Tag: Kyle Larson

CJ Faison Captures the K&N Pro Series East Pole at Rockingham Speedway

[media-credit name=”http://hometracks.nascar.com” align=”alignright” width=”262″][/media-credit]Rookie CJ Faison will lead the field to green in the inaugural Classic 3 Championship presented by RCR Racing Museum at Rockingham Speedway this Saturday. The season finale will be Faison’s 12^th career start in the K&N Pro Series East division.

Faison described winning the pole as “the best feeling in the world so far.” He continued on to say that “patience, I think, is going to win this race and we’ve got a good shot at it.”

Current points leader, Kyle Larson, qualified in the 11^th position. Brett Moffit, second in the points standings, will start in fifth place.

Corey LaJoie, 19 points behind Larson in the championship standings, qualified fourth. LaJoie leads the series in wins this season with five victories.

Darrell Wallace Jr. claimed the outside pole and Coleman Pressley will start the race in third position.

The Classic 3 Championship presented by RCR Racing Museum is scheduled to begin at approximately 2pm on Saturday. Live streaming audio will be available at www.nascarhometracks.com.

November 3, 2012
Corey LaJoie Makes his Bid for the Championship at Rockingham Speedway

Last Saturday night, Corey LaJoie left Greenville Pickens Speedway on top of the world. He had just celebrated his fifth win of the season and was leading the points standings in the K&N Pro East Series. The final race of the season was only one week away at Rockingham Speedway and the opportunity to win a championship was within his grasp.

On Tuesday everything changed.

During post race inspection, NASCAR determined that LaJoie’s team had committed rules violations. As a result, driver Corey LaJoie and car owner, Randy LaJoie, were each penalized with the loss of 25 championship points. In addition, Ron Otto, crew chief for the No. 07 team, was fined $5,000, suspended until the fine is paid and placed on probation for the final event of the season.

LaJoie now heads into Rockingham third in the standings, 19 points behind leader Kyle Larson.

He described his emotions this past week as “going from cloud nine to cloud zero.”

In many ways, LaJoie is an old school racer. He not only drives the cars, he also helps build them and assists with the set up. He’s all business on the track with a singular focus.

After his win at Greenville Pickens Speedway last weekend, he was criticized by some for making contact with Brett Moffitt while going for the win. The move caused a chain reaction that left a pile of wrecked cars in his wake.

In Corey’s mind, he simply did what he was supposed to do. He summed it up on his twitter account like this.

“My job is to win and that’s what I do.”

With 5 wins and 9 top-5 finishes this season, it’s difficult to argue with his logic.

LaJoie will start Saturday’s race in the fourth position. His biggest competitors for the championship, Brett Moffitt and Kyle Larson, qualified fifth and 11^th, respectively.

When the green flag drops, all the distractions of the week will fall away.

“When I get into the race car,” Corey says, “I have one job; to win the race.”

Regardless of the outcome on Saturday, LaJoie considers this season the best of his career.

Corey looks back at the season with pride as he tell me, “The competition level, how hard I’ve worked, all the people who have helped me and sacrificed to get me where I am plus the five wins; it’s been huge.”

The K&N Pro Series East championship will be determined Saturday at The Classic 3 Championship presented by RCR Racing Museum. The racing is scheduled to begin at approximately 2pm. Live streaming audio will be available at www.nascarhometracks.com.

November 3, 2012
Corey LaJoie Scores First Monster Mile Win In Wild K&N Pro Series East Race

[media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]With wrecks aplenty, a torn off bumper, and a green, white checkered finish, Corey LaJoie survived to score the win in the K&N Pro Series East race, the American Real TV 150, at Dover International Speedway.

And in one of the more unique victory celebrations, LaJoie removed his driving shoe, autographed it and handed it to a young race fan in the stands.

This was LaJoie’s fourth career K&N Pro Series East victory, with all four wins in the 2012 season. It was his first win at the Monster Mile, where he finished

“First I just want to start by saying how blessed I am to be in this situation,” the driver of the No. 07 Sims Metal Management Ford, said. “There are a million and a half kids who’d like to be in my spot right here so I’m just lucky enough to have the opportunity.”

“It doesn’t matter how many races I win in my career, I’ll always be second to the Lord.”

LaJoie was also effusive in his praise for third place finisher and good friend Brandon McReynolds.

