Story By: JACKIE LAPE / KIRSTEN SWARTZ RACING – SAINT JOHNSVILLE, NY – On August 15, 2022, Kirsten Swartz cruised to victory in the Northeast Paving and Sealcoating All-Star Slingshot feature at the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.
Later that night, she jumped at the opportunity to wheel a limited sportsman around the fast quarter-mile and came home with a top-five finish.
“Carter Gibbons let me take out his sportsman after the races at The Ridge toward the end of the season,” Swartz said. “I competed in a feature at Glen Ridge the next week and had a blast. I have wanted my own car ever since.”
That dream has come true as the Kirsten Swartz Racing Team began preparing a car for Kirsten during the off season, offered by Mitch Poole and New Day Motors with an eye on competing in the Limited Sportsman divisions at Utica-Rome, Fonda and Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.
“I am beyond excited to make the jump from a slingshot to a sportsman,” Swartz said. “Moving into the sportsman division has always been my goal. I have been working toward this opportunity since I began racing 10 years ago.”
The Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville senior brings a decade of racing experience and more than 200 feature wins in go-karts and slingshots with her to the track.
In 2021, KSR expanded its racing schedule to include traveling North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee to compete in the Burris Blue Grey Series as well as competing at the local tracks.
Besides gaining quality experience, she came away with feature wins at Millbridge Speedway in Mooresville, North Carolina along with Ashway Speedway and Godspeed Raceway in Dandridge, Tennessee.
Swartz will have plenty of help from people with experience and knowledge of prepping racecars for weekly competition. “The primary sponsors for the sportsman are Todd Hoffman Racing and New Day Motors,” Swartz said.
With racing season quickly approaching, the Kirsten Swartz Racing team is working diligently on getting the car race-ready and securing sponsorship for the upcoming season. Kirsten and her Dad recently visited the Dave Lape garage and was able to gather some of Dave’s wheels and has even got some assistance from Dave’s long time crew chief Jeff Carter.
“We are still working to gather all the parts to get our car together and always hoping for new sponsors,” Swartz said. “I am getting closer to reaching my dreams with the support of my family, Adrenaline Rush Racing, Tom Varin, Bob Rhinehardt, PLS Asphalt Maintenance, Adirondack Packaging Supply, G&S Security Solutions, Aaron Jacobs Racing/Performance Signs, Lombardo’s Restaurant, Bill Lake Homes, Carter Gibbons, Butch Hazzard and Kirk Dannible.”
Anyone interested in joining the KSR team in the 2023 racing season, please contact Kirsten and her dad Jeff at 518-505-7317 for more information. Also, stop and visit Kirsten at the Upcoming Fonda Speedway car show March 23-26 at the Viaport in Rotterdam, NY.
