Tickets on sale now for February World of Outlaw event at Thunderbowl Raceway

By Gary Thomas

Tulare, CA December 17, 2007 Tickets for the February 22 & 23 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series double header at Thunderbowl Raceway are on sale starting today and can be acquired by calling (559) 688-0909. Thunderbowl Raceway office hours are 8 am till 4 pm, Monday through Friday.

All seating will be reserved for the two night event that will feature the best winged sprint car drivers in the country, including Donny Schatz, Joey Saldana, Steve Kinser, Jason Meyers, Daryn Pittman and many more. Tickets for Friday night February 22 will be $35 for bleachers and $40 for grandstands. On Saturday February 23 they are $40 for bleachers and $45 for grandstands. Visit http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com for a seating chart and then call the track office for the seats you want.

Don’t miss your chance to catch the first winged sprint car event of the 2008 season in California when the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series light up the 1/3 mile clay oval following the long cold winter.

Thunderbowl Raceway is located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds at the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare, California. Internet info at http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com

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2007 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Season Review: Jason Meyers

Concord, NC— December 17, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Jason Meyers didn’t really want to see the 2007 season come to an end, as he wrapped up the year on a roll, as one of the hottest drivers in all of racing, winning events on four consecutive weekends, including during the finale of the inaugural Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Meyers won five times in Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series competition this season and finished fifth overall in championship points. He racked up 49 Top-10 finishes, with 34 of those being in the Top-Five. He won the Crane Cams Dash nine times to earn the same number of pole positions in A-Feature events. He also was quickest in time trials on five occasions.

It was a good season for us, said Meyers, driver of the Primerica Financial Maxim. We struggled a little bit at the beginning of the year, but we bounced back from it pretty well. All of our sponsors stuck with us and we worked very hard as a team. We’re working hard right now for next year. We hope to start out next year how we finished this year.

The native of Clovis, California visited the winner’s circle for the first time in 2007 at Eldora Speedway on April 13, becoming the first driver to win on the reconfigured half-mile. That victory came in the midst of a string that saw him finish in the Top-10 in 12 consecutive races, as he continued to climb higher and higher in the championship standings.

In his first visit to the high banks of U.S. 36 Raceway in Missouri, Meyers was victorious, holding off a hard charging Tim Kaeding as the laps wound down. As the first East Coast swing of the season wrapped up, Meyers began another string of Top-10 finishes that reached eight races, which carried over to the series return to the Midwest and was capped off by a win in the Boot Hill Showdown at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas.

Hopefully we can finish off next season even stronger than this year and make that run at the championship that has been eluding us for a few years, he said. Hopefully with some good hard work over the winter, we’ll have a shot at it.

A second-place run in the Kings Royal, during the SuperClean Summer of Money on ESPN2, paved the way for his fourth win of the season at Lebanon Valley in New York in July.  He racked up eight more Top-10 finishes during the 2007 Gold Rush Tour on the West Coast, including a runner-up performance in the finale of the Harvest Classic at Calistoga in his home state of California.

This was definitely one of the most competitive seasons ever, noted the native of Clovis, California. This is the first time you have seen some changes in the industry that you have not seen for six or seven years and things are starting to advance. I think it will keep advancing and everyone will have to keep working hard to keep it up.

Meyers had a number of strong runs cut short by bad luck in 2007, though he did not dwell on those, but rather the hard work by his team. This was clearly evident after one of his toughest nights of the season, when he was caught up in an accident and got upside on the first lap at Ohsweken Speedway in Canada, destroying the car. The team thrashed for the next day and a half to build a new car and in the next race at I-96 Speedway in Michigan, they came home third.

Those are the things that cost you championships, he said of flat tires and mechanical failures. That’s certainly not what cost us this year, but it cost us some wins. It’s difficult to swallow, especially when you look back at it at the end of the year and wish you could have those races back. The fact is that you can’t and we still had decent runs most nights and have to be happy with that. No matter how last night went, you show up the next to win.

Teamwork played a big role in Meyers success this season, as he was always quick to credit his crew for the countless hours they put in working on the car and traveling from race to race. His crew chief D.J. Lindsey was honored as the World of Outlaws Crew Chief of the Year at the series annual Night of Champions in Charlotte following the inaugural Outlaws World Finals.

The most important aspect of our team is the people that we have in it, Meyers explained. A lot of people don’t understand that or don’t get that. D.J. (Lindsey) and Brian (Bloomfield) are a real big part of what we do and we work very hard. The chemistry is irreplaceable. You can’t buy that.

While it was a big year on the track for Meyers, it was also a very exciting year away from the track at home. Prior to the event at Orange County Fair Speedway in New York in late September where he finished fifth, Jason and his wife Robyn welcomed their first child into the world, a daughter Delaney Paige on September 24.

It has been awesome, he said smiling. It was tough being away from home at the end of the season. It certainly changes your life in a good way. Everyone thinks about what you can’t do having a baby and it’s not so much that. There are a lot of things that we can’t do or that are tougher now, but that’s not a big deal, because there are so many other exciting things that we can do. The biggest thing I think is that it makes you focus more. It gives you new goals to focus on and it gave us a new fire.

Meyers wrapped up his season by winning a portion of the Cotton Classic at Kings Speedway in Hanford, California and then he claimed the Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare. After spending the Holiday’s with family and friends, he take part in the famed Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before heading to Australia to begin the 2008 season.

I’ll go down under for a few days, said Meyers. We can’t pass up going down there to see our fans and friends. We will make it a lot shorter trip this year and be at home with the baby a little bit and have an off-season. It’s been about four years since I’ve had an off-season. When you get three or four weeks at home, you look forward to getting back into the race car, but when you don’t have that for about four years it starts to drag out a little bit. We’ll spend a little time at home and get some rest and be with the family.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Daryn Pittman

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Saldana Wins in New Zealand

Concord, NC-- December 16, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

After completing the most successful campaign of his career with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series this past season, Joey Saldana returned to action on Saturday night in New Zealand, and picked up a $20,000 win.

Saldana was teamed with fellow World of Outlaws driver Craig Dollansky for the always potent Salter Motorsports team. The pair took to the track at TeMarua Speedway in Wellington, New Zealand for part of the International Sprint Car season on Saturday night.

Saldana, who won 13 times with the World of Outlaws in 2007, lined up fifth for the 30-lap A-Feature aboard the No. USA63 machine. He moved into the third spot on lap eight, with a pass of Greg Pickerill. Just three laps later he moved into second, getting around multi-time New Zealand champion Allan Wakeling.

The native of Brownsburg, Indiana then patiently tracked down leader Kerry Jones and made the pass for the lead and ultimately the win on the 20th lap.

We had a very good night and it feels great to win, said Saldana. The cool thing is that I jumped in the car and in our first time out, we had a strong run.

Dollansky lined up sixth for the race on Saturday night, after the Top-Six in points from the heat races were inverted. Despite some trouble with his engine, he came home in the sixth spot. He won his first race of the International season at Western Springs Speedway two weeks ago and was set to start on the pole at the ¼-mile last week before rain postponed the A-Feature.

In preliminary action at TeMarua Speedway, Saldana won the first heat race, with a thrilling last lap pass of the front two cars, after running third for most of the race, and he was second in the third heat. Dollansky picked up wins in both the second and fourth heat races to earn the most points which were used to determine the starting grid for the A-Feature.

The pair will return to action on Saturday, December 22 at Palmerston North Speedway in Palmerston, New Zealand for the Salter Motorsports team.

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2007 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Season Review: Steve Kinser

Concord, NC— December 14, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Each time that Steve Kinser took to the track this season, he continued to add to his sprint car racing legacy. The 20-time Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion victorious ten times to bring his career total to an amazing 543 A-Feature wins.

The 20-time World of Outlaws champion capped the season off by winning the finale of the inaugural Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway to earn his 51st Top-10 finish of the season en route to a sixth-place finish in championship points. In his career, he has now finished sixth or better in World of Outlaws championship points a record 28 times.

It definitely was a challenging season for us, said Kinser, driver of the Q Oil Maxim. It was not one of my better seasons, but we’ll go to work this winter and see if we can get faster for next season.

