Swanson Sets New Track Record to Win Pole And Finishes a Solid Second at Belleville In Doran Binks Racing’s Mission Foods No. 77 In USAC Silver Crown Season Opener

by Linda Mansfield

BELLEVILLE, Kan., May 21 — Kody Swanson and Doran Binks Racing got the 2023 USAC Silver Crown season off to a great start Saturday at the Belleville High Banks by setting a new track record to win the pole, setting the fastest lap of the race, leading the most laps, and finishing second in the 50-lap main event with the No. 77 sponsored by Mission Foods and Glenn Farms.

It was an impressive performance on the unique, high-banked half-mile dirt track as Swanson began the pursuit of his eighth series title. He is the winningest driver in the history of USAC’s top series and the defending champion. After Saturday’s season opener he leads the point standings over Brady Bacon, 73 to 70.

The Lebanon, Ohio-based team brought a Maxim chassis that Swanson used to drive for DePalma Motorsports out of retirement, and the Indianapolis-based driver led the first 27 laps of the race with his old car, fitted with a Bob Hampshire Chevy engine. By lap 13 he had a whopping 4.018-second lead over the second-place runner at the time, Justin Grant.

That huge advantage dropped a bit when he had trouble threading his way around some cars he was lapping, but he still had nearly a 2-second lead over Grant when the first yellow waved on lap 21. That caution was needed after the sixth-place driver, Mario Clouser, had a flat right-rear tire and clipped the fourth-place driver, Wayne Johnson, causing Johnson to stop in Turn 3.

Yellow flag laps didn’t count, and Swanson got a good restart and started to rebuild his advantage. At the halfway point he was nearly a second ahead of Grant.

However, Grant was able to cut his deficit to 0.453 seconds two laps later, and Grant took the lead with a slider to the inside in Turn 4 on lap 28 that continued through Turn 2 with Grant on the outside

Four laps later Bacon got under Swanson for second in Turn 2 on lap 32. Bacon then set his sights on Grant, while Swanson held off C.J. Leary to maintain third

Grant led from laps 28 through 42, but Bacon got around him on lap 43 to become the race’s third leader.

Grant was able to stay close to Bacon. Grant was on the low side and Bacon was high on lap 46 while they were both navigating lapped traffic and doing sliders. Grant’s slider worked best for a few seconds and he took the lead. Grant came up the track a bit following his slider and Bacon was powering down the frontstretch after his when room ran out. They came together while they were side by side, with Grant flipping hard into the catch fence close to Turn 1 to bring out a red flag. Luckily he wasn’t hurt.

That elevated Swanson back into second place behind Bacon for the restart, but after only one lap the yellow came out again when Leary, who was fourth, and Mitchel Moles, who was fifth, tangled in Turn 2 and Leary stopped low on the track. Both were unable to continue.

Bacon was able to get a good restart and he remained in front for the last three laps to post a 3.250-second victory over Swanson. Swanson was 1.567 seconds ahead of the third-place finisher, Chase Stockon, who started 13th and was the hard charger. Shane Cottle finished fourth and Logan Seavey finished fifth in the 24-car field.

Swanson set the fastest lap of the race while he was leading on lap seven with a time of 18.152 seconds. Leary set the second-fastest lap of the race followed by Grant, Bacon and Johnson.

Earlier in the day Swanson set a new track record of 16.823 seconds in winning his 42nd career pole in this series, extending his record in that category.

“It was a monumental effort,” Swanson said afterwards. “We led early. The track slicked off, and at the end we didn’t have anything for him. Congrats to Brady and Sean Michael for their win. I’m just thankful to be part of this team and to be surrounded by all these great people, and for the support of Mission Foods and Glenn Farms.”

The race, which was the first USAC Silver Crown race at this particular track in eight years, was streamed live by Flo Racing.

Doran Binks Racing and Swanson now have a monumental week ahead of them, as they tackle the Hoosier Hundred USAC Silver Crown race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Ind., on Friday, May 26 followed by the Lucas Oil Little 500 presented by UAW 500 Sprint Car Tour race at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway the next day, Saturday, May 27.

RacingNation Crew

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By Dan Margetta

Speedway, Ind., Sept. 5—The late Bryan Clausen commonly used the phrase “parked it” from victory lane following his many wins and Thursday night following the DrivenToSaveLives BC39 driven by NOS Energy Drink held in his honor at the Dirt Track at IMS, young Zeb Wise continued that tradition by leading a Clausen-Marshall Racing podium sweep of the top three positions.

