Tag: Sammy Swindell

Swindell streak ends at two in Skagit

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”199″][/media-credit]Once Kerry Madsen crossed the finish line with the checkered flag waving behind him, it was safe to breathe. Up to that point, not so much.

Five drivers had a bid for the victory end in contact or mechanical failure during World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series action on Friday evening at Skagit Speedway, which wraps up the Outlaws schedule in Washington on Saturday. Opening Ceremonies are slated for 7 p.m.

Madsen overcame a near mess of his own after colliding with Donny Schatz for the lead on a restart en route to his fourth World of Outlaws feature win of the season.

“Any of these races is tough to win,” Madsen said. “When you get around the front five, there’s not a lot of give and take. Luckily we had track position.”

The front row starters battled side by side for the opening lap before Schatz edged Madsen at the line to lead the first lap. He maintained the advantage as the drivers entered traffic on lap six. However, Cody Darrah spun in turn two on lap 11 to cause the first caution of the race.

Attrition to cars in the top five began to take its toll on the restart as fourth-running Tim Kaeding pulled to the infield following an engine issue around the same time there was contact for the lead.

As Schatz and Madsen took the green flag and raced toward turn one, a slight collision occurred near the flag stand. The contact was enough to flatten the left rear tire for Schatz, who dropped several positions before stopping on the frontstretch on lap 13 for a caution.

“It was very close,” Madsen said. “Unfortunately we banged wheels. Donny’s a great racer and he’s renowned for being clean, so really unfortunate for him. I hate that happened for him.”

Schatz’s crew changed the tire and he restarted 19^th, but the attrition continued. Shane Stewart, who advanced to second for the restart, began to challenge Madsen for the lead when a broken rear end sent him to the infield on lap 16.

The drivers entered traffic on lap 22 before trouble struck for a pair of top-five drivers. With three laps remaining, Trey Starks spun on the frontstretch in front of the leaders. Kraig Kinser and his father, Steve Kinser, were nearly side by side in a battle for third place when both collided with Starks.

Kraig Kinser smashed into Starks’ car, which had spun around backwards, head on and Steve Kinser caught the left rear tire of Kraig Kinser’s car. The contact forced Steve Kinser’s car to tip over, which ended his night with an 18^th-place result. Kraig Kinser was also done and credited with 17 ^th.

That gave Sammy Swindell a final chance at recording his third consecutive win and he nearly pulled it off. Swindell, who started on the outside of Madsen on the double-file restart, dove to the bottom in turns one and two. However, Madsen’s momentum on the high groove exiting turn two proved just enough to give him the edge going into turn three.

“We got close, but I wasn’t expecting him to go to the bottom in (turn) three,” Swindell said after finishing second. “He changed directions and kinda went down there and shut down. I got in a little too low and gave him a little chance. But you gotta do whatever you can. He was in the right place.”

The runner-up performance was Swindell’s fifth top-two finish in the seven races since the Goodyear Knoxville Nationals.

The attrition also helped Craig Dollansky secure his 10^th podium finish in the last 14 points events.

“There was a lot of banging wheels and cars were a little bit everywhere, but sometimes some of these races you just have to try to survive them,” said Dollansky, who maintained his championship points lead. “We didn’t have a real good car. We were kinda hanging in there at best, but we’ll go to work on that tomorrow.”

Jac Haudenschild charged from 13^th to fourth and Chad Kemenah placed fifth. Travis Jacobson ended sixth and Travis Rilat earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after piloting from 22^nd to seventh. Joey Saldana was eighth, Jason Sides ninth and Bill Rose rounded out the top 10 after starting 19^th.

Schatz rallied to finish 11^th, while Stewart and Kaeding were scored 20^th and 24^th, respectively, after their early challenges for the win ended with mechanical failures.

Skagit Speedway Night 1 Statistical Report

A-Main – (25 Laps) – 1. 29-Kerry Madsen [1] [$8,000]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell [4] [$4,000]; 3. 7-Craig Dollansky [5] [$2,500]; 4. 18H-Jac Haudenschild [13] [$2,200]; 5. 63-Chad Kemenah [10] [$2,100]; 6. 18-Travis Jacobson [8] [$2,000]; 7. 39C-Travis Rilat [22] [$1,800]; 8. 9-Joey Saldana [11] [$1,600]; 9. 7S-Jason Sides [9] [$1,500]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [19] [$1,300]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz [2] [$1,200]; 12. 26-Sam Hafertepe Jr [24] [$1,100]; 13. 4-Cody Darrah [17] [$1,000]; 14. 59-Eric Fisher Jr [16] [$700]; 15. 4X-Toni Lutar [20] [$600]; 16. 17J-Jayme Barnes [21] [$600]; 17. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7] [$600]; 18. 11-Steve Kinser [12] [$600]; 19. 55-Trey Starks [23] [$600]; 20. 57-Shane Stewart [3] [$600]; 21. O-Jonathan Allard [15] [$600]; 22. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [14] [$600]; 23. 98M-Mitch Olson [18] [$600]; 24. 83-Tim Kaeding [6] [$600]. Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-10, Kerry Madsen 11-25. KSE Hard Charger Award: 39C-Travis Rilat [+15].

Qualifying – 1. 1-Sammy Swindell, 11.329; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.356; 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.370; 4. 7-Craig Dollansky, 11.389; 5. 9-Joey Saldana, 11.409; 6. 11-Steve Kinser, 11.421; 7. 57-Shane Stewart, 11.468; 8. 29-Kerry Madsen, 11.474; 9. 63-Chad Kemenah, 11.495; 10. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.522; 11. 18-Travis Jacobson, 11.532; 12. 83-Tim Kaeding, 11.545; 13. 18H-Jac Haudenschild, 11.597; 14. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 11.635; 15. O-Jonathan Allard, 11.645; 16. 59-Eric Fisher Jr, 11.648; 17. 4-Cody Darrah, 11.650; 18. 55-Trey Starks, 11.677; 19. 98M-Mitch Olson, 11.696; 20. 6-Bill Rose, 11.696; 21. 4X-Toni Lutar, 11.727; 22. 17J-Jayme Barnes, 11.790; 23. 88-Jesse Whitney, 11.792; 24. 39C-Travis Rilat, 11.813; 25. 33-Colton Heath, 11.871; 26. 7X-Kevin Smith, 11.883; 27. 8X-Jonathan Jorgenson, 11.986; 28. 87-Liam Ryan, 12.159; 29. 44-Daniel Anderson, 12.328; 30. 2W-Wheeler Boys, 12.767; 31. 26-Sam Hafertepe Jr, No Time.

