HANFORD NEXT FOR 360s SEPTEMBER 11; SMITH 1ST AT HANFORD, STIDHAM STILL LEADS “CLASH”

Craig Stidham of Fresno, Calif. remains atop the standings of both the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series and the “Southwest Contractors Clash” after posting a ninth-place finish in Saturday night’s race at the Santa Maria (Calif.) Speedway.

Stidham’s lead over Davey Pombo is just a single point in the “Southwest Contractors Clash” mini-series, which concludes September 11 at Giant Chevrolet Speedway in Hanford, Calif. His lead in the West Coast 360s is 29 over Pombo.

T.J. Smith of Fresno, Calif. scored his second consecutive USAC West Coast 360 Sprint feature victory Saturday night at Santa Maria, leading the final 24 of 30 laps in his UHL Rubber/K & N Filters Maxim/S & S. Smith passed Richard VanderWeerd on lap seven and was never again headed as Danny Faria Jr. took second ahead of Pombo, Richard VanderWeerd and Justyne Hamblin. Faria was the fastest qualifier.

USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Craig Stidham-1,006, 2-Davey Pombo-977, 3-T.J. Smith-887, 4-Justyne Hamblin-792, 5-Danny Faria Jr.-742, 6-Rusty Carlile-697, 7-Peter Murphy-685, 8-Richard VanderWeerd-641, 9-Jace VanderWeerd-601, 10-Chris Ennis-530.

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ANGELL PARK SWEEP RESTORES CLAUSON TO #1; SUN PRAIRIE MIDGETS, DuQUOIN SILVER CROWN ON TAP THIS WEEK

Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Ind. has regained the lead in the 2010 USAC National Drivers Championship following back-to-back victories in Saturday and Sunday’s National Midget Auto Racing “Hall of Fame Classic.”

Clauson trailed Levi Jones by one point entering the two races at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. but exited the two races with a 25-point cushion going into this weekend’s races.

National Championship events this weekend include Saturday night’s “Pepsi Firemen’s Nationals” USAC Mopar National Midget race at Angell Park and Sunday night’s “Ted Horn 100” USAC Silver Crown race at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds.

Jerry Coons Jr.’s two runner-up finishes propelled him past Tracy Hines into third in the standings, 15 ahead of Hines in the latest tally.

2010 USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1-Bryan Clauson-1,062, 2-Levi Jones-1,037, 3-Jerry Coons Jr.-990, 4-Tracy Hines-975, 5-Damion Gardner-962, 6-Dave Darland-931, 7-Shane Hmiel-860, 8-Chris Windom-845, 9-Bobby East-796, 10-Henry Clarke-795.

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3rd “LOUIE VERMIEL CLASSIC” AT CALISTOGA; SPENCER HALTS CARDEY STREAK AT THE PAS

Mike Spencer of Temecula, Calif. continues his quest for a record third consecutive AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint car championship this weekend in the 3rd Annual “Louie Vermiel Classic” at the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, Calif. The Saturday and Sunday racing programs at the half-mile oval salute the life-long commitment of Vermeil to the sport and to Calistoga’s picturesque racetrack.

Spencer was victorious in one of two features at Calistoga a year ago and will be trying to enhance his 129-point cushion over runner-up Danny Sheridan in the latest CRA standings.

Spencer won Saturday night’s 30-lap AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint race at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway, halting the four-race Perris winning streak of David Cardey, who was the first driver to retire from Saturday’s feature. Spencer took the lead from Matt Mitchell on lap 15 and led the rest of the way in his Madera Produce/Grubstake Mini Storage Maxim/Shaver. Cory Kruseman led the first two laps and finished second, ahead of Tony Jones, Rickie Gaunt and Ronnie Gardner. Spencer also was Saturday’s fastest qualifier.

Last year’s Calistoga Sprint races nearly produced completely different “top-five” finishes. Kevin Swindell was the only driver to crack the “top-five” both nights, winning the first race and taking second in the closer.

The Calistoga race program also features the USAC Mopar Western Midgets with complete racing programs for each series each night.

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Mike Spencer-803, 2-Danny Sheridan-674, 3-Cory Kruseman-636, 4-Blake Miller-607, 5-Matt Mitchell-523, 6-Jimmy Crawford-422, 7-Levi Jones-421, 8-Greg Bragg-409, 9-David Cardey-395, 10-Cody Williams-393.

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SCHUTTE LEADS MIDGETS TO CALISTOGA’S “LOUIE VERMIEL CLASSIC”

Alex Schutte of Redding, Calif. leads the USAC Mopar Western Midget Series to this weekend’s 3rd Annual “Louie Vermeil Classic” at the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, Calif. He has a slim three-point cushion over Cory Kruseman and is only 17 ahead of Robby Josett as the series resumes after a seven-week hiatus.

The two-night Calistoga event (Saturday and Sunday) also includes the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint cars on the half-mile dirt oval.

Schutte finished second and fifth in the Calistoga races last year and was the fastest qualifier for the second night. Josh Ford and Garrett Hansen won last year’s two Calistoga Midget features.

