Terre Haute Hut Hundred makeup date preview

57TH "HUT HUNDRED" ON TAP SATURDAY AT THE ACTION TRACK

The 57th running of the First National Bank "Hut Hundred" is on tap Saturday at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track and the 100-lap race is scheduled to start 33 cars, three abreast on the exciting 1/2-mile dirt oval.

Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind. will try to continue his quest to become USAC's fifth "Triple Crown Champion" as he leads the Mopar USAC National Midget Series standings. Hines has already won USAC's Silver Crown and National Sprint titles and needs the Midget crown to join drivers Tony Stewart, Pancho Carter, Dave Darland and J.J. Yeley as the only ones to earn all three championships in a career.

Hines, whose only Midget win at Terre Haute came in a 2001 Regional event, is a former winner of the Hut Hundred, but that was also in 2001 when the race was run at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind! Hines was also second to Jason Leffler in 1997 and Dave Darland in 1999 and third behind Donnie Beechler and Tony Elliott in 1998.

Former race winners Darren Hagen (2006), Bobby East (2004), Darland (1999 and 2003), Mike Hess (2002) and Jason Leffler (1997) are expected to be among Hines' challengers Saturday.

Hines, who teams with two-time USAC National Sprint Champion Levi Jones on the Tony Stewart Team, has a 78-point lead over Cole Whitt, with only 66 available Saturday.

-credit: usac