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USAC: Amy Barnes 4th female to try Silver Bullet cars

12 October 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

SPRINT CAR VETERAN IN FIELD FOR SATURDAY'S RACE AT IRWINDALE

Amy Barnes of Minden, Nevada is expected to make her USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet debut this Saturday night when the series returns to the Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway.

Amy, 19, would be only the fourth female driver to participate in a Silver Bullet event and should she make the 100-lap feature, only the third ever to start a Silver Bullet race.

Cheryl Glass of Seattle, Wash. completed nine laps of the 1982 "Hulman Hundred" at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, handling problems relegating her to a 21st-place finish in her only start. In 1998 Kaylene Verville of Phoenix, Ariz. finished 32nd at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds when she escaped a flip on the second lap. Sarah Fisher of Commercial Point, Ohio, now a regular in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series, made her only series appearance in the 1998 "Hulman/Hoosier Hundred" in Indianapolis, but failed to earn a starting berth.

Amy has started 12 of this year's 14 USAC Western Sprint Car races and on March 25 finished second to Tony Hunt at the Madera (Calif.) Speedway. National Sprint Car Series regular Jason McCord was third, IRL regular Davey Hamilton was fourth and Mike Boat, brother of IRL regular Billy Boat, was fifth in the 40-lap race! She currently ranks 11th in the Western Sprint Car standings.

Amy will be among drivers doing "double duty" at Irwindale, driving a #126 T-Willy-powered Stealth-chassis entry fielded by her father Danny in the Silver Bullet event and her familiar purple KidsMilk #12 T-Willy-powered, Drinan-chassis machine in the USAC Western Sprint Car event.

"I'm really excited for the chance to race with these guys at this level," says Barnes. "Jimmy (Sills), Dave (Darland), Tracy (Hines), J.J. (Yeley), Brian (Tyler), they're all great drivers. I've raced with all of them in sprint cars and can't wait to see how I do against them in the Silver Bullet car in a 100-lap race, especially at my favorite track."

Practice at Irwindale's 1/2-mile paved oval starts at 3 pm and qualifying gets under way at 3:30. The Sprint car feature is 40 laps in distance, while the Silver Bullet cars complete the program with a 100-lapper.

USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES STANDINGS

1. Dave Darland 512
2. Tracy Hines 492
3. Brian Tyler 458
4. J.J. Yeley 445
5. Brad Noffsinger 431
6. John Heydenreich 391
7. Tony Elliott 390
8. Jack Hewitt 364
9. Paul White 354
10. Kasey Kahne 344

Text Provided By Dick Jordan

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