By Richie Murray
Springfield, Illinois (August 18, 2021)………Three former Bettenhausen 100 winners are part of an expected field of 40 USAC Silver Crown drivers for the 58th running of the event on the one-mile dirt oval at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield this Saturday, August 21.
Past Bettenhausen 100 winners in Saturday’s massive lineup include two-time winner in 2014-15, Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), who captured the most recent USAC Silver Crown race win and leads the points entering the 100-mile race at the Springfield Mile. Springfield’s 2017 winner Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and 2018 victor Chris Windom (Canton, Ill.) are in the lineup as well. All three drivers are also past USAC Silver Crown champions.
In fact, the field features an outstanding number of USAC National champions throughout its lineup, including Silver Crown titlists Ken Schrader (Fenton, Mo.) and Jerry Coons Jr. (Patty Bateman), plus USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champs Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.) and C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), in addition to 2018 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.), the winner of the most recent dirt race on the USAC Silver Crown schedule.
The list of USAC Silver Crown winners on the trail who are seeking a first Springfield victory with the series consists of David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wis.), Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.) and Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.).
USAC National Sprint Car and Midget winners vying for a breakthrough in the USAC Silver Crown series are Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio), Kyle Cummins (Princeton, Ind.), Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Ind.) and Dave Peperak (Clinton, Ind.), whose last appearance with the series came in 1983!
They’ll be joined by an impressive array of drivers who’ll make up the largest field for a USAC Silver Crown event since the 2018 Springfield race.
The 58th Bettenhausen 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship & the 28th Annual Illinois Sportsman Nationals DIRTcar Racing Sportsman Prelims.
Pits and registration open at 7am Central. The ticket office and grandstands open at 9am. The drivers meeting will take place at 9:30am. Silver Crown practice runs from 10-11:10am followed by Fatheadz Eyewear qualifying at 11:30am Sportsman hot laps at Noon, Silver Crown semi-feature at 12:30pm, Sportsman heats at 1pm, pre-race ceremonies at 1:30pm and the USAC Silver Crown Bettenhausen 100 race at 2pm.
Tickets will be available on race day or by calling the State Fair office at 217-782-1979. Info and tickets can also be obtained by calling the Track Enterprises office at 217-764-3200.
Advance tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. At the gate on race day, adults are $30 and $10 for children 11 and under. Infield tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for children 11 and under. Pit passes are $35 for USAC members and $40 for non-members. Infield parking is $5 for those park in infield with no infield or pit passes.
Every lap of Saturday’s Bettenhausen 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.
BETTENHAUSEN 100 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRY LIST: (40 CARS)
08 Kyle Steffens/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
2 Patrick Lawson/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)
11 Cary Oliver/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver)
14 Steven Russell/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports)
6 Jason McDougal/Broken Arrow, OK (Klatt Enterprises)
7 Kyle Robbins/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
9 Kody Swanson/Kingsburg, CA (Chris Dyson Racing)
10 Jake Swanson/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
16 Austin Nemire/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
18 Travis Welpott/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 Chris Phillips/Plainfield, IN (Nolen Racing)
21 Ken Schrader/Fenton, MO (Mark Swanson Encore Team)
22 Logan Seavey/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
24 Mike Haggenbottom/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)
30 C.J. Leary/Greenfield, IN (Leary Racing)
31 Dave Berkheimer/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
39 Matt Goodnight/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
40 David Byrne/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
44 Danny Long/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
47 Austin Mundie/Kaufman, TX (Les & Patty Butler)
48 Nathan Moore/Kaufman, TX (Nathan Moore)
52 Carmen Perigo/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
53 Brady Bacon/Broken Arrow, OK (Five Three Motorsports)
54 Matt Westfall/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Racing)
55 Jerry Coons Jr./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)
57 Dallas Hewitt/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt)
66 Robert Ballou/Rocklin, CA (Bill Rose Racing)
69 Kyle Cummins/Princeton, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 Shane Cockrum/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
74 Casey Buckman/Chandler, AZ (C-Buck Racing)
77 Chris Urish/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 Shane Cottle/Kansas, IL (BCR Group)
88 Chris Fetter/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
91 Justin Grant/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
97 Chris Windom/Canton, IL (Hans Lein)
99 Korey Weyant/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
110 Chase Stockon/Fort Branch, IN (DMW Motorsports)
123 Jimmy Light/West Springfield, PA (Two-Three Motorsports)
177 Dave Peperak/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak)
188 Terry Babb/Decatur, IL (Terry Babb)