In a battle between brothers, Tanner Swanson came out on top, victorious in the USAC Silver Crown Series. Tanner, brother of Kody Swanson, made his way past Kody while battling on lap 66 and pulled away down the stretch to win a caution-free Rich Vogler Classic at Lucas Oil Raceway.
The Kingsburg, California native managed the feat despite struggling on the race’s start. After qualifying fourth, Tanner found himself trapped on the outside lane through the race’s early laps, dropping outside of the top-5 contenders.
“Got stuck behind some cars on the start and fell back to seventh or eighth,” said Tanner. “I had to take advantage of opportunities when they came to move up.”
While Tanner looked to work through the field, brother Kody led.
Starting third, Kody worked his way around NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman and pole sitter Aaron Pierce quickly in the opening stages to take over the top spot.
Kody would maintain the lead for over half the race. But as he led, his rear-view mirror was full with brother Tanner’s car.
Tanner worked his way around Newman for second as the 100-lap race hit lap 30. The Bowman Racing driver then proceeded to reel in his brother, running in Kody’s tire tracks but struggling to maneuver his No. 02 Banjo Liquid Handling Products Chevrolet to the lead.
“It was definitely fun to run 50-some odd laps right behind my brother nose-to-tail,” said Tanner. “We had the brakes go away around lap 30. I could run behind Kody, but when I was trying to make a move to get around him, I really didn’t have much to be able to stop in case I did something that was going to end up bad.”
The Swanson brothers continued to battle throughout the race’s midway stages as they pulled away from Newman. Tanner looked under Kody on lap 62 but was unable to make the pass. It wasn’t until lap 66, when Kody got caught up behind lapped traffic coming through turn 4 that Tanner to shot by him on the outside and took the top spot.
“I really wasn’t expecting to make a move on him there,” said Tanner. “Jacob Wilson and the other lapped car just got in the way. I got lucky, played my cards right and ended up getting a chance to take advantage of it.”
“Tanner had the momentum and that car to beat by that point,” added Kody. “I was getting loose and just trying to hang on. I was able to thread the needle a couple times and keep him back there, but unfortunately, it was just a matter of time.”
Once he got the lead, Tanner took off, winning the race by 5.366 seconds over his brother. Kody would end the night in second.
“There’s no question, Tanner has been dominant here for two or three years now,” said Kody. “The last couple times I’ve been struggling just to stay on the lead lap, so the fact that we got out front early, led some laps, made him work for it. They’ve got a good package going, it was better than us at the end.
“This team.. There’s no quit. We just keep digging and we’re getting closer. I think we learned some things today and I’m looking forward to trying again next time.”
Newman would end his night in third.
“Tanner’s won a lot of races and Kody’s leading the points, so I was running with the best of them,” said Newman. “We just came up short.”
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Bobby Santos III and Chris Windom ended their nights inside the top 5 with Pierce, David Byrne, Jerry Coons, Jr., AJ Fike and Austin Nemire rounding out the top 10.
Out of 19 entered USAC Silver Crown cars, only four failed to finish the race. Wilson, who set up the race-winning pass while being lapped, was running in 10th when a broken right rear shock ended his night on lap 71. CJ Leary pulled down pit road the next lap with similar issues. Tad Roach and Jimmy McCune pulled off track in the race’s early stages, never getting a chance to contend.
The same could be said for plenty of other drivers. Tanner’s blistering pace left only six cars on the lead lap at race’s end, leaving many wondering how his car could be so fast and consistent.
“We’ve just got a good setup,” said Tanner. “Sometimes during the day we aren’t the best, but we recognize the fact that we’ve been good at night, so we don’t make huge adjustments. Kind of just keep to our routine, go out there and hope it handles well.”
The USAC Silver Crown Series will return to action on July 31 when the field heads to the Belleville High Banks in Kansas.
Results:
1. Tanner Swanson
2. Kody Swanson
3. Ryan Newman
4. Bobby Santos III
5. Chris Windom
6. Aaron Pierce
7. David Byrne
8. Jerry Coons, Jr.
9. AJ Fike
10. Austin Nemire
11. Rex Norris III
12. Joe Axsom
13. Jarett Andretti
14. Tim Barber
15. Patrick Lawson
16. CJ Leary
17. Jacob Wilson
18. Jimmy McCune
19. Tad Roach
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.