“Brandon’s my best buddy since we came out of the womb,” LaJoie said. “To get to race for Miles the Monster in one of his one-off races, man it’s something you couldn’t ask for more.”

“I also need to thank Brand Gdovic for pulling that bumper off or we’d be sitting her in tenth place half tore up.”

“All in all, that was an awesome race.”

LaJoie admitted that the car he was driving and won the race in just happened to be borrowed.

“Miguel Paludo drove it last year and we pulled it out of the barn to get it out,” LaJoie said. “We got it a month ago, stripped it, painted it and the first time it hit the track was yesterday.”

LaJoie is also focused on the biggest prize in the series, the championship. And what does he have to do in his opinion to achieve that goal?

“Win the next two races,” LaJoie said simply. “If we win the next two races, no matter what anybody else does, we’re going to win the championship.”

LaJoie also came into the media center shoeless, thanks to his unique victory celebration.

“I give both of my shoes away,” LaJoie said. “I started that at Iowa.”

“I gave one away in the stands and one away in Victory Lane and my socks are soaking wet with Budweiser.”

Darrell “Bubba” Wallace, Jr. had an incredible comeback to finish second, his second top-2 finish at Dover having won the race last year, but he was none too happy in the media center after the race.

“It’s not even that I’m disappointed that we lost,” the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, said. “We lost the wrong way.”

“If you have to cheat to win and get somebody else to take your rear bumper off, I don’t understand that.”

“I’m frustrated over that but great day for us and a great weekend overall,” Wallace said. “We’ve been struggling all year and to be able to finish second, I’ll take it.”

“That’s how it is,” Wallace continued. “Maybe that will come around to us when our bumper gets ripped off and we get someone else to take it off for us.”

“It is complete awesomeness – sarcasm there – but we’ll take it.”

Brandon McReynolds, son of broadcaster Larry McReynolds, came in third in his No. 28 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet. This was McReynolds best finish in his eighth K&N Pro Series East start and his first race of the season.

“I really believe the 18 or us had the best car to beat,” McReynolds said. “I just didn’t get the pickup full of fuel so our restart was pretty terrible.”

“But it all started when I got a good run on the top and got on the outside of the 07,” McReynolds continued. “He just stuck me in the fence and tore up his bumper.”

“But that’s fine,” McReynolds said. “He’s one of our buddies and we’ll get over it and talk about it sometime.”

“He’ll realize pretty quick when you move up, you ain’t going to go far doing stuff like that,” McReynolds continued. “There’s only so many guys who will cut you breaks.”

“I shouldn’t have cut him a break,” McReynolds said. “I should have put him in the fence.”

“But we’ll move on to the next one,” McReynolds continued. “We were here to spoil the party and everyone knows we were a force to be reckoned with.”

“We made our statement and hopefully Mr. Turner sees that we have a really good thing going here and we can get some more races.”

The rest of the top five finishers were Ben Kennedy in fourth and Kyle Larson in fifth place.

September 28, 2012

Schatz takes Night 1 of the Gold Cup Race of Champions

[media-credit name=”Tony Stewart Racing” align=”alignright” width=”210″][/media-credit]CHICO, Calif. – Sept. 6, 2012 – Well, that just shook up the points.

A pair of drivers in contention for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series championship took a major hit on Thursday while a four-time champion survived a treacherous track on the opening night of the 59^th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway.

Donny Schatz slid by polesitter Kyle Larson exiting turn two on lap 20 en route to his eighth World of Outlaws victory of the season. The win, combined with some misfortune to a couple of fellow championship contenders, moved Schatz into the points lead for the first time in the last 21 races.

“It was fun,” he said. “(Larson) was really good on the top and we had a decent car on the bottom. It just was really tricky to run. It took me five or six laps to figure out how to drive it. It was a fun race and I’m glad to come out on the good side of it.”

Two drivers in search of that same title found bitter results.

Craig Dollansky, who entered the event with the points lead after 16 consecutive top-10 finishes, spun out after contact during a restart on lap 17. Dollansky, who had restarted eighth, headed to the work area to have everything checked out only to be left there. Since the race was past the halfway point, he didn’t get the guaranteed two minutes.

Dollansky later returned after a caution, but raced two laps down and finished 20^th. He is 12 points behind Schatz in the championship chase.