Schutte is still seeking his first 2010 feature win despite a trio of third-place finishes in the last four outings. Kruseman and Josett have both found the winners circle this year, Kruseman winning at Bakersfield and Josett at Ventura.

The night Josett won at Ventura, the three point leaders “swept” the podium, with Kruseman second and Schutte third.

This weekend’s Calistoga races salute the life-long commitment of Louie Vermeil to the sport of auto racing and to Calistoga’s picturesque racetrack.

USAC MOPAR WESTERN MIDGET SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Alex Schutte-457, 2-Cory Kruseman-454, 3-Robby Josett-440, 4-Kody Swanson-267, 5-Josh Lakatos-226, 6-Jake Swanson-215, 7-Cody Swanson-208, 8-Brad Sweet-207, 9-Randi Pankratz-206, 10-Scott Pierovich-195.

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PEPSI FIREMAN’S NATIONALS SATURDAY AT ANGELL PARK;
CLAUSON “SWEEPS” MIDGET “HALL OF FAME CLASSIC” AT SUN PRAIRIE

The “Pepsi Firemen’s Nationals” unfolds at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. this Saturday night and Bryan Clauson has been installed as the provisional favorite following his “sweep” of last weekend’s “National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame” events at the third-mile dirt oval.

One of America’s more traditional Midget races, Saturday’s race dates back to 1982 when Bill Engelhart captured the inaugural. In the ensuing years many of the sport’s top names have graced Angell Park’s victory lane, with Kevin Olson and Kevin Doty posting an amazing five victories each.

Josh Wise won last year’s race and former winners Jerry Coons Jr., Davey Ray and Tracy Hines are expected to compete for this year’s championship honors.

USAC Mopar National Midget point leader Clauson claimed victory Saturday on the opening night of the National Midget Auto Racing “Hall of Fame Classic.” He took the lead from Coons on a restart at lap 22 and led the final nine laps in his Parker Stone/Esslinger Spike to beat Coons, Dave Darland, Brad Kuhn and Ray. Driver Zach Daum was taken to a local hospital for a check-up after flipping on the 22nd lap of the feature.

Clauson capped off the perfect weekend Sunday night, winning the 30-lap finale and claiming the overall two-race title. His performance in the two feature events also earned him the event’s “Hard Charger” award. Coons led the first 20 laps of Sunday’s race before yielding to Clauson. Coons settled for second at the finish, followed by Kuhn, Ray and Hines. Dave Darland was Sunday’s fastest qualifier and finished sixth.

USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Bryan Clauson-1,093, 2-Brad Kuhn-1,032, 3-Tracy Hines-1,005, 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-970, 5-Darren Hagen-951, 6-Dave Darland-937, 7-Brad Sweet-860, 8-Henry Clarke-650, 9-Zach Daum-638, 10-Bobby East-635.

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“TED HORN 100” SUNDAY AT DuQUOIN’S “MAGIC MILE”

The USAC Silver Crown Championship Series returns to the “Magic Mile” Sunday to continue a tradition begun in 1948 with the running of the “Ted Horn 100” at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds.

Bud Kaeding takes a 42-point lead over Jerry Coons Jr. into the 100-mile contest in search of a record fourth series title in five years.

Brian Tyler of Mount Pleasant, N.C. is the defending race champion, winning the 2008 running. Last year’s race was cancelled due to rain. Tyler will continue his pursuit of the series’ start record, trailing the legendary Jack Hewitt by just two starts entering Sunday’s race. Hewitt started 162 Silver Crown races, while Tyler will aim for number 161 Sunday.

Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. also has 160 career starts to his credit. He won at DuQuoin in 1997 and is one of three former DuQuoin winners expected to compete Sunday.

Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind., seventh in the current points, scored back-to-back victories in 2005 and 2006 and should be a major threat for victory again.

Sunday’s race will also figure into this year’s USAC National Drivers Championship, led at present by drivers Bryan Clauson and Levi Jones. Ironically, Clauson and Jones are teammates on the Tony Stewart Racing team for Sunday’s race. Clauson is 25 points ahead of Jones in the most recent NDC standings.

USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Bud Kaeding-267, 2-Jerry Coons Jr.-225, 3-A.J. Fike-215, 4-Levi Jones-210, 5-Kody Swanson-200, 6-Shane Hmiel-197, 7-Tracy Hines-190, 8-Brian Tyler-185, 9-Bryan Clauson-168, 10-Bobby East-157.

