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.
2015 USAC SILVER CROWN SEASON
Following a championship season in 2014, Kingsburg, California’s Kody Swanson and the DePalma Motorsports team were able to recreate the magic in 2015 to earn back-to-back USAC Silver Crown Series titles.
Swanson had a series-leading four wins, starting off the season with a victory on the pavement at Toledo (OH) Speedway, and then followed that up with three wins on the dirt miles at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield and closed out the season in style by capturing the final Silver Crown race at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, thus repeating as winner at each of the dirt mile tracks he won at in 2015.
Swanson also started and ended the 2015 season in victory lane. In doing so, he became the first driver to accomplish the feat in consecutive years and also the first to win the season opener and finale on pavement and dirt. He was one of seven drivers to bookend the season with wins, joining Bobby Olivero (1979), Gary Bettenhausen (1980), Steve Kinser (1981), Jack Hewitt (1986), Kenny Irwin Jr. (1994) and Brian Tyler (2000).
Swanson either led or was tied atop every statistical category in the series during 2015. He led 330 laps in the series’ 11 races (113 more than his nearest competitor) while scoring nine top-fives and 10 top-ten finishes in 11 starts along with six ProSource fast qualifying times on his way to becoming the third driver, and seventh overall, to repeat as Silver Crown Series champion: Jack Hewitt (1986 & 87), J.J. Yeley (2002 & 03), Dave Steele (2004 & 05), Bud Kaeding (2006 & 07), Levi Jones (2010 & 11), Bobby East (2012 & 13), and Swanson (2014 & 15).
Swanson's 142-point margin over second place in the final Silver Crown Series point standings was the 5th most ever behind Mario Andretti (1974), Rick Hood (1985) and Jack Hewitt (1986 & 87).
Despite making only three starts, Kody’s younger brother, Tanner Swanson of Kingsburg, Cal., made a substantial mark in the series in 2015. Tanner won both 100-lap races on the .686 pavement of Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, leading a combined 135 laps in the two contests in his Bowman Racing #02.
Benton, Illinois driver/fire chief Shane Cockrum won a pair of races for Hardy Boys Racing in 2015, taking home the “Sumar Classic” at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track and repeating as the victor of the “Ted Horn 100” at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds. Pavement specialist Bobby Santos of Franklin, Massachusetts won in DJ Racing’s #122 at Iowa Speedway in June of 2015.
The RPM/Fred Gormly team collected two victories with Chris Windom of Canton, Ill. claiming the “Hustle on the High Banks” at the Belleville (Kans.) High Banks in the number 98 while Norman, Oklahoma’s Christopher Bell made his lone series start of the season count, winning the pole and leading all 50 laps in the team’s number 99 at Eldora Speedway’s “4-Crown Nationals.”
C.J. Leary, seventh in the standings, was named series Rookie of the Year, the first son of a former Silver Crown Rookie of the Year to win the award (Chuck Leary in 1995).
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KODY SWANSON CONTINUES SILVER CROWN DOMINATION, WIRES ROLLIE BEALE CLASSIC
Toledo, Ohio………Kody Swanson continued his winning ways in the Silver Crown Series after five wins propelled him to the 2014 championship, as he led every lap in Friday’s Hemelgarn Super Fitness “Rollie Beale Classic” at Toledo Speedway. The Kingsburg, California driver forged a tie with Tracy Hines for 11th on the all-time series win list with his ninth career triumph.
“I had to hold up my end of the bargain to get this team a pavement win after we got them to bring this car out two years ago. I’m thankful to be with this team and work with them to strive for the same goal. They are the true definition of a good “team.” Today is my grandfather’s birthday, and yesterday was my anniversary with my wife Jordan, who is the ultimate partner and a big part of this team, too. My dad has been a huge part of this effort, getting the pavement car going well, and to reward him and all my guys is special to me,” Swanson said.
Kody, who earned the pole after setting the ProSource “Fast Time,” outgunned brother Tanner on the start at the start, as Jacob Wilson snuck to the second spot before a lap-six chain reaction sent Jerry Coons Jr. and Austin Nemire spinning through the infield as both Kyle Hamilton and Tim Barber stopped in turn-four. Under yellow, Tracy Hines pitted for a right-front tire. All cars restarted except Hamilton.
Less than a lap later, Bobby Santos abruptly turned right in turn-three, stopping at the wall and giving up his fifth-place spot. From there, the Swanson brothers and Wilson disappeared into traffic, as Tanner passed Wilson for the runner-up spot on lap 41. As they neared halfway, Tanner jumped outside of brother Kody to race for the lead.
The two came up on a pack of cars on lap 49, with Tanner vaulting over the right-rear tire of C.J. Leary and somersaulting into the catchfence through turn-one. He came to a rest propped upon the inside wall in the middle of turns one and two, luckily able to walk away from a frightening crash that left a fuel spill and some fence repair.
After the red, Wilson hung with Kody Swanson for the lead. Behind them, David Byrne tried to use the outside lane to look for third, but instead relinquished that spot to A.J. Fike. On lap 57, Coons continued his recovery by taking the fifth spot from Byrne.
After a final caution on lap 59, the lead duo again pulled away as Wilson stayed right on Swanson’s back bumper. On lap 70, he looked to the outside but could not complete the pass. Swanson then gradually pulled away from Wilson, opening up a comfortable advantage before again reaching slower cars in the final circuits. He negotiated those flawlessly to post a 1.100-second victory in the DePalma Motorsports – Radio Hospital #63 Beast/Hampshire.
“I knew we had to keep pushing over the last half with Wilson coming at us the way he was. We finally got a little gap to give myself some time through traffic, with as difficult as that was and how it bit Tanner earlier in the race. It was a relief to see Tanner was okay after that big crash. He came up to me and told me it was up to me to get it done now. The red was a long time to sit and think and get knocked out of your rhythm. Our job is to be good in those situations, though, and I love this series for those type of situations that make you go well all race long,” Swanson said.
Wilson came home second in the Wilson Brothers Racing #07 Beast/Toyota.
“I tried to push Kody and try to make him run my pace, but I wore my stuff out a little bit to do it and he was able to save enough for the last half of the race. He ran a very smart race, and it’s tough to beat him right now. We have gotten closer and closer; I can’t thank my family and Keith Holsapple enough for getting us this strong. I really feel like we could get some wins if we can ever knock down the door for a Silver Crown win, and we’ll have to beat Kody to do it,” Wilson said.
Fike, who started 17th, came home third in the RFMS Racing – Liberty Village #3 Beast/Foxco.
“I really felt like we were just as fast as the leaders before the red, but I just screwed up qualifying to put us in a hole. We didn’t need the red; our tire sealed up and we weren’t as good after that. Starting last row, I had to use my stuff up a little bit to get to where we got. I can’t complain, though – my group did a great job tonight,” Fike said.
Coons came home fourth in the Nolen Racing – Columbus Container #20 Beast/Chevy, and Aaron Pierce rounded out the top-five in the Sam Pierce Chevrolet – G&G Oil #26 Beast/Chevy.
USAC SILVER CROWN RACE RESULTS: May 1, 2015 – Toledo, Ohio – Toledo Speedway – Hemelgarn Super Fitness Rollie Beale Night
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-14.978; 2. Tanner Swanson, 11, Bowman-15.082; 3. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-15.155; 4. Tracy Hines, 98, RPM/Gormly-15.181; 5. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-15.263; 6. Kyle Hamilton, 33, Six-R/Hamilton-15.316; 7. Jerry Coons Jr. 20, Nolen-15.440; 8. Bobby Santos, 122, DJ-15.480; 9. Jarett Andretti, 4, Andretti-15.496; 10. Rex Norris III, 16, Norris-15.546; 11. Dave Baumgartner, 15, Baumgartner-15.550; 12. Jimmy McCune, 81, Williams-15.601; 13. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary/Six-R-15.684; 14. Tim Barber, 28, Finkenbinder-15.781; 15. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-15.784; 16. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-16.604; 17. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-19.622; 18. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Jacob Wilson (3), 3. A.J. Fike (17), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 5. Aaron Pierce (5), 6. David Byrne (16), 7. Austin Nemire (15), 8. Dave Baumgartner (11), 9. Tracy Hines (4), 10. Rex Norris III (10), 11. C.J. Leary (13), 12. Tim Barber (14), 13. Jarett Andretti (9), 14. Jimmy McCune (12), 15. Tanner Swanson (2), 16. Bobby Santos (8), 17. Kyle Hamilton (6), 18. Patrick Lawson (18). NT
**Tanner Swanson flipped on Lap 50.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Kody Swanson.
NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-66; 2-Jacob Wilson-57; 3-A.J. Fike-54; 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-51; 5-Aaron Pierce-48; 6-David Byrne-45; 7-Austin Nemire-42; 8-Dave Baumgartner-39; 9-Tracy Hines-36; 10-Rex Norris III-33.
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KODY SWANSON GOES BACK-TO-BACK WITH HOOSIER HUNDRED WIN
Indianapolis, Indiana……...Kody Swanson etched his name in the record books as a two-time “Hoosier Hundred” winner on Thursday night at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, as he distanced himself from the field over the final laps to earn his tenth career Silver Crown Series victory, tying him for ninth on the all-time list with Mike Bliss and Gary Bettenhausen.
Swanson started from the pole after taking the ProSource “Fast Time Award,” but a first-corner tangle slowed the initial start of the race, and A.J. Fike claimed the lead as the race finally hit a green-flag run. C.J. Leary went with him early as Swanson held down the third spot. He was looking for second on lap eleven when fourth-running Tracy Hines slowed to a stop on the backstretch, bringing out a yellow.
After the restart, Swanson went after Leary, taking the second spot on lap 22 and chopping into Fike’s lead. Shane Cockrum was also quick early, as he battled for third with Leary. Meanwhile, Brian Tyler was on the move from the tail of the field after taking over Randy Bateman’s ride for the feature when his original mount experienced engine issues. Tyler ran from 27th up to the top-ten by lap 40.
Just after that, the third caution of the night appeared. The race hit halfway with Fike and Swanson building a lead over Cockrum and Jerry Coons Jr., who had disposed of Leary for the fourth spot. Steve Buckwalter was also on the move, as he had driven up to sixth after starting 16th. Tyler found himself in seventh on the yellow.
A few laps later, Buckwalter’s night ended as he broke and met the turn-two concrete, flipping over and necessitating a red-flag period. Under red, both Leary and Dave Darland changed right-rear tires, costing them a one-lap penalty.
