Lincoln Park welcomes back USAC by Carey Fox

D.O. · 6/16/10, 3:32 PM

Lincoln Park welcomes back USAC
Tuesday, June 15, 2010

* Putnamville oval hosts Thursday midget date

Jerry Coons Jr. and the legendary Wilke-Pak Racing Team will be on hand Thursday at Lincoln Park Speedway.
[Click to enlarge]
By CAREY FOX

Times Sports Editor

PUTNAMVILLE -- It's been a long time coming if you're a USAC racing fan. Nearly five years has passed since the dust cleared on July 19, 2005 at Lincoln Park Speedway and Dave Darland climbed from his sprint car and claim the spoils of an Indiana Sprint Week victory. Little did fans know that it would be the last time the series would visit the Putnamville oval.

That is until Thursday night when Indiana Midget Week brings the pulse pounding thrills of some of the nation's top midget drivers to Lincoln Park Speedway for the second night of the USAC Series. Bryan Clauson of Noblesville opens defense of his title this evening at Gas City I-69 Speedway before the tour heads south to Lincoln Park Speedway. Friday evening will see the hotshoes head to the historic red clay of Bloomington then heading to Lawrenceburg Speedway before concluding the series at Kokomo Speedway on Sunday.

Also on tap at Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday night will be sprint cars and UMP Modifieds and don't be surprised if a number of USAC's touring midget drivers do double duty in their sprinters as well.

The current top-10 in the USAC Midget points is stacked with talented youngsters and veterans with Clauson currently holding a 471 to 426 lead over Brownsburg's Bobby East. Darren Hagen is third followed by Darland, Tracy Hines, Brad Sweet, Jerry Coons Jr., Brad Kuhn, Zach Daum and Henry Clarke in the top-10 of national points.

Clauson was a two-time winner during last year's Indiana Midgets week, claiming feature wins at Lawrenceburg and Kokomo Speedway on the way to the points title. Shane Cottle has had plenty of success over the last five years of the series, winning the series in 2005 and 2006 while Coons Jr. won in 2007 and Hines was the 2008 champ.

For those who are history buffs when it comes to the United State Auto Club (USAC), one of the most renowned teams in the history of the organization will be on hand as the Wilke Racing Team will likely field a car at LPS for the midget event.

Bobby East looks to boost his national midget points standing as the Brownsburg native comes into "Indiana Midget Week" second to Bryan Clauson.
[Click to enlarge]
The Wilke Racing Team is one of the longest standing teams in the sport and not only own a USAC National title, but also a pair of Indianapolis 500 wins with Roger Ward in 1959 and 1962 under the Leader Cards banner.

The Wilke's have a remarkable 133 national victories with 30 wins in Illinois and 26 coming in Indiana. The team has won a feature in 41 different seasons in 16 states and Canada. Most of the Wilke's success has come in a midget with 81 feature wins, but that also includes 35 Champ Car races, 11 Silver Crown and six Sprint car victories.

The pilots of their cars are literally a who's who of the racing community as Ward leads in wins with 20 followed by Kevin Olson with 17 and Rich Vogler with 15. Other names include: Jerry Coons Jr. (12), Tracy Hines (9), Bobby Unser (9), Stevie Reeves (5) and Tom Bigelow (5). Oh, and by the way, a few other familiar names include Mario Andretti with two victories, AJ Foyt with a win, Johnny Rutherford with one and NASCAR veterans, Jeff Gordon and Ken Schrader each won a race in a Wilke Racing car.

Vogler was a former winner at Lincoln Park Speedway in a historic 1988 season for Wilke's in which the team won 15 features. Vogler claimed a USAC Midget win at LPS on Sept. 11, 2008. Olson was a 1985 winner in Putnamville

The return of USAC to the area is special for a number of reasons, including the track's rich history of racing with the organization.

There have been 20 national sprint races contested at the track along with nine national midget events, five dirt regional midget races along with three late model, two Ford Focus races as part of a total of 38 events dating all the way back to a 1979 USAC Midget win by Johnny Parsons on May 5.

The winningest drivers in USAC events at LPS include Sheldon Kinser (5), Dave Darland and Jay Drake with four each and Steve Butler, Cory Kruseman, Tracy Hines and A.J. Felker all have two wins.

