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Tag: Jessica Zemken

  • Dollansky Gets #50 at Lebanon Valley

    Dollansky Gets #50 at Lebanon Valley

    [media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”234″][/media-credit]Racing is all about numbers. The cars have numbers. The drivers are known by their numbers. Laps are timed and posted for positioning in numbers. It’s always better to draw a low number than a high number in racing. Careers are judged by the number of wins and championships. Racing is a game of math the simplest being adding to the win column to improve one’s overall position in the points so as to add another or a first championship to your resume. Tonight Craig Dollansky achieved a milestone when he won his 50th A Main event with the World of Outlaws.

    The evening at Lebanon Valley, NY, saw an unusually low car count for the Outlaws, with only 23 cars signing in for tonight’s racing. With all the cars in attendance transferring to the A Main qualifying became even more important than normal. A driver’s qualifying time would determine where he would start the A Main if he didn’t transfer to the dash. Craig Dollansky set the pace early turning a lap of 16.582 or 130.262 mph around the semi banked 1/2 mile track. Dollansky’s lap was just .229 seconds off the track record of 16.353 set by Danny Lasoski on 5/27/03. The top 10 would be separated by only .658 seconds.

    The first heat race brought trouble for last nights winner Cody Darrah as he had an engine let go early on, relegating him to last place in the heat. The race would be won by Jessica Zemken who held off a charging Craig Dollansky and Kraig Kinser. The heat would also find the seeming slump continuing for 4 time world of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz who finished a distant 5th.

    The second heat held perhaps one of the truest illustrations of the level of skill that is possessed in the Outlaws series when Sammy Swindell dropped a cylinder on the pace laps and still held off the field to finish second. Logan Schuchart would win the race but the skills it took to run just hard enough to make it to the end and not so hard as to blow the engine up required not only the technical expertise with the engine but also the driving skills to make up for the horsepower that he didn’t have but that the other competitors did. Lucas Wolfe would push Swindell hard but he couldn’t find a way around the wily master and had to settle for 3rd.

    The third heat would be won by Tim Kaeding with Joey Saldana in pursuit all the way to the checkers. The pair set sail and left 3rd place Chad Kemenah in their wake.

    The Dash was a different situation tonight with so few cars. The top 2 from each heat still transferred to the Dash. But the other 4 cars had to have finished in the top 6 of their heat in order to be eligible for the Dash. But there would be another bump in the road for 2 of the Dash competitors. Jessica Zemken and Bill Rose both had right rear tire damage. According to Outlaws rules you can not change the Right rear tire before the dash. Neither competitor had a choice in changing the tire and so they were not allowed to run the dash but instead relegated to 9th and 10th starting positions in the A Main. The Dash inversion was a 4 putting Lucas Wolfe on the pole with Joey Saldana on the outside front row. Saldana would take the lead in turn 1 and never look back. Craig Dollansky would get by Wolfe for 2nd to set up the front row that would start the A Main.

    With only 23 cars in attendance there was no need for a B Main. So the action went right to the A Main. Joey Saldana would lead all the way until lap 20. After trying nearly every lap on the low side to get around Saldana, Craig Dollansky would make the pass on the high side in traffic and drive by Saldana, bringing Daryn Pittman with him. Pittman would challenge Dollansky briefly before the checkered flag waved giving Dollansky his 50th win. Saldana would come home 3rd.

    The final 6 laps of the race showed a resurgence for Donny Schatz who restarted in 12th and in 5 laps climbed up to 6th and finished in 6th as the races KSE Hard charger having started in the 13th spot. It would see another night of strange and difficult situations for Sammy Swindell who had to change an engine before the dash and then had a left rear tire go down to bring out the only caution in the A Main. Swindell would finish 13th. The King of the Outlaws would run in the top 10 all evening until the final lap of the feature when he slowed dramatically as the checkers flew and finished an uncharacteristic 15th.

    Every racing series has a measuring stick. That one driver that everyone struggles and works to measure up to. In NASCAR it’s Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt. In Indy Car Racing it’s Mario Andretti or Rick Mears. In the World of Outlaws it’s Steve Kinser. His 20 national championships and 573 wins sets him apart from competitors not only in his own genre of racing but every genre of racing. Tonight at Lebanon Valley, NY, Craig Dollansky inched a half step forward towards that yard stick when he won his 50th A Main Feature. Yes it’s a long way from 573, but it’s a great deal further than many in other forms of racing have to call their own.

