By Richie Murray
Springfield, Illinois (August 16, 2022)………The biggest field for a USAC Silver Crown event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 21 seasons is set for battle this Saturday, August 20, in the 59th running of the Bettenhausen 100 Presented By Hunt Brothers Pizza.
Forty-four (44) cars and drivers are entered for the 100-lap, 100-mile event on the historic Springfield mile dirt oval. That’s the most for the event since the 2001 race, which boasted 47 entries.
Five past Bettenhausen 100 winners are in this year’s field, led by four-time winner Brian Tyler (Parma, Mich.), three-time victor Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), two-time triumphant driver A.J. Fike (Galesburg, Ill.) as well as one-time winners Russ Gamester (Peru, Ind.) and Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.).
Fike is one of nine Illinoisans in the field along with series winners Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.), Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) and Chris Urish (Elkhart, Ill.). Cockrum, Cottle and Urish have all been victorious with the Silver Crown series on the Du Quoin mile in southern Illinois but are seeking their first at Springfield. They are joined by fellow Land of Lincolners Patrick Lawson (Edwardsville, (Ill.), Cary Oliver (Buncombe, Ill.), Steven Russell (Rochester, Ill.), Patrick Bruns (Champaign, Ill.) and Korey Weyant (Springfield, Ill.).
Seven past Bettenhausen 100 pole winners are in the lineup, including Swanson (2014-15-21), Tucson, Arizona’s Jerry Coons Jr. (2004-17-18), Gamester (1997-98), Fike (2009 & 13), Plainfield, Indiana’s Bill Rose (1999), Tyler (2012) and Grant (2020).
USAC National Champions Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) and C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) are in the championship hunt, residing second and third in the standings, respectively, behind point leader Kody Swanson. Reigning USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Champion and current point leader Buddy Kofoid (Penngrove, Calif.) will be making his maiden voyage at the Bettenhausen 100 this Saturday.
On Saturday, August 20, at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill., the 59th running of the Bettenhausen 100 presented by Hunt Brothers Pizza brings the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, plus the 29th Annual Illinois Sportsman Nationals DIRTcar Sportsman Prelims. Pits and registration open at 7am central, front gates at 9am, practice from 10-11:10am, Fatheadz Qualifying at 11:30am, qualifying race at 12:30pm and the 100-mile main event at 2pm.
Saturday’s event can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3OivVbj.
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ENTRY LIST FOR THE 2022 BETTENHAUSEN 100 PRESENTED BY HUNT BROTHERS PIZZA:
06 BRYAN GOSSEL/Fort Collins, CO (Bryan Gossel)
08 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Gordon Steffens)
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)
11 (R) CARY OLIVER/Buncombe, IL (Cary Oliver)
14 STEVEN RUSSELL/Rochester, IL (McQuinn Motorsports)
15 (R) WAYNE JOHNSON/Oklahoma City, OK (McQuinn Motorsports)
16 AUSTIN NEMIRE/Sylvania, OH (Nemire-Lesko Racing)
18 TRAVIS WELPOTT/Pendleton, IN (Welpott Racing)
22 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Rice Motorsports)
24 MIKE HAGGENBOTTOM/Levittown, PA (John Haggenbottom)
27 JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (Daigh-Phillips Motorsports)
31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Berkheimer Racing)
32 (R) GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams Racing)
39 MATT GOODNIGHT/Winchester, IN (Goodnight Racing)
44 DANNY LONG/Bonne Terre, MO (Danny Long)
48 (R) NATHAN MOORE/Kaufman, TX (Joe Moore)
49 (R) BRIAN RUHLMAN/Clarklake, MI (Brian Ruhlman)
51 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
52 CARMEN PERIGO/Stoystown, PA (John Stehman)
53 A.J. FIKE/Galesburg, IL (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 CHRIS URISH/Elkhart, IL (Chris Urish)
81 BRIAN TYLER/Parma, MI (BCR Group)
88 (R) TYE MIHOCKO/Phoenix, AZ (Sammy & Mouren Fetter)
91 JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (Hemelgarn Racing)
95 PATRICK BRUNS/Champaign, IL (Full Throttle Racing)
97 (R) BUDDY KOFOID/Penngrove, CA (Hans Lein)
99 ERIC GORDON/Greenfield, IN (Brad & Tara Armstrong)
110 CASEY BUCKMAN/Chandler, AZ (DMW Motorsports)
111 (R) TOM PATERSON/Argos, IN (Tom Paterson)
123 JIMMY LIGHT/West Springfield, PA (Two-Three Motorsports)
177 (R) DAVE PEPERAK/Clinton, IN (Peperak Motorsports)
199 KOREY WEYANT/Springfield, IL (Scott Weyant)
(R) represents a USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year contender