USAC Midget/Sprint Car

COONS TAKES SILVER CROWN TITLE AT COPPER WORLD; BECOMES FIRST TOYOTA-POWERED USAC CHAMP

TORRANCE, Calif. (Nov. 10, 2008) – Jerry Coons, Jr., finished ninth at Saturday's Copper World Classic to earn the K&N USAC Silver Crown Championship and become the first-ever Toyota-powered driver to earn a USAC title.

After switching over to Toyota power early in the season, Coons was able to stretch out his championship lead to 20 points heading into the Copper World, needing only to place within seven positions of his closest rival, Dave Darland, to secure the championship. In addition to Coons' title, his RW Motorsports team also captured the entrant championship after becoming one of the first teams to switch over to Toyota power in the manufacturer's first season of Silver Crown competition.

The championship culminates a successful inaugural Silver Crown campaign for Toyota, which debuted its new engine at the second race of the year at Richmond. RW's Shane Hmiel gave Toyota its initial pole position less than a month later in just the third race for the Toyota powerplant. That was one of three top qualifying efforts for Toyota-powered cars during the season as Hmiel (Iowa) and Coons (Eldora) each would add a pole.

Two races after Hmiel won that inaugural pole position, 6R Racing's Brian Tyler gave Toyota its first-ever Silver Crown victory at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield and followed that up with a second consecutive victory at DuQuoin two weeks later. For his efforts on the season, Tyler would place third in the final point standings, giving Toyota two of the top-three finishers in this year's Silver Crown championship race.

"With Jerry Coons Jr. and RW Motorsports earning championships and 6R Racing's Bryan Tyler winning two events with their Toyota-powered car, we're just thrilled to have been able to make this major an impact in our inaugural season in Silver Crown competition," said Gary Reed, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) vice president of special racing projects.

While Coons' championship-winning run captured the headlines, it was actually 6R's Jacob Wilson who finished as the highest-placing Toyota at the Copper World with a fifth-place showing to back-up his top-five qualifying effort.

Copper World Silver Crown Results
Name Team Start/Finish
Jacob Wilson 6R 5/5
Jerry Coons Jr. RW 13/9
Shane Hmiel RW 9/12
Mike Murgoitio 6R 11/16
Brian Tyler 6R 19/23
Kody Swanson 6R 7/26