Swanson pressured Fike hard on the restart, but Fike was able to hold him off on lap 55. Behind them, Tyler was inside the top-five and passed Coons for the fourth spot.
Just as they completed lap 67, Swanson had a big run to the outside of Fike down the front-stretch, outracing him into the corner for the lead on lap 68. Tyler moved to third and began to run down Fike as the race hit the lap-75 mark. A caution on lap 84 set up an 11-lap race to the finish, and Swanson drew away from the field. Tyler jumped to the inside of Fike on lap 96 and made a daring move to take second. But Aaron Pierce was coming with him, and he wrestled the runner-up spot away from Tyler on the next lap.
With two laps to go, tenth-running race rookie Tyler Courtney lost a right-rear tire down the backstretch and brought out a final caution, setting up a two-lap race to the checkers. Swanson would not be threatened, however, and he motored to a 2.044-second victory over the final two laps in the DePalma Motorsports – Radio Hospital #63 Maxim/Hampshire.
“I’m not a ‘statement’ kind of guy, but we answered some questions from others and from ourselves tonight. After last year, it was hard to know what this year would be like, especially with the tire change. Nobody had a year like last year since Hewitt in 1986, and I’m no Jack Hewitt. To find out that we can get it done again this year, it’s exciting to me, and to win it a second time is just hard to believe. Every time we show up, I feel like we’ve got a shot to win, and it makes it a lot of fun. They worked really hard from last night when they were still assembling the engine – Bob Hampshire and Clark Lamme pulled an all-nighter and prepared a car capable of winning the Hoosier Hundred, which just sums up how incredible this DePalma family and team is,” Swanson said.
Pierce completed his best ever “Hoosier Hundred” run, coming home second in the Sam Pierce Chevrolet – G&G Oil #26 Beast/Chevy.
“It’s the best I’ve ever done here and the best I’ve ever done on the dirt, and it was a lot of fun. We are usually on the loose side of things in these dirt races, and we either burn the tire off or get into trouble. We kept it tight enough tonight and knew we’d be solid if we could keep the right-front tire on it. I probably used it up once I got to second and tried to catch Kody. I thought we were in pretty good shape catching the last caution, but there just wasn’t enough left. I’m glad to see such a good field, and it’s great that some guys are coming back,” Pierce said.
Tyler’s magical run ended on the podium as he picked up the B&W Auto Mart “Hard Charger Award” in the Randy & Patty Bateman – Chance’s Chassis Repair #55 Beast/Chevy.
“I’ve known Randy and them for a long time, and I knew they had a good car that wouldn’t fall apart. It takes a couple laps to get a feel for the brakes, steering, and all that. I had to learn what I had, and I figured we could make our way up through there pretty decent. We get up through there, and get to second, and I think, ‘Ya know, we might get this done.’ I got to say, it was a lot of fun to run up through there. There were a bunch of good racers here tonight, and it ended up being a good race, too,” Tyler said.
Fike came home in the fourth spot aboard the RFMS Racing – Liberty Village #3 Beast/Foxco, while Justin Grant rounded out the top-five after starting 19th in his first outing with the Chris Carli Motorsports – Finish Line Racing Equipment #8 Beast/Chevy.
USAC SILVER CROWN RACE RESULTS: May 21, 2015 – Indianapolis, Indiana – Indiana State Fairgrounds – Hoosier Hundred
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-33.223; 2. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-33.597; 3. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-33.816; 4. Tracy Hines, 98, RPM/Gormly-33.857; 5. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary/Six-R-33.944; 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-34.260; 7. Shane Cockrum, 71, Hardy-34.399; 8. Dave Darland, 19, Longworth-34.488; 9. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-34.503; 10. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-34.504; 11. Brady Bacon, 48, Martens-34.537; 12. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-34.558; 13. Steven Russell, 14, McQuinn-34.630; 14. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-34.721; 15. Rickey Hood, 56, Foxco-34.847; 16. Steve Buckwalter, 53, SET-34.853; 17. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-34.860; 18. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-34.876; 19. Justin Grant, 8, Carli-35.039; 20. Tyler Courtney, 153, Capie-35.097; 21. Levi Jones, 57, Rogers-35.230; 22. Davey Ray, 25, Sachs-35.583; 23. Chris Fetter, 88, Fetter-35.923; 24. Randy Bateman, 55, Bateman-36.109; 25. Tad Roach, 84, Spivey-36.138; 26. Rex Norris III, 16, Norris-36.738; 27. Terry James, 23, Satterthwaite-39.503; 28. Kenny Gentry, 18, Gentry-NT; 29. Brian Tyler, 7, Kurtz-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (1), 2. Aaron Pierce (18), 3. Brian Tyler (#55) (27), 4. A.J. Fike (2), 5. Justin Grant (19), 6. Shane Cockrum (6), 7. Rickey Hood (15), 8. Patrick Lawson (13), 9. Jacob Wilson (9), 10. Brady Bacon (10), 11. Dave Darland (7), 12. C.J. Leary (4), 13. Tyler Courtney (20), 14. Jerry Coons Jr. (5), 15. Rex Norris III (25), 16. David Byrne (17), 17. Steve Buckwalter (16), 18. Steven Russell (12), 19. Terry James (26), 20. Russ Gamester (8), 21. Levi Jones (21), 22. Austin Nemire (11), 23. Shane Cottle (14), 24. Davey Ray (22), 25. Tracy Hines (3), 26. Chris Fetter (23), 27. Tad Roach (24). NT
**Steve Buckwalter flipped on lap 55.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-67 A.J. Fike, Laps 68-100 Kody Swanson.
NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-129, 2-A.J. Fike-108, 3-Aaron Pierce-105, 4-Jacob Wilson-93, 5-Jerry Coons Jr.-76, 6-David Byrne-66, 7-C.J. Leary-60, 8-Patrick Lawson-56, 9-Rex Norris III-56, 10-Brian Tyler-54.
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TANNER SWANSON DECIMATES FIELD IN DAY BEFORE THE 500
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana……Tanner Swanson of Kingsburg, California reclaimed his throne as dominator of USAC Silver Crown events at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, picking up his third victory in the last four series events at the .686-mile paved oval in Saturday afternoon’s “Day Before the 500.”
Tanner is familiar with running up front at the track, leading 385 of the last 386 laps of competition in the series at Lucas Oil Raceway dating back to July of 2013.
After a heartbreaking last lap defeat at the hands of David Byrne in last July’s Silver Crown event at the track, Tanner decimated the field in his Bowman Racing/Banjo Liquid Handling Products – Bowman Elmore/Beast/Chevy, leading all 100 laps and lapping every driver in the field except older brother and 2nd place finisher Kody Swanson. The #02 car that Tanner sat behind the wheel of was a “backup” to Tanner’s traditional #11 mount that was damaged in a scary incident in the series’ season opening event at Toledo on May 1.
At the start, fast qualifier and pole sitter, Tanner, jumped out to the lead, but a lap two caution brought the action to an early halt when Jimmy Parsons’ car came to a stop on the backstretch. After the restart, Tanner was able to continually extend his race lead with each ensuing lap.
The afternoon Indiana heat took a toll as the track temperatures climbed and a handful of cars in the 18-car starting field had dropped out of the race by the midway point as Tanner kept pace ahead of Bobby Santos, Kody Swanson, A.J. Fike, and Aaron Pierce.
Kody Swanson and Santos engaged in a lap-after-lap war, but on lap 61, Swanson was able to clear Santos with an outside pass to take the 2nd spot. Just four laps later, Jerry Coons Jr. made an inside pass on Fike for fourth and Pierce got by Fike on the outside of turn two to get to fifth on the ensuing lap.
Up front, Tanner was never challenged, going on to win the 100-lap event by an astonishing 16.685 seconds over K. Swanson, Santos, Coons, Pierce, Fike, Hines, Byrne, Leary, and Nemire rounding out the top ten.
It was quite a return for Tanner after his spectacular somersault down Toledo Speedway’s front straightaway just three weeks ago. The unknowns played into Tanner’s mind, yet he remained confident making his series return.
“The main thing was the unknown,” Tanner admitted. “I was running the backup car and was just worried about how it would handle compared to our primary car.”
The race was different for most of the Silver Crown competitors at Lucas Oil Raceway on this day as the traditional racing under the lights was replaced with racing under the sun; the first mid-day Silver Crown event at the track since August of 2000. Despite that fact, Tanner felt that the heat did not play a huge role.
“It was actually a lot like the night races here,” Tanner proclaimed. “Of course, tire wear was a concern and my feet and knees definitely felt the effects of the sun, but the handling on my car didn’t change much at all; it stayed consistent all day.”
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 23, 2015 – Brownsburg, Indiana – Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis – Day Before the 500
QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Swanson, 11, Bowman-21.241; 2. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-21.336; 3. Tracy Hines, 98, RPM/Gormly-21.374; 4. Bobby Santos, 122, DJ-21.380; 5. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-21.433; 6. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-21.589; 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-21.617; 8. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-21.690; 9. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary/Six-R-21.843; 10. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-21.880; 11. Jarett Andretti, 4, Andretti-22.072; 12. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-22.210; 13. Rex Norris III, 16, Norris-22.395; 14. Dave Baumgartner, 15, Baumgartner-22.645; 15. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-22.899; 16. Tad Roach, 84, Spivey-27.987; 17. Jimmy Parsons, 116, Logan-29.139; 18. Davey Ray, 25, Sachs-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (1), 2. Kody Swanson (5), 3. Bobby Santos (4), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 5. Aaron Pierce (8), 6. A.J. Fike (2), 7. Tracy Hines (3), 8. David Byrne (10), 9. C.J. Leary (9), 10. Austin Nemire (12), 11. Jarett Andretti (11), 12. Rex Norris III (13), 13. Jacob Wilson (6), 14. Dave Baumgartner (14), 15. Patrick Lawson (15), 16. Davey Ray (18), 17. Tad Roach (16), 18. Jimmy Parsons (17). 40:23.16
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Tanner Swanson.
NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-186, 2-Aaron Pierce-153, 3-A.J. Fike-153, 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-127, 5-Jacob Wilson-120, 6-David Byrne-105, 7-C.J. Leary-96, 8-Tanner Swanson-89, 9-Tracy Hines-86, 10-Austin Nemire-86.
