Tag: World of Outlaws

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.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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
Madsen takes The Brad Doty Classic

[media-credit name=”Ken Simon Photos” align=”alignright” width=”179″][/media-credit]The Brad Doty Classic at Limaland Motorsports Park would hold many surprises as the night unfolded not the least of which would be who didn’t make the show.

The Brad Doty Classic ran tonight on the 1/4 mile semi banked oval in Lima Ohio. The night was full of anticipation. The field was full of top names who made for a very very deep talent talent pool in the pits. Top names like Kinser, Stewart, Kahne, Swindell, Schatz, Gravel, Haudenschild, and Sweet had all arrived to contest for the $10,000 to win purse. The excitement in the near sell out crowd was obvious. The anticipation in the pits was just as obvious.

The first hint that this might not be a typical night with the World of Outlaws came in qualifying when top name visitors Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne finished outside the inversion by a significant distance. Stewart would post a time of 11.246 seconds and was only 23rd quick. Kahne would post a time 11.278 which was only good enough for 26th in the 43 car field. Quick time was set by Craig Dollansky with a time of 10.998 seconds. It was Dollansky’s 3rd quick time of the year thus far. The track record of 10.763 set by Joey Saldana in July of 2009 remains intact.

The heat races would make it clear that this was not going to be a night of visiting stars. The first heat would be dominated by Stevie Smith with Kraig Kinser coming home second to make the transfer to the Dash. Dollansky would solidify his Dash position by transferring to the A Main in the 4th position. The second heat race would see Sam Hafertepe Jr take his first victory of the season with Donny Schatz in hot pursuit in second. Kerry Madsen would solidify the final open dash spot by transferring in 5th. The first big surprise of the evening came in this heat race, when Kasey Kahne finished a weak 9th out of 11 cars to be relegated to the B Main. The third and without a doubt the most challenging of the 4 heat races was heat number 3. The heat would be won by the 20 time champion Steve Kinser with Byron Reed taking the second spot. But relegated to B Main were two huge names, Sammy Swindell who finished 7th and Tony Stewart who pulled off the track at lap 2 and finished 11th out of 11 cars. The final heat of the night was won by Daryn Pittman with second going to Brian Brown. With the dash line up set, the inversion of 4 was drawn putting Steve Kinser on the outside of the front row and Stevie Smith on the pole. The dash was a hard core no holds barred 8 lap affair that saw Stevie Smith take the victory in very dominating fashion over Kerry Madsen, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Daryn Pittman, and Steve Kinser.

The C Main would transfer only the top 2 to the Last Chance Showdown which would only transfer 4 to the A Main. Outlaws regular Lucas Wolfe would dominate the race. Dean Jacobs would come home second. The rest of 9 car field would go home. But they wouldn’t be alone. The B Main would show the hand of the night and send many others home with them.

The B Main was full of big names Swindell, Sides, Haudenschild, Kahne, Stewart, and Larson. When the dust cleared only Sammy Swindell, Sheldon Haudenschild, David Gravel, and Bryan Sebbetto would transfer to the big show. Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart, Chad Kemenah, Lucas Wolfe, Jason Sides all would be done for the evening.

The promoter of the event, Brad Doty choose not to carry forward any of those drivers on a promoters option, leaving only full time Outlaws drivers with provisionals to get into the A Main. Chad Kemenah and Bill Rose both opted for provisionals to run the 40 lap A Main. With the now 26 car field set, the battle was about to begin. The race itself was full of power slides for position back and forth and 3 wide racing throughout the pack, but when the checkers waved 9 cars were sitting at the trailers. 3 of which had been upside down and damaged badly. The others had front and rear end damage severe enough to prevent them from continuing or engine problems that ended their night prematurely. But when the dust settled, it was “The Mad Man” Kerry Madsen who stood on the top of the podium. Stevie Smith would come home second and David Gravel would come home third. The KSE Hard Charger Award went to Greg Wilson who started 17th and finished 4th.

Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz officially tied atop the standings going into the Kings Royal weekend at Eldora. The first tie breaker is wins, and both have three. Second tie breaker of top fives gives Kinser the edge, 17-14, but there’s a lot of racing left this season to worry about tie breakers going into a $50,000-to-win event.

The next stop on the World of Outlaws tour is the legendary Eldora Speedway on Friday for the Night before the Royal and then again on Saturday for the $50,000 to win Kings Royal.

Feature Results: 1, Kerry Madsen. 2, Stevie Smith. 3, David Gravel. 4, Greg Wilson. 5, Donny Schatz. 6, Craig Dollansky. 7, Daryn Pittman. 8, Sammy Swindell. 9, Steve Kinser. 10, Tim Shaffer. 11, Dale Blaney. 12, Kraig Kinser. 13, Brad Sweet. 14, Bryan Sebetto. 15, Joey Saldana. 16, Cody Darrah. 17, Tim Kaeding. 18, Byron Reed. 19, Chad Kemenah. 20, Shane Stewart. 21, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 22, Jac Haudenschild. 23, Bill Rose. 24, Sheldon Haudenschild. 25, Brian Brown. 26, Paul McMahan.

July 12, 2012

Kraig Kinser Gets Out of Dodge with Boot Hill Showdown Victory

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”211″][/media-credit]DODGE CITY, Kan. – June 23, 2012 – The hottest driver on the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series picked up yet another victory at the hottest race of the season.

Kraig Kinser beat the heat and the rest of the Outlaws on an extremely windy and hot Saturday at Dodge City Raceway Park for Night 2 of the Boot Hill Showdown.

Kinser led all 30 laps and held off his father, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser, to record his third win in the past seven events on a day when the temperature climbed into the mid-100s and wind gusts of more than 40 miles per hour bombarded the 3/8-mile track.

“I knew the bottom was going to be tough to beat early,” Kraig Kinser said. “It’s hard sometimes (when) you lead the race. You don’t know whether to get off the bottom and move to the top or move around a little bit. I got lucky lapped cars pushed me up a little bit to get around them and got trucking around the middle there.”

It was his third victory in the past 19 days, which ties the number of Outlaws wins Kinser amassed since 2005 – when he won a career-high seven features. The win was also his 14^th career World of Outlaws feature victory, which ties him for 20^th all time.

As neat as the statistics are, Kinser is more pleased in whom he beat – his father and car owner.

“The one-two finishes are real nice, especially when I’m in front,” Kraig Kinser said. “This little swing we’ve had has been great with the exception of last night. The car has been there every step of the way.”

As Kraig shot to the lead from his pole position on lap one, Steve Kinser charged from his fifth starting position to the runner-up spot on the opening lap. He maintained second position the entire race, but only closed within a car length shortly after the duo entered traffic on lap eight.

“If someone’s gotta outrun me I’d assume it’d be Kraig,” Steve Kinser said. “Toward the end there wasn’t no place to go, the bottom sort of locked down a little bit. It was hard to pass anybody out in the middle the last six or seven laps.”

Traffic began to play a role in the closing laps as Kraig Kinser lapped up to 12^th place, where there was a three-way battle for a top-10 position. Kinser was caught behind the trio sliding each other, which allowed his father to close the gap to within a handful of car lengths. However, it was too little too late.

The win pulled Kraig Kinser to within 107 points of his father, who moved back into the World of Outlaws championship standings lead.

Craig Dollansky drove from seventh to third in the first eight laps and maintained the podium finish to record his 14^th top five of the season.

“I definitely felt like we were with them,” said Dollansky, who is only 57 points behind Steve Kinser in the championship standings. “It just took me too long to get into third place.”

Joey Saldana was fourth and Cody Darrah ended fifth. Jason Sides placed sixth, Kerry Madsen seventh, Donny Schatz eighth, Bill Rose ninth and Lucas Wolfe rounded out the top 10.

Sammy Swindell, who set quick time with a lap of 13.462 seconds, brought out the initial caution of the race on the opening lap after contact with Madsen entering turn three. Swindell, who started third, fixed a flat left rear tire and restarted 23^rd. He finished 12^th and was the last car on the lead lap.

Sixth-starting Chad Kemenah was part of the final caution – also on the first lap – when he spun in turn one to avoid contact with another driver. Steven Richardson slid into Kemenah and flipped, ending both of their races.

After the two quick cautions, the feature went green to checkered with Kraig Kinser in front.

