Leary is top qualifier, sets track record

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Sprint car racer C.J. Leary is shown here competing in a heat race at Gas City on Friday, July 24, 2020. Leary is a Greenfield native and a past Sprint Car series champion

Greenfield sprint car driver C.J. Leary had top qualifying times and set track records during last week’s five-race USAC AMSOIL Inc. National Sprint Cars Eastern Storm Series.

The sprint cars were scheduled to race five times from June 14-19 in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Opening the week at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., on June 14, Leary had the quickest qualifying time of 13.713 seconds on the one-third mile, high-banked clay oval track.

He followed it up by setting a new track record on the .4-mile course on June 15 at Bridgeport Motorsports Park in Swedesboro, N.J. with a time of 14.779 seconds.

At Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa., Leary set top qualifying times in both sprint cars and the USAC Silver Crown cars. He now holds both USAC 1-lap records at the ½ mile track.

His Silver Crown time was 21.402 seconds. His sprint car lap was 18.617 seconds.

In the sprint car series, Leary has six fastest qualifying times, most in the series.

The Greenfield native was one of nine drivers entering the final race at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway in Bloomsburg, Pa., still mathematically eligible to win the series title. He ended up finishing fifth overall with 306 points. Logan Seavey won the event with 352 points.

Leary won the Eastern Storm title in 2019.

Miller competes at national meet

New Palestine’s Sydney Miller, who placed fourth, as a junior, in the discus at the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals, finished 22nd at the New Balance Nationals at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa.

Miller had a best throw of 123-feet, 8-inches.

Eastern Hancock team wins camp title

Eastern Hancock’s junior varsity boys basketball team went 9-1 and was the JVC champions at the Super Hoops Camp hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion.

The varsity team was the first Class 2A school to be invited to play in the Varsity A Division (competing against larger classification schools). They went 4-5. The freshman team finished in the final four of a 14-team pool and went 5-4 for the weekend.