Bobby Kimbough Photo HOW IS JAKE SWANSON OCCUPYING THE DOWN TIME? By Scott Daloisio (Perris, CA, April 9, 2020) With racing on a temporary hold at Perris Auto Speedway due to the coronavirus, we are going to bring you a series of interviews with drivers to see what they are doing and what the near future holds. First up is USAC/CRA Sprint Car star Jake Swanson. The PAS: Great to talk with you, Jake. What have you been doing to keep yourself occupied the last month without racing? Swanson: I do environmental testing. Basically, we keep gas stations going. Lucky for us we are an essential business and we are just as busy as ever. I feel pretty fortunate for that because a lot of other people are kind of in a tight spot paying rent, bills and everything else. Hopefully, we can end this thing soon so we can get back to racing. Get back to normal. The PAS: Like everyone else, when you are not working, you are pretty much confined to your house. What are you and your wife Jessica doing to pass the time at home? Swanson: We started with building a home gym. Jess has always been big about going to the gym and I have been kind of following her lead lately. With everything closed down, we did not have the opportunity to do that. I have some gym equipment and we were not using our garage. We gutted the thing and got rid of a bunch of stuff and turned it into a home gym. We put a floor in, hung all of the weights up so we can work out. Luckily, we had all of the equipment. It seems like you cannot find the equipment on Amazon or anywhere anymore. So, we did that, and it is cool. That project was done in a weekend, so it was on to the next project. Then we got going on iRacing. We made a simulator. I guess I cannot even call it a simulator. It is more like a monitor with an old racecar seat mounted to an engine stand. The PAS: So, it is not like some of these $7,000.00 rigs some guys are using? Swanson: Absolutely not. First, there is no way I would spend that kind of money. Once things get back to normal, that thing is just going to sit there. Second of all, I don’t have the room for it. The PAS: You said you got the gym going. Does that mean when we get back to racing fans are going to see an all buffed out Jake Swanson? Swanson: I doubt it. I can’t seem to bulk up to save my life. I have actually been trying to figure out how to do that. I have heard everything from having to eat more and have an ice cream every night, to trying protein to doing squats and deadlifts. I have heard it all. I try to, but we are so busy with work it is hard to do it every single day. I am sure I will pretty much be the same old stick figure. The PAS: The shock business (Jake Swanson Shock Technology). Jessica normally runs that while you are at work, right? Swanson: Yeah. The PAS: How is that business right now? Has it slowed down? Swanson: Believe it or not, it really has not slowed down that much. Fortunately for sprint car racing, people are putting cars together. They are taking their time to go through their stuff. It is really good to see that people are putting stuff together and not just checking stuff out, but actually building cars. Hopefully, that will transition to when we pick things back up, there will be some more cars for us to race with. If we are not building shocks, there is plenty of other things going on to keep us busy. The PAS: Unlike a lot of people, you have actually raced sprint cars this year. You had one weekend that was great when you won both USAC Southwest Series main events at Canyon Speedway Park. Then a couple of weeks later it was not quite as great when you finished 17th two nights in a row. Swanson: Yeah, one great weekend and one complete disaster of a weekend. I felt like we had a car to win both nights (the second weekend which was a joint USAC/CRA – Southwest Series race), but never really got a chance to show it. Trying to shake those guys in the mid-pack to get to the lead pack, but for whatever reason, something would happen, and we just could not get there. I really want to get back to racing. We have been really effective because we have a racecar, that I believe can win just about every race. I want to prove that my race team is good enough to do that. Not just the sprint car team, but Josh Ford Motorsports with the Midget. We have come a long way and I think we are going to take our share once we get back to racing. The PAS: This must be a change for you. Normally you have driven local cars that you work on. Now the sprint car you drive is in Arizona and the midget is based in Ventura. You are not working on the cars like you used to, correct? Swanson: Yeah! Man, it is weird. Really weird. Like you say in the past I was working on them. Spending at least a few nights a week on them. They were long hours. Especially when you would tear some stuff up and have to put it back together. The good part is I am still kind of hands-on just because we have the shock business. I am taking care of all the shocks on all the cars. I think it is probably a good thing as I can just get in it and drive it. I do not have as much of an emotional attachment to it and I can do my job a little more efficiently. Drive it a little harder instead of having to worry so much about having to fix it myself. With the shock stuff, I can sort of fine-tune it a little better because I have more time to really focus. Time to, you know, play with the stuff on the bump stops on the dyno and the bump springs. The Team Arizona guys take care of everything