Tag: Jac Haudenschild

Swindell Still Winning in Night Two of World Finals

[media-credit name=”Chris Dolack/World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]In the shadow of the big track at Charlotte stands one of the fastest and most challenging dirt tracks in our country. It is known simply as the dirt track at Charlotte. Its big sister across the street watches over her protectively but in truth she is very capable of taking care of herself. Tonight she showed the very best that fact without hesitation.

The second night of the World Finals at Charlotte went off without a hitch but with a few surprises. The qualifying held on Thursday for the Friday and Saturday race cards foreshadowed tonight’s results.

Thursday’s qualifying was a long day at the track. With qualifying for 3 major classes of racing, Super Dirt Modifieds, World of Outlaws Late Models, World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, it was a painfully long and sometimes confusing day. The field of 50 sprint cars mixed in with 70 late models and 50 modifieds took almost 5 hours to qualify. The Sprints often run with an accompanying class but never anything like this. This was 3 headline acts all competing for the fans and the spotlight.

Friday nights qualifying was eventful for several reasons. One Donny Schatz clinched the World of Outlaws Sprint Car championship when he made the first qualifying lap in the Tony Stewart Racing STP Number 15. But his qualifying time would be dismal and a disappointment when Schatz ended up 25^th fast with what was rumored to be a Chevy Performance R&D power plant.

Fast time would go to Daryn Pittman who made his Outlaws debut in the Kasey Kahne Racing Ollie’s Bargain Outlet number 49. Pittman’s time of 13.047 seconds would top the charts ahead of Shane Stewart, Kraig Kinser, Sammy Swindell and Craig Dollansky. The top 5 cars were separated by 6 hundredths of a second. “Obviously with 50 cars the first goal is to go out there and get in the invert,” Pittman said after his third quick time of the season. “There’s 50 really good sprint cars and probably 30 of the best in the country, so you just start with a small goal of making sure you’re in the invert so you’ve got a chance to win and you try to improve from there.”

The 5 heat races would be run on Friday night. And with 3 classes running it was a very exciting night of racing for those in attendance.

The first heat race would run into havoc on the first lap when Ryan Smith, Eric Riggins and David Gravel would tangle in 4. Riggins would be done for the night. Gravel would make repairs and return. The heat would be won by Australian legend Brook Tatnell who held off a hard charging Joey Saldana. Pittman would come in 3^rd and Kerry Madsen would come in 4^th to transfer to the A Main. Gravel would rally back to finish 6^th.

The second heat was a fast paced race that would again find trouble early when Shane Stewart, Dean Jacobs and Brian Sebetto would tangle. Jacobs would end up on his roof and out for the evening. No drivers were injured. The race would be won by PA Posse member Lance Dewease over Brian Brown, Paul McMahan and Jason Sides.

Heat number 3 would be free of incident with Dale Blaney leading the way over Sam Hafertepe Jr and Danny Holtgraver, and Kraig Kinser. Blaney previewed the strength of his car briefly in the heat but would show his hand later as to just how strong the car was.

Heat 4 was a power house show of talents and speed. Won by Sammy Swindell, the race was a display of skills by Swindell and Haudenschild. Although Haudenschild would fade late in the heat to 6^th, he was a strong presence throughout the race. Transferring to the A along with Swindell, were Ed Lynch Jr, Lucas Wolfe and Greg Wilson.

Heat Race number 5 would bring the surprise of the evening, or maybe not so much of a surprise judging from the qualifying the night before. The race would be a fast and rough show that would be dominated by Jason Johnson in his Roush Stenhouse Ford. He would be chased to the line by Craig Dollansky, Terry McCarl and Steve Kinser. Failing to make the A was the new World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz. It seemed that Schatz struggled to maintain speed until late in the race when he climbed to 6^th.

The C Main was a race of desperation. The C would be won by Jack Sodeman Jr. with Danny Mumaw, Warren Johnson, Bill Rose, and Kory Crabtree the top 5. Sodeman and Mumaw would transfer to the B Main.

The B Main would be the Wild Child show, with Jac Haudenschild putting on a clinic in how to make a Sprint Car fly. Haudenschild would lead every lap and come home ahead of Brian Sebetto, Stevie Smith and Greg Hodnett who would all transfer to the A Main. Champion, Donny Schatz would again come home 6^th. Out of provisionals, the champ would watch the race from the pits. Taking a provisional to get in were Cody Darrah and Chad Kemenah.

The A Main was perhaps one of the best features of the entire season. With 8 lead changes and three wide action all through the pack. Dale Blaney would jump out to an early lead but would have to hold off a charging Sammy Swindell and a hard driving determined Brian Brown. Blaney was able to hold off both until he cut down a tire with 6 laps to go. Brown would inherit the lead and would hold off Sammy Swindell until the next to the last lap when Swindell would make a charge on the high side out of four to take the lead at the line. Swindell would never look back. Brown would then have his hands full with a very strong Kraig Kinser. Swindell would win by a corner over Brown, Kraig Kinser, Paul McMahan, and Jason Johnson. Swindell who said he had a good strong car and had to exercise patience until the fuel load burned off quipped, “They only pay for the last lap, so I just wanted to lead that one.”

With the night coming to an end, it was time to start getting ready for Saturday night and the final night of the World Finals. Qualifying is already in the books. The lineups are already set. All that is left is to run the final race of the year. The Outlaws champion Donny Schatz is sitting much better for Saturday than he was for tonight. There is a different quick time holder. But still there and still determined is the old guard. Sammy Swindell did not come to go home with only one win. Jac Haudenschild will not be happy with 8^th. And the King of the Outlaws has never been an also ran and he will not be settling in to the role now.

As the tail lights wind out of the speedway and the voices continue their excited chatter as they exit. The track has grown quiet. It’s time to give her a drink of water and put her to bed for the night. The wind is chilly and the stars are bright. From a distance you can almost see her snuggle up to her big sister and say “Did you see what I did tonight?”

Qualifying Results for Friday : 1) Daryn Pittman 2) Shane Stewart 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Craig Dollansky 6) Joey Saldana 7) Paul McMahan 8) Dale Blaney 9) Jac Haudenschild 10) Cody Darrah 11) Brooke Tatnell 12) Brian Brown 13) Sam Hafetepe Jr 14) Greg Wilson 15) Terry McCarl 16) Stevie Smith 17) Lance Dewease 18) Danny Holtgraver 19) Ed Lynch Jr. 20) Jason Johnson 21) David Gravel 22) Bryan Sebetto 23) Logan Schuchart 24) Lucas Wolfe 25) Donny Schatz 26) Kerry Madsen 27)Dean Jacobs 28) Brian Paulus 29) Greg Hodnett 30) Steve Kinser 31) Tim Shaffer 23) Chad Kemenah 33) Caleb Helms 24) Jessica Zemken 35) Randy Hannagan 36) Ryan Smith 37) Jason Sides 38) Jack Sodeman 39) Danny Mumaw 40) Bill Rose 41) Eric Riggins 42) Kory Crabtree 43) Michael Parent 44) Jimmy Seger 45) Glenn Styres 46) Brad Wickam 47) Jim Perricone 48) Bob Howard 49) Mark Cole 50) Wayne Johnson (No Time Recorded)

Heat 1 Results: 1) Brooke Tatnell 2) Joey Saldana 3) Daryn Pittman 4) Kerry Madsen transfer to A. 5) Tim Shaffer 6) David Gravel 7) Stevie Smith 8) Ryan Smith 9) Brad Wickam 10) Eric Riggins

Heat 2 Results: 1) Lance Dewease, 2) Brian Brown, 3) Paul McMahan, 4) Jason Sides, 5) Chad Kemenah, 6) Kory Crabtree, 7) Jim Perricone, 8) Shane Stewart, 9) Dean Jacobs, 10) Brian Sebetto

Heat 3 Results: 1) Dale Blaney, 2) Sam Hafertepe Jr., 3) Danny Holtgraver, 4) Kraig Kinser, 5) Logan Schuchart, 6) Brain Paulus, 7) Jack Sodeman Jr., 8) Caleb Helms, 9) Michael Parent, 10) Bob Howard

Heat 4 Results: 1) Sammy Swindell, 2) Ed Lynch Jr., 3) Lucas Wolfe, 4) Greg Wilson, 5) Greg Hodnett, 6) Jac Haudenschild, 7) Jessica Zemken, 8) Danny Mumaw, 9) Jimmy Seger, 10) Mark Cole

Heat 5 Results: 1) Jason Johnson, 2) Craig Dollansky, 3) Terry McCarl, 4) Steve Kinser, 5) Cody Darrah, 6) Donny Schatz, 7) Randy Hannagan, 8) Warren Johnson, 9) Glenn Styres, 10) Bill Rose

C Main Results: 1) Jack Sodeman Jr., 2) Danny Mumaw, 3) Warren Johnson, 4) Bill Rose, 5) Kory Crabtree, 6) Jimmy Seger, 7) Michael Parent, 8) Glenn Styres, 9) Brad Wickam, 10) Bob Howard, 11) Mark Cole, 12) Jim Perricone

B Main Results: 1) Jac Haudenschild 2) Bryan Sebetto 3) Stevie Smith 4) Greg Hodnett 5) Chad Kemenah 6) Donny Schatz 7) Cody Darrah 8) David Gravel 9) Logan Schuchart 10) Brian Paulus 11) Dean Jacobs 12) Randy hannagan 13) Jessica Zemken 14) Tim Shaffer 15) R. Smith 16) Danny Mumaw 17) Jack Sodeman

Dash Results: 1) Craig Dollansky, 2) Sammy Swindell, 3) Dale Blaney, 4) Kraig Kinser, 5) Brian Brown, 6) Daryn Pittman, 7) Lance Dewease, 8) Joey Saldana, 9) Sam Hafertepe, 10) Ed Lynch, 11) Brook Tatnell, 12) Jason Johnson

A Main Results: 1) Sammy Swindell 2) Brian Brown 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Paul McMahan 5) Jason Johnson 6) Brian Sebetto (Hard Charger) 7) Sam Hafertepe 8) Jac Haudenschild 9) Daryn Pittman 10) Lucas Wolfe 11) Kerry Madsen 12) Craig Dollansky 13) Jason Sides 14) Chad Kemenah 15) Joey Saldana 16) Danny Holtgraver 17) Cody Darrah 18) Terry McCarl 19) Steve Kinser 20) Brooke Tatnell 21) Stevie Smith 22) Greg Wilson 23) Dale Blaney 24) Ed Lynch Jr 25) Lance Dewease 26) Greg Hodnett

November 3, 2012
Schatz Makes History At Willams Grove

[media-credit name=”Chris Dollack World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”215″][/media-credit]They say that history is fluid. They say it has ebbs and tides just like the ocean. If that is true then Donny Schatz is hitting high tide at the perfect time of the year, the end. But Donny Schatz has more than that in common with history. He now holds a place in it. Tonight the World of Outlaws points leader became the only 5 time winner of the Open Nationals at Willams Grove. Not even teammate Steve Kinser or the wily Sammy Swindell have been able to win it 5 times. Although, Schatz stated, “You will never equal a Steve Kinser or Sammy maybe this is a record that I can capture.” And capture it he did in a spray of oil and plume of smoke, Schatz held off PA Posse member Brian Leppo to take the win.

The night started out with a much faster track than the Outlaws had yesterday evening. Hot lap times were running in the low 16 second bracket with only .526 seconds separating the fastest time from the 20th fastest time. With 54 cars signed in qualifying would be more important than normal. The dash all by itself would start half of the starting field of the A Main.

Qualifying would show a steady hold on the speed of the track. Unlike the previous night where the track slowed dramatically making it a huge disadvantage to have a high qualifying draw. As a matter of fact quick time on the night would be set by the very last car to go out. Paul McMahan turned a lap of 16.366 seconds to take the Quick Time honor from his team mate Brian Leppo. McMahan who won the A Main in the Night Before the Open on Friday was one of the few drivers in the field who could honestly claim he was neither Outlaw or Posse. If not one or the other what was he? “I’m just a kid from California making a living,” he said. The remainder of the top 5 were Sammy Swindell, Lucas Wolfe and Danny Lasoski.

The 54 car field would require 5 heat races. The first heat would be won by Friday nights quick time holder, Stevie Smith. Smith held off a hard charging Craig Dollansky, Greg Hodnett and Danny Deitrich. In a radical change of fortune the winner of the night before’s A Main would have to run the B main Paul McMahan would miss the dash finishing 5th in the heat.

The second heat was all Posse. Well except for Bill Rose who started 5th and finished 9th. And the Posse showed their colors and their skills. With Lance Dewease and Brian Leppo setting the pace for Chad Layton and Cory Haas.

The third heat would be a driving clinic put on by Jac Haudenschild and he didn’t even win. As a matter of fact he didn’t even transfer to the A main. But Jac Haudenschild who started 9th put on a show of skills and intestinal fortitude that was a sight to behold. Haudenschild drove from 9th to 6th on a track that was difficult to pass on to say the least. Track position was everything at The Grove unless you were Jac Haudenschild. Known as the Wild Child, Haudenschild drove above the cushion and on the very bottom passing cars where they weren’t. Unfortunately he needed a caution to get the last two positions to transfer to the A Main that caution would never come. The heat was won by Sam Hafertepe who held off Dale Blaney, Daryn Pittman and Sammy Swindell.

The fourth heat was all Kasey Kahne Racing. With Cody Darrah taking the win over teammate Joey Saldana, Jason Sides and Lucas Wolfe. This heat race would illustrate how quickly fortunes can change in a sprint car race. Brian Montieth who held the final transfer spot all the way to the final corner would clip the wall and finish 9th all in the span of a corner.

The 5th heat race was a barn burner affair that brought David Gravel home in the first spot with points leader Donny Schatz coming in a very close 2nd followed by Ryan Taylor and Danny Lasoski who had his hands full with a hard charging Kerry Madsen.

Perhaps the most surprising of races was the C main. Surprising because of the names that were in it. Fred Rahmer, Danny Holtgraver, Jac Haudenschild, Kyle Larson, and 20 time World of Outlaws champion, Steve Kinser. Kinser would struggle to a 6th place spot and miss the B main by 4 spots. The B would be won by Jac Haudenschild who passed 5 cars in 2 corners before taking the lead and holding off Tim Shaffer.

The Dash would be a very fast paced affair that saw Donny Schatz start on the pole after an inversion of 8 was drawn. Schatz never lead a lap in the dash as Cody Darrah jumped out to the lead off turn 1 and never looked back. But Schatz stayed strong in second to start on the outside of the front row.

The B Main would transfer 4 to the A. Those 4 would be the top two starting rows of Paul McMahan, Brian Montieth, Don Kreitz Jr., and Alan Krimes. The rest of the field would going to the trailer. Well with the exception of 2 Willams Grove provisional holders and 2 World of Outlaws provisional holders. Going into the A on Outlaws provisionals were Steve Kinser and Kraig Kinser. Going in on Willams Grove provisionals were Brent Marks and Doug Esh.

The A main would be snake bitten from the drop of the green all 6 of them. In fact the field was under red with a car upside down before a lap was ever posted to the board. Danny Lasoski jumped the start and was penalized a row. Pole sitter Cody Darrah jumped the start and was penalized a row. When the race finally did get under way Craig Dollansky was the pole sitter. Starting right next to his rival in the points Donny Schatz. Dollansky got an early run and took the lead out of two on the first lap. He lead despite numerous charges by Schatz until on the 24th lap a lapped car spun right in front of him leaving him no where to go and collected the leader. The misfortune for Dollansky was a nightmare but for 2nd place running Donny Schatz it was a stroke of luck. Schatz would lead for the remainder of the A Main even though on the final two laps his car was smoking out of the corners. In victory lane the oil on the side panels was evident the checkers had fallen just in time to beat Schatz’s rapidly expiring engine. Brian Leppo would come home 2nd and Cody Darrah 3rd.

The victory was more than a victory for Schatz. It was history making. With that win Donny Schatz became the first driver to ever win 5 Open Nationals in his career. Something that at the beginning of the year no one would have believed possible. But like the tides change and ebb so does lady luck and so does the drive of a champion. Schatz never had any intention of becoming an also ran. He never had any plans to give up the chase. He and his Tony Stewart Racing STP team dug a little deeper. Worked a little harder. Searched a little further until finally things came together and when they did, Schatz went on a terror, logging 11 top 5 finishes in a row and 9 top 3 finishes. Schatz took the point lead and has never looked back.

Tonight Donny Schatz stretched that points lead out yet again and now leads Craig Dollansky by 158 points going into the last 5 races of the year. But it’s not over not by a long shot. Things happen quickly in Sprint Car racing. Almost as quickly as the weather changes. With no provisionals remaining at his disposal Schatz must race his way into every one of those 5 remaining races. With 150 points awarded to the winner of the A Main every night and 75 to any driver who does not advance to the A. Schatz’s lead could evaporate in one bad night. Schatz knows this and he is not slowing down. Dollansky knows it too. It’s why his team repaired the car in the A and put him back out on the track to finish 16th. Every point counts. Nothing is a given. Nothing can be taken for granted. Nothing can be overlooked. This is a game for the championship. Schatz’s 5th and Dollansky’s 1st. And both know without a doubt that the tide can turn. Dollansky is betting it will and that he will be close enough to capitalize when it does. Schatz is betting it won’t turn soon enough if it turns at all. Who is right? We have 5 more races to run to find out.

Qualifying –
1. 51-Paul McMahan, 16.366; 2. 51B-Brian Leppo, 16.473; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell, 16.523; 4. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 16.534; 5. 1Z-Danny Lasoski, 16.549; 6. 39-Greg Hodnett, 16.551; 7. 7L-Chad Layton, 16.560; 8. 27-Daryn Pittman, 16.574; 9. 9-Joey Saldana, 16.582; 10. 21-Brian Montieth, 16.614; 11. 7-Craig Dollansky, 16.624; 12. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr, 16.639; 13. 2-Dale Blaney, 16.648; 14. 4-Cody Darrah, 16.649; 15. 15-Donny Schatz, 16.665; 16. 19-Stevie Smith, 16.669; 17. 30C-Lance Dewease, 16.680; 18. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 16.690; 19. 87-Alan Krimes, 16.692; 20. 89G-David Gravel, 16.706; 21. 19M-Brent Marks, 16.711; 22. 6-Bill Rose, 16.773; 23. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr., 16.795; 24. 7S-Jason Sides, 16.800; 25. 29-Kerry Madsen, 16.801; 26. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.804; 27. 15A-Adam Wilt, 16.807; 28. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, 16.808; 29. 63-Chad Kemenah, 16.832; 30. 20-Ryan Taylor, 16.846; 31. 30-Doug Esh, 16.847; 32. 11C-Cory Haas, 16.852; 33. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.864; 34. 20S-Derek Sell, 16.916; 35. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 16.928; 36. 35-Jessica Zemken, 16.930; 37. 69T-Tim Glatfelter, 16.944; 38. 83-Tim Shaffer, 16.946; 39. 77-Fred Rahmer, 16.966; 40. 8R-Michael Ruttkamp, 16.966; 41. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 16.968; 42. 75-Nicole Bower, 16.984; 43. 59-Jac Haudenschild, 16.990; 44. 71X-Bill Stine, 16.991; 45. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 17.020; 46. 13-Kyle Larson, 17.022; 47. 69-Ryan Smith, 17.121; 48. 11E-Mike Erdley, 17.141; 49. 44W-Rodney Westhafer, 17.185; 50. 5G-Curt Michael, 17.265; 51. 11-Steve Kinser, 17.353; 52. 12W-Troy Fraker, 17.619; 53. 3B-Randy Baughman, 17.764

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 19-Stevie Smith[1] ; 2. 7-Craig Dollansky[2] ; 3. 39-Greg Hodnett[3] ; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich[6] ; 5. 51-Paul McMahan[4] ; 6. 19M-Brent Marks[5] ; 7. 30-Doug Esh[7] ; 8. 35-Jessica Zemken[8] ; 9. 13-Kyle Larson[10] ; 10. D4-Danny Holtgraver[9] ; 11. 11-Steve Kinser[11]

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 30C-Lance Dewease[1] ; 2. 51B-Brian Leppo[4] ; 3. 7L-Chad Layton[3] ; 4. 11C-Cory Haas[7] ; 5. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr[2] ; 6. 69T-Tim Glatfelter[8] ; 7. 75-Nicole Bower[9] ; 8. 12W-Troy Fraker[11] ; 9. 6-Bill Rose[5] ; 10. 15A-Adam Wilt[6]

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1] ; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[2] ; 3. 27-Daryn Pittman[3] ; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell[4] ; 5. 83-Tim Shaffer[8] ; 6. 59-Jac Haudenschild[9] ; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser[7] ; 8. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[5] ; 9. 11E-Mike Erdley[10] ; 10. 3B-Randy Baughman[11] ; 11. 17B-Steve Buckwalter[6]

Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 4-Cody Darrah[2] ; 2. 9-Joey Saldana[3] ; 3. 7S-Jason Sides[5] ; 4. 5W-Lucas Wolfe[4] ; 5. 87-Alan Krimes[1] ; 6. 20S-Derek Sell[7] ; 7. 63-Chad Kemenah[6] ; 8. 77-Fred Rahmer[8] ; 9. 71X-Bill Stine[9] ; 10. 44W-Rodney Westhafer[10]

Heat 5 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 89G-David Gravel[1] ; 2. 15-Donny Schatz[2] ; 3. 20-Ryan Taylor[6] ; 4. 1Z-Danny Lasoski[4] ; 5. 29-Kerry Madsen[5] ; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[7] ; 7. 8R-Michael Ruttkamp[8] ; 8. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[9] ; 9. 21-Brian Montieth[3] ; 10. 5G-Curt Michael[10]

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 12 starting positions of A-feature
1. 4-Cody Darrah[2] ; 2. 15-Donny Schatz[1] ; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[3] ; 4. 9-Joey Saldana[5] ; 5. 7-Craig Dollansky[4] ; 6. 51B-Brian Leppo[8] ; 7. 5W-Lucas Wolfe[6] ; 8. 19-Stevie Smith[9] ; 9. 1-Sammy Swindell[7] ; 10. 30C-Lance Dewease[10] ; 11. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[11] ; 12. 89G-David Gravel[12]

C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature)
1. 59-Jac Haudenschild[7] [-]; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[2] [-]; 3. 77-Fred Rahmer[3] [$125]; 4. D4-Danny Holtgraver[5] [$125]; 5. 69T-Tim Glatfelter[1] [$125]; 6. 11-Steve Kinser[14] [$100]; 7. 11E-Mike Erdley[11] [$100]; 8. 8R-Michael Ruttkamp[4] [$100]; 9. 75-Nicole Bower[6] [$100]; 10. 3B-Randy Baughman[16] [$100]; 11. 12W-Troy Fraker[15] [$100]; 12. 44W-Rodney Westhafer[12] [$100]; 13. 71X-Bill Stine[8] [$100]; 14. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[9] [$100]; 15. 13-Kyle Larson[10] [$100]; 16. 5G-Curt Michael[13] [$100]; 17. 69-Ryan Smith[17] [$100]

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 51-Paul McMahan[1] [-]; 2. 21-Brian Montieth[2] [-]; 3. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr[3] [-]; 4. 87-Alan Krimes[4] [-]; 5. 19M-Brent Marks[5] [$200]; 6. 29-Kerry Madsen[8] [$180]; 7. 59-Jac Haudenschild[17] [$175]; 8. 17B-Steve Buckwalter[10] [$160]; 9. 30-Doug Esh[12] [$150]; 10. 15A-Adam Wilt[9] [$150]; 11. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[7] [$150]; 12. 63-Chad Kemenah[11] [$150]; 13. 83-Tim Shaffer[18] [$150]; 14. 6-Bill Rose[6] [$150]; 15. 20S-Derek Sell[14] [$150]; 16. 11K-Kraig Kinser[13] [$150]; 17. 1S-Logan Schuchart[15] [$150]; 18. 35-Jessica Zemken[16] [$150]

A-Main – (40 Laps)
1. 15-Donny Schatz[2][$50,000]; 2. 51B-Brian Leppo[6][$12,000]; 3. 4-Cody Darrah[1][$7,500]; 4. 27-Daryn Pittman[17][$4,000]; 5. 51-Paul McMahan[13][$3,500]; 6. 19-Stevie Smith[8][$3,000]; 7. 5W-Lucas Wolfe[7][$2,700]; 8. 30C-Lance Dewease[10][$2,500]; 9. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[11][$2,200]; 10. 39-Greg Hodnett[15][$2,100]; 11. 1-Sammy Swindell[9][$2,000]; 12. 48-Danny Dietrich[22][$1,650]; 13. 21-Brian Montieth[18][$1,550]; 14. 19M-Brent Marks[26][$300]; 15. 7S-Jason Sides[21][$1,100]; 16. 7-Craig Dollansky[5][$1,050]; 17. 89G-David Gravel[12][$1,000]; 18. 30-Doug Esh[28][$50]; 19. 11-Steve Kinser[25][$50]; 20. 11K-Kraig Kinser[27][$50]; 21. 7L-Chad Layton[16][$900]; 22. 20-Ryan Taylor[23][$900]; 23. 9-Joey Saldana[4][$900]; 24. 87-Alan Krimes[20][$900]; 25. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr[19][$900]; 26. 11C-Cory Haas[24][$900]; 27. 1Z-Danny Lasoski[14][$900]; 28. 2-Dale Blaney[3][$900]

Lap Leaders: Craig Dollansky 1-13, 15-24; Donny Schatz 14, 25-40
KSE Hard Charger Award: 27-Daryn Pittman[+13]

Final Points following the race are not available at the time of publishing.

September 30, 2012

Dollansky Wins Barn Burner At Deer Creek

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”261″][/media-credit]When the World of Outlaws pulled into the Deer Creek Speedway for the FVP Clash, no one had any idea how eventful the night would be. Not the fans. Not the drivers. Not the sanctioning body. Not even the track owners. Everyone knew it would be an exciting show because it was the World of Outlaws, but no one knew just how exciting it would be.

Qualifying offered a hint of what was to come when last nights 1st victim, Kerry Madsen set quick time. Madsen who had one of the scariest wrecks of the season last night at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer Iowa, came out of the box like gang busters turning a lap of 11.884 seconds or 113.598 mph around the high banked 3/8ths mile dirt clay track. Joey Saldana who sat out last years race as a result of an injury suffered at Eldora timed in 2nd with Kraig Kinser and Sammy Swindell and Craig Dollansky rounding out the top 5. Once again missing from the top of the qualifying time list was points leader Donny Schatz who qualified 17th and seemed to struggle in hot laps and qualifying.

Heat races would be exciting in their own right as the well manicured track started to widen out and form it’s grooves. The first heat would see Dusty Zomer hold off a hard charging Jac Haudenschild. Also transferring to the A Main would be Kerry Madsen, Sammy Swindell, Davey Heskin and Lucas Wolfe.

The second heat race would be won by Chad Kemenah who held off a determined and fast Joey Saldana. Saldana who was undefeated on this track showed signs of being the dominate race car of the night but would come up a car length short after starting 4th. Also transferring to the Main were Cody Darrah, Donny Schatz Craig Dollansky, and Jody Rosenboom.

The third and final heat of the night would be a barn burner with Brian Brown setting the pace and Terry McCarl chasing him down from a 1.9 second lead at one point. Brown would hold off Knoxville’s 2012 champion by only .5 seconds. Also transferring to the feature were Jason Sides, Kraig Kinser, Mark Dobmeier and Steve Kinser who rallied back after an early race spin to take the final transfer position.

