News

By Richie Murray, USAC Media (Kokomo, IN) -- For the past 10 years, the term “Smackdown” served as a noun that was utilized to refer to the annual three-race weekend held in the month of August at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway. On Saturday night, Kyle Cummins fully demonstrated “Smackdown” as a verb, crushing the field in a 40-lap romp that rewarded him with a total prize of $35,000 for a night’s worth of work in winning the Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown XI main event. PHOTO CREDIT:...more

By Richie Murray, USAC Media (Kokomo, IN) -- The difference was night and day for Kevin Thomas Jr. during Friday’s Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown night two at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway. In one sense, the Cullman, Ala. racer captured the second round of Smackdown for the second consecutive year – last year’s running being held in the daytime – while this year’s was held under the lights. PHOTO CREDIT: David Nearpass Photo On the other hand, the juxtaposition of KTJ’s...more

By Richie Murray, USAC Media (Kokomo, IN) -- Justin Grant made it copiously clear that we’re in the midst of the JG era at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway. During Thursday night’s Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Cars Sprint Car Smackdown XI opener, the Ione, Calif. native prevailed over a rapidly closing, and 22nd place restarting, Kyle Cummins to win his fifth USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature start in his past six starts at Kokomo’s quarter-mile dirt oval. PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Reitz...more

By Richie Murray, USAC Media (Kokomo, IN) -- After enduring a vicious flip during the previous night's feature that wiped out their primary ride, C.J. Leary and BGE Dougherty Motorsports turned to a car that had been sitting on jackstands for the past three years and had never seen a racetrack, let alone even touched the ground. With body panels adorned in the look Leary sported during the 2020 season when he drove the family-owned No. 30, the Greenfield, Ind. native and his Altoz – Hornbeck...more

By Richie Murray, USAC Media (Kokomo, IN) -- In essence, Saturday night’s 40-lap Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Smackdown X feature at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway came down to a two-lap conquest for Justin Grant. A frequent storyboard for the event throughout its first decade has demonstrated that a final restart and, consequently, how one responds to it, can ultimately decide a driver’s fate regardless of the success that led up to that point. Case in point came earlier in the day for Kevin...more

By Richie Murray, USAC Media (Kokomo, IN) -- Kokomo Speedway is set to host the richest sprint car race ever held in the state of Indiana this coming weekend as part of the Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII festivities on August 24-25-26. Competitors from the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship will take on the 1/4-mile dirt oval for a pair of $6,000-to-win preliminaries on Thursday and Friday night followed by the $30,000-to-win finale on Saturday...more

By Richie Murray, USAC Media (Kokomo, IN) -- ”This weekend’s been a dream. I feel like I’m going to wake up tomorrow and it’s going to be Wednesday.” The dream was most certainly a reality for Justin Grant during Saturday night’s Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Sprint Car Smackdown XII finale at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway. PHOTO CREDIT: Rich Forman But for every other driver who faced off against him during the past three nights at the quarter-mile dirt oval, the Ione, Calif. native was a...more

By Richie Murray, USAC Media (Kokomo, IN) -- USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing is headed back to Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway one more time this season on Friday night, September 30. The event that night was originally scheduled to take place at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track, but the event’s promoters have decided that it is in the best interest of racers and fans to move the event to Kokomo Speedway rather than cancel the event. PHOTO CREDIT: Ryan Sellers Photo “We are very...more

By Richie Murray (Kokomo, IN) -- Justin Grant had never experienced a victory quite like he did Saturday night at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway. Just two nights after scoring a 100-lap, long distance USAC Silver Crown race, the Ione, California native reigned triumphant in one of the shortest feature events in the 66-year history of USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship racing. PHOTO CREDIT: David Nearpass photo Under threatening skies that hovered over the top of Kokomo’s quarter-mile dirt...more

By Richie Murray, USAC Media (Kokomo, IN) -- Snakebitten is a word that has been used to describe Tyler Courtney’s fortunes at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway throughout the 2020 season. It’s almost hard to imagine that fact for a driver who has become synonymous with victory lane at the track in recent years. Courtney rediscovered the fountain of success once again Saturday night in the Sprint Car Smackdown IX finale at Kokomo, a track in which he had won at six times in his USAC National career...more