SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — The Firemen’s Nationals at Angell Park Speedway boasts a list of past winners that includes eight inductees of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
On that same list, you’ll find 11 USAC national champions, and all those individuals happily rank a Firemen’s Nationals victory right near the top of their list of motorsports achievements.
A win at the Firemen’s Nationals is also something that this weekend’s winners will certainly put at the top of their list as well when all is said and done on Sept. 1-2.
It’s a Labor Day weekend midget racing tradition dating back to 1982. It’s a legendary race. It’s a legendary place, and now we get to take you through six of the biggest storylines heading into the 39th running of the Firemen’s Nationals on this national holiday weekend.
THREE ALARMS
A trio of past Firemen’s Nationals winners will attempt to repeat their past successes at Angell Park this weekend — Logan Seavey, Zach Daum and Ryan Timms.
Seavey is a two-time winner at the Firemen’s Nationals, having scored the 2019 installment under POWRi sanction after charging from his fifth starting position to win, and then repeated the feat just last season in 2023 on night two of the event.
Daum is among the select few multi-time winners of the Firemen’s Nationals, having scored in both 2013 and 2017. He remains one of only seven drivers to win the event at least twice alongside Kevin Olson (1983-86-87-97-98), Dan Boorse (1984 & 1999), Kevin Doty (1988-89-90-94-95), Tracy Hines (2001-02-10), Scott Hatton (2004-05) and Seavey (2019-23).
Timms won the 2023 Firemen’s Nationals opener, emerging from a fantastic duel versus Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammate Gavin Miller to score the win after setting fast qualifying time earlier in the evening.
PURSLEY’S PURSUIT
Daison Pursley looks to continue to pour on his 2024 USAC Midget success which has seen him post a 59-point lead in the standings over his closest challenger, Cannon McIntosh.
In three Angell Park starts with USAC, Pursley has finished eighth, ninth and seventh, including a fast qualifying run in 2021.
He’s had the hot hand for much of the year, winning four of his past seven series starts, and a series-leading five overall triumphs for his CB Industries team.
There’s still much racing left to do, and while McIntosh trails by 59 and Ryan Timms is 95 out of the lead.
NEW RIDES
A pair of USAC midget winners will appear at Angell Park in new USAC National Midget rides.
Kevin Thomas Jr. has teamed with 4Kings Racing to compete in several upcoming races with the series. Thomas, a six-time USAC National Midget feature winner, captured a Badger Midget victory at Angell Park in 2015. Thomas will occupy the seat of the 4Kings No. 14, which had been driven throughout the year by Jake Andreotti.
Zach Daum currently the fourth-ranked driver in USAC National Midget points, will wheel the Royal Power Sports No. 16 at Angell Park as well as the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Sept. 26-28 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Daum owns five midget victories at Angell Park, two of which came during the Firemen’s Nationals.
MADE FOR JADE
Jade Avedisian’s only two USAC appearances at Angell Park resulted in podium finishes with a 3rd and a 2nd across each night of the Firemen’s Nationals one year ago in 2023.
Avedisian was on the move in both events, having gone seventh to third and from sixth to second, which equaled her best career USAC National Midget result to date, a feat she’s accomplished three times in her career.
DOUBLE-DIPPING
It’s just a quick six-plus hour jaunt from Du Quoin, Illinois to Sun Prairie. Over the years on Labor Day weekend, many individuals (and trailers) have made the voyage from one place to another, and vice versa. Both are traditional Labor Day weekend stops, and both are on tap for USAC Racing this weekend.
The USAC Silver Crown National Championship makes a stop at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds during the day on Saturday, August 31, for the 70th running of the Ted Horn 100.
A little more than 24 hours later, the USAC Midget National Championship finds itself at Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway for the 39th running of the Firemen’s Nationals.
While the USAC crew will be saddled up for the ride to both venues, there are three drivers also planning to compete in both events: Justin Grant, Logan Seavey and Daison Pursley.
Two teams will also be making the double pull: Abacus Racing (Logan Seavey in Silver Crown & Midget) and Cornell Racing Stables (Don Droud Jr. in Silver Crown & Frankie Guerrini in the Midget).
In 1991, Stevie Reeves scored at both Du Quoin and Angell Park on back-to-back days. Grant, Seavey and Pursley are seeking to become the next.
FIREMEN’S HISTORY
Few events have the cache of the Firemen’s Nationals with it being one of the longest-running and famed midget racing events still going strong today in the USA.
With the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame literally in the backyard of Angell Park’s third-mile oval, winning the Firemen’s Nationals is one in which drivers will immediately put near the top of their resume in the section of accomplishments.
In terms of longevity, the Firemen’s Nationals’ 39th running in 2024 trails only the Turkey Night Grand Prix (82 years) and the 4-Crown Nationals (41 years).
The Firemen’s Nationals can boast a list of past winners that includes eight inductees of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame: Billy Engelhart, Kevin Olson, Dan Boorse, Rich Vogler, Kevin Doty, Page Jones, Jay Drake and Stevie Reeves.
In addition, there’s 11 past USAC National champions who’ve won the race, including Olson, Vogler, Reeves, Tracy Hines, Jerry Coons Jr., Brady Bacon, Josh Wise, Christopher Bell, Rico Abreu, Logan Seavey and Tanner Thorson.