Returning to the USAC pavement midget series this weekend, Kevin Swindell made another impressive run finishing a close second to winner Dave Steele at the AllState Texas Lightning 40 in Kyle, Texas Saturday night.

After rain cancelled single car qualifying, the cars were sent out for group qualifying.  After all was said and done, Swindell was 2nd quick, but because of the invert would have to start fifth. With rain continually threatening, the pack ran nearly single file to the first caution flag.  On the restart, Kevin took the outside groove and began to make it work, passing cars.  Swindell was able to miss a wreck on the next restart as cars jammed up and he found himself in second place with only a few laps remaining.  As the rain began to fall, officials slowed the field for several laps.  By the final restart, Kevin's tires had cooled down enough so that the grip he had on the outside was mostly gone.  Swindell gave it one try on the start, but had to follow Steele across the line for second.

"We had a great car again!  My Dad and Lenny Green did such a great job - getting it so close with out the benefit of testing time here or much practice," said Kevin. "The car that won tested here last week, so I feel pretty good about how fast we were. It was a fun night!"

Post Note:  One hour after the race and after post-race tech, USAC penalized Swindell two spots.  It was explained to the team that Swindell was not nose-to-tail on a restart even though officials told him after the race that he was ok because he did not gain any positions because of it; someone apparently changed their mind. 

When asked about the penalty, Swindell said he was very disappointed with the decision.  "Our motor takes off really well and others out there do not.  I do not line up as close as some for fear of running into or over them should their motor stumble." 

He was eventually scored 4th instead of 2nd.