Steve Kinser, Jason Sides and Darrah each won a heat race, and Wolfe picked up the Last Chance Showdown victory. Patrick Stasa was the KSE Hard Charger after driving from 22^nd to 14^th.

Night 2 of the Boot Hill Showdown Notebook

NOTES – Sammy Swindell set quick time for a series-best sixth race this season. … Steve Kinser won his sixth heat race, while Jason Sides and Cody Darrah each claimed their third of the season. … Kraig Kinser picked up his second dash victory of the year. … Lucas Wolfe became the 25^th different driver to win a Last Chance Showdown in 31 races this year.

CONTINGENCY WINNERS – Penske Shocks ($100 certificate): Bill Rose; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; Comp Cams ($50 certificate): Kraig Kinser; Armor All (case of product): Jason Sides; STP ($50 cash): Steve Kinser; UNOH ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Gravely Tractors ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; VP Racing Fuel ($50 cash): Bill Rose; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; JE Pistons (set of rings): Sammy Swindell; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Sammy Swindell; Wix Filters ($50 cash): Josh Hodges; Superflow ($50 cash): Patrick Stasa; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Josh Baughman; JE Pistons (set of rings): Brian Herbert; MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Chad Kemenah; Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash): Kevin Swindell.

WINNERS – Sammy Swindell – 5 (Red River Valley Speedway on June 16, Eldora Speedway on May 5, Knoxville Raceway on April 28, Missouri State Fair Speedway on April 20 and Merced Speedway on March 30); Craig Dollansky – 4 (I-96 Speedway on June 2, Hagerstown Speedway on May 20, Tri-State Speedway on April 21 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Kraig Kinser – 3 (Dodge City Raceway Park on June 23, River Cities Speedway on June 15 and Kokomo Speedway on June 5); Steve Kinser – 3 (Dodge City Raceway Park on June 22, Orange County Fair Speedway on May 19 and Williams Grove Speedway on May 12); Joey Saldana – 3 (The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 25, Paducah International Raceway on April 13 and Perris Auto Speedway on March 10); Donny Schatz – 3 (Farmer City Raceway on April 25, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Tim Kaeding – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8); Chad Kemenah – 2 (Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 28 and Eldora Speedway on May 4); Danny Dietrich – 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 10); Danny Lasoski – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18); Kerry Madsen – 1 (Knoxville Raceway on June 9); Paul McMahan – 1 (Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on May 16); Fred Rahmer – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 11); Brad Sweet – 1 (Clay County Fairgrounds on June 8).

TIME TRIALS – Sammy Swindell was the fastest qualifier around the 3/8-mile oval with a time of 13.462 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Kerry Madsen (4 points), Kraig Kinser (3), Joey Saldana (2) and Craig Dollansky (1).

WE’RE ONLINE – Make sure to check out WorldofOutlaws.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com .

Night 2 of the Boot Hill Showdown Statistical Report; Dodge City Raceway Park; Dodge City, Kan.; June 23, 2012

A-Main – (30 Laps) – 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [1] [$10,000]; 2. 11-Steve Kinser [5] [$5,000]; 3. 7-Craig Dollansky [7] [$3,000]; 4. 9-Joey Saldana [2] [$2,700]; 5. 4-Cody Darrah [8] [$2,500]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [9] [$2,200]; 7. 29-Kerry Madsen [4] [$2,000]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [14] [$1,800]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [10] [$1,600]; 10. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [12] [$1,450]; 11. 83-Tim Kaeding [11] [$1,300]; 12. 1-Sammy Swindell [3] [$1,200]; 13. 74X-Josh Hodges [15] [$1,100]; 14. 11S-Patrick Stasa [22] [$1,000]; 15. 17-Josh Baughman [21] [$950]; 16. 91-Jeff Stasa [19] [$900]; 17. 1X-Kevin Swindell [13] [$850]; 18. 1W-Jordan Weaver [24] [$750]; 19. 72-Ray Seeman [23] [$725]; 20. 1T-Ty Williams [16] [$700]; 21. 97-Brian Herbert [17] [$700]; 22. 2J-Zach Blurton [20] [$700]; 23. 63-Chad Kemenah [6] [$700]; 24. O-Steven Richardson [18] [$700]. Lap Leaders: Kraig Kinser 1-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 11S-Patrick Stasa [+8].

Qualifying – 1. 1-Sammy Swindell, 13.462; 2. 29-Kerry Madsen, 13.499; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.507; 4. 9-Joey Saldana, 13.520; 5. 7-Craig Dollansky, 13.562; 6. 83-Tim Kaeding, 13.702; 7. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.708; 8. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.726; 9. 4-Cody Darrah, 13.737; 10. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.799; 11. 6-Bill Rose, 13.836; 12. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.840; 13. 1X-Kevin Swindell, 13.841; 14. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.956; 15. 74X-Josh Hodges, 14.658; 16. 1T-Ty Williams, 14.663; 17. 97-Brian Herbert, 14.778; 18. O-Steven Richardson, 14.799; 19. 91-Jeff Stasa, 14.856; 20. 2J-Zach Blurton, 14.898; 21. 17-Josh Baughman, 14.910; 22. 72-Ray Seeman, 14.959; 23. 11S-Patrick Stasa, 15.031; 24. 16K-Kaden Taylor, 15.111; 25. 33-Kris Miller, 15.141; 26. 21-Wes Wofford, 15.236; 27. 1W-Jordan Weaver, 15.262; 28. 11X-Tyler Knight, 15.612; 29. 77W-Michael Williams, 16.357.

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 11-Steve Kinser [2]; 2. 9-Joey Saldana [3]; 3. 1X-Kevin Swindell [5]; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 5. 1T-Ty Williams [6]; 6. 91-Jeff Stasa [7]; 7. 72-Ray Seeman [8]; 8. 33-Kris Miller [9]; 9. 11X-Tyler Knight [10]; 10. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [1].

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [2]; 2. 6-Bill Rose [1]; 3. 29-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 7-Craig Dollansky [3]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 6. 97-Brian Herbert [6]; 7. 11S-Patrick Stasa [8]; 8. 2J-Zach Blurton [7]; 9. 21-Wes Wofford [9]; 10. 77W-Michael Williams [10].

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 4-Cody Darrah [2]; 2. 63-Chad Kemenah [1]; 3. 83-Tim Kaeding [3]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4]; 5. 74X-Josh Hodges [5]; 6. O-Steven Richardson [6]; 7. 17-Josh Baughman [7]; 8. 1W-Jordan Weaver [9]; 9. 16K-Kaden Taylor [8].

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 2. 9-Joey Saldana [1]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [3]; 5. 11-Steve Kinser [6]; 6. 63-Chad Kemenah [10]; 7. 7-Craig Dollansky [5]; 8. 4-Cody Darrah [8]; 9. 7S-Jason Sides [7]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [9].

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [1] [-]; 2. 17-Josh Baughman [3] [-]; 3. 11S-Patrick Stasa [5] [-]; 4. 2J-Zach Blurton [2] [-]; 5. 72-Ray Seeman [4] [-]; 6. 1W-Jordan Weaver [9] [-]; 7. 33-Kris Miller [7] [$200]; 8. 21-Wes Wofford [8] [$180]; 9. 77W-Michael Williams [11] [$175]; 10. 16K-Kaden Taylor [6] [$160]; 11. 11X-Tyler Knight [10] [$150].

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.

Driver

Total

Diff

Wins

T10

1	Steve Kinser	4224	0	3	15	22	0
2	Donny Schatz	4218	-6	3	12	25	0
3	Sammy Swindell	4199	-25	5	13	21	6
4	Craig Dollansky	4167	-57	4	14	21	3
5	Joey Saldana	4156	-68	3	10	22	5
6	Kraig Kinser	4117	-107	3	11	21	3
7	Chad Kemenah	3913	-311	2	7	14	2
8	Kerry Madsen	3815	-409	1	4	12	1
9	Cody Darrah	3814	-410	0	6	12	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	3663	-561	0	3	9	0
11	Jason Sides	3344	-880	0	9	16	0
12	Bill Rose	3157	-1067	0	0	3	0
13	Danny Lasoski	1860	-2364	1	5	7	0
14	Austen Wheatley	1818	-2406	0	0	2	0
15	Paul McMahan	1810	-2414	1	2	3	0
16	Daryn Pittman	1785	-2439	0	5	9	1
17	Jac Haudenschild	1655	-2569	0	0	1	0
18	David Gravel	1544	-2680	0	4	6	2
19	Terry McCarl	1474	-2750	0	1	4	0
20	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	1408	-2816	0	1	4	0

June 25, 2012

‘The King’ picks up career Outlaws win No. 573 at Dodge City Raceway Park

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”184″][/media-credit]DODGE CITY, Kan. – June 22, 2012 – The spin seemed like it was in slow motion.

