NEARLY 60 CARS ENTERED FOR Du QUOIN'S "SHAMROCK CLASSIC" USAC MIDGET OPENER SATURDAY
This Saturday, March 19, the inaugural running of the “Shamrock Classic” at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, Illinois pits the top midget drivers and teams in the United States against each other in the USAC Midget National Championship’s first “points-paying” indoor National Midget race since Kenny Irwin, Jr.’s victory at the Toronto SkyDome in January of 1993.
Fifty-eight teams have already pre-entered for the event, including USAC champions Dave Darland, Brady Bacon and “Shamrock Classic” race promoter Bryan Clauson. Past USAC National event winners from the state of Illinois Zach Daum (Pocahontas) and Chris Urish (Elkhart), who won a Silver Crown race on the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds’ mile in 2013 will compete this Saturday night. USAC National series feature winners Chad Boat, Justin Grant, Thomas Meseraull, Bill Rose and Tanner Thorson are among those entered as well.
Thorson, USAC’s 2015 “Most Improved Driver,” leads a five-car Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports brigade into Saturday’s race with teammates Spencer Bayston (2015 USAC National Midget “Rookie of the Year”), and series rookies Carson Macedo, Ryan Robinson and Holly Shelton.
USAC’s indoor racing history dates back to the very beginning of the organization 60 years ago. The first ever racing event conducted by USAC was an indoor midget race won by Gene Hartley at the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Memorial Coliseum on January 8, 1956. The most recent and, thus far, only USAC Midget event at the Southern Illinois Center was a non-points-paying "special event" held last December. Mississippi’s Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. chased down teammate Clauson in the final laps to take the victory.
Sleepy Tripp won the most recent points-paying USAC National Midget race held in Du Quoin, Illinois in 1979, taking a 50-lap feature outdoors on the “Magic Mile” located adjacent to the Southern Illinois Center.
A format rewarding position advancement through the preliminary events, just as what was used in last December’s “Junior Knepper 55” and at the Chili Bowl Nationals, will be utilized throughout Saturday night’s program in which passing points from the heats and qualifying races will form the lineups for the 50-lap feature event.
Contingency awards, over and above those distributed at all USAC National Midget races, include a Simpson Helmet to the feature winner. Other prizes to be distributed will come from Competition Suspensions, Inc. (CSI), Indy Race Parts and All Star Performance.
Dooling Machine has posted unique “pot of gold” cash prizes for random feature finishers while Max Papis Innovations (MPI) will provide a steering wheel for the driver voted the “Wheel Man of the Race,” which will signify an outstanding performance. The feature winner will take home a unique trophy, constructed by Cold Hard Art, topped by a pot containing treasure.
The timetable of events at the Southern Illinois Center for the “Shamrock Classic,” which includes Outlaw Karts presented by Indy Race Parts as part of the program, begins with participant parking on March 18 (Friday) from 4-7 pm. Saturday’s race-day schedule begins with pits opening at 8 am, followed by a “pit sweep” at noon. Spectator gates open at 1 pm. A public drivers' meeting open to all race fans starts at 3:30 pm and hot laps get under way at 4 pm.
Reserved seats are $25.00. Adult general admission tickets are $20.00; kids 6-12 are $10.00 and kids 5 years-old and under are FREE! Pit passes are $35.00. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shamrock-classic-at-duquoin-tickets-20089747977.
For fans who are unable to attend the event, coverage of the race will be LIVE on http://thecushion.com/ on Saturday, March 19 and can be purchased for $21.50 ($19.25 for Premium/VIP members).
