SHOWTIME AT KOKOMO: USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK COMES TO TOWN SATURDAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Kokomo, Indiana (June 8, 2022)………The drive to win, the will to succeed and the dedication to winning a USAC Indiana Midget Week title are among the ideals that have been racing through USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship drivers and team’s minds over the past week.

However, as anybody will tell you, winning a feature at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway is pretty dang cool too.

That’s where the action is this Saturday night, June 11, in the penultimate round of USAC Indiana Midget Week where the USAC National Midgets will visit for the 15th occasion during IMW and for the 86th time overall dating back to USAC’s inaugural season of 1956.

Kokomo is where things get real for the Indiana Midget Week contenders with a championship at stake and each point signifying the polar discrepancy between jubilation and despondency.

IMW point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) has finished inside the top-10 in each of his two Kokomo IMW starts over the past couple of seasons, recording a 7th in 2021 and a 10th in his Rookie season with the series in 2020.

Last Sunday’s Tri-State Speedway IMW winner, Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), won the USAC Regional Midget portion of the Kokomo Klash in 2020.  He’s the owner of three career USAC National Sprint Car wins at the track as well and has finished inside the top-10 during Indiana Midget Week at Kokomo on three occasions with a 9th in both 2010 and 2020 and bested by a 5th in 2021.

Tanner Thorson’s charge late in the going allowed him to score a narrow victory in the Kokomo IMW round of 2020.  The 2016 USAC National Midget champion who hails from Minden, Nev. finished 7th at Kokomo’s IMW that same year, and has also been 8th in 2014 and 9th in 2017.

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) is a three-time track champion at Kokomo in 2017, 2019 and 2021, owning four USAC National Sprint Car wins to his credit at the track.  The 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ turned in a best Kokomo IMW performance of 2nd in 2021 along with a 4th in 2017.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) has seen success as both a USAC National Midget champ (2018) and an Indiana Midget Week champ (2019).  He also knows success at Kokomo, having won a USAC National Sprint Car race there in 2019 and picking up a 3rd place finish during the Indiana Midget Week round of his championship season in 2018.  He reached the top-10 once more at the track during IMW in 2021, taking 10th.

Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has reached victory lane in a sprint car on the local level at Kokomo.  He’s eyeballing a first midget win at the track come Saturday night after two career podium finishes during IMW at Kokomo with a 3rd in both 2018 and again in 2021.

Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) has racked up three career USAC National Sprint Car victories at Kokomo, including his first in 2016.  At Kokomo during 2020 IMW, Cummins finished an impressive 5th.

Also re-entering Kokomo’s IMW lineup are St. Peters, Missouri’s Sam Johnson (11th in 2018), Bixby, Oklahoma’s Cannon McIntosh (12th in 2020), Muskogee, Oklahoma’s Kaylee Bryson (12th in 2021), Colby, Kansas’ Bryant Wiedeman (14th in 2021), Mooresville, North Carolina’s Ethan Mitchell (19th in 2020) and Lubbock, Texas’ Brenham Crouch (20th in 2021).

Three drivers shooting for a first Indiana Midget Week feature start at Kokomo have already stood in BC victory lane in their careers.  Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) captured a USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget feature victory in 2018 at Kokomo and also finished 2nd in a USAC Regional Midget event there in August of 2021.

McDermand finished as the runner-up that night to Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) who picked up the Regional score that evening.  Also a winner at Kokomo is Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), a USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget victor near the end of the 2020 campaign.

Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.) eyes his first Kokomo Indiana Midget Week start.  He finished 22nd with the USAC National Midgets at Kokomo in the Fall of 2020 and was 3rd in USAC Regional Midget competition in August of 2021.  Bryan Stanfill (Bakersfield, Calif.), a 2020 USAC IMRA SpeeD2 Midget titlist, was 17th in the 2021 Kokomo Grand Prix.

Maria Cofer’s father, 1994 USAC Western States Midget champ Johnny Cofer, raced at Kokomo with the USAC National Midgets in 1990 where he finished 5th.  For Maria, this will mark the 2017 Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) champion’s first Kokomo Indiana Midget Week appearance.

