12/14/15 11:40 AM USAC GOES INDOORS FOR FIRST TIME IN 8 YEARS AT DuQUOIN SATURDAY IN “JUNIOR KNEPPER 55” MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT

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USAC GOES INDOORS FOR FIRST TIME IN 8 YEARS AT DuQUOIN SATURDAY IN “JUNIOR KNEPPER 55” MIDGET SPECIAL EVENT

The USAC Midgets go indoors for the first time since 2007 this Saturday night, December 19, as the Southern Illinois Center on the grounds of the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fair plays host to the inaugural “Junior Knepper 55.”

The 55-lap, non-points USAC “special event” honors the famed car owner Walter “Junior” Knepper, who fielded the familiar yellow number 55 in USAC National Sprint and National Midget competition for several years, scoring a combined 58 series victories with drivers Bob Wente, Tom Bigelow, Mel Kenyon, George Snider, Dana Carter, Rich Vogler, and Steve Knepper behind the wheel.

The Nick Knepper/Derek LeMaster promotion begins a new tradition at the Southern Illinois Center with the newly-created event, but midget racing is not new to the indoor facility in DuQuoin. Recent winners indoors at DuQuoin include Joey Saldana (2014), Tony Stewart (2012), Bryan Clauson (2011) and Casey Shuman (2010).

Saturday night’s race marks the 166th USAC Midget race held indoors dating back to Gene Hartley’s victory in the very first USAC-sanctioned race at the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Memorial Coliseum on January 8, 1956.* Michael Lang won USAC’s last indoor midget race in the state of Illinois at Chicago’s Rosemont Horizon in 1991.* Sleepy Tripp won the most recent USAC Midget race held in DuQuoin, Illinois in 1979, taking a 50-lap feature outdoors on the “Magic Mile” located adjacent to the Southern Illinois Center.* Tripp also won the most recent USAC indoor midget race on dirt in 1990 at the Reno (Nev.) Livestock Events Center.* Saturday night will also be the first USAC-sanctioned race held indoors since a 2007 midget feature won by Tony Stewart at the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Expo Center.

Nearly 50 drivers and cars have already been pre-entered for Saturday night’s event including some of 2015’s most accomplished USAC drivers that include AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car champion Damion Gardner, USAC Midwest HPD Midget titlist Alex Watson and Bob Stroud Memorial National Midget “Rookie of the Year” Spencer Bayston.* Past USAC series champions Bryan Clauson, Cory Kruseman, Travis Young, Josh Lakatos and Brad Loyet are entered as well as past USAC National feature winners Hunter Schuerenberg, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Chris Urish and Matt Westfall.

The pit gates open for the “Junior Knepper 55” at 8am Saturday, while spectator gates open at 5pm.* The program is set to begin with hot laps at 6pm and racing is scheduled to start with preliminary events at 7pm.* General admission tickets for adults are $20 with tickets for children 6-12 set at $10, while children 5 and under get in free.* Pit passes are $35.

TheCushion.com will broadcast the event live on Saturday, December 19 and can be purchased for $22.99 ($20.50 for Premium and VIP Members).

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“JUNIOR KNEPPER 55” PRE-ENTRIES

CAR #/DRIVER/HOMETOWN/TEAM

0 Johnny Murdock/Dallas, TX (Zero Motorsports)

0A Bobby Jackson/Detroit, MI (Zero Motorsports)

0c Colin Parker/Martinsville, IN (Zero Motorsports)

0D Skylar Hunter/Afton, IA (Zero Motorsports)

0H Hunter Lane/Milo, IA (Zero Motorsports)

05 Brad Loyet/Sunset Hills, MO (Loyet Motorsports)

1T Tony Roney/Herculaneum, MO (Rich Roney)

3B Joe B. Miller/Millersville, MO*(Jim Neuman)

3N Jake Neuman/New Berlin, IL*(Jim Neuman)

3s Brian Shirley/Chatham, IL (Jim Neuman)

3w Alex Watson/Columbus, OH (Greg Watson)

4 Damion Gardner/Corona, CA (Klatt Enterprises)

4G Ryan Greth/New Cumberland, PA (Wayne Lesher)

5c Colten Cottle/Kansas, IL (Rick Cottle)

5H Matt Ponder/Festus, MO (Dennis Hoppe)

5x Justin Peck/Monrovia, IN (Steve Peck)

