[b Another Super Finish: Joey Saldana Wins Thriller over Donny Schatz at Deer Creek Speedway in the Sprint for a Cure Summer Clash]
[i Spring Valley, MN— September 19, 2009]
Joey Saldana came out on the short end of a late race battle just a few days ago at Clay County Fair Speedway losing the lead on the final lap to Jason Meyers and he made up for that on Saturday night in the Sprint for a Cure Summer Clash at Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota, winning a late race duel with three-time and defending series champion Donny Schaz to pick up his series leading 18th A-Feature win of the season in the series inaugural visit to the immaculate 3/8-mile before a standing room only crowd in an event which was postponed by rain last month.
Saldana used a slide job in turn four on the 33rd lap to take the lead, though he drifted high exiting that turn with Schatz charging down the front straightaway to officially keep the top spot at the line. On the next lap, Saldana inched by Schatz again coming off turn four to take the point and officially be scored the leader at the line, with Schatz battling back and regaining the lead as the pair headed into turn one. Saldana ran the extreme high side of the track in turn two on the last lap and was able to charge around Schatz exiting that corner to take the lead and wound up winning by just a mere 0.273 seconds aboard the Budweiser Maxim.
“It was a great run, what can I say,” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “That was awesome. Hopefully my wife and son were listening to that one online, because it was pretty spectacular.”
Saldana moved into the second spot on the ninth lap and quickly began to close in on Schatz. On the 11th lap he was all over the leader and nearly took the lead coming off turn four. Saldana again made a bid for the lead on the 16th go-around with the caution coming out on the next lap. Following a caution on the 17th lap, the remainder of the 35-lapper would go non-stop putting the leader in traffic for a majority of the second half of the race.
“I was racing a really good driver and he was not going to make any mistakes,” noted the winner. “I was just doing whatever I could, because I knew I had to get in front of him. Jason (Meyers) got by me there and I got him back. It’s just really good hard racing. I wish some of the other guys would watch guys like Donny Schatz race, because he is probably the best guy you can race with. There are some guys that need to learn from him and I know that I need to learn from him. It definitely makes me better racing a guy like that.”
For Saldana it was his 18th A-Feature win and 19th overall triumph on the World of Outlaws circuit this season as he continues to add what has been a career year. It was his 57th career A-Feature win with the series as he continues to close in on Stevie Smith who is eighth on the all-time list.
“They are all special,” noted Saldana of his wins this season. “To win a World of Outlaws race these days is pretty tough. I don’t think people realize how tough the schedule is and then you have to race let alone the schedule. You just have to stick to what you are doing. I’m lucky to have Kasey Kahne Racing behind me. This is my fourth year with them and you normally don’t see that in sprint car racing. Owners want results and it’s tough to do. They’ve definitely been patient with me and we are doing well now.”
Schatz ended up leading 25 laps on the night en route to the runner-up finish in the Armor All J&J which was his series leading 36th Top-Five finish of the season as he chases his fourth consecutive title. He took the lead on the sixth lap in turn three when his teammate Kraig Kinser who was leading got sideway and nearly spun.
“It’s a decent finish,” Schatz stated. “We haven’t had a Top-Five for a little while. We definitely wanted to win, but he (Joey Saldana) is really good when the track is like that right on the wall. I got a little too comfortable there. It started to lay a little rubber off both corners and I thought well if I just don’t miss the rubber I’ll be all right. I didn’t want to push the issue with lapped traffic. Sometimes you are in the catbirds seat running second and he gave it what is was worth and got the job done.”
While leading, Schatz faced two red flags and two yellows, and used strong restarts each time to maintain his advantage. He led on the initial start of the race only to have the first caution of the night fly. On the second start, Kraig Kinser got the jump on his heading into turns one and two and would lead the first five laps.
