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Swanson gives Wilke-Pak historic USAC National win #134!

On May 29th, Kody Swanson made his debut behind the wheel of the Wilke-Pak #11, but his solid 3rd place finish in the “Night Before the 500” was outshined by his brother Tanner, as he picked up the win in his first attempt at O’Reilly Raceway Park. The USAC National Midget series returned to ORP on July 22nd, to kick off the opening night of Kroger Speedfest, which would include racing action from the USAC Silver Crown, NASCAR Truck and Nationwide series throughout the week. Kody returned behind the wheel of the Wilke-Pak #11, and Tanner was left without a midget ride, so the pressure was on for Kody to match the show put on by his brother just two months earlier. After qualifying 6th, and finishing 3rd in his preliminary heat race, Kody lined up on the pole of the 24 car field, and would lead them to green in the 30-lap event. At the drop of the flag, Kody shot from his inside position to the lead, increasing the gap back to 2nd place Jason Leffler until a lap 4 caution rebunched the field. With the 3-time National Midget Champ and NASCAR Nationwide standout on his rear bumper, Kody restarted his #11 back into the lead with 25-laps remaining. Leffler was able to get to the back bumper of Kody’s car in turn 1, but never again, as Kody pulled away off of turn 2 and increased his lead for the remainder of the event, taking the checkered flags with over a 3-second lead! The win was Kody’s first at ORP and first driving the Wilke-Pak #11, powered by Toyota, but it gave the Wilke-Pak team their 134th National win, breaking the record to become the winningest team in USAC history!

Disappointment looms in "JD Byrider 100" at ORP

Kroger Speedfest at O’Reilly Raceway Park was stop #4 for the K&N USAC Silver Crown series tour for 2010, and is always a schedule favorite because of its proximity to the “Racing Capital of the World” and conjunction with NASCAR weekend in Indianapolis. The “JD Byrider 100” event would start straight-up after qualifying and start 30 Silver Crown cars for the 100-lap affair around the 0.686 mile oval. The Swanson brothers qualified their Team 6R Racing, powered by Toyota, entries to 4th and 6th place efforts, with Kody leading Tanner. Fresh off of his National Midget feature win, Kody would line up his #19 outside row two, with Tanner in the Armstrong Garage Doors #23 directly behind outside row three.
At the drop of the green flag, Kody held the high line to take over the 3rd position, and trailed NASCAR Star Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne Racing driver Brad Sweet for the opening lap. Tanner, however, was making his first start from the front of the Silver Crown field, and was continuing to battle for the 6th position. By lap 5, Kody had already used the bottom of the racetrack to pass Newman, then Sweet, and take the lead in his Toyota powered #19. Over the next few laps, Kody pulled away to an 8-car length margin, and continued to distance himself from the field with ease. After a brief caution period, Kody would lead the field back to green on lap 25, when disaster struck. Apparently small debris from the caution had cut the Right Rear tire on the #19, causing it to begin going flat while Kody was leading the race! Obviously, the #19 began to lose speed and Kody faded to the rear of the lineup before finally blowing the tire out on lap 44. The blow out warranted a caution, and Kody brought the #19 to pit lane for a used set of tires only to find that Tanner was having tires issues as well, as a leaking Right Rear tire brought him to pit road in his #23. Each a few laps down, the Swanson brothers began to make their charge back up through the field. Kody was up around the Top 10 in the running order when a Right Front wheel problem on lap 68 sidelined his #19 for the remainder of the event. Tanner continued his battle, and made it all the way to 9th in the running order by feature’s end, but being laps down relegated him to a 20th place finish. Although the results were disappointing, the Swanson brothers were extremely fast at O’Reilly Raceway Park, and will be in contention to win on the USAC Silver Crown trail.

Swanson runs 2nd again in Tatro Racing SuperModified!

