THE CHAMP

Jerry Coons, Jr.’s defense of his USAC National Midget Series title smoothly mixed speed and consistency to overcome a slow start to this year’s title chase. In the season’s first eight races, Coons had six finishes of 15th or worse and only two in the top five. But once Coons and the Wilke-Pak team reached their stride, they were seemingly unstoppable. The next eight races resulted in three victories and all top-five results. There was a midseason off-night at Macon, but he resumed with five top-five runs, including two more wins. Even though Darren Hagen cut 56 points off of Coons’s lead over the last three races, the title was out of reach.

TIMELINE

Feb 10: The season opens with the debut of a “Triple-Header” at Manzanita Speedway, featuring Silver Crown, sprint cars and the opening event of the national midget series.
May 12: Within days of being hired to sub for the injured Tracy Hines on Tony Stewart’s team, Mississippi’s Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. claims his first USAC midget victory at Tri-State Speedway.
July 28: Sweeping both nights of Belleville’s Midget Nationals in the Wilke-Pak Mopar/Spike, Jerry Coons, Jr. closes the gap behind series leader Darren Hagen to just five points. 
Aug. 12: After opening Indiana Midget Week with a win at Kamp Motor Speedway, Coons adds third, fourth and fifth place finishes to capture the Midget Week point title.

ON THE RECORD

“You have guys like Jay Drake who can run the cushion better than anyone I know.  He’ll talk to you in the calmest manner and try to help you sincerely.  He’s been a big help.  Even a guy like Cory Kruseman, who’s been there and won championships, he’s never told me a lie about anything.” —  Darren Hagen, who was ranked first or second in the national point standings all season

“We might have won this race before if it had been 98 laps a few years back." — Dave Darland, winner of the 67th Annual Turkey Night Grand Prix

“I knew that I was going to have to do something to get to the rubber before he did.  Once I got there, it was pretty easy.”  — Kevin Swindell after passing Hagen to win the USAC midget feature at Lawrenceburg Speedway

LOOKING AHEAD

The USAC National Midget Series will grow in the coming year. Look for a three-race weekend in Wisconsin on asphalt and an expanded Midget Week schedule. Also, instead of drawing for starting positions, there will be more group qualifying as additional tracks add electronic timing loops. 

STAT PACK

6      Midget organizations (USAC, Badger, POWRi, ARDC, RMMRA and SMRS) that sanctioned the Knoxville Midget Nationals

5      Drivers who led USAC’s national midget points during the season

TOP 10

    Driver    Points    Wins    Top 5    Top 10
    1. Jerry Coons, Jr.    1,225    5    16    16
    2. Darren Hagen    1,154    1    10    17
    3. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.    1,083    5    10    14
    4. Dave Darland    1,056    2    9    17
    5. Brad Kuhn    1,020    2    6    16
    6. Kevin Swindell    902    2    7    9
    7. Levi Jones    875    1    7    12
    8. Brady Bacon    756    0    3    8   
    9. Brad Loyet    693    0    6    9
    10. Danny Stratton    633    1    3    9

WHO, WHAT, WHEN AND WHERE

    Date    Track        Winner    Car    Laps
    Feb. 10    Manzanita Speedway (Ariz.)    Cory Kruseman    Denome 6x    30
    May 5    Iowa Speedway    Billy Wease    Western Speed 80    25
    May 12    Tri-State Speedway (Ind.)    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.    Stewart 21    30
    May 26    O’Reilly Raceway Park (Ind.)    Kevin Swindell    Kahne 79    50
    June 16    O’Reilly Raceway Park (Ind.)    Bryan Clauson    Kunz 67    30
    June 23    Knoxville Raceway (Iowa)    Darren Hagen    RFMS 32    20
    June 23    Knoxville Raceway (Iowa)    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.    Stewart 21    25
    July 6    Toledo Speedway (Ohio)    Bryan Clauson    Kunz 67    30
    July 7    Mansfield Motorsports Park (Ohio)    Dave Darland    Nine Racing 9    30
    July 24    Junction Motor Speedway (Neb.)    Danny Stratton    Burkhard 21a    30
    July 25    Junction Motor Speedway (Neb.)    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.    Stewart 21    30
    July 27    Belleville High Banks (Kan.)    Jerry Coons, Jr.    Wilke-Pak 11    25
    July 28    Belleville High Banks (Kan.)    Jerry Coons, Jr.    Wilke-Pak 11    40
    Aug. 4    Salem Speedway (Ind.)    Brad Kuhn    Quin 43    30
    Aug. 9    Kamp Motor Speedway (Ind.)    Jerry Coons Jr.    Wilke-Pak 11    30   
    Aug. 10    Gas City I-69 Speedway (Ind.)    Shane Cottle    Saucier 1st    30
    Aug. 11    Lawrenceburg Speedway (Ind.)    Kevin Swindell    Kahne 79    30
    Aug. 12    Kokomo Speedway (Ind.)    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Stewart 21    30
    Aug. 17    Macon Speedway (Ill.)    Brad Kuhn    Quin 43    30
    Aug. 25    Angell Park Speedway (Wis.)    Jerry Coons Jr.    Wilke-Pak 11    30
    Aug. 26    Angell Park Speedway (Wis.)    Michael Pickens    Lein 2x    30
    Aug. 31    Dodge County Fairgrounds (Wis.)    Jerry Coons, Jr.    Wilke-Pak 11    30
    Sept. 7    Plymouth Dirt Track (Wis.)    Levi Jones    Stewart 20    30
    Sept 15    Anderson Speedway (Ind.)    Bryan Clauson    Kunz 67    50
    Sept. 22    Eldora (Ohio) Speedway    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.    Stewart 21    25
    Nov. 8    Phoenix Int’l Raceway (Ariz.)    Dave Steele    Nine Racing 91    25
    Nov. 22    Irwindale Speedway (Calif.)    Dave Darland    Nine Racing 9    98