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Varner set for Sprint Car Debut
October 20, 2021
Ben Varner is set for his Non-wing 410 Sprint car debut October 22-23 at Gas City Speedway for the 2021 Non-Wing Nationals driving the Benic Enterprises prepared Goodnight Racing number 79BT. After a year of racing USAC dirt midgets, Varner feels ready for his first outing in the 950 Horsepower machine - "I'm really excited to get rolling this weekend with Goodnight Racing and Benic Enterprises. This year has been a huge learning curve for us, and this is just another incline on that curve. Racing sprint cars on dirt is the most badass thing in the world, and its a dream come true. I cant thank Scott Benic and Matt Goodnight enough for this opporunity, lets roll!"
The 2021 Non-wing Nationals will be held at Gas City Speedway (Gas City, Indiana) October 22-23. Catch all the action on floracing.com
Varner Battles the best in 2021 BC39 event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
September 1, 2021
Just days after the inaugural Nascar-Indycar double header weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway(IMS), a different band of stars shined in the shadows of the turn 3 Grandstands. The stars and cars of the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series took to the dirt track at IMS for two nights of cutthroat racing. Ben Varner rolled into the speedway with only 2 dirt races under his belt, to compete with the likes of Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Conor Daly, Ryan Newman and more. On night one of the 4th Annual BC39, Varner made it through his premilinary heat races securing a spot in the C Main, improving by leaps and bounds each session out.
When the final night of racing came around, Varner was full of confidence and speed, where he improved 5 positions in the C main to finish 5th, sandwiched in between Indycar driver Conor Daly and 2008 Daytona 500 winner/1998 USAC Silver Crown Champion Ryan Newman. Varner missed transferring to the B main by just 2 positions, but was extremely pleased with the pace displayed - "I'm really happy with how we performed this week at the Speedway. After only having done two dirt races before this, and being able to compete with/beat some of the best in the business is extremely exciting and very promising for the rest of the season. We improved massively throughout the week and I couldnt be more proud of our effort."
Varner Finishes Third in Kenyon Midget Championship
After a mechanical failure filled year, Varner is able to salvage third
The 2020 season was about as wild as it gets, from COVID-19 to rain-outs, to freak failures, 2020 had it all. Varner was contending for wins right out the gate, qualifying second in the first two races at Anderson speedway and Jeffersonville. Unfortunately, a coil wire came loose while leading at anderson, forcing Varner to retire. While running second at Jeffersonwille, the brakes gave out on the number 9, causing Ben to limp home in 5th. Varner was finally able to get results with back to back podium finishes on the dirt of logansport and the high banks of Anderson. From there, Varner was taken out while leading at Logansport due to a broken shock, and was forced to retire on lap 30/40 after leading every single lap due to engine issues. Although the year was tough, Varner was optimistic; "Really difficult year for us mechanically, seems like we couldn't go more than a race without something breaking. Aside from that, we had pace to win alot of races, just didnt go our way. Looking forward to what next year has in store."