As he prepared for a 50-lap affair at Pennsylvania‘s Port Royal Speedway, Tyler‘s observations rang true with many of his generation. When asked what it is like to take on the miles in a big Silver Crown car Tyler offered, “I like that kind of racing. I like the speeds and I like the challenge. You have to know when to go and when to hold back a little. It puts a bit more in the driver‘s seat. Tonight‘s race is really a 50-lap sprint car race. To me it‘s not a Silver Crown race.”
There it is. No one said it was easy to win in these cars at Eldora or Indianapolis Raceway Park, but somehow it just isn‘t viewed the same. It takes a certain moxie to run the miles and during an age where there are fewer opportunities to do so, the difference between these joints and the typical bullring are eye-opening.
Bryan Hayden became a successful USAC sprint car regular and earned a seat in a Silver Crown car during the mid-1990s. It was an unforgettable experience.
“My first mile was Springfield, which is kind of a paperclip,” Hayden said. “It has forever straightaways. You look down there and think that‘s a long way to the corner. So you keep hammered down and you feel every vibration in the car. It is definitely a different sensation.”
Accustomed to racing on smaller tracks, he had to put one foot over the other to keep the throttle down to override the natural impulse to lift.
“The corners are pretty quick for the first few laps,” he recalled, “but you get used to it after a while. I had never run anything bigger than Eldora, so it was completely unfamiliar territory.”
Jerry Coons Jr. was the best man at the Hoosier Hundred in 2011 and ‘12. He also had a slew of quality finishes at Springfield and Du Quoin. He fell in love with this kind of racing long before he got his first Silver Crown ride.
“There is just so much history that comes with it,” Coons said. “The covered grandstands, the facilities. All of it. I came back for the Indy 500 with my dad and we also went to the Hoosier Hundred. I was sitting there and watched those cars come down the front straightaway. I know what that is like as a fan and I thought about what it would be like to sit in the car.”
Coons won the Silver Crown title in 2008, yet still finished second in this year‘s season opener at the Terre Haute Action Track. During an era that is seemingly ruled by youthful drivers, veterans such as Shane Cottle, Shane Cockrum and Brian Tyler have visited victory lane in the Silver Crown division. Experience matters and in the case of long-distance racing patience can truly be a virtue. Coons agreed that experience matters.
“I think so. It becomes such a tire game, so you do have to conserve,” Coons said. “These cars are different animals. You don‘t have to be young and spry. It‘s a longer race. You still drive them hard, but it is not as on the edge as when you are in a sprint car on those tracks. The cars are a little bit lazier and a bit slower.
“I can remember racing some people who were coming up and hadn‘t run a lot of Silver Crown races. They go by you down the front straightaway with tires blazing and you think fine, I‘ll see you in 40 or 50 laps. Sure enough, later you are in the front and they are in 15th. It takes experience and in time people do learn. You can tell drivers what to do but they have to go out and learn for themselves.”
Tyler not only agrees with Coons‘ assessment, but feels it is his job to share his expertise with the younger set.
“If Logan (Seavey) is behind me this year, he is not going to make the same mistakes,” Tyler explained. “He‘s a good racer. He learned from what I was doing just like I learned from Rollie Beale and some of those guys. If you follow a veteran, you can learn a little from what they are doing.
“Take Kody Swanson. When he first started racing a Silver Crown car, we were teammates. I talked to him and said this is what you have to do here.
Kody listened.”
Tyler chuckled and continued, “Maybe I taught him a bit too much about these miles. But I‘m at the end of my career and people like Tom Bigelow helped me. He passed information on and right now that is kind of what I‘m doing. I tell them what I have for setups and springs, and what to do and not to do. That‘s what this sport needs. You can‘t take your knowledge to the grave with you.”
Swanson is appreciative of what Tyler did for him, but noted that all drivers have different styles.