Wins for Dave Balloch don't come with the regularity he once enjoyed. Thesedays, he'll take them anyway he can. In the USAC sprint feature, Balloch was doing well, just hoping for a top five finish when he got a big break. Riding the high side, Balloch was trailing the field as Mike Lengel, on the inside rail, skidded across the track coming out of the second turn on lap eight. Lengel collected everyone but Balloch who, somehow, made it through the carnage. By the time Balloch stopped, his 4z was well into turn three. Balloch hung on to take the segment win for a 46-point total. Carey Becker, however, still had a chance to topple Balloch with a first place from lane five. Despite a fine effort, Becker could only muster fourth, good enough for second overall in the 50 lapper. Homer Hiester edged Trevor Kobylarz and Lengel by a point for the show position as a Kobylarz took fourth via less wrecks over Lengel in the ten-driver field.
During warm-ups, Becker complained about the handling of his number 20 midget. During the race, Becker had no problem at all driving to a three-point victory over Hiester. Lengel finished third in the 50 lap USAC midget event as Dave Kurtz who, finally, put a new tire on his ride to earn fourth via tie-breaker over Balloch.
It was another quick night at the Reading bullring as racing was completed by 9 o'clock due, primarily, to the lack of miscues throughout the extremely competitive program.
USAC Sprint Car point standings :
Greenawalt(2)-333, C.Becker(2)-323, Balloch(1)-270, H.Hiester(1)-269, Lengel-248, D.Kurtz-227, D.Becker-204, T.Kobylarz-199, T.Musser,Sr.-197, Heller(1)-176, B.Buckwalter-172, D.Hiester-126, T.Buckwalter-121, Brenner-67, Rupert-23.
USAC Midget point standings :
C.Becker(3)-340, Lengel(1)-297, H.Hiester(1)-284, Greenawalt-271, Balloch-257, D.Becker-232, B.Buckwalter(1)-226, T.Buckwalter(1)-220, T.Kobylarz-201, D.Kurtz-185, D.Hiester-150, T.Musser,Sr.-117, Heller-108, Rupert-44, S.Buckwalter-35, Heck-23.
*** The next race will be USAC dirt champs and sprint cars at Wernersville Raceway on February 20.
SPRINTS UP FIRST!
MIDGETS ON TAP NOW!