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“SHAMROCK CLASSIC” ENTRY LIST (58 cars pre-entered as of Monday, March 14)
0 JOHNNY MURDOCK/Dallas, TX
0A MIKE McSPARIN/Carrier Mills, IL
0B TBA
1T TONY RONEY/Herculaneum, MO
2 TBA
2x KEVIN THOMAS, JR./Cullman, AL
3N JAKE NEUMAN/New Berlin, IL
4 RYAN GRETH/New Cumberland, PA
4M MICHELLE DECKER/Guthrie, OK
5c COLTEN COTTLE/Kansas, IL
5D ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL
5x JUSTIN PECK/Monrovia, IN
6 BILL ROSE/Plainfield, IN
7 GAGE WALKER/Indianapolis, IN
7JR J.D. BLACK/Grain Valley, MO
7K TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN
9K KYLE SCHUETT/Philo, IL
11 TRAVIS BERRYHILL/American Canyon, CA
11A ANDREW FELKER/Carl Junction, MO
11AG DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN
11H CHASE HILL/Redding, CA
13 LARRY KNOWLES/Mt. Vernon, IL
15 TIM SINER/Dupo, IL
15m SHANE MORGAN/Morton, IL
17m CHASE JOHNSON/Penngrove, CA
17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA
19 JOHN CAMPBELL/Belleville, IL
21 TY HULSEY/Owasso, OK
27 TUCKER KLAASMEYER/Paola, KS
31 DAVID BUDRES/Janesville, WI
D33 CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN
35T TYLER ROBBINS/Collinsville, IL
37x ANTON HERNANDEZ/Arlington, TX
38 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA
41 AUSTIN PROCK/Avon, IN
50 DANIEL ADLER/St. Louis, MO
55 NICK KNEPPER/Belleville, IL
55D NICK DRAKE/Mooresville, NC
56 SHANE COTTLE/Kokomo, IN
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL
63 BRYAN CLAUSON/Noblesville, IN
66 THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA
67 TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV
67K HOLLY SHELTON/Sacramento, CA
71 RYAN ROBINSON/Foresthill, CA
71K CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA
71½ ROBERT BELL/Colfax, IA
76 KELLEN CONOVER/St. Louis, MO
76m BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK
77u CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL
84 CHAD BOAT/Phoenix, AZ
86 DANNY MEYER/Tuscola, IL
88 TERRY BABB/Decatur, IL
88x SCOTT ORR/Columbia City, IN
91 DERECK KING/Vienna, IL
91A CHRIS ANDREWS/Sandusky, OH
91T TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK
97 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN
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UPCOMING USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT
DATE: Saturday, March 19, 2016
SERIES: USAC Midget National Championship
TRACK: Southern Illinois Center (Du Quoin, IL) - 1/6-Mile, Semi-Banked Indoor Dirt Oval
EVENT: “Shamrock Classic” featuring the USAC Midget National Championship and Outlaw Karts presented by Indy Race Parts
STARTING TIMES: Pits open at 8am. Spectator gates open at 1:00pm. Public drivers’ meeting at 3:30pm. Hot laps at 4:00pm. Racing at 5:00pm.
TICKETS: Reserved Seats: $25.00. General Admission: $20.00. Kids 6-12: $10.00. Kids 5 years-old & under: FREE! Pit passes: $35.00. Can be purchased online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shamrock-classic-at-duquoin-tickets-20089747977.
TRACK ADDRESS: 655 Executive Drive, DuQuoin, IL 62832
TRACK PHONE: (618) 409-3262
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live on http://thecushion.com/
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PAST USAC MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS AT THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS CENTER
12/19/2015: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
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2016 USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Mar 19: &&& DuQuoin, IL - Southern Illinois Center
Apr 8: Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
Apr 9: Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
May 31: @@@ Montpelier, IN - Montpelier Motor Speedway
Jun 1: @@@ Gas City, IN - Gas City I-69 Speedway
Jun 2: @@@ Putnamville, IN - Lincoln Park Speedway
Jun 3: @@@ Bloomington, IN - Bloomington Speedway
Jun 4: @@@ Lawrenceburg, IN - Lawrenceburg Speedway
Jun 5: @@@ Kokomo, IN - Kokomo Speedway
Jun 17: West Memphis, AR - Riverside International Speedway
Jun 18: West Memphis, AR - Riverside International Speedway
Aug 2: Fairbury, NE – Jefferson County Speedway
Aug 3: Beloit, KS - Solomon Valley Raceway
Aug 5: Belleville, KS - Belleville High Banks
Aug 6: Belleville, KS - Belleville High Banks
Aug 14: *** York Haven, PA - Susquehanna Speedway
Aug 15: *** Spring Run, PA - Path Valley Speedway Park
Aug 16: *** Newmanstown, PA - Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway
Aug 17: *** Abbottstown, PA - Lincoln Speedway
Sep 24: Rossburg, OH - Eldora Speedway
Oct 6: Granite City, IL - Tri-City Speedway
Oct 7: Granite City, IL - Tri-City Speedway
Oct 8: Granite City, IL - Tri-City Speedway
Oct 21: %%% Wayne City, IL - Wayne County Speedway
Nov 24: ### Ventura, CA - Ventura Raceway
------------------------ KEY DEFINITIONS -------------------------
Races noted with &&& represent an indoor race.
Races noted with @@@ represent Indiana Midget Week.
Races noted with *** represent a Co-Sanctioned race with ARDC.
Races noted with %%% represent a co-sanctioned race with POWRi.
Races noted with ### represent a Co-Sanctioned race with the USAC Western Midget Championship.
