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Contact: Richie Murray | richie@usacracing.com

RICO REIGNS AT KOKOMO; CLAUSON CAPTURES MIDGET WEEK TITLE

Kokomo, Indiana June 5, 2016 - Rico Abreu finished off a stretch of Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports domination Sunday night at Kokomo Speedway, becoming the fifth driver from the team's stable to win during the five nights of "Indiana Midget Week." However, a string of consistent finishes by RKR/Dooling Racing pilot Bryan Clauson throughout the week was enough to earn the Noblesville, Indiana driver his third "Indiana Midget Week" title.

Coming into the night, Clauson held a 40-point advantage over Spencer Bayston in the "Indiana Midget Week" standings. By feature time, Clauson had bumped up his lead over Bayston to 43, meaning that Clauson would merely have to finish 18th or better to clinch the title.

Clauson's cause was benefited by his outside front row starting position, while Bayston rolled off from the eighth spot. However, it was Phoenix, Arizona's Chad Boat who took control at the start of the 30-lap feature.

Two laps in, Tyler Nelson, Gage Walker and Dave Darland tangled in a turn two tussle that put both Walker and Darland on the sidelines for the remainder of the event. Nelson would restart from the tail.

On the lap three restart, third-running Christopher Bell and Abreu in fifth were the only two frontrunners to put their right rears up on the cushion while the majority clung to the middle of the racetrack.

Abreu continuously worked the high line, reeling in Clauson for fourth, and by lap ten, put four wheels in the fluff to ring around the outside of Clauson in turn two to take the spot.

On lap 12, the action came to a stop when Tyler Nelson barrel-rolled down the back straightaway. He was uninjured.

After the restart, it was a Keith Kunz triumvirate of Bayston, Bell and Abreu running nose-to-tail in second, third and fourth as Boat sailed out front. Bayston was able to catch Boat just before the halfway point, making an attempt for the lead to no avail as he bounced through the third turn, settling back into second.

On the 19th lap, Abreu rocketed past Bell in turn three for third, but a red flag for a flip by Holly Shelton on the main straightaway ceased the action momentarily as the track crews had to make minor repairs to the catch fence.

As the leaders shot into the third turn just after the ensuing restart, Abreu slid Bell for second simultaneously as second-running Bayston got sideways between turns three and four. Abreu banged wheels with Bayston, ricocheting in front of Bayston and into second-place with ten laps to go.

A yellow for debris in turns three and four closed the gap between first and second, providing Abreu a lifeline and a chance by placing him right on Boat's tail tank for the restart.

At the drop of the green, Abreu rode the razor's edge up against the wall as Boat matriculated the middle groove. Abreu continued to grind and grind as he applied pressure to Boat, ultimately pulling alongside Boat in a drag race that resulted in a dead-heat at the start/finish line on lap 22. Abreu was seemingly shot out of a cannon at the exit of turns two and four, distancing himself from Boat in the waning laps. Meanwhile, Bayston made his bid for second, banging wheels at the flag stand with Boat before ultimately emerging with the spot.

But, in the end, it was Rico Abreu who would not be denied, taking the victory in his Keith Kunz - Curb-Agajanian/DC Solar - Abreu Vineyards/Bullet/Speedway Toyota by a half-second over Bayston, Boat, Brady Bacon, Bell, Clauson, Tanner Thorson, Carson Macedo, Davey Ray and Ryan Robinson.

Abreu's 14th career USAC National Midget win puts him 46th on the all-time series list alongside Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner and Leroy Warriner. The victory also allowed the St. Helena, California native to become the fifth different Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports driver to stand in victory lane in the past five series races, joining teammates Kyle Larson (Montpelier), Bayston (Gas City), Thorson (Lincoln Park) and Bell (Bloomington) as USAC National Midget feature winners in the last week.

