Chapter 53 of the Tony Hullman Classic will be on record, but it’s hard to recall a more dominant performance delivered by the winning driver than Brady Bacon’s performance on Tuesday.
Considering his past successes on the Terre Haute Action Truck, it’s rather surprising that his victory was his first Classic win. He has now won the local half-mile dirt oval three times.
Except for a few final caution periods, Bacon dominated the field by six seconds.
He himself admitted that he may have been pushing Mount more aggressively than necessary towards the end of the 30-lap race.
“I could have been running harder than I should have been,” Bacon said. “But this was a classic and what we really wanted. This race has a lot of history and we didn’t want to miss it.”
It took him 13 tries to win the Classic, and he ended up with twin ceremonial rifles and a hefty prize of $10,000.
After the two rains earlier, it was great to see plenty of fine weather for the event. Some said the track prep and the potential for dust all night was probably overstated.
Luckily for first-time race host Bill Rose, the show went off without a hitch. The veteran racer did not breathe a sigh of relief until the final checkered flag.
It’s no secret that classics have lost the prestige they once had for a variety of reasons.
The shift from live primetime coverage on national television to a low-key spot on Tuesday night is a good indication of how the event ranks among the recent sprint car dates. With just 24 cars on Tuesday’s card, many drivers didn’t qualify for the big half miles like Terre Haute. Still, the show was competitive without any major accidents.
It was nice to see a strong performance from the local participants that night. The night didn’t turn out to be what many expected, but he still welcomed the opportunity to run in front of his many fans.
The best result was Travis Thompson from Brazil, who finished 15th.
Attendance was higher than expected, considering it was a weeknight event and was not advertised. Gone are the days of just opening the gate and watching the fans come in.
When Rose was introduced as the new promoter in April, he said one of his first priorities would be to eliminate controversial parking fees.
The season opener at this track was similar, but with a similar ticket increase instead. Many were watching, but most agreed that it was simply nice to see racing return at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds.
Also worth noting is the announcement that the twice-postponed USAC Silver Crown Smaar Classic will be rescheduled for October.