Heat 1 – (10 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 2. 57-Shane Stewart [2]; 3. 7-Craig Dollansky [3]; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 5. 18H-Jac Haudenschild [5]; 6. 98M-Mitch Olson [7]; 7. 17J-Jayme Barnes [8]; 8. 59-Eric Fisher Jr [6]; 9. 33-Colton Heath [9]; 10. 26-Sam Hafertepe Jr [11].

Heat 2 – (10 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 18-Travis Jacobson [1]; 2. 29-Kerry Madsen [2]; 3. 9-Joey Saldana [3]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4]; 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [5]; 6. 6-Bill Rose [7]; 7. 7X-Kevin Smith [9]; 8. 4-Cody Darrah [6]; 9. 88-Jesse Whitney [8]; 10. 44-Daniel Anderson [10].

Heat 3 – (10 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 83-Tim Kaeding [1]; 2. 63-Chad Kemenah [2]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 11-Steve Kinser [3]; 5. O-Jonathan Allard [5]; 6. 4X-Toni Lutar [7]; 7. 55-Trey Starks [6]; 8. 39C-Travis Rilat [8]; 9. 8X-Jonathan Jorgenson [9]; 10. 2W-Wheeler Boys [10].

Dash – (8 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 29-Kerry Madsen [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 3. 57-Shane Stewart [2]; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell [6]; 5. 7-Craig Dollansky [3]; 6. 83-Tim Kaeding [10]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 8. 18-Travis Jacobson [9]; 9. 7S-Jason Sides [8]; 10. 63-Chad Kemenah [7].

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 59-Eric Fisher Jr [1] [-]; 2. 17J-Jayme Barnes [4] [-]; 3. 4-Cody Darrah [2] [-]; 4. 39C-Travis Rilat [6] [-]; 5. 55-Trey Starks [3] [-]; 6. 26-Sam Hafertepe Jr [12] [-]; 7. 88-Jesse Whitney [5] [$200]; 8. 33-Colton Heath [7] [$180]; 9. 7X-Kevin Smith [8] [$175]; 10. 8X-Jonathan Jorgenson [9] [$160]; 11. 2W-Wheeler Boys [11] [$150]; 12. 44-Daniel Anderson [10] [$150]; 13. 87-Liam Ryan [13] [$150].

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	T5	T10	QT
1	Craig Dollansky	7437	0	7	30	42	8
2	Sammy Swindell	7403	-34	11	25	38	11
3	Donny Schatz	7383	-54	7	24	44	2
4	Joey Saldana	7328	-109	5	19	40	8
5	Steve Kinser	7322	-115	3	24	39	0
6	Kraig Kinser	7144	-293	4	18	35	5
7	Cody Darrah	6923	-514	1	18	28	2
8	Kerry Madsen	6869	-568	4	10	29	1
9	Chad Kemenah	6781	-656	2	9	26	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	6499	-938	1	7	18	1
11	Bill Rose	5961	-1476	0	0	9	0
12	Jason Sides	4598	-2839	0	12	21	0
13	Jac Haudenschild	2654	-4783	0	2	5	0
14	Tim Kaeding	2591	-4846	3	5	11	0
15	Daryn Pittman	2537	-4900	0	6	13	1
16	Danny Lasoski	2431	-5006	1	5	8	0
17	David Gravel	2385	-5052	0	7	9	4
18	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	2332	-5105	0	3	7	0
19	Paul McMahan	2296	-5141	1	2	3	0
20	Stevie Smith	2276	-5161	0	3	11	1

September 1, 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
Meyers Flexes Championship Muscle at Knoxville

[media-credit name=”Kellen Burns ” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]

Stevie Smith and Outlaws points leader Craig Dollansky are Saturday’s front-row starters

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Aug. 9, 2012 – Like a wrinkled grocery list after a day at the store, Jason Meyers scratched off his racing goals one by one over the last decade.

The two-time defending World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion had accomplished nearly everything and anything he set his sights on before hanging up his racing suit in the off season, choosing to focus on his family rather than chasing sprint car races across the country.

Every goal was met and crossed off except one – a Goodyear Knoxville Nationals title.

“Out of all the goals we’ve set in sprint car racing, we’ve achieved them all except for winning the Knoxville Nationals,” he said.

Meyers is one step closer to that dream after he recorded an emphatic victory on Thursday on the second qualifying night of the 52^nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway. Driving for longtime family friend Tom Tarlton, Meyers led the final 18 laps in his return to the famed half mile.

“This gives me one more opportunity to go out there and do it,” he said. “We’ve got a great car. I think we’ve got a great shot at it.”

Meyers, who started third, passed polesitter Mark Dobmeier for the lead on the restart on lap eight. Meyers then outlasted a late charge from Tim Shaffer, who started 15^th and worked the bottom to within a couple car lengths of the leader in the closing laps.

“When you can hit the bottom here and nail it, I don’t care how good you hit the top, the bottom will be faster,” Shaffer said.

Kraig Kinser won a late-race battle with Stevie Smith to earn the final spot on the podium.

“I’ll take third,” Kinser said. “I’ll take it any day. I really feel like we accomplished what we set to do here. This is really great for me.”

Smith finished fourth and Lance Dewease rounded out the top five. While those drivers made their way to the front, that wasn’t the place to be early on.

Sammy Swindell was forced to the pits on lap five while running fourth after his U-joint broke, relegating him to a 23^rd-place finish.

Three laps later, second-running Greg Hodnett brought out the first caution after stopping in turn four. Hodnett went to the work area and was able to continue, but he placed 11^th after restarting at the back.

Fast qualifier Ian Madsen spun exiting turn two on the restart while running ninth. Danny Lasoski flipped after crashing into Madsen, who finished 16 ^th after making repairs. Lasoski’s night was finished and he was credited with 22^nd.

Dusty Zomer’s left rear tire expired with 10 laps remaining while he was running 10^th. He placed 21^st after the incident.

