Rain delays Salina; cancels I-55; Outlaws now move on to Jacksonville & Eldora
CARLISLE, PA. – May 4, 2016 – Sometimes, a few adjustments make all the difference in the world.
CJB Motorsports and its’ drivers, David Gravel & Sammy Swindell, have had some success in 2016 but a few small tweaks helped the Pennsylvania based team turn in their best collective performance of the year.
On Tuesday, April 26th, the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series returned to I-30 Speedway near Little Rock, Ark. For the first time in over 20 years. Despite the time away, CJB proved to have two of the cars to be all night long.
“We qualified second overall,” said Gravel, driver of the Big Game Treestands, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5. “We won the heat race, ran well in the dash and that got us good track position in the feature. We started fourth and made our way to to third before falling back to fifth. The track was a little more open in (turns) one & two than it was in (turns) three & four. Eventually, we clawed our way back up to second and were trying to gain on (Jason) Sides. We put together a really good night and I know we can continue to do that all season long. “
Sammy Swindell and the #1 team took the time between recent events at Devils Bowl Speedway near Mesquite, Texas to go over the chassis and setup on their Big Game Tree Stands, GoMuddy.com machine. The results paid immediate dividends as the team was fastest in practice, quickest in time trials and won their heat race.
“We found somethings during our time off that I think really made us a lot better and will continue to help us,” said Swindell. “I had a good setup for a 360 for the track and we worked to adapt that to the different tire and engine with the 410. Seemed to have paid off well. The dash inversion draw hurt us as we got inverted to the back. Then we had an electrical issue with our engine which meant that we had to get a new one in before the feature. That cut down on the time we had to make adjustments for the feature. In the feature, we started well but that lack of adjustments hurt us. I eventually got up over the cushion and the thing tipped over. I thought I had it saved but it still went. Overall, we had great speed. It’s just that luck that we’re having right now that’s hurting us. Once we get that squared away, we know we’ve got the speed to be fast anywhere.”
Persistent rains forced the postponement of the Outlaws visit to the Salina Highbanks Speedway outside of Salina, Oklahoma to Saturday, October 22nd. Mother nature was also the culprit when it came to the cancellation of the Spring Classic at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 near Pevely, Mo.
Next up on the docket for Gravel is a stop to Jacksonville (Illinois) Speedway on Wednesday, May 4th. Gravel was in action the night the series made its’ debut there in 2014.
“We had a decent car there from what I remember,” said Gravel, who finished 9th after starting 24th in his lone visit to the quart-mile track. “It’s a short, tight little place. It’ll be a challenge for sure.”
After battling on the bull ring, Swindell will rejoin Gravel as the pair heads to Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio for the first time in 2016.
“Eldora is a big track and we’re excited for it,” said Gravel, who collected an Outlaw victory at the track on May 3rd, 2014. “With our engine package and some of the things we are doing, I think we will be very good there. It’s a fun place to race and we’re looking to build out our notebook.”
“We had some good outings there when we started with the CJB team there last July,” said Swindell, who owns 21 career World of Outlaws wins at the track. “Hopefully we can pickup where we left off and continue to get stronger there since we’ve got a lot of opportunities there for the year.”
CAR #5 2016 STATS:
Events: 22
Quick Times: 0
Wins: 1
Top-5’s: 10
Top-10’s: 15
Heat Race Wins: 7
Dash Wins: 1
Average Time Trial: 8.1
Average A-main finish: 8.3
Total Laps Led: 35
CAR #1 2016 STATS:
Events: 17
Quick Times: 1
Wins: 0
Top-5’s: 3
Top-10’s: 7
Heat Race Wins: 4
Dash Wins: 0
Average Time Trial: 13
Average A-main finish: 10.8
Total Laps Led: 0
UP NEXT:
Jacksonville (Illinois) Speedway is up next for the ‘Greatest Show on Dirt’ on Wednesday, May 4th. Following that, the series make’s its’ first of three stops at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio on Friday, May 6th and Saturday, May 7th.
BOX SCORE:
CAR #5:
Date
|
Track
|
Size
|
Time Trial
|
Heat start
|
Heat finish
|
Dash start
|
Dash finish
|
“A” start
|
“A” finish
|
4/26/2016
|
I-30
|
0.25
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
2
|
CAR #1:
Date
|
Track
|
Time Trial
|
Heat start
|
Heat finish
|
Dash start
|
Dash finish
|
“A” start
|
“A” finish
|
4/26/2016
|
I-30
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
16
|
STAY CONNECTED WITH CJB MOTORSPORTS:
For up to the minute race updates and behind the scenes content from CJB Motorsports, please follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Fans can also listen to all of the racing action live at www.DirtVision.com.
DRIVER GEAR:
Check out the latest Sammy Swindell apparel and merchandise by visiting Sammy’s official online store as well as the R&R Racewear superstore, the webs largest collection of dirt track racing apparel and merchandise.
ABOUT CJB MOTORSPORTS:
CJB Motorsports is a winged, 410 sprint car team that competes across the country with drivers David Gravel & Sammy Swindell. Founded in 2005, the Chad and Jenn Clemens owned organization has worked to establish a standard of excellence in short track racing through fielding competitive entries and providing exceptional exposure for marketing partners. The team is based out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
CJB Motorsports would like to thank all of our loyal sponsors and product manufacturers for their support and great products. Click on the name of the partner below to be taken to their website for more information.
Partners: Mainstream Holdings, Big Game Treestands, Muddy, J.R.C.Transportation Inc., Bairs Tree Service, Nyce, Crete & Landis Block and Concrete, All Star Performance, Henry Dunn Insurance, C&S Lawn and Landscape, Ecynbro Trucking
Manufacturers: Astro Titanium, Arctic Cat, ATL Fuel Cells, Blackbeard Ltd., Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gaskets, Energy Release, Fastener Specialties, FK Rod Ends, Factory Kahne Shocks, High Performance Lubricants, HRP Wings, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Kistler Engines, KSE Racing Products, Lincoln Welders, Moose Blocks, Inc., MSD Ignition, Outerwears, Safety-Klean, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson, Sweet Engineering, TI22, Walker Performance Filters, Weld Racing, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance.