BELL OPENS ELDORA “4-CROWN” WITH MIDGET VICTORY
[xyz-ihs snippet=”Posts-Ad”]
Rossburg, Ohio…Christopher Bell took his first “4-Crown Nationals” victory on Saturday night as he opened the 34th annual prestigious Eldora Speedway event with a wire-to-wire Honda National Midget win. The Norman, Oklahoma native made it three wins on the season in the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports – Toyota TRD #71 Bullet/Speedway Toyota. “It was tough out there tonight. It wasn’t really the plan to go big for the lead on the first lap, but it kinda worked out that way. I almost crashed in one, and next thing I know, I had a big old run off turn-two. I saw the hole there and took advantage of it. I had to get in below the lip getting into one. It was nice to finally get that one under my belt,” Bell said. Bell jumped up top in the opening set of corners, as front-row starters Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Tracy Hines battled for the lead, but Bell used a full head of steam down the backstretch to throw a huge slide-job for the lead in turn-three. It stuck, and Bell led off turn-four, never to be dethroned. It was the 16th National Midget win of Bell’s career, tying him for 38th all-time with George Amick, Billy Cantrell, Henry Pens, Lee Kunzman, and Bobby Olivero. Hines stuck with Bell for a while, but he fell into the clutches of a battle with Thomas, Jr. and Bryan Clauson, who set ProSource “Fast Time” to open the program. Just after Clauson took third on lap 15, he tagged the turn-four wall and caught the front end, ripping the right-front wheel off the car. He was done for the event. Rico Abreu was the man on the move from there, slicing past Thomas, Jr. and locking in a duel with Hines for the eventual second spot. He finally stuck the second spot in the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports – Toyota TRD #97 Bullet/Speedway Toyota. Hines held on for third to lengthen his National Midget point lead aboard the Parker Machinery – Turbines, Inc. #24 Spike/Stanton Toyota. “I picked my line through the middle and I ran it the whole day. I didn’t think it was gonna work at first, but all of a sudden it came in for me. I thought we were good enough for second, but we got beat out late for second. We kept it in one piece, though, and got the finish we needed,” Hines said. Tanner Thorson came home fourth in the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports – Abreu Vineyards #67 Bullet/Speedway Toyota, and Thomas, Jr. rounded out the top-five in the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports – Bakken Concrete #67K Bullet/Speedway Toyota. Spencer Bayston drove from 12th to finish seventh to earn the $750 Larry Rice High-Performance Award as the race’s hard charger. ——————————
HONDA USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 26, 2015 – Rossburg, Ohio – Eldora Speedway – 34th “4-Crown Nationals” QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Bryan Clauson, 63, RKR/Dooling-16.886; 2. Rico Abreu, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-16.960; 3. Christopher Bell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.110; 4. Tanner Thorson, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.254; 5. Tracy Hines, 24, Parker-17.377; 6. Kevin Thomas Jr., 67k, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-17.389; 7. Steven Drevicki, 19, Fitzpatrick/DeGre-17.488; 8. Thomas Meseraull, 27, Heffner-17.523; 9. Steve Buckwalter, 25, Buckwalter-17.523; 10. Tyler Thomas, 91T, Thomas-17.543; 11. Tony DiMattia, 50, DiMattia-17.570; 12. Spencer Bayston, 39, Clauson-17.591; 13. Brady Bacon, 37, Felker-17.664; 14. Isaac Chapple, 52, Chapple-17.680; 15. Ryan Greth, 4, Lesher-17.680; 16. Davey Ray, 23, Light-17.705; 17. Austin Nemire, 91, Nemire/Yager-18.177; 18. Todd Wills, 74, Wills-18.282; 19. Kevin Wills, 9, Wills-18.294; 20. Gary Gipson, 5, Byers-18.705; 21. Robert Bell, 71x, Bell-NT. FIRST HEAT : (8 laps) 1. Thorson, 2. Clauson, 3. Ray, 4. Bacon, 5. Drevicki, 6. T.Thomas, 7. K.Wills. 2:23.95 SECOND HEAT : (8 laps) 1. Abreu, 2. Hines, 3. Meseraull, 4. DiMattia, 5. Chapple, 6. Nemire, 7. Gipson. 2:24.07 THIRD HEAT : (8 laps) 1. C.Bell, 2. Buckwalter, 3. K.Thomas, 4. Greth, 5. Bayston, 6. T.Wills, 7. R.Bell. 2:23.25 FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Christopher Bell, 2. Rico Abreu, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. Tanner Thorson, 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 6. Steven Drevicki, 7. Spencer Bayston, 8. Tony DiMattia, 9. Thomas Meseraull, 10. Ryan Greth, 11. Tyler Thomas, 12. Brady Bacon, 13. Austin Nemire, 14. Isaac Chapple, 15. Davey Ray, 16. Todd Wills, 17. Bryan Clauson, 18. Robert Bell, 19. Kevin Wills, 20. Steve Buckwalter. —————————— |
 |
|
|
THE PIT BOARD
Christopher Bell became the first driver to win both the USAC Midget & Silver Crown feature in a single “4-Crown Nationals” since Kyle Larson in 2011. Others to accomplish that feat include Dave Darland (2004), J.J. Yeley (2001) & Jack Hewitt (1998).
