Drivers Anticipate 200 Lap Midget Race

Entering the Anderson 200 for the USAC Mopar National Midgets this Saturday at Anderson Speedway the hottest driver is Bobby Santos III.

Santos captured his first ever Silver Crown victory on Thursday at O’Reilly Raceway Park and finished second in the Midget feature.

“I’ve driven a sprint car at Anderson,” Santos said of the upcoming 200-lap event. “Two hundred laps is a long race. I know the track was pretty racy in a sprint car so I expected it to be about the same in a Midget.”

Santos said the key is to save the equipment for the final 50 to 75 laps and make a charge to the front.

There were 37 Midgets at ORP on Thursday and as many as 34 cars are expected to compete for one of the spots in the 30 car starting field.

Qualifying takes place at 5:30 p.m. with racing action starting at 8 p.m. which will include Kenyon Midgets heats and feature race.

Brownsville native Bobby East, who won an earlier this season USAC Sprint Car race at Anderson Speedway, said the goal is to stay out of trouble and be in a position to go for the win in the later stages of the race.

“It’s a tough place to pass,” East said of Anderson Speedway. “If you have to make a pit stop your out of contention for the win.”

Last year East competed in the Anderson 400 for Midgets and came from five laps down to finish in the top five.

“I came from five laps down, but it took me 350 laps to do it,” he said. “It’s going to be a hard race on the equipment and the drivers. I’ll probably cruise for the first half of the race.”

East predicted the Anderson 200 could be a race of attrition.
Chad Boat, who failed to make the feature at ORP, said he’s looking forward to the 200-lap race on the high-banked quarter-mile bullring.

“It should be fun,” he said of the race. “You have to avoid problems and save the tires for the end. A pit stop will end any chances of victory.

“Some guys will jump out fast as the start,” Boat continued. “But you have to save something for the finish.”

Caleb Armstrong, who’s cousin Dakota won the Anderson 400, said he was looking forward to the race and was hoping to stay out of trouble.

“He (Dakota) told me to save the tires and the car for the final 75 laps and stay out of trouble,” Armstrong said. “It’s going to be a long race.”

Tickets for the Anderson 200 are priced at $15 with discount coupons available at several outlets.

The Anderson 200 is part of a big weekend of racing at Anderson Speedway with NASCAR star Kyle Busch competing in the Red Bud 300 along with the Champion Racing Association super late models on Monday.