It wasn’t easy for Wise, who first took the lead from early pace setter Thomas Meseraull following a lap 19 restart, and then had to fend off serious challenges from Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell before edging teammates Tyler Courtney and Chris Windom for the victory. Larson posed the most serious threat as he threw a slider on Wise entering turn three on lap 29 and as the two exited turn four, their cars came together sending Wise ramping up the wall before landing on all four wheels as Brady Bacon snuck by on the inside to grab the lead. Larson slowed following the contact to draw a caution flag which dropped him from contention for the win although he would race back to a ninth place finish. Driving with some concern from the contact with Larson, Wise was able to throw a slider of his own on Bacon to regain the lead on lap 33 just before Bacon and his teammate Jason McDougal tangled on the frontstretch to draw another caution on lap 35. This time as racing resumed, it was Bell’s turn to challenge Wise and his turn three slide job attempt at the lead on lap 37 ended with his car rolling over in turn four before landing back on its wheels, setting up a three lap battle for the win between the Clausen-Marshall contingent of Wise, Windom, and Courtney. Wise was up on the wheel for the restart and he maintained the lead over the final laps while Courtney was able to edge Windom at the line for second place. Chad Boat and Logan Seavey finished fourth and fifth respectively while Jesse Colwell raced his way from the 24th starting position to finish sixth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished seventh followed by Kevin Thomas Jr. in eighth while Kyle Larson and Justin Grant rounded out the top ten finishers.

“I’m at a loss for words right now,” Wise exclaimed after climbing out of his USAC National Midget in victory lane, “Me and Larson got together and it’s unfortunate because we would have had a heck of a battle there but after that I actually had a bent steering arm and I had to man-handle that thing around the top. What a cool moment for not only me and the 39BC but for the Clausen-Marshall team with the podium, it doesn’t get much better than that.”

A total of 85 cars were entered into the main event second night of the BC39 program and they were placed into six qualifying races which were won by Tyler Thomas, Zeb Wise, Christopher Bell, Dillon Welch, Gio Scelzi, and Michael Pickens. The driver were then placed into races based on a passing points formula in which the top sixteen were locked into the BC39 with the rest having to advanced through a series of “Alphabet Soup” races. Jonathan Beason and Brent Beauchamp were the winners of the two D Mains while Sam Johnson won the C Main. Christopher Bell topped the B Main as he advanced to the BC39 along with Tucker Klaasmeyer, Jerry Coons Jr., Tyler Courtney, Chase Briscoe, and Cannon McIntosh who rounded out the top six finishers.

Dan Margetta

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Speedway, Ind., Sept. 4—The second edition of the DrivenToSaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink got off to a crazy start Wednesday night as Kyle Larson topped the preliminary Stoops Pursuit race in thrilling fashion over Michael Pickens and Justin Grant.

The 25-lap race, which was divided into five lap segments with the last place driver and any driver that lost a position during each segment being eliminated, highlighted the opening night of the BC39 event and kicked off the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard weekend.

Larson, Pickens, and Grant survived the eliminations during the opening segments and were the only three of the 25 starters remaining for the final five laps. Larson and Pickens traded the lead numerous times in the final laps while Grant remained glued in their tracks. Larson led at the white flag as Pickens set himself up for a strong run off turn two down the backstretch. Pickens threw a slider entering turn three and nearly cleared Larson but his right rear barely clipped Larson’s left front which turned his car sideways. Pickens car dug into the track and he bicycled over upside down as Grant rocketed around the outside of both cars momentarily taking the lead before hitting the turn four fence and turning over upside down as well. Meanwhile Larson, who spun completely around, kept his foot on the throttle and charged to the finish line to win.

The evening also featured USAC National Midget heat race action as the 90 entries for the BC39 were placed into ten heat races through a special draft the night before in order to set the passing points standings for the BC39 main event races on Thursday night.

Brady Bacon scored the victory in the first heat race over Chris Windom and Robert Dalby while Kevin Thomas Jr. edged Karsyn Elledge and Holly Hollan to win the second heat race. Zeb Wise claimed victory in heat race number three over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Jerry Coons Jr and Dillon Welch won the fourth heat race over Justin Grant and C.J. Leary. Gio Scelczi topped Jason McDougal and Tucker Klaasmeyer to win the fifth heat race while Zach Daum took top honors in heat race number six over Tanner Carrick and Billy Wease. Andrew Laser took a nasty tumble in the sixth heat race as he landed upside down in turn four before escaping the incident without injury. Jake Neuman won the seventh heat race over Michael Pickens and Christopher Bell and Chad Boat was the winner of the eighth heat race over Logan Seavey in a photo finish. Alex Bright finished third. Thomas Meseraull started deep in the field in heat race nine and charged to the win over Kyle Larson and Ethan Mitchell. Spencer Bayston topped the tenth and final heat race over Matt Westfall and Jesse Colwell.