Sammy Swindell, who entered the event third in points, was set to capitalize on Dollansky’s bad luck. Swindell ran in the top three for most of the feature until a last-lap miscue stopped him on the frontstretch – only a handful of feet from crossing the finish line.

While Swindell was chasing down Larson in traffic for the runner-up position, Swindell dove to the bottom in the final turn. It appeared that he clipped the infield tire, which knocked his car up the track and into the frontstretch wall. He could only watch as all of the remaining cars on the lead lap drove by. Swindell was credited with an 18^th-place finish, which dropped him to 74 points behind Schatz in the championship battle.

In front of the tough luck was a great clash between Schatz and Larson, who traded slide jobs at least a half dozen times.

Larson led the first 10 laps before Schatz took the lead exiting turn four on lap 11. The duo slid each other in nearly every end of the track for two laps with Schatz having the advantage at the finish line before Larson held onto the lead on lap 13.

After the sixth – and final – caution of the race came on lap 20 when Kerry Madsen stopped on the frontstretch, Schatz got the opportunity he needed. On the lap after the restart, Larson got into the demanding cushion and Schatz slid off the bottom in turn two just in front of Larson.

Larson nearly jumped the cushion the ensuing two laps, which let Swindell close to within a couple of car lengths. Schatz entered traffic on lap 29, allowing Larson and Swindell to rapidly gain ground.

“I had to take about five laps just to settle down,” Larson said. “He got about a straightaway out there and then I just started trying to run the heck out of it. I caught him there coming to the white (flag) and got close coming to the line.”

As Schatz was dramatically slowed on the bottom, Larson powered to the cushion and Swindell to the very bottom of the inside groove. Schatz held off the late charges with Larson bouncing off the cushion and Swindell facing his own disaster.

“We just cruised around and watched and watched Sammy hit the tractor tire there at the end and stick it in the fence,” said Tim Kaeding, who finished third after avoiding Swindell’s damaged car. “He was about eight feet short. I’ve been there several times.”

Jason Sides placed fourth and Sean Becker was fifth. Bill Rose ended sixth and Steve Kinser earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after maneuvering from 22 ^nd to seventh. Shane Golobic finished eighth, 21^st starter Joey Saldana ninth and Lucas Wolfe rounded out the top 10.

Qualifying – 1. 1-Sammy Swindell, 12.321; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.604; 3. 57-Kyle Larson, 12.618; 4. 27-Sean Becker, 12.623; 5. 88X-Brad Bumgarner, 12.702; 6. 83-Tim Kaeding, 12.729; 7. 3C-Cody Lamar, 12.842; 8. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.856; 9. 121-Shane Golobic, 12.913; 10. OO-Jason Statler, 12.925; 11. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 12.933; 12. 77-Shane Stewart, 12.938; 13. 19-Tyler Wolf, 12.941; 14. 4-Cody Darrah, 12.972; 15. 7-Craig Dollansky, 13.018; 16. 6-Bill Rose, 13.052; 17. 18H-Jac Haudenschild, 13.083; 18. 83JR-Kyle Hirst, 13.091; 19. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.111; 20. 22-Mason Moore, 13.122; 21. O-Jonathan Allard, 13.130; 22. O4-Kevin Sharrah, 13.144; 23. 9-Joey Saldana, 13.152; 24. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.182; 25. 25M-Bobby McMahan, 13.252; 26. 29-Kerry Madsen, 13.255; 27. 2-B.J. Martin, 13.255; 28. 11M-Peter Murphy, 13.263; 29. 92-Andy Forsburg, 13.300; 30. 36-Steve Tatterson, 13.377; 31. 53-Andy Gregg, 13.444; 32. 89-Rico Abreu, 13.505; 33. 7K-Kenny Allen, 13.513; 34. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.536; 35. 25-Jason York, 13.543; 36. 21J-Richard Brace, 13.546; 37. 15H-Pat Harvey Jr., 13.596; 38. 26M-Sean McMahan, 13.753; 39. 18-Travis Jacobson, 13.754; 40. 33E-Evan Suggs, 13.786; 41. 88-Koen Shaw, 13.967; 42. 6UP-Danielle Simpson, 14.260; 43. 7Y-Clayton Snow, 14.346; 44. 28B-Adam Brenton, 14.597.

