By Richie Murray
Hutchinson, Kansas (July 16, 2025)………Salt City Speedway is a historic and renowned racetrack that exudes history. It’s a gem that is known far and wide and just so happens to be located right in the heart of Hutchinson, Kansas.
USAC Silver Crown / champ car / big car racing oozes with history in its own right, harkening back to the origins of motorsports around the turn of the 20th century. It’s where driving skills remain of utmost importance and will be on display during a full-on practice on Friday, July 18, followed by a full slate on race day, Saturday, July 19.
Throughout this weekend’s Evans Building Salt City 100 at Hutchinson, drivers will be faced with having to negotiate the beautiful balance between speed, patience, bravery and concentration for 100 laps. It’s a racetrack with a beacon of history, just like USAC Silver Crown racing.
The amalgamation of all these elements is the reason we’ll be there. That’s the reason you should be there. Now let’s make some history! Here are a few of the storylines to watch this weekend at Hutch.
LEARY WANTS REDEMPTION
C.J. Leary very well could’ve been the first ever USAC Silver Crown winner at Salt City Speedway in 2024. However, after leading 15 laps late in the race, a turn two collision with Kevin Thomas Jr. while battling for the top spot sent Leary flipping upside down.
Leary (Greenfield, Indiana) currently ranks second in series points after accumulating four top-five finishes in seven starts. It’s been three years since his last series victory, and Leary is champing at the bit to change that fact this weekend in his Team AZ-Rossi-Petty Performance Racing entry.
SPEAKING OF…
Speaking of the Team AZ-Rossi-Petty Performance Racing stable, they will once again field a second entry for driver Mario Clouser.
Clouser (Auburn, Illinois) actually made his one and only run for the team at Salt City one year ago. Clouser started fourth but dropped out with 12 laps remaining due to a broken fuel pump drive.
He’s finished a solid 8th, 3rd and 7th in his three series starts this season, while adding a pole position to his resume at IRP.
COCKRUM BOLTS HIS SEAT IN
Another new combination for Salt City has also landed Shane Cockrum in the Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing No. 22.
Logan Seavey finished as the runner-up for the team one year ago at Salt City. This year, the team has had a cast of drivers that has included Seavey, Clouser, Derek Bischak and now Cockrum.
Cockrum, a five-time winner in USAC Silver Crown competition, has won twice with the series on 1/2-mile dirt ovals, including Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track in 2015 and Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway in 2021. It’s not Cockrum’s first USAC Silver Crown rodeo at Salt City, however. In 2024, he worked on the crew for driver Kip Hughes, who also returns to the lineup this weekend.
GRANT IN KANSAS
Justin Grant’s lone trip to Kansas thus far during the 2025 USAC Silver Crown season resulted in a dominant victory in May at the Belleville High Banks where he led all 50 laps en route to victory.
Grant enters the event commanding the USAC Silver Crown standings by an 89-point margin following five top-two results in seven series starts, plus a pair of victories and nary a finish worse than seventh.
In his first run at Salt City in 2024, Grant qualified third and was running fourth with 23 laps remaining when a cam issue knocked him out of the race.
A NEW WINNING TRADITION IN KANSAS
In nine USAC Silver Crown races contested in the state of Kansas dating back to 2006, there have been nine different race winners!
Aaron Pierce became the first to do so with a “new generation” Silver Crown car at Kansas Speedway in 2006 while J.J. Yeley drove A.J. Foyt’s No. 14 to glory at the same place in the same car type in 2007.
At the Belleville High Banks, Tracy Hines (2013), Kody Swanson (2014), Chris Windom (2015), Brady Bacon (2023), Kaylee Bryson (2024) and Justin Grant (2025) have all won. Kevin Thomas Jr., meanwhile, took top honors at Salt City in 2024.
Only Grant has the opportunity to become the first two-time Kansas Crown winner this weekend.
A DASH OF SALT
Wildly enough, the high majority of the field is seeking to become a first-time USAC Silver Crown winner, just as Kevin Thomas Jr. did one year ago at Salt City.
Among them are Danny Jennings (Norman, Okla.) a six-time Hutchinson Grand Nationals winner in 1996-2010-2017-2018-2019-2020. Steve Gennetten (Gravois Mills, Mo.) is a past USAC National Midget feature winner. Kip Hughes (North Enid, Okla.) owns over 100 wins in Modifieds, Late Models, Super Stocks, Sport Mods and a variety of racecars. All three made their Silver Crown debut at Salt City in 2024.
Jake Swanson (Anaheim, California), Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pennsylvania), Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) and Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Indiana) are all USAC national main event winners who have all finished on the podium in their USAC Silver Crown career but are still on the hunt for win number one. In fact, Stockon finished fourth at Salt City in 2024.
Nathan Moore (Kaufman, Texas) was the hard charger at Salt City in 2024, starting 16th and finishing 8th, and will be joined by series veteran Kyle Steffens (Saint Charles, Missouri), who finished 7th in the race last year, as well as 10th place finisher Gregg Cory (Shelbyville, Indiana) and Dave Berkheimer (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania) who currently ranks 10th in series points.
Series Rookie Travis Mahoney (Oglesby, Illinois), son of longtime USAC racer Jim Mahoney, will make his Salt City debut as will Saban Bibent (Cincinnati, Ohio), who finished 11th in his lone start of the season thus far in April at Terre Haute.
RACE DETAILS:
The Friday, July 18, program will feature USAC Silver Crown practice only, plus URSS Sprint Car heat races as well as complete shows for the IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA SportMods and IMCA Hobby Stocks. General admission tickets are $25 and kids tickets are $15. Pit passes are $40. Pits open at 3pm Central with the front gates opening at 5pm and cars on track at 6:15pm followed by qualifying and racing.
The Saturday, July 19, program will feature USAC Silver Crown practice, qualifying and racing, plus feature events for the URSS Sprint Cars and a complete program for the IMCA Modifieds. General admission tickets are $35 and kids tickets are $17.50. Pit passes are $40. Pits open at Noon Central with the front gates opening at 5pm and cars on track at 6:30pm followed by qualifying and racing.
Advance tickets are on sale now at https://saltcityracingllc.com/.
Saturday night’s program will feature full LIVE coverage on FloRacing at
https://flosports.link/usac.
USAC SILVER CROWN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-463, 2-C.J. Leary-374, 3-Matt Westfall-315, 4-Kody Swanson-308, 5-Logan Seavey-271, 6-Kyle Steffens-254, 7-Gregg Cory-246, 8-Dakoda Armstrong-217, 9-Bobby Santos-211, 10-Dave Berkheimer-210.
TRACK RECORDS FOR USAC SILVER CROWN AT SALT CITY SPEEDWAY
1 Lap – 7/20/2024 – Kevin Thomas Jr. – 21.090
SALT CITY SPEEDWAY USAC SILVER CROWN WINS
1-Kevin Thomas Jr.
SALT CITY SPEEDWAY USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS
2024: Kevin Thomas Jr. (7/20)
USAC SILVER CROWN WINNERS IN KANSAS:
1-Brady Bacon, Kaylee Bryson, Justin Grant, Tracy Hines, Aaron Pierce, Kody Swanson, Kevin Thomas Jr., Chris Windom & J.J. Yeley