A helping hand: The win on Saturday night at Eldora Speedway was satisfying in more ways than one for Paul McMahan, as he lives in the Nashville, Tennessee area, which had been ravaged recently by flooding. Paul and his wife Jan spent a good portion of time last week helping those that had been affected by handing out drinking water among other things for those in need. The victory was McMahan’s first with the World of Outlaws since 2007 at Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin.
“This makes it a lot easier going home,” shared McMahan in Victory Lane on Saturday night. “I have a lot of friends that lost their houses in the Nashville flood. This will be good to take the trophy home to Nashville.”
Up close and personal: Eldora Speedway hosted a Pre-race Pit Party on Saturday afternoon, providing fans the chance to walk across the front straightaway at the famed half-mile to meet their favorite drivers, get autographs and take photos. Despite blustery conditions a big throng of fans turned out and took advantage of the opportunity, during the hour and a half session in the afternoon. Fans of all ages were able to visit the infield pit area to get an up close look at an 850-plus horsepower World of Outlaws machine, along with the skillful crews in action as they prepared for a night of racing.
“It was great to see all the little kids come over to the pit area and see what it's all about and learn about our racing,” shared Danny Lasoski of the Pre-race Pit Party. “To see the smiles on their faces was amazing. I think more tracks need to do this.”
Another change at the top: Steve Kinser used a fourth-place finish on Saturday night at Eldora to move into the top spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings for the second time this season. The 20-time series champion currently holds a three-point leader over Jason Meyers, who had led the standings since a win at Volunteer Speedway on March 20. Meyers has his string of Top-10 finishes to start the season snapped at 14 on Saturday night, coming home 13th, while Joey Saldana suffered a flat tire while running third and ended up 11th, to remain third in points, 20 markers out of the lead. Donny Schatz gained some ground on Saturday night, coming home fifth to remain fourth in points, 87 markers out of the top spot. Each of the Top-Four in points has led the standings at one point or another this year.
A little redemption: After winning the opener at Eldora Speedway, Joey Saldana felt like he should have had three wins in a row, after having a tire go flat while running up front the prior week in Minnesota. Saldana was running strong again on Saturday night at Eldora, when he suffered yet another flat tire forcing him to the work area while running third. He worked his way back to 11th and remains third in points, just 20 markers behind leader Steve Kinser.
“We definitely had the race won at Jackson (Speedway),” noted Saldana after his win last Friday night. “We won at Pevely (I-55 Raceway) and we won here. To me these guys are working really hard and we should have three in a row and we’re third in points. We should be leading this thing by a mile, if it wasn’t for my stupidity at Bulls Gap (Volunteer Speedway) and then blowing that tire at Jackson, we’d be looking really good. We just have to continue doing what we’re doing and we’ll be fine.”
Oh so close: Sammy Swindell came within just a few laps of adding another win to his career mark at Eldora on Saturday night. The three-time World of Outlaws champion started second and quickly jumped to the lead over Jac Haudenschild. Swindell would lead the first 27 laps before Paul McMahan got around him on a restart. Swindell suffered significant damage to his machine late in the race and had to battle the car for the final few circuits. Since taking the reigns of the Big Game Motorsports car for the injured Terry McCarl, Swindell has four Top-10 finishes in six starts and has raced his way into the dash in five of those races to earn Top-10 starting spots in the main event.
“This is just a bonus for me,” said Swindell after a podium finish on Saturday night at Eldora. “Thanks to Terry (McCarl) for letting me drive this thing. It’s a shame we had to give it up. We had those guys covered it seemed like. We’ll try to get the next one.”
Getting stronger and stronger: With his win on Saturday night, Paul McMahan continues a very strong stretch since climbing aboard the No. 91 machine for Kasey Kahne Racing earlier this season at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. McMahan has racked up 10 Top-10 finishes in 13 starts for the team, with six of those being Top-Five finishes. He set fast time both nights at Eldora and leads the series with three quick time honors in 2010. The veteran is up to seventh in the series standings, and is currently only 41 points out of the Top-Five.
“Just racing every night and getting more races under are belt is the main thing,” stated McMahan after his win on Saturday night. “This was only our 13th race together and to get a victory already is great. We’ve come a long way from Las Vegas. We clicked off several Top-Fives and got our first win. Hopefully we’ll keep this Great Clips car up front.”
Knocking on the door: Lucas Wolfe had a very strong weekend at Eldora Speedway finishing second on Friday night after leading four laps and coming home 10th in the finale. The 2008 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award winner moved up to ninth in points on the strength of seven Top-10 finishes with three of those being Top-Five performances.
A brisk pace: With impending rain on Friday night, Eldora Speedway and World of Outlaws Officials ran the event through in brisk fashion, completing the racing program in just one hour and 46 minutes before the rains hit with five laps remaining in the originally scheduled 30-lap contest. The finale on Saturday night was also competed in a timely manner, beating Mother Nature, who dropped some rain following the final stock car feature of the night.
Back in the saddle: Kerry Madsen made his first two World of Outlaws starts of the season over the weekend at Eldora Speedway in what was just his second weekend out with the Halls Motorsports team, led by veteran crew chief Sonny Kratzer. Madsen, the 2007 World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award winner, finished ninth in the opener at the famed half-mile and was eighth in the finale. He plans to compete in a number of World of Outlaws events this spring and will be with the tour this coming weekend on the East Coast.
