In celebration of the 50th year of USAC Silver Crown Champ Car racing in 2020, we are reviewing the past 49 years of series history.
2001 USAC SILVER CROWN SEASON REVIEW
Paul White of Temple, Texas captured the 2001 USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet driving championship, scoring victories in the season opener at Phoenix International Raceway and at both one-mile dirt state fairgrounds ovals in Illinois at Springfield and Du Quoin.
White’s victory in the Copper World Classic at Phoenix came in a race offering a then-largest purse in series history - $110,000-plus. White’s subsequent wins on the dirt miles in Illinois allowed him to lead the standings through the final four events to beat runner-up Russ Gamester by 78 points.
In White's third season of USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet racing, he knew that he had a team and a car that was competitive, but admits he knew it would be difficult.
"These guys from Texas aren't supposed to be fast,” White said. “We were outsiders, so that made it feel pretty special to win the championship."
Although Paul may have considered himself an outsider in the sport, he was certainly not a newcomer. Paul began racing at the age of twelve when his father put him in a super modified. Twelve is pretty young to be driving a racecar, but Paul says he was driving streetcars long before that.
"When I drove to school before I got my license, they wouldn't let me on the property, so I parked across the street in the ditch. My dad always told me if I ever got stopped by the police, to remember to tell them that I didn't have permission to drive."
Paul inherited his racing enthusiasm from his father. Coming up through the ranks of stock cars, late models and super modifieds in Texas, Paul soon found his way to the NASCAR sanctioned Winston Racing Series. Paul quickly mastered his craft and came away with a championship in the series in 1995.
A short time later, he met his car owner, Paul Cook, a former competitor in the Winston Racing Series.
“We hooked up when we wanted to run a $50,000 to win modified show in Amarillo.” This proved to be the start of a long and prosperous relationship when Paul won the opener and came in a very close second in the big show. Paul says, “After that, he just kept hiring me to run the big races.”
Seven years later, the team was still together and remained as close knit as ever.
“I think that being together for so many years was the most important part of our success,” Paul remarked.
Paul knows that the greatest attribute to his team was his car owner, Paul Cook.
"Sometimes I looked at changes we needed to make for the car to go faster from the wrong perspective, but Paul (Cook) talked me into changing other things to make the car do what I want it to. He’s really good at seeing what the car is doing, especially on the bigger tracks." Paul said of Cook. “He is probably one of the most intelligent people you'll meet, about everything. If you could hang around him and see the ideas he has and some of the things he does, it's really amazing."
Paul felt lucky not only to have Cook around, but also the rest of his team.
"My main guys are the ones I really had to thank, Tom Morkin, George White, Robert Cantrell and of course, Cleo Cook, Paul's wife. The sponsors also played a huge part in the team and they're the ones that kept them running.
If you though Paul was just a racer, you are mistaken. He is a man of many talents. Racing and roping, this man is a jack of all trades. Oh yes, roping. He's a true Texan through and through, Paul admitted he has had to cut down on his cowboy endeavors.
"Team roping is a deal where if you do it long enough, like driving a race car, you're going to get on your head. You're finally going to drop a loop on your finger. It seems like everybody's either all skinned up and hides tore off 'em or they've yanked their thumbs plum off."
Because it's hard to grip the wheel of a racecar with no thumbs, Paul backed off the roping duties a little, but will never give up the cowboy life.
"We always had horses when I was growing up and it's just something I always did, kind of like racing."
He enjoys riding his horses and being with his kids and also helping other children in the area through trail rides that raise money for children's programs. Paul admits he'll always "mess around with the roping a little bit and it would be a great thing to bring my little boy up around."
Russ Gamester was the only other driver to lead the standings, following his victory at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway in March and subsequent win at Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway in May. At Irwindale, Gamester came from 20th starting spot and at Nazareth he caught leader Kasey Kahne on the white flag lap for the win.
Dave Steele’s series record qualifying effort of 143 mph-plus at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. and victories at Gateway and Colorado’s Pikes Peak International Raceway enabled him to land third in the final points ahead of J.J. Yeley and Jerry Coons Jr.
Yeley led the final 30 laps to win at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa and dodged several incidents to win the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. Coons, who had three second place finishes in the final five races, earned his first series pole at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds and ended up as the season’s Most Improved Driver.
Aaron Fike, who became the youngest winner in series history with his victory at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, was named the series Rookie of the Year.
Other series winners in 2001 included Mike Bliss and Kasey Kahne at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Tony Elliott in a repeat victory in a memorable 100-mile finale at the Indiana State Fairgrounds which feature strong performances for the ageless Johnny Parsons and drivers Rich Tobias Jr. and pole winner Michael Lewis.
The series was stunned by the untimely death of Chief Starter Wally Scherer and was, unfortunately, unable to compete at the new Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee due to excessive testing speeds, but witnessed the debut of A.J. Foyt IV, son of the legendary USAC champion in two dirt track events late in the season.
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PAUL WHITE SNARES PHOENIX COPPER WORLD 100-MILER
Avondale, Arizona………Paul White of Temple, Texas scored his first USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series victory in the 100-mile Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200 feature event at the Phoenix International Raceway March 18. It came in his 28th series start.
White took the lead from pole starter Dave Steele on the 16th lap and led the rest of the way in his Builders Electric/Swofford Electric Chevy/Beast, then survived a brush with series champion Tracy Hines which sent Hines into the inside wall on the front stretch on lap 94.
“I hate that I turned him around like that, but I don't feel like I did anything wrong,” said White after the race. “In fact, I didn't even know he was there.” Hines was battling for the lead when the incident occurred.
Sunday's race produced a series record purse of $110,840, of which White's team claimed $22,701.
Steele, who won the pole with a qualifying speed of 140.225 mph on Saturday, finished second and was followed by Dane Carter, Jerry Coons Jr. and Jason McCord.
A total of seven yellow flags flew during the race and Brad Noffsinger suffered a compound fracture of his left wrist in a three-car crash on the 17th lap.
Tyler Walker won the 10-mile "qualifying race" at Phoenix
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: March 16-18, 2001 – Avondale, Arizona – Phoenix International Raceway – Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-25.673; 2. Davey Hamilton, 04, Consani-25.804; 3. Kasey Kahne, 67, Zarounian-25.872; 4. Paul White, 10, Cook-25.914; 5. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-25.937; 6. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-25.971; 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-26.006; 8. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-26.011; 9. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-26.051; 10. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-26.054; 11. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-26.090; 12. J.J. Yeley, 111, Snider-26.096; 13. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider/Foyt-26.114; 14. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-26.147; 15. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-26.251; 16. Dane Carter, 27, Carter-26.270; 17. Aaron Fike, 192, Hoerner-26.292; 18. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-26.301; 19. John Heydenreich, 110, West-26.302; 20. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-26.348; 21. Jim Childers, 78, Miller/Holz-26.380; 22. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 73, Qualistar-26.534; 23. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-26.558; 24. A.J. Fike, 93, RFMS-26.563; 25. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-26.608; 26. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-26.627; 27. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-26.632; 28. Bobby McMahan, 26, Espindola-26.661; 29. Tyler Walker, 2, Vance-26.690; 30. Drew Church, 114, Church-26.725; 31. Chet Fillip, 77, Advanced-26.830; 32. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-26.859; 33. Brad Armstrong, 59, Westcon-26.867; 34. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-26.901; 35. Eric Gordon, 41, Bowen-26.904; 36. Steve Surniak, 72, Surniak-26.989; 37. Jimmy McCune, 01, West-26.999; 38. Rick Brown, 173, Diemert-27.063; 39. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-27.182; 40. Jack Hewitt, 21, Dewit-27.223; 41. Cory Kruseman, 6, JD-27.231; 42. Robin Bank, 90, Duda-27.402; 43. Ronnie Day, 07, Krenn-27.599; 44. Tony Ave, 3, Van Klompenburg-27.652; 45. Wally Pankratz, 98, Western-27.668; 46. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-27.784; 47. Carl Edwards, 80, Edwards-27.790; 48. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-27.804; 49. Ray Evans, 185, Evans-27.854; 50. Billy Whittaker, 47, Paternoster-27.865; 51. Kevin Kierce, 02, Swann-27.875; 52. Scott Hansen, 42, Robison-28.438; 53. Jackie Burke, 86, Burke-28.731; 54. Ricky Shelton, 50, Aviators-29.723; 55. Nick Lundgreen, 0, Lundgreen-NT; 56. Don Carr, 84, Spivey-NT; 57. Aaron Fike, 92, Hoerner-NT; 58. # 9, East/Stewart-NT; 59. #120, Nolen-NT; 60. #135, RE Technologies-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Walker, 2. Derek Davidson, 3. Jay Drake, 4. Bentley Warren, 5. Carl Edwards, 6. Chet Fillip, 7. Jack Hewitt, 8. Billy Whittaker, 9. Wally Pankratz, 10. Todd Kane, 11. Brad Armstrong, 12. Daryl Daugherty, 13. Cory Kruseman, 14. Kevin Kierce, 15. Tom Capie, 16. Bobby McMahan, 17. Jackie Burke, 18. Drew Church, 19. Rich Tobias Jr., 20. Eric Gordon, 21. Rick Brown, 22. Robin Bank, 23. Tony Ave, 24. Steve Surniak, 25. Ray Evans, 26. Scott Hansen, 27. Jimmy McCune, 28. Wayne Chinn. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Paul White (4), 2. Dave Steele (1), 3. Dane Carter (16), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 5. Jason McCord (8), 6. Dave Darland (11), 7. Tony Elliott (18), 8. Russ Gamester (10), 9. Ed Carpenter (13), 10. Davey Hamilton (2), 11. Kasey Kahne (3), 12. Michael Lewis (6), 13. Gary Hieber (20), 14. Tracy Hines (5), 15. Brian Paulus (24), 16. A.J. Fike (23), 17. Tyler Walker (25), 18. J.J. Yeley (12), 19. Carl Edwards (29), 20. Bentley Warren (28), 21. Brian Tyler (9), 22. Chet Fillip (30), 23. John Heydenreich (19), 24. Brad Noffsinger (14), 25. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (22), 26. Jay Drake (27), 27. Derek Davidson (26), 28. Jim Childers (21), 29. Bud Kaeding (15), 30. Aaron Fike (17). 1:06:03.993
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-15 Dave Steele, Laps 16-100 Paul White.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Paul White-63; 2-Dave Steele-60; 3-Dane Carter-54, 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-51, 5-Jason McCord-48; 6-Dave Darland-45, 7-Tony Elliott-42; 8-Russ Gamester-39; 9-Ed Carpenter-36; 10-Davey Hamilton-33.
