INDIANAPOLIS — One championship is pretty nice. But a second one was twice as nice for Tyler Nelson.
The Olathe, Kansas racer successfully defended his USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget championship in 2026 by racking up three feature victories, plus a series-leading 10 top fives, 13 top tens, three fast qualifying times, and seven heat race wins during the 13-race series to defeat Bryce Massingill by a 40-point margin in the final tally.
During the 2025 season, Nelson finished 4th at Moler, 3rd at Lawrenceburg, and 2nd at Lincoln Park. This year, Nelson won at all three as he quadrupled his career win count from one to four throughout the 2026 campaign. Along the way, he increased his average feature finishing position from 4.5 to 4.3 between 2025 to 2026.
Nelson’s goal coming off a championship season was modest but very precise. That was primarily to up his game on the racetracks that had the upper hand on him in recent years. Box checked.
“What a season,” the 29-year-old Nelson exclaimed. “At the start of the year, we had one goal in mind, and that was to finish better at the places we struggled at in 2025. I would definitely say we accomplished that.”
Nelson led all 25 laps in wire-to-wire fashion in a dominating score at Williamsburg, Ohio’s Moler Raceway Park in May as he ran the high line to perfection toward a whopping winning margin of 6.054 seconds.
In what he described as “the biggest win of my career,” Nelson charged from seventh to first in the first two laps en route to the winner’s circle at Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway in August.
Up to this point, and throughout much of the season, the point lead exchanged hands between Nelson, Matt Lux, and Bryce Massingill. However, with his fifth to first run to the win in the next to last race in September at Putnamville, Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway, Nelson vaulted into the point lead for good.
Nelson sealed the deal with a solid fifth place result in the October finale at Indiana’s Montpelier Speedway. In doing so, Nelson became the third driver in the 11-year history of the series to capture consecutive titles: Aaron Leffel (2017, 2018 & 2019) and Jacob Denney (2020 & 2021).
“None of this would be possible without the support from Mike Hurst, Jeff Hurst, Justin Axline, and all of our amazing partners,” Nelson added. “Plus, LynK Chassis for the best midget chassis on the planet, 4 Piston Cylinder Heads and Luke Wilson for the reliable power plant. Advanced Racing Suspensions for their shocks and tuning support. Alchemy Engineering for their fueling service. Superior Bearing & Supply for their rod ends and bearings. The Auto Spot for their support to help us get to the racetrack. Hoosier Tire Midwest for their fantastic customer service and support. Earl’s Indy Service Shop for the best hoses and hardware in racing. TJ Forged for the amazing wheels. West Evans for his fantastic products and customer service, and Curtis Motor Sales for giving me the ability to race.”
