MOVRCC to Visit Nolen Racing on April 20
WHITELAND, Ind., April 14 — Members of the Midwest Oldtimers Vintage Race Car Club (MOVRCC) will focus on the present instead of the past during their April outing when they visit Nolen Racing’s 5,500-square-foot shop at 121 Crossroads Drive, Whiteland, on Saturday, April 20 at 10 a.m.
Nolen Racing’s owner, Gene Nolen, has been a car owner in the top class of the United States Auto Club (USAC), the Silver Crown division, for nearly 40 years. He is a past recipient of USAC’s prestigious Robbie Stanley Award.
Last year Nolen Racing finished third and fifth in the USAC Silver Crown division with drivers Chris Windom and Jerry Coons Jr. Windom had two victories — Springfield and Du Quoin, Ill.
This year Nolen Racing is fielding just one car in USAC Silver Crown, but its famous yellow Nolen Racing No. 20 will be driven by Kody Swanson, the winningest driver in USAC Silver Crown history.
Swanson broke Jack Hewitt’s mark with his 24th victory last August at Salem (Ind.) Speedway driving for DePalma Motorsports, an Ohio-based team that decided to stop competing in the series full time at the end of the 2018 season. With that victory at Salem Swanson also won five straight races, breaking Hewitt’s 32-year-old record of four straight Silver Crown wins.
He added to that mark with his 25th career USAC Silver Crown victory at the 2019 season opener March 23 at Memphis International Raceway in Millington, Tenn.
Swanson is a four-time USAC Silver Crown champion (2018, 2017, 2015 and 2014). Except for one year, Swanson has finished in the top five in Silver Crown points for the last 10 years.
Swanson also gave Nolen Racing its first victory in the biggest asphalt sprint car race in the world, the Pay Less Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, last May. Nolen, who is a member of the Little 500 Hall of Fame, saw two of his cars finish on the podium in that event last year, as Swanson won and Shane Hollingsworth finished third. Nolen Racing will field asphalt sprint cars for both of them in this year’s Little 500 too.
Other drivers who have driven for Nolen Racing in the past include Tony Stewart, Tony Elliott, Johnny Parsons Jr. and Jim Keeker. As a car owner Gene Nolen has won the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds three times (with Elliott twice and Hollingsworth once).
Swanson is unlikely to be at the shop during the club’s visit due to a previous commitment, but the club members will be able to see all the team’s race cars and ask questions of Nolen. The team’s inventory consists of about 13 race cars, two trucks, three trailers, engines, wheels and all the assorted items that are necessary for a winning effort. It is nearly a $1 million investment.
Unlike IndyCar or NASCAR teams, most of the members of Nolen Racing are volunteers. Many of them have been members of the team for over 20 years.
After the tour, the club members will enjoy lunch at Golden Corral, 165 S. Marlin Drive in Greenwood, Ind.
MOVRCC was formed in 1997 to organize and promote displays and on-track exhibitions for owners, drivers and fans of vintage oval-track race cars. The main focus of the club is midgets, sprint cars and dirt champ (Silver Crown) cars, but a variety of other vintage oval cars appear at MOVRCC events throughout the season, including stock cars, supermodifieds and Indy roadsters. MOVRCC conducts events throughout Indiana and Illinois at both dirt and pavement tracks.
For more information on MOVRCC, please contact the club’s secretary, Bill Simpson, at (317) 871-4951 or e-mail him at movrccnewsletter@sbcglobal.net. For more information on Nolen Racing, please see its website at NolenRacing.com and follow it on Facebook and Twitter. For more information on Swanson, please see kodyswansonracing.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
