Your Home For Racing News
Posts tagged United States Auto Club
2010 Hoosier Hundred Features New Twists And Turns
May 26th
Race strategy for 100-mile dirt track championship races could change dramatically at the 2010 Hoosier Hundred on May 28 as a new ‘intermission’ period planned on lap 51 may allow race teams to drastically change the handling of their machines and could alter the eventual outcome of the most prestigious dirt track championship race of the K&N Filters USAC Silver Crown schedule.
Promoter Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises and officials of the United States Auto Club met during the off season and in an attempt to provide better racing for the paying customer decided to stop the event with a red flag at lap 51, allowing race teams a short period of time to work on the machines. Should any team change a tire during the ‘intermission’ period, they will restart the second half of the event at the tail end of the field. However, they won’t be far back as the field will restart in DOUBLE FILE order for the second half of the race! The new procedure should allow several variant strategies as the race unfolds.
What won’t change, to the delight of race fans everywhere, is the configuration of the “Track of Champions nor the appearance of the mighty upright dirt championship machines which have run the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds since 1953. A strong field of 34 Silver Crown cars comprises the preliminary entry list with former champions, race winners and hungry youngsters slated to take part.
Slated to defend his 2009 wire to wire win is Shane Hollingsworth of Indianapolis, just the third second generation driver in the 58 year history of the Hoosier Hundred to take a checkered flag in the storied event. He should be challenged by former winners such as Dave Darland of Lincoln, Indiana (1995, 1996, 2004) and Tony Elliot of Kokomo (2000, 2001). Hollingsworth won from the polce last year and held of repeated challenges by Darland. Darland is the 1997 USAC Silver Crown champ and if he could win the race he would join legends such as A.J. Foyt (6) and Al Unser (4) as the only drivers to win at least four Hoosier Hundred events. Elliot came out of semi-retirement to compete on the dirt miles last year at it is uncertain at press time if he will return.
Joining the former winners are USAC stalwarts Tracy Hines of New Castle, Indiana, Jerry Coons Jr. Of Tucson, Arizona, Levi Jones of Olney, Illinois, Russ Gamester of Peru, Indiana, Brian Tyler of Parma, Michigan, AJ. Fike of Galesburg, Illinois, Bud Kaeding of Campbell, California and Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana. Hines is the 2000 USAC Silver Crown champ and with Clauson forms a potent combination for car owner Tony Stewart. Coons won the 2008 USAC Silver Crown title and along with three time (2006, 2007 and 2009) champ Kaeding is still in search of that elusive 100-mile victory on one of the mile dirt tracks. Tyler is always a contender and with Toyota power under the hood could become, as could Hines and Russ Gamester, just the l4th driver in motor racing history to win in a championship car on each of the fairground dirt miles on the schedule. Jones is a three-time USAC sprint car champ who led 99 and 3/4 laps of the 2006 event before being passed by teammate Jo!
sh Wise.
Kaeding took the point lead after the May 22 Iowa event by just 9 over A.J. Fike who won the race for his first series victory and is now in the hunt for a national title. They are chased by Coons, Levi Jones, Kody Swanson, Tyler, Hollingsworth, Bobby East, Derek Hagar and Shane Hmiel.
Other twists and turns for the night of May 28 include ‘pack’ qualifying for the USAC Silver Crown machines, a procedure that has been used before and the excitement of the new 2010 USAC National Driver’s championship which features a large payout to the driver who can win an ‘overall’ title in the United States Auto Club’s three major divisions, Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget Car. A driver’s best 25 finishes count toward the title which pays $40,000 to the national champion. Jerry Coons Jr. leads the current National Champion standings, with Clauson, Hines, Jones and Darland in hot pursuit. Al! 5 are expected to compete in the Hoosier Hundred.
