The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by Sawblade.com and the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire have more in common than just a sponsor.
They were both the creation of Tulsa racing legend, Emmett Hahn, and just like the Chili Bowl, features some of dirt track racing’s biggest names. Among those is five-time Chili Bowl Champion, Sammy Swindell, who will be competing this Thursday night at Creek County Speedway.
“Anytime we get Sammy Swindell back to Tulsa, it’s going to be a heck of a show,” commented Hahn. “He’s mastered the Chili Bowl, but this race at Creek County is a different animal. We’ve got some pretty good drivers coming in, so he’ll have his work cut out.”
Hahn, who co-founded the Chili Bowl Nationals with Lanny Edwards in 1987, founded and built Creek County Speedway two years earlier. What started as a track for Micros was expanded to his quarter-mile configuration just before Emmett debuted the American Sprint Car Series in 1992.
“I started ASCS for a couple reasons. The biggest was the cost of racing was out of control and having a series with Spec Heads meant a guy couldn’t just buy a win. You can’t stop them from spending money on other parts of the car, but you can slow them down. The other reason was so my kids and grandkids would still have Sprint Car racing long after I’m gone.”
Sammy Swindell in Victory Lane on Saturday, May 9 in Amarillo, Texas. The mulit-time Chili Bowl Champion will be at Creek County Speedway on Thursday night. (Image Credit: Bobby Thomas)
The fifth round of competition on the ASCS Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek, Thursday, June 14 at Creek County Speedway will also feature the USAC Wingless Sprints of Oklahoma and Dwarf Cars.
“We have Sammy Swindell racing, plus all our hot shoes like Sam Hafertepe, Jr, and Johnny Herrera on the ASCS side, then on this USAC deal, we’ve got a lot of the local drivers that race weekly at Creek like Danny Smith and Kyle Clark, so it’s a nice balance for a fan to come out and enjoy.”
Thursday, June 14 opens at 5:00 P.M. with racing getting underway at 8:00 P.M. (CT). Admission is $20 for adults with seniors and military admitted for $15. Youth 11-14 get in for $6 with kids under 10 free into the grandstands.
