USAC Midget/Silver Crown

But the USAC National Sprint car series presented a problem. The series allows a 410-inch cubic-inch limit, and Toyota does not have a V8 with that much displacement. Plus, most competitors utilize an aluminum engine block, while Toyota’s block is steel.

However, where there is a will, there is a way; several people involved in Toyota’s USAC program decided to try competing with the series with the steel 355-inch engine. Thus far, the results have been heartening.

To begin the project, Toyota teamed with young western racing stars Kody and Tanner Swanson, brothers from Kingsburg, California. The two young racers have split their time this summer between the Midwest and their California home, competing in a variety of series sanctioned by USAC.

One of their efforts involves the USAC National Sprint car series, where they have fielded an entry at each of the events held at paved racing venues. The team has steadily improved, with Kody setting a new track record at Toledo Speedway on July 2.

“This is basically an R&D exercise for us,” says Gary Reed, Vice President of Special Racing Projects at TRD. “We wanted to see if we could make this engine competitive. The problem with the cast iron block is that we weigh about 35-40 pounds more than the aluminum engines. So we’re giving up about 60 inches of displacement and about 40 pounds. When you take that into consideration, it’s kind of amazing that we’re competitive, but we are.”

For the Swanson brothers, this is an opportunity to get involved in a development project, and also something that allows them to get more experience on the tracks in the Midwest.

“We agreed to start the program with Toyota because we knew their engine could be competitive,” says 22-year-old Kody, a recent graduate of Fresno State. “We competed against the engine here in the west for several years, and wanted to try our luck in the USAC National Sprint car series.

“To take a 360-inch steel block and compete with the national guys and their aluminum 410-inch engines, it is tough. But at the same time it’s been very satisfying.”

“We’ve had some good runs,” agrees 19-year-old Tanner (pictured at Iowa Speedway), who will enter his sophomore year at Fresno State this fall. “We’ve tried some different things with the car to help us with the weight, and that’s helped. One of the challenges for us is that we’re going to tracks that we haven’t seen before, so we have that learning curve as well.

“With some more time, we’ll continue to progress. We’ve made some changes with the engine, and with our setups, and we’ve seen some real gains. That’s exciting, when you can actually see and feel your progress.”

One of the highlights was the Toledo qualifying effort, where Kody gave TRD their first fast time award in the USAC National Sprint car series.

“Setting the track record at Toledo, that was pretty exciting,” admits Kody. “For the number of years the engine has raced out west, they never got the fastest time. So to get their first one at a track we had never seen before, after just 10 laps of practice, that was a good thing.”

Reed has been encouraged and excited about the team’s progress, crediting a good relationship between all parties and a singular focus on going faster.

“They are fantastic to work with,” he says of the Swanson brothers. “First of all, they are good young men, the kind of young men we like to be associated with. Their father Mike is a very good car setup guy, super intensive, focused, motivated. The three together, they are a joy to work with.

“It is interesting, as brothers they have very different approaches. Kody is very calculating, very thoughtful, very patient. He studies what he is doing very carefully. Tanner, who is also very successful, is more of a shoot-from-the-hip person who figures it out as he goes along. But both can win, and they’ve proven that.

“This has been a good experience, and productive. What we are learning here will be beneficial in our design of the aluminum 410 engine when we get to that point.”

No tilting at windmills here; together, Kody and Tanner Swanson and their undersized Toyota powerplant are hanging with the best the USAC National Sprint car series has to offer.