8/21/2018
Brady Bacon
Bacon is Smackdown Ready!
Lonnie Wheatley, WINCHESTER, Ind. (August 21, 2018) – From Iowa to Illinois to Indiana, Brady Bacon is knocking off the “I” states in rapid succession. Idaho will have to wait indefinitely.
After taking in the 58th edition of Knoxville, Iowa’s “Knoxville Nationals” on August 8-11 aboard the winged Imperial Wagyu Beef No. 99 410-ci Sprint Car and then Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown “Bettenhausen 100” at Springfield, IL, aboard the Klatt Enterprises No. 6, it’s back to non-wing action aboard the Frolic Bar & Grill No. 99 USAC Sprint Car for this week’s Kokomo Sprint Car Smackdown at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.
Four nights of Kokomo Speedway competition begins with Wednesday’s #GYATK/Fan Appreciation Night before the USAC “Kokomo Sprint Car Smackdown” begins in earnest with the first of two full qualifying nights on Thursday before culminating with the Smackdown finale on Saturday night.
“It can sometimes get a little crazy,” two-time USAC National Sprint Car champion Bacon says of the Smackdown. “If it does, hopefully I can sneak by it all and get the win.”
Entering this week’s Smackdown fourth in USAC National Sprint Car points, Bacon posted runner-up finishes in both the Thursday and Friday portions of last year’s Smackdown before a late spin in the finale brought the curtains down on the event.
Three of Bacon’s seven wins on the 2018 season thus far have taken place in USAC National Sprint Car competition.
Bacon enters the event after successive weekends in Iowa and Illinois.
Bacon’s Knoxville Nationals attempt in Iowa on August 8-11 was stopped short in the Saturday night “C” Main event after contact resulted in front-end damage. Bacon had bounced back from a trying qualifying lap on Wednesday night to win his heat and then finished 14th in the feature before rallying from deep in Friday’s “Hard Knox” B Main action only to miss the feature cut by just one position.
“We raced really well each night,” Bacon said of the Imperial Wagyu Beef No. 99 Sprint Car. “We were just a little too far off on our qualifying laps to overcome it.”
Bacon jumped back into the Klatt Enterprises No. 6 Champ Car for Saturday’s USAC Silver Crown “Bettenhausen 100” atop the one-mile Illinois State Fairgrounds dirt oval in Springfield.
And the day started off in promising fashion.
“We were good in practice and we were good in qualifying,” Bacon said after timing in eighth-quick amongst the field of 43.
But things quickly soured once the 100-miler went green.
“Something went wrong early, it may have been something with the suspension,” Bacon recalls. “We were just hanging on most of the way.”
Bacon held on to finish out the day with a respectable 11th-place finish.
Now, Bacon’s attention turns to Kokomo for Smackdown VII on Wednesday through Saturday aboard the Frolic Bar & Grill No. 99 USAC Sprint Car.
“I’m excited for Kokomo, the Smackdown is always a fun race and hopefully we can come away with the win,” Bacon wraps up.
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, Tony Elliott Foundation, Frolic Bar & Grill.
2018 Quick Stats: 68 races, 7 wins, 31 top-fives, 40 top-tens.
Up Next: USAC National Sprint Cars “Kokomo Sprint Car Smackdown VII” at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway on Wednesday through Saturday (August 22-25).
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.
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley