3 PAST NIGHT BEFORE THE 500 WINNERS ENTERED FOR THE AUG. 22 EVENT
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Brownsburg, Indiana (August 13, 2020)………A combined 50 cars have already pre-entered for the 70th running of the Night Before the 500, featuring a USAC non-points special event for both sprint cars and midgets in the famed race to be run on Saturday, August 22, at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind.
The tradition is being renewed at the .686-mile paved oval west of Indianapolis after the event has been on hiatus since its last edition run in 2014. Midgets have been a staple of the event, dating back to its origins in 1946 at the former 16th Street Speedway, across the street from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Twenty-six midgets have been entered thus far for notable standouts such as 2006 Night Before the 500 winner Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) and 2010 event winner Tanner Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.). Tanner, and brother Kody Swanson, also of Kingsburg, Calif., have each won five times in Silver Crown cars at LOR with Santos also claiming his share of four Silver Crown wins at the track that first hosted USAC in 1961.
2017 Little 500 winner Kyle Hamilton (Danville, Ind.), likewise, has won at LOR, also in a Silver Crown car, in 2019. He’s joined in the lineup by 10-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature winner Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.) and three-time Silver Crown victor Aaron Pierce (Muncie, Ind.).
Santos, both Swansons, Hamilton and his brother Nick Hamilton, plus Pierce, are among the eight drivers already signed up to perform double-duty at the Night Before the 500 in both a sprint car and a midget along with Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.) and Kyle O’Gara (Beech Grove, Ind.).
Included in the 24-driver, so far, Sprint Car lineup are NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series veteran Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.), 2006 Turkey Night Grand Prix winner Billy Wease, 1989 USAC National Midget champion Russ Gamester and 1983 Night Before the 500 Midget winner Ken Schrader. Both Schrader and Gamester have been victorious in Silver Crown cars at LOR.
The festivities begin on Saturday, August 22, with pit gates/credentials opening at 7am ET. Spectator gates open at 10am, Midget practice from 10am–10:55am, Sprint Car practice 1 from 11am–11:55am, Midget practice 2 from noon-12:55pm, Sprint Car Practice 2: 1pm–1:55pm, Midget practice 3 from 2pm to 2:55pm, Sprint Car practice 3 from 3pm–3:55pm before a break at 4pm.
Action resumes with Midget qualifying from 4:30pm–5:55pm, Sprint Car qualifying from 6pm–7:25pm, then opening ceremonies from 7pm–7:30pm, followed by racing action that culminates with the $5,000-to-win Midget feature and the $10,000-to-win Sprint Car feature.
Tickets are $25 for ages 12 and up, $5 for ages 5-11 and free for ages 4 and under. Tickets can be ordered at http://tinyurl.com/y8p9vxov.
The big racing weekend kicks off Friday, August 21, with the Dave Steele Carb Night Classic featuring USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series, USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000. Pits open at noon ET, spectator gates open at 3pm, Silver Crown practice from 3pm–3:40pm, USF2000 practice from 3:55pm–4:15pm, Indy Pro 2000 practice from 4:30pm–5:45pm, a break at 4:50pm, Silver Crown qualifying at 5:45pm, USF2000 race at 6:45pm, Indy Pro 2000 race at 7:50pm and the Silver Crown race at 9pm.
Friday’s Dave Steele Carb Night Classic tickets prices are $25 for adults, $10 for children 11 & under. HARF members receive $5 off general admission when card is shown. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members.
MIDGET ENTRY LIST:
(26 cars as of 8/13/2020)
3 Kody Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Nick Bohanon-A.J. Felker Racing)
4 Kyle Hamilton/Danville, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
7 Thomas Meseraull/San Jose, CA (RMS Racing)
7K Tanner Swanson (Petry Motorsports/Kenny & Reva Irwin)
8 Jake Trainor/Medway, MA (Jake Trainor)
8B Annie Breidinger/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger Motorsports)
14 Brandon Maurer/Sherman, IL (Maurer Motorsports)
17 Alby Ovitt/Barrington, NH (Bertrand Motorsports)
25 Courtney Crone/Corona, CA (Jerome Rodela)
26 Aaron Pierce/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)
29 Bobby Santos/Franklin, MA (Matt Seymour Racing)
31 Derek Bischak/Angola, IN (BCD Racing)
33 Nick Hamilton/Danville, IN (Mike Hamilton)
36 Jim Anderson/Joliet, IL (Anderson Motorsports)
39 Avery Stoehr/Carver, MA (Bertrand Motorsports)
47 Cole Carter/Brownsburg, IN (Bertrand Motorsports)
48 Todd Bertrand/Suffield, CT (Bertrand Motorsports)
57K Kevin Studley/Brownsburg, IN (Studley Motorsports)
60 Cody Gerhardt/Fresno, CA (Western Speed Racing)
66 Bret Sanderson/Gary, IN (Sanderson Racing)
67 Kyle O’Gara/Beech Grove, IN (SFH Racing Development)
75 Ryan Shilkuski/Spring Valley, IL (Ryan Shilkuski Racing)
80 Dylan Nobile/Clovis, CA (Western Speed Racing)
80B Toni Breidinger/Hillsborough, CA (Breidinger Motorsports)
88 Maria Cofer/Macdoel, CA (Arata Brothers Racing)
99 Mario Clouser/Auburn, IL (Guess Racing)
SPRINT CAR ENTRY LIST:
(24 cars as of 8/13/2020)
0z Cord Ehrhart/Antwerp, OH (C.O. Racing)
4 Kody Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Nolen Racing)
5 Kyle Hamilton/Danville, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
7A Dakoda Armstrong/New Castle, IN (Armstrong Racing)
7T Joey Vallone/Crestwood, IL (Joey Vallone)
10 Christian Koehler/South Bend, IN (Christian Koehler Racing)
12 Billy Wease/Noblesville, IN (Wease Racing)
12N Chris Neuenschwander/New Haven, IN (Jerry Powell)
22 Bobby Santos/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)
26 Aaron Pierce/Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce)
27 Nick Landon/Dorr, MI (Karl Schwarz)
27 Chris Jagger/Warsaw, IN (Chris Jagger)
31 Derek Bischak/Angola, IN (Performance Assurance)
32 Ronnie Wuerdeman/Cincinnati, OH (Terry Broadus)
32 Nick Hamilton/Danville, IN (Mike Hamilton)
34 Gary Dunkle/Lincoln, NE (Gary Dunkle)
51 Russ Gamester/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
53 Justin Harper/Denver, IN (Cheri Harper)
56 Tyler Roahrig/Mishawaka, IN (Tyler Roahrig)
67 Kyle O’Gara/Beech Grove, IN (SFH Racing Development)
71 Brian Vaughn/Shirley, IN (Freddie & Cathy Carmany)
74 Tony Main/Farmland, IN (Glenn & Virginia Main)
77 Tanner Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Doran Enterprises)
78 Ken Schrader/Fenton, MO (Armstrong Racing)
