Speedway, Indiana (December 15, 2022)………Two individuals have captured all three USAC National driving championships in a single season: Tony Stewart in 1995 and J.J. Yeley in 2003.
Now, the stakes are even greater in 2023 and beyond for any driver who can achieve the feat, which will pay out a $300,000 prize for any driver to pull off the hattrick by scoring the Silver Crown, AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship titles in the same year.
USAC’s Triple Crown Award will reward a driver earning triple championships in 2023 with $300,000. If the reward goes unclaimed, it rolls over to 2024 and the payout jumps up to $400,000. If no driver is able to triple-up in 2024, the Triple Crown prize rises to $500,000 in 2025.
It’s the latest in USAC’s stream of announcements for increased payout in 2023. Earlier, it was announced that USAC National champions can double and even triple their point fund payout during the upcoming 2023 season with USAC’s newly announced “Win 2 Times 2” and “Win 3 Times 3” rewards programs.
USAC’s premier circle track divisions offer a base championship payout of $50,000 for the top points driver in the AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, $30,000 in the NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and $20,000 in Silver Crown.
If a driver can win two of the three championships in 2023, that driver will be able to “double” their overall reward. For example, a driver who captures both the sprint and midget titles will receive a base payout of $80,000 ($50,000 for sprint & $30,000 for midget). In turn, that money will double to $160,000 in total monetary rewards by scoring two titles.
Furthermore, if a driver can win all three championships in 2023, that driver will be able to “triple” their overall reward. Winning all three would result in a base payout of $100,000. With the achievement, that money will triple to $300,000 in total monetary rewards after completing the three titles.
USAC also previously announced point fund increases for its three premier circle track divisions for the 2023 season with more than $350,000 up for grabs across the board.
Since 2019, USAC’s annual national points funds have increased 75 percent from a total of $200,000 to the $350,000 mark for the coming year in 2023.
Out of the $350 grand total, a $200,000 is allotted for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship point fund, $100,000 for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and $50,000 for Silver Crown.