Ryan Middaugh's season began with a wreck on the track and with his truck and trailer on the way home. The Fulton driver has rebounded nicely, as he leads both Lucas Oil Speedway track points and Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points in the USRA Modfied division.

Considering where Ryan Middaugh and his team were in the pre-dawn hours of March 18—on the side of the highway in Central Missouri with their truck and trailer totaledonthings are going amazing well on the track so far in the 2023 racing season.

It was on the drive home to Fulton after a disappointing night at Tulsa Speedway when a strong wind gust sent the vehicles off the road and into a ditch, jolting the occupants but amazingly not injuring anyone.

The truck and trailer were not as fortunate, declared as totaled. Tires, tools and other equipment were strewn inside the trailer with the USRA Modified, already dinged from the race a few hours prior.

"It beat the car to heck," Middaugh said. "Fortunately we had some good friends come down and pick up the car. I figured our season was gonna be way behind after that, but we pushed ahead and got the car fixed that week and borrowed a trailer and we were at Wheatland that next Saturday."

One feature win and three top-five finishes later, Middaugh leads Lucas Oil Speedway's USRA Modified points. Including three feature wins at his hometown Callaway Speedway, he's also atop the most-recent USRA Modified national standings in the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series.

Middaugh will be looking to protect his CUSRA Modified lead on Saturday night as the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series resumes. Gates open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

While he's ready to put the highway accident in the rear-view mirror, Middaugh's ability to overcome the adversity has been impressive. He had to borrow trailers to make it to the track as insurance claims were sorted out before purchasing a new toter and trailer.

"I've not been home a lot since, trying to get everything sorted back out," Middaugh said. "My family has been super understanding. We persevered and kept pushing through it."

And in the bigger overall picture, he's simply thankful no one was hurt in the accident, which occurred around 4 a.m. as the group traveled through the Lake of the Ozarks area.

"Dad, my crew guy Randy and his wife were sleeping in the back on couches," Middaugh said. "They wound up on the floor. We got some pretty good air time hitting that ditch. It ripped back door of the trailer off. Fortunately everybody was OK."

Middaugh gave shout-outs to Jordan Martin, his cousin and a B-Mod racer, along with former B-Mod competitor Jason Watson for loaning his trailers to get him through a one-month period before he located a trailer. Just before his April 22 victory at Wheatland, he made a trip to West Virginia for a replacement truck.

Now he's looking for normalcy, the chance to focus solely on winning races and perhaps chasing down his first Lucas Oil Speedway track championship.

“We’ll keep plugging away, taking it race by race," Middaugh said. "If you start points racing, you’re not gonna be at your full potential. We’re just gonna go out and try to win every race and ultimately put ourselves in position. A championship at Lucas is one of our goals. We have several good guys we’re going up against. Hopefully we can be there at the end.”

The Lucas Ol Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., jumps back into action on Saturday night with kids and moms in the spotlight. Round 5 of the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series is Vietti Marketing Group Night and all mothers will be admitted free to celebrate Mother's Day Weekend.

The USRA Modifieds, Medieval USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods will be in action, along with Hermitage Lumber Late Models. Pit gates open at 4 p.m. with grandstands at 5. Hot laps are set for 6:30 p.m. with racing getting underway at 7:05.

The points are close in the USRA divisions with Middaugh just 13 in front of Mexico's Robbie Reed in the USRA Modifieds; Lebanon's Rob White is six ahead of Mason Beck in Medieval USRA Stock Cars and Bobby Williams of Hermitage leads J.C. Newell by 22 in the USRA B-Mods.

An added attraction during intermission will be the third round of kids' Power Wheel races of the season. For ages 3 through 9, the races will be on the front straightaway with the youngsters navigating a course outlined by orange cones.

The kids can enter their own battery-powered Power Wheel cars by signing up for the Frogs Jr. Fan Club on the south end of the Midway prior to the races. Other kids Power Wheel nights are scheduled for June 17, July 29 and Aug. 26 when a mini-season-champion will crowned along with the four regular Weekly Racing Series classes.

One kids Power Wheel class will be the 6-12 volt cars and another will be for the 24-36 volt class. No power or speed enhancement modifications will be allowed.

The youngsters can bring their Power Wheels to the Frogs Jr Fan Club sign-in, or drop them off at the pit gate and the Power Wheels will be brought to the front stretch at intermission.

Dirt Track Admission:
Free with drag boat ticket or two-day drag boat admission
All mothers free for Mother's Day, courtesy of Vietti Marketing Group
Advance Tickets online only (16 and up) - $12
Adults (16 and up) - $15
Seniors (62 and up)/Military - $12
Youth (6-15) - $5
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family Pass - $35
Pit Pass - $35

KDBA Spring Opener on Lake Lucas: Earlier on Saturday, some of the world's fastest boats return for the Kentucky Drag Boat Association-sanctioned KDBA Spring Opener on Lake Lucas. Ten divisions, headlined by the 200 miles-per-hour Top Alcohol Hydro boats, will be in action competing for a minimum prize purse of $33,200.

For information about any event at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2023 contact admissions director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or email her at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.

For more than two decades, the USRA has attracted more and more racetracks and dirt track racers each year through fair, logical and cost-effective rules accompanied by an organization that puts the racers, racetracks and their fans first. In the 2023 Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series, as many as 60 of America’s finest dirt ovals plan to host more than 1,000 nights of racing.

USRA competitors can register online at MyRacePass today. Alternatively, you can call (515) 832-6000 to register by phone, or submit a completed USRA License Application by email at office@usraracing.com or fax (515) 832-7958. You can download the application at usraracing.com/downloads.

To learn more, check out usraracing.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to get USRA news delivered to your inbox.

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USRA RACETRACKS: 67 Speedway, 81 Speedway, Alien Motor Speedway, Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Arrowhead Speedway, Boothill Speedway, Callaway Raceway, Caney Valley Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Crawford County Speedway, Cresco Speedway, Dallas County Speedway, Deer Creek Speedway, Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Diamond Park Speedway, Eagle Valley Speedway, Elk City Motorsports Park, Fairmont Raceway, Fayette County Speedway, Hamilton County Speedway, Humboldt Speedway, I-35 Speedway, I-90 Speedway, Lakeside Speedway, Lawton Speedway, Legacy Speedway, Longdale Speedway, Lucas Oil Speedway, Mason City Motor Speedway, Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Moberly Motorsports Park, Monett Raceway, Outlaw Motor Speedway, Rapid Speedway, Red Cedar Speedway, Red Dirt Raceway, Rocket Raceway Park, Route 66 Motor Speedway, RPM Speedway, Sabine Speedway, Salina Highbanks Speedway, Sandia Speedway, Sports Park Raceway, Springfield Raceway, Super Bee Speedway, Thunder Valley Speedway, Tomahawk Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, Tulsa Speedway, US 36 Raceway, Vado Speedway Park, West Texas Raceway, Winneshiek Raceway.