Nelson Effect! 2026 USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget Season Review

#91 Tyler Nelson, 2026 USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget champion. (Zach Hensley Photo) Richie Murray - USAC Media November 2, 2026 One championship is pretty nice. But a second one was twice as nice for Tyler Nelson. The Olathe, Kansas racer successfully defended his USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget championship in 2026 by racking up three feature victories, plus a series-leading 10 top fives, 13 top tens, three fast qualifying times, and seven heat race wins during the 13-race series to defeat Bryce Massingill by a 40-point margin in the final tally. During the 2025 season, Nelson finished 4th at Moler, 3rd at Lawrenceburg, and 2nd at Lincoln Park. This year, Nelson won at all three as he quadrupled his career win count from one to four throughout the 2026 campaign. Along the way, he increased his average feature finishing position from 4.5 to 4.3 between 2025 to 2026. Nelson’s goal coming off a championship season was modest but very precise. That was primarily to up his game on the racetracks that had the upper hand on him in recent years. Box checked. “What a season,” the 29-year-old Nelson exclaimed. “At the start of the year, we had one goal in mind, and that was to finish better at the places we struggled at in 2025. I would definitely say we accomplished that.” Nelson led all 25 laps in wire-to-wire fashion in a dominating score at Williamsburg, Ohio’s Moler Raceway Park in May as he ran the high line to perfection toward a whopping winning margin of 6.054 seconds. In what he described as “the biggest win of my career,” Nelson charged from seventh to first in the first two laps en route to the winner’s circle at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway in August. Up to this point, and throughout much of the season, the point lead exchanged hands between Nelson, Matt Lux, and Bryce Massingill. However, with his fifth to first run to the win in the next to last race in September at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway, Nelson vaulted into the point lead for good. Nelson sealed the deal with a solid fifth place result in the October finale at Indiana’s Montpelier Speedway. In doing so, Nelson became the third driver in the 11-year history of the series to capture consecutive titles: Aaron Leffel (2017, 2018 & 2019) and Jacob Denney (2020 & 2021). “None of this would be possible without the support from Mike Hurst, Jeff Hurst, Justin Axline, and all of our amazing partners,” Nelson added. “Plus, LynK Chassis for the best midget chassis on the planet, 4 Piston Cylinder Heads and Luke Wilson for the reliable power plant. Advanced Racing Suspensions for their shocks and tuning support. Alchemy Engineering for their fueling service. Superior Bearing & Supply for their rod ends and bearings. The Auto Spot for their support to help us get to the racetrack. Hoosier Tire Midwest for their fantastic customer service and support. Earl's Indy Service Shop for the best hoses and hardware in racing. TJ Forged for the amazing wheels. West Evans for his fantastic products and customer service, and Curtis Motor Sales for giving me the ability to race.” Meanwhile, Bryce Massingill finished inside the top three of the standings for the sixth year in a row. He was 3rd with the series in 2021, 2nd in 2022, 2nd in 2023, 1st in 2024, 3rd in 2025, and 2nd in 2026. The all-time winningest driver in series history (23) and a current