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ASCS National Sprint Series



Kyle Larson Sweeps The ASCS Southwest Copper Classic

Bryan Hulbert – QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (November 28, 2020) Making it an unprecedented 45 wins on the 2020 season, California’s Kyle Larson made it a weekend sweep with the ASCS Southwest Region in the fifth running of the Copper Classic at Arizona Speedway.


Winner Kyle Larson (Ben Thrasher Photo)

Through the first two turns, Rico Abreu ripped the cushion to the race lead with Hickle and Larson giving chase. Into traffic quickly, Rico continued to hold with Hickle staying within striking distance. Getting the run on Lap 7, Hickle took the point down the backstretch, but could not hold the position as Rico reclaimed the race lead.

Falling to third soon after as Kyle Larson worked by, the No. 57 was in hot pursuit of Rico.
To the bottom of the Speedway as the race neared the half-way point, Larson was denied the advance. Getting the rubber band wound up two laps later, Larson again shot the hub with Abreu again keeping Larson at bay.

Side by side on Lap 18, Larson took the lead, but the move would not count as the caution put the No. 24 back atop the leaderboard. Keeping pace in clean air, Rico pounded the cushion with Larson running in his tire tracks while the battle for third saw Macedo take it away from Hickle.

Starting to find the back of the field again, a mistake by Rico with eight laps to go was just enough for Larson to steal the lead. Pulling away through the closing laps, Larson crossed with 2.584-seconds to spare.

Taking away second in the closing laps, Carson Macedo crossed ahead of Rico Abreu for the California podium sweep. Washington’s J.J. Hickle grabbed fourth with Missouri’s Garet Williamson completing the top five.

Buddy Kofoid crossed sixth with Colton Hardy seventh. Justin Sanders was eighth with Chase Majdic making up nine spots to ninth. Devon Borden completed the top ten.

The 2021 event lineup for the ASCS Southwest Region is in the works and will be announced in the coming months. Through everything that has transpired in 2020, officials with the American Sprint Car Series cannot thank enough everyone who has continued to support Sprint Car racing in the Southwest.

For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the nine Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2020, log onto www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).

Race Results:

ASCS Southwest Region
Arizona Speedway (Queen Creek, Ariz.)
5th annual Copper Classic (Night 2)
Saturday, November 28, 2020

Car Count: 55

Heat Races (Top 30 in passing points advance to the Qualifiers)

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2XM-Max Mittry[1]; 2. 5H-Michael Faccinto[3]; 3. 56-Sammy Swindell[10]; 4. 16A-Justin Sanders[6]; 5. 4-Logan Calderwood[4]; 6. 9R-Reece Goetz[9]; 7. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr[7]; 8. 2B-Billy Chester III[8]; 9. 50S-Rocky Silva[2]; 10. 67-Brian Thomas[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5T-Ryan Timms[2]; 2. 7-Gary Taylor[1]; 3. 13-Tim Kaeding[6]; 4. 19A-Buddy Kofoid[5]; 5. 19-Colby Thornhill[8]; 6. 01-Mitchel Moles[3]; 7. 115-Nick Parker[7]; 8. 38B-Blake Carrick[9]; 9. 18-Lorne Wofford[4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Dylan Harris[1]; 2. 8-Devon Borden[3]; 3. 7Z-Zane Blanchard[5]; 4. 5C-Colby Copeland[8]; 5. 1B-Brenham Crouch[9]; 6. 5V-Kalib Henry[7]; 7. 131-Royal Jones[6]; 8. 47-Charles Davis Jr[2]; 9. 22B-Jesse Baker[4]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Rico Abreu[1]; 2. 83T-Tanner Carrick[2]; 3. 2X-Chase Majdic[3]; 4. 01X-John Carney[8]; 5. 20G-Noah Gass[7]; 6. 1X-Robbie Price[9]; 7. 7K-Mason Keefer[5]; 8. 12JG-Josh Grady[6]; 9. 14-Cody Sickles[4]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 41-Colton Hardy[1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson[6]; 3. 29-Jeff Oliver[9]; 4. 17C-Chris Bullock[3]; 5. 12J-John Clark[8]; 6. 5K-Patrick Krob[2]; 7. 14T-Tim Estenson[5]; 8. 2-Alex Pettas[7]; 9. 40X-Mike Archuleta[4]

Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 88N-DJ Netto[2]; 2. 63-JJ Hickle[4]; 3. 19AZ-Spencer Bayston[8]; 4. 24W-Garet Williamson[9]; 5. 21-Carson Macedo[7]; 6. 9-Dustin Freitas[3]; 7. 6-Jett Carney[1]; 8. 3V-Jim Vanzant[6]; 9. 91-Chase Goetz[5]

Qualifiers (Top 16 in combined passing points advance to the A-Feature)

Qualifier 1 (10 Laps): 1. 41-Colton Hardy[2]; 2. 24W-Garet Williamson[4]; 3. 21-Carson Macedo[10]; 4. 5H-Michael Faccinto[1]; 5. 16A-Justin Sanders[8]; 6. 19AZ-Spencer Bayston[5]; 7. 2X-Chase Majdic[9]; 8. 56-Sammy Swindell[6]; 9. 83T-Tanner Carrick[7]; 10. 2XM-Max Mittry[3]

Qualifier 2 (10 Laps): 1. 8-Devon Borden[1]; 2. 63-JJ Hickle[4]; 3. 19A-Buddy Kofoid[9]; 4. 5T-Ryan Timms[5]; 5. 1B-Brenham Crouch[7]; 6. 5C-Colby Copeland[2]; 7. 29-Jeff Oliver[6]; 8. 19-Colby Thornhill[8]; 9. 9R-Reece Goetz[10]; 10. 1-Dylan Harris[3]

Qualifier 3 (10 Laps): 1. 24-Rico Abreu[3]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson[4]; 3. 13-Tim Kaeding[2]; 4. 88N-DJ Netto[5]; 5. 1X-Robbie Price[8]; 6. 7Z-Zane Blanchard[1]; 7. 7-Gary Taylor[7]; 8. 20G-Noah Gass[9]; 9. 12J-John Clark[6]; 10. 01X-John Carney[10]

B-Features (Top 4 from each advance to the A-Feature)

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 56-Sammy Swindell[1]; 2. 5V-Kalib Henry[7]; 3. 5C-Colby Copeland[2]; 4. 20G-Noah Gass[4]; 5. 91-Chase Goetz[15]; 6. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr[9]; 7. 9-Dustin Freitas[8]; 8. 1-Dylan Harris[5]; 9. 2B-Billy Chester III[12]; 10. 6-Jett Carney[13]; 11. 17C-Chris Bullock[6]; 12. 22B-Jesse Baker[16]; 13. 131-Royal Jones[10]; 14. 3V-Jim Vanzant[14]; 15. 7K-Mason Keefer[11]; 16. (DNF) 7Z-Zane Blanchard[3]; 17. (DNF) 67-Brian Thomas[17]; 18. (DNS) 01X-John Carney; 19. (DNS) 9R-Reece Goetz; 20. (DNS) 40X-Mike Archuleta

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 2X-Chase Majdic[2]; 2. 1X-Robbie Price[1]; 3. 83T-Tanner Carrick[5]; 4. 01-Mitchel Moles[9]; 5. 38B-Blake Carrick[12]; 6. 2XM-Max Mittry[6]; 7. 12J-John Clark[7]; 8. 2-Alex Pettas[14]; 9. 4-Logan Calderwood[8]; 10. 18-Lorne Wofford[17]; 11. 5K-Patrick Krob[10]; 12. 50S-Rocky Silva[19]; 13. 12JG-Josh Grady[15]; 14. (DNF) 14T-Tim Estenson[13]; 15. (DNF) 7-Gary Taylor[3]; 16. (DNF) 115-Nick Parker[11]; 17. (DNF) 47-Charles Davis Jr[16]; 18. (DNF) 14-Cody Sickles[18]; 19. (DNF) 19-Colby Thornhill[4]

