Inside Line Promotions - KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 6, 2013) - For the third straight season Big Game Motorsports was well represented in Victory Lane at the Ironman 55.
Craig Dollansky parked the Eyecon Trail Cameras car on the frontstretch after picking up his third consecutive win at the $20,000-to-win World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo., on Saturday night. Teammate Sammy Swindell joined him on the podium after powering his Big Game Treestands car to a third-place finish.
The win was especially emotional after Dollansky's uncle passed away earlier last week.
"I lost my uncle this past week and I wasn't able to fly home for the funeral," he said. "That's the tough part about this business. It was a sudden thing. It's a pretty sad deal. The funeral was on Friday and I would have liked to get there for my mom and my family.
"It was awesome to get the victory and pay tribute to him."
The Big Game Motorsports teams were both in contention all night with Dollansky qualifying ninth quickest and winning his heat race to advance to the dash. Swindell timed in third quickest and drove from fourth to second place in his heat race to also reach the dash.
The dash inversion was a six, putting Dollansky and the Eyecon Trail Cameras car on the outside of the front row with Swindell a row behind. Both drivers gained one position to give Dollansky the pole for the feature with Swindell starting third in the main event.
Dollansky and Jac Haudenschild put on a show battling for the lead with Haudenschild leading the first 12 laps around the high-banked oval. Dollansky slid the Eyecon Trail Cameras car into the lead on Lap 13 and he led for the ensuing 11 laps before Haudenschild regained the lead in traffic on Lap 24.
"It was a long race," Dollansky said. "We had a good car all night long. We kept working with it and making the right choices. We raced pretty good with Jac. You've got to be careful how hard you race early. Once we got about 30 laps in I started picking the pace up."
Dollansky took the lead on Lap 30 and led the final 26 laps to secure his sixth World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series win of the season.
"It sure was a marathon, but it was a hard-fought battle," he said. "That's racing at Pevely. It's action packed. To get two out of the top three here at the Ironman for Big Game, it's awesome."
Swindell spent the entire 55-lap feature in the top five and drove the Big Game Treestands car into the runner-up position a couple of times before settling for third place.
"It was fun," he said. "Me and Donny (Schatz) had a really good race. A lot of times we were really close, but we had respect for each other.
"We just put it together tonight and it couldn't be at a better time. The car was really good. We were good through the whole night. We learned a lot here tonight and hopefully it can carry on the rest of the year."
The Big Game Motorsports teams headed to the Second annual Capitani Classic at Knoxville Raceway on Sunday, when 81 cars got a final tune-up for the 53 rd annual FVP Knoxville Nationals this Wednesday through Saturday.
Dollansky qualified 23rd quickest and finished second in his heat race to lock into the feature, which he started on the inside of the eighth row.
"We just went in there and wanted to learn some things for when we qualify Thursday and Saturday night as well," he said. "We didn't get qualified as well. In the heat race we had a power steering line let go. We were able to work some bugs out of some things. I was encouraged with that."
The Eyecon Trail Cameras car maneuvered from 15th to fifth in the 25-lap feature, earning Dollansky the Hard Charger Award.
Swindell qualified third quickest, but after an incident on the opening lap - when Swindell nearly had to slam on the brakes - he placed fifth in his heat race to miss a transfer position by one spot. Swindell then won a B Main to advance to the main event, which the Big Game Treestands car started 22 nd.
"We had a good qualifying effort for going out when we did," he said. "We did a few things and ran the B Main. The last lap I put it all together and passed Cody (Darrah) again. We were starting in the back and thought we would take a little bit of gamble and try some things. It gave us a direction to go, but it wasn't the right direction for that race. We learned a lot and it gave us quite a bit of track time. I think it gave us a good foundation to start with. Our qualifying is down, we've just got to work on our race setup."
Swindell also gained 10 positions in the feature to place 12th.
His Knoxville Nationals qualifying night is set for Wednesday and Dollansky's is Thursday.
QUICK RESULTS -
DOLLANSKY:
Aug. 3 - Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 - Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 1 (2); Feature: 1 (1).
Aug. 4 - Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa - Qualifying: 23; Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 5 (15).
SWINDELL:
Aug. 3 - Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 - Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 2 (4); Dash: 3 (4); Feature: 3 (3).
Aug. 4 - Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa - Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 5 (6); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 12 (22).
SEASON STATS -
DOLLANSKY : 53 races, 6 wins, 17 top fives, 32 top 10s, 43 top 15s, 51 top 20s
SWINDELL : 53 races, 2 wins, 14 top fives, 32 top 10s, 45 top 15s, 49 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Wednesday through Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, for the 53rd annual FVP Knoxville Nationals
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 Aug 06, 2013
- Article Date: 8/6/2013 by Shawn Miller