By Dick Jordan
Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind. is now third in the 2010 USAC National Drivers Championship standings after winning Saturday night’s “JEGS Crown Midget Supernationals” at Columbus, Ohio. Hines is seven points ahead of Jerry Coons Jr., who did not improve his point total after finishing fifth.
Similarly, NDC point leaders Bryan Clauson and Levi Jones were unable to improve their NDC totals, Clauson finishing sixth and Jones not competing at Columbus.
Drivers will have a unique opportunity to improve their totals on three fronts this weekend in the “4-Crown Nationals” at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio where the USAC Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and Mopar National Midget Series share billing.
Drivers earn points in each National series toward the season-end NDC payout, with the champion’s bonus being $40,000. Since only the top 25 scores are tallied, Clauson and Hines need a fourth-place finish or better to improve their scores, while a fifth-place finish or better would improve scores for Jones or Coons.
2010 USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1-Bryan Clauson-1,070, 2-Levi Jones-1,045, 3-Tracy Hines-1,007, 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-1,000, 5-Damion Gardner-962, 6-Dave Darland-955, 7-Shane Hmiel-878, 8-Chris Windom-847, 9-Bobby East-824, 10-Henry Clarke-803.