USAC BC39 back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway July 1st, 2nd

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — The USAC BC39 is back Tuesday and Wednesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 7th running of the annual midget car race in honor of the late Brian Clauson.

With just hours until the green flag, experts are making sure conditions are just right for the BC39. Reece O’Connor, who helps manage the track, has spent the last two days taking laps to get the dirt ready for the race.

“We’ve had a wet spring, and it’s not been raced on yet, so we’re actually trying to dry the surface out,” said O’Connor.

However, nearly 15,000 gallons of water will be dumped on it to seal it off and create the right consistency.

“We get it dried out on top, and the bottom still got a lot of moisture in it, but we can’t have the top real dry, so it’s got to be just the perfect blend of moisture to get it to pack back together,” said O’Connor.

The dirt needs to be smooth enough to slide through the turn, but get enough traction for cars to make it through the straights.

“You might think one car has got it in the bag, and somebody is working their way through the field, finding grip, and they, you know, they’re shot out of a canyon,” said Michael Kaltenmark, Senior Director of Marketing for IMS. “It is so cool and you just got to see it to believe it.”

70 cars will compete in several intense heats on the quarter-mile oval over the 2 days. This is all leading up to the main event, a culminating 39 laps of the top 24 drivers in the pack for the BC39 Midget Feature Race.

“You take the best of the best, you put them against each other, and it’s a real shoot out there at the end,” said Kaltenmark. “High action, a lot of drama. It’s some really can’t miss short track, grassroots racing.”

Many of the top midget racers have gone on to race the main oval or road course at the Speedway.

“All the greatest racers of all time, in my eyes, started on dirt, AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, Tony Stewart,” said event promoter with USAC Chris Kearns.

The track adds that while the month of May is the busiest for them, there are several over events like the BC39 throughout the year.

Everything kicks off at 4 p.m. each night and there are tickets still available for race fans.