KUHN LEADS MIDGET RETURN TO TOLEDO FRIDAY

Brad Kuhn of Avon, Ind. leads the USAC Mopar National Midget series to Toledo (Ohio) Speedway Friday night for the first USAC Midget race at the 1/2-mile paved oval in two years. Kuhn holds a 36-point lead over two-time series champion Jerry Coons Jr. entering the race, with Darren Hagen only 48 behind. A total of 74 points are available at Toledo.

The Midgets share billing with the USAC "Thunder & Lightning" Sprint Cars for Friday's racing program, with 50-lap feature events on tap.

Bryan Clauson won the last USAC Midget race at Toledo, in 2007, and former Toledo USAC Midget winners include Kevin Swindell (2006), Michael Lewis (2005) and the late Jimmy Knight (1957).

Kuhn is the only driver to finish all 13 races in the "top-10" so far this season. He won at Bloomington, Ind. during Indiana Midget Week and has added seconds at Gas City, Ind. and Newton, Ia. and thirds at Knoxville, Iowa and Kokomo, Ind.

USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Brad Kuhn-701, 2-Jerry Coons Jr.-665, 3-Darren Hagen-653, 4-Brad Sweet-618, 5-Tracy Hines-600, 6-Bobby East-523, 7-Kevin Swindell-514, 8-Cole Whitt-486, 9-Chad Boat-485, 10-Bryan Clauson-455.

-end-

"J.D. BYRIDER 100" AT ORP NEXT FOR SILVER CROWN;TYLER TOPS EAST IN RICHMOND'S "JAMES RIVER GROUNDS 100"

Bud Kaeding of Campbell, Calif. continues to lead the USAC K & N Silver Crown series standings in quest of becoming USAC's second three-time Silver Crown champion. Jimmy Sills was the first, winning the title in 1990, 1994 and 1996.

Kaeding will try to protect his 21-point lead over Tracy Hines when the series visits O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind. July 23 for the "J.D. Byrider 100." Brian Tyler resides third in points, only six behind Hines after winning Saturday night's race at Richmond, Va.

Tyler, of Parma, Mich. caught leader Bobby East in turn three on the 87th lap of Saturday night's "James River Grounds 100" Richmond International Raceway, then led the final 14 laps to win the 100-lap race on the 3/4-mile paved oval. Tyler's win, in the Lucas Oil/Fatheadz Sunglasses Beast/Toyota, was the 15th of his USAC Silver Crown career.

East led the first 86 laps from the pole before Tyler's winning move and finished second ahead of Cameron Dodson, Ryan Smith and A.J. Fike. Dodson's run was remarkable, coming from 14th to third. He was critically injured in a highway accident in November and has made a remarkable recovery. The Richmond race was his first since the accident.

USAC K & N SILVER CROWN SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Bud Kaeding-147, 2-Tracy Hines-126, 3-Brian Tyler-120, 4-A.J. Fike-113, 5-Zach Daum-100, 6-Shane Hmiel-96, 7-Levi Jones-92, 8-Jerry Coons Jr.-90, 9-Jesse Hockett-81, 10-Jon Stanbrough-74.

-end-

CARDEY SET FOR "FIRECRACKER 40"AT PERRIS JULY 4

David Cardey leads the Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint cars back to Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway this Saturday for the track's big "Firecracker 40" program, which also includes the USAC California Dirt Ford Focuses and Junior Ford Focuses.

Cardey, of Riverside, Calif., is the only driver to repeat as a feature winner this season. He won at Perris in April and in the most recent race at Petaluma, Calif. and has a 21-point lead over Blake Miller entering Saturday night's race.

A total of 74 points are available Saturday, meaning any one of four drivers could emerge with the new series lead. Defending champion Mike Spencer is 33 back of Cardey, while Garrett Hansen is fourth in the points, 59 in arrears.

Danny Sheridan, currently sixth in the series points, is the defending winner of the "Firecracker" race.

LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-David Cardey-434, 2-Blake Miller-403, 3-Mike Spencer-401, 4-Garrett Hansen-375, 5-Greg Bragg-313, 6-Danny Sheridan-304, 7-Rip Williams-262, 8-Matt Mitchell-256, 9-Cory Kruseman-231, 10-Cody Williams-200.

