When the book of greatest American race car drivers is written someday, Sammy Swindell will have his own chapter and it’ll be and exceptional read. Yesterday, Swindell announced that he was done racing effective immediately outside of the legendary Chili Bowl which he has won five times. Swindell plans on concentrating on helping his son Kevin who is establishing himself in the world of NASCAR competing in the Nationwide series. Apparently Swindell had been considering retirement for a while and after a couple week break in the schedule, he decided that he was done racing sprint cars. Many famed drivers have retired in this manner. Guys like Freddy Lorenzen, Bobby Isaac, and others have literally decided (some in the middle of races) that they were done driving, so it has some historical precedent. What’s really interesting for the world of sprint car racing is that Steve Kinser is retiring at the end of this season so the Ruth and Gehrig of the sport are both leaving at the same time. But that’s neither here nor there right now.

What’s important at a moment like this is to look back at just how good Sammy Swindell was and damn was he good. The second winningest World of Outlaws driver ever with 294 wins. He has over 600 race wins in total, he has driven NASCAR and Indy along with the dirt stuff, and he’s won just about everything there is to win with a sprint car. A look at his resume shows wins at the Knoxville Nationals, Gold Cup Race of Champions, Kings Royal, Williams Grove National Open, Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup, Selinsgrove Open, Western World Championships and Syracuse Super Nationals, and literally dozens more big time events…some of which don’t even exist anymore. Listen, this guy was so good that he was elected into the Sprint Car Hall of Fame nearly 10 years ago while he was still racing around like a madman. How often do competitors in any sport get inducted into their respective hall of fame while they are still actively plying the trade? It is the ultimate respect move by your peers and your racing community for that to happen.

Swindell was never a big talker off the track and chose to let his driving ability tell any tales or settle any disputes on the track. His active driving career spanned some 40 years and he plans to continue on a very limited basis with the Chili Bowl stuff. Incidentally, his five wins at the Chili Bowl are the most by anyone ever.

Knowing a couple of guys who run dirt cars for a living, it is a grueling and pretty old school road existence. During the warm months, these guys can race 3-5 times a week depending on where they are and more than a few of them are literally steering for their supper. Sammy Swindell came up in that world and the education he received there led him to one of the most prolific racing careers of anyone in the history of American motorsports.

We wish Sammy the best on helping his son establish his NASCAR career.

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE WHY THIS GUY IS SUCH A LEGEND – FROM 9TH TO SECOND IN A SPRINT CAR CARS IN UNDER TWO MINUTES –