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Coons And Hoffman Score Big In USAC Sprints At Richmond

RICHMOND, June 27 – Jerry Coons Jr. raced to victory in the 60-lap USAC National Sprint Car Series at Richmond International Raceway Friday evening. In winning, Coons gave venerable car owner Dick Hoffman the team’s 70th National sprint car triumph.

Coons won for the eighth time in his successful career. And he drove the Dynamics, Inc./Kroger-Tide Bounty Pringles Beast Mopar
Qualifications were rained out and Coons and Brady Bacon started on the front row.

Early on, Brad Sweet’s car caught fire and he returned to the pits on fire. Sweet bailed out of his moving car and crew members doused him in water. No injuries were reported.

At the start, Shane Hmiel bolted into the lead and dominated the early action until mechanical woes sidelined him, giving the lead to Coons.

“I don’t know what happened to his car but after that, our car was really good,” Coons said. “We might have changed a half pound of air during the mid-race break and after that the car stayed pretty consistent.”

Hoffman, who won his first race in 1961, was thrilled with the win. “I am sitting here with two of my favorite drivers (Coons and Hines).

Tracy drove for us until he went to NASCAR and he recommended Jerry as his replacement. It is a lot of fun to beat Tracy and for him to beat us. I hope I can live long enough to see 100 victories.”

Tracy Hines finished second in the Tony Stewart Beast “We didn’t have anything for Jerry,” Hines said. “In the first 30 laps we were just play rope-a-dope with the kids in front of me, as they were running pretty hard. I waited and I thought the car was good, although I didn’t have anything for Jerry. I was just hanging on at the end.”

Third place went to Damion Gardner and fourth to Levi Jones in the second Tony Stewart entry.

Mike Murgoitio took fifth ahead of Bacon, Brian Gingras, Shane Cottle, David Slawiak and Jacob Wilson.

Fifteen cars started the race.

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