Can a car racer go fast enough to win with a small engine?
Kyle Cummins is likely to find out Saturday night during the Tri-State Speedway Summer Shootout, a two-tier program made up of the Midwest Sprint Car Series (MSCS) and the Midwest Mini-Sprint Association (MMSA).
The former Princeton community football goalie, basketball player and hurdler is hoping for a better night than during the June 5 Tri-State game, when a broken fuel line came loose and came out of the car. So he couldn’t finish.
“We just tightened it up, and last Friday we won the 25-lap final at Rock Crest Raceway in North Vernon,” said Cummins, 34, second in the MSCS with 201 points to the Fort Branch resident’s 206. . Chris Stockon, who is aiming for a third consecutive championship.
This gap could widen in Friday’s program at Terre Haute Action Track.
“I don’t know if we’ll be racing at Terre Haute,” said Cummins, who is trailed in the MSCS standings by June 5 winner Jason McDougal with 198 points to Carson Garrett’s 184, Brandon Mattox’s 175, Brady Short’s 155. and Collin Ambrose’s 152. Owensville residents Kent Schmidt and Stan Beadles place 13th and 15th with 125 and 118, Sam Scott of Patoka 17th at 102, Donny Brackett of Haubstadt 20th at 96.
“Last Saturday at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, we did some terrible things,” Cummins said. “We didn’t even make the feature film. So we get a different engine, a smaller one. I don’t know if we’ll be racing at Terre Haute, because it’s a half-mile track that’s too big for a small engine.
“We’re racing Saturday at Tri-State.”
A sixth MSCS season championship is not his goal. “I don’t know if we will run all the MSCS races. We may have to miss some of them if they come into conflict with other races.
“I think I’ll be back in Midget racing August 2-3 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Speedway has two tracks – in addition to the famous one, there is a dirt track on which the Midgets race.
“We’ll just have to see what happens.”
The mini-sprinters will return to Tri-State for the first time since the Memorial Weekend Classic program on May 29, when Brad Strunk of Bloomington, Ohio won the feature in which Milan schoolgirl Kayla Roell placed second and former Wood Memorial athlete Brandon Deputy fifth. Pittsboro, Indiana, resident Critter Malone won the MSCS feature that night, with Cummins second and Stockon third.
Saturday ticket prices are $20 per adult and $15 per student. As usual, youth 12 and under will be admitted free of charge. The second program of the Tri-State summer season will be the Late Model Summer Nationals on July 10, when the Summit Modifieds also take place.