…AND ACTION! USAC MIDGETS TAKE ON 3-NIGHT ADVENTURE JULY 8-9-10 AT HUSET’S

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Brandon, South Dakota (July 6, 2022)………With the checkered flag in his sight, Thomas Meseraull had resigned himself to a third-place finish during the 2021 opening night Huset’s Speedway USAC Nationals feature for the NOS Energy Drink National Midgets in Brandon, South Dakota.

Running inside the top-five throughout the first 29 laps, Meseraull thought he saw his hopes of victory dashed on the final lap as the leaders raced into the distance on the back straightaway while Meseraull seemed destined for a third-place fate.

However, divine intervention swept over the speedway in the form of a yellow flag due to a stopped car in turn two which brought about not only a halt to the race, but also reverted to the last completed lap, thus sending Meseraull back into second and provided him another shot with a green-white-checkered bout waiting ahead.

Meseraull assaulted the cushion without hesitation and stuck to his guns to charge by for the win, ultimately completing the winning pass at the exit of turn four while charging to the white flag.  Not to be denied, Meseraull sealed the deal on the final lap by turning his best lap of the contest.

The San Jose, Calif. driver has his eye on the ball once again for this weekend’s return to the 1/3-mile dirt oval as he seeks consecutive years of Huset’s success.

THE INTRODUCTION:

Three-straight nights of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing arrives at Huset’s on Friday-Saturday-Sunday, July 8-9-10, alongside the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in a delectable triple-threat doubleheader.

Nights one and two will feature 30-lap USAC National Midget main events, paying $5,000-to-win.  Meanwhile, Sunday night’s 100-lap finale will pay $12,000 to the winner.  Throughout the weekend, points will continuously be accumulated, and the top point gainer in the midget division for all three events combined will earn a $10,000 prize.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday night’s events will award 50 appearance points only to all USAC nationally-licensed drivers and entrants.  No qualifying, heat race, preliminary or feature points will be issued.

RUSHMORE HISTORY:

USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets have competed in the state of South Dakota just nine times in the 67-year history of the series.  Nine previous South Dakota USAC National Midget races have produced eight different winners between 1976-2021: Steve Cannon (1976 in Huron), Sleepy Tripp (1976 in Rapid City), Johnny Parsons (1977 in Huron), Rich Vogler (1977 in Hartford), Ken Schrader (1982 in Hartford), Kenny Irwin Jr. (1996 at Huset’s), Meseraull (2021 at Huset’s) and Chris Windom (twice in 2021 at Huset’s).

THE RETURNEES:

Among the top returnees in the field include the man who won his first career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car feature just two weeks ago at this very same place.  That’s defending USAC National Midget champion and current point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.).  Kofoid’s three Huset’s midget starts last year resulted in a 4th on night one, a 3rd on night two and a 2nd on night three.  Kofoid is sensing a trend here, and he’ll be shooting to get back into victory lane for the fifth time this season starting Friday.

Shane Golobic (Fremont, Calif.) was solid in all three of his starts a year ago at Huset’s, with the 2017 USAC Indiana Midget Week titlist tallying a 3rd on night one, a 5th on night two and a 7th on night three.

Golobic was the first to break the track record in the 2021 opener, but the ensuing evening saw Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) up the ante once more by setting a new track record for the series at 12.776 seconds.  This year’s leading Rookie of the Year candidate nearly pulled off a victory on the first night of 2021’s festivities, taking the lead on the final lap before the yellow fell.  On the restart, he dropped to 6th and is primed to become the series’ newest first-time winner.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) possesses the USAC Sprint Car one-lap track record at Huset’s, but his prowess in a midget there is just as strong.  The 2018 USAC National Midget champ rose to 7th, 4th and 6th during his three runs at the track in 2021.

Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) is the lone driver to win in all three USAC National divisions thus far this year.  The 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ, and three times a 2022 USAC National Midget victor, scored a best of 6th at Huset’s on night two in the inaugural 2021 edition.

Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) was the dominant force early on during the final night of 2021’s USAC Nationals when he led a total of 23 laps before suffering a flat right rear tire, which dashed his hopes and dreams of victory.  The winner of the series’ most recent round at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway in June collected a best of 9th on the second night of action.

Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas) placed 9th on the final night of 2021 while Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) performed solidly with 10th place results on each of the first pair of racing nights.  Lurking just outside the top-ten last year and hungry to move up through the field this time around are 2021 race returnees Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.), 13th on night one, as well as Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), 14th on night one.  Four-time USAC National Sprint Car champion Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Oka.) suffered trouble on his run last year, relegating him to 17th in the night one finishing order.

THE ROOKS:

The USAC Nationals Rookie class in the midget division includes many of the series’ shining new stars.  Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio) captured his first career USAC National Midget victory during USAC Indiana Midget Week in June at Lincoln Park Speedway. 

The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports pack include three drivers currently positioned inside the top-eight in the overall standings, and all hungering after their first series victory.  Third in points is Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) as well as sixth-place residing Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) and in the eighth-slot is Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.).  Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, Calif.) is a newcomer to the team and is making his first South Dakota voyage this weekend.

Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.), like Reimer, is a recent feature winner with the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets and is also making her Huset’s debut along with CB Industries teammate and fellow series Rookie Jace Park (Overland Park, Kan.).

POWRi Midget champ Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) will be among those pulling double-duty in both the USAC Midgets and Sprints at Huset’s as will Alex Schriever (Hartford, S.D.), not exactly a newbie to USAC racing at Huset’s after finishing 14th with the sprints there in 2016.  Badger Midget champion Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.) is in the lineup as is USAC Western Restricted HPD Midget champ Blake Brannon (Morgan Hill, Calif.) and more.

