(Rich Forman Photo)
The Hoosier Race Report: David 1, Goliath 0
All week long lots of good racers have watched the Tucker/Boat team dominate USAC’s Indiana Midget Week, winning all five features up until Sunday night at the Kokomo Speedway. But total domination wasn’t to be for the multi-car team. That’s because a one car team, with Tanner Thorson behind the wheel, pulled it off as Thorson edged former teammate Kyle Larson and his teammate Chris Windom at the checkered flag. With a borrowed engine no less.
I left home and drove through steady rain all the way through Marion County. It became periodic sprinkles through Hamilton County and quit entirely as I motored through Tipton County. Kokomo had cloudy skies but my faith had been rewarded. The weather forecast was close enough and I had as close to total faith in the O’Connor family’s desire to have a race (and sell a few pork chop sandwiches).
Among the 37 USAC midgets and 38 Kokomo sprints was the usual ride switching. Spencer Bayston had stepped in to replace Logan Seavey, who’s feeling a little better but not ready to get back into the seat. Kevin Thomas Jr., citing the need to pay more attention to his sprint car team, exited the Petry team car and Jerry Coons Jr. was on hand to fill in. Jason McDougal’s tryout with the Kunz team was Lawrenceburg only and he was back in his regular ride tonight. After a brief absence, Rico Abreu and Tyler Nelson were back. On the sprint side, Isaac Chapple was taking his turn in the Pedersen Open Trailer Special. Thomas Meseraull, Brady Bacon, Justin Grant and Chris Windom were the double dippers.
For a brief period I thought to myself, uh-oh. Bits of moisture began falling from the sky at 7:15. By 7:30 it was almost a drizzle as the first heat participants circled the track. But it let up quickly and the green flag waved.
Tanner Thorson won with Kyle Larson, Jerry Coons Jr. and Ethan Mitchell all moving on.
Another Tanner, this one Carrick, took the second heat and Kaylee Bryson was second, trailed by sprint aces Clinton Boyles and Kyle Cummins.
Chris Windom came from fifth to win the third heat. Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant and Jason McDougal made ready for the feature.
Thomas Meseraull was the man to beat in the fourth heat. As it would turn out, this would be his highlight of the evening. Rico Abreu was second. Cannon McIntosh and Buddy Kofoid made it a KKM sweep… not counting the winner.
Cole Bodine won the last chance race. Pole sitter Daison Pursley was second. Shane Golobic, Andrew Layser, Spencer Bayston and Jake Neuman (who started 11th) would race again.
Kokomo Sprints
The usual five heats/top three advance/two Bs/ top three advance format was in place and C.L. Leary won the first heat. Shane Cottle and Thomas Meseraull moved to the feature.
Brady Bacon was the second heat winner, taking Matt Westfall and Max Adams with him to the finale.
For the third heat it was Justin Grant, Dave Darland and Travis Hery doing the honors.
Chris Windom, Anton Hernandez and Mitchell Davis did Illinois and Texas proud in the fourth heat.
Charles Davis Jr., Kevin Thomas Jr. and Jarett Andretti made the feature with Dustin Smith narrowly missing.
For the first last chance race (had to do it), Critter Malone led Matt Goodnight and Aaron Farney into the 25 lap feature.
Brian VanMeveren, Isaac Chapple and Dustin Smith met their goal of running one more race.
Two features
An interesting duo, Abreu and Windom, were the front row occupants and one would reasonably expect that one of them would lead the first lap, but Tyler Courtney, starting fourth, had another plan. Windom held onto second as Meseraull and Larson fought for third. Courtney was lengthening his lead and it was tempting to picture him as the winner.
Thorson had started seventh and had dropped back in the early going. At the halfway mark he was still seventh.
Festivities were interrupted on lap 18, when McDougal stopped in turn four with a flat tire, his second in two nights. McIntosh stopped on the frontstretch. Courtney was looking strong, leading Windom, Meseraull, Larson and Boyles. Thorson was sixth and things were about change big time.
On the re-start, Courtney caromed through turn one and flipped, bringing out the red—the race’s defining moment. Meseraull spun to a stop to miss Courtney and he’d re-start on the tail. Windom would be the new leader, with Larson, Boyles and Thorson in fourth.
The green waved and Windom maintained a lead over Larson, his teammate. One had to wonder if Larson was letting up, being a team player. I wondered it and refused to believe it. Thorson dispatched Boyles at the start and edged his way closer to the front, now with a car that could do what he wanted. Sure enough, Thorson caught Larson and made the pass. Two laps later the yellow came out for a wandering infield tire that Ethan Mitchell contacted. Windom’s lead over Thorson was gone; this was a break for the Nevadan.
