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I've acquired an appetite for watching the USAC Midgets, Sprints and "Silver Bullet" (Silver Crown) cars race around the Midwest and especially here in Indiana. At the moment, I'd classify all three USAC series as my second favorite form of motor sport, next to the "Indianapolis 500" and the Indy Racing League. CART means little to me these days and it doesn't seem to mean much to anyone else either. Formula One is usually boring. Winston Cup is predictable and often boring too. The IRL has evolved into a series, filled with "scrappy" competition and is the only "major league" racing series where low budget teams and highly financed teams compete on a relatively level playing field. USAC has the same competitive characteristics as the IRL and it also has the most dynamic array of young talent to be found in American racing.

In my opinion, one of the things the Indy Racing League has to accomplish is to build a direct flow of drivers from USAC to its teams. I hope Tony George and Leo Mehl find a way to move the young USAC stars into the IRL in larger numbers. Otherwise they'll follow Jeff Gordon, Kenny Irwin and Tony Stewart to NASCAR. These drivers have talent and can sell the IRL to the public. They're not CART "castoffs" or stale "leftovers" from international racing. Some of these USAC guys have the personalities to appeal to the fans who worship NASCAR; a large part of which live through the accomplishments of their favorite drivers.

It's hard to get to most of the IRL races. Except for the "Indianapolis 500," CART currently has the Midwest saturated with Gateway, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Road America, Michigan, Mid Ohio and Chicago. I'm happy about Cleveland going with the IRL next season and I'm looking forward to the new track in Joliet, Illinois, but this season Charlotte and Atlanta offer my only other opportunities to see IRL events. There is USAC racing, however, going on all over Indiana, throughout the season, and that offers the chance to gain familiarity with the drivers, cars and teams.

Prior to the "rear engine revolution" and "British Invasion," at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in the 1960's, USAC racing had a relevance to the "Indianapolis 500," and I followed the sprints and midgets as closely as I could, given that there was virtually no racing coverage, other than local "500" highlights programs, on television in those days. After 1970, however, when the dirt tracks were dropped from the Indy car schedule, I lost track of what was happening in USAC. I didn't pay attention to the mystique of Jan Opperman or the "Gary (Bettenhausen) and Larry (Dickson) show," that was taking place, in the USAC Sprints, in the mid 1970's. I also missed Pancho Carter's hot streaks, in all three USAC series, at the end of the 1970's.

Enter ESPN with their USAC Thunder telecasts, which featured midgets, at the Indianapolis Speedrome, in the mid 1980's and I was able to watch Rich Vogler and Mack McClellan (sometimes in person) put on their weekly Thursday night competitions. After a couple of years, the "Thunder" telecast were switched to Saturday night, at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and expanded to include sprint cars as well as midgets. I started to become familiar with drivers like Steve Butler, Jim Keeker, Stevie Reeves, Mike Streicher, Don Schilling, Eric Gordon, Robbie Stanley, P.J. Jones, his brother Page and a young Californian, who had moved to Indiana, in his teens, to race with USAC, named Jeff Gordon. A couple years later, five USAC drivers, Tony Stewart, Dan Drinan, Mike Bliss, Doug Kalitta and Kenny Irwin Jr. became the featured performers on the USAC Thunder telecasts and I became more aware of what USAC competition had to offer.

A.J. Foyt won the Indy car (champ car) title and a couple USAC sprint car championships too, but I don't think he ever won a midget title. Pancho Carter might've won the championship, for all three series, but not in the same season. I don't have any USAC history available (USAC needs to add historical stats to its new web site), but I'm sure Rich Vogler won all three championships, but not in the same season. Tony Stewart became the only driver, in 1995, to win all three USAC series titles in the same season.

After Stewart had tested one of his cars, in preparation for the inaugural IRL race, in January 1996, at Walt Disney World, John Menard asked Cary Agajanian where Stewart had come from. Agajanian replied that he had ten other drivers just like Tony. From Tony Stewart is where my new found USAC enthusiasm comes from. When Stewart was running in the IRL, I went to USAC races to see Tony race.

