LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. — C.J. Leary has won a USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, an Indiana Sprint Week title and an Eastern Storm crown in his career.
In 2023, the Greenfield, Ind. driver added another highlight to his impressive reel by capturing the second annual Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster Championship Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment.
Leary earned $10,000 for his efforts in the 10-race miniseries and an extra $2,500 for his BGE Dougherty Motorsports team based out of Evansville, Ind. He finished off the championship with a sixth-place result on Saturday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway.
In the end, Leary won the Bubby Jones title by a 10-point margin over runner-up Emerson Axsom who carried the series lead into the Lawrenceburg finale by five markers. Axsom (Franklin, Ind.) had led the standings for the past five events since mid-July.
For Leary, it’s another feather in his cap as he also will receive a custom trophy provided by Potter Metal Art and a year-end acknowledgement at USAC’s Night of Champions in December for his accomplishment in winning the series named in honor of the 1998 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee, nicknamed Ol’ Bub.
“It’s something we set out to do at the beginning of the year,” Leary stated. “Bubby was a badass, so it’s cool to win this in his honor. It’s super special and the Bubby Jones deal ranks right up there (in my career). It’s 10 races all across the country and it’s definitely an honor.”
In 10 Bubby Jones series starts, Leary piloted his Altoz – Hornbeck Concrete – Highsmith Guns – Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts/DRC/1-Way Chevy to a pair of wins, including the opener at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in May as well as the Indiana Sprint Week round at Kokomo Speedway in July.
On the journey, Leary also notched a second in the series debut at Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway, a 4th at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway, a 5th at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track, a 6th at both Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway and Lawrenceburg, plus an eighth at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway and a 10th at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway.
Only one aberration disrupted Leary’s flow – a flat tire at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway, which dropped him down to a 17th place result and lowered him to fourth in the points, 37 out of the lead, leading Leary to believe that a Bubby Jones title run might be out of the question.
“I felt like we may not be able to get it done,” Leary admitted. “We blew a tire at Port Royal and ended up running 17th. I felt like that really hindered our shot with it only being a 10-race series. But we were able to rebound pretty well, ran good and won some races, and that’s what it’s all about.”
While Leary took two victories in the 10-race victories, five more drivers also earned their share of glory in the series. In fact, four drivers won on multiple occasions.
Emerson Axsom won twice on June 16 at Williams Grove and July 28 at Bloomington. Brady Bacon, the 2022 Bubby Jones Master of Goin’ Faster champion, scored two triumphs on May 23 at Terre Haute and on September 16 at Tri-State. Justin Grant took two on June 17 at Port Royal and on October 7 at Lawrenceburg.
Grabbing one victory apiece, meanwhile, were Jake Swanson on June 3 at Knoxville and Matt Westfall on September 9 at Texarkana 67.