BLOOMSBURG BLOSSOMS WITH USAC MIDGET DEBUT FRIDAY!
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania (August 4, 2021)………Over the past three-quarters of a century, Bloomsburg Fair Raceway has served as the hosts of a vast array of motorsports series with the likes of NASCAR’s Grand National series, AAA Sprint Cars, ARDC Midgets and, most recently, USAC’s AMSOIL National Sprint Car division, paying a visit to the fairgrounds oval.
Never before, however, has the venue seen USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing, which debuts at the newly-refurbished 3/8-mile dirt oval on Friday, August 6, for round four of Eastern Midget Week.
After its closure for three-plus decades, the new track was constructed over the winter and spring months of 2021, and the ghosts of racing’s past at Bloomsburg still reign, a list that includes the like of 1949 Indianapolis 500 winner Bill Holland; NASCAR’s first multi-time champion Herb Thomas; 1958 USAC Midwest Sprint Car champ Eddie Sachs and the great Jiggs Peters, just to name a few.
Among this Friday’s USAC Midget participants at Bloomsburg, only seven have previous experience, which all came during the Eastern Storm stop by the USAC National Sprint Cars back in June of 2021.
Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) led all 30 laps en route to victory at Bloomsburg. The recently-crowned Indiana Sprint Week champ has been superb in a midget over the last couple of months only finishing outside the top-ten once in that span.
Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) finished 2nd to Thomas in the Sprint run at Bloomsburg a couple months back. The 2016 USAC National Midget driving champion has won twice during Eastern Midget Week in his career.
Pennsylvanian standout Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pa.) raced to a 5th place finish at Bloomsburg with the USAC National Sprint Cars in June. The 2016 ARDC and 2018 USAC Eastern Midget titlist leads the USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Car standings and will be one of a handful of drivers pulling double-duty on Friday night.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.), the 2021 Eastern Midget Week opening night winner at Grandview Speedway, endured a trying night at Bloomsburg in June. The reigning USAC National Midget champion and USAC Triple Crown king flipped during qualifying but returned to run 13th in the feature.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the 2018 USAC National Midget champ, finished 14th at Bloomsburg in June while defending USAC Silver Crown champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was 21st and Michael Markey (Hanover, Pa.) was 23rd. For Markey, the night marked his USAC National Sprint Car debut while this week, during Eastern Midget Week, finds him making his first appearances in the USAC National Midget series.
John Heydenreich (Bloomsburg, Pa.), the 1990 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals winner, will compete at his hometown track where he raced and won in a midget back in 1980s.
Max McLaughlin (Mooresville, N.C.), a K&N East & Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified winner will drive a second Bundy Built Motorsports Midget alongside teammate Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.). Max is the son of past NASCAR Busch standout Mike McLaughlin.
With it being the series’ first ever visit to Bloomsburg, the high majority of the field will be taking in their first Bloomsburg experience on Friday night. Among them are championship point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) as well as USAC National Midget feature winners Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Ind.), Daison Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.), Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.), Cannon McIntosh (Bixby, Okla.) and Steve Buckwalter (Royersford, Pa.) trying to tally a win for the first time at Bloomsburg.
Series veterans from the east, Kevin Woody Jr. (Victor, N.Y.), Tommy Kunsman (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Shawn Jackson (Bear, Dela.), will be on hand along with New Zealanders Hayden Williams (Auckland), Travis Buckley (Auckland) and Glenn Waterland (Christchurch).
USAC Rookies on board for Bloomsburg this Friday include Chase Randall (Waco, Texas), Hayden Reinbold (Gilbert, Ariz.), Taylor Reimer (Bixby, Okla.) and Dan Bennett (Akron, N.Y.).
Friday’s Eastern Midget Week round four at Bloomsburg features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship and USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Cars.
Pits open at 4pm Eastern, stands 4pm and racing at 7pm. Adult admission tickets are $20, students 13-18 are $10 with kids 12 and under free.
Every lap of all five Eastern Midget will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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2021 EASTERN MIDGET WEEK SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, Aug 3: Grandview Speedway | Bechtelsville, PA
Wednesday, Aug 4: Action Track USA | Kutztown, PA
Thursday, Aug 5: Bridgeport Motorsports Park | Swedesboro, NJ
Friday, Aug 6: Bloomsburg Fair Raceway | Bloomsburg, PA
Saturday, Aug 7: Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway | Newmanstown, PA