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Welcome Back Fab Four Racing!

The Hot Dog Guys & Dollar Dog Night

Contact: Lernerville Speedway
Eric J. Westendorf, Public Relations Director
(724) 664-1075 · ewestendorf@dirtcar.com
Written by: Stephen J. Patterson

Sarver, PA (July 2, 2009) After a very successful three-day World of Outlaws Late Model Series show which included the conclusion of the Showdown in Sarvertown (Winner Josh Richards), the Uncle Sam 30 (Winner Robbie Blair) and the Firecracker 100 (Winner Jimmy Mars). Lernerville Speedway would like to extend a great thank you to all of our great fans. But this Friday we are thrilled to welcome back our regular Fab Four Racing program.

Ed Lynch Jr. was triumphant June 12 in the Commercial Truck and Trailer DIRTcar Sprints. With Lynch’s victory he earned a provisional for the Cleveland Brothers CAT Don Martin Silver Cup XVIII. Rod George finished second, third Kevin Schaffer, fourth Bob Felmlee, and fifth Todd Bauer. Rod George (216) maintained his lead in the Budweiser Point Standings over second place Ed Lynch Jr. (187). With Lynch’s victory he jumped over third place Kevin Schaffer (185), fourth place Brent Matus (156), and fifth place Charlie Holben (152).

The Friedman’s Freshmarkets DIRTcar Late Model Feature went to Gregg Satterlee in one of the most talked about finishes in a great while. Satterlee inched out second place John Flinner by 0.025 seconds. Alex Ferree finished third, fourth Doug Horton, and fifth Dave Johnson. Gregg Satterlee (190) is currently on top of the Bud Points, second Alex Ferree (185), third place Doug Horton (170), fourth place Lynn Geisler (162), and fifth place John Flinner (156).

Jeremiah Shingledecker finally collected his first victory of the season in the Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Modifieds.  Shingledecker took the lead from Tom Winkle on lap six, and then Kevin Bolland passed Winkle for second.  Winkle held on to finish third, followed by Joe Crawford in fourth and Dave Murdick in fifth. Shingledecker’s (173) victory placed him on top of the points over currently sidelined (head) Brian Swartzlander (171), third place Kevin Bolland (167), fourth place Del Rougeux Jr. (160), and fifth place Dave Murdick (160).   Swartzlander is expected to return to action this Friday Night after an extended leave of absence after a nasty accident at the BRP show at PPMS.

The Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman crowned its sixth different winner this season as Ryan Moyer led 20 caution free laps.  While leading the race, Moyer was not able to witness the great battle behind him which resulted in Jim Fosnaught taking second, Pat Hanley was third, Joe Kelley fourth, and Wayne Carbo fifth.  Although Bob Lipinski didn’t capture his fourth victory of the year, he did hold his points lead (250) over second place Joe Kelley (206), third place Bob Egley (205), fourth place Wayne Carbo (200), and fifth place Pat Hanley (189). 

This Friday Night’s Fab Four Racing program is sponsored by “The Hot Dog Guys”.  The Hot Dog Guys also sponsor the #12 Sportsman car driven by Shawn Thorn.  They will be hosting a pre-race party in the Butler-side Picnic Pavilion outside the main gates.  Shawn will have his car on display and signing autographs, while his other primary sponsor Charrap Rt. 28 North will be on hand passing out Thorn Racing Ball Caps to the first 100 fans. 

In less than four weeks Cleveland Brothers CAT Don Martin Memorial XVIII Silver Cup featuring the World of Outlaw Sprint Cars will run twin $15,000-to-win, 30-lap features in the same night! Advanced tickets are on sale at www.lernerville.com or by calling the main office during regular business hours (Monday- Friday 8-4) at (724) 353-1511.  Pit gates will open at 4 pm, Grandstands at 5 pm.  A World of Outlaws driver autograph session (time TBA) will precede Hot Laps at 6:30 pm, Time Trials at 7:15 pm and Racing at 8:00 pm.

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World of Outlaws Preview: Eagle Nationals at Eagle Raceway

Eagle, NE—July 1, 2009—The World of Outlaws will celebrate the Fourth of July in style this weekend, as the series heads to the always racy Eagle Raceway in Nebraska for the annual running of the Eagle Nationals at the high-banked 1/3-mile bullring on Saturday. It will mark the series lone visit of the 2009 campaign to the Cornhusker state.

Craig Dollansky was victorious at the track last season, taking the lead from 20-time series champion Steve Kinser on the fourth lap and holding him off for the remainder of the 40-lap event to score his third career triumph at Eagle Raceway.

Kinser has won 24 times in his career with the World of Outlaws at the track, including 15 A-Feature events. His most recent victory at the track came in 2005.

Six drivers that are currently competing full-time with the World of Outlaws have won during their career with the series at the track.

The World of Outlaws competed at the 1/3-mile for the first time back in 1981 and has visited the track every year since 1984. This year's Eagle Nationals will mark the 25th consecutive year the series has visited the track. There has been a different winner in each of the last five events for the series at the track.

Slidejobs- Eagle Raceway:
An unmatched record:
Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, has 24 career wins at Eagle Raceway with the series, including in preliminary features. He has finished in the Top-10 an amazing 54 times in 58 career starts at the track. He led the first three laps of the event last season before finishing second. His most recent win at the track came in 2005, a season in which he won all four races contested by the World of Outlaws at the track, leading every single lap. He has won once this season and is currently fourth in points on the strength of a series-best 27 Top-10 finishes.

Four score: Donny Schatz has won four times at Eagle Raceway in his career, with the most recent coming in the fall of 2006. The three time and defending series champion has finished 10th or better in eight consecutive events at the 1/3-mile, including a fourth-place performance last season. The North Dakota native has won eight times this year and is the current series point leader as he chases his fourth consecutive series title.

Looking to repeat: Craig Dollansky was victorious for the third time in his career at Eagle Raceway last season, battling Steve Kinser for the win. He has 15 Top-10 finishes at the 1/3-mile dating back to a win in 2000 in a Gumout Series event. Dollansky has 22 Top-10 finishes this season as he chases his first win since joining the Kasey Kahne Racing team for the 2009 campaign.

A long time coming: Joey Saldana won for the first time in his career at Eagle Raceway in 2007, after making nearly 30 starts at the track. With a number of family members from the Lincoln, Nebraska area in attendance, it was an emotional win for the second generation driver. He leads the World of Outlaws with 11 triumphs this season and was victorious on a 1/3-mile earlier in the year at Thunderbowl Raceway in California. He has over 20 Top-10 finishes in his career at Eagle. He also holds the track record, set in time trials in 2002.

“For me to be able to race there and them (family members) be able to come out and see what I do and be part of it is really neat,” noted Saldana. “My dad grew up racing there so that makes it really neat. It's a hard place to win at so hopefully we can do it again.”

Oh so close: Jason Meyers has been close to winning at Eagle Raceway a couple of times in his career. He finished third at the track last season and was fifth in 2007. He has finished in the Top-10 in six of his last seven starts at the track. He has won four times this season and is currently third in the series standings.

Looking to change his luck: Jason Sides has had some tough luck in his last two starts at Eagle Raceway and looks to change that this weekend as he carries momentum from a Top-Five finish at Knoxville Raceway last Saturday night with him, in a race in which he passed the most cars to earn the Hard Charger Award. Another strong pair of races last weekend vaulted him into fifth in the series standings on the strength of 23 Top-10 finishes.

A strong track record: Danny Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws champion, has two career wins with the series at Eagle Raceway, along with 30 Top-10 finishes, including seven in his last eight starts at the track. He was fourth in his most recent start at the track in 2007. The native of Dover, Missouri recently won his second race of the year and is up to sixth in the series standings as he continues his first season driving for the Parsons Motorsports team.

Carrying momentum: Kraig Kinser heads into the pair of races this weekend carrying the momentum of three consecutive finishes of fourth or better. He was third in both races last weekend and moved up to eighth in the championship standings on the strength of 16 Top-10 finishes. The third generation driver has five career Top-10 finishes at Eagle Raceway.

Bullring blitz: Jac Haudenschild has four career wins at Eagle Raceway, dating back to 1989. He has nearly 40 career Top-10 finishes at the bullring, including in each of his first nine starts at the track between 1986 and 1989. The recent inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame has 14 Top-10 finishes this season as he chases down his first win of the year. He was seventh at Eagle last season and second in 2007.

First time visitor: Lucas Wolfe, the reigning Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, will make his first trip to Eagle Raceway this weekend. He missed the race there last season as he was recovering from an injury suffered at the beginning of the summer. The native of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania has five Top-10 finishes this season with three of those being Top-Fives.

Still learning the track: Sam Hafertepe Jr. will make the third visit of his career to Eagle Raceway this weekend. He finished ninth at the track last season. The third-year driver has five Top-10 finishes this season with three of those being Top-Fives. He is just outside of the Top-10 in the series standings.

A return visit: Brian Ellenberger, who is contending for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award this season, finished sixth at Eagle Raceway last season with the All Star Circuit of Champions. He made his first start at the high-banked bullring in 1999. He has a couple of Top-10 finishes this season as he continues to gain priceless experience in his first full season on the road.

By the Numbers: Eagle Raceway:
0.333- Miles around Eagle Raceway
1- Event in the state of Nebraska this season for the World of Outlaws
2-Drivers that led laps in the A-Feature event at the track last season
3- Events this season on 1/3-mile tracks for the World of Outlaws
6- Drivers currently competing full-time with the World of Outlaws that have won at Eagle Raceway with the series
11- Drivers that have won A-Feature events with the series this season
11.124- Track record set by Joey Saldana in time trials in 2002
12- Drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws this season
14- Drivers that have been quickest in time trials in 2009
16- Drivers that have won a Crane Cams Dash to earn a pole position this year
21- Drivers that have led laps in A-Feature events this season
24- Total wins for Steve Kinser in his career at Eagle Raceway including preliminary features
26- Consecutive seasons the World of Outlaws have competed at Eagle Raceway including this season
27- Top-10 finishes for Steve Kinser this season to lead the series
37- A-Feature events contested by the World of Outlaws at Eagle Raceway dating back to 1981; Laps led by Craig Dollansky en route to winning at the track last season
54- Top-10 finishes for Steve Kinser in his career at Eagle Raceway to lead all drivers
240- Miles from Huset's Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota where the World of Outlaws race on Friday, July 3 to Eagle Raceway
1981- Year the World of Outlaws first competed at Eagle Raceway
10,000- Dollars the winner will receive on Saturday, July 4
51,690- Dollars in the total purse on Saturday, July 4

Tickets: On Saturday, July 4 at Eagle Raceway, adult reserved tickets will be $30 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race, with tickets for children ages 6-12 just $10 and kids 5-under will be admitted free of charge. Pit combos are also available for an extra $5 with a reserved ticket and include a reserved seat and a pit pass. Adult general admission tickets will be $30 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race, with tickets for children ages 6-12 just $10 and kids 5-under will be admitted free of charge. For tickets call the track at 402-238-2595. For more information visit: http://www.slspromotions.com.

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STEWART & KAHNE TO COMPETE IN ELDORA’S FAMED KINGS ROYAL WEEKEND

ROSSBURG, OH (June 30) – While July 17 and 18 provides a rare off-weekend from the busy NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, that has not prevented Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne from making plans to don their helmets and get behind the wheel of a race car.   The duo, both with Sprint Cup wins already under their belt this year, will return to their roots as open-wheeled winged Sprint Car drivers and participate in Eldora Speedway’s prestigious Kings Royal weekend.

Stewart, who doubles as the Eldora owner, has impressed the NASCAR world with his front-running consistency in 2009, a cumulative effort that has him atop the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings.   Much of the intensity and tenacity that has allowed Stewart to reach that plateau was groomed through his earlier years on the Midwest’s dirt tracks, behind the wheel of a Sprint Car.  And a return to that heritage not only reminds Stewart of those times, but inspires him.

“Any time I can get behind the wheel of a Sprint Car, I look back and appreciate my career”, Stewart said.  

But don’t get him wrong, it’s not just a chance drive during the Kings Royal weekend.  The competitive instinct that drives him towards the Sprint Cup championship carries over to everything he drives, and Stewart will be attacking his Eldora run with the same vengeance.  

“When it comes to competition, I love to race and I love to win – Eldora will be no different”, Stewart added.

Kahne agrees, “It doesn’t matter where I’m racing or what type of car I’m in.  If I’m behind the wheel, I’m racing for the trophy……..and it would be special to win at Eldora.”  

The twosome will be competing against the NRA (National Racing Alliance) Sprint Invaders on both nights of the fabled Kings Royal weekend, as part of a doubleheader that will also feature the travelling World of Outlaw (WoO) Sprint Tour.

Billed as ‘an original Sprint Car tradition’, the Kings Royal has become a marquee event on the grueling WoO circuit.  From the crowning of the King, to the seat above the legendary throne, to the $50,000 winner’s paycheck, the pomp that surrounds the Kings Royal gets the adrenalin flowing amongst both the fans and the drivers.  

