WOO: Channellock's Swindell Holds Fifth Spot in WOO Points Chase
19 April 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
GRANITE CITY, IL- Sammy Swindell and his Channellock #1 continued to show consistency this past weekend in World of Outlaws action, and remain in fifth place in the 2000 points standings. Swindell finished third at Tri-City Speedway's Big Bud Shootout behind race-winner, Steve Kinser and second-place Donny Schatz. The third place finish was his second top-five finish of the weekend after running fifth at West Plains Motor Speedway on Friday night.
"The Channellock car worked well this weekend, but we're not satisfied with a fifth and a third, " said Swindell. "On Saturday, we didn't qualify as well as we normally do (8th), but that helped us start up front in our heat race. Winning our heat race and finishing second in the Channellock Dash put us in the front for the "A" Feature. Track position makes a big difference this year. We were able to pass some guys late in the race. It just seemed like we need a little more time, but we're not disappointed with third."
Swindell began the 30-lap "A" Feature in the fourth spot and spent the early portions of the race holding down fifth place while battling Dale Blaney and Stevie Smith. The three drivers exchanged positions several times, before a red flag stopped the race after 10 laps. The Channellock #1 seemed to get stronger the longer the race went on, and by lap 20, Swindell had moved his way up to third, looking to chase down Schatz and Kinser. Swindell ran out of laps, but was closing in on the leaders when the checkered flag waived.
Swindell kicked off the weekend on Friday night by qualifying second fastest at West Plains Motor Speedway. His third place finish in the second heat race qualified the Channellock #1 for the "A" Feature. Following his sixth place finish in the Channellock Dash, Swindell started the 30-lap feature in 12th and raced his way to a fifth place finish.
"The Goodyear Tires made a big difference at West Plains," said Swindell. "The top six guys were on Goodyear's and we really felt good in the feature. As tough as passing has been this season, we felt pretty good about coming from 12th to fifth."
With fifteen races behind them, Swindell and the Channellock crew are confident things are going in the right direction, and they feel it's just a matter of time before they win their first race of the 2000 season. "All in all, the Channellock Team has had a pretty decent start to the season," said Swindell. "There have been some nights when we had the best car at the track, and we haven't had any nights when we had the worst car. We're going to just keep working hard and we know we'll get where we want to be." Swindell and the Channellock #1 Team will make their first appearance on the high-banks of Eldora Speedway on April 21-22. Swindell claimed last year's $50,000 King's Royal at the Western Ohio 1/2-mile dirt oval located just north of Dayton.
Text provided by Racing PR
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