THORSON GETS USAC MIDGET RIDE WITH MALLOY FOR REST OF 2020
Speedway, Indiana (September 23, 2020)………Tanner Thorson will take the wheel of the Tom Malloy-owned No. 25m for the remainder of the 2020 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget season, beginning with this weekend’s Indiana Donor Network Driven2SaveLives Double Double, Friday, Sept. 25 at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway and Saturday, Sept. 26 at Kokomo Speedway.
Minden, Nevada’s Thorson, the 2016 series champion, recently parted ways with Hayward Motorsports, who he had driven for in all 19 of his starts this season, which produced four victories in Ocala, Fla., Du Quoin, Ill., Kokomo, Ind. and Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Okla.
Thorson will be a teammate to Chase Johnson, who has driven Malloy’s No. 25 throughout 2020. With 10 series points races remaining, Thorson finds himself fourth in the standings, 105 points out of the lead, entering the weekend. Thorson is thrilled with the new pairing.
“I am looking forward to ending this year strong with Tom Malloy and Jerome Rodela,” Thorson said. “Chase (Johnson) has been fast in their cars and I’m hoping to be able to add to their speed. They have great equipment and we are both eager to continue the success.”
“It’s going to be rad,” the team’s crew chief, Jerome Rodela exclaimed. “I’m looking forward to the addition of Tanner and seeing what our team can accomplish.”
For team owner Malloy, it was a quick phone call. The opportunity to team with Thorson was too good to pass up.
“Jerome called me last week and told me Tanner was available,” Malloy stated. “Jerome asked if I would want to put him in our car, and knowing what I do about Tanner’s talent, I couldn’t resist. I’m excited to have Tanner and Chase representing the Malloy Family and Trench Shores Company.”
The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season finishes up with a flurry of activity that consists of 10 races in four different states. Following the Gas City/Kokomo “Double Double” on Sep. 25-26, the series moves onto another weekend double with races on Friday, Oct. 9 at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill. for the Jason Leffler Memorial. That’s followed the next night by the Harvest Cup on Saturday, Oct. 10 just across the border at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.
From there, the traditional pilgrimage to the west takes the Midgets to Arizona Speedway in San Tan Valley, Ariz. for the Western World Championships on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14, which will also feature the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Cars in a midget/sprint doubleheader each night.
A mini-California Midget Week begins just days later with four nights of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing in a five-day span, beginning at Bakersfield Speedway on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Three-straight nights on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 19-20-21, bring the series to Placerville Speedway for the second running of the Hangtown 100, which concludes the points season with a 100-lap finale.
Furthermore, a non-points special event for the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets has been added to the schedule to close out the 2020 season at California’s Merced Speedway on Wednesday night, November 25.
There are no limits on the number of entries for either of this weekend’s events, which feature a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget doubleheader with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars on two consecutive nights.
Pit gates open Friday for Gas City at 3pm ET, front gates at 5pm and hot laps at 6:30pm. Adult general admission tickets are $25 for adults and free for kids age 12 and under. Pit passes are $35 apiece.
Pit gates and spectator gates open Saturday for Kokomo at 3pm ET with hot laps at 6pm. Adult general admission tickets are $25 for adults and free for kids age 12 and under. Pit passes are $35 apiece. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.usactickets.com as well as at the gate on raceday.