Belleville, Kansas (May 14, 2025)………The “World’s Fastest Dirt Half-Mile” moniker is often cited by a variety of racetracks across the country, but you’d be hard-pressed to name one faster than the Belleville High Banks located in north central Kansas.
The circular shaped track demands attention and it demands respect. If you can win at this place, you belong in an elite club of individuals who went toe-to-toe with Belleville and came out the other side basking in the glory as a winner.
Now we get set to see who has the traits and characteristics and good fortune to rise up and become a USAC Silver Crown winner at Belleville this weekend, May 16-17, with practice set for Friday night while qualifying and the 50-lap finale is on the docket for Saturday under the lights.
Here are six storylines to keep your eyes on at Belleville this weekend.
MS. BRYSON GOES TO BELLEVILLE
Kaylee Bryson made double history at Belleville in 2024, starting off the night as the first woman to win a pole position for a USAC Silver Crown race with her fast qualifying lap in time trials. In the 50-lap finale, she topped herself by becoming the first woman to win a USAC national main event.
Now, this weekend, she’d like to become the first woman to win multiple USAC national events in her AP Driver Development No. 26.
In her first two Silver Crown outings in 2025, she’s finished 8th at Terre Haute and 9th Toledo, which has her sitting fourth in the series championship standings.
KEEPING PACE WITH BACON
Last year, while Bryson was celebrating her Belleville triumph, Brady Bacon was wondering what could’ve been.
Starting fourth, Bacon charged into the lead by the end of the first lap, and his torrid pace provided him with a staggering 15.8 second advantage over second place with just 17 laps to go.
However, so suddenly and without warning, Bacon’s Chris Dyson Racing machine went up in a cloud of smoke, ending his incredible race prematurely and leaving him empty handed.
Things were much better at Belleville in 2023 when he won the event following a memorable duel with Justin Grant. Bacon ran up front all night in his only previous 2025 Silver Crown appearance, finishing 3rd at Terre Haute in April.
POINT LEADER WANTS A BELLEVILLE WIN
A Belleville victory would be a feather in the cap for Justin Grant after coming miraculously close to winning the whole deal in 2023. His late race duel and tangle with Brady Bacon during the final laps sent Grant flipping wildly down the front straight.
To date, Grant’s best Belleville High Banks result is a 3rd way back in 2015. But the series point leader has plans on changing that fact after finishing inside the top-two in each of his first two Silver Crown starts to begin the 2025 campaign with a runner-up result on the dirt at Terre Haute and a victory on the pavement at Toledo.
20/21 VISION
The Team AZ / Petty Performance / Rossi Racing team will load up two cars and a pair of star-studded drivers in its Belleville lineup.
C.J. Leary will once again drive the No. 21, which he has driven to top-five finishes at Terre Haute and Toledo to begin the year and has him slotted second in series points. The No. 20 has gone from RTJ to KTJ. Kevin Thomas Jr. will pilot the ride in his return to Belleville after Ricky Thornton Jr. wheeled the car back in April at Terre Haute.
Leary was spectacular in his 20th to 2nd run in 2024 at Belleville. Thomas, meanwhile, has twice crossed the line in eighth place at Belleville in both 2015 and 2024. In Thomas Jr.’s most recent Silver Crown start, he won at another Kansas track – Salt City Speedway – in July 2024. Leary, on the other hand, is vying for his first series win since 2022.
DANNER’S READY
Don’t look now, but Briggs Danner my be the next prime candidate to become the next first-time USAC Silver Crown winner.
Over his past four USAC Silver Crown starts dating back to the end of the 2024 season, he’s finished 3rd, 3rd, 7th and 4th, the latter of which came in the 2025 season opener at Terre Haute.
Belleville, in fact, was the site of Danner’s first career Silver Crown start where he finished 11th while getting the feel of his initial run in a champ car. In 2024, Danner became a first time USAC National Sprint Car winner. Perhaps his time has come to take the DMW Motorsports #10 to the front with the Silver Crown series.
DOUBLE DUTY DRIVERS
Among this group, three drivers are expected to perform double duty with both the USAC Silver Crown and USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship this weekend at Belleville.
Justin Grant will strap into his Hemelgarn Racing No. 91 Silver Crown car and CB Industries No. 87 midget. Logan Seavey is set to drive Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing’s No. 22 Silver Crown machine and the Abacus Racing No. 57 midget. Kevin Thomas Jr. will be in the seat of the Team AZ / Petty / Rossi No. 20 Silver Crown ride and the 4 Kings Racing #14 midget.
This trio will have an untraditional doubleheader to face as they switch back-and-forth between the big cars on the big track to the midgets on the small track. The disciplines require different styles and different skill sets, but these three have proved time and time again that they’re capable of pulling off the rare sweep.
In fact, Seavey is the most recent driver to win both a USAC Silver Crown and USAC National Midget race at the same venue on the same day, doing so at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in 2023, a night in which he also won the accompanying USAC National Sprint Car feature.