"Running the top the way we did tonight is tough because you have to keep the tires spinning and not let the motor get bogged down," Abreu explained. "Midget racing is all about momentum and I felt like, running the bottom, you could get to the middle really quick, but then it would kill your exit because you are so sideways. So, I just tried to keep it straight up top and keep the wheels spinning, so it didn't start bouncing. It means a lot to win another one of these races because this midget deal is so competitive right now with Clauson and guys like Brady Bacon, Tyler Thomas, plus eight Keith Kunz cars now. So, instead of just four or five competitive cars, there's more like ten. Track position and qualifying are even more important now. It was a great week for us, but we would've liked to have had a better start to the week. But, big congratulations to Bryan because I know how tough it is to win this whole deal. I want to run it next year and get a third one."

Although Bryan Clauson was unable to pick up a win in his RKR-Dooling Racing/Cancer Treatment Centers of America - B & H Contractors/Spike/Stanton SR-11 during "Indiana Midget Week," his finishes of 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd and 6th showed remarkable consistency that corralled him the title by a 31-point margin. He joins Shane Cottle (2005) and Tracy Hines (2008) as the only drivers to win the title without winning a single feature.

"We were strong all week long," Clauson exclaimed. "We knew tonight, seeing how rough and heavy the track was, that it wasn't really our cup of tea, so we were just trying to make sure we did our job and finish this thing off. We ran strong all week; we just came up a little short the first few nights to get a win, but a few years from now, the only thing people will remember is who won 'Indiana Midget Week.' I'm proud of these guys, so we'll just keep plugging along and see if we can get into victory lane."

With his solid third-place effort in the Keith Kunz - Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/TRD - Mobil 1/Bullet/Speedway Toyota, Lebanon, Indiana's Spencer Bayston vaulted himself into the point lead in the latest USAC National Midget standings by a single point over Clauson.

"I was running the top, just not running it right," Bayston admitted. "When Rico went by me, he kind of showed me a little different line. I'd run it deep into three, but turn off too early and start bouncing. So, when he went by, it showed me I could run in deeper and come across a little smoother. I think if I'd gotten up there before he got to me, we would've been alright."

Chad Boat scored a third-place finish after leading 21 laps in his Tucker-Boat Motorsports/PristineAuction.com - K & C Drywall/Spike/Esslinger, his best finish since a third at the Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway on February 28, 2010.

"It's a little disappointing to lead that much and run third, but it was still a great run for us," Boat said. "We had a solid week and I was excited to get back here to the Indiana bullrings and to come here to Kokomo, which is my favorite track. We obviously wanted to cap off the week with a win, but we'll take the third and try to keep the momentum up for Arkansas."

Contingency award winners at Kokomo Speedway included Rico Abreu (ProSource Fast Qualifier), Bryan Clauson (Simpson Race Products First Heat Race Winner), Carson Macedo (Competition Suspension, Inc. (CSI) Second Heat Race Winner), Ryan Greth (Benic Enterprises Third Heat Race Winner), Davey Ray (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Race Winner), Dayne Kingshott (KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger) and Chase Johnson (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).

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USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 5, 2016 - Kokomo, Indiana - Kokomo Speedway - 12th "Indiana Midget Week"

PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. Rico Abreu, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.332; 2. Christopher Bell, 71w, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.454; 3. Brady Bacon, 76m, FMR-13.579; 4. Ryan Robinson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.580; 5. Bryan Clauson, 63, RKR/Dooling-13.690; 6. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-13.747; 7. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-13.747; 8. Spencer Bayston, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.763; 9. Steve Buckwalter, 25, Buckwalter-13.786; 10. Holly Shelton, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.840; 11. Tanner Thorson, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.881; 12. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-13.950; 13. Tony DiMattia, 50, DiMattia-13.970; 14. Jimi Quin, 8, Quin-13.982; 15. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-13.985; 16. Davey Ray, 33, RAYPRO-14.011; 17. Chase Johnson, 17m, Wood-14.033; 18. Carson Macedo, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.061; 19. Gage Walker, 7, Walker-14.107; 20. Logan Jarrett, 29, Doak-14.186; 21. Dayne Kingshott, 24, Kingshott-14.223; 22. Tyler Nelson, 88, Robinson-14.227; 23. Ryan Greth, 4, Lesher-14.275; 24. Dave Darland, 11AG, Gray-14.410; 25. Austin Nemire, 91, Nemire/Yager-14.501; 26. David Budres, 31, Manic-14.506; 27. Anton Julian, 7R, Dickerson-14.832; 28. Gary Gipson, 5x, Byers-14.885; 29. Kade Morton, 8m, Morton-15.030; 30. Justin Dickerson, 21D, Dickerson-15.069; 31. Logan Arnold, 43, Arnold-(Time of 14.776 disallowed); 32. Jerry Coons, Jr., 56, Hmiel-NT; 33. Brandon Gray, 22, Gray-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Clauson, 2. Johnson, 3. Buckwalter, 4. Abreu, 5. DiMattia, 6. Kingshott, 7. Nemire, 8. Morton. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Macedo, 2. Nelson, 3. Boat, 4. Bell, 5. Quin, 6. Shelton, 7. Dickerson, 8. Budres. 2:24.77

BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Greth, 2. Daum, 3. Bacon, 4. Thorson, 5. Walker, 6. Thomas, 7. Julian, 8. Arnold. 2:26.65

INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Ray, 2. Bayston, 3. Robinson, 4. Darland, 5. Jarrett, 6. Golobic, 7. Gipson. NT

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Shelton, 2. Golobic, 3. Thomas, 4. Walker, 5. Quin, 6. Kingshott, 7. DiMattia, 8. Jarrett, 9. Morton, 10. Dickerson, 11. Gipson, 12. Arnold, 13. Nemire, 14. Budres, 15. Julian, 16. Coons. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Rico Abreu, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Chad Boat, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Christopher Bell, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Tanner Thorson, 8. Carson Macedo, 9. Davey Ray, 10. Ryan Robinson, 11. Shane Golobic, 12. Dayne Kingshott, 13. Chase Johnson, 14. Tyler Thomas, 15. Jimi Quin, 16. Ryan Greth, 17. David Budres, 18. Zach Daum, 19. Holly Shelton, 20. Tyler Nelson, 21. Gage Walker, 22. Dave Darland, 23. Steve Buckwalter. NT
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**Gray flipped during practice. Nelson flipped on lap 12 of the feature. Shelton flipped on lap 19 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Boat, laps 22-30 Abreu.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER: Dayne Kingshott (19th to 12th)

NEW USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Bayston-386, 2-Clauson-385, 3-Bacon-356, 4-Boat-311, 5-Thorson-310, 6-Golobic-291, 7-Thomas-275, 8-Daum-248, 9-Macedo-236, 10-Darland-221.

FINAL USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Clauson-362, 2-Bayston-331, 3-Abreu-312, 4-Bell-288, 5-Bacon-275, 6-Boat-274, 7-Thorson-258, 8-Thomas-240, 9-Macedo-226, 10-Golobic-221.

NEXT USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 17 - West Memphis, Arkansas - Riverside International Speedway

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Bloomington, Indiana June 3, 2016 ..... Just like clockwork, each June when "Indiana Midget Week" rolls around, one has been able to witness what has become a yearly tradition: Christopher Bell standing in Bloomington Speedway's victory lane.

For the third straight year, Bell's mastery of Bloomington's red clay was on full display Friday night at the southern Indiana track as he picked up USAC National Midget victory number 17, tying him with Jay Drake and J.J. Yeley for 36th on the all-time list.

Norman, Oklahoma's Bell also extended the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports dominance of the past week by becoming the fourth consecutive (and fourth different) pilot on the team to earn a victory in the first four races of the six-race series.
At the start, pole sitter Dave Darland stepped out in front of the field and, despite contact from behind by Carson Macedo between turns one and two, was able to take the advantage in the early going, leading his first laps in the series since the "Belleville Nationals" in July of 2014.

Meanwhile, seventh-place starter and ProSource Fast Qualifier Bell was steadfast in his charge to the front, moving into fifth by the second lap and fourth by lap three. On the fifth circuit, Bell surged from fourth to second with a three-wide pass on the outside of Shane Golobic and teammate Spencer Bayston coming off the second turn.

On lap seven, Bell continued to use the cushion to reel in race leader Darland, powering off of turns three and four to nip Darland at the stripe. Darland continued to fight back, but was beat back to the line by Bell out of turn four to lead the eighth lap.

