By Richie Murray
Indianapolis, Indiana (December 14, 2019)………Andrew Layser, who on Friday was named Rookie of the Year for the 2019 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget season, has teamed up with Tucker-Boat Motorsports to tackle the entire series schedule in his sophomore season of 2020.
After serving as a regular in the midgets out east in 2017-18, the Collegeville, Pa. native made the leap to the National trail this past year for Clauson/Marshall Racing where he recorded eight top-ten finishes in 24 starts, including leading his first laps in July at Sweet Springs, Mo.
The three-time winner in USAC’s Eastern Speed2 Midget division finished 11th in USAC National Midget points for 2019, but the 18-year old gasser is eager to up his game this coming season with a full season now under his belt.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for me,” Layser exclaimed. “(Team owner) Chad (Boat) is a great driver, a great crew chief and a great mentor, and I’m really looking forward to working with him for the whole 2020 season. They have a great foundation for a team, and I think that showed with how strong they were this past year.”
Tucker-Boat Motorsports captured two victories in 2019 with team owner Boat behind the wheel at Pennsylvania’s Path Valley Speedway Park and with Gio Scelzi at Placerville (Calif.) Speedway. Layser will be paired as a teammate alongside Chris Windom, a two-time USAC National Champion who scored a pair of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget wins himself in 2019.
“Seeing the results that Chad’s had over the years, and with the others who’ve driven for him, it’s obvious his cars are top notch,” Layser relayed. “On any given night, you can win, and that’s the goal for me this year, to go out there and have good runs, and hopefully, the wins will fall into place. I see what he’s doing not only as a team, but what he does for his drivers. That really appealed to me and I really couldn’t be more excited to be working with him.”
Boat has observed Layser both on-track and off in recent years and is confident in what he’s witnessed, a driver who is continually growing and can very well develop into a premier contender as he gains more experience.
“I think Andrew has a great foundation,” Boat said. “Obviously, he’s worked with some good teams and I think that foundation will carry him into next year. I believe that by him going to these tracks for a second time, he’ll be able to pick up right where he left off. When somebody gains experience then has a little bit of an offseason to think about, you see them excel. I think you saw that with Zeb (Wise) last year and I think there’s no reason Andrew can’t put up the same results.”
The 2020 season openers for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship begin in February at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. Midgets hit the track for practice on Feb. 6 with two full nights of racing to follow on Feb. 7-8. The sprints take their turn the following week with practice on Feb. 12 and three-straight nights of full racing programs on Feb. 13-14-15.