INDIANAPOLIS – Former Rumble in Fort Wayne indoor midget winner Derek Bischak will expand his outdoor schedule this season by competing in all six pavement races on the USAC Silver Crown Series calendar.

Bischak raced his Silver Crown car twice last season, making appearances at Lucas Oil Raceway in May for the Carb Night Classic and at Wisconsin’s Madison Int’l Raceway in June for the Dairyland 100.

While his best finish was only 18th at Madison, Bischak feels that he learned a lot from the time he had on-track and will be able to make strides this year as he adds more seat time to his resume.

“We tried a couple of the races this past year and just had a few issues with our car and getting everything sorted out,” Bischak told SPEED SPORT during the Rumble in Fort Wayne on Dec. 29. “Going into a new season, with the way the schedule lays out, I think it will work out well for us as we attempt to grow our program and I think it’ll be a really fun time. I’m looking forward to it a lot.”

The car Bischak will campaign is a Beast Chassis pavement car with a Gaerte Chevrolet engine, carrying the familiar No. 31 that he has raced both indoors and outdoors through the years.

“We feel like it’s a pretty solid combination and it’s a comfortable car for me,” noted Bischak. “We qualified real well at IRP (12th) the first time out, which was really encouraging, and it tells us that we should have a fast car once we get everything going right and hitting on all cylinders.”

Bischak was quick to point out that racing a Silver Crown car is “an animal all its own” as compared to the midgets he’s run indoors in recent years.

“Long races are definitely a challenge. Running midgets, especially indoors, are a lot about shorter sprints or non-stop gos … where in the Silver Crown Series you have to conserve your stuff and the cars are a lot bigger and heavier,” Bischak explained. “It’s more mental and being smart about it, but I’m excited for the challenge.”

As far as specific goals for his Silver Crown starts next year, Bischak noted that he’s focused on getting all the track time he can and showing progress through the season.

“We don’t have any concrete goals laid out; we just want to be competitive at all the races,” he said. “It’s about gaining experience, going to new tracks and just having a fun time with it.”