INDIANAPOLIS– If Chase McDermand could’ve picked any track where he could score his first USAC Midget feature race win, he couldn’t have picked a larger stage than the dirt track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
McDermand led the last 15 of the race’s 30 laps to win the Thursday night (Sept. 26) BC39 preliminary feature ahead of Cannon McIntosh and Daison Pursley who also locked themselves into Saturday night’s feature race.
“I looked up to Bryan (Clauson) a lot, so to be able to get a win here at a race that honors him is really special to me and I know my family, too, so it’s just super special,” McDermand said.
McDermand started fourth and moved up to third on the second lap of the race. The Springfield, Ill. native snatched second place from Zach Daum on lap 10 and then grabbed the lead from Thomas Meseraull on lap 15 and pulled away.
“I feel like I kind of just fine tuned my line a little bit and was able to carry more momentum from entry to the center, which helped my exit speed off,” McDermand said of what made his car better in the race. “So I feel like I struggled off (the corner), but that was because I wasn’t getting in very good to carry the momentum down the straightaway. So once I found a little bit lower entry point and was able to keep that slide through from the center to the exit that helped my momentum down the straightaway to be able to get by him.”
After a late yellow for an accident involving Glenn Styres and Luke Hall, McDermand fended off the field to win by .679 seconds from McIntosh.
A couple of years ago, McDermand was close to getting his first USAC win at Port City Raceway in Tulsa but was taken out in a late race collision with Justin Grant. This time around, McDermand had a clear path to victory in the No. 40 machine.
“To be so close to one and then have such a big break in between probably makes us feel even better,” McDermand told Frontstretch. “Granted, I, I won some Extreme (Outlaw midget) races in between now and then, but I did want to win with USAC too.”
McIntosh finished second after starting eighth in the feature. He was up to fifth place by lap 5 and gradually climbed up to snatch second place on the race’s penultimate lap.
The Bixby, Okla. native had to work fast to get up to fifth place, but it was a struggle getting the last few positions he needed to get closer to the front.
“Had to work for it a little bit and just started plugging away laps there and just trying to get our feet under us,” McIntosh said. “Eventually got a good rhythm going and found the bottom there. Just got started moving forward and obviously got second there right at the end and it was definitely a good effort overall from, from the team and I’m just thankful for these guys and, and everyone behind me.”
Pursley was 1.47 seconds back from McDermand at the end after setting fast time in hot laps earlier in the evening.
Of note, there was a USAC sprint car exhibition race at the dirt track earlier in the evening. CJ Leary picked up the win in the 10-car, 20-lap feature race.
Friday’s track action has been postponed due to weather. A doubleheader is currently planned for Saturday.
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.