2016 SILVER CROWN SEASON CONCLUDES; WINDOM BANKS 4-CROWN AND SILVER CROWN TITLE
Chris Windom of Canton, Ill. dominated Saturday night’s 50-lap “4-Crown Nationals” main event and came from behind to overhaul Kody Swanson in the final standings to post his initial USAC National driving title.
Windom started second to teammate and ProSource fast qualifier Tyler Courtney on the front row and was never headed throughout the race in his RPM Auto Enterprise Maxim/Wallace. The victory coupled with Swanson’s eventual fifth-place finish, enabled him to outpoint Swanson 588-583 to secure the championship. Swanson’s car owners, DePalma Motorsports, were able to hang on to claim the series car owner championship for the third consecutive year.
Windom was trailed at the checkered flag by Justin Grant, Courtney, Brady Bacon and Swanson.
Swanson’s drive was particularly spectacular after tangling with Dakota Jackson on lap 15 and restarting at the rear of the field. After a re-start spin, Swanson was able to work his way through traffic and eventually fell only two positions short of capturing what would have been an unprecedented third straight title.
The title was Windom’s first nationally after winning the 2006 USAC Kenyon Midget crown.
Shane Cottle, who started 22nd and finished ninth, earned the KSE Racing Products/Martens Machine Shop/Larry Rice High Performance Hard Charger Award.
Brian Tyler was unable to start the 50-lap race after a flip during qualifying, but was able to escape injury.
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ALL-TIME "4-CROWN NATIONALS" USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY:
1981: Steve Kinser, 1982: Ron Shuman, 1983: Ken Schrader, 1985: Larry Rice, 1986: Jack Hewitt, 1987: Larry Rice, 1988: Jack Hewitt, 1989: Jack Hewitt, 1990: Steve Butler, 1991: Jack Hewitt, 1992: Steve Butler, 1993: Ron Shuman, 1994: Jack Hewitt, 1995: Jack Hewitt, 1996: Jack Hewitt, 1997: Kevin Huntley, 1998: Jack Hewitt, 1999: Jimmy Sills, 2000: J.J. Yeley, 2001: J.J. Yeley, 2002: Brian Tyler, 2004: Dave Darland, 2005: Dave Darland, 2006: Mat Neely, 2007: Jerry Coons Jr., 2008: Dave Darland, 2009: Dave Darland, 2010: Bryan Clauson, 2011: Kyle Larson, 2012: Bryan Clauson, 2013: Chris Windom, 2014: Jerry Coons Jr., 2015: Christopher Bell, 2016: Chris Windom.
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2016 USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-3):
1. (588) Chris Windom (Canton, IL)
2. (583) Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, CA)
3. (474) Justin Grant (Ione, CA)
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2016 USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP LEADING ROOKIE POINTS FINISHER:
Casey Shuman (Tempe, AZ)
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2016 USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (583) DePalma Motorsports #63
2. (540) RPM/Fred Gormly #98
3. (474) Chris Carli #8
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2016 USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS:
Apr 3: Terre Haute, IN - Terre Haute Action Track
WINNER: C.J. Leary
Apr 30: Toledo, OH - Toledo Speedway
WINNER: Rained Out
May 26: Indianapolis, IN - Indiana State Fairgrounds
WINNER: Kody Swanson
May 27: Brownsburg, IN - Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
WINNER: Tanner Swanson
Jun 10: Mechanicsburg, PA - Williams Grove Speedway
WINNER: Chris Windom
Jun 25: @ Madison, IL - Gateway Motorsports Park
WINNER: Tanner Swanson
Jul 21: Brownsburg, IN - Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
WINNER: Kody Swanson
Aug 13: Salem, IN - Salem Speedway
WINNER: Kody Swanson
Aug 20: @ Springfield, IL - Illinois State Fairgrounds
WINNER: Rained Out
Sep 3: Du Quoin, IL – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds
WINNER: Chris Windom
Sep 24: Rossburg, OH - Eldora Speedway
WINNER: Chris Windom
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2016 USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP STATISTICS:
RACE WINS:
1. (3) Kody Swanson (Indiana State Fairgrounds on May 26, Lucas Oil Raceway on July 21 & Salem Speedway on Aug. 13)
(3) Chris Windom (Williams Grove Speedway on June 10, Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on Sept. 3 & Eldora Speedway on Sept. 24)
3. (2) Tanner Swanson (Lucas Oil Raceway on May 27 & Gateway Motorsports Park on June 25)
4. (1) C.J. Leary (Terre Haute Action Track on April 3)
LAPS LED:
1. (174) Kody Swanson
2. (168) Chris Windom
3. (101) Justin Grant
4. (80) Bobby Santos
5. (55) Tanner Swanson & Jeff Swindell
7. (50) Aaron Pierce
8. (36) C.J. Leary
9. (32) Jerry Coons, Jr.
