BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Bloomington Speedway has been a part of USAC Indiana Midget Week since nearly the beginning of the mini-series’ institution, which made its first appearance on the schedule in 2008.
However, it finds itself in a new position as the leadoff hitter of the seven-race, nine-night USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship mini-series starting this Friday, June 3, on the southern Indiana red clay.
They say you only get one shot at making a first impression, and for Buddy Kofoid, he made it a lasting impression during last year’s Indiana Midget week round at Bloomington.
In the ensuing moments after earning his first career IMW victory, the Penngrove, Calif. native let it be known that his initial impression of his first visit to Bloomington’s quarter-mile was that it was now on his personal list of favorite racetracks. And it was easy to see why as he used the win as a springboard to the IMW title and, ultimately, the USAC national crown.
Kofoid enters the event with a 1-0 record in USAC Midget competition at Bloomington, but he will certainly have to contend with a myriad of others who are determined to discover the same launching pad Kofoid utilized in 2021.
Series point leader Justin Grant finished a best of 2nd during IMW at Bloomington in 2017 in addition to a 9th in 2021. The 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ also owns the 10-lap track record for USAC National Midgets at Bloomington, a 2:03.18 set in 2019.
Brady Bacon has posted past successes in USAC Sprint Cars at Bloomington, winning twice there in 2019 and 2021. He’s been solid in a midget too, and with his TKH Motorsports No. 21H, he will be looking to build upon his past IMW results at Bloomington which consists of a career-best 4th in 2021 to go along with a pair of 6th place results in 2017 & 2019 and a 7th in both 2008 & 2016.
Thomas Meseraull possesses a pair of top-ten IMW finishes at Bloomington, each of which came nearly a decade apart from each other, finishing 9th in 2010 and 8th in 2019.
Logan Seavey, the 2019 Indiana Midget Week champion, used a runner-up finish at Bloomington to elevate himself to IMW champ status that season. Seavey, the 2018 USAC National Midget champion, scored a 7th at Bloomington in 2021.
Bryant Wiedeman was superb in his first Bloomington IMW go in 2021, finishing 5th in his debut run.
Ethan Mitchell experienced one of the finest nights of his young career in 2019 when he set fast time in qualifying and finished a solid 5th in the feature.
Steve Buckwalter last made an IMW appearance at Bloomington in 2016. His record in the event includes a 5th in 2010, a 6th in 2009 and a 10th in 2011.
Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.) has finished within the confines of the top-ten at Bloomington on two occasions, grabbing 6th in 2014 and 10th in 2017. Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) returns to Bloomington’s IMW event after collecting his best career series finish at the track of 10th in 2021.
Coming back the Bloomington lineup as well are series winners Cannon McIntosh and Kyle Cummins. McIntosh was 12th in 2021 but did capture the sprint car feature win that same night. Cummins has won a handful of sprint car races in his career at Bloomington but would like to add a midget win to his resume there.
Brenham Crouch took 18th in 2021 while Sam Johnson was 19th in what was each driver’s first USAC starts at the track. Bryan Stanfill, a USAC Midwest Regional winner at Bloomington in 2021, looks to make his first USAC national feature appearance at the track.
A large selection of drivers will be trying to crack the lineup for the first time in their USAC careers at Bloomington on Friday.
• Third-place points driver Mitchel Moles
• multi-time series fast qualifier Taylor Reimer
• Third-place Port City finisher Kaylee Bryson
• 2017 BCRA Midget champ Maria Cofer
• Third-place Ocala finisher Jade Avedisian
• Badger Midget champion Chase McDermand
• USAC Midwest Regional Midget feature winner Chance Crum
• Two-time USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget champion Jacob Denney
• Travis Buckley, Hayden Reinbold, Dominic Gorden, Jace Park, Mariah Ede, Cade Lewis
Bloomington’s Indiana Midget Week round will feature the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, Bloomington Sprint Cars and IMCA Mod Lites.