Heat 1 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 19-Tyler Wolf [1]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 3. 88X-Brad Bumgarner [3]; 4. 18H-Jac Haudenschild [5]; 5. 121-Shane Golobic [2]; 6. O-Jonathan Allard [6]; 7. 25M-Bobby McMahan [7]; 8. 92-Andy Forsburg [8]; 9. 7K-Kenny Allen [9]; 10. 88-Koen Shaw [11]; 11. 15H-Pat Harvey Jr. [10].

Heat 2 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 83-Tim Kaeding [3]; 2. 4-Cody Darrah [1]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [7]; 5. 83JR-Kyle Hirst [5]; 6. O4-Kevin Sharrah [6]; 7. 6UP-Danielle Simpson [11]; 8. OO-Jason Statler [2]; 9. 26M-Sean McMahan [10]; 10. 63-Chad Kemenah [9]; 11. 36-Steve Tatterson [8].

Heat 3 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 7-Craig Dollansky [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 3. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [2]; 4. 9-Joey Saldana [6]; 5. 3C-Cody Lamar [3]; 6. 53-Andy Gregg [8]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 8. 2-B.J. Martin [7]; 9. 18-Travis Jacobson [10]; 10. 25-Jason York [9]; 11. 7Y-Clayton Snow [11].

Heat 4 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 6-Bill Rose [1]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [3]; 3. 27-Sean Becker [4]; 4. 11-Steve Kinser [6]; 5. 77-Shane Stewart [2]; 6. 11M-Peter Murphy [7]; 7. 89-Rico Abreu [8]; 8. 33E-Evan Suggs [10]; 9. 21J-Richard Brace [9]; 10. 28B-Adam Brenton [11]; 11. 22-Mason Moore [5].

Dash – (8 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 27-Sean Becker [1]; 3. 83-Tim Kaeding [5]; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 6. 19-Tyler Wolf [7]; 7. 7-Craig Dollansky [9]; 8. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 9. 4-Cody Darrah [8]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [10].

C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature) – 1. 33E-Evan Suggs [6] [-]; 2. 18-Travis Jacobson [5] [-]; 3. 25-Jason York [1] [$150]; 4. 88-Koen Shaw [7] [$125]; 5. 7Y-Clayton Snow [9] [$125]; 6. 28B-Adam Brenton [10] [$100]; 7. 15H-Pat Harvey Jr. [3] [$100]; 8. 6UP-Danielle Simpson [8] [$100]; 9. 21J-Richard Brace [2] [$100]; 10. 26M-Sean McMahan [4] [$100].

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2] [-]; 2. 22-Mason Moore [3] [-]; 3. O-Jonathan Allard [4] [-]; 4. 25M-Bobby McMahan [6] [-]; 5. OO-Jason Statler [1] [$200]; 6. 53-Andy Gregg [11] [$180]; 7. 63-Chad Kemenah [14] [$175]; 8. 89-Rico Abreu [12] [$160]; 9. 11M-Peter Murphy [8] [$150]; 10. 18-Travis Jacobson [16] [$150]; 11. 92-Andy Forsburg [9] [$150]; 12. 7K-Kenny Allen [13] [$150]; 13. 2-B.J. Martin [7] [$150]; 14. 33E-Evan Suggs [15] [$150]; 15. O4-Kevin Sharrah [5] [$150]; 16. 36-Steve Tatterson [10] [$150].

A-Main – (30 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [5] [$8,000]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [1] [$4,000]; 3. 83-Tim Kaeding [3] [$2,500]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [8] [$2,200]; 5. 27-Sean Becker [2] [$2,100]; 6. 6-Bill Rose [10] [$2,000]; 7. 11-Steve Kinser [22] [$1,800]; 8. 121-Shane Golobic [13] [$1,600]; 9. 9-Joey Saldana [21] [$1,500]; 10. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [14] [$1,300]; 11. 83JR-Kyle Hirst [17] [$1,200]; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18] [$1,100]; 13. 63-Chad Kemenah [25] [$400]; 14. 4-Cody Darrah [9] [$700]; 15. 25M-Bobby McMahan [23] [$600]; 16. 77-Shane Stewart [15] [$600]; 17. 3C-Cody Lamar [12] [$600]; 18. 1-Sammy Swindell [4] [$600]; 19. 19-Tyler Wolf [6] [$600]; 20. 7-Craig Dollansky [7] [$600]; 21. 29-Kerry Madsen [24] [$600]; 22. 22-Mason Moore [19] [$600]; 23. O-Jonathan Allard [20] [$600]; 24. 88X-Brad Bumgarner [11] [$600]; 25. 18H-Jac Haudenschild [16] [$600]. Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson 1-10, 13-19; Donny Schatz 11-12, 20-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 11-Steve Kinser [+15].