6K Josh Lakatos/Pasadena, CA (Kruseman Enterprises)

6R TBA (Jody Rosenboom)

7 Gage Walker/Indianapolis, IN (Brian Walker)

11 Travis Young/Franklin, IN (Travis Young)

11A Andrew Felker/Carl Junction, MO (Danny Felker)

11H Chase Hill/Truckee, CA (Danny Felker)

11K Gavin Harlien/Mesa, AZ (Kruseman Enterprises)

14 Chris Urish/Elkhart, IL (Ciltrak Promotions)

14R Jody Rosenboom/Rock Rapids, IA (Jody Rosenboom)

14w Matt Westfall/Ludlow Falls, OH (Steve Bordner)

15 Tim Siner/Dupo, IL (James Siner)

15m Shane Morgan/Morton, IL (Shane Morgan)

16K Chris Dyson/Pleasant Valley, NY (Kruseman Enterprises)

17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr./Olive Branch, MS (Bryan Clauson Racing)

19 John Campbell/Belleville, IL (William Campbell)

21K Cory Kruseman/Ventura, CA (Kruseman Enterprises)

29 David Hair/Camby, IN (Ed Hair)

33D Chase Briscoe/Mitchell, IN (Jeff & Jill Davis)

35 Tyler Robbins/Collinsville, IL (Scott Robbins)

39 Spencer Bayston/Lebanon, IN (Bryan Clauson Racing)

39c Payton Pierce/Bridgeport, TX (Bryan Clauson Racing)

50 Daniel Adler/St. Louis, MO (Mike Adler)

51J Ryan Jamison/Mediapolis, IA (Ryan Jamison)

52c Isaac Chapple/Willow Branch, IN (Isaac Chapple Racing)

55 Hunter Schuerenberg/Sikeston, MO (Steve Knepper)

57 Daniel Robinson/Wayne City, IL (McCreery Motorsports)

57K Kevin Studley/Plainfield, IL (Kevin Studley)

63 Bryan Clauson/Noblesville, IN (RKR/Dooling)

71 Robert Bell/Colfax, IA (Bell Motorsports)

88 Tyler Nelson/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson)

88D Rusty Dukes/Fair Grove, MO (Jon Sawyer)

91 Dereck King/Vienna, IL (Jack Harris)

91T Tyler Thomas/Collinsville, OK (Brian Thomas)

I sure hope they can see fit to keep the berms down to 6 or 8 inches for this race. The last time we raced there the berms were about 2 feet tall, they did seem to stop the race cars right in their place but sure cut down on the racing. It takes 3 or 4 track workers a lot of time just lifting and pushing a race car tottering in the middle of one of these things back to the racing surface. A big enjoyment in watching a race on a little Bull Ring race track is watching the Berm Misters working that berm for all it is worth and doing it lap after lap after lap.

Honest Dad himself

We can now add three cars from the Joey Saldana Racing stable to Saturday night's field.

17J TBA (Joey Saldana)

17s TBA (Joey Saldana)

17x Joey Saldana/Brownsburg, IN (Joey Saldana)

I'm happy to see the Colfax Comet will be in the house

I'm pumped for this one. Got snowed out 2 years ago & went for first time last year. It was great racing & I'm expecting the same this year.

How big is the facility compared to Bankers Life in Indianapolis? Skeptical to travel that far after the Indy Invitational.

That is a very solid 50+ field of entries

track is awesome,2&3 wide racing minimal dust,and there is some banking. seating is on one side(gym type bleachers)plenty of room for fans and racin'

The track is wider. I don't know on length but I seen three wide racing on it all night when I went. In fact is was great racing. There is also room to miss accidents as everyone isn't aiming for the same spot on the track.

Those that have been there will tell you. They'll go again and will probably be there. Get there early and get a seat. While the tracks bigger. The number of seats is quite a bit smaller.

The time I went had 67 midgets. They had 8 hotlaps, ten heats. Three Consi's and four qualifiers and a 40 lap feature. Were done about 1030. About halfway through the feature Clauson and Stewart were throwing sliders on each other with Smoke pulling off the win.

Go, Have fun. Its not Chili Bowl but from what I've seen the racing may be better than CB.
They had seven car heats. 14 car qualifiers and started 21 in the feature when I went.

This was the year before I went and the racing was as good

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