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Saldana Rallies at Paducah

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Saldana Rallies to Find Victory Lane at Paducah

He picks up his first career win at Paducah International Raceway

PADUCAH, Ky. — April 13, 2012 — Joey Saldana ended Friday’s roller-coaster ride with a smile on his face.

The World of Outlaws veteran overcame a self-proclaimed “ugly” heat race to record his second victory of the season and first career at Paducah International Speedway – the Outlaws lone event in the state of Kentucky this season.

“In qualifying we went out and were really good, and then in the heat race we changed everything and were really bad,” he said. “Then we went back to the way we were in qualifying for the dash and we were respectable. And then we just worked off that and made our car 100 percent better for the feature, and it showed because when it counted we definitely had the car to pass. We had the speed when it counted and luckily we had enough tire to finish the race.”

Saldana, who timed in fifth quick of the 29 cars, dropped from third to fifth in his heat race to snag the second-to-last transfer to the 30-lap main event. However, Saldana’s qualifying effort combined with advancing to the feature earned him a spot in the dash. Saldana started fifth and finished fourth, which is where he began the main event.

On the third lap, Saldana made a dicey move to drive between Chad Kemenah and Geoff Dodge. With Kemenah on the bottom and Dodge running the top, all three cars were sliding through turn four when Saldana split the middle to pull into the runner-up position. He then closed on polesitter Danny Smith, who entered lapped traffic around lap 10.

A caution fell on lap 13 when Kemenah stopped in turn three with a flat right rear tire. Smith chose the bottom on the restart and it didn’t take long for Saldana to rocket into the lead when the green flag was waved.

Saldana held a slight advantage at the flag stand and Smith drove hard into turn one, sliding up from the middle of the track. However, Saldana’s momentum in the high line propelled him into the lead for good as the duo exited turn two.

“The rubber was getting laid down and I thought I could get in the middle there and get the jump on Joey and bring it home, but it didn’t work out that way,” Smith said after finishing second.

Saldana maintained the lead for the rest of the race and survived the closing laps. He finished with a little more than a one-second advantage as the top six were separated by less than four seconds.

“Racing with the Outlaws, you get a feel for the double-file restarts,” Saldana said. “I think (Smith) did the right thing. I had enough experience with it. I got a good start and put myself in position to get the lead. I don’t think he did anything wrong. That’s just a characteristic of double-file restarts.”

Sammy Swindell was arguably the quickest in the final half of the race as he charged from ninth to finish third after a pass on Kerry Madsen on the second-to-last lap.

“It was really hard to get by,” Swindell said. “You could pull down, but if you weren’t in the right spot there just wasn’t any grip. … Maybe a line and a half in the corners, but it was just a line and an eighth down the straights. So you had to be right on it.

“Sometimes track position means a lot. I think if we’d have started up front they wouldn’t have seen us, but coming from the fifth row we’ll take the third and try to be better next time.”

Madsen was fourth with Steve Kinser making a last-lap pass on Tony Stewart Racing teammate Donny Schatz to corral fifth place.

Following Schatz across the line was Geoff Dodge, who placed a career-best seventh. Cody Darrah was eighth, David Gravel ninth and Stevie Smith, who set fast time with a lap of 13.206 seconds, rounded out the top 10.

Kemenah, Gravel and Swindell each claimed heat races, and Jim Moughan won the Last Chance Showdown. Brian Paulus drove from 22nd to 15th to earn the KSE Hard Charger Award.

Paducah International Raceway Notebook

NOTES – Eleven drivers made their World of Outlaws season debut, including fast qualifier Stevie Smith and Geoff Dodge of Colorado Springs, Colo., who qualified third quick. … Kraig Kinser qualified seventh quick, which snapped a streak of two consecutive quick-time awards and six straight races of qualifying in the top five.

CONTINGENCY WINNERS – MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; Comp Cams ($50 certificate): Joey Saldana; Armor All (case of product): Geoff Dodge; STP ($50 cash): Danny Smith; UNOH ($50 cash): Steve Kinser; Gravely Tractors ($50 cash): Cody Darrah; VP Racing Fuel ($50 cash): Stevie Smith; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; JE Pistons (set of rings): Lucas Wolfe; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; Wix Filters ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; Superflow ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; JE Pistons (set of rings): Terry McCarl; MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Chad Kemenah.