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IRWINDALE VICTORY PUTS GAMESTER ATOP STANDINGS
Irwindale, California………“I told you I'd be back,” said Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. in the post-race interview after winning the K & N Classic 100-lap USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet race at Irwindale (Calif) Speedway on March 24.
Gamester won a similar race at Irwindale last October. Russ started 20th in the 30-car field but quickly worked his way through traffic and took the lead from Aaron Fike on lap 62. He led the rest of the way in his Terre Haute First National Bank machine to claim the $9,100 first prize.
“We made major changes to the car after qualifying,” he admitted. “But I think we were better than we were last year. Now we're going to make a serious run at the championship."
A late-race yellow flag bunched the field, but despite a vibration in his car, Russ was confident he could hold off Fike.
John Heydenreich, J.J. Yeley and Jason McCord rounded out the "top-five" at the checkered flag. Dave Steele led the first 13 laps before spinning out and Fike led the next 48 laps before yielding to Gamester.
Dave Darland won the Oliver Trucking pole position for the 100-lap race but slipped to 17th in the final rundown. Derek Davidson won the 15-lap qualifying race.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: March 24, 2001 – Irwindale, California – Irwindale Speedway – K & N Classic
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-16.664; 2. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-16.672; 3. Aaron Fike, 92, Hoerner-16.763; 4. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider/Foyt-16.779; 5. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-16.781; 6. J.J. Yeley, 111, Snider/Foyt-16.783; 7. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-16.797; 8. Kasey Kahne, 67, Zarounian-16.842; 9. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-16.877; 10. John Heydenreich, 110, West-16.902; 11. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-16.948; 12. Paul White, 10, Cook-16.949; 13. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-16.979; 14. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-17.001; 15. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-17.024; 16. Dane Carter, 27, Carter-17.038; 17. Tyler Walker, 2, Vance-17.092; 18. Brad Armstrong, 59, Westcon-17.098; 19. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-17.126; 20. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-17.152; 21. Bud Kaeding, 21, Dewit-17.153; 22. A.J. Fike, 93, RFMS-17.174; 23. Chet Fillip, 77, Advanced-17.178; 24. Robin Bank, 90, Duda-17.220; 25. Carl Edwards, 80, Edwards-17.248; 26. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-17.295; 27. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-17.536; 28. Jimmy McCune, 01, West-17.550; 29. Kevin Kierce, 02, Swann-17.573; 30. Wally Pankratz, 98, Western-17.743; 31. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-18.048; 32. Cory Kruseman, 6, JD-18.294; 33. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-18.375; 34. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-18.675; 35. Scott Hansen, 42, Robison-NT; 36. #135, RE Technologies-NT; 37. #9, East/Stewart-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Derek Davidson, 2. Jimmy McCune, 3. Rich Tobias Jr., 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Kevin Kierce, 6. Carl Edwards, 7. Cory Kruseman, 8. Daryl Daugherty, 9. Wally Pankratz, 10. Bentley Warren. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Russ Gamester (20), 2. Aaron Fike (3), 3. John Heydenreich (10), 4. J.J. Yeley (6), 5. Jason McCord (7), 6. Kasey Kahne (8), 7. Brian Tyler (11), 8. Tracy Hines (5), 9. A.J. Fike (22), 10. Tyler Walker (17), 11. Tony Elliott (28), 12. Ed Carpenter (4), 13. Paul White (12), 14. Chet Fillip (23), 15. Jay Drake (9), 16. Gary Hieber (19), 17. Dave Darland (1), 18. Dane Carter (16), 19. Dave Steele (2), 20. Robin Bank (24), 21. Carl Edwards (30), 22. Jerry Coons Jr. (14), 23. Kevin Kierce (29), 24. Derek Davidson (25), 25. Bud Kaeding (21), 26. Michael Lewis (15), 27. Brad Armstrong (18), 28. Wayne Chinn (13), 29. Jimmy McCune (26), 30. Rich Tobias Jr. (27) 37:54.68
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Dave Steele, Laps 14-61 Aaron Fike, Laps 62-100 Russ Gamester.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Russ Gamester-99, 2-Jason McCord-96; 3-Paul White-90; 4-Kasey Kahne-76; 5-Dave Steele-75; 6-Tony Elliott-73; 7-Dane Carter-71; 8-J.J. Yeley-68; 9-Dave Darland-67; 10-Ed Carpenter-65.
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GAMESTER EDGES KAHNE IN NAZARETH 100-MILER
Nazareth, Pennsylvania………Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind. scored his second consecutive USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series victory on May 5 in the 100-mile race at Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway.
Gamester passed Kasey Kahne on the white-flag lap and held on for the victory in his Terre Haute First National Bank Chevy/Beast.
"It was an awesome race," Gamester said. "At the beginning, we were good, but you can't win them at the beginning and I just kept the tires on it. Kasey bobbled going into the last corner, and I did too at the same time, but I got off the brakes and closed on him. The car stuck really good and just drove out to the lead. It doesn't matter how many laps you lead. There's only one lap that counts!"
Kahne had caught pole starter Brian Tyler on the ninth lap and led for 90 laps before Gamester was able to get by.
"I'm pretty disappointed," Kahne admitted after the race. "I knew those guys were right there. I had a tire out of balance and the car was vibrating down the straight and I missed my turning point in the final corner twice in the last 10 laps. Once Russ got by me, I couldn't get him back."
Former series champion Mike Bliss finished third ahead of Tyler and John Heydenreich. Tyler earned the Oliver Trucking Pole Qualifying Award on Friday with a speed of 136.425 mph and led the first eight laps of the race.
Five cautions slowed the race but there were no injuries in any of the incidents. Paul White, who won the series opener in Phoenix, Ariz. in March, won the 15-mile qualifying race.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: May 4-5, 2001 – Nazareth, Pennsylvania – Nazareth Speedway
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-26.388; 2. Eric Gordon, 41, Bowen-26.398; 3. Kasey Kahne, 67, Zarounian-26.409; 4. Tyler Walker, 2, Vance-26.510; 5. J.J. Yeley, 99, Mucci/Matczak-26.537; 6. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-26.545; 7. Billy Whittaker, 47, Paternoster-26.555; 8. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-26.583; 9. Aaron Fike, 92, Hoerner-26.591; 10. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-26.597; 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-26.617; 12. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-26.635; 13. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-26.659; 14. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-26.681; 15. A.J. Fike, 93, RFMS-26.738; 16. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-26.748; 17. Mike Bliss, 111, Snider-26.754; 18. John Heydenreich, 110, West-26.773; 19. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-26.802; 20 .Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-26.804; 21. Brad Armstrong, 59, Westcon-26.811; 22. Bobby McMahan, 26, Espindola-26.823; 23. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-26.824; 24. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-26.881; 25. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-26.884; 26. Paul White, 10, Cook-26.931; 27. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-26.987; 28. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-26.994; 29. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-27.162; 30. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-27.186; 31. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 73, Qualistar-27.461; 32. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-27.587; 33. Nick Lundgreen, 0, Lundgreen-27.655; 34. Jimmy McCune, 01, West-27.955; 35. Robin Bank, 90, Duda-28.281; 36. Eric Beers, 31, Mataka-28.603; 37. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-NT; 38. #135, RE Technologies-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Paul White, 2. Brian Paulus, 3. Derek Davidson, 4. Wayne Chinn, 5. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 6. Tom Capie, 7. Bentley Warren, 8. Jimmy McCune, 9. Robin Bank, 10. Nick Lundgreen, 11. Rich Tobias Jr., 12. Eric Beers. 6:57.34
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Russ Gamester (8), 2. Kasey Kahne (3), 3. Mike Bliss (17), 4. Brian Tyler (1), 5. John Heydenreich (18), 6. Dave Steele (10), 7. Ed Carpenter (12), 8. A.J. Fike (15), 9. Paul White (25), 10. Brad Noffsinger (14), 11. Dave Darland (23), 12. Bud Kaeding (19), 13. Jason McCord (24), 14. Derek Davidson (27), 15. Brian Paulus (26), 16. Eric Gordon (2), 17. J.J. Yeley (5), 18. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (29), 19. Brad Armstrong (21), 20. Tony Elliott (16), 21. Tom Capie (30), 22. Gary Hieber (6), 23. Jerry Coons Jr. (11), 24. Jay Drake (13), 25. Tracy Hines (20), 26. Aaron Fike (9), 27. Billy Whittaker (7), 28. Bobby McMahan (22), 29. Wayne Chinn (28), 30. Tyler Walker (4). 1:01:10.00
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Brian Tyler, Laps 9-98 Kasey Kahne, Laps 99-100 Russ Gamester.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Russ Gamester-159; 2-Kasey Kahne-136; 3-Paul White-126; 4-Jason McCord-123; 5-Dave Steele-120; 6-John Heydenreich-112; 7-Brian Tyler-108; 8-Ed Carpenter-107; 9-Dave Darland-98; 10-J.J. Yeley-87.
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BLISS BLISTERS IRP OVAL TO WIN COCA-COLA 100
Clermont, Indiana………Mike Bliss of Milwaukie, Ore. dominated the Coca-Cola 100 presented by Crystal Flash at Indianapolis Raceway Park on May 12.
Bliss led all but the first nine laps and lapped everyone but second-place finisher Russ Gamester. The win in the USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet event was his record 11th in USAC competition at IRP.
