USAC Hoosier Hundred field set for Thursday’s 69th Running at IRP

COLUMN BY: Richie Murray – USAC MEDIA – SPEEDWAY, IN – A field of 23 USAC Silver Crown drivers and cars will be roaring toward the green flag during the 69th running of the Hoosier Hundred this Thursday night, June 25, at Brownsburg, Indiana’s Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

A pair of past Hoosier Hundred winners will attempt to claim the Hoosier Hundred throne once more. Defending winner Tyler Roahrig will try to go back-to-back while Bobby Santos will go after win number two after scoring his Hoosier Hundred triumph in 2023.

Santos is vying to become the winningest driver in USAC competition at IRP. Santos, along with Kody Swanson and Tracy Hines, are in a three-way tie for the number one spot at 15 USAC IRP victories apiece.

Three more drivers in Friday night’s field have previously raced to a runner-up result at the Hoosier Hundred. Series point leader C.J. Leary scored a 2nd at the Indy Mile in 2020 and did it again at IRP in 2025. He won the most recent Silver Crown race at IRP in July 2025. He also won the most series race, also on pavement, on June 7 at WWT Raceway.

Russ Gamester took 2nd on the dirt at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1999 and also finished 4th on the pavement of IRP in 2024. On Friday, he’ll be gunning for a record-extending 31st career Hoosier Hundred start.

Veteran Brian Tyler finished 3rd in the 2015 Hoosier Hundred and has won a USAC Silver Crown race at IRP in his career, doing so in 2006. While Brian will be shooting for his 20th career Hoosier Hundred start, his son, Robert Tyler will be making his USAC Silver Crown debut.

Mario Clouser captured the pole position for the 2025 Hoosier Hundred and raced to a 3rd place result. Defending series champion Justin Grant finished 4th at the “Hoosier” in 2019.

Ryan Newman, an 18-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, will make his return to the Hoosier Hundred for the first time since 2000. He finished a best of 4th in the Hoosier Hundred in 1999 on dirt but won at IRP in a Silver Crown car back in 1999. Meanwhile, Jake Trainor was the highest finishing Hoosier Hundred Rookie in 2025, taking 5th.

A handful more drivers in Friday’s lineup have completed the Hoosier Hundred with a top 10 result, including Nathan Byrd (6th in 2023), Dakoda Armstrong (6th in 2024), Jackson Macenko (8th in 2025), and Kyle Steffens (10th in 2024).

USAC Silver Crown veterans returning to the Hoosier Hundred are Gregg Cory (14th in 2025), Kaylee Bryson (15th in 2023), Michael Lewis (19th in 2001), Dave Berkheimer (20th in 2025), and Davey Hamilton Jr. (31st in 2023).

Four Rookies are looking to make their initial Hoosier Hundred appearance. The list includes Colton Bettis, Briggs Danner, Chelby Hinton, and Kevin Studley.

RACE DETAILS

On Thursday, June 25, the big cars of the USAC Silver Crown National Championship hit the pavement for the 100-lap Hoosier Hundred at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Also on the event card are the All Star Pavement Midgets and the Night Before the 500.

On race day, pits open at 2pm Eastern. Drivers meeting at 4:15pm. Front gates open at 5pm. Midget practice runs from 5-5:30pm. Silver Crown practice runs from 5:40-6:25pm. Midget Qualifying at 6:35. Silver Crown qualifying at 7:05pm. Opening ceremonies at 7:30pm, followed by the midget qualifying race, the Silver Crown feature, and the Midget feature.

The entire racing program will be shown live on FloRacing at https://flosports.link/usac2026.

USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-150, 2-Justin Grant-132, 3-Kyle Steffens-132, 4-Mario Clouser-126, 5-Briggs Danner-105, 6-Gregg Cory-88, 7-Hayden Reinbold-80, 8-Dave Berkheimer-80, 9-Bobby Santos-67, 10-Chase Stockon-65.

2026 HOOSIER HUNDRED ENTRY LIST: (23)

5 DAKODA ARMSTRONG/New Castle, IN (C & A Motorsports)

6 MICHAEL LEWIS/Noblesville, IN (Klatt Enterprises)

8 KYLE STEFFENS/St. Charles, MO (Steffens Motorsports)

11 KAYLEE BRYSON/Muskogee, OK (Abacus Racing Powered by Droplight)

14 DAVEY HAMILTON JR./Tampa, FL (Hamilton-DB Racing)

20 MARIO CLOUSER/Auburn, IL (Team AZ/Petty-Rossi/Curb Agajanian Racing)

21 C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Team AZ/Petty-Rossi/Curb Agajanian Racing)

26 ®COLTON BETTIS/Lutz, FL (AP Driver Development)

31 DAVE BERKHEIMER/Mechanicsburg, PA (Dave Berkheimer Motorsports)

32 GREGG CORY/Shelbyville, IN (Williams-Cory Racing)

40 NATHAN BYRD/Goodyear, AZ (Meyer Auto Research-Byrd Racing)