The 2009 season is officially over, and I am the 2009 Kenyon Midget Series champion.  

Saturday October 3 at Anderson Speedway was scheduled to be the season finale.  All I really needed to do was start the Feature to clinch the championship but I was looking forward to another day of racing. Unfortunately, the day didn't play out quite as I expected or hoped.  

It was a chilly day and we struggled to get the car to grip going through the corners. During qualifying I wasn't able to get the tires heated up in time, and could muster no better than 3rd best K-car and 8th overall.  It was my worst qualifying result of the season but I wasn't really concerned.  

In the Heat race, I started third, passed the pole car on the outside and ran about a car length behind the leader until the last few laps when I started to reel him in.  The Heat races are just eight laps so I had to settle for second, but I was confident that we'd found what we needed to have a winning car in the Feature.

The Feature lineup had me on the pole which was a pleasant surprise but I had caught a couple breaks at the expense of two other drivers.  If you qualify in the top 6, you must finish in the top 4 in your heat race to keep your qualifying time.  Two cars in the fast 6 finished outside the top 4 in their heat races, so the winner of my heat race (who qualified 7th) and I took their place.  Then, like normal, the 6 car invert was put in place which put me on the pole. It's kinda confusing but it's the way it's been ever since they started combining the K-cars and Focus cars.  I think it's also the way it's done at the USAC national level too.  

When we went out for the Feature, it began to drizzle.  As we were rolling through turn 3 coming to the green, the car behind me was pushing on my bumper.  It got my car squirrelly causing light contact with the car on my outside. We kept going however and after I was already past him, he somehow ended up in the wall.  I think the car behind me actually got into him but I certainly didn't put him there.  In fact, I wanted nothing more than to beat him on the track, so I actually was very disappointed to see him out of his car giving me hand gestures as I rolled back by.  The rain then started to fall even harder so the race was red flagged and we all pulled into the pits.  The aforementioned driver, his parents and some other outraged lady came to our trailer screaming at me.  I won't go into all the gory details but they created quite an ugly scene. I never said a word.  I can't even imagine how embarrassed I would be if my family acted that way.  At one point, Mike Hamilton had to step in front of this old lady who was so out of control screaming at me.  Adults going off on a kid...pretty mature behavior!  Other drivers tried to tell them the incident wasn't even my fault but they wouldn't listen.  It wasn't the first time those people had acted that way so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.  I'll be honest though, it was upsetting and I was still affected by it when I had to get back in the car to resume the race. However, it started raining again and the race was cancelled for good.

So, despite all that drama and not getting the chance to finish the season the way I'd hoped, I am the champion.  I'm taught that it's most important to conduct myself like a champion, and I'm confident I have.  But winning this championship was very, very important to me. As the season went on, because of everything we went through, it became even more important. Winning the title is a big accomplishment for me.  I worked hard in the gym. I closed out the distractions.  I drove hard.  I won the most races.  I earned the championship.    

I'm thankful God has given me the ability and the opportunity to do what I dream about.  I don't know how long it will last, but every day I'm in the race car is blessing.  So many people have supported me this year; way too many to name. I'm very grateful for everyone's support and winning this championship is simply another way for me to say "thank you".

-Dillon

#14