On the re-start, Thorson dove under Windom, making the pass in turn two. But wait; this thing wasn’t over. Larson used the high line to get around his teammate and set sail for the new leader. There wasn’t much time, but if anyone could do it, Larson could. Windom wanted to play some more and the three nearly went three wide on the last lap with Thorson in the middle. Thorson took the low line in the final turn as Larson rode the fence. Thorson’s margin of victory was a half car length, or .065 seconds.
Fourth behind Thorson, Larson and Windom was Boyles, which concluded a productive week for the RMS team. Cummins came from 15th to finish fifth. Abreu led the second five with Golobic ending up seventh. Coons wound up as the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger as he moved from 20th to eighth at the end. Meseraull charged back to ninth after his misfortune. Kofoid showed how important qualifying is as he started 22nd and finished tenth.
By .065 seconds, Thorson kept the Tucker-Boat team from sweeping Indiana Midget Week.
After the feature Kofoid and TMez appeared to be having a discussion about the best place to have a late night snack in Kokomo.
Chris Windom eased the pain of just missing the victory in the midget feature by getting around Brady Bacon on a late race restart and holding on to close out the night-and the week-of racing with a sprint car feature win. Bacon was a close second. Shane Cottle edged C. J. Leary to take third. Kevin Thomas Jr. came from tenth to finish fifth.
Dave Darland led the second five with Charles Davis Jr. winding up seventh. Jarett Andretti hustled from 15th to grab eighth. Matt Westfall and Max Adams completed the top ten.
If one was inclined to think so, I suppose that every race is like a Christian Bible story. Tonight it was the story of David and Goliath, where a young man with a slingshot brought down a much stronger man. Thorson played the role of David on Sunday and played it very well while the multi-car teams played Goliath(s). The slingshot role was played by number 19, which had given David headaches the past few nights, especially the engines.
Thorson is ideal for the role, preferring to call his own shots rather than be a part of a large team. Let’s allow him to have the final word. “I think there’s a lot to say about being able to do your own car. “Nothing against Keith Kunz and his whole team, but there’s something about that, for my satisfaction, to be able to do my car.”
I’d think that even Mr. Kunz would be proud, standing off to the side, a somewhat painful smile on his face because one of his former racers had learned his lessons well.
Meanwhile, wondering if Wendell Scott is sadly looking down, I’m…
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: The Best Ever?
One could call it inevitable and maybe it is. Kyle Larson is now four out of five USAC’s Indiana Midget Week victories, the latest coming at the Lawrenceburg Speedway on a warm Saturday night. Larson passed Thomas Meseraull late in the 30 lap feature and hung on for the win–and starting a new winning streak in the process.
Rightly or wrongly, Lawrenceburg has this reputation as an engine eater. Most all can agree that big horsepower is needed for the high banks. As a result, the car count was down somewhat. Nevertheless, the 35 car field contained plenty of hot dogs.
One of those flying frankfurters was Jason McDougal, who left his ride and landed in a KKM car, recently driven by Zeb Wise, dealing with an injury from a Paragon flip. Several cars were AWOL but two new ones inhabited the pits, Landon Simon and West Virginian Greg Mitchell.
Quite often the ‘burg is going to have a dry/slick surface. That’s another way of saying that Bobby East’s track record for a midget, set in 2008, of 13.66 was plenty safe. Thomas Meseraull’s lap of 15.095 held up. Nothing against any of the others, but McDougal’s 15.559 was impressive in his own right, given the lack of familiarity with the car and the fact that he was next to last to qualify.
Andrew Layser was the first heat winner. Justin Grant, Noah Gass and Thomas Meseraull all advanced. Kevin Thomas Jr. would run the B.
Clinton Boyles won his second heat in two nights in winning the second heat. Daison Pursley, Kaylee Bryson and Buddy Kofoid, all KKM drivers, all moved on. Lincoln Park winner Chris Windom would run an extra 12 laps.
The third heat was taken by McDougal with Jake Neuman, Maria Cofer and Tyler Courtney transferring.
For the third time in four heats, an eight lap heat was all green. Brady Bacon won with Kyle Larson, Tanner Carrick and Shane Golobic going to the show.
No C main but there was a B. Windom won with Cannon McIntosh coming from tenth to second, a harbinger of things to come. Cole Bodine, Ronnie Gardner, Brody Roa, and Landon Simon, floppy side panel and all, inserted themselves into the feature lineup.
Presenting….the Lawrenceburg Sprints
Nick Bilbee prevailed in the first heat with Max Adams making a late pass of Jarett Andretti. On the last lap Shawn Westerfeld also got around Andretti for the last transfer marker.
Moe Howard would have appreciated the second heat. By race’s end, everyone had a good bit of distance between themselves (Spread out!). Chris Windom, C. J. Leary and Thomas Meseraull were the top three.
The third heat had some carnage. Anton Hernandez had a flat tire and slowed coming out of turn four. J. J. Hughes tried to avoid Hernandez but barely clipped him. Joss Moffatt had no place to go and sideswiped Hughes, with J.J. tipping over and Joss flipping. Racing resumed with Shane Cottle, Dallas Hewitt and Max Guilford heading to the show.
