Sixteen Race Winners in Orlando Field

Jack Hewitt of Troy, Ohio leads a list of 16 former race winners already listed on the preliminary entry list for the 2000 USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series opener January 28-29 at Walt Disney World Speedway near Orlando, Fla. The race is part of the "Delphi Indy 200" weekend at the 1-mile paved oval, accompanying the opening race on the 2000 Indy Racing League schedule. Hewitt scored his record 22nd series race victory last year at Terre Haute, Ind. and is unchallenged as the series' winningest driver. Jimmy Sills, with 12 wins, Dave Darland with six, Donnie Beechler with five and Jason Leffler with three are also entered for the 50-mile chase. Sills is the the series' only three-time champion, while Darland won the 1997 title, Beechler was the 1997 runner-up and Leffler won the 1998 championship. Ryan Newman, last year's series champion, Russ Gamester, last year's runner-up, J.J. Yeley, Brian Tyler, the 1998 Disney race winner, and Tony Elliott each have two series triumphs, while Gary Hieber, Jimmy Kite, Chuck Leary, Tracy Hines, John Heydenreich and Eric Gordon all have a single win. The Disney World event kicks off a 14-race Coors Light Silver Bullet schedule which ends in October and visits nine states. Mike Bliss, who won last year's Disney World race, is the leader in terms of pavement Silver Bullet career wins, with eight. Hewitt, ironically, posted his only pavement triumph at Richmond, Va. in 1995 and Sills' only pavement win came at the same track two years later. Newman, the defending series champion, scored both of his 1999 wins on the pavement, at Madison, Ill. and Indianapolis Raceway Park. Drivers will be aiming at Bliss' 1-lap track qualifying record of 135.150 mph when qualifications begin January 28. A 15-mile "qualifying race" will follow on January 28 and the 50-mile feature on January 29 will commence approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the IRL's "Delphi Indy 200."

--USAC--