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Sammy Swindell Scores Wednesday Win!

Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (January 11, 2012) – Sammy Swindell kept up his winning ways at the QuikTrip Center’s Tulsa Expo Raceway by topping Wednesday night’s 25-lap River Spirit Casino Qualifier “A” Main event at the 26th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

The five-time Chili Bowl champion battled ahead of Danny Stratton after a handful of circuits and raced on to his seventh preliminary Chili Bowl main event win in front of Stratton and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, who also locked into Saturday night’s 50-lap championship finale by virtue of earning podium finishes.

With the triumph in the Esslinger-powered John Christner Trucking/NOS Energy Drinks No. 1 Spike, Swindell locked into a Chili Bowl record 19th Chili Bowl finale.

“Here, the driver can influence the car a lot,” Swindell explained of his Chili Bowl success. “You’ve got to have a good car, but you can make it a bit different about where you place the car and what you do with the car.”

After winning his third Vacuworx International Race of Champions in four tries on Tuesday night, Swindell made a late run from his sixth starting position to win Wednesday night’s opening heat race and then climbed from sixth to second in his qualifying race to earn the pole position for the main event.

But, Swindell had his hands full with fellow front row starter Stratton over the initial handful of circuits as the pair battled for the lead in wheel-to-wheel fashion with Swindell on the low side and Stratton up top. “We had a pretty good run for a while there side-by-side,” Swindell explained of the opening rounds afterwards.

Swindell surged ahead in turn two on the sixth round and made his way to the upper portion of the track and set sail with Stratton and third-starter Stewart in his wake.

The savvy veteran reached traffic by the midway point and picked off one car after another over the ensuing rounds, with four cars separating himself from Stratton when the race’s only caution flew after 21 laps when Chris Ennis climbed a wheel and flipped in turn four.

With the lapped cars in place, Swindell checked out over the final four circuit to take the checkered flag with a 3.647-second advantage over Stratton in Steve and Dianna Hampton’s Esslinger-powered Hampton’s Kustom Works No. 77s Twister.

“We had a stuck bleeder in the right rear and Sammy kinda ran away with it,” Stratton explained after securing a starting berth for his third career Chili Bowl finale. “I was just trying to hang on there to get a spot in the ‘A’ on Saturday.”

Making his first Chili Bowl start since 2008, two-time event winner Stewart landed in his 11th Chili Bowl final by taking the show position in the Chevrolet Performance Parts No. 14 Spike.

“The big thing is Saturday night that you’re shooting for,” Stewart commented. “The goal for everybody tonight is to try to get in that top three and as long as you make that, that’s a good night.”

Behind the lead trio, Zach Daum held down the fourth position most of the way in front of Tyler Edwards and Jason Leffler. But, when Daum’s mount stumbled after the lap 21 restart, Edwards and Leffler mixed it up for fourth only to have Leffler slide to a stop in turn two after contact on the final lap just as Swindell took the checkered flag.

Edwards claimed the fourth position aboard Danny Felker’s Hatfield Chevy-powered No. 11T Spike, with Daum rounding out the top five in the Fontana-powered Daum Insurance No. 5d Eagle.

Caleb Armstrong raced 18th to claim sixth, with Chili Bowl rookie contender Shaun Insley of New Zealand in seventh. Another rookie contender, Pennsylvania’s Alex Bright, was eighth, with Brad Kuhn salvaging a ninth place run after climbing through both “C” and “B” Main competition just to make the feature cut after a lackluster heat race. Josh Ford completed the top ten from 16th.

In addition to Insley and Bright, California’s Jace VanderWeerd also made Wednesday’s feature cut as a rookie contender and placed 17th.

Like Kuhn, Gary Taylor worked through “C” and “B” Main action as well to finish 12th, just one spot behind Loyet Motorsports teammate Jon Stanbrough, who also advanced from “B” Main action.

