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bob jennings' WORLD O' RACING  03/04/2000

More USAC-mania

Dane Carter (77), Steve Barth (6), Jason Leffler (9), Ryan Newman (39), Dan Drinan (33) and others at the start of the USAC Midget feature race at Winchester Speedway on 09/19/99

Bob Jennings

When I moved back to Indianapolis in September 1998 one of my goals was to visit as many race tracks in Indiana as I could. I think my attempt to reach that goal last year represented a decent effort. I didn't get to every USAC race I could, but I made nine different USAC shows and witnessed 11 different USAC feature events at eight different tracks around Indiana. I saw two Silver Crown events, three Sprint Car races and six Midget contests during my USAC pilgrimage of 1999. In addition, I also went to Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville to see a non-sanctioned, non-winged sprint car race last April. So I think I can make the claim that I was a local short track aficionado last season.   

It was an enjoyable experience too. Next to May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the things I enjoyed most about last season were my USAC trips around this area. I'm putting together a video that features home footage of races I attended last season. Since I have so much USAC action on the video, I'm getting an opportunity to look at it and it's fun stuff. The racing talent in USAC is outstanding, the competition is intense and the winning is diverse. Add the extra dimension that USAC distributes its races pretty evenly between pavement and dirt surfaces. I count 72 individual USAC feature shows last year including those where Silver Crown, Sprints and Midget shared the same program. 41 of these 72 programs were held on dirt tracks. In my opinion USAC has one of the most dynamic racing environments in racing. Want proof? Take a look at the following USAC statistics for 1999:

USAC has an okay website, but it's basically used for posting race results. There are short two or three paragraph items previewing and reviewing races which resemble press releases. There is none of USAC's rich history presented in statistical form, which seems a shame considering the great racing names associated with USAC throughout the years. I couldn't even find point standings for the three primary USAC series for 1999. I think they could do a better job than that.

Therefore I can't use 1999 point standings as a reference for this piece which is okay I guess since it isn't intended to be a stat sheet anyway. Still, more facts would've been nice. It's a good thing I held on to the results I printed from USAC events last season. Otherwise I would've had to rely more on memory than I would prefer.

The three USAC season champions for 1999 were Ryan Newman (Silver Crown), Dave Darland (Sprints) and Jason Leffler who took his third consecutive Midget title last season.

This piece is supposed to be a sequel of sorts to something I did last summer called USAC-mania and I'll pick this up with the "Clabber Girl Baking Powder Summer Sizzle 99" held last July at the 16^th Street Speedway.

The "Summer Sizzle" was billed as the richest ($140,000) event in the history of midget racing; a four night racing extravaganza with the final event offering a record $20,000 first place prize.

I can't recall how they split the participants for each night's racing. There were 25 qualifiers for the first night of racing. Among the notables competing were Jay Drake, Jerry Coons Jr., Ricky Shelton, Andy Michner, Steve Knepper, John Heydenreich, Jack Hewitt, Ed Carpenter and Ralph Ligouri. There were four ten-lap heats and a 12-lap semi-feature, which were won by Shelton, Heydenreich, Michner, Knepper and John Wolfe. In the 22-car feature, Ted Hines (Tracy's brother) led the first five (of 25) laps before Drake took over to win. Coons, Hewitt, Shelton and Heydenreich completed the top five finishers. Drake, Coons and Shelton locked into the upcoming Saturday A Main feature finale.

The following night, Tracy Hines, Dave Darland, Tony Elliott, J.J. Yeley, Ron Smoker, Russ Gamester and Tony George were among the participants. There were four heat races and a semi-feature, which were each won by Hines, Critter Malone, Adam Clarke from New Zealand and Smoker. Kevin Doty led the first four laps of the 25-lap 23-car feature. Darland took the lead on lap five to win, followed at the finish by Malone, Doty, Yeley and Elliott. From the night's racing Malone, Darland and Hines earned spots in the upcoming A Main.

The competitors in the third night of racing included Jason Leffler, Donnie Beechler, Brian Gerster, Johnny Parsons and Indianapolis Speedrome USAC Regional Midget champion Michael Lang.  Shane Cottle, Dennis Mann, Dean Franklin and Johnny Parsons each won a heat race. Andy Pierce won the semi-feature. Unknown Chris Coers led from flag to flag in the feature, followed by Leffler, Beechler, Pierce and Gerster. Leffler, Beechler and Cottle transferred to the A Main from the night's activity.

