What a Night: McCarl Wins Knight Before the Kings Royal at Eldora
Rossburg, OH— July 17, 2009—Terry McCarl had been trying to win a race at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio for a number of years, as he looked to add to his impressive list of wins throughout the country. He was victorious for the first time in his career at the track last month and made it two in a row at the legendary high-banked half-mile on Friday night claiming the annual Knight Before the Kings Royal.For McCarl, it was his second World of Outlaws win of the season and the ninth of his career with the series. He started on the pole and dominated the 30-lap contest, holding a three second lead at one point in the race prior to a late red flag. He earned $10,000 for the triumph and was greeted by a Knight in armor in Victory Lane.
“It feels great,” said McCarl after the win. “I can’t thank Tod and Lisa Quiring (car owners) enough. Tod Quiring is the best thing that ever happened to me. It’s a pleasure to drive this thing. My guys are working so hard and I decided to have them build a new car last night and they were probably hating me last night, but it paid off. We had a new car the last time we were here and won that one as well.”
McCarl led at the drop of the green flag and was challenged in turns three and four on the opening lap by Jason Meyers who powered his way from fourth to second in turns one and two. McCarl led the first lap and quickly began to separate himself from Meyers and the rest of the field. By the sixth lap he was in traffic and just a couple of laps later put two lapped machines between himself and Meyers, extending his lead at this point.
He continued to work traffic and with 10 laps to go had pulled away from Meyers and had over a three second lead. The first stoppage of the night happened with nine laps remaining as Jac Haudenschild got upside in turns three and four. McCarl used a strong restart to quickly pull away from Meyers and had again checked out when the second and final red flag of the night flew with six laps remaining for a vicious crash involving Garry Brazier, Ed Lynch Jr. and Rob Chaney.
One final strong restart for McCarl cemented the win for him in the Big Game Treestands Maxim as Donny Schatz moved into second late in the race and tried his best to track him down.
“I wasn’t sure how far out in front I was, but the car felt pretty awesome and I knew that is anyone was going to hang with me they would have to be really fast,” he said. “These Outlaws guys are the best in the world. With Donny Schatz and those guys behind me, you never want to give up and that red (flag) gave them a chance to work on their cars and get better and you never want to do that. My guys had the car so good.”
The 26th annual Kings Royal awaits McCarl on Saturday night and he looks to use some of what he learned on Friday night in the $50,000 finale which will be run under a unique Eldora Speedway format that will be announced just prior to the race.
“You’ll need to have another good car and track position will be important,” shared the native of Altoona, Iowa when asked what it would take to win again on Saturday. “We’re really looking forward to tomorrow night.”
Donny Schatz used the late restart to get around Jason Meyers to finish second in the Armor All J&J at the track which is owned by his car owner Tony Stewart. After lining up on the inside of the fourth row, Schatz worked his way up to fourth by the 10th lap. He was able to extend his lead in the series championship standings to 44 points over Joey Saldana, who finished 13th.
“The car was really good,” Schatz said. “We came from seventh to second and that is pretty respectable. We’re warming up for tomorrow night and we got what we were looking for. We just keep sorting through the troubles and we’ll get it.”
Jason Meyers started fourth and used a strong start to quickly get around Kerry Madsen and Chad Kemenah on the opening circuit. He challenged McCarl in turns three and four, nearly the taking the lead as the pair charged down the front straightaway on the first lap. He then settled into second and fended off a spirited challenge from Kerry Madsen. For the California native if was his series-best 30th Top-10 finish of the season.
“The guys are working hard doing a great job,” said Meyers. “We’re getting our act together. I have to apologize to my guy. I made a call to tighten the car under the red and just went the wrong way and gave up second. A disappointing night, but we learned something and we certainly won’t do that tomorrow night. We’ll come back and hopefully we’ll be on that stage for the big money.”
Kerry Madsen continued his strong string of races at Eldora. After finishing eighth in each of his last three starts at the half-mile including earlier this season with the World of Outlaws, the native of St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia finished fourth in the TK Concrete KPC.
“The car worked great,” stated Madsen. “I’m disappointed I didn’t get a podium, but I muffed on the restart where I should have slid Jason (Meyers) and Donny (Schatz) got us. We’re very happy with our run. We haven’t been racing as much as we would like, but anytime we can come back out here and race with these guys and get a Top-Five is fantastic at one of the best speedways in the world.”
