C.J. LEARY – A MASTER OF THE MADISON PAVEMENT
By: Pat Sullivan – USAC Media
Oregon, Wisconsin (June 20, 2023)………Few will admit it to others, but when it comes to pavement USAC Silver Crown racing, there are only a handful of drivers who genuinely think they have a chance to topple Kody Swanson from the top spot of the podium.
When it comes to a showdown at Madison International Raceway, the list of would-be contenders had seemingly shrunk every single year.
Then a funny thing happened on the way to victory lane in 2022. Seemingly out of thin air, C.J. Leary not only took top honors, he absolutely obliterated the field. Leary’s performance was so stout, it even forced his mechanic, the oft-stoic Bob East to smile.
While others might have been surprised, the Klatt Enterprises team arrived in Wisconsin expecting to do well. East had watched Leary perform admirably in less than stellar cars on the hardtop, and that alone was enough to convince one of America’s greatest short track constructors and mechanics that his driver was equal to the task. There were also intangible properties he felt C.J. brought to the table.
“He is a guy who will do what it takes to win,” East recently observed, “and a lot of guys do not have that in them. If he is faster than the guy in front of him, he is not going to settle in and run second for a hundred laps.”
Anyone who attended the Dairyland 100 last year knows Leary made it clear early that he was not interested in the runner-up spot.
This is the second time Leary has worked closely with East, and he doesn’t hide the fact that he feels the first experience ended badly. Last season, he desperately wanted to mend broken fences given a long-standing relationship between the Leary and East families.
Leary’s father was an excellent open wheel racer, and as a young man, the late Bobby East learned from Chuck Leary at the Indianapolis Speedrome. Sentiment aside, Bob East has been at this game long enough to know that one never burns bridges. Even more to the point, he had never felt there was a significant rift in his relationship with C.J. The time that has passed since they last joined forces are significant years of development for a young man and a racer.
East also has a better feel for what makes his charge tick and how he can be most helpful to getting the most out of his driver, and thus, benefit the team. Make no mistake about it, Bob East contacted C.J. Leary for the most basic of reasons – he was convinced they could win races together.
Leary remembers seeing East’s name appear on his phone last year and jumped at the chance to rekindle the relationship. It took about 30 seconds for him to accept East’s offer. They went right to work. Of note, Leary was concerned about his ability to master Indianapolis Raceway Park, and those test sessions on the venerable oval likely contributed to his success on the pavement throughout 2022.
Looking back to the previous season, Leary says he felt that with East’s experience as a guiding force, they would do well. In the end, he notes they “showed all the pavement guys that we were there and were able to win.”
Given the truncated schedule, the importance of every race is magnified on the Silver Crown trail, and odd as it may sound, even though the Dairyland 100 at Madison International Speedway is just the fourth event in the new season, it may prove to be a pivotal round in the title chase.
Because only a select number of participants contest both dirt and pavement dates on the schedule, the discrete result from each race sometimes obscures the larger picture. Thus, while Brady Bacon was the best at Belleville, he will not be present at each event. The same is true of Hoosier Hundred winner Bobby Santos III who does not compete on the dirt. Meanwhile, Kody Swanson posted two quality finishes at Belleville and Port Royal but suffered mechanical woes at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Logan Seavey, the point leader, was the best at Port Royal, but he knows who the odds-on favorites are at Madison International. As for Leary, there have been some early disappointments, so he knows he must post a run to get back into the chase.
Racing up front at Madison is another chance to gauge where his program stands now. He, like the rest of his peers, knows that Kody Swanson sets the bar high. During last year’s Dairyland 100, Leary ran off and hid, while on other dates, he was not in position to challenge the seven-time champion. In the end, he feels his Klatt Enterprises team is one that can step up and make life a bit difficult for the affable Californian. In fact, with a bit of a laugh, Leary adds “I’m looking forward to butting heads with Kody.”
RACE DETAILS:
Friday night’s Salute to America Night / Bytec Dairyland 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, Late Models, MISfitz plus Fireworks on June 23.
The pits open at 2:30pm Central and grandstands at 4pm with the drivers meeting taking place at 4pm and practice starting at 4:45pm, followed by qualifying and racing.
Advance tickets on sale at https://misracing.com/tickets/. Advance ticket prices: $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $15 for students age 12-17, $5 for kids age 6-11 & free for children age 5 and under. Race day ticket prices: $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, $15 for students age 12-17, $5 for kids age 6-11 & free for children age 5 and under. Pit passes are $30 for members & $40 for non-members.