By Richie Murray
Belleville, Kansas (May 17, 2024)………Brady Bacon left the Belleville (Kan.) High Banks a USAC Silver Crown winner one year ago. On Friday night, he and his Chris Dyson Racing No. 9 showed that they’re still the ones to beat at the 1/2-mile dirt oval in 2024.
Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) was the quickest of all in Friday’s USAC Silver Crown practice at Belleville, which served as the final tune-up for teams and drivers before the 50-lap Huncovsky Classic main event set for Saturday night, May 18.
Bacon’s lap of 16.834 seconds was just a tick off Kody Swanson’s Belleville Silver Crown track record of 16.823, set in 2023. Furthermore, Bacon’s time was four tenths of a second faster than his next closest competitor.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) was second fastest at 17.294 followed by Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.) at 17.410. Defending series champion Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) was fourth at 17.481 while Swanson (Kingsburg, Calif.) rounded out the top-five at 17.491. Swanson won the event in 2014.
On Saturday night, May 18, at Belleville, it’s a full race day for both the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget and USAC Silver Crown divisions. The pits open at 3pm Central with the front gates opening at 5:30pm, the drivers meeting at 5:30pm and 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. A one-day pit pass is $40 and two-day pit passes are $60. Advance tickets are on sale now at www.BellevilleHighBanks.org. Tickets will be available at the gate on both race days.
The entire weekend of events can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac.
===============
USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: May 17, 2024 – Belleville High Banks – Belleville, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic
PRACTICE: 1. Brady Bacon, 9, Dyson-16.834; 2. C.J. Leary, 6, Klatt-17.294; 3. Mario Clouser, 92, Kazmark-17.410; 4. Logan Seavey, 22, Rice/Abacus-17.481; 5. Kody Swanson, 77, Doran/Binks-17.491; 6. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-17.553; 7. Mitchel Moles, 119, Reinbold/Underwood-17.559; 8. Chase Stockon, 69, Pink 69-17.561; 9. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-17.655; 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 12, TwoC-17.705; 11. Daison Pursley, 21, Team AZ-17.732; 12. Jerry Coons Jr., 55, Bateman-17.740; 13. Shane Cottle, 53, Five Three-17.767; 14. Taylor Ferns, 555, Ferns-17.775; 15. Kaylee Bryson, 26, Pierce-17.846; 16. Trey Osborne, 81, BCR-17.880; 17. Briggs Danner, 10, DMW-17.98; 18. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-18.109; 19. Robert Ballou, 97, Lein-18.218; 20. Trey Burke, 60, Legacy/Wilson-18.276; 21. Gregg Cory, 32, Williams/Cory-19.320; 22. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-20.415; 23. Dave Peperak, 777, Peperak-21.542; 24. Danny Long, 44, Long-21.935.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: May 18, 2024 – Belleville High Banks – Belleville, Kansas – 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval – Huncovsky Classic