C.J. Leary is ready to drag double, full-season obligation for Crew AZ Racing on a number of USAC trails all through 2025.
Leary, the 2019 USAC Nationwide Dash Automobile champion, will compete on the 50-race USAC AMSOIL Dash Automobile Nationwide Championship docket with Crew AZ in partnership with Curb-Agajanian. He additionally will tackle the 13-race USAC Silver Crown slate with Crew AZ in affiliation with Jerry Petty of Avanti Home windows & Doorways.
“It simply is sensible having every part underneath one roof,” Leary stated. “When (automobile proprietor) Mike (Burkhart) initially referred to as me, he simply needed to do the Silver Crown factor, and I used to be calling him to wish to do the dash automobile. I feel we discovered a approach to make each work, however he was anxious about being good at each and never taking away from both program. It’s a number of work doing each sequence with one group of men. I feel it’s actually good to get that chemistry as soon as they determine what I like.”
Towards the tip of the 2024 marketing campaign, Leary had a chance to make his first two USAC CRA Dash Automobile begins for Crew AZ/Curb-Agajanian Racing through the Western World Championships at Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway, ending fourth and third throughout the 2 nights.
“Getting our ft moist was tremendous useful to get these trial runs out of the way in which earlier than we roll into Florida the place it’s a nationwide factors race,” Leary defined. “I don’t really feel like we’d have any time to study one another (in Florida). In Arizona, it was low strain, and I’ve been pals with the 21AZ guys for 4 or 5 years, however we’ve by no means raced collectively. There’s just a little little bit of a studying curve there, and I feel it went actually easily these two nights on the market.”
The method of it was discovering what works and what doesn’t work between the driving force’s seat and the wrenches, all whereas determining the best way to work collectively, talk and grow to be a crew.
“We discovered that I don’t like the identical issues Daison [Pursley] likes,” Leary revealed. “However we’ve the identical engine builder I’ve been utilizing and the identical vehicles. It must be a straightforward jell coming collectively. The large factor is having a full circle and surrounding myself with good folks is actually essential. We’ve bought good guys engaged on the vehicles and good guys sponsoring the automobile, so hopefully, it’s going to be a powerhouse crew.”
Crew AZ Racing, in the meantime, has captured six profession USAC Nationwide Dash Automobile wins, 4 with Jake Swanson between 2021-2023, and two extra in 2024 with Daison Pursley on the wheel. Pursley’s late-race heroics additionally offered Crew AZ its first ever Silver Crown victory in June of 2024 at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway.
Leary is without doubt one of the sport’s premier drivers, amassing 23 profession USAC Nationwide Dash Automobile function wins and 55 quick qualifying occasions. With the Silver Crown sequence, Leary has compiled three profession wins and 7 pole positions. Now Leary is prepared get rolling into it, again to championship kind.
“After we begin racing, I feel it’s going to be actually good,” Leary foretold. “I’ve pushed for some good guys, however I haven’t had a full crew the place we’ve a tire man and a crew chief moreover myself and the place I don’t drive the truck and trailer. Now I get to focus just a little bit extra on driving. That’s going to be tremendous useful to me, the place I can take among the weight off my shoulders and simply drive.”
The search for a USAC Nationwide Dash Automobile championship begins in February 2025 with six consecutive occasions in Florida throughout Winter Grime Video games. Each Leary and Crew AZ have loved victory in recent times through the Sunshine State tour. Leary received in each 2019 and 2024 at Ocala Speedway whereas Crew AZ scored at Volusia Speedway Park with Jake Swanson in 2023.
The 2025 USAC Silver Crown season begins at Indiana’s Terre Haute Motion Monitor for the twenty first operating of the Sumar Traditional. Leary’s first profession USAC nationwide victory of any form got here through the 2016 version of the Sumar.
Leary can be behind the wheel of the Curb Information/Apache Transport OakCraft Elegant Cabinetry No. 21AZ Dash Automobile powered by 1 Method Applied sciences between the body rails of a DRC chassis on each filth in addition to the primary ever DRC pavement chassis.
The Avanti Home windows & Doorways, Apache Transport, OakCraft Elegant Cabinetry No. 21 Silver Crown automobile pushed by Leary will function Stanton Racing Engines energy underneath the hood of their DRC chassis.
