Kody Swanson Holds Off Jackson Macenko for Joe James/Pat O'Connor Memorial Win

Kody Swanson scored his sixth career win in the Joe James/Pat O'Connor Memorial on Saturday night at Salem Speedway. While the win continued his dominance in the historic event, Swanson's win did not come easily this time around.

Jackson Macenko, who earned his first career yourBIGplans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour win in the Tom Bigelow Showdown at Winchester Speedway, hounded Swanson throughout the 50-lap feature at Salem. As the two drivers negotiated lapped traffic in a race only slowed once by caution when Brady Allum lost a tire, Swanson and Macenko remained inseparable.

In the end, Swanson took the victory by 1.625 seconds, firing off well on the late restart and breathing a sigh of relief in victory lane.

"Buddy, I'm aware of that," said Swanson about the battle with Macenko. "Jackson does a great job. He's been fast all day. Him and his team have put together a great car, and he sure kept us honest there. I've had a tough time with some of these 500 Tour redraws, but my buddy Frank pulled it today and got us the outside of the front row.

"I don't know that I could have done anything with Jackson except follow him around if he got to the lead first. I think we each knew that while we're going three-wide down the frontstretch on the first start. It was a challenge, for sure, just to hang on, just to keep them back there. He was so good at pouncing on lapped traffic opportunities. He does a great job for any age, but especially for as young as he is, as well as he does."

While Swanson has established himself as one of the best at Salem, the majority of that success has come in USAC Silver Crown competition. Swanson boasts six Silver Crown wins at Salem, including one last year, as well as a CRA Super Series victory in 2021.

Now, he is also a Sprint Car winner at the Indiana half-mile.

"I hadn't won a Sprint Car race here until today," Swanson said. "We've been great in Silver Crown over the years between the DePalma 63 and the Nolan 20 and the Doran Binks 77. This is my first Sprint Car one, so I appreciate the 33 team for all their efforts to come back and chase it each year. We put it on the pole each year, set quick time each year, but hadn't come away with the trophy yet.

"I appreciate my wife, Jordan; she was up in the spotter stand tonight. She was busy, keeping track of all the action with Jackson coming through there and trying to keep me safe through that traffic and still pressing. I've got an army around me, and I'm grateful for all of them. God has blessed me with some great people in my life."

Macenko settled for second, acknowledging Swanson had the better car on Saturday night.

"This place is just so tough to pass, especially when you're on the same pace as the guy in front of you. I think Kody was a little quicker than us. I hate to say it, I think the right car won. Late in the race, he was really able to roll the center, one and two especially, a lot better than me. He could really diamond in and swoop back down low. If I missed the bottom, it felt like it was toast."

Still, Macenko's breakthrough 2026 season continues, and he hopes to continue building on that success as the 500 Sprint Car Tour season continues.

"There's a lot that goes into this, and we're getting better. This second stings, but if you're gonna finish second to the 33, I guess it's not too bad.

"We've really got great speed. Even from the Little 500, I know we didn't get the result we wanted there with a tire coming off, but the guys at the shop are doing a fantastic job of giving me a bad-fast No. 24 machine. We'll keep plucking away at it."

Nathan Byrd rounded out the podium, earning his best career finish with the yourBIGplans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour. Chasing Swanson and Macenko offered a massive learning experience for Byrd.

"Kody and Jackson are on absolute rails," Byrd said. "Even just being that two or three tenths off a lap like we just were now, some of it or most of it was the driver. I think we had a little bit more to get from teh car. The driver kind of held back the car a little bit today. As soon as they passed me and got past me, I realized, oh, they're taking a different line through the exit of two. Okay, they're diamonding it off more.

"There were some things that I had to learn. It was a great, great experience. Very physical track, really fast track. I hope the fans enjoyed the show; I definitely enjoyed racing."

Rylan Gray finished fourth, with Justin Harper rounding out the top five.

Berlin Raceway marks the next stop on the yourBIGplans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour schedule. The series heads to the Michigan facility on Friday, August 28.

-Photo credit: Koty Geyer

67th Joe James/Pat O'Connor Memorial Unofficial Results