Daison Pursley led all 30 laps on the way to winning the second night of the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series’ Eastern Midget Week at Action Track USA, Wednesday. Emerson Axsom finished second and Buddy Kofoid finished third as Toyota drivers swept the podium.
The victory is Pursley’s second in USAC competition this season and his fifth overall national midget feature win in 2021. Toyota drivers have now won each of the first two races in the Eastern Midget Week after Chris Windom won Tuesday’s feature.
The battle between the top two finishers began early, as Axsom was able to get the jump on Pursley on the opening lap to take the lead, but was involved in a three-car incident coming to the start/finish line resulting in a total restart. Unfortunately, it would be the end of the night for RMS Racing Toyota drivers Justin Grant and Thomas Meseraull.
On the restart, Pursley was able to hold on to the lead as Axsom ran second, Tanner Thorson was third, Kofoid was fourth and Logan Seavey rounded out the top five.
By lap two, Kofoid would move up into third and then into second past Axsom on lap three. The duel between Kofoid and Axsom would continue throughout the race with Pursley pulling out to a comfortable lead. Axsom would reclaim the second spot and at the midway point of the race, it was Pursley, Axsom, Kofoid, Hayden Williams, Windom, Ethan Mitchell and Taylor Reimer, who teamed up with Keith Kunz Motorsports this week.
As the race entered the final 10 laps, Pursley would hit heavy traffic and Axsom closed quickly. By lap 22, he was within .145 seconds of Pursley. Axsom was able to throw a slider at Pursley to take the lead, but Pursley came right back to reclaim the top spot as the two continued to trade sliders.
Pursley was able to settle back into the lead over the last five laps to take the victory as Axsom claimed his second consecutive second place finish and Kofoid placed third.
Windom earned the fifth spot and was joined in the top ten by Alex Bright in sixth and Reimer in eighth.
Night three of Eastern Midget Week will take place at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, New Jersey, on Thursday night.
Toyota Driver Quotes:
Daison Pursley, Keith Kunz Motorsports: “Going through lapped traffic, it’s usually better to be in second. I knew it was just going to be a number of laps before they’d start throwing sliders at me. We had a lot of yellow flags early, but had a really good run going late. Everyone involved with this Keith Kunz Motorsports did a great job tonight. “
Emerson Axsom, Petry Motorsports: “I’m not really sure what happened on that first lap. Daison and I have been running each other since micros, so it’s pretty cool that we are running upfront up here. We’ve been super consistent lately. Our cars are good and everyone on the crew works well together. Let’s just hope we keep riding this wave.”
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