In celebration of the 50th year of USAC Silver Crown Champ Car racing in 2020, we are reviewing the past 49 years of series history.
1999 USAC SILVER CROWN SEASON REVIEW
Ryan Newman’s 1999 USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet title came after a season-long battle with Russ Gamester, who kept the pressure on until the final race.
“I knew it was going to be difficult to beat Russ,” admitted Newman. “He’d already been a USAC champion (1989 National Midget) and knew how to get there. This was something new for me and I knew we’d have a tough time. Just knowing I’m on the same page with A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Al Unser, though, is pretty significant.”
Newman opened the season with a fifth at Orlando and followed with a runner-up finish behind Brian Tyler at Phoenix. “We decided to go for wins right off the bat,” Newman said. “We felt we needed to build up a cushion to build momentum. We knew we had a winning car and team because we should have won a couple of races in 1998.”
Newman took over the point lead with his initial series triumph in the Coca-Cola 100 at IRP. That win and his subsequent victory at Gateway International Raceway helped his team gain the confidence needed to carry them through.
Then came a swing of dirt track races where most figured Gamester would have the edge. “We had to fight to survive on the dirt,” Newman said. “There were times when we weren’t sure we should be out there but there were actually races where we gained in the points, which surprised us.”
The Tony Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield in August was the first of two turning points for Newman and his team. He flipped during practice, had to bring out a backup car and had to run the qualifying race just to secure a feature starting spot. “That was a tough time,” Newman admitted.
The final turning point came on the final night of the season at Irwindale Speedway in California. “I really never felt comfortable until Irwindale,” Newman said. “Russ was always there, and we never really counted the championship as ours until the final night.”
Starting his career at the age of only four-and-a-half in quarter midgets, Newman quickly proved he’d be a contender, winning National Quarter Midget championship on the dirt at Lincoln, Ill. in 1986 and on the pavement at Pueblo, Colo. in 1988.
After 10 years in the small cars, he became crew chief for Midget driver David Bridges, then drove a full-size Midget in the All-American Midget Series in 1993. Not only did he score his first feature wins that year, he also won the AAMS title and Rookie of the Year honors and beat former champion Mike Streicher for the Michigan state title as well.
The following year, Newman competed in the Thunder in the Dome USAC invitational midget race at the RCA Dome in downtown Indianapolis as the youngest driver in the field at age 16. The next year, he finished third.
Newman campaigned the Fred Ede M & L Plumbing 1998 Drinan machine on the pavement, with additional sponsorship help from Welsch Heating & Cooling, and drove a Maxim – the first Maxim Silver Crown chassis ever built – on the dirt. The dirt car, purchased from Dennis McQuinn of Springfield, Ill. was the same car Johnny Parsons put on the pole at Springfield in 1995. Additional help during the season came from Gearheads Automobilia Diecast Collectibles, Simpson Race Products, Pennzoil, MPD Parts and Arizona Sports Shirts.
“I had a great team,” Newman said. “Steve and Richard Mueller were a big help, Steve acting as crew chief, as well as motor and chassis man, while Richard drove the truck and served as a tire specialist. Steve Marker also offered setup and mechanical assistance and Fred Ede Sr. and Jr. were the team managers. I also have to thank my mom Diane, dad Greg and sister Jamie for all they did,” he added.
Gamester remained in the title chase all season with top-10 finishes in the first 10 events, then encountered problems as the series wound down and was unable to continue the run of success in the final races.
Defending series champion Jason Leffler, like Newman, fought off an accident to claim a top-10 points finish, escaping from his flip into the first turn fence at the Indiana State Fairgrounds during practice in May with only a hand injury. He returned to win the series’ two debut events – at Nazareth Speedway in July and the series penultimate race at Irwindale Speedway in October.
Jack Hewitt added to his total of Silver Bullet race victories with his 22nd career triumph in the Sumar Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track in September, while Jimmy Sills remained atop the all-time series lap leaders list with victories in the Hulman-Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway and the Cal Expo State Fairgrounds in Sacramento.
Other series winners in 1999 included Mike Bliss in a 50-lapper at Walt Disney World Speedway which took two days to complete after rain halted the race after just five laps; Brian Tyler in a spectacular Copper World Classic 50-lapper at Phoenix, Tracy Hines with a series-record 133 mph-plus record average speed at Pikes Peak International Raceway; Dave Steele after a three-hour rain delay in the DuPont 100 at IRP; Dave Darland in the Tony Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield; Tony Elliott in the Southern Illinoisan 100 at Du Quoin and Brad Noffsinger in the finale at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Kenny Irwin Jr., who nearly won the 1996 series title, returned from his NASCAR schedule for four appearances and scored three second place finishes.
Drivers Dan Drinan and Kevin Bloomstran suffered burns in accidents at Orlando and Nazareth, respectively, but Drinan returned to racing and Bloomstran was on the road to recovery at season’s end.
Although rain played a part in the season’s drama, interrupting races at Orlando and IRP, the heat also took its toll with temperatures near 100 degrees at both Nazareth and Gateway. The Gateway event, though, produced some of the greatest racing ever witnessed in series history, featuring a record 16 lead changes.
Paul White was named the series Rookie of the Year while season finale winner Brad Noffsinger was tabbed as the Most Improved Driver for 1999.
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BLISS TAKES DISNEY WORLD SILVER BULLET OPENER
Orlando, Florida………Mike Bliss of Milwaukie, Ore. captured the opening race of the USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet series on January 24 at Walt Disney World Speedway, a race that actually took two days to complete.
Rain after just five laps forced a halt to Saturday’s scheduled event and the final 45 miles were conducted following Sunday’s TransWorld Diversified Services Indy 200 Indy Racing League opener.
“These cars are so much fun. We don’t run a track anything like this,” he said, referring to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. “I’m sure (Tony) Stewart and (Stevie) Reeves were champing at the bit watching this one.”
Bliss won the pole on Friday with a new track record of 135.150 mph in his True Value Chevy but lost the lead to Steele on the original start.
Two early crashes brought out red flags, one for a four-car accident which sent Dan Drinan of Indianapolis, Ind. to Orlando Regional Medical Center with second and third degree burns on his legs and arms. When the race resumed on Sunday, the final 45 miles were conducted under the green flag and before a large audience who stayed after the IRL race.
Dave Steele of Tampa, Fla., Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind., Robby Flock of Murrieta, Calif. and Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. rounded out the top-five. Rebel Jackson Jr., who was 18th, earned the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: January 22-24, 1999 – Orlando, Florida – Walt Disney World Speedway – Coors Light Silver Bullet 50
QUALIFYING: (Top-25 locked into the feature) 1. Mike Bliss, 111, Snider/Foyt-26.637; 2. Dave Steele, 2, Vance-26.791; 3. Kenny Irwin Jr., 28, Vance-26.902; 4. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-27.172; 5. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-27.218; 6. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-27.281; 7. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-27.348; 8. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-27.408; 9. Chuck Leary, 30, Leary-27.467; 10. Jason Leffler, 9, East-27.504; 11. Jimmy Sills, 11, Snider/Foyt-27.518; 12. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-27.551; 13. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-27.651; 14. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-27.669; 15. Dan Drinan, 333, Drinan-27.712; 16. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-27.752; 17. Kipp Beard, 19, Gratton-27.759; 18. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-27.774; 19. Chet Fillip, 777, Advanced-27.895; 20. Paul White, 100, Cook-27.917; 21. Rick Treadway, 97, Treadway-27.933; 22. Bentley Warren, 34, D & D-27.935; 23. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-27.948; 24. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-27.980; 25. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-27.984; 26. Jerry Coons Jr., 6, Potter-28.065; 27. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-28.307; 28. Derek Davidson, 62, Beaver-28.316; 29. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-28.353; 30. Joe Gosek, 99, Mucci-28.398; 31. Bill Baue, 78, B & G-28.484; 32. Bill Rose, 41, Bowen-28.529; 33. Doug Didero, 18, Conroy-28.579; 34. Bill Tyler, 3, Van Klompenburg-28.809; 35. Wayne Hammond, 88, Nowling-28.890; 36. Ken Woolley, 31, Mataka-28.916; 37. Greg Wilson, 63, Hampshire-28.917; 38. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-29.032; 39. Steve Surniak, 15, Lawson-29.164; 40. Kevin Bloomstran, 59, Westcon-29.708; 41. Kenneth Nichols, 72, Brown-30.186; 42. Dane Carter, 48, Irvin-NT; 43. Jimmy McCune, 36, McCune-NT; 44. Keith Butler, 54, Holbrook-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Rebel Jackson Jr., 2. Doug Didero, 3. Joe Gosek, 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Bill Baue, 6. Derek Davidson, 7. Ken Woolley, 8. Rick Treadway, 9. Steve Surniak, 10. Bill Rose, 11. Kevin Bloomstran, 12. Greg Wilson, 13. Jerry Coons Jr., 14. Bill Tyler, 15. Kenneth Nichols, 16. Brian Paulus, 17. Wayne Hammond, 18. Dane Carter. NT
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (1), 2. Dave Steele (2), 3. Russ Gamester (5), 4. Robby Flock (4), 5. Ryan Newman (12), 6. Brian Tyler (6), 7. Tracy Hines (8), 8. Jason Leffler (10), 9. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (7), 10. J.J. Yeley (22), 11. Chet Fillip (19), 12. Tony Elliott (27), 13. Todd Kane (18), 14. Brad Noffsinger (14), 15. Gary Hieber (16), 16. Dave Darland (23), 17. Derek Davidson (29), 18. Rebel Jackson Jr. (25), 19. Paul White (20), 20. Bill Baue (28), 21. Doug Didero (26), 22. Chuck Leary (9), 23. Jason McCord (13), 24. Kenny Irwin Jr. (3), 25. Jack Hewitt (24), 26. Ken Woolley (30), 27. Jimmy Sills (11), 28. Bentley Warren (21), 29. Kipp Beard (17), 30. Dan Drinan (15). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Dave Steele, Laps 22-25 Mike Bliss, Laps 26-31 Dave Steele, Laps 32-50 Mike Bliss.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Mike Bliss-63; 2-Dave Steele-60; 3-Russ Gamester-54; 4-Robby Flock-51; 5-Ryan Newman-48; 6-Brian Tyler-45; 7-Tracy Hines-42; 8-Jason Leffler-39; 9-Billy Puterbaugh Jr.-36; 10-J.J. Yeley-33.
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TYLER STARS AT COPPER WORLD
Avondale, Arizona………Brian Tyler of Parma, Mich. captured the 50-mile USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet race at Phoenix International Raceway, averaging 114.435 mph in his Hoffman Auto Racing Special.
He led 29 of the 50 laps to beat Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. and defending series champion Jason Leffler of Long Beach, Calif.
“It was wild,” commented Tyler after the race. When you’re running with drivers you trust, it’s fun to race wheel-to-wheel. At first, the motor was missing. That actually helped in the corners because I couldn’t bust the tires loose. But it also made me slow on the straights. This is a good start for us.”
Tyler started third and took the lead on the first lap from pole starter Dave Steele. Newman caught him on lap 14 and the two battled back and forth the rest of the race. Tyler finally took the lead for good on the 43rd lap and held on to claim the $17,317 first prize.
Rebel Jackson Jr. of Buckley, Wash. earned the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award for his 15th place finish.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: February 5-7, 1999 – Avondale, Arizona – Phoenix International Raceway – 22nd U.S. Tobacco Copper World Classic
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Dave Steele, 2, Vance-26.068; 2. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-26.133; 3. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-26.234; 4. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-26.236; 5. Jason Leffler, 9, East-26.263; 6. Bentley Warren, 34, D & D-26.359; 7. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-26.412; 8. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-26.460; 9. Stevie Reeves, 28, Vance-26.570; 10. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-26.575; 11. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-26.593; 12. Ken Hamilton, 90, Tyler-26.662; 13. Casey Diemert, 173, Diemert-26.669; 14. Paul White, 100, Cook-26.805; 15. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-26.811; 16. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-26.827; 17. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-26.833; 18. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-26.882; 19. Wally Pankratz, 94, Hart-26.883; 20. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-26.888; 21. Bill Baue, 78, B & G-26.891; 22. Rick Treadway, 82, Treadway-26.896; 23. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-26.971; 24. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-27.011; 25. Randy Anderson, 81, Bar-D-27.032; 26. Chet Fillip, 777, Advanced-27.035; 27. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-27.048; 28. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-27.054; 29. Derek Davidson, 62, Beaver-27.086; 30. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-27.118; 31. Rick Brown, 773, Diemert-27.168; 32. Greg Nelson, 112, Nelson-27.230; 33. Doug Didero, 18, Conroy-27.352; 34. Ray Evans, 85, Evans-27.374; 35. Tom DuPont Jr., 5, American Auctioneering-27.450; 36. Ronnie Day, 117, JR-27.608; 37. Mike Muldoon, 98, Gregg-27.639; 38. Don Powell, 122, Powell-27.654; 39. Johnny Parsons, 7, Wellington-27.670; 40. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-27.754; 41. Mike Ordway, 32, Kazmark-27.786; 42. Dane Carter, 48, Irvin-27.812; 43. Kevin Bloomstran, 59, Westcon-27.843; 44. Scott Hansen, 42, Robison-28.044; 45. Jimmy Hamilton, 53, Hamilton-28.119; 46. Kaylene Verville, 45, Pritchett-28.405; 47. Kenneth Nichols, 72, Brown-28.666; 48. Mike Adkins, 71, Adkins-28.937; 49. Davey Hamilton, 91, TRG-NT; 50. Don Carr, 84, Spivey-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. J.J. Yeley, 2. Rebel Jackson Jr., 3. Chet Fillip, 4. Jack Hewitt, 5. Derek Davidson, 6. Doug Didero, 7. Ronnie Day, 8. Greg Nelson, 9. Brian Paulus, 10. Ray Evans, 11. Kevin Bloomstran, 12. Mike Muldoon, 13. Scott Hansen, 14. Jimmy Hamilton, 15. Dane Carter, 16. Don Powell, 17. Kaylene Verville, 18. Davey Hamilton, 19. Rick Brown, 20. Tom DuPont Jr., 21. Mike Ordway, 22. Mike Adkins, 23. Johnny Parsons. NT
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brian Tyler (3), 2. Ryan Newman (4), 3. Jason Leffler (5), 4. Dave Steele (1), 5. Bentley Warren (6), 6. Jimmy Sills (7), 7. Russ Gamester (8), 8. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (10), 9. Todd Kane (15), 10. Brad Noffsinger (18), 11. Stevie Reeves (9), 12. J.J. Yeley (25), 13. Gary Hieber (16), 14. Jack Hewitt (28), 15. Rebel Jackson Jr. (26), 16. Dave Darland (17), 17. Rick Treadway (22), 18. Tony Elliott (24), 19. Jason McCord (11), 20. Ken Hamilton (12), 21. Tracy Hines (2), 22. Derek Davidson (29), 23. Bill Baue (21), 24. Wally Pankratz (19), 25. Chet Fillip (27), 26. Doug Didero (30), 27. Jay Drake (23), 28. Paul White (14), 29. Casey Diemert (13), 30. Robby Flock (20). 26:12.95
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Brian Tyler, Laps 14-28 Ryan Newman, Laps 29-36 Brian Tyler, laps 37-42 Ryan Newman, laps 43-50 Brian Tyler.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Dave Steele-114; 2-Brian Tyler-108; 3-Ryan Newman-105; 4-Russ Gamester-96; 5-Jason Leffler-93; 6-Billy Puterbaugh Jr.-75; 7-Mike Bliss-63; 8-Todd Kane-63; 9-J.J. Yeley-62; 10-Brad Noffsinger-58.
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NEWMAN WIRE-TO-WIRE AT IRP’S COCA-COLA 100
Clermont, Indiana………Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. scored his first-ever USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet feature victory in the Coca-Cola 100 at Indianapolis Raceway Park on May 22.
Driving the M & L Plumbing Special, he led all 100 laps after starting from the pole position.
Newman won at IRP by about five car lengths over runner-up Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind., who was also seeking his first Silver Bullet victory, Brian Tyler was third, followed by Russ Gamester and Pat Abold. The race was slowed by three cautions but there were no injuries in any of the incidents.
“There are always so many great teams in the Silver Bullet series,” said Newman after his win. “It was great to start on the pole and lead it all the way. We did our homework and that helped us prove ourselves in the race. Tracy (Hines, who was second) is always tough. He’s a lot like me. We work hard on our cars. I’ve thought about bagging my college education, but I can’t. I’ve got to look toward the future.”
Kipp Beard of Tampa, Fla. earned the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award for his 17th place finish.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: May 22, 1999 – Clermont, Indiana – Indianapolis Raceway Park – Coca-Cola 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-20.791; 2. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-20.829; 3. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-20.856; 4. Doug Didero, 18, Conroy-20.856; 5. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-20.871; 6. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-20.884; 7. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-20.917; 8. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-20.921; 9. Pat Abold, 28, Vance-20.927; 10. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-21.014; 11. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-21.101; 12. Derek Davidson, 62, Beaver-21.130; 13. Jason Leffler, 2, Vance-21.145; 14. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-21.154; 15. Kipp Beard, 19, Gratton-21.203; 16. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-21.213; 17. Chet Fillip, 777, Advanced-21.217; 18, Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-21.224; 19. Ken Hamilton, 90, Tyler-21.228; 20. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-21.233; 21. Dane Carter, 48, Irvin-21.252; 22. Jimmy McCune, 36, McCune-21.293; 23. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-21.296; 24. Bill Baue, 78, B & G-21.428; 25. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-21.470; 26. Mike Ordway, 32, Kazmark-21.525; 27. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-21.535; 28. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-21.586; 29. Bill Rose, 41, Bowen-21.609; 30. Tim Cox, 83, Sohm-21.623; 31. Paul White, 100, Cook-21.637; 32. Keith Butler, 54, Holbrook-21.714; 33. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-21.831; 34. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-21.854; 35. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-22.007; 36. Bill Tyler, 3, Van Klompenburg-22.011; 37. Rick Treadway, 82, Treadway-22.069; 38. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-22.137; 39. Robin Bank, 72, Brown-22.737; 40. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-22.848; 41. John Heydenreich, 31 Mataka-22.891; 42. Randy Bateman, 55, Bateman-22.943; 43. Steve Surniak, 15, Lawson-23.221; 44. Lorne Banks, 16, Logan-23.855; 45. Jason Leffler, 9, East-NT; 46. Ronnie Day, 117, JR-NT; 47. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-NT. (NOTE: Brad Armstrong also in car #69).
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Dane Carter, 3. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 4. Paul White, 5. J.J. Yeley, 6. John Heydenreich, 7. Rebel Jackson Jr., 8. Rich Tobias Jr., 9. Brian Paulus, 10. Robin Bank, 11. Steve Surniak, 12. Rick Treadway, 13. Bill Rose. NT
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Jimmy McCune, 2. Bill Baue, 3. Mike Ordway, 4. Bill Tyler, 5. Tim Cox, 6. Keith Butler, 7. Tom Capie, 8. Daryl Daugherty, 9. Randy Bateman, 10. Lorne Banks, 11. Craig Dori, 12. Todd Kane. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Newman (1), 2. Tracy Hines (5), 3. Brian Tyler (14), 4. Russ Gamester (7), 5. Pat Abold (9), 6. Robby Flock (20), 7. Jason McCord (16), 8. Tony Elliott (8), 9. Doug Didero (4), 10. Derek Davidson (12), 11. Chet Fillip (17), 12. Jack Hewitt (21), 13. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (25), 14. Bentley Warren (18), 15. J.J. Yeley (29), 16. Gary Hieber (2), 17. Kipp Beard (15), 18. Ken Hamilton (19), 19. Jimmy McCune (22), 20. Dane Carter (23), 21. Mike Ordway (26), 22. Bill Tyler (28), 23. Tim Cox (30), 24. Jay Drake (11), 25. Brad Noffsinger (10), 26. Jason Leffler (#2) (13), 27. Paul White (27), 28. Dave Darland (3), 29. Jimmy Sills (6), 30. Bill Baue (24). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Ryan Newman.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-171; 2-Brian Tyler-162; 3-Russ Gamester-147; 4-Dave Steele-114; 5-Tracy Hines-111; 6-Billy Puterbaugh Jr.-102; 7-Jason Leffler-100; 8-Robby Flock-99; 9-Tony Elliott-85; 10-J.J. Yeley-85.
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FOYT’S HULMAN-HOOSIER HUNDRED TO SILLS
Indianapolis, Indiana………Jimmy Sills of Placerville, Calif. captured A.J. Foyt’s True Value Hulman-Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on May 28 before a crowd of about 9,000.
Sills, a three-time champion of USAC’s Coors Light Silver Bullet series, led 66 of the 100 laps around the one-mile dirt oval, driving the True Value Chevy owned by Foyt and George Snider. Sills beat runner-up Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. by just over a car length. Sills also won the pole starting position at a speed of 114.260 mph.
“When the boss man is here (referring to Foyt), you have to perform,” said Sills in victory lane. “But if we hadn’t had the red flag, it would have been hard to recover.”
Dave Darland had passed Sills on lap 17 and led through lap 50 but lost an engine and retired from competition. Sills’ crew made some changes to the car and he was able to lead the final 50 laps.
The race was red flagged on lap 52 when Kevin Thomas of Danville, Ind. hit the turn one wall and flipped. He was taken to Indianapolis’ Methodist Hospital for a precautionary check, then released.
Trailing Sills and Gamester at the checkered flag were Robby Flock, series point leader Ryan Newman and 1997 race winner Chuck Leary. Derek Davidson, J.J. Yeley, Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race Paul White, Greg Wilson and Brad Noffsinger rounded out the top-ten.