In his SuperModified debut, during the Vukovich Classic, Kody Swanson qualified the Tatro Racing #72 in the 3rd position, won his trophy dash, and led the main event before finishing in the 2nd position. On July 17th, Kody returned to the Tatro Racing team and Madera Speedway’s Pombo Classic, hoping to improve upon his record. In qualifying, he did just that. Kody toured the 1/3 mile oval in 12.77 seconds to post the fastest qualifying time! After starting in the back of the trophy dash, Kody settled for a 3rd place finishes in both of his preliminary events, the dash and heat race. Fresh off of his BCRA Midget win, Kody lined up his #72 in the 9th position for the 50-lap SuperModified feature, starting behind current stars Jim Birges and Lonnie Adamson, as well as a field full of 360 SuperModified drivers. At the drop of the green, Birges and Adamson shot to the inside, and were able to clear much of the slower traffic, while the holes closed in front of Kody, leaving him to do battle while the leaders got away. After 23 laps, Kody was finally able to clear the last 360, and begin his pursuit of Birges and Adamson from the 3rd position. Nearing the half-way point, Birges was forced to retire from overheating problems, advancing Adamson to the lead and Kody to 2nd. For the remaining laps, Kody continued to click off strong laps, but never gained much ground on the blue #98 that was over half a lap ahead, and settled for another solid 2nd place finish in the caution free 50-lap SuperModified feature event.

Kody Swanson drives the Neverlift Racing #15 to BCRA Victory Lane!

The Swanson brothers entered Madera Speedway for their first midget event at the track in 2010 as heavy favorites to take home the hardware. In the 6 USAC/BCRA Midget events held at the 1/3 mile speedplant in 2009, TK Motorsports’ Swanson Brothers took home 5 trophies, as Kody picked up 2 wins and Tanner 3, leaving only 1 to the competition. On this hot summer day, it was Tanner who would set “fast time” in the Paul Eskesen Racing #10, while Kody timed his Neverlift Motorsports #15 in the 2nd position, setting up a long day of head-to-head competition between the two. However, in the trophy dash Nick Foster Jr. decided to show his strength, as he drove his #1 machine to the win, with Tanner 2nd and Kody 3rd. Kody picked up the win in his preliminary heat race, with Nick and Tanner in tow, setting up what was sure to be a 3-car battle for the feature win. With Nick, Kody and Tanner starting 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively, the race to the front sure was a good one. By the drop of the green the young brothers were dicing through the pack, and by lap 3 they were running 2nd and 3rd. Kody cleared Foster for the lead by lap 4, when Tanner began to experience mechanical issues. The #10 broke a throttle shaft, ending Tanner’s night before the real battle even got started. After a lap 9 restart, Kody held off a hard-charging Foster for over 10-laps before he began pulling away to a small lead. With that, Kody was able to race to the finish and pick up the BCRA Midget win for the Prickett Family’s Neverlift Motorsports team in their #15, earning them a victory in only their first attempt together!

Swanson drives the Mott-Bolding #15 to 5th at RMR!

In a special "Memorial Day" event at Rocky Mountain Raceways, Kody Swanson flew out to Salt Lake City to compete for Mott-Bolding Motorsports in their Harvest Supply Racing #15. The day started out promising, as Kody qualified in the 2nd position, with a lap of 13.89 seconds around the 3/8 mile paved oval. From there, the team went into their preliminary heat race event, needing only to finish in order to secure a starting position for the main. Starting in 5th, Kody moved quickly to 4th, and ended up 2nd at the finish of the heat race. After an invert of the six fastest qualifiers, Kody would line up 5th for the 50-lap feature event. At the drop of the green, Kody quickly began moving forward, moving from 5th to 3rd in the first lap, and 2nd by lap 12, and set his sights on race leader and two-time RMR Sprints Champion Jimmy Wysong. Unfortunately, engine woes began to take away power from the 15, and Kody just tried to hold on to finish the 50-lapper for his team. Kody was still able to hold on to a solid 5th place feature finish, and although it wasn't the result they were hoping for, it was still a respectable run in Salt Lake City.

Swanson runs 3rd in the Wilke-PAK #11w at the "Night Before the 500!"