The dash had the top 10 fastest qualifiers of the night. Jac Haudenschild would charge from 10th to 3rd and finish 4th to put on an incredible display of driver skill and determination. The dash however would be won from the pole by Chad Kemenah with Dusty Zomer coming in 2nd and Craig Dollansky coming home 3rd.

The Last Chance Showdown was won by Justin Henderson who was followed by Brooke Tatnell Skylar Prochaska and Bill Rose. Ian Madsen and Matt Wasmund would also transfer to the Feature but would start at the rear of the field while the first 4 finishers would get their time back to start the A Main.

The A Main was a barn burner and arguably the best race of the 2012 season. But nothing comes without a cost. That cost was a wreck on the initial green flag that would see Bill Rose transported to the hospital for an apparent leg injury. At the time of this writing there was no further information available about Rose’s condition or the extent of the injury. After 3 attempts the A Main finally went green. But it went green without Cody Darrah who once again ended up on his lid and suffered too much damage to continue. The lead would be Chad Kemenah’s early on but he would lose it to Craig Dollansky on the 3rd circuit. Dollansky would dominate until late in the race when Donny Schatz cleared Joey Saldana in traffic and set his sites on Dollansky. Schatz would take the lead on the white flag lap and lose it again to Dollansky in traffic going into 3 on the final lap of the race. Schatz would be the KSE Hard charger of the race coming from 18th to 2nd in the 30 laps. Finishing 3rd was Joey Saldana and 4th was a badly smoking Jac Haudenschild. The race pole sitter Chad Kemenah would round out the top 5.

Craig Dollansky had perhaps the car to beat last night in Clay County when he tangled with a lap car and got into the wall. He returned to the track but could never climb out of the hole with the badly damaged machine. Tonight he left no doubt that he was the car to beat. At one point in the feature he lead by over 3 seconds. Dollansky was determined to climb back into the points chase and he put it all on the line. In the process he cut Schatz’s lead by 5 points going into Eagle Raceway in Nebraska. A track that has the reputation of being an anything can and will happen track.

Schatz’s points lead is a big one there is no doubt about that. But it’s not insurmountable. Things happen quickly with the World of Outlaws. Just like they can turn for the better they can turn for the worst. Dollansky is betting that he has the skills to match Schatz’s. He is betting that his Big Game Tree Stands team can prepare better and faster cars than the Tony Stewart Racing’s STP team can. He is gambling his shot at his first championship on it. Who will come out on top? We will know in 10 races. Right now the odds are in Donny Schatz’s favor. He has been down this road before. He has a big points lead. And he is on a roll. He has not finished outside the top 5 in 8 races. But can he ride the momentum? Can he hold on to the streak? Buckle in and hold on tight cause the next 10 races are going to be a wild ride.

Qualifying Results: 1) Kerry Madsen 11.884 2) Joey Saldana 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Craig Dollansky 6) Terry McCarl 7) Dusty Zomer 8) Chad Kemenah 9) Brian Brown 10) Jac Haudenschild 11) Cody Darrah 12) Jason Sides 13) Lucas Wolfe 14) Brooke Tatnell 15) Steve Kinser 16) Davey Heskin 17) Donny Schatz 18) Mark Dobmeier 19) Justin Henderson 20) Bill Rose 21) Skylar Prochaska 22) Kaley Gharst 23) Jody Rosenboom 24) Ian Madsen 25) Matt Wasmund 26) Rob Kubli 27) Ryan Wilson 28) Robert Bell.

First Heat Results: 1) Dusty Zomer 2) Jac Haudenschild 3) Kerry Madsen 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Davey Heskin 6) Lucas Wolfe. 7) Justin Henderson 8) Matt Wasmund 9) Kaley Gharst (DNS) 10) Robert Bell (DNS)

Second Heat Results: 1)Chad Kemenah 2) Joey Saldana 3) Cody Darrah 4) Donny Schatz 5) Craig Dollansky 6) Jody Rosenboom 7) Brooke Tatnell 8) Bill Rose 9) Rob Kubli

Third Heat Results: 1) Brian Brown 2) Terry McCarl 3) Jason Sides 4) Kraig Kinser 5) Mark Dobmeier 6) Steve Kinser 7) Skylar Prochaska 8) Ian Madsen 9) Ryan Wilson

Dash Results: 1) Chad Kemenah 2) Dusty Zomer 3) Craig Dollansky 4) Jac Haudenschild 5) Kerry Madsen 6) Joey Saldana 7) Terry McCarl 8) Sammy Swindell 9) Kraig Kinser 10) Brian Brown.

Last Chance Showdown Results: 1) Justin Henderson 2) Brooke Tatnell 3) Skylar Prochaska 4) Bill Rose 5) Ian Madsen 6) Matt Wasmund 7) Rob Kubli 8) Ryan Wilson 9) Kayle Gharst (DNS) 10) Robert Bell (DNS)

A Main Results: 1) Craig Dollansky 2) Donny Schatz (KSE HARD CHARGER) 3) Joey Saldana 4) Jac Haudenschild 5) Chad Kemenah 6) Kraig Kinser 7) Kerry Madsen 8) Jason Sides 9) Sammy Swindell 10) Lucas Wolfe 11) Steve Kinser 12) Dusty Zomer 13) Brooke Tatnell 14) Mark Dobmeier 15) Davey Heskin 16) Justin Henderson 17) Ian Madsen 18) Terry McCarl 19) Jody Rosenboom 20) Skylar Prochaska 21) Matt Wasmund 22) Cody Darrah 23) Brian Brown 24) Bill Rose.

World of Outlaws Point Standings:

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	Top 5’s	Top 10’s	QT
1	Donny Schatz	8652	0	10	33	53	3
2	Craig Dollansky	8556	-96	8	32	47	9
3	Sammy Swindell	8527	-125	11	28	43	14
4	Joey Saldana	8522	-130	5	23	49	9
5	Steve Kinser	8447	-205	3	25	44	0
6	Kraig Kinser	8227	-425	4	18	39	5
7	Cody Darrah	8018	-634	1	20	33	2
8	Kerry Madsen	7977	-675	5	13	34	2
9	Chad Kemenah	7827	-825	2	10	30	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	7624	-1028	1	9	24	1
11	Bill Rose	6843	-1809	0	0	10	0
12	Jason Sides	5491	-3161	0	16	27	1
13	Jac Haudenschild	3747	-4905	0	3	10	0
14	Tim Kaeding	3524	-5128	4	10	17	0
15	Daryn Pittman	2537	-6115	0	6	13	1
16	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	2454	-6198	0	3	7	0
17	Danny Lasoski	2431	-6221	1	5	8	0
18	David Gravel	2385	-6267	0	7	9	4
19	Paul McMahan	2296	-6356	1	2	3	0
20	Stevie Smith	2276	-6376	0	3	11	1

September 16, 2012

Schatz Takes Clay County and Extends Points Lead

[media-credit name=”Tony Stewart Racing” align=”alignright” width=”210″][/media-credit]Tonight the World of Outlaws rolled into Clay County Fairgrounds for the Arnold Motor Supply Shootout. Points leader Donny Schatz was riding the largest point lead of the season with a 72 point advantage over Craig Dollansky. Schatz recorded 4 top 5’s, 1 top 10 and 2 wins to take the points lead during the west coast swing and build tremendous momentum for the last 12 races of the season which includes the 4 crown nationals at Eldora. Schatz said of the momentum, “It’s important to be racing good at this time of the year. We’ve had the championship as a goal all season long, and there were times this season, when it didn’t look good, but the STP guys kept hanging in there. We found some things in our motor program right around the beginning of August and have been qualifying good ever since. When you qualify well, chances are you’re going to be starting closer to the front, but you have to take advantage of it. We’ve been a little lucky too, but winning right now is what we are all about. When we win, we try to enjoy it for a couple of hours, but know the next race we have to go back out there and do everything we can to put ourselves in a position to win again. Success one night doesn’t give you any advantage the next. Things can change quickly, so you have to stay on top of your game every night.”

The evening began rocky for the 4 time Outlaws champion as he qualified a disappointing 18th. Schatz said post race that they had chosen the wrong gear for the car and then he picked the wrong line in qualifying. Quick Time on the night would belong to Craig Dollansky who turned a blazing lap of 13.232 seconds or 102.025 mph around the 3/8ths mile track. Second would go to Sammy Swindell and third to Jason Sides. Former Rookie of the year Cody Darrah would nail down 4th and Brian Brown would complete the top 5.

The first heat would see a continuation of the resurgence of one of the biggest names in Outlaws racing when Jac Haudenschild took the checkers. He would be followed to the line by Skylar Prochaska and Craig Dollansky. Rounding out the top 5 in heat one and transferring to the A Main would be Davey Heskin and Kraig Kinser.

The 18th qualifying spot would take Schatz out of the heat race inversion and put him in the third row of the 2nd heat race. But when the green dropped Schatz was on the gas and quickly climbed into the 2nd spot behind team mate Steve Kinser to claim a spot in the dash. Sammy Swindell and the Knoxville Champion Terry McCarl along with Scott Winters would advance to the A main out of the 2nd heat.

The third heat race was a hard fought affair that would see an infrequent visitor to the World of Outlaws circuit take the checkers when Kayle Gharst held off a hard charging Jason Sides and Joey Saldana for the win. Also transferring were Dusty Zomer and Jody Rosenboom.

The final heat of the night would be won by Mark Dobmeier with Lucas Wolfe, Kerry Madsen, Cody Darrah and Chad Kemenah also transferring to the A.

The dash was full of big names and tough competition. Jac Haudenschild, Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Craig Dollansky, Lucas Wolfe, Jason Sides, if Schatz was going to take this one he was going to work for it. His 2nd place finish in the heat guaranteed him a spot in the dash which assured him a top 10 starting position. But the further up he started in the A the better his chances would be. As it turned out he would only climb to the 7th spot when the checkers fell. But it was far enough up to make him a player in the 30 lap A Main.

The Last Chance Showdown was a time of redemption for Brian Brown and Justin Henderson. Both had problems that kept them from either starting or finishing in their heat race. This was their last chance to make the trip count. And make it count they did. Brown would dominate the event with a 3.3 second lead at one point to win over Henderson Tasker Phillips and Chuck McGillivray to advance to the A.

The A Main was a 30 lap race of hard driving, hard charging young names with something to prove. Lucas Wolfe would take the early lead only to lose it to veteran Craig Dollansky. Dollansky would spin and hit the wall trying to avoid a spinning lapped car and relinquish the lead back to Wolfe. Wolfe would hold the lead until the next to the last lap when he got bottled up in lapped traffic and Schatz would drive by on the top. Schatz would never look back, leading the final two circuits on the 3/8ths mile semi banked track to take the double checkered flag for his 10th win of the season, and series leading 32nd top-five and 52nd top-10 this season. Schatz will pull into Deer Creek tomorrow night with a 101 point lead over Craig Dollansky with 11 races left in the season. Second place would go to Lucas Wolfe and third to Schatz’s team mate Steve Kinser. Craig Dollansky would return to the track after time in the work area but would finish a disappointing 17th. Showing the strength of consistency in the Main as well was Jac Haudenschild who again finished in the top 10. Kerry Madsen who flipped end over end violently on lap 17 and nearly clearing the fence and wall on the back stretch climbed from his car and walked away uninjured. Sammy Swindell would have engine problems and draw a 2 position penalty for exceeding the 2 minute open red work period and end up going to the work area. Swindell would make it back to the track but would finish 16th.

Donny Schatz never gave up. His night started far from ideal. But he believed he could make up the distance on the track in race conditions. His team stood behind him and pushed on. In the end when the double checkers fell, Donny had again stretched his point lead over Craig Dollansky to 101 points. But more than the points, Schatz and the team extended their confidence by knowing they could drive their way out of bad start. Persistence equals success. No matter what it’s in. If you do not quit. You will eventually come out on top. It’s something that Donny Schatz and his Tony Stewart Racing STP team have known from the beginning and it’s not something they will start doubting now.

Qualifying Results: 1) Craig Dollansky 13.232/102.025mph 2) Sammy Swindell 3) Jason Sides 4) Cody Darrah 5) Brian Brown 6) Terry McCarl 7) Joey Saldana 8) Lucas Wolfe. 9) Skylar Prochaska 10) Steve Kinser 11) Justin Henderson 12) Kerry Madsen 13) Jac Haudenschild 14) Scott Winters 15) Kaley Gharst 16) Mark Dobmeier 17) Kraig Kinser 18) Donny Schatz 19) Jody Rosenbloom 20) Chad Kemenah 21) Davey Heskin 22) Robby Wolfgang 23) Dusty Zomer 24) Ian Madsen 25) Tasker Phillips 26) Matt Wasmund 27) Kevin Ingle 28) Ryan Wilson 29) Robert Bell. 30) Chuck McGillivray 21) Branden Stevenson 32) Bill Rose Did Not Arrive

Heat Race Number 1: 1) Jac Haudenschild 2) Skylar Prochaska 3) Craig Dollansky 4) Davey Heskin 5) Kraig Kinser 6) Tasker Phillips 7) Robert Bell 8) Brian Brown (DNS)

Heat Race Number 2: 1) Steve Kinser 2) Donny Schatz 3) Sammy Swindell 4) Terry McCarl 5) Scott Winters 6) Chuck McGillivray 7) Matt Wasmund 8) Robby Wolfgang

Heat Race Number 3: 1) Kaley Gharst 2) Jason Sides 3) Joey Saldana 4) Dusty Zomer 5) Jody Rosenboom 6) Kevin Ingle 7) Branden Stevenson 8) Justin Henderson.

