The defending champion is at it again.
After Tyler Courtney earned a victory in the first USAC Midget race back on the track following the pandemic break, the 2019 series champion went on a bit of a dry spell.
On Sunday, two months after the tour got back onto the track, Courtney got his second win in as many days.
The 7BC car started the race in third and initially fell back while Tanner Thorson went to work from the lead spot. Courtney went as low as eighth before starting his trek back to the front.
“I thought we were done about lap 10 of that race,” Courtney said. “I just couldn’t quite get through (turn) one there. Every time I thought I’d do something right, it ended up being the wrong move.
Thorson would lead 25 laps of the 30-lap feature, but cautions kept the field close together.
Once Courtney committed to running on the bottom of the track, things started to click. He’d pass Thorson twice, once while a caution came out, and again on the ensuing restart with four laps remaining.
“I finally just started slowing down and hitting the bottom of one and two instead of trying to carry my momentum through,” Courtney said. “That ended up paying huge dividends at the end of the race. I was about the only guy who started doing it and I was able to get a good run off two and down into three and four to slide those guys and put ourselves in a good spot to win that race.”
Thorson tried to counter Courtney’s move on lap 28, but ended up nailing the cushion while trying to avoid touching tires with the 7BC.
USAC Midget points leader Chris Windom finished in the runner-up spot – his 13th top 5 result in 14 Features this season.
Kaylee Bryson rounded out the podium with one of the best finishes of all time by a woman in the USAC Midget tour, finishing third. It’s the second best finish since Sarah McCune earned a runner-up result in 1999.
The USAC Midgets get back to the track on Tuesday when they travel to Oklahoma for a race at Red Dirt Raceway.
USAC Midget Feature Results
1. Tyler Courtney
2. Chris Windom
3. Kaylee Bryson
4. Jerry Coons Jr.
5. Emerson Axsom
6. Trey Gropp
7. Ace McCarthy
8. Robert Dalby
9. Andrew Layser
10. Cole Bodine
11. Daison Pursley
12. Shannon McQueen
13. Ethan Mitchell
14. Sam Johnson
15. Tanner Thorson
16. Tyler Thomas
17. Tanner Carrick
18. Noah Gass
19. Buddy Kofoid
20. Cannon McIntosh
21. Chance Morton
22. Jonathan Beason
| USAC Midget Points Standings | ||||
| Position | Driver | Points | Behind | |
| 1 | Chris Windom | 970 | -0 | |
| 2 | Tyler Courtney | 849 | -121 | |
| 3 | Buddy Kofoid ® | 847 | -123 | |
| 4 | Tanner Thorson | 829 | -141 | |
| 5 | Cannon McIntosh | 746 | -224 | |