2003 preliminary schedule announced

12 races on preliminary 2003 USAC Silver Crown schedule.

The 2003 USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown Championship Series opens with the March 21-23 "Copper World Indy 200" weekend at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway and is scheduled to conclude with the October 10-11 "Super Dirt Week" finale at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

In between, 10 additional events have been slated with other venues under discussion for possible addition to the calendar.

The series will appear in concert with the Indy Racing League on three occasions, at Phoenix and at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway June 27-28 and Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway August 22-24.

The Phoenix opener will join the IRL and USAC's National/Western Midget Car Series and Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series.

In May, The Six-R Racing promotional group will present the race at Indianapolis Raceway Park May 10 and the 51st running of the "Hoosier Hundred," the first of six events on dirt, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds May 23.

The "Sumar Classic" will take place June 14 at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track, then the series travels to Virginia for the "SunTrust Indy Challenge" weekend June 27-28 with the IRL.

The July 3-4 events at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo. will showcase three USAC racing series as the National/Western Sprint Cars and Midget Cars complete the tripleheader.

Indianapolis Raceway Park will again host the J.D. Byrider 100 as part of the track's Kroger SpeedFest activities, with the Silver Crown cars racing for 100 laps July 31.

The "Tony Bettenhausen 100" is again scheduled for the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield August 16, while Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway witnesses a date change for its 2003 USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown race a week later. The Nazareth mile will play host to three USAC series August 22-24, with the Stoops Freightliner Sprint Cars and National Midget Cars part of the program.

The "Ted Horn 100" returns to the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds on Labor Day weekend, August 31.

On September 14, the series makes its first appearance in the nation's oil capital, Tulsa, Okla., with a 100-lap race scheduled on the Tulsa Fairgrounds' half-mile dirt oval. The series competed there in 1980, with Rich Vogler and Bill Engelhart posting victories.

"Super Dirt Week" at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, a huge success for USAC's Silver Crown participants in 2002, returns October 10-11, providing a fitting climax to what promises to be a spectacular season of Weld Racing Silver Crown competition.

"I'm pleased that we have maintained our 'traditional' events while adding the Tulsa Fairgrounds and the second IRP race to the 2003 calendar," said series coordinator Jason Smith. "We are continuing negotiations with additional venues and may expand the schedule in the coming months."

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