11-25-11 Swanson Snares USAC Sprint Turkey Night, Hunt and Ensign Champions
Source Steven Blakesley
USAC Western Sprints

 Kingsburg’s Tanner Swanson added yet another major event victory to his growing resume as the 20 year-old former USAC Western Sprint Car champion won the sprint car portion of the 71st “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at TOYOTA Speedway on Thursday night.

On the championship front, Tony Hunt claimed his seventh and eighth career USAC titles by winning the USAC Western Sprint Car championship and USAC Western Classic pavement title, while the inaugural USAC Western Classic Racing Series overall championship went to 21 year-old rookie Geoff Ensign of Sebastopol.

A wild start to the 40 lap feature punctuated the Western Sprint Car championship race, as both Tanner and Kody Swanson spun coming to the green flag sparking a wild crash. 18 year-old rookie Cody Gerhardt ended up on his lid along with incoming Western Sprint Car points leader Audra Sasselli, while popular national standout Tracy Hines had the “Tamale Wagon” wedged up against the wall and fast-time qualifier JoJo Helberg was also heavily damaged.

The Swansons were able to continue but the other four drivers involved were eliminated from the race. Gerhardt was transported to a local hospital for a brief observation but returned to the speedway in time to watch the 98 lap Midget feature later in the evening. With Sasselli out of the race, Hunt was able to overtake her for the USAC Western Sprint Car championship but the Classic title was still yet to be decided.

Because he stalled, Kody Swanson restarted at the rear of the now 21 car field for a second try at a start. Tanner Swanson swept past Meridian, ID’s Mike Murgoitio on the outside to lead lap one. The feature went caution-free with Kody Swanson pedaling hard to the front of the pack. Originally slated to start seventh, Hunt restarted third but fell out of the top-five early on.

Tanner Swanson drove away to a comfortable lead while Kody Swanson marched his way up to second place Mike Murgoitio by lap 23. Swanson and Murogitio engaged in a back-and-forth battle for the second position much to the pleasure of an announced crowd of 3,000 fans.

Kody Swanson finally cleared Murgoitio for good on lap 37 and younger brother Tanner brought home a commanding 3.2 second victory. Scott Pierovich was fourth with Hunt defending Aaron Pierce for a hard-earned fifth place finish. Ensign, who started 17th, passed Western regulars such as Shauna Hogg and Luis Ramos in the late stages of the feature for a strong eighth place finish to seal the USAC Western Classic championship.

Ensign was the highest finishing Western Classic car in six of the eight dirt races this year, but the asphalt rookie also managed to finish in the top-five in three of the eight pavement events held. Ensign defeated Hunt by nine points despite giving up nearly 100 points during the pavement portion of the schedule. Pierovich overcame terrible luck throughout the middle of the season to rally for a third place finish in the Western Classic overall points.

On the USAC Western Sprint Car side, Hunt won four times over the 12 race campaign including sweeping all three Madera races. Hunt topped Sasselli by a scant 15 points despite Sasselli going winless on the year. Western Speed teammates Tim Skoglund and Gerhardt finished the season third and fourth respectively with Ramos fifth.

Information on the 2011 banquet and the 2012 schedule will be announced at a later date. The United States Auto Club would like to thank all of the competitors, sponsors, fans, and tracks for their support of the inaugural 16 round USAC Western Classic Racing Series and plans are already being made for a great 2012.

More information on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series is available on Facebook at keywords “USAC Western Classic Racing Series”. The United States Auto Club is online at www.usacracing.com