USAC Midgets Manzanita February 9 - 10 2007
Kruseman Gases Past Hines at Midget Finish
PHOENIX - Cory Kruseman fueled an evening of return to the United States with a victory in the USAC National/Western Midget Car Series season opener - the “Copper on Dirt” - Saturday night at Manzanita Speedway.
Kruseman caught Tracy Hines coming off the final turn of Lap 30 after Hines appeared to have run out of fuel. Kruseman, driving the No. 6 JP Machine/ARP Spike/Esslinger owned by Jesse Denome, had been third just a lap and a half prior.
Hines and Darren Hagen had been the class of the field the previous 29 laps, trading the lead back and forth officially and unofficially at the flag stand and through the turns. Hagen had taken the lead on Lap 18, and held it on numerous restarts by jumping to the outside and holding Hines off on the outside.
Hagen had established nearly a six-car length lead after completing Lap 26 - just a couple laps after the ninth and final caution - before Hines caught a burst of momentum off Turn 2 and began his charge. Hines then pestered Hagen until Lap 29 before garnering the lead back for what appeared to be the final time, running up the lead.
But Kruseman wasn’t done. Hanging tough over the entire race, he blew by Hagen on the backstretch on Lap 29 and set his sights on Hines.
The New Castle, Ind. driver Hines took a two-car length lead into Turns 1 and 2, and kept Kruseman at bay as the pair neared Turn 3. However, Hines quickly slowed, obviously with problems, and Kruseman went to the outside to take the victory and the checkered flag.
The race was just days after Kruseman, the defending USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series champion, returned from New Zealand after the six-race swing down there.
“We were just paying attention to laps,” said Kruseman, whose last USAC Midget victory came in the Western States at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway in 2005. “It was a long race; there were a lot of yellows. But we’re taking the money home; that’s all that counts.”
Chris Rahe, the first of four leaders, led the opening laps before Hines overtook him on Lap 6. Hines and Hagen battled with Garrett Hansen for several laps before trading the point multiple times in the turns. Hansen fell out of competition midway through the race after pulling into the pits, then pulled back out on the track before retiring.
Trailing Kruseman - the series point leader in both divisions - and Hagen were Jerry Coons Jr., Hines and Shane Cottle, who started third in the 32-car field.
Eighth cautions and a red flag slowed the race. Chuck Gurney Jr. was the only driver to flip during the event, though he was not seriously injured.
The National Midget Car Series returns to action April 11 at Thunder Hill Raceway at Kyle, Texas, while the Western Series returns to action March 24 at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway.
USAC NATIONAL/WESTERN MIDGET CAR RACE RESULTS: February 9-10, 2007 - Phoenix, Arizona - Manzanita Speedway - Sands Chevrolet Presents “The Copper on Dirt”
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tracy Hines (#21 Stewart), 2. Davey Ray (#91 Nine Racing), 3. Jon Stanbrough (#21a Burkhart), 4. Chris Windom (#17 Windom), 5. Rick Hendrix (#12 Hendrix), 6. Tyler Brown (#20s Sarna), 7. Dustin Morgan (#111 Morgan/Walker), 8. Garrett Hood (#11H Hood), 9. Brady Bacon (#99 Kahne), 10. Mike Welker (#22w Yoiung), 11. Doug Dewitt (#11d DBR). NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (#11 Wilke-Pak), 2. Jerome Rodela (#25 Rodela), 3. Mike Hess (#51x Hess), 4. Donnie Ray Crawford (#97 Kunz), 5. Matt Mitchell (#67 Kunz), 6. Matt Sherrell (#35 Tel-Star), 7. Chase Barber (#90 Barber), 8. Alex Pruett (#55 Ellis), 9. Bugs Norbury (#91x Norbury), 10. Matt Streeter (#14jr Streeter), 11. Scott Pierovich (#35x Pierovich), 12. Luke Icke (#8 Icke). NT
