Hart Wins at Six Flags Ventura

Marc Hart of Ventura won his first USAC three-quarter Midget main event Saturday at Ventura Raceway.

The series points championships will go down to the final night of racing this weekend.

Hart, a non-factor in the three-quarter Midget title chase, survived six yellow flags and came from the middle of the pack to win.

J.J. Ercse of Bellflower, the three-quarter Midget points leader with 641, blew a tire in a heat race earlier in the evening and failed to qualify for the feature. That opened the door for Ventura’s Kenny White (second with 590 points) and Simi Valley’s Scott Hansen (third with 569).

A feature win by White would have sliced Ercse’s lead to less than 20 points and he appeared headed to victory, leading as late as the 17th lap. But Long Beach’s Jason Leffler hit White, causing a blown tire and ending White’s chances.

Rick Atkins of Fullerton finished second while Hansen, from the back of the pack, finished third.

In three-quarter heat races, Richard McCormick (Granada Hills), Wiley Miller (Fullerton)and Jim Brusseau (Pasadena) were winners. Chuck Gurney (Livermore, Ind.), Page Jones (Torrance), Robby Flock (Temecula) and Jordan Hermansader (Rancho Palos Verdes) were Midget heat-race winners.