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Exciting Format To Add More Action, Trim Field for BC39 Main

Tuesday, August 2, 2022 Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

BC39 Format

With 89 entries, the competition to make the 26-car field for the main during the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented by WeatherTech will be almost as intense as that of the feature event Aug. 3-4 at The Dirt Track at IMS.


With 89 entries, the competition to make the 26-car field for the main during the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented by WeatherTech will be almost as intense as that of the feature event Aug. 3-4 at The Dirt Track at IMS.

Only about a quarter of the entries for the USAC National Midget Championship race on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will qualify for the main event Thursday night, Aug. 4. So, the United States Auto Club (USAC) is using an action-packed format to trim the huge, star-studded field to the feature starting lineup.

The 39-lap feature race honors late USAC champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 starter Bryan Clauson and increases awareness of the Indiana Donor Network and its Driven2SaveLives campaign.

A look at the format to be used to form the field for the main at this race:

Wednesday, Aug. 3

The format for Wednesday's program will feature all cars on the track but not for qualifying as is usually done for the majority of USAC National events. Instead, all cars will draw randomly for heat race positions and hot lap with their heat race.

While the race for victory will be paramount, the battle for points will be as essential and filled with pressure. Each car will gain points based on passes, which will determine starting position in the qualifying races Thursday night.

Heat races will be 10 laps each, with the starting lineups determined by the heat race “draft” Tuesday night, Aug. 2 at the Racing Capital of the World. Points for the heats will be accumulated by finishing position and total number of positions gained or lost. Cars will be positioned into qualifying races Thursday based on the “passing points” accumulated in Wednesday's heats.

The Stoops Pursuit race Wednesday night is a 25-lap race split into five-lap segments. The field will include 24 starters – heat race winners plus the highest point earner in each heat are eligible, along with promoter’s options. The starting lineup is inverted by fastest heat race time, with promoter’s options starting at the rear. Every five laps, USAC will throw a competition flag, and cars with a net loss in position will be called to exit the track.

A checkered flag ends the final segment, with the winner earning $1,500 plus $100 for each position gained.

Thursday, Aug. 4
All cars are eligible for Thursday's qualifying races, with up to 14 cars per race. Qualifying races will be 10 laps each, with top-six starting positions inverted, with the top point earner from Wednesday's heat races starting sixth.

Total points from the heat races and qualifying races will be added to set the feature starting lineup, along with transfers from the B-Main, C-Main and front of the D-Main races. The top 16 overall in accumulated points will start straight-up in the first eight rows of the feature.

E-Mains (if needed): 10 laps. Includes cars 77th and higher in points from the heat races Wednesday. The top two finishers from each E-Main transfer into the D-Main.

D-Mains: 12 laps. Includes cars 45-76 in points, plus the top two finishers from each E-Main. The top three finishers in each D-Main transfer into the C-Main.

C-Main: 15 laps. Includes cars 31-44 in points, plus the top three finishers from each D-Main. The top six finishers transfer to the B-Main.

B-Main (Semi-Feature): 20 laps. Includes cars ranked 17-30 in points, plus the top-six finishers from the C-Main. The top six finishers transfer to the night's A-Main feature event.

The 39-lap A-Main feature will have 22 starters, plus two USAC provisional starters (if applicable) and two IMS options.

The BC39 concludes a stretch of five days of racing in one week at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, following the NASCAR-INDYCAR tripleheader weekend July 29-31 that included the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NTT INDYCAR SERIES all on the thrilling 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS road course.

Tickets and more information about the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Presented by WeatherTech are available now at IMS.com.