Everybody has to start somewhere.  The same rings true for everybody who’s ever won a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature.  They’ve all earned that first win somewhere, some place.

Watch 2019 USAC Midgets at Wayne County Speedway!

Entering this weekend’s double-dip over a three-night span, this season has already produced four first-time winners with the series, the most in any single year since 2008: Cannon McIntosh (Southern Illinois Center), Chris Windom (Lawrenceburg), Jason McDougal (Jefferson County) and Tanner Carrick (Sweet Springs).

This Thursday, the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets enter the 1/8-mile bullring of Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Ill. for the 6^th running of the Jason Leffler Memorial, a race which was won by a first-time winner in Tyler Thomas (Collinsville, Okla.) in 2018.

The namesake of the event, Leffler, was the winner of the second-ever race held at the “new” 16^th Street Speedway, which was constructed inside the former Bush Stadium, home of AAA Baseball’s Indianapolis Indians.  That night in May of 1997 served as Leffler’s first career series win, which was also the first for car owner Pete Willoughby, a team which has thrived since that night more than two decades ago, a team now known as Keith Kunz Motorsports.

Leffler’s black No. 71 from his 1997 championship season remains relatively cosmetically unchanged from the cars campaigned by the team to this day for series Rookie Jesse Colwell (Red Bluff, Calif.), who is on the lookout for his first series win.  The team’s No. 71, with a K, was victorious this year with another first-time USAC winner, Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.) at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex.

Windom (Canton, Ill.) joined an interesting and exclusive club of drivers who’ve won a USAC National Sprint Championship prior to winning their first career USAC National Midget feature race, along with Greg Leffler and Levi Jones.

Watch 2019 USAC Midgets at Wayne County Speedway!

On Saturday, Oct. 19, the series heads across the border over to Haubstadt, Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway for 10^th ever appearance by the mighty midgets of USAC.  Three of the first nine of those events have produced first-time USAC National Midget feature winners: New Zealand’s Barry Butterworth (1979), Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (2007) and Zach Daum (2011).

Many contenders lie in wait for their turn to live out their aspirations of joining the list of USAC National Midget winners.  Among them are USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point leader C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), Tucker Klaasmeyer (Paola, Kans.), Andrew Layser (Collegeville, Pa.), Jesse Colwell (Red Bluff, Calif.), Karsyn Elledge (Mooresville, N.C.), Holley Hollan (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Ethan Mitchell (Mooresville, N.C.) and yes, 2013 World of Outlaws champ Daryn Pittman (Owasso, Okla.), who’ll make his annual appearance at Thursday’s Leffler Memorial.

You can watch LIVE flag-to-flag coverage of both races on FloRacing.

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FIRST TIME WINNERS

1956: Shorty Templeman, Jack Turner, Eddie Sachs, Gays Biro, Gene Force, Johnnie Tolan, Andy Linden, Chuck Rodee, Gene Hartley, George Amick, Jimmy Davies, Jimmy Knight, Leroy Warriner, Rex Easton, Tony Bettenhausen, Al Alpern, Al Herman, Bud Clemons, Chuck Weyant, Earl Motter, Edgar Elder, Forrest Parker, Jimmy Reece, Johnnie Parsons, Mel McGaughy & Rodger Ward

1957: Billy Garrett, Johnny Boyd, Len Sutton, A.J. Foyt, Danny Oakes, Frank Burany, Bill Chennault, Bob Tattersall, Don Branson, Hank Nykaza, Lloyd Ruby & Norm Hall

1958: Bill Homeier, Bob Wente, Eddie Johnson, Joe Garson, Jim Packard, Johnny Moorhouse, Johnny Roberts, Mauri Wilson, Russ Congdon & Tony Bonadies

1959: Cliff Spalding, Davey Moses, Tommy Copp, Bob McLean, Bob Veith, Dale Swaim, Don Boorse, Jiggs Peters, Johnny Baldwin, Larry McCloskey & Van Johnson

1960: Billy Cantrell, Billy Wood, Bobby Grim, Bud Bogard, Buddy Rackley, Dick Northam, Johnny White & Potsy Goacher

1961: Allen Crowe, Parnelli Jones, Porky Rachwitz, Arnie Knepper, Bobby Marshman, Danny Frye, Joe Walter & Verne Harriman

1962: Roger McCluskey, Mel Kenyon, Ronnie Duman, Dwight Brown, Harry Beck, Jim McElreath, Johnny Riva & Russ Moynagh

1963: Bobby Unser, Don Horvath, Allen Heath, Bob Harkey, Chuck Hulse, Dean Holden, Elmer George & Mike McGreevy

1964: Ray Elliott, Don Meacham, Bob Hogle, George Snider & Lowell Sachs

1965: Les Scott, Dick Atkins, George Benson, Henry Pens, Ned Spath & Sonny Ates

1966: Chuck Arnold, Billy Vukovich, Billy Mehner, Cotton Farmer, Larry Dickson, Dave Strickland, Frank Secrist, Mario Andretti & Tom Sellberg

