Tag: World of Outlaws

Goodyear and The World of Outlaws part ways for 2013

    Goodyear and World of Outlaws End Tire Supply Agreement

    Teams to remain on Goodyear tires through end of 2012 season



Akron, Ohio — August 14, 2012 — The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and the World Racing Group announced today that Goodyear will not continue as the official tire supplier of the     World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series beyond the 2012 season.

“For three years, Goodyear’s high quality tires have helped to to maintain the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series as the most exciting and competitive     series on dirt. We wish the World of Outlaws continued success in the future,” said Justin Fantozzi, marketing manager for Goodyear Racing.

“Goodyear has been a tremendous supporter of sprint car racing both financially and in terms of product development,” said Ben Geisler, Chief Marketing     Officer for the World of Outlaws. “After three great seasons, though, we have both decided that it is in our best interest to pursue other opportunities     for the 2013 season and beyond.”

Goodyear employs about 73,000 people at manufacturing plants and facilities in 22 nations. Based in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear is among the largest tiremakers in the world and is the world-wide leader in race tire innovation. For more information about Goodyear’s racing efforts please visit    www.racegoodyear.com.

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series was founded in 1978 and is owned by the World Racing Group based in Concord, N.C. Campaigning 82 races across 24     states and 3 Canadian provinces, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is the premier sprint car racing series in North America. For more information     visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

August 14, 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

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
Larson Capitalizes On Night 1 of Goodyear Knoxville Nationals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

August 9, 2012
Severe Weather Dampens Federated Auto Parts Ironman 55

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”296″][/media-credit]PEVELY, Mo. — Aug. 4, 2012 — A severe storm slammed the Federated Auto Parts Ironman 55 presented by Summit Distributing/Coors Light on Saturday night.

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event was completed under a shortened program at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. All races were finished except the final event, which was staged on the track when a downpour and lightning closed in on the area. Local authority warned of the severity of the storm and measures were immediately taken for the safety of the spectators and teams.

The Federated Auto Parts Ironman 55 main event will be contested as part of the program during the World of Outlaws appearance at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Saturday, Oct. 13. Ticket holders for the October show will get to watch two feature programs for their admission.

Kerry Madsen won his fourth dash of the season to earn the pole for the famed event with fellow Australian James McFadden on the outside of the front row.

Kraig Kinser established quick time in qualifying to open the night, and Craig Dollansky, Dale Blaney and Donny Schatz each claimed a heat race.

August 5, 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.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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!!!!!!!!!!!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Qualifying Results:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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July 15, 2012