That same rush carries over to the Sprint Invaders as they compete before their largest audience of the year, as well as against Sprint Cup winners Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne.

The busy weekend of racing also includes a charity go-kart race on Thursday night, a corn hole tournament Friday morning and the annual National Sprint Car Hall of Fame auction on Saturday afternoon.   Fans can contribute to the weekend through the Kings Royal lap sponsorship program that will see all of the money raised given back to the drivers leading specified laps.

Complete event and ticket information may be found on the speedway website, www.eldoraspeedway.com, where tickets for both nights of racing may be purchased online.    Eldora’s box office is also open Monday-Friday during normal business hours for ticket purchases and questions.   That telephone number is (937) 338-3815.       

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Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XVIII Countdown – Three Weeks

Twin 30s Format Breathing New Life into Marquee Event

Eric J. Westendorf, Public Relations Director

Sarver, PA (June 30, 2009) With the Firecracker 100 now in the rearview mirror, it’s time to turn the focus towards the other Crown Jewel event at Lernerville Speedway.  That’s right!  The World of Outlaws Sprints will now take center stage for the 18th Annual installment of the Cleveland Brothers CAT Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup.

Already the biggest single-day event on the World of Outlaws annual schedule, the Cleveland Brothers CAT Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XVIII will add a new and dynamic wrinkle for 2009.  Instead of one 30-lap feature to crown a $30,000 Silver Cup Champion, the Silver Cup will feature Twin 30-lap features, each paying $15,000 to win. 

The first 30-lap feature will carry the standard World of Outlaws qualifying/line-up procedures.  The second 30-lap feature will also pay $15,000-to-win, but will be lined up by an inversion of the lead lap cars from the finishing order of the first feature. 

The potential is there for the second 30-lapper to be an all out free for all!  Midway through the first 30-lap feature, drivers will be forced with the decision to try to advance into a better finishing position or to lay back and then go for all the marbles in the inverted second 30-lap feature.  The danger of course, is that if a driver lays back too much, they may get lapped by the leaders and not be included in the inversion. 

The other dynamic is that the fastest cars from the first feature will start in the middle or towards the back of the second feature, making for some wild passing as the faster cars try to make their way back to the front.  As a result, both races should be absolutely sensational!

On the World of Outlaws tour, the last five races have seen five different winners with Donny Schatz, Jason Meyers, Danny Lasoski, Joey Saldana and Terry McCarl all winning features in the past two weeks.  Three-Time Defending Series Champion Donny Schatz sits atop the point standings, but series wins leader Joey Saldana (11 wins in 2009), Jason Meyers and Steve Kinser are all within 120 points!

As mentioned above, Saldana already has 11 tour wins this season, while points leader Schatz has eight.  One of the only jewels missing from Saldana’s crown is a Silver Cup.  In fact, Saldana has never won a WoO feature at Lernerville Speedway.  Schatz (2006, 2007) has two Silver Cups on his resume and is always a threat to win!

Jason Meyers has not won a Silver Cup yet either, but has been to Sheetz Victory Lane with a win last spring in the Commonwealth Clash.

Defending Silver Cup Champion Steve Kinser is certainly no stranger to Sheetz Victory Lane.  Two of his 17 career Lernerville feature wins have come in the Silver Cup (1994, 2008).  Despite only running at the Action Track twice a year, Kinser is 12th on the All Time Sprints win list, tied with longtime nemesis Sammy Swindell.

Two of the most thrilling Silver Cup wins have come courtesy of home grown products Ed Lynch Jr. (2002) and Tim Shaffer (2005).  Both drivers have had more than their share of success with feature wins all over the country, but each cherishes the Silver Cup above all of their other accomplishments.

Speaking of Ed Lynch Jr., “The Apollo Rocket” has been nearly invincible at Lernerville this year with five wins in seven attempts as he continues to pursue the Century Mark with win #100.  His most recent win came on Friday June 12 during the Mid-Season Championships, which guarantees him at least a provisional for the Silver Cup.  And while he seldom needs to use a provisional to make a WoO A-Main, Lynch is comforted to know that it’s in his back pocket!  With the century mark in sight, what would be sweeter than for win #100 to come against the Outlaws and with a $15,000 payday?  Maybe adding win #101 for a total of $30,000 on the biggest night of the season at the Action Track!

Anytime the Outlaws roll into Lernerville Speedway, especially for the $30,000-to-win Cleveland Brothers CAT Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup, invaders come from both east (PA Posse) and west (O’Reilly All Stars) to create a deep and talented field.  Although the last time, (and only time), an invader won a Lernerville WoO show was back in 1998 when Fred Rahmer took the checkers.

Regardless of who wins, the Cleveland Brothers CAT Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XVIII is guaranteed to be one of the most talked about events of the season.  The new Twin 30s format should create endless opportunities with the second of the Twin 30’s being a flat out barnburner!

Tickets are on sale now and selling fast!  To get yours, log on to our website www.Lernerville.com and click on the “Buy Tickets Now!” link or call the speedway office Monday-Friday during normal business hours at (724) 353-1511.

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"JA", "BK" & "T-dub" headline Golden State Challenge 410 Series roster going into July 4 holiday spectacular at Silver Dollar Speedway Saturday with Fireworks show to cap night

By Gary Thomas

Chico, CA – June 30, 2009…Chico, California's own Jonathan Allard will bring an eight point lead in the Golden State Challenge Series standings over Campbell's Brent Kaeding into a special Independence Day event at the Silver Dollar Speedway this Saturday night July 4.

The extremely close fight for the King of California title continues to see the top three in points separated by just 15 slim digits going into the second visit of the season to the Silver Dollar Speedway, which will also mark the 17th round of action for the traveling 410 winged sprint car series. The night of exciting racing will be concluded with a fireworks show sponsored by 103.5 "The Blaze" FM and Silver Dollar Speedway.

The front grandstand gate will open at 4pm this Saturday night July 4 with qualifying scheduled to get underway around 5:30. Adult tickets will be just $15, juniors & seniors $11 and kids under 11 will be free. Tickets are on sale now at Napa Auto Parts in Orland, Kelly's Muffler in Paradise and in Chico at Ashley Furniture and Withrow's Motorsports. Make sure to get to the track early as the 4th of July event routinely attracts the biggest crowd of the season at Silver Dollar Speedway.

The last time the Golden State Challenge Series visited the Chico based quarter-mile, it was Allard who picked up his fourth career victory at the annual Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial in May with a thrilling last turn/last lap pass. Although that has been his lone victory of the GSC season up to this point, the 32 year-old driver has shown amazing strength and consistency this year and has tallied nine podium finishes in the past 10 races. In fact the only time he failed to score a top three finish in that span was at the Cottage Grove Speedway on June 15 when he suffered a flat tire with five laps remaining while sitting in the lead after dominating much of the event.

With eight races remaining in the Golden State Challenge season Allard is in search of becoming just the second driver to reach three King of California titles in the 24 year history of the series. "JA" is also looking to give owner Morrie Williams his fourth car owner title in the last five years and will be searching for a strong run at the Silver Dollar Speedway on Saturday, a track he's won at on three occasions this season. Allard leads GSC with five fast-time efforts this year in his Platinum Powder Coating No. 0 sprinter and is also the point leader in the Feather Falls Casino Friday Night Series at SDS.

Right on Allard's heels however, is the hottest driver in California sprint car racing with that being 13-time King of California Brent Kaeding. The Campbell racer has won back-to-back races with the Golden State Challenge Series, including last weekends Pombo/Sargent Classic at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare. "BK" also put together a strong performance at the 38th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup less than a couple weeks ago in Washington, where he was the hard-charger in Saturday's main event coming from 22nd to fourth.

Kaeding is also the all-time winningest driver at the Silver Dollar Speedway having claimed 86 career victories at the famous quarter-mile clay oval. He has won the Mini Gold Cup on four occasions, the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial four-times and the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals twice in addition to a number of other highlights in his career at the track. "BK" this season has driven his Al's Roofing Supply No. 69 to 11 top-five finishes with GSC, which is tied with Allard for most in the series and he also scored a fifth place finish at the Bradway Memorial in May.

Finding himself third in points and just 15 digits back of Allard for the lead is Los Angeles, CA's Tyler Walker, who will be looking for a good run this weekend following a couple of events that saw further back finishes than what he's used to. The 29 year-old competitor was on way to victory at the $25,000 to win Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup, until engine problems sidelined him with just five laps remaining in the feature. Walker then came back last week and was running in the fourth spot when he and another driver made contact in turn one, which resulted in his SC Motorsports No. 24 suffering a flat tire and being forced to the rear of the field, where he would eventually go on to finish ninth.

So far this season Walker has picked up five victories with the Golden State Challenge Series, which leads the tour in that category. In May he also had a strong run at the Silver Dollar Speedway in which he spun off turn three late in the race, but was able to put on an impressive charge from the back as he ripped around the high side of the bullring in typical "T-dub" fashion to get all the way back up to fourth. Last July Walker scored his first career victory in Chico and he'll look for his second win at the track this weekend to help close the point gap.

Coming into the 4th of July sitting fourth in the GSC standings is third year winged sprint car driver Evan Suggs of Scotts Valley. The wheel-man of the Suggs Racing No. 33e will be looking to regroup after the two-spin rule left him with a 21st place finish last Saturday in Tulare. Suggs brought home a ninth place finish during the first series visit to Silver Dollar Speedway in May. The 22 year-old's career highlight at the quarter-mile came in 2007 when he set fast-time during the second night of the World of Outlaw sanctioned Gold Race of Champions.

Rounding out the top five in points is Golden State Challenge Series Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Larson. The Elk Grove driver is coming off a scary crash in Tulare in which his Vertullo Racing No. 83v suffered major damage after making heavy contact with the top of the turn one catch fence. Thankfully he was ok though and will come into the Silver Dollar Speedway on Saturday night searching for his second career GSC victory. Larson picked up his first career 410 sprint car win at the track in May and has been very strong all season long in what is his full season of 410 racing. Last year also saw the immensely talented 16 year-old score a pair of Civil War Series victories at the Silver Dollar Speedway.

Fellow GSC Rookie of the Year contender Brandon Carey of Ripon will go into this Saturday night fresh off his best career finish with the traveling 410 sprint car series last weekend in Tulare. The talented youngster sits just nine points behind Larson for the fifth spot in the standings and has been another great addition to the roster this year. Carey looked very impressive in driving to a fourth place finish in the feature last Saturday at the Thunderbowl Raceway aboard his Carey Racing No. 55 machine.

Campbell's Bud Kaeding will return to Golden State Challenge Series competition this Saturday after running ninth with the USAC Silver Crown Series in Richmond, Virginia last weekend. The 29 year-old has tallied five top-five finishes in a row with GSC aboard his BK Motorsports No. 29. Grass Valley's Jason Statler sits eighth in the standings coming into Chico and will look to rebound after a flat tire took away a possible podium finish last weekend in Tulare. "The Big Guy" has been very strong this season in the DF Rios Construction No. 00, but luck hasn't seemed to be on his side in 2009. Completing the top 10 in points are Fresno's Mike Stallings and Calistoga's Mike Benson.

Other drivers expected to do battle with the Golden State Challenge Sprint Car Series on the 4th of July this Saturday will include Loomis, CA's Kyle Hirst, Elk Grove's Bobby McMahan, Chico's Brett Miller, Brad Bumgarner, Jason York and Robby Whitchurch, Oroville's Sean Becker, Auburn's Andy Forsberg, Grass Valley's Mark Hall, Roseville's Colby Copeland, Sydney, Australia’s Trevor Green, Sacramento's Willie Croft and more.

The Silver Dollar Speedway is located at 2357 Fair Street on the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico, California.

Up next- Following this weekend's race the Golden State Challenge Series will make a trip to the Santa Maria Speedway next Saturday night July 11, which will mark the first event for the 410 tour at the track since 2005. With extra money added the main event will be a solid $500 to start in Santa Maria. Also on tap will be a $1,000 wheelie contest with $500 going to the winner, $300 to second and $200 to third.

More info on this Saturday's event can be found at http://www.goldenstatechallengeseries.com and http://www.silverdollarspeedway.com

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O’Reilly Midwest All Stars Celebrate Independence Day with weekend doubleheader

Camargo, IL (6-30-09) –By Kelly Brown – All Star Public Relations Director – The O’Reilly Midwest All Stars will not be celebrating Independence Day with a cookout at home, but rather by grilling out at the racetrack, where the scent of food grilling will be replaced by the scent of methanol and the fireworks will not be in the sky, but on the racing surface. As the holiday weekend gets into full swing the Midwest series will be running a doubleheader in the state of Indiana with the first stop at the legendary Terre Haute Action track on Saturday July 4th and the second at Twin Cities Raceway on Sunday July 5th.