That enthusiasm has carried forward, however, and it runs strong. If there's a USAC race going on somewhere around here, I want to be there. This past Friday evening, my wife and I drove to the Terre Haute Action Track, to see the Silver Crown cars run the "Sumar Classic 100." When we got to the entrance to the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds, where the "Action Track" is located, a sign informed us that the race had been postponed until September 17. Apparently heavy rainfall had flooded the track, which forced the postponement. I was "pumped up" to see that race and I'm sure I'll be there when it finally runs.

Other than Stewart and Billy Boat, USAC drivers have been shut out of the top cars in the IRL series.  Dan Drinan spent May 1996 and May 1998, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but after  a bad crash, in 1996, and a hopeless situation, last May, he's on the outside looking in. Jimmy Kite is running full time again, after racing part of 1997 and 1998, with the Andy Evans' Team Scandia. Andy Michner had a full time ride, until the start of practice, for the 1999 "Indianapolis 500," and later made a last minute unsuccessful bid to get into the "500," substituting for injured John Paul Jr. Tyce Carlson has been around the fringes of the IRL, since the series got underway, and he is running full time now. Donnie Beechler has had a full time ride, the past two seasons, for the small budget Cahill team. Last season, J.J. Yeley ran in the "500," and in selected other IRL races. Brian Tyler and Dave Steele have each had a few IRL starts. Last year, Jack Hewitt qualified for the "500," but that was his only IRL opportunity. Jason Leffler tested extensively in one of Fred Treadway's cars, but after crashing early in this year's IRL opener, at Disney World, he hasn't been back in an IRL car. Ronnie Johncox got to drive for Larry Curry, in one of Tony Stewart's Tri Star Motorsports Dallaras, at Texas.

Granted, without the Indy Racing League, none of the drivers, named above, would've had any opportunities in Indy car racing. I had hoped, however, that there would be more USAC participation in the IRL.

USAC was a failure at moving Indy car racing into the television age of motor sports, with a bunch of influential Indianapolis "hobbyists" and sportsmen at the helm. When CART took the series away, USAC was forced to focus on what it could do successfully. That was to build the Silver Crown cars, Sprints and Midgets into a showcase for racing talent, with high car counts and wide open competition.

One of my goals for the 1999 racing season was to visit as many Indiana racing tracks as I could get to and, so far, I'm not doing too badly in pursuing that goal.

Lincoln Park Speedway, in Putnamville, Indiana, is a beat up bumpy quarter mile or third mile oval. It qualifies as a "grass roots" racing venue in every sense of the term. I went to Lincoln Park Speedway for a World of Outlaws show, which was run the evening after pole position qualifying for the 1988 "Indianapolis 500." I can't recall who won the "Outlaws" feature for sure. I think it might've been Brad Doty.

My buddy Cooley Smith knows a Marathon Oil dealer, Roger Adams, who runs a "sprinter" driven by his son Nick. We went to Putnamville, on Saturday April 24, to see Nick race. Unless they have to clean up a crash, which happened a lot the night we were there, the Lincoln Park promoters have cars racing almost constantly. There were "Legends" cars, modifieds and late model stock cars (we used to call them jalopies) racing, in addition to the non-winged sprint cars. It was cold that night and and I drank so much watered down concession stand coffee that I couldn't get away from the bathroom for the next three days.

Some USAC regulars were running with other Midwest sprint car competitors, at Lincoln Park. Tony Elliott, Dave Darland, Brian Gerster, Jerry Coons Jr.and Bill Rose raced and it was past midnight when Elliott beat Darland to the finish, to win the sprint car feature

USAC driver Tray House was nearly killed, when he hit a rut and his car flipped end over end. House was taken away in an ambulance, on life support, and Cooley and I were told that he wasn't expected to survive his injuries. Fortunately that was incorrect and the most recent report I've heard was House is recovering.

I was feeling some tension about my own personal safety, while I was at Lincoln Park. The catch fence isn't too high, and the way race cars were flipping around that night, I didn't take my eyes off the track any time the sprint cars were racing. I stood at the edge of the third turn, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for 3 1/2 hours, during the "500," and I felt safer than when I watched sprint cars go over the bank, off the turns, and come flying back on to the track, within feet of the fence, at Lincoln Park.

