There is no magic formula when it comes to getting up to speed at a race track hosting an inaugural World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event. A couple of hot laps are all that drivers receive. For Daryn Pittman and his fellow full-time series competitors, they make their living quickly adapting to ever-changing dirt track surfaces. That’s what they’ll do on Friday, June 12 when the World of Outlaws visit Crawford County Speedway in Denison, Iowa for the first time. Pittman, a veteran driver, learned years ago how to quickly find the fast line when he visits a new venue.
For Pittman, who drives the No. 9 Great Clips machine for Kasey Kahne Racing, the event at Crawford County Speedway will mark the first of three inaugural races in the next five dates on the World of Outlaws calendar.
“One of the best things you can do when you are going to a new track is to watch some You Tube videos, if there are any, to see what the track is like and try to get a feel for it,” said Pittman. “If a track has run sprint cars and you can watch a video of that, it certainly helps when you are going to a new place. You get an idea of the racing line and what some of the tendencies of the track are. Most times you watch maybe one video and get to the track and take a look at it and walk around.”
The World of Outlaws will spend the next couple of weeks in the Upper Midwest, with six races dotting the schedule in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota. Crawford County Speedway marks the first race in Iowa this season for the series, which will visit four tracks in the Hawkeye State over the course of the 2015 campaign.
“Crawford County is a new track for us, and we always look forward to going to places we’ve never been to,” Pittman explained. “This swing of the year has a lot of great events in the Midwest for us. There are a lot of diehard sprint car fans, especially in Iowa. Anytime we can get to a new place and expose them to World of Outlaws-style racing is a good thing.”
Only one driver competing full-time with the World of Outlaws in 2015 has raced at Crawford County Speedway in the past, and that was back when the track was a half-mile. The track has since been reconfigured to a three-eighths-mile. When Pittman and his team led by crew chief Kale Kahne arrive at the track on Friday, they’ll walk the surface and then break out their notebooks to see what previous tracks they have raced at that they can compare Crawford County Speedway to.
“Whether you’re going to a place for the first time or have been there 100 times, it’s never going to be the same twice when it comes to the dirt,” shared Pittman. “That is makes our sport so tough. The track is never the same, because of the weather and the track prep that goes into getting a dirt track ready. It can never be duplicated, no matter how many times you go to a place. You go and make your best guesses and hope your team guesses that night.”
Pittman enters this Friday’s event at Crawford County Speedway seventh in points, despite missing a pair of races in April, after suffering a broken collarbone and cracked ribs in an accident in California. He has three wins to go along with 21 top-10 finishes, of which 11 are top-five showings. Pittman is less than 50 points out of the top-five in the series standings. The native of Owasso, Oklahoma claimed the series title in 2013, which was his first driving for Kasey Kahne Racing.
“There are a lot of good traveling cars and you have to be on, even if it’s the first time at a place, because someone is going to be on and hit it and be tough,” he said. “It’s a tough sport and you are only defined by your wins. You are racing against guys that have been doing it as long as I have and they are very good at what they do. You have to get up to speed quick to be a contender night in and night out, especially at a new track.”
Tickets for the inaugural World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event at Crawford County Speedway on Friday, June 12 can be purchased online at: http://slspromotions.ticketforce.com or by calling SLS Promotions at 815-344-2023.
Fans can also take advantage of the O’Reilly Auto Parts $5 OFF Special and receive $5 OFF when purchasing a General Admission ticket at participating O’Reilly Auto Parts stores. The ticket buyer will exchange their O’Reilly receipt for a ticket at the Main Grandstand ticket booth on race day.
For more information on tickets visit slspromotions.ticketforce.com.
- administrator on Jun 10, 2015
- Article Date: 6/10/2015 by Tony Veneziano