Dobmeier faded in the closing laps to finish sixth with Jason Johnson seventh, 21^st-starter Tim Kaeding eighth, Brian Brown ninth and 17 ^th-starter Johnny Herrera rounded out the top 10.

Unofficially, the 16 drivers locked into Saturday’s $150,000-to-win feature are: Smith, Craig Dollansky, Jonathan Allard, Brown, Donny Schatz, Joey Saldana, Meyers, Kaeding, Kinser, Lucas Wolfe, Madsen, Kyle Larson, Shane Stewart, Daryn Pittman, Dewease and Paul McMahan.

Knoxville Raceway will release the official points and lineups on Friday.

52^nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Night 2 Statistical Report; Knoxville Raceway; Knoxville, Iowa; Aug. 9, 2012

A Feature (25 laps) – 1. Jason Meyers (3); 2. Tim Shaffer (15); 3. Kraig Kinser (4); 4. Stevie Smith (6); 5. Lance Dewease (9); 6. Mark Dobmeier (1); 7. Jason Johnson (10); 8. Tim Kaeding (21); 9. Brian Brown (7); 10. Johnny Herrera (17); 11. Greg Hodnett (2); 12. Daryn Pittman (23); 13. James McFadden (16); 14. Tyler Walker (12); 15. Jamie Veal (13); 16. Ian Madsen (8); 17. Josh Schneiderman (19); 18. Tony Bruce Jr. (14); 19. Wayne Johnson (11); 20. Joey Moughan (20); 21. Dusty Zomer (22); 22. Danny Lasoski (24); 23. Sammy Swindell (5); 24. Josh Hodges (18).

Qualifying – 1. 55, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust (15), 15.491; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (18), 15.532; 3. 83JR, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (26), 15.55; 4. 19, Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow, OK (31), 15.588; 5. 27, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (13), 15.592; 6. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (7), 15.594; 7. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (21), 15.595; 8. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (30), 15.606; 9. 1z, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (36), 15.631; 10. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (47), 15.654; 11. 4, Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA (17), 15.662; 12. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (20), 15.682; 13. 21m, Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA (35), 15.724; 14. 1s, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (6), 15.73; 15. 39, Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA (39), 15.745; 16. 40, Caleb Helms, Findlay, OH (10), 15.757; 17. 23w, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN (19), 15.764; 18. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (12), 15.783; 19. 30c, Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, PA (9), 15.818; 20. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (50), 15.86; 21. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (48), 15.873; 22. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (33), 15.881; 23. 53D, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (34), 15.923; 24. 11RC, Roger Crockett, Medford, OR (32), 15.945; 25. 77x, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (49), 15.946; 26. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (5), 15.967; 27. 35, Tyler Walker, Hermosa Beach, CA (45), 15.993; 28. 55x, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (37), 16; 29. 35AU, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Au (42), 16.007; 30. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (11), 16.014; 31. 18, Tony Bruce Jr., Owasso, OK (4), 16.017; 32. 83, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (16), 16.018; 33. 55xm, James McFadden, Brisbane, QLD, Aust. (25), 16.024; 34. 45x, Johnny Herrera, Albuquerque, NM (2), 16.036; 35. 6x, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (3), 16.039; 36. 74x, Josh Hodges, Tijeras, NM (38), 16.058; 37. 22x, Geoff Ensign, Sebastopol, CA (22), 16.085; 38. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (27), 16.089; 39. 71B, Robert Bell, Colfax, IA (1), 16.136; 40. 17M, Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL (24), 16.185; 41. 24H, Bryan Sebetto, Fremont, OH (28), 16.198; 42. 66, Geoff Dodge, Speedway, IN (14), 16.286; 43. 17x, Marty Perovich, Denham Court, NSW, A (23), 16.463; 44. 10, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (40), 16.503; 45. 1T, Chris Shirek, Thompson, ND (46), 16.554; 46. 71AU, Domain Ramsay, Newtown, VIC, Aust. (44), 16.825; 47. 1m, Jim Moughan Jr., Springfield, IL (43), 16.978; 48. 12P, TJ Peterson, Des Moines, IA (8), 17.754; 49. 5, Terri OConnell, Memphis, TN (29), No Time; 50. 2, Dale Blaney, Fowler, OH (41), No Time.

Heat 1 (10 laps) – 1. Tony Bruce Jr. (2); 2. Josh Hodges (1); 3. Ian Madsen (8); 4. Jason Johnson (4); 5. Tasker Phillips (7); 6. Caleb Helms (5); 7. Bryan Sebetto (9); 8. Domain Ramsay (10); 9. Mike Moore (3); 10. Cody Darrah (6).

Heat 2 (10 laps) – 1. Tyler Walker (3); 2. Tim Shaffer (2); 3. Kraig Kinser (6); 4. Brian Brown (8); 5. Scott Winters (5); 6. Greg Wilson (4); 7. Geoff Ensign (1); 8. Terry McCarl (7); 9. Geoff Dodge (9); 10. Jim Moughan Jr. (10).

Heat 3 (10 laps) – 1. Josh Schneiderman (1); 2. James McFadden (2); 3. Jason Meyers (6); 4. Mark Dobmeier (5); 5. Tim Kaeding (8); 6. Trey Starks (3); 7. Bronson Maeschen (7); 8. Jack Dover (4); 9. TJ Peterson (10); 10. Marty Perovich (9).

Heat 4 (10 laps) – 1. Johnny Herrera (2); 2. Lance Dewease (5); 3. Jamie Veal (3); 4. Stevie Smith (8); 5. Danny Lasoski (7); 6. Logan Schuchart (6); 7. Sheldon Haudenschild (9); 8. Robert Bell (1); 9. Roger Crockett (4); 10. Terri OConnell (10).

Heat 5 (10 laps) – 1. Joey Moughan (1); 2. Sammy Swindell (7); 3. Wayne Johnson (4); 4. Greg Hodnett (6); 5. Daryn Pittman (8); 6. Dusty Zomer (5); 7. Bill Rose (3); 8. Chris Shirek (9); 9. Kaley Gharst (2); 10. Dale Blaney (10).

C Feature (10 laps) – 1. Cody Darrah (1); 2. Geoff Dodge (5); 3. Jim Moughan Jr. (7); 4. TJ Peterson (8); 5. Roger Crockett (2); 6. Mike Moore (3); 7. Kaley Gharst (4); 8. Marty Perovich (6); 9. Terri OConnell (9); 10. Dale Blaney (10).

