By Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director
If only one word could be used to describe Steve Kinser’s car on Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway, that word would be dominate. Whether he was in open race track or the couple of times he hit lapped traffic during the A-Feature, he continually added to his advantage en route to the win in the First Commonwealth Bank Clash and a $10,000 payday.
The victory was his 16th career A-Feature win at Lernerville Speedway and his 536th with the World of Outlaws. He began the night by handily winning the fourth heat and followed that up with a convincing win in the Crane Cams Dash.
He thus started the 35-lap A-Feature from the pole position for the first time this season. Tim Shaffer jumped to the second spot on the opening lap and began to chase Kinser. Just as the pair was about to enter lapped traffic, the caution flag flew on the fifth lap. Kinser used a strong restart to pull away, as he led every lap on his way to his third A-Feature win of the season.
“It feels good to win here,” said Kinser, driver of the Q Oil Maxim. “We had a good race car all night. We went out and qualified pretty good. We had a good draw in the dash that helped as well. As good as everyone is running right now, you have to really start at the front.”
With nine laps remaining in the A-Feature there was an open red flag, allowing the teams to come on the track and work on their cars. Kinser’s team only put fuel in the car and made a slight adjustment air pressure to the tires. A couple of late restarts gave Joey Saldana a few chances to battle for the top spot, but Kinser powered his way to a sizeable advantage each time the green flag flew.
“The key was getting good restarts and using the momentum to get a good run into turn one and turn three,” said the 20-time series champion. “Once I got a lap under me again under green I felt pretty comfortable with the car. You never know who can get a run at you on the restarts.”
For Saldana, the runner-up finish was his 13th Top-Five finish of the season. He started the A-Feature in the third spot and on the sixth lap shot around Shaffer for the runner-up spot. He set his sights on Kinser and closed a couple of times on the straightaways, though Kinser continually pulled away through the corners.
“It was a good night for us,” said Saldana, driver of the Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI. “We went out fairly late in time trials and the track definitely slowed down. Timing in the Top-10 was definitely a good effort for us. We tried a few things in the dash and weren’t as good as we wanted to be, but we learned some stuff for the feature.”
Jason Meyers made one of the most impressive passes of the race, as he shot to the outside of Tim Shaffer and Craig Dollansky on the 22nd lap, as the trio went three-wide down the back straightaway and into turn three, where he made the pass on his way to a third-finish.
“The crew is kind of questioning why we didn’t win it, but we had another good race car tonight,” said Meyers driver of the Primerica Financial Maxim. “We are still struggling a little bit on these intermediate sized race tracks. We still don’t have things exactly right. It was a good thought. We ran sixth most of the race and I was able to make one good move and get to third. It’s another run for the team. If we can run consistently in the Top-Three I will be happy.”
After a slow start to the season, Kinser and his team appear to be hitting their stride as the weather warms up and the schedule picks up. This was evident in the A-Feature on Tuesday night, as he continually turned the fast lap of the race, with his best lap being over two miles per hour faster than anyone else on the track.
“It’s the time of year when you race the most, and this is probably the best the car has felt all year,” explained Kinser. “The track was easy to drive and I had a lot of confidence in what I was doing. I was able to get off the gas and get the car settled down. All year I have been running wide open and never letting the engine breathe and playing catch-up. It’s nice to have this thing performing and being able to let it (the engine) breath a little when running out front.”
Saldana worked the cushion for most of the race and his team made a few changes to his shocks during the red flag as he looked to chase down Kinser. After a strong run last Saturday night at Lake Ozark Speedway, the native of Brownsburg, Indiana carries plenty of momentum to Williams Grove Speedway later this week.
“We never really got to lapped traffic to see anything,” lamented Saldana. “I really don’t know if that would have played into our hands or his or someone else’s. The way the race unfolded, we just have to learn from it and come back at the next race.”
After another solid run, Meyers now has 10 Top-10 finishes in a row, dating back to the end of March. After winning his second race of the season last weekend and vaulting into the Top-Five in points, he is excited for the current Eastern swing the World of Outlaws are embarked on.
“Confidence is a big part of this and our guys are doing a great job,” beamed Meyers. “Our confidence is up and we will carry that this week. Like I have said, we are going out to where Charlie Garrett is from and he wants to win one for him at Williams Grove.”
Tim Shaffer returned to his home track and won the third heat to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash. He ran in the second spot early in the A-Feature as he closed in on Kinser a couple times before relinquishing the spot to Saldana. Later in the event, the native of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania fell back to the sixth spot, but charged around Craig Dollansky on the 26th lap, on the restart after the red flag. He finished fourth to rack up his eighth Top-Five finish of the season.
