SWANSON TO MAKE 100TH SILVER CROWN START AT SALEM
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Salem, Indiana (August 6, 2019)………Kody Swanson is just a single start away from reaching a milestone mark in his racing career as the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series heads into the August 10 Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial at Indiana’s Salem Speedway this Saturday.
The Kingsburg, Calif. native stands at 99 career USAC Silver Crown starts, and with one more, would join the exclusive 100 start club for the series, a mark achieved by only 18 previous drivers: Dave Darland (201 starts), Russ Gamester & Brian Tyler (197), Jerry Coons, Jr. (175), Tracy Hines (172), Jack Hewitt (163), Johnny Parsons (151), Tony Elliott (147), Eric Gordon (136), George Snider (128), Gary Hieber (125), Chuck Gurney (114), Bud Kaeding & Jimmy Sills (113), Dave Steele (111), John Heydenreich (104), A.J. Fike (102) and Larry Rice (100).
It’s safe to say that no driver has accomplished more in those his first 100 than Swanson has. In that span, he’s won the pole position a record 28 times, reached victory lane on an all-time best 27 occasions and finished as the runner-up 20 times, giving him a remarkable mark of top-two finishes in 47 of his 99 starts thus far, just a tick under 50 percent!
He’s also added four Silver Crown driver titles (2014-15-17-18) and helped his team to five consecutive car owner championships in the past five years, another unprecedented mark that he's added to his resume.
Salem Speedway has been the home of a slew of Swanson milestones since the Silver Crown series began revisiting the .555-mile high banks in the summer of 2016. That year, Swanson broke Rich Vogler’s long-standing one-lap track record in a Champ Car at Salem en route to victory. The following year in 2017, his 18th career victory moved him into second all-time on Silver Crown’s win list. In 2018, the ante was upped as Swanson became the series’ winningest driver following his Salem triumph, the 24th of his career.
We might also mention that Swanson’s Salem win a year ago was his fifth-straight at the time, another record for the books, if you're keeping track at home.
This year, Swanson has tacked even more on to his resume with three victories (Memphis, Toledo & Madison), plus a second-place run at Williams Grove, and leads the series points entering Saturday’s Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial where he aims to join another exclusive club, as a winner of the prestigious event for the fourth-straight year, something only accomplished once before, by the great Pancho Carter between 1974 and 1977.
It’s a far cry from his first credited Silver Crown start at Iowa Speedway in 2008 where he suffered mechanical trouble, finishing last and the box score reading “0 laps competed.” Since that time, Swanson has rewritten seemingly every stat in the record books or reached what once seemed like a distant dream that’s now become a reality. For Swanson, another of those realities awaits this Saturday.
Silver Crown pits open at 1pm Eastern on Saturday, August 10. Spectator gates open at 3pm, vintage car warm-ups at 3pm, Silver Crown drivers meeting at 3:15pm, stock car practice from 3:30-3:50pm, first Silver Crown practice from 3:55-4:25pm, stock car practice from 4:30pm-4:45pm, final Silver Crown practice from 4:50-5:20pm, Qualifying at 5:45pm, opening ceremonies at 6:55pm followed by stock car and Silver Crown main events.
Advance adult general admission tickets are $23 for adults/teens and $5 for ages 7-12. Advance reserved tickets are $28.
Saturday’s prestigious event can be watched LIVE and on-demand on FloRacing, listened to via live audio on the USAC app as well as live timing and scoring on both the USAC app and the Race-Monitor app.
ALL-TIME USAC SILVER CROWN STARTS:
(Drivers who've made a 2019 Silver Crown start are in bold.)
1. [201] Dave Darland
2. [197] Russ Gamester & Brian Tyler
4. [175] Jerry Coons, Jr.
