October 26, 1955
Sammy Swindell
(photo credit: Ted Van Pelt via photopin cc)
Born in Germantown, Tennessee, USA.
One of the most recognized names in American motorsports, Sammy Swindell grew up watching his father behind the wheel at many of their local Memphis, Tennessee dirt tracks. In 1971, at the age of fifteen, Sammy took to the dirt at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas. In his rookie season, the oldest of two racing Swindell brothers won eleven feature events.
Now retired, he is a three-time champion and four-time runner-up in the World of Outlaws series; he has also competed in NASCAR and Champ Car competition.
He won his first two titles in 1981 and 1982 driving the famous Nance Speed Equipment #1. He won his third title in 1997 driving his own Channel Lock sponsored #1 team car. Sammy has hundreds of A-main victories to his credit. He also competed in the CART series in 1985 and 1986 and failed to qualify for the 1987 Indianapolis 500 in a March-Pontiac.
Swindell made his debut in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the 1985 Atlanta Journal 500; in 1991, he planned to move full-time to the Winston Cup Series, competing for Rookie of the Year for Moroso Racing, but he was fired by the team following several spins during Speedweeks and crashing again in qualifying for the second race of the year at Richmond International Raceway. Following his release returned to sprint car racing.
Swindell ran a limited schedule in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1993. The team closed mid-season, and he returned to sprint cars once more. Swindell also competed in a full season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, driving for Akins-Sutton Motorsports, where he finished 12th in points, scoring five top-ten finishes in the series' inaugural season.
In his career he has over 300 World of Outlaws feature wins. 2007 was his 35th consecutive year as a race car driver, racing beside his 18-year-old son Kevin. He's a five-time winner of the prestigious Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, the only driver to win it more than three times, until his son Kevin won his fourth straight race in 2013. During the 2008 season he raced in northern California winning a main event in the California Civil War Series in Placerville and also at the famed Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California. Swindell is considered one of the best driver/setup men in the business. He is know for experimenting with innovative technology.
Inherently, Swindell is a shy and private person. Over the years he has earned the reputation of being "all business" at the race track, and much of that reputation can be attributed to a very focused approach to his chosen profession. The best description of Sammy may have come from legendary sprint car owner, LaVerne Nance, the man with whom Sammy won two "World of Outlaws" championships. "When he's at the track or working on the car, it's a living to him and he takes it real seriously. A lot of people don't understand that. He has worked hard all of his life to be successful in racing."
Away from his job, Sammy can relax and chat away for hours on a variety of different subjects. That's a side that most people will never get to see. It's the side where he and Kevin, work on Kevin’s cars or he and close friends just sit and chat away about racing. His brother Jeff, is still an active and successful sprint car driver.
On August 25, 2014, Swindell announced he was retiring from racing, though he intends to race in the Chili Bowl Nationals.
In 2015 Swindell made short work of retirement and signed with Chad and Jenn Clemens owners of CJB Motorsports out of Telford, PA. Sammy ran a partial schedule and will do the same in 2016. Sam stated he has no intention of running a full schedule anymore, but picks and chooses the races he wants to run. This benefits the team with testing and keeps him active in the sport he loves.
Achievements;
1981, 1982, 1997 World of Outlaws Champion.
1983 Knoxville Nationals Winner.
1989, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2009 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Winner.
1992, 1999, 2012 Eldora Kings Royal Winner.
Collect your Sammy Swindell 2014 Big Game Treestands 1:24 Nascar Diecast collectible car today!
Born in Germantown, Tennessee, USA.
One of the most recognized names in American motorsports, Sammy Swindell grew up watching his father behind the wheel at many of their local Memphis, Tennessee dirt tracks. In 1971, at the age of fifteen, Sammy took to the dirt at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas. In his rookie season, the oldest of two racing Swindell brothers won eleven feature events.
Now retired, he is a three-time champion and four-time runner-up in the World of Outlaws series; he has also competed in NASCAR and Champ Car competition.
He won his first two titles in 1981 and 1982 driving the famous Nance Speed Equipment #1. He won his third title in 1997 driving his own Channel Lock sponsored #1 team car. Sammy has hundreds of A-main victories to his credit. He also competed in the CART series in 1985 and 1986 and failed to qualify for the 1987 Indianapolis 500 in a March-Pontiac.
Swindell made his debut in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the 1985 Atlanta Journal 500; in 1991, he planned to move full-time to the Winston Cup Series, competing for Rookie of the Year for Moroso Racing, but he was fired by the team following several spins during Speedweeks and crashing again in qualifying for the second race of the year at Richmond International Raceway. Following his release returned to sprint car racing.
Swindell ran a limited schedule in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1993. The team closed mid-season, and he returned to sprint cars once more. Swindell also competed in a full season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, driving for Akins-Sutton Motorsports, where he finished 12th in points, scoring five top-ten finishes in the series' inaugural season.
In his career he has over 300 World of Outlaws feature wins. 2007 was his 35th consecutive year as a race car driver, racing beside his 18-year-old son Kevin. He's a five-time winner of the prestigious Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, the only driver to win it more than three times, until his son Kevin won his fourth straight race in 2013. During the 2008 season he raced in northern California winning a main event in the California Civil War Series in Placerville and also at the famed Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California. Swindell is considered one of the best driver/setup men in the business. He is know for experimenting with innovative technology.
Inherently, Swindell is a shy and private person. Over the years he has earned the reputation of being "all business" at the race track, and much of that reputation can be attributed to a very focused approach to his chosen profession. The best description of Sammy may have come from legendary sprint car owner, LaVerne Nance, the man with whom Sammy won two "World of Outlaws" championships. "When he's at the track or working on the car, it's a living to him and he takes it real seriously. A lot of people don't understand that. He has worked hard all of his life to be successful in racing."
Away from his job, Sammy can relax and chat away for hours on a variety of different subjects. That's a side that most people will never get to see. It's the side where he and Kevin, work on Kevin’s cars or he and close friends just sit and chat away about racing. His brother Jeff, is still an active and successful sprint car driver.
On August 25, 2014, Swindell announced he was retiring from racing, though he intends to race in the Chili Bowl Nationals.
In 2015 Swindell made short work of retirement and signed with Chad and Jenn Clemens owners of CJB Motorsports out of Telford, PA. Sammy ran a partial schedule and will do the same in 2016. Sam stated he has no intention of running a full schedule anymore, but picks and chooses the races he wants to run. This benefits the team with testing and keeps him active in the sport he loves.
Achievements;
1981, 1982, 1997 World of Outlaws Champion.
1983 Knoxville Nationals Winner.
1989, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2009 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Winner.
1992, 1999, 2012 Eldora Kings Royal Winner.
Collect your Sammy Swindell 2014 Big Game Treestands 1:24 Nascar Diecast collectible car today!
No comments:
Post a Comment