SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Cameron Dodson, a three-time USAC Silver Crown Series winner and the tour’s top rookie in 2007, died Sunday at the age of 33.
The Greenfield, Ind., native was a force on the pavement throughout his relatively brief USAC career, during which he made a lasting mark.
He made 23 Silver Crown starts with his debut coming in 2007 at the age of 18. That year, he raced to the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, then scored his first win in the season finale Copper World Classic at Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway, winding up the season sixth in the point standings and securing Rookie of the Year honors.
While Dodson will forever remain the answer to the trivia question, ‘Who won the final race for the new generation Silver Crown cars with his 2007 triumph at Phoenix,’ his success translated to the traditional cars as well, winning the series round at Iowa Speedway in 2008.
A serious road accident sidelined his racing ventures for a short while, but Dodson returned with authority by racing to victory for the third and final time, defending his Iowa victory with another at Iowa in 2009 in which he drove the highest car number to ever grace Silver Crown victory lane – No. 991. All three of his Silver Crown wins came for the Carl Edwards/RE Technologies team.
Dodson also made 11 USAC National Sprint Car starts, finishing a best of sixth at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway for Keith Kunz Motorsports. He also made four career USAC National Midget feature starts, the best of the bunch coming at Indiana’s Salem Speedway with a 9th place result for Kunz in 2006.
After a near decade hiatus, Dodson made his return to USAC Silver Crown racing in 2019, finishing 20th at Indiana’s Lucas Oil Raceway, dropping out 30 laps into the 100-lapper after overheating forced him to the sidelines.
Dodson also made waves in winged pavement sprint car competition, scoring 17 career wins with the Auto Value Super Sprints. He also made four career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts in 2006 at the age of 17.