Cedar Lake report

SAMMY SWINDELL SNAPS 20-EVENT WINLESS STREAK By Richard Day SOMERSET, WI (July 11) - Steve Miller recorded a song in the mid-1970s called "Jet Airliner" that includes the phrase, "You've got to go through hell before you get to heaven." Sammy Swindell can identify with that. He did everything he could to rid himself of the black cloud that has been hovering over him in recent weeks by winning the World of Outlaws' "A" Feature Monday night at Cedar Lake Speedway. "I felt like we've been fast the last couple of weeks, but we've been having bad luck," the two-time World of Outlaws champion told the capacity crowd from victory lane. "Hopefully, this will turn us around." Swindell earned his sixth Ecowater Fast-Time Award with a 12.333- second (109.462-m.p.h.) qualifying lap, and finished second in the Vivarin Dash for the right to start the 35-lap main event on the outside pole. He drove the #1 Bull & Hannah's Jenkins around polesitter Steve Kinser immediately after the green flag fell in the "A" Feature, and quickly opened a five-car-length advantage. Sammy almost lost the lead late in the sixth lap when he hooked the cushion high between turns three and four. "The King of the Outlaws" caught him, and they raced wheel-to-wheel through the fourth corner, but Swindell managed to maintain first place. While the leaders rode the rim around Cedar Lake's high-banked, 3/8- mile oval, Stevie Smith steered the #12x Beaver Drill & Tool Gambler in the low groove early in the race. He passed Greg Hodnett for third place deep in turn three late in the third lap, and passed Kinser for the runner-up spot in the second corner six laps later. Smith caught Swindell early in the 11th lap, and raced through turns three and four with Spike Lempelius between them. With the low groove collecting rubber, Stevie got the traction he needed to out-drag Sammy across the finish line to lead lap 11. Swindell quickly regained the lead with a high move around Smith in turn two, then dropped into the low groove. "I was lucky to hold Stevie off," Sammy admitted. "He found the best line first, and I knew I had to take that line away from him." The battle for the lead took its toll on Smith's engine, however. His power plant started malfunctioning midway through the race, forcing him to stop in the second corner early in lap 18. While the #12x was being pushed into the work area during the caution period, Johnny Herrera and Tim Monson changed their tires. The right rear tire on the #22 Pennzoil Maxim was losing air pressure when Jac Haudenschild lined up in sixth position when the race resumed. The tire was completely flat five laps later, and "The Wild Child" stopped in turn two. With Mike Sitzmann restarting the race between Sammy and Steve, Swindell quickly opened a 10-car-length advantage. His lead vanished, however, when Al Hargrave stopped against the wall in the third corner with a blown engine, setting up a five-lap dash for the $5,200 first prize. Sammy got the jump on Kinser when the green flag replaced the yellow, and beat him under the checkered flag by six car-lengths. The victory was Swindell's fourth of the season, the fourth of his career at Cedar Lake Speedway and the 191st of his Copenhagen-Skoal Shootout career. Kenny Jacobs thrilled the large group of Ecowater Systems employees in attendance by qualifying third-quick and finishing third in the Third Snap- on Tools Heat Race, the Vivarin Dash and the "A" Feature. Rounding out the top 10 in the main event were Two Winners Racing teammates Hodnett and Jeff Swindell, Dave Blaney, Andy Hillenburg, Haudenschild, Smith and Jeff Shepard. WoO 1994 WORLD OF OUTLAWS/COPENHAGEN-SKOAL SHOOTOUT Cedar Lake Speedway, Somerset, WI, Monday, July 11, Feature Program #37 Qualifications: 1. Sammy Swindell, Gilliam 1, 12.333; 2. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 12.579; 3. Kenny Jacobs, Motter 71M, 12.647; 4. Jim Carr, Carr 65, 12.692; 5. Stevie Smith, Veilhauer 12x, 12.712; 6. Greg Hodnett, Two Winners 8TW, 12.714; 7. Dave Blaney, Luna 10, 12.740; 8. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 12.753; 9. Tim Monson, Monson 6M, 12.760; 10. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 12.812; 11. Johnny Herrera, Pack 4A, 12.847; 12. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 7TW, 12.964; 13. Jeff Shepard, Hamilton 77, 13.047; 14. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 13.087; 15. Joe Gaerte, Two Winners 9TW, 13.098; 16. Randy Nygaard, Nygaard 63, 13.216; 17. Lou Kennedy, Jr., Kennedy 21K, 13.252; 18. Pat Bourke, B&B Excavating 27, 13.345; 19. Sid Blandford, Blandford 31, 13.666; 20. Mike Sitzmann, Sitzmann 102, 13.771; 21. Rich Bubak, Bubak 9, 13.8112; 22. Spike Lempelius, Lempelius 52, 13.970; 23. Travis Whitney, Whitney 7S, 13.988; 24. Mike Stefka, Stefka 35S, 14.259; 25. Al Hargrave, Hargrave 8, 14.365. First Snap-on Tools Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Jac Haudenschild, 2. Sammy Swindell, 3. Jeff Shepard, 4. Dave Blaney, 5. Jim Carr, 6. Sid Blandford, 7. Spike Lempelius, 8. Al Hargrave, 9. Randy Nygaard ($10). (first nine qualified for the "A" Feature) Second Snap-on Tools Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Mark Kinser, 2. Steve Kinser, 3. Andy Hillenburg, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Johnny Herrera, 6. Mike Sitzmann, 7. Lou Kennedy, Jr., 8. Travis Whitney ($10). (first eight qualified for the "A" Feature) Third Snap-on Tools Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Jeff Swindell, 2. Joe Gaerte, 3. Kenny Jacobs, 4. Greg Hodnett, 5. Pat Bourke, 6. Rich Bubak, 7. Tim Monson, 8. Mike Stefka. (first eight qualified for the "A" Feature) Vivarin Dash (seven laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Sammy Swindell, 3. Kenny Jacobs, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Dave Blaney, 6. Greg Hodnett, 7. Jim Carr, 8. Andy Hillenburg. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the "A" Feature) A Feature (35 laps): 1. Sammy Swindell ($5,210); 2. Steve Kinser ($3,510); 3. Kenny Jacobs ($2,510); 4. Greg Hodnett ($2,210); 5. Jeff Swindell ($2,110); 6. Dave Blaney ($2,010); 7. Andy Hillenburg ($1,610); 8. Jac Haudenschild ($1,510); 9. Stevie Smith ($1,410); 10. Jeff Shepard ($1,310); 11. Mark Kinser ($1,110); 12. Tim Monson ($1,010); 13. Jim Carr ($810); 14. Mike Sitzmann ($610); 15. Sid Blandford ($490); 16. Rich Bubak ($410); 17. Lou Kennedy, Jr. ($360); 18. Johnny Herrera ($360); 19. Pat Bourke ($360); 20. Joe Gaerte ($360); 21. Al Hargrave ($360); 22. Spike Lempelius ($360); 23. Mike Stefka ($360). DNS - Travis Whitney, Randy Nygaard. Lap leaders: Sammy Swindell 1-10, 12-35; Stevie Smith 11 Ecowater Fast-Time Award winner: Sammy Swindell WoO*eot