59^th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions Points (After Night 1)

1. Donny Schatz, 542; 2. Kyle Larson, 539; 3. Tim Kaeding, 532; 4. Sean Becker, 522; 5. Jason Sides, 521; 6. Bill Rose, 500; 7. Shane Golobic, 494; 8. Lucas Wolfe, 488; 9. Sammy Swindell, 479; 10. Cody Darrah, 473; 11. Steve Kinser, 471; 12. Cody Lamar, 466; 13. Joey Saldana, 465; 14. Kyle Hirst, 464; 15. Tyler Wolf, 462; 16. Shane Stewart, 460; 17. Kraig Kinser, 452; 18. Craig Dollansky, 450; 19. Brad Bumgarner, 448; 20. Bobby McMahan, 432; 21. Jac Haudenschild, 417; 22. Kerry Madsen, 415; 23. Jonathan Allard, 411; 24. Jason Statler, 411; 25. Mason Moore, 402; 26. Andy Gregg, 371; 27. Peter Murphy, 365; 28. Rico Abreu, 358; 29. Kevin Sharrah, 353; 30. Chad Kemenah, 349; 31. Andy Forsburg, 349; 32. B.J. Martin, 345; 33. Kenny Allen, 334; 34. Travis Jacobson, 330; 35. Steve Tatterson, 318; 36. Evan Suggs, 315; 37. Jason York, 285; 38. Koen Shaw, 269; 39. Pat Harvey Jr., 262; 40. Richard Brace, 262; 41. Danielle Simpson, 260; 42. Clayton Snow, 258; 43. Adam Brenton, 255; 44. Sean McMahan, 254.

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	T5	T10	QT
1	Donny Schatz	7835	0	8	27	47	2
2	Craig Dollansky	7823	-12	7	31	44	8
3	Sammy Swindell	7761	-74	11	25	38	12
4	Joey Saldana	7739	-96	5	20	43	9
5	Steve Kinser	7716	-119	3	24	41	0
6	Kraig Kinser	7497	-338	4	18	35	5
7	Cody Darrah	7317	-518	1	18	30	2
8	Kerry Madsen	7269	-566	5	12	31	1
9	Chad Kemenah	7177	-658	2	9	28	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	6877	-958	1	7	19	1
11	Bill Rose	6292	-1543	0	0	10	0
12	Jason Sides	4889	-2946	0	14	23	1
13	Jac Haudenschild	3024	-4811	0	2	7	0
14	Tim Kaeding	3007	-4828	3	7	14	0
15	Daryn Pittman	2537	-5298	0	6	13	1
16	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	2454	-5381	0	3	7	0
17	Danny Lasoski	2431	-5404	1	5	8	0
18	David Gravel	2385	-5450	0	7	9	4
19	Paul McMahan	2296	-5539	1	2	3	0
20	Stevie Smith	2276	-5559	0	3	11	1

September 7, 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
Kyle Larson ‘Felt Like a Super Star’ With Top Ten Truck Finish

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: kylelarsonracing.com” align=”alignright” width=”157″][/media-credit]Making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in the UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway, one young driver just wanted to learn and finish the race.

But Kyle Larson, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Mobile App, finished top ten and simply “felt like a super star.”

“That was a big surprise,” Larson said. “I didn’t get much practice there so I didn’t really know how I was going to do.”

“And with me blowing a motor up and not having much practice, as well as being a go or go homer, I didn’t push it too hard in qualifying,” Larson continued. “I just wanted to spend the first part of the race figuring out how the truck handled and how the air moved around.”

“Once I learned some stuff, I could really race and I could start picking off people,” Larson said. “And then I found myself in the top ten, so I was really excited about it.”

“I felt like a super star.”

With a top-ten in his Truck debut, Larson also garnered a fair amount of attention, particularly from the media. But the young driver took it all in stride.

“I don’t pay too much attention about it,” Larson said. “The spot light’s been on me for quite a while now.”

“I just try to go out and race because that’s my job and I love doing it,” Larson continued. “I just want to go out and win. And if I keep winning, the spot light will be even better.”

Although Larson seemingly sprang onto the NASCAR scene, he has been driving since the age of seven. And he has an extremely impressive racing resume.

“I started racing outlaw karts when I was seven,” Larson said. “They’re 400 pound go karts with 500 cc engines. So, they have way too much power for how much they weigh.”

“I did that for about seven or eight years and moved into 360 and 410 sprint cars on dirt when I was 14,” Larson continued. “I won a couple races the first two years and my fourth year I won the championship and last year was my first year racing nationally in USAC in all their divisions.”

“I also ran some outlaw races and I’m the only other driver besides I think Tony Stewart to win in all the open wheel national touring series all in one year,” Larson said. “I swept the four crown last year at Eldora Speedway and I did it my first try. That was cool to do.”

“Last year I won a lot of big races so last year stands out to me because of that.”

Larson has also been part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, running in the K&N Pro Series East under the auspices of Rev Racing. And the young racer credits much of his success so far to that program.

“It’s helped me a lot,” Larson said. “My mom’s Japanese so that’s how I’m in the diversity program.”

“I run for Rev Racing and we’ve been pretty good all year,” Larson continued. “We got a win at Gresham a couple weeks ago.”

“We just got to make the right calls for the race,” Larson said. “That’s our biggest problem we’ve had this year, not keeping up with the race track because it changes so much.”

“I think if we work on that, we’ll be better and win some more races.”

While Larson enjoys driving all types of race cars, his favorite being the winged sprint car, he sees himself racing in NASCAR’s highest levels. And ultimately, he would like to own his own race team.

“Hopefully the route I’m going will take me to the Sprint Cup Series some day,” Larson said. “That’s my goal and that’s what I want to do.”

“I want to race with Stewart and Gordon and Kahne and all those guys every week,” Larson continued. “And I’d like someday to own my own team like Kahne and Tony do.”

“That’s my goal is to get to the Sprint Cup Series so I can help young kids coming up.”

Larson aspires to be like two drivers in the Cup Series currently, but for very different reasons.

“As far as a driver, I’d like to be like Kyle Busch because he wins, not a whole lot this year, but he’s a talented driver and he always gives 110%,” Larson said. “As far as off the track goes, I think I need to be like Jimmie Johnson.”

“He’s really good with the fans and really good with the sponsors too,” Larson continued. “I’d like to be a driver like Kyle and like Jimmie off the track.”

But for now, the young up and comer just hopes he can do some more truck racing, which of course is dependent on sponsorship.

“Yeah, sponsors mean a lot as far as getting rides,” Larson said. “I’ve been lucky being with Chip Ganassi Racing and he helped out a lot with this year and also with the truck race at Kentucky.”

“He has been a great help to me and hopefully we can find some more sponsors to get some more races,” Larson continued. “It’s tough to do with the economy being so bad.”

“They’ve talked about a few more races but it all depends on if we get a sponsor,” Larson said. “If it were up to me, I’d be racing every weekend in that truck.”

“I had a lot of fun.”

Larson’s family also had a great time watching him race in his first ever Truck race. Although his parents still live in his native California, they have taken off this summer to watch their son and to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

“Right now, my mom and dad are with me at these races, hanging out,” Larson said. “My dad just retired so he has some time now to come watch me.”

“They were really happy after the Truck race,” Larson continued. “My dad’s a crier so he was up in the stands tearing up.”

“They were really excited and happy that I did good in my first start.”

For fans who want to get to know the young Larson, he has two surprises to share. The first is his passions off the track and the other is his interesting exercise regimen, or lack thereof.

“These past few weeks, I raced every day,” Larson said. “I don’t get a lot of free time but when I do, I’m out fishing.”

“During the winter, I like to go snowboarding when I can,” Larson continued. “I’m not good at it but I like going down the mountain.”

“I’m also really skinny but I love to eat,” Larson continued. “And no, I don’t work out at all.”

“I worked out a few times this year with Rev Racing but then I started racing so I didn’t have time,” Larson said. “I don’t get tired though.”

“That’s what I think people would find surprising about me,” Larson said. “I never get winded. I think it’s just because I stay calm.”

Finally, the young racer is simply enjoying his time in the sun, especially during his Truck debut.

