Earl's Fast Qualifier 2005-05-02

DARLAND SETS UP 3-WAY NATIONAL SPRINT FQ TIE

Dave Darland's fast qualifying time for Saturday night's Valvoline National Sprint Car race at Rossburg, Ohio sets up a three-way tie with Bobby East and Jay Drake for the early lead in the 2005 Earl's Plumbing Fast Qualifier Championship.

Damion Gardner (Saturday CRA Sprints at Perris, Calif.) joined Darland as USAC fast qualifiers in weekend action as drivers continue to search for valuable points toward the 2005 FQ titles.

Earl's points will be up for grabs this week in events at Hudson, N.C. (Carolina/Virginia Focuses Friday), Watsonville, Calif. (Calif. Dirt Focuses Friday), Hanford, Calif. (Calif. Dirt Focuses and Western Midgets Saturday), Ventura, Calif. (CRA Sprints Saturday), Tulsa, Okla. (Oklahoma Focuses Saturday), and Beaver Dam, Wis. (National Sprints and Midgets Saturday).

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. When qualifying is not held, points are awarded based on a system of lineup points earned in the preliminary heats.

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. The National and Western FQ champs will receive $5,000 each, while the Ford Focus FQ champs will each receive $1,500.

2005 Standings:

Weld Racing Silver Crown: 1-Bobby East-9; 2-Dave Steele-6; 3-Tracy Hines-4; 4-Josh Wise-3; 5-Jerry Coons, Jr.-2.

Valvoline National Sprint Car: 1-Bobby East, Jay Drake & Dave Darland-9; 4-Mat Neely-6; 5-Jerry Coons, Jr.-4.

National Midget Car: 1-Michael Lewis-9; 2-Bobby East-6; 3-J.J. Yeley-3; 4-Jay Drake-1.

Valvoline Western Sprint Car: 1-Brian McClish-15; 2-Tony Hunt-9; 3-Mike Murgoitio-6; 4-Tim Barber-5; 5-Brad Bumgarner & Michael Lewis-4.

Western Midget Car: 1-Robby Flock-10; 2-Michael Lewis & Steve Paden-9; 4-Bobby East, Garrett Hansen & Josh Lakatos-6.

Valvoline CRA Sprint Car: 1-Damion Gardner-69; 2-Rip Williams & Seth Wilson-18; 4-Charles Davis, Jr.-17; 5-Rickie Gaunt-13.

California Ford Focus: 1-Alex Harris-37; 2-Chase Barber-17; 3-Jake Vail & Chris Veach-13; 5-Audra Sasselli-10.

Carolina/Virginia Ford Focus: 1-Chase Scott-9; 2-Aron Oakley-6; 3-Brit Andersen-4; 4-Robbie Ray-3; 5-Nick Wean-2.

Oklahoma Ford Focus: 1-Dustin Morgan & Leon Bacon-15; 3-Jasiel Randolph & Evan Sewell-12; 5-Matt Sherrell-9.

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