5/3/2010
Sprint Source
World of Outlaws Wrap-Up: Return to Jackson Speedway
A welcome return: Saturday night’s event at Jackson Speedway marked the World of Outlaws first visit to the historic half-mile since 2006. A near capacity crowd was on hand, to see Steve Kinser win for the third time with the series at the track. Many fans took advantage of the infield party area, where they were able to drive-in, park, set up their grills and lawn chairs to enjoy all the action. Fans began filing into the infield party area around 2 p.m., nearly five hours before on track action began. According to Jon McCorkell, the Promoter at Jackson Speedway, it was the largest crowd at the track since the 2004 World of Outlaws visit.
“The hard work was definitely worth it,” said McCorkell. “We only had about six weeks to promote this show and I felt we did a good job promoting and getting ready for it. Big thanks to my entire crew, they do all the work, and that frees me up to promote!”
New track record: Sam Hafertepe Jr. set a new track record in time trials at Jackson Speedway, circling the half-mile in 15.601 seconds at 115.377 miles per hour to break Terry McCarl’s mark of 15.795 which had stood since 2005. A total of eight drivers broke the existing track record. For Hafertepe, who was the second to last car out for time trials, it was his first fast time of the 2010 season.
“It feels real good to get a quick time,” said Hafertepe. “It’s always good to get a track record and I have a few of them across the country. I have a lot of sponsors up this way with Keizer Wheels, so it’s great to get the track record here in front of these guys. It’s pretty special. We’ve been chasing our tail for the past month or two and these past two weeks we had off, we changed a few things on the car. We’re always pretty good on the big tracks, but we won’t know if this works until we get on a few other tracks that are demanding.”
A home state race: Craig Dollansky made his first start at Jackson Speedway since 2006 on Saturday night and finished a very solid fifth after lining up ninth for the 25-lap contest. For the Minnesota native, it was his third consecutive Top-10 finish at the half-mile in his home state and his second straight Top-Five with the World of Outlaws at the track. Following a runner-up finish at I-55 Raceway on April 17, Dollansky has five Top-10 finishes on the season and is less than 20 points out of the Top-10 in the series standings.
“We have a real strong race team and we’ve been running strong, it just doesn’t show in our point system,” explained Dollansky on Saturday night. “It’s a long season. I’m happy with this team, and Big Game Treestands and everyone involved. Tonight was a Top-Five, Pevely (I-55 Raceway) was a Top-Five and we had some mechanical issues in Kentucky (Paducah International Raceway). We’ll just keep at it and continue to work hard.”
Lucky 13: Jason Meyers, the current leader in the World of Outlaws championship standings, extended his streak of Top-10 finishes to begin the 2010 season to 13, after a sixth-place run at Jackson Speedway. He remains the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in each and every race. The California native holds an 18-point lead over Steve Kinser in the points as he chases his first series title.
On your game: Steve Kinser has had a very strong start to 2010, winning twice and finishing in the Top-10 in 12 of the first 13 races of the year with nine of those being Top-Five performances. The 20-time series champion is tied with Joey Saldana for the series lead in Top-Fives as he continues his first season driving for Tony Stewart Racing. The Indiana native is currently second in points, just 18 markers behind Jason Meyers as he chases his record 21st title.
“You need to be hitting it all the time with this group of guys,” noted Kinser, when asked about when a good time to hit a stride is during the World of Outlaws season. “You can’t be slacking anywhere. You have to be good in the beginning, the middle and the end, anymore out here.”
Another strong run: Jac Haudenschild finished second at Jackson Speedway to earn his third consecutive Top-Five finish and fourth of the season. Haudenschild picked up his first win of the season at Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky on April 16 and followed that up with a fourth-place finish the following night at I-55 Raceway. In the process, he has moved up to seventh in the series standings and is just 15 markers behind Danny Lasoski who is sixth.
“We’ve been pretty quick all year and our results are showing a little bit better here the last few races,” shared Haudenschild after a runner-up finish on Saturday night. “The car has been good all year.”
Finishing up front: Lucas Wolfe picked up his second podium finish of the season on Saturday night in his first career visit to Jackson Speedway. He lined up 11th and steadily worked his way to the front, snagging the third spot on the final lap from Paul McMahan. He also earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award for the series-leading third time in 2010. Wolfe, the 2008 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award winner, has five Top-10 finishes this season and moved back into the 10th spot in points after Saturday night’s event.
“We’ve certainly been capable of running this speed all year, other than one or two races,” said Wolfe. “I think for the most part this is a spot we belong and we have enough experience now. We’ll just keep working hard.”
Knocking on the door: Paul McMahan finished fourth at Jackson Speedway to earn his eighth Top-10 and fifth Top-Five finish of the season. Since joining Kasey Kahne Racing to fill in for the injured Cody Darrah earlier this season, the veteran has moved all the way to ninth in points, as he continues to close in on his first win of the season.
“We just have to get over that hump,” noted McMahan, when asked what it will take to get that first win. “We’ve been good and we’ve been consistently in the Top-Five most of the year. We just have to keep banging out Top-Fives and that win will come. Once you get your first win, they start to come faster after that.”
A familiar face: Brooke Tatnell, who has nine career World of Outlaws A-Feature wins, raced for the first time in 2010 with the series at Jackson Speedway. The native of San Souci, NWS, Australia, who now calls Minnesota home finished a very solid 10th. It was Tatnell’s first start with the World of Outlaws since last fall in the World Finals at Charlotte.
On sale now: Tickets for the third round of the Showdown for the Bud Crown, Kasey’s King of Sedalia Presented By Budweiser at Sedalia’s State Fair Speedway in Missouri on June 16 are on sale now. Kasey Kahne, who is promoting the event along with the World Racing Group, will race at Sedalia. Tickets are also available for the final round of the Showdown for the Bud Crowd, Kasey’s King of LaSalle Presented By Budweiser at LaSalle Speedway in Illinois on July 8. Tickets are also available now for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twin 30’s at Lernerville Speedway on July 20. To purchase tickets for these events visit www.worldofoutlaws.com/tickets.
Up next: The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8 at Eldora Speedway for the Outlaw Thunder by Goodyear weekend.
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 3,500 “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.
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), Chizmark & Larson Insurance, 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.
Submitted By: Tony Veneziano
