Getting One Back: Jason Meyers Wins at Cottage Grove Speedway
Jason Meyers felt like a few wins slipped away from him last year and one of those was at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon. His goal coming into this season was to make up for as many of those near misses as possible and he did exactly that on Tuesday night at the high-banked ¼-mile winning a duel over fellow California native Tim Kaeding.Meyers took the lead on the 17th lap following a lap-16 restart where he nearly took the lead a couple of times en route to his second consecutive World of Outlaws win and his seventh of the season. It was his first career win at Cottage Grove Speedway in his ninth start at the track.
“It’s great to be here in Victory Lane with family and friend and close to home,” said Meyers. “I have raced here a long time and it feels good to win here. My crew did a heck of a job. I think we had a right rear tire going down there the last 10 or 15 laps. It was really getting tight on me and I was just trying to hang on. I can’t say enough about this entire team. I was talking to our motor builder Charlie Garrett earlier today and he said he was not against winning two in a row and I told him that it appears that I am, but neither am I. To get two in a row here tonight is great.”
The 40-lap contest began with Kaeding who started on the outside of the front row using a strong run on the high side of the track in turns one and two to take the early lead. With just one lap down the red flag waved for a Jac Haudenschild and Jonathan Allard. At the same time, Kraig Kinser who was running third came to the work area relinquishing that spot.
On the restart, Kaeding again shot out to a comfortable lead as Jason Sides moved into third and set his sights on Meyers. Just before Kaeding was about to get in lapped traffic on the fifth lap the caution flew. Kaeding would continue to lead as Sides was all over Meyers battling for the second spot in lapped traffic. Following a caution on the 16th lap, Meyers used a strong restart and looked low in turns one and two for the lead nearly taking it and again diving under Kaeding in turns three and four. On the 17th lap he made the pass stick going into turn three and would pace the field for the remainder of the 40-laps aboard the GLR Investments KPC.
“We kind of knew that when we won the dash, that the outside would be the better spot to start,” explained the winner. “I tried to get a better start than he did and I kind of did, but he ran through (turns) one and two real good. I have raced with Tim (Kaeding) for a lot of years and he is real good on the top and I knew he would be good there. We just had to work our car and stay up there. The bottom stayed good and it played into our favor.”
Couple with the win, Meyers was third fastest in time trials to gain three bonus points and was able to cut another nine points off of Donny Schatz’s lead in the series championship standings as he chases his first title. Meyers now trails the three-time and defending series champion by just 29 markers and leads the series with 45 Top-10 finishes.
“These guys are doing everything they need to do to put us up front and go for this championship,” noted Meyers. “We have about 10 or 11 races to go and we have to give it all we got. “It looks like Donny (Schatz) came from 20th to third tonight and that is what is going to make him so tough to beat for the championship.”
After leading the first 16 laps of the race, Kaeding fell back to fourth on the 26th lap before charging back around Lucas Wolfe and Jason Sides to move back into second. He tried all he could late in the race to track down Meyers in traffic en route to his fifth Top-Five finish of the season with the World of Outlaws in the DTR Transport KPC.
“We basically gave that one away,” stated Kaeding. “I started tippy toeing through the middle of the race. The right rear was sealed up and it blistered off and there was nothing we could do with it. We gave him a hell of a run at the end there. I have to thank Dennis and Teresa Roth for giving me this opportunity.”
Donny Schatz came all the way from the 20th starting spot to finish third in the Armor All J&J to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award on Tuesday night. He gained three spots on the opening lap and four more on the second lap and had worked his way into the Top-10 by the 10th lap. He found himself in the Top-Five on the 21st go-around.
“I drove my ass off, but I’m sure it’s still there and it probably wasn’t hard enough,” quipped Schatz. “It was a great night for us. We’ve been digging ourselves a hole in qualifying and you have to adapt. Every bit of car control that you have learned, you have to dump out the window when the tracks get fast. That’s what I did there and I’m just glad to have a good run.”
In lapped traffic Kaeding closed in on Meyers a couple of times late in the going, but was not quite able to get a run on him after keeping pace with him in lapped traffic. For Kaeding the start on Tuesday night was his first at Cottage Grove Speedway since 2007.
