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namars: Five Crown Nationals, First Race

NAMARS FIVE CROWN NATIONALS OPENER GOES TO JAY DRAKE NORTH VERNON, IN, August 17, 1999 - Californian Jay Drake left a field of 49 midgets in the dust of the Muscatuk basin wherein ...

NAMARS FIVE CROWN NATIONALS OPENER GOES TO JAY DRAKE NORTH VERNON, IN, August 17, 1999 - Californian Jay Drake left a field of 49 midgets in the dust of the Muscatuk basin wherein lies the little quarter mile bull ring called North Vernon Speedway, formerly Twin Cities Speedway. Drake led the 25 lap event wire to wire. In the early laps it was Ed Carpenter and Donnie Lehmann applying the pressure. Lehmann bested Carpenter on lap four, then Carpenter retired with a flat on lap eleven. Dave Darland then grabbed the second spot for two laps before succumbing to motor ills on lap fourteen. This moved Clay Klepper and Travis Welpott into contention but none of them had anything with which to challenge Drake. The order was unchanged from lap nineteen to the end. Crittur Malone brought his mustard and red number seven home fourth followed by Matt Westfall and Mark Spindler. Tracy Hines gave Kenny Irwin's new Predator chassis a good ride all night and finished seventh. The show provided a pioneering feature in that it is believed to be the first auto racing broadcast simultaneously on radio, the internet, and the track public address. The racing was excellent and featured some spectacular slide jobs as the small cars dove hard into the turns and then skated all the way to the top of the track where a little moisture remained. In several cases drivers missed the 'cushion' and received solid greetings from the heavy concrete wall surrounding the speedway. The series moves to Gas City Speedway on Thursday, then to Bloomington on Friday, Putnamville on Saturday, and ends at Kokomo on Sunday. The program was delayed rather severely by numerous flips brought about by a warm night and a rapidly drying track. Because of a weak sound system and an announcer not given to understand that most race fans don't write in shorthand, the agate details will have to follow in a later report. Len in Indy

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