(Photo by DB3 Imaging)
Inside Line Promotions – ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. (Sept. 27, 2015) – Sammy Swindell is primed for this week’s 53rd annual National Open.
Swindell and CJB Motorsports took advantage of a tune-up race for the $50,000-to-win World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., this Thursday through Saturday by competing at the half-mile oval last Friday.
“Instead of focusing on trying to win that race, we were focusing on trying to win the race next weekend,” he said. “The whole point was to try to find some things to make us stronger where we’ve been weak. We learned some stuff. Hopefully it’s enough.”
Swindell qualified second quickest and he advanced from fourth to second place in a heat race, which locked him into the dash.
“We had a few things we wanted to try,” he said. “I don’t think I made the best first lap in qualifying and on the second lap I tried to run the bottom and it wasn’t as fast. The heat was pretty good though.”
Swindell then finished seventh in the dash to start the main event on the inside of the fourth row.
“We went the wrong direction with the setup in the dash so we did some other changes we haven’t done and the car was pretty good for the feature,” he said. “It wasn’t perfect, but it will give us a direction of where to be this week. Some of it I liked and some of it I didn’t.
“Starting seventh, once you get rolling, especially when it’s just around the top, it’s hard to do a lot. Being around other cars affects the car a lot. You have to run at a place on the track that’s not as quick and still try to pass someone. Most of the passing is done in the first half of a lap on a start or restart. Every restart I think we moved forward. We’ve definitely got that part of it figured out.”
Swindell picked up a trio of positions to post a fourth-place finish, which marked his 16th top five of the season.
The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at Lincoln Speedway for the 2nd annual Dirt Classic.
Swindell qualified seventh quickest and he held on to a runner-up finish in his first heat race despite a cut in the line of a bleeder for one of the tires. Swindell then rallied from seventh to third place during his second heat race to rank fifth in overall points, which started him on the inside of the third row for the feature.
“The start of the race didn’t work out for us,” he said. “I got run out of room and hit the fence around the second or third lap. It bent the right rear wheel so it had a bit of a slow leak in the tire. It knocked a bit of air out of it right away. It was going down and I was trying to feel it out. I wasn’t sure if we had the car too tight or what. It just kept going down.”
Swindell pulled off the track during a caution prior to the midpoint and his team wasn’t able to get the bent wheel replaced before the race restarted. He was credited with a 22nd-place result.
Now the focus shifts to the National Open, which Swindell won in 2010 and 1997.
“I think we can win,” he said. “I’ve ran well every time I’ve been in the CJB car this season and we’ve finished in the top five all three races at Williams Grove this year so we have a good shot this weekend.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 26 – Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (4); Dash: 7 (5); Feature: 4 (7).
Sept. 27 – Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race #1: 2 (2); Heat race #2: 3 (7); Feature: 22 (5).
SEASON STATS –
37 races, 4 wins, 16 top fives, 23 top 10s, 31 top 15s, 33 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday through Saturday at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., for the 53rd annual National Open 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, FK Rod Ends, High Performance Lubricants, Sweet Manufacturing, Simpson Race Products, Brown & 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 Sep 27, 2015
- Article Date: 9/27/2015 by Inside Line Promotions