A-Feature

A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[3]; 2. 21-Carson Macedo[6]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu[2]; 4. 63-JJ Hickle[1]; 5. 24W-Garet Williamson[4]; 6. 19A-Buddy Kofoid[8]; 7. 41-Colton Hardy[5]; 8. 16A-Justin Sanders[12]; 9. 2X-Chase Majdic[18]; 10. 8-Devon Borden[7]; 11. 19AZ-Spencer Bayston[13]; 12. 5V-Kalib Henry[19]; 13. 88N-DJ Netto[10]; 14. 56-Sammy Swindell[17]; 15. 5T-Ryan Timms[9]; 16. 5C-Colby Copeland[21]; 17. 01-Mitchel Moles[24]; 18. 1B-Brenham Crouch[14]; 19. 20G-Noah Gass[23]; 20. 13-Tim Kaeding[11]; 21. 83T-Tanner Carrick[22]; 22. 29-Jeff Oliver[16]; 23. 5H-Michael Faccinto[15]; 24. 1X-Robbie Price[20]

ASCS National Sprint Series



Copper Classic Prelim Goes To Kyle Larson With The ASCS Southwest Region

Bryan Hulbert – QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (November 27, 2020) Taking advantage of the Heat/Qualifier format to its full extent on Night 1 of the fifth annual Copper Classic at Arizona Speedway, California's Kyle Larson grabbed win No. 44 on the 2020 season, along with his second career triumph with the ASCS Southwest Region.


Winner Kyle Larson (Ben Thrasher Photo)

Drawing 100 to set his Heat Race lineup, Larson's Qualifier performance sent him from 19th in passing points to earing the right of the front row in Friday's 25-lap feature event.

Taking a shot at the lead on the start, Rico Abreu rolled the bottom on Larson and Carson Macedo with the No. 57 diamonding the first two turns to the lead down the back straightaway with Macedo second.
Red working Lap 4 for Brock Zearfoss, who went for a ride exiting the second turn, the field reverted to Lap 3 on the restart with Larson again taking off with the lead as Rico set sights on second, but could not hold the spot as Buddy Kofoid and Colton Hardy pounced on the No. 24 with Kofoid taking third.

By a half stretch as the race passed Lap 10, Larson began working slower traffic. Held up by the backmarkers, Macedo closed rapidly. Taking advantage, the No. 21 shot to the lead on Lap 12, but it was short-lived as Larson reclaimed the point the following lap. Moving in on the pair during the exchange, Buddy Kofoid was able to take second on Lap 14.

Pulling away by a half-second, Larson was not out of the woods as traffic came back into play with five laps to go. Finally clearing the slower machines, Larson was unstoppable with an advantage of 2.050-seconds at the finish.

Carson Macedo worked back to second in the closing laps, with Buddy Kofoid taking third. Rico Abreu crossed fourth with Arizona’s Colton Hardy in fifth. California’s D.J. Netto was sixth with Garet Williamson seventh. Justin Sanders, Devon Borden, and J.J. Hickle made up the top ten.

The Copper Classic continues Saturday, November 28, with racing getting underway at 6:00 P.M. (MT). Admission is $25 for adults and $10 for youth 7-12. Pit Passes are $40.

Fans not able to attend can see all the action live on https://www.floracing.com.

Arizona Speedway is located at 47346 N Ironwood Rd. More information on the facility can be found online at http://www.arizonaspeedway.net as well as on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Arizona-Speedway-211954742150175. Fans can also email info@arizonaspeedway.net or call (480) 926-6688.

For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the nine Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2020, log onto www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).

Race Results:

ASCS Southwest Region
Arizona Speedway (Queen Creek, Ariz.)
5th annual Copper Classic (Night 1)
Friday, November 27, 2020

Car Count: 54

Heat Races (Top 30 in Passing Points advance to Qualifiers)

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Colby Thornhill[1]; 2. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr[2]; 3. 5T-Ryan Timms[8]; 4. 8Z-Brock Zearfoss[6]; 5. 2B-Billy Chester III[5]; 6. 56-Sammy Swindell[7]; 7. 67-Brian Thomas[3]; 8. 1B-Brenham Crouch[4]; 9. 20G-Noah Gass[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Carson Macedo[3]; 2. 8-Devon Borden[5]; 3. 2-Alex Pettas[1]; 4. 01-Mitchel Moles[2]; 5. 47-Charles Davis Jr[4]; 6. 16A-Justin Sanders[9]; 7. 1X-Robbie Price[8]; 8. 131-Royal Jones[6]; 9. 40X-Mike Archuleta[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 2XM-Max Mittry[2]; 2. 2X-Chase Majdic[4]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu[5]; 4. 14T-Tim Estenson[1]; 5. 29-Jeff Oliver[3]; 6. 5C-Colby Copeland[7]; 7. 9-Dustin Freitas[6]; 8. 7K-Mason Keefer[9]; 9. 5K-Patrick Krob[8]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Logan Calderwood[1]; 2. 7Z-Zane Blanchard[3]; 3. 9R-Reece Goetz[6]; 4. 1-Dylan Harris[5]; 5. 88N-DJ Netto[9]; 6. 19AZ-Spencer Bayston[4]; 7. 5H-Michael Faccinto[8]; 8. 7-Gary Taylor[7]; 9. 6-Jett Carney[2]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 19A-Buddy Kofoid[3]; 2. 01X-John Carney[2]; 3. 24W-Garet Williamson[4]; 4. 13-Tim Kaeding[9]; 5. 5V-Kalib Henry[5]; 6. 22B-Jesse Baker[1]; 7. 115-Nick Parker[8]; 8. 12JG-Josh Grady[6]; 9. 50S-Rocky Silva[7]

Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 83T-Tanner Carrick[2]; 2. 41-Colton Hardy[4]; 3. 38B-Blake Carrick[1]; 4. 63-JJ Hickle[7]; 5. 57-Kyle Larson[9]; 6. 91-Chase Goetz[6]; 7. 18-Lorne Wofford[3]; 8. 17C-Chris Bullock[8]; 9. 12J-John Clark[5]

Qualifiers (Top 16 in combined Passing Points advance to the A-Feature)

Qualifier 1 (10 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[7]; 2. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr[1]; 3. 16A-Justin Sanders[9]; 4. 9R-Reece Goetz[3]; 5. 8-Devon Borden[5]; 6. 13-Tim Kaeding[4]; 7. 5T-Ryan Timms[6]; 8. 1-Dylan Harris[8]; 9. 7Z-Zane Blanchard[2]; 10. 2B-Billy Chester III[10]

Qualifier 2 (10 Laps): 1. 24-Rico Abreu[2]; 2. 21-Carson Macedo[6]; 3. 01X-John Carney[1]; 4. 24W-Garet Williamson[7]; 5. 2X-Chase Majdic[4]; 6. 5V-Kalib Henry[10]; 7. 2XM-Max Mittry[5]; 8. 19-Colby Thornhill[3]; 9. 01-Mitchel Moles[9]; 10. 2-Alex Pettas[8]

Qualifier 3 (10 Laps): 1. 88N-DJ Netto[1]; 2. 41-Colton Hardy[4]; 3. 63-JJ Hickle[2]; 4. 19A-Buddy Kofoid[6]; 5. 8Z-Brock Zearfoss[7]; 6. 83T-Tanner Carrick[5]; 7. 38B-Blake Carrick[8]; 8. 14T-Tim Estenson[9]; 9. 47-Charles Davis Jr[10]; 10. 4-Logan Calderwood[3]

B-Features (Top 4 from each advance)

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 38B-Blake Carrick[3]; 2. 2XM-Max Mittry[2]; 3. 5C-Colby Copeland[8]; 4. 5T-Ryan Timms[1]; 5. 01-Mitchel Moles[6]; 6. 29-Jeff Oliver[9]; 7. 1-Dylan Harris[4]; 8. 14T-Tim Estenson[5]; 9. 20G-Noah Gass[16]; 10. 7-Gary Taylor[14]; 11. 2-Alex Pettas[7]; 12. 115-Nick Parker[11]; 13. 12JG-Josh Grady[15]; 14. 7K-Mason Keefer[12]; 15. 12J-John Clark[18]; 16. 40X-Mike Archuleta[17]; 17. 67-Brian Thomas[13]; 18. (DNF) 1X-Robbie Price[10]