    Dollansky’s win was hard fought and won. On a track that saw few passes made until the late stages of the race, Dollansky had a tough road to drive getting by Joey Saldana to take the lead and win the 25 lap $10,000 purse tonight. Saldana was strong and he seemed to know exactly where Dollansky was going to try his pass and when. Saldana is a fierce competitor in his own right and owns 82 career wins of his own, and on this tight narrow short track he was tough to get around. But Dollansky used lapped traffic and made a daring pass to the outside and drove around Saldana. Once by him he didn’t look back, and it was probably a good thing because if he had he would have found a new foe chomping at his heels in Daryn Pittman. Pittman tried high. Pittman tried low. That is after all what racing is about, winning. Not playing the numbers and playing it safe but winning. In the end  win number 50 was Craig’s. “The Crowd Pleaser” as he is known lived up to his nick name.

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    ‎Qualifying Results:

    1) Craig Dollansky 16.582 130.262 mph. 2) Daryn Pittman 3) Joey Saldana 4) Cody Darrah 5) Lucas Wolfe 6) Bill Rose 7) Jessica Zemken 8) Sammy Swindell 9) Tim Kaeding 10) Kraig Kinser 11) Logan Schuchart 12) Chad Kemenah 13) Donny Schatz 14) Steve Kinser 15) Danny Smith 16) Kerry Madsen 17) Jason Sides 18) Paul Sides 19) Michael Parent 20) Jacob Allen 21) Russ Bennett 22) Dick Spadaro 23) Curtis Bradshaw

    Heat 1 Results:

    ‎1) Jessica Zemken 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Kerry Madsen 5) Donny Schatz 6) Michael Parent 7) Dick Spadaro 8) Cody Darrah

    Heat 2 Results:

    ‎1) Logan Schuchart 2) Sammy Swindell 3) Lucas Wolfe 4) Daryn Pittman 5) Steve Kinser 6) Jason Sides 7) Jacob Allen 8) Curtis Bradshaw.

    ‎Heat 3 Results:

    1) Tim Kaeding 2) Joey Saldana 3) Chad Kemenah 4) Danny Smith 5) Bill Rose 6) Russ Bennett 7) Paul Sides (DNF)

    Dash Results:Inversion was 4

    ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Lucas Wolfe 4) Daryn Pittman 5) Tim Kaeding 6) Logan Schuchart 7) Sammy Swindell 8) Kraig Kinser 9) Bill Rose 10) Jessica Zemken

    A Main Results:

    ‎1) Craig Dollansky 2) Daryn Pittman 3) Joey Saldana 4) Logan Schuchart 5) Cody Darrah 6) Donny Schatz 7) Tim Kaeding 8) Lucas Wolfe 9) Kerry Madsen 10) Bill Rose 11) Jason Sides 12) Kraig Kinser 13) Sammy Swindell 14) Danny Smith 15) Steve Kinser 16) Jacob Allen 17) Michael Parent 18) Jessica Zemken 19) Chad Kemenah 20) Russ Bennett 21) Paul Sides 22) Curtis Bradshaw 23) Dick Spadaro.

    KSE Hard Charger of the Race: Donny Schatz

    World of Outlaw Points after Lebanon Valley:

    Pos. Driver Total Diff Wins Top 5’s Top 10’s QT
    1 Steve Kinser 5633 0 3 18 31 0
    2 Craig Dollansky 5622 -11 6 19 29 7
    3 Donny Schatz 5610 -23 3 15 33 0
    4 Sammy Swindell 5589 -44 7 17 27 8
    5 Joey Saldana 5584 -49 4 14 29 6
    6 Kraig Kinser 5503 -130 4 15 29 3
    7 Kerry Madsen 5218 -415 3 8 21 1
    8 Cody Darrah 5217 -416 1 11 18 2
    9 Chad Kemenah 5143 -490 2 8 18 2
    10 Lucas Wolfe 4862 -771 0 4 13 0
    11 Bill Rose 4430 -1203 0 0 7 0
    12 Jason Sides 4006 -1627 0 11 18 0
    13 Daryn Pittman 2462 -3171 0 6 13 1
    14 Danny Lasoski 2356 -3277 1 5 8 0
    15 David Gravel 2310 -3323 0 7 9 4
    16 Tim Kaeding 2301 -3332 3 5 10 0
    17 Paul McMahan 2221 -3412 1 2 3 0
    18 Jac Haudenschild 2054 -3579 0 1 2 0
    19 Austen Wheatley 1818 -3815 0 0 2 0
    20 Brad Sweet 1779 -3854 1 5 8 1
  • What?! Tony Stewart Has a Girlfriend…Say It Ain’t So!

    What?! Tony Stewart Has a Girlfriend…Say It Ain’t So!

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It’s just days away from the 53rd running of the Daytona 500. Finally, after three long months NASCAR fans have something with a little substance to talk about; but forget all the hype of who is sitting on the pole, all of those crazy conspiracy theories and speeds reaching upward of 206 MPH during last weekend’s Budweiser Shootout and focus on something that really matters…Tony Stewart’s love life.