-end-

"FIRECRACKER 30" AT PERRIS NEXT UP FOR USAC/CRA SPRINTS; POINT LEADER CARDEY TAKES PETALUMA SPRINT DEBUT

David Cardey of Riverside, Calif. finds himself 31 points ahead of Blake Miller and 33 ahead of Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car defending champ Mike Spencer as the series prepares for the July 4 "Firecracker 30" & Sky Concert at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.

Cardey took home the trophy Saturday night at Petaluma (Calif.) Speedway, winning the 30-lap feature event in his ITI Performance/Empire Plumbing Viper/Downing Chevy. Spencer led the first 16 laps but Cardey led the final 14 for the win. Miller finished second ahead of Spencer, lady driver Alissa Geving and Matt Streeter. Geving posted the second fastest time behind Cardey in the field of 28 cars and she also won her heat race.

Cardey became the first driver to repeat as a feature winner this year. He previously won at Santa Maria, Calif. Saturday's race at Petaluma was the first for the series at the 3/8-mile dirt Petaluma oval.

LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-David Cardey-434, 2-Blake Miller-403, 3-Mike Spencer-401, 4-Garrett Hansen-375, 5-Greg Bragg-313, 6-Danny Sheridan-304, 7-Rip Williams-262, 8-Matt Mitchell-256, 9-Cory Kruseman-231, 10-Cody Williams-200.

-end-

"ROTONDO WEIRICH SHOOTOUT" FOR SPRINTS at RICHMOND FRIDAY; SANTOS ON HOT STREAK AFTER 30-LAP SPRINT VICTORY AT KALAMAZOO

Only two points separate Dave Darland and Levi Jones going into this weekend's "Rotondo Weirich Shootout" for the USAC National Sprint Cars at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

The 60-lap race is part of the track's "SunTrust Indy Challenge" IRL weekend, which also includes a 100-lap race for the USAC K & N Silver Crown Championship Cars on Saturday.

Drivers will aim for Bobby East's 1-lap Richmond track record of 139.911 mph (2005) when qualifying begins Friday. Jerry Coons Jr. of Tucson, Ariz., currently fourth in the standings, won last year's Richmond Sprint race.

Bobby Santos III of Franklin, Mass. capped a great weekend of USAC racing by winning Saturday night's 40-lap National Sprint race at Kalamazoo (Mich.) Speedway. Santos also won Friday's 30-lap USAC Mopar National Midget race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Santos caught Tracy Hines on lap 25 and led the final 16 laps in his Santos Motorsports Beast/Gaerte. Coons finished second ahead of Hines, Cole Whitt and East. Jones and Darland wound up seventh and sixth respectively.

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Dave Darland-664, 2-Levi Jones-662, 3-Jesse Hockett-622, 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-584, 5-Cole Whitt-577, 6-Damion Gardner-519, 7-Tracy Hines-500, 8-Brad Sweet-448, 9-Chris Windom-412, 10-Darren Hagen-380.

-end-

JULY 3 TOLEDO RACE NEXT FOR MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGETS; SANTOS TAKES 30-LAP IOWA SPEEDWAY FEATURE

Brad Kuhn of Avon, Ind. continues atop the USAC Mopar National Midget Series standings as participants prepare for a July 3 race at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway. The USAC National Sprint Cars share the "doubleheader" on the half-mile paved oval.

Bobby Santos III of Franklin, Mass. ran down Kuhn on the 19th lap and led the final 12 laps on Friday night's 30-lap race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Santos started third in the Santos Motorsports Beast/Esslinger Ford and trailed pole starter Kuhn for the first 18 laps around the 7/8-mile paved oval.

Kuhn finished second beating Darren Hagen, Brad Sweet and Jerry Coons Jr. Kuhn's fast qualifying speed was 136.287 mph.

Bryan Clauson won USAC's last Midget race at Toledo, in 2007. He is currently 10th in the series points.

USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS:
1-Brad Kuhn-701, 2-Jerry Coons Jr.-665, 3-Darren Hagen-653, 4-Brad Sweet-618, 5-Tracy Hines-600, 6-Bobby East-523, 7-Kevin Swindell-514, 8-Cole Whitt-486, 9-Chad Boat-485, 10-Bryan Clauson-455.

