INDIANAPOLIS – Logan Seavey, who received his introduction to the USAC Silver Crown Series a year ago on the dirt, will add pavement to the mix this season as he attempts to earn Silver Crown rookie-of-the-year honors with Rice Motorsports.
Seavey’s Silver Crown season begins May 27 on the dirt at Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track, with his series debut on the pavement coming the following night, May 28, at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Ind.
The Sutter, Calif., native will attempt to become just the second driver to earn the rookie-of-the-year award in USAC Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing in his career. Only 1999 USAC Silver Crown champion and 18-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Ryan Newman has previously achieved the feat.
Seavey previously won Rookie of the Year honors with the USAC sprint cars and USAC midgets in 2018, with his rookie midget campaign also netting him the overall series championship with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports.
The results of Seavey’s first three Silver Crown starts were superb in 2020 with a 10th at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway, a third at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and an eighth at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, and he was the lone rookie to score top 10s in all three dirt races.
Seavey finished 11th overall in the standings last year, and the hot start and solid results have presented reasonably high expectations for the pairing to achieve even more success in the coming season. Seavey believes the team is even more prepared for the challenge this year.
“I got into a car that worked the way it was supposed to,” Seavey recalled. “Everyone knew what to expect on the dirt and it was the same for me as a driver. The cars are a lot bigger and have a little bit less horsepower, which some people say is harder and some people say is easier. I don’t really know. It’s just a different race car to me. For the most part, (the learning curve) wasn’t too hard. The length of the races is really cool to me; I really love the longer races.
“Overall, we had a really good first year and there really isn’t any reason we shouldn’t be able to back it up and run up front again.”
Car owner Robbie Rice is a veteran of three Silver Crown starts and 85 with the USAC National Sprint Car Series as a driver during the 1990s and 2000s.
Rice, the son of two-time Silver Crown champion Larry Rice, feels most confident in his third year as a series entrant with Seavey as his driver and a crew consisting of expert car builder Joe Devin and five-time USAC Western States Midget champion driver Ronnie Gardner.
“Rice Motorsports was coined by my dad more than 25 years ago,” Robbie Rice explained. “I’m extremely excited to start this new adventure in what was my dad’s favorite division. Without the help of Fatheadz Eyewear and Lucas Oil Products, this wouldn’t be possible. We’ve added a Beast pavement car to the team, to go along with our DRC dirt car and hope to learn a lot in 2021. Having the experience of Joe and Ronnie working on the cars, I feel confident we will give Logan the opportunity to showcase his driving skills in well-prepared cars.
“Obviously, the pavement will be a huge learning curve this year for us, but we are ready for the challenge.“
Seavey’s pavement experience is limited to stock cars and late models, as well as laps in a Silver Crown test a couple weeks ago and admitted that it’ll be a learning curve for everybody on the team on that side of the equation, but they’re prepared to take on the task.
“Our main goal is to win a race on the dirt and to finish all the pavement races and get as many pavement laps in as possible,” Seavey stated. “Hopefully, a few races in on the pavement, or by the end of the year, we’ll be running with the front pack.
“It’s new for me and new for the team I’m racing with, so we’re pretty green and just trying to learn.”