6/4/2018
Inside Line Promotions
Swindell Captures Feature Victory for 48th Consecutive Season
(Photo courtesy of USCS Series)
Inside Line Promotions – WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (June 4, 2018) – Sammy Swindell earned his first feature win of the season last Thursday to extend his winning streak to a whopping 48 straight years.
Swindell has won at least one race during each season he has competed dating back to 1971 when he was 15-years-old.
“It’s something I never figured would happen, still being as competitive as I am at this age,” he said. “I thought if I make it to the 40s. Then if I can get to the 50s. I’m still having a good time and enjoy it. It’s been my passion. People ask me when I’m going to stop. I’ll stop when I can’t win.”
Swindell and car owner A.G. Rains invaded the final three USCS Series Speedweek shows last weekend beginning on Thursday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala. Swindell advanced from fourth to second place in a heat race before he won the A Main after starting fourth.
“(Derek) Hagar took off and was running the bottom,” he said. “I tried going to the top, but it was pretty dirty. We had a restart and I went down to the bottom and could run with him no problem. After a couple of laps I went back to the top and got it cleaned off. I drove around him about eight or nine laps in and stayed up there the rest of the race. Other than some traffic it was pretty smooth sailing.”
Swindell dedicated the triumph to his friend Jim Wahlie, who recently passed away.
“We got to be friends,” Swindell said. “He had a car that some different people drove. I never drove for him because I always had other deals. He had a motorcycle in the trailer. We’d ride bikes during the week and race on the weekend. He was a good friend. I know he’s in peace now.”
Swindell traveled to Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss., on Friday. He advanced from fourth to second place in the dash before charging from seventh to win a heat race. That put him on the pole for the main event.
“We got a good start and took off,” he said. “They said we had over a straightway lead. We ran up on the first pack of cars. There were about 10 of them running sometimes three and four wide. Hagar slid through there and got ahead. I could run him back down, but he could pass the guys at the end of the straightaway and get back up in the best lane. I’d get stuck following the guys through the corner. It was hard to get through the traffic. When I’d get free I’d run Hagar back down. I think that happened about five times. Sometimes it goes that way where it doesn’t line up.”
Swindell, who placed second, wrapped up the weekend on Saturday at Riverside International Speedway. He ended third in the dash before winning a heat race. That started him on the inside of the fifth row for the A Main.
“The race track was only halfway up and it had a pretty big cushion up there,” he said. “It was hard to get up there and run. The track was better through the middle or the bottom so it was narrow. It was hard to get by guys, but we kept plugging away. I got to second with about three laps to go. I made up some ground on the guy leading, but he was too far out for me to run him down.”
The back-to-back runner-up results gives Swindell seven second-place finishes this season. He has earned eight podiums and 10 top fives during 11 360ci winged sprint car starts this season. His worst result was a sixth-place run during his season opener, which he started 14th.
Swindell and Rains intend to run the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com Speedweek, which features six races in nine days. The action begins this weekend with events on Friday at West Texas Speedway in Lubbock, Texas, and Saturday at Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo, Texas. Teams will have two days off before racing four nights during a five-night stretch next week.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 31 – Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala. – Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 1 (4).
June 1 – Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss. – Dash: 2 (4); Heat race: 1 (7); Feature: 2 (1).
June 2 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Dash: 3 (2); Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 2 (9).
SEASON STATS –
18 races, 1 win, 11 top fives, 13 top 10s, 13 top 15s, 13 top 20s
UP NEXT –
LUCAS OIL ASCS NATIONAL TOUR SPEEDWEEK – Friday at West Texas Speedway in Lubbock, Texas; Saturday at Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo, Texas; June 12 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas; June 13 at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla.; June 14 at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla.; and June 16 at Salina Speedway in Salina, Kan.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.SammySwindell1.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/1sam91
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“I’ve run some of the High Performance Lubricants products and the product we put in the rear end and the steering made it run cooler,” Swindell said. “We did a bunch of oil analysis before and after and found some great things using High Performance Lubricants.”
Swindell would also like to thank ACME Graphix & Design, Whitacre Glass, CP Pistons, FK Rod Ends, Simpson Race Products, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Sweet Manufacturing, Schoenfeld Headers, W&B Service Company, Griffin Fishing Charters and Lodge, South Bay Partners, 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.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller