Swanson’s Championship Drive Caps Off Inaugural Season
The inaugural 500 Sprint Car Tour presented by Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores season came to a close with an exciting final race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Tyler Roahrig (Plymouth, Indiana) drove his way to a fourth victory this season with a late race pass for the lead on Kody Swanson (Kingsburg, California). The second place finish for Swanson was enough to claim the Season Championship from Dakoda Armstrong (New Castle, Indiana), who came home fifth in the final event and second in the points standings. Armstrong’s season of consistency continued with his ninth top five finish in ten races.
The inception of the 500 Sprint Car Tour came about late in 2021 with the purpose of growing the popularity of non wing pavement sprint car racing. The ten race schedule saw the series visit four different race tracks across the midwest. The schedule included one non-points earning event, the 74th Annual Lucas Oil Little 500 presented by UAW held at Anderson Speedway, and nine points earning races to make up the season championship. 500 Sprint car Tour officials have announced that the series will once again be looking at a ten race schedule for the 2023 season. That schedule will include the 75th Annual Lucas Oil Little 500 presented by UAW as well as a look at new tracks for the series.
When cars arrived at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Saturday, October 22nd, Kody Swanson held a slim 17 point advantage over Dakoda Armstrong. That lead only grew smaller after qualifying as Armstrong out-qualified Swanson and closed the gap to 15 points heading into the feature. Swanson was able to drive to the front, leading 32 of the 40 laps and coming home with a second place finish. Armstrong struggled in the race, falling to fifth after qualifying third. When the checkered flag dropped, Swanson had gained 20 points on Amrstrong and went on to win the season championship by 35 points.
Swanson’s drive for a championship began with the first race of the season at Plymouth Motor Speedway in Plymouth, Indiana. It was there that he became the first race winner for the 500 Sprint Car Tour. Swanson would visit victory lane again on July 30th at Anderson Speedway for the inaugural Gene Nolen Classic. His two victories would be the second most of any driver, two behind Tyler Roahrig with four victories. The season, however, was not always easy going for Swanson. After a second place finish and a third place finish at Berlin Raceway and Lucas Oil Indianapolis raceway park respectively, Swanson began to solidify himself as a championship frontrunner. On July 9th, at Anderson Speedway for the Glen Niebel Classic, the points standings took a drastic turn after Swanson had an engine issue and finished 17th. The poor result caused Swanson to drop in the standings, and saw Dakoda Armstrong take the championship lead despite not having a race victory under his belt. Armstrong maintained the leap until Swanson regained his spot atop the standings following a fourth place finish in the Tony Elliott Classic at Anderson Speedway on October 6th. Swanson finished the season with five straight top fives, including one victory, to close out his bid for inaugural Champion of the 500 Sprint Car Tour presented by Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores.
The 2022 season for the 500 Sprint Car Tour saw five different winners during the 10 race schedule. Tyler Roahrig claimed two of his victories at Berlin Raceway and the other two came at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Roahrig also claimed victory in the non points earning 74th Annual Lucas Oil Little 500 presented by UAW. Kody Swanson went to victory lane at Plymouth Motor Speedway and Anderson Speedway. Swanson’s brother, Tanner, went to victory lane for AP Driver Development/Sam Pierce in the tour’s first trip to IRP in June. Kyle O’Gara (Camby, Indiana) and Bobby Santos III (Franklin, Massachusetts) both took the checkered flag in races held at Anderson Speedway.
A total of 49 different cars competed in this year’s 500 Sprint Car Tour Season. Fans were treated so a couple “Hero” drivers as Daytona 500 winner, Ryan Newman, participated in the Lucas Oil Little 500 presented by UAW for Clausen-Marshall-Newman Racing, and defending NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Kyle Larson, raced for Klatt Enterprises in an entry at IRP in August. The 500 Sprint Car Tour also went international, with Quintin Saayman coming all the way from South Africa to try his hand at pavement sprint car racing in America.
As the 2022 racing season comes to a close, 500 Sprint Car Tour officials have begun preparations for the 2023 season. With a new season comes new tracks, new drivers, and new storylines. Stay tuned as announcements for the ten race 2023 season will be announced soon. Be sure to follow the 500 Sprint Car Tour online and via Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates and news.
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