SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. — Exactly one week following his first USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship 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 Sprint Car 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 Friday and Saturday.
The Anaheim, Calif., native scurried around the third-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 at 14.813 with Logan Seavey third at 14.959, C.J. Leary fourth at 15.097 and Brody Roa, who rounded out the top five with a 15.141.
Championship contenders Brady Bacon and Kevin Thomas Jr. 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.