By Richie Murray
Bloomington, Indiana (August 27, 2025)………The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season resumes this Friday, August 29, with a bit of a rarity at southern Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway.
The event will be the first series event held outside the confines of USAC Indiana Midget Week in 31 years, since Tony Stewart’s victory in Ralph Potter’s V6 powered car in August of 1994.
This Friday’s 30-lap race paying $5,000-to-win is the makeup date for June’s USAC Indiana Midget Week rain out. IMW has concluded, and to be clear, this event will not carry Indiana Midget Week points.
Seven drivers over the years have parlayed a Bloomington victory into a USAC National Midget championship at season’s end: Stevie Reeves (1993), Tony Stewart (1994), Brad Kuhn (2009), Tyler Courtney (2019), Buddy Kofoid (2021 & 2022) and Daison Pursley (2024).
A number of drivers vying to become the next in that group this Friday night, starting with the top of the standings where Cannon McIntosh leads Justin Grant by a mere three points in the title race.
McIntosh has been on a tear of late, finishing inside the top-two of the standings in five consecutive starts, a run which includes three wins at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex and Jefferson County Speedway, plus two runner-up results.
Grant, meanwhile, is a three-time USAC National Midget winner this year and will make his return to midget competition this weekend for the first time since suffering a broken left foot in a racing accident one month ago. Grant’s next victory will be the 100th of his career in USAC competition (national & regional combined).
Also lurking in the championship race is Jacob Denney, third in points and a 3rd place Bloomington finisher in 2024 who also owns three series wins in 2025 and has also accumulated podium results in each of his past three series starts.
Kale Drake is in the mix too after leading the points earlier in the year. The 2025 USAC Indiana Midget Week champion is a two-time winner on the circuit this season but is seeking his first triumph on the red clay after finishing 2nd with the sprint car there during this May’s Josh Burton Memorial.
Kevin Thomas Jr.’s nine consecutive top-10 finishes with the series leads all drivers in that category. He’s been all over the top-five in his USAC Midget career at Bloomington, taking 2nd in 2015, 3rd in 2021 and 4th in 2023. He owns four career USAC National Sprint Car victories at the track, second most all-time. But a midget score has eluded him thus far.
Gavin Miller’s first career USAC National Midget win came at Bloomington during June of 2023. Miller has since been a steady contender and just hit paydirt with the series for the first time since just two races ago at Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway. Sixth in points, he has finished four of his last six starts inside the top-five and three of his last six inside the top-two.
Drake Edwards is certainly on the rise in 2025 after just recently picking off his first career USAC National Midget win in July at Beloit, Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds. He’s with the CB Industries team, which won the series’ most recent race held at Bloomington in 2024.
Steven Snyder Jr. leads the USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year standings and is coming off consecutive 4th place finishes out in Nebraska during the month of July. Snyder finished a season best 2nd early in the year at Kokomo and would certainly like to rise up the ladder one more to become the series’ newest first-time winner this Friday at Bloomington.
Gunnar Setser (Columbus, Indiana) has been a solid citizen in what is his first season in USAC National Midget competition, and currently sits 10th in points, second among all Rookies with a best feature finish of 5th on the season so far at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex. He finished 10th during USAC Indiana Sprint Week at Bloomington but now looks to make his midget debut at the 1/4-mile of clay.
Setser’s biggest rival in the Rookie of the Year race for USAC National Sprint Cars is Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Arizona). On the midget side, Reinbold finished a solid 9th in his most recent USAC Midget start at B-Town in 2024. In July, Reinbold took home a fine 8th place result at Bloomington during Indiana Sprint Week.
Kyle Jones and Joyner Motorsports have seemingly turned the corner in their USAC Midget conquests of late, finishing 5th and 6th in their latest two outings with the series in July at Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway. Jones has made only one previous Bloomington start, that being a 21st place result one year ago during Indiana Midget Week.
Cale Coons has been a bright light on the local Indiana Sprint Car trail this season, winning twice at Lincoln Park Speedway. Just last weekend, he picked up Sprint Car Smackdown Rookie of the Year honors at Kokomo Speedway as well. That said, he’s still looking to regain his footing in the midgets, currently sitting 13th in points with a single top-10 to his credit earlier in the season. His father, Jerry Coons Jr., won a USAC National Sprint Car race at Bloomington in 2008.
RACE DETAILS:
This Friday, August 29, 2025, at Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway, the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship will be joined by the Ford Performance Racing School Sprint Cars and the Tex-a-Con Super Stocks.
Pits open at 4pm Eastern. Grandstands open at 5pm. Hot laps at 6pm followed by qualifying and racing.
Tickets and pit passes will be sold at the gate. General admission tickets at the gate are $30 with ages 12 and under free. Pit passes are $40 with ages 12 and under $15.
The event can be watched live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.