Polesitter Jason Sides, who led the first 12 laps on a gusty Night 1 of the Boot Hill Showdown on Friday at Dodge City Raceway Park, looped it in turn one just prior to the midway point. As Sides kept his car under power, Steve Kinser dodged the melee to capture the lead and eventually the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory, which was career No. 573.

“I was pretty sure we were going to drive by him,” said a grinning Kinser, who also won the first-ever Outlaws event at Dodge City Raceway Park in 2004. “He did get a little sideways. It made it a little bit easier.”

For Sides, it was the latest heartbreak during a season when he has started on the pole of a World of Outlaws feature a series-best four times.

“We ran in behind a lapped car going into turn one there and I ran in way faster than I thought he was running,” he said after finishing third. “I had to pitch it sideways to keep from running over him. I thought I was going to be able to save it, but once it started to come around I just had to stand on it and keep it going and hope for the best.”

However, the race was anything but over following the spin. One lap later the fourth-and-final caution bunched the field up for a shootout during the second half of the 30-lap feature.

Kinser choose the outside lane on the double-file restart with Sammy Swindell and Lucas Wolfe between himself and Sides. Kinser got a solid jump with Swindell tucking into second and Sides sliding by Wolfe for third place on the restart.

Kinser sailed into a big lead with Swindell dramatically cutting into it once they reached traffic with 10 laps remaining. Swindell’s best opportunity to win came in the closing laps as he reeled Kinser within a car length.

As the duo entering turn three coming to the white flag Swindell nearly pulled to the inside of Kinser, but traffic slowed his momentum and Kinser utilized the preferred line to cruise to the victory.

“Just too much traffic and it didn’t work out for us,” Swindell said after finishing second. “We were just as quick as he was. He had the line and I had to kinda go somewhere else. That’s just the way it is sometimes.”

Wolfe was fourth and Donny Schatz earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after driving from 13^th to fifth. Chad Kemenah ended sixth, Joey Saldana seventh, Kerry Madsen eighth, Tim Kaeding ninth and Craig Dollansky rounded out the top 10.

Kraig Kinser was the quickest in qualifying with a lap of 13.481 seconds, but was caught up in an opening-lap crash during his heat race. Kinser failed to finish and was relegated to the Last Chance Showdown, which he dominated for the second time this year.

Kaeding, Kemenah and Rose each picked up a heat race win.

The final night of the Boot Hill Showdown is tonight – Saturday – with the front gate opening at 5 p.m.

Night 1 of the Boot Hill Showdown Notebook

NOTES – Kraig Kinser set quick time for the third race this season. … Tim Kaeding earned his second heat race win of the season, Chad Kemenah claimed his sixth and Bill Rose won his first. … Jason Sides picked up his series-best fourth dash win. … Kinser lapped up to fourth place when he won the Last Chance Showdown for the second time this season.

WINNERS – Sammy Swindell – 5 (Red River Valley Speedway on June 16, Eldora Speedway on May 5, Knoxville Raceway on April 28, Missouri State Fair Speedway on April 20 and Merced Speedway on March 30); Craig Dollansky – 4 (I-96 Speedway on June 2, Hagerstown Speedway on May 20, Tri-State Speedway on April 21 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Steve Kinser – 3 (Dodge City Raceway Park on June 22, Orange County Fair Speedway on May 19 and Williams Grove Speedway on May 12); Joey Saldana – 3 (The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 25, Paducah International Raceway on April 13 and Perris Auto Speedway on March 10); Donny Schatz – 3 (Farmer City Raceway on April 25, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Tim Kaeding – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8); Chad Kemenah – 2 (Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 28 and Eldora Speedway on May 4); Kraig Kinser – 2 (River Cities Speedway on June 15 and Kokomo Speedway on June 5); Danny Dietrich – 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 10); Danny Lasoski – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18); Kerry Madsen – 1 (Knoxville Raceway on June 9); Paul McMahan – 1 (Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on May 16); Fred Rahmer – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 11); Brad Sweet – 1 (Clay County Fairgrounds on June 8).

TIME TRIALS – Kraig Kinser was the fastest qualifier around the 3/8-mile oval with a time of 13.481 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Joey Saldana (4 points), Steve Kinser (3), Sammy Swindell (2) and Jason Sides (1).

Night 1 of the Boot Hill Showdown Statistical Report; Dodge City Raceway Park; Dodge City, Kan.; June 22, 2012

A-Main – (30 Laps) – 1. 11-Steve Kinser [4] [$10,000]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell [2] [$5,000]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [1] [$3,000]; 4. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [5] [$2,700]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [13] [$2,500]; 6. 63-Chad Kemenah [8] [$2,200]; 7. 9-Joey Saldana [3] [$2,000]; 8. 29-Kerry Madsen [12] [$1,800]; 9. 83-Tim Kaeding [6] [$1,600]; 10. 7-Craig Dollansky [9] [$1,450]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [11] [$1,300]; 12. 1X-Kevin Swindell [7] [$1,200]; 13. 6-Bill Rose [10] [$1,100]; 14. 4-Cody Darrah [15] [$1,000]; 15. 11S-Patrick Stasa [21] [$950]; 16. 74X-Josh Hodges [14] [$900]; 17. 1T-Ty Williams [16] [$850]; 18. 72-Ray Seeman [19] [$750]; 19. 1W-Jordan Weaver [24] [$725]; 20. 2J-Zach Blurton [17] [$700]; 21. 33-Kris Miller [22] [$700]; 22. 21-Wes Wofford [23] [$700]; 23. 97-Brian Herbert [18] [$700]; 24. O-Steven Richardson [20] [$700]. Lap Leaders: Jason Sides 1-12, Steve Kinser 13-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz [+8].

Qualifying – 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.481; 2. 9-Joey Saldana, 13.485; 3. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.646; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell, 13.698; 5. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.726; 6. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.746; 7. 1X-Kevin Swindell, 13.874; 8. 7-Craig Dollansky, 13.905; 9. 29-Kerry Madsen, 13.924; 10. 83-Tim Kaeding, 13.935; 11. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.984; 12. 6-Bill Rose, 14.136; 13. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.144; 14. 74X-Josh Hodges, 14.298; 15. 4-Cody Darrah, 14.308; 16. 1T-Ty Williams, 14.749; 17. 2J-Zach Blurton, 14.949; 18. 97-Brian Herbert, 14.997; 19. 72-Ray Seeman, 15.011; 20. O-Steven Richardson, 15.113; 21. 11S-Patrick Stasa, 15.155; 22. 21-Wes Wofford, 15.164; 23. 1W-Jordan Weaver, 15.281; 24. 91-Jeff Stasa, 15.295; 25. 17-Josh Baughman, 15.356; 26. 16K-Kaden Taylor, 15.364; 27. 15K-Kerry McAlister, 15.431; 28. 33-Kris Miller, 15.449; 29. 77W-Michael Williams, 16.624; 30. 76J-Justin Schwien, No Time.

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 83-Tim Kaeding [1]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell [3]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 4. 1X-Kevin Swindell [2]; 5. 72-Ray Seeman [7]; 6. 33-Kris Miller [10]; 7. 17-Josh Baughman [9]; 8. 21-Wes Wofford [8]; 9. 1T-Ty Williams [6]; 10. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4].

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 63-Chad Kemenah [1]; 2. 7-Craig Dollansky [2]; 3. 9-Joey Saldana [4]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [3]; 5. 74X-Josh Hodges [5]; 6. 2J-Zach Blurton [6]; 7. 1W-Jordan Weaver [8]; 8. O-Steven Richardson [7]; 9. 16K-Kaden Taylor [9]; 10. 77W-Michael Williams [10].

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 6-Bill Rose [1]; 2. 11-Steve Kinser [4]; 3. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [3]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [2]; 5. 4-Cody Darrah [5]; 6. 97-Brian Herbert [6]; 7. 11S-Patrick Stasa [7]; 8. 91-Jeff Stasa [8]; 9. 15K-Kerry McAlister [9]; 10. 76J-Justin Schwien [10].

