Denney wins Jefferson County feature after leading final 29 laps
NXTbets Pro | Published On: July 11, 2026
Denney wins at Jefferson County
Jacob Denney won the 30-lap USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Nebraska, and he did it by taking control on lap 2 and leading the final 29 laps after Gavin Miller led the opening lap. The Galloway, Ohio, driver scored the victory in a Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports Toyota and added another front-running result to a season that keeps building. The triumph was Denney’s second straight Mid-America Midget Week win, his third USAC national midget win of 2026 and his ninth overall victory this year. It also came with a career milestone, as Denney became the seventh Toyota-powered driver to reach 30 career national midget feature wins. He cleared the early challenge quickly, then kept the race under control the rest of the way. The night ended with Denney on top and his series position strengthened, as he left Jefferson County with a 56-point lead over Kevin Thomas Jr., 775 to 719.
Jefferson County order behind Denney
Behind Denney, Jacob Boxell finished second, Miller took third and Cannon McIntosh crossed fourth. Kale Drake delivered the biggest move in the feature, climbing from 19th to fifth and earning hard-charger honors. That run gave the back half of the top five some movement, even as the front of the field settled after Denney’s pass for the lead. Miller’s opening lap put him in front early, but Denney answered on lap 2 and the order at the top stayed locked in from there. Boxell held second once the race sorted itself out, Miller stayed in the podium spots in third and McIntosh filled fourth. Drake’s drive through the field stood out because it came from deep in the lineup and ended with a top-five finish. The feature then settled into a steady final stretch with Denney controlling the pace and the drivers behind him racing for position. The result gave the event a clear winner, a solid second through fourth and one major charge from the middle of the pack to fifth.
Denney season numbers
Justin Grant set the pace in qualifying with a lap of 11.122 seconds, and that time stood as the fast-qualifier mark for the night. Brecken Reese won the first heat race and Matt Sherrell won the C-Main, so the program delivered strong moments before the feature even rolled. Those results framed the main event and showed the depth in the field at Jefferson County Speedway. Grant’s quick lap put him at the top of time trials, while Reese and Sherrell handled their preliminaries and moved on with wins of their own. Once the feature began, Denney’s pass on lap 2 took over the spotlight and stayed there through the finish. The numbers from the night also kept Denney’s season in sharp focus. He now has three USAC national midget wins in 2026, nine total victories this year and 30 career national midget feature wins. The victory also kept him in command of the standings with a 56-point edge over Kevin Thomas Jr. Those figures gave the night a clear shape, with Denney extending his run at the front and the rest of the field filling in the order behind him.
