USAC TED HORN 100 AT Du QUOIN
(Adam Mollenkopf Photo)
THE GUIDE: 100 MILES AT Du QUOIN AWAIT USAC SILVER CROWN ON SATURDAY
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Du Quoin, Illinois (September 2, 2021)………Labor Day weekend and champ cars at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – a time and place which harkens back to nearly three-quarters-of-a-century ago when racing began at the southern Illinois one-mile dirt oval known as the Magic Mile.
This Saturday night’s Ted Horn 100 on September 4 remembers the life of the three-time AAA National Champion in 1946, 1947 and 1948 who recorded a record nine straight top-four finishes at the Indianapolis 500 between 1936-48 before perishing in a champ car accident at Du Quoin near the end of the 1948 season.
The event also celebrates speed, Americana and 100 miles of tenacity, precision, management and pride that the field of 35 drivers will take with them in the 49th Silver Crown event held at the picturesque Du Quoin racetrack.
Six past Ted Horn 100 winners are in Saturday night’s field, including series point leader Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), who won the first of his 33 career Silver Crown races at Du Quoin in 2010, then became a two-time winner of the event in 2017 following a late-race pass with just 10 laps remaining. The five-time series champ has twice started from the pole at Du Quoin in both 2015 and 2016.
Shane Cockrum, who hails 20 miles east of the Magic Mile in Benton, Ill., is a fellow two-time Ted Horn 100 winner, capturing back-to-back victories in 2014 and 2015, which were topped only by his team’s impromptu leap into the infield lake following each of the two wins. Like Swanson, Cockrum is both a Du Quoin winner and a victor on the Silver Crown trail in 2021, scoring the dirt opener in June at Williams Grove.
Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) has won twice in his career at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, scoring two in a three-year span in both 2016 and 2018, the first of which came during his Silver Crown championship season.
Chris Urish (Elkhart, Ill.) is one of six drivers to have won his one and only USAC Silver Crown race at Du Quoin, enjoying the spoils of victory in 2013. The others to do the deed are Bubby Jones (1976), Billy Vukovich (1979), Stevie Reeves (1991), Rich Tobias Jr. (2003) and Jacob Wilson (2019). Urish would certainly like to add another this Saturday.
Past Ted Horn 100 winners Shane Cottle (2007) and Brian Tyler (2008) will head to Du Quoin debuting in a pair of new rides. Cottle (Kansas, Ill.), also a two-time Du Quoin pole winner in 2007 and 2008, will pilot the DMW Motorsports No. 110 while Tyler takes over the reins of Cottle’s former ride, the BCR Group No. 81.
Tyler is equaled with Jerry Coons Jr. as the most experienced Ted Horn 100 driver in the field with each possessing 19 starts under their respective belts. Tyler’s debut at Du Quoin came in 1996 while Coons, the 2008 Silver Crown titlist, made his first start during the 1998 race. Coons finished a best of 2nd at Du Quoin in 2001, and his four career Du Quoin poles are the most in USAC Silver Crown’s 50-year history at the track.
Justin Grant has won on the Mini Magic Mile at the adjacent Southern Illinois Center in USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget competition, capturing the Shamrock Classic in 2017. Grant nearly pulled off the double on both the big and small track, finishing 2nd on the mile in USAC Silver Crown competition to Wilson in 2019.
Ken Schrader’s Du Quoin success is paramount and the Fenton, Missouri native has had his fair share in a variety of cars. His 11 Du Quoin feature victories are the most all-time with three ARCA Stock Car wins in 2006-07-13, a CARS Late Model score in 2006, and seven modified triumphs between 2011 and 2019. His best Silver Crown result came via a third-place performance in 1983.
Past top-10 Du Quoin Silver Crown performers in Saturday’s field include one-time series winner, Shullsburg, Wisconsin’s David Byrne (6th in 2018); New Castle, Indiana’s 2018 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year, Kyle Robbins (10th in 2018); and Winchester, Indiana’s Matt Goodnight (10th in 2019).
A pair of Du Quoin top-ten finishers have a family lineage of Silver Crown success at the track with Austin Nemire and Steven Russell. Austin (Sylvania, Ohio) finished 8th in 2018 while his grandfather, Jerry Nemire, earned a result of 7th in 1981. Steven (Rochester, Ill.), meanwhile, took 10th in 2014 while his father, and chassis builder, Jerry Russell, raced to a 5th place in 1990.
