DRAKE COMPLETES HIS SEASON TO REMEMBER.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

Jay Drake won the USAC Three-quarter Midget feature at Irwindale Speedway on Thanksgiving night, giving him 19 main event victories in 2000.

Those 19 wins in a single season are matched by only two other drivers in USAC history - A.J. Foyt won 19 USAC races in 1961 and Sleepy Tripp equaled the feat in 1988.

Matching the record was bittersweet consolation for Drake, who finished second in USAC Sprint and Midget car standings this year after missing a handful of races early in the season. Still, Drake said this season has been one to remember.

``It's a pretty big deal,'' said the Buena High of Ventura graduate. ``Only two other guys have done it and one was A.J. Foyt, the greatest driver in the world.''

That Drake was even racing the Three-quarter Midget main event was also a big deal. The former TQ Midget champion didn't have a car to drive until the day before the race.

``I hadn't been in one of those cars in six years,'' Drake said. ``It was pretty tough. I started there and it was as tough now as it was then. Still it was a lot of fun.''

Walt Johnson of Sun Valley was second in the TQ Midget feature and J.J. Ersce of Lakewood finished third. Ersce's third-place finish was enough for him to win the season championship.

Drake has already started preparing for the 2001 season, which begins in March at the Copper World Classic in Phoenix. But the 2000 season won't be one he'll forget anytime soon.

``It was the best season I've ever had,'' said Drake, who won seven other races in addition to his 19 USAC races. ``That's a lot of races to win. I can remember when I didn't hardly race 26 races all year.''

--Boone falls short: Bobby Boone of Palmdale had some stiff competition standing in his way of a USAC Western Midget championship. His main adversary was Wally Pankratz of Orange, who led the Western Midget standings entering the final race of the year at Irwindale Speedway on Thanksgiving night.

Included in the list of drivers standing in Boone's way were NASCAR Winston Cup stars Tony Stewart and Jason Leffler. But Boone held his own and finished in the top 10 at the USAC Home Depot Turkey Night Grand Prix.

Only problem was he needed to finish in the top five to win the Western Midget title.

Pankratz finished 16th in the race and won the Western Midget championship by two points over Boone, who was sixth in the season finale.

Even though Boone, a Littlerock High graduate, was runner-up in 2000, he came away with some wisdom that will benefit him throughout his auto racing career.

``I'm not going to worry about the championship as much and just race the races,'' said the 19-year-old Boone. ``I am just going to go race. If I can do that, the championships will come.''

--NASCAR realignment: Bill France announced Tuesday he was stepping down as president of NASCAR and relinquishing his power to a five-member board of directors.

The new board will be led by president Mike Helton, who had served as senior vice president and chief operating officer of NASCAR since 1999.

Reactions from some NASCAR Winston Cup drivers has been encouraging and positive as NASCAR enters a new era of leadership.

``If you're not moving forward, you're moving backwards,'' said Jeremy Mayfield, driver of the No. 12 Mobil One Ford Taurus. ``Whether it's a team or NASCAR or a track or whoever, in this sport there is no such thing as standing still. Those guys at NASCAR are moving forward and looking ahead all the time, so a move like this is a big one, but an important one.''

Sterling Marlin, driver of the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge, trusts the new board will do what is best for NASCAR.

``It's not like everything they touch turns to gold or nothing like that,'' Marlin said. ``But they do usually do the right thing. I can think of a lot of things they did and when it was first announced, people would think, 'Oh, man! They've really stepped in it now!' And then we'd turn around later and realize it was the best thing they could have done.

``I've been around since I crewed Daddy's cars (Coo Coo Marlin) as a teen-ager, so I have some time in this sport. I've been chewed out by Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr. I'm sure sooner or later I'll add Mike Helton to the list - or he'll add me to the list - and make it a trifecta on NASCAR presidents.''

John Andretti, driver of the No. 43 Cheerios Dodge, said he has complete faith in Helton and the new leadership.

``Mike has big shoes to fill but he has done an outstanding job so far,'' Andretti said. ``This is a natural progression and, to me, validates the security of NASCAR by making such a strong move with a guy who can be hands on. Bill is still going to be around and that's great, but I think there is a pretty good comfort level with Mike, too.''