The "Night Before the 500" National Midget event at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis is very prestigious, and has a storied history at the .686 mile paved oval. Kody made his first start in the event in 2007 driving for Steve Lewis' Nine Racing, and was running 2nd with 2 laps to go when he lost an engine. This year, Kody would be making his first start behind the wheel of a famed Wilke-Pak Motorsports #11, while Tanner would be making his first ever laps at the speedway, driving the DeBeaumont Motorsports #51. In qualifying, the brothers ended up 4th (Kody) and 7th (Tanner) in the 40+ car field. In order to make the starting grid for the 50-lap affair, the brothers would each have to finish in the Top 4 of their preliminary heat races. In Tanner's heat race, he drove from 5th to 3rd to transfer to the feature, while Kody came from 6th to 3rd to make the historic event. With the 2nd place qualifier losing an engine in preliminary events, and an invert of the 6 fastest qualifiers to start the feature, it put young Tanner on the pole of the event, and left Kody to start from the 4th position. At the drop of the green, Tanner took the lead and led the opening lap before falling into the 2nd position. While Kody fell to 5th at the start, in the next few laps he battled up to the 3rd position, behind his younger brother. For the next 30 laps, Tanner hounded leader Bryan Clauson, often driving to the bottom of the racetrack and pulling alongside the race leader in the battle for the top spot. However, on lap 32, Tanner shot to the inside of the wide, fast racetrack, and was able to officially retake the lead. From there, Tanner "checked-out" from the competition, driving to over a straight-away lead by feature's end, and winning the "Night Before the 500" in only his first attempt! Older brother Kody drove his car to a solid 3rd place finish to give the "Swanson Brothers" duo a 1st-3rd podium finish!

Swanson runs Fourth in the "Hoosier Hundred!"

Team 6R Racing's Swanson Brothers headed to the Indiana State Fair to compete in round 3 of the USAC Silver Crown series. In qualifying, the brothers ended up 23rd and 25th in the stout 36 car field. After qualifying, the team found that Kody started to develop an engine problem in his #19. Tanner was very selfless to offer his #23 to his older brother, who was currently 5th in the series standings. In order to complete the switch, Kody would have to give up his starting position, and start in Tanner's #23 at the tail of the 35 car field. In the 100-mile event, Kody quickly began working his way through the field, and by the mandatory competition red-flag at lap 50, Kody had moved the #23 from 35th to 11th. During the red-flag period, teams were allowed to refuel and change tires, with the rule that a changing a right rear tire would send a car to the tail of the field. While 8 of the top 10 teams elected to put on new tires and go to the tail, Kody and the Team 6R #23 stayed on their used tires, and advanced to the 3rd position on the restart. With a field full of new tires behind him, it would be difficult for those who elected to stay on their used tires to stay out front. For the next 25 laps, Kody battled among the top 3, and fell to 4th when eventual winner Shane Hmiel came through the field on his new tires. With 30 laps to go, Kody began moving toward the front, and passed for 3rd. By 6 laps to go, Kody closed on 2nd place and completed the pass with 5 to go, when the caution came out. With 95 laps down and 5 to go, Kody restarted 2nd with a group of better tires behind him. Kody was passed by defending Champ Bud Kaeding and USAC Triple Crown Champ Jerry Coons, but held on for 4th place finish, his career best on the "Dirt Miles." This solid finish moved Kody up to 4th in the series standings with the next Silver Crown event scheduled for Illiana Motor Speedway on July 8th.