Dan Margetta

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INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, Sept. 2, 2019 – Ninety drivers are on the final entry list for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink on Sept. 4-5 at The Dirt Track at IMS.

This is the third-largest field for a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event in the past three decades. Drivers assembled in the stacked field have accumulated 23 USAC National championships and 208 total USAC National Midget feature wins. Twenty-six drivers will race for a $15,000 prize awarded to the winner of the A-Main on Thursday night, Sept. 5.

Among the 90 drivers entered are eight competitors who have extensive experience on the famed 2.5-mile oval surrounding the quarter-mile dirt oval located in Turn 3 of the infield.

Indiana native Conor Daly and J.J. Yeley each have finished in the top 10 at the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, Daly in this past May’s race and Yeley in 1998. Yeley has also made eight Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard starts, with fellow Brickyard starters Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ready to race in the BC39 along with NASCAR Xfinity Series race veterans Christopher Bell, Indiana native Chase Briscoe and Chad Boat, who finished as the runner-up in the inaugural BC39 in 2018. Chris Windom started in the Freedom 100 Indy Lights race this year on Miller Lite Carb Day at IMS.

Brady Bacon is the reigning BC39 race winner from a year ago, leading the final nine laps to score the popular victory. Bacon is a two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion, in 2014 and 2016, and one of 11 past USAC National champs in the BC39 lineup. Others are Yeley (2001 and 2003 Silver Crown, 2002-03 Sprint and 2003 Midget), Bell (2013 Midget) and Windom (2016 Silver Crown & 2017 Sprint).

Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis is the defending USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car titlist, while Logan Seavey is the reigning USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champ. Indiana’s Dave Darland (1997 Silver Crown, 1999 Sprint, 2001-02 Midget) and Jerry Coons Jr. (2008 Silver Crown, 2008 Sprint and 2006-07 Midget) are among the three USAC Triple Crown champs, along with Yeley, to have won all three USAC National championships throughout their career.

Indiana’s Spencer Bayston (2017), Tanner Thorson (2016) and Indiana’s Russ Gamester represent three more titles among eight previous USAC National Midget champions represented in the BC39 field.

Nearly one-third of the BC39 field has earned a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature victory in their career, 28 drivers to be exact. That list is comprised of Darland (30), Bell (23), Coons (19), Yeley (17), Larson (16), Thorson (13), Gamester (12), Courtney (11), Boat (9), Bacon (7), Seavey (6), Bayston (5), Stenhouse (5), Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), Justin Grant (4), John Heydenreich (4), Michael Pickens (4), Zach Daum (3), Billy Wease (3), 2018 Stoops Pursuit winner Zeb Wise (3), Critter Malone (2), Windom (2), and single-race winners Steve Buckwalter, Tanner Carrick, Jason McDougal, Cannon McIntosh and Tyler Thomas.

Current USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point leader C.J. Leary and recent Kokomo Speedway Sprint Car Smackdown prelim night winner Thomas Meseraull are seeking their first USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget points-paying victories.

USAC Regional series champions are well-represented in the BC39 lineup, including 2018 Eastern Midget titlist Alex Bright, 2017 Gulf Coast Speed2 Midget champ Kyle Jones, 2017-18 Midwest Thunder Speed2 Midget champion Aaron Leffel and 2009 Kenyon Midget champion Dillon Welch, who also serves a reporter for NBC NTT IndyCar Series telecasts.

USAC’s Western States Midgets have brought a strong contingent, including current series point leader Robert Dalby, a two-time winner with the series this year, along with 2012 overall series champion Shannon McQueen and July Santa Maria winner Maria Cofer, two of the five female drivers in this year’s BC39 field. David Prickett was the 2012 Western States Midget Dirt champ while Cody Swanson is a two-time winner with the series.

Another noteworthy female driver racing in the BC39 is Karsyn Elledge, the granddaughter of 1995 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard winner Dale Earnhardt and niece of retired NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Tickets for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink are on sale at www.ims.com , along with tickets for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, Sept. 8 and the Indiana 250 and FGL Fest on Saturday, Sept. 7.

On-track action begins Wednesday, Sept. 4 at the quarter-mile Dirt Track at IMS. Public gates open at 3 p.m., with cars on track for hot laps at 5 p.m., followed by opening ceremonies at 6:30 p.m. Heat races and the Stoops Pursuit race will conclude the night’s racing action.

Public gates will open at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5 for the second and final night of action. Cars will be on track for hot laps at 4:30 p.m., with qualifying races at 5:30 p.m. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 7 p.m. and followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.

