WM: Lincoln, Belleville preview

WorldCom National and Western Midget Car Series point leaders resume their battle for respective USAC driving titles this week in events at Lincoln, Neb. and Belleville, Kans.

Tuesday night's venue is Eagle Raceway in Lincoln, Neb., while the $70,000-plus 24th Annual Belleville Midget Nationals unfolds Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Belleville High Banks.

Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. leads the National series standings by 11 points over Jay Drake of Val Verde, Calif., while Danny Ebberts of Canyon Lake, Calif. leads Alex Harris of Simi Valley, Calif. by only seven in the Western standings. Ebberts was the only one to crack the "top-10" last year at either Lincoln or Belleville, scoring a fifth at Lincoln and a 10th at Belleville.

Practice at Lincoln Tuesday starts at 6:30 pm, followed by qualifying at 7 and racing at 8. A 40-lap feature is on tap at the 1/3-mile dirt oval. At Belleville a 25-lap feature events caps Thursday and Friday night's action, while Saturday night's $10,000-to-win feature is a 40-lapper.

Kasey Kahne won last year's Lincoln and Belleville races and eventually finished the season as the National Midget Car Champion. Drake won the opening prelim at Belleville in 2000 but vaulted over the guardrail in turn three during the finale.

<pre> USAC WORLDCOM NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS

1. Dave Darland 494 2. Jay Drake 483 3. Jerry Coons, Jr. 410 4. A.J. Fike 408 5. Aaron Fike 387 6. J.J. Yeley 383 7. Tracy Hines 376 8. Steve Paden 229 9. Kasey Kahne 226 10. Ryan Scott 221 USAC WORLDCOM WESTERN MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS

1. Danny Ebberts 623 2. Alex Harris 616 3. Josh Wise 526 4. Thomas Meseraull 488 5. Wally Pankratz 481 6. Shane Scully 446 7. Matt Streeter 426 8. Robby Flock 340 9. Danny Stratton 299 10. Derrick Hearron 269

-USAC