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USAC ROOKIE CANDIDATES EYE SERIES FINALES

Drivers competing for USAC’s “Rookie of the Year” awards are gearing up for the final events of 2014 as the National series enter their final two months.

Drivers Caleb Armstrong, Patrick Lawson and Christopher Bell are tops among rookies in the Silver Crown Championship while Jarett Andretti and Shane Cockrum appear to be the top AMSOIL Sprint Car leaders and Kevin Thomas Jr. sits atop the Honda National midget rookie tally.

Armstrong, of New Castle, Ind., is ninth in the Silver Crown points. A post-race technical infraction in the “4-Crown Nationals” at Rossburg, Ohio relegated him to a 10th place finish after a strong run and at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill. in June he posted a fourth-place finish.

Lawson, of Edwardsville, Ill., has competed in seven Silver Crown races, scoring a trio of 12th-place finishes and is 11th in the standings entering the Syracuse, N.Y. finale Saturday.

Bell, of Norman, Okla., is the defending Honda USAC National Midget Champ and has a pair of top-10 finishes in his five 2014 Silver Crown outings, including a great third-place finish at Belleville, Kans. He’s currently 13th in the series points.

The Silver Crown Championship Series concludes this Saturday in the “Salt City 78” at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

Andretti, of Mooresville, N.C., is 14th in the AMSOIL National Sprint standings after 22 starts. His best feature finish was a ninth at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind. in April.

Cockrum, of Benton, Ill., has posted four “top-10s” on his way to 16th in the Sprint points. His best finish was a seventh in the “Indiana Sprint Week” opener at Gas City, Ind. His 2014 USAC resume also sports a victory in the “Ted Horn 100” Silver Crown races at DuQuoin, Ill.

The AMSOIL National Sprint Cars wrap up the 2014 campaign with four races in California and Arizona. Perris Auto Speedway hosts the “Budweiser Oval Nationals” November 7-8 and Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz. hosts the Hose Advantage “Hall of Fame Classic” November 14-15.

Thomas, of Cullman, Ala., started the first nine Honda National Midget features and compiled four “top-10s” including a pair of sixth-places in the season openers. Although there are several other Midget contenders, Thomas currently tops the list.

The Honda National Midgets close out the 2014 campaign with the November 20-22 Sands Chevrolet ‘”Western World Championships” at Peoria, Ariz. and the November 27 “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Perris, Calif.

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