USAC: Undefeated Harris Sets TQ Record, Eyes Bakersfield Saturday

16 June 1998

Alex Harris of Simi Valley, Calif. is undefeated in 1998 USAC TQ Midget racing and looks for a record-setting sixth consecutive feature victory when the series visits the Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway this Saturday night.

Harris is on a 5-race winning streak and will join exclusive company with a Bakersfield victory. Only five drivers in USAC history have won six consecutive races in a single series. Only one has won more than five straight at the start of a season! A.J. Foyt won the first seven Championship Indy-Car races of 1964 and Billy Boat holds the all-time consecutive record of 11 straight during the 1995 "Western States" Midget Series. Billy Vukovich III won seven straight Supermodified races in 1987, while Larry Dickson racked up six straight in the Sprint cars in 1968 and Michael Lang won six straight in the Indianapolis Speedrome Midgets in 1996.

Harris won March 14 and April 18 races at the 1/3-mile Bakersfield oval and added May 2 and June 13 wins at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway, plus a May 30 triumph at Perris Auto Speedway in Lake Perris, Calif. The five wins give him eight in his last nine outings dating back into 1997.

A 20-lap TQ Midget feature and a 30-lapper for the USAC "Western States" Midgets follow complete preliminaries for both series at Bakersfield. The Midget race will be Bakersfield Speedway's 50th under USAC sanction. The track recently celebrated its 100th USAC race, a Regional Rebel Sprint Car race, in May.

Rick Hendrix of Simi Valley, Calif., with victories at Las Vegas, Nev. and Tucson, Ariz. already under his belt this season, leads the "Western States" Midget standings going into the Bakersfield "doubleheader." USAC SINGLE SERIES CONSECUTIVE VICTORY RECORDS

NATIONAL SERIES:
        Championship Cars:      7       A.J. Foyt (1964)
        Supermodifieds:         7       Billy Vukovich III (1987)
        Sprint Cars:           6        Larry Dickson (1968)
        Midgets:               5        Rich Vogler (1978)
        Stock Cars:            5        Parnelli Jones (1964)
                                            & Norm Nelson (1965-66)
        Silver Crown:          4        Tom Bigelow (1975-76)
                                            & Jack Hewitt (1986)
REGIONAL SERIES:
        Western States Midget:  11      Billy Boat (1995)
        Speedrome Midget:       6       Michael Lang (1996)
        TQ Midget:             5        Alex Harris (1998)
        16th Street Midget:     4       Steve Knepper (1997)