5. [172] Tracy Hines
6. [163] Jack Hewitt
7. [151] Johnny Parsons
8. [147] Tony Elliott
9. [136] Eric Gordon
10. [128] George Snider
11. [125] Gary Hieber
12. [114] Chuck Gurney
13. [113] Bud Kaeding & Jimmy Sills
15. [111] Dave Steele
16. [104] John Heydenreich
17. [102] A.J. Fike
18. [100] Larry Rice
19. [99] Kody Swanson
20. [95] Aaron Pierce
21. [94] Jay Drake & Paul White
23. [91] J.J. Yeley
24. [90] Tom Bigelow
25. [88] Mark Alderson
26. [84] Jason McCord
27. [83] Gary Bettenhausen
28. [79] Donnie Beechler & Levi Jones
30. [77] Rich Vogler
31. [76] Larry Dickson
32. [74] Steve Chassey
33. [73] Rich Tobias, Jr.
34. [72] Bobby East & Ryan Newman
36. [71] Robby Flock & Sheldon Kinser
38. [70] Steve Butler
39. [68] Billy Engelhart
40. [67] Joe Saldana
41. [66] Brad Noffsinger
42. [65] Jerry Nemire & Chris Windom
44. [62] Ron Shuman
45. [60] Randy Bateman & Wally Pankratz
47. [58] Rick Hood
48. [57] Bill Rose
49. [55] David Byrne & Gary Irvin
51. [54] Tom Capie & Shane Hollingsworth
53. [53] Chet Fillip, Jason Leffler & Bobby Santos
56. [52] Shane Cottle, Wayne Reutimann, Jr. & Jacob Wilson
59. [49] Tony Stewart
60. [48] Mike Bliss
61. [47] Bob Cicconi & Ken Schrader
63. [46] Jim Keeker & Bentley Warren
65. [45] Derek Davidson & Billy Vukovich
67. [44] Justin Grant & Jeff Swindell
69. [43] Kenny Irwin, Jr. & Tyler Walker
71. [42] Jon Stanbrough
72. [41] Dane Carter & Danny Milburn
74. [40] Aaron Fike, Andy Hillenburg, Warren Mockler & Chip Thomas
78. [39] Tray House, Jim McElreath & Tanner Swanson
81. [38] Shane Cockrum, Austin Nemire & Bobby Olivero
84. [37] Pancho Carter, Duke Cook, Todd Kane, Chuck Leary, Rusty McClure, Billy Puterbaugh, Jr. & Roger Rager
91. [36] Ed Carpenter, Ron Dunstan & Patrick Lawson
94. [35] Chris Urish
95. [34] Ronnie Burke, Davey Hamilton, Kevin Huntley, Greg Staab & Kevin Thomas
100. [33] Cary Faas, Jimmy Kite & Josh Wise
103. [32] Brent Kaeding & C.J. Leary
105. [31] Steve Cannon, Ron Gregory, Arnie Knepper, Jim Mahoney, Mat Neely & Stevie Reeves
111. [30] Tim Barber, Teddy Beach, Jeff Bloom, Zach Daum, Stan Fox, Manny Rockhold & Jerry Russell
118. [29] Rocky Hodges & Michael Lewis
120. [28] Dave Blaney & Bill Puterbaugh
122. [27] Brad Armstrong, Bryan Clauson & Matt Westfall
125. [26] Dan Drinan
126. [25] Steve Buckwalter, Kasey Kahne & Nick Lundgreen
129. [24] Pat Abold, Derek Hagar, Kenny Jacobs & Jerry Miller
133. [23] Brady Bacon & Matt Goodnight
135. [22] Terry Babb, Billy Cassella, Cameron Dodson, Kevin Doty, Bob Frey & Joe Liguori
141. [21] Walt Kennedy & Davey Ray
143. [20] Bill Baue, Dave Feese, John Starks & Randy Tolsma
147. [19] Bruce Field, Gene Lee Gibson, Shane Hmiel, Jimmy McCune & Lealand McSpadden
