The richest Midget race of 2008 – the October 9-11 DuPont “Gold Crown Midget Nationals” at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach (Granite City), Ill., has joined the USAC Mopar National Midget calendar. Saturday night’s (Oct. 11) feature event offers $15,000 to win and $1,000 to start, completing three nights of racing at the 3/8-mile dirt oval located just east of the Mississippi River, northeast of St. Louis, Mo.



Co-sanctioned by USAC and POWRi, the event will showcase the finest Midget racing on the planet at a track with USAC history dating back to 1961.



Preliminary events are scheduled Oct. 9-10, with features each night, building to Saturday’s climactic “shootout” for $15,000.



Josh Wise won USAC’s last Midget race at Tri-City, in 2005, on his way to the USAC National Midget title. Defending two-time USAC National Midget Champion Jerry Coons Jr. finished ninth in that 30-lap race.



Tracy Hines is the current USAC Mopar National Midget Series point leader and he and Coons are trying to join USAC’s elusive list of “Triple Crown” champions this season. Hines needs to win the Midget title, while Coons needs both the K & N Silver Crown and Sprint Car titles. Coons leads the Silver Crown standings and is second in the Sprints.



The race has associate sponsorship from Wente’s O & W Restaurant and the Bob Wente Classic. The Wente family is represented among the track’s USAC feature winners as Bob won in the Midgets there in 1969.



A total of 47 USAC races have been conducted at Tri-City. Danny Frye won the first Midget race in August, 1961 and winners since then have included Indianapolis 500 veterans Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Jack Hewitt, Greg Weld, Jimmy Caruthers, Larry Rice, Mel Kenyon and Wente.





--USAC--

Hmmmm.....I guessing Mr. Miller has done an about-face here. Thought there would no longer be any "co-sanctions".

Interesting:rolleyes:

More like POWRi has done an about-face. They realized:

1) there's nothing arrogant about being the #2 Midget group in the country. POWRi knew without the top USAC teams, any claim they made to the "biggest Midget race in history" would be bogus. Thanks to Kenny Brown and no thanks to crooked official Jim Siner, they have made the right decision to let USAC share in the running of this event. Now we know it'll be a fairly officiated event.

2) It truly will be the biggest Midget event in history now that the top USAC teams will be there. These same teams were going to pass on the event for fear of being screwed once more by bad officiating from Jim Siner.

I'd also like to point out that my friend dirtywhiteboy has been perpetuating one of his anti-USAC agenda rumors that USAC was scheduling a pavement race against this show. Guess you were wrong about that one too, kid. The reality was Kevin Miller was doing everything he could to even get the Siner brothers to sit down with him and understand why a truly co-sanctioned event is the best for both parties.

Midget fans everywhere owe a huge thanks for Miller and Kenny Brown for getting this done!

about face or not it's still good for the Midgets.!!

Just wondering... What's so crooked about Siner and POWRi's officiating? :confused:

I just see it as USAC doing whats best for USAC (Not necessarally a bad thing) and bringing some of the top Non Winged and Midget races under their banner. You want higher purses? This is one way to get them and its another way to move the brand into new or long since lost regions.

Chuck

I want you to find the exact posts I made stating such a claim.

Its too bad they are going head to head on 10/4 for the Hut Hundred.

To some, crooked officiating is an official making a call against you. Obviously the poster feels that is what has happened.

They need USAC to add credibility to a $15,000 to win midget race? I have had the opportunity to speak to one or two drivers over the last couple of months about this race and I guarantee you the first question they ask is not "Is it USAC sanctioned?" Ask someone at Anderson Speedway how much that helps (and that is not a slam on the 400. I really enjoyed it and will be back next year).

As to the statement about dirtywhiteboy, all I know is that a USAC employee told me a few weeks ago that they were tentatively planning to have an event at ORP on the second week of October. I don't know what exactly dirtywhiteboy said somewhere else, but you might want to rethink that accusation. I was subsequently told that they had dropped that plan.

Just in case anyone is curious, I called the track and they are not selling reserved seats, which was a surprise to me. Everything is general admission. I think this may be bigger than they think, or perhaps I overestimate how well what could be a fantastic midget event can draw. Am I wrong, or won't people turn out for midgets?

Frank Daigh