By Richie Murray
Belleville, Kansas (May 19, 2023)………Brady Bacon sped to the top of the charts as the fastest overall in Friday night’s USAC Silver Crown practice at the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks.
Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) muscled his Chris Dyson Racing/Concord American Flagpole – Macri Concrete – Racer Magazine/Maxim/Ott Chevy to the number one spot at the half-mile dirt circle with a time of 17.040 seconds.
The four-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship participated in just one of the three practice sessions in preparation for a full program of racing at Belleville on Saturday night, May 20. Bacon had just turned his fastest lap when smoke began to pour from the car, sending him to the sideline for the remainder of the evening.
Bacon, who finished seventh in his only previous USAC Silver Crown run at Belleville in 2015, bested the field of 28 in Friday’s practice. Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) timed in second overall at 17.220 with Shane Cottle (Kansas, Ill.) third at 17.236. Seven-time Silver Crown champ Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.), who won at Belleville in 2014, was fourth overall at 17.387 while C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) rounded out the top-five at 17.411.
Meanwhile, a handful of others encountered mechanical trouble that curtailed their participation during the practice sessions, including the DMW Motorsports duo of Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) and Matt Mitchell (Yorba Linda, Calif.), plus Taylor Ferns (Shelby Township, Mich.), Casey Buckman (Chandler, Ariz.) and Tom Paterson (Argos, Ind.), who likewise, also pulled off the track with apparent mechanical issues.
RACE DETAILS:
On Saturday, it’s a full race day for both the USAC Silver Crown and USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship divisions. The pits open at 3pm Central. Front gates open at 5:30pm. Hot laps start at 6:30pm, followed by qualifying and racing. General admission and reserved tickets are $30. General admission and reserved tickets for ages 12 and under are $20. Pit passes are $40 apiece.
Saturday’s racing action from Belleville can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/3Kdc2na.
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USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: May 19, 2023 – Belleville High Banks – Belleville, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track
PRACTICE: 1. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-17.040; 2. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-17.220; 3. Shane Cottle, 74, Hodges-17.236; 4. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-17.387; 5. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-17.411; 6. Mitchel Moles, 97, Lein-17.429; 7. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-17.533; 8. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-17.715; 9. Shane Cockrum, 71, BLS-17.801; 10. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-17.860; 11. Casey Buckman, 25, C-Buck-17.911; 12. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-17.950; 13. Wayne Johnson, 12, Two C-17.973; 14. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-18.177; 15. Trey Burke, 11, Hamilton-18.256; 16. Matt Westfall, 81, BCR-18.346; 17. Patrick Bruns, 95, Full Throttle-18.734; 18. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-18.815; 19. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-18.836; 20. Matt Mitchell, 5, DMW-18.854; 21. Chris Fetter, 15, Fetter-19.341; 22. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams-19.596; 23. Tyler Roahrig, 19, Legacy-19.722; 24. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-20.363; 25. Danny Long, 44, Long-20.372; 26. Tom Paterson, 111, Paterson-26.257; 27. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-NT; 28. Kevin Thomas Jr., 53, FTM-NT.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 20, 2023 – Belleville High Banks – Belleville, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track