Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Being a non-Sammy fan, I am ususally very critical of the things he does.  However, last night at Lakeside he did something that generally made me smile.   There for a while I was actually cheering for him.  

I walked the pits before the races, and watched as Bobby Allen was changing in engine for one of his cars.   It has been mention numberous times on this board how they are working very hard to make things work on a tight budget.   I was really surprised on how few people they had working on the cars.   Thus, I was interested on how they got the cars to the track.   So, in the first heat race one of the Allen cars was being pushed on to the track.   The person on the four wheeler pushing the car was none other than Sammy Swindell.   There was quite a buzz in the stands around me because no-one was expecting to see another driver push a car onto the track, much less to see Sammy do it.   It made me smile.  

I think many would be surprised at the things Sammy does for other drivers/teams.  He might have a very short fuse but he does a lot to help drivers....especially young ones just coming on to the circuit.  I would love to have his sprint car knowledge!!!

 
I LEARNED ESP FROM MY MOM

"PUT YOUR SWEATER ON: DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW WHEN 
YOU'RE COLD?"

Sammy gets a A+ for the day!!

Great post, thanks for sharing!

Great post! Exactly what this forum needs more of!   

Another former Outlaw driver told me the same thing, that he owes a lot to Sammy for all the help he gave him behind the scenes.  Sammy is a quiet guy but he has always been been gracious about answering questions and posing for photos when I wanted something for a story.  These guys are just people like the rest of us and they all have their own unique personalities just like all of us.  I think that back in the day when guys like Sammy and Steve started out they just wanted to race and didn't give any thought to being bigger than life legends 40 years down the road.  They probably didn't even give any thought to making a living doing this in the beginning.  They just wanted to race on the weekends, the timing was right, the WoO was formed and the rest is history.  There was no internet back then and we had to wait two weeks for NSSN to come in the mail so we could find out who won at tracks we had never seen.  Nowadays their every move is scrutinized on an internet that didn't even exist when they started racing. 

Stan Meissner

I too saw Sammy pushing the car. It brought a smile to my face. The perception of Sammy is so far off by so many people its almost laughable, but actually sad. It wasnt even that big a deal. He was most likely heading up there to look at the track as Logans car would have been sitting there between his trailer and the track. But it was a simple friendly gesture that people actually got to see. I'd be willing to bet Sammy has done more for that team somewhere along the line that far outweighs pushing him to staging on the track.

Bobby, Jacob and Logan where the only 3 there last night, running a two car team. Most of the other teams had 4-5 crew guys a piece for each car. They where very gracious for any little very simple help (I pushed Jacobs car out of the narrow opening he had blocked because he couldnt get to the trailer with the crowd standing around watching McCarls team work after he tore up his car in hot laps). Those two kids are putting in the work to live their dreams, dont let ANYONE tell you they arent.

Who do you think provided his time trial tires to Brooke Tatnell when he was getting started in the States? 

I remember Sammy Hot-Lapping somebody's car at Eldora about 15 years ago, forget what the deal was but I know he was just helping somebody out.  He has done lots of this kind of stuff over the years as has another pretty famous driver who might not get the acclaim either, Brent Kaeding.  My CA friends have told me many stories about him helping out those that needed it, especially newbies to the sport.  To be honest I'll bet the vast majority of the big dogs have done more than their share over the years, I know I saw lots of it during the time I spent on the road with 'em....

I recall an interview with Al Unser Jr. talking about his early days in sprint cars, specifically during his time with the World of Outlaws. He admitted that his car was all over the place when going down the track, a real handfull. He credited Sammy Swindell with taking the time to come over and make the adjustments to get his (Unser's) car right and provide a little set up consultation. It struck Al as quite the gesture as Sammy's car was sitting in the pit needing attention.

I remember a few years back a certain individual turning the wrenches and helping a young driver get going.  Sam Hafertepe Jr, was that driver.  The help came from none other than Sammy. 

No matter how hard you try.........you can't polish a 
terd!!!

"Like"

Last Sat night at I80 break Nat Sather interviewed the upcoming Dash drivers. When she got to Sammy asked if there were any changes he made to the car from teh heat. He hesitated, then said well none he could tell her... but yes. Rock solid matter of fact reply!

Great Post.  I can't believe the haters haven't invaded.  I can say I didn't witness any of these but have been around enough to know these are all true.  If people only knew.  Yes the man will help, can be very nice, and doesn't near get the credit he deserves.  I guess the image is out there but it is far from the truth at all times.  Thanks to all the posters for this and I would love to see more.  For the record not just Sammy, but all drivers do good things.  It's nice to read good things at the track instead of the trash usually on here

I'm not a Sammy fan either but I do know he had a big part with helping the Chesson's when they got out on tour as well!

do it in the dirt

It's really important in our sport that as much as they compete hard against each other that they help give back to racing.  That's why I'll never criticize a Tony Stewart or a Kasey Kahne for building their teams or a veteran driver for lending a hand to a young racer.

We aren't going to get much help from the outside to build sprint car racing and keep it viable.  We have to do it from within.  Drivers, owners, crews, officials, promoters, sponsors and yes, fans.

Is this heaven?  
No, it's Iowa....Knoxville, Iowa.

Nice post.

Does any one remember Hewit pushing Mccarl's car, when both of them had black eye's?

There's a pretty funny story behind that one!

Haven't been around this stuff long enough to have witnessed Sammy's alleged misdeeds, but can't help liking him cause he's "the guy everbody loves to hate"

Was it last year or 2 yrs. ago there was a video of Sammy putting 2 guys into the wall at Eldora? That had me wondering...

But later that summner at a Nationals qualifying nite, Wayne Johnson put Sammy into the wall at Knoxville, & the Slammer went thru about 5 gyrations on the cushion, recovered, & actually passed Wayne by the end of the race. I loved it.. he not only can dish it out, but take it....

I'm pretty sure there's a video of that somewhere on the Net

I surmise from interviews that Sammy might be lacking in "people skills". He's an engineer, right?
My late father was an engineer, I know all about that "Lack of people skills" thang

Still love the ole fart....

One more thing:  There are plenty of "Nice" people. What the world needs is GOOD people....