Justin Grant endured constant pressure from rivals, numerous caution flags and heavy traffic to win a wild USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature Tuesday night that opened the BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Grant, who started second, used nearly every inch of the racetrack to earn $5,000 for another win at IMS in the No. 87 CB Industries car owned by Chad Boat, the son of 1998 Indianapolis 500 pole sitter Billy Boat. He also won the BC39 main feature in 2023 on the 1/5th-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 at IMS.
Gavin Miller finished second in the No. 97 Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports entry, and Kyle Cummins was third in the No. 3G Glenn Styres Racing car.
“It was a lot of fun,” Grant said. “I had no idea what to do. I felt like I could make better speed up top, but you could just get pocketed so easy by guys running the slider there.
“I almost felt like I slowed down. I felt like early I was able to run pretty good pace around the top, and it felt like as the pace of the race slowed down, I had to slow down and start doing things a little differently. I felt like I was almost running easier at the end than at the beginning, but just trying to be fast in the spots where you can get past.”
The 30-lap feature looked anything but slow, especially over the frantic final 15 laps.
Grant drove under pole sitter Logan Seavey on Lap 3 and took the lead, which he held until a restart with 12 laps to go. Daison Pursley then drove his No. 86 CB Industries machine under Grant in Turns 3 and 4 for first place.
That pass started a ferocious duel between Pursley and Grant. The two drivers swapped the lead at least three times over the next five laps, using every available line on the clay oval.
With five laps to go, Pursley slid high in Turn 4 and banged wheels with Grant in the high groove while they dueled for the lead. That slight loss of momentum let Kale Drake squeeze past to take the lead in the No. 97K Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports car.
But Drake drifted high in Turn 1 on the very next lap and spun, collecting Pursley and Seavey while Grant drove low to avoid the snarl and take the lead as the caution flags flew.
Grant kept the lead on the restart and appeared to be headed to a smooth drive to victory when the No. 19M Bundy Built Motorsports entry driven by Ethan Mitchell stopped in Turn 4 with one lap to go, triggering a caution period and the first of two green-white-checkered restarts.
California native Grant hung on to the lead on both restarts and was never challenged.
Levi Ballard won the inaugural Stoops Junior Sprint Invitational feature for young drivers. Ballard, who started 14th, took the lead on Lap 16 of the 20-lap feature when pole sitter and leader Owen Larson clipped a tire on the inside of the exit of Turn 2 and lost his momentum. Larson, son of reigning Brickyard 400 presented by PPG winner Kyle Larson, rallied to finish second.
Championship night of the BC39 on Wednesday, July 2 will consist of full programs for both the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and the Stoops Junior Sprint Invitational. Public gates open at 4 p.m., followed by a driver autograph session at 4:30 p.m. in the driver merchandise area and hot laps at 6 p.m. Racing starts immediately after the opening ceremonies at 7 p.m., culminating in a 39-lap feature event for the midgets paying $20,039 to win.
Grant and 2024 winner Cannon McIntosh will try to become the first two-time winner of the BC39, which honors late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson.
Tickets are on sale at ims.com/BC39. Spectators must enter IMS via Gate 10 off 30th Street to access The Dirt Track. No entrance will be allowed through Gate 2.
For more spectator information, fans should visit the Plan Ahead site for the BC39.
