By Dick Jordan
Kansas is the next stop for the Honda USAC National Midget Series, with races scheduled July 29, August 1 and 3. The July 29 race is the “Chad McDaniel Memorial” race at Beloit and the July 31 and August 2 races comprise two-thirds of this year’s “Belleville Midget Nationals” in Belleville, which surround the August 1 USAC Silver Crown race at the Belleville High Banks.
Rico Abreu enters the Kansas swing with a 96-point lead over teammate Christopher Bell in the latest series standings after the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian team “swept” the podium at last weekend’s 33rd “Pepsi Midget Nationals” at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisc.
Bell captured both 30-lap feature events at Sun Prairie Saturday and Sunday in his Toyota TRD Bullet/Speedway Toyota. Saturday night he led all 30 laps to beat Abreu and Thorson to the line, with Chris Windom and Tracy Hines taking fourth and fifth respectively.
On Sunday, Bell passed Michael Pickens on lap 19 and led the last 12 laps to beat Thorson, Abreu, Windom and Zach Daum, who had escaped a flip during Saturday’s feature.
Abreu maintained his incredible streak of “podium” finishes this year with a spirited comeback Sunday. After flipping during his heat race, he came from as far back as 10th in the main event to secure his eighth podium finish in eight starts!
2014 Honda USAC National Midget Standings: 1-Rico Abreu-609; 2-Christopher Bell-513; 3-Tracy Hines-494; 4-Bryan Clauson-472; 5-Tanner Thorson-445; 6-Chris Windom-387; 7-Zach Daum-357; 8-Andrew Felker-332; 9-Michael Pickens-323; 10-Kevin Thomas-317.