She’s among the first-time Kokomo Indiana Midget Week hopefuls along with top series Rookie Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) and CB Industries teammates Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.), Jace Park (Overland Park, Kan.) and Dominic Gorden (Clovis, Calif.).

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports’ Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, Calif.),  Mariah Ede (Fresno, Calif.) and Australian Speedcar champ Kaidon Brown (Sydney, NSW) will be in the field.

There’s a contingent from both Australia and New Zealand that’ll be on hand with Brown making his IMW debut along with Aussie countryman Mike Griffiths (Melbourne, Vic.) and Kiwi Travis Buckley (Auckland, N.Z.).  Bay Cities Racing Association Midgets’ 2019 champ, Robert Carson (Concord, Calif.), will be on hand as well as USAC Western Restricted HPD champ, Blake Brannon (Morgan Hill, Calif.) and All Star TQ Midget feature winner Rylan Gray (Greenfield, Ind.).

Kokomo’s USAC Indiana Midget Week on Saturday features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and the Kokomo Sprint Cars.

The pits open at 3pm Eastern.  Grandstands open at 3pm for online ticket buyers at www.KokomoTix.com.  Grandstands open at 4pm for those who buy tickets on race day.  Hot laps begin at 6pm with qualifying and racing immediately following.

Tickets and pit passes will be sold at the gate.  General admission tickets are $30 while kids age 12 and under are free.  Pit passes are $35.

All of USAC Indiana Midget Week and all USAC national events throughout the season can watched live and on-demand on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.

 

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2022 USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-629, 2-Justin Grant-577, 3-Mitchel Moles-470, 4-Thomas Meseraull-467, 5-Bryant Wiedeman-466, 6-Cannon McIntosh-419, 7-Kaylee Bryson-416, 8-Logan Seavey-345, 9-Taylor Reimer-339, 10-Brenham Crouch-308.

 

2022 USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-245, 2-Justin Grant-203, 3-Thomas Meseraull-191, 4-Kyle Cummins-184, 5-Mitchel Moles-181, 6-Bryant Wiedeman-178, 7-Kaylee Bryson-169, 8-Taylor Reimer-150, 9-Jacob Denney-149, 10-Jade Avedisian-125.

 

2022 USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK SCHEDULE:

Friday, June 3: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Ind. | WINNER: Buddy Kofoid

Saturday, June 4: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Ind. | WINNER: Buddy Kofoid

Sunday, June 5: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Ind.| WINNER: Thomas Meseraull

Thursday, June 9: Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Ind.

Friday, June 10: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Ind.

Saturday, June 11: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Ind.

Sunday, June 12: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Ind.

 

KOKOMO SPEEDWAY USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK WINS:

3-Bryan Clauson

1-Rico Abreu, Brady Bacon, Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Brad Kuhn, Kyle Larson, Michael Pickens, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr., Tanner Thorson & Chris Windom

 

KOKOMO SPEEDWAY USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK WINNERS:

2006: Brady Bacon (8/20)

2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (8/12)

2008: Bryan Clauson (8/10)

2009: Bryan Clauson (6/14)

2010: Brad Kuhn (6/20)

2011: Michael Pickens (6/12)

2012: Kyle Larson (6/17)

2013: Christopher Bell (6/16)

2014: Bryan Clauson (6/15)

2015: Not Held

2016: Rico Abreu (6/5)

2017: Spencer Bayston (6/11)

2018: Kevin Thomas Jr. (6/3)

2019: Not Held

2020: Tanner Thorson (6/21)

2021: Chris Windom (6/12)

 

KOKOMO USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS:

7-Rich Vogler

6-Mel Kenyon

3-Rico Abreu, Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, Jimmy Davies, Bob Wente & Chris Windom

