NASCAR Star Stenhouse Joins Field as BC39 Entry List Surges Past 60 Cars
August 16, 2019 | By Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veteran Ricky Stenhouse Jr. headlines the latest group of drivers assigned to entries for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink on Sept. 4-5 at The Dirt Track at IMS.
Sixty-two cars have been entered for the second running of the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series event, contested on the quarter-mile clay oval inside Turn 3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Stenhouse has an extensive background in USAC National Midget racing, earning five wins and Rookie of the Year honors in 2007. He will attempt to make his second start in the BC39 feature, as he started 11th and finished 11th in last year’s BC39 for Clauson/Marshall Racing, for which he’ll also drive this year.
Mississippi native Stenhouse joins a powerful CMR full-time team of series point leader and six-time winner Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis, two-time winners Chris Windom and 16-year-old Zeb Wise, along with leading series Rookie Andrew Layser.
Stenhouse is the third prominent NASCAR driver with USAC background to join the BC39 entry list this week, joining fellow Cup Series star Kyle Larson and Xfinity Series title contender Christopher Bell. Larson and Stenhouse also will race in the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, Sept. 8 on the 2.5-mile oval at IMS, while Bell will be among the favorites to win the Indiana 250 on Saturday, Sept. 7 at IMS.
Also joining the list of BC39 entries is 2005 and 2006 Indiana Midget Week champion Shane Cottle for car owner Bill Ecker. Cottle is a multi-time winner in all three of USAC’s National divisions in his career and owns three career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature wins.
Other new drivers include Critter Malone, a two-time USAC National Midget feature winner aiming to make his first BC39 main event start in his Seven LLC car. He’s joined by SFH Racing Development’s two-car lineup of Chase Jones, from Greenwood, Indiana, and Kyle O’Gara, from Beech Grove, Indiana, brother-in-law of nine-time Indianapolis 500 starter Sarah Fisher.
These drivers join a lineup boosted this week by the addition of five USAC National Midget champions: Bell, Jerry Coons Jr., Dave Darland, Logan Seavey and Tanner Thorson.
Another prominent recent entry is defending BC39 winner Brady Bacon, who will drive the No. 76E car fielded by FMR Racing. Two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion Bacon led the final nine laps to capture the inaugural event last September.
Other top drivers previously entered include 2017 USAC National Midget champion Spencer Bayston, Michael Pickens of New Zealand, Thomas Meseraull, David Prickett, Tyler Thomas, Brent Beauchamp, Matt Westfall, Shannon McQueen and many others.
Tickets for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink are on sale at www.ims.com, along with tickets for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, Sept. 8 and the Indiana 250 and FGL Fest on Saturday, Sept. 7.
On-track action begins Wednesday, Sept. 4 at the quarter-mile Dirt Track at IMS. Public gates open at 3 p.m., with cars on track for practice at 4 p.m., followed by opening ceremonies at 7 p.m. Heat races and the Stoops Pursuit race will conclude the night’s racing action.
Public gates will open at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5 for the second and final night of action. Cars will be on track for practice at 4 p.m., with qualifying races at 5 p.m. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.
BC39 ENTRY LIST (62 cars as of Aug. 15, 2019)
1BR CHASE JONES/Greenwood, IN (SFH Racing Development)
1NZ MICHAEL PICKENS/Auckland, NZ (RMS LLC)
1ST TBA (Daryl Saucier)
2 RYAN HALL/Midlothian, TX (Mark Bush)
2B MATT LINDER/Hoschton, GA (Mark Bush)
2x TBA (Jeff Taylor)
3N JAKE NEUMAN/New Berlin, IL (Jim Neuman)
4A JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RAMS Racing)
4D ROBERT DALBY/Anaheim, CA (Ken Dalby)
5 KEVIN THOMAS, JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
7 CRITTER MALONE/Pittsboro, IN (Seven LLC)
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
7u KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Trifecta Motorsports)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS LLC)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Baue)
9H EMILIO HOOVER/Broken Arrow, OK (James Hoover)
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Chuck Taylor)
11T TBA (Chuck Taylor)
14H TBA (Mike Dickerson)
15 DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN (Petry Motorsports)
15J JEFF WIMMENAUER/Indianapolis, IN (Jeff Wimmenauer)
15s SHANNON McQUEEN/Bakersfield, CA (Broc Garrett)
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17 JUSTIN PECK/Monrovia, IN (Bus Racing Team)
17BC CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
17s RICKY STENHOUSE, JR./Olive Branch, MS (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
19 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Brodie Hayward)
20 CODY WEISENSEL/Sun Prairie, WI (Kevin Weisensel)
21 CHRISTOPHER BELL/Norman, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson)
22Q DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA (Neverlift Motorsports)
25 JERRY COONS, JR./Tucson, AZ (Petry Motorsports)
27 TUCKER KLAASMEYER/Paola, KS (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
28 ACE McCARTHY/Tahlequah, OK (Jim Neuman)
35 TBA (Petry Motorsports)
39BC ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
41 OLIVER AKARD/Ft. Myers, FL (Dan Akard)
43 BRENT BEAUCHAMP/Avon, IN (Kevin Arnold)
47BC ANDREW LAYSER/Collegeville, PA (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
50 TONY DiMATTIA/Malvern, PA (Tony DiMattia Motorsports)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner)
56A COLTEN COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Travis Young)
57A SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Bill Ecker)
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (McCreery Motorsports)
57K KEVIN STUDLEY/Plainfield, IN (Kevin Studley)
61 TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, Ohio (Mel Kenyon)
67 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
67F KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFH Racing Development)
67K HOLLEY HOLLAN/Broken Arrow, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71 JESSE COLWELL/Red Bluff, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71s CODY SWANSON/Norco, CA (Marcie Campbell)
76 KEN DRANGMEISTER/Hobart, IN (Ken Drangmeister)
76E BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)
76m JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson)
91T TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK (Brian Thomas)
97 KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
97A AUSTIN O’DELL/Rochester, IL (Patrick O’Dell)
98 TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
TBA (Clauson/Marshall Racing)