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 13-Tim Kaeding[1]; 2. 5V-Kalib Henry[2]; 3. 19-Colby Thornhill[3]; 4. 19AZ-Spencer Bayston[11]; 5. 56-Sammy Swindell[8]; 6. 2B-Billy Chester III[7]; 7. 7Z-Zane Blanchard[4]; 8. 5H-Michael Faccinto[10]; 9. 17C-Chris Bullock[14]; 10. 18-Lorne Wofford[13]; 11. 1B-Brenham Crouch[16]; 12. 6-Jett Carney[19]; 13. 9-Dustin Freitas[12]; 14. 131-Royal Jones[15]; 15. 4-Logan Calderwood[5]; 16. 47-Charles Davis Jr[6]; 17. 50S-Rocky Silva[18]; 18. 5K-Patrick Krob[17]; 19. (DNF) 91-Chase Goetz[9]; 20. (DNF) 22B-Jesse Baker[20]

A-Feature

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[2]; 2. 21-Carson Macedo[1]; 3. 19A-Buddy Kofoid[5]; 4. 24-Rico
Abreu[4]; 5. 41-Colton Hardy[3]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto[7]; 7. 24W-Garet Williamson[8]; 8. 16A-Justin Sanders[6]; 9. 8-Devon Borden[10]; 10. 63-JJ Hickle[12]; 11. 19AZ-Spencer Bayston[24]; 12. 2X-Chase Majdic[14]; 13. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr[9]; 14. 9R-Reece Goetz[11]; 15. 38B-Blake Carrick[17]; 16. 13-Tim Kaeding[18]; 17. 5V-Kalib Henry[20]; 18. 83T-Tanner Carrick[16]; 19. 01X-John Carney[13]; 20. 5C-Colby Copeland[21]; 21. 5T-Ryan Timms[23]; 22. 2XM-Max Mittry[19]; 23. (DNF) 19-Colby Thornhill[22]; 24. (DNF) 8Z-Brock Zearfoss[15]

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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Tanner Thorson started and finished the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget campaign with a victory, closing out with his series-leading seventh win of the year in the season finale at California's Merced Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)



THORSON CLOSES USAC MIDGET SEASON THE SAME WAY HE STARTED IT: IN VICTORY LANE

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Merced, California (November 21, 2020).........From Ocala, Fla. to Merced, Calif., the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget season concluded in the same manner it began - with Tanner Thorson's presence in victory lane.

Of all his great performances in 2020, Thorson very well may have saved his best for last, going tit for tat in a racelong clash between he, Tyler Courtney and Buddy Kofoid that saw each driver rotate their turns as the race leader in the final six laps of Saturday night's season finale at California's Merced Speedway.

Thorson (Minden, Nev.) led the final four to earn his season-leading seventh win, etching his name into the record books as just the sixth driver, and the first in 20 years, to win both the first and last race during a USAC National Midget season. Thorson won the season opener in February at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla.

Parnelli Jones (1964), Rich Vogler (1984), Billy Boat (1996), Jason Leffler (1999), Tony Stewart (2000) and now Thorson (2020) all share the distinction while Thorson also equaled the legendary A.J. Foyt with his 20th career series triumph, placing him 33rd all-time.

The victory for Thorson aboard his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring - Ed Pink Racing Engines - Rodela Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota was worth $5,000 after sponsor Elk Grove Ford elevated the winner's share by an extra $2,000 earlier in the evening. To earn the accolades, the "w" and the money, Thorson affixed his focus on the basics, the mental aspect of racing, that he felt he had strayed from in recent outings.

"I just tried to keep my composure and hit my marks," Thorson explained. "It's something that I feel like, over the last couple of races, I've lacked - hitting my marks perfectly and making sure I get through the turn right. I feel like my car has been so fast here lately, I kind of went away from concentrating on hitting my lines and making it manageable. It's something I knew I needed to focus on and make work."

Thorson went to work on his 30-lap mission from the outside of the second row, but trouble ensued mid-pack just as the wheels were set in motion with Chase Johnson taking a lap one, turn one tumble that also collected Zeb Wise. Johnson's first ride in the Bundy Built Honda, normally piloted by Ethan Mitchell, came about due to extensive damage received in a Friday night crash at Merced in his regular ride, the Tom Malloy-owned No. 25c. Johnson was credited with the 24th finishing position while Wise restarted and finished 19th.

Pole sitter Kofoid grabbed the top spot on the complete restart, a lead which he held for the first 14 laps despite repeated shots fired from outside front row starter Courtney while Thorson would soon enter the fray, finding his rhythm right around the inside berm.

As Kofoid ringed the topside as smooth as silk, the bottom-feeding Thorson found a sudden surge exiting the fourth turn to close within a wheel of Kofoid at the stripe on the 14th lap, then completed his overtake of the position off turn two moments later on the 15th trip.

A bump of the turn two bottom berm on the 18th circuit allowed Kofoid to break free of Thorson for the time being and open up a five car length lead while Thorson briefly ventured away from the bottom, tucked in behind Kofoid on the curb.

Meanwhile, Courtney, who had been lying in the weeds in third behind Kofoid and Thorson for the past 15 laps, suddenly decided it was "go time" in this non-stop 30-lapper that went green to checker without a yellow following the complete restart, splitting between Thorson to his left and Kofoid to his right in turn three, with Kofoid ultimately edging Courtney by roughly the thickness of the chrome on his front bumper at the line.

Kofoid's reign at the front was in constant peril, and when Courtney got to the inside of Kofoid midway down the back straightaway, Kofoid attempted to slam the door on Courtney entering turn three with both banging their wheels off one another and Courtney leveraging his way past Kofoid off the fourth corner to position himself into the lead.

Kofoid slid past Courtney a tick later in turn one to regain the position and lead the path on lap 26, then once again, maneuvered his way back to the bottom to prevent the retaliation slider.

As eyes were peeled on Kofoid and Courtney nose-to-tail at the top of turn three on lap 27, Thorson casually snuck by both on the bottom, leading a three-wide formation at the start/finish line with Courtney to his inside and Kofoid to his outside all separated by within a half-car length.

Kofoid tried with all his might to grapple his way back into contention with Thorson while utilizing the top, but Thorson ably obtained a little bit of ground on Kofoid when he disposed of the lapped car of Bryant Wiedeman in turns one and two coming to the white flag.

However, Kofoid tried to one-up Thorson by double-dipping with a slider of both Wiedeman and Thorson in a single turn three slide job, successfully discarding Wiedeman but coming up just short of Thorson, opting to fall in line to regroup and give 'er her one more try.

On the final lap, Kofoid was unable to get close enough to make another attempt at a slider, only enough to nestle right to the rear bumper of Thorson as he raced to the finish line 0.130 sec. ahead of Kofoid with Courtney third, fast qualifier and new one-lap track record holder Kyle Larson fourth and Spencer Bayston fifth for the third consecutive race.

The fast-paced race, which lasted a total time of 7:18.810, was the first and only uninterrupted feature that went green to checkered, from laps 1-30, with the series this season. The five total lead changes were the most in any USAC National Midget feature this season as well.

In the end, it was Thorson, who led three laps midway but settled in and found a sense of serenity to battle his way back to the front, and ultimately, prevail.

"When I started hitting my lines, I was able to run down Buddy (Kofoid) pretty fast," Thorson recalled. "I got mixed up with some lapped cars and kind of messed up on the berm one time, but once I regained my composure, it all fell into place."

It was a 2020 season unlike any other for Thorson, and a season unlike most for any driver in the course of USAC National Midget racing history over the past 65 years. His first four victories this year came for Hayward Motorsports, and since joining Tom Malloy's team in late September, Thorson has reeled off three more wins, making him one of just five drivers to win at least three races for two different teams in a single season in USAC National Midget history.

