#77 Kody Swanson goes wheel-to-wheel with #6 C.J. Leary at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway. (Chris Pedersen Photo)
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Toledo, Ohio (April 15, 2024)………Twenty-three USAC Silver Crown drivers and teams are entered for the running of the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled by Marco’s Pizza on Saturday, April 20, at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.
All three past USAC Silver Crown winners at Toledo will be in the field for Saturday’s season opener for the champ cars at the half-mile paved oval.
Seven-time USAC Silver Crown champion Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) has undoubtedly been the master of the race, starting from the pole six times and winning five in a row and six overall, including the 2011-15-18-19-21-22 editions. The driver of the Doran Racing No. 77 stands as the all-time winningest USAC driver at Toledo.
Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.) captured a pair of Rollie Beale Classic Silver Crown victories in both 2010 and 2012. The 2008 Silver Crown champ also scored the pole position at Toledo in 2010. One of seven members of USAC’s career Triple Crown Club, Coons will wheel the No. 24 entry owned by Haggenbottom Racing.
Bobby Santos (Franklin, Mass.) possesses victories in USAC’s Silver Crown, National Sprint Car and National Midget divisions at Toledo in his fantastic career. Back in 2017, the past NASCAR Modified champion took top honors in the 100-lap Silver Crown affair at Toledo and will be driving his familiar No. 98 for the DJ Racing team.
Those three past winners are joined by past USAC Silver Crown champions by the likes of Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey (2023), Ione, California’s Justin Grant (2020) and Peru, Indiana’s Russ Gamester, the 1989 USAC National Midget driving titlist.
An array of Silver Crown veterans in the Toledo field include Kyle Steffens (St. Charles, Mo.), Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.), C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), Travis Welpott (Pendleton, Ind.), Davey Hamilton Jr. (Boise, Idaho), Kaylee Bryson (Muskogee, Okla.), Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Ind.), Nathan Byrd (Goodyear, Ariz.), Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Ind.), Trey Burke (Alvin, Texas), Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.), Derek Bischak (Angola, Ind.) and Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.).
Three USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contenders are in the lineup for their first go at Toledo. The class consists of Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas), Trey Osborne (Columbus, Ohio) and Jackson Macenko (Cincinnati, Ohio).
Saturday’s event honors legendary Toledo native, 1973 USAC Sprint Car champion driver and longtime USAC official Rollie Beale. Beale scored 32 race victories during his illustrious career and was one of the most respected drivers in USAC history. He retired in 1977 and joined the USAC officiating crew, eventually becoming chief steward for both the Silver Crown and National Sprint Car series for many years.
In 1991, Beale was awarded USAC’s Ross Hadley award for dedication to the sport. He was also enshrined in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1996 and captured a monumental victory in the Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway in 1966. He passed away at the age of 84 in February of 2014.
An open practice session will be held at Toledo Speedway on Friday, April 19. Pits open at 2pm Eastern with practice on track from 4-8pm. The first hour will consist of USAC Silver Crown practice only. Pit passes are $20 and rigs can stay parked in the pits overnight.
Saturday’s Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness Rollie Beale Classic Fueled by Marco’s Pizza race day features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship plus the ARCA Salenbien Excavating Late Model Sportsman & the Safety Kleen ARCA Factory Stocks.
The USAC pit gate opens at 10am Eastern when rigs can begin parking on parking pads 1-30. The track ticket office and spectator gates open at 12:30pm. USAC Silver Crown practice will take place from 12:30-1:15pm. USAC Silver Crown Qualifying begins at 1:45pm. Parade laps for the vintage cars are set for 2:35pm. Pre-race ceremonies will commence at 2:50pm. Racing action starts at 3pm followed by driver introductions and the Rollie Beale Classic 100-lap feature.
General admission tickets are $25 apiece. Kids age 6-12 are $5. Ages 5 & under are free. Add $1 per ticket for advance online ticket purchases at http://www.toledospeedway.com/.
ENTRY LIST:
08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)
6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
19 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Boise, ID (Legacy Autosport)
22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing)
24 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (John Haggenbottom)
26 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Sam Pierce)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)
40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Legacy Autosport)
41 TYLER ROAHRIG/Plymouth, IN (Michael Newman)
48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Chip Thomas)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
60 TREY BURKE/Alvin, TX (Robert Wilson Racing)
77 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Binks Racing)
81 (R) TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (BCR Group)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
92 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Kazmark Motorsports)
98 BOBBY SANTOS/Franklin, MA (DJ Racing)
124 (R) JACKSON MACENKO/Cincinnati, OH (Brad Hayes Racing-Nick Bohanon Racing)
131 DEREK BISCHAK/Angola, IN (Derek Bischak)
555 TAYLOR FERNS/Shelby Township, MI (Taylor Ferns Racing)
® USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series Rookie of the Year contender
