Chris Windom and Kody Swanson renew their battle for the 2016 USAC Silver Crown Championship Thursday night when the “Rich Vogler/USAC Hall of Fame Classic” unfolds at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind.
Swanson, seeking his record third consecutive series title, trails Windom by 11 points in the latest standings. Windom, USAC’s 2013 Silver Crown “Rookie of the Year,” continues to seek his initial USAC National Championship.
Thursday’s race honors the winningest driver in USAC history and also serves as the backdrop for USAC’s fifth Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which honors a dozen participants from USAC’s past. Inductees Thursday include (in alphabetical order) Steve Butler, Russ Clendenen, Jimmy Davies, Willie Davis, Bob Higman, Tommy Hinnershitz, Dick King, Rick Mears, Pat O’Connor, Kevin Olson, Tony Stewart and Bob Tattersall.
Windom and Swanson will need to halt the recent Lucas Oil Raceway success of Kody’s brother Tanner if they expect to prevail Thursday. Tanner not only won this year’s “Carb Night Classic” at LOR, but he also won both of last year’s Silver Crown races at LOR. Since 2013, he has won five times in seven LOR starts!
Kody was second in both 2015 races and in this year’s May race. He scored his third consecutive “Hoosier Hundred” victory at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in May and has been on the podium four times in five starts this year.
Windom has five “top-five” finishes in five 2016 starts, including a victory in the “Horn-Schindler Memorial” last month in Williams Grove, Pa.
David Byrne, who beat the Swanson brothers in the 2014 “Rich Vogler Classic,” also figures to be a top contender Thursday. He ranks fourth in the latest series standings, only 81 behind Windom.
Justin Grant, third in the current points, won the pole for this year’s series opener at Terre Haute and has a second, a fifth and two sixths in five starts.
Less than 100 points separate seven drivers in the standings with five races remaining in the 2016 season.
Pits open at 2:00, grandstands at 4:00, CRA Stock Car testing at 4:15, Thunder Roadster practice/qualifying at 5:15, USAC Silver Crown practice at 5:30, Thunder Roadster heats at 6:05, Silver Crown qualifying at 6:30, and a final CRA test at 6:45.
Feature racing will begin for the Thunder Roadsters at 7:30, followed by Vintage car laps at 7:45 and the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at 8:00. The green flag should wave for the USAC Silver Crown “Rich Vogler Classic” 100-lap race around 9:00.
Adult general admission is $25. Advance tickets are available at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/track-enterprises.
- administrator on Jul 19, 2016
- Article Date: 7/19/2016