Concord, NC— April 12, 2010—
A warm welcome: Schoenfeld Headers hosted an Open House and Fish Fry last Saturday afternoon at their facility in Van Buren, Arkansas, which was attended by a number of World of Outlaws drivers, crews and officials. Don and Doug Schoenfeld provided shop tours of their production facility in addition to their new in-house chassis dyno. At the track, the folks from Schoenfeld threw Frisbees into the crowd during intermission on Saturday night with car numbers listed, and the fan catching the Frisbee with the winning car number on it won $50.
Knocking on the door: Lucas Wolfe finished second at Tri-State Speedway in Oklahoma to earn the third runner-up finish of his World of Outlaws career, as he continues to close in on his first win with the series. He finished second for the first time with the series in 2006 at Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York and also was second at North Central Speedway in Minnesota in 2008, both tracks of which the World of Outlaws will visit later this season. Wolfe moved into the 10th spot in the series standings after Saturday night’s event and has four Top-10 finishes in 2010.
“We’ll definitely take it and keep working hard and go on to next week and see if we can continue to keep improving on things,” said Wolfe after the race on Saturday.
A healing hand: Joey Saldana made his first start last Saturday night at Tri-State Speedway in Pocola since having 10 screws and a plate inserted into his broken left hand. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana worked his way from sixth to third in the first heat race, just missing out on a spot in the dash. He lined up 16th in the feature and steadily worked his way forward, despite having to visit the work area a couple of times for flat tires. He wound up the night eighth to earn his ninth Top-10 finish of the season and remains third in points.
“I feel pretty good,” said Saldana on Saturday afternoon before climbing in the car. “I think once we’re racing, the adrenaline and everything will take over and later in the evening, I’ll probably be sore. I think it (the hand) is as strong as it was before, just tender, so you just don’t want to hurt it or do anything stupid to it. The track looks pretty smooth so that’s a plus for us.”
A perfect 10: Jason Meyers extended his streak of Top-10 finishes to 10 races at Tri-State Speedway in Pocola. The native of Clovis, California is the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in each and every event this season. He increased his lead in the World of Outlaws championship standings to 24 markers over 20-time series champion Steve Kinser, as he chases his first World of Outlaws championship. The race last weekend was the first of 18 consecutive weekends of racing for the World of Outlaws through the spring and summer.
“It helps you get in a rhythm,” said Meyers of racing every week. “When you have two weeks off you get to the track and you are a little rusty. Even just racing on the weekends makes it a little rough. It’s going to pick up here in a couple of weeks and we are looking forward to that.”
Career best finish: Toni Lutar, one of the contenders for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award this season earned his best career World of Outlaws finish last Saturday at Tri-State Speedway in Pocola, coming home seventh. He also earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award after lining up 18th in the 35-lapper and working his way to seventh, despite losing the nose wing on his machine early in the race.
A track record: Danny Lasoski became the first track record holder at Tri-State Speedway in Pocola, as the World of Outlaws were the first to ever hold time trials at the high-banked 3/8-mile. The 2001 World of Outlaws champion paced the 26-car field with a lap of 14.966 seconds and was the only driver under the 15-second mark.
“It is always neat to set a track record,” said Lasoski during the dash interview on Saturday night. “It’s always enjoyable to go to a track I have never been, especially with all the places I have raced over the years.”
Another strong run: Kraig Kinser scored his best finish of the season on Saturday night coming home third after starting 10th. He raced his way through the field after a couple of visits to the work area. For the third generation driver it was his sixth Top-10 finish of the season and his third in the last four races. He is currently seventh in points, just six markers behind Danny Lasoski who is sixth.
Three for three- Kasey Kahne racing had three cars finish in the Top-10 for the second time in the last three races on Saturday night. Brad Sweet led the way with a fourth-place finish, with Paul McMahan fifth and Joey Saldana eighth. McMahan has finished eighth or better in six consecutive races and has six Top-10 finishes in eight starts since joining Kasey Kahne Racing as he fills in for the injured Cody Darrah. Saldana has nine Top-10 finishes in 10 starts this year, while Sweet has finished seventh or better in all five of his starts with the World of Outlaws aboard the No. 49 machine for the team.
A new look online: Jason Meyers and the Elite Racing Team unveiled a new web site recently that can be accessed at: http://www.eliteracing.net. The site contains up to date results from each World of Outlaws event that Meyers competes in. Also, there is a news section, a photo gallery, and also a team page that highlights the various members of the Elite Racing squad. An online store to purchase the latest Jason Meyers merchandise is also part of the new web site, as well as a page with all of the team’s valued partners.
Another new look: Paul McMahan also has a new web site that can be access at: http://www.paulmcmahanracing.com. The site features McMahan’s latest results, as well as a guestbook and a link to his Twitter account. 2010 merchandise can also be purchased on the web site and a blog from McMahan’s wife Jan will be added in the near future.
Making the trip to Oklahoma: Bronson Maeschen made the trip south to Oklahoma from Illinois over the weekend to make his seventh start of the season with the World of Outlaws. Lee Sowell also made the trip from the Memphis area to make his first start of the season with the series. Both drivers raced their way into the main event.
Up next: The World of Outlaws head to the Midwest for a pair of races beginning at Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky on Friday April 16 and a stop at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri on Saturday April 17
Keep up with all the action: The number of “Followers” keeping up with the World of Outlaws via Twitter online and through text messages on cell phones continues to grow and recently surpassed the 3,300 “Follower” mark. Updates are provided throughout race nights beginning with hot laps and continuing all the way through the final checkered flag of the night. To sign-up visit: http://twitter.com/worldofoutlaws and receive live race updates, anywhere, anytime.
2010 STAT ATTACK
There has been 10 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events this season.
A-Feature winners (6 Different Drivers) Driver, Hometown – Wins
1- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 4
2- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 2
3- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 1
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1
Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 1
Lap leaders, Driver, Hometown - Total laps led (11 Different Drivers)
1- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana – 71 laps
2- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 62 laps
3- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 46 laps
4- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 44 laps
5- Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee – 30 laps
6- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 23 laps
7- Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 18 laps
8- Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania – 13 laps
9- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio – 10 laps
Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 10 laps
10- Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee – 8 laps
Time trial leaders (7 Different Drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Quick times
1- Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee- 2
2- Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania -2
3- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 1
Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Washington- 1
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri - 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1
Jason Meyers, Clovis, California - 1
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1
Track Records established in 2010 World of Outlaws events (3) *Tim Kaeding, March 5, Thunderbowl Raceway (1/3-mile), Tulare, California, 12.651 seconds at 94.759 mph
*Lucas Wolfe, March 13, Houston Raceway Park, (1/4-mile), Baytown, Texas, 11.561 seconds at 77.848 miles per hour
*Kasey Kahne, March 19, Volunteer Speedway (4/10-mile), Bulls Gap, Tennessee, 10.258 seconds at 140.378 mph.
Dash Winners (8 Different Winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Dash Wins
1- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 2
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota - 2
2- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota - 1
Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee- 1
Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pennsylvania – 1 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 1 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 1 Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 1
Pole Positions (8 Different Drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown – Poles
1- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 2
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 2
2- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota - 1
Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee- 1
Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pennsylvania – 1 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 1 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 1 Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 1
B-main Winners (7 Different Winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - B-Main Wins
1- Brian Ellenberger, Butler, Pennsylvania- 2
Evan Suggs, Scotts Valley, California- 2
2- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio- 1
Rob Chaney, Wooster, Ohio - 1
Cale Conley, Vienna, West Virginia- 1
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa – 1
Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 1
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award
1- Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania- 2
2- Ben Gregg, Phoenix, Arizona - 1
Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 1
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana - 1
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1
Toni Lutar, White Rock, British Columbia - 1 Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 1 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Oklahoma – 1 Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota - 1
Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award Standings
Ben Gregg 980
Toni Lutar 811 -169
Engine Builder Challenge
Speedway Engines 41
Kistler 36 -5
Shaver Specialties 32 -9
Don Ott 31 -10
Chassis Builder Challenge
Maxim 49
J&J 37 -12
XXX 34 -14
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, KSE Race Products, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo; Engine Builder's Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines, Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis Builder’s Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company.