Kevin J. O'Donnell

Jerry Coons looks for a line around Roger Corrigan.

SUN PRAIRIE, WI (June 28, 1998) -- Jerry Coons, Jr. moved by Roger Corrigan to take the lead on the 17^th lap and then survived a late overheating problem to win the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association Miller Firecracker 25 lap A-Feature event at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, WI, Sunday night. After making the pass, Coons, Jr., Tucson, AZ opened up a 15 car length lead on route to his second win of the 1998 season in just four appearances at the speedway.

Shortly after winning the race, Coons was forced to stop short of victory circle when his Eslinger / Outhouse Chassis #V4 finally overheated and a plume of steam erupted from beneath the hood.

"We had a problem with the temperature gauge all night. It kept flipping back in forth so I couldn't get an accurate reading off of it and late in the feature it finally quit altogether … I couldn't keep it running all the way into victory circle. Coons Jr. said after the race. "It's just a good thing it held up for 25 laps."

Aside from the overheating problem, Coons was pleased with the performance of his car. "This car was just fantastic tonight … it was good anywhere I wanted to go." Coons said. "This is one of the most fun places I've ever been too, I really love the crowds that come out here … this is a lot of fun."

Coons, Jr., who started outside the fourth row, had just passed Doug Schenck for third position when the car of Australian driver, Steven Graham, tapped the wall in turn three and flipped which brought out the second red flag of the feature event. The first red was the result of a first lap, turn one tangle involving the cars of Randy Fiscus and Marty Davis.

One lap after the restart Coons moved by Quinn McCabe, IL for second and then passed Corrigan, Loves Park, IL for the lead in turn four during the next lap. Corrigan re-took the lead later that lap, however, and held off Coons' challenges until the 17^th lap when his car swung wide in turns three and four, allowing Coons Jr. to get by him for the lead.

As Coons made his way by Corrigan, Kevin Olson, Machesney Park, IL began to challenge Corrigan for second. The two battled for the position behind lapped traffic for the next seven laps until Olson slipped by Corrigan as the two came off of the fourth turn of the checkered flag lap.

Olson, who earlier in the night, had received $100 worth of extra motivation to win the nights feature race from Stan Fox explained from victory lane, "The car was probably good enough to win tonight, it's just that he (Coons, Jr.) got by a few guys a bit quicker than I did."

Corrigan said, "The way things have been going for us here this year, this is almost as good as a win … this is the kind of thing that can help this team turn the corner. I'm really happy."

Corrigan elaborated on Coons winning pass. "There were cars running really low in three and four and they were splashing water up onto the track … I hit water just wrong on the lap that Coons got by me, the car just wouldn't turn."

Scott Hatton, Roscoe, IL duplicated his best effort of the year at Angell Park, finishing fourth. "It took me too long to get around the car for fourth and by the time I did, I had kind of lost touch with the leaders." Hatton said, "but once we got in the clear and I ran a few smooth laps, we closed the gap pretty quick. The car ran really strong. When we get a little better at getting the power to the track coming off the turns, we're going to be in good shape."

Qualifying was crucial on the 1/3 mile track with 23 drivers clocking in within five tenths of a second of the quick time set for the night by Boyd Calvert, Mt. Horeb, WI. With only the top 16 qualifiers automatically advancing to the night's A-feature, 1998 A-main winners Marty Davis and Randy Koch, USAC sprint standout Kevin Doty, Top Australian's Steven Graham and Adam Clarke and Bob Mueller, Jr. we forced to race their way into the A-main through the B. Among the six drivers to advance, there are four 1998 BMARA A-features victories represented.

The Badger Midget Auto Racing Association, the oldest continuing midget racing sanction body in the United States, will run again this Sunday night at Angell Park Speedway, in a co-sanctioned event with the NAMARS / Auto Value midgets. The event will feature a special 50 lap A-main.

xxx

OFFICIAL RESULTS 6/28/98

** New 6 lap track record 1:29.76

Points Standings as of 6/29/98

POSITION, DRIVER/POINTS, PASS PTS, .......CAR # ,OWNER POINTS

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