The win marked Bell’s first USAC win at Eldora, despite winning a NASCAR Truck Series event at the track in July. The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian stable has won five USAC Honda National Midget features in a row and 10 of the last 11 overall. The drivers currently standing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the USAC Honda National Midget point standings finished 3rd, 4th, and 5th in the feature at Eldora. Tracy Hines maintains his point lead as he attempts to become just the sixth driver to win the National Midget, National Sprint & Silver Crown championships during a career. |
|
|
|
UPCOMING EVENT INFO
|
|
|
|
PREVIOUS “4-CROWN NATIONALS”
USAC MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS
AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY 1981: Ken Schrader
1982: Rich Vogler
1983: Johnny Parsons
1984: Rained Out
1985: Rich Vogler
1986: Rich Vogler
1987: Jack Hewitt
1988: Rich Vogler
1989: Robby Flock
1990: Stan Fox
1991: Jeff Gordon
1992: Johnny Parsons
1993: Jack Hewitt
1994: Steve Knepper
1995: Tony Stewart
1996: Tracy Hines
1997: Jay Drake
1998: Jack Hewitt
1999: Dave Darland
2000: Kasey Kahne
2001: J.J. Yeley
2002: Jay Drake
2003: No Race
2004: Dave Darland
2005: Danny Stratton
2006: Tracy Hines
2007: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
2008: J.J. Yeley
2009: Brad Sweet
2010: Jerry Coons, Jr.
2011: Kyle Larson
2012: Kyle Larson
2013: Rico Abreu
2014: Bryan Clauson
2015: Christopher Bell |
|
|
|
2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
@=Indiana Midget Week
***=Co-Sanctioned by ARDC
%%%=Co-Sanctioned by POWRi ###=Co-Sanctioned by Honda USAC Western Midget Series
|
|
|
|
2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET
DRIVER POINT STANDINGS
|
|
|
|
2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS
Rico Abreu – 5 (Lawrenceburg Speedway on June 13, Angell Park Speedway onJuly 5, Belleville High Banks on July 30, Path Valley Speedway Park on Aug. 18 & Lincoln Speedway on Aug. 19)
Tanner Thorson – 3 (Gas City I-69 Speedway on June 10, Tri-City Speedway on Sept. 4 & Tri-City Speedway on Sept. 5)
Christopher Bell – 2 (Bloomington Speedway on June 12 & Eldora Speedway on Sept. 26)
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 2 (Plymouth Speedway on May 29 & Solomon Valley Raceway on July 28)
Darren Hagen – 1 (Kokomo Speedway on April 11) |
|
|
|
2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET STATISTICS
FEATURE WINS:
1. Rico Abreu – 5 2. Tanner Thorson – 3
3. Christopher Bell – 2
Bryan Clauson – 2 Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 2
6. Darren Hagen – 1
FEATURE LAP LEADERS:
1. Tanner Thorson – 121
2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 92
3. Rico Abreu – 63
4. Bryan Clauson – 54
5. Christopher Bell – 34
6. Jerry Coons, Jr. – 32 7. Darren Hagen – 24
8. Zach Daum – 16
9. Tyler Courtney – 11
10. Davey Ray – 6
11. Tyler Thomas – 2
TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES:
1. Rico Abreu – 10
2. Tanner Thorson – 9
3. Tracy Hines – 8
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 8 5. Bryan Clauson – 7 6. Christopher Bell – 6
7. Jerry Coons, Jr. – 4
8. Spencer Bayston – 3
Zach Daum – 3
