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The 63 car Kody pilots in Dirt Silver Crown racing for DePalma Motorsports. (Credit: Rich Forman)

It is more common than not that car racers usually belong to one racing team, but it isn’t always the case. Take the example of Kody Swanson. During his career as a racer, he has raced for more than 30 teams.

Currently, he is concentrating on DePalma Motorsports, Epperson Racing, and K&L Racing.

“There is no conflict between teams. Each team runs either in a different series or under a different schedule,” said Swanson. DePalma Motorsports competes in the USAC Silver Crown Series, Epperson Racing focuses on sprint car races in Indiana, and K&L concentrates on dirt sprint racing in Ohio. His racing exploits include dirt tracks and pavement.

“Racing for a number of teams is probably more common in open wheel, but not to the extent that I do it,” he said. “I run for six or seven different teams a year and run in maybe 40 races. A lot of guys in the Midwest in this type of situation will focus on dirt sprint car events. I probably run in more different series and different car types than most. I do a lot of crossing over between pavement and dirt, sprint cars, and Silver Crown. Not every team can commit to running a full schedule, so I feel fortunate to work with a number of them so that I can continue to race as much as I can.”

He prefers racing for several teams rather than for one or for his own racing team.

“There is a lot that goes into running your own team,” continued Swanson. “Considering the amount of time and finances it would take, you’d probably need to focus on one series and one type of car. Right now, running for different teams allows me to compete in a number of different types of cars and series.”

The Family Business

Born in Kingsburg, California, in 1988 and currently a resident of Indianapolis, Indiana, Swanson followed his grandfather and father into racing. His father, Mike, started racing in 1981. His father and Kody’s grandfather, Bill, started shortly after. Both found success in racing highlighted most by Mike’s wins and championships in SuperModifieds under the USAC and SMRA banners. Considering family history, it was no surprise that both Kody and his brother Tanner jumped at the opportunity to get into racing themselves.

The Swanson family started TK Motorsports (TK for Tanner and Kody), when the brothers began racing in 2000. At that time, Kody was 12 years old, and Tanner 9. They each competed in junior and micro sprint car events before Kody turned pro and moved into sprint car racing in 2005 when he was 17. He started racing for other teams in 2006.

During his career he has won events in seven different types of Open-Wheel race cars, including: Pavement Sprint Cars, Pavement Midgets, Dirt Silver Crown, Dirt Midgets, Pavement Silver Crown, Dirt Sprint Cars, and Wing Pavement Sprint Cars.

• 17 - USAC Silver Crown Series

• 4 - National Pavement Sprint Cars

• 2 – USAC National Midget Series

• 13 – USAC Western Sprint Series

• 7 – USAC Western Midget Series

• 6 – Non-Wing Dirt Sprint Cars

• 5 – Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series

• 2 – USAC Rocky Mountain Sprint Series

• 1 – USAC Western Classic Sprint Series

• 1 – USAC D1 Midget Series

• 1 – Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series

• 1 – Bay Cities Racing Association

He has collected a total of 60 wins so far. He counts the Little 500 in 2016 and the three consecutive Hoosier 100s in 2014, 2015, and 2016 as his most important victories.

He competes in racing events all over the US from Phoenix, Arizona to New York and Florida. Although he participates in a number of different series, he is most known for racing the USAC Silver Crown Series. His 17 victories in that series are second best of all time.

Strategically Plans His Schedule

The 2 car Kody races for Epperson Racing. (Credit: Jordan Swanson)

“I’m fortunate that my employer allows me to work on a flex-hour time schedule,” said Swanson. “So as far as a race is concerned, I try to be strategic about planning a schedule. I’m fortunate that the teams I’m driving for have been willing to work with me and with one another to fit a sensible schedule.

“So, if I have a Silver Crown Race coming up and I need to be at the DePalma Motorsports shop to help with the preparation of the car, then I will try to schedule a race that is on the way to the shop. So I can go and race on a Friday and Saturday night and be only an hour or so away from the shop. The DePalma team arranges for me to stay in an apartment in the shop or with someone who has an empty room or basement at their home.

