SWANSON TOPS ARIZONA PRACTICE

Jake Swanson (Anaheim, Calif.) recorded the fastest lap in Thursday night’s Western World Championships USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car practice. (Rich Forman Photo)

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 Sprintcar 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, California 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 Sprintcar National Championship co-sanctioned by the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprintcar Series along with the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.

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 SPRINTCAR 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 SPRINTCAR 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