Defending Coors Light Silver Bullet champion Jason Leffler also flipped during practice and was also taken to Methodist Hospital for a wrist injury, then released.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: May 28, 1999 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Indiana State Fairgrounds – A.J. Foyt’s True Value Hulman-Hoosier Hundred
QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-31.507; 2. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-31.587; 3. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-31.673; 4. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-31.673; 5. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-31.867; 6. Chuck Leary, 30, Leary-31.880; 7. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-32.183; 8. Kevin Thomas, 12, Galas-32.187; 9. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-32.241; 10. Ron Smoker, 123, Parker-32.291; 11. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-32.507; 12. Derek Davidson, 62, Beaver-32.521; 13. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-32.546; 14. Randy Bateman, 55, Bateman-32.732; 15. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-32.761; 16. Johnny Parsons, 24, LeFevre-32.815; 17. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-32.960; 18. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-33.035; 19. Dean Franklin, 83, Sohm-33.053; 20. Jimmy Stinson, 76, Westfall-33.176; 21. Bill Rose, 41, Bowen-33.274; 22. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-33.278; 23. Paul White, 100, Cook-33.315; 24. Brett Mann, 44, Tyler-33.487; 25. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-33.493; 26. Kevin Doty, 50, Aviators-33.724; 27. Greg Wilson, 63, Hampshire-33.745; 28. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-33.904; 29. Mike Mosley Jr., 33, Faurote-33.995; 30. Terry Babb, 49, Babb-34.002; 31. Chet Fillip, 72, Brown-34.332; 32. Tom Davies, 68, Davies-35.103; 33. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-54.061; 34. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-NT; 35. Jason Leffler, 9, East-NT; 36. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-NT; 37. Rocky Hodges, 97, SC-NT; 38. Dana Laliberte, 70, Laliberte-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-11 transfer to the feature) 1. Tom Capie, 2. Paul White, 3. Gary Hieber, 4. Bill Rose, 5. Kevin Doty, 6. Greg Wilson, 7. Chet Fillip, 8. Todd Kane, 9. Brad Noffsinger, 10. Terry Babb, 11. Tom Davies, 12. Mike Mosley Jr., 13. Tracy Hines. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jimmy Sills (1), 2. Russ Gamester (4), 3. Robby Flock (17), 4. Ryan Newman (9), 5. Chuck Leary (6), 6. Derek Davidson (12), 7. J.J. Yeley (13), 8. Paul White (22), 9. Greg Wilson (26), 10. Brad Noffsinger (28), 11. Dean Franklin (19), 12. Tom Capie (21), 13. Gary Hieber (23), 14. Ron Smoker (10), 15. Tony Elliott (5), 16. Randy Bateman (14), 17. Dave Darland (2), 18. Kevin Thomas (8), 19. Jack Hewitt (7), 20. Bill Rose (24), 21. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (15), 22. Kevin Doty (25), 23. Rich Tobias Jr. (18), 24. Brian Tyler (11), 25. Jay Drake (3), 26. Johnny Parsons (16), 27. Jimmy Stinson (20), 28. Todd Kane (27), 29. Tom Davies (30), 30. Terry Babb (29). NT
**Jimmy Stinson and Kevin Thomas flipped during the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Jimmy Sills, Laps 17-50 Dave Darland, Laps 51-100 Jimmy Sills.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-222; 2-Russ Gamester-204; 3-Brian Tyler-171; 4-Robby Flock-153; 5-J.J. Yeley-127; 6-Jimmy Sills-121; 7-Billy Puterbaugh Jr.-114; 8-Dave Steele-114; 9-Tracy Hines-111; 10-Derek Davidson-108.
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HINES AVERAGES RECORD 133.164 IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN CLASSIC WIN
Fountain, Colorado………Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind. captured the Rocky Mountain Classic at Pikes Peak International Raceway on June 27, leading 93 of the 100 laps, averaging an all-time series record 133.164 mph in his Indiana Underground Construction Special.
The win was Hines’ first in the series and vaulted him to fourth in the new series standings. The win was worth $17,600 out of a total purse of $88,142.
“The car was fast right out of the trailer,” admitted Hines in PPIR’s victory lane. “We changed nothing. I knew if we could stick to our game plan, we would be in good shape.”
Series point leader Ryan Newman closed late in the race, but Hines worked traffic to his advantage.
“Once we got out of traffic, it freed up the car again and I was okay. I was hoping we wouldn’t have any yellows and we didn’t.”
Twenty-two of the 30 starters were still running at the checkered flag in the race which sported no yellows. Hines led the opening lap and Jason Leffler led the next seven before Hines returned to the front of the pack for good.
Newman’s runner-up finish enabled him to extend his point lead over Russ Gamester to 33. Rick Treadway, who finished 11th, earned the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award.
Trailing Hines and Newman in the 100-miler were Jack Hewitt, Brian Tyler and Chet Fillip. Pole winner Dave Steele, who qualified at 140.718 mph of Saturday, failed to finish the race, dropping out after 74 miles with handling problems.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 26-27, 1999 – Fountain, Colorado – Pikes Peak International Raceway – Rocky Mountain Classic
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Dave Steele, 111, Snider/Foyt-25.583; 2. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-25.631; 3. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-25.669; 4. Jason Leffler, 9, East-25.747; 5. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-25.768; 6. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-25.822; 7. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-25.825; 8. Jimmy Sills, 11, Snider/Foyt-25.837; 9. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-25.866; 10. Chet Fillip, 777, Advanced-25.917; 11. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-25.975; 12. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-25.991; 13. Jimmy McCune, 36, McCune-26.038; 14. Dan Drinan, 117, JR-26.046; 15. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-26.066; 16. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-26.083; 17. Paul White, 100, Cook-26.092; 18. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-26.097; 19. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-26.201; 20. Pat Abold, 2, Vance-26.208; 21. Rick Brown, 773, Diemert-26.210; 22. Doug Didero, 18, Conroy-26.235; 23. Rick Treadway, 82, Treadway-26.288; 24. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-26.349; 25. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-26.353; 26. Brian Gerster, 62, Beaver-26.451; 27. Ken Hamilton, 90, Tyler-26.650; 28. Wally Pankratz, 94, Hart-26.685; 29. Greg Nelson, 112, Nelson-26.858; 30. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-26.867; 31. Ricky Shelton, 98, Gregg-26.935; 32. Dane Carter, 48, Irvin-26.959; 33. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-27.004; 34. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-27.066; 35. Bill Tyler, 3, Van Klompenburg-27.113; 36. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-27.216; 37. Gary Irvin, 148, Irvin-27.590; 38. Jimmy Hamilton, 53, Hamilton-27.624; 39. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-28.133; 40. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-28.365; 41. Mark Monico, 26, Espindola-28.911; 42. Kevin Doty, 50, Aviators-29.037; 43. Robin Bank, 72, Brown-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Bentley Warren, 2. Wally Pankratz, 3. Tony Elliott, 4. Ken Hamilton, 5. Daryl Daugherty, 6. Ricky Shelton, 7. Brian Gerster, 8. Rebel Jackson Jr., 9. Dane Carter, 10. Greg Nelson, 11. Brian Paulus, 12. Jimmy Hamilton, 13. Bill Tyler, 14. Craig Dori, 15. Gary Irvin, 16. Mark Monico, 17. Todd Kane, 18. Kevin Doty. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tracy Hines (2), 2. Ryan Newman (3), 3. Jack Hewitt (9), 4. Brian Tyler (5), 5. Chet Fillip (10), 6. Dave Darland (15), 7. Russ Gamester (6), 8. Bentley Warren (25), 9. Jay Drake (18), 10. Jason McCord (12), 11. Rick Treadway (23), 12. J.J. Yeley (24), 13. Pat Abold (20), 14. Doug Didero (22), 15. Daryl Daugherty (29), 16. Rick Brown (21), 17. Jimmy McCune (13), 18. Tony Elliott (27), 19. Paul White (17), 20. Dan Drinan (14), 21. Wally Pankratz (26), 22. Ricky Shelton (30), 23. Dave Steele (1), 24. Gary Hieber (16), 25. Brad Noffsinger (11), 26. Robby Flock (7), 27. Jason Leffler (4), 28. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (19), 29. Ken Hamilton (28), 30. Jimmy Sills (8). 45:03.44
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Tracy Hines, Laps 2-8 Jason Leffler, Laps 9-100 Tracy Hines.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-279; 2-Russ Gamester-246; 3-Brian Tyler-222; 4-Tracy Hines-174; 5-Robby Flock-160; 6-J.J. Yeley-156; 7-Jack Hewitt-131; 8-Dave Steele-127; 9-Tony Elliott-125; 10-Jimmy Sills-124.
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LEFFLER TOPS NAZARETH SILVER BULLET FIELD
Nazareth, Pennsylvania………Jason Leffler of Long Beach, Calif. became the sixth winner in six USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet races in 1999 by winning the 100-mile race at Nazareth Speedway on July 17.
Leffler started alongside pole winner Jimmy Sills but trailed him through the first 43 laps. When Sills’ car started overheating on lap 44, Leffler took command and led the rest of the distance in his Team ASE/Beast/Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports Special despite late-race pressure from Sills’ teammate, Mike Bliss, who finished second. Chuck Leary, Brian Tyler and Pennsylvania’s Gary Hieber rounded out the top-five at the checkered flag.
“My car was tight early,” said Leffler after the race, “then the tires wore out and everything got warmed up and the car got pretty loose at the end. I just made sure we kept the car straight and didn’t burn the tires off. My crew kept telling me Bliss was catching me, so it was time to go and not worry about the tires.”
Series point leader Ryan Newman was also a victim of the oppressive heat, with temperatures near 100. His car overheated after 60 laps, and although he failed to finish the race, he retained the point lead by 11 points over Russ Gamester, who finished 10th.
Rebel Jackson Jr. earned the race’s Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award for his sixth-place finish.
Eric Gordon of Greenfield, Ind. won the 15-mile qualifying race, during which Johnny Parsons of Indianapolis, Ind. hit the wall. Parsons was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown, Pa. for a precautionary check. He suffered leg and rib contusions and was treated and released.
