About a week ago today, the USAC National Midget tour had quite the busy week, running its annual Midwest tour with races in Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. Last Tuesday, the tour was in Sweet Springs, Missouri at the Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex, where Gavin Miller won after starting in the sixth position.
They then made the four-and-a-half-hour drive west to north-central Kansas on Wednesday for action in Beloit, Kansas at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds for the 15th annual Chad McDaniel Memorial Race. Following the Wednesday night event, they traveled just a few miles north across the border into Nebraska for a two-night show on Friday and Saturday nights. The series also had an additional night last Thursday, with a practice night at the track.
In this special edition of Four Takeaways, SpeedwayMedia will highlight four interesting points from these races combined as we were on site for all three races in Beloit, Kansas, and Fairbury, Nebraska.
Jacob Denney Has Momentum Leaving Beloit and Fairbury
Jacob Denney had won just one race this season with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget tour, which took place on the second night back in April at Kokomo Speedway. Since then, he went a bit winless from the third race at Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, Indiana, up until the Beloit, Kansas race.
At Beloit, Kansas, the Toyota Racing Development/Keith Kunz Motorsports driver flipped the switch automatically and seemingly had the best car out of the field. He started third in the feature and quickly made quick work of the top two starters, Cannon McIntosh and Kale Drake. Afterward, Denney again had a fast car at the Jefferson County Raceway on the first night by taking the victory.
However, like with anything in racing, it’s hard to keep a consecutive winning streak going, especially for multiple nights in a competitive series. Denney finished fourth in the first qualifying race, which then saw him start sixth in the feature. He nearly pulled off a hat trick, but fell short by finishing second. Nevertheless, the Galloway, Ohio native should have some great momentum heading forward for the rest of the year.
Kale Drake Pockets $10,000 Saturday Night In Fairbury Finale
Prior to the Saturday night finale, Drake had not yet won on the USAC National Midget tour. Even though he had a win in the POWRI Midget Series at Macon Speedway last month in June and a victory at Port City Raceway. Last Wednesday night, the Collinsville, Oklahoma native finished third at Beloit, Kansas after winning the first heat.
Last Friday night, he finished second in the first heat of night 1 at Fairbury and came home an uncharacteristic fifth after starting in the 19th position. However, on Saturday night, Drake was an entirely new racecar driver, as he started second in the 40-lap feature and quickly took control of the race. Once the feature was finished, Drake was $10,000 richer by winning the Midwest Midget Championship.
Consistent Start and Finish Times
One of the things I really enjoyed about these races for Kansas and Fairbury, Nebraska, is the consistent start and finish times. On Wednesday night, the series started about 7 p.m., and began their feature roughly about 9:30 or 9:45 p.m. They were done about 10:30 p.m. However, on both Friday and Saturday night, the races were done about 10:20 p.m., which is something I really enjoyed since I had a 30-minute drive back to my room. For the two nights, I was able to get back at 11 p.m. So kudos to the series for keeping things going and running on a tight schedule to get things done at a decent hour to allow people to get home as well.
Record Amount of Midget Cars and Great Crowd Turnout
For the Fairbury, Nebraska races this past weekend in Jefferson County Speedway, there was a great car count for the USAC National Midget tour of 40 cars each night, which was a record. I can certainly tell you the pits were packed with numerous cars and teams. I was amazed how many cars showed up for the two-night affair, especially when the weather forecast looked a bit bleak on Friday morning and with overnight rains on Wednesday as well.
Sure, the pits were muddy, but with the haulers already being there the night before for a practice night, it likely made it an easier decision not to cancel. It would’ve taken an all-day rain or a complete downpour that wasn’t going to let up to cancel the races. However, that wasn’t the case. The track turned out to be really racey on both nights after some track prep was done. After having a great turnout for the midgets, there was also a great crowd as well for the two nights. While the races were going on, there was also the annual fair taking place as well at the track in Fairbury. Friday night was decent, but Saturday night was really packed and very much crowded. It was standing room only.
If you weren’t there at a decent time to find a general admission seat or potentially a reserved seat, you likely had to find somewhere else to sit. USAC National Midget tour racing is alive and well with a fantastic fanbase. It was my first time being at these races, and it was a great time each night.
As for the updated point standings, Denney leads Kevin Thomas Jr by 68 points.
The next USAC National Midget Tour race is scheduled for August 14-15 at Coles County Speedway in Mattoon, Illinois, and will be live on Flo Racing.
Meanwhile, the USAC Silver Crown Series will be back in action this Sunday, July 19 at Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Indiana live on Flo Racing.
Finally, the USAC National Sprint Tour is going to be in action Thursday, July 23 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to kick off a week long series of races in Indiana called “USAC Indiana Sprint Week”, which is set to conclude Saturday, August 1 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana. All can be seen live on Flo Racing.
