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USAC: Smoker Continues 16th Street Title Quest Saturday; Ricky Shelton Released After Surgery

21 July 1999

Ron Smoker of Hamburg, N.Y. continues his quest for the 1999 USAC 16th Street Midget Car Championship this Saturday with a 30-lap feature on tap at the 1/4-mile dirt oval in Indianapolis, Ind.

Smoker suffered through a sub-par performance during the recent "Summer Sizzle '99" at the track. He flipped during his preliminary action, then came back to win the "D" Main on the final night, only to miss the "A" Main.

He would like nothing better than to score his third consecutive series triumph this Saturday (Sizzle did not count toward the 1999 track title).

Jerry Coons, Jr., who won the May 27 opener, is the only other winner in the 1999 series, which has six remaining events, concluding on September 18.

Critter Malone, who led the first 24 laps of the "Summer Sizzle '99" finale July 10 before flipping, currently ranks second in the 16th Street standings, 38 behind Smoker.

Ricky Shelton of Huntington Beach, Calif. has been released from Indianapolis' Methodist Hospital after undergoing surgery on his neck following his flip during the final night of "Summer Sizzle '99."

16TH STREET SPEEDWAY MIDGET CAR STANDINGS

1. Ron Smoker 96 6. John Wolfe 41
2. Critter Malone 58 Roger McCluskey, Jr. 41
3. Steve Knepper 54 Andy Pierce 41
4. Jerry Coons, Jr. 53 9. Roy Caruthers 40
5. Jason Leffler 49 10. Ricky Shelton 33

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