Inside Line Promotions - DODGE CITY, Kan. (July 8, 2013) - Heading into the famed Month of Money with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, both Big Game Motorsports teams are coming off a frustrating weekend.
Competing with the premier sprint car series at Huset's Speedway in Brandon, S.D., on Wednesday and at Dodge City Raceway Park on Friday and Saturday, Sammy Swindell scored a pair of ninth-place finishes and Craig Dollansky earned a weekend-best 12th in the trio of events.
Swindell narrowly missed putting the Big Game Treestands backed car in the dash on Wednesday and Saturday by only one position in his heat race, a fate that has seemed to taunt the team this season.
"That's been the way most of our year has been," he said. "We needed to be a couple of hundredths or thousandths slower to get on that front row. We keep barely missing it. This year there's not a lot of passing. It's just been unfortunate that we've missed here or there by a little bit."
Dollansky and the Eyecon Trail Cameras car was plagued by a couple of mechanical gremlins throughout the long weekend.
"It's not easy to forget about bad nights, but we also know we can string together some good nights," Dollansky said.
The week started on Wednesday for the annual event at Huset's Speedway, where Swindell qualified fifth and finished third in his heat race to miss the dash by one spot. It lined him up 12th for the main event, which he ended ninth.
"That starts us on the sixth row and there wasn't much going on there," he said. "We may have moved up a few spots. It was one of those nights it wasn't much fun. You just got out there and raced as hard as you could and you still couldn't pass anybody."
Dollansky was bit by a mechanical issue that the team didn't find until the night was over. After qualifying 24th quickest, he finished fifth in his heat race to claim the final spot advancing to the feature. Dollansky then piloted the Eyecon Trail Cameras car from 23rd to 16th in the main event.
After taking the Fourth of July to travel to Kansas for the Boot Hill Showdown, Dollansky's team again found a problem when the team unloaded at Dodge City Raceway Park on Friday.
"When we unloaded on the first night of Dodge City we found another mechanical issue," he said. "The last four races we've been fighting a couple of races with mechanical issues and a couple where nothing seemed to go our way. We feel pretty good about some of the things we sorted out the past few races. That continues to be a work in progress, but we're making strides."
Dollansky put together two nearly identical performances during the Boot Hill Showdown doubleheader. The Eyecon Trail Cameras car qualified 13th quickest and advanced from fifth to fourth place in his heat race both nights.
He placed 14th in Friday's feature before a late-race caution doomed the team in Saturday's main event. Dollansky was up to seventh when the car in front of him didn't take off during the restart.
"We got ourselves in a good position," he said. "We had a restart where a car didn't take off and we got caught behind him. It seemed like it took forever and by that time the entire outside lane had gone. If that race would have stayed green we would have gotten by some more race cars."
Instead the Eyecon Trail Cameras car dropped nearly a half-dozen positions and Dollansky finished 12th to cap the weekend.
"It was a disappointing night," he said. "We know what we're capable of and what has gone on the last few nights has hurt us. We've just got to go out and do our job and everything will work out."
On Friday, Swindell qualified fourth quickest and finished sixth in his heat race to advance to the dash. However, he tried the top groove and dropped from third to seventh in the dash to line up on the inside of the fourth row for the main event.
"I just made a wrong decision and it really cost me before I could get down to the bottom," he said.
With the track taking rubber on the bottom groove, the Big Game Treestands car got caught on the outside during a restart in the feature and again lost several positions before rebounding with a second-straight ninth-place finish.
Swindell wrapped up the weekend by qualifying fifth quickest on Saturday and again placing third in his heat race - one spot away from the dash. That started him 11th in the main event.
"We moved up a few spots and the car was actually one of the best cars we've had in a main event," he said. "We came up with a little different combination. We were gaining and there were people running side by side and there wasn't any place to go."
Then Swindell was trapped behind Dollansky during that last restart, which cost the Big Game Treestands car multiple positions.
"The whole outside row went and we lost five spots before we got to the flag stand," Swindell said. "We had a car capable of running in the top five if we could have had the opportunity to pass people."
He salvaged an 11th-place finish.
Big Game Motorsports and the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series heads to Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio, on Wednesday for the Brad Doty Classic before returning to Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday for the $50,000-to-win Kings Royal.
Swindell, who is fourth in the championship points standings - only eight points ahead of Dollansky - claimed the Kings Royal crown last season.
QUICK RESULTS -
DOLLANSKY:
July 3 - Huset's Speedway in Brandon, S.D. - Qualifying: 24; Heat race: 5 (6); Feature: 16 (23).
July 5 - Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. - Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 14 (13).
July 6 - Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. - Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 12 (13).
SWINDELL:
July 3 - Huset's Speedway in Brandon, S.D. - Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 9 (12).
July 5 - Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. - Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 6 (3); Dash: 7 (3); Feature: 9 (7).
July 6 - Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. - Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 11 (11).
SEASON STATS -
DOLLANSKY : 41 races, 5 wins, 13 top fives, 24 top 10s, 32 top 15s, 39 top 20s
SWINDELL : 41 races, 2 wins, 11 top fives, 27 top 10s, 35 top 15s, 38 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Wednesday at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio, for the Brad Doty Classic and Friday and Saturday at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio, for the Kings Royal with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
LIVE AUDIO -
Keep up with Big Game Motorsports via free, live audio from DIRTVision at every World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event throughout the season. For more information, click http://www.DIRTVision.com.
MEDIA LINKS -
Big Game Treestands: http://www.BigGameTreestands.com
Aggressive Hydraulics: http://www.AggressiveHydraulics.com
MobileStar: http://www.MobileStar.us/mobilestarwebsite
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Big_Game_TS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Game-Treestands/251832101535076?fref=ts
BIG GAME TREESTANDS -
Established in 1977 in Windom, Minn., Big Game Treestands has grown to be a leading company in the outdoor industry. Big Game Treestands offers a Rock Solid™ line of field tested, safety certified above TMA requirements, welded steel stands & free standing elevated platforms that gives you not only a safe and extremely sturdy vantage point, but also reliable all-day comfort at a great value. Large, non-slip standing platforms, top-notch fastening systems, and our innovative pinned, sleeved ladder sections provide the Rock Solid™ stance, twist free climbing, and all around silence that Big Game Treestands® is known for. Non-glare, powder coat finish keeps our products hidden from nature's wary eye.
For over 30 years, it has been our goal and our philosophy to provide the most innovative and practical treestands and hunting accessories in the field. As tradition continues, we are Exceeding Limitations and once again providing new models that challenge Mother Nature. In 2012 Big Game extended the line into Trail Cameras known for the easy to set, great picture quality, and over all great camera Eyecon Trail Cameras exceeds the expectations of consumers. Big Game Treestands® and Eyecon Trail Cameras® offers undeniable quality on time-tested favorites as well as new innovations for 2013.
For more information on Big Game Treestands, visit http://www.BigGameTreestands.com.
EYECON TRAIL CAMERAS ® -
Eyecon Trail Cameras® are premier trail cameras for hunters and outdoorsmen. The Black Widow Trail Camera, Storm Trail Camera and Quikshot Trail Camera provide a variety of options that are user-friendly with exceptional imaging. To learn more about or purchase Eyecon Trail Cameras®, visit http://www.EyeconTrailCameras.com.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS -
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors' return on investment.
To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.insidelinepromotions.com.
- Admin Account on Jul 09, 2013
- Article Date: 7/9/2013 by Shawn Miller