Last Updated on 28 July 2022
On the heels of Swann’s announcements of partnering with Jordan Anderson and Ryan Vargas for the 2021 NASCAR season, both drivers generated plenty of energy and buzz during and after their respective races on the combined Valentine’s and Presidents’ Day holiday weekend.
The excitement started with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ first race of the season, the NextEra Energy 250 on Friday, February 12. Jordan Anderson was back at the same race where a year ago he had his best career finish, placing second in the closest finish in NASCAR Truck Series history.
This year Anderson started the race in the 20th position, and hung back there in the middle of the pack for much of the race to wait for things to play out. Fast-forward to lap 95 with five laps to go, and Jordan quickly moved up into P12 to keep himself in the mix. After a caution that
extended the race one more lap, Jordan’s #3 Chevrolet still found itself at P12 going into the final lap – that’s when things got really interesting. With less than half a lap to go, half of the 14 trucks in the lead pack got tangled together, while Jordan, on the inside track, quietly slid by and suddenly found himself in third position with chaos erupting just to his right. Momentum on his side, Anderson passed by Cory Roper in the final second of the race to earn another second place finish at Daytona, just .036 seconds behind the winner, Ben Rhodes.
Even though he missed the win by the slimmest of margins, Anderson joked in his post-race interview, “I need to go back to Chevrolet and see if we can make these Silverados a little longer – two years in a row to finish second – it’s a dream come true!” After thanking Swann as a new sponsor, he then shared some encouraging words for the young viewers out there, “For every kid that races…never give up! If you want to be here, just keep getting it!” His post-race interview on Twitter alone garnered over 74K views.
Congratulations to Jordan Anderson on a fantastic finish in Daytona, and we can’t wait to see him at the next outing where Swann is the primary sponsor, the Xfinity Series Race at Darlington on September 4.
Next up was the Beef 300 Xfinity Series opener, with JD Motorsports driver and Swann partner Ryan Vargas. In this wild Xfinity series debut, only 22 of the 40 cars that started the race were running at the finish – Ryan’s #6 Chevrolet being one of them.
Vargas finished 18th, in spite of getting caught up in a multi-car wreck with 45 laps to go. He avoided major damage and was able to peel off the in-field grass, determined to get back in the race and finish with some season points in pursuit of Xfinity Rookie of the Year honors. His perseverance and effort gained a lot of social media praise, with this meme created by a fan that appropriately, and humorously, captured the spirit of the moment and has captured over 7,800 views so far on Twitter.
We’ll be watching Ryan each week, as Swann, aside from being a primary sponsor for four races this season, is an associate sponsor for all his other races as well. With Vargas’ maturity and patience on the track, and perseverance and never-quit attitude, we can’t wait to see what he’ll do at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, his next race with Swann as the primary sponsor.
Until then, be on the lookout for the March 8 episode of “Out of the Groove,” the NASCAR YouTube program hosted by Eric Estepp. Swann, along with Eric, will have something for NASCAR and Swann fans to enjoy, so stay tuned.
