Swanson Victorious in Joe Shear Classic Truck Main at Madison

By: Kevin Ramsell

(Oregon, WI) - Tristan Swanson capped off a busy weekend of racing by winning his second Joe Shear Classic 36 presented by Bullseye Games at Madison International Speedway.

It was his fifth win in the Midwest Truck Series as he held off Brady Bill and Chester Ace for the victory.

Swanson competed at Elko Speedway in Elko, MN, and made the overnight trip to Madison worth it.

“It was definitely worth it,” Swanson said with a smile. “It’s cool to work with younger drivers in the Legends at Elko and then come over to the Wisconsin side and do this; it’s a dream come true.”

Swanson got the lead on lap 12 after getting by Bill, who earlier took the lead from Robbie Rucks.

Caution flew on lap 26 when Wyatt Kraiss spun in turns one and two.

As the field came back to the green, fast qualifier Grant Griesbach had an issue getting up to speed, causing an accordion behind him, causing Kevin Zielezinski to make hard contact in the turn four wall. He, along with Johnny Sauter making his first-ever Midwest Truck Series start, also sustained damage. Both drove their trucks back to the pits and were done for the day.

Swanson continued to lead at the restart as Bill ran second while Chester Ace made a late charge to catch up to Bill as the laps ran out for him to contend for the runner-up position.

Bill’s second-place finish is his best finish so far in the Midwest Truck Series.

Tyler Noble recorded his best finish with a fourth-place run while defending winner Eugene Gregorich III was fifth.

Griesbach set a fast time of 18.704 in Six08 Graphics qualifying while Laney Osborne won the last-chance race.

One quick note, defending two-time Truck Series champion Brandon Reichenberger finished 11th, ending a 32-race top-ten streak since August 2023, where he finished 11th in the Howie Lettow Classic at Madison.

The Midwest Truck Series will be back in action on Monday, May 25th, for the Ken’s Sports Memorial Day Classic 50 at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover, Wisconsin.