By Rich Murray
Round one of the Safety-Kleen “Triple Crown” kicks off this Saturday night, July 12th at Grundy County Speedway where the stars and cars of the D’Arcy GMC STARS National Midgets will compete in the Illinois State Championship presented by Chicagoland Speedway.
Just one week ago at Grundy County, Danville, Indiana’s Kyle Hamilton made an inside pass on Mario Clouser for the lead in turn four on lap 11 and was able to pace the field for the remaining 40 laps to take the victory in the “Freedom 50.” It was Hamilton’s first STARS National Midget win of the season and second career “Freedom 50” win.
Hamilton, the 22-year-old Purdue University student, was making his first appearance in STARS National Midget action since his crash on “Opening Night” on May 31st when his night came to an end upside down against the turn one wall. Hamilton currently stands 10th in the STARS point standings and is not currently in the thick of the points race. As a result, his main focus is on winning, not “points racing.”
“My viewpoint has always been wins first and points second, so I’m always entering every race going hard for the win,” Hamilton said. “There won’t be any conserving going on.”
Local fan favorite and Channahon, Illinois resident, Brad Greenup, picked up a very popular victory in last year’s edition of the “Illinois State Championship.” It was the 23-year-old Minooka Community High School graduate’s only victory in 2013 after a two-year winless drought. The win was special to him not only because of what his team had overcome to get to victory lane, but also the historical significance of his win.
“Last year’s ‘Illinois State Championship’ victory was pretty special to me,” Greenup said. Last year, we had a year similar to what we’re suffering through this year. We had multiple mechanical issues in the beginning of the year and the ‘Illinois State Championship’ was actually the first race of the year that we finished and we won it. We had a lot of speed early last year; I really had something to prove and everything fell into place for us.”
“The list of winners of this race is filled with the names of the greatest midget drivers who have ever raced in our area and it’s special to have my name on that list,” Greenup continued. “Hopefully I can put another tally next to my name after this weekend.”
Greenup, who currently sits second in STARS National Midget point standings, leads a contingent of Illinois drivers that include Streator’s Tyler Trainor, Channahon’s Billy Hulbert, New Lenox’s Ryan Probst, and Auburn’s Mario Clouser. These Illinoisans undoubtedly want to keep the “Illinois State Championship” trophy within the confines of the Land of Lincoln. However, top contenders from outside of Illinois, such as Indiana’s Austin Prock and Kyle Hamilton, are each gunning to take the trophy across the border back to the Hoosier state.
“I am proudly from Indiana,” Hamilton said. “I even have an Indiana sticker on my car, so I’d like to bring the ‘Illinois State Championship’ back home to Indiana.”
Greenup contends that he is not going to let the trophy travel outside of Illinois without putting up a fight.
“(Indiana) is the heart and soul of midget racing. They have so many big historical races held there,” Greenup said. “This is one of the few races of some significance that Illinois has. Of course, we want to keep the trophy in Illinois for as long as we can.”
Not only are state bragging rights on the line in this Saturday’s race, the “Illinois State Championship” is also a part of the Safety-Kleen “Triple Crown.” The three-race series consists of a trio of STARS National Midget races at Grundy County Speedway: Saturday’s “Illinois State Championship,” August 23rd’s “D’Arcy GMC Pavement Nationals presented by Bell Helmets,” and September 27th’s “Alex Pruett Memorial.” If a driver is able to win all three legs of the “Triple Crown,” that driver will pocket a $2000 bonus. If nobody is able to win all three of the races, a $750 prize will go to the driver who earned the most points in each of the “Triple Crown” races.
After last weekend’s third place finish in the backup car of Ryan Probst in the “Freedom 50,” Prock was able to extend his lead in the STARS National Midget point standings to an 87-point advantage over Greenup. Trainor, Hulbert, and Probst stand third through fifth, respectively. Clouser, Jimmy Anderson, Kyle Kettmann, Travis Young, and Hamilton round out the top-10.
Along with the STARS National Midgets, the Illinois State Championship presented by Chicagoland Speedway features the CSR Super Cups, INEX Legends, Classic Modifieds, and Midwest Legacy Series. Adult tickets are just $12. Kids age 5-12 get in for $2. Children age 4 and under are free! Grandstands open up at 5 p.m. Racing starts at 6:30 p.m. Grundy County Speedway is located one mile north of I-80 on Route 47 in Morris, Illinois.