Chris Tilley (left) from the American Late Model Series presents Roy Faulkner of Columbus with the Noel Hargis Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to dirt track racing.
Submitted photo
As the race season comes to a close, the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series has named the Inaugural “Noel Hargis Lifetime Achievement Award” recipient for the 2025 season.
Roy Faulkner, a native of Columbus and longtime official for UMP (United Midwestern Promoters) and DIRTcar Racing, was presented the award at the drivers meeting at the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series finale Oct. 25 at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Faulkner, a former employee at Cummins Engine Co., who will celebrate his 78th birthday in November, is still currently an active traveling race official for DIRTcar Racing and World Racing Group, which sanctions the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series. Faulkner has worked hundreds of Summer Nationals races over the course of his career plus has manned the scales for all but a handful of Dirt Late Model Dream and World 100 races at the famed Eldora Speedway. From a racecar driver to car owner many years ago with drivers like Larry Exner and Daryl Herbert behind the wheel, Faulkner went on to work for UMP founder Bob Memmer while teching race cars alongside with the likes of Gary Herbert, Roy and Steve Trabue and many other longtime race officials.
The award is named in honor of longtime race official Noel Hargis of Somerset, Kentucky. Hargis was a racecar driver in the 1960s and 1970s before becoming a flagman for several Central Kentucky dirt tracks, then flagman for the Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series (2002-09) and the NARA, which became the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series from 2004-06 under promoter Spencer Wilson. Hargis also flagged numerous Iron-Man Series events from 2004 and retired from the flagstand on Labor Day Weekend of 2011. Hargis was inducted into the South-Central Kentucky Dirt Racing Hall of Fame in 2021 and has continued to work behind the scenes as a consultant and supporter of the sport.
Hargis’ character on and off the race track propelled Series Promoter Chris Tilley to name this award in his honor.
“I wanted to name this award in honor of Noel (Hargis) because he’s someone I’ve always admired and looked up to. His consistency, work ethic, professionalism and fair treatment of the race teams over the years have made him respected across the sport. Our group felt like Roy (Faulkner) embodies those principles, and we wanted to show our appreciation to a longtime race official that deserved it,” stated Tilley.
Seavey wins USAC Sprint finale
As if one Western World Championships win wasn’t good enough, Logan Seavey went ahead and swept the entire weekend Oct. 25 at Casa Grande’s Central Arizona Raceway.
One night after the Sutter, California, racer pocketed an opening night victory at the 3/8-mile dirt oval, he repeated the feat the next day to the tune of $43,750 in total winnings between his $35,000 winner’s share, plus another $8,750 in lap leader money, after leading all 35 circuits in the 58th running of the event.
With his latest triumph, Seavey became a two-time Western World champion after getting his first win in the event during the 2021 season. Furthermore, he’s the first driver to win the final two races of the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season since Tyler Courtney in 2019.
“This is so cool,” Seavey said following his second Western World win. “What an unbelievable job all year to give us exactly what we needed to get some speed back. Like I said at Lawrenceburg, I was hoping we were back, and we sure as heck proved it tonight and throughout this whole weekend.”
Seavey’s ninth win of the 2025 season aboard his Abacus Racing/Mountain Mechanical–Droplight–Elbrecht Concrete/DRC/Stanton Chevy was the 33rd of his USAC National Sprint Car career, moving him past 1973 series champion Rollie Beale for sole possession of 16th place on the all-time list.
Throughout the early portion of the night, Seavey’s arch nemesis was 2025 USAC National Sprint Car champion Kyle Cummins, who snookered him on the final restart of The Underwood Dash with three laps remaining to earn a $5,000 reward and a prime starting position on the pole.
However, at the start of the feature, Seavey felt he was right where he needed to be to get a proper jump on Cummins, which he did for roughly three-quarters of the first lap. Meanwhile, over in Turn 3 on the opening lap, Logan Calderwood (19th) flipped upside down to necessitate a red flag. Despite it all, Calderwood was actually able to restart and complete the first nine laps before pulling off with a 26th-place result.
“I was really glad to see what they did to the track because I knew the outside would be a little better,” Seavey offered. “Then, that second start made me nervous that the bottom was going to get cleaned up. But I was able to hold him off. I couldn’t give up the lead to Kyle. He’s too good out front, and I’m sure he was thinking the same thing. Right now, he’s the best in the country, and it was nice to keep him behind us.”
Seavey got the upper hand on Cummins around the outside to lead the opening lap and every bit thereafter, although Cummins stayed close in check. Meanwhile, Chase Stockon had hustled up from his sixth starting spot to third after sliding under Ricky Thornton Jr. for the spot in turns three and four on the 13th lap.
By midway, Cummins was right on Seavey’s tail as the pair worked through lapped traffic, but the coast was made clear for the leaders on the 22nd lap when 17th-running Kevin Thomas Jr. came to a halt in Turns 3 and 4 with a flat right rear tire, which caused additional damage to the right side of his ride and promptly ended his night.
“Usually, when they work the track like that, it’s really fast early,” Seavey explained. “That’s really hard on tires because we are running so hard, and we’ve got a full fuel load. Once I saw Jake pop a tire, I was nervous because I hadn’t really saved anything early. I was worried about tires all race because you’re so hard on them here. You’re running around here full throttle basically. Speaking of full throttle, it’s also hard on fuel.”
Cummins did take a run at Seavey in Turns 1 and 2 on the first lap of the green-white-checkered finish. But it was to no avail and nearly cost him the second position as Stockon’s momentum carried him right to within an arm’s length of Cummins on the back straightaway.
“I was out (of fuel) those last two laps and watching that 35-grand go out the window,” Seavey revealed. “Luckily, I had just enough to hold on, and this Stanton engine was running just good enough to get me to the line.”
Seavey’s fears did not come to fruition, and instead, he closed out the victory with a 0.412-second winning margin as past Western World victors occupied the top-four finishing positions with Cummins second, Stockon third and Brady Bacon fourth, while Ricky Thornton Jr. rounded out the top-five.
How did Thornton’s first two nights in a USAC National Sprint Car go? Well, the late model star followed up his impressive fourth-place finish Oct. 24 with a fifth Oct. 25. With it, he earned 2025 Western World Rookie of the Year honors, plus an extra $1,500 as the Team AZ-Petty-Rossi “Whiz Kid” award winner.
In what was the closest Rookie battle in USAC National Sprint Car racing history, Gunnar Setser of Columbus prevailed over Hayden Reinbold by a four-point margin (2,166 to 2,162) to earn the Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year award.
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to sports@therepublic.com
