(Photo by DB3 Imaging)
Inside Line Promotions – ROSSBURG, Ohio (July 18, 2017) – A mechanical problem hampered last week for Sammy Swindell, who entered the busy week in Ohio with high expectations before he ended it by taking advantage of a unique opportunity.
Swindell and car owner A.G. Rains made their 410ci winged sprint car season debut on Tuesday during the Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park in Attica with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.
“The engine didn’t accelerate as good as it should and that hurt us in qualifying,” he said. “We were a little step out all night.”
The team worked to adjust to the new engine throughout the night, which resulted in a 17th-place qualifying result in their group and a seventh-place heat race finish before Swindell placed second in the C Main. Officials deemed the team was late to staging for the Last Chance Showdown and wouldn’t allow Swindell to compete so the night ended early.
“We were working on it all night long and sometimes the car reacts different to how the engine is so it was a long work in progress,” he said.
Unfortunately, a mechanical problem during qualifying on Thursday during the opening night of the three-day Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway ended the weekend early for the Rains team. Swindell thought he would be out of action for the remainder of the event, but his son, Kevin, offered him a ride for Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finale.
“It’s always been the other way around with Kevin driving for me,” Sammy Swindell said. “Everything went really well. The car was pretty good. We qualified decent for the caliber of cars that were there. We had a pretty good run in our heat. The car wasn’t as good as we liked for it to be. There were some things we’d like to be different. Kevin did find a problem with the right rear shock after the event.”
Swindell qualified 18th quickest and he placed third in a heat race to lock into the 18th starting position for the 40-lap main event.
“We tried to make the best of it starting that far back,” he said. “When we filled it with fuel the first part of the race the car just wasn’t as good as it should be. We lost some spots. As we lost some fuel we passed a bunch of guys back. At that place unless your car is exceptional it was hard to pass.”
Swindell rebounded from the slow start to post a 19th-place finish. It marked the 28th time in the 34-year history of the event that Swindell made the main event.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 11 – Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: 7 (6); C Main: 2 (1); B Main: DNS (16).
July 13 – Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: DNS (9); C Main: DNS (14).
July 15 – Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio – Qualifying: 18; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 19 (18).
SEASON STATS –
17 races, 1 win, 5 top fives, 10 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 13 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.SammySwindell1.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/1sam91
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Rossie Feed & Grain
“Jon Black, who owns Rossie Feed & Grain, is a race fan we got to know and who has turned into a friend,” Swindell said. “Rossie Feed & Grain has been with me since I went to the Big Game car and has been a part of our Chili Bowl team. We are very appreciative of Jon’s support.”
Swindell would also like to thank John Christner Trucking, CP Pistons, Acme Graphix & Design, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Simpson Race Products, High Performance Lubricants, FK Rod Ends, Sweet Manufacturing, 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 Jul 18, 2017
- Article Date: 7/18/2017 by Inside Line Promotions