SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Kody Swanson knew he had a long row to hoe starting 23rd during Saturday afternoon’s Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
As it turned out, he didn’t even need the full 100-mile distance to make it to the lead.
The Kingsburg, Calif., native carved his way through the field to take the lead on lap 61, then led what wound up being the final 16 miles when a red flag for a crash and subsequent rain with 76 laps completed forced a premature finish to the 58th running of the event for the USAC Silver Crown Series.
That turned the Bettenhausen 100 into the Bettenhausen 76 and marking the first rain-shortened race for the USAC Silver Crown Series since the 1998 Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
The hard charging effort put in by Swanson from 23rd was the second furthest back any winner has started at Springfield in the USAC Silver Crown division, only trailing Kenny Irwin Jr.’s all-time series record run from 28th to first in 1995.
Saturday’s victory also put the five-time series champion and current series point leader back in victory lane on the dirt for the first time in three years.
“It’s been three years, not that it’s been bothering me,” Swanson said with a laugh.
Swanson’s qualifying lap was blistering at 30.075 seconds, which translates to 119.701 mph around the one-mile dirt oval. As it turned out, it was a blistering lap in more ways than one, a lap which necessitated a right rear tire change prior to the feature.
Therefore he gave up his position on the pole, instead taking new rubber, a gamble that turned out to be well worth the risk for he and his Chris Dyson Racing team.
“We had to change the tire because I made an error in qualifying,” Swanson admitted. “I ran it harder than I needed to, spun the tires harder than I needed to, blistered it, and we weren’t sure it was going to make it. Rather than wonder all race if we could make it, you put a tire on, you go on the attack, do your job and get it done.”
That’s just what he did. He was one of five drivers to opt for a fresh right rear tire, forcing them all to near the back of the 31-car field. A handful of other teams had a variety of mechanical issues on the start that ultimately pushed Swanson up to 23rd.
On the start, Jerry Coons Jr. moved to the lead on the bottom as new polesitter Logan Seavey stepped to the topside and charged back into the lead where he’d remain for the initial 16 miles.
On lap 17 Jake Swanson was the man on the move, powering underneath Seavey between turns three and four to assume the top spot.
By that point in time, Kody Swanson had established himself inside the top-10, while Seavey tucked in behind the rear bumper of J. Swanson against the inner guardrail while Jake Swanson’s DMW Motorsports’ teammate, Chase Stockon, was grinding on the cushion back in the third position.
Jake Swanson led a freight train around the bottom as the field settled in and felt their machines out for the middle section of the contest with Seavey, Justin Grant, the reigning series champ, and a surging Kody Swanson in tow, nose-to-tail in a seven-car pack.
Seavey looked to the high side, he looked to the low side, all to no avail as he worked on Jake Swanson. However, on the 45th lap, Seavey’s balance of urgency and patience paid dividends as he dug in and found the drive in the middle of the second corner to blitz past Jake Swanson.
Just past the halfway mark, Justin Grant, who had just elevated himself to the second spot, slowed dramatically off the pace, dropping out on lap 51 and finished 20th, seriously putting a crimp in his bid for a repeat series title.
Kody Swanson simultaneously saw Grant slow and also blast around the non-related Jake Swanson to go from fourth to second and began to rope Seavey in.
Another major player joined the mix after the halfway point in Carmen Perigo, the series rookie who was making his first Springfield start. The mustachioed Perigo used the high side to put himself into the top-five after running as low as 20th during the first restart on the 14th lap.
He ultimately raced around the outside of Kody Swanson for second in turns one and two on lap 57. Perigo ultimately faded slightly toward the end to fifth and was also docked four positions for jumping the lap 34 restart and was repositioned to ninth in the final rundown.
It was go time for Kody Swanson as he kept the pressure on Seavey, getting a big bite off turn four under Seavey coming to lap 61, which gave him the edge to out drag race Seavey to the bottom of turn one and become the new leader. Kody Swanson bumped his lead up from a half-second to a full-second as the laps ticked away and the skies began to threaten.
On lap 77, while battling for 13th, Nathan Moore’s front bumper and the rear bumper of Patrick Lawson came together entering the first turn. The long slide backwards into the unforgiving concrete sent Lawson flipping over twice while Moore performed a 720 degree helicopter before landing on all four tires. Both were able to walk away.
During the red, the skies opened up and the rain began to fall. With the ever-increasing rain falling, the track became too wet. With the combination of the one-mile track surface not being able to be rolled in until the rain stopped 45 minutes later – which would last another two to three hours to get back into race shape – and the time allotment allowed for the event before the night’s concert was scheduled for the fairgrounds stage at the start/finish line, the race was declared complete with 76 laps completed and leader Kody Swanson declared the winner.
“Sorry about the rain, but it was a swamp in three and four before we even stopped,” Kody Swanson stated. “I understand the decision. We wanted to get to 100 laps.
“These guys gave me a great racecar, and I’m thankful to be able to pass some cars and be a part of it there at the end,” Kody Swanson added. “I hated to see Justin Grant’s misfortune. We had to beat a bunch of great racers up there to be able to sneak away with one and I’m really proud of that.”
Seavey led a race-high 32 laps in his Rice Motorsports/Fatheadz Eyewear – STIDA.com – Lucas Oil/DRC/Pink Foxco Chevy, keeping him with well within the series title fight versus K. Swanson with three races remaining.
Shane Cockrum turned in his third top-four finish in four starts this season with a third-place run at Springfield in his BLS Motorsports/Hustler Turf Equipment – Ben’s Lawn Service & Trailer Sales/Maxim/Kistler Chevy.
The finish:
1. Kody Swanson (23), 2. Logan Seavey (1), 3. Shane Cockrum (25), 4. Jerry Coons Jr. (3), 5. Kyle Steffens (9), 6. Jake Swanson (4), 7. Matt Westfall (2), 8. Casey Buckman (12), 9. Carmen Perigo (13), 10. Chase Stockon (5), 11. Austin Nemire (19), 12. Kyle Robbins (8), 13. Chris Phillips (11), 14. Travis Welpott (14), 15. Steven Russell (20), 16. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 17. Patrick Lawson (27), 18. Nathan Moore (18), 19. Korey Weyant (16), 20. Justin Grant (10), 21. Ken Schrader (22), 22. Terry Babb (6), 23. Shane Cottle (26), 24. Chris Fetter (29), 25. Matt Goodnight (7), 26. Dallas Hewitt (15), 27. Dave Peperak (21), 28. Jason McDougal (24), 29. Dave Berkheimer (28), 30. Robert Ballou (30).