Anderson inaugural 400 event preview

GORDON, HINES, PARKER SEEKING "400" GLORY SATURDAY

Eric Gordon is an eight-time winner of the Pay Less "Little 500" Sprint car race at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway but it's been 11 years since he drove a Midget. On the other hand, Tracy Hines has only competed in two "Little 500s" but he's currently leading the USAC National Midget standings on his way to completing USAC's "Triple Crown."

Saturday Gordon and Hines will team up for USAC's longest Midget race -- the inaugural "Anderson 400 Midget Classic" driving Indianapolis businessman Bob Parker entries in what promises to be the start of a new American Midget racing tradition.

Gordon is a member of Anderson Speedway's "Little 500" Hall of Fame. Nobody has had more success at the 1/4-mile paved oval than the three-time USAC National Sprint Car runner-up, but his last USAC Midget start came in 1997 at the now-defunct 16th Street Speedway in Indianapolis. His last time in a Midget on a hard surface came at the RCA Dome in downtown Indianapolis in 1993.

Hines, on the other hand, is no stranger to Midgets. He's finished in the "top-10" eight times in nine starts so far this year and 22 of his 64 USAC National feature victories have come in the Midgets. Three of Hines' wins have come at Anderson, in a Midget in 1997 and in a Sprinter in 2002 and 2005.

The unique 400-lap race will be split into two segments, with a 15-minute "pit stop" planned at 200 laps. Practice, qualifying and qualifying races are slated Friday and Friday night and Saturday's feature gets the green flag at 8 pm.

Saturday's race is a USAC "special event," and does not offer National points, but it does offer a whopping $10,000 to win and more than $1,000 guaranteed to each of the 34 scheduled starters.

-credit: --USAC--