Logan Seavey led 13 laps on the way to placing second as the highest finishing Toyota in the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series’ “Rivertown Showdown” at the Tri-City Speedway, Friday night.
Overall, three different Toyota-powered drivers took turns leading the 30-lap race, beginning with pole-sitter Kevin Thomas who jumped to the lead on the opening lap ahead of Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Brady Bacon and Seavey. Thomas, winner of the most recent USAC event at Kokomo, held the top spot for the first three laps before fellow Toyota driver Brady Bacon dove inside of him on lap four to take the lead.
The Frank Manafort Racing driver looked like he might have the car to beat as he began to distance himself from the field. Things changed dramatically on lap eight, though, when Bacon appeared to hit the turn three infield tire, resulting in steering issues. He slowed to a stop to bring out a caution, but was able to resume at the back of the field after having work done in the pits.
Bacon’s misfortune gave the lead to Seavey, followed by Thomas, Grant, Tyler Courtney and Zeb Wise. As Seavey paced the field, Grant overtook Thomas for second, as Thomas began to fall back.
Seavey continued to lead the field through the mid-way point and held the top spot until Courtney used a slider to pass him late on lap 22. Courtney then opened up a two-second lead over Seavey, who held a comfortable advantage on third-place Grant. That’s how the top three would finish, with Chad Boat finishing fifth to give Toyota two of the top-five finishers.
“I got out front and I was running pretty good, but then the 7C (Courtney) got by,” said Seavey, the 2018 USAC champion. “We were really good at the start of the race and strong through the middle portion, but we need to be better in the last 10 laps. I can’t thank everyone at Keith Kunz Motorsports and Toyota enough for sticking with me. We’ve started the season off slow, but we showed a lot of improvement tonight and now we need to keep improving tomorrow.”
Toyota-powered drivers also captured positions six through ten, with Jerry Coons, Jr., placing sixth, followed by Cannon McIntosh, C.J. Leary, Zach Daum and Thomas.
The USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series is scheduled to complete the Tri-City double-header on Saturday night.
TRD PR
