Just four days before the start of USAC Indiana Midget Week, Karter Sarff didn’t have a team and Paul May Motorsports didn’t have a driver.

Just nine nights after a chance phone call, both became first-time USAC Indiana Midget Week champions in 2026, with Sarff earning the $15,000 top prize, and totaling $24,750 when all added up for five nights of work.

On the strength of a first career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory in round two of the series at Paragon Speedway, plus three top-fives and five top-tens in five feature starts to go along with three fast qualifying times, Sarff and May conquered the USAC Indiana Midget Week crown by a three-point margin, the third closest points differential in IMW’s 22-year history.

With the title, Sarff, who hails from Mason City, Illinois, became the first Land of Lincoln racer to capture the Indiana Midget Week crown since Shane Cottle in 2006.

“It hasn’t even really set in yet,” the 23-year-old Sarff, nicknamed The Shark, remarked. “With all the hard work we’ve put in, I’m just grateful for Paul, grateful for Toyota, and everyone who’s a part of his car who helps make it happen. We weren’t even planning on doing it until last Friday, So, this is super cool and I’m just grateful for everyone who’s part of it.”

May, a longtime winged sprint car driver, gave a call to Sarff just last week when a previous deal had fallen through for another driver to wheel his Paul May Motorsports/Peffley & Hinshaw Wrecker Service – Factory 71/Ripper/Speedway Toyota No. 71m. Needless to say, it turned out to be a perfect match.

“Last week started out that he wasn’t even going to run Indiana Midget week, so I made a phone call to ask Karter to fill in for a driver that couldn’t make it for me,” May revealed. “Karter and I are super competitive together and we knew we had a chance at it. I just didn’t know that it could really happen.”

Sarff and May’s working relationship came together three years ago when Sarff drove the Chase Briscoe Racing midget at the Chili Bowl Nationals, and May was serving as the team’s crew chief. At the time, midget racing was still brand new to May.

“I didn’t really know him before then, and throughout all the success, I think we worked really well together and wanted to do more. We had speed right out of the gate, and then I went on to work on his 21K for the next two years pretty much full time. We had a lot of success at the local level, the Xtreme Outlaw series, and POWRi (with whom Sarff was a champion in 2023). Here we are all these years later and we’re Indiana Midget Week champions. That’s pretty cool.”

Indiana Midget Week started off fairly pedestrian for Sarff, all things considered, taking a 10th place finish in Tuesday’s opener at Circle City. But throughout the week, qualifying set the team up for success, generating superb feature starting spots each night. Sarff reeled off three quick times in the first three events at Circle City, Paragon and Lincoln Park, running his streak to an Indiana Midget Week record five consecutive quick times dating back to the previous two events of 2025.

“I think, ultimately, what won us the championship was qualifying,” Sarff acknowledged. “To do five in a row was cool. Paul’s just really good. I mean, that’s all there is to it. At a lot of the tracks, we struggled in hot laps. Then, we go out there and go quick time. That just shows how good he is with keeping up with the track and knowing what I like and getting me comfortable.”

On night two at Paragon, Sarff earned the rare distinction of winning his first career USAC National Midget feature and the Indiana Midget Week title in the same week, just the third driver to accomplish the feat: Shane Cottle (2006) and Christopher Bell (2013). But of all the places on the docket Sarff thought he had a good chance to break through, Paragon was not top of mind.

“Definitely not the first race truck I thought I was going to get,” Sarff admitted. “To get the first USAC win knocked off was really the ultimate goal this week. To be able to come out with the championship at the end of it is just awesome.”

For May, the moment could certainly be described as “super special” and he rates it as one of his finest accomplishments in motorsports.

“In all honesty, as a crew chief, I probably only have maybe 50 races under my belt,” May estimated. “To be able to knock off a win while only having very little experience is pretty cool. As a car owner in general, I probably only have 20 races total, ever. To get our first win that quick is really, really cool.”

In the subsequent nights after winning at Paragon, Sarff nailed down results of 4th at Lincoln Park, 3rd at Bloomington, and 7th at Tri-State, and held a three-point edge over Logan Seavey entering the scheduled sixth and final round at Kokomo. However, the Kokomo finale rained out, and Sarff was thereby declared the champion.

Seavey was not initially planning to run the full IMW slate until they got the ball rolling and kept on going, finishing as the runner-up in the standings after tallying a victory on Friday at Bloomington.

Justin Grant, who finished fifth in the IMW standings, was the lone multi-time winner of the series, scoring his first Indiana Midget Week in seven years on Thursday at Lincoln Park. Two nights later, he was back again in victory lane at Tri-State.

