Steele and Drake Win Inaugural USAC Races at Iowa Speedway 9pm
Steele and Drake Win Inaugural USAC Races at Iowa Speedway 9pm
NEWTON, Iowa – USAC veterans Dave Steele and Jay Drake quickly found the fastest way around the multi groove Iowa Speedway Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd estimated over 11,000 fans. Jay Drake won the USAC National Sprint Series race while Dave Steele won both the USAC National Midget and Silver Crown races.
Bobby Santos III sat on the pole for the midget race. Santos set a USAC record for fastest average speed in a midget the day before. Dave Steele who started on the outside and got around Santos on the second lap. Steele would battle with Santos getting the lead on lap 20 but Steele took it right back leading the final four laps for the win.
Darren Hagen who set the world’s record for fastest average qualifying speed for a sprint car the day before led the first eleven laps of the USAC National Sprint Series race before Jay Drake took the lead on lap 12. Drake would never look back and went on to win.
USAC pavement ace Dave Steele sat on the pole for Sundays USAC Silver Crown Series race at Iowa Speedway. The Florida native would battle with Aaron Pierce in the early stages of the race holding off Pierce for the first 36 laps. The first caution flag flew when Tim Barber briefly spun on lap 18. Barber gathered it back up and kept on going tagging the back of the field. Aaron Pierce took the lead from Dave Steele on lap 37 and led until his car stalled on lap 61. During this caution several teams noticed blistering on their tires. Points leaders Brian Tyler and Bud Kaeding pitted for right rears giving up valuable track position and going a lap down. On lap 75 Wayne Reutiman lost a wheel and made contact with the turn two wall. Reutiman was not injured but his day was done. Bryan Tyler pitted again and went another lap down. Then the green flag dropped, his teammate Dave Steele had pressure from Bud Kaeding to get his lap back. Steele allowed Kaeding to get his and Jay Drake’s lap back but then pulled away from a pack of cars that were battling for positions second through fourth. Thiago Mederos battled with Peter Shepherd and Pablo Donoso in the final laps. Donoso driving for Hemelgarn 91/ Johnson Motorsports in their first USAC Silver Crown race, got by Peter Shepherd and went on to finish second. Shepherd held off Mederos for third. The win was Dave Steele’s second of the season and pushed him to 4th on the driver’s points. Bud Kaeding narrowed Brian Tyler’s USAC Silver Crown points lead to only eight headed into the final two events of the season. It is now a two team race in the owner’s points race with the No. 199 Carl Edwards/ R.E. Technologies Racing and No. 26 Sam Pierce teams being all but mathematically eliminated from a points championship. The No. 199 team did jump ahead of the No. 26 team by seven in the owner’s points standings. The next two weekends will determine who will be crowned the 2006 USAC Silver Crown champion. We head to Eldora next weekend and then to the season finale at Kansas Speedway in two weeks. Please join us again next weekend for our updates from Eldora.
NEWTON, Iowa – USAC veterans Dave Steele and Jay Drake quickly found the fastest way around the multi groove Iowa Speedway Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd estimated over 11,000 fans. Jay Drake won the USAC National Sprint Series race while Dave Steele won both the USAC National Midget and Silver Crown races.
Bobby Santos III sat on the pole for the midget race. Santos set a USAC record for fastest average speed in a midget the day before. Dave Steele who started on the outside and got around Santos on the second lap. Steele would battle with Santos getting the lead on lap 20 but Steele took it right back leading the final four laps for the win.
Darren Hagen who set the world’s record for fastest average qualifying speed for a sprint car the day before led the first eleven laps of the USAC National Sprint Series race before Jay Drake took the lead on lap 12. Drake would never look back and went on to win.
USAC pavement ace Dave Steele sat on the pole for Sundays USAC Silver Crown Series race at Iowa Speedway. The Florida native would battle with Aaron Pierce in the early stages of the race holding off Pierce for the first 36 laps. The first caution flag flew when Tim Barber briefly spun on lap 18. Barber gathered it back up and kept on going tagging the back of the field. Aaron Pierce took the lead from Dave Steele on lap 37 and led until his car stalled on lap 61. During this caution several teams noticed blistering on their tires. Points leaders Brian Tyler and Bud Kaeding pitted for right rears giving up valuable track position and going a lap down. On lap 75 Wayne Reutiman lost a wheel and made contact with the turn two wall. Reutiman was not injured but his day was done. Bryan Tyler pitted again and went another lap down. Then the green flag dropped, his teammate Dave Steele had pressure from Bud Kaeding to get his lap back. Steele allowed Kaeding to get his and Jay Drake’s lap back but then pulled away from a pack of cars that were battling for positions second through fourth. Thiago Mederos battled with Peter Shepherd and Pablo Donoso in the final laps. Donoso driving for Hemelgarn 91/ Johnson Motorsports in their first USAC Silver Crown race, got by Peter Shepherd and went on to finish second. Shepherd held off Mederos for third. The win was Dave Steele’s second of the season and pushed him to 4th on the driver’s points. Bud Kaeding narrowed Brian Tyler’s USAC Silver Crown points lead to only eight headed into the final two events of the season. It is now a two team race in the owner’s points race with the No. 199 Carl Edwards/ R.E. Technologies Racing and No. 26 Sam Pierce teams being all but mathematically eliminated from a points championship. The No. 199 team did jump ahead of the No. 26 team by seven in the owner’s points standings. The next two weekends will determine who will be crowned the 2006 USAC Silver Crown champion. We head to Eldora next weekend and then to the season finale at Kansas Speedway in two weeks. Please join us again next weekend for our updates from Eldora.
posted by Blake Johnson at 10:00 PM
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