Though Dyson’s background is heavily known for road racing, his love of oval racing is clearly evident. He’s always retained interest in USAC racing from near and afar, both attending races in-person and watching on TV from his New York home.
He knew one day he was going to have the chance to wheel a Silver Crown car, and that time arrived last season, when he made starts on each of the traditional one-mile dirt ovals.
“I’ve always looked at Silver Crown as something I wanted to do in my career before I stopped racing,” Dyson admitted. “I never had the opportunity, mainly because of the schedules that I’ve been running. The races are fantastic, and I’m absolutely thrilled to compete in the events, the historic venues and the quality of the circuits. It’s very well promoted. You feel like you’re a part of American racing’s heritage.
“It’s the top division for USAC and has been for a very long time.”
One interesting aspect of Dyson’s Silver Crown career thus far is that he first got his feet wet, so to speak, in this discipline on the dirt rather than the pavement, occasionally running a sprint car and USAC Western Midget Series events for Cory Kruseman’s team a few years back.
This weekend’s Memphis 100 will mark Dyson’s debut on the hardtop in the Silver Crown car, just one year removed from his first series’ start.
Once Dyson and crew chief Sean Michael dipped a toe in the waters last year, it wasn’t long before the pair jumped in with both feet. Now, they have plans to field a car at all 12 Silver Crown events this season, with Dyson planning to drive in the majority of events.
“I wanted to see how it went and, as it turns out, Sean and I really like the racing,” Dyson said. “There are a lot of folks who told me that I’d enjoy the pavement racing. Bob East had the capacity to build us a new car; we were able to get our hands on some good engines from TSR and we were able to put it together pretty seamlessly.
“It just so happens there’s not very many conflicts with my racing schedule, so we can fit it in.”
Although a multi-time champ in ALMS and a quick study in the Silver Crown cars with finishes of 16th, 13th and 13th in his first three Silver Crown dirt races, Dyson admits a lot of work remains ahead of him to get to where he feels he wants to be competitively.
“I’ve got a lot to learn,” Dyson reasoned. “It’s a brand-new car and a brand-new program for us, so we’ve got realistic expectations. I’d like to make solid progress and learn how to drive these tracks and compete as much as we can. There’s a lot of very good specialists who are in the field on both asphalt and dirt.
“The key is to get around those guys, learn as much as we can, keep the car in one piece and just make progress every single weekend.”