“K&L Racing frequently participates in races at the Waynesfield Raceway Park in Ohio that is only 60 miles or so from the DePalma Motorsports’ facility in Findlay, Ohio,” he continued. “So I can schedule a race there.”

The sprint car Kody races in Pavement Silver Crown events for DePalma. (Credit: Chris Pedersen)

Swanson noted that the race shop in Finlay, Ohio is about 220 miles from Indianapolis, Indiana where he lives. Still he makes the trip there every two weeks to work on the car with the DePalma crew. He is also responsible for tire selection as well as the shock and spring package that are used on the car he drives.

He volunteered that arranging his schedule for the year can be a difficult undertaking.

“I schedule my races on an Excel spreadsheet that has a list of every related series that the teams I race for compete in,” explained Swanson. “It serves as my file of options. Some of those races may not actually be available for me to compete in because the team may have had a problem and is not available for that race. So I check the spreadsheet for an alternative.

“It’s tough to schedule things far in advance. So my confirmed schedule is set only a few weeks ahead of time,” he added.

Uses Videos To Prepare For Races

He watches videos to prepare for events. His wife records races he competes in from the grandstand and he also searches for videos to watch when he needs to prepare to race at tracks he hasn’t run before.

“If I’m scheduled to race at a new track I will search for videos of races at that track about a week or so before I race,” he said.

He finds videos on YouTube. He also subscribes to Loud Pedal TV, which records and catalogs USAC races, and watches videos on JackFlash.com.

“They do a great job recording and cataloging open wheel events,” he said.

The 2017 Season

Swanson has competed in more than 20 races so far this season. He has collected five feature wins, scoring victories driving for each of the teams he is racing for this season.

According to Swanson, there are about 15 to 20 more events on his schedule.

Kody Swanson celebrates win in the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series for DePalma Motorsports

K&N has been sponsoring Swanson since 2006. He uses K&N carbon sprint air filter boxes and oil filters.

“My relationship with K&N started when I was racing for my family team,” he said. “There was a pretty big open wheel sprint car event that I won, which was held in conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show and Convention in 2006. I met a lot of manufacturers there including K&N and my relationship with them started then. They worked with me while I raced for the family team and when I branched out into other teams. They were willing to come along and support me. As time has passed, it has been great to continue the relationship.”

Kasey Kahne and his crew celebrating his win at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

"The career is big, for sure—but the win and the history here," Kahne said. "To win at this track is unreal. We used to always be really close. We lost to Jeff (Gordon) and we lost to Tony (Stewart); just some fast cars back then."

Kahne had a great restart coming off of the second overtime, after a record 14th caution, NASCAR was forced to call the race with Kahne in the lead which secured his first win in almost 3 years. This was the 18th win of Kahne’s career, leading twice for a total of 12 laps. Kahne received 40 points and 5 playoff points. Kahne pitted on Lap 150, and missed a wreck which eliminated Erik Jones, Kurt Busch, and Clint Bowyer from the race.

“I was really happy. Unbelievable to win at Indianapolis,” Kahne said. “Unbelievable to win a Cup race. It's been a while. It feels really good for myself and my confidence. I know it's great for our team. We needed it as a team.”

Kahne moved to Indianapolis in 1999, got on a bus and took a tour around Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“They bused us around the track. Got to feel the track in a bus” Kahne said. “That was a really cool day. That was in 1999. That was a blast to be part of that with my dad. Then to be able to race here starting in 2004. Came close to winning some races early on, led a lot of laps in 2012 or 2013. Was close again. To pull it off this year, it's unbelievable.”

Brad Keselowski finished in second place, losing the lead in the second overtime off of an incredible move by Kahne. Keselowski was motivated to get the first win for team owner Roger Penske at the Brickyard 400.

“You know, we just have to take our result and move on,” Keselowski said. “But really close. We weren't the fastest car today, but our team did a hell of a job executing. I wish I could have executed a little bit better to bring home the win. I'm not sure what that would have taken.”

Kasey Kahne celebrating his 3 year winless drought being over with win at Indianapolis

Martin Truex Jr. continues to lead the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Standings with 780 points and 29 playoff points. Kyle Larson is in second place with 732 points and 13 playoff points. Kevin Harvick is in third place with 683 points and 8 playoff points.

With this win, Kasey Kahne secured a spot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

The next race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be back at Pocono Raceway at the Overton’s 400.

Wienen raced to a 1st overall in the season finale at Loretta Lynn MX in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee

The second place finish breaks a 5-year stranglehold Wienen had on the AMA ATV MX National Championship series. Wienen topped the national podium from 2012 through the 2016 campaign. There is no doubt that coming up just 11 points short in 2017 will fuel the competitive fire that burns in the talented racer.

Before heading to Ponte-de-Vaux in France to compete in the Quadcross of Nations as part of Team USA, Wienen discussed his racing philosophy, what makes him tick, and his thoughts on the 2017 season with K&N.

K&N: Aside from your obvious natural racing talent, what do you consider the personality traits that make you so successful?

Wienen is fully aware the positive influence he can have on young race fans

K&N: Can you talk about how racing impacts, or is defined by, your family life and relationships?

CW: I am lucky to have an amazing support group with my family and friends. My wife, Danica runs our Wienen Motorsports business and takes care of everything on the business side of racing, so I can go out and worry about things on the track (and) not off. We are lucky to have a close, tight-knit family who comes to as many races as they can, and even our friends and many of our hometown crowd come to a lot of the close races to support us. It’s truly amazing having that sort of support group and makes it easier being on the road so much.

K&N: With your huge string of AMA ATV MX National Championships, has it ever been a challenge to stay motivated?

Wienen's patriotic Quadcross ATV displays the stars and stripes and runs a K&N intake

K&N: What are your interests outside of the AMA ATV MX series?

CW: I’ve been so focused on the championship chase that it seems to have consumed a majority of my time, but I enjoy cycling, golfing, and spending time with my family. I strive to be the best in each and everything I do, and I try to enjoy being in the moment in whatever task lies ahead.

K&N: What are your thoughts on the very tight 2017 series championship race and your finish?

CW: The 2017 season was my tightest championship chase in the past six years. Unfortunately, I fell short of securing the championship, but it has only left me more hungry and excited for the 2018 season to work on getting back the number one plate.

Sara was a 2016 Off Road Hall of Fame Inductee in the UTV, MX, and ATV Category

Her selection probably surprised no one more than herself. Sara had grown up on dirt bikes, her parents buying her a Honda XR50 as a child to distract her while her older brother practiced on the MX track. “I had too much energy,” Sara adds. By eight years old, she’d started and won her first race.

At age 12 she was a national rider, accumulating a record 17 National wins. By 16 she’d turned pro, becoming the first-ever factory-supported female Monster Energy Kawasaki rider. And by 20, even though she’d medaled in the 2010 X-Games Women’s Super-X, she’d retired from Motocross. But not by choice. X-Games dropped Women’s Super-X. According to Sara “it limited the ability of women riders to secure sponsorships, as that was the big event of the year.”

With bikes out of the picture for the foreseeable future but still riding motorcycles for the sake of passion, she looked around at what other challenges she might conquer. Her father, a long-time Class 10 Baja racer suggested she consider off-road racing as a means of furthering her career.

Erica Sacks, Sara Price, and their K&N-equipped Teryx before the King of Hammers

The transition was gradual, according to Sara "in 2013, alongside IMG Motorsports I raced Monster Jam intermission shows, WORCS event where I was also racing my dirt bike, and random motocross events where they let Side x Sides join. Then late 2013 early 2014 I believe is when I started racing short course after buying a 900 RZR."

Needing a spotter and a co-driver, Sara turned to Erica Sacks, whom she'd met at a charity event. According to Erica "I had been co-driving for a while with other drivers. As far as going from spotter to in-car with Sara was fairly easy. I basically studied her when I spotted for her, so jumping in the car with her was just a different view and a little more bumpy."