In his first visit to USA Race Park in Arizona in early March, Kinser was victorious to add to his record of winning at tracks he visits for the first time. Strong runs at Houston Raceway Park in Texas and Pike County Speedway in Mississippi followed. After a runner-up finish at Attica Raceway Park in Ohio on April 20, he dominated the 40-lap event at Tri-State Speedway the following night in his home state of Indiana, leading wire-to-wire. As the series headed to the East Coast for the first time in 2007, Kinser continued his winning ways, picking up his 16th career win at Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania with a triumph in the Commonwealth Clash.

In one of the most thrilling races of the season, he inched out Jason Sides by 0.028 seconds in a photo finish at New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey in May to earn his first win at the uniquely shaped half-mile in the Garden State. Kinser wrapped up the first East Coast swing of the season in style by winning at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in New York and Sharon Speedway in Ohio in consecutive events.

It was a good fun race, especially running with Jason, he noted of the event at New Egypt, which ended well into the night after a lengthy rain delay. I definitely had a good time in that one.

A return to the Midwest found the native of Bloomington, Indiana back in Victory Lane at Missouri State Fair Speedway on June 20, his familiar No. 11.  He extended his record number of wins at Eldora Speedway with a victory in the Knight Before the Kings Royal in July.

He wrapped the year up as one of just three drives that had double digits wins, as well as one of just three drivers that led more than 300 laps of feature racing competition over the course of the season. Kinser claimed eight wins in the Crane Cams Dash in 2007 to earn the same number of pole positions in A-Feature events.

Kinser also made some more history by winning in Canada, becoming the only Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series driver that has won a series event in the United States, Mexico and Canada. He won on the opening night of the Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton.

I enjoyed the trip up there, and didn’t mind the long driver, commented the winningest driver in sprint car racing history. Some of the border stuff was not the most fun, but there are a lot of good race fans up there.

Kinser also ran strong in a number of the events that were televised this season. A total of 18 events in 2007 were covered by SPEED and ESPN2.

Anytime you have television is good for sprint car racing, he said. There are a lot of people worldwide that got to watch it. I was at the SEMA show (in Las Vegas in October) and had a lot of people from different parts of the country say they watched the races. They normally did not get to watch the sprint cars run.

While he was pleased with the 10 wins that he had, he had a number of probable wins slip away due to flat tires, mechanical failures and other bad luck. Those are races that he and his team will look back on and analyze over the winter as they put in countless hours in the shop.

I had all kinds of things go wrong, Kinser explained. We had flat tires, I spun out and we had engine problems. It was not a normal season for us. It seemed like we would get the car good and fast and something would happen. At Phoenix (Manzanita Speedway in October) we had a good fast race car and I think we would have won the race and we spun out. It’s just been one of those years and we’ll just get it behind us. I haven’t had one of those for a while. I remember having two of them in a row back in 1982 and 1983. I haven’t really had one since then, and it’s not a lot of fun.

During the inaugural Outlaws World Finals, at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Kinser broke out a new Maxim race car and tried some different combinations on it and they paid off. On the first night he finished fourth, while he led all 30 laps in the finale, winning a thrilling race with Danny Lasoski and Daryn Pittman.

Everybody out here is always trying stuff, said Kinser. You never know when you will help yourself, but also a lot of times you go in the wrong direction. That’s just part of racing. It always has been and it always will be. You have to try stuff all the time to keep improving.

Kinser plans to head to Australia later in the off-season to turn some laps in preparation for the 2008 World of Outlaws season. Prior to that, he plans to spend a lot of time at home with his family and in shop. Kinser, who is a former Indiana high school wrestling state champion, also plans on taking in a few wrestling matches.

My son (Kurt) will be wrestling for Indiana (University) and I want to go to a few of his wrestling meets, he said. We’ll go and find some warm weather once in a while and take it easy, and also work in the shop.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Jason Meyers

2007 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Season Review: Craig Dollansky

Concord, NC— December 12, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

From the first drop of the green flag in 2007, Craig Dollansky showed that he would be a contender each and every night. After traveling to New Zealand and winning in the off-season, as well as claiming a victory in early season action in Florida, he finished fourth on the first two nights of the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series season at Volusia Speedway Park with a packed pit area of 50-plus cars in attendance each night. This performance earned him the Florida DIRTcar Nationals title for his performance over the combined six nights of sprint car racing on the half-mile.

This consistency followed Dollansky all season, as he racked up 48 Top-10 finishes, with 24 of those being in the Top-Five, along with three A-Feature wins en route to a seventh place finish in the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series championship points. It was the sixth time in his career that he has finished in the Top-10 in points.

Dollansky was one of just six drivers to lead more than 150 laps of feature racing competition in 2007. He also won the Crane Cams Dash six times to earn pole positions in A-Feature events, along with setting a new track record at USA Race Park in Arizona in time trials.

There definitely were a lot of race cars out there, said Dollansky of the 2007 campaign. It started off with quite a few cars and a few dropped off, but it was a very competitive year. There have been a lot of other competitive seasons out here as well. At the end of the day, it comes down to if the driver is focused on what he needs to do and the entire race team.

Dollansky picked up his first win of the season in May at Lake Ozark Speedway in Missouri. This came in the midst of a stretch that saw him earn eight consecutive Top-10 finishes. During the first East Coast swing of the season in the spring, Dollansky welcomed veteran World of Outlaws crew chief Mike Woodring to the team and the addition quickly paid off with a fourth-place finish at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in New York. The pair earned their first victory together at I-96 Speedway in Michigan in July.

There were a few things we needed to get sorted of out in terms of our equipment, he noted. We got those things sorted out and headed in the right direction and Mike (Woodring) did a good job for us. We definitely worked hard at things. We had some things out of our control and had a race won with a lap to go and ran out of fuel. Just little things like that and there have been things in our control that we could have done better. As a team we have to keep learning and adjusting and try to move on.

During the Gold Rush Tour on the West Coast, the native of Elk River, Minnesota earned seven Top-10 finishes in eight events, including a $25,000 triumph at Skagit Speedway in Washington, with the cameras from SPEED rolling. He came within one lap of making it two wins in a row in the World of Outlaws return to Grays Harbor Raceway in Washington, running out of fuel on the last lap while leading.

You don’t cry over spilled milk, said the native of Elk River, Minnesota. You work hard on your program to make the race car faster and to run up front every night.

Being a promoter himself, Dollansky knows the importance of bringing 410-sprint car racing to fans that normally do not get to see it, and that is exactly what the World of Outlaws did in two separate trips to Canada this season. He finished in the Top-10 on both nights at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, including a third-place performance in the finale, while also earning a Top-10 at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario.

At the end of the day, it was a good thing, he said of the series return to Canada. There are a lot of great race fans in Canada that don’t get to see the World of Outlaws. For us to go up there and race in two different parts of Canada was real good.

In 2007, the World of Outlaws competed in front of the SPEED and ESPN2 cameras a total of 18 times, including live action on the final night of the inaugural Outlaws World Finals. In addition to his win at Skagit Speedway, Dollansky had several more strong runs with the cameras rolling.

I think it was great, said the former World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion of the television coverage this season. It definitely brought our sport to a wider area of fans and to a broader market. They did a great job putting the television package together and I look forward to that heading into next year as well.

In addition to competing full-time, Dollansky and his wife Julie also helped promote the inaugural World of Outlaws event at Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa on September 12. He finished third in the event, which saw over 7,000 people jam the grandstands and help set a new attendance record for the Fair. The couple also promoted the PolyDome Princeton National again this season at Princeton Speedway, which also drew a standing room only crowd.

The Clay County event was something that worked out real well, commented Dollansky. It was pretty neat to see the start of it and the completion of it. To be a part of that was great. I enjoyed promoting those races and look forward to being a part of that next year.

This off-season will see Dollansky follow a similar plan as last season, as he will compete in New Zealand for Salter Motorsports at Western Springs Speedway. He won his first event at the track and was set to start on the pole position of the A-Feature last weekend when rain forced the postponement of the event. He will be in action again this weekend in New Zealand.

I’ll try to get a little time with my family, my wife and kids and my friends, he noted of the always busy off-season.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Steve Kinser

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Record $40,000 Top Prize Set for Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup in 2008

Concord, NC-- December 11, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

As the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2008, one of the series signature tracks will be having a celebration of their own, and that’s Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pennsylvania.

