Speedway, Indiana (December 5, 2024)………It’s been 20 years since an Ohioan earned top Rookie honors with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.
Zach Wigal is proud to wear that badge in 2024 after being named the Max Papis Innovations Bob Stroud USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year.
The 17-year-old Wigal resides in Belpre, Ohio, but actually attends high school across the border in Parkersburg, West Virginia. This year, Wigal became the third USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year hailing from the Buckeye State following Donnelsville, Ohio brothers Teddy Beach (2002) and Todd Beach (2004).
Prior to the season, Wigal estimated that his biggest challenge would be visiting almost an entirely new slate of tracks he had never competed on before. His expectations came to fruition during the opening three-race weekend in May when he qualified in the back half of the field and failed to finish any of the three features better than 13th.
However, during the fourth round of the campaign in June during the USAC Indiana Midget Week opener at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Wigal turned the corner. He set fast qualifying time and crossed under the checkered flag eighth in the feature. In July, he repeated his qualifying feat with another quick time in his first ever trip to Kansas’ Mitchell County Fairgrounds aboard his CB Industries/Dave Knost Auto Outlet/Spike/Speedway Toyota No. 89.
Qualifying was among the chief concerns and priorities for Wigal entering the 2024 season, but ultimately, he passed his initial tests with flying colors when facing off with the stopwatch.
“This year, I learned how to qualify a lot better,” Wigal admitted. “Where I had been used to racing, it’s not a big deal. You start your night with a heat race. That was biggest thing, going out there and putting down one really good lap.”
By June’s Indiana Midget Week event at Tri-State Speedway, Wigal had reached the top-five for the first time in his young USAC National Midget career. However, Labor Day weekend in September at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway during the opening night of the 39th Firemen’s Nationals produced the dream weekend he was longing for.
Within the first five laps, Wigal climbed from third to first, passing series veterans Kevin Thomas Jr. and Zach Daum to take the lead. For the final 25 laps, it was all Wigal who became USAC’s newest first-time winner, and afterward, uttered one of the most memorable quotes of the season, stating, ”Some kids dream of winning the Super Bowl or the NBA Finals, but my dream is to be standing here.”
As Wigal reflects on the moment today, a flood of thoughts come to mind.
“I thought (a lot of money) was what you needed to have to get there, so I never thought I’d even be able to race with these guys, let alone win a race,” Wigal stated. “It’s just a surreal feeling to have gotten here and to have success at this level.”
By Wigal’s side throughout the season were the helpful hands and watchful eyes of car owner Chad Boat and teammate Daison Pursley. Boat owned cars captured the 2020 USAC National Midget championship with Chris Windom as the team’s driver while Pursley, of course, went on to score this year’s series driving title.
As Wigal puts it, the more laps you get on different racetracks, the better it makes you as a driver and even makes the car better. But having a duo like Boat and Pursley there to help guide you along the way was a godsend for a Rookie like Wigal out on the trail.
“They were the main reason for my progress this year,” Wigal revealed. “Chad’s a master on the wrenches, and he’s proven that with the best cars at the racetrack, while Daison helped me out a lot with the driving, which helped my confidence. It was something different at every track; I’d go out there in hot laps and run 25th, then they’d tell me something I could do to find a tenth or two tenths and we’d go 10th quick. Being able to recognize what I did in just a few laps, then telling me what to do and being able to change it and fix it to go faster was such a huge help.”
Wigal is also a graduate of the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget series, having won its 2023 series championship. In his spare time from the USAC National Midget schedule 2024, he still found time to participate with the series in the family owned No. 18, starting 10 events and winning a series-high three features.
Like Jacob Denney, a 2020 and 2021 USAC Midwest Thunder champion himself, Wigal is beginning to make his mark on the USAC national circuit. Wigal credits the series with honing his craft and preparing him for the next level of USAC Midget competition.
“In my opinion, it’s the best developmental series there is,” Wigal proclaimed. “It’s the same as a midget, just less power, plus it’s a lot cheaper and there’s great quality drivers. I think Denney and I have proven that. He and I won a lot, but it’s not like we absolutely dominated everybody. They’re really affordable racecars, the racing’s great and it teaches you a lot.”
BOB STROUD USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:
1969: Billy Engelhart, Madison, Wisconsin
1970: Danny Brown, Rossville, Illinois
1971: Danny Caruthers, Anaheim, California
1972: Tommy Astone, Fresno, California
1973: Mike Gregg, Fort Collins, Colorado
1974: Richard Powell, Enid, Oklahoma
1975: Larry Patton, Anaheim, California
1976: James McElreath, Arlington, Texas
1977: Lonnie Caruthers, Corona Del Mar, California
1978: Tommy Thomas, Dana Point, California
1979: Barry Butterworth, Auckland, New Zealand
1980: Trevor Boys, Calgary, Alberta
1981: Sherman Armstrong Jr., Winchester, Indiana
1982: Chris Maxson, McHenry, Illinois
1983: John Andretti, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
1984: Russ Gamester, Peru, Indiana
1985: Bobby Allen, Carmel, Indiana
1986: Steve Enlow, Tulsa, Oklahoma
1987: John Meyers, Oak Brook, Illinois
1988: Jim Keeker, Cicero, Indiana
1989: Jeff Gordon, Vallejo, California
1990: Dan Ford, Saint Peters, Missouri
1991: Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, Michigan
1992: Brian Gerster, Indianapolis, Indiana
1993: Chuck Leary, Greenfield, Indiana
1994: David Bridges, Indianapolis, Indiana
1995: Ryan Newman, South Bend, Indiana
1996: Carl Olsen, Auckland, New Zealand
1997: Nick Lundgreen, Franklin, Wisconsin
1998: Michael Lewis, Noblesville, Indiana
1999: A.J. Fike, Galesburg, Illinois
2000: Aaron Fike, Galesburg, Illinois
2001: Bobby East, Brownsburg, Indiana
2002: Teddy Beach, Donnelsville, Ohio
2002: Ron Gregory, Noblesville, Indiana
2003: Ryan Durst, Lincoln, Nebraska
2004: Todd Beach, Donnelsville, Ohio
2005: Darren Hagen, Riverside, California
2006: Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, Indiana
2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch, Mississippi
2008: Chad Boat, Phoenix, Arizona
2009: Zach Daum, Pocahontas, Illinois
2010: Daniel Bedford, Brentwood, California
2011: Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, California
2012: Rico Abreu, Saint Helena, California
2013: Christopher Bell, Norman, Oklahoma
2014: Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Alabama
2015: Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, Indiana
2016: Carson Macedo, Lemoore, California
2017: Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, California
2018: Logan Seavey, Sutter, California
2019: Andrew Layser, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
2020: Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, California
2021: Chase Randall, Waco, Texas
2022: Mitchel Moles, Raisin City, California
2023: Gavin Miller, Allentown, Pennsylvania
2024: Zach Wigal, Belpre, Ohio
