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USAC: Leffler, Newman score MCI wins; Eldora's '4-Crown' this weekend

21 September 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Jason Leffler of Long Beach, Calif. and Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. captured MCI WorldCom National Midget Car feature events at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Winchester Speedway respectively Saturday and Sunday. Leffler's win at IRP was his first ever on that .686-mile paved oval and extended his series point lead.

Jack Hewitt of Troy, Ohio is the defending champion of this coming weekend's "4-Crown Nationals" at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, sweeping all four main events last year. A 25-lap MCI WorldCom feature is part of Saturday night's final events on the Eldora 1/2-mile dirt. Practice on Friday gets under way at 6:30 pm and qualifying and heat races are on tap. Saturday's events get under way at 7:30 pm.

Leffler thwarted Tracy Hines' bid to claim a $50,000 bonus posted by Simpson Safety Equipment at IRP for any driver who could win both the 30-lap Midget Car and Sprint Car features. Jason passed Tracy on the ninth lap and led the rest of the way in his Wynn's/ASE/Beast/Pink Ford. Hines finished second, then took second in the accompanying Sprint Car main event. Jay Drake, Dane Carter and Dave Steele rounded out the "top-five" in the Midget Car race.

Leffler posted the fastest qualifying time and won the opening heat. Mark Boice, Jimmy McCune and Ryan Newman also won heats and David Gough won the semi. Newman encountered mechanical problems with his primary car and had to drive a "backup" machine in the 30-lap feature and finished sixth.

Newman came back to dominate Sunday afternoon's 30-lap feature at the Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, posting fast qualifying time and leading all but the first five laps of the race. Sarah McCune, in her finest performance of the year, finished second ahead of Michael Lewis, Dan Drinan and Jay Drake.

Leffler tangled with Wayne Chinn on the third lap of the Winchester race and the ensuing accident left both on the sidelines. Dane Carter led the first two laps of the race but lost the lead on the restart to Steve Barth, who eventally yielded to Newman's C.E.Lewis/Ryan Newman Motorsports Brayton on lap six.

MCI WORLDCOM USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CAR STANDINGS

1. Jason Leffler 469 6. Jay Drake 187
2. Jerry Coons, Jr. 300 7. Dave Darland 176
3. Ryan Newman 297 8. A.J. Fike 168
4. Tracy Hines 213 9. John Heydenreich 159
5. Brian Gerster 192 10. Clay Klepper 154

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