Texas Midgets Oct. 14-15
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 6, 2006
Contact: DICK JORDAN/MICHAEL HARKER
STAR-STUDDED FIELD EYES TEXAS MIDGET RACES
Two hundred and ninety (290) USAC National Feature victories, thirteen National championships, six Regional championships, seven National Rookie the Year awards, seven National Most Improved Driver awards, four Indiana Sprint Week titles, and three National Midget Driver of the Year honors are all encompassed in the field already entered for next week's USAC Midget races at Thunder Hill Raceway in Kyle, Texas. Throw in the fastest Sprint Car driver of all time and you have a stellar field for the first USAC Midget race in the Lone Star State in 34 years!
Gary Bettenhausen won the last USAC Midget race in Texas, a 100-lapper at the Astrodome in 1972. It's been three years since USAC visited the state, Mike Martin winning a Southwest Sprint Car race at Lubbock in 2003. A total of 55 USAC races have been held in Texas, beginning with A.J. Foyt's Sprint car win at Meyer Speedway in Houston in 1959. Foyt is the winningest driver with a dozen feature triumphs.
Forty-six years ago, Mel Kenyon, whose 111 National feature wins are the most in USAC Midget racing history, made his USAC debut just north of Thunder Hill Raceway, at Longhorn Speedway in Austin, a race won by Bob Tattersall. That was one of 22 USAC Midget races conducted in Texas so far. One of Foyt's victories came in the 1970 appearance at the Houston Astrodome.
A 40-lap feature is on tap for Saturday night (Oct. 14) at the 3/8-mile paved oval. Sunday's (Oct. 15) twilight program culminates with a 100-lap main event. Complete preliminaries are scheduled each night.
Jerry Coons Jr. of Tucson, Ariz. is in the midst of a torrid battle for the USAC National Championship. The 2005 series runner-up has already won a pair of USAC Sprint races and three Midget features this year and leads Jay Drake of Brownsburg, Ind. by 30 points. Defending National Champion Josh Wise of Riverside, Calif. trails Drake by 29 and USAC Triple Crown Champion Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. is 18 behind Wise. All four are entered for the Texas shootout and with 148 points available, any one of them could emerge as the new leader when Sunday's checkered flag falls.
Nine of the "top-10" in the USAC National Midget standings are entered. The only driver missing is Bryan Clauson, whose injuries suffered in a Sprint car crash last month have sidelined him for the balance of the 2006 season. Clauson is expected to make a complete recovery from those injuries and is recuperating at home in Noblesville, Ind.
USAC RACING HISTORY IN TEXAS
Date Location/Track Series Feature Winner Distance
10/11/59 HOUSTON/Meyer Speedway SP A.J. Foyt 50 Laps
11/20/59 SAN ANTONIO/Pan American Speedway M Tony Bettenhausen 50 Laps
11/21/59 CORPUS CHRISTI/Corpus Christi Speedway M A.J. Foyt 50 Laps
11/22/59 HOUSTON/Meyer Speedway M Gene Force 100 laps
12/6/59 HOUSTON/Meyer Speedway ST Harold Smith 100 Laps
3/20/60 HOUSTON/Meyer Speedway SP Don Branson 30 Laps
4/8/60 AUSTIN/Austin Motor Speedway M Bob Tattersall 50 Laps
4/9/60 SAN ANTONIO/Pan American Speedway M Buddy Rackley 50 Laps
4/10/60 HOUSTON/Meyer Speedway M Dale Swaim 100 laps
10/23/60 HOUSTON/Meyer Speedway SP Parnelli Jones 50 Laps
4/20/62 AUSTIN/Austin Motor Speedway M Chuck Rodee 50 Laps
4/21/62 HOUSTON/Meyer Speedway M Jim McElreath 50 Laps
3/25/66 DALLAS/Devils Bowl M Cotton Farmer 40 Laps
9/17/66 DALLAS/Devils Bowl M Cotton Farmer 40 Laps
9/18/66 SAN ANTONIO/Pan-American Speedway M Mel Kenyon 50 Laps
9/24/66 SAN ANTONIO/Pan-American Speedway M Don Meacham 50 Laps
4/28/67 LUBBOCK/West Texas Speedway M Gary Bettenhausen 50 Laps
4/29/67 LUBBOCK/West Texas Speedway M Mel Kenyon 50 Laps
4/30/67 SAN ANTONIO/Pan-American Speedway M Mel Kenyon 50 Laps
3/8/69 HOUSTON/Astrodome M Gary Bettenhausen 100 Laps
3/9/69 HOUSTON/Astrodome M Lee Kunzman 100 Laps
10/22/69 NAVASOTA/Moody-Clary Speedway M Dave Strickland 40 Laps
10/25/69 WICHITA FALLS/Wichita Falls Speedway M Lee Kunzman 40 Laps
3/14/70 HOUSTON/Astrodome M A.J. Foyt 100 Laps
4/17/70 NAVASOTA/Moody-Clary Speedway M Merle Bettenhausen 40 Laps
3/11/72 HOUSTON/Astrodome M Gary Bettenhausen 100 Laps
4/7/73 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST Gordon Johncock 200 Miles
4/7/73 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH Al Unser 200 Miles
10/6/73 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST Roger McCluskey 200 Miles
10/6/73 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH Gary Bettenhausen 200 Miles
6/6/76 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST A.J. Foyt 500 Miles
8/1/76 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH A.J. Foyt 150 Miles
8/1/76 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST A.J. Foyt 150 Miles
10/31/76 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH Johnny Rutherrford 200 Miles
10/31/76 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST Bobby Allison 200 Miles
4/2/77 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH Tom Sneva 200 Miles
6/5/77 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST Bay Darnell 500 Miles
7/31/77 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH Johnny Rutherford 200 Miles
3/12/78 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST A.J. Foyt 250 Miles
4/15/78 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH Danny Ongais 200 Miles
6/4/78 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST Gary Bowsher 500 Miles
8/6/78 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway M-I Harry MacDonald 100 Kilos
8/6/78 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH A.J. Foyt 200 Miles
11/12/78 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST A.J. Foyt 250 Miles
3/11/79 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST A.J. Foyt 250 Miles
4/8/79 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway M-I Dennis Firestone 100 Kilos
4/8/79 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH A.J. Foyt 200 Miles
7/29/79 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway M-I Michael Chandler 100 Kilos
7/29/79 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway CH A.J. Foyt 200 Miles
11/11/79 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST Bobby Allison 250 Miles
3/9/80 COLLEGE STATION/Texas World Speedway ST Terry Ryan 250 Miles
5/10/85 MESQUITE/Devils Bowl SP Rick Hood 30 Laps
6/7/97 FORT WORTH/Texas Motor Speedway IRL Arie Luyendyk 500 Kilometers
6/6/03 LUBBOCK/Lubbock Motor Speedway SWS Garry Lee Maier 30 Laps
6/7/03 LUBBOCK/Tech Motor Speedway SWS Mike Martin 30 Laps
CODE: M=Midget, ST=Stock Car, SP=Sprint Car, M-I=Mini-Indy, CH-Championship Car
IRL=Indy Racing League SWS=Southwest Sprint Car
