While big names in the USAC Sprint Car Series had bad nights on Sunday at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway, Kevin Thomas Jr. sped away from the field.
The Alabama native put his No. 9K front and center after earning the pole for the race, stretching his lead out to nearly 3.5 seconds during the first 19 laps of the race.
“Just getting through the lapped traffic was a little difficult,” Thomas Jr. said on the FloRacing broadcast. “I was kind of glad to see those cautions. We had a good little 9K today. It’s been kind of a struggle bus since April.”
The win was Thomas Jr.’s third of the season and as he said – first since April 16 when he won at Bloomington Speedway.
For reference, it had been 12 races since Thomas Jr. had captured two of the first four with the series this season.
He said that they might have figured some things out.
“These guys went to work there when we had that rainout. They did some things to the car and made it just so much better to drive here in the slick. I think we finally figured some things out with our engine program and the car itself to do better in these races.”
While Windom came home with the top spot, other big names in the series struggled.
Chris Windom flipped during qualifying and was forced to go to a backup car for the rest of the night. Then, Justin Grant stalled during the feature and later pulled off of the race track. The pair of drivers finished 13th and 21st, respectfully.
Tanner Thorson and Brady Bacon earned podium spots, but it was Robert Ballou taking home the USAC Eastern Storm championship for the second time in his career.
Ballou took home the title in 2015 and later turned it into a series championship at the end of the year.
He used his victory lane interview to talk about the track conditions at the brand new race track.
“The track’s not very conducive to really good racing, yet,” Ballou said. “I bet they’ll work on it. For what we got dealt and what we put on, I feel like we put on a really good show for you guys. Hopefully, they’ve got some dirt in the works to put some banking on this thing. Hopefully they get rid of the infield tires, because they’re dangerous.”
Nonetheless, Ballou solidified himself as a contender for the title this week.
“All in all it was a great week,” Ballou said in victory lane. “I’ve got to thank all my sponsors. It was a team effort for all involved and if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be here.”
The tour is off on the upcoming race weekend due to it being a Silver Crown doubleheader. The wingless sprint cars will be back on July 1 as they head to Plymouth Speedway to start a tripleheader weekend in Indiana.
USAC Sprint Car Results
Bloomsburg Fair Raceway
1. Kevin Thomas Jr.
2. Tanner Thorson
3. Brady Bacon
4. Jake Swanson
5. Alex Bright
6. Robert Ballou
7. C.J. Leary
8. Briggs Danner
9. Timmy Buckwalter
10. Shane Cottle
11. Paul Nienhiser
12. Chase Stockon
13. Chris Windom
14. Logan Seavey
15. Matt Westfall
16. Mark Smith
17. Nash Ely
18. Carmen Perigo
19. Charles Davis Jr.
20. Alex Banales
21. Justin Grant
22. Richy Carnathan
23. Michael Markey
