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USAC: Gardner, Hunt sprint victors at Albuquerque & Dodge City

20 June 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

PPIR MIDGETS TO NEWMAN; MIDGETS & TQS AT BAKERSFIELD SAT.

Jeff Gardner of Fresno, Calif., Tony Hunt of Fair Oaks, Calif. and Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. scored victories in "Western" USAC competition last week. The MCI WorldCom Western Midget Car and TQ Midget Car Series continue this week with a "doubleheader" program at Bakersfield, Calif. A 20-lap TQ and 30-lap Midget Car feature are on tap at the 1/3-mile dirt oval Saturday night.

Gardner and Hunt won Sprint car races at Albuquerque, N.M. and Dodge City, Kans. respectively. Gardner passed Troy Cline on the final lap to win the inaugural USAC race at Sandia Motorsports Park in Albuquerque Monday night (June 12). Cline finished second ahead of Burney Lamar, Davey Hamilton and Jimmy Sills. Rick Williams finished eighth after leading the first nine laps, then Cline led the next 30 laps before yielding to Gardner's Pacific Boring Special on the last lap.

Hunt also kept Cline from victory lane in the inaugural USAC race at the new Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas Wednesday night, leading the final four laps in his Wynn's/Bos Sheet Metal Special. Cline finished second after leading the first 36 laps and was followed by Lamar, Hamilton and Todd Ellison.

Hamilton emerged from the three-race Western Sprint Car "swing" with a nine-point lead over Ellison in the series standings going into a July 8 race at Carson City, Nev.

Ryan Newman led all but the first three laps to win Sunday's 25-mile MCI WorldCom National/Western Midget Car race at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo. Newman and his King Soopers/Pringles/Sunny Delight Brayton Ford/Drinan passed Aaron Fike on the fourth lap of the 1-mile oval and finished ahead of Michael Lewis, Ed Carpenter, Fike and Kasey Kahne. Western MCI WorldCom point leader Bobby Boone finished 14th but leads Steve Paden by 58 points going into this Saturday's races at Bakersfield.

USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR SERIES STANDINGS

1. Davey Hamilton 502
2. Todd Ellison 493
3. Jeff Gardner 468
4. Tony Hunt 452
5. Burney Lamar 448
6. Mike Boat 418
7. Kevin Briscoe 367
8. Troy Cline 280
9. Amy Barnes 269
10. Jimmy Sills 257

USAC MCI WORLDCOM WESTERN MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS

1. Bobby Boone 437
2. Steve Paden 379
3. Rick Hendrix 376
4. Danny Ebberts 376
5. Wally Pankratz 359
6. Thomas Meseraull 358
7. Kasey Kahne 341
8. Shane Scully 338
9. Josh Wise 306
10. Ryan Newman 283

USAC MCI WORLDCOM TQ MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS

1. Greg Edenholm 286
2. Walt Johnson 273
3. J.J. Ercse 271
4. Todd Hunsaker 257
5. Ron Wade 247
6. West Evans 230
7. Ron Ahrendt 178
8. Steve Parke 161
9. Steve Lambert 157
10. Gene Godepski 155

Text provided by Dick Jordan

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