=====================
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Cannon McIntosh-910, 2-Justin Grant-907, 3-Jacob Denney-869, 4-Kale Drake-825, 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-802, 6-Gavin Miller-789, 7-Logan Seavey-783, 8-Drake Edwards-764, 9-Steven Snyder Jr.-736, 10-Gunnar Setser-644.
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY:
1 Lap – 6/3/2016 – Christopher Bell – 11.301
8 Laps – 6/18/2010 – Dave Darland – 1:36.17
10 Laps – 6/7/2019 – Justin Grant – 2:03.18
12 Laps – 6/4/2021 – Kevin Thomas Jr. – 2:34.699
30 Laps – 6/9/2017 – Tyler Courtney – 6:57.95
BLOOMINGTON USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS:
3-Christopher Bell
2-Tyler Courtney, Russ Gamester & Buddy Kofoid
1-Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Tony Elliott, Levi Jones, Brad Kuhn, Kyle Larson, Gavin Miller, Daison Pursley, Davey Ray, Stevie Reeves, Tony Stewart & Bob Tattersall
BLOOMINGTON USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINNERS:
1970: Bob Tattersall (10/3)
1992: Russ Gamester (6/26)
1993: Tony Elliott (6/18) & Stevie Reeves (8/27)
1994: Russ Gamester (6/24) & Tony Stewart (8/19)
2008: Davey Ray (8/8)
2009: Brad Kuhn (6/12)
2010: Shane Cottle (6/18)
2011: Kyle Larson (6/10)
2012: Levi Jones (6/15)
2013: Bryan Clauson (6/14)
2014: Christopher Bell (6/13)
2015: Christopher Bell (6/12)
2016: Christopher Bell (6/3)
2017: Tyler Courtney (6/9)
2019: Tyler Courtney (6/7)
2021: Buddy Kofoid (6/4)
2022: Buddy Kofoid (6/3)
2023: Gavin Miller (6/9)
2024: Daison Pursley (6/7)
BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK RESULTS
1970 FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Bob Tattersall, 2. Bubby Jones, 3. Bobby Grim, 4. Bob Wente, 5. Larry Rice, 6. Bill Mehner, 7. Sonny Ates, 8. Elmer Davis, 9. Jim McClean, 10. Les Scott, 11. Don Vogler, 12. Dick Pole, 13. Bob Lithgow, 14. Gary Irvin, 15. Dennis Dorsey, 16. Danny Brown, 17. Billy Engelhart, 18. Roger West. NT
1992 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Russ Gamester, 2. Dan Drinan, 3. Tony Elliott, 4. Donnie Lehmann, 5. Mike Streicher, 6. Andy Pierce, 7. Steve Knepper, 8. Ray Morgan, 9. Jon Stanbrough, 10. Kenneth Nichols, 11. Stevie Reeves, 12. Carl Dickenson Jr., 13. Stan Fox, 14. Kenny Irwin Jr., 15. Tim Siner, 16. Roy Caruthers, 17. Andy Michner, 18. Jimmy Sills, 19. Dan Ford, 20. Doug Kalitta. NT
JUNE 18, 1993 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tony Elliott, 2. Randy Koch, 3. Critter Malone, 4. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 5. Mike Bliss, 6. Andy Michner, 7. Andy Pierce, 8. Chuck Leary, 9. Tony Stewart, 10. Mike Mason, 11. Stevie Reeves, 12. Jack Runyon. NT
AUGUST 27, 1993 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Stevie Reeves, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Critter Malone, 4. Andy Michner, 5. Andy Pierce, 6. Tracy Hines, 7. Jack Runyon, 8. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 9. Johnny Parsons, 10. Tyce Carlson, 11. Tony Stewart, 12. Mike Bliss, 13. Brian Gerster, 14. Mark Amenda, 15. Chuck Leary, 16. Steve Barth, 17. John Murphy, DQ. Dan Drinan. NT
JUNE 24, 1994 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Russ Gamester, 2. Tony Stewart., 3. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 4. Andy Michner, 5. Mike Bliss, 6. Ray Morgan, 7. Brian Gerster, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Jimmy Kite, 10. Jack Runyon, 11. Steve Arnold, 12. Jerry Zike, 13. Steve Barth, 14. Ronnie Combs, 15. Ted Hines, 16. Page Jones, 17. Critter Malone, 18. Randy Tolsma, 19. Tyce Carlson, 20. Brett Pool. NT
AUGUST 19, 1994 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tony Stewart, 2. Mike Bliss, 3. Randy Koch, 4. Kenny Irwin, Jr., 5. Jerry Zike, 6. Ronnie Johncox, 7. Page Jones, 8. Tyce Carlson, 9. Jeff Sands, 10. Jimmy Kite, 11. Roger McCluskey, 12. Jack Runyon, 13. Jeff Hampton, 14. Steve Barth, 15. Tracy Hines, 16. Ray Morgan, 17. Andy Michner, 18. Steve Arnold. NT
