From Dick Jordan
The “Sumar Classic” 100 is on tap this Saturday night at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track and only 62 points separate the top five drivers in the standings entering the program, with 66 points available.
Three-time series champ Bud Kaeding of Campbell, Calif. has a 41-point lead over Levi Jones going into Saturday’s race, seeking a record fourth series championship. Jimmy Sills also won three series titles in the 1990s but Kaeding owns three of the last four!
Jones, Shane Hmiel, Kody Swanson and Jerry Coons Jr. are just 21 points apart in their current battle for second place but Jones may hold the advantage with five USAC Sprint victories on the Terre Haute half mile in the last five years.
Dave Darland, with a second and two fifths in 2010 Silver Crown dirt races, is the defending champion (2008) of the “Sumar Classic” 100, which was not held in 2009. Dave is a three-time Terre Haute USAC feature winner.
Saturday’s race is the penultimate round of the 2010 championship, with the “Rollie Beale 150” series finale slated October 16 at Toledo, Ohio.
Kaeding needs to leave Terre Haute with a 67-point advantage to lock up his record fourth title.
Seven different drivers have won the seven Silver Crown races to date. The last time a different driver won every race during a Silver Crown season was in 1990.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS
1-Bud Kaeding-341, 2-Levi Jones-300, 3-Shane Hmiel-299, 4-Kody Swanson-289, 5-Jerry Coons Jr.-279, 6-Brian Tyler-263, 7-A.J. Fike-259, 8-Bryan Clauson-258, 9-Tracy Hines-220, 10-Bobby East-217.