BOSWELL, Ind. — Jerry Coons, Jr. kicked off USAC Indiana Midget Week at Kamp Motor Speedway on Thursday night, passing Brady Bacon on lap 11 to take the victory.
Coons won the USAC Indiana Sprint Week feature at the track in July, and his victory Thursday night completed a sweep of USAC programs this year. It was the first Indiana Midget Week event at Kamp and the first USAC midget race in many years.
Coons, Bacon and Swindell all found the high groove to their liking.
“I was hoping it would be on the top, but I thought it would be on the bottom,” Coons said.
Coons started 10th and decided to use the bottom of the race track early to move to the front. He then followed Bacon in the high groove until making his pass at the end of the front stretch.
Bryce Townsend ran the high groove around the three-eighths-mile dirt oval to lead the first lap before Bacon passed on the next circuit. After Coons took the lead on the 11th circuit, Bacon and his Kasey Kahne Motorsports teammate Kevin Swindell fought for second and third, with Swindell claiming the runner-up spot and Bacon third.
Midway through the race, Dave Darland spun his Nine Racing entry on the front straight. Darren Hagen hit the stalled car, eliminating both.
The finish:
First Heat (8 laps): Bryce Townsend, Danny Stratton, Brady Bacon, Chris Windom, Chase Scott, Joe Liguori, Scott Buckley, Jake Slotten, Jonathan Hendrick, Brad Paris.
Second heat (8 laps): Dave Darland, Cole Carter, Tom Hessert III, Daron Clayton, Brad Loyet, Brad Sweet, Levi Jones, Critter Malone, Matt Westfall, Dene McAllan.
Third Heat (8 laps): Shane Cottle, Brad Kuhn, Jon Stanbrough, Donnie Ray Crawford, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Shaun Insley, Cory Kruseman, Chuck Gurney, Jr., Kurt Mayhew, Kent Schmidt.
Fourth Heat (8 laps): Jerry Coons, Jr., Brandon Wagner, Bobby East, Davey Ray, Shane Hollingsworth, Russ Harper, Dave Ely, Lance Beale, Chase Barber.
Fifth Heat (8 laps): Gary Taylor, A.J. Fike, Brad Mosen, Kevin Swindell, Darren Hagen, Brent Beauchamp, Thomas Meseraull, Zach Daum, Nick Lundgreen, Tony Elliott.
First Semi: (10 laps): Hagen, Windom, Sweet, Stenhouse, Malone, Westfall, Beauchamp, Elliott, Scott, Jones, Liguori, Lundgreen, Slotten, Mayhew, Ray, Meseraull.
Second Semi (10 laps): Clayton, Hollingsworth, Loyet, Daum, Ely, Kruseman, Harper, Crawford, Gurney, Insley, Schmidt, Barber, Paris, Beale, Hendrick, Sherrell.
Feature (30 laps): Jerry Coons, Jr., Kevin Swindell, Brady Bacon, Gary Taylor, Brad Mosen, Brad Kuhn, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Shane Cottle, Cole Carter, Brandon Wagner, Shane Hollingsworth, Davey Ray, Brad Sweet, A.J. Fike, Bobby East, Bryce Townsend, Tom Hessert III, Dave Darland, Darren Hagen, Daron Clayton, Brad Loyet, Chris Windom, Danny Stratton, Jon Stanbrough.