Brownsburg, Indiana (July 22, 2025)………Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is a special place with a plethora of history dating back more than six decades that has earned its moniker as America’s Great Race Place.
The .686-mile paved oval in Brownsburg, Indiana has been attuned to the history of USAC competition throughout its entire run.
Parallel to USAC’s racing competition and IRP has been the USAC Benevolent Fund (now USAC RaceAid) which has helped drivers in need tremendously.
This Wednesday night’s July 23rd USAC’s RaceAid 100 is a salute to a special cause, while we celebrate the past and present with 100 laps of USAC Silver Crown racing on the asphalt where, this year alone, we’ve witnessed a first-time USAC winner and are now on the cusp of the ultimate USAC IRP record.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come. So, let’s get right to it with some of the storylines to keep an eye on coming up this Wednesday night at IRP.
ROAHRIG ROARING
Tyler Roahrig became a first-time USAC Silver Crown winner during the series’ last visit to IRP back in May of this year during the Hoosier Hundred.
The Plymouth, Indiana racer stayed patient after starting on the outside of the front row, then tracked down leader Kody Swanson on lap 26 and led the remaining 121 laps en route to victory.
Since that point, however, Roahrig has hit a rough patch over his past two series starts, resulting in a pair of DNFs and finishes of 17th and 12th at WWT Raceway and Winchester Speedway, respectively.
Roahrig and Newman Racing now looks to bounce back in a big way at IRP on Wednesday night.
SWANSON & SANTOS EYE IRP HISTORY
A major milestone is on the line for a pair of drivers in Wednesday night’s field – Kody Swanson and Bobby Santos.
With 15 victories apiece, those two are involved in a three-way tie with Tracy Hines as the winningest USAC drivers in IRP history.
Of Swanson’s 15 USAC triumphs at the track, nine have come in a Silver Crown car, number one all-time. Meanwhile, Santos has won 6 of his 15 at IRP in a Crown car.
Swanson has won each of the past two USAC Silver Crown pavement races this year at WWT Raceway and Winchester Speedway. Santos is vying for his first series win of the year following a third and fourth in his past two series outings.
As fate has it, Hines will serve as the grand marshal of this event.
THE TITLE BATTLE
With eight races in the books and five more to go, the 2025 USAC Silver Crown points picture has established its shape for the stretch run.
Grant’s run of eight straight top seven finishes has him 74 points up on second place C.J. Leary at the moment with Matt Westfall a distant third, 142 points back. Kody Swanson sits fourth while Kyle Steffens occupies the fifth spot.
Grant and Leary are both known for their dirt prowess, but both have won Silver Crown races on the pavement in their career. Nonetheless, IRP is not a place that either driver has tamed to date. This past May at IRP, Leary finished second while Grant took seventh.
MARIO HEATING UP
One of the standout performers of May’s IRP USAC Silver Crown round was Mario Clouser.
The Auburn, Illinois racer captured his first career pole position with the series in his Kazmark Motorsports No. 92, then led his first lap with the series, and ultimately, equaled his career best series finish with a third.
He certainly is on the rise and in contention for his first career USAC Silver Crown win this Wednesday at IRP. In his most recent outing on the dirt last Saturday at Kansas’ Salt City Speedway, Clouser led a race-high 42 laps, and was running inside the top-two for most of the night until a flat tire took him out of contention late.
THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
Five dollars from every ticket and pit pass sold for Wednesday’s race at IRP will be donated to a very special cause to benefit USAC RaceAid.
Since 1959, the United States Auto Club Benevolent Foundation (now USAC RaceAid) has provided financial aid to the families of auto racing participants with ties to USAC who have been injured and/or need assistance. USAC RACEAID also provides support to surviving family members with immediate and ongoing expenses.
Over the years, the foundation has provided millions of dollars to help members and their families in times of need. The needs, whether small or large, never cease. To donate to USAC RaceAid, please visit www.RaceAid.Fund.
RACE DETAILS
For this Wednesday’s July 23rd USAC RaceAid 100 USAC Silver Crown race, the pit gate opens at 3pm Eastern with pit move-in beginning at 4pm. The grandstands open at 6pm with practice starting at 6pm. Qualifying is set for 7pm followed by pre-race festivities at 7:40pm and the 100-lap feature race at 7:50pm.
Advance tickets are on sale now at https://nhra.evenue.net/promotions/event/25IIO/25USAC/25USAC. Tickets will also be on sale at the gate on race day. Adult general admission tickets are $20 and pit passes are $30 apiece.
The event can be watched live and on-demand at https://flosports.link/usac.
