Two-time Dave Steele 125 winner Kody Swanson will compete in this year’s event driving for iconic Florida car owner George Rudolph and his familiar purple No. 68. It will be the first time Swanson has ever driven a Rudolph-prepared entry.
The 125-lap event will take place Feb. 24-25 at Showtime Speedway in Pinellas Park, Florida.
Joe Liguori originally announced he would be competing in the event for Rudolph. A late family outing forced Liguori to withdraw from the event, leaving Rudolph without a driver. With Liguori’s blessing, Rudolph promptly hired Swanson, who was without a ride for the event at the time.
Swanson will find himself in unfamiliar territory at this year’s event. He will be piloting a Hurricane Chassis instead of the BEAST chassis he normally runs. In addition, the vast majority of this year’s entrants are Floridians unlike in past years.
“I’ve run a lot of pavement cars that haven’t been BEAST cars, but a lot of them have” explained Swanson. “I’m hopeful we’ll do good with this one. Guys that know their race cars like George does know what they need to make them fast. I’m excited to give it a shot.”
Rudolph is no stranger to pavement sprint car racing. He is a two-time winning car owner of the Little 500 and a 2001 Little 500 Hall of Fame inductee. Rudolph is also a former T.B.A.R.A. championship winning car owner.
“I’m filling in for Joe Liguori. He’s George’s driver. When he was unable to make the trip, they gave me a shot to fill in,” Swanson said. “I respect Joe a lot. George has had a long and storied career in racing and has had a lot of success in Florida and at the Little 500. It’s a neat opportunity for me to get to drive for someone like that. Hopefully we’ll have a little fun next weekend.”
When asked what bring back Swanson each year to the Dave Steele 125, he stated it was a culmination of things.
“It’s nice to able to race pavement sprint cars in February each year,” Swanson said. “Dave was a good friend of mine, but someone I didn’t talk to super often. I always felt like we could pick up right where we left off. He was someone I certainly admired a lot. It makes it nice to honor the life of a friend by participating in the event.”