Kevin Thomas Jr. and Brady Bacon ran away from the to finish first and second in the fourth heat. Scotty Weir was third and defending track champ Dickie Gaines went to the semi.
The fifth and final heat went to Rickie Lewis. Korbyn Hayslett and Braxton Cummings followed him to the feature.
Jarett Andretti used a late race re-start to grab the lead and win the first semi-feature. Anton Hernandez did the same but was second. Dickie Gaines finished third.
The second B was clean and green. Charles Davis Jr., the crafty Matt Westfall and Nate McMillin all had 25 laps to go.
One for the money, etc….
Courtney and Kofoid led a group with pent up energy that exploded when Tim Montgomery waved his green flag. Sunshine encountered trouble right away as he bounced up a grove in turn one. He kept going and no one hit him as Kofoid took advantage to take the early lead.
Kofoid had built a decent gap between him and TMez when red lights blinked on lap six for Layser who flipped in turn four. The young Pennsylvanian walked away.
On the re-start, Meseraull got busy, diving under Kofoid to take the lead. Larson did the same and many would agree that this lap would be Kofoid’s worst. From there, it was like we’ve come to expect at Lawrenceburg, heart stopping slide jobs and high speeds despite a dry slickie surface.
The frolicking took a break when Golobic stopped in turn two on lap twelve, bringing out a yellow. But it began again among the top three as Meseraull hung onto his lead until McDougal, who had been in the top five for much of the race, stopped in turn two with a flat tire on lap 22.
The green waved and business picked up as both Larson and Kofoid did their part to make Meseraull’s life even more stressful, throwing one haymaker after another at the veteran. And that was only for a lap as Justin Grant stopped in turn four and brought out another yellow flag.
Tim let fly with the green again and it must have been Kofoid’s turn to harass Meseraull. That didn’t work and Larson came at Kofoid with a slider to take second.
Then came the race’s turning point. Clinton Boyles did a 360 after contact and, per USAC rules (which drivers seem to know better than some fans) the yellow waved one last time with four laps to go. Larson, as well as anyone, knew that he’d have to reach deep into his bag of tricks to challenge for and take the lead. Or not.
Barreling into turn one TMez went high and Larson, predictably, threw a major slider and took the lead. From there it was determined that Larson would win again. Meseraull was also passed by Kofoid with a lap to go and ended up third on an all-California podium.
Yes, Virginia, there was racing behind the top trio. Windom came from 12th to finish fourth. Courtney hung on for fifth. McIntosh cut through the field to take fifth after starting 22nd and earning the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart/Irvin King Hard Charger award. Rounding out the top ten were Bryson, Bodine (from 15th), McDougal (overcoming his earlier misfortune) and Carrick (from 16th).
Going to Kokomo tonight, Larson’s IMW point lead is 57 over Kofoid. About the only way he will lose the championship will be if he tries to eat too many pork chop sandwiches. (Somebody save me one.)
By the way, the Tucker-Boat team is undefeated in IMW wins so far.
—–
I’ve heard some talk these past few days that there are those who think that Mr. Larson is the greatest open wheel racer ever. I am inclined to think that what they really mean is that Larson is the greatest racer they have ever seen in person.
I beg to disagree, having seen the likes of Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser, Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones and, in my opinion, the best of the best, Mr. Anthony Joseph Foyt.
But I will cheerfully add Kyle Larson to that list. He is that good.
Just enjoy seeing him work for now. You know that a NASCAR car owner will give Kyle a call sometime in the future and it’s understandable if he goes back.
The previous four paragraphs were written in Section A, two rows behind where my friend Marv Fish held court for years. I’d not mind if Marv had sneaked up behind me and looked over my shoulder while I’ve been writing here. And if he nodded his approval, well, I cannot describe how good that would feel.
Taken aback to learn that Venezuela is not a part of the United States, I’m…
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Nothing Lasts Forever (When You Get Right Down to It)
It had to happen sooner or later and Chris Windom made sure of that as he held off his teammate Kyle Larson to win the USAC Indiana Midget Week feature at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Larson’s win streak was halted at eight in open wheel action.
If Friday wasn’t the hottest day of the year so far, it had to be close. My car’s thermometer claimed that it was 91. That was more than enough to remind me of my working days in weather like this.
Drivers have been coming and going as some have other obligations. Rico Abreu and Gio Scelzi had excused absences while Matt Sherrill was in town. Kendall Ruble was making a rare midget appearance.
Kyle Larson’s track record in time trials was safe but it didn’t matter as he still set fast time with a 13.039 lap. Again, the surface held up as the fastest qualifiers were all over the order in which they took times. Chase Johnson was fifth quick on his first lap, but he flipped on the second. Repairs were made and Johnson came back to have a good night.
Larson won the first heat and the feeling might have been “here we go again.” Zach Daum, always hanging tough, was second. Pole sitter Maria Cofer was third and Jason McDougal edged Ethan Mitchell at the line to take a seat in the feature.
The second heat was an all-green affair. Chris Windom came from fifth to win. Cannon McIntosh was second and a pair of number 17s, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Shane Golobic, were third and fourth.
Justin Grant was the man in the third heat, leading all ten laps. Buddy Kofoid was second, followed by Tyler Courtney and Cole Bodine.
A pair of Tanners, Thorson and Carrick ran one/two in the fourth heat. Third place belonged to Jake Neuman with Kevin Thomas Jr. grabbing fourth at the end, leaving Kaylee Bryson in the cold.
The C main ended with Brody Roa winning, followed by Thomas Meseraull, Andrew Layser and Jake Swanson.
Recovering nicely from his early misfortune, Chase Johnson was the B winner, leading Daison Pursley, Kyle Cummins, Meseraull (from 15th), Bryson and Clinton Boyles.
How about some sprints?
Brady Bacon was the winner of the first heat, with Matt Westfall and Scotty Weir following the Oklahoma racer to the feature.
In the second heat Dave Darland came from fifth to win. Thomas Meseraull was second and Shane Cockrum came from seventh to annex the final feature position available.
The third heat was all green with A. J. Hopkins leading Charles Davis Jr. and Kevin Thomas Jr. to the checkered.
Brady Bacon took the fourth heat as Anthony D’Alessio fell back and came back to finish second. Travis Berryhill was third. Mike Clark flipped in turn four. He was able to exit the car on his own.
The final heat saw Max Adams triumph with Brandon Mattox take second. Shane Cottle legally stole third from Lee Underwood at the line.
Texas visitor Keith Martin won the first of two B mains. Jordan Kinser and Jake Bland, another Texan, made the feature.
Lee Underwood took the second B as Sterling Cling and Harley Burns would tag the field. Ben Knight was leading when he smacked the frontstretch wall, injuring his knee bad enough to stop on the track.
More Midget Madness
Kofoid and Windom led 21 co-workers to Tom Hansing’s green flag. (Tom was nice enough to give my friend Brian Hodde a well-deserved break for the night.) These two immediately began playing a high speed version of “tag, you’re it” as they traded slide jobs at each end for the first dozen or so laps. Again, the box score showed what it could but couldn’t show the whole story. Officially, Windom led the first two laps, followed by Kofoid leading laps 3-12. Actually the lead traded hands more times than I could keep up with, sometimes more than once on a given lap.
While this was going on, I’m sure that people were wondering where Kyle Larson was. In the first few laps, he had advanced from sixth to fifth. He avoided disaster on the seventh lap when Courtney spun in turn one right in front of the Californian. Somehow Larson kept the wheels turning and was able to keep moving.
The re-start had Kofoid leading Windom, Stenhouse, Larson and Carrick. Not far behind was Thorson and when Tom waved the green, the Nevada Nightmare (yeah, I just made that up for myself) was immediately on the move. He picked off Carrick and began harassing Larson for fourth place. The three graduates of Keith Kunz University may have been causing their professor to have mixed feelings as they fought for position behind current pupil Kofoid.
Thorson and Larson had their own battle but up front, Windom would not let Kofoid get away. After the caution, they resumed their slidefest at each end of the track before Windom made the pass stick on the 13th lap. As Windom pulled away, Kofoid was joined by Thorson, who played another round of Tag. If that wasn’t enough of a headache for Buddy, Larson joined the party. He simply wouldn’t go away but he wasn’t able to have his way as he had done at Paragon, Gas City and LPS.
Eventually Thorson got around Kofoid and took off to find Windom. It was too late by then; Windom was cruising to the victory by 1.825 seconds (thanks, Richie). In addition, Thorson’s almost likely second place finish went away just a few feet from the finish line, more proof that racing can be the cruelest sport. Tanner could only watch as Larson took second and Kofoid finished third. Stenhouse and Carrick were fourth and fifth.
McIntosh came from 13th to take sixth and Thorson had to settle for seventh, edging Boyles, who came out of the B to rumble from 17th to eighth. Grant and Meseraull were ninth and tenth with TMez hustling there from 21st.
Thomas Meseraull had one of those nights that reminded me about how much racing is a metaphor for life. From the C main, TMez earned his way into the feature, where he ended up as the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart/Irvin King Hard Charger.
Taking my first real look at the points, predictably Larson still leads in IMW points over Thorson by 28 points. Windom is third, 22 points behind Thorson.
Of note after the first four meetings is the ascension of the Tucker-Boat team. They have swept every race so far. The other mega-teams aren’t necessarily struggling but they must dearly wish that they could find those extra tenths of mph. In a few hours, the Lawrenceburg Speedway will be the scene of the search for speed and victory for all.