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SANTOS SLAYS SILVER CROWN FIELD AT IOWA
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Newton, Iowa………Bobby Santos knows his way around Iowa Speedway; that’s for sure. The three-time winner at the 7/8-mile speed plant in Honda USAC National Midget competition (2009, 2010 and 2012) added his name to the list of Silver Crown victors at the track by winning Saturday afternoon’s “Casey’s General Stores 100.”
Kody Swanson and Kyle Hamilton occupied the front row at the start, but it was third-starting Aaron Pierce who got the jump from the inside of the second row to take the lead for the first eight laps. Meanwhile, pole sitter Kody Swanson fell back at the start, dropping out of the top-five in the first few laps.
On lap nine, Windom, subbing for the injured Tracy Hines, overtook Pierce for the top spot, but a lap 15 caution for wall contact by Hamilton delivered the race’s first caution.
On the ensuing restart, Jacob Wilson and Santos took a full head of steam to the front of the pack as Windom fell to third. A blanket could’ve covered the top-three of Wilson, Santos, and Windom as they swapped the lead back-and-forth until Windom took charge on the 27th lap.
A struggling Kody Swanson, who had not finished outside the top-two in any of the three races this season, slowed dramatically on the 37th lap before crawling back to pit lane where his rear axle gave way, resulting in a right rear wheel disconnecting and rolling down the front straightaway bringing a halt to the action.
On the lap 46 restart, Santos roared to the lead past Windom, with Wilson, Byrne, and Jerry Coons Jr., hot on the trail.
Santos continued to extend his lead until Wilson’s car came to a stop, suffering from an oil line issue just seven laps from the checkered flag. As a result, the second, third, and fourth place cars of Windom, Pierce, and Byrne were lined up directly behind leader Santos as the drivers prepared for a green-white-checkered finish.
Santos once again laid the lumber on the cars behind him while a three-car gaggle battled for the runner-up position. Byrne’s outside move coming to the white flag in turn four white-walled the right-side tires. Coming to the checkered flag, Byrne made a daring outside move to get past Pierce and nipped Windom at the line for a 2nd place finish.
However, at the front of the pack, it was all Bobby Santos. The Franklin, Mass. native dominated the final 55 laps, wheeling the DJ Racing/Simpson Race Products Beast/Chevy #122 for his sixth career Silver Crown victory and became the all-time winningest driver in USAC competition at Iowa Speedway with his fourth triumph. Santos was followed by Byrne, Windom, Pierce, rookie Austin Nemire, A.J. Fike, Rex Norris III, Wilson, Tim Barber, and Coons rounding out the top-ten.
“These races are so long. You have to take care of your car. That’s the beauty of Silver Crown racing,” Santos admitted. “With the big fuel load, it’s critical not to hurt your tires. I don’t intend to be the rabbit at the beginning of these races. I just want to be there at the end.”
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 20, 2015 - Newton, Iowa - Iowa Speedway - Casey's General Stores 100
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-22.407; 2. Kyle Hamilton, 33, Six-R/Hamilton-22.440; 3. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-22.471; 4. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-22.489; 5. Bobby Santos, 122, DJ-22.561; 6. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-22.631; 7. Chris Windom, 98, RPM/Gormly-22.703; 8. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-22.798; 9. Billy Wease, 99, RPM/Gormly-23.062; 10. Rex Norris III, 16, Norris-23.163; 11. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-23.665; 12. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-23.826; 13. Tim Barber, 28, Finkenbinder-24.055; 14. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-24.153; 15. Tad Roach, 84, Spivey-27.442; 16. Jarett Andretti, 4, Andretti-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bobby Santos (5), 2. David Byrne (4), 3. Chris Windom (7), 4. Aaron Pierce (3), 5. Austin Nemire (12), 6. A.J. Fike (11), 7. Rex Norris III (10), 8. Jacob Wilson (6), 9, Tim Barber (13), 10. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 11. Patrick Lawson (14), 12. Kody Swanson (1), 13. Kyle Hamilton (2), 14. Billy Wease (9), 15. Tad Roach (15), 16, Jarett Andretti (16). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Aaron Pierce, Laps 9-22 Chris Windom, Laps 23-24 Jacob Wilson, Laps 25-26 Bobby Santos, Laps 27-45 Chris Windom, Laps 46-100 Bobby Santos.
NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-218, 2-Aaron Pierce-204, 3-A.J. Fike-198, 4-David Byrne-162, 5-Jerry Coons Jr.-160, 6-Jacob Wilson-159, 7-Bobby Santos-138, 8-Austin Nemire-134, 9-Rex Norris III-127, 10-Patrick Lawson-110.
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COCKRUM CLAMPS DOWN FOR SUMAR CLASSIC TRIUMPH
Terre Haute, Indiana……...Shane Cockrum survived a late-race challenge and used a little luck to hold on for Thursday night’s “Sumar Classic” win at the Terre Haute Action Track.
After capturing his first Silver Crown Series win last fall at Du Quoin, Illinois, Cockrum led most of the night’s 100-lap feature only to see his lead taken away in the late stages by C.J. Leary, but a handy caution and strong finish propelled the Benton, Illinois driver to a .424-second victory in the Hardy Boys Motorsports – Financial Transportation Services #71 Maxim/Chevy.
“This is championship dirt car racing, and it’s exciting right now with a ton of talented drivers out there, and it’s awesome to be able to come out on top of them. It’s a thinking man’s game in these races, so you have to be methodical and move around to find where you need to be. I knew being out front put us in a tough spot, and the bottom usually comes on here, so I wasn’t surprised to see someone coming. Leary is a talented kid and going to win a lot of races; it’s a tough deal to lose the lead like that late, but we’ll definitely take it. We’ve worked hard with our team to stay up front after last year, and it’s satisfying to get another big win in this series,” Cockrum said.
Cockrum got the jump on the start over polesitter Kody Swanson, who helped his series point lead by taking the ProSource “Fast Time Award” to begin the night. Cockrum led Jerry Coons Jr. and Swanson early, as the top-three opened up on the rest of the field. A few laps later, Brady Bacon reeled in Swanson and took third. Coons got a run on Cockrum for the lead on lap 21 as he came roaring off turn-two, but Cockrum held him off. By lap 28, Coons was back again, this time riding the cushion off turn-two to the lead.
Cockrum didn’t let Coons get away, however, as he stuck with him for a lap before scooting underneath to re-take the lead as they completed lap 29. A caution a few laps later put the race past lap 40, with Cockrum leading Coons, Bacon, Swanson, and Shane Cottle. Just before halfway, Cottle too went by Swanson to take over fourth.
After a restart with 35 laps to go, the track was changing rapidly, and C.J. Leary was on the move into the top-five as the leaders searched all over the track to find the fast way around. Another quick caution with 25 laps to go produced a restart that saw Leary surge forward on the very bottom, getting all the way to third on lap 81.
With 13 to go, a restart after Aaron Pierce stopped on the front stretch saw a chain reaction in turn-four, with 10th running Kevin Thomas Jr. spinning and collecting Joey Moughan, who flipped over. He had been running 12th. He was unhurt but done for the event.
Leary reeled in Cockrum on the restart and was all over him for the lead as the race hit ten laps to go. Leary hit the bottom on lap 92 to wrestle the lead away from Cockrum, but before the lap could be completed, Tyler Courtney spun in turn four to bring out the final caution of the night.
Cockrum pulled away from Leary in the final six-lap run to the checkers, leaving the young Greenfield, Indiana driver just short of his first USAC National win as Leary came home second in the Leary Construction Company – Jet Star #30 DRC/Claxton Toyota.
“That was a heartbreaker. I was biding my time for a while, and I knew we had something towards the end. I made my move after the restart there as we hit ten to go, and I got up next to Cockrum and cleared him, but the yellow came out just as we were completing the lap. He saw what I was doing and knew where to be on the restart, so we had to get the finish and come home second. This is Joe Devin’s baby, and he’s been working on this thing for a long time, so it’s fun to go out and race such a strong DRC car,” Leary said.
Coons made a bid on the final restart by running the extreme high side, but he could only threaten the top-two over the first set of corners before fading to a comfortable third aboard the Nolen Racing – Columbus Container #20 Eagle/Chevy.
“I was pretty good still in one and two up high, but I had to hit it just right, and it was easier on the restarts with coming to it just a little slower pace. I got a really good restart on that end, but once the top went away in three and four, I couldn’t get through there at all. We’ve got to get a little bit better, but a pretty good night. This is a new car to the Nolen team and to me, so we’re still figuring it out some, but we’ve got great race cars and hopefully take what we learn to the busy stretch coming,” Coons said.
Cottle’s run ended in the fourth spot aboard the Williams Precision Engines – QS Components #81 Maxim/Chevy, and Bacon rounded out the top-five in the Martens Machine Shop – Womack Machine Supply #48 DRC/Chevy.
Chase Stockon earned the B&W Auto Mart “Hard Charger Award” for his drive from 18th to finish 11th.
USAC SILVER CROWN RACE RESULTS: July 2, 2015 – Terre Haute, Indiana – Terre Haute Action Track – Sumar Classic
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-20.712; 2. Shane Cockrum, 71, Hardy-21.162; 3. Brady Bacon, 48, Martens-21.212; 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-21.227; 5. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary/Six-R-21.351; 6. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-21.466; 7. Justin Grant, 8, Carli-21.495; 8. Steve Buckwalter, 53, SET-21.650; 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 17, RW/Dutcher-21.765; 10. Chris Windom, 99, RPM/Gormly-22.074; 11. Tracy Hines, 98, RPM/Gormly-22.075; 12. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-22.208; 13. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-22.216; 14. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-22.224; 15. Tyler Courtney, 153, Capie-22.265; 16. Joey Moughan, 29, Moughan-22.347; 17. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-22.380; 18. Chase Stockon, 14, McQuinn-22.498; 19. Rex Norris III, 16, Norris-23.441;0 20. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-23.672; 21. Terry James, 23, Satterthwaite-23.679; 22. Dave Darland, 19, Longworth-NT (time of 21.091 disallowed); 23. Kent Wolters, 21, Swanson-NT (Time of 22.904 disallowed); 24. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Cockrum (2), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Jerry Coons Jr. (4), 4. Shane Cottle (6), 5. Brady Bacon (3), 6. Justin Grant (7), 7. Kody Swanson (1), 8. Chris Windom (10), 9. Tracy Hines (11), 10. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9), 11. Chase Stockon (18), 12. Tyler Courtney (15), 13. A.J. Fike (13), 14. Jacob Wilson (17), 15. Patrick Lawson (20), 16. Terry James (21), 17. Rex Norris III (19), 18. Dave Darland (22), 19. Joey Moughan (16), 20. Aaron Pierce (12), 21. Russ Gamester (14), 22. Kent Wolters (23), 23. Austin Nemire (24), 24. Steve Buckwalter (8). NT
**Austin Nemire flipped during practice. Joey Moughan flipped on lap 88 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-27 Shane Cockrum, Lap 28 Jerry Coons Jr., Laps 29-100 Shane Cockrum.
