I was there at Santa Maria the night he made the first 100MPH lap ever recorded there. Big wheelies down the straights all night! What an absolute legend.
Sammy owned “the ditch” aka Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas in the 70s & 80s. He was a fearless teenager back then that could put a Sprint Car in places no one else would think of. Thanks for the memories “Slammin’ Sammy.”
Amen! I grew up watching him, Hooker, Shorty and all legends that ran the ditch. 40 years later I lived about 45 minutes from eldora while in the Air Force. I got to introduce my boys to Sammy there a few times around 2008-2009.
@@jonathankenton7182 - Yes sir! I remember ole “40 for Shorty,” Hooker & Rick Hood, Bobby Davis Jr., Greg Ward, Allen Vanlandingham, and Jeff Swindell. Those guys were legends for years at Riverside.
I’ve been going to Knoxville since 1962 Sammys the same age as me and when he showed up he made a statement, everything he did was first class clean and professional he moved sprint car racing ahead light years . He’s still my favorite driver to this day and if you ever got the chance to see him in his heyday you were seeing the best racing the best 🏁
Slamming Sammy!, we are the same age and I would travel a long ways with my dad to root him on!. Definitely one of the best sprint car drivers of all time!. That's one guy you didnt want to cross on the track cause you would hear about it!.the last time I seen him race was at Muskingum county speedway when the outlaws were in town. What a great man!. Thank you for this interview cant wait to see the rest of the story!. I just love your interview's with these legends!, and as we get older it's so good to have memories of the past because when it comes to racing those were the good old days!. Great Job!.
First time I met Sammy was 1975 in Tampa Florida at the EconoLodge just off I75 downtown. He showed up mid-week with a dually pulling an open flat trailer carrying two sprint cars for the 'speed weeks' across Florida thru February. Hardest driving kid I've ever seen. Nobody shoved a car deeper or harder down into the corners than Sammy. The chassis would load up and the engines would groan all the way thru every corner, then explode out onto the chute. Thanks for all the thrills Sammy!!
Really enjoyed watching this one Don. I had my picture taken with Sammy at Eldora. One of my all time favorite memories walking the pits. It's amazing that a man so quiet and subdued while being interviewed can be such a terror while racing. Anxious to watch the rest of the series!
Thanks Don, Really enjoyed part 1 of the interview with Sammy. He's a real Legend. I think he made a couple attempts to run at Indy in the 500 back in the 80's.
Yes, Indy car! He almost made the big show at Indy with a stock block chevy. Got bumped out with about 1 minute left in qualifying. Can't remember the year. Another story was he was racing an Indy car at Michigan, the Fletcher Cobre Tire car I think. Ran pretty well, came in for tires and fuel and 1 lap later had a tire and wheel fall off the car at about 200 mph. I'm thinking Sammy will still have a clear memory of that.
Seen Sammy race back in the 80's & 90's when he would come into town at the old Flemington Speedway. Haven't been to a sprint car race since it closed until 2022 when visiting my daughters new home in central PA. Found out she wasn't far from Port Royal so we went to a race and low and behold I heard the announcer call out Sammy's name. Was absolutely shocked that he was still racing. The man is a legend!
If memory serves, and I think mine does. Those old movie posters ......Sammy knew Steve McQueen. Sammy said McQueen had a genuine interest in sprint cars. McQueen would come out to watch Sammy race whenever they raced Ascot and CA tracks.
Thank You again for doing an excellent job talking about another of the GENUINE great drivers. Sammy was, is and will always be one of the best of the best. Sammy could make a show and win with with the odds against him at times. Nobody in NASCAR, IndyCar or even the big time BIG MONEY dirt runners have what Sammy and a few of the older ones have. They could run anywhere and win while putting on a great show for the Saturday night local fans. Keep up the good work on bringing the lives of these real drivers to us.