Dallas Hewitt (Troy, Ohio) and Korey Weyant (Springfield, Ill.) have also followed in the family footsteps to race champ cars at Du Quoin. Dallas, a 24th place finisher in 2019, is the nephew of three-time Ted Horn 100 winner Jack Hewitt, who captured victories in 1986-87-93. Korey, 27th in 2018, is the great nephew of Chuck Weyant, a three-time Du Quoin champ car starter with AAA in 1952-53 and with USAC in 1959, who finished a best of 10th in that 1953 event.
Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) is a Silver Crown Rookie and is second in the series standings entering the event. But he is certainly no Rookie when it comes to the Du Quoin Mile. In 2018, Seavey raced to victory with the ARCA Stock Cars and nearly pulled it off again the following year, finishing 2nd after starting 10th.
USAC National winners Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.) and Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.) are each making their Du Quoin debuts. The same can be said for USAC west coast racing standouts Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) and Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.). Swanson led the first 28 miles of his Silver Crown career in August at Springfield.
Carmen Perigo (Stoystown, Pa.) is the second-ranking Rookie in the standings and was a force during the last mile race at Springfield, running as high as second during the midway point. Nick Bilbee (Indianapolis, Ind.) will make his first run on a mile this Saturdaynight. Bilbee’s great uncle, Dick Newkirk, sponsored driver Danny Milburn for two runs at Du Quoin in 1989 and 1990, thelatter of which Milburn finished 12th in.
On the flip side, Du Quoin Silver Crown experience runs rampant throughout the field with St. Charles, Missouri’s Kyle Steffens (13th in 2019) having won a modified event at the Mile on Labor Day Weekend 2001 as a 16-year-old. Chandler, Arizona’s Casey Buckman (11th in 2019) is coming off his best career series finish with an 8th at Springfield on Aug. 21. Levittown, Pennsylvania’s Mike Haggenbottom (11th in 2018) won Du Quoin’s 12-lap Silver Crown qualifying race in 2018. Fellow Pa. native, from West Springfield, Jimmy Light (12th in 2019) and Edwardsville, Illinois’ Patrick Lawson (12th in 2014) will be in the field as will Troy, Missouri’s Chris Fetter (14th in 2015).
Terry Babb (Decatur, Ill.) finished one spot out of the final transfer spot during the qualifying race at Du Quoin in 1989, just missing out on what would’ve been his first career Silver Crown start. He’d have to wait until 1998 to make his first Du Quoin lineup, which serves as his best career finish at the track, a 16th.
Pleasant Hill, Ohio’s Matt Westfall last made a USAC Silver Crown start at Du Quoin in 2004. The three-time top-10 finisher in 2021 was a best of 17th at the track during his 2002 Rookie of the Year campaign. Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.) was 19th at Du Quoin in 2019 while Danny Long (Bonne Terre, Mo.) was 23rd in both 2016-17 and Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) collected a 29th in 2019.
Saturday’s Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 27th Annual Bill Oldani Memorial Prelims for UMP Modifieds.
Saturday’s Ted Horn 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
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TED HORN 100 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (35 CARS)
08 Kyle Steffens/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
2 Patrick Lawson/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)
3 Nick Bilbee/Indianapolis, IN (Tim Simmons)
6 Jason McDougal/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
7 Kyle Robbins/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
9 Kody Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 Jake Swanson/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
14 Steven Russell/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports)
16 Austin Nemire/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
17 Chase Johnson/Penngrove, CA (Goodnight Racing)
18 Travis Welpott/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
21 Ken Schrader/Fenton, MO (Mark Swanson Encore Team)
22 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
24 Mike Haggenbottom/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)
31 Dave Berkheimer/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
39 Matt Goodnight/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 David Byrne/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
44 Danny Long/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
52 Carmen Perigo/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
54 Matt Westfall/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)
55 Jerry Coons Jr./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)
57 Dallas Hewitt/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt)
66 TBA
69 Kyle Cummins/Princeton, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 Shane Cockrum/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
74 Casey Buckman/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Racing)
77 Chris Urish/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 Brian Tyler/Parma, MI (BCR Group)
88 Chris Fetter/Troy, MO (Sammy & Mouren Fetter)
91 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
97 Chris Windom/Canton, IL (Hans Lein)
99 Korey Weyant/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
110 Shane Cottle/Kansas, IL (DMW Motorsports)
123 Jimmy Light/West Springfield, PA (Two-Three Motorsports)
188 Terry Babb/Decatur, IL (Terry Babb)
USAC SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-408, 2-Logan Seavey-357, 3-Justin Grant-308, 4-Shane Cottle-267, 5-Kyle Robbins-266, 6-Austin Nemire-266, 7-David Byrne-254, 8-Travis Welpott-251, 9-Mike Haggenbottom-243, 10-Shane Cockrum-237.
