By Dick Jordan
The “magic” returns to the one mile oval in DuQuoin, Ill. Sunday night as the historic “Magic Mile” at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds hosts the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series.
USAC Triple Crown Driving Champion Tony Stewart will be among those intently watching the results as he tries to score a third DuQuoin Silver Crown win. A victory by either of his drivers Sunday (Levi Jones or Bobby East) would actually be his fourth at DuQuoin when added to his 2003 victory as a driver in the ARCA Stock car race.
Stewart, who failed to win at DuQuoin in six tries as a Silver Crown driver, owns a pair of wins as a car owner, with Josh Wise in 2006 and J.J. Yeley in 2003. Bob East, whose son Bobby will team with Levi Jones in Stewart’s cars Sunday, was the co-owner of Yeley’s 2003 car.
Stewart’s six DuQuoin Silver Crown starts between 1992 and 1997 produced a pair of thirds a fourth, fifth and a sixth.
Added incentive Sunday for Jones, of Olney, Ill. and East, of Brownsburg, Ind., will be a record-tying 27th win for the Stewart team, matching the 27 wins achieved by 6R Racing, which will field cars Sunday for Kody and Tanner Swanson, Dave Darland and Brian Tyler. East posted the Stewart team’s 26th series win in June at Iowa Speedway.
East ranks second in the 2012 standings, only four points behind leader Kody Swanson, with Jones fourth, 19 behind third-place Jerry Coons Jr.
A.J. Fike of Galesburg, Ill. and Coons, of Tucson, Ariz., are considered top threats for victory Sunday, following their victories on one-mile dirt ovals already this season. Coons won the “Hoosier Hundred” in Indianapolis, Ind. in May and Fike won the August 18 “Tony Bettenhausen 100” at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.
2012 USAC TRAXXAS SILVER CROWN STANDINGS
1-Kody Swanson-302; 2-Bobby East-298; 3-Jerry Coons Jr.-289; 4-Levi Jones-270; 5-Tanner Swanson-259; 6-Bud Kaeding-259; 7-Bobby Santos-253; 8-A.J. Fike-221; 9-Tracy Hines-217; 10-Brian Tyler-192.