Kawasaki supported the pair in the 2016 and 2017 King of Hammers event, being both the only all-female team and one of a few Teryx models entered in the unique event that combines rock crawling with off-road racing, known as the toughest one day off-road event in the U.S.

In 2015 Sara and co-driver Erica set out to compete in the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, an event billed as one of the toughest all-female sporting events, in a factory-supported Kawasaki Teryx Side X Side.

Sara taking a fun run on the beach in her K&N-equipped Kawasaki Teryx

The pair, who’d been nicknamed the TeryxGirls, had been driving through the desert when night fell. Shortly after they ran out of gas, with nothing on the horizon but sand dunes. They settled in for the night in their race seats. Around 3:00 am they were awoken by two locals approaching them. For a few moments, they were unsure of the intentions of these two men but then realized they had ridden out on a motorcycle to bring sticks to start a fire for them while they wait for rally mechanics with gas. Relieved they continued on their way.

Back at Mt. Washington, Sara was strapped into a genuine Fiat Abarth factory-built rally car, one of several constructed for the FIA R-GT WRC class. Modifications include a full roll cage, four-way adjustable dampers, a six-speed sequential transmission, a limited slip differential, and lightweight panels. The car that inspired this snarky little beast was the FIA European Rally Champion back in its day.

After a fast start an electronics fault ended her run in the Fiat Abarth 124 R GT at Mt. Washington

While having won the “Next Female Hoonigan” title and the chance to race up Mt. Washington may lead to some further activities with Fiat, Sara has plenty on her plate right now.

For one, she’s raced in the Hooligan event at the Costa Mesa Speedway, in what best be described as a stripped-down Harley-Davidson. Not stripped down like a Speedway bike, really more like a Harley that’s had all its accessories and road gear removed. “It’s still a heavy bike, not even close to a Speedway bike,” Sara explained but loves every minute of it.

Sara races a stripped-down Harley-Davidson Hooligan at the short 185 yard Costa Mesa Speedway

Sara’s solution was to go entrepreneurial. She owns a company called SP Enterprises that does minor touch-ups on used cars at automobile dealers. It’s flexible, easy to reassign responsibilities around her racing schedule, and keeps the bills paid while she’s off racing. Or making money in her other job, as a motorcycle and car stunt rider/driver. She prefers working on commercials as the shoots are typically just a day or two, versus a motion picture that can tie you down for weeks or even months, but she is grateful for any work in the stunt industry and loves it. “I’ve worked on commercials for Kia and Microsoft, and doubled for Lady Gaga, and believe it or not, Danica Patrick,” Sara added.

Erica, Sara and their Trophy Truck after their first truck experience at the Laughlin Desert Classic

She’s also had her first experience racing a Trophy Truck for RPM Offroad, as Sara and Erica raced the truck for the first time in the 2017 Laughlin Desert Classic in the 8100 class. "It was truly a dream come true," exclaimed Sara. As a driver, it was a big step for Sara. As a passenger, it was a leap of faith for Erica. Or was it? "Getting in the truck with Sara was a dream. I trust her as a driver, so getting comfortable communicating at a faster pace that works was my biggest reservation," Erica confirmed.

Challenged about their ability to change a 150-pound wheel and tire in the middle of the event, Sara and Erica created a strategy that they practiced over and over again and got the time to change a tire from unbuckled to buckled down in the seat down to three minutes. The pair finished second overall in the results for eight combined classes that ran together.

Sara's also been a long-time user of K&N Filters. "Since I started driving anything I always used K&N even before I was supported by them. I made sure to have their product on my Side X Sides, when we raced short course it was all about the most airflow to get the most horsepower and K&N has proven to be the best with maximum horsepower use on the track," Sara said.

Right now, Sara is training for the upcoming Vegas to Reno off-road race, the longest off-road race in America, again in a Trophy Truck But now in the spec class, a trend that Sara hopes to continue. “Trophy Truck is what I’d love to do forever and nothing ever tops the opportunity of getting to drive one and I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity thanks to RPM Offroad,” the versatile driver added.

Photo Credits: Alex Wong, Danny Curiel, Preston Burroughs