University of Northwestern Ohio collegiate bowler added five more wins to his total in 2026, all in the latter half of the year. After going winless for 364 straight nights, he was victorious in five of the final eight races, taking Moler twice, Millstream, Circle City, and Montpelier. Massingill also led a series high 96 laps and equaled Nelson as the series leader with 10 top fives and seven heat race wins. Matt Lux slotted into third in the standings with one victory to his credit during the season. His lone win came in the season opener at Indiana’s Montpelier Speedway after finding the lead early before losing it, then gaining it back at the midway point. Bookending the year with memorable performances, Lux made the biggest charge of the season in the series finale at Montpelier, gaining 16 positions after starting 22nd and finishing 6th. Ian Creager chimed in fourth in the final points, equaling his career best finish with the series after also taking fourth in 2020, 2021, and 2022. After a five-year absence from victory lane, Creager returned in 2026 with a July score on the red clay of Bloomington Speedway. Creager charged from the seventh starting position to get the win. Luke Hall added a pair of full points wins and a non-points special event triumph to his credit during the season. He first took top honors in May’s special round at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway for the second straight year. In June, he reigned at the rain delayed Mike Streicher Memorial at Ohio’s Limaland Motorsports Park. At Montpelier in August, Hall miraculously drove from third to first on the final turn of the final lap to get the victory over a sputtering Zach Wigal and Bryce Massingill. Past series champ Zach Wigal also notched two non-points special event scores in 2026. He feasted on the low line to prevail in May at Circle City. He then set a torrid pace in June at Ohio’s Waynesfield Raceway Park where he led all 20 laps to take the checkered flag. Kole Kirkman was named Rookie of the Year after finishing sixth in the standings. He earned his first career series victory in June at Atomic Speedway in just his third career series start aboard the No. 5m owned by Mike Magic. Sadly, less than two months later, Magic passed away at the age of 57. The series raced on with heavy hearts, and Kirkman even competed in Magic’s car two days after his passing. Thereafter, Kirkman finished the season in his own No. K10. Six drivers started all 13 points-paying feature events: Stratton Briggs, Buddy Hollmeyer, Bryce Massingill, Tyler Nelson, Parker Perry, and Brayden Schwartz.   =========================   2026 STAT LEADERS Driver Champion: Tyler Nelson Rookie of the Year: Kole Kirkman Most Feature Wins: 5-Bryce Massingill Laps Led: 96-Bryce Massingill Top-Fives: 10-Bryce Massingill & Tyler Nelson Top-Tens: 13-Tyler Nelson Fast Qualifying Times: 3-Tyler Nelson Heat Race Wins: 7-Bryce Massingill & Tyler Nelson Semi-Feature Wins: 2-Kole Kirkman & Parker Perry Feature Starts: 13-Stratton Briggs, Buddy Hollmeyer, Bryce Massingill, Tyler Nelson, Parker Perry & Brayden Schwartz Biggest Charge of the Year: (+16) Oct 3 at Montpelier Speedway – Matt Lux (22nd to 6th)   2026 DRIVER POINTS Pos.   Pts.    