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USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 29, 2010 - Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – Angell Park Speedway – National Midget Auto Racing “Hall of Fame Classic”

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Dave Darland, 71, Kunz-14.948; 2. Davey Ray, 14, Fatt-Fro-14.961; 3. Tracy Hines, 24, Parker-14.990; 4. Daniel Robinson, 57, Reisdorf-15.124; 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 11, Wilke-Pak-15.126; 6. Levi Jones, 21, Stewart-15.133; 7. Bryan Clauson, 39, Tucker/Kunz/BCI-15.135; 8. Darren Hagen, 3, RFMS-15.149; 9. Brad Kuhn, 17B, RW-15.195; 10. Mike Hess, 4H, Hardy-15.205; 11. Brad Loyet, 05, Loyet-15.220; 12. Scott Hatton, 15, Huston-15.270; 13. Henry Clarke, 67, Kunz-15.275; 14. Robbie Ray, 3R, Ray-15.314; 15. Levi Roberts, 2D, Roberts-15.325; 16. Mario Clouser, 06, MCM-15.343; 17. David Budres, 33, Ray-15.413; 18. Dereck King, 91, Harris-15.559; 19. Courtney Erfurth, 25, Hardy-15.875; 20. Brandon Waelti, 41, Jones-15.930; 21. Cody Weisensel, 20, Weisensel-16.176; 22. Aaron Fiscus, 6, Fiscus-17.142; 23. David Gough, 57x, Reisdorf-NT; 24. Jason Dull, 56D, Dull-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Clauson, 2. Darland, 3. Clarke, 4. Hess, 5. Robinson, 6. Clouser, 7. Erfurth, 8. Fiscus. 2:34.12

SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Hagen, 2. R.Ray, 3. Loyet, 4. D.Ray, 5. Coons, 6. Waelti, 7. Budres. 2:34.56

THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Kuhn, 2. Jones, 3. Hatton, 4. Hines, 5. King, 6. Weisensel, 7. Roberts, 8. Dull. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Brad Kuhn, 4. Davey Ray, 5. Tracy Hines, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Darren Hagen, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Robbie Ray, 10. Brad Loyet, 11. Mike Hess, 12. Brandon Waelti, 13. Henry Clarke, 14. David Budres, 15. Daniel Robinson, 16. Dereck King, 17. Courtney Erfurth, 18. Mario Clouser, 19. Cody Weisensel, 20. Scott Hatton, 21. Jason Dull, 22. Aaron Fiscus. NT

**Roberts flipped during the third heat. Hatton flipped during the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Coons, Laps 21-30 Clauson.

NEW MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR STANDINGS: 1-Clauson-1,093; 2-Kuhn-1,032; 3-Hines-1,005; 4-Coons-970; 5-Hagen-951; 6-Darland-937; 7-Brad Sweet-860; 8-Clarke-650; 9-Zach Daum-638; 10-Bobby East-635.

NEXT MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET RACE: September 4 – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – Angell Park Speedway – “Pepsi Firemen’s Nationals”

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USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 28, 2010 – Santa Maria, California – Santa Maria Speedway – “Ron Otto Memorial” - “Southwest Contractors 360 Clash”

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-14.222; 2. Davey Pombo, 3, Bowman-14.289; 3. T.J. Smith, 14, LeGras-14.454; 4. Craig Stidham, 3S, Stidham-14.474; 5. Rusty Carlile, 51, Carlile-14.484; 6. Justyne Hamblin, 8, JH-14.553; 7. Richard VanderWeerd, 10, VanderWeerd-14.558; 8. Wes Gutierrez, 007, WG-14.605; 9. Bill Jones, 16J, Jones-14.620; 10. Ricky Kirkbride, 87, Van Meter-14.685; 11. Koen Shaw, 88K, Shaw-14.698; 12. Jared Little, 25, Little-14.715; 13. Geoffrey Strole, 09S, Strole-14.837; 14. Jace VanderWeerd, 88, VanderWeerd-14.936; 15. Trent Carter, 71R, Eames-15.478; 16. Michael Steele, 29S, Steele-20.255; 17. Jason Swaim, 52, Swaim-NT, 18. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Faria, 2. Strole, 3. Stidham, 4. R.VanderWeerd, 5. Kirkbride. NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. J.VanderWeerd, 2. Carlile, 3. Pombo, 4. Gutierrez, 5. Shaw. NT

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Little, 2. Smith, 3. Hamblin, 4. Jones, 5. Carter. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. T.J. Smith, 2. Danny Faria Jr., 3. Davey Pombo, 4. Richard VanderWeerd, 5. Justyne Hamblin, 6. Wes Gutierrez, 7. Rusty Carlile, 8. Chris Ennis, 9. Craig Stidham, 10. Ricky Kirkbride, 11. Jace VanderWeerd, 12. Jared Little, 13. Koen Shaw, 14. Geoffrey Strole, 15. Trent Carter, 16. Bill Jones. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 R.VanderWeerd, Laps 7-30 Smith.

NEW USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT POINTS: 1-Stidham-1,006; 2-Pombo-977; 3-Smith-887; 4-Hamblin-792; 5-Faria-742; 6-Carlile-697; 7-Peter Murphy-685; 8-R.VanderWeerd-641; 9-J.VanderWeerd-601; 10-Ennis-530.
NEW SOUTHWEST CONTRACTORS 360 CLASH POINTS: 1-Stidham-185; 2-Pombo-184; 3-Hamblin-161; 4-Smith-147; 5-Carlile-144.

