Doran Racing’s Swanson Goes Down in Record Books
As First Winner of 500 Sprint Car Tour Points Race
With a Victory Friday at Plymouth Motor Speedway

500 Sprint Car Tour photo by Jack Kessler

PLYMOUTH, Ind., June 11 — Doran Racing and Kody Swanson will go down in the record books as the winners of the first points-paying race in the new 500 Sprint Car Tour presented by Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores.

Although the Lucas Oil Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway May 28 was the new series’ first race, Friday night’s 75-lap feature on Plymouth Motor Speedway’s three-eighths-mile asphalt oval was the first one that awarded points. Swanson, a native of Kingsburg, Calif., who now lives in Indianapolis, and Doran Racing, which is based in Lebanon, Ohio, made the most of it by winning both the pole and the main event with the team’s Henry Repeating Arms No. 44.

After the inversion, Swanson took the green flag in fourth place in the No. 44, which is powered by a Dan Binks-prepped Chevy engine.

He passed Tyler Roahrig on the first lap to move into third place behind polesitter Billy Wease and Derek Bischak.

It was like he turned on his afterburners on lap 10, however. That’s when he passed both Bischak and Wease to take the lead, setting the fastest lap of anyone in the race simultaneously with a time of 12.527 seconds. He had won the pole earlier in the day with a time of 12.386.

Swanson was able to quickly build up a lead of almost 1 second over Wease initially, but by lap 34 Wease was right behind Swanson’s blue No. 44.

Swanson had to survive two cautions that provided Wease with additional opportunities to pass. One waved on lap 45 after Taylor Ferns spun to a stop in the infield off Turn 2. Another occurred on lap 49 after Davey Hamilton Jr. spun to a stop in the inside of Turn 1. Swanson was up to the task on both restarts, however, and never relinquished his lead.

On lap 57 Roahrig passed Wease for second and he chased Swanson the rest of the way, but Swanson took the checkered flag with a whopping 3.340-second margin of victory. Wease finished third followed by Dakota Armstrong and Bobby Santos III. Nine of the 18 starters completed all 75 laps.

“I’m excited to get a win for this Doran Racing team, and for Henry USA, Glenn Farms and Dan Binks Engines,” Swanson said.

“Plymouth was a tricky little place, but our car seemed to be pretty good from the very first practice. Kevin and the team did a great job to keep making small adjustments, and made us better every time we hit the racetrack. 

“I was glad to set fast time, but was a little nervous about starting fourth with the inversion, and having to pass some really strong cars. Our car was really good at the beginning of the race, and I felt like I needed to capitalize on the opportunity to get to the lead, and would have to see how it went from there. 

“Late in the race I was worried that we were losing grip and sliding around, but it looks like that was happening to about everyone as all of our tires started to wear. This track had some characteristics of a few dirt tracks, so it was fun to move around, change my line, and try to find the best place to be throughout the race. 

“God has blessed me with some great people in my life, and I’m thankful for everyone that is a part of this Doran Racing team. We’ve got great product partners and sponsors that support us, and a team and crew that give incredible effort to give us the chance to win, and I’m grateful to be part of this team!”

The race was streamed live on MAVTV Plus.

The team’s next race is another 500 Sprint Car Tour event today, Saturday, June 11, at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich.

About Henry Repeating Arms:
Henry Repeating Arms is one of the leading rifle and shotgun manufacturers in the United States and a world leader in the lever action category. The company motto is “Made in America, or not made at all,” and its firearms come with a lifetime guarantee backed by award-winning customer service. The company is also known for its Guns For Great Causes charitable program, which focuses on assisting the families of sick children, children’s hospitals, military veteran organizations, Second Amendment advocacy groups, and wildlife conservation organizations. The company currently employs over 550 people and has over 330,000 square feet of manufacturing space in its Wisconsin and New Jersey facilities. The company is named in honor of Benjamin Tyler Henry, who invented and patented the Henry lever action rifle in 1860 – the first practical repeating rifle and America’s unique contribution to the international stage of firearms design. Visit Henry Repeating Arms online at henryusa.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/HenryRepeating, and @henry_rifles on Instagram.

About Doran Racing:
Doran Racing has prepared and fielded race cars in a wide variety of series
for many years, from Indy cars to NASCAR trucks. It is legendary for the many
championships and events it has won in IMSA sports car racing. Team owner Kevin Doran has won the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway overall as a crew chief, a team owner, and even as a car manufacturer. Under his direction the Doran Racing-prepared MOMO Ferrari was the first team in U.S. history to win the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the Watkins Glen Six-Hour race in the same year. In recent years the team has focused on asphalt sprint car racing, the asphalt portion of the USAC Silver Crown series, and historic sports car events, continuing its tradition of excellence on and off the track. For more information see DoranRacing.com and follow the team on Facebook.

For more information on Doran Racing, see DoranRacing.com.
The team also has a Facebook page.