By Dick Jordan
Friday’s USAC Mopar National Midget race at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., co-sanctioned by POWRi, salutes the memory of one of America’s greatest Midget talents, the late Kevin Doty, who perished in a 2005 accident at Sun Prairie, Wisc.
The “Kevin Doty Classic” showcases the top stars of USAC and POWRi on the 3/8-mile dirt oval and could offer a prime opportunity for USAC history. Jerry Coons Jr., who won a big 50-lapper at Tri-City in 2008, hopes to give his car owners, Wilke-Pak Racers from Milwaukee, Wisc., an all-time USAC record 134th feature victory. Wilke-Pak is presently tied for the all-time lead with Steve Lewis of Laguna, Beach, Calif.
Doty won 15 USAC races during his career and was the 1994 BMARA Midget Champion. His major wins included the 1994 Hut Hundred and Belleville Midget Nationals.
Coons is currently seventh in the USAC Mopar National Midget standings, trailing point leader Bobby East by 87 points. East holds a 22-point lead over runner-up Tracy Hines, who would like to add the National Midget title to his career achievements, making him USAC’s sixth Triple Crown Champion.
Brad Kuhn of Avon, Ind., eighth in the current USAC standings, is the defending USAC and POWRi champion and finished 10th in the 2008 race at Pontoon Beach won by Coons.
The 2010 USAC/SMRS Great Plains Midget Series also resumes this Saturday with a race at 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo. Defending series titlist Brad Loyet is the point leader by 20 points over Don Droud, Jr. entering the race, the first for USAC at Moberly since 1989.
Loyet won the last USAC/SMRS outing, at Fort Worth, Texas in March.
USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET SERIES POINT STANDINGS
1-Bobby East-298; 2-Tracy Hines-276; 3-Brad Sweet-262; 4-Darren Hagen-254; 5-Dave Darland-239; 6-Bryan Clauson-223; 7-Jerry Coons Jr.-211; 8-Brad Kuhn-179; 9-Brad Loyet-155; 10-Henry Clarke-152.
USAC/SMRS GREAT LAKES MIDGET SERIES POINT STANDINGS
1-Brad Loyet-272; 2-Don Droud Jr.-252; 3-Zach Daum-242; 4-Chett Gehrke-228; 5-Kevin Bayer-226; 6-Matt Sherrell-218; 7-Ronnie Burke Jr.-218; 8-Kevin Ramey-214; 9-Rusty Dukes-206; 10-Justin Melton-204.