2-Chuck Arnold, Tyler Courtney, Bobby Grim, Page Jones, Mike McGreevy, Ken Schrader, Bob Tattersall & Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Tommy Astone, Emerson Axsom, Spencer Bayston, Christopher Bell, Tom Bigelow, Bud Bogard, Frank Burany, Pancho Carter, Danny Caruthers, Jimmy Caruthers, Tommy Copp, Rex Easton, Tony Elliott, Billy Engelhart, Gene Force, Darren Hagen, Gene Hartley, Jack Hewitt, Tracy Hines, Brad Kuhn, Lee Kunzman, Kyle Larson, Critter Malone, Don Meacham, Jerry Nuckles, Forrest Parker, Michael Pickens, Ron Shuman, Graham Standring, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland, Len Sutton, Shorty Templeman, Tanner Thorson, Sleepy Tripp, Jerry Weeks & J.J. Yeley

 

KOKOMO USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:

1956: Forrest Parker (7/28)

1957: Len Sutton (6/23) & Rex Easton (8/17)

1958: Frank Burany (5/24)

1959: Gene Force (5/29) & Shorty Templeman (7/12)

1960: Jimmy Davies (5/29), Bod Bogard (6/25), Gene Hartley (7/24) & Bob Wente (8/13)

1961: Jimmy Davies (5/29) & Jimmy Davies (7/30)

1962: Tommy Copp (6/30) & Bob Tattersall (7/29)

1964: Bob Wente (7/11)

1965: Mel Kenyon (5/30), Bobby Grim (6/26) & Bobby Grim (7/24)

1966: Chuck Arnold (5/29) & Bob Tattersall (8/27)

1967: Mike McGreevy (5/29), Chuck Arnold (6/17) & Mike McGreevy (7/22)

1968: Bob Wente (6/30) & Don Meacham (7/21)

1969: Lee Kunzman (5/31)

1970: Dave Strickland (5/30) & Tom Bigelow (8/1)

1971: Danny Caruthers (7/16) & Jimmy Caruthers (8/7)

1972: Pancho Carter (8/26)

1973: Billy Engelhart (7/14)

1975: Sleepy Tripp (7/9)

1976: Tommy Astone (7/7)

1977: Mel Kenyon (7/13)

1978: Ron Shuman (8/23) & Jerry Weeks (8/23)

1979: Mel Kenyon (6/14) & Mel Kenyon (7/11)

1980: Rich Vogler (6/11) & Rich Vogler (7/10)

1981: Rich Vogler (6/10) & Ken Schrader (7/8)

1982: Ken Schrader (6/10) & Mel Kenyon (7/7)

1983: Rich Vogler (6/8) & Rich Vogler (7/13)

1984: Jerry Nuckles (6/6)

1985: Rich Vogler (6/29)

1987: Mel Kenyon (6/24)

1988: Mike Streicher (6/22) & Rich Vogler (8/17)

1990: Graham Standring (8/8)

1991: Jack Hewitt (8/7)

1992: Page Jones (8/19)

1993: Critter Malone (8/11)

1994: Page Jones (7/27)

1995: Tony Elliott (8/23)

2000: Tracy Hines (8/27)

2003: J.J. Yeley (6/15)

2006: Brady Bacon (8/20)

2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (8/12)

2008: Bryan Clauson (8/10)

2009: Bryan Clauson (6/14)

2010: Brad Kuhn (6/20)

2011: Michael Pickens (6/12)

2012: Kyle Larson (6/17)

2013: Christopher Bell (6/16)

2014: Rico Abreu (4/11), Rico Abreu (4/12) & Bryan Clauson (6/15)

2015: Darren Hagen (4/11)

2016: Rico Abreu (6/5)

2017: Brady Bacon (4/8), Brady Bacon (4/9) & Spencer Bayston (6/11)

2018: Tyler Courtney (4/13) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (6/3)

2019: Tyler Courtney (4/5) & Kevin Thomas Jr. (4/6)

2020: Tanner Thorson (6/21) & Chris Windom (9/26)

2021: Emerson Axsom (4/30), Chris Windom (5/1) & Chris Windom (6/12)

 

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT KOKOMO SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 4/5/2019 - Dillon Welch  12.665 - 71.062 mph

8 Laps - 6/20/2010 - Steve Buckwalter - 1:51.62 - 64.505 mph

10 Laps - 4/5/2019 - Tanner Carrick - 2:10.06 - 69.199 mph

12 Laps - 4/13/2018 - Holly Shelton - 2:46.01 - 65.056 mph

 