-end-

CAMERON DODSON RETURNS FOR RICHMOND'S "JAMES RIVER GROUNDS 100" JUNE 27

Cameron Dodson of Greenfield, Ind., USAC's 2007 K & N Silver Crown Series "Rookie of the Year", returns to series competition this weekend in the "James River Grounds 100" at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. He finished second to Chet Fillip is last year's Richmond 100-lapper. Saturday's race gets the green flag at 6:15 pm.

Critically injured in a November, 2007 crash on a public Indiana highway, Dodson has made a remarkable recovery and looks forward to his first race since that life-changing accident.

Dodson, who competed in a car fielded by NASCAR Sprint Cup star Carl Edwards, himself a graduate of the USAC Silver Crown series, will make his return as part of a two-car team backed by Edwards. Dodson's teammate will be veteran USAC racer Josh Wise of Riverside, Calif.

The now-20-year-old Dodson suffered injuries which could have ended his racing career. A brain injury, collapsed lungs, broken ribs and sternum, vertebrae fractures and injuries to his spleen, liver and kidneys resulted in a hospital stay of over a month but doctors were absolutely amazed when he finally regained consciousness and proclaimed "I've got to get out of here. I'll do anything you say." He was comatose for nearly a month while family and friends prayed for his recovery. Surprisingly, he awoke just before Christmas and just a couple of short weeks later he was home undergoing re-hab.

Dodson's career was skyrocketing when it was suddenly interrupted. His rookie Silver Crown season produced a victory at Phoenix International Raceway, three thirds, two fourths and a pole start at New Hampshire International Speedway. In 2008 he won again at Iowa Speedway and added seconds at Phoenix and also at Richmond.

"I guess God was watching over me," Cameron admits. "I'm really pumped about this weekend. I tested at Memphis Motorsports Park last week and ran consistent times. My chief mechanic Chris Santucci does a fantastic job and has been a great help in my return." Teammate Wise also tested at Memphis and feels that the team has a good chance at winning at Richmond.

"Carl (Edwards) called me when I got out of the hospital and I think he's just as pumped as I am about this weekend. I'm driving the same car I ran last year and hope this time I can put it in victory lane."

-end-

KAEDING LEADS SILVER CROWN SERIES TO "JAMES RIVER GROUNDS 100" SATURDAY AT RICHMOND

Two-time USAC K & N Silver Crown Series Champion Bud Kaeding of Campbell, Calif. hopes to join Jimmy Sills as the only three-time champions in series history. The 2006 and 2007 series champ has a 24-point lead over Tracy Hines entering this weekend's "James River Grounds 100" at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

Saturday's 100-lap race is part of the track's "SunTrust Indy Challenge" IRL weekend, which also includes a 60-lap USAC National Sprint race on Friday.

Kaeding won this year's opener at Phoenix, Ariz. and finished fourth in the "Hoosier Hundred" in Indianapolis, Ind. in May. He will pilot the Alviso Rock/Kaeding Performance DRC/Mopar in search of a sixth career triumph.

Defending race winner Chet Fillip of Speedway, Ind. was the first entrant for this year's Richmond race. He passed Hines on the 39th lap of last year's race and led the rest of the way to score his first series triumph, becoming the oldest race winner in series history at age 51!

Kaeding won at Richmond in 2006 and he and Fillip are expected to be joined this weekend by former race winners Brian Tyler (2007) and Bobby East (2004).

Jerry Coons Jr. won last year's Silver Crown title but this year's two races have produced only a ninth and 11th-place finish. Saturday's Richmond race is the first on the pavement in 2009.

USAC K & N SILVER CROWN SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1-Bud Kaeding-111, 2-Tracy Hines-87, 3-Jesse Hockett-81, 4-Shane Hmiel-79, 5-Jon Stanbrough-74, 6-Zach Daum-73, 7-Derek Hagar-73, 8-Jerry Coons Jr.-67, 9-Levi Jones-67, 10-Shane Hollingsworth-66.

