Kofoid Becomes First IMW Repeat Winner, Dominating At Gas City I-69 Speedway

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Buddy Kofoid took the lead on the opening lap and proceeded to run away from the field in a dominating performance as he led all 30 laps in winning the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series’ Indiana Midget Week (IMW) feature at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Friday night. With the victory, Kofoid becomes the first repeat winner in the seven IMW races run this year.

In addition to it being his second victory in IMW competition, it is Kofoid’s fourth USAC triumph of the year and his national-high ninth national midget feature win of the year.  

Starting from the outside of the front row, Kofoid would work the top side on the opening lap to take the lead over pole-sitter Jason McDougal, followed by Daison Pursley, Brenham Crouch and Emerson Axsom.

Kofoid would begin to pull away from the field quickly, stretching out a 1.8-second lead in the first seven laps before a caution flag on lap eight would bunch the field back up.

On the restart, Kofoid would pick up where he left off as he continued to pace the field while Axsom would overtake McDougal for second, with McDougal in third, McIntosh fourth and Pursley was fifth.

The caution flag would wave again on lap 14, this time for a four-crash pile-up that included 2020 USAC champion Chris Windom, who entered the night second in IMW points. He would eventually be forced to retire, finishing 20th.

After the final restart of the night, Kofoid simply checked out, pulling away to a 3.8-second lead by lap 19 before hitting heavy traffic. At that point, he just paced his way through the final 11 laps with a 2.8-second advantage on McDougal and more than a five-second lead on third place Axsom entering the final lap.

As Kofoid drove away to the victory, McDougal would suffer mechanical problems heading into turn three on the final lap and came to a standstill as Axsom earned his second consecutive podium finish with a second, while Logan Seavey place third, Pursley was fourth and McIntosh rounded out an all-Toyota top-five in fifth.

The finale for this year’s Indiana Midget Week will take place Saturday night at Kokomo Speedway. With one race remaining, Kofoid holds a three-point lead over Pursley in the fight for the Indiana Midget Week title, with Seavey in third, 12 points behind the leader, and Axsom in fourth – 43 points behind Kofoid.

Toyota Driver Quotes: 

Buddy Kofoid, Keith Kunz Motorsports: “I definitely needed clean air late as everyone seemed to gravitate to the top.  I just tried to keep my pace up. It’s good to be the first repeat winner and get USAC victory number four this year. Earlier today we struggled, barely made it through the heat race, but I was able to sneak in. Our Mobil 1 Toyota was really good on the cushion. I can’t thank Keith Kunz Motorsports enough for giving me such a great car, as well as Toyota and Mobil 1 for all they do.  It’s good to be up front going into the final night. We ran pretty good at the Kokomo Grand Prix and, hopefully, we can keep it up and get another win tomorrow, but most importantly bring home an Indiana Midget Week title.”

Emerson Axsom, Petry Motorsports: “Running second to Buddy is no joke. He’s the best in the business right now. I thought we were close at the start. I just got a little afraid to dial myself out with the shocks. If we want to win races, we need to make changes and tomorrow night if we’re in the same position, I’ll definitely make changes. These guys gave me a great car and I can’t thank them enough. I need to qualify good tomorrow, get through the heat and try to beat Buddy.”

TRD PR

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