The scene should be very festive as track promoter, Joe Spiker, has included fireworks to the schedule with an increased purse for the modifieds with $600-to-win and $100-to-start the feature. General admission is $20 with kids under 10 years of age admitted free of charge.

Indiana Midget Week History

Date Track Winner
2005 Series Champion Shane Cottle

Aug. 18 Lawrenceburg Speedway Jay Drake

Aug. 19 Gas City I-69 Speedway Davey Ray

Aug. 20 Terre Haute Action Track Johnny Rodriguez

2006 Series Champion Shane Cottle

Aug. 18 Gas City I-69 Speedway Shane Cottle

Aug. 20 Kokomo Speedway Brady Bacon

2007 Series Champion Jerry Coons Jr.

Aug. 9 Kamp Motor Speedway Jerry Coons Jr.

Aug. 10 Gas City I-69 Speedway Shane Cottle

Aug. 11 Lawrenceburg Speedway Kevin Swindell

Aug. 12 Kokomo Speedway Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2008 Series Champion Tracy Hines

Aug. 6 Gas City I-69 Speedway Brad Kuhn

Aug. 8 Bloomington Speedway Davey Ray

Aug. 9 Lawrenceburg Speedway Brad Sweet

Aug. 10 Kokomo Speedway Bryan Clauson

2009 Series Champion Bryan Clauson

June 10 Gas City I-69 Speedway Jerry Coons Jr.

June 12 Bloomington Speedway Brad Kuhn

June 13 Lawrenceburg Speedway Bryan Clauson

June 14 Kokomo Speedway Bryan Clauson

D.O. · 6/16/10, 3:34 PM

Thanks Carey for writing this great story about LPS, Midget week and the Wilke's.

Anybody else have any newspaper storys about Midgetweek?

Redwood17257 · 6/16/10, 3:55 PM

Thank you D.O. for all the great historic info. Can't wait for an awesome week of racing!

Carey

Seadog · 6/16/10, 4:09 PM

Quote:

Vogler claimed a USAC Midget win at LPS on Sept. 11, 2008.

Great piece but I'm wondering about this statement quoted above. Just a typo?

richie · 6/16/10, 4:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seadog

Great piece but I'm wondering about this statement quoted above. Just a typo?

1988, I believe. I think that particular race was the Hut 100 at Putnamville.

Seadog · 6/16/10, 4:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richie

1988, I believe. I think that particular race was the Hut 100 at Putnamville.

Thanks. Did that race end before the 100 laps due to rain? I think I was at that race.

