Eric Smith

5 drivers to watch for this week’s 5th annual Driven 2 Save Lives BC 39 with a stout honorable mention list too

INDIANAPOLIS — 72 drivers will sign in this week to compete in the 5th annual Driven 2 Save Lives BC 39 on the quarter-mile dirt track inside Turn 3 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 58 drivers have raced in the A-Main of the 39 Lap feature of this prestigious event but only 4 have competed in all four years.

That list could drop to 2 depending on if Brady Bacon or Justin Grant can make the main event this Saturday night. That’s because Tyler Courtney and Chris Windom aren’t on this year’s entry-list to keep their streaks going.

Among the 72 drivers here this week, 20 of the 50 states are represented. California (15), Indiana (13), Illinois (6), Oklahoma (6), Ohio (5), North Carolina (4), Texas (4), Arizona (2), Colorado (2), Kansas (2), Missouri (2), Pennsylvania (2), Wisconsin (2), Alabama (1), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Florida (1), Louisiana (1), Nevada (1) and Washington (1).

Furthermore, of the 72 drivers, they’ve collected 155 USAC National Midget feature wins: Tanner Thorson (29), Buddy Kofoid (24), Jerry Coons Jr. (19), Justin Grant (14), Logan Seavey (14), Thomas Meseraull (9), Brady Bacon (8), Cannon McIntosh (6), Kevin Thomas Jr. (6), Ryan Timms (5), Zach Daum (4), John Heydenreich (4), Jacob Denney (3), Mitchel Moles (3), Emerson Axsom (2), Daison Pursley (2), Gavin Miller (1), Keith Rauch (1) and Bryant Wiedeman (1).

With that said, here are the 5 drivers I’m watching this week.

Logan Seavey

This has been Seavey’s world this year and we’re all just living in it.

Seavey began the 2023 season off this past January with a win in the prestigious Chili Bowl. Last week, he won all 3 races in the USAC 4-Crown event at Eldora. He did so on the same night in reaching victory lane in a Midget, then Sprint Car, then Silver Crown ride.

Between those two feats, he won June’s Indiana Midget Week title as well as posting two USAC feature wins on the same day at two different tracks.

Can the Sutter, Calif native win on Saturday night at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

He’s made three A-Mains in this race with finishes of 13th (2018), 5th (2019) and 15th (2021). However, he’s riding a streak of 14 straight top 5 finishes in a Midget this season including 3 wins in the last 4 races. In fact, his last 14 finishes have seen him come home 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 4th, 1st, 1st, 5th, 1st. That’s 6 wins in his last 14 tries.

He’s not only the Midgets points leader right now but is leading the way in Silver Crown too.

Justin Grant

He’s winless in a Midget this season but has started in all 19 features. Grant comes to IMS with 4 top 7 finishes (6th, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 14th) in the last 5 races on the season in a Midget. He has 7 top five results and 12 top 10 finishes this season to go along with being 7th, 10th, 2nd, 4th in the four years of this race.

With 4 different drivers winning the 4-year history of this race thus far, Grant could be next in line.

Brady Bacon

The inaugural race winner is hopeful to become the first two-time winner. He was 16th, 3rd, 8th in the last three years. While he’s only run three national Midget races this season with a best result of 10th and not running a Midget in months, I’m curious how he fares this week. He had an eye injury suffered in Eldora so can he overcome that to park it in victory lane on Saturday night?

Buddy Kofoid

Kofoid has made limited starts this season with finishes of 2nd, 1st, 4th, 1st, 7th. He’s the defending race winner and was 10th in this event in 2021. Too good to overlook, especially in a KKM car. Granted, he’s not running Saturday though.

Jade Avedisian

This girl is fast and an up-and-coming riser in the ranks. She has the talent to march into the NASCAR ranks and a strong showing this week will only expediate it. She’s finished runner-up on three different occasions this season including 2 of the last 4 races at that. She’s alternated 2nd and 16th place results in the last four going from 2nd to 16th to 2nd to 16th again. Is a runner-up coming on Saturday night?

Being in a KKM car gives her the confidence to score her 13th top 10 of the season. She’s had 5 top 4 results in the last 11 races at that.

Honorable Mention

  • Tanner Thorson – No longer full time, but he’s won twice this season alone and leads the list of active Feature winners (29 trips to victory lane) here this week. He was 7th in his lone A-Main start here in 2021.
  • Thomas Meseraull – TMez has ran the last 3 of these including a third-place duel in last year’s race. He was 19th and 24th in the previous 2 editions prior. Meseraull has 2 top 10 finishes in his last 3 races on the season but hasn’t had a top 5 though in his last 7. He has finished third twice this season though too.
  • Cannon McIntosh – He swapped team to join CB Industries. His new teammate is P2 in points. He led a race-high 20 laps a year ago.
  • Bryant Wiedeman – He’s the current second place driver in points is heating up. He has four consecutive top six finishes: 6th, 3rd, 4th, 2nd on the season and in a great position to make a name for himself this week. He finished 11th a year ago.
  • Kevin Thomas Jr – Part time this season but has finished 24th, 11th, 14th, 10th, 7th, 11th, 4th, 10th, 7th, 15th in them. Here’s KTJ has brought it home 3rd, 8th, 13th in three tries. He didn’t make the A-Main a year ago.
  • Ryan Timms – 6th last year, 4th in points this season on the heels of a 3-win season. Timms has finished 6th, 1st, 9th, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 11th, 1st, 9th, 8th, 10th, 8th over the last 12 races and in a KKM car.
  • Emerson Axsom – The Franklin native is in a KKM car and has been stout this season in a part-time Midget role. He had a stretch during Midget week of finishes of 5th, 2nd, 2nd. .In fact, he has 3 runner-up finishes in only 12 starts this season.
  • Daison Pursley – He’s 5th in points. In his lone start here in 2021, he finished 4th. Pursley has just 3 top 5’s this season but has been consistently in the top 10 with 11 of them including 5 in-a-row (9th, 7th, 4th, 6th, 6th).
  • Jacob Denny – A rookie here. Denny is 7th in points too. But, he’s finished in the top 10 in 7 of his last 9 starts on the season despite missing 2 races to injury. He was 2nd, 11th, 5th in his last 3 races since that injury as well. He began 2023 off with finishes of 8th, 4th, 1st, 1st, 2nd.
  • Gavin Miller – A KKM driver that like Denny, is a rookie here. Still, Miller has been solid with 13 top 10 finishes in 19 tries. In fact, he’s finally grasping a Midget now with finishes of 5th, 2nd, 2nd, 10th, 14th, 8th, 4th over the last 7 races.

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