“The car wasn’t too bad,” Kaeding said. “I just kept screwing it up and it’s my fault we lost that one. Hopefully in the next couple of nights we don’t do that. Thanks to all of you fans for coming out and supporting us on a Tuesday night. I appreciate it.”
Schatz used his experience and the patience of a seasoned veteran to masterfully work his way through the field over the course of the 40 laps at the track where he earned his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature win back in 1998.
“When you start that far back, its confidence building and character building and everything you need to do,” shared Schatz. “We had some cars that fell out and broke there, but when you have to race with guys that are as good as these guys here and you get to the front it’s pretty tough. I thought we were good enough to win the race and on those restarts we’d go where no one else was and it would take me a couple of laps to get by somebody. That’s pretty valuable time when you’re dealing with these races. I’m just glad to be on the front straightaway and look forward to heading to Chico (Silver Dollar Speedway).”
Tyler Walker finished fourth on Tuesday night aboard the NMI Industrial Contractors JEI which was his best finish of the season with the World of Outlaws.
Jason Sides, who worked his way up to second in the middle of the race, came home fifth in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim after sustaining some damage to the front of his machine on the 27th lap when he hit some debris on the track. Joey Saldana recovered from a trip to the work area on the 14th lap to charge his way all the way back through the field to finish sixth in the Budweiser Maxim. Lucas Wolfe was seventh in the Allebach Racing Maxim, with Steve Kinser eighth piloting the Quaker State Maxim. Craig Dollansky was ninth in the DirecTV Maxim, with Danny Lasoski rounding out the Top-10 in the Casey’s General Store JEI.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Thursday, September 10 with the opening night of the 56th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California.
COTTAGE GROVE SPEEDWAY NOTES
• FAST QUALIFIER: Jason Sides paced the 30 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked 1/4-mile oval at 10.081 seconds at 89.277 mph. For his qualifying effort, Sides earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Kraig Kinser (4), Jason Meyers (3), Danny Lasoski (2), and Shane Stewart (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Roger Crockett, Jonathan Allard and Tim Kaeding won heat races. Jason Meyers won the Crane Cams Dash. Steve Kinser won the B-Main.
There has been 55 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, 34 Raceway, I-55 Raceway, Castrol Raceway-twice and Skagit Speedway), 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, Cedar Lake Speedway, Eldora Speedway, K-C Raceway and Dacotah Speedway), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, I-96 Speedway, Red River Valley Speedway, Ohsweken Speedway, Skagit Speedway and Cottage Grove Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway, Nodak Speedway, Eagle Raceway, Charter Raceway Park and Lernerville Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Lebanon Valley Speedway, I-55 Raceway and River Cities Speedway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway-twice), 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), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway),Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway), Jason Sides (Ohsweken Speedway) and Stevie Smith (Lernerville Speedway).
• 1/4-MILE WINNERS: Cottage Grove Speedway is a high-banked ¼-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced seven times this season on tracks that size. The winners include: Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway and Limaland Motorsports Park), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway and Cottage Grove Speedway), Joey Saldana (Silver Dollar Speedway and Houston Raceway Park), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Cottage Grove Speedway; Cottage Grove, OR; September 8, 2009
Qualifying
