USAC Notes: The Kokomo Grand Prix

KOKOMO, Ind. — The 71st season of USAC NOS Vitality Drink Midget Nationwide Championship competitors will get underway April 24-25 at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway.

The Kokomo Grand Prix kicks the 29-race season off this weekend, that includes two-straight nights of full packages that includes the midgets alongside Kokomo Speedway’s dash automotive division.

New driver and proprietor combos, model new shiny toys, together with a hungry group of collection veteran drivers and groups are all set to tackle the journey to a championship that consumes all of them via Thanksgiving weekend.

FULL-TIMERS

A number of drivers have indicated their full-time standing on the USAC NOS Vitality Drink Midget Nationwide tour in 2026, all of whom are vying for his or her first ever collection championship.

Amongst them are Justin Grant (CB Industries); Thomas Meseraull and Kyle Jones (Tim Engler); Kevin Thomas Jr. and Jakeb Boxell (4 Kings Racing); Jacob Denney, Gavin Miller, Colton Robinson and Brandon Carr (Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports); Kale Drake (RMS Racing); Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports); Brecken Reese (Jeff Reese); Mack Leopard (Chase McDermand Racing); Bradley Cox (Cappy Mason); and Hayden Sensible (Ninety-4 Racing).

Two-time collection champion Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing), Gunnar Setser (Kevin Arnold) and Zach Wigal (Pat O’Dell) plan to run the excessive majority, if not all, the occasions on the season’s calendar as effectively.

JACOB’S LADDER

Jacob Denney enters this weekend’s Kokomo Grand Prix because the defending season opener winner on the Kokomo Grand Prix.

The Galloway, Ohio, driver will now vie to change into the primary driver to win back-to-back USAC Nationwide Midget season opening options since Brad Candy in 2009-2010.

Denney continued his rise final season with three wins and a profession finest fourth place end within the USAC Nationwide Midget level standings in his first season with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports. Two of his three wins through the season got here at Kokomo.

Over the previous 4 seasons with the collection, he’s completed eighth, seventh, fifth and fourth within the standings, and is primed to contend for his first championship this 12 months.

TRIPLE CROWN QUEST

Justin Grant has gained a whole lot of USAC races at Kokomo Speedway — 13 in actual fact! Twelve of them have are available in USAC Nationwide Dash Automobiles, making him the all-time chief with the collection on the observe.

Nevertheless, final 12 months, he was lastly in a position to seize his first ever USAC Nationwide Midget triumph at Kokomo, which was his first for the CB Industries crew, and it got here on the ultimate night time of the Kokomo Grand Prix.

Throughout the latter half of the 2025 season, he was dogged by a damaged left foot that’s now just about healed. He’s already gained a pair of USAC Nationwide Dash Automobile races this 12 months. Now, he’s poised to lastly get a primary USAC Nationwide Midget title, which might full his profession USAC Triple Crown.

HEART & SOUL OF KTJ

Kevin Thomas Jr. is a big a part of Kokomo Grand Prix lore, as he’s the one driver to start out all 12 function occasions within the historical past of the occasion. Moreover, he additionally prevailed within the closest end within the historical past of the occasion again in 2019, the place he handed Justin Grant on the ultimate nook of the ultimate lap to attain the win.

The Cullman, Ala., racer will run it again with 4 Kings Racing for his second full season with the crew through the 2026 USAC NOS Vitality Drink Midget Nationwide Championship marketing campaign.

KTJ enters the brand new 12 months coming off his strongest run with the collection in a decade. In 2025, he amassed 10 high fives, 19 high 10s and a single quick qualifying time in 23 collection begins, however a primary win nonetheless awaits.

SEASON OPENERS

The Kokomo Grand Prix marks the beginning of the 71st season of USAC Nationwide Midget competitors. That is the fourth event through which Kokomo will open the season, having beforehand carried out so in 2014, 2015 and 2025, with Rico Abreu, Darren Hagen and Jacob Denney successful, respectively.

General, Steve Lotshaw, Tony Stewart and Wealthy Vogler share the document for probably the most USAC Nationwide Midget season opening wins with three apiece.

Justin Grant can equal that document this Friday after beforehand scoring in 2017 on the Southern Illinois Heart and in 2022 at Florida’s Ocala Speedway. In 2018, Logan Seavey gained the season opener indoors on the Southern Illinois Heart, and naturally, Denney in 2025 at Kokomo. All goal to realize an analogous feat this Friday night time at Kokomo.

In 9 situations, the season opening winner has gone on to win the USAC Nationwide Midget title later that very same 12 months: Mel Kenyon (1968), Wealthy Vogler (1978), Steve Lotshaw (1979), Jason Leffler (1999), Bryan Clauson (2011), Rico Abreu (2014), Logan Seavey (2018), Tyler Courtney (2019) and Buddy Kofoid (2021).

ROOKIE BATTLE

Additionally a part of the combo of the storylines coming into the season are the USAC Nationwide Midget Max Papis Improvements Rookie of the 12 months contenders.

A pair of these drivers – Colton Robinson and Brandon Carr – are a part of the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports steady, which has produced 10 of the previous 21 Rookies of the 12 months with the collection: Darren Hagen (2005), Bryan Clauson (2006), Kyle Larson (2011), Rico Abreu (2012), Christopher Bell (2013), Carson Macedo (2016), Tanner Carrick (2017), Logan Seavey (2018), Buddy Kofoid (2020) and Gavin Miller (2023).

Robinson made eight begins final 12 months, with a pair of top-ten function finishes. Carr posted 5 begins in 2025, and is a little bit of a rarity within the realm of USAC racing. The final identified Englishman to win a USAC Nationwide Midget primary occasion was Paul Bates in 1968.

Moreover, Bradley Cox will drive for longtime Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Affiliation driver/automotive proprietor Cappy Mason. Cox made a pair of begins final 12 months, and in addition was victorious in a warmth race at Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway.

Hayden Sensible makes her first foray into USAC Nationwide Midget racing in 2026 for the family-owned Ninety-4 Racing crew. Sensible is a previous USAC champion, capturing the 2021 Senior Honda Pavement .25 Midget title. Her uncle, Josh Sensible, is a two-time USAC nationwide driving champion in midgets (2005) and dash automobiles (2006).