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brianswiger@yahoo.com

301-471-7429 (cell)

Brian's Bio

My racing career began five years ago at the Hagerstown Speedway on Fireworks night in July 2005.  The motor blew on the first night, but we didn’t quit!  I became interested in racing as a young teenager during the rise of NASCAR in the 1990's.  After graduating from Brunswick High School in 1993, I attended Emory & Henry College near the Bristol Motor Speedway.  My first experience seeing stock cars was walking into the Bristol Motor Speedway during Winston Cup practice on April 8, 1994.  I just remember walking in, grabbing the chain link fence in turn 4, and my jaw dropping.  I just knew I had to drive a racecar.

My racing career is not the typical story.  I did not grow up around racing or even working on cars.  After the experience at Bristol, I was just determined to somehow get into a racecar.  My first opportunity was through a few NASCAR driving experiences such as Monster Racing at Dover Delaware (http://www.monsterracing.com).  Pulling out of the pits for the first time (after I stalled the car 3 times!), I knew this was something I had to do.  For nearly 10 years I continued these driving experiences, but I was very far from competing with my own car in an actual race.   

In 2004, after my Bristol practice experience 10 years earlier, I met a local Pure Stock driver, Steve Kent through my son Clayton.  Steve and his father were die hard Ford guys racing a Chevy Malibu.  They decided to sell the Malibu and begin building their dream Pure Stock car- a Ford Thunderbird.  During construction, Steve's dad decided to move Steve up to the Limited Late Model division and the car sat unfinished.  Steve and I struck a deal to finish the Thunderbird together and get me behind the wheel.  I will never forget the role Steve and his Dad played that allowed me to complete my dream of racing.

Through four plus seasons, my racing has seen its ups and downs.  We have gone from not qualifying for races to racing for wins.  On June 2, 2007 (DVD video stream here) we battled veterans such as Mark Jones, Mike Warrenfeltz, and Hans Stamberg for the win.  We led over 10 laps, but a late race caution found us banging wheels with Mark Jones and we came up a little bit short.  But as determined as I was to break into racing, I am that determined to get my first win and who knows, maybe one day compete in a NASCAR race! 

For the 2011 season, we have built a new car.  It has been named the "Thunder Vic."  It is a 1988 LTD frame, with a 1993 Thunderbird body and that is how we came up with the name "Thunder Vic."  I am very proud of this car.. it was built for pennies on the dollar with a lot of blood and sweat, and Ricky Edmonds and I did the complete design and fabrication on it. Through a few races in 2011, the car was incredible, but I couldn’t get a motor to survive! Plans are for a new motor in 2012 and a few wins!

– Brian

Age	37 years old, growing older, but not up!  Daytona by 40.
Birthday	12-8-1974
Height	5'11"
Weight	160 lbs
Job	Systems Engineer & Real Estate
Years Racing	4+
Kids	Awesome Clayton, age 14
Marital Status	Single
Other interests	My son, the Steelers, Orioles, Caps, and Nascar
Racing Stats
Feature Starts	56
Feature Wins	0
Top 5's	2
Top 10's	14
Heat Wins	2
Best finish, Hagerstown, MD	4th, June 2, 2007
Best finish, Winchester, VA	7th, September 25, 2010
Best finish, Cumberland, MD	7th, July 23, 2006 and July 29, 2006
Best finish, Potomac, MD	10th, July 7, 2007
Best finish, Williams Grove, PA	18th, June 10, 2006

Clayton at an Oriole game around age 5!                         Keirsten at track at age 6!

Ford Thunderbird Dirt Street Stock Car - Alan Kulwicki - Underbird