By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (November 26, 2023)………Kyle Cummins, one of the premier drivers on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship tour, will compete on the full schedule in 2024 with the newly established Petty Performance Racing team.
The Princeton, Ind. driver will kick off the upcoming season in a ride owned by Jerry Petty of Litchfield Park, Ariz., CEO of Avanti Windows & Doors LLC which sponsored Cummins sprint car ride throughout the 2023 campaign.
In 2023, Cummins equaled his career high with four USAC National Sprint Car feature victories and finished sixth in USAC points for the Rock Steady Racing team with which he had driven for all but one season dating back to 2015.
Cummins’ USAC National Sprint Car win total stands at 18 entering the 2024 season which presents a new opportunity and challenge for the 36-year-old driver who made his USAC debut back in 2003.
“I’m grateful for Jerry providing me with this exciting and challenging opportunity as well as trusting me to be a part of his transition to a team owner and entrant into dirt track racing,” Cummins stated. “Jerry has offered up a lot of support to the sport in recent years and his commitment to becoming a team owner just shows his continued passion for the sport and his confidence in me. We are excited to build this team over the offseason and can’t wait to get to Florida and see what the rest of 2024 has in store.”
Cummins has been an ardent supporter of USAC Sprint Car racing, accumulating 227 career starts while ranking inside the top-40 all-time in both feature victories and starts. Meanwhile, Petty has been the primary sponsor for such events as Knoxville Raceway’s Corn Belt Clash and Cocopah Speedway’s Western World Championship in addition serving as the primary sponsor for multiple USAC Sprint Car teams.
Cummins and Petty Performance Racing’s debut will arrive in February of 2024 in the state of Florida where the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season will begin with seven events in the Sunshine State between February 9-17, and where Cummins was a feature winner in February of 2023 during the series’ most recent visit.
Leading off the 2024 season is the 15th annual edition of Winter Dirt Games at Ocala, Florida’s Bubba Raceway Park on Friday-Saturday, February 9-10, at the 3/8-mile D-shaped dirt track with a practice night set to begin the festivities on Thursday night, February 8. The first night of racing in Ocala on Friday will pay $6,000-to-win while Saturday night’s weekend capper will pay $7,500-to-win.
USAC National Sprint Car action then moves on down the road to Volusia Speedway Park on Monday-Tuesday, February 12-13, for two consecutive nights of racing on the half-mile dirt oval as part of the DIRTcar Nationals, culminating in a $10,000-to-win finale on Tuesday. As a change from this past year, the Volusia events will be full points-paying events.
Rounding out the Sunshine State trip is a return to Bubba Raceway Park for three more consecutive nights of USAC National Sprint Car racing on February 15-16-17. The first two nights will pay $6,000-to-win with Saturday night’s finale paying $10,000-to-win.