NEW USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-263, 2-A.J. Fike-225, 3-Aaron Pierce-217, 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-214, 5-Jacob Wilson-184, 6-David Byrne-162, 7-C.J. Leary-153, 8-Rex Norris III-146, 9-Austin Nemire-144, 10-Bobby Santos-138.
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TANNER TOPS KODY IN SILVER CROWN SIBLING DUEL AT VOGLER CLASSIC
Brownsburg, Indiana……...Tanner Swanson continued his dominance on the pavement side of the Silver Crown Series schedule as he passed his brother Kody two-thirds of the way through Thursday’s “Rich Vogler Classic” 100-lapper and took off for a comfortable 5.366-second victory in the Bowman Racing – Banjo Products #2 Beast/Kistler Chevy. The nonstop race was completed in 37 minutes and 25 seconds.
“I’m so thankful for the opportunity to race with these guys, and to get to battle with my brother for the win. I had an awesome race car tonight. I got snookered on the start and fell back to about seventh, so I tried to just get to some clean air and get some laps laid down. These things can go all 100, so I tried to run those top two down. I put some pressure on Kody just to see what I had, and I didn’t know what I had either. We didn’t have brakes for a while to end the race, so it got hairy a few times. Rich Vogler passed away about six months to the day before I was born, so all I really know about him are through the highlight reels, and there are plenty of them, so it’s cool to win a race dedicated to him,” Tanner Swanson said.
Aaron Pierce took the lead after setting ProSource “Fast Time” for the night’s pole position. Kody Swanson was quickly on him, though, and took the lead on lap three as Pierce back-pedaled through the top-ten. Tanner’s teammate for the night, 1999 series champion Ryan Newman, moved to second, with defending race winner David Byrne and most recent pavement Silver Crown winner Bobby Santos also lined up in front of Tanner, who ran fifth on lap ten.
Tanner started his ascent through the field right then, however, as he disposed of Santos and Byrne to leave them in a nearly race-long battle for fourth.
On lap 32, Tanner went by Newman for second, but the lead trio stayed in tight formation for much of the race as they carved through traffic. By halfway, they had lapped up to the tenth spot, and Tanner appeared ready to pounce for the top spot.
While coming up on a slower car, Tanner darted to the inside of Kody on lap 57 to make a bid for the lead, making it three-wide with the slower car as Kody slipped away to hold the lead. Tanner looked again to the inside down the front stretch into turn-one on the next lap but settled back in behind his brother.
Again coming up on slower cars, this time Kody looked low into turn-three on lap 66 as Tanner jumped to the outside, circling for the lead as they exited onto the front stretch and sliding to the bottom in front of Kody to work past the slower cars, now with the lead. From there, Tanner was untouchable, lapping up to sixth in the closing circuits to leave Kody to settle for second while lengthening his point lead in the DePalma Motorsports – Radio Hospital #63 Beast/Hampshire.
“This is two or three years and quite a few races where I’ve run second or third on pavement. Last year when we were here, we struggled to stay on the lead lap against Tanner, and this time we made him work for it for a little while. This 63 team doesn’t quit, and we’re always getting better. We’re gaining on it and nobody here is giving up, so we’re looking forward to trying it again,” Kody Swanson said.
Nearly six seconds behind Kody was Newman, turning a rare appearance with the series into a podium finish aboard the Bowman/Armstrong Racing – Bricker’s Pub #21 Beast/Chevy.
“I’ve got to thank Mike Bowman and his whole group for letting me come out and run. They could roll the corner a bit better and easier than I could, while I had to cowboying it some and sliding my tires more than I wanted. When Tanner got the lead, I tried to save my tires and bide my time, but we just never caught a caution. It wasn’t quite what we wanted, but we were better than last year,” Newman said.
Santos finally cleared Byrne late in the race to take fourth in the DJ Racing – Simpson Race Products #22 Beast/VDS Chevy, and Windom snuck into the top-five late in the going after starting ninth in the Fred Gormly – RPM Auto Enterprise #98 Beast/Mopar.
USAC SILVER CROWN RACE RESULTS: July 23, 2015 - Brownsburg, Indiana – Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis – Rich Vogler Classic
QUALIFYING: 1. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-21.006; 2. Ryan Newman, 121, Bowman/Armstrong-21.019; 3. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-21.117; 4. Tanner Swanson, 02, Bowman-21.173; 5. Bobby Santos, 122, DJ-21.187; 6. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-21.192; 7. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-21.294; 8. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-21.310; 9. Chris Windom, 98, RPM/Gormly-21.328; 10. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-21.365; 11. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-21.574; 12. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary/Six-R-21.614; 13. Rex Norris III, 16, Norris-21.625; 14. Joe Axsom, 120, Nolen-21.692; 15. Jarett Andretti, 4, Andretti-21.705; 16. Tim Barber, 28, Finkenbinder-22.018; 17. Jimmy McCune, 81, Williams-22.277; 18. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-22.531; 19. Tad Roach, 84, Spivey-26.489.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tanner Swanson (4), 2. Kody Swanson (3), 3. Ryan Newman (2), 4. Bobby Santos (5), 5. Chris Windom (9), 6. Aaron Pierce (1), 7. David Byrne (7), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (6), 9. A.J. Fike (10), 10. Austin Nemire (11), 11. Rex Norris III (13), 12. Joe Axsom (14), 13. Jarett Andretti (15), 14. Tim Barber (16), 15. Patrick Lawson (18), 16. C.J. Leary (12), 17. Jacob Wilson (8), 18. Jimmy McCune (17), 19. Tad Roach (19). 37:25.11
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Aaron Pierce, Laps 3-65 Kody Swanson, Laps 66-100 Tanner Swanson.
NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-323, 2-Aaron Pierce-265, 3-A.J. Fike-261, 4-Jerry Coons Jr.-253, 5-David Byrne-204, 6-Jacob Wilson-203, 7-Bobby Santos-189, 8-Austin Nemire-177, 9-Rex Norris III-177, 10-C.J. Leary-174.
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WINDOM FINISHES THE DEAL, WINS BELLEVILLE SILVER CROWN
Belleville, Kansas……...After a heartbreaking defeat in last year’s “Hustle on the High Banks” at the Belleville High Banks, Chris Windom sealed the deal on Thursday night with a wire-to-wire win in the 50-lapper for the Silver Crown Series. The Canton, Illinois driver made it his second career victory in dominating fashion aboard the Fred Gormly – RPM Auto Enterprise #98 Maxim/Mopar.
“After that last caution, I was just waiting on something to happen like last year. But Rob Hart gave me a great car, and I want to thank Fred Gormly and Tom Bliss for putting me in this car and giving me the opportunity to give them this win. I don’t know if you can really put this place into words. I try to be steady and smooth and on the gas and it surely helps to be out front, which was where I planned to stay all race. I finally told myself to calm down when I was basically catching the whole field, but it was kind of sketchy riding behind those guys as they’re banging off the fence, so in that sense I was happy to see the caution. I backed it way down the last couple laps with such a big lead,” Windom said.
Windom took the ProSource “Fast Time Award” and jumped into the lead at the first corner, as Jerry Coons Jr. pressured Kody Swanson for the runner-up spot on the opening lap. Windom quickly opened up his advantage as Coons, Swanson, Justin Grant, and Shane Cockrum fell in order on the high side around the top.
Windom took less than ten laps to reach the back end of the field, but his lead only grew. At lap 20, his lead was over five seconds as Kevin Thomas Jr., C.J. Leary, and Brady Bacon had the best battle on the track for sixth through eighth, as Windom had lapped the rest of the field already.
Grant was pressuring Swanson through traffic as second through fifth raced all together, with Grant taking the third spot on lap 34, just as Windom rapped the outside guardrail in turn-four while working lapped traffic. He recovered and continued to build his lead.
With 9 laps to go, sixth-running Thomas Jr. tried to throw a slider on Cockrum and spun in the middle of the track through turns one and two. That erased Windom’s 14-second lead and gave Coons and Grant a chance at him, although Windom had two lapped cars between himself and then.
Windom immediately stretched his lead away from them, but his final two laps slowed quite a bit as he crossed the line 1.297 seconds ahead of Coons, who brought home his best finish of the season while taking over second in the points in the Nolen Racing – Columbus Container #20 Eagle/Chevy.
“They were in a league of their own tonight. We weren’t quite how I needed to be to run where he was through three and four, but even if we were a bit better, I’m not sure I had it in me to run it like he was. It can be very tough to pass here, so I knew the start would be important, and working traffic was difficult. I tried to be smart and do it right when going by those guys. Traffic may have helped me stay ahead of those guys through the race. You’re so close to the wall, and if you get a push in these cars, it’s very uncomfortable. That’s the biggest thing here, so it’s a fine line of being fast and being in the fence,” Coons said.
Grant filled the podium with his best career Silver Crown finish in the Chris Carli Motorsports – Finish Line Racing Equipment #8 Beast/Chevy.
“This was a little tougher than I thought it would be. I like places that are on the fence and slick, and then in the feature I realized just how extreme it was. It was a blast, just a lot of fun. I was trying to catch Kody, and even Jerry, in traffic just right or take advantage when he was working around them. I felt pretty good moving around. Windom obviously had us all covered, but other than that, I felt really good. Obviously, when you’re working hard and doing something, you expect to do well with it, but this is better than we expected to be out of the gate with this team, and it’s been really rewarding,” Grant said.
Series point leader and defending race winner Swanson finished fourth in the DePalma Motorsports – Radio Hospital #63 Maxim/Hampshire, and Cockrum rounded out the top-five in the Hardy Boys Motorsports – Financial Transportation Services #71 Maxim/Chevy.
