Sweet Stands Out With Last-to-Runner-up Run at Angell Park
Team Mopar driver Brad Sweet was among the biggest sensations of the August 23–24 "Hall of Fame Classic," a United States Auto Club (USAC) doubleheader at the historic Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. The California driver authored a stirring drive from the last spot to second place at the checkered flag in Saturday night's opening 30-lap feature. The event, co-sanctioned by the Wisconsin-based Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA), was part of USAC's Mopar Midget National Championship.
Sweet's drive to the runner-up spot was a classic. An incident on the fourth lap flattened the left-rear tire on his Kasey Kahne Racing Mopar machine, but the KKR crew changed it under caution and Sweet restarted at the tail of the pack. His ensuing come-from-behind charge electrified the Angell Park fans. Sweet stole second from Levi Jones in the final two laps, and was drawing a bead on winner Brad Kuhn when the checkered flag ended the 30-lap feature.
Brady Bacon, Sweet's KKR teammate, placed sixth after a pre-feature engine change. The night was a heartbreaker for fellow Mopar driver Jerry Coons Jr., who was leading when ignition problems sidelined his Wilke-Pak machine just shy of the halfway mark.
In the Sunday-night finale, Coons was the top Mopar finisher in sixth, with Sweet in the ninth spot. Bacon appeared on-pace for a top-five result when he was rammed into a spin. He restarted last, and rebounded well to finish 12th.
The Mopar Midget National Championship returns to Wisconsin for an August 29 date on the fast half-mile dirt track at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam. For more info on the Mopar Midget National Championship Series, visit usacracing.com.