Brady races at Path Valley (Ty’s Racing Photos)
(Bill W) August 22, 2017 – Thirteen of the first nineteen nights in August were spent on a racetrack for Brady Bacon. Eight events in Nebraska, Kansas and Pennyslvania were USAC midget shows aboard the Frank Manafort Racing #76M team. Four nights were spent at the Knoxville Raceway during Southern Iowa Sprintweek with the Bacon/Marshall Motorsports #99 team, and unfortunately, one USAC Silver Crown outing was shortened by motor issues. This week, the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma driver now living in Winchester, Indiana will be close to home aboard the Dooing/Hayward Racing #63 for USAC’s Kokomo Speedway Smackdown Wednesday through Saturday.
USAC Midget action started at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Nebraska and Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kansas. “We were able to run second at Fairbury,” says Brady. “We set quick time the next night at Beloit, but the track was kind of heavy and hard to pass in the feature. We ended up fifth.”
The Belleville Nationals at the Belleville (KS) Highbanks were up next. “We were running fourth the first night at Belleville and ended up having a flat,” says Brady. “We came back to ninth, and then we finished fifth in the finale on Saturday. We were able to get in and out of Belleville in one piece, which was good.”
Brady switched to the wing car for Knoxville. “We came into town and we were fast at the Capitani Classic (seventh quick),” he says. “We qualified well, and we thought we had a good package. The track changed for our qualifying night (Wednesday) of the Nationals and we had to adapt. We were a half step behind until Saturday.”
After finishing 16th in Friday’s feature, he lined up outside row one of Saturday’s C main. After running second, he charged from 22nd to 14th in the B main. “We were catching people at the wrong time,” says Brady. “They were racing side by side in front of us. If I could have just picked them off one by one, we would have been good. We had a really good car on Saturday. But when you get further up in the B at Knoxville on Saturday, you’re dealing with some pretty good guys. We were faster than some of those cars in front of us, but we are the ones who put ourselves in the position to start behind them.”
Brady was happy with the team’s progression on setups. “We learned some things that we can take to some of the bigger tracks at the end of the year here,” he says. “Things change really fast with the wing, especially since we hadn’t been to Knoxville all year, and have a limited schedule with the wing. We’re looking to finish the year strong”
Four races with the USAC midgets in Pennsylvania began a week ago Sunday at Susquehanna Speedway Park near Newberrytown. The team would suffer a DNF with a broken u-joint. “We had gotten hit in the heat race, and that may have done some damage to the rear-end,” says Brady. “That caused the u-joint issue. I was fortunate to just have a scrape on my ankle. It could have been a lot worse. We had a good car like we have every night with the midget. We led a lot of that race.”
The next night at Path Valley Speedway Park near Spring Run, Brady ended up on the bad side of a slider. “We had what I felt was the best car at the end,” he says. “We were racing with Tanner Thorson for the lead. We slid him back and forth a few times. We ended up stalling the car to avoid a crash with him. That’s the way the midget deal has gone lately some nights. It’s really unfortunate. USAC got involved a little bit after that night and hopefully, we don’t have to deal with that anymore. We chose not to tear the car up, restarted at the tail and came back to ninth.”
Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway near Schaefferstown was next. “Lanco’s was kind of a hard track to pass on,” says Brady. “We gambled and went for it there at the beginning of the feature. The track was getting heavier and heavier. It had rained and rained and was like 99 percent humidity. We were able to get to second and hold on.”
Brady emerged second in the USAC National Midget point standings after the tour’s finale was run at Linda’s Speedway near Jonestown. “We were able to set quick time there,” he says. “No one had been there before. The track was kind of round, and everyone seemed to be the same speed in the feature. We got up a little bit and fell back in the end. We finished seventh and made the most of it.”
Follow Brady on his Website, Twitter and Facebook!
Follow Brady at his website located at www.BradyBaconRacing.com! Also keep up with him on Facebook and Twitter (which also can be accessed at the website) at the following links…
Twitter Link – http://twitter.com/BradyBacon
Facebook Link - www.facebook.com/pages/Brady-Bacon-Racing/278125555137
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Bacon/Marshall Motorsports would like to thank the following sponsors for all their help: Priority Aviation, Fatheadz Eyewear, Triple X Race Co., Tel-Star Technologies, KTA Kiser’s Truck and Auto (formerly Sham’s Garage), Heath Clips Lawn Care, Factory Kahne, FK Indy, Lightning Wings, CP Carrillo, FK Rod Ends, Valvoline, Keizer Wheels, Smiley’s Racing Products, Sweet Mfg., Butlerbuilt Seats, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Proglide Coatings, Diversified Machine Inc., Wilwood, Allstar Performance, Simpson, Octane Ink, PAC Springs, Schroeder, Schroth Racing, Smith Titanium, King Racing Products and Schoenfeld Headers.
Dooling/Hayward Racing would like to thank the following sponsors for all their help: Dooling Machine, B&H Contractors, Diversified Machine, Inc., Stanton Engines, Spike Chassis, Sander, Sweet Mfg., FK Indy, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Simpson, Butlerbuilt, Schroeder, Schoenfeld and Schroth Racing.
Photo: Brady races at Path Valley (Ty’s Racing Photos)
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