I remember those summer nights that turned cold in the middle of Amish land in Ohio watching Sammy, Doug, Brad, Jac, etc...run sometimes until 2 am. My Dad ran Semi-Lates in the early 80's at the same track. Big Block Mods, Sprints, and Superlates were a weekly class back then. It was a different time for sure. 😢
@@HistoryMysteryMan That era was my innocent years..I was 6. And if anyone needs to be given a Thank You it is You Sir. Awesome interview. Sammy has always been my favorite open wheel driver. Haudenchild a close 2nd.🏁
Another great interview! I appreciate all of your content! I’m a little behind in watching but I’m catching up now! Thank you HMM for your service in making these videos!! I was always a Slammin Sammy fan!!
Awesome interview. Loved all the old pictures. I was at Knoxville for the 50th. and Sammy was running away with it and looked like He had his 2nd win. On the white flag lap he blew a rear tire and flipped the car, He climbed out and walked to the middle of the track and bowed to the crowd. I don't even remember who won but I will never forget that. Ron
I hate the net stuff these days, all the social crap… guys like don just keep giving us gifts tho. Can’t dislike it, does an amazing job. Take care bud
You are able to get and to then conduct the best interviews. I'm not a driver, but i think that sprint cars must be the most challenging race car to drive. I had no idea that Sammy was involved in developing the BeadLock wheel. He's a quiet gentleman not prone to having an ego about his racing career. Looking forward to Part 2.
Thank you for this great story! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Sammy race at Hagerstown and Lincoln Speedways. He was right there with Kinser and Wolfgang in driving skill. I always admired him because Sammy appeared to do the work of Steve and Karl together. It took a while to get used to Sammy. His personality is quite different from say, Steve Kinser. Sammy is quiet and intense at the track, and can come off a bit aloof. After seeing him up close a few times I came to know he’s a nice man, just very reserved and focused. It amazes me how Sammy can still be competitive in his late 60’s! An amazing man that Sammy. Thanks again.
That is awesome to be able to sit down with the Legend, HMM u always seem to out do urself. Great interview, Looking forward to part 2. Thank you Sir!!!
@@HistoryMysteryMan you give the best interviews on RU-vid, you always let them finish the questions and always ask the best questions. Thanks for all you do Don!
Always great interviews,with the best racers America has known.I love History,especially Car Racing,the people,the racecars and the story behind these great racers,mechanics,owners and builders.Thanks Mystery Man,because of your hard work,although you enjoy your work,you bring to us,stories we would never hear.
Thanks again, Mark...greatly appreciated. I do like the work but it's so time consuming...so I really appreciate your recognition. Stop by anytime...HMM
Outstanding History Interview ! I was able to hang around Nance Speed Equipment about 6 years after Sammy but the story's were still around how they would go to the local 3/8 dirt track to test and tune. With Sammy's advice changed how the local guys ran / set up . I enjoyed this 1st part and looking forward to the rest. I knew Mr. Marsh had something to do with the bead locks and now we know the rest of the story . Thanks for all the video / edit work also.
I'll never forget the first time I was at Eldora in April of 93 and my brother pointed out Sammy Swindells rig tucked down in the infield in the 4th corner. I took out the binoculars and seen a totally chromed out vise on the back of the trailer. I couldn't believe it! Of course my brother was a HUGE Sammy fan. I was not, but have total respect for him and his talents in a sprint car. I will say I'd rather see him and his black TMC car in the winners circle than a Quaker State #11 - LOL.
My very first micro sprint that i raced didnt have any form of power steering, which would be rack and pinion in those cars, i tell ya it was soooo hard to turn that steering wheel when the thing was sitting still or even just barely rolling, at speed i didnt have any issue, i sat in some other cars thru the years and it was wild having it be easy to steer sitting still in those cars that did have a rack and pinion in them.......