Heat Race Number 4: 1) Mark Dobmeier 2) Lucas Wolfe 3) Kerry Madsen 4) Cody Darrah 5) Chad Kemenah 6) Ryan Wilson 7) Ian Madsen 8) Bill Rose (DNS)

Dash Results: 1) Lucas Wolfe 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Jason Sides 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Steve Kinser 6) Jac Haudenschild 7) Donny Schatz 8) Kaley Gharst 9) Mark Dobmeier 10) Skylar Prochaska

LCS Results: 1) Brian Brown 2) Justin Henderson 3) Tasker Phillips 4) Chuck McGilivray 5) Ryan Wilson 6) Robert Bell 7) Branden Stevenson 8) Kevin Ingle 9) Ian Madsen (DNS) 10) Bill Rose (DNS)

A Main Results: 1) Donny Schatz 2) Lucas Wolfe 3) Steve Kinser 4) Jason Sides 5) Cody Darrah 6) Joey Saldana 7) Jac Haudenschild 8) Chad Kemenah (KSE Hard Charger of the Race) 9) Justin Henderson 10) Kaley Gharst 11) Brian Brown 12) Terry McCarl 13) Scott Winters 14) Dusty Zomer 15) Kraig Kinser 16) Sammy Swindell 17) Craig Dollansky 18) Jody Rosenboom 19) Davey Heskin 20) Chuck McGilivray 21) Skylar Prochaska 22) Tasker Phillips 23) Kerry Madsen 24) Mark Dobmeier

World of Outlaws Point Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	Top 5’s	Top 10’s	QT
1	Donny Schatz	8506	0	10	32	52	3
2	Craig Dollansky	8405	-101	7	31	46	9
3	Sammy Swindell	8393	-113	11	28	42	14
4	Joey Saldana	8374	-132	5	22	48	9
5	Steve Kinser	8319	-187	3	25	44	0
6	Kraig Kinser	8086	-420	4	18	38	5
7	Cody Darrah	7912	-594	1	20	33	2
8	Kerry Madsen	7836	-670	5	13	33	1
9	Chad Kemenah	7687	-819	2	9	29	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	7494	-1012	1	9	23	1
11	Bill Rose	6741	-1765	0	0	10	0
12	Jason Sides	5357	-3149	0	16	26	1
13	Jac Haudenschild	3605	-4901	0	2	9	0
14	Tim Kaeding	3524	-4982	4	10	17	0
15	Daryn Pittman	2537	-5969	0	6	13	1
16	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	2454	-6052	0	3	7	0
17	Danny Lasoski	2431	-6075	1	5	8	0
18	David Gravel	2385	-6121	0	7	9	4
19	Paul McMahan	2296	-6210	1	2	3	0
20	Stevie Smith	2276	-6230	0	3	11	1

September 15, 2012

World of Outlaws – Upset At Skagit!

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Well Skagit is in the books. It was exciting. It was thrilling. In the end for one young man it was magical down right fairy tale if you want to be real honest about it. It is a rare thing that a local driver can come to the greatest show on dirt and beat the greatest drivers in the world. Very Very rare. But that is what happened in Skagit on Saturday Night. Travis Jacobson, a local sprint car driver, took on the best in the world and he beat them in their own show. He didn’t beat them by a hair. He didn’t beat them by fluke circumstances. He flat out ran them.

Travis Jacobson has established a successful career at Skagit Speedway. He’s won the last three 360 Nationals titles and earned the 360 track championship last season. Jacobson also captured the 410 track title in 2006. But the dream of beating the best had burned in him for a lifetime. “I’m just in awe,” he said wearing an ear-to-ear smile. “I grew up watching guys like Sammy Swindell and Steve Kinser. To be able to compete with those guys is more than a dream come true. Racing has been my passion since I could turn a car, so it’s very, very special to me.”

Passions run deep but until last night he had never won or even made it into the top 5 in World of Outlaws competition. All that changed in front of a sold out facility, his facility, his fans, his family. For Travis Jacobson taking the cross checkered flags of the Outlaws was a dream come true. He caught a big break on the initial green flag when pole sitter Kerry Madsen jumped the start and was penalized a row, putting Jacobson on the pole for the green flag. When the green flag fell, he never looked back. “That was definitely a big break,” he said. “I hadn’t had a chance to run behind anybody yet, so I don’t know how the dirty air would have affected us. It’s always better to be out front. I want to say I would have been able to do just as good, but you never know.”

4 time World of Outlaws Champion, Donny Schatz would come home second. Oddly enough, Schatz helped Jacobson to get started in sprint car competition with a first car. Fittingly enough he would challenge his young protege several times but couldn’t quite make the pass for the lead. “He made 35 great laps and I’m happy for him,” Schatz said after finishing second. “I threw everything I had at it and I had a great car, it was just a second-place car tonight.”

Coming home in third place was track record holder, and the fastest man in Skagit history and Quick Time setter for the night, Jason Sides. “I don’t think there was anybody that was going to catch him,” Sides said of Jacobson. “He was running his own race and out front. We’re racing kind of each other. Donny’s trying to catch him. I’m trying to catch Donny. It’s just one of those things where he’s got the open track and can kinda go where he needs to go.”

Kerry Madsen would come home 4th after winning the dash for the pole of the main, but jumping the start on the initial green flag. Madsen would take 2nd on the start but lose it when Donny Schatz drove around the outside off turn 4 midway through the race. Points leader Craig Dollansky would come home 5th and maintain the points lead over Schatz by 44 points. That is the largest points lead anyone has had all year. Schatz holds a very slight 1 point advantage over Sammy Swindell.

For the second night in a row, Jac Haudenschild gave his fans something to cheer for by coming home in the top 10. Haudenschild who is one of the old school guard of the World of Outlaws, demonstrated how he got there by starting 13th and finishing 7th. Haudenschild who spreads his season across various sprint car series will be with the tour through the West Coast Swing. His schedule after that has not been published.

The KSE Hard Charger of the race was California’s Tim Kaeding who started the race in the 17th spot and finished in the 10th spot.

Other notables in the race were Sammy Swindell who was running in the 3rd spot when he had a tire go down and restarted at the back of the field. Swindell would rally to finish 12th. Steve Kinser who was in a brand new car after a wild tumble on Friday night, struggled with the new piece all evening. But struggling for the King of the Outlaws means he finished 11th instead of the top 5 or 10. Kraig Kinser was fast and determined after being involved in the crash that took out he and his father the night before, but the night seemed destined from the beginning to be a struggle. Kraig who changed an engine after blowing a motor in the heat race, but holding on to win, would have that new motor let go in a big way early in the Feature.

Dreams and passion are powerful things when they burn inside a determined individual. They can lift you up out of the darkness and they can move the mountains out of the road. For Travis Jacobson, the mountains were huge they were standards of the sport that he loves. They were legends and icons who set the bar high for all those that will follow them. The odds were not in his favor. He knew that. But the thrill of competing against and with his heroes drove him to persevere. And as the saying goes the rest is history. Because in racing, regardless of genre or surface, one constant is always there, on any given day, on given track, anyone can win. Last night was Travis Jacobson’s night. Today is a new day, but the fire of speed burn brighter and hotter with him and where they will lead him only time will tell.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Qualifying – 1. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.170; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.193; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell, 11.233; 4. 9-Joey Saldana, 11.295; 5. 18-Travis Jacobson, 11.340; 6. 63-Chad Kemenah, 11.399; 7. 4-Cody Darrah, 11.419; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.422; 9. 29-Kerry Madsen, 11.437; 10. 7-Craig Dollansky, 11.453; 11. 6-Bill Rose, 11.481; 12. 18H-Jac Haudenschild, 11.492; 13. 57-Shane Stewart, 11.524; 14. 26-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 11.544; 15. 4X-Toni Lutar, 11.554; 16. O-Jonathan Allard, 11.557; 17. 11-Steve Kinser, 11.564; 18. 83-Tim Kaeding, 11.661; 19. 88-Jesse Whitney, 11.705; 20. 39C-Travis Rilat, 11.730; 21. 7X-Kevin Smith, 11.757; 22. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 11.762; 23. 17J-Jayme Barnes, 11.763; 24. 44-Daniel Anderson, 11.783; 25. 55-Trey Starks, 11.858; 26. 33-Colton Heath, 11.915; 27. 8X-Jonathan Jorgenson, 12.206; 28. 2W-Wheeler Boys, 12.345.

Heat 1 – (10 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 7-Craig Dollansky [1]; 2. 9-Joey Saldana [3]; 3. 57-Shane Stewart [5]; 4. 4-Cody Darrah [2]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [4]; 6. O-Jonathan Allard [6]; 7. 88-Jesse Whitney [7]; 8. 55-Trey Starks [9]; 9. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [8]; 10. 2W-Wheeler Boys [10].

Heat 2 – (10 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 3. 18-Travis Jacobson [3]; 4. 11-Steve Kinser [6]; 5. 39C-Travis Rilat [7]; 6. 26-Sam Hafertepe Jr [5]; 7. 33-Colton Heath [9]; 8. 6-Bill Rose [1]; 9. 17J-Jayme Barnes [8].

Heat 3 – (10 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 29-Kerry Madsen [2]; 2. 18H-Jac Haudenschild [1]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 4. 63-Chad Kemenah [3]; 5. 83-Tim Kaeding [6]; 6. 4X-Toni Lutar [5]; 7. 8X-Jonathan Jorgenson [9]; 8. 7X-Kevin Smith [7]; 9. 44-Daniel Anderson [8].

Dash – (8 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 29-Kerry Madsen [1]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 3. 18-Travis Jacobson [4]; 4. 63-Chad Kemenah [3]; 5. 1-Sammy Swindell [6]; 6. 9-Joey Saldana [5]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [8]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 9. 7-Craig Dollansky [9]; 10. 18H-Jac Haudenschild [10].

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 55-Trey Starks [7] [-]; 2. 7X-Kevin Smith [3] [-]; 3. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [4] [-]; 4. 88-Jesse Whitney [2] [-]; 5. 8X-Jonathan Jorgenson [9] [-]; 6. 33-Colton Heath [8] [-]; 7. 6-Bill Rose [1] [$200]; 8. 44-Daniel Anderson [6] [$180]; 9. 2W-Wheeler Boys [10] [$175]; 10. 17J-Jayme Barnes [5] [$160].

A-Main – (35 Laps) – 1. 18-Travis Jacobson [3] [$12,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [8] [$5,700]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [7] [$3,500]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [1] [$3,000]; 5. 7-Craig Dollansky [9] [$2,600]; 6. 4-Cody Darrah [11] [$2,400]; 7. 18H-Jac Haudenschild [10] [$2,300]; 8. 63-Chad Kemenah [4] [$2,200]; 9. 9-Joey Saldana [6] [$2,150]; 10. 83-Tim Kaeding [17] [$2,100]; 11. 11-Steve Kinser [16] [$1,600]; 12. 1-Sammy Swindell [5] [$1,350]; 13. 88-Jesse Whitney [18] [$1,300]; 14. 26-Sam Hafertepe Jr [13] [$1,200]; 15. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [21] [$1,100]; 16. 55-Trey Starks [22] [$1,000]; 17. 39C-Travis Rilat [19] [$900]; 18. 33-Colton Heath [24] [$850]; 19. 8X-Jonathan Jorgenson [23] [$800]; 20. 57-Shane Stewart [12] [$800]; 21. 7X-Kevin Smith [20] [$800]; 22. 4X-Toni Lutar [14] [$800]; 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2] [$800]; 24. O-Jonathan Allard [15] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Travis Jacobson 1-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 83-Tim Kaeding [+7].

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	T5	T10	QT
1	Craig Dollansky	7577	0	7	31	43	8
2	Donny Schatz	7533	-44	7	25	45	2
3	Sammy Swindell	7532	-45	11	25	38	11
4	Joey Saldana	7462	-115	5	19	41	8
5	Steve Kinser	7450	-127	3	24	39	0
6	Kraig Kinser	7248	-329	4	18	35	5
7	Cody Darrah	7061	-516	1	18	29	2
8	Kerry Madsen	7011	-566	4	11	30	1
9	Chad Kemenah	6915	-662	2	9	27	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	6619	-958	1	7	18	1
11	Bill Rose	6036	-1541	0	0	9	0
12	Jason Sides	4747	-2830	0	13	22	1
13	Jac Haudenschild	2790	-4787	0	2	6	0
14	Tim Kaeding	2721	-4856	3	5	12	0
15	Daryn Pittman	2537	-5040	0	6	13	1
16	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	2454	-5123	0	3	7	0
17	Danny Lasoski	2431	-5146	1	5	8	0
18	David Gravel	2385	-5192	0	7	9	4
19	Paul McMahan	2296	-5281	1	2	3	0
20	Stevie Smith	2276	-5301	0	3	11	1

September 2, 2012

Schatz dominates Knoxville; Kinser and Swindell don’t make show

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Aug. 11, 2012 – Wow. Simply put, the packed Knoxville Raceway grandstands were wowed before the 52^ndannual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals feature hit the track on Saturday. Then, the near capacity crowd was on its feet at the checkered flag as Donny Schatz recorded his sixth Nationals victory in the last seven years after outlasting Brian Brown by 0.117 seconds to earn the $150,000 prize.

“There’s something about this place when we come here for the Nationals, it’s game on,” Schatz said. “It takes everything to be right. When you get on it and get it right, it’s something that you can keep bringing back here. That’s why we’ve been able to get this success because the baseline we have for coming here is an awesome baseline.”

History was made before the green flag waved as two of the sports’ biggest stars – Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell – failed to advance to the feature. It was the first time since 1975 that neither driver earned a spot in the prestigious event. For Kinser, it snapped a Knoxville Nationals best 34-year streak in the main event.

“There’s a lot of disappointment to not see those guys,” Schatz said. “Those guys paved the way. To see those guys not in the show, it’s really disheartening. That just goes to show how tough this week really is.”