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ALL-TIME USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE WINS
1. [111 wins] Mel Kenyon
2. [95 wins] Rich Vogler
3. [78 wins] Bob Wente
4. [63 wins] Bob Tattersall
5. [59 wins] Sleepy Tripp
6. [48 wins] Jimmy Davies
7. [36 wins] Bryan Clauson
8. [35 wins] Tracy Hines
9. [31 wins] Gene Hartley & Chuck Rodee
11. [30 wins] Dave Darland, Mike McGreevy & Johnny Parsons
14. [27 wins] Gary Bettenhausen & Tony Stewart
16. [25 wins] Darren Hagen, Parnelli Jones & Dave Strickland
19. [24 wins] Bill Engelhart
20. [23 wins] Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Tommy Copp, Kevin Olson & Billy Vukovich
25. [22 wins] Bobby East & Shorty Templeman
27. [21 wins] Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton & Ken Schrader
31. [20 wins] A.J. Foyt
32. [19 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Stan Fox & Jason Leffler
35. [18 wins] Dave Steele
36. [17 wins] Jay Drake & J.J. Yeley
38. [16 wins] George Amick, Christopher Bell, Billy Cantrell, Lee Kunzman, Bobby Olivero & Henry Pens
44. [15 wins] Don Branson & Larry Rice
46. [14 wins] Chuck Arnold, Jack Turner & Leroy Warriner
49. [13 wins] Rico Abreu, Steve Knepper, Don Meacham, Ryan Newman & Stevie Reeves
54. [12 wins] Danny Caruthers, Gene Force, Russ Gamester, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Grim, Kyle Larson & Ron Shuman
61. [11 wins] Kasey Kahne, Jimmy Knight, Bob McLean, Johnny Moorhouse, Bobby Santos & Brad Sweet
67. [10 wins] Allen Heath, Doug Kalitta, Brad Kuhn, Steve Lotshaw, Jerry McClung & Chuck Weyant
73. [9 wins] Billy Boat, Tony Elliott & Chuck Gurney
76. [8 wins] Merle Bettenhausen, Tony Bettenhausen, Hank Butcher, Kevin Doty, Dan Drinan, Ronnie Duman, Brian Gerster, Kenny Irwin Jr, Eddie Johnson, Michael Lewis, Andy Michner & Josh Wise
88. [7 wins] Tommy Astone, Jack Hewitt, Don Horvath, Page Jones, Kenneth Nichols, Larry Patton, Les Scott, Len Sutton & Johnnie Tolan
97. [6 wins] Donnie Beechler, George Benson, Dana Carter, Bob Cicconi, Robby Flock, Nick Fornoro Jr., Arnie Knepper, Ricky Shelton, Mike Streicher, Dave Strickland, Jr., & Roger West
108. [5 wins] Mike Bliss, Lonnie Caruthers, Larry Dickson, Mike Fedorcak, Burt Foland, Mack McClellan, Danny McKnight, Cliff Spalding, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., & Jerry Weeks
119. [4 wins] Caleb Armstrong, Teddy Beach, Johnny Boyd, Frank Burany, Russ Congdon, Ray Elliott, Aaron Fike, Danny Frye, Billy Garrett, Mike Gregg, Jim Hettinger, John Heydenreich, Bubby Jones, Levi Jones, Andy Linden, Bobby Marshman, Roger McCluskey, Billy Mehner, Ken Nichols, Jeff Nuckles, Jan Opperman, Gary Ponzini, Davey Ray, Eddie Sachs, Don Schilling, Sam Sessions, George Snider, Dale Swaim, Kevin Swindell, Tanner Thorson & Rodger Ward
149. [3 wins] John Batts, Gays Biro, Shane Cottle, Allen Crowe, Zach Daum, Bruce Field, A.J. Fike, Drew Fornoro, Gene Gennetten, Rick Goudy, Bob Hare, Bob Hauck, Jeff Heywood, Bill Homeier, Sam Isenhower, Jim Keeker, Jim McClean, Warren Mockler, Dave Moses, Earl Motter, Jerry Nuckles, Danny Oakes, Johnnie Parsons, Porky Rachwitz, Johnny Riva, Johnny Roberts, Lowell Sachs, Billy Shuman, Tom Steiner, Bobby Unser & Billy Wease
