[Duane Hancock]

Last week was one of my newest favorite weeks of the year, Indiana's USAC Midget Week. I caught a few shows of it the first couple of years but, followed the entire week last year. After last year's Midget week, there was no doubt, I was chasing it again this year. I actually cheated a little. I had no plans of hitting the Thursday show but, with its rain out, I made them all. With Midget Week moved up a few months, many other races was going on too, so car counts were down just a bit.
Wednesday night, USAC Midget Week 09 started at the Gas City I-69 Speedway. 36 midgets and 20 sprints darkened the pit area. Speaking of darkening, rain was all over the area before the night was complete. The track was very heavy and fast the entire night. Jiggs and the boys pushed the program as you could see the rain was getting closer. It actually sprinkled a few times. Some great midget heat races seen Brad Loyet, Nathan High, Cole Whitt, and Shane Hmiel take wins. The loaded midget B Main seen a great battle. At 1 time, the battle for 4th to 7th was so close, 3 of the 4 cars spun out together, they were so close. Chad Boat took the B Main win. Daren Hagen and Jerry Coons Jr made-up the front row of the 30 lap A Main. Coons jumped into the lead as the green waved. Some early lap miscues put some heavy hitters to the tail. Brad Sweet, Josh Wyse, fast timer, Steve Buckwalter, Matt Sherrell, Ricky Ehrgott, and Shane Hmiel all were to the tail by the end of lap 1, due to some contact in a bunching up of the field. Coons was fast upfront and with a super fast and heavy track, it was elbows up to even think of staying close to him. After a few cautions for some cars stopping, Coons was on the hammer once again. He never really got more than 4 cars lengths ahead but, he was always outfront. Brad Kuhn was charging up from 8th, moving into 2nd. Lap 27, the battle upfront took another twist. Bryan Clauson got loose off 4 and the pack bunched up some. Chad Boat flipped onto his side as Kody Swanson got collected too. This made for a 3 lap showdown. Could Coons hold off the charging Kuhn? Restart, Coons and Kuhn are nose to tail. Coons is in control and looks to have it in the bag when the yellow flys with just 1 lap yo go. Kevin Swindell was running 4th and made a dive to the inside of the track to attempt a pass on the 3rd place car. The Bulldog's car bogged down and Ryan Kaplan had no choice but to tag Kevin's tail tank. Kevin spins, collecting Cole Whitt, and Dane McAllan. Restart, its all Coons. Jerry Coons Jr takes the win. Kuhn, up from 8th, Hagen, Clauson, up from 9th, and Kaplan, up from 13th, round out the top 5. A decent race, just not a barn burner.
The action for the Gas City sprints was just as fast. Kent Chrisitan, Dave Darland, and Sammy Imel won the heats. With 20 cars making the tow to Gas City, no B Main was needed. Cole Whitt and Dave Darland made-up the front row for the 25 lap A Main. The battle quickly heated up when the green waved. Darland danced into the lead on lap 1. That didn't last long as Whitt took over the lead on lap 2. Whitt and Darland stayed within a few car lengths apart the next handful of laps. After cautions on lap 4, 5, and 6 for spin outs, the green would wave once again. Whitt and Darland still battled upfront as Matt Westfall was making a charge from deep in the pack. Just after half-way, the battle upfront was getting tighter. Shane Cottle and Jon Stanbrough were entering the mix as Darland was slipping back a few spots. 5 to go, Stanbrough is wheel to wheel with Whitt. Inches apart, they battle for the lead. Lap 22, Stanbrough makes the pass. Whitt stays right in his tire tracks. white is out, Whitt has one last run, looks good, but he just can't get it done through the lapped cars. Stanbrough wins. Whitt, Cottle, Coons Jr, and Westfall, up from 15th, round out the top 5. Once again a decent race. Actually a little better than the midget A. Plus, the show was pushed forward and was finished just after dark. How close was the rain? Well less than 3 miles up the highway, the roads were wet and rain was still falling a little.

