By Richie Murray
Speedway, Indiana (December 4, 2025)………Throughout the past 70 years of USAC competition, racers hailing from the state of Maryland have seemingly been few and far between.
In 2025, Steven Snyder Jr. waved the Maryland flag proudly by earning accolades as the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship Max Papis Innovations Bob Stroud Rookie of the Year.
Snyder, the 20-year-old from Rising Sun, Maryland, ranked eighth in series points after accruing six top-fives and 12 top-tens while starting all 23 feature events throughout the 2025 season in his RMS Racing/EnviroFab – Vahlco Wheels – Rod End Supply – MPV Logistics/Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Positioning himself as the top Rookie in the standings from start to finish throughout the season, Snyder finished a best of second during April’s Kokomo Grand Prix at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway and November’s Hangtown 100 at California’s Placerville Speedway.
Furthermore, Snyder led the first six laps of the 4-Crown Nationals in September at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway and added a fast qualifying time during the Chase Johnson Classic in November at Merced Speedway.
Despite an absence from the win column, Snyder and the team’s goal of earning USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year honors was solidified right out of the box and cemented with continued solid performances throughout the trail.
“We had a goal going into this year of trying to win (Rookie of the Year),” Snyder said. “It’s definitely neat to see that, with the Rookie class we had this year, our team was able to come out on top.”
As for the rarity of a Maryland driver making an impact in USAC circles, Snyder is the first driver hailing from the Old Line State to ever appear in the USAC National Midget point standings. Furthermore, he’s only the second Marylander of any kind to make an appearance in the standings. Car owner John Burkett from Williamsport, Maryland etched a place in the series’ entrant standings in 1967 and 1970. Snyder is prideful of those roots.
“It’s cool to be the only driver from Maryland to ever do it,” Snyder beamed. “At the end of a race night, fans have come up to me and have seen the Maryland flag on the belt of my suit. People will ask what that is, and I’ve got to explain that I’m from Maryland and this is my flag.”
Aside from his Maryland upbringing, Snyder also had a quite unusual path in that his family never raced. His uncle, Cody Jourdan, took him to a .25 Midget Driver Experience program when he was four or five years old, which proved to be young Steven’s first behind the wheel encounter. With the support of his family and father, Steven Snyder, the young driver turned motorsports into something he strived to make a living in.
Snyder already possesses a strong resume across a wide variety of racing machinery. With USAC’s .25 Midget division, he earned a total of six championships between 2013-2018 on both dirt and pavement tracks. In 2021, he scored the Action Track USA 600 Wingless Sprint title. A highly accomplished micro sprint racer, his 2021 victory in the KKM Giveback Classic at Oklahoma’s Port City Raceway brought him national attention. Back in June of this year, Snyder grabbed his first 410 winged sprint car win at Tri-City Raceway Park with a dramatic last lap pass in the Western Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek finale.
That said, racing can throw all kinds of curveballs at you, and how you respond to them is what is going to define you. Steven Snyder Jr. withstood all of that to earn himself (and his state) a place in the USAC record books.
“Racing is so humbling,” Snyder admitted. “You’ll have a lot of up and down nights. You take the highs when you can get them and you take the lows when they come your way. Coming right out of the box and finishing second was awesome, but then there was more of a learning curve. It’s been cool to see how this team has been able to constantly improve throughout the year.”
The USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year award is named in memory of Bob Stroud, who supervised hundreds of USAC events spanning nearly two decades. Stroud was highly regarded by participants, and the gravel-voiced but fatherly figure had two separate careers as a USAC official. After many years with AAA in several disciplines, he was named USAC’s full-time Midget division supervisor in 1960, a role he served through 1970. From 1971-1976, he served in the same capacity with USAC’s Stock Car division. Always a strong advocate for fairness in competition and safety, he retired at the end of the 1976 season due to ill health and passed away on July 24, 1981. Stroud was inducted into the USAC Hall of Fame in 2014.