Placing 12th in points was Hayden Reinbold who won his first career Indiana Midget Week main event in the opener at Circle City.

Three drivers led the Indiana Midget Week standings at one point in time in 2026. Reinbold after Circle City; Jakeb Boxell after Paragon; Sarff from Lincoln Park on.

The top-six in Indiana Midget Week points finished “in the money” as part of a $30,000 point fund. Sarff pocketed $15,000 followed by Seavey ($6,000), McIntosh ($4,000), Boxell ($2,500), Grant ($1,500) and Jacob Denney ($1,000).

Additionally, Denney picked up USAC Indiana Midget Week Parallax Group Passing Master honors for the second year in a row with 43 total cars passed. Denney also made the biggest move of the week with a 19th to 4th surge at Bloomington.

Seavey led the most laps in the series (45) and was also the only driver to finish inside the top-five in at least four events. McIntosh and Sarff were the lone two drivers who finished all five of their starts inside the top-10. Grant led all drivers with three heat race wins.

Thirty-five drivers participated in Indiana Midget Week 2026 representing 14 United States (Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas & Wisconsin), as well as three different countries (United States, England & Australia).

Twenty-one drivers started all five feature events: 5-Jakeb Boxell, Brandon Carr, Trevor Cline, Bradley Cox, Jacob Denney, Kale Drake, Justin Grant, Kyle Jones, Mack Leopard, Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller, Brecken Reese, Hayden Reinbold, Colton Robinson, Karter Sarff, Logan Seavey, Gunnar Setser, Matt Sherrell, Adam Taylor, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Zach Wigal

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2026 USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK STAT LEADERS

Driver Champion: Karter Sarff

Entrant Champion: Paul May Motorsports

Most Feature Wins: 2-Justin Grant

Laps Led: 45-Logan Seavey

Top-Fives: 4-Logan Seavey

Top-Tens: 5-Cannon McIntosh & Karter Sarff

Fast Qualifying Times: 3-Karter Sarff

Heat Race Wins: 3-Justin Grant

Feature Starts: 5-Jakeb Boxell, Brandon Carr, Trevor Cline, Bradley Cox, Jacob Denney, Kale Drake, Justin Grant, Kyle Jones, Mack Leopard, Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller, Brecken Reese, Hayden Reinbold, Colton Robinson, Karter Sarff, Logan Seavey, Gunnar Setser, Matt Sherrell, Adam Taylor, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Zach Wigal

Most Positions Gained in a Feature: June 8: Kokomo Speedway – Bloomington Speedway – Jacob Denney (19th to 4th)

USAC Indiana Midget Week Parallax Group Passing Master: Jacob Denney (43)

2026 USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK SCHEDULE & RESULTS

June 9: Circle City Raceway – Indianapolis, Indiana

WINNER: Hayden Reinbold (Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports #19AZ)

June 10: Paragon Speedway – Paragon, Indiana

WINNER: Karter Sarff (Paul May Motorsports #71m)

June 11: Lincoln Park Speedway – Putnamville, Indiana

WINNER: Justin Grant (CB Industries #87)

June 12: Bloomington Speedway – Bloomington, Indiana

WINNER: Logan Seavey (Abacus Racing #57)

June 13: Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Indiana

WINNER: Justin Grant (CB Industries #87)

June 14: Kokomo Speedway – Kokomo, Indiana

WINNER: Rained Out

2026 USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK DRIVER POINT STANDINGS

POS.     PTS.      DRIVER, HOMETOWN

1            346       Karter Sarff, Mason City, Illinois

2            343       Logan Seavey, Sutter, California

3            331       Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, Oklahoma

4            306       Jakeb Boxell, Zanesville, Indiana

5            294       Justin Grant, Ione, California

6            287       Jacob Denney, Galloway, Ohio

7            281       Kale Drake, Collinsville, Oklahoma

8            268       Zach Wigal, Belpre, Ohio

9            266       Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Alabama

10          256       Gunnar Setser, Columbus, Indiana

11          239       Gavin Miller, Allentown, Pennsylvania

12          237       Hayden Reinbold, Gilbert, Arizona

13          226       Brecken Reese, Canyon, Texas

14          199       Drake Edwards, Peoria, Arizona

15          197       Colton Robinson, Titusville, Florida

16          190       Kyle Jones, Kennedale, Texas

17          182       Trevor Cline, Mooresville, North Carolina

18          181       Brandon Carr, Sheffield, England

19          179       Mack Leopard, Beavercreek, Ohio

20          167       Matt Sherrell, Collinsville, Oklahoma

21          161       Bradley Cox, Black Forest, Colorado

22          131       Adam Taylor, Wheatfield, Indiana

23          115       Drew Sherman, Phoenix, Arizona

24          114       Ethan Mitchell, Mooresville, North Carolina

25          58          Levi Hinck, Sweet Springs, Missouri

26          40          Mike Unger, Madison, Wisconsin

27          38          Rylan Gray, Greenfield, Indiana

28          24          Alex Midkiff, Belleville, Illinois

29          20          Robert Carson, Concord, California

30          20          Jeff Schindler, Evansville, Indiana

31          10          Chris Hartman, Boulder, Colorado

32          10          Sammy Males, Elk Grove, California

33          10          Chris Serle-Thrussell, Bli Bli, Queensland

34          10          Tony Helton, Cloverdale, Indiana

35          10          Eric Webber, Claremont, Illinois

FEATURE WINS

2-Justin Grant (June 11 at Lincoln Park Speedway & June 13 at Tri-State Speedway)

1-Hayden Reinbold (June 9 at Circle City Raceway)

1-Karter Sarff (June 10 at Paragon Speedway)

1-Logan Seavey (June 12 at Bloomington Speedway)

FEATURE LAPS LED

45-Logan Seavey

39-Justin Grant

17-Brecken Reese & Karter Sarff

12-Jakeb Boxell & Hayden Reinbold

5-Gunnar Setser

3-Bradley Cox

2-Zach Wigal

TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES

4-Logan Seavey

3-Jacob Denney, Cannon McIntosh & Karter Sarff

2-Jakeb Boxell, Drake Edwards, Justin Grant & Kevin Thomas Jr.

1-Kale Drake, Brecken Reese, Hayden Reinbold & Zach Wigal

TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES

5-Cannon McIntosh & Karter Sarff

4-Jakeb Boxell, Kale Drake, Logan Seavey, Gunnar Setser & Kevin Thomas Jr.

3-Jacob Denney, Justin Grant & Zach Wigal

2-Drake Edwards, Gavin Miller, Brecken Reese & Hayden Reinbold

1-Brandon Carr, Trevor Cline & Colton Robinson

FAST QUALIFYING TIMES

3-Karter Sarff

1-Justin Grant & Zach Wigal

FAST QUALIFIERS

June 9: Circle City Raceway – Karter Sarff (12.620)

June 10: Paragon Speedway – Karter Sarff (15.383)

June 11: Lincoln Park Speedway – Karter Sarff (12.643)

June 12: Bloomington Speedway – Zach Wigal (11.955)

June 13: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (14.097)

HEAT RACE WINS:

3-Justin Grant

2-Kale Drake

1-Jakeb Boxell, Brandon Carr, Jacob Denney, Drake Edwards, Mack Leopard, Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller, Brecken Reese, Hayden Reinbold, Logan Seavey, Gunnar Setser & Zach Wigal

SEMI-FEATURE WINS

1-Bradley Cox, Jacob Denney, Drake Edwards, Mack Leopard & Logan Seavey

FEATURE STARTS

5-Jakeb Boxell, Brandon Carr, Trevor Cline, Bradley Cox, Jacob Denney, Kale Drake, Justin Grant, Kyle Jones, Mack Leopard, Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller Brecken Reese, Hayden Reinbold, Colton Robinson, Karter Sarff, Logan Seavey, Gunnar Setser, Matt Sherrell, Adam Taylor, Kevin Thomas Jr. & Zach Wigal

4-Drake Edwards, Ethan Mitchell & Drew Sherman

2-Levi Hinck

1-Rylan Gray & Alex Midkiff

HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE

June 9: Circle City Raceway – Kevin Thomas Jr. (14th to 3rd)

June 10: Paragon Speedway – Jacob Denney (19th to 5th)

June 11: Lincoln Park Speedway – Cannon McIntosh (9th to 2nd)

June 12: Bloomington Speedway – Jacob Denney (19th to 4th)

June 13: Tri-State Speedway – Gavin Miller (14th to 8th)

FASTEST HOT LAP DRIVER

June 9: Circle City Raceway – Justin Grant (12.433)

June 10: Paragon Speedway – Mack Leopard (15.583)

June 11: Lincoln Park Speedway – Trevor Cline (12.760)

June 12: Bloomington Speedway – Hayden Reinbold (11.885)

June 13: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (13.927)

CLEAN AIR AWARD (MOST LAPS LED)

June 9: Circle City Raceway – Brecken Reese (17 laps led)

June 10: Paragon Speedway – Karter Sarff (17 laps led)

June 11: Lincoln Park Speedway – Logan Seavey (16 laps led)

June 12: Bloomington Speedway – Logan Seavey (29 laps led)

June 13: Tri-State Speedway – Justin Grant (25 laps led)