else. It is a lot of work. It is no easy task taking care of one racecar let alone three and a big old trailer and a race team. The PAS: Looking from the outside, you seem very happy with Team AZ and your crew chief Justin Grau. True? Swanson: Oh, absolutely. The biggest hurdle we seemed to face (when he arrived at Team AZ) was engines. We had some engines that were not brand new. They weren’t high dollar Kistler’s like what we had in the past. So, we were trying to get them going and then we transitioned over to Shavers and that made all of the difference. Right out of the gate we won that race at Perris. We went to Calistoga and we turned over the first night and killed my favorite car. We were able to put the backup car together and with that Shaver engine, we won the second night. That was pretty cool. If we can just keep that going. I think we have a handle on that now. That racecar is so fast every time we unload the thing. That DRC Chassis is such a forgiving car. It is more forgiving than any other sprint car I have ever had. It was like taking a duck to water. The thing matched my driving style. I felt like I could drive it harder and get away with a little bit more than any other car I have ever had. Not just that, I have a helluva’ crew chief. Having somebody who can watch the car and know what it is doing before you even tell him is huge. In the past, I would think, “I need to do this” and just do it. Then I would get out on the racetrack and second guess myself and think I should have brought the wheel in a little more or ran the five off instead of the four. You can kind of outthink yourself. At that point, you are not even racing. You are just thinking about what you done to make the car faster. With this deal, it is very different. I go out there and I just know the car is perfect. I know the crew chief has already done his job and I just have to do my job and make it count. It is a completely different mindset, and I think it counts for the success. The PAS: So, when we get back to racing is your plan to race the USAC/CRA, Southwest Series and Western Midgets? Swanson: No, we are actually going to scale back. We are not going to do as much Southwest stuff. We are going to try and do all the CRA stuff with the #34AZ. A little bit of National (USAC) stuff including the Kokomo Smackdown and maybe a couple of others. The midget with JFM, we are going to run as much as we can. Maybe a little bit of 360 stuff if I have some off weekends. What I am really excited about is I have got an opportunity to run a Silver Crown car for Mickey Meyer. It is sort of with my Team AZ guys, too. They are working together with Mickey on that. They are putting two cars together right now. We are going to go test pretty soon. We were hoping to run Williams Grove and before Indy (Lucas Oil Speedway). There is an Eldora race we wanted to run as well. It just kind of depends on when this virus thing ends and if races are going to stay scheduled or be pushed back. Either way, I hope we can get back to racing and I can make those races because I am absolutely stoked to drive a Silver Crown car. The PAS: Your wife Jessica, like you, is a hardcore racer. Is she going through racing withdrawals? Swanson: Oh, big time! She said she has missed half of her season. They (dwarf cars) hit it hard early in the season and then it kind of peters out. She is pretty bummed. And, then we are obviously not running our midget. I have a Spike that had an Ecotec in it. We are not doing that because it is kind of hard to juggle that with all of the things we are doing. At this point she has iRacing. What she is excited about is she has got a sprint car gig with Steve Hix. They are hoping to run some VRA 360 races together. That will be perfect for her to get her feet wet and kind of get warmed up to a sprint car. You never know what will happen after that. If she likes it and she does good, it may turn into something more and some more opportunities. Or it may tell her she does not want to run a sprint car and wants to stick to midget racing. We will see how it plays out. The PAS: That begs a question. How would you feel racing a sprint car against your wife? Swanson: Oh, I would love it. We ran a midget race together a couple years ago. I won it in Mitch Johnson’s #68, and she was driving the other car. I thought it was great with her on the racetrack. I actually lapped her, but it was her-first ever midget race. The PAS: You were not sleeping on the couch after lapping her, were you? Swanson: No. Quite the opposite. She was like, “wholly shit, racing a midget for the first time was pretty hard.” The PAS: While you mentioned she is going to run VRA Sprint Cars at Ventura, will she keep racing her Dwarf Car? Swanson: Yeah, she is driving that #92 Pit Image Dwarf Car. She is having a good time with Larry Alton. They go to the racetrack in their motorhome and have a great time. It is a very simple program. They do not race a whole bunch, but they try to hit as many national races as they can. Obviously, as a racecar driver, we are always looking for opportunities and the next stepping-stone. That is why she is so pumped about this sprint car deal. The PAS: We cannot close this without talking about the third member of your family, your Golden Retriever, Baxter. I do not want to say he is spoiled, but he is spoiled. Swanson: Oh, absolutely he is spoiled. The PAS: How is he adapting to the quarantine? Swanson: You know, it is funny. Jess and I were talking that he