You get major league “street cred” for putting these interviews together. Wonderful stuff. Who wouldn’t enjoy sitting down with legends like Sammy , Steve, Karl, etc… maybe you could find your way up to Sioux Falls one day. Haha👏👏👏👏
I never was a fan of Sammy. I met him a couple times. I did admire his talent behind the wheel. He's a very smart man when it comes to racing. Nice to see him doing well. Thanks.
Its funny as a kid my dad and i used to always make fun of sammy cuz during his interviews no matter what happened whether he won or crashed outta thebrace he was just monotone and you couldnt tell any emotion in his voice, over the years it actually seemed like he gained some emotion in his voice but this interview brought back memories of the same ole sammy i remember back in the mid to late 90s lol
Marsh made the first bead locks. They were fluorescing orange. Marsh made black plastic sprint car wheels also. Aluminum center. Plastic deep dish. Rick Ferkle ran them. I was working as a pit steward for Greg Weld @ I-70 Speedway while attending college. Having never seen them, I remember specifically asking what the orange ring was for? Someone on Sammy's crew answered: *_"To keep dogs from pissing on your wheels"_* True Story.
Not my first sprint car race but one of the earliest World of Outlaws race was the 1978 Western World Championship at Manzanita. Sammy driving a white car with I think Fed Ex sponsorship. Anyway there was a big hole developing in turn 2 and he came through there and got the car airborne where he really couldn't steer it. Hard to steer when you are up in the air. So he ran right into the back of the car he was following and hit square in the push bar. No harm came from it but the whole thing took place right in front of me as I had somehow managed to get into the pits that night and was standind in the infeild at turn 2. Rode around in the back of a pickup truck push car a freind of the guy I came to the track with was operating. Anyway the action on the track that night made a big impression on me as well as the action in the pits. Watched Sammmy and his crew change rear end gears later that night. I knew little to nothing about these machines so I was fascinated by that. I have been a Swindell fan for many years after that night. I should add that I am not positive the Western was a World of Outlaw sanction at that time but I believe it was. It had one of the largest payoff of any sprint car race in the country at that time and had tremendous car counts to rival even the Knoxville Nationals in those days.
Great stories from Manzanita; thanks for sharing them here. That's one track I never got to...sorry I missed all that action. History of Manzanita would make a great book. Thanks for watching, Jerry...HMM
@History Mystery Man Manzy was huge. I didn't realize how big it was till I went to a few other places. I've never been to Knoxville but I think they were similar.
@History Mystery Man It's a crane yard. This business has a bunch of cranes and related equipment. The grandstands went to Arizona Speedway but that placed closed last year due to the zoning commission making different plans. Canyon Speedway also closed. I think Central Arizona Speedway near Casa Grande is still open. There is a real nice track down near Yuma Az. Quite a hike from where I live in the east valley. There may be a dirt track near Tucson still operating, not sure.
History Mystery Man.......do you only do videos geared toward racing or you do all kinds of subjects, ive watched a few of your racing geared videos and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them ive seen, gotta do one of these with steve kinser danny the dude lasoski and the wild child jac haudenschild and may have his son sheldon join in if/when you do that one as well :)
I've already done the Steve Kinser Series. But I obviously do racing videos, but also Great Lakes Maritime industry, small town America, American history and special features. Thanks! HMM
I always wanted someone to ask , how that TMC deal came about. There would be a half dozen or more TMC flatbeds in the parking lot at every race Sammy was at.
I saw him race in the early 1980s down here in Sydney, Australia. He must have been on "his best behaviour," because I didn't see ANY "slammin'" from Sammy on those few occasions.
Interesting. I always wondered how/why he got that nickname...meant to ask him about it but I forgot. Hard charger for sure, but I never saw Sammy 'slam' his way to the front. Wonder if that nickname bothered him?...because he didn't race that way. Thanks for watching...HMM
Food for thought. Maybe he's just tired after all that non-stop grind. I know I'd be completely worn out if I just went through what he did, from being on the road for decades, his son, etc...
