Series News Release - USAC Media
Feature Article - Richie Murray, USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (June 3, 2024) - The first week of June in the Hoosier state is reserved for the biggest slate of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing action on the planet!
The 20th edition of USAC Indiana Midget Week presents six events at six dirt tracks across six consecutive nights between June 4-9.
For the first time in its young history, Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis launches the frenzied week of racing on Tuesday, June 4. Lawrenceburg Speedway follows up on Wednesday, June 5 with Lincoln Park Speedway’s round set for Thursday, June 6.
Bloomington Speedway begins the weekend portion of the schedule on Friday, June 7 while Tri-State Speedway hosts the penultimate round on Saturday, June 8. Kokomo Speedway will serve as the finale on Sunday, June 9.
USAC Indiana Midget Week is the hottest ticket in town with sprint cars also serving as the support class each and every night. A plethora of drivers will be jumping back-and-forth between the two machines throughout the night in double-duty mode.
The Indiana Midget Week champion will earn a prize of $6,000 for their efforts in a week that truly tests the physical, mental and mechanical abilities of each driver, crew and machine.
Let’s dig into it! Here are six storylines we’re watching entering USAC Indiana Midget Week 2024.
26 FULL-TIMERS CHASING THE TITLE
Twenty-six drivers are set for full-time duties at USAC Indiana Midget Week, the most in the 20-year history of the event.
Among the full-timers are defending series champion Logan Seavey, plus past Indiana Midget Week winners Michael Pickens (3 wins) and Jacob Denney (2) as well Steve Buckwalter, Zach Daum, Justin Grant, Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Ryan Timms, all of which have exactly one career IMW victory.
Among the Indiana Midget Week returnees are Chase McDermand, Jake Andreotti, Hayden Reinbold, Ethan Mitchell, Taylor Reimer, Kyle Jones, Blake Brannon, Jade Avedisian and Daison Pursley, all of whom are seeking a first career Indiana Midget Week victory.
First-time Indiana Midget Week participants in 2024 include Adam Bolyard, Kaiden Manders, Hank Davis, Ricky Lewis, Zach Wigal, Lance Bennett and Kale Drake.
SEAVEY ON DEFENSE
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) enters USAC Indiana Midget Week as the defending champion of the event and is seeking to become just the fourth back-to-back titlist in IMW history.
Shane Cottle scored the first two Indiana Midget Week crowns in 2005-06. Rico Abreu followed suit in 2014-15 while Buddy Kofoid was the most recent to do so in 2021-22.
Furthermore, Seavey is also looking to equal an all-time Indiana Midget Week record. As a two-time IMW champ in 2019 and 2023, a third title is on the line this coming week. The late, great Bryan Clauson is the only driver to capture three career Indiana Midget Week titles, doing so in 2009-11-16.
Seavey also enters IMW as the most recent USAC National Midget winner on May 19 at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex.
CANNON LEADS THE PATH
Coming into Indiana Midget Week, Cannon McIntosh leads the USAC National Midget season standings. In what has already been a bounce back season for the Bixby, Okla. native, McIntosh picked up a win in the season opener on May 17 at the Belleville (Kan.) Short Track.
Throughout the history of IMW, just four drivers have entered as the USAC National point leader and went on to win the Indiana Midget Week championship: Jerry Coons Jr. (2007), Darren Hagen (2012), Rico Abreu (2014) and Buddy Kofoid (2021).
If McIntosh is able to collect this year’s IMW title, the odds say he’s in good company. All four of the aforementioned drivers also went on to claim the USAC National Midget championship later that same year.
Additionally, each of the last three Indiana Midget Week champs have also captured the USAC National Midget title in the same season: Kofoid (2021-22) and Seavey (2023).
PICKENS & A GRINNIN’
Out of all this year’s expected full-time participants, no driver owns more Indiana Midget Week feature wins than Michael Pickens .
The Auckland, N.Z. star returns to the “States” as a driver for Mounce-Stout Motorsports after having last competed at Indiana Midget Week five years ago in 2019!
Pickens has been a stalwart of the event since year one, debuting with a third-place finish at Gas City in 2005. Since then, he’s made 33 IMW starts and notched three wins: Kokomo 2011, Gas City in 2017 and Lincoln Park in 2017.
