Swanson brothers on top at Thursday Night Thunder

Episode 403

July 3, 2022

Swanson Brothers Shine at USAC Special races in Indy

Found daily at Golden State Farm Credit in Kingsburg, California, Tanner Swanson this race season has expanded his race schedule to include several events in the Indianapolis area. He competed in the Little 500 and at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) with some success earlier this year.

June 30th, he and his brother, Kody Swanson, dominated the Thursday Night Thunder USAC Silver Crown Shootout at IRP. Tanner, despite his limited schedule, took his Aaron Pierce Racing sprint car to Victory Lane in the inaugural season of the 500 Sprint Car Tour.

To me the biggest story of the evening of racing was the Swanson Brothers, but Tanner in particular. He was on his game.

Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications, describes the Swanson brothers in action at IRP in her press release.

 BROWNSBURG, Ind., July 1 — Kody Swanson hit the bullseye by leading wire to wire in Doran-Dyson Racing’s Henry Repeating Arms/Glenn Farms/Duncan Oil No. 1 and winning the USAC Silver Crown Shootout special event Thursday night at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

With a beautiful Indiana sky as his background Doran Racing’s Kody Swanson lived up to his number 1 ranking with a victory in the non-points paying Silver Crown race at IRP Thursday evening. (USAC Racing photo by Rich Forman)

Tanner Swanson parks it in Victory Lane at the 500 Sprint Car Tour race at IRP Thursday evening. (Aaron Pierce Racing photo)

He finished second to his brother in the 500 Sprint Car Tour race that was also part of the “Thursday Night Thunder Homecoming” show. The Doran Racing Henry Repeating Arms/Glenn Farms/Duncan Oil No. 44 was just 0.877 of a second behind at the checkered flag.

In victory lane following the Silver Crown race Swanson said the No. 1 was “on rails,” and the Lebanon, Ohio-based team had the distinction of having prepared the cars that set the fastest laps run during both races.

The 25-lap USAC Silver Crown race didn’t award points, but the 30-lap 500 Sprint Car Tour race did. Swanson went into the latter race second in points, but several of his primary rivals didn’t finish Thursday’s race so unofficially Swanson regained the point lead in that series with his runner-up finish. Unofficially he now has 614 points to Dakoda Armstrong’s 569 and Billy Wease’s 563.

Swanson, a native of Kingsburg, Calif., who now lives in Indianapolis, was first in Fatheadz Eyewear qualifying for the Silver Crown race, but with a random draw determining the lineup he started third behind polesitter Nick Hamilton and C.J. Leary in the 10-car field.

When the green flag dropped, he floored it and headed for the track apron in Turn 1. The top three cars were three abreast as Swanson charged under both Leary and Hamilton in one fell swoop in Turn 1 on the first lap, which was a sight to behold for Swanson fans.

He already had a 0.685-second lead over Leary when he crossed the start/finish line the first time. By lap two he led by over a second; 1.035.

Swanson stretched his advantage over Leary to over 2 seconds by lap 12 and over 3 seconds by lap 14.

But on lap 15 Leary’s car suffered a flat left-rear tire that caused him to spin in Turn 2. It was bad for Leary because his car left on the wrecker, but it was also bad for Swanson because it erased his 3.760-second lead.

Tanner Swanson, who started ninth, passed Hamilton for second in Turn 2 after the restart with 10 laps remaining, but he had nothing for his brother in that one. Kody Swanson had a 1.969-second margin of victory over his brother. Bobby Santos III finished third. Taylor Ferns passed Hamilton on the last lap for fourth, and Hamilton finished fifth.

“Silver Crown races of any length are tough, because when your car is good, you can’t show it. You’ve got to take care of it until the end,” Swanson said in Victory Lane. “It was a blast to go four wheels on the apron there to try to get the lead, and just show them what these cars are capable of.”

“I wanted to show what a good car that the team gave me, because they’ve been giving me great cars all year,” Swanson continued. “It was a lot of fun. The Doran-Dyson Racing team gave me a great car, and our Lanci Ford ran great. I’m just thankful to be a part of this effort.

“Kasey Coler and his staff at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park also do a great job, and it’s an honor to come here for the Thursday Night Thunder Homecoming. I want to thank Henry Repeating Arms, Glenn Farms, and everyone else who helps on this team. I’m just thankful to be part of it.”

The 500 Sprint Car Tour race

A mere 0.019 of a second separated Leary’s lap which topped qualifying and Kody Swanson’s fastest lap in time trials for the 500 Sprint Car Tour race, which was presented by Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores. The rules called for an inversion in the starting grid, however, and Kody Swanson started eighth in that 21-car race.

He passed Derek Bischak on the first lap for seventh, and Tyler Roahrig on lap two for sixth. With four laps down Roahrig’s car experienced a mechanical issue that appeared to be a blown engine, and he spun coming out of Turn 1 to bring out the first of the race’s two caution flags.

The restart was a great one for the Doran Racing No. 44, which is powered by a Binks Chevy engine. Kody Swanson charged under both Wease and Kyle O’Gara in Turn 1 on lap five, and then the leader, Ferns, stopped on the backstretch with a mechanical issue to bring out the second yellow flag with five laps down. That put Kody Swanson in third behind the new leader, Tanner Swanson, and Armstrong.

On the subsequent restart for Ferns’ yellow, Kody Swanson dipped under Armstrong in Turn 2 to take second place on lap six. He was only 0.24 behind his brother at that point.