Randy Hannagan finished fifth in the Central Valley Meat Company Maxim, with Dale Blaney sixth aboard the Ti-22 Performance Maxim. Chad Kemenah was seventh piloting the Hampshire Engines Maxim, with Stevie Smith eighth aboard the Zemco Speed Equipment Maxim. Daryn Pittman was ninth in the Hunter Truck Sales JEI and Tim Kaeding rounded out the Top-10 in the DTR Transport KPC.
The World of Outlaws wrap up the weekend with the $50,000 to-win Kings Royal on Saturday, July 18 with the cameras from SPEED capturing all of the action for future broadcast.
KNIGHT BEFORE THE KINGS ROYAL NOTES
• FAST QUALIFIER: Stevie Smith paced the 46 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked 1/2-mile oval at 13.270 seconds at 135.644 mph. For his qualifying effort, Smith earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Kraig Kinser (4), Terry McCarl (3), Steve Kinser (2), and Cody Darrah (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Dale Blaney, Ed Lynch Jr., Chad Kemenah and Jason Meyers won heat races. Tim Kaeding won the B-Main. Terry McCarl won the Crane Cams Dash. Greg Wilson won the C-Main.
There has been 38 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature event held in 2009. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Silver Dollar Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway, Lone Star Speedway, Houston Raceway Park, The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Virginia Motor Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice, U.S. 36 Raceway and 34 Raceway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, River Cities Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway, Nodak Speedway, Eagle Raceway and Charter Raceway Park), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, I-96 Speedway and Red River Valley Speedway), Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway and Limaland Motorsports Park), Terry McCarl (Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway), Dale Blaney (Attica Raceway Park), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway) and Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway).
• HALF-MILE WINNERS: Eldora Speedway is a high-banked half-mile oval. The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series has raced 15 times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway), Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Lone Star Speedway and Virginia Motor Speedway), Terry McCarl (Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway), Jason Meyers (I-96 Speedway and Red River Valley Speedway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway), Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Knight Before the Kings Royal; Rossburg, OH; July, 17, 2009
Qualifying
1) 1-Stevie Smith 13.270
2) 20-Kraig Kinser 13.315
3) 24-Terry McCarl 13.349
4) 11-Steve Kinser 13.378
5) 89-Cody Darrah 13.391
6) R19-Jac Haudenschild 13.423
7) 3C-Cale Conley 13.427
8) 15-Donny Schatz 13.465
9) 2-Dale Blaney 13.470
10) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. 13.472
11) 63-Chad Kemenah 13.500
12) 14-Jason Meyers 13.501
13) 55-Kerry Madsen 13.510
14) 1X-Randy Hannagan 13.511
15) 15C-Chris Andrews 13.523
16) 22-Brian Ellenberger 13.523
17) 17-Daryn Pittman 13.523
18) 7S-Jason Sides 13.532
19) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 13.539
20) 1AU-Garry Brazier 13.545
21) 83-Tim Kaeding 13.555
22) 83X-Tim Shaffer 13.561
23) 9X-Phil Gressman 13.573
24) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 13.591
25) 10-Sammy Swindell 13.595
26) OO-Jim Nier 13.596
27) 9-Joey Saldana 13.605
28) 7K-Rob Chaney 13.613
29) 53-Kenny Jacobs 13.649
30) 6-Danny Lasoski 13.656
31) 4X-Toni Lutar 13.657
32) 11N-Brock Mayes 13.727
33) 24H-Chad Blonde 13.750
34) 19-Craig Dollansky 13.773
35) 71-Paul May 13.786
36) 97-Dean Jacobs 13.803
37) 20X-Craig Mintz 13.836
38) 55B-Joey Moughan 13.896
39) 1B-Keith Baxter 13.896
40) 89G-David Gravel 13.908
41) 56R-Ryan Myers 13.937
42) W20-Greg Wilson 13.975
43) G1-Justin Henderson 14.003
44) 25-Lee Jacobs 14.009
45) 7TW-Brandon Wimmer 14.021
46) 7AU-Roddy Bellbowen 14.309
47) 69-Scott Curren -.—
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 2-Dale Blaney
2) 55-Kerry Madsen
3) 1-Stevie Smith
4) 89-Cody Darrah
5) 10-Sammy Swindell
6) 83-Tim Kaeding
7) 17-Daryn Pittman
8) 24H-Chad Blonde
9) 20X-Craig Mintz
10) 7TW-Brandon Wimmer
11) 56R-Ryan Myers
12) 53-Kenny Jacobs
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.
