Sammy Swindell Answers Questions During Live Chat

Sammy Swindell Answers Questions During Live Chat By Richard Day CANTON, MA (May 18) - Sammy Swindell is expected to race among the leaders Friday when goracing.com presents its Dirt Jam '99 live webcast from the Schick Protector Razor Winged Thunder event presented by the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series at The Terre Haute Action Track. TNN Motorsports will also televise the race live between 10 p.m. and midnight eastern time. World of Outlaws Online (http://www.goracing.com/outlaws) caught up with the series' three-time champion Tuesday as he and his crew prepared his #1 Channellock Stealth for Wednesday's double-feature event at Bloomington Speedway. He graciously answered fans' inquiries for an hour. Here are some of the more interesting questions and answers from the live chat session. How many more years do you see yourself running with the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series? Do you see yourself soon cutting your schedule down more to help your son (Kevin) in racing? Would you like to drive in NASCAR again? "I'm not ready to retire," Sammy said. "I would like to have some time to race with my son. He races a little in the winter. He doesn't want to race unless I'm there. I would like a chance to go back to NASCAR. I would like to have the same caliber that I have with my sprint car. The thing now is finding the right team and sponsor." How is Kevin doing with his go-kart racing? "He is doing really well," Swindell said. "We didn't get to run that much last winter. I think he won two races. He is doing a really good job. It doesn't seem to matter how long he is away from it ... he seems to pick it right back up." Have you ever thought about starting a driving school? "I have had people talk to me about that," Sammy said. "I haven't really thought about it. We have been really busy with racing. If the opportunity was right, maybe when I retire I would consider it." What is the best way to break into sprint car racing? Do you have any suggestions? "That depends on a lot of different things," Swindell said. "The best way is the way you can make the most races, whether it's with people you know or whatever. The guys who get the most track time are the ones who progress." Can you describe your relationship with your brother, Jeff? "It's kind of like a lot of other brothers," Sammy said. "We are not all that close or all that far apart. We are two brothers who race the same type of cars every night, similar to Terry and Bobby Labonte (on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit)." What do you recall about racing Indy Cars in the 1980's? "Well, it was pretty exciting," Swindell said. "I really enjoyed doing that. I liked racing on the road courses over the ovals. On the ovals, it has so much to do with the car. I only got to run three races, but it was a lot of fun. I would have loved to do that full- time, but it just didn't come about." How exciting is it to punch a light car with all that (800) horsepower? "They respond really fast," Sammy said. "It's something I've been doing for quite some time, so it may not be as big a deal as for someone else. It's still a great feeling though." Steve Kinser will be the guest on Thursday's World of Outlaws Online live chat session from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. eastern time. WoO