B Feature (12 laps) – 1. Tim Kaeding (1); 2. Dusty Zomer (10); 3. Daryn Pittman (2); 4. Danny Lasoski (6); 5. Scott Winters (9); 6. Tasker Phillips (3); 7. Logan Schuchart (7); 8. Cody Darrah (21); 9. Trey Starks (13); 10. Sheldon Haudenschild (18); 11. Bryan Sebetto (17); 12. Caleb Helms (8); 13. Terry McCarl (4); 14. Greg Wilson (11); 15. Robert Bell (16); 16. Chris Shirek (19); 17. Domain Ramsay (20); 18. TJ Peterson (24); 19. Bill Rose (14); 20. Jim Moughan Jr. (23); 21. Geoff Dodge (22); 22. Bronson Maeschen (5); 23. Jack Dover (12); 24. Geoff Ensign (15).

August 10, 2012

Wolfe Wins First at Bloomington

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”212″][/media-credit]Bloomington Indiana is the home of the biggest name in Winged Sprint Car history. That name is Kinser. Steve Kinser to be exact. There would be 3 Kinser’s in the field tonight. But the victory would go to a first time winner. It seems hard to believe that Lucas Wolfe had never won a feature before. But it was true until tonight.

The evening was hot and humid as is typical in the midwest in August. The 1/4 mile dirt track at Bloomington Indiana was still wet from a brief rain shower but it didn’t discourage the fans from flocking to the home track of 20 time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser. The 22 drivers who also gathered at the track were geared up and ready to go. The semi-banked, quarter-mile oval track record of 9.672 seconds was established by Jason Meyers on Aug. 5, 2011. That track record would remain intact after qualifying was complete. Quick Time would be set by Donny Schatz with a time of 10.798 seconds or 81.98 mph. Lucas Wolfe, Jason Sides, Sammy Swindell, and Craig Dollansky would round out the top 5.

The heat races would be uneventful, with the small narrow track keeping passing to a minimum. The first heat race would see Greg Wilson fend off a hard charging Cody Darrah and Steve Kinser to take home the win and secure a spot in the dash. Also securing a spot in the dash would be Sammy Swindell and Donny Schatz with their times.

The second heat race would see Logan Schuchart hold off a hard charging Kraig Kinser in front of Kraig’s home town crowd. Finishing third was Craig Dollansky. Also transferring out of the 2nd heat to the dash based on his time was Lucas Wolfe.

The third heat was won by Joey Saldana by a straight away over fellow Outlaw Kerry Madsen. Also transferring to the Dash based on time was Jason Sides.

With the dash field set the inversion of a 6 was drawn putting quick time setter Donny Schatz back to 6th and Cody Darrah to the pole next to team mate Joey Saldana. Saldana would take the lead on the first lap and never look back. The real battle would be between Darrah and Sides for 2nd and Sammy Swindell and Donny Schatz for 4th. Saldana would lead Darrah and Sides across the line with Sammy Swindell holding on to 4th ahead of Donny Schatz.

With the A Main Line up set it was time to get down to business. The track reworked the surface to try to widen the groove out for the Outlaws. It wouldn’t take long for it to become obvious that it worked well. At the drop of the Green Joey Saldana took the lead and at times stretched it as far as 2 seconds over team mate Cody Darrah. Saldana would hold on the lead through lap 18 when Lucas Wolfe would make a slide move to the inside out of turn 4 to take the lead. Donny Schatz would challenge over and over for the second spot but Saldana would hold on to finish second with Schatz coming home in 3rd. Jason Sides and Cody Darrah would battle all the way to the line for the 4th spot with Sides holding off last years Rookie of the year Darrah. The victory would be the very first World of Outlaws feature win for Lucas Wolfe. It was a popular win with the crowd and with his competitors. A very quiet and calm Wolfe contained his excitement and paid tribute to his crew and his father in victory lane. Wolfe would also be the Hard Charger of the race gaining six positions from 7th.

Other notable performances on the race track included that of Steve Kinser. Kinser who tangled with Kody Kinser (distant relation) on the opening lap and got over on his side in the infield and started the race from the last spot charged through the field to finish 10th. Sammy Swindell would cut a tire at lap 38 and would make the tire change with no work time on the clock and make it back out on to the track as the last car on the lead lap. He would finish 13th on the lead lap.

It’s hard to believe that Lucas Wolfe had never won a feature with the Outlaws before tonight. His skills certainly would deny that. But if you ask anyone who follows the world of winged sprint car racing about Bloomington Indiana you will find an almost reverent tone. It is the home of champions. It is the home of extreme talents on the dirt. It is the home of the King. It is the home of Karl and Sheldon Kinser. It is the home Kraig Kinser and in that little town in Indiana it is a given that if your name is Kinser you are probably a front runner in the world of dirt. Tonight was no different really, Bloomington held magic in her hand and she gifted it to a young man who was more than deserving and very long over due.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Qualifying results: 1) Donny Schatz 10.798. 2) Lucas Wolfe 3) Jason Sides 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Craig Dollansky 6) Joey Saldana 7) Cody Darrah 8) Kraig Kinser 9) Kody Kinser 10) Greg Wilson 11) Logan Schuchart 12) Kerry Madsen 13) Steve Kinser 14) Bill Rose 15) James McFadden 16) Chad Kemenah 17) Danny Smith 18) Paul May 19) Ty Deckard 20) Wes McIntyre 21) Brad Greer 22) A.J. Martin.

First Heat Race Results: ‎1) Greg Wilson 2) Cody Darrah 3) Steve Kinser 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Donny Schatz 6) A.J. Martin 7) Ty Deckard 8) Chad Kemenah

Second Heat Race Results: ‎1) Logan Schuchart 2) Kraig Kinser 3) Craig Dollansky 4) Danny Smith 5) Lucas Wolfe 6) Bill Rose 7) Wes McIntyre

Third Heat Race Results: ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Kerry Madsen 3) Kody Kinser 4) James McFadden 5) Paul May 6) Jason Sides 7) Brad Greer

Dash Results: Inversion was a 6. ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Cody Darrah 3) Jason Sides 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Donny Schatz 6) Greg Wilson 7) Lucas Wolfe 8) Kraig Kinser 9) Logan Schuchart 10) Kerry Madsen

A Main Results: ‎1) Lucas Wolfe 2) Joey Saldana 3) Donny Schatz 4) Jason Sides 5) Cody Darrah 6) Greg Wilson 7) Kraig Kinser 8) Logan Schuchart 9) Craig Dollansky 10) Steve Kinser 11) James McFadden 12) Danny Smith 13) Sammy Swindell 14) Kerry Madsen 15) Bill Rose 16) Brad Greer 17) Paul May 18) Chad Kemenah 19) Kody Kinser 20) Wes McIntyre 21) Ty Deckard 22) A.J. Martin.

Hard Charger of the Race was Lucas Wolfe.

World of Outlaws Points

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	Top 5’s	Top 10’s	QT
1	Craig Dollansky	6338	0	6	23	34	8
2	Steve Kinser	6321	-17	3	21	35	0
3	Donny Schatz	6299	-39	4	18	37	1
4	Sammy Swindell	6280	-58	8	19	31	7
5	Joey Saldana	6276	-62	5	17	33	6
6	Kraig Kinser	6195	-143	4	17	33	5
7	Cody Darrah	5911	-427	1	14	23	2
8	Kerry Madsen	5855	-483	3	8	23	1
9	Chad Kemenah	5799	-539	2	8	22	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	5550	-788	1	6	16	1
11	Bill Rose	5040	-1298	0	0	8	0
12	Jason Sides	4151	-2187	0	12	19	0
13	Daryn Pittman	2462	-3876	0	6	13	1
14	Danny Lasoski	2356	-3982	1	5	8	0
15	David Gravel	2310	-4028	0	7	9	4
16	Tim Kaeding	2301	-4037	3	5	10	0
17	Paul McMahan	2221	-4117	1	2	3	0
18	Jac Haudenschild	2054	-4284	0	1	2	0
19	Austen Wheatley	1818	-4520	0	0	2	0
20	Brad Sweet	1779	-4559	1	5	8	1

August 4, 2012

Stewart Rules at Ohsweken!

[media-credit name=”Bill Oldroyd” align=”alignright” width=”265″][/media-credit]The day started out rainy and cloudy at Ohsweken Speedway, but the closer race time got the clearer the skies became. Until at the close of the draw for qualifying positions, the skies were clear and the temperature was in the 70’s and the chances of rain had disappeared. There was a promise in the air. An excitement among those who had waited a whole year for these two days. The man who had won his first World of Outlaws race a year ago was back in town. He had come from the back to win the A Main in 360 Sprint Car competition on Monday night. What would tonight hold? Would he take another Outlaw victory and start his path towards another record setting end of the year again? Only the night would tell.

The qualifying process at the high-banked, 3/8-mile oval brought anticipation. With the cooler temperatures the engines would make more horsepower. More horsepower translates to more speed. But could they use that speed on the 3/8 mile track. The track record of 12.047 seconds was established by Kraig Kinser on July 30, 2010, and early hot lap speeds were way off of that pace. Qualifying speeds would continue to drop as the track became slower as the night progressed. Quick Time was set by Kraig Kinser with a lap of 13.511 seconds or 99.92 mph. Second fast time would go to Tony Stewart who turned a lap of 13.874 seconds or 97.40 mph with a broken top wing panel. As qualifying progressed times slowed leaving some notable names to the back of the inversion. Names like Sammy Swindell, Joey Saldana, and Cody Darrah.

The heat races were very quick and event free, with the cream rising to the top of the barrell. Heat number one would see Cody Darrah lead all 8 laps to defeat Bill Rose, Lucas Wolfe, Kraig Kinser and track owner Glen Styres. Darrah and Rose would transfer to the Dash as would Kraig Kinser based on his Quick Time of the evening.

The second heat race would be a hard core affair with some of the staunchest racing of the pre main show. Sunday’s winner Donny Schatz would come home ahead of Joey Saldana, James McFadden, Tony Stewart and Chris Steele. Schatz, Saldana and Stewart would advance to the dash. Stewart filling the remaining time spot.

The third heat would see a dominating performance by Sammy Swindell as he held off Chad Kemenah, Kerry Madsen, Dustin Daggett, Michael Parent. Swindell and Kemenah would advance to the Dash.

The final heat would see first surprise of the evening. Jessica Zemken held off a hard charging Craig Dollansky for the victory. Dollansky would hold off a strong side by side challenge from 20 time World of Outlaw Champion Steve Kinser and Tom Huppenen would hold off Shane Ross for the final A Main transfer spot. Zemken and Dollansky would finish out the Dash field.

The Last Chance Showdown saw a field of local competitors putting on a whale of a show for the final four A Main positions. The race was won by Jamie Collard with Travis Cunningham, Keith Dempster and Dain Naida following him to the A Main.

The Dash was a taste of what was to come. The inversion of 4 was drawn putting Bill Rose on the pole and to his outside Craig Dollansky. Neither driver would lead a single lap as third place starter Tony Stewart would take the lead out of 2 and never look back. Stewart would lead all 8 laps of the dash to take the pole holding off Craig Dollansky and Donny Schatz.

The big show was set to go. The 30 laps $10,000 to win A Main came out of the gate like the thoroughbreds that were running it. Tony Stewart would take the lead into one and set sail. Dollansky would close to within a car length in traffic but Stewart would pull away. Stewart ran the thin cushion in 3 and 4. and the middle of the track in 1 and 2. On lap 5 Stewart would have a close call with a lap car and have to jump on the binders nearly hitting it from behind. Dollansky closed right on his rear bumper but Stewart pulled him down the front stretch and again stretched his lead to over a second. All the 2 while with Donny Schatz was challenging for the 2nd spot. In Schatz’s mirror was team mate Steve Kinser who would go three wide for third with Kraig Kinser and Schatz with The King of the Outlaws coming out on the top. When the white flag waved Stewart was safely a half a second in front of Craig Dollansky but Steve Kinser was right there to challenge for 2nd. When the checkers waved and the dust settled it would be Dollansky coming home in second place with Steve Kinser, Kraig Kinser and Donny Schatz the top 5.

This was Stewart’s 3rd sprint car win in as many races and his second of the week. It was also the second year in a row that Stewart had claimed the World of Outlaws race at Ohsweken. His victory last year he credited for propelling him to his 3rd Sprint Cup Championship. If that is the case his competition in the asphalt series best be putting on their big boy pants cause Smoke is coming.