As part of the 40th Anniversary celebration at Lernerville in 2008, the winner of the prestigious Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at the famed track will take home a record $40,000. The event which has been part of the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series calendar since 1992 will be the highest paying one-day event in all of sprint car racing.

Donny Schatz has won the event the last two seasons, earning $30,000 for each of those triumphs. The 2008 edition of the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup will take place on Tuesday, July 15, with the series also competing at the 4/10-mile on Tuesday, May 15.

Other past winners of the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup included: Tim Shaffer, the 1999 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year with the World of Outlaws and a former Lernerville Speedway track champion, three-time World of Outlaws champion Sammy Swindell, multi-time Lernerville Speedway track champion Ed Lynch Jr., two-time World of Outlaws champion Mark Kinser, who has won the event four times, Stevie Smith, Jeff Swindell and 20-time series champion Steve Kinser.

The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series first competed at Lernerville Speedway in 1979, with Steve Kinser picking up the win. Since that race, he won a total of 16 times at the track, including during the 2007 season and the 1994 Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup. He is the winningest driver in series history at the always racy track.

Officials from Lernerville Speedway also recently announced that the Firecracker 100 for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series at the track on June 27-28 will pay $40,000-to-win.

For more information on both events visit: http://www.lernerville.com.

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2007 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Season Review: Paul McMahan

Concord, NC— December 10, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

One of Paul McMahan’s main goals since the time he first strapped into a sprint car was to win a race at the famed Eldora Speedway. He had the chance to do that this season, as he took the checkered flag at the half-mile on June 2, in a thrilling battle with Jason Solwold that saw the pair trade the lead three times. Making the win even more special was the fact that the storied half-mile is owned by Tony Stewart, who McMahan drove for in 2007.

When I first came out here, I wanted to win at three race tracks for sure before I quit racing, said McMahan. Eldora was one of them and I was fortunate enough to get a win there during the World of Outlaws show. It was pretty cool to be able to win in Tony’s (Stewart) car at Tony’s track. That was a bonus. Just winning at Eldora was one of the coolest things of the year.

McMahan wound up eighth overall in World of Outlaws championship standings this season on the strength of 38 Top-10 finishes, with 14 of those being in the Top-Five. In addition to winning at Eldora, he was victorious at Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin to bring his career win total with the series to seven. He was near the top of the leaderboard with eight quick time honors in time trials this season and also won the Crane Cams Dash three times to earn pole positions in A-Feature events.

This season was most definitely one of the most competitive ever, he noted. We were fortunate to win a couple of races. It was not a good season by any means, but it was salvageable.

McMahan showed his versatility this season, not only by running strong on some of the biggest tracks on the schedule, but he was fast on the bullrings as well. He finished fourth in his first visit to Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas on May 5 and followed that up with another fourth-place effort on the high banks of U.S. 36 Raceway in Missouri.

I’ll still enjoy it and when you don’t enjoy it that is when you need to quit, said the California native who now calls Nashville home. It wasn’t one of the best years for me personally, but I still enjoy driving a race car and still enjoy traveling around and going to different race tracks and seeing different people.

McMahan visited a number of tracks for the first time this season, including two separate stops in Canada at Ohsweken Speedway in July and at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton in August. He also had the chance to race a number of times in his home state of California, including at Calistoga Speedway, where he had a number of family and friends in attendance.

It was a lot of fun going up to Canada, said the always optimistic driver. It was a little tough getting up there, but once you get up there, it’s a beautiful country and the fans are great. They appreciated us coming up there and that meant a lot. The promoter took very good car of us and the fans loved it. I enjoyed going there and I look forward to going back.

After shaking off some early season bad luck, McMahan’s fortune began to change after finishing fourth on May 18 at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania. He proceeded to rip off a string of five consecutive Top-10 finishes, including a runner-up performance at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 25, where he led a number of laps. The team began to hit their stride, winning at Eldora just a week later.

In the heat of the summer, McMahan and his team continued to click off strong runs, with a sixth-place finish at I-55 Raceway in Missouri with the ESPN2 cameras rolling during the SuperClean Summer of Money, serving as the starting point for a string of seven Top-10 finishes in the next eight starts. This helped him firmly establish himself in the Top-10 in championship points.

McMahan ran strong in a number of the events televised this season on ESPN2 and SPEED, and noted how it is beneficial to the entire sport from top to bottom.

Any time you can get our races on TV is a good thing, McMahan said. That’s what we need to get sponsors into this deal. We need to get more sponsors like Bass Pro Shops and Chevy involved with other teams. We need to get the teams that are not owned by Tony Stewart or Kasey Kahne some sponsors. We have to get sponsors for more of the teams so we can keep our sport going.

After suffering a broken big toe in the season finale of the inaugural Outlaws World Finals, McMahan returned to action the following weekend in the Cotton Classic at Kings Speedway in California, followed by a start in the Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare. Following those events, McMahan returned home to rest before beginning to prepare for the 2008 season.

I always say that I will stay home, he smiled. My off-season isn’t long, but it is as long as I want to make it. I can stay home for two months or I can stay home for two weeks, it just depends on what becomes available and what my body says it wants to do. At the end of the season I am ready for it to be over, but within two or three weeks, I am ready to go racing again.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Craig Dollansky

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Advance Auto Parts Becomes Title Sponsor of the World of Outlaws

Orlando, FL — Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) and the World Racing Group (OTC BB: DMSP) announced today the 2008 title sponsor agreement for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series™.  The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series™ will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in 2008 with more than 85 event nights in the US and Canada beginning with the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park on February 8th and culminating in November in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the 2008 World of Outlaws™ World Finals at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

In addition to the title sponsorship announced today, Advance Auto Parts will be the 2008 Official Auto Parts Store for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series™ while continuing its role as title sponsor of the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series.

Over the past 10 years with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series we have become big believers in dirt track racing, said Sam Hampton, Advance Auto Parts Director of Marketing. We’ve watched World of Outlaws racing as fans, we know the rich 30-year history of the series and look forward to introducing Sprint and Late Model fans to Advance Auto Parts on a national basis. We’ve always looked forward to Modified action at the Florida DIRTcar Nationals and couldn’t think of a better place to kickoff our sponsorships of all three of dirt racing’s premier divisions in 2008.

In 2007 the World of Outlaws™ brand of no holds barred racing action made its return to major national cable television with programming on SPEED reaching 74 million homes and ESPN2 reaching 92 million homes.  The millions of fans tuning in at home paired with sold out crowds throughout the country marked a renaissance for the World of Outlaws™ in 2007 and the 2008 title sponsorship announced today continues the momentum that has attracted Quaker State, SuperClean, Mahindra Tractors, Crane Cams, Qwik Liner and Americas Best Value Inn amongst others as Official Partners.

This is a big day for the World of Outlaws™ and the sport of dirt track auto racing as Advance Auto Parts is making a major statement and confirming today what the leaders in our sport have known, that dirt racing is a great place for major brands to invest their advertising dollars, said World Racing Group Chief Marketing Officer Ben Geisler. We’ve seen Advance Auto Parts’ marketing efforts in action with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series in the Northeast and are truly excited for the Sprint and Late Model fans, drivers and promoters across the country who will be very pleased with Advance Auto Parts as a partner who will work with us to exemplify what makes dirt track racing and the World of Outlaws™ truly unique.

Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts is the second-largest retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, based on store count and sales. As of October 6, 2007, the company operated 3,228 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The company serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets.

The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series™ begins its 30th Anniversary celebration season on February 8th during the Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park. The series features more than 20 full-time national competitors in 850-horsepower winged sprint cars, including 2001 champion Danny Lasoski, 20-time champion Steve Kinser and 2006 and 2007 two-time defending champion and Tony Stewart Racing driver Donny Schatz.

For the latest news about the 2008 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series™, visit WorldofOutlaws.com.

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2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Tim Shaffer

Concord, NC— December 7, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Tim Shaffer was anxious for the 2007 season to begin and rightfully so. After sustaining a serious neck injury at Knoxville Raceway that cut short his 2006 campaign, he headed to Florida early to get the feel for the race car again and to turn some extra laps in preparation for the World of Outlaws season opener, the Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.

It didn’t take him very long to get in the groove, earning a Top-Five finish in his first race back behind the wheel at East Bay Raceway. He earned his first Top-Five of the season with the World of Outlaws on the final night at Volusia with a very stout field of over 50 cars in attendance, which began a streak of three Top-Five finishes in the next four events.

Shaffer used 39 Top-10 finishes, with 25 of those being in the Top-Five to earn a ninth-place finish in World of Outlaws championship points. It was the seventh time in his career that he has earned a Top-10 finish in the season standings.

We went down to East Bay to try to get in a rhythm and that definitely helped, explained Shaffer, driver of the Casey’s General Store Maxim. We were on and off at the beginning of the year. The last three months, we were really strong and had a great team. We worked very well together and had a lot of fun.

From the open of the season at Volusia Speedway Park, until the season finale at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the level of competition was at an extremely high level each night of the season with the World of Outlaws in 2007. The average car count for the series in 2007 was 40 cars a night.

This definitely was one of the most competitive seasons, noted the 1999 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year. Anytime you have 21 cars following you around it makes the whole program tougher. It also makes it better for the fans.

Of Shaffer’s 25 Top-Five finishes, six were runner-up performances. In successive weeks at the end of March, he finished just inches behind Joey Saldana at both Volunteer Speedway in Tennessee and Dixie Speedway in Georgia, thrilling the crowds as he charged off the fourth turn seeking a win in those events. He also turned in runner-up performances at Lake Ozark Speedway in Missouri, Nodak Speedway in North Dakota, Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas.
 
It definitely was frustrating to not win, he commented. There were eight or nine races that we had a chance to win and I didn’t make it happen.

Shaffer was quick to credit his crew, which consists of John Sparky Pate and Chris Strait for all of their hard work this season that led to the team’s success on the track, along with car owner Lonny Parsons, one of the most respected owners in all of sprint car racing.

It’s hard to keep guys on the road and that is the big key, said the former Lernerville Speedway track champion. We have to stop running these guys to death. It’s not too much about me or the owners. I can fly in or travel differently (to the races), but those guys are working night and day and it makes it harder on them the more travel we have. I am afraid we may lose more guys. It’s hard to keep good help on the road. We have to look out after our teams.

Running at the front of the field and being in contention for a number of wins during the season kept Shaffer and his team motivated each time they rolled into the pit area over the course of the always demanding World of Outlaws schedule that stretches from February until early November. He won the Crane Cams Dash three times to earn pole positions during the 2007, and also was quickest in time trials three times as well.

It helps that’s for sure, he said of strong runs helping keep the team inspired. If I get a win that really helps. When you run in the Top-Five that keeps the team motivated and working hard.

Another highlight of the 2007 season for Shaffer was the chance to compete twice at his home track, Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania. In the Commonwealth Clash in May he finished a very solid fourth and backed that up with another Top-Five in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup in July.

In his first race back at Knoxville since his injury in 2006, Shaffer ran sixth and backed that up with another Top-10 finish in the series second visit of the season to the half-mile in June.

Shaffer reached victory lane late in the season during the 20th annual Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas, with the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS), winning the second of three nights of racing at the ¼-mile bullring.

Following the inaugural Outlaws World Finals, Shaffer returned home to Aliquippa, Pennsylvania to be with his family. During the holiday season he will have a chance to catch up with many family members and friends that do not get to see him very often during the racing season. He again plans to head to Florida early in 2008 to turn as many laps as he can prior to the World of Outlaws season opener.

I will get a lot of time at home over the winter, he said. That is the reason that I am not going to Australia. I’ll only go there if I can take my family. My wife works and my boy is in school so that makes it tough to go over. I would rather be at home with them during that time.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Paul McMahan

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Schatz Named Economaki Champion of Champions

Orlando, FL-- December 6, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Donny Schatz, the two-time defending World of Outlaws champion, was named the Economaki Champion of Champions today by National Speed Sport News at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show in Orlando, Florida.

Schatz was one of 10 finalists for the award, all of whom earned championships in North America during the 2007 racing season.

This is a huge honor, remarked Schatz during the live announcement. To be mentioned with guys like Jimmie Johnson, Sebastien Bourdais, Dario Franchitti and Tony Schumacher is quite an honor. We did the best we could every night and had one of those unbelievable seasons. I really appreciate all the people at National Speed Sport News for the coverage all season and now this award. This is something I'll never forget.

Schatz graced the cover of the famed publication a number of times in 2007, including after winning his second consecutive Knoxville Nationals title, which earned him a record $150,000 and his first Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway for which he pocketed $50,000.

The native of North Dakota won a total of 19 A-Feature events with the World of Outlaws en route to claiming his second straight title in 2007. He became the first driver in sprint car racing history to win the Knoxville Nationals, the Kings Royal, the National Open, the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup and the Williams Grove Summer Nationals all in the same season.

Donny really deserves this award as he has been one of the most exciting drivers to watch in all of motorsports, said Chris Economaki in announcing the winner. The level of consistency in his racing, when you consider how many races he runs, is just staggering.  And to win his championships back-to-back is even more remarkable. I do feel there is a tremendous amount of respect for what Donny has done, and we want to recognize that.

Schatz won at 13 different tracks this season in nine states and Canada, and he is one of just four drivers that have won a World of Outlaws event north of the border with the series.

He won a remarkable five times at the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania in 2007, along with two wins at Knoxville Raceway and a triumph at Eldora Speedway to earn victories at the three most well known dirt tracks in the world.

In the 75 A-Feature events that were contested in 2007, the 1997 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year finished in the Top-10 in 71 of them. Of those finishes, 53 were in the Top-Five. He led the series in a number of other statistical categories including: money earned, laps led, wins in the Crane Cams Dash and pole positions.

Schatz was the only driver in all of motorsports to be ranked in the NSSN ­ Power Rankings all season.

Other finalists included: Sebastien Bourdais, who won the Champ Car World Series title, Jerry Coons Jr., who won the USAC National Midget title, Dario Franchitti, who won the Indy Racing League title, Steve Francis, who won the World of Outlaws Late Model Series title, Jon Fogarty/Alex Gurney, who won a title with the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series, Ron Hornaday, who won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title, Jimmie Johnson, who won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series title, Joey Logano, who won the NASCAR Busch East Series title and Tony Schumacher, who won the NHRA Top Fuel title.

Schatz is the second World of Outlaws driver to win the Economaki Champion of Champions, joining 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser who won it in 2004. Schatz will be featured in the season ending NSSN on December 19.

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2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Jason Solwold

Concord, NC—December 5, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Consistency was the theme for Jason Solwold this year, as he finished in the Top-10 in the World of Outlaws championship points for the first time in his career. He began the 2007 campaign with a solid seventh-place finish on the opening night of the Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, setting the stage for the rest of the year.

The native of Mt. Vernon, Washington earned 41 Top-10 finishes, with 17 of those being in the Top-Five, en route to a career-best 10th place finish in the standings. He raced his way into the Crane Cams Dash 36 times over the course of the season to earn Top-10 starting spots in A-Feature events. He did all of this with a record number of drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws this season.

It was a pretty competitive season, said Solwold, a former track champion at Skagit Speedway in Washington. Though there were two dominant cars all year, between the 15 (Donny Schatz) and the 9 (Joey Saldana), but back in the field it was very competitive.

After picking up two preliminary feature wins in 2006 at Williams Grove Speedway and at Silver Dollar Speedway during the Gold Cup Race of Champions, one of Solwold’s main goals this year was to earn his first A-Feature victory with the World of Outlaws. He accomplished this fete in August at Charter Raceway Park in Wisconsin, in a dominating performance, in which he led all 40 laps on the high-banked 1/3-mile. He started sixth in the event, on a wild night that saw the green flag wave five times before a single lap was in the books. The win would propel him to eight Top-10 finishes over the course of the next 10 events and solidify his spot among the Top-10 in championship points.

It did take some pressure off to win, he said. I would have liked to have won a few more races, but so would everyone else. That’s just the way it worked out this year and the way it goes.

Solwold was one of the fastest drivers in time trials all season long, stopping the clocks first on seven occasions, including setting new track records at Riverside International Speedway in Arkansas in his first visit to the ¼-mile bullring, along with his initial stop at Clay County Fair Speedway in Iowa. He won the Crane Cams Dash at Riverside to earn the pole position in the A-Feature, en route to finishing second in the 40-lap A-Feature.

