Swanson Leads, Finishes Fourth in Hoosier Hundred
With Doran Binks Racing’s Mission Foods No. 77

Tyler Roahrig (No. 41) and Kody Swanson (Mission Foods No. 77) battle during Friday’s Hoosier Hundred USAC Silver Crown race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. (John Dadalt photo)

BROWNSBURG, Ind., May 25 — Doran Binks Racing’s Kody Swanson started third, led 24 laps, was in a podium position for more than three-fourths of the race, and ended up with a solid fourth-place finish in the USAC Silver Crown series’ 68th running of the Hoosier Hundred Friday night during the Carb Night Classic at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Polesitter Mario Clouser led the first of 146 laps around IRP’s 0.686-mile asphalt oval, but Swanson got by both the eventual winner, second-place starter Tyler Roahrig, and Clouser to lead lap two. After running side by side with Clouser for most of the first lap, Swanson took the lead from him with a move to the inside of Turn 1 with the Mission Foods No. 77, which also carries the support of Glenn Farms and Wilke Orthodontics and is powered by a Lanci Ford engine.

Roahrig got around Clouser on lap three to regain second, and then he pressured Swanson incessantly. For most of the early going the top three drivers — Swanson, Roahrig, and Clouser — ran nose to tail.

Roahrig took a look under Swanson in Turn 4 on lap 22, but was unsuccessful. Roahrig finally got by working lap 26 by dipping under Swanson in Turn 3, and he led the rest of the race.

Swanson, who is a five-time and defending winner of this race as well as the winningest driver in USAC Silver Crown history with eight championships, remained in the hunt.

But Roahrig was able to build up his advantage, and Clouser hounded Swanson for second just as hard as Roahrig had battled Swanson for the lead. On lap 80 Roahrig had a 3.039-second lead, and Clouser was just 0.350 of a second behind Swanson as the top runners kept a torrid pace.

A break came on lap 89 when a yellow flew for debris, erasing Roahrig’s 2.566-second lead over Swanson. Swanson, a native of Kingsburg, Calif., who now lives near IRP in Brownsburg, Ind., tried to mount a challenge on the restart with 96 laps complete, but Roahrig maintained control.

Four laps later the second and final yellow flew on lap 100 when the driver who was 14th, Taylor Ferns, stopped on the backstretch.

Swanson threw everything he had at Roahrig to try to get under him in Turns 1 and 2 on the restart on lap 103, but Roahrig held him off. Three laps later Roahrig’s advantage was over 1 second, and Clouser was once again hounding Swanson, as he was just 0.116 of a second behind the No. 77.

Swanson set his fastest lap of the race on lap 107 with a time of 21.991, which was the third-fastest lap of the race, behind only Roahrig’s 21.704 on lap 106 and Clouser’s 21.911-second lap on lap four.

Clouser finally got by Swanson in Turn 4 working lap 113 to push him back to third. C.J. Leary, who started seventh, passed Swanson in the same spot five laps later to relegate him to fourth, and that’s where he finished. Leary then passed Clouser for second working lap 133, and the top four of Roahrig, Leary, Clouser, and Swanson remained unchanged until the checkered. Jake Trainor, who started 16th and moved into fifth on lap 117 by passing Brian Tyler, rounded out the top five and got the hard charger honors. It was Roahrig’s first USAC Silver Crown victory.

Finishing sixth through tenth were Logan Seavey, Justin Grant, Jackson Macenko, Nathan Byrd, and Kyle O’Gara.

"I sure love the Hoosier Hundred, and I’m thankful for the team at IRP to keep the iconic event going,” Swanson said after the race. “I was glad to be able to get to the lead early, but it looks like the stagger opened up more than we planned, and made for a challenging race. One hundred miles around IRP is tough enough, and we just missed it a little bit today. I appreciate the effort from the Doran Binks team, and want to congratulate Tyler Roahrig and his team on their win."

Swanson qualified third with a lap in 21.158 seconds, just 0.046 off Clouser’s pole-winning time of 21.112. Roahrig qualified second, while Bobby Santos III and Grant rounded out the top five. It was Clouser’s first USAC Silver Crown pole.

During the opening ceremonies Doran Binks Racing and Swanson were presented with their USAC Silver Crown championship rings for 2024 in a ceremony on the frontstretch. The presentation and the race were streamed live by Flo Racing, which carries all the USAC Silver Crown events.

There are three USAC Silver Crown races scheduled in June: World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., on June 14 (paved track); Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa., on June 21 (dirt track), and Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Ind., on June 27 (paved track). The complete schedule can be found at usacracing.com. The USAC Silver Crown division is back at IRP on July 23.

For more information on Doran Racing, see DoranRacing.com and the track website is at raceirp.com.
The team also has a Facebook page.