Sammy Swindell is a three-time World of Outlaws sprint car champion who has reached NASCAR’s top division, competed in its truck series, and won just about everywhere since beginning his racing career in the early 1970s.
But Swindell never has competed at Magnolia Motor Speedway, despite growing up a little more than two hours away in Memphis, Tennessee.
Swindell will compete at The Mag for the first time tonight when the United Sprint Car Series makes its second stop at the track this season.
“I haven’t heard much about the track, but I look forward to racing there,” Swindell said. “When I get to a place we haven’t been, I try to compare it to some place that I’ve been. I’ll look through the notes and find what works.”
Swindell said he typically finishes better on larger tracks — at 3/8 of a mile, Magnolia is considered a large track in the state of Mississippi — because it requires greater focus on setup.
“I kind of enjoy those a bit more because there’s a little more to it, as far as not just the driving, but the technical side of it,” Swindell said. “You have to have your car right. You get on the smaller tracks, and it’s more the driver. I’ve won on both, but I enjoy racing on the larger tracks.”
Swindell is searching for his first win this season. He has notched one top-five finish and seven top 10s through 10 races.
Swindell, 61, is racing a lighter schedule that allows him to drive without running a race team.
“We’re probably all different in when and how we decide (to gradually step away from racing),” Swindell said. “For me, it was like a year or so ago, I decided I’m not going to race full time for points or for a series; I’m just going to race a little bit and just enjoy it as long as I can. I’ve always said that, as long as I can be competitive and have desire, I’ll do it. If you don’t have the desire, it’s a job or a burden.
“I can go drive and enjoy my life some … I don’t think a lot of people understand that you don’t have much of a life outside of racing when you’re trying to move up and compete for points. But that’s the way it needs to be when you are.”
Swindell has had many opportunities to reflect on a star-studded racing career. Sprint car promoter Roger Johnson has been curating a special tribute to Swindell’s career at the Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa.
“I’ve been pulling out a lot of my old cars, cleaning them up and sending them to Iowa,” Swindell said. “There were a lot of trophies they took to take the hall of fame, too. It’s all been in front of me for the last five or six months. It all comes to life.
Turpen on a roll
Morgan Turpen is third in USCS points and has won five races this year despite racing on an indefinite schedule this spring.
Turpen, a former USCS Champion and Rookie of the Year, is working as an English teacher in Germantown, Tennessee. With more time to race in the summer, Turpen is poised to make a run at her car owner, Terry Gray, who is 245 points ahead of her, and one point out of first place.
Turpen is expected to race tonight, as is Derek Hagar, who won the USCS race in March at Magnolia.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.