By Eric Bunn
(Lebanon, IN) Kameron Gladish is two for two in the young 2019 K&M Tool and Die Mel Kenyon Midget Series season. Gladish will attempt to make his third visit to victory lane on Friday night in the 3rd Annual Don and Mel Kenyon Classic at Anderson Speedway.
The difficulty level is ramping up for Gladish. His May fourth win at Anderson went 30-laps and the distance for his May 10 victory at the Indianapolis Speedrome was 50-laps. Winning the Don and Mel Kenyon Classic requires a 75-lap effort in the series longest event of the season.
Gladish will be coming straight to the starting grid from his high school graduation. K&M Tool and Die Mel Kenyon Midget Series rules will require him to start on the tail of the field because he will miss qualifying. Gladish is the second driver to try to accomplish this as Tommy Kouns attempted the same feat in 2018. Kouns got caught out by the weather as the feature event was moved up 45 minutes to beat the rain.
2011 K&M Tool and Die Mel Kenyon Midget Series Champion Jessica Bean will return to Anderson Speedway in an attempt to win her 4th race on the high banks. Bean is tied with Gladish with three wins each at Anderson Speedway. Logan and Ryan Huggler each have a single win at Anderson, joining Bean and Gladish as the only drivers entered who have visited Anderson Speedway’s victory lane.
Pendleton (IN) native Colin Grissom has a 3rd (Anderson) and a 2nd (Speedrome) in the books in 2019 and will be looking to claim his first series victory at his home track. Tommy Kouns is another driver who would like to grab the checkers and earn his first Anderson Speedway win.
Jack Macenko leads the early Simpson World Indy Rookie of the Year point battle with fifth and fourth place finishes to kick-off his 2019 campaign. Local driver Ashton Tucker and Ben Varner join Macenko in chasing the top rookie spot in the Don and Mel Kenyon Classic.
Anderson Speedway’s 3rd Annual Don and Mel Kenyon Classic will follow bump day qualifying for the Pay Less Little 500 presented by the UAW. The K&M Kenyon Midget drivers will take the track to qualify at 6:30, with an on-track autograph session scheduled for 7:00. Racing is set to take the green at 7:30 with the Thunder Roadster leading off the night racing event. The 75-lap Don and Mel Kenyon Classic for the K&M Tool and Die Mel Kenyon Midget Series will roll off following the Thunder Roadsters race.