My wife and I attended on Saturday's final night of action. The $60.00 admission for both of us was high but I would've spent the same money again because it was an exceptional night of racing.

There were seven preliminary races leading up to 50-lap feature A Main. Ron Smoker won the first of these, the 10-lap D Main #1. Jerry Zike was the winner of the 10-lap D Main #2 race. Ronnie Day won the 12-lap C Main #1. Andy Pierce won the 12-lap C Main #2. The 10-lap "Team Tyce" (Carlson) A-Main Starting Order Dash featured some of the "names" as Critter Malone beat Dave Darland, Jerry Coons Jr., Jason Leffler, Ricky Shelton, Tracy Hines, Shane Cottle and Jay Drake in that order. J.J. Yeley won the 15-lap B Main #1 while Randy Koch was the winner of the 15-lap B Main #2.

After four nights of racing and 22 preliminary events, the 24 eligible cars were put on the dirt inside the old Indianapolis Indians Victory Field/Bush Stadium ballpark for the A Main. Believe me, this was a wild and crazy deal.

The wife and I moved to the old third base line, by the starter's stand, from our seats along first base. This proved to be a mixed bag. The racing was tighter to the flag than it had been coming away from the flag, but the cars began throwing dirt clods as they came off the final corner if you want to call it that since the layout is actually a circle of sorts. For me the flying globs of hard wet dirt sort of added to the thrill and adventure of the whole thing. I had to keep my eyes glued to the track to watch for the clods so I could avoid getting hit by them. My wife covered herself with a race program and her book bag. It was time to move a few rows higher.  

Critter Malone is the local track champion of the weekly USAC Regional Midget series at 16^th Street Speedway. Since he won the "Team Tyce" dash he was on pole for the feature. Malone led from the green flag and stayed in front until he rolled his number 7 over. Malone wasn't the only guy going upside down. Dave Darland was in one of the thoroughbred Steve Lewis Beasts and he was fast in the early part of the race until rolling over coming off the first corner (again I use the term corner loosely). Ricky Shelton also had a bad spill and was injured enough to miss a couple months of racing.

Once things settled down after all the mayhem Jason Leffler took command in the other Steve Lewis Beast. In the closing laps Tracy Hines in the Willoughby 71 chased hard but couldn't quite catch Leffler. Jerry Coons Jr. was third in his familiar yellow number 7. Indy Racing League regular Donnie Beechler finished fourth in the black 15T. Tony Elliott was fifth followed in the top ten by Steve Knepper, J.J. Yeley, Shane Cottle, Dan Boorse and Jay Drake.

We watched the winner's ceremony by the old home plate. My wife was surprised at how short Leffler is as he accepted his prizes. Leffler may be little but he's a tough racer.

That was probably the final time I'll visit 16^th Street Speedway. Tony George and partners have apparently decided not to renew their lease with the City of Indianapolis after three years of operating the little dirt oval inside the old ballpark. I went there twice in 1997 to see Tony Stewart race. He won one feature in July and Billy Boat won the other event in September.

I thought it was a great place and it seemed to me that Tony George and John Voyles had a terrific idea when they proposed weekly midget racing at the former of home of the Triple A Indianapolis Indians baseball team. I guess it was a losing proposition at the box office though. There was only something like 3,000 people at the final night of "Summer Sizzle 99." The management had hoped for much larger numbers. It's a shame but I'm glad they tried the idea anyway and I enjoyed what I got to see.

Conspicuous by his absence at the "Summer Sizzle" was Ryan Newman. I don't recall why Newman was missing. I think Newman, a senior at Purdue University from South Bend, is the number one talent running USAC now. There's probably some debate about who is the better racer Jason Leffler or Ryan Newman and which driver is the logical successor to Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart in terms of making the big move from USAC to Winston Cup. Leffler is talented although he has yet to show much in the Joe Gibbs Busch Grand National ride his patron Stewart secured for him last year. Ryan seems to be a smarter racer, a little smoother and perhaps more mature than Jason, and at the same time just as fast. The one element missing in Newman's career is that he isn't nearly as good on dirt as he is on pavement while Leffler is equally competitive on paved and dirt ovals. I wasn't paying enough attention at the time to know whether Jeff Gordon was good on dirt but Stewart was terrific on the dirt. On pavement however Ryan Newman looked like the man to beat in most of the USAC races I saw him run in during 1999.

