Backstretch Motorsports

JJ Yeley Returns to AJ Foyt's # 14

 Aaron Pierce holds the ultimate USAC Silver Crown qualifying record of 175.012 mph, set last year at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. Friday, Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. hopes to lay claim to that record Friday as Pierce and the rest of the series regulars aim at Aaron’s 1-lap Chicagoland record of 174.295, also set last year.

 Pierce won last year’s “USG Fiberock 100” and hopes to repeat in Friday’s renewal of the 100-mile (67-lap) race. He is third in the current series standings, 12 behind point leader Wayne Reutimann Jr. entering Friday’s events at the 1.5-mile oval.

 Pierce won at Darlington, S.C. and was second at Iowa Speedway, both during May, and wants to be the first repeat winner in this year’s series. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tracy Hines, Bobby East and Brian Tyler also own 2007 victories, Tyler winning a week ago at Richmond, Va.

 Reutimann, who posted his first series win at Milwaukee, Wisc. last year, has a second, fifth, seventh and eighth in five starts, while A.J. Fike, who trails him by 10 points, has a pair of fourths and a fifth so far.

 NASCAR star J.J. Yeley, one of only four USAC “Triple Crown Champions,” returns to the #14 A.J. Foyt entry at Joliet. Yeley won the pole at Darlington and was leading there before a wall-scraping incident forced him to the sidelines.

 Pierce averaged 145.934 mph in winning last year’s Joliet race, completed in just over 41 minutes.

 Friday’s race entries include cars entered by 4-time Indianapolis 500 Champion A.J. Foyt for Pablo Donoso and Bobby East, a car entered by NASCAR’s Carl Edwards for Cameron Dodson, a car entered by former Indianapolis 500 car owner champion Ron Hemelgarn for Fike, and a Western Speed Racing entry with Roger Penske ties for driver Billy Wease.

 Friday’s practice gets under way at 8:30 am and qualifying is scheduled at 10:15. The “USG Fiberock 100” gets the green flag at 6 pm.

USAC SILVER CROWN SERIES STANDINGS

1. Wayne Reutimann Jr. 220  6. Pablo Donoso 1932. A.J. Fike 210  7. Brian Tyler 1893. Aaron Pierce 208  8. Cameron Dodson 1894. Bud Kaeding 207  9. Mat Neely 1775. Paul White 201  10. Tim Barber 175

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CHICAGOLAND NEXT FOR SILVER CROWN SERIES JULY 13;TYLER GRABS RICHMOND’S “SILVER CROWN 100”

 The USAC Silver Crown Championship Series returns to Chicagoland Speedway July 13 for the “USG Fiberock 100” and defending race winner Aaron Pierce of Muncie, Ind. will try to regain the series point lead he lost this past weekend at Richmond, Va.

 Pierce, who out dueled Jay Drake to win last year’s Chicagoland race, slipped to third in the current standings after a disappointing Richmond weekend which saw his car fail to start Saturday’s 100-lap race due to rear-end problems with his Sam Pierce Chevy/Kroger-Tide-Bounty-Pringles machine.

 Brian Tyler of Mount Pleasant, N.C. led the final 89 laps to win Saturday’s “Silver Crown 100” at Richmond International Raceway in his Team Six-R C & R/Chevy. The win was Tyler’s 12th in series competition and his first this season. Only Jack Hewitt (23), Dave Steele (16) and Chuck Gurney (14) have more career wins.

 Tyler started third and passed early leader A.J. Fike on lap 12. He was not seriously challenged the rest of the way and finished over a second ahead of runner-up Jerry Coons Jr. "I made my move early," admitted Tyler after the race. "It's hard to pass out there and I figured I'd get to the front quick and stay there."

 Bobby East, who won the USAC Sprint race earlier in the day at RIR, finished third, followed by Fike and pole winner Pablo Donoso. Donoso qualified at 127.914 mph on Friday but fell behind Fike at the start of Saturday’s 100-lap race. Only three yellow flags interrupted the race, run at an average speed of 99.447 mph. Mike Murgoitio spun and hit the wall in turn three on lap 2, Cameron Dodson blew a tire on lap 24 and Bud Kaeding suffered a flat tire on lap 31.

 Wayne Reutimann Jr., who finished seventh, is the new series point leader entering the July 13 race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Reutimann is 10 points ahead of Fike, with Pierce 12 back.

