Justin Grant had been in this very position before during the Gas City I-69 Speedway round of USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented by Honest Abe Roofing.

In this very same scenario one year ago, the Ione, Calif. native had the victory ripped away from him during the final laps, forcing him to settle for a runner-up finish.

On Friday night during the 2023 ISW opener, Grant turned the tables and met an entirely different fate in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink – Bow Foundation – TOPP Industries/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.

This time, after the lead slipped from his fingers with one lap remaining, Grant fought back and refused to loosen his grip. In turns three and four, Grant found himself boxed in behind a lapped car, but managed to break free past Ballou to beat him to the line by mere inches, exactly .005 of second ahead at the stripe in one of the closest Indiana Sprint Week finishes in the 36-year history of the series.

Grant, the reigning Indiana Sprint Week champion, had recently been in a self-admitted slump of late after finishes of 16th and 20th in early July at Macon (Ill.) Speedway. Furthermore, one night earlier during a USAC Silver Crown run at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, the engine under Grant’s car’s hood experienced an issue, which sent Grant to the sidelines for the remainder of the event.

This circumstance ended Grant’s all-time record of 239 consecutive USAC National feature starts across all three divisions which had been intact since July of 2020.

Now, possessing a brand-new streak of one start and one win, Grant has returned to the top, earning his 38th career USAC National Sprint Car feature triumph, which surpassed Robert Ballou and Sheldon Kinser for 11th place on the all-time series win list.

WATCH REPLAY

USAC Indiana Sprint Week Highlights From Gas City I-69 Speedway

Watch Highlights of the opening round of the USAC National Sprint Car Series Indiana Sprint Week

Winning Quote From Justin Grant

“It’s no secret I’ve been struggling, everybody kept telling me that my luck was going to turn around. I just keep telling them that I needed to do a better job. I’ve just been getting myself in bad positions and bad places, and not executing like I need to execute in a racecar. But I finally felt like myself again tonight.”

USAC Sprint Cars at Gas City I-69 Speedway Results

1. Justin Grant (2)

 2. Robert Ballou (12)

3. Brady Bacon (3)

4. Mitchel Moles (14)

 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9)

6. Kyle Cummins (11)

7. Emerson Axsom (5)

8. Colten Cottle (1)

9. Logan Seavey (19)

10. Matt Westfall (10)

11. Shane Cottle (22)

12. Braxton Cummings (15)

13. Alex Bright (4)

14. Geoff Ensign (17)

15. Jadon Rogers (21)

16. Jake Swanson (23-P)

17. Xavier Doney (20)

18. Chase Stockon (24-P)

19. Max Adams (13)

 20. Carson Garrett (16)

21. Larry Kingseed Jr. (8)

22. C.J. Leary (7)

23. Thomas Meseraull (18)

24. Brayden Fox (6)

USAC National Sprint Car Point Standings 

Emerson Axsom leads Brady Bacon by 20 points in the season long point standings. Jake Swanson, Justin Grant and Kyle Cummins complete the current top five.

Full USAC Sprints Points Standings

Indiana Sprint Week Point Standings 

1-Justin Grant-76

 2-Robert Ballou-74

 3-Brady Bacon-71

 4-Kevin Thomas Jr.-66

 5-Mitchel Moles-63

 6-Emerson Axsom-62

 7-Kyle Cummins-60, 

8-Colten Cottle-57

 9-Logan Seavey-53

 10-Matt Westfall-50

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