Justin Grant earns 100th USAC feature win at IMS

Indianapolis StarFri, July 24, 2026 at 10:26 AM UTC·3 min read

INDIANAPOLIS -- Justin Grant made history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday night, becoming just the fifth driver to reach 100 United States Auto Club national feature victories with a win in the opening race of Indiana Sprint Week on The Dirt Track at IMS.

"Just a bit surreal to think back that it's been that many wins," Grant said.

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The Ione California native joined an elite list of USAC legends that includes A.J. Foyt, Rich Vogler, Mel Kenyon and Dave Darland.

"I've been so fortunate, so blessed to have had the opportunities that I've had in my career, and it just feels rewarding for me to know that I've maybe made the most of them," Grant said.

Thursday's victory marked his second consecutive Indiana Sprint Week win at the Speedway after capturing the inaugural event in 2025. It also was his fifth career victory on the track, adding to wins in the BC39 opening-night features in 2023 and 2025 and the 2024 BC39 main event.

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The victory was worth $10,000.

After starting from the pole in the No. 4 TOPP Motorsports sprint car, Grant appeared in control early before Jake Swanson, who started third, found speed along the bottom groove and slipped past him exiting Turn 2 on Lap 4.

Grant never panicked.

"I think we were set up to just run the wall, and so I bailed off the bottom early and lost the lead, but wasn't too worried about it," Grant said.

Instead, he trusted the track would evolve in his favor.

That moment came six laps later.

As Swanson lost momentum exiting Turn 2 on Lap 10, Grant powered around the outside on the high line to reclaim the lead. From there, he led the final 26 laps, repeatedly driving away from the field after each of the race's three caution restarts to secure his historic victory.

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"I felt like the track was going to come back to us," Grant said.

Grant credited his success at IMS to years of experience learning the unique characteristics of the dirt oval.

"I've got a lot of laps around this place as well, which is huge," Grant said. "It's just a little bit of a different place, and there's some unique little tricks to making speed here that I've learned over the years racing the midget. I feel like when I come here, I can apply those to the sprint car."

Swanson finished second, followed by Logan Seavey in third. Briggs Danner finished fourth, while Shane Cottle rounded out the top five.

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Thirty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the 35-lap feature, which served as the opening event of the 39th Indiana Sprint Week.

Jessica Garcete is an IndyStar sports reporter. Get IndyStar's motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to theYouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Justin Grant earns 100th USAC feature win at IMS

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