6 Favorite Duels From USAC Indiana Sprint Week
6 Favorite Duels From USAC Indiana Sprint Week
The biggest stage for the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series deserves a top list of the biggest showdowns.
The biggest stage for the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series deserves a top list of the biggest showdowns. There are no shortage of thrilling moments during the yearly Indiana journey. Sit back and enjoy the ranking of our favorite Indiana Sprint Week duels of all time!
6. Kevin Thomas/Kurt Hawkins (1995 at Bloomington Speedway)
A local Indiana legend in Kevin Thomas battled “The Rooster” Kurt Hawkins down to the wire at Bloomington in 1995. Hawkins had led from start to finish as he sought what would’ve been the biggest win of his career. However, KT, a four-time ISW champ, found the push to slip by Hawkins on the final lap to score the win.
5. Tony Elliott/Jeremy Sherman (2001 at Kokomo Speedway)
The Kokomo Master vs. the Arizonian. Eight-time Kokomo Sprint Car track champion and Arizona’s Jeremy Sherman duked it out in the final laps of the Kokomo round of Indiana Sprint Week in 2001. Sherman more than held his own to nearly pull off the upset as Elliott once again displayed how tough he was to deny at the quarter-mile.
4. Jason McDougal/Kevin Thomas Jr. (2019 at Bloomington Speedway)
Friends and one-time roommates Jason McDougal and Kevin Thomas Jr. competed in one of the classic Indiana Sprint Week battles of all-time on the red clay of Bloomington in 2019. Kevin Thomas Jr. (no relation to the Kevin Thomas who was a four-time ISW champ) had a special relationship with Bloomington this time of year with his first career USAC National Sprint Car victory coming there in 2012, another in 2017 and a third here in 2019.
3. Kyle Cummins/Kevin Thomas Jr (2017 at Tri-State Speedway)
There’s not much that gets in the way of a Kyle Cummins victory at Tri-State Speedway, although his toughest customer over the past half-decade at the quarter-mil paperclip has been Kevin Thomas Jr. In 2017, it came down overtime between the two of them following a late-race caution.
2. Brent Beauchamp/Dave Darland (2016 at Bloomington Speedway)
Though credited with only three “official” lead changes at the start/finish line during the first one-third of the race, Darland and Beauchamp swapped the top spot a dozen times in the first eight laps. Darland’s strong suit was on his entry into turns one and three where he was able to pull ahead by a car length midway through the corner while Beauchamp was able to propel himself off the exit of turns two and four to pull even on the inside of Darland down the front and back straightaways.
The two put on a show for the ages, running several identical-looking, side-by-side laps resulting in numerous photo finishes at the line with each successive circuit appearing as if the two were on a high-speed pace lap.
1. Dave Darland/Tony Elliott (1998 at Lincoln Park Speedway)
Two of the most legendary Indiana-born drivers in the history of sprint car racing brought it down to the wire in the 1998 Indiana Sprint Week finale at Lincoln Park Speedway. Not only were these two battling for pride, but also for a feature victory and the ISW championship. What was at stake was that the highest finishing driver of the two would win the ISW title. See these two legends at the top of their game, giving it all, and driving with the ultimate respect for each other.