"The car was flawless," he admitted in victory lane. "It was perfect. I didn't have a radio, so I wasn't sure who was behind me. Camera flashes made me think someone was close but I'm really happy with the win. I haven't been racing much this year. This series is a lot tougher than when I ran it three years ago."
Bliss' average speed of 115.326 mph broke Russ Gamester's record of 105.216 set last year.
Bliss caught Paul White on the 10th lap and led the rest of the way in his George Snider Racing Chevy/Beast. Gamester, in a bid for his third consecutive series win, finished second, about 15 seconds behind. Defending series champion Tracy Hines, Derek Davidson and White rounded out the top-five at the checkered flag.
Gamester emerged from the race, run without a single caution light, with a 41-point series lead over Kasey Kahne, who was eighth in the 100-lapper.
Hines won the Oliver Trucking pole for the race and Brian Tyler won the 15-lap qualifying race.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: May 12, 2001 – Clermont, Indiana – Indianapolis Raceway Park – Coca Cola 100 Presented by Crystal Flash
QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-20.833; 2. Paul White, 10, Cook-20.877; 3. Kasey Kahne, 67, Zarounian-20.895; 4. Dane Carter, 7, Carter-20.940; 5. Mike Bliss, 111, Snider-20.953; 6. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-20.978; 7. Chet Fillip, 77, Advanced-20.985; 8. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-20.993; 9. J.J. Yeley, 99, Mucci/Matczak-21.020; 10. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-21.024; 11. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-21.062; 12. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-21.111; 13. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-21.135; 14. Tyler Walker, 2, Vance-21.162; 15. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-21.169; 16. Brian Paulus, 22, P & P-21.185; 17. John Heydenreich, 110, West-21.190; 18. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-21.200; 19. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-21.200; 20. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-21.216; 21. Eric Gordon, 41, Bowen-21.217; 22. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-21.254; 23. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 73, Qualistar-21.390; 24. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-21.403; 25. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-21.409; 26. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-21.410; 27. John Nervo, 94, Nervo/Coggin-21.440; 28. Carl Edwards, 80, Edwards-21.450; 29. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-21.459; 30. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-21.477; 31. Bobby McMahan, 26, Espindola-21.482; 32. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-21.513; 33. Ricky Shelton, 50, Aviators-21.590; 34. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-21.592; 35. A.J. Fike, 93, RFMS-21.727; 36. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-21.750; 37. Jimmy McCune, 01, West-21.753; 38. David Bridges, 16, Logan-22.045; 39. Steve Surniak, 72, Surniak-22.050; 40. Robin Bank, 90, Duda-22.059; 41. Kyle Steffens, 8, Steffens-22.115; 42. Dana Laliberte, 70, LaLiberte-22.240; 43. Aaron Fike, 92, Hoerner-NT; 44. #9, East/Stewart-NT; 45. #135, RE Technologies-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-10 transfer to the feature) 1. Brian Tyler, 2. Eric Gordon, 3. Tony Elliott, 4. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 5. Michael Lewis, 6. Carl Edwards, 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 8. Jimmy McCune, 9. Rich Tobias Jr., 10. Bobby McMahan, 11. Wayne Chinn, 12. A.J. Fike, 13. John Nervo, 14. Tom Capie, 15. Ricky Shelton, 16. Bentley Warren, 17. Dana Laliberte, 18. Kyle Steffens, 19. Steve Surniak, 20. Robin Bank, 21. Daryl Daugherty, 22. David Bridges. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Mike Bliss (5), 2. Russ Gamester (6), 3. Tracy Hines (1), 4. Derek Davidson (12), 5. Paul White (2), 6. Ed Carpenter (19), 7. Jason McCord (20), 8. Kasey Kahne (3), 9. Dave Darland (8), 10. Chet Fillip (7), 11. J.J. Yeley (9), 12. Jay Drake (10), 13. Brian Tyler (21), 14. Dane Carter (4), 15. Brad Noffsinger (15), 16. John Heydenreich (17), 17. Bud Kaeding (13), 18. Tony Elliott (23), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (27), 20. Gary Hieber (18), 21. Michael Lewis (25), 22. Bobby McMahan (30), 23. Jimmy McCune (28), 24. Eric Gordon (22), 25. Dave Steele (11), 26. Brian Paulus (16), 27. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (24), 28. Carl Edwards (26), 29. Tyler Walker (14), 30. Rich Tobias Jr. (29) 35:41.40
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Paul White, Laps 10-100 Mike Bliss.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Russ Gamester-216; 2-Kasey Kahne-175; 3-Paul White-174; 4-Jason McCord-165; 5-Ed Carpenter-152; 6-Brian Tyler-135; 7-Dave Darland-134; 8-John Heydenreich-133; 9-Tracy Hines-129; 10-Dave Steele-128.
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YELEY WINS KNOXVILLE’S HAWKEYE HUNDRED
Knoxville, Iowa………J.J. Yeley of Phoenix, Ariz. captured the NAPA Hawkeye Hundred USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet race at Knoxville Raceway on June 2, leading the final 30 laps around the 1 /2-mile dirt track to beat Paul White and Tracy Hines and claim the $9,675 winner's total.
Yeley started eight in the race and climbed to second by the mid-point of the race, then caught Bud Kaeding on the 71st lap. He led the rest of the way in his Team ASE Chevy to post his fourth career series win.
“Starting back in eighth place allowed me to watch the leaders and see the lanes develop in the first half of the race,” Yeley admitted after the win. "My car was perfect on restarts, and once I got the lead, it was smooth sailing."
Yeley also admitted he nearly spun out in the early laps.
“I got hit from behind and nearly spun into the infield on the backstretch on lap 15," he said. "That was the closest call of the race for me."
White's second-place finish boosted him into the series point lead, two points ahead of Russ Gamester, who failed to finish the race after spinning, then hitting the outside guardrail on lap 73. Gamester had won the pole with a new track record and had led 16 of the first 31 laps before slipping back.
The race was stopped on lap 63 when Aaron Fike flipped on the front stretch, but he escaped injury.
Tyler Walker and Michael Lewis won 15-lap "qualifying races" which preceded the 100-lap feature.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 1-2, 2001 – Knoxville, Iowa – Knoxville Raceway – NAPA Hawkeye Hundred
QUALIFYING: (Top-16 locked into the feature) 1. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-19.292; 2. Brad Fox, 53, Fox-19.676; 3. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-19.703; 4. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-19.846; 5. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-19.848; 6. Donnie Beechler, 24, Stanton-19.862; 7. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-19.914; 8. J.J. Yeley 67, Zarounian-20.044; 9. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-20.119; 10. Robby Flock, 5, Beach-20.135; 11. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-20.222; 12. Jack Hewitt, 23, Parker-20.226; 13. Paul White, 10, Cook-20.354; 14. Aaron Fike, 32, Kazmark-20.378; 15. Roger Rager, 189, Sidebite-20.394; 16. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-20.415; 17. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-20.418; 18. John Heydenreich, 110, West-20.490; 19. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-20.518; 20. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-20.524; 21. Tyler Walker, 2, Vance-20.615; 22. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-20.645; 23. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-20.665; 24. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-20.666; 25. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-20.717; 26. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-20.864; 27. Ricky Shelton, 50, Aviators-20.909; 28. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-21.066; 29. Jon Agan, 48, Agan-21.297; 30. Eric Gordon, 99, Mucci/Matczak-21.345; 31. A.J. Fike, 93, RFMS-21.499; 32. Al Thomas, 172, Thomas-21.517; 33. Terry Thorson, 57, Thorson/Dolner-21.601; 34. Jerry Nemire, 76, Nemire-21.861; 35. Terry Pletch, 79, Pletch-21.892; 36. Randy Rosenboom, 141, Rosenboom-21.918; 37. Brad Armstrong, 61, Four F-22.485; 38. Larry Hartwell, 36, Miller-22.600; 39. Robin Bank, 90, Duda-23.183; 40. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-31.692; 41. Bill Schemonia, 112, Schemonia-NT; 42. #135, RE Technologies-NT.
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Tyler Walker, 2. Tony Elliott, 3. Rich Tobias Jr., 4. Ricky Shelton, 5. Jason McCord, 6. Tom Capie, 7. Terry Pletch, 8. Brad Armstrong, 9. A.J. Fike, 10. Jon Agan, 11. Terry Thorson, 12. Robin Bank. 7:57.92
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Michael Lewis, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Jerry Nemire, 4. Eric Gordon, 5. Ed Carpenter, 6. Jay Drake, 7. Wayne Chinn, 8. Randy Rosenboom, 9. Al Thomas, 10. Larry Hartwell, 11. John Heydenreich, 12. Craig Dori. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (8), 2. Paul White (13), 3. Tracy Hines (5), 4. Dave Darland (4), 5. Bud Kaeding (3), 6. Tony Elliott (19), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (20), 8. Eric Gordon (24), 9. Robby Flock (10), 10. Brian Tyler (16), 11. Jack Hewitt (12), 12. Brad Noffsinger (9), 13. Ricky Shelton (23), 14. Ed Carpenter (26), 15. Roger Rager (15), 16. Rich Tobias Jr. (21), 17. Dave Steele (11), 18. Brad Fox (2), 19. Jason McCord (25), 20. Donnie Beechler (6), 21. Derek Davidson (7), 22. Jerry Nemire (22), 23. Russ Gamester (1), 24. Aaron Fike (14), 25. Tyler Walker (17), 26. Michael Lewis (18). NT
**Jay Drake and A.J. Fike flipped during practice. Larry Hartwell flipped during the second qualifying race. Jason McCord flipped on lap 7 of the feature. Aaron Fike flipped on lap 63 of the feature,
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Brad Fox, Laps 2-15 Bud Kaeding, Laps 16-31 Russ Gamester, Laps 32-46 Dave Darland, Laps 47-70 Bud Kaeding, Laps 71-100 J.J. Yeley.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Paul White-231; 2-Russ Gamester-229; 3-Dave Darland-185; 4-Tracy Hines-183; 5-Jason McCord-180; 6-J.J. Yeley-178; 7-Ed Carpenter-177; 8-Kasey Kahne-175; 9-Brian Tyler-168; 10-Tony Elliott-148.