Terre Haute Action Track – Saturday Night July 4th
The track that is simply known to open wheel fans as “The Action Track” will be providing racing fans with some on track fireworks on Independence Day. Saturday night’s race will be unique as it will be part 410 winged sprint car race at its best and part country music concert. This event will be run in conjunction with the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions, so the series will be facing off to see how they compare to their ‘big brother.’ When the sun goes down the race will transition to concert and back to a race as the lights come up. This weekend it will be the Indiana Union Construction Classic presented by MISCO. Waiting at the finish line of this event for the victor will be a unique trophy featuring a bald eagle to commemorate the meaning of this special day.

Last year several Midwest All Stars mixed it up with the senior series at “The Action Track.” The top finishing Midwest All Star was two time champion Jerrod Hull who finished in the tenth position. Current point leader Bill Rose has several starts at Terre Haute with and without the wing on the top of his 410 sprint. He has two top five finishes without a wing and one with. Alex Shanks also has a lot of experience at Terre Haute, but it is predominantly without a wing. In ten starts he has five top-ten finishes. With several of the Midwest All Star competitors seeing this famed track for the first time this weekend, it will be interesting to see who will be able to adjust to the 1/2-mile track the quickest.
 
Ticket Information
Adult reserved grandstand tickets for the race are $25, with general admission grandstand running $20, bleacher seats running $15 and Adult infield running $10. A child’s reserved grandstand seat is $15, with general admission grandstand running $10, child’s bleacher and infield tickets are $5. The track is also offering a $25 family pack which will get two adults and up to four children infield seats. The track is also running promotions with local vendors where you can get free children’s reserved grandstand or general admission grandstand seats free at any First National Bank or with your Kroger Plus Card at the track. The ticket office will be opening at 3:00 pm with the gates opening to fans at 4:00 pm and hot laps beginning at 6:00 pm. For more information call 812-236-7951 or visit www.theactiontrack.com .

Twin Cities Raceway Park – Sunday Night July 5th
The two night visit to the Hoosier State will continue on Sunday night as the Midwest O’Reilly All Stars travel to the heart of Hoosier Country. Twin Cities Raceway Park located in North Vernon, Indiana will be hosting their first Midwest All Star race this weekend.

With all the drivers being on even footing at Twin Cities Raceway Park it should be interesting for fans to see who gets their footing in a 410 winged sprint on the 3/8-mile high banked oval. With the track being close to the home of the Kinsers, will Kody rise to the occasion in front of a hometown crowd? Or will it be another driver like Jordan Goldesberry or Brad Greer who have been close this season, but have yet to get it done.

Ticket Information
On Sunday night adult general admission will run $20 with discounted tickets for children. The pit gates will open at 3:00pm, with hot laps starting at 6:00 pm and racing at 6:30 pm. For more information on the event call 812-346-4040 or visit www.twincitiesracing.net.

With the Midwest All Stars running with their senior series this weekend the Series Director Scott Petit would like to remind competitors that the tire rule will be open for Terre Haute, but will return on Sunday Night at Twin Cities Raceway Park.
For the most up to date information on the Midwest All Star Series bookmark www.midwestallstarseries.com on your computer. 

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World of Outlaws Preview: Huset's Speedway

Brandon, SD-- June 29, 2009—After Mother Nature was victorious in the World of Outlaws first scheduled event of the season at Huset's Speedway in South Dakota back in early May, the series returns to the high-banked bullring on Friday, July 3 to kick off the Holiday weekend with a full night of racing. The event will be the first of six consecutive races on tracks 3/8-mile or smaller as the schedule really picks up in the next week and a half.

Craig Dollansky won both of the World of Outlaws races at Huset's Speedway last season. In the last eight races at the track, there have been seven different winners, with Dollansky the only repeat victor in that span. Dating back to the World of Outlaws debut at the track in 1983, 11 different drives have picked up wins with the series.

Steve Kinser, the 20-time series champion has won six times with the series at the track to lead all current active drivers. His most recent victory at Huset's came in 2003.

Danny Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws champion, has three career Huset's Speedway track titles to his credit, along with 40 wins at the bullring, though he is still chasing his first World of Outlaws win at the track.

Donny Schatz, the three-time and defending series champion has two World of Outlaws wins at the track, with those coming in 2001 and 2007.

Slidejobs- Huset's Speedway:
Always a threat:
Danny Lasoski, the three-time Huset's Speedway track champion, has 40 career wins at the high-banked track located just outside of Sioux Falls. He was victorious twice in 2008 at Huset's. The 2001 World of Outlaws champion has won twice this season, including most recently at Nodak Speedway in North Dakota. The native of Dover, Missouri is up to sixth in the series standings and is less than 30 points out of fifth.

Two for two: Craig Dollansky won both World of Outlaws events at Huset's Speedway last season. He led flag to flag all 35 laps in the event there last July. He has six career wins at the bullring. Entering this weekend's events, Dollansky has 22 Top-10 finishes on the season as he chases his first win since joining Kasey Kahne Racing. He is just six markers out of the sixth spot currently in the standings.

Fair share of win at Huset's: Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, has won six times at Huset's Speedway with the series over the years and finished third in his most recent start at the track last season. He leads the World of Outlaws with 27 Top-10 finishes this season and is currently fourth in points just eight markers out of the third spot.

Close to home: Donny Schatz raced a number of times early in his career at Huset's Speedway in weekly competition, making the trip south from North Dakota. He has four career wins at Huset's, including two with the World of Outlaws with the most recent coming in 2007. The three-time and defending series champion has won eight times this season and currently has a 76-point lead in the championship standings.

Looking to add one to the list: Joey Saldana, who leads the World of Outlaws with 11 A-Feature wins this season has yet to win at Huset's Speedway in his career. He has nine career Top-10 finishes at Huset's Speedway as he looks for his first win at the high-banked track. The Indiana native is currently second in points as he chases his first career World of Outlaws title.

Running up front: Jason Meyers finished third and fourth in two starts at Huset's Speedway last season. The native of Clovis, California has one career win at the track, with that coming in 2001. He has finished in the Top-10 in each of his last seven starts at the track. The California native has won four times this season and is currently third in points as he chases his first career title.

Fast every week: Jason Sides picked up two more Top-10 finishes last weekend including coming from 12th to fifth at Knoxville Raceway and moved back into the fifth position in the standings. He has nine career Top-10 finishes at Huset's Speedway and was second in his debut at the track in 2001.

Knocking on the door: Jac Haudenschild has won seven times in his career at Huset's Speedway, though he is still chasing his first win at the track with the World of Outlaws. He has five consecutive Top-Five finishes with the series at the high-banked track. The recent inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame has 14 Top-10 finishes this season with six of those being Top-Fives as he chases his first win of the season.

Still Learning the track: Kraig Kinser has made just a handful of starts at Huset's Speedway in his career. He finished second at the track in 2005 and earned a Top-10 in his debut at the high-banked 3/8-mile in 2000. The third generation driver finished third at Knoxville last Saturday night and has finished fourth or better in each of his last three starts and recently moved up to eighth in the series standings.

Strong runs: Sam Hafertepe Jr. finished sixth last season at Huset's Speedway in just his third start at the track, while Lucas Wolfe made his debut in a weekly show there last season and finished a very solid third. He missed both of the World of Outlaws events at the track in 2008, while sidelined with a back injury. The pair has combined for 10 Top-10 finishes and six Top-Fives this season, split evenly between them.

Another new track: Brian Ellenberger, who is contending for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award this season, will make his first start at Huset's Speedway this weekend. He raced for the first time in his career in North Dakota a couple of weeks ago and now will turn his first laps in South Dakota. He has a couple of Top-10 finishes this season, including a career-best third-place run at Dodge City Raceway Park earlier this month.

By the Numbers: Huset's Speedway
0.375- Miles around Huset's Speedway
1- Event for the World of Outlaws at Huset's Speedway this season
3- Track championships for Danny Lasoski at Huset's Speedway
6- Wins for Steve Kinser with the World of Outlaws at Huset's Speedway in his career
9- Drivers currently competing full-time with the World of Outlaws that raced at Huset's Speedway last season with the series
10.317- Track record established by Terry McCarl on May 10, 2009
11- Drivers that have won A-Feature events with the series this season
12- Drivers currently competing full-time with the World of Outlaws
21-Consecutive years that the World of Outlaws have competed at Huset's Speedway including this season
27- Top-10 finishes for Steve Kinser through June 27 to lead the series
32- A-Feature events the World of Outlaws have contested this season through June 27
33- A-Feature events contested by the World of Outlaws at the track dating back to 1983
35- Laps led by Craig Dollansky in the World of Outlaws most recent event at Huset's Speedway
40- Career wins for Danny Lasoski at Huset's Speedway
79- Points that separate Donny Schatz and Joey Saldana atop the championship standings
248- Laps led by Joey Saldana through June 27 to lead the series
333- Miles from Knoxville Raceway in Iowa where the World of Outlaws competed on June 27 to Huset's Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota
1983- Year the World of Outlaws first competed at Huset's Speedway
10,000- Dollars the winner will receive on Friday, July 3
51,690- Dollars in the total purse on Friday, July 3
155,625- Dollars earned by Joey Saldana through June 27 to lead the series

Tickets: On Friday, July 3 at Huset's Speedway all seats will be general admission and will be available beginning the day of the race, with adult tickets $35, with tickets for juniors (ages 8-14) still just $5 and kids ages 7-under will be admitted free of charge. For ticket information call the track at 605-582-3536 or visit http://www.husets-speedway.com.

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O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions kick off the Fourth of July weekend with fireworks

Camargo, IL (6-29-09) –By Kelly Brown – All Star Public Relations Director – What would the Fourth of July be without fireworks? This weekend the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions will be bring their unique type of fireworks, with speeds as quick as bottle rockets zooming into the sky and metal glimmering under the lights like sparklers, to K-C Raceway on Friday night July 3rd, before celebrating Independence Day on Saturday night July 4th, at the Terre Haute Action Track.

K-C Raceway – Friday Night July 3rd
K-C Raceway has been a staple on the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions schedule since 1985 and they have been racing there ever since. This weekend will be the 16th annual “The Night the Stars come out.” Unfortunately, last year’s event was cancelled due to rain, so the last time the All Stars raced at K-C Raceway was in 2007. The lightning fast 3/8 mile bullring in the hills of Southern Ohio saw fast and furious action as Greg Wilson and Danny Smith battled for the win. At the end of the A main, it was Smith, who now calls the Chillicothe, Ohio track his home, emerging as the victor from his fourth place starting spot. Smith has two victories at the 3/8 track and 24 top-five finishes.

K-C Raceway is a track where point leader Tim Shaffer has not had a lot of experience. In three starts at the track his best finish is fifth which came in 1995. On the other hand second in points Dale Blaney has three wins and 12 top-five finishes at the bullring, so this could help Blaney close a little bit of the gap on Shaffer. Greg Wilson is a driver that has two wins and six top-ten finishes to his credit at K-C Raceway, can “The Kid” win his first race of the season this weekend? Or will it be a rookie that has not raced at this track before. Of the rookie class of 2009, Brandon Wimmer is the only driver with experience at K-C Raceway.

Ticket Information
General Admission for “The Night the Stars come out” is $25, with kids’ tickets ages 6-12 running $10 and children under six are free. A pit pass for the event will be $35. Hot laps are slated to begin at 6:00pm with racing beginning at 7:30pm. For more information call 740-978-6575 or 740-663-4141, or visit www.kcraceway.com.

Terre Haute Action Track – Saturday Night July 4th
The track that is simply known to open wheel fans as “The Action Track” will be providing racing fans with some on track fireworks on Independence Day. Saturday night’s race will be unique as it will be part 410 winged sprint car race at its best and part country music concert. When the sun goes down the race will transition to concert and back to a race as the lights come up. This will be only the third time in history that the All Star Circuit of Champions have raced at this legendary track which has hosted many famed events over the years. This weekend it will be the Indiana Union Construction Classic presented by MISCO. Waiting at the finish line of this event for the victor will be a unique trophy featuring a bald eagle to commemorate the meaning of this special day.

The last time that the All Star Circuit of Champions raced at Terre Haute was on July fourth last year. During the A-Main Tim Shaffer started from the pole and got the jump going into the first turn and never looked back. He would lead a fast and furious race on the legendary 1/2-mile track that would see him lead wire-to-wire, to take the win over Brandon Martin.
Unlike other tracks, this is one place Rookie-of-the-Year competitor Daron Clayton has been successful at in non-wing competition. Clayton has two feature wins at the track coming during the Tony Hulman Classic preliminary night, before going on to win the Tony Hulman Classic. Fellow rookie Brandon Wimmer has a top-five finish in a 410 winged sprint there, while Ryan Bunton just missed running the top ten last year.

Ticket Information
Adult reserved grandstand tickets for the race are $25, with general admission grandstand running $20, bleacher seats running $15 and Adult infield running $10. A child’s reserved grandstand seat is $15, with general admission grandstand running $10, child’s bleacher and infield tickets are $5. The track is also offering a $25 family pack which will get two adults and up to four children infield seats. The track is also running promotions with local vendors where you can get free children’s reserved grandstand or general admission grandstand seats free at any First National Bank or with your Kroger Plus Card at the track. The ticket office will be opening at 3:00 pm with the gates opening to fans at 4:00 pm and hot laps beginning at 6:00 pm. For more information call 812-236-7951 or visit www.theactiontrack.com .

