By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
The second World of Outlaws Pro Invitational broadcast on FS1 saw Kevin Swindell earn an emotional win at the virtual Knoxville Raceway.
Although it was in the virtual simulation iRacing, Swindell’s win came are the site of a life changing crash. Five years ago, the rising star was paralyzed in a crash at the half-mile Marion County Fairgrounds oval.
Fueling Swindell’s victory was a gaming wheel with hand controls for throttle and brakes. IndyCar’s Robert Wickens also uses hand controls on iRacing after his vicious crash at Pocono Raceway several years ago.
Swindell explained how his hand controls force him to drive differently:
“With the way these hand controls are, I can’t hustle like I could when I could use my feet, so it does make it a little tougher and forces me to put myself into situations where I can be smooth. I’ve shied away from the top somewhat anyways, but that was what it took tonight. If I had a bit better throttle I think I could have done an even better job. Tonight was good though.”
In a late-race mad scramble, Swindell wheeled his No. 39 Swindell SpeedLab Sprint Car by race-leader Kyle Larson with seven laps to go. The son of Sprint Car legend Sammy Swindell cruised away as Larson battled Christopher Bell, Austin McCarl and others for position. The heated battle sent Larson over the cushion and into the outside wall.
While his competition battled each other for second, Swindell scored his biggest win since his career-ending crash with 2.809 seconds to spare over Bell. McCarl, Bill Balog, and Logan Schuchart rounded out the top-five.
“Tonight was awesome,” admitted Swindell. “The last couple of these (invitationals), I’ve been leading laps, and I honestly, probably chocked last night in the DIRTvision race. This is pretty sweet. The one last night, I didn’t get the car tight enough and Logan (Seavey) killed us.
“I learned a little bit there and didn’t make the mistake tonight. I think that played pretty big into making sure my car was where it needed to be at the end there.”
After jumping the cushion, Larson faded back to finish sixth. David Gravel, Max McLaughlin, Brad Sweet, and Carson Macedo rounded out the top-10.
The World of Outlaws welcomed a pair of guests, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya to the grid. The duo finished 15th and 17th in the iRacing invitational respectively.
The Finish
1. 39-Kevin Swindell [8] ($1,000), 2. 21-Christopher Bell [6], 3. 17a-Austin McCarl [11], 4. 17b-Bill Balog [15], 5. 1s-Logan Schuchart [3], 6. 57-Kyle Larson [7], 7. 41-David Gravel [9], 8. 17-Max McLaughlin [10], 9. 49-Brad Sweet [17], 10. 2-Carson Macedo [13], 11. 55-Robbie Kendall [2], 12. 88-Trent Ivey [5], 13. 28-Ron Capps [20], 14. 7bc-Tyler Courtney [12], 15. 76-Bubba Wallace [18], 16. 21b-Brian Brown [1], 17. 6-Juan Pablo Montoya [14], 18. 2c-Wayne Johnson [21], 19. 5b-Chase Briscoe [4], 20. 87-Aaron Reutzel [19], 21. 87w-Ryan Bernal [16].
Lead Changes: Four among four drivers.
Lap Leader(s): Brian Brown Grid, Robbie Kendall 1-14, Kevin Swindell 15-17, Kyle Larson 18-27, Kevin Swindell 28-35.
Laps Led: Robbie Kendall 14, Kevin Swindell 11, Kyle Larson 10.
Hard Charger: 17b – Bill Balog (+11).
Cautions: Two for seven laps.
Margin of Victory: 2.809 seconds.
Tim of Race: 13 minutes, 6.823 seconds.
Average Speed: 80.069 mph