Kenyon Midget graduates excel at the next level
By Ken de la Bastide
Trey Osborne in victory lane at Paragon Speedway
Through the dirt and grime on his face, the smile of Trey Osborne shines through. Osborne for several years competed with the Kenyon Midget Series winning six times. Last year the Ohio driver, now residing in Indianapolis, decided to purchase a sprint car and compete on the dirt ovals in Indiana.
Despite some setbacks during the year Osborne won for the first time at Paragon Speedway on June 17. “It was pretty awesome to finally get a win,” Osborne said. “The season was going bad when I lost an engine and wrecked the car.”
Making the transition from running a mixture of paved and dirt ovals with the Kenyon Midget Series was not difficult. “The last few years I felt comfortable on dirt,” he said. “I’m more comfortable with the higher horsepower.”
Osborne has been competing at Bloomington, Lincoln Park and Kokomo speedways in addition to Paragon. He said the learning experience on racing full-time on dirt is to determine the initial set-up and how the track surface changes during the night of racing.
“It’s the little adjustments to the car,” Osborne said, “to make it faster.”
He feels the other drivers have learned to respect him during the racing. “Everyone races clean,” he said.
Jackson Macenko racing in the 500 Sprint Car Tour event at Anderson Speedway (Aaron Skillman photo)
After barely losing out for the Kenyon Midget Series championship a year ago, Jackson Macenko has been impressive in a non-wing sprint car. Through the first three races with the 500 Sprint Car Tour for car owner Brad Hayes, Jackson has scored three top-ten finishes and is the leading rookie. “I'm loving it,” Macenko said of driving a sprint car. “I do miss the midgets, but the power of the sprint car is amazing.”
Jackson opened the year with a tenth place finish at Anderson Speedway followed by a ninth at Berlin and seventh this past week at Toledo Speedway.
“We've started off well,” he said. “Our finishing position has improved every race.”
Macenko said the Toledo race was probably the weakest for the team to date but misfortune for competitors resulted in a seventh place showing. “We had some problems but were still able to score some points,” he said. “Our inexperience showed because we didn’t keep up with the changing track conditions.”
Because of the inversion, Macenko started on the front row but knew he would not be able to run with Kody Swanson, Tyler Roahrig and Bobby Santos. “That was not our battle,” he said. “We knew who we had to race. We had a tight race car at Toledo. “On the last lap I had a chance of passing Justin Harper, but knew that Swanson was coming and didn't want to get into his way.”
Macenko said the Berlin Raceway oval was probably the most interesting track he has raced on along with Mt. Lawn Speedway. “We had a loose race car and I had to work to keep the back end from coming around,” he said. “It was cool to watch Tyler (Roahrig) and it showed us where we need to be in terms of set-up.”
Macenko said he is excited about a return visit to Berlin and looking forward to the July 8 race at Anderson. “So far it's what I anticipated,” he said of racing the sprint car. “I'm still inexperienced but getting better every week.”
The team is hoping to test at Anderson Speedway before the July race. “It will be the first time back at a track where we raced,” he said. “We're working on getting faster and more competitive.”
Macenko said he is driving with an eye on keeping aware of my circumstances. “I'm being respectful and getting more and more comfortable around the other cars,” he said. Respect is a two-way street.
“We've had a real nice start to the year,” Macenko continued. “Better than I envisioned.”
Thomas Schrage set to make his USF2000 debut at Mid Ohio
Thomas Schrage, who won twice with the Kenyon Midget Series has raced at the Mid-Ohio road course recently in F1600.
He became champion of the F1600 series, with nine wins in 2022 and it helped him earn the support of the Team USA Scholarship.
Schrage recently announced he would be USF2000-bound, and is confirmed to make his debut in the series this weekend at Mid-Ohio.
“I am beyond thrilled to join Exclusive Autosport for the Mid-Ohio event this weekend,” said Schrage. “I cannot wait to hit the track and show everyone what we’re capable of.”