BC39 ENTRY LIST (90 Drivers)

00 LUKE HOWARD/Overland Park, KS (Jay Mounce)

08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)

1 KARSYN ELLEDGE/Mooresville, NC (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)

1BR CHASE JONES/Greenwood, IN (SFH Racing Development)

1K BRAYTON LYNCH/Springfield, IL (Rusty Kunz Racing)

1NZ MICHAEL PICKENS/Auckland, NZ (RMS LLC)

1ST ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Daryl Saucier)

2 RYAN HALL/Midlothian, TX (Mark Bush)

2J J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Jeff Taylor)

2x MATT LINDER/Hoschton, GA (Mark Bush)

3 RICH DRANGMEISTER/Hobart, IN (Rich Drangmeister)

3N JAKE NEUMAN/New Berlin, IL (Jim Neuman)

4A JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RAMS Racing)

4D ROBERT DALBY/Anaheim, CA (Ken Dalby)

5 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)

5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN (Chase Briscoe Racing)

5D ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Daum Motorsports)

7 CRITTER MALONE/Pittsboro, IN (Seven LLC)

7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)

7s JON STEED/Rushville, IN (Steed Motorsports)

7u KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Trifecta Motorsports)

7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS LLC)

8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)

9 CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Baue)

9B CLINTON BOYLES/Greenwood, MO (Jay Mounce)

9H EMILIO HOOVER/Broken Arrow, OK (James Hoover)

10 LANCE BENNETT/Aurora, CO (Olivia Bennett)

10A MICHAEL KLEIN/Elsmere, KY (Mike Wallace)

11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Chuck Taylor)

11m KENDALL RUBLE/Vincennes, IN (Martin Motorsports)

11T TOMMY KOUNS/Lebanon, IN (Chuck Taylor)

12 BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Amanda Wease)

15 DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN (Petry Motorsports)

15DJ DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA (Neverlift Motorsports)

15J JEFF WIMMENAUER/Indianapolis, IN (Jeff Wimmenauer)

15s SHANNON McQUEEN/Bakersfield, CA (Broc Garrett)

15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)

17 RICKY STENHOUSE JR./Olive Branch, MS (Clauson/Marshall Racing)

17BC CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Clauson/Marshall Racing)

19 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Brodie Hayward)

19m ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)

20 CODY WEISENSEL/Sun Prairie, WI (Kevin Weisensel)

21 CHRISTOPHER BELL/Norman, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)

21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson)

21F JONATHAN BEASON/Broken Arrow, OK (Team Ripper)

21KS C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Team Ripper)

21m MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Team Ripper)

22 JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (John Givens)

23m DAVID BUDRES/Beloit, WI (Manic Racing)

25 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Petry Motorsports)

25B STEVE BUCKWALTER/Royersford, PA (Steve Buckwalter)

27 TUCKER KLAASMEYER/Paola, KS (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)

28 ACE McCARTHY/Tahlequah, OK (Jim Neuman)

31 TRAVIS BERRYHILL/American Canyon, CA (Manic Racing)

32J CHRIS JAGGER JR./Warsaw, IN (Chris Jagger Jr.)

35 CONOR DALY/Noblesville, IN (Petry Motorsports)

39BC ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)

41 OLIVER AKARD/Ft. Myers, FL (Dan Akard)

43 BRENT BEAUCHAMP/Avon, IN (Kevin Arnold)

46 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)

47BC ANDREW LAYSER/Collegeville, PA (Clauson/Marshall Racing)

50 TONY DiMATTIA/Malvern, PA (Tony DiMattia Motorsports)

54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner)

54m RAY SEACH/Beloit, WI (Manic Racing)

55 NICK DRAKE/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline)

56AP COLTEN COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Travis Young)

56x MARK CHISHOLM/Cheyenne, WY (Mark Chisholm)

57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (McCreery Motorsports)

57K KEVIN STUDLEY/Plainfield, IN (Kevin Studley)

61 TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Mel Kenyon)

67 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)

67F KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFH Racing Development)

67K HOLLEY HOLLAN/Broken Arrow, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)

71 JESSE COLWELL/Red Bluff, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)

71B ROBERT BELL/Colfax, IA (Robert Bell)

71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)

71s CODY SWANSON/Norco, CA (Marcie Campbell)

72 SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO (Joe Johnson)

76 KEN DRANGMEISTER/Hobart, IN (Ken Drangmeister)

76E BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)

76m JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)

77B BLAZE BENNETT/Parker, CO (Olivia Bennett)

81 DILLON WELCH/Carmel, IN (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)

84 CHAD BOAT/Phoenix, AZ (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)

85 GIO SCELZI/Fresno, CA (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)

88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson)

91T TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK (Brian Thomas)

97 KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)

97A AUSTIN O’DELL/Rochester, IL (Patrick O’Dell)

TBA TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (TBA)

RacingNation Crew

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By Joe Jennings

Mechanicsburg, PA – Just when it seemed that Pennsylvania ace Steve Buckwalter was going to gain an upset victory at the legendary Williams Grove Speedway, late-race action turned the tables and Brady Bacon dodged the bullets to win his first career USAC Silver Crown victory.

