ELDON, Mo. (June 9, 2006) – Jerry Coons Jr. earned the nickname “Big Dipper” Friday for his performance in doubling up the USAC National Sprint/Midget Car Series doubleheader at Lake Ozark Speedway.

Coons sealed the deal in the USAC National Sprint Car Series feature, leading from green-to-checkered in the 30-lap race on the 1/3-mile track, holding off Mat Neely by 1.6 seconds after obtaining more than a seven-second lead midway through the event.

That advantage went away when Derek O’Dell flipped in Turn 2 on Lap 22, yet four cars still separated Coons’ No. 69 Dynamics Inc. machine and that of Mat Neely’s No. 10 R&B mount. Neely quickly disposed of those lapped cars within two laps, but couldn’t reel in Coons before the checkered flag fell.

Coons ripped ahead from his front row starting spot, establishing a large gap ahead of five others challenging for the second position. However, on Lap 3, Coons nearly lost the spot and the race when he got loose and almost spun going into Turn 1 before saving the car.
Brady Short and Bud Kaeding traded the runner-up spot early, with Short hugging the bottom groove and Kaeding trying the high side for more than eight laps. Neely, Josh Wise and Dave Darland also joined the mix, and at one point the drivers produced a four-wide battle going through Turn 2.

Kaeding finally took second on Lap 10 with an outside move, and Neely earned third after bumping into Short a lap later. Neely then engaged in a battle with Kaeding, sporting slide job after slide job for seven laps as the pair screamed into Turn 4. Kaeding always led at the line through Lap 18 before Neely finally grabbed the spot on Lap 19.

Coons almost suffered misfortune again on Lap 20, when a lapped car came down on him and they nearly tangled. However, Coons kept his composure to get around those lapped cars, which would benefit him when the red flag came out for O’Dell.

Neely finished second – a season-best for the Robinson, Ill. native – while Darland was third, Levi Jones fourth and Kaeding fifth.

Coons’ victory in both races gave him the first Sprint/Midget sweep since Nov. 20, 2004 when Bobby East won both ends of a Western doubleheader at Tucson Raceway Park in Arizona. Dave Steele scored the last National doubleheader sweep at the high banks of Salem Speedway in Indiana.

Jones, who closed to within 12 points of Wise in the standings, was the event’s fast qualifier at 13.555 seconds. Darland, Coons and Don Droud Jr. won eight-lap heats, while Justin Marvel was the 12-lap semifeature winner.


The USAC National Sprint Car Series continues its season Friday at Limaland Motorsports Park in Ohio, the first round of “Buckeye Nationals