For the just the second time in Hoosier Hundred history a second class of machine will compete on the Indiana State Fair Mile with the mighty uprights as the open wheel modifieds of UMP take to the track for heats and feature racing. This is not the first time for UMP Modifieds to appear on the Indiana mile, they have raced before with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and most recently with UMP Late Models in August of 1997. A large number of drivers from Illinois, Indiana and Ohio are expected to compete in Indianapolis with a ‘triple crown’ championship prize available to the driver with the best finishes in the Indiana Classic May 28, the 20-mile event at Springfield August 21, and the Bill Oldani Memorial at DuQuoin on Labor Day. Each event on the three miles pays $2000 to the winner. Former NASCAR driver and 1982 USAC Silver Crown champ is an early entrant for the Indiana Classic and won the Modified portion of the U.S. Dirt Nationals at Indianapolis in 1992.
Practice for the Hoosier Hundred begins at 5 p/m eastern with modified racing at 7 and the Hoosier Hundred at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Indiana State Fairground Box Office or at 217-764-3200.
_____________________________________________________________________
3:00 p.m. Grandstands and ticket office open
5:00 p.m. Practice
6:00 p.m. Qualifying
6:30 p.m. Modified Heats
7:00 p.m. Race Begins
Adults: $25.00 Child: $10.00
DAY OF CHILD ADMISSION: $10.00
Infield tickets sold race day only – $15.00 Adult & $5.00 Child
Promoter Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises and officials of the United States Auto Club met during the off season and in an attempt to provide better racing for the paying customer decided to stop the event with a red flag at lap 51, allowing race teams a short period of time to work on the machines. Should any team change a tire during the ‘intermission’ period, they will restart the second half of the event at the tail end of the field. However, they won’t be far back as the field will restart in DOUBLE FILE order for the second half of the race! The new procedure should allow several variant strategies as the race unfolds.
What won’t change, to the delight of race fans everywhere, is the configuration of the “Track of Champions nor the appearance of the mighty upright dirt championship machines which have run the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds since 1953. A strong field of 34 Silver Crown cars comprises the preliminary entry list with former champions, race winners and hungry youngsters slated to take part.
Slated to defend his 2009 wire to wire win is Shane Hollingsworth of Indianapolis, just the third second generation driver in the 58 year history of the Hoosier Hundred to take a checkered flag in the storied event. He should be challenged by former winners such as Dave Darland of Lincoln, Indiana (1995, 1996, 2004) and Tony Elliot of Kokomo (2000, 2001). Hollingsworth won from the polce last year and held of repeated challenges by Darland. Darland is the 1997 USAC Silver Crown champ and if he could win the race he would join legends such as A.J. Foyt (6) and Al Unser (4) as the only drivers to win at least four Hoosier Hundred events. Elliot came out of semi-retirement to compete on the dirt miles last year at it is uncertain at press time if he will return.
Joining the former winners are USAC stalwarts Tracy Hines of New Castle, Indiana, Jerry Coons Jr. Of Tucson, Arizona, Levi Jones of Olney, Illinois, Russ Gamester of Peru, Indiana, Brian Tyler of Parma, Michigan, AJ. Fike of Galesburg, Illinois, Bud Kaeding of Campbell, California and Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana. Hines is the 2000 USAC Silver Crown champ and with Clauson forms a potent combination for car owner Tony Stewart. Coons won the 2008 USAC Silver Crown title and along with three time (2006, 2007 and 2009) champ Kaeding is still in search of that elusive 100-mile victory on one of the mile dirt tracks. Tyler is always a contender and with Toyota power under the hood could become, as could Hines and Russ Gamester, just the l4th driver in motor racing history to win in a championship car on each of the fairground dirt miles on the schedule. Jones is a three-time USAC sprint car champ who led 99 and 3/4 laps of the 2006 event before being passed by teammate Jo!
sh Wise.
Kaeding took the point lead after the May 22 Iowa event by just 9 over A.J. Fike who won the race for his first series victory and is now in the hunt for a national title. They are chased by Coons, Levi Jones, Kody Swanson, Tyler, Hollingsworth, Bobby East, Derek Hagar and Shane Hmiel.
