THE RECORD BOOKS: USAC SILVER CROWN MILESTONE & RECORD WATCH FOR 2023
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (May 11, 2023)………USAC Silver Crown racing is chock full of storylines, sensational snippets and historical aspects that can serve as cliffhangers from one season to the next.
There are drivers or teams that are on the brink of all-time marks, and speculation begins regarding what possible magical moments we could very well see occur throughout the year.
Without further ado, here are some of the feats that we could be treated to in 2023, starting May 19-20, at the Belleville High Banks in Kansas.
A MAN WITH A PLAN
Kody Swanson’s quest for an eighth career USAC Silver Crown driving title begins in 2023. The Kingsburg, Calif. native already holds the past two trophies from 2021-22. By virtue, he’s now presented with an opportunity to pin down three title in a row. It’s a figure only one driver has previously achieved in the Silver Crown series. Himself. Swanson previously scored three-in-a-row between 2017-18-19. In fact, no driver has captured three USAC National championships in a row in any series.
Additionally, Swanson is on the cusp of becoming the first driver to reach 3,000 laps led with the series, and currently stands 69 laps away from the mark, which is nice. Furthermore, Swanson has won at least a single Silver Crown main event in each of the past nine seasons since 2014 but can now become the first to run that number into double figures in 2023.
Jack Hewitt, whose many records have been challenged or surpassed in recent years by Swanson, currently possesses an all-time record of the most victories at a single track on the Silver Crown trail. Hewitt’s eight at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway have seemingly stood the test of time. However, Kody and his younger brother, Tanner Swanson, each own seven scores at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Two IRP events await the pair on May 26 and October 14, providing each Swanson multiple chances to match or pass Hewitt’s Eldora stat line.
FERNS & BRYSON UPPING THE GAME
Two women in the 52-year history of USAC Silver Crown racing have finished a race inside the top-five. Never before have two women finished inside the top-five in the same race. That’s a fact not only for Silver Crown racing, but also in the entire 68-year history of USAC National competition.
Both Taylor Ferns and Kaylee Bryson earned impressive top-five performances with the Silver Crown series in 2022. In fact, Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.) twice finished on the podium with a pair of thirds at IRP and Winchester (Ind.) Speedway. Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) led 72 laps and put her ride in the top-five at the Illinois State Fairgrounds dirt mile.
Both own full-time rides for the 2023 Silver Crown season, and both are determined to become USAC’s first female national winner as well. Bryson, meanwhile, also has the opportunity to become the first woman to earn Rookie of the Year in any of USAC’s current three national divisions.
ANOTHER START GRANTED
Justin Grant currently owns a streak of 70 consecutive USAC Silver Crown starts, which ranks first among active streaks and is the fourth most all-time behind Brian Tyler’s 97 (2005-2013), Kody Swanson’s 88 (2012-2021) and Dave Darland’s 79 (1995-2001).
With a schedule of 12 events this year, starting every event would move Grant (Ione, Calif.) up another spot on the active streak list to third all-time. A similar schedule in the coming years could move him to the top if he so chooses to do.
Grant has started every USAC National feature since the summer of 2020 in Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Cars and NOS Energy Drink National Midgets, where he’s made 210 consecutive starts at press time.
IT FEELS GOOD TO BE A GAMESTER
Russ Gamester, at one point, held the all-time USAC Silver Crown record for career starts, albeit briefly. Soon after moving to the top spot, during the 2021 season, Brian Tyler reclaimed the throne and has held it ever since. Tyler, a full-timer on the trail in 2022, has since raised his career start number to 212.
However, for 2023, Tyler has taken a step back from the sport to assist his son in his burgeoning racing career. Gamester, active in Silver Crown competition since 1989, soldiers on for this season on both the dirt and pavement. Gamester’s start number is currently 205, putting him seven behind Tyler entering the year. Gamester has competed in a similar number of races in a somewhat partial role with the series in recent years but could be primed to close in on that record once more this year.
COUNTING THE CARS
Though Ma Nature hasn’t held up her end of the bargain thus far throughout the spring, we’ve still been able to get an early gander at the entry lists that have been borne for the first two “planned” events on pavement and dirt, and they were mightily impressive.
In April, 38 dirt cars were ready to go for Terre Haute’s dirt while 37 were set to join the field on the asphalt of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
The last time the Silver Crown series reached more than 30 cars on pavement came in the summer of 2011, also at IRP. Meanwhile, the dirt entry list for Terre Haute was the largest for the event in a quarter century.
The overall combined average Silver Crown car count over the past five seasons has hovered between 25-27 per event. Already in 2023, a quick look-see at the entry lists shows many encouraging signs for the depth in terms of quantity and in quality as well as the series moves forward throughout the year.
CREATING THEIR OWN LEGACY
The Beast chassis, with Hall of Famer Bob East at the helm, owns more wins than any other car in Silver Crown history on dirt and pavement. The chassis’ legendary pavement prowess is evidenced by the fact that nearly every team in the series is outfitted by one of their cars.
Take this fact for instance. Since Chet Fillip’s victory in his own Tex Mex creation at Virginia’s Richmond International Raceway in June of 2008, a Beast chassis has won every single pavement Silver Crown race – a span of 62 events and 15 full seasons.
With that said, Legacy Autosport’s new chassis came to fruition last October, and in its first race out of the box with Tyler Roahrig at the wheel, the team finished third at IRP.
This year, both Roahrig and Billy Wease will be at the control of Legacy chassis as they try to shake things up on Beast’s dominance, and thus, creating a constructor competition unlike we’ve seen in the series on pavement in many a year.
THE FULL-TIMERS
The USAC Silver Crown full-timer list is astounding with 16 drivers presently planning to compete in every event on the 2023 schedule on both dirt and pavement. That’s certainly a record for the modern era. In fact, it just very well could be record-breaking this season.
Get this. The all-time record for full-time participation with the series came in 1979 when 17 drivers competed in all the events. Full disclosure, the season consisted of only three races and all three were on dirt.
The largest number of drivers to start every Silver Crown event in a season which consisted of 10 or more races, such as this year’s schedule does, was nine, which occurred three times in 2001-02-19.
These are unprecedented times in a most positive way for the venerable USAC Silver Crown National Championship in 2023. It’s another year to look forward to and another season to get excited about. In fact, it’ll be one for the record books.