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT Du QUOIN:
1 Lap – 9/5/2004 – Tyler Walker – 29.138 – 123.550 mph
10 Laps – 9/10/1994 – George Snider – 5:14.78 – 114.366 mph
12 Laps – 9/4/1989 – Tom Bigelow – 6:29.73 – 110.846 mph
15 Laps – 9/1/2002 – Brian Tyler – 7:53.24 – 114.107 mph
100 Laps – 9/7/1992 – Johnny Parsons – 56:03.00 – 107.047 mph
AAA/USAC CHAMP CAR WINNERS AT Du QUOIN:
1948: Lee Wallard & Johnnie Parsons 1949: Tony Bettenhausen
1951: Tony Bettenhausen & Tony Bettenhausen 1952: Chuck Stevenson
1953: Sam Hanks 1954: Sam Hanks
1955: Jimmy Bryan 1956: Jimmy Bryan
1957: Jud Larson 1958: Johnny Thomson
1959: Rodger Ward 1960: A.J. Foyt
1961: A.J. Foyt 1963: A.J. Foyt
1964: A.J. Foyt 1965: Don Branson
1966: Bud Tingelstad 1967: A.J. Foyt
1968: Mario Andretti 1969: Al Unser
1970: Al Unser 1971: George Snider
1972: Tom Bigelow & A.J. Foyt 1973: Mario Andretti
1974: Mario Andretti 1975: Tom Bigelow
1976: Bubby Jones 1977: Tom Bigelow
1978: Pancho Carter 1979: Billy Vukovich
1980: Gary Bettenhausen & Gary Bettenhausen 1981: Rich Vogler
1982: Gary Bettenhausen 1983: Gary Bettenhausen
1984: Joe Saldana 1985: Rick Hood
1986: Jack Hewitt 1987: Jack Hewitt
1988: Gary Bettenhausen 1989: Chuck Gurney
1990: Jeff Swindell 1991: Stevie Reeves
1992: Johnny Parsons 1993: Jack Hewitt
1994: Chuck Gurney 1995: Johnny Parsons
1996: Chuck Gurney 1997: Russ Gamester
1998: Jimmy Sills 1999: Tony Elliott
2000: Kasey Kahne 2001: Paul White
2002: J.J. Yeley 2003: Rich Tobias Jr.
2004: Tyler Walker 2005: Tracy Hines
2006: Tracy Hines 2007: Shane Cottle
2008: Brian Tyler 2010: Kody Swanson
2011: Kyle Larson 2013: Chris Urish
2014: Shane Cockrum 2015: Shane Cockrum
2016: Chris Windom 2017: Kody Swanson
2018: Chris Windom 2019: Jacob Wilson
AAA/USAC CHAMP CAR WINS AT Du QUOIN:
6-A.J. Foyt
5-Gary Bettenhausen
3-Mario Andretti, Tony Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Chuck Gurney & Jack Hewitt
2-Jimmy Bryan, Shane Cockrum, Sam Hanks, Tracy Hines, Johnny Parsons, Kody Swanson, Al Unser & Chris Windom
1-Don Branson, Pancho Carter, Shane Cottle, Tony Elliott, Russ Gamester, Rick Hood, Bubby Jones, Kasey Kahne, Jud Larson, Kyle Larson, Johnnie Parsons, Stevie Reeves, Joe Saldana, Jimmy Sills, George Snider, Chuck Stevenson, Jeff Swindell, Johnny Thomson, Bud Tingelstad, Rich Tobias Jr., Brian Tyler, Chris Urish, Rich Vogler, Bill Vukovich, Tyler Walker, Lee Wallard, Rodger Ward, Paul White, Jacob Wilson & J.J. Yeley
MATT JONES ANNOUNCED AS CORPORATE PARTNER FOR IKON INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY MASTERS