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PIKES PEAK SILVER BULLET 100 TO STEELE
Fountain, Colorado………Dave Steele of Tampa, Fla. captured the 100-mile USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet race at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo. on June 17, the third series victory of his career.
"We really needed this win," Steele admitted in victory lane. "I was fortunate to unload the car pretty good, but it surprised me that the car was good the whole race. I just tried to keep the tires on it."
Steele started alongside pole starter Dane Carter and trailed Carter for the first 15 laps, then led the final 85 miles in his Northside Propane Gaerte/Beast. He finished about six seconds ahead of Aaron Fike of Galesburg, Ill., while Carter, of Brownsburg, Ind., took third. The finishes matched the career bests for both Fike and Carter. Bentley Warren and Bobby McMahan rounded out the top-five at the finish.
Brian Tyler and defending series champion Tracy Hines chased Steele in the closing laps but both fell victim to mechanical trouble. Tyler lost an engine five laps from the checkered flag and Hines had a tire go down at the same time.
Steele's team earned $17,300 from the total purse of $87,748. He averaged 106.745 mph for the 100 miles.
Series point leader Paul White was forced out of the race with engine trouble after just 15 laps, allowing Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind., who finished seventh, to regain the series lead.
Carter established a new qualifying record of 142.062 mph and P.J. Jones won the 15-mile qualifying race.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 16-17, 2001 – Fountain, Colorado – Pikes Peak International Raceway
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Dane Carter, 7, Carter-25.341; 2. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-25.429; 3. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-25.466; 4. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-25.566; 5. Paul White, 10, Cook-25.605; 6. Aaron Fike, 93, RFMS-25.627; 7. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-25.638; 8. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-25.765; 9. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-25.818; 10. Kasey Kahne, 9, East/Stewart-25.822; 11. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-25.827; 12. A.J. Fike, 56, Foxco-25.855; 13. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-25.858; 14. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-25.861; 15. Tyler Walker, 2, Vance-25.882; 16. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-25.923; 17. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-25.925; 18. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 73, Qualistar-25.951; 19. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-25.953; 20. Bobby McMahan, 26, Espindola-25.956; 21. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-26.010; 22. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-26.047; 23. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-26.101; 24. Robby Flock, 5, Beach-26.126; 25. Eric Gordon, 99, Mucci/Matczak-26.145; 26. Chet Fillip, 77, Advanced-26.181; 27. P.J. Jones, 21, Dewit-26.189; 28. John Heydenreich, 110, West-26.209; 29. Carl Edwards, 80, Edwards-26.273; 30. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-26.282; 31. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-26.305; 32. John Nervo, 94, Nervo/Coggin-26.322; 33. Ricky Shelton, 50, Aviators-26.348; 34. Jonathan Vennard, 01, West-26.396; 35. Jimmy McCune, 52, Vance-26.595; 36. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-26.611; 37. Nick Lundgreen, 0, Lundgreen-26.675; 38. Kevin Bloomstran, 59, Westcon-26.839; 39. Dan Meservey, 58, Staas-27.185; 40. Robin Bank, 90, Duda-27.199; 41. D.J. Kirn, 16, Logan-30.052; 42. #135, RE Technologies-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. P.J. Jones, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Eric Gordon, 4. John Heydenreich, 5. Chet Fillip, 6. Ricky Shelton, 7. Carl Edwards, 8. Jonathan Vennard, 9. Wayne Chinn, 10. Dan Meservey, 11. Robin Bank, 12. Nick Lundgreen, 13. Kevin Bloomstran, 14. Rich Tobias Jr., 15. Jimmy McCune, 16. D.J. Kirn, 17. John Nervo. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Steele (2), 2. Aaron Fike (6), 3. Dane Carter (1), 4. Bentley Warren (23), 5. Bobby McMahan (20), 6. John Heydenreich (28), 7. Russ Gamester (14), 8. Bud Kaeding (9), 9. Jerry Coons Jr. (26), 10. A.J. Fike (12), 11. Michael Lewis (7), 12. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (18), 13. Gary Hieber (22), 14. Ed Carpenter (16), 15. Kasey Kahne (10), 16. Ricky Shelton (30), 17. J.J. Yeley (3), 18. Tyler Walker (15), 19. Derek Davidson (17), 20. Tracy Hines (11), 21. Brian Tyler (8), 22. Tony Elliott (13), 23. Brad Noffsinger (21), 24. Eric Gordon (27), 25. Robby Flock (24), 26. Jay Drake (4), 27. P.J. Jones (25), 28. Chet Fillip (29), 29. Paul White (5), 30. Jason McCord (19). 56:12.53
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-15 Dane Carter, Laps 16-100 Dave Steele.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Russ Gamester-271; 2-Paul White-235; 3-Dave Steele-210; 4-Ed Carpenter-202; 5-Kasey Kahne-198; 6-J.J. Yeley-197; 7-Tracy Hines-196; 8-Dave Darland-185; 9-Jason McCord-183; 10-Brian Tyler-180.
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RICHMOND SILVER BULLET WINNER FIKE YOUNGEST EVER
Richmond, Virginia………Aaron Fike of Galesburg, III., at age 18, became the youngest winner in the history of the USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series on June 30 as he won the Dominic's of New York 100 at Richmond International Raceway.
Fike surpassed Jeff Gordon, who at age 19, won a Silver Crown race at Phoenix International Raceway in 1991.
"I was really conservative," Fike admitted after the race. "The first 60 laps I was just cruising around. This win is great. I knew we could run in the top-three, but never thought we'd win. You dream about being in victory lane. I never thought it would come here."
Fike started eighth in the McGladrey & Pullen/Azer Clinic/Weld/Hoosier/Sparco Foxco/Beast and bolted into the top-five on lap 12. He slipped out of the top-five, then returned on lap 47. By lap 80, he had joined leaders Dave Steele and Tyler Walker in a three-car battle for the lead.
Walker got by Steele on lap 91 but four laps later, Walker’s engine locked up, forcing him to spin out and allowing Fike, who had passed Steele on lap 92, to assume the lead on the final restart.
Fike's final margin of victory over series point leader Russ Gamester was just over a second, with Steele taking third ahead of Jason McCord and Paul White.
Tracy Hines won the pole with a new track record speed of 133.935 mph but retired from the race on lap 94 while running in the top-10.
Brad Noffsinger won the 15-lap qualifying race which preceded the 100-lap feature.
A crowd of near 30,000 was on hand for the race, which was followed by the SunTrust Indy Challenge Indy Racing Northern Light Series event at the 3/4-mile paved oval.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 30, 2001 – Richmond, Virginia - Richmond International Raceway – Dominic’s of New York 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-24 locked into the feature) 1. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-20.159; 2. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-20.213; 3. Mike Bliss, 111, Snider-20.258; 4. Tyler Walker, 2, Vance-20.269; 5. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-20.331; 6. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-20.337; 7. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-20.346; 8. Aaron Fike, 93, RFMS-20.356; 9. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-20.360; 10. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-20.398; 11. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-20.416; 12. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-20.450; 13. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-20.451; 14. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-20.458; 15. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-20.466; 16. John Heydenreich, 110, West-20.499; 17. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-20.510; 18. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-20.569; 19. Paul White, 10, Cook-20.593; 20. Jonathan Vennard, 01, West-20.607; 21. Chet Fillip, 77, Advanced-20.673; 22. Robby Flock, 5, Beach-20.698; 23. Dane Carter, 7, Carter-20.757; 24. P.J. Jones, 21, Dewit-20.760; 25. John Nervo, 94, Nervo/Coggin-20.763; 26. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffisnger-20.778; 27. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 73, Qualistar-20.852; 28. Jimmy McCune, 52, Vance-20.956; 29. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-21.011; 30. Carl Edwards, 80, Edwards-21.072; 31. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-21.091; 32. Robin Bank, 90, Duda-21.092; 33. Ricky Shelton, 50, Aviators-21.112; 34. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-21.140; 35. Eric Gordon, 99, Mucci/Matczak-21.157; 36. Billy Whittaker, 47, Paternoster-21.233; 37. Kevin Bloomstran, 59, Westcon-21.723; 38. Joe Maple, 36, Miller-21.807; 39. Daryl Daugherty, 34, D & D-21.997; 40. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-NT; 41. Tony Hunt, 28, Tom & Jerry-NT; 42. #135, RE Technologies-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Brad Noffsinger, 2. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 3. Rich Tobias Jr., 4. Carl Edwards, 5. John Nervo, 6. Eric Gordon, 7. Billy Whittaker, 8. Kevin Bloomstran, 9. Tom Capie, 10. Jimmy McCune, 11. Doug Didero (#34), 12. Robin Bank, 13. Bentley Warren. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Aaron Fike (8), 2. Russ Gamester (12), 3. Dave Steele (2), 4. Jason McCord (6), 5. Paul White (19), 6. Derek Davidson (5), 7. Brad Noffsinger (25), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (15), 9. Dave Darland (10), 10. Robby Flock (22), 11. Dane Carter (23), 12. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (26), 13. John Heydenreich (16), 14. Rich Tobias Jr. (27), 15. Carl Edwards (28), 16. Eric Gordon (30), 17. Tony Elliott (18), 18. Chet Fillip (21), 19. Ed Carpenter (7), 20. John Nervo (29), 21. Tyler Walker (4), 22. Tracy Hines (1), 23. Brian Tyler (9), 24. P.J. Jones (24), 25. J.J. Yeley (17), 26. Jonathan Vennard (20), 27. Bud Kaeding (13), 28. Mike Bliss (3), 29. Jay Drake (14), 30. Gary Hieber (11). 49:52.420
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-90 Dave Steele, Laps 91-95 Tyler Walker, Laps 96-100 Aaron Fike.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Russ Gamester-328; 2-Paul White-283; 3-Dave Steele-267; 4-Jason McCord-234; 5-Dave Darland-221; 6-Ed Carpenter-217; 7-Tracy Hines-210; 8-John Heydenreich-205; 9-J.J. Yeley-205; 10-Jerry Coons Jr.-204.