“We’re happy with it, but we’re not at the same time,” said Shaffer, driver of the Casey’s General Stores Maxim. “I thought we had a shot at winning it, but the tire sealed up a little bit.”
Shaffer, who won the Lernerville track championship in 1993 received a warm ovation every time he took to the track. He had a steady steam of fans stop by his trailer after the checkered flag flew, many reminiscing about his win in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup in 2005 at the track.
“In the past I always tried a little too hard here and I have learned to not try as hard and settle down,” explained Shaffer. “It shows, because we have been doing better here.”
Danny Lasoski rounded out the Top-Five in the First Commonwealth Bank Clash. The native of Dover, Missouri started 11th in the 35-lap event and methodically worked his way to the front in the Roth Motorsports Eagle. He slipped back to 10th on the sixth lap before making his charge to the front. With just three laps to go, he moved into the fifth position to earn his fifth Top-Five finish of the season.
After winning his first A-Feature of the season last Saturday, Craig Dollansky turned in another solid performance, finishing sixth in the Karavan Trailers Maxim. Steve Smith made his first World of Outlaws start of the season and was seventh in the Race Against the Abuse of Children Everywhere J&J. Jason Solwold finished eighth in the City Wide Insulation Maxim to earn his 11th Top-10 finish of the season. Donny Schatz recovered from rear end and ignition troubles early in the night to charge from the 25th starting spot to ninth in the final rundown. Tim Kaeding rounded out the Top-10 in the Volcano Joe’s Coffee Schnee, filling in for Brooke Tatnell.
The World of Outlaws head east to the storied Williams Grove Speedway on Thursday, May 17 and Friday, May 18 for two full nights of racing.
LERNERVILLE SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK
• FAST QUALIFIER: Jason Meyers paced the 45 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked 0.4-mile oval in 12.959 seconds at 125.010 mph. For his qualifying effort, Meyers eared five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Bob Felmlee (4), Danny Lasoski (3), Daryn Pittman (2) and Dion Hindi (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Justin Henderson, Jason Solwold, Tim Shaffer, and Steve Kinser won heat races… Chad Kemenah won the C-Main… Danny Smith won the B-Main… Steve Kinser won the Crane Cams dash.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 20 World of Outlaws A-Feature events held in 2007. The win list includes: Joey Saldana (February 23 at Thunderbowl Raceway, March 17 at Pike County Speedway, March 24 at Volunteer Speedway, March 31 at Dixie Speedway, and April 20 at Attica Raceway Park), Donny Schatz (February 9 at Volusia Speedway Park, March 3 at Manzanita Speedway, March 16 at Houston Raceway Park, and April 28 at Knoxville Raceway), Steve Kinser (March 2 at USA Race Park, April 21 at Tri-State Speedway and May 15 at Lernerville Speedway), Jason Meyers (April 13 at Eldora Speedway and May 11 at U.S. 36 Raceway), Daryn Pittman (February 11 at Volusia Speedway Park and May 5 at Riverside International Speedway), Craig Dollansky (May 12 at Lake Ozark Speedway), Tim Kaeding (February 24 at Thunderbowl Raceway), Danny Lasoski (April 6 at Paducah International Raceway), and Kerry Madsen (February 10 at Volusia Speedway Park).
• 0.4-MILE WINNERS: Lernerville Speedway is a 0.4-mile semi-banked oval. The World of Outlaws have raced twice this year on a track size. The winners include: Steve Kinser (Lernerville Speedway) and Joey Saldana (Volunteer Speedway).
•ON TELEVISION: The World of Outlaws event at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, May 18 will be taped for broadcast on SPEED at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, June 3. This will be the second of 12 World of Outlaws races broadcast on SPEED this season.
The warriors from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series will make their 2007 SPEED debut on Sunday, May 20.
The World of Outlaws will be televised 20 times this season on ESPN2 and SPEED while the World of Outlaws Late Model Series is set for six appearances on SPEED. The one-hour broadcasts will air on Sundays from May 13 to Nov. 4, when the series champions will be crowned during the World Finals from The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
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.
• UPCOMING EVENTS: A trip the sprawling 5/8-mile Orange County Speedway in New York is set for Saturday, May 19. A return to New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey dots the schedule the following night, Sunday, May 20. The series will head back to the Keystone State for Thunder in the Hills at Grandview Speedway on Wednesday, May 23.
