INDIANAPOLIS – On the heels of several strong performances to end the season, Justin Grant has renewed with TOPP Motorsports for another run at the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series title.
While they didn’t find USAC victory lane together until Sept. 27 at Kokomo Speedway, after that, the Grant/TOPP combination was nearly untouchable over the final month of the season.
Grant won five of the final eight series races, including a sweep of the first two nights of the Budweiser Oval Nationals at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway. He finished eighth in USAC driver points and the team ended up sixth in the final car owner standings.
“We are really looking forward to getting Justin back behind the wheel of the TOPP Motorsports No. 4,” said team owner Kevin Birchmeier. “We are excited to keep our momentum rolling from the end of the 2018 season and spend some more time in victory lane.”
Grant joined TOPP Motorsports after a podium finish in the USAC sprint car standings in 2017 with Sam McGhee Motorsports, scoring 17 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes in 40 starts on the USAC tour.
He was one of just nine drivers to make every USAC national sprint car feature this season.
“I’m really excited to go back racing with all the TOPP Motorsports guys again, especially given how strong we were able to finish this year,” Grant told SPEED SPORT. “Hopefully we can start the coming year just like we finished this past season, because we really started gelling and had several strong runs.
“It took us a little bit to mesh, being a new team with new personalities, but once we clicked then we really clicked and things went extremely well,” added Grant. “We were fortunate enough to grab some big wins to close the year on and our goal now is to keep the pedal down and keep getting after it.”
The team chemistry that he’s found with TOPP Motorsports this season has been one thing in particular that makes Grant eager to continue his relationship with the team for another year.
“The level of professionalism that they have and the even temperament of the team really make the TOPP group a joy to work with,” noted Grant. “They’re very steady – they don’t get too excited and they don’t get too worked up … they just keep trucking along. That’s been very good for me and helps to keep my head level.”
Grant believes that, based on their recent history together, both he and TOPP Motorsports could be primed for an exceptional season in 2019.
“I believe we can contend for the championship, especially if we keep the same speed that we found the last few months,” said Grant. “Hopefully we can roll out strong in Florida and lay the groundwork from there.”
