KOKOMO, Ind. (April 9, 2013)—Jake Blackhurst embarks what he believes can be a championship campaign in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series with the season-opening Kokomo Grand Prix on Friday (April 12) and Saturday (April 13), two events with full programs co-sanctioned by the USAC Mopar National Dirt Midget Series.
It will be Blackhurst’s third season in POWRi Midgets and he’s achieved notably in his initial two. The 17-year-old from Mapleton, Ill., was POWRi’s Rookie of the Year in 2011 and finished fourth in the championship in 2012, a season that included his breakthrough victory at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo.
“Our No. 1 goal is going for the championship this season,” Blackhurst said. “We’ve got two cars and my dad (crew chief Paul Blackhurst) has been working his butt off getting them perfect. We’re taking both of them to the track.”
Both cars are Esslinger-powered Spikes, but the engines are slightly different and will give the Blackhurst team the ability to adjust for track sizes. The standard Esslinger will continue to be used on the larger tracks like Kokomo, but a version with a new electronic engine management system will provide an option for shorter tracks like one-fifth Macon (Ill.) Speedway and Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill. And having two cars ready to race will eliminate the problem of engine failures sending the Blackhurst team home early.
Blackhurst also has had success at Kokomo Speedway. He finished fourth at the three-eighths mile track last October in the Kokomo Klash behind veterans Tracy Hines, Shane Hollingsworth and Bobby East. He was sixth in the Klash in his first event at Kokomo in 2010 and was running well when a mechanical failure took him out in 2011.
“I love Kokomo,” Blackhurst said. “It is probably my favorite track. It is so racy. It’s not real banked, but it’s wide and they prepare the track so well. You’re on the gas hard, kind of wide open.”
Blackhurst had five top-10s in 14 features and was 11th in the points in 2011. He drove in 24 features and had five top-fives and 11 top-10s in 2012.
“Overall, it was a great year,” Blackhurst said. “I didn’t imagine getting fourth in the points with all the motor problems we had. I thought we could have done better.”
The Kokomo Grand Prix will also be the season opener for the USAC National Dirt Midgets and with $4,000 to win for the 30-lap feature Friday and $6,000 to win for the 40-lap feature Saturday , it is expected to attract an outstanding field.
The POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series also opens its season at Kokomo and USAC’s Ignite Midgets are also part of the program both nights.
For more information on POWRi Racing, go to www.powri.com.