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RACE REPORT: Meyers Wins Commonwealth Clash

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Meyers Cashes in at Commonwealth Clash: Earns Series Best Fourth Win of 2008

 When Jason Meyers first took to the road full-time in 2000, the first track he won at was Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pennsylvania. He has been trying to return to Victory Lane at the high-banked four-tenths mile ever since that date with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, coming close on a number of occasions.

He left no doubt on Tuesday night, as he led the final 18 laps of the Commonwealth Clash to earn his series leading fourth A-Feature win of 2008 and second career triumph at Lernerville.

 

“It’s certainly more than we can ask for right now,” Meyers said, after the win. “These guys are doing a great job and everything is running well. We just have to keep it up. It’s going to be a long year and a long summer and we have to keep up what we are doing now. I’m just happy to see it all paying off for this team that works very hard every day. It means a lot to me and everyone involved in this team.”

Click to hear Jason Meyers following his fourth victory of the season.

Click to hear Terry McCarl after his runner-up finish.

Click to hear Chad Kemenah talk about his season-best third-place run.

Meyers lined up third for the 35-lap contest and actually fell back to fifth in the early going, before tracking down Chad Kemenah and then Jac Haudenschild. On the 12th lap, he slipped by early leader Dale Blaney to move into the runner-up spot. He then took the lead from Terry McCarl on the 18th lap exiting the four turn, as McCarl slipped up the banking. Late in the race, Haudenschild dove low in the first turn to take the lead, but Meyers again used a strong run off the fourth turn as Haudenschild slipped up the track to remain in the lead and was officially scored the leader at the line.

 

“You just had to lay it in there and just kind of hold on to it,” explained Meyers, the driver of the GLR Investments KPC, of the fourth turn which provided a challenge to the drivers. “The bottom was kind of slick and we were a little tight on top, but we were definitely fast up there. We just had to get up in there and hang on to it.”

 

Meyers used his eighth Top-10 finish of the season to take a one-point lead in the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series championship standings over Craig Dollansky. Meyers was third quickest in time trials on Tuesday night, which earned him three bonus points. He also tightened the gap in the Qwik Liner Cup, which awards points to the Top-Five qualifiers in each of the first events of the 2008 season.

 

“That is really exciting,” said the native of Clovis, California. “We have had a great start to the year, as have Craig Dollansky and Donny Schatz. To be able to call home to Chris (Luck) and Guy (Stockbridge) and everyone involved and tell them we were able to take the point lead is real exciting. I’m looking forward to hopefully holding on to it.”

 

The First Commonwealth Bank Clash began on Tuesday night with Dale Blaney charging past Jac Haudenschild to take the lead into the first and second turns. Terry McCarl quickly moved into third on the opening circuit. The leaders were setting a blistering pace and encountered lapped traffic on the just the fifth go-around. Blaney continued to lead with Haudenschild closing in a couple of times, including on the sixth lap when he looked high for the lead exiting the fourth turn.

 

McCarl moved into the runner-up position on the eighth circuit, using the high side of turns one and two. On the next lap, McCarl dove to the lead as Blaney drifted high off the fourth turn. McCarl would begin to pull away as he sliced through traffic.

 

He wound up leading nine laps on Tuesday night and earned his best finish of the season as he came home second aboard the Big Game Treestands Eagle. It was the first race for the veteran driver with new crew chief Dave Lawrence turning the wrenches.

 

“It felt good,” said McCarl. “My car has won here before so that put a little pressure on me to win. We haven’t done too good here the past few years, so it was great to have a strong run. Dyno Dave (Lawrence) joined me here tonight. I am pretty excited. We have a great crew right now.”

 

Meyers used a strong restart after the first caution of the night on the 13th lap to shadow McCarl. The 18th lap would be the decisive one, as McCarl hit a rut exiting the fourth turn and Meyers was there to sweep past him for the lead. A couple of more cautions bunched the field and gave McCarl two more chances to make a move on Meyers. Down the stretch, Meyers opened a comfortable lead en route to the $10,000 triumph.

 

Chad Kemenah earned his best finish of the season as he wound up third in the Kantor Oil Company Maxim. The Ohio native battled Meyers early in the race and charged around Blaney with just four laps remaining.

 

“We had a good night,” said Kemenah, the 2006 World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year. “We’ve been good lately and we just haven’t been able to get races in with the rain. This goes out to Mike Cool, my crew chief. He’s been around so long and has such good experience and he gets us on the same page each night. We feel like we are competitive when we come to the track. It feels good to be competitive.”

