Leechburg's Swartzlander to join Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame

In racing terms Brian Swartzlander has been a “weekend warrior” for almost three decades.

He’s held down a full-time job as a welder, while with his bright red No. 83 modified he carved out an impressive career on local speedways that includes 15 track titles, seven at Lernerville Speedway, and 171 victories at various tracks around the Tri-State region.

It’s a resume that caught the eye of many and led to Swartzlander receiving one of the highest honors in modified racing.

Swartzlander, a Leechburg native, will be inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame July 26, in Weedsport, N.Y.

Some of the drivers in the Northeast Hall of Fame have raced professionally in the highly competitive Central New York circuit, but Swartzlander, 58, has turned a hobby into success on Western Pennsylvania speedways.

He’s looking forward to taking in the ceremony.

“I’ve never been there, but I was told that they put a picture of your car in the hall of fame and have a plaque with it,” Swartzlander said. “It’s a pretty cool deal. I look forward to going up there with the family to see it. To get a picture of your car in there … I mean, no one is going to take that away. It’s in there forever.”

Swartzlander is the all-time wins leader in the modified division at Lernerville and was inducted into the Buffalo Township oval’s hall of fame in March.

Before Swartzlander was winning races at an impressive clip, he was just a young man watching his father, Mel, take on the local speedways in the 1970’s.

Family got Swartzlander into racing and family keeps him working in the garage several nights a week. His son, BJ, and nephew Justin work on his crew along with longtime family friend Scott Durick, the crew chief. His brother, Keith, was involved with the team for a long time, before briefly racing on his own and has since retired.

Swartzlander also said his wife MaryAnn and daughter Tami have been supportive throughout his career.

Long hours in the shop in the winter and during the week preparing for the weekend have become a family activity, and BJ wouldn’t have it any other way. He spent a lot of time around the car growing up and became even more involved once he graduated college in 2003. He felt a sense of relief when his dad gave him the news.

“It’s so nice that he’s being recognized for all he has done,” BJ said. “We’ve won a lot of races around here, and I don’t think he has anything left to prove to anybody. He’s the type of racer that races with a chip on his shoulder, and when he told me that day I told him that he doesn’t have anything left to prove to anybody. This is an honor that shows that. It really speaks volumes to what he’s done in his career.”

After driving for several different people early on, Brian bought his first car in 1991 and got his first modified win at Marion Center Speedway later that season.

“The first one is always special … I mean, you only get to do it once,” Brian said. “My dad was there in victory lane with me. He got to see me race that year and then he passed away the next year, so it was cool to share that with him, too.”

Brian is closing on 100 wins at Lernerville, the latest coming May 18. He sits third in the points standings entering Friday. He’s won at least one feature at Lernerville each of the last 24 years.

Brian’s most successful year was 1998, when he scored a 25 wins at several tracks and won the Lernerville, Tri-City and Sportsman’s speedway points titles. He also won the inaugural BRP Tour championship.

Victory lane trips continued since, and every time he wins, Brian feels the support of the racing community at the track and at home.

“It’s funny when I go home after winning a race sometimes I have a hard time pulling into the driveway, because there are cars everywhere, and everyone is there to celebrate,” Brian said. “There were years where it seemed like we won all the time and other times it’s been tougher to win. We like to celebrate each one, because it’s not an easy thing to win.”

Brian has partnered with Calvin McCutcheon and MEI as his main sponsor for a large portion of his career. The team has partnered with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and carries their logo on the car.

Brian said the McCutcheons have become like family over the years. They experienced a difficult loss when Calvin’s son Chad died unexpectedly June 4. Chad was a member of Brian’s crew.

“We’re pretty shook up about it,” Brian said. “It’s been tough. We thought about not racing (the week after his death), but we know he would’ve wanted us to be at the track.”

Brian has cut back his schedule over the last couple of seasons, typically running 20 nights and taking one big trip to Charlotte for the World of Outlaws’ Finals in November. Brian doesn’t know how long he’ll keep putting on the helmet, but the Swartzlander family likely will be unloading a car in the pits at local speedways for years to come.

“We always try to enjoy when we win, and even if we don’t win, we have to enjoy each other’s company,” BJ said. “It’s a big family thing, and one of the reasons we do it is to have all of us together at the race track.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.