Minnesotan’s incredible 7-second victory gives him three wins this season
WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa. - June 7, 2013 - Craig Dollansky demolished the field on Friday night in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series main event at 34 Raceway.
Dollansky led the 34-lap event from the drop of the green flag in the Eyecon Trail Cameras Maxim, crossing the finish line in an almost unheard of 7.3 seconds ahead of runner-up Paul McMahan. The flawless victory gives Dollansky three wins this season.
"I tell you what, you never know how big a lead you've got when you're leading a race, you know, we lost a couple here not too long back," said Dollansky, of Elk River, Minn. "I felt like we were running at a pretty good pace and it was going to be hard for somebody to get by us. I'm just happy for this entire race team to come home with first tonight."
McMahan started sixth in the A-main and used some early double-file restarts following cautions to move up to third in his CJB Motorsports GF1 car, then patience helped him later on as he slipped past Joey Saldana to capture the second spot.
"I just didn't have anything for Craig, you know Craig was checked out tonight," said McMahan, of Nashville. "Our main goal is to win a championship, but you know we've just got to keep plugging away and getting these top-fives every night and get some wins along the way."
The minor slip was it for Saldana, who used his Motter Equipment Eagle to hold off five-time series champion Donny Schatz to finish on the podium at a track where he won in 2009, the Outlaws' most recent appearance at 34 Raceway.
"The first time we were here and broke a rear end, but we had a good car," said Saldana, of Brownsburg, Ind. "Then we came back here and won. Tonight, we had a good car, but we didn't have a car good enough to win, but it's definitely a home run for us right now. Hopefully we can learn from this and be good again tomorrow."
Schatz finished just off the podium in fourth with Tim Kaeding rounding out the top five.
Home state hero, Terry McCarl, was making a fast charge to the front when he bounced through turn one, bringing out a caution. The Altoona, Iowa, native refired and again charged through the field to salvage a 13th-place finish.
Championship leader Daryn Pittman ran short on luck Friday night. After posting quick time, the dash inversion was an eight, putting him in the fourth row. Then, as he was in prime position for another big points night in the A-main, contact with Jason Johnson on lap 12 while racing in the top five left Pittman banging the backstretch wall and bringing out a caution. Pittman was unable to rejoin the field and had to settle for a 22nd-place finish. Still, he owns a healthy 134-point lead over Schatz entering Saturday's event.
The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series is back in action Saturday night at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb.
34 RACEWAY NOTEBOOK
NOTES - Daryn Pittman was the fastest qualifier around high-banked, 3/8-mile oval with a time of 12.411 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Terry McCarl (4 points), Sammy Swindell (3), Paul McMahan (2) and Cody Darrah (1). ... Donny Schatz, David Gravel, Joey Saldana, and Craig Dollansky won heat races. ... The dash draw was an 8 for the ninth time this year. ... Craig Dollansky won the dash for the third time this year.
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CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Danny Smith; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; STP ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Bruce High Performance Transporters ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Tim Kaeding; UNOH ($50 cash): Cody Darrah; American Racing Custom Wheels ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Steve Kinser; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Steve Kinser; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Jason Sides; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Chad Kemenah; Superflow ($50 cash): David Gravel; Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash): Danny Smith;KSE Racing Products ($100 certificate): Steve Kinser; Penske Shocks ($100 certificate): Joey Saldana;Armor All (case of product): Tim Kaeding; Comp Cams ($50 certificate); Craig Dollansky; Bruce High Performance Transporters ($200 certificates): Joey Saldana, Terry McCarl, Danny Smith; JE Pistons (set of rings): Danny Smith.
- Admin Account on Jun 08, 2013
- Article Date: 6/8/2013