Swindell, Billy Wease, Edwards, Robbie Whitchurch, VanderWeerd, Insley, Leffler and Brent Camarillo topped heat race action for Wednesday night’s 67-car field. Austin Brown won the first “C” Main, with Gavin Galbraith beating Taylor and Kuhn to the stripe in the second “C” Main. After Stanbrough won the first “B” Main, Armstrong beat a rallying Kuhn to the line in the second “B” Main. David Prickett, Christopher Bell, Stewart and Daum each claimed qualifying race wins.

Donnie Ray Crawford, last year’s Wednesday night feature winner, endured a tough evening. After a wild flip exiting turn two in his heat race, the third-generation racer advanced from “C” Main action only to get upside down again in a “B” Main scramble that put an early end to his night.

Wednesday’s River Spirit Casino Qualifier Results from the 26th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals:

Heat Races (8 Laps each, Top 40 in passing points to A Qualifiers; Balance to twin C Mains)

Heat 1: 1. #1 Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN; 2. #58 Cole Peard, Quincy, CA; 3. #14JR Matt Streeter, Galt, CA; 4. #86C David Camfield Jr., Decatur, IL; 5. #2X Tyler Millwood, Kingston, GA; 6. #35W Rick Wright Jr., Ponca City, OK; 7. #8 Mike Lapp, Goodyear, AZ; 8. #82 Eric Johnson, Rockford, IL; 9. #59 Dex Eaton, Owasso, OK

Heat 2: 1. #19X Billy Wease, Noblesville, IN; 2. #21V Jimmy Voitel, Covina, CA; 3. #77S Danny Stratton, Riverside, CA; 4. #12S Bryan Severs, Collison, IL; 5. #94X Kevin Olson, Machesney Park, IL; 6. #98G Gavin Galbraith, Washington, MO; 7. #05T Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA; 8. #71KT Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL; 9. #44X Danny Smith, Argenta, IL

Heat 3: 1. #11T Tyler Edwards, Salina, OK; 2. #89 Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA; 3. #15P David Prickett, Fresno, CA; 4. #3F Tony Elliott, Warsaw, IN; 5. #05S Jon Stanbrough, Avon, IN; 6. #73 Josh Ford, Oxnard, CA; 7. #9H Matt Hummel, San Jose, CA; 8. #7C Pat Schudy, Springfield, MO; 9. #51S Mike Spencer, Temecula, CA

Heat 4: 1. #82W Robbie Whitchurch, Chico, CA; 2. #91K Dereck King, Goreville, IL; 3. #7JR J.D. Black, Grain Valley, MO; 4. #75 Wes McIntyre, McCordsville, IN; 5. #7CA Caleb Armstrong, New Castle, IN; 6. #15D Andrew Deal, Caney, KS; 7. #17B Brad Kuhn, Avon, IN; 8. #8K Donnie Ray Crawford, Broken Arrow, OK

Heat 5: 1. #8V Jace VanderWeerd, Visalia, CA; 2. #86E Chris Ennis, San Diego, CA; 3. #35T Tyler Robbins, Collinsville, IL; 4. #21B Christopher Bell, Norman, OK; 5. #4G Coleman Gulick, Binghamton, NY; 6. #88W Dustin Weland, Parker, CO; 7. #91 Jeff Stasa, Kingman, KS; 8. #7RS Clint Boyles, Greenwood, MO

Heat 6: 1. #47X Shaun Insley, Royal Oak, NZ; 2. #14 Tony Stewart, Columbus, IN; 3. #78 Nick Wean, Phillipsburg, NJ; 4. #37T Chris Urish, Elkhart, IL; 5. #11BX Brett Anderson, Belleville, IL; 6. #83 Kurt Blackaby, Bentonville, AR; 7. #21JR Kevin Michnowicz, Lomita, CA; 8. #83X Bob Lawlor, San Carlos, CA

Heat 7: 1. #71 Jason Leffler, Long Beach, CA; 2. #5D Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL; 3. #7W Harli White, Lindsay, OK; 4. #1T Tony Roney, Herculaneum, MO; 5. #12JR Josh Pelkey, Peoria, AZ; 6. #7A Austin Brown, Millstadt, IL; 7. #7T Todd McVay, Lees Summit, MO; 8. #57K Steve Schaberg, Glenwood, AR

Heat 8: 1. #51 Brent Camarillo, Camarillo, CA; 2. #77 Alex Bright, Collegeville, PA; 3. #2B Tyler Reddick, Coming, CA; 4. #1W Paul White, Waco, TX; 5. #41 Brandon Waelti, Sun Prairie, WI; 6. #19N Nick O'Neal, Wagoner, OK; 7. #4X Shawn Peterson, Irving, TX; 8. #50 Ned Fry, West Burlington, IA

C Mains (10 Laps – Top 4 in each transfer to back of corresponding B Main)

C Main 1: 1. #7A Austin Brown, Millstadt, IL; 2. #15D Andrew Deal, Caney, KS; 3. #2X Tyler Millwood, Kingston, GA; 4. #71KT Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL; 5. #83 Kurt Blackaby, Bentonville, AR; 6. #9H Matt Hummel, San Jose, CA; 7. #59 Dex Eaton, Owasso, OK; 8. #4X Shawn Petersen, Irving, TX; 9. #51S Mike Spencer, Temecula, CA; 10. #88W Dusty Weland, Parker, CO; 11. #21JR Kevin Michnowicz, Lomita, CA; 12. #7RS Clint Boyles, Greenwood, MO; 13. #91 Jeff Stasa, Kingman, KS; DNS - #83X Bob Lawlor, San Carlos, CA

C Main 2: 1. #98G Gavin Galbraith, Washington, MO; 2. #05T Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA; 3. #17B Brad Kuhn, Avon, IN; 4. #8K Donnie Ray Crawford, Broken Arrow, OK; 5. #41 Brandon Waelti, Sun Prairie, WI; 6. #7C Pat Schudy, Springfield, MO; 7. #7T Todd McVay, Lees Summit, MO; 8. #57K Steve Schaberg, Glenwood, AR; 9. #44X Danny Smith, Argenta, IL; 10. #8 Mike Lapp, Goodyear, AZ; 11. #35W Rick Wright Jr., Ponca City, OK; 12. #82 Eric Johnson; DNS - #50 Ned Fry, Burlington, IA

A Qualifiers (10 Laps – Top 16 in combined passing points to A Main; Balance to twin B Mains)

A Qualifier 1: 1. #15P David Prickett, Fresno, CA; 2. #1 Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN; 3. #14JR Matt Streeter, Galt, CA; 4. #91K Dereck King, Goreville, IL; 5. #1W Paul White, Waco, TX; 6. #12JR Josh Pelkey, Peoria, AZ; 7. #05S Jon Stanbrough, Avon, IN; 8. #8V Jace VanderWeerd, Visalia, CA; 9. #1T Tony Roney, Herculaneum, MO; 10. #7JR J.D. Black, Grain Valley, MO

A Qualifier 2: 1. #21B Christopher Bell, Norman, OK; 2. #77S Danny Stratton, Riverside, CA; 3. #47X Shaun Insley, Royal Oak, NZ; 4. #86E Chris Ennis, San Diego, CA; 5. #73 Josh Ford, Oxnard, CA; 6. #89 Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA; 7. #4G Coleman Gulick, Binghamton, NY; 8. #86C David Camfield Jr., Decatur, IL; 9. #58 Cole Peard, Quincy, CA; 10. #35T Tyler Robbins, Collinsville, IL

A Qualifier 3: 1. #14 Tony Stewart, Columbus, IN; 2. #71 Jason Leffler, Long Beach, CA; 3. #11T Tyler Edwards, Salina, OK; 4. #78 Nick Wean, Phillipsburg, NJ; 5. #37T Chris Urish, Elkhart, IL; 6. #2B Tyler Reddick, Corning, CA; 7. #94X Kevin Olson, Machesney Park, IL; 8. #21V Jimmy Voitel, Covina, CA; 9. #19N Nick O'Neal, Wagoner, OK; 10. #12S Bryan Severs, Collison, IL

