Full Throttle

Defending USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown Series champion Dave Steele of Tampa, Fla. ran his “Copper World Classic” victory streak to four Sunday, winning the 100-mile “FastSigns 100″ at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz.

Steele led all 100 laps for the second straight year, pushing his total in the event to 267 straight laps on the point. He was challenged by runner-up Tracy Hines in the final quarter of the event but led Hines to the checkered flag for the third straight year. Trailing the lead duo were Tyler Walker, J.J. Yeley and Brian Tyler.

“I’ve got to give credit to my team,” said Steele, who won the event by .224 seconds. “Those guys know what setup to use on the car, and it stayed consistent throughout the race.”

Steele, who started on the outside of the front row, darted to the front and was unmatched throughout the event, which featured eight cautions for 42 laps, including three yellows in the final 10 laps. The stoppages in competition made Steele uneasy at times, however. His best runs came during long periods of green.

“I think on short runs, he was better,” Steele said, “so it would have been better for us if we had longer green-flag periods. I hated to see those cautions, especially the last one, but we were able to hold on to win.”

Russ Gamester won the 15-lap qualifying race on Saturday. Bobby East ended Steele’s three-race polesitter streak at the one-mile track, lapping the track at 139.147 mph.

The series will continue action in the “Hoosier Hundred” May 27 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Source: PIR

USAC WELD RACING SILVER CROWN SERIES STANDINGS

1.-Dave Steele-63
2.-Tracy Hines-57
3.-J.J. Yeleyt-51
4.-Brian Tyler-48
5.-Wayne Reutimann, Jr.-45
6.-Jimmy Kite-42
7.-Ron Gregory-39
8.-Dave Darland-36
9.–Eric Gordon-33
10.-Danny Ebberts-31