For the most up to date information on the All Star Circuit of Champions bookmark www.allstarsprint.com on your computer. 

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World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series At a Glance: Huset's Speedway & Eagle Raceway

Concord, NC— June 29, 2009

WHAT
The World of Outlaws head north to the upper Midwest to begin the Holidays weekend with a stop at Huset's Speedway in South Dakota on Friday, July 3 for the series only stop at the high-banked bullring this season after Mother Nature was victorious at the track in early May. The series then makes a trip south to Eagle Raceway in Nebraska on the Fourth of July for their only race of 2009 in the Cornhusker state. Craig Dollansky won both events at Huset's Speedway last season and also was victorious at Eagle Raceway. In the last eight events for the series at Huset's there has been seven different drivers pick up wins and five different winners in the last five events at Eagle.

WHEN
On Friday July 3 at Huset's Speedway, the pit gates will open at Noon Central, with the grandstand gates opening at 5 p.m. Central and time trials set for 7:30 p.m. Central.

On Saturday, July 4 at Eagle Raceway, the pit gates will open at 2 p.m. Central, with the grandstand gates opening at 4 p.m. Central with hot laps set for 6 p.m. Central and racing at 7:30 p.m. Central.

WHERE
Huset's Speedway is located in Brandon, South Dakota. Take I-90 east of Sioux Falls to exit 406, then go south three miles on State Road 11.

Eagle Raceway is located in Eagle, Nebraska. Take I-80 to exit 420 then travel 11 miles south on State Road 63.

TICKETS
On Friday, July 3 at Huset's Speedway, adult tickets will be $35, with tickets for juniors (ages 8-14) just $5 and kids 7-under will be admitted free of charge. All tickets will be general admission and will be available the day of the race at the gate. For more information visit: http://www.husets-speedway.com.

On Saturday, July 4 at Eagle Raceway, adult reserved tickets will be $30 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race, with tickets for children ages 6-12 just $10 and kids 5-under will be admitted free of charge. Pit combos are also available for an extra $5 with a reserved ticket and include a reserved seat and a pit pass. Adult general admission tickets will be $30 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race, with tickets for children ages 6-12 just $10 and kids 5-under will be admitted free of charge. For tickets call the track at 402-238-2595. For more information visit: http://www.slspromotions.com.

ABOUT THE TRACKS
• Huset's Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile. The track record of 10.317 seconds was established by Terry McCarl on May 10, 2009.

Eagle Raceway is a high-banked 1/3-mile. The track record of 11.124 seconds was established by Joey Saldana on September 20, 2002.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
World of Outlaws Sprint Series A-Feature winners at Huset's Speedway include:
2008- Craig Dollansky on June 13; Craig Dollansky on July 3
2007- Donny Schatz on July 3
2006- Brooke Tatnell on May 7, Terry McCarl on July 3
2005- Brian Paulus on June 28
2004-Sammy Swindell on July 6
2003- Steve Kinser on June 18
2002 -Steve Kinser on July 2
2001- Donny Schatz on April 29, Mark Kinser on July 3
2000- Mark Kinser on May 7, Mark Kinser on July 3
1999- Mark Kinser on May 3, Mark Kinser on July 6
1998- Stevie Smith on July 7
1997- Sammy Swindell on April 27, Mark Kinser on July 3
1996- Mark Kinser on July 3
1995- Dave Blaney on June 28
1994- Mark Kinser on June 29
1993- Steve Kinser on Aug. 23
1992- Steve Kinser on July 8, Sammy Swindell on Aug. 22
1991- Mark Kinser on July 3, Sammy Swindell on Aug. 24
1990- Doug Wolfgang on July 4, Sammy Swindell on Aug. 25
1989- Doug Wolfgang on July 5, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 26
1984- Steve Kinser on July 11
1983- Sammy Swindell on April 30, Steve Kinser on July 6

World of Outlaws Sprint Series A-Feature winners at Eagle Raceway include:
2008- Craig Dollansky on June 14
2007- Joey Saldana on June 9
2006- Daryn Pittman on June 10, Donny Schatz on Sept. 15
2005- Steve Kinser on June 18, Steve Kinser on Sept. 17
2004- Donny Schatz on Sept. 18, Danny Lasoski on June 20
2003- Steve Kinser on June 28, Donny Schatz on Sept. 20
2002- Steve Kinser on June 22, Jac Haudenschild on Sept. 21
2001-Mark Kinser on June 23
2000- Mark Kinser on July 2
1999- Steve Kinser on June 26
1998- Steve Kinser on June 28
1997- Mark Kinser on June 28
1996- Mark Kinser on June 29
1995- Steve Kinser on July 1, Steve Kinser on Sept. 26
1994- Steve Kinser on July 3
1993- Jeff Swindell on July 3, Mark Kinser on Aug. 24
1992- Sammy Swindell on June 27, Steve Kinser on Aug. 24
1991- Doug Wolfgang on June 29, Steve Kinser on Aug. 26
1990- Steve Kinser on June 30, Mark Kinser on Aug. 27
1989- Jac Haudenschild on July 1, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 23
1988- Steve Kinser on June 25
1987- Steve Kinser on June 27
1986-Mark Kinser on June 28
1985- Bobby Davis, Jr., on June 29
1984-Steve Kinser on June 29
1981- Sammy Swindell on July 20

• FEATURE WINNERS: There has been 32 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature event held in 2009. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Silver Dollar Speedway, 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 and U.S. 36 Raceway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway and River Cities Speedway), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, I-96 Speedway and Red River Valley Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway and Nodak Speedway), Dale Blaney (Attica Raceway Park), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway), Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway), Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway) and Terry McCarl (Knoxville Raceway).

• 3/8-MILE WINNERS: Huset's Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced seven times on a track that size this season. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice and U.S. 36 Raceway), Danny Lasoski (Nodak Speedway), Jason Meyers (Paducah International Raceway), and Donny Schatz (Lawrenceburg Speedway).

• 1/3-MILE WINNERS: Eagle Raceway is a high-banked 1/3-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced three times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Dale Blaney (Attica Raceway Park), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway) and Joey Saldana (Thunderbowl Raceway).

2009 World of Outlaws Championship Standings through June 27
1. Donny Schatz   4469
2. Joey Saldana  4393
3. Jason Meyers  4356
4. Steve Kinser  4348
5. Jason Sides   4247
6. Danny Lasoski  4219
7. Craig Dollansky  4213
8. Kraig Kinser  4097
9. Jac Haudenschild   4089
10. Lucas Wolfe   3740

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$1,000 Wheelie Contest & $500 to start A-main during Golden State Challenge Series Doug Fort Memorial at Santa Maria Speedway July 11

By Gary Thomas

Santa Maria, CA – June 29, 2009…When the Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series invades the Santa Maria Speedway for the inaugural Doug Fort Memorial on July 11 there will be some special items on tap, including a $1,000 wheelie contest with $500 to the winner, $300 to 2nd and $200 for third, as well as added money to the main event making it $500 to start.

Angello's ATV Rental and Santa Maria Speedway promoter Chris Kearns have stepped up to the plate and have added the special events and extra money to try and gain some excitement for the night. "I really want this race to be an event and I know the fans are definitely looking forward to it because it's been a while since these guys have been down here," Kearns said.

A wheelie contest had been a mainstay during the mid-to-late 90's at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico and various others had also been held a handful of times, but it's been a number of years since one has occurred with the Golden State Challenge Sprint Car Series. "The wheelie contest was always a lot of fun and it's pretty cool that we're going to be bringing it back in Santa Maria with a $1,000 total money on the line," said 13-time King of California Brent Kaeding.

In fact Kaeding was also the 1978 Santa Maria Speedway Rookie of the Year and is looking forward to heading back to the 1/3 mile clay oval on July 11. "Santa Maria has always been a real nice track and we invite everybody to come on down and have some fun on July 11," Kaeding commented. "It's the track I won my first sprint car race at and we all really want to put on a good show for the fans and the promoter to have us back in the years to come." 

With the extra money to start the main event the hopes are that many of the regulars from the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville will make the tow to Santa Maria for the night of action. "We definitely want all the 360 guys from Ocean to head on down, all the drivers in the Central Valley to come on over and even some of the drivers from up north as well," said "BK", who captured a World of Outlaws main event in 1997 at Santa Maria Speedway. "500 bucks to start the main event is pretty good so hopefully that'll be a nice incentive to help boost the field up for the race."

The inaugural Doug Fort Memorial on July 11 will be the first Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series event at the Santa Maria Speedway since 2005 and the anticipation is building among the local community. "We're really excited to have GSC return to our track and just can't wait for the night," said Matt Mussell, racing enthusiast and owner of Matt Mussell Designs. "Chris Kearns has done a great job with this place and I think the teams and fans are going to enjoy themselves."

Mussell will be designing a special billet aluminum trophy for the first Doug Fort Memorial and he and his brother Randy will also be putting on a tri-tip bbq for teams during the day. "I think this will probably be the best trophy so far because I'm going all out for this one with how special the night is," Mussell commented. "We invite all the teams to stop by during the day to get a bite to eat and we just love our sprint cars so hopefully this will be a great event. They're doing a great job with the track prep this year so it should be fun."

Doug Fort built the Santa Maria Speedway in 1964 and helped mold it into one of the top dirt tracks in the country as the owner/promoter until his passing in 1999. The 1/3 mile clay oval has been named "Best Short Track Operation West of the Mississippi" on two separate occasions and is nestled in a semi amphitheater of natural terrain, sheltered by dense eucalyptus trees at the top and to the back of the bleacher area. While most other track’s will feature blazing hot weather the Santa Maria area is cool and pleasant making it a great getaway in the summer months.

More information on the Santa Maria Speedway can be found at http://www.chriskearnspresents.com/ and more info on the Golden State Challenge King of California 410 Sprint Car Series can be acquired at http://www.goldenstatechallengeseries.com

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World of Outlaws Wrap-Up: Missouri High-Banked Nationals & Knoxville Raceway

Concord, NC--June 28, 2009—

Honoring the champ: Donny Schatz was honored during a special ceremony Saturday afternoon outside of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa for his third consecutive victory in the Knoxville Nationals last season. Bob Baker, the Executive Director of the Nationals Sprint Car Hall of Fame helped unveil the plaque and brick that adorn the Knoxville Nationals the Wall of Champions. Schatz's parents Danny and Diane also took part in the ceremony as well as Eddie Leavitt Jr., whose father Eddie Leavitt Sr. the Wall of Champions is named after. For Schatz it is the third brick in as many years that bears his name for winning sprint car racing's biggest event.

“To have your name on this wall once is a huge accomplishment, to have it three times in a row is amazing,” said Schatz. “Hopefully we can be up here again next year, but there are a lot of guys that will do their best so that doesn't happen. It's definitely a great honor.”

Nothing but respect: After battling Johnny Herrera for most of the 40-lap race on Friday night at U.S. 36 Raceway, Joey Saldana offered high regards for his long-time friend. The pair officially traded the lead five times, but unofficially they swapped it more than a dozen times as the weaved their way through lapped traffic on the high-banked bullring, with Saldana taking the lead on the final lap to pick up his 11th win of the season.

“It's great to see Johnny (Herrera) back out here running with the Outlaws,” said Saldana. “He's been winning 30 or 40 races a year back in Albuquerque and wherever, so he deserves to be back out here.”

A trophy to remember: Anytime Terry McCarl is involved in helping promoting a race, the trophy that the winner receives is guaranteed to be one of a kind and one that stands out and usually above all others. The nearly five foot tall trophy he had made for the winner of the Missouri High-Banked Nationals was created and built by hand by longtime sprint car supporter Duane Davis of Iowa, who passed away last month. McCarl dubbed the handmade trophy “Big Bertha.” Davis served on the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Board of Directors and was a Hall of Fame member as well.

“This is a beautiful trophy that our good friend Duane (Davis) made for us before he passed away," said McCarl on Friday night. “He meant a lot to sprint car racing and truly loved the sport. He'll be greatly missed”

Ready to rock and roll: With the World of Outlaws schedule picking up as the weather heats up, three-time and defending series champion and current series point leader Donny Schatz is looking forward to racing three and four times a week as he chases his fourth consecutive title. He finished second and fourth this past weekend to extend his lead in the championship standings to 76 markers over Joey Saldana.

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” said Schatz. “The harder you make it on us the better we like when it comes to the racing. This is what these teams thrives off of. Everyone is out here away from their families and give that up to be a part of the sport they love, and they love to go-go-go and we are coming up to that time.”

Still learning after all these years: Terry McCarl has been racing for over 25 years and still is a student of the sport. After several near misses with the World of Outlaws this season, he picked up his first win of the season on Saturday night with the series, as he gears up for some of the higher paying and prestigious events that dot the calendar in the next month and a half.

“You learn something every night you race period,” shared McCarl. “You think you know something and like last night you make a big mistake. Everywhere we have been this year, we have been fast. You miss the boat once in a while and you learn something every night. We are looking forward to the Nationals and the Kings Royal and big races like that and hopefully can pick up a big win this year.”

Australian invasion: Garry Brazier made his first start with the World of Outlaws since 1999 on Friday at U.S. 36 Raceway in Missouri. The multi-time Australian champion raced his way through the B-Main into the main event. He also competed at Knoxville on Saturday night, with his night ending in the B-Main. He plans to compete in a number of World of Outlaws events over the next few months.

Up next: The World of Outlaws head north for a stop at Huset's Speedway in South Dakota on Friday, July 3, followed by a stop at Eagle Raceway in Nebraska on the 4th of July.

2009 World of Outlaws Championship Standings through June 27
1. Donny Schatz  4469
2. Joey Saldana  4393
3. Jason Meyers  4356
4. Steve Kinser  4348
5. Jason Sides  4247
6. Danny Lasoski  4219
7. Craig Dollansky  4213
8. Kraig Kinser  4097
9. Jac Haudenschild  4089
10. Lucas Wolfe  3740

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Steve Smith emerges as Ohio Speedweek Champion

Camargo, IL (6-27-09) – By Kelly Brown – Public Relations Director – Last night when the dust settled at Fremont Speedway after six races in eight days, it was Stevie Smith who emerged as Ohio Speedweek Champion to take his first title. It has been a grueling week of O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions competition, which saw several drivers lead the point standings, but at the end Smith clinched the title with a third place finish at Fremont Speedway.

“We are excited, this championship was important for our team,” said Smith with a big smile. “We have won the Florida Speedweek title before and The Keystone Cup at Pennsylvania Speedweek, so to add this to the list is amazing. I feel like we are fortunate to be where we are. We had some good luck fall our way this week.”

During the week Smith proved to be one of the most consistent drivers, not placing out of the top ten once, in fact his worst finish came Friday night at Limaland Motorsports Park. Several times over the week Smith raced at few tracks for the first time, taking each one in stride.

“The key to running well at a lot of the tracks and winning was to get a good qualifying number,” stated Smith. “If you can do that, have a good lap, and then qualify through your heat race, then you start at the front of the pack which is key in any type of racing, especially sprint cars these days. With fifty to sixty other guys, it is hard getting and staying up front. You have to put yourself in position for a good finish.”

Smith began his quest for the Championship at Eldora Speedway with a second place finish. He lost a little momentum on the second night at Millstream Speedway finishing fifth. It was midweek when Smith hit his stride winning at both Hilltop Speedway and Waynesfield Motorsports Park, the latter he had not raced at previously. The only night he would place out of the top-five was at Limaland Motorsports Park where he finished ninth. Then to take the title, he finished third at Fremont Speedway.

“This week has been fun for us,” Smith commented. “Looking back, we would have really liked to win at Eldora. That was the one thing that was in the back of my mind as well as the team’s this whole week, but I had to put it behind me. I do best when I put everything behind me and focus on one night at a time and doing the best I can.”

Smith added his name to those greats who have won Ohio Speedweek championships. In sprint car history Smith will be listed with greats such as: Jack Hewitt, Frankie Kerr, Sammy Swindell, Steve Kinser, Dave Blaney, Kenny Jacobs, and Bobby Allen.
Now that the 2009 edition of Ohio Speedweek is finished the focus shifts to who will take the 2009 O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions title, before preparations for the 28th edition of Ohio Speedweek begins. For all the information you could ever want on both Ohio Speedweek and the All Star series, visit www.allstarsprint.com or www.ohiospeedweek.com.
2009 Final Ohio Speedweek Points

1. Stevie Smith 585
2. Tim Shaffer 572
3. Randy Hannagan 562
4. Rob Chaney 558
5. Brock Mayes 552
6. Greg Wilson 546
7. Dale Blaney 540
8. Dean Jacobs 507
9. Cale Conley 504
10. Chad Kemenah 498

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MCKISSON DOMINATES SPRINTS FOR 1ST WIN OF 2009; GABANY BECOMES TOP MOD WINNER AT MERCER

By Mike Leone

June 27, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mercer, PA. A picture perfect night greeted competitors and a huge crowd for "American Patriot Night" Saturday night at Mercer Raceway Park. Celebrating in the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic victory lane were Andy McKisson-Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars, Eric Gabany-Approved Toilet Rentals Modifieds, Steve D'Apolito-GM 602 Stock Cars, Mark Marcucci-Big Daddy's Speed Center Mod Lites, and Tim Callahan-M&D Paving Mini Stocks. An amazing four of the five features went non-stop on the fast, tacky, and dust-free surface!

In just his second Mercer start of the year and only sixth race overall of 2009, Andy McKisson put on a dominating performance taking the checkered flag first by over one-half lap ahead of Arnie Kent in the non-stop 20-lap Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Car feature.

"This is the same motor from last year," explained the Strattanville, Pa. driver, who won his first career Mercer feature last August 9 in just his third Mercer start of 2008. "We didn't do anything to it other than winterize it and parked it in the corner. This is the 20th race on it. We are under financed this year and doing it out of our own pocket that's why we're late coming out this year. We pour concrete for a living and the weather wasn't good for that this year."

Rookie Sprint Car driver Chris Best blasted into the lead at the start with pole-sitter Charlie Holben trailing and fourth starting McKisson to third after one lap. McKisson hounded Holben for three laps before driving under and past him in turn one on lap four. Best, who was coming off a career best third on Friday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway, looked strong as he had a half-straightaway lead on lap five. McKisson though began to reel in Best on lap seven and got alongside the leader on lap eight before making the winning move in turns three and four with an inside pass.

Eighth starting Kent was having one of his best runs of the year as he made a great move diving under Nate Stein for fourth on lap seven and Holben for third on lap 10. Kent then took runner-up from Best on lap 12. Meanwhile, all eyes were on point leader and four-time winner Rod George, who started 16th after problems in hot laps. George was flying on the outside running above the cushion up on the fence in turns one and two as he made his way forward. He cracked the top five on lap 11, moved to fourth on lap 14 driving by Holben, then charged under Best for third on lap 15.

Back up front, McKisson was in a league of his own as the big yellow smiley on his car was as big as the smile on his face when he exited his McKisson & Son Construction/B&W Smith Excavating-sponsored #0 after the non-stop effort timed in 5:02.64. "Craig Rankin was my mentor and would have been proud tonight," expressed McKisson after his ninth career win overall. "When I was growing up, he was someone I knew personally and taught me a lot. All you kids here tonight need to keep in mind if this is something you want to do, keep your mind to it, and you can make it happen."

Kent held off George for his second runner-up in the past four races. Holben matched his best finish of the season on the circuit in fourth after getting by Best on lap 18. Best dropped to fifth, but it was a great two nights with two top 5s in just his eighth and ninth races of his "410" career. Completing the top 10 were Gale Ruth, Jr., Stein, Carl Bowser, Eric Williams who won his first career "410" race Friday night at Thunder Mountain, and Dan Kuriger. Heat winners were Kuriger and Ruth.

Eric Gabany's career year just keeps getting better as he nailed down his third win of 2009 more than doubling his two career wins prior to the season. Gabany held off hard-charging Jimmy Holden to win the non-stop 20-lap Approved Toilet Rentals Modified feature timed in 5:53.44 to become the division's top winner of the season.

"That was a great run," said the happy Mercer, Pa. driver. "I'm a little warm! Oh man I thought Jr. Baker was going to get me. He got a little sideways and I just had enough time to get away. I knew he (Holden) was going to be there from the beginning. I had to stay on the bottom because I knew he likes it down there."

Gabany drew the pole position, but Holden wasn't far behind as he lined up third and overtook Eric Martin for second on the first lap. Ninth starting Frank Guidace quickly moved forward as he was up to fourth after the opening lap and took third from Rodney Beltz on lap three. Guidace caught Holden on lap eight. Traffic came into play on laps 10 and 11 as it became a three-car race for the lead.

Gabany cleared traffic and opened up some ground before Holden caught back up on lap 13. Gabany again got away until Jr. Baker got sideways coming off turn two on lap 16. Gabany had to get off the gas and take evasive action going around Baker. Holden tried to seize the moment, but Gabany moved up just in time to protect the lead. On lap 17, Holden drove hard to the inside of Gabany in turns one and two getting alongside the leader. Gabany though maintained the lead by running Holden's preferred line.

That was as close as Holden would get as Gabany held on for his fifth career win in his Atlantic Timberframes/Shaver's Barber Shop/Gabany Automotive-sponsored #3E. Ironically two of Gabany's three wins this year have been in non-stop races as his April 18 win was just a tick over one second slower than Saturday night's run to the checkered. Holden was second for the third time this season. Guidace was third as he continued the point lead still in search of his first win of 2009. Garrett Krummert was fourth over a season-best effort by John Buchanan. Completing the top 10 were Rick Hall, Matt Reeher, Dave Cogswell, Beltz, and Baker. Holden and Gabany won the heats.

Sprint Cars (20 laps): 1. ANDY MCKISSON (0) 2. Arnie Kent (18) 3. Rod George (4) 4. Charlie Holben (42G) 5. Chris Best (66) 6. Gale Ruth, Jr. (5x) 7. Nate Stein (93) 8. Carl Bowser (10) 9. Eric Williams (7) 10. Dan Kuriger (08) 11. Tony Beaber (3T) 12. Bob Howard (49) 13. Jeff Taylor (17T) 14. Jack Helget (Taylor 71c) 15. Gale Ruth, Sr. (1R) 16. Johnny Beaber (Taylor 7B) 17. John McCracken, Jr. (79)-DNS.

358 Modifieds (20 laps): 1. ERIC GABANY (3E) 2. Jimmy Holden (28H) 3. Frank Guidace (1G) 4. John Buchanan (93) 5. Garrett Krummert (29) 6. Rick Hall (B2) 7. Matt Reeher (711) 8. Dave Cogswell (8) 9. Rodney Beltz (Emig 1) 10. Jr. Baker (359) 11. Dustin Martin (29D) 12. Rick Kress (222).

-end-

Ohio Speedweek Night Five: Tim Shaffer celebrates his birthday a day late in Victory Lane at Fremont Speedway
 
Camargo, IL (6-27-09) –
Some people may see aging as a negative, but to others age is nothing but a number. While some believe you get better with age like a fine bottle of wine. Tonight Tim Shaffer proved just that as he overcame his 14th position starting spot, methodically passing cars almost every circuit of the track in the 40 lap A main to take the victory at Fremont Speedway and the $10,000 pay day that went along with it. Shaffer may have turned 42 yesterday, but there is no doubt the real celebration happened tonight.
 
Shaffer, who won the B main to make his way into tonight’s main event, put on a clinic on how to execute passes on the 1/3-mile semi-banked oval from the beginning of the event. Chad Blonde started from the pole of the feature with Brock Mayes by his side. As the Green Flag was unfurled Blonde had the edge rocketing towards Turn 1. Mayes, Duane Zablocki, and Craig Mintz would quickly fall in line.
 
While Blonde was setting a fast and furious pace at the front of the pack, Shaffer was on the move picking up seven spots in just four laps. As the field began to encounter lapped traffic on Lap 9, Blonde began to fall into the clutches of Mayes and Mintz who were able to pull up on him. Mayes was right on Blonde’s tail allowing Mintz to join the fight. Mintz, who was the only driver who was hooked up on the high side made his move on Lap 13 to take the second position. Once he got into the second spot, he set his sights on the lead waging a battle with Blonde which would see the duo race side-by-side for four laps straight.
 
While the cars up front were battling, Shaffer kept picking off cars and had moved up to four by the 14th circuit of the course. On Lap 18 Mayes a daring move diving between Blonde and Mintz to take the lead. It was short lived though as Mintz muscled his way back on the following lap.
 
The first caution of the night came out of Lap 20 when Daron Clayton spun. On the restart Mintz would get the jump leaving Mayes and Blonde in the clutches of Shaffer and a closing Stevie Smith. The pack would catch up to the tail of the field again on Lap 25 allowing Mayes, Shaffer, and Smith to close. Mayes would take his turn up front, when he used a lapped car as a pick to drive around Mintz into the lead on Lap 27. Mayes would jet out to a slight lead as second was up for the taking and three cars wanted it. Mintz, Shaffer and Smith staged quite a battle as Smith drove under the 20x car. Mintz would fight back in the outside line trying to retake the spot.
 
The same lapped traffic that had given Mayes the opportunity to take the lead became his enemy as Shaffer caught up to him. On Lap 36, Shaffer would make his move diving to the low side to take the lead. The final caution flag flew on Lap 37 as David Harrison and Dale Blaney tangled. As the cars idled around the track there was something amiss on Mintz’s 20x car. While running fourth an oil fire would erupt bringing out the Red Flag.
 
When the Green Flag flew for the final time Shaffer drove out to a sizable lead, with a clear track in his sight. At the line it was Shaffer taking the Checkered Flag first with Mayes, Smith, Blonde, and Brad Sweet rounding out the top-five.
 
