By Linda Mansfield
MADISON, Ill., June 16 — Doran Binks Racing’s Kody Swanson had to pass Justin Grant on lap 17 and Dakoda Armstrong on lap 45 to do it, but he came away with a hard-fought victory in the Route 66 Centennial Classic USAC Silver Crown race Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) in the Mission Foods #77.
The event was the highlight of Saturday’s card at the 1.25-mile asphalt oval a few miles from St. Louis’s famous Gateway Arch. It hosted the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 NTT IndyCar Series event Sunday night.
The USAC Silver Crown race, which was presented by Ranken Technical College and Welsch Heating & Cooling, featured 66 laps of competition around the 1.25-mile asphalt oval, six laps more than last year’s race.
Swanson started on the pole with the Mission Foods #77, which is also sponsored by Glenn Farms and Wilke Orthodontics, but he slipped to fifth initially when fellow front-row starter Bobby Santos, C.J. Leary, Armstrong and Grant drafted by him. Santos only led the first two laps, however, as Grant, who started fifth, led from laps three through 16.
Swanson advanced to fourth on lap three when Leary dropped from second to fifth. Grant passed Santos for the lead on lap three and Swanson passed Santos and Armstrong working lap four to rise from fourth to second with the #77, which is powered by a Lanci-prepped Ford engine.
Running down Grant became his next order of business. He got under him in Turn 3 working lap 17 to take the lead. But Armstrong passed Grant for second on the very next lap, and immediately began to hound Swanson.
There was a break when the first of two yellows flew with 21 laps down when the driver who was ninth, Jake Trainor, hit the outside wall in Turn 1 and rolled to a stop in Turn 2. Luckily he wasn’t hurt. While the track crew was cleaning up the accident site a problem developed with the track lighting on the frontstretch, which caused a red flag and forced the field to pit lane.
After electricians solved that problem temporarily the green flew again on lap 30, and Armstrong pounced. He passed Swanson to the outside on the frontstretch on the restart to push him back to second.
Swanson was able to keep just one, two, or three-tenths of a second behind him, however. Both Swanson and Armstrong set their fastest race laps up to that point on lap 34, and one lap later they both ran quicker. The third and fourth place drivers at the time, Santos and Grant, also set their fastest race laps to that point on lap 35. The top three bettered their own times on lap 38 as they diced for position, and Santos and Grant ran faster than they had earlier on lap 40 too. Armstrong had just a 0.110-second lead over Swanson at that time.
Leary, who was sixth, dropped out of contention on lap 40 due to a brake problem. He was able to return later, several laps down.
Through it all Swanson stayed right behind Armstrong, searching for a place to pass him. His winning move came working lap 45 when he charged under Armstrong in Turn 3, and he was never again headed.
Swanson set his fastest lap of the race to that point on lap 46, which was second only to Santos, but the second yellow flew on lap 47 due to the same lighting problem that occurred earlier. That turned into another red flag two laps later, and the field again reported to pit lane.
Armstrong spent that red-flag period contemplating how to pass Swanson again, while Swanson spent it thinking about how to hold off Armstrong.
Swanson got a better start than he had done earlier on the restart with 50 laps down, although Armstrong was right behind him. Swanson, Armstrong, and Santos, who was third, all bettered their fastest race laps once again on lap 54 as the laps winded down.
Swanson was able to increase his lead to over 1 second for the first time on lap 56, and 10 laps later he took the checkered flag over Armstrong with a 2.667-second margin of victory. Santos finished third and Grant was fourth. Jackson Macenko was the hard charger, as he finished fifth after starting 11th.
It was USAC Silver Crown victory #46 for Swanson, who is the series’ eight-time and reigning champion and the winningest driver in series history. With the victory he joined Santos as the only two-time winners of a USAC Silver Crown race at this track.
Since Saturday’s race was the first 66-lap USAC Silver Crown race here, it also gave Swanson the track record for that distance.
Swanson also ended up with the fastest race lap honors with his time of 31.057 seconds on lap 54. Armstrong and Santos were second and third in that category due to their fastest race laps on lap 57.
It was a long race and a long day. Saturday’s race was delayed two hours due to rain.
The single practice session scheduled for Saturday morning was rained out, so a combined practice/qualifying session was held Saturday afternoon. Swanson turned 10 laps in that session and it resulted in his 56th series pole, extending his record as the driver with the most pole positions in series history. It was his second pole of the season and his fourth one in a row at this track, as he was also the fastest qualifier here in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The next-closest driver with poles at this track is the late Dave Steele, who had two.
Swanson’s last lap in Saturday’s qualifying session was fastest. It took only 30.797 seconds for an average speed of 146.118 miles per hour. Although it was faster than anyone else ran, it didn’t break the track record Swanson set here last August of 30.239 seconds (148.814 mph) also driving for Doran Binks Racing, which is the fastest official lap ever turned in a traditional USAC Silver Crown car. That 2024 record broke an earlier mark Swanson set here in 2022 driving for Doran Dyson Racing.
Santos III qualified second, only 0.181 behind, followed by Leary, Armstrong, and Grant.
This was Swanson’s first USAC Silver Crown victory of the season.
“It’s tough to get to June and not have a win yet,” Swanson admitted in victory lane to the fans on hand and the Flo Racing audience. “Sometimes we had great runs and just some bad luck, but we never gave up and just kept after it. I appreciate the chance to run for Doran Binks Racing, and to our sponsors and suppliers for their support.
“With the red flags, I just had to try to refocus and get back into a rhythm,” he added. “It’s hard, because there are a bunch of great competitors in this series, and if you give them a chance they’ll steal the lead from you. So that makes any USAC Silver Crown victory very special.”
Swanson will be back in Doran Binks Racing’s Mission Foods #77 at the next asphalt USAC Silver Crown race, which is scheduled for Winchester (Ind.) Speedway on Friday, June 27. That race was postponed May 4 due to rain. The complete schedule can be found on usacracing.com.
Swanson is a native of Kingsburg, Calif., who now lives in Brownsburg, Ind. Doran Binks Racing is headquartered in Lebanon, Ohio.
For more information on Doran Binks Racing see DoranRacing.com and follow it on Facebook.
About Mission Foods:
The Gruma Corporation began in 1949 and is today the leading tortilla manufacturer worldwide. Mission Foods is a proud subsidiary of Gruma, and as the #1 tortilla company in the United States, manufactures a wide variety of authentic Mexican products. Five years ago it opened a state-of-the-art plant in Dallas, Texas, with the capacity to produce 30 million tortillas daily. Today Mission Foods is a global company, with special emphasis not only on the United States but also Mexico, Central America, Europe, China, Malaysia, and Australia. Its products include flour and corn tortillas; tostadas; low-carb, whole wheat, organic and gluten-free items; wraps; flatbreads such as naan, pita and roti; tortilla chips and organic chips; chicharrones; salsa, and dips. For more information see missionfoods.com.