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Steele Wins Hinckley & Schmitt Sprint Challenge at IRP

17 July 1997

STEELE EARNS IRP SPRINT HAT TRICK WITH HINCKLEY & SCHMITT SPRINT
CHALLENGE VICTORY; SHATTERS TRACK RECORD IN QUALIFYING!


Once again it was Dave Steele's night at Indianapolis Raceway Park as
he won the Hinckley & Schmitt Sprint Car Challenge feature after an
agressive pass on Chet Fillip in the closing laps.

The win was Steele's third victory in USAC Sprints in as many races,
thus completing a perfect season for Steele in Sprint competition at
the .686-mile.  "To beat guys like Chet Fillip, Brian Tyler and Brian
Gerster in a track like this is a real accomplishment," he said.  "I
owe a lot of it to my car owner John Vance and the crew -- they really
put a great ride underneath me."

In qualifying, Steele shattered Jeff Gordon's seven-year-old Sprint
car track record.  Steele's mark of 20.067 seconds easily bested
Gordon's previous record of 20.268 seconds, set on June 9, 1990.  His
speed average was a blistering 123.067 mph.

Pat Abold lead for much of the race, but got caught up in traffic on
Lap 22 and lost three positions.  As a result of Abold's troubles,
Fillip took the lead, Steele moved into second and Brian Tyler was
third.  Steele passed Fillip just as the green flag dropped on the
restart on Lap 26 and pulled away from that point for the victory.  "I
new we would have to beat Chet on the restart if I were to have a
chance," he said.

The top ten finishers were Steele, Fillip, Tyler, Brian Gerster,
Abold, Jason McCord, Gus Wasson, Doug Kalitta, Robbie Rice and Gary
Fedewa, who won the Automotive Color & Supply "Best Appearing Team"
Award for the race.

Heat race winners were Abold, McCord and Fillip.  Kalitta won the
semi-feature.

Kevin Thomas was leading the USAC Stoops Freightliner points up until
this event, but was sidlined practically before the evening got
started due to a tangle with Joey Kerr in hot laps.  As a result,
Brian Tyler is now the series points leader by 36 points over Thomas
going into Indiana Sprint Week.

Upcoming races at IRP include the Clark Super 75 Kendall Indiana Late
Model race on Friday, July 18, and the Clark Midget Series featuring
the USAC National Midgets on Wednesday, July 23.

Good seats are still available for the three Kroger Speedfest races,
which includes the DuPont 100 USAC Silver Crown Series race on
Wednesday July 30, the Cummins 200 featuring the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series on July 31 and the Kroger NASCAR 200 Busch Grand National
Series race on August 1.  Call IRP at (317) 291-4090 for details.



Results from Indianapolis Raceway Park "Hinckley & Schmitt Sprint
Challenge," July 16, 1997, USAC Stoops Freightliner National Sprint
Car Championship Series:

USAC Qualifying:
 
 1. Dave Steele, 20.067, 123.067 mph* 
 2. Brian Gerster 
 3. Chet Fillip 
 4. Pat Abold 
 5. Brian Tyler 
 6. John Heydenreich 
 7. Doug Kalitta 
 8. Gus Wasson 
 9. Robbie Rice 
10. Jeff Bloom 
11. Jason McCord 
12. Derek Davidson 
13. Bill Rose 
14. Gary Fedewa 
15. Jimmy McCune 
16. Tim Cox 
17. Mike Blake 
18. Billy Puterbaugh, Jr. 
19. George Wilkins 
20. Benny Rapp, Jr. 
21. Steve Anderson 
22. Joey Kerr (DNF) 
23. Brad Armstrong (DNF) 
24. Kevin Thomas (DNF)

*NEW SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD

Heat #1: 
1. Abold
2. Steele
3. Cox
4. Rose
5. Kalitta
6. Wilkins

Heat #2: 
1. McCord
2. Fedewa
3. Tyler
4. Gerster
5. Blake
6. Rapp
7. Wasson

Heat #3: 
1. Fillip
2. McCune
3. Puterbaugh
4. Davidson
5. Rice
6. Heydenreich
7. Anderson

Semi-Feature: 
1. Kalitta
2. Wasson
3. Rice
4. Blake
5. Rapp
6. Anderson
7. Wilkins
8. Heydenreich

Feature: (30 Laps) 
1. Steele 
2. Fillip
3. Tyler
4. Gerster
5. Abold
6. McCord
7. Wasson
8. Kalitta
9. Rice
10. Fedewa
11. Cox
12. Puterbaugh
13. Blake
14. Rapp
15. Wilkins
16. Rose
17. Davidson
18. Anderson
19. McCune
20. Heydenreich 

Next event at IRP: "Clark Super 75," Kendall Indiana Late Model
Championship Series plus the American Race Trucks, Friday, July 18,
1997