The Last HOOSIER HUNDRED RACE USAC Silver Crown Sprint Cars
Thursday, May 23, 2019
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There has been a sprint car race before the Indy 500 at the
Indiana State Fair Ground's 1-mile dirt oval for 64 years.
In that time, many famous IndyCar drivers have competed in
the race.
After this year's race, the Indiana State Fair is replacing the
track with some indoor training area for race horses, bringing
to an end a long Hoosier racing tradition.
I bought some tickets for their last hurrah.
I took my sister.
She met me at a nearby club - the Mousetrap, for pre-race
dinner.
Then we headed over to the fairgrounds.
It had started out a little hot and steamy, but the weather
cooled off some and became more pleasant as the night
wore on.
More Photo Journals from this May:
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May 11 - Saturday May 18 - Saturday May 24 - Friday May 26 - Sunday
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Night Time Video Clip of Race
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Cars Sliding Through the Corner
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I waited in a very slow, long line for some beer.
The guy behind me was mad about how slow they were.
I bought my sister a Sprite and myself two pints of local craft
beer for $23.
The guy behind me then found out they were out of cheap
domestic beer and walked away empty handed. Heh heh.
We had tickets on the top row, but sat down lower.
The race was supposed to start at 8, but it started at 9pm.
Like the Indy 500, there were a lot of pre-race ceremonies - a
prayer, patriotic songs, Taps and “Back Home Again".
HOOSIER HUNDRED RACE RESULTS (100 laps)
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
Tyler Courtney
Kevin Thomas, Jr.
Kody Swanson
Justin Grant
Brady Bacon
Jason McDougal
David Byrne
Steve Buckwalter
Brian Tyler
Jacob Wilson
C.J. Leary
Russ Gamester
Mike Haggenbottom
Jimmy Light
Kyle Steffens
Matt Goodnight
Chris Phillips
Dave Darland
Chris Dyson
Austin Nemire
Kyle Robbins
Eric Gordon
Shane Cottle
Chad Kemenah
Jeff Swindell
Billy Puterbaugh, Jr.
Johnny Petrozelle
Austin Mundie
John Heydenreich
Bill Rose
Chris Windom
Dallas Hewitt
3
1
4
13
8
25
6
17
5
11
23
10
18
16
27
21
24
29
22
9
31
26
19
28
15
14
7
30
20
32
2
12
94
22
20
6
11
31
91
26
88
66
10
60
78
08
18
39
14
21
53
24
81
40
27
15
222
47
8
71
51
123
7
12
Hans Lein
Foxco Racing
Gene Nolen Racing
Hemelgarn Racing
Klatt Enterprises
Phillips Motorsports
Byrne Racing
Five Three Motorsports
Galas Motorsports
Wilson Brothers Racing
DMW Motorsports
Gamester Racing
John Haggenbottom
Two-Three Motorsports
Kyle Steffens
Goodnight Racing
Philips-Nolen Racing
Dennis & Dave McQuinn
Chris Dyson Racing
Nemire-Lesko Racing
KR Racing
Armstrong/Slinkard Racing
Curtis Williams
Bob Hampshire
Mark Swanson Encore Team
Robbie Rice-PBR Motorsports
Cornell-Petrozelle Racing
Les & Patty Butler
A.J. Felker Racing
Bill Rose Racing
Goodnight-Byrd Racing
Dallas Hewitt
Indianapolis IN
Cullman, AL
Kingsburg CA
Ione CA
Broken Arrow OK
Broken Arrow OK
Shullsburg WI
Royersford PA
Mt Pleasant NC
Crawfordsville IN
Greenfield IN
Peru IN
Levittown PA
West Springfield PA
St Louis MO
Winchester IN
Plainfield IN
Lincoln IN
Pleasant Valley NY
Sylvania OH
New Castle IN
Fortville IN
Kansas IL
Alvada OH
Germantown TN
Brownsburg IN
Denton NC
Dallas TX
Plainfield IN
Canton IL
Troy OH
Finish
Start
Car #
Driver
Hometown
Team
FEATURE LAP LEADERS:
Laps 1-5 Windom
Laps 6-92 Thomas
Laps 93-100 Courtney
Windom flipped on lap 6 of the feature.
Dyson flipped on lap 92 of the feature.
Previous Hoosier Hundred Winners Competing:
Kody Swanson - won the race from 2014-2018
Dave Darland - won the race in 1995, 1996 and 2004
Jeff Swindell - won the race in 1991 and 1993
Chuck Leary - won the race in 1997
These cool vehicles were parked outside the track:
These cars were really loud and as soon as it started, I
realized I'd better get some earplugs to prevent hearing
damage.
I walked down to a race trailer behind the stands to buy some
earplugs. I also picked up some stickers and two corn dogs.
My sister didn’t want a corn dog, so I ate both of them. Burp.
Anyway, while I was gone, there was a big wreck in front of
where we were sitting! That was the only crash and I missed
it! I later found out it was Chris Windom who flipped.
Windom would also races in the Indy Lights Freedom 100
at IMS the next day. He crashed in that too.)
(I later read that another driver flipped on Lap 92, but I was
never aware of it. Perhaps it was on the back stretch, or
maybe I was in the bathroom.) There were numerous
cautions that I never knew the reason for and wondered if it
was just to bunch the field up.
They moved the sprint cars from the infield out onto the track using ATVs.
There was no scoreboard or monitors and I couldn’t hear the
announcer, so headphones and a scanner or radio would
have helped a lot.
Since I have not followed this racing series, I didn't know any
of the drivers or cars. So what I did was look for a
competitive pack and pick a few cars to watch.
For instance, the #8 was running in 9th at the head of the
second pack and had some cars close behind him. After a
caution, the #8 got passed by #91 and another car. It was
obvious he was losing steam on the back stretch. At the
next caution, he pulled out of the race.
Soon, I was watching #91 who was in 4th. (The three guys in
front of him were the class of the field and no one was going
to catch them.) The cars behind #91 couldn’t catch him, so I
began watching the car behind him - #97. #27 would go wide
into the corners and would almost be able to pass him, but
then #97 had more power and would pull away from him on
the straight.