-end-

LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 20, 2009 - Petaluma, California - Petaluma Speedway

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. David Cardey, 38, Crossno-14.616; 2. Alissa Gebing, 3x, Gebing-14.640; 3. Greg Bragg, 92, Sertich-14.760; 4. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-14.858; 5. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-14.881; 6. Ronnie Gardner, 96, Gardner-14.933; 7. Rip Williams, 3, Jory-14.995; 8. Blake Miller, 93, Gardner-15.020; 9. Danny Sheridan, 18, Kittle-15.027; 10. Greg Alexander, 75, Stansberry-15.044; 11. Terry Schenk, 3J, Gebing-15.055; 12. Dennis Howell, 62, Howell-15.144; 13. Matt Streeter, 14jr, Streeter-15.308; 14. Shane Golobic, 88, Golobic-15.400; 15. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-15.426; 16. Jason MacIntosh, 33, MacIntosh-15.437; 17. Dave Press, 41. Press-15.444; 18. Brandon Davis, 19x, Davis-15.569; 19. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-15.704; 20. Dennis Rodriguez, 20, Richardson-15.797; 21. Buddy Joe Bomont, 0, Soares-15.857; 22. Norm Johns, 32, Johns-15.868; 23. Garrett Hansen, 7, Priestley-16.068; 24. Arvo Backholm, 96x, Backholm-16.106; 25. Bradley Terrell, 43, Terrell-16.193; 26. Mathew Shedarowich, 8z, Shedarowich-16.285; 27. Marty Hawkins, 3m, Hawkins-17.066; 28. Tyler Schmidt, 49, Schmidt-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Cardey, 2. Spencer, 3. Streeter, 4. Sheridan, 5. Press, 6. Terrell, 7. Bomont. NT

SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gebing, 2. Golobic, 3. Johns, 4. Shedarowicz, 5. R.Gardner, 6. Davis, 7. Alexander. NT

THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Hansen, 2. Schenk, 3. A.Williams, 4. R.Williams, 5. Bragg, 4. C.Williams, 7. Hawkins. NT

FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Miller, 2. Mitchell, 3. Howell, 4. Schmidt, 5. MacIntosh, 6. Backholm, 7. Rodriguez. NT

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Bragg, 2. Alexander, 3. R.Gardner, 4. C.Williams, 5. Backholm, 6. Press, 7. MacIntosh, 8. Davis, 9. Terrell, 10. Bomont, 11. Rodriguez, 12. Hawkins. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. David Cardey, 2. Blake Miller, 3. Mike Spencer, 4. Alissa Gebing, 5. Matt Streeter, 6. Shane Golobic, 7. Tyler Schmidt, 8. Cody Williams, 9. Dave Press, 10. Garrett Hansen, 11. Austin Williams, 12. Rip Williams, 13. Greg Alexander, 14. Matt Mitchell, 15. Arvo Backholm, 16. Terry Schenk, 17. Danny Sheridan, 18. Greg Bragg, 19. Ronnie Gardner, 20. Dennis Howell, 21. Norm Johns, 22. Mathew Shedarowicz. NT
------------------------------------
**Terrell flipped during the semi. Schenk flipped during the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Spencer, Laps 17-30 Cardey.

NEW LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Cardey-434; 2-Miller-403; 3-Spencer-401; 4-Hansen-375; 5-Bragg-313; 6-Sheridan-304; 7-R.Williams-262; 8-Mitchell-256; 9-Cory Kruseman-231; 10-C.Williams-200.
 
NEXT LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: July 4- Perris (CA) Auto Speedway

-end-

NORTH VERNON MIDGET/FOCUS "DOUBLEHEADER" MOVED TO JULY 14

The USAC Mopar National Midget and Midwest Ford Focus Midget "doubleheader" at Twin Cities Raceway Park in North Vernon, Ind. has been rescheduled for Tuesday night, July 14. The event, which was originally rained out June 11 and slated for August 14, will now fall between segments of this year's "Indiana Sprint Week," which runs from July 10-18.

"We felt that the new July 14 date would be more conducive to attracting teams and fans," said USAC Competition Director Jason McCord. "The July 14 date will augment an already-popular nine-night period which features some of the most intense dirt-track racing on the USAC calendar."

"Indiana Sprint Week" opens July 10 at Lawrenceburg and continues July 11 at Gas City and July 12 at Kokomo, then resumes July 15 at Terre Haute, July 16 at Boswell, July 17 at Bloomington and July 18 at Haubstadt.

The races at the 3/8-mile dirt Twin Cities Raceway Park are the first there since Mat Neely's 2006 "Indiana Sprint Week" victory.

-end-

USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 12, 2009 - Bloomington, Indiana - Bloomington Speedway - "Indiana Midget Week"

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Steve Buckwalter, 25, Buckwalter-11.565; 2. Darren Hagen, 3, RFMS-11.575; 3. Chad Boat, 30, Boat-11.607; 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 11, Wilke-Pak-11.628; 5. Brad Sweet, 49, Kahne/Curb-11.660; 6. Josh Wise, 75, Pedregon-11/697; 7. Shane Hmiel, 56, Hmiel-11.699; 8. Tracy Hines, 21, Stewart-11.721; 9. Bryan Clauson, 39, Tucker-11.728; 10. Chase Barber, 90, Barber-11.728; 11. Kevin Swindell, 67, Kunz-11.731; 12. Dene McAllan, 29, Berry-11.735; 13. Cole Whitt, 1, Kunz-11.757; 14. Brad Loyet, 05, Loyet-11.762; 15. Ryan Kaplan, 27, Kaplan-11.765; 16. Brad Kuhn, 17B, RW-11.775; 17. Kody Swanson, 19k, Team 6R/TK-11.779; 18. Nathan High, 12J, Allen-11.789; 19. Dave Darland, 69, RFMS-11.809; 20. Mark Brown, 1x, Rinkin-11.813; 21. Bobby East, 4, Klatt-11.816; 22. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Bush-11.825; 23. Cole Carter, 7, Carter-11.8292; 24. Matt Sherrell, 35, Sherrell-11.857; 25. Ricky Ehrgott, 8, Rev 1-11.868; 26. Caleb Armstrong, 7C, C & A-11.872; 27. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-11.895; 28. Dakoda Armstrong, 7A, C & A-11.929; 29. Levi Jones, 20, Stewart-11.936; 30. Henry Clarke, 97, Kunz-11.937; 31. Miranda Throckmorton, 54, Burke-11.952; 32. Brent Beauchamp, 112, Beauchamp-11.985; 33. Billy Wease, 92, Burrow-11.991; 34. Jonathan Hendrick, 68, Hendrick-11.994; 35. Andrew Deal, 15D, Deal-11.996; 36. Wes Gutierrez, 07, Walker-12.042; 37. Matt Westfall, 14, Bordner-12.363; 38. Buddy Lowther, 31, Lowther-13.093.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Whitt, 2. Clauson, 3. Buckwalter, 4. Sweet, 5. Swanson, 6. Ehrgott, 7. Jones, 8. Westfall, 9. Wease, 10. East. NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Meseraull, 2. Hagen, 3. Loyet, 4. High, 5. Hendrick, 6. Wise, 7. Lowther, 8. Barber, 9. Clarke, 10. C.Armstrong. NT

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Boat, 2. Carter, 3. Swindell, 4. Daum, 5. Hmiel, 6. Darland, 7. Throckmorton, 8. Deal, 9. Kaplan. NT

FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Kuhn, 2. Sherrell, 3. Coons, 4. Beauchamp, 5. McAllan, 6. D.Armstrong, 7. Hines, 8. Brown, 9. Gutierrez. NT

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Wise, 2. Hines, 3. Swanson, 4. Hmiel, 5. Kaplan, 6. Jones, 7. McAllan, 8. D.Armstrong, 9. Clarke, 10. Hendrick, 11. Barber, 12. Throckmorton, 13. Lowther, 14. Ehrgott, 15. Darland, 16. Westfall, 17. Wease, 18. East, 19. C.Armstrong. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brad Kuhn, 2. Brad Sweet, 3. Josh Wise, 4. Tracy Hines, 5. Bryan Clauson, 6. Steve Buckwalter, 7. Chad Boat, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Brent Beauchamp, 10. Shane Hmiel, 11. Thomas Meseraull, 12. Darren Hagen, 13. Cole Whitt, 14. Kevin Swindell, 15. Nathan High, 16. Kody Swanson, 17. Ryan Kaplan, 18. Levi Jones, 19. Cole Carter, 20. Dakoda Armstrong, 21. Zach Daum, 22. Matt Sherrell, 23. Brad Loyet, 24. Bobby East. NT
------------------------------------
**Clarke & Wise flipped during the second heat. Deal flipped during the third heat. Gutierrez flipped during the fourth heat and was transported to Bloomington Hospital.

