Seavey captures the 2024 USAC National Sprint Car title

In the span of two seasons, Logan Seavey and Abacus Racing went from one of the newest driver/team combinations in the sport to USAC Career Triple Crown champions.

After teaming up to capture the 2023 USAC Silver Crown and USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship titles, Seavey and Abacus added a sprint car to their arsenal and showed no signs of slowing down from the start in a historic USAC AMSOIL Sprint season Car National Championship 2024 will be ready.

Seavey, of Sutter, Calif., is now one of only eight drivers who can claim membership in USAC’s Triple Crown career club, along with Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, JJ Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines and Chris to be Windom.

Meanwhile, Noblesville-based Abacus Racing became just the second competitor to capture championships in USAC’s Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget divisions, a feat previously achieved only by the duo of Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian.

On his way to a 107-point lead in the final championship standings and a $50,000 title prize, Seavey led the points for 42 of the 44 events, a span of eight months and 13 days between February 13 and February 26. October. Both are all-time records for leading duration.

Along the way, Seavey earned a total of 14 series victories in 2024, tying the USAC National Sprint Car season record set by Tom Bigelow in 1977. Additionally, in July, Seavey became the first driver in 39 years to record four consecutive USAC National Sprint victories using auto features, a feat not achieved since Rick Hood’s similarly impressive campaign in 1985.

The 2024 USAC National Sprint Car season was the second-largest on record with 44 events, second only to the 51 in 1977. During the run, Seavey led the series in major wins (14), laps led (364), and top finishes. Five-place finishes (31) and top-10 finishes (38).

What makes this season even more impressive is the fact that this was Seavey and Abacus Racing’s first foray into sprint cars together. Just as their first season in the USAC Silver Crown and Midgets came to an end, the Sprint Car also put in an overwhelmingly dominant performance to take the title at the end of the year.

“It’s unbelievable,” Seavey said. “That’s the goal we set for ourselves when we started this sprint car team, but we certainly didn’t expect it to be achieved in the first year. There are hundreds of people who help keep these things going all season long and to come out on top is incredible.”

In February, at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida, Seavey and Abacus prevailed despite engine problems and a timely weather delay to win multiple USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship races on a single night in Terre Haute for the first time since Bud Kaeding more than 22 years earlier Year 2001. Additionally, Abacus became the first competitor to win his first two USAC National Sprint Car main events on the same day since Max Dowker at Winchester Speedway in the year 1975.

“Heading into Florida we were optimistic but wanted to be realistic,” Cox explained. “After two podium finishes early in the season (at Ocala), we had engine problems on the third night. Luckily the rain saved us and we were able to change the engine and prepare for both races to be held in Volusia on the same evening. Without a third engine in the trailer, we both won after Logan and I had an animated conversation earlier that day when he said, “We’re in a hole.” Well, I said, “We’re not in a hole.” We are standing next to it.’ I will remember this conversation for the rest of my life. It was difficult because as a team we weren’t as prepared as perhaps we should have been. We are not the biggest team and probably never will be. We’re working hard to leverage the resources we need to make it work. I always say, ‘I don’t want to be the biggest, I want to be the best.'”

With the points lead now safely in their hands, Seavey and Abacus continued their winning streak at Bloomington Speedway, Terre Haute Action Track and Circle City Raceway in May, the latter being the earliest in a season (May 23) of anyone Driver had claimed his fifth win of the year since Larry Dickson on May 10, 1970.

Seavey continued his winning streak in Pennsylvania during the Eastern Storm in June by winning at Big Diamond Speedway, a year after missing out on a transfer spot there. To close out the week, Seavey scored a photo finish triumph over Briggs Danner on the smallest track on the program – the 1/5-mile Action Track USA.

Seavey began his streak of four straight USAC Sprint victories the last weekend in June at Macon Speedway in Illinois before rattling off three straight victories at Lincoln Park Speedway to open July, the last of which was opening night of the NOS Energy Drink USAC Indiana served sprint week. Seavey nearly became the first driver since Parnelli Jones in 1961 to extend his series win streak to five, but he fell a car length behind Kyle Cummins at Kokomo Speedway.

Seavey added victories at Lawrenceburg Speedway and Circle City Raceway en route to his first Indiana Sprint Week title. At Lawrenceburg, he started 11th en route to victory in a race that featured seven lead changes among four drivers, tied for the most lead changes ever in a USAC Indiana Sprint Week race.

With 13 wins in the books, Seavey and Abacus had to wait another 11 races in two and a half months before returning to action in October at the $20,000 Fall Nationals in Lawrenceburg, tying Bigelow’s only mark of the season. Although the team narrowly missed the winning record, it was able to secure the championship one evening earlier, in the penultimate round at Red Dirt Raceway in Oklahoma.

Elsewhere, for the first time since 2012, every driver who finished in the top 10 in the series standings also won at least one main event: Logan Seavey, Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley, Kevin Thomas Jr., CJ Leary, Mitchel Moles, Robert Ballou, Kyle Cummins, Justin Grant and Matt Westfall.

James Esses writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to (email protected)