Hometowner Nemire tests at Toledo for Indy 500 winner Hemelgarn, Rollie Beale Classic coming

Hometowner Nemire tests at Toledo for Indy 500 winner Hemelgarn, Rollie Beale Classic coming

TOLEDO, Ohio (April 20, 2016) – Sylvania (Ohio) Northview High School student Austin Nemire took part in a two-day test session Tuesday and Wednesday at Toledo Speedway in advance of the USAC Silver Crown Series Rollie Beale Classic coming Saturday, April 30.

Nemire drives for Indy 500 winning car owner Ron Hemelgarn (cover photo), who joined Nemire for the test.

With one full Silver Crown season in the books, the 16-year-old fourth-generation racer expects to step up his game in 2016.

“We’ve already picked up more than a half-second than where we were last year,” Nemire said.Austin Nemire in Silver Crown car at Toledo 2016

“I’m a lot more comfortable in the car than I was last year. We went from 16 (seconds) flat last year to 15-3s and -4s (this year)…and we’re on a cold track today, so I think we can even get quicker. We’ve been fighting a push through the center of the corner all day, but that may have to do with track conditions more than anything.”

Nonetheless, Nemire finished seventh in last year’s Rollie Beale Classic, a home game for the Ohio driver.

“Racing in Toledo is very special. My great grandpa and grandpa raced here. It’s the only race of the year where all my friends and family get to come out and see us run. Last year was my first year on the big track (Toledo half-mile) and we ended up seventh, so not too bad.”

Nemire gained a lot of valuable experience during his first year on the Silver Crown tour.

“I’ve got more experience all the way around. The biggest thing I had to learn was how long these races are…holding onto it and being there at the end. You really can’t get going until the last half of the race, at least. It’s all about saving your tires…and you’ve got all that fuel back there, so you can’t drive in as hard.

“Last year was just getting laps rather than trying to go fast. Now that we have that experience, we can work on our time and speed.”

Nemire is running the full USAC Silver Crown schedule in 2016, which takes him to a wide variety of tracks including Lucas Oil (Ind.) Raceway, Williams Grove (Pa.) Speedway, the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Salem (Ind.) Speedway, the Illinois State Fairgrounds, the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds, Eldora (Ohio) Speedway and Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis. He’s already got one race in this year at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track half-mile dirt.

“Terre Haute went better this year, but we still had some problems. We cut two tires during the race…but last year we flipped in practice. And we weren’t terrible there this year, so it’s encouraging.”

Nemire’s got his eyes on a full-time career in motorsports.

“We want to go as far as we can and see what opportunities are ahead. My car owner Ron Hemelgarn won the Indy 500 with Buddy Lazier so Indy is obviously a goal. We’ll keep our options open and see what lies ahead. I’m just excited to have the opportunity to race at home. I just want to thank Mr. Hemelgarn for all his support...none of this would be possible without him. He's the reason I have this opportunity.”

Nemire will campaign a Beast chassis with Ford power all season. Nemire’s grandfather Jerry Nemire raced USAC Silver Crown, Sprints and Midgets for decades. Late in his career, Jerry won the ARCA Midget championship. Jerry’s father Kenny Nemire tragically lost his life in an ARCA stock car race at the old Toledo Raceway Park dirt track in 1957.

The USAC Silver Crown Series, in its 46th season, is steeped in tradition and features some of America’s best drivers. Gary Bettenhausen, Ken Schrader, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Pancho Carter, Steve Kinser, Rich Vogler, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman are among the series’ past race winners.

C.J. Leary, USAC Silver Crown Series Rookie of the Year one year ago, won his first career race at Terre Haute and joined his father Chuck Leary to become the first father-son duo to win races in series history. He will lead a strong contingent of USAC Silver Crown drivers to Toledo Speedway on April 30. In the four previous series races at Toledo since 2010, Jerry Coons Jr. and Kody Swanson have each won 2.

The Saturday April 30 event is the Rollie Beale Classic, named in honor of the late Toledo native and 1973 USAC Sprint Car champion and former USAC Sprint Car Series Director. The event is sponsored by Hemelgarn Racing and Super Fitness, and will also feature a racing program for non-winged sprint cars. Racing begins at 6pm Saturday April 30. For more information visit www.toledospeedway.com and for tickets call (419) 727-1100.

Don Radebaugh
dradebaugh@arcaracing.com

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