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USAC: Tracy Hines 1st to Try to Match Vogler, Hewitt Record

19 May 1999

GOING FOR BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK MIDGET CAR, SPRINT, SILVER BULLET WINS

Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind. will be the first driver with a chance to match a feat accomplished only twice in USAC history. Sunday's Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car winner at Salem, Ind. hopes to add victories in Saturday night's Coors Light Silver Bullet race at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Sunday night's MCI WorldCom Midget Car race at Kokomo, Ind.

That would make Hines only the third driver ever to win back-to-back-to-back USAC Silver Bullet, Sprint Car and National Midget Car races. The late Rich Vogler was the first, with Sept. 14, 21 and 28, 1980 wins at Terre Haute, Ind. (Midget Car), Terre Haute, Ind. (Sprint Car) and Tulsa, Okla. (Silver Bullet). The incredible Jack Hewitt matched that with his victories in last year's "4-Crown Nationals" Midget Car, Sprint Car and Silver Bullet races at Rossburg, Ohio September 26.

There will be four opportunities for history to repeat in the next two weeks. Should Hines fail to win this weekend's races, the next "sweep" would involve this weekend's two events and the May 26 Sprint Car race at Anderson, Ind. The third scenario would involve the Anderson Sprint Car race plus the May 27 MCI WorldCom Midget Car race at the 16th Street Speedway in Indanapolis and the May 28 A.J. Foyt's True Value "Hulman-Hoosier Hundred" Coors Light Silver Bullet race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. A fourth scenario would involve the Fairgrounds Silver Bullet race, the May 29 "Budweiser Night Before the 500" MCI WorldCom Midget Car race at IRP and the May 30 Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car race at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

A total of 33 drivers have scored victories in Coors Light Silver Bullet, Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car and MCI WorldCom National Midget Car events since 1971. They are (alphabetically): Mario Andretti, Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Mike Bliss, Pancho Carter, Bob Cicconi, Dave Darland, Larry Dickson, Tony Elliott, Bill Engelhart, A.J. Foyt, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Chuck Gurney, Jack Hewitt, Rick Hood, Kenny Irwin, Jr., Bubby Jones, Jim Keeker, Jim McElreath, Bobby Olivero, Johnny Parsons, Larry Rice, Joe Saldana, Ken Schrader, Ron Shuman, Jimmy Sills, George Snider, Dave Steele, Tony Stewart, Rich Vogler, Billy Vukovich, Jr. and Doug Wolfgang.

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