Perhaps the best race I saw last season was the "Mel Kenyon Classic" at Indianapolis Raceway Park on August 18. The 40-lap feature was a "classic" Ryan Newman - Jason Leffler combat and you might've seen it on the ESPN2 Thunder telecast. I'm glad I was at IRP to see it in person. 

It was one of those summer nights where a soft warm wind blows around in advance of thunderstorms that will hit after midnight. It was my first trip to Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1999. . The IRP oval has become a nice place. The National Hot Road Association, which owns IRP has made a lot of improvements to the place and the 5/8-mile (I think that's correct) oval is a modern, comfortable place to watch racing.

Leffler was running Steve Lewis' 91 Wynn's Beast - Ford and was fastest of the 35 midgets on hand in qualifying. Newman qualified second fastest. The field included Sarah Fisher, Jerry Coons Jr., Brian Gerster, Dane Carter, John Heydenreich, Jay Drake, Sarah McCune, Chuck Leary, Dan Drinan, Dave Darland, Ed Carpenter, Tracy Hines, Ronnie Johncox, Kevin Besecker and Dave Steele.

Leffler beat Darland and Coons in the first eight-lap heat race. Newman won the second heat. Steve Barth won the third heat. The fourth heat featured a wheel to wheel, back and forth tussle with Pancho Carter's kid Dane and Danny Drinan. It was fun. Carter's day-glow red number 77 and Drinan's mint colored 33 never let up exchanging the lead from corner to corner lap after lap and Dane was barely ahead at the flag. The Carter - Drinan battle was a preview of the Leffler - Newman contest in the feature. Sarah Fisher won the ten-lap semi.

Coons jumped in front at the start of the feature but Sarah Fisher's sky blue Mead Papers number 67 took over on lap two. On lap five Newman and Leffler both went by Sarah. There was a multi-car wreck in turn one which took a bunch of cars out of the feature including those driven by Drinan, Dave Darland (he was driving a black car 44 I hadn't seen before), Jay Drake, Dane Carter and Brian Gerster.

When the race restarted the fun between Newman and Leffler began. The asphalt on the IRP oval reflects light off its shiny surface. It looks slick and the way Newman and Leffler were sliding around each other through the corners lap after lap it had to be slippery. Jason put his silver-white Steve Lewis Beast in front on lap 11 but Ryan kept after him in the pure white (with blue and orange trim) Chuck Lewis Drinan number 39. On lap 29 Newman was able to do the classic IRP "slide job" on Jason in the fourth corner to move ahead. Leffler made several tries to get by but he couldn't do it and Ryan took his fourth midget feature of the season.

Following Newman and Leffler at the finish were Coons, John Nervo, Ryan Scott, Michael Lewis, Clay Klepper, Travis Welpott, Joe Janowski and Steve Barth.

There couldn't be more difference between Indianapolis Raceway Park and Bloomington Speedway. IRP is a modern facility and is for all intents and purposes the USAC "home track." It's the place where Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart made their reputations. Bloomington Speedway is a primitive looking place on the side of a hill surrounded by woods on the edge of an old Bloomington residential neighborhood. I made my first trip there on Friday August 29 to see the USAC Sprints run. I think the track is a quarter mile. It has the same basic layout as Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville; open corners where the cars go downhill if they run off the track. Benches are fixed to the hillside with a concession stand at the top of the hill. Like most of these small Indiana tracks there is continuous racing with different variations of late model, modifieds and hobby stocks on the program with the sprint cars.

It was a warm dry night when I went to Bloomington. There was a good southern Indiana family type crowd on hand with grandpa, grandma, mother, father and lots of kids running around. I took my boyhood chum Bill Correll with me. I've known Bill since 1958. He and I have a long history of going to races together. The last time we were together at the "Indianapolis 500" was 1983, but back in the mid-1960's we attended the "500" together each May.