RACE DETAILS:
On Friday, May 16, at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks, it’s opening night of the Huncovsky Classic for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season in conjunction with a practice night for the USAC Silver Crown division. The pits open at 3pm Central. Front gates open at 5:30pm. Hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing. General admission and reserved tickets are $20. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $10. Advance tickets are on sale now at www.BellevilleHighBanks.org. Tickets will be available at the gate on both race days.
On Saturday, May 17, at Belleville, it’s night two of the Huncovsky Classic featuring a full race day for both the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget and USAC Silver Crown divisions. The pits open at 3pm Central. Front gates open at 5:30pm. Hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing. General admission and reserved tickets are $35. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $25. Advance tickets are on sale now at www.BellevilleHighBanks.org. Tickets will be available at the gate on both race days.
The entire weekend of events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-140, 2-C.J. Leary-116, 3-Kody Swanson-95, 4-Kaylee Bryson-95, 5-Matt Westfall-91, 6-Logan Seavey-70, 7-Tyler Roahrig-67, 8-Brady Bacon-64, 9-Dakoda Armstrong-64, 10-Dave Berkheimer-64.
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TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT THE BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS:
1 Lap - 5/20/2023 - Kody Swanson - 16.823 - 106.996 mph
50 Laps - 5/18/2024 - Kaylee Bryson - 21:37.67 - 69.355 mph
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BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS USAC SILVER CROWN RACE WINS:
1-Brady Bacon, Kaylee Bryson, Tracy Hines, Kody Swanson & Chris Windom
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BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS USAC SILVER CROWN RACE WINNERS:
2013: Tracy Hines (8/2)
2014: Kody Swanson (8/1)
2015: Chris Windom (7/31)
2023: Brady Bacon (5/20)
2024: Kaylee Bryson (5/18)
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BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS USAC SILVER CROWN POLE WINNERS:
2013: Tracy Hines (16.856)
2014: Kody Swanson (17.221)
2015: Chris Windom (17.356)
2023: Kody Swanson (16.823)
2024: Kaylee Bryson (17.264)
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PAST USAC SILVER CROWN FEATURE RESULTS AT THE BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS:
2013 FEATURE: (50 Laps) 1. Tracy Hines, 2. Bobby East, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 5. Chris Windom, 6. A.J. Fike, 7. Kody Swanson, 8. Brian Tyler, 9. Dave Darland, 10. Tim Barber, 11. Shane Hollingsworth, 12. Miranda Throckmorton, 13. Chris Urish. NT
2014 FEATURE: (50 Laps) 1. Kody Swanson, 2. Tracy Hines, 3. Christopher Bell, 4. Bobby East, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 7. Chris Urish, 8. Jacob Wilson, 9. Chris Windom, 10. Jake Simmons, 11. Caleb Armstrong, 12. C.J. Leary, 13. Grant Simpson, 14. Davey Ray. 24:35.13
2015 FEATURE: (50 Laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Justin Grant, 4. Kody Swanson, 5. Shane Cockrum, 6. C.J. Leary, 7. Brady Bacon, 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9. Steve Buckwalter, 10. Aaron Pierce, 11. A.J. Fike, 12. Austin Nemire, 13. Rex Norris III, 14. Terry James, 15. Chris Fetter, 16. Shane Cottle, 17. Patrick Lawson. 22:46.927
2023 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (5), 2. Kody Swanson (1), 3. Chase Stockon (13), 4. Shane Cottle (10), 5. Logan Seavey (7), 6. Shane Cockrum (12), 7. Matt Westfall (14), 8. Kaylee Bryson (9), 9. Trey Burke (18), 10. Taylor Ferns (19), 11. C.J. Leary (3), 12. Mitchel Moles (8), 13. Travis Welpott (17), 14. Gregg Cory (22), 15. Bryan Gossel (15), 16. Patrick Bruns (21), 17. Justin Grant (2), 18. Tyler Roahrig (16), 19. Dave Berkheimer (23), 20. Wayne Johnson (11), 21. Mario Clouser (6), 22. Kevin Thomas Jr. (4), 23. Danny Long (24), 24. Chris Fetter (20). NT
2024 FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kaylee Bryson (1), 2. C.J. Leary (20), 3. Mario Clouser (2), 4. Justin Grant (10), 5. Daison Pursley (12), 6. Jerry Coons Jr. (13), 7. Chase Stockon (7), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 9. Robert Ballou (17), 10. Matt Westfall (3), 11. Briggs Danner (5), 12. Shane Cottle (14), 13. Taylor Ferns (6), 14. Kody Swanson (8), 15. Nathan Moore (18), 16. Logan Seavey (21), 17. Gregg Cory (19), 18. Brady Bacon (4), 19. Trey Burke (15), 20. Trey Osborne (16), 21. Mitchel Moles (11), 22. Danny Long (23), 23. Dave Berkheimer (22), 24. Bryan Gossel (24), 25. Dave Peperak (25). 21:37.67 (New Track Record)
