For the stars of the United States Auto Club and the small traveling crew who staff the club’s three national series, the season is an endurance test.
This year, events spanned both coasts from mid-February through Thanksgiving weekend. The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and USAC Silver Crown titles went down to the wire, while the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget National Championship seemed never in doubt.
Logan Seavey and Justin Grant were the dominant forces and both filled their scrapbooks with memories. Despite the dominance of this duo, other important storylines emerged as the sanctioning body concluded its 68th season.
Over the past two weeks, SPEED SPORT Insider has reviewed the Silver Crown and sprint car seasons. This week, we look back at Seavey’s run to the midget championship.
USAC National Midget Series
While drivers will forever be the stars of racing, in the USAC midget ranks considerable attention is devoted to multi-car teams. Keith Kunz Motorsports has been the benchmark for years, but Chad Boat’s CB Industries, Reinbold-Underwood, RMS Racing, Tom Malloy and Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports have been well-recognized players.
Nonetheless, in 2023 the dominant actors were Seavey and Brent Cox’s Abacus Racing. The native of Sutter, Calif., got a stranglehold on the proceedings and never let up. By the time the tour had moved to California to conclude the year, Seavey had all but secured the title.
If there was a secondary story, it was constant frustration provided by Mother Nature. Hence, the midget opener came on the short track in Belleville, Kan., on May 19. Ryan Timms entered the year as a title hopeful and delivered with an opening night victory. On night two, Illinois veteran Zach Daum scored his first USAC national victory in eight years.
Jacob Denney had successfully worked his way through the ranks and sandwiched his high school graduation with wins at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Park and the Indiana Midget Week opener at Tri-State Speedway. The Ohio driver had his Malloy midget in the top spot in the standings.
Reigning champion Buddy Kofoid returned to the series between winged sprint car rides and won a pair of Indiana Midget Week events, but Seavey scored at Gas City and claimed the mini-series title. Gavin Miller and Timms also won Indiana Midget Week features.
Rain entered the picture again and a full month break was in store before action returned for Mid-America Midget Week. Bryant Wiedeman topped the Chad McDaniel Memorial in Beloit, Kan., and became the first native Kansan to win a USAC national midget race in his home state.
Seavey won the first night in the popular two-night show in Fairbury, Neb., while Tanner Thorson, running his own operation, topped the 40-lap feature to cap off the weekend.
Two races were slated for August. Thorson scored his 29th national midget win during the Jason Leffler Memorial in Wayne City, Ill., and Seavey, who had a penchant for memorable moments in 2023, triumphed at Macon (Ill.) Speedway after winning a Silver Crown race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds earlier in the day. He became only the third driver in USAC history to win races at two different tracks in a single day.
On Labor Day weekend, Timms and Seavey split wins at Wisconsin’s famed Angell Park Speedway. Seavey was the best at Gas City the night before the start of the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway, where Chris Windom paired with Chad Boat to win the opening night main. The next night was Seavey’s show, as he not only won the midget feature, but also claimed sprint car and Silver Crown triumphs.
The BC39 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was stretched to a four-day event but rain won the opening round. It had been a trying year for the RMS racing squad, which regrouped following the 4-Crown Nationals, so when Thomas Meseraull etched his name in the IMS winner’s roll the first full night it was a relief. Then, his teammate took over.
Grant’s car was moved to his Indianapolis shop where they essentially started over. It paid off. He was fast and on-point again. He won his preliminary night feature and was unstoppable when the big money was on the line, pocketing the $20,039 top prize.
Seavey made a statement early during the season-ending Western Swing. He triumphed at Bakersfield Speedway in a car painted in honor of Abacus crew member Johnny Cofer, who was the 1994 USAC Western States midget champion.
In his first appearance in a midget this season, Kyle Larson carried a 10-year-old Eagle chassis to a sweep of the Hangtown 100 at Placerville (Calif.) Speedway.
A doubleheader at Merced saw 2017 national champion Spencer Bayston back in the winner’s circle for the first time in five years, with Seavey back on top for the eighth time the following night.
The campaign concluded at Ventura Raceway with the grandaddy of all midget races — the Turkey Night Grand Prix. When Larson indicated his intention to participate in the grand old event some of his peers undoubtedly emitted a sigh.
Larson didn’t disappoint, winning the event for the fourth time. In 11 TNGP starts, Larson has never finished outside the top four.
Grant and Bryant Wiedeman trailed Seavey in the final standings, while Miller earned rookie-of-the-year honors. As for Seavey, a $100,000 bonus was his reward for bagging two national titles in a single season, having also secured the Silver Crown championship.
This story appeared in the Dec 20, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