just seemed kind of down the other day. We started thinking he is kind of depressed that he has not been to the racetrack to see all of his friends. So, we had him run around at the beach to get him pumped up again because he has not had the opportunity to go to the track. Whenever we go out to Arizona he is always pumped. It is a long drive and when we get there he knows exactly where he is. He wants to go straight to the pool at John’s house where we stay. He will swim all day. I think he is kind of bumming because he misses all of that. Swanson had several sponsors he would like to thank. For the #34AZ sprint car they are: Stratis Construction, KSE Drywall, Westin Diversified, Lucas Oil Products, CSI Shocks, Burris Racing USA, Jack Swanson Shock Technology, Eibach, Simpson Race Products, Western Premier Hauling, Canyon Apparel Printing, Dirt Roots Apparel, Drive In Automotive, Molecule Sports, Sander Engineering and Wilwood Disc Brakes. For the JFM midget, the sponsors are: Esslinger Racing, Lucas Oil Products, Naturipe, CSI Shocks, No Limit Powder Coating, Eibach, Jake Swanson Shock Technology, Burris Racing USA, Extreme Muffler, Molecule Sports, JDR Graphics, Rod End Supply, Wilwood Disc Brakes and Simpson Race Products. To keep up with all the latest Perris Auto Speedway news, photos, gossip and receive special offers, please use the following links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Perris-Auto-Speedway/113876798686480?ref=hl Twitter: Perris Auto Speedway on Twitter. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perrisautospeedway/ Website: http://perrisautospeedway.com/ Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the SoCal Fair and Event Center (home of October’s Southern California Fair), approximately one-hour east of Los Angeles and one-hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, on the Ramona Expressway and go three miles east to the fairgrounds. For directions on MapQuest, the address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and the zip code is 92571. Perris Auto Speedway wants to thank its corporate partners for the 2019 season. Ahern Equipment Rentals, All Coast Construction, Battery Systems, Budweiser, Bud’s Tire Pro, Chris’ Hauling, City of Perris, Communication Innovations, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, HD Industries, Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, Living Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part, Luke’s Transmission, Pepsi-Cola, Pole Position, PrintItNow.com, Rainbow Bolt & Supply, Rugged Radios, Shaver Specialties, Square H, Sunoco Race Fuels, Trench Shoring, Upland Rock, Varner Construction and Vista Paint. Video and DVD productions of all racing sprint cars events at Perris Auto Speedway are available from Loudpedal Productions. For more information on these productions you can contact them by calling (805) 844-3854, E-mailing mailto:trtruex@gmail.com or you can visit the website LoudPedal Productions. DVD’s of all the PASSCAR/IMCA racing and Nights of Destruction at The PAS are available from Fourvideos. For more information call (714) 225-9500. racesatthepas@aol.com is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment. For the JFM midget, the sponsors are Esslinger Racing, Lucas Oil Products, Naturipe, CSI Shocks, No Limit Powder Coating, Eibach, Jake Swanson Shock Technology, Burris Racing USA, Extreme Muffler, Molecule Sports, JDR Graphics, Rod End Supply, Wilwood Disc Brakes and Simpson Race Products.orts, Sander Engineering and Wilwood Disc Brakes. To keep up with all the latest Perris Auto Speedway news, photos, gossip and receive special offers, please use the following links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Perris-Auto-Speedway/113876798686480?ref=hl Twitter: Perris Auto Speedway on Twitter. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perrisautospeedway/ Website: http://perrisautospeedway.com/ Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the SoCal Fair and Event Center (home of October’s Southern California Fair), approximately one-hour east of Los Angeles and one-hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, on the Ramona Expressway and go three miles east to the fairgrounds. For directions on MapQuest, the address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and the zip code is 92571. Perris Auto Speedway wants to thank its corporate partners for the 2019 season. Ahern Equipment Rentals, All Coast Construction, Battery Systems, Budweiser, Bud’s Tire Pro, Chris’ Hauling, City of Perris, Communication Innovations, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, HD Industries, Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, Living Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part, Luke’s Transmission, Pepsi-Cola, Pole Position, PrintItNow.com, Rainbow Bolt & Supply, Rugged Radios, Shaver Specialties, Square H, Sunoco Race Fuels, Trench Shoring, Upland Rock, Varner Construction and Vista Paint. Video and DVD productions of all racing sprint cars events at Perris Auto Speedway are available from Loudpedal Productions. For more information on these productions you can contact them by calling (805) 844-3854, E-mailing mailto:trtruex@gmail.com or you can visit the website LoudPedal Productions. DVD’s of all the PASSCAR/IMCA racing and Nights of Destruction at The PAS are available from Fourvideos. For more information call (714) 225-9500. racesatthepas@aol.com is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment.