Keaton Swane spent September in much the same way he spends every month. One weekend he was in Las Vegas competing in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by GEICO. Another weekend he was in Blythe, California, for a race in the Lucas Oil Modified Series presented by LoanMart. The remainder of the time he was working on the race cars and beginning his senior year at Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona.
The 17-year-old Swane is the only driver competing in both those series on a full-time basis. This is his third year in off road, but his first in the Pro Buggy class, and he is a rookie in the Modified series, which races on asphalt oval tracks throughout the Southwest.
He said, predictably, that "when we're doing good in off road, off road is more fun. But when we're doing good in asphalt and not doing good in off road, asphalt is just as much fun." And while at this point he feels more comfortable in the short course off road series "they both have their challenges. They're both difficult, very competitive."
That's especially true when your race team primarily consists of yourself and your father, which is the situation here. Scott Swane pays the bills and serves as the crew chief, Keaton drives and works on the vehicles, and they're getting an education together.
Swane said a few years ago, when he wanted to make the transition from motocross to cars, one of his dad's friends, Ryan May, introduced them to short course off road racing. He raced a SR1 UTV for a couple of races in 2011, finished seventh in the Limited Buggy class in 2012, and this year got a Racer Engineering chassis and some help from Danny Foddrill and moved into the Pro Buggy class.
He is 11th in the point standings despite missing one round. He has three top 10 finishes, with a best of eighth, but he said "most of the parts are worn out on the car" and that has tempered some of his fun.
"When I finish (a race) I enjoy it," he said, "but I don't enjoy coming back into the pits and having to work on it every time. Hopefully next year we can get some help that we need and figure it all out."
The situation is much the same in the Modified series, where Swane is 17th in the Hoosier Tire West point standings and still looking for his first top 10 finish with two races left in the season.
"It's very hard," he said. "Set-up is probably the hardest thing and we really have no idea what we're doing. Steve Teets definitely helps us out. He sets up the car. Jim Mardis has helped us a little bit, and Randy and Jimmy Ussery.
"I pretty much do the work on both cars all by myself. If I need a little help my dad will help me out, but for the most part I do the prep for both of them."
The hope, naturally, is that all the hard work they are putting in and the education they're receiving will lead to success in the future.
"I'd definitely like to move up in racing, but it takes a lot of money and that's not something we have," Swane said. "I'd definitely like to move up. In off road I'd like to try to get up to a Pro 2 and in asphalt I'd definitely like to step up to a Super Late Model, when the time comes and the money is there."
KEATON SWANE AT A GLANCE
Age: 17 (14 November 1995)
Marital status: Single
Lives in: Gilbert, Arizona
Occupation: Student; senior at Perry High School in Gilbert
Car numbers: 42 in Pro Buggy, 21 in Modified
Types of chassis: Racer Engineering Pro Buggy, STR Modified
Engine: GM Ecotec in Pro Buggy, Chevrolet in Modified
Crew Chief: Scott Swane
Sponsors: Falcon Stainless; Moen; Foddrill Fabrication
Years in racing: 10
Divisions raced: Go-karts, motocross, SR1 UTV, Limited Buggy, Pro Buggy, Lucas Oil Modified
Series points standings: 7 Limited Buggy, 29 Modified (2012); 10 SR1 UTV (2011)
