Press Release- 56th Horn 100 at DuQuoin Could Determine USAC Title Chase

For additional information contact Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises at
217-764-3200 or Jay Hardin at jhardin3@verizon.net

The 56th running of the Ted Horn 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds could
play an important role in the United States Auto Club Silver Crown Series
title chase as the points available could determine the winners share of a
$250,000 point fund in the K & N Filters sponsored series.  Coming into the
eleventh round of the fourteen race schedule just 26 points separate the two
lead drivers who have been tied for or swapped the point lead three times in
the last three races.  Promoter Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises has posted
a purse of over $40,000 for the Ted Horn 100 as the DuQuoin "Magic Mile'
celebrates its sixtieth anniversary, with over $9000 going to the winner of
the Ted Horn 100.

2006 marks a USAC Silver Crown title chase that has been as close as any
point race in the 35-year history of the division. Thirty-eight year old
Brian Tyler of Parma, Michigan moved to North Carolina to pursue a stock car
career but has developed into one of the front-runners in the USAC Silver
Crown Series, winning at Homestead and Indianapolis Raceway Park to take a
twenty-six point lead after finishing second in his quest for a third
consecutive Tony Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds two
weeks ago.  Tyler, also the stock car qualifying record holder at DuQuoin,
won on the high banks of Homestead Speedway earlier this year and is after
his first Ted Horn 100 victory which could vault him to the series title.
Campbell, California third generation driver Bud Kaeding has reemerged as a
title contender on the strength of wins at the Kentucky Speedway, Richmond
International Raceway and the Sumar Classic at Terre Haute. Teaming this
year with former series champion and current NASCAR Busch series driver
Jason Leffler as his car owner, Kaeding held the points lead until an
accident at Springfield ended his day on lap 66 and handed the point lead to
Tyler.

Several roadblocks stand in the way of the title hopes of Bud Kaeding and
Brian Tyler in the form of one of the strongest DuQuoin entry lists in Ted
Horn 100 history. An entry list of approximately forty cars is expected to
be dotted with former race winners, former USAC champions, youngsters,
veterans and local favorites is expected for the 56th Ted Horn 100.

Tracy Hines of New Castle, Indiana added his name to the hall of fame list
of championship race winners on the one mile dirt tracks when he passed 2004
Horn 100 winner Tyler Walker on lap 50 on his way to victory lane in the
2005 Ted Horn 100. Hines won the Tony Bettenhausen 100 two weeks ago at
Springfield after Dave Steele's apparent win was taken away after it was
discovered that Steele's car did not meet the minimum weight requirement.
Hines recently vacated his NASCAR Busch Series ride and has returned to the
seat of the Indiana Underground Construction automobile that won the 2000
Silver Crown title with Hines at the wheel and last year’s Ted Horn 100.
Should Hines be able to repeat as Ted Horn 100 champion he would be the
fourteenth driver since 1946 to sweep both the Tony Bettenhausen 100 and the
Ted Horn 100 in the same year.

Hines should be joined on September 3 by 1997 Ted Horn 100 winner Russ
Gamester of Peru, Indiana, 1999 Horn 100 winner Tony Elliot of Kokomo,
Indiana, 2001 Horn 100 winner and 2001 USAC Silver Crown champ Paul White of
Temple, Texas and popular veteran and two-time Horn 100 winner Johnny
Parsons of Speedway, Indiana. Parsons, who will turn 62 in the week prior to
the Horn 100 won at DuQuoin in 1992 and 1995.  A veteran of several
Indianapolis 500 mile races Parsons drives for Benton, Illinois car owner
Ricky Nix.  Another popular former winner recently returned to the
championship dirt car wars as Memphis, Tennessee driver Jeff Swindell has
reunited with O’Fallon, Illinois car owner Bob Galas.  Swindell is making
his first starts in the USAC Silver Crown Series since he left in 1993, at
that time he and Galas were a potent combination working for the
Delrose-Holt Racing Team out of Chicago.  Swindell won the 1990 Ted Horn 100
for Delrose-Holt with Galas as chief mechanic. 2003 winner Rich Tobias of
Annville, Pennsylvania has apparently retired from the Silver Crown cars and
Tyler Walker, the 2004 winner, had his car owner Kasey Kahne leave the USAC
Silver Crown Series at the end of the 2005 season and it is unknown at this
time if Walker will have a ride at DuQuoin.

Several veterans also have a shot at making history with their first win at
DuQuoin as well.  Former USAC Silver Crown champ Dave Darland of Indiana is
looking to become the fourteenth man in auto racing history to post wins on
the dirt miles at Indianapolis, Springfield and DuQuoin lacking only a win
on the “Magic Mile”.  Two time and defending series champion Dave Steele of
Tampa, Florida is also expected to make the trek to DuQuoin in an attempt to
secure his first one-mile dirt track win after his Springfield
disqualification. Steele won at Phoenix to open the year and is currently
fifth in the points behind the leaders. Fellow Floridian Wayne Reutimann Jr.
got his first ever USAC Silver Crown win at Milwaukee and has moved to
fourth in series points dropping to 104 points behind the lead after a poor
Springfield showing.