2) 1X-Randy Hannagan
3) R19-Jac Haudenschild
4) 20-Kraig Kinser
5) 7S-Jason Sides
6) 19-Craig Dollansky
7) 83X-Tim Shaffer
8) 6-Danny Lasoski
9) W20-Greg Wilson
10) OO-Jim Nier
11) 7AU-Roddy Bellbowen
12) 55B-Joey Moughan
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 63-Chad Kemenah
2) 24-Terry McCarl
3) 9-Joey Saldana
4) 9X-Phil Gressman
5) 3C-Cale Conley
6) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
7) 15C-Chris Andrews
8) 71-Paul May
9) G1-Justin Henderson
10) 1B-Keith Baxter
11) 4X-Toni Lutar
12) 69-Scott Curren
Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 14-Jason Meyers
2) 15-Donny Schatz
3) 11-Steve Kinser
4) 22-Brian Ellenberger
5) 1AU-Garry Brazier
6) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
7) 11N-Brock Mayes
8) 97-Dean Jacobs
9) 7K-Rob Chaney
10) 25-Lee Jacobs
11) 89G-David Gravel
Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 24-Terry McCarl
2) 63-Chad Kemenah
3) 55-Kerry Madsen
4) 14-Jason Meyers
5) 1-Stevie Smith
6) 1X-Randy Hannagan
7) 15-Donny Schatz
8) 2-Dale Blaney
9) 20-Kraig Kinser
10) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.
C-main (10 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) W20-Greg Wilson
2) 7TW-Brandon Wimmer
3) 25-Lee Jacobs [$125]
4) 20X-Craig Mintz [$125]
5) 1B-Keith Baxter [$125]
6) 56R-Ryan Myers [$100]
7) 55B-Joey Moughan [$100]
8) 89G-David Gravel [$100]
9) G1-Justin Henderson [$100]
10) 7AU-Roddy Bellbowen [$100]
11) 69-Scott Curren [$100]
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 83-Tim Kaeding
2) 17-Daryn Pittman
3) 7K-Rob Chaney
4) OO-Jim Nier
5) 15C-Chris Andrews [$200]
6) 83X-Tim Shaffer [$180]
7) 6-Danny Lasoski [$175]
8) 5W-Lucas Wolfe [$160]
9) 11N-Brock Mayes [$150]
10) 7TW-Brandon Wimmer [$150]
11) W20-Greg Wilson [$150]
12) 71-Paul May [$150]
13) 4X-Toni Lutar [$150]
14) 97-Dean Jacobs [$150]
15) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [$150]
16) 19-Craig Dollansky [$150]
17) 24H-Chad Blonde [$150]
18) 53-Kenny Jacobs [$150]
A-main (30 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 24-Terry McCarl[1] [$10,000]
2) 15-Donny Schatz[7] [$5,500]
3) 14-Jason Meyers[4] [$3,200]
4) 55-Kerry Madsen[3] [$2,800]
5) 1X-Randy Hannagan[6] [$2,500]
6) 2-Dale Blaney[8] [$2,300]
7) 63-Chad Kemenah[2] [$2,200]
8) 1-Stevie Smith[5] [$2,100]
9) 17-Daryn Pittman[16] [$2,050]
10) 83-Tim Kaeding[19] [$2,000]
11) 11-Steve Kinser[11] [$1,500]
12) 89-Cody Darrah[12] [$1,200]
13) 9-Joey Saldana[23] [$1,100]
14) 3C-Cale Conley[14] [$1,050]
15) 20-Kraig Kinser[9] [$1,000]
16) 6-Danny Lasoski[25] [$100]
17) OO-Jim Nier[22] [$800]
18) 10-Sammy Swindell[21] [$800]
19) 22-Brian Ellenberger[15] [$800]
20) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[26] [$0]
21) 7S-Jason Sides[17] [$800]
22) 1AU-Garry Brazier[18] [$800]
23) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[10] [$800]
24) 7K-Rob Chaney[24] [$800]
25) R19-Jac Haudenschild[13] [$800]
26) 9X-Phil Gressman[20] [$800]
Note- Danny Lasoski and Lucas Wolfe used World of Outlaws Provisionals to make the A-Feature.
Lap Leaders: Terry McCarl 1-30
SuperClean Start of the Night Award: Donny Schatz
Penske Power Position Award: Jason Meyers
KSE Hard Charger Award: Joey Saldana
World of Outlaws Championship Standings through July 17
1. Donny Schatz 5273
2. Joey Saldana 5229
3. Jason Meyers 5204
4. Steve Kinser 5164
5. Danny Lasoski 5033
6. Jason Sides 5027
7. Craig Dollansky 4951
8. Jac Haudenschild 4884
9. Kraig Kinser 4868
10. Lucas Wolfe 4498
11. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 4300
12. Brian Ellenberger 3997
