Sammy Swindell celebrates his $25,000 at Jackson (Rob Kocak Photo)
Knoxville, IA, September 5, 2015 – A third place heat run Saturday night was all that kept Sammy Swindell from sweeping the entire weekend at the 37th Annual Jackson Nationals. The Germantown, Tennessee driver’s win Saturday night earned him $25,000 aboard the CJB Motorsports/Big Game Treestands #1. Thomas Kennedy joined his father Lou as a Jackson Nationals champion as well, earning the 360 feature win aboard the family #20K.
It took three tries to get the richest race in Minnesota sprint car history going. Lynton Jeffrey came to a stop and retired on the initial start, before Mark Dobmeier spun on the second try. Swindell won a row one duel with Danny Lasoski to lead early. Craig Dollansky fell into third.
A cone in turn four was thrown onto the racetrack with a lap in the books, bringing another caution. The caution was fortunate for Bryan Clauson, who got over the turn one berm and lost several spots. He would restart fifth behind Swindel, Lasoski, Dollansky and Brian Brown.
Swindell took off on the cushion, while Lasoski pursued him primarily in the low groove in turns one and two. Lasoski slipped a bit on lap 15, allowing Dollansky by him into the runner-up position. Paige Polyak came to a stop before another circuit got in, and the caution came out again. Brian Brown shot to fourth on the restart, while Terry McCarl found his way by Clauson into the top five on lap 17.
Jody Rosenboom came to a stop over the top of turn two with 20 laps in. The five lap Dash to the checkers was full of drama. Dollansky would not go away, and dogged the leader to the end. It appeared Swindell had his win in the bag, when Ryan Bickett came to a stop on the white flag lap.
The green, white, checker finish saw Swindell leading Dollansky and Brown, who had passed Lasoski for third. Swindell kept Dollansky at bay. Clauson retired, out of fuel, and Brown suffered the same fate crossing the line. Lasoski edged him for the show position by .022 seconds. McCarl was fifth, and hard-charger Davey Heskin, Ian Madsen, Bill Balog, Tim Kaeding and Scott Winters rounded out the top ten. Swindell set quick time, while Winters, Dobmeier, Balog and Austin McCarl won heat races. Polyak won the B.
“There was really one good line for me to run,” said Swindell in Victory Lane. “I had to make a big mistake for someone to get by me. I knew we were going to wear the tires, so I was going as slow as I could (to save the tires) and still stay up front. Kevin (Swindell), this one’s for you. I’m so proud of him.”
“It was a great weekend for the TKS Motorsports team,” said Dollansky. “We’ve been battling since we came together in June or July. Don Ott’s been helping us out a lot. That was a big help this weekend. Sammy ran a good race. It came down to him making a mistake, and he didn’t make a mistake.”
“I think (Brown) ran out of fuel for sure,” said Lasoski. “Sammy did his job. We both knew whoever sailed on top would have the advantage. I messed up two times and I lost two spots. I hate that for my guys. I was to thank all these fans for coming out and supporting Tod Quiring and the NSL. It’s a great start to a wonderful future for this event.”
Winnipeg, Manitoba’s Thomas Kennedy came into Saturday night as the high point man, starting the 25-lap 360 feature on the pole and left the rest of the field in the dust on his way to the win. With Folkens Brothers Trucking and The Minnesota Mafia adding to the purse, various lap sponsors and a gift certificate from Speedway Motors, Kennedy took home $3,550.
Russ Hall ran a strong second, and registered quick time for the second night in a row. Friday’s winner, Seth Bergman was third, ahead of Derrik Lusk and Skylar Prochaska. Chris Martin, Casey Friedrichsen, James Broty, Kevin Flowers and Devin Friedrichsen rounded out the top ten. Martin, Lusk and Lee Grosz won heat races.
“My nerves were crazy,” said Kennedy of his demeanor before the race. “I was jittering, I was running back and forth wondering where I was going to start the feature. When I knew I was on the pole, I thought, ‘alright’. The next thing I had to worry about was getting the start right, which I did. After that, I was golden and I prevailed. I’m glad we didn’t go any longer. I’m out of fuel. The last four laps, I was sputtering. Thanks for all the fans coming out!”
Through the Silent Auction benefiting Kevin Swindell’s recovery, $13,600 was raised. The NSL matched that and more, making it an even $30,000 donated to Kevin’s recovery.
The FVP National Sprint League invades the Huset’s Speedway, Sunday night, September 6. For more information on the FVP National Sprint League, visit www.NationalSprintLeague.com!
Results from Jackson Speedway
FVP A main (started), 25 Laps: 1. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN [1]; 2. 2KS, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN [3]; 3. 2, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO [2]; 4. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO [4]; 5. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA [9]; 6. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN [18]; 7. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. [7]; 8. 17B, Bill Balog, Brookfield, WI [8]; 9. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA [16]; 10. 23W, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN [11]; 11. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. [19]; 12. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND [14]; 13. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA [17]; 14. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA [12]; 15. 16, Travis Whitney, Blaine, MN [15]; 16. 5H, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE [22]; 17. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD [10]; 18. 17W, Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, IN [6]; 19. 17, Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD [24]; 20. 14, Jody Rosenboom, Rock Rapids, IA [21]; 21. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH [13]; 22. 7D, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA [23]; 23. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA [20]; 24. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA [5]. Lap Leader: Swindell 1-25. KSE Hard-charger: Heskin.
Hooker Harness B main (started), 12 laps: 1. Paige Polyak [2]; 2. Mark Dobmeier [3]; 3. Travis Whitney [4]; 4. Tim Kaeding [8]; 5. Austin McCarl [5]; 6. Davey Heskin [1]; 7. Brooke Tatnell [6]; 8. Josh Schneiderman [7]; 9. Jody Rosenboom [12]; 10. Dakota Hendrickson [13]; 11. Dustin Selvage [9]; 12. Ryan Bickett [10] / 13. 19, Donovan Peterson, Brookings, SD [17]; 14. 25, Dylan Peterson, Sioux Falls, SD [11]; 15. 14AJ, Wayne Modjeski, Oak Creek, WI [16]; 16. 15, Joe Riedel, Ramona, SD [15]; 17. 4W, Matt Wasmund, Jackson, MN [14] DNS – 47, Brant O’Banion, Sioux Falls, SD, 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA, 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN
Fuel Safe Heat one (started), 8 laps: 1. Scott Winters [2]; 2. Travis Whitney [3]; 3. Bryan Clauson [5]; 4. Davey Heskin [6]; 5. Josh Schneiderman [4]; 6. Jody Rosenboom [1]; 7. Wayne Modjeski[7] DNS – Skylar Prochaska
DMI Heat two (started), 8 laps: 1. Mark Dobmeier [3]; 2. Craig Dollansky [4]; 3. Tim Kaeding [2]; 4. Paige Polyak [5]; 5. Dylan Peterson [7]; 6. Matt Juhl [6]; 7. Dakota Hendrickson [1] DNS – Bronson Maeschen
Kaeding Performance Heat three (started), 8 Laps: 1. Bill Balog [3]; 2. Terry McCarl [4]; 3. Brooke Tatnell [2]; 4. Brian Brown [5]; 5. Lynton Jeffrey [6]; 6. Ryan Bickett [1]; 7. Joe Riedel [7] DNS – Brant O’Banion
Maxim Racing Heat four (started), 8 laps: 1. Austin McCarl [1]; 2. Danny Lasoski [5]; 3. Sammy Swindell [6]; 4. Ian Madsen [3]; 5. Tasker Phillips [4]; 6. Dustin Selvage [2]; 7. Matt Wasmund [7]; 8. Donovan Peterson [8]
The Minnesota Mafia Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. Sammy Swindell, 15.892 [27]; 2. Lynton Jeffrey, 16.031 [25]; 3. Matt Juhl, 16.036 [32]; 4. Davey Heskin, 16.088 [5]; 5. Danny Lasoski, 16.089 [23]; 6. Brian Brown, 16.104 [28]; 7. Paige Polyak, 16.123 [7]; 8. Bryan Clauson, 16.162 [24]; 9. Tasker Phillips, 16.176 [26]; 10. Terry McCarl, 16.179 [30]; 11. Craig Dollansky, 16.205 [29]; 12. Josh Schneiderman, 16.215 [1]; 13. Ian Madsen, 16.270 [31]; 14. Bill Balog, 16.272 [22]; 15. Mark Dobmeier, 16.321 [11]; 16. Travis Whitney, 16.337 [8]; 17. Dustin Selvage, 16.340 [2]; 18. Brooke Tatnell, 16.353 [18]; 19. Tim Kaeding, 16.363 [12]; 20. Scott Winters, 16.366 [14]; 21. Austin McCarl, 16.372 [17]; 22. Ryan Bickett, 16.449 [3]; 23. Dakota Hendrickson, 16.451 [20]; 24. Jody Rosenboom, 16.717 [13]; 25. Matt Wasmund, 16.721 [10]; 26. Joe Riedel, 16.722 [4]; 27. Dylan Peterson, 16.738 [15]; 28. Wayne Modjeski, 16.790 [6]; 29. Donovan Peterson, 16.792 [19]; 30. Brant O'banion, 16.889 [9]; 31. Bronson Maeschen, 17.174 [21]; 32. Skylar Prochaska, NT [16]