DIRT SILVER CROWN WINNERS AND THEIR PAVEMENT DEBUTS

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Toledo, Ohio (October 2, 2020)………After two previous USAC Silver Crown victories on dirt, Brady Bacon is set to make his series debut on pavement in this Sunday afternoon’s Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic aboard the Doran Racing No. 77 on October 4.

Bacon won at both Williams Grove Speedway and Eldora Speedway during the 2019 USAC Silver Crown season, giving him the unique position as a dirt Silver Crown winner who has yet to make a pavement Silver Crown appearance in any of his previous 27 series starts.

Here, we take a look at those drivers in a similar position to Bacon as an already-established dirt Silver Crown winner, in his case, as well as those drivers who eventually became a dirt Silver Crown winner.  Then, we’ll see how each of those individuals fared in their pavement debut.

One caveat to the whole deal is that Bacon isn’t exactly a novice when it comes to pavement racing.  The very first of his 34 career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car wins came on the high banks of Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in 2008.

The best pavement debut of any Silver Crown driver came courtesy of Tom Bigelow during the first ever race for the series on pavement in 1975 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.  Obviously, a first-time pavement winner was going to emerge on that day, regardless, but Bigelow was a force of dominance, winning the pole, then leading 164 of the 200 laps to score the victory.

Bigelow, Rick Hood (Indianapolis Raceway Park-1985) and Cole Whitt (Phoenix Int’l Raceway-2009) are the only dirt Silver Crown winners to debut on pavement with a win.  Bigelow is also one of three dirt Silver Crown winners to debut with the pole position in their first pavement run.  Kyle Larson also started 1^st at the Milwaukee Mile in 2011 before finishing 8^th.  Chris Windom won the pole in 2013 at Gateway Motorsports Park and finished in the 3^rd position.

Dirt Silver Crown winners finishing inside the top-five during their first pavement starts include the likes of Windom, who is one of 12 drivers to do so, along with Bigelow, Hood, Whitt, Jackie Howerton, Gary Bettenhausen, Ken Schrader, Steve Butler, Jeff Swindell, Jeff Gordon, Russ Gamester and Dave Darland.

A total of 22 dirt Silver Crown winners, such as Bacon is, have finished inside the top-ten on their maiden pavement voyage with the series.  Adding to the list above, you can throw in Billy Engelhart, Sheldon Kinser, George Snider, Jack Hewitt, Tony Elliott, Tony Stewart, Mat Neely, Shane Hollingsworth, Kyle Larson and Justin Grant.

Looking at this group, it’s very noticeable that 15 of the 22 dirt Silver Crown winners mentioned who’ve finished inside the top-ten during their first pavement series start are USAC National champions.  And 10 of the 12 who finished within the top-five have been champs as well.

There’s no telling what Sunday will hold for Bacon.  Many factors play into a successful 100-lap campaign, both mechanically and mentally, avoiding trouble, in addition to meshing with a successful and experienced team that is new to Silver Crown.  As a two-time USAC National Sprint Car champ, Bacon would certainly fit in nicely with this group as a “dirt guy” who made good in his first Silver Crown go on the pavement.

The Sunday afternoon, October 4, Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness “Rollie Beale Classic” features the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series plus Late Model Sportsman, Figure 8, Factory Stock and Street Stock features for the penultimate round of the 2020 season in the Glass City.

The USAC pit gate opens at 8:30am ET on raceday, front gates open at 11am, practice runs from 11:30am-12:15pm for the Silver Crown cars with Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying at 1:05pm and opening ceremonies at 2pm, followed by the 100-lap Rollie Beale Classic.

All tickets are $25 each, and tickets will only be available online at www.toledospeedway.com.  With limited seating for each event, fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets as soon as possible.

Grandstand ticketing will be limited to 1,500 with a standard admission price for all events of $25 per person, with specified seating locations to ensure social distancing and presale offering contactless purchasing.  Any unsold tickets will be available at the track on race day, beginning at 11am.

The Rollie Beale Classic can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.

PAVEMENT SILVER CROWN DEBUT RACES BY DIRT WINNERS:

(Through August 2, 2020)

1970s Debuts:

Tom Bigelow: Started 1^st, finished 1^st at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

Pancho Carter: Started 2^nd, finished 14^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

Steve Chassey: Started 17^th, finished 21^st at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

Larry Dickson: Started 9^th, finished 19^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

Billy Engelhart: Started 5^th, finished 8^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

Jackie Howerton: Started 16^th, finished 5^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

Sheldon Kinser: Started 4^th, finished 7^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

Joe Saldana: Started 7^th, finished 13^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

Rich Vogler: Started 6^th, finished 16^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

Billy Vukovich: Started 10^th, finished 20^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1975)

1980s Debuts:

Gary Bettenhausen: Started 6^th, finished 4^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1984)

Herb Copeland: Started 22^nd, finished 21at at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1984)

Chuck Gurney: Started 9^th, finished 17^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1984)

Gary Hieber: Started 10^th, finished 14^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1984)

Larry Rice: Started 3^rd, finished 23^rd at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1984)