152. [18] Rollie Beale, Jackie Burke, Mike Murgoitio, Casey Shuman, Al Unser & Jonathan Vennard
158. [17] Jimmy Caruthers, A.J. Foyt, Brian Gerster, Kyle Hamilton, Sammy Sessions & Kramer Williamson
164. [16] Pablo Donoso & Kyle Robbins
166. [15] Paul Clark, P.J. Jones & Bruce Walkup
169. [14] Jarett Andretti, Billy Boat, Carl Edwards, Chris Fetter, Jeff Gordon, Mike Haggenbottom, Bubby Jones, Keith Kauffman, Ralph Liguori, Boston Reid, Danny Smith, Smokey Snellbaker, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. & Jerry Weeks
183. [13] Robert Ballou, Patrick Bruns, Tyce Carlson, Dana Carter, Jim Childers, Tyler Courtney, Jac Haudenschild, Jackie Howerton, Jon Johnson, Greg Leffler, Andy Michner, Brian Paulus, Billy Wease, Bud Wilmot & Rodney Weesner
198. [12] Brad Fox, Mike Gregg, Mike Hess, Billy Pauch, Ricky Shelton & Bill Tyler
204. [11] Mario Andretti, J.C. Bland, Justin Carver, Hud Cone, Craig Dori, Taylor Ferns, Dickie Gaines, David Gough, Steve Kinser, Cory Kruseman, Lee Kunzman, James McElreath, Bobby McMahan, Joey Moughan, Rex Norris III, Mike Peters, Tad Roach, Kevin Thomas, Jr. Greg Weld, Greg Wilson & Travis Welpott
225. [10] Ronnie Day, Gary Gray, Richard Griffin, Coleman Gulick, Bob Harkey, Terry James, Page Jones, Terry Kawell, Jim Moughan, Kenneth Nichols, Terry Pletch, Jack Runyon, Robert Smith, Robbie Stanley,
239. [9] Bobby Adkins, Chuck Amati, Caleb Armstrong, Karl Busson, Bob Evans, Bryn Gohn, Wayne Hammond, Jim Hurtubise, Rebel Jackson, Jr., Chappy Knaack, Kyle Larson, Eddie Leavitt, Larry Martin, Joss Moffatt, Johnny Petrozelle, Paul Pitzer & Johnny Rutherford
256. [8] Joe Axsom, Christopher Bell, Toni Breidinger, Cole Carter, Mel Cornett, Chris Cumberworth, Doug Didero, Paul Durant, Ray Joe Fager, Larry Gates, Ken Hamilton, Darl Harrison, Roy Hicks, Rod Holshouser, Dakota Jackson, Mike Johnson, Frankie Kerr, Danny Long, Thiago Medeiros, Jan Opperman, Lee Osborne, Junior Parkinson, Greg Peterson, Aaron Pollock, Tracy Potter, Steve Siegel, Ryan Smith, Sammy Swindell, Rick Treadway, Lennie Waldo, Carl Williams & Doug Wolfgang
288. [7] John Andretti, Eric Butze, Rob Chaney, Lou Cicconi, Jr., Chris Dyson, Bob East, Perry Ferrell, Nick Fornoro, Jr., Joe Gaerte, Damion Gardner, Cody Gerhardt, Brian Hayden, Jesse Hockett, Blake Hollingsworth, Tony Hunt, Paul Huntington, Paul Koch, Joe McCarthy, Michael Roselli, Jr., Hunter Schuerenberg, Alex Shanks, Pete Shepherd III, Mark Smith, Kyle Steffens, Mike Thomas, Billy Whitaker & Mitch Wissmiller