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Shane Cottle (#17p Pedregon), 2. Levi Jones (#20 Stewart), 3. Johnny Rodriguez (#34 Grau), 4. Garrett Hansen (#70 Hansen), 5. Dave Darland (#9 Nine Racing), 6. Rik Forbes (#95k Forbes), 7. Bradley Galedrige (#29 Galedrige), 8. Jessica Zemken (#96x Brewer), 9. Cody Brewer (#96 Brewer), 10. Ralph Cortez (#10 Walker), 11. Stephanie Mockler (#6 East), 12. Jacob Slotten (#12x Acceleration Racing). 3:23.64
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Danny Stratton (#2s Lein), 2. Chris Rahe (#3c Rahe), 3. Cory Kruseman (#6x Denome), 4. Casey Shuman (#37x Felker), 5. Chuck Gurney Jr. (#51 Gurney), 6. Tom Hessert III (#5 Hessert), 7. Kody Swanson (#40 Western Speed), 8. Bobby East (#4 Klatt), 9. Jimi Quin (#43nz Quin), 10. Kyle Wissmiller (#2 Price). NT Shane Hollingsworth (#85 Hollingsworth),
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Darren Hagen (#32 RFMS), 2. Nathan High (#21az Burkhart), 3. Brad Loyet (#05 Loyet), 4. Gary Taylor (#999 Tel-Star), 5. Kevin Swindell (#79 Kahne), 6. Cole Carter (#7 Carter), 7. Jeff Henry (#12jr Allen), 8. Russ Harper (#09 Harper), 9. Darrin Bolton (#XX Bolton), 10. Joe Boyles (#7B Boyles), 11. Tony Fabozzi (#84 Fabozzi), 12. Billy Wease (#80 Western Speed), 13. Alfred Galedrige (#26 Galedrige). NT
ALSO AT THE TRACK: R.J. Johnson (#45 Sussex) and Billy Osta (#37 Felker).
SEMI #1: (12 laps - Held Feb. 10) 1. Sherrell, 2. Henry, 3. Darland, 4. B.Galedrige, 5. Carter, 6. Swanson, 7. Pierovich, 8. Hendrix, 9. East, 10. Brown, 11. Hood, 12. Fabozzi, 13. Cortez, 14. Boyles, 15. Welker, 16. Icke, 17. Quin, 18. Mockler, 19. Wease. NT
SEMI #2: (12 laps - Held Feb. 10) 1. Taylor, 2. Swindell, 3. Mitchell, 4. Hollingsworth, 5. Norbury, 6. Forbes, 7. Harper, 8. Bolton, 9. Dewitt, 10. Barber, 11. Crawford, 12. Zemken, 13. Brewer, 14. Wissmiller. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps - Held Feb. 10) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Darren Hagen, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Chris Rahe, 6. Cole Carter; 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Johnny Rodriguez, 11. Matt Mitchell, 12. Danny Stratton, 13. Tom Hessert III, 14. Bobby East, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Jeff Henry, 17. Chase Barber, 18. Scott Pierovich, 19. Mike Hess, 20. Brad Loyet, 21. Shane Hollingsworth, 22. Bradley Galedrige, 23. Gary Taylor, 24. Matt Sherrell, 25. Garrett Hansen, 26. Kevin Swindell, 27. Jerome Rodela, 28. Nathan High, 29. Davey Ray, 30. Chuck Gurney, Jr., 31. Casey Shuman. NT (Tracy Hines’ car disqualified, after finishing fourth, for failing to pass post-race technical inspection.)
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**Wease flipped during the first semi. Brewer and Zemken flipped during the second semi. Gurney flipped on lap 10 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Rahe, Laps 6-17 Hines, Laps 18-28 Hagen, Lap 29 Hines, Lap 30 Kruseman.
NEW NATIONAL MIDGET POINTS: 1-Kruseman-66; 2-Hagen-65; 3-Coons-62; 4-Hines-59; 5-Stanbrough-45; 6-Windom-41; 7-Jones-40; 8-Rodriguez-37; 9-Stratton-35; 10-Hessert-25.
NEW WESTERN MIDGET POINTS: 1-Kruseman-66; 2-Hagen-65; 3-Coons-62; 4-Hines-59; 5-Rahe-52; 6-Stanbrough-45; 7-Windom-41; 8-Jones-40; 9-Rodriguez-37; 10-Stratton-35.