NEXT USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT RACE: September 11 – Hanford, CA – Giant Chevrolet Speedway

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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 28, 2010 – Perris, California – Perris Auto Speedway

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-16.774; 2. Rickie Gaunt, 66, Miller-16.778; 3. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.797; 4. Ronnie Gardner, 93, Gardner-16.906; 5. David Cardey, 59, Cardey-16.916; 6. Danny Sheridan, 18, Kittle-16.939; 7. Blake Miller, 7, Priestley-17.001; 8. Cory Kruseman, 21K, Kruseman-17.044; 9. Austin Williams , 2, Jory-17.051; 10. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-17.096; 11. Jimmy Crawford, 11, Crawford-17.125; 12. Tony Jones, 4, Alexander-17.232; 13. R.J. Johnson, 15, Martin-17.252; 14. Rip Williams, 3, Jory-17.031; 15. Greg Alexander, 23, Bellegante-17.459; 16. Randy Waitman, 69, Waitman-17.745; 17. Danny Ebberts, 01, Carroll-17.782; 18. David Bezio, 37D, Bezio-18.123; 19. Cal Smith, 39, Smith-18.153; 20. Tony Everhart, 5, Everhart-18.174; 21. Ludvig Solberg IV, 28, High Performance Motorsports-18.270; 22. Andrew Reinbold, 19, Reinbold-18.375; 23. Heidi Tressler, 3X, Tressler-18.526; 24. Jerry Welton, 62X, Welton-19.210; 25. Mathew Shedarowich, 12, Blair-23.268; 26. Greg Bragg, 92, Sertich-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Spencer, 2. Johnson, 3. Miller, 4. C.Williams, 5. Gardner, 6. Waitman, 7. Shedarowich, 8. Reinbold, 9. Smith. NT

SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. R.Williams, 2. Kruseman, 3. Gaunt, 4. Cardey, 5. Crawford, 6. Ebberts, 7. Tressler. 8. Everhart. 2:54:63

THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Jones, 2. Mitchell, 3. A.Williams, 4. Sheridan, 5. Alexander, 6. Solberg, 7. Bezio, 8. Welton. 2:57:13

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Bezio, 2. Waitman, 3. Ebberts, 4. Smith, 5. Reinbold, 6. Tressler, 7. Solberg, 8. Welton, 9. Everhart, 10. Shedarowich. 3:39:05

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Mike Spencer, 2. Cory Kruseman, 3. Tony Jones, 4. Rickie Gaunt, 5. Ronnie Gardner, 6. Cody Williams, 7. Blake Miller, 8. Austin Williams, 9. R.J. Johnson, 10. Jimmy Crawford, 11. Greg Alexander, 12. Ludvig Solberg IV, 13. Danny Ebberts, 14. Andrew Reinbold 15. Matt Mitchell, 16. David Bezio, 17. Danny Sheridan, 18. Randy Waitman, 19. Cal Smith, 20. Heidi Tressler, 21. Rip Williams, 22. David Cardey. NT
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**Cal Smith and Heidi Tressler flipped during the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Kruseman, Laps 3-14 Mitchell, Laps 15-30 Spencer

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS: 1-Spencer-803; 2-Sheridan-674; 3-Kruseman-636; 4-Miller-607; 5-Mitchell-523; 6-Crawford-422; 7-Jones-421; 8-Greg Bragg-409; 9-Cardey-395; 10-C.Williams-393.

NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT RACE: September 4-5 – Calistoga (CA) Speedway – “Louie Vermeil Classic”

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USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 28, 2010 - Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – Angell Park Speedway – National Midget Auto Racing “Hall of Fame Classic”

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Darren Hagen, 3, RFMS-14.789; 2. Brad Loyet, 05, Loyet-15.001; 3. Bryan Clauson, 39, Tucker/Kunz/BCI-15.025; 4. Brad Kuhn, 17B, RW-15.043; 5. Dave Darland, 71, Kunz-15.081; 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 11, Wilke-Pak-15.122; 7. Robbie Ray, 3R, Ray-15.138; 8. Henry Clarke, 67, Kunz-15.152; 9. Tracy Hines, 24, Parker-15.196; 10. Levi Jones, 21, Stewart-15.210; 11. Davey Ray, 33, Ray-15.253; 12. Zach Daum, 5, Daum-15.282; 13. Mario Clouser, 06, MCM-15.292; 14. Billy Wood Jr., 14, Fatt-Fro-15.608; 15. Levi Roberts, 2D, Roberts-15.765; 16. Jason Dull, 56D, Dull-16.041.

FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Darland, 2. Clauson, 3. Hagen, 4. R.Ray, 5. Hines, 6. D.Ray, 7. Clouser, 8. Roberts. 2:33.24

SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Kuhn, 2. Coons, 3. Loyet, 4. Daum, 5. Clarke, 6. Jones, 7. Wood, 8. Dull. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bryan Clauson, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Dave Darland, 4. Brad Kuhn, 5. Davey Ray, 6. Darren Hagen, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Brad Loyet, 10. Robbie Ray, 11. Levi Roberts, 12. Mario Clouser, 13. Billy Wood Jr., 14. Zach Daum, 15. Henry Clarke. NT
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**Dull flipped during the second heat. Daum flipped on lap 22 of the feature and was transported to a local hospital for a check-up.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Coons, Laps 22-30 Clauson.

