By Richie Murray
Speedway, Indiana (March 31, 2026)………C.J. Leary and Mario Clouser will run full-time as teammates in pursuit of the 2026 USAC Silver Crown National Championship under the Team AZ-Petty-Rossi/Curb-Agajanian banner.
Leary will drive the team’s No. 21 entry while Clouser will pilot the No. 20 DRC/Stanton-powered machine on both the dirt and pavement circuits throughout the 11-race tour.
For Leary (Greenfield, Indiana), it’s his second full season with the team after finishing runner-up in the 2025 standings, and has his eyes on the prize for his first career Silver Crown driving title after previously scoring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2019.
“Our main goal is focused on winning the championship, I believe we have all the tools necessary,” Leary stated. “I’ve always loved Silver Crown racing, and I feel like I’m definitely capable of doing it. I feel like I’m one of the few guys who can bounce back-and-forth between the dirt and asphalt really well. I just want to notch that loop in my belt.”
As for Clouser (Auburn, Illinois), he got the opportunity to race for three different teams in USAC Silver Crown competition in 2025: Rice-Abacus, Kazmark and Team AZ-Petty-Rossi. The latter of which he drove for twice a season ago, finishing 10th at the Kansas State Fairgrounds after leading a race high 42 of 100 laps. In the Eldora Speedway finale, he took seventh for the team.
Owning recent experience with the team, Clouser enters the season with a bright outlook as he gets the opportunity to compete on the full tour and chase after a championship.
“I’m super excited to have a chance to run for the championship with a team that is as motivated and as dedicated as these guys are,” Clouser said. “I got to drive for them a few times over the last couple of years. So, I’ve kind of seen their program and I’ve seen the quality of equipment they have. I kind of hounded (team owner) Mike (Burkhart) pretty hard at the end of last year to try and maybe see if we can make something work somehow to where we could run a full season together because I feel like we can contend for a championship.”
Leary won twice in the latter half of the 2025 season for the team, capturing a victory on the pavement of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and on the dirt of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois. It’s the kind of balance between both surfaces that is of utmost importance when it comes to rising to the top of the standings at year’s end.
“Joe Devin with DRC and Corey Fillip with Advanced Racing Shocks really got our pavement program dialed in last year and our dirt program turned around towards the latter half of the season. So, I feel like we finally kind of hit on where we needed to be with our dirt program,” Leary noted. “With the schedule being as short as it is, you can’t have a DNF or really a bad night. Whoever can put together solid runs each night is going to win, and I think we can do that. But it’s a hard deal. Getting the car to last for 100 laps or 100 miles without any issues is harder than most people think.”
For Clouser, this very well could be his breakthrough year with the series. One year ago, he finished on the podium three times at IRP, Springfield and Du Quoin, while earning his first career pole position at IRP en route to a career best fifth place result in the final standings.
“I’m just super grateful for the opportunity and really excited to see what we can do,” Clouser said. “I ran really well last year while bouncing around between team to team. So, I feel like if I can get in the same car each week and not have to try and figure out a new team and a new car and all that stuff in a matter of just hot laps, I think we can run even better. So, I’m just super excited about it.”
The 11-race 2026 USAC Silver Crown National Championship season begins on May 8-9 on the dirt at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson where Leary and Clouser led a total of 78 of the 100 laps between the two.
The team’s program is proudly supported by Avanti Windows & Doors, Curb Records, Apache Transport, Pella Windows & Doors, AMSOIL, Sander Engineering, OakCraft Elegant Cabinetry and B1st Concrete Coatings.