“This win means a lot to me,” Bacon noted in the victory circle. “I have won a midget race here but to win a big-car race at a historic place like Williams Grove (Speedway) is pretty special. And to win my first Silver Crown race after being close so many times is great. We finally had some good luck.”

Top 3 finishers Kody Swanson, winner Brady Bacon and Justin Grant. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Winner Brady Bacon enjoys race victory and the $8,000 payday. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Williams Grove 100 winner Brady Bacon raises one finger in celebration of his first Silver Crown win. [Joe Jennings Photo]

no. 53 – hard-luck driver Steve Buckwalter seemingly headed to win until last lap. [Joe Jennings Photo]

no. 20 Runner-up and point leader Kody Swanson in action. [Joe Jennings Photo]

no. 6 – Brady Bacon with No. 97 Tyler Courtney alongside. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Bacon’s win came in his 23rd start with the Klatt Enterprises Beast. For the Klatt team, it won for the first time on dirt to go along with their most recent victory on the pavement at the Lucas Oil Raceway, in Indianapolis.

The action took place during the running of the Williams Grove 100.

Bacon led only one lap, an overtime circuit, no less. Until the late going, Bacon didn’t seem to be in contention until the front-runners took turns eliminating each other.

Buckwalter came from eighth to first by lap 48 and held command until the fateful 99th time around when he was punted out of the coveted spot by hard-charging Chris Windom, who led the opening 47 laps. The Windom maneuver incurred the wrath of the many Buckwalter faithful.

Windom said he made a mistake in judgment and apologized to Buckwalter for his transgression. Said Buckwalter, “He just drove over me.”

In the final tally, Buckwalter came home eighth and Windom ninth.

Going into the final laps, Buckwalter led Windom, Justin Grant, Kody Swanson and Bacon. On lap 98, Swanson, second at the time, made a desperate attempt to overhaul Buckwalter but slid wide, losing positions instead of gaining. Subsequently, the championship point leader made contact with Windom, who blew a tire.

Bacon watched all of these goings on and made his move when it counted. “I thought we had made mistakes that had cost us the race but as rubber got laid down, we kept getting better and better, plus we had more tire than those other guys. When Windom got into Buckwalter, it gave us the perfect spot,” the victor said. “Obviously, there were a lot of things happened that enabled us to win.”

Swanson battled back to gain the runner-up spot. “We struggled early but in Silver Crown races, you are never out of it. I raced Buckwalter as cleanly as I could but he was obviously fading. I tried to pass him but couldn’t hold on, falling back to 5th or 6th and had to rally to salvage a night. I hate not to win.”

Fast qualifier Grant came home third.

Mike Haggenbottom vaulted from 15th to fourth and pavement ace Eric Gordon earned fifth.

The second five were Austin Nemire, David Byrne, Buckwalter, Windom and Matt Goodnight.

Joe Jennings

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By Joe Jennings

INDIANAPOLIS – Running second throughout much of the Hoosier 100 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, hometown driver Tyler Courtney pounced when the opportunity presented itself and raced to victory in the last-ever race on the famed mile dirt-track.

Auto racing is leaving the track to allow the application of limestone for the benefit of horse racing. Although no specifics were available, race organizers plan to move the popular race to an unidentified location.

Rendering of the 2020 Cockpit Protection Innovation between INDYCAR and Red Bull Advanced Technologies. [courtesy IndyCar Media]

Rendering of the 2020 Cockpit Protection Innovation between INDYCAR and Red Bull Advanced Technologies. [courtesy IndyCar Media]

Rendering of the 2020 Cockpit Protection Innovation between INDYCAR and Red Bull Advanced Technologies. [courtesy IndyCar Media]

Rendering of the 2020 Cockpit Protection Innovation between INDYCAR and Red Bull Advanced Technologies. [courtesy IndyCar Media]

Rendering of the 2020 Cockpit Protection Innovation between INDYCAR and Red Bull Advanced Technologies. [courtesy IndyCar Media]

Rendering of the 2020 Cockpit Protection Innovation between INDYCAR and Red Bull Advanced Technologies. [courtesy IndyCar Media]

Driving the Hans Lein entry, Courtney thrilled the large crowd when he passed leader Kevin Thomas, Jr. on the 93rd lap to win the 64th and final edition of the legendary USAC Silver Crown championship race.

