By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Merced, California (November 21, 2020).........From Ocala, Fla. to Merced, Calif., the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget season concluded in the same manner it began - with Tanner Thorson's presence in victory lane.

Of all his great performances in 2020, Thorson very well may have saved his best for last, going tit for tat in a racelong clash between he, Tyler Courtney and Buddy Kofoid that saw each driver rotate their turns as the race leader in the final six laps of Saturday night's season finale at California's Merced Speedway.

Thorson (Minden, Nev.) led the final four to earn his season-leading seventh win, etching his name into the record books as just the sixth driver, and the first in 20 years, to win both the first and last race during a USAC National Midget season.  Thorson won the season opener in February at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla.

Parnelli Jones (1964), Rich Vogler (1984), Billy Boat (1996), Jason Leffler (1999), Tony Stewart (2000) and now Thorson (2020) all share the distinction while Thorson also equaled the legendary A.J. Foyt with his 20th career series triumph, placing him 33rd all-time.

The victory for Thorson aboard his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring - Ed Pink Racing Engines - Rodela Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota was worth $5,000 after sponsor Elk Grove Ford elevated the winner's share by an extra $2,000 earlier in the evening.  To earn the accolades, the "w" and the money, Thorson affixed his focus on the basics, the mental aspect of racing, that he felt he had strayed from in recent outings.

"I just tried to keep my composure and hit my marks," Thorson explained.  "It's something that I feel like, over the last couple of races, I've lacked - hitting my marks perfectly and making sure I get through the turn right.  I feel like my car has been so fast here lately, I kind of went away from concentrating on hitting my lines and making it manageable.  It's something I knew I needed to focus on and make work."

Thorson went to work on his 30-lap mission from the outside of the second row, but trouble ensued mid-pack just as the wheels were set in motion with Chase Johnson taking a lap one, turn one tumble that also collected Zeb Wise.  Johnson's first ride in the Bundy Built Honda, normally piloted by Ethan Mitchell, came about due to extensive damage received in a Friday night crash at Merced in his regular ride, the Tom Malloy-owned No. 25c.  Johnson was credited with the 24th finishing position while Wise restarted and finished 19th.

Pole sitter Kofoid grabbed the top spot on the complete restart, a lead which he held for the first 14 laps despite repeated shots fired from outside front row starter Courtney while Thorson would soon enter the fray, finding his rhythm right around the inside berm.

As Kofoid ringed the topside as smooth as silk, the bottom-feeding Thorson found a sudden surge exiting the fourth turn to close within a wheel of Kofoid at the stripe on the 14th lap, then completed his overtake of the position off turn two moments later on the 15th trip.

A bump of the turn two bottom berm on the 18th circuit allowed Kofoid to break free of Thorson for the time being and open up a five car length lead while Thorson briefly ventured away from the bottom, tucked in behind Kofoid on the curb.

Meanwhile, Courtney, who had been lying in the weeds in third behind Kofoid and Thorson for the past 15 laps, suddenly decided it was "go time" in this non-stop 30-lapper that went green to checker without a yellow following the complete restart, splitting between Thorson to his left and Kofoid to his right in turn three, with Kofoid ultimately edging Courtney by roughly the thickness of the chrome on his front bumper at the line.

Kofoid's reign at the front was in constant peril, and when Courtney got to the inside of Kofoid midway down the back straightaway, Kofoid attempted to slam the door on Courtney entering turn three with both banging their wheels off one another and Courtney leveraging his way past Kofoid off the fourth corner to position himself into the lead.

Kofoid slid past Courtney a tick later in turn one to regain the position and lead the path on lap 26, then once again, maneuvered his way back to the bottom to prevent the retaliation slider.

As eyes were peeled on Kofoid and Courtney nose-to-tail at the top of turn three on lap 27, Thorson casually snuck by both on the bottom, leading a three-wide formation at the start/finish line with Courtney to his inside and Kofoid to his outside all separated by within a half-car length.

Kofoid tried with all his might to grapple his way back into contention with Thorson while utilizing the top, but Thorson ably obtained a little bit of ground on Kofoid when he disposed of the lapped car of Bryant Wiedeman in turns one and two coming to the white flag.

However, Kofoid tried to one-up Thorson by double-dipping with a slider of both Wiedeman and Thorson in a single turn three slide job, successfully discarding Wiedeman but coming up just short of Thorson, opting to fall in line to regroup and give 'er her one more try.

On the final lap, Kofoid was unable to get close enough to make another attempt at a slider, only enough to nestle right to the rear bumper of Thorson as he raced to the finish line 0.130 sec. ahead of Kofoid with Courtney third, fast qualifier and new one-lap track record holder Kyle Larson fourth and Spencer Bayston fifth for the third consecutive race.

The fast-paced race, which lasted a total time of 7:18.810, was the first and only uninterrupted feature that went green to checkered, from laps 1-30, with the series this season.  The five total lead changes were the most in any USAC National Midget feature this season as well.

In the end, it was Thorson, who led three laps midway but settled in and found a sense of serenity to battle his way back to the front, and ultimately, prevail.

"When I started hitting my lines, I was able to run down Buddy (Kofoid) pretty fast," Thorson recalled.  "I got mixed up with some lapped cars and kind of messed up on the berm one time, but once I regained my composure, it all fell into place."

It was a 2020 season unlike any other for Thorson, and a season unlike most for any driver in the course of USAC National Midget racing history over the past 65 years.  His first four victories this year came for Hayward Motorsports, and since joining Tom Malloy's team in late September, Thorson has reeled off three more wins, making him one of just five drivers to win at least three races for two different teams in a single season in USAC National Midget history.

Parnelli Jones was the first to do the deed in 1963 for Marv Edwards and Howard Linne.  Mike McGreevy is the only driver to accomplish the feat twice, first in 1965 for both Jack London and the Kenyon Brothers, then again in 1969 for owners Howard Linne and Ed Lark.  Rich Vogler's 1988 championship season include 11 wins for Wilke Racers and five for Jonathan Byrd.  Jay Drake had been the most recent with three each for Ralph Potter, then Keith Kunz in 2000.

"At the end of this year, we've been really strong and it all comes down to the people that surround you and who works on the car as well as the shocks and motors," Thorson said.  "Having fun and enjoying what you do, that's what drives me harder more than anything, even more than even having the baddest car on the racetrack.  It's just the people around you and what you can do with such a great mindset.  I've got the best mindset out there as far as winning and having fun at the same time."

Of course, when you're winning, it's much easier to have fun, and in what was Thorson's first ever weekend competing at the 1/4-mile Merced Speedway, his fun included joining several notable lists of achievements while also ending the season on the highest of notes, which gave Thorson an opportunity to think back on those who helped him get to this point.

"I've raced with some pretty awesome people," Thorson reminisced.  "I got the majority of my USAC wins with Keith Kunz and that's where I learned the ropes of midget racing.  And then, Darren Hagen, I lived with him when I grew up, and he showed me the way around about just how racing was and what I needed to do, and it's all helped pay off in the end."

Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) finished a highly-impressive Rookie season with the series fourth in the standings in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/Mobil 1 - JBL Audio - TRD/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota, earning three total victories, two of which came on the November western swing, and rounding up the season with a second-place result.  The Healing Tree added a $1,000 for the runner-up, bumping Kofoid's total earnings to $2,500 for the night.

