Swanson Pockets Win No.3 at Toledo
Swanson Pockets Win No.3 at Toledo
Toledo Speedway has been kind to Kody Swanson over the years. Along with the yourBIGplans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour’s first appearance at the half-mile in 2023, he has won eight USAC Silver Crown races over the course of his career.
The California driver’s win total at Toledo hit double digits Saturday with the win in the Monroe Asphalt 40, his third win of the season that puts him on the brink of his third 500 Sprint Car Tour title with one race left.
Lapped traffic was the story of the race for the second week in a row. He followed Jackson Macenko for much of the race before a bold move in traffic on lap 16. He became the one being followed in lapped traffic before he checked out after the final restart of the race with eight to go.
The veteran he is, he used lessons learned from last week’s Tony Elliott Classic to make his move for the lead.
“A week ago I got taken to school by Kyle O’Gara and Bobby Santos for not being aggressive enough in traffic and maybe I’m a hair or a week late, but it’s nice having a chance to learn from my mistakes,” Swanson said on the Racing America broadcast.
“This is a track I have a lot of laps at by now and I don’t know if that makes me old or not but I’m having fun still. Jackson caught those lapped cars racing each other and as the leader there’s nothing you can do. You pick a spot and we had the fortune of picking second and it just worked out for us. I knew we had to make a move and try to make something happen.”
He then had multiple restarts to navigate in the final ten laps with some of Sprint Car racing’s best behind him, holding the field at bay and taking the checkered flag ahead of Bobby Santos III and defending series champion Dakoda Armstrong.
“You’ve got guys likes Dakoda (Armstrong) and Bobby (Santos) and so was Tyler (Roahrig) and I imagined on those yellows that those guys would just drive around me if I wasn’t careful. I knew I had nine laps to go and I had to give my hardest nine to get there.”
Fast qualifier Tyler Roahrig finished fourth followed by Derek Bischak, who finished a career-best fifth.
The 2026 yourBIGplans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour season concludes in two weeks at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Saturday, October 17.
Toledo Speedway Results:
1. Kody Swanson
2. Bobby Santos III
3. Dakoda Armstrong
4. Tyler Roahrig
5. Derek Bischak
6. Nathan Byrd
7. Jackson Macenko
8. Justin Harper
9. Brady Allum
10. Race Bible
11. Rob Keesling
12. Rylan Gray
13. Tony McVey
14. Donnie Adams Jr.
15. Landon Butler
16. Olivia Shelbo
