Doran Binks’ Swanson Finishes Second
In Mission Foods No. 77 on Saturday
In Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield
And Still Leads USAC Silver Crown Point Standings

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Aug. 18 — Doran Binks Racing and driver Kody Swanson recorded their best dirt-track finish of the 2024 USAC Silver Crown season to date with their Mission Foods No. 77 when they placed second in the 61st running of the Bettenhausen 100 Saturday on the 1-mile track at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Swanson qualified second with a time of 31.974 seconds, only 0.333 off the 31.641-second lap that Justin Grant turned to earn the pole. Grant led all 100 laps of the race, which attracted the largest field so far this season with 40 entries. But with the runner-up finish Swanson and Doran Binks Racing still lead the driver and entrant point standings with four races remaining in the 14-event season.

Unofficially Swanson and Doran Binks Racing lead Grant and Hemelgarn Racing 608 to 587. In the driver standings Seavey is currently third followed by C.J. Leary and Kaylee Bryson.

Shane Cottle, who started fourth in Saturday’s race, was able to get by both Swanson and third-place starter Trey Osborne on the first lap to slot into second place. That set up a battle royale as Swanson tried his best to regain the position with the No. 77, which is a Maxim chassis with a Hampshire Chevy engine.

Steve Gennetten (17th) and Korey Weyant (19th) made contact in Turn 3 with two laps down and Gennetten flipped, which brought out a red flag. Neither driver was hurt but they were both out of the race, and several other drivers reported to the work area at that time with various mechanical issues.

The restart was single file, not double file like the original start, and the top five of Grant, Cottle, Swanson, Jerry Coons Jr. and Brady Bacon remained the same with three laps in the books. Logan Seavey passed Bacon for fifth on lap six and Coons for fourth on lap 11 to put himself right behind Swanson as the field made its way around the historic track, with the state fair’s carnival rides flanking part of the speedway for a picturesque summertime scene of traditional Americana.

The right-rear tire of Chase Stockon’s car shredded to bring out a yellow on lap 15 and drop him out of the top 10, although he rebounded to finish tenth. That yellow lasted two laps.

Swanson tried his best to get around Cottle and he came very close numerous times, drawing up just two- or three-tenths of a second behind him. On lap 30 Grant led by 0.749 seconds over Cottle, while Swanson was 0.225 behind Cottle and 0.634 ahead of Seavey. Swanson set and reset his fastest race lap numerous times as he tried to find a way by Cottle while keeping Seavey at bay.

Their intervals had widened a bit by the halfway point, when Grant had a 1.059-second lead over Cottle while Swanson was 0.568 of a second behind Cottle and 0.896 ahead of Seavey.

With 40 laps to go Grant’s lead was 1.767 seconds. Swanson was hounding Cottle, only 0.133 of a second behind, while Seavey was 1.699 seconds behind Swanson’s car, which is sponsored by Wilke Orthodontics and Glenn Farms in addition to Mission Foods.

Swanson had just bettered his fastest race lap on lap 62 when Cottle’s engine blew in Turns 3 and 4. That vaulted Swanson to second, but he knew first-hand the disappointment that Cottle felt since the same thing had happened to Swanson less than 24 hours earlier when his engine blew at World Wide Technology Raceway while he was leading with 58 of 60 laps complete.

Although there was no caution flag for Cottle, there was one for another Shane, Shane Cockrum, who also had an engine let go while he was running sixth to bring out the final yellow flag on lap 69. That yellow erased Grant’s 1.961-second lead over Swanson, and Swanson’s 1.859-second advantage over Seavey. Seavey, Coons (fourth), and Bacon (fifth) had all run their fastest laps of the race on lap 68 before the yellow came out.

Grant was able to maintain his lead after the restart, although Swanson set his fastest lap of the race on lap 79 with a time of 32.442 seconds. It was the third-fastest lap anyone ran. Bacon set the fastest lap on lap 81 with a 32.418, while Grant was second-fastest with a 32.423 on lap 77.

Swanson was less than a second behind Grant in the late stages of the race through lap 88, but then the interval increased to a second as they encountered lapped traffic. At the checkered Grant was more than 3 seconds ahead of Swanson, who was 1.825 seconds ahead of Seavey. Coons and Bacon rounded out the top five.

“We’ve been trying to get better on the dirt, and I’m proud of my guys,” Swanson said after the race. “Justin is a smart racer and he put one over on us, but I’m thankful for everyone on the Doran Binks team for all their hard work and for the support of our sponsors like Mission Foods, Wilke Orthodontics, and Glenn Farms. It’s been good.”

The next event is at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in Du Quoin, Ill., on Aug. 31. Then the series goes back to Doran Binks Racing’s home state of Ohio to race at Eldora Speedway Sept. 20-21. A show rained out earlier in the year will be made up at Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 6, and the season finale is at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Ind., on Oct. 19, not far from Swanson’s home in Indianapolis. He is a native of Kingsburg, Calif.

The USAC Silver Crown series’ races are streamed live by Flo Racing.

About Mission Foods:
The Gruma Corporation began in 1949 and is today the leading tortilla manufacturer worldwide. Mission Foods is a proud subsidiary of Gruma, and as the #1 tortilla company in the United States, manufactures a wide variety of authentic Mexican products. Five years ago it opened a state-of-the-art plant in Dallas, Texas, with the capacity to produce 30 million tortillas daily. Today Mission Foods is a global company, with special emphasis not only on the United States but also Mexico, Central America, Europe, China, Malaysia, and Australia. Its products include flour and corn tortillas; tostadas; low-carb, whole wheat, organic and gluten-free items; wraps; flatbreads such as naan, pita and roti; tortilla chips and organic chips; chicharrones; salsa, and dips. For more information see missionfoods.com.

For more information on Doran Racing, see DoranRacing.com.
The team also has a Facebook page.