Sammy was cool with us in 1994. We got pit passes pre race at Calistoga on the Saturday event and walked up to Sammy’s trailer. He was there and he talked to us. Said the cost of the tires was more than the race winnings would be that night. I bought a shirt, hat and sticker and he signed my shirt and then excused himself to get ready for the night of racing. This was when Sammy was driving the Bull & Hannah’s white #1. Few weeks later Sammy got the Hooters sponsor.
Sammy will always be my favorite. Everytime I saw him race was magic to me. First time I saw him race was at West Capitol Raceway when he was about 18 years old. He was just incredible. He was always gracious to me. Every year I was anticipating his return to California. Years later I would sit with a gentleman named Joe Hill who was a friend of Sammy's. He would sit with Sammy's wife and it was so fantastic to meet Sammy's mom and Dad. They were all so kind to me. I can tell you that I own many Sammy shirts and such but you won't find one item of Steve Kinder merchandise in my house. I'm a Sammy fan through and through. I appreciate what he's done so much for sprint cars and racing in general I'm thankful I got the chance to grow up watching this incredible racer. God Bless you Sammy and thanks for all the wonderful memories.
Hello Shelly ... I remember that night at West Capital also, my first time seeing Sammy, although I'd been reading about him it was good to see him in person ... A few things that come to mind, he couldn't have weighed much more than 130 lbs. and at that time most of the announcers, (at least around Northern California, including Gary Gerould) were pronouncing his name "Swindle" - "like I've been swindled." Gary Gerould also referred to him as the "Flying Flea." A few years later, standing down in turn 1 at Calistoga watching Sammy in a non wing sprint car run it in there almost wide open and thinking, man this is Calistoga, you can't do that! He really stood on the gas ...
MUCH RESPECT! I love his approach and his record is incredible. I am so thankful I had the privilege of watching him over the years, hopefully several more to enjoy.
ASCOT,,,,, Legendary ASCOT. Grew up Saturday nights 70’s, 80’s and into the end in 92. Watched some of the BEST Sprint car racing of ALL TIME,,, battles with local guys and the WoO’s over the years. Raced 1/4 midgets with some great guys and girls too. Loved exhibition 1/4 midget races on the speedway bike track. Sammy Sammy Sammy,,,,, boy he really stirred up a lot stuff through the years. “Slide job Sammy”
I drove Sprint cars at Devils Bowl and had a great respect for Sammy. He was one of the best to set up his car for a given track and no one could drive any better. He was never known for his warm personality. I enjoyed this interview. It was fun to go to West Memphis. Great fans that would come over to motel after the race.
Great interview!! Sammy Swindell was so awesome everywhere in the country I was blessed to see Sammy win alot of races at Eldora where to this day he is and was the smoothest driver at that track by far. Then watching him on the Indy mile doing a 22 second lap going a 166mph down the straights freaking crazy then going into the corners and never lift. There will never be another Sammy Swindell🏁🏁🏁
Best race I ever saw was at Lernerville in the late 80's. Sammy and Steve swapped the lead three or four times a lap for the entire race. Sammy came out on top, what a race.
Excellent interview !!! I did get to see Sammy run at Hales Corners he would rub the right rear on the wall searching for bite as the place was bone dry after hot laps. May 10 1991 the Outlaw show at Hales Corners snowed out
I love that Sammy has been doing these interviews . Back in the day i didn't know much about Him other than He was fast as hell , and that He had been labeled as "the bad guy" , mostly because of His post race interviews. But with these interviews away from the track , I became aware that He is a very intelligent Man , and a very humble Man. It is so easy to develop an opinion of someone from the sidelines. These days I consider Myself a Sammy fan even though He isn't really racing anymore.