This was Shaffer’s second victory during Ohio Speedweek as he also won the feature last Sunday at Millstream Speedway. Shaffer has 16 O’Reilly Circuit of Champions career wins, with five coming so far this season. 
 
With his third place finish Stevie Smith would win the Ohio Speedweek Championship tonight. The point standings will be finalized tomorrow. For updates visit www.ohiospeeedweek.com or www.allstarsprint.com
 
With a grueling Ohio Speedweek in the books, the drivers and teams of the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions just have six day to recuperate before traveling back to Ohio for a Friday night race at KC Speedway on July 3rd and the series will be celebrating independence day at the historic Terre Haute Action Track on the following night July 4th. For more information visit www.allstarsprint.com.
 
First Place Tim Shaffer “This place always puts a great race on. I'm so happy to be a part of this team. Brian (Kemenah, crew chief), Janet (Holbrook, owner) and Aaron (Call, owner)...this whole team...they did a great job all week...it's a tough week. I let them down last night and I was determined not to do that tonight. You had to be aggressive but patient tonight. I never thought we'd get up through there. We got a great start and the lapped cars helped me tonight...they hurt me last night so that's part of racing. We're building a great team"

Second Place Brock Mayes "I'm just upset...three years in a row I've run second at this $10,000 to
 win Speedweek show. If I had a few more cars in my shop a couple of those guys would have been helped off the track. There's no sense for lapped cars to be shown my wing three or four times. I get as many cars as Shaffer has in the shop I'll be pushing around like he does sometimes. Daniel, Keith and Davey and my dad are behind us. What you see is what we got. Every now and then we pick up a little something. Just a little heart broken, a little disgusted, a little upset right now. We've been running good here all year. I thought we had 'em. I didn't make the right decision I guess.”

Third Place Stevie Smith "Tim Shaffer did a nice job and he earned it...he started back there too.  I just didn't get the job done. I'm real proud of these guys. We won the points... it's a shame they couldn't have had a little purse for that. After seeing all these cars this week, I was pretty amazed. The fans were really a big support for the Ohio Sprint Speedweek and they had a lot of race cars. I think it's something that could really be built up and I'd like to still be a part of it.”

O’Reilly Auto Parts A Main – 30 Laps
1. 83 Tim Shaffer (14)
2. 11b Brock Mayes (3)
3. 1 Stevie Smith (11)
4. 24h Chad Blonde (1)
5. 91e Brad Sweet (8)
6. 1x Randy Hannagan (5)
7. 5r Byron Reed (16)
8. 0 Brandon Wimmer (17)
9.59 Lee Jacobs (15)
10. 97 Dean Jacobs (23)
11. 63 Chad Kemenah (24)
12. 11m Brandon Martin (22)
13. 22 Cole Duncan (19)
14. 10 David Harrison (7)
15. 3c Cale Conley (12)
16. 2+ Brian Smith (21)
17. 53 John Ivy (9)
18. 9z Duane Zablocki (2)
19. 92 Daron Clayton (10)
20. 3j Kevin Lee (20)
21. 20x Craig Mintz (4)
22. 2 Dale Blaney (18)
23. x Mark Keegan (13)
24.2l Ed Lynch Jr. (6)

-end-

Home Sweet Home: McCarl Wins at Knoxville to Score First World of Outlaws Win of 2009

Knoxville, IA— June 27, 2009—Terry McCarl had been in contention a number of times for wins this season with the World of Outlaws and came up just short in each of those bids. He entered Saturday night's event at his home track of Knoxville Raceway with three runner-up finishes with the series in 2009 and also had three second-place finishes at the legendary half-mile.

McCarl put all of those near misses behind him with a dominating performance in the World of Outlaws final stop of the season and the famed track on Saturday night leading flag to flag to pick up his eighth career A-Feature win with the series in a race that was completed in less than seven minutes and ran caution free.

“It felt good to come home and win tonight and to hold off Donny Schatz,” said McCarl. “I always feel like these are good tune-ups for the (Knoxville) Nationals. We almost won this race last time and he got us late in the race. I feel like we are a contender if we keep our stuff together.”

McCarl started on the pole for the 25-lap A-Feature for the second consecutive night in the Big Game Treestands Maxim and the fourth time on the season as he chased his first World of Outlaws win since last fall. After starting first on Friday night at U.S. 36 Raceway, and falling to sixth by the end of that race, he was determined on Saturday night to stay at the front of the field. McCarl set a blistering pace, lapping all the way up to the eighth-place finisher.

“I couldn't sleep last night, I was so disappointed in myself,” admitted the winner. “We were really fast last night at U.S. 36 (Raceway). What a great race track it was. I just misread the track and we backed her up last (Friday) night.”

Leading from the outset on Saturday at Knoxville, McCarl battled Kraig Kinser for the first couple of laps, with the latter using the high side in turns three and four for each of the first three laps to try and get a run on the leader. McCarl began to pull away on the fourth lap and was in traffic by the seventh circuit. He continued to work traffic for most of the remainder of the 25-lap contest. A couple of times he was held, giving Kinser a chance to close in, but once he put a lapped car back between himself and the runner-up, he would pull away again.

“We were great at the beginning and then I got a little loose and I had to settle down and figure out where my car was good,” explained the veteran driver. “My brother Tom was on my shoulder there, telling me to get back up top and drive like I used to when I was a kid and let it rip and honk that thing around there. When I moved up I felt a lot better and built up some speed. I was thinking about him right there and settled down and was able to be aggressive up top and let the motor ring out. If someone was going to beat us, they were going to have to be pretty damn fast.”

Donny Schatz, who won last month at Knoxville with the World of Outlaws, started fifth on Saturday night and used a late pass of his teammate Kraig Kinser to come home second in the Armor All J&J. He fell back to sixth on the start and it took him nine laps to work his way around Don Droud Jr. to move back into fifth. The three-time and defending series champion then worked on 20-time series title winner Steve Kinser for a number of spots as the pair battled for the fourth spot. After Kinser moved into third on lap-20, Schatz followed him and was able to get around Lucas Wolfe for fourth. Just two laps later coming off the fourth turn, Schatz went low and powered his way around both Steve Kinser and his son Kraig to go from fourth to second in one corner.

“It really did come on at the end,” Schatz said of his car. “It will be fun when its 40 laps for the Nationals. These 25 lap races are short and that's just the way it goes. We knew that going in and could have made a few adjustments for that, but my guys gave me an awesome race car. It just took me too long to figure out how to drive it. Typically I don't have that problem, but right now I did. I guess I'll have to go sit down at the drawing board and figure out what I did wrong and what I need to do to fix it.”

Despite not having the help of any cautions to bunch the field up, Schatz was able to gain significant ground throughout the race in lapped traffic as he patiently worked his way to the front.

“That's what we always strive for,” said the North Dakota native of non-stop races. “When you get on tracks that fast you have to pick it up a level. We had to definitely pick it up a couple of levels. It was a great night. To have a two-three finish for TSR (Tony Stewart Racing) is a great finish. Obviously we wanted to win, but we'll settle for a second tonight because we have to.”

Kraig Kinser wound up third in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim to earn his third consecutive finish of fourth or better. He started the week with a fourth-place effort at Nodak Speedway in North Dakota on Sunday, then was third on Friday night at U.S. 36 Raceway in Missouri and wrapped up the three-race stretch with a podium finish at the famed Knoxville Raceway.

“Anytime you can run this well at Knoxville is good,” said Kinser. “We ran second for a long time and thought we might have had something for Terry (McCarl) in traffic. It just never really played out for us. We got behind two lapped cars racing and Donny caught us and got a big run on us. I figured someone would be knocking on the door with how much I got slowed up there. We good and everyone did a good job.”

The third generation driver was not surprised to see the 25 lap event go non-stop. With the level of competition this season on the World of Outlaws trail caution free races have occurred a few times.

“When you get 40 cars here, the 24 that make the feature are really good cars and really good racers,” he shared. “It's not unusual to have it go all the way green. We have had a few this year and probably more than I remember in the past.”

Steve Kinser ended up fourth in the Quaker State Maxim, with Jason Sides rounding out the Top-Five in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim after starting 12th to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award,

Jason Meyers was sixth aboard the GLR Investments KPC, with Lucas Wolfe seventh in the Allebach Racing Maxim. Johnny Herrera was eighth in the Perfect Circle Bending Maxim. Don Droud Jr. was ninth in the Casey's General Stores Maxim and Tim Kaeding rounded out the Top-10 piloting the DTR Transport KPC.

The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, July 3 at Huset's Speedway in South Dakota, before heading to Eagle Raceway in Nebraska on the Fourth of July.

KNOXVILLE RACEWAY NOTES
• FAST QUALIFIER:
Jason Meyers paced the 39 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked half-mile oval at 14.886 seconds at 121.082 mph. For his qualifying effort, Meyers earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Bronson Maeschen (4), Lucas Wolfe (3), Donny Schatz (2), and Johnny Herrera (1).

• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Steve Kinser, Terry McCarl, Don Droud Jr. and Donny Schatz won heat races. Terry McCarl won the Crane Cams Dash. Wayne Johnson won the B-Main.

• FEATURE WINNERS: There has been 32 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature event held in 2009. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Silver Dollar Speedway, 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 and U.S. 36 Raceway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway and River Cities Speedway), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, I-96 Speedway and Red River Valley Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway and Nodak Speedway), Dale Blaney (Attica Raceway Park), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway), Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway), Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway) and Terry McCarl (Knoxville Raceway).

• HALF-MILE WINNERS: \ Knoxville Raceway is a semi-banked half-mile oval. The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series has raced 14 times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway), Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Lone Star Speedway and Virginia Motor Speedway), Jason Meyers (I-96 Speedway and Red River Valley Speedway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway), Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway) and Terry McCarl (Knoxville Raceway).

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Knoxville Raceway; Knoxville, IA; June 27, 2009
A-main (25 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 24-Terry McCarl[1] [$10,000]
2) 15-Donny Schatz[5] [$5,500]
3) 20-Kraig Kinser[2] [$3,200]
4) 11-Steve Kinser[3] [$2,800]
5) 7S-Jason Sides[12] [$2,500]
6) 14-Jason Meyers[9] [$2,300]
7) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[4] [$2,200]
8) 2W-Johnny Herrera[7] [$2,100]
9) 47-Don Droud Jr[6] [$2,050]
10) 83-Tim Kaeding[10] [$2,000]
11) 6-Danny Lasoski[17] [$1,500]
12) 55-Kerry Madsen[14] [$1,200]
13) 21-Brian Brown[16] [$1,100]
14) 9-Joey Saldana[13] [$1,050]
15) 22A-Billy Alley[8] [$1,000]
16) 14AJ-Wayne Johnson[20] [$900]
17) 19-Craig Dollansky[23] [$800]
18) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[19] [$800]
19) R19-Jac Haudenschild[25] [$0]
20) 17G-Dusty Zomer[21] [$800]
21) 12-Lynton Jeffrey[11] [$800]
22) 13-Mark Dobmeier[24] [$800]
23) 22-Brian Ellenberger[26] [$0]
24) 49-Josh Schneiderman[15] [$800]
25) 13V-Seth Brahmer[18] [$800]
26) 70-Calvin Landis[22] [$800]

Note: Jac Haudenschild and Brian Ellenberger used World of Outlaws Provisionals to start the A-Feature.

Lap Leaders: Terry McCarl 1-25

 

Shetler Becomes Fifth  Different Sprint Victor

For Immediate Release

Hartford, OH - June 28, 2009  Defending Divisional Champion Dan Shetler became the fifth different winner in 410 Sprint action . Youngster Joe Gabrielson  picked up his first E-Mod win of 2009 , Bruce Redman claimed his second consecutive Pro-Stock victory and Guy Griffin picked up his fourth Limited Sprint win as Sharon Speedway presented  Truckin Thunder Night.

An "invert 10" redraw placed Broc Martin and Dan Shetler on the front row for the 25-lap 410 Sprint Feature event.  Martin led the first four circuits before Shetler made a daring move to grab the lead.  Shetler was able to build up a straightaway lead over his competitors until a spin by Keith Taylor on lap 16 slowed the field.  The restart placed Bob Felmlee right on Shetler's rear bumper, but the Franklin, PA veteran was unable to capitalize as Shetler maintained control for the remaining 11 laps and captured his first feature victory of 2009.   Felmlee held off Jack Sodeman, Jr. for the runner-up spot with Danny Holtgraver and Martin rounding out the top five.

"The top groove was definitely the fastest way around the track tonight.  We finished second last night and this win was definitely needed.  I want to thank my family and crew for their support this season; we spent the afternoon working on  the car here in the parking lot, so this victory is a tribute to their hard work and dedication," stated  Shetler.              

Aaron Shaffer and Daryl Stimeling captured the 410 Sprint heats. 

Sharon Speedway will be dark next Saturday, July 4th.   Racing action will resume on Tuesday, July 7th  as  the Lou Blaney Memorial Classic takes place.  The event will feature the 410 Sprints and the Big Block Modifieds competing in 30-lap feature events paying $3,000 to win.  Sprint Cup Drivers Tony Stewart,  Kasey Kahne  and  Dave Blaney will compete in the Sprint portion of the event.

