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CHRIS WINDOM TEXAS PRE-RACE ADVANCE (INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – April 4, 2007) – Chris Windom - a 16-year-old phenom, and one of the hottest race car drivers in short-track racing today - is headed to Kyle, Texas this weekend for the "Allstate Lightning 100" Presented by Toyota USAC National Midget Car Series event at Thunder Hill Raceway, to be contested on Saturday, April 7th. A tremendous field of 28 cars is pre-entered already for Saturday's "Allstate Lightning 100." It's the second appearance for the series at the track which hosted last October's USAC 40-lap debut. Located on approximately 38 acres, Thunder Hill is a three-eighths mile, D-shaped track with a curved front straight (much like the larger tracks at Texas Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway). As such, it offers short-track drivers yet another different kind of track. Windom, who plans a full schedule of racing this year in both the USAC National Sprint and Midget Car Series', as well as racing locally in Indiana when his schedule allows, has already had a busy year of racing early in the 2007 season. "We started off with a lot of work heading into the Chili Bowl," Windom said of the beginning of his 2007 season. "That went really well, as I finished seventh in the "A Main" after starting 23rd in a race that's probably one of the most competitive environments of any race anywhere in the world. When we headed to Florida for non-winged Sprint car races at East Bay Raceway Park, we had mechanical problems early on, but it ended up being an interesting trip. At Manzanita, we had problems in both the Sprint car and Midget. In the Midgets, we started pretty far back in the feature, but ended up finishing pretty good. So we came back to our shop in Indy and tried to figure how to improve both our Midget and Sprint car programs, and got ready for the USAC/CRA events in Las Vegas. We qualified fourth and fifth on respective nights, and ran pretty well, at least in the second feature, where we finished eighth, which was a good finish for us." Windom was on a roll and ready for the meanest track on the circuit, Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway, in Rossburg, Ohio, which had a USAC Sprint show scheduled for late March, but the event did not happen due to the rain and snow in north central Ohio that is so common during this time of year. With more than 75 races scheduled for 2007, the team had to get ready for the next round – the upcoming event at Thunder Hill Raceway. "We were getting ready for Eldora, but the show got cancelled due to weather concerns, so we shifted our focus to the pavement midget race in Kyle, Texas, this weekend," Windom explained. "I have looked at pictures of the Texas track on the Internet, but have not seen it in person. I have not run a full pavement midget yet, but I ran Kenyon Midget cars all last year and was pretty comfortable with them on that type of surface (Windom won the 2006 USAC Pavement Kenyon Midget Car Series Championship). So that will be a new challenge for me – to run Thunder Hill in a National Midget car. We tested at Anderson a few weeks ago and ran pretty well, so I have a better idea of how that full midget will feel." The USAC National Midget Car Series has produced some of the top open-wheel and stock car racers, and continues to be home to some of America's great racing talent. During its 11-month season, USAC hosts some of the most competitive racing in the country, due in part to the variety of tracks on which it races and the quick reflexes necessary to maneuver the 900-pound, front engine midget cars. NASCAR veterans Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, as well as open-wheel legends A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti had stellar USAC Midget careers. * * * * * Next Races for Chris Windom: Driving Directions to Thunder Hill Raceway: Thunder Hill Raceway SCHEDULE - April 7th, 2007 * * * * * CHRIS WINDOM Full Name Birthplace Residence Birthdate Ht. / Wt. Hobbies CHRIS WINDOM 2007 RESULTS * Claimed the USAC Pavement Kenyon Midget Series points Championship, winning four straight features and becoming the third-youngest champion in USAC's 51-year history; * Holds the record for consecutive victories in the Kenyon Midget Series with four. Other Series records: Most laps led (116 of 470; 25 percent); Most top-five finishes (15); Best average finish (3.13); Most races led (tied with Sammy Imel at 8); * Finished third in King of Indiana Sprint Series (KISS) points; * Finished third in Midwest Sprint Car Series (MSCS) points; * In the top-five in points at Kokomo (IN) Speedway, winning once, and in the top-10 at Bloomington (IN) Speedway; * Ran Sprint cars at least three times a week, with 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes at local tracks; 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1998-2000 April 4, 2007 |