For the stars of the United States Auto Club and the small traveling crew who staff the club’s three national series, the season is an endurance test.
This year, events spanned both coasts from mid-February through Thanksgiving weekend. The USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and USAC Silver Crown titles went down to the wire, while the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget National Championship seemed never in doubt.
Logan Seavey and Justin Grant were the dominant forces and both filled their scrapbooks with memories. Despite the dominance of this duo, other important storylines emerged as the sanctioning body concluded its 68th season.
Over the next three weeks, we will recap each of the three series, beginning with Silver Crown and continuing with the sprint cars and midgets in subsequent editions of SPEED SPORT Insider.
USAC Silver Crown
As the last remaining USAC series that races on dirt and pavement, it is easy to discern those who have a shot to be among the Silver Crown title contenders. Heading into 2023, many of those top drivers were in familiar places.
Grant was again paired with Hemelgarn Racing and crew chief Dennis LaCava. The 2020 champion struggled through a difficult 2022 season in the Silver Crown ranks but confidence remained high. Seavey, the 2021 rookie of the year, was fresh off back-to-back runner up finishes in the standings. For two straight years, Seavey and crew chief Ronnie Gardner chased Kody Swanson to the final race of the year only to fall short of their goal. Reloading, Rice Motorsports partnered with Brent Cox and Abacus Racing.
Seven-time champion Kody Swanson was set to go with Doran-Binks Racing, while C.J. Leary was again in Terry Klatt’s stable.
Rain threw everyone a curveball at the start of the season, so matters kicked off in May at the Belleville High Banks in Kansas.
With fans and officials holding their breath, the race came down to a high-speed game of chicken between Brady Bacon and Grant. On the 47th circuit, Grant and Bacon came together while fighting for the lead with Grant hitting the wall and Bacon continuing. It was the definition of good, hard racing.
Bacon claimed his third career Silver Crown triumph with Swanson and Chase Stockon rounding out the podium. Because he was quickest in qualifying Swanson emerged as the points leader.
Next up was the rebranded Hoosier Hundred where a lucrative payday awaited the winner. There was an additional twist as the race was set for 100 miles or 146 laps around the .686 paved oval at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Bobby Santos III was the fastest qualifier, but Swanson got the jump and led for 115 laps. It looked like an old story was about to unfold when Swanson suffered a terminal mechanical problem. Santos carried his beautiful car to victory, while Seavey took the runner-up position.
Seavey reclaimed the mantle as the master of half-mile dirt tracks by winning at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway for the second year in a row. However, Swanson rallied and won the next three races. Seavey suffered a mix of mechanical woes at Winchester Speedway and by the time Swanson notched his 40th series win at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway, he held a 31-point lead.
Seavey righted the ship with a triumph at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, then Davey Hamilton Jr. brought Legacy Autosports its first series win at World Wide Technology Raceway. Meanwhile, Swanson posted a solid performance at Springfield, but after leading laps at WWTR, brake failure relegated him to a midpack finish.
Grant faced some trying moments, including missing the show at Winchester Speedway due to engine problems. It broke a string of 239 consecutive USAC national races in all three touring divisions. Bad luck aside, Grant’s team had clearly turned the tide and his flag-to-flag triumph at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds was not a surprise.
Two races remained with Seavey holding a slim one-point advantage over Swanson. Seavey knew a trip to the 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway was his shot to create some separation – and he did just that.