315. [6] Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Derek Bischak, Mike Brooks, Bill Burks, Jr., Kellen Conover, Palmer Crowell, Ryan Durst, Bob Ewell, Spike Gehlhausen, Kenny Gentry, Darren Hagen, Tom Hessert III, Larry Hoppes, John Hubbard, Marc Jessup, Doug Kalitta, Kevin Koch, Bill Kojis, Mike Lichty, Jeff Mitrisin, Don Nordhorn, Brian Seidel, Jimmy Stinson, Jerry Stone & Mike Winblad
341. [5] Sport Allen, Todd Beach, Dave Berkheimer, Barry Camp, Larry Cannon, Mark Cassella, Cody Gallogly, Davey Hamilton, Jr., John Hunt, Brad Kuhn, Rich Leavell, Donnie Lehmann, Mario Marietta, Brad Marvel, Mack McClellan, Kevin Olson, Steven Russell, Red Stauffer, Mike Stroehle, Neil Shepherd, Sleepy Tripp, Terry Uehling, Cole Whitt & Rip Williams
365. [4] Jim Anderson, Tony Armstrong, Steve Arpin, John Batts, Jr., Mike Brecht, Jimmy Brewer, David Bridges, Ray Bull, Keith Burch, Keith Butler, Shane Carson, Herb Copeland, Casey Diemert, Lee Dunn, Danny Ebberts, Murray Erickson, Ray Evans, Scott Hansen, Don Hawley, Steve Kent, Dereck King, Steve Knepper, Mike Larrison, Mike Ling, Bobby Marcum, Von McGee, Wes Miller, David Mirk, Austin Mundie, Rodney Ritter, Jr., Billy Shuman, Dean Shirley, Donny Schatz, Jake Simmons, Tim Siner, Billy Vukovich III, Clark Templeman, Kevin Whitesides, Leon Thickstun & Miranda Throckmorton
405. [3] Steve Adams, Johnny Anderson, Ed Angle, Robin Bank, Justin Barger, John Barrick, Kipp Beard, Doug Berryman, Merle Bettenhausen, Art Bisch, Jr., Kevin Bloomstran, Lee Brewer, Jr., Rick Brown, Dave Burns, Gary Cameron II, Keith Campbell, Marv Carman, Roy Caruthers, Wayne Chinn, Bill Compton, Tim Cox, Erin Crocker, Troy DeCaire, Thad Dosher, Tommie Estes, Jr., Dean Franklin, Jeff Gardner, Emmett Hahn, Darryl Haugh, Dallas Hewitt, Kelly Kinser, Lance Kobusch, Red Kunstbeck, Ricky Logan, Steve Long, Jim Malloy, Mike Martin, Zach Martini, Bob Meli, Larry Moore, Ryan Moore, Aaron Mosley, Mike Ordway, Gary Patterson, Gary Ponzini, Rusty Rasmussen, Wayne Reutimann, Robbie Rice, Travis Rilat, A.J. Russell, Zach Schiff, Frankie Schneider, Ryan Scott, Terry Shepherd, Ron Smoker, Chase Stockon, Kevin Studley, Brad Sweet, Buz Tapply, Cale Thomas, Dick Tobias, Rick Ungar, Korey Weyant, Tony Weyant, George White, Jim Whiteside & Greg Wooley
472. [2] Michael Adkins, Mike Andreeta, Tommy Astone, Todd Bammer, Randy Bauer, Dave Baumgartner, Dean Billings, Austin Blair, Dan Boorse, Annie Breidinger, Ken Brewer, Shane Butler, Steve Carithers, Tim Clark, Jason Conn, Stan Constant, Johnny Coogan, Frank D’Alonso, Daryl Daugherty, Tom Davies, Greg DeCaires, Duke DeRosa, Scott Edmiston, Dean Erfurth, Jay Ervine, Mike Fedorcak, Billy Felts, A.J. Foyt IV, Stewart Friesen, Greg Furlong, Leon Gentry, Mike Gigot, Joe Gosek, Rick Goudy, Chuck Gurney, Jr., Randy Hannagan, Scott Hatton, Jon