USAC: Drake leads midget cars to Kentucky; Stewart also slated to drive

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

May 8, 2001

Jay Drake of Val Verde, Calif. will continue his search for his initial USAC feature victory of the 2001 racing season this Saturday night when the WorldCom National Midget Car Series makes its inaugural appearance at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky.

Drake won 19 USAC races last year to tie the all-time single-season record established by A.J. Foyt in 1961 and Sleepy Tripp in 1988, but has yet to taste victory this year. In 10 appearances so far he has seven "top-10s," his best a third-place in the USAC Stoops Freightliner Sprint Cars at Attica, Ohio April 27.

Drake leads runner-up Tony Ave by a single point going into the race on Kentucky Speedway's 1/4-mile paved oval, located just inside the front straightaway of the 1.5-mile oval. Ave won Sunday's Toyota Atlantic race at the Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway and could pose one of the top threats to Drake for victory this Friday.

Former USAC "Triple Crown" Champion Tony Stewart, who won the 1994 and 1995 National Midget Car Championships and has excelled in recent years in the NASCAR Winston Cup wars, is also expected to compete in Friday's Kentucky Speedway Midget Car event, fresh from last Saturday's NASCAR victory at Richmond, Va. Stewart hopes to commute from final practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday to participate in the Kentucky race. Tony's last 10 USAC National Midget Car races have produced five wins, three seconds and two fourths! He will be aiming for his third consecutive USAC victory Friday, having won the opening and closing events of USAC's 2000 National Midget Car Series, the "Copper World Classic" at Phoenix, Ariz. and the "Turkey Night Grand Prix" at Irwindale, Calif.

Practice at Kentucky Speedway Friday gets under way at 6 pm and qualifying starts at 7:15. The first race is set for 8.

USAC WORLDCOM NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS

1. Jay Drake 101
2. Tony Ave 100
3. A.J. Fike 97
4. Michael Lewis 94
5. Aaron Pollock 86
6. Jerry Coons, Jr. 80
7. Dave Steele 79
8. Ryan Scott 77
9. Aaron Fike 76
10. Dane Carter 65

Text provided by Dick Jordan

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