COONS IN ELITE COMPANY AS USAC WINNER IN 4 DECADES
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (May 6, 2020)………In the 65-year history of the United States Auto Club, there have been nine drivers who’ve won USAC-sanctioned feature races in four different decades.
One of the drivers in this illustrious group of nine, Jerry Coons Jr., is this Thursday night’s guest on episode 13 of USAC’s Thunder Relived, May 7 at 8pm Eastern on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dzkF8Y.
There’s Jerry, then there’s three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser (1968-75-81) who’s the only one to accomplish the feat as a USAC winner in five different decades, spanning from the 1956 at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb to 1993’s unique Fast Masters series from Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Continue down the path of this list and you’ll reach the only four drivers to win USAC National features in four different decades (Champ, Sprint & Midgets), four-time Indianapolis 500 victor A.J. Foyt, 1963 National Midget champ Bob Wente, 1971 Silver Crown titlist George Snider and 38-time USAC National winner Johnny Parsons.
Coons resides in the group who own Regional and National USAC wins as part of their victory streak through the decades. Coons won his first USAC feature event with the Arizona Midget Series during the 1987 season, then continued with four National victories in the 1990s (3 sprint, 1 midget), 28 in the 2000s, (15 sprint, 11 midget, 2 Silver Crown) and 11 in the 2010s (5 sprint, 5 Silver Crown, 1 Midget).
Joining Coons in this group are Mel Kenyon, Hank Butcher and Ralph Liguori. Kenyon scored a record 111 USAC National Midget career feature wins between the 1960s and 1980s, then was highly-successful with the Regional Midgets at the Indianapolis Speedrome in the early 1990s; plus Hank Butcher, a west coast standout who mixed National Midget success in the 1960s and 70s and remained highly competitive as a winner with the USAC Western States through the mid-1990s.
Meanwhile, Ralph Liguori’s USAC win record spans from a 1957 Eastern Sprint win at Pennsylvania’s legendary Langhorne Speedway to a 1992 USAC Regional Midget victory at the Indianapolis Speedrome along with three National Sprint scores in the 1960s and 70s before a winless drought in the 1980s halted his streak.
Coons is one of the most heralded and respected drivers in USAC history as one of six drivers in the history of the club to win National championships in Silver Crown (2008), Sprint (2008) and Midget (2006-07) during his career, earning the tagline of USAC Triple Crown champion.
In addition to those accolades, he was the 2007 USAC Super License champion, having accumulated more points than any other driver in National competition throughout the year.
On Thunder Relived, he will sit down with show hosts Richie Murray and Kirk Spridgeon to review two of his greatest, most thrilling USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car triumphs: the 2007 Western World Championships from Manzanita Speedway and the 2010 Tony Hulman Classic from the Terre Haute Action Track, which are among his 43 career victories in USAC National racing, which began with his first series start back in 1987.
On the show, Coons talks about his upbringing on the dirt tracks of Arizona such as Manzanita and Raven Raceway in his hometown of Tucson, and his emergence as one of the greatest racers in his discipline.
Thunder Relived will take you under the helmet and in-depth with USAC personalities past and present as we revisit all the thrills, spills and the greatest moments from USAC’s vast Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown video vault.
Stay tuned for more information regarding Thunder Relived on USAC’s website at www.usacracing.com, our social media channels at www.facebook.com/usacracing, www.twitter.com/usacnation and on Instagram @usacnation.
DRIVERS WHO HAVE WON USAC RACES IN AT LEAST 4 DECADES
(5) Bobby Unser
(4) A.J. Foyt
(4) Mel Kenyon
(4) Bob Wente
(4) Johnny Parsons
(4) George Snider
(4) Hank Butcher
(4) Ralph Liguori
(4) Jerry Coons Jr.