This particular race was called the "Sheldon Kinser Memorial" in honor of the late USAC driver who was a member of Bloomington's racing Kinser family. The Bloomington dirt is the local domain of the Kinsers. I think Bob Kinser (Steve's dad) still runs some of the weekly sprint shows at the track.

There were 35 sprinters at the track although some of the more familiar USAC drivers were missing. Bill Rose, Tracy Hines, Tony Elliott, Kevin Briscoe, Dave Darland, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Robbie Rice, Eric Gordon and Jack Hewitt were racing that night. I was focusing on Hines and Darland.

Tracy Hines ran so many different race cars last season that I have to think a little about the different cars I saw him race. He ran the black Willoughby number 71 midget, the day glow yellow number 51 sprint car and the black number 37 Indiana Underground Construction Silver Crown car during the first half of the 1999 season. He was in the number 7k midget at IRP on August 18^th. At Bloomington Hines was running a maroon sprint car number 57. I'm not implying this but maybe Hines has a tough time getting along with car owners. Tracy is a good driver though. He hasn't been able to make a NASCAR connection yet like Leffler. So why doesn't an Indy Racing League team give him a chance? Why doesn't Larry Curry and Tony Stewart put someone like Hines or Ryan Newman in one of their Tri-Star IRL cars rather than Jeret Schroeder or Dr. Jack Miller? I guess Tracy Hines doesn't have any money, which is too bad because he's the sort of guy I'd like to see running in the IRL. I think he'd be good in an Indy car.

Dave Darland is another one of my USAC favorites. Darland looks like a real Hoosier dirt-tracker, with his country & western haircut. He runs Kokomo Speedway on Sunday nights in a car owned by his dad. He works for Franklin Power Products during the week and drives their blue number 56 Silver Crown car. During August Darland was on a hot streak. He won the famous Belleville Nationals midget show, a Silver Crown race at Springfield and sprint car race on the paved high banks at Salem. While Ryan Newman is considered a pavement specialist Darland has a similar reputation on the dirt. The win at Salem was important to Darland because I believe it was his first USAC win on pavement. Dave's USAC Sprint Car championship came in the familiar white car 69 Kroger sponsored car. Darland and Jerry Coons were scheduled to test one of the Panther Pennzoil Racing IRL cars at Texas. I haven't heard how that worked out but Darland is another driver who I would love to see get a shot in the IRL.

Eric Gordon was one of Jeff Gordon's most persistent USAC challengers in the seasons leading up to Jeff's move to NASCAR. Eric won the first ten-lap heat race. Rusty McClure won the second heat. Greg Dillon won the third heat. Jon Stanbrough won the fourth heat. Kevin Briscoe won the 12-lap semi-feature.

The lighting at Bloomington Speedway isn't very good and it was difficult to follow the racing very closely. In the 40-lap feature it was almost all Tony Elliott. Elliott, the 1998 USAC sprint car champion, led the first two laps before giving way to Justin Marvel. On lap five, Tony had his car number 1 back in front and he was a half lap ahead of the field at the finish. Hines was second at the finish after running behind Elliott for most of the race. Darland started the feature near the back and he was flying around the cushion trying to catch the leaders but was third at the finish. Brad Fox was fourth, followed by Kevin Miller, Stanbrough, Briscoe, Marvel, Todd Kane and Jeremy Sherman.

The weekend of Friday September 17 was my big three-day USAC season ending gala. I went to the Terre Haute Action Track on Friday the for the 100-lap "Sumar Classic" Silver Crown race. On Saturday I was back at Indianapolis Raceway Park to watch the sprint-midget twin bill. On Sunday afternoon, I was at Winchester to see the midgets run again.

The race in Terre Haute was originally scheduled for June but flooding conditions at the Action Track postponed the race to September.

Brad Noffsinger qualified for the Terre Haute pole with J.J. Yeley alongside in row one. Jack Hewitt and Tony Elliott started the feature from row two. Russ Gamester and Donnie Beechler were in row three. Dave Darland and Tracy Hines were in row four. Jimmy Sills and Cory Kruseman started from row five on the grid. Dave Steele was in position 12 followed by Bill Rose (14), Eric Gordon (16), Bryan Tyler (17), Johnny Parsons (18), Jason Leffler (19), Ryan Newman (21) and Dane Carter who was last on the 26-car starting grid.