Parnelli Jones was the first to do the deed in 1963 for Marv Edwards and Howard Linne. Mike McGreevy is the only driver to accomplish the feat twice, first in 1965 for both Jack London and the Kenyon Brothers, then again in 1969 for owners Howard Linne and Ed Lark. Rich Vogler's 1988 championship season include 11 wins for Wilke Racers and five for Jonathan Byrd. Jay Drake had been the most recent with three each for Ralph Potter, then Keith Kunz in 2000.

Tanner Thorson etched his name into the record books as just the sixth driver, and the first in 20 years, to win both the first and last race during a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget season. Thorson also won the season opener in February at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla.
(Rich Forman Photo)

"At the end of this year, we've been really strong and it all comes down to the people that surround you and who works on the car as well as the shocks and motors," Thorson said. "Having fun and enjoying what you do, that's what drives me harder more than anything, even more than even having the baddest car on the racetrack. It's just the people around you and what you can do with such a great mindset. I've got the best mindset out there as far as winning and having fun at the same time."

Of course, when you're winning, it's much easier to have fun, and in what was Thorson's first ever weekend competing at the 1/4-mile Merced Speedway, his fun included joining several notable lists of achievements while also ending the season on the highest of notes, which gave Thorson an opportunity to think back on those who helped him get to this point.

"I've raced with some pretty awesome people," Thorson reminisced. "I got the majority of my USAC wins with Keith Kunz and that's where I learned the ropes of midget racing. And then, Darren Hagen, I lived with him when I grew up, and he showed me the way around about just how racing was and what I needed to do, and it's all helped pay off in the end."

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) finished a highly-impressive Rookie season with the series fourth in the standings in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/Mobil 1 - JBL Audio - TRD/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota, earning three total victories, two of which came on the November western swing, and rounding up the season with a second-place result. The Healing Tree added a $1,000 for the runner-up, bumping Kofoid's total earnings to $2,500 for the night.

Tyler Courtney came up one point short in the USAC National Midget championship battle to Chris Windom this season, earning five total victories. On Saturday at Merced, the Indianapolis, Ind. native led one lap late and finished third in his Clauson-Marshall Racing/NOS Turbo - ZMax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

By pushing off for hot laps earlier in the night, Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) officially, officially clinched the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget driving title in his NOS Energy Drink - Pristine Auction/Spike/Speedway Toyota while Tucker-Boat Motorsports, likewise, collected its first entrant championship. The achievement made Windom just the seventh driver to join the USAC Triple Crown club by capturing a Silver Crown (2016), AMSOIL National Sprint Car (2017) and National Midget (2020) championship in his career.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: November 21, 2020 - Merced Speedway - Merced, California - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Merced Midget Madness

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR / WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-11.838 (New Track Record); 2. Logan Seavey, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-11.859; 3. Tanner Thorson, 25, Malloy-11.976; 4. Spencer Bayston, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-11.980; 5. Chase Johnson, 19m, Bundy Built-12.009; 6. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.022; 7. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.024; 8. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.049; 9. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-12.073; 10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 17JR, Clauson/Marshall-12.077; 11. Daison Pursley, 9, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.078; 12. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.084; 13. Colby Copeland, 27w, Wood-12.137; 14. Jesse Love, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.148; 15. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.190; 16. Dillon Welch, 84, Tucker/Boat-12.198; 17. Justin Grant, 5, Petry-12.212; 18. Ben Worth, 5G, Alexander-12.215; 19. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-12.226; 20. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-12.229; 21. Chris Windom, 89, Tucker/Boat-12.239; 22. Zeb Wise, 97w, Wood-12.275; 23. Bryant Wiedeman, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.282; 24. Tanner Carrick, 98K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.297; 25. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.298; 26. Andrew Layser, 82, Tucker/Boat-12.327; 27. Chance Crum, 39, Clauson/Marshall-12.345; 28. Robert Dalby, 4, Dalby-12.416; 29. Chase Randall, 35, Petry-12.417; 30. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-12.437; 31. Ethan Mitchell, 98, RMS-12.452; 32. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.460; 33. Colby Johnson, 27D, Morris-12.466; 34. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.487; 35. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.488; 36. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.587; 37. Ryan Robinson, 71R, Morris-12.598; 38. Jonathan Beason, 31K, Beilman-12.673; 39. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.745; 40. Frankie Guerrini, 63, F & F-12.758; 41. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-12.766; 42. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.779; 43. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.944; 44. Matt Streeter, 14JR, Streeter-12.944; 45. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-12.997; 46. Lance Bennett, 10, Bennett-13.240; 47. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-13.337; 48. Kevin Woody Jr., 1x, LKK-13.419; 49. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, DBR-13.443; 50. Michael Faccinto, 7J, Campbell-(Time of 12.411 disallowed); 51. Robert Carson, 99, Segur-(Time of 13.482 disallowed); 52. Blaze Bennett, 10B, Bennett-NT

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS / EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Chase Johnson, 6. Colby Copeland, 7. Chase Randall, 8. Colby Johnson, 9. Cole Bodine, 10. Ryan Robinson, 11. Blake Brannon, 12. Jarrett Soares, 13. Bryan Drollinger. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Ben Worth, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 5. Andrew Layser, 6. Zeb Wise, 7. Jesse Love, 8. Jonathan Beason, 9. Michael Faccinto, 10. Brody Fuson, 11. Lance Bennett, 12. Maria Cofer, 13. Thomas Meseraull. NT

AUTOMETER / ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Kaylee Bryson, 7. Ethan Mitchell, 8. Chance Crum, 9. Kyle Beilman, 10. Jake Andreotti, 11. Randi Pankratz, 12. Robert Carson, 13. Ryan Bernal. NT

INDY RACE PARTS / ROD END SUPPLY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Tanner Carrick, 4. Spencer Bayston, 5. Shane Golobic, 6. Brenham Crouch, 7. Dillon Welch, 8. Frankie Guerrini, 9. Robert Dalby, 10. Hayden Reinbold, 11. Matt Streeter, 12. Kevin Woody Jr. 2:10.950

C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Brenham Crouch, 2. Frankie Guerrini, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Jonathan Beason, 5. Colby Johnson, 6. Kaylee Bryson, 7. Michael Faccinto, 8. Jake Andreotti, 9. Kyle Beilman, 10. Hayden Reinbold, 11. Matt Streeter, 12. Jarrett Soares, 13. Brody Fuson, 14. Bryan Drollinger, 15. Kevin Woody Jr., 16. Blake Brannon, 17. Robert Carson, 18. Ryan Robinson, 19. Randi Pankratz. NT

INDY METAL FINISHING / ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Chase Johnson, 3. Shane Golobic, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Colby Copeland, 6. Zeb Wise, 7. Jonathan Beason, 8. Ryan Bernal, 9. Cole Bodine, 10. Jesse Love, 11. Andrew Layser, 12. Dillon Welch, 13. Frankie Guerrini, 14. Brenham Crouch, 15. Maria Cofer, 16. Ethan Mitchell, 17. Robert Dalby, 18. Chase Randall. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (4), 2. Buddy Kofoid (1), 3. Tyler Courtney (2), 4. Kyle Larson (6), 5. Spencer Bayston (3), 6. Logan Seavey (5), 7. Carson Macedo (8), 8. Cannon McIntosh (10), 9. Justin Grant (7), 10. Mitchel Moles (11), 11. Shane Golobic (14), 12. Daison Pursley (13), 13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (12), 14. Colby Copeland (15), 15. Emerson Axsom (16), 16. Tanner Carrick (21), 17. Chris Windom (18), 18. Kaylee Bryson* (23), 19. Zeb Wise (19), 20. Bryan Wiedeman (20), 21. Robert Dalby* (24), 22. Ben Worth (17), 23. Chance Crum (22), 24. Chase Johnson (9). 7:18.810 (New Track Record)

* represents a provisional starter

**Thomas Meseraull flipped during the second heat. Chase Johnson flipped on lap 1 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 15-17 Tanner Thorson, Laps 18-24 Buddy Kofoid, Lap 25 Tyler Courtney, Lap 26 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 27-30 Tanner Thorson.

