Getty Jordan Anderson poses for a photo at Daytona International Speedway.
The No. 31 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet Camaro will be back in action on Sept. 4 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington. The driver-owner will feature a guest driver in Austin Dillon, as well as a special sponsor in Swann Security. Anderson has high hopes for this race considering that the last time he partnered with Swann, he took second place in a Truck Series race.
The driver-owner met with Heavy prior to the Darlington race to discuss his rotating cast of drivers, focusing more on being an owner, and the valued partners that help the No. 31 race each week. He explained during this session that Swann didn’t have to work with him at Daytona or Darlington and that he relished having the opportunity to reward the company’s faith in his race team.
It is official, @austindillon3 will be behind the wheel of the #31 Swann car tomorrow. Tune in tomorrow to see him flying around @TooToughToTame! @j66anderson @BestBuy
“[Swann] took a chance on partnering with me and my team for the first time and to be able to deliver them a second-place finish in our first race together in our partnership was absolutely amazing,” Anderson told Heavy. “Such a fun experience. And Darlington is a special place for me too. I grew up about 30 minutes from there so to be able to have them partner with me for my home track race and to be able to have a NASCAR winner like Austin Dillon — an XFINITY series champion — drive for us this weekend, [it’s] kind of a culmination of a lot of hard work.”
The No. 31 Swann Security Chevrolet will take on Darlington Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 3:30 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Network will provide coverage as Dillon and the other drivers travel 147 laps around the iconic oval.
Anderson Has Showcased Several Drivers in the No. 31
GettyTyler Reddick (left) races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
When Dillon climbs into the No. 31 Swann Security Chevrolet Camaro, he will join a stacked list of drivers that includes Cup Series stars and rising talent alike. Six people have gotten behind the wheel of the stock car and combined for four top-10 finishes and one top-five.
Anderson made four starts in the No. 31 while Erik Jones, Sage Karam, and Kaz Grala all competed in one race apiece. Josh Berry started three times and took care of two top-10s. Tyler Reddick achieved the most success in the stock car, locking up fifth place at Charlotte Motor Speedway and eighth at Circuit of the Americas.
“It’s definitely a different animal to put the owner hat on and not be in the race car,” Anderson continued. “I have joked about it a couple of times this year. I think I get more nervous sitting on the pit box during the race watching than I do inside the race car.
“…We’ve had a really unique lineup of drivers from a lot of different aspects of racing and it’s been exciting. It’s been fulfilling too because I know how hard our entire team has worked.”
Anderson Plans to Make a Bigger Impact in 2022
While Anderson locked up a second-place finish in the season-opening Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway, his Xfinity Series team had a very different experience. Rain washed out the qualifying sessions, removing the team’s opportunity to compete.
The issues continued with the majority of races having no practice sessions or qualifying laps. Jordan Anderson Racing missed the first 10 races of the season before Reddick qualified at Circuit of the Americas. The No. 31 has since remained eligible to compete in every race, which will continue in 2022 with the return of practice and qualifying.
“The owner in me is not excited about [the return of qualifying],” Anderson said while laughing. “You save a lot [of money] by not practicing and qualifying even though it put our season completely on the sidelines. You don’t have the extra miles on your motors and the tires, the extra nights in hotel rooms and on the road. So definitely a trade-off there.
“But the driver in me is like, ‘man, please, please bring back practice and qualifying’ because sometimes it takes 30-40 laps into a race to finally kind of get the hang of the track and how your car’s handling. … Either way, I think NASCAR has done a great job with kind of ebbing and flowing with what’s happened this year and keeping the sport growing strong.”
With Berry returning to JR Motorsports full-time in 2022, he won’t be available to compete with the other drivers in the No. 31 Chevrolet. However, Anderson is preparing for this departure. He is putting plans in place for the 2022 season concerning his team’s sponsors and the list of potential drivers. He doesn’t have a concrete list just yet, but there will be news in the coming weeks.
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