SOUTHWICK, Mass. — Kody Swanson will drive for Bertrand Motorsports in four premier midget events in the upcoming season.
Swanson will drive a Bertrand Motorsports Beast with a Stanton engine in the following events:
• Carb Night Classic at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (May 26)
• Boston Louie Seymour Memorial at Seekonk Speedway (July 15)
• Twin 25 midget races at IRP (Aug. 12)
• Howard Companies Championship Saturday at IRP (Oct. 21)
All three of the events at IRP are marquee USAC events, 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.
It 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 and Randy Cabral, respectively.
“There were many reasons we hired Kody,” Bertrand said. “He’s the all-time USAC Silver Crown winner and a master at IRP, and winning a race at IRP is definitely on my bucket list. It’s something I’ve been aiming to do my whole career. It would rank up there with any other victory we’ve had in our team’s history.
“I would say that being involved with him this year has fast-forwarded our program about five to 10 years,” Bertrand continued. “The knowledge he brings about the cars and the tracks and open-wheel cars in general brings us to a new level. We were a threat for a win or a podium at every race this year, but we had some mechanical issues that caused our results on paper to not really match Kody and the car’s actual performances. We’re headed into the new year much more aware of how to fix some of the issues we had, and we’re really excited about next year.
“Another reason is that we really enjoy working with him and the Dorans and with the Swanson family; they’re first-class individuals,” added Bertrand. (Swanson’s four Silver Crown victories this year and the 500 Sprint Car Tour championship came driving Doran Racing-fielded cars.) “Part of the reason I do this is to be with good people, and that’s something that he and his team and his family bring to the table.”
“I’m excited to return to the Bertrand Motorsports team in 2023,” said Swanson. “It was great to get to know them this year, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to have raced with them. They have a great team atmosphere, and I enjoy working with everyone that is part of it. While our final results weren’t what we hoped for, we made real progress throughout our first season, and I felt like we were still in contention for a podium finish in each race. So I’m looking forward to continue building on what we’ve learned so far, and giving it our best shot in the upcoming season.
“I’m thankful for the chance to compete in the Boston Louie race,” Swanson continued. “The Bertrands have such a long history of success in the NEMA series, and with winged midgets, so I’m really looking forward to being able to try my hand at this new discipline with them.”