USAC SILVER CROWN SERIES STANDINGS

1. Wayne Reutimann Jr. 220  6. Pablo Donoso 1932. A.J. Fike 210                7. Brian Tyler 1893. Aaron Pierce 208  8. Cameron Dodson 1894. Bud Kaeding 207  9. Mat Neely 1775. Paul White 201  10. Tim Barber 175

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 Richmond, Va…….Brian Tyler of Mount Pleasant, N.C. led the final 89 laps to win Saturday’s “Silver Crown 100” at Richmond International Raceway in his Team Six-R C & R/Chevy. The win was Tyler’s 12th in series competition and his first this season. Only Jack Hewitt (23), Dave Steele (16) and Chuck Gurney (14) have more career wins. Tyler started third and passed early leader A.J. Fike on lap 12. He was not seriously challenged the rest of the way and finished over a second ahead of runner-up Jerry Coons Jr. "I made my move early," admitted Tyler after the race. "It's hard to pass out there and I figured I'd get to the front quick and stay there." Bobby East, who won the USAC Sprint race earlier in the day at RIR, finished third, followed by Fike and pole winner Pablo Donoso. Donoso qualified at 127.914 seconds on Friday but fell behind Fike at the start of Saturday’s 100-lap race. Only three yellow flags interrupted the race, run at an average speed of 99.447 mph. Mike Murgoitio spun and hit the wall in turn three on lap 2, Cameron Dodson blew a tire on lap 24 and Bud Kaeding suffered a flat tire on lap 31. Wayne Reutimann Jr., who finished seventh, is the new series point leader entering the July 13 race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Reutimann is 10 points ahead of Aaron Pierce and Fike. Pierce’s car developed mechanical problems and did not start Saturday’s race.

 USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACE RESULTS (Series presented by K & N Engineering): June 29-30, 2007 – Richmond, Virginia – Richmond International Raceway

 QUALIFICATIONS: (Held June 29) 1. Pablo Donoso, 11, Foyt-21.108; 2. A.J. Fike, 91, Hemelgarn/RFMS-21.244; 3. Brian Tyler, 21, Team Six-R-21.299; 4. Mike Murgoitio, 19, Team Six-R-21.363; 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 27, RW-21.403; 6. Cameron Dodson, 199, Edwards/RE-21.531; 7. Tim Barber, 28, Pierson-21.623; 8. Bobby East, 14, Foyt-21.740; 9. Mat Neely, 17, RW-21.772; 10. Bud Kaeding, 29, BK-21.822; 11. Marc Jessup, 2, Vance-21.837; 12. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-21.897; 13. Billy Wease, 12, Western Speed-22.217; 14. Wayne Reutimann Jr., 00, Reutimann-22.389; 15. Levi Jones, 41, Paternoster-22.452; 16. Paul White, 99, Mucci/Matczak-23.415.

 FEATURE: (100 laps – Held June 30) 1. Brian Tyler, 2. Jerry Coons Jr., 3. Bobby East, 4. A.J. Fike, 5. Pablo Donoso, 6. Mat Neely, 7. Wayne Reutimann Jr., 8. Billy Wease, 9. Cameron Dodson, 10. Paul White, 11. Bud Kaeding, 12. Marc Jessup, 13. Tim Barber, 14. Mike Murgoitio, 15. Aaron Pierce, 16. Levi Jones. 45:15.026 

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-11 Fike, Laps 12-100 Tyler.

NEW SILVER CROWN POINTS: 1-Reutimann-220; 2-Fike-210; 3-Pierce-210; 4-Kaeding-207; 5-White-201; 6-Donoso-193; 7-Tyler-189; 8-Dodson-189; 9-Neely-177; 10-Barber-175.

NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN RACE: July 13 – Joliet, IL – Chicagoland Speedway

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USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACE RESULTS (Series presented by K & N Engineering): June 29-30, 2007 – Richmond, Virginia – Richmond International Raceway

        QUALIFICATIONS: (Held June 29) 1. Pablo Donoso, 11, Foyt-21.108; 2. A.J. Fike, 91, Hemelgarn/RFMS-21.244; 3. Brian Tyler, 21, Team Six-R-21.299; 4. Mike Murgoitio, 19, Team Six-R-21.363; 5. Jerry Coons Jr., 27, RW-21.403; 6. Cameron Dodson, 199, Edwards/RE-21.531; 7. Tim Barber, 28, Pierson-21.623; 8. Bobby East, 14, Foyt-21.740; 9. Mat Neely, 17, RW-21.772; 10. Bud Kaeding, 29, BK-21.822; 11. Marc Jessup, 2, Vance-21.837; 12. Aaron Pierce, 26, Pierce-21.897; 13. Billy Wease, 12, Western Speed-22.217; 14. Wayne Reutimann Jr., 00, Reutimann-22.389; 15. Levi Jones, 41, Paternoster-22.452; 16. Paul White, 99, Mucci/Matczak-23.415.

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PIERCE LEADS SILVER CROWN SERIESTO RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY SATURDAY

 The fastest driver in USAC Silver Crown Championship history will lead the series to Richmond International Raceway in Virginia this weekend as the series joins the Indy Racing League for the track’s “SunTrust Indy Challenge” program.

 This Saturday’s 100-lap (67-mile) race will be the ninth for the Silver Crown cars at the 3/4-mile banked oval and history includes some unpredictability. The first two in 1995 and 1996 were won by dirt specialists Jack Hewitt and Jimmy Sills, while Aaron Fike became the youngest winner in series history with his 2001 victory. Other winners include Dave Steele in 2002, 2003 and 2005, Bobby East in 2004 and series titlist Bud Kaeding last year.

