 ROSSBURG,
OH (August 6, 2005) -- Despite skyrocketing oil prices, Rob Chaney will have no
trouble fueling his USAC Sprint Car for awhile. The Wooster, Ohio driver
collected $50,000 for capturing the USAC National Sprint Car Series "Mopar
Thunder" at Eldora Speedway Saturday night. Chaney came from fourth place
to claim the win while riding on Hoosier racing tires. The USAC Series which
uses a Hoosier tire rule on pavement allows the use of any tire brand when
competing on dirt. Still, 44 of the 55 cars on hand opted to trust the the
Hoosier brand. When the race was over, the world's largest race tire
manufacturer helped carry the first 12 drivers across the finish line in the
40-lap feature that paid a cool $50,000 to the winner.
Fifty-five cars took turns in qualifying around the famous 1/2-mile clay
high banks of Eldora Saturday evening with fully 44 drivers riding atop the
Hoosier tire brand. That decision paid off for defending USAC National Sprint
Car Series champion Jay Drake. The Indianapolis, IN driver set a new track
record circling the track in 15.167 seconds. Drake opted to use a 98"
Hoosier RD12 (wide) left-rear tire and a D10 right-rear tire in establishing
the new mark. Jac Haudenshild, Rob Chaney, Jerry Coons, Jr. and Josh Wise were
next on the qualifying leaderboard. All five drivers used Hoosier tires.
In the 40-lap feature, 26 of the 28 starters were riding on Hoosier tires.
Kevin Huntley took the lead at the drop of the green flag, while Rob Chaney
moved from fourth to second at the start. Chaney then battled Huntley for the
next 20 laps before Chaney made an inside pass for the lead at the race's
halfway mark. Chaney, using a 100" Hoosier RD12/D12 combination, held on
the remainder of the distance to claim the exciting win by three car lengths
over Huntley who was riding on a 98" Hoosier D12/D15 rear drive
combination.
While Chaney collected the $50,000 prize money, Huntley did not go home
empty handed as the runner-up in the special event earned a tidy $20,000 for
his efforts. Dickie Gaines finished in third place with Jay Drake and Jac
Haudenschild rounding out the top five. Gaines, Drake and Haudenschild all used
the same rear drive tire combination--a 100" RD12/D15 set up. Levi Jones
finished in sixth place followed by Dave Darland, Jon Stanbrough and Bill Rose
in seventh through tenth, respectively. The top ten finishers all used Hoosier
tires, as did 11th and 12th place finishers Bud Kaeding and Marc Jessup.
An exciting 3-way battle continues in the USAC National Sprint Car Series
point standings with Levi Jones currently leading with 931 points followed
closely by Dave Darland and Jay Drake with 925 points and 920 points, respectively.
Hoosier's Open Wheel Dirt Product Manager Neil Cowman attended the event and
provided the details used in this report. Service for the event was skillfully
provided by the friendly staff from Hoosier Tire Midwest-Indy.
The USAC National Sprint Car Series will be in action close to Hoosier's corporate
headquarters as the series travels to Salem (IN) Speedway this Saturday, August
13th.
Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. is proud to provide tires for the USAC Series and
its competitors. For more information about the series and complete race
results visit www.usacracing.com.
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