“I knew we had to maintain our pace for a while and just run our race,” said the popular driver known as Sunshine. “On that last restart, my spotter let me know that another driver was doing well running high and I knew where Kevin would be lifting, so I knew where to time it right I could sneak by him. It worked out and this is incredible.

“Being the last Hoosier 100, we get to put our names alongside all the greats, which no one else can do now.”

Thomas held on for second in the finely tuned Foxco Racing car.

Seeking a record fifth consecutive victory in the race, Kody Swanson had to settle for third but he did hold on to the point lead. The cordial Californian had brake problems during qualifications and they weren’t fully resolved for the race.

Swanson said, “I didn’t really come close with third. Kevin did a great job and Tyler had a great restart and timed it just right. Unfortunately, we weren’t good enough even though everyone gave it everything they had. For the first night in the Nolen car and to run third in the Hoosier 100 was good but not good enough.”

Fourth and fifth were Justin Grant and Brady Bacon.

Rounding out top 10 were Jason McDougal, David Byrne, Steve Buckwalter, Brian Tyler and Jacob Wilson.

Chris Windom led the first five laps before ramming the outside wall on front-stretch and flipping some seven times before coming to a grinding stop just past the starting line. Onlookers believe the Windom wreck was one of the worst-ever in the Hoosier 100. Fortunately, he escaped injury but his Goodnight-Byrd car was demolished.

Sophomore driver Chris Dyson also escaped injury in a backstretch flip on lap 92.

Thomas set fast time of 32.929, besting 38 other drivers.

Joe Jennings

racingnation.com

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Over the decades, California has produced more than its share of major race winners and champions with stars such as Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Rick Mears, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and many more too numerous to list. And now another Californian, Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, has emerged as both a record-breaking winner and a multi-time champion.

Granted, Swanson is not a big-name when compared to those previously named but in USAC Silver Crown series circles, the 30-year old is known as a highly successful driver, one who knows how to win on both dirt and pavement.

Kody Swanson and family all aglow in victory lane after Kody won the Hoosier 100 for the fourth consecutive time. [Joe Jennings Photo]

DePalma Motorsports team hold up 4 fingers as a result of winning the Hoosier 100 for the fourth year in a row. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Kody Swanson in action in the familiar No. 63 DePalma Motorsports car. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Kody, Jordan and Tyler Swanson beaming proudly after the recent victory on the dirt at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Driving the DePalma Motorsports entry again in 2018, Swanson won five-straight races breaking Jack Hewitt’s 32-year old record of four in a row and in winning on the lightning-fast Salem Speedway in August, the skilled driver picked up his 24th Silver Crown career victory, elevating him into first place on the all-time win list. Previously, the legendary Hewitt held that record.

In addition, Swanson gave the DePalma team its fifth straight owner title, a record. Prior to this, the Bob East/Tony Stewart Racing and the Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teams were tied for first with four.

Looking at 2018, Swanson was on his game from the beginning to the end, capturing the driver title by a margin of 82 points and never trailing during the long season.

Swanson made even more headlines over the Memorial Day weekend by scoring a hat trick, winning the famed Hoosier 100 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds for the fourth straight time (tying superstar Al Unser, Sr. for first place), taking first-place honors the following day at the nearby Lucas Oil Raceway and capping off the three-day weekend with a compelling victory in the Little 500 at the Anderson Speedway. The first two wins came in Silver Crown action in DePalma cars and the sprint-car victory was scored in a Nolen Racing entry.

With so many substantive accomplishments, Swanson finds it impossible to rank them. “Doing so well this year is a special problem to have, and they all meant so much to me. It is why it is hard to pick one above the other,” the genial driver said. “A lot of them were so great for different reasons. To win the championship for DePalma (Motorsports) was one. It seemed like we settled a lot of unfinished business, and it was neat that it all came together this year.

“In a single race, the win at Salem for our fifth (victory) in a row, setting a record for the only driver to do so and allowing me to pass Jack Hewitt for No. 1 in all-time wins ranks very high.

“For overall weekends, to win three in a row, including tying Al Unser with four in a row at the Hoosier 100, the win in the Carb Night Classic named for Dave Steele and getting Gene Nolen his first Little 500 victory made for a very special three days.”

Swanson attributes his success to a series of factors. “I feel like the Silver Crown series fits me the best and finding success with the DePalma team has been great,” the well-spoken driver said. “Racing is more a team sport than many people realize. In our case, we have a very special race team from top to bottom, from the family that owns it, the people that work on it, the manufacturers and supporters to the wives and families that support all of us, focusing on us being competitive and continuing to win makes the whole situation so special.”