After a yellow on lap 12, sixth-running Clauson was the only frontrunner running the high line as the top-five continued to utilize the bottom groove. But Clauson found the topside to his liking, taking the fifth spot away from Macedo at the halfway mark and then running down Shane Golobic for fourth and Gas City winner Spencer Bayston for third with 13 to go.

Clauson then set sail toward Darland for second, who was working the low line as Clauson skated the rail up top with 10 laps remaining.

A caution for a Dayne Kingshott blown right rear tire closed the gap at the front of the field with just six laps to go. Immediately, Bell left his challengers in the distance as Darland (inside) and Clauson (outside) continued to battle for the runner-up spot. Each time Clauson was able to inch ahead of Darland, the wily racing veteran refused to relent, regaining the second position on lap 29 after the two champions waged war in a see-saw battle throughout the final run to the checkered.

But, once again, nobody could match the sheer speed of Christopher Bell at the end, taking a nearly one and a half second victory over Darland, who edged out Clauson by a mere 27-hundreths of a second and a half-car length to take second, while Golobic and Bayston grabbed fourth and fifth.

In an era of domination at Bloomington in both the USAC National Midget and AMSOIL National Sprint Car divisions, Bell's three consecutive victories at the track are just one shy of Clauson's current string of four straight USAC Sprint Car victories. Bell, though, has found that sweet spot on the red clay that has suited his strengths at the wheel of his Keith Kunz - Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/TRD - DC Solar/Bullet/Speedway Toyota.

"This place is really technical and that plays to my advantage," Bell assured. "Tonight, there was a big ledge up top and I didn't spend a lot of time up there, but when I did, I could use it to my advantage and pass guys. The bottom here is really tough to run; you have to make sure you have enough angle in your car, but not too much so you miss the moisture. It's tough, but very fun too, and, obviously, Keith's (Kunz) cars are always good so that helps."

With his second place result in the Gray Auto - Petry Excavating/Spike/Esslinger, Darland, of Lincoln, Indiana, earned his best series finish since collecting the win in the "Indiana Midget Week" round at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Indiana in June of 2014. Furthermore, he rewarded the Gray team with its best ever series finish, besting the 14th place finish earned by C.J. Leary for the team at Bloomington one season ago.
"I could hit the bottom of (turns) three and four really well, but in (turns) one and two, it was a lot harder," Darland explained. "When Bryan (Clauson) got up next to me, I might've bobbled down there and let him get around me. But I just had to get into turn one easy and not get out into the slick. I did that a couple of times early on, but, luckily, it didn't cost me anything. Tonight is a great confidence builder. It feels good for the team. These guys are still new to the midget scene, so it feels really good to reward their effort."

Noblesville, Indiana's Clauson had his night go sour during heat race action after encountering mechanical trouble. Clauson and the team rolled the backup machine out of the trailer to start at the tail-end of the semi, a race in which Clauson drove from the rear of the 19-car field to earn a coveted transfer spot. During the feature, Clauson started in the eighth position before racing through to grab third at the checkered in the RKR-Dooling Racing/Cancer Treatment Centers of America - B & H Contractors/Spike/Stanton SR-11 to extend his "Indiana Midget Week" point lead to 40 markers over Spencer Bayston heading into Saturday's penultimate "Midget Week" event at Lawrenceburg Speedway.

"The middle was never really the fastest, but on restarts, I could use it to pick some guys off," Clauson said. "It made the guys on the bottom overdrive the corner a little bit and let me sneak by and that was really the only option I had. It was a herculean effort tonight to get back into contention with having to pull out the backup car and it kept our 'Midget Week' hopes alive."

Contingency award winners at Bloomington Speedway included Christopher Bell (ProSource Fast Qualifier), Rico Abreu (Simpson Race Products First Heat Race Winner), Tanner Thorson (Competition Suspension, Inc. (CSI) Second Heat Race Winner), Austin Brown (Benic Enterprises Third Heat Race Winner), Tucker Klaasmeyer (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Race Winner), Tyler Thomas (KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger) and Garrett Aitken (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).