1967: Gary Bettenhausen, Bob Hare, Bob Hauck, Bob Richards, Dutch Schaefer, Gene Roehl & Jimmy Caruthers

1968: Sam Sessions, Tom Bigelow, Burt Foland, Gene Pastor, Jigger Sirois, Lee Kunzman, Merle Bettenhausen, Paul Bates, Roger West & Steve Troxell

1969: Don Vogler, Billy Engelhart, Bill Kollman, Bruce Walkup, Hank Butcher, Larry Cannon & Larry Rice

1970: Jerry McClung, Mel Cornett & Johnny Parsons

1971: Danny Caruthers, Gary Ponzini, John Batts, Eddie Jackson, Jim McClean, Jimmy Kirk & Steve Cannon

1972: Pancho Carter, Rich Vogler, Rick Goudy, Danny O'Neill, J.P. Standley, Joe Saldana, Sam Sauer & Tony Simon

1973: Bobby Olivero, Billy Shuman, Tommy Astone, Chuck Gurney, Jim Beckley, Leo Tucker & Mike Gregg

1974: Danny McKnight, Gary Byers, Richard Powell & Sleepy Tripp

1975: Dana Carter, Ken Nichols & Larry Patton

1976: Jan Opperman, Bruce Robey, Bubby Jones, Buddy Taylor, Steve Lotshaw & Tom Steiner

1977: Buddy Irwin, Gary Patterson, Jerry Nuckles, Jerry Stone, Ron Shuman & Roy Cook, Jr.

1978: Jeff Heywood, Jerry Weeks & Billy Cassella

1979: Lonnie Caruthers, Barry Butterworth, Jeff Nuckles & Stan Fox

1980: Ken Schrader, Dave Ray, Mack McClellan & Terry Wente

1981: Warren Mockler, Dave Strickland, Jr. & Gene Gennetten

1982: Alan Brown, Dick Pole, Doug Wolfgang & Greg Leffler

1983: Kevin Olson, Jim Hines, Mike Fedorcak, Nick Fornoro, Jr., Todd Forbes & Tommy White

1984: Bob Cicconi & Rick Hood

1985: Bruce Field, Barry Reed, Brent Kaeding, Drew Fornoro, John Andretti & Russ Gamester

1986: Blake Hollingsworth, John Heydenreich, Kevin Doty, Kevin Koch & Sam Isenhower

1987: Steve Knepper, Dan Boorse, Jack Hewitt, Lee Smith, Mike Appio & Stevie Reeves

1988: Jack Calabrase, Jim Keeker, Danny Pens, Dean Billings, J.R. Miller, Mike Streicher & P.J. Jones

1989: Robby Flock, Don Schilling, Jeff Gordon, Richard Myhre, Steve Gennetten & Terry Farrar

1990: Graham Standring, Jim Hettinger, John Meyers & Keith Rauch

1991: Page Jones, Donnie Beechler, Johnny Cofer, Michael Lang, Tony Elliott & Wally Pankratz

1992: Doug Kalitta, Kenneth Nichols, Dan Drinan, Kenny Irwin, Jr., Eric Wilkins & Joe Gaerte

1993: Andy Michner, Critter Malone, Jimmy Sills, Mike Bliss, Randy Tolsma, Tony Stewart & Tyce Carlson

1994: Brian Gerster, Jordan Hermansader, Page Jones & Ted Hines

1995: Billy Boat & Jack Runyon

1996: Tracy Hines, Jay Drake, Jerry Coons, Jr. & Randy Koch

1997: Jason Leffler, Ryan Newman, Dave Darland & Jimmy McCune

1998: Ricky Shelton & Dave Steele

1999: Ed Carpenter, J.J. Yeley & Ron Smoker

2000: Kasey Kahne, Aaron Pollock, Dane Carter & Michael Lewis

2001: Bobby East & A.J. Fike

2002: Aaron Fike, Mike Hess, Ryan Scott & Teddy Beach

2003: Josh Wise

2004: Davey Ray, Billy Wease, David Gough, Ron Gregory & Travis Miniea

2005: Brad Kuhn, Bryan Clauson, Danny Stratton, Johnny Rodriguez & Scott Hatton

2006: Bobby Santos, Brady Bacon, Bud Kaeding, Darren Hagen, Kevin Swindell, Ryan Durst & Shane Cottle

2007: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Cory Kruseman, Levi Jones & Michael Pickens

2008: Brad Sweet, Cole Whitt, Bradley Galedrige, Brian Olson, Chuck Gurney, Jr. & Kody Swanson

2009: Caleb Armstrong

2010: Shane Hmiel, Steve Buckwalter & Tanner Swanson

2011: Kyle Larson & Zach Daum

2012: Kyle Hamilton

2013: Christopher Bell & Rico Abreu

2014: None

2015: Tanner Thorson & Kevin Thomas, Jr.

2016: Chad Boat, Shane Golobic & Spencer Bayston

2017: Tyler Courtney & Justin Grant

2018: Logan Seavey, Tyler Thomas & Zeb Wise

2019: Cannon McIntosh, Chris Windom, Jason McDougal & Tanner Carrick