Tyler Courtney came up one point short in the USAC National Midget championship battle to Chris Windom this season, earning five total victories.  On Saturday at Merced, the Indianapolis, Ind. native led one lap late and finished third in his Clauson-Marshall Racing/NOS Turbo - ZMax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

By pushing off for hot laps earlier in the night, Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) officially, officially clinched the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget driving title in his NOS Energy Drink - Pristine Auction/Spike/Speedway Toyota while Tucker-Boat Motorsports, likewise, collected its first entrant championship.  The achievement made Windom just the seventh driver to join the USAC Triple Crown club by capturing a Silver Crown (2016), AMSOIL National Sprint Car (2017) and National Midget (2020) championship in his career.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: November 21, 2020 - Merced Speedway - Merced, California - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Merced Midget Madness

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR / WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-11.838 (New Track Record); 2. Logan Seavey, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-11.859; 3. Tanner Thorson, 25, Malloy-11.976; 4. Spencer Bayston, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-11.980; 5. Chase Johnson, 19m, Bundy Built-12.009; 6. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.022; 7. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.024; 8. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.049; 9. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-12.073; 10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 17JR, Clauson/Marshall-12.077; 11. Daison Pursley, 9, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.078; 12. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.084; 13. Colby Copeland, 27w, Wood-12.137; 14. Jesse Love, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.148; 15. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.190; 16. Dillon Welch, 84, Tucker/Boat-12.198; 17. Justin Grant, 5, Petry-12.212; 18. Ben Worth, 5G, Alexander-12.215; 19. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-12.226; 20. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-12.229; 21. Chris Windom, 89, Tucker/Boat-12.239; 22. Zeb Wise, 97w, Wood-12.275; 23. Bryant Wiedeman, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.282; 24. Tanner Carrick, 98K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.297; 25. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.298; 26. Andrew Layser, 82, Tucker/Boat-12.327; 27. Chance Crum, 39, Clauson/Marshall-12.345; 28. Robert Dalby, 4, Dalby-12.416; 29. Chase Randall, 35, Petry-12.417; 30. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-12.437; 31. Ethan Mitchell, 98, RMS-12.452; 32. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.460; 33. Colby Johnson, 27D, Morris-12.466; 34. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.487; 35. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.488; 36. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.587; 37. Ryan Robinson, 71R, Morris-12.598; 38. Jonathan Beason, 31K, Beilman-12.673; 39. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.745; 40. Frankie Guerrini, 63, F & F-12.758; 41. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-12.766; 42. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.779; 43. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.944; 44. Matt Streeter, 14JR, Streeter-12.944; 45. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-12.997; 46. Lance Bennett, 10, Bennett-13.240; 47. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-13.337; 48. Kevin Woody Jr., 1x, LKK-13.419; 49. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, DBR-13.443; 50. Michael Faccinto, 7J, Campbell-(Time of 12.411 disallowed); 51. Robert Carson, 99, Segur-(Time of 13.482 disallowed); 52. Blaze Bennett, 10B, Bennett-NT

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS / EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Mitchel Moles, 5. Chase Johnson, 6. Colby Copeland, 7. Chase Randall, 8. Colby Johnson, 9. Cole Bodine, 10. Ryan Robinson, 11. Blake Brannon, 12. Jarrett Soares, 13. Bryan Drollinger. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Ben Worth, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 5. Andrew Layser, 6. Zeb Wise, 7. Jesse Love, 8. Jonathan Beason, 9. Michael Faccinto, 10. Brody Fuson, 11. Lance Bennett, 12. Maria Cofer, 13. Thomas Meseraull. NT

AUTOMETER / ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Buddy Kofoid, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Daison Pursley, 6. Kaylee Bryson, 7. Ethan Mitchell, 8. Chance Crum, 9. Kyle Beilman, 10. Jake Andreotti, 11. Randi Pankratz, 12. Robert Carson, 13. Ryan Bernal. NT

INDY RACE PARTS / ROD END SUPPLY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Tanner Carrick, 4. Spencer Bayston, 5. Shane Golobic, 6. Brenham Crouch, 7. Dillon Welch, 8. Frankie Guerrini, 9. Robert Dalby, 10. Hayden Reinbold, 11. Matt Streeter, 12. Kevin Woody Jr. 2:10.950

C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Brenham Crouch, 2. Frankie Guerrini, 3. Ethan Mitchell, 4. Jonathan Beason, 5. Colby Johnson, 6. Kaylee Bryson, 7. Michael Faccinto, 8. Jake Andreotti, 9. Kyle Beilman, 10. Hayden Reinbold, 11. Matt Streeter, 12. Jarrett Soares, 13. Brody Fuson, 14. Bryan Drollinger, 15. Kevin Woody Jr., 16. Blake Brannon, 17. Robert Carson, 18. Ryan Robinson, 19. Randi Pankratz. NT

INDY METAL FINISHING / ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Chase Johnson, 3. Shane Golobic, 4. Chance Crum, 5. Colby Copeland, 6. Zeb Wise, 7. Jonathan Beason, 8. Ryan Bernal, 9. Cole Bodine, 10. Jesse Love, 11. Andrew Layser, 12. Dillon Welch, 13. Frankie Guerrini, 14. Brenham Crouch, 15. Maria Cofer, 16. Ethan Mitchell, 17. Robert Dalby, 18. Chase Randall. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (4), 2. Buddy Kofoid (1), 3. Tyler Courtney (2), 4. Kyle Larson (6), 5. Spencer Bayston (3), 6. Logan Seavey (5), 7. Carson Macedo (8), 8. Cannon McIntosh (10), 9. Justin Grant (7), 10. Mitchel Moles (11), 11. Shane Golobic (14), 12. Daison Pursley (13), 13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (12), 14. Colby Copeland (15), 15. Emerson Axsom (16), 16. Tanner Carrick (21), 17. Chris Windom (18), 18. Kaylee Bryson* (23), 19. Zeb Wise (19), 20. Bryan Wiedeman (20), 21. Robert Dalby* (24), 22. Ben Worth (17), 23. Chance Crum (22), 24. Chase Johnson (9). 7:18.810 (New Track Record)

* represents a provisional starter

**Thomas Meseraull flipped during the second heat. Chase Johnson flipped on lap 1 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 15-17 Tanner Thorson, Laps 18-24 Buddy Kofoid, Lap 25 Tyler Courtney, Lap 26 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 27-30 Tanner Thorson.

FINAL USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1,779, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,778, 3-Tanner Thorson-1,751, 4-Buddy Kofoid-1,707, 5-Cannon McIntosh-1,532, 6-Daison Pursley-1,348, 7-Tanner Carrick-1,271, 8-Justin Grant-1,179, 9-Andrew Layser-1,133, 10-Cole Bodine-1,128.

FINAL OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-226, 2-Tanner Thorson-125, 3-Kyle Cummins-108, 4-Logan Seavey-102, 5-Robert Ballou-101, 6-Cannon McIntosh-97, 7-Justin Grant-96, 8-Shane Cottle-96, 9-Brady Bacon-79, 10-Tyler Courtney-78.

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Kyle Larson

Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers First Heat Winner: Justin Grant

Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Tyler Courtney

AutoMeter/Ultra Shield Race Products Third Heat Winner: Buddy Kofoid

Indy Race Parts/Rod End Supply Fourth Heat Winner: Carson Macedo

Indy Metal Finishing/Rod End Supply Semi Winner: Daison Pursley

KSE Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Tanner Carrick (21st to 16th)

Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Merced, California (November 20, 2020).........For Thomas Meseraull, that coveted first points-paying race victory with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets was two decades in the making when he notched win number one in October.

Just a month and change later, Meseraull was celebrating victory number two on Friday night following the series' first ever event at California's Merced Speedway.  It was the San Jose, Calif. native's first career USAC National points feature triumph that occurred in his home state.

Meseraull led the final 21 laps of the 30-lap feature, then endured a green-white-checkered finish to put the finishing touches on a winning performance in his RMS Racing/EnviroFab - Guess Performance Parts/Spike/Speedway Toyota.

His inauspicious beginnings to the west coast swing over the past week had resulted in finishes of 16th, 12th and 23rd in his three most recent outings entering Merced, but it was certainly not due to a lack of effort.

"I'm super stoked, especially with all the time and energy and money that gets spent to come out here to the west coast," Meseraull said.  "We haven't even broken the top-10 in the last three nights, and we've been really fast.  Racing circumstances just haven't really played out."

In his first night out in the team's new coil car, which was inspired in part by Tanner Thorson's recent success with the set up, Meseraull's night began with a middling qualifying run of 18th against a 54-car field, which was the largest of the series' 2020 season.  Meseraull responded with a heat race victory, which by virtue of a new rule implemented during the offseason, as a heat winner, he earned a feature starting position directly behind the six-car invert.

Slated to start seventh, Meseraull was elevated another position up the grid prior to the green flag due to fourth-starting Carson Macedo and team being late to staging, one of four teams that were docked two rows due to the penalty.  Now starting sixth, Meseraull was entrenched in the top-three battle along with Tanner Carrick and Daison Pursley by the conclusion of the first lap.

Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammates Pursley and Carrick went toe-to-toe throughout the early stages, racing side-by-side and exchanging sliders right on cue, Carrick leading the way to the line on eight of the first nine circuits with Pursley edging ahead on the fifth lap.

On the ninth lap, Meseraull upped the urgency level to 11 as he split his way between Carrick and Pursley to slot into second in turn three, then glided underneath Carrick between turns one and two to occupy the lead.

Not only was it the series' first trip to Merced, the visit was also Meseraull's racing debut at the 1/4-mile dirt oval.  His guide was his extensive experience and natural feel of the racetrack, while also having a weapon behind the wrenches that set the blueprint.

"Sometimes when running a new track, which I've never ran here before, you don't necessarily know where to run or where not to run, so you're just kind of winging it," Meseraull explained.  "Hats off to (crew chief) Donnie Gentry for making the 7x good all night because the setup is so important in this along with our Speedway Toyota engine.  If your motor is not geared right, you're just off.  It was just a great night where we got our package together."

By the halfway point, Meseraull had launched to a 1.3 second advantage over Pursley, who had cleared Carrick a few moments later on the 18th lap for the runner-up position.  Now clear, Pursley began to peddle back into contention as Meseraull now negotiated a maze of cars at the tail end of the lead lap.

Five to go, four to go, three to go, tick...tick, tick, tick, the hands of time began to recoil as the interval shrank to a half second between Meseraull and Pursley with three laps remaining.  In that moment in time, Meseraull encountered Kaylee Bryson as he sought the proper path, low to middle to high, to overtake her and close it out while Pursley stayed the course up top.

With the white flag in sight coming out of turn four, Pursley lay just a handful of car lengths behind Meseraull.  However, just as quickly as it seemed Pursley might be able to set up a possible bid for victory, it all came to a crashing halt when Pursley banged his right rear tire off the turn four cushion, then slapped the right rear against the outside front straightaway guardrail, causing him to barrel roll twice over before landing on all four wheels.

Pursley was uninjured, but his attempt at a first career USAC National Midget victory ended in an unsavory, crumpled heap along the main straightaway.

During the red flag period, Meseraull had time to ponder.  He was fully cognizant of the fact that mistakes are forbidden during "winning time," but remained undoubtedly confident that what he'd been doing thus far to that point was being executed with precision.

"Honestly, we were really good, and I was kind of cheating the curb, I guess you could say, off turns two and four because it was so ledgy," Meseraull recalled.  "You can't make mistakes while you're leading, or guys will get by you.  I knew I could've maybe been running a faster spot, but we were pretty good where we were."

With a green-white-checkered finish in play to conclude the race, slide jobs are a foregone conclusion at this juncture in this sect of auto racing.  However, Meseraull devised a plan win which he could still run his own race, but also prevent the inevitable slider from being issued by second-running Tanner Carrick on the final two-lap sprint.

"On the restart, I moved down and just ran two clean laps through the middle," Meseraull explained.  "I didn't think anybody had anything to drive around the outside of us.  This California air was really nice because that Toyota was ripping."

Carrick looked topside, and he looked low once the green dropped, but there was no avenue to pursue a path past him as Meseraull owned the middle line and flexed his muscle as he crossed under the checkered flag 0.452 sec. ahead of a season-best performance turned in by Carrick, with Cannon McIntosh, Carson Macedo and hard charger, Tanner Thorson (from 15th), rounding out the top-five.

While Friday night's Merced score was Meseraull's first USAC National Midget points win of his career in the state of California, it was not his first rodeo in victory lane with USAC Midgets in the Golden State.  Previously, Meseraull had been victorious in three USAC Western States Midgets events between 2000-01 at Bakersfield, Stockton 99 and Perris.  He also tallied a win in a 2004 USAC Midget special event at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: November 20, 2020 - Merced Speedway - Merced, California - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Merced Midget Madness

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Spencer Bayston, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-12.051 (New Track Record); 2. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.064; 3. Jesse Love, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.071; 4. Chase Johnson, 25c, Malloy-12.087; 5. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-12.134; 6. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.139; 7. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.169; 8. Zeb Wise, 97w, Wood-12.181; 9. Tanner Carrick, 98K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.185; 10. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.201; 11. Daison Pursley, 9, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.242; 12. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.245; 13. Kyle Larson, 1K, Larson-12.255; 14. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.258; 15. Logan Seavey, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-12.265; 16. Justin Grant, 5, Petry-12.266; 17. Colby Copeland, 27w, Wood-12.268; 18. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.300; 19. Mitchel Moles, 07w, Wood-12.309; 20. Chase Randall, 35, Petry-12.317; 21. Ryan Bernal, 87w, Wood-12.340; 22. Colby Johnson, 27D, Morris-12.367; 23. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.370; 24. Michael Faccinto, 7J, Campbell-12.376; 25. Dillon Welch, 84, Tucker/Boat-12.422; 26. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.427; 27. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.435; 28. Frankie Guerrini, 63, F & F-12.447; 29. Chris Windom, 89, Tucker/Boat-12.470; 30. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-12.482; 31. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-12.511; 32. Andrew Layser, 82, Tucker/Boat-12.531; 33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 17JR, Clauson/Marshall-12.541; 34. Bryant Wiedeman, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.558; 35. Jonathan Beason, 31K, Beilman-12.571; 36. Robert Dalby, 4, Dalby-12.580; 37. Matt Streeter, 14JR, Streeter-12.600; 38. Chance Crum, 39, Clauson/Marshall-12.614; 39. Blake Bower, 10x, Boscacci-12.615; 40. Ryan Robinson, 71R, Morris-12.633; 41. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-12.693; 42. Ben Worth, 5G, Alexander-12.707; 43. Kyle Beilman, 31B, Beilman-12.746; 44. Jake Morgan, 19w, Sala-12.800; 45. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-12.845; 46. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-12.936; 47. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.984; 48. Jarrett Soares, 12, Soares-13.030; 49. Blaze Bennett, 10B, Bennett-13.130; 50. Robert Carson, 99, Segur-13.236; 51. Lance Bennett, 10, Bennett-13.380; 52. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-13.425; 53. Kevin Woody Jr., 1x, LKK-13.776; 54. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-13.811.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Bernal, 2. Tanner Carrick, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Colby Copeland, 5. Chris Windom, 6. Dillon Welch, 7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 8. Brody Fuson, 9. Matt Streeter, 10. Robert Carson, 11. Randi Pankratz, 12. Kyle Larson, 13. Jake Andreotti, 14. Spencer Bayston. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Thomas Meseraull, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Cannon McIntosh, 4. Shane Golobic, 5. Kaylee Bryson, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 7. Maria Cofer, 8. Cole Bodine, 9. Chance Crum, 10. Bryant Wiedeman, 11. Ben Worth, 12. Lance Bennett, 13. Colby Johnson. 2:06.569 (New Track Record)

AUTOMETER/ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Mitchel Moles, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Logan Seavey, 4. Jesse Love, 5. Brenham Crouch, 6. Tanner Thorson, 7. Jonathan Beason, 8. Blake Bower, 9. Kyle Beilman, 10. Hayden Reinbold, 11. Blake Brannon, 12. Jarrett Soares, 13. Tyler Courtney. NT

INDY RACE PARTS/ROD END SUPPLY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Michael Faccinto, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Chase Randall, 5. Zeb Wise, 6. Andrew Layser, 7. Ryan Robinson, 8. Frankie Guerrini, 9. Jake Morgan, 10. Kevin Woody Jr., 11. Blaze Bennett, 12. Chase Johnson. NT

