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USAC: Williams tops Shata Sprints; Carson City Saturday's host

17 August 1999

Rick Williams of San Leandro, Calif., trying to shed his perennial "runner-up" tag, narrowed the gap on USAC Western Sprint Car Series point leader Bud Kaeding with a 40-lap feature victory in Saturday night's race at Shasta Motorsports Complex in Anderson, Calif.

Williams' second 1999 victory came in the first USAC race ever at Shasta's 1/3-mile paved oval and he led all 40 laps in his Pro-West Machine to beat Jimmy Sills, fast qualifier Kaeding, Tony Hunt and two-time series champion Kevin Urton.

Kaeding's lead is 97 points going into this Saturday night's events at Silver State Raceway in Carson City, Nev. Williams was the series runner-up the past three years. A 30-lap feature is on tap at the 1/3-mile paved Carson City oval.

Kaeding has been able to maintain his series lead with consistent performances, including nine "top-four" finishes in only 10 starts. Included are four victories at the 1/2-mile paved Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway. Kaeding finished second to Davey Hamilton in the July 10 race there.

WESTERN SPRINT CAR STANDINGS

1. Bud Kaeding 632 6. Dave Fitzgerald 373
2. Rick Williams 535 7. Curtis Brown 353
3. Rick Hendrix 519 8. Mike Boat 341
4. Bobby McMahan 464 9. Jeff Gardner 312
5. Tony Hunt 394 10. Tom Stansberry 309

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