What better way to close out the night with a 25 lap sprint feature. Brady Bacon led all the way but second place Dave Darland made him earn it. Matt Westfall, playing the low line to perfection, was third, edging the previous night’s winner A.J. Hopkins. Kevin Thomas Jr. was fifth.
The second five were Max Adams, Scotty Weir (from 13th), Shane Cottle (from 15th), Travis Berryhill and the hard charger of the race, Sterling Cling, who was tenth after starting 19th.
Shooting at my foot and missing, I’m…
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Same Old Song
It’s probably getting old for his competition, but I don’t see Kyle Larson resining up his bow and fiddling a sympathetic tune. He did it again, this time at the Lincoln Park Speedway. Larson romped to his third consecutive win this week during Indiana Midget Week. It’s also his eighth straight open wheel win in less than two weeks.
Roaming the pits and each day is getting a little warmer. But I was only roaming and not working. Another reason not to complain.
Newcomers included Terry Babb from Illinois, Carson Garrett all the way from Colorado, another Illini, Karter Sarff and Missouri’s Sam Johnson.
It would be the usual suspects doing double duty, Brady Bacon, Thomas Meseraull, Dave Darland and Kevin Thomas Jr.
During time trials, if the track got slower as the gang qualified, someone forgot to tell people like Buddy Kofoid and Chris Windom.
Kofoid was fifth from last and Windom was fourth, the only candidate to get below a thirteen second lap.
Jason McDougal was the first heat winner as Windom came from sixth to take second. Justin Grant and Kevin Thomas Jr. both proceeded to the A main. Kyle Larson would have to run the B. It wasn’t a problem at Gas City. We’d soon find out if it was a problem at LPS.
Clinton Boyles led all the way to win the second heat; Kofoid was second. Jake Newman and Tanner Thorson paved the way for second row starting spots in the feature. Logan Seavey flipped hard in turn four and was taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for observation.
Thomas Meseraull made it two heat wins in a row for the RMS team as he won the fourth heat. Zeb Wise and Brady Bacon scooted to the big show and Zach Daum finished fourth and sent Tyler Courtney to the B. Zach would start the feature in second.
In the fourth heat, Cannon McIntosh battled his teammate Kaylee Bryson for most of the race until finally making the pass and winning. Tanner Carrick took third and Maria Cofer ensured that Rico Abreu went to the B.
The C main saw Ethan Mitchell lead Jake Swanson, Dave Darland and pole sitter Karter Sarff to tag the B.
Again, the B had its share of heavy hitters. Making the feature were Tyler Courtney, Carson Macedo, Kyle Larson, Chase Johnson, Shane Golobic and Rico Abreu.
Bring on the Sprints!
There were 48 sprinters available to run five heats and two B mains. Charles Davis Jr. was the first heat victor, leading Kevin Thomas Jr. and Tim Creech II to the line.
Critter Malone won the second heat with Jordan Kinser second. Anton Hernandez came from last to finish third.
In the third heat Colton Cottle led Max Guilford and Hunter O’Neal to Brian Hodde’s checkered flag.
Paragon winner A.J. Hopkins grabbed the fourth heat and Matt Goodnight was second. Scotty Weir emerged from a four car battle to take third.
The final sprint heat was won by Brady Short. Dave Darland held off Brady Bacon for second. For one shining moment in this race, cars were four abreast coming out of turn four. I would love to have seen that from the flagstand with my friend Brian Hodde.
The first B went to Max Adams with Brandon Mattox and Matt Westfall joining Max in the feature.
The second hooligan (don’t see that used much anymore) belonged to C.J. Leary. Matt McDonald and Shane Cockrum would also move on. (A bit ironic that Matt’s sponsor is a cigar shop while Shane is a firefighter.)
The Show
McIntosh and Daum were the first to see Mr. Hodde wave the green. Larson was “stuck” back in the eighth row, but not for long.
Up front, McIntosh jumped to the early lead. However, Tanner Thorson was in a determined mode and hounded the leader until he took over on lap ten. As can be guessed at this point, Larson was on the move.
From 15th, Larson zigged and zagged, passing cars at will. Sixth at lap 14, he had advanced to third two laps later when Jason McDougal’s flip in turn three brought the red. Thorson led McIntosh, Larson, Daum and Windom. Kofoid went to the work area and returned.
On the re-start Larson immediately went to work on McIntosh. The pass for second place was made in turn two but had been set up in turn four. The (temporary) exile from NASCAR came roaring out of four above the cushion. He dove low in turn one and took second—only to have it called back when Thomas spun. A great effort undone.
The green flag waved and Larson got busy again. He dove low in turn three and picked off both McIntosh and Thorson to take the lead for a moment before Thorson regained the top spot. Larson regrouped and stalked the leader. He made his move again in turn three on lap 21, only to have Thorson fight back to re-take the lead.
Larson tried again a lap later and this time it worked. All Thorson could do was try to keep the new leader in sight and hope for a bobble or something.
In the meantime, McIntosh and Meseraull were engaged in their own private war for third place as first and second separated themselves somewhat. It was interrupted on the 27th lap when Macedo stopped on the backstretch for an impromptu wienie roast and brought out the yellow flag. Meseraull went to the pits, a great run ended by a flat tire. He was running fourth.
The re-start was anticlimactic as Larson made it look easy to pull away and win by a little over a second. Thorson had to settle for second place; he’s a talented young racer who was simply outrun tonight. McIntosh, even younger than Thorson, hung onto third. His day will come. Windom was under the radar, finishing fourth. The same could be said for Golobic, who came from 13th to earn fifth.
The second five was led by Daum, an underrated racer. Grant motored from 18th to seventh. C. Johnson was eighth and Kofoid hustled to ninth after his early misfortune. Boyles was tenth.
Larson took the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart/Irvin King Hard Charger dough, coming from 15th to first as he did at Gas City.
A.J. Hopkins passed Charles Davis Jr. at the halfway mark of the sprint feature and cruised to his second win this week after his Paragon success. Davis held off Thomas for second. Colton Cottle was fourth and Dave Darland edged Matt Westfall for fifth after starting tenth. Max Adams came from the B to take seventh. Brady Short was eighth and Brady Bacon came from 15th to ninth. Jordan Kinser was tenth.
High speed audition, that is what Kyle Larson is in the midst of these days. It seems to be a matter of time before a NASCAR owner will decide that he’s done his penance, paid for his mistake and he can go back to the ultimate fendered style of racing—assuming that he wants to. A relative few will argue that there should have been no punishment at all for uttering a racial slur. But it’s 2020 and one would like to think we are past name calling. If Larson hasn’t paid his “debt” for his “crime” he’s well on his way to doing so. I like to think that there’s a NASCAR owner and a sponsor who will decide that this young man isn’t a racist and does not hide horns growing out of his head. At that point, Larson will eventually become a sought after free agent.
Surprised to find out that Finland is not part of Russia, I’m…
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: Groundhog Day
Kyle Larson did it again on a beautiful Wednesday night at the Gas City I-69 Speedway. He roared from 14th to take the lead from Tyler Courtney on the 16th lap and held Buddy Kofoid at bay for the last part of the 30 lap feature. It was Larson’s second straight USAC Indiana Midget Week triumph and his seventh straight open wheel feature win.
Justin Grant won the Gas City sprint feature.
My unofficial car count was 88 midgets and sprints in Jerry Gappens’ playpen. Fourteen states were represented in some way. New on the USAC Midget side were Florida’s Oliver Akard, Tyler Nelson from Kansas, World of Outlaws standout Daryn Pittman, another Outlaw, Carson Macedo and Kameron Gladish from Indianapolis.
Logan Seavey went to qualify fairly early and set quick time with a 12.360 lap. In a telling moment, Larson went out 35th and was the seventh fastest qualifier as the track faded somewhat for those later in line.
Gio Scelzi won the first heat. Behind him, a decent sized blanket would have covered Daryn Pittman, Shane Golobic and Logan Seavey. Thomas Meseraull, who had flipped on his second qualifying lap, came out with a backup car and trailed Seavey by a few feet.
Tanner Thorson held off Buddy Kofoid to grab the second heat. Justin Grant and Tanner Carrick also transferred. Noah Gass flipped in turn one. He exited the car under his own power.
The third heat belonged to Kevin Thomas Jr. Zach Daum ran second with a pair of Hoosiers, Cole Bodine and Tyler Courtney, moving on to the show. This sent Larson to the B, not a problem.
Carson Macedo led all the way to win the fourth heat. He was chased by Chris Windom, Kaylee Bryson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Sprints?
For the ground pounders, Dave Darland won the first of five heats. Matt Westfall and Cole Ketcham joined DD in the feature.
C.J. Leary led the way in the second heat. Moving with him were Brady Bacon and Kyle Robbins.
The third heat was claimed by Justin Grant with Charles Davis Jr. and Tyler Kendall also advancing. Adam Byrkett flipped in turn four, where I had a great view. He walked away under his own power.
Kevin Thomas Jr. outran Dustin Smith and Sterling Cling to win the fourth heat.
Scotty Weir, still in one of the Goodnight clan’s cars, won the fifth heat as TMez and Clinton Boyle made it a 1-2-3 finish for Gas City sprint champs.
Back to Midgets:
The C main was a normal crazy if there was such a thing. Jake Swanson and Ryan Hall flipped in separate incidents. Both climbed out on their own. Jason McDougald, newly returned to Indiana, emerged as the winner, leading Andrew Layser, Robert Dalby and the ageless Russ Gamester to tag the B.
