[b Closing in: Jason Meyers Heads to Eldora Chasing First World of Outlaws Title]
[i Rossburg, OH—September 24, 2009]
Jason Meyers joined a pretty prestigious group of sprint car drivers in 2003 when he won at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio for the first time. This season he looks to add his name to yet another elite assemblage as he chases his first career World of Outlaws title, a feat that only seven drivers have accomplished dating back to 1978.
Meyers will continue that championship quest this weekend as the World of Outlaws make their final stop of the season at Eldora Speedway on Friday, September 25 to help kick off of the annual Team Chevy Four Crown Nationals at the track owned by Tony Stewart.
Meyers has two career wins at Eldora with the World of Outlaws, scoring his second win in 2007. He finished third earlier this season in the Knight Before the Kings Royal to pick up his 21st career Top-10 finish at the track. He finished second twice at the half-mile last season as he looks to return to one of the most hallowed Victory Lanes on the World of Outlaws circuit.
“We’ve been fast there quite a bit, but we really haven’t won that many races there,” said Meyers. “Eldora is a place where you really have to have your car dialed in. It takes a lot of horsepower and you have to have your car rolling around the track well. We’re looking forward to going back there. We haven’t been as good there this year as we have in years in the past couple of years and we have been working on that and building some things for that track specifically. It should be a great event over there and hopefully we can get a win this year.”
The way that Meyers and the rest of the World of Outlaws competitors have approached racing at Eldora has changed a couple of times over the last few years, as the configuration and surface of the storied track has been altered and modified. The action has been fast and furious on the high banks this season with five different drivers leading laps in the three A-Feature events contested there.
“They have changed the surface and changed the grading on the track a little bit,” noted the native of Clovis, California. “The banking in the corners has changed and they actually have kind of made it like it was years ago. It’s definitely different and you have to work on the cars differently and set them up different. All in all I think they have done a great job making multi- groove racing there again.”
Meyers heads into Friday’s event at Eldora, just 18 markers behind three-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz with nine point paying events remaining on the 2009 schedule. He currently leads the series with 48 Top-10 finishes aboard the GLR Investments KPC as he chases his first series title. Meyers finished second in points last season, which was the second time in his career he finished in that position as he looks to become the first California native to win a World of Outlaws title.
“We’ve haven’t done anything different to get close, so we certainly won’t do anything different now,” stated Meyers when asked about the points race. “I think sometimes that’s where people make mistakes is that when they get close, they start changing things. You have to remember what got you to this point and keep doing that. This is racing as usual for us and we’ll go out and try to win races and let the points take care of themselves.”
Meyers has won eight A-Feature events this season and nine times overall with the World of Outlaws, which is the same amount of victories he had last season. He’ll look to break that tie this weekend at Eldora with a very strong field of cars expected.
“Winning a World of Outlaws race is special no matter where you win it at,” he said. “Of course you want to win on the big tracks, because that is where the big races are. When you get your car dialed in at those tracks, you have the potential to win those big races. Eldora is a very important one and has always been a favorite of mine. Once again, we are looking forward to going out there.”
Dating back to the finale at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on August 29, during the Gold Rush Tour, Meyers has finished on the podium in eight consecutive events, including picking up four wins over that span. He was victorious at Skagit Speedway in the $20,000 finale at the high-banked bullring on September 5. He followed that up with a win at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon and a triumph on the opening night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in his home state of California. Most recently he won at Clay County Fair Speedway in Iowa with a thrilling last lap pass of Joey Saldana. Each time he rolls through the pit gate, Meyers is confident that he and his team can contend for a win.
“That’s what we work for and I have a great team here,” Meyers shared. “Everyone is doing a great job on the race car. We have had some things go our way lately and been able to capitalize on them. You have to take advantage of the good times while you can.”
On Friday, September 25 at Eldora Speedway, general admission tickets for those ages 16-over will be $25, with tickets for those ages 12-15 $12, with tickets for children ages 7-11 $6 and kids 6-under will be admitted free of charge. For reserved tickets add $2 to the above prices. For tickets visit http://www.eldoraspeedway.com or call the track at 937-338-3815.
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 SpeedwayEngines; and Chassis Builder’s Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company.
- Tony Veneziano on Sep 25, 2009
- Article Date: 9/25/2009