LEBANON, Ind. – Craftsman Tools will sponsor defending USAC P1 Insurance National Midget Series champion Spencer Bayston as he chases his first Indiana Midget Week title from May 29-June 3.

The six-race series kicks off Tuesday night at Montpelier Motor Speedway.

“Craftsman is an extremely iconic brand and has been a part of motorsports, and grassroots racing in particular, for a long time,” noted Bayston. “Their involvement with the World of Outlaws is obviously very well-known and well-respected, and to be able to represent their brand and carry their name through Indiana Midget Week means a lot to both me and to this Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian team.

“This is one of our biggest weeks of the year and my hope is that we can get rolling quickly and win some races for Craftsman and all our supporters that play a part in making this team run,” Bayston added. “I’m really looking forward to getting started and representing their name well.”

Craftsman has a rich history in motorsports, serving as the title sponsor for the NASCAR Truck Series from its inception in 1995 through 2008. The brand currently sponsors the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series, having taken on that role in

Bayston is a former race winner on the Indiana Midget Week trail, but he has never hoisted the championship trophy at the end of the grueling six-day stretch run.

In fact, the last Kunz driver to claim the Indiana Midget Week crown was Rico Abreu in 2015, a stat Bayston is hoping to change by the end of the sequence Sunday night.

“The main goal for this week is to seal the deal,” Bayston said. “We’ve been close the last couple of years to winning the Midget Week championship, and it’s something I’ve had my sights set on for a while. Keith wants to win and it’s been a while for the whole team, so hopefully we can get it done and have a reason to celebrate.”

Bayston knows that his chief competition for the IMW crown will likely be his Keith Kunz Motorsports teammates, though the field is deep, with Tanner Thorson wheeling a Tri-C Motorsports midget, Brady Bacon back for FMR Racing and Kevin Thomas Jr. stepping into the potent Dooling-Hayward No. 63.

“Obviously, the last couple years with having Tanner (Thorson) on the team, the competition was there … and that hasn’t changed even though the lineup is a little different this year,” Bayston explained. “Tucker (Klaasmeyer) really got on a roll early in the year, Logan (Seavey) has been very fast, Holly (Shelton) has been close to winning on Midget Week in the past … and of course Rico has won the whole thing twice, so you know he’s going to be a threat.

“Hopefully this is our year, though,” Bayston continued. “There’s no extra pressure; I think we really made the big statement by winning the (series) championship, but it’s time to show that last year wasn’t a fluke deal or a one-time thing. I’m ready to back it up and win as many races as we can.”

Bayston also isn’t worried about being at a disadvantage compared to the field, considering he’s only run two midget races this season. He’s filled his time running a winged sprint car for Kevin Swindell and said his skills are sharp.

“Just because I’ve only run two midget races and some of my teammates have filled some holes in their schedules with POWRi races and things like that … don’t write us off,” Bayston stated. “I’m as driven as ever and we’ll be alright. There’s a lot I’ve learned from my time in the sprint car this spring and I’m looking forward to getting back in the midget this week and learning there as well.

“There’s nothing like Indiana Midget Week,” he added. “It’s something special and to win would be huge.”