Coons and his Wilke-Pak Motorsports team gambled as one of just six cars to stay out on the track during a Lap 14 red flag rather than take new tires. At that point, he assumed the lead and maintained the top spot for the remainder of the 30-lap feature event.

In his first season behind the wheel of a Toyota-powered midget car, Coons has already registered a victory and a third in the USAC opener last weekend at Manzanita, as well as a fourth in the Chili Bowl in January. Coons became the first-ever Toyota-powered driver to win a USAC championship last season when he captured the Silver Crown title.

He was joined in Wednesday’s feature by two more Toyota-powered drivers as Cole Whitt (Keith Kunz Motorsports) and Josh Wise (Cruz Pedregon Racing) also qualified for the feature. Unfortunately, neither would be around at the conclusion of the race.

Whitt would become the first to retire when a Lap 14 incident resulted in his flipping his Red Bull Toyota. He finished 18th, but salvaged his night with a victory in the night’s Sprint Car race.

Wise, who was taking over for J.J. Yeley in the Pedregon entry, appeared to be on the way to a top-10 finish when he also was involved in an incident on the final lap that ended with his Advance Auto Parts Toyota flipping. He was scored in 16th.

Las Vegas Results
Coons, Wilke-Pak Racing 1st
Wise, Cruz Pedregon Racing 16th
Whitt, Keith Kunz Motorsports 18th

National Midget Car Series Points: 1-Boat 123; 2-Coons 120; 3-Sweet 111; 4-Kuhn 107; 5-Hagen 103; 6-East 99; 7-Swindell 96; 8-Clauson 90; 9-Yeley 85; 10-Jones 74.

Next USAC National Midget Series race: February 28 – Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway

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