INDIANAPOLIS – After parting ways with Clauson-Marshall Racing, many in the midget racing community wondered where Justin Grant would land next.
Grant’s short-term answer was a two-race stint with Frank Manafort Racing as a teammate to Brady Bacon, but his solution for the upcoming year became clear at the recent Gateway Dirt Nationals, when he was revealed as the new driver of the RAMS Racing No. 4a for team principal Rick Young.
Now, Grant has confirmed to SPEED SPORT that he will continue with RAMS Racing for the foreseeable future, including this weekend’s Junior Knepper 55 at the Southern Illinois Center and the 33rd annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., in January.
Grant will then contest a limited schedule of events with the team throughout next year.
“We didn’t have the finish that I would have liked to have gotten at Gateway, but it was really good that we were able to show speed right out of the box,” said Grant, who finished 18th in St. Louis. “To be sixth or seventh-quick overall, with a new car and a new team, I was pretty happy with that. We obviously wanted to win the race, but everything went smoothly and we had a solid run.
“I’m really excited to go into DuQuoin and the Chili Bowl with them, and then continuing that stretch on into the 2019 season. We’re just going to run a limited schedule, but I feel like we’ll be a threat to win every time we show up at the race track.”
The Ione, Calif., native ended up seventh in this year’s USAC National Midget Series standings on the strength of one win, seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. He was one of four drivers to start all 17 series races this season.
However, Grant admitted that it will be a bit refreshing to take a step back from full-time midget racing next year, after several years of competing full time on all three of USAC’s national divisions.
“I think it’ll actually be good for me,” Grant said of not running the full USAC National Midget Series next year, as he had done the last two years for Clauson-Marshall Racing. “I think it will be a nice break and a way for me to get off the road a little bit and spend some time with my family.
“I’m not going anywhere; don’t get me wrong,” he continued. “I’ll still be running the full sprint car schedule and I’ll be back in the (Hemelgarn Racing) Silver Crown car as well, in addition to a good handful of midget races. I don’t really feel like I’m missing out on all that much. … It’s always fun to run the full schedule, but I think sometimes being able to stay home and show up fresh gives you a bit of an advantage as well.