There wasn’t much time for disbelief as the 50-lap feature was pushed off several minutes after the B Main ended because of the threat of an incoming storm. Once the green flag was waved, the focus turned to the side-by-side action on the famed half mile.

Schatz drove from his fifth starting position to third place on the opening lap and passed Jonathan Allard for the runner-up position as the duo exited turn four on the sixth lap. Schatz then chased down polesitter Stevie Smith, who led the first 13 laps before Schatz took over the top spot as the drivers exited turn four in traffic on the 14^th lap.

The scheduled red flag for a fuel stop came on lap 27, erasing a solid lead for Schatz. However, once the race resumed, it took only three laps for him to build nearly a three-second advantage. Once he entered traffic on lap 35, Schatz led by more than four seconds.

Before the lap was completed, Kyle Larson brought out the second-and-final caution when he stopped in turn four. With the field bunched together, Brown slid Craig Dollansky for second place in turn four on the restart and set his sights on Schatz.

With 13 laps remaining, Schatz led by a little more than one second. However, as both drivers ran the cushion around the track, Brown cut the deficit to .440 seconds with 10 laps to go before he jumped the cushion in turn two.

Traffic began to play a role in the final seven laps and Brown reeled Schatz to within a couple of car lengths before the cushion in turn two slowed him once again with a handful of laps remaining. Schatz had all but sealed the victory on the final lap before he was slowed exiting turn four while trying to lap two cars.

Brown’s momentum sucked him to the back of Schatz’s car and the duo drag raced to the checkered flag, which Schatz reached first by approximately half a car length.

“It’s real just surreal to be up her with Donny Schatz and all these champions,” Brown said after his career-best finish in the event. “I never figured I’d be in the Knoxville Nationals, let alone run second.

“I feel like we’re a team that’s growing, trying to be like Donny Schatz one day.”

Dollansky tied his career-best result by rounding out the podium.

“My hat’s off to Donny,” he said. “Six of these things, that’s quite an accomplishment.”

Kraig Kinser drove from ninth to fourth and Jason Meyers finished fifth. Shane Stewart advanced from 13^th to sixth, Smith placed seventh, Lance Dewease maneuvered from 15^th to a career-best eighth, Tim Kaeding was ninth and Davey Heskin charged from 22^nd to 10^th to earn the Hard Charger Award.

Larson, who won a preliminary feature and finished 16^th in Saturday’s main event, claimed the Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year.

52^nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Night 3 Statistical Report; Knoxville Raceway; Knoxville, Iowa; Aug. 11, 2012

A Feature (50 laps) – 1. Donny Schatz (5); 2. Brian Brown (4); 3. Craig Dollansky (2); 4. Kraig Kinser (9); 5. Jason Meyers (7); 6. Shane Stewart (13); 7. Stevie Smith (1); 8. Lance Dewease (15); 9. Tim Kaeding (8); 10. Davey Heskin (22); 11. Joey Saldana (6); 12. Mark Dobmeier (21); 13. Jonathan Allard (3); 14. Justin Henderson (17); 15. Daryn Pittman (14); 16. Kyle Larson (12); 17. Dale Blaney (19); 18. Ian Madsen (11); 19. Lucas Wolfe (10); 20. Jason Sides (24); 21. Cody Darrah (20); 22. David Gravel (18); 23. Paul McMahan (16); 24. Brian Paulus (23).

E Feature (10 laps) – 1. Bill Rose (2); 2. Ed Lynch Jr. (3); 3. Critter Malone (4); 4. Tasker Phillips (7); 5. Geoff Dodge (9); 6. Sheldon Haudenschild (8); 7. Josh Hodges (6); 8. Ron Krysl (1); 9. Seth Brahmer (5).

D Feature (12 laps) – 1. Tyler Walker (2); 2. Logan Schuchart (3); 3. Casey Mack (1); 4. Austin McCarl (4); 5. Kaley Gharst (8); 6. Dustin Morgan (5); 7. Danny Smith (7); 8. Jarrod Schneiderman (6); 9. Trevor Reynolds (11); 10. Geoff Dodge (24); 11. Kevin Ingle (10); 12. Caleb Helms (14); 13. Ed Lynch Jr. (21); 14. Chris Shirek (12); 15. Glen Saville (15); 16. Bill Rose (20); 17. AJ Moeller (9); 18. Robert Bell (13); 19. Tasker Phillips (23); 20. Critter Malone (22); 21. Jim Moughan Jr. (19); 22. Bryan Sebetto (18); 23. Domain Ramsay (17); 24. TJ Peterson (16).

C Feature (15 laps) – 1. Jac Haudenschild (4); 2. Danny Lasoski (1); 3. Brad Sweet (11); 4. James McFadden (6); 5. Jamie Veal (2); 6. Jack Dover (13); 7. Cap Henry (5); 8. Randy Hannagan (17); 9. Greg Wilson (7); 10. Jeff Swindell (8); 11. Tyler Walker (21); 12. Don Droud Jr. (18); 13. Logan Schuchart (22); 14. Josh Schneiderman (20); 15. Tony Bruce Jr. (12); 16. Trey Starks (19); 17. Lynton Jeffrey (16); 18. Austin McCarl (24); 19. Casey Mack (23); 20. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (9); 21. Joey Moughan (10); 22. Brady Bacon (15); 23. Ryan Bunton (14); 24. Rager Phillips (3).

B Feature (22 laps) – 1. Mark Dobmeier (2); 2. Davey Heskin (1); 3. Brian Paulus (4); 4. Jason Sides (10); 5. Sammy Swindell (6); 6. Tim Shaffer (7); 7. Jason Johnson (5); 8. Kevin Swindell (18); 9. Kerry Madsen (11); 10. Steve Kinser (15); 11. Bronson Maeschen (17); 12. Brooke Tatnell (8); 13. Chad Kemenah (12); 14. Terry McCarl (13); 15. Wayne Johnson (19); 16. James McFadden (24); 17. Danny Lasoski (22); 18. Scott Winters (20); 19. Danny Holtgraver (16); 20. Greg Hodnett (3); 21. Brad Sweet (23); 22. Dustin Selvage (9); 23. Jac Haudenschild (21); 24. Dusty Zomer (14).

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	T5	T10	QT
1	Craig Dollansky	6413	0	6	23	34	8
2	Steve Kinser	6396	-17	3	21	35	0
3	Donny Schatz	6374	-39	4	18	37	1
4	Sammy Swindell	6355	-58	8	19	31	7
5	Joey Saldana	6351	-62	5	17	33	6
6	Kraig Kinser	6270	-143	4	17	33	5
7	Cody Darrah	5986	-427	1	14	23	2
8	Kerry Madsen	5930	-483	3	8	23	1
9	Chad Kemenah	5874	-539	2	8	22	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	5625	-788	1	6	16	1
11	Bill Rose	5115	-1298	0	0	8	0
12	Jason Sides	4226	-2187	0	12	19	0
13	Daryn Pittman	2537	-3876	0	6	13	1
14	Danny Lasoski	2431	-3982	1	5	8	0
15	David Gravel	2385	-4028	0	7	9	4
16	Tim Kaeding	2376	-4037	3	5	10	0
17	Paul McMahan	2296	-4117	1	2	3	0
18	Jac Haudenschild	2129	-4284	0	1	2	0
20	Brad Sweet	1854	-4559	1	5	8	1

August 12, 2012

Henderson Prevails at Second Chance Friday in Knoxville

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Aug. 10, 2012 – Justin Henderson capitalized on a new format to the Friday portion of the 52^nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals.

With a new team and a unique opportunity to start from scratch, Henderson took advantage to lock himself into Saturday’s $150,000-to-win main event at the famed Knoxville Raceway after outlasting David Gravel in the final qualifying night.

“I was very worried coming into tonight,” Henderson said. “It puts a lot of extra pressure and stress on the guys that aren’t already locked in, but I have to say the finale came out good in our favor this time. I’m a fan of it now, but I think every year it’s going to change for sure.”

A total of 67 drivers competed with the new format, which erased everyone’s qualifying performance and locked in the top four finishers from Friday’s feature. For Henderson, who would have been mired in the middle of the B Main under the old format, Friday worked out perfectly.

He qualified 15^th quickest and finished second in a heat race, grabbing the final transfer and a spot in the 25-lap main event. Henderson started the feature sixth and he ran fifth for the first nine laps.

However, on a lap-10 restart after Danny Lasoski brought out a caution with a flat tire, Henderson quickly powered to third. He passed Cody Darrah for the runner-up position with 11 laps remaining and then tracked down Gravel, who started on the pole.

Henderson railed the outside groove, while Gravel ran the inside lane. The duo entered traffic with six laps remaining and Gravel was slowed in turn two with five to go, allowing Henderson to rocket into the lead off turn two. He then survived a strong bid from Gravel, who finished less than half a second behind Henderson.

“I really felt like I was rolling the bottom nicely,” Gravel said. “I thought I was on cruise control there. I slipped off the bottom a few times and that’s when Henderson got by me.

“He had an advantage in (turns) one and two, and I had the advantage in (turns) three and four. I was really trying to win there, but when Justin had a few car lengths I was just trying to stay straight, hit my marks and get to the finish line.”

If anyone is a poster boy for the new format, it’s Dale Blaney. After failing to change an engine in time before time trials on his qualifying night, Blaney scratched from the rest of the night. Under the old format, he would have started in the back of the E Main on Saturday.

On Friday, Blaney took full advantage of the clean slate and charged to a third-place finish to lock himself into Saturday’s main event.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s just a great opportunity. I want to thank everybody from Knoxville for making the format. It fit us perfectly this year.”

Darrah held off a late charge from 13^th-starter Kerry Madsen to finish fourth, earning the final transfer to Saturday’s main event.

With 20 drivers locked into the highest-paying feature of the season, the remaining competitors will be placed in mains based on their finish on Friday.

Friday night concluded with the Speed Sport Knoxville World Challenge – a 24-car, 20-lap feature pitting top drivers from the United States against stars from other countries.

Donny Schatz, who started 10^th, claimed the $10,000 victory and savored the extra laps on the track before Saturday’s main event.

“I think being able to come on nights like this is a big help,” he said. “It definitely does help for tomorrow night. You get your car that much better and you see what the race track is going to do. I think it’ll be similar tomorrow night.”

52^nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Night 3 Statistical Report; Knoxville Raceway; Knoxville, Iowa; Aug. 10, 2012

A Feature (25 laps) – 1. Justin Henderson (6); 2. David Gravel (1); 3. Dale Blaney (3); 4. Cody Darrah (2); 5. Kerry Madsen (13); 6. Chad Kemenah (16); 7. Terry McCarl (5); 8. Dusty Zomer (14); 9. Steve Kinser (15); 10. Danny Holtgraver (4); 11. Bronson Maeschen (17); 12. Kevin Swindell (18); 13. Wayne Johnson (11); 14. Scott Winters (24); 15. Danny Lasoski (10); 16. Jamie Veal (22); 17. Rager Phillips (12); 18. Jac Haudenschild (8); 19. Cap Henry (19); 20. James McFadden (20); 21. Greg Wilson (23); 22. Jeff Swindell (9); 23. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (7); 24. Joey Moughan (21).

Qualifying – 1. 89G, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (7), 15.126; 2. 4, Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA (8), 15.252; 3. 2, Dale Blaney, Fowler, OH (59), 15.254; 4. 17M, Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL (10), 15.263; 5. 35AU, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Au (5), 15.314; 6. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (29), 15.319; 7. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (21), 15.328; 8. 63, Chad Kemenah, Findlay, OH (42), 15.356; 9. 23w, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN (17), 15.373; 10. 11, Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN (3), 15.385; 11. D4, Danny Holtgraver, Pittsburgh, PA (25), 15.411; 12. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (14), 15.454; 13. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (31), 15.455; 14. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (38), 15.465; 15. 82, Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (27), 15.468; 16. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (4), 15.471; 17. 26, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (6), 15.494; 18. 59, Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (11), 15.494; 19. 55x, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (22), 15.496; 20. 7K, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (20), 15.501; 21. 1z, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (54), 15.504; 22. 55xm, James McFadden, Brisbane, QLD, Aust. (30), 15.546; 23. 77x, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (19), 15.547; 24. 24H, Bryan Sebetto, Fremont, OH (63), 15.572; 25. 8, Casey Mack, East Grand Forks, ND (15), 15.583; 26. 9P, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (43), 15.587; 27. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (9), 15.602; 28. 29, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aus (49), 15.606; 29. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (50), 15.611; 30. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (1), 15.634; 31. 6x, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (13), 15.636; 32. 71, Kevin Swindell, Charlotte, NC (60), 15.639; 33. 54, Cap Henry, Bellevue, OH (51), 15.645; 34. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (67), 15.678; 35. 18, Tony Bruce Jr., Owasso, OK (26), 15.683; 36. 1s, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (44), 15.686; 37. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (58), 15.699; 38. 1x, Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro, IN (36), 15.713; 39. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (57), 15.732; 40. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (16), 15.746; 41. 40, Caleb Helms, Findlay, OH (47), 15.768; 42. 2s, Lee Sowell, Lake Cormorant, MS (40), 15.793; 43. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (52), 15.795; 44. 2L, Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo, PA (65), 15.8; 45. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (28), 15.822; 46. 2x, Dustin Morgan, Tulsa, OK (55), 15.823; 47. 51, Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, PA (24), 15.825; 48. 81, Austin Johnson, Shakopee, MN (61), 15.831; 49. 53D, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (46), 15.844; 50. 10, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (56), 15.846; 51. 02, Mike Reinke, Howards Grove, WI (33), 15.873; 52. 66, Geoff Dodge, Speedway, IN (2), 15.879; 53. 35, Tyler Walker, Hermosa Beach, CA (23), 15.975; 54. 4D, Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (64), 16.042; 55. 71AU, Domain Ramsay, Newtown, VIC, Aust. (34), 16.047; 56. 13v, Seth Brahmer, Wisner, NE (41), 16.048; 57. 45x, Johnny Herrera, Albuquerque, NM (45), 16.089; 58. 7c, Critter Malone, Speedway, IN (12), 16.116; 59. 1m, Jim Moughan Jr., Springfield, IL (35), 16.212; 60. 1T, Chris Shirek, Thompson, ND (53), 16.259; 61. 47AU, Trevor Reynolds, Perth, WA, Aust. (32), 16.31; 62. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust (37), 16.321; 63. 71B, Robert Bell, Colfax, IA (18), 16.399; 64. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (39), 16.516; 65. 74x, Josh Hodges, Tijeras, NM (62), 16.567; 66. 20PK, Ron Krysl, Atkinson, NE (66), 17.122; 67. 12P, TJ Peterson, Des Moines, IA (48), 17.278.

