26 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRIES FOR SUNDAY’S OUTFRONT 100 AT WWT RACEWAY

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Madison, Illinois (August 22, 2023)………Twenty-six USAC Silver Crown cars and drivers are entered for this Sunday’s OutFront 100 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. on August 27.

The biggest and fastest circuit on the series schedule will host the largest field of Silver Crown entries at the track since 2001.

Among the field are a pair of past WWT Raceway winners, including defending victor Kody Swanson (2022) and two-time winner Bobby Santos (2013-14).  One year ago, Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) set a new world record in a traditional style Silver Crown car with a lap of 30.675 seconds during qualifying, which translates to 146.699mph.

Father and son, Davey Hamilton and Davey Hamilton Jr., are also entered for Sunday’s race.  The Idahoans are one of just five fathers and sons to compete in the same USAC Silver Crown event.  Twice they raced against each other in USAC Silver Crown competition in 2017.  Hamilton Sr., an 11-time Indianapolis 500 starter, finished 8th with the Silver Crown series at WWT in 1998 while Hamilton Jr. finished as the runner-up in 2022.

Also returning to the fray on Sunday are 2022 OutFront 100 top-five finishers Mario Clouser (3rd), Justin Grant (4th) and Nathan Byrd (5th).  Bryan Gossel (8th), Taylor Ferns (9th) and C.J. Leary (10th) also make their way back to the Gateway oval following top-ten runs a year ago.

Veterans of Silver Crown racing at WWT who return Sunday are Patrick Lawson (12th in 2014 & 2016), Travis Welpott (13th in 2022), Aaron Pierce (15th in 2013), Derek Bischak (14th in 2022), Logan Seavey (16th in 2022), Dave Berkheimer (17th in 2022), Tom Paterson (19th in 2022) and Mike McVetta (20th in 2022).

The list of first-time WWT Raceway participants in Sunday’s lineup consists of Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.), Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.), Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas), top series Rookie Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas), Billy Wease (Noblesville, Ind.), Kyle O’Gara (Beech Grove, Ind.) and Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio).

RACE DETAILS:

This Sunday, August 27, at World Wide Technology Raceway, the USAC Silver Crown National Championship races in conjunction with the NTT IndyCar Series.

Team load-in is 5:30am-7am Central on Sunday morning.  Teams may also load-in on Saturday night from 8-9pm.  Spectator gates open at 7:30.  USAC Silver Crown Series practice is set for 8am with Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying slated for 10:15am, pre-race ceremonies at noon and the 100-mile feature event at 12:15.

Tickets range in price from $50 to $108 for adults. Tickets for ages 12 & under are $10.  Advance tickets are on sale now at: https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/indycar

Coverage of Sunday’s USAC Silver Crown event will be live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.

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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-445, 2-Logan Seavey-429, 3-Mario Clouser-307, 4-Justin Grant-299, 5-Kaylee Bryson-292, 6-Taylor Ferns-279, 7-Matt Westfall-274, 8-C.J. Leary-266, 9-Bobby Santos-248, 10-Travis Welpott-214.

OUTFRONT 100 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (26)

06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel)

08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)

5 ®DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

11 ®TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

14 DAVEY HAMILTON/Nampa, ID (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)

19 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Legacy Autosport)

22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)

26 ®KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)

48 ®NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Joe Moore)

60 BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Robert Wilson Racing)

67 KYLE O'GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)

81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)

88 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Byrd Racing)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)

92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)

94 MIKE McVETTA/Grafton, OH (RAM Engineering)

98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)

111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)

126 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)

131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)

555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)

(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender

TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY:

1 Lap - 8/19/2022 - Kody Swanson - 30.675 - 146.699 mph

60 Laps - 6/25/2016 - Tanner Swanson - 44:33.031 - 101.009 mph

80 Laps - 6/14/2014 - Bobby Santos - 49:46.000 - 120.563 mph

USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY:

1997: Pat Abold (9/14)

1998: J.J. Yeley (10/17)

1999: Ryan Newman (7/30)

2000: Tracy Hines (5/7)

2001: Dave Steele (8/25)

2013: Bobby Santos (6/1)

2014: Bobby Santos (6/14)

2016: Tanner Swanson (6/25)

2022: Kody Swanson (8/19)

PAST USAC SILVER CROWN RESULTS AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY:

1997 FEATURE (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Pat Abold (2), 2. Dave Steele (5), 3. Dan Drinan (10), 4. Kenny Irwin Jr. (25), 5. Robby Flock (6), 6. Tony Stewart (4), 7. Jimmy Sills (3), 8. Dave Darland (21), 9. Ryan Newman (12), 10. Mike Gregg (26), 11. Russ Gamester (17), 12. Jim Keeker (19), 13. Brian Tyler (22), 14. Ronnie Burke (30), 15. Eric Gordon (23), 16. Wally Pankratz (27), 17. Chuck Gurney (11), 18. Jason McCord (29), 19. Gary Irvin (24), 20. Donnie Beechler (13), 21. Bentley Warren (20), 22. Jack Hewitt (7), 23. Chuck Leary (1), 24. Ricky Logan (28), 25. Mike Bliss (9), 26. Kevin Thomas (14), 27. Davey Hamilton (8), 28. Johnny Parsons (16), 29. Gary Hieber (18), 30. Tracy Hines (15). NT

1998 FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (17), 2. Tracy Hines (12), 3. Ryan Newman (2), 4. Jason Leffler (3), 5. Bentley Warren (8), 6. Jason McCord (14), 7. Brad Armstrong (15), 8. Davey Hamilton (9), 9. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (18), 10. Pat Abold (27), 11. Eric Gordon (19), 12. Derek Davidson (22), 13. Dave Darland (20), 14. Johnny Parsons (29), 15. Rebel Jackson Jr. (26), 16. Brian Tyler (10), 17. Jimmy Sills (6), 18. Mike Brooks (28), 19. Robby Flock (11), 20. Gary Hieber (25), 21. Doug Didero (24), 22. Dave Steele (1), 23. Kevin Bloomstran (30), 24. Jack Hewitt (16), 25. Jerry Coons Jr. (23), 26. Chet Fillip (21), 27. Stevie Reeves (13), 28. Dan Drinan (5), 29. Russ Gamester (4). 56:47.64 (NOTE: Car #30, Chuck Leary (7), disqualified after finishing fifth for failing to pass post-race technical inspection.)

