By; Lucas Halbert - Grassroots Racing News - Mounce/Stout Motorsports
Owasso, Oklahoma (6/17/2022)... Mounce/Stout Motorsports has pleasantly gone from an underdog to a national contender in just six months, but the journey for team-owners Jay Mounce and Gavin Stout hasn't been an easy one.
After struggling to find consistent speed in years past, Mounce/Stout entered the 2022 Chili Bowl Nationals looking to hit the restart button. With the calendar flipped over and a new outlook on the year, Chase McDermand (Springfield, Illinois) and Mounce/Stout Motorsports teamed up and had career-best finishes at the 2022 Chili Bowl Nationals. McDermand, a three-time Badger Midget champion, took the MPV Express - Rockwell Security - Spike - SR-11 #40 to a B-Main on Saturday evening.
With momentum heading into the outdoor racing season, Chase and Mounce/Stout team owners, Jay Mounce and Gavin Stout were ready to compete for their first national win.
Success did not come right away in the first couple of USAC and POWRi National Midget races, but once Mounce/Stout and McDermand found their footing, success came. In early April, Chase dominated the POWRi National Midget League at I-55 Raceway for his and Mounce/Stout's first career national Midget victories.
Since his triumph, Chase has not missed a Top 10 in POWRi competition and has been contending for USAC National Midget wins, nearly winning at Port City Raceway at the end of April. He currently sits third in the POWRi National Midget points standings.
However, McDermand is not the only Mounce/Stout driver to have speed. In March, Mounce/Stout Motorsports welcomed Galloway, Ohio's Jacob Denney to the team. In his first outdoor racing weekend with MSM, Denny put the FK Rod Ends - Rockwell Security - Spike - SR-11 #61 on the podium at Lucas Oil Speedway.
Jacob, a two-time USAC Midwest Thunder Midget champion, carried his speed straight into USAC Indiana Midget Week (IMW) in June. There he scored his and Mounce/Stout's first career USAC National Midget victory at Lincoln Park Speedway in just his sixth career start. On top of that, Denney finished third in Indiana Midget Week points; he also had 3 Top 5's and 5 Top 10's in the six USAC IMW events.
While Jacob is excited about his Indiana Midget Week performances, he keeps looking forward to see what else he can achieve, "It was a good week, better than I had expected. I just have to keep the ball rolling; and focus on the next race and not worry about how amazing Indiana Midget Week was. I know we have the speed to get more accomplished."
Mounce/Stout Motorsports program has taken a step forward in 2022. Team owner Jay Mounce had this to say about he and Gavin Stout becoming the next nationally contending Midget team. "We've put a lot of work in to build this program; switching to Spike Chassis is a small part of that. Our drivers are really good at giving good feed back, which makes our job easier to help them succeed. The Ripper Chassis is good as well, and helped us last year. Chase had a couple Top 5's last year with us in a Ripper. But this is a full-time job; Chase can attest to that. Putting the time in the shop will provide consistent and positive results on the track."
This type of year and consistency has been a long time coming for Jay and Gavin, who have over twenty years of dirt Midget experience between them. "Its really been a dream come true; we're nobodies to a certain extent. Gavin (Stout) and I have spent a lot of own money to build this from the ground up. From winning at Pevely (I-55 Raceway) earlier this year with Chase, and then to go out back it up at Port City Raceway, nearly winning there as well. Also, for Jacob to run the lights out during IMW just shows what hard work and dedication will do. There isn't anything we wouldn't do for our guys to be successful; we aren't successful unless they are. It had been a pleasure helping these young men showcase their talent on the biggest stage."
Mounce/Stout Motorsports now looks forward to POWRi's Illinois SPEED Week (ISW), where they will host their first female driver, Laci Ferno. The Mooresville, North Carolina, native will be in the MPV Express - Lucas Oil - Spike - SR/11 #15 for her National Midget debut. Ferno will run two nights of Illinois SPEED Week, June 23rd at Fayette County Speedway, and June 24th at Lincoln Speedway.
Chase McDermand and Jacob Denney will participate in all five nights of ISW, beginning at Charleston Speedway on June 22nd and ending at Jacksonville Speedway on the 26th.
Mounce/Stout Motorsports would like to thank all of their partners for making this season possible, MPV Express, Rockwell Security (Jeff Taylor), FK Rod Ends, Smith Titanium, Stanton Race Engines, Spike Chassis, James Misson, Schure Built Suspensions, and Car & Fleet (Mike and Judy Stewart).
About Mounce/Stout Motorsports
Mounce/Stout Motorsports, co-owned by Jay Mounce and Gavin Stout, is based in Owasso, Oklahoma. Mounce-Stout races over seventy times a year, competing full-time with the POWRi National Midgets, and part-time with the USAC National Midgets and Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series. You can keep up with Mounce-Stout Motorsports on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.