KTJ COLLECTS 2024 USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK PASSING MASTER TITLE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (August 4, 2024)………Kevin Thomas Jr.’s mastery of passing throughout the 2024 edition of NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana Sprint Week Presented By Honest Abe Roofing accrued 58 positions advanced throughout the seven-race series.
That netted the Cullman, Ala. driver the Indiana Sprint Week ProSource Passing Master championship, which calculated passes made by each driver in all heat races, C-mains, semi-feature and feature events. Of note, provisional starters once again did not receive points toward the passing master standings.
Thomas joins past Indiana Sprint Week Passing Masters Stevie Sussex (2021) and Shane Cottle (2022 & 2023) as a recipient of the award.
KTJ’s pursuit of the Passing Master title basically boiled down to one roller coaster night in the penultimate round at Tri-State Speedway. After a massive qualifying flip took his car out of action, another car from the Rock Steady Racing stable was rolled out of the trailer. Thomas took it from there, charging from 20th to 3rd in the semi, then lined up 24th for the feature where he proceeded to drive it across the finish line to 7th.
The 34 positions advanced from that single night vaulted Thomas from 14th in the Passing Master standings to first, from 18 passes throughout the first five events of ISW to 52 entering Sunday’s finale at Bloomington Speedway. Thomas added six more passes there on the red clay for good measure to finish off a topsy-turvy week that concluded with a $500 bonus.
“It has been a roller coaster, that’s for sure,” Thomas said. “Our team just didn’t quit. We’re down two cars and probably an engine after yesterday, but they put in the hours all week and some all-nighters. I’ve driven three racecars in seven nights, so that just shows you what we’re capable of and what we can bounce back from. Their ability to rebound is quite incredible. It wasn’t the week we wanted but we know we can dig down deep when we need to.”
Two-time ISW Passing Master champ Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) took second with 54. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was third at 46. Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) scored fourth with 41. Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) rounded out the top-five with 40 positions advanced during the week.
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2024 PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER USAC INDIANA SPRINT WEEK POINTS
POS PTS DRIVER HOMETOWN
1 58 Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Alabama
2 54 Shane Cottle, Kansas, Illinois
3 46 Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
4 41 Kyle Cummins, Princeton, Indiana
5 40 Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, California
6 38 Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Indiana
7 37 Logan Seavey, Sutter, California
8 31 Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, Oklahoma
9 30 Jadon Rogers, Worthington, Indiana
10 29 Anton Hernandez, Arlington, Texas
11 28 Ricky Lewis, Camarillo, California
12 26 Chance Crum, Snohomish, Washington
26 Brandon Mattox, Terre Haute, Indiana
26 Kayla Roell, Dillsboro, Indiana
15 25 Robert Ballou, Rocklin, California
16 24 C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Indiana
17 23 Kale Drake, Collinsville, Oklahoma
23 Kobe Simpson, Bonham, Texas
19 21 Carson Garrett, Littleton, Colorado
21 Evan Mosley, Lapel, Indiana
21 19 Justin Grant, Ione, California
22 18 Briggs Danner, Allentown, Pennsylvania
18 Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Arizona
18 Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Indiana
25 17 Sam Hinds, Westfield, Indiana
26 16 Max Adams, Loomis, California
16 Joey Amantea, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
16 Troy Carey, Tullamore, New South Wales
29 15 Kyle Shipley, Phoenix, Arizona
30 14 Donny Brackett, Fort Branch, Indiana
31 13 Harley Burns, Brazil, Indiana
13 Geoff Ensign, Sebastopol, California
13 Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, Ohio
34 12 Carson Short, Marion, Illinois
35 11 Kevin Newton, Farmersburg, Indiana
36 10 Ryan Barr, Piqua, Ohio
10 Nate Schank, Santa Rosa, California
38 9 Jack Hoyer, Frankfort, Indiana
39 8 Mario Clouser, Auburn, Illinois
8 Kyle Johnson, Greencastle, Indiana
8 Trey Osborne, Columbus, Ohio
8 Zack Pretorius, Yorktown, Indiana
8 Jake Swanson, Anaheim, California
44 7 Hunter Maddox, Bedford, Indiana
7 Nathan Seale, Fort Branch, Indiana
46 6 Nick Bilbee, Indianapolis, Indiana
6 Frankie Guerrini, San Rafael, California
6 Todd Moule, Heathcote, Victoria
49 5 Logan Calderwood, Goodyear, Arizona
5 R.J. Johnson, Laveen, Arizona
5 Jake Scott, Morgantown, Indiana
5 Sam Scott, Patoka, Indiana
5 Scotty Weir, Marion, Indiana
54 4 Brent Beauchamp, Fairland, Indiana
4 Xavier Doney, Odessa, Missouri
4 Brayden Fox, Avon, Indiana
57 3 Gabriel Gilbert, Greenwood, Indiana
3 Weston Gorham, Colleyville, Texas
3 Austin Hawkins, Sumner, Illinois
3 Matt Thompson, Bloomington, Indiana
3 Travis Thompson, Brazil, Indiana
3 Daniel Whitley, Ferndale, California
63 2 James Boyd, Villa Park, Illinois
2 Matt Goodnight, Winchester, Indiana
2 Todd Hobson, Clyde, Victoria
2 Seth Parker, West Terre Haute, Indiana
2 Brady Short, Bedford, Indiana
68 1 Stan Beadles, Owensville, Indiana
1 Dustin Beck, Petersburg, Indiana
1 Colton Booten, Marion, Illinois
1 Brayden Clark, Tipton, Indiana
1 Michael Daugherty, Lafayette, Indiana
1 Aaron Davis, Windfall, Indiana
1 Aric Gentry, Robards, Kentucky
1 Colin Grissom, Anderson, Indiana
1 Tyler Hewitt, Marion, Indiana
1 Stevie Sussex, Tempe, Arizona
1 Cody Williams, Rensselaer, Indiana
79 0 Collin Ambrose, Owensboro, Kentucky
0 Saban Bibent, Cincinnati, Ohio
0 Wyatt Burks, Topeka, Kansas
0 Daylan Chambers, Bowling Green, Indiana
0 Dan Clodfelter, Rockville, Indiana
0 Braydon Cromwell, Lone Jack, Missouri
0 Bryce Dues, Russia, Ohio
0 Ivan Glotzbach, Fillmore, Indiana
0 J.J. Hughes, Jasper, Indiana
0 Justin Meneely, Brazil, Indiana
0 Andrew Prather, Martinsville, Indiana
0 Kendall Ruble, Vincennes, Indiana
0 Adyn Schmidt, Haubstadt, Indiana
0 Stephen Schnapf, Newburgh, Indiana
0 Shawn Westerfeld, Guilford, Indiana
0 Reed Whitney, Jasper, Indiana