Tyler won the 15-lap qualifying race with Parsons, Leffler, Brad Fox and Newman following at the finish.

The feature event was something of a mess for all the caution flags. In between the yellows there wasn't a lot of racing either. Noffsinger's black number 40 took the lead at the start and he stayed there for the first 28 laps of the race. Rick Treadway was having a bad night. Treadway spun in turn two, which brought out the yellow from laps three through eight. Then the yellow came out on lap 12 for five laps when Treadway spun in turn four. Treadway spun in turn two again bringing out the yellow for five more laps on lap 24.

The green flag waved on lap 29 and Tony Elliott put car number 20 into first place on the restart. On lap 31, Dane Carter spun in turn four and the yellow stayed out through lap 36. Donnie Beechler stalled on the backstretch bringing out the yellow flag on lap 41. The green waved again on lap 48 but one lap later the yellow was back out because Bill Rose stalled in turn three.

The race went green again on lap 57. J.J. Yeley took the lead on lap 59. The yellow flag came back out on lap 64 for Bryan Tyler's spin in turn one and remained out through lap 69. A spin by Tracy Hines in turn four brought the caution out again on laps 75 through 78. A spin by Russ Gamester in turn two brought the caution out from laps 78 through 82.

The race was running under green with Yeley leading when his car 67 blew the engine, which brought out yet another caution on lap 90 that remained on through lap 94.

Jack Hewitt in car 23 inherited the lead when Yeley's car broke. There was a final caution on lap 96 for Tom Capie's stalled car 153. The finish came under the green flag when Hewitt brought the remaining cars to the checkered flag. Darland finished second, followed by Jimmy Sills, Greg Wilson, Noffsinger, Elliott, Todd Kane, Ryan Newman, Brad Fox and Jay Drake.

Newman ran a consistent if not conservative race to finish eighth and for most of the race Ryan's orange M&L Plumbing/Welsch Heating & Cooling car 14 was in the middle of a pack. Leffler, the 1998 Silver Crown champion, fell out after 78 laps with drive line failure in the Team ASE/Tony Stewart/Cary Agajanian car number 9.

The average speed for the 100-lap 50-mile race was 53.600 mph. My buddy Tim Pendergast and I could've run nearly that fast down at Gary Lee's Whiteland, Indiana go kart track.

Hewitt has a following and his win was popular. As I was walking back to my car I could hear him being interviewed on the public address. Surprisingly Hewitt was upset and was giving the Action Track promoters hell about something. I was already thinking about the races at Indianapolis Raceway Park the next night.

I attended the 1998 season "twin bill" sprint - midget finale on the IRP oval the previous September.  This time I was more knowledgeable about USAC, the cars and the drivers than the year before.

Ryan Newman had become a regular in the USAC Sprint pavement shows after getting a ride in the black Johnny Vance number 2 Aristocrats car. I'd seen Dave Steele win in this same car at IRP in May 1997. On August 15 Newman had his first USAC Sprint Car win (I think - where's that USAC fact book?) at Winchester. So Newman was entered in both feature events along with Tracy Hines, Dave Darland, Dave Steele and Brian Gerster. 

Newman was the fastest qualifier in the sprinters. Eric Gordon, Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Tony Elliott and Bryan Tyler were also entered in the sprint car event. Tyler won the first eight-lap heat race, followed by Gerster, Newman and Hines. Dave Steele in a red number 19 which had taken him to a sprint car win at IRP on August 11 won the second heat. Eric Gordon won the third heat. The fourth heat was won by Tony Ave. Larry Rice's son Robbie won the 12-lap semi-feature.             

Leffler's Steve Lewis Beast number 9 was the fastest midget qualifier. Jerry Coons Jr., Jay Drake, Dane Carter, Sarah Fisher, Dan Drinan, Ronnie Johncox, Sarah McCune, John Heydenreich and Ed Carpenter were also in the midget field.

Leffler won the first eight-lap heat. Mark Boice won the second heat. The third heat race winner was Jimmy McCune. In the fourth heat race, Newman beat Hines, Drinan and Steele. The ten-lap semi-feature winner was David Gough.

The crowd at IRP was a lot larger than the one I'd seen one month earlier when Ryan Newman and Jason Leffler put on their classic battle. When I looked at the video I'd taken that night at IRP I saw some footage of Sam Schmidt walking up into the grandstands where he was sitting with Fred Treadway. Thinking back on that now while Schmidt fights his battle to regain mobility brings back a bit of the irony of life to mind.

Tracy Hines took the lead at the start of the 30-lap sprint car feature. He was driving yet another car, number 73. Hines changes race cars more often than Donald Trump changes wives and fiancés. On lap 22 Steele who must be the new Mike Bliss as much as he wins at IRP, passed Tracy and held on for the win. Puterbaugh Jr. finished third behind Steele and Hines. Darland was fourth, followed by Jason McCord, Eric Gordon, Tony Elliott, Brian Gerster, Brian Tyler and Brad Armstrong. Newman had a disappointing run to finish next to last in the 22-car field.

Dane Carter led the first six laps of the midget feature. Hines in yet another car, the black number 30 Leary car took the lead on lap seven. Leffler caught Hines on lap nine to take the lead and held on to take his fifth USAC midget feature of the season. Hines got his second runner up finish of the evening. Drake finished third, followed by Carter, Steele, Newman, Steve Barth, John Heydenreich, Michael Lewis and Dave Darland.

I was on the highway to Winchester the next day for the final leg of my weekend three-race USAC journey. It was a sunny day but the Indiana countryside east from Indianapolis to Winchester was very dry and badly in need of rain. I have to admit that by Sunday afternoon that I was pretty  "raced out" but at the same time I was still anxious to get to Winchester.

I had been to Winchester Speedway twice before. The first time was on a cold afternoon in late April 1975 to see a USAC Sprint race that was won by Larry Dickson. I remember that I wasn't all that anxious to go but my old buddy John Dailey talked me into it. It was one of those days when Old Man Winter wants to remind us that even though the calendar says April he's still hanging around. I thought I was going to freeze in the Winchester grandstands that day as the winds blew across the track. I wasn't tuned into USAC then and was glad when the afternoon was over.

The second time I went to Winchester was for a combined USAC sprint - midget double-header in June 1991. A two-year love affair had broken up the previous month, my employer was slowly closing down operations and I didn't know what to do with myself one Saturday night. I started driving north on Indiana highway 37 with the vague intension of going to the USAC races at Winchester. When I finally got there, I had no idea what I was seeing or who was racing. I just sort of fretted nervously and I came to the conclusion that I was as miserable at the races in Winchester as I was anywhere else. When a rainstorm hit, I was thankful to be heading back to Indianapolis.

This time I was really into what was going on. The USAC midgets were sort of wrapped around and through the fabric of the day's activities along with the usual variation of late model, modifieds and hobby stocks. This is a NASCAR world in racing right now! It seems like many of the cars racing were sporting Winston Cup look-alike paint jobs. This one group of cars looked like go karts with stock car sheet metal but they were moving quickly around the half-mile high banks at Winchester.

After the racing the previous night at IRP, there was a small entry at Winchester as only 23 cars were at the track including cars driven by Ryan Newman, Jason Leffler, Dane Carter, Dan Drinan, Jerry Coons Jr., Jay Drake, Brian Gerster, Ed Carpenter and Dave Steele.

Gerster beat Drinan and Newman in the first eight-lap heat race. Leffler won the second heat and Clay Klepper won the third heat.

Leffler had problems near the start of the 30-lap feature and drove to the pits. Dane Carter led the first two laps and then Barth took over. Newman was in front on lap six and he ran away and hid for what looked like an easy win. Sarah McCune finished second. Michael Lewis was third, followed by Drinan, Drake, Barth, Gerster, Carter, Coons and Ed Carpenter.

Tony George gave the command to start engines and was active after the race in stepson Carpenter's pit. This was the weekend before he called off reunification talks with CART while he was in Las Vegas for the IRL race. I was wonder if George was thinking about that while he was working with Carpenter's Menard yellow number 3?

Next weekend local USAC racing starts at the RCA Dome. I haven't decided how much time I'll spend watching USAC in the year 2000. In other words I haven't decided whether last summer was the real thing or just a quick infatuation. Regardless of what I do this year I'm glad I had USAC to fall back on because most of the other racing I watched in 1999 had little meaning to me.