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KAHNE PASSES TYLER TO WIN J.D. BYRIDER 100
Clermont, Indiana………Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw, Wash. captured the J.D. Byrider 100 at Indianapolis Raceway Park on August 2.
The USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet race opened the track's Kroger SpeedFest, a three-night program leading into the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The victory was the first for Kahne in pavement Silver Bullet racing and the second of three in USAC racing during the week. Kahne also won the USAC Midget race at Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway on July 31 and the August 4 Belleville Midget Nationals in Kansas on August 4.
NASCAR veteran Tony Stewart, making a rare USAC Silver Bullet appearance, lasted only nine laps before his car overheated and retired, but he made it to victory lane anyway as a co-owner of the winning car with Bob East.
"It takes a lot to win one of these Silver Bullet races," said Kahne after the 100-lapper. “The competition is so intense, but I enjoy it every lap. I watched Tyler for about 10 straight laps before I made my move and figured out what line he was running. He was good in traffic. He could go anywhere through traffic a little better than me."
Kahne averaged 106.768 mph. in the race, slowed by only one caution flag when Dane Carter spun and hit the wall in turn one on the 23rd lap. Tyler won the pole starting spot with a speed of 117.700 mph. and qualifying races went to John Heydenreich and Derek Davidson.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 2, 2001 – Clermont, Indiana – Indianapolis Raceway Park – J.D. Byrider 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-20.982; 2. Tyler Walker, 2, Vance-21.015; 3. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-21.015; 4. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-21.065; 5. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-21.073; 6. Paul White, 10, Cook-21.094; 7. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-21.097; 8. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-21.120; 9. Kasey Kahne, 9, East/Stewart-21.142; 10. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-21.172; 11. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-21.183; 12. Dane Carter, 7, Carter-21.203; 13. Cory Kruseman, 6, JD-21.224; 14. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-21.255; 15. P.J. Jones, 21, Dewit-21.282; 16. Tony Stewart, 111, Snider-21.309; 17. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-21.338; 18. John Heydenreich, 110, West-21.411; 19 Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-21.415; 20. Aaron Fike, 92, Hoerner-21.415; 21. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-21.437; 22. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-21.443; 23. Mike Bliss, 29, S & S-21.448; 24. Chet Fillip, 77, Advanced-21.458; 25. Dave Darland, 135, RE Technologies-21.503; 26. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-21.525; 27. John Nervo, 94, Nervo/Coggin-21.553; 28. Carl Edwards, 3, Van Klompenburg-21.608; 29. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 73, Qualistar-21.611; 30. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-21.615; 31. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-21.623; 32. Jonathan Vennard, 01, West-21.642; 33. Nick Lundgreen, 0, Lundgreen-21.700; 34. Dan Drinan, 07, JR-21.881; 35. Doug Didero, 99, Mucci/Matczak-21.902; 36. Billy Whittaker, 47, Paternoster-21.940; 37. David Gough, 39, Riverside-21.973; 38. Dan Meservey, 58, Staas-22.048; 39. Dana Laliberte, 70, Laliberte-22.185; 40. Dave McKnight, 31, Mataka-22.282; 41. Joe Maple, 36, Miller-NT; 42. A.J. Fike, 93, RFMS-NT; 43. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-NT; 44. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-NT.
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. John Heydenreich, 2. Mike Bliss, 3. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 4. Dave Darland (#135), 5. Tom Capie, 6. Dana Laliberte, 7. David Gough, 8. Doug Didero, 9. Nick Lundgreen, 10. Joe Maple, 11. John Nervo. NT
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Derek Davidson, 2. Carl Edwards, 3. Rich Tobias Jr., 4. Tony Elliott, 5. Jonathan Vennard, 6. Dan Drinan, 7. Gary Hieber, 8. Dan Meservey, 9. Billy Whittaker, 10. Dave McKnight. 3:35.06
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kasey Kahne (9), 2. Brian Tyler (1), 3. Brad Noffsinger (3), 4. J.J. Yeley (7), 5. Michael Lewis (5), 6. Tracy Hines (8), 7. Paul White (6), 8. P.J. Jones (15), 9. Tyler Walker (2), 10. Russ Gamester (4), 11. Bud Kaeding (11), 12. Jason McCord (10), 13. Dave Steele (17), 14. Derek Davidson (22), 15. Jonathan Vennard (30), 16. Tony Elliott (28), 17. Ed Carpenter (20), 18. Aaron Fike (19), 19. Jerry Coons Jr. (14), 20. Carl Edwards (24), 21. Cory Kruseman (13), 22. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (25), 23. Tom Capie (29), 24. John Heydenreich (21), 25. Jay Drake (18), 26. Rich Tobias Jr. (26), 27. Mike Bliss (23), 28. Tony Stewart (16), 29. Dave Darland (#135) (27). (Dane Carter car disqualified for failing to pass post-race technical inspection) (12). 38:33.06
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-81 Brian Tyler, Laps 82-100 Kasey Kahne.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Russ Gamester-361; 2-Paul White-325; 3-Dave Steele-294; 4-Jason McCord-263; 5-Kasey Kahne-258; 6-J.J. Yeley-256; 7-Tracy Hines-255; 8-Brian Tyler-253; 9-Ed Carpenter-236; 10-Dave Darland-225.
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WHITE WIRE-TO-WIRE IN TONY BETTENHAUSEN 100
Springfield, Illinois………"I gotta go to the bank," said Paul White of Temple, Texas after winning the Tony Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield on August 18.
White led all 100 laps at the one-mile dirt oval in his Builders Electric Chery/Beast to beat Jerry Coons Jr. of Tucson, Ariz. by four seconds.
“This is the first time I've run a coil-over car on a mile track, and it felt good," White added after his Springfield win. “I used to read about this race and always wanted to be part of it, so I'm glad I chose this series."
J.J. Yeley and Rich Tobias Jr. rounded out the top-five in the Springfield 100-miler. The Springfield race was slowed by only two caution flags for stalled cars as White averaged 101.290 mph for the distance.
Yeley was the fastest race qualifier at 114.785 mph. Qualifying races were won by Aaron Fike and Bill Rose.
A.J. Foyt IV of Hockley, Texas was unable to start the Springfield race after flipping on his second qualifying lap in his USAC racing debut. The grandson of race Grand Marshal and pace car driver A.J. Foyt qualified 16th on his first lap and escaped injury when the throttle stuck on lap two and he hit the third turn wall and flipped.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 18, 2001 – Springfield, Illinois – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Tony Bettenhausen 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-31.363; 2. Paul White, 10, Cook-31.365; 3. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-31.820; 4. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-32.043; 5. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-32.234; 6. Roger Rager, 91, Sidebite-32.278; 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-32.364; 8. Eric Gordon, 99, Mucci/Matczak-32.364; 9. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-32.611; 10. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-32.763; 11. Ricky Shelton, 50, Aviators-32.787; 12. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-32.884; 13. Kevin Huntley, 97, SC-33.038; 14. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-33.060; 15. Robby Flock, 5, Beach-33.083; 16. A.J. Foyt IV, 14, Foyt-33.156; 17. Manny Rockhold, 33, Barrick-33.327; 18. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-33.370; 19. Jack Hewitt, 23, Parker-33.409; 20. John Heydenreich, 69, Dynamics-33.497; 21. Jackie Burke, 86, Burke-33.579; 22. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-33.596; 23. Terry Thorson, 57, Thorson/Dolner-33.611; 24. Levi Jones, 83, Sohm-33.676; 25. Bill Rose, 65, Burghardt-33.737; 26. Aaron Fike, 93, RFMS-33.739; 27. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-33.758; 28. Brad Noffsinger, 12, Galas-33.759; 29. Dane Carter, 7, Carter-33.799; 30. Johnny Parsons, 43, Nix-33.846; 31. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-33.860; 32. Kyle Steffens, 8, Steffens-33.871; 33. Jerry Nemire, 76, Nemire-34.114; 34. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-34.279; 35. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-34.409; 36. Hud Cone, 31, Mataka-34.452; 37. Donnie Lehmann, 68, Lysell-34.514; 38. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-34.645; 39. Al Thomas, 172, Thomas-34.897; 40. Jon Agan, 48, Agan-35.112; 41. Dana Laliberte, 70, Laliberte-35.259; 42. Tom Davies, 168, Davies-NT; 43. Brad Fox, 53, Fox-NT; 44. Donnie Beechler, 24, Stanton-NT; 45. Don Carr, 84, Spivey-NT; 46. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-NT; 47. Bill Schemonia, 112, Schemonia-NT; 48. #135, RE Technologies-NT.
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Aaron Fike, 2. Johnny Parsons, 3. Brad Noffsinger, 4. Jason McCord, 5. Levi Jones, 6. Kyle Steffens, 7. Hud Cone, 8. Dana Laliberte. 5:19.91
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Bill Rose, 2. Dane Carter, 3. Tom Capie, 4. Michael Lewis, 5. Ed Carpenter, 6. Jerry Nemire, 7. Terry Thorson, 8. Donnie Lehmann, 9. Craig Dori, 10. Al Thomas. 5:29.68
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Paul White (2), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 3. Russ Gamester (9), 4. J.J. Yeley (1), 5. Rich Tobias Jr. (10), 6. Dave Darland (12), 7. Eric Gordon (8), 8. Robby Flock (15), 9. Aaron Fike (21), 10. Ed Carpenter (30), 11. Jason McCord (27), 12. Jack Hewitt (18), 13. Michael Lewis (28), 14. Brad Noffsinger (25), 15. Tracy Hines (4), 16. Dane Carter (24), 17. Kevin Huntley (13), 18. Rick Shelton (11), 19. Dave Steele (17), 20. Bud Kaeding (14), 21. John Heydenreich (19), 22. Jay Drake (3), 23. Johnny Parsons (23), 24. Tom Capie (26), 25. Manny Rockhold (16), 26. Levi Jones (29), 27. Derek Davidson (5), 28. Roger Rager (6), 29. Jackie Burke (20), 30. Bill Rose (22). 59:14.14
**A.J. Foyt IV flipped during qualifying.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Paul White.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Russ Gamester-415; 2-Paul White-388; 3-J.J. Yeley-310; 4-Dave Steele-309; 5-Jason McCord-294; 6-Tracy Hines-278; 7-Jerry Coons Jr.-276; 8-Dave Darland-270; 9-Ed Carpenter-269; 10-Kasey Kahne-258.