In 2017, he finished a career-best third in the final IMW point standings.
MASTERFUL INDIANA MIDGET WEEK DEBUTS
Gavin Miller (Allentown, Pa.) picked up his first career USAC National Midget feature victory during the Indiana Midget Week round at Bloomington Speedway in 2023.
Several others are vying to join Miller’s company by notching a first USAC win during the busiest week of the season, a feat which has been accomplished 14 times since 2015.
Among the group winning their first career USAC National Midget features during IMW are Johnny Rodriguez (Terre Haute 2005), Shane Cottle (Gas City 2006), Brady Bacon (Kokomo 2006), Steve Buckwalter (Gas City 2010), Kyle Larson (Bloomington 2011), Christopher Bell (Lincoln Park 2013), Tanner Thorson (Gas City 2015), Spencer Bayston (Gas City 2016), Tyler Courtney (Montpelier 2017), Chris Windom (Lawrenceburg 2019), Kyle Cummins (Tri-State 2021), Corey Day (Circle City 2021), Jacob Denney (Lincoln Park 2022) and Gavin Miller (Bloomington 2023).
In that group of hopefuls this year are Chase McDermand, Jake Andreotti, Hayden Reinbold, Ethan Mitchell, Taylor Reimer, Kyle Jones, Blake Brannon, Jade Avedisian, Daison Pursley, Adam Bolyard, Kaiden Manders, Hank Davis, Ricky Lewis, Zach Wigal, Lance Bennett and Kale Drake.
HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY, INDIANA MIDGET WEEK
In 2024, USAC is celebrating its 20th year of Indiana Midget Week. Since its 2005 debut, 90 USAC Indiana Midget Week events have been held across the Hoosier State.
USAC Hall of Fame inductee Jay Drake won the inaugural feature race held at Lawrenceburg Speedway on August 18, 2005. Since then, 231 different drivers have started an Indiana Midget Week feature.
Bryan Clauson owns the most Indiana Midget Week championships with three in 2009-11-16. Bryan Clauson and Kyle Larson are the winningest drivers in Indiana Midget Week history with nine apiece.
Larson and Rico Abreu have clocked in with the most top qualifying times in IMW history with nine each. Jerry Coons Jr. has recorded the most career IMW feature starts (46) and top-10 results (42). Meanwhile, Clauson collected 28 top-fives in his IMW career, which still ranks number one all-time.
RACE DETAILS
For more information on each event, visit the “Schedule/Results” tab on www.usacracing.com, then click on “Midgets” and “National.” From there, click on “Event Info” next to the corresponding event on the schedule.
The entire week of events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.
2024 USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK FULL-TIME DRIVER ROSTER (26)
2 Justin Grant (RMS Racing)
4 Adam Bolyard (Adam Bolyard)
7m Kaiden Manders (RAMCO Speed Group)
7p Zach Daum (RAMCO Speed Group)
8 Hank Davis (Cornell Racing Stables)
8w Chase McDermand (Josh Ford Motorsports)
9 Kevin Thomas Jr. (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
14 Jake Andreotti (4 Kings Racing)
19AZ Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports)
19m Ethan Mitchell (Bundy Built Motorsports)
25 Jacob Denney (Tom Malloy)
25B Steve Buckwalter (Brian Buckwalter)
25K Taylor Reimer (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
27x Kyle Jones (Joyner Motorsports)
40 Blake Brannon (Blake Brannon)
54 Ricky Lewis (4 Kings Racing)
54NZ Michael Pickens (Mounce-Stout Motorsports)
57 Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing)
67 Ryan Timms (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71 Jade Avedisian (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
71K Cannon McIntosh (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
86 Daison Pursley (CB Industries)
89 Zach Wigal (CB Industries)
91 Lance Bennett (Cappy Mason)
97 Gavin Miller (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
97K Kale Drake (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports)
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Cannon McIntosh-209, 2-Daison Pursley-201, 3-Zach Daum-197, 4-Logan Seavey-195, 5-Ryan Timms-190, 6-Kyle Jones-183, 7-Jacob Denney-162, 8-Justin Grant-161, 9-Ashton Torgerson-158, 10-Kale Drake-155.
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