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Lawrenceburg, IN — (May 28, 2013) — The last week has been a busy one for the Big Game Motorsports teams.
With four World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series races in four states during an eight-day span, the Eyecon Trail Cameras car of Craig Dollansky and Big Game Treestands backed Sammy Swindell had mixed results.
Qualifying was a tale of two different sides as Dollansky struggled during time trials and Swindell excelled. Dollansky’s average qualifying position was approximately 15th quickest, while Swindell’s was fifth quickest.
“Qualifying is very critical,” Dollansky said. “That’s something we’re working on. I think we’re moving in the right direction, but it’s still a work in progress for us.”
On Monday, May 20, Dollansky qualified 15th quickest at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y. He locked the Eyecon Trail Cameras sprint car into the feature through his heat race, but finished the main event 18th.
Meanwhile, Swindell timed in ninth quickest, won his heat race and placed 10th in the feature.
“A lot of things are kinda coming together,” he said. “We’ve made a lot of headway on a lot of things. We’re definitely getting closer to where we need to be.”
Both cars were in contention the following night at New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, N.J., where Dollansky qualified 16th quickest and Swindell sixth fast. The Big Game Motorsports teammates both finished in the top two of their heat races to advance to the dash, which Swindell won to garner the pole for the feature.
While the Eyecon Trail Cameras car spent much of the race battling inside the top 10, Swindell led the first five laps before being doomed by traffic.
“I came up to a lapped car and they were running the bottom,” Swindell said. “The guy was sticking to the rail and I went to go around him. He slid out and it pushed me wide. It just left the door open for (Daryn) Pittman. After that there wasn’t much of an opportunity.”
Swindell finished in the runner-up position and Dollansky ended ninth – his 14th top 10 of the season.
The teams hauled to The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C., for an event on Friday, when Swindell qualified third quickest and Dollansky 25 th overall.
The Big Game Treestands car moved from fourth to second in the heat race to advance to the dash, while the Eyecon Trail Cameras car finished eighth in his heat. He was relegated to the Last Chance Showdown, where Dollansky was unable to earn a transfer. He then used his second provisional of the season to start the feature in last place.
Swindell again worked from fourth to second in the dash to start the main event on the outside of the front row. However, right before the feature began track officials reworked the surface.
While Dollansky maneuvered from 25th to finish 16th, Swindell faded with the wrong setup for the track conditions before he was eventually caught up in a crash.
“We set our car up to run the top of the track, which is where we’d been all night,” he said after placing 22nd. “So we figured that was the place to be. It was a big change that we needed for the setup. We weren’t told of anything and we were stuck with the complete wrong setup.”
The eventful week of racing concluded on Monday at Lawrenceburg Speedway, where Swindell qualified second quickest and Dollansky fifth quickest. Both drivers advanced to the feature, with Swindell battling into a top-five finish with a damaged nose wing and the Eyecon Trail Cameras car sustaining a flat right rear tire while running in the top 10.
Dollansky’s team changed the tire and after restarting in the back of the field, he worked his way to an 11th-place finish.
“I was very encouraged with last night,” Dollansky said. “We made some gains and made some progress. Unfortunately in the feature we cut a tire down. Had that not happened we would have been in the top five.”
Swindell is fourth in the championship points standings and Dollansky is sixth – only 27 points out of the top five.
The Big Game Motorsports teams and the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series return to action on Friday at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio, and Saturday at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich., for the NAPA Auto Parts Outlaw Showdown.
QUICK RESULTS –
DOLLANSKY:
May 20 – Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y. – Qualifying: 15; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 18 (15).
May 21 – New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, N.J. – Qualifying: 16; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 7 (10); Feature: 9 (7).
May 24 – The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C. – Qualifying: 25; Heat race: 8 (9); B Main: 7 (8); Feature: 16 (25).
May 27 – Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, Ind. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 5 (3); Feature: 11 (12).
SWINDELL:
May 20 – Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 9 (9); Feature: 10 (9).
May 21 – New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, N.J. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 2 (3); Dash: 1 (2); Feature: 2 (1).
May 24 – The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 2 (4); Dash: 2 (4); Feature: 22 (2).
May 27 – Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, Ind. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 3 (4); Dash: 7 (7); Feature: 5 (7).
SEASON STATS –
DOLLANSKY : 27 races, 2 wins, 6 top fives, 14 top 10s, 19 top 15s, 25 top 20s
SWINDELL : 27 races, 1 win, 7 top fives, 16 top 10s, 23 top 15s, 26 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio, and Saturday at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich., for the NAPA Auto Parts Outlaw Showdown with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Big Game Treestands: www.BigGameTreestands.com
Aggressive Hydraulics: www.AggressiveHydraulics.com
MobileStar: www.MobileStar.us/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Big_Game_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/