C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Hayden Reinbold, 2. Andrew Layser, 3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Jonathan Beason, 6. Ryan Robinson, 7. Ethan Mitchell, 8. Chance Crum, 9. Matt Streeter, 10. Brody Fuson, 11. Jake Morgan, 12. Ben Worth, 13. Kyle Beilman, 14. Jake Andreotti, 15. Jarrett Soares, 16. Blake Brannon, 17. Kevin Woody Jr., 18. Randi Pankratz, 19. Robert Carson, 20. Lance Bennett, 21. Blake Bower. NT

INDY METAL FINISHING/ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Kaylee Bryson, 6. Zeb Wise, 7. Tyler Courtney, 8. Andrew Layser, 9. Dillon Welch, 10. Bryant Wiedeman, 11. Brenham Crouch, 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 13. Cole Bodine, 14. Hayden Reinbold, 15. Maria Cofer, 16. Chase Johnson, 17. Colby Johnson. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Thomas Meseraull (6), 2. Tanner Carrick (2), 3. Cannon McIntosh (5), 4. Carson Macedo (8), 5. Tanner Thorson (15), 6. Shane Golobic (3), 7. Ryan Bernal (9), 8. Spencer Bayston (11), 9. Kyle Larson (19), 10. Emerson Axsom (14), 11. Mitchel Moles (7), 12. Buddy Kofoid (21), 13. Logan Seavey (16), 14. Tyler Courtney* (23), 15. Chris Windom (22), 16. Justin Grant (17), 17. Colby Copeland (18), 18. Kaylee Bryson (13), 19. Chase Randall (20), 20. Daison Pursley (1), 21. Zeb Wise (12), 22. Michael Faccinto (10), 23. Cole Bodine* (24), 24. Jesse Love (4). NT

* represents a provisional starter

**Dylan Ito flipped during qualifying. Jake Andreotti flipped during the first heat. Chase Johnson flipped during the fourth heat. Daison Pursley flipped on lap 28 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Tanner Carrick, Lap 5 Daison Pursley, Laps 6-9 Tanner Carrick, Laps 10-30 Thomas Meseraull.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1,729, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,728, 3-Tanner Thorson-1,701, 4-Buddy Kofoid-1,657, 5-Cannon McIntosh-1,482, 6-Daison Pursley-1,298, 7-Tanner Carrick-1,221, 8-Justin Grant-1,129, 9-Andrew Layser-1,083, 10-Cole Bodine-1,078.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-225, 2-Tanner Thorson-122, 3-Kyle Cummins-108, 4-Logan Seavey-102, 5-Robert Ballou-101, 6-Justin Grant-96, 7-Shane Cottle-96, 8-Cannon McIntosh-95, 9-Brady Bacon-79, 10-Tyler Courtney-78.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP/USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: November 21, 2020 - Merced Speedway - Merced, California - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval - Merced Midget Madness

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Spencer Bayston

Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers First Heat Winner: Ryan Bernal

Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Thomas Meseraull

AutoMeter/Ultra Shield Race Products Third Heat Winner: Mitchel Moles

Indy Race Parts/Rod End Supply Fourth Heat Winner: Michael Faccinto

Indy Metal Finishing/Rod End Supply Semi Winner: Spencer Bayston

KSE Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Tanner Thorson (15th to 5th)

Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Logan Seavey

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Bakersfield, California (November 17, 2020).........Coming up through the ranks in the earliest years of his racing career, Buddy Kofoid idolized Kyle Larson.  In recent years, Kofoid has gotten the opportunity to compete head-to-head with Larson on occasion in midgets and sprint cars.

In Tuesday night's NOS Energy Drink November Classic at California's Bakersfield Speedway, the two competed as teammates for the first time on the venerable Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team.

The fact that Larson was someone he looked up to and was also his teammate was no deterrent in Kofoid's desire to go toe-to-toe with Larson and defeat him.  That he did, ultimately prevailing in a spirited duel that lasted the entire duration of the second half of the 30-lap event, with the winning move made just four laps from the finish.

"I can't believe we just beat Kyle," Kofoid exclaimed.  "Kyle is one of the best in the world and really good in midgets.  As a younger kid coming out of California and racing Outlaw Karts, I always looked up to him.  Everyone already knows how good he is, and racing with the best helps you become better."

For Kofoid, it was his second consecutive USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature victory, and third overall of his career, after reigning victorious in last Saturday night's Western World Championships at Arizona Speedway.

Meanwhile, behind the race for the win was the race for the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget championship point lead.  Chris Windom emerged ahead of Tyler Courtney in the standings by one single point at the checkered after charging from 20th to a 6th place finish following a wildly contentious final lap.

Kofoid lined up 5th in the 24-car field while Larson was slotted outside the front row, making it a fairly tall task for the Penngrove, Calif. Rookie who was, nonetheless, game for the challenge.  Larson withstood a pair of uppercuts served his way via polesitter Chase Johnson who slid his way to the lead briefly on the opening two laps in turn one before Larson cut back under to grab the lead each time off turn two.

Kofoid raced to third by the second circuit, then traveled high and low around the 1/3-mile dirt oval to reach his way to the second position past Johnson on the 15th lap.

In the thick of the race through traffic, Larson held the upper hand over Kofoid by a two-plus second margin when KKM teammate Daison Pursley flipped in turn two on the 19th lap.  He was uninjured.

The tide began to turn when racing resumed and Kofoid went on the offensive, slide jobbing Larson right off the bat in turn one.  Larson answered by crossing over and trekking back under Kofoid as the two headed side-by-side into turn three.  Larson muscled Kofoid off the low line, but Kofoid returned to the front with a cutback underneath Larson exiting turn four.

The slider swapping continued between the two on the ensuing lap, with Larson able to get back by with a down and under maneuver past Kofoid in turns one and two, then closed the door at the entry on the bottom of turn three.  However, with the red flag displayed for a Kaylee Bryson turn two flip on the 21st lap before the lap was scored, Kofoid reassumed his position at the head of the field with Larson just behind.

Twelfth-running Thomas Meseraull found trouble on the first lap 21 restart when his mount received heavy front-end damage, forcing him to a stop near the turn three outside wall, and out of the race.

Back and forth they went with Larson able to find an answer for every strike Kofoid delivered.  But with four laps to go, leading man Larson beelined to the bottom of turn three where he made a rare error, which scooched him up to the middle of no man's land and losing momentum, while Kofoid raced around the outside to put his name atop the leader board.

Larson made one final run at Kofoid on the final lap in turn four but Kofoid was unfettered in closing out his 0.552 second victory over Larson.

"We've been really strong as of late and the team gave me a hell of a car," Kofoid stated of his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/Mobil 1 - JBL Audio - TRD/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.  "I had an issue with that last restart when he got the lead back and I kind of stumbled.  I figured out what I needed to do and, man, that was a lot of fun."

For Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.), his first event driving for KKM since Pennsylvania Midget Week in 2019 was a reunion of a combination that has won 15 times together in USAC National Midget competition between 2011-19.  The first time back resulted in Larson leading a race high 24 laps and nearly pulling off the victory in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/IWX - JBL Audio/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.

Larson, however, did continue his incredible streak of top-two finishes with the series that has now endured for 10 consecutive series starts dating to the west coast swing of 2019, a streak which includes seven wins and three seconds in that span.

"It was a lot of fun to get back with this team and Keith Kunz," Larson said.  "It's been a year and half since I've raced with them.  It was fun to get back in the seat and thanks to all of them for allowing me to run their car."

"Whenever you have an exciting race like that, it's hard to be disappointed about a second," Larson continued.  "I just made a mistake.  I thought I could go to the bottom there and just try to change up the rhythm the run and the race there, but I just got in, got to the brakes and stalled, and that cost me.  I just hate that I made a mistake there, but I had a lot of fun racing with Buddy."

The other storyline throughout was Windom's 11-point lead was in severe jeopardy with him starting 20th in the feature while championship nemeses Tyler Courtney (-11) and Tanner Thorson (-32) started 3rd and 6th, respectively.