Today, was full of difficulties for the World of Outlaws staff. The broadcast equipment wouldn’t broadcast so the fans were without the voice of one of the best broadcasters in the business Johnny Gibson. They worked tirelessly to get the broadcast going in time for the A Main. It showed a lot. It showed a lot about the staff of the Outlaws and their commitment to the people that they entertain and call fans and friends. It said a lot about their dedication to the sport and the jobs they do. But what spoke the loudest was the silence. Without the voice of Johnny Gibson and just the timing and scoring loop the competition was just numbers. It became black and white and a life very different than what the public is use to. It became obvious that the old saying of you don’t know what you have until it’s gone is true. And without Johnny Gibson the Outlaws were missing a star competitor. A man who races every lap from the booth just like drivers do in the cars. A man whose dedication to the sport and the drivers is second to none. A man’s whose talents and gifts light up all of our lives every race.

It was not much different than the way a young man started a long time ago in Indiana. Not much money but a whole lot of talent and desire. He worked his way into people’s hearts he gained their respect and he took their breath away. That young man went on to accomplish big things, an Indy car championship, 3 Nascar Championships, USAC Silver crown championships. But as one sits at the dirt track having watched him work his magic and display his skills, it becomes painfully obvious that the world of dirt didn’t know what it had until it was gone. Thankfully, Tony Stewart will always call the dirt home, and so far he has continued to find ways to come back and visit.

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Qualifying Results: 1) Kraig Kinser, 13.511 Seconds 2)Tony Stewart, 3) Dustin Daggett, 4) Steve Kinser, 5) Lucas Wolfe, 6) James McFadden, 7) Kerry Madsen, 8) Craig Dollansky, 9) Bill Rose, 10) Donny Schatz. 11) Chad Kemenah, 12) Tom Huppenen, 13) Cody Darrah, 14) JoeyVSaldana, 15) Sammy Swindell, 16) Jessica Zemken,17) Glenn Styres, 18) Jamie Collard, 19) Kyle Patrick, 20) Shane Ross.21) Travis Cunningham, 22) Keith Dempster, 23) Mitch Brown, 24) Dain Naida, 25) Mikey Kruchka, 26) Chris Steele, 27) Michael Parent, 28) Dave Dykstra, 29) Jamie Turner, 30) Havard Daniels. 31) Stevin Goldner, 32) Chris Durand, 33) Stan Zanchin.

First Heat Results: ‎1. Cody Darrah, 2. Bill Rose, 3. Lucas Wolfe, 4. Kraig Kinser, 5. Glenn Styres, 6. Travis Cunningham, 7. Jamie Turner, 8. Mike Kruchka, 9. Stan Zanchin

Second Heat Results: ‎1. Donny Schatz, 2. Joey Saldana, 3. James McFadden, 4. Tony Stewart, 5. Chris Steele, 6. Jamie Collard, 7. Keith Dempster, 8. Harvard Daniels

Third Heat Results: ‎1. Sammy Swindell, 2. Chad Kemenah, 3. Kerry Madsen, 4. Dustin Daggett, 5. Michael Parent, 6. Mitch Brown, 7. Kyle Patrick, 8. Stevin Goldner

Fourth Heat Results: ‎1. Jessica Zemken, 2. Craig Dollansky, 3. Steve Kinser, 4. Tom Huppenen, 5. Shane Ross, 6. Dania Naida, 7. Chris Durand, 8. Dave Dykstra

Last Chance Showdown Results: ‎1. Jamie Collard, 2. Travis Cunningham, 3. Keith Dempster, 4. Dain Naida, 5. Mitch Brown, 6. Jamie Turner, 7. Kyle Patrick, 8. Havard Daniels, 9. Stan Zanchin, 10. Mikey Kruchka, 11. Dave Dykstra, 12. Stevin Goldner, 13. Chris Durand

Dash Results: ‎1. Tony Stewart, 2. Craig Dollansky, 3. Donny Schatz, 4. Kraig Kinser, 5. Cody Darrah, 6. Bill Rose, 7. Chad Kemenah, 8. Sammy Swindell, 9. Jessica Zemken, 10. Joey Saldana

A Main Results: ‎1. Tony Stewart 2. Craig Dollansky 3. Steve Kinser 4. Kraig Kinser 5. Donny Schatz 6. Cody Darrah 7. Chad Kemenah 8. Sammy Swindell 9. Kerry Madsen 10. Michael Parent (Hard Charger) 11. Lucas Wolfe 12. Jessica Zemken 13. Tom Happenen 14. Dustin Daggett 15. Chris Steele 16. Jamie Collard 17. Travis Cunningham 18. Shane Ross 19. Joey Saldana 20. James McFadden 21. Glenn Styres 22. Keith Dempster 23. Bill Rose 24. Dain Naida

World of Outlaws Point Standings.

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	Top 5’s	Top 10’s	QT
1	Craig Dollansky	6205	0	6	23	33	8
2	Steve Kinser	6191	-14	3	21	34	0
3	Sammy Swindell	6154	-51	8	19	31	7
4	Donny Schatz	6150	-55	4	17	36	0
5	Joey Saldana	6130	-75	5	16	32	6
6	Kraig Kinser	6059	-146	4	17	32	5
7	Cody Darrah	5771	-434	1	13	22	2
8	Kerry Madsen	5733	-472	3	8	23	1
9	Chad Kemenah	5685	-520	2	8	22	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	5396	-809	0	5	15	1
11	Bill Rose	4920	-1285	0	0	8	0
12	Jason Sides	4006	-2199	0	11	18	0
13	Daryn Pittman	2462	-3743	0	6	13	1
14	Danny Lasoski	2356	-3849	1	5	8	0
15	David Gravel	2310	-3895	0	7	9	4
16	Tim Kaeding	2301	-3904	3	5	10	0
17	Paul McMahan	2221	-3984	1	2	3	0
18	Jac Haudenschild	2054	-4151	0	1	2	0
19	Austen Wheatley	1818	-4387	0	0	2	0
20	Brad Sweet	1779	-4426	1	5	8	1

August 1, 2012

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.