Ken Schrader: Started 7^th, finished 5^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1984)

George Snider: Started 8^th, finished 6^th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (1984)

Rick Hood: Started 5^th, finished 1^st at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1985)

Johnny Parsons: Started 14^th, finished 24^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1985)

Steve Butler: Started 15^th, finished 2^nd at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1986)

Jack Hewitt: Started 21^st, finished 6^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1986)

Tony Elliott: Started 26^th, finished 10^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1987)

Kenny Jacobs: Started 9^th, finished 11^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1987)

Jeff Swindell: Started 14^th, finished 5^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1987)

1990s Debuts

Jeff Gordon: Started 4^th, finished 5^th at Phoenix International Raceway (1990)

Lealand McSpadden: Started 15^th, finished 27^th at Phoenix International Raceway (1990)

Jimmy Sills: Started 22^nd, finished 29^th at Phoenix International Raceway (1990)

Russ Gamester: Started 8^th, finished 4^th at Phoenix International Raceway (1991)

Stevie Reeves: Started 10^th, finished 20^th at Phoenix International Raceway (1991)

Ron Shuman: Started 24^th, finished 27^th at Phoenix International Raceway (1991)

Tony Stewart: Started 5^th, finished 6^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1992)

Kenny Irwin Jr.: Started 23^rd, finished 11^th at Phoenix International Raceway (1993)

Jay Drake: Started 18^th, finished 18^th at Mesa Marin Raceway (1994)

Chuck Leary: Started 22^nd, finished 15^th at Phoenix International Raceway (1994)

Jason Leffler: Started 16^th, finished 12^th at Mesa Marin Raceway (1994)

Dave Darland: Started 15^th, finished 4^th at Richmond International Raceway (1995)

Donnie Beechler: Started 23^rd, finished 11^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1996)

Tracy Hines: Started 19^th, finished 19^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1996)

Brian Tyler: Started 18^th, finished 23^rd at Richmond International Raceway (1996)

Kevin Thomas: Started 10^th, finished 26^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1997)

J.J. Yeley: Started 20^th, finished 22^nd at Indianapolis Raceway Park (1997)

Jerry Coons Jr.: Started 25^th, finished 17^th at Pikes Peak International Raceway (1998)

Rich Tobias Jr.: Started 29^th, finished 26^th at Nazareth Speedway (1999)

Paul White: Started 20^th, finished 19^th at Walt Disney World Speedway (1999)

2000s Debuts

A.J. Fike: Started 25^th, finished 29^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (2000)

Bud Kaeding: Started 29^th, finished 18^th at Nazareth Speedway (2000)

Kasey Kahne: Started 20^th, finished 25^th at Nazareth Speedway (2000)

Tyler Walker: Started 25^th, finished 17^th at Phoenix International Raceway (2001)

Teddy Beach: Started 27^th, finished 18^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (2002)

Bobby East: Started 10^th, finished 31^st at Indianapolis Raceway Park (2002)

Levi Jones: Started 27^th, finished 24^th at Indianapolis Raceway Park (2003)

Mat Neely: Started 8^th, finished 9^th at O’Reilly Raceway Park (2006)

Josh Wise: Started 13^th, finished 27^th at Phoenix International Raceway (2007)

Shane Cottle: Started 3^rd, finished 15^th at Richmond International Raceway (2008)

Shane Hmiel: Started 1^st, finished 14^th at O’Reilly Raceway Park (2008)

Shane Hollingsworth: Started 9^th, finished 9^th at Richmond International Raceway (2008)

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Started 24^th, finished 17^th at O’Reilly Raceway Park (2008)

Kody Swanson: Started 7^th, finished 26^th at Phoenix (2008)

Jacob Wilson: Started 14^th, finished 14^th at Richmond International Raceway (2008)

Bryan Clauson: Started 18^th, finished 16^th at Phoenix International Raceway (2009)

Cole Whitt: Started 6^th, finished 1^st at Phoenix International Raceway (2009)

Kyle Larson: Started 1^st, finished 8^th at the Milwaukee Mile (2011)

Chris Windom: Started 1^st, finished 3^rd at Gateway Motorsports Park (2013)

Christopher Bell: Started 17^th, finished 13^th at Lucas Oil Raceway (2014)

Shane Cockrum: Started 13^th, finished 17^th at Lucas Oil Raceway (2014)

C.J. Leary: Started 15^th, finished 20^th at Lucas Oil Raceway (2014)

Justin Grant: Started 12^th, finished 6^th at Lucas Oil Raceway (2016)

Tyler Courtney: Started 17^th, finished 12^th at Lucas Oil Raceway (2017)

Never Made Pavement Silver Crown Start:

Mario Andretti: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Shane Carson: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

A.J. Foyt: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Jimmy Horton: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Kevin Huntley: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Bubby Jones: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Keith Kauffman: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Steve Kinser: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Eddie Leavitt: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Jim McElreath: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Bobby Olivero: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Danny Smith: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Al Unser: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Chris Urish: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start

Doug Wolfgang: Never made a pavement Silver Crown start