PIERCE RETURNS TO USAC SILVER CROWN RACING AT WINCHESTER
Winchester, Indiana (July 19, 2023)………Open wheel racing veteran Aaron Pierce will return to USAC Silver Crown competition this Thursday night, July 20, at the World’s Fastest Half Mile alongside Sam Pierce Racing (SPR) teammate and 2023 Silver Crown Championship contender Kaylee Bryson.
Crew Chiefs Dave Newman and Chris Santucci will call the shots for the two-car effort at the Rich Vogler Classic Presented By The Pallet Builder.
Pierce’s return to the cockpit will mark two years since the central Indiana racer wheeled one of his potent SamPierceChevy.com / Logical Systems Racing Champ Cars at the 2021 Rich Vogler Classic on the High Banks, leading 25 laps midway through the 100-lap feature before tire failure relegated the multi-time open wheel champion to a respectable fourth place finish.
Since then, Pierce has launched his AP Driver Development program primarily focused on protégé’ Kaylee Bryson, in support of her promising career. Bryson has raced in nine different disciplines this season, including pavement and dirt Midgets, Sprint Cars (winged and non-wing), Silver Crown and Trans Am Series Corvettes and Camaros, helping her hone her race craft.
Team SPR tested at Winchester on Monday with Bryson in her primary #26 AP Driver Development / SamPierceChevy.com / Logical Systems Racing Chevy Beast and Mitchell Moles in her backup car. Both drivers were able to get up to race pace lap times early in the day and build confidence at speed on the High Banks. Neither driver had ever seen Winchester Speedway before. It was Moles’ first time on pavement as well.
With both drivers up to speed and comfortable and both cars on point for Thursday’s race, “AP” jumped in the backup car and immediately went to the top of the day’s speed chart.
“It felt really good and comfortable to be back in the car at speed here at Winchester, and I love this place so much, that I just figured I’ll run the backup car on race day and maybe help her from a different perspective here rather than the spotter’s stand,” said Pierce.
AP has three USAC Silver Crown Series wins, was the 2004 Rookie of the Year, 2006 Most Improved Driver and owns the fastest lap in Silver Crown history at 175.012 MPH set at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006. Pierce finished a career best of third in National points (2006) with three other seasons in the top ten (2015, 2017 and 2020).
Kaylee Bryson’s quote upon the conclusion of Monday’s test session: “We made a lot of laps around Winchester today in preparation for the race on Thursday. I felt really comfortable and extremely happy with the balance of the car. I can’t believe how fast and high banked this place is, I LOVE it!”
Bryson is currently locked in a six-way Silver Crown Series national points battle for third place – a mere six points behind Justin Grant going into Thursday’s event at the historic Indiana speed plant.
Kaylee is the current series Rookie of the Year points leader and was the USAC Most Improved Driver for the 2022 season after setting a myriad of USAC records, including the first woman to qualify on the front row and lead a lap (72 of them) in the 53-year history of the Silver Crown Series (Springfield Mile, October 15).
THE DETAILS:
Spectator Gates Open at 4pm Eastern with practice starting at 5pm and qualifying at 7pm, followed by an autograph session, then pre-race ceremonies and the 100-lap main event. Crown Vics will also be in action.
General admission tickets are $30 for ages 13 & up. General admission tickets are free for ages 12 and under. Reserved seating is $35 for ages 13 & up and $15 for ages 12 & under. Pit passes are $35 for members and $40 for non-members. Tickets will be available at the gate on race day. You can also save $5 buying advance tickets online at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2023-elite-promotions.
The event can be watched live and on-demand at FloRacing | https://flosports.link/40w7aPg.
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2023 WINCHESTER USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (26 ENTRIES)
08 Kyle Steffens/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
5 (R) Dakoda Armstrong/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)
6 C.J. Leary/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
7 Kyle Robbins/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
11 (R) Trey Burke/Alvin, TX (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)
14 Davey Hamilton Jr./Boise, ID (Davey Hamilton Racing-SRG)
18 Travis Welpott/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
19 Caleb Armstrong/New Castle, IN (Legacy Autosport)
22 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)
26 (R) Kaylee Bryson/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce Racing)
31 Dave Berkheimer/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
32 Gregg Cory/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)
39 Matt Goodnight/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
60 Billy Wease/Noblesville, IN (Robert Wilson Racing)
67 Kyle O’Gara/Beech Grove, IN (SFHR Development)
77 Kody Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)
81 Matt Westfall/Pleasant Hill, OH (BCR Group)
88 Nathan Byrd/Goodyear, AZ (Byrd Racing)
91 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 Mario Clouser/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)
94 Mike McVetta/Grafton OH (RAM Engineering)
98 Bobby Santos/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)
111 Tom Paterson/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)
126 Aaron Pierce, Muncie, IN (Sam Pierce Racing)
131 Derek Bischak/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)
555 Taylor Ferns/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender
