Coons Leads Midgets to Iowa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                      SEPTEMBER 11, 2006

Contact: DICK JORDAN/MICHAEL HARKER                                                                                                       06-266

 

 

COONS LEADS MIDGETS TO IOWA SPEEDWAY DEBUT;

HAGEN CLAIMS CLABBER GIRL "HUT HUNDRED"

 

 

            Arizona's Jerry Coons Jr. will try to protect his point lead in this weekend's USAC National Midget Series action at the brand-new Iowa Speedway in  Newton.

 

            Coons is one of three drivers separated by 43 points who will shoot it out for the series point lead in part of the USAC "tripleheader" at the 7/8-mile paved oval. The USAC Sprint Cars and Silver Crown cars share the billing in Saturday and Sunday action following Friday night's Hooters Pro Cup Series track debut. Preliminary USAC events are slated Saturday and the three feature events are Sunday afternoon. The Midget and Sprint Car features are 30 laps and the Silver Crown feature is a 100-lapper.

 

            Coons finished 12th in Saturday night's Clabber Girl "Hut Hundred" at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track, while Dave Darland finished fifth and Jay Drake finished seventh. Darland is 39 points behind Coons and four ahead of Drake.

 

            Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. won Saturday's 100-lap Terre Haute classic, which was presented by Clabber Girl, First Financial Bank and the Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau. Hagen led three times for 64 of the 100 laps, regaining the lead for the final time on lap 82 from Adam Clarke. Trailing Hagen's Advanced Racing/Fontana Bullet were Shane Cottle, Davey Ray, Michael Pickens and Darland. Pole starter Cole Carter led 17 laps but failed to finish, while Clarke led 19 laps and was 15th.

 

            Defending National Midget Champion Josh Wise, who flipped during Saturday's race, is fifth in the current standings but trails Coons by only 94.

 

 

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS

 

      1.
     Jerry Coons Jr.
     789
      
     6.
     Levi Jones
     625
     
      2.
     Dave Darland
     750
      
     7.
     Brad Loyet
     526
     
      3.
     Jay Drake
     746
      
     8.
     Brad Kuhn
     510
     
      4.
     Bryan Clauson
     740
      
     9.
     Darren Hagen
     508
     
      5.
     Josh Wise
     693
      
     10.
     Cole Carter
     472