NEW MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR STANDINGS: 1-Clauson-1,025; 2-Kuhn-970; 3-Hines-948; 4-Coons-907; 5-Hagen-901; 6-Darland-879; 7-Brad Sweet-860; 8-Daum-638; 9-Bobby East-635; 10-Clarke-617.

NEXT MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET RACE: August 29 – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – Angell Park Speedway – National Midget Auto Racing “Hall of Fame Classic”

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50TH “TONY BETTENHAUSEN 100” RESET FOR 2011

Track Enterprises, USAC and the Illinois State Fairgrounds regretfully announce the cancellation of the “Tony Bettenhausen 100” USAC Silver Crown Championship and UMP Modified race at the one-mile dirt Springfield oval. A reschedule date was unable to be found to fit all parties involved.

“Unfortunately, mother nature did not cooperate the day of the event and we exhausted all possible dates to try and reschedule the event,” said Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises. We now focus our attention on the September 5 “Ted Horn 100” at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds Magic Mile, the next date for the USAC Silver Crown and UMP Modified series.”

The cancellation means a one-year postponement of the 50th running of the “Tony Bettenhausen 100,” which honors the late AAA and USAC National driving champion. The Springfield race, one of America’s most traditional motorsports events, dates back to 1934.

Tickets which had been purchased for the Springfield races can be mailed for refunds to Track Enterprises at P.O. Box 79, Macon, Ill. 62544. Please include your name, mailing address and telephone number. Ticket refund requests are also available to print out at www.trackenterprises.com.

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DuQUOIN’S “TED HORN 100” NEXT FOR SILVER CROWN FOLLOWING SPRINGFIELD RAINOUT

The “Ted Horn 100” is next up for the USAC Silver Crown Championship Series, scheduled for Sunday night, September 5 at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds. The 1946-47-48 AAA National Driving Champion (Horn) lost his life in an accident at DuQuoin in 1948 and has been memorialized with the 100-mile race at the Magic Mile nearly every year since.

Saturday's "Tony Bettenhausen 100" USAC Silver Crown Championship race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds was postponed due to extremely wet grounds and race track. Heavy rains overnight created conditions not conducive to racing at the one-mile dirt oval. Officials of Track Enterprises and USAC are working to secure a replacement date for the event later in the year. An announcement will be made regarding a new date when firm.

Bud Kaeding of Campbell, Calif. continues as the Silver Crown point leader in quest of a record fourth series title in five years.

USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Bud Kaeding-267, 2-Jerry Coons Jr.-225, 3-A.J. Fike-215, 4-Levi Jones-210, 5-Kody Swanson-200, 6-Shane Hmiel-197, 7-Tracy Hines-190, 8-Brian Tyler-185, 9-Bryan Clauson-168, 10-Bobby East-157.

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HALL OF FAME MIDGET CLASSIC SATURDAY, SUNDAY AT ANGELL PARK

Bryan Clauson leads the USAC Mopar National Midget Series into this weekend’s back-to-back “National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Classic” races at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisc. Clauson holds a 46-point lead over defending USAC National Midget Champ Brad Kuhn entering the pair of races Saturday and Sunday nights at the 1/3-mile dirt oval which serves as the home of the Hall of Fame.

The weekend includes the announcement of 14 new members of the Hall of Fame whom will be inducted during ceremonies at Tulsa, Okla. in January.

Clauson is the defending champion of the “:Hall of Fame Classic,” leading all but two of last year’s 30 feature laps. Kuhn finished third last year after setting the fastest qualifying time.

The races precede by one week the “Pepsi Firemen’s Midget Nationals” at the Sun Prairie oval, scheduled for Saturday night, September 4.

USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Bryan Clauson-954, 2-Brad Kuhn-908, 3-Tracy Hines-902, 4-Brad Sweet-860, 5-Darren Hagen-844, 6-Jerry Coons Jr.-842, 7-Dave Darland-815, 8-Bobby East-635, 9-Zach Daum-608, 10-Henry Clarke-590.

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CARDEY AIMS AT RECORD #5 AT PERRIS SATURDAY

David Cardey of Riverside, Calif. will be trying to accomplish what no driver has been able to do at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway since the formation of the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series when the series returns to the half-mile dirt oval this Saturday night.

Cardey is on a four-race winning streak at The PAS, which ties what Tony Jones accomplished in 2008. Cardey sits eighth in the series points entering Saturday’s race. Nobody has been able to string together five straight Perris wins since the series began in 2004.

Mike Spencer, a 10-time winner at Perris, leads Danny Sheridan by 80 points in the latest standings. Spencer has been either first or second in five of his six 2010 starts at the Perris oval.

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Mike Spencer-729, 2-Danny Sheridan-649, 3-Cory Kruseman-572, 4-Blake Miller-559, 5-Matt Mitchell-489, 6-Greg Bragg-409, 7-Jimmy Crawford-385, 8-David Cardey-375, 9-Tony Jones-359, 10-Cody Williams-343.

