USAC Sprints

Jack Reitz photo

Richie Murray

October 1, 2025

Terre Haute, Indiana (October 1, 2025)………For more than a half century, the Tony Hulman Classic has been an event that every USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car driver desires to win.

The 55th annual chapter of the longest running USAC National Sprint Car event, dating back to 1971, returns to western Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track on Friday night, October 3.

Up for grabs is the glory of winning the Hulman Classic, the coveted rifle trophy and the $10,000 reward for a night’s worth of work on Indiana’s only 1/2-mile dirt oval.

Here are six storylines to watch!

A HULMAN TRIO

Three past Hulman Classic winners are expected to compete this Friday, including Kevin Thomas Jr. (2017), Chase Stockon (2019) and Logan Seavey (2024).

All three racers have won this season in USAC National Sprint Car competition, and two of them have already won at Terre Haute this season: Seavey and Stockon.

Defending Hulman Classic winner Seavey captured this April’s USAC Silver Crown Sumar Classic at the track while Stockon graced Terre Haute victory lane for the fourth time in his USAC National Sprint Car career during Indiana Sprint Week in July.

STARING DOWN THE BARREL

Two particular USAC National Sprint Car drivers own victories at Terre Haute, but a Hulman Classic score has remained elusive to this point: Justin Grant and C.J. Leary.

Grant has won five times at the Terre Haute Action Track between USAC Sprint Car and USAC Silver Crown machinery. He picked off the Jim Hurtubise Classic in 2019 before grabbing the Don Smith Classic in 2020 and 2023. With the Crown car, he’s won the Sumar Classic twice in 2018 and 2022. To date, his best Hulman Classic result was a runner-up in 2020.

Leary’s first USAC win of any kind came during the 2016 USAC Silver Crown Sumar Classic at Terre Haute. He came back in 2022 to capture the Don Smith Classic. His best Hulman Classic finishes have come in his three most recent starts with three consecutive fifth place finishes in 2022-2023-2024.

THE GLORY OF THE RED, WHITE & BLUE (WALLS)

Both of last weekend’s USAC National Sprint Car winners are not only vying for a first Hulman Classic victory, but also their first with USAC at Terre Haute: Kyle Cummins and Mitchel Moles.

Cummins won last Saturday’s series run at Michigan’s Butler Motor Speedway and leads the championship standings by a commanding 297-point margin. Twice, he’s finished as the runner-up at the Hulman Classic, doing so in both 2021 and 2023. He has won at Terre Haute in his career, however, taking a Midwest Sprint Car Series feature in 2021.

Moles’ win last Friday was his first USAC National Sprint Car win in 15 months, as he reigned over Cummins at Indiana’s Paragon Speedway by less than a foot. Moles made his first career USAC National Sprint Car start at Terre Haute back in 2022, leading 19 laps and finishing an impressive 2nd at the Don Smith Classic. His best Hulman run thus far was a 4th in 2023.

Meanwhile, Jake Swanson and Briggs Danner are itching for their first bit of Hulman Classic glory. Swanson won with the Midwest Sprint Car Series at Terre Haute in 2022. Danner finished 4th with the Silver Crown series there back in April of this year. Swanson finished 2nd at the 2024 Hulman Classic after leading a race-high 20 laps. Danner, surprisingly, is a Hulman Classic Rookie.

ROOKIE RACE DOWN TO 3

The race for USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car MPI Rookie of the Year is the one to watch entering Friday’s round at Terre Haute. Gunnar Setser currently holds a three-point lead over Hayden Reinbold in that department. Setser has reeled off top-10 finishes in six of his past seven starts while Reinbold just clicked off a 3rd in the feature last Saturday at Butler.

Friday will mark both drivers’ first Hulman Classic appearance. Their most recent Terre Haute trip in July resulted in a 13th for Setser and a 15th for Reinbold.

RARE OCTOBER DATE

The 2025 edition of the Hulman Classic is a bit of a rarity due to the fact it is being held in October. In fact, only three of the 54 runnings of the event have been contested during the 10th month of the year.

Now, for full disclosure, the original date for the Hulman Classic in late May was postponed due to rain and unsavory track conditions caused by Mother Nature.

Back in 1992, Cary Faas wowed the crowd with a masterful performance for what was not only his first career USAC win, but also his first career sprint car win of any kind. Daron Clayton cowboy’d up to score the 2006 win while Kevin Thomas Jr’s beeline with three to go paid off in victory in 2017.

THE RIFLE

On June 19, 1966, prior to the advent of the Hulman Classic, the reward for winning each of the Twin 30-lap USAC National Sprint Car features at Terre Haute was a pair of rifles, each of which would hold a 30-30 cartridge, referring to a .30 caliber bullet and 30 grains of powder.

The tradition stuck and has been annually awarded to the Hulman Classic winner dating back to 1971. To this day, it remains, perhaps, the most coveted trophy in all of USAC racing.

RACE DETAILS

This Friday’s October 3rd 55th annual Tony Hulman Classic features the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, plus Modifieds. Pits open at 3pm Eastern with front gates opening at 5pm, the drivers meeting at 6pm and cars on track at 6:30pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.

Advance tickets are on sale now at www.ActionTrackTix.com. Advance tickets are $30 for grandstand seating. Kids age 12 and under are free. General admission seats are not reserved and are on a first come basis. Pit passes are $40. Grandstand seating is included as well as access to the controlled Pit Pass area. Signed waivers must be completed prior to access. Infield admission is $15 and allows for access to the grass infield of the Action Track through the tunnel at the far right (turn one side) of the main grandstand.

The event can be watched live in its entirety on FloRacing at https://www.flosports.link/usac