FINAL USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1,779, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,778, 3-Tanner Thorson-1,751, 4-Buddy Kofoid-1,707, 5-Cannon McIntosh-1,532, 6-Daison Pursley-1,348, 7-Tanner Carrick-1,271, 8-Justin Grant-1,179, 9-Andrew Layser-1,133, 10-Cole Bodine-1,128.

FINAL OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-226, 2-Tanner Thorson-125, 3-Kyle Cummins-108, 4-Logan Seavey-102, 5-Robert Ballou-101, 6-Cannon McIntosh-97, 7-Justin Grant-96, 8-Shane Cottle-96, 9-Brady Bacon-79, 10-Tyler Courtney-78.

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Kyle Larson

Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers First Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Tyler Courtney

AutoMeter/Ultra Shield Race Products Third Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid

Indy Race Parts/Rod End Supply Fourth Heat Winner: Carson Macedo

Indy Metal Finishing/Rod End Supply Semi Winner: Daison Pursley

KSE Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Tanner Carrick (21st to 16th)

Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Jonathan Beason

Categories : Midgets, News, Short Track, USAC
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The United States Auto Club.

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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) picked up his second career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature win Friday at California's Merced Speedway.
(Rich Forman Photo)



IT'S ALL MESERAULL IN MERCED'S USAC MIDGET DEBUT

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Merced, California (November 20, 2020).........For Thomas Meseraull, that coveted first points-paying race victory with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets was two decades in the making when he notched win number one in October.

Just a month and change later, Meseraull was celebrating victory number two on Friday night following the series' first ever event at California's Merced Speedway. It was the San Jose, Calif. native's first career USAC National points feature triumph that occurred in his home state.

Meseraull led the final 21 laps of the 30-lap feature, then endured a green-white-checkered finish to put the finishing touches on a winning performance in his RMS Racing/EnviroFab - Guess Performance Parts/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

His inauspicious beginnings to the west coast swing over the past week had resulted in finishes of 16th, 12th and 23rd in his three most recent outings entering Merced, but it was certainly not due to a lack of effort.

"I'm super stoked, especially with all the time and energy and money that gets spent to come out here to the west coast," Meseraull said. "We haven't even broken the top-10 in the last three nights, and we've been really fast. Racing circumstances just haven't really played out."

In his first night out in the team's new coil car, which was inspired in part by Tanner Thorson's recent success with the set up, Meseraull's night began with a middling qualifying run of 18th against a 54-car field, which was the largest of the series' 2020 season. Meseraull responded with a heat race victory, which by virtue of a new rule implemented during the offseason, as a heat winner, he earned a feature starting position directly behind the six-car invert.

Slated to start seventh, Meseraull was elevated another position up the grid prior to the green flag due to fourth-starting Carson Macedo and team being late to staging, one of four teams that were docked two rows due to the penalty. Now starting sixth, Meseraull was entrenched in the top-three battle along with Tanner Carrick and Daison Pursley by the conclusion of the first lap.

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammates Pursley and Carrick went toe-to-toe throughout the early stages, racing side-by-side and exchanging sliders right on cue, Carrick leading the way to the line on eight of the first nine circuits with Pursley edging ahead on the fifth lap.

On the ninth lap, Meseraull upped the urgency level to 11 as he split his way between Carrick and Pursley to slot into second in turn three, then glided underneath Carrick between turns one and two to occupy the lead.

Not only was it the series' first trip to Merced, the visit was also Meseraull's racing debut at the 1/4-mile dirt oval. His guide was his extensive experience and natural feel of the racetrack, while also having a weapon behind the wrenches that set the blueprint.

"Sometimes when running a new track, which I've never ran here before, you don't necessarily know where to run or where not to run, so you're just kind of winging it," Meseraull explained. "Hats off to (crew chief) Donnie Gentry for making the 7x good all night because the setup is so important in this along with our Speedway Toyota engine. If your motor is not geared right, you're just off. It was just a great night where we got our package together."

By the halfway point, Meseraull had launched to a 1.3 second advantage over Pursley, who had cleared Carrick a few moments later on the 18th lap for the runner-up position. Now clear, Pursley began to peddle back into contention as Meseraull now negotiated a maze of cars at the tail end of the lead lap.

Five to go, four to go, three to go, tick...tick, tick, tick, the hands of time began to recoil as the interval shrank to a half second between Meseraull and Pursley with three laps remaining. In that moment in time, Meseraull encountered Kaylee Bryson as he sought the proper path, low to middle to high, to overtake her and close it out while Pursley stayed the course up top.

With the white flag in sight coming out of turn four, Pursley lay just a handful of car lengths behind Meseraull. However, just as quickly as it seemed Pursley might be able to set up a possible bid for victory, it all came to a crashing halt when Pursley banged his right rear tire off the turn four cushion, then slapped the right rear against the outside front straightaway guardrail, causing him to barrel roll twice over before landing on all four wheels.

Pursley was uninjured, but his attempt at a first career USAC National Midget victory ended in an unsavory, crumpled heap along the main straightaway.

During the red flag period, Meseraull had time to ponder. He was fully cognizant of the fact that mistakes are forbidden during "winning time," but remained undoubtedly confident that what he'd been doing thus far to that point was being executed with precision.

"Honestly, we were really good, and I was kind of cheating the curb, I guess you could say, off turns two and four because it was so ledgy," Meseraull recalled. "You can't make mistakes while you're leading, or guys will get by you. I knew I could've maybe been running a faster spot, but we were pretty good where we were."

With a green-white-checkered finish in play to conclude the race, slide jobs are a foregone conclusion at this juncture in this sect of auto racing. However, Meseraull devised a plan win which he could still run his own race, but also prevent the inevitable slider from being issued by second-running Tanner Carrick on the final two-lap sprint.

"On the restart, I moved down and just ran two clean laps through the middle," Meseraull explained. "I didn't think anybody had anything to drive around the outside of us. This California air was really nice because that Toyota was ripping."

For Thomas Meseraull, Friday night at Merced Speedway marked the San Jose, Calif. native's first career USAC National points feature triumph that occurred in his home state. (Rich Forman Photo)

Carrick looked topside, and he looked low once the green dropped, but there was no avenue to pursue a path past him as Meseraull owned the middle line and flexed his muscle as he crossed under the checkered flag 0.452 sec. ahead of a season-best performance turned in by Carrick, with Cannon McIntosh, Carson Macedo and hard charger, Tanner Thorson (from 15th), rounding out the top-five.

While Friday night's Merced score was Meseraull's first USAC National Midget points win of his career in the state of California, it was not his first rodeo in victory lane with USAC Midgets in the Golden State. Previously, Meseraull had been victorious in three USAC Western States Midgets events between 2000-01 at Bakersfield, Stockton 99 and Perris. He also tallied a win in a 2004 USAC Midget special event at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway.

For the November western swing, Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.) made his return to KKM with whom he competed full-time for on the USAC National Midget trail between 2017-19. Carrick rewarded the team with a second-place finish Friday night at Merced, his best result of the 2020 season in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/BBS Wheels - TRD - JBL Audio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.

