Kody Swanson Beats Hines & Brother for Lucas Oil Raceway USAC Win

Kody Swanson (left) won the JD Byrider 100; brother Tanner took third

In the nightcap of a wild night of racing at Lucas Oil Raceway, Kody Swanson held off a hard charging Tracy Hines to take the USAC SIlver Crown victory. Swanson's brother took third and although Hines made a valiant charge over the last 15 laps, he could get close but could not get around Kody who led easily for most of the race. A solid field of 30 Silver Crown cars was on hand for the 100 lap feature sponsored by JD Byrider. It was a failry clean race with many drivers doing double duty, having already competed in what turned out to be a contentious 30 lap USAC midget that was sandwiched between the ARCA 200 and the Silver Crown race. These big, loud open wheel cars are a real treat to watch, and this is where drivers learn how to handle a loose race car. You may have heard the phrase, "Loose is fast". I think this is the series that invented that concept.

Midget race winner Kyle Larson wonders what's up with Bryan Clauson

The Road to Indy also started here and there were several drivers pulling Silver Crown and Midget duty, including Bryan Clauson, Hines, Bobby East and Bobby Santos for 130 laps of racing on the night. South Bend Ryan Newman stopped by hoping to add a Silver Crown win to his recent one-off victory in a modified. And the weather wasn't the only thing that was hot - tempers flared after the Midget race which was won by Kyle Larson in relatively easy fashion after Bryan Clauson crashed out. Evidently Bryan felt that Darren Hagen was the cause so Bryan waited near the start-finish line after he was knocked out of the race. Once the race was over and Larson was getting ready to climb out and celebrate his win, Clauson went after Hagen and had to be restrained by USAC officials. Heated words were exchanged between their crews as well, but Bryan calmed down enough to get into his Silver Crown ride for the final race of the evening. I am sure we have not seen the last of this duo tangling!

Here are my slide shows for these races. Now it is on to the Brickyard for me, and then off to Mid Ohio next weekend for the Indycar and American LeMans Series weekend. Having fun now!