Lonnie Wheatley, WINCHESTER, Ind. (August 8, 2018) – It has been more than a month since Brady Bacon has raced with a wing overhead. That will change tonight, as Bacon kicks off his Knoxville Nationals pursuit at the famed Marion County Fairgrounds ½-mile clay oval in Knoxville, IA, aboard the Brady Bacon Racing No. 99.
Taking in the Wednesday qualifying portion of the event, Bacon will carry the Imperial Wagyu Beef colors as the team’s primary sponsor for the week of the Knoxville Nationals.
Contending in both the USAC Sprint Car and Midget ranks, this week’s Nationals will mark Bacon’s first winged 410-ci Sprint Car outing since posting a fourth-place finish in All Star Circuit of Champions competition at Plymouth, IN, on June 29.
“We have had good speed with the winged car each time out,” Bacon says. “Hopefully we can put down a good qualifying lap and just go on from there.”
Bacon made it to Iowa by way of a four-day weekend in Pennsylvania. After the first two legs of the USAC National Midget series “Pennsylvania Midget Week” fell victim to rain on Thursday and Friday, Bacon picked off a fifth-place finish at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway on Saturday and then finished out the weekend with a third-place showing on Sunday night at BAPS Motor Speedway.
“We had a good car both nights, we stayed out of trouble and got some good finishes,” Bacon said of the FMR Racing No. 76 after climbing to second in series points.
After timing in third at Schaefferstown’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway on Saturday, Bacon rebounded from an early flip to capture fifth in the main event.
“We turned over early, but it wasn’t anything bad and we avoided more trouble to get back to fifth,” Bacon says.
Bacon was fourth in Sunday qualifying at BAPS and finished up on the podium in third.
“We got settled into third and then there was a lot of attrition behind us,” Bacon recalls.
After climbing the Midget charts, Bacon shifts gears with the biggest Sprint Car race in the world. While Bacon shoots to lock into Saturday’s finale through Wednesday’s qualifying card, a second chance could await with Friday’s “Hard Knox” card that fills out Saturday’s feature lineups beyond the top 16 from the Wednesday and Thursday lock-ins.
Brady Bacon Racing is bolstered by the support of partners including Fatheadz Eyewear, Tel-Star Technology/Port City Raceway, Gene Frankowiak, Cimarron Cycle Works, Priority Aviation, Triple-X Race Co., FMR Racing, FK Indy, Heath Clips Lawn Care, Elliot’s Custom Trailers and Carts, B&S Cattle, Lucas Oil Products, Kiser’s Truck and Auto, Smiley’s Racing Products, Keizer Wheels, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, FK Rod Ends, DMI, Walker Filters, ProGlide Coatings, Octane Ink, CP Carrillo, PAC Racing Allstar Performance, Simpson Racing Products, Driver Websites, Engler Machine and Tool, Wilwood Engineering, Schroth Racing, Smith Precision Products, KSE Racing Products, King Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, FSR Radiators, LRB Mfg. Indy Race Parts, Imperial Wagyu Beef, Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts and the Tony Elliott Foundation.
2018 Quick Stats: 64 races, 7 wins, 31 top-fives, 40 top-tens.
Quick Results: USAC National Midgets PA Midget Week
Thursday, August 2 – Rained Out at Path Valley Speedway Park (Spring Run, PA)
Friday, August 3 – Rained Out at Linda’s Speedway (Jonestown, PA)
Saturday, August 4 – 5th at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway (Schaefferstown, PA)
Sunday, August 5 – 3rd at BAPS Motor Speedway (Newberrytown, PA)
Up Next: 58th Annual Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville (IA) Raceway on Wednesday (August 8) through Saturday (August 11).
Keep Track: Keep track of Brady Bacon’s on-track action including schedule and results at http://www.bradybaconracing.com/, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Brady-Bacon-278125555137/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BradyBaconRacin.
If you would like Brady Bacon Racing press releases e-mailed directly to you, send your e-mail address to Lonnie Wheatley at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
Penning the recurring series of “The Wheatley Chronicles” articles on www.sprintcarmania.com, Lonnie Wheatley provides media, public relations and more for select tracks, drivers and events. For more information, Wheatley may be contacted at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
- administrator on Aug 08, 2018
- Article Date: 8/8/2018 by Lonnie Wheatley