SWANSON SPEEDS TO THE TOP IN USAC SPRINT WESTERN WORLD PRACTICE
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
San Tan Valley, Arizona (November 11, 2021)………Exactly one week following his first career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship feature victory, Jake Swanson rose to the top of the pylon in Thursday night’s practice for the series at Arizona Speedway.
The session was the kickoff to the final weekend of the series’ season in conjunction with the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car Series for the final preparations prior to two-straight nights of racing in the 54th annual Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford at Arizona Speedway on Friday night, November 12 and Saturday night, November 13.
The Anaheim, Calif. native scurried around the 1/3-mile dirt oval with a best lap of 14.700 seconds during the three-hour practice in his Team AZ Racing/Beaver Stripes – USW Cat Construction – RSS Industries – CSI/DRC/1-Way Chevy.
Swanson has previously been victorious during Western World, scoring a 30-lap prelim night triumph in USAC Southwest 360 Sprint Car action in 2018. Earlier that same season, he also added a USAC CRA win at Arizona.
Following Swanson in practice were Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.) at 14.813 with Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.) third at 14.959, C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) fourth at 15.097 and Brody Roa (Garden Grove, Calif.), who rounded out the top-five with a 15.141.
Championship contenders Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) did not participate in the practice session. Bacon leads the standings entering the final two races this weekend with a 52-point advantage over Thomas. Bacon is seeking his fourth series title while Thomas is pursuing his first.
Western World, an Arizona tradition which debuted in 1968, will feature a doubleheader this weekend with both the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship co-sanctioned by the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car Series along with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.
On Friday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
On Saturday, pits open at 1:30pm Mountain time, grandstands at 3pm, autograph session from 4-4:35pm drivers meeting at 4:45pm and cars on track at 5:10pm.
General admission adult tickets are $30, while kids 11 and under are just $10. Pit passes are $40 for adults and $15 for ages 7-12 and free for ages 6 and under. Western World tickets are on sale now at www.arizonaspeedway.net.
Both nights of racing at the Western World Championships can be watched LIVE on FloRacing at https://bit.ly/3frPoW6.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR PRACTICE RESULTS: November 11, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
PRACTICE: 1. Jake Swanson, 21AZ, Team AZ-14.700; 2. Tanner Thorson, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-14.813; 3. Logan Seavey, 5, Baldwin/Fox-14.959; 4. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-15.097; 5. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-15.141; 6. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-15.153; 7. Shane Cottle, 74x, Hodges-15.194; 8. Stevie Sussex, 34AZ, Grau-15.231; 9. Jake Helsel, 44, Helsel-15.266; 10. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-15.295; 11. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-15.318; 12. Tye Mihocko, 38, Crossno-15.372; 13. Thomas Meseraull, 2, Yeley-15.528; 14. Caleb Stelzig, 21, Stelzig-15.568; 15. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-15.608; 16. Alex Banales, 5A, Baldwin/Fox-15.663; 17. Bruce St. James, 7K, 15.707-15.707; 18. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-15.897; 19. Spencer Hill, 7D7, West-15.900; 20. Colton Treharn, 77, Treharn-16.088; 21. Kyle Shipley, 57, Stone-16.169; 22. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-16.173; 23. Tuesday Calderwood, 4c, Calderwood-16.461.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA RACES: November 12-13, 2021 – Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, Arizona – 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval – 54th Western World Championships Presented by San Tan Ford
