Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Through all my years of watchin open wheel racing be it SPRINT cars or MIDGETS I wanna know HOW CAN YA NOT LOVE watchin Mr Sammy Swindell drive a race car? Two of the greatest races he has ever drove were this year an he didnt win either one. In January in Tulsa that was simply a CLINIC in a midget an in August I personally wasnt there but from what I have seen that was CLINIC number 2!!!! When this guy pushes off he is like a precision surgeon with a knife cutting through traffic.....if I was told to pick in all my 45 plus years of watching race cars to pick one driver an make him start in the back of the field ...HANDS DOWN IT WOULD BE SAMMY!!!!!! many have booed him over the years many have down right hated him an I have never understood why? Because some say he whines HAAAAAAAAA they all whine!!!!!!! Hell this board is full of some of the BIGGEST WHINERS I have ever seen!!!!!!!! Is it because he isnt the the exciting interview when he climbs out? Well if the majority would shut up an stop booing an listen most of his interviews are quite entertaining an interesting. As far as the big three go sure Kinser has the the numbers an the records ..Wolfie will always have my heart....but I will honestly say no matter who or where he is racing these eyes always seem to find that NUMBER 1 CAR !!!! An I wanna thank you Sammy for giving me many years of pleasure watch the SURGEON DRIVE A RACE CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AS ALWAYS HUMPIN TO PLEASE!!!!!!

correct Humper - SAMMY IS FAST

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

I put Steve and Wolfie in the same category. In my 47 years of following sprint cars I don't believe I have seen any other drivers as capable of coming from the rear as these three guys. As for all you folks that are Sammy and Donny bashers if you don't like their personalities then I suggest you slide over to NASCRAP where alot of the drivers have been schooled in public speaking. Personally I'd rather watch what Sammy and Donny do on the race track and I could care less what there sound or act like in an interview. If you don't like the excitement these guys generate then you don't know what balls out racin' is.

Sammy has a personality?

I don't like the guy but don't hate him. No denying his skills, but I enjoy booing him very much. Good thing he is a big boy and can take it. In fact it can be argued that the more he gets boo'd the more t shirts he sells to his devoted fans such as yourself. Dale E made a ton of money by being hated.

I will say that I would rather have him be a factor all night and then fail at the end instead of crapping out early....it makes it much more fun to revel in his failure. Nothing wrong with rivalries and good guys/bad guys...it's the foundation that drives ticket and souvineer sales in all spectator sports.

You are 100% right in what you say , how can you not respect Sammy Swindell for his driving abilities , his technical know how in setting up a car or cars as he's done for many years . And yes he showed Donny Schatz how to drive through traffic , and would have won the Knoxville Nationals if there was no caution or had not blown that great tire named Goodyear . This year's Nationals were exciting because of Sammy Swindell , the chase for first and that a very classy driver named Tim Shaffer won which saved the nationals from being another repeat win for Mr.Schatz which would have been the worst advertising for Knoxville , as many fans would not have came back for 2011 even though the Nationals week is a true event more then just a race . So thanks to the fans for making this race a great event again and too Sammy Swindell for showing us his driving skills once again .

I was looking for the You Tube on Sammy's blown tire and stumbled across the Chili Bowl. To start from the back, spin out on lap 12, then climb all the way back to the front is just amazing. Watch the in-car video, too. That's pretty cool.

It's hard to argue Kinser's numbers. It hard to argue against Wolfie's ability having done so in a number of different cars. But Sammy might just be the best of 'em all.

Put these guys in equally prepared cars and you might get three different winners in three different races.

It's too late see the Wolf in action, but enjoy The King and Slammin' Sammy while you can. They are the best of the best.

Is this heaven?  
No, it's Iowa....Knoxville, Iowa.

No doubt, he was the show at Knoxville and most any place he unloads the car. Hopefully the BigGame ride will be good for him for the next few years. Our sport will definitely suffer when Sammy and Steve are gone. Enjoy them while you can, they won't be around forever.

Rovanber, I agree with you 100%, but myself, I would add Jan Opperman in there with the other 3 drivers. JMO.

Rim Rider

For those of us who were able to attend the Nationals, we witnessed something "special".

Sammy is a freaking "rock star"...

hate him, love him or idolize him----you must respect him for his ability to drive a race car

The reason people hate Sammy is because he is an @ss on and off the track. He did not get the nicname "Slammin Sammy" for no reason. For all of the talent he has, he has slammed, hit, and ran over more cars than any one else. It did not matter if he was battling for the lead, trying to lap a car, or racing with his own brother.

While he did have a great nationals, I also remember last years WOO TV race from the Grove where he did not like it that some one would slide him as hard as he had just slid them. Thus, he puts the guy in the front wall destroying the guys car. All of this happened in the C-main, and neither car was in a transfer spot.

I don't hate his interview skills. I hate the things that he says in his interviews. Nothing is ever his fault. Somebody else has always done him wrong. When he puts an agressive move on somebody it is racing. When sombeody puts an agressive move on him he calls them an idiot. He considers himself a God and everyone else is a nobody. I don't think he has a humble bone in his body.

I don't hate his energy level. I hate the fact that he appears bothered by everything. The media, the fans, the other drivers. They are all a bother to him. Friday night before the races, he was in his t-shirt hauler signing autographs. He was hiding back in a corner talking with Kevin. Some people had bought a shirt and wanted an autograph. The person selling t-shirts had to wave at him to get his attention. He signed the shirt but barely acknowledged the fan. He definitely did not stop the conversation with Kevin.

I will give you that he is a top driver of the sport. However, I will never cheer for him. There are a lot of other drivers who are fast and treat the rest of the world like human beings.

He got the name "Slammin Sammy" for slaming the cushion, not anything else. The guy has and always will be an incredible talent, one of the top in our sport for over 30 years. He has won everything this sport has to offer and then some. Like him or not he was the show of the 50th Nats., just a shame his left rear was 3 laps shy of the distance. Enoy watching Sammy and Steve, our sport will miss them when they choose to retire.

Sammy isn't the surgeon. Sammy is like a butcher, he chops through the field, he bangs off other cars and the walls and keeps on going. Wolfie is the chef at the Japanese place where they cook in front of you, smooth, but leaves no doubt you've been passed. Steve is the surgeon. He's the smoothest of them all, just carves through them. How many times have you counted him out, back in twelveth, then suddenly he's right behind the leader. Just my 2 cents. All three are great racers. Heck, I bought Duralite wheels after watching Sammy bounce of walls and other cars and not suffer flats. Paid off, tangled with another car and finished the race with a wheel that looked to be junk but still held air. I was really happy to see everyone cheer him and chant his name at Knoxville, he earned the respect of everyone there.

I think I'm gonna get sick, Just what in the hell was so special about Sammy's drive Saturday night?? How many cars did he pass?!? Other than the fact he did a FINE job of showing his ass.... AGAIN....after he tire went Poof.....what was so darn special???

Same ol' Sammy

Take it to the Top & let it Rock

Hence the whining i refered to in the original post

humpin, you didnt answer the question....what was so amazing about his drive Sat. nite??

Take it to the Top & let it Rock

Member of this message board since 1997

racinround, were you even there?!?!? I am by no means a Sammy fan, but the sliders he was throwing at Schatz and I have never seen anybody push their sprint car to the limits he was while still being in control. I used to be one of the guys booing him yet I even had to go down in the pits after the races and shake the mans hand after the races for the show he put on.