WINNERS – Donny Schatz – 2 (Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Tim Kaeding – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8); Joey Saldana – 2 (Paducah International Raceway on April 13 and Perris Auto Speedway on March 10); Sammy Swindell – 1 (Merced Speedway on March 30); Craig Dollansky – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Danny Lasoski – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18).

TIME TRIALS – Stevie Smith was the fastest qualifier around the 3/8-mile oval with a time of 13.206 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Kerry Madsen (4 points), Geoff Dodge (3), Danny Smith (2) and Joey Saldana (1).

WE’RE ONLINE – Make sure to check out WorldofOutlaws.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com.

Paducah International Raceway Statistical Report; Paducah, Ky.; April 13, 2012

A Main – (30 Laps) – 1. 9-Joey Saldana [4] [$10,000]; 2. 4S-Danny Smith [1] [$5,500]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [9] [$3,200]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [5] [$2,800]; 5. 11-Steve Kinser [10] [$2,500]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6] [$2,300]; 7. 7M-Geoff Dodge [2] [$2,200]; 8. 4-Cody Darrah [14] [$2,100]; 9. 89G-David Gravel [8] [$2,050]; 10. 19-Stevie Smith [7] [$2,000]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [12] [$1,500]; 12. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [11] [$1,200]; 13. 13-Mark Dobmeier [13] [$1,100]; 14. 1M-Jim Moughan [16] [$1,050]; 15. 28-Brian Paulus [22] [$1,000]; 16. 54-Cap Henry [15] [$900]; 17. 7-Craig Dollansky [20] [$800]; 18. 44-A.J. Bruns [21] [$800]; 19. 7S-Jason Sides [18] [$800]; 20. 6-Bill Rose [24] [$800]; 21. 24-Terry McCarl [17] [$800]; 22. 63-Chad Kemenah [3] [$800]; 23. 44W-Austen Wheatley [19] [$800]; 24. 51-Mike Hess [23] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Danny Smith 1-12, Joey Saldana 13-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 28-Brian Paulus [+7].

Qualifying – 1. 19-Stevie Smith, 13.206; 2. 29-Kerry Madsen, 13.254; 3. 7M-Geoff Dodge, 13.593; 4. 4S-Danny Smith, 13.698; 5. 9-Joey Saldana, 13.857; 6. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.948; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.063; 8. 89G-David Gravel, 14.075; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.112; 10. 63-Chad Kemenah, 14.211; 11. 11-Steve Kinser, 14.225; 12. 1-Sammy Swindell, 14.255; 13. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 14.308; 14. 4-Cody Darrah, 14.381; 15. 54-Cap Henry, 14.398; 16. 1M-Jim Moughan, 14.442; 17. 24-Terry McCarl, 14.589; 18. 7S-Jason Sides, 14.605; 19. 44W-Austen Wheatley, 14.619; 20. 7-Craig Dollansky, 14.633; 21. 4K-Kody Kinser, 14.728; 22. 71M-Paul May, 14.880; 23. 51-Mike Hess, 15.146; 24. 44-A.J. Bruns, 15.208; 25. 6-Bill Rose, 15.234; 26. 28-Brian Paulus, 15.277; 27. 66-Alex Shanks, 15.370; 28. 10P-Jim Perricone, 15.764; 29. 4M-John Memmer, 16.412.

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 63-Chad Kemenah [1]; 2. 19-Stevie Smith [4]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 4. 4S-Danny Smith [3]; 5. 13-Mark Dobmeier [5]; 6. 44W-Austen Wheatley [7]; 7. 71M-Paul May [8]; 8. 1M-Jim Moughan [6]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [9]; 10. 10P-Jim Perricone [10].

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 89G-David Gravel [2]; 2. 11-Steve Kinser [1]; 3. 29-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 7-Craig Dollansky [7]; 5. 9-Joey Saldana [3]; 6. 4-Cody Darrah [5]; 7. 28-Brian Paulus [9]; 8. 4M-John Memmer [10]; 9. 51-Mike Hess [8]; 10. 24-Terry McCarl [6].

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 1-Sammy Swindell [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 3. 7M-Geoff Dodge [4]; 4. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [3]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 6. 54-Cap Henry [5]; 7. 4K-Kody Kinser [7]; 8. 66-Alex Shanks [9]; 9. 44-A.J. Bruns [8].

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 4S-Danny Smith [1]; 2. 7M-Geoff Dodge [2]; 3. 63-Chad Kemenah [8]; 4. 9-Joey Saldana [5]; 5. 29-Kerry Madsen [3]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 7. 19-Stevie Smith [4]; 8. 89G-David Gravel [6]; 9. 1-Sammy Swindell [10]; 10. 11-Steve Kinser [9].

B Main – (12 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 1M-Jim Moughan [1] [-]; 2. 24-Terry McCarl [2] [-]; 3. 28-Brian Paulus [8] [-]; 4. 44-A.J. Bruns [6] [-]; 5. 51-Mike Hess [5] [-]; 6. 6-Bill Rose [7] [-]; 7. 4M-John Memmer [11] [$200]; 8. 4K-Kody Kinser [3] [$180]; 9. 10P-Jim Perricone [10] [$175]; 10. 66-Alex Shanks [9] [$160]; 11. 71M-Paul May [4] [$150].

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.

Driver

Total

Diff

Wins

Top 5s

Top 10s

QT

1

Sammy Swindell

1248

0

1

5

7

1

2

Joey Saldana

1243

-5

2

5

7

1

3

Donny Schatz

1236

-12

2

4

7

0

4

Kraig Kinser

1218

-30

0

3

7

2

5

Steve Kinser

1216

-32

0

4

7

0

6

Jason Sides

1208

-40

0

4

6

0

7

Craig Dollansky

1157

-91

1

3

4

0

8

Cody Darrah

1110

-138

0

1

3

0

9

Chad Kemenah

1100

-148

0

1

3

2

10

Lucas Wolfe

1078

-170

0

0

2

0

11

Kerry Madsen

1057

-191

0

2

2

0

12

Jason Meyers

1054

-194

0

3

4

1

13

Terry McCarl

998

-250

0

1

2

0

14

Bill Rose

994

-254

0

0

1

0

15

Jac Haudenschild

853

-395

0

0

1

0

16

Sam Hafertepe Jr.

743

-505

0

0

3

0

17

Tim Kaeding

714

-534

2

3

4

0

18

Austen Wheatley

635

-613

0

0

1

0

19

Trey Starks

582

-666

0

0

0

0

20

David Gravel

512

-736

0

1

2

0

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), Gravely Tractors (Official Lawn Equipment), University of Northwestern Ohio, VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel), Vicci (Official Apparel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, JE Pistons, KSE Racing Products, MSD Ignitions, Penske Shocks, Superflow Dynos and Wix Filters; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Astro Titanium, Fuel Safe, Intercomp, J&J Auto Racing, Jake’s Carts, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo and TNT Rescue.

LIVE UPDATES: Saldana outlasts Smith at Paducah

(10:34 p.m.) Here are the results:

1, Joey Saldana. 2, Danny Smith. 3, Sammy Swindell. 4, Kerry Madsen. 5, Steve Kinser. 6, Donny Schatz. 7, Geoff Dodge. 8, Cody Darrah. 9, David Gravel. 10, Stevie Smith. 11, Kraig Kinser. 12, Lucas Wolfe. 13, Mark Dobmeier. 14, Jim Moughan. 15, Brian Paulus. 16, Cap Henry. 17, Craig Dollansky. 18, A.J. Bruns. 19, Jason Sides. 20, Bill Rose. 21, Terry McCarl. 22, Chad Kemenah. 23, Austen Wheatley. 24, Mike Hess.

(10:24 p.m.) Joey Saldana passed Danny Smith on a restart on lap 13 and drove away to the victory. Smith finished second with Sammy Swindell passing Kerry Madsen for third with two laps remaining. Steve Kinser passed Donny Schatz on the final lap to round out the top five.

Complete results will be posted after we finish Victory Lane ceremonies.

(10:07 p.m.) Four wide! We’re about to race.

(9:55 p.m.) The double horn just sounded and drivers are making their way to staging.

