PARAGON, Ind. – The USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series will return to Indiana’s Paragon Speedway on Aug. 22.
The Sunday night date is a makeup for the originally planned event on April 18, which was rained out prior to hot laps and delayed the series’ return for their first appearance at Paragon’s three-eighths-mile dirt oval since 1998. Thirty-seven sprint cars were signed in for the April event before the rain came.
Tickets purchased through the track for the April USAC event at Paragon can be used for the Aug. 22 event, as well as at Paragon, Bloomington Speedway and Lincoln Park Speedway at any race for the remainder of the season.
Paragon has hosted 19 previous USAC National Sprint Car Series appearances by the series dating back to 1981. Steve Butler has the most USAC sprint car wins at the track with three, while Derek Davidson won the most recent, in 1998, for his first career series victory.
The first two USAC sprint races held at Paragon resulted in first-time series winners in Rick Hood (1981) and Chuck Amati (1982), while the last three did so as well, with Kevin Briscoe (1997), Bill Rose (1997) and Davidson (1998) all notching their maiden triumphs.
Seven of the 19 races have produced first-time USAC winners, with those five joined by Brad Doty (1988) and Joe Gaerte (1988). The Aug. 22 race will undoubtedly produce a first-time Paragon winner under USAC sanction.
Paragon’s race will bookend an exciting weekend of USAC action, ranging from the miles to the bullrings. The USAC Silver Crown National Championship takes on the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Saturday, Aug. 21, with Paragon to follow on Sunday night.
At Paragon, the pits will open at 2:30 p.m. ET, with the grandstands following at 3:30 p.m., the drivers meeting rolling off at 4:30 p.m. and hot laps hitting the track at 5 p.m., with racing to follow.
At the gate on race day, general admission tickets are $25, while children age 10 and under are admitted free. USAC member pit passes are $25 apiece and $30 for non-members, with pit passes for kids age 10 and under going for $15.