USAC SILVER CROWN RACE RESULTS: July 31, 2015 – Belleville, Kansas – Belleville High Banks – Hustle on the High Banks
QUALIFYING: 1. Chris Windom, 98, RPM/Gormly-17.356; 2. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-17.587; 3. Justin Grant, 8, Carli-17.745; 4. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-17.761; 5. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary/Six-R-17.825; 6. Shane Cockrum, 71, Hardy-17.844; 7. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-17.911; 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 17, RW/Curb-Agajanian-18.026; 9. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-18.061; 10. Brady Bacon, 48, Martens-18.118; 11. Steve Buckwalter, 53, SET-18.255; 12. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-18.278; 13. Rex Norris III, 16, Norris-18.825; 14. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-19.529; 15. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-19.739; 16. Chris Fetter, 89, Fetter-19.938; 17. Terry James, 23, Satterthwaite-20.679.
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Windom (1), 2. Jerry Coons Jr. (4), 3. Justin Grant (3), 4. Kody Swanson (2), 5. Shane Cockrum (6), 6. C.J. Leary (5), 7. Brady Bacon (10), 8. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 9. Steve Buckwalter (11), 10. Aaron Pierce (7), 11. A.J. Fike (9), 12. Austin Nemire (14), 13. Rex Norris III (13), 14. Terry James (17), 15. Chris Fetter (16), 16. Shane Cottle (12), 17. Patrick Lawson (15). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-50 Chris Windom
NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-374, 2-Jerry Coons Jr.-310, 3-Aaron Pierce-298, 4-A.J. Fike-292, 5-C.J. Leary-219, 6-Chris Windom-207, 7-Austin Nemire-206, 8-David Byrne-204, 9-Rex Norris III-204, 10-Jacob Wilson-203.
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SWANSON MAKES IT BACK-TO-BACK TONY BETTENHAUSEN 100 WINS
Springfield, Illinois……...Kody Swanson joined exclusive company on Saturday afternoon at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, as he became the seventh driver to go back-to-back in the “Tony Bettenhausen 100” with a spirited drive from 16th to a dominant win. It was the third win of the season for the defending series champion, which puts him at 11 career wins to tie Bobby East for 8th on the all-time list.
“Driving for a team like this with a crew chief like Bob Hampshire, I get to hear a lot of Jack Hewitt stories and what they were able to do back in the day. Today felt a little like that, coming from so far back and still being able to get it done. I’ve never thought of myself in regard to being with a group like the guys who have gone back-to-back in this race, or even the group of guys on the all-time win list, but it’s been so much fun and we’re just going to enjoy this ride,” Swanson said.
Swanson took ProSource “Fast Time” for the day but was relegated to the 16th starting spot after using a push start to make his qualifying attempt. That gave Justin Grant, who was easily the most entertaining in hot laps and qualifying, the pole for the race. Shane Cockrum took the early lead from outside the front row, though.
Cockrum led two-time race winner A.J. Fike in the early laps, as Swanson already was into the top-ten on lap three. Chris Windom moved past Grant for third on lap five, and by lap eleven he passed Fike for the second spot. Terry Babb brought out the first caution on lap 14.
Swanson was seventh on that restart, as Windom assaulted Cockrum for the lead for a long stretch of green-flag racing. By lap 22, Swanson moved past Grant for fifth and reeled in the battle for third between Fike and Cottle. Windom started looking to the outside of Cockrum for the lead, crossing just .035-seconds behind on lap 24. A moment later, Swanson completed passes of both Cottle and Fike to take over third.
On lap 26, Windom again looked to the outside of Cockrum, this time trailing by just .027-seconds at the line, as early charger Steve Buckwalter poked inside the top-ten after starting 15th. On lap 30, ninth-starting Levi Jones entered the top-five as Fike started to free-fall through the feel with issues.
On lap 41, Windom finally completed the move for the lead on Cockrum, and he immediately stretched out his advantage as Swanson appeared to be saving his equipment in third. Windom’s advantage was 4.687-seconds at halfway, as Swanson overtook Cockrum in traffic for second ahead of Cottle, Jones, and surging Buckwalter.
Windom’s lead was drying up quickly, as Swanson had it down to 1.5 seconds by the end of lap 53. On lap 54, Jones took fourth from Cottle, as Jacob Wilson continued his fine run up into the sixth spot. Swanson wasted no time once he caught Windom, roaring past with the lead as they entered turn-one on lap 58. Just three laps later, the second caution of the day appeared for Brian Tyler and Steven Russell tangling in turn-four.
Windom tried to hang with Swanson on the restart with 35 laps to go, while Cottle worked past Jones and Cockrum into the third spot. Wilson tried to come along as well, going to the outside in turn-three on lap 68 only to get up into the marbles and pound the concrete, ending his day.
With 27 to go, the green flag flew again, and Jones quickly ducked to fourth under Cockrum, who was starting to fade. A lap later, Buckwalter came along, as well, to complete the top-five. An all-day tire-shake for Grant finally came to an end on lap 75, when he shredded a right-rear tire and stopped. He changed that tire but lost three laps in the process.
The final 21 laps went green, and Windom appeared to be slowing a bit, as Cottle slipped to second on lap 84. Cottle ripped off a quick lap, but Jones had also moved by Windom and tracked him down for second on lap 88. Jones bit into Swanson’s lead for a few laps, but he leveled off as Swanson finished the final ten miles without issue en route to a 3.124second victory in the DePalma Motorsports – Radio Hospital #63 Maxim/Hampshire.
“My team never gives up, and even when a freak thing sets us back, they battle and do everything they can. And when we know we’re starting that far back, there’s no doubt in us. I was teammates with Brian Tyler, and my predecessor in this car Jack Hewitt, could come from way back and win it. I’m nowhere near their caliber, but this car was good enough to get it done from back there. I told them that it was our turn to put on a show, and I knew we could do it. It’s so cool what we’ve been able to accomplish in such a great series with events like this one. I had to be patient with those front two cars, and when it came time to go, we went,” Swanson said.
Former two-time series champion Jones finished second in only his second race of the year aboard the Jack Rogers Realtors – Country Financial #57 Beast/Mopar.
“It sure does feel good to have that 63 in sight. You come here to win, but it’s a good sign to get that close. I screwed up letting Cottle back by me and that cost me some time, but we just didn’t get in as straight and smooth as the 63. It’s not bad for just my dad and me, and a few guys who have supported me my whole career. We came up a little short, but it’s hard to be upset about that very long. I’ll be pumped up for Du Quoin and all the challenges it presents. We’ll get her ready for that and try to get it done,” Jones said.
Cottle completed the top-three with a great drive aboard the Curtis Williams – QS Components #81 Maxim/Williams Chevy.
“We managed the race pretty well, and right when we broke free and got to second, it was starting to run out of fuel. We had some sort of issue there with the pick-up about 20 to go, but I definitely felt fast enough to challenge him. I thought I had saved all I could, and it would have been fun to see what we truly had. It’s really exciting to be this close in just a few races and with the tear the 63 has been on, but we’ll go to my favorite track down at Du Quoin and see what we’ve got,” Cottle said.
Jerry Coons Jr. capped off a fine run with a fourth-place finish aboard the Nolen Racing – Columbus Container #20 Eagle/Chevy, and Buckwalter rounded out the top-five in the SET Racing – Heroes West Sports Grill #53 Beast/Chevy.
USAC SILVER CROWN RACE RESULTS: August 22, 2015 – Springfield, Illinois – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Tony Bettenhausen 100
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-30.532; 2. Justin Grant, 8, Carli-30.616; 3. Shane Cockrum, 71, Hardy-31.002; 4. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-31.074; 5. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-31.156; 6. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-31.167; 7. Chris Windom, 98, RPM/Gormly-31.176; 8. Brady Bacon, 48, Martens-31.243; 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-31.459; 10. Levi Jones, 57, Rogers-31.540; 11. Dave Darland, 19, Longworth-31.672; 12. Rickey Hood, 56, Foxco-31.818; 13. Casey Shuman, 55, Bateman-31.886; 14. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary/Six-R-31.965; 15. Brian Tyler, 7, Kurtz-31.970; 16. Steve Buckwalter, 53, SET-32.033; 17. Chase Stockon, 14, McQuinn-32.069; 18. Chris Urish, 77, Urish-32.131; 19. Steven Russell, 41, McQuinn-32.170; 20. Randy Hannagan, 21, Swanson-32.181; 21. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-32.326; 22. Joey Moughan, 29, Moughan-32.410; 23. Russ Gamester, 51, Gamester-32.510; 24. Jackie Burke, 86, Burke-32.534; 25. Terry Babb, 00, Babb-32.547; 26. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-32.672; 27. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-32.858; 28. Rex Norris III, 16, Norris-33.173; 29. Tad Roach, 84, Spivey-33.650; 30. Terry James, 23, Satterthwaite-34.060; 31. Danny Long, 44, Long-34.558; 32. Chris Fetter, 88, Fetter-NT; 33. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (16), 2. Levi Jones (9), 3. Shane Cottle (4), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (8), 5. Steve Buckwalter (15), 6. C.J. Leary (13), 7. Casey Shuman (12), 8. Shane Cockrum (2), 9. Rickey Hood (11), 10. Chris Windom (6), 11. David Byrne (21), 12. Chase Stockon (17), 13. Austin Nemire (26), 14. Chris Urish (18), 15. Randy Hannagan (20), 16. A.J. Fike (3), 17. Justin Grant (1), 18. Terry James (30), 19. Jacob Wilson (5), 20. Rex Norris III (28), 21. Steven Russell (19), 22. Brian Tyler (14), 23. Brady Bacon (7), 24. Tad Roach (29), 25. Jackie Burke (24), 26. Russ Gamester (23), 27. Dave Darland (10), 28. Danny Long (31), 29. Joey Moughan (22), 30. Terry Babb (25), 31. Patrick Lawson (27), 32. Chris Fetter (32). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-40 Shane Cockrum, Laps 41-57 Chris Windom, Laps 58-100 Kody Swanson.
NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-440, 2-Jerry Coons Jr.-361, 3-A.J. Fike-313, 4-Aaron Pierce-299, 5-C.J. Leary264, 6-Chris Windom-240, 7-David Byrne-235, 8-Austin Nemire-233, 9-Jacob Wilson-218, 10-Rex Norris III-217.
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COCKRUM CAPTURES SECOND-STRAIGHT TED HORN 100 VICTORY
Du Quoin, Illinois……...Shane Cockrum backed up his “Ted Horn 100” win from last year on the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds “Magic Mile” with a convincing victory on Sunday night. The local Benton, Illinois driver again pleased the partisan crowd as he led the final 33 laps on his way to a 4.474-second victory in the Hardy Boys Motorsports – Financial Transportation Services #71 Maxim/Chevy.
