6/28/2010
Sprint Source
World of Outlaws Wrap-Up: Junction Motor Speedway & Lakeside Speedway
Concord, NC—June 28, 2010—
Biggest crowd in track history: The World of Outlaws debuted at Junction Motor Speedway last Friday night to the largest crowd in the history of the state-of-the-art high-banked 3/8-mile located in McCool Junction, Nebraska. The event marked the first 410-winged Sprint Car race at the track since 2006 and just the fifth-ever 410-winged Sprint Car race at the facility. Fans began arriving very early in the afternoon and by race time many were standing alongside the grandstands to catch a glimpse of the action as nearly every seat in the bleachers was filled.
“We get to go to a lot of race tracks and don’t get to go to too many that are this nice,” said four-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz after finishing third at Junction Motor Speedway on Friday night. “This is an awesome facility and I’m glad to get to come and run it. I kind of wish this was sitting in Fargo, North Dakota to be honest, but it’s sitting in McCool Junction and we’re glad to be here.”
A new track record: Lucas Wolfe set a new track record in time trials at Junction Motor Speedway last Friday night, touring the high-banked 3/8-mile in 14.184 seconds to break the existing mark by almost two-tenths of-a-second. A total of five drivers broke the track record on a very hot and muggy evening. For Wolfe, it was the second track record he has established this year and the third time that he has been fastest in time trials. He is currently seventh in the series standings as he closes in on his first win.
“The night started off well,” said Wolfe. “We were able to get a good draw and a good lap of qualifying and that’s always good. We had a pretty decent night. We were struggling a little in the middle and kept working and really got going there toward the last part of the feature. It was another good night for us and hopefully we can keep it up and continue to have good nights down the road.”
Hard charger: Joey Saldana came from the 17th starting spot to finish seventh in his debut at Junction Motor Speedway last Friday night to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award. He finished ahead Steve Kinser, who is second in points, while Jason Meyers who is third in the standings, finished three spots ahead of Saldana to gain six points on him as the trio continues their battle for the top spot.
“We just screwed up after having the fastest car in hot laps and over adjusted our car and paid the price there,” explained Saldana. “We started 17th and ran seventh, so I’ll take that, because it was definitely a tough track to pass on. We’ll take it and move on to the next race.”
Racing for wins: Brooke Tatnell is one of four drivers that has won a World of Outlaws A-Feature event this season that is not competing full-time with the series. He is the only driver among that group that has won twice, following his victory at Junction Motor Speedway last Friday night. With his win, Tatnell now has 11 career World of Outlaws A-Feature triumphs, which has him tied with Hall of Famer Brad Doty for 21st on the series all-time win list.
“We are not racing for points and every time we come out, if we screw up, there is nothing hurt but your pride,” quipped Tatnell.
A class act: Craig Dollansky, who finished second to Brooke Tatnell at Junction Motor Speedway, was one of the first in Victory Lane to congratulate the winner. Dollansky had nothing but praise for Tatnell and his small team and what they have been able to accomplish in a very short time already this season with a very limited budget and equipment.
“My hats off to Brooke Tatnell,” said Dollansky. “He’s probably the lowest funded team here tonight or close to it and he’s won two Outlaws shows. It’s not about how much money you spend on these teams, it’s about much work you put into your race car and your whole program all the way through.”
A welcome return: The World of Outlaws returned to Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City last Saturday night for the first time since 2003, with a huge crowd in attendance on a very hot and muggy night. Steve Kinser became just the third driver that has won at least twice at the track with the series, joining fellow Hall of Famers Sammy Swindell and Doug Wolfgang in that department.
Fines levied: Willie Kahne and Kale Kahne of the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 crew for driver Joey Saldana, have been fined and placed on probation for their part in a physical confrontation that took place at Dodge City Raceway Park during the World of Outlaws event on June 13. Willie Kahne was fined $750 and placed on probation through October 14, 2010, while Kale Kahne was fined $500 and also in on probation through October 14, 2010. The entire Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 team has been placed on probation through July 14, 2010.
Number crunching: Steve Kinser was able to knock 31 points off Joey Saldana’s lead in the World of Outlaws championship standings after his win at Lakeside Speedway on Saturday night. Saldana, who led early in the race, lost an engine with just a few laps remaining and wound up 16th. Kinser currently leads the series with 27 Top-10 finishes, while Saldana leads the way with 20 Top-Five performances. Saldana also leads the series in laps led and money earned, and is tied with Jason Meyers for the series lead in wins with six. That trio is separated by just 66 total points heading into this week’s three races.
A Hall of Fame podium yet again: For the second time in the last three races, Steve Kinser, Jac Haudenschild and Sammy Swindell all graced the podium after finishing one-two-three at Lakeside Speedway. The trio of Hall of Famers has combined to win well over 800 World of Outlaws A-Feature events in their illustrious careers, with Kinser and Swindell accounting for 23 World of Outlaws titles.
“We have three pretty old guys up here, but we’re all running up front,” said Kinser, who was joined by his Grandson Kash in Victory Lane.
Keeping after it: Sammy Swindell turned in another strong run with the World of Outlaws on Saturday night at Lakeside Speedway, coming home third. For Swindell it was his first visit to the half-mile since 1992 when the track was paved. It was just his second start at Lakeside on the dirt. He has four career wins at the track with three coming on the pavement and one on the dirt. The three-time series champion, who was victorious with the World of Outlaws earlier this season, has seven Top-Five finishes with the series in a limited number of starts.
“The car was running good again tonight,” said Swindell. “We had a chance and we were in the running for a win. We have one with the Outlaws and we’ll get some more. We just have to get the right breaks at the right times. If we come out every week and do this and keep these good runs, we’ll keep everybody happy.”
Leading qualifier: Paul McMahan was the last car out to qualifying on Saturday night at Lakeside Speedway and he ended up in a familiar spot, on top of the scoring pylon. The veteran driver leads the series with six fast time honors this season. He wound up finishing seventh in the main event and is currently sixth in the series standings.
Up next: The World of Outlaws return to Missouri State Fair Speedway on Tuesday, June 29 for Kasey’s King of Sedalia Presented By Budweiser, which was delayed by rain earlier in the month. The series then heads north to Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota on Thursday, July 1, followed by a stop at North Central Speedway in Minnesota on Saturday, July 3.
Photo gallery The Media Gallery section of www.worldofOutlaws.com continues to be updated after each event. Visit http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint/MediaGallery.aspx to see Photo Galleries from all 2010 World of Outlaws events. Photo Galleries from the Junction Motor Speedway and Lakeside Speedway will be posted soon.
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 4,100 “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.
On sale now: Tickets for a number of premier World of Outlaws events are currently on-sale, including for Kasey’s King of Sedalia Presented by Budweiser at Missouri State Fair Speedway on July 29, as well as Kasey’s King of LaSalle on July 8, in addition to the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twin 30’s at Lernerville Speedway on July 20, and the Ironman 55 at I-55 Raceway on August 6-7. Also on sale now are tickets for the World of Outlaws stop at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in New York on October 9 and the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, November 4-6. For tickets visit www.WorldofOutlaws.com/tickets.
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