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USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 21, 2010 – Hanford, California – Giant Chevrolet Speedway

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Davey Pombo, 3, Bowman-15.412; 2. Craig Stidham, 3S, Stidham-15.474; 3. Richard VanderWeerd, 10, VanderWeerd-15.602; 4. Jonathan Logan, 32, Evett/Logan-15.621; 5. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-15.627; 6. T.J. Smith, 14, LeGras-15.645; 7. Justyne Hamblin, 14, JH-15.750; 8. Rusty Carlile, 51, Carlile-15.765; 9. Peter Murphy, 11, Bowman-15.891; 10. Ricky Kirkbride, 87, Van Meter-15.905; 11. Jeff Gardner, 51T, Revcon-15.918; 12. Jace VanderWeerd, 88, VanderWeerd-16.008; 13. Jesse Mack, 71M, Gilbert/Mack-16.062; 14. Koen Shaw, 88K, Shaw-16.228; 15. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-16.489; 16. Dave Knott, 28, Knott-16.549; 17. Jerry Wise Jr., 23, Wise-16.930; 18. Ray Knight, 99K, Knight-18.206; 19. Jason Swaim, 52, Swaim-18.225; 20. Wes Gutierrez, 007, WG-NT, 21. Geoffrey Strole, 09S, Strole-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Hamblin, 2. Pombo, 3. Mack, 4. Kirkbride, 5. Knott, 6. Swaim, 7. Logan. NT.

SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Carlile, 2. Stidham, 3. Gutierrez, 4. Faria, 5. Gardner, 6. Shaw, 7. Wise. NT.

THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Smith, 2. Murphy, 3. Ennis, 4. R. VanderWeerd, 5. Strole, 6. Knight. NT.

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. T.J. Smith, 2. Danny Faria Jr., 3. Craig Stidham, 4. Justyne Hamblin, 5. Davey Pombo, 6. Rusty Carlile, 7. Richard VanderWeerd, 8. Chris Ennis, 9. Wes Gutierrez, 10. Ricky Kirkbride, 11. Jesse Mack, 12. Koen Shaw, 13. Dave Knott, 14. Andy Ferris, 15. Geoffrey Strole, 16. Jerry Wise Jr., 17.
Jason Swaim, 18. Jonathan Logan, 19. Jeff Gardner, 20. Ray Knight, 21. Peter Murphy. NT.
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**Jonathan Logan flipped during qualifications.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Murphy, Laps 3-30 Smith.

NEW USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT POINTS: 1-Stidham-961; 2-Pombo-912; 3-Smith-816; 4-Hamblin-737; 5-Murphy-685; 6-Faria-671; 7-Carlile-646; 8-R.VanderWeerd-585; 9-Jace VanderWeerd-562; 10-Ennis-491.

NEXT USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT RACE: August 28 – Santa Maria (CA) Speedway

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SPRINGFIELD's "TONY BETTENHAUSEN 100" POSTPONED

Springfield, IL........Saturday's "Tony Bettenhausen 100" USAC Silver Crown Championship race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds has been postponed due to extremely wet grounds and race track. Heavy rains overnight created conditions not conducive to racing at the one-mile dirt oval. Officials of Track Enterprises and USAC are working to secure a replacement date for the event later in the year. An announcement will be made regarding a new date when firm.

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1 POINT SEPARATES CLAUSON & JONES IN BATTLE FOR USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP!

Bryan Clauson and Levi Jones are separated by a single point in the battle for USAC’s inaugural National Drivers Championship which is beginning to enter its stretch run with a $40,000 bonus awaiting the champion at season’s end.

Clauson has started 55 National races and Jones has started 43 but only the best 25 scores count in the special tally to determine the overall USAC National Champion. Entering Saturday’s “Tony Bettenhausen 100” Silver Crown race at Springfield, Ill. and Sunday’s “Rich Vogler Classic” Sprint race at Winchester, Ind., the two drivers are trying to extend their scores by posting finishes which will increase their season totals. The unique system awards drivers 49 points for a victory in any of USAC’s three National Series (Silver Crown, Sprint or Midget), which includes a five-point bonus for the win. The point scale drops by two points to 42 for second, 40 for third, etc., with a minimum of 2 available for positions 22 and beyond.

So far, Clauson’s worst finish among the 25 which count is a sixth place, while Jones’ worst is a seventh, so the two drivers are pretty evenly matched in terms of chances of improving their scores as the year progresses.

“The new National Drivers Championship has been established to bring fan focus to our top drivers and allow for expanded marketing efforts,” stated Kevin Miller, CEO of USAC Racing. This will now allow a competitor with just a dirt sprint car or midget, or one with a pavement concentration, to compete for a USAC Championship.”

USAC Championships have a storied past and are recognized among the sports most iconic thresholds. Past USAC National Champions include Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Al and Bobby Unser, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne.

The current USAC National Drivers Championship standings show Jerry Coons Jr. third, followed by Tracy Hines and Damion Gardner. Comparatively, Clauson has 1,032 points, while Jones has 1,031, Coons has 968, Hines has 967 and Gardner has 946.

