Indiana Legend and Rising Star Clash at Knoxville in 5th Annual Pepsi/Mt. Dew Midget Nationals!!!
Thursday, June 1, 2006
by Bill Wright (www.knoxvilleraceway.com) – The 5th Annual Pepsi/Mt. Dew Midget Nationals provides an opportunity to see the greatest of open wheel’s history, present and future all in one package. As the best in midget racing descend on Knoxville Raceway this Friday and Saturday, history is in the making as the United States Auto Club (USAC) makes its first appearance in the event, and first appearance on the dirt for 2006. USAC will be joined by Midget Nationals regulars from the American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC), Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association (RMMRA), Midwest Auto Racing Association (MARA) and the Southern Midget Racing Series (SMRS). Around 50 entries are expected.
Indiana legend, Dave Darland, will be making his first appearance on these hallowed grounds since his fourth place finish in the “Hawkeye Hundred” Silver Crown race in 2001. Darland will be piloting the #9 for legendary midget owner, Steve Lewis.
Darland has accumulated over 50 National USAC feature wins in his career and is one of only four drivers to win USAC’s “Triple Crown” (USAC Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown Championsips). The others? National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Duane “Pancho” Carter, NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and NASCAR pilot JJ Yeley. Darland grabbed the Silver Crown championship in 1997, the sprint championship in 1999 and garnered two Midget titles in 2001 and 2002. He also won rough and tumble Indiana Sprintweek titles in 1998 and 2001.
The Lincoln, IN native’s “Down-to-Earth” personality and genuine kindness have endeared him to fans from coast to coast. He is a two-time Hoosier Auto Racing Fans (HARF) Driver of the Year winner. His biggest Midget win came on the biggest stage, copping the 2002 Belleville Midget Nationals on the Belleville Highbanks in Kansas. Darland also took the 2003 “Hut” Hundred in Terre Haute, IN.
“The Bullet” Bryan Clauson was born after Darland had run his first USAC contest, but his budding career shows just as much promise. Clauson was the youngest driver in USAC history (16 years, 3 months, 23 days) to win a USAC National race when he topped a Midget field at Columbus (OH) Motor Speedway last October. The outing was just his third in USAC Midget competition.
By the time he was 14, Clauson had two NAMARS Kenyon Midget car championships and had been named the sprint car Rookie of the Year at Kokomo (IN) Speedway. The transplanted Californian didn’t slow down the next year (2004), scoring an astonishing 31 top fives in 37 sprint car starts on weekly Indiana bullrings. He was named Bloomington Speedway Rookie of the Year that season.
Clauson’s early success has brought attention from big-time places. Last January, he was added to Chip Ganassi’s Driver Development program, and is on the fast track to racing on Sundays. Ganassi is helping Clauson and car owner Keith Kunz in their efforts with USAC this year. Clauson will be driving a Bullet chassis with Fontana power in this weekend’s Midget Nationals. The Noblesville, IN High School student shocked the world by winning the USAC National Sprint race on the treacherous highbanks of Winchester (IN) Speedway last April and will be loaded heading into Knoxville.
Joining Darland and Clauson will be the strongest field of midget pre-entries in memory. 2005 USAC Midget champ Josh Wise, 2005 USAC Sprint champ Levi Jones, former Knoxville sprint winners Jay Drake and Tracy Hines, and Cole Carter, Pancho’s son, will be on hand. 2004 Midget Nationals winner Jerry Coons Jr., Knoxville veteran Don Droud Jr. and New Zealand legend Michael Pickens are also on tap.
Also towing in will be 2003 USAC Western States champ Michael Lewis, California transplant Darren Hagen, Floridan Kyle Nicholas, Iowa’s own Davey Ray and 2005 National Midget Driver of the Year Brad Kuhn. Russ Harper and Tony Rossi will lead the RMMRA contingent, and SMRS points leader Brady Bacon and Garett Hood will lead that sanction in. Veteran Donnie Lehmann will represent MARA and Andy Martin and Tom Hessert are signed in under the ARDC banner.
Joining the “King Doodlebug” midget program on Friday will be the Masters vs. Young Guns Challenge, featuring three sprint features (Masters, Young Guns, Masters vs. Young Guns). All three features will pay $1000 to win. The weekly 410 program will join the Midget Nationals event on Saturday. The weekend also encompasses the 2006 Inductions into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
A free practice for all divisions will be run Thursday night, June 1, from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is free. General admission tickets are $15 for Friday and $20 for Saturday (children 14 and under are $7.50 and $10). Reserved seats are $17 for Friday and $22 for Saturday (children are $8.50 and $11) and can be ordered online at www.knoxvilleraceway.com. For more information on the racing, visit www.knoxvilleraceway.com, or call 641 842-5431. For more information on National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductions and Banquet, visit www.sprintcarhof.com.
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