I went to the Indiana State Fairgrounds, on Friday May 28, to see "A.J. Foyt's Hulman Hoosier Hundred," on the one mile dirt oval. I have two strong images when I go to the fairgrounds. One is recalling the night, in early September 1964, when I watched the Beatles perform to a screaming frenzied crowd, packed in front of and in the main stretch grandstand. The other happened, each year, the Saturday following Labor Day, when the "Hoosier Hundred" took place. I can still visualize the images of Rodger Ward, A.J. Foyt, Jim Hurtibise, Lloyd Ruby, Parnelli Jones, Jim McElreath, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Mario Andretti and Al Unser sitting high and raising dust, under late summer afternoon sunshine, as their cars did power slides out off the corners. The "Hoosier Hundred" was a great race, in its day, and was a big deal in this city for nearly 20 years.

I hadn't been to the "fairgrounds" since 1988, when I went to see this same race. If I recall, it was Chuck Gurney who won the 1988 race in a flag to flag "runaway." Cooley went with me to the fairgrounds and it was fun, although I think a one mile oval tends to spread the cars out more than when they race on a half mile, like Terre Haute.

Jimmy Sills left his ride in Gary Stanton's number 75 Mopar entry and was driving the red George Snider - A.J. Foyt True Value number 11 car. Sills broke the fairgrounds track record, in qualifying, with a lap at 114.260 mph.

There was a good entry. Ryan Newman, Jason Leffler, Tracy Hines, Jay Drake, Dave Darland, Jack Hewitt, Brian Tyler, J.J. Yeley, Tony Elliott and Derek Davidson came to run. Leffler crashed in qualifying, however, and was through for the night. Hines finished 13th, in the 15 lap qualifying race, and missed the feature.

When the 100 lap feature started, Sills grabbed the lead, but on lap 17, Darland, who started alongside, on the front row, passed Jimmy. Dave pulled away and looked solid until the race was red flagged, on lap 51, for Kevin Thomas' crash. As he was pulling to a stop, on the main stretch, fire erupted from the engine and Dave's blue number 56 was out.

When the race restarted, Sills resumed his lead, with Russ Gamester, Robby Flock, Newman, Chuck Leary, Davidson and Yeley following Jimmy to the finish. There was some excitement, in the closing laps, however. Gamester, who I saw win a 200 lap USAC Midget race, at the Indianapolis Speedrome, in September 1988, began closing on Sills. Coming off the final corner, Russ had car 51 flying and he just missed beating Sills at the finish line.

The third week of June saw a cold front hit Indiana and it was a dreary cold, damp night when I made my first trip to the high banked quarter mile Anderson Speedway. I remember when the track used to be called Sun Valley Speedway. For 51 years, Anderson/Sun Valley Speedway has hosted the "Little 500" sprint race. They run 33 "sprinters" around those old, slick, bumpy high banks for 500 laps, the night before the "Indianapolis 500." That's wild! One of these years, I have to get to that race.

There were more than 50 midgets, at Anderson, that night. Can you imagine 50 plus race cars, on a Wednesday night, in Anderson, Indiana? ESPN2 was there, taping the program to be telecast the following night, which might've explained the large entry, which necessitated two "non-qualifiers" races.

Most of the regulars were at Anderson, although Ryan Newman was driving a green and white car 68, rather than his usual white number 39 Drinan midget. Dave Steele, in one of the Steve Lewis Beast - Fords, beat Newman in the second "non-qualifier's race." Newman didn't make the Anderson feature, which came as a big surprise. Ed Carpenter, who is Tony George's stepson, won the first heat, in a car carrying the bright yellow Menard Glidden colors. Jimmy McCune won the second heat. Gene Lee Gibson won the third heat, with Michael Lang taking heat number four. Fast qualifier Sarah McCune won the Semi feature.

It had been spitting a fine mist of rain most of the evening, stopping action from time to time. The 40 lap feature started after 11:30 PM. Brian Gerster was leading when they called the race after two green flag laps, because the track was becoming too slick, from the mist, to continue.

The race was resumed this past Wednesday June 30. The conditions couldn't have been better, as the USAC Midgets opened the Anderson program, on lap three, with the sun still shining and warm summer breezes blowing. My pal, Tim Pendergast, and I sat in the high in the bleachers, outside the far corner. Several feet away from us, Tony George and Fred Treadway were watching the race. Presumably George was there to watch Carpenter and Treadway came to see his son Rick compete.

Neither of the two Willoughby cars, driven by Tracy Hines and Jay Drake, returned to Anderson for the resumption of the feature, which saw a tight race. Gerster, who is one of the more versatile USAC drivers, has enjoyed some success the past few seasons. He picked up where he left off, on June 16, and held off challenges from Jason Leffler, Pancho Carter's son Dane and Jerry Coons Jr., to win.

One of the more notable USAC drivers, Ricky Shelton, had a bad night, at Anderson, in his purple number 90. I can't count how many times he spun during the feature, but Shelton looked like an accident waiting to happen.

On the way back to Indianapolis, Tim asked me the differences between the three classes of USAC racing cars. It's over-simplification, but my basic explanation was that the midgets, sprints and Silver Crown cars are basically the same, except they come in different sizes. Looking at the three classes, in the way they were described in the 1950's, may not be accurate or relevant in the 1990's, but the Silver Crown cars are the same basic cars that ran, in the "Indianapolis 500," before the front engine roadsters took over, in the mid 1950's. The last chassis, of this type, to win the "500," was driven by Troy Ruttman, in 1952. It used to be said that the Sprint cars were the most dangerous of the three, since they carried the same power as the Silver Crown cars (or Champ dirt cars as they used to be called), but had a shorter wheelbase. The USAC Sprint series carries the nickname of the "Thunder and Lightning division." The Midgets used to run 110 cid Offenhauser engines, years ago. In fact, the midgets used to be known as "110 Offies" when they began racing, around the time of World War II.

I went to Salem Speedway, in Southern Indiana, on Father's Day June 20, to see a twin bill Midget - Sprint show. It was my first trip to Salem and it was daunting. I recall that 1955 "Indianapolis 500" winner Bob Sweikert was killed, at Salem, in a sprint race, in early June 1956. Rich Vogler was killed, at Salem, during a USAC Thunder telecast, in July 1990. The turns are banked so steeply that the place looks almost like a mini NASCAR track, but the asphalt is old and slick. My first look at the track brought shivers. The place is nicely maintained though, with good seating, a modern concession area and the scoring and control facilities that remind me a lot of Mid Ohio. The setting is nice too, with rolling countryside and a golf course as a backdrop.

I got to the track just in time for the Sprint feature. The series was coming off three consecutive nights, of action, at Terre Haute, so there were only 15 cars at Salem. There were some good guys, among the 15 though; Tracy Hines, Dave Steele, Brian Tyler, Dave Darland, Brian Gerster, Tony Elliott, Eric Gordon and Billy Puterbaugh Jr. among them. Steele was substituting for injured Derek Davidson in the red car 62 (I'm not familiar enough, yet, to know all the cars and teams in USAC). Dave led the 30 laps, from flag to flag, followed by Darland, Puterbaugh, Gerster, Gordon, Tyler, Hines and Jason McCord.

The midgets had run the previous evening, at 16th St. Speedway, but there were still 25 cars at the track. The entry included most of the notables, Jay Drake, Hines, Ryan Newman, Ricky Shelton, Jason Leffler, Jerry Coons Jr., Steele, Gerster, Ed Carpenter, Dan Drinan and John Heydenreich. Leffler led the first 11 of the 30 lap feature, before Newman got by. Ryan stayed in front to win, with Jason running second place, followed by Tony Ave, Shelton, Hines, Drake and Steele.

I can't decide which was more exciting to see racing around Salem. I think the Midgets might've been a bit more exciting, because there were more cars, but both races were entertaining and I was "revved" up when I drove back to Indianapolis.

One of the things I like best about USAC is that there is a wide array of talent and it's interchangeable between the three series. This season there are three drivers who are among the points leaders in each series. Ryan Newman leads the Silver Crown standings, with one win and five top five finishes, in five races. Newman is 15th, in the Sprint car standings, with three top five finishes, in the six Sprint features (of 17) he has started. Newman has started five of the eight Midget features, held so far in 1999, winning three of them. He currently trails Midget points leader Jason Leffler by 12 points. Newman looks like one of the best candidates, for future stardom, running in USAC. He's a junior, at Purdue, from South Bend. His entire family (dad, mom, sister) is involved with his racing and are, in the pits, cheering and helping Ryan whenever he races. Unfortunately (again) Indy car racing is set to lose another open wheel talent, as Ryan has expressed his desire to race with NASCAR. In fact, he has an upcoming test in the Jeff Gordon - Ray Evernham Pepsi Busch Grand National car.