The Swanson family is a tight-knit group and when their driver wins, victory lane is full of family members, starting with his wife Jordan, son Tyler, younger brother Tanner along with proud parents Mike and Darla.

In addition to being Kody’s biggest fan, Jordan also serves as her husband’s spotter in Silver Crown, inheriting the job from his dad. “My wife had never done that before and after a couple of races, she did a great job, and she has been my full-time spotter for three seasons now,” her husband noted. And her family duties expanded in late October when she gave birth to their second son, Adam.

Shortly after the season ended, Swanson was faced with two major changes that may have an impact going forward. First, team owner Tony DePalma announced that he was shutting down the team to concentrate on family matters. Almost immediately, Swanson was recruited by Gene Nolen to drive for his team, which will downsize from two-cars to one. For pavement races on the sprint-car side, Nolen will field cars for Swanson and Shane Hollingsworth.

“I feel this presents a new opportunity for me, and my goal for 2019 is to give Gene his first Silver Crown title,” Swanson said. “And from there, my goal each night is to win races and championships.”

Swanson certainly knows how to win and he’s not expected to miss a beat in his quest for wins and championships in the years ahead. The California native is a credit to the sport and is deserving to be included in the same sentence with the state’s more well-known achievers.

Joe Jennings

racingnation.com

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For a USAC National Sprint Car fan, or even someone with only a casual interest, the new book entitled MODERN THUNDER comes up a winner. The 384-page book details the USAC National Sprint Car wars year-by-year from 1981 through the 2017 seasons.

Noted media professionals Dave Argabright, Pat Sullivan and John Mahoney have combined their talents to produce a gem of a book. And It took them some two years to complete the well-laid out tome.

In addition to the prose, over 1,300 color and black-and-white photos are included; these alone make the book a winner.

Five-time USAC National Sprint Car champion and now the Director of Competition Levi Jones penned the Foreword, giving readers insights into his driving career and more recent leadership role with the sanctioning body.

Starting with 1981, a complete summary of each year is provided along with a statistical recap of each season and a profile of each champion. Reaching back into history, driver and owner champions along with yearly data are listed from 1956 to 2017 along with race wins for each year from 1961 forward. Somewhat unique is the listing of track appearances and major event winners, such as the Tony Hulman Classic and the 4-Crown Nationals.

One can read about the accomplishments of Sheldon Kinser, Jeff Gordon’s early foray, Tony Stewart’s rise through the ranks and numerous tidbits that may have been forgotten by even the most ardent fan.

While Argabright, Sullivan and Mahoney are the featured contributors, deserving credit also goes to behind-the-scene participants Joyce Standridge, for her role in the layout, design and overall direction, and to USAC’s Dick Jordan and Richie Murray, for their tireless efforts with the compilation of the myriad of statistical and historical records and the requisite fact-checking endeavors. Numerous others also provided guidance, advice and support.

In this reviewer’s opinion, no stone or significant statistic was left out and after pouring over the book, it is highly recommended reading and would make for an ideal Christmas present for a race enthusiast, particularly those with an interest in the history of USAC National Sprint Car history.

The hardbound book is priced at $49.95 plus $6 shipping and can be obtained at www.daveargabright.com as well as at Coastal 181 and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum gift shop.

Joe Jennings

racingnation.com

The post MODERN THUNDER, A Gem Of A Book appeared first on RacingNation.com.

By Dan Margetta

Speedway, Ind., Sept. 6—At the end of the all night party that was the inaugural Driven2SaveLives “BC39” presented by NOS Energy Drink USAC Midget race on The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Brady Bacon emerged victorious after a hard fought battle with Kevin Thomas Jr. and Chad Boat.

“This team steps up when it comes to the big races and the big money and I can’t thank them enough for that.” Bacon told the crowd who stuck around well past midnight to see the main event as heavy rains earlier pushed back the racing program several hours, “It turned out to be a great race and I know I was holding my breath there for a few laps trying to get by KT (Thomas Jr.) as he’s such a hard racer and we were in lapped traffic there.”

“We’ve usually been the best guy on the bottom and the track was really tricky there with the cushion being so big from the rain,” Bacon continued, “That’s kind of what we shot for, to be able to really get a lot of acceleration off the bottom and to be able to stick it in really sideways like that.”

