TERRE HAUTE, Indiana — After a four-year absence, the Sumar Classic returns for the 19th running at the Terre Haute Action Track for the USAC Silver Crown season opener on Sunday, May 1.
There will be 36 champ cars showing up to contend for the win at the half-mile, dirt oval, which is the largest anticipated lineup of cars and drivers for the Sumar Classic since 1997.
The tradition of the Sumar Classic began in 1995, named after the wives of Terre Haute businessmen and Sumar Special car owners Chapman Root and Don Smith. The upcoming race is one of the most highly anticipated runnings of the event in its history.
Five former Sumar Classic winners are among the bunch, all of whom are one-time winners.
There have been 14 different race winners in the past 14 runnings of the event.
Justin Grant, the 2020 series champion, turned in a winning performance in the most recent Sumar Classic in 2018, which was his fourth start in the event.
In 2016, C.J. Leary made the winning move with seven laps remaining and has finished inside the top-five in all four of his Sumar Classic starts. The victory made him the first son of a past USAC Silver Crown winner — Chuck Leary — to win a race of his own.
Kody Swanson will become the first reigning USAC Silver Crown champion to compete with the No. 1 on his ride as he too contends for a second career Sumar Classic win after a victory in 2014. He’s finished inside the top-10 in all seven of his event starts.
Shane Cockrum’s first Silver Crown win came in 2015 at the Sumar Classic. The veteran of five Sumar starts will be one to watch, after winning last year’s dirt season opener at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway.
Brian Tyler owns 10 Sumar Classic starts, but none since 2012. His 2004 Sumar Classic victory came after he transferred through the qualifying race, then charged from 22nd place on the grid to win — the furthest back any driver has started and done so.
There’s also a number of drivers aiming to keep the streak of first-time Sumar Classic winners alive on Sunday, including Brady Bacon, Jerry Coons Jr., Chase Stockon and Logan Seavey. They have all won at Terre Haute in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition.
At the Sumar Classic, Bacon has made four starts, finishing a best of 4th in 2016. Coons has made more Sumar Classic starts than anybody in the field, but would love to notch a first triumph in the event after runner-up finishes in both 2008 and 2012. Stockon’s only Sumar start came in 2015, where he finished 11th.
Meanwhile, USAC Silver Crown racing’s 2021 Rookie of the Year and two-time series feature winner Seavey will be making his Sumar Classic debut.
Returning to the Sumar grid are Austin Nemire who earned a 12th in 2018, Patrick Lawson who finished 12th in 2014, Kyle Robbins was 13th in 2018 and Travis Welpott recorded a 19th back in 2018.
While many drivers are returning veterans, other are looking to make their first start in the Sumar Classic. As it stands, Donnie Beechler (1995) and Josh Wise (2005) are the only drivers to win in their first start in the event.
There are five drivers aiming to make their first Silver Crown series start at Terre Haute.
That includes 2021 USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Champion Buddy Kofoid, current USAC National Sprint Car points leader Emerson Axsom, Florida sprint car champion Tommy Nichols, 2006 Paragon Speedway sprint car track champion Gregg Cory, Eldora Speedway’s four-time late model and two-time modified titlist Brian Ruhlman, and northern Indiana’s pavement winged sprint car vet Tom Paterson.
They’ll be joined by a slew of Silver Crown experienced drivers who find themselves among the Sumar Classic’s rookie class.
The 2021 USAC National Most Improved Driver Jake Swanson has been a regular contender for a win on the Silver Crown trail, similar to USAC National Midget and Sprint Car winner Jason McDougal who makes his return to the series for his first Sumar appearance.
Dave Peperak is a former USAC National Sprint Car track record holder at Terre Haute, but is fairly new to the Silver Crown cars. He’s joined by Dallas Hewitt, nephew of 1999 Sumar winner Jack Hewitt.
Sumar Classic first-timers also include the likes of Carmen Perigo, Casey Buckman and series full-time driver Dave Berkheimer. Ronnie Wuerdeman returns to the fold after a devastating Williams Grove crash last year, which sidelined his car for the remainder of the season.
Danny Long is also back in action, a Vietnam War veteran who happens to be the most veteran driver in the field at 72 years old.
Keyword: USAC Silver Crown Season Opener At Terre Haute