USAC: Davey Hamilton Sweeps Madera & Stockton MCI Worldcom Western Midgets
16 March 1999
Indy Racing League veteran Davey Hamilton of Boise, Idaho returned to his "roots" over the weekend and scored back-to-back feature victories in MCI WorldCom USAC Western Midget Car races at Madera and Stockton, California.Hamilton caught John Starks on the white-flag lap and led to the finish at Madera Saturday night, then took the lead on the 26th lap of Sunday afternoon's race at Stockton after he and race leader Tracy Hines tangled exiting turn four. Both 30-lap victories came in the Lawson Motorsports Gaerte.
Starks finished second in both the Madera and Stockton races and leads the MCI WorldCom Western Midget Car Series standings going into this Saturday night's MCI WorldCom "doubleheader" at the Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway. The TQ Midget Cars join the Midget Cars on the 1/3-mile dirt oval, with a 20-lap TQ feature and a 30-lap Midget Car main event on tap. After posting the fastest qualifying time at Madera, he was trailed at the checkered flag by Marc DeBeaumont, Hines and Jimmy Sills. At Stockton, Clay Klepper took third, ahead of Rory Price and Hines.
Starks barely missed Pat Bliss' 1-lap record at Madera but Hamilton shattered George Benson's 30-year-old mark at Stockton. A field of 40 cars was on hand at Madera and 32 returned for Sunday's events at Stockton.
Hines, who had a fourth and fifth in the two races and trails Starks by six points in the standings, led the first 19 laps at Madera in the Zarounian Motorsports machine before yielding to Starks and led the first 25 laps at Stockton before yielding to Hamilton.
Saturday night's scheduled "doubleheader" at Bakersfield serves as the 1999 series opener for the MCI WorldCom TQ Midget Cars. Two-time TQ champion Alex Harris made his Midget Car debut over the weekend and scored a 12th-place at Madera and a sixth at Stockton.
MCI WORLDCOM WESTERN MIDGET CAR STANDINGS
1. John Starks 66
2. Tracy Hines 60
3. Jimmy Sills 49
4. Kasey Kahne 47
5. Clay Klepper 44
6. Jason Leffler 38
7. Marc DeBeaumont 35
8. Shane Scully 31
9. Ryan Newman 29
10. Rick Hendrix 27