For the first two nights of racing at Huset’s on Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9, pit gates open at Noon Central.  The front gates will open at 3pm with the drivers meeting at 4pm, an autograph session from 5-5:30 behind the grandstands, engine heat at 6:30pm and hot laps at 7pm followed by qualifying and racing action.

On the final night, championship night, Sunday, July 10, pit gates open at Noon Central.  The front gates will open at 3pm with the drivers meeting at 4:15pm, cars on track for engine heat at 5pm and hot laps at 6pm.

Tickets, multi-day packages, and limited camping spots are going fast.  Visit www.usacnationals.com and get yours today.  Follow @USACnationals on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for event news, updates, and information.

If you can’t make it to the event in person, all three nights of racing action at the Huset’s Speedway USAC Nationals will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.

=======================

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Buddy Kofoid-761, 2-Justin Grant-715, 3-Bryant Wiedeman-581, 4-Mitchel Moles-580, 5-Thomas Meseraull-569, 6-Kaylee Bryson-543, 7-Cannon McIntosh-542, 8-Taylor Reimer-448, 9-Brenham Crouch-441, 10-Logan Seavey-436.

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS AT HUSET’S SPEEDWAY:

2-Chris Windom

1-Kenny Irwin Jr. & Thomas Meseraull

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS AT HUSET’S SPEEDWAY:

1996: Kenny Irwin Jr. (7/30)

2021: Thomas Meseraull (9/10), Chris Windom (9/11) & Chris Windom (9/12)

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS IN SOUTH DAKOTA:

2-Chris Windom

1-Steve Cannon, Kenny Irwin Jr., Thomas Meseraull, Johnny Parsons, Ken Schrader, Sleepy Tripp & Rich Vogler

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT HUSET’S SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap - 9/11/2021 - Mitchel Moles - 12.776 - 93.832 mph

8 Laps - 7/30/1996 - Kenny Irwin Jr. - 1:58.03 - 81.254 mph

10 Laps - 9/12/2021 - Emerson Axsom - 2:12.56 - 90.435 mph

12 Laps - 7/30/1996 - Cory Kruseman - 3:02.33 - 78.899 mph

30 Laps - 9/11/2021 - Chris Windom - 7:31.12 - 79.722 mph

PAST HUSET’S SPEEDWAY USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RESULTS:

1996 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kenny Irwin Jr., 2. Kevin Doty, 3. Jay Drake, 4. Brian Gerster, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Jeff Sands, 7. Cory Kruseman, 8. Donnie Lehmann, 9. Carl Olsen, 10. Gary Howard, 11. John Heydenreich, 12. Boyd Calvert, 13. Mark Boice, 14. Scott Hansen, 15. Dave Strickland Jr., 16. Steve Barth, 17. Keith Rauch, 18. Dennis Parker. (David Bridges disqualified for failing to meet specs regarding fuel). NT

2021 NIGHT #1 FEATURE: (31 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (6), 2. Chris Windom (4), 3. Shane Golobic (5), 4. Buddy Kofoid (7), 5. Daison Pursley (1), 6. Mitchel Moles (12), 7. Logan Seavey (13), 8. Jason McDougal (9), 9. Chase Randall (3), 10. Chance Crum (17), 11. Brenham Crouch (16), 12. Maria Cofer (20), 13. Ethan Mitchell (18), 14. Hayden Reinbold (19), 15. Austin Barnhill (22), 16. Cannon McIntosh (11), 17. Brady Bacon (8), 18. Ryan Timms (15), 19. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 20. Chad Frewaldt (24), 21. Tanner Thorson (14), 22. Justin Grant (21), 23. Brant O'Banion (23), 24. Emerson Axsom (10). NT

2021 NIGHT #2 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (6), 2. Daison Pursley (1), 3. Buddy Kofoid (7), 4. Logan Seavey (3), 5. Shane Golobic (12), 6. Justin Grant (13), 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 8. Thomas Meseraull (16), 9. Cannon McIntosh (10), 10. Chance Crum (5), 11. Emerson Axsom (8), 12. Mitchel Moles (11), 13. Tanner Thorson (15), 14. Chase Randall (18), 15. Ryan Timms (14), 16. Jason McDougal (17), 17. Maria Cofer (19), 18. Brenham Crouch (2), 19. Hayden Reinbold (20), 20. Chad Frewaldt (21), 21. Austin Barnhill (4), 22. Aaron Werner (23), 23. Casey Hicks (25), 24. Lance Bennett (22), 25. Blaze Bennett (24). 7:31.12 (New Track Record)

2021 NIGHT #3 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (7), 2. Buddy Kofoid (11), 3. Daison Pursley (12), 4. Tanner Thorson (18), 5. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 6. Logan Seavey (6), 7. Shane Golobic (10), 8. Jason McDougal (4), 9. Brenham Crouch (15), 10. Emerson Axsom (2), 11. Ryan Timms (16), 12. Chad Frewaldt (20), 13. Brant O'Banion (24), 14. Austin Barnhill (19), 15. Aaron Werner (21), 16. Casey Hicks (22), 17. Chase Randall (1), 18. Lance Bennett (23), 19. Chance Crum (13), 20. Justin Grant (14), 21. Thomas Meseraull (9), 22. Mitchel Moles (5), 23. Cannon McIntosh (8), 24. Hayden Reinbold (17). NT