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STEELE SETS SERIES MARK, THEN WINS AT GATEWAY
Madison, Illinois………Dave Steele of Tampa, Fla. broke the USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series qualifying record and led all but 13 laps to win at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. on August 25.
"I knew we were fast, but we slipped at the start because we were not good on starts," Steele commented in the post-race interview.
He trailed Dave Darland for the first 13 laps before taking the lead going into turn one. Darland eventually spun as a result of a brush with another car while running second on lap 23 and finished a disappointing 20th.
Steele eclipsed Brad Noffsinger's ultimate series record of 143.039 mph set at Gateway last year with a lap at 143.967 mph during the rain-interrupted qualifying session on August 24. Oliver Trucking qualifying was completed the next morning.
Defending series champion Tracy Hines finished second in the 100-mile race, followed by Mike Bliss, Paul White and Brian Tyler. Only three cautions slowed the race, with Steele averaging 117.101 mph in his Northside Propane Gaerte/Beast.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 24-25, 2001 – Madison, Illinois - Gateway International Raceway
QUALIFYING: (Top-30 locked into the feature) 1. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-31.257; 2. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-31.524; 3. Aaron Fike, 92, Hoerner-31.629; 4. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-31.651; 5. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-31.667; 6. Brian Tyler, 69, Dynamics-31.715; 7. Mike Bliss, 11, Snider-31.718; 8. Paul White, 10, Cook-31.776; 9. Kasey Kahne, 9, East/Stewart-31.938; 10. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-31.985; 11. Ed Carpenter, 111, Snider-32.023; 12. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-32.040; 13. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-32.067; 14. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-32.156; 15. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-32.216; 16. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-32.228; 17. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-32.302; 18. A.J. Fike, 93, RFMS-32.307; 19. John Heydenreich, 90, Duda-32.344; 20. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-32.344; 21. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-32.380; 22. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 73, Qualistar-32.408; 23. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-32.434; 24. Robby Flock, 5, Beach-32.472; 25. Dane Carter, 7, Carter-32.484; 26. Chet Fillip, 77, Advanced-32.497; 27. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-32.502; 28. Eric Butze, 54, Butze-32.509; 29. John Nervo, 94, Nervo/Coggin-32.530; 30. Bentley Warren, 29, S & S-32.552; 31. Billy Whittaker, 47, Paternoster-32.596; 32. Carl Edwards, 3, Van Klompenburg-32.687; 33. Eric Gordon, 99, Mucci/Matczak-32.698; 34. Tyler Walker, 52, Vance-32.717; 35. Nick Lundgreen, 0, Lundgreen-32.753; 36. Ricky Shelton, 50, Aviators-32.831; 37. P.J. Jones, 21, Dewit-32.867; 38. Dan Drinan, 07, JR-33.132; 39. Kevin Bloomstran, 59, Westcon-33.571; 40. Dan Meservey, 58, Staas-33.796; 41. D.J. Kirn, 16, Logan-39.047; 42. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-NT; 43. Tyler Walker, 2, Vance-NT; 44. #135, RE Technologies-NT.
FEATURE: (80 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Dave Steele (1), 2. Tracy Hines (10), 3. Mike Bliss (7), 4. Paul White (8), 5. Brian Tyler (6), 6. J.J. Yeley (2), 7. Ed Carpenter (11), 8. Kasey Kahne (9), 9. Bud Kaeding (14), 10. Chet Fillip (26), 11. Gary Hieber (27), 12. John Heydenreich (19), 13. Jerry Coons Jr. (17), 14. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (22), 15. Jason McCord (15), 16. Rich Tobias Jr. (21), 17. Tom Capie (16), 18. A.J. Fike (18), 19. Robby Flock (24), 20. Dave Darland (4), 21. Derek Davidson (20), 22. Eric Butze (28), 23. Jay Drake (12), 24. Tony Elliott (13), 25. Bentley Warren (30), 26. Michael Lewis (23), 27. Dane Carter (25), 28. John Nervo (29), 29. Aaron Fike (3), 30. Russ Gamester (5). 51:14.28
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Dave Darland, Laps 14-80 Dave Steele.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Paul White-439; 2-Russ Gamester-418; 3-Dave Steele-375; 4-J.J. Yeley-355; 5-Tracy Hines-335; 6-Jason McCord-317; 7-Ed Carpenter-311; 8-Jerry Coons Jr.-303; 9-Brian Tyler-301; 10-Kasey Kahne-297.
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WHITE TAKES Du QUOIN'S TED HORN 100
Du Quoin, Illinois………Paul White of Temple, Texas scored his second consecutive dirt track USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet victory on September 2 in the Ted Horn 100 at the Du Quoin (III.) State Fairgrounds. He also won the August 18 Tony Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.
White passed Dave Darland on the white flag as Darland spun into the outside wall in turn one. Paul then paced the final circuit in his Builders Electric Chevy/Beast to beat Jerry Coons Jr., Russ Gamester, Rich Tobias Jr. and Dave Steele to the checkered flag.
"I thought Dave had a fire problem, but apparently he was running out of fuel at the end," said a surprised White in victory lane. "I wasn't the fastest car in the first half of the race and was losing time in the corners, but at the end, we were fast. I guess we'll take a win any way we can get it, but I would have been happy with second."
Coons earned his first series pole but slipped behind J.J. Yeley at the start. Yeley led the first 76 laps before ignition problems sent him to the sidelines. Darland then assumed command but a yellow flag for Brad Noffsinger, who hit the wall on the backstretch on lap 99, proved to be his undoing. Darland led on the restart of lap 99, but as White sailed past on the front stretch, Dave ended up spinning and backed into the first turn wall. He was uninjured.
John Heydenreich of Bloomsburg, Pa. won the qualifying race.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 2, 2001 – Du Quoin, Illinois – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Ted Horn 100
QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-30.879; 2. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-30.922; 3. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-30.969; 4. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-31.194; 5. Aaron Fike, 93, RFMS-31.549; 6. Ricky Shelton, 50, Aviators-31.667; 7. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-31.757; 8. Jon Stanbrough, 12, Galas-31.864; 9. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-31.920; 10. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-32.000; 11. Brad Fox, 53, Fox-32.060; 12. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-32.094; 13. Brian Tyler, 43, Nix-32.122; 14. Paul White, 10, Cook-32.128; 15. Levi Jones, 83, Sohm-32.229; 16. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-32.257; 17. Robby Flock, 5, Beach-32.336; 18. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-32.385; 19. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-32.478; 20. Jack Hewitt, 23, Parker-32.505; 21. Eric Gordon, 99, Mucci/Matczak-32.540; 22. Terry Thorson, 57, Thorson/Dolner-32.609; 23. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-32.695; 24. Matt Westfall, 64, DePalma-32.813; 25. Terry Pletch, 79, Pletch-32.857; 26. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-32.872; 27. Roger Rager, 91, Sidebite-32.993; 28. John Heydenreich, 69, Dynamics-33.051; 29. Jackie Burke, 86, Burke-33.108; 30. Hud Cone, 31, Mataka-33.108; 31. Jerry Nemire, 76, Nemire-33.175; 32. Donnie Lehmann, 32, Kazmark-33.192; 33. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-33.461; 34. Wes Miller, 36, Miller-33.498; 35. Randy Bateman, 96, T & D-33.529; 36. Bill Rose, 65, Burghardt-33.529; 37. Pat Lysell, 68, Lysell-33.897; 38. Kyle Steffens, 8, Steffens-34.002; 39. Dane Carter, 7, Carter-34.733; 40. Craig Dori, 38, Shoestring-34.917; 41. Bill Schemonia, 112, Schemnia-35.255; 42. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-NT; 43. Dana Laliberte, 70, Laliberte-NT; 44. Gary Hieber, 66, EWH-NT; 45. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, top-10 transfer to the feature) 1. John Heydenreich, 2. Brad Noffsinger, 3. Rich Tobias Jr., 4. Jack Hewitt, 5. Derek Davidson, 6. Jackie Burke, 7. Bill Rose, 8. Dane Carter, 9. Hud Cone, 10. Matt Westfall, 11. Wes Miller, 12. Terry Pletch, 13. Donnie Lehmann, 14. Terry Thorson, 15. Jerry Nemire, 16. Kyle Steffens, 17. Craig Dori, 18. Randy Bateman, 19. Pat Lysell, 20. Bill Schemonia. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Paul White (14), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (1), 3. Russ Gamester (10), 4. Rich Tobias Jr. (23), 5. Dave Steele (9), 6. Aaron Fike (5), 7. Derek Davidson (25), 8. Brian Tyler (13), 9. Tony Elliott (12), 10. Eric Gordon (20), 11. Robby Flock (17), 12. Michael Lewis (16), 13. Dave Darland (4), 14. Jason McCord (19), 15. Brad Fox (11), 16. Bill Rose (27), 17. Hud Cone (29), 18. Brad Noffsinger (22), 19. Matt Westfall (30), 20. Ricky Shelton (6), 21. J.J. Yeley (2), 22. Tracy Hines (7), 23. Jack Hewitt (24), 24. John Heydenreich (21), 25. Jon Stanbrough (8), 26. Levi Jones (15), 27. Bud Kaeding (3), 28. Jackie Burke (26), 29. Dane Carter (28), 30. Ed Carpenter (18). NT
**Wayne Chinn flipped during practice.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-76 J.J. Yeley, Laps 77-98 Dave Darland, Laps 99-100 Paul White.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Paul White-499; 2-Russ Gamester-472; 3-Dave Steele-423; 4-J.J. Yeley-371; 5-Jerry Coons Jr.-363; 6-Tracy Hines-348; 7-Jason McCord-342; 8-Brian Tyler-340; 9-Ed Carpenter-324; 10-Dave Darland-310.
