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9/16/19 2:34 PM BETTENHAUSEN 100 REFIRES ON THE DIRT SUNDAY IN SPRINGFIELD

http://usacracing.com/news/silver-cr...in-springfield



BETTENHAUSEN 100 REFIRES ON THE DIRT SUNDAY IN SPRINGFIELD

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Springfield, Illinois (September 16, 2019)………The glorious roar of the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series returns to the iconic Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield this Sunday, September 22, for the 58th running of the Bettenhausen 100 presented by Brandt, honoring the great racing family based out of Tinley Park, Ill.

Following August’s washout, the date marks just the third time the Bettenhausen 100 will have been held in the month of September, following Chuck Gurney’s victory in 1996 and Kody Swanson’s triumph in 2014.* Tony Bettenhausen, the 1951 AAA and 1958 USAC National Champion, won the first National Championship race held during September at the Springfield Mile in 1947 under AAA sanction.

This Sunday, look for a field chock full of talented veterans and hungry young lions prepared to make their mark in the 100-miler at the famed one-mile dirt oval.

Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) enters as the defending winner of the Bettenhausen 100 en route to a sweep of both Illinois dirt mile races on the schedule in 2018.* Brian Tyler (Mt. Pleasant, NC) leads all drivers in the lineup with four Bettenhausen 100 victories in 2004-05-08-11.* A.J. Fike (Galesburg, Ill.) won back-to-back Bettenhausen 100 races in 2012-13 just as Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) did in 2014-15.* Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) prepares for his 26th career start in the race, which ranks 3rd all-time and includes a triumph in 1998.* Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) captured the first of his two career USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series victories in 2017 at Springfield.

A handful of drivers have gotten the job done on the Land of Lincoln’s other dirt mile, the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, but are seeking their first Springfield victories.* Two-time Du Quoin Silver Crown winner Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.), plus another pair of past Du Quoin Mile winners in Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) and Chris Urish (Elkhart, Ill.) are up to the task.* Jeff Swindell (Germantown, Tenn.) is a three-time Silver Crown winner on dirt miles, twice at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and once at Du Quoin, but Springfield has eluded him thus far despite three 3rd place finishes in 1992-1993-2017.

Springfieldian Korey Weyant wowed fans with a high-wire ride on the cushion in the qualifying race at Springfield a year ago and joined by fellow Illinoisans Patrick Lawson (Edwardsville, Ill.), a 29th place finisher in 2018, and Terry Babb (Decatur, Ill.), who took 31st in 2018, are ready to make an impression for the home crowd.

On the two occasions the Silver Crown cars graced a one-mile dirt oval this year, Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.) was the victor in May’s Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.* He led a race-high 49 laps last year at Springfield.* Jacob Wilson (Crawfordsville, Ind.) won the most recent dirt event in a stellar performance for his first career series win at Du Quoin.* He came home a strong 4th at Springfield a year ago.

Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has also won on the dirt this year, taking a wild last-lap victory at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway in June for his first career win in a Crown car.* His Klatt Enterprises team holds a slim 15-point lead over Nolen Racing in the owner standings for the season.

Veteran Silver Crown winners seeking their first mile dirt victories on Sunday include C.J. Leary Greenfield, Ind., a two-time series winner seeking his first dirt mile victory.* David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wisc.) finished 10th at Springfield a year ago.* John Heydenreich (Bloomsburg, Pa.) and Eric Gordon (Fortville, Ind.) will each return to Springfield after lengthy absences, Heydenreich (2007) and Gordon (2003).

Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) led 42 laps and finished 2nd in 2018 at Springfield.* Steve Buckwalter (Royersford, Pa.) finished 5th at Springfield in 2015.* Those veterans are joined by 2018 Bettenhausen 100 top-ten finishers, New Castle, Indiana’s Kyle Robbins (6th) and Sylvania, Ohio’s Austin Nemire (8th), all of whom are gunning for their first career Silver Crown wins.