See what the Media does when you stand up for yourself and team? Well there you have it, It's the same way today, Look at what they did to Trump... Don't believe anything you hear without hearing it from the source itself.👍 Welcome aboard the Swindell fan club.🏁
Really enjoyed your personal interview, got to learn a lot about you and was surprised to see we are the same age. But I believe the part I enjoyed the most was when you said you spent alot of time at Ascot Park, as a child when my Dad asked me if I wanted to go to Ascot I got pretty excited, we would watch figure 8, demolition derby, Sprint cars all in the same evening I think, that was a good time, I don't know how many times I seen those Sprint cars fly over the wall, this was early 60s, I think Parnelli Jones was out there sometimes too. Then when I got up into High School we would go watch my friends race Motocross at Ascot too. I was raised in that South Bay area in California for 33yrs, now i'm retired in Newcastle, Oklahoma. I guess the part I enjoyed most this week in the Tulsa Shootout was watching you and your son go at it, that was pretty good. You are a Blessed man, and I hope you always praise God.
Lasoski was a great driver, but I always thought he was the biggest whiner of the big boys. Sammy had a bad boy reputation but really never saw him doing anything that much different than the top drivers. He just wouldn't take any guff from the media and really hated doing the bs interviews after the races. I watched nice guy Stevie Smith trash a local yokel in WY years ago when they ran at Rock Springs a couple of years in a row. Car kept blocking Stevie's big runs into turns 1 & 2 and Stevie tolerated it for 2 laps as he really wasn't a contender that night I suspect. 3rd time the guy did it, Stevie launched him into the wall and then he rolled back down into the infield. Local car was destroyed. Rubbings racing, I really thought the Kinsers, Sammy, Doug and Jac were the draw for the Outlaws in the 80s and 90s. Jan Opperman was another super hard charger. I worked in a speed shop in Hastings NE and Jan had a couple engines in our shop while I was there. He was gone too soon from the sport due to way to many hard wrecks tearing his brain loose, TBI.
There was a time in the late 60's where there was racing 3 nights a week in the Memphis area. Osceola Speedway on Friday nights. Riverside Speedway on Saturday nights, and Blytheville Speedway on Sunday afternoons. Best time ever.
Great to see a different side of Sammy. So much knowledge in that head! Awesome interview Wade. Sammy will forever be on the Mt Rushmore of Sprintcar racing right next to Steve, Doug and Donny.
I have always had mad respect for sprint drivers. Any body that can hold them cars wide open all the way around the track it's like a dance with the slide jobs in and out of traffic is just amazing thing to watch.
Wade...off the planet brilliant interview!! Sammy is like the Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL. You sort of hate em but you have to watch cos they are so good. Changed my view on him somewhat but not totally lol. He's a legend and has played a huge part in the sport of sprintcars and why we all love it. Well done Wade.
Sammy had a great attitude of trying something different. Goes back to the early days where guys had to make their own parts and invent things as they went.
Sammy Swindell friends with Gene Hackman? *SHOCKER!* I'll never forget the Knoxville Nationals. Sammy leading, Mark Kinser running 2nd. Back marker Droud dumped in 3. (no disrespect to Droud. Started 24th after transferring out of the B. Droud had just passed Steve Kinser for 11th, but Sammy had lapped up to 12th place) Sammy checked up and Mark drove completely over the top of Sammy. Taking them both out, handing the victory to Blaney. I've never seen Sammy so upset. Psycho upset. Norman Bates upset.
At 15: 00min That was really sad to hear one of the best sprint car guys say hes not in the best car these days ! Almost kinda heartbreaking honestly 50 yrs he said hes been doing this !!
Sammy was cool with us in 1994. We got pit passes pre race at Calistoga on the Saturday event and walked up to Sammy’s trailer. He was there and he talked to us. Said the cost of the tires was more than the race winnings would be that night. I bought a shirt, hat and sticker and he signed my shirt and then excused himself to get ready for the night of racing. This was when Sammy was driving the Bull & Hannah’s white #1. Few weeks later Sammy got the Hooters sponsor.
Sammy will always be my favorite. Everytime I saw him race was magic to me. First time I saw him race was at West Capitol Raceway when he was about 18 years old. He was just incredible. He was always gracious to me. Every year I was anticipating his return to California. Years later I would sit with a gentleman named Joe Hill who was a friend of Sammy's. He would sit with Sammy's wife and it was so fantastic to meet Sammy's mom and Dad. They were all so kind to me. I can tell you that I own many Sammy shirts and such but you won't find one item of Steve Kinder merchandise in my house. I'm a Sammy fan through and through. I appreciate what he's done so much for sprint cars and racing in general
I'm thankful I got the chance to grow up watching this incredible racer. God Bless you Sammy and thanks for all the wonderful memories.
Hello Shelly ... I remember that night at West Capital also, my first time seeing Sammy, although I'd been reading about him it was good to see him in person ... A few things that come to mind, he couldn't have weighed much more than 130 lbs. and at that time most of the announcers, (at least around Northern California, including Gary Gerould) were pronouncing his name "Swindle" - "like I've been swindled." Gary Gerould also referred to him as the "Flying Flea." A few years later, standing down in turn 1 at Calistoga watching Sammy in a non wing sprint car run it in there almost wide open and thinking, man this is Calistoga, you can't do that! He really stood on the gas ...
Huge Swindell fan since the early 80's!! My phone screen saver is Sammy and the Old Milwaukee Car. 👍🏁
MUCH RESPECT! I love his approach and his record is incredible. I am so thankful I had the privilege of watching him over the years, hopefully several more to enjoy.
Sweet Sammy😄😄😃
Thanks for the memories!!!
Thanks for the laughs.
ASCOT,,,,, Legendary ASCOT. Grew up Saturday nights 70’s, 80’s and into the end in 92. Watched some of the BEST Sprint car racing of ALL TIME,,, battles with local guys and the WoO’s over the years. Raced 1/4 midgets with some great guys and girls too. Loved exhibition 1/4 midget races on the speedway bike track.
Sammy Sammy Sammy,,,,, boy he really stirred up a lot stuff through the years. “Slide job Sammy”
Awesome! Thank You 😊 Sammy!! Appreciate the Interview 😎🇺🇲🏁🏆
I drove Sprint cars at Devils Bowl and had a great respect for Sammy. He was one of the best to set up his car for a given track and no one could drive any better. He was never known for his warm personality. I enjoyed this interview. It was fun to go to West Memphis. Great fans that would come over to motel after the race.
Great interview!! Sammy Swindell was so awesome everywhere in the country I was blessed to see Sammy win alot of races at Eldora where to this day he is and was the smoothest driver at that track by far. Then watching him on the Indy mile doing a 22 second lap going a 166mph down the straights freaking crazy then going into the corners and never lift. There will never be another Sammy Swindell🏁🏁🏁
Awesome!!!!
Man sprint car racing needs more interviews like this. Thank you 🤙
Best race I ever saw was at Lernerville in the late 80's. Sammy and Steve swapped the lead three or four times a lap for the entire race. Sammy came out on top, what a race.
yes sir i was there that night. Raised on the bleachers at looneyville! RIP Don Martin
Excellent interview !!!
I did get to see Sammy run at Hales Corners he would rub the right rear on the wall searching for bite as the place was bone dry after hot laps. May 10 1991 the Outlaw show at Hales Corners snowed out
Great video !!
I love that Sammy has been doing these interviews . Back in the day i didn't know much about Him other than He was fast as hell , and that He had been labeled as "the bad guy" , mostly because of His post race interviews. But with these interviews away from the track , I became aware that He is a very intelligent Man , and a very humble Man. It is so easy to develop an opinion of someone from the sidelines. These days I consider Myself a Sammy fan even though He isn't really racing anymore.
See what the Media does when you stand up for yourself and team? Well there you have it, It's the same way today, Look at what they did to Trump... Don't believe anything you hear without hearing it from the source itself.👍 Welcome aboard the Swindell fan club.🏁
Amazing interview with Sammy I have even more respect for him now .
Really enjoyed your personal interview, got to learn a lot about you and was surprised to see we are the same age. But I believe the part I enjoyed the most was when you said you spent alot of time at Ascot Park, as a child when my Dad asked me if I wanted to go to Ascot I got pretty excited, we would watch figure 8, demolition derby, Sprint cars all in the same evening I think, that was a good time, I don't know how many times I seen those Sprint cars fly over the wall, this was early 60s, I think Parnelli Jones was out there sometimes too. Then when I got up into High School we would go watch my friends race Motocross at Ascot too. I was raised in that South Bay area in California for 33yrs, now i'm retired in Newcastle, Oklahoma. I guess the part I enjoyed most this week in the Tulsa Shootout was watching you and your son go at it, that was pretty good. You are a Blessed man, and I hope you always praise God.