Carrick's KKM teammate, Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) returned to the podium for the first-time since his victory at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway on Sept. 25 by earning a third-place result at Merced in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/TRD - Mobil1 - JBL Audio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: November 20, 2020 - Merced Speedway - Merced, California - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Merced Midget Madness

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Spencer Bayston, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-12.051 (New Track Record); 2. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.064; 3. Jesse Love, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.071; 4. Chase Johnson, 25c, Malloy-12.087; 5. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-12.134; 6. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.139; 7. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.169; 8. Zeb Wise, 97w, Wood-12.181; 9. Tanner Carrick, 98K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.185; 10. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.201; 11. Daison Pursley, 9, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.242; 12. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.245; 13. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-12.255; 14. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.258; 15. Logan Seavey, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-12.265; 16. Justin Grant, 5, Petry-12.266; 17. Colby Copeland, 27w, Wood-12.268; 18. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.300; 19. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-12.309; 20. Chase Randall, 35, Petry-12.317; 21. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-12.340; 22. Colby Johnson, 27D, Morris-12.367; 23. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.370; 24. Michael Faccinto, 7J, Campbell-12.376; 25. Dillon Welch, 84, Tucker/Boat-12.422; 26. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.427; 27. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.435; 28. Frankie Guerrini, 63, F & F-12.447; 29. Chris Windom, 89, Tucker/Boat-12.470; 30. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-12.482; 31. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.511; 32. Andrew Layser, 82, Tucker/Boat-12.531; 33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 17JR, Clauson/Marshall-12.541; 34. Bryant Wiedeman, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.558; 35. Jonathan Beason, 31K, Beilman-12.571; 36. Robert Dalby, 4, Dalby-12.580; 37. Matt Streeter, 14JR, Streeter-12.600; 38. Chance Crum, 39, Clauson/Marshall-12.614; 39. Blake Bower, 10x, Boscacci-12.615; 40. Ryan Robinson, 71R, Morris-12.633; 41. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.693; 42. Ben Worth, 5G, Alexander-12.707; 43. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.746; 44. Jake Morgan, 19w, Sala-12.800; 45. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-12.845; 46. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.936; 47. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.984; 48. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-13.030; 49. Blaze Bennett, 10B, Bennett-13.130; 50. Robert Carson, 99, Segur-13.236; 51. Lance Bennett, 10, Bennett-13.380; 52. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-13.425; 53. Kevin Woody Jr., 1x, LKK-13.776; 54. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-13.811.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Bernal, 2. Tanner Carrick, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Colby Copeland, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Dillon Welch, 7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 8. Brody Fuson, 9. Matt Streeter, 10. Robert Carson, 11. Randi Pankratz, 12. Kyle Larson, 13. Jake Andreotti, 14. Spencer Bayston. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Shane Golobic, 5. Kaylee Bryson, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 7. Maria Cofer, 8. Cole Bodine, 9. Chance Crum, 10. Bryant Wiedeman, 11. Ben Worth, 12. Lance Bennett, 13. Colby Johnson. 2:06.569 (New Track Record)

AUTOMETER/ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Jesse Love, 5. Brenham Crouch, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Jonathan Beason, 8. Blake Bower, 9. Kyle Beilman, 10. Hayden Reinbold, 11. Blake Brannon, 12. Jarrett Soares, 13. Tyler Courtney. NT

INDY RACE PARTS/ROD END SUPPLY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Michael Faccinto, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Chase Randall, 5. Zeb Wise, 6. Andrew Layser, 7. Ryan Robinson, 8. Frankie Guerrini, 9. Jake Morgan, 10. Kevin Woody Jr., 11. Blaze Bennett, 12. Chase Johnson. NT

C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Hayden Reinbold, 2. Andrew Layser, 3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Jonathan Beason, 6. Ryan Robinson, 7. Ethan Mitchell, 8. Chance Crum, 9. Matt Streeter, 10. Brody Fuson, 11. Jake Morgan, 12. Ben Worth, 13. Kyle Beilman, 14. Jake Andreotti, 15. Jarrett Soares, 16. Blake Brannon, 17. Kevin Woody Jr., 18. Randi Pankratz, 19. Robert Carson, 20. Lance Bennett, 21. Blake Bower. NT

INDY METAL FINISHING/ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Kaylee Bryson, 6. Zeb Wise, 7. Tyler Courtney, 8. Andrew Layser, 9. Dillon Welch, 10. Bryant Wiedeman, 11. Brenham Crouch, 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 13. Cole Bodine, 14. Hayden Reinbold, 15. Maria Cofer, 16. Chase Johnson, 17. Colby Johnson. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (6), 2. Tanner Carrick (2), 3. Cannon McIntosh (5), 4. Carson Macedo (8), 5. Tanner Thorson (15), 6. Shane Golobic (3), 7. Ryan Bernal (9), 8. Spencer Bayston (11), 9. Kyle Larson (19), 10. Emerson Axsom (14), 11. Mitchel Moles (7), 12. Buddy Kofoid (21), 13. Logan Seavey (16), 14. Tyler Courtney* (23), 15. Chris Windom (22), 16. Justin Grant (17), 17. Colby Copeland (18), 18. Kaylee Bryson (13), 19. Chase Randall (20), 20. Daison Pursley (1), 21. Zeb Wise (12), 22. Michael Faccinto (10), 23. Cole Bodine* (24), 24. Jesse Love (4). NT

* represents a provisional starter

**Dylan Ito flipped during qualifying. Jake Andreotti flipped during the first heat. Chase Johnson flipped during the fourth heat. Daison Pursley flipped on lap 28 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Tanner Carrick, Lap 5 Daison Pursley, Laps 6-9 Tanner Carrick, Laps 10-30 Thomas Meseraull.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1,729, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,728, 3-Tanner Thorson-1,701, 4-Buddy Kofoid-1,657, 5-Cannon McIntosh-1,482, 6-Daison Pursley-1,298, 7-Tanner Carrick-1,221, 8-Justin Grant-1,129, 9-Andrew Layser-1,083, 10-Cole Bodine-1,078.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-225, 2-Tanner Thorson-122, 3-Kyle Cummins-108, 4-Logan Seavey-102, 5-Robert Ballou-101, 6-Justin Grant-96, 7-Shane Cottle-96, 8-Cannon McIntosh-95, 9-Brady Bacon-79, 10-Tyler Courtney-78.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP/USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: November 21, 2020 - Merced Speedway - Merced, California - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Merced Midget Madness

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Spencer Bayston

Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers First Heat Winner: Ryan Bernal

Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull

AutoMeter/Ultra Shield Race Products Third Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Indy Race Parts/Rod End Supply Fourth Heat Winner: Michael Faccinto

Indy Metal Finishing/Rod End Supply Semi Winner: Spencer Bayston

KSE Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Tanner Thorson (15th to 5th)

Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Logan Seavey

Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Tyler Courtney

Categories : Midgets, News, Short Track, USAC
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DATE OF EVENT: Nov. 21, 27 and 28, 2020

DATE OF RELEASE: Nov. 20, 2020

CONTACT: Jeff Gravatt

TURKEY DERBY HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED DUE TO GOVERNOR PHIL MURPHY'S COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS.
The new restrictions have made it impossible to run the Turkey Derby as advertised.
The local police department told us they will shut us down if we try to run the Derby.
Sorry fans, we are left with no other choice! WE WILL RESCHEDULE THE EVENT, IT IS NOT CANCELED!!!
Depending on Gov. Murphy's future COVID-19 restrictions, the new event dates will be either January 1, 2, 3 or March 13, 14, 20, 2021.

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The United States Auto Club.

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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

Tuesday night's NOS Energy Drink November Classic feature winner at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway, Buddy Kofoid of Penngrove, Calif.
(Rich Forman Photo)



KOFOID OUTDUELS LARSON FOR BAKO WIN; WINDOM LEADS STANDINGS BY 1

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Bakersfield, California (November 17, 2020).........Coming up through the ranks in the earliest years of his racing career, Buddy Kofoid idolized Kyle Larson. In recent years, Kofoid has gotten the opportunity to compete head-to-head with Larson on occasion in midgets and sprint cars.

In Tuesday night's NOS Energy Drink November Classic at California's Bakersfield Speedway, the two competed as teammates for the first time on the venerable Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team.

The fact that Larson was someone he looked up to and was also his teammate was no deterrent in Kofoid's desire to go toe-to-toe with Larson and defeat him. That he did, ultimately prevailing in a spirited duel that lasted the entire duration of the second half of the 30-lap event, with the winning move made just four laps from the finish.