A Qualifier 4: 1. #5D Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL; 2. #77 Alex Bright, Collegeville, PA; 3. #11BX Brett Anderson, Belleville, IL; 4. #19x Billy Wease, Noblesville, IN; 5. #7CA Caleb Armstrong, New Castle, IN; 6. #3F Tony Elliott, Warsaw, IN; 7. #75 Wes McIntyre, McCordsville, IN; 8. #51 Brent Camarillo, Camarillo, CA; 9. #82W Robbie Whitchurch, Chico, CA; 10. #7W Harli White, Lindsay, OK

B Mains (15 Laps – Top 4 in each transfer to A Main)

B Main 1: 1. #05S Jon Stanbrough, Avon, IN; 2. #11BX Brett Anderson, Belleville, IL; 3. #8V Jace VanderWeerd, Visalia, CA; 4. #1W Paul White, Waco, TX; 5. #89 Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA; 6. #94X Kevin Olson, Machesney Park, IL; 7. #7A Austin Brown, Millstadt, IL; 8. #71KT Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL; 9. #15D Andrew Deal, Caney, KS; 10. #35T Tyler Robbins, Collinsville, IL; 11. #86C David Camfield Jr., Decatur, IL; 12. #37T Chris Urish, Elkhart, IL; 13. #7W Harli White, Lindsay, OK; 14. #82W Robbie Whitchurch, Chico, CA; 15. #19N Nick O'Neal, Wagoner, OK; 16. #2X Tyler Millwood, Kingston, GA

B Main 2: 1. #7CA Caleb Armstrong, New Castle, IN; 2. #17B Brad Kuhn, Avon, IN; 3. #4G Coleman Gulick, Binghamton, NY; 4. #05T Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA; 5. #3F Tony Elliott, Warsaw, IN; 6. #1T Tony Roney, Herculaneum, MO; 7. #51 Brent Camarillo, Camarillo, CA; 8. #2B Tyler Reddick, Corning, CA*; 9. #75 Wes McIntyre, McCordsville, IN; 10. #58 Cole Peard, Quincy, CA; 11. #8K Donnie Ray Crawford, Broken Arrow, OK; 12. #12JR Josh Pelkey, Peoria, AZ; 13. #12S Bryan Severs, Collison, IL: 14. #98G Gavin Galbraith, Washington, MO; 15. #21v Jimmy Voitel, Covina, CA; 16. #7JR J.D. Black, Grain Valley, MO
*Penalized a spot for hitting the restart cone

A Main (25 laps – Top 3 advance to Saturday Night's Main Event)

“A” Main: 1. #1 Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN; 2. #77s Danny Stratton, Riverside, CA; 3. #14 Tony Stewart, Columbus, IN; 4. #11T Tyler Edwards, Salina, OK; 5. #5d Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL; 6. #7ca Caleb Armstrong, New Castle, IN; 7. #47x Shaun Insley, Royal Oak, NZ; 8. #77 Alex Bright, Collegeville, PA; 9. #17b Brad Kuhn, Avon, IN; 10. #73 Josh Ford, Oxnard, CA; 11. #05s Jon Stanbrough, Avon, IN; 12. #05T Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA; 13. #78 Nick Wean, Phillipsburg, NJ; 14. #91k Derek King, Goreville, IL; 15. #4g Coleman Gulick, Binghamton, NY; 16. #71 Jason Leffler, Long Beach, CA; 17. #8v Jace VanderWeerd, Visalia, CA; 18. #11bx Brett Anderson, Belleville, IL; 19. #15p David Prickett, Fresno, CA; 20. #21b Christopher Bell, Norman, OK; 21. #19x Billy Wease, Noblesville, IN; 22. #14jr Matt Streeter, Galt, CA; 23. #86e Chris Ennis, San Diego, CA; 24. #1w Paul White, Waco, TX.

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