The fans and officials of the Jefferson County Fairgrounds at Fairbury, Nebraska always roll out the red carpet, and in 2021 the event is now stretched to three nights.
Two lucrative events in California — the Hangtown 100 at Placerville Speedway and the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura — are back in play. In a noteworthy change, Ventura Raceway officials have requested that the longest running midget race in America move from Thanksgiving night to Friday in hopes of bolstering attendance. Midgets are again a part of the Western World at Arizona Speedway and, naturally, the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora.
The midgets will also return to South Dakota‘s Huset‘s Speedway for the first time in 25 years for a three-day show alongside the sprint cars. Both groups should be fired up as a $200,000 total purse is on the table, with the September 11 finale paying 20 thousand to win for both divisions. Finally, USAC and Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials are still in discussions on the proper placement of the popular BC39 at the Dirt Track at I.M.S.
While Cory Tucker and Chad Boat parted ways in the offseason, the team will now be entered under the name CB Industries. Defending champion Chris Windom will be back and will be tough to unseat. His path got easier when it was announced that Tyler Courtney would spend more time in winged racing, but we could still see him in select events.
At the beginning of the 2020 season, Keith Kunz admitted that he was relishing the chance to help his young drivers improve and develop. As odd as it was to imagine, Keith Kunz Motorsports went over a year without a USAC victory. It was Cannon McIntosh who ended the drought with a win at Missouri‘s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in September, and he would score again at Gas City (IN) later in the month.
Right after McIntosh broke the ice, young Californian Buddy Kofoid followed up on night two in the Show-Me State ending a period of personal frustration. Kofoid came to KKM highly-touted, and he had a series of strong runs and multiple wins with POWRi. Still, some had predicted his first USAC win would come earlier in the year.
As so often happens, once the dam broke Kofoid got red hot. He was able to take the midget portion of the Western World at Arizona Speedway in mid-November, but that proved to be just an opening act to a more impressive run days later. Back in his home state, Kofoid signed in at Bakersfield Speedway, where he had a high-profile teammate. For one who came through the Northern California outlaw kart ranks, Buddy naturally looked up to Kyle Larson. On this night, Kofoid did something few were able to accomplish in 2020: he beat Larson in a head-to-head fight. Kofoid finished fourth in series points and was named Rookie of the Year. There is no mistaking that this is a star on the rise and he clearly is a favorite to win the 2021 title.
One other key member of the core group of KKM racers is Oklahoma‘s Daison Pursley. It is fair to say that Pursley flew a bit under the radar, but the record shows he enjoyed a solid year as he gained additional seat time. Look for Pursley to notch his first USAC National win in 2021.
Tanner Carrick will also be back at a place he spent his formative years and, while still a young man, he does enjoy veteran status within his team. Kaylee Bryson made her way to the podium last season and she may be ready to make racing history. Others expected to make select appearances include young Texas open-wheeler Brenham Crouch and western Kansas micro graduate Bryant Wiedeman.
The ultimate destination of Tanner Thorson had one quick detour. The 2016 series champion was originally slated to join Tom Malloy‘s team wrenched by former USAC Western States midget champion Jerome Rodela. It looked like a signed and sealed deal and then suddenly there was a change of plans. In Mid-December it was announced that Tanner would now join Dave Mac Motorsports with Cordy Cordell serving as the crew chief.
In 2020 Thorson provided the bookends for the season by winning the opener at Ocala, Florida and then outlasted Buddy Kofoid and Tyler Courtney in a scintillating duel at Merced, California. Thorson‘s seven wins topped the series, and his penchant for fighting back from deep in the back was on full display indoors at Du Quoin, Illinois.
In breaking news, following the Chili Bowl it was announced that Cannon McIntosh would depart KKM and partner with Thorson in the family car. McIntosh ended last season strong and then backed it up with a very strong performance in the Chili Bowl. It will be interesting to see how this re-tooled operation fares over the course of a long season but, make no mistake about it, they have two men in the fold who know how to get to the finish line.
As for Tom Malloy‘s team, it looks like they have landed on their feet with former champ Logan Seavey taking the reins.
Scott Petry will be back with talented teenager Emerson Axsom, and will be reunited with veteran Kevin Thomas Jr.
Axsom came close to reaching victory lane at Fairbury, Nebraska and served noticed at that point that he was not intimidated. Thomas suffered through a character building year in 2020. He is too talented to stay down for long.
Also reloading in 2021 is RMS Racing, led by the father and son team Dave and Matt Estep. The mercurial Thomas Meseraull finally found victory lane with the squad — first at Haubstadt, Indiana and then backed it up at Merced, California. Thomas will be joined by Justin Grant, who makes the move from RAMS Racing. Grant, who has enjoyed great success in this series, is now back fulltime after picking and choosing select dates the year before. This group had an impressive week indoors at Tulsa and will be a team to watch.
With Grant departing RAMS racing, the squad will turn to Missouri‘s Clinton Boyles. Boyles, a second-generation racer, has also enjoyed success in sprint cars, often paired with Indiana legend Paul Hazen.