By Lonnie Wheatley
MESQUITE, Texas -- Sprint Car legend Sammy Swindell added another feather to his accomplished racing cap, etching himself into the record books as the winner of the first ever O’Reilly Sprint Bandits feature event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway Friday night.
Swindell, the only driver among the 26-car field who also competed in the first World of Outlaws event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway 26 years ago, slipped around Jerrod Hull on the ninth round en route to winning the 25-lap feature atop the well-manicured half-mile oval at the 31st Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals.
Swindell survived the race’s final caution with six rounds to go, with Aaron Berryhill chasing the veteran to the stripe. After starting 18th, Daryn Pittman emerged from a wild last lap skirmish to snare the show position, with Zach Chappell claiming the fourth and final transfer position to Saturday night’s main event.
Hull earned the feature’s starting position by amassing the most points through heat race and qualifying race action, with Gary Wright alongside. Wright jumped into the lead at the drop of the green flag and began stretching out a lead in front of Hull, third-starter Swindell, Chappell and Berryhill. Wright’s strong run would come to an early end with engine problems on the fourth round, bringing out the race’s first caution.
Hull assumed command on the restart, with Swindell pressing for the lead. Swindell’s pressure paid off when he dove underneath Hull entering turn one on the ninth round. Hull held the second spot until his left rear tire disintegrated on the frontstretch after 14 circuits. Hull would rejoin the field at the tail.
The ensuing restart was waved off when Jason Martin flipped violently in turn three. Martin was uninjured.
Swindell continued to pace the field on the restart aboard the Wesmar-powered Beaver Drill and Tool Company #12x Maxim, with Berryhill, Chappell and Danny Jennings giving chase, as Pittman disposed of Steven King on the 15th round to crack the top five.
The final caution flew with 19 laps in the books when Wayne Johnson’s disabled mount coasted to a stop on the backstretch.
Berryhill tried to mount a charge on Swindell in the final rounds, but Swindell was not to be denied the coveted victory. Berryhill settled for a strong runner-up finish in the Snyder-powered Fast Forward Motorsports Eagle.
Jennings battled past Chappell for third on the 23rd round. Chappell made a charge into turn one on the final round in an effort to regain third, with the two cars making contact. Pittman sliced between the pair to snare third in the Mopar-powered machine, with Chappell recovering to finish fourth.
Shane Stewart completed a charge from 15th to round out the top five, with Jennings settling for sixth at the line. King claimed seventh, with Kelly Kinser, Terry McCarl and 20th-starter Danny Smith completing the top ten.
Martin, Jeff Day and Johnson were all victorious in heat race action, with Tony Bruce Jr., Pittman and Kevin Ramey topping the qualifying races. Johnson led all the way to win the B Feature.
Swindell, Berryhill, Pittman and Chappell are all locked into Saturday night’s 31st Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals finale, with the remainder of the field battling through a full program of heat races, qualifying races and a B Feature to determine the balance of the feature lineup.
RESULTS
First Heat (8 laps): 1. #36 Jason Martin, 2. #24 Terry McCarl, 3. #12 Jerrod Hull, 4. #9 Gary Wright, 5. #61J Danny Jennings, 6. #50z Zach Chappell, 7. #7m Kevin Ramey, 8. #15s Nick Smith, 9. #18 Tony Bruce Jr.
Second Heat (8 laps): 1. #41 Jeff Day, 2. #29 Travis Rilat, 3. #88 Steven King, 4. #4m Shane Stewart, 5. #4 Danny Smith, 6. #97 Aaron Berryhill, 7. #17g Ricky Logan, 8. #13 Mark Dobmeier, 9. #21 Daryn Pittman.
Third Heat (8 laps): 1. #44 Wayne Johnson, 2. #12x Sammy Swindell, 3. #97w Sean Walden, 4. #11f Foster Landon, 5. #4k Kelly Kinser, 6. #60 Colin Northway, 7. #75 Jesse Hockett, 8. #31 Matt Clevenger.
First Qualifying Race (8 laps): 1. #18 Tony Bruce Jr., 2. #17g Ricky Logan, 3. #15s Nick Smith, 4. #4k Kelly Kinser, 5. #12x Sammy Swindell, 6. #4m Shane Stewart, 7. #4 Danny Smith, 8. #41 Jeff Day, 9. #44 Wayne Johnson.
Second Qualifying Race (8 laps): 1. #21 Daryn Pittman, 2. #97 Aaron Berryhill, 3. #61J Danny Jennings, 4. #12 Jerrod Hull, 5. #29 Travis Rilat, 6. #36 Jason Martin, 7. #13 Mark Dobmeier, 8. #75 Jesse Hockett, 9. #97w Sean Walden.
Third Qualifying Race (8 laps): 1. #7m Kevin Ramey, 2. #50z Zach Chappell, 3. #9 Gary Wright, 4. #60 Colin Northway, 5. #88 Steven King, 6. #11f Foster Landon, 7. #24 Terry McCarl. DNS: #31 Matt Clevenger.
B Feature (8 laps): 1. #44 Wayne Johnson, 2. #21 Daryn Pittman, 3. #18 Tony Bruce Jr., 4. #4 Danny Smith, 5. #13 Mark Dobmeier, 6. #15s Nick Smith. DNS: #60 Colin Northway, #97w Sean Walden, #75 Jesse Hockett, #31 Matt Clevenger.
A Feature (25 laps): (starting position in parentheses) 1. #12x Sammy Swindell (3), 2. #97 Aaron Berryhill (7), 3. #21 Daryn Pittman (18), 4. #50z Zach Chappell (6), 5. #4m Shane Stewart (15), 6. #61J Danny Jennings (8), 7. #88 Steven King (9), 8. #4k Kelly Kinser (10), 9. #24 Terry McCarl (14), 10. #4 Danny Smith (20), 11. #18 Tony Bruce Jr. (19), 12. #12 Jerrod Hull (1), 13. #15s Nick Smith (22), 14. #13 Mark Dobmeier (21), 15. #29 Travis Rilat (5), 16. #44 Wayne Johnson (17), 17. #36 Jason Martin (4), 18. #17g Ricky Logan (12), 19. #41 Jeff Day (13), 20. #11f Foster Landon (16), 21. #7m Kevin Ramey (11), 22. #9 Gary Wright (2).
Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-3, Jerrod Hull 4-8, Sammy Swindell 9-25.
Points Standings (top 10): 1. Sammy Swindell 150, 2. Aaron Berryhill 146, 3. Daryn Pittman 144, 4. Zach Chappell 142, 5. Shane Stewart 140, 6. Danny Jennings 138, 7. Steven King 136, 8. Kelly Kinser 134, 9. Terry McCarl 132, 10. Danny Smith 130.
MESQUITE, Texas -- Sprint Car legend Sammy Swindell added another feather to his accomplished racing cap, etching himself into the record books as the winner of the first ever O’Reilly Sprint Bandits feature event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway Friday night.
Swindell, the only driver among the 26-car field who also competed in the first World of Outlaws event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway 26 years ago, slipped around Jerrod Hull on the ninth round en route to winning the 25-lap feature atop the well-manicured half-mile oval at the 31st Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals.
Swindell survived the race’s final caution with six rounds to go, with Aaron Berryhill chasing the veteran to the stripe. After starting 18th, Daryn Pittman emerged from a wild last lap skirmish to snare the show position, with Zach Chappell claiming the fourth and final transfer position to Saturday night’s main event.
Hull earned the feature’s starting position by amassing the most points through heat race and qualifying race action, with Gary Wright alongside. Wright jumped into the lead at the drop of the green flag and began stretching out a lead in front of Hull, third-starter Swindell, Chappell and Berryhill. Wright’s strong run would come to an early end with engine problems on the fourth round, bringing out the race’s first caution.
Hull assumed command on the restart, with Swindell pressing for the lead. Swindell’s pressure paid off when he dove underneath Hull entering turn one on the ninth round. Hull held the second spot until his left rear tire disintegrated on the frontstretch after 14 circuits. Hull would rejoin the field at the tail.
The ensuing restart was waved off when Jason Martin flipped violently in turn three. Martin was uninjured.
Swindell continued to pace the field on the restart aboard the Wesmar-powered Beaver Drill and Tool Company #12x Maxim, with Berryhill, Chappell and Danny Jennings giving chase, as Pittman disposed of Steven King on the 15th round to crack the top five.
The final caution flew with 19 laps in the books when Wayne Johnson’s disabled mount coasted to a stop on the backstretch.
Berryhill tried to mount a charge on Swindell in the final rounds, but Swindell was not to be denied the coveted victory. Berryhill settled for a strong runner-up finish in the Snyder-powered Fast Forward Motorsports Eagle.
Jennings battled past Chappell for third on the 23rd round. Chappell made a charge into turn one on the final round in an effort to regain third, with the two cars making contact. Pittman sliced between the pair to snare third in the Mopar-powered machine, with Chappell recovering to finish fourth.
Shane Stewart completed a charge from 15th to round out the top five, with Jennings settling for sixth at the line. King claimed seventh, with Kelly Kinser, Terry McCarl and 20th-starter Danny Smith completing the top ten.
Martin, Jeff Day and Johnson were all victorious in heat race action, with Tony Bruce Jr., Pittman and Kevin Ramey topping the qualifying races. Johnson led all the way to win the B Feature.
Swindell, Berryhill, Pittman and Chappell are all locked into Saturday night’s 31st Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals finale, with the remainder of the field battling through a full program of heat races, qualifying races and a B Feature to determine the balance of the feature lineup.
RESULTS
First Heat (8 laps): 1. #36 Jason Martin, 2. #24 Terry McCarl, 3. #12 Jerrod Hull, 4. #9 Gary Wright, 5. #61J Danny Jennings, 6. #50z Zach Chappell, 7. #7m Kevin Ramey, 8. #15s Nick Smith, 9. #18 Tony Bruce Jr.
Second Heat (8 laps): 1. #41 Jeff Day, 2. #29 Travis Rilat, 3. #88 Steven King, 4. #4m Shane Stewart, 5. #4 Danny Smith, 6. #97 Aaron Berryhill, 7. #17g Ricky Logan, 8. #13 Mark Dobmeier, 9. #21 Daryn Pittman.
Third Heat (8 laps): 1. #44 Wayne Johnson, 2. #12x Sammy Swindell, 3. #97w Sean Walden, 4. #11f Foster Landon, 5. #4k Kelly Kinser, 6. #60 Colin Northway, 7. #75 Jesse Hockett, 8. #31 Matt Clevenger.
First Qualifying Race (8 laps): 1. #18 Tony Bruce Jr., 2. #17g Ricky Logan, 3. #15s Nick Smith, 4. #4k Kelly Kinser, 5. #12x Sammy Swindell, 6. #4m Shane Stewart, 7. #4 Danny Smith, 8. #41 Jeff Day, 9. #44 Wayne Johnson.
Second Qualifying Race (8 laps): 1. #21 Daryn Pittman, 2. #97 Aaron Berryhill, 3. #61J Danny Jennings, 4. #12 Jerrod Hull, 5. #29 Travis Rilat, 6. #36 Jason Martin, 7. #13 Mark Dobmeier, 8. #75 Jesse Hockett, 9. #97w Sean Walden.
Third Qualifying Race (8 laps): 1. #7m Kevin Ramey, 2. #50z Zach Chappell, 3. #9 Gary Wright, 4. #60 Colin Northway, 5. #88 Steven King, 6. #11f Foster Landon, 7. #24 Terry McCarl. DNS: #31 Matt Clevenger.
B Feature (8 laps): 1. #44 Wayne Johnson, 2. #21 Daryn Pittman, 3. #18 Tony Bruce Jr., 4. #4 Danny Smith, 5. #13 Mark Dobmeier, 6. #15s Nick Smith. DNS: #60 Colin Northway, #97w Sean Walden, #75 Jesse Hockett, #31 Matt Clevenger.
A Feature (25 laps): (starting position in parentheses) 1. #12x Sammy Swindell (3), 2. #97 Aaron Berryhill (7), 3. #21 Daryn Pittman (18), 4. #50z Zach Chappell (6), 5. #4m Shane Stewart (15), 6. #61J Danny Jennings (8), 7. #88 Steven King (9), 8. #4k Kelly Kinser (10), 9. #24 Terry McCarl (14), 10. #4 Danny Smith (20), 11. #18 Tony Bruce Jr. (19), 12. #12 Jerrod Hull (1), 13. #15s Nick Smith (22), 14. #13 Mark Dobmeier (21), 15. #29 Travis Rilat (5), 16. #44 Wayne Johnson (17), 17. #36 Jason Martin (4), 18. #17g Ricky Logan (12), 19. #41 Jeff Day (13), 20. #11f Foster Landon (16), 21. #7m Kevin Ramey (11), 22. #9 Gary Wright (2).
Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-3, Jerrod Hull 4-8, Sammy Swindell 9-25.
Points Standings (top 10): 1. Sammy Swindell 150, 2. Aaron Berryhill 146, 3. Daryn Pittman 144, 4. Zach Chappell 142, 5. Shane Stewart 140, 6. Danny Jennings 138, 7. Steven King 136, 8. Kelly Kinser 134, 9. Terry McCarl 132, 10. Danny Smith 130.
