ask the
DRIVER Photo: Josh James
DRIVER: KODY SWANSON By Ashley Zimmerman
Dirt Empire is taking questions provided by YOU and will seek out your favorite drivers to get you the answers to your long awaited questions! All you have to do to submit your question is just Like Dirt Empire on any social media and include #DEasks with your question. Then watch for the next issue to see if your question is featured!
DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE managed to squeeze some time on to newly announced SRX series driver Kody Swanson’s schedule to ask questions on everything dirt and even a little bit about life on pavement. The five-time USAC Silver Crown Champion gets detailed about his favorite places, some of his struggles, and his love for fan engagement. Dirt Empire (DE): What first attracted you to dirt track racing and did you think at the time it would become your career? Kody Swanson (KS): I started dirt track racing when I was a kid; I was around twelve years old. What really attracted us to it, coming from a fully pavement racing family, was that there were a couple of dirt tracks close to us and they raced on
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Photo: Matt Butcosk
Friday nights. We could still make the races since my dad was still racing on Saturdays. Micro sprints met all of the family requirements - they had a five point harness, they were safer than a go-kart with a full roll cage, and they sat you up, so they didn’t teach you any bad habits like we felt maybe quarter midgets might. I really fell in love with it then because it was the style of racing that as a driver you’re never out of it, the track is always changing. It gives you a chance to search and use the track to be fast. I loved running the same place weekly, since the track was never the same. One weekend it could be heavy, or have a big curb, or be slick with nothing to lean on. You had to figure it out to be fast, and I felt it exposed me to so many different situations as a driver that you can learn a lot in a short amount of time. I never thought I was going to get a chance to race, I thought it would just be a hobby or something. As I grew up, I had some successes, and I was really fortunate and thankful to have made a career out of it. DE: Who has influenced your racing career the most? KS: That’s a tough one because I think, fortunately, with a long career, that a
DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE • ISSUE 03 - 2021
lot of people have influenced it. For sure, though, my dad, mom, my wife, my family; I grew up watching my dad race and he was such a huge part of getting us started. My brother and I would have never had the chance to get started it if wasn’t for him. We weren’t able to start with some big team; he showed us how to put the work in. I had to learn how to try and get sponsorships and make a go. It was really a small family operation and put us in big venues and big races to run well and to be seen in racing. Fortunately, it was a time where car owners were still looking to hire drivers, so it got us to the next opportunity to get hired by somebody, to where I could move on to a new region or series and really develop a racing career. I’ve been able to drive with many iconic teams throughout my career and that really helped to propel me to new levels. DE: If you had to rank them - nonwing, wing, midget, 410, 360, and even asphalt, what would be your order of preference? KS: Hmm, Silver Crown cars are the best. I like non wing sprint cars, winged sprint cars 360 or 410. Then it would probably be dirt midgets last for me. I just haven’t
