He maintains a slim championship lead over runner-up Joey Saldana
SEDALIA, Mo. - April 20, 2012 - Friday was a night of attrition as the cream rose to the top in the opening round of the Kasey Kahne Challenge.
Sammy Swindell and Joey Saldana, who entered the $10,000-to-win World of Outlaws event at Missouri State Fair Speedway within five points of each other for the championship lead, put on an electric show on a crisp night in front of a stellar crowd at the fairgrounds.
The duo nearly took each other out on a restart with three laps remaining as they made contact entering turn one on the half-mile oval. Instead, Swindell held on to the top spot after an aggressive move to get to the bottom of the track and he pulled away to pick up his first World of Outlaws win at Missouri State Fair Speedway since 1985.
"We're not just driving around people so you've got to use every bit that you have and you've got to take advantage of it," said Swindell, who also won with the Outlaws in Sedalia in 1982.
"The main thing is to put yourself in the right position. When we're in front we had control of the first corner. Once it was like that and you get out there running, the guy has to run behind you in the dirty air and if theirs were like mine, it wasn't much fun."
It was a bittersweet night for Saldana, who is only eight points behind Swindell after a runner-up finish.
"When you're racing guys like Sammy Swindell, Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, they're champions (and) have won a lot of races," Saldana said. "You've got to learn from your mistakes and hope that you don't do it again. We were in position. I just had to put my car in a better spot and I think we could have won the race."
The drivers battled throughout several aggressive restarts, including one on lap 15 when the duo made it three wide with leader Cody Darrah getting stuck in the middle. Swindell capitalized on momentum in the outside lane to rocket into the lead off turn two as Saldana catapulted off the bottom lane to move into a close second.
Missouri native Brian Brown maneuvered from sixth to third on the same restart as the trio pulled to a sizeable advantage. Darrah, who was running fourth, brought out a caution with three laps remaining when he stopped in turn four with a broken U-joint.
Swindell chose the outside lane on the double-file restart and Saldana entered turn one side by side for the lead. They exited turn two in a tight battle before the final caution waved as NASCAR star Tony Stewart sustained a flat right rear tire while running fifth.
Swindell again picked the outside lane, which set up a drag race to turn one. In what looked like a dead heat, Swindell edged Saldana to the inside groove in turn one as their cars touched. Saldana lost momentum as Swindell cleared him for the lead.
"The way he raced me going into (turn) one, I should have raced him a little harder going into (turns) three and four," Saldana said. "I had position on him there and I let it go. I just should have raced him harder because of the way he raced me earlier in that lap.
"I was just trying to race my car really clean. You get to a point like that and you kind of have to throw that out of the window if you're going to win an Outlaws show. Tonight I think I just drove my car a little too easy."
Brown closed within two car lengths of Saldana before his car began to show signs of running out of fuel, forcing Brown to race conservatively the last two laps.
"When you run a top three anywhere, it's good, especially with the Outlaws," he said. "With two to go, I was running out of fuel or I thought we may have had something for them. Hats off to Sammy and Joey. They're at the top of their game right now and to run third to those guys is an honor."
Donny Schatz earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after driving from 19th to fourth, which kept him third in the championship standings - only 20 points behind Swindell. Jason Sides, who started 14th, rounded out the top five.
Kerry Madsen drove from 12th to sixth with Kraig Kinser finishing seventh. Brady Bacon was eighth and Craig Dollansky placed ninth after violently flipping on the first lap of the dash. David Gravel charged from 17th to round out the top 10.
Stewart, outside polesitter and Missouri native Danny Lasoski, and Swindell each claimed a heat race. Brown won the Last Chance Showdown and Dollansky was the fast qualifier with a time of 15.975 seconds.
Round 2 of the Kasey Kahne Challenge is Sunday, May 20, at Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, Md.
Kasey Kahne Challenge Round 1 Notebook
CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Sammy Swindell; Comp Cams ($50 certificate): Sammy Swindell; Armor All (case of product): Paul McMahan; STP ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; UNOH ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Gravely Tractors ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; VP Racing Fuel ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Steve Kinser; JE Pistons (set of rings): Terry McCarl; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Steve Kinser; Wix Filters ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; Superflow ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Bill Rose; JE Pistons (set of rings): Lucas Wolfe; MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Stevie Smith.
WINNERS - 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); Donny Schatz - 2 (Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Sammy Swindell - 2 (Missouri State Fair Speedway on April 20 and Merced Speedway on March 30); Craig Dollansky - 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Danny Lasoski - 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18).
TIME TRIALS - Craig Dollansky was the fastest qualifier around the half-mile oval with a time of 15.975 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Chad Kemenah (4 points), Steve Kinser (3), Kraig Kinser (2) and Joey Saldana (1).
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- Admin Account on Apr 22, 2012
- Article Date: 4/20/2012 by Shawn Miller - World of Outlaws