2008 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Davey Ray, 2. Brad Sweet, 3. Cole Whitt, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Gary Altig, 6. Brad Kuhn, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Dave Darland, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Thomas Meseraull, 12. Jeff Bland Jr., 13. Shane Cottle, 14. Steve Buckwalter, 15. Bobby East, 16. Bradley Galedrige, 17. Dakoda Armstrong,18. Danny Stratton, 19. Brad Loyet, 20. Todd Wanless, 21. Josh Ford, 22. Chad Boat, 23. Bryan Clauson, 24. Dustin Morgan. NT
2009 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brad Kuhn, 2. Brad Sweet, 3. Josh Wise, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Steve Buckwalter, 7. Chad Boat, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Brent Beauchamp, 10. Shane Hmiel, 11. Thomas Meseraull, 12. Darren Hagen, 13. Cole Whitt, 14. Kevin Swindell, 15. Nathan High, 16. Kody Swanson, 17. Ryan Kaplan, 18. Levi Jones, 19. Cole Carter, 20. Dakoda Armstrong, 21. Zach Daum, 22. Matt Sherrell, 23. Brad Loyet, 24. Bobby East. NT
2010 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Shane Cottle, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Brad Sweet, 5. Steve Buckwalter, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Brent Beauchamp, 9. Thomas Meseraull, 10. Brad Kuhn, 11. Levi Jones, 12. Brad Loyet, 13. Matt Smith, 14. Billy Pauch, Jr., 15. Shane Hmiel, 16. Don Droud Jr., 17. Henry Clarke, 18. Darren Hagen, 19. Matt Westfall, 20. Bobby East, 21. Davey Ray, 22. Caleb Armstrong. NT
2011 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Kyle Larson, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Caleb Armstrong, 5. Bobby East, 6. Bryan Clauson, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Michael Pickens, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Steve Buckwalter, 11. Darren Hagen, 12. Hunter Schuerenberg, 13. Brad Kuhn, 14. Nick Wean, 15. Davey Ray, 16. Trevor Kobylarz, 17. Tanner Swanson, 18. Matt Smith, 19. Kellen Conover, 20. Jerry Coons Jr., 21. Alex Bright, 22. Zach Daum, 23. Billy Pauch Jr., 24. Levi Roberts, NT
2012 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Levi Jones, 2. Jerry Coons, Jr., 3. Shane Cottle, 4. Darren Hagen, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Brad Kuhn, 7. Bobby East, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Rico Abreu, 10. Steve Buckwalter, 11. Mario Clouser, 12. Alex Bright, 13. Davey Ray, 14. Chris Bell, 15. Trevor Kobylarz, 16. Nick Wean, 17. Nathan Smee, 18. Scott Hatton, 19. Caleb Armstrong, 20. Dillon Welch, 21. Zach Daum, 22. Michael Pickens, 23. Chase Barber, 24. C.J. Leary. NT
2013 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Christopher Bell, 3. Rico Abreu, 4. Davey Ray, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Michael Pickens, 7. Darren Hagen, 8. Caleb Armstrong, 9. Alex Bright, 10. Austin Brown, 11. Levi Jones, 12. Tanner Thorson, 13. Brad Kuhn, 14. Brady Bacon, 15. Ryan Criswell, 16. Dalton Armstrong, 17. Andrew Felker, 18. Dave Darland, 19. Dillon Welch, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. Zach Daum, 22. Shane Cockrum. NT
2014 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Rico Abreu, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Tanner Thorson, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Michael Pickens, 8. Damion Gardner, 9. Parker Price-Miller, 10. Tracy Hines, 11. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 12. Nathan Smee, 13. Trey Marcham, 14. Dave Darland, 15. Tyler Thomas, 16. Steve Buckwalter, 17. Seth Motsinger, 18. Justin Grant, 19. Brock Maskovich, 20. Alex Bright, 21. Tyler Courtney, 22. Brady Bacon, 23. Andrew Felker. NT
2015 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Rico Abreu, 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 6. Spencer Bayston, 7. Tyler Thomas, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Chase Stockon, 10. Brad Mosen, 11. Davey Ray, 12. Brenden Bright, 13. Nathan Smee, 14. C.J. Leary, 15. Hayden Williams, 16. Tyler Courtney, 17. Ryan Bernal, 18. Gage Walker, 19. Chett Gehrke, 20. Darren Hagen, 21. Ronnie Gardner, 22. Jake Neuman, 23. Alex Bright, 24. Isaac Chapple. NT