There was no time or speed for the 100-mile race due to a red flag which flew on lap 30 after Kevin Bloomstran of Cincinnati, Ohio stopped on the backstretch. A rear brake rotor damaged his fuel cell, which caused a fuel leak leading to a fire which consumed the brake lines and invaded the cockpit area. He was taken to the Lehigh Valley Hospital Burn Center in Allentown. He was awake and alert and was listed in stable condition. He is expected to remain at Lehigh Valley Hospital for several weeks to undergo burn treatments.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: July 16-17, 1999 – Nazareth, Pennsylvania – Nazareth Speedway
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Jimmy Sills, 11, Snider/Foyt-26.630; 2. Jason Leffler, 9, East-26.685; 3. Mike Bliss, 111, Snider/Foyt-26.690; 4. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-26.867; 5. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-26.971; 6. Chuck Leary, 30, Leary-27.009; 7. John Heydenreich, 99, Mucci-27.011; 8. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-27.019; 9. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-27.126; 10. Dave Steele, 92, Hoerner-27.127; 11. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-27.171; 12. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-27.200; 13. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-27.207; 14. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-27.208; 15. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-27.260; 16. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-27.388; 17. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-27.393; 18. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-27.409; 19. Kipp Beard, 19, Gratton-27.490; 20. Chet Fillip, 777, Advanced-27.498; 21. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-27.515; 22. Paul White, 100, Cook-27.559; 23. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-27.657; 24. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-27.742; 25. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-27.772; 26. Eric Gordon, 18, Conroy-27.774; 27. Johnny Parsons, 3, Van Klompenburg-27.828; 28. Jimmy McCune, 36, McCune-28.022; 29. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-28.041; 30. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-28.102; 31. Ken Woolley, 31, Mataka-28.300; 32. Keith Butler, 54, Holbrook-28.516; 33. Kevin Doty, 50, Aviators-28.711; 34. Kevin Bloomstran, 59, Westcon-28.830; 35. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-28.857; 36. Dana Laliberte, 70, Laliberte-NT; 37. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-NT; 38. Rick Treadway, 82, Treadway-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Eric Gordon, 2. Tom Capie, 3. Jack Hewitt, 4. Jimmy McCune, 5. Rich Tobias Jr., 6. Kevin Bloomstran, 7. Tony Elliott, 8. Daryl Daugherty, 9. Dana Laliberte, 10. Kevin Doty, 11. Keith Butler, 12. Johnny Parsons. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jason Leffler (2), 2. Mike Bliss (3), 3. Chuck Leary (6), 4. Brian Tyler (4), 5. Gary Hieber (5), 6. Rebel Jackson Jr. (8), 7. J.J. Yeley (14), 8. Chet Fillip (20), 9. Brad Noffsinger (15), 10. Russ Gamester (17), 11. Paul White (22), 12. Eric Gordon (25), 13. Jack Hewitt (27), 14. Jason McCord (23), 15. Jimmy McCune (28), 16. Bentley Warren (24), 17. Jay Drake (9), 18. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (21), 19. Dave Darland (12), 20. Kipp Beard (19), 21. Tracy Hines (11), 22. Ryan Newman (13), 23. Brian Paulus (16), 24. Jimmy Sills (1), 25. Robby Flock (18), 26. Rich Tobias Jr. (29), 27. Tom Capie (26), 28. Kevin Bloomstran (30), 29. John Heydenreich (7), 30. Dave Steele (10). NT
**Johnny Parsons crashed on the fourth lap of the qualifying race and was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital for a precautionary check.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-43 Jimmy Sills, Laps 44-100 Jason Leffler.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-290; 2-Russ Gamester-279; 3-Brian Tyler-273; 4-J.J. Yeley-198; 5-Tracy Hines-186; 6-Jason Leffler-169; 7-Robby Flock-168; 8-Jack Hewitt-158; 9-Chet Fillip-157; 10-Gary Hieber-155.
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RECORD 16 LEAD CHANGES AS NEWMAN BEATS IRWIN AT GATEWAY
Madison, Illinois………Coors Light Silver Bullet series point leader Ryan Newman fought off a determined bid from NASCAR veteran Kenny Irwin Jr. to win the 100-mile Shop ‘N Save 100 at Gateway International Raceway on July 30. It was Newman’s second victory in the 1999 Silver Bullet season.
Newman traded the lead back and forth with Irwin until lap 70 when he went to the front in his Welsch Heating & Air Conditioning/M & L Plumbing/VHT Special. He then led the final 11 laps of the 80-lap, 100-mile contest on the demanding 1.25-mile paved oval to claim a winner’s check of $17,680 from the $87,663 purse. In all, there were a series record 16 lead changes.
“It’s kind of like Earnhardt at Talladega,” said Newman in victory lane after the race ran in 96-degree heat. “I knew it’s best to be out front. My spotter told me to push the pedal late, so I did. Basically, you have to run where the other cars aren’t to do well here. The heat was miserable. After today’s heat (over 100 degrees during qualifying), tonight’s race was a piece of cake.”
Leffler led the first five laps of the Gateway race, then encountered handling problems with his car and retired from competition 14 laps from the finish. As a result, he has slipped to 10th in the new standings.
Trailing Newman and Irwin to the checkered were pole winner Jack Hewitt, who qualified at 140.981 mph, Gary Hieber and Tracy Hines. Russ Gamester, who was sixth, trails Newman by 29 points in the series standings.
Paul White, who finished 15th, earned the race’s Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: July 30, 1999 – Madison, Illinois – Gateway International Raceway
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-31.919; 2. Chuck Leary, 30, Leary-32.015; 3. Jason Leffler, 9, East-32.074; 4. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-32.126; 5. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-32.162; 6. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-32.175; 7. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-32.238; 8. Kenny Irwin Jr., 2, Vance-32.309; 9. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-32.369; 10. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-32.371; 11. Chet Fillip, 777, Advanced-32.414; 12. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-32.421; 13. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-32.514; 14. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-32.562; 15. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-32.581; 16. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-32.629; 17. Jimmy McCune, 36, McCune-32.747; 18. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-32.768; 19. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-32.844; 20. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-32.858; 21. Brian Gerster, 62, Beaver-32.924; 22. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-33.005; 23. Paul White, 100, Cook-33.032; 24. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-33.078; 25. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-33.140; 26. J.J. Yeley, 98, Gregg-33.342; 27. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-33.676; 28. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-33.735; 29. Randy Bateman, 96, T & D-34.091; 30. Keith Butler, 54, Holbrook-34.095; 31. Robin Bank, 72, Brown-34.387; 32. Eric Gordon, 18, Conroy-34.533; 33. Steve Surniak, 15, Lawson-34.908; 34. Ricky Logan, 16, Logan-NT; 35. Brad Armstrong, 8, Wallace-NT; 36. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-NT; 37. Dana Laliberte, 70, Laliberte-NT; 38. Rick Treadway, 50, Aviators-NT; 39. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-NT. (NOTE: Stevie Reeves also in car #98)
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Jay Drake, 2. J.J. Yeley (#98), 3. Tom Capie, 4. Keith Butler, 5. Rich Tobias Jr., 6. Randy Bateman, 7. Eric Gordon, 8. Robin Bank, 9. Steve Surniak. 8:21.53
FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Newman (6), 2. Kenny Irwin Jr. (8), 3. Jack Hewitt (1), 4. Gary Hieber (18), 5. Tracy Hines (5), 6. Russ Gamester (7), 7. Bentley Warren (15), 8. Brad Noffsinger (12), 9. Jimmy McCune (17), 10. Dave Darland (20), 11. Robby Flock (14), 12. Todd Kane (19), 13. Chuck Leary (2), 14. Brian Gerster (21), 15. Paul White (23), 16. Tony Elliott (4), 17. Tom Capie (27), 18. Rebel Jackson Jr. (16), 19. J.J. Yeley (26), 20. Brian Paulus (9), 21. Jason Leffler (3), 22. Brian Tyler (13), 23. Randy Bateman (30), 24. Chet Fillip (11), 25. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (24), 26. Rich Tobias Jr. (29), 27. Keith Butler (28), 28. Jimmy Sills (10), 29. Jason McCord (22), 30. Jay Drake (25). 59:46.88
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Jason Leffler, Laps 6-8 Ryan Newman, Lap 9 Kenny Irwin Jr., Laps 10-11 Ryan Newman, Laps 12-15 Kenny Irwin Jr., Laps 16-17 Ryan Newman, Laps 18-20 Kenny Irwin Jr., Laps 21-27 Ryan Newman, Laps 28-30 Kenny Irwin Jr., Laps 31-39 Ryan Newman, Lap 40 Kenny Irwin Jr., Laps 41-57 Ryan Newman, Laps 58-65 Kenny Irwin Jr., Laps 66-69 Ryan Newman, Lap 70 Kenny Irwin Jr., Laps 71-80 Ryan Newman.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-353; 2-Russ Gamester-324; 3-Brian Tyler-284; 4-Tracy Hines-234; 5-Jack Hewitt-215; 6-J.J. Yeley-213; 7-Gary Hieber-206; 8-Robby Flock-199; 9-Brad Noffsinger-182; 10-Jason Leffler-181.
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STEELE TOPS FIELD IN IRP’S DuPONT 100
Clermont, Indiana………Dave Steele of Tampa, Fla. captured the DuPont 100 at Indianapolis Raceway Park on August 4, the opening event of IRP’s Kroger Speedfest. He led the final 42 laps of the USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet race in his Hoerner Chevy to beat Kenny Irwin Jr. and pole starter Chuck Leary to the checkered flag.
The win was Steele’s first in the 1999 series and Irwin’s second-place finish was his second in five days, having also finished second to Ryan Newman on July 30 at Gateway.
Newman, the series point leader, finished fourth, followed by points runner-up Russ Gamester.
The race was delayed nearly three hours by rain after Leary had established a new one-lap qualifying record of 119.442 mph during qualifying.
Steele’s paycheck amounted to $9,700 out of a total purse of $58,629. Brian Paulus, who finished 14th, earned the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 4, 1999 – Clermont, Indiana – Indianapolis Raceway Park – DuPont 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Chuck Leary, 30, Leary-20.676; 2. Kenny Irwin Jr., 2, Vance-20.775; 3. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-20.921; 4. Dave Steele, 92, Hoerner-20.939; 5. Jason Leffler, 9, East-20.952; 6. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-20.985; 7. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-21.032; 8. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-21.090; 9. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-21.101; 10. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-21.102; 11. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-21.116; 12. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-21.118; 13. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-21.147; 14. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-21.168; 15. Paul White, 100, Cook-21.192; 16. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-21.194; 17. Jimmy Sills, 11, Snider/Foyt-21.205; 18. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-21.218; 19. Chet Fillip, 777, Advanced-21.245; 20. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-21.253; 21. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-21.340; 22. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-21.355; 23. Mike Bliss, 111, Snider/Foyt-21.370; 24. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-21.372; 25. Jimmy McCune, 36, McCune-21.375; 26. Eric Gordon, 18, Conroy-21.383; 27. Rick Treadway, 82, Treadway-21.385; 28. Dane Carter, 48, Carter-21.447; 29. Mike Ordway, 32, Kazmark-21.455; 30. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-21.468; 31. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-21.495; 32. Brian Gerster, 62, Beaver-21.694; 33. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-21.716; 34. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-21.732; 35. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-21.821; 36. Bill Baue, 78, B & G-21.908; 37. Keith Butler, 54, Holbrook-21.952; 38. Randy Bateman, 96, T & D-22.187; 39. Billy Whittaker, 47, Paternoster-22.223; 40. Robin Bank, 72, Brown-22.328; 41. A.J. Smith, 15, Lawson-23.572; 42. Mike Schuyler, 68, Hale-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-10 transfer to the feature) 1. Mike Bliss, 2. Jimmy McCune, 3. Jason McCord, 4. Bentley Warren, 5. Eric Gordon, 6. Brian Paulus, 7. Dane Carter, 8. Rick Treadway, 9. Rich Tobias Jr., 10. Brian Gerster, 11. Todd Kane, 12. Billy Whittaker, 13. Bill Baue, 14. Robin Bank, 15. A.J. Smith, 16. Daryl Daugherty, 17. Randy Bateman, 18. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 19. Mike Ordway, 20. Robby Flock, 21. Keith Butler. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Steele (4), 2. Kenny Irwin Jr. (2), 3. Chuck Leary (1), 4. Ryan Newman (3), 5. Russ Gamester (7), 6. Jack Hewitt (8), 7. Gary Hieber (12), 8. Jason Leffler (5), 9. Tracy Hines (11), 10. Jay Drake (9), 11. Mike Bliss (21), 12. Bentley Warren (24), 13. Dave Darland (13), 14. Brian Paulus (26), 15. Rebel Jackson Jr. (10), 16. Eric Gordon (25), 17. Chet Fillip (19), 18. Jason McCord (23), 19. J.J. Yeley (16), 20. Brad Noffsinger (6), 21. Jimmy Sills (17), 22. Rick Treadway (28), 23. Rich Tobias Jr. (29), 24. Brian Gerster (30), 25. Tony Elliott (18), 26. Tom Capie (20), 27. Brian Tyler (14), 28. Jimmy McCune (22), 29. Dane Carter (27), 30. Paul White (15). 41:00.18
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Chuck Leary, Laps 9-58 Kenny Irwin Jr., Laps 59-100 Dave Steele.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-404; 2-Russ Gamester-372; 3-Brian Tyler-290; 4-Tracy Hines-270; 5-Jack Hewitt-260; 6-Gary Hieber-248; 7-J.J. Yeley-228; 8-Jason Leffler-220; 9-Bentley Warren-209; 10-Robby Flock-119.