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YELEY ANNEXES 4-CROWN SILVER BULLET 50
Rossburg, Ohio………J.J. Yeley of Phoenix, Ariz. captured the 50-lap 4-Crown Nationals USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series feature at Eldora Speedway on September 22.
Yeley emerged as the victor in a race interrupted by four yellow Flags and two reds, but no drivers were seriously injured during the 50-tapper.
After winning the pole starting spot, Yeley trailed Ed Carpenter for the first 13 laps until Carpenter scraped the wall in turn three. On the restart, Yeley led the rest of the way in his Team ASE Beast to beat Jay Drake, Paul White, Rich Tobias Jr. and Tony Elliott.
"When Brad Noffsinger crashed on the opening lap, I thought I hit Brad and hurt the rear-end, but I guess it was okay,” Yeley recalled. “I hit Roger Rager when he flipped and it affected the header, but we survived that one too. I had a heck of a night."
Paul White of Temple, Texas emerged from the race with a 42-point margin over runner-up Russ Gamester of Peru, Ind.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 21-22, 2001 – Rossburg, Ohio – Eldora Speedway –21st 4-Crown Nationals
QUALIFYING: (Top-12 locked into the feature) 1. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-16.798; 2. Dave Darland, 56, Foxco-16.843; 3. Bud Kaeding, 44, Andretti/Helmling-17.064; 4. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-17.092; 5. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-17.132; 6. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-17.178; 7. Todd Kane, 75, Dixon/Kane-17.192; 8. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-17.236; 9. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-17.254; 10. Jac Haudenschild, 69, Dynamics-17.280; 11. Kevin Huntley, 97, SC-17.359; 12. Paul White, 10, Cook-17.370; 13. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-17.375; 14. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-17.379; 15. Aaron Fike, 24, Stanton-17.454; 16. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-17.455; 17. Robbie Rice, 99, Mucci/Matczak-17.546; 18. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-17.551; 19. John Heydenreich, 90, Duda-17.563; 20. Roger Rager, 91, Sidebite-17.603; 21. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-17.671; 22. Jon Stanbrough, 12, Galas-17.672; 23. Eric Gordon, 41, Bowen-17.714; 24. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-17.740; 25. Jack Hewitt, 23, Parker-17.780; 26. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-17.818; 27. Bill Rose, 65, Burghardt-17.818; 28. Jerry Nemire, 76, Nemire-17.824; 29. Greg Wilson, 64, DePalma-17.842; 30. Dane Carter, 7, Carter-17.853; 31. Terry Pletch, 79, Pletch-17.901; 32. Jon Agan, 48, Agan-18.047; 33. Hud Cone, 31, Mataka-18.111; 34. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-18.420; 35. Don Carr, 84, Spivey-18.437; 36. Aaron Mosley, 27, Jones-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (20 laps, top-12 transfer to the feature) 1. Jay Drake, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Aaron Fike, 4. Rich Tobias Jr., 5. Robbie Rice, 6. Roger Rager, 7. John Heydenreich, 8. Jason McCord, 9. Eric Gordon, 10. Bill Rose, 11. Jack Hewitt, 12. Russ Gamester, 13. Michael Lewis, 14. Dave Steele, 15. Greg Wilson, 16. Jon Stanbrough, 17. Jon Agan, 18. Jerry Nemire, 19. Wayne Chinn, 20. Dane Carter, 21. Don Carr, 22. Terry Pletch. NT
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (1), 2. Jay Drake (13), 3. Paul White (10), 4. Rich Tobias Jr. (14), 5. Tony Elliott (9), 6. Jason McCord (18), 7. Robbie Rice (17), 8. Russ Gamester (22), 9. Dave Steele (24), 10. Brian Tyler (23), 11. Aaron Fike (15), 12. Bud Kaeding (3), 13. Jac Haudenschild (8), 14. Roger Rager (16), 15. Bill Rose (20), 16. Ed Carpenter (4), 17. Eric Gordon (21), 18. Brad Noffsinger (2), 19. Tracy Hines (5), 20. Derek Davidson (6), 21. Todd Kane (7), 22. Kevin Huntley (11), 23. Jerry Coons Jr. (12), 24. John Heydenreich (19). NT
**Brad Noffsinger & Tracy Hines flipped during a multi-car tangle on the opening lap of the feature. Todd Kane flipped on the lap one restart. Roger Rager flipped on lap 43 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Carpenter, Laps 13-50 Yeley.
NEW SILVER BULLET POINTS: 1-Paul White-553; 2-Russ Gamester-511; 3-Dave Steele-459; 4-J.J. Yeley-436; 5-Jason McCord-387; 6-Brian Tyler-373; 7-Jerry Coons Jr.-373; 8-Tracy Hines-361; 9-Ed Carpenter-335; 10-Aaron Fike-329.
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ELLIOTT VICTORIOUS IN MEMORABLE HULMAN-HOOSIER HUNDRED
Indianapolis, Indiana………Tony Elliott of Kokomo, Ind. repeated as champion of A.J. Foyt's True Value Hulman-Hoosier Hundred on September 28 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, while Texan Paul White emerged as the champion of the 2001 USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series.
Elliott was the last of four leaders in the spectacular 100-mile race on the one-mile dirt oval, one which kept race fans on their feet for most of the night as several drivers made spirited charges from the back of the pack.
White, on the other hand, calmly raced to a seventh-place finish as title challenger Russ Gamester suffered mechanical problems and retired from the event after just 19 laps. That solidified the initial USAC driving championship for White, of Temple, Texas, and his Builders Electric team.
Elliott passed Jerry Coons Jr. on the 83rd circuit and led the rest of the way in his Ray Skillman/Irvin's Interstate Brick & Block/Goody Wheels Chevy/Nolen.
Trailing runner-up Coons at the checkered flag were J.J. Yeley, Bud Kaeding and Johnny Parsons, who thrilled fans with his rim-riding tactics. Parsons, who started 21st in his 132nd series appearance, ran down the leaders one-by-one and finally earned the lead on lap 49 with his pass of Yeley, who had led from the start. J.P. then appeared headed for victory until lap 80 when Coons went to the front.
Also notable in his mid-race performance was Rich Tobias Jr, who pitted for an adjustment early in the race, then stormed from the back of the field to lead briefly before a yellow flag moved him back to second on the restart. Power steering problems eventually forced him out of the race after 70 laps.
Michael Lewis of Noblesville, Ind. was the Oliver Trucking fast qualifier with his pole speed of 114.068 mph, but he was 19th at the checkered flag.
A.J. Foyt IV of Hockley, Texas, also failed to finish the race in his USAC debut. The grandson of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt caught the backstretch wall avoiding Gamester's slowing car on lap 20.
USAC COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 28, 2001 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Indiana State Fairgrounds – A.J. Foyt's True Value Hulman-Hoosier Hundred
QUALIFYING: (Top-20 locked into the feature) 1. Michael Lewis, 85, Lewis-31.560; 2. J.J. Yeley, 67, Zarounian-31.634; 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 35, RE Technologies-31.655; 4. Tom Capie, 153, Capie-31.713; 5. Tracy Hines, 37, Riggs-31.824; 6. Bud Kaeding, 56, Foxco-32.262; 7. Ed Carpenter, 11, Snider-32.267; 8. Levi Jones, 83, Sohm-32.302; 9. Jay Drake, 62, Beaver-32.344; 10. Paul White, 10, Cook-32.363; 11. Brian Tyler, 50, Aviators-32.366; 12. Tony Elliott, 20, Nolen-32.401; 13. Jack Hewitt, 23, Parker-32.456; 14. Brad Noffsinger, 40, Curb/Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger-32.540;15. Brad Fox, 53, Fox-32.638; 13. 16. John Heydenreich, 90, Duda-32.745; 17. Dave Steele, 19, Gratton-32.776; 18. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-32.914; 19. A.J. Foyt IV, 14, Foyt-32.930; 20. Aaron Fike, 24, Stanton-33.014; 21. Dane Carter, 7, Carter-33.248; 22. Johnny Parsons, 43, Nix-33.361; 23. Dean Franklin, 65, Burghardt-33.490; 24. Rich Tobias Jr., 74, RW-33.563; 25. Jason McCord, 4, Contos-33.673; 26. Jac Haudenschild, 69, Dynamics-33.696; 27. Ricky Shelton, 32, Kazmark-33.819; 28. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 73, Qualistar-33.821; 29. Wayne Chinn, 71, Chinn-33.874; 30. Kyle Steffens, 8, Steffens-34.001; 31. Robbie Rice, 99, Mucci/Matczak-34.150; 32. Greg Wilson, 64, DePalma-34.158; 33. Donnie Gentry, 112, Schemonia-34.590; 34. Manny Rockhold, 33, Barrick-34.615; 35. Jerry Nemire, 76, Nemire-34.738; 36. Donnie Beechler, 5, Beach-34.835; 37. Randy Bateman, 96, T & D-34.851; 38. Eric Gordon, 41, Bowen-34.989; 39. Don Carr, 84, Spivey-35.047; 40. Jon Agan, 48, Agan-35.262; 41. Tom Davies, 168, Davies-42.347; 42. Wes Miller, 36, Miller-NT; 43. Jon Stanbrough, 12, Galas-NT; 44. Derek Davidson, 25, BWB-NT; 45. Ronnie Franklin, 60, Franklin-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, top-10 transfer to the feature) 1. Johnny Parsons, 2. Dane Carter, 3. Rich Tobias Jr., 4. Dean Franklin, 5. Jac Haudenschild, 6. Jason McCord, 7. Billy Puterbaugh Jr., 8. Wayne Chinn, 9. Ricky Shelton, 10. Kyle Steffens, 11. Robbie Rice, 12. Greg Wilson, 13. Eric Gordon, 14. Randy Bateman, 15. Jerry Nemire, 16. Manny Rockhold, 17. Don Carr, 18. Donnie Gentry, 19. Jon Agan. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tony Elliott (12), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 3. J.J. Yeley (2), 4. Bud Kaeding (6), 5. Johnny Parsons (21), 6. Tracy Hines (5), 7. Paul White (10), 8. Ed Carpenter (7), 9. Dave Steele (17), 10. Tom Capie (4), 11. Billy Puterbaugh Jr. (27), 12. Jason McCord (26), 13. Levi Jones (8), 14. Aaron Fike (20), 15. Kyle Steffens (30), 16. Dean Franklin (24), 17. Wayne Chinn (28), 18. Dane Carter (22), 19. Michael Lewis (1), 20. Rich Tobias Jr. (23), 21. Brad Noffsinger (14), 22. John Heydenreich (16), 23. Jack Hewitt (13), 24. Ricky Shelton (29), 25. Brian Tyler (11), 26. Brad Fox (15), 27. Russ Gamester (18), 28. A.J. Foyt IV (19), 29. Jac Haudenschild (25), 30. Jay Drake (9). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-48 J.J. Yeley, Laps 49-79 Johnny Parsons, Laps 80-82 Jerry Coons Jr., Laps 83-100 Tony Elliott.
