DUQUOIN, Ill. – Aiden Purdue grabbed his first national midget victory Saturday during an unsanctioned midget feature held as part of the DuQuoin Winter Nationals inside the Southern Illinois Center.
Purdue, from Clinton, Ill., drove the No. 57d prepared by fellow Land of Lincoln native Daniel Robinson to the $2,000 win, with Robinson himself coming in just behind Purdue.
Robinson’s charge to runner-up honors came from the 10th starting position.
Oklahoma’s Chris Andrews filled out the podium in the 30-lapper atop the temporary sixth-mile dirt oval, ahead of Sean Robbins and Tyler Nelson.
Joe B. Miller crossed sixth driving for former Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports crew chief Al Scroggins, now a team manager in his own right.
Adam Johnson, Will Armitage, Caden Englehart and Robert Dalby closed the top 10.
Notably, defending POWRi national midget champion Jake Neuman finished a disappointing 11th in the 22-car field, driving his familiar No. 3n owned by his father Jim.
Armitage, Nelson and Purdue won their respective 10-lap heat races to start the night.
Saturday’s DuQuoin event was promoted by Jeremy Sneed, who promotes Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill., on a regular basis.
It featured a mix of national-style and D-2 midgets.
The finish:
1. 57d-Aiden Purdue, 2. 57k-Daniel Robinson, 3. 95-Chris Andrews, 4. 53-Sean Robbins, 5. 88-Tyler Nelson, 6. 49-Joe B. Miller, 7. 17-Adam Johnson, 8. 51r-Will Armitage, 9. 9e-Caden Englehart, 10. 4-Robert Dalby, 11. 3n-Jake Neuman, 12. 91-Chett Gehrke, 13. 72-Sam Johnson, 14. 2md-Jeff Champagne, 15. 15-R.J. Corson, 16. 15m-Shane Morgan, 17. 51-Donnie Gentry, 18. 00-John Heitzman, 19. 56-Garrett Thomas, 20. 127-James Picardi, 21. 56x-Mark Chisholm.