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USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 3, 2016 - Bloomington, Indiana - Bloomington Speedway - 12th "Indiana Midget Week"

PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. Christopher Bell, 71w, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.301; 2. Bryan Clauson, 63, RKR/Dooling-11.383; 3. Ryan Robinson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.450; 4. Holly Shelton, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.516; 5. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-11.544; 6. Brady Bacon, 76m, FMR-11.577; 7. Spencer Bayston, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.600; 8. Jerry Coons, Jr., 56, Hmiel-11.607; 9. Carson Macedo, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.612; 10. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-11.635; 11. Dave Darland, 11AG, Gray-11.636; 12. Dayne Kingshott, 24, Kingshott-11.664; 13. Rico Abreu, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.672; 14. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-11.706; 15. Ryan Greth, 4, Lesher-11.712; 16. Tyler Nelson, 88, Robinson-11.719; 17. Jimi Quin, 8, Quin-11.738; 18. Tanner Thorson, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.744; 19. Austin Brown, 7B, Brown-11.759; 20. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Klaasmeyer-11.781; 21. Davey Ray, 33, RAYPRO-11.802; 22. Garrett Aitken, 32, Aitken-11.809; 23. Steve Buckwalter, 25, Buckwalter-11.822; 24. Austin Prock, 41, Prock/Hayward-11.831; 25. Kellen Conover, 76, Conover-11.831; 26. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-11.840; 27. Justin Peck, 5x, Peck-11.847; 28. Gage Walker, 7, Walker-11.856; 29. Michael Koontz, 17, Koontz-11.894; 30. Jake Neuman, 3N, Neuman-11.897; 31. Logan Arnold, 43, Arnold-12.020; 32. Kade Morton, 8m, Morton-12.108; 33. Ryan Secrest, 17KT, Koontz-12.130; 34. David Budres, 31, Manic-12.142; 35. Brandon Gray, 22, Gray-12.168; 36. Anton Julian, 7R, Dickerson-12.229; 37. Justin Dickerson, 21D, Dickerson-12.637; 38. Scott Hatton, 1, Hatton-NT; 39. Cody Weisensel, 20, Weisensel-NT; 40. Harli White, 17H, White-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Abreu, 2. Quin, 3. Ray, 4. Macedo, 5. Bell, 6. Koontz, 7. Dickerson, 8. Secrest, 9. Boat, 10. Conover. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Thorson, 2. Bacon, 3. Aitken, 4. Golobic, 5. Thomas, 6. Daum, 7. Neuman, 8. Clauson. 2:58.00

BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Brown, 2. Buckwalter, 3. Darland, 4. Bayston, 5. Peck, 6. Arnold, 7. Gray, 8. Greth, 9. Robinson. NT

INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Klaasmeyer, 2. Kingshott, 3. Coons, 4. Walker, 5. Nelson, 6. Shelton, 7. Morton, 8. Julian, 9. Prock. 2:30.00

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Bell, 2. Shelton, 3. Daum, 4. Boat, 5. Clauson, 6. Thomas, 7. Peck, 8. Greth, 9. Neuman, 10. Nelson, 11. Conover, 12. Morton, 13. Arnold, 14. Julian, 15. Dickerson, 16. Gray, 17. Budres, 18. Koontz, 19. Hatton. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Shane Golobic, 5. Spencer Bayston, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Chad Boat, 9. Tyler Thomas, 10. Rico Abreu, 11. Tanner Thorson, 12. Steve Buckwalter, 13. Garrett Aitken, 14. Davey Ray, 15. Ryan Greth, 16. Gage Walker, 17. Austin Brown, 18. Jimi Quin, 19. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 20. David Budres, 21. Jerry Coons Jr., 22. Dayne Kingshott, 23. Zach Daum, 24. Holly Shelton. NT
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**Robinson flipped during the third heat. Shelton flipped on lap 10 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Darland, Laps 7-30 Bell.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART (in memory of Dean Wever) HARD CHARGER: Tyler Thomas (21st to 9th)

NEW USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Clauson-320, 2-Bayston-312, 3-Bacon-285, 4-Thorson-253, 5-Golobic-247, 6-Boat-240, 7-Thomas-238, 8-Daum-214, 9-Coons-194, 10-Darland-193.