 Pierce, who owns the ultimate series speed mark at 175.012 mph, set in 2006 at Homestead, Fla., finished 10th in last year’s Richmond race but has a nine-point lead over Wayne Reutimann Jr. entering Saturday’s race. Reutimann, of Zephyrhills, Fla., was fourth at RIR in 2006.

 Kaeding is only 11 points behind Pierce and will try to unseat him from the top spot Saturday. A total of 66 points are available.

 Pierce already has a victory under his belt this season, winning the May 10 race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. He also finished second behind Bobby East at Iowa Speedway in May.

 East, who is slated to driver one of two A.J. Foyt entries in Saturday’s race, won at Iowa, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Tracy Hines were the winners at Phoenix, Ariz. and Homestead.

 Drivers will be aiming for Steele’s 1-lap track record of 136.924 mph when qualifying begins at 6:15 pm Friday. Practice is also slated from 2-2:30 Friday as the Lucas Oil USAC Sprint Cars share Friday’s billing with a 60-lap feature of their own.

 A 2:30 pm warm-up is slated for the Silver Crown cars Saturday, followed by the 100-lap feature event at 5:15 pm.

USAC SILVER CROWN SERIES STANDINGS

1. Aaron Pierce 187  6. Cameron Dodson 1532. Wayne Reutimann Jr. 178  7. Tim Barber 1483. Bud Kaeding 176  8. Pablo Donoso 1424. Paul White 168  9. Mat Neely 1325. A.J. Fike 159  10. Mike Murgoitio 130

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55th ANNUAL HOOSIER HUNDRED CANCELED

            Track Enterprises, Inc. has announced that the 55th Annual Hoosier Hundred, postponed by heavy rains on May 25 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, will not be rescheduled. Due to scheduling conflicts a viable date was not available for the K & N Engineering USAC Silver Crown race.

            Race fans who attended the race on May 25 will receive a full refund. To request your refund you may go to the Track Enterprises website and download a refund request form and mail your ticket stub and/or arm band, along with the request, to Track Enterprises at P.O. Box 79, Macon, Ill. 62544. You may also go to the Indiana State Fairgrounds or Track Enterprises to obtain a refund request form.

            USAC participants can also receive a refund for pit passes issued at the Indiana State Fairgrounds by sending them to the USAC offices at 4910 W. 16th Street, Speedway, IN 46224 or can present them at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield August 18 in return for a credential for that day’s ‘Tony Bettenhausen 100.”

            For more information, contact Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200 or visit the Track Enterprises website at www.trackenterprises.com or call the Indiana State Fairgrounds at 317-927-1482.

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Indianapolis, Ind…….Rain has forced postponement of Friday night’s 55th running of the “Hoosier Hundred” K & N Engineering USAC Silver Crown Championship race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. USAC and track officials are discussing a possible re-schedule date and will announce the new date when firm. [read more...]

LEVI JONES WANTS LAP #100 THIS YEAR IN FRIDAY’S 55TH HOOSIER HUNDRED”Levi Jones of Olney, Ill. returns to the Indiana State Fairgrounds Friday hoping to reverse last year’s last-lap disappointment when teammate Josh Wise ended up winning the “Hoosier Hundred.” Jones finished second after leading 99 laps and he returns as part of the Tony Stewart Racing team with new teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Stenhouse, of Olive Branch, Miss., is subbing for the sidelined Tracy Hines, and won the 2007 K & N Silver Crown Championship Series opener at Phoenix, Ariz. in February. Stenhouse has since added victories in both the Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car and USAC National Midget Car Series. Jones and Stenhouse will compete in Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops Maxim Chevrolets.Aaron Pierce of Muncie, Ind. leads the Silver Crown standings going into Friday’s race after scoring a spectacular victory on the highbanks of Darlington (S.C.) Raceway May 10. Pierce is nine points ahead of Wayne Reutimann Jr. and 11 ahead of Bud Kaeding, who finished third in last year’s “Hoosier Hundred.”Friday’s 100-mile race could include a trio of former winners. Three-time winner Dave Darland, two-time winner Tony Elliott and 2005 winner Teddy Beach are expected to compete.Drivers will aim for Johnny Parsons’ official 1-lap track qualifying record of 114.726 mph (31.379 seconds) when single-car time trials are held. Paul White actually eclipsed Parsons’ record during an incomplete qualifying session in 2005 when turned a lap at 31.173 seconds.Former Hoosier Hundred Champions have been invited back again for this year’s race and will participate in pre-race activities.Tickets for the Hoosier Hundred are available by calling 317-927-1482. Spectator gates open at 3 pm and racing starts at 7.USAC SILVER CROWN SERIES STANDINGS1. Aaron Pierce 187  6. Cameron Dodson 153

2. Wayne Reutimann Jr. 178 7. Tim Barber 148

3. Bud Kaeding 176  8. Pablo Donoso 142

4. Paul White 168  9. Mat Neely 132

5. A.J. Fike 159                           10. Mike Murgoitio 130

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