Last Saturday, TK Motorsports made their USAC National Sprintcar debut at Iowa Speedway.  The 7/8 mile paved oval was nearly twice the size of the largest track they had previously competed on, and proved to be challenging for the team, who was also debuting the TRD 360 Toyota Sprintcar engine in Tanner Swanson’s #17.  Tanner held his own against the 410’s, qualifying his #17 in 10th position, just one ahead of brother Kody in his #75.  For the 50-lap feature, the series utilizes a lap 30 break to allow the cars to refuel and prepare for a 20-lap sprint to the finish.  For the first two laps, Tanner & Kody battled side-by-side for the 10th position, under the momentum from the outside lane carried the 17 past the 75, and Tanner into the Top 10.  Kody continued to struggle with the handling on the 75 for a few laps, falling as far as the 14th position, while Tanner continued to battle among 8th and 9th.  By lap 10, Kody’s car had come to life, and he was gaining ground on the pack in front of him, passing back up to 11th and to the back-bumper of the #17 when Tanner pulled into the pits with a mechanical issues.  Kody continued to move forward, passing into the Top 10 and the Top 8 by the end of the 30-lap run.  During the break, the TK Motorsports team refueled the 75 and fixed the issues on the 17 to get the brothers back onto the track for the final 20-lap stint.  Multiple laps down, Tanner returned to racing action to get more experience on the larger tracks, being his first trip to Iowa Speedway, and to prepare himself for the upcoming Silver Crown event.  Kody battled among the Top 10 drivers in the closing laps to eventually finish in the 9th position.  Although the results weren’t quite what the team had hoped for, the experience was invaluable and will prepare them for the next events, when the USAC National Sprints head to O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis and Berlin Speedway in Marne, Michigan for a June 10th & 12th weekend doubleheader. 

Kody Swanson finishes 2nd in Iowa Silver Crown race!

Last Saturday night, Kody Swanson capped off the Pride of Iowa USAC Tripleheader at Iowa Speedway with a drive from 13th to finish 2nd in the 100-lap feature.  The USAC Silver Crown series was making their first stop on the pavement tour for 2010.  This event marked the first time that the Swanson brothers, Kody and Tanner, competed for Team 6R Racing, powered by Toyota, in a pavement Silver Crown race.  Unfortunately, Tanner lost an engine in practice, missed qualifying and would start the feature in 23rd.  Kody logged a 13th place qualifying effort, and would have to charge from the 7th row to be a factor.  At the drop of the green, the elder Swanson began picking off cars, moving up to the Top 10 by a lap 5 caution.  Under the caution, Tanner had to pull in to make mechanical repairs to his #23, and returned to racing action a few laps down.  When the field returned to green, both brothers began charging through the field.  Kody quickly moved toward the Top 5, and had taken over 4th when the track went yellow again around lap 35.  Over the main stretch of the race, Kody battled for the 3rd spot, and began hunting down leader AJ Fike and 3-time series Champ Bud Kaeding.  Meanwhile, Tanner was moving quickly through the field, and although was laps down in the running order, had moved all the way up to 5th on the racetrack when engine woes sidelined him on lap 73.  Nearing the finish, Kody had pulled to the back-bumper of the 2nd place car, and was pressing for the position when the caution came out on lap 85.  On the lap 90 restart, Swanson shot to the outside of Kaeding, taking over the position on lap 92 and setting his sights on leader Fike.  Over the last 8 laps, Swanson wasn’t able to close the gap to the leader, and came home with a solid 2nd place finish.  The strong finish vaulted the elder Swanson from 14th to 5th in the series points chase heading into the “Hoosier Hundred” at the Indiana State Fairgrounds this Friday.   

Swanson pilots McQueen entry to second runner-up finish!