Herb, Jordan Hermansader, Sparky Howard, Bill Hudson, Bruce Jennings, Jerry Karl, Chad Kemenah, Kevin Kierce, Mike Lauterborn, Steve Lotshaw, Ed Lynch, Garry Lee Maier, Troy Matchen, Jay Maupin, Randy Mausteller, Van May, Roger McCluskey, Mike McCreary, Frank McDaniel, Jason McDougal, Lyn McIntosh, Dustin Morgan, Mike Mosley, Jr., Larry Neighbors, John Nervo, Kyle O’Gara, Lynn Paxton, Chris Phillips, Scott Pierovich, Troy Regier, Rick Salem, Joey Schmidt, Howie Sewell, David Shain, Rick Sipes, Jigger Sirois, Mark Sokola, Randy Standridge, Nelson Stewart, Rodney Stone, Rob Summers, Kevin Swindell, Al Thomas, Troy Thompson, Troy Vaccaro, Butch Wilkerson, Charlie Workman, Salt Walther & Jack Ziegler
559.. [1] Bobby Allen, Taylor Andrews, Dakoda Armstrong, Jon Backlund, Tom Ball, Steve Barnett, Steve Barth, Jarid Blondel, Chad Boat, Ray Bragg, Jerry Bruce, Bob Brutto, Will Cagle, Daryl Campbell, Don Carr, Kent Christian, Drew Church, Henry Clarke, Troy Cline, Kevin Conway, Donnie Crawford, Wally Dallenbach, Bobby Davis, Jr., Brad Davis, Charles Davis, Jr., Bob Davison, Brian DeFord, Terry Doss, Brad Doty, Rodney Duncan, Jesse Dunham, Sondi Eden, Andrew Felker, Elvin Felty, Dan Ford, Michael Ford, Andy Forsberg, Jeff Forshee, Ronnie Franklin, Pete Frazier, Danny Frye, Jr., Jeff Galas, Rickie Gaunt, Cheryl Glass, Gary Griffith, Brett Hearn, JoJo Helberg, Jim Hettinger, Nathan High, Larry Hillerud, Ted Hines, Jimmy Horton, Brian Hosford, Rick Howerton, Steve Irwin, Jim Jackson, Earnest Jennings, Rickey Jennings, Matt Jewell, Kraig Kinser, Dana Laliberte, Harold Leep, Jeff Leka, Jimmy Light, Ryan Litt, Ed Lynch, Jr., Pepi Marchese, David McCreary, Dave McGough, Paul McMahan, Joe Melnick, Thomas Meseraull, Curt Michael, Jim Mills, Mark Monico, Mike Mosley, Jack Moulton, Jr., Peter Murphy, Rick Muther, Fred Neighbors, Greg Nelson, Kevin Newton, Kyle Nicholas, Don O’Keefe, Jimmy Parsons, Billy Pauch, Jr., Dave Peperak, Stan Ploski, Art Pollard, Jerry Potter, Richard Powell, Patrick Quinn, Ron Rae, Fred Rahmer, Robbie Ray, Byron Reed, David Reutimann, Jim Reynard, Randy Roberts, Joe Roush, John Ryals, Eddie Sachs, Jr., Doug Saunier, Bill Schemonia, Shane Scully, Jon Sciscoe, Ron Semelka, Steve Sheppard, Jr., Danny Shouse, Grant Simpson, Anthony Simone, Carl Smith, Steve Smith, Mike Spencer, Darren Spiers, Greg Stephens, Robert Stout, Charlie Swartz, Fred Tegarden, Jr., Todd Thomas, Tanner Thorson, Bud Tingelstad, Eric Todd, Rick Tomasik, Eric Trousdale, LeRoy Van Conett, Kaylene Verville, Todd Wanless, Curt Waters, Jeff West, Brent Whited, Bryan Whited, Eddie Wirth, Kyle Wissmiller, Kent Wolters, Mike Woodring, Ken Woolley & Tiffany Wyzard