Kenyon Midget drivers tackling the Rumble
Racing action from the 2022 Rumble in Ft Wayne.(Frank Smith photo)
By Ken de la Bastide
The 26th annual running of the Fort Wayne Rumble will come down to a question of horsepower versus handling.
Five drivers with recent experience in the Kenyon Midget Series will be looking to be among the drivers that make the 50-lap feature.
Jackson Macenko is making his fourth appearance at the Rumble for Brad Hayes Racing finishing second in the 2021 feature. “There is just a lot that just has to go your way,” Macenko said. “This event is different from anything else I have done.” He said it's a tough event to advance through qualifying and heat races to make the feature against full-sized Midgets. Macenko said a lot depends on what event organizers do to prepare the racing surface on the inside of the Fort Wayne Coliseum. He said if the surface is made too sticky the full-sized Midgets can take advantage of their horsepower. “If the surface is too sticky, the Kenyon cars tend to bike on two wheels,” he said. “It all depends on the surface. If we can handle better in the corners and the Midgets can't use the horsepower we can do well.”
Aryton Houk is driving for Don and Mel Kenyon and is looking to make his first appearance in the feature in three attempts. “It's a really tough event,” he said. “You're competing with 40 other teams to get into the feature. I would like to make the feature. Houk agreed that the preparation of the racing surface will be a factor. “If the surface is real sticky, the Midgets can get the horsepower down,” he said. “I think they want to make the surface more fair than it was last year. The race will come down to who can corner the best.”
Lee Pierce is looking to make his second appearance in Fort Wayne. “I struggled last year,” he said. “It was my first race in 15 years and I'm bringing an engine this year that is stronger than the one I ran last year”.
“It's a tough race,” Pierce said. “There is a lot of very good competition there. It will take a lot of luck. I'm going to try and be more competitive than a year ago.”
Evan Hammond will be making his first appearance at the Rumble after finishing in the top three in Kenyon Midget Series points the last two years. “We went there last year and it became a 'bucket list' item for what we wanted to do,” Hammond said. “There are a lot of Kenyon drivers there and plenty of big name drivers.” He said the goal was to determine the right set-up for the Kenyon Midget to tackle the one-sixth mile oval. “I don't expect to set the world on fire,” Hammond said.
Landon Brown will also be making his first attempt at the Rumble. Landon is the 2024 Redline Ace Rookie of the Year in the Kenyon Midget Series.
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The Rumble in Ft Wayne takes place on December 27 & 28, 2024. More info can be found at www.rumbleinfortwayne.com