1) 7S-Jason Sides 10.081
2) 20-Kraig Kinser 10.099
3) 14-Jason Meyers 10.113
4) 6-Danny Lasoski 10.122
5) 7K-Shane Stewart 10.135
6) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 10.143
7) 24T-Tyler Walker 10.151
8) R19-Jac Haudenschild 10.162
9) 9-Joey Saldana 10.178
10) 11C-Roger Crockett 10.216
11) O-Jonathan Allard 10.230
12) 83-Tim Kaeding 10.235
13) 8-Travis Rutz 10.252
14) 11-Steve Kinser 10.341
15) 18-Travis Jacobson 10.346
16) 94-Zach Zimmerly 10.351
17) 10-Sammy Swindell 10.358
18) 19-Craig Dollansky 10.378
19) 7-Robbie Farr 10.406
20) 15-Donny Schatz 10.414
21) 12-Jared Ridge 10.442
22) 83V-Kyle Larson 10.482
23) 5X-Colton Heath 10.579
24) 25C-Chad Groves 10.686
25) 22-Brian Ellenberger 10.698
26) 75-Kevin Smith 10.747
27) 4X-Toni Lutar 10.943
28) 19W-Tyler Wolf 11.229
29) 10X-Kyle Miller 11.338
30) 1-Raquel Ivie 12.364
31) 26F-Shane Forte
Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11C-Roger Crockett
2) 24T-Tyler Walker
3) 6-Danny Lasoski
4) 7S-Jason Sides
5) 7-Robbie Farr
6) 22-Brian Ellenberger
7) 94-Zach Zimmerly
8) 83V-Kyle Larson
9) 19W-Tyler Wolf
10) 8-Travis Rutz
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) O-Jonathan Allard
2) R19-Jac Haudenschild
3) 20-Kraig Kinser
4) 7K-Shane Stewart
5) 10-Sammy Swindell
6) 15-Donny Schatz
7) 11-Steve Kinser
8) 5X-Colton Heath
9) 75-Kevin Smith
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 83-Tim Kaeding
2) 9-Joey Saldana
3) 14-Jason Meyers
4) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
5) 19-Craig Dollansky
6) 12-Jared Ridge
7) 4X-Toni Lutar
8) 25C-Chad Groves
9) 18-Travis Jacobson
10) 1-Raquel Ivie
Crane Cams Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 14-Jason Meyers
2) 83-Tim Kaeding
3) 20-Kraig Kinser
4) 11C-Roger Crockett
5) R19-Jac Haudenschild
6) 7S-Jason Sides
7) 9-Joey Saldana
8) 6-Danny Lasoski
9) 24T-Tyler Walker
10) O-Jonathan Allard
B-main (12 laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11-Steve Kinser
2) 8-Travis Rutz
3) 94-Zach Zimmerly
4) 18-Travis Jacobson
5) 5X-Colton Heath
6) 83V-Kyle Larson
7) 4X-Toni Lutar [$200]
8) 25C-Chad Groves [$180]
9) 19W-Tyler Wolf [$175]
10) 75-Kevin Smith [$160]
11) 10X-Kyle Miller [$150]
12) 26F-Shane Forte [$150]
13) 1-Raquel Ivie [$150]
A-main (40 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 14-Jason Meyers[1] [$10,000]
2) 83-Tim Kaeding[2] [$5,500]
3) 15-Donny Schatz[20] [$3,200]
4) 24T-Tyler Walker[9] [$2,800]
5) 7S-Jason Sides[6] [$2,500]
6) 9-Joey Saldana[7] [$2,300]
7) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[12] [$2,200]
8) 11-Steve Kinser[14] [$2,100]
9) 19-Craig Dollansky[18] [$2,050]
10) 6-Danny Lasoski[8] [$2,000]
11) O-Jonathan Allard[10] [$1,500]
12) 11C-Roger Crockett[4] [$1,200]
13) 7K-Shane Stewart[11] [$1,100]
14) 22-Brian Ellenberger[22] [$1,050]
15) 10-Sammy Swindell[17] [$1,000]
16) 20-Kraig Kinser[3] [$900]
17) 94-Zach Zimmerly[16] [$800]
18) 12-Jared Ridge[21] [$800]
19) 5X-Colton Heath[23] [$800]
20) 18-Travis Jacobson[15] [$800]
21) 7-Robbie Farr[19] [$800]
22) 8-Travis Rutz[13] [$800]
23) 83V-Kyle Larson[24] [$800]
24) R19-Jac Haudenschild[5] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Tim Kaeding 1-16, Jason Meyers 17-40
SuperClean Start of the Night Award: Lucas Wolfe
Penske Power Position Award: Donny Schatz
KSE Hard Charger Award: Donny Schatz
World of Outlaws Championship Standings through September 8
1. Donny Schatz 7466
2. Jason Meyers 7437 -29
3. Joey Saldana 7401 -65
4. Steve Kinser 7286 -180
5. Jason Sides 7186 -280
6. Danny Lasoski 7093 -373
7. Craig Dollansky 7073 -393
8. Kraig Kinser 6815 -651
9. Jac Haudenschild 6718 -748
10. Lucas Wolfe 6450 -1016
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), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy Boost (Official Energy Boost), Quaker State (Official Motor Oil), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, KSE Race Products, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo; Engine Builder’s Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines, Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis Builder’s Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company.
