Tom Petty called it more than 30 years ago - as Monday's return to Kokomo Speedway was all about "them Indiana boys on an Indiana night."
As Kubota High Limit Racing rolled into "Indiana's Baddest Bullring," a stout field of 42 cars showed up for the $20,000-to-win Avanti Windows & Doors Midweek MAYhem event.
Two of the brightest young stars in Sprint Car Racing shared the front row with the World of Outlaws' Buddy Kofoid and High Limit Racing's Corey Day leading the field to green.
Day, who was chasing his third-straight Midweek Money Series victory in the Driven2SaveLives #14BC, led the opening seven laps before the right front spindle broke and sent him to the work area.
Kofoid inherited the lead from and controlled the race until the cross flags flew and lap traffic made things difficult for the Roth Motorsports #83JR. Capitalizing on the first mistake he saw, Tyler Courtney pounced on Kofoid on Lap 21 and moved his Clauson-Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #7BC to the point.
Although he would never relinquish the lead from there, "Sunshine" still had to fend off Kofoid's relentless runs over the final half as they continued to march through lap traffic. He did just that, though, as he ended an 11-race dry spell to claim his third win of the season with Kubota High Limit Racing.
Advancing from 4th-to-1st, Courtney also cashed the DURST Dice Roll to bump his earnings to $22,000 while lucky race fan Harley Kook went home with an extra $2,000.
On the final lap, Lebanon's Spencer Bayston moved past Buddy Kofoid to complete a 12th-to-2nd run good enough for his season-best performance with Kubota High Limit Racing and his second Hard Charger Award. He followed Indianapolis' Tyler Courtney to make it a 1-2 finish for the home state Hoosiers.
Kofoid completed the podium while Cory Eliason and Brad Sweet rounded out the top-five with Justin Peck, Rico Abreu, James McFadden, Parker Price-Miller, and Brenham Crouch closing out the top-10.
THE ALL-IN NOTEBOOK (5/13/24)
Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN)
Capitol Custom Trailers QuickTime - Cale Thomas (10.945 seconds)
TJ Forged Heat One Winner - Tyler Courtney
DMI Heat Two Winner - Rico Abreu
BR Motorsports Heat Three Winner - Buddy Kofoid
Winters Performance Heat Four Winner - Corey Day
FK Rod Ends Dash Winner - Buddy Kofoid
B-Main Winner - Tanner Thorson
Jake's Golf Carts Fastest Lap Award - Corey Day (12.178 seconds)
Hard Charger - Spencer Bayston +10, 12th-to-2nd
Lap Leaders - Corey Day 1-7; Buddy Kofoid 8-21; Tyler Courtney 22-40.
Kubota A Feature (40 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[4]; 2. 5-Spencer Bayston[12]; 3. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[1]; 4. 8-Cory Eliason[6]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet[10]; 6. 13-Justin Peck[5]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu[3]; 8. 83-James McFadden[11]; 9. 9P-Parker Price Miller[9]; 10. 1-Brenham Crouch[7]; 11. 88-Tanner Thorson[21]; 12. 19H-Hunter Schuerenberg[16]; 13. 5T-Ryan Timms[19]; 14. 16T-Cole Macedo[8]; 15. 23-Cale Thomas[24]; 16. 19-Brent Marks[17]; 17. 21H-Brady Bacon[23]; 18. 6-Brandon Wimmer[15]; 19. 55-Chris Windom[22]; 20. 26-Zeb Wise[13]; 21. 7N-Darin Naida[18]; 22. 99-Skylar Gee[20]; 23. 9-Kasey Kahne[25]; 24. 14-Corey Day[2]; 25. 1A-Jacob Allen[14]
Updated Championship Standings (After 15/56 Races):
- Kasey Kahne Racing #49 - Brad Sweet (1,028)
- Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC - Tyler Courtney (-31)
- Murray-Marks Motorosports #19 - Brent Marks (-87)
- Jason Meyers Racing #14 - Corey Day (-142)
- Rico Abreu Racing #24 - Rico Abreu (-216)
- CJB Motorsports #5 - Spencer Bayston (-237)
- Roth Motorsports #83 - James McFadden (-257)
- Buch Motorsports #13 - Justin Peck (-270)
- PPM Racing #9P - Parker Price-Miller (-275)
- Shark Racing #1A - Jacob Allen (-304)
- Rudeen Racing #26 - Zeb Wise (-323)
- Rod Gross Motorsports #88 - Tanner Thorson (-334)
- Ridge & Sons Racing #8 - Cory Eliason (-342)
- Kasey Kahne Racing #9 - Kasey Kahne (-381)
- Vermeer Motorsports #55 - Chris Windom (-399)
- Crouch Motorsports #1 - Brenham Crouch (-460)
Midweek Money Series Points (After 3/10 Races):
- Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC - Tyler Courtney (217)
- Kasey Kahne Racing #49 - Brad Sweet (-32)
- CJB Motorsports #5 - Spencer Bayston (-35)
- Jason Meyers Racing #14 - Corey Day (-38)
- Rod Gross Motorsports #88 - Tanner Thorson (-49)
- Murray-Marks Motorosports #19 - Brent Marks (-51)
- Roth Motorsports #83 - James McFadden (-52)
- Buch Motorsports #13 - Justin Peck (-54)
- PPM Racing #9P - Parker Price-Miller (-60)
- Ridge & Sons Racing #8 - Cory Eliason (-60)
UP NEXT: Kubota High Limit Racing will head to The Empire State for the first time ever this weekend. A pair of New York dates will both pay $12,000-to-win, $1,200-to-start with shows at Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, NY on Thursday, May 16 and Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, NY on Friday, May 17.