POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 9, 2019) – When it became clear that business and travel commitments would prevent Chris Dyson from racing in this weekend’s first dirt track round of the 2019 USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series, he and CD Racing’s open-wheel program crew chief Sean Michael began looking for a suitable candidate to fill the seat of the #9 Thetford / ProtectAll Beast. They didn’t have to look far. USAC star Kevin Thomas, Jr., a former Chili Bowl midget teammate of Dyson’s and sprint car driver for Michael, was looking for a ride after logistical issues forced his regular team to forego this weekend’s race at the Terre Haute Action Track in Indiana.
“Sean and I both know Kevin and we really appreciate his talent and determination,” Dyson said in announcing that the 27-year-old Thomas would drive for CD Racing not only at Terre Haute this month, but also in June at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway and at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in the series finale in September. “Kevin’s team will have a car for him everywhere except those three races and he’s going for the USAC National Triple Crown this season. We want to make sure CD Racing has a chance to score Silver Crown team championship points even when I’m not available to drive the car, and we could not have found anyone better than ‘KTJ’ to come and fill in for me. It is a win-win for all of us.”
In last year’s Silver Crown dirt races Thomas scored three second-place finishes. For the past three seasons the Alabama-born Indianapolis resident has been USAC’s winningest non-wing driver and the runner-up in the National Sprint Car point standings.
“His results say it all,” said Michael, who has run Thomas in sprint cars and midgets. “Kevin’s got a chance to win in just about any car he gets into. He qualified for the A-Main at the Chili Bowl when he ran for me two years ago in the Heffner car, and he’s gone really well when he’s driven sprint cars for me. I know Kevin will do a great job for us.”
“I’m really pleased that Chris and Sean have asked me to drive for them when Chris isn’t able to run the car himself,” Thomas said, noting that while the CD Racing chassis and engine combination are both different from his usual mount, he didn’t anticipate any problems with the transition from one to the other. “My friends at FOXCO have provided me with great cars that are capable of winning, so it was as disappointing for them as it was for me that they weren’t able to do the half-mile races this year. I’m so grateful that for those three races I’ll still be running in really top equipment. I have a terrific working relationship with Sean and have great respect for Chris, who’s done so much in the sport. I can’t wait to get to Terre Haute this weekend.”
The pits open at 1:00 pm ET Sunday at the half-mile semi-banked oval for the “Sumar Classic” and the grandstands open at 2:00. Practice begins at 4:30, following and open pit party from 2:00 through 3:15. Qualifying is at 5:30 and racing begins at 6:30.