“It’s awesome,” said Madsen of his weekend and his new team. “We put this new team together with Halls Motorsports from Albany, Australia. Brian Hall has done a wonderful job with the equipment he has given me. Sonny Kratzer has busted his butt to get it ready in six weeks. It’s just a privilege to drive this kind of equipment and I am very thankful for the opportunity. We came away with a couple of Top-10 finishes and feel like we have some stuff we can build on for the future.”
Chizmark & Larson Insurance Hard Luck Award: Mike Larson from Chizmark & Larson Insurance was at Eldora Speedway on Saturday night. He presented the $100 Chizmark & Larson Insurance Hard Luck Award for the second time this season. Kraig Kinser garnered the bonus after he and his team changed engines three times over the course of the night and wound up having more engine trouble in the feature to leave the famed half-mile with four damaged powerplants.
A strong first impression: Daryn Pittman made his first two starts of the season in the No. 13 machine for the Buchs team, whom Paul McMahan drove for at Volusia this year. After racing his way into the main event on Friday night, Pittman finished a very strong sixth in the finale at Eldora, after making the dash and earning a Top-10 starting spot in the A-Feature.
On sale now: Tickets for the third round of the Showdown for the Bud Crown, Kasey’s King of Sedalia Presented By Budweiser at Sedalia’s State Fair Speedway in Missouri on June 16 are on sale now. Kasey Kahne, who is promoting the event along with the World Racing Group, will race at Sedalia. Tickets are also available for the final round of the Showdown for the Bud Crowd, Kasey’s King of LaSalle Presented By Budweiser at LaSalle Speedway in Illinois on July 8. Tickets are also available now for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twin 30’s at Lernerville Speedway on July 20. To purchase tickets for these events visit www.worldofoutlaws.com/tickets.
Up next: The World of Outlaws make their first visit of the season to the East Coast for two full nights of racing at the famed Williams Grove Speedway on Thursday, May 13 and Friday, May 14, followed by a stop at Virginia Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 15.
Keep up with all the action: The number of “Followers” keeping up with the World of Outlaws via Twitter online and through text messages on cell phones continues to grow and recently surpassed the 3,600 “Follower” mark. Updates are provided throughout race nights beginning with hot laps and continuing all the way through the final checkered flag of the night. To sign-up visit: http://twitter.com/worldofoutlaws and receive live race updates, anywhere, anytime.
2010 STAT ATTACK
There have been 15 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events this season.
A-Feature winners (8 Different Drivers) Driver, Hometown – Wins
1- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 4
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 4
2- Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 2
3- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 1
Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio – 1
Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee - 1
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1
Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 1
Lap leaders, Driver, Hometown - Total laps led (13 Different Drivers)
1- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana – 107 laps
2- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio – 65 laps
3- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 62 laps
4- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 54 laps
5- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 53 laps
6- Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee – 30 laps
7- Sammy Swindell, Germantown, Tennessee – 27 laps
8- Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 26 laps
9- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 23 laps
10- Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania – 13 laps
11- Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee – 11 laps
12- Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 10 laps
13- Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania – 4 laps
Time trial leaders (11 Different Drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Quick times
1- Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee – 3
2- Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee- 2
Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania -2
3- Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas - 1
Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 1
Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Washington- 1
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri - 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1
Jason Meyers, Clovis, California – 1
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 1
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota - 1
Track Records established in 2010 World of Outlaws events (4) *Tim Kaeding, March 5, Thunderbowl Raceway (1/3-mile), Tulare, California, 12.651 seconds at 94.759 mph
*Lucas Wolfe, March 13, Houston Raceway Park, (1/4-mile), Baytown, Texas, 11.561 seconds at 77.848 miles per hour
*Kasey Kahne, March 19, Volunteer Speedway (4/10-mile), Bulls Gap, Tennessee, 10.258 seconds at 140.378 mph.
*Sam Hafertepe Jr., May 1, Jackson Speedway (1/2-mile), Jackson, Minnesota, 15.601 seconds at 115.377 mph.
Dash Winners (9 Different Winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Dash Wins
1- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota – 3
2- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 2
Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 2
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 2
Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee – 2
3- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 1 Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee- 1 Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pennsylvania – 1 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 1
Pole Positions (9 Different Drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown – Poles
1- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 3
2- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 2
Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 2
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 2
Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 2
3- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 1
Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee- 1
Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pennsylvania – 1 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 1
B-main Winners (10 Different Winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - B-Main Wins
1- Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio - 3
2- Brian Ellenberger, Butler, Pennsylvania- 2
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 2
Evan Suggs, Scotts Valley, California- 2
3- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio- 1
Rob Chaney, Wooster, Ohio - 1
Cale Conley, Vienna, West Virginia- 1
Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California - 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa – 1
Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 1
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award
1- Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania - 3
Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania- 3
2- Ben Gregg, Phoenix, Arizona - 1
Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 1
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana - 1
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1
Toni Lutar, White Rock, British Columbia - 1 Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 1 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Oklahoma – 1 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 1 Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota - 1
Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award Standings
Ben Gregg 1607
Toni Lutar 1425 -182
Engine Builder Challenge
Speedway Engines 66
Don Ott 51 -15
Kistler 48 -18
Shaver Specialties 45 -21
Chassis Builder Challenge
Maxim 73
J&J 54 -19
XXX 53 -20
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), Chizmark & Larson Insurance, Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), 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 May 10, 2010
- Article Date: 5/10/2010