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Swindell and Bayston Produce Two Top 10s During Knoxville Nationals

(Photo by TeeJay Crawford)

Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 15, 2017) – Kevin Swindell Racing had an eventful week at Knoxville Raceway during sprint car racing’s biggest event.

The action began for the Swindell Speed Lab backed team on Aug. 6 during the Capitani Classic, which was the final tune-up prior to the 57th annual 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store.

Spencer Bayston qualified 12th quickest in his group and won a heat race to lock the team into the 16th starting position in the A Main. He then advanced into the top 10 before blowing a right rear tire in the closing laps.

“It gave us some confidence that we were in the game,” Swindell said. “We weren’t sure where we were going to be after the week before when we really struggled there. We qualified decent and the heat race was really good so that made us feel we were where we needed to be.”

Despite the late-race tire problem that relegated the team to a 21st-place result, Bayston and Swindell entered the Knoxville Nationals with a lot of confidence. The team qualified second quickest out of nearly 50 competitors to open preliminary action last Wednesday. However, a problem with the Knoxville Raceway scale led to the team shifting to Thursday’s preliminary night.

This time Bayston qualified 26th quickest after going out much later in the order. He then placed fourth in a heat race to lock into the 12th starting position for the A Main.

“We were second overall in hot laps,” Swindell said. “The race track went away and the lane you had to hit got pretty narrow in qualifying. We made it through the heat race and we were pretty good in the feature. He made a mistake on the start and got into the fence. The right front was bent and a couple of things were out of whack, but he was still able to drive up to the top 10.”

Bayston capped the night with a ninth-place result.

The team returned to the half-mile oval on Friday for Hard Knox Night. Bayston qualified sixth quickest in his group and finished third in a heat race to earn the seventh starting position for the A Main.

“We were really good in the feature,” Swindell said. “It seemed like every time he’d make progress and race somebody he’d get hung in the slick. I felt like we passed 14 cars and we started seventh and ran sixth. It’s a place that takes a lot of time to master how to play the game in traffic and defend at times with guys. There’s spots where you can move the air around and mess a guy up or even plan for his movement. That’s the stuff that makes a difference.”

Bayston’s sixth-place result was two positions shy of locking into Saturday’s A Main. It lined him up 12th in the B Main on Saturday. He was battling for a top 10 midway through the race when another driver slid up in front of him in turn two.

“As they got down there he didn’t have the air on the wings that he was accustomed to,” Swindell said. “Someone slid up in front of him. He was committed against the cushion and we were snug as it was. Once you get out of the gas on the curb there it swallows you up.”

Bayston collided with the wall and it knocked the front end out, resulted in a DNF.

“It was a learning experience for sure,” he said. “I didn’t have much expectations for myself. It’s a unique place that is difficult to get accustomed to. I felt pretty comfortable by the end of the week. I’m already looking forward to next year and trying again.”

The team is slated to return to action Aug. 25-26 at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions.

QUICK RESULTS –

Aug. 6 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 21 (16).

Aug. 10 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 26; Heat race: 4 (3); Feature: 9 (12).

Aug. 11 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 6 (7).

Aug. 12 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – B Main: DNF (12).

SEASON STATS –

19 races, 2 wins, 7 top fives, 9 top 10s, 12 top 15s, 13 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Aug. 25-26 at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.KevinSwindellRacing.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinSwindell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevinSwindellRacing

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems

Based in Concord, N.C., ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems manufactures custom seats and distributes a variety of racing accessories, including seat mounts, padding, belts and restraints, steering wheels and helmets. For additional information, visit http://www.ButlerBuilt.net.

“ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems has some of the safest and most comfortable safety equipment available,” Swindell said. “I encourage everyone to give the ButlerBuilt team a call to learn more about being safe and comfortable in a race car.”

Swindell would also like to thank John Christner Trucking, Mike Curb and Curb Records, MPI Steering Wheels, Racing Optics, Arai Helmets, Maxim Chassis, DMI, Hoosier Racing Tires, Sweet Manufacturing, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Kenny’s Components, High Performance Lubricants and Swindell Speed Lab for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.

To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.

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