By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (February 9, 2023)………Ryan Timms delivered in becoming the youngest ever USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature winner back in 2021.
Now the 16-year-old from Oklahoma City, Okla. will vie to become the division’s youngest ever driving champion as he takes the reins of the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports No. 67 for a full run at the USAC National Midget championship in 2023.
Competing on a part-time schedule with USAC over the past two seasons, Timms has already garnered two victories, for the first time in late 2021 at Placerville (Calif.) Speedway and again during a midsummer swing through the Great Plains at Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Raceway in 2022.
From there, the seed was planted for Timms to go full-time USAC National Midget racing and assume the seat of the ride that Buddy Kofoid has taken to the series title in each of the past two seasons.
To boot, Timms will have the man who has been instrumental in guiding Kofoid to multiple USAC championships, crew chief Jarrett Martin, the ace wrench who has been named USAC’s National Crew Chief of the Year in both 2021-2022.
“There’s a lot of history behind it and there’s definitely some big shoes to fill,” Timms admitted. “But I’m really confident in the car, I’m really confident in Jarrett, and (team CEO) Pete (Willoughby) and (team president) Keith (Kunz) believe in me. So, I’m just going to try and learn as much as possible and, hopefully, we can win a USAC championship.”
After running in 2021 for CB Industries in the midget ranks, Timms bounced around, occupying the seat of Grady Chandler’s midget in early 2022 before getting a shot to run the KKM No. 97K for four races during USAC’s Mid-America Midget Week swing through Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. In what was only a part-time deal at the time, Timms delivered.
Timms scored the win his first night out at Red Dirt, then ran third at Solomon Valley Raceway the next night, second at Jefferson County Raceway two night later, then was in position to win the weekend closer when contact sent him over the turn two banking on the final lap.
“Pete liked what he saw,” Timms acknowledged. “But he didn’t really bring up anything about running full-time until around a month later in August. When that time came, I said ‘I’m in.’ It’s a one-time opportunity.”
Timms’ prowess at such a young age extends to winged sprint car racing where he’s the youngest driver to finish on the podium of a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series feature, which he accomplished one day after his 16th birthday. This year, between the two disciplines, Timms’ expectations are to compete in 90-100 races from coast-to-coast.
The ultimate goal for Timms in 2023 is a USAC National Midget championship, although he admits that he’s still in the midst of a learning curve with the cars. With that said, with the team and crew he has at his side, Timms is confident he can follow in the footsteps of those before him and deliver a 13th series entrant championship to the winningest USAC National Midget team of all-time, KKM.
“Right away, I was comfortable,” Timms said of running for the initial time with KKM. “Jarrett is the one who’s been setting my car up since I’ve been running for KKM. He’s great and he’s gotten me set up perfectly every time. I haven’t run as many midget races as I have sprint car races to this point, so I’m still learning quite a bit. But every time I get in the car, I learn something new.”
The 2023 USAC National Midget Series kicks off on April 21-22 at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway for the Kokomo Grand Prix.
