Grandview, Big Diamond, Hagerstown preview

HAGEN, JONES & SWINDELL LEAD SPRINT CARS TO 3-RACE EASTERN SWING IN PENNSYLVANIA, MARYLAND

Lucas Oil USAC Sprint Car Series point leaders Darren Hagen, Levi Jones and Kevn Swindell are headed East for this week's three events, marking USAC's first multi-race appearance in the East in 30 years. Races are scheduled Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at Bechtelsville and Minersville, Pa. and Hagerstown, Md.

Hagen, of Riverside, Calif., leads both the USAC National Sprint and Midget standings and is the only USAC driver ever to take "Rookie of the Year" honors in both series in the same season (2005) and has "top-10" finishes in five of the seven races so far this year.

Jones, of Olney, Ill., won the 2005 title and was the runner-up in 2006 but he's the only driver with two feature wins so far in 2007, with victories at Lawrenceburg and Anderson, Ind. He trails Hagen by 26 points with 216 available in this week's swing.

Swindell, of Germantown, Tenn., the son of three-time World of Outlaws Champion Sammy Swindell, has a second, third and fourth so far in 2007 and is just 43 back of Hagen.

Wednesday's race is at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, while Thursday's race is at Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville. Saturday's race at Hagerstown Speedway is only the fourth in USAC history in the state of Maryland.

-credit: usac