Zach Wigal wired all 25 laps to capture Friday night’s USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget feature victory at Findlay, Ohio’s Millstream Speedway.
The 2023 series champion from Belpre, Ohio started from the pole and never looked back as he raced to his second triumph of the series season by a 0.691 second margin in a race that was slowed by only one caution.
Joining Wigal on the podium was Jakeb Boxell (Zanesville, Indiana) and Matt Lux (Manilla, Indiana).
Bryce Massingill (Troy, Ohio) entered the race as the series point leader but crashed out of the feature. Furthermore, Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, Ohio), fourth in points, dropped out early with mechanical issues, opening the door for Tyler Nelson, Matt Lux and Wigal to advance up the standings.
Lux was the VMS Motorsports Fast Qualifier, turning a 16.161 second lap. Wigal won the Performance Electronics First Heat while Boxell captured the Stiefel Home & Auto Second Heat as Ian Creager (Covington, Ohio) scored the Hoosier Auto Racing Fan Club Third Heat.
Michael Magic (Winder, Georgia) earned his second consecutive Performance Powder Coating Hard Charger award. Back in the family owned No. 5m, he started 16th and raced up to an eighth place feature finish.
Massingill received the Lynn Cook A Racers Friend Hard Luck award after flipping on lap 13 of the feature while running in second place. He was uninjured, but the crash ended his two race series winning streak.
Boxell took the Rosewood Machine and Tool Company Precision Move of the Race. Boxell is always an exciting competitor with multiple Precision Move awards to his credit over the last several years. Starting fifth, Boxell moved into the second spot on lap 17, 1.9 seconds behind race leader Wigal. Over the final eight laps, Boxell closed to within 0.691 seconds as he charged to the front, running his fastest lap of the night on lap 19.
Abby Hohlbein received the LynK Chassis cash bonus for finishing in the 10th position during the feature.
Creager picked up the Wilwood Disc Brakes Tough Brake of the Race gift certificate after pulling the number nine pill in the feature redraw. Creager went on to finish fifth in the feature.
Taten Long (Miller City, Ohio) was the recipient of a Saldana Racing Products gift certificate after being the first driver out of the feature.
USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE RESULTS: August 8, 2025 – Millstream Speedway – Findlay, Ohio
VMS MOTORSPORTS FIRST QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Matt Lux, 5, Wells-16.161; 2. Zach Wigal, 18, Wigal-16.338; 3. Ryan Moran, 01, Moran-16.479; 4. Chett Gehrke, 10, Moore-16.579; 5. Abby Hohlbein, 11H, Hohlbein-16.630; 6. Cody Dye, 4T, Dye-17.501; 7. Derrick Noffsinger, 18N, Noffsinger-18.017; 8. Michael Magic, 5m, Magic-NT
VMS MOTORSPORTS SECOND QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Bryce Massingill, 35, Massingill-16.560; 2. Cole Morgan, 7m, Morgan-16.566; 3. Tyler Nelson, 91, Nelson-16.663; 4. Buddy Hollmeyer, 11, Taylor-17.243; 5. Taten Long, 99, Long-17.806; 6. Alex Watson, 3w, Watson-NT; 7. Jakeb Boxell, 44JB, Boxell/Merkler-NT.
VMS MOTORSPORTS THIRD QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Luke Hall, 74, Heitmeyer-16.362; 2. Wes Pinkerton, 211, Pinkerton-16.482; 3. Ian Creager, 36, Creager-16.683; 4. Jon Watson, 2w, Watson-17.080; 5. Brayden Schwartz, 55s, Schwartz-17.115; 6. Dylan Trost, 21, Trost-17.167; 7. Jim Jones, 97, Jones-17.963.
PERFORMANCE ELECTRONICS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Zach Wigal (3), 2. Chett Gehrke (1), 3. Matt Lux (4), 4. Ryan Moran (2), 5. Abby Hohlbein (5), 6. Michael Magic (8), 7. Derrick Noffsinger (7), 8. Cody Dye (6). NT
STIEFEL’S HOME & AUTO SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jakeb Boxell (7), 2. Bryce Massingill (4), 3. Tyler Nelson (2), 4. Cole Morgan (3), 5. Buddy Hollmeyer (1), 6. Taten Long (5). NT
HOOSIER AUTO RACING FANS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ian Creager (2), 2. Luke Hall (4), 3. Wes Pinkerton (3), 4. Brayden Schwartz (1), 5. Dylan Trost (5), 6. Jim Jones (6), 7. Jon Watson (7). NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Zach Wigal (1), 2. Jakeb Boxell (5), 3. Matt Lux (3), 4. Chett Gehrke (4), 5. Ian Creager (9), 6. Wes Pinkerton (7), 7. Tyler Nelson (6), 8. Michael Magic (16), 9. Cole Morgan (11), 10. Abby Hohlbein (13), 11. Dylan Trost (15), 12. Brayden Schwartz (12), 13. Buddy Hollmeyer (14), 14. Derrick Noffsinger (19), 15. Jim Jones (18), 16. Jon Watson (20), 17. Cody Dye (21), 18. Alex Watson (22), 19. Bryce Massingill (2), 20. Ryan Moran (10), 21. Luke Hall (8), 22. Taten Long (17). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Zach Wigal.
NEXT USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: August 16, 2025 – Montpelier Motor Speedway – Montpelier, Indiana
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
VMS Motorsports Fast Qualifier: Matt Lux (16.161)
Performance Electronics First Heat Winner: Zach Wigal
Stiefel’s Home & Auto Second Heat Winner: Jakeb Boxell
Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Third Heat Winner: Ian Creager
Performance Powder Coating Hard Charger: Michael Magic (16th to 8th)
LynK Chassis 10th Place Bonus: Abby Hohlbein
Saldana Racing Products First Out: Taten Long
Wilwood Disc Brakes Tough Brake (Highest Pill Drawn): Ian Creager
Rosewood Machine & Tool Precision Move: Jakeb Boxell
Lynn Cook A Racer’s Friend Hard Luck: Bryce Massingill
USAC PR