So cool to see Sammy being so laid back at the shop to be a hard nosed driver on the track, he’s one of the best ever and most exciting to watch .
My fav thing Sammy said was when he told lasoski if Bristol was to fast for him then go home , and Sammy won the race in fashion
Lasoski was a great driver, but I always thought he was the biggest whiner of the big boys. Sammy had a bad boy reputation but really never saw him doing anything that much different than the top drivers. He just wouldn't take any guff from the media and really hated doing the bs interviews after the races. I watched nice guy Stevie Smith trash a local yokel in WY years ago when they ran at Rock Springs a couple of years in a row. Car kept blocking Stevie's big runs into turns 1 & 2 and Stevie tolerated it for 2 laps as he really wasn't a contender that night I suspect. 3rd time the guy did it, Stevie launched him into the wall and then he rolled back down into the infield. Local car was destroyed. Rubbings racing, I really thought the Kinsers, Sammy, Doug and Jac were the draw for the Outlaws in the 80s and 90s. Jan Opperman was another super hard charger. I worked in a speed shop in Hastings NE and Jan had a couple engines in our shop while I was there. He was gone too soon from the sport due to way to many hard wrecks tearing his brain loose, TBI.
There was a time in the late 60's where there was racing 3 nights a week in the Memphis area. Osceola Speedway on Friday nights. Riverside Speedway on Saturday nights, and Blytheville Speedway on Sunday afternoons. Best time ever.
Amazing interview !!!
Great to see a different side of Sammy. So much knowledge in that head! Awesome interview Wade. Sammy will forever be on the Mt Rushmore of Sprintcar racing right next to Steve, Doug and Donny.
I have always had mad respect for sprint drivers. Any body that can hold them cars wide open all the way around the track it's like a dance with the slide jobs in and out of traffic is just amazing thing to watch.
sammy swidell,sprint car ace,dancing on razor blades
Wade...off the planet brilliant interview!! Sammy is like the Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL. You sort of hate em but you have to watch cos they are so good.
Changed my view on him somewhat but not totally lol. He's a legend and has played a huge part in the sport of sprintcars and why we all love it. Well done Wade.
Gene Hackman raced in Indiana before he went west.
So much respect for this great man and what he has done for the sport of Sprint Car racing!! A legend!!
He's one of the best dirt track drivers around Mr sammy
I always like Sammy great interview
As deserving as any NASCAR or Indy driver, a true legend of the sport
Well I'll stop at the 6 min mark and listen to it in my shop tomorrow I'm glad I found this
I understand now why he looked so serious all.the time.
Bob Trostle built coil over cars right through the 1970s and 1980s
Sammy had a great attitude of trying something different. Goes back to the early days where guys had to make their own parts and invent things as they went.
Sammy Swindell friends with Gene Hackman? *SHOCKER!*
I'll never forget the Knoxville Nationals. Sammy leading, Mark Kinser running 2nd. Back marker Droud dumped in 3. (no disrespect to Droud. Started 24th after transferring out of the B. Droud had just passed Steve Kinser for 11th, but Sammy had lapped up to 12th place) Sammy checked up and Mark drove completely over the top of Sammy. Taking them both out, handing the victory to Blaney.
I've never seen Sammy so upset. Psycho upset. Norman Bates upset.
I know Sammie won one woo champion if not two not sure was in a Nance car but anyway the people he was talking that they needed ti make some changes
At 15: 00min That was really sad to hear one of the best sprint car guys say hes not in the best car these days ! Almost kinda heartbreaking honestly 50 yrs he said hes been doing this !!
Just relax you don't have to prove yourself Just relax big dawg
Hear the guy breathing and Sammy is so dry. Always have been. Sammy is such a boring guy.
Bad ass at driving