The Ford Focus midget program served as a vital step in the development of many future stars and, as designed, it was a logical step between karts and quarter-midgets to a full-throated midget or sprint car.
The late Jeff Schankerman was deeply involved in this racing discipline and was fielding a car for his son Aaron. He had a proposition for the Swanson‘s. If they would maintain the car, Jake could take the wheel at Junior Focus events.
It was the perfect opportunity, because it was a relatively simple process to convert the car to compete in two different classes. “We pulled the restrictors out,” Jake says, “changed the pill, took the insert out of the seat, and Aaron could run that. We did that for a year, and it was pretty cool.”
Pretty cool translated into a 2008 Junior Focus championship, and everyone who had watched Swanson progress knew it was time for him to step up and race with the big boys. He was ready.
Mike Walker and Phil Goodwine had seen enough, and they decided to do what they could to get Jake in a full midget. By the time Swanson had reached middle school, he was working part-time for Larry Henry, and once again his boss/patron pitched in to make sure the midget project got off the ground. The group couldn‘t afford a top-of-the-line engine, but a reliable Honda was secured and noted mechanic Bruce Crower put it all together.
Swanson may not have realized it at the time, but this was the perfect car to help him develop on the track, and in the shop. Looking back, Jake says, “That car was good to us, but I had to be nice to it and still try to get the most out of it. That was a big learning curve. It also taught me a lot about working on stuff, because if I tore the thing up I couldn‘t go racing.”
The car served him well for several years. After getting his feet wet in 2009, Swanson landed in the fifth position in USAC Western Midget Series points the next two years. In 2013 he scored his first series win at Santa Maria and, in the end, he would drive three different cars on his way to the runner-up spot in the standings. He continues to climb in midgets to this day and most recently competed in Indiana Midget Week with the USAC National tour.
While the midget provided a challenge, Jake had his eye on sprint car racing for some time, and in 2012 he was finally able to get the experience he craved. In a repeating theme, Larry Henry came through once more.
“Larry bought a sprint car,” Jake says. “It was an old Mark Alexander car that Tony Jones drove when he won the championship (USAC-CRA) in 2007.
“Larry still had an old Dash 11 410 engine; it was Bubby‘s old engine, one that he used to break the track record at Eldora probably in the ‘90s. It was great. He said, ‘Let‘s do this. You guys have the race program, I‘ll buy the car, and we will go run all the Perris shows and whatever else we can.‘
“So that‘s what we did. We housed the car out of Larry‘s Orange County Tank Testing shop, and I was named Rookie of the Year in 2012.”
There was a lot to look forward to as Swanson headed into the 2013 season. Unfortunately, dreams of sprint car glory literally went up in smoke as the old Dash engine gave up the ghost at the first race of the year at Santa Maria. Once again he was scuffling.
Resigned to his fate, Swanson began helping fellow racer Brody Roa, but his helmet bag was always nearby. As noted above, he pieced together enough rides to race 18 times in the USAC Western Midget Series and he also got an occasional ride in a sprint car.
Then he caught a break that proved to be a game changer.
He was working on Roa‘s car as the team prepared for the prestigious Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway when he had an unexpected visitor in his pit area.
Recalling a key moment in his career, Swanson says, “Brody had just got done wheel packing and I was scraping mud, and John Franklin came over to see me. John Springstead and Franklin were there with their 360 sprint car with driver J.J. Ercse assigned to the seat. Franklin got right to the point. Ercse was ill and John wondered if Swanson was willing to go. Stunned by the development, Jake looked over at Brent Roa who didn‘t mince words.
“He said get out of here,” Jake recalled. “But the problem was that, while I had my gear, it was outside the track in the parking lot. Qualifying was getting ready to start, so I borrowed somebody‘s suit and I qualified the thing in my street shoes. I don‘t remember where we qualified the first night, but the final night we qualified really well and we started up front in the heat race and won. We locked into the 410 Nationals in a 360 car.”
For his part, Swanson knew just how it happened.
“I wrung that thing‘s neck,” he says. “I used every bit of it. It made it up until the feature, but then it threw a rod the very first lap of the feature in turn two. I was mid-pack and I got hit in the ass by Cory Kruseman, and it crushed the tail tank.”
Not surprisingly, Springstead and Franklin were eager to get together for more dates, but the end of the year was at hand.
Swanson was now in one of the busiest and most important phases of his life. On the sprint car side of things, he received an opportunity to race for well-established owners Tom and Laurie Sertich. It was a ride he felt fortunate to secure.
“It was definitely a good opportunity for me,” he says, “because there were very few seats out there 410-wise. There were a couple of rides, but most of them were father/son deals or rental programs.
“They were one of the few owners who hired drivers, and I appreciated them picking me up.”