USAC Silver Crown - 2022 Schedule…..

TQ29m · 12/12/21, 8:35 PM

Seems to me Carl Edward's was in for 2, a couple of friends of mine worked at the radiator shop in indy that were building some cars.

DRC II · 12/12/21, 8:47 PM

The traditional cars were not safe on the 1.5 mile tracks. OK on all miles including Gateway. If 1&2 were as opened up as 3&4 at Gateway it would have been a problem.

Mike Devin

Jonr · 12/13/21, 12:10 AM

Someone else spoke on a different post about "Silver Crown" cars taking dates away from Sprints and Midgets. I wonder with the X-racing news how safe the Silver Crown series is. I have stated for several years that the risk/reward ratio for Silver Crown cars does not make sense.

If these races consistently made money, there would be more dates. Everyone says "I loved it when they raced at xxxx speedway. I wonder why they don't go back." The reason is that the promoter lost money or barely broke even on that race.

chrismattlin · 12/14/21, 1:39 PM

I made a wish in another thread earlier this year for a return of the big cars to Gateway. Now it's happening! I'm not penciling in this event for 2022 though, I'm marking it down with a Sharpie! Being a 1.25 mile track, this is the superspeedway of the Silver Crown Series and is just perfect for these machines. Go search out some of the old events on Youtube- they were just great! Can you tell that I'm over-the-moon?

Stevensville Mike · 12/14/21, 2:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrismattlin

I made a wish in another thread earlier this year for a return of the big cars to Gateway. Now it's happening! I'm not penciling in this event for 2022 though, I'm marking it down with a Sharpie! Being a 1.25 mile track, this is the superspeedway of the Silver Crown Series and is just perfect for these machines. Go search out some of the old events on Youtube- they were just great! Can you tell that I'm over-the-moon?

Thanks for the look, Chris. I posted earlier in this threat about thinking the track was too big for these guys back 20-some years ago, but apparently not. I know the cars ran well at Milwaukee all the time, too. I guess it was the bigger 1.5 mile cookie-cutter tracks as DRC II pointed out that lead to the beginning of the "dark years" for the big cars. Not to mention buddying up with NASCAR.

chrismattlin · 12/14/21, 4:29 PM

Yeah Mike, the Crown cars go exceptionally well at Gateway as well as Milwaukee which you mentioned. The Mile would be another great addition to the schedule. Bob Sargent promoted an ARCA race there last year, so maybe he can help grant another wish of mine in 2023.

As far as being too fast for the mile-and-a-halfs, you are correct. Maybe @AmyCoons could get her husband to chime in, but I seem to remember that Jerry tested a traditional Silver Crown car at Nashville Superspeedway in hopes that they could play undercard to NASCAR events there. During the test, they were going so fast that the rear tires were aero-lifting off the track at the ends of the straightaways. I'm sure that was completely unnerving. It also lead NASCAR to convince USAC to upend the entire series and implement what the late, great Robin Miller deemed "upside-down bathtub racing".

Stevensville Mike · 12/14/21, 5:06 PM

I am glad for the fans, Silver Crown, and YOU with respect to them chasing Gateway in 2022. This series is only going in the right direction these days.

I had pert near given it up for dead 12 years ago. Wasn't there another series called PRA that picked up the scraps for a little while during the lean years?

Andrew S. Quinn · 12/14/21, 5:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike

. Wasn't there another series called PRA that picked up the scraps for a little while during the lean years?

Yes there was. I went to Illiana and watched them there in 2006. I know they also went to Stafford Speedway in Connecticut,as friends went there for that race

nathans1012 · 12/14/21, 5:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew S. Quinn

Yes there was. I went to Illiana and watched them there in 2006. I know they also went to Stafford Speedway in Connecticut,as friends went there for that race

I was at the Illiana race as well PRA Big Car Series "South Shore 125"

ossuks · 12/14/21, 5:57 PM

Several years back while working at USAC, the midget division was under my watch. After 2 crashes at Springfield involving Robby Flock and Dan Drianan I pleaded with Roger McCluskey to relook at running Midgets on the mile. Everyone has seen the pictures of Drianan's crash. I was on the backsretch when Flock took his tumble, being one of the 1st on the scene I was terrified to see his belts had stretched to the point they were off his shoulders!! Roger agreed with me and stopped scheduling Midgets on the dirt miles. The same logic applys to Silver Crown cars at Gateway. On one of our visits SC cars were reaching speed on the front stretch of 175 mph!!!! A solid axle racecar with no type of attenuator made of metal tubbing is not designed to asorb the energy of a impact at those speeds. Yes, they were entertaining to watch, but to those of us that traveled the country with the drivers, that had relationships with them and their families, had a single goal, to leave town with no one hurt! The "new generation SC" car was designed to allow speeds at places like Holmstead, Gateway, Fontana, ect.. Those that raced them were extremely compimentary about how they raced. The purses were elevated, the racing was close, given a few years to massage the appearance, and car counts to increase, there was an opportunity that never was allowed to mature. Brian Tyler has at least 2 of the NGS cars that he competes with today on roadcourses and wins with ! Did they have a chance to provide the bridge to Indy Car that all openwheel fans were looking for?