Friday, April 24, 1998 | 8:59 a.m.
SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Veteran Wally Pankratz will head the field Saturday night when the USAC Western States Midgets and Sprint Cars invade the half-male clay oval of Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
For a man who hates to fly, Pankratz has spent the majority of his time running Mach I in Las Vegas.
The 52-year-old Pankratz, who hails from Orange, Calif., is currently eight points behind Jason Lefler of Indianapolis, Ind. in the USAC Western States Midgets Series standings. Bryan Stanfill of Bakersfield is third, with 70 points, in a season which has included three rainouts in six tries.
The extremely powerful Midgets have 330 horsepower in a car weighing only 900 pounds, creating an impressive power-to-weight ratio.
Pankratz, a standout performer in both Sprints and Midgets, won the first race ever at the 3/8-mile paved oval of LVMS when he defeated Chuck Gurney in 1986. He is also a past Super Modified winner at Craig Road Speedway, where he won the Open Wheel Championships in 1978.
"This is a very fast track," Pankratz said of the LVMS facility. "I have run there twice, and it kind of reminds me of the Perris track (in Southern California). There's one difficulty to the Vegas track -- you have to be very careful coming out of the second turn. When you exit the corner, there tends to be a lot of bite. There's a lot more compaction, and you spin your tires. That can take you to the fence.
"I've always done well in Vegas. I was leading the Silver Crown race there last year, before Tony Stewart took me out. The little tracks are always tougher to run than the big tracks."
Among the top Sprint Car drivers expected to compete here Saturday will be points leader Ray Evans of Salt Lake City, Utah and Rick Williams of San Leandro, Calif. The sprinters are 700-horsepower cars, which compete throughout the Western United States.
Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., with the first heat slated for 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for children and senior citizens.
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