80 RACECARS ENTERED TO COMPETE AT SATURDAY’S HOOSIER CLASSIC!

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Indianapolis, Indiana (August 10, 2021)………A total of 80 racecars have been pre-entered for the Inaugural Hoosier Classic this Saturday, August 14, at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind.

26 Sprint Cars, 27 Midgets and 27 USAC Silver Crown cars are expected to compete Saturday with a wide array of talent throughout the field gunning for the richest purse in the .686-mile paved oval’s 60-year history with a grand total of $132,000 up for grabs if one driver is able to win all three features on the same night.

Lucas Oil Raceway USAC dominators Kody and Tanner Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) and Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) are among those competing in all three events.  Reigning USAC Silver Crown champion Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) will contest two of the three events along with USAC National Midget champion and LOR Silver Crown winner, Russ Gamester and USAC Silver Crown winner Aaron Pierce (Muncie, Ind.).

USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) is among those entered for at least one of the divisions along with two-time USAC National champion Jose Wise (Riverside, Calif.) as well as 2018 USAC National Midget titlist and most recent USAC Silver Crown winner, Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), and USAC Silver Crown winner Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.).

Lucas Oil Raceway winners run up-and-down the list with Chuck Gurney Jr. (Livermore, Calif.) returning to the cockpit of a midget for the first time in a decade along with LOR Silver Crown winner David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wis.) and LOR Sprint Car victor Eric Gordon (Greenfield, Ind.).

The inaugural Hoosier Classic will feature all three open wheel divisions back-to-back-to-back under the Saturday night lights, concluding with a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Championship Sprint Car feature, followed by a $10,000-to-win 50-lap Browns Oil Champion Midget feature and the grand finale, a 100-lap USAC Silver Crown race paying $12,000-to-win.

Saturday’s schedule will have the gates opening at 11am Eastern, followed by the drivers meeting at 2:50pm; stands opening at 3pm; sprint car practice at 3:30pm; midget practice at 4:20pm; USAC Silver Crown practice at 5:10pm; sprint car qualifying at 6pm; midget qualifying at 6:45pm; Silver Crown qualifying at 7:30pm; and opening ceremonies at 8:05pm.

Main events get underway at 8:30pm Eastern, leading off with the sprint car feature followed by the midget feature at 9:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown feature at 10pm.

The 2021 Hoosier Classic trifecta will also feature drivers competing on The Oval at Lucas Oil Raceway for their shot at taking home a staggering $100,000.

The Fatheadz $100K Challenge is up for grabs to anyone that can win all three of the Hoosier Classic races (Sprint, Midget and USAC Silver Crown).  If a driver and team can win two of those three events, they will collect $50,000.

The addition of these prizes instantly elevates what was going to be the biggest payday in grassroots pavement open-wheel racing to now another stratosphere with a potential winner taking home a total of $132,000 for winning three big races over the course of one night.

Hoosier Classic tickets are now on sale at www.bit.ly/HoosierClassic.  General admission tickets are $25, with children age 12 and under free.  Pit passes are $35.

Friday’s Hoosier Classic tickets will be honored for Saturday admission, and original ticketholders will be contacted by the Lucas Oil Raceway ticketing team.  Camping will still open on Thursday, August 12.

For competitors, the test session scheduled for Thursday, August 13, will still run as previously planned.  Individuals with questions may contact the track at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Hoosier Classic will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.

SPRINT CAR ENTRY LIST

1 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Armstrong)

4 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Nolen)

5 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)

6G BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Gossel)

7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR)

7c CALEB ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Neal)

10 CHRIS NEUENSCHWANDER/New Haven, IN (Neuenschwander)

12 JAKE McELFRESH/Elwood, IN (Powell)

12w BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Wease)

13 JOE LIGUORI/Tampa, FL (Liguori)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott)

22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ)

26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Pierce)

27J CHRIS JAGGER/Warsaw, IN (Jagger)

31 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Bischak)

32 NICK HAMILTON/Danville, IN (Hamilton)

44 TEDDY ALBERTS/Grand Rapids, MI (Alberts)

45 MARK HALL/Frankton, IN (Hall)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester)

53 JUSTIN HARPER/Denver, IN (TCJ)

55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)

64 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Brewer)

67 KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR)

71 BRIAN VAUGHN/Shirley, IN (Vaughn)

74 TONY MAIN/Farmland, IN (Main)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran)

MIDGET ENTRY LIST

1BR KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR)

3 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Bohanon)

4 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)

7 COLE CARTER/Brownsburg, IN (Bertrand)

7A DALTON ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (Armstrong)

7K TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Irwin-Petry)

7KR NICK HAMILTON/Danville, IN (Irwin-Petry)

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

8 JAKE TRAINOR/Medway, MA (Trainor)

9 JOHNNY ZYCH/Mendon, MA (Zych)

14 BRANDON MAURER/Sherman, IL (Maurer)

14AJ JOHN SLUSS/Indianapolis, IN (RayPro)

17 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Bertrand)

25 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Rodela)

29 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (Seymour/West)

33 TBD (RayPro)

40 BLAKE BRANNON/Morgan Hill, CA (Brannon)

47 TODD BERTRAND/Suffield, CT (Bertrand)

51 CHUCK GURNEY JR./Livermore, CA (West)

55 JOSH WISE/Riverside, CA (Bowman)

55F TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)

60 CODY GERHARDT/Fresno, CA (Gerhardt)

66 BRET SANDERSON/Gary, IN (Sanderson)

75 RYAN SHILKUSKI/Spring Valley, IL (Shilkuski)

80 ANNIE BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger)

99 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Guess)

333 TBD (RayPro)

SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST:

02 TANNER SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Bowman)

06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Gossel)

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

2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Lawson)

6 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Klatt)

7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR)

11 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Hamilton-Byrd)

16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko)

18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott)

22 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ)

24 MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (Haggenbottom)

26 AARON PIERCE/Muncie, IN (Pierce)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer)

39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight)

40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne)

42 JAKE DAY/Abilene, TX (Day)

51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester)

55 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Ferns)

77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran)

80 TONI BREIDINGER/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger)

81 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Williams)

91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn)

92 TBD (Kazmark)

99 ERIC GORDON/Fortville, IN (Armstrong)

131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Bischak)

222 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice)

TBA (TBA)