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SUMNER, Ill. — Friday’s inaugural Salute to Levi Jones at Red Hill Raceway will pay $10,000 to win.
The rare Friday the 13th event for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at the three-eighths-mile dirt oval in southern Illinois presents an even rarer treat – USAC racing at Red Hill.
It’s been 26 years since USAC last visited Red Hill in 1998, which just so happened to mark the occurrence of Levi Jones’ first career USAC start, finishing 16th.
Jones, who grew up 15 minutes from the track in his native Olney, went on to become a seven-time USAC national champion, and in 2024, was inducted into the USAC Hall of Fame.
PARTY LIKE IT’S 1998
The last time a USAC National Sprint Car race was held at Red Hill on October 3, 1998, Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week” and Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be” occupied spots in the top-five of the Billboard Music charts.
That night, Derek Davidson captured the victory, then later became an Indianapolis 500 winning crew chief and race strategist for Takuma Sato at Rahal Letterman Racing in 2020.
The evening also had its share of controversy as championship contenders Tony Elliott and Kevin Thomas met bumper to bumper, sending Thomas into a 360 spin late in the race.
A yearlong feud had come to a head and ultimately led to Thomas’ suspension for his conduct in the aftermath of the incident and Elliott’s first USAC title.
At any rate, Elliott remains the one-lap track record holder for USAC at Red Hill with a time of 15.498 seconds.
RIDING THE WAVE
Fresh off his USAC Indiana Midget Week championship to begin June, Kale Drake now looks to expand his winning horizons to USAC National Sprint Cars.
The Collinsville, Okla., racer has already won twice in the midgets this year, and at press time, has finished on the podium in each of his past five outings with the series.
With the sprint cars, he’s been an upstart in 2025, finishing inside the top-10 in nine of his 13 starts this season with a best career result of fourth at Bloomington in May.
To boot, there is a tie in. Back in 2004, Levi Jones captured his first career USAC National Sprint Car win at North Carolina’s Charlotte Motor Speedway while driving Scott Benic’s No. 2b. This Friday, Drake’s first USAC Sprint Car win could come in Benic’s No. 2b in the race named for Levi Jones.
CUMMINS LEADS
Kyle Cummins once again enters the weekend as the USAC National Sprint Car point leader, a position he’s held for the entire duration of the season so far.
In 13 starts so far this year, he’s won five and hasn’t finished worse than eighth. The Princeton, Ind., native’s run of 13 consecutive top-10s to start the year are the most since Justin Grant’s 15 in 2020. All of that has Cummins’ point lead standing at 53 over Justin Grant entering Red Hill.
Interestingly, Kyle’s father, Mark Cummins, competed in the 1998 Red Hill event in the Vennard No. 56x, team car to that of Kevin Thomas that night. Mark qualified 24th, transferred through his heat to finish fourth and ran 18th in the feature.
MAD MAN
Robert Ballou can count himself among the Red Hill winners in this Friday night’s field. In August of 2024, the Rocklin, Calif., native picked off a Midwest Thunder Sprint Car win at the track.
The Mad Man has been knocking on the door of victory all year long with the USAC National Sprint Cars, especially of late with a third, fifth, second, sixth, fourth and eighth in his six most recent starts.
Red Hill could prove to be the place for a Ballou breakthrough. He finished sixth and third in each of his USAC Sprint Car starts on the Land of Lincoln side of the Illinois border in 2024.
STOCKON STYLE
Chase Stockon has a bit of history with Red Hill Raceway. In recent years, the Fort Branch, Indiana racer has won at the track twice in sprint car competition in the Fall of 2023 and in the Spring of 2024.
Stockon has been rock solid with the USAC National Sprint Cars in 2025, finishing inside the top-10 in each of his past six series starts.
On the final weekend of May, he led 20 laps at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway and finished third, nearly giving car owners Tom and Laurie Sertich their first career USAC victory. A big win at Red Hill this Friday would be massive for the longtime team and would present Stockon with his first USAC score in nearly five seasons.
ROGERS TOO!
Jadon Rogers scored the most recent sprint car feature win at Red Hill back in October of 2024. The Worthington, Ind., racer advanced from sixth to first to win the Midwest Thunder show last fall.
As far as his USAC season up to this point, Rogers can tell you a twisted tale of his month of May, from being the windshield one weekend to the bug the next.
Rogers posted back-to-back southern Indiana top fives in USAC National Sprint Car competition at Bloomington and Tri-State in mid-May. On the final weekend of the month, he finished with back-to-back last place results at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway.