-end-

ERIC WILLIAMS SCORES HIS FIRST EVER 410 SPRINT CAR FEATURE WIN

June 26, 2009

Knoxdale, PA

In only his 2nd year behind the wheel of a 410 powered sprint car, Eric Williams scored a hard fought feature win at Thunder Mountain Speedway. Matt Gaston (Steel Block late Models), Rusty Martz (Super Stocks), Kyle Shannon (Pure Stocks), and Jason Joiner (Thunderbolt Enduros) all repeat winners on Mid Season Championship night.

After leading much of the inaugural 410 Sprint event in 2008 before retiring with front end damage, Greenville, PA’s Eric Williams held off May 29 winner Dan Shetler to capture his first ever feature win. “Yeah, this is my first ever win. Dan (Shetler) showed me his nose once, I thought he had me. I wasn’t going to let him get by again, this race was mine.” commented an elated Williams. “Thanks to my sponsors Approved Toilet Rentals, Penn-Ohio Electrical Contractors, IMPACT Designs, and Hine Racing Equipment” continued Williams next to Miss Thunder Mountain Speedway Brittany Bouch and his J&J Chassis #7 in victory lane.

Craig Folmar and Williams made up the front row after the driver redraw and were joined by Jack Sodeman Jr from 3rd in a 3 car battle for the lead at the drop of the green. Gary Rankin spun at the start and brought out a yellow resulting in a complete restart. Folmar’s car was slow on the restart, bottling up cars in the middle of the pack as Williams took off in the lead with 6th starter Andy McKisson in pursuit. Sodeman and Folmar were 3rd and 4th before 8th starter Dan Shetler took 4th from Folmar on lap 3. The same lap saw Williams go high in turn 4 allowing McKisson to pull beside the leader. Williams hold off the challenge and entered lapped traffic on lap 4. In traffic, McKisson used a lapped car to take the lead briefly, but Williams fought back and regained the top spot as Sodeman joined the fight for the lead. The thrilling battle was ended on lap 6 when Sodeman made contact with McKisson as both cars spun bringing out a yellow. 14th starter Daryl Stimeling was collected in the spin. McKisson and Stimeling restarted as Sodeman was towed to the pits with front end damage.

The ensuing restart was the start of trouble as the red flew before the field crossed the flag stand. Many of the cars were crossed up and damaged including Rod George, Jeff Taylor, Gale Ruth Sr, Garrett Krummert, and Johnny Beaber. George was able to continue, but the remainder of the stopped cars had their nights come to an early end. While under red, Sodeman made repairs in the pits and tailed the field for the restart before being involved in a lap 8 caution with Lindsay Enscoe and Dave Delisle in turn 2. Sodeman suffered additional front end damage and called it a night.

Back under green, Williams still had his hands full with Shetler and 20th starter Danny Holtgraver who moved to 3rd. Rookie Chris Best was 4th with Tony Beaber and Bob Howard battling for 5th. Howard took the spot on lap 10 and reeled in Best. Out front, Shetler had a great run down the front stretch and drove by Williams in turn 2 just before yellow waved for Delisle’s stopped car resulting in a yellow. With the lap not scored, Williams restarted in the lead and opened ground on Shetler. With 17 laps in the books, Howard was all over Best as McKisson came from the tail to join the fight for 4th.

Three minor cautions gave Shetler additional chances to pressure Williams for the lead, but Williams was up to the challenge and held on for his career first feature win. Shetler was a close 2nd with Best recording his best finish of 3rd. George came back to finish 4th ahead of Howard in 5th. McKisson settled for 6th with Gary Rankin, Tony Beaber, Chuck Brion, and Bill Jones Jr completing the top 10. Howard, McKisson and Gary Rankin took home heat race wins. In the 3rd heat, Rich Brungard got sideways leaving Vern Wasson nowhere to go as his #49V became the first sprint flip victim at Thunder Mountain. Both drivers were ok, but done for the night.

Kyle Shannon used the double points he earned with his 3rd feature win to take over the Pure Stock point lead. Former point leader Brian Rhed started on pole with Shannon on the outside, but Shannon took the lead at the start. Rhed ran 2nd before Bob Alcorn took the spot on lap 2 and chased down Shannon. The pair swapped the lead after a lap 8 restart and through lap 9 before Shannon reasserted himself out front. Once he was back out front, Shannon pulled away and took the win over Alcorn, Rhed, Josh Fields and Nathan Yeaney. Completing the top 10 were Steven Cook, Jason Young, Guy Coder, Zach Gustafson, and Alan Trunzo. Fields and Shannon won heats over the 12 car field.

Matt Gaston captured his 3rd Steel Block late Model win after the 25 lap feature was in the books. Going into the race, Ed Connor held the points lead but was not at the track. Donnie Connor was behind the wheel of his #27C and made contact with the front stretch wall in heat race action, ending his night. Gaston and new point leader Chuck Kennedy paced the field to green with Gaston leading Kennedy and Rick Maxim. Gaston led every lap and won over Kennedy, Maxim, Bill Davis, and Chris Ferrell. Jerry Redden, Derek Rodkey, Jim Parson Jr, John Reed, and Bruce Raybuck made up the top 10. Redden and Gaston bested the field of 14 in heat race competition.

Thunder Mountain Speedway will be idle on July 3, but will return to action on July 10th with a regular show of Steel Block Late Models, Super Stocks, Pure Stocks, and Thunderbolt Enduros. Visit the track’s web site at www.thundermountainspeedway.net for the latest information available.

410 Sprints: 1. ERIC WILLIAMS, 2. Dan Shetler, 3. Chris Best, 4. Rod George, 5. Bobby Howard, 6. Andy McKisson, 7. Gary Rankin, 8. Tony Beaber, 9. Chuck Brion, 10. Bill Jones Jr., 11. Pete Miller III, 12. Gale Ruth Sr., 13. Lindsay Enscoe, 14. Danny Holtgraver (DNF), 15. Daryl Stimeling (DNF), 16. Dave Delisle (DNF), 17. Jack Sodeman Jr. (DNF), 18. Craig Folmar (DNF), 19. Johnny Beaber (DNF), 20. Jeff Taylor (DNF), 21. Garrett Krummert (DNF), 22. Jack Helget (DNF), 23. Sheila Rankin (DNF), 24. Gale Ruth Jr. (DNF), 25. Rich Brungard (DNS), 26. Vern Wasson (DNS).

HEAT WINNERS: Howard, McKisson, G. Rankin

STEEL BLOCK LATE MODELS: 1. MATT GASTON, 2. Chuck Kennedy, 3. Rick Maxim, 4. Bill Davis, 5. Chris Ferrell, 6. Jerry Redden, 7. Derek Rodkey, 8. Jim Parson Jr., 9. John Reed, 10. Bruce Raybuck (DNF), 11. Chad Maney (DNF), 12. Doug Updyke (DNF), 13. Donnie Connor (DNS), 14. John Poling III (DNS).

-end-

Carlson, Pallen Win First NLSA Features

Greg Cybulski, WINNIPEG, MB (June 27, 2009) Jennifer Carlson swept the night's racing as she won her heat race and dominated the 15 lap feature race from the pole position as she picked up her first Northern Lightning Sprint Association feature win of 2009 at Red River Co-op Speedway on Thursday night. Despite hard charges from Darren Pallen and Roland Bernard, who both started on the 2nd row, Carlson maintained a steady, smooth performance to earn the checkered flag. Rounding up the top five was Roland Bernard, Darren Pallen, Dave Sobczak and Eric Guyot.

In a makeup feature for a June 4th rain out, Darren Pallen wheeled his #11 NLSA Lightning Sprint to victory lane with a win over rival Roland Bernard.

Northern Lightning Sprint Association
Red River Co-op Speedway, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Thursday, June 25, 2009

Make Up Feature (June 4th rain out)
1. 11 Darren Pallen
2. 2 Roland Bernard
3. 5 Eric Guyot
4. 6 Jennifer Carlson
5. 3x Bob Charney
6. 6 Jennifer Carlson
7. 3x Bob Charney
8. 4 Robert Saindon
9. 10 Amber Balcaen
10. 27 Chris Unrau
11. 17 Dave Sobczak

NLSA Feature (June 25 Regular Program)
1 6 Jennifer Carlson
2 2 Roland Bernard
3 11 Darren Pallen
4 17 Dave Sobczak
5 5 Eric Guyot
6 4 Robert Saindon
7 3x Bob Charney
8 10 Amber Balcaen

The next scheduled NLSA races are Friday, July 3rd and Saturday, July 4th, as the NLSA goes head to head with the Greenbush Outlaw Mini Sprints for a special two night weekend of open wheel racing at Greenbush Race Park in Greenbush, Minnesota.

About the Northern Lightning Sprint Association:
Created in September of 2008, the Northern Lightning Sprint Association is a rapidly growing organization committed to the creation and maintenance of safe, fast, fun, and affordable open wheel racing. Many of the organization’s members are dedicated to helping charities such as the Children’s Hospital Foundation and Cancer Care of Manitoba. More information can be found at www.nlsprints.com

-end-

Down to the Wire: Saldana Wins Thriller over Johnny Herrera at U.S. 36 Raceway on Last Lap

Osborn, MO— June 26, 2009—Officially Joey Saldana only led three times for three single laps on Friday night in the Missouri High-Banked Nationals at U.S. 36 Raceway, but he traded the top spot with Johnny Herrera countless times over the course of the 40-lap event, sometimes multiple times on the same lap, as the pair battled tooth and nail in heavy lapped traffic on the high-banked bullring.

Saldana would go on to lead the most important lap, the final one en route to picking up his 11th A-Feature win of the season and the 50th of his World of Outlaws career, making him just the 10th driver in the 30-plus year history of the series to accomplish the feat.

Saldana was running second coming to the white flag lap as the pair charged into turn one with a lap machine on the high side of the track. Herrera was bottled up for just a split second with the slower machine, giving Saldana the opening he needed as the pair headed for turn two. Saldana took the lead and would stay out front for the final half a lap.

“I don't know what to say” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “I'm very proud of this team and this is a great team. It's great to win. My dad just got inducted into the BCRA (Big Car Racing Association) Hall of Fame today so it's pretty cool to win here tonight.”

Saldana started fourth and quickly got to third with Terry McCarl leading from the pole, but a caution came out before that lap was completed leading to a complete restart. On the second start, he again got to third after battling with Jason Meyers and he then got under McCarl in turn four to take the runner-up spot.

At this point, Herrera, who took the top spot on the opening lap of the second start from McCarl, opened a comfortable lead as he worked his way up to lapped traffic. Saldana closed in as the pair negotiated the slower machines, with a red flag flying on the seventh lap and giving them clean track to work with.

Herrera used a strong restart to quickly jump to a lead while Saldana had his hands full with Jason Meyers who was battling him for the second position. As Herrera got to traffic again, Saldana was able to gain ground and get right back up on him.

On the 16th lap Saldana used a slider off turn four to take the lead, but Herrera won a drag race down the front straightway to officially be credited with leading the lap at the line. On the next go-around, Saldana went high in turns three and four and took the lead to officially be credited with the lead for the first time on the night. On the 18th lap, Herrera retook the lead in turn one with Saldana inching ahead in turn two, with them battling into turns three and four with Herrera being scored the leader on that circuit. The 19th lap saw Saldana again get around Herrera in traffic, with the latter getting back by him on the next lap.

“Lapped traffic was the whole race,” noted Saldana. “That's how I got him and then he just snookered me on the restart. He outdrove into (turn) one and two and I went in there too easy. I just kept digging and got him at the end.”

Saldana would run second for the next 20 laps, most it in heavy lapped traffic before snagging the lead on the last lap in the Budweiser Maxim. He continually used the high side of the track just inches off the wall in turn four as he tracked Herrera down.

“I was pretty good on top of (turn) four and I kept screwing up and hitting the fence.” he stated. “I knew if I could hit my marker, I would have something for him. Those last two laps, I just ran it in there to win and won the race.”

Herrera, who was looking for his first World of Outlaws win since 2000 wound up second in the Perfect Circle Bending Maxim. It was the second time this season he led laps in a World of Outlaws event.

“It was a heck of a race with Joey (Saldana),” said Herrera. “He is a long time friend of mine and we had a great race. I got a little messed up with lapped traffic there one time and he got a good run on me and I got a good run on him on a restart. There at the end I made one little bobble and hesitated just a little bit with a lapped car and went to the wrong part of the race track and he got a run on me. I didn't know how close he was, but obviously he was close enough.”

For Herrera, who led 37 of the 40 laps on Friday night, it was his best finish of the season with the World of Outlaws. He started the night by turning in a strong run in time trials, which coupled with a fourth-place finish in the third heat race earned him a spot in the Crane Cams Dash in his debut at the high-banked bullring.