Heat 1 (8 laps) – 1. David Gravel (4); 2. Justin Henderson (2); 3. Chad Kemenah (3); 4. Logan Schuchart (6); 5. Don Droud Jr. (5); 6. James McFadden (1); 7. Tasker Phillips (7); 8. Sheldon Haudenschild (8); 9. Johnny Herrera (9); 10. Kevin Ingle (10).

Heat 2 (8 laps) – 1. Wayne Johnson (1); 2. Cody Darrah (4); 3. Josh Schneiderman (2); 4. Brad Sweet (6); 5. Scott Winters (3); 6. Austin McCarl (5); 7. Mike Reinke (8); 8. Ed Lynch Jr. (7); 9. Josh Hodges (10); 10. Critter Malone (9).

Heat 3 (8 laps) – 1. Dale Blaney (4); 2. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2); 3. Steve Kinser (3); 4. Kaley Gharst (5); 5. Randy Hannagan (6); 6. Geoff Dodge (8); 7. Bryan Sebetto (1); 8. Jim Moughan Jr. (9); 9. Jarrod Schneiderman (7); 10. Ron Krysl (10).

Heat 4 (8 laps) – 1. Jac Haudenschild (2); 2. Danny Holtgraver (3); 3. Casey Mack (1); 4. Kevin Swindell (5); 5. Brady Bacon (6); 6. Tyler Walker (8); 7. Joey Moughan (4); 8. Chris Shirek (9); 9. Dustin Morgan (7); 10. TJ Peterson (10).

Heat 5 (8 laps) – 1. Terry McCarl (3); 2. Rager Phillips (1); 3. Trey Starks (2); 4. Danny Smith (8); 5. Jamie Veal (4); 6. Cap Henry (5); 7. Fred Rahmer (7); 8. Bill Rose (6); 9. Trevor Reynolds (9).

Heat 6 (8 laps) – 1. Jeff Swindell (2); 2. Dusty Zomer (5); 3. Lynton Jeffrey (3); 4. Bronson Maeschen (4); 5. Glen Saville (9); 6. Caleb Helms (6); 7. AJ Moeller (1); 8. Austin Johnson (7); 9. Domain Ramsay (8).

Heat 7 (8 laps) – 1. Danny Lasoski (2); 2. Kerry Madsen (1); 3. Greg Wilson (4); 4. Ryan Bunton (3); 5. Jack Dover (7); 6. Tony Bruce Jr. (5); 7. Seth Brahmer (8); 8. Lee Sowell (6); 9. Robert Bell (9).

B Feature 1 (12 laps) – 1. Steve Kinser (3); 2. Kevin Swindell (7); 3. Greg Wilson (2); 4. Joey Moughan (1); 5. Brady Bacon (9); 6. Don Droud Jr. (6); 7. Josh Schneiderman (4); 8. Logan Schuchart (8); 9. Jarrod Schneiderman (11); 10. Danny Smith (14); 11. Chris Shirek (16); 12. Robert Bell (17); 13. Bryan Sebetto (5); 14. Austin Johnson (12); 15. Lee Sowell (10); 16. Ron Krysl (18); 17. Mike Reinke (13); 18. Johnny Herrera (15).

B Feature 2 (12 laps) – 1. Chad Kemenah (2); 2. Cap Henry (7); 3. Brad Sweet (8); 4. Jack Dover (12); 5. Lynton Jeffrey (3); 6. Trey Starks (4); 7. Casey Mack (5); 8. Austin McCarl (6); 9. Dustin Morgan (11); 10. Kevin Ingle (17); 11. Trevor Reynolds (16); 12. TJ Peterson (18); 13. Domain Ramsay (14); 14. Bill Rose (9); 15. Critter Malone (15); 16. Jamie Veal (1); 17. Tasker Phillips (10); 18. Geoff Dodge (13).

B Feature 3 (12 laps) – 1. Bronson Maeschen (1); 2. James McFadden (4); 3. Tony Bruce Jr. (7); 4. Ryan Bunton (3); 5. Randy Hannagan (8); 6. Scott Winters (2); 7. Tyler Walker (13); 8. Fred Rahmer (11); 9. Kaley Gharst (6); 10. AJ Moeller (5); 11. Caleb Helms (9); 12. Glen Saville (16); 13. Jim Moughan Jr. (15); 14. Ed Lynch Jr. (10); 15. Seth Brahmer (14); 16. Josh Hodges (17); 17. Sheldon Haudenschild (12).

Speed Sport Knoxville World Challenge (20 laps) – 1. Donny Schatz (10); 2. Sammy Swindell (1); 3. Jason Meyers (9); 4. Craig Dollansky (12); 5. Tim Shaffer (13); 6. Kerry Madsen (15); 7. Jason Johnson (2); 8. James McFadden (17); 9. Daryn Pittman (4); 10. Lucas Wolfe (8); 11. Brooke Tatnell (14); 12. David Gravel (18); 13. Jamie Veal (16); 14. Lynton Jeffrey (20); 15. Danny Smith (23); 16. Trevor Reynolds (21); 17. Domain Ramsay (22); 18. Ian Madsen (7); 19. Paul McMahan (3); 20. Glen Saville (19); 21. Jonathan Allard (11); 22. Shane Stewart (5); 23. Kyle Larson (6).

Saturday’s Feature Lineups for the 52^nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals

A MAIN (50 laps): 1, Stevie Smith. 2, Craig Dollansky. 3, Jonathan Allard. 4, Brian Brown. 5, Donny Schatz. 6, Joey Saldana. 7, Jason Meyers. 8, Tim Kaeding. 9, Kraig Kinser. 10, Lucas Wolfe. 11, Ian Madsen. 12, Kyle Larson. 13, Shane Stewart. 14, Daryn Pittman. 15, Lance Dewease. 16, Paul McMahan. 17, Justin Henderson. 18, David Gravel. 19, Dale Blaney. 20, Cody Darrah.

B MAIN (22 laps, 4 transfer): 1, Davey Heskin. 2, Mark Dobmeier. 3, Greg Hodnett. 4, Brian Paulus. 5, Jason Johnson. 6, Sammy Swindell. 7, Tim Shaffer. 8, Brooke Tatnell. 9, Dustin Selvage. 10, Jason Sides. 11, Kerry Madsen. 12, Chad Kemenah. 13, Terry McCarl. 14, Dusty Zomer. 15, Steve Kinser. 16, Danny Holtgraver. 17, Bronson Maeschen. 18, Kevin Swindell. 19, Wayne Johnson. 20, Scott Winters.

C MAIN (15 laps, 2 transfer): 1, Danny Lasoski. 2, Jamie Veal. 3, Rager Phillips. 4, Jac Haudenshild. 5, Cap Henry. 6, James McFadden. 7, Greg Wilson. 8, Jeff Swindell. 9, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 10, Joey Moughan. 11, Brad Sweet. 12, Tony Bruce Jr. 13, Jack Dover. 14, Ryan Bunton. 15, Brady Bacon. 16, Lynton Jeffrey. 17, Randy Hannagan. 18, Don Droud Jr. 19, Trey Starks. 20, Josh Schneiderman.

D MAIN (12 laps, 2 transfer): 1, Casey Mack. 2, Tyler Walker. 3, Logan Schuchart. 4, Austin McCarl. 5, Fred Rahmer. 6, Jarrod Schneiderman. 7, Dustin Morgan. 8, Kaley Gharst. 9, Danny Smith. 10, Kevin Ingle. 11, A.J. Moeller. 12, Chris Shirek. 13, Trevor Reynolds. 14, Caleb Helms. 15, Robert Bell. 16, T.J. Peterson. 17, Glen Saville. 18, Brian Sebetto. 19, Domain Ramsey. 20, Jim Moughan.

E MAIN (10 laps, 2 transfer): 1, Ron Krysl. 2, Bill Rose. 3, Ed Lynch Jr. 4, Lee Sowell. 5, Critter Malone. 6, Seth Brahmer. 7, Austin Johnson. 8, Josh Hodges. 9, Mike Reinke. 10, Tasker Phillips. 11, Sheldon Haudenschild. 12, Johnny Herrera. 13, Geoff Dodge.

August 11, 2012
Larson Capitalizes On Night 1 of Goodyear Knoxville Nationals

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Aug. 8, 2012 – He’s done it again.

Kyle Larson, the phenom who wins in anything and everything he races, claimed the opening night of the 52nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals on a stormy Wednesday at Knoxville Raceway in his first attempt in the prestigious event.

“Getting a win at Knoxville is so big, but it’s only a prelim night,” Larson said after winning the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event. “It’s going to be tough for sure, but tonight gave me a lot of confidence going into Saturday.”

Larson took the checkered flags for the first time at the famed half mile around 1 a.m. to complete the weather-delayed opener in the biggest weekend in sprint car racing. Night Two of qualifying is Thursday with Opening Ceremonies scheduled for 8 p.m.

On Wednesday, a vicious storm blanketed the area with rain, wind and lightning around 4:20 p.m. The facility was under a severe thunderstorm warning during the storm, which lasted more than an hour before tractors began to work the soggy grounds. Cars first touched the track around 9 p.m. – approximately two hours late.

The weather also set up for a fast track and conditions that made it tough to pass most of the night. Eight of the top 10 qualifiers failed to advance out of the heats and it didn’t get any easier in the 25-lap main event.

Polesitter Davey Heskin dominated the first half of the race before the first caution on lap 14 for Mike Reinke, who stopped in turn four. At the same time the caution waved, second-running Randy Hannagan went up in smoke on the frontstretch after a fitting broke. His car caught fire under caution and had to be extinguished in the work area to cap Hannagan’s night.

Jason Sides utilized a near-perfect slide job on Heskin for the lead in turn two on the restart and Larson slid Heskin for the runner-up position in turn four. The trio entered traffic in a tight battle with seven laps remaining and a lap later, Sides’ left rear tire exploded in turn two. He spun around and ended up tipping over, which gave Larson the lead.

Sides was able to continue, but stopped in turn four with four laps remaining to set up another late restart. This time Brian Paulus was on Larson’s tail after narrowly passing Heskin on the previous lap. However, Paulus slowed dramatically while running second as he was facing the white flag and eventually brought out the final caution, which set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Larson sailed to the lead on the restart and Heskin held off Donny Schatz for second place after the duo traded slide jobs in the closing laps.

“I was just lucky to get back by Schatz,” Heskin said.

Schatz, the defending Goodyear Knoxville Nationals champion and the winner in five of the last six events, joked about being the elder of the podium finishers and praised Larson for the big win.

“This kid’s got a lot of talent in everything he drives,” Schatz said. “It’s good to see the younger guys come up.”

Craig Dollansky charged from 22nd to finish fourth and Lucas Wolfe ended fifth. Brooke Tatnell was sixth, 23rd-starter Shane Stewart placed seventh, 21st-starter Joey Saldana finished eighth, Dustin Selvage was ninth and Jonathan Allard rounded out the top 10.

52nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Night 1 Statistical Report; Knoxville Raceway; Knoxville, Iowa; Aug. 8, 2012

A Feature (25 laps) – 1. Kyle Larson (3); 2. Davey Heskin (1); 3. Donny Schatz (5); 4. Craig Dollansky (22); 5. Lucas Wolfe (7); 6. Brooke Tatnell (11); 7. Shane Stewart (23); 8. Joey Saldana (21); 9. Dustin Selvage (10); 10. Jonathan Allard (8); 11. Jeff Swindell (13); 12. Austin McCarl (14); 13. Don Droud Jr. (16); 14. Paul McMahan (24); 15. Ed Lynch Jr. (20); 16. Glen Saville (18); 17. AJ Moeller (12); 18. Brian Paulus (6); 19. Lee Sowell (15); 20. Jason Sides (4); 21. Casey Mack (17); 22. Randy Hannagan (2); 23. Kerry Madsen (9); 24. Mike Reinke (19).