NEXT USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RACE: April 11 - Kyle, TX - Thunder Hill Speedway
NEXT USAC WESTERN MIDGET RACE: March 24 - Bakersfield (CA) Speedway
Kruseman Gases Past Hines at Midget Finish
PHOENIX - Cory Kruseman fueled an evening of return to the United States with a victory in the USAC National/Western Midget Car Series season opener - the “Copper on Dirt” - Saturday night at Manzanita Speedway.
Kruseman caught Tracy Hines coming off the final turn of Lap 30 after Hines appeared to have run out of fuel. Kruseman, driving the No. 6 JP Machine/ARP Spike/Esslinger owned by Jesse Denome, had been third just a lap and a half prior.
Hines and Darren Hagen had been the class of the field the previous 29 laps, trading the lead back and forth officially and unofficially at the flag stand and through the turns. Hagen had taken the lead on Lap 18, and held it on numerous restarts by jumping to the outside and holding Hines off on the outside.
Hagen had established nearly a six-car length lead after completing Lap 26 - just a couple laps after the ninth and final caution - before Hines caught a burst of momentum off Turn 2 and began his charge. Hines then pestered Hagen until Lap 29 before garnering the lead back for what appeared to be the final time, running up the lead.
But Kruseman wasn’t done. Hanging tough over the entire race, he blew by Hagen on the backstretch on Lap 29 and set his sights on Hines.
The New Castle, Ind. driver Hines took a two-car length lead into Turns 1 and 2, and kept Kruseman at bay as the pair neared Turn 3. However, Hines quickly slowed, obviously with problems, and Kruseman went to the outside to take the victory and the checkered flag.
The race was just days after Kruseman, the defending USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series champion, returned from New Zealand after the six-race swing down there.
“We were just paying attention to laps,” said Kruseman, whose last USAC Midget victory came in the Western States at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway in 2005. “It was a long race; there were a lot of yellows. But we’re taking the money home; that’s all that counts.”
Chris Rahe, the first of four leaders, led the opening laps before Hines overtook him on Lap 6. Hines and Hagen battled with Garrett Hansen for several laps before trading the point multiple times in the turns. Hansen fell out of competition midway through the race after pulling into the pits, then pulled back out on the track before retiring.
Trailing Kruseman - the series point leader in both divisions - and Hagen were Jerry Coons Jr., Hines and Shane Cottle, who started third in the 32-car field.
Eighth cautions and a red flag slowed the race. Chuck Gurney Jr. was the only driver to flip during the event, though he was not seriously injured.
The National Midget Car Series returns to action April 11 at Thunder Hill Raceway at Kyle, Texas, while the Western Series returns to action March 24 at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway.
USAC NATIONAL/WESTERN MIDGET CAR RACE RESULTS: February 9-10, 2007 - Phoenix, Arizona - Manzanita Speedway - Sands Chevrolet Presents “The Copper on Dirt”
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tracy Hines (#21 Stewart), 2. Davey Ray (#91 Nine Racing), 3. Jon Stanbrough (#21a Burkhart), 4. Chris Windom (#17 Windom), 5. Rick Hendrix (#12 Hendrix), 6. Tyler Brown (#20s Sarna), 7. Dustin Morgan (#111 Morgan/Walker), 8. Garrett Hood (#11H Hood), 9. Brady Bacon (#99 Kahne), 10. Mike Welker (#22w Yoiung), 11. Doug Dewitt (#11d DBR). NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (#11 Wilke-Pak), 2. Jerome Rodela (#25 Rodela), 3. Mike Hess (#51x Hess), 4. Donnie Ray Crawford (#97 Kunz), 5. Matt Mitchell (#67 Kunz), 6. Matt Sherrell (#35 Tel-Star), 7. Chase Barber (#90 Barber), 8. Alex Pruett (#55 Ellis), 9. Bugs Norbury (#91x Norbury), 10. Matt Streeter (#14jr Streeter), 11. Scott Pierovich (#35x Pierovich), 12. Luke Icke (#8 Icke). NT
