LAND OF LINCOLN WEEKEND! USAC MIDGETS DEBUT AT COLES COUNTY & JACKSONVILLE AUG 14-16
(Josh James Artwork Photo)
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (August 13, 2026)………A new venture awaits the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship this weekend in the state of Illinois, with a pair of first-time USAC venues welcoming the series across three nights, August 14-15-16.
First up is the 1/5-mile Coles County Speedway dirt oval in Mattoon, Illinois on Friday-Saturday, August 14-15, for the Lake Land College King of Coles. Friday’s 35-lapper will pay $5,000 to the winner while Saturday’s 40-lapper will pay a winner’s share of $6,000.
On Sunday, August 16, the series heads west to Jacksonville Speedway’s 1/4-mile dirt oval for The Premiere where competitors will face off for 30 laps and $6,000-to-win.
Two new USAC tracks. Three nights in the Land of Lincoln. We’re ready to roll as the USAC National Midget trail gets back underway for the start of the second half of the season.
DENNEY LEADS THE WAY
Jacob Denney has turned up the wick as of late, which has seen him convert what was once a 21-point deficit into a 68-point lead in the USAC National Midget standings.
Over his past five series starts, he’s laid down five consecutive podium finishes with a 3rd-3rd-1st-1st-2nd stretch aboard his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports No. 67.
It’s the Ohioan’s third different stint as the series point leader during the 2026 season. Over his past five years in the series, he’s tallied points finishes of 40th in 2021, 8th in 2022, 7th in 2023, 5th in 2024, and 4th in 2025. Now, the next step of Jacob’s ladder is within his grasp, and he’s in the driver’s seat entering this weekend.
DRAKE MAKIN’ IT HAPPEN
The only driver who can rival Denney’s prowess over the past five USAC National Midget races is Kale Drake, who’s put together a stretch of 5th-4th-3rd-5th-1st in that time frame.
He’s the most recent USAC National Midget winner, taking July’s Midwest Midget Championship at Fairbury, Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway. That proved to be his first USAC win since joining RMS Racing at the start of the 2026 campaign.
This recent stretch has risen Drake from sixth to third in the season long standings, just seven points behind Kevin Thomas Jr. for second.
WINNERS & CONTENDERS
Nine different drivers have already reached victory lane throughout the 2026 USAC National Midget season.
2024 Jacksonville POWRi winner Jacob Denney and Justin Grant have each won three USAC National Midget main events apiece thus far this season.
Possessing one USAC National Midget score thus far in 2026 are Briggs Danner, Kale Drake, Hayden Reinbold, Karter Sarff, Logan Seavey, Kevin Thomas Jr., and Gavin Miller, a 2024 Xtreme Midget winner at Jacksonville in 2024.
Danner and Sarff are among the first-time USAC National Midget winners who’ve emerged thus far in 2026. There are a myriad of other drivers waiting in the wings to pick off USAC win number one this weekend, namely Jakeb Boxell (6th in points), Brecken Reese (9th), and Colton Robinson (10th), all of whom reside inside the top 10 of the standings, along with series veterans Ethan Mitchell, Gunnar Setser, Kyle Jones, and Mack Leopard, just to name a few.
DAUMINATION
Illinoisan Zach Daum will jump into Pat O’Dell’s No. 1 for this weekend’s slate of racing, a ride which had previously been driven by Zach Wigal throughout the early portion of the year.
Daum, the owner of four career USAC National Midget wins, has run well at both tracks on this weekend’s USAC docket. He finished 3rd with Xtreme and POWRi at Coles County back in 2024. At Jacksonville, he’s won twice, first with POWRi in 2016 and again with Xtreme in 2024.
In his USAC career, Daum has won twice in Indiana and twice in Kansas, but an win in his home state of Illinois would be pretty sweet.
MR. ROBINSON’S NEIGHBORHOOD
Florida’s Colton Robinson leads the USAC National Midget Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year standings entering this weekend, by a 119-point margin over Brandon Carr.
Bradley Cox, Trevor Cline, Drew Sherman, and Adam Taylor are among the other series Rookies in this weekend’s field who are in the mix, currently ranking third through sixth in the pecking order.
Robinson has had a solid freshman campaign, sitting 10th in the overall standings while garnering best finishes of 6th at Sweet Springs and 7th at Bloomington.
Robinson is also well on his way to becoming the first ever USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year hailing from the state of Florida. At press time, he’s just three spots shy of equaling the best series points finish by a Floridian, a 7th set by Dave Steele in 2004.
USAC’S ILLINOIS MIDGET HISTORY
Four-hundred-twenty-three points-paying USAC National Midget races have been held in Illinois dating back to Shorty Templeman’s victory on June 1, 1956, at Blue Island, Illinois’ Raceway Park.
