Brown dominates at Kalamazoo
Landon Brown scores his first Kenyon Midget Series victory at Kalamazoo Speedway on 8/1/2025. (Rick Kimball photo)
By Ken de la Bastide
KALAMAZOO, MI – After missing the first four races of the 2025 season, due to a back injury he suffered earlier this year at the Fort Wayne Rumble, Landon Brown turned in an impressive performance in winning for the first time in a Kenyon Midget. It also marked the first feature win in the series for the Jeff Hill Trailer Sales team, which placed two drivers on the podium.
Brown set a new track record during qualifying with a lap of 13.697-seconds to claim the K&K Marketing Fast Qualifying award. It was Brown's second consecutive fast qualifier award.
Brown and Clayton Gaines claimed KRJ Race Products heat wins which set the stage for the 20-lap feature.
Current point leaders Dameron Taylor and Isaac Johnson started on the front row following the inversion with Eli Fox and Brown in the second row. Taylor took the lead at the start with Johnson, Fox, Brown and Trisdon Brown all running in a tight pack.
Drivers were using different lines coming off the fourth corner, some hugging the bottom and several trying to make the high line work. Landon Brown took the lead from Taylor on the 14th circuit with an inside pass coming off the fourth corner.
Brown went on to record the victory over Johnson with Kyle Sheard, Taylor and Gaines rounding out the top five.
Sheard earned the Advanced Racing Suspensions Hard Charger award after starting 12th.
“This means everything,” Brown said in victory lane. “This was an amazing team effort.” Brown said the crew gave him a strong car that was particularly good on the long runs.
Johnson in a heated battled with Taylor for the point lead said his car was a little free in the first and second corners, but was pleased with the second place finish.
Sheard, who has been fast all year but with no luck, finished on the podium for the first time in 2025 after placing fourth in the Mel and Don Kenyon Classic at Anderson Speedway.
“This was a huge win for the team,” Sheard said of Brown's victory. “It means a lot to put two cars in the top three.
“We struggled early in the night,” he said. “But changed tires for the feature race.”