(Photo by Hale Photography)
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. – After just a handful of starts in a midget, Overland Park, Kan. driver Luke Howard is exceedingly becoming a threat to secure his first victory in the division. On July 23 at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., the youngster earned a podium finish for the first time in a midget with his third-place run.
Howard arrived at the third-mile oval in Grain Valley to compete amongst 15 entries in the POWRi-sanctioned Outlaw Midget division. Howard battled hard against the father-son duo of Pat and Kory Schudy in heat race action, ultimately finishing that race in fourth.
The main event lineup put Howard starting inside row five, giving him quite a challenge to move forward amongst several tough drivers from both sides of the Missouri-Kansas border. While it didn’t take the Schudy pair long to get to the front two positions, Howard fought hard to make his way through the much more experienced drivers ahead of him, but he clawed his way into the top five by the halfway point of the race. A late caution flag helped Howard move into third on the restart in his Chevy ECOtec-powered Stealth Chassis No. 2, where he would remain for the final five laps.
Meanwhile, Howard has been successful in micro sprint action at Sweet Springs (Mo.) Motorsports Complex, with two podium finishes and 14 top-tens in 20 starts. The most recent event at the facility resulted in two top-tens for Howard, with a sixth-place finish in the nonwing division, followed up by finishing fifth in the winged class later that night. Though missing several races while splitting time with the midget, Howard has still been able to position himself inside the top ten in points in both classes, as well currently sitting fifth in points at Valley. Pleased with “Lightning Luke’s” quick progress, his father and team owner Trevor noted how well received his son is with his competitors. “He’s doing such a great job against these more experienced guys. I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging about him, but I’m so happy about his results.” In addition, Luke’s younger brother Blake is earning his stripes in the restrictor division at Sweet Springs; his first season in a new class as well, Blake is making his presence known on the track as of late. With two consecutive top-ten finishes in July, the 2015 junior sprint track champion continues to take flight and follow in his brother’s footsteps.
Howard Racing Team would like to thank Canyon Stone, Cash Kid Digital Studios, Nathan Benson Motorsports, AdvanTec Dyno Services, Schure Built Suspension, and Fairfield Motor Sports for their continued support.
Howard is next scheduled to compete on August 5 at Sweet Springs (Mo.) Motorsports Complex in the No. 2 600cc micro sprint entry, and on August 6 at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo. in the No. 2 midget entry.
Quick Results
July 23 – Grain Valley, MO – Midget – Heat: 4th (3); Feature: 3rd (9)
July 30 – Sweet Springs, MO – 600cc Nonwing – Heat: 5th (6); Feature: 6th (7)
July 30 – Sweet Springs, MO – 600cc Stock – Heat: 4th (3); Feature: 5th (10)
2016 Stats
26 races, 26 features, 0 wins, 3 podiums, 8 top-fives, 19 top-tens, 1 DNF