Mike Haggenbottom (Levittown, Pa.) is 8th in the standings and enters his second Bettenhausen 100 run after starting 20th and finishing 12th a year ago.* Matt Goodnight (Winchester, Ind.) stands 12th in points and is coming off his best run of the year in the most recent dirt race, a 10th at Du Quoin.

Sunday’s Bettenhausen 100 in Springfield gets underway with pits opening and registration starting at 7am (Central), the ticket office and grandstands opening at 9am, the drivers meeting at 9:30am, Silver Crown practice from 10am to 11:10am, DIRTcar Modified hot laps at 11:15am, Fatheadz Silver Crown Qualifying at 11:35am, Silver Crown Qualifying Race at 12:30pm, Modified feature at 1pm, pre-race ceremonies at 1:30pm and the Bettenhausen 100-mile race at 2pm.

Tickets will be available on raceday or by calling the State Fair office at 217-782-1979. Info and tickets can also be obtained by calling the Track Enterprises office at 217-764-3200.* Advance Tickets (Presale) are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under.* On race day, tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under.* Infield tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for children 11 and under.* Pit passes are $35 for adults and $20 for children 11 and under.

This Sunday’s Springfield race can be watched LIVE and on-demand on FloRacing, listened to via live audio on the USAC app as well as live timing and scoring on both the USAC app and the Race-Monitor app.

*

USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-577, 2-Justin Grant-514, 3-David Byrne-456, 4-Kyle Hamilton-381, 5-Bobby Santos-378, 6-Eric Gordon-375, 7-Chris Windom-342, 8-Mike Haggenbottom-328, 9-Kyle Robbins-320, 10-Austin Nemire-315.

*

AAA / USAC CHAMP CAR WINNERS AT THE ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS:

1934: Billy Winn

1935: Billy Winn

1936: Wilbur Shaw

1937: Mauri Rose

1938: Tony Willman

1939: Emil Andres

1940: Rex Mays

1947: Tony Bettenhausen

1948: Ted Horn & Myron Fohr

1949: Mel Hansen & Johnnie Parsons

1950: Paul Russo & Tony Bettenhausen

1951: Tony Bettenhausen

1952: Bill Schindler

1953: Rodger Ward & Sam Hanks

1954: Jimmy Davies

1955: Jimmy Bryan

1956: Jimmy Bryan

1957: Rodger Ward

1958: Johnny Thomson

1959: Len Sutton

1960: Jim Packard

1961: Jim Hurtubise

1962: Jim Hurtubise

1963: Rodger Ward

1964: A.J. Foyt

1965: A.J. Foyt

1966: Don Branson

1967: A.J. Foyt

1968: Roger McCluskey

1969: Mario Andretti

1970: Al Unser

1971: A.J. Foyt

1972: Al Unser

1973: Mario Andretti

1974: Mario Andretti

1975: Al Unser

1976: Tom Bigelow

1977: Larry Rice

1978: Gary Bettenhausen

1979: Bobby Olivero

1980: Pancho Carter

1981: George Snider

1982: Larry Dickson & Bobby Olivero

1983: Gary Bettenhausen

1984: Chuck Gurney

1985: Chuck Gurney

1986: Jack Hewitt

1987: Jack Hewitt

1988: Steve Chassey

1989: Chuck Gurney

1990: Chuck Gurney

1991: Chuck Gurney

1992: Jimmy Sills

1993: Jack Hewitt

1994: Chuck Gurney

1995: Kenny Irwin, Jr.

1996: Chuck Gurney

1997: Dave Darland

1998: Russ Gamester

1999: Dave Darland

2000: Jack Hewitt

2001: Paul White

2002: J.J. Yeley

2003: Dave Darland

2004: Brian Tyler

2005: Brian Tyler

2006: Tracy Hines

2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

2008: Brian Tyler

2009: Cole Whitt

2011: Brian Tyler

2012: A.J. Fike

2013: A.J. Fike

2014: Kody Swanson

2015: Kody Swanson

2017: Justin Grant

2018: Chris Windom