-end-

NORTH VERNON MIDGETS POSTPONED TO AUGUST 14

Rain and wet grounds have forced postponement of tonight's USAC Mopar National Midget and Midwest Ford Focus Midget "doubleheader" at Twin Cities Raceway Park in North Vernon, Ind. The program has been rescheduled for Friday night, August 14.

Heavy overnight rains totaling nearly four inches in southern Indiana have left the facility un-raceable, with three feet of water in the infield and extremely saturated parking and pit areas.

"We obviously are disappointed that weather has intervened," said USAC Competition Director Jason McCord. "We are, however, pleased that we have been able to reschedule for August 14, the night before the "Joe James/Pat O'Connor Classic" Sprint car race at Salem (Ind.) Speedway. This will give the race fans a signature weekend of USAC racing."

"Indiana Midget Week," which opened last night at Gas City I-69 Speedway, continues Friday at Bloomington Speedway and Saturday at Lawrenceburg Speedway and will conclude with the crowing of the 2009 champion Sunday night at Kokomo Speedway.

-end-

USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 10, 2009 - Gas City, Indiana - Gas City I-69 Speedway - "Indiana Midget Week"

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Steve Buckwalter, 25, Buckwalter-12.975; 2. Brad Sweet, 49, Kahne/Curb-12.990; 3. Chad Boat, 30, Boat-13.026; 4. Chase Barber, 90, Barber-13.037; 5. Josh Wise, 75, Pedregon-13.060; 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 11, Wilke-Pak-13.139; 7. Darren Hagen, 3, RFMS-13.168; 8. Kevin Swindell, 67, Kunz-13.189; 9. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Bush-13.207; 10. Brad Kuhn, 17B, RW-13.220; 11. Bryan Clauson, 39, Tucker-13.221; 12. Dene McAllan, 29, Berry-13.252; 13. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-13.261; 14. Levi Jones, 20, Stewart-13.285; 15. Ryan Kaplan, 27, Kaplan-13.289; 16. Ricky Ehrgott, 8, Rev 1-13.312; 17. Brad Loyet, 05, Loyet-13.331; 18. Nathan High, 12J, Allen-13.337; 19. Cole Whitt, 1, Kunz-13.348; 20. Shane Hmiel, 56, Hmiel-13.364; 21. Tracy Hines, 21, Stewart-13.394; 22. Andrew Deal, 15D, Deal-13.403; 23. A.J. Fike, 69, RFMS-13.426; 24. Dakoda Armstrong, 7A, C & A-13.438; 25. Mark Brown, 1x, Rinkin-13.448; 26. Henry Clarke, 97, Kunz-13.453; 27. Caleb Armstrong, 7C, C & A-13.478; 28. Matt Sherrell, 35, Sherrell-13.520; 29. Jonathan Hendrick, 68, Hendrick-13.553; 30. Kody Swanson, 19k, Team 6R/TK-13.583; 31. Matt Westfall, 14, Bordner-13.597; 32. Bobby East, 4, Klatt-13.660; 33. Wes Gutierrez, 07, Walker-13.665; 34. Miranda Throckmorton, 54, Burke-14.042; 35. Billy Wease, 92, Burrow-NT; 36. Buddy Lowther, 31, Lowther-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Loyet, 2. Hines, 3. Buckwalter, 4. Wise, 5. Meseraull, 6. Daum, 7. Brown, 8. Gutierrez, 9. Hendrick. 1:46.93

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. High, 2. Coons, 3. Kuhn, 4. Sweet, 5. Jones, 6. Deal, 7. Clarke, 8. Swanson, 9. Throckmorton. 1:45.13