1999 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Ryan Newman (6), 2. Kenny Irwin Jr. (8), 3. Jack Hewitt (1), 4. Gary Hieber (18), 5. Tracy Hines (5), 6. Russ Gamester (7), 7. Bentley Warren (15), 8. Brad Noffsinger (12), 9. Jimmy McCune (17), 10. Dave Darland (20), 11. Robby Flock (14), 12. Todd Kane (19), 13. Chuck Leary (2), 14. Brian Gerster (21), 15. Paul White (23), 16. Tony Elliott (4), 17. Tom Capie (27), 18. Rebel Jackson Jr. (16), 19. J.J. Yeley (26), 20. Brian Paulus (9), 21. Jason Leffler (3), 22. Brian Tyler (13), 23. Randy Bateman (30), 24. Chet Fillip (11), 25. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (24), 26. Rich Tobias Jr. (29), 27. Keith Butler (28), 28. Jimmy Sills (10), 29. Jason McCord (22), 30. Jay Drake (25). 59:46.88

2000 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tracy Hines (4), 2. Jason Leffler (6), 3. Brad Noffsinger (1), 4. J.J. Yeley (5), 5. John Heydenreich (26), 6. Jack Hewitt (15), 7. Dan Drinan (12), 8. Jimmy McCune (27), 9. Russ Gamester (8), 10. Brian Paulus (20), 11. Dave Darland (11), 12. Jay Drake (16), 13. Brian Gerster (18), 14. Billy Whittaker (22), 15. Todd Kane (23), 16. Jimmy Kite (28), 17. Bobby McMahan (24), 18. Kasey Kahne (17), 19. Tom Capie (29), 20. Jimmy Sills (7), 21. Jon Herb (14), 22. Bud Kaeding (3), 23. Paul White (2), 24. Chet Fillip (21), 25. Tony Elliott (30), 26. Brian Tyler (10), 27. Ed Carpenter (13), 28. Jason McCord (25), 29. Ryan Newman (9), 30. Gary Hieber (19). NT

2001 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Steele (1), 2. Tracy Hines (10), 3. Mike Bliss (7), 4. Paul White (8), 5. Brian Tyler (6), 6. J.J. Yeley (2), 7. Ed Carpenter (11), 8. Kasey Kahne (9), 9. Bud Kaeding (14), 10. Chet Fillip (26), 11. Gary Hieber (27), 12. John Heydenreich (19), 13. Jerry Coons Jr. (17), 14. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (22), 15. Jason McCord (15), 16. Rich Tobias Jr. (21), 17. Tom Capie (16), 18. A.J. Fike (18), 19. Robby Flock (24), 20. Dave Darland (4), 21. Derek Davidson (20), 22. Eric Butze (28), 23. Jay Drake (12), 24. Tony Elliott (13), 25. Bentley Warren (30), 26. Michael Lewis (23), 27. Dane Carter (25), 28. John Nervo (29), 29. Aaron Fike (3), 30. Russ Gamester (5). 51:14.28

2013 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (5), 2. Kody Swanson (3), 3. Chris Windom (1), 4. Brian Tyler (10), 5. Jacob Wilson (7), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 7. Levi Jones (6), 8. Bobby East (2), 9. Shane Hollingsworth (11), 10. A.J. Fike (4), 11. David Byrne (15), 12. Zach Daum (12), 13. Jarett Andretti (9), 14. Tracy Hines (14), 15. Aaron Pierce (13), 16. Randy Bateman (16). NT

2014 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (5), 2. Tracy Hines (1), 3. Bobby East (3), 4. Caleb Armstrong (7), 5. Kody Swanson (12), 6. Jarett Andretti (4), 7. Cale Thomas (9), 8. Chris Windom (13), 9. Tanner Swanson (2), 10. David Byrne (6), 11. Randy Bateman (10), 12. Patrick Lawson (11), 13. Jacob Wilson (8). 49:46.000

2016 FEATURE: (60 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (1), 2. Chris Windom (5), 3. Austin Nemire (4), 4. David Byrne (6), 5. Joe Liguori (9), 6. Justin Grant (7), 7. Casey Shuman (8), 8. Hunter Schuerenberg (12), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 10. Shane Cottle (11), 11. Kody Swanson (2), 12. Patrick Lawson (10), 13. Tad Roach (13). 44:33.031

2022 FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Davey Hamilton Jr. (7), 3. Mario Clouser (5), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Nathan Byrd (12), 6. Kyle Robbins (11), 7. Eric Gordon (14), 8. Bryan Gossel (17), 9. Taylor Ferns (6), 10. C.J. Leary (9), 11. Bobby Santos (2), 12. Brian Tyler (8), 13. Travis Welpott (15), 14. Derek Bischak (10), 15. Patrick Lawson (13), 16. Logan Seavey (4), 17. Dave Berkheimer (19), 18. Gregg Cory (16), 19. Tom Paterson (18), 20. Mike McVetta (20). 1:07:32.395