Matt Swanson To Stay In BRE Ole Blue For Remainder Of Whelen Modified Tour Season

Matt Swanson in the pits with the Boehler Racing Enterprises crew at the Whelen Modified Tour Toyota Mod Classic 150 Saturday at Oswego Speedway (Photo: Fran Lawlor/RaceDayCT)

Competing on a race-to-race deal is now a thing of the past for NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Matt Swanson and the Boehler Racing Enterprises team.

Swanson and team owner Mike Boehler confirmed to RaceDayCT on Tuesday that Swanson will be in the team’s iconic BRE No. 3 Ole Blue ride for the final three events of the 2018 season.

Swanson, who started five of the first nine series events this year for his family owned team, stepped in as a race-to-race fill-in with BRE when former driver Rowan Pennink unexpectedly announced his retirement from competition on Aug. 28 because of a back injury. Swanson has made two series starts since for BRE since then.

Swanson made his first start of the season for BRE on Aug. 8 at Thompson Speedway as a last minute replacement the day Pennink’s daughter Jordan was born. Swanson finished second to series points leader Justin Bonsignore in that event.

“We finally decided to finish out the year together, which is good,” Swanson said. “It feels really good. I knew I was going to the last three races, I just didn’t really know what car I was going to be in. I didn’t know whether to be down here at the [BRE] shop working on that car, which I have been, or at home wrenching on my family car.

“It feels really good that I can finally officially add my name to the roster as a team driver not just a fill-in driver. I can officially say I’m part of the Boehler Racing Enterprises team. These guys have really welcomed myself and my whol family and my team that was with my car with open arms. It feels really good to finally have a partnership with someone.”

Swanson started the Toyota Mod Classic 150 at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway on Sept. 1 and Saturday’s Miller Lite 200 at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway since Pennink’s retirement. He was sixth at Oswego. He got caught up in a wreck eight laps into Saturday’s event at Riverhead.

The 18-year old Swanson has made 46 Whelen Modified Tour starts since 2015.

The Whelen Modified Tour is back in action on Sept. 22 with the running of the inaugural Musket 250 at New Hampshire Motor Speeedway. From there the series heads to the NAPA Fall Final 150 on Sept. 30 at Stafford Motor Speedway and then the season ending Sunoco World Series 150 on Oct. 14 at Thompson Speedway.

“[The team] is real happy with Matt’s feedback and the way he handles himself and the job he’s done,” BRE team owner Mike Boehler said. “We just had a little crap luck there at Riverhead, getting jingled up early. But we’ll get back at it and ready for Loudon and go from there, and then off to Stafford and Thompson and see if we can finish out strong.”

Swanson and Boehler said things look positive as for as the likelihood of staying with together full-time for the 2019 season on the Whelen Modified Tour.

“Things are definitely looking positive for next year,” Swanson said. “We just have to keep doing what we go to the race track to do, and that’s try to win races and keep these guys up front in the [owners standings]. Those are the goals the last few races and we’ll sit down after the World Series and put all the cards on the table and if we can make something work that will be awesome. But things are definitely looking positive for next year.”

Said Boehler: “I assume they’re excited to do it and they’ve been talking to [sponsor Starrett Tools], so I’m sure we’ll be able to come to an agreement on that soon. We’ll finish out the year and we’ll all sit down. But so far so good, no issues. … I don’t see why there would be any reason not to.”