Motorsport in the United States raises its future stars through a variety development pipelines, with stars such as Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart proving the value of the USAC Silver Crown series as a place to gain seat time. The big open-wheel cars generally run 100-lap races over a variety of oval lengths on both dirt and pavement. Silver Crown drivers have to learn how to preserve their car, and their tires, for the crucial closing laps. One of the nation’s more prominent young drivers is Kaylee Bryson, 21, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, who will run for rookie of the year honors in the 2023 Silver Crown season, running the full tour for Sam Pierce Racing.
As the logos on her firesuit make clear, Bryson has already attracted the attention of significant sponsors, with most of her top-tier racing focused so far on the USAC National Midget series. The agency agreement she signed with Sam Pierce Racing will also allow her to run the team’s Chevrolet Camaro on road courses in the Trans-Am TA2 series, which uses stock car-themed equipment as another popular and effective training ground for aspiring motorsport stars. Bryson achieved some local notoriety when she pushed a winged 410 Sprint car on pavement to a fifth-place finish at Citrus County Speedway in Inverness, Florida, after starting 11th. In Silver Crown, she ran three races for Sam Pierce Racing in 2022, which included an amazing run at the Springfield Mile in Illinois, where she time-trialed for a front-row starting spot and finished fifth despite losing one cylinder to a snapped rocker arm. Back aboard a Midget, Bryson will also assault the famed Chili Bowl Nationals next month.
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