Sammy Swindell Will Attempt to Win His Sixth Golden Driller This Weekend During The Chili Bowl Nationals
Story By: BRYAN HULBERT/ CHILI BOWL NATIONALS MEDIA
Photos By: TOMMY HEIN / RACERSGUIDE.COM
TULSA, Okla. —January 10, 2017- Sammy Swindell is out for vengeance at this year’s 31st annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals Presented by General Tire.
Swindell has won the most events — five — and has earned the most Vacuworx Invitational Race of Champions wins — four — during the premier midget event inside the River Spirit Expo Center.
However, he is looking to erase the sour memories from last year’s event when he returns to the bullring this Tuesday for the Race of Champions before his preliminary night on Wednesday.
“It was disappointing last year,” he said. “I got beat up a lot. We tore up a lot of stuff that normally doesn’t happen. I felt like we had a good car, good enough to race and win; just the circumstances of being in the wrong place got us last year more than anything else.”
Swindell is optimistic about his chances to claim his sixth title in a race car he only gets to drive once a year.
“Every time I’ve been in one I’ve been competitive,” he said. “Not doing it a lot says something too I guess. Most of the time it’s been a little bit of fun and something different. When you get to do something different, once a year, it has a little more fun to it.”
Swindell was victorious at the prestigious event in 1989, 1992, 1996, 1998 and 2009.
“We built a new car for this year, but it’s not much different,” he said. “We wanted to improve on what’s been working; things you learn from one year to the next. The dirt there changes and the way they do the track changes so we’ve had to do a few things over the years to be good.”
• USAC open-wheel veteran Justin Grant will drive a sixth Clauson-Marshall Racing midget in the event held inside River Spirit Center.
With the addition of Grant, Clauson-Marshall Racing may have the most star-studded driver lineup in Chili Bowl history with eight-time World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz, Knoxville Nationals winner Jason Johnson, two-time NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and up-and-coming USAC stars Tyler Courtney and Shane Golobic.
• Johnny Herrera is aiming to make his first A Main during the Chili Bowl Nationals finale.
Herrera will pilot a midget for Roger and Lara Miller when he takes to the track on Wednesday night.
“I’ve driven for them off and on since about 2010 or 2011,” he said. “It’s an event and a good time. You still want to do well of course, but that’s the competitive nature of everyone who races. At the same time it’s to have a little fun.”
Herrera said his best Chili Bowl performance was advancing into a B Main during the finale and he is hoping to top that performance this year.
“I believe the best I’ve got is the B Main,” he said. “I’ve been all over the map in the C Mains and D Mains. A couple of years ago was my best shot and then we had an engine failure. We lost oil pressure and hurt a motor like two laps in.”
Herrera will also be a car owner for the first time at the Chili Bowl. He has partnered with John Stroud to put together a car for driver Bricen James out of Oregon. James, whose Chili Bowl preliminary night is Thursday, finished 16th in December during the Junior Knepper 55 at the Southern Illinois Center in DuQuoin, Ill.
“In DuQuoin he had a fairly decent run,” Herrera said. “He made the main event in his first time in a midget. I thought he did a good job for never being in a midget. We’re looking forward to the Chili Bowl after he’s got some laps under his belt.”
• Sprint car driver Ryan Smith has developed a deep friendship with fellow driver and car builder Ryan Linder.
Smith lives in Pennsylvania and Linder in Arizona. That friendship has opened the door for Smith to compete once again in midget racing’s biggest event — the 31st annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.
While racing a winged sprint car for Linder in Arizona this past fall, Smith was introduced to Mickey Meyers, who is the crew chief on the midget team owned by NASCAR driver Alex Bowman.
“Ryan made this happen,” Smith said. “He’s friends with Mickey and introduced us and we started taking and the next thing I knew I had a ride for the Chili Bowl. Ryan is a hell of a fabricator. He’s a good guy and has become a very close friend.”
This will mark the fourth Chili Bowl Nationals for Smith and his first since 2013.
“I had some very good rides at the Chili Bowl with Steve Buckwalter and with the Heffner No. 27,” he said. “My second year we missed the transfer spot into Saturday’s A Main by one spot. Last time I was at the Chili Bowl I was the first guy on his lid. Some cars checked up in warm-ups and BAM, I’m upside down. After that we struggled the rest of the week.”
Smith said he, Bowman and Meyers have clicked right away.
“Alex is a great guy,” Smith said. “He eats, sleeps and breathes racing like I do. He’s committed to this deal one thousand percent. Me and Alex and Mickey gelled right away. We are focused on putting this hot rod in the A Main on Saturday.”
• As of Sunday night, 375 entries had been filed for the Chili Bowl with the majority hitting the track for practice on Monday night.
• Sylvania Northview (Ohio) High School student Austin Nemire won’t be in school this week. He’ll be spending the week participating in the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals inside the River Spirit Expo Center.
Nemire has teamed up with legendary team owner and car builder Bob East for the Chili Bowl, driving the No. 4 Klatt Racing/East Enterprises/Beast Ford. He’s a teammate to former Chili Bowl winner Damion Gardner in the No. 71 Klatt midget.
“This is the most intense race of the whole year,” Nemire said. “Every lap matters every time you’re on the track. If you have one bad lap in your heat race or your qualifying race on your qualifying night, it could mean the difference between making the A-main that night or not. And that could mean the difference between making it on Saturday or not.”
