CJB Drivers Take on Las Vegas and Dual in Desert, Gravel and Swindell flash speed as Outlaws continue to make their trip west
Story By:KYLE LEUTTERS /CJB MOTORSPORTS MEDIA Photos By: TOMMY HEIN / RACERSGUIDE.COM
CARLISLE, PA. – March 10, 2016 – In the desert, it’s often times a case of “feast or famine.” Legendary tales are told of desperados and cowboys. Their exploits become the fabric woven into their myths.
For the CJB Motorspiorts duo of David Gravel & Sammy Swindell, the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series stops at Las Vegas Motorspeedway and Arizona Speedway told a tale of two different heroes.
Gravel, the young hot shoe, rolled into Vegas on the strength of three consecutive top-5 finishes. With hopes high, Gravel ended up rolling snake eyes in Sin City.
“We qualified well on the first night at Vegas,” said Gravel, driver of the Big Game Treestands, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5. “We missed it a little bit in the heat race. By the time the feature rolled around, the track was slick and one lane. I tried to pick up some spots on the outside but that wasn’t working. The next night, we started our heat second but fell back. Danny Lasoski had a flat tire and we got tangled up with him. The sent us to the B-main, which went smooth. We were making up some spots in the feature when a fuel nozzle got knocked off. We had to go to the work area and that’s why we finished where we started, 21st.”
Down, but not out, Gravel and the #5 team rebounded in a strong way at Arizona Speedway near Queen Creek, Ariz.
Timing in 10th positioned Gravel well for a strong heat race run. Entry into the dash and a good draw put the Watertown, Conn. on the pole. He held on and earned the right to start in the first position for the 30 lap feature event.
“We had a good draw to start the night,” said Gravel, who scooped up his 4th top-5 of the season at Arizona Speedway. “We won the dash and that set us up well for the feature. I should have started on the outside because Joey (Saldana) took off and go around us using that line from the get go. I wished I would’ve been more aggressive early on. We had a great car that night. We ended up second to Shane (Stewart) but it was a great night for us.”.
If Gravel’s three race stretch was high-risk, high-reward, veteran Sammy Swindell was the “cool customer” at the casino. One look at the three time Outlaw champion would convince many that the driver has an incredible poker face and nerves of steel. Swindell raced into Vegas and kept his #1 machine in the hunt all weekend long.
“We had some ‘ok’ nights in Vegas,” said Swindell, driver of the #1 Big Game Treestands, GoMuddy.com. “We just weren’t quite right on night number one. It seems like we are just out of luck a bit. We actually made a late change to the car before the A-main on the first night so we got penalized a row. We eventually went forward. On night two, we got used up a bit in the dash and lost some spots before we made it to turn one. I also got up into the grease and that caused us to lose a few spots. We started off 6th in the feature and it seemed like there was always something we were having to avoid like a car coming across the nose or something. It was hard to get our momentum going and that’s why we fell back.”
After a trek west through the desert, Swindell once again proved that a veterans perspective is invaluable as he battled back at Arizona Speedway.
“There wasn’t a ton of grip in that first heat race,” said Swindell. “We just kept trying and plugging away. We couldn’t ever seem to start or restart in the right line so it took some time to get going. There seems to be a real fine line between success and struggling right now and we’re on the wrong side of it. Heading into Tulare, we’re going to try some new things.”
Gravel and Swindell leave the desert behind and head for the state of California, which will host the series for the better part of the next month. Up first is one of the most exciting tracks on the circuit; Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare. Swindell won at the tricky, 1/3rd mile oval in 2005 while Gravel is looking to add his name to the record books.
“Tulare has treated me really well,” said Gravel. “You have to run right up next to the boards there. You also have to keep your nose clean. It’s very important in order to have success there. It’s a fun track so I am looking forward to it.”
“It’s a place where you can really get after it,” said Swindell of the track. “I feel like it’s a place where the driver can make a big difference. You can hustle a car around there to pick up time. It’s a place where you just have to go for it and that’s what we will do.”
CAR #5 2016 STATS:
Events: 10
Quick Times: 0
Wins: 0
Top-5’s: 4
Top-10’s: 5
Heat Race Wins: 4
Dash Wins: 1
Average Time Trial: 8.8
Average A-main finish: 10.9
Total Laps Led: 0
CAR #1 2016 STATS:
Events: 10
Quick Times: 0
Wins: 0
Top-5’s: 3
Top-10’s: 4
Heat Race Wins: 2
Dash Wins: 0
Average Time Trial: 13.1
Average A-main finish: 11.3
Total Laps Led: 0
UP NEXT:
Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. will host the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series on Friday, March 11th and Saturday, March 12th .
STAY CONNECTED WITH CJB MOTORSPORTS:
For up to the minute race updates and behind the scenes content from CJB Motorsports, please follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Fans can also listen to all of the racing action live at www.DirtVision.com.
DRIVER GEAR:
Check out the latest Sammy Swindell apparel and merchandise by visiting Sammy’s official online store as well as the R&R Racewear superstore, the webs largest collection of dirt track racing apparel and merchandise.
ABOUT CJB MOTORSPORTS:
CJB Motorsports is a winged, 410 sprint car team that competes across the country with drivers David Gravel & Sammy Swindell. Founded in 2005, the Chad and Jenn Clemens owned organization has worked to establish a standard of excellence in short track racing through fielding competitive entries and providing exceptional exposure for marketing partners. The team is based out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
CJB Motorsports would like to thank all of our loyal sponsors and product manufacturers for their support and great products. Click on the name of the partner below to be taken to their website for more information.
Partners: Mainstream Holdings, Big Game Treestands, Muddy, J.R.C.Transportation Inc., Bairs Tree Service, Nyce, Crete & Landis Block and Concrete, All Star Performance, Henry Dunn Insurance, C&S Lawn and Landscape, Ecynbro Trucking
Manufacturers: Astro Titanium, Arctic Cat, ATL Fuel Cells, Blackbeard Ltd., Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gaskets, Energy Release, Fastener Specialties, FK Rod Ends, Factory Kahne Shocks, High Performance Lubricants, HRP Wings, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Kistler Engines, KSE Racing Products, Lincoln Welders, Moose Blocks, Inc., MSD Ignition, Outerwears, Safety-Klean, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson, Sweet Engineering, TI22, Walker Performance Filters, Weld Racing, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance.