Dash – (8 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature ) – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell [2]; 3. 9-Joey Saldana [4]; 4. 11-Steve Kinser [3]; 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [5]; 6. 83-Tim Kaeding [8]; 7. 1X-Kevin Swindell [6]; 8. 63-Chad Kemenah [9]; 9. 7-Craig Dollansky [7]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [10].

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [1] [-]; 2. 1T-Ty Williams [2] [-]; 3. 11S-Patrick Stasa [4] [-]; 4. O-Steven Richardson [3] [-]; 5. 21-Wes Wofford [5] [-]; 6. 1W-Jordan Weaver [6] [-]; 7. 91-Jeff Stasa [7] [$200]; 8. 17-Josh Baughman [8] [$180]; 9. 15K-Kerry McAlister [10] [$175]; 10. 77W-Michael Williams [11] [$160]; 11. 16K-Kaden Taylor [9] [$150]; 12. 76J-Justin Schwien [12] [$150].

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	T5	T10	QT
1	Donny Schatz	4084	0	3	12	24	0
2	Steve Kinser	4078	-6	3	14	21	0
3	Sammy Swindell	4068	-16	5	13	21	5
4	Craig Dollansky	4022	-62	4	13	20	3
5	Joey Saldana	4012	-72	3	9	21	5
6	Kraig Kinser	3964	-120	2	10	20	3
7	Chad Kemenah	3811	-273	2	7	14	2
8	Kerry Madsen	3675	-409	1	4	11	1
9	Cody Darrah	3674	-410	0	5	11	2
10	Lucas Wolfe	3533	-551	0	3	8	0
11	Jason Sides	3206	-878	0	9	15	0
12	Bill Rose	3025	-1059	0	0	2	0
13	Danny Lasoski	1860	-2224	1	5	7	0
14	Austen Wheatley	1818	-2266	0	0	2	0
15	Paul McMahan	1810	-2274	1	2	3	0
16	Daryn Pittman	1785	-2299	0	5	9	1
17	Jac Haudenschild	1655	-2429	0	0	1	0
18	David Gravel	1544	-2540	0	4	6	2
19	Terry McCarl	1474	-2610	0	1	4	0
20	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	1408	-2676	0	1	4	0

June 25, 2012

Kraig Kinser Notches First Win of Season at Kokomo

[media-credit id=30 align=”alignright” width=”211″][/media-credit]Tonight the World of Outlaw Sprints were back in Kokomo, Indiana for the third round of the Kasey Kahne Challenge. The Outlaws are returning to Kokomo for the first time since 2007.

Steve Kinser, who leads the current championship standings, has claimed a series-best six feature wins at the quarter-mile oval. However, there has been a different winner in each of the past six World of Outlaws events at Kokomo Speedway dating back to 1993.

Kokomo Speedway is a fast, 1/4 mile semi-banked clay oval. Over the years the track has played host to virtually a who’s who in racing history. A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Lloyd Ruby, Troy Ruttman, Johnny Parsons, Parnelli Jones, Bill Vuckovich, Pancho Carter, John Andretti, Steve Butler, J.J. Yeley, Steve Kinser, Jack Hewitt, Rich Vogler, Tom Bigelow, Tony Stewart and Mike Groff are among those who have both raced at the track as well as in the Indianapolis 500.

Sprint Cup standouts like Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Ken Schrader, Kasey Kahne, Yeley, Stewart and Dave Blaney are just a few who have visited the track over the years.

A record setting crowd for Kokomo Speedway would see a new track record set by Sammy Swindell in qualifying, with a lap of 10.950 or 82.192 mph shattering the old record of 11.021 set in September of 2006 by Jeremy Campbell.

The 31 car field ran 3 heat races that each transferred 6 to the A Main and 2 to the Dash. The first heat was red flagged for repairs to the catch fence in turns 1 and 2 when Geoff Dodge got up into the wall and damaged the catch fence with his right rear tire. Dodge would retire until the B Main. The first heat would be won by Joey Saldana with Sammy Swindell coming home second. Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet, Brady Bacon and Brian Paulus would also transfer to the A Main.

The second heat race would see Daryn Pittman coming home first with Lucas Wolfe a very close 2nd. Craig Dollansky, Dale Blaney, Cap Henry and Steve Kinser would round out the transfer list.

The third heat would see 4 time champion Donny Schatz leading the way across the stripe with Kerry Madsen close behind. Bill Rose had a great night coming home third. Kraig Kinser, Cody Darrah and Sheldon Haudenschild would round out the transfer list.

The Dash inversion was drawn by fast time holder Sammy Swindell. The inversion was a 6 putting Swindell on the outside of the 3rd row to start the 10 lap dash. In the end, it would be Joey Saldana on the pole of the A Main with team mate, Brad Sweet to the outside.

The B Main was a fast moving highly contested event that would see Chad Kemenah come home in the lead. Transfering the top 6 with the top 4 getting their time back and the last 2 starting tail of the A Main, Kody Kinser, Austen Wheatly, Randy Hannagan, Logan Schuchart and Danny Smith would transfer to the A.

With the field set it was time to determine the king of Kokomo. The A Main took 3 tries to get going. Red Flagged on the first lap for Brian Paulus’ wild roll in turn 3 and then under yellow for a 3 car spin out of 4 that would collect Brady Bacon, Sheldon Haudenschild and Cody Darrah. The 40 lap feature proved to be one of the most exciting of the year with Kraig Kinser taking the lead just before lap 20 and holding off a hard charging Craig Dollansky in tight traffic for his first win of the 2012 season. Dale Blaney would advance from 17th to 4th to win the KSE Hard Charger award. Points leader Steve Kinser would come home 7th and second place points man Donny Schatz would finish in 6th.

Kokomo proved to be another difficult night for Sammy Swindell who ended up on his roof before half way in the A Main while racing with Brad Sweet for 4th.

Kokomo reassured us that big things do indeed come in small packages and small packages should never be under estimated. The mighty wings of the outlaws once again put on a show that was second to none. And although the king of Kokomo remains the King of the Outlaws it obviously runs in the blood. Congratulations to Kraig Kinser and everyone at Steve Kinser Racing on their first win of the season.

Qualifying Results. 1) Sammy Swindell with a New Track Record of 10.950 or 82.192 mph. 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Brad Sweet 5) Kody Kinser 6) Bill Rose 7) Joey Saldana 8) Daryn Pittman 9) Kerry Madsen 10) Geoff Dodge 11) Lucas Wolfe 12) Donny Schatz 13) Chad Kemenah 14) Cole Duncan 15) Cody Darrah 16) Kyle Larson 17) Dale Blaney 18) Shane Stewat 19) Brian Paulus 20) Steve Kinser 21) Sheldon Haudenschild 22) Brady Bacon 23) Cap Henry 24) Randy Hannagan 25) Austen Wheatly 26) Greg Wilson 27) Logan Schuchart 28) Danny Smith 29) Justin Grant 30) Stuart Willaims 31) Wes McIntrye.

Heat Race #1 Results: ‎1)Joey Saldana 2) Sammy Swindell transfer to the dash 3) Kyle Larson 4) Brad Sweet 5) Brady Bacon 6) Brian Paulus 7) Austen Wheatly 8) Chad Kemenah 9) Wes McIntyre 10) Geoff Dodge.

Heat Race #2 Results: ‎1) Daryn Pittman 2) Lucas Wolfe transfer to dash 3) Craig Dollansky 4) Dale Blaney 5) Cap Henry 6) Steve Kinser transfer to A Main 7) Kody Kinser 8) Greg Wilson 9) Justin Grant 10) Cole Duncan

‎Heat Race #3 Results: 1) Donny Schatz 2) Kerry Madsen 3) Bill Rose 4) Kraig Kinser 5) Cody Darrah 6) Sheldon Haudenschild 7) Shane Stewart 8) Randy Hannagan 9) Logan Schuchart 10) Stuart Willaims

Dash Results: ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Brad Sweet 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Bill Rose 5) Sammy Swindell 6) Craig Dollansky 7) Daryn Pittman 8) Donny Schatz 9) Kerry Madsen 10) Lucas Wolfe

B Main Results: ‎1) Chad Kemenah 2) Kody Kinser 3) Austen Wheatly 4) Randy Hannagan 5) Logan Schuchart 6) Danny Smith 7) Geoff Dodge 8) Justin Grant 9) Cole Duncan 10) Wes McIntyre 11) Stuart Willaims 12) Greg Wilson 13) Shane Stewart DNS

A Main Results: 1) Kraig Kinser 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Joey Saldana 4) Dale Blaney (KSE Hard Charger) 5) Brad Sweet 6) Donny Schatz 7) Steve Kinser 8) Daryn Pittman 9) Kerry Madsen 10) Cody Darrah 11) Kyle Larson 12) Lucas Wolfe 13) Austen Wheatly 14) Danny Smith 15) Chad Kemenah 16) Bill Rose 17) Logan Schuchart 18) Kody Kinser 19) Randy Harragan 20) Sammy Swindell 21) Brady Bacon 22) Sheldon Haudenschild 23) Cap Henry 24) Brian Paulus.