Rico Abreu won the star studded B main, mullet and all. Pole sitter Jake Neuman was second and was trailed by Kyle Larson, TMez, Cannon McIntosh and Brady Bacon.
Courtney and Kofoid led the field to Mark Orr’s green flag, but several eyes were on the seventh row, Larson’s very temporary home. The question was not whether he would make his way to the front, but how long before he did so. It seemed inevitable, if not pre-ordained. It also seemed as if there were two races going on, the first among the 23 other starters and Larson racing himself and the clock. He made a very difficult job look a lot easier than what it is.
Larson wasn’t the only racer on the charge, at least in the beginning. Cannon McIntosh had started 12th, a row ahead of Larson and he, too, immediately began carving his way to the front with Larson right behind him. Kyle passed Cannon on the 12th lap and the KKM machine slowed to a stop soon after, bringing out a yellow flag. The yellow became a red as Meseraull flipped (for the second time tonight). Thomas climbed out, perhaps wondering if someone was sticking needles in a voodoo doll somewhere.
Not quite halfway and the order was Courtney, who had been leading through all this, Kofoid, Larson, Scelzi and Carrick. At this point Larson was passing one car per lap on average. He was far from done. At the crossed flags he passed Kofoid, who returned the favor before Larson got around him and sized up Courtney. A few perfectly executed sliders and laps later, the inevitable had come to pass. Larson took the lead on lap 18 and dearly wanted to check out.
That wasn’t going to happen. Kofoid also passed Courtney and did his best to keep up. Aided somewhat by lapped traffic, this young Californian kept pace with the other Californian. Officially the margin of victory was 0.263 seconds, but that was not much comfort to Kofoid and everyone else.
The top ten were Larson, Kofoid, Courtney, Thorson with Scelzi fifth. Six through ten were Neuman, Seavey, Macedo, Carrick and Bryson.
It was a foregone conclusion that the winner was also the recipient of the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart/Irvin King Hard Charger cash, coming from 14th to first.
Larson has won five straight USAC Midget contests going back to late last year. He collected the $1400 bounty after a fashion with the money donated in his name to the Indiana Donor Network.
More Sprints
Anthony D’Alessio came on strong to win the first sprint B ahead of Max Adams and Brian VanMevern.
Brandon Mattox made it look easy in winning the second B. Aaron Farney and Lee Underwood punched main event tickets.
Justin Grant took the lead from Kevin Thomas Jr. and never looked back as he won the 25 lap sprint feature.
Brady Bacon was second and Thomas took third on a track that had been worked over pretty good. C. J. Leary finished fourth. Dave Darland edged Matt Westfall for fifth. Clinton Boyles came from 15th to wind up seventh. Brandon Mattox went Boyles one better, coming from 17th to finish eighth. Scotty Weir and Charles Davis Jr. were ninth and tenth.
As this is written, now comes two straight nights at the Lincoln Park Speedway. The 40 plus racers will be wanting to knock off the top dog. Let’s remember that the guys Larson are beating aren’t exactly wannabe types. The have their own sterling resumes and they want to race with and beat the best. They are not anxious to be living in this Groundhog Day existence.
Appreciating greatness when I see it, I’m…
Danny Burton
The Hoosier Race Report: The Zone
Kyle Larson has been making the most of his exile from the world of NASCAR, going back to his roots, namely the bullrings of America, more specifically the Midwest. He’s now won six features in a row, most recently on a beautiful Tuesday night at the Paragon Speedway. Larson passed his fellow Keith Kunz graduate Tanner Thorson late in the 30 lap finale of a long, wild and woolly program as the 2020 edition of Indiana Midget Week debuted at Paragon. I’d imagine that USAC officials, along with promoter Joe Spiker, considered the night a success. Certainly the fans did.
A.J. Hopkins won the companion sprint feature.
Roaming the crowded pits looking for something different. No major driver changes, but C. J. Leary was in the Scott Pedersen sprinter. No surprise there; it’s usually Leary or Scotty Weir, who was in a Matt Goodnight car. All in all, there were about 90 cars with the usual suspects.
This was USAC Midgets’ first visit here since 1985. You didn’t have to be Dr. Oz to figure out that a new track time trial record would be set. Neither did you have to be Dr. Phil to guess that it would be Kyle Larson setting fast time with a 14.813 second lap. That was impressive but Tanner Thorson, Chris Windom and Gio Scelzi all went out later and turned respectable laps, showing that the surface didn’t slow that much.
Justin Grant won the first heat from fourth, taking Larson, Noah Gass and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with him to the show. Nine different states were represented among the 11 starters.
Cannon McIntosh, who flipped in hot laps, came back to win the second heat over Tanner Thorson, Shane Golobic and Zach Daum, who sent Rico Abreu to the B.
The caution plagued third heat was won by Tyler Courtney with pole sitter Steve Buckwalter second. Thomas Meseraull came from ninth to nip Buddy Kofoid at the line for third, leaving Chris Windom studying the B main lineup.