It’s been nearly three years to the day since USAC National Midgets last made a voyage to Illinois, when Logan Seavey scored at Macon Speedway on August 19, 2023.
It’s been nine years since USAC National Midgets last took part in a tripleheader Illinois weekend with three races in the Land of Lincoln across three nights. In 2017, Christopher Bell took the first two nights at Macon and Lincoln Speedway, while Tyler Courtney captured the weekend capper at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Multi-Purpose Arena in Springfield.
RACE DETAILS
On Friday-Saturday, August 14-15, Coles County Speedway in Mattoon, Illinois presents the Lake Land College King of Coles featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus non-wing Junior Sprints, and Restricted Sprints. Pits open at 3pm Central with the front gates opening at 3pm, the drivers meeting at 5:15pm, and cars on track at 6pm, followed by qualifying & racing. General admission tickets are $25 for ages 11 and up on Friday and $30 on Saturday. General admission tickets are $10 for ages 10 and under. Pit passes are $40 for members and $45 for non-members.
On Sunday, August 16, Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, Illinois hosts The Premiere featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship, plus 410 Winged Sprint Cars, and Street Stocks. Pits open at 3pm Central with grandstands opening at 4:30pm, and cars on track at 5:15pm. General admission tickets are $25 for ages 19 and up. General admission tickets are $5 for ages 11-18. General admission tickets are free for ages 10 and under. Pit passes are $40.
The event can be watched live and on-demand at https://flosports.link/usac2026.
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Jacob Denney-842, 2-Kevin Thomas Jr.-774, 3-Kale Drake-767, 4-Justin Grant-762, 5-Gavin Miller-746, 6-Jakeb Boxell-726, 7-Cannon McIntosh-712, 8-Hayden Reinbold-585, 9-Brecken Reese-572, 10-Colton Robinson-522.
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USAC NATIONAL MIDGET WINS IN ILLINOIS:
(As of August 13, 2026)
27-Mel Kenyon
25-Bob Tattersall
19-Bob Wente
15-Rich Vogler
13-Jimmy Davies
12-Sleepy Tripp
8-Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Gene Hartley, Ken Schrader & Tanner Thorson
7-Don Branson, Steve Cannon, Don Meacham
6-Chuck Arnold, Billy Engelhart, Darren Hagen, Mike McGreevy, Kevin Olson, Henry Pens & Leroy Warriner
5-Tom Bigelow, Steve Knepper, Dave Strickland & Chuck Weyant
4-Christopher Bell, Jimmy Caruthers, Bryan Clauson, Tracy Hines, Arnie Knepper, Jimmy Knight, Johnny Parsons, Chuck Rodee & Shorty Templeman
3-Frank Burany, Danny Caruthers, Tyler Courtney, Rex Easton, Stan Fox, Russ Gamester, Bobby Grim, Parnelli Jones, Lee Kunzman, Kyle Larson, Jerry McClung, Bob McLean, Billy Mehner, Gary Ponzini, Jack Turner & Roger West
2-Gary Bettenhausen, Allen Crowe, Ronnie Duman, Danny Frye, Jeff Gordon, Chuck Gurney, Kyle Hamilton, Brad Kuhn, Jim McClean, Larry Rice, Johnny Riva, Johnny Roberts, Eddie Sachs, Les Scott, Logan Seavey, Tom Steiner, Len Sutton, Don Vogler & Jerry Weeks
1-Rico Abreu, Brady Bacon, Jim Beckley, Donnie Beechler, Merle Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Dean Billings, Don Boorse, Alan Brown, Dwight Brown, Larry Cannon, Dana Carter, Lonnie Caruthers, Jerry Coons Jr., Larry Dickson, Kevin Doty, Ray Elliott, Tony Elliott, Gene Force, Gene Gennetten, Brian Gerster, Potsy Goacher, Shane Golobic, Rick Goudy, Justin Grant, Bob Hauck, Jack Hewitt, Jim Hines, Blake Hollingsworth, Rick Hood, Kenny Irwin Jr., Eddie Johnson, Bubby Jones, Levi Jones, Kasey Kahne, Randy Koch, Buddy Kofoid, Michael Lang, Andy Linden, Steve Lotshaw, Critter Malone, Mack McClellan, Roger McCluskey, Cannon McIntosh, Travis Miniea, Warren Mockler, Mitchel Moles, Ken Nichols, Jerry Nuckles, Jan Opperman, Brian Olson, Larry Patton, Danny Pens, Porky Rachwitz, Bob Richards, Gene Roehl, Joe Saldana, Sammy Sessions, Billy Shuman, Ron Shuman, Jigger Sirois, Tyler Thomas, Billy Vukovich, Rodger Ward, Josh Wise, Billy Wood & J.J. Yeley
USAC MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT WINS IN ILLINOIS:
2-Christopher Bell, Thomas Meseraull & Brad Sweet
1-Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant & Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