Top 10 in Outlaw Point Standings:
Steve Kinser- 3409
Donny Schatz- -28
Craig Dollansky- -57
Sammy Swindell- -67
Joey Saldana- -69
Kraig Kinser- -114
Chad Kemenah- -281
Cody Darrah- -310
Kerry Madsen- -413
Lucas Wolf- -487

June 6, 2012
McMahan takes Opening Night in Empire State!

[media-credit id=30 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The Greatest Show on Dirt brought their magic to Rolling Hills Raceway aka “The Fast Track” was one of three founding-member speedways when DIRT Motorsports was established in 1976, Rolling Wheels has matured into one of the most respected ovals on the entire circuit. The big 5/8-mile banked layout was first mapped out by the late Bob Petrocci, once a competitor himself at neighboring Weedsport Speedway. This is the largest track the WoO drivers will compete on this year.

The only glitch in the evenings action seemed to be when The New York State Liquor Authority didn’t come through on the liquor license in time for tonight’s race. Fans were allowed to bring beer in stadium size coolers, but no glass bottles were allowed.

Although a late afternoon rain shower cooled the temperature off considerably with the temperature at race time being 58 degrees. But the racing was red hot from qualifying all the way through to the final lap of the A Main.

Quick Time would be set by last years WoO ROTY and Kasey Kahne Racing driver Cody Darrah, who turned a lap of 16.257 or138.402 mph. The top 15 qualifiers were separated by just .547 of a second.

The first heat race saw a strong front row with last weeks winner at Williams Grove, Freddie Rahmer starting on the pole with Volusia Park winner and former Outlaws champion Danny Lasoski on the outside. The heat race was a fast hard charging race that Lasoski would win in dominate style over Cody Darrah and Freddie Rahmer. Lasoski and Darrah would advance to the Dash and Rahmer Kerry Madsen, Lance Dewease, and David Gravel would all advance to the A Main.

The second heat race would find the 20 time WoO champion Steve Kinser on the pole with Jac Haudenschild starting outside. The race would be a high speed ballet of position switches and tip toeing around a very narrow and slick track. Joey Saldana would come from 4^th to take the victory while Steve Kinser would finish a solid second to advance to the dash. Haudenschild would lead Daryn Pittman, Paul McMahan, and Michael Parent to the A Main.

The 3^rd Heat race was more of the same with 4 time champion and current points leader Sammy Swindell starting on the pole and to his outside a familiar sight in the STP/Tony Stewart Racing number 15 of Donny Schatz. Schatz and Swindell traded the points lead back and forth until last week when Steve Kinser took over the 2^nd spot leaving Schatz just 12 points back. Swindell would dominate until the final lap when his car began smoking heavily on the back stretch. But Swindell would hold on to win the heat with Schatz closing fast. Both Swindell and Schatz would advance to dash. But Swindell would make the first of 2 engines changes on the night. Also advancing to the A Main were Chad Kemenah, Craig Dollansky, Logan Schuchart and Kraig Kinser.

The Dash inversion was a 6 putting Cody Darrah in the 3^rd row to start. In the end, it would be Paul McMahan on the pole of the A Main followed by Chad Kemenah, Craig Dollansky, David Gravel and Donny Schatz. The Dash would find Sammy Swindell with another engine letting go and relegating him to the tenth spot on the start of the A.

The Last Chance Showdown was scheduled to start 8 cars and transfer 6 to the A Main with 4 getting their time back and the last two taking the tail of the field. But Lucas Wolfe would scratch for the night after losing an engine in the heats as would Blake Breen. That pared the field to 6. Jessica Zemken would lead for the majority of the race before losing an engine and catching on fire between turns 1 and 2. She climbed from the car quickly and was unhurt. The race would be won by Justin Barger, followed by Glen Styres, George Suprick, Chuck Hebing, April Wilson and Zemken would be credited with 6^th.

When the mighty wings of the greatest show on dirt took the track for the A Main, the top 5 rows were a who’s who of racing. Tough competition all the way through. It was hard to pick a winner even for the staunchest of dirt racing fans. With 30 championships starting in the top 10 there was little doubt that this was going to be a hard fought race and the winner would have earned his $10,000 winner’s purse tonight.

Paul McMahan would take the early lead and never look back. Leading all 25 laps despite hard charges and challenges from David Gravel early and Craig Dollansky late. But through the top 10 it was a show worth twice the price of admission amongst some of the greatest drivers of our time. Danny Lasoski was in championship form cutting his way up to 4^th. Steve Kinser would come home 5^th. And even after changing 2 engines Sammy Swindell would come home in the seventh position. Interestingly enough all 30 of those championships would finish in the top 10. The Hard Charger award would go to Jessica Zemken who climbed 11 positions in the A main after blowing an engine in the B Main.

The points closed up almost as tight as the racing with Steve Kinser closing to within 4 points of Sammy Swindell and Kinser well he can’t breathe too much because team mate Donny Schatz is right there just 10 points back.

At the end of the night, fans and media alike had to sit back and take a breath. They had just witnessed racing at it’s finest. They had witnessed the unique and beautiful joining of man and machine in a display of skill that simply can not be matched else where. The graceful ballet of the masters of dirt had once again played out in front of an eager and excited crowd and they had not disappointed.

As the crowd gathered at the entrance of the pits, the masters prepared to meet their supporters, sign their names, pose for pictures, and answer questions both easy and hard. To the casual observer it was hard to tell which group was more excited the legions of fans or the master’s that thrilled them.

The World of Outlaws will run again on Saturday the 19^th at the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York. Good tickets are still available. If you are in the area treat yourself to the Greatest Show on Dirt. You will never be sorry.

May 17, 2012

Posse 1, Outlaws 0: Dietrich Claims The Gettysburg Clash

[media-credit name=”Lincoln Speedway” align=”alignright” width=”210″]

[/media-credit]

The Pennsylvanian collects his first career World of Outlaws victory at Lincoln

ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. — May 10, 2012 — The flash bulbs kept popping, the confetti kept falling and the celebration kept intensifying.

It wasn’t a normal Victory Lane. Then again, Danny Dietrich isn’t a normal winner and the World of Outlaws vs. Pennsylvania Posse rivalry isn’t a normal matchup.

Dietrich, a native Pennsylvanian whose 24^th birthday is a week and a half away, picked up his first career World of Outlaws victory on Thursday in The Gettysburg Clash at Lincoln Speedway.

“Words can’t express,” a beaming Dietrich said. “I’m ready to go drink a few beers.”

Dietrich was dominant in the first World of Outlaws event at the semi-banked, 3/8-mile oval since 1998. After starting seventh, he was up to fourth place within the first three laps. Following a caution on lap four for Alan Krimes, who spun in turn one, Dietrich took little time finding the lead.

He passed Danny Lasoski for third on the backstretch of lap four and then blew by polesitter Lance Dewease for the runner-up position on the ensuing lap. Dietrich edged Sam Hafetertepe Jr. for the lead as the duo cross the finish line on lap six and quickly checked out.

“When he drove around us on the outside I knew that there was nobody going to beat him tonight,” Hafertepe Jr. said. “That’s the most dominant car that’s been out here in a long time.”

Dietrich had to survive four cautions, including the final three for drivers who had trouble while running in the top 10. Lasoski slowed dramatically on the backstretch on lap 18 and Adam Wilt hit the wall in turn two on lap 24. The final caution came on the restart for fifth-running Doug Esh, who came to a stop in turn two after colliding with another driver.

Despite double-file restarts, Dietrich rocketed to the lead every time and never faced a stiff challenge once he found the top spot.