"I can't believe we just beat Kyle," Kofoid exclaimed. "Kyle is one of the best in the world and really good in midgets. As a younger kid coming out of California and racing Outlaw Karts, I always looked up to him. Everyone already knows how good he is, and racing with the best helps you become better."

For Kofoid, it was his second consecutive USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature victory, and third overall of his career, after reigning victorious in last Saturday night's Western World Championships at Arizona Speedway.

Meanwhile, behind the race for the win was the race for the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget championship point lead. Chris Windom emerged ahead of Tyler Courtney in the standings by one single point at the checkered after charging from 20th to a 6th place finish following a wildly contentious final lap.

Kofoid lined up 5th in the 24-car field while Larson was slotted outside the front row, making it a fairly tall task for the Penngrove, Calif. Rookie who was, nonetheless, game for the challenge. Larson withstood a pair of uppercuts served his way via polesitter Chase Johnson who slid his way to the lead briefly on the opening two laps in turn one before Larson cut back under to grab the lead each time off turn two.

Kofoid raced to third by the second circuit, then traveled high and low around the 1/3-mile dirt oval to reach his way to the second position past Johnson on the 15th lap.

In the thick of the race through traffic, Larson held the upper hand over Kofoid by a two-plus second margin when KKM teammate Daison Pursley flipped in turn two on the 19th lap. He was uninjured.

The tide began to turn when racing resumed and Kofoid went on the offensive, slide jobbing Larson right off the bat in turn one. Larson answered by crossing over and trekking back under Kofoid as the two headed side-by-side into turn three. Larson muscled Kofoid off the low line, but Kofoid returned to the front with a cutback underneath Larson exiting turn four.

The slider swapping continued between the two on the ensuing lap, with Larson able to get back by with a down and under maneuver past Kofoid in turns one and two, then closed the door at the entry on the bottom of turn three. However, with the red flag displayed for a Kaylee Bryson turn two flip on the 21st lap before the lap was scored, Kofoid reassumed his position at the head of the field with Larson just behind.

Twelfth-running Thomas Meseraull found trouble on the first lap 21 restart when his mount received heavy front-end damage, forcing him to a stop near the turn three outside wall, and out of the race.

Back and forth they went with Larson able to find an answer for every strike Kofoid delivered. But with four laps to go, leading man Larson beelined to the bottom of turn three where he made a rare error, which scooched him up to the middle of no man's land and losing momentum, while Kofoid raced around the outside to put his name atop the leader board.

Larson made one final run at Kofoid on the final lap in turn four but Kofoid was unfettered in closing out his 0.552 second victory over Larson.

"We've been really strong as of late and the team gave me a hell of a car," Kofoid stated of his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/Mobil 1 - JBL Audio - TRD/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota. "I had an issue with that last restart when he got the lead back and I kind of stumbled. I figured out what I needed to do and, man, that was a lot of fun."

For Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.), his first event driving for KKM since Pennsylvania Midget Week in 2019 was a reunion of a combination that has won 15 times together in USAC National Midget competition between 2011-19. The first time back resulted in Larson leading a race high 24 laps and nearly pulling off the victory in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/IWX - JBL Audio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.

Larson, however, did continue his incredible streak of top-two finishes with the series that has now endured for 10 consecutive series starts dating to the west coast swing of 2019, a streak which includes seven wins and three seconds in that span.

"It was a lot of fun to get back with this team and Keith Kunz," Larson said. "It's been a year and half since I've raced with them. It was fun to get back in the seat and thanks to all of them for allowing me to run their car."

"Whenever you have an exciting race like that, it's hard to be disappointed about a second," Larson continued. "I just made a mistake. I thought I could go to the bottom there and just try to change up the rhythm the run and the race there, but I just got in, got to the brakes and stalled, and that cost me. I just hate that I made a mistake there, but I had a lot of fun racing with Buddy."

Chris Windom emerged ahead of Tyler Courtney in the standings by one single point at the checkered after charging from 20th to a 6th place finish following a wildly contentious final lap. He leads the points entering this Friday and Saturday night's races at Merced (Calif.) Speedway on Nov. 20-21, both of which will pay 50 appearance points to all licensed USAC National Midget drivers and teams, regardless of performance, all but ensuring Windom's series crown.
(Rich Forman Photo)

The other storyline throughout was Windom's 11-point lead was in severe jeopardy with him starting 20th in the feature while championship nemeses Tyler Courtney (-11) and Tanner Thorson (-32) started 3rd and 6th, respectively.

While Courtney and Thorson remained stalwarts inside the top-five, Windom was mired in 13th prior to the final restart with 10 laps remaining when he turned up the wick and elevated himself to seventh by the final lap. With Courtney running third at that moment in time, Windom needed to move up one more spot in order to move himself into the point lead, a final two-lap tussle between he and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

"At that point in time, I don't know anyone in the pit area is going to sit there and run 11th in the last race of the year knowing what's at stake and what everyone has worked for all year," Windom continued. "I turned it up, and it was so hard to get by guys. Restarts were crucial. You could slide one or two guys in one corner on the restart and you could hold those spots and that's what I kept doing restart after restart. I was trying to see how far Tyler was ahead of us, I saw it was two, it was three, it was four, then back to three, and I just raced as hard as I possibly could until the end."

That's when Windom encountered a seesaw, all-out war between he and Stenhouse - Courtney's Clauson-Marshall Racing teammate - for the coveted 6th spot on the final lap in turn four.

"I slid Ricky on the white flag lap, and he crossed me over and dove to the bottom," Windom recalled. "(On the last lap), I was going to the bottom as hard as I could and drove into the back of him and he spun around. I got into him there, but I saw the position, and that was what I needed, one more spot to secure a triple crown. It was a split-second decision and that's what happened."

While Windom hasn't exactly clinched the title, there are but two races remaining in the 2020 season this Friday and Saturday night, November 20-21 at Merced (Calif.) Speedway, both of which will pay 50 appearance points to all licensed USAC National Midget drivers and teams, regardless of performance, all but ensuring Windom's series crown.

That places Windom in the enviable position as the point leader entering the Merced events, putting him in the driver's seat of becoming the seventh member of the Triple Crown club of drivers who've won USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint and National Midget driving championships in their career along with Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr. and Tracy Hines.

"This is what I've worked my whole career for," Windom said. "The way the racetrack was tonight, we buried ourselves by not qualifying well. It was so hard to pass in the feature without throwing huge slide jobs on guys, and that's what I had to do to get to the front and get us back into contention."

Tyler Courtney, who now trails Windom by one point entering Merced, was a man of few words. The 2019 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champ has been on the other side in USAC National championship point battles, winning the 2018 Sprint Car title based a tiebreaker after he and Kevin Thomas Jr. ended the season deadlocked with the same amount of points. This year, it appears the Indianapolis, Ind. native will come up just short, equaling the narrowest margin between first and second in a championship, one, set by Cole Whitt over Tracy Hines in 2008.