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DARLAND TAKES SPRINGFIELD’S TONY BETTENHAUSEN 100
Springfield, Illinois………Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. captured the Tony Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on August 21, leading the final 77 laps of the 100-mile race in his Franklin Power Products/Delco Remy Special.
Darland passed Tony Elliott of Kokomo, Ind. on the 24th lap and was never again headed. Elliott originally finished second but was penalized one position for jumping the final restart of the race and had to settle for third behind runner-up Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind. Defending race winner Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. was fourth and Jack Hewitt of Troy, Ohio was fifth.
“It feels better this time,” Darland said after his second victory in the race. “In 1997, I was sick here. At the end of the race, my tires were like brand new. If I knew they’d be that good, I would have driven harder. Elliott was better going into the corners, but we were better coming off and I knew that would help as the race wore on.”
Gamester’s fourth place finish enabled him to close to within just 12 points of Coors Light Silver Bullet point leader Ryan Newman, who flipped during practice, then climbed into his backup car and finished 11th.
Bill Rose, who earned his first career pole, finished ninth, and Rich Tobias Jr., who finished 13th, was named the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 21, 1999 – Springfield, Illinois – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Tony Bettenhausen 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-21 locked into the feature) 1. Bill Rose, 62, Beaver-31.768; 2. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-31.782; 3. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-31.859; 4. Eric Gordon, 41, Bowen-32.391; 5. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-32.391; 6. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-32.396; 7. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-32.400; 8. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-32.420; 9. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-32.450; 10. Robby Flock, 61, Howard-32.450; 11. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-32.465; 12. Chuck Leary, 30, Leary-32.471; 13. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-32.576; 14. Cary Faas, 12, Galas-32.724; 15. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-32.743; 16. Randy Bateman, 55, Bateman-32.746; 17. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-32.747; 18. Ron Smoker, 123, Parker-32.809; 19. Jason Leffler, 9, East-33.104; 20. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-33.143; 21. Terry Babb, 49, Babb-33.203; 22. Paul White, 100, Cook-33.251; 23. Rocky Hodges, 97, SC-33.274; 24. Dave Steele, 92, Hoerner-33.279; 25. Ryan Newman, 114, Newman-33.286; 26. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-33.634; 27. Dean Franklin, 83, Sohm-33.678; 28. Donnie Lehmann, 46, Egan-33.800; 29. Kevin Doty, 50, Aviators-33.851; 30. Rick Treadway, 32, Kazmark-34.324; 31. Scott Hatton, 79, Hatton-34.406; 32. Dane Carter, 48, Irvin-34.573; 33. Billy Molkenbur, 116, Logan-34.914; 34. Lou Burmeister, 95, Burmeister-35.668; 35. Ronnie Franklin, 93, Franklin-37.642; 36. Tom Davies, 168, Davies-38.292; 37. Dana Laliberte, 70, Laliberte-NT; 38. Donnie Beechler, 16, Logan-NT; 39. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-NT; 40. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-NT; 41. Chet Fillip, 72, Brown-NT; 42. Jimmy Stinson, 76, Westfall-NT; 43. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-10 transfer to the feature) 1. Rich Tobias Jr., 2. Dave Steele, 3. Rocky Hodges, 4. Ryan Newman, 5. Dean Franklin, 6. Kevin Doty, 7. Dane Carter, 8. Scott Hatton, 9. Donnie Lehmann, 10. Rick Treadway, 11. Craig Dori, 12. Billy Molkenbur, 13. Lou Burmeister, 14. Ronnie Franklin, 15. Chet Fillip, 16. Jimmy Stinson, 17. Tom Davies. 8:09.39
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Darland (3), 2. Tracy Hines (10), 3. Tony Elliott (2), 4. Russ Gamester (6), 5. Jack Hewitt (8), 6. Jimmy Sills (19), 7. Chuck Leary (11), 8. Brian Tyler (16), 9. Bill Rose (1), 10. Jason Leffler (18), 11. Ryan Newman (24), 12. Cary Faas (13), 13. Rich Tobias Jr. (21), 14. Eric Gordon (4), 15. Tom Capie (14), 16. J.J. Yeley (7), 17. Donnie Lehmann (29), 18. Dean Franklin (25), 19. Dane Carter (27), 20. Ron Smoker (17), 21. Jay Drake (5), 22. Robby Flock (9), 23. Scott Hatton (28), 24. Kevin Doty (26), 25. Dave Steele (22), 26. Rick Treadway (30), 27. Rocky Hodges (23), 28. Todd Kane (12), 29. Terry Babb (20), 30. Randy Bateman (15). 1:05:28.403
**Ryan Newman flipped during practice.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-23 Tony Elliott, Laps 24-100 Dave Darland.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-435; 2-Russ Gamester-423; 3-Brian Tyler-329; 4-Tracy Hines-327; 5-Jack Hewitt-308; 6-Jason Leffler-253; 7-Dave Darland-249; 8-J.J. Yeley-249; 9-Gary Hieber-248; 10-Chuck Leary-239.
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ELLIOTT WINS Du QUOIN’S SOUTHERN ILLINOISAN 100
Du Quoin, Illinois………It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Tony Elliott after his victory in the Southern Illinoisan 100 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on Labor Day.
“We were fast all day and we keep getting better and better. This is fun,” Elliott exclaimed.
Elliott led the final 61 miles of the USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet race on the one-mile dirt oval in his Centennial Sales/Columbus Container/Moody Auto Special. He started fourth and caught early leader Eric Gordon on the 40th lap, then held off a determined Dave Darland in the closing laps. Gordon took third, ahead of defending race winner Jimmy Sills and Brian Tyler.
The 100-miler was interrupted by two red flags and one yellow. Chuck Leary clipped the outside wall in turn two on the 26th lap and overturned, then Billy Puterbaugh Jr.’s car erupted in flames on the 83rd lap and stopped in turn one. Neither driver was injured. Jack Hewitt also spun while running third on lap 90.
Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. passed Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. for the series point lead. Gamester was seventh and Newman 13th at Du Quoin and Gamester emerged with a three-point lead.
Rich Tobias Jr. earned the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award for his 11th place finish.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 6, 1999 – Du Quoin, Illinois – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Southern Illinoisan 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-30.728; 2. Eric Gordon, 41, Bowen-30.810; 3. Chuck Gurney, 9, East-30.990; 4. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-31.550; 5. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-31.620; 6. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-31.719; 7. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-31.763; 8. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-31.777; 9. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-31.836; 10. Chuck Leary, 30, Leary-31.886; 11. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-31.997; 12. Randy Bateman, 55, Bateman-32.012; 13. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-32.114; 14. Donnie Lehmann, 46, Egan-32.170; 15. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-32.219; 16. Bill Rose, 62, Beaver-32.278; 17. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-32.376; 18. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-32.392; 19. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-32.399; 20. Donnie Beechler, 16, Logan-32.530; 21. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-32.618; 22. Cary Faas, 12, Galas-32.697; 23. Paul White, 100, Cook-32.935; 24. Bill Baue, 78, B & G-33.172; 25. Jimmy Stinson, 76, Westfall-33.321; 26. Terry Babb, 49, Babb-33.464; 27. Billy Molkenbur, 116, Logan-33.572; 28. Jerry Nemire, 33, Faurote-33.678; 29. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-33.867; 30. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-33.880; 31. Robin Bank, 72, Brown-35.619; 32. Tad Roach, 144, Roach-35.711; 33. Bill Schemonia, 64, Beautiful Roses-35.738; 34. Ronnie Franklin, 93, Franklin-36.861; 35. Johnny Parsons, 43, Nix-NT; 36. Dean Franklin, 83, Sohm-NT; 37. Dave Steele, 92, Hoerner-NT; 38. Jackie Burke, 15, Lawson-NT; 39. Tom Davies, 168, Davies-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-10 transfer to the feature) 1. Cary Faas, 2. Todd Kane, 3. Gary Hieber, 4. Jimmy Stinson, 5. Bill Baue, 6. Craig Dori, 7. Terry Babb, 8. Robin Bank, 9. Tad Roach, 10. Bill Schemonia, 11. Billy Molkenbur, 12. Jerry Nemire. 7:59.17
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tony Elliott (4), 2. Dave Darland (1), 3. Eric Gordon (2), 4. Jimmy Sills (7), 5. Brian Tyler (13), 6. Chuck Gurney (3), 7. Russ Gamester (11), 8. Jay Drake (6), 9. J.J. Yeley (17), 10. Bill Rose (16), 11. Rich Tobias Jr. (15), 12. Tom Capie (19), 13. Ryan Newman (9), 14. Jack Hewitt (5), 15. Randy Bateman (12), 16. Donnie Lehmann (14), 17. Craig Dori (26), 18. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (18), 19. Jimmy Stinson (24), 20. Todd Kane (22), 21. Tracy Hines (8), 22. Bill Baue (25), 23. Robin Bank (28), 24. Chuck Leary (10), 25. Terry Babb (27), 26. Gary Hieber (23), 27. Donnie Beechler (20), 28. Cary Faas (21), 29. Bill Schemonia (30), 30. Tad Roach (29). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-39 Eric Gordon, Laps 40-100 Tony Elliott.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Russ Gamester-465; 2-Ryan Newman-462; 3-Brian Tyler-377; 4-Tracy Hines-339; 5-Jack Hewitt-333; 6-Dave Darland-306; 7-J.J. Yeley-285; 8-Tony Elliott-271; 9-Gary Hieber-255; 10-Jason Leffler-253.