Kevin Thomas Jr. started on the pole and immediately jumped out to the early lead while Bacon found an opening from his seventh starting position to quickly advance to second. As the leaders approached lapped traffic, Thomas took a line that swung wider off the turns while Bacon remained glued to the inside and he was able to make numerous challenges for the lead as Chad Boat entered the fray, advancing from his tenth starting spot up to third. The three put on quite a show battling for the lead with Bacon edging to the inside of Thomas while Boat stalked both of them in third. With eight laps to go, Bacon finally was able to draw alongside Thomas on the inside exiting turn four and clear him just past the start-finish line to take the lead. Boat followed the move a few laps later as he slid past Thomas and began to chase Bacon for the top spot as the laps wound down. Bacon would not be denied however and he took the checkered flag with Boat in his tire tracks to claim the inaugural “BC39” trophy and the $15,000 pay day that went with it.

“The guys gave me a great car,” Boat told the crowd after his late race charge came up just short with a second place result, “You always want to win at The Speedway so second kind of stinks right now but what a great car and we will use this momentum to get them next time.”

“It’s irritating but that’s part of racing, “Thomas Jr. stated describing losing the lead to Bacon in lapped traffic, “It felt good to lead there and when you catch the lapped cars, the second and third guys are able to search around and find some places that are faster than you and that’s just part of it. They have good race cars and we had a good race car too and we just got beat.”

Tyler Courtney finished fourth while Christopher Bell was the event’s Hard Charger as he advanced from his 17th starting position all the way to fifth. Alex Bright finished sixth followed by Justin Grant and Holly Shelton in seventh and eighth place respectively. Jerry Coons Jr. and Ryan Robinson rounded out the top ten finishers.

The earlier rainfall combined with time restrictions forced the cancellation of the “Alphabet Soup” Mains and the A-Main starting field was based on combined passing points from Wednesday night’s action along with eight qualifying races held on Thursday night.

Logan Seavey won the first qualifier over Christopher Bell and Shane Golobic while Jake Neuman won the second qualifier over Tyler Thomas and Gage Walker. Jerry Coons Jr. was victorious in the third qualifier over David Budres and Critter Malone and Holly Shelton captured the victory in the fourth qualifier over Dilllon Welch and Zane Hendricks. Chad Boat held off Andrew Layser and Brayton Lynch to win the fifth qualifier while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the sixth qualifier over Justin Grant and Tyler Courtney. Kevin Thomas Jr. won the seventh qualifier over Shane Cottle and Gio Scelzi while Chris Windom won the eighth and final qualifier over Brady Bacon and Ryan Robinson.

Robert Dalby was involved in a spectacular crash in the fourth qualifier as his car shot high into the air on the frontstretch after contact with another car before tumbling down the racetrack end over end. Dalby climbed from the car but was later transported to a local hospital. Later on Twitter, Dalby posted he was sore everywhere and was being held for observation for a bruised lung.

Dan Margetta

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By Dan Margetta

Clermont, Ind., July 20—After turning in the fastest qualifying time, the night was set for Tanner Swanson to score his record breaking fifth USAC Silver Crown Series win at the Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis Thursday night, but Bobby Santos III had other ideas as he held off a hard charging Swanson to win the 100-lap Rich Vogler/USAC Hall of Fame Classic.

Santos took the green flag from the third starting position and immediately jumped to the outside lane at the start to challenge pole-sitter Tanner Swanson for the lead. Swanson and Santos traded the top spot for the opening laps before Santos powered by on the high side at the completion of lap three. Swanson dogged Santos the entire event but each time Swanson made a charge for the lead, Santos was up to the task and turned back each challenge. A final green-white-checkered charge by Swanson fell short and Santos drove to the victory. Aaron Pierce finished third while Kody Swanson and Chris Windom rounded out the top five finishers. Justin Grant took the checkered flag in sixth just ahead of Jerry Coons Jr. and David Byrne in seventh and eighth respectively.

Davey Hamilton Jr. and Annie Breidinger completed the top ten.

“I’m out of breath, “ and exhausted Santos told the crowd from victory lane, “Kody and Tanner (Swanson brothers), those two guys are awesome and I had to work my butt off just to run with them the last couple years and we finally said, ‘well we can race with them’ and tonight we just got a step better.”

“I’m happy I went to the gym this winter,” Santos continued, “because I am out of breath and without that I would not have won this race.”

“The team gave me a great car again this year, “Swanson said after his runner-up finish,” We got beat the last couple times and they did their homework. Last year we about put a lap on the field but everyone has their programs running like this so we’ll just have to dig a little harder.”

“It wasn’t too bad, the last few years we’ve been coming here and run fifth, qualified fifth and we just couldn’t get our car to race good, “ third place Aaron Pierce told the crowd afterwards, “I think we learned a little bit tonight and at least we were on the same straightaway with them and we’ll just learn a little bit more from what we learned and be here to get them again next year.”

NASCAR Monster Energy Cup driver Ryan Newman raced with the lead pack during the opening stages of the race before exiting with mechanical problems on lap 37.

Dan Margetta

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