WS: WM: FF: Western series' weekly news 2002-04-01

Aaby, Hunsaker score victories at El Cajon.
Midgets at Madera, Stockton; Regional Sprints debut

Michael Aaby, Jr. of Scottsdale, Ariz. and Todd Hunsaker of Chino Hills, Calif. shared the victory podium Saturday night in the USAC racing "doubleheader" at Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, Calif.

Aaby won the 50-lap Western Sprint Car feature, beating Rick Hendrix and Scott Hansen to the checkered flag. Aaby caught Jeff Gardner on the 38th lap and led the rest of the way for the win.

Hunsaker won the accompanying 15-lap USAC Ford Focus Midget Car feature, leading the final 10 laps after passing early leader Phil Goodwine. Fast qualifier J.J. Ercse finished second ahead of Tim Barber and Goodwine.

The USAC Western Midget Car Series, in conjunction with BCRA, will compete in back-to-back events this weekend at the Madera (Calif.) Speedway Saturday night and the Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway Sunday. In addition, the brand-new USAC Western "Regional" Sprint Car Series debuts at the 1/3-mile paved Madera oval.

Practice at Madera gets under way at 1 pm, with the first race slated at about 6. A 25-lap feature awaits the "Regional" Sprinters, while a 30-lap USAC/BCRA Midget feature is on tap. Stockton's practice period starts at 10:30 am Sunday, with racing at about 2 pm. A 30-lap USAC/BCRA Midget feature is again the main event.

Shane Scully, winner of the Western Midget Car Series opener March 9 at Bakersfield Speedway, leads the series standings going into the weekend races. Scully finished fourth at Madera last year and had an eighth and an 18th at Stockton last year.

USAC Western Midget Car Series Standings

1. Shane Scully 88
2. Robby Flock 67
3. Dave Steele 66
4. Jason Leffler 65
5. Wally Pankratz 59
6. Dave Darland 57
7. James Chesson 56
8. Bobby East 53
9. Kasey Kahne 51
10. Dallen Mckenney 49

USAC Western Sprint Car Series Standings

1. Rick Hendrix 67
2. Mike Aaby, Jr. 66
3. Scott Hansen 60
4. Tim Barber 54
5. Tony Hunt 53
6. Kevin Kierce 52
7. Chad Nichols 48
8. Brian Mcclish 44
9. Bryan Bullard 42
10. Todd Ellison 39

USAC Ford Focus Midget Car Series Standings

1. Timothy Barber 123
2. Phil Goodwine 123
3. Todd Hunsaker 122
4. Wayne Mccormick 98
5. Steve Davis 82
6. Josh Lakatos 72
7. J.J. Ercse 69
8. Bobby Owens 54
9. Randi Pankratz 48
10. Gene Godepski 46

-usac-