Racing on the national level for more than a decade, Kyle Jones has established himself as a seasoned veteran in the dirt Midget world.
In the span since his Midget debut in the final POWRi National Midget League event at Cowtown Speedway in 2012, Jones has become a journeyman driver with appearances for Trifecta Motorsports, Royal Power Sports, and CL Motorsports in scattered starts with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.
In 2025, the Kennedale, TX driver made three Series visits at Humboldt Speedway, 81 Speedway, and Arrowhead Speedway in the No. 60X Ripper Chassis, but then Tim Engler reached out and asked him to drive the No. 7X Midget. Jones knew the caliber of car he was driving as Engler had celebrated triumphs with Thomas Meseraull multiple times and helped Joe B. Miller earn his first national Series win in July at Spoon River Speedway.
“It’s been a heck of a journey,” Jones said. “I’ve gotten to drive for a lot of great car owners over the past few years, but Tim gave me the opportunity to come out here, and they’ve got a great piece. Obviously, ‘T-Mez’ and Joe B. (Miller) have proven that, so I knew when I stepped in it, I had to step up my game.”
Jones made his first start with that team at Action Track USA for the Appalachian Midget Week opener, finishing 10th on the night. The next day at Linda’s Speedway changed Jones’ outlook for the rest of the week after outdueling Series rookie Michael Faccinto for his first career national victory.
While Jones is going for the win every single time he’s behind the wheel, he did not expect the success to come as quickly as it did on that August night.
“We went to Action Track and it was just trying to get acclimated to the car and things like that,” Jones said. “So, it was a learning curve for me at Action Track, then as soon as we went out to Linda’s for Hot Laps, I realized how good we were, how good the car was, and how comfortable I was around the racetrack.
“I knew Chuck (Adams) and Donnie (Gentry) were going to give me a great piece, and obviously, Tim gives us all the tools we need to be fast and up front. I didn’t know if I expected to win, but I wanted my first win, and I knew this car was capable of doing it for me.”
Jones continued to ride the wave of momentum through the duration of the four days, earning an additional podium at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway to finish second in the Appalachian Midget Week points standings.
Adding a top-five finish in the Xtreme-POWRi Challenge Series finale weekend at Doe Run Raceway and a Summit Racing Equipment Hard Charger award in his eighth-place effort at Highland Speedway, Jones said he hopes the trophies come more easily with the first win completed.
“Usually, the first one is the hardest to get out of the way, then they start flowing, right?” Jones said. “Hopefully, it’s a case of that. It’s a lot off my back too, because when I race for other teams, I’m kind of the crew chief as well. So, having Donnie and Chuck do the work and making the calls is a lot off my shoulders, so I can focus on driving the race car.
“It’s been 10 years coming, and I’ve been hard at the Midget scene for a long time. So, it was a relief because at some point I was thinking, ‘Well, I may be the most successful Midget driver without a national win.’ I never wanted that title, but I’m glad we got it out of the way and the future’s looking bright for us.”
Heading into the final two tracks of the 2025 season, Jones is seeking to better his career-best finishes at Jacksonville Speedway and Millbridge Speedway after time away from visiting. In two separate visits from 2022 and 2023, Jones owns a best finish of eighth at Jacksonville, while his highest result at Millbridge is a ninth-place result from the inaugural 2022 Series event.
“Jacksonville, I’ve had some decent runs, but not that I’ve expected like top fives or the win,” Jones said. “We’ve had some speed. I like the place a lot. It’s a nice, big, wide quarter mile for a Midget, and I’m really looking forward to getting there; it’s just been a while.
“Millbridge is a love/hate relationship. I was the first Xtreme High-Point driver in Series history, and we ended up running somewhere in the top-10 that night. But ever since then, I just have a struggle of a time getting ahold of that place. Knowing I’m going with Chuck, Donnie, and Tim, we speak each other’s language on what we want and what I want in the car. So, I’m really excited to get to some of these places with these guys.”
Jones will close out the 2025 Xtreme Outlaw Midget season behind the wheel of the Engler Machine and Tool No. 7X Spike Chassis, beginning with the penultimate weekend at Jacksonville Speedway for the Honest Abe Roofing Open Wheel Showdown on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 3-4.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App.
