After winning a 500 Sprint Car Tour race at Plymouth Raceway on Friday night, Kody Swanson and the Doran Racing team finished third less than 24 hours later in the new series’ 40-lap feature at Berlin Raceway Saturday night.
The race was unusual in that it went nonstop.
Swanson qualified third with a time of 15.774 seconds for the 7/16-mile asphalt oval, just 0.147 off the time set by the fastest qualifier and eventual race winner, Tyler Roahrig. The inversion was six, so he started fourth behind Bobby Santos III, Dakoda Armstrong and Taylor Ferns, with Billy Wease and Roahrig right behind him.
Roahrig passed Swanson on lap four to push Swanson’s Henry Repeating Arms No. 44 to fifth place, but Swanson set his fastest lap of the race on lap six. By lap 16 he was back in the position where he had started as both he and Wease passed Santos on that lap.
Swanson’s No. 44, which is powered by a Binks Chevy engine, remained in fourth place until lap 26, when Swanson passed Ferns to move into third. He chased Roahrig and Armstrong the rest of the way.
Roahrig had a 2.936-second margin of victory over Armstrong. Swanson, Wease and Ferns rounded out the top five in the 17-car field.
“We had a good car tonight, but just missed it a little bit, so we’ll take a podium finish,” Swanson said.
“I felt like we were pretty good early, but I struggled to be able to get a run good enough to battle for position. As we got to the middle of the race the car was working a little better, and we moved from fifth to third, but ultimately couldn’t keep up with the top two tonight.
“Berlin can be a tough place to get a hold of, and while we were close today, we just never could quite figure out what we needed to make it all the way right. The Doran Racing crew did a great job today, and we had a really good opening weekend with the 500 Sprint Car Tour.
“I’m thankful for all of our sponsors and supporters, and everyone who puts in effort on this Henry Repeating Arms No. 44. We’ll do our best to learn from tonight’s race, and we look forward to giving it another shot at Berlin on August 13!”
Saturday’s race was covered live on MAVTV Plus.
The team’s next race is a USAC Silver Crown event at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, Wis., on June 24. A Silver Crown special event and a 500 Sprint Car Tour race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Ind., follows on June 30.
For more information on Doran Racing see DoranRacing.com and follow the team on Facebook.
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