Qualifying – 1. 9, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN (28), 14.715; 2. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (10), 14.768; 3. 0, Jonathan Allard, Chico, CA (22), 14.813; 4. 13x, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (2), 14.832; 5. 82, Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (12), 14.847; 6. 89G, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (13), 14.851; 7. 57, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (3), 14.88; 8. 51, Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, PA (8), 14.891; 9. 5w, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (31), 14.901; 10. 63, Chad Kemenah, Findlay, OH (20), 14.905; 11. 28, Brian Paulus, Mooresville, IN (32), 14.94; 12. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (11), 14.948; 13. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (4), 14.958; 14. 2x, Dustin Morgan, Tulsa, OK (15), 14.97; 15. 11, Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN (48), 14.97; 16. 26, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (27), 14.981; 17. 7s, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (19), 14.987; 18. 13v, Seth Brahmer, Wisner, NE (6), 15.002; 19. 1K, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (5), 15.005; 20. 1x, Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro, IN (16), 15.017; 21. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (38), 15.023; 22. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (36), 15.024; 23. 29, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aus (17), 15.027; 24. 59, Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (30), 15.067; 25. 7x, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (1), 15.093; 26. D4, Danny Holtgraver, Pittsburgh, PA (23), 15.106; 27. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (24), 15.124; 28. 81, Austin Johnson, Shakopee, MN (14), 15.132; 29. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (25), 15.135; 30. 71, Kevin Swindell, Charlotte, NC (21), 15.157; 31. 98, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aus (43), 15.175; 32. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (26), 15.182; 33. 7K, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (46), 15.195; 34. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (9), 15.224; 35. 2s, Lee Sowell, Lake Cormorant, MS (35), 15.228; 36. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (34), 15.23; 37. 8, Casey Mack, East Grand Forks, ND (45), 15.231; 38. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust (42), 15.273; 39. 2L, Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo, PA (39), 15.276; 41. 9P, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (47), 15.311; 42. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (37), 15.49; 43. 47AU, Trevor Reynolds, Perth, WA, Aust. (33), 15.593; 44. 4D, Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (44), 15.635; 45. 7c, Critter Malone, Speedway, IN (7), 15.714; 46. 20PK, Ron Krysl, Atkinson, NE (29), 16.22; 47. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (41), 16.247; 48. 54, Cap Henry, Bellevue, OH (40), No Time.

Heat 1 (10 laps) – 1. Brooke Tatnell (2); 2. Don Droud Jr. (1); 3. Brian Paulus (6); 4. Davey Heskin (4); 5. Danny Holtgraver (3); 6. Joey Saldana (8); 7. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5); 8. David Gravel (7); 9. Rager Phillips (9); 10. Ron Krysl (10).

Heat 2 (10 laps) – 1. AJ Moeller (2); 2. Donny Schatz (6); 3. Jason Sides (5); 4. Casey Mack (1); 5. Lynton Jeffrey (4); 6. Craig Dollansky (8); 7. Shane Stewart (7); 8. Brady Bacon (3); 9. Jarrod Schneiderman (9); 10. Kevin Ingle (10).

Heat 3 (10 laps) – 1. Kerry Madsen (4); 2. Jonathan Allard (8); 3. Glen Saville (1); 4. Jeff Swindell (2); 5. Ryan Bunton (6); 6. Fred Rahmer (7); 7. Trevor Reynolds (9); 8. Seth Brahmer (5); 9. Austin Johnson (3); 10. Cap Henry (10).

Heat 4 (10 laps) – 1. Ed Lynch Jr. (1); 2. Austin McCarl (2); 3. Kyle Larson (5); 4. Lucas Wolfe (7); 5. Brad Sweet (3); 6. Paul McMahan (8); 7. Danny Smith (9); 8. Dustin Morgan (6); 9. Jac Haudenschild (4).

Heat 5 (10 laps) – 1. Lee Sowell (2); 2. Mike Reinke (1); 3. Dustin Selvage (4); 4. Randy Hannagan (5); 5. Steve Kinser (6); 6. Kevin Swindell (3); 7. Justin Henderson (8); 8. Chad Kemenah (7); 9. Critter Malone (9).

C Feature (8 laps) – 1. Rager Phillips (3); 2. Jarrod Schneiderman (4); 3. Kevin Ingle (7); 4. Ron Krysl (6); 5. Critter Malone (5); 6. Jac Haudenschild (1); 7. Austin Johnson (2); 8. Cap Henry (8).

B Feature (12 laps) – 1. Joey Saldana (1); 2. Craig Dollansky (2); 3. Shane Stewart (6); 4. Paul McMahan (3); 5. Justin Henderson (4); 6. David Gravel (5); 7. Chad Kemenah (8); 8. Steve Kinser (11); 9. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (12); 10. Fred Rahmer (7); 11. Brady Bacon (16); 12. Kevin Swindell (18); 13. Brad Sweet (17); 14. Ryan Bunton (9); 15. Danny Holtgraver (15); 16. Rager Phillips (21); 17. Jarrod Schneiderman (22); 18. Trevor Reynolds (19); 19. Lynton Jeffrey (14); 20. Dustin Morgan (10); 21. Kevin Ingle (23); 22. Seth Brahmer (13); 23. Ron Krysl (24); 24. Danny Smith (20).

52nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Points Standings (After Night 1)

1. Craig Dollansky, 477; 2. Jonathan Allard, 475; 3. Donny Schatz, 471; 4. Joey Saldana, 471; 5. Lucas Wolfe, 467; 6. Kyle Larson, 458; 7. Shane Stewart, 458; 8. Paul McMahan, 453; 9. Davey Heskin, 449; 10. Brian Paulus, 440; 11. Brooke Tatnell, 430; 12. Dustin Selvage, 430; 13. Jason Sides, 424; 14. Justin Henderson, 416; 15. Kerry Madsen, 412; 16. Randy Hannagan, 411; 17. Austin McCarl, 409; 18. David Gravel, 409. 19. Jeff Swindell, 407; 20. A.J. Moeller, 406. 21. Don Droud Jr., 403; 22. Fred Rahmer, 403; 23. Chad Kemenah, 399; 24. Ed Lynch Jr., 396; 25. Lee Sowell, 396; 26. Steve Kinser, 396; 27, Glen Saville, 390; 28. Ryan Bunton, 388; 29. Sam Hafertepe Jr., 386; 30. Casey Mack, 379; 31. Mike Reinke, 373; 32. Dustin Morgan, 365; 33. Danny Holtgraver, 360; 34. Lynton Jeffrey, 360; 35. Brad Sweet, 358; 36. Brady Bacon, 357; 37. Kevin Swindell, 355; 38. Seth Brahmer, 355; 39. Jac Haudenschild, 320; 40. Rager Phillips, 316; 41. Trevor Reynolds, 314; 42. Jarrod Schneiderman, 312; 43. Austin Johnson, 310; 44. Danny Smith, 300; 45. Kevin Ingle, 291; 46. Ron Krysl, 289; 47. Critter Malone, 280; 48. Cap Henry, 265.

August 9, 2012
Sammy Swindell crowned Sammy the 29th at Kings Royal

[media-credit name=”Eldora Speedway” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The overcast skies over Rossberg Ohio had a foreboding quality to them. The humidity was high and you could almost smell the rain. Track workers would stop for a moment and look up at the skies and then hurry on their way. Tonight was no ordinary night at the grand lady of dirt, Eldora Speedway, tonight was something special and rain simply wasn’t in the plans. Tonight the grand lady would pay homage to dirt racing’s 29th king, and who it would be only she knew.

As the time approached the car count rose to an impressive 50 winged sprint cars. Names that struck awe into even casual fans were in attendance. Names from the past, the present and the future were all there. Legends and Kings and princes that would be Kings if only Eldora would smile on them just once. Names from the past like Wolfgang, Doty, and Baltes. Names from today like Kinser, Swindell, Haudenschild and Lasoski. Names that would be the future like Darrah, Wolfe, Kaeding and Henderson. All were gathered at the court of the grandest lady of dirt to greet her loyals and share a moment with her fans. As the time approached even the most seasoned of the drivers began to feel the anticipation. The night had arrived the new King would be crowned. Would it be a seasoned and wily veteran or would it be an new young and daring prince? Who would win Eldora’s King’s Royal?

The qualifying for the event went just like any other World of Outlaws show. Each car taking 2 laps and the fastest time would determine where they would line up for the heat races. Quick time on the night was set by the track record holder Craig Dollansky. Dollansky turned a lap of 13.338 seconds around the half mile track. Not quite his record time which was 12.707 seconds but still the quickest of the 50 cars in the field for the night. The second fastest qualifier was a returning King who had been absent from the circuit for last couple of months in Jac Haudenschild. Haudenschild who went in the middle of the order turned a lap of 13.414 and served notice he was there to win.

Qualifying was the end of the familiar format for the evening. There would be 6 heat races and only the top 3 would transfer to the A Main. 4 thru 6 would be relegated to the B Main and 7 thru 9 would go to the C Main. The line up would be an interesting arrangement with the all the winners lining up 1 – 6 and all the second place finishers 7 – 12 and the third place finishers 13 – 18 and then the 2 fastest qualifiers that didn’t transfer would make up 19 and 20. The final 4 spots would transfer from the B Main. The C Main would transfer 6 to the B to complete that 24 car field. There are no provisionals in the Kings Royal. You either race your way in or you go home. This race is all about the best of the best, and that was exactly what the sell out crowd saw, the best of the best.

The first heat race would be a hotly contested 8 laps that would see the Eldora’s spring time winner take the checkers. Chad Kemenah won over Craig Dollansky and Tim Shaffer to claim his spot in the top 6 for the A. Finishing 4th was the series hottest young driver Kraig Kinser who along with last nights fast qualifier David Gravel and Paul May would be starting in the B Main. The first of the C Main starters were Ryan Myers, Chuck Waddell and Randy Hannagan who again had engine troubles and would scratch for the night.

The second heat was taken by Justin Henderson who held off a hard charging Jac Haudenschild and Dale Blaney for one of the 6 top spots. The B Main contenders would be 4 time champion Donny Schatz, Jason Sides, and Brian Paulus. The C Main claimed Dallas Hewitt, Adam Wilt and Rick Fraley.

The third heat would be a hard fought battle that would be won by Daryn Pittman who held off Danny Lasoski and Brad Sweet. Going to the B Main was 20 time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser who had qualified for all 28 previous King’s Royals. Joining him would be Stevie Smith and Bill Rose. Going to the C Dean Jacobs and Kory Krabtree.

The fourth heat would be an action packed hotly contested joust between two rivals. The experience of Sammy Swindell would win the battle over Kerry Madsen and Brian Brown. Going to the B would last years World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year Cody Darrah, Greg Wilson and Brian Sebbetto. The C would take Craig Mintz and Joey McGaruh.

Heat 5 would test the metal of last nights winner Joey Saldana. A single slip of the tire handed the race to Paul McMahan and brought Saldana home in second. Third would go to last years king Tyler Walker. The B Main would get Logan Schuchart, Chad Blonde, and Wes McGlumphy. While the C Main would get Sheldon Haudenschild who took a wild ride flipping several times and landing on his wheels during the heat and Todd Kane. Sheldon would scratch for the evening with too much damage to repair at the track.

The final heat would determine the pole sitter for the King’s Royal. Tim Kaeding would win with a commanding 5.4 second lead over Ed Lynch Jr and Lucas Wolfe. The B Main contestants would be Trey Starks and Shane Stewart and Dustin Daggett. Stewart would experience engine trouble and scratch for the evening. The C Main claimed Danny Smith and Scott Hull.

The C Main was scheduled to start 12 cars but with the cars of Randy Hannagan and Sheldon Haudenschild scratching the race would go off with just 10. Dallas Hewitt would lead every lap to claim the C with Danny Smith, Adam Wilt, Ryan Meyers, and Chuck Waddell also transfering to the B Main.

The B Main was packed from front to back and on any ordinary night would have been considered a strong A Main. But this was not an ordinary night and these drivers would be fighting for their chance to challenge for the crown. The race was a fast pace slide filled exciting chess match that showed every single driver in the field to be a brillantly talented and promising driver. But only 4 could move on. Only the 4 best of these 23 elite drivers would earn the chance to challenge for the title. Two past kings and 2 crown princes would make the move. With Donny Schatz leading the way Greg Wilson, Kraig Kinser and Steve Kinser would tighten their belts and prepare to do battle in the A Main. The Royal had never been won by a driver coming out of the B Main but all 4 of these men were confident that they could be the first. After all two of them, Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz were past Kings already. Greg Wilson was a documented hard charger with a great deal of surgical finesse in a race car and Kraig Kinser not only had the advantage of being Steve’s son he was also the hottest driver on the circuit. With their confidence in place the four advanced to do battle in the A Main. And what a battle it was.

The A Main was the feature race of feature races. The 40 laps around Eldora’s storied high banks was a tough race with three and sometimes four abreast racing throughout the pack. But the steel horses proved not as reliable as their strong willed drivers and 6 of the 24 would retire with engine issues. By the half way point the wily veteran Sammy Swindell, had taken the lead. But his rival Kerry Madsen was hot on his tail followed very closely by Jac Haudenschild. At one point Sammy lead by a nose and Madsen went high and Haudenschild went low with Swindell in the middle. The cars were just inches a part as they headed into the first turn. All three would come out the other side with Swindell holding on to the lead by a nose. Through out the pack the rooster tails and slide jobs for position were fierce. It was about more than money. It was about pride and these were proud and brave men. When the dust finally cleared and the checkered flag flew it was Sammy Swindell that Doug Wolfgang would crown as King. King Sammy the XXIX as he will be known from this day forward. It was the third time in his long career that Sammy has been the King but it undoubtedly will not be the last. Coming home second would be Kerry Madsen and in third Jac Haudenschild. Our B Main Knights all finished in the top 10. But the legend of no winner ever coming from the B still stands. But there is always next year.

Tonight was a test of stamina and wills. It was about finding the courage to look your short comings in the eyes and over coming them. It was about digging down to where you live to where your drive to race and win comes from and pushing on when your neck and your shoulders hurt and breathing was becoming hard from the dust. It was about being the best and believing you were the best without doubts. No one at Eldora tonight illustrated that attitude any better than Sammy Swindell. Swindell’s quiet demeanor is often misunderstood and taken for stand offish. His dry humor often taken as a sharp tongue that lacks compassion. His passion for winning and precision taken as conceit and arrogance. In reality nothing could be further from the truth. Sammy Swindell is an innovator and a consumate champion. He is a Master at his craft. He races in the purest of old school form, he offers no quarter and he takes none. If you have the skills and you have the will he will test your metal and if you can win he will shake your hand but never think that means you have beaten him because you have only won a single battle. That said….Long Live The King!!!!!!!!!!!