“That’s really the first time I’ve ever raced with all that media around,” Larson said. “So that was cool to get interviewed.”

“I really did feel like a super star.”

July 2, 2012
Simple Physics spoils Talladega

[media-credit name=”Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]For a long time I have said of Talladega and Daytona that they are multi-million dollar junk yards. This year was no different but this time it could all be laid at NASCAR’s feet.

In Daytona, in an effort to break up the tandem draft, NASCAR altered the grill opening and the radiator capacity and put a pressure valve in the cooling system of the cars. The purpose was to keep the cars from pushing one another for laps at a time. They lowered the rear bumper cover. They decreased the size of the spoiler. End result they broke up tandem drafting successfully and sent the teams back to pack racing.

No I have no problem with pack racing. It was certainly more exciting than surrey racing. But NASCAR did not take into consideration the change of seasons and climates.Talladega in the spring is much warmer temperature wise than Daytona in February. When they made no changes for the 90 degree ambient temperature in Alabama, they created a race situation that was hardly a race. A very sarcastic Tony Stewart said post race, “The racing was awesome,” Stewart said. “It’s fun to be able to race and have to watch the (overheating) gauges at the same time. It just adds that much more. Being able to make yourself run on the apron and everything to try to get clean air, it makes it fun.”

Teams spent most of the day monitoring water pressure and temperature gauges and trying to hold together engines that were overheating kind of like a boiling tea kettle. Basically the overheating situations made it impossible for the cars to race. At one point in the race Jeff Gordon said ‘My (water) pressure is way high. The temperatures are not flashing but I gotta get out of here.” How exactly do you get out of a pack that has 40 cars in it without wrecking 10 of them and yourself?

The temperatures affected the ability for teams to fuel the cars. Alcohol is lighter than the petroleum fuel and is much more temperature sensitive. When you add the humidity at Talladega you created a vapor lock type situation where the teams couldn’t get the car full of fuel. With no venting in the can or the system it makes impossible to force the air out of the system and replace it with fuel. Think about the finger on the end of the straw trick. If you heat the straw it doesn’t work as well. It’s more difficult to get fluid into the straw. Now I understand that DW is of the opinion that the fuel was vaporizing from the cars but that is simply not true.

What is true is that more and more NASCAR shows that its cost containment measures are merely a control of competition measure. The COT itself is more expensive to build. The new EFI system is much more expensive to build, monitor and maintain. And then to decrease the cooling capability of the car on an engine that now uses Ethanol which burns hotter than petroleum fuel you are asking to blow up and destroy very very expensive and highly specialized engines.

NASCAR needs to once again examine its mandates for teams on the Super Speedways. To force drivers to watch gauges and pressures in packs moving 190 mph is asking for disaster. To put them in packs, which they should, but take away the ability to keep the million dollar engines from blowing up because no air can get to the engine and the engine is trying to cool itself on 2 gallons of water is poor judgment at the very best. It creates situations that even the skills of the best stock car drivers in the world can’t maneuver out of.

Speaking of maneuvering, huge display of car control by Dale Earnhardt Jr in getting through the first wreck of the day by slicing and dicing his way through the carnage, it was just another example of the talent that is often overlooked behind the wheel of the 88.

Another point of contention this weekend occurred at the checkered flag in the Nationwide race. It was yet another blatant example of double standards in NASCAR. Sam Hornish, Jr. suffered a flat right front tire coming out of four and with the limited control that brings got into Danica Patrick who got into the wall. Patrick retaliated after the checkered flag going into one on the cool down lap and spun the car of Hornish into the wall.

NASCAR turned a blind eye to situation, even though when compared to video tape of the Busch/Hornaday incident in Texas they appear to be very similar. Busch as you will recall had been placed on probation for similar incidents and was then sat out for the remainder of the Texas weekend. Patrick however, was not even called to the trailer.

Let me just say that the touch me not attitude and the tantrums that are synonymous with Danica’s reputation are a result of sanctioning bodies not holding her to the same standards as every other driver on the track. It was those tantrums that made Indy Car breathe a sigh of relief when she left for NASCAR on a full time basis.