10. (25) Brady Bacon
11. (9) Shane Cottle
TOP-FIVE FINISHES:
1. (9) Chris Windom
2. (8) Kody Swanson
3. (4) Justin Grant
4. (3) Brady Bacon, Jerry Coons, Jr. & Tanner Swanson
7. (2) Bryan Clauson & Bobby Santos
9. (1) David Byrne, Shane Cockrum, Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, C.J. Leary, Joe Liguori, Austin Nemire, Aaron Pierce, Casey Shuman, Robert Stout & Jeff Swindell
TOP-TEN FINISHES:
1. (9) Chris Windom
2. (8) Jerry Coons, Jr. & Kody Swanson
4. (7) Justin Grant
5. (5) David Byrne, Shane Cottle & Joe Liguori
8. (4) Brady Bacon & Casey Shuman
10. (3) Bryan Clauson, Shane Cockrum, Dave Darland & Tanner Swanson
14. (2) Joe Axsom, C.J. Leary, Aaron Pierce, Bobby Santos, Mark Smith & Jeff Swindell
20. (1) Steve Buckwalter, Tyler Courtney, Patrick Lawson, Austin Nemire, Ryan Newman, Davey Ray, Bill Rose, Hunter Schuerenberg, Robert Stout, Brian Tyler & Jacob Wilson
PROSOURCE FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
1. (3) Kody Swanson
2. (1) Brady Bacon, Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant, C.J. Leary, Bobby Santos & Tanner Swanson
RACE STARTS:
1. (9) David Byrne, Jerry Coons, Jr., Shane Cottle, Justin Grant, Austin Nemire, Casey Shuman, Kody Swanson & Chris Windom
9. (8) Joe Liguori
10. (6) Shane Cockrum
11. (5) Brady Bacon, Steve Buckwalter, Patrick Lawson, C.J. Leary, Aaron Pierce & Jacob Wilson
17. (4) Dave Darland & Billy Puterbaugh, Jr.
19. (3) Terry Babb, J.C. Bland, Bryan Clauson, Chris Fetter, Terry James, Davey Ray, Bobby Santos, Tanner Swanson & Jeff Swindell
28. (2) Joe Axsom, Dave Berkheimer, A.J. Fike, Danny Long, Joey Moughan, Tad Roach, Bill Rose, Neil Shepherd, Mark Smith & Mitch Wissmiller
38. (1) Robert Ballou, Jackie Burke, Tyler Courtney, Zach Daum, Russ Gamester, Kenny Gentry, Matt Goodnight, John Heydenreich, Dakota Jackson, Ryan Newman, Billy Pauch, Jr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Robert Stout, Kevin Studley, Brian Tyler, Chris Urish
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TOP “ROOKIE” FINISHER OF THE RACE:
Apr. 3: Terre Haute Action Track – Casey Shuman (12th)
May 26: Indiana State Fairgrounds – Mark Smith (9th)
May 27: Lucas Oil Raceway – Robert Stout (4th)
June 10: Williams Grove Speedway – Mark Smith (6th)
June 25: Gateway Motorsports Park – Joe Liguori (5th)
July 21: Lucas Oil Raceway – Joe Axsom (9th)
Aug. 13: Salem Speedway – Joe Liguori (8th)
Sept. 3: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Casey Shuman (4th)
Sept. 24: Eldora Speedway – Tyler Courtney (3rd)
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KSE RACING PRODUCTS “HARD CHARGER” OF THE RACE:
Apr. 3: Terre Haute Action Track – Bryan Clauson (6 positions)
May 26: Indiana State Fairgrounds – Terry James (13 positions)
May 27: Lucas Oil Raceway – Shane Cockrum (7 positions)
June 10: Williams Grove Speedway – Bryan Clauson (14 positions)
June 25: Gateway Motorsports Park – Joe Liguori (4 positions)
July 21: Lucas Oil Raceway – Casey Shuman (4 positions)
Aug. 13: Salem Speedway – Chris Windom (4 positions)
Sept. 3: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Bill Rose (20 positions)
Sept. 24: Eldora Speedway – Shane Cottle (12 positions)
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE WINS:
1. [23 wins] Jack Hewitt
2. [17 wins] Brian Tyler
3. [16 wins] Dave Steele
4. [15 wins] Kody Swanson & J.J. Yeley
6. [14 wins] Dave Darland & Chuck Gurney
8. [12 wins] Jimmy Sills
9. [11 wins] Bobby East
10. [10 wins] Gary Bettenhausen & Mike Bliss
12. [9 wins] Tracy Hines
13. [7 wins] Jerry Coons Jr., Rick Hood, George Snider & Tanner Swanson
17. [6 wins] Tom Bigelow, Russ Gamester, Kenny Irwin Jr., Jason Leffler, Bobby Santos, Ken Schrader & Al Unser
24. [5 wins] Mario Andretti, Donnie Beechler, Pancho Carter, Jay Drake, Tony Elliott, Bud Kaeding, Sheldon Kinser, Larry Rice & Chris Windom
33. [4 wins] Jeff Swindell & Rich Vogler
35. [3 wins] Steve Butler, Shane Cockrum, Cameron Dodson, A.J. Fike, Levi Jones, Kasey Kahne, Jim Keeker, Steve Kinser, Bobby Olivero, Johnny Parsons, Aaron Pierce, Ron Shuman, Tony Stewart, Tyler Walker, Paul White
50. [2 wins] Pat Abold, Steve Chassey, Bryan Clauson, Larry Dickson, Bill Engelhart, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Joe Saldana, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Whitt, Josh Wise & Doug Wolfgang
64. [1 win] Teddy Beach, Christopher Bell, Jeff Bloom, David Byrne, Marvin Carman, Shane Carson, Bob Cicconi, Herb Copeland, Shane Cottle, Bruce Field, Aaron Fike, Chet Fillip, Bob Frey, Eric Gordon, John Heydenreich, Gary Hieber, Shane Hmiel, Shane Hollingsworth, Jimmy Horton, Jackie Howerton, Kevin Huntley, Kenny Jacobs, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Jimmy Kite, Chuck Leary, C.J. Leary, Eddie Leavitt, Jason McCord, Jim McElreath, Lealand McSpadden, Mat Neely, Brad Noffsinger, Stevie Reeves, Wayne Reutimann Jr., Danny Smith, Kevin Thomas, Rich Tobias Jr., Chris Urish & Billy Vukovich
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ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER CHAMPIONS:
1971: George Snider; 1972: A.J. Foyt; 1973: Al Unser; 1974: Mario Andretti; 1975: Jimmy Caruthers; 1976: Billy Cassella; 1977: Larry Rice; 1978: Pancho Carter; 1979: Bobby Olivero; 1980: Gary Bettenhausen; 1981: Larry Rice; 1982: Ken Schrader; 1983: Gary Bettenhausen; 1984: Dave Blaney; 1985: Rick Hood; 1986: Jack Hewitt; 1987: Jack Hewitt; 1988: Steve Butler; 1989: Chuck Gurney; 1990: Jimmy Sills; 1991: Jeff Gordon; 1992: Steve Butler; 1993: Mike Bliss; 1994: Jimmy Sills; 1995: Tony Stewart; 1996: Jimmy Sills; 1997: Dave Darland; 1998: Jason Leffler; 1999: Ryan Newman; 2000: Tracy Hines; 2001: Paul White; 2002: J.J. Yeley; 2003: J.J. Yeley; 2004: Dave Steele; 2005: Dave Steele; 2006: Bud Kaeding; 2007: Bud Kaeding; 2008: Jerry Coons Jr.; 2009: Bud Kaeding; 2010: Levi Jones; 2011: Levi Jones; 2012: Bobby East; 2013: Bobby East; 2014: Kody Swanson; 2015: Kody Swanson; 2016: Chris Windom