180. [2 wins] Al Alpern, Sonny Ates, Brady Bacon, Johnny Baldwin, Jim Beckley, Dean Billings, Alan Brown, Jack Calabrase, Johnny Cofer, Mel Cornett, Cotton Farmer, Terry Farrar, Joe Garson, Chuck Gurney, Jr., Kyle Hamilton, Bob Hogle, Rick Hood, P.J. Jones, Critter Malone, Jimmy McCune, Michael Pickens, Aaron Pollock, Barry Reed, Lloyd Ruby, Joe Saldana, Tom Sellberg, Tony Simon, Danny Stratton, Kody Swanson, Kevin Thomas, Jr., Steve Troxell, Don Vogler, Bruce Walkup, Terry Wente, Johnny White, Tommy White & Cole Whitt
217. [1 win] John Andretti, Mario Andretti, Mike Appio, Dick Atkins, Paul Bates, Harry Beck, Bud Bogard, Tony Bonadies, Dan Boorse, Don Boorse, Dwight Brown, Steve Buckwalter, Barry Butterworth, Gary Byers, Larry Cannon, Tyce Carlson, Ed Carpenter, Dane Carter, Billy Cassella, Bill Chennault, Bill Clemons, Roy Cook, Jr., Ryan Durst, Edgar Elder, Todd Forbes, Joe Gaerte, Bradley Galedrige, Steve Gennetten, Elmer George, Potsy Goacher, David Gough, Ron Gregory, Norm Hall, Bob Harkey, Vern Harriman, Scott Hatton, Al Herman, Jordan Hermansader, Mike Hess, Jim Hines, Ted Hines, Shane Hmiel, Dean Holden, Blake Hollingsworth, Chuck Hulse, Buddy Irwin, Eddie Jackson, Van Johnson, Brent Kaeding, Bud Kaeding, Jimmy Kirk, Kevin Koch, Randy Koch, Bill Kollman, Cory Kruseman, Michael Lang, Greg Leffler, Larry McCloskey, Jim McElreath, Mel McGaughy, John Meyers, J.R. Miller, Travis Miniea, Russ Moynagh, Richard Myhre, Dick Northam, Hank Nykaza, Brian Olson, Danny O'Neill, Jim Packard, Wally Pankratz, Forrest Parker, Gene Pastor, Gary Patterson, Danny Pens, Jiggs Peters, Dick Pole, Richard Powell, Buddy Rackley, Keith Rauch, Dave Ray, Jimmy Reece, Bob Richards, Bruce Robey, Johnny Rodriguez, Gene Roehl, Jack Runyon, Sam Sauer, Dutch Schaefer, Ryan Scott, Frank Secrist, Jimmy Sills, Jigger Sirois, Lee Smith, Ron Smoker, Ned Spath, J.P. Standley, Graham Standring, Jerry Stone, Tanner Swanson, Buddy Taylor, Randy Tolsma, Leo Tucker, Bob Veith, Joe Walter, Eric Wilkins, Mauri Wilson, Doug Wolfgang & Billy Wood
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ALL-TIME USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONS
1956: Shorty Templeman
1957: Shorty Templeman
1958: Shorty Templeman
1959: Gene Hartley
1960: Jimmy Davies
1961: Jimmy Davies
1962: Jimmy Davies
1963: Bob Wente
1964: Mel Kenyon
1965: Mike McGreevy
1966: Mike McGreevy
1967: Mel Kenyon
1968: Mel Kenyon
1969: Bob Tattersall
1970: Jimmy Caruthers
1971: Danny Caruthers
1972: Pancho Carter
1973: Larry Rice
1974: Mel Kenyon
1975: Sleepy Tripp
1976: Sleepy Tripp
1977: Mel Kenyon
1978: Rich Vogler
1979: Steve Lotshaw
1980: Rich Vogler
1981: Mel Kenyon
1982: Kevin Olson
1983: Rich Vogler
1984: Tom Bigelow
1985: Mel Kenyon
1986: Rich Vogler
1987: Kevin Olson
1988: Rich Vogler
1989: Russ Gamester
1990: Jeff Gordon
1991: Mike Streicher
1992: Stevie Reeves
1993: Stevie Reeves
1994: Tony Stewart
1995: Tony Stewart
1996: Kenny Irwin Jr.
1997: Jason Leffler
1998: Jason Leffler
1999: Jason Leffler
2000: Kasey Kahne
2001: Dave Darland
2002: Dave Darland
2003: J.J. Yeley
2004: Bobby East
2005: Josh Wise
2006: Jerry Coons, Jr.
2007: Jerry Coons, Jr.
2008: Cole Whitt
2009: Brad Kuhn
2010: Bryan Clauson (Overall) & Darren Hagen (Pavement)
2011: Bryan Clauson (Overall) & Darren Hagen (Pavement)
2012: Darren Hagen (Overall), Darren Hagen (Pavement) & Darren Hagen (Dirt)
2013: Darren Hagen (Pavement) & Christopher Bell (Dirt)
2014: Rico Abreu
2015: Tracy Hines