While Courtney and Thorson remained stalwarts inside the top-five, Windom was mired in 13th prior to the final restart with 10 laps remaining when he turned up the wick and elevated himself to seventh by the final lap.  With Courtney running third at that moment in time, Windom needed to move up one more spot in order to move himself into the point lead, a final two-lap tussle between he and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

"At that point in time, I don't know anyone in the pit area is going to sit there and run 11th in the last race of the year knowing what's at stake and what everyone has worked for all year," Windom continued.  "I turned it up, and it was so hard to get by guys.  Restarts were crucial.  You could slide one or two guys in one corner on the restart and you could hold those spots and that's what I kept doing restart after restart.  I was trying to see how far Tyler was ahead of us, I saw it was two, it was three, it was four, then back to three, and I just raced as hard as I possibly could until the end."

That's when Windom encountered a seesaw, all-out war between he and Stenhouse - Courtney's Clauson-Marshall Racing teammate - for the coveted 6th spot on the final lap in turn four.

That places Windom in the enviable position as the point leader entering the Merced events, putting him in the driver's seat of becoming the seventh member of the Triple Crown club of drivers who've won USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint and National Midget driving championships in their career along with Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr. and Tracy Hines.

"This is what I've worked my whole career for," Windom said.  "The way the racetrack was tonight, we buried ourselves by not qualifying well.  It was so hard to pass in the feature without throwing huge slide jobs on guys, and that's what I had to do to get to the front and get us back into contention."

Tyler Courtney, who now trails Windom by one point entering Merced, was a man of few words.  The 2019 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champ has been on the other side in USAC National championship point battles, winning the 2018 Sprint Car title based a tiebreaker after he and Kevin Thomas Jr. ended the season deadlocked with the same amount of points.  This year, it appears the Indianapolis, Ind. native will come up just short, equaling the narrowest margin between first and second in a championship, one, set by Cole Whitt over Tracy Hines in 2008.

"I think we just came up one spot short, not even a spot, a point.  That's frustrating, and it sucks, it really does," a deflated Courtney stated after finishing third in his Clauson-Marshall Racing/NOS Turbo - ZMax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: November 17, 2020 - Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, California - NOS Energy Drink November Classic

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-12.701; 2. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-12.794; 3. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.899; 4. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-12.946; 5. Michael Faccinto, 7J, Campbell-12.958; 6. Justin Grant, 5, Petry-12.982; 7. Spencer Bayston, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-13.010; 8. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.034; 9. Kyle Larson, 71w, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.035; 10. Chase Johnson, 25c, Malloy-13.035; 11. Tanner Carrick, 98K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.046; 12. Andrew Layser, 82, Tucker/Boat-13.050; 13. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.064; 14. Logan Seavey, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-13.075; 15. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.086; 16. Daison Pursley, 9, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.090; 17. Blake Bower, 10x, Boscacci-13.104; 18. Robert Dalby, 4, Dalby-13.110; 19. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-13.128; 20. Bryant Wiedeman, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.172; 21. Jonathan Beason, 31K, Beilman-13.186; 22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 17JR, Clauson/Marshall-13.196; 23. Jake Swanson, 73x, Ford-13.214; 24. Clinton Boyles, 98, RMS-13.242; 25. Chris Windom, 89, Tucker/Boat-13.250; 26. Ben Worth, 5G, Alexander-13.258; 27. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-13.270; 28. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.275; 29. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.286; 30. Frankie Guerrini, 63, F & F-13.309; 31. Chance Crum, 31B, Beilman-13.316; 32. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-13.320; 33. Jesse Love, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.342; 34. Dillon Welch, 81x, Tucker/Boat-13.388; 35. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.432; 36. Brody Fuson, 51, Carlile-13.462; 37. David Prickett, 15DJ, Neverlift-13.477; 38. Dylan Ito, 73, Ford-13.564; 39. D.J. Netto, 88N, Newman-13.585; 40. Jake Andreotti, 00, Davis-13.589; 41. Troy Morris III, 07x, Morris-13.767; 42. Blaze Bennett, 10B, Bennett-13.972; 43. Bryan Drollinger, 71D, Drollinger-14.086; 44. Blake Brannon, 40, Brannon-14.271; 45. Lance Bennett, 10, Bennett-NT; 46. Ashlyn Rodriguez, 37, Mitchell-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Jonathan Beason, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Michael Faccinto, 6. Ethan Mitchell, 7. Jesse Love, 8. Blake Bower, 9. David Prickett, 10. Brenham Crouch. 2:03.059 (New Track Record)

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Chase Johnson, 4. Frankie Guerrini, 5. Logan Seavey, 6. Ben Worth, 7. Dillon Welch, 8. Blaze Bennett, 9. Justin Grant, 10. Dylan Ito, 11. Robert Dalby. NT

AUTOMETER/ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kaylee Bryson, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Buddy Kofoid, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Tanner Carrick, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Chance Crum, 9. D.J. Netto, 10. Bryan Drollinger, 11. Carson Macedo. NT

INDY RACE PARTS/ROD END SUPPLY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Clinton Boyles, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Bryant Weideman, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Cole Bodine, 7. Brody Fuson, 8. Blake Brannon, 9. Andrew Layser, 10. Maria Cofer, 11. Jake Andreotti. NT

C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Jesse Love, 2. Chance Crum, 3. Maria Cofer, 4. Dillon Welch, 5. Troy Morris III, 6. David Prickett, 7. Hayden Reinbold, 8. Jake Andreotti, 9. Blaze Bennett, 10. Blake Brannon, 11. D.J. Netto, 12. Bryan Drollinger, 13. Brody Fuson, 14. Dylan Ito, 15. Lance Bennett. NT

INDY METAL FINISHING/ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Ethan Mitchell, 2. Emerson Axsom, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Michael Faccinto, 5. Tanner Carrick, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Logan Seavey, 8. Andrew Layser, 9. Brenham Crouch, 10. Blake Bower, 11. Jake Swanson, 12. Cole Bodine, 13. Jesse Love, 14. Ben Worth, 15. Maria Cofer, 16. Chance Crum, 17. Robert Dalby, 18. Dillon Welch. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (5), 2. Kyle Larson (2), 3. Tyler Courtney (3), 4. Chase Johnson (1), 5. Spencer Bayston (4), 6. Chris Windom (20), 7. Tanner Thorson (6), 8. Cannon McIntosh (16), 9. Justin Grant (14), 10. Carson Macedo (21), 11. Jonathan Beason (8), 12. Emerson Axsom (12), 13. Clinton Boyles (10), 14. Ethan Mitchell (11), 15. Kaylee Bryson (7), 16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9), 17. Andrew Layser* (24), 18. Michael Faccinto (13), 19. Tanner Carrick (15), 20. Cole Bodine* (23), 21. Bryant Wiedeman (19), 22. Frankie Guerrini (22), 23. Thomas Meseraull (18), 24. Daison Pursley (17). NT

* represents a provisional starter

**Ashlyn Rodriguez flipped during practice. Jake Andreotti flipped in the fourth heat. D.J. Netto flipped during the C-Main. Dillon Welch flipped during the semi. Daison Pursley flipped on lap 19 of the feature. Kaylee Bryson flipped on lap 21 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Kyle Larson, Laps 19-20 Buddy Kofoid, Laps 21-26 Kyle Larson, Laps 27-30 Buddy Kofoid.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1,679, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,678, 3-Tanner Thorson-1,651, 4-Buddy Kofoid-1,607, 5-Cannon McIntosh-1,432, 6-Daison Pursley-1,248, 7-Tanner Carrick-1,171, 8-Justin Grant-1,079, 9-Andrew Layser-1,033, 10-Cole Bodine-1,028.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-218, 2-Tanner Thorson-112, 3-Kyle Cummins-108, 4-Robert Ballou-101, 5-Logan Seavey-99, 6-Shane Cottle-96, 7-Justin Grant-95, 8-Cannon McIntosh-93, 9-Brady Bacon-79, 10-Tyler Courtney-78.

NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP/USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACES: November 20-21, 2020 - Merced Speedway - Merced, California - Merced Midget Madness

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Fatheadz Eyewear/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier: Ethan Mitchell

Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers First Heat Winner: Jonathan Beason

Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

AutoMeter/Ultra Shield Race Products Third Heat Winner: Kaylee Bryson

Indy Race Parts/Indy Metal Finishing/Rod End Supply Semi Winner: Clinton Boyles

KSE Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger: Chris Windom (20th to 6th)

Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Clinton Boyles

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 14, 2020).........Tyler Courtney picked up where he left off in both 2018 and 2019 to become the first driver to win the final night of the Western World Championships in a 410 c.i. sprint car in three consecutive years, pulling off the trifecta Saturday night in the AMSOIL USAC CRA / Southwest Sprint Car portion of the 53rd annual event presented by San Tan Ford.

Jeremy Sherman and Cory Kruseman had previously been the only other drivers to win a Western World finale in three-straight years. Sherman took 410 c.i. top honors in 2001, followed by back-to-back 360 Sprint wins in 2002 and 2003. Kruseman won 360 c.i. Sprint Car final night features in 2005-06-07, all of which came at the now-defunct Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Ariz.

"Western World is long historied event and to win three in a row is pretty amazing," Courtney said. "Thanks to my guys for busting their tails. I know they're bummed about the midget deal, but this does make it a little sweeter. It's a tough night, but a good night at the same time."

The Indianapolis, Ind. native was referring to the mechanical issues that befell he and the team during the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature earlier in the night that dropped him out of the points lead.

Courtney responded to the adversity with a much-needed pick-me-up by bouncing back in dominating fashion, leading all 30 laps around the 1/3-mile dirt oval, which happened to be a milestone 50th win for Courtney as a driver with Clauson-Marshall Racing's sprint car and midget team since the 2016 season.

"It's how racing goes," Courtney gathered. "Unfortunately, you're going to have your ups and downs. Obviously, you don't want your downs to come at this time of the year, but that's just how it goes."

Courtney set forth on his journey to triumph from his outside front row position to take the early lead in his Clauson-Marshall-Newman Racing/NOS Turbo - CSI - ZMax - Schoenfeld/Spike/Rider Chevy.

Courtney's main challenger for the USAC Midget crown this year, Chris Windom, was his most prominent adversary in the early stages of the sprint feature with Windom taking a mighty swing on the fifth lap, sliding past Courtney in turn one while Courtney responded with a crossover back underneath Windom off turn two to resume his position at the front of the field.

In the second half of the 30-lap main, Courtney served as the locomotive, leading the tightly knit crew of Courtney, Windom and Friday night winner Justin Grant, who could've all been covered by a blanket as they trekked the high side.

Traffic became the question mark with six laps remaining but did not stand to be as much of an obstacle with the lapped cars lining the bottom of the track while the top-three remained in formation at the top. Only a mistake in traffic or on the cushion could've derailed Courtney at this point.

Instead, Courtney only strengthened his stranglehold up front to lengthen his lead during the final stretch, ultimately prevailing by a 0.791 second margin over Windom, Grant, Damion Gardner and Austin Williams.

"This place has treated me pretty well the last few years," Courtney mentioned. "Last night was the first night I hadn't won in three races or something like that, and to still run second, was pretty amazing. This place fits my kind of style."

Meanwhile, R.J. Johnson's move from his 22nd starting position to an 8th place feature finish netted him a whopping $1,860.95 courtesy of the Steve LaFond / Wagtimes "Jar of Change" going to the USAC CRA series regular who made the biggest advancement through the field.

AMSOIL USAC CRA & SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: November 14, 2020 - Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, Arizona - 53rd Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-15.234; 2. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-15.276; 3. Ryan Bernal, 13, Gile-15.288; 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-15.388; 5. Chris Windom, 77m, Michael-15.471; 6. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-15.499; 7. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-15.550; 8. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.580; 9. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-15.719; 10. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-15.720; 11. Stevie Sussex, 12, Allen-15.790; 12. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-15.815; 13. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-15.817; 14. Jake Swanson, 34, Grau-15.878; 15. Max Adams, 73T, Ford-15.904; 16. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-16.006; 17. Trent Williams, 52v, Williams-16.013; 18. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-16.062; 19. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-16.088; 20. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.098; 21. Tye Mihocko, 5, Ream-16.109; 22. Sterling Cling, 34c, Cling-16.197; 23. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-16.254; 24. Ikaika O'Brien, 11o, O'Brien-16.376; 25. Josh Castro, 4T, Terzich/Gile-16.395; 26. Jeremy Ellertson, 22, Ellertson-16.516; 27. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.610; 28. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-16.675; 29. Eugene Thomas, 10, Thomas-16.681; 30. Chris Muraoka, 25, Muraoka-17.070; 31. Ryan Oerter, 43, Oerter-17.404.

FLOWDYNAMICS/SWAY-A-WAY TORSION BARS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Cody Williams, 2. Chris Windom, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Tye Mihocko, 6. Trent Williams, 7. Josh Castro, 8. Eugene Thomas. 2:10.915

ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION/COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Damion Gardner, 2. Sterling Cling, 3. Thomas Meseraull, 4. Jake Swanson, 5. Matt Mitchell, 6. Chris Bonneau, 7. Jeremy Ellertson, 8. Chris Muraoka. 2:10.134

COMPONENT REPAIR COMPANY/ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Stevie Sussex, 3. Chris Gansen, 4. Kyle Edwards, 5. Ryan Oerter, 6. Max Adams, 7. Ryan Bernal, 8. A.J. Bender. NT

ORANGE COUNTY TANK TESTING/ROD END SUPPLY FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Tommy Malcolm, 5. Matt McCarthy, 6. Brody Roa, 7. Ikaika O'Brien. 2:12.654

MULTIQUIP INDUSTRIES/ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Ryan Bernal, 2. Matt Mitchell, 3. Brody Roa, 4. Max Adams, 5. Chris Bonneau, 6. Tye Mihocko, 7. Trent Williams, 8. Matt McCarthy, 9. A.J. Bender, 10. Josh Castro, 11. Ikaika O'Brien, 12. Jeremy Ellertson, 13. Chris Muraoka, 14. Ryan Oerter, 15. Eugene Thomas. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (2), 2. Chris Windom (3), 3. Justin Grant (6), 4. Damion Gardner (5), 5. Austin Williams (11), 6. Matt Mitchell (10), 7. Ryan Bernal (9), 8. R.J. Johnson (22), 9. Max Adams (16), 10. Cody Williams (7), 11. Brody Roa (14), 12. Charles Davis Jr. (1), 13. Tommy Malcolm (4), 14. Tye Mihocko (19), 15. Stevie Sussex (13), 16. Sterling Cling (20), 17. Chris Gansen (18), 18. Kyle Edwards (21), 19. Chris Bonneau (17), 20. Jake Swanson (15), 21. Thomas Meseraull (12), 22. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (8). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Tyler Courtney.

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Woodland Auto Display / Beaver Stripes Fast Qualifier: Justin Grant

Flowdynamics/Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars First Heat Winner: Cody Williams

All Coast Construction/Competition Suspension Inc. (CSI) Second Heat Winner: Damion Gardner

Component Repair Company/Ultra Shield Race Products Third Heat Winner: Tyler Courtney

Orange County Tank Testing/Rod End Supply Fourth Heat Winner: Eddie Tafoya Jr.

Indy Metal Finishing Semi Winner: Ryan Bernal

Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars/Rod End Supply Hard Charger: R.J. Johnson (22nd to 8th)

San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 14, 2020).........Three-hundred-sixty-four nights earlier, Buddy Kofoid arrived at Arizona Speedway's Western World Championships as a newcomer to the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget wars when he made his first series start in the event, finishing 22nd.

Three-hundred-sixty-four nights later, Buddy Kofoid became a Western World champion.

That accomplishment was realized Saturday night when the Penngrove, Californian led wire-to-wire from his outside front row starting spot, then withstood a steady challenge from previous night's winner Tanner Thorson, as well as a late-race restart, to capture his second career series victory in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/Mobil 1 - JBL Audio - TRD/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota at the event presented by San Tan Ford.

