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Kyle Larson secured his first victory in the USAC National Midget Series at Merced Speedway on Sunday, claiming the top spot in the Merced Midget Madness. This win marked a significant breakthrough for Larson in the midget class at a track where he had previously faced challenges despite dominating in sprint car races.
Larson, known for his success on California dirt tracks, has a strong track record in sprint cars with three victories at Merced Speedway. However, he struggled in midget races at the venue. In his sixth attempt, Larson made a decisive move on Lap 14, passing Logan Seavey and leading the final 17 laps of the 30-lap race. His win at Merced was his first in the USAC National Midget Series in 2024 and the fourth win in his last five races dating back to 2023.
Before this win, Larson's previous results at Merced were less than stellar: in 2020, he finished ninth and fourth in two races, and in 2021, he failed to qualify for the feature in Race 1 and finished 24th in the following race.
Reflecting on his past struggles at Merced, Larson said, “We’ve been really good whenever we’ve run the midget at all these California tracks except for Merced. I feel like we’ve been average at best at Merced, and then we had a couple of races where we were really bad.”
Larson’s Early Struggles and Tactical Mastery
Starting from the third position, Larson did not make significant progress early in the race. However, after passing Karter Sarff on Lap 11, he started chipping away at Seavey’s 1.471-second lead. A caution caused by Corey Day’s mechanical issue helped Larson close the gap. Another yellow flag for Sarff delayed the final restart, but when racing resumed, Larson took advantage of the clean track ahead and never looked back.
Larson admitted to feeling some nerves prior to the race, saying, “I was a bit nervous going into that feature just because the sprint cars go through the holes way easier than the midgets. In a midget, just because you’re sideways, you’re bouncing a lot. I was nervous with the track slickening up and I felt like we were going to have to run through the holes more, which we did. But my car could handle it there, which was nice.”
Challenging the Field: Kofoid and Seavey
As the race progressed, Larson faced pressure from Michael Kofoid, who also passed Seavey in the second half of the race. Kofoid made a strong push, especially when both drivers encountered lapped traffic.
Larson explained the difficulty, saying, “I felt pretty good for a while, then caught traffic. My momentum slowed down quite a bit in three and four and I couldn’t really see my line in one and two. I thought I saw somebody poke their nose into one, so I figured they were building a run off the top of three and four. I moved back up there and felt better, and I just needed to keep my momentum up better.”
Logan Seavey, despite losing positions, managed to hold on to finish in third place. Tanner Thorson and Carson Macedo rounded out the top five finishers.
Final Standings of Merced Midget Madness
Here are the top finishers from the 30-lap feature race at Merced Speedway:
1. Kyle Larson (Starting position 3)
2. Buddy Kofoid (Starting position 4)
3. Logan Seavey (Starting position 1)
4. Tanner Thorson (Starting position 7)
5. Carson Macedo (Starting position 5)
6. Jacob Denney (Starting position 11)
7. Daison Pursley (Starting position 14)
8. Zach Wigal (Starting position 16)
9. Cannon McIntosh (Starting position 12)
10. Ryan Timms (Starting position 13)
11. Emerson Axsom (Starting position 10)
12. Justin Grant (Starting position 18)
13. Kale Drake (Starting position 8)
14. Caden Sarale (Starting position 9)
15. Tyler Courtney (Starting position 19)
16. Zach Daum (Starting position 15)
17. Corey Day (Starting position 6)
18. Gavin Miller (Starting position 17)
19. Hayden Reinbold (Starting position 22)
20. Drake Edwards (Starting position 20)
21. Ronnie Gardner (Starting position 23)
22. Jake Andreotti (Starting position 21)
23. Travis DeGaton (Starting position 24)
24. Karter Sarff (Starting position 2)
Feature Lap Leaders
- Laps 1-13: Logan Seavey
- Laps 14-30: Kyle Larson
This victory at Merced marks an important milestone in Larson's midget racing career and adds another win to his impressive resume on California dirt tracks, where he continues to build on his success.
