SILVER CROWN POINTS RACE STILL TIGHT;

5 DRIVERS WITHIN 25 ENTERING “TED HORN 100”

Two races from the end of the 2013 TRAXXAS USAC Silver Crown Series finds five drivers locked in a duel for the series championship. Three are former champions while two are seeking their initial USAC National titles.

Sunday night’s “Ted Horn 100” at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds continues a tradition of American championship racing dating back 65 years. Always a Labor Day weekend fixture, the race annually figures prominently in the battle for the title and this year is no exception.

It’s been two years since the 100-miler played out on the 1-mile dirt oval. Last year’s race fell to the elements, so Kyle Larson is the most recent winner, in 2011.

Former race winners Tracy Hines, Kody Swanson and Brian Tyler all have sights on the championship, although Tyler, the 2008 winner, is 49 points behind Hines in the latest tally. Hines, who put together back-to-back wins in 2005 and 2006, enters the race nine points ahead of Jerry Coons Jr., who continues to seek his initial DuQuoin victory.

Defending champion Bobby East is third in the standings, while Kody Swanson, who won at DuQuoin in 2010, is fourth. Chris Windom, hoping for a DuQuoin first Sunday, sits fifth in the points.

Former DuQuoin winners Russ Gamester (1997) and Shane Cottle (2007) could also be threats for victory Sunday.

The TRAXXAS USAC Silver Crown series is set to conclude September 21 in the “4-Crown Nationals” at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.