6/16/10, 3:32 PM	#1 Lincoln Park welcomes back USAC by Carey Fox
D.O. Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,915	Lincoln Park welcomes back USAC Tuesday, June 15, 2010 * Putnamville oval hosts Thursday midget date Jerry Coons Jr. and the legendary Wilke-Pak Racing Team will be on hand Thursday at Lincoln Park Speedway. [Click to enlarge] By CAREY FOX Times Sports Editor PUTNAMVILLE -- It's been a long time coming if you're a USAC racing fan. Nearly five years has passed since the dust cleared on July 19, 2005 at Lincoln Park Speedway and Dave Darland climbed from his sprint car and claim the spoils of an Indiana Sprint Week victory. Little did fans know that it would be the last time the series would visit the Putnamville oval. That is until Thursday night when Indiana Midget Week brings the pulse pounding thrills of some of the nation's top midget drivers to Lincoln Park Speedway for the second night of the USAC Series. Bryan Clauson of Noblesville opens defense of his title this evening at Gas City I-69 Speedway before the tour heads south to Lincoln Park Speedway. Friday evening will see the hotshoes head to the historic red clay of Bloomington then heading to Lawrenceburg Speedway before concluding the series at Kokomo Speedway on Sunday. Also on tap at Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday night will be sprint cars and UMP Modifieds and don't be surprised if a number of USAC's touring midget drivers do double duty in their sprinters as well. The current top-10 in the USAC Midget points is stacked with talented youngsters and veterans with Clauson currently holding a 471 to 426 lead over Brownsburg's Bobby East. Darren Hagen is third followed by Darland, Tracy Hines, Brad Sweet, Jerry Coons Jr., Brad Kuhn, Zach Daum and Henry Clarke in the top-10 of national points. Clauson was a two-time winner during last year's Indiana Midgets week, claiming feature wins at Lawrenceburg and Kokomo Speedway on the way to the points title. Shane Cottle has had plenty of success over the last five years of the series, winning the series in 2005 and 2006 while Coons Jr. won in 2007 and Hines was the 2008 champ. For those who are history buffs when it comes to the United State Auto Club (USAC), one of the most renowned teams in the history of the organization will be on hand as the Wilke Racing Team will likely field a car at LPS for the midget event. Bobby East looks to boost his national midget points standing as the Brownsburg native comes into "Indiana Midget Week" second to Bryan Clauson. [Click to enlarge] The Wilke Racing Team is one of the longest standing teams in the sport and not only own a USAC National title, but also a pair of Indianapolis 500 wins with Roger Ward in 1959 and 1962 under the Leader Cards banner. The Wilke's have a remarkable 133 national victories with 30 wins in Illinois and 26 coming in Indiana. The team has won a feature in 41 different seasons in 16 states and Canada. Most of the Wilke's success has come in a midget with 81 feature wins, but that also includes 35 Champ Car races, 11 Silver Crown and six Sprint car victories. The pilots of their cars are literally a who's who of the racing community as Ward leads in wins with 20 followed by Kevin Olson with 17 and Rich Vogler with 15. Other names include: Jerry Coons Jr. (12), Tracy Hines (9), Bobby Unser (9), Stevie Reeves (5) and Tom Bigelow (5). Oh, and by the way, a few other familiar names include Mario Andretti with two victories, AJ Foyt with a win, Johnny Rutherford with one and NASCAR veterans, Jeff Gordon and Ken Schrader each won a race in a Wilke Racing car. Vogler was a former winner at Lincoln Park Speedway in a historic 1988 season for Wilke's in which the team won 15 features. Vogler claimed a USAC Midget win at LPS on Sept. 11, 2008. Olson was a 1985 winner in Putnamville The return of USAC to the area is special for a number of reasons, including the track's rich history of racing with the organization. There have been 20 national sprint races contested at the track along with nine national midget events, five dirt regional midget races along with three late model, two Ford Focus races as part of a total of 38 events dating all the way back to a 1979 USAC Midget win by Johnny Parsons on May 5. The winningest drivers in USAC events at LPS include Sheldon Kinser (5), Dave Darland and Jay Drake with four each and Steve Butler, Cory Kruseman, Tracy Hines and A.J. Felker all have two wins. The scene should be very festive as track promoter, Joe Spiker, has included fireworks to the schedule with an increased purse for the modifieds with $600-to-win and $100-to-start the feature. General admission is $20 with kids under 10 years of age admitted free of charge. Indiana Midget Week History Date Track Winner 2005 Series Champion Shane Cottle Aug. 18 Lawrenceburg Speedway Jay Drake Aug. 19 Gas City I-69 Speedway Davey Ray Aug. 20 Terre Haute Action Track Johnny Rodriguez 2006 Series Champion Shane Cottle Aug. 18 Gas City I-69 Speedway Shane Cottle Aug. 20 Kokomo Speedway Brady Bacon 2007 Series Champion Jerry Coons Jr. Aug. 9 Kamp Motor Speedway Jerry Coons Jr. Aug. 10 Gas City I-69 Speedway Shane Cottle Aug. 11 Lawrenceburg Speedway Kevin Swindell Aug. 12 Kokomo Speedway Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2008 Series Champion Tracy Hines Aug. 6 Gas City I-69 Speedway Brad Kuhn Aug. 8 Bloomington Speedway Davey Ray Aug. 9 Lawrenceburg Speedway Brad Sweet Aug. 10 Kokomo Speedway Bryan Clauson 2009 Series Champion Bryan Clauson June 10 Gas City I-69 Speedway Jerry Coons Jr. June 12 Bloomington Speedway Brad Kuhn June 13 Lawrenceburg Speedway Bryan Clauson June 14 Kokomo Speedway Bryan Clauson

6/16/10, 3:34 PM	#2 Re: Lincoln Park welcomes back USAC by Carey
D.O. Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,915	Thanks Carey for writing this great story about LPS, Midget week and the Wilke's. Anybody else have any newspaper storys about Midgetweek?

6/16/10, 3:55 PM	#3 Re: Lincoln Park welcomes back USAC by Carey
Redwood17257 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 404	Thank you D.O. for all the great historic info. Can't wait for an awesome week of racing! Carey