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‎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

July 23, 2012

Darrah Takes Summer Nationals In Front of Hometown Crowd

[media-credit name=”Willams Grove Speedway” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]This years Summer Nationals at Willams Grove Speedway didn’t start off well; the two night event was rained out on Friday, leaving just the Saturday night duel between the Outlaws and the Posse. And what a duel it turned out to be.

Williams Grove Speedway is a half-mile race track located in Williams Grove, between Mechanicsburg and Dillsburg in Pennsylvania. It opened in 1939, and hosted Championship races from 1949 to 1959 named the “Indianapolis Sweepstakes”, contested by a small field of the best Champ Car racers. Many notable drivers have raced here, including A. J. Foyt and Mario Andretti. Williams Grove Speedway is a semi-banked, oval. The track record of 16.140 seconds was established by Brian Paulus on April 26, 2002.

Steve Kinser has won at “the Grove” 38 times and Sammy Swindell and Donny Schatz have each won 15 times. The man with the most wins all time is Fast Freddy Rahmer with 81 wins. But tonight’s winner wasn’t among the legends of the World of Outlaws, instead he was last years Rookie of the Year, Kasey Kahne Racing’s, Cody Darrah who is from Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania. The emotional Darrah dedicated the win to his grandparents who have been suffering hard times lately. But Darrah proved himself more than just a race winner tonight however, when he jumped from his car on a red flag to help fellow driver Craig Dollansky from his burning car after Dollansky flipped down the back stretch causing a fuel fire to break out around and under the car, instead he proved himself as a champion of men not just race car drivers. A great testament to the 23 year old driver.

The very eventful night started out relatively calm with close qualifying throughout the pack. The top 20 qualifiers were separated by only .140 seconds. The entire field was only separated by 1.191 seconds. Quick Time would go to the Posse with Greg Hodnett turning a lap of 16.745 seconds. Second would be Alan Kreitz Jr. Third, Craig Dollansky, Joey Saldana and Daryn Pittman would round out the top 5.

The heat races were relatively calm as well. The first heat was a Posse victory for Adam Wilt who held off a hard charging Jason Sides, Daryn Pittman, Greg Hodnett and Tyler Walker. The Outlaws were down 2 nothing for the night. But they weren’t done yet.

The second heat race would see Kraig Kinser pull out and pull away from a fast and charging Tony Stewart to take the win. Stevie Smith would come home 3rd with Alan Kreitz and Lucas Wolfe in hot pursuit. The Outlaws were on the board but former Outlaw champion Danny Lasoski would have to run the B Main.

The third heat would find Cody Darrah swimming amongst the Posse sharks. But Darrah would take the checkers over Danny Holtgraver, Craig Dollansky, Danny Dietrich and Steve Kinser. This heat would relegate 4 time champion Donny Schatz to the C Main after an uncharacteristically poor qualifying effort.

The fourth and final heat would see Sammy Swindell hold off the strongest challenge of the Posse to take the win with Gerald McIntyre Jr, Joey Saldana, Fred Rahmer and Lance Dewease rounding out the top five. Another big name from the Outlaws was relegated to the B when Kerry Madsen finished 7th and failed to transfer to the A.

The Outlaws were leading the game 3 to 2. But the rest of the night would be a hard fought battle to come home on top of the Nationals.

The C Main went to the Posse with Chad Layton coming home ahead of a struggling Donny Schatz. Schatz at numerous times was able to pull even with Layton but just couldn’t make the pass on the narrow fast clay surface. Their battle would carry on into the B Main where Layton would finish 12th ahead of Schatz’s 13th. The B would be won by former Outlaws Champion Danny Lasoski but he would be up to his wing in Posse with the closest Outlaw finisher coming home 4th in Chad Kemenah. Alan Krimes and Cory Haas would finish 2nd and 3rd.

The Dash was a hard fought battle with 5 drivers representing the Outlaws and 5 representing the Posse. The Posse would come out on top but the race would be foretelling of the night to come. Sammy Swindell would have trouble early in and finish 10th. Tony Stewart couldn’t find a way around Adam Wilt and finished where he started in 8th. Cody Darrah did everything shy of use his wing to fly and still finished 2nd to Gerald McIntrye Jr. The night was beginning to shape up as a track position night. But then again, the night was not over and the Outlaws still had more than a few tricks up their sleeves.

When the A Main rolled off, it did so with 4 provisional spots bringing the car count for the event to 28. Donny Schatz and Kerry Madsen would take provisionals from the World of Outlaws. While Ryan Smith and Chad Layton would take provisionals from Willams Grove Speedway. Chad Kemenah would break a magneto on the car during the pace laps causing the car to cut off and not refire. He retired before the green. Danny Dietrich would be the next out with contact with the wall, he was followed by Danny Holtgraver. Fred Rahmer would be the next Posse member to retire after flipping wildly in turns 3 and 4, Rahmer would climb from the car and walk away. Lance Dewease would drop out at the same time due to a misunderstanding of the rules. Dewease would pull into the rear pit area and pull his car nose first to the trailer signaling to the Outlaws officials that he was done for the evening as he did not stop at the work area. Dewease was not allowed to return to the competition. Stevie Smith would be the next casualty flipping his car in turn 1. Smith climbed out of the car but was done for the evening. Daryn Pittman and Danny Lasoski would fall victim to engine failures as would Gerald McIntyre who started the race on the pole. The most scarey incident of the evening came late in the race when Craig Dollansky returned to the track after flipping in 4 and again flipped the car on the back straightaway causing a fuel fire to surround the car. With a red flag on the track, Cody Darrah quickly exited his car and ran to the assistance of Dollansky and helped him from the car. The car flipped so hard that part of the front suspension was imbedded into the track. Dollansky was unhurt. The final victim of the evening was Don Kreitz whose engine let go just 4 laps from the end of the race.

The attrition left just 17 cars on the track. One of those was Kerry Madsen who had very methodically worked his way into the top 10. Madsen would finish 9th and get the hard charger of the night award after starting dead last on the field. And it was well deserved, the fast narrow track was difficult and almost impossible to pass on. So much so that with 18 laps to go the Outlaws determined that all restarts from that point on would be single file restarts rather than the traditional double file restarts. A decision that played to Cody Darrah’s hand. Darrah set sail on the final caution and never looked back. The challenge would never be for the lead but for second. Jason Sides and Greg Hodnett would exchange slides and come side by side but Hodnett could never make it all the way around Sides for the second spot. The Outlaws would take the night over the Posse 5 to 4. The finishing order would find 6 Outlaws 3 Posse and 1 Sprint Cup Champion in the top 10.