“It doesn’t make it tough to get in a rhythm,” explained the North Dakota native of the cautions. “These are sprint car races, not NASCAR races. The tires change so much over the course of 40 laps that it would be fun to see if you run 40 laps (non-stop). It is what it is. My guys did a great job tonight and hopefully we can go on and carry a little momentum and get back in the winner’s circle.”
Jason Meyers ended up third in the GLR Investment KPC as he continues to keep pace with Donny Schatz as he battles for his first series title. He was right on Saldana and Schatz on the last lap looking to make it two wins in a row. The California native was fifth fastest in time trials to earn a bonus points and now is 18 markers behind Schatz.
Danny Lasoski was fourth in the Casey’s General Store JEI. Steve Kinser recovered from a flip in the dash that had his crew thrashing to have the car ready for the feature to come home fifth in the Quaker State Maxim.
Chad Kemenah came home sixth in the Hampshire Racing Engines Maxim, with Jac Haudenschild coming all the way from 19th to finish seventh in the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Maxim to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award. Jason Sides was eighth in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim, with Craig Dollansky ninth in the DirecTV Maxim. Davey Heskin rounded out the Top-10 in the Maxwell Racing Maxim.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, September 25 at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio followed by a stop at Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania.
DEER CREEK SPEEDWAY NOTES
• FAST QUALIFIER: Sam Hafertepe Jr. paced the 28 cars that took time with a record setting AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked 3/8-mile oval at 11.583 seconds at 116.550 mph. For his qualifying effort, Hafertepe earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Jason Sides (4), Terry McCarl (3), Joey Saldana (2), and Jason Meyers (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Steve Kinser, Kraig Kinser and Mark Dobmeier won heat races. Donny Schatz won the Crane Cams Dash. Kaley Gharst won the B-Main.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There has been 58 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature event held in 2009. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Silver Dollar Speedway-twice, Thunderbowl Raceway, Lone Star Speedway, Houston Raceway Park, The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Virginia Motor Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice, U.S. 36 Raceway, 34 Raceway, I-55 Raceway, Castrol Raceway-twice, Skagit Speedway and Deer Creek Speedway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, River Cities Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Eldora Speedway, K-C Raceway and Dacotah Speedway), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, I-96 Speedway, Red River Valley Speedway, Ohsweken Speedway, Skagit Speedway, Cottage Grove Speedway and Clay County Fair Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway, Nodak Speedway, Eagle Raceway, Charter Raceway Park and Lernerville Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Lebanon Valley Speedway, I-55 Raceway and River Cities Speedway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway-twice), Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway and Limaland Motorsports Park), Terry McCarl (Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway), Dale Blaney (Attica Raceway Park), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway),Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway), Jason Sides (Ohsweken Speedway) and Stevie Smith (Lernerville Speedway).
• PRELIMINARY FEATURE WINNERS: There has been two World of Outlaws preliminary features this season. The winners include: Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway) and Joey Saldana (Silver Dollar Speedway).
