Matt Swanson Believes Supermodified Experience On A Short Track Made Him Better In Indoor Racing

Matt Swanson Believes Supermodified Experience
On A Short Track Made Him Better In Indoor Racing

By JACK O’CONNOR
Although a TQ Midget and a Supermodified are vastly different racecars in terms of size and power, Matt Swanson believes his experience in a Super has helped him when he competes with the Indoor Auto Racing Championship as it has taught him how to be independent behind the wheel.
The Harvard, Mass. driver, who has competed in Indoor events since 2022, achieved his first victory with the series this past Saturday inside Allentown’s PPL Center.
“With the Super, I’m not relying on someone in my ear like I am with my Asphalt Modified,” the 25-year-old said. “In the TQ, you’re using your senses; especially your hearing so you know when someone is near you and when you’re starting to get pressure. You’re also using your tools like looking at big screen and listening to the officials on the one-way radio. All of that made it possible to stay out front and check one of these off.”
In the same way racing a Super has helped him Indoors, Swanson said he’s applied a lot of what he’s learned in a TQ that has made him better on the outside
“You should be learning something every time you’re in a racecar, and if you’re not, you shouldn’t be doing it because no one’s perfect,” Swanson said. “I’m constantly building my race craft with every lap I run no matter what car I’m driving. I think I’ve become a better driver outdoors since I started racing this TQ, and hopefully the success carries into the season.”
Swanson started the 40-lap feature in third and hovered in and around the bottom step of the podium for most of the affair before moving into the runner-up spot with less than ten laps to go.
While racing in that third to fifth-place range, Swanson said he studied the competition, a move that would wind up paying dividends when he found himself starting alongside Ryan Flores for a restart with five laps to go.
“I learned to do what they weren’t, and I think that’s what helped me to be able to stand in victory lane,” Swanson said. “Fortunately, I got a lot of restart practice on the bottom, so I knew I could capitalize if I just kept the right rear in the rubber when Ryan (Flores) took the top on that last restart. I had a try at it before that, and I screwed it up. But luckily, I got a second chance and I hit it to drive off into the sunset. It was just a phenomenal weekend; we had speed all weekend and avoided all the chaos to come out on top.”
The win came a year after Jeff Ulrich, who built TQ’s for Swanson, Tanner VanDoren and Anthony Sesely, died while attending the East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals at Trenton’s CURE Insurance Arena.
As a car builder, Ulrich won the 2023 Gambler’s Classic and the series championship with Sesely at the controls and guided VanDoren to victory lane in Allentown two years ago.
Swanson said it’s an honor to be the third driver to win for Ulrich, and it’s an achievement he’ll cherish for years to come.
“I can’t really describe the emotions of what this means; it’s definitely one of the biggest wins of my career,” Swanson said.
“I’m beyond thankful that I was one of the ones that was picked to run one of these creations. It’s awesome to be now one of now three of four drivers that have won in them. This was DJ Shaw’s debut in one of these cars this weekend. He showed really good speed, so obviously we’re hoping for the same success with that car. Hopefully we can bring this momentum into Atlantic City.”