For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LKMRestart@gmail.com
Cell: (317) 201-0729

Coons Hopes to Make It Three for Four
At Toledo Speedway Friday Night
As Nolen Racing Begins Its
2015 USAC Silver Crown Campaign

TOLEDO, Ohio, April 29 - As the winner of two of only three USAC Silver Crown races ever held at Toledo Speedway, Nolen Racing's Jerry Coons Jr. has to be considered to be one of the favorites to win Friday night's USAC Silver Crown season opener there.

The USAC Triple Crown winner from Plainfield, Ind., won the series' initial race at the half-mile asphalt oval in 2010. Kody Swanson won in 2011, but Coons was victorious at Toledo again in 2012.

On Friday night he'll drive Gene Nolen's yellow #20 in the 100-lapper, called the Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness "Rollie Beale Classic." 

"Winning at Toledo requires a fast race car and staying out of trouble," Coons said while helping the Nolen Racing crew prepare his car Tuesday night at the team's headquarters in Whiteland, Ind. "Your car has to be right to pass there because it's a tough place to pass. It helps if you can qualify well. 

"It's a half-mile and you can drive it pretty hard, but you have to save your tires for the end of the race. Set-up is very important at Toledo because it's rather narrow. It's hard to find other lines to run rather than the main, fast line, and if you're not good there you're in trouble."

There will be a host of rivals hoping to stymie Coons' plans, as some 20 other drivers are on the probable entry list posted on the track's Web site at ToledoSpeedway.com. Other information is available on the series' Web site at USACRacing.com. Live timing and scoring of Friday's race in Toledo is slated for the Race Monitor app.

The pit gate opens at 2 p.m., the grandstands open at 5 p.m. and the racing starts at 7:30 p.m. 

Toledo Speedway is located on Benore Road off the Alexis Road exit of I-75 near the Michigan-Ohio border.

Another prestigious USAC Silver Crown race, the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, is the next race on the schedule, as it's slated for Thursday, May 21. The first of two visits to Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis follows two days later, on Saturday afternoon, May 23. Coons, Tony Elliott and Shane Hollingsworth are also scheduled to drive three Nolen Racing asphalt sprint cars in the Pay Less Little 500 at Anderson Speedway in Anderson, Ind., later that same evening.

The USAC Silver Crown series appears at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on Saturday, June 20. It's back in Indiana for two races in July at the Terre Haute Action Track on Thursday, July 2 and a return visit to Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis on Thursday, July 23 before it closes that month at the Belleville High Banks in Belleville, Kansas on Friday, July 31. Coons is the only three-time winner of the prestigious Belleville Midget Nationals (2005, 2007 and 2012).

August is highlighted by the race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield on Saturday, Aug. 22. September finds the circuit at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Ill., on Sunday, Sept. 6 and at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on Saturday, Sept. 26. The season finale is part of Super Dirt Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse on Saturday, Oct. 10.

"I like all the tracks on the schedule," Coons said. "The miles are fun. Belleville is really one of the toughest races on the schedule, because running a Silver Crown car there gets pretty edgy at times; even more so than Eldora."

But Coons and the rest of Nolen Racing will do their best to nail down the championship. 

"That's the plan," Coons agreed. "We hope to go for the title."

Nolen Racing has a Facebook page and a Twitter account, and it's also developing a Web site at NolenRacing.com. Advertising space is available on all of the team's cars. For more information, contact Restart Communications at LKMRestart@gmail.com or (317) 201-0729.