SWINDELL GRUNDY COUNTY WINNER

Sammy Swindell long ago lost track of how many checkered flags he has carried during his legendary five decades-long open-wheel racing racing career.

"It's somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000," Swindell said. "Probably not 2,000... but it's close."

What's more important is that he keeps adding on.

Friday, the Tennessee native went wire-to-wire in the Midwest Pavement Midgets Series feature on Armed Forces Night at Grundy County Speedway.

Swindell outran front-row partner Nick Grommes at the start, then survived several challenges from multi-time division champion Jim Anderson.

At age 70, he's far from done.

"I'm doing things most people my age don't get to do," Swindell said. "So I'm having fun. I don't want to run a lot of races, but I'd like to run some. It's good to challenge myself."
On Friday, he beat them all. Anderson came the closest to him during the long runs. Swindell was majestic on the restarts, maintaining a slow pace and then getting a big jump as the green fell.

"Yeah... well, I knew that the motor I have would take off a little faster," Swindell said. "I was trying to go, not incredibly slow, but just a little bit off the pace, and change it where I started at different times.

"I'd ride the brake and then get it all rarin' to go. But I've always been good on the restarts. We've been working hard on this thing with David Ward, and it's starting to show some."
At the finish, Swindell beat Grommes by 0.224 seconds. Third went to Anderson, ahead of Scott Dunning, Scott Koerner and Basil Hicks.

The Big 8 Late Models ran twin-25s, with the first going to Joshua Lundy and the second to Franc Beldowski.

Lundy came from the second row and used the top groove to take the lead from Nolan Woods on lap six. From there it was a matter of keeping a steady pace

It was Lundy's first win in a Big 8 car. Prior to this, he raced Roadrunners and Sportsman cars at Rockford Speedway.

"The car handled great," Lundy said. "We made the pass on the high side there - which I wasn't expecting to happen. Once we got past the 28, we were able to run away."

Eddie Hoffman came on late to claim second place ahead of Beldowski. Woods was fourth, followed by Mike Dimand and Steve Rubeck.

In the second feature, Beldowski came from the back of the field to track down and pass Woods with just five laps remaining and claim his second win of the season.

It was a tough break for Woods, who worked relentlessly to take the lead earlier in the race from Rubeck.

"I saw the opening and I knew that was my chance," Beldowski said. "I had to take it. I know he (Woods) wants a win this year and I know he'll get it. But this time... I saw that door and I had to take it."

Woods fell back after the pass and finished fourth. Lundy beat out Hoffman for second place, while Rubeck and Keith Pierce completed the top six.

Beldowski, meanwhile, will have some family matters to deal with.

"Yeah, I gave my uncle (Rubeck) a shot there," Beldowski said, laughing. "I'm sure I'll have to do some body work in the shop this week."

Jakob Slusarczyk was king of a very competitive 18-car pure stocks field. He took the lead on lap 3, and basically had no takers. Bart Brockmann paced the bunched-up pack behind him. Dan Schmeissing was third, followed by Mason Meister, Jeffrey Turner and Colten Williams.

The win had an anniversary feel for Slusarczyk.

"One year ago today was my first feature win," Slusarczyk said. "It's crazy to believe."
Slusarczyk's biggest challenge came from the race timer. It's easy to break out when you're running alone.

"I've been racing here for two or three years and I was just focused," Slusarczyk said. "If I don't feel I'm going to be chased down by someone I just try to play it safe.

"There was one time where there was a lapped car, and I was going a little hot. I thought I was going to break out honestly. Fortunately, I didn't."

Defending champion Eddie Ligue continued his hot start to the season, scorching the field in the Crown Vic feature. Ligue grabbed the top spot on lap 7 and set sail. He beat Trey Olson by 1.084 seconds. Eric Ferrara was third, followed by Cory Clougherty, Richard Shouse and Zoey Czubak.

"Actually, that was a really good race," Ligue said. "It was once we got in front that we started pulling away. In the heat race, it was absolutely junk. Then we made some adjustments with the tires for the feature and we set sail."

The win was Ligue's second of the season. To say the least, he's ahead of his 2025 title-winning pace.

"Yeah, last year we didn't win a feature until the last race," Ligue said, smiling. "It's nice to get another one."

SUMMARY
Midwest Pavement Midgets
Fast time: Scott Dunning (145.797)
1st heat: 1. Jim Anderson, 2. Nick Grommes, 3. Jacob Senerchia.
2nd heat: 1. David Ward, 2. Jeremy Bieda, 3. Rick VanCleave.
20-lap feature: 1. Sammy Swindell, 2. Nick Grommes, 3. Jim Anderson, 4. Scott Dunning, 5. Scott Koerner, 6. Basil Hicks, 7. Lorelai Atkinson, 8. Jeremy Bieda, 9. Rick VanCleave, 10. Jacob Senerchia, 11. David Ward.

Big 8 Late Model
Fast time: Eddie Hoffman (15.716).
1st 25-lap feature: 1. Joshua Lundy, 2. Eddie Hoffman, 3. Franc Beldowski, 4. Nolan Woods, 5. Mike Dimand, 6. Steve Rubeck, 7. Keith Pierce, 8. Sam Redmond.
2nd 25-lap feature: 1. Franc Beldowski, 2. Joshua Lundy, 3. Eddie Hoffman, 4. Nolan Woods, 5. Steve Rubeck, 6. Keith Pierce, 7. Mike Dimand, 8. Sam Redmond.

Pure Stocks
Fast time: Todd Snow (19.204)
1st heat: 1. Matt Ciara, 2. Bart Brockmann, 3. Colten Williams.
2nd heat: 1. Aaron Vines, 2. Matthew Arnold, 3. Andrew Randall.
25-lap feature: 1. Jakob Slusarczyk, 2. Bart Brockmann, 3. Dan Schmeissing, 4. Mason Meister, 5. Jeffrey Turner, 6. Colten Williams, 7. Todd Snow, 8. Dominic Matts, 9. Garrett Evans, 10. Matt Ciara, 11. Jason Turner, 12. Aaron Vines, 13. Kaylee Vines, 14. John Hougas, 15. Jackson Martindale, 16. Andrew Randall, 17. Mike Glenn, 18. Matthew Arnold.

Crown Vic
Fast time: Eddie Ligue (19.256)
1st heat: 1. John Griffin, 2. Richard Shouse, 3. Ken Norbut.
2nd heat: 1. Eric Ferrara, 2. Trey Olson, 3. Eddie Ligue.
20-lap feature: 1. Eddie Ligue, 2. Trey Olson, 3. Eric Ferrara, 4. Cory Clougherty, 5. Richard Shouse, 6. Zoey Czubak, 7. John Griffin, 8. Greg Taylor, 9. Roger Daigger, 10. Stephanie Nossum, 11. Ken Norbut, 12. Ken Unland.