From Richie Murray
(April 26, 2022) — The largest car count for the Sumar Classic in a quarter century is expected to compete in this Sunday’s, May 1, Sumar Classic USAC Silver Crown season opener at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track.
Thirty-six entries are on the list, the most since 36 also appeared at the 1997 edition of the event.
This year’s race encompasses many of the most accomplished racers in the history of USAC racing. Five past Sumar Classic winners are in the field, including Parma, Michigan’s Brian Tyler (2004); Kingsburg, California’s Kody Swanson (2014); Benton, Illinois’ Shane Cockrum (2015); Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary (2016) and Ione, California’s Justin Grant (2018).
The lineup consists of three past USAC Silver Crown champions, including six-time titlist Swanson (2014-15-17-18-19-21), plus Grant (2020) and Tucson, Arizona’s Jerry Coons Jr. (2008). Eight USAC National champions in total make up the field, with those three along with 1996-97 USAC National Sprint Car king Tyler, plus 2014-16-20-21 Sprint champ Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and 2019 Sprint titlist C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.).
USAC National Midget champs Coons, along with Sutter, California’s Logan Seavey (2018) and first-time Silver Crown racer, Penngrove, California’s Buddy Kofoid (2021), are in the lineup. Past USAC Silver Crown race winners David Byrne (Shullsburg, Wis.), Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) and Eric Gordon (Greenfield, Ind.) are seeking Sumar Classic win number one.
The Sumar Classic remains one of the most hotly-contested and unpredictable events of the season with no repeat winners over the past 14 editions since 1999.
It all begins Sunday, May 1, at the Terre Haute Action Track in western Indiana. Pits open at 1pm Eastern with the front gates opening at 2pm, the drivers meeting at 4pm and practice beginning at 5pm, followed by Fatheadz Qualifying, the last chance qualifying race and the 100-lap Sumar Classic feature event.
Tickets are $30 for the grandstands, $20 for the infield and $35 for the pits. Kids age 10 and under are free!
The 19th running of the Sumar Classic can be watched live and on-demand on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3dgONXz.
SUMAR CLASSIC ENTRY LIST: (36 Entries)
08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)
1 KODY SWANSON/Kingsburg, CA (Doran-Dyson Racing)
2 PATRICK LAWSON/Edwardsville, IL (Patrick Lawson)
6 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Klatt Enterprises)
7 KYLE ROBBINS/New Castle, IN (KR Racing)
8 DAVEY RAY/Davenport, IA (Cornell Racing Stables)
10 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA (DMW Motorsports)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
20 (R) EMERSON AXSOM/Franklin, IN (Nolen Racing)
22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
27 JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Daigh-Phillips Motorsports)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
32 (R) GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)
33 (R) RONNIE WUERDEMAN/Cincinnati, OH (Wuerdeman Family Racing)
40 DAVID BYRNE/Shullsburg, WI (Byrne Racing)
44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
49 (R) BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman)
52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
53 BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (Five Three Motorsports)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Westfall Motorsports)
55 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ (Patty Bateman)
57 DALLAS HEWITT/Troy, OH (Dallas Hewitt)
66 BILL ROSE/Plainfield, IN (Bill Rose Racing)
69 (R) CHASE STOCKON/Fort Branch, IN (Pink 69 Racing)
71 SHANE COCKRUM/Benton, IL (BLS Motorsports)
74 SHANE COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Hodges Motorsports)
77 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Dave Peperak Motorsports)
81 BRIAN TYLER/Parma, MI (BCR Group)
88 TERRY BABB/Decatur, IL (Terry Babb)
89 CHRIS FETTER/Troy, MO (Chris Fetter)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
97 (R) BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Hans Lein)
99 ERIC GORDON/Greenfield, IN (Brad & Tara Armstrong)
110 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (DMW Motorsports)
199 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender