Contact: Shawn Miller
Inside Line Promotions
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Big Game Motorsports Driver Swindell Wins at Skagit for First Time Since 1979
Inside Line Promotions – ELMA, Wash. (Sept. 3, 2013) – It was a long-time coming for Big Game Motorsports driver Sammy Swindell, who picked up his first feature victory last Friday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., since 1979.
It kicked off a trio of World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series races in Washington and nine events in a 10-day period across the West Coast.
“That’s pretty cool I guess,” Swindell said. “We had a second there last year so I’ve been close. It seemed like we haven’t had the fortune there. It’s almost like a relief. You’re expected to win; you’re expected to do good. I’ve went through enough years that sometimes stuff just doesn’t go right. It doesn’t matter what you do, it just doesn’t work out. This seems to be one of those years.”
It went well for Swindell on Friday as he qualified ninth quickest and won his heat race to advance to the dash. The dash draw was an eight, putting the Big Game Treestands driver on the pole. He led the entire dash and then did the same in the feature around the 3/10-mile track.
“That’s a big key is being able to be out front,” he said. “We didn’t really get in traffic hardly at all. We’d get there, pass a car and have a yellow. I was able to run the whole night in clean air. It makes a huge difference.”
Big Game Motorsports teammate Craig Dollansky endured a late mechanical issue that thwarted his run inside the top 10. Dollansky, who qualified 10 th quickest and also won a heat race to advance to the dash, spent most of the feature inside the top 10 after placing ninth in the dash with the Eyecon Trail Cameras car.
“The first night at Skagit we had a decent run going,” he said. “In the dash there was a big clump of mud that smashed in a header. We replaced it before the feature, but a couple of header gaskets got damaged. We had a couple of blowouts in the feature. It melted through the nozzle lines. The car started missing and I wasn’t sure what it was. We had a pretty significant miss that progressed as the race went on.”
Dollansky pulled into the pits during a caution and was unable to return, relegating him to a 19th-place result.
However, his results improved at Skagit Speedway on Saturday, when the Eyecon Trail Cameras car qualified 12th quickest, won a heat race and advanced from 10th to sixth place in the dash. Dollansky then spent most of the feature just outside the top five and he finished sixth to record his 38th top-10 result of the season.
“In the feature I just really couldn’t make any progress on the car in front of me,” he said. “The track was in the best shape I’ve seen Skagit in a while. I just wish we would have been better.”
Swindell qualified 22nd quickest and after an opening-lap incident in his heat race, rallied from the back to place fifth in his heat race to garner a spot in the main event. After starting 21st, he rallied despite a cut right rear tire for a 15th-place result, which earned him the KSE Hard Charger Award.
“We had a pretty good run going until we cut the tire down on Saturday,” he said. “We were fortunate that we even got to finish. As soon as we pulled in it only had like three pounds in it.
“It was starting to go down and these tires don’t like being low at all. We can change it a pound from what we’re running and it affects it a lot. It was getting tighter and tighter and falling over more and more.”
The teams wrapped up the annual trek to Washington on Monday at Grays Harbor Raceway. Swindell qualified the Big Game Treestands car second quickest and advanced from fourth to second place in his heat race to lock into the dash.
After finishing eighth in the dash, Swindell started on the outside of the fourth row for the feature, but the Big Game Treestands car got upside down on the opening lap.
“We had a steering issue and the car went into the first turn and something happened,” he said. “I went up the track and (Cody) Darrah got by. I was running in the middle and thought I could run there in turns three and four. It wound up that the car spun. I tried to keep it going. It did a wheel stand and went over backwards.”
The team changed the top wing and returned to restart at the back of the field. Despite a steering issue, Swindell maneuvered to a ninth-place finish – his 37th top 10 of the season.
“I tried to deal with it the best I could,” he said. “The car was really good even though I wasn’t able to run it as hard as I’d like. Everybody moved to the top and I found a spot in the bottom and was able to pick off a few cars. I was down there running that like a pavement car. Even with the issues we had, if I took my time and was careful, I could get it around there.”
