Earl's Fast Qualifier 2004-09-27

Steele, Norris Crowned 2004 Earl's Titlists!

Dave Steele of Tampa, Fla. and Rex Norris III of Knightstown, Ind. will be among drivers honored as 2004 Earl's Plumbing Fast Qualifier Champions, earning the most Earl's qualifying points in the completed Weld Racing Silver Crown and Midwest Ford Focus Midget Series respectively.

Steele completed the Silver Crown campaign with four more points than Tyler Walker as Dave Darland paced final event qualifying Friday at Rossburg, Ohio. Norris scored five more points than Jordan Noblitt in the Midwest Focuses.

Other Earl's fast qualifiers over the past weekend were Jac Haudenschild in the Valvoline National Sprint Cars at Rossburg, Ohio, Mike Hess in the National Midgets at Rossburg, Steve Paden in the Western Midgets at Ventura, Calif. and Aron Oakley in the Carolina/Virginia Focuses at Anderson, S.C.

Points are traditionally awarded at each USAC event based on an international system awarding the top-six qualifiers with points in the following scale: 1st-9, 2nd-6, 3rd-4, 4th-3, 5th-2, 6th-1.

Each USAC National, Western and Ford Focus Midget Car Earl's Plumbing FQ Champion will be honored at USAC's Champions Night ceremony in Indianapolis in December. The National and Western FQ champs will receive $5,000 each, while the Ford Focus FQ champs will each receive $1,500.

2004 Standings:

Weld Racing Silver Crown:
1-Dave Steele-40
2-Tyler Walker-36
3-Jay Drake & Jerry Coons, Jr.-30
5-Dane Carter-27.

Valvoline National Sprint Car:
1-Levi Jones-61
2-Josh Wise-57
3-Dave Steele-49
4-Bud Kaeding & Jay Drake-43.

National Midget Car:
1-Bobby East-70
2-Josh Wise-65
3-Dave Steele-56
4-Dave Darland-31
5-J.J. Yeley-28.

Valvoline Western Sprint Car:
1-Tony Hunt-84
2-Michael Lewis-77
3-Brian McClish-34
4-Brad Bumgarner-26
5-Tim Barber-20.

Western Midget Car:
1-Jerome Rodela-78
2-Garrett Hansen-62
3-Steve Paden-51
4-Johnny Rodriguez-43
5-Michael Lewis-26.

California Ford Focus:
1-Chris Rahe-116
2-Josh Lakatos-86
3-Bradley Galedrige-71
4-Nick Morago-39
5-Bobby Michnowicz-35.

Carolina/Virginia Ford Focus:
1-Chase Scott-85
2-Sam Beam-32
3-Aron Oakley-30
4-Danny Bopp-27
5-Mike Ward & Robbie Ray-21.

Midwest Ford Focus:
1- Rex Norris III-54
2-Jordan Noblitt-49
3-Tate Martz-44
4-Brad Loyet-32
5-Ryan Litt-31.

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