World of Outlaws Statistical Report; Lernerville Speedway; Sarver, PA.; May 15, 2007
Qualifying
1) 14-Jason Meyers 12.959
2) 6F-Bob Felmlee 12.990
3) 83-Danny Lasoski 13.013
4) 21-Daryn Pittman 13.020
5) 11D-Dion Hindi 13.034
6) 20-Paul McMahan 13.056
7) 10C-Jeremy Campbell 13.096
8) 11-Steve Kinser 13.106
9) 9-Joey Saldana 13.114
10) R19-Jason Solwold 13.123
11) 6-Tim Shaffer 13.146
12) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 13.155
13) D1-Justin Henderson 13.170
14) 7-Craig Dollansky 13.171
15) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 13.172
16) 19-Stevie Smith 13.183
17) 20E-Brian Ellenberger 13.193
18) 25-Lance Dewease 13.204
19) 4-Danny Smith 13.215
20) 2-Tim Kaeding 13.226
21) 1X-Randy Hannagan 13.228
22) 8K-Zach Chappell 13.230
23) 5C-Chad Hillier 13.266
24) 36-Jason Martin 13.269
25) 8H-Shane Stewart 13.277
26) 9S-Kevin Schaeffer 13.328
27) W20-Greg Wilson 13.328
28) 35-Jac Haudenschild 13.333
29) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. 13.367
30) 15-Donny Schatz 13.367
31) 7S-Jason Sides 13.383
32) 24-Terry McCarl 13.384
33) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. 13.442
34) 11H-Kerry Madsen 13.446
35) 10-Carl Bowser 13.464
36) 3X-Chad Kemenah 13.484
37) 28-Brian Paulus 13.492
38) 33-Brent Matus 13.846
39) 16-Gary Rankin 14.247
40) 76-David Jones 14.422
41) 59-Terry Bowser 14.453
42) 4K-Bill Killey 14.671
43) 29-Robbie Bartchie 15.143
44) 6R-Shella Rankin 16.160
45) 7X-Richard Reinhart 16.855
46) 3J-Joey Butera -.—
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) D1-Justin Henderson
2) 9-Joey Saldana
3) 14-Jason Meyers
4) 1X-Randy Hannagan
5) 20E-Brian Ellenberger
6) 11D-Dion Hindi
7) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.
8) 8H-Shane Stewart
9) 28-Brian Paulus
10) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.
11) 59-Terry Bowser
12) 7X-Richard Reinhart
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) R19-Jason Solwold
2) 7-Craig Dollansky
3) 20-Paul McMahan
4) 25-Lance Dewease
5) 6F-Bob Felmlee
6) 15-Donny Schatz
7) 8K-Zach Chappell
8) 11H-Kerry Madsen
9) 9S-Kevin Schaeffer
10) 4K-Bill Killey
11) 3J-Joey Butera
12) 33-Brent Matus
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 6-Tim Shaffer
2) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
3) 83-Danny Lasoski
4) 10C-Jeremy Campbell
5) 7S-Jason Sides
6) 5C-Chad Hillier
7) 4-Danny Smith
8) 10-Carl Bowser
9) 16-Gary Rankin
10) W20-Greg Wilson
11) 29-Robbie Bartchie
Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11-Steve Kinser
2) 19-Stevie Smith
3) 21-Daryn Pittman
4) 35-Jac Haudenschild
5) 2-Tim Kaeding
6) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
7) 3X-Chad Kemenah
8) 24-Terry McCarl
9) 36-Jason Martin
10) 76-David Jones
11) 6R-Sheila Rankin
Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 11-Steve Kinser
2) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
3) 6-Tim Shaffer
4) 9-Joey Saldana
5) D1-Justin Henderson
6) R19-Jason Solwold
7) 14-Jason Meyers
8) 7-Craig Dollansky
9) 19-Stevie Smith
10) 6F-Bob Felmlee
C-main (10 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) 3X-Chad Kemenah
2) 10-Carl Bowser
3) 28-Brian Paulus [$125]
4) 16-Gary Rankin [$125]
5) 76-David Jones [$125]
6) 29-Robbie Bartchie [$100]
7) 6R-Shella Rankin [$100]
8) 3J-Joey Butera [$100]
9) 4K-Bill Killey [$100]
10) 7X-Richard Reinhart [$100]
11) 33-Brent Matus [$100]
12) 59-Terry Bowser [$100]
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 4-Danny Smith
2) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
3) 11D-Dion Hindi
4) 8K-Zach Chappell
5) 5C-Chad Hillier [$200]
6) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. [$180]
7) W20-Greg Wilson [$175]
8) 24-Terry McCarl [$160]
9) 15-Donny Schatz [$150]
10) 3X-Chad Kemenah [$150]
11) 11H-Kerry Madsen [$150]
12) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. [$150]
13) 10-Carl Bowser [$150]
14) 9S-Kevin Schaeffer [$150]
15) 8H-Shane Stewart [$150]
16) 36-Jason Martin [$150]
A-main (35 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 11-Steve Kinser[1] [$10,000]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[4] [$5,500]
3) 14-Jason Meyers[7] [$3,200]
4) 6-Tim Shaffer[3] [$2,800]
5) 83-Danny Lasoski[11] [$2,500]
6) 7-Craig Dollansky[8] [$2,300]
7) 19-Stevie Smith[9] [$2,200]
8) R19-Jason Solwold[6] [$2,100]
9) 15-Donny Schatz[25] [$1,250]
10) 2-Tim Kaeding[20] [$2,000]
11) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[2] [$1,500]
12) D1-Justin Henderson[5] [$1,200]
13) 4-Danny Smith[19] [$1,100]
14) 21-Daryn Pittman[12] [$1,050]
15) 1X-Randy Hannagan[21] [$1,000]
16) 20-Paul McMahan[14] [$900]
17) 7S-Jason Sides[24] [$800]
18) 25-Lance Dewease[18] [$800]
19) 35-Jac Haudenschild[23] [$800]
20) 8K-Zach Chappell[22] [$800]
21) 24-Terry McCarl[27] [$0]
22) 20E-Brian Ellenberger[17] [$800]
23) 6F-Bob Felmlee[10] [$800]
24) 16-Gary Rankin[28] [$0]
25) 10C-Jeremy Campbell[15] [$800]
26) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr[26] [$0]
27) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[16] [$800]
28) 11D-Dion Hindi[13] [$800]
Lap Leader: Steve Kinser, 1-35