Dollansky had an issue of his own after qualifying ninth quickest, winning his heat race and placing seventh in the dash.
“At one point I lost a cylinder and wasn’t sure what happened,” he said. “I committed to the bottom to run around there and see if we could have an open red. At one point under yellow I pulled in to see what was going on. They couldn’t find anything and we just went out there and tried to nurse it home.”
The team found the issue during an open red flag in the closing laps. A spark plug had broke, which the team replaced. The Eyecon Trail Cameras car was able to finish with a 14th-place result.
The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series continues its West Coast swing with a tripleheader in Oregon this week. Willamette Speedway in Lebanon hosts a race on Tuesday, Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove on Wednesday and Southern Oregon Speedway near Medford on Thursday.
The teams will then wrap up the California schedule at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico on Friday and Saturday for the Gold Cup, and at Antioch Speedway in Antioch on Sunday.
QUICK RESULTS –
DOLLANSKY:
Aug. 30 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 10; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 9 (9); Feature: 19 (9).
Aug. 31 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 6 (10); Feature: 6 (6).
Sept. 2 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 7 (8); Feature: 14 (7).
SWINDELL:
Aug. 30 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 1 (1).
Aug. 31 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 22; Heat race: 5 (8); Feature: 15 (21).
Sept. 2 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (4); Dash: 8 (5); Feature: 9 (8).
SEASON STATS –
DOLLANSKY : 63 races, 6 wins, 18 top fives, 38 top 10s, 50 top 15s, 60 top 20s
SWINDELL : 64 races, 3 wins, 15 top fives, 37 top 10s, 53 top 15s, 57 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Tuesday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore.; Wednesday at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore.; Thursday at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore; Friday and Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif.; and Sunday at Antioch Speedway in Antioch, Calif., with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
LIVE AUDIO –
Keep up with Big Game Motorsports via free, live audio from DIRTVision at every World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event throughout the season. For more information, click http://www.DIRTVision.com.
MEDIA LINKS –
Big Game Treestands: http://www.BigGameTreestands.com
Aggressive Hydraulics: http://www.AggressiveHydraulics.com
MobileStar: http://www.MobileStar.us/mobilestarwebsite
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Big_Game_TS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Game-Treestands/251832101535076?fref=ts
BIG GAME TREESTANDS –
Established in 1977 in Windom, Minn., Big Game Treestands has grown to be a leading company in the outdoor industry. Big Game Treestands offers a Rock Solid™ line of field tested, safety certified above TMA requirements, welded steel stands & free standing elevated platforms that gives you not only a safe and extremely sturdy vantage point, but also reliable all-day comfort at a great value. Large, non-slip standing platforms, top-notch fastening systems, and our innovative pinned, sleeved ladder sections provide the Rock Solid™ stance, twist free climbing, and all around silence that Big Game Treestands® is known for. Non-glare, powder coat finish keeps our products hidden from nature’s wary eye.
For over 30 years, it has been our goal and our philosophy to provide the most innovative and practical treestands and hunting accessories in the field. As tradition continues, we are Exceeding Limitations and once again providing new models that challenge Mother Nature. In 2012 Big Game extended the line into Trail Cameras known for the easy to set, great picture quality, and over all great camera Eyecon Trail Cameras exceeds the expectations of consumers. Big Game Treestands® and Eyecon Trail Cameras® offers undeniable quality on time-tested favorites as well as new innovations for 2013.
For more information on Big Game Treestands, visit http://www.BigGameTreestands.com.
EYECON TRAIL CAMERAS ® –
Eyecon Trail Cameras® are premier trail cameras for hunters and outdoorsmen. The Black Widow Trail Camera, Storm Trail Camera and Quikshot Trail Camera provide a variety of options that are user-friendly with exceptional imaging. To learn more about or purchase Eyecon Trail Cameras®, visit http://www.EyeconTrailCameras.com.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.
To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.insidelinepromotions.com.