Tight point races entering Salem race
By Ken de la Bastide
With four races remaining the battles for the Kenyon Midget Series championship and Redline Ace Rookie of the Year honors are nip and tuck.
Ryan Huggler, seeking his first championship, has been the point leader for much of the season and enters the race at Salem Speedway with a slim 19-point lead over Evan Hammond. Huggler is coming off a victory at Kalamazoo Speedway, but Hammond scored two runner-up finishes at Berlin to narrow the gap.
Three drivers are in contention for the Redline Ace rookie of the year honors. Trisdon Brown has a 25-point lead over Landon Brown with Ryan Shilkuski 140 points back.
Trisdon Brown said he will be missing the race at Paragon Speedway. “I'm running all the final pavement races,” Trisdon said. “We're getting better each time out and each time I learn a little bit more.” Trisdon said the Salem oval will be a lot like the Speedrome. “I'm looking forward to getting back to Anderson,” he said.
Landon Brown said he is looking forward to going to a new track which will present new challenges. “At Kalamazoo we ran the tires that had 75-laps at Anderson,” he said of the 11th place finish. “I finished third in the first race at Berlin, the second time I've been on the podium.” Landon finished 14th in the second Berlin race. “I think we have a good set-up going to Salem,” he said. “A lot like the Speedrome and the length of Anderson, but without the banking.” Landon said he believes he is a fast learner at new tracks and is hoping to be competitive at Salem. “It has been a roller coaster year,” he said. “I hope to duplicate the fast time at Anderson and get a better draw.”
Shilkuski said the season has been going fine and like the other drivers is learning a lot about setting up the Midget and the handling. “Not the results I was looking for, but the series is very competitive,” he said. “I've learned way more than I thought I would.” Silkuski said he is keeping notes on the set-ups at all the tracks with a goal of competing for a championship in 2025. “I've gotten a lot more confident,” he said. “Salem will be interesting, It will be exciting and way different than anyplace else we've raced so far.” Shilkuski said the team went back to the basics at Anderson Speedway for the second race in which he cracked the top ten. “I just need to push harder,” he said.
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The Kenyon Midget Series races at Salem Speedway on Saturday September 7 as part of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial with the 500 Sprint Car Tour. The race will be live streamed on DIRTVision.