Note: Donny Schatz and Terry McCarl used World of Outlaws provisionals to start the A-Feature. Ed Lynch Jr. and Gary Rankin used track provisionals to start the A-Feature.
2007 STAT ATTACK
There have been 20 World of Outlaws A-Feature events this season.
A-Feature winners (9 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Wins
1- #9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 5
2- #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 4
3- #11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 3
4 -#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 2
6- #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 1
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA – 1
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW – 1
Lap leaders, including A-features and preliminary features Car, driver, hometown – Total laps led (13 different drivers have led a lap)
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN. – 153 laps
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 99 laps
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. – 87 laps
#7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 74 laps
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 65 laps
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 63 laps
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 46 laps
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA – 40 laps
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW – 22 laps
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD – 14 laps
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA- 9 laps
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 7 laps
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 6 laps
Time trial leaders (12 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Quick times
1 – #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 4
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 4
3- #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 2
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA – 2
5- #18T Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS – 1
#8K Zach Chappell, Talala, OK – 1
#89 Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA – 1
#7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 1
#5C Chad Hillier, Burlington, WA – 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW – 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 1
#6T Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
Track records established during 2007 World of Outlaws events (5)
* Craig Dollansky, March 2, United Sports Arizona Race Park (3/8-mile), Tucson, AZ, 12.624 seconds at 106.939 mph.
* Kerry Madsen, March 3, Manzanita Speedway (1/2-mile), Phoenix, AZ, 15.255 seconds at 118.149 mph.
* Joey Saldana, March 16, Houston Raceway Park (1/4-mile) Baytown, TX, 11.996 seconds at 75.025 mph.
* Joey Saldana, March 24, Volunteer Speedway (4/10-mile) Bulls Gap, TN, 11.696 second at 123.119 mph.
* Jason Solwold, May 5, Riverside International Speedway (1/4-mile) West Memphis, AR, 11.060 seconds at 81.374 mph.
Crane Cams Dash Winners (14 different winners) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Dash Wins
1- #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 3
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 3
3- #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 2
5 – #15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX – 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 1
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 1
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 1
#4 Danny Smith, Danville, IN – 1
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA – 1
Pole Positions (14 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Poles
1- #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 3
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 3
3- #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 2
#15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX – 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 1
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 1
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 1
#4 Danny Smith, Danville, IN – 1
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA – 1
B-main Winners (16 different winners) Rank – Driver, Hometown – “B” Wins
1 –#11D Dion Hindi, Albuquerque, NM – 2
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 2
#4 Danny Smith, Danville, IN – 2
3 -#18T Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS – 1
#24H- Rob Chaney, Wooster, OH – 1
#15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX -1
#1X Randy Hannagan, San Jose – 1
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD – 1
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose – 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW – 1
#24 Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA – 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 1
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 1
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA – 1
#2 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW – 1