As each driver earns points, those points are compared to his previous “top-25” scores and the totals adjusted if applicable.

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ILLINOIS DRIVERS HOPING TO END SPRINGFIELD DROUGHT

It’s been 27 years since a native Illinois driver has won the “Tony Bettenhausen 100” at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. That drought could end this Saturday.

Drivers Levi Jones of Olney, A.J. Fike of Galesburg, Donnie Beechler of Springfield, Zach Daum of Pocahontas, Randy Bateman of Murphysboro, Mike Hess of Petersburg and Chris Urish of Elkhart are expected to compete and that gives hope to Illinois faithful that the drought could be over. Gary Bettenhausen of Tinley Park won the 1983 race, his second win at the one-mile dirt oval.

Fike ranks third in the USAC Silver Crown standings and Jones is fourth. Both drivers have cracked the winners circle this year, Fike winning at Iowa Speedway in May and Jones taking the series opener at Tucson, Ariz. in February.

Of the above-mentioned drivers, Jones, Fike and Beechler appear to have the best chance at victory since each has a “top-10” finish at Springfield this decade. Jones was third and Fike fourth last year. Beechler has a fourth, eighth and ninth since 2000 and Aaron Fike, A.J.’s brother, also posted a ninth in 2001.

Saturday’s race is the sixth in the 2010 USAC Silver Crown campaign and four brand-new race winners have already emerged this year, including Jones and Fike. Not since 1990 has the series seen different race winners in every race.

Saturday’s 100-mile race will be conducted similarly to the “Hoosier Hundred” in May where a mid-race stop offered participants the chance to make changes to their cars before a restart. That experiment proved extremely successful at the Indiana State Fairgrounds where competition in the final 50 miles of the race was unprecedented and kept the fans on their feet most of the time.

Fike and Jones are expected to figure in the battle for the 2010 USAC Silver Crown title. Fike is only 52 points in arrears and Jones trails leader Bud Kaeding by only 57, with 66 available Saturday. Kaeding’s lead over runner-up Jerry Coons Jr. stands at 42 points as he searches for a record fourth series title in five years!

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“FIREMEN’S PEPSI NATIONALS” SEPTEMBER 4 AT ANGELL PARK

Pepsi, which sponsored the inaugural “Firemen’s Pepsi Nationals” Midget race at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisc. in 1982 and served as the title sponsor for many years, returns this year as the title sponsor of one of America’s most revered Midget races.

Held at the home of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, the race annually brings together the best in the sport and its 27-year history has produced some spectacular racing on one the country’s most competitive race tracks.

Bill Engelhart won the overall title in 1982 and in the ensuing years the winners list has been populated by some of the sport’s top drivers. Kevin Olson, USAC’s 1982 National Champion, won it five times. The late Kevin Doty was also a five-time winner. Dan Boorse, Tracy Hines and Scott Hatton are two-time winners. Rich Vogler, Stevie Reeves, Marty Davis, Page Jones, Kevin Koch, Jay Drake, Davey Ray, Jerry Coons Jr., Brady Bacon and defending champion Josh Wise also own victories in the “Firemen’s Pepsi Nationals.”

Engelhart, Olson, Doty, Vogler and Jones are all members of the “Hall of Fame’ and have plaques commemorating their membership in the Hall of Fame display at Angell Park.

C.W. Promotions are the organizers of the event and Wilke Racers will be seeking an 11th victory in the prestigious race. Previous Wilke drivers who have won the race are Olson (1983, 1986 and 1987), Vogler (1985), Reeves (1991), Hines (2001-2002), Ray (2003), Coons (2007) and Wise last year. Kody Swanson’s victory in July at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind. was the team’s 134th in USAC National competition making them the winningest team in USAC National racing history.

This year’s race will again award points toward the USAC Mopar National Midget Championship. Bryan Clauson, already the winner of this year’s Hut Hundred, Kevin Doty Classic and Belleville Midget Nationals events, is the current USAC Mopar National Midget point leader and will seek his initial “Firemen’s Pepsi Nationals” victory in the September 4 race. He will be trying to erase the memory of last year’s 20th-place finish in the event.

Five different drivers led last year’s extremely competitive 50-lap race, with Wise grabbing the lead on the white-flag lap! The 2010 USAC season has already produced a dozen different race winners so picking a winner for the September 4 race could be tough.

The September 5 race will mark USAC’s fifth appearance at the storied oval this season. Brad Kuhn and Brad Sweet scored victories in July 3 and 4 races there and the National Midget Auto Racing “Hall of Fame Classic” is slated August 28-29.

