SPEEDWAY, Ind. — It’s time as soon as once more to bust out of the frigid doldrums of winter and get into the swing of USAC Winter Filth Video games XVII Offered by Yokohama Tire, the official kick off to the USAC AMSOIL Dash Automotive Nationwide Championship season.
Everybody’s set with shiny new and refreshed equipment and an optimistic outlook on the season that lie forward, starting in Florida with six occasions throughout six nights at a pair of dust tracks within the coronary heart of the Sunshine State.
The seventeenth annual version of Winter Filth Video games presents apply night time on the three-eighths-mile Ocala Speedway on Sunday, February 8, adopted by the primary two rounds of racing at Barberville’s half-mile Volusia Speedway Park February 9-10, whereas Ocala Speedway finishes out the week with four-straight evenings of racing on February 11-14.
TITLE DEFENSE
Kyle Cummins kick-started his championship season with an excellent efficiency throughout Winter Filth Video games.
He was victorious within the opener at Volusia, taking the large gator house because the DIRTcar Nationals champion. He then received once more 4 nights later at Ocala. In his six outings throughout six nights, by no means as soon as did he end exterior the top-five, all of which propelled him to the Winter Filth Video games title.
With it, Cummins turned the ninth driver within the 16-year historical past of the collection to win a Winter Filth Video games race and the USAC Nationwide Dash Automotive championship in the identical yr, becoming a member of Bryan Clauson (2013), Brady Bacon (2014), Robert Ballou (2015), Tyler Courtney (2018), C.J. Leary (2019), Brady Bacon (2020), Justin Grant (2022) and Logan Seavey (2024).
FULL-TIMERS
A minimum of 14 drivers are set for full-time responsibility with the USAC AMSOIL Dash Automotive Nationwide Championship in 2025, and presumably extra.
Among the many group are previous collection champions Kyle Cummins (2025), Logan Seavey (2024), Justin Grant (2022 & 2023), C.J. Leary (2019) and Robert Ballou (2015).
Others hitting the total schedule are Kevin Thomas Jr., Chase Stockon, Mitchel Moles, Jake Swanson, Briggs Danner, Hayden Reinbold, Cale Coons and Chelby Hinton.
Not less than a pair extra drivers are actively pursuing full-time efforts with the collection however should not confirmed at press time.
POINT FUND INCREASE
Sunshine and a $24,000 level fund will greet USAC AMSOIL Dash Automotive Nationwide Championship opponents at Winter Filth Video games XVII.
The champion of the collection who accumulates essentially the most complete factors all through the six races on the docket will earn a $12,000 reward. A sum of $6,000 will go to the runner-up, $3,000 to 3rd, $2,000 to fourth and $1,000 to fifth.
That is double the reward over 2025’s purse of $12,000 all through the top-five. In 2024, a Winter Filth Video games level fund didn’t exist.
Moreover, the Volusia characteristic occasions pays a winner’s share of $6,000 on Feb. 9 and $12,000 on Feb. 10. Ocala pays out $6,000 on Feb. 11-12, $7,500 on Feb. 13 and $10,000 on Feb. 14.
‘WINNER’ DIRT GAMES
This yr’s discipline is comprised of 26 profession Winter Filth Video games victories, together with Justin Grant (8), Brady Bacon (6), Kyle Cummins (3), Robert Ballou (2), C.J. Leary (2), Chase Stockon (1) and Kevin Thomas Jr. (1).
Jake Swanson, in the meantime, additionally captured a non-points win at Volusia. These eight guys are again within the fold as they try to duplicate their Florida success as soon as extra.
RETURN OF BALLOU
Robert Ballou will likely be again within the cockpit of a USAC Nationwide Dash Automotive for the primary time in additional than 5 months when Winter Filth Video games begins.
The Mad Man’s 2025 season got here to an abrupt finish throughout the Indiana Dash Week spherical at Bloomington Speedway final August when a flip injured his T2, T3 and T5 vertebrae, sidelining him for the time.
After therapeutic, the 2015 USAC Nationwide Dash Automotive champ is again on the horse once more the place he’s a three-time Winter Filth Video games winner.
LEARY’S FAMILIARITY
C.J. Leary will soar again into a well-known trip down in Florida as he’ll drive his personal Leary Racing No. 30 all through the six-race journey.
The 2019 collection champion from Greenfield, Indiana hasn’t pushed his personal automotive in USAC competitors for the reason that 2020 marketing campaign. Leary additionally has one other couple of rides with different groups lined up when the collection will get into full swing beginning in April.
Leary has received twice in Florida with the USAC Nationwide Dash Automobiles at Ocala in 2019 and 2024. Moreover, he scored a triumph at Volusia with the Xtreme Outlaw Dash Automobiles in 2022.
FLORIDA DOMIN-GATORS
On the subject of Ocala and Volusia, two drivers stand robust because the all-time dominators at every venue.
Justin Grant has received a document eight occasions total at Ocala, together with 4 occasions over the previous two seasons. Alternatively, Logan Seavey has cruised at Volusia, successful three of his 4 profession USAC Nationwide Dash Automotive begins there over the previous couple of years.
Apparently, neither driver has ever discovered themselves in victory lane on the different monitor. Grant has but to win at Volusia whereas Seavey has come up quick up to now at Ocala. The 2 USAC Nationwide Dash Automotive champions will each attempt to rectify that this time round.
OPENING NIGHT
Brady Bacon, a six-time Winter Filth Video games winner at Ocala, returns for the week in Chris Dyson Racing’s No. 20. Bacon may set a USAC document at Volusia if he may pull off the victory on Monday. He’s received the USAC Nationwide Dash Automotive season opening race on three events in 2014-2020-2023.
Additionally tied with Bacon on the prime of the record with three opener victories are Damion Gardner, Don Branson, Larry Dickson and Wealthy Vogler.
Kyle Cummins, the 2025 season opener winner, will try and develop into the primary driver in 14 years to gather back-to-back season opening victories. The others to do it have been Don Branson (1959-60), Jud Larson (1965-66), Sammy Classes (1971-72), Wealthy Vogler (1986-87) and Damion Gardner (2010-11-12).