Twenty three year old Californian Josh Wise had  shot at becoming the first
American open wheel "triple Crown" winner in twenty eight years after
winning the prestigious Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in
May.  Former USAC car owner and First Financial Bank of Terre Haute, Indiana
president Don Smith posted a $25,000 award to any USAC Silver Crown driver
who could win the Hoosier Hundred, Tony Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield and
the upcoming Ted Horn 100 at DuQuoin.  Unfortunately Wise, who drives one of
two Tony Stewart owned and Mopar supported machines was unable to win at
Springfield after driving his mount to a thrilling win in the Hoosier
Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in May, passing teammate Levi Jones
on the last turn of the last lap.  Wise currently sits sixth in the points
and should be joined at DuQuoin by another youngster, Indiana's Aaron
Pierce, the winner at the Chicagoland Speedway in July.  Pierce is currently
third in the Silver Crown standings.

Veterans such as former DuQuoin pole winner Jerry Coons of Arizona, Jay
Drake of California (ninth in points), John Heydenreich of Pennsylvania and
Kevin Huntley of Indiana are expected to be entered, as are youngsters such
as third generation driver Cole Carter of Indiana and fellow Hoosiers Ron
Gregory, Shane Hollingsworth and Shane Cottle. Former DuQuoin track record
holder Teddy Beach of Ohio should be at DuQuoin as well as rookie and second
generation driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driving for the Carl Edwards-RE
Technologies team.

A number of area drivers have rides in the Silver Crown division and stand a
good chance at a top finish or pulling into victory lane. Hard charging Levi
Jones of Olney, Illinois is the defending USAC National Sprint Car champion
and teammate to Josh Wise on the Tony Stewart Mopar team. The former Olney
High School basketball star led 99 of the 100 laps of the Hoosier Hundred
and appeared on his way to victory before Wise passed him for the win.
Springfield’s Justin Allgaier led several laps of last year’s ARCA Southern
Illinois 100 and is the stock car track record holder at Springfield.
Allgaier could be one of three drivers pulling double duty in dirt cars and
stock cars Labor Day weekend.  Other Illinois drivers who have Silver Crown
rides include veteran Randy Bateman of Murphysboro, former Midwest Sprint
Car Series champion Alex Shanks of Marion, Chris Urish of Elkhart, Mat Neely
of Robinson and A.J. Fike of Galesburg. Fike has driven ARCA stock cars on
both the Springfield and DuQuoin miles and in 2004 became the first driver
in 33 years to drive three different race cars at DuQuoin on Labor Day
weekend.  The Harris Racing Team of Sikeston, Missouri has installed midget
ace Derrick King of Vienna, Illinois behind the wheel of their machine for
the remainder of 2006.

The entrants of the Horn 100 have not only an abundance of cash and prizes
to race for at DuQuoin on September 3 but also a place in auto racing
immortality as well in the memorial race to the legendary Ted Horn.  The
auto racing legacy of Ted Horn is well documented, a master craftsman who
designed and built his own race cars Horn never finished lower than fourth
in any Indianapolis 500 he competed in from 1936 through 1948, a record that
likely will be unequaled. Horn once won 23 of the 24 sprint car events he
entered in one year and is the only man to ever win three consecutive
national championships winning American Automobile Association crowns in
1946, 1947 and 1948.

Horn had clinched his last AAA title when he pulled into the DuQuoin State
Fairgrounds in October of 1948 for the second of two national championship
events that year on the “Magic Mile” The race was only seconds old when a
spindle on Horn’s machine gave way and the crash in the third and fourth
turn resulted in fatal injuries to the great champion. As a lasting tribute
the Hayes family named the DuQuoin State Fair championship event in his
honor.

Over the last 58 years Hall of Fame racers like Tony Bettenhausen, Jimmy
Bryan, Rodger Ward, Mario Andretti and Al Unser won national championship
races by moving DuQuoin’s dirt. The great A.J. Foyt endeared himself to
DuQuoin race fans with a record six victories, four in succession. After the
dirt cars became the Silver Crown Series in 1971, drivers such as George
Snider, Pancho Carter, Jack Hewitt, Gary Bettenhausen and Chuck Gurney all
tasted victory in Ted Horn’s memorial event at DuQuoin.

Brian Tyler, Bud Kaeding and a cast of talented racers will all be trying to
add their names to the DuQuoin win list as well on Sunday night, September
3. Practice is slated to begin at approximately 5:00 p.m. with
qualifications for the USAC Silver Crown Series at 6:00 and drivers shooting
for Tyler Walker’s 2004 world record of 29.138 seconds or 123.550 miles an
hour. The 100 mile race record is also a world record for the championship
cars on the dirt, set by Johnny Parsons in 1992 at 56:03 for an average
speed of 107.047 miles an hour.  Heat races for the UMP Modified Oldani
Memorial will take place prior to the 56th Ted Horn 100, which is slated to
be pushed off at 8:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at the DuQuoin State Fair Box office at
618-542-1535 and are $20 in advance for adults and children $10 in advance.
Tickets are also available at Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200 and at any
Ticketmaster location. Additional information can be found on the web at
www.trackenterprises.com or www.usacracing.com.


2006 USAC Silver Crown Schedule
 Date Event/Location
1-22 Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
3-26 Homestead-Miami Speedway
5-26 Indiana State Fairgrounds
6-16  Kentucky Speedway
6-23 Richmond International Raceway
6-24 Richmond International Raceway
7-09 Chicagoland Speedway
7-22 Milwaukee Mile
7-23 Milwaukee Mile
8-03 Indianapolis Raceway Park
8-05 Terre Haute Action Track
8-19 Illinois State Fairgrounds
9-03 DuQuoin State Fairgrounds
9-16 Iowa Speedway
9-22 Eldora Speedway
9-23 Eldora Speedway
9-30  Kansas Speedway