"It's a good feather in my cap," Kofoid stated.  "For Western World, this is the 53rd annual, and a lot of big names have won here, so I'm glad to add mine to that.  Nothing beats winning."

Kofoid got the jump on the opening lap to rip past pole sitter Robert Dalby while KKM teammate Tanner Carrick followed in his wake on the high side just behind to procure second.

As Kofoid extended his lead to three-quarters of a second during the first third of the 30-lap feature, Clauson-Marshall Racing's pair of machines each found their share of hardship, with 17th running Cole Bodine dropping out on lap 10 with a cloud of smoke surrounding his ride while, two laps later, fourth-running and point leading Tyler Courtney dropped off the pace and pulled into the infield with mechanical problems of his own, which wreaked havoc in his quest for a second consecutive series championship, dropping him to second in the standings.

As Kofoid carved his way through lapped traffic, one instance nearly spelled disaster with 13 laps remaining.  Kofoid attempted to slide past teammate, 17th place Brenham Crouch, in turn four when the two made contact, sending Crouch backwards into the outside retaining wall, closing the curtains on his night, while Kofoid continued unscathed.

Shortly after the resumption of the event, Carrick, who had run in the second position for the first 17 laps, began to fade then slow to a sudden halt when his left rear tire went flat on the 20th lap, forcing those behind him to take evasive action to avoid getting caught up in the ordeal.  The 2019 USAC National Most Improved Driver returned to the fray after replacing the rubber in the work area, ultimately finishing 10th.

Thorson was able to mount a challenge to Kofoid in the first couple of laps following the lap 20 restart, creeping to within a single car length of the leader on the bottom in turn two, but unable to edge ahead for the time being while Daison Pursley, showing no ill effects from his flapping right side panel, was hustling in third and ferociously shrinking the gap.

The first red flag of the weekend for the midgets occurred on the 24th go-around when 16th running Noah Gass took a vicious high flyer into the turn two catch fence before landing upside down on the surface of the 1/3-mile dirt oval.  The Mounds, Okla. driver walked away from the scene under his own power.

When the green flag dropped, Kofoid drew his car low into turn one while Thorson took to sweeping the top, then angling a slider into turn three, drawing closer to the lead on the 24th and 25th laps before dropping to the bottom in turn one on the 26th where he lost a parcel of real estate to Kofoid that added up to around a half-second when the second red flag of the night was displayed for 9th running Chase Randall who barrel rolled in turn four, ending his evening.

The incident set up Thorson in a fairly familiar spot.  Rewind to 24 hours prior when Thorson raced from third to the lead on the first lap of the restart during a green-white-checkered finish, one of whom he passed was Kofoid.  On this night, Thorson had one more lap and one less car to pass.  However, once Kofoid got rolling, he never allowed Thorson a chance at that opportunity as he blitzed away over the final three laps to finish out a 0.566 sec. victory.

Kofoid was followed to the line by Thorson, Pursley, Chris Windom and Spencer Bayston.

While Kofoid lamented the missed opportunity from the night before, he took that as a learning experience for he and the crew to find that little extra oomph to push them to the top.

"I was in a position to win last night," Kofoid recalled.  "I knew we had good speed yesterday and we kept working on it.  I knew our slick track and main event set up was really good and we just improved on it a little bit."

Kofoid had competed previously at Arizona Speedway over the years, one of which was an ASCS Southwest Region winged sprint car race where a couple years earlier in 2018, Kofoid battled a familiar foe who was on his side guiding him to victory this night in 2020.

"My crew chief, Jarrett Martin, is from 40 minutes away from here, so to get him kind of a home track win with USAC is really cool," Kofoid said.  "It's kind of funny, two years ago, him and I ran the Copper Classic together at this track, and then it wasn't until this year, we realized we raced against each other.  I can't thank the crew enough for all their hard work and Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Mobil 1 and Toyota for a really great opportunity to drive fast racecars."

Since Thorson (Minden, Nev.) joined Tom Malloy's team in late September, the combination has clicked matter-of-factly with six top-five finishes in six tries with two wins and two seconds, which has brought him right back into the thick of the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget championship hunt aboard his Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring - Ed Pink Racing Engines - Rodela Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota.

"It just shows how strong these cars are and the group of people that I have behind me," Thorson said.  "With Reliable, Factory Kahne Shocks, Trench Shoring and Ed Pink Engines, I've got a pretty awesome piece behind me.  Everybody that is backing me and allowing me to do this, I can't thank them enough.  We'll take our speed over to Bakersfield (Speedway on Tuesday) and try to pick off one."

Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), who, like Kofoid, made his very first USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget start one year ago during Western World.  One year later, Pursley was standing among tall cotton after equaling his best career series finish with a 3rd place result in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian/Craftsman - JBL Audio - Mobil 1/Bullet By Spike/Speedway Toyota.

"To come home third to Buddy and Tanner is nothing to hang your head about," Pursley admitted.  "It was my first time on a big track here and it's a cool place.  I wish I could've have had a few more laps coming in.  I'm thankful for third and I can't thank the entire Keith Kunz Motorsports team enough.  They put a good car together and I'm grateful for the opportunity to get to drive it."

With Courtney's troubles, a runner-up finish by Thorson and a 4th place run for Chris Windom, the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget points race has taken a drastic turn after Western World, and with now just three events remaining.  Courtney went from a 32-point lead to an 11-point deficit behind new leader Windom.  Thorson, who trailed by a distant 71 points entering Saturday, is now just 32 points out of the lead coming into the Tuesday, November 17 round at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway, the NOS Energy Drink November Classic.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: November 14, 2020 - Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, Arizona - 53rd Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford

FATHEADZ EYEWEAR/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 25m, Malloy-15.201; 2. Chris Windom, 89, Tucker/Boat-15.341; 3. Tanner Carrick, 98K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.491; 4. Logan Seavey, 19A, Reinbold/Underwood-15.513; 5. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-15.564; 6. Chase Randall, 25, Petry-15.610; 7. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.615; 8. Andrew Layser, 82, Tucker/Boat-15.631; 9. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.675; 10. Robert Dalby, 4, Dalby-15.686; 11. Bryant Wiedeman, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.709; 12. Justin Grant, 5, Petry-15.716; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-15.750; 14. Daison Pursley, 9, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.751; 15. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-15.751; 16. Spencer Bayston, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-15.758; 17. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-15.781; 18. Kaylee Bryson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.803; 19. Chase Johnson, 25c, Malloy-15.868; 20. Carson Garrett, 15x, Garrett-15.874; 21. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-15.880; 22. Clinton Boyles, 98, RMS-15.913; 23. Brenham Crouch, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-15.951; 24. Jesse Love, 97K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.032; 25. Jerry Coons Jr., 28, Dave Mac-16.045; 26. Hayden Reinbold, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.050; 27. C.J. Sarna, 20, Sarna-16.389; 28. Ryan Oerter, 43, Oerter-17.293; 29. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-NT; 30. Casey Schmitz, 00, MSW-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Robert Dalby, 3. Tanner Thorson, 4. Thomas Meseraull, 5. Chase Johnson, 6. Clinton Boyles, 7. Logan Seavey, 8. Cannon McIntosh, 9. Jerry Coons Jr. 2:10.252

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Emerson Axsom, 2. Daison Pursley, 3. Chris Windom, 4. Bryant Wiedeman, 5. Tyler Courtney, 6. Andrew Layser, 7. Carson Garrett, 8. Brenham Crouch, 9. Hayden Reinbold, 10. Ethan Mitchell. 2:09.586

AUTOMETER/ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Buddy Kofoid, 3. Kaylee Bryson, 4. Cole Bodine, 5. Tanner Carrick, 6. Jesse Love, 7. Chase Randall, 8. Noah Gass, 9. Casey Schmitz, 10. C.J. Sarna. 2:08.584

