Having run electronic fuel injection in Stock Eliminator, Jeff switched to tuning via a screw-driver. "I thought I had a good handle on the EFI tuning," he says. "Two years later and I still don't know that much about carburetors, but I can jet it and get it to run good."
As big as losing EFI was, going to an automatic was one of Jeff's biggest hang-ups when contemplating the switch to Mean Street. "For a stick guy, the thought of using an automatic turns your stomach," he says. "I didn't care for using an automatic, but I wasn't interested in carrying numerous replacement manual transmissions." Mean Street allows for H-pattern-style manual gearboxes only, and Jeff says that with those choices, he would be going through a trans every 15 or so runs.
That being said, the '88 hatchback puts power back to the Moser-equipped 8.8 axle using a Performance Automatic C4, a B&M shifter, and a top-secret TCI stall converter. "The trans-brake makes it fun," Jeff says. So how fast is this Mean Street ride? Its best elapsed time is 10.15 at 131 mph.
Another integral part of Jeff's racing program is his pit crew, which consists of his wife, Laura, his son, Justin, and his daughter, Danielle. "Laura does 90 percent of the between-round maintenance," Jeff says. "Justin and Danielle log every run of every car in Mean Street so we can keep track of what the others are doing. I have to mention Andy Star; he really helps me out a lot with the tuning."
In Jeff's first year among the Mean Street bullies, he took two wins and two runners-up in the four races he attended. At the end of the seven-round season, Swanson Family Racing had finished Third. That all changed in 2006 when the team of Tennesseans hit all seven races, set the national record at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and logged four wins and two runners-up to clinch the NMCA Mean Street championship.
With his hard work culminating in a championship season, what's next for Jeff? "I'm having too much fun right now," he says. "We'll definitely be back next year-after that I don't know. I might build another Stock Eliminator car to run in addition to the Mean Street car.
In talking with Jeff about his racing program, we discovered there are quite a few secrets and guises that Jeff keeps to himself, so if you're wondering about something that wasn't mentioned, know that he has found the correct size, shape, weight, or other measurement to provide championship-winning performances. With his supportive team in Laura, Justin, Danielle, and Andy, and a winning engine supplier in Kuntz and Co., there's no doubt there will be another melee on Mean Street in 2007. So if you're looking to check out some mean, heads-up racing, check out Jeff and his ride at one of the NMCA events this year.