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ELDORA SPEEDWAY - FOUR CROWN NATIONALS
ROSSBURG, OH (Sept. 12) -- Over the past 27 years, Eldora Speedway's Four Crown Nationals has undergone a few tweaks and endured fine tuning, but it appears that the current menu, as introduced last year, is magic. Set for the weekend of September 19 and 20, the Chevrolet sponsored American Revolution Four Crown Nationals will again showcase four National open wheel divisions. And, as has been the case many times over for this premier event, it could prove to be a pivotal point for several championship chases.
Kicking off the weekend on Friday night (Sept. 19) will be the World of Outlaw Sprints (WoO) in their final Midwestern appearance of 2008, while the United States Auto Club (USAC) will showcase their non-winged Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown divisions on Saturday (Sept. 20).
Defending WoO champion Donny Schatz has been on the top of his game all season long, enroute to yet another title, but as the season begins to wind down, Jason Meyers has begun to narrow the gap. Eldora's high speed palace is a toss up for the pair. Both have adapted quite well to the high-banked one-half mile clay oval in recent years, with each driver have a pair of Eldora wins on their resume. Meyers' wins came in 2003 and 2007, while Schatz has been more productive of late, with a 2007 Kings Royal triumph on his plate, along with a victory in May of this year.
Neither can rest on those credits, though, as Eldora's WoO racing scene has become one of parity. There have been no duplicate winners in each of the past two years.
From the winged WoO Sprints on Friday night, the scene shifts to no wings on Saturday, with all three of the divisions in a hotly contested chase for title supremacy.
Entering the fray as point leaders are Tracy Hines (Midget), Levi Jones (Sprint) and Jerry Coons, Jr. (Silver Crown), while none have insurmountable leads.
Each of them are familiair with Eldora and Four Crown territory. Hines hopes to protect his Midget division edge with the experience of two previous Four Crown Midget wins behind him, while runner-up in that class, Cole Whitt has no Eldora triumph to his credit. The could spread the 65 point difference between the two.
Meanwhile, Jones has a 2005 Four Crown Sprint win under his belt and hopes that confidence level propels him ahead of his year-long nemesis Jerry Coons, Jr. Coons, best know for his Midget exploits, also has one USAC Sprint win recorded at Eldora. The pair enter the National Sprint event only 13 points apart.
Coons will be among the multitude of drivers doing double and triple duty that night, but will most anxiously await the closing main event; that of the Sivler Crown division. He sits atop the heap in that division, by a 26-point margin, but he has yet to land a Silver Crown car into victory lane at Eldora.
The driver running behind him in the cumulative points chase, Dave Darland, has accomplished the fete twice before and is always a threat when it comes to non-winged racing at Eldora. He is currently ranked second in the all-time Four Crown win list, with five wins to his credit.
Race fans have shown their liking to the all open-wheel weekend, as evidenced by last year's huge throng of attendees. Complete information on the Chevrolet American Revolution Four Crown Nationals may be obtained by viewing www.eldoraspeedway.com or by calling the speedway office at (937) 338-3815, where advanced reserved seat requests are being taken during normal business hours.
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