(Photo by http://www.HighFly-NPhotos.com)
Inside Line Promotions – MESQUITE, Texas (Oct. 17, 2016) – Sammy Swindell recorded a runner-up result as nearly 50 competitors tackled the Winter Nationals last weekend at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
“It all went pretty smooth,” he said. “We knew we had a good enough car to win both nights. Circumstances didn’t play in our favor, but that’s going to happen sometimes, especially with the format they run. It’s a little bit of a lottery what you get at these races when they draw and do the passing points.”
Swindell, who was driving for A.G. Rains, opened the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event on Friday by advancing from third to second place in a heat race. He then finished where he started – fourth – in a qualifier to rank 11th in overall points and start the main event on the inside of the sixth row.
“The first night we were able to move up in our heat and then that started us fourth in the qualifier,” he said. “The track wasn’t very wide and I was trying to pass a guy for second. He slipped up and I had to check up and that let Johnny Herrera get by us.
“The race track was pretty fast and pretty heavy. In the main event it took a while to get through some of the traffic. Every time we had a caution I gained positions on the restart. I’m sure with just a little more time we could have got more than that.”
Swindell used a late rally to capture a fourth-place finish, which locked him directly into Saturday’s feature redraw.
“That definitely makes it a lot easier for Saturday night knowing we’re going to be in the top four,” he said. “They left me the No. 2 starting spot because I was the last to draw.”
Swindell pulled the No. 2 during the random draw to start the feature on the outside of the front row.
“The track was rubber down around the bottom so you had to be down there,” he said. “On the initial start I was on the outside and there was just a lane on the bottom. John Carney II was able to get out ahead of me so I pulled in right behind him. He went to the middle and I drove right under him, but there was a wreck on the frontstretch so we had to start again. After that he made sure he stayed on the bottom and there were quite a few times I was pushing him and clearly faster, but in this case the race track won. There wasn’t much we could do. We didn’t lap a car until the last lap of the race. There were a couple of times he’d slip and I’d get inside of him, but he’d close the door on me.”
Swindell stayed within striking distance throughout the 25-lap main event, but ultimately came up a couple tenths of a second shy of earning the victory. Swindell’s second-place finish gives he and Rains nine podium finishes in 10 races together.
Swindell will return to the Blazin’ Racin’ team this Friday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rumble on the River and Saturday at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, Okla., for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Twister Showdown with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.
“I think I’ve won the most races at Lakeside of anybody in a 410 sprint car,” he said. “I’m looking forward to going back there and trying to get another win. Salina has been a nice track. I like the track and I’d like to get a win there, too.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 14 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 2 (3); Qualifier: 4 (4); Feature: 4 (11).
Oct. 15 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Feature: 2 (2).
UP NEXT –
Friday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rumble on the River and Saturday at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, Okla., for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Twister Showdown with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.SammySwindell1.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/1sam91
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Simpson Race Products
Simpson Race Products is an American motor sports parts business that supplies gloves, helmets, harness systems, driver’s suits, head restraints, shoes and more ranging from racers at local tracks to international teams. For more information, visit http://www.SimpsonRaceProducts.com.
“Simpson Race Products has been with me since 1974,” Swindell said. “They’ve been keeping me safe for more than 40 years.”
Swindell would also like to thank Acme Graphix, J. Davidson Scrap Metal Processors, John Christner Trucking, High Performance Lubricants, FK Rod Ends, Sweet Manufacturing, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Schoenfeld Headers, MyRacePass and Inside Line Promotions 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 Oct 17, 2016
- Article Date: 10/17/2016 by Inside Line Promotions