Kody Swanson wins 5th Hoosier Hundred at Indianapolis Raceway Park
BROWNSBURG — Kody Swanson picked up another victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Saturday by claiming his fifth win in the Hoosier Hundred for the USAC Silver Crown National Championship.
Swanson led from the pole in his No. 77 Doran Enterprises machine and was never in any major competition for the lead during the 100-lap race around the .686-mile oval, winning by 17.85 seconds over Logan Seavey. CJ Leary finished third after starting last, while Russ Gamester and Bobby Santos III rounded out the top five. Santos was the final car on the lead lap.
The race had only one caution flag when Kaylee Bryson’s engine failed going into Turn 3 on Lap 40. Trey Burke had nowhere to go and the pair had contact, ending both of their races.
Swanson got a good jump on the restart at the halfway point of the race over Tyler Roahrig, who fell from second to fifth place. Roahrig climbed back to second within a handful of laps to go after Swanson.
Roahrig maintained sight of Swanson late in the race, but mechanical trouble slowed the No. 41 machine in the last few laps. The Plymouth, Indiana, native finished 12th, but Swanson credits Roahrig for making the race more difficult than the box score would indicate.
“We didn’t win by that much, really,” Swanson said. “Tyler Roahrig was there and had misfortune late, otherwise he was a lot closer than that and If he didn’t start having misfortune in the middle (of the race), I don’t know if he wouldn’t have given us a run all the way to the checkered. Either way, thankful to get a win any time you can, right. Making it to the end of a Hundred is a feat in itself and it’s a testament to this team and how good of a job they do with this car and I’m just thankful to finish it off for them.”
Swanson’s win was his first in the Hoosier Hundred since the race came back from a two-year hiatus in 2023. The race ran for decades on the dirt mile at the Indiana State Fairgrounds before the track’s conversion to a harness training facility.
“You know me, you know how much I love the Indy Fairgrounds and I hate that it’s not an option anymore,” Swanson said. "But I’m so thankful for Casey Koler (LOIRP General Manager) and Raceway Park is continuing the tradition, even if it’s a little different because we still get to talk about it, we still get to think about the good years we’ve had.
“And I tell you what as racers, he’s paying us more than we ever have been before, and so when you’re trying to make a living doing it, that means a lot, too. Means a lot to these teams, means a lot to drivers, so man I’m grateful that they gave us an opportunity to come back on Saturday morning and finish what we started.”
The race was originally scheduled to be 146 laps (100 miles) and run on Friday night, but persistent rains forced the postponement of the event to Saturday morning and a shortening of the race distance to help drivers and teams get to Anderson for Saturday night’s Little 500 at Anderson Speedway. Swanson picked up a $25,000 check for winning.
In the LOIRP pavement midget feature that preceded the Hoosier Hundred, Jake Trainor was victorious, leading all 30 laps after starting on the outside of the front row. The Medway, Massachusetts, native grabbed the lead at the start from polesitter Santos and never looked back, winning by just under three seconds over Swanson.
The race had two caution periods for separate single-car incidents as Todd Bertrand spun and hit the inside wall at the exit of Turn 2 on Lap 11.
On the restart, Ryan Shilkuski hit the outside wall at the exit of Turn 2, bringing out the race’s final caution flag. On the restart following Shilkuski’s contact, Swanson looked around Santos for second, grabbing the position by going low on the Franklin, Massachusetts native in Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 12. Swanson maintained second over Santos for the rest of the race as Leary and Chase Locke rounded out the top five.
Braden Eves won the Freedom 90 for the USF Pro 2000 championship. Eves started on pole position in the No. 92 Exclusive Autosport entry after setting the track record at LOIRP on Thursday, leading all 90 laps to win over Jace Denmark. Lochie Hughes, Danny Dyszelski and Bryce Aron completed the top five.
USF Pro 2000 points leader Nikita Johnson was involved in the race’s only caution after contact with Ethan Ho in Turn 3 on Lap 47. Johnson was classified in 17th position.
In the Freedom 75 for USF2000, Tanner DeFabis picked up the win in the No. 9 Jay Howard Driver Development machine. The Avon, Indiana native grabbed the lead from Nicolas Giaffone on Lap 12 and led the rest of the way to pick up his first win in USF Pro Championships competition.
There was one yellow when Ayrton Houk lost control of his No. 58 machine exiting Turn 2, collecting Max Taylor in the process. After the restart, DeFabis led the rest of the 75-lap race unchallenged over Giaffone. Evagoras Papasavvas finished third as Quinn Armstrong and Xavier Korai rounded out the top five.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kody Swanson wins 5th Hoosier Hundred at Indianapolis Raceway Park
