NEWTON, Iowa — For the first time in 11 seasons, the USAC Silver Crown Championship returns to Iowa Speedway on Saturday.
The fast-paced seven-eighths-mile paved oval is prime for open wheel champ car action at the Iowa 100 for what is sure to be one of the fastest events of the year, with lap speeds clocking in at a mid-140 mph average.
HISTORY AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
Saturday’s race will mark the 19th event in USAC’s history at Iowa Speedway between Silver Crown, National Sprint Cars, and National Midgets.
USAC was there to christen the then-brand-new Iowa Speedway 20 years ago in 2006 in a USAC tripleheader won by Dave Steele (Silver Crown & Midget) and Jay Drake (Sprint).
The eight USAC Silver Crown races run at the track have been won by Dave Steele (2006), Bobby East (2007-2011-2012), Cameron Dodson (2008 & 2009), A.J. Fike (2010), and Bobby Santos (2015).
Four USAC Sprint Car races at the track have been won by Jay Drake (2006), Tyler Walker (2007), Shane Hmiel (2009), and Bryan Clauson (2010).
Six USAC Midget shows at Iowa have been conquered by Dave Steele (2006), Billy Wease (2007), Bobby Santos (2009-2010-2012), and Caleb Armstrong (2011).
5 RACES. 5 WINNERS
Throughout the first five races of the 2026 USAC Silver Crown season, there has yet to be a repeat winner: Hayden Reinbold (Kansas State Fairgrounds), C.J. Leary (WWT Raceway), Dakoda Armstrong (IRP), Mitchel Moles (Terre Haute Action Track), and Briggs Danner (Winchester Speedway).
The last time there were five different winners in the first five races was 2022. You have to go back to 2013 to find the last time six different drivers won in the first six races, a feat which will be on the line this Saturday.
To add to that, there have now been four different winners in the past four pavement USAC Silver Crown races: Kody Swanson (Salem 2025), C.J. Leary (WWT Raceway 2026), Dakoda Armstrong (IRP 2026), and Briggs Danner (Winchester Speedway 2026).
The last time four different pavement winners emerged in four consecutive races came over a four-race span in 2014-2015. A streak of five straight different pavement winners last occurred in 2010-2011, a run that actually spanned nine events!
FIELD OF DREAMS
Bobby Santos was the winner of the most recent USAC Silver Crown race at Iowa Speedway in 2015, where he took over the lead from Chris Windom with 55 laps to go to capture the victory.
Santos is the winningest USAC driver in the history of Iowa Speedway with four victories in all, adding a trio of USAC National Midget wins there in 2009-2010-2012 as well. He’s also finished as the runner-up in three other USAC events at Iowa with the Silver Crown series in 2011, plus the National Sprint Cars in 2009-2010.
Santos has competed in four different types of racecars at Iowa Speedway: USAC Silver Crown, USAC Sprint Car, USAC Midget, and ARCA Stock Car. He scored fast qualifying honors twice with the USAC Midgets at Iowa in 2006 and 2010. In 2006, he turned the fastest lap ever in a USAC Midget, turning a lap average of 139.553 mph at Iowa.
DOUBLE BYRD
It’s been 19 years since the USAC Silver Crown division and the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series have run at the same track on the same day – Kansas Speedway in 2007.
That day, J.J. Yeley ran both divisions, winning the USAC Silver Crown race, then finished 33rd in the accompanying stock car race.
On Saturday, Nathan Byrd will become the first driver since Yeley to compete in both series on the same day at the same track, driving his Meyer Auto Research-Byrd Racing-John Tosti No. 40 Silver Crown car as well as his Young’s Motorsports No. 42 stock car.
For Byrd, it will mark his first racing action at Iowa Speedway of any kind.
LEARY LEADING
C.J. Leary enters Saturday’s race on a bit of a hot streak in the champ cars, finishing on the podium in all five of his USAC Silver Crown starts to date in 2026.
That has the Greenfield, Indiana driver atop the standings by a 36-point margin over defending champion Justin Grant. Leary is seeking his first career USAC Silver Crown driving title after previously capturing the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship in 2019.
He’s now run his streak to 11 consecutive top five finishes with the series dating back to last season. He’s been exceptionally strong on the pavement in his Team AZ Racing/Petty-Rossi/Curb-Agajanian ride, finishing 4th, 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in his past five asphalt appearances.
VETERANS OF IOWA
Along with Bobby Santos, a handful of other drivers own previous experience at Iowa Speedway.
Dakoda Armstrong has made 14 career starts at the track between NASCAR and ARCA competition, finishing fourth with ARCA in 2010 to go along with a fifth in both 2016 and 2017 with the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Kyle Hamilton took eighth with the USAC National Midgets at Iowa in 2011. In 2015, he came home 13th with the USAC Silver Crown series after bowing out early following an accident, but he did qualify for a front row starting spot.
Twice, Mario Clouser finished as the runner-up with the USAC National Midgets at Iowa in both 2011-2012. In 2011, he set fast qualifying time, and in 2012, he led four laps late before finishing second in the feature.
Chase Cabre is set to make his USAC Silver Crown debut this Saturday. But he’s getting his first champ car opportunity at a place he’s run at before, and successfully. He finished 5th with the NASCAR K & N Pro Series in both 2017 and 2019.
First-time Iowa Speedway competitors consist of the bulk of the field, including five USAC Silver Crown race winners: Kaylee Bryson, Davey Hamilton Jr., C.J. Leary, Briggs Danner, and Justin Grant. Also debuting at Iowa are series veterans Kyle Steffens, Dave Berkheimer, Gregg Cory, Nathan Byrd, and Jackson Macenko, plus Silver Crown Rookies Robert Tyler, Chelby Hinton, and Scott Hampton, who is making his first Silver Crown appearance of any kind.