Tracy Hines has, perhaps, the best opportunity to pull off the USAC "triple crown," this season, the way Tony Stewart did in 1995. Hines, who physically resembles Tim Richmond, is from the racing Hines family, from New Castle, Indiana. Father Jim and older brother Ted have been regular USAC Midget racers for years. Hines ranks fourth in the Silver Crown standings. He got his first Silver Crown series win, last weekend, at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Tracy is second, in the Sprint car standings, to Dave Darland, with five wins and eight top five finishes. He is sixth, in the Midget standings, although he has yet to win a feature this season. I was in the pits, at Salem, after the racing had completed, and I asked Hines about going to the Indy Racing League. His reply was "I plead the fifth amendment, but I'd rather go to NASCAR." Too bad again.

I was disappointed that Dave Steele crashed one of the Pennzoil Panther cars, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, before qualifications, and missed the chance to be in the "500." I hope Steele, from Tampa, gets another shot at one of the Panther team G Force - Auroras, yet this season. He recently entered an ASA race, at Indianapolis Raceway Park, although I didn't hear how things turned out. I hope we don't lose Steele to NASCAR too. Dave is eighth in Silver Crown standings. He's 13th, in Sprint car points, although he has three wins in the five features he's started. Steele is seventh in the Midget standings.

At the end of 1998, Jason Leffler was the USAC name being mentioned most often as a future star, but he suffered some setbacks early in this year. After an extensive testing program, with Treadway Racing, last Summer, Jason crashed in the IRL opener, in January, at Disney World. Then he signed a testing contract, with Penske Racing, but got passed over by Tarso Marques, to substitute for Al Unser Jr., after Little Al was hurt in the CART opener, at Miami. Most recently, I've heard that he'll have an opportunity to test in Joe Gibbs' Busch car, but I don't know if anything more has come from that deal. Leffler is running the Silver Crown cars (18th in points) and is leading Midget points, with one feature win.

Anderson winner Gerster, from Indianapolis, is seventh in Sprint points, with one feature win, and sixth in the Midget standings.

Kokomo's Dave Darland looks like a country boy, but he drives good. It seems like he's right there, every time I see him race. He's 14th in Silver Crown points and leads the Sprint standings, although he has yet to win a feature in 1999.

Brian Tyler is third, in Silver Crown points, with one win, and is also third in the Sprint standings, although he has yet to score a feature win this season.

Jack Hewitt is still around, running the Silver Crown cars (seventh in points) and the Sprint cars (tenth in points).

One of the things I also find appealing is that USAC runs on pavement and dirt. That's one of the reasons I prefer USAC to the World of Outlaws. I'm also glad that USAC doesn't run wings. For one thing, those huge wings the Outlaw cars run are plain ugly. For another, the wings push the cars on to the ground so hard, that the dirt begins to shine like ice, and the race becomes a matter of who gets the best slide out of the corner.

The loss of Indy car racing, to CART, wasn't the only obstacle USAC has had to overcome. The World of Outlaws cut badly into USAC's fan base, at one time, but since the ESPN - ESPN2 Thunder shows started, with USAC'ers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart graduating to the top of racing's big time, the old Indianapolis organization has been able to emerge intact, even after losing sanctioning rights for the Indy Racing  League races, in 1997. Last year, both NASCAR and Bruton Smith made inquiries about buying USAC, but an agreement was reached, with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, that keeps long time associations in place. Each of the three series has sponsorships, with Coors and MCI WorldCom picking up the Silver Crown cars and Midgets respectively. The Stoops Freightliner organization has sponsored the Sprints for several seasons.

Coming up, this week, at the 16th St. Speedway, is four nights of competition, which will offer the richest payoff ($140,000) in midget racing history. I don't believe this event carries any USAC points, but I expect most of the top USAC racers and drivers, from other series, around the country, to compete. I understand Tony George is also entered to race. I will be there Saturday, for the final night, and I'll try to get out for one of the other nights too. That ought to be fun.