TEXARKANA, Ark. — It can be difficult to peruse the Short Track Nationals history books without frequently coming across Sammy Swindell’s name.
The National Sprint Car Hall of Famer is ready to add more to the record books as he will take in next weekend’s $20,000-to-win 36th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires & Ark-La-Tex Lawn and Landscape at Texarkana 67 Speedway.
With Swindell and the addition of Whit Gastineau and Jamie Manley, the pre-entry count has climbed to 53 with the pre-entry deadline coming up on Monday.
The 36th Annual Short Track Nationals weekend kicks off for the first time at Texarkana 67 Speedway with Thursday’s $4,646-to-win 16th Annual Ralph Henson Memorial with STN action kicking into high gear on Friday and Saturday.
With 13 career STN championship feature starts and an event record-tying five wins, Swindell will take the wheel of a Dale Howard-provided No. 47 Sprint Car for the weekend.
The Germantown, Tenn., legend scored his first STN win in the early years of the event in 1990 when it was still a 410-ci card. With the event evolving into a crown jewel 360-ci Sprint Car event, Swindell has since added STN scores 2011 and 2013 and then back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
Swindell joins former past event winners Sam Hafertepe Jr., Blake Hahn and Wayne Johnson among the entries with numerous notable contenders including the likes of current ASCS National points leader Jason Martin, Knoxville Raceway (Iowa) track champion Austin McCarl, Pennsylvania ace Mark Smith, Missouri’s Garet Williamson and Washington’s Brock Lemley along with perennial STN hotshoes such as Derek Hagar, Jordon Mallett, Howard Moore, Matt Covington, Cody Gardner and more.
Sunnyvale, Texas shoe Hafertepe Jr., brought the curtains down on Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway by topping last year’s Short Track Nationals finale for the second time in three years after he and Aaron Reutzel posted preliminary feature wins the previous night.
Hafertepe Jr., joined Paul McMahan and Tony Bruce Jr., as two-time Short Track Nationals winners with other multiple-time champions including Blake Hahn and Steve Kinser (three times each) and Sammy Swindell and Gary Wright atop the charts with five wins each.
Single time STN champions include Christopher Bell, Brad Sweet, Jason Meyers, Jason Johnson, Tim Montgomery, Jason Sides, Mike Ward, Tim Crawley, Wayne Johnson, Pete Butler, Terry Gray and John Gerloff.
The Current Short Track Nationals Entries:
0-Mike Vaculik (Hot Springs, AR)
1-Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK)
1d-Prestin Dalton (Millington, TN)
1jr-Steven Russell (Rochester, IL)
2-Whit Gastineau (Moore, OK)
2-Chase Porter (St. Joseph, MO)
2-Jason Shavers (Canton, MS)
2c-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)
2T-Todd Bradford (Arlington, TN)
3-Howard Moore (Memphis, TN)
4-Tuesday Calderwood (Goodyear, AZ)
4x-Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS)
6-Koty Adams (Haughton, LA)
6-Christopher Townsend (La Porte, TX)
G6-Cody Gardner (Benton, AR)
7c-Chris Morgan (Topeka, KS)
9jr-Derek Hagar (Marion, AR)
10-Landon Britt (Memphis, TN)
10-Brock Lemley (Sedro Woolley, WA)
10k-Dewayne White (Byalia, MS)
12-Jeffrey Newell (Tulsa, OK)
12m-Greg Merritt (Nesbit, MS)
12x-Garet Williamson (Columbia, MO)
13-Chase Howard (Nesbit, MS)
14-Jordon Mallett (Greenbrier, AR)
15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX)
21m-Spencer Meredith (Hernando, MS)
22m-Rees Moran (Tulsa, OK)
23-Junior Jenkins (Greenville, TX)
23w-Conner Wray (Olive Branch, MS)
26-Marshall Skinner (W. Memphis, AR)
30-Joseph Miller (Cove, AR)
36-Jason Martin (Liberal, KS)
43-Mark Smith (Sunbury, PA)
44-Ronny Howard (Nesbit, MS)
44-Jason Howell (Ft. Worth, TX)
44-Chris Martin (Ankeny, IA)
45x-Kyler Johnson (Quinter, KS)
47-Dale Howard (Byhalia, MS)
47-Sammy Swindell (Germantown, TN)
52-Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)
55b-Brandon Anderson (Glenpool, OK)
71-Channin Tankersley (Arlington, TX)
71b-Brady Baker (Alexander, AR)
79-Gage Montgomery (Fredericktown, MO)
87J-Jace Park (Overland Park, KS)
88-Austin McCarl (Altoona, IA)
91-Michael Day (Farmersville, TX)
91a-Ernie Ainsworth (Bartlett, TN)
95-Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)
98p-Miles Paulus (Marshall, MO)
132-Jamie Manley (Memphis, TN)
938-Bradley Fezard (Bonnerdale, AR)