INDIANAPOLIS – Tanner Thorson, who returned to racing earlier this week following months of recovery from a highway accident in March, leads the USAC Indiana Midget Week point standings at the halfway point of the six-race, week-long mini-series.

Thorson picked up his third-career Indiana Midget Week victory in a thriller at Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday night, topping Logan Seavey and Kevin Thomas Jr. in a battle of slide jobs and leading the final five laps of an overtime-extended, 31-lap main event at the quarter-mile dirt oval.

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With a win, a second-place finish and a fifth-place finish in the first three races this week, the 2016 NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series champion carries a 17-point margin over Seavey with three rounds to go at Bloomington Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway and Kokomo Speedway, respectively.

However, even though earning the title of Indiana Midget Week champion is Thorson’s ultimate goal, the Minden, Nev., driver told SPEED SPORT he’s not focused on counting points at this juncture.

“Not worrying about the standings is the biggest thing, right now, as far as I’m concerned,” Thorson told SPEED SPORT. “That’s one thing that I told Pete (Willoughby, co-owner) when he called me, was that I wanted to win the Indiana Midget Week points. It’s something I haven’t done yet that I hold at the top of the list of accomplishments and something that I feel is valuable and prestigious to win as a driver.

“It’s just a matter of doing what we do and staying consistent. I don’t think about points and never have,” Thorson added. “When you race in USAC for points, you don’t think about it until the last few races, when it matters and you’re in contention. We’ve got a nice buffer right now, but we’re here to win races. The points will take care of themselves after that.

“We’re going to Bloomington, Lawrenceburg and Kokomo to win. If we do that, we’ll take the title.”

Thorson’s chief adversary, on the other hand, has to think about points and making up as many of them as he can down the stretch. Finishing ahead of the Walker Performance Filtration No. 98 is paramount for Seavey and his No. 67 Mobil 1 team.

“We’re going to have to be really good, near perfect,” noted Seavey. “We’re back a little ways right now, after not a great Gas City, but it’s not something that’s impossible to overcome. We’ll have to make up some ground at Bloomington and Lawrenceburg to have a shot going into Kokomo … but we have a great car and have been running really well lately, so I’m not too worried about it.

“We just have to capitalize as best we can, and hopefully beat that No. 98 these next few nights,” Seavey continued. “I wish we could have kept him from winning and gaining that sky-high confidence, but he’s got it and now we just have to counterattack and try to take that momentum back away.”

Tyler Courtney sits third in Midget Week points, 26 markers in arrears, with Jason McDougal and Shane Golobic completing the top five.

Wednesday night’s Gas City winner, Justin Grant, is eighth in the standings with 150 points.