Ken de la Bastide: Rivalry between 3 Little 500 champions elevating to the next step
Dec. 20—In just about every sport, there are rivalries that peak fan interest, and many times it makes both individual athlete and team performances at a higher level.
Major League Baseball has rivalries between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants and of course the NFL has the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots rivalry.
Over the years in racing, there have been numerous rivalries including Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon and A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.
Recently the Lucas Oil Little 500 has been the home of a rivalry between three-time winner Kody Swanson, two-time winner Tyler Roahrig and one-time champion Bobby Santos III.
The friendly battles take place anytime the three drivers climb into a non-wing sprint car, and the one constant is the trio always race hard but with respect.
Swanson has been the dominant driver in recent years with the Silver Crown Division of USAC, winning the championship seven times.
That equaled the mark set by Foyt and Mel Kenyon.
It was announced this week Roahrig will compete for the Silver Crown title in 2023, which brings him back into competition at another level with not only Swanson but also Santos.
Santos has recorded 10 Silver Crown wins over the years, while Swanson has 29 career victories.
The Silver Crown Series will be at Indianapolis Raceway Park three times next year, which will provide fans with plenty of opportunities to watch the three drivers in action.
Toss in the 500 Sprint Car Tour results and those three drivers won seven of the nine events, with Roahrig taking home the checkered flag four times.
I've always watched this trio compete at Anderson Speedway and other pavement tracks in Indiana because they deliver exciting racing.
IN OTHER RACING NEWS
Former Lucas Oil Little 500 champion Kyle Hamilton is coming out of retirement to compete in the "Rumble" at Fort Wayne on the final weekend of 2022 in a Midget.
Hopefully, this will mark a return to the Little 500 in May for Hamilton, who has been serving as race director for the Kenyon Midget Series.
Next week I will be writing about the best races I witnessed during the year. I'm open to nominations from area racing fans at ken.delabastide@heraldbulletin.com
Merry Christmas to all.
Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.