“It’s so great to get another one in front of the hometown crowd. Half my town is here, including our mayor, so it’s cool for me and for the series and Du Quoin. The Hampshire and DePalma bunch have set the bar in this series, and if you can beat them, you know you’ve got a good program. To race them for the win and pass the 63 for the lead is just a testament to the team we have and a car owner who is always happy but never satisfied, always wanting to find ways to be better.
They told me we had a big lead, so I tried to just maintain and save some there towards the end, but when they go from saying ‘straightaway lead’ to all of a sudden ‘half straightaway,’ it was time to kick it back on,” Cockrum said.
After taking his sixth ProSource “Fast Qualifier Award” of the year, Kody Swanson led at the start from the pole, as Cockrum ducked under front-row starter Aaron Pierce off turn-four to take the second spot. That started a three-car breakaway battle that consumed the first sixty laps of the race.
Justin Grant and Levi Jones settled into early top-five spots, while Steve Buckwalter became the first major casualty on lap twelve, when he pulled off the racetrack while running 13th.
Dave Darland took the eleventh spot at lap ten, but he fell out of the race on lap 19, just before the first caution of the race for Joey Moughan, who stopped at the entrance to turn-three on lap 22. On this restart, Brian Tyler and Jerry Coons Jr. were the cars on the move, as they took the eighth and ninth spots, respectively.
While Swanson led, Cockrum and Pierce pushed him for the entirety of the first half of the race, resulting in a blistering pace and some torrid racing between Cockrum and Pierce for second. Pierce took second back on lap 34 and was all over the lead, but Swanson continued to hold him off.
Seventh-running Tyler went up in smoke on lap 37 to bring out the second caution, setting up a restart with forty laps in the books. Coons again grabbed a spot on the restart, and Chris Windom came down the hill in turn-four to sneak under Jones for the fifth spot.
Pierce continued his aggressive display as he stormed the corners in an effort to make a run on Swanson. He contacted the outside concrete on both ends during this stretch, and Cockrum even had a run-in with the outside wall on lap 45. Neither were losing any ground to Swanson.
On lap 58, Cockrum cut under Pierce to take second down the front stretch and immediately started to pressure Swanson for the lead. He had a big run down the backstretch on lap 61, diving to the inside to slide up with the lead in turn-three, but behind the leaders, Pierce finally made too much contact with the outside wall. He pancaked against it and spun around, drawing a caution flag. Under yellow, Jones’ car started to pop and crack, and he came to a stop on the front stretch. His race was done.
The restart came with 33 laps to go, and Cockrum wasted no time making a bid for the lead. He got a run down the front stretch and buried it into turn-one, sliding up in front of Swanson with the lead. Swanson crossed back under him off turn two, but Cockrum held him off to lead lap 68. As Casey Shuman took sixth from Coons on lap 71, Cockrum’s lead was visibly growing.
By lap 83, Cockrum’s lead grew to nearly eight seconds as he began to negotiate slower cars. Windom had moved to the third spot on lap 82 and stayed with Swanson as they began to carve into that massive lead inside the final twenty laps. With six laps to go, the lead was down to 2.716 seconds for Cockrum, but he cleared two more lapped cars to give himself some breathing room. He pulled away over the final five laps with his second win of the season as the battle for second heated up.
With less than five laps to go, Windom used traffic to make his move on Swanson for second. The right-rear tire finally gave out on Windom as they rolled to the checkered, but he held on for second in the Fred Gormly – RPM Auto Enterprise #98 Maxim/Mopar.
“That was literally all we had to give there. I ran a really patient race early, just got in line for a while. It was actually kind of tough to pass with the way it was, so it just took a while to get past each car. I picked it up close to the end, and I think we were good enough at the end, but he’d just built such a big gap on us. Rob Hart brought a great car once again, and we’re beating on the door of getting another one. I didn’t think I’d ever pass the 63 for anything but the lead, but that’s a car you have to beat to win these races, and obviously Cockrum is in that group now, too,” Windom said.
Swanson lengthened his Silver Crown Championship with another strong podium finish aboard the DePalma Motorsports – Radio Hospital #63 Maxim/Hampshire.
“I was definitely concerned we were going too fast, too early. Running that high and that hard, fuel mileage was a concern very early. They were running really hard behind us, so we had to go faster just to stay in front. I just couldn’t keep the pace that he was, but towards the end, I don’t think I could have done what he was doing anyway. No shame in that. No complaints, but a good night to run third. I started to feel us catching him when he hit traffic, and I was giving it all I could. A couple of those cars cost us that momentum and eventually the second spot, but how can you complain about the great year we’ve had and another night towards the big prize we want. This place bit us last year, and we finished with about two gallons left tonight, so we gave ourselves a good night and can try to win Eldora back in Ohio next,” Swanson said.
Grant finished another strong run in the Chris Carli Motorsports – Finish Line Racing Equipment #8 Beast/Chevy to come home fourth, and Shuman slipped past Cottle to notch his first-career Silver Crown top-five in the Randy & Patty Bateman – Chance’s Chassis Repair #55 Beast/Chevy.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 6, 2015 – Du Quoin, Illinois – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Ted Horn 100
QUALIFYING: 1. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-30.784; 2. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-31.040; 3. Justin Grant, 8, Carli-31.098; 4. Jacob Wilson, 07, WBR-31.103; 5. Shane Cockrum, 71, Hardy-31.165; 6. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-31.450; 7. Chris Windom, 98, RPM/Gormly-31.597; 8. Casey Shuman, 55, Bateman-31.701; 9. Levi Jones, 57, Rogers-31.718; 10. Dave Darland, 19, Longworth-31.795; 11. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-31.795; 12. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-31.801; 13. Brian Tyler, 7, Kurtz-32.100; 14. Chris Fetter, 88, Fetter-32.144; 15. Steve Buckwalter, 53, SET-32.225; 16. Rickey Hood, 56, Foxco-32.279; 17. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-32.303; 18. Rich Tobias Jr., 117, Tobias-32.450; 19. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn32.460; 20. Steven Russell, 41, McQuinn-33.084; 21. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-33.725; 22. Terry James, 23, Satterthwaite33.844; 23. Joey Moughan, 29, Moughan-33.911; 24. J.C. Bland, 5, Bland-34.029; 25. Danny Long, 44, Long-34.765; 26. Charles Davis Jr., 21, Swanson-NT; 27. Jackie Burke, 86, Burke-NT; 28. Kenny Gentry, 18, Gentry-NT; 29. Terry Babb, 00, Babb-NT; 30. Chris Urish, 77, Urish-NT; 31. Brady Bacon, 48, Martens-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Cockrum (5), 2. Chris Windom (7), 3. Kody Swanson (1), 4. Justin Grant (3), 5. Casey Shuman (8), 6. Shane Cottle (11), 7. A.J. Fike (6), 8. Jerry Coons Jr. (12), 9. David Byrne (17), 10. Rickey Hood (16), 11. Chris Urish (30), 12. Austin Nemire (19), 13. Steven Russell (20), 14. Chris Fetter (14), 15. Rich Tobias Jr. (18), 16. Patrick Lawson (21), 17. Terry James (22), 18. J.C. Bland (24), 19. Levi Jones (9), 20. Aaron Pierce (2), 21. Brian Tyler (13), 22. Joey Moughan (23), 23. Dave Darland (10), 24. Steve Buckwalter (15), 25. Danny Long (25), 26. Kenny Gentry (28), 27. Charles Davis Jr. (26), 28. Jacob Wilson (4), 29. Jackie Burke (27), 30. Terry Babb (29). 1:07:37.02
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-67 Kody Swanson, Laps 68-100 Shane Cockrum.
NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-500, 2-Jerry Coons Jr.-400, 3-A.J. Fike-355, 4-Aaron Pierce-312, 5-Chris Windom-297, 6-David Byrne-271, 7-C.J. Leary-264, 8-Austin Nemire-262, 9-Shane Cockrum-255, 10-Jacob Wilson-223.
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BELL TAKES FIRST SILVER CROWN WIN AT ELDORA; SWANSON CLINCHES CHAMPIONSHIP
Rossburg, Ohio...Christopher Bell capped Saturday night's 34th "4-Crown Nationals" at Eldora Speedway with his first-ever Silver Crown Championship Series victory, making it two of three crowns for the night at the famed half-mile. Again, Bell took the lead from the start and went wire-to-wire, this time after setting the night's ProSource "Fast Time." He won by 6.398 seconds in the Fred Gormly - RPM Auto Enterprise #99 JEI/Foxco Chevy.
"I've been close on these races before, and I was worried as the race went on that something would come up. I really thought Kody (Swanson) would be tough to beat, as well as he was hanging with me early. I had to go above the little bit of rough into turn-one, and then I started losing my cushion off turn-four, and when it was gone, I kept hitting the wall towards the end. I tried to keep from doing it as much as I could, but it got really difficult up there. Thankfully, we were able to hang on for all 50 (laps)," Bell said.
Bell immediately rocketed to the lead from the start and ran right against the wall all the way around, entering above the cushion into turn-one and walking away from the field. Behind him, Kody Swanson and Chris Windom battled for the second spot before Swanson spaced himself away from Windom, comfortably in second.
After an early caution, Windom was locked in a battle with Shane Cockrum and Brady Bacon. Shane Cottle was on the move from his ninth starting spot and joined the fray as well.
Just past halfway, Dave Darland spun in turn-two to bring out the final caution of the event, erasing a 4.612-second lead for Bell. It had no adverse effect on him, though, as he traced the very outside of the high-banked half-mile to close out the night's festivities with a 50-lap win.
Behind him, Kody Swanson stretched out his advantage and came home comfortably in second, clinching his second straight Silver Crown Series championship in the DePalma Motorsports - Radio Hospital #63 Maxim/Hampshire.
"When you're racing for these guys, you have to get yourself ready to go good here, and they've gotten me a lot better. To be able to seal up the championship here for them is really something special. I'm so proud of these guys and so grateful to be a part of their team. Two seconds at the 4-Crown is pretty wild for a guy like me," Swanson said.
Windom rounded out the podium as Bell's teammate in the Fred Gormly - RPM Auto Enterprise #98 Maxim/J & D Performance Mopar.
"Today was a really tough day. Just getting here from the rain-delayed ARCA race at Kentucky was a trip. I just couldn't quite get up in the fluff like those top-two were without getting really tight. I just had to settle in for third, which is a little disappointing with as bad as I wanted to win it. It was a good night for us as a team, though," Windom said.
