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 SOUTH
BOSTON, VA (October 18) -- Aaron Fike took the lead on lap 46 at South
Boston Speedway after race leader Billy Wease and A.A. Fike tangled
allowing third running Aaron to assume the race lead. From there, Fike
led the final five laps to capture his third win of the season and
second in a row in the USAC National Midget Car Series. J.J. Yeley
extended his lead in the Midget Series standings over Tracy Hines to
121 points with just two races remaining on the 2003 schedule. Yeley
has already collected the USAC National Silver Crown Series title and
the USAC National Sprint Car crown in his bid to become only the
second USAC driver to win all three National titles in the same year.
The only other driver to accomplish the feat was Yeley's car owner in
the Silver Crown and Sprint Car Series Tony Stewart.
Twenty-seven cars were entered in qualifying with 25
posting times on the 4/10-mile track. Aaron Fike earned fast qualifier
status with a lap of 14.827 seconds followed by his brother A.J. and
J.J. Yeley in second and third in qualifying.
There were three heat races contested with Aaron Fike
winning the first heat and Ron Gregory and Tracy Hines capturing wins
in the final two heats.
In the 50-lap feature, Billy Wease led the race's
first 45 laps before he and A.J. Fike tangled handing the lead over to
Aaron Fike on the restart. Fike led the final five laps to capture the
win--his third of the season and second in a row in the series. J.J.
Yeley finished in second place followed by Jay Drake in third. Teddy
Beach and Cole Carter rounded out the top five. After vying for the
win, Billy Wease finished 11th, while A.J. Fike finished 16th.
J.J. Yeley is currently atop the USAC Midget Car
Series rankings with 1392 points followed by Tracy Hines with 1271
points. Hines was involved in an accident during the race and finished
a disappointing 23rd. Bobby East is not far behind in third with 1266
points heading into the final two races of the season.
The next event on the USAC National Midget Car Series
is not until November 22nd at Tucson (AZ) Raceway Park. The exciting
season will conclude on Thanksgiving Day at California's Irwindale
Speedway.
The USAC National Midget Car Series uses Hoosier racing
tires exclusively.
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