JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Buddy Kofoid has turned heads all season long, and the California teenager turned a few more on Friday night at Jacksonville Speedway.
Driving for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports and making his first start of the year in a national midget car, Kofoid won his heat, started from the pole and led every lap of the final standalone Summer Midget Series race of the year at the quarter-mile dirt oval.
Already a four-time 410 sprint car winner this season, including once with the All Star Circuit of Champions, Kofoid beat out KKM teammate and current POWRi point leader Jesse Colwell for the win behind the wheel of the No. 97 Toyota-sponsored Bullet Chassis.
“Man, that was pretty cool,” Kofoid said in victory lane. “I don’t get to do much midget racing; this is probably only my fifth or sixth race ever in one and my first one with Keith (Kunz), but they’re the best in the business and they gave me a great car all night long.
“You know the car is really good when you don’t do a lot (to it) and you don’t feel too bad in hot laps,” he added. “I never really felt out of my comfort zone the whole way, which is good. We were good in the heat race and freed up on restarts if I needed to go and get up on the wheel. We were in control for the main event … and I saw them at the end, but I never really saw them again after we pushed that little bit more.
“I don’t really know what to say; my first time with Keith and here we are, it’s a cool feeling.”
Colwell finished as the runner-up after starting fourth, with Jake Neuman coming from sixth to complete the podium.
Daison Pursley and hard charger Jesse Love, who started 10th, followed in fourth and fifth.
The finish:
Buddy Kofoid, Jesse Colwell, Jake Neuman, Daison Pursley, Jesse Love, Daniel Adler, Austin O’Dell, Luke Verardi, Holley Hollan, Emerson Axsom, Shelby Bosie, Broc Hunnell, Steve Stroud.