Brownsburg, Indiana (October 14, 2024)………Nineteen-year-old open wheel hot shoe Jake Trainor may not have as much experience at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park as most of his veteran counterparts, but he has enjoyed measurable success in just a few seasons at the storied Indianapolis oval.
The Medway, Massachusetts native hopes to parlay that success into a rewarding USAC Silver Crown Series debut with Sam Pierce Racing this Saturday, October 19, during Championship Saturday at IRP’s .686-mile paved oval.
Trainor will race the No. 126 AP Driver Development / Logical Systems / SamPierceChevy.com Beast Silver Crown car as teammate to Team SPR’s primary driver, Kaylee Bryson, during the series’ season finale.
Trainor stunned the racing world in May 2023 by winning the Carb Night Classic midget event at IRP, and then went on to win the 70th Little 500 Sprint Car crown jewel event in his first attempt at Indiana’s Anderson Speedway the next night. Since that point, he’d added two more IRP triumphs to his resume with a second straight Carb Night Classic midget win in May 2024 and an Ecotec Midget score in August of 2024.
Saturday will be a busy night for Trainor, indeed, as he will pull triple duty by competing in all three open wheel divisions. He will attempt to improve on his four career visits to IRP’s victory lane in midget competition driving Jeff West’s #29 Indy Performance Composites / JT Leigh / KTRON INC. / Bentley’s Saloon midget and top his best Sprint Car performance at IRP of sixth in the Barry Kittredge owned KTRON INC. / Bentley’s Saloon / John Cambridge Racing / Seymour Performance Products #29 Sprint Car in the 500 Sprint Car Tour 40-lap event.
When asked what an acceptable finish would be in his maiden Silver Crown voyage, Trainor said, “I just want to finish all 100 laps and bring home a clean race car. Dave Newman (SPR Crew Chief) builds fast race cars and AP knows how to tune them, so we’ll be competitive, I’m sure. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love the same result that Kaylee and I had last time we were teammates here (they finished one, two at IRP in an August midget race) but I don’t want to put too much pressure on my shoulders.”
Bryson is hoping to build momentum from a stunning victory at Virginia International Raceway on October 6 where she took advantage of a late race restart, passed seven cars in the last two laps and clinched the 2024 Trans Am SGT Class National Championship and Rookie of the Year honors. The spectacular performance was her third win of the Trans Am season (NOLA, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and VIR) and seventh podium finish.
Bryson has six wins to her credit in 2024 including two in Lightning Crown competition and her historic victory in USAC Silver Crown at the Belleville High Banks in May, becoming the first woman in history to ever win a USAC national event. She has posted 15 total podiums and 19 top ten finishes in 28 events this season across all disciplines, including midgets.
The 22-year-old fan favorite has two remaining events on her 2024 schedule, the final 2024 USAC Silver Crown event at IRP in Indy on Saturday where she will also race the #88 Focus/EcoBoost midget owned by Seymour Racing, and the November 3 season finale for Trans Am at COTA. Kaylee is currently seventh in USAC Silver Crown National points despite missing three events due to scheduling conflicts with her Trans Am commitment.
Race Details
Championship Saturday on October 19 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, plus the 500 Sprint Car Tour and Pavement Midgets at Brownsburg, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
The main gate and pit gates open at 9am Eastern. The drivers meeting will take place at 11:30am and the front gates open at Noon. 500 Sprint Car Tour Practice #1 begins at 12:30pm followed by Midget Practice #1 at 12:55pm, USAC Silver Crown Practice #1 at 1:20, All-Star Pavement Midget Practice #1 at 1:50, 500 Sprint Car Tour Practice #2 at 2:15pm, Midget Practice #2 at 2:40 and USAC Silver Crown Practice at 3:05pm.
After practice, 500 Sprint Car Tour Qualifying commences at 3:35pm, followed by Midget Qualifying at 4pm, USAC Silver Crown Qualifying at 4:20pm, All-Star Midget Practice #2 and Qualifying at 5pm, Opening Ceremonies at 5:20pm, the 40-lap 500 Sprint Car Tour Feature at 5:30pm, the 30-lap Midget Feature at 6:05pm, the 20-lap All-Star Midget Feature at 6:35pm and the 100-lap USAC Silver Crown Feature at 7:10pm.
Advance tickets are on sale now at www.raceIRP.com. Tickets will also be on sale at the gate on race day. Tickets for Championship Saturday are $25 and is general admission seating. Kids 12 & under are FREE with an adult present. Pit passes are $35 apiece.
