COONS GOES FOR ANOTHER “TRIPLE” IN 2009!


Only two drivers in USAC history have been able to string together three straight years with a victory in all three USAC National racing series each year. Dave Steele actually did it five years in a row from 2001 to 2005! J.J Yeley did it from 2001 to 2003.


 


Defending USAC National Sprint Car Champion and USAC Triple Crown Champ Jerry Coons Jr. hopes to become the third in 2009 and will try to add the second jewel to the crown this weekend at Eldora Speedway in the track’s “Coca Cola Spring Classic” featuring the USAC National Sprint Car Series.


 


Coons has won in all three series the past two years and won the National Midget race at Las Vegas, Nev. February 25. He now needs wins in the two series where he defends his 2008 titles, the Sprints and Silver Crown, to join Steele and Yeley in the exclusive list.


 


“Ir’s tough to win in all three,” says Coons. “We’d obviously like to win multiple races in all three but we’ve got to get that first one under our belt to do that. Eldora has been a challenge the past couple of years. We lost an engine one night and got involved in a crash once, so we’re looking forward to getting back to victory lane. Dynamics always gives me a great car, as do all my National teams, so we’ve got a good chance to do the triple again.”


 


Actually, Coons became the 21st driver to claim a win in all three National series in a single year when he accomplished the feat in 2007. The others, in addition to Steele and Yeley, are Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Rich Vogler, Ron Shuman, Ken Schrader, Rick Hood, Jack Hewitt, Mike Bliss, Kenny Irwin Jr., Dave Darland, Tony Elliott, Ryan Newman, Jay Drake, Bobby East, Josh Wise, Tracy Hines, Bud Kaeding and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.


 


Piloting the Dynamics, Inc. Kroger/Tide, Bounty/Pringles F-5 Gaerte Mopar gives Coons a great chance to add the second notch, since the Dynamics team holds the all-time USAC Sprint car record of 72 feature wins and Coons has already posted a Sprint win at Eldora in 2006 and a Silver Crown win there in 2007.


 


Coons finished third in last year’s “4-Crown Nationals” Sprint race at the Ohio half-mile and ranks eighth in the 2009 series standings, posting a fourth-place finish in the February 28 race at Perris, Calif.


 


The Dynamics team has won at least one USAC National Sprint race in each of the last 20 seasons. “