PAST USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK FEATURE RESULTS AT KOKOMO SPEEDWAY:

2006 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brady Bacon, 2. Jon Stanbrough, 3. Jeremy Warren, 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Levi Jones, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Darren Hagen, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Cole Carter, 11. Brad Loyet, 12. Dustin Morgan, 13. Jay Drake, 14. Michael Lewis, 15. Josh Wise, 16. Michael Pickens, 17. Chase Barber, 18. Joe Liguori, 19. Adam Barth, 20. Tom Hessert III, 21. Brad Mosen, 22. Tracy Hines. NT

2007 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2. Kevin Swindell, 3. Brad Loyet, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Dave Darland, 6. Brad Sweet, 7. Shane Hollingsworth, 8. Chuck Gurney Jr., 9. Darren Hagen, 10. Levi Jones, 11. Brady Bacon, 12. Shane Cottle, 13. Cole Carter, 14. Gary Altig, 15. Brad Mosen, 16. Chris Windom, 17. Tony Elliott, 18. A.J. Felker, 19. Danny Stratton, 20. Brad Kuhn, 21. Cole Whitt, 22. Davey Ray, 23. Gary Taylor. NT

2008 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Cole Whitt, 5. Levi Jones, 6. Bobby East, 7. Brad Loyet, 8. Steve Buckwalter, 9. Darren Hagen, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Brad Kuhn, 12. Danny Stratton, 13. Josh Ford, 14. Shane Cottle, 15. Garrett Hansen, 16. Ricky Ehrgott, 17. Brady Bacon, 18. Dustin Morgan, 19. Brad Sweet, 20. Chad Boat, 21. Davey Ray, 22. Robert Ballou, 23. Zach Daum, 24. Dave Darland. NT

2009 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Brad Kuhn, 4. Cole Whitt, 5. Kevin Swindell, 6. Kody Swanson, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Brent Beauchamp, 10. Caleb Armstrong, 11. Levi Jones, 12. Dene McAllan, 13. Thomas Meseraull, 14. Dakoda Armstrong, 15. Steve Buckwalter, 16. Henry Clarke, 17. Zach Daum, 18. Shane Hmiel, 19. Josh Wise, 20. Bobby East, 21. Darren Hagen, 22. Chad Boat, 23. Brad Sweet. NT

2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brad Kuhn, 2. Brad Sweet, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Darren Hagen, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Brad Loyet, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Chad Boat, 9. Thomas Meseraull, 10. Shane Hmiel, 11. Matt Smith, 12. Zach Daum, 13. Levi Jones, 14. Chase Barber, 15. Mario Clouser, 16. Henry Clarke, 17. Bobby East, 18. Steve Buckwalter, 19. Kent Schmidt, 20. Dave Darland, 21. Caleb Armstrong, 22. Shane Cottle. NT

2011 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Michael Pickens, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Brad Kuhn, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Chris Windom, 7. Zach Daum, 8. Steve Buckwalter, 9. Bobby East, 10. Blake Fitzpatrick, 11. Levi Roberts, 12. Darren Hagen, 13. Dalton Armstrong, 14. Matt Smith, 15. Mario Clouser, 16. Chase Barber, 17. Jimmy Simpson, 18. Trevor Kobylarz, 19. Thomas Meseraull, 20. Caleb Armstrong, 21. Danny Stratton, 22. Shane Cottle, 23. Shane Hollingsworth. NT

2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kyle Larson, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Brad Kuhn, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Darren Hagen, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8.Dave Darland, 9. Scott Hatton, 10. Rico Abreu, 11. Caleb Armstrong, 12. Dalton Armstrong, 13. Steve Buckwalter, 14. Davey Ray, 15. Trevor Kobylarz, 16. Nathan Smee, 17. Dillon Welch, 18. Michael Pickens, 19. Levi Jones, 20. Mario Clouser, 21. Thomas Meseraull, 22. Alex Bright, 23. Chase Barber, 24. Zach Daum. NT

