HOME OF THE BRAVE: USAC SILVER CROWN’S BELLEVILLE FIELD FEATURES AN ARRAY OF HIGH BANKS EXPERIENCE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Belleville, Kansas (May 15, 2023)………Home of the brave. That’s the Belleville High Banks.
It’s been eight long years since the wall-to-wall roar of a USAC Silver Crown rocketship has sped around the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks. However, for the first time since 2015, the moment has come for one of the most sensory-overload experiences in racing to hit us once again on Friday-Saturday, May 19-20.
This Friday’s three practice sessions on the half-mile dirt oval lead into Saturday night’s 50-lap main event, paying $8,000-to-win.
Twenty-nine drivers have entered this weekend’s event, a third of which have competed in a champ car at Belleville before, half of which have experienced the high banks in some form or fashion, and another half who will receive their introduction to Belleville. One hundred percent of all drivers will be facing one of their biggest challenges of the season.
EXPERIENCED IT
Seven-time champion Kody Swanson enters as the only previous Belleville USAC Silver Crown winner and the lone driver to start all three events at the track. He got the job done from the pole in 2014, but it came amongst a tumultuous evening. A blown engine forced the team to swap the powerplant out prior to qualifying. In the feature, he dropped all the way back to seventh, then charged back to the front to score the win. Swanson hasn’t finished outside the top-seven yet at Belleville, taking 4th in 2015 and 7th in 2013.
Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.), the 2020 USAC Silver Crown champ, is the only driver in the lineup to finish inside the top-five in both a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship feature and a USAC Silver Crown main event on the Belleville High Banks. Grant scored a third in his Hustle on the High Banks Silver Crown run back in 2015.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) took six steps forward from his first Belleville start to his second. In 2014, an engine issue sidelined the 2019 USAC National Sprint Car champion just six laps into the contest. In his 2015 return, he completed the 50-lap run with a 6th place finish.
The Klatt Enterprises team Leary drives for has won three times on Belleville’s banks with the midget in 2002-03-08, all with Bobby East at the helm. Bob East has notched numerous victories as a crew chief at Belleville, capturing a combined 13 USAC wins alone between his crew chief roles with Klatt and the Steve Lewis team during the 1990s-2000s.
Shane Cockrum’s family has a history at Belleville. His father, Cliff Cockrum, got his first impression of the place back in the 1960s when the banks were a hefty 18-foot tall. Shane, a fire chief for the city of Benton, Ill., was solid in his one and only Belleville appearance in 2015, collecting a top-five.
Speaking of family history at Belleville, Brady Bacon’s father, Leon Bacon, has been a USAC Ford Focus Midget winner at Belleville on the short track in 2005. Brady himself (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has finished on the podium on the high banks with the midgets and took 7th in his lone Silver Crown experience at Belleville in 2015.
Also returning for the weekend to take on Belleville for a second time in the champ cars after competing in 2015 are Cullman, Alabama’s Kevin Thomas Jr. (8th), Sylvania, Ohio’s Austin Nemire (12th), Troy, Missouri’s Chris Fetter (15th) and Kansas, Illinois’ Shane Cottle (16th).
BEEN THERE, BUT NOT WITH THE CROWN
Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) set a new midget track record on the Belleville High Banks back in 2011, which he still ranks as one the top-five coolest moments in his racing career. Belleville is a welcome sight for Clouser, who’ll be making his dirt Silver Crown debut this weekend after making five starts on the pavement in 2022.
Bryan Gossel (Fort Collins, Colo.), the 2020 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year, took his shot at Belleville with the ASCS Midwest Region wing sprint cars in 2006, placing 23rd. USAC Silver Crown newcomer Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, Okla.) scored 4th when the ASCS series arrived at Belleville back in 2015.
Hailing previous Belleville Midget Nationals starts who are in this weekend’s Silver Crown field are Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) a 5th place finisher in 2001-02. Matt Mitchell (Yorba Linda, Calif.), making his first Silver Crown start since 2007, also owns a Belleville absence nearly as long, having finished 15th on the final night of the Belleville Nationals in 2004. Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.) is aiming for his first Belleville feature start after competing in the 1998 Midget Nationals.
RACE DETAILS:
On Friday, it’s practice night for the USAC Silver Crown division at Belleville with three separate sessions throughout the night in conjunction with a full program for the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship. 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 $25. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $15. A one-day pit pass is $35 and two-day pit passes are $60.
On Saturday, it’s a full race day for both the USAC Silver Crown and USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship 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 $30. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $20. A one-day pit pass is $40 and two-day pit passes are $60.
The entire events for both nights at Belleville, can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3Kdc2na.
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2023 BELLEVILLE USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (29 CARS)
06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel)
5 (R) MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA (DMW Motorsports)
6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
9 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
11 (R) TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing/SRG)
12 (R) WAYNE JOHNSON/Oklahoma City, OK (Two C Racing)
15 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
19 (R) TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Legacy Autosport)
22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
25 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Motorsports)
26 (R) KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)
44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
53 KEVIN THOMAS JR./Cullman, AL (Five Three Motorsports)
69 CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
74 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Hodges Motorsports)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)
81 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)
95 PATRICK BRUNS/Champaign, IL (Full Throttle Racing)
97 (R) MITCHEL MOLES/Raisin City, CA (Hans Lein)
111 TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)
555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year Contender
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TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS AT THE BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS:
1 Lap - 8/2/2013 - Tracy Hines - 16.856 - 106.787 mph
50 Laps - 7/31/2015 - Chris Windom - 22:46.927 - 65.841 mph
USAC SILVER CROWN WINS AT THE BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS:
1-Tracy Hines, Kody Swanson & Chris Windom
USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT THE BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS:
2013: Tracy Hines (8/2)
2014: Kody Swanson (8/1)
2015: Chris Windom (7/31)
USAC SILVER CROWN WINS IN KANSAS:
1-Tracy Hines, Aaron Pierce, Kody Swanson, Chris Windom & J.J. Yeley
USAC SILVER CROWN 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 (New Track Record)