Making his win at Charter Raceway Park even more meaningful was the fact that the race was the finale of the inaugural SuperClean Summer of Money on ESPN2. Solwold was one of five drivers that took a checkered flag on the network. He also ran up front in a number of events that were broadcast on SPEED, including a fourth-place performance in the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway. In five events this season at Eldora, he finished in the Top-10 in each and every one of them.

I think it’s very good to have the races on TV, he noted. Television is definitely good for the sport.

Another highlight of the 2007 season for Solwold was having the opportunity to race at a number of tracks he was very familiar with, including Skagit Speedway and Grays Harbor Raceway, both in his home state of Washington. Solwold was also one of just a couple of drivers that had previously competed at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where the World of Outlaws raced for the first time this season. He was the only driver that had won in the past at the 3/8-mile.

Solwold ran very strong on the tracks that he cut his teeth racing sprint cars on. He finished seventh or better on both nights at Skagit, including a third-place performance on the opening night of the event, with the SPEED cameras rolling. He also was sixth at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon and seventh on the second night at Castrol Raceway during the Gold Rush Tour.

I like going up north, he shared. I was able to get back home and it’s also very scenic traveling up there. It was good going back to Elma (Grays Harbor Raceway). We didn’t run as well as we would have liked, but it was good to race there. I am glad it was back on the schedule.

The always focused driver showed how important perseverance is when competing against the best sprint car drivers in the world is, when late in the season he rebounded from a heartbreaking flat tire at Manzanita Speedway in Arizona while leading, to finish third the following night at Perris Auto Speedway in California. Also, he had a string of Top-10 finishes interrupted at the end of May, when he had a severe allergic reaction to fire ant bites he sustained during the driver’s meeting at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway. When he climbed back into the car just a couple of days later, he continued his consistent season, finishing sixth at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in New York on Memorial Day.

Along with winning a World of Outlaws event, Solwold also was victorious with the All Star Circuit of Champions this season during the Florida DIRTcar Nationals. He also ran strong in the Knoxville Nationals, finishing ninth in sprint car racing’s biggest event.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Tim Shaffer

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Dollansky to Drive for Larry Woodward Racing in 2008

Concord, NC—December 4, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

With the 2008 season quickly approaching, Craig Dollansky recently announced that he will team up with longtime World of Outlaws car owner Larry Woodward next season to contest the entire World of Outlaws schedule.

Dollansky racked up 48 Top-10 finishes this past season, with 24 of those being in the Top-Five, along with three A-Feature wins, including a $25,000 triumph at Skagit Speedway in Washington, en route to a seventh place finish in World of Outlaws championship points. It was the sixth time in his career that he has finished in the Top-10 in points.

This deal came together rather quickly, noted Dollansky. I’m looking forward to getting to know and working with Larry and Lori (Woodward). They are great people and have a true love for racing. Together, I believe we can do what is necessary to make this a winning combination.

Dollansky, a native of Elk River, Minnesota, was one of just six drivers to lead more than 150 laps of feature racing competition in 2007 with the World of Outlaws. He also won the Crane Cams Dash six times to earn the same number of pole positions in A-Feature events, along with setting a new track record at USA Race Park in Arizona in time trials.

The team will continue to campaign their familiar black car with the No. 2 on it. They were victorious once last season in World of Outlaws action, with Brooke Tatnell behind the wheel at Skagit Speedway in Washington.

Turning the wrenches on the Maxim race car with Charlie Garrett power will be veteran World of Outlaws crew chief Mike Woodring, who teamed up with Dollansky last May. Also on the crew will be Lester Groves, who worked with Dollansky in 2007, along with Rob Beattie. The team will work out of Dollansky’s state-of-the-art shop in Minnesota.

The 2008 season will mark Woodward’s 50th year in motorsports, as he has raced, promoted races and owned car during that span.

Dollansky also recently announced sponsorship with Snap-on Tools in 2008. The car will race with the support of Snap-on for eight regional events in the Midwest as the primary sponsor and remain an associate sponsor throughout the 2008 World of Outlaws tour.

We are looking forward to a very successful 2008 with this race team, especially with support from a great tool company such as Snap-on, Dollansky said. They carry a superb product line and we will proudly represent their company. I look forward to building a long lasting relationship with Snap-on Tools.

Dollansky currently is in the midst of a six-race stint in New Zealand, where he won last Saturday night, leading all 25 laps of the A-Feature at Western Springs Speedway. He will compete again this Saturday night at Western Springs. While he is racing in New Zealand, his crew is busy preparing at the shop for the upcoming season.

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2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Jac Haudenschild

Concord, NC—December 3, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Being from Ohio, there are a couple of races that are very near and dear to Jac Haudenschild. One of those is the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway, which he has won three times during his career. Another is the Brad Doty Classic, which he had been seeking a win in for a number of years. He came close in the past when the event was held at Attica Raceway Park and this season, he put his name in the record books by being victorious in the event  which honors the former World of Outlaws driver, which was held at Limaland Motorsports Park for the second consecutive season.

Doty, who is also a native of Ohio, presented Haudenschild the winner’s check and trophy in victory lane, as he helped promote the race that bears his name again this season. For Haudenschild, it is a win that he will never forget, as he is also good friends with Doty, who provided the expert analysis for all of the World of Outlaws television broadcasts in 2007.

We were glad to win that race, Haudenschild said. We didn’t win as much as we wanted to this year, but the guys did a good job on the car. The car owner also did a good job keeping us with stuff. Next year we are just hoping to win more races.

Haudenschild wrapped up the season with two A-Feature wins and now has 46 in his career with the World of Outlaws. He was 11th in championship points on the strength of 34 Top-10 finishes, with 13 of those being in the Top-Five. He opened the season with a 10th place finish on the Florida DIRTcar Nationals, and followed that up with a strong trip to the West Coast. When the series headed to Thunderbowl Raceway in California, he earned two Top-six finishes, including a runner-up performance on the opening night of the two-day show.

It definitely was a competitive season, said Haudenschild. There were a lot of good car and a lot of good drivers out here. Year after year it seems to always be competitive with the Outlaws. This year definitely ranked up there.

Haudenschild also won at Red River Valley Speedway in North Dakota during the SuperClean Summer of Money on ESPN2. In addition, he ran strong in several of the other televised events this season. In total, the World of Outlaws had 16 races on ESPN2 and SPEED, bringing sprint car racing to thousands of new fans around the world.

It was very good to be on television this year and having it back next year, he noted. We are looking forward to next year.

Haudenschild continued to thrill fans from coast-to-coast with his always entertaining driving style. In his first ever visit to River Cities Speedway in North Dakota, he rode the high side of the track to come from the 13th starting spot to charge to second, just inches behind winner Joey Saldana in one of the closest finishes all season. That along with his win at Red River Valley earned him the overall title for the Duel in the Dakotas. It also was the beginning of a string of six consecutive finishes of eighth or better, which was capped off by his win in the Brad Doty Classic.

The strong runs and the wins are what keep you going, said the veteran driver. You wouldn’t do it if you weren’t running well. It’s hard to win races and that is what keeps you going.

Again in 2007, Haudenschild was paired with longtime World of Outlaws crew chief Dean Bonzai Bruns, as the duo continued to add to the list of events that they have won together. With 78 total events contested in 2007 and countless miles travel from coast-to-coast, Haudenschild was proud of the entire Rick Wright team for all of their hard work day in and day out.

He did a lot of work and kept the team going, said Haudenschild of Bruns. He did a real good job keeping everything rolling. The entire crew did a very good job.

A new format awaited Haudenschild and the rest of the World of Outlaws competitors in 2007 and it provided exciting racing for the fans. The biggest change was that the top two finishes in each heat race earned a spot in the Crane Cams Dash, with the final two spots in a normal four-heat program being filled by the fastest two cars from time trials that transferred to the A-Feature through their heat race. A number of heat races saw last lap passes, as the driver in third position did everything they could to move into the second spot to earn a spot in the dash.

It takes a little while to get used to stuff, especially when they change the format, said the native of Wooster, Ohio. You just have to get used to it. It worked out pretty good and they’ll probably keep it the same for next year.

