Seven drivers have swept the Western Swing, winning in successive weeks at Denver, Sonoma, and Seattle: Joe Amato, Cory McClenathan, Larry Dixon, Tony Schumacher, and Antron Brown in Top Fuel; John Force in Funny Car; and Greg Anderson in Pro Stock.

This weekend, three have the chance to keep their opportunities alive. Top Fuel’s Leah Pruett, Funny Car’s Robert Hight, and Pro Stock’s Matt Hartford are the only ones who have a shot at becoming the eighth (or ninth or 10th) to pull off the challenge. 

No two have accomplished the feat in the same year, so that’s another dare out there on the table.  

Matt Smith won the Pro Stock Motorcycle final at Denver and is competing this weekend. But the bike class does not visit Seattle, so he isn’t in the hunt to “sweep the Swing.” 

The five-time series champ said diplomatically that he is content with the Pro Stock Bikes not completing the Western Swing: “I’ve been to Seattle a couple of times with my dad back in the early days with his Pro Stock car. I’d like to go there one time with the bikes. But the bike class has enough races right now. Our class is not independently wealthy, like some Top Fuel guys, some Funny Car guys, and some Pro Stock car guys are. So going out West this far really hurts our bike count, especially with diesel fuel up this high. I think you can see that from the entry lists of the Denver race and, I’m sure, the entry list of the Sonoma race. We probably picked up a couple of people, but our bike count’s going to be down right now because of the way the economy and the fuel prices are right now.”