COLORADO’S COX TO CHASE 2026 USAC NATIONAL MIDGET ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Black Forest, Colorado’s Bradley Cox. (Josh James Artwork Photo) 

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Speedway, Indiana (February 25, 2026)………Bradley Cox will compete for Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year honors with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship as he takes on the full, 29-race schedule for Cappy and Sherry Mason’s REM Motorsports team in 2026.

Cox, who was born in Colorado however resides in Texas, and is currently bouncing back-and-forth between the two states, made his first pair of USAC National Midget starts in 2025, both at Nebraska’s Jefferson County Speedway during Mid-America Midget Week.

For the 16-year-old Cox, racing is a way of life. He’s a fourth generation racer, and for him, going USAC National Midget racing is a dream come true.

“I’m like a little kid in a candy shop. It’s one of those dreams come true,” Cox exclaimed. “You dream as a kid to go racing at the national level and to travel all over the United States, especially doing so for such great people. I’m looking forward to it and I get to bring my family along.”

Cox began his racing career at the age of seven, starting in Outlaw Karts before turning his focus to micro sprints. By age 11, he got behind the wheel of a non-wing 305 ci Sprintcar for a practice session. At 12, he was the ASCS Elite North Non-Wing Sprintcar Series Rookie of the Year. One year later, at just 13, he was the 2023 ASCS Elite North Non-Wing Sprint Car Series champion, winning twice on the campaign in Colorado at Honor Speedway and El Paso County Raceway.

By 2024, he ventured into midget racing, competing regularly with the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association. In 2025, he made his USAC National Midget debut. In fact, to make his way into his first main event field, he won his heat race and was running as high as seventh in the feature when his ride was sidelined with an engine issue. Despite the setback, the moment was a turning point for him moving forward.

“I think the biggest gain was in Nebraska,” Cox recalled. “We were running well in the A-Main and we won our heat race, but then we had a motor issue. It really brought my confidence up. In this series, everyone is stout. There are no slouches at all. Everybody is super-fast and you’ve got to be on your a-game every lap.”

In October 2025, Cox made his first run in one of the Mason-owned midgets where he finished a solid fourth with the POWRi Midgets at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Port City Raceway. That opened up the door for 2026 and now Cox has teamed up with Mason, a two-time Rocky Mountain Midget entrant champion, to chase USAC glory in their first full year together.

“The main goal is to get Rookie of the Year. That would be pretty cool,” Cox stated. “I want to have consistency going to these new tracks I haven’t been to, especially like Eldora and those Indiana tracks that are really famous. I’m looking forward to all of it.”

Both of Cox’s grandfathers raced, as his did his uncle. Now, Bradley is following along in their footsteps. His great grandpa, Larry Carnes, was an early competitor in the NASCAR Truck Series, making one start at Phoenix International Raceway in 1999. Bradley’s grandfather, Lonnie Cox, made a total of 16 NASCAR Truck starts between 1996-2002.

Bradley’s uncle, Kyle Johnson, also raced, and they all had a common thread in Sprintcar racing. In fact, when Bradley was 10, he was the “tire guy” for his grandpa’s sprint car team.

Cox will start off his Rookie USAC National Midget run in 2026 beginning with back-to-back nights at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway for the Kokomo Grand Prix on April 24-25.