MACON, Ill. — Kyle Jones etched his name into the record books Friday night at Macon Speedway, becoming the 100th different feature winner in POWRi National Midget League history by capturing Night One of the Cornfield Combat.
Jones led 24 of the 30 laps en route to his first league victory at the famed fifth-mile bullring.
The 30-lap feature began with high-point qualifier Zach Wigal sharing the front row with Cullen Hutchison. As the green flag waved, Hutchison gained the early advantage and led the opening circuit before a hard-charging Jones found momentum around the extreme top side of the speedway.
Starting third, Jones blasted into the lead early and quickly found himself under pressure from a talented field that included Kale Drake, Hutchison, Drake Edwards, Karter Sarff, and McDermand, all battling within striking distance throughout the contest.
Late-race drama unfolded when Drake briefly surged into the lead, but a restart provided Jones with one final opportunity. Executing a flawless restart, Jones reclaimed the top spot and never looked back, racing to the checkered flag to secure the milestone victory. Sarff charged forward late to finish second, while Cody Weisensel completed the podium in third.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to be standing here in victory lane and thank everyone for giving some kid from Kennedale, Texas, a chance,” said Jones. “You can’t go by them when everyone is running single file, so I had to go run where they weren’t. Lap traffic made it tricky, and I feel bad for Kale not getting up to speed on the restart. I nearly gave it away, but tonight was our night.”
Daniel Adler remained in contention throughout the feature to finish fourth, while Alex Midkiff completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 7TX-Kyle Jones[3]; 2. 7U-Karter Sarff[10]; 3. 20-Cody Weisensel[6]; 4. 50-Daniel Adler[13]; 5. 05-Alex Midkiff[14]; 6. 5U-Landon Henry[17]; 7. 4-Kale Drake[4]; 8. 20Q-Brecken Reese[8]; 9. 44-Branigan Roark[5]; 10. 91-Cody Beard[15]; 11. 40D-Drake Edwards[7]; 12. 83H-Cullen Hutchison[2]; 13. 40X-Chase McDermand[9]; 14. 17C-Devin Camfield[12]; 15. 19AZ-Drew Sherman[16]; 16. 18-Zach Wigal[1]; 17. 17X-Gage Rucker[11]