“All about knowing the track and getting the setup right,” he said. “I felt like we hit it perfect from the drop of the green and hopefully we can do that the rest of the weekend.

“This is pretty much a normal Saturday night for us. We’ve been fast. We just had to clear up a few issues. Luckily we put it all together tonight.”

It was the third win of the season for Dietrich, which comes as no surprise to Dewease.

“Danny deserves to win,” he said after finishing second. “He’s been the best race car in Central PA all year and definitely the best race car here all year.

“He started seventh so he must have been pretty good to get up through there that quick. I’m sure he got to the top before a lot of people did, but he can run anywhere at this race track.”

Hafertepe Jr. was third with Cory Haas charging from 17^th to finish fourth. Lucas Wolfe, who hails from nearby Mechanicsburg, was the top World of Outlaws driver as he placed fifth.

Kevin Nouse earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after maneuvering from 23^rd to sixth. Donny Schatz finished seventh and is the new World of Outlaws points leader. It marks the sixth consecutive race the top spot has changed.

Fred Rahmer drove from 22^nd to eighth, Daryn Pittman finished ninth and Gerard McIntyre rounded out the top 10.

Sammy Swindell, who entered the event with the World of Outlaws points lead, set quick time with a lap of 14.501 seconds. Wolfe, Chad Kemenah, McIntyre and Esh each claimed a heat race, with Bill Stine winning the C Main and Brad McClelland the Last Chance Showdown.

The World of Outlaws face the Posse at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg on Friday and Saturday.

“We’re strong,” Dietrich said of the Posse. “I think we’re always fast when the Outlaws come to town. Hopefully we can keep it up.”

The Gettysburg Clash Notebook

CONTINGENCY WINNERS – Penske Shocks ($100 certificate): Brian Montieth; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; Comp Cams ($50 certificate): Cory Haas; Armor All (case of product): Cory Haas; STP ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; UNOH ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; Gravely Tractors ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; VP Racing Fuel ($50 cash): Alan Krimes; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Gerard McIntyre; JE Pistons (set of rings): Alan Krimes; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Cody Darrah; Wix Filters ($50 cash): Stevie Smith; Superflow ($50 cash): Chad Kemenah; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Brad McClelland; JE Pistons (set of rings): Craig Dollansky; MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Kraig Kinser; Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash): Brad McClelland.

WINNERS – Sammy Swindell – 4 (Eldora Speedway on May 5, Knoxville Raceway on April 28, Missouri State Fair Speedway on April 20 and Merced Speedway on March 30); Donny Schatz – 3 (Farmer City Raceway on April 25, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Craig Dollansky – 2 (Tri-State Speedway on April 21 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Tim Kaeding – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8); Joey Saldana – 2 (Paducah International Raceway on April 13 and Perris Auto Speedway on March 10); Danny Dietrich – 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 10); Chad Kemenah – 1 (Eldora Speedway on May 4); Danny Lasoski – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18).

TIME TRIALS – Sammy Swindell was the fastest qualifier around the 3/8-mile oval with a time of 14.501 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Donny Schatz (4 points), Adam Wilt (3), Daryn Pittman (2) and Jac Haudenschild (1).

The Gettysburg Clash Statistical Report; Lincoln Speedway; Abbottstown, Pa.; May 10, 2012

A-Main – (30 Laps) – 1. 48-Danny Dietrich [7] [$6,000]; 2. 30C-Lance Dewease [1] [$3,500]; 3. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr [2] [$2,000]; 4. 11C-Cory Haas [17] [$1,800]; 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [5] [$1,500]; 6. 14-Kevin Nouse [23] [$1,400]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [6] [$1,350]; 8. 51-Fred Rahmer [22] [$1,300]; 9. 27-Daryn Pittman [12] [$1,250]; 10. 85-Gerard McIntyre [10] [$1,200]; 11. 87-Alan Krimes [26] [$400]; 12. 4-Cody Darrah [27] [$300]; 13. 19-Stevie Smith [19] [$700]; 14. 11-Steve Kinser [20] [$650]; 15. 63-Chad Kemenah [9] [$600]; 16. 21-Brian Montieth [24] [$550]; 17. 6B-Brad McClelland [16] [$500]; 18. 1-Sammy Swindell [11] [$500]; 19. 9-Joey Saldana [21] [$500]; 20. 5-Jac Haudenschild [13] [$500]; 21. 69-Tim Glatfelter [18] [$500]; 22. 7-Craig Dollansky [15] [$500]; 23. 30-Doug Esh [8] [$500]; 24. 11K-Kraig Kinser [25] [$]; 25. 15A-Adam Wilt [4] [$500]; 26. 98-Danny Lasoski [3] [$500]; 27. 19M-Brent Marks [14] [$500]; 28. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr. [28] [$]. Lap Leaders: Sam Hafertepe Jr. 1-5, Danny Dietrich 6-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 14-Kevin Nouse [+17].

Qualifying – 1. 1-Sammy Swindell, 14.501; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.765; 3. 15A-Adam Wilt, 14.828; 4. 27-Daryn Pittman, 14.856; 5. 5-Jac Haudenschild, 14.908; 6. 98-Danny Lasoski, 14.911; 7. 19M-Brent Marks, 14.913; 8. 7-Craig Dollansky, 14.930; 9. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 14.954; 10. 6B-Brad McClelland, 14.959; 11. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 15.061; 12. 30C-Lance Dewease, 15.069; 13. 48-Danny Dietrich, 15.078; 14. 63-Chad Kemenah, 15.080; 15. 85-Gerard McIntyre, 15.092; 16. 30-Doug Esh, 15.109; 17. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.115; 18. 11C-Cory Haas, 15.138; 19. 69-Tim Glatfelter, 15.150; 20. 29-Kerry Madsen, 15.152; 21. 19-Stevie Smith, 15.160; 22. 11-Steve Kinser, 15.163; 23. 9-Joey Saldana, 15.173; 24. 51-Fred Rahmer, 15.186; 25. 92-Niki Young, 15.206; 26. 13-Paul McMahan, 15.217; 27. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 15.254; 28. 4-Cody Darrah, 15.316; 29. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr., 15.348; 30. 77-Aaron Ott, 15.350; 31. 14-Kevin Nouse, 15.377; 32. 87-Alan Krimes, 15.386; 33. 21-Brian Montieth, 15.450; 34. 2-Ryan Bohlke, 15.485; 35. 71X-Bill Stine, 15.486; 36. 3B-Randy Baughman, 15.501; 37. 59-Jim Siegel, 15.535; 38. 54-Cap Henry, 15.565; 39. 65-Johnny Mackison, 15.640; 40. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe, 15.666; 41. 95-Hunter Mackison, 15.673; 42. 70-Sam Schlosberg, 15.750; 43. 20S-Derek Sell, 15.796; 44. 6-Bill Rose, 15.838; 45. 23-Todd Zinn, 16.282.

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [2]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [1]; 3. 5-Jac Haudenschild [3]; 4. 19-Stevie Smith [6]; 5. 21-Brian Montieth [9]; 6. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 7. 92-Niki Young [7]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 9. 59-Jim Siegel [10]; 10. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr. [8]; 11. 95-Hunter Mackison [11]; 12. 23-Todd Zinn [12].

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 63-Chad Kemenah [1]; 2. 98-Danny Lasoski [3]; 3. 11C-Cory Haas [5]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 5. 11-Steve Kinser [6]; 6. 77-Aaron Ott [8]; 7. 2-Ryan Bohlke [9]; 8. 54-Cap Henry [10]; 9. 6B-Brad McClelland [2]; 10. 70-Sam Schlosberg [11]; 11. 13-Paul McMahan [7].

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 85-Gerard McIntyre [1]; 2. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr [2]; 3. 19M-Brent Marks [3]; 4. 15A-Adam Wilt [4]; 5. 9-Joey Saldana [6]; 6. 69-Tim Glatfelter [5]; 7. 14-Kevin Nouse [8]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 9. 71X-Bill Stine [9]; 10. 65-Johnny Mackison [10]; 11. 20S-Derek Sell [11].

Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 30-Doug Esh [1]; 2. 30C-Lance Dewease [2]; 3. 7-Craig Dollansky [3]; 4. 27-Daryn Pittman [4]; 5. 51-Fred Rahmer [6]; 6. 4-Cody Darrah [7]; 7. 87-Alan Krimes [8]; 8. 29-Kerry Madsen [5]; 9. 3B-Randy Baughman [9]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [11]; 11. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe [10].

