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More Racing
CHILI BOWL: Swindell Wins No. 4
Young Kevin Swindell did it again Saturday night, surviving a great duel with Kyle Larson and then Sammy Swindell to capture his fourth consecutive victory.
Kevin Swindell has notched four straight wins at the Chili Bowl. (Photo: Boyd Adams)
Kevin Swindell doesn’t get booed as long or loud as his famous father. Yet. But the talented 22-year-old is catching the old man in the villain and the win department at the Chili Bowl.
Young Swindell did it again Saturday night, surviving a great duel with Kyle Larson and then Sammy Swindell to pull away and capture his fourth consecutive victory in the indoor midget racing showcase here at the Tulsa Expo Center.
After his winning doughnuts, Swindell climbed on top of the cage of his car and was met with a mixture of cheers and boos from the packed house of 12,000.
“I don’t think it’s too bad being a villain it’s better than not getting any reaction, at least the fans know you’re there,” said Swindell with a grin as he accepted congratulations from his ageless 57-year-old father.
“Maybe I’ll catch dad in wins and boos next year.”
Sammy Swindell is the all-time Chili Bowl winner with five wins and now this family has won a third of the 27 winter classics on the challenging dirt track.
And even though Kevin was pretty much untouchable the final 25 laps, the first 30 were some of the best racing an open wheel fan could ever see.
The Swindells started on the front row, with Sammy on the pole and he led the first 12 laps until Larson blasted by and sent the crowd into a frenzy. It had been a long time since somebody besides a Swindell was in the lead here.
But it was short-lived. The brightest young star in American motorsports, who won 50 races in the past two years in five types of cars and is about to embark on a NASCAR career with Chip Ganassi’s team, traded the lead with Kevin the next five laps as he ran up against the wall and Swindell ran the bottom.
There was no room for error running the top because it was so treacherous and Larson did something very uncharacteristic – he spun on Lap 19.
“I gave Kevin a slide job but over-rotated and it just got away from me,” explained Larson. “It’s too bad because it was fun racing with both of those guys and I think I made a few new fans tonight so we’ll come back next year and see if we can beat them.”
With Larson out of the hunt, Kevin’s only real threat was the man who built his car and taught him how to drive. Sammy was closing fast on Lap 26 when his son moved down to slow his charge and that was game, set and match.
Despite four more cautions and subsequent restarts, Kevin pulled away easily each time and took the checkered flag by about 10 car lengths.
“The kid is tough. He’s not only fast, he’s real smooth and that’s what it takes at this place,” said the World of Outlaws legend who scored a series-high 13 wins in 2012. “I had a couple chances but he was too tough tonight.”
Brad Sweet drove a fine race to take third place and first in class, referring to the special chassis built by the Swindells which have dominated this race since 2009.
“It’s kind of frustrating but the Swindells just have it figured out and we’ve got to try something different if we’re going to ever beat them,” said Sweet, who started fifth. “This is a little team and they gave me a great car and I guess we should be happy with third but it’s kinda frustrating.”
Two-time Chili Bowl winner Tony Stewart started 12th but got caught up in an early accident and was never a factor.
NBC will air the Chili Bowl on Feb. 10.
Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
Young Swindell did it again Saturday night, surviving a great duel with Kyle Larson and then Sammy Swindell to pull away and capture his fourth consecutive victory in the indoor midget racing showcase here at the Tulsa Expo Center.
After his winning doughnuts, Swindell climbed on top of the cage of his car and was met with a mixture of cheers and boos from the packed house of 12,000.
“I don’t think it’s too bad being a villain it’s better than not getting any reaction, at least the fans know you’re there,” said Swindell with a grin as he accepted congratulations from his ageless 57-year-old father.
“Maybe I’ll catch dad in wins and boos next year.”
Sammy Swindell is the all-time Chili Bowl winner with five wins and now this family has won a third of the 27 winter classics on the challenging dirt track.
And even though Kevin was pretty much untouchable the final 25 laps, the first 30 were some of the best racing an open wheel fan could ever see.
The Swindells started on the front row, with Sammy on the pole and he led the first 12 laps until Larson blasted by and sent the crowd into a frenzy. It had been a long time since somebody besides a Swindell was in the lead here.
But it was short-lived. The brightest young star in American motorsports, who won 50 races in the past two years in five types of cars and is about to embark on a NASCAR career with Chip Ganassi’s team, traded the lead with Kevin the next five laps as he ran up against the wall and Swindell ran the bottom.
There was no room for error running the top because it was so treacherous and Larson did something very uncharacteristic – he spun on Lap 19.
“I gave Kevin a slide job but over-rotated and it just got away from me,” explained Larson. “It’s too bad because it was fun racing with both of those guys and I think I made a few new fans tonight so we’ll come back next year and see if we can beat them.”
With Larson out of the hunt, Kevin’s only real threat was the man who built his car and taught him how to drive. Sammy was closing fast on Lap 26 when his son moved down to slow his charge and that was game, set and match.
Despite four more cautions and subsequent restarts, Kevin pulled away easily each time and took the checkered flag by about 10 car lengths.
“The kid is tough. He’s not only fast, he’s real smooth and that’s what it takes at this place,” said the World of Outlaws legend who scored a series-high 13 wins in 2012. “I had a couple chances but he was too tough tonight.”
Brad Sweet drove a fine race to take third place and first in class, referring to the special chassis built by the Swindells which have dominated this race since 2009.
“It’s kind of frustrating but the Swindells just have it figured out and we’ve got to try something different if we’re going to ever beat them,” said Sweet, who started fifth. “This is a little team and they gave me a great car and I guess we should be happy with third but it’s kinda frustrating.”
Two-time Chili Bowl winner Tony Stewart started 12th but got caught up in an early accident and was never a factor.
NBC will air the Chili Bowl on Feb. 10.
Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
DTM Zandvoort
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