-time series champion. With the triumph, Bacon became just the 13th driver to reach the 30-win mark in his USAC National Sprint Car career.
“This win is pretty important to me because we’ve struggled here the past three years,” Bacon admitted. “Getting off to a bad start is not easy. Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going and not start off at a handicap for the rest of the season.”
In addition to picking up USAC Sprint Car National Championship victories on Jan. 14 and 15, Bacon also collected the Passing Master title for the Sprint Car weekend at Winter Dirt Games and an $800 bonus.
The 2014 and 2016 series champ advanced a total of 18 positions throughout the weekend’s heat race and feature action, gaining two spots in his heat race on Friday and eight apiece in the feature both nights after charging from ninth to first.
Anton Hernandez and Mario Clouser each passed a total of 10 cars throughout the weekend while Kevin Thomas Jr. and Dave Darland each advanced nine spots.
Upcoming USAC schedule
The next USAC National Sprint Car Events will be in April here in Indiana. On April 4 the series will visit the Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, April 17 at the Bloomington Speedway in Bloomington and April 18 at the Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt.