There is no doubt that Keith Kunz has an eye for talented racecar drivers. It proved true once again on March 10 when Logan Seavey was behind the wheel of the Columbus-based Keith Kunz Motorsports USAC Midget and came home with the win in the third annual Shamrock Classic at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, Illinois.
Seavey, in his first USAC start aboard the KKM/Mobil 1/Curb-Agajanian No. 67, led all 50 laps to score his first career series win in the season opener.
With the departure of 2016 series champ Tanner Thorson, Seavey is and was fully aware of the big shoes he had to fill when he strapped into his new ride. But the 2017 POWRi champ from Sutter, California, was more than ready to step into the role seamlessly.
“Driving the No. 67 is pretty iconic,” Seavey acknowledged. “When you get hired for a job to do, you have to do your job. After the Chili Bowl, I raised my own expectations a lot. We ran well, and I got comfortable quickly. I figured we could win some races if everything fell our way, but I didn’t think this would be the place we’d do it. Everything went our way tonight and that’s how it goes sometimes.”
The 1/6-mile indoor dirt track regularly presents a unique set of challenges that make it stand apart from other venues on the schedule. In fact, the stout KKM team only had three of its seven cars qualify for the feature by transferring through the preliminary events. As the third-straight first-time series winner in the race, the question comes to mind whether this track has a character that puts all competitors at square one, or whether it’s being in the right equipment at the right time and the right place. Seavey said he believes each factor plays a prominent role.
“I definitely think it’s a little of both,” Seavey agreed. “I don’t know if ‘random’ is the right word, but at this track, a lot of really good drivers don’t run very well, and a lot of guys that might not run great at other places show up here and run really well.”
“One of the first times I got to the lappers, the track was still pretty good, and I thought I had to do something,” Seavey recalled. “I kind of moved up to the middle and Ryan (Robinson) showed me a nose. At that point, I pretty much committed to the bottom. Traditionally here, a lot of times, you’ll start on the bottom and then they’ll jump up to the top. The top just never really cleaned off, built a ledge or anything to hold you. It seemed like you would just fall off and weren’t able to carry any speed up there. After I saw the top wasn’t really cleaning off up there, I just knew if I stuck the bottom, and no one did anything crazy on the top, I was going to be all right.”
“I knew the laps were winding down, so I knew one of those guys might get antsy and maybe try to move me off the bottom or make a hero lap on the top and get something going,” Seavey recounted. “I knew I just had to make perfect laps, especially the restarts, and nail the bottom of one and two. If we went through there clean, I felt like I could get around the bottom as good as anybody. If I went through there cleanly, I felt like I was clean until I ran down lapped traffic.”
“I was just watching the lappers and seeing if they were making up any ground on the top and if maybe I’d be able to do it,” Seavey continued. “But any lapper that went up there lost ground, so I figured if I stuck to the bottom, I’d much rather see somebody rip around me on the top than me going to the top and letting them pass me on the bottom.”
“The thing took off so good,” Seavey beamed. “A lot of times, the yellows just fell our way, right when we got to the lappers. They would start to slow us down, but the cautions came out perfectly for us. Sometimes everything goes your way. That’s how it was for us tonight”
Seavey captured the victory ahead of two other drivers seeking their first USAC National Midget win — Brent Beauchamp and fellow Rookie Zeb Wise. Teammate Ryan Robinson was fourth, while Justin Grant had to use a provisional, yet managed to charge through the field and finish fifth after starting 21st.
- Feature: (50 laps) 1. Logan Seavey; 2. Brent Beauchamp; 3. Zeb Wise; 4. Ryan Robinso;n 5. Justin Grant; 6. Dave Darland; 7. Chad Boat; 8. Gage Walker; 9. Terry Babb; 10. Daniel Robinson; 11. Tanner Carrick; 12. Jake Neuman; 13. Matt Moore; 14. Brady Bacon; 15. Kevin Thomas Jr.; 16. Spencer Bayston; 17. Jerry Coons Jr.; 18. Tony Roney; 19. Tyler Thomas; 20. Tyler Nelson; 21. Josh Hawkins; 22. C.J. Leary.
Brownstown sprint special moved
Brownstown Speedway was scheduled to host the 10th Annual “No Way Out 40” tonight, but due to inclement weather predicted, the event has been moved to April 6.
The 410 non-wing sprint cars will headline the evening with a $7,500-to-win main event. Also racing tonight will be modifieds, with a $1,000,to,win main event and the MMSA mini-sprints.
Gates will open at 3 p.m. with hot laps at 6 p.m. General admission will be $25 for adults, with kids ages 5 to 11 priced at $5. Pit admission will be $15. For more information visit the track’s website at brownstownspeedway.com.
Florence Spring 50 next weekend
The rescheduled Spring 50 for late models will be conducted March 31 at Florence Speedway in Union, Kentucky. The event will pay $5,000 to win. Also racing will be modifieds and crate late models.
For more info, visit florencespeedway.com.
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to sports@therepublic.com.