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USAC MIDWEST DIRT FORD FOCUS RACE RESULTS: August 13, 2010 – Gas City, Indiana – Gas City I-69 Speedway

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Joe Liguori (#22 Givens), 2. Kyle O’Gara (#4 Beast), 3. Eric Rankine (#39 Rankine), 4. Ross Rankine (#39x Rankine), 5. Byron Stowe (#2 Alfrey), 6. Brunson Behning (#37 Behning). NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Jake Blackhurst (#25 Blackhurst), 2. Jessica Bean (#3 Stigall), 3. Bill Kriegbaum (#12 Kriegbaum), 4. John Heydenreich (#22x Givens), 5. Alfred Galedrige Jr. (#41 Sexton). NT

FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Joe Liguori, 2. Jessica Bean, 3. Kyle O’Gara, 4. Jake Blackhurst, 5. Eric Rankine, 6. Byron Stowe, 7. Bill Kriegbaum, 8. Brunson Behning, 9. Ross Rankine. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 Bean, Lap 20 Liguori.

NEW MIDWEST FORD FOCUS SERIES POINTS: 1-Liguori-776; 2-Blackhurst-758; 3-O’Gara-621; 4-Tyler Cottongim-601; 5-Bean-489; 6-Toby Alfrey-432; 7-Andy Nock-406; 8-Tate Martz-398; 9-Scott Hunter-366; 10-Nick Drake-340.

NEW MIDWEST DIRT FORD FOCUS SERIES POINTS: 1-Liguori-337; 2-Blackhurst-313; 3-E.Rankine-271; 4-Bean-246; 5-O’Gara-209; 6-B.Kriegbaum-197; 7-Toby Alfrey-171; 8-Tyler Cottongim-160; 9-Josh Staten-125; 10-Galedrige-125.

NEXT MIDWEST FORD FOCUS RACE: August 14 – Montpelier (IN) Motor Speedway

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 10, 2010 – Oskaloosa, Iowa – Southern Iowa Speedway – Casey’s General Stores “Ultimate Challenge”

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Kyle Larson (#2 Yeley), .2. Bryan Clauson (#2B RWB), 3. Robby Wolfgang (#7k Williams), 4. Scotty Weir (#12B RWB), 5. Kyle Cummins (#21x Pollock), 6. Bill Rose (#6 Rose), 7. Steve Thomas (#20T Thomas), 8. Henry Clarke (#67 Kunz), 9. Shane Hmiel (#17s 56 Inc.). NT SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Dave Darland (#39 Goodnight), 2. Damion Gardner (#71 DG), 3. Robert Ballou (#81 MPHG), 4. Chris Windom (#11 Walker), 5. Keith Bloom (#27 Braund), 6. Brady Bacon (#99 Tel-Star), 7. Chris Urish (#77u Urish), 8. Ricky Williams (#11w Williams), 9. Casey Riggs (#37 Indiana Underground). NT THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Tracy Hines (#4 Hines), 2. Levi Jones (#20 Stewart), 3. Jon Stanbrough (#53 Fox), 4. Bud Kaeding (#29 BK), 5. Casey Shuman (#4G Cook), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (#69 Dynamics), 7. Kevin Swindell (#1 Big Game), 8. Russ Harper (#9 Harper), 9. Chris Morgan (#F1 Morgan). NT

FIRST QUALIFIER: (8 laps - no points) 1. Larson, 2. Rose, 3. Clauson, 4. Harper, 5. Weir, 6. Wolfgang, 7. Thomas, 8. Morgan, 9. Ballou. NT

SECOND QUALIFIER: (8 laps – no points) 1. Coons, 2. Bacon, 3. Kaeding. 4. Jones, 5. Windom, 6. Hines, 7. Swindell, 8. Williams, 9. Hmiel. NT

THIRD QUALIFIER: (8 laps – no points) 1. Gardner, 2. Darland, 3. Shuman, 4. Cummins, 5. Riggs, 6. Urish, 7. Stanbrough, 8. Bloom. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Bud Kaeding, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Levi Jones, 4. Damion Gardner, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Kevin Swindell, 10. Shane Hmiel, 11. Casey Shuman, 12. Casey Riggs, 13. Russ Harper, 14. Ricky Williams, 15. Robby Wolfgang, 16. Chris Urish, 17. Kyle Cummins, 18. Kyle Larson, 19. Robert Ballou, 20. Keith Bloom Jr., 21. Scotty Weir, 22. Bill Rose, 23. Chris Windom, 24. Steve Thomas. NT
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**Ballou & Morgan flipped during the first qualifier. Bloom and Stanbrough flipped during the third qualifier. Rose and Windom flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Larson flipped on lap 15 of the feature. Ballou flipped on lap 15 restart of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Clauson, Laps 10-30 Kaeding.

NEW AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-Jones-1,621; 2-Gardner-1,534; 3-Clauson-1,504; 4-Coons-1,388; 5-Windom-1,358; 6-Hine-1,312; 7-Darland-1,086; 8-Clarke-1,063; 9-Hmiel-920; 10-Stanbrough-773.

NEW NATIONAL SPRINT CAR DIRT STANDINGS: 1-Jones-1,404; 2-Gardner-1,287; 3-Clauson-1,245; 4-Windom-1,169; 5-Coons-1,129; 6-Hines-1,089; 7-Darland-1,086; 8-Clarke-828; 9-Stanbrough-767; 10-Ballou-666.

NEXT AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RACE: – August 14 – Salem (IN) Speedway – ”Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial”

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