INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The United States Auto Club Indiana Midget Week is in full swing across the Hoosier state. 

There are just two races remaining this week: One at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt on Saturday, and the finale at Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo on Sunday.  

“To be running Midget week itself is a blessing,” driver Ryan Timms said.

Timms, an Oklahoma City native, is finding plenty of success on the track so far this week. He is currently second in the USAC Indiana Midget Week standings, 31 points behind USAC Indiana Midget Week points leader Daison Pursley.

Pursley, like Timms, is also an Oklahoma native. Pursley’s hometown is Locust Grove, Oklahoma.

Cannon McIntosh is in third place in this week’s standings entering Saturday. And guess what? He also is from Oklahoma. McIntosh’s hometown is Bixby, Oklahoma.

“I love this week,” Timms said. “I love all the tracks here in Indiana.”

Timms, who is just 17 years old, started the week off strong. He stormed to victory on Wednesday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway, the first race of the USAC Indiana Midget Week (after Circle City Raceway’s event was rained out on Tuesday). On Thursday, he finished in second place at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville. Then, on Friday, he finished in 11^th place at Bloomington Speedway.

“The standards are definitely high, but I feel like I’m very capable of meeting those standards,” Timms said. 

He’s showing off those skills on the track this week. In fact, he’s passed the most cars (25) of any driver during the past three races.

“Running so many Midget races, I’ve gotten really comfortable in the car,” Timms said. “And I’ve just adapted really well to it. I learn something new every single night. I just take what opportunities are given and make the most out of them, and try to learn everything I can going into the next night.”

The highlight of his week so far was his victory on Wednesday. What made it even more special for the Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio–IWX–Mobil 1/LynK/Speedway Toyota driver was that the victory gave Mike Curb his 200^th career victory as a USAC national entrant.

“Going into that race, I had no idea that that was a thing,” Timms joked. “And I didn’t know that that was his 200^th win until I got out of the car in victory lane.”

Timms added it was an honor to be a part of that moment. 

“To be able to race for him, and to get their 200^th win at a place like Lawrenceburg, in a race week like Midget Week, it’s really awesome,” Timms said.

Timms also won at Lawrenceburg Speedway during USAC Indiana Midget Week in 2023.

Oklahoma will no longer enforce mandates or recommendations from the World Health Organization under a new bill signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Thursday, June 6th 2024, 9:31 am

By:

News 9

Oklahoma will no longer enforce mandates or recommendations from the World Health Organization under a new bill signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt.

The bill prohibits the state from enforcing guidelines from the WHO, and also applies guidelines from the United Nations and the World Economic Forum.

“Those [guidelines] that relate to masks, vaccines, medical testing, or gathering any public or private information about Oklahoma residents,” Stitt said.

The “Fantastic Four,” they called it.

The Big 12 rested on the brink of change in 2011 – much as it does now. Colorado and Nebraska had their bags packed for new conferences. Missouri and Texas A&M weren’t far behind, soon to be off to the SEC.

The 2011 Women’s College World Series provided a moment of celebration and conference pride that briefly interrupted that period of Big 12 turbulence.

Four of the eight WCWS participants in 2011 hailed from the Big 12: Baylor, Missouri, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Texas and Texas A&M also fielded top teams that season, although they were eliminated before reaching Oklahoma City.

“It’s a testament to this conference being one of the best,” Sooners softball coach Patty Gasso told a reporter at the time.

That was true then. By next spring, it’ll be but a memory.

One by one, the SEC gutted the Big 12. The ramifications are especially apparent in softball.

Big 12 softball took a curtain call this past week. The WCWS finals pit rivals Oklahoma and Texas against one another. Oklahoma swept the best-of-three series to four-peat as national champions after Texas had earned the No. 1 seed.

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In less than a month, both schools will call the SEC home.

By now, Missouri and Texas A&M know the terrain. The SEC qualified all 13 of its softball-playing members for the NCAA Tournament this season – the Tigers and Aggies among them.

The decay of the Big 12, as we once knew it, coincided with the surge of SEC softball. Many analyses have been penned from softball aficionados about the shift in conference dominance from the Pac-10 to the SEC. The SEC invested in its coaches, facilities and recruiting to help fuel its softball takeover.

Part of the SEC’s ascent, though, simply stems from brute force and its seizure of Missouri and Texas A&M and now Oklahoma and Texas. The former two made the conference stronger in softball. The latter two will solidify it as a juggernaut.

I don’t blame the SEC. When desirable schools became available, it pounced and strengthened itself. It’s not personal. Just business. And good for the business of SEC softball, at the Big 12’s expense.

Missouri, Texas A&M and now Oklahoma and Texas became the SEC’s “Fantastic Four.”  

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, and newsletter, SEC Football Unfiltered. Subscribe to read all of his columns.