By Dick Jordan
Entry blanks have been mailed for the upcoming 2nd Annual “Gold Crown Midget Nationals” USAC Mopar National Midget race at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., scheduled Wednesday, Sept. 29 through Saturday, October 2. The race is co-sanctioned by the POWRi presented by Speedway Motors Midget Series.
The 2010 “Gold Crown Midget Nationals” champion will earn $15,000 for his Saturday night victory in addition to any prizes earned in preliminary competition Thursday and Friday nights. Practice is slated from 6-9 pm on Wednesday.
The entry blanks can be found on the USAC and Tri-City Speedway websites (www.usacracing.com and www.tricityspeedway.net.)
USAC “Triple Crown Champion” Jerry Coons Jr. is the defending winner of the “Gold Crown Midget Nationals,” winning the inaugural race in 2008 at Tri-City. Heavy rains forced cancellation of last year’s scheduled event.
The payoff for Saturday night’s race is spectacular, with the winner receiving $15,000, second $8,000, third $5,000, fourth $4,000 and fifth $3,000 and a guarantee of $1,000 to start! Thursday and Friday’s preliminary features each award $1,500 to the winner.
Practice Thursday through Saturday is scheduled to start at 6 pm, followed by racing at 7. Thursday and Friday action will also include the 410 winged sprint cars and on Saturday the 360 winged sprints will join the Midgets on the program of events.
Tri-City’s rich USAC racing history began in 1961 when Danny Frye won a 30-lap Midget race. Fifty-one races later a total of 35 different drivers have won in USAC competition at the Illinois oval. The late Bob Tattersall leads the list with four wins, while Mel Kenyon, Jack Hewitt and Doug Wolfgang have won three times there in USAC competition,