2016 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Shane Golobic, 5. Spencer Bayston, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Chad Boat, 9. Tyler Thomas, 10. Rico Abreu, 11. Tanner Thorson, 12. Steve Buckwalter, 13. Garrett Aitken, 14. Davey Ray, 15. Ryan Greth, 16. Gage Walker, 17. Austin Brown, 18. Jimi Quin, 19. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 20. David Budres, 21. Jerry Coons Jr., 22. Dayne Kingshott, 23. Zach Daum, 24. Holly Shelton. NT
2017 FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Shane Golobic, 4. Jerry Coons, Jr., 5. Chad Boat, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Gage Walker, 8. Rico Abreu, 9. Michael Pickens, 10. Zach Daum, 11. Holly Shelton, 12. Tyler Thomas, 13. Ronnie Gardner, 14. Ryan Robinson, 15. Tanner Thorson, 16. Spencer Bayston, 17. Dave Darland, 18. Trey Marcham, 19. Tanner Carrick, 20. Alex Bright, 21. Tyler Nelson, 22. Davey Ray. 6:57.95
2019 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (4), 2. Logan Seavey (8), 3. Chad Boat (5), 4. Chris Windom (22), 5. Ethan Mitchell (7), 6. Brady Bacon (9), 7. Michael Pickens (6), 8. Thomas Meseraull (2), 9. Andrew Layser (10), 10. Shane Golobic (18), 11. Zach Daum (24), 12. Zeb Wise (23), 13. Jerry Coons, Jr. (12), 14. Tanner Carrick (11), 15. Tucker Klaasmeyer (13), 16. Jesse Colwell (21), 17. Jason McDougal (19), 18. Dave Darland (20), 19. Holley Hollan (16), 20. Justin Grant (1), 21. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (15), 22. Karsyn Elledge (3), 23. Noah Gass (17), 24. Tanner Thorson (14). NT
2021 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (3), 2. Chris Windom (2), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 4. Brady Bacon (5), 5. Bryant Wiedeman (1), 6. Tanner Thorson (14), 7. Logan Seavey (6), 8. Daison Pursley (12), 9. Justin Grant (8), 10. Jason McDougal (4), 11. Emerson Axsom (22), 12. Cannon McIntosh (16), 13. Thomas Meseraull (20), 14. Brian Carber (15), 15. Ethan Mitchell (23-P), 16. Cole Bodine (9), 17. Hayden Williams (7), 18. Brenham Crouch (13), 19. Sam Johnson (21), 20. Chase Randall (19), 21. Kyle Cummins (18), 22. Trey Gropp (17), 23. Corey Day (10). NT
2022 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (5), 2. Chance Crum (2), 3. Kyle Cummins (1), 4. Kaylee Bryson (3), 5. Justin Grant (6), 6. Bryant Wiedeman (12), 7. Cannon McIntosh (8), 8. Jacob Denney (4), 9. Mitchel Moles (14), 10. Thomas Meseraull (22), 11. Taylor Reimer (10), 12. Brady Bacon (17), 13. Ethan Mitchell (9), 14. Dominic Gorden (18), 15. Maria Cofer (19), 16. Brenham Crouch (16), 17. Jade Avedisian (15), 18. Sam Johnson (20), 19. Rylan Gray (21), 20. Jace Park (11), 21. Hayden Reinbold (23-P), 22. Jason McDougal (13), 23. Logan Seavey (7). NT
2023 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Gavin Miller (2), 2. Justin Grant (6), 3. Logan Seavey (9), 4. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 5. Cannon McIntosh (12), 6. Ryan Timms (3), 7. Bryant Wiedeman (13), 8. Daison Pursley (15), 9. Daniel Whitley (4), 10. Jade Avedisian (1), 11. Jesse Love (10), 12. Taylor Reimer (17), 13. Jacob Denney (18), 14. Chance Crum (21), 15. Thomas Meseraull (14), 16. Emerson Axsom (7), 17. Jake Andreotti (20), 18. Ethan Mitchell (22), 19. Chase McDermand (11), 20. Steve Buckwalter (16), 21. Kyle Beilman (19), 22. Hayden Reinbold (23-P), 23. Chase Johnson (8). NT
2024 FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Daison Pursley (7), 2. Justin Grant (1), 3. Jacob Denney (3), 4. Logan Seavey (5), 5. Gavin Miller (9), 6. Cannon McIntosh (13), 7. Zach Daum (12), 8. Ethan Mitchell (2), 9. Hayden Reinbold (10), 10. Jake Andreotti (8), 11. Ryan Timms (18), 12. Kale Drake (19), 13. Kevin Thomas Jr. (11), 14. Michael Pickens (20), 15. Kyle Cummins (4), 16. Taylor Reimer (24-P), 17. Drake Edwards (15), 18. Kayla Roell (21), 19. Zach Wigal (14), 20. Lance Bennett (23), 21. Kyle Jones (17), 22. Jade Avedisian (16), 23. Chase McDermand (6), 24. Ricky Lewis (22), 25. Hank Davis (25). NT