Kenyon drivers looking for Little 500 success
By Ken de la Bastide
ANDERSON – When the green flag waves to start the 77th running of the Unified Services Group Little 500 there could be seven veterans of the Kenyon Midget Series on the grid.
Caleb Armstrong became the most recent Kenyon Midget Series graduate to win the Little 500 with a last lap pass of his cousin, Dakoda a year ago. Caleb Armstrong posted eight feature wins in a Kenyon Midget.
Dakoda has won six Kenyon features and has two second place finishes in the Little 500 accomplishing the feat in 2022 and 2024.
Kyle Hamilton, the 2017 Little 500 champion, won ten Kenyon features and is returning to the sprint car wars this year.
Chris Windom won the Little 500 in 2011 and 2015 and had scored five Kenyon Midget feature wins. Jacob Wilson had two Kenyon Midget wins and went on to win the 2013 and 2014 Little 500.
Kyle O'Gara enters Little 500 week with 15 Kenyon Midget victories under his belt and has recorded two fourth-place finishes in the Little 500 in 2020 and 2022.
Jackson Macenko is looking to make his second Little 500 start and was the 500 Sprint Car Tour rookie of the year in 2023. Macenko has seven feature wins in Kenyon Midget action.
Taylor Ferns has one Kenyon feature win, scored a 500 Sprint Car Tour win a year ago at Salem Speedway and is looking to become the fifth women to make the Little 500 field.
Ferns will be contending for Rookie of the Year honors in the Little 500 along with Colton Bettis. Bettis won the 2023 Don and Mel Kenyon Classic at Anderson Speedway in his only Kenyon Midget Series start to date.
Noblesville driver Billy Wease has nine wins in a Kenyon Midget at the Speedrome, and has made ten starts in the Little 500 finishing a career best second in his first start in 2012 and drove to a fifth place showing in 2024. Wease won a 500 Sprint Car Tour event a year ago at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
The 77th Unified Group Services Little 500 presented by UAW takes place on Saturday May 24 at Anderson Speedway. All seating is reserved and tickets are available at www.andersonspeedwasy.com. The race will also be live streamed on DIRTVision