PONTOON BEACH, Ill. — The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team is looking to extend two unprecedented streaks of domination during this weekend’s Gold Crown Midget Nationals at Tri-City Speedway.
KKM-prepared entries have won the last six Gold Crown midget features, dating back to the 2013 finale, which was topped by now-NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell.
Tanner Thorson swept the event in both 2015 (two nights) and 2016 (three nights) for KKM, giving the Minden, Nev., driver five Gold Crown feature wins in a row and the team a six-pack of victories in succession.
Thorson’s monumental run will end this weekend, as he is racing a winged sprint car in California and not with the Lucas Oil POWRi National Midget League at the Gold Crown Nationals.
KKM also has another streak on the line as a team, as — looking ahead to the Saturday finale — it has won the last four championship features at the Gold Crown Midget Nationals.
Kyle Larson won the headlining 50-lapper in 2012, a feat that was duplicated by Bell one year later. Thorson then won 40-lap finales at the event in both 2015 and ’16.
KKM is bringing seven young guns to this year’s Gold Crown Midget Nationals, each with a shot to help the Keith Kunz and Pete Willoughby-led operation continue its Gold Crown dominance.
The KKM armada is led by 18-year-old Buddy Kofoid and 17-year-old Cannon McIntosh, who have combined to win eight POWRi national midget features between them this year.
Kofoid has a series-best six POWRi wins in 2020, while McIntosh is a two-time winner.
Also in action for KKM over both nights at Tri-City Speedway are Daison Pursley, Kaylee Bryson, Jesse Love, Brenham Crouch and Bryant Wiedeman, who are each seeking their first career victories with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League.
This weekend marks the first running of the Gold Crown Midget Nationals in four years. The event has been on hiatus since its most recent edition in 2016.
Both nights of the Gold Crown Midget Nationals can be viewed live through SPEED SPORT TV affiliate POWRi TV.