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RACE REPORT: Saldana Sails to Thunderbowl Win

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Tulare, CA
— Saldana Sails to Thunderbowl Win

Tulare, CA — Feb. 23, 2007 — By Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director
 
Joey Saldana knows the importance of patience in racing. He showed plenty of it on Friday night as battled Jac Haudenschild at the ultra-racy 1/3-mile high banked Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California. After falling back to third on the second lap of the race, he bided his time and made a late charge to take the $10,000 win.

(Click for the full MyLaps.com statistical report of Friday night’s event.)
 
Saldana lined up for the 35-lap A-Feature on the outside of the front row and charged around Haudenschild on the bottom of the front straight-a-way on the 24th lap to pick up his first World of Outlaws A-Feature win of the season and the 23rd of his career.
 
Saldana driving the Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI for NASCAR star Kasey Kahne, turned the fastest lap of the 26 starters on the 29th lap of the event. After powering his way around Tim Shaffer on the 11th lap, he methodically followed Haudenschild for the next 13 circuits.
 
“In the feature, we just stayed after it,” said Saldana, the 1996 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year. “We had a good car. This track is so tough to pass on, that when you make your move, you have to hopefully make it stick. At the beginning I got a little behind with a full tank of fuel, but once I got settled in there we were ok, and got the win.”
 
Late in the race, Saldana endured some very heavy lapped traffic and had a couple of close calls, as the slower machines forced him to change lines and take evasive measures. After a late restart, he pulled away and had nearly a quarter of a lap on Haudenschild when the checkered flag flew.
 
“The cautions were good for me,” he said. “I was trying to get a run on the guys down in turn three. On the one restart, I got a run off of turn two and that is how I got (Tim) Shaffer. Then we had another yellow and that is how I got Jac (Haudenschild). The yellows were the only way that you were going to set a guy up and get around him. Then after that, you had to make sure you didn’t make any mistakes in lapped traffic, because traffic was atrocious.”
 
For Saldana, it was his first World of Outlaws win with Crew Chief Ricky Warner. The pair won an O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions race to open up the year during the Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.
 
“We felt like right out of the box we had a good package,” Saldana said. “Winning an Outlaws race mean a lot. That’s what we are racing for. Tonight, we showed that our short track program is a lot better than it was last year. Last year that was out Achilles heal, the short tracks. It’s really gratifying to come out here on a sticky track like this and pass cars to win the race.”
 
Haudenschild in the Wright One Construction Maxim started from the pole, after winning his first dash of the season and held on to finish second with a quickly deflating left rear tire, after leading the first 23 circuits.
 
“We had a good race car tonight,” said Haudenschild. “It was fast all night. It was a tacky track, and it was hard to pass cars and it was hard to get passed. You just have to keep your line. Bonzi (Bruns) and the boys had the car set up well. That caution hurt us late in the race.”
 
Tim Shaffer ran in the Top-three all night and came home third in the Casey’s General Stores Maxim. Jason Meyers was fourth in the Primerica Financial Maxim. Terry McCarl rounded out the Top-Five in the Big Game Treestands Eagle.
 
Shaffer, who won at Thunderbowl in 2005, began the night by turning the fastest lap of the 42 cars that took time. Early in the race, the native of Aliquippa, Penn., took the lead briefly on the back straight-a-way, but that pass was negated as the caution flag flew before the cars made it back to the start/finish line. The veteran drive stayed in the lead trio all night long.
 
“There’s something about this place that I get along well with,” said Shaffer. “I really like the track, and it seems like there are certain things that I do right here. Hopefully we can keep that up for tomorrow night. We made some changes for the feature tonight and it worked. It was pretty impressive.”
 
Jason Meyers, who hails from Clovis, Calif., has always enjoyed racing at Thunderbowl. On Friday night, he picked up his first Top-Five finish of the season, as he came home fourth. He battled Terry McCarl for the fourth spot for most of the race, and after running in fifth, took the spot on the 27th lap.
 
“A couple of the cars out there we had to pass twice,” Meyers said. “We had a good line up high coming off turn two, and the car was really good up there. Once in a while it would bite you, it was pretty tight up there. The guys did a great job. It’s always fun for us to come back to Tulare. It’s like sleeping in your own bed, getting close to home. After the trip we had to Florida, we sure did need a night like this to get on a roll and we feel real good about it. I look forward to coming back tomorrow night and building on it.”
 
The rest of the Top-10 was Craig Dollansky in the Karavan Trailers Maxim in sixth, Brooke Tatnell was seventh in the Volcano Joe’s Coffee Schnee, Justin Henderson was eighth in the Dan Dan the Sonic Man Rocket, Ronnie Day was ninth in the Primerica Financial Maxim, and Becca Anderson was 10th in the Spectro Oil Maxim.
 
Reigning series champion Donny Schatz used a provisional to start the A-Feature and worked his way from 25th to a very respectable 12th-place finish.
 
The World of Outlaws wrap up their stay at Thunderbowl Raceway on Saturday night with another full racing program that will pay $10,000-to win.
 
THUNDERBOWL RACEWAY NOTEBOOK
 
• PAYING TRIBUTE: After time trials were completed on Friday night, all World of Outlaws drivers and crew members assembled on the front straight-a-way for a moment of silence in tribute to long time car owner Dave Helm who passed away last week. Prior to the A-Feature, Kerry Madsen who drivers for Helm’s team led the field while carrying a checkered flag as the field displayed the missing man formation to honor the longtime car owner.
 
• FAST QUALIFIER: Tim Shaffer paced the 42 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the 1/3-mile high-banked ova at 13.136 second at 91.261 mph. For his qualifying effort, Shaffer earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers earned bonus points, including: Jason Meyers (4), Tim Kaeding (3), Brooke Tatnell (2), and Randy Hannagan (1). Thunderbowl Raceway is a high-banked 1/3-mile oval. The track record of 12.740 seconds was set by Kevin Swindell on October 15, 2005.

• QUALIFYING WINNERS:  Terry McCarl, Kerry Madsen, Jac Haudenschild, and Joey Saldana won heat races…. Chad Kemenah won the C-Main… Tim Kaeding won the B-Main… Jac Haudenschild won the dash.

• ON THE WEB: The Official World of Outlaws Web site is at http://www.worldofoutlaws.com. Among the features are updated driver biographies with individual statistics and pictures, race-by-race statistics, detailed track information and race coverage, series news and team press releases. Also, links to the Media Guide and 2007 Official Rulebook can be found at the bottom of the home page.

• LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws live on DIRTVision.com through the DIRT Radio Network. To listen to the audio broadcasts, log on to www.DIRTVision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo. Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail [email protected].

• UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws will wrap up a two night stay at Thunderbowl Raceway with another full racing program, with $10,000 going to the winner.
 
• UPCOMING EVENTS: On March 2 the series returns to USA Race Park in Tucson, Arizona, followed by the Cactus Classic at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix on March 3. A return to Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas is in store on March 16, with a trip to Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Mississippi to follow on March 17. The series will make their inaugural visit to Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee on March 24, and will close out the month at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Georgia on March 31.

World of Outlaws Sprint Series Statistical Report; Thunderbowl Raceway; Feb. 23, 2007
Qualifying
1) 6T-Tim Shaffer 13.136
2) 14-Jason Meyers 13.138
3) 11K-Tim Kaeding 13.162
4) 2-Brooke Tatnell 13.212
5) 1x-Randy Hannagan 13.222
6) 7-Craig Dollansky 13.277
7) 4-Mike Faria 13.312
8) 9-Joey Saldana 13.334
9) 24-Terry McCarl 13.334
10) 11H-Kerry Madsen 13.342
11) 19-Becca  Anderson 13.355
12) 7S-Jason Sides 13.362
13) 17V-Danny Faria Jr 13.365
14) 81-Robert Ballou 13.368
15) 35-Jac Haudenschild 13.369
16) D1-Justin Henderson 13.396
17) 21-Daryn Pittman 13.402
18) 20-Paul McMahan 13.408
19) 10C-Jeremy Campbell 13.409
20) O-Jonathan Allard 13.447
21) 83-Danny Lasoski 13.472
22) R19-Jason Solwold 13.481
23) 11D-Dion Hindi 13.505
24) 1-Ronnie Day 13.516
25) 8K-Zach Chappell 13.560
26) 15-Donny Schatz 13.575
27) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr 13.613
28) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr 13.619
29) 5C-Chad Hillier 13.620
30) 36-Jason Martin 13.626
31) 35K-Bud Kaeding 13.657
32) 18-Brian Carlson 13.766
33) 75H-Danny Horner 13.794
34) 11-Steve Kinser 13.802
35) 70-Chad Kemenah 13.961
36) 21T-Tommy Tarlton 13.989
37) 9K-Brent Kronfuss 14.056
38) 6W-Mark Workentine 14.288
39) 12M-James Mosher 14.357
40) 29A-Jason Botsford 14.358
41) 33E-Evan Suggs 14.459
42) 44-Matt Shelton 14.498
 
Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 24-Terry McCarl
2) 6T-Tim Shaffer
3) 17V-Danny Faria Jr
4) 1x-Randy Hannagan
5) 21-Daryn Pittman
6) 83-Danny Lasoski
7) 8K-Zach Chappell
8) 75H-Danny Horner
9) 33E-Evan Suggs
10) 9K-Brent Kronfuss
11) 5C-Chad Hillier
 
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11H-Kerry Madsen
2) 81-Robert Ballou
3) 14-Jason Meyers
4) 7-Craig Dollansky
5) R19-Jason Solwold
6) 20-Paul McMahan
7) 36-Jason Martin
8) 15-Donny Schatz
9) 6W-Mark Workentine
10) 44-Matt Shelton
11) 11-Steve Kinser
 
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 35-Jac Haudenschild
2) 19-Becca  Anderson
3) 10C-Jeremy Campbell
4) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr
5) 35K-Bud  Kaeding
6) 11D-Dion Hindi
7) 70-Chad Kemenah
8) 12M-James Mosher
9) 4-Mike Faria
10) 11K-Tim Kaeding
 
Heat 4 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 9-Joey Saldana
2) D1-Justin Henderson
3) 7S-Jason Sides
4) O-Jonathan Allard
5) 2-Brooke Tatnell
6) 1-Ronnie Day
7) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr
8) 21T-Tommy Tarlton
9) 29A-Jason Botsford
10) 18-Brian Carlson
 
Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 35-Jac Haudenschild
2) 9-Joey Saldana
3) 24-Terry McCarl
4) 6T-Tim Shaffer
5) 11H-Kerry Madsen
6) 19-Becca  Anderson
7) 2-Brooke Tatnell
8) 14-Jason Meyers
9) D1-Justin Henderson
10) 81-Robert Ballou
 
C-main (8 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) 70-Chad Kemenah
2) 21T-Tommy Tarlton
3) 9K-Brent Kronfuss [$125]
4) 29A-Jason Botsford [$125]
5) 33E-Evan Suggs [$125]
6) 44-Matt Shelton [$100]
7) 6W-Mark Workentine [$100]
8) 12M-James Mosher [$100]
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11K-Tim Kaeding
2) 20-Paul Mcmahan
3) 83-Danny Lasoski
4) 1-Ronnie Day
5) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr [$200]
6) 5C-Chad Hillier [$180]
7) 36-Jason Martin [$175]
8) 75H-Danny Horner [$160]
9) 11-Steve Kinser [$150]
10) 15-Donny Schatz [$150]
11) 70-Chad Kemenah [$150]
12) 11D-Dion Hindi [$150]
13) 21T-Tommy Tarlton [$150]
14) 18-Brian Carlson [$150]
15) 4-Mike Faria [$150]
16) 8K-Zach Chappell [$150]
 
A-main (35 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 9-Joey Saldana[2] [$10000]
2) 35-Jac Haudenschild[1] [$5000]
3) 6T-Tim Shaffer[4] [$3000]
4) 14-Jason Meyers[8] [$2700]
5) 24-Terry McCarl[3] [$2500]
6) 7-Craig Dollansky[13] [$2200]
7) 2-Brooke Tatnell[7] [$2000]
8) D1-Justin Henderson[9] [$1800]
9) 1-Ronnie Day[22] [$1600]
10) 19-Becca  Anderson[6] [$1450]
11) 21-Daryn Pittman[16] [$1300]
12) 15-Donny Schatz[25] [$500]
13) 1x-Randy Hannagan[12] [$1100]
14) 7S-Jason Sides[14] [$1000]
15) R19-Jason Solwold[21] [$950]
16) 83-Danny Lasoski[20] [$900]
17) 11H-Kerry Madsen[5] [$850]
18) 70-Chad Kemenah[26] [$50]
19) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[23] [$725]
20) 81-Robert Ballou[10] [$700]
21) 17V-Danny Faria Jr[15] [$700]
22) 11K-Tim Kaeding[11] [$700]
23) O-Jonathan Allard[19] [$700]
24) 10C-Jeremy Campbell[18] [$700]
25) 35K-Bud  Kaeding[24] [$700]
26) 20-Paul McMahan[17] [$700]
Lap Leaders: Jac Haudenschild 1-23; Joey Saldana 24-35
Note: Donny Schatz and Chad Kemenah used provisionals to start the A-Feature.
 
2007 STAT ATTACK
There have been 4 World of Outlaws A-Feature events this season.
 
A-Feature winners (4 different drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Wins
1 – #11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW – 1
      #21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 1    
      #9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1
      #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. – 1
 
Lap leaders, including A-features and preliminary features
Car, driver, hometown – Total laps led (6 different drivers have led a lap)
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 30 laps
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN. – 24 laps
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 23 laps
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW – 21 laps
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. – 14 laps
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 4 laps
 
Time trial leaders (4 different drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Quick times
1 – #18T- Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS – 1
      #89- Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA – 1
      #9- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1
      #6T Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
 
Dash Winners (4 different winners)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Dash Wins
1 – #15T Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX – 1
      #35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
      #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. – 1
      #21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 1     
               
Pole Positions (4 different drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Poles
1 – #15T Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX – 1
      #35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
      #21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 1
      #15- Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 1
 
B-main Winners (4 different winners)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – “B” Wins
1 –#1X- Randy Hannagan, San Jose – 1
     #11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose – 1
     #11H- Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW – 1
     #9- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1

 

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