Driver, Hometown 1         941    Tyler Nelson, Olathe, Kansas 2         901    Bryce Massingill, Troy, Ohio 3         886    Matt Lux, Manilla, Indiana 4         798    Ian Creager, Covington, Ohio 5         772    Stratton Briggs, Anna, Ohio 6         668    (R) Kole Kirkman, Kokomo, Indiana 7         646    Buddy Hollmeyer, Cincinnati, Ohio 8         628    (R) Parker Perry, North Vernon, Indiana 9         624    Dylan Trost, Pleasant Hill, Ohio 10       555    (R) Landen Francis, Troy, Ohio 11       554    Brayden Schwartz, Troy, Ohio 12       428    (R) Trisdon Brown, Danville, Indiana 13       415    Luke Hall, Ludlow Falls, Ohio 14       404    Tyler Watkins, Marion, Indiana 15       390    (R) Taten Long, Miller City, Ohio 16       360    (R) Ashley Schloss, Jamestown, Ohio 17       294    Chett Gehrke, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 18       287    (R) Chase Hodge, Pittsboro, Indiana 19       283    Jalen Cox, Winchester, Indiana 20       276    Zach Wigal, Belpre, Ohio 21       255    (R) Troy Borsos, Wauseon, Ohio 22       249    Cole Morgan, Brookville, Ohio 23       215    Cody Dye, Covington, Ohio 24       215    (R) Jonathon Decker, Orient, Ohio 25       210    Jon Watson, Columbus, Ohio 26       194    (R) Seth Crandall, Canal Winchester, Ohio 27       184    Jim Jones, Ventura, California 28       182    Alex Watson, Columbus, Ohio 29       176    (R) Chris Hartman, Boulder, Colorado 30       144    (R) Jason Shaffer, Piqua, Ohio 31       129    Drew Rader, Findlay, Ohio 32       94       Taylor Nibert, South Vienna, Ohio 33       79       (R) Bryan Klein, Dayton, Ohio 34       78       (R) Darin Horton, Lindley, New York 35       76       Jakeb Boxell, Zanesville, Indiana 36       23       Jody Paul, Grove City, Ohio 37       10       (R) John Ralsten, Vienna, West Virginia (R) represents a USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget Rookie   2026 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POINTS Pos.   Pts.    Driver, Hometown 1         668    Kole Kirkman, Kokomo, Indiana 2         628    Parker Perry, North Vernon, Indiana 3         555    Landen Francis, Troy, Ohio 4         428    Trisdon Brown, Danville, Indiana 5         390    Taten Long, Miller City, Ohio 6         360    Ashley Schloss, Jamestown, Ohio 7         287    Chase Hodge, Pittsboro, Indiana 8         255    Troy Borsos, Wauseon, Ohio 9         215    Jonathon Decker, Orient, Ohio 10       194    Seth Crandall, Canal Winchester, Ohio 11       176    Chris Hartman, Boulder, Colorado 12       144    Jason Shaffer, Piqua, Ohio 13       79       Bryan Klein, Dayton, Ohio 14       78       Darin Horton, Lindley, New York 15       10       John Ralsten, Vienna, West Virginia   2026 FEATURE WINNERS Apr 25: Montpelier Speedway - Montpelier, Indiana WINNER: Matt Lux (Bill Wells #5) May 2: Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, Ohio (SE) WINNER: Luke Hall (Kyle Heitmeyer #74) May 21: Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, Indiana (SE) WINNER: Zach Wigal (Lee Wigal #18) May 29: Moler Raceway Park - Williamsburg, Ohio WINNER: Tyler Nelson (Tyler Nelson #91) Jun 6: Atomic Speedway - Chillicothe, Ohio WINNER: Kole Kirkman (Mike Magic #5m) Jun 12: Limaland Motorsports Park - Elida, Ohio WINNER: Luke Hall (Kyle Heitmeyer #74) Jun 18: Waynesfield Raceway Park - Waynesfield, Ohio (SE) WINNER: Zach Wigal (Lee Wigal #18) Jul 10: Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, Indiana WINNER: Ian Creager (Tod Creager #36) Jul 31: Moler Raceway Park - Williamsburg, Ohio WINNER: Bryce Massingill (Jason Massingill #35) Aug 8: Montpelier Speedway - Montpelier, Indiana WINNER: Luke Hall (Kyle Heitmeyer #74) Aug 22: Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, Indiana WINNER: Tyler Nelson (Tyler Nelson #91) Aug 28: Moler Raceway