By Richie Murray
Du Quoin, Illinois (August 30, 2021)………Shane Cottle will find himself in a different USAC Silver Crown ride for the first time in nearly a decade when the series hits the track this Saturday night, September 4, for the Ted Horn 100 on the Magic Mile of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois.
Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) will pilot the DMW Motorsports No. 110 Saturday at both Du Quoin and on September 24-25 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, as the fourth-ranking driver in 2021 USAC Silver Crown points will finish out the season on the dirt tracks.
The announcement comes after the parting of ways between the longest-tenured USAC Silver Crown driver and owner pairing of Cottle and the Springfield, Ohio-based BCR Group No. 81, which he’s made 39 series starts in over the course of the past seven seasons since their first outing in 2015, highlighted by a victory in the 2020 season opener at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway.
The last time Cottle drove in the USAC Silver Crown series for any team other than the BCR Group, it was with McQuinn Motorsports in 2012.
Cottle and BCR went separate ways following the Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield during late August and Cottle didn’t remain a free agent for long. Cottle called up DMW Motorsports car owner Mickey Meyer out of Arizona and a deal was struck instantaneously.
“He’s been wanting me to drive it for a while,” Cottle said of Meyer. “I called him up and said, ‘I’m available,’ and he said, ‘all right, we’re going to Du Quoin.’”
While the Cottle/Meyer partnership is new for the USAC Silver Crown series, the two have worked together in USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship competition during June’s Eastern Storm, which saw Cottle turn in his best performance of the season, leading a race-high 16 laps and finishing second in the feature during the round at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park.
“I’ve worked with Mickey before, and I think we’ll be pretty decent right out of the box,” Cottle said. “Mickey is pretty sharp on setup stuff, and every time I’ve driven his sprint car, we were pretty quick. He puts together a good car.”
Cottle, a floor installer by day and racer at night, has made 63 career USAC Silver Crown starts with two career wins. He’ll now pair with teammate Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.), who’ll pilot the DMW Motorsports No. 10. Swanson finished a career-best third at Selinsgrove on August 8 of this year, then led 28 laps and finished sixth at Springfield on August 21.
In the same Springfield race, Chase Stockon drove the No. 110, running inside the top-five for a good portion before finishing 10th in the final tally.
Saturday’s Ted Horn 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship along with the 27th Annual Bill Oldani Memorial Prelims for UMP Modifieds.
Pits and registration open at 1pm Central. The ticket office and grandstands open at 4pm. USAC Silver Crown practice takes place from 5-6:10pm, with Silver Crown Fatheadz Qualifying at 6:30pm, UMP Modified heat races at 7:15pm and the USAC Silver Crown Ted Horn 100 at 8:15pm.
Tickets will be available on race day or by calling the Du Quoin Fair office at 618-542-1535. Info and tickets can also be obtained by calling the Track Enterprises office at 217-764-3200.
Advance tickets (presale) are $25 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Tickets at the gate on race day are $30 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under. Pit passes are $35 for members and $40 for non-member adults. Pit passes are $20 for children 11 and under.
Saturday’s Ted Horn 100 will be aired live on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/2ZpafUr.