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Shane Cottle (#17p Pedregon), 2. Levi Jones (#20 Stewart), 3. Johnny Rodriguez (#34 Grau), 4. Garrett Hansen (#70 Hansen), 5. Dave Darland (#9 Nine Racing), 6. Rik Forbes (#95k Forbes), 7. Bradley Galedrige (#29 Galedrige), 8. Jessica Zemken (#96x Brewer), 9. Cody Brewer (#96 Brewer), 10. Ralph Cortez (#10 Walker), 11. Stephanie Mockler (#6 East), 12. Jacob Slotten (#12x Acceleration Racing). 3:23.64
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Danny Stratton (#2s Lein), 2. Chris Rahe (#3c Rahe), 3. Cory Kruseman (#6x Denome), 4. Casey Shuman (#37x Felker), 5. Chuck Gurney Jr. (#51 Gurney), 6. Tom Hessert III (#5 Hessert), 7. Kody Swanson (#40 Western Speed), 8. Bobby East (#4 Klatt), 9. Jimi Quin (#43nz Quin), 10. Kyle Wissmiller (#2 Price). NT Shane Hollingsworth (#85 Hollingsworth),
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Darren Hagen (#32 RFMS), 2. Nathan High (#21az Burkhart), 3. Brad Loyet (#05 Loyet), 4. Gary Taylor (#999 Tel-Star), 5. Kevin Swindell (#79 Kahne), 6. Cole Carter (#7 Carter), 7. Jeff Henry (#12jr Allen), 8. Russ Harper (#09 Harper), 9. Darrin Bolton (#XX Bolton), 10. Joe Boyles (#7B Boyles), 11. Tony Fabozzi (#84 Fabozzi), 12. Billy Wease (#80 Western Speed), 13. Alfred Galedrige (#26 Galedrige). NT
ALSO AT THE TRACK: R.J. Johnson (#45 Sussex) and Billy Osta (#37 Felker).
SEMI #1: (12 laps - Held Feb. 10) 1. Sherrell, 2. Henry, 3. Darland, 4. B.Galedrige, 5. Carter, 6. Swanson, 7. Pierovich, 8. Hendrix, 9. East, 10. Brown, 11. Hood, 12. Fabozzi, 13. Cortez, 14. Boyles, 15. Welker, 16. Icke, 17. Quin, 18. Mockler, 19. Wease. NT
SEMI #2: (12 laps - Held Feb. 10) 1. Taylor, 2. Swindell, 3. Mitchell, 4. Hollingsworth, 5. Norbury, 6. Forbes, 7. Harper, 8. Bolton, 9. Dewitt, 10. Barber, 11. Crawford, 12. Zemken, 13. Brewer, 14. Wissmiller. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps - Held Feb. 10) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Darren Hagen, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Shane Cottle, 5. Chris Rahe, 6. Cole Carter; 7. Jon Stanbrough, 8. Chris Windom, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Johnny Rodriguez, 11. Matt Mitchell, 12. Danny Stratton, 13. Tom Hessert III, 14. Bobby East, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Jeff Henry, 17. Chase Barber, 18. Scott Pierovich, 19. Mike Hess, 20. Brad Loyet, 21. Shane Hollingsworth, 22. Bradley Galedrige, 23. Gary Taylor, 24. Matt Sherrell, 25. Garrett Hansen, 26. Kevin Swindell, 27. Jerome Rodela, 28. Nathan High, 29. Davey Ray, 30. Chuck Gurney, Jr., 31. Casey Shuman. NT (Tracy Hines’ car disqualified, after finishing fourth, for failing to pass post-race technical inspection.)
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**Wease flipped during the first semi. Brewer and Zemken flipped during the second semi. Gurney flipped on lap 10 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Rahe, Laps 6-17 Hines, Laps 18-28 Hagen, Lap 29 Hines, Lap 30 Kruseman.
NEW NATIONAL MIDGET POINTS: 1-Kruseman-66; 2-Hagen-65; 3-Coons-62; 4-Hines-59; 5-Stanbrough-45; 6-Windom-41; 7-Jones-40; 8-Rodriguez-37; 9-Stratton-35; 10-Hessert-25.
NEW WESTERN MIDGET POINTS: 1-Kruseman-66; 2-Hagen-65; 3-Coons-62; 4-Hines-59; 5-Rahe-52; 6-Stanbrough-45; 7-Windom-41; 8-Jones-40; 9-Rodriguez-37; 10-Stratton-35.
NEXT USAC NATIONAL MIDGET RACE: April 11 - Kyle, TX - Thunder Hill Speedway
NEXT USAC WESTERN MIDGET RACE: March 24 - Bakersfield (CA) Speedway