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SUMAR CLASSIC GOES TO JACK HEWITT
Terre Haute, Indiana………Jack Hewitt of Troy, Ohio drove his Utility Peterbilt/Print Express/Dellen Family Chevy to victory in the Pepsi Sumar Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track on September 17, leading the final 11 laps after J.J. Yeley blew an engine while leading.
“The track was great tonight,” said Hewitt at Terre Haute. “It felt good to win one. I’d like to dedicate this race to one of my old car owners, Ralph DePalma, who passed away last night. I was faster than J.J. (Yeley) but wasn’t sure I could get him.”
Hewitt was the fourth race leader and finished a couple car lengths ahead of Dave Darland of Kokomo, Ind., Jimmy Sills of Placerville, Calif., Greg Wilson of Benton Ridge, Ohio and pole starter Brad Noffsinger of Huntington Beach, Calif. rounded out the top-five at the checkered flag. Wilson was awarded the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award for his fourth-place finish.
Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. regained the series point lead over Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. by 21 points after finishing eighth. Gamester spun on the 78th lap of the race and wound up 19th.
Noffsinger led the first 28 laps, then defending race winner Tony Elliott led the next 30. Yeley then led through lap 89 before his engine let go.
Drivers Chuck Leary and Rich Tobias Jr. escaped injury in flips during the program and Brian Tyler won the 15-lap qualifying race.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 17, 1999 – Terre Haute, Indiana – Terre Haute Action Track – Pepsi Sumar Classic
QUALIFYING: (Top-16 locked into the feature) 1. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-20.360; 2. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-20.620; 3. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-20.705; 4. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-20.799; 5. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-20.802; 6. Donnie Beechler, 16, Logan-21.057; 7. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-21.089; 8. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-21.176; 9. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-21.185; 10. Cory Kruseman, 50, Aviators-21.205; 11. Rick Treadway, 32, Kazmark-21.239; 12. Dave Steele, 92, Hoerner-21.293; 13. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-21.296; 14. Bill Rose, 62, Beaver-21.298; 15. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-21.354; 16. Eric Gordon, 41, Bowen-21.360; 17. Johnny Parsons, 43, Nix-21.366; 18. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-21.486; 19. Greg Wilson, 63, Hampshire-21.511; 20. Ron Smoker, 12, Galas-21.578; 21. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-21.665; 22. Dane Carter, 48, Irvin-21.668; 23. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-21.732; 24. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-21.799; 25. Paul White, 100, Cook-21.857; 26. Brad Fox, 60, Fox-22.010; 27. Randy Bateman, 55, Bateman-22.605; 28. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-22.737; 29. Ronnie Franklin, 93, Franklin-23.803; 30. Robin Bank, 72, Brown-24.799; 31. Chuck Leary, 30, Leary-NT; 32. Jason Leffler, 9, East-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-10 transfer to the feature) 1. Brian Tyler, 2. Johnny Parsons, 3. Jason Leffler, 4. Brad Fox, 5. Ryan Newman, 6. Paul White, 7. Greg Wilson, 8. Tom Capie, 9. Craig Dori, 10. Dane Carter, 11. Randy Bateman, 12. Robin Bank, 13. Ronnie Franklin, 14. Ron Smoker, 15. Rich Tobias Jr. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jack Hewitt (3), 2. Dave Darland (7), 3. Jimmy Sills (9), 4. Greg Wilson (23), 5. Brad Noffsinger (1), 6. Tony Elliott (4), 7. Todd Kane (15), 8. Ryan Newman (21), 9. Brad Fox (20), 10. Jay Drake (13), 11. Tracy Hines (8), 12. Dave Steele (12), 13. Paul White (22), 14. Cory Kruseman (10), 15. Eric Gordon (16), 16. Craig Dori (25), 17. Brian Tyler (17), 18. Tom Capie (24), 19. Russ Gamester (5), 20. Dane Carter (26), 21. J.J. Yeley (2), 22. Jason Leffler (19), 23. Bill Rose (14), 24. Donnie Beechler (6), 25. Rick Treadway (11), 26. Johnny Parsons (18). 55:58.18
**Chuck Leary flipped during practice. Rich Tobias Jr. flipped over the guardrail in turn 3 during the “qualifying race.”
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-28 Brad Noffsinger, Laps 29-58 Tony Elliott, Laps 59-89 J.J. Yeley, Laps 90-100 Jack Hewitt.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-501; 2-Russ Gamester-480; 3-Brian Tyler-396; 4-Jack Hewitt-393; 5-Tracy Hines-370; 6-Dave Darland-366; 7-Tony Elliott-316; 8-Jimmy Sills-303; 9-J.J. Yeley-300; 10-Jason Leffler-264.
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SILLS WIRE-TO-WIRE AT ELDORA 4-CROWN NATIONALS
Rossburg, Ohio………Jimmy Sills of Placerville, Calif. led all 50 laps to win the 19th annual 4-Crown Nationals Coors Light Silver Bullet feature event at Eldora Speedway on September 25.
Sills won the pole starting position on Friday night with a speed of 107.771 mph on the half-mile dirt track, then beat defending race winner Jack Hewitt of Troy, Ohio to the checkered flag by about a quarter-lap. The win was Sills’ second in 4-Crown action, also taking the 1996 Sprint Car race.
“It was easy to go fast tonight,” said an elated Sills in victory lane. “I wasn’t 100 percent sure we’d make it to the end, but we did. I had a bad vibration after we packed the right rear wheel midway through and blistered a left rear tire, but I’ve got a terrific crew and they set up a great car. It’s nice to go home with this win under my belt.”
Rounding out the top-five behind Sills and Hewitt at the finish were J.J. Yeley, Greg Wilson and Todd Kane. Wilson, of Benton Ridge, Ohio, earned the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award.
The Eldora race was red flagged on lap five when Bill Rose flipped in turn four. He escaped injury.
Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. and Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. finished eighth and 14th, respectively, leaving Newman clutching a 35-point lead over Gamester.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 24-25, 1999 – Rossburg, Ohio – Eldora Speedway – 19th 4-Crown Nationals
QUALIFYING: (Top-12 locked into the feature) 1. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-16.702; 2. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-16.993; 3. Rusty McClure, 31, Mataka-17.012; 4. Jay Drake, 6, Potter-17.081; 5. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-17.114; 6. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-17.183; 7. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-17.219; 8. Greg Wilson, 63, Hampshire-17.230; 9. Paul White, 100, Cook-17.240; 10. Bill Rose, 62, Beaver-17.250; 11. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-17.288; 12. Danny Smith, 12, Galas-17.289; 13. Eric Gordon, 41, Bowen-17.294; 14. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-17.316; 15. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-17.358; 16. Rocky Hodges, 97, SC-17.364; 17. Rick Treadway, 32, Kazmark-17.419; 18. Kevin Doty, 50, Aviators-17.425; 19. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-17.431; 20. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-17.434; 21. Jimmy Stinson, 76, Westfall-17.490; 22. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-17.721; 23. Jerry Nemire, 33, Faurote-17.809; 24. Robbie Rice, 24, LeFevre-17.915; 25. Donnie Lehmann, 46, Egan-17.930; 26. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-18.342; 27. Brad Fox, 60, Fox-18.414; 28. Al Thomas, 172, Thomas-18.465; 29. Steve Surniak, 15, Lawson-19.047; 30. Robin Bank, 72, Brown-19.512.
QUALIFYING RACE: (20 laps, top-12 transfer to the feature) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Eric Gordon, 3. Brian Tyler, 4. Todd Kane, 5. Ryan Newman, 6. Rick Treadway, 7. Rich Tobias Jr., 8. Robbie Rice, 9. Jimmy Stinson, 10. Brad Fox, 11. Donnie Lehmann, 12. Jerry Nemire, 13. Steve Surniak, 14. Al Thomas, 15. Craig Dori, 16. Robin Bank, 17. Rocky Hodges, 18. Kevin Doty. 5:57.43
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jimmy Sills (1), 2. Jack Hewitt (11), 3. J.J. Yeley (2), 4. Greg Wilson (8), 5. Todd Kane (16), 6. Robbie Rice (20), 7. Tracy Hines (13), 8. Ryan Newman (17), 9. Tony Elliott (6), 10. Paul White (9), 11. Eric Gordon (14), 12. Donnie Lehmann (23), 13. Rich Tobias Jr. (19), 14. Russ Gamester (7), 15. Jimmy Stinson (21), 16. Rick Treadway (18), 17. Danny Smith (12), 18. Brad Fox (22), 19. Jay Drake (4), 20. Jerry Nemire (24), 21. Dave Darland (5), 22. Rusty McClure (3), 23. Bill Rose (10), 24. Brian Tyler (15). NT
**Bill Rose flipped on lap 5 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-50 Jimmy Sills.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-540; 2-Russ Gamester-505; 3-Jack Hewitt-450; 4-Tracy Hines-412; 5-Brian Tyler-405; 6-Dave Darland-378; 7-Jimmy Sills-369; 8-J.J. Yeley-354; 9-Tony Elliott-352; 10-Jason Leffler-264.
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SILLS CLAIMS 4TH SACRAMENTO VICTORY
Sacramento, California………Jimmy Sills of Placerville, Calif. captured the Silver Bullet 100 USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet race at the Cal Expo State Fairgrounds in Sacramento, Calif. on October 9, leading the final 40 miles around the one-mile dirt track in his True Value/Terre Haute First National Bank Chevy.
Sills took advantage of a slip by leader J.J. Yeley in turn two on the 61st lap and motored by to take the lead. He finished with a cushion of several car lengths, averaging a record 96.205 mph for the 100 miles.
“George (Snider), my car owner, made a tire change just before the race,” said Sills in victory lane. “The car was really tight and I tried to save the tires as much as I could. I think we might have had about another 10 laps left at the end, so we were lucky.”
Tony Elliott finished second ahead of Yeley, with Russ Gamester fourth and Todd Kane fifth. Gamester’s finish narrowed Ryan Newman’s series point lead to just 20.
Elliott won the pole starting spot for the race at 115.744 mph but lost the lead to Yeley at the green flag. Three caution periods interrupted the 100-miler but there were no driver injuries in any of the incidents.
Ricky Shelton of Huntington Beach, Calif. earned the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award for his sixth-place finish while series Rookie Paul White won the 15-lap qualifying race which preceded the 100-miler.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 9, 1999 – Sacramento, California – Cal Expo State Fairgrounds – Silver Crown 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-14 locked into the feature) 1. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-31.103; 2. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-31.646; 3. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-31.796; 4. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-31.851; 5. Jason Leffler, 9, East-31.929; 6. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-32.404; 7. Bill Rose, 62, Beaver-32.557; 8. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-32.558; 9. Ronnie Day, 117, JR-32.598; 10. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-32.690; 11. Mark Monico, 26, Espindola-32.832; 12. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-32.963; 13. Rick Brown, 773, Diemert-32.997; 14. Ricky Shelton, 98, Gregg-33.074; 15. Todd Bammer, 818, Moeller-33.076; 16. Paul White, 100, Cook-33.105; 17. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-33.249; 18. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-33.295; 19. Peter Murphy, 57, E-Jay’s-33.721; 20. Scott Hansen, 42, Robison-33.916; 21. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-34.032; 22. Greg Nelson, 112, Nelson-34.241; 23. Rick Treadway, 32, Kazmark-34.256; 24. Eric Rossi, 21, Snow-34.268; 25. Jay Drake, 50, Aviators-34.388; 26. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-34.686; 27. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-34.989; 28. John Heydenreich, 84, Spivey-35.025; 29. Mike Adkins, 71, Adkins-35.425; 30. Robin Bank, 72, Brown-35.623.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-10 transfer to the feature) 1. Paul White, 2. Ryan Newman, 3. Brian Tyler, 4. Todd Bammer, 5. Craig Dori, 6. Peter Murphy, 7. Brad Noffsinger, 8. Rebel Jackson Jr., 9. Scott Hansen, 10. Rick Treadway, 11. Mike Adkins, 12. Greg Nelson, 13. Jay Drake, 14. John Heydenreich, 15. Eric Rossi, 16. Robin Bank. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jimmy Sills (4), 2. Tony Elliott (1), 3. J.J. Yeley (2), 4. Russ Gamester (12), 5. Todd Kane (6), 6. Ricky Shelton (14), 7. Bill Rose (7), 8. Brian Tyler (17), 9. Ryan Newman (16), 10. Tracy Hines (3), 11. Craig Dori (19), 12. Scott Hansen (23), 13. Jack Hewitt (10), 14. Dave Darland (8), 15. Ronnie Day (9), 16. Mark Monico (11), 17. Rick Treadway (24), 18. Rebel Jackson Jr. (22), 19. Todd Bammer (18), 20. Rick Brown (13), 21. Paul White (15), 22. Peter Murphy (20), 23. Jason Leffler (5), 24. Brad Noffsinger (21). 1:02:22.00
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-60 J.J. Yeley, Laps 61-100 Jimmy Sills.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-576; 2-Russ Gamester-556; 3-Jack Hewitt-477; 4-Tracy Hines-445; 5-Brian Tyler-444; 6-Jimmy Sills-429; 7-Tony Elliott-412; 8-J.J. Yeley-411; 9-Dave Darland-403; 10-Jason Leffler-274.
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IRWINDALE SILVER BULLET 100-LAPPER IS ALL LEFFLER’S
Irwindale, California………Jason Leffler of Long Beach, Calif. captured the 100-lap Coors Light Silver Bullet race, concluding a USAC tripleheader on the half-mile paved Irwindale Speedway oval on October 16. Leffler had previously also won the 30-lap MCI Worldcom Western States Midget race earlier in the night.
“I knew Brian was coming,” said Leffler after the race, referring to runner-up Brian Tyler. Tyler passed Leffler for the lead on the 72nd lap but yielded the lead back on lap 86.
“I got excited when he passed me,” admitted Leffler. “I got my tires hot, so I just waited a few laps and when the yellow came out, my car came back and his didn’t. It’s nice to win here, in front of my hometown fans. They had a great crowd.”
Trailing Leffler and Tyler at the checkered flag were Brad Noffsinger, Jason McCord and pole starter Ryan Newman. Newman, who led the first seven laps, emerged from the race with a 59-point lead in the series standings over Russ Gamester.
Gamester ran in the top-five until ignition problems forced him out of the race after 74 laps.
Paul White earned the Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race award for his ninth-place finish. Pat Quinn won the 15-lap qualifying race which preceded the 100-lap feature.
Leffler averaged 91.314 mph for the 100 laps and earned $10,200.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 16, 1999 – Irwindale, California – Irwindale Speedway
QUALIFYING: (Top-14 locked into the feature) 1. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-16.616; 2. Jason Leffler, 9, East-16.622; 3. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-16.680; 4. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-16.743; 5. Paul White, 100, Cook-16.795; 6. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-16.851; 7. Bill Rose, 62, Beaver-16.891; 8. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-16.898; 9. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-16.927; 10. Bobby McMahan, 26, Espindola-16.940; 11. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-17.035; 12, Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-17.037; 13. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-17.079; 14. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-17.095; 15. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-17.115; 16. Mike Ordway, 32, Kazmark-17.128; 17. Pat Quinn, 81, Bar-D-17.226; 18. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-17.260; 19. Wally Pankratz, 94, Hart-17.284; 20. Ricky Shelton, 98, Gregg-17.326; 21. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-17.431; 22. Rick Treadway, 82, Treadway-17.437; 23. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-17.461; 24. Mike Adkins, 71, Adkins-17.800; 25. Scott Hansen, 42, Robison-17.863; 26. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-18.082; 27. Robin Bank, 72, Brown-18.753; 28. Bud Kaeding, 117, JR-NT; 29. John Heydenreich, 84, Spivey-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-10 transfer to the feature) 1. Pat Quinn, 2. Todd Kane, 3. Jack Hewitt, 4. Rebel Jackson Jr., 5. Ricky Shelton, 6. Rick Treadway, 7. Wally Pankratz, 8. Scott Hansen, 9. Mike Ordway, 10. Mike Adkins, 11. Brian Paulus, 12. Robin Bank, 13. Craig Dori, 14. John Heydenreich. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jason Leffler (2), 2. Brian Tyler (13), 3. Brad Noffsinger (3), 4. Jason McCord (9), 5. Ryan Newman (1), 6. Jimmy Sills (8), 7. Tony Elliott (14), 8. Jack Hewitt (17), 9. Paul White (5), 10. J.J. Yeley (4), 11. Pat Quinn (15), 12. Rick Treadway (20), 13. Ricky Shelton (19), 14. Bill Rose (7), 15. Dave Darland (12), 16. Rebel Jackson Jr. (18), 17. Mike Ordway (23), 18. Wally Pankratz (21), 19. Bobby McMahan (10), 20. Todd Kane (16), 21. Russ Gamester (11), 22. Scott Hansen (22), 23. Tracy Hines (6), 24. Mike Adkins (24). 32:51.22
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Ryan Newman, Laps 8-71 Jason Leffler, Laps 72-85 Brian Tyler, Laps 86-100 Jason Leffler.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Ryan Newman-627; 2-Russ Gamester-568; 3-Jack Hewitt-516; 4-Brian Tyler-501; 5-Jimmy Sills-474; 6-Tracy Hines-455; 7-Tony Elliott-454; 8-J.J. Yeley-444; 9-Dave Darland-426; 10-Jason Leffler-337.
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MEMPHIS 100 MARKS NOFFSINGERS’S FIRST SILVER BULLET VICTORY
Millington, Tennessee………Brad Noffsinger of Huntington Beach, Calif. scored his first USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet victory in the nationally televised (TNN) Memphis 100 at Memphis Motorsports Park on Halloween Day, October 31.
“It’s hard to put into words what this win means for me,” said a nearly speechless Noffsinger in victory lane. “This was a building year and we want to go for the championship next year. I screwed up during qualifying, but I knew I had the car to win the race. I had to be patient and the big break came when Dave Steele spun on lap 45. That helped cool my tires.”
Noffsinger started seventh and was running fifth when race leader and defending winner Steele blew an engine and spun in turn one on lap 45. That put Jason Leffler in the lead but Noffsinger tracked him down on lap 83 and held on in his Curb Records/Frankland/C & R Racing Special to the checkered flag.
Pole starter Kenny Irwin Jr. came on to take second in the closing laps and Leffler was third, ahead of Russ Gamester and Bentley Warren.
Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. earned the Coors Light Silver Bullet championship with his eighth-place finish and Rebel Jackson Jr. was named Turbines, Inc. Rookie of the Race after finishing 14th.
Five caution flags for 52 laps slowed the pace, although Irwin’s pole speed was over 126 mph. Bill Rose of Plainfield, Ind. won Saturday’s 15-lap qualifying race. Sunday’s race was witnessed by a sell-out crowd of nearly 30,000.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 30-31, 1999 – Millington, Tennessee – Memphis Motorsports Park – Memphis 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Kenny Irwin Jr., 2, Vance-21.308; 2. Dave Steele, 92, Hoerner-21.351; 3. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-21.526; 4. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-21.555; 5. Paul White, 100. Cook-21.558; 6. Jason Leffler, 9, East-21.560; 7. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian-21.584; 8. Chuck Leary, 30, Leary-21.589; 9. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-21.659; 10. Jimmy McCune, 36, McCune-21.663; 11. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-21.724; 12. Jimmy Sills, 111, Snider/Foyt-21.746; 13. Davey Hamilton, 11, Snider/Foyt-21.747; 14. Chet Fillip, 777, Advanced-21.754; 15. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 80, Beach-21.832; 16. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-21.833; 17. Ryan Newman, 14, Ede-21.842; 18. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-21.875; 19. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-22.007; 20. Kenny Jacobs, 17, Holt-22.070; 21. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-22.072; 22. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-22.081; 23. Rebel Jackson Jr., 110, Helton-22.129; 24. Billy Whittaker, 47, Paternoster-22.160; 25. Jack Hewitt, 23, Dewit-22.202; 26. Bill Rose, 62, Beaver-22.223; 27. Keith Butler, 54, Holbrook-22.279; 28. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-22.574; 22.311; 29. Jimmy Kite, 50, Aviators-22.325; 30. Greg Hodnett, 35, RE Technologies-22.380; 31. Mike Ordway, 32, Kazmark-22.432; 32. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-22.490; 33. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-22.559; 34. Greg Wilson, 63, Hampshire-22.631; 35. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-22.632; 36. Troy Vaccaro, 18, Conroy-22.680; 37. Steve Surniak, 15, Lawson-22.851; 38. Ray Bragg, 88, Moore-23.117; 39. Dana Laliberte, 70, LaLiberte-23.411; 40. Tad Roach, 144, Logan-26.517; 41. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-NT; 42. Randy Bateman, 96, T & D-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Bill Rose, 2. Jack Hewitt, 3. Todd Kane, 4. Brian Paulus, 5. Troy Vaccaro, 6. Keith Butler, 7. Greg Hodnett, 8. Rich Tobias Jr., 9. Mike Ordway, 10. Greg Wilson, 11. Steve Surniak, 12. Dana Laliberte, 13. Jimmy Kite, 14. Tom Capie, 15. Ray Bragg. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brad Noffsinger (7), 2. Kenny Irwin Jr. (1), 3. Jason Leffler (6), 4. Russ Gamester (4), 5. Bentley Warren (3), 6. Jimmy Sills (12), 7. Tracy Hines (9), 8. Ryan Newman (17), 9. Jimmy McCune (10), 10. Davey Hamilton (13), 11. Chet Fillip (14), 12. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (15), 13. Tony Elliott (16), 14. Rebel Jackson Jr. (23), 15. Jack Hewitt (26), 16. Jason McCord (22), 17. Keith Butler (30), 18. Dave Darland (11), 19. Bill Rose (25), 20. Billy Whittaker (24), 21. Gary Hieber (21), 22. Brian Tyler (18), 23. J.J. Yeley (19), 24. Chuck Leary (8), 25. Dave Steele (2), 26. Todd Kane (27), 27. Brian Paulus (28), 28. Troy Vaccaro (29), 29. Paul White (5), 30. Kenny Jacobs (20). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-44 Dave Steele, Laps 45-82 Jason Leffler, Laps 83-100 Brad Noffsinger.