The crowd favorite also had a number of strong runs cut short by flat tires and other problems, though he did not dwell on those nights. Rather he focused on the next race and what it would take to continue to run at the front of the field and contend for wins.

The stuff you can’t control is out of your hands, he explained. It’s a bummer when that happens, but it happens to everybody at some point, so everyone has to deal with it.

Haudenschild won’t take much of a break this off-season, as he will again do some two wheel racing indoors with his son Sheldon in preparation for the 2008 season.

I do a lot of the motocross racing with him, so I really don’t get much time off, he smiled.

Haudenschild will return for another season with the World of Outlaws in 2008, and will be piloting the number R19 for Carnahan Motorsports, with veteran crew chief Leonard Lee turning the wrenches.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Jason Solwold

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Craig Dollansky Wins in New Zealand

Concord, NC—December 1, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

After having a couple of weeks to unwind after the finale of the World of Outlaws season on November 3, Craig Dollansky was back in action on Saturday night, as he kicked off annual his stint in New Zealand by winning the 25 lap A-Feature at Western Springs Speedway, driving for the Salter Racing team.

Dollansky led all 25 laps, winning over New Zealand native Jamie McDonald and fellow American Jason Statler from California. Other top contenders taking part in the event included multi-time champions Allan Wakeling and Dean Brindle of New Zealand, along with American Ricky Logan, who has already won a couple of events in New Zealand this season.

Dollansky’s car consistently got faster as the night went on, as he set the fastest laps of the race on the 16th circuit, en route to winning by nearly a full second.

The native of Elk River, Minnesota aboard the USA #7, finished second in the second 10-lap heat race and was fourth in the third heat race. Those finishes helped him earn the pole position for the 25-lap A-Feature, where he quickly took the lead on the opening start.

Dollansky, who won three times with the World of Outlaws this season, will make his next scheduled start in New Zealand on December 8, also at Western Springs Speedway. During the month of December, the former World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion will contest a total of six events in New Zealand.

By competing in the international events, he will earn a spot in the Kele World Challenge which is contested on the Friday night before the finale of the Knoxville Nationals at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa.

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2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Terry McCarl

Concord, NC—November 30, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Ever since he began racing sprint cars at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, it was a goal of Terry McCarl’s to win a World of Outlaws event at his home track. After six championships and 42 wins at the half-mile, he accomplished that goal this season, besting a stout field in the opener of the SuperClean Summer of Money on ESPN2 in June.

The native of Altoona, Iowa also was victorious at KC-Raceway in Ohio with the television cameras rolling in World of Outlaws action. He earned 32 Top-10 finishes during the 2007 season, with 13 of those being in the Top-Five and was 12th overall in the championship standings.

Among the highlights during the season for the always focused driver was a third-place performance in the Knoxville Nationals, as he battled Donny Schatz and Joey Saldana for sprint car racing’s biggest prize. He also finished third in the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway.

We ran good at all of the big races, said McCarl, driver of the Big Game Treestands Eagle. We had a shot at the (Knoxville) Nationals and ran third. We came from the sixth row in the Kings Royal and ran third. We won a couple of the TV shows on ESPN2. We ran fourth in the TV points.

McCarl had several strong runs cut short by flat tires and other circumstances out of his control, though he continued to race hard each and every time he hit the track, as was evident by his six wins in the B-Main (Last Chance Showdown) to race his way into the A-Feature.

We had a good year in some ways and also a lot of bad luck, he noted. We had a lot of crazy things happen. I guarantee we had 10 flat tires and a lot of stuff like that. It was no one’s fault, just bad luck. Hopefully we can shake those and get the money off our back for next year and come out strong and get back to where we should be. Sometimes you have good seasons and sometimes you have bad ones. We are really excited about next year.

Toward the latter part of the season, McCarl began to prepare for 2008 by welcoming veteran World of Outlaws crew chief and mechanic Tyler Swank to the team. Swank will team with fellow veteran crew chief Troy Renfro next season to turn the wrenches for McCarl. Both Swank and Renfro call the Des Moines, Iowa area home, which also is right near McCarl’s home and shop.

We put a new team together and lost a couple of crew chiefs, explained McCarl of his 2007 season. We lost our continuity. There was no stability within the team this year. I am looking forward to getting this thing straightened out and getting back on track. That is the basis for a strong team, everyone knowing their jobs.

One of the most memorable moments of the entire 2007 World of Outlaws season was McCarl’s win at KC-Raceway in Ohio, as he dueled with two-time defending World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz for the triumph. With the ESPN2 cameras rolling, McCarl waved as he passed Schatz en route to earning the $10,000 win.

I get excited once in a while, smiled McCarl. To this day not too many people passed Donny Schatz, so I am in an elite group. I was fortunate enough to pass him during the Knight Before the Kings Royal. I passed him out in the open. He certainly had a great year and is a great competitor. He and I are great friends and I was trying to get him stirred up in the car, but he didn’t get stirred up. He stayed with me pretty hard and it almost ended up being a mistake, but it was fun for the fans and ended up being great for TV.

McCarl who is a promoter himself enjoyed the World of Outlaws two visits to Canada, especially the trip Castrol Raceway in Edmonton as part of the Gold Rush Tour. Though the second night of racing was delayed a day by rain, creating some obstacles for McCarl who was flying back home after the event, the promoter in him was thrilled at how well received the series was north of the border.

Once we got up there and got to meet the fans, it was certainly worthwhile, he said. It ended up being a great show. We got rained out the one night and there were a thousand fans that hung out for over an hour by the t-shirt trailers to meet the drivers and the driver’s wives. What a great bunch of people. They were so appreciate of us and it was a great event. We look forward to going back up there.

McCarl recently announced that he will have Big Game Treestands, his primary sponsor back for another two years. Being an owner/driver, that gives McCarl the confidence in the off-season to focus entirely on the performance of the race team.

There is a lot of turmoil and uncertainly going on for a lot of teams and it feels good to know that we are solid in that sense, said the six-time Huset’s Speedway track champion. In the off-season we will get really buckled down and working hard for next year. I am pretty motivated and mad, but mad in a good sense. It has me motivated to work harder in the winter than I have the last couple of years and get in shape and get this team back to a Top-Five competitor.

McCarl began his off-season by having 12 screws removed from his left leg that had been inserted last season after he broke the leg. Once the leg is fully healed, McCarl has an intense physical training regimen in place in preparation for the 2008 World of Outlaws campaign.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Jac Haudenschild

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2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Kerry Madsen

Concord, NC—November 28, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Kerry Madsen experienced every kind of emotion this year in his first full season on the road with the World of Outlaws. He had the exultation of winning his first World of Outlaws event in just the second event of the season, but that quickly turned to mourning as his car owner Dave Helm passed away mere days later. He also experienced the heartbreak of leading all but the final ¼-lap at Black Hills Speedway, en route to a runner-up finish.

Through it all, the native of St. Mary’s. NSW, Australia persevered, and in the process claimed the 2007 World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year. He won two A-Feature wins on the season, to go along with 23 Top-10 finishes, and finished 13th in overall championship points, with veteran and well respected crew chief Sonny Kratzer turning the wrenches.

It was an ok year, said Madsen. I think we were capable of a lot more. We had a few problems and some stuff we were not doing real well. Overall, it could have been better and could have been worse. We just took what we got.

For Madsen, the 2005 Knoxville Raceway track champion, who has always been used to racing against top of the line competitors, he had the chance each and every night to compete against the best sprint car drivers in the world.

I enjoyed every minute of it and the competition, noted Madsen. From that side, it probably was my toughest year. You’d have to ask the guys that have been out here for 10 years about if it was the toughest season ever. I loved every minute of it.

After winning on the second night of the season during the Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, Madsen firmly entrenched himself atop the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year standings. Consistency throughout the season helped him claim the rookie title by a convincing margin, capping the year off with his second win with the series in his first-ever visit to Perris Auto Speedway in California.

To be honest we never really set our goal to be the rookie of the year, but it’s a cool deal to have, he said. It was one of those deals where if you ran well it would take care of itself. Now that we won it, it’s pretty cool.

Madsen will always remember his win at Volusia because it was his first with the series, but more importantly because it was the final World of Outlaws win for his car owner Dave Helm, who was one of the most respected owners in all of sprint car racing.

