Buddy Kofoid came out on top of an early slider-fest with championship rival Justin Grant and went on to lead the final 28 laps to record his fourth consecutive USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series victory on night two of Indiana Midget Week at Lawrenceburg Speedway. Grant would come home in second with Bryant Wiedeman rounding out the podium in a Toyota one-two-three finish.
Kofoid is the first driver to win four consecutive USAC national midget features since Kyle Larson captured four in a row in 2013 both coming with Keith Kunz Motorsports. With the victory, Kofoid ties Rico Abreu for third for the most career victories by a Toyota midget driver with 32, behind only Christopher Bell (59) and Larson (35).
Right from the start, the race would become a showdown between the two point leaders in Kofoid and Grant, who had combined to win the first six championship features in 2022. The duo exchanged sliders four times before Kofoid took over the point from Grant on lap 3.
After a caution on lap six, Kofoid would begin to pull away, stretching out a 1.2-second lead. Grant would eventually close the gap, though, and threw a slider for the lead at Kofoid in turn one on lap 11 but came up short. It would be the last real threat of the night against Kofoid, who would take the checkered flag 1.5 seconds ahead of Grant, who earned his sixth podium finish of the season, while Wiedeman made a late move to pass Jacob Denny for third place on the final lap.
“It’s just so damn fun,” Kofoid said of Lawrenceburg Speedway. “This is probably one of the best Lawrenceburgs I’ve ever seen, up on the fence like that, cowboy up; it’s exactly how I like it, and what I came from in California. The first time I came here, I fell in love with it, and just kept chipping away. I ran sixth with the World of Outlaws, then fourth, then ran second with the midget and, finally, was one spot better tonight.
“I didn’t feel great after the heat race, and I was kind of nervous,” Kofoid continued. “It’s kind of tough to pass when it gets strung out but, finally, I got to the lead and was able to control the race.”
In addition to the top-three finishers, four more Toyota drivers captured top-10 showings with Jace Park finishing fifth, Thomas Meseraull was seventh, Mitchel Moles was eighth and Logan Seavey came home in tenth.
Indiana Midget Week heads to Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt Sunday for night three of the seven-race event.
Feature Results (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses):
1. Buddy Kofoid (6), 2. Justin Grant (2), 3. Bryant Wiedeman (8), 4. Jacob Denney (13), 5. Jace Park (4), 6. Jason McDougal (1), 7. Thomas Meseraull (5), 8. Mitchel Moles (3), 9. Kyle Cummins (19), 10. Logan Seavey (11), 11. Taylor Reimer (10), 12. Brenham Crouch (20), 13. Cade Lewis (21), 14. Jade Avedisian (7), 15. Ethan Mitchell (17), 16. Kaylee Bryson (18), 17. Mariah Ede (23), 18. Blake Brannon (24), 19. Travis Buckley (22), 20. Sam Johnson (16), 21. Maria Cofer (15), 22. Hayden Reinbold (12), 23. Cannon McIntosh (9), 24. Chase McDermand (14). NT
See the full story and results from usacracing.com:
Photo: DB3, Inc. / lucasdirt.com
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