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 30C-Lance Dewease [1]; 2. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr [2]; 3. 98-Danny Lasoski [4]; 4. 15A-Adam Wilt [5]; 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [3]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 7. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 8. 30-Doug Esh [10]; 9. 63-Chad Kemenah [8]; 10. 85-Gerard McIntyre [9].

C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature) – 1. 71X-Bill Stine [1] [-]; 2. 65-Johnny Mackison [4] [-]; 3. 59-Jim Siegel [3] [$150]; 4. 70-Sam Schlosberg [7] [$125]; 5. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe [5] [$125]; 6. 3B-Randy Baughman [2] [$100]; 7. 95-Hunter Mackison [6] [$100]; 8. 23-Todd Zinn [9] [$100]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [8] [$100]; 10. 54-Cap Henry [10] [$100]; 11. 20S-Derek Sell [11] [$100].

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 6B-Brad McClelland [2] [-]; 2. 69-Tim Glatfelter [4] [-]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [1] [-]; 4. 14-Kevin Nouse [12] [-]; 5. 4-Cody Darrah [9] [$200]; 6. 87-Alan Krimes [13] [$180]; 7. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr. [10] [$175]; 8. 71X-Bill Stine [15] [$160]; 9. 65-Johnny Mackison [16] [$150]; 10. 29-Kerry Madsen [5] [$150]; 11. 13-Paul McMahan [7] [$150]; 12. 2-Ryan Bohlke [14] [$150]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [8] [$150]; 14. 92-Niki Young [6] [$150]; 15. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3] [$150]; 16. 77-Aaron Ott [11] [$150].

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	T5s	T10s	QT
1	Donny Schatz	2223	0	3	7	14	0
2	Sammy Swindell	2213	-10	4	9	12	3
3	Joey Saldana	2166	-57	2	7	12	2
4	Steve Kinser	2152	-71	0	6	11	0
5	Kraig Kinser	2100	-123	0	4	11	2
6	Craig Dollansky	2069	-154	2	6	8	1
7	Cody Darrah	1986	-237	0	3	5	0
8	Chad Kemenah	1976	-247	1	2	6	2
9	Jason Sides	1974	-249	0	5	9	0
10	Lucas Wolfe	1914	-309	0	1	4	0

May 11, 2012

Swindell Walks The Dog for Victory Number 4

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]

The Goodyear Outlaw Thunder returned to Eldora last night for it’s final night. It’s final night would prove much calmer than it’s first. And would see Sammy Swindell take the checkered flag for the 4th time this season.

After qualifying seventh quickest, Swindell drove from third to second in both his heat race and the dash. He then rocketed to the lead at the start of the feature, which went caution free for 24 laps before Jason Sides’ flat left rear tire brought out a yellow flag.

“The way the car was rolling through there I knew that if somebody was faster, they’d have to be just really awesome because this thing was almost on rails,” Swindell said. “It was just stuck down so hard I could just drive around there like I’m driving down the freeway.”

The caution eliminated nearly a straightaway lead for Swindell, who took little time in reestablishing a sizeable advantage. However, Kraig Kinser sustained a flat left rear tire with two laps remaining to bring out the final caution of the race.

Joey Saldana, who ran second for most of the race, began to slow a couple of laps before the caution because of an engine issue. Swindell chose the outside lane on the double-file restart and Saldana’s car was slow to take off, bogging the inside lane on the start and dropping him to sixth by turn one.

Swindell sailed to the win as Dale Blaney used the late cautions to pick up a pair of positions.

“We were probably going to run fourth until those last couple of yellows,” he said after finishing second. “They kind of helped us out. Sometimes yellows can help or hurt, and tonight they helped a little bit.

“(Swindell) was awful good all night long. He drove away from us early. He was definitely a better car than us and it would have took a little bit of problem from him for us to get up to him. I just wasn’t good enough from the center off to get a run on guys to slide them.”

Craig Dollansky also capitalized on the two cautions to drive from sixth to third in the final five laps.

“My car got good as the race wore on,” he said. “Late in the race was when my car felt the best.

“Any time you can come out with a top three with this group of teams here, it’s a pretty good night.”

David Gravel, who set fast time for the second night in a row, finished fourth and Daryn Pittman drove from 11^th to round out the top five.

Schatz overcame an early issue of his own and rebounded in the feature. After advancing from eighth to third in the Last Chance Showdown to earn a transfer, Schatz started the main event in 24^th. He restarted 14^th on the caution with six laps remaining and then restarted ninth on the green-white-checker.

Schatz finished sixth and he earned the KSE Hard Charger Award for a series-best third time this season.

Saldana placed seventh, Steve Kinser was eighth, Greg Wilson ended ninth and Friday night winner Chad Kemenah rallied from 22^nd to conclude the top 10.

Paul McMahan won a heat race and the dash, and Trey Starks, Steve Kinser and Jac Haudenschild earned heat wins. Tony Stewart claimed the Last Chance Showdown.

Swindell and Schatz have exchanged the points lead 8 times in 15 events making it the most hotly contested championship battle in World of Outlaws History.

May 7, 2012
The Magic of the Night … The Greatest Show on Dirt

[media-credit id=30 align=”alignleft” width=”225″][/media-credit]

The infield was bustling with busy hands and bright shining cars with numbers and sponsor names proudly emblazoned on their wings. Outside the t-shirts swung from trailer awnings of bright oranges, reds and blues. The lines gathered around the racks looking for that special shirt from that special driver at that can’t beat price. Anticipation ruled the cold evening, but the stands continued to fill. The water trucks and pack vehicles circled the track bringing much needed water to soothe the dry thirst of the dirt and clay track.

Familiar names and faces, legends and up and comers both side by side in the early spring sun. Nomex and helmets spoke to safety and success. It’s Friday – and the dream has begun again, in a new town on a new track with the same goal a race victory and a journey towards the championship. As the sun sank in the sky and the wind picked up it was finally time…The World of Outlaws had arrived.

As the hot laps unwound the haze of methanol and track dust and hot rubber hung in the air. The sounds of 900 horsepower engines and the sight of the greatest drivers on dirt and the master magicians of speed began to show their talents and magic. But it was merely a taste of the journey that these masters of speed would take this small town crowd on.

The field was made up of strong competitors and champions, from Tony Stewart, the current reigning Sprint Cup Champion, to the king of the outlaws, 20 time WoO champion, Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Donny Schatz, Danny Lasoski, Joey Saldana to name just a few. Qualifying would be an exciting show of speed and car control with quick time belonging to Craig Dollansky who turned a lap around the ½ mile track of 15.98 seconds. Followed by Chad Kemenah and Steve Kinser. The top 10 qualifiers were separated by .13 seconds.

The heat races set the tone for the evening. Rapid fire fast and dramatic. The first heat race showed Brian Brown leading all but the last 4 laps of the 8 lap race. At the half way point Brown began smoking from the left side as he came on to the front stretch. By the time he reached the middle of the back stretch the smoke was pouring from the car and Brown needed assistance from a push truck to get back to pit road. That left the Rushville Rocket, Tony Stewart, who had been pressuring Brown, to take the lead. Stewart would take the green and never look back. His margin of victory 1.112 seconds. Coming home behind Stewart in the first heat were Craig Dollansky and New Zealands Kerry Madsen, Kraig Kinser, Tony Bruce Jr. , Paul McMahan would all transfer to the A Main.

The second heat race would be won by Missouri local Danny “the dude” Lasoski. Lasoski would lead all 8 laps and his margin of victory was 1.411 seconds. Following Lasoski across the line was Brady Bacon, Joey Saldana, Lucas Wolfe, Donny Schatz and Chad Kemenah. All would lock into the A Main.

The third heat would present a rare night of difficulties for the King of the Outlaws, Steve Kinser. Kinser who was moving well through the field suddenly slowed between one and two and came to a stop in the middle of the back stretch. The car seemed to lose power and then just shut off. A push truck brought the oddly silent Bass Pro Shop number 11 to the pit road at lap number 5. Although the familiar bright orange and black car would be pushed back to the track it’s silence would not be broken and Kinser retired from the heat race relegating himself to the B Main. Sammy Swindell however, was on a terror. Leading all 8 laps in dominating style. The Big Game Tree Stands, Rossi Feed and Grain black and hot pink and silver car took the checkers .829 seconds ahead of Stevie Smith, Jason Sides, David Gravel, Cody Darrah, Terry McCarl would all advance to the A Main.