• 3/8-MILE WINNERS: Deer Creek Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced 17 times on a track that size this season. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice, U.S. 36 Raceway, 34 Raceway, Castrol Raceway-twice and Deer Creek Speedway), Donny Schatz (Lawrenceburg Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, K-C Raceway and Dacotah Speedway), Jason Meyers (Paducah International Raceway, Ohsweken Speedway and Clay County Fair Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Nodak Speedway) and Jason Sides (Ohsweken Speedway).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Deer Creek Speedway; Spring Valley, MN; September 19, 2009
Qualifying
- 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 11.583
- 7S-Jason Sides 11.590
- 24-Terry McCarl 11.617
- 9-Joey Saldana 11.618
- 14-Jason Meyers 11.647
- 63-Chad Kemenah 11.660
- 11-Steve Kinser 11.689
- 20-Kraig Kinser 11.689
- 13-Mark Dobmeier 11.691
- 6-Danny Lasoski 11.716
- 15-Donny Schatz 11.736
- 56-Davey Heskin 11.748
- 19-Craig Dollansky 11.813
- 7K-Kaley Gharst 11.814
- 22-Brian Ellenberger 11.830
- 5W-Lucas Wolfe 11.864
- 2W-Johnny Herrera 11.898
- 23W-Scott Winters 11.905
- R19-Jac Haudenschild 11.926
- 83-Tim Kaeding 11.932
- 21-Brian Brown 11.955
- 2-Skip Jackson 12.035
- 18-Tony Bruce Jr. 12.056
- 4W-Matt Wasmund 12.078
- K9-John Vandenberg 12.190
- 12-Lynton Jeffrey 12.369
- 7KX-Rob Kubli 12.500
- 3TK-Tony Kaus 13.214
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
- 11-Steve Kinser
- 6-Danny Lasoski
- 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
- 9-Joey Saldana
- 19-Craig Dollansky
- R19-Jac Haudenschild
- 5W-Lucas Wolfe
- 2-Skip Jackson
- K9-John Vandenberg
- 3TK-Tony Kaus
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
- 20-Kraig Kinser
- 15-Donny Schatz
- 14-Jason Meyers
- 7S-Jason Sides
- 2W-Johnny Herrera
- 83-Tim Kaeding
- 7K-Kaley Gharst
- 18-Tony Bruce Jr.
- 12-Lynton Jeffrey
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
- 13-Mark Dobmeier
- 24-Terry McCarl
- 56-Davey Heskin
- 22-Brian Ellenberger
- 23W-Scott Winters
- 21-Brian Brown
- 4W-Matt Wasmund
- 7KX-Rob Kubli
- 63-Chad Kemenah
Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
- 15-Donny Schatz
- 20-Kraig Kinser
- 9-Joey Saldana
- 7S-Jason Sides
- 14-Jason Meyers
- 13-Mark Dobmeier
- 6-Danny Lasoski
- 24-Terry McCarl
- 11-Steve Kinser
- 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
B-main (10 laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
- 7K-Kaley Gharst
- 63-Chad Kemenah
- 5W-Lucas Wolfe
- 2-Skip Jackson
- 4W-Matt Wasmund
- 18-Tony Bruce Jr.
- 12-Lynton Jeffrey [$200]
- 7KX-Rob Kubli [$180]
- K9-John Vandenberg [$175]
- 3TK-Tony Kaus [$160]
A-main (35 laps) - Starting Position [#]
- 9-Joey Saldana[3] [$10,000]
- 15-Donny Schatz[1] [$5,500]
- 14-Jason Meyers[5] [$3,200]
- 6-Danny Lasoski[7] [$2,800]
- 11-Steve Kinser[9] [$2,500]
- 63-Chad Kemenah[11] [$2,300]
- R19-Jac Haudenschild[19] [$2,200]
- 7S-Jason Sides[4] [$3,100]
- 19-Craig Dollansky[13] [$2,050]
- 56-Davey Heskin[12] [$3,000]
- 83-Tim Kaeding[20] [$1,500]
- 18-Tony Bruce Jr.[24] [$1,200]
- 22-Brian Ellenberger[15] [$1,100]
- 20-Kraig Kinser[2] [$1,050]
- 2W-Johnny Herrera[17] [$1,500]
- 2-Skip Jackson[22] [$900]
- 21-Brian Brown[21] [$800]
- 5W-Lucas Wolfe[16] [$800]
- 4W-Matt Wasmund[23] [$800]
- 7K-Kaley Gharst[14] [$800]
- 13-Mark Dobmeier[6] [$800]
- 24-Terry McCarl[8] [$800]
- 23W-Scott Winters[18] [$800]
- 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[10] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Kraig Kinser 1-5, Donny Schatz 6-33, Joey Saldana 34-35
SuperClean Start of the Night Award: Joey Saldana
Penske Power Position Award: Jason Meyers
KSE Hard Charger Award: Jac Haudenschild
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 Sep 21, 2009
- Article Date: 9/21/2009