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Qualifying Results:

1) Craig Dollansky 2) Jac Haudenschild 3) Stevie Smith 4) Cody Darrah 5) Joey Saldana 6) Tim Kaeding 7) Tim Shaffer 8) Dale Blaney 9) Brad Sweet 10) Kerry Madsen 11) Tyler Walker 12) Trey Starks 13) Chad Kemenah 14) Justin Henderson 15) Da…nny Lasoski 16) Brian Brown 17) Paul McMahan 18) Lucas Wolfe 19) Kraig Kinser 20) Donny Schatz 21) Daryn Pittman 22) Sammy Swindell 23) Todd Kane 24) Ed Lynch Jr 25) David Gravel 26) Jason Sides 27) Steve Kinser 28) Greg Wilson 29) Sheldon Haudenschild 30) Dustin Daggett 31) Paul May 32) Adam Wilt 33) Bill Rose 34) Bryan Sebbetto 35) Logan Schuchart 36) Shane Stewart 37) Randy Hannagan 38) Dallas Hewitt 39) Dean Jacobs 40) Craig Mintz 41) Chad Blonde 42) Danny Smith 43) Ryan Myers 44) Brian Paulus 45) Kory Crabtree 46) Joey Magaruh 47) Wes McGlumphy 48) Scott Hull 49) Chuck Waddell 50) Rick Fraley

Heat One Results: ‎1) Chad Kemenah 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Tim Shaffer 4) Kraig Kinser 5) David Gravel 6) Paul May 7) Ryan Myers 8) Chuck Waddell 9) Randy Hannagan.

Heat 2 Results: ‎1) Justin Henderson 2) Jac Haudenschild 3) Dale Blaney 4) Donny Schatz 5) Jason Sides 6) Brian Paulus 7) Dallas Hewitt 8) Adam Wilt 9) Rick Fraley.

Heat 3 Results: ‎1) Daryn Pittman 2) Danny Lasoski 3) Brad Sweet 4) Steve Kinser 5) Stevie Smith 6) Bill Rose 7) Dean Jacobs 8) Kory Crabtree.

Heat 4 Results: ‎1) Sammy Swindell 2) Kerry Madsen 3) Brian Brown 4) Cody Darrah 5) Greg Wilson 6) Bryan Sebbetto 7) Craig Mintz 8) Joey McGaruh.

Heat 5 Results: ‎1) Paul McMahan 2) Joey Saldana 3) Tyler Walker 4) Logan Schuchart 5) Chad Blonde 6) Wes McGlumphy 7) Sheldon Haudenschild 8) Todd Kane.

Heat 6 Results: ‎1) Tim Kaeding 2) Ed Lynch Jr 3) Lucas Wolfe 4) Trey Starks 5) Shane Stewart 6) Dustin Daggett 7) Danny Smith 8) Scott Hull.

C Main Results: ‎1) Dallas Hewitt 2) Danny Smith 3) Adam Wilt 4) Ryan Myers 5) Todd Kane 6) Chuck Waddell 7) Rick Fraley 8) JOey Magurah 9) Kory Crabtree 10) Scott Hull 11) Randy Hannagan (DNS) 12) Sheldon Haudenschild (DNS)

B main Results: ‎1) Donny Schatz 2) Greg Wilson 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Steve Kinser 5) Logan Schuchart 6) David Gravel 7) Trey Starks 8) Bryan Sebbetto 9) Craig Mintz 10) Bill Rose 11) Jason Sides 12) Adam Wilt 13) Stevie Smith 14) Paul May 15) Chad Blonde 16) Wes McGlumphy 17) Dustin Daggett 18) Brian Paulus 19) Todd Kane 20) Ryan Myers 21) Chuck Waddell 22) Dallas Hewitt 23) Dean Jacobs 24) Shane Stewart (DNS)

A Main Results: ‎1) Sammy Swindell 2) Kerry Madsen 3) Jac Haudenschild 4) Justin Henderson 5) Kraig Kinser 6) Daryn Pittman 7) Joey Saldana 8) Donny Schatz 9) Greg Wilson 10) Steve Kinser 11) Tim Shaffer 12) Cody Darrah 13) Dale Blaney 14) Paul McMahan 15) Brad Sweet 16) Ed Lynch Jr 17) Tyler Walker 18) Lucas Wolfe 19) Danny Lasoski 20) Brian Brown 21) Craig Dollansky 22) Chad Kemenah 23) Tim Kaeding 24) Stevie Smith.

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July 15, 2012
Saldana survives Friday the 13th to win at Eldora

[media-credit id=30 align=”alignright” width=”265″][/media-credit]Forty eight 410 sprint cars showed up to compete in the Knight before the Royal with the World of Outlaws at Eldora. From the very beginning it was obvious this wasn’t going to be a typical night of racing. The first oddity occurred when the internet connection for the sanctioning body went down about an hour before the event was to begin. It left them for the most part without communication and the ability to update fans not in attendance. The strangeness would continue on into the evening with Sammy Swindell losing his steering wheel in his hands while lining up for a restart. Cody Darrah’s belts coming loose during a caution. Jac Haudenschild losing his steering and turning hard left into Tony Stewart and eliminating both cars from the event. Friday the 13th effected the night in many ways and none of them superstitions.

The quick time of the evening was set by David Gravel with a lap of 13.343 seconds around the high banked oval. Three competitors, Brad Sweet, Dale Blaney, Justin Henderson, would turn the exact same lap time of 13.512 and their order would be determined by the speed of their first lap. The top ten qualifiers were only separated by .169 seconds and the entire field was only separated by 2.252 seconds and the slowest times posted came from competitors making their first trip to Eldora Speedway.

The heat races were literally stacked with talent on top of talent. Just to advance from the heat race was a feat of extreme skill and patience. The first heat race was won by Dale Blaney with Tim Kaeding literally sitting on his back bumper to advance to the dash. David Gravel, Greg Wilson and Paul McMahan would advance to the A Main as well.

Heat number 2 would see Sammy Swindell dominate over Justin Henderson, Cody Darrah, Stevie Smith and Kerry Madsen. It would also offer the first foreshadowing of the evening with co owner of first in the points, Tony Stewart Racing’s Donny Schatz finishing outside the transfer spot in 6th. The 4 time series champion was relegated to the B Main but he wouldn’t be alone.

Danny Lasoski would literally walk the dog on the field in his new Zemco racing 1Z ride beating Brian Brown, Kraig Kinser, Steve Kinser, Bill Rose. But it would send 2 more big names to the B Main in Tony Stewart and Daryn Pittman.

The final heat race was a hard charging and heavily contested race between Joey Saldana and Craig Dollansky with Saldana finishing on top, also transferring would be Jim Nier, Jason Sides, and Brad Sweet. But 3 more big names were sent to the B Main, Lucas Wolfe, Jac Haudenschild, and Chad Kemenah.

The C Main was clearly a race of desperation transferring only 2 to the Last Chance Showdown of the B Main. The original lineup called for the C to be a 12 car show but when Cap Henry and Rick Fraley were forced to scratch for the evening, the 10 car field that took the green was clearly geared up and ready to do whatever they needed to do to make the big show. Brian Paulus and Dustin Daggett would easily transfer to the Last Chance Showdown.

The B Main was as tough a field as you will ever see on a dirt track in any series anywhere in the country. When Randy Hannagan and Tony Stewart lead them to the green they didn’t even make a lap before there was a three car tangle between Logan Schuchart, Chad Blonde, and Sam Hafertepe Jr. The heavy damage to Hafertepe’s car would relegate him to a back up for the Kings Royal if he has one to pull. Blonde was questionable as to whether he had frame damage as well and he stated, “We don’t have a back up so if we can’t fix it we are headed home.” 5 laps in Randy Hannagan dropped a rod through the bottom of the motor and went up in a cloud of blue smoke his evening officially over. The engine damage he reported after winning the 360 feature later in the evening would run him right about $15,000. From that point on it was Seek and Slide around the high banks of Eldora and when the dust settled it would be the Steel City Outlaw, Tim Shaffer leading the Rushville Rocket, Tony Stewart to the line. Also transferring to the A Main was The Wild Child, Jac Haudenschild and The Rough Rider, Tyler Walker. Needing a provisional to get into the A Main if they were to run it were, Donny Schatz, Lucas Wolfe, Daryn Pittman, and Chad Kemenah.

When the A Main took the track the only provisional in the field belonged to Donny Schatz who would be slated in the 25th spot but would actually start the race in the 24th spot when Tony Stewart choose to start at the rear of the field. Joey Saldana jumped out to an early lead at the green and was pulling away from the field when Tim Kaeding spun on lap 9 to bring out the caution. After a quickie yellow the race resumed but only briefly because on Lap 11 a 5 car pile up with Tyler Walker, Kerry Madsen, Jim Nier, Brad Sweet and Bill Rose would bring out the red flag. The only car able to return to the race was Bill Rose. The other 4 were damaged beyond repair in the 2 minute allotted work time. Madsen will need to go to a back up car as will Brad Sweet for the Kings Royal on Saturday night. As the red was lifted and the yellow came out. Sammy Swindell spun on the front stretch. Upon investigation by the series officials his steering wheel had come off in his hands as he attempted to line up. The strange incident relegated Sammy to the back of the pack. At the same time Kraig Kinser entered the work area with a flat Right Rear tire and Cody Darrah stopped in front of a track official to get assistance because his safety belts had come loose in the car. When the green finally flew again it wouldn’t fly for long. Jac Haudenschild would break something in the steering of his car and turn left right into the path of an at speed Tony Stewart causing a very hard impact and ending both of their nights at lap 13. The race would go green again and remain green this time until the final lap. Joey Saldana would lead all the way with serious challenges from Greg Wilson who started the night in 20th and ended up 2nd. On lap 30 the yellow would come out after the first 4 cars had taken the checkered flag when Jason Sides blew a Left rear tire and Kraig Kinser would blow a Left Rear tire and turn the car sideways at the line. The rest of the top 5 would be Dale Blaney, Craig Dollansky, and Brian Brown in his first time at Eldora in a 410 Sprint car. The KSE Hard Charger would go to Greg Wilson. And Steve Kinser would take over the point lead going into the Kings Royal.

Through all it’s bizarre twists and turns and it’s even stranger occurrences. Eldora lived up to her reputation of being hard core and unforgiving. She has her favorite sons. And winning there once doesn’t make you one of them as Chad Kemenah found out. But she is loyal to a fault. Loyal to her fans. She treated the near sell out crowd to one of the best nights of Outlaw racing in the season thus far. She was fast. She was challenging and she was demanding. But when Joey Saldana’s small sons stepped up to the podium to share in their dad’s excitement you could feel her smile. For all of his struggles this year and all of the struggles he has had at Eldora in the past tonight she gifted him with a memory that won’t soon fade. Joey Saldana went home the champion of the Knight before the Royal. And he went home a hero in the only eyes that truly matter, the eyes that never see him as anything else, his sons.

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Heat Race 1 Results: ‎1) Dale Blaney 2) Tim Kaeding 3) David Gravel 4) Greg Wilson 5) Paul McMahan 6) Tyler Walker 7) Randy Hannagan 8) Trey Starks 9) Dustin Daggett 10) Chad Blonde 11) Cap Henry 12) Kory Crabtree

Heat Race 2 Results: ‎1) Sammy Swindell 2) Justin Henderson 3) Cody Darrah 4) Stevie Smith 5) Kerry Madsen 6) Donny Schatz 7) Tim Shaffer 8) Sam Hafertepe Jr 9) Bryan Sebbetto 10) Wes Glumphy 12) Dallas Hewitt

Heat Race 3 Results: ‎1) Danny Lasoski 2) Brian Brown 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Steve Kinser 5) Bill Rose 6) Daryn Pittman 7) Tony Stewart 8) Sheldon Haudenschild 9) Logan Schuchart 10) Scott Hall 11) Adam Wilt 12) Chuck Waddell

Heat Race 4 Results: ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Jim Nier 4) Jason Sides 5) Brad Sweet 6) Jac Haudenschild 7) Chad Kemenah 8) Lucas Wolfe 9) Todd Kane 10) Joey McGarah 11) Randy Meyers 12) Rick Fraley (DNS)

C Main Results: ‎1) Brian Paulus 2) Dustin Daggett 3) Adam Wilt 4) Kory Crabtree 5) Joey McGaruh 6) Wes McGlumphy 7) Chuck Waddell 8) Dallas Hewitt 9) Scott Hall 10) Randy Meyers Cap Henry and Rick Fraley scratched from the event but were scheduled to start 11th and 12th respectatively.

Dash Results: Inversion was an 8. ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Dale Blaney 3) Sammy Swindell 4) Craig Dollansky 5) Justin Henderson 6) Brian Brown 7) Tim Kaeding 8) Danny Lasoski 9) Stevie Smith 10) David Gravel

B Main Results: ‎1) Tim Shaffer 2) Tony Stewart 3) Jac Haudenschild 4) Tyler Walker 5) Trey Starks 6) Bryan Sebbetto 7) Donny Schatz 8) Lucas Wolfe 9) Brian Paulus 10) Daryn Pittman 11) Chad Kemenah 12) Sheldon Haudenschild 13) Dustin Daggett 14) Todd Kane 15) Randy Hannagan 16) Sam Hafertepe Jr 17) Chad Blonde 18) Logan Schuchart

A Main Results: ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Greg Wilson 3) Dale Blaney 4) Craig Dollansky 5) Brian Brown 6) Tim Shaffer 7) Justin Henderson 8) Stevie Smith 9) Tim Kaeding 10) Steve Kinser 11) Sammy Swindell 12) Donny Schatz 13) David Gravel 14) Kraig Kinser 15) Jason Sides 16) Cody Darrah 17) Bill Rose 18) Paul McMahan 19) Jac Haudenschild 20) Tony Stewart 21) Brad Sweet 22) Kerry Madsen 23) Tyler Walker 24) Jim Nier 25) Danny Lasoski.

July 14, 2012