---

USAC: Jack Hewitt set for 150th Silver Crown start at IRP

17 May 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Jack Hewitt is the undisputed king of the USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Championship Series. Saturday night he is expected to add another milestone to his illustrious career by qualifying for his 150th series start in the "Coca-Cola 100" at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Nobody has won more Silver Crown races than Jack, who scored his 22nd career victory in last year's "Sumar Classic 100" at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track. His prowess has been such that second-ranking Chuck Gurney has only 14 career wins! In terms of series starts George Snider and Johnny Parsons are tied for second place all-time with 127.

Despite the fact that 21 of his 22 wins have come on the dirt, he remains confident going into Saturday night's 100-lapper on the .686-mile paved IRP oval. His lone pavement triumph came in the 1995 race at the Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

Forty-four of his 150 starts have come on pavement and although he has only one pavement win, he has logged 22 "top-10" finishes. In 14 IRP starts, he's had eight "top-10" finishes, including a second in 1987 and a third in 1997. Last year he finished 12th in the "Coca-Cola 100" and sixth in the "DuPont 100"

Jack leads a stellar field of entrants for the "Coca-Cola 100," including defending race winner and Coors Light Silver Bullet Series Champion Ryan Newman, plus 1999 Stoops Freightliner USAC Sprint Car Champion Dave Darland and 1999 USAC MCI WorldCom National Midget Champion Jason Leffler.

Practice gets under way at 5 pm, with qualifying at 6 and a 15-lap "qualifying race" at 7:30.

Text provided by Dick Jordan

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.