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1999 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINTS
1. (666) Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind.
2. (619) Russ Gamester, Peru, Ind.
3. (539) Jack Hewitt, Troy, Ohio
4. (519) Jimmy Sills, Placerville, Calif.
5. (512) Brian Tyler, Parma, Mich.
6. (497) Tracy Hines, New Castle, Ind.
7. (481) Tony Elliott, Kokomo, Ind.
8. (454) J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, Ariz.
9. (443) Dave Darland, Lincoln, Ind.
10. (391) Jason Leffler, Long Beach, Calif.
11. (369) Brad Noffsinger, Huntington Beach, Calif.
12. (273) Todd Kane, Powell, Ohio
13. (267) Gary Hieber, Langhorne, Pa.
14. (257) Bentley Warren, Kennebunkport, Maine
15. (257) Chuck Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
16. (249) Paul White, Temple, Texas
17. (238) Dave Steele, Tampa, Fla.
18. (218) Jason McCord, Anderson, Ind.
19. (216) Chet Fillip, San Angelo, Texas
20. (213) Jay Drake, Val Verde, Calif.
21. (210) Robby Flock, Murrieta, Calif.
22. (190) Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Brownsburg, Ind.
23. (188) Rebel Jackson Jr., Buckley, Wash.
24. (187) Bill Rose, Plainfield, Ind.
25. (177) Kenny Irwin Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.
26. (154) Eric Gordon, Greenfield, Ind.
27. (151) Mike Bliss, Milwaukie, Ore.
28. (145) Rick Treadway, Indianapolis, Ind.
29. (138) Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, Ohio
30. (134) Jimmy McCune, Toledo, Ohio
31. (130) Tom Capie, Trevose, Pa.
32. (119) Rich Tobias Jr., Lebanon, Pa.
33. (108) Derek Davidson, Lafayette, Ind.
34. (80) Doug Didero, Hamilton, Ont.
35. (75) Pat Abold, Pennellville, N.Y.
36. (72) Ricky Shelton, Huntington Beach, Calif.
37. (71) Craig Dori, Chicago, Ill.
38. (69) Donnie Lehmann, Springfield, Ill.
39. (57) Randy Bateman, Murphysboro, Ill.
40. (54) Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg, Pa.
41. (53) Brad Fox, Avon, Ind.
42. (45) Dane Carter, Brownsburg, Ind.
43. (44) Jimmy Stinson, Englewood, Ohio
44. (40) Scott Hansen, Simi Valley, Calif.
45. (38) Wally Pankratz, Orange, Calif.
46. (38) Ron Smoker, North Boston, N.Y.
47. (37) Bill Baue, Sparta, Ill.
48. (36) Kipp Beard, Tampa, Fla.
49. (34)Rick Brown. Springfield, Ore.
50. (34) Brian Gerster, Indianapolis, Ind.
51. (34) Ken Hamilton, Boise, Idaho
52. (33) Davey Hamilton, Las Vegas, Nev.
53. (31) Mike Ordway, Fremont, N.H.
54. (31) Stevie Reeves, Speedway, Ind.
55. (25) Keith Butler, Tampa, Fla.
56. (23) Ronnie Day, Salinas, Calif.
57. (23) Daryl Daugherty, Findlay, Ohio
58. (21) Mark Monico, San Jose, Calif.
59. (20) Kevin Doty, Milan, Ill.
60. (17) Dean Franklin, Oklahoma City, Okla.
61. (16) Dan Drinan, Scottsdale, Ariz.
62. (15) Donnie Beechler, Springfield, Ill.
63. (14) Johnny Parsons, Indianapolis, Ind.
64. (13) Billy Whittaker, Central Square, N.Y.
65. (13) Jerry Nemire, Erie, Mich.
66. (12) Terry Babb, Decatur, Ill.
67. (11) Bill Tyler, Parma, Mich.
68. (10) Robin Bank, Pittsburgh, Pa.
69. (10) Tim Cox, Park City, Ill.
70. (9) Mike Adkins, Bothell, Wash.
71. (7) Ken Woolley, Howell, N.J.
72. (6) Rocky Hodges, Des Moines, Iowa
73. (5) Cary Faas, Yorba Linda, Calif.
74. (5) Kevin Bloomstran, Cincinnati, Ohio
75. (4) Bill Schemonia, Murphysboro, Ill.
76. (4) John Heydenreich, Bloomsburg, Pa.
77. (4) Tom Davies, Elkhart, Ind.
78. (4) Casey Diemert, Roseburg, Ore.
1999 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRANT POINTS
1. (650) Snider-Foyt Racing, Bakersfield, Calif. (#111)
2. (635) M & L Plumbing (Fred Ede), Fresno, Calif. (#14)
3. (619) Gamester Racing, Peru, Ind. (#51)
4. (539) Dewit Motorsports, Zionsville, Ind. (#23)
5. (512) Dynamics, Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)
6. (497) Indiana Underground Construction (Terry Riggs), Indianapolis, Ind. (#37)
7. (481) Nolen Racing, Greenwood, Ind. (#20)
8. (443) Foxco Engineering, Avon, Ind. (#56)
9. (439) Zarounian Motorsports, Visalia, Calif. (#67)
10. (429) East Enterprises, Indianapolis, Ind. (#9)
11. (369) Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, Concord, N.C. (#40)
12. (325) Johnny Vance Racing Team, Dayton, Ohio (#2)
13. (316) Beaver Racing, Noblesville, Ind. (#62)
14. (273) Jim Dixon-Todd Kane Motorsports, Delaware, Ohio (#75)
15. (267) EWH Service, Langhorne, Pa. (#66)
16. (257) Dan Leary, Greenfield, Ind. (#30)
17. (249) Paul Cook Racing, Arlington, Texas (#100)
18. (218) Contos Racing, Anderson, Ind. (#4)
19. (216) Advanced Racing Suspensions, Indianapolis, Ind. (#777)
20. (213) Ralph Potter, Indianapolis, Ind. (#6)
21. (210) Howard Motorsports, Santa Rosa, Calif. (#61)
22. (204) S & S Racing, Marlboro, Mass. (#29)
23. (190) Gene Beach, Franklin, Mo. (#80)
24. (188) Helton Racing, Madera, Calif. (#110)
25. (146) Bowen Oldsmobile, Terre Haute, Ind. (#41)
26. (138) Bob Hampshire, Findlay, Ohio (#63)
27. (135) Conroy Racing, Brunswick, Ohio (#18)
28. (134) Jimmy McCune, Toledo, Ohio (#36)
29. (130) Capie Racing, Trevose, Pa. (#153)
30. (119) RW Motorsports, Annville, Pa. (#74)
31. (111) Bob Hoerner, Crest Hill, Ill. (#92)
32. (98) John Gregg, Camas, Wash. (#98)
33. (90) Rick Treadway, Indianapolis, Ind. (#82)
34. (88) Johnny Vance Racing Team, Dayton, Ohio (#28)
35. (86) Gene Kazmark, Joliet, Ill. (#32)
36. (76) D & D Fabrication, Findlay, Ohio (#34)
37. (71) Shoestring Racing, Lafayette, Ind. (#38)
38. (70) Galas Motorsports, O’Fallon, Ill. (#12)
39. (69) Kwik-Way Racing, Hazelwood, Mo. (#46)
40. (66) Snider-Foyt Racing, Bakersfield, Calif. (#11)
41. (58) Sohm Enterprises, St. Louis, Mo. (#83)
42. (54) P & P Motorsports, Mechanicsburg, Pa. (#22)
43. (53) Brad Fox, Avon, Ind. (#60)
44. (52) Dave LeFevre, Lafayette, Ind. (#24)
45. (47) Randy Bateman, Murphysboro, Ill. (#55)
46. (45) Irvin Motorsports, Noblesville, Ind. (#48)
47. (45) Aviators Racing, Chicago, Ill. (#50)
48. (44) John Westfall, Troy, Ohio (#76)
49. (40) Robison Motorsports, Lakeside, Calif. (#42)
50. (38) Bob Parker, Indianapolis, Ind. (#123)
51. (38) Rich & Carol Hart, Glendale, Calif. (#94)
52. (37) B & G Engines, Indianapolis, Ind. (#78)
53. (36) Espindola Motorsports, San Jose, Calif. (#26)
54. (36) JR Racing, Concord, Calif. (#117)
55. (36) Gratton Motorsports, Tampa, Fla. (#19)
56. (34) James Diemert, Roseburg, Ore. (#773)
57. (34) Gordon Tyler, Centerville, Utah (#90)
58. (31) Bar-D Racing, Boise, Idaho (#81)
59. (31) Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind. (#114)
60. (25) Henry Holbrook Jr., Columbus, Ohio (#54)
61. (18) Mataka Motorsports, Lebanon, N.J. (#31)
62. (15) Moeller Brothers Body Shop, San Leandro, Calif. (#818)
63. (15) Dr. Jim Logan, St. Louis, Mo. (#16)
64. (15) Robert Babb, Decatur, Ill. (#49)
65. (13) Jim Paternoster Autosport, Oswego, N.Y. (#47)
66. (13) Frank Faurote, Lafayette, Ind. (#33)
67. (11) E-Jay’s Motorsports, Sacramento, Calif. (#57)
68. (11) 3D Motorsports (Doug Van Klompenburg), Columbus, Ind. (#3)
69. (10) Steve Brown, Nabb, Ind. (#72)
70. (10) Jerry Hatton, Decatur, Ill. (#79)
71. (10) T & D Motorsports, Bethalto, Ill. (#96)
72. (9) Mike Adkins, Bothell, Wash. (#71)
73. (7) Ricky Nix, Benton, Ill. (#43)
74. (6) SC Racing, Upper Sandusky, Ohio (#97)
75. (5) Westcon Racing, Lebanon, Ohio (#59)
76. (4) Beautiful Roses Racing, Murphysboro, Ill. (#64)
77. (4) Tom Davies, Elkhart, Ind. (#168)
78. (4) Ron Mucci, Syracuse, N.Y. (#99)
79. (4) James Diemert, Roseburg, Ore. (#173)
80. (3) D.A. Holt, Berlin Center, Ohio (#17)
81. (3) Dr. Jim Logan, St. Louis, Mo. (#144)
82. (3) Drinan Racing Products, Indianapolis, Ind. (#333)