MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Though it’s been 15 years since the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series last appeared at Memphis Int’l Raceway, the driver lineup for Saturday’s Memphis 100 comes loaded with a ton of talent.
In fact, four drivers – Eric Gordon, Aaron Pierce, Bill Rose and Bobby Santos – have previous experience at the three-quarter-mile, D-shaped paved oval.
Gordon, of Fortville, Ind., will tackle Memphis this weekend in the Armstrong Racing No. 78 and has three Memphis Silver Crown starts. He’s also the most accomplished driver at the track among the returning drivers.
The first of Gordon’s starts came in the inaugural edition in 1998 aboard Gary Irvin’s No. 48, resulting in a seventh-place run. He followed up with a 26th in 2000 and a fifth in 2004 with Dynamics Inc.
His current car owner, Brad Armstrong, competed as a driver in the first event in 1998 and finished 13th, before coming back and posting a 30th-place result in 2004.
Indiana’s Aaron Pierce will be back in his familiar own No. 26, which he drove in 2004, finishing 29th after a head gasket issue.
Likewise, Massachusetts’ Bobby Santos made his lone Memphis appearance that same year, dropping out with an oil leak after 56 laps and finishing 19th. Meanwhile, Indiana’s Bill Rose ran into engine problems during his 19th-place result in 1999.
Similar to Armstrong, Davey Hamilton made a pair of Memphis starts as a driver and now serves in the role of car owner, where he will field both Kevin Thomas Jr. and Jason Conn in this weekend’s Memphis 100.
Hamilton appeared in the first two Memphis Crown races in 1998-99, racing to back-to-back top-10s – a sixth and a 10th, respectively, for George Snider/A.J. Foyt Racing.
On the owner side, Bob East-built Beast chassis have won all four Memphis races, courtesy of Dave Steele (1998, 2004), Brad Noffsinger (1999) and Brian Tyler (2000).
As a car owner, East won the 2004 race, but the USAC Hall of Famer now works with the Klatt Enterprises team and driver Kyle Hamilton. Klatt themselves competed in 2004, finishing a strong third with driver Bobby East.
Nolen Racing will have four-time series champion Kody Swanson in the seat this weekend and throughout the entire season.
Car owner Gene Nolen has fielded a car in each of the previous four Memphis races, with a 16th by Billy Puterbaugh Jr. in 1998 and thrice with the late Tony Elliott – a 13th in 1999, a 30th in 2000 and a DNQ in 2004.
Gene Kazmark ran Mike Ordway in 1999, missing the transfer spot in the qualifying race to compete in that afternoon’s 100-lapper. The Illinois-based team will be looking to make their Memphis visit a little sweeter this time with driver Jim Anderson from Joliet, Ill.
Bob Hoerner, who works with the team at the shop, fielded his own cars in three Memphis starts. In 1999, Steele started second for Hoerner and led 44 laps before the engine expired, finishing 25th.
Jimmy Sills ran the Hoerner car in 2000, finishing 17th. In 2004, Dave Darland ran 21st.
With all that said, how much does experience matter when it comes to Silver Crown racing at Memphis? As in most places, the cream usually rises to the top when all is said and done, at least once a few laps are under the belt.
Drivers like Swanson, Chris Windom, David Byrne, Justin Grant, Hamilton and C.J. Leary have yet to compete at Memphis, but all have extensive experience in Silver Crown cars on pavement.
That group, plus the Memphis veterans and the new crop set the stage for what will be a talented field, most of which are capable of winning anywhere and on any given day.