TULSA, Okla. – Spencer Bayston has taken plenty of time to reflect this week during the 33rd annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, and with good reason.

Bayston is making his final scheduled appearance with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports inside the Tulsa Expo Center, wrapping up a five-year tenure in midget racing before he moves over to a full-time 410 sprint car ride this season with Pete Grove and Wes Counts.

That means that Friday night’s Vacuworx Qualifying Night and Saturday’s Chili Bowl finale program will be the Lebanon, Ind., native’s last ride with team owner Keith Kunz, something that’s been present on his mind throughout the week.

“Obviously, with my plans next year to race the winged sprint car with Pete Grove, I won’t be doing many … if any midget races at all,” Bayston told SPEED SPORT. “I guess this is kind of the last hurrah, and it’s fitting that it comes at the biggest race of the year, where this team has had so much success in the past.

“It’s definitely bittersweet, but I’m so thankful for everything these guys have done for me in getting me to this point in my career,” he added. “Hopefully, I can pay them back a little bit tonight and give them a really good run as thanks for helping make me into the driver that I am today.”

Bayston finished as the runner-up to Justin Grant one year ago during Chili Bowl Friday, a statistic he’s desperate to better as he chases his third Saturday A main appearance.

“I should have won last year – I was fast enough to win, but I didn’t get the job done and I still feel like I let the team down that night,” admitted Bayston. “We had won every prelim night up to that point and swept the podium on Saturday, so it was my race that kept them from getting the clean sweep then.

“We’re in that same position again this year and on track for some pretty special things, I think, so I have to go out, do my job and put this No. 97k IWX Toyota on top of the podium this time around.”

In preparing for his final start with KKM, Bayston has also taken time to look back on the memories he’s made with the team since joining them in 2015.

Two memories, he noted, stand out above all the rest.

“With this team, of course my USAC championship stands out at the top of the list of things we’ve done together,” Bayston recalled. “Titles aren’t easy to come by, and you have to be with the right people and the right team in order to accomplish that.

“Nothing gets more exciting than race wins, though, and we won three pretty big ones in 2017 that will always be special to me,” he continued. “The Belleville Midget Nationals at Belleville High Banks was by far my favorite and probably the most memorable win I’ve had with them. That’s one that will stick with me for a long, long time.”

While his focus is turning to winged sprint car racing for the foreseeable future, Bayston didn’t shut the door completely on running select races with KKM in the future, if the situation and timing were right.

“If the possibility ever comes up to come back, I would gladly drive for Keith and Pete again,” Bayston said. “These are, in my opinion, the best cars on the circuit and if you’re going to try and win races, you have to put yourself in the best equipment possible.

“If they have an opening and my schedule allows it, I would love to come back and run, especially here. We haven’t really talked about that, and they obviously have a full field right now, but maybe someday the chance will open up to have that conversation and we can see where it leads.”

Regardless of where their paths lead going forward, Bayston was clear that he’ll always be grateful for the “life-changing” experience that he’s gained with Kunz’s organization.

“I’ve had a lot of really, really good mentors, good coaches and a lot of good people surrounding me through my career so far, but I feel like Keith and this team really put me on that big stage for the first time,” reflected Bayston. “Big Al (Scroggins) … has had just as big of an impact. He was my first crew chief, back when I ran for the first time in a midget with the Clausons, and he’s been with me all the way up to my championship season.

“Both of those guys are the reason that I am who I am today. They’ve taught me so much and given me every opportunity to be a successful race car driver. Hopefully I can keep them in my back pocket going forward.”