Powercom Park: Race recap, standings

Drake 1st at Beaver Dam
Goes for #3 & #4 in "Border Wars X" at Gas City, Eldora

Jay Drake of Val Verde, Calif. accomplished something Saturday achieved only once before in USAC National Sprint Car history! He's opened the 2004 USAC Valvoline National Sprint Car series with back-to-back victories on pavement and dirt tracks!

Drake passed Levi Jones on lap two and led the rest of the way in his Tony Stewart Racing Eagle/Mopar to win the 30-lap feature at the 1/3-mile dirt Raceway @ Powercom Park in Beaver Dam, Wisc. He also won the April 18 30-lapper at the 1/4-mile paved Anderson (Ind.) Speedway and assumes the favorite's role for this weekend's "Border Wars X" events at Gas City, Ind. and Rossburg, Ohio.

Friday night's racing program at Gas City I-69 Speedway gets under way with practice at 6 pm. Qualifying starts at 6:30 and racing begins at 7:30. Saturday night's events at the Eldora Speedway start with practice at 6:30 and qualifying at 7. Racing gets under way at 8. A 30-lap feature is on tap at both tracks.

Tracy Hines added the 2002 and 2003 titles to his 1999 "Border Wars" championship and is one of four previous "Border Wars" champs. Brian Tyler won the title in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000, while Tony Stewart was the 1995 champ and J.J. Yeley won it in 2001.

Drake's back-to-back pavement and dirt wins mirror Robbie Stanley's 1993 feat at Eldora and Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, while Don Branson won back-to-back at Houston's paved Meyer Speedway and Terre Haute's dirt oval in the 1960 Midwest sprint series before the National series debuted in 1961.

Drake and Levi Jones were trailed at Beaver Dam by Tony Elliott, Cory Kruseman and Brian Tyler. Defending series champion J.J. Yeley escaped injury in a double-flip with Tom Hessert on lap six of the feature. Hessert, whose car cleared the concrete wall in turn three, also escaped serious injury, as did Dickie Gaines and Daron Clayton, who executed a double-flip during a heat race. Drake was also the fastest Beaver Dam qualifier and semi winner.

Drake holds a 13-point lead over Jones in the series standings going into the Gas City and Eldora races.

VALVOLINE USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SERIES STANDINGS

1.-Jay Drake-133
2.-Levi Jones-120
3.-Tony Elliott-102
4.-Brian Tyler-100
5.-Boston Reid-90
6.-Dave Darland-79
7.-Cory Kruseman-75
8.-Jason McCord-64
9.-Eric Gordon-62
10.-Bud Kaeding-48

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