“This is a real racy place,” shared the runner-up. “I'm glad all of you fans came out. I have to thank Larry Woodward, my car owner, he was here tonight. I sure would have liked to have gotten that win for him tonight and for me tonight. Thanks to Troy (Renfro) and all the guys that work on the car and everyone back home. Without their support, I would not be doing what I love to do. Without them it would not happen.”

Kraig Kinser wound up third in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim to earn his second consecutive finish of fourth or better. He also was making his debut at U.S. 36 Raceway on Friday night.

“The car was good, we just weren't good enough to run with those two ahead of us, they were really put on a good show the last couple of laps,” said Kinser. “We came from seventh to run third and I'll take that any day.”

Lapped traffic played a large factor in the race and Kinser was glad to have some long green flag runs to pit the leaders in traffic. He restarted third on each of the final two restarts, but was not able to gain any ground on the leaders.

“The car was definitely working good,” he said. “I got screwed up a couple of times in traffic trying some different things that really weren't working. I gave up a lot on restarts and those two took right off and I had a big gap from the restart on. That's where I felt I really struggled at.”

Donny Schatz finished fourth after starting 12th on Friday night in the Armor All J&J to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award, with Jac Haudenschild fifth aboard the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Maxim. Terry McCarl started on the pole and ended up sixth in the Big Game Treestands Maxim. Steve Kinser recovered from an early flat tire to come for the back of the field to finish seventh in the Quaker State Maxim. Jason Sides was eighth in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim, with Jason Meyers ninth in the GLR Investments KPC. Tony Bruce Jr. rounded out the Top-10 in the Racerswholesale.com Maxim.

The World of Outlaws return to action on Saturday, June 27 at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa.

MISSOURI HIGH-BANKED NATIONALS AT U.S. 36 RACEWAY NOTES

FAST QUALIFIER: Jac Haudenschild paced the 27 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked 3/8-mile oval at 10.887 seconds at124.001 mph. For his qualifying effort, Haudenschild earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Tim Kaeding (4), Lucas Wolfe (3), Jason Sides (2), and Joey Saldana (1).

QUALIFYING WINNERS: Kraig Kinser, Joey Saldana and Steve Kinser won heat races. Terry McCarl won the Crane Cams Dash. Garry Brazier won the B-Main.

• FEATURE WINNERS: There has been 31 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature event held in 2009. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Silver Dollar Speedway, 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 and U.S. 36 Raceway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway and River Cities Speedway), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, I-96 Speedway and Red River Valley Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway and Nodak Speedway), Dale Blaney (Attica Raceway Park), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway), Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway), and Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway).

3/8-MILE WINNERS: U.S. 36 Raceway is a high-banked 3/8-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced seven times on a track that size this season. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice and U.S. 36 Raceway), Danny Lasoski (Nodak Speedway), Jason Meyers (Paducah International Raceway), and Donny Schatz (Lawrenceburg Speedway).

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; U.S. 36 Raceway; Osborn, MO; June 26, 2009
A-main (35 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 9-Joey Saldana[4] [$10,000]
2) 2W-Johnny Herrera[2] [$5,500]
3) 20-Kraig Kinser[7] [$3,200]
4) 15-Donny Schatz[12] [$2,800]
5) R19-Jac Haudenschild[5] [$2,500]
6) 24-Terry McCarl[1] [$2,300]
7) 11-Steve Kinser[9] [$2,200]
8) 7S-Jason Sides[10] [$2,100]
9) 14-Jason Meyers[3] [$2,050]
10) 18-Tony Bruce Jr[15] [$2,000]
11) 41-Jason Johnson[13] [$1,500]
12) 6-Danny Lasoski[17] [$1,200]
13) 10-Sammy Swindell[19] [$1,100]
14) 21AU-Brooke Tatnell[21] [$1,050]
15) 22-Brian Ellenberger[22] [$1,000]
16) 83-Tim Kaeding[8] [$900]
17) 1AU-Garry Brazier[20] [$800]
18) 19-Craig Dollansky[18] [$800]
19) 96-Bronson Maeschen[24] [$800]
20) 55-Kerry Madsen[16] [$800]
21) 2-Travis Rilat[14] [$800]
22) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[11] [$800]
23) 14AJ-Wayne Johnson[23] [$800]
24) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[6] [$800]

Lap Leaders: Johnny Herrera 1-16, 18, 20-39; Joey Saldana 17, 19, 40

Top-10 in points
1. Donny Schatz 4321
2. Joey Saldana 4271
3. Jason Meyers 4213
4. Steve Kinser 4206
5. Jason Sides 4107
6. Craig Dollansky 4097
7. Danny Lasoski 4091
8. Jac Haudenschild 3977
9. Kraig Kinser 3953
10. Lucas Wolfe 3601

-end-

Ohio Speedweek Night Five: Danny Smith wins thriller at Limaland Motorsports Park!

Camargo, IL (6-26-09) – One thing that fans will remember tonight’s race for is the fact that during Lap 18 four different cars took turns leading the race. From the time that the Green Flag flew on night five of Ohio Speedweek at the Limaland Motorsports Park 1/4-mile bullring, it was some of the best racing the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions had encountered all week as the event ran almost wire-to-wire.

On the initial drop of the Green Flag, Brock Mayes grabbed the lead from the pole position, but as the fourth row entered Turn 1, a melee ensued, which forced Phil Gressman to climb the wall. The rest of the cars involved would continue on, but this ended Gressman’s night, setting up a complete restart of the event.

When racing action got underway it was fast and furious as Danny Smith got the jump and led the first lap of the event. He would be followed to the line by Mayes, Rob Chaney and Tim Shaffer. A few laps later Shaffer made his move in Turn 3 snatching the third position. Chaney battled back, but Shaffer had his car working in the top groove, holding him off.

By Lap 5 Mayes, took his turn in the top position briefly, but Smith quickly retook the lead. Mayes fell into the clutches of Shaffer as the top three traded positions back and forth. It seemed as if every time Mayes would catch Smith, Shaffer would close on the duo and join the battle. Shaffer appeared to be the best entering Turn 3 as he picked up the second position on Lap 11. Then a few laps later he would celebrate his 42nd birthday by taking the lead.

While the top three were battling Dale Blaney was on the move from his seventh place starting position, moving into the top-five and closing in on the lead pack as he passed Greg Wilson for the position. When the field started encountering traffic on Lap 14, Danny Smith dove under Shaffer for the lead. Shaffer would get held up by a lapped car letting Mayes get by for second. Using a lapped car as a pick, Mayes took the lead away from Smith on Lap 16. This is when Blaney really made his presence known on the track as he dove under Shaffer and Smith to take the second position on Lap 17.

Lap 18 will be one that goes down in infamy as Mayes, Smith, Shaffer and Blaney all led on the same lap. The top four could have been thrown under a blanket. Smith would out muscle his fellow competitors and establish himself in the lead on Lap 20 of the 40 Lap A main event. Blaney established himself in the second position, followed by Shaffer, Wilson, and Mayes.

Once Smith was in the lead, he pulled away from the fray. In the latter part of the event Wilson came to life picking off Mayes for fourth. When he caught Shaffer the two battled side-by-side until Wilson bobbled slightly. In the mean time Shaffer caught Blaney for second and started working on him. As the two battled it allowed Wilson catch up to the leaders again.

With five laps remaining Wilson made quick work of Shaffer diving under him in Turn 2 to take over the third position in the top line. Wilson then set his sights on second, catching Blaney using the high line. Wilson worked on Blaney each lap, but was unable to execute the pass. At the Checkered Flag it was Smith picking up the win, followed by Blaney, Wilson, Shaffer and Mayes.

This was Smith’s 30th All Star Circuit of Champions win, his second this season, and his second in All Star competition at Limaland Motorsports Park. His last win at the 1/4-mile bullring came in 1990 and the last time the All Star series raced at Fremont Speedway the sprint car veteran won.

The final night of Ohio Speedweek is on tap tomorrow night at Fremont Speedway. The gates will open at 4:00 pm and racing action is slated to begin at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the event start at $25 for adults, $15 for seniors, ages 16-11 are $10, while ages 10 and under are free. Pit Passes for the event will run $30. For more information on the event you can call the track office at (419) 333-0476 or visit www.fremontohspeedway.com.

With Stevie Smith finishing ninth and Rob Chaney turning in a sixth place finish, the points for Ohio Speedweek champion is closer than ever. Don’t miss tomorrow night at Fremont Speedway to see who will emerge as Ohio Speedweek Champion. Keep yourself updated by visiting both www.allstarsprint.com and www.ohiospeedweek.com .

First Place Danny Smith – “I didn’t let Brock beat me on the second start. I was running around the top and was not sure how hard I should run going into the first turn. He chased me down, got by me, but I got my elbows up and fought back. They kept coming at me, slide jobbing and slide jobbing. It was great, but I am the one that gets to take home the check. I would like to thank all the great fans here tonight, without them we wouldn’t be here.”

Second Place Dale Blaney – “We were a second place car tonight. We had a heck of a race right there, Smith got by me at one point and he fought me back. The high side was the place to be. There wasn’t a whole lot on the bottom to work with. With the way this week has gone we will take this and move on to Fremont.”

Third Place Greg Wilson – “I couldn’t get by traffic and get on the top side like I needed to in the final laps, but that is what you have to deal with when you start back a little ways. We had another great run here at Lima. I have to thank George Warnimont for a great race car. We had a little mishap today with the trailer, so to be able to leave with a good finish going into Fremont tomorrow night is great.”
Speedweek Fan Info

O’Reilly Auto Parts A Main – 40 Laps
1. 4 Danny Smith (2)
2. 2 Dale Blaney (7)
3. w20 Greg Wilson (9)
4. 83 Tim Shaffer (4)
5. 11b Brock Mayes (1)
6. 7k Rob Chaney (3)
7. 1x Randy Hannagan (11)
8. 63 Chad Kemenah (16)
9. 1 Stevie Smith (13)
10. 3c Cale Conley (10)
11. 97 Dean Jacobs (6)
12. 0 Brandon Wimmer (17)
13. 20x Craig Mintz (19)
14. 5r Byron Reed (20)
15. 312 Mike Linder (15)
16. 59 Lee Jacobs (22)
17. 92 Daron Clayton (12)
18. 45au Steven Lines (14)
19. 2h Tim Hunter (5)
20. 22 Cole Duncan (21)
21. 35 Ronnie Blair (18)
22. 93 Sheldon Haudenschild (23)
23. x Mark Keegan (24)
24. 9x Phil Gressman (8)

-end-

Jason Johnson, Danny Smith and Toni Lutar the Latest to  Enter $10,000-to-win Knoxville World Challenge

KNOXVILLE, IOWA  (June 24, 2009)  -  Americans Danny Smith
and Jason Johnson and Canadian Toni Lutar have become the latest three
entrants for the $10,000-to-win Knoxville World Challenge at Knoxville
Raceway on Friday, August 14, during the 49th annual SuperClean Knoxville
Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.  Danny Smith won the World Challenge back
in 1996 when it was known as the Australian/American Challenge Cup.  Jason
Johnson's and Toni Lutar's best efforts came last year with fourth and
eleventh place finishes, respectively, in the World Challenge dash.

According to Knoxville's director of racing Ralph Capitani,
"Danny Smith hasn't competed in the World Challenge since 2003, so we're
delighted that the six-time Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic winner at
Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, will be back competing in this year's
international invitational at Knoxville.  He is a class act and a great
ambassador for our sport.  I'm sure Jason Johnson, the 2006 "Mr. Sprint Car"
titlist, will be gunning for the 2009 Cox Design Iowa SpeedWeeks
championship, which includes the World Challenge.  And we're also excited to
have former track regular Toni Lutar back in the Friday night finale.  He
remains the highest placed Canadian in the 15-year history of the World
Challenge and I'm sure he'll be looking to better his mark."

 Smith will be wheeling his own J&D Performance-powered,
Maxim-chassis sprint car number 4, which is sponsored by Kiger Signs &
Graphics and J&D Performance.  Lutar will be piloting his own
Capetta-powered, KPC-chassis sprint car number 4X, which is sponsored by
Northwest Auto Parts, Red Devil Brakes and Weld Racing.  Johnson will be
behind the wheel of Lanny Row's Ott-powered, Eagle chassis sprint car number
41, which is sponsored by Pope Transportation, GT Bobcat, CCR, and The Shop
Diesel Service.  Since Jason Johnson and Danny Smith competed in the 2009
Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool, both are inversion-eligible
for the '09 Knoxville World Challenge on Friday, August 14.  Toni Lutar did
not compete in either of the Canadian qualifiers at Ohsweken, Ontario, nor
Edmonton, Alberta, and thus will have to start the Knoxville World Challenge
behind those that are inversion-eligible.

The 2009 Knoxville World Challenge entries to date are as follows:
4, Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH, USA, J&D/Maxim
4X, Toni Lutar, Richmond, BC, CAN, Capetta/KPC
21AU, Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, AUS, Ott/Maxim
24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, USA, Ott/Maxim
41, Jason Johnson, Thomasville, PA, USA, Ott/Eagle

-end-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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