Sammy Swindell

Sammy Swindell walks to his car before hot laps at this year's Knight Before the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway. The Tennessee driver is one of the most famous names in all of motorsports. (Jeremy Elliott | jelliott@pennlive.com)

Sammy Swindell

Accomplishments: Swindell is one of the most well-known drivers in all of motorsports. He reportedly owns 294 victories with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, but it's more if you count all the preliminary wins over the years. Those triumphs have helped Swindell record three championships with the series, the last of which occurred in 1997. Swindell has bagged his share of big scores. He is a three-time Kings Royal champion, a three-time Silver Cup titlist at Lernerville, two-time National Open champion at Williams Grove, a one-time Knoxville Nationals winner and also owns a Gold Cup title. Swindell captured the Syracuse Nationals and won the Fram Dash twice (1990, 1991), each one being worth $65,000.

Did you know: No matter what kind of car Swindell piloted, he either won or was a contender. In 1971, he earned 11 wins in a B-Modified car at Riverside Speedway at the age of 15. He improved to 28 victories in 1972 before entering the Sprint Car division in 1973. Swindell has always been a versatile driver behind the wheel. He won a USAC Midget feature in 1977, earned 46 victories in 1978 across three divisions — sprint cars, modifieds and late models — and 31 more over the 1979-80 season. Swindell has also run on asphalt in the NASCAR Busch Series, Indy Car and owns five Chili Bowl Nationals wins.

Why here: When you think of the Mount Rushmore of Sprint Car racing, Swindell is easily one of the drivers making the cut. He has won every big race imaginable and has been one of two drivers that have been able to challenge Steve Kinser on the World of Outlaws circuit — Doug Wolfgang is the other — in King Steve's prime. Has Swindell lost a step, probably. But the Tennessee driver can still get it done, something he showed in 2012 when he won the Kings Royal and this year with two victories, including a stellar performance in the Knight Before the Kings Royal. I believe Swindell is still good enough to win any night he checks into the pit area and an easy choice for one of the elite spots on this list.