SALEM, Ind., Aug. 11 — It didn’t matter that there hadn’t been a USAC Silver Crown race at Salem Speedway in five years. Kody Swanson picked up right where he left off and won the pole, led all 100 laps, and took the checkered flag with a 10.522-second margin of victory in the series’ return to the high banks of Salem Saturday night.
It was his sixth such victory on the 0.555-mile paved oval with 33 degrees of banking in the turns, as he also won the USAC Silver Crown races at Salem in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. In fact, only one other driver has won a USAC Silver Crown race at this track — Bob Frey in 1988.
It tied the record for the most consecutive USAC Silver Crown wins by a single driver at one track, equaling another record Swanson owns with his six victories at Toledo Speedway.
On Saturday night the eight-time and defending series champion did the trick in Doran Binks Racing’s Mission Foods No. 77, which is powered by a Doran-prepped Toyota engine and also carries support from Glenn Farms and Wilke Orthodontics.
The winningest driver in USAC Silver Crown history, Swanson can also hold claim to the title “The King of the High Banks.” In addition to his dominating performance Saturday night, in June he recorded his sixth overall and fourth straight victory on the high banks of a similar track, Winchester Speedway.
On Saturday things couldn’t have gone any better for Swanson, a native of Kingsburg, Calif., who now lives in Brownsburg, Ind., and the Lebanon, Ohio-based Doran Binks Racing team.
Their car led both practice sessions, won the pole with a new track record, and dominated the race.
Swanson extended his record as the winningest driver in series history with his 48th career win and his 58th career pole.
Justin Grant was a very distant second in the race followed by Dakoda Armstrong, C.J. Leary, and Nathan Byrd. Swanson lapped through sixth place, which went to Kyle Steffens.
The start of the race was delayed approximately 32 minutes after Leary reported to the work area with a problem with his car’s right-front shock and there was a medical emergency in the grandstands. Leary was supposed to start third, but he had to go to the rear of the field for the start due to the problem.
That vaulted Grant up to fourth for the start and he had a good one, advancing to second on the first lap by passing Armstrong and Mario Clouser. Grant ran in second place the whole race but couldn’t catch Swanson. Grant stayed fairly close in the early going but Swanson already had over a 1-second lead by lap 22.
There were two yellows which gave Grant opportunities on restarts, but Swanson was up to the challenge. The first yellow flew on lap 25 when Billy Wease, who had been tenth, slowed on the frontstretch. Swanson had over a 1-second lead at the time.
The second caution flew on lap 39 when Clouser, who was third at the time, tried to pass Grant but spun in Turn 1 and Grant had to take evasive action. Clouser was left stopped backwards on the track but got turned around and restarted, but he later retired with 74 laps complete. That yellow erased Swanson’s 1.377-second lead over Grant.
Swanson set the fastest lap of anyone in the race on lap 46 with a time of 16.783 seconds. Clouser, who qualified second, was second in that category with a 16.903 on lap seven.
Swanson had a 1.435-second lead when he set his fastest race lap, and a 1.691-second advantage at the halfway point.
But two laps later he had already built his advantage to over 2 seconds, and he was able to pad that to over 3 seconds by lap 73. He increased his edge to 4.032 seconds on lap 84; 5.002 seconds on lap 91; 6.483 seconds on lap 93; 7.031 seconds on lap 94; 8.524 seconds on lap 97; 9.523 seconds on lap 99, and 10.522 seconds on lap 100.
Swanson won the pole when his first of two qualifying laps was timed in 15.809 seconds, establishing a new track record for an average speed of 126.384 miles per hour. Clouser was second with a 16.187, followed by Leary, Armstrong and Grant.
Swanson also held the previous one-lap USAC Silver Crown track record here with a 15.923 (125.479 mph) set on Aug. 12, 2017. It was his sixth straight pole at this track, as he was also the fastest qualifier at the other USAC Silver Crown races he won here.
Swanson also topped both of the practice sessions before qualifying with laps in 15.931 and 16.407 seconds.
It was Doran Binks Racing and Swanson’s fourth pole and third win of the season.
“You race each other but you also race the racetrack,” Swanson noted in victory lane. “Even there at the end you can’t take any corners off, just because it’s too easy to make a mistake here.
“I’m grateful Doran Binks Racing gave me a great car,” he added. “I’m so grateful for everyone on this team, and for our sponsors. Kevin Doran leads us, and Dan Binks and Ken Keilholz help make it possible, along with Mission Foods, Glenn Farms, Wilke Orthodontics, and Rosewood Machine and Tool. I’m grateful for everyone on this team, like Jason and Dave on the crew and my friend Ryan Roberts, who came down to help us today. My wife, Jordan, does a great job spotting. And I’m grateful for our product sponsors too, like TJ Forged, All Star Performance, FK Rod Ends, Duncan Fuel and Oil; it’s a special group.”
At 100 laps, this race was the longest USAC Silver Crown race ever held at Salem, so Swanson got the automatic track record for the distance too.
“It’s the most fuel we’ve had on board here, and managing things as the fuel load burned off was challenging,” he said. “This track has a lot of character. There are some washboard spots in Turns 3 and 4, and if you time it wrong with the pedals it can upset your car, so I tried to be aware of that throughout the race. We had a long run there at the end.
“There are a lot of great cars in this series, so it’s gratifying to come home first,” he added. “It’s a special day.”
The race was streamed live by Flo Racing.
For more information see DoranRacing.com and USACRacing.com.