bob jennings' WORLD O' RACING 04/02/2000
Willoughby teammates Tracy Hines and Jay Drake - USAC Midgets at Salem - June 20, 1999
Bob Jennings
USAC regulars Jay Drake and Tracy Hines were busy drivers during the 1999 USAC season. Both Hines and Drake are among the most talented drivers competing in the three USAC series and each were forces in the Silver Crown cars, Sprints and Midgets.
Hines was especially active. Tracy had a Silver Bullet Silver Crown feature win at Pikes Peak International Raceway and second place finishes at Indianapolis Raceway Park and at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. Hines was terrific in the USAC Stoops Freightliner Sprint Cars winning seven features at Terre Haute, Salem, Eldora, Winchester, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Eldora and Winchester respectively. Hines also had second place finishes in Sprint car features at Eldora, Bloomington, Indianapolis Raceway Park and Eldora. Tracy didn't win in the MCI WorldCom Midget series but he had some good drives with second place finishes at Indianapolis Raceway Park, 16th Street Speedway, Terre Haute and Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Drake wasn't as active as Hines but he also ran a lot of USAC shows last season, running at various times in each of the three series with midget feature wins at 16th Street Speedway and Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Indiana.
When I took this photo at Salem last June Hines and Drake were teammates in the Willoughby cars but both raced in different cars throughout the season as seen in the table below. Look at the stats for Hines in 1999. He drove so many different cars that it's difficult to track them all without a pencil and paper. I think that driver mobility points to a sort of casual manner that characterizes USAC racing. It's a professional racing series with national television coverage and corporate sponsors. USAC has close ties to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it's become a "feeder" series for NASCAR. USAC has been in business for 45 years and it has a rich tradition and history. However USAC still has a "show up and race" personality that is reminiscent of racing's earlier days when tough guys showed up to race and often made their deals with car owners a few moments before competition started for the evening. That's one of the primary reasons I like USAC racing so much.
From looking at the table below it's obvious that Tracy Hines is one of the more versatile performers in USAC. While Ryan Newman tends to be a pavement specialist and most of Dave Darland's success has come on dirt, Hines races on both surfaces equally well. Jason Leffler runs the Silver Crown cars and midgets but he doesn't run the USAC sprint cars. Hines ran at most of the USAC shows last season and seems to be as good in one series as he is in the other. Tracy is from the Newcastle, Indiana Hines racing family. Father Jim ran the USAC midgets for years. Brother Ted still runs the USAC midgets. I think Tracy has a good future and he'd be running in the Indy Racing Northern Lights Series if I had my way.
I first noticed Jay Drake in the USAC Western States Midget series. He was Billy Boat's primary competition out west. He hasn't caught my attention the way Hines, Newman and Darland have but he's one of the guys I always pay attention to when I go to a USAC race.
Drake was the winner of the feature at the Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car series opener last night at Eldora. Jay was driving the number 97 Willoughby car. Hines was driving car 62 and finished 15th.
Hines finished eighth at Walt Disney World in the Silver Crown cars in January, driving the number 37 Indiana Underground Construction car. Drake finished 12th at Disney World in the number 6 Ralph's Muffler & Brake Shops car. Tracy finished fourth in the Silver Crown race at the Phoenix Copper World Classic in number 37. Drake finished 13th in car number 6 at Phoenix. Hines wasn't in the Copper World midget feature but Drake finished seventh in the number 6 RPS car. Hines finished sixth in the main event at the "Thunder in the Dome" midget show driving the Griffith number 41 car.
1999 USAC season results |
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Tracy Hines car (finish) |
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Jay Drake car (finish) |
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date |
circuit (dirt surface in italics) |
Silver Crown |
Sprints |
Midgets |
Silver Crown |
Sprints |
Midgets |
01/24 |
Walt Disney World |
#37 (seventh) |
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01/30 |
RCA Dome |
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#17 (17th) |
02/07 |
Copper World Phoenix |
#37 (21st) |
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#30 (sixth) |
#6 (27th) |
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03/27 |
Eldora Speedway |
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#97 (21st) |
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04/11 |
Winchester Speedway |
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#51 (tenth) |
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04/30 |
Attica Raceway Park (OH) |
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#97 (22nd) |
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05/01 |
Eldora Speedway |
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#97 (second) |
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05/02 |
Winchester Speedway |
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#51 (sixth) |
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05/05 |
Louisville Motor Speedway |
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#51 (ninth) |
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05/08 |
Terre Haute Action Track |
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#97 (winner) |
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05/15 |
Louisville Motor Speedway |
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05/16 |
Salem Speedway (IN) |
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#51 (winner) |
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05/22 |
Indianapolis Raceway Park |
#37 (second) |
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#6 (24th) |
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05/26 |
Anderson Speedway |
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#51 (fifth) |
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05/27 |
16th Street Speedway |
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#71 (17th) |
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#97 (20th) |
05/28 |
Indiana State Fairgrounds |
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#6 (25th) |
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05/29 |
Indianapolis Raceway Park |
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#71 (second) |
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#97 (12th) |
05/30 |
Eldora Speedway |
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#97 (winner) |
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06/05 |
Lawrenceburg Speedway (IN) |
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#97 (eleventh) |
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06/06 |
Winchester Speedway |
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#71 (16th) |
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#97 (sixth) |
06/09 |
Winchester Speedway |
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#51 (winner) |
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06/12 |
Indianapolis Raceway Park |
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#51 (winner) |
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06/17 |
Terre Haute Action Track |
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06/18 |
Terre Haute Action Track |
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#97 (fifth) |
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06/19 |
Terre Haute Action Track |
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#97 (13th) |
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06/19 |
16th Street Speedway |
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06/20 |
Salem Speedway (IN) |
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#51 (seventh) |
#71 (fifth) |
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#97 (sixth) |
06/27 |
Pikes Peak International Raceway |
#37 (winner) |
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#6 (ninth) |
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06/30 |
Anderson Speedway |
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#71 (21st) |
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#97 (23rd) |
07/07 |
16th Street Speedway |
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#97 (winner) |
07/08 |
16th Street Speedway |
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#71 (sixth) |
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07/09 |
16th Street Speedway |
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07/10 |
16th Street Speedway |
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#71 (second) |
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#22 (tenth) |
07/17 |
Nazareth Speedway |
#37 (21st) |
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#6 (17th) |
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07/21 |
Terre Haute Action Track |
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#97 (18th) |
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#57 (20th) |
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07/22 |
Lawrenceburg Speedway (IN) |
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#57 (seventh) |
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07/23 |
Bloomington Speedway |
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#97 (third) |
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#57 (ninth) |
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07/24 |
Lincoln Park Speedway (IN) |
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#97 (14th) |
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#57 (15th) |
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07/25 |
Kokomo Speedway |
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07/28 |
Eldora Speedway |
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#97 (winner) |
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07/30 |
Gateway International Raceway |
#37 (fifth) |
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#6 (30th) |
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07/31 |
Anderson Speedway |
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#30 (21st) |
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#15 (ninth) |
08/03 |
Eagle Raceway (NE) |
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08/04 |
Indianapolis Raceway Park |
#37 (ninth) |
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#6 (tenth) |
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08/05 |
"Belleville Nationals" (KA) |
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08/06 |
"Belleville Nationals" (KA) |
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#40 (third) |
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#15 (second) |
08/07 |
"Belleville Nationals" (KA) |
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#40 (25th) |
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#15 (19th) |
08/08 |
Kokomo Speedway |
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#25 (15th) |
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#57 (20th) |
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08/11 |
Indianapolis Raceway Park |
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#51 (12th) |
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08/14 |
Mount Lawn Speedway (IN) |
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08/15 |
Winchester Speedway |
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#51 (17th) |
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08/18 |
Indianapolis Raceway Park |
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#15 (19th) |
08/21 |
Illinois State Fairgrounds |
#37 (second) |
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#6 (21st) |
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08/22 |
Salem Speedway (IN) |
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#51 (ninth) |
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08/27 |
Bloomington Speedway |
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#57 (second) |
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08/28 |
Lawrenceburg Speedway (IN) |
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#62 (15th) |
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09/01 |
Terre Haute Action Track |
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#32 (second) |
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#15 (20th) |
09/04 |
Hawkeye Downs Speedway (IOWA) |
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#73 (eighth) |
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09/04 |
Lincoln Park Speedway (IN) |
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#15 (winner) |
09/06 |
DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (IL) |
#37 (21st) |
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#6 (eighth) |
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09/11 |
Tri-City Speedway (PA) |
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#62 (fourth) |
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#97 (second) |
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09/11 |
16th Street Speedway |
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09/17 |
Terre Haute Action Track |
#37 (11th) |
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#6 (tenth) |
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09/18 |
Indianapolis Raceway Park |
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#73 (second) |
#30 (second) |
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#15 (third) |
09/19 |
Winchester Speedway |
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#15 (fifth) |
09/25 |
Eldora Speedway |
#37 (seventh) |
#62 (second) |
#32 (fourth) |
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#97 (19th) |
#15 (third) |
10/09 |
CalExpo State Fairgrounds (CA) |
#37 (tenth) |
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10/16 |
Irwindale Speedway |
#37 (23rd) |
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10/24 |
Winchester Speedway |
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#73 (winner) |
#30 (18th) |
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10/31 |
Memphis Motorsports Park |
#37 (seventh) |
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11/20 |
Bakersfield Speedway (CA) |
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#40 (22nd) |
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#15 (second) |
11/25 |
Turkey Night Grand Prix Irwindale, CA |
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#67 (seventh) |
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#75 (tenth) |