(9:25 p.m.) Here is tonight’s feature lineup:

1, Danny Smith. 2, Geoff Dodge. 3, Chad Kemenah. 4, Joey Saldana. 5, Kerry Madsen. 6, Donny Schatz. 7, Stevie Smith. 8, David Gravel. 9, Sammy Swindell. 10, Steve Kinser. 11, Lucas Wolfe. 12, Kraig Kinser. 13, Mark Dobmeier. 14, Cody Darrah. 15, Cap Henry. 16, Jim Moughan. 17, Terry McCarl. 18, Jason Sides. 19, Austen Wheatley. 20, Craig Dollansky. 21, A.J. Bruns. 22, Brian Paulus. 23, Mike Hess. 24, Bill Rose.

(9:21 p.m.) Jim Moughan claimed the Last Chance Showdown with Terry McCarl, Brian Paulus, A.J. Bruns, Mike Hess and Bill Rose also picking up transfers. Here are the results:

1, Jim Moughan. 2, Terry McCarl. 3, Brian Paulus. 4, A.J. Bruns. 5, Mike Hess. 6, Bill Rose. 7, John Memmer. 8, Kody Kinser. 9, Jim Perricone. 10, Alex Shanks. 11, Paul May.

(9:15 p.m.) Caution on lap 10 of the Last Chance Showdown for a spin by Jim Perricone in turn two. Jim Moughan leads Terry McCarl, Brian Paulus, A.J. Bruns, Mike Hess, John Memmer, Bill Rose, Kody Kinser and Perricone.

(9:12 p.m.) Caution on lap three of the Last Chance Showdown for a spin by Paul May in turn two. Jim Moughan leads Mike Hess, Terry McCarl, Kody Kinser, Brian Paulus, A.J. Bruns, Bill Rose, John Memmer, Alex Shanks, Jim Perricone and May.

(9:06 p.m.) Danny Smith led all six laps to win the dash and earn the pole for the 30-lap feature. Here are the dash results:

1, Danny Smith. 2, Geoff Dodge. 3, Chad Kemenah. 4, Joey Saldana. 5, Kerry Madsen. 6, Donny Schatz. 7, Stevie Smith. 8, David Gravel. 9, Sammy Swindell. 10, Steve Kinser.

(8:41 p.m.) The number “4” was pulled in the dash inversion, so fast qualifier Stevie Smith starts on the outside of the second row. Here is the dash lineup:

1, Danny Smith. 2, Geoff Dodge. 3, Kerry Madsen. 4, Stevie Smith. 5, Joey Saldana. 6, David Gravel. 7, Donny Schatz. 8, Chad Kemenah. 9, Steve Kinser. 10, Sammy Swindell.

Here is the lineup for the 12-lap Last Chance Showdown, which transfers the top six to the feature:

1, Jim Moughan. 2, Terry McCarl. 3, Kody Kinser. 4, Paul May. 5, Mike Hess. 6, A.J. Bruns. 7, Bill Rose. 8, Brian Paulus. 9, Alex Shanks. 10, Jim Perricone. 11, John Memmer.

(8:20 p.m.) Sammy Swindell led all eight laps to win the third-and-final heat. Donny Schatz finished second to also advance to the dash. Here are the results:

1, Sammy Swindell. 2, Donny Schatz. 3, Geoff Dodge. 4, Lucas Wolfe. 5, Jason Sides. 6, Cap Henry. 7, Kody Kinser. 8, Alex Shanks. 9, A.J. Bruns.

(8:13 p.m.) David Gravel passed Steve Kinser off turn four with two laps remaining to claim the second heat race. Here are the results:

1, David Gravel. 2, Steve Kinser. 3, Kerry Madsen. 4, Craig Dollansky. 5, Joey Saldana. 6, Cody Darrah. 7, Brian Paulus. 8, John Memmer. 9, Mike Hess. 10, Terry McCarl.

(8:05 p.m.) Caution on lap two of the season heat. Terry McCarl and Mike Hess spin in turns one and two. Steve Kinser leads David Gravel, Joey Saldana, Kerry Madsen, Cody Darrah, Craig Dollansky, Brian Paulus and John Memmer.

(7:59 p.m.) Chad Kemenah won the first heat race and fast qualifier Stevie Smith finished second. Here are the results:

1, Chad Kemenah. 2, Stevie Smith. 3, Kraig Kinser. 4, Danny Smith. 5, Mark Dobmeier. 6, Austen Wheatley. 7, Paul May. 8, Jim Moughan. 9, Bill Rose. 10, Jim Perricone.