2025 RACEAID 100 ENTRY LIST
5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)
6 (R) JAKE TRAINOR/Medway, MA (Klatt Enterprises)
7 (R) DAVE DORAN/Lebanon, OH (Doran Binks Racing)
8 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)
21 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Team AZ-Petty-Rossi Racing)
22 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)
26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Dave Berkheimer Motorsports)
32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)
40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Meyer Auto Research)
41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Newman Racing)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (4 Kings Racing)
55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)
60 BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Meyer Auto Research)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran Binks Racing)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)
98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)
124 (R) JACKSON MACENKO/Cincinnati, OH (Brad Hayes Racing)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie
USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-518, 2-C.J. Leary-444, 3-Matt Westfall-376, 4-Kody Swanson-308, 5-Kyle Steffens-295, 6-Logan Seavey-271, 7-Gregg Cory-246, 8-Dave Berkheimer-245, 9-Mario Clouser-224, 10-Briggs Danner-218.
USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TRACK RECORDS AT LUCAS OIL INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK:
1 Lap - 5/20/2000 - Jason Leffler - 20.298 - 121.667 mph
2 Laps - 8/14/2021 - Kody Swanson - 41.605 - 118.717 mph
10 Laps - 8/2/2001 - Derek Davidson - 3:35.06 - 104.789 mph
15 Laps - 5/22/2003 - Chet Fillip - 5:16.38 - 117.087 mph
20 Laps - 8/2/1995 - Eric Gordon - 7:14.71 - 113.621 mph
25 Laps - 7/11/1987 - Jim Childers - 9:51.91 - 104.306 mph
100 Laps - 5/12/2001 - Mike Bliss - 35:41.40 - 115.326 mph
146 Laps - 5/26/2023 - Bobby Santos - 1:13:52.03 - 81.354 mph
150 Laps - 7/11/1987 - Jeff Bloom - 1:02:32.109 - 98.728 mph
USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT IRP:
9-Kody Swanson
8-Tanner Swanson
6-Bobby Santos
5-Mike Bliss
3-Bobby East
2-Kenny Irwin Jr., Jim Keeker, Jason Leffler & Ken Schrader
1-Pat Abold, Jeff Bloom, David Byrne, Bob Cicconi, Jay Drake, Bruce Field, Russ Gamester, Kyle Hamilton, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Kasey Kahne, Jason McCord, Ryan Newman, Johnny Parsons, Tyler Roahrig, George Snider, Dave Steele, Tony Stewart, Brian Tyler & J.J. Yeley
USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT IRP:
1985: Rick Hood (7/13)
1986: Ken Schrader (7/13)
1987: Jeff Bloom (7/11)
1988: Bruce Field (7/9)
1989: Bob Cicconi (7/8) & Ken Schrader (7/8)
1990: George Snider (6/30)
1991: Johnny Parsons (6/29)
1992: Jim Keeker (6/27)
1993: Mike Bliss (6/26)
1994: Mike Bliss (8/4)
1995: Jim Keeker (8/2)
1996: Mike Bliss (5/18) & Kenny Irwin Jr. (7/31)
1997: Pat Abold (5/17) & Kenny Irwin Jr. (7/30)
1998: Tony Stewart (5/16) & Jason Leffler (7/29)
1999: Ryan Newman (5/22) & Dave Steele (8/4)
2000: Jason Leffler (5/20) & Russ Gamester (8/6)
2001: Mike Bliss (5/12) & Kasey Kahne (8/2)
2002: Mike Bliss (8/1)
2003: J.J. Yeley (5/22) & Jason McCord (7/31)
2004: Jay Drake (8/5)
2005: Bobby East (8/4)
2006: Brian Tyler (8/3)
2007: Bobby East (7/26)
2008: Bobby East (7/24)
2009: Bobby Santos (7/23)
2010: Tracy Hines (7/22)
2011: Kody Swanson (7/28)
2012: Bobby Santos (5/19) & Bobby Santos (7/26)
2013: Tanner Swanson (7/27)
2014: Tanner Swanson (5/17) & David Byrne (7/24)
2015: Tanner Swanson (5/23) & Tanner Swanson (7/23)
2016: Tanner Swanson (5/27) & Kody Swanson (7/21)
2017: Kody Swanson (5/26) & Bobby Santos (7/20)
2018: Kody Swanson (5/25)
2019: Kyle Hamilton (5/24) & Kody Swanson (9/7)
2020: Tanner Swanson (8/21)
2021: Kody Swanson (5/29) & Kody Swanson (8/14)
2022: Bobby Santos (5/27) & Tanner Swanson (10/22)
2023: Bobby Santos (5/26) & Tanner Swanson (10/15)
2024: Kody Swanson (5/25) & Kody Swanson (10/19)
2025: Tyler Roahrig (5/23)