Willams Grove has a reputation of launching the very best young sprint car drivers in the world. They lived up to that reputation tonight. Cody Darrah is a former track champion at The Grove. As a matter of fact this was his 50th win at his home track. And if winning before his home town crowd wasn’t enough Darrah announced that Kasey Kahne Racing has signed a sponsor for his effort that up to this point had been funded out of pocket by Kasey Kahne. That announcement to come soon.

Racing is a field of dreams. Sometimes they are dreams that come true. Sometimes they are nightmares. Sometimes they are just the reassurance that with all the bad things that are going on in the world we are still free to pursue our passions, whether they be winning at The Grove or writing about the race itself.

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Qualifying results:

‎1) Greg Hodnett 2) Don Kreitz Jr. 3) Craig Dollansky 4) Joey Saldana 5) Daryn Pittman 6) Stevie Smith 7) Danny Dietrich 8) Fred Rahmer 9) Jason Sides 10) Kraig Kinser 11) Cody Darrah 12) Gerald McIntyre Jr. 13) Adam Wilt 14) Tony Stewart 15) Danny Holtgraver 16) Sammy Swindell 17) Tyler Walker 18) Danny Lasoski 19) Alan Krimes 20) Lance Dewase 21) Cory Haas 22) Lucas Wolfe 23) Steve Kinser 24) Brian Monteith 25) Chad Kemenah 26) Jim Seigel 27) Logan Schuchart 28) Kerry Madsen 29) Tim Kaeding 30) Steve Buckwalter 31) Davey Sammons 32) Nicole Bower 33) Danny Esh 34) Curt Michael 35) Donny Schatz 36) Chad Layton 37) Michael Ruttkamp 38) Aaron Ott 39) Mike Erdley 40) Brent Marks 41) Frank Cozze 42) Tim Glatfelter 43) Ryan Smith 44) Derek Sell 45) Bill Rose

Heat Race 1 Results: ‎1) Adam Wilt 2) Jason Sides 3) Daryn Pittman 4) Greg Hodnett 5) Tyler Walker 6) Cory Haas 7) Chad Kemenah 8) Doug Esh 9) Tim Kaeding 10) Michael Ruttkamp 11) Frank Cozze (DNS) 12 Bill Rose (DNS)

Heat Race 2 Results: ‎1) Kraig Kinser 2) Tony Stewart 3) Stevie Smith 4) Don Kreitz Jr 5) Lucas Wolfe 6) Danny Lasoski. 7) Steve Buckwalter 8) Curt Michael 9) Aaron Ott 10) Jim Siegel 11) Tim Glatfelter

Heat Race 3 Results: ‎1) Cody Darrah 2) Danny Holtgraver 3) Craig Dollansky 4) Danny Dietrich 5) Steve Kinser 6) Donny Schatz 7) Alan Krimes 8) Logan Schuchart 9) Ryan Smith 10) Mike Erdley 11) Davey Sammons

Heat Race 4 Results: ‎1) Sammy Swindell 2) Gerald McIntyre 3) Joey Saldana 4) Fred Rahmer 5) Lance Dewease 6) Brian Montieth 7) Kerry Madsen 8) Chad Layton 9) Brent Marks 10) Nicole Bower 11) Derek Sell

C Main Results: ) Chad Layton 2) Donny Schatz 3) Michael Ruttkamp 4) Brent Marks 5) Tim Glatfelter 6) Ryan Smith 7) Frank Cozze 8) Derek Sell (DNS) 9) Bill Rose (DNS)

Dash Results: ‎1) Gerald McIntyre 2) Cody Darrah 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Jason Sides 5) Greg Hodnett 6) Don Kreitz Jr 7) Adam Wilt 8) Tony Stewart 9) Danny Holtgraver 10) Sammy Swindell

B Main Results: ‎1) Danny Lasoski 2) Alan Krimes 3) Cory Haas 4) Chad Kemenah 5) Jim Siegel 6) Tim Kaeding 7) Logan Schuchart 8) Davey Sammons 9) Doug Esh 10) Steve Buckwalter 11) Kerry Madsen 12) Chad Layton 13) Donny Schatz 14) Nicole Bower 15) Chad Michael 16) Brian Montieth.

A Main Results: ‎1) Cody Darrah 2) Jason Sides 3) Greg Hodnett 4) Kraig Kinser 5) Adam Wilt 6) Lucas Wolfe 7) Steve Kinser 8) Tony Stewart 9) Kerry Madsen 10) Cory Haas 11) Donny Schatz 12) Chad Layton 13) Joey Saldana 14) Tyler Walker 15) Sammy Swindell 16) Alan Krimes 17) Ryan Smith 18) Don Krietz 19) Craig Dollansky 20) Gerald McIntyre Jr. 21) Danny Lasoski 22) Daryn Pittman 23) Stevie Smith 24) Fred Rahmer 25) Lance Dewease 26) Danny Holtgraver 27) Danny Dietrich 28) Chad Kemenah.

KSE Hard Charger Award went to Kerry Madsen.
The $10,000 Goodyear tire mid point bonus for the driver leading the points at the half way point of the season went to Steve Kinser.

The top 15 in points following the Willam’s Grove Race:

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	Top 5’s	Top 10’s	QT
1	Steve Kinser	5513	0	3	18	31	0
2	Donny Schatz	5472	-41	3	15	32	0
3	Craig Dollansky	5467	-46	5	18	28	6
4	Sammy Swindell	5465	-48	7	17	27	8
5	Joey Saldana	5437	-76	4	13	28	6
6	Kraig Kinser	5377	-136	4	15	29	3
7	Kerry Madsen	5086	-427	3	8	20	1
8	Cody Darrah	5075	-438	1	10	17	2
9	Chad Kemenah	5031	-482	2	8	18	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	4727	-786	0	4	12	0
11	Bill Rose	4300	-1213	0	0	6	0
12	Jason Sides	3878	-1635	0	11	18	0
13	Danny Lasoski	2356	-3157	1	5	8	0
14	Daryn Pittman	2312	-3201	0	5	12	1
15	David Gravel	2310	-3203	0	7	9	4

July 22, 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.

_

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