(Photo by Scott Frazier)
Inside Line Promotions – WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (Nov. 16, 2015) – Sammy Swindell capped his season with a runner-up result last Saturday at Riverside International Speedway during the USCS Fall Nationals.
Swindell, who drove for A.G. Rains during the USCS Series season finale, kicked off the night by advancing from fifth to third place during a heat race.
“We were starting on the inside and it was definitely slick down there,” he said. “Every start the outside row would get a good run. One start I was back to seventh. It was pretty exciting. I think I had three different guys spin in front of me going into turn one. I had to avoid all that. It seemed like it took a while to get through that heat. We had a lot of yellows, but the car was good and I almost got second off the last corner running the bottom.”
That ranked Swindell seventh in overall points and locked him into the seventh starting position for the 40-lap feature around the quarter-mile oval.
“It was hard because the top was really the only fast lane,” he said. “You needed to be up there. In that short of a track it made it pretty tough. Most of the people I passed was when they made a mistake and I got a run on them and passed them at the other end or if we got in traffic. It was hard to pass people.”
Swindell rallied into the runner-up position two thirds of the way through the feature and he had a late-race restart that gave him one last shot at the leader.
“You had to be in the right place and on line to put your car in the right direction to get through the bumps to get off the corners,” he said. “It was a little tricky. Toward the end when I got to second with Tim Crawley in front we had a few yellows and he had an open track. He was better off turn four and I was better off turn two. On the restarts he could control that and I’d lose a couple of car lengths because that’s where I wasn’t as good. On the last one I found a little bit more down in turns one and two and was able to keep pace with him, but passing him would have been really hard unless he made a mistake.”
Swindell finished second, which marked his 17th top five of the season.
“I want to thank A.G. for the opportunity,” he said. “It’s a lot different being in a different car working with different people, but we didn’t have any issues. We were able to work on little things to make it fit me better.
“Also, thanks to the USCS Series and Riverside International Speedway for doing a benefit for Kevin. I was really surprised. It all worked out really good.”
Swindell said approximately $7,000 was raised during the event to aid in Kevin Swindell’s recovery from a sprint car crash in August.
QUICK RESULTS –
Nov. 14 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 3 (5); Feature: 2 (7).
SEASON STATS –
41 races, 4 wins, 17 top fives, 24 top 10s, 34 top 15s, 37 top 20s
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.