USAC NEWS FROM DICK JORDAN:

USAC National Midget Car "Rookie of the Year" candidates Ron Gregory and 
Teddy Beach are among early entries for season-finales November 23, 28 and 
30 in Arizona, California and Nevada. 
Gregory, of Noblesville, Ind., and Beach, of Donnellsville, Ohio, are 
separated by only seven points in the latest standings. Beach is fresh from 
winning the October 19 race at South Boston, Va. and has eight "top-10s" to 
his credit this year. Gregory, with seven "top-10s" on his 2002 resume, was 
the fastest qualifier for the race on the ultra-fast mile at Nazareth 
Speedway in Pennsylvania in April. Gregory, who will celebrate his 19th 
birthday on November 20, is about five months older than Beach. 
The season finales are November 23 at Tucson (Ariz.) Raceway Park, November 
28 at the Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway and November 30 at the Bullring at Las 
Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. The Tucson card is the "Old Pueblo Classic," 
while the Irwindale event is the 62nd annual Lucas Oil "Turkey Night Grand 
Prix." The Western Sprint Cars share the program at all three tracks, while 
the USAC Ford Focus Midget Cars are also part of the Irwindale event. 
Western Midget car "Rookie of the Year" hopefuls include Arizona 
17-year-olds Van Knill of Tucson and Matt Rossi of Phoenix. Knill is 
currently sixth in the standings, while Rossi is eighth. 
Twenty-six-year-old Chad Nichols of San Carlos, Calif. is the current 
leader for Western Sprint Car "Rookie of the Year" honors, since he is 
leading the series standings going into the finales! 
J.J. Yeley of Phoenix will try to become the 10th driver in USAC history to 
record at least 15 total feature victories in a single season. He currently 
has 14 going into the November 23 Tucson program. 
All three series titles will be up for grabs in the late-November races. 
Defending Champion Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. (National Midget Cars), 
three-time champion Robby Flock of Murrieta, Calif. (Western Midget Cars) 
and Nichols (Western Sprint Cars) are the respective point leaders. 
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS 
1. Dave Darland 1,212 
2. J.J. Yeley 1,126 
3. Aaron Fike 1,086 
4. Bobby East 952 
5. Tracy Hines 949 
6. A.J. Fike 803 
7. Ron Gregory 658 
8. Teddy Beach 651 
9. Steve Paden 569 
10. Dave Steele 567