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USAC: Kahne's hot streak on the line Sunday at Anderson

28 March 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw, Wash. Brings a "hot streak" to the Anderson (Ind.) Speedway Sunday for the inaugural "Glen Niebel Classic." The 19-year-old western phenom will face a formidable field of drivers in the program of races on the 1/4-mile paved oval.

Kahne has won the last three races in the 2000 USAC MCI WorldCom Western Midget Car Series but will devote most of his campaign to competing for the National championship in one of Steve Lewis' Wynn's/Beast/PRI Pink Fords.

"I'm looking forward to racing at Anderson," he said after a recent test there. "We ran real good during the test and the track seems real racey. It has a lot of banking and reminds me a little of Stockton 99 Speedway (Stockton, Calif.). Kahne won Sunday's Western Midget Car feature at Stockton, after taking Saturday's race at Madera (CA) Speedway. He also won the March 11 Western event at Bakersfield (CA) Speedway and a week earlier had won a winged Sprint car race at the legendary Williams Grove (PA) Speedway.

Kahne also plans to compete in the Stoops Freightliner USAC Sprint Car race at Rossburg, Ohio Saturday night and in both ends of Sunday's Anderson Sprint/Midget Car "doubleheader." The Anderson race will mark his pavement Sprint Car debut.

A 50-lap feature awaits competitors in Sunday's Anderson Midget Car event. Kahne's primary competition will include 1999 Anderson Midget Car feature winner Brian Gerster, MCI WorldCom Midget Car "Rookie of the Year" A.J. Fike, 2000 RCA Dome Midget Car winner Johnny Parsons, 1999 RCA Dome Midget Car winner Kevin Besecker, 1999 Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car king Dave Darland, 1998 Sprint car king Tony Elliott, 1999 Speedrome Midget champ Michael Lang, lady driver Sarah McCune, Tracy and Ted Hines, Western Sprint Car champ Bud Kaeding, former "Rookie of the Year" Michael Lewis and Ricky Shelton.

Practice at Anderson commences at 10:30 am, with Midget Car qualifying at 12:30 pm and the first racing event at 2.

USAC MCI WORLDCOM NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS

1. Ryan Newman 63
2. Dave Darland 57
3. A.J. Fike 53
4. Steve Paden 48
5. John Heydenreich 45
6. Jay Drake 42
7. Jimmy McCune 39
8. Clay Klepper 36
9. Ryan Scott 33
10. Ronnie Johncox

Text provided by Dick Jordan

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.