Kody Swanson almost made a pass stick on lap 12 in Turn 2 when he was 0.190 seconds behind. He made several other attempts, including one on lap 20 when he was just 0.102 of a second behind. But by lap 24 Tanner Swanson had built his advantage to 0.456 seconds, and Kody Swanson had to be content with second in that race. He was more than 2 seconds (2.661) ahead of the third-place finisher, O’Gara, at the checkered. Armstrong finished fourth and Leary placed fifth.

The team’s next event is a 500 Sprint Car Tour race at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway on July 9. Its next USAC Silver Crown race is July 21 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway.

The event was streamed live on Flo Racing and MAVTV Plus. In a deal announced on Friday, MAVTV Plus-produced races will be shown on Flo Racing in the future.

For more information on Doran Racing see DoranRacing.com and follow the team on Facebook.

New England Forest Rally at Sunday River July 15 &16

Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Barry McKenna and local regional racers Robert Sockalexis and John Cassidy are five of the star-studded 71 entries for the 31st running of the New England Forest Rally at Sunday River Resort, Newry, Maine. This is New England rally fan’s chance to get up close to some of the biggest names in rally on the national and international scene.

The New England Forest Rally put out this excellent spectator guide for the rally. Click on this link following for that spectator guide.

https://newenglandforestrally.com/wp-content/uploads/2022-NEFR-Spec-Guide-Final-Small.pdf

John Cassidy remarks about New England Forest Rally preparations

Bangor’s John Cassidy, Last Ditch Racing has been rally racing since 1999 and has been a subject of many episodes in UpNorth Motorsports and Bangor Daily News. With John’s permission I have included this video giving some insight what goes into preparing for such a major racing event like NEFR as well as recalling the Mount Washington Hillclimb 2021 inside story. Thank you, John.

https://www.facebook.com/1132722814/videos/704001601021261

WAR to race in one of Maritimes’ biggest races

Ellsworth, Maine based Wyatt Alexander Racing (WAR) announced for the first time that driver Wyatt Alexander will be driving for another race team. Alexander will be in the Vincent-Lambe-Garnier (VLG) Racing Dodge Charger at Riverside International Speedway, Antigonish, Nova Scotia for the IWK 250 July 21-23, 2022.

Wyatt Alexander will be behind the wheel of the VLG Dodge Charger competing in one of the Maritimes premier races the IMK 250 at the high-banked Riverside International Speedway July 21-23, 2022. (VLG team photo)

The VLG team released this statement:

The Vincent-Lambe-Garnier Racing Team is headed to the high banks of Riverside International Speedway July 21st-23rd for one of the most anticipated short track races in Canada, the historic IWK 250.

After the decision by two-time IWK 250 champion Kent Vincent to step back from competition this year, the team was in search of a replacement driver for select races in 2022.

The team is happy to announce they have selected 22-year-old Wyatt Alexander from Ellsworth, Maine USA to pilot the teams #28 Dodge Charger being prepared in Prince Edward Island.

Wyatt will be battling alongside the best drivers in Canada for his opportunity to hoist the majestic John W. Chisholm Memorial Cup. NASCAR Truck Series champion Mike Skinner will be driving the Cat Car for Kids entry.

The team is proud to have support for this primer event from Tire-Tire Canada, Lambe Concrete, Prince Edward Island Potatoes, Lone Oak Brewery, Dialed in Precision and Speedway Performance Parts.

PEI potatoes, one of the sponsors of the VLG Dodge. (VLG Team photo)

CORE autosports on top in Canada

CORE autosports at speed at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. The team has experienced much success at the Canadian racetrack. (IMSA photo)

The County connected CORE autosports IMSA LMP3 race team again was successful at Toronto’s Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP) in the IMSA Weathertech championship. After a two-year absence due to Covid 19 restrictions, CORE autosports was able to race at one of the team’s favorite venues.

CORE has 9 podium finishes and 6 wins (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2022) at the Toronto area road course. Team drivers Jon Bennett and Colin Braun placed 7th overall and first in LMP3. They continue to lead in points for the class.

Team owner Jon Bennett on left with fellow driver Colin Braun after their win Sunday at CTMS. CTMS is one of the team’s favorite racetracks. (IMSA photo)

Sting Ray Robb at Mid-Ohio

Sting Ray Robb in action at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Indy Lights championship battle. (Sting Ray Robb photo)

After qualifying sixth on Saturday for the Indy Lights race the next day. Sting Ray Robb acknowledged that he “some work to do” before the race. The race was dominated by Indy Lights rookie Hunter McElrea who led every lap of the 35-lap race as well as setting fastest lap time.

Sting Ray was able to perform a daring last turn maneuver and pass Benjamin Pederson for fifth place. The fifth-place finish allowed him to maintain second in the season’s points battle behind Linus Lundqvist. Lundqvist leds by 87 points.

Indy Lights make their appearance on an oval track when they compete at Iowa Speedway July 23rd at 12:15 pm.

Historic car and driver at Owls Head Transportation Museum this week

Another “I wish I lived closer” events taking place in southern Maine July 7th. I just found out the historic Shelby Mustang built for Ken Miles will be at Owls Head along with automotive historian Tom Cotter (Barn Finds) and former driver, John McComb. Must pre-register though the event is free to the public. All the information is below.

https://owlshead.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1651548&group=

Let’s go racing,

Tom Hale

Soli Deo Gloria (Matthew 5:16)