NEW USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Clauson-297, 2-Bayston-257, 3-Abreu-231, 4-Bell-220, 5-Bacon-204, 6-Thomas & Boat-203, 8-Thorson-201, 9-Coons-194, 10-Darland-183.

NEXT USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 4 - Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway - 12th "Indiana Midget Week"

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Contact: Richie Murray | richie@usacracing.com

Putnamville, Indiana June 2, 2016 - It was one year ago during Lincoln Park Speedway's round of "Indiana Midget Week" that Tanner Thorson found himself leaving the racetrack in the back of an ambulance after a nasty crash during the feature event. One year later, at the same track and event, Thorson found redemption, holding off a hard-charging Bryan Clauson in the final laps and driving his Keith Kunz - Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/TRD - JBL Audio/Bullet/Speedway Toyota into victory lane at the Putnamville, Indiana 5/16-mile dirt oval.

Young Ryan Robinson started on the pole at the beginning of the 30-lap feature with seven-time USAC National champion Clauson outside. Robinson, making only his fifth career series start, exhibited no ounce of intimidation as he quickly shot out to the lead with a half-straightaway advantage in the opening laps.

On the sixth lap, season-opener winner Shane Golobic rotated and pole-vaulted through the air between turns three and four before landing hard on the track's surface, bringing out the red flag. Golobic would walk away without injury.

On the ensuing restart, Thorson shot out of a cannon down the back straightaway into turns three and four, blasting off the cushion around Clauson to grab second on lap six. With his sight now set on leader Robinson, Thorson rapidly erased the gap, hounding Robinson as the race neared the halfway point.

On lap 13, Thorson made his first bid for the top spot, sliding in front of Robinson as the two hit turn four, but Robinson hit the brakes, and turned down inside of Thorson as they exited four to maintain the lead.

With the pressure now squarely on the 15-year-old shoulders of Robinson on lap 14 and Thorson ready to strike, Robinson bobbled at the top of turn two, handing off the lead to Thorson.

Meanwhile, Robinson and Thorson's Kunz/Curb-Agajanian teammate Rico Abreu, the 2014 USAC National Midget champion, sliced and diced his way to third by the 18th lap. After a Jimi Quin spin that briefly disrupted the action, Rico spurted to second with a slide-job on Robinson entering turn one on the restart.

ProSource Fast Qualifier Brady Bacon dove underneath Robinson for the third spot in turn two with 11 laps to go as he hunted down his prey while the laps ticked away. After a brief yellow, the restart saw Abreu follow Thorson's tracks, as they both ripped the high side of turns one and two. Now, the chase was on.

With just eight laps remaining, Thorson stumbled atop the second turn cushion, allowing Abreu to close. As the two ran nose-to-tail down the back straight, Abreu set up Thorson for the winning pass. However, just as Abreu was in the process of clearing Thorson in turn three, the yellow lights around the track flashed due to a tangle between turn four tangle between Darland and Shelton, thus making Abreu's move all for naught and slotting him in the second position for the next restart.

Under caution, Brady Bacon's car began to slow, relegating him to the infield for the rest of the feature after being one of the contenders for the victory as the laps wound down.
On the lap 23 restart, Abreu threw all he had at Thorson for the lead into turn one, but couldn't make it stick. As Abreu lost momentum while drifting up the cushion, Clauson was able to get by to reclaim second.

Abreu's determined drive to get back to the front knew no bounds, where he tested the outer limits by jumping the cushion between turns three and four multiple times and losing valuable ground in the closing laps, falling to as far back as fifth.

On the final lap, Clauson made one last ditch effort for the lead, attempting a slider on Thorson heading into one, but it was to no avail as Thorson withstood the challenge and was able to hang on for a 0.762 second victory over Clauson, with Tyler Thomas, Rico Abreu and Spencer Bayston rounding out the top-five.

