[b Looking to Rebound: World of Outlaws Drivers to Square with Pennsylvania Posse in Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Speedway]
[i Mechanicsburg, PA - July 24, 2009]
It’s no secret that the Pennsylvania Posse were at the top of their game in May when the World of Outlaws made their first stop of the season at the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and defended their turf, picking up nine of the Top-10 spots in the final rundown, including the win, with Greg Hodnett, who was the World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year in 1993, coming out on top.
The World of Outlaws return this weekend to the famed half-mile to take on the PA Posse in the annual Summer Nationals on Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25 with $20,000 awaiting the winner in the finale as the “Month of Money” rolls on. It will be the second visit of three this season for the series to the always challenging track, where the level of competition is always second to none.
Leading the way for the World of Outlaws will be three-time and defending series champion and current series point leader Donny Schatz, who has won the Summer Nationals each of the last two years. The North Dakota native opened the “Month of Money” with a win in the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway last weekend. He heads to Williams Grove Speedway with 15 career wins at the half-mile. He came from the 23rd starting spot at the track in May to finish fifth after qualifying 26th in time trials and missing a transfer by one spot in the second heat race, forcing him to run the B-Main. He wound up passing more cars than anyone in the main event to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award.
“The Outlaws got their hind end handed to them there last time we were there qualifying and pretty much racing.” said Schatz. “We have our work cut out for us when we get there and we are all ready for that. Hopefully we can be a little better this time.”
Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, who has 38 career wins at Williams Grove, had mechanical problems at the half-mile in May, relegating him to a 24th place finish after he timed in 23rd. His most recent win at the track came last season and he has nearly 100 Top-Five finishes there dating back to 1979, when he was fourth in his debut.
“It was tough for all of last time we were there,” said Kinser. “Let’s hope we all fare a little better than what we did the last trip there. It was one of those nights where they had a lot of rain and the track was heavy and we all went out and missed it in qualifying a little bit and that put us in a pinch. I’ve always enjoyed racing at Williams Grove and the competition there.”
Danny Lasoski, who recently won one of the two features during the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup to earn $15,000 as well as the overall title of the event, also had a tough time at Williams Grove in May. The five-time winner this season timed in 34th and found himself in the B-Main, where his night ended. He looks to rebound from that this weekend at the track where he has two career wins and over 40 Top-10 finishes.
“I hope our summer is much better than our spring, because we missed the show there,” shared Lasoski. “We want to go back and redeem ourselves. That is Barry Jackson and JEI’s home track. Hopefully we can do good up there this time around.”
Joey Saldana, who leads the World of Outlaws with 12 A-Feature wins this season and is second in points, came up one spot short of transferring from the B-Main to the A-Feature at the track in May and had to use a provisional to start the main event. He passed seven cars in the feature to finish 18th after starting 25th. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana has one career win at the track.
“Since I’ve been in the Kasey Kahne car, it seems like we have only had one really good night where I felt like we had a shot at winning the race there,” shared Saldana. “It seems like we struggle with our car, or motor or myself there, I don’t know. It’s a tough track and it’s a track that is dictated on your pill draw. Hopefully that doesn’t hurt us too bad and we can put ourselves in a position to do well and work on our car and be there at the end.”
Jason Meyers, who is currently third in the World of Outlaws championship standing and has won four times this season also had to take a provisional at Williams Grove in May and looks to rebound at the track where he is chasing his first win. With strong ties to the Central Pennsylvania for his Elite Racing team, he would like nothing more than to be in battling for two wins this weekend.
“Williams Grove is a place that is very unique, but it’s also very consistent,” noted Meyers. “I feel that we have had a pretty good race car probably the last six or seven times that we have been there. We just haven’t had the starting position that we have needed. I’m really looking forward to getting out there. Qualifying is everything out there. You have to get qualified and have a good starting position to be a contender
Kraig Kinser also had a tough go at Williams Grove in the spring, timing in 40th. The native of Bloomington, Indiana finished ninth last weekend in the Kings Royal at Eldora and looks to carry some of that momentum to Williams Grove, where he has had tough luck the last couple of trips to the always challenging track.
“I hope we do better than we did last time there,” said the third generation driver.”We got beat up pretty hard last time we were up at the Grove. If we can get a few more laps in there, hopefully we can start running with the PA Posse over there.”
On Friday, July 24 at Williams Grove Speedway, adult general admission tickets will be $28 with tickets for students $15 and kids 12-under admitted free of charge in the general admission section. Reserved tickets will also be available for $30. For tickets call the track at 717-697-5000 and for more information visit http://www.williamsgrove.com.
On Saturday, July 25 at Williams Grove Speedway, adult general admission tickets will be $30 with tickets for students $15 and kids 12-under will be admitted free of charge. Reserved tickets will also be available for $32. For tickets call the track at 717-697-5000. For more information visit http://www.williamsgrove.com.
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), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy Boost (Official Energy Boost), Quaker State (Official Motor Oil), 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.
- Tony Veneziano on Jul 24, 2009
- Article Date: 7/24/2009