2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Caleb Armstrong, 4. Brad Mosen, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Darren Hagen, 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Andrew Felker, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Davey Ray, 14. Tyler Thomas, 15. Ryan Criswell, 16. Austin Brown, 17. Jaimie McKinlay, 18. Dillon Welch, 19. Tanner Thorson, 20. Alex Bright, 21. Rico Abreu, 22. Bobby East, 23. Tracy Hines, 24. Brad Kuhn. NT

2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Rico Abreu, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Michael Pickens, 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 8. Tanner Thorson, 9. Andrew Felker, 10. Brady Bacon, 11. Justin Grant, 12. Christopher Bell, 13. Trey Marcham, 14. Shane Cottle, 15. Garrett Aitken, 16. Parker Price-Miller, 17. Ronnie Gardner, 18. Brenden Bright, 19. Tyler Thomas, 20. Tyler Courtney, 21. Chris Windom, 22. Steve Buckwalter, 23. Thomas Meseraull, 24. Isaac Chapple. NT

2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Rico Abreu, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Chad Boat, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Christopher Bell, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Tanner Thorson, 8. Carson Macedo, 9. Davey Ray, 10. Ryan Robinson, 11. Shane Golobic, 12. Dayne Kingshott, 13. Chase Johnson, 14. Tyler Thomas, 15. Jimi Quin, 16. Ryan Greth, 17. David Budres, 18. Zach Daum, 19. Holly Shelton, 20. Tyler Nelson, 21. Gage Walker, 22. Dave Darland, 23. Steve Buckwalter. NT

2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Shane Golobic, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Rico Abreu, 7. Michael Pickens, 8. Chad Boat, 9. Tanner Thorson, 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Alex Bright, 12. Tanner Carrick, 13. Gage Walker. 14. Adam Pierson, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Ronnie Gardner, 17. Courtney Crone, 18. Tyler Thomas, 19. Jimi Quin, 20. Holly Shelton, 21. Davey Ray,22. Ryan Robinson. NT

2018 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1), 2. Spencer Bayston (3), 3. Logan Seavey (9), 4. Jason McDougal (4), 5. Tyler Thomas (10), 6. Brady Bacon (13), 7. Zeb Wise (5), 8. Tucker Klaasmeyer (11), 9. Chad Boat (22), 10. Holly Shelton (14), 11. Sam Johnson (8), 12. Jerry Coons Jr. (16), 13. Justin Grant (15), 14. Alex Bright (17), 15. Tyler Courtney (2), 16. Ryan Robinson (6), 17. Chase Jones (19), 18. Tanner Thorson (7), 19. Brayton Lynch (20), 20. Tyler Nelson (21), 21. Justin Dickerson (18), 22. Tanner Carrick (12). NT

2020 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (7), 2. Kyle Larson (5), 3. Chris Windom (2), 4. Clinton Boyles (3), 5. Kyle Cummins (15), 6. Rico Abreu (1), 7. Shane Golobic (13), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (20), 9. Thomas Meseraull (9), 10. Buddy Kofoid (22), 11. Justin Grant (19), 12. Cannon McIntosh (8), 13. Spencer Bayston (17), 14. Jake Neuman (21), 15. Daison Pursley (10), 16. Andrew Layser (12), 17. Kaylee Bryson (18), 18. Cole Bodine (11), 19. Ethan Mitchell (14), 20. Jason McDougal (16), 21. Tyler Courtney (4), 22. Tanner Carrick (6). NT

2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (3), 2. Justin Grant (1), 3. Jason McDougal (4), 4. Emerson Axsom (5), 5. Thomas Meseraull (11), 6. Corey Day (7), 7. Buddy Kofoid (13), 8. Chase Randall (6), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (18), 10. Logan Seavey (2), 11. Jerry Coons Jr. (15), 12. Kaylee Bryson (12), 13. Daison Pursley (16), 14. Bryant Wiedeman (8), 15. Cole Bodine (22), 16. Kyle Cummins (17), 17. Hayden Williams (21), 18. Jonathan Shafer (10), 19. Tanner Thorson (9), 20. Brenham Crouch (20), 21. Cannon McIntosh (19), 22. Brian Carber (14). NT