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Hoosier 100 USAC Silver Crown Race Introduces New Format

The Hoosier 100 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds has been a staple on the USAC Silver Crown calendar since 1953. The race is traditionally held on the Friday preceding the Indianapolis 500, a weekend when the best drivers on the planet come to Indiana to display their talents. This year’s edition of the acclaimed race will take place on Friday evening, May 28.

Since the inception of the race, the list of winners on the ISF dirt mile reads like a who’s who, including the likes of A. J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Jimmy Bryan, Parnelli Jones, Dave Darland, Jack Hewitt, J. J. Yeley and most recently, Shane Hollingsworth.

A year ago Hollingsworth led all 100 laps en route to his first Silver Crown victory, and he was thrilled to make it into the history books. “This is unbelievable, as this is the Hoosier 100,” the happy winner said. “The race is the grand-daddy of them all, and I don’t think I can put it into words as to what it means to win. There is so much history here I don’t know what to say.”

Darland finished second in 2010 with Shane Hmiel third.

Hollingsworth will return to defend his title, and along with Darland and Hmiel, they will face plenty of competition. All entrants will have to adjust to a revised format – a mandatory stop on the 51st lap, enabling teams to make adjustments for the frenzied closing laps. Of note, should a red flag be unfurled after lap 35, it will serve as the mid-race stop in lieu of a stop on the 51st lap.

Teams can work on their cars during the stop but should they elect to change tires, they will drop to the back of the field for the restart.
Adding excitement to the restart, the cars will be lined up in double-file formation, which should be a crowd pleaser.

Qualifying will set the starting line-up with “group qualifying” in effect. Each driver’s fastest lap will be his official time, with the fastest overall earning the pole position.

With the crowd-pleasing rule changes combined with the stellar field expected to be on hand, the 2010 edition of the Hoosier 100 should produced another memorable race.

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