Last Saturday night, Kody Swanson returned to the USAC Western Midget series, behind the wheel of a Shannon McQueen Racing special.  Just a month ago, Kody drove one of the McQueen Racing cars to Fast Time honors and a 2nd place feature finish in only his first time driving the car, and his first ever event at Bakersfield Speedway.  While Kody would be making his 2nd McQueen Racing start, it was his first ever trip to the 1/3-mile clay oval of Santa Maria Speedway.  In similar fashion to his Bakersfield run, Kody set Quick Time in time trials, making him 3-for-3 as the Fastest Qualifier in USAC Western Midget competition.  In his preliminary heat race, Kody finished 5th to transfer to the night’s 30-lap feature event.  By virtue of his Fastest Qualifying effort, Kody would start the event from outside the 3rd row in the 6th position.  On the original green, the front row starters touched wheels, brought out the caution and were relegated to either the tail of the pack or the pit area.  On the restart, Kody lined up outside row two, and shot to the 2nd position in the first half-lap!  From there, Kody was in pursuit of race leader and two-time Chili Bowl Champ Cory Kruseman, even pulling alongside in a battle for the race lead!  A lap 11 caution saw Kody still behind the seasoned veteran, waiting for a good opportunity to make another bid for the lead.  However, on the restart, third place runner and 2010 race winner in the series Jonathon Henry, shot to the outside of the leading duo, and took the lead into turn 3.  Off of turn four, Kody passed Kruseman, who was now suffering engine woes, and began his pursuit of the new leader.  For the next 19 laps, Kody trailed leader Henry, and was never able to make a serious charge for the win.  Nevertheless, Kody earned himself another Fast Time honor and 2nd place finish for the McQueen Racing team.  Kody will return to USAC Western Midget action behind the wheel for Shannon McQueen when the series returns to Bakersfield Speedway on June 26th.  

Kody Swanson runs 2nd in his SuperModified debut!

written by Lance Tatro and published on tatroracing.com!

In Mathew 5:5, it is written “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” and somewhere in the intention of that script, they must have had young men like Kingsburg’s Kody Swanson in mind. At the 2010 Vukovich Memorial Race, Madera was witness to some of the finest driving it has seen in the last 20 years in the supermodified division. Not to say that Troy, Billy Vukovich, Woodward, Birges, Hamilton or even myself and others have never drove the lights out at the speedway. But not our very first time in a ground-pounding supermodified. I was there to see all these driver’s debuts, and although we have all placed are marks on the history of this speedway, we did not make such a statement at our rookie debut.  What Madera fans saw was this young man is for real, simply put he is everything that he is advertised to be. What the fans saw is passing and set ups of a seasoned professional. As we all witnessed the battles that took place on Saturday, we may have all forgotten that this was the first time Kody had ever driven a winged car of any kind. What they saw was raw talent that realistically could rival that of a young Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, or Billy Vukovich. No, he doesn’t have the marketing behind his campaign, or the stack of premier owners that are willing to sign him yet. However, he continues to draw their attention by making his mark on the racing world one small track at a time, one race at a time, and excel in each attempt he makes. What the fans saw this night was the unmistakable raw talent that every once in a while hits the Central Valley.

        What the fans did not see from the stands is the integrity and humbleness that young Kody has. If you met him, and spoke with him, you would encounter a humble, smug-less and polite young man who treats everyone with respect. What you may not ever get the chance to know is the veteran feedback that he provides his crew when exiting the car. He breaks every corner down to braking, non-braking, pre and post apexes and cut and acceleration zones. He lets you know what is his fault and what needs to be fixed on the car. He speaks of dynamic influences verses those that are static.  If you were to look away just for a moment, you would never guess you were talking to a racecar driver that is 23 years old

 The Race

       The night started with Kody anxious to get some laps in with other cars on the track. He was looking to get some time with Troy, Jim and the other 410s to have a better gauge of how far to push the car. After a clean few sessions, Kody was third quick time, with Birges and Russell second and first respectively and Troy forth. The Dash found Kody on the outside pole and against the aggressive Regier, who was in an unfamiliar car, and still hurting from the winter dessert accident. Nevertheless, it was 8x Supermodified Champion Troy Regier. Kody took the outside lane, and never looked back to win the opening event, Birges finished a close second.