(7:44 p.m.) The drivers just went on the clock for the heat races.

(7:28 p.m.) They are doing a little track prep. Then there will be a couple of heat races for the modifieds before the sprint car heats.

(7:17 p.m.) Here are the lineups for the eight-lap heat races, which transfer the top two to the dash and top six to the feature:

Heat #1: 1, Chad Kemenah. 2, Kraig Kinser. 3, Danny Smith. 4, Stevie Smith. 5, Mark Dobmeier. 6, Jim Moughan. 7, Austen Wheatley. 8, Paul May. 9, Bill Rose. 10, Jim Perricone.

Heat #2: 1, Steve Kinser. 2, David Gravel. 3, Joey Saldana. 4, Kerry Madsen. 5, Cody Darrah. 6, Terry McCarl. 7, Craig Dollansky. 8, Mike Hess. 9, Brian Paulus. 10, John Memmer.

Heat #3: 1, Sammy Swindell. 2, Donny Schatz. 3, Lucas Wolfe. 4, Geoff Dodge. 5, Cap Henry. 6, Jason Sides. 7, Kody Kinser. 8, A.J. Bruns. 9, Alex Shanks.

(7:10 p.m.) Stevie Smith was the fastest in qualifying with a lap of 13.206 seconds. Kerry Madsen was second quick at 13.254 seconds with Geoff Dodge (13.593), Danny Smith (13.698) and Joey Saldana (13.857) rounding out the top five, respectively.

Kraig Kinser qualified seventh quick, which stopped a streak of two straight quick times and six consecutive races of qualifying in the top five.

(6:47 p.m.) The cars are in the middle of qualifying right now. As a heads up, we’re battling Internet issues tonight.

(6:35 p.m.) Sammy Swindell was the quickest in the third-and-final session with a lap of 13.630 seconds.

(6:29 p.m.) Donny Schatz was the quickest in the second hot-lap session with a lap of 13.558 seconds.

(6:24 p.m.) Kraig Kinser was the quickest in the first hot-lap session with a lap of 13.299 seconds.

(6:13 p.m.) Most of the cars have fired and are preparing for hot laps.

(5:58 p.m.) The cars are about to fire to warm engines.

(5:24 p.m.) Here is the qualifying lineup, which will also serve as a roster:

7m — Geoff Dodge

19 — Stevie Smith

29 — Kerry Madsen

4s — Danny Smith

5w — Lucas Wolfe

11k — Kraig Kinser

1m — Jim  Moughan

4k — Kody Kinser

13 — Mark Dobmeier

9 — Joey Saldana

89g — David Gravel

11 — Steve Kinser

15 — Donny Schatz

28 — Brian Paulus

71m — Paul May

44w — Austen Wheatley

63 — Chad Kemenah

10p — Jim Perricone

4 — Cody Darrah

7s — Jason Sides

24 — Terry McCarl

66 — Alex Shanks

7 — Craig Dollansky

6 — Bill Rose

4m — John Memmer

1 — Sammy Swindell

54 — Cap Henry

44 — A.J. Bruns

51 — Mike Hess

(5:18 p.m.) The driver’s meeting is set for about 10 minutes. Drivers will then put heat in their engines at 6 p.m. with qualifying at 6:45 p.m.

Each driver will get two qualifying laps and the three, eight-lap heat races will be inverted by four. The top six from each advance to the 30-lap feature and the top two to the dash. The next four in qualifying who advance to the feature (but don’t finish in the top two in the heat) will make the dash.

There will be a 12-lap Last Chance Showdown, which transfers the top six to the feature. The top four get their qualifying time back.

(2:13 p.m.) The pit gate opened to sell passes and the teams are starting to pour into the pits here at Paducah International Raceway for the World of Outlaws lone race in the state of Kentucky this season.

As of now, it looks like there are about a dozen teams in the pits. Mark Dobmeier and Stevie Smith are two new faces we haven’t seen this year who are here today.

The temperature is a comfortable 65 degrees with an overcast sky and strong gusts from time to time. The high-banked track looks in good shape.

Qualifying is set to start at 6:30 p.m. with the driver’s meeting likely around 5 p.m. (It hasn’t been set yet.) I’ll post more time info as it becomes available.

Here is our prerace video:

{vimeo}40314057{/vimeo}

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