SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Although the series is just three years young, the Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment already has its first two-time champion in 2024.
Brady Bacon, by virtue of a victory at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway, plus two seconds and three thirds throughout the 10-race mini-series within the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship schedule, earned his second title with the series after capturing the inaugural crown in 2022.
For his efforts, Bacon pocketed a $10,000 bonus for himself as the Master of Going Faster driving champion while his crew chief, Matt Hummel, collected $2,500.
Throughout the Master of Going Faster series, Bacon never had an “off night” by any measure, recording eight top-fives and a perfect 10 for 10 on top-tens with his worst result being a seventh at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway during the 4-Crown Nationals.
Carrying a mere seven-point lead into the series finale’s 30-lap feature on Saturday at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, Bacon did what it took to add another piece on his overflowing mantle of USAC accomplishments by finishing sixth to edge out Daison Pursley by 11 points in the final tally.
“It was pretty tight going into the feature, tighter than I would’ve liked it to be,” Bacon admitted. “I knew that, with the way the track was, I was just trying not to do anything too stupid and crash just to maintain the Master of Going Faster points and get my guys some extra money.”
Bacon’s season has been another success story with him adding another feather in his cap aboard his Dynamics, Inc. Chevrolet. Though he was only able to manage a single win in the series, his average finish of 3.6 throughout the Master of Going Faster series made all the difference.
“The Hoffman 69 cars were pretty good on all different kinds of surfaces,” Bacon praised. “We haven’t won as much as I would’ve liked to this year. But we’re always in the front and that’s what enabled us to win that one.”
Bacon and Hummel have had a long association with one another and has proven to be the winning formula for many years now. Their communication level and symbiosis has overcome most any obstacle over the years, no matter how small or how tall.
“Matt’s been with me the whole time since I’ve had the team in my shop and for the last two championships,” Bacon detailed. “Just having that consistency is really valuable. Not having to discuss every little detail and changes we make throughout the night, that makes my job a lot easier. Billy (Lawhead) and Jamey (Neeley) have the car ready and we haven’t had many failures at all. We’re just ready if anything happens. We had to change a steering gear tonight and had to change a motor from last night. We just overcome stuff like that, kept our composure and clicked away to make our way to the front.”
Six different drivers graced victory lane throughout the Master of Going Faster series. Logan Seavey led all drivers with three wins, including the opener at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park, Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track and in the finale at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway.
Two other drivers won twice. Daison Pursley scored at both Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway, each of which were his first two career USAC National Sprint Car points-paying triumphs. Kevin Thomas Jr. achieved likewise to earn a last lap, last corner victory at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway and a lucrative win at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway.
Single victories in the series belonged to Justin Grant who capped a spectacular victory at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in the most spectacular of ways by flipping following the checkered flag. Kyle Cummins notched one at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway while Bacon added his at Port Royal.