Cottle's fine run ended fourth in the Curtis Williams - QS Components #81 Maxim/Williams, and Bacon rounded out the top-five in the Martens Machine Shop - Womack Machine Supply #48 DRC/Kistler Chevy.
Dallas Hewitt, who substituted for Kent Wolters in the feature, earned the $750 Larry Rice High Performance Award for his run from 19th to finish 13th.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 26, 2015 – Rossburg, Ohio – Eldora Speedway – 34th 4-Crown Nationals
QUALIFYING: 1. Christopher Bell, 99, RPM/Gormly-17.125; 2. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-17.385; 3. Brady Bacon, 48, Martens-17.705; 4. Chris Windom, 98, RPM/Gormly-17.754; 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-17.942; 6. Shane Cockrum, 71, Hardy-17.981; 7. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary/Six-R-17.995; 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 17, RW/Curb-Agajanian-18.000; 9. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-18.043; 10. Justin Grant, 8, Carli-18.130; 11. Dave Darland, 19, Longworth-18.173; 12. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-18.303; 13. Chase Stockon, 14, McQuinn-18.365; 14. Steve Buckwalter, 53, SET-18.395; 15. Terry Babb, 00, Babb-18.636; 16. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-18.692; 17. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-18.747; 18. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-18.885; 19. Kent Wolters, 21, Swanson-19.057; 20. Chris Fetter, 89, Fetter-NT.
FEATURE: (50 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Christopher Bell (1), 2. Kody Swanson (2), 3. Chris Windom (4), 4. Shane Cottle (8), 5. Brady Bacon (3), 6. Justin Grant (9), 7. Shane Cockrum (6), 8. C.J. Leary (7), 9. Steve Buckwalter (13), 10. Jerry Coons Jr. (5), 11. A.J. Fike (15), 12. David Byrne (17), 13. Dallas Hewitt (#21) (20), 14. Chase Stockon (12), 15. Aaron Pierce (11), 16. Austin Nemire (16), 17. Tanner Thorson (#17) (19), 18. Dave Darland (10), 19. Chris Fetter (18), 20. Terry Babb (14). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-50 Christopher Bell.
NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-557, 2-Jerry Coons Jr.-433, 3-A.J. Fike-386, 4-Chris Windom-351, 5-Aaron Pierce-335, 6-C.J. Leary-303, 7-David Byrne-300, 8-Shane Cockrum-297, 9-Austin Nemire-283, 10-Justin Grant-262.
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BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPION SWANSON SEALS SYRACUSE SALT CITY 78 WIN
Syracuse, New York………Completing what has been a magical two-year run, Kody Swanson won Saturday’s “Salt City 78” at the New York State Fairgrounds to make back-to-back wins on “The Moody Mile,” all while closing out his second straight Silver Crown championship. The Kingsburg, California driver made it four wins on the year while turning the standings into a rout aboard the DePalma Motorsports – Radio Hospital #63 Maxim/Hampshire.
“Today, we were just here to win with points not being a factor at all. I had to run really hard to run those guys back down after we dropped to fifth and pass them back, so it was good to have nothing else weighing on my mind. I had some doubts if we could get back up there with as difficult as I thought it would be to pass, but I was able to dig a little deeper and get out of that hole and win this for my team. They’ve carried me to this level, and it’s been a dream to have these two seasons with them. You never know if it will keep going like this, but it’s wild to think of what we’ve accomplished,” said Swanson, who has accumulated nine wins and two championships with the DePalma family and crew chief Bob Hampshire.
Justin Grant used group qualifying during Saturday’s early-morning practice to secure his first series pole and the ProSource “Fast Time Award.” He led the field to the green after his initial start was called back, and he brought Shane Cockrum with him from row-two early in the race. Cockrum took the lead from Grant on lap ten just before the race’s first caution for Steve Buckwalter on lap ten.
On the restart, Swanson slid high and lost two spots to A.J. Fike and Jerry Coons Jr., but he quickly regained one on the next lap. Fike took second from Grant on lap eighteen, and Swanson joined him a couple laps later as the Syracuse rookie Grant started to backslide.
Fike and Swanson were chipping into Cockrum’s lead before a lap-26 caution for Richie Tobias, who got up into the outside wall but restarted at the tail. Swanson wasted no time on the restart, disposing of Fike for the runner-up spot on lap 31. The major battle was behind them, with the latter half of the top-ten fighting hard.
Tenth-running Aaron Pierce brought out the third caution on lap 39 when he lost his right-front wheel in turn-one. Pierce somehow kept from incurring major damage as he came to a stop, but his race was over. Again, the restart was key, as Coons took fourth from Grant as they entered turn-one.
Cockrum and Swanson checked out on the field during a 22-lap green-flag run, with traffic looming ahead and about to play a major factor in the race. On lap 54, Swanson shot to the outside off turn-four as Cockrum was bottle in traffic. The following lap, Swanson made his big move, powering to the outside of Cockrum at the flag stand and out-racing him to the bottom as they funneled down into turn-one, barely clearing Cockrum in the process.
Swanson was gone, slicing through what was left of the lapped cars while building a lead of over seven seconds in just five laps. He appeared well on his way to victory when Casey Shuman retired from the eleventh spot on lap 65, stopping in turn-one. The cars on the move were Shane Cottle and Chris Windom, who had just passed Cottle for fifth before the caution. Cottle had started the race from the rear after having to be push-started.
Windom nailed the restart with nine laps to go and grabbed fourth from Coons, then caught Fike to take third with six to go. Cottle was coming along with him, and he slipped into fourth right behind Windom. Windom’s teammate Stewart Friesen, the modified stalwart and defending big-block winner at “Super DIRT Week,” was also hooked to them and entered the top-five.
Brady Bacon necessitated the final slowing of the field on lap 73, and that set up a green-white-checkered restart. Swanson was flawless, completing another masterful drive to take a 1.184-second victory. In the process, Swanson had defending his race win on three dirt miles from the year before and joined Ralph DePalma, Rex Mays, Bob Sweikert, Rodger Ward, and J.J. Yeley as back-to-back Syracuse winners. His twelve career wins tie him with Jimmy Sills for seventh all-time.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of room when I went to the outside of him for the lead, but luckily I had the room and the run, and Shane ran me clean when I got back down in front of him. With that opportunity there, I knew I had to take it. To win the last one again this year feels great; we didn’t have as many wins this year, but I still feel we improved. The places where I let us down, I got a little better, and they have helped me along even more. The names this high on the list are some of the greatest ever, and they say they’re going to ‘let me try again next year,’ so I’m looking forward to taking on the next challenges and seeing what is next for our team,” Swanson said.
Cockrum, who again proved to be Swanson’s toughest competition by running second in the Hardy Boys Motorsports – Financial Transportation Services #71 Maxim/Chevy.
“Anytime you can run with the 63, you can’t be too disappointed. We’d both had two dirt wins this year and I really wanted to beat him to three, but we couldn’t get it done. Traffic and restarts would really get the line dirty and make it difficult to get through there. I’d lose my rhythm a little bit in both scenarios, and I guess Kody was able to stay consistent in those stretches and get a little redemption on us from passing him to win Du Quoin. They’ve been a force these last two seasons, so it’s good to be up there running with them,” Cockrum said.
Windom’s charge to third secured second in the Silver Crown Owner’s Championship for the Fred Gormly – RPM Auto Enterprise #98 Maxim/Mopar.
“It took me a while to get the place figured out today, it was so different from last year. I was just a little sporadic early, so we got all our work done in the last half of the race. Restarts were key, trying to pick off at least one on each of those. I could get lower in one and two and stay under the hole, which was throwing some guys up out of the groove. I wanted to get around the 20 car to get Fred and the guys second in points, but once I finally settled in, we were really good,” Windom said.
Cottle finished off his run from the back by coming home fourth in the Curtis Williams – QS Components #81 Maxim/Williams Chevy, and Friesen rounded out the top-five in the Fred Gormly – RPM Auto Enterprise #99 JEI/Foxco.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACE RESULTS: October 10, 2015 – Syracuse, New York – New York State Fairgrounds – Salt City 78
QUALIFYING: 1. Justin Grant, 8, Carli-32.703; 2. Kody Swanson, 63, DePalma-32.716; 3. Shane Cockrum, 71, Hardy-33.144; 4. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-33.300; 5. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary/Six-R-33.369; 6. A.J. Fike, 3, RFMS-33.748; 7. Jerry Coons Jr., 20, Nolen-33.759; 8. Casey Shuman, 55, Bateman-33.875; 9. Chris Windom, 98, RPM/Gormly-33.997; 10. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-34.128; 11. Brady Bacon, 48, Martens-34.240; 12. Rich Tobias Jr., 117, Tobias-34.330; 13. Steve Buckwalter, 53, SET-34.409; 14. Stewart Friesen, 99, RPM/Gormly-34.556; 15. Austin Nemire, 91, Hemelgarn-34.740; 16. Chris Fetter, 88, Fetter-36.143; 17. Chappy Knaack, 36, Miller-41.048; 18. Patrick Lawson, 2, Lawson-NT.
FEATURE: (78 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kody Swanson (2), 2. Shane Cockrum (3), 3. Chris Windom (9), 4. Shane Cottle (10), 5. Stewart Friesen (14), 6. A.J. Fike (6), 7. Jerry Coons Jr. (7), 8. Justin Grant (1), 9. C.J. Leary (5), 10. Austin Nemire (15), 11. Brady Bacon (11), 12. Patrick Lawson (18), 13. Chappy Knaack (17), 14. Chris Fetter (16), 15. Casey Shuman (8), 16. Rich Tobias Jr. (12), 17. Aaron Pierce (4), 18. Steve Buckwalter (13). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Justin Grant, Laps 10-54 Shane Cockrum, Laps 55-78 Kody Swanson.
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2015 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINTS
1. (617) Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.
2. (475) Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, Ariz.
3. (431) A.J. Fike, Galesburg, Ill.
4. (405) Chris Windom, Canton, Ill.
5. (357) Shane Cockrum, Benton, Ill.
6. (354) Aaron Pierce, Muncie, Ind.
7. (339) C.J. Leary, Greenfield, Ind.
8. (316) Austin Nemire, Sylvania, Ohio
9. (304) Justin Grant, Ione, Calif.
10. (300) David Byrne, Shullsburg, Wisc.