That was unreal, said Madsen. It was a surreal weekend. Being able to win a race early before Dave’s passing probably was the highlight of the year.

Late in the season, Madsen and the Selma Shell Racing team for whom he drove took part in the inaugural Dave Helm Memorial at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California, which is just 30 miles from the team’s shop, where Helm called home. Madsen took part in a ceremony on the front straightaway that honored the Helm family, as did a number of other drivers and crew members that had been associated with the team over the years, and he also turned some laps on the high-banked 1/3-mile in tribute to one of sprint car racing’s biggest ambassadors.

I was looking for a better run than fifth and we had a better car than that, but I kind of made a mistake and lost a bunch of spots, said the always focused driver. It was still good to run well there in front of Dave’s family and his friends. That is where the team is based, so that was a good run.

Despite having some very strong runs cut short by flat tires and other problems, Madsen gained priceless experience, visiting well over 50 tracks that he had never been to during 2007. Along the way, he set fast time three times including setting a new track record at the famed Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix and at the storied Orange County Fair Speedway in New York. He won the Crane Cams Dash twice to earn pole positions in A-Feature events, as well as picking up the KSE Race Products Hard Charger Award on five occasions.

When you run a hundred races a year, you know that you will have some bad luck, he explained. We just had a bit too much.

Madsen geared up for the 2007 World of Outlaws season by contesting a very ambitious schedule in his native land last winter, winning five times, including a victory in the Grand Annual Classic. When the final numbers were tallied, the always determined driver competed nearly 100 times over the course of the last 12 months.

No doubt about it, it helped, he said of his off-season racing. We raced the weekend before in Australia, then Florida. It is a help, but most of these guys are so good that it’s not a big deal, but I think it helps.

Just days after being awarded the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award, Madsen returned to Australia to compete in the opening two rounds of the World Series Sprintcar season. He won at Perth Motorplex on November 14 after winning a duel with two-time defending World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz. He plans to return down under after the holiday season.

Madsen also recently joined forces with VerMeer Motorsports Inc. and will make another full run with the World of Outlaws in 2008. He was part of the team from 2004-2006 and won a Knoxville Raceway track championship with them. The team is based out of Pella, Iowa, just a short drive from Knoxville.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Terry McCarl

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Schatz & Saldana Nominated for AARWBA All-America Team

Concord, NC—November 27, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Donny Schatz, the two-time defending World of Outlaws champion and Joey Saldana, who finished a career-best second in points this season, lead a list of nominees for the prestigious 2007 All-America Auto Racing Team, which will be determined by voting members of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association.

The balloting is comprised of seven different categories, with Schatz and Saldana both earning nominations in the Short Track category, which consists of six drivers. The top-two vote getters in the category will be named to the All-American Auto Racing First Team.

Schatz won 19 A-Feature events this season with the World of Outlaws and became the first sprint car driver in history to win the Knoxville Nationals, the Kings Royal, the National Open, the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup and the Williams Grove Summer Nationals all in the same season. He brought his career win total with the series to 70, tying him for sixth on the all-time win list.

Schatz, a native of North Dakota, led the World of Outlaws in several statistical categories in 2007, including: A-Feature wins, Top-10 finishes, Top-Five finishes, laps led, money earned, wins in the Crane Cams Dash and pole positions.

Saldana won a total of 13 events this season with the World of Outlaws, including the $50,000 Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in California. He also was victorious at: Thunderbowl Raceway in California, Pike County Speedway in Mississippi, Volunteer Speedway in Tennessee, Dixie Speedway in Georgia, Attica Raceway Park in Ohio, Kokomo Speedway in his home state of Indiana, Eagle Raceway in Nebraska, River Cities Speedway in North Dakota, I-55 Raceway in Missouri, Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon and the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio.

Saldana led the series in fast time honors in qualifying, stopping the clocks first 11 times, setting three new track records in the process. He also was one of just three drivers to lead more than 300 laps of feature racing competition during the season. In addition, he claimed six wins in the Crane Cams Dash to earn the same number of pole positions.

The balloting will also determine a Second Team of All-American’s, which will consist of the drivers placing third and fourth in each respective category, with honorable mentions going to all other drivers receiving at least 5 percent of the vote. An All- America team has been chosen by AARWBA members since 1970.

In addition, Schatz and Saldana are in the running for the prestigious Jerry Titus Award, also presented annually by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association. The Titus Award is voted on by the 400-plus members of the organization that consists of the motorsports press, and honors the All-America team’s top driver, the one earning the most votes in the balloting, regardless of category.

Other nominees in the Short Track category for the 2007 All-America Team include late model standouts Steve Francis and Chub Frank.  Francis claimed the 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series title, while Frank finished second. Also on the ballot is USAC Sprint National Sprint Car titlist Levi Jones and USAC National Midget champion Jerry Coons Jr.

The winner of the Jerry Titus Award will be announced at the 38th annual AARWBA Banquet in Indianapolis on January 12.

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Schatz Nominated for 2007 Economaki Champion of Champions Award

Concord, NC—November 27, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

For the second consecutive year, World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz has been nominated as one of the 10 finalists for the Economaki Champion of Champions which is awarded by National Speed Sport News.

For the past three seasons, NSSN has awarded the Economaki Champion of Champions to the driver of the year. The award is named after the longtime Editor and Publisher Emeritus of the paper, the legendary Chris Economaki.

Schatz graced the cover of the famed publication a number of times in 2007, including after winning his second consecutive Knoxville Nationals title and his first Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway. He won a total of 19 A-Feature events with the World of Outlaws en route to claiming his second straight title. He became the first driver in sprint car racing history to win the Knoxville Nationals, the Kings Royal, the National Open, the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup and the Williams Grove Summer Nationals all in the same season.

Schatz led the World of Outlaws in several statistical categories in 2007, including Top-10 finishes with 71, Top-Five finishes with 53, laps led with 467, money earned with $470,450, wins in the Crane Cams Dash with 12 and pole positions with 12 as well.

Schatz also is the only driver this season that was in the NSSN Power Rankings each and every week. He finished the season ranked second, only to NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson. In the 75 A-Feature events contested by the World of Outlaws this season, Schatz finished in the Top-10 in all but four.

For drivers to earn a nomination for the Economaki Champion of Champions Award, they must have won a title in North America during the 2007 season. Schatz is one of 10 finalists for the award, which will be presented by Economaki himself on Thursday December 5, at the annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, held in Orlando, Florida, and will be featured in the December 19, season ending issue of NSSN.

Other finalists include: Sebastien Bourdais, who won the Champ Car World Series title, Jerry Coons Jr., who won the USAC National Midget title, Dario Franchitti, who won the Indy Racing League title, Steve Francis, who won the World of Outlaws Late Model Series title, Jon Fogarty/Alex Gurney, who won a title with the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series, Ron Hornaday, who won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title, Jimmie Johnson, who won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series title, Joey Logano, who won the NASCAR Busch East Series title and Tony Schumacher, who won the NHRA Top Fuel title.

Steve Kinser, who has won a record 20 World of Outlaws titles and 543 A-Feature events, was awarded the Economaki Champion of Champions Award in 2004.

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Madsen Returns to VerMeer Motorsports to Contest 2008 World of Outlaws Season

Concord, NC—November 26, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Gearing up for the 2008 season, Kerry Madsen has joined forces with VerMeer Motorsports Inc. and will contest the entire World of Outlaws schedule, beginning on February 8 at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida, driving the No. 55 machine. This will be the team’s first foray on the road full-time with the World of Outlaws.

Madsen competed full-time with the World of Outlaws for the first time in his career this past season, winning twice and earning the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award. He racked up 23 Top-10 finishes en route to a very respectable 13th-place finish in the overall championship points.

I’m very exited and at the same time I realize the challenge that it will be with a first-year team, said Madsen. All in all, I am looking forward to it.

The native of St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia was a part of VerMeer Motorsports from 2004 until early 2006, competing weekly at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. As a part of the team, he was the 2005 Knoxville track champion. During his title winning season, Madsen won five A-Feature events in-a-row at one point on the half-mile, in addition to winning the Summer Classic from the 16th starting spot, which earned him $10,000. Also in 2005, he finished sixth in the Knoxville Nationals, after starting 15th.

