By Dick Jordan
The Honda USAC National Midget series hits the pavement, “literally,” this week, with races Friday and Saturday nights at Schererville, Ind. and Morris, Ill. Friday’s race at Illiana Motor Speedway is the first at that half-mile oval for the series since Bobby East’s victory there in 2001. Kyle Hamilton won last year’s race at Grundy County Speedway in Morris last year.
Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind. leads the pavement Midget to this weekend’s races. He has a six-point lead over Darren Hagen, last year’s Midget Pavement titlist.
The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports drivers swept Saturday night’s 36th annual “Belleville Midget Nationals” at the famed Belleville (Kans.) High Banks. Christopher Bell led the parade to the checkered flag, followed by teammates Rico Abreu and Tanner Thorson. The 1-2-3 sweep was the first in the National Midgets since last year’s RW Motorsports sweep at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Ia.
Saturday’s race capped a great week for the Kunz team, with Abreu winning Thursday night’s 25-lap Belleville prelim and Bell taking Tuesday night’s “Chad McDaniel Memorial” at Solomon Valley Raceway in Beloit, Kans. Bell’s Saturday night victory came in the 100th USAC event in the state of Kansas!
Bell battled Abreu for the entire 40-lap distance Saturday, leading laps 1-23 and 35-40 in his Toyota TRD Bullet/Speedway Toyota. Abreu led laps 24-34 before yielding to the winner, while Thorson charged to third ahead of Hines and Bryan Clauson.
Abreu and his Toyota TRD Bullet/Speedway Toyota led all 25 laps of Thursday’s Belleville race, beating Hines, Dave Darland, Jerry Coons Jr. and Clauson to the stripe.
Bell led wire-to-wire to capture Tuesday’s Beloit main event, USAC’s first ever at that venue. Abreu was second ahead of Coons, Hines and Darren Hagen.
Caleb Armstrong escaped serious injury in a flip during Thursday’s Belleville feature.
2013 HONDA USAC NATIONAL PAVEMENT MIDGET STANDINGS: 1-Tracy Hines-307, 2-Darren Hagen-301, 3-Bobby Santos-274, 4-Caleb Armstrong-264, 5-Kyle O’Gara-260, 6-Tanner Swanson-220, 7-Kyle Hamilton-188, 8-Taylor Ferns-184, 9-Dalton Armstrong-183, 10-Christopher Bell-178.
2013 HONDA USAC NATIONAL DIRT MIDGET STANDINGS: 1-Christopher Bell-626, 2-Bryan Clauson-564, 3-Tracy Hines-527, 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-506, 5-Darren Hagen-482, 6-Andrew Felker-480, 7-Rico Abreu-439.8-Zach Daum-438, 9-Brad Kiuhn-374, 10-Tanner Thorson-370.