Win at Junction Motor Speedway is the first Outlaws win in nearly a year for Madsen
MCCOOL JUNCTION, Neb. - Aug. 18, 2015 - After a season of podium finishes and consistent runs that had yet to result in a win, Kerry Madsen finally ended his year-long World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series winless drought with a victory at Junction Motor Speedway's NAPA Auto Parts Sprint Car Extravaganza presented by Mid-Nebraska Land Development on Tuesday night.
Madsen led flag-to-flag at the track in McCool Junction, Neb. and became the 20th different driver to win an Outlaws feature this season.
"We got on a roll last year and somehow we got off it," Madsen said. "And the last month we have been working so hard to try to get our racecars better and we had a great week last week and tonight. You can just never feel complacent when you're on the front row with Donny. I was pushing hard, there probably wasn't really another line, but you're just expecting some big slide job. So every lap you drive as hard as you can. Just great to get the result."
Madsen, who came in to 2015 after a season that saw him in victory lane six times, last won an Outlaws feature on Sept. 7, 2014 at Antioch (Calif.) Speedway.
Joey Saldana kicked off the night at Junction Motor Speedway by scoring his season-leading 13th quick time in qualifying and set a new track record of 13.528 seconds. Saldana's fast lap beat the old 13.586 second record set by Daryn Pittman in 2013.
When the series hit the track for the 30-lap feature temperatures had fallen to an unusually cold 55 degrees and the challenge of the night was amped up with a sustained 10 mph wind.
Madsen and Donny Schatz took up positions on the front row. Madsen jumped out to an early lead with Schatz trying to chase down the No. 29 American Racing Custom Wheels car.
"I caught it really well and got (Donny) right where I wanted him in one and two, got the slider, we had that little bit of moisture in the bottom of three which made it easy," Madsen said of his move for the lead.
He caught the back of the field by lap six and began working his way through.
The only caution of the night flew on lap 11 and proved pivotal for Saldana who spent the early half of the race in third. When the green flag once again fell, Saldana battled Schatz through turns one and two and dove low in three and four, trying a slider on Schatz's No. 15 Bad Boy Buggies/Chevrolet Performance car for second. As the two cleared turn four, Saldana had taken over the position.
"We just tried something there through three and four and it worked," Saldana said.
Madsen again caught the back of the field on lap 18 and Saldana tried to close the gap on him. Madsen however had built up a persistent one and a half second lead.
As the laps wound down, Schatz caught Saldana in traffic. On laps 27 and 28, Schatz tried to make the move around the No. 71m Motter Equipment car for second but, despite getting side-by-side, was not able to make it work.
"We were fast there at the end of the night and were able to get up to Joe," said Schatz, who closed out the night with a third place finish. "It wasn't our best performance in a long time but we'll take it and lick our wounds and go on to the next one."
Saldana, who finished the night in second, said his Motter Motorsports team is doing what they need to and the consistency is there, they just need to find that little something extra to put them over the top.
"I felt like we had a really good car, it just came up short," Saldana said. "We'll take it and move on to the next race. We're a consistent car, we've just got to get a little bit better and a little out here is hard to do. We've just got to keep digging, doing what we're doing."
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to action Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. for the Second Leg of the Northern Tour. To find out more information and to learn how to buy tickets, visit http://woosprint.com/river-cities-speedway-august.
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.
Junction Motor Speedway Notebook
RACE NOTES: Joey Saldana recorded a new track record at Junction Motor Speedway on Tuesday night with a quick time qualifying lap of 13.528… With his win tonight, Kerry Madsen became the 20th different driver to win a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature this season… Kerry Madsen's last win came at Antioch Speedway on Sept. 7, 2014. It was the closest finish in series history... Logan Schuchart was the night's KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing seven positions to finish in eighth.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Jacob Allen; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Sweet Manufacturing ($100 cash): Joey Saldan; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Mobil 1 ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; Lincoln Welders ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash):Jason Johnson;Super Flow ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 product certificate): Joey Saldana;KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Logan Schuchart; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Kerry Madsen;Mobil 1 (20% off Mobil1RacingStore.com): Jacob Allen; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): David Gravel; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jacob Allen.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 23 (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, Lebanon Valley Speedway on July 26, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 8, Knoxville Raceway on Aug. 15); Shane Stewart - 7 (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, Eldora Speedway on July 18, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 8); 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);Danny Dietrich - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25);Stewart Friesen - 1 (Ohsweken Speedway on July 28); 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); Kerry Madsen - 1 (Junction Motor Speedway on Aug. 18);Terry McCarl - 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5); Jason Sides - 1 (Dodge City Raceway Park on July 3);Stevie Smith - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25).
- administrator on Aug 19, 2015
- Article Date: 8/19/2015