(Photo by DB3 Imaging)
Inside Line Promotions – ROSSBURG, Ohio (July 20, 2015) – Sammy Swindell enjoyed a successful debut with CJB Motorsports last weekend during the 32nd annual Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway.
Swindell recorded a pair of top-five finishes during the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series doubleheader, including a charge from 16th to fourth during Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finale.
“It went real well,” he said. “The first night we got in and it was pretty good the way it was. We didn’t make a lot of changes, just a few small things. We just went from there.”
Swindell kicked off the weekend on Friday at the famed half-mile oval by qualifying second quickest in his group.
“It makes a big difference (to qualify well) because unless something really goes bad in your heat race you’re locked into the dash,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier when you qualify that well and don’t have to win your heat race to get in the dash.”
Swindell advanced from third to second place in a heat race before repeating the same success in the dash, which started him on the outside of the front row of the Knight Before the Kings Royal main event.
“It all went pretty well until about 12 laps to go and we lost a rocker arm stud so it was down to seven cylinders,” he said. “The car was good enough to hang on until we had a late restart. I just couldn’t take off and lost a couple of spots. We definitely had a car that would run in the top three and there’s not much more you could ask for.”
Swindell competed in second place for most of the feature before the mechanical problem cost him three positions late in the race. He ended with a fifth-place result.
Saturday began with Swindell qualifying fourth quickest out of nearly 60 competitors. That lined him up fifth during a heat race where he needed to finish in the top three to lock into the main event. However, a rain delay of more than four hours threw a wrinkle into the remainder of the night.
“When they invert five and you have to win your heat to start up front (in the feature) it makes it really tough,” he said. “When you get the kind of cars like we had in my heat it’s really tough.”
Once racing resumed Swindell maneuvered from his fifth starting position to post a third-place result, which locked him into the 16th starting position for the Kings Royal main event – a race that began around 4 a.m. local time.
“I was able to get a few cars on the start and we kept driving through them,” he said. “The car was pretty good where I could run the top, middle or the bottom. We didn’t hit it exactly perfect, but it was still really good. I was surprised at all the different lines I could run and still be fast. That made it easier to pass guys. But once you get inside the top 10 most of those guys weren’t wanting to give up anything.”
Swindell picked up a dozen positions to garner a fourth-place result, which marked his 12th career top five during Kings Royal features.
This week Swindell and CJB Motorsports will tackle the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup on Tuesday at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., and the Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., on Friday and Saturday with the World of Outlaws.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 17 – Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (3); Dash: 2 (3); Feature: 5 (2).
July 18 – Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 3 (5); Feature: 4 (16).
SEASON STATS –
20 races, 1 win, 7 top fives, 12 top 10s, 18 top 15s, 18 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Tuesday at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup and Friday and Saturday at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., for the Summer Nationals with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.SammySwindell1.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/1sam91
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – John Christner Trucking
Established in 1986, John Christner Trucking has grown into a giant in the trucking industry. For more information, visit http://www.JohnChristner.com.
“John Christner has been huge,” Swindell said. “If it hadn’t been for him coming along we wouldn’t be able to do much of this (at the Chili Bowl) at all. He’s been a great supporter for us and he’s been a great friend. It was nice of him to do all the things he’s done for us and continues to do for us.”
Swindell would also like to thank J. Davidson Scrap Metal Processors, Energy Release, High Performance Lubricants, Sweet Manufacturing, FK Rod Ends, Sweet Manufacturing, Simpson Race Products, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, HRP Wings, Schoenfeld Headers, Kistler Racing Engines and Driver Websites for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Jul 20, 2015
- Article Date: 7/20/2015 by Inside Line Promotions