3/14/2009
Silver Dollar Speedway
Another Golden Memory for Meyers at Silver Dollar Speedway: Wins Finale of Mini Gold Cup
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="420"] HRP Photo by Donna Peter[/caption]
"This team really deservers this and to get this done for them with all of the work they have been putting in is great," said Meyers. "I can't thank everyone enough. It's very satisfying, not just to get this win, but to get it for all of those people that work so hard. We are looking forward to the season and I can't wait to go to Tulare (Thunderbowl Raceway) next weekend and see if we can keep this streak going."
After qualifying 31st on Saturday night, Meyers and his team worked hard and kept their chins up, knowing they had a very good race set-up for the high-banked �-mile. He came from the eighth starting spot in the third heat race to finish second and earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash, which he won to earn the pole position for the main event.
Meyers jumped out to a quick lead in the 40-lap contest, while Sammy Swindell battled Kraig Kinser for the runner-up spot before the first caution of the night came out on the third lap. A strong restart again saw Meyers quickly open a comfortable lead in the GLR Investments KPC, while at the same time Danny Lasoski had already worked his way up from the 10th starting spot to fourth.
Meyers got into lapped traffic for the first time around the 14th lap and for the next 13 circuits before a caution came out, he tucked in behind a lap machine. Lasoski moved into second and set his sights on Meyers after a restart with 13 laps to go, using the high side of turns one and two to charge his way past Kraig Kinser.
Lasoski made a bid for the lead on a restart with 10 laps to go as he looked high on Meyers in turns one and two. With six laps remaining the leaders were in traffic, which allowed Lasoski to close in on Meyers again. With three laps to go, he looked low for the lead in turns one and two. The very next lap he powered his way to the high side of the track, nearly going over the banking in the second turn before gathering it back up. The final lap saw Lasoski track down Meyers and race him side-by-side down the back straightaway with Meyers having the advantage through turns three and four which propelled him to the win.
"We had a great race car," Meyers said. "Late in the race when the track gets rubber down like that you have to just hold your line. They were holding us up a little bit, but I was not going to take a chance getting out of the groove."
The win helped vault Meyers into the third spot in the championship standings, just 20 points behind Steve Kinser who is second. Meyers has five Top-10 finishes in the first six events of the year, as he and his team look to build momentum with the World of Outlaws schedule picking up in the next few weeks.
"The start to the season was not what we wanted, but it was only four races, though it seemed like forever, but it was only four races that didn't go that well," explained Meyers. "This weekend was definitely a good turn around and the momentum that this team needed."
One night after picking up a season-best fourth-place finish, Danny Lasoski found himself on the front straightaway recording a runner-up finish as he closes in on his first win of the season. He lined up 10th on Saturday night and steadily worked his way to the front using both his trademark low line and also the high side of the track. He began the night by turning the quickest lap in time trials of the 50 cars in attendance.
"This is a whole new deal for us and each week we are getting better and better," said Lasoski. "I want to thank everyone at Casey's General Stores, Kistler Engines, Penske Shocks, JEI Chassis. We'll just keep plugging away and I'll keep Lonnie (Parsons) from firing me."
Lasoski, who is a former winner of the Gold Cup Race of Champions, was thrilled to be back at Silver Dollar Speedway for the Mini Gold Cup with the World of Outlaws. His strong weekend at the �-mile vaulted him up to 11th in points, just one marker out of the Top-10 as he continues his first season behind the wheel of the Casey's General Store JEI.
"It was a different track tonight, but you could still run both places," noted the native of Dover, Missouri. "What more could a guy ask. You could run the top and the bottom. My hat is off to everyone here at Silver Dollar Speedway. I know that Alan (Padjen) and John (Padjen) worked their tails off to get us here with all of the rain and I thank them for that."
Kraig Kinser ran the second half of the race on Saturday night with an engine that was very off-song. He was able to nurse the car home to a season-best third-place finish. He was able to keep pace with Meyers throughout much of the race, especially in lapped traffic where he closed on his tail tank a number of times. He finished third in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim.
"It seemed like when we got on the bottom there, that the pushrod or something went on it," he said. "We were on at least seven cylinders, but that's just one of those things happens in racing sometimes. We'll get this fixed and hopefully figure out what happened and just get ready for the next race."
Craig Dollansky ran up front all night and finished fourth in the DirecTV Maxim, with 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser in fifth aboard the Quaker State Maxim. Jason Sides was sixth in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim to score his fourth Top-10 finish of the season. Kerry Madsen was seventh in the TK Concrete KPC, with Jac Haudenschild eighth in the Owens Corning Fiberglass Maxim. Jesse Hockett was ninth piloting the Hansen Machine & Fabrication Maxim. Jonathan Allard rounded out the Top-10 in the K&N Filters Maxim.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California.