11. (283) Shane Cottle, Kansas, Ill.
12. (223) Jacob Wilson, Crawfordsville, Ind.
13. (217) Rex Norris III, Knightstown, Ind.
14. (217) Patrick Lawson, Edwardsville, Ill.
15. (213) Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla.
16. (189) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass.
17. (174) Steve Buckwalter, Royersford, Pa.
18. (149) Tanner Swanson, Kingsburg, Calif.
19. (122) Tracy Hines, New Castle, Ind.
20. (113) Casey Shuman, Tempe, Ariz.
21. (111) Rick Hood, Memphis, Tenn.
22. (106) Jarett Andretti, Mooresville, N.C.
23. (97) Terry James, St. Louis, Mo.
24. (96) Chris Fetter, Troy, Mo.
25. (90) Tim Barber, San Francisco, Calif.
26. (85) Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, Ind.
27. (84) Levi Jones, Olney, Ill.
28. (81) Dave Darland, Lincoln, Ind.
29. (77) Brian Tyler, Parma, Mich.
30. (73) Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, Ala.
31. (72) Tad Roach, Granite City, Ill.
32. (66) Christopher Bell, Norman, Okla.
33. (64) Dave Baumgartner, Ottawa Lake, Ill.
34. (56) Steven Russell, Springfield, Ill.
35. (56) Chris Urish, Elkhart, Ill.
36. (56) Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, Ind.
37. (54) Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind.
38. (48) Stewart Friesen, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
39. (46) Kyle Hamilton, Danville, Ind.
40. (44) Rich Tobias Jr., Lebanon, Pa.
41. (42) Jimmy McCune, Toledo, Ohio
42. (32) Russ Gamester, Peru, Ind.
43. (30) Joey Moughan, Springfield, Ill.
44. (30) Davey Ray, Davenport, Iowa
45. (29) Joe Axsom, Franklin, Ind.
46. (27) Chappy Knaack, Bethesda, Md.
47. (27) Dallas Hewitt, Troy, Ohio
48. (25) Billy Wease, Noblesville, Ind.
49. (23) Randy Hannagan, San Jose, Calif.
50. (19) Tanner Thorson, Minden, Nev.
51. (19) Terry Babb, Decatur, Ill.
52. (17) J.C. Bland, Springfield, Ill.
53. (17) Jimmy Parsons, Indianapolis, Ind.
54. (13) Danny Long, Bonne Terre, Mo.
55. (12) Kent Wolters, Tipp City, Ohio
56. (12) Jackie Burke, Houston, Texas
57. (8) Kenny Gentry, Henderson, Ky.
58. (6) Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, Ariz.
59. (1) Randy Bateman, Murphysboro, Ill.
2015 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRANT POINTS
1. (650) DePalma Motorsports. Lima, Ohio (#63)
2. (521) RPM-Fred Gormly, Brownsburg, Ind. (#98)
3. (508) Nolen Racing, Greenwood, Ind. (#20)
4. (464) RFMS Racing, Galesburg, Ill. (#3)
5. (387) Sam Pierce, Daleville, Ind. (#26)
6. (378) Hardy Boys Racing, Benton, Ill. (#71)
7. (366) Leary Construction/Six-R Racing, Greenfield, Ind. (#30)
8. (352) Curtis Williams, Springfield, Ohio (#81)
9. (349) Hemelgarn Enterprises, Indianapolis, Ind. (#91)
10. (325) Chris Carli, Elk Grove, Calif. (#8)
11. (324) Byrne Racing, Shullsburg, Wisc. (#40)
12. (257) Patrick Lawson, Edwardsville, Ill. (#2)
13. (247) Wilson Brothers Racing, Crawfordsville, Ind. (#07)
14. (241) Rex Norris III, Knightstown, Ind. (#16)
15. (234) Paul Martens, Fairview, Okla. (#48)
16. (201) DJ Racing, Jamestown, Ind. (#122)
17. (195) SET Racing, Joliet, Ill. (#53)
18. (190) RPM-Fred Gormly, Brownsburg, Ind. (#99)
19. (179) Patty Bateman, Murphysboro, Ill. (#55)
20. (158) Bowman Racing, Brownsburg, Ind. (#11)
21. (120) Foxco Motorsports, Avon, Ind. (#56)
22. (118) Andretti Autosport Short Track. Mooresville, N.C. (#4)
23. (114) Dave & Dennis McQuinn, Springfield, Ill. (#14)
24. (112) Todd Satterthwaite, St. Louis, Mo. (#23)
25. (100) RW-Michael Dutcher Motorsports, Lederach, Pa. (#17)
26. (99) Ted Finkenbinder, Fairfield, Calif. (#28)
27. (96) Marc Longworth, Trenton, Ohio (#19)
28. (93) Jack Rogers, Evansville, Ind. (#57)
29. (87) Scott Spivey, Ontario, Calif. (#84)
30. (79) Swanson Racing, West Des Moines, Iowa (#21)
31. (70) Dave Baumgartner, Ottawa Lake, Ill. (#15)
32. (70) Fetter Tile, Troy, Mo. (#88)
33. (62) Tom Capie, Avon, IN (#153)
34. (62) Chris Urish, Elkhart, Ill. (#77)
35. (57) Six-R/Armstrong Racing, Westfield, Ind. (#121)
36. (52) Six-R Racing/Hamilton Motorsports, Westfield, Ind. (#33)
37. (50) Rich Tobias Jr., Lebanon, Pa. (#117)
38. (45) McQuinn Motorsports, Springfield, Ill. (#41)
39. (44) Fetter Tile, Troy, Mo. (#89)
40. (41) Gamester Racing, Peru, Ind. (#51)
41. (39) Joey Moughan, Springfield, Ill. (#29)
42. (36) Eddie Sachs Racing, Mt. Clemens, Mich. (#25)
43. (33) Classy Chassy (Junior Kurtz), Clinton, Mont. (#7)
44. (32) Nolen Racing, Greenwood, Ind. (#120)
45. (30) Dodie Miller, Seabrook, Texas (#36)
46. (28) Terry Babb, Decatur, Ill. (#00)
47. (20) Dr. Jim Logan, St. Louis, Mo. (#116)
48. (20) Bland Brothers Enterprises, Springfield, Ill. (#5)
49. (19) Danny Long, Bonne Terre, Mo. (#44)
50. (18) Jackie Burke, Houston, Texas (#86)
51. (14) Valerie Gentry, Henderson, Ky. (#18)
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2015 USAC SILVER CROWN FEATURE WINNERS
(4) Kody Swanson (Toledo Speedway on May 1, Indiana State Fairgrounds on May 21, Illinois State Fairgrounds on Aug. 22 & New York State Fairgrounds on Oct. 10)
(2) Shane Cockrum (Terre Haute Action Track on July 2 & Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on Sept. 6)
(2) Tanner Swanson (Lucas Oil Raceway on May 23 & Lucas Oil Raceway on July 23)
(1) Christopher Bell (Eldora Speedway on Sept. 26)
(1) Bobby Santos (Iowa Speedway on June 20)
(1) Chris Windom (Belleville High Banks on July 31)
FEATURE LAPS LED
(330) Kody Swanson
(217) Shane Cockrum
(135) Tanner Swanson
(100) 4. Chris Windom
(67) 5. A.J. Fike
(57) 6. Bobby Santos
(50) 7. Christopher Bell
(10) 8. Aaron Pierce
(9) 9. Justin Grant
(2) 10. Jacob Wilson
(1) 11. Jerry Coons Jr.
TOP-FIVE FEATURE FINISHES:
(9) Kody Swanson
(6) Chris Windom
(5) Jerry Coons Jr.
(4) Shane Cockrum, Shane Cottle & Aaron Pierce
(3) Justin Grant & Bobby Santos
(2) Brady Bacon, A.J. Fike & Tanner Swanson
(1) Christopher Bell, Steve Buckwalter, David Byrne, Stewart Friesen, Levi Jones, C.J. Leary, Austin Nemire, Ryan Newman, Casey Shuman, Brian Tyler & Jacob Wilson
TOP-TEN FEATURE FINISHES:
(10) Jerry Coons Jr. & Kody Swanson
(8) Chris Windom
(7) Shane Cockrum & A.J. Fike
(6) Justin Grant, C.J. Leary & Aaron Pierce
(5) David Byrne, Shane Cottle & Austin Nemire
(4) Brady Bacon
(3) Steve Buckwalter, Tracy Hines, Rick Hood, Bobby Santos & Jacob Wilson
(2) Rex Norris III, Casey Shuman, Tanner Swanson & Kevin Thomas Jr.
(1) Tim Barber, Dave Baumgartner, Christopher Bell, Stewart Friesen, Levi Jones, Patrick Lawson, Ryan Newman & Brian Tyler
FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
(6) Kody Swanson
(1) Christopher Bell, Justin Grant, Aaron Pierce, Tanner Swanson & Chris Windom
HARD CHARGERS:
5/1: Toledo Speedway - A.J. Fike (14 positions)
5/21: Indiana State Fairgrounds - Brian Tyler (24 positions)
5/23: Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis - Kody Swanson (3 positions)
6/20: Iowa Speedway - Austin Nemire (7 positions)
7/2: Terre Haute Action Track - Chase Stockon (7 positions)
7/23: Lucas Oil Raceway - Chris Windom (4 positions)
7/31: Belleville High Banks - Brady Bacon (3 positions)
8/22: Illinois State Fairgrounds - Kody Swanson (15 positions)
9/6: DuQuoin State Fairgrounds - Chris Urish (19 positions)
9/26: Eldora Speedway - Dallas Hewitt (6 positions)
10/10: New York State Fairgrounds - Stewart Friesen (9 positions)
TOP ROOKIE FINISHER:
5/1: Toledo Speedway - Austin Nemire (7th)
5/21: Indiana State Fairgrounds - Brady Bacon (10th)
5/23: Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis - C.J. Leary (9th)
6/20: Iowa Speedway - Austin Nemire (5th)
7/2: Terre Haute Action Track - C.J. Leary (2nd)
7/23: Lucas Oil Raceway - Austin Nemire (10th)
7/31: Belleville High Banks - Justin Grant (3rd)
8/22: Illinois State Fairgrounds - Steve Buckwalter (5th)
9/6: Du Quoin State Fairgrounds - Justin Grant (4th)
9/26: Eldora Speedway - Brady Bacon (5th)
10/10: New York State Fairgrounds - Justin Grant (8th)