Kentucky: Event preview

3 Ladies set to challenge Kentucky Speedway Friday.

Lady drivers from Indiana and Pennsylvania are gearing up for Friday night's USAC National Midget Car race at the Kentucky Speedway, part of an impressive list of entries for round five of the 2002 series.

Sondi Eden and Courtney Kirts of Crawfordsville, Ind. and Jessica Iannuzzi of Warminster, Pa. will compete in the program which gets under way with practice at 5 pm and qualifying at 6:15. The first preliminary race is set for 8 pm.

Iannuzzi finished 13th and Eden 16th in last year's 50-lap feature on the 1/4-mile paved oval which incorporates part of the Kentucky Speedway pit straight. Kirts finished 12th in the semi-feature in her USAC debut at last year's Kentucky Speedway event.

Sondi will pilot a Brayton/Stealth machine entered by Robert Correll of Jamestown, Ind., while Jessica will pilot her father's Pink Chevy/Beast and Courtney drives her own Gaerte Chevy/Beast.

They will face the likes of defending race and series champion Dave Darland, defending USAC Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car Champion J.J. Yeley and Western Midget Car Champion Danny Ebberts, plus former Silver Crown Champ Tracy Hines and 3-time National Midget Champion Jason Leffler, as well as other top drivers from across the country.

Yeley "swept" last weekend's USAC Sprint Car and Midget features at Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Dave Steele, also entered at Kentucky, brings impressive credentials as the USAC National Midget Car Series point leader. Steele became the earliest to post victories in all three USAC National Racing Series in a single season, completing the feat with his Sprint Car victory at Winchester, Ind. April 28.

Throw in Bobby East, USAC's youngest-ever National feature race winner, and you have a field spanning the entire spectrum of open-wheel talent for what promises to be one of the season's premier events.

USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS
1. Dave Steele 239
2. Dave Darland 235
3. J.J. Yeley 219
4. Aaron Fike 207
5. James Chesson 135
6. Ron Gregory 135
7. Steve Paden 127
8. Michael lewis 126
9. Bobby East 122
10. Tracy Hines 122

-usac-