To Jake Swanson, Joe Daming was like a second father. In February of 2024, Daming expressed to Jake that his dream was for Swanson to one day take his team to the national level. One day later after that conversation, Daming passed away unexpectedly at the age of 47.

Committed to carrying on Joe’s legacy, Daming Swanson Motorsports was formed shortly thereafter, and in 2025, Swanson, along with the Daming family, took the team on the road full-time with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship.

Hard work, dedication, desire and dream all came together in unison on Saturday night as Swanson took the team to victory lane for the first time in USAC competition by scoring a $10,000 triumph in the series’ debut at Amarillo, Texas’ Route 66 Motor Speedway.

But in truth, this win was worth so much more. This was Jake’s dream. This was Joe’s dream. And, at last, those dreams had come true with a victory in the 47th race of the USAC National Sprint Car season aboard the Daming Swanson Motorsports/Inland Rigging – Dougherty Motorsports/DRC/1-Way Chevy.

“Joe is so stoked right now; he’s upstairs pounding beers, I know it,” Swanson said with a smile. “To the whole Daming family, thank you guys for giving me this opportunity and letting me take all your stuff and turn it into a national winning program. I just can’t believe we were able to do this.”

For Anaheim, California's Swanson, it was his first USAC win in more than two years, since a USAC Indiana Sprint Week score in July of 2023 at Putnamville’s Lincoln Park Speedway. Furthermore, it was the seventh win of Swanson’s USAC National Sprint Car career, tying him for 66th place all-time alongside the likes of Bobby Santos, Bobby Unser, Brady Short, Briggs Danner, Darren Hagen, Doug Kalitta, Jim Keeker, Josh Wise, Kenny Irwin Jr., Kevin Doty and Kevin Thomas.

When Jake and his wife, Jess, moved from California to Indiana in early 2021, the Daming family welcomed them with open arms. The Swanson/Daming combo won frequently on the local level in the Hoosier state during the years between 2021-2023, and to this day, several of the same individuals responsible for that success are still involved, all of whom are essentially important for making this dream a reality.

“We started in the local realm and we’ve come here and have now won on the national stage,” Swanson reflected. “There are literally like 10 people that we could not do this without. This thing does not get to the racetrack without them. We’re racing on no money, no budget. We’re literally racing on winnings. So, thank god we won tonight because I’m relying on sponsorship to get us up and down the road. I definitely don’t have deep enough pockets to run this deal.”

This year, especially of late, Swanson had displayed flashes of brilliance that demonstrated how close the team was to breaking through. A solid stretch leading into the weekend saw him tally six top-fives in a span of seven starts. On Friday, he set a new track record in qualifying at Dodge City and followed up by establishing yet another track record in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying on Saturday at Route 66 with a time of 13.648 seconds.

Results USAC National Sprint Cars Route 66 Motor Speedway Amarillo

1. Jake Swanson (6)

 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1)

3. Mitchel Moles (7)

4. C.J. Leary (4)

5. Logan Seavey (5)

 6. Gunnar Setser (13)

7. Briggs Danner (2)

 8. Justin Grant (11)

9. Stevie Sussex (10)

10. Hayden Reinbold (3)

11. Kyle Cummins (12)

12. Wesley Smith (16)

13. Saban Bibent (14)

14. Anthony Nicholson (15)

15. Paul White (20)

16. Cooper Sullivan (24-P)

 17. Chase Stockon (8)

 18. Don Grable (17)

19. Wyatt Burks (9)

20. Caleb Stelzig (19)

21. R.J. Miller (23)

22. Anton Hernandez (21)

23. Justin Zimmerman (22)

24. Chris Douglas (18)

25. Kobe Simpson (25). NT