By Pat Sullivan
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Sept. 5, 2025) — With a top prize of $10,000 up for grabs, the Kevin Huntley Memorial at Indiana’s Bloomington Speedway is, by definition, one of the most prestigious races on the RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car calendar. Yet, the significance of the event goes well beyond the hefty purse. Huntley, known in the racing world as “The Pup,” cut his teeth at Bloomington Speedway, where he was the track champion in 1986.
The 4th annual Kevin Huntley Memorial was the most highly anticipated edition of the annual race to date. With Mother Nature interceding in July, the tilt was pushed back to Sept. 5, when 37 cars signed in, representing eight different states and the United Kingdom.
Rod Henning and Whit Gastineau occupied the front row of the 30-lap feature, with Dillan Baldwin and Ashton Thompson next in line. Henning got the jump when the green flag fell and built a comfortable margin in the opening stages of the race, with Gastineau in hot pursuit. Henning later headed to the work area, handing the lead to Gastineau, who looked unstoppable. But while working traffic, Whit slammed the cushion between the third and fourth turns and quickly headed for service. Given the action that followed, it would be easy to overlook Henning’s charge back to fifth and Gastineau’s performance that ended just one step shy of the podium.
Dillan Baldwin powers around Bloomington Speedway during the 4th annual Kevin Huntley Memorial, where he went on to capture the $10,000 RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car victory on Sept. 5. (Photo by KMF Media Photos)
From there, the race developed into a thrilling duel between 16-year-old Dillan Baldwin and veteran Ethan Barrow. Baldwin assumed the top spot, and when it looked like he might be able to run away and hide, a caution brought things to a halt. That changed everything.
Barrow’s ability to ride the rim at Bloomington is well-documented, as is his willingness to push it to the limit. As Ethan began to reel in his younger peer, many veteran observers felt the race was over, and when he took over the top spot, his trip to victory lane truly seemed inevitable. Those thoughts were premature. Regardless of the number of official lead changes, Barrow and Baldwin began trading sliders that had the crowd screaming.
It was here that Dillan had an unpleasant memory. In August, he felt he had a race in the bag at Paragon Speedway when he was beaten to the line by Ashton Thompson. He could only pray history did not repeat itself.
There was pandemonium in victory lane as the young Kentuckian had just won the biggest race of his career and topped one of the best in doing so. Ethan Barrow put the loss down to “driver error” but took some solace in claiming the track championship. Jordan Welch, with his third-place finish, was relishing one of his biggest paydays to date.
