Moo-ving victory: Race winner will celebrate by naming cow Richmond

Brian Tyler will celebrate his victory in yesterday's Silver Crown Series race by buying a cow -- and he'll name it Richmond.

Tyler, a longtime racing veteran and amateur farmer in Charlotte, has three cows now, the other two named Springfield and DuQuoin, after the cities in Illinois where he picked up other victories.

In the USAC James River Grounds 100, Tyler picked up his second victory in Richmond, and for the veteran, it wasn't a matter of outsmarting the young drivers but letting them outsmart themselves.

"We kind of know when to go, and when to whoa," he said.

Pole-sitter Bobby East looked to be the favorite to claim a wire-to-wire victory, but that was until Lap 80, when his sway bar, an optional piece of equipment that helps keep the car balanced in turns, broke. Amid a shower of sparks, the caution flag came out, setting a late restart.

East started first on the restart but said that without the sway bar, his car "ran like [expletive] out of the caution."

Tyler doesn't use the part, chalking it up to his "old-school" way of driving.

Tyler held his lead for the final 20 laps for victory, and East finished second. Cameron Dodson was third, a strong showing after starting the race in the 14th position.

"The car felt great," he said, but because of a hard-driving style, "I burned off my tires, and didn't have anything left to go fight the leaders."

Tyler's 15th career victory is also his third with Toyota. The brand, which is in its second year, has provided more competition in the series by teaming with the driver whose career has taken him to the NASCAR Nationwide Series and some IndyCar races.

The brand, though, didn't make the big restart push to take down East -- that was all Tyler's doing.

"Without that caution, I don't think I could have caught Bobby," he said. "On that restart, I made a bonsai run to get him. There was one last shot, and I knew I had to get it then."

USAC K&N SILVER CROWN SERIES
James River Grounds 100
(at Richmond International Raceway)

Feature race -- 1. Brian Tyler, 2. Bobby East, 3. Cameron Dodson, 4. Ryan Smith, 5. A.J. Fike, 6. Chet Fillip, 7. Jacob Wilson, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Bud Kaeding, 10. Jay Drake, 11. Bobby Santos III, 12. Mike Lichty, 13. Zach Daum, 14. Levi Jones, 15. Jerry Coons Jr., 16. Josh Wise, 17. Kody Swanson, 18. Shane Hmiel, 19. Carl Smith, 20. Davey Hamilton, 21. Eric Gordon, 22. Rodney Weesner, 23. Von McGee, 24. Derek Hagar.