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SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

TRIO SQUARE OFF FOR SILVER CROWN LEAD IN MONDAY'S "DuQUOIN CENTURY"

Round 10 of the 1998 USAC Silver Crown National Championship unfolds this Monday (Labor Day) at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds with three drivers separated by 41 points set to battle it out in a race program offering 66 total points. Jason Leffler of Long Beach, Calif. leads Brian Tyler of Parma, Mich. by 24 points, with Ryan Newman of South Bend, Ind. third in the standings going into the "DuQuoin Century," a 100-mile contest on the 1-mile dirt oval. Leffler and Tyler have each tasted victory this year, while Newman's best finish has been a third. Practice starts at 9 a.m., with qualifying set for 10:30 and a 15-mile "qualifying race" beginning at 12:30. The 100-mile feature gets the green flag at 1:30 p.m. Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind., the most recent of eight winners so far in the 1998 series, is the defending DuQuoin champion. He won the "Tony Bettenhausen 100" at Springfield, Ill. August 22 and will be trying to sweep the Illinois dirt-track events in his Terre Haute First National Bank Chevy. Other former DuQuoin race winners expected to compete are Chuck Gurney of Livermore, Calif. (1989, 1994 & 1996), Johnny Parsons of Indianapolis, Ind. (1992 & 1995) and Jack Hewitt of Troy, Ohio (1986, 1987 & 1993). Dave Darland of Walton, Ind. the defending Silver Crown champion, holds the 1-lap track record of 118.781 mph drivers will aim for during qualifications. Parsons holds the 100-mile race record of 107.047 mph.

Silver Crown Point Standings: 1-Jason Leffler-417; 2-Brian Tyler-393; 3-Ryan Newman-376; 4-Jimmy Sills-297; 5-Russ Gamester-286; 6-Dave Darland-282; 7-Robby Flock-269; 8-Jack Hewitt-264; 9-Dave Steele-259; 10-J.J. Yeley-232.