Brady Bacon (Photo by Paul Arch)
Oklahoma driver Brady Bacon won the 81st Australian Midget Championship on February 4 at Eastern Creek Speedway in Sydney, Australia.
The 33-year-old native of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma won the 40-round final ahead of Western Australian Kaiden Manders and fellow American Thomas Meseraull.
The trio was followed by Michael Stewart, Scott Farmer, Nick Parker, Jack McCarthy, Michael Kendall, Mitch Brien and Tim Devine to round out the top 10.
After qualifying for the finale on pole, Bacon led all but three rounds of the prestigious championship.
He joins seven other Americans to claim the Australian midget crown (known as the Speedcars): Carson Macedo, Rico Abreu, Davey Ray (three times), Kevin Swindell, Jerry Coons jnr, Tony Elliot and Cory Kruseman.
Unlike the National Sprint Car Championship, which is reserved for Australian drivers, the Midget title is open to all.
First held in 1935, the championship is one of the time-honoured features of Australian motorsport and has been won by many champions over the years, including the country’s first Formula One champion, Sir Jack Brabham, who won the title four times.
After a disappointing pre-season at the new $70 million Sydney Speedway, the Midget Championship featured excellent racing over two nights due to inclement weather.
Despite being hampered by a series of restarts that allowed Western Australian Manders to take the lead for three laps, Bacon was the dominant force of the night, reclaiming the lead on lap 30 and maintaining the lead to the checkered flag.
Manders took a solid second place while Meseraull, the veteran driver from San Jose, California, eventually dueled Sanders for the final spot on the podium.
Four-time USAC Sprint Car Champion Bacon gave local car owner Gavin Ohlback his second straight win in the prestigious national championship.
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