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Whitt, 2. Kaplan, 3. Clauson, 4. Hagen, 5. Boat, 6. C.Armstrong, 7. Fike, 8. Westfall, 9. Wease. NT

FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Hmiel, 2. Swindell, 3. McAllan, 4. Sherrell, 5. D.Armstrong, 6. Ehrgott, 7. East, 8. Barber, 9. Lowther. 1:43.93

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Boat, 2. Ehrgott, 3. Daum, 4. East, 5. Jones, 6. Swanson, 7. Hendrick, 8. C.Armstrong, 9. Meseraull, 10. Fike, 11. Throckmorton, 12. Brown, 13. Clarke, 14. Lowther, 15. Barber, 16. D.Armstrong, 17. Westfall, 18. Deal, 19. Gutierrez. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 2. Brad Kuhn, 3. Darren Hagen, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Ryan Kaplan, 6. Brad Loyet, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Josh Wise, 9. Matt Sherrell, 10. Bobby East, 11. Shane Hmiel, 12. Chad Boat, 13. Nathan High, 14. Kevin Swindell, 15. Cole Whitt, 16. Zach Daum, 17. Ricky Ehrgott, 18. Dene McAllan, 19. Kody Swanson, 20. Caleb Armstrong, 21. Levi Jones, 22. Dakoda Armstrong, 23. Steve Buckwalter, 24. Brad Sweet. NT
------------------------------------
**Boat flipped on lap 28 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Coons.

NEW USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR POINTS: 1-Coons-478; 2-Hagen-476; 3-Kuhn-459; 4-East-435; 5-Hines-413; 6-Sweet-410; 7-Swindell-378; 8-Whitt-373; 9-Boat-355; 10-Jones-317.

NEW USAC "INDIANA MIDGET WEEK" POINTS: 1-Coons-68; 2-Kuhn-63; 3-Hagen-59; 4-Clauson-57; 5-Kaplan-55.

NEXT USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR RACE: June 11 - North Vernon, IN - Twin Cities Raceway Park - "Indiana Midget Week"

-end-

USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 6, 2009 - Mercer, Pennsylvania - Mercer Raceway Park -  "Eastern Storm" Thunder & Lightning Tour"

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Damion Gardner, 71, DG-16.598; 2. Tracy Hines, 21, Stewart-16.660; 3. Cole Whitt, 67k, Kunz-16.703; 4. Levi Jones, 20, Stewart-16.774; 5. Darren Hagen, 67, Kunz-16.807; 6. Jesse Hockett, 13, VKCC-16.830; 7. Scotty Weir, 5, Baldwin-16.878; 8. Dave Darland, 2B, RWB-16.898; 9. Chris Windom, 17, Windom-16.906; 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 69, Dynamics- 16.921; 11. Bud Kaeding, 29, BK-17.011; 12. Brad Sweet, 9, Kahne/Curb-17.053; 13. Andy Priest, 21x, Priest-17.107; 14. Henry  Clarke, 67x, Kunz-17.272; 15. Arnie Kent, 18, Kent-17.451; 16. Charlie Holben, 42, Holben-17.591; 17. Scott Bonnell, 3B, Bonnell-17.785; 18. Mike Miller, 57B, Burkey-17.854; 19. Scott Priester, 11, Priester-18.031; 20. Andy Korte, 1J, Triple Crown-18.258.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Coons, 2. Jones, 3. Priest, 4. Weir, 5. Priester, 6. Holben, 7. Gardner. 2:17.53

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Clarke, 2. Darland, 3. Bonnell, 4. Hagen, 5. Kaeding, 6. Hines, 7. Korte. 2:18.32

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Sweet, 2. Windom, 3. Hockett, 4. Whitt, 5. Miller, 6. Kent. 2:20.88

SEMI: (10 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Hines, 3. Kaeding, 4. Kent, 5. Miller, 6. Priester, 7. Holben, 8. Korte. 3:20.87

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cole Whitt, 2. Levi Jones, 3. Darren Hagen, 4. Jesse Hockett, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Damion Gardner, 7. Tracy Hines, 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 9. Scotty Weir, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Bud Kaeding, 12. Henry Clarke, 13. Andy Priest, 14. Arnie Kent, 15. Charlie Holben, 16. Brad Sweet, 17. Andy Korte, 18. Scott Bonnell, 19. Mike Miller, 20. Scott Priester. NT
------------------------------------
**Holben flipped during the first heat.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Hockett, Laps 4-30 Whitt.