Park - Williamsburg, Ohio WINNER: Bryce Massingill (Jason Massingill #35) Aug 29: Millstream Speedway - Findlay, Ohio WINNER: Bryce Massingill (Jason Massingill #35) Sep 18: Circle City Raceway - Indianapolis, Indiana WINNER: Bryce Massingill (Jason Massingill #35) Sep 19: Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, Indiana WINNER: Tyler Nelson (Tyler Nelson #91) Oct 3: Montpelier Speedway - Montpelier, Indiana WINNER: Bryce Massingill (Jason Massingill #35) (SE) represents a non-point, special event   2026 FEATURE WINS 5-BRYCE MASSINGILL (Jul 31 at Moler Raceway Park, Aug 28 at Moler Raceway Park, Aug 29 at Millstream Speedway, Sep 18 at Circle City Raceway & Oct 3 at Montpelier Speedway) 3-TYLER NELSON (May 29 at Moler Raceway Park, Aug 22 at Lawrenceburg Speedway & Sep 19 at Lincoln Park Speedway) 2-LUKE HALL (Jun 12 at Limaland Motorsports Park & Aug 8 at Montpelier Speedway) 1-IAN CREAGER (Jul 10 at Bloomington Speedway) 1-KOLE KIRKMAN (Jun 6 at Atomic Speedway) 1-MATT LUX (Apr 25 at Montpelier Speedway)   Non-Points Special Event Feature Wins 2-ZACH WIGAL (May 21 at Circle City Raceway & Jun 18 at Waynesfield Raceway Park) 1-LUKE HALL (May 2 at Eldora Speedway)   2026 FEATURE LAPS LED 96-Bryce Massingill 54-Tyler Nelson 26-Kole Kirkman 20-Zach Wigal 19-Matt Lux 16-Buddy Hollmeyer 15-Landen Francis & Luke Hall 11-Stratton Briggs & Ian Creager 7-Trisdon Brown & Jalen Cox 6-Gunnar Lucius 5-Jakeb Boxell 2-Jon Watson   2026 TOP 5 FEATURE FINISHES 10-Bryce Massingill & Tyler Nelson 8-Ian Creager & Matt Lux 4-Stratton Briggs & Luke Hall 3-Kole Kirkman, Parker Perry & Zach Wigal 2-Trisdon Brown & Gunnar Lucius 1-Jakeb Boxell, Jalen Cox, Landen Francis, Chett Gehrke, Buddy Hollmeyer, Drew Rader, Dylan Trost & Tyler Watkins   2026 TOP 10 FEATURE FINISHES 13-Tyler Nelson 12-Matt Lux 11-Stratton Briggs 10-Ian Creager & Bryce Massingill 8-Buddy Hollmeyer, Kole Kirkman & Dylan Trost 6-Parker Perry 5-Chett Gehrke & Luke Hall 4-Trisdon Brown & Landen Francis 3-Jalen Cox, Chase Hodge, Gunnar Lucius & Zach Wigal 2-Parker Leek, Cole Morgan, Drew Rader & Brayden Schwartz 1-Cody Beard, Jakeb Boxell, Chris Hartman, Jake Roell, Tyler Watkins & Greg Wilson   2026 FAST QUALIFYING TIMES 3-Tyler Nelson 2-Matt Lux 1-Trisdon Brown, Jalen Cox, Landen Francis, Luke Hall, Gunnar Lucius, Bryce Massingill & Drew Rader   2026 HEAT RACE WINS 7-Bryce Massingill & Tyler Nelson 6-Matt Lux 5-Stratton Briggs & Ian Creager 3-Luke Hall & Parker Perry 2-Trisdon Brown, Jonathon Decker, Chett Gehrke, Kole Kirkman, Dylan Trost & Zach Wigal 1-Jalen Cox, Landen Francis, Buddy Hollmeyer, Michael Magic & Brayden Schwartz   2026 SEMI-FEATURE WINS 2-Kole Kirkman & Parker Perry 1-Buddy Hollmeyer, Luke Lemons, Michael Magic, Ayden Perkins & Dylan Trost   2026 FEATURE STARTS 13-Stratton Briggs, Buddy Hollmeyer, Bryce Massingill, Tyler Nelson, Parker Perry & Brayden Schwartz 12-Ian Creager, Landen Francis, Kole Kirkman, Matt Lux & Dylan Trost 10-Ashley Schloss & Tyler Watkins 9-Trisdon Brown & Taten Long 7-Troy Borsos & Gunnar Lucius 6-Jalen Cox, Jonathon Decker, Cody Dye, Luke Hall, Chase Hodge, Parker Leek & Jon Watson 5-Seth Crandall, Chett Gehrke, Chris Hartman, Jim Jones, Cole Morgan, Carl Peterson & Alex Watson 4-Zach Wigal 3-Jason Bennett, Michael Magic, Derrick Noffsinger & Jason Shaffer 2-Cody Beard, Bryce Dues, Darin Horton, Bryan Klein, Ryan Moran, Ayden Perkins, Drew Rader & Jake Roell 1-Tommy Bigelow, Jakeb Boxell, Elijah Knoke, Luke Lemons, Taylor Nibert, Jody Paul, Jace Sparks, Noah Whitehouse & Greg Wilson   ‍