USAC: 'Super License' battle spices Western finals; Hines trails Drake by only 7 points
7 November 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
In addition to USAC driving championships and final point rankings, the final events on the 2000 calendar offer another form of competition, with three of USAC's most proficient drivers battling for the 2000 USAC "Super License."
Dave Darland won last year's inaugural "Super License," awarded to the driver scoring the most USAC feature-event points during the season in the Coors Light Silver Bullet, Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car and MCI WorldCom National Midget Car Series. Although he's still mathematically in the chase this year, his hopes of overcoming the two leaders are slim. The winner earns a complimentary license in each series for the year 2001, a $750 value, and the honor of being #1. The "Super License" presentation will be made at the 45th USAC National Awards Dinner (presented by Stoops Automotive Group) January 5, 2001 at the Westin Hotel in downtown Indianapolis, Ind.
Jay Drake of Val Verde, Calif. and Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind. are separated by only seven points, with 120 available in the final two races at Bakersfield and Irwindale, Calif. November 18 and 23. Darland trails Drake, the leader, by 115.
Drake has had a remarkable season, recording 16 National feature wins (17 total including a Dirt-Track regional triumph) to challenge A.J. Foyt's all-time USAC single-season record of 19 wins, set in 1961. Jay has 10 Sprint Car wins, five in the Midget Cars and one in the Silver Bullet cars at Knoxville, Iowa. He ranks second in both the Sprint Car and Midget Car standings as a result.
Hines owns nine National feature victories this season, six in the Sprint Cars, two in the Silver Bullet cars and one in Midget Cars. As a result, he is the only USAC driver in the "top-5" in points in all three series, having won the Silver Bullet title, ranking third in Sprints and fifth in Midget Cars.
A total of 60 points each are available at the MCI WorldCom USAC National Midget Car race November 18 at Bakersfield, Calif. and the 60th annual Home Depot "Turkey Night Grand Prix" November 23 at Irwindale, Calif.
To be eligible for the "Super License," a driver must start no less than four feature events in each of the three series. Eight drivers have met that criteria this season, including Drake, Hines, Darland, Kasey Kahne, Tony Elliott, Ryan Newman, Jerry Coons, Jr. and Jimmy McCune.
2000 USAC "SUPER LICENSE" POINT STANDINGS
1. Jay Drake 2,278
2. Tracy Hines 2,271
3. Dave Darland 2,163
4. Kasey Kahne 1,926
5. Tony Elliott 1,836
6. Ryan Newman 908
7. Jerry Coons, Jr. 744
8.. Jimmy McCune 600
Text provided by Dick Jordan
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