If you are going to climb in and race with the boys you have to expect to be treated exactly like one of them. Because when you climb in that car you are no longer male or female. You are a driver period. I was very disappointed that NASCAR didn’t at least issue a warning about the behavior. Especially in light of the fact that she once again crawls in a Cup Car at Darlington. To let this slide says it’s ok for her to continue this behavior. It is not ok for Kyle Busch or Kevin Harvick or Carl Edwards or Denny Hamlin but it is ok for Danica. Honestly folks that simply doesn’t fly. It does however add another color to the WWE palate that NASCAR has begun to resemble.

Congratulations to this weeks winners. Kyle Larson and Tracy Hines in USAC competition, Chad Kemenah and Sammy Swindell in World of Outlaws competition, Brandon McReynolds in ARCA competition, Joey Logano on his NNS win and Brad Keselowski on his Sprint Cup Series win.

Thoughts and prayers continue for Eric McClure and his family as he continues to recover after a very frightening crash during the NNS race on Saturday.

That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

May 7, 2012
Kevin Swindell Takes Chili Bowl Hat Trick

The Chili Bowl went off without a hitch. Although its spirit was dampened by the loss of one of its young stars, Donnie Ray Crawford, in a domestic violence situation. More so than other series I have covered the young man’s loss was felt strongly by not only competitors but fans and officials a like. So much so that in his memory they increased the main event by 5 laps to make it 55 his car number and used his car as the pace vehicle to start the race. The only other showing of grief that even comes close to what I saw today was the grief seen in Rockingham in 2001 after the loss of Dale Earnhardt.

The last day of the event saw 19 races starting with the K mains and progressed up to the A main. 4 cars transferred from each race until the D mains when 6 cars transferred and finally the 12 from the 2 B main features filled the last 12 spots of the 24 car field of the Chili Bowl.

The biggest surprise of the day was the Chili Bowl Rookie of the Year winning his B Main in commanding fashion. Richard Vanderweerd won his feature event by a straight away over 2^nd place RJ Johnson. Though he didn’t make it into the top ten in the A main when the dust cleared, he showed himself to be a very talented and gifted young man.

The fore gone conclusion of the day, that a Swindell would win the Chili Bowl. And one did. Kevin Swindell pulled off the Chili Bowl hat trick in a race that was interrupted by on only one caution flag for Levi Jones tumble in turns one and two. Jones who was uninjured in the crash never returned to the fray. From that point on the pole sitter dominated the race. From the green flag to the checkered flags Kevin Swindell lead every single lap.

Kevin’s only challenge for the race came from his father Sammy. The elder Swindell made several hard charges at his son until he got tangled up with a lap car and broke the left rear shock and damaged the front axle. For most competitors that would have been the end of their day. Sammy Swindell however is not most competitors and he finished the final 6 laps in a car that was not capable of making any further challenge for the lead.

Third place went to the young lion, Kyle Larson. This young man is going places. Even though he never mounted a serious challenge to the Swindells, he held off all comers otherwise and finished third in a dominant 5 car advantage over Danny Stratton, who came in 4^th. This youngster can slice and dice and bicycle a midget as well as the much more experienced drivers he was competing against. His personable and likeable personality fills the picture with a great deal of fan presence.

The remainder of the top 10 were not surprises either. With the exception of Kyle Larson they were all very experienced Midget drivers and Chili Bowl Competitors. 5^th place went to Bryan Clauson. 6^th to Brad Sweet, 7^th to Cory Kruzeman, 8^th to Jerry Coons Jr, 9^th to Ricky Stenhouse Jr and 10^th to Tony Stewart.

The day was a long one. The main event was almost anti climatic. But the real story of the Chili Bowl wasn’t who won or who lost instead it was about the strength and determination of the human spirit when faced with grief and pain. The character and emotional strength it took for every one of those competitors today to get in those cars and carry on was a testament to the affection and respect they had for their fallen friend. Somewhere in the back of their minds each and every one of them realized that though they might not want to carry on with this it would be the ultimate show of disrespect to Donnie Ray Crawford to pack up and go home without trying. It’s not how he would have wanted it. He was there with them every single lap. Cheering them on to victory and consoling them in their loss. No doubt the young man marveled at the respect he was given by heroes like Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Bryan Clauson and Tony Stewart. But it is the way of the sport. It is the way that we say good bye. But even then not really good bye just see you at the next track.

Last note of interest Joey Moughan was released from the hospital this morning after remaining for observation over night with no serious injuries.

January 15, 2012