Other twists and turns for the night of May 28 include ‘pack’ qualifying for the USAC Silver Crown machines, a procedure that has been used before and the excitement of the new 2010 USAC National Driver’s championship which features a large payout to the driver who can win an ‘overall’ title in the United States Auto Club’s three major divisions, Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget Car. A driver’s best 25 finishes count toward the title which pays $40,000 to the national champion. Jerry Coons Jr. leads the current National Champion standings, with Clauson, Hines, Jones and Darland in hot pursuit. Al! 5 are expected to compete in the Hoosier Hundred.
For the just the second time in Hoosier Hundred history a second class of machine will compete on the Indiana State Fair Mile with the mighty uprights as the open wheel modifieds of UMP take to the track for heats and feature racing. This is not the first time for UMP Modifieds to appear on the Indiana mile, they have raced before with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and most recently with UMP Late Models in August of 1997. A large number of drivers from Illinois, Indiana and Ohio are expected to compete in Indianapolis with a ‘triple crown’ championship prize available to the driver with the best finishes in the Indiana Classic May 28, the 20-mile event at Springfield August 21, and the Bill Oldani Memorial at DuQuoin on Labor Day. Each event on the three miles pays $2000 to the winner. Former NASCAR driver and 1982 USAC Silver Crown champ is an early entrant for the Indiana Classic and won the Modified portion of the U.S. Dirt Nationals at Indianapolis in 1992.
Practice for the Hoosier Hundred begins at 5 p/m eastern with modified racing at 7 and the Hoosier Hundred at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Indiana State Fairground Box Office or at 217-764-3200.
_____________________________________________________________________
Friday, May 28, 2010 – Hoosier Hundred USAC Silver Crown Cars & UMP Modified
12:00 p.m. Registration and pit gates open
3:00 p.m. Grandstands and ticket office open
5:00 p.m. Practice
6:00 p.m. Qualifying
6:30 p.m. Modified Heats
7:00 p.m. Race Begins
Advance Admission
Adults: $25.00 Child: $10.00
DAY OF ADULT ADMISSION: $30.00
DAY OF CHILD ADMISSION: $10.00
For Tickets please call Ticket Master at 1-800-745-3000 or call Track Enterprises at (217) 764-3200.
Pit passes sold race day only – $35.00
Infield tickets sold race day only – $15.00 Adult & $5.00 Child
Spectator parking $3.00 per vehicle
Camping available-$25.00 per night/per unit
Doug Jenkins: Fri Part 2 – 2010 USAC “NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP” ANNOUNCED
Feb 5th
2010 USAC “NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP” ANNOUNCED
The United States Auto Club announced today a new “National Drivers Championship” which will recognize extraordinary performance in 2010 for drivers competing in USAC Racing’s National Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget Championships.
The new National Driving Championship is being instilled to complement the tradition of awarding Championships in each of USAC’s three pillar series. For 2010, the “National Drivers Championship” will calculate points earned based on performance in all three National Series combined. Of the eighty-eight potential races between the three national series (Silver Crown, Sprints & Midgets), USAC will tally points for the best 25 finishes of competitors for recognizing the new overall National Driving Champion.
Doug Jenkins
The National Drivers Champion will be awarded with a year-end payout of $40,000 for the first place alone. A large fund has been established for the top 10 finishing competitors of the National Driving Championship.
The total point fund for the three National series combined is being increased by 35% in 2010, with the increase benefitting both car owners and drivers with USAC’s 50/50 points fund structure. “The new National Drivers Championship has been established to bring fan focus to our top drivers and allow for expanded marketing efforts,” stated Kevin Miller, CEO of USAC Racing. “During 2009, we ran a parallel points structure which proved to have a close top 10 race and dramatic finish for the season.
This will now allow a competitor with just a dirt sprint car or midget, or one with a pavement concentration, to compete for a USAC Championship.” Also for 2010, along with the overall National Sprint Car and Midget Championships, USAC will recognize dirt and pavement points leader car entrants in each of these series at their annual “Night of Champions” banquet scheduled for December 3 at the eloquent Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis. USAC Championships have a storied past and are recognized among the sports most iconic thresholds. Past USAC National Champions include Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Al and Bobby Unser, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne.