KASEY KAHNE RACING DRIVER BRAD SWEET FINISHES 2009 AS USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP RUNNER-UP
Mooresville, NC (December 1, 2009) – Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR) driver Brad Sweet completed his 2009 season with a sixth-place finish in the 69th annual Lucas Oil "Turkey Night Grand Prix" at Southern California’s Irwindale Speedway on Thanksgiving Night to finish second overall in the final USAC Mopar® National Midget standings, just eight points shy of champion Brad Kuhn.
“I knew that if Brad Kuhn finished 16th or worse, I had to finish in the top three to win the championship,” Sweet said about Turkey Night. “I drove as hard as I could, but I just couldn’t get up into the top three.”
Sweet, an Alpine, Calif. native, posted three wins on the USAC Mopar National Midget circuit in 2009 in his Ollie’s Bargain Outlet No. 49 ASE / CURB Records / Mopar midget car, capturing victories at Manzanita (Phoenix, Ariz.), Salem (Ind.) and Eldora (Rossburg, Ohio) speedways.
“At the midway point of the year, we knew we had a chance to go for the title.” Sweet added. “It was a hard-fought team effort with great support from Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, ASE and Curb Records.”
Sweet entered the Turkey Night Grand Prix 40 points outside of first place, but he gained ground when Kuhn got involved in an incident on lap 12, allowing Sweet to make up significant points, but not enough to overcome the spread to win the season title.
“The whole Kasey Kahne Racing team is very proud of Brad for a great 2009 season,” said team owner Kasey Kahne, the 2000 USAC National Midget champion. “He nearly pulled off the championship, which would have been our first title for Brad and the KKR team.”
For 2010, Sweet will run a mixed schedule of USAC and World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series races for Kasey Kahne Racing to complement a stock car racing schedule that has him piloting the No. 90 Great Clips Toyota Tundra in at least eight races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Stringer Motorsports.
For more information on Kasey Kahne Racing, visit
http://www.kkr9.com/.