The Dash inversion draw was 6. Putting Cody Darrah on the front row next to Danny Lasoski. But they would have lots of heat right behind them in Tony Stewart and Sammy Swindell. The Dash wouldn’t make it to turn one before there was a three car pile up on the front stretch with Craig Dollansky, Stevie Smith and Kraig Kinser. Dollansky took a wild ride off the front of Stevie Smith’s nose and Kraig Kinser would tumble in an attempt to keep from hitting Dollansky. Dollansky’s car was brutalized and required a lot of work to get it on the wrecker and back to the pits. None of the 3 would return to the dash but all three would maintain their top 10 starting spot in the A Main if they were able to start. The dash would go to Cody Darrah followed by Lasoski, Swindell, Stewart and Saldana. With the first 5 rows of the A Main set. It was time to fill in the field.

The B main was a 12 lap last chance dash. With Steve Kinser scheduled to start on the pole. Kinser would not be able to start the main and would take a provisional into the A Main. The B main was lead from green flag to checkers by Grain Valley Missouri’s Brian Brown. Brown won by a commanding 3.397 seconds. Followed by Brad Sweet, Cap Henry, Bill Rose, Danny Smith, Austin Wheatley.

With the field set it was time for the greatest show on dirt to begin. The four wide salute out of four generated almost an electric response from the crowd. At the green flag Cody Darrah flexed his muscle and set fly to a big lead with Lasoski setting sail behind him. Stewart and Swindell would fight for the third spot. But the initial start was not to be. A wild crash by Brad Sweet in turn one saw the car destroyed but the driver walked away unharmed. When the green flew again Darrah set sail. Stewart and Swindell fought for the third with Stewart looking high and then low. Stewart could make it to the door of the 1 but couldn’t complete the pass. Joey Saldana was pressuring Stewart pushing the low line in every corner. Behind the leaders it was a battle for every position all the way back to the final spot. The final caution flew with 3 laps to go. At the drop of the green Stewart would veer high between 1 and 2 and off above the buffer. A flat right rear took the Sprint Cup Champ out of the race from 4th position. Sammy Swindell took the lead with 5 laps to go and set sail. Ultimately taking the checkers and the first leg of the Kasey Kahne Challenge by 1.328 seconds. Followed by Joey Saldana, Brian Brown on the podium. In fourth position after starting deep in the field was four time champ Donny Schatz.

The cold had increased in intensity as the night went on. Jackets, sweatshirts, hats and even gloves were the rule in the grandstands. But excitement didn’t die down with the final checkered flag of the night. Instead it lingered like a sweet memory of a perfect evening. Magicians signed autographs and posed for pictures in the pits next to the tools that had so skillfully used to work the magic of the night. Magic that would linger long after bite of the cold had gone. And long after the haulers had pulled out on their way to Indiana for the next race only one night away. But for another year the greatest magic show on dirt had come and gone.

Many thanks to Shawn Miller from the World of Outlaws for his hospitality and education. You went above and beyond and it’s greatly appreciated. To all the drivers thank you just thank you for your patience and your talents and most of all for being the magicians of speed you are. To the crew of the 14 from Tony Stewart Racing thank you for taking time to answer what had to be stupid questions to you. Your driver and your boss should be very very proud of all of you.

April 21, 2012
Schatz Wins Race With Mother Nature

[media-credit name=”Paul Gould Photos” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]The Mini Gold Cup is a two night race for the World of Outlaws that has the reputation of being a top drawer event. But this year’s first night was anything but top drawer. The racing was fierce and every position was hotly contended for. But that was because the track was a narrow single groove dry slick surface that continued to take rubber quickly. By the end of the A Main what you saw was patience and skill from some of the best dirt drivers in the world, because they were racing on a track that was maybe ¾ of a groove wide.

The evening started out with a threat of weather looming. The activities were hurried along in an attempt to beat the weather and get in the show because the forecast looks even worse for tomorrow nights activities.

The track record was set in 2009 by Joey Saldana with a lap of 10.918 seconds. Quick Time was set by Kraig Kinser with a lap of 12.458 around the ¼ mile track. He was closely followed by the seasons only two time winner this year Tim Kaeding, with the rest of the top 5 in qualifying being Jac Haudenschild, Steve Kinser, and Sammy Swindell.

The heat races showed some incredible moves by the Outlaw stars. Among them, a full power slide by Jason Sides out of the second turn to take over two places and the lead in one corner. Cody Darrah made a strong showing by moving from 8^th to first to win the second heat but showed little after that. Stand out Kyle Larson was having an unusually off night and was sent to the pits in the second heat after having two unassisted spins. Donny Schatz dominated heat 3 leading from flag to flag. And Joey Saldana would make a power move to the outside of Bill Rose down the back stretch to win the fourth and final heat of the night.

The Dash inversion would determine the fate of many of the drivers in the A Main as the track would begin to take rubber, lose grip and narrow its groove significantly. The inversion drawn by quick time holder Kraig Kinser was a 6. Sending Kinser to the 6^th spot out of 10, it was a position he would not advance beyond during the dash. As a matter of fact only two drivers would better their starting position in the dash, Tim Kaeding and Lucas Wolfe. And they would only increase their positions by one spot when the checker flag waved. Donny Schatz would take the checkers after starting on the dash pole.

With the first 5 rows for the A main set, the B main went off without issue. But again the track narrowed and the starting order was nearly a mirrored image of the finishing order. Jac Haudenschild, Kyle Larson, Chad Kemenah and Trey Starks would start and finish 1 thru 4 transferring to the A Main.

For Donny Schatz winning the A Main came down to three things, 1) Patience 2) Tire Management 3) Reading the groove on the track as the race progressed. “You just had to be cautious not to spin your tires and slip up out of that bottom groove,” Schatz said. “There wasn’t a lot of moving around. There were guys trying things, but just couldn’t make anything work. You had to be on the bottom of the race track, right on the gutter. As long as I stayed there and tried to keep from making a mistake, I was going to be ok.”

The A Main was only interrupted by 2 cautions the first when Kyle Larson spun out of 2 on lap 23. By that time the track conditions had deteriorated to the point that the restarts were made single file rather than the normal double file per Outlaws procedure. The second came on lap 34 and set up the Green White Checker finish when Robby Whitchurch blew a right rear tire and came to a stop in turn 4. When the green flag flew for the last time Schatz was amazing as he held his line and never smoked a tire until the final lap coming to the checkered flag. He had lead the entire race from beginning to end. He smoked a tire one time off of four on the checkered flag lap.

“You had to be patient. It’s not fun when you have to be patient, but you have to do what you have to do to finish.” Said Schatz from the podium.

“I just fell in behind Donny and tried to learn something,” said second place finisher and last years King of California winner, Jonathan Allard said. “I’ve been known for not managing my tires as well as we could have, but the Goodyears lasted, we came home with second and we’re very proud of that. I was hoping maybe Donny would get into traffic, but he was too smart to do that.”

Joey Saldana had a stronger comment about the surface and the racing it produced. ” I want to apologize to the fans. The World of Outlaws puts on a much better show than this and I am really sorry you all didn’t get to see a better show. Maybe the track will be in better condition tomorrow night,” stated Saldana from the podium.

The bottom line comes down to every series no matter who they are or what they drive has a bad night once in while. There is only so much that the sanctioning body can control. Weather and a poor track surface are high on the list of things that they can’t control.

But if you really watched the racing tonight you got an amazing show of the skills that it takes to make the best of the bad situation and maximize the finish. Schatz lead from flag to flag, picked up his second win and extended his points lead. But he did it by managing the situation he was given. He raced smart and he raced patient. He didn’t drive over his head and tear up the tires.

The old time warriors of the outlaws were evident tonight. They made passes. Maybe only one. But they finished with tires on the car and the car in one piece. They maximized their situation the best that circumstances allowed. It was an amazing thing to watch. No there weren’t many daring slide jobs or sliding above the buffer to beat a guy to the straightaway. But to watch the skills of driving dirt in a 12 second lap and never smoking the tires and driving straight off and still maintaining the speed and balance of the car, now that was an E ticket ride for the experienced race fan.

Hopefully tomorrow night will be better. But if not I am sure Donny Schatz is ready to race Mother Nature for the Mini Gold Cup once again.

March 24, 2012