BELLEVILLE, ILL. (June 12, 2019) – We’ve seen it time and time again, the talented and budding teenage racer chalked full of potential and making waves on the national scene with a powerhouse organization. This week, a new batch of youngsters with dreams and aspirations of leading the next generation of midget racing will square up against the veterans and experienced competitors of the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League in the exciting five-night Illinois SPEED Week.
The 2019 class of superstar hopefuls include the likes of Cannon McIntosh, Daison Pursley, Jesse Colwell, Jesse Love and Kaylee Bryson. Be it Oklahoma or California, all five drivers come from a talent-laden hot bed of racing. Be it Keith Kunz Motorsports or Dave Mac Motorsports, all five drivers race for a respected and strong organization. No matter which way you look or how deep you dig, there is no denying the potential that lies within this group.
McIntosh of Bixby, Oklahoma has already proven himself as a legitimate threat night-in and night-out with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League in 2019. He contested for victories at Lucas Oil Speedway and Belle-Clair Speedway, making the presence of his Dave Mac Motorsports, Spike/Toyota No. 08 wildly clear. The 16-year old contested his first Illinois SPEED Week last year with results of 12th/13th/16th, but he returns with a vengeance this week in pursuit of becoming the youngest champion in SPEED Week history.
For Red Bluff, California native Colwell, he too has emerged as a consistent challenger with the National Midgets in his debut season. The 19-year old pilot of the Keith Kunz Motorsports, KKM Classic, Bullet/Toyota No. 71 has nabbed two podium finishes at Lucas Oil and Lake Ozark Speedway. This week, however, he faces a new challenge, attempting his first-career Illinois SPEED Week with five straight nights of action on tap.
A fellow California native, but hailing from Enlo Park, Love is still relatively new to POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League. The 14-year old has only one official start in the books, recording a 19th-place finish in his debut at Belle-Clair Speedway in May. Driving the Keith Kunz Motorsports, JBL Audio, Bullet/Toyota No. 97K, Love will encounter a series of new tracks as SPEED Week kicks off.
Rounding out the trio of Keith Kunz Motorsports young guns is Pursley of Locust Grove, Oklahoma. A 14-year old graduate of the micro sprint ranks, Pursley has already nabbed a pair of career-best seventh-place finishes at I-44 Riverside Speedway in March and Belle-Clair Speedway in May. After sitting out of Indiana Midget Week and spectating, the wheelman of the Toyota Racing No. 9 is amped to get back in the seat for SPEED Week.
The elder teammate to McIntosh, Bryson sports the second Dave Mac Motorsports, Spike/Toyota No. 11B entry. A native of Muskogee, Oklahoma, she too moved up from the micro sprint ranks and has quickly begun working on her skill set and expanding her knowledge into the midget racing world.
Slated to present a grueling five-race stretch, the sixth annual Illinois Speedweek will feature both the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midgets and the POWRi Engler Machine & Tool Outlaw Micros. Beginning on Wednesday, June 12 at Belle-Clair Speedway, the weeklong series will visit Fayette County Speedway on Thursday, June 13, Jacksonville Speedway on Friday, June 14, and Macon Speedway on Saturday, June 15, before the finale on Sunday, June 16 at Lincoln Speedway.
For fans unable to attend in-person, Speed Shift TV will have you covered with a live pay-per-view broadcast of all five nights. Head over to www.speedshifttv.com to order your viewing pass today!
For more information, visit www.powri.com online, follow @POWRi_Racing on Twitter, or like POWRi on Facebook.