From Dick Jordan
The name Andretti is magic when it comes to American oval dirt racing. This Saturday the name returns to the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile in Springfield when Jarett Andretti makes his TRAXXAS USAC Silver Crown dirt debut in the โTony Bettenhausen 100.โ
Jarett will be the third Andretti to test the Springfield mile. His great uncle Mario won the โTony Bettenhausen 100โ three times (1969, 1973 and 1974 and was USACโs 1974 Silver Crown Champion. His father John competed in the 1985 race and finished seventh.
โI have to thank car owner Dennis McQuinn for the opportunity,โ says Jarett, USACโs 2011 Eastern Ford Focus Champion. โItโs always been a dream of mine to compete on the dirt miles and Iโm sure itโll be a learning curve for me. Fortunately, Iโll have Dave Darland as a teammate to help me and Iโve already spent some time talking to Jack Hewitt who has been a great mentor.โ Hewitt owns more USAC Silver Crown victories than anybody (23) and has three โTony Bettenhausen 100โ trophies in his collection.
Andretti, of Mooresville, N.C., made his USAC Sprint Car debut earlier this year and has spent some time this year competing in selected dirt-track races in the Midwest.
He competed in Silver Crown cars on the mile paved ovals at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill. and Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo., earning an eighth-place in Colorado.
Saturdayโs โTony Bettenhausen 100โ is the sixth stop on the 2013 TRAXXAS Silver Crown calendar and so far nobody has been able to score a second win. Levi Jones won the Indianapolis, Ind. opener in May, while Bobby Santos was the June Madison, Ill. winner. Bobby East won in June in Colorado and Tanner Swanson won in Indianapolis in July.
Tracy Hines, the most recent winner at Belleville, Kans, leads the series standings entering this Saturdayโs race. The series will conclude September 1 at DuQuoin, Ill. and September 21 at Rossburg, Ohio.