All Star Circuit of Champions stars Blaney, Darrah sweep Outlaws in Lernerville twin features
SARVER, Pa. - July 21, 2015 - Dale Blaney and Cody Darrah both represent the face of overcoming adversity, finding success after a year that began with uncertainty about the future.
If they had not done so already though, the All Star Circuit of Champions stars proved Tuesday night that all of that is old news as they swept the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twins at Lernerville Speedway and beat the stars of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.
Blaney picked up both the first feature win of the night and ultimately the coveted Silver Cup trophy and $5,000 bonus - his first career Silver Cup win.
"We won the first leg a couple of years ago and (Tim) Shaffer won the second leg," Blaney said. "Two All Star guys took both of them. Cody (Darrah) wins this one and two All Star guys are up here, so it's awesome. This place is one of my favorites to come to... Just to come and compete with these guys is special."
"I was kind of in a dilemma three months ago and things have worked out great," said Blaney who was unsure then about funding for his team and now has a new sponsors and leads the ASCOC championship points standings.
He started the first feature in the 10th position and quickly worked his way through the field, moving into the top-five by lap 10 and then on a restart on that lap into the third position. He then set his sights on Daryn Pittman, using the high line to propel his No. 1B GoMuddy.com car around the No. 9 car on lap 13.
This set Blaney up for an epic battle with Schatz for the top spot. On a restart just before halfway, Blaney threw a slider in turns three and four and took over the top spot. The battle for the lead continued lap after lap with Schatz trying to make the high and low lines work and coming up short each time. As Blaney caught traffic he got space between he and Schatz and sailed to his second World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of the season.
"I had a really good car from the get go and we were working the middle of one and two a bit," Blaney said. "I was just able to get to second and get a pretty good restart. Donny's the best there is and to race with him wheel-to-wheel like we did for a while, that's awesome for our team and the All Stars. We can compete with these guys and we have a good feeling every time we run with them."
The win was the 11th career series victory for Blaney, the 1998 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, enough to tie him with Brad Doty and Brooke Tatnell for 27th on the all-time wins list.
For Darrah, his victory in the second feature of the night was a replay of last season when he also won the second Silver Cup feature at Lernerville.
"Last year in the first feature I worked hard to run last to get a good front row spot in the second one," Darrah said. "This year, that wasn't the case. It's amazing to be up here in the front, winning these two races with us two All Star guys. I've learned so much from Dale Blaney this year, following him around."
From an eighth place starting position, Darrah made quick work of the field in front of him, battling for the third position by lap five. He drove his No. 89 J&K Salvage car around Chad Kemanah for third and then quickly ran down David Gravel in second, passing the No. 7 car on the back straight as they completed the seventh circuit.
Joey Saldana was the last car standing in Darrah's way and after running down Saldana got around him as the two drivers exited turn two on to the back. Saldana tried to battle back around but was not able to make the move. Greg Hodnett made a run in the late going of the feature but was not able to seriously challenge Darrah.
The win was Darrah's first World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory since the same event one year ago.
"It's been such a cool situation," Darrah said of his move to his family owned team. "Going into this year I didn't know what I was going to do and from where I'm at now, I would never choose anything ever different. You just never know where you're at one day and the next you can be standing up here on the front stretch."
Blaney charged forward in the second feature, scoring the KSE Racing Hard Charger Award after advancing 11 positions to finish in eighth. His average finish in the two features was 4.5 compared to Darrah's 6.5.
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to action this Friday and Saturday at Williams Grove Speedway for the Summer Nationals. The Outlaws will also be competing against the Posse for the coveted Morgan Cup trophy. To find out more information and to learn how to buy tickets, visit http://woosprint.com/summer-nationals.
Follow the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.
Lernerville Speedway Notebook
RACE NOTES: Tonight's win was the second World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of the season for Dale Blaney… With his win, Cody Darrah became the 16th different winner of a World of Outlaws event this season… Dave Blaney took home quick time tonight after a lap of 14.441 around Lernerville Speedway… Dale Blaney and Jason Sides were the night's KSE Racing Hard Chargers - Sides in the first feature and Blaney in the second… Ed Lynch Jr., who was set to start on the feature pole after winning the dash, had to scratch following an engine failure.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS (Feature 1) - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Jason Johnson; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Dale Blaney; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 cash): N/A; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Mobil 1 ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; Lincoln Welders ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Jason Sides; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Sammy Swindell; Super Flow ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 product certificate): Daryn Pittman;KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Jason Sides; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz;Mobil 1 (20% off Mobil1RacingStore.com): Jacob Allen; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): David Gravel; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jacob Allen.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS (Feature 2) - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Jason Johnson; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Cody Darrah; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 cash): N/A; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): David Gravel; Mobil 1 ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; Lincoln Welders ($50 cash): Chad Kemenah; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Jason Sides;Super Flow ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 product certificate): Cody Darrah;KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Dale Blaney; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Joey Saldana;Mobil 1 (20% off Mobil1RacingStore.com): Jacob Allen; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Shane Stewart; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jason Johnson.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 20 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 21, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 28, Placerville Speedway on April 8, Calistoga Speedway on April 12, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 26, Eldora Speedway on May 8, Eldora Speedway on May 9, Williams Grove Speedway on May 15, Weedsport Speedway on May 17, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 22, Knoxville Raceway on June 13, Huset's Speedway on June 14, Granite City Speedway on June 17, River Cities Speedway on June 19, Dakota State Fair Speedway on June 20, Beaver Dam Raceway on June 27, Lakeside Speedway on July 1, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 4, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 11); Shane Stewart - 5 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5, Keller Auto Speedway on April 17, Salina Highbanks Speedway on May 1, Crawford County Speedway on June 12, Eldora Speedway on July 17); Daryn Pittman - 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Antioch Speedway on March 29, New Egypt Speedway on May 19); Brad Sweet - 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15, Calistoga Speedway on April 11, I-96 Speedway on June 25); Rico Abreu - 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 22); Dale Blaney - 2 (Attica Raceway Park on May 29, Lernerville Speedway on July 21); Paul McMahan - 2 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 18, Tri-State Speedway on May 3); Joey Saldana - 2 (Kokomo Speedway on June 3, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 12);Christopher Bell - 1 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on May 2); Brian Brown - 1 (USA Raceway on March 7);Cody Darrah - 1 (Lernerville Speedway on July 21); Greg Hodnett - 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 13); Tim Kaeding - 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 13);Danny Lasoski - 1 (I-80 Speedway on June 5); Terry McCarl - 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5); Jason Sides - 1 (Dodge City Raceway Park on July 3).
- administrator on Jul 22, 2015
- Article Date: 7/22/2015