"I think we just came up one spot short, not even a spot, a point. That's frustrating, and it sucks, it really does," a deflated Courtney stated after finishing third in his Clauson-Marshall Racing/NOS Turbo - ZMax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: November 17, 2020 - Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, California - NOS Energy Drink November Classic

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.701; 2. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.794; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.899; 4. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.946; 5. Michael Faccinto, 7J, Campbell-12.958; 6. Justin Grant, 5, Petry-12.982; 7. Spencer Bayston, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-13.010; 8. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.034; 9. Kyle Larson, 71w, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.035; 10. Chase Johnson, 25c, Malloy-13.035; 11. Tanner Carrick, 98K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.046; 12. Andrew Layser, 82, Tucker/Boat-13.050; 13. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.064; 14. Logan Seavey, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-13.075; 15. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.086; 16. Daison Pursley, 9, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.090; 17. Blake Bower, 10x, Boscacci-13.104; 18. Robert Dalby, 4, Dalby-13.110; 19. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-13.128; 20. Bryant Wiedeman, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.172; 21. Jonathan Beason, 31K, Beilman-13.186; 22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 17JR, Clauson/Marshall-13.196; 23. Jake Swanson, 73x, Ford-13.214; 24. Clinton Boyles, 98, RMS-13.242; 25. Chris Windom, 89, Tucker/Boat-13.250; 26. Ben Worth, 5G, Alexander-13.258; 27. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-13.270; 28. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.275; 29. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.286; 30. Frankie Guerrini, 63, F & F-13.309; 31. Chance Crum, 31B, Beilman-13.316; 32. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-13.320; 33. Jesse Love, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.342; 34. Dillon Welch, 81x, Tucker/Boat-13.388; 35. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.432; 36. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-13.462; 37. David Prickett, 15DJ, Neverlift-13.477; 38. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-13.564; 39. D.J. Netto, 88N, Newman-13.585; 40. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-13.589; 41. Troy Morris III, 07x, Morris-13.767; 42. Blaze Bennett, 10B, Bennett-13.972; 43. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-14.086; 44. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-14.271; 45. Lance Bennett, 10, Bennett-NT; 46. Ashlyn Rodriguez, 37, Mitchell-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jonathan Beason, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Michael Faccinto, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 7. Jesse Love, 8. Blake Bower, 9. David Prickett, 10. Brenham Crouch. 2:03.059 (New Track Record)

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Chase Johnson, 4. Frankie Guerrini, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Ben Worth, 7. Dillon Welch, 8. Blaze Bennett, 9. Justin Grant, 10. Dylan Ito, 11. Robert Dalby. NT

AUTOMETER/ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kaylee Bryson, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Buddy Kofoid, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Tanner Carrick, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Chance Crum, 9. D.J. Netto, 10. Bryan Drollinger, 11. Carson Macedo. NT

INDY RACE PARTS/ROD END SUPPLY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Clinton Boyles, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Bryant Weideman, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Cole Bodine, 7. Brody Fuson, 8. Blake Brannon, 9. Andrew Layser, 10. Maria Cofer, 11. Jake Andreotti. NT

C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Jesse Love, 2. Chance Crum, 3. Maria Cofer, 4. Dillon Welch, 5. Troy Morris III, 6. David Prickett, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Jake Andreotti, 9. Blaze Bennett, 10. Blake Brannon, 11. D.J. Netto, 12. Bryan Drollinger, 13. Brody Fuson, 14. Dylan Ito, 15. Lance Bennett. NT

INDY METAL FINISHING/ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Ethan Mitchell, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Michael Faccinto, 5. Tanner Carrick, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Logan Seavey, 8. Andrew Layser, 9. Brenham Crouch, 10. Blake Bower, 11. Jake Swanson, 12. Cole Bodine, 13. Jesse Love, 14. Ben Worth, 15. Maria Cofer, 16. Chance Crum, 17. Robert Dalby, 18. Dillon Welch. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (5), 2. Kyle Larson (2), 3. Tyler Courtney (3), 4. Chase Johnson (1), 5. Spencer Bayston (4), 6. Chris Windom (20), 7. Tanner Thorson (6), 8. Cannon McIntosh (16), 9. Justin Grant (14), 10. Carson Macedo (21), 11. Jonathan Beason (8), 12. Emerson Axsom (12), 13. Clinton Boyles (10), 14. Ethan Mitchell (11), 15. Kaylee Bryson (7), 16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9), 17. Andrew Layser* (24), 18. Michael Faccinto (13), 19. Tanner Carrick (15), 20. Cole Bodine* (23), 21. Bryant Wiedeman (19), 22. Frankie Guerrini (22), 23. Thomas Meseraull (18), 24. Daison Pursley (17). NT

* represents a provisional starter

**Ashlyn Rodriguez flipped during practice. Jake Andreotti flipped in the fourth heat. D.J. Netto flipped during the C-Main. Dillon Welch flipped during the semi. Daison Pursley flipped on lap 19 of the feature. Kaylee Bryson flipped on lap 21 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Kyle Larson, Laps 19-20 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 21-26 Kyle Larson, Laps 27-30 Buddy Kofoid.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1,679, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,678, 3-Tanner Thorson-1,651, 4-Buddy Kofoid-1,607, 5-Cannon McIntosh-1,432, 6-Daison Pursley-1,248, 7-Tanner Carrick-1,171, 8-Justin Grant-1,079, 9-Andrew Layser-1,033, 10-Cole Bodine-1,028.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-218, 2-Tanner Thorson-112, 3-Kyle Cummins-108, 4-Robert Ballou-101, 5-Logan Seavey-99, 6-Shane Cottle-96, 7-Justin Grant-95, 8-Cannon McIntosh-93, 9-Brady Bacon-79, 10-Tyler Courtney-78.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP/USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACES: November 20-21, 2020 - Merced Speedway - Merced, California - Merced Midget Madness

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Ethan Mitchell

Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers First Heat Winner: Jonathan Beason
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

AutoMeter/Ultra Shield Race Products Third Heat Winner: Kaylee Bryson

Indy Race Parts/Indy Metal Finishing/Rod End Supply Semi Winner: Clinton Boyles

KSE Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Chris Windom (20th to 6th)

Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Clinton Boyles

Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Logan Seavey

Categories : Midgets, News, Short Track, USAC
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Wall Stadium

DATE OF EVENT: Nov. 21, 27 and 28, 2020

DATE OF RELEASE: Nov. 15, 2020

CONTACT: Jeff Gravatt

TURKEY DERBY XLVII AT WALL STADIUM KICKS OFF THIS SATURDAY (NOV. 21)

WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. ~ As has been the case with most allowed events nationwide during 2020, Wall Stadium Speedway's Turkey Derby XLVII will take on a new look as the three day event is contested over two weekends surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday. All three days' events will be presented during the daylight hours and advance tickets can be secured by calling 732-681-6400 or visiting wallspeedwayracing.com.

The three-day Turkey Derby will kick off this Saturday, Nov. 21, with the Wall/SK Modified stock cars battling in a 100-lap, $5,000 to win championship event. “Locals Saturday” will also feature the Sportsman racers in a 40-lap feature race and the Factory Stocks and 4 Cylinder Stocks in 30-lap main events. Grandstands will open at 11:00 a.m., with qualifying starting at noon and main events taking the green flag at 2:00 p.m.

The 100-lap Wall/SK Modified feature race should be a battle between local heroes and racing invaders. Wall favorites will include newly crowned champion Andrew Krause of Holmdel and top point earners Steven Reed of Jackson and Ron Frees of Lanoka Harbor. 2020 feature winners Eddie McCarthy of Brick, Derek Hopkinson of Toms River and Blake Barney of Jackson are other local heroes expected to be in the field.

Fellow 2020 winners Jimmy Blewett of Howell, Matawan's Anthony Sesely and Wall's Jack Ely can be called Turkey Derby weekend invaders and they are expected to be joined by many others.

Day two of Turkey Derby 2020 will then take to the track on Friday, Nov. 27 with the Dirt Modified style cars competing in a 50-lap, $1,800 to win main event and the Factory Stocks battling in a 100-lap, $1,000 to win main event, the Legend Cars in a 40-lapper and the 4 Cylinder Stocks in a 30-lapper. Grandstands will open at 11:00 a.m., with qualifying starting at noon and main events taking the green flag at 2:00 p.m.

The final day of Turkey Derby XLVII will headline the Tour Type Modified stock cars battling for $6,000 to win in a 150-lap championship event. The Limited Late Models are set for a 50-lapper on Saturday and the TQ Midgets round out the action in a 30-lapper. Again, grandstands will open at 11:00 a.m., with qualifying starting at noon and main events taking the green flag at 2:00 p.m.

In the event of bad weather during any of the three days, Sunday, Nov. 29 , will serve as a rain date.

The Wall Stadium Speedway is located on Route 34 in Wall Township, N.J., just one mile north of Garden State Parkway exit 98 and Interstate 195 exit 35B. The speedway hotline number is 732-681-6400, while CKMotorsports@aol.com is the track’s email address. Up to the minute updated information will be available at www.wallspeedwayracing.com.

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