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USAC: Kevin Thomas 1st Entry for 'Branson/Larson Classic'

6 March 1999

Kevin Thomas of Danville, Ind., who battled Tony Elliott all season for the 1998 Stoops Freightliner/USAC Sprint Car Championship and finished in the runner-up spot, is the first entry for the "Don Branson/Jud Larson Classic" 1999 series opener at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. The Saturday night, March 27, event includes a 30-lap feature on the exciting 1/2-mile dirt oval.

Thomas is the only driver to finish in the "top-10" in the past five "Branson/Larson" events, with finishes of 7th, 4th, 3rd, 3rd and 5th since 1994. His lone 1998 Stoops Freightliner/USAC Sprint Car triumph came in the Buckeye state, at Attica Raceway Park in June.

Thomas' primary challengers for victory when the Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car series opens will be former two-time "Branson/Larson" race winners Kevin Doty and Jack Hewitt, as well as defending series champion Tony Elliott and former two-time series champ Brian Tyler. Doty won last year's race and Hewitt swept last year's "4-Crown Nationals" at Eldora, while Elliott had "top-5" finishes in all four 1998 Eldora Spint races and Tyler was in the "top-10" three times in four 1998 Eldora starts.

"BRANSON/LARSON CLASSIC" RACE WINNERS:

1981 Dave Peperak
1982 Jack Hewitt
1983 Rich Vogler
1984 Steve Butler
1985 Jac Haudenschild
1986 Rick Hood
1987 Rich Vogler
1988 Jac Haudenschild
1989 No Race
1990 Jack Hewitt
1991 No Race
1992 Terry Shepherd
1993 Robbie Stanley
1994 Frankie Kerr
1995 Kevin Doty
1996 Frankie Kerr
1997 Kevin Huntley
1998 Kevin Doty