Ryan Timms is returning to the national Midget circuit in 2024, chasing the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota championship.
Timms, 17, of Oklahoma City, OK, is one of the brightest young stars in open-wheel racing and has renewed his partnership with Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) to pilot the JBL Audio, LynK/Toyota #67 in all 30 races on the Xtreme Outlaw Series calendar.
“I’m to the point where I really want it, and I’m putting in as much work as I can to get better,” Timms said. “This coming season, I’m really trying to make a statement throughout the whole year.”
Timms contested the entire USAC National Midget Series schedule in 2023, winning three Features and clinching fourth place in the championship points standings. He also mixed in 11 starts with the Xtreme Outlaw Series and, after repeated misfortune racing for the win, finally scored his first Series win at Port City Raceway in October, leading all 55 laps of the Donnie Ray Crawford Sooner State 55.
“It shows the speed we had,” Timms said. “To be up front at 90 percent of the races we were at, it makes me feel really good for this year.”
This year will mark Timms’ second consecutive full-time season as part of Midget racing’s most decorated team at Keith Kunz Motorsports. He and KKM crew chief Beau Binder are aiming to build on the progress they made last season, which was Timms’ best thus far.
“All the races we were at [in 2023], I was either leading or, at the worst, I was in a top-10 or top-eight spot,” Timms said. “Most of the time, me and Beau were just getting more and more comfortable working together, and he’s just getting me faster and faster every night.”
While he amps-up his Midget efforts, Timms won’t neglect the Sprint Car. He’s set to drive his family-owned #5T at a variety of 410 and 360 races this season, including the upcoming Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout at Volusia Speedway Park, Jan. 25-27.
Since his breakout season in 2022, Timms has been turning heads across the country in both the winged Sprint Car and Midget ranks – most notably recording a second-place finish in his second career start with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. He’s bagged several Feature wins at the regional and national level and established himself as a major player at nearly every event he competes in.
While he navigates what is set to be the busiest season of his career, Timms recognizes the challenges he’ll face and the opportunity to better himself as he continues to try and move up the motorsports ladder.
“When you go from a Sprint Car to a Midget, it takes a few races to get used to the feel of a Midget again,” Timms said. “Now that I’m doing both, I’ll be running just as many Midget races as I am Sprint Car races – probably more.”
Despite some of his misfortunes with the Xtreme Outlaw Series last year, Timms has put it all behind him. A flat tire, a mechanical malfunction, even a late-race pass for the win – he’s not letting any of those past results get in the way of his pursuit of a national Midget series championship in 2024.
“The big deal when it comes to the championship is gonna be luck,” Timms said. “Performance too, obviously, but I had a lot of bad luck last year. Hopefully, we have some good luck this year and can put some solid runs together and put a good season together.”
Timms’ run to the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota championship begins with the 2024 season opener inside the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, IL, March 15-16, live on DIRTVision.
