By Dick Jordan
Levi Jones of Olney, Ill. and Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind. are engaged in a tight battle for the 2012 USAC National Drivers Championship after concluding the recent Eastern Storm Sprint car tour.
Jones leads by 57 points going into this point-rich week of USAC Mopar National Midget racing which sees five races in as many nights building toward the Indiana Midget Week championship. Hines is a two-time IMW champion.
Jones has amassed his point total without the aid of a feature win so far. He has two seconds and two thirds in 18 starts. Hines, on the other hand, has three victories and two seconds in 17 starts. A driver’s best 25 point scores count toward the seasonal total.
Defending two-time USAC National Drivers Champion Bryan Clauson ranks third in the current standings, but is 134 points in arrears. He has two wins, a second and a third in 13 starts.
This week’s Midget races are at Gas City (Wed.), Putnamville (Thurs.), Bloomington (Fri.), Lawrenceburg (Sat.) and Kokomo (Sun.).
2012 USAC National Drivers Championship Standings
1-Levi Jones-584, 2-Tracy Hines-527, 3-Bryan Clauson-450, 4-Darren Hagen-438, 5-Chris Windom-403, 6-Bobby East-402, 7-Jerry Coons Jr.-379, 8-Jon Stanbrough-370, 9-Dave Darland-332, 10-Damion Gardner-330.