The team which is owned by Tony and Kelly VerMeer will continue to campaign the No. 55 on the car, and will utilize a Maxim chassis, with Don Ott power under the hood. Matt Barbara will be the crew chief for the team based out of Pella, Iowa.

Madsen along with five other drivers have helped the team finish in the Top-10 in points at Knoxville Raceway in six of the last seven years, including three consecutive Top-Five finishes in the standings. They were fifth this past season with Billy Alley behind the wheel.

It will be a big help having worked with the team before, said Madsen, who is a two-time winner of the Grand Annual Classic in Australia. We have the chemistry and a great bond with the crew.

In 2007, Madsen claimed the World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year while driving for the Selma Racing team owned by the late Dave Helm and based out of California. He won two races, including on the second night of the season during the Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, as well as in his first visit to Perris Auto Speedway in California.

Madsen adapted quickly to a number of tracks he was visiting for the first time in 2007, as he was quickest in time trials three times over the course of the season, including setting new track records at the famed Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix and at the storied Orange County Fair Speedway in New York.

There’s no doubt about it that it will help going back to tracks next year, he said, as he looks ahead to the 2008 season. You don’t realize coming into it what it takes to adjust to a new track, but you do adjust to it. At the same time it will be an advantage going back to tracks, knowing I have been there before.

Madsen won the Crane Cams Dash twice this season to earn pole positions in A-Feature events with the World of Outlaws, in addition to claiming the KSE Race Products Hard Charger Award five times. The honor went to the driver that passed the most cars in the A-Feature each night.

The team’s first race at Knoxville in 2008 with the World of Outlaws will be on April 26. Their final tune-up for the Knoxville Nationals will be on June 6 and 7 when the series returns to the storied half-mile for two full nights of racing. Madsen is cautiously excited to return to the track, which he lives just a couple miles away from. In his career at Knoxville, he has 14 A-Feature wins.

When you do the Outlaws deal, each and every race is important, he explained. We’ll definitely be wanting to run good at the shows around home. We’ll take each race as they come, one-by-one. We don’t want to get into any trouble by putting too much emphasis on any one race.

Madsen finished the 2007 season off with plenty of momentum, earning Top-10 finishes in five of the last eight events, including a podium finish on the opening night of the National Open at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania and his second career World of Outlaws A-Feature win at Perris, as he led all 30 laps, holding off 2001 World of Outlaws champion Danny Lasoski for the win.

In preparation for the 2008 World of Outlaws season, Madsen has already competed a couple of times in his native land in the opening rounds of the World Series Sprintcar season. He won the second event at Perth Motorplex, in a thrilling battle with two-time defending World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz. After returning to the United States for the Holiday’s, Madsen will return down under to compete a number of times prior to heading to Florida for the World of Outlaws season in February.

A realistic goal is to be a Top-10 team, he said, when assessing what he believes the team can achieve in 2008. I think we can also win five races.

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2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Jason Sides

Concord, NC—November 26, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Jason Sides said before the 2007 season that if his team consistently ran in the Top-10 that they would be in contention for wins and that it would be a good season. The native of Bartlett, Tennessee did exactly that, as he earned 23 Top-10 finishes, with nine of those being in the Top-Five, en route to a 14th place finish overall in World of Outlaws championship points. He also won at Ohsweken Speedway in Canada as the series returned north of the border for the first time in over 25 years, and was in contention for several other wins over the course of the season.

Another of the highlights of the 2007 campaign was an event that Sides was the runner-up in, at New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey back in May. He was inched out by 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser at the line by just 0.028 seconds in the closest finish of the season, that had the crowd on their feet as the pair came off the fourth turn, side-by-side. He kicked off the season by winning during the Winternationals at East Bay Raceway in Florida, prior to the World of Outlaws opener at Volusia Speedway Park.

Sides, who is one of the hardest working drivers in the pit area, put in countless hours turning the wrenches and also driving the truck and trailer from track to track. Each strong run he had, made all of that work and sacrifice worth it.

It was a good season for us, said Sides, driver of the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim. Other than not getting more wins that you want, but you always want more wins. The season comes to an end and you can’t wait for it to end, but then you get bored and can’t wait to go racing again.

Sides won the Crane Cams Dash four times this season to earn pole positions in A-Feature events, including at: USA Race Park in Arizona in his first visit to the 3/8-mile track, as well as at the reconfigured Tri-City Speedway in Illinois, Red River Valley Speedway in North Dakota and at the famed Williams Grove Speedway on the first night of the Summer Nationals. In addition, Sides was quickest in time trials on two occasions in 2007.

Another strong run for Sides came at Red River Valley Speedway in North Dakota, with the ESPN2 cameras rolling for the SuperClean Summer of Money, as he finished second on the high-banked half-mile. With 21 cars still competing full-time at the end of the season, Sides was very proud of the hard work he and his team put in and rewarded them and all of his sponsors with numerous strong runs.

It speaks for itself when you have that many cars, Sides said of the level of competition in 2007. Any car can win on any given night. It’s been a tough year for everyone, except maybe a few of the front runners. It’s been a competitive year and that shows that the sport is growing and hopefully that keeps going.

Sides had several strong runs cut short this season by flat tires and bad luck. At Tri-City Speedway in Illinois he was leading by a significant margin when he lost a tire. He also was leading his heat race in the finale of the Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Speedway which would have put him in the Crane Cams Dash, when he had an engine grenade on him.

It is frustrating when the car is that good and you have a flat or something happens to the motor that is something we can’t control, explained the 2003 World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year. Though it still is a confidence booster knowing that you can run up front and contend with those guys.

When the series headed up to Ohsweken Speedway in July, only one driver in series history had won north of the border and that was three-time series champion Sammy Swindell. After a thrilling race that saw him hold off Jac Haudenschild and Donny Schatz, Sides became the second driver to win in Canada. Since that event, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser won an event in Canada, as did two-time defending series titlist Donny Schatz.

That is something that will be in the record books for a while, until we go back and someone else wins, Sides stated. Any win is a good win for us. Like I said, we should have won a couple more, and we’ll just stick around and try to get them next year.

Sides had an opportunity this season to compete at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas, which is just a short drive from his home in Bartlett, Tennessee. In his first race at the refurbished track in a number of years, he earned a spot in the Crane Cams Dash and just finished outside of the Top-10 in the A-Feature. He also had a long line of fans waiting at his trailer after the event, as many of the fans in attendance saw him cut his teeth in a 360-sprint car at Riverside and other tracks in the area.

That’s one of those places that is home and things seem to always happen, but it’s always good to run in front of the home fans and the people that have been watching us since we started, said Sides. It was neat to go there. They had made so many improvements since the last time we had been there and it was a good race.

Sides wrapped up his 2007 season by  competing at Columbus Speedway in Mississippi in a 360-sprint car, after returning home from the inaugural Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, and earned two Top-Five finishes to close out his 2007 campaign. With the 2008 season quickly approaching, he is back in the shop preparing for the new racing season, as he looks to build on a very successful season.

There is never any time to rest, he admitted. When the season is over we start rebuilding and start getting ready for a new year.

Up Next: 2007 World of Outlaws Season Review: Kerry Madsen

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Lasoski Wins Inaugural Turkey Open Wheel Classic at Springfield Raceway

Concord, NC—November 25, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

Danny Lasoski always enjoys racing in his home state of Missouri and he especially enjoys winning in front of his home state fans. The native of Dover, Missouri capped off his 2007 season on Saturday night by winning the inaugural Turkey Open Wheel Classic at Springfield Raceway in Springfield, Missouri.

Lasoski, who won six times with the World of Outlaws this season en route to a third-place finish in championship points, bested a 17-car field Saturday night on the ¼-mile banked oval to take home a $2,500 top prize.

It was his third win in a 360-sprint car this season, with all three coming in the Show-me State. He was also victorious in the Bob Ramey Memorial at Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia back in April and in the Merlyn McCown/Ken Taylor Memorial at LA Raceway in July. Both of those triumphs were with the Winged Outlaw Warriors.

The 2001 World of Outlaws champion bested his nephew Brian Brown and Jesse Hockett on Saturday night in the final winged sprint car event of the season in the United States, which drew a hearty crowd on a chilly fall afternoon and evening.

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