    Last week female fans across the land collectively lost their minds when former crew chief, Larry MacReynolds commented on the Stewart’s relationship status during the driver’s Shootout qualifying lap, naming Sprint Car driver Jessica Zemken as his girlfriend.

    Like a dog whistle blowing in the wind, Stewart’s lady fans instantly stopped what they were doing, cocked their heads to the side to ensure proper processing of what they were hearing and then promptly freaked the hell out!

    I know this because suddenly my Facebook, Twitter and cell phone blew up with messages and texts in an outrage over the news.  It was like animal instinct Armageddon. You would have thought that the nation was under attack again based solely on the intensity of how fast my social networks were working; instead it was just poor Jessica who was taking the brunt of the terrorist attacks.

    Naturally, in an attempt to write something factual and well researched, I Googled my subjects. In my quest to search of the real truth behind the vicious rumor, I stumbled upon a website dedicated to the brutal dissection of Stewart’s private life.  Sweet Jesus, it was like striking gold! How did I go so long as a NASCAR fan without realizing that sites like this actually exist? Does every driver have one?

    It was like hot buttered bliss drizzled atop a train wreck.  It was cat calling at it’s finest from a bunch of house fraus that would never in a million years be able to snag themselves their own Tony Stewart, but by-god they can dream can’t they and once they realize that the glass slipper will never fit their own foot, they do what they do best, talk some smack until it makes them feel better about their own lives.

    Ladies, are you really that surprised? This can’t possibly be the first time that you have heard her name romantically linked to Stewart. In 2009, she was photographed multiple times on pit road and in Victory Circle at Watkins Glen, a spot traditionally held for the driver’s wives or girlfriends.

    That same year I ran into her while covering a race on the east coast. I was heading into an infield bathroom that is primarily used by media, track employees, drivers and their crews, along with their families and friends while Ms. Zemken was heading out. When I say ran into her, I mean I literally ran into her. I was the victim of an accidental “motor boating,” not sure what that term means? Google it, I promise it will not disappoint! While I can say that I do admire a good pair of chest cushions when I see one, my face had no business being in between them! Talk about your awkward situations, but let’s just say for the record that Tony is a very lucky man!

    Look, who am I to judge anyone? I’m okay with a little harmless trash talking now and again, because somewhere, someone is talking smack about me, we are all fair game when it comes to scrutinizing and I admit that I enjoyed reading some of the posts on this bitchy blog, it was a good laugh, but before you go judging a pretty blond by her cover, open the book and flip through a couple pages and you’ll find that this one has a good storyline as well.

    Zemken may look like a living Barbie, but she grew up with racing in her blood. Her father Ray was a DIRT modified racer who spawned Jessica’s passion for driving.  She began racing on the go-kart track at the age of eight and with over 100 victories in that genre, set her sights on modified sprint cars just prior to her high school graduation.

    Realizing at an early age that nothing comes easy and if you want it done right, then do it yourself. At the age of 17 she assembled her own race team and won the 2004 Utica-Rome Speedway Track Championship (located in Central N.Y.).

    The following year she was competitively kicking ass and taking names. In 2010 she completed her first year as a driver with Tony Stewart Racing as a “true outlaw,” competing in 410 and 360 sprint car races, including stints in the World of Outlaws and All Star Circuit of Champions. The girl has a couple other assets under her fire suit, not just the obvious ones.

    Alright, alright…I know that you don’t always want the meat because you’re too distracted by the potatoes and sadly this is one of those cases where others will overlook true attributes for the analyzing of the cosmetic appeal.

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if your driver is happy, can’t you just be happy for him? Maybe you should take a step back and give your own lives a little attention and stop playing the “Bitter, party of one” card.

    The truth of the matter is that no one would ever be good enough for “your man” unless it were you. Am I right? We cut down others in order to make ourselves feel better, it is a glorious little savior at times, but some have turned it into a destruction filled art form. It has become a habit or hobby if you will to talk hurtful gibberish, add to that the veil of anonymity that the Internet provides and it becomes a cesspool for like-minded behavior.

    Who has that kind of time? Not this girl and if I did, I would certainly be spending it on more valuable and rewarding activities, like writing about you! If I had a sassy little emoticon, I’d insert it right here. Probably that cute little winking smiley face that says “just kidding y’all,” or am I?

    We are NASCAR fans ladies and to read that if you will “no longer buy” No. 14 swag or are setting your sights on another, more romantically available driver just because you hate who your driver has chosen as a mate is downright embarrassing to the rest of us!

    Just know that I’ll still be wearing my Smoke gear proudly and will delight in the satisfaction of knowing that his soft cottony touch be all over me and not you. Scandalous isn’t it? See you on the message boards! (Insert big toothy smiley grin emoticon here.)