Ask The Driver

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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 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

Photo: Matt Butcosk

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

Photo: Paul Arch

Photo: Josh James

run them a lot. Back in 2011, I had a bad crash and won about $100. It was a perfect storm situation where the cage crushed, and I thought if I was going to do this racing thing for very long, I needed to just stay away from them. So, I have.

DE: You get the opportunity to race with a lot of different series, asphalt, dirt, what would you say your top three racetracks to race at are and why?

KS: My smart mouth answer to this is always the next one on the schedule. You have to enjoy where you’re going, if you want to be successful, you have to commit yourself to being there, right? That’s usually the first thing I come back with. But, I really like the Indiana State Fairgrounds, it’s kind of a hot button topic at the moment but I love that place for so many reasons. It fits me really well, it had high speed, it had technicality, it had precision all being required but I love the atmosphere and the tradition that it held, knowing that it connects us to some of the legends of our sport; it was my own chance to be connected to the greats like Foyt, Unser, Andretti, and all of them. I loved racing there. It’s hard for me to pick three; I love the ones that have that kind of history and character to them. Pavement wise, I love Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis for the same reasons. We talk about me being a pavement guy some and loving dirt and many of the pavement tracks I love race a lot like dirt tracks. Lucas Oil Raceway has progressive banking with so many grooves that it changes every time you’re there. I love Salem Speedway. It is rough, has holes, and so much character that you have to search around the racetrack just like you would a dirt track. I’m going to include a fourth one, I really enjoy Waynesfield Raceway Park in Ohio partly because I got to race with Kent Wolters there and we became friends. It’s such a racy little bullring that you get a little bit of everything when you’re there. You can race against the cushion and run the car really hard or get technical and hit the bottom, it’s just a really racy track. It’s probably my favorite place to run a nonwing sprint car, so I feel like I should really include that one.

DE: What is an event you look forward to racing at every season?

KS: I love the Hoosier 100 but that one’s going away. The Little 500 is such a big event for my region and side of the sport that I love going to that one. Those two are probably my biggest two each year.

DE: What kind of racetracks best fit your driving style?

KS: As far as racing dirt, I fell in love with Silver Crown cars on dirt. I love places that precision is really important. I really

Photo: Mike Campbell

enjoy tracks that you’re required to be precise and technical to be fast. They seem to suite my style the best, high speed, technical, with finesse type of place. Those are usually the ones I find success at.

DE: What is a track that you struggle with the most and why?

KS: Eldora Speedway has been one that I’ve struggled at and it’s not because I’ve not ran well. I just haven’t felt good about the way I’ve run there. It’s a tough place, it either fits your comfort zone or it doesn’t. For me, for dirt tracks that are high banked, you build so much trust going into the corners with the speed there. There’s such a load difference. Eldora was a place that I had a hard time feeling comfortable running the car as hard as I needed to run around the top of the track. I’ve turned the corner and really gained a lot. In 2014, 2015, and 2016 I felt like I really got the hang of it, I didn’t win a race but I ran second twice and set fast time and was gaining on it. One of the things about dirt tracks is they change, and it seems like in the time since, maybe the shape or banking is a little bit different,

A throwback to the 2009 Hoosier 100, Kody’s favorite race. Photo: Carey Akin

and I’ve kind of struggled there lately. It’s been a place that I certainly want to improve at, and hopefully I can get my head wrapped around it on the right night and find some success there.

DE: What do you look forward to the most in the off season?

KS: I’m from Central California but I live in the Midwest for racing but we get to go home to California. Every Christmas we spend about two weeks there - my wife and I and now our two boys. Both of our families and all of our extended family is in California. I look forward to having two weeks to just get home and see everyone to catch up. I hate that the sport we love and where we geographically are keeps us separated. But, I look forward to making it home every Christmas. Racing wise, I enjoy the off season because it gives you a chance to maybe not change pace but you get to change focus, where you can try to make yourself or your cars better, it gives you a chance where you can separate yourself from the week to week grind.

DE: What is your favorite place to eat on the road and why?

KS: I guess I don’t really have one right now. There was a period of time where I got a little superstitious and needed to eat at Wendy’s on race day. I had to have a Baconator. Most of the time, I’m just looking for a good cheeseburger.

DE: What is the biggest lesson you learned from the 2020 race season?

KS: That nothing is guaranteed. I don’t know how many times I had a tentative schedule but I just stopped making them. One of the things I think I’ve always tried to keep in perspective is enjoy the racing we’re doing. You never know which victory or race will be your last. Last year really put that in perspective. Make sure you cherish the special moments you have, the big ones and the small ones, and the joy in-between. Nothing is guaranteed.

DE: What would you consider the most rewarding part of being a race car driver?

KS: I think racing is such a unique sport - you put so much into it and maybe it never pencils out on paper but there is such an emotional aspect to it. People who know me, know I’m an emotional guy anyway, I’ve been known to tear up in an interview or two along the way. But, one of the most rewarding parts of driving is seeing the impact the win has on the people around you. Fortunately, I’ve had a career where car owners have been willing to put me in the seat because they want you to help them win. To be in victory lane and get out of the car and see the joy on the car owner’s, crew member’s, and family’s faces knowing we won something together is what makes it all worth it. Knowing we get to celebrate that together, to the people who put the car together and put so much effort into it, knowing that I played a small part in that is huge. Racing is a lot like a relay race, as a driver I feel like I’m the last runner in the relay. Everyone has done their part, done the best job they could, and they hand the baton to me at the end and it’s my job to run the last leg. If you get the win, you can all celebrate together; the emotional aspect of that and seeing your team in victory lane, taking those pictures together and seeing the pure joy is so rewarding for me.

DE: What is one of your most memorable fan interactions?

KS: One I remember in particular that sticks out is when we were at Lucas Oil Raceway. I was off somewhere doing something after the race, but, I got back to our pit and my mom said “There were these two guys in bright orange shirts waiting for you to see you and say hello, they had never met you before.” As soon as I finished up with the fans that were there, I went looking for them. I found them, and said, “Hey I don’t know if you’re the guys are not, but my mom said two guys in bright orange shirts were trying to say hello.” The immediate connection and response they had that I had took the time to go looking for them and didn’t just shrug it off was really cool. We still stay in touch, they always say hello, and I always tease them about being the guy in orange shirts. By putting some effort out, we can really make a difference, even with long-time race fans. That’s something I try to do, I try to say hello to everyone, I try to stay as late as I can afterward to talk, or tell racing stories, even if I’ve got to hunt you down in the pits! I really appreciate race fans that put effort in to be at the track and enjoy the same cars and racing that I do.

DE: If you could improve the world of open wheel racing in one aspect, what would it be?

KS: I think back to being a kid, when my dad was racing, and something I loved that the headlining division went last. The reason I loved it was because the headline division ran their race, if you missed the winner’s interview, it wasn’t because you were in your car on the way home, it was because you were lined up to get to the pits, and then you got to see the drivers get out in their driving suit, hot, sweaty, the cars are hot, and it completed the experience. You were there to see a competitor and you see got to see him in a competitive atmosphere. It was totally different to me as a kid getting an autograph from a driver in his suit, sweaty, talking to his crew about the race, about the track then it is at 3:30 in the afternoon from a driver in his street clothes. It’s just a different experience, a different interaction. I would love to capture that. If you had a bad night or whatever, you remember the ones that had a tough night and put a grin on, versus the guys who scoffed and walked away. You build a relationship, you saw their emotion, and could root for them. I know today we have so much more access with social media; it is so hard to replicate that initial reaction. It’s hard for me as a driver, as soon as you get out there’s a camera in your face, but it’s different when you can be one on one, you can really share your emotion with them that way. We’re so busy; sometimes by the time it’s over, we’re onto the next race and loaded up. I try to stick around, but sometimes the fans don’t come down because they think you’re already gone. I wish we could fix that, so people can experience that.