Like a kid that counts the days down until Christmas, The King’s Royal is one of those events that World of Outlaws drivers countdown to. But sometimes just like a child the build up to the day and the night before are sometimes better than the actual day, especially when your socking is full of fruit and your packages are full of underwear. That is how Jason Meyers and his Elite Racing team’s weekend went. Even though the excitement was the night before, Meyers was able to retake the top spot and left Eldora Speedway with a 13 point lead in the World of Outlaws point standings.
Lackluster in Limaland
The name of the game at Limaland Motorsports Park was keeping up with the track. At the beginning of the night, the 2010 Champion really had a hold of the Ohio dirt as he timed in 5th. Meyers went on to finish 4th his heat to transfer to the A-Main. When the green flag flew for the feature, the Californian was lined up 13th beside Tim Shaffer.
In the early laps of the A-Main, Meyers battled with Craig Dollansky. The two dueled for several laps to decide the 12th position. Ten laps into the race, the two traded positions again and Meyers found himself mired back in the 13th position. Then 8 laps later, the Californian retook the position.
On lap 21, Meyers was able to move into the 11th position when he got past Jac Haudenschild who was quickly fading. Then 5 laps later, the 2010 champion moved into the top-10 when he slid under Kasey Kahne for the position.
With 10 laps to go in the 40 lap contest, Meyers tracked down Greg Wilson and began battling for the 8th position. The two would swap positions, but the Champion could not make the pass stick. With the laps winding down, Meyers tried to track down the Ohio based driver but ran out of time. The Californian finished 9th in his #14 DDNi KPC, while Donny Schatz went on to win the Brad Doty Classic.
Close on the Night Before
On the night before the King’s Royal Jason Meyers and his Elite Racing team seemed to be on a mission to win the crown. With it being a points night, Meyers qualified 9th, won his heat race, and finished 4th in the dash. When the green flag flew, the 2010 Champion took off in his GLR Investments KPC. In the first turn he got past Paul McMahan and then drove under Sam Hafertepe to take the lead on the exit of turn 2.
Meyers attempted to take off from the field, but the yellow flag flew on Lap2. When racing action resumed, Meyers set sail using the top line. He then opened up a straightaway lead in his #14 MediaTile KPC. The Californian first encountered traffic on Lap 7.
In traffic, second place running Tim Shaffer began to close in. On Lap 16, Meyers got trapped behind a lapped car and Shaffer used it to steal the lead. The Champion held on and reeled the 83x car in. On lap 22, Meyers made his move and got under Shaffer in Turn 3. On the following lap, Shaffer powered back and retook the lead with a slide job.
With 5 laps to go in the 30 Lap contest, the top two were running nose to tail. Meyers was on the cushion and used the same move to retake the lead in Turn 3 on Lap 27, but before the duo made it to the finish line the caution flag flew.
There were 3 laps left to decide the victory. Lined up on the bottom Meyers was at a disadvantage because the quick way around the track was the cushion. The 2010 Champion would stay in the tire tracks of the 83, but Meyers ran out of time and had to settle for a second place finish. With this finish, Meyers edged ahead in the World of Outlaws point standings by 13 points over Donny Schatz.
“It’s been one of those years,” said Meyers. “Right as we get the lead the yellow comes out, which put us back to second. On the flip side, that was probably the best car I have had here at Eldora in three years. My guys put a great car under me tonight. It was fast and comfortable all night. Overall it was a good points night for us. We’ve got a good car to come back here with tomorrow night and hopefully avoid those yellow flags.”
Royal Heartbreak
With the King’s Royal being a special event and having a unique format there were no points awarded, so Meyers and his Elite Racing crew did not have the point standings to think about. Unfortunately a hot night in Ohio and one tough track made the King’s Royal a challenging night. Meyers timed in 13th giving him the pole for the heat race, but a bad start pushed Meyers into 4th and out of transferring into the main event.
The 2010 Champion would transfer though, after winning the B-Main. This would slot him in the 21st position in the feature event. Early in the race Meyers made quick work of several cars. By the time the first caution of the night stopped racing action on Lap 11, Meyers had climbed up to 17th. On the restart, the 2010 champion would have to do some skillful driving to avoid a 4 car pileup in Turn 2 which brought out the red flag.
When racing action finally resumed, Meyers was in the 13th position. The California Champion first slid under Lucas Wolfe and started chasing down Kerry Madsen. With all the rubber down on the track, it made for a tricky racing surface. Meyers held on to the 12th position up until the next canary banner came out on Lap 28.
On the restart Meyers defended his position in the #14 Allstar Performance KPC. He held on to it up until the final caution of the race on lap 38. On the restart, Meyers held on to the position. Unfortunately on the final lap just as he was exiting Turn 4 to take the Checkered Flag, Meyers lost a tire, but still coasted to a 14th place finish. Tyler Walker won the Royal after Sammy Swindell who dominated the race also lost a tire on the final lap of the race.
“It has been an up and down weekend for us,” explained Meyers. “Tonight conditions made the track tough to pass on and it was harsh on tires. The team worked hard and gave me a good car tonight, but the track was tough to pass on. What matters now is that our thoughts and prayers are with Joey (Saldana).”
Up Next
The Elite Racing team will only have 2 days off as the Month of Money continues. On Tuesday night, the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup twin 30’s will take center stage at Lernerville Speedway. In 16 starts at the Pennsylvania track Meyers has one victory (May 2008), 6 top-5 finishes and 12 top-10 finishes. Then on Friday July 22 and Saturday July 23, Meyers will be looking to get Charlie Garret a victory at Williams Grove Speedway. The Outlaws will be dueling against the PA Posse for the Summer Nationals title. At Williams Grove Meyers has finished 3rd five times, but has never won or placed second. In his last run at the Grove, Meyers finished a strong 3rd against the Posse. Then on Sunday July 24, the Elite Racing team will be traveling to Lebanon Valley Speedway for another round of racing action. At the New York track, Meyers has a single victory in 2007, 6 top-5 finishes, and an average finish of 6th.