It was quite a turn of events from one year to the next for Minden, Nevada's Thorson, who captured his fifth career USAC National Midget feature victory after taking the lead on lap 14 and holding off all challenges throughout the remaining 17 laps to take the Kunz-Curb/Agajanian Motorsports team to victory lane for the third time in the first three nights of "Indiana Midget Week."

"I left here last year in an ambulance, so to come back to this track and win is pretty awesome," Thorson said. "These guys work their butts off starting at 2:30 in the morning when we get back to the shop and it feels great to reward them with another win. Rico had me nervous just because you know a big move is coming. I knew the laps were winding down, but I knew that I just needed to keep hitting my marks. The top was so treacherous that you had to nail it perfectly every lap. I kept getting tight on the cushion and just tried to keep my composure towards the end because the last ten laps were really tricky with the track the way it was and knowing I had fast guys behind me."

Noblesville, Indiana's Bryan Clauson had to settle for his third consecutive runner-up feature finish in "Indiana Midget Week," behind the wheel of his RKR-Dooling Racing/Cancer Treatment Centers of America - B & H Contractors/Spike/Stanton SR-11. Though he remains winless in his three IMW starts this week, Clauson has taken over the USAC National Midget point lead and, with a 24-point lead, Clauson has placed himself in prime position to collect a third "Indiana Midget Week" title with three events to go.

"We just needed more time," Clauson said. "I was a little snug early and each yellow just wasn't what we needed. We got rolling towards the end and Tanner was getting tight on the curb, but we were good enough off of it to make some decent speed; we just ran out of laps. I saw the white and made my move in turns one and two because it seemed like it was easier to counter a slide job at the other end. I felt like if I slid him in (turns) three and four, it'd be too easy to cross me over, so I took a shot in (turns) one and two and just came up a little short."

Tyler Thomas of Collinsville, Oklahoma made a spirited drive to finish third after dropping back from his 10th starting position in the opening laps in his Tyler Thomas Motorsports/BT Machine - AirGroup/Spike/Esslinger.

"I moved to the bottom in the early laps of the race and it stuck, so I knew I needed to be down there if I wanted to pick some off," Thomas explained. "The top was so fast early on and the only way to pass was to slide somebody, but you had to have so much momentum to pull it off that it was just really difficult to make happen. Fortunately, our car was really working well on the bottom and I could slide myself in turns three and four and catch the cushion on exit. We qualified better tonight too, so if we can keep that up these next three nights, I think we'll be in good shape."

Contingency award winners at Lincoln Park Speedway included Brady Bacon (ProSource Fast Qualifier), Rico Abreu (Simpson Race Products First Heat Race Winner), Tyler Thomas (Competition Suspension, Inc. (CSI) Second Heat Race Winner), Tanner Thorson (Benic Enterprises Third Heat Race Winner), Carson Macedo (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Race Winner), Jerry Coons, Jr. (KSE Racing Products/B & W Auto Mart Hard Charger) and Gage Walker (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).

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USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 2, 2016 - Putnamville, Indiana - Lincoln Park Speedway - 12th "Indiana Midget Week"

