Emerson Axsom passed Keith Kunz Motorsports teammate Ryan Timms on lap 19 of 30 and led the final 12 laps to win the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series feature at Lincoln Park Speedway on night two of Indiana Midget Week (IMW). Daison Pursley finished third to give Toyota drivers a top-three podium sweep for the night.
Axsom is the fourth different Toyota-powered driver to win in the first five USAC events this season and the third from Keith Kunz Motorsports along with Timms and Cannon McIntosh.
Starting from the outside of row two, Timms would run the outside line to move past McIntosh on lap one with McIntosh, Kale Drake, Pursley and Taylor Reimer rounding out the top five.
Timms, who won the Indiana Midget Week opener at Lawrenceburg on Wednesday, would quickly pull away from the field as he and McIntosh would run one-two through the first 16 laps before a caution flag would bunch the field.
On the restart, Axsom would overtake McIntosh for second on lap 17 and quickly close in on Timms. He would throw a slider for the lead on lap 18, only to have Timms dive back underneath him to retake the lead at the flag stand, but it wouldn’t last long as Axsom would take the lead for good on lap 19.
The top two would maintain their spots over the final 12 laps with the focus becoming a battle between McIntosh and Pursley for third. Eventually, Pursley would overtake him for the final podium position on lap 22, with McIntosh placing fourth ahead of Reimer as Toyota drivers claimed the top five finishing positions.
Three more Toyota drivers would finish in the top 10 with Jade Avedisian finishing seventh, Kale Drake was eighth and Gavin Miller came home in tenth.
Night three of Indiana Midget Week is scheduled for Friday night at Bloomington Speedway.
Toyota Quotes:
Emerson Axsom, Keith Kunz Motorsports: “KKM’s stuff is so good. This is my second midget race in six months and these cars are just a dream to drive. I tweaked on the shocks a little bit under that yellow and the car came to life. I haven’t won a midget race in a long time, but I feel like I’ve run second a million times where stuff just doesn’t go our way. Thanks to Keith, Toyota and everyone on this race car. This car was just a dream to drive.”
Toyota-Powered Drivers USAC Lincoln Park Thursday Feature Results
Ryan Timms – 2nd
Daison Pursley – 3rd
Cannon McIntosh – 4th
Taylor Reimer – 5th
Jade Avedisian – 7th
Kale Drake – 8th
Gavin Miller – 10th
Jacob Denney – 12th
Justin Grant – 15th
Zach Wigal – 20th
Zach Daum – 21st
Kaiden Manders – 23rd
Toyota Racing PR
- Todd Gilliland Brings Boozy Jerky to Charlotte Roval - October 8, 2024
- Final World of Outlaws, PA Posse Battle of 2024 Brings Rivalry to Lincoln - October 8, 2024
- Michael McDowell & Love’s Ready for Charlotte Roval - October 8, 2024