Buddy Kofoid and Daison Pursley will fill two slots on the full-time driver roster for the Columbus-based Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian race team as the pair pursue Rookie of the Year honors with the USAC Midget National Championship in 2020.
Kofoid, a California native came aboard to pilot a midget for KKM on the November western swing in 2019 where he made four feature starts, topping out with a sixth place result in the season finale at California’s Ventura Raceway, finishing as the second-best Rookie at the Turkey Night Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old versatile 2019 Fremont (Ohio) Speedway wing sprint car champion is pumped for his opportunity to join a legendary team which has produced 11 USAC National Midget owner titles between team principals Keith Kunz and Pete Willoughby with drivers Jason Leffler, Cole Whitt, Bryan Clauson, Christopher Bell, Rico Abreu, Tanner Thorson, Spencer Bayston and Logan Seavey over the past two-plus decades.
“I’m really excited to run for Keith and Pete next year with Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian,” Kofoid said. “I’ve always wanted to drive for them, and it’s been a fun experience so far this year. I’m looking forward to doing a lot more next year. They have a great reputation and have had some of the best drivers, so I know I will learn a lot.”
Pursley, of Locust Grove, Oklahoma also made four series starts for KKM on the 2019 western trip, finishing a best of 12th on the final night of the Western World Championships at Arizona Speedway.
The 15-year-old 2017 USAC Micro Sprint champion got off to a fast start in his USAC Midget career, winning his heat race in each of his first two career series appearances in November at Arizona.
“Everybody races really clean,” Pursley observed. “There’s a lot of respect on the USAC tour and there’s a bunch of good guys out there. I need to work on things to get better because they’ve got more experience than I do. USAC’s been around a long time and this is where you want to be if you want to be the best in dirt racing.”
As rookie hopefuls Kofoid and Pursley take their turn behind the wheel, they aim to follow in the footsteps of previous ROY’s out of the KKM fleet such as Darren Hagen, Clauson, Kyle Larson, Abreu, Bell, Carson Macedo, Tanner Carrick and Seavey.
More Kunz Motorsports news
Zeb Wise and Holley Hollan will compete on a part-time basis for Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian throughout the 2020 USAC National Midget season.
Wise from Angola will hit a handful of USAC Midget events on the schedule with Kunz that don’t conflict with his recently announced deal to compete on the All Star Circuit of Champions tour. Wise has tentative plans to run a partial Indiana Midget Week schedule, BC39 and assorted November events on the west coast.
The 18-year-old Hollan, meanwhile, will take on a similar part-time USAC Midget role with Kunz to coincide with her plans to compete in a stock car this year. The exact midget schedule for the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native is yet to be determined for the driver who, in 2019, competed as a Rookie with the USAC National Championship.
She finished 16th in points, fourth best among all rookies, with two heat race wins and a top finish of 11th in March at the Shamrock Classic.
Wise, who just recently turned 17 years old, became USAC’s youngest ever National series winner at the age of 15 in 2018 at Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway during Pennsylvania Midget Week. Racing out of the Clauson/Marshall Racing stable, Wise finished 5th in the final USAC National Midget standings for 2019 with three wins at Action Track USA, Linda’s Speedway (both in Pennsylvania) and snagged the BC39 at The Dirt Track at IMS in September.
Wise’s capability to step in the car, even on a part-time basis, has Kunz elated to bring him into the fold for the car owner who has captured 10 previous USAC National Midget owner titles and the second most wins in USAC National Midget history with 109.
“I’m really excited to have Zeb because he went toe-to-toe with Kyle (Larson) there a few times and came out on top,” Kunz recalled. “I’ve been watching him for the last couple of years and he’s come a long way. He’s definitely one of the major players in midget racing right now and with him coming to our team, I’m just really looking forward to it.”
Stewart racing tonight in Fort Wayne
It will be a short Christmas break for soon-to-be NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, who will be getting back to his racing roots in his home state of Indiana tonight in the 22nd annual Rumble in Fort Wayne.
Over 100 drivers will compete in more than 100 qualifying races, heats, last chance races and features on the indoor paved track inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and Expo Center including Midgets, Non-Wing Dirt 600 Mini Sprints, Outlaw Modified Winged Midgets, Go-Karts and Quarter Midgets.
Stewart, who will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 31 along with Joe Gibbs, Buddy Baker, Bobby Labonte and Waddell Wilson, will be going for his 10th Rumble title and will be joined by a few of his racing buddies including USAC and World of Outlaws winner Rico Abreu.
Abreu will be looking to avenge bad luck in last year’s Rumble. He was unable to qualify when his car broke during a practice session and he wasn’t able to continue on.