PROSOURCE QUALIFYING: 1. Brady Bacon, 76m, FMR-13.308; 2. Spencer Bayston, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.396; 3. Tanner Thorson, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.435; 4. Carson Macedo, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.475; 5. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-13.481; 6. Bryan Clauson, 63, RKR/Dooling-13.521; 7. Holly Shelton, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.550; 8. Ryan Robinson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.581; 9. Chase Johnson, 17m, Wood-13.597; 10. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-13.641; 11. Jake Neuman, 3N, Neuman-13.652; 12. Austin Brown, 7B, Brown-13.687; 13. Rico Abreu, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.714; 14. Jimi Quin, 8, Quin-13.725; 15. Gage Walker, 7, Walker-13.756; 16. Ryan Greth, 4, Lesher-13.792; 17. Dave Darland, 11AG, Gray-13.849; 18. Steve Buckwalter, 25, Buckwalter-13.855; 19. Harli White, 17H, White-13.860; 20. Colten Cottle, 5c, Cottle-13.891; 21. Kyle Schuett, 9K, Schuett-13.910; 22. Tony DiMattia, 50, DiMattia-13.919; 23. Tyler Nelson, 88, Robinson-13.932; 24. Dayne Kingshott, 24, Kingshott-14.065; 25. Logan Jarrett, 29, Doak-14.070; 26. Scott Hatton, 1, Hatton-14.080; 27. Garrett Aitken, 32, Aitken-14.137; 28. Cody Weisensel, 20, Weisensel-14.165; 29. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-14.177; 30. Jerry Coons, Jr., 56, Hmiel-14.182; 31. Kade Morton, 8m, Morton-14.278; 32. Brandon Gray, 22, Gray-14.322; 33. Anton Julian, 7R, Dickerson-14.440; 34. Austin Prock, 41, Prock/Hayward-14.452; 35. Justin Dickerson, 21D, Dickerson-14.467; 36. Travis Young, 11, Young-14.542; 37. David Budres, 31, Manic-14.592; 38. Michael Koontz, 17, Koontz-14.605; 39. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Klaasmeyer-14.643; 40. Ariel Biggs, 5B, Daum-14.895; 41. Chris Baue, 35, Baue-15.116; 42. Kellen Conover, 76, Conover-NT; 43. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Abreu, 2. Darland, 3. Bacon, 4. Golobic, 5. Boat, 6. Johnson, 7. Schuett, 8. Budres, 9. Julian, 10. Baue, 11. Jarrett. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Thomas, 2. Clauson, 3. Buckwalter, 4. Coons, 5. Bayston, 6. DiMattia, 7. Koontz, 8. Hatton, 9. Quin, 10. Conover, 11. Prock. NT

BENIC ENTERPRISES THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Thorson, 2. Walker, 3. Neuman, 4. Daum, 5. Klaasmeyer, 6. Shelton, 7. Nelson, 8. White, 9. Aitken, 10. Dickerson, 11. Morton. NT3

INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Macedo, 2. Kingshott, 3. Robinson, 4. Greth, 5. C.Cottle, 6. Weisensel, 7. Gray, 8. Young, 9. Brown. NT

C-MAIN: (10 laps) 1. Boat, 2. Koonts, 3. Klaasmeyer, 4. Prock, 5. Julian, 6. Young, 7. Budres, 8. Dickerson, 9. Morton, 10. Baue, 11. Gray, 12. Conover. NT

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Bayston, 2. Shelton, 3. Johnson, 4. Boat, 5. Nelson, 6. Jarrett, 7. Quin, 8. White, 9. Brown, 10. Aitken, 11. Hatton, 12. Weisensel, 13. C.Cottle, 14. DiMattia, 15. Klaasmeyer, 16. Koonts, 17. Prock, 18. Schuett. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tanner Thorson, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Tyler Thomas, 4. Rico Abreu, 5. Spencer Bayston, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Steve Buckwalter, 8. Ryan Robinson, 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10. Chad Boat, 11. Jake Neuman, 12. Ryan Greth, 13. Gage Walker, 14. Chase Johnson, 15. Holly Shelton, 16. Jimi Quin, 17. Zach Daum, 18. Tyler Nelson, 19. Brady Bacon, 20. Dave Darland, 21. Logan Jarrett, 22. David Budres, 23. Dayne Kingshott, 24. Shane Golobic. NT
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**Prock flipped during the second heat. DiMattia flipped during the semi. Golobic flipped on lap 6 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Robinson, Laps 14-30 Thorson.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/B & W AUTO MART HARD CHARGER: Jerry Coons Jr. (23rd to 9th)

NEW USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Clauson-250, 2-Bayston-249, 3-Bacon-225, 4-Thorson-204, 5-Thmas-191, 6-Daum-189, 7-Boat-188, 8-Golobic-181, 9-Coons-165, 10-Robinson-143.

NEW USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Clauson-227, 2-Bayston-194, 3-Abreu-180, 4-Coons-165, 5-Bacon-164, 6-Thomas-156, 7-Thorson-152, 8-Boat-151, 9-Kyle Larson-150, 10-Daum-146.

NEXT USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 3 - Bloomington (IN) Speedway - 12th "Indiana Midget Week"