By Dick Jordan
Pontoon Beach, IL……..Levi Jones of Olney, Ill., who scored a $10,000 USAC Sprint win at Lawrenceburg, Ind. last week, raked in another $10,000 winner’s prize Saturday night at Tri-City Speedway as he won the 3rd “Gold Crown Midget Nationals” 50-lap USAC Mopar National Midget feature. The win capped off a perfect night for Jones, who also won the track’s 30-lap non-winged Sprint race! Jones trailed pole starter Brad Sweet for 20 laps but worked the low groove to catch Sweet for the lead on lap 21. From there it was smooth sailing for Jones and his Three Wide Life/Rotondo Weirich Ellis/Esslinger Ford. Jerry Coons Jr. finished second ahead of Brad Kuhn, Sweet and Zach Daum. USAC National Drivers Championship leader Bryan Clauson finished seventh, while Kyle Larson, just two points nehind him in those standings, finished 22nd after flipping on lap 37.
USAC MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 8, 2011 – Pontoon Beach, Illinois – Tri-City Speedway – “Gold Crown Midget Nationals”
C-MAIN: (12 laps – no points) 1. Tanner Swanson (#19 Team 6R/TK), 2. Robbie Ray (#3R Ray), 3, John Campbell (#19x Campbell), 4. Levi Jones (#56 56 Inc.), 5. Steve Buckwalter (#25 Buckwalter), 6. Hunter Schuerenberg (#2 Ray), 7. Tim Buckwalter (#52 Buckwalter), 8. Jake Blackhurst (#39x Tucker/BCI/Curb-Agajanian), 9. Chase Barber (#91 Barber), 10. Mike Hess (#51 Hess), 11. David Budres (#31 Manic), 12. Chett Gehrke (#11c Matteson), 13. Danny Frye III (#5s Frye), 14. Tyler Millwood (#2x Bush), 15. Ted Kirkpatrick (#40 Kirkpatrick), 16. Tony Roney (#1T Roney), 17. Steve Stroud (#21x Stroud), 18. Johnny Murdock (#0 Murdock). NT
DASH: (8 laps – no points) 1. Brad Sweet (#49 Kahne), 2. Darren Hagen (#3 RFMS), 3. Dave Darland (#5w Wilke-Pak), 4. Bryan Clauson (#39 Tucker/BCI/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Zach Daum (#5 Daum), 6. Brad Kuhn (#17B RW).
B-MAIN #1: (15 laps – no points) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (#3nz JCJ), 2. Tracy Hines (#24 Parker), 3. Scott Hatton (#15 Huston), 4. Bobby East (#4 Klatt), 5. Mario Clouser (#06 MCM), 6. Bubba Altig (#37 Felker), 7. S.Buckwalter, 8. T.Swanson, 9. Barber, 10. Alex Bright (#77 Hemler), 11. Trevor Kobylarz (#20 Two Dogs), 12. Nick Wean (#78 Wean), 13. T.Buckwalter, 14. Campbell, 15. Caleb Armstrong (#71 C & A), 16. Davey Ray (#71x Love), 17. Shane Cottle (#1st Saucier), 18. Jones. NT
B-MAIN #2: (15 laps – no points) 1. Kyle Larson (#67 Kunz), 2. Levi Roberts (#9 Nine Racing), 3. Thomas Messeraull (#2T Bush), 4. Jones, 5. Andrew Felker (#11a Felker), 6. Kody Swanson (#11 Wilke-Pak), 7 . Matt Sherrell (#35s Sherrell), 8. Ryan Smith (#33 Stewart), 9. Schuerenberg, 10. Jake Blackhurst (#39x Tuvker/BCI/Curb-Agajanian), 11. Dalton Armstrong (#71k Kunz), 12. Hess, 13. Taylor Ferns (#55F Ferns), 14. R.Ray, 15. Nick Knepper (#55 Knepper), 16. Christopher Bell (#21 Lowe), 17. Casey Shuman (#10 Moore). NT
FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Levi Jones, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Brad Kuhn, 4. Brad Sweet, 5. Zach Daum, 6. Steve Buckwalter, 7. Bryan Clauson, 8. Darren Hagen, 9. Bobby East, 10. Alex Bright, 11. Thomas Meseraull, 12. Dave Darland, 13. Tracy Hines, 14. Mario Clouser, 15. Andrew Felker, 16. Ryan Smith, 17. Levi Roberts, 18. Scott Hatton, 19. Tanner Swanson, 20. Bubba Altig, 21. Kody Swanson, 22. Kyle Larson, 23. Caleb Armstrong, 24. Matt Sherrell, 25. Nick Knepper. NT
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**Larson flipped on lap 37 of the feature. C.Armstrong flipped on lap 39 of the feature,
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Sweet, Laps 21-50 Jones.
NEW MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET POINTS: 1-Clauson-1,110; 2-Hagen-1,091; 3-Larson-1,030; 4-Hines-941; 5-East-840; 6-Daum-787; 7-Kuhn-763; 8-C oons-701; 9-C.Armstrong-677; 10-T.Swanson-664.
FINAL MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET DIRT POINTS: 1-Clauson-860; 2-Hagen-727; 3-Larson-687; 4-Hines-683; 5-Kuhn-663.
NEXT MOPAR NATIONAL MIDGET RACE: November 24 – Irwindale, CA – Toyota Speedway at Irwindale – 71st “Turkey Night Grand Prix”