By: Ron Burt
I’ve covered the driver, Kody Swanson several times in this column. On December 7th he signed a sweet deal with a solid racing team. On December 7th, Tim Bertrand, owner of Bertrand Motorsports, announced he signed Kody Swanson to drive for his team at four premier midget events in 2023. Swanson will drive a Bertrand Motorsports Beast with a Stanton engine in the Carb Night Classic at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) in Brownsburg, Ind., on Friday, May 26; the Boston Louie Seymour Memorial at Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway on Saturday, July 15; the Twin 25 midget races at IRP on Saturday, Aug. 12, and the Howard Companies Championship Saturday at IRP on Oct. 21. All three of the events at IRP are marquee events of the United States Auto Club (USAC) and part of the National Pavement Midget Championship, while the Boston Louie Seymour Memorial is a cornerstone of the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) schedule each year. This will mark the second year of Swanson’s participation with the Southwick, Mass.-based team, which has won 11 NEMA championships. The team finished first and second in the NEMA championship this year with Avery Stoehr of Lakeville, Mass., and Randy Cabral of Plymouth, Mass., respectively.
I will start breaking down the area racetrack schedules next week. December 8th, USAC will release their 2023 schedules for the Midgets, Sprints and Silver Crown Cars.
Last week some of our area Dirt Late Model and UMP Modified drivers raced at the Dome in St. Louis at the Gateway 2022 Nationals. The former NFL stadium was converted into a 1/5 mile semi banked racetrack for three nights. This is an annual event that brings in drivers and fans from all over the country.
Sandusky Speedway just gave the new 350 Outlaw Supermodified/Outlaw Sprint Series a big shot in the arm. They will be on the show for the 2023 Hy-Miler weekend. The Outlaw 350’s will be on the speedway Thursday, July 27th, to jump start the big Supermodified weekend. The new 350 class will run crate motors. Body styles will be Outlaw Sprints, Offset and Rear Engine Supermodified styles. Once this class starts it will be interesting to see how the car bodies will transition in style.
Until next week, keep you wheels on the track. Ron out! ohiosportsblitz@yahoo.com
