INDIANAPOLIS — Five-time USAC Silver Crown champion and three-time Little 500 winner Kody Swanson will drive a super late model and a pro late model fielded by Team Platinum in the 55th annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing on Feb. 4-13 at New Smyrna Speedway.
The event is one of the premier short-track events held during Speedweeks. New Smyrna Speedway is a half-mile, 23-degree banked track located less than 15 miles south of Daytona Int’l Speedway.
The primary sponsor of Swanson’s cars will be Fatheadz Eyewear, a leader in oversized eyewear for men and women, both in prescription glasses and sunglasses. Team Platinum, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, is owned by Myna Burba and led by veteran crew chief Marc Metz.
Swanson’s participation is a direct result of his desire to expand into forms of racing that are new to him.
He has proven to be a quick learner. In 2020 Swanson won in his first start in the Indy Pro 2000 open-wheel series, which is part of the Road to Indy program. He also made his ARCA Menards Series debut and finished eighth at Iowa Speedway. He also raced in a late model stock car at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway. He has also won and finished on the podium in vintage sports car events at Daytona.
“This year my focus is to continue working further into more forms of racing,” said Swanson. “I’m looking forward to competing with Doran Racing in the asphalt USAC Silver Crown events and large asphalt sprint car events, and Kevin [Doran] is actually who really helped get this conversation started. His relationship with Marc [Metz, Team Platinum’s crew chief] helped introduce the idea. After meeting with him and Myna [Burba, team owner], we were able to move forward and get this all set up.
“I’m very excited to work with everyone on Team Platinum,” Swanson continued. “They have proven to be a great team, with fast cars and many talented people all pulling in the same direction. I’m excited to run at New Smyrna at the World Series too. With so many races it is a great opportunity to gain a lot of experience in a short period of time, and all before the rest of the season starts in the Midwest. I haven’t run at New Smyrna before, nor driven either of these cars. From a suspension standpoint they are very different than even the late model I ran last year at Hickory, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
“Fatheadz Eyewear, owned by Rico Elmore, has been so supportive of me moving into new opportunities, and I’m thankful that they’re willing to continue building that relationship and direction,” Swanson continued. “In addition I’m thankful to have support from our friends at Radio Hospital and Rosewood Machine and Tool, along with our other partners.”
Team Platinum is also looking forward to working with a driver who has rewritten USAC’s record books.
“I’m excited to work with Kody,” said Metz. “I’ve watched several of his races since this deal started to come together. There is no doubt in his ability to get the job done behind the wheel. I’m sure his learning curve will be short. Communication and feedback will be a big part of the puzzle, but I have a good feeling about that as well. All the guys here at Team Platinum are excited to get to Florida and turn some laps.”