2025 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROOKIE DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1 1192 Steven Snyder Jr., Rising Sun, Maryland
2 1003 Gunnar Setser, Columbus, Indiana
3 766 Cale Coons, Greencastle, Indiana
4 605 Brecken Reese, Canyon, Texas
5 541 Jakeb Boxell, Zanesville, Indiana
6 416 Mack Leopard, Beavercreek, Ohio
7 314 Colton Robinson, Titusville, Florida
8 222 Chelby Hinton, Dubberly, Louisiana
9 198 Corbin Rueschenberg, Mesa, Arizona
10 189 Brandon Carr, Sheffield, United Kingdom
11 137 Zack Merritt, Greeley, Colorado
12 112 Garrett Benson, Concordia, Missouri
13 107 Frankie Guerrini, San Rafael, California
14 96 K.J. Snow, Kingsburg, California
15 82 Cord Kisthardt, Hershey, Pennsylvania
16 78 Bradley Cox, Burkburnett, Texas
17 61 Caiden Warren, Eaton, Colorado
18 59 Trey Zorn, Russell, Kansas
19 58 Chris Hartman, Boulder, Colorado
20 40 Blake Brannon, Morgan Hill, California
21 40 Tom Payet, Perth, Western Australia
22 40 Jake Robinson, Perth, Western Australia
23 40 Mathew Radisich, Auckland, New Zealand
24 30 Dylan Doyle, Brighton, Colorado
25 20 Adam Taylor, Wheatfield, Indiana
BOB STROUD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:
1969: Billy Engelhart, Madison, Wisconsin
1970: Danny Brown, Rossville, Illinois
1971: Danny Caruthers, Anaheim, California
1972: Tommy Astone, Fresno, California
1973: Mike Gregg, Fort Collins, Colorado
1974: Richard Powell, Enid, Oklahoma
1975: Larry Patton, Anaheim, California
1976: James McElreath, Arlington, Texas
1977: Lonnie Caruthers, Corona Del Mar, California
1978: Tommy Thomas, Dana Point, California
1979: Barry Butterworth, Auckland, New Zealand
1980: Trevor Boys, Calgary, Alberta
1981: Sherman Armstrong Jr., Winchester, Indiana
1982: Chris Maxson, McHenry, Illinois
1983: John Andretti, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
1984: Russ Gamester, Peru, Indiana
1985: Bobby Allen, Carmel, Indiana
1986: Steve Enlow, Tulsa, Oklahoma
1987: John Meyers, Oak Brook, Illinois
1988: Jim Keeker, Cicero, Indiana
1989: Jeff Gordon, Vallejo, California
1990: Dan Ford, Saint Peters, Missouri
1991: Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, Michigan
1992: Brian Gerster, Indianapolis, Indiana
1993: Chuck Leary, Greenfield, Indiana
1994: David Bridges, Indianapolis, Indiana
1995: Ryan Newman, South Bend, Indiana
1996: Carl Olsen, Auckland, New Zealand
1997: Nick Lundgreen, Franklin, Wisconsin
1998: Michael Lewis, Noblesville, Indiana
1999: A.J. Fike, Galesburg, Illinois
2000: Aaron Fike, Galesburg, Illinois
2001: Bobby East, Brownsburg, Indiana
2002: Teddy Beach, Donnelsville, Ohio
2002: Ron Gregory, Noblesville, Indiana
2003: Ryan Durst, Lincoln, Nebraska
2004: Todd Beach, Donnelsville, Ohio
2005: Darren Hagen, Riverside, California
2006: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Indiana
2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch, Mississippi
2008: Chad Boat, Phoenix, Arizona
2009: Zach Daum, Pocahontas, Illinois
2010: Daniel Bedford, Brentwood, California
2011: Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, California
2012: Rico Abreu, Saint Helena, California
2013: Christopher Bell, Norman, Oklahoma
2014: Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Alabama
2015: Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, Indiana
2016: Carson Macedo, Lemoore, California
2017: Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, California
2018: Logan Seavey, Sutter, California
2019: Andrew Layser, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
2020: Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, California
2021: Chase Randall, Waco, Texas
2022: Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, California
2023: Gavin Miller, Allentown, Pennsylvania
2024: Zach Wigal, Belpre, Ohio
2025: Steven Snyder Jr., Rising Sun, Maryland