Darren Hagen – 3
11. Steve Buckwalter – 2
Dave Darland – 2
Thomas Meseraull – 2
Tyler Thomas – 2
15. Alex Bright – 1
Justin Grant – 1
Tucker Klaasmeyer – 1
Davey Ray – 1
Chase Stockon – 1
Chris Windom – 1
TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES:
1. Tracy Hines – 12
2. Spencer Bayston – 11 Jerry Coons, Jr. – 11 Tanner Thorson – 11
5. Rico Abreu – 10
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 10
Tyler Thomas – 10 8. Bryan Clauson – 7 9. Christopher Bell – 6
Darren Hagen – 6 11. Dave Darland – 5
12. Steve Buckwalter – 4
Zach Daum – 4
Chase Stockon – 4
15. Andrew Felker – 3
Thomas Meseraull – 3 17. Cody Brewer – 2
Brenden Bright – 2
Tyler Courtney – 2
Steven Drevicki – 2
Brad Loyet – 2 Brad Mosen – 2 23. Ryan Bernal – 1
Alex Bright – 1
Isaac Chapple – 1
Shane Cottle – 1
Tony DiMattia – 1 Justin Grant – 1
Ryan Greth – 1 Mark Hamilton – 1
Bob Harr – 1
Matt Johnson – 1
Tucker Klaasmeyer – 1
Billy Pauch, Jr. – 1
Payton Pierce – 1
Keith Rauch – 1
Davey Ray – 1
Ryan Robinson – 1
Kyle Schuett – 1
Nathan Smee – 1
David Wheeler – 1
Hayden Williams – 1
Chris Windom – 1
PROSOURCE FAST QUALIFYING TIMES: 1. Bryan Clauson – 3
2. Rico Abreu – 2 Tracy Hines – 2
Tanner Thorson – 2
5. Christopher Bell – 1
Zach Daum – 1
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 1
HEAT RACE WINS:
1. Christopher Bell – 7
2. Tyler Thomas – 5
3. Rico Abreu – 4
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 4 5. Steve Buckwalter – 3
Darren Hagen – 3
Tanner Thorson – 3 8. Bryan Clauson – 2
Jerry Coons, Jr. – 2
Dave Darland – 2
Nathan Smee – 2
12. Garrett Aitken – 1 Spencer Bayston – 1
Ryan Bernal – 1
Alex Bright – 1
Colten Cottle – 1
Shane Cottle – 1
Andrew Felker – 1
Tracy Hines – 1
C.J. Johnson – 1
Jimi Quin – 1
Chase Stockon – 1
Gage Walker – 1
Nick Wean – 1
QUALIFYING RACE WINS:
1. Andrew Felker – 1
Tracy Hines – 1
Thomas Meseraull – 1
Davey Ray – 1
Chris Windom – 1
C-MAIN WINS:
1. Shane Cottle – 1
Ronnie Gardner – 1
Nathan Smee – 1
SEMI WINS:
1. Bryan Clauson – 1
Jerry Coons, Jr. – 1
Steven Drevicki – 1
Tracy Hines – 1
Kyle Jones – 1
Trevor Kobylarz – 1
Justin Peck – 1
Patrick Stasa – 1
Kevin Thomas, Jr. – 1
DASH WINS:
1. Tanner Thorson – 2
2. Rico Abreu – 1
|
|
|
|
2015 HONDA USAC NATIONAL MIDGET “HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE”
April 11: Kokomo Speedway – Tanner Thorson (8 positions)
May 29: Plymouth Speedway – Darren Hagen (10 positions)
June 10: Gas City I-69 Speedway – Tyler Thomas (9 positions)
June 11: Lincoln Park Speedway – Christopher Bell (14 positions)
June 12: Bloomington Speedway – Tyler Thomas (10 positions)
June 13: Lawrenceburg Speedway – Tyler Thomas (13 positions)
July 5: Angell Park Speedway – Isaac Chapple (9 positions)
July 28: Solomon Valley Raceway – Tucker Klaasmeyer (12 positions) July 30: Belleville High Banks – Aaron Schuck (12 positions) Aug. 1: Belleville High Banks – Isaac Chapple (6 positions) Aug. 18: Path Valley Speedway Park – Christopher Bell (11 positions) Aug. 19: Lincoln Speedway – Alex Bright (7 positions) Sept. 4: Tri-City Speedway – Payton Pierce (10 positions) Sept. 5: Tri-City Speedway – Payton Pierce (10 positions) Sept. 26: Eldora Speedway – Spencer Bayston (5 positions) |
