USAC Midget/Sprint Car

The sprint car portion saw three Toyota entries in the field. Former USAC champion Tony Hunt was aboard the Kaiser Racing No. 4, while Western Speed Enterprises led a two-car effort with drivers Chase Scott and Kody Swanson. Swanson, a regular on the USAC National Midget Car series, was using an off weekend to make a rare stop in the sprint cars. The sprint cars use a 355-ci Toyota V8 prepared by TRD.

In the midget car division, Nic Faas widened his series point lead aboard the Western Speed No. 40. The midget cars utilize a 166-ci in-line four-cylinder engine prepared by Ed Pink Racing Engines.

Scott posted the best finish among the sprint car contingent, coming home third in the 50-lap feature event. Scott qualified fifth and finished third in his heat race. Swanson was ninth in qualifying, second in his heat race, and 10th in his feature race.

Hunt and his Kaiser team continue to improve, as they were fastest in pre-race practice and second-quick in qualifying. Hunt was eighth in his heat race and finished 7th in the feature race.

"Not a bad outing," said Hunt. "We were fastest in practice, but fell just a bit short (39-hundredths) in qualifying. Our problem all night was tire stagger, we flip-flopped all night trying to find the right balance. We really feel confident with where we've come the past two races with our entire package, and once we get the stagger issue figured out we'll be right there.

"The car was really, really fast, and I'm pleased with that. We didn't advance like we wanted in the main event, but we're okay. The engine program is going very well, and when we get the setup nailed down we'll be right where we need to be."

The USAC Western Midget car series is enjoying a torrid point race this season, with Toyota's Faas coming into the event holding a one-point lead at the top of the standings. Faas had a good night, qualifying fifth, running fifth in his heat race, and finishing sixth in the 20-lap feature race. His closest opponent in the point race, Scott Pierovich, did not make the event, giving Faas an opportunity to build some breathing room in the point chase.

"We were a little loose in practice, so we tightened up our car before qualifying," said Faas. "Unfortunately we went a little too far, and we slipped a little bit. We were chasing it from that point, and our car was too tight in our heat race.

"We were going to start ninth in the main event, but we opted to put new tires on the right side, because we didn't think it would hurt our starting position all that much. But in the feature our engine was cutting out a little bit, you could tell it was off just a little bit. We started 11th and ran sixth, so it was still a good points night."

The Western Sprint Car series returns to Altamont Raceway Park on July 19, while the Midget Car series next sees action on July 12 at Santa Maria, California.

USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS
7 Chase Scott, Concord, NC Western Speed No. 60 -142
8 Tony Hunt, Lincoln, CA Kaiser No. 4 -179

USAC WESTERN MIDGET CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS
1 Nic Faas, Huntington Beach, CA Western Speed No. 40 +41