INDIANAPOLIS — It’s easy to forget one is situated inside Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Driven2SaveLives BC39.
At The Dirt Track nestled inside of turn three, the high-pitched scream of midget engines, the cloud of dust billowing into the air, the desperate slide jobs being thrown by competitors and the ensuing “oohs” and “ahhs” of the crowd seated in the bleachers commands one’s attention.
But there are plenty of reminders of the venue’s history.
Turn right and there’s the famous pagoda towering above the stands — a firm anchor at the 114-year-old facility. On the walk from the infield parking lot to The Dirt Track, it is impossible not to notice the 2.439-mile road course beneath one’s feet.
Even still, glance left and see the catch fence rising above the oval track, where the stars of IndyCar and NASCAR have shed blood, sweat and tears for decades.
While the soft pink glow from the full September moon completes the scene, the serenity is abruptly interrupted by a full field of USAC national midgets roaring to life.
It’s time to race for a $20,039 winner’s purse.
Since The Dirt Track was built in 2018, the BC39 has seemingly revived the dirt heritage of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while also adding a fresh chapter to the track’s history books.
The dirt-centric effort is the very reason why Randi Pankratz, a midget racer based in Atascadero, Calif., drove cross-country to participate in the fifth running of the event.
“Truthfully, for years I felt that they forgot that the roots of it was dirt. It’s really cool they’re bringing it back and they’re actually honoring that,” Pankratz said.
The BC39 is the only dirt event of the season at the speedway.
In an effort to further amplify the esteem of what’s quickly become a crown-jewel event, Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials made the BC39 a standalone event and four-day affair, rather than hold it in conjunction with the track’s annual NASCAR race.
While many competitors didn’t seem to mind, other drivers weren’t enthusiastic about the decision to extend the week.
“I don’t know if I’m too keen on being away from work for four days,” said Zach Daum, who piloted the No. 7u for REMCO Speed Group at the BC39. “That’s the only thing that kind of sucks here. But that’s just part of it.”
Daum won the Stoops Pursuit race on Friday night, but finished 13th in Saturday’s finale.
One team that likely came away with nothing but smiles was Dave Estep’s RMS Racing.
Drivers Thomas Meseraull and Justin Grant won all three features. Both racers were friends of the late Bryan Clauson, whom the BC39 honors, adding an emotional note to already-sweet victories.
“I won that for him,” Meseraull said when reflecting on his Thursday night prelim victory.
Entering the week, neither driver had won a USAC national midget feature since the season began in April. Instead, they were grappling with the lackluster results that had plagued their minds for months.
“The midget has been disappointing this year — it’s been really disappointing,” Grant said prior to his preliminary night on Friday. “We kind of came into this year thinking we were gonna be in really good shape to go run for a title, and it’s kind of gotten out of our grasp now.”
He added, “If we could win here with everything that it means and the money that it pays, it would certainly turn my perspective about our midget year around.”
The 32-year-old did just that on Saturday night, prevailing in a heart-pounding slider battle to lead 18 of 39 laps in the $20,039-to-win finale.
The storybook ending was fitting, as Grant was adorned with the winner’s wreath and provided the opportunity to kiss the bricks at The Dirt Track — paying homage to Indianapolis Motor Speedway tradition.
Ironically, on the final trek to the infield parking lot, The Dirt Track appeared to shrink into the darkness of turn three, completely swallowed by the 2.5-mile oval surrounding it.
After spending four days tucked within the two-mile-radius of haulers and racers and dirt, the landscape view of the speedway put in perspective what Taylor McLean, Bryan Clauson’s sister, once told me.
“It’s something he would want the sport to have. He would want the sport to have a premier event at the racing capital of the world,” McLean said.
And that’s exactly what has been accomplished.
Clauson’s adoration of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and enduring dirt-track passion has brought about one of the greatest spectacles in midget racing, on one of the greatest motorsports stages in the world.
How could you have one without the other?