Kevin Thomas Jr. came from fourth to first on the initial lap and motored to the win in the fourth heat. Tanner Carrick, Gio Scelzi and Daison Pursley, who hung on despite a good bit of harassment from Zeb Wise, Jadon Rogers and Ryan Hall.
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The sprints fought it out with five heats and the top three moving on. Ethan Barrow came from eighth to win the first heat over Sterling Cling and Nick Bilbee, who survived two encounters yet roared back.
Not to be outdone, A.J. Hopkins came from ninth/last to triumph in the second heat with Scotty Weir and Charles Davis Jr. doing the chasing.
New Zealander Max Guilford was the third heat victor as Jarett Andretti and Jesse Vermillion ran second and third.
In the fourth heat, C.J. Leary prevailed and Brandon Mattox and Matt Westfall trailed.
Kevin Thomas Jr. came from fifth to win the fifth heat. Thomas Meseraull came from sixth to take second. California’s Ricky Lewis was third.
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The midgets returned and provided a wild and crazy C main as Logan Seavey came from 15th to win. Jake Swanson, Ace McCarthy and Zeb Wise, who suffered misfortune in qualifying and started 14th, all tagged the B.
Windom won the B, taking Brady Bacon, Chase Johnson, Seavey (again from 15th), Rico Abreu and Jake Neuman to the main with him. Andrew Laser and Cole Bodine used provisionals.
The program was changed somewhat and the USAC Midgets’ 30 lapper was next. Scelzi and Thorson made up the front row with a cadre of heavy hitters, led by Stenhouse and Carrick, close behind. Scelzi took the early lead with Thorson in tow. For the first few laps, these two slightly pulled away from the field—until sixth starting Larson began to close the gap.
Thorson executed a textbook slider in turn two of the 11th lap to take the lead. A lap later, Chase Johnson had a more unfortunate encounter with turn two, flipping over the banking. The gap between the top two and Larson was no more. Thorson led Scelzi, Larson, Carrick, Stenhouse, Kofoid, Windom, Grant, Thomas and Courtney, the lone Hoosier in the mix. Logan Seavey had moved from 22nd to 14th.
Bacon spun in, where else, turn two on lap 14. Larson had been giving Scelzi fits, throwing thundering slide jobs at his fellow Californian while Thorson added a little bit to his lead. On the re-start, Larson finally made a pass stick and it was time for him to chase down the leader. Folks were possibly thinking that this one was over, but Thorson didn’t get the memo. Larson was closing, inch by inch, until the 21st lap, when Scelzi’s race ended in good old turn two. Gio flipped, ending an otherwise great effort.
The order for this re-start was Thorson, Larson, Stenhouse, Carrick, Kofoid, Windom, Grant, Courtney and…Seavey, the pass master. I came close to rubbing my hands in anticipation because this had a great chance of being something, well, great. So it was. Larson threw everything including the kitchen sink at Thorson lap after lap, one slide job after another and still couldn’t quite seal the deal—for several laps. But Larson had been tinkering with the common strategy of entering turn one above the cushion and using the moisture there to morph into a rocket ship in turn two. It worked. Larson took the lead on the 27th lap and cruised (in a manner of speaking) to Brian Hodde’s checkered. The pro-Larson crowd was ecstatic. This was what they came to see, an all-time great one racing to his sixth straight win for this shortened season.
Stenhouse grabbed the final spot on the podium with Windom and Grant fourth and fifth. The law firm of Carrick and Courtney were sixth and seventh. Seavey came from deep in the C main to pass everyone except Howdy Doody to take eighth and claim the KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger award. Kofoid and Thomas finished ninth and tenth.
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The long night closed with two sprint B’s and the feature. Josh Cunningham won the first, with Levi Underwood and Keith Martin, an occasional ASCS competitor, taking third.
Travis Berryhill won the second B and was joined in the feature by Jordan Kinser and Ben Knight.
Ethan Barrow and A.J. Hopkins were the front row for the sprint feature and Barrow had things well in hand until disaster struck in the form of Kevin Thomas Jr., who tried a slider on Hopkins and Barrow in turn one. Hopkins avoided the carnage, but Barrow went flipping toward the adjoining woods.
Following Hopkins across the finish line were C.J. Leary, TMez, Scotty Weir, and hard charger Keith Martin, 20th to fifth. Nick Bilbee, Sterling Cling, Travis Berryhill, Max Guilford and Charles Davis Jr. were six through ten.
The hour was late, almost my bedtime, but driving home gave me the chance to consider a few things. I wondered if the crowd realized they were seeing something special. I’m sure that most did. I wondered about the rest of both Midget Week and the season. What would it look like? I wondered and hoped that I’d be around to see both.
Alarmed that my hair looks like British Prime Minster Boris Johnson’s, I’m…
Danny Burton