INDY RACE PARTS/INDY METAL FINISHING/ROD END SUPPLY SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Chase Randall, 4. Brenham Crouch, 5. Andrew Layser, 6. Clinton Boyles, 7. Noah Gass, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Jesse Love, 10. Hayden Reinbold, 11. Carson Garrett, 12. Casey Schmitz, 13. C.J. Sarna, 14. Ryan Oerter, 15. Ethan Mitchell. 3:13.982

FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Kofoid (2), 2. Tanner Thorson (6), 3. Daison Pursley (16), 4. Chris Windom (5), 5. Spencer Bayston (8), 6. Justin Grant (7), 7. Andrew Layser (13), 8. Logan Seavey (10), 9. Chase Johnson (19), 10. Tanner Carrick (4), 11. Bryant Wiedeman (14), 12. Thomas Meseraull (15), 13. Emerson Axsom (9), 14. Cannon McIntosh (12), 15. Robert Dalby (1), 16. Kaylee Bryson (18), 17. Hayden Reinbold* (23), 18. Chase Randall (11), 19. Noah Gass (20), 20. Brenham Crouch (22), 21. Clinton Boyles (21), 22. Tyler Courtney (3), 23. Cole Bodine (17). NT

* represents a provisional starter

**Noah Gass flipped on lap 24 of the feature. Chase Randall flipped on lap 28 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Buddy Kofoid.

USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1,619, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,608, 3-Tanner Thorson-1,587, 4-Buddy Kofoid-1,528, 5-Cannon McIntosh-1,376, 6-Daison Pursley-1,218, 7-Tanner Carrick-1,145, 8-Justin Grant-1,030, 9-Cole Bodine-1,005, 10-Andrew Layser-1,004.

OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-204, 2-Tanner Thorson-112, 3-Kyle Cummins-108, 4-Robert Ballou-101, 5-Logan Seavey-99, 6-Shane Cottle-96, 7-Justin Grant-90, 8-Cannon McIntosh-85, 9-Brady Bacon-79, 10-Tyler Courtney-78.

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, November 2, 2020 - Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) further strengthens its Motorsport Pyramid on the continent with the announcement of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama.

Following the September 25 unveiling of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America as the premier one-make championship in the United States and Canada, the new series, which will utilize previous generations Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars and current generation GT4 cars, will take its place as the direct feeder to Carrera Cup beginning in 2021.

With the Trophy level being eliminated from the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America, this championship breaks new ground for Porsche as the German sports car manufacturer has commissioned the United States Auto Club (USAC) to manage all aspects of the 16-race schedule.

Yokohama has been selected as the series official tire partner and presenting sponsor of the Porsche Sprint Challenge. Erik Skirmants has been appointed Series Manager.

The Porsche Sprint Challenge by Yokohama (http://www.porschesprint.com/) will be a stepping stone on the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America between the Clubsport/club racing entry stage and the Carrera Cup North America.

The series will be broken into three classes: Platinum for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (type 991.2) race cars, Gold for type 991.1 generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars and the Silver Class for the mid-engine Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

Driver and Team Championships will be awarded with the Platinum and Silver Driver Champions being invited the Porsche Night of Champions in Weissach, Germany.

The North American championship is the seventh Sprint Challenge to compete worldwide. The series joins Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain, Sprint Challenge Middle East and Asia as well as Porsche Sprint Challenges in the North European Zone, Central Europe and Benelux.

USAC is one of the leading motorsports organizations in the USA with series oversight on many racing fronts including circle track, rally, off-road, snowmobile, karting and youth racing in its portfolio. While widely known as the pinnacle short-track and dirt racing series in the country, USAC previously conducted the United States Road Racing Championship from 1958 - 1962 and makes its return to road racing with the Porsche Sprint Challenge.

The inaugural season of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America will kick-off at Florida's Sebring International Raceway in March 2021 and hold its finale in October at the iconic and prestigious Indianapolis Motor Speedway - just yards from USAC headquarters in Speedway, Indiana.

Eight event venues will offer two races per weekend for competitors. Seven of the eight weekends will count toward the championships in Platinum, Gold and Silver as well as the Team title chase. The Mont Tremblant weekend will not count towards the championship. This round is a "prelude" event to introduce Canadian competitors to the Porsche Sprint Challenge.

Four of the eight event weekends are paired with SRO World Challenge, a USAC-sanctioned series, where customer teams can compete with Porsche 911 GT3 R and Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport race cars. The 911 GT3 R fits as the highest level of Porsche customer racing on the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid in North America. Other event weekends include pairing with IndyCar and IMSA events.

Yokohama, who first partnered with PMNA in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series, remains deeply tied to the Porsche one-make concept in North America. The Japanese tire manufacturer will supply spec racing slicks to the Sprint Challenge field.

All racing action will be seen live on FLO Sports, an innovator and leader in streaming live sporting events with a library of over 300,000 hours of premium content, including the home of ECHL and NCAA Division 1 Hockey, US coverage of the Tour de France and the world leader in wrestling coverage. The addition of the Porsche Sprint Challenge will bolster its racing platform which includes nearly 800 live racing events annually.

Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA), founded in 1985, is the only authorized sales, parts and service provider in the United States and Canada for all purpose-built Porsche race cars including the 911 GT3 R, 911 GT3 Cup, Cayman 718 GT4 Clubsport, 911 GT2 RS Clubsport and 935-19. PMNA provides engine and transmission servicing, on-site race support and restoration services for historic Porsche race cars. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Porsche AG, PMNA is headquartered in 15,000 square feet of the Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles.

Daniel Armbruster, President and CEO, Porsche Motorsport North America

"The addition of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama to the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid continues our effort to offer a clear and competitive path for everyone wishing to race GT cars. We believe that this step provides a place to compete whether you are moving up the steps or want to find a more structured and competitive environment than track days or club racing can provide. Additionally, this gives us the opportunity to continue our long relationship with Yokohama. They have been a tremendous partner and we believe will continue to play an instrumental part in the development of young drivers. We are also pleased to have our first partnership with USAC. They have shown to be the stepping-stone in American open wheel racing for generations and will now play that role in sports car racing. We will have a very busy 2021 and I am excited for Porsche, our partners, customers and fans."

Erik Skirmants, Series Manager, Porsche Motorsport North America

"Our goal with the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama is to create a clear first step up from club level racing while establishing a direct path to the new Porsche Carrera Cup North America. The series will be an excellent mix of a destination series for gentlemen drivers as well as a development platform for new drivers. We are taking the best of what we have learned in North America's prior Challenge and Trophy series, and features of some global Sprint Challenge series to create the best competition environment possible.

A key to success is the choice to have Yokohama as our tire and series partner. We needed world class tires and technical support and Yokohama has always exceeded expectations as a partner. All of this results in the ideal opportunity for USAC to return to road racing and we are pleased that Porsche gets to start this new era with them. All series partners have worked closely with our teams and drivers to build a model with a clear intent to lead the North American market in balancing cost while maintaining a professional racing environment. We are excited to get underway in 2021."

Kevin Miller, President & CEO, United States Auto Club

"The United States Auto Club is proud to partner with Porsche and Yokohama Tire to bring the global Porsche Sprint Challenge to North America. USAC has a 65-year heritage in recognizing national championships. We are looking forward to adding the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America champions to our storied list in 2021."

Andrew Briggs, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management, Yokohama Tire

"This exciting, new USAC-sanctioned series fits our motorsports strategy perfectly and is an excellent opportunity to continue our longtime partnership with Porsche Motorsport North America. We're honored to be a part of the inaugural Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and looking forward to spotlighting our ADVAN® tires next season."

Learn more about the Porsche Sprint Challenge by Yohohama at: http://www.porschesprint.com/.

2021 Porsche Sprint Challenge by Yokohama Schedule (provisional)

March 12-14: Sebring International Raceway                      

April 9-11: Barber Motorsport Park                                                                         

April 30-May 2: Circuit of the Americas                                

June 11-13: VIRginia International Raceway

July 23-25: Mont Tremblant*

July 30-August 1: Road America                                                                                

Sept. 17-19: Watkins Glen International                                                

Oct. 15-17: Indianapolis Motor Speedway