C.J. Leary muscled his way to the top of the charts in the third and final session to become the fastest driver of Friday night’s USAC Silver Crown National Championship practice at Hutchinson, Kansas’ Salt City Speedway. (Jack Reitz Photo)
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Hutchinson, Kansas (July 19, 2024)………C.J. Leary muscled his way to the top of the charts in the third and final session to become the fastest driver of Friday night’s USAC Silver Crown National Championship practice at Hutchinson, Kansas’ Salt City Speedway.
The practice night was the final tune-up prior to Saturday night’s USAC Silver Crown Murphy Tractor & Equipment Salt City 100 on July 20, marking the series’ debut at the 1/2-mile dirt oval.
Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) powered to a time of 22.039 seconds in his Klatt Enterprises/Wilwood Disc Brakes – Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Penske – Hoosier Tire/Beast/Ford, best in the field of 19 drivers and teams who took time. Twenty-three entries are expected to compete on Saturday night.
Leading USAC Silver Crown Rookie Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) was impressive, topping the first of the three practice sessions and was second overall with a 22.347 second lap. Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) was the best in the second session and third overall at a 22.514. Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was fourth fastest overall while Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.) rounded out the top-five at 22.658. Bryson won the most recent USAC Silver Crown event in Kansas this past May at the Belleville High Banks.
Only one minor incident occurred during the practice session when USAC Silver Crown newcomer Danny Jennings (Norman, Okla.) spun backwards in turn three. However, no contact was made, and the six-time Hutchinson Grand Nationals sprint car winner was able to continue on.
SATURDAY RACE DETAILS:
The Saturday, July 20, program will feature USAC Silver Crown practice, qualifying and racing, plus feature events for the URSS Sprint Cars and a complete program for the IMCA SportMods. General admission tickets are $31 and kids tickets are $14.50. Tickets can be purchased in advance at https://saltcityracingllc.com/ or at the gate on race day.
Saturday night’s program will feature full LIVE coverage on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.
If needed, the rain date for the event is Sunday, July 21.
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: July 19, 2024 – Salt City Speedway – Hutchinson, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Murphy Tractor & Equipment Salt City 100
PRACTICE: 1. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-22.039; 2. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-22.347; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9, Dyson-22.514; 4. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-22.579; 5. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-22.658; 6. Mario Clouser, 21, Team AZ-22.663; 7. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-22.705; 8. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-22.768; 9. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-22.950; 10. Kyle Steffens, 08, Steffens-23.000; 11. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-23.259; 12. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-23.490; 13. Kip Hughes, 160, Hughes-23.611; 14. Steve Gennetten, 03, Gennetten-23.839; 15.Nathan Moore, 48, Thomas/Moore-24.081; 16. Danny Jennings, 61, Grace-24.175; 17. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-24.359; 18. Danny Long, 44, Long-25.297; 19. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-25.389.
USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Kody Swanson-365, 2-Justin Grant-355, 3-C.J. Leary-331, 4-Logan Seavey-306, 5-Bobby Santos-250, 6-Taylor Ferns-235, 7-Kaylee Bryson-205, 8-Trey Osborne-197, 9-Trey Burke-197, 10-Kyle Steffens-193.
USAC NATIONAL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Daison Pursley-109, 2-Robert Ballou-103, 3-Logan Seavey-97, 4-Joey Amantea-86, 5-C.J. Leary-85, 6-Justin Grant-82, 7-Kyle Cummins-68, 8-Brady Bacon-60, 9-Matt Westfall-53, 10-Carson Garrett-52.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: July 20, 2024 – Salt City Speedway – Hutchinson, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Murphy Tractor & Equipment Salt City 100