NEW USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Darland-614; 2-Jones-608; 3-Hockett-594; 4-Whitt-522; 5-Coons-517; 6-Gardner-475; 7-Sweet-448; 8-Hines-438; 9-Windom-412; 10-Hagen-351.

NEXT USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RACE: June 20 - Kalamazoo (MI) Speedway

-end-

INDIANA MIDGET WEEK OPENS WEDNESDAY AT GAS CITY;NORTH VERNON ADDED TO 2009 CALENDAR (THURSDAY)

Indiana Midget Week 5 opens next Wednesday night at the Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway and the five-race series is expected to attract stellar fields and fans from across the country. New to this year's Indiana Midget Week calendar is the first-ever appearance at Twin Cities Raceway Park in North Vernon, Ind. (Thursday (June 11) and return visits to tracks at Lawrenceburg, Kokomo and Bloomington.

Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind. is the defending champion of Indiana Midget Week and is sixth in the current USAC Mopar National Midget standings in his Tony Stewart Racing entry. Shane Cottle won the first two Indiana Midget Week titles and Jerry Coons Jr. was the 2007 champion.

Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. is atop the point standings entering the five-race series but his perch is precarious and these five races will be critical in shaping the battle for the National Championship, which concludes in November. Coons is only seven points behind Hagen, while Bobby East is only 16 back. Brad Kuhn and Brad Sweet are also within one-race striking distance as well.

The battle for the 2009 National Championship is one of the most intense in recent series history, with nine drivers packed within a 100-point range. Trailing sixth-ranking Hines in the title hunt are Kevin Swindell, defending champ Cole Whitt and Chad Boat. Hines' teammate Levi Jones rounds out the "top-10" in the standings.

Eleven different drivers have tasted victory in the previous 13 Indiana Midget Week races. Only Cottle and Davey Ray have been able to post a repeat win, testifying to the intense competition this series generates.

Despite winning the 2008 title, Hines has never won in Indiana Midget Week competition. That could change when the 2009 version opens next week.

The series competes at Gas City Wednesday, North Vernon Thursday, then travels to Bloomington Speedway Friday (June 12) and Lawrenceburg Speedway Saturday (June 13) before concluding at Kokomo Speedway on Flag Day, Sunday night (June 14).

Feature winners in last year's Indiana Midget Week races were Kuhn (Gas City), Ray (Bloomington), Sweet (Lawrenceburg) and Bryan Clauson (Kokomo).

-end-

CRA SPRINTS BACK AT SANTA MARIA JUNE 13; MITCHELL TAKES 30-LAP VICTORY AT THUNDERBOWL RACEWAY

Blake Miller of Yorba Linda, Calif. has a slim four-point lead in the new Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car standings going into a June 13 race at Santa Maria (Calif.) Speedway. David Cardey ranks second after the two drivers scored respective third and fifth-place finishes in Saturday night's race at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.

Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda, Calif. led all 30 laps to win Saturday night's race at Tulare. He became the seventh winner in seven 2009 races as he wheeled his Mancha Realtors/Sierra Water Maxim/Ott to victory over Cory Kruseman, Miller, Garrett Hansen and Cardey. Miller was the night's fastest qualifier.

Tyler Brown and Nic Faas scored USAC/CRA victories at Santa Maria in 2008. Faas is now competing in the USAC National Sprint Car Series, while Brown ranks seventh in the new Lucas Oil USAC/CRA points after finishing 11th at Tulare.

LUCAS OIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS
1-Blake Miller-307, 2-David Cardey-303, 3-Mike Spencer-274, 4-Garrett Hansen-269, 5-Danny Sheridan-259, 6-Greg ragg-238, 7-Tyler Brown-191, 8-Matt Mitchell-178, 9-Cole Whitt-175, 10-Rip Williams-175.

-end-