BLOOMINGTON HOSTS USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK OPENER

Bloomington Speedway has played an integral role in USAC Indiana Midget Week since 2008. However, it finds itself in a new position as the leadoff hitter for the seven-race, nine-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship mini-series starting this Friday, June 3, on the southern Indiana red clay. (DB3, Inc. Photo)

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Bloomington, Indiana (May 31, 2022)………Bloomington Speedway has been a part of USAC Indiana Midget Week since nearly the beginning of the mini-series’ institution, which made its first appearance on the schedule in 2008.

However, it finds itself in a new position as the leadoff hitter of the seven-race, nine-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship mini-series starting this Friday, June 3, on the southern Indiana red clay.

They say you only get one shot at making a first impression, and for Buddy Kofoid, he made it a lasting impression during last year’s Indiana Midget week round at Bloomington.

In the ensuing moments after earning his first career IMW victory, the Penngrove, Calif native let it be known that his initial impression of his first visit to Bloomington’s 1/4-mile was that it was now on his personal list of favorite racetracks. And it was easy to see why as he used the win as a springboard to the IMW title and, ultimately, the USAC national crown.

Kofoid enters the event with a 1-0 record in USAC Midget competition at Bloomington, but he will certainly have to contend with a myriad of others who are determined to discover the same launching pad Kofoid utilized in 2021.

Series point leader Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) finished a best of 2nd during IMW at Bloomington in 2017 in addition to a 9th in 2021. The 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ also owns the 10-lap track record for USAC National Midgets at Bloomington, a 2:03.18 set in 2019.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has posted past successes in USAC Sprintcars at Bloomington, winning twice there in 2019 and 2021. He’s been solid in a Midget too, and with his TKH Motorsports #21H, he will be looking to build upon his past IMW results at Bloomington which consists of a career-best fourth in 2021 to go along with a pair of sixth place results in 2017 and 2019  as well as a seventh in both 2008 and 2016.

Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) possesses a pair of top-ten IMW finishes at Bloomington, each of which came nearly a decade apart from each other, finishing ninth in 2010 and 8th in 2019.

Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the 2019 Indiana Midget Week Champion, used a runner-up finish at Bloomington to elevate himself to IMW champ status that season. Seavey, the 2018 USAC National Midget titlist, scored a seventh at Bloomington in 2021.

Bryant Wiedeman (Colby, Kan.) was superb in his first Bloomington IMW go in 2021, finishing fifth in his debut run. Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, NC) experienced one of the finest nights of his young career in 2019 when he set fastest time in qualifying and finished a solid fifth in the feature. Steve Buckwalter (Royersford, Pa.) last made an IMW appearance at Bloomington in 2016. His record in the event includes a fifth in 2010, a sixth in 2009 and a tenth in 2011. 

Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) has finished within the confines of the top-ten at Bloomington on two occasions, grabbing a sixth in 2014 and tenth in 2017. Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) returns to Bloomington’s IMW event after collecting his best career series finish at the track of tenth in 2021.

Coming back the Bloomington lineup as well are series winners Cannon McIntosh and Kyle Cummins. McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) was twelfth in 2021 but did capture the Sprintcar feature win that same night. Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) has won a handful of Sprintcar races in his career at Bloomington but would like to add a Midget win to his resume there.

Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, Texas) took eighteenth in 2021 while Sam Johnson was nineteenthin what was each driver’s first USAC starts at the track. Bryan Stanfill (Bakersfield, Calif.), a USAC Midwest Regional winner at Bloomington in 2021, looks to make his first USAC national feature appearance at the track.

A large selection of drivers will be trying to crack the lineup for the first time in their USAC careers at Bloomington on Friday. Among those are third-place points driver Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.), plus multi-time series fast qualifier Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.), third-place Port City finisher Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), 2017 BCRA Midget champ Maria Cofer (Macdoel, Calif.), third-place Ocala finisher Jade Avedisian (Clovis, Calif.), Badger Midget champion Chase McDermand (Springfield, Ill.), USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature winner Chance Crum (Snohomish, Wash.) and two-time USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget titlist Jacob Denney (Galloway, Ohio), plus Kiwi Travis Buckley (Auckland, N.Z.), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), CB Industries Rookies Dominic Gorden (Clovis, Calif.) and Jace Park (Overland Park, Kan.) as well as Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports newcomers Mariah Ede (Fresno, Calif.) and Cade Lewis (Bakersfield, Calif.)

Bloomington’s Indiana Midget Week round will feature the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, Bloomington Sprintcars and IMCA Mod Lites.

Pits open at 4pm Eastern with grandstands opening at 5pm, drivers meeting at 5:30pm and cars on track at 6pm.

Tickets and pit passes will be sold at the gate. Adult general admission tickets at the gate are $30 with ages 10 and under free. Pit passes are $35 for adults while ages 10 and under are $15.

Every Indiana Midget Week event will be streamed LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3u7ID2N.

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2022 INDIANA MIDGET WEEK SCHEDULE:

Friday, June 3: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Ind.

Saturday, June 4: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Ind.

Sunday, June 5: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Ind.

Wednesday, June 8: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Ind.

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.

BLOOMINGTON INDIANA MIDGET WEEK WINS:

3-Christopher Bell

2-Tyler Courtney

1-Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Levi Jones, Buddy Kofoid, Brad Kuhn, Kyle Larson & Davey Ray

BLOOMINGTON INDIANA MIDGET WEEK WINNERS:

2008: Davey Ray (8/8)

2009: Brad Kuhn (6/12)

2010: Shane Cottle (6/18)

2011: Kyle Larson (6/10)

2012: Levi Jones (6/15)

2013: Bryan Clauson (6/14)

2014: Christopher Bell (6/13)

2015: Christopher Bell (6/12)

2016: Christopher Bell (6/3)

2017: Tyler Courtney (6/9)

2018: Not Held

2019: Tyler Courtney (6/7)

2020: Not Held

2021: Buddy Kofoid (6/4)

BLOOMINGTON USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS:

3-Christopher Bell

2-Tyler Courtney & Russ Gamester

1-Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Tony Elliott, Levi Jones, Buddy Kofoid, Brad Kuhn, Kyle Larson, Davey Ray, Stevie Reeves, Tony Stewart & Bob Tattersall

BLOOMINGTON USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:

1970: Bob Tattersall (10/3)

1992: Russ Gamester (6/26)

1993: Tony Elliott (6/18) & Stevie Reeves (8/27)

1994: Russ Gamester (6/24) & Tony Stewart (8/19)

2008: Davey Ray (8/8)

2009: Brad Kuhn (6/12)

2010: Shane Cottle (6/18)

2011: Kyle Larson (6/10)

2012: Levi Jones (6/15)

2013: Bryan Clauson (6/14)

2014: Christopher Bell (6/13)

2015: Christopher Bell (6/12)

2016: Christopher Bell (6/3)

2017: Tyler Courtney (6/9)

2019: Tyler Courtney (6/7)

2021: Buddy Kofoid (6/4)

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY:

1 Lap – 6/3/2016 – Christopher Bell – 11.301 – 79.639 mph

8 Laps – 6/18/2010 – Dave Darland – 1:36.17 – 74.867 mph

10 Laps – 6/7/2019 – Justin Grant – 2:03.18 – 73.064 mph

12 Laps – 6/4/2021 – Kevin Thomas Jr. – 2:34.699 – 69.813 mph

30 Laps – 6/9/2017 – Tyler Courtney – 6:57.95 – 64.601 mph