---------- Post added at 09:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:33 PM ----------

After a Thursday night rain out, night number 2 now shifted to Bloomington Speedway on Friday night. After driving 232 miles one way, in dark clouds 1/2 of the time, it was a breath of fresh air to see the sun peaking out when arriving in the area. As it got later in the afternoon, a few huge dark clouds past with just a few sprinkles falling. 38 midgets and 38 sprints are ready for action, just as the sun finally starts to peak out for the rest of the evening. The track was fast and the action was hot. Steve Buckwalter set a new track record for the night. The 1st midget heat alone was well worth the 232 mile drive. Side by side, a little bumping here, a little banging there, 3 and 4 wide racing all through the heats. Cole Whitt, Thomas Meseraull, Chad Boat, and Brad Kuhn took the wild heat race wins. Josh Wyse and Henry Clarke tumbled together in heat 2. Andrew Deal got on his lid in heat 3. Wes Gutierrez took a nasty ride in heat 4. Wes was transported to the hospital He was released the next day and, would race later in the week. With 38 cars, a huge, and loaded, B Main was ready to attack the wild 1/4 mile raceway. When the smoke cleared, Josh Wyse recovered from his heat race woes to take the B Main win. As the 30 lap midget A Main was lining-up, you could sense, it was going to be a shootout. Wyse and Brad Sweet paced the field for the A. These two would battle all race long, for the majority of the race, less than a car length apart, at times side by side. Wyse lead lap 1, Sweet took over on lap 3. Then they just kept glued to each other the rest of the race. A lap 10 cation slowed the pack. It was still Wyse and Sweet all over each other but Kuhn and Hines were coming towards the front as well. After aanother11 laps of playing cat and mouse for the lead, Wyse takes the lead on lap 21. 2 more laps, 2 cautions, as Sweet regains the lead on lap 23. A lap 25 yellow has brought Brad Kuhn right into the mix as well. If you thought the 1st 25 laps was a dog fight, wait for the last 5. Sweet gets a great start but Kuhn is on his tail tank. They battle hard but Sweet still stays out front. coming to the white in turn 3, Kuhn tries to sneak under Sweet, as Sweet left a little opening. Contact, Kuhn gets into Sweet's left rear, it quickly goes flat. Sweet is still hammer down and leading into 1. off 2, down the backstretch, its still Sweet. Kuhn is waiting for a slip up off 4, Sweet drifts wide off 4, due to the flat, and Kuhn sneaks under and beats him to the line. Kuhn wins after starting 14th. Sweet, Wyse, Hines, and Bryan Clauson round out the top 5. An excellent race! 2 years in a row a kick butt, all out excellent race for Midget Week. Sweet, is all do respect, gave Kuhn a big love tap after the checkered waved. I really liked Brad's interview! Anyone, I mean anyone that had just had that happen to them would have felt cheated out of the win too. I am not sure why he got all the boos. He just told it the way it was and chalked it up to just great short track racing.
An excellent field of sprint were ready for action at Bloomington. Brady Short, Jeff Bland Jr, Dave Darland, and Matt Westfall all won sprint heats. Once again some great heat races. The B Main was split into 2 B's. Kent Christian and Kenny Niflis took the B Main wins. Coons and Short paced the field to for the 25 lap A Main. Just as the green flu, Christian spun. Restart, Brady Short shot to the lead. After 2 early spins on lap 1 and 3, the green was displayed for several laps. It was all pretty much the Brady Short show. Short was working traffic to a t and was heavy on the go peddle. Coons held a strong 2nd as Stanbrough, Darland, and Bland tried to get to the leaders. Just when Short looked to be cruising to victory lane, a lap 23 caution. This would tighten the pack but, 2 lapped cars split 1st and 2nd. The lappers didn't an excellent job on the restart and quickly let the lead pack battle. Battle they may but, this night was all Brady Short. Short wins. Coons, Chad Boat, Stanbrough, and Bland round out the top 5.

[Duane Hancock]

Saturday the action switched to the super fast high banks of Lawrenceburg Speedway. One of the finest facilities in this region of the US, even tho I was a huge fan of the old new place. 28 midgets and 23 sprints were ready for action on a beautiful night. 21 mini sprints were on hand as well. Chad Boat was just off the midget track record. The speeds continued in the fast paced midget heats. Brad Kuhn, Ricky Ehrgott, and Cole Whitt took the heat wins. One of the fastest guy all week,l Steve Buckwalter found his groove in the B Main and took the w. Bryan Clauson and Buckwalter paced the field for the 30 lap A Main. Buckwalter got a great start and takes the lead as Clauson fades some. Buckwalter proves he is super fast and pulls to a huge lead in just a handful of laps. Sweet, Hagen and Clauson try to mount a charge at Buckwalter but, Steve is just too strong. A few mid-race cautions on lap 10 and 16 bunch the pack once again. Buckwalter is still just too strong and drives off into the lead. Clauson gets a run a going and starts to close a little but, still a ways back. A caution on lap 23, may be just what the others needed. Restart, Buckwalter seems to be a little bit slower, as Clauson seems too be just as strong now. Lap 25, into turn 3, Clauson makes his move and takes the lead. A quick caution once again puts the field nose to tail in the last 5 laps of the race. Clauson gets a great starts and runs a perfect line the final 5 laps to take the win. sweet does an excellent series of slide jobs the last 2 laps to earn a 2nd place finish. Buckwalter, Hagen, and Hines round out the top 5. It turned out to be a great finish to what looked like a run away race.
The sprint cars heats at The Burg were pretty good heats. Coons, Shawn Westerfeld, and Josh Moffatt took the wins. Coons and Westerfeld made last lap passes to win their heats, Moffatt just flat run away with his. Once again, no B Main was needed for the sprints as track management put all 23 cars in the A. I think this is an excellent idea and a great gesture. Plus, a great way to keep the guys that support you a coming back. Coons and Westerfeld paced the field for the 25 lap A Main. Coons crushed the throttle and out the Hoffman 69 car into the lead on lap 1. After a lap 2 yellow, it was all green. With all green flag racing and Coons in the Hoffman 69 outfront, it was all over. Coons put a huge whipping on the field on this night. All was not a bore tho as Levi Jones and Shane Hmiel put on a rim riding clinic at The Burg in the Trucker's 24 hours cars. Both were elbows up on the cushion, just inches off the wall. Watching them work traffic was awesome. Coons takes the win tho over, Jones, Hmiel, Short, and Moffatt. A run away race but the Trucker's cars stole the show. Another fasted paced show that was over just after dark, barely. It was just after 9:30, which meant danger for me since the big money pit is next door. Then again, maybe it was just my lucky night as when I walked out of the casino doors just past 1 AM, I actually made up for all the $$ I lost during the WOO weekend and all I spent that night.
As the week wound down, one race was left to run for Midget Week at Kokomo Speedway. After traveling from Lawrenceburg to Kokomo Sunday afternoon, weather once again was in the area. Traveling through some heavy sstorms all was clear about half-way between Indy and Kokomo. 33 midgets and 21 sprints pulled into the Kokomo pit area. Ricky Ehrgott took a nasty tumble into midget hot laps/time trials. Ricky went to the hhospital and was later released. Thank God because it looked pretty nasty for a minute or two. One thing about Kokomo and midget racing, it is awesome! The 4 midget heats were just plain kick ass, no other words to explain it. Cars racing 3, 4, and yes 5 wide in the heats, lap after lap as well. When the gun smoke cleared in the heats, Hagen, Clauson, Hines, and Dakota Armstrong walked away heat race winners. 2 of the 4 heats were on at the line. Steve Buckwalter was once again a quick car and took the B Main win. If you thought to heats were a gun fight, you better of bbroughta bigger gun for the 30 lap A Main. Darland and Hagen pace the field for the A. Hagen gets the jump and the lead before lap 1 is complete. Lap 2, a grinding crash between 2 of the fastest car of the night, Chad Boat and Brad Sweet. Both cars flip and are done for the night. Bryan Clauson had a terrible start after almost losing his car in turn 1, dropping back to 11th. Hagen looks strong until he sudden slows and stops. This puts Darland in the lead. After another caution on lap 13, cars are racing high, low, and in between, once again 3 to 5 wide for positions in the top 10. Plus, the lead pack is nose to tail, side by side, just fighting it out. Darland, Buckwalter, Kuhn, Whitt, and he comes Clauson all battling hard upfront. With 8 to go, Clauson catches Darland. DD has to change his line as BC was was low and showed his nose to Darland. Whitt was working high and the others were all over the place. 5 to go, and there is 8 cars upfront still battling for the win. Lap 26, another grinding crash with hard flips by Henry Clarke and Zach Daum. Buckwalter pulls pit side in 3rd under the red. This sets up a 4 lap war. Darland was kind of a sitting duck as Clauson was working good low and Whitt high, he couldn't block both of them. Darland runs just a car length and a half off the bottom to try and maintain the lead. Clauson gets a run but Darland pinches the door shut. Lap 27, Clauson gets an excellent run and takes the lead. BC opens up just a little distance as the others bump and bang for position. Still 3 and 4 wide, Clauson rides home across the finish line 1st, after falling to 11th on lap 2. Darland, Kuhn, up from 17th, Whitt, up from 16th, and Kevin Swindell, up from 10th, round out the top 5. Think there wasn't any passing, just look at that, guys in the top 5 after starting 10th, 16th, 17th, and falling back to 11th. Whitt and Darland had a little contact after the show as well. Whitt got hooked and spun after he gave DD a love tap. The 2 exited the cars and talked about DD little pinch on Whitt with a few laps to go. Another excellent race and a great finish to a good week of racing.
Sprint cars at Kokomo always seem to race hard as well. For all the cars making the A main, you would of thought the heats paid $5000 to win as hard as they were racing. Kevin Thomas Jr, Kent Christian, and Ryan Kaplan took the heat wins. Coons Jr, Whitt, and Anthony Peterman all left the heats on a wrecker. Peterman actually took a wild tumble. Rookie Andrew Elson took his 1st ever checkered flag in the Dash. Once again, all cars to the A. Shane Cottle and Jerry Coons Jr pace the field for the 25 lap A. After some great runs all week, coons once again put on a beating in the sprint A. This time in the Trucker's 24 Hour car, Coon Dog ran away from the pack soon after the green was displayed. In a non-stop green to checkered race, Coons littery ran away from the pack and no one had a chance of catching him. Coons spanks them in this one, taking the win. Billy Puterbaugh, Whitt, Cottle, and Elson rroundout the top 5. Great night for the rookie Elson.
After attending the entire USAC Midget Week for the 2nd year in a row, I, in my humble opinion, thought of a few ways to even make it better. I love the idea of USAC Midgets and regular non wing sprints as the support class. This year car counts were down some but, timing of other shows made for many more races going on at the same time. How about a bonus like some others have done. Lets say get a sponsor, like Hoosier Park, to get an insurance policy to pay like a $100,000 bonus to win all 10 A Mains. $75,000 to win 9, $50,000 to win 8, $40,000 for 7, and $25,000 for 6 wins. These policies don't cost much and could create a lot of buzz and maybe many more cars or more double duty cars. Plus, how about a different track than North Vernon on Thursday. Just my 2 cents.

UPCOMING:: Ohio Speedweek starts Friday

Friday: All Star Attica,

Saturday: All Star Eldora, HOSS Anderson IN, KISS Paragon IN, USAC Sprints Kalamazoo MI

Sunday: All Star Millstream OH

Monday: All Star Wayne Co

Tuesday: All Star Hilltop

Wednesday: All Star Waynesfield

Friday: All Star Limaland Motorsports Park, SOD MT Pleasant MI

Saturday: All Star Fremont, SOD I96 MI, AVSS Berlin MI

Sunday: Bob Darland Memorial Kokomo IN, HOSS Plymouth IN

See You at most of the Speedweek shows and the Darland Memorial

Thanks
Duane