Few venues are entrenched in as much USAC history as Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Even fewer venues have hosted more USAC National events than Lawrenceburg over the past six-plus decades of competition.

This Saturday’s date for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at the 3/8-mile dirt oval will mark the 100th USAC National event conducted at Lawrenceburg Speedway, which has hosted 30 NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship races and 69 more with sprint cars, including one non-points special event.

Lawrenceburg Speedway, which opened in 1950 and conducted its first USAC event in 1961, will become the eighth track to have hosted 100 or more combined USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget races.

Ohio’s Eldora Speedway (301) has hosted the most in this category, followed by Indianapolis Raceway Park (267), Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track (250), Indiana’s Winchester Speedway (196), Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway (162), California’s Ascot Park (140) and Indiana’s Salem Speedway (135).

Fifty-one drivers have reached victory lane in a USAC National event at Lawrenceburg Speedway, with USAC Triple Crown champion Dave Darland leading all drivers with seven, all of which have come in a sprint car.

Meanwhile, five more drivers have won in both USAC National Sprint Car and USAC National Midget competition at Lawrenceburg: Bryan Clauson, Jay Drake, Logan Seavey, Chris Windom and J.J. Yeley.

Lawrenceburg’s USAC roots date back to 1961, when A.J. Foyt, just a little over two months removed from the first of his four Indianapolis 500 victories, scored a 40-lap midget victory for car owner Bob Nowicke at the Joe Noppert-promoted quarter-mile.

USAC Midgets have made regular appearances at Lawrenceburg since the mid-1980s, dating to Tom Bigelow’s 1986 triumph on the exact date of birth for the author of this article.  

In 1989, Lawrenceburg even found itself as the host of the Hut 100 during the brief closure of the Terre Haute Action Track in 1988-1989.

However, USAC National Sprint Cars didn’t make its first appearance at Lawrenceburg until September 1983, shortly after USAC first began to schedule series events at tracks under a half-mile in length.  

Danny Milburn captured the victory that night, his first with USAC. And, it just so happened to be on the exact date of birth of the sister of the author of this story.

Isn’t that ironic?

No repeats. ?

10 springtime USAC @AMSOILINC National Sprint Car events have been held at @BurgSpeedway.

In that time, there have been 10 different winners.

Which driver do you feel is most likely to repeat? Who's most likely to become #11?

We find out this Saturday, April 1! pic.twitter.com/y0YSBaBLNz

— USAC Racing (@USACNation) March 29, 2023

USAC Sprint Car visits to Lawrenceburg have become a regular occurrence. In fact, Lawrenceburg has been the home of at least one series event each year since 1992, and its current run of 31-straight seasons doing so is the most among all racetracks.

Yes, Lawrenceburg has seen its share of changes over the years.  

Dating back to 1999, yours truly can recall Jack Hewitt and several other top drivers pleading over the public address system for fans and the community to do their part to help save Lawrenceburg Speedway.

Shortly after, the place was more than saved – it became a palace with an entirely new covered grandstand erected in 2002, followed by a complete overhaul of the racetrack, which expanded from a quarter-mile bullring to a blazing-fast 3/8-mile track that provided a new generation of racers and fans an entirely new Lawrenceburg experience.

Jeff Bland Jr. scored the first win at the “new” high-banked Lawrenceburg Speedway in 2008 during Indiana Sprint Week, which came to be his lone USAC victory.

It has been quite a road, and an everlasting one for the venerable speedway in southeastern Indiana city of Lawrenceburg. 

Whether it came on the small track or the big track, it all adds up to one of the most historic tracks in the USAC record books. It also adds up to No. 100.

Details

This Saturday, the first Midwest appearance of the season for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship 2023 at Dave & Kim Rudisell’s Lawrenceburg Speedway also presents the KOI Auto Parts Modifieds and Bessler's U Pull & Save Hornets.  

Pits open at 3 p.m. Eastern, grandstands open at 5 p.m. and cars will be on the track at 6 p.m., with qualifying and racing to immediately follow.  

Adult general admission tickets are $30, kids 7-12 are $7, children 6 and under are free. Pit passes are $35 (all ages).

Watch Saturday’s Lawrenceburg event LIVE on FloRacing.