       Kody and the Tatro owned car missed the heat due to a cracked rear-end housing. “My father-in-law found a crack as we were getting ready to roll out for the heat…That could have lead to something nasty if he had not noticed the small crack” Tatro said. Pat (Dutcher), Miah (Jeremiah Bearden) and the crew pulled the housing, while Greg and Kevin worked to prepare the car for the main event.  The crew finished with enough time for Kody to take a couple precautionary laps to see that everything was safely intact, and it was. The Main Event saw Kody, and the Tatro Racing team starting four rows back, and that is really where the young Swanson showed his talents. Swanson move from eighth to second in two laps, and then into the lead shortly thereafter. But in order to do that, he had to pass the other Kingsburg native Lance Jackson.  Kody held the lead for a few laps, and then was passed by Birges on an inside move.  “I had told Kody that the car is not really good on the short runs, but is very good after about 10 laps”. Kody was patience and then on lap 10 started his climb back to the lead. He passed Birges and continued to stretch the lead out to just over a straight-a-way (over Birges), and to several car lengths over now second Russell. All looked well for Swanson’s debut.. until…. A lengthy red flag halted the race, and the tires began to cool. This is where Tatro’s cars’ technical disadvantages showed.

        As Birges made adjustments, Kody could not. After the restart, Kody was able to hold the lead for a short time, but it proved only a matter of time before Jim’s car overtook Kody and started to pull away… Until… 10 laps after the restart, and with no brakes, Kody began to pull up on Birges. “Mike told Kody that he needed to make a choice as far as the brakes, if he did not feel comfortable driving with no peddle left, then he could pull in”. He responded “I lead with no brakes for 15 laps, I’m okay” and with just a couple of laps to go he was now reengaged with Jim and setting to make a crisp inside pass. Until… the yellow flag dropped for a stranded Kinchen, and once again the tires began to cool. Kody finished second, after an earlier dominating showing.

        What the crowed didn’t see is that Kody was driving a car with a 17 year old motor… in other words, it was built when he was six, strapped into a car that was originally built when he was 3. Although the heads were made of aluminum… so perhaps restrictions are forth coming…  Yes, even more impressive, was that Swanson was dominating in an older car, with 40 less horsepower, weighed 150 pounds more than the minimum limit and had no ability to make adjustment within the cockpit to help the handling.  Any questions about his talent? Now I am not saying that this car isn’t good… It owns an open division track championship (1993), and a 2009 360 championship as well. In addition, the car has been revamped and the team is continuing to update the equipment to be even more competitive for the next time the car runs. Did I mention that Kody had never driven a winged car?  No one told him he was starting the race with such a disadvantage over the 2010 Birges car. No one told him, so he drove the car as if he believed any short comings that the car may have had… he could overcome. He did.

     I was proud of our team to overcome the night’s adversity, proud of our choice to put Kody in the car, and proud to witness my car being driven by a future superstar… he already is in our books!

Kody takes 2nd to Two-Time Chili Bowl Champ in Bakersfield

Last Saturday night, Kody Swanson made his debut at Bakersfield Speedway in his first start
behind the wheel of the Shannon McQueen Racing #7. In qualifying time trials, Kody paced
the 1/3 mile clay oval with a lap of 13.471 seconds, posting the fastest lap and earning
Quick Time honors.

In his preliminary heat race, Kody failed to earn his qualifying time,
finishing outside of the Top 5 transfer positions. Lining up for the night's feature event in
11th, it would be a long charge from the back if Kody was going to make a challenge for the
win.

On the initial start, some of the leaders tangled, and reset the field. Escaping the
incident unscathed, Kody would line up 6th on the restart of the 30-lap event. In the
opening lap, Kody shot to 5th, where he would be for the first part of the race. A caution on
lap 11 regrouped the field, and gave Kody another chance at the leaders. On the restart,
Kody found some moisture on the low groove of the racetrack, and began moving forward.
In a few laps, Kody was third and battling for 2nd.

With 10 to go, Kody had moved to the
2nd spot for good and began hunting down 2-time Chili Bowl Midget National Champion,
Cory Kruseman. With three to go, Kody caught and pulled beside the "Kruser" for the lead
down the front stretch, set to make a move entering turn one when disaster struck.

A lapped car moved down in front of Kody, letting Kruseman pass with ease and ending Kody's
chances at victory. All in all, it was a very successful weekend for Kody and the McQueen
Racing team, producing a Fast Time award and a Top 2 feature finish!