Spencer Bayston clinched the 2017 USAC Midget National Championship at the 77th annual Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway in Ventura, California on Thursday night.
With the title, Bayston becomes the fifth different Toyota driver to win a USAC Midget National championship in the last five years. He follows Tanner Thorson (2016), Tracy Hines (2015), Rico Abreu (2014) and Christopher Bell (2013) as Toyota champions.
“A year I will never forget,” said the 19-year-old Bayston. “It is an honor to drive for such a tremendous group of people and to compete in an incredible series. I’m just thrilled to get my first USAC championship with Keith Kunz Motorsports and Toyota.”
Over the course of the season, the Lebanon, Indiana native earned three wins and 14 top-five finishes. Among his victories were two of the jewels of the USAC schedule in the Belleville Midget Nationals and the Four-Crown Nationals at Eldora. He also won at Kokomo during Indiana Midget Week. In addition, he registered five POWRi National Midget League victories in his Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) Toyota.
“Congratulations to Spencer Bayston on winning his first USAC Midget National Championship,” said David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development, USA. “It has been fun watching Spencer develop and hone his skills in the KKM Toyota midget the past couple of years and we couldn’t be happier for him and his family. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the guidance and leadership of Keith Kunz and Pete Willoughby.”
Bayston also helped earn the 2017 USAC Midget National Owner championship for KKM in the Keith Kunz/Curb Agajanian Motorsports number 97.
Overall, Toyota-powered entries registered 18 victories in 23 USAC national midget events in 2017. The manufacturer has now earned 201 national midget feature wins since entering the sport in 2006.
FINAL USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS:
Place
|
USAC Midget National Championship
|
Points
|
1
|
Spencer Bayston
|
1472
|
2
|
Shane Golobic
|
1416
|
3
|
Brady Bacon
|
1413
|
4
|
Tanner Thorson
|
1392
|
5
|
Justin Grant
|
1316
|
6
|
Tyler Courtney
|
1290
|
7
|
Chad Boat
|
1154
|
8
|
Holly Shelton
|
1055
|
9
|
Tanner Carrick
|
995
|
10
|
Jerry Coons Jr.
|
849
|
*Toyota-powered drivers in BOLD
Toyota Racing PR