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2001 USAC SILVER BULLET DRIVER POINTS
1. (595) Paul White, Temple, Texas
2. (517) Russ Gamester, Peru, Ind.
3. (495) Dave Steele, Tampa, Fla.
4. (493) J.J. Yeley, Phoenix, Ariz.
5. (430) Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Ariz.
6. (416) Jason McCord, Anderson, Ind.
7. (406) Tracy Hines, New Castle, Ind.
8. (381) Brian Tyler, Parma, Mich.
9. (374) Ed Carpenter, Indianapolis, Ind.
10. (354) Aaron Fike, Galesburg, Ill.
11. (352) Tony Elliott, Kokomo, Ind.
12. (322) Bud Kaeding, Campbell, Calif.
13. (310) Dave Darland, Lincoln, Ind.
14. (297) Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Wash.
15. (284) John Heydenreich, Bloomsburg, Pa.
16. (271) Brad Noffsinger, Huntington Beach, Calif.
17. (261) Derek Davidson, Lafayette, Ind.
18. (243) Rich Tobias, Jr., Lebanon, Pa.
19. (232) Dane Carter, Brownsburg, Ind.
20. (215) Michael Lewis, Noblesville, Ind.
21. (193) Eric Gordon, Greenfield, Ind.
22. (182) Mike Bliss, Milwaukie, Ore.
23. (168) Jay Drake, Val Verde, Calif.
24. (162) Robby Flock, Murrieta, Calif.
25. (156) Billy Puterbaugh Jr., Brownsburg, Ind.
26. (146) A.J. Fike, Galesburg, Ill.
27. (133) Gary Hieber, Langhorne, Pa.
28. (132) Tyler Walker, Los Angeles, Calif.
29. (124) Chet Fillip, San Angelo, Texas
30. (87) Ricky Shelton, Huntington Beach, Calif.
31. (83) Tom Capie, Trevose, Pa.
32. (80) Jack Hewitt, Troy, Ohio
33. (72) Bentley Warren, Kennebunkport, Maine
34. (68) Carl Edwards, Columbia, Mo.
35. (64) Bobby McMahan, Sacramento, Calif.
36. (58) Johnny Parsons, Indianapolis, Ind.
37. (54) P.J. Jones, Torrance, Calif.
38. (53) Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg, Pa.
39. (47) Brad Fox, Avon, Ind.
40. (44) Bill Rose, Plainfield, Ind.
41. (41) Levi Jones, Olney, Ill.
42. (33) Davey Hamilton, Boise, Idaho
43. (30) Jonathan Vennard, Vincennes, Ind.
44. (30) Kevin Huntley, Bloomington, Ind.
45. (30) Roger Rager, Pequot Lakes, Minn.
46. (28) Wayne Chinn, Tipp City, Ohio
47. (23) Kyle Steffens, St. Charles, Mo.
48. (21) Brad Armstrong, New Palestine, Ind.
49. (19) Hud Cone, Oakland, Ind.
50. (18) John Nervo, Akron, Ohio
51. (14) Jimmy McCune, Toledo, Ohio
52. (13) Robin Bank, Pittsburgh, Pa.
53. (13) Donnie Beechler, Springfield, Ill.
54. (12) Cory Kruseman, Ventura, Calif.
55. (12) Todd Kane, Powell, Ohio
56. (11) Jerry Nemire, Erie, Mich.
57. (10) Kevin Kierce, Reseda Heights, Calif.
58. (9) Jackie Burke, Houston, Texas
59. (8) Manny Rockhold, Pekin, Ill.
60. (6) Billy Whittaker, Central Square, N.Y.
61. (5) Jim Childers, Gibsonton, Fla.
62. (5) A.J. Foyt IV, Hockley, Texas
63. (4) Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio
2001 USAC SILVER BULLET ENTRANT POINTS
1. (595) Paul Cook Racing, Mansfield, Texas (#10)
2. (550) Zarounian Motorsports, Visalia, Calif. (#67)
3. (517) Gamester Racing, Peru, Ind. (#51)
4. (495) Gratton Motorsports, Homosassa, Fla. (#19)
5. (430) RE Technologies, Memphis, Tenn. (#35)
6. (416) Contos Racing, Anderson, Ind. (#4)
7. (406) Terry Riggs, Indianapolis, Ind. (#37)
8. (390) Foxco Engineering, Avon, Ind. (#56)
9. (386) George Snider Racing, Bakersfield, Calif. (#11)
10. (353) Dynamics, Inc., Milford, Ohio (#69)
11. (352) Nolen Racing, Greenwood, Ind. (#20)
12. (311) RFMS Racing, Galesburg, Ill. (#93)
13. (263) Andretti-Helmling Racing, Vincennes, Ind. (#44)
14. (261) BWB Racing, Terre Haute, Ind. (#25)
15. (246) Curb-Agajanian/Paulsen/Noffsinger, Concord, N.C. (#40)
16. (243) RW Motorsports, Lederach, Pa. (#74)
17. (237) George Snider Racing, Bakersfield, Calif. (#111)
18. (236) Mucci-Matczak Racing, Liverpool, N.Y. (#99)
19. (232) Carter Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#7)
20. (215) Lewis Brothers Racing, Noblesville, Ind. (#85)
21. (214) J.L. West Motorsports, Oswego, N.Y. (#110)
22. (168) Beaver Racing, Noblesville, Ind. (#62)
23. (162) Gene Beach, Boonville, Mo. (#5)
24. (156) Qualistar Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#73)
25. (133) EWH Service, Langhorne, Pa. (#66)
26. (132) Johnny Vance Racing Team, Dayton, Ohio (#2)
27. (124) Advanced Racing Suspensions, Indianapolis, Ind. (#77)
28. (122) Bob East & Tony Stewart, Indianapolis, Ind. (#9)
29. (113) Bob Parker, Indianapolis, Ind. (#23)
30. (97) Ricky Nix, Benton, Ill. (#43)
31. (88) Bob Hoerner, Crest Hill, Ill. (#92)
32. (86) Aviators Racing, Chicago, Ill. (#50)
33. (83) Capie Racing, Browns Mills, N.J. (#153)
34. (78) S & S Racing, Marlboro, Mass. (#29)
35. (69) Stanton Racing, Nicholasville, Ky. (#24)
36. (68) CB Motorsports, Colfax, Ind. (#65)
37. (64) Keith Espindola, San Jose, Calif. (#26)
38. (62) Dewit Motorsports, Zionsville, Ind. (#21)
39. (62) Sharon Bank-Duda, Sewickley, Pa. (#90)
40. (55) Carl Edwards, Columbia, Mo. (#80)
41. (53) P & P Motorsports, Mechanicsburg, Pa. (#22)
42. (53) Side Bite Motorsports, Breckinridge, Colo. (#91)
43. (49) Bowen Oldsmobile, Terre Haute, Ind. (#41)
44. (47) Brad Fox, Avon, Ind. (#53)
45. (44) J.L. West Motorsports, Oswego, N.Y. (#01)
46. (41) Sohm Enterprises, St. Louis, Mo. (#83)
47. (33) Bob Consani, Windsor, Calif. (#04)
48. (33) Galas Motorsports, O’Fallon, Ill. (#12)
49. (30) SC Racing, Carey, Ohio (#97)
50. (28) Chinn Motorsports, Tipp City, Ohio (#71)
51. (23) Steffens Motorsports, St. Charles, Mo. (#8)
52. (21) Westcon Racing, Lebanon, Ohio (#59)
53. (19) Mataka Motorsports, Lebanon, N.J. (#31)
54. (18) Nervo-Coggin Racing, Tallmadge, Ohio (#94)
55. (18) Kazmark Racing, Joliet, Ill. (#32)
56. (15) Tony DePalma, Lima, Ohio (#64)
57. (13) 3D Motorsports (Doug Van Klompenburg), Columbus, Ind. (#3)
58. (12) JD Motorsports, San Diego, Calif. (#6)
59. (12) Jim Dixon & Todd Kane, Marion, Ohio (#75)
60. (11) Jerry Nemire, Erie, Mich. (#76)
61. (11) Butze Racing, Memphis, Tenn. (#54)
62. (10) Swann Motorsports, Burbank, Calif. (#02)
63. (9) Jackie Burke Racing, Houston, Texas (#86)
64. (8) John Barrick, Lincoln, Ill. (#33)
65. (6) JP Autosport (Jim Paternoster), Oswego, N.Y. (#47)
66. (5) Miller-Holz Race Marketing, Tampa, Fla. (#78)
67. (5) A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Waller, Texas (#14)
68. (4) RE Technologies, Memphis, Tenn. (#135)
69. (3) Bob Hoerner, Crest Hill, Ill. (#192)