FF: C/V: Stanley recap, Hickory preview

RAY TARGETS THIRD STRAIGHT CAROLINA/VIRGINIA FOCUS WIN THURSDAY AFTER ANOTHER SERIES VICTORY

It took nearly 20 races for Robbie Ray of Davenport, Iowa to win his first USAC Carolina/Virginia Ford Focus Midget Car Series feature, and now the Iowan is eyeing his third straight following Saturday's victory at East Lincoln Speedway in Stanley, N.C.

Driving the No. 11 Calico Coatings/Simpson Beast/Ford Focus, Ray drove to his second straight victory, leading the final 17 laps of Saturday's 25-lapper at the 3/8-mile dirt track. Trailing Ray were Mike Ward, Terry Hall and Sam Beam -- all who took turns at the top spot -- and fifth-place Ginny Quinones.

The victory moved Ray to within six points of series leader Chase Scott heading into this Thursday's event at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, N.C. Scott, who has improved drastically on dirt this season, won his heat race at Stanley, started eighth in the feature and was up to third before wall contact -- following a tangle with another car -- sidelined him for the remainder of the event. He finished sixth.

Scott, who owns 11 career series victories, is the only driver in series history to win three straight features. Ray's win Saturday makes him only the second driver with more than one win in the region's two-year history. <pre> CAROLINA/VIRGINIA FORD FOCUS MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS 1. Chase Scott 274 2. Robbie Ray 268 3. Aron Oakley 222 4. Nick Wean 181 5. Gary Winters 168 6. Michael Sboro 166 7. Stephanie Stevens 165 8. Ginny Quinones 163 9. Lindsey Trausch 160 10. Chris Meadows 155

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