Stenhouse Jr Takes Knoxville Midget Nationals
KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Tony Stewart Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Olive Branch, Miss. Won Saturday’s “Knoxville Midget Nationals” main event, co-sanctioned by BMARA, ARDC, RMMRA, SMRS and POWRi. Stenhouse led all 25 laps in his Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops Spike/Chevy to beat Coons, Davey Ray, teammate Levi Jones and Kevin Swindell.
Tony Stewart Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Olive Branch, Miss. Won Saturday’s “Knoxville Midget Nationals” main event, co-sanctioned by BMARA, ARDC, RMMRA, SMRS and POWRi. Stenhouse led all 25 laps in his Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops Spike/Chevy to beat Coons, Davey Ray, teammate Levi Jones and Kevin Swindell.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., on The Team’s Second USAC Midget Series Victory:
“It was awesome to not only get my second midget series win, but to do it at Knoxville was just unbelievable. In the Doodlebug Classic, I had a really good car. I started 12th, but it only took a few laps to get up to fifth. We battled up there for most of the race and I had actually passed Dustin Morgan and Levi (Jones, teammate) for third but then the caution came out, which put me back into fifth place. We finished in fifth, which locked us in for the Knoxville Midget Nationals feature. “
“Levi and I both drew very well – one and two – and we ended up starting on the front row. At the start, I got a good jump on Levi and just spent the next 25 laps trying not to mess up. I wasn’t thrilled to see the last caution come out near the end of the race, as it was taking my engine a few laps to get up to speed. I didn’t panic, and we got a good start and I was able to get the win. “
“The Chevrolet motors were nearly perfect all night. They were great in the corners and on the straightaway, which is really important at a horsepower track like Knoxville. Not only was it great to win, but we put TSR, Chevrolet and Bass Pro Shops in contention to win the USAC Midget Series championship again. ”
Levi Jones on the no. 20 TSR team’s two top-five finishes at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday:
“We had an awesome points weekend at Knoxville Raceway. Both TSR teams are now back in contention to win the USAC Midget Series championship. The rain on Friday night really helped the track. It was very fast on Saturday night, especially in the first feature. We were able to run wide-open at just about anywhere on the track. With the rain, we had a different format to work with on Saturday night, and both Ricky and I were able to finish in the top-five in the Doodlebug Classic to give ourselves a good position to start the second feature event. “
“We both drew very well. We pulled the one and two pills to make it an all TSR front row. The car was great throughout the feature event. We were very competitive throughout the race. My engine wasn’t taking off as well as Ricky’s and I lost a spot on the last restart but we finished in fourth. We’ll take it. We’ve been working very hard to step up our midget program and I think that was evident last weekend. We had a great weekend for Chevrolet and Bass Pro Shops, and I think that our competitors are also aware that we’ve become contenders for the championship. ”
“While we had a great weekend in Iowa, our thoughts were with my crew chief, Bubby Jones, and his family. His mother, Lorene Jones, passed away on Saturday morning. Bubby returned to Illinois to be with his family on Saturday. We missed him but we hope that he and his family are doing well at this time. ”
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS
1. Darren Hagen 301
2. Jerry Coons Jr. 283
3. Levi Jones 264
4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 263
5. Kevin Swindell 246
6. Brad Kuhn 234
7. Bobby East 230
8. Brady Bacon 195
9. Brad Loyet 174
10. Davey Ray 174