 

After leading early in the race, Blaney who has three career A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws wound up fifth aboard the Berlin Bakery Maxim.

 

Craig Dollansky who entered the Commonwealth Clash as one of just three drivers that has finished in the Top-10 in each event this season, extended that streak, as he worked his way to a fifth-place finish, after lining up 20th. He has now finished sixth or better in each event this season driving the Auto Value Parts Stores Maxim.

 

“We got ourselves into a hole early in the night in qualifying and we kept working on our race car,” said Dollansky. “It still was not a happy car when the feature started. Mike (Woodring) did a good job bringing the thing around. We just kept plugging away. I would have liked to have seen a 40-lap race. At the end we were able to pick more cars off than we did at the beginning. As the race wore on, the car got stronger.”

 

Joey Saldana finished sixth, after setting fast time aboard the Budweiser/Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI, with two-time defending series champion Donny Schatz in seventh driving the Armor All J&J for Tony Stewart Racing, after starting 21st. Kerry Madsen, the reigning Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year finished eighth in the TK Concrete Maxim, to earn his fifth Top-10 finishes of the season. Sam Hafertepe Jr. turned in a season-best ninth-place performance driving the G.H. Plumbing J&J. Daryn Pittman was 10th in the Titan Garages Maxim.

 

After running in the Top-Five all night, Haudenschild spun off the third turn late in the race, challenging Meyers for the lead and restarted at the back of the field. He wound up 12th in the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Maxim.

 

After the 22nd A-Feature win of his Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series career, Meyers is excited to head to Williams Grove Speedway on Thursday and Friday, as the series makes their first of three separate visits to the legendary half-mile this season. He will take an impressive streak into the race, which has seen him finish in the Top-10 in each and every sprint car race he has competed in since the middle of last October.

 

“That’s always a big test,” noted the native of Clovis, California. “How you run when you go through Pennsylvania wins and loses championships. It will be very important for us to run well there this weekend. Hopefully we can take this momentum there. I have never won a World of Outlaws event at Williams Grove. Charlie Garrett who builds our engines is from right down the street there and hopefully we can go in and get him a win this weekend.”

 

McCarl, who led his first laps of the 2008 season, began the night by winning the second heat race and also ran fourth in the Crane Cams Dash. The native of Altoona, Iowa now has four Top-10 finishes on the season and is seventh in points.

 

“We had a great car,” said the six-time Knoxville Raceway and Huset’s Speedway track champion. “I think we were capable of wining. We kind of ran back up on them on the last restart and I thought we had something for them. I think we were better in traffic than most of them, but I hooked a rut. The track was pretty tricky, but it was a lot of fun.”

 

After battling rain again last weekend, Kemenah like the rest of the World of Outlaws drivers and teams was thrilled to be back in action on Tuesday night. Not only did he earn his best finish of the season, but he also matched the career-best finish for car owner Jon Kantor with the World of Outlaws.

 

“I think everyone will get into a rhythm the more we race,” Kemenah shared. “Everyone kind of walks around in a daze right now waiting for the next rainout. We’re tickled to death to have a great run for Jon Kantor. He’s given us an opportunity to come out here and race. Our Maxim race car was very good tonight.”

 

The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to action at the famed Williams Grove Speedway on Thursday, May 15 and Friday, May 16.

 

LERNERVILLE SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK

 

• FAST QUALIFIER: Joey Saldana paced the 43 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked four-tenths-mile oval at 12.813 seconds at 126.434 mph. For his qualifying effort, Saldana earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Ed Lynch Jr. (4), Jason Meyers (3), Greg Hodnett (2), and Jac Haudenschild (1).

 

• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Chad Kemenah, Terry McCarl, Lance Dewease and Kerry Madsen won heat races… Randy Hannagan won the C-Main… Jac Haudenschild won the Crane Cams Dash… Sam Hafertepe Jr. won the B-Main.
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FEATURE WINNERS: There have been eight Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events held in 2008. The winners include: Jason Meyers (Volusia Speedway Park, Manzanita Speedway, I-55 Raceway and Lernerville Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Volusia Speedway Park and Eldora Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Volusia Speedway Park) and Donny Schatz (Knoxville Raceway).

 

0.4-WINNERS: Lernerville Speedway is a high-banked 0.4-mile oval. The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series have raced once this season on a track that size. The winner was Jason Meyers.

 

The Official Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Web site is at http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint. 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 2008 Official Rulebook can be found at the bottom of the home page.

 

A stop at Orange County Fair Speedway, on Sunday, May 18, followed by the Rite Aid Outlaws Showdown at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway which will be broadcast LIVE on SPEED, followed by the inaugural race at Virginia Motor Speedway.

Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; First Commonwealth Bank Clash at Lernerville Speedway; Sarver, PA; May 13, 2008

 

Qualifying

1) 9-Joey Saldana 12.813

2) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. 12.828

3) 14-Jason Meyers 12.832

4) 22-Greg Hodnett 12.845

5) R19-Jac Haudenschild 12.846

6) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 12.860

7) 8-Mike Lutz 12.862

8) 21-Daryn Pittman 12.943

9) 8K-Chad Kemenah 12.972

10) 24-Terry McCarl 12.985

11) 30C-Lance Dewease 13.017

12) 55-Kerry Madsen 13.025

13) O-Brandon Wimmer 13.061

14) 2B-Dale Blaney 13.063

15) 20E-Brian Ellenberger 13.070

16) 51-Fred Rahmer 13.084

17) 83-Shane Stewart 13.093

18) 11-Steve Kinser 13.098

19) 6F-Bob Felmlee 13.104

20) 19E-Jason Johnson 13.107

21) 2-Craig Dollansky 13.107

22) 6-Tim Shaffer 13.109

23) 15-Donny Schatz 13.125

24) 5B-Chad Blonde 13.148

25) 13-Paul McMahan 13.190

26) W20-Greg Wilson 13.191

27) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 13.201

28) 18-Tony Bruce Jr. 13.208

29) 7S-Jason Sides 13.217

30) 4G-Rod George 13.226

31) 10-Carl Bowser 13.245

32) 19-Stevie Smith 13.290

33) 92V-Matthew Reed 13.344

34) 25-Chad Layton 13.353

35) 20-Kraig Kinser 13.447

36) 9S-Kevin Schaeffer 13.506

37) 15M-Charlie Holben 13.508

38) 1X-Randy Hannagan 13.527

39) 5C-Chad Hillier 13.559

40) 98-Dan Shetler 13.677

41) 33-Brent Matus 14.195

42) 4K-Bill Kiley 14.282

43) 6R-Sheila Rankin 15.431

44) 16-Gary Rankin -.—

 

Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 8K-Chad Kemenah

2) R19-Jac Haudenschild

3) O-Brandon Wimmer

4) 9-Joey Saldana

5) 13-Paul McMahan

6) 2-Craig Dollansky

7) 92V-Matthew Reed

8) 15M-Charlie Holben

9) 7S-Jason Sides

10) 33-Brent Matus

11) 83-Shane Stewart

 

Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 24-Terry McCarl

2) 2B-Dale Blaney

3) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.

4) 11-Steve Kinser

5) W20-Greg Wilson

6) 6-Tim Shaffer

7) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.

8) 1X-Randy Hannagan

9) 25-Chad Layton

10) 4G-Rod George

11) 4K-Bill Kiley

 

Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 30C-Lance Dewease

2) 14-Jason Meyers

3) 15-Donny Schatz

4) 20E-Brian Ellenberger

5) 6F-Bob Felmlee

6) 8-Mike Lutz

7) 5W-Lucas Wolfe

8) 5C-Chad Hillier

9) 10-Carl Bowser

10) 20-Kraig Kinser

 

Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 55-Kerry Madsen

2) 21-Daryn Pittman

3) 22-Greg Hodnett

4) 51-Fred Rahmer

5) 5B-Chad Blonde

6) 19-Stevie Smith

7) 19E-Jason Johnson

8) 18-Tony Bruce Jr.

9) 9S-Kevin Schaeffer

10) 16-Gary Rankin

11) 98-Dan Shetler

 

Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)

1) R19-Jac Haudenschild

2) 2B-Dale Blaney

3) 14-Jason Meyers

4) 24-Terry McCarl

5) 8K-Chad Kemenah

6) 55-Kerry Madsen

7) 21-Daryn Pittman

8) 9-Joey Saldana

9) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.

10) 30C-Lance Dewease

 

C-main (8 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)

1) 1X-Randy Hannagan

2) 5C-Chad Hillier

3) 15M-Charlie Holben [$125]

4) 98-Dan Shetler [$125]

5) 33-Brent Matus [$125]

6) 16-Gary Rankin [$100]

7) 4K-Bill Kiley [$100]

8) 20-Kraig Kinser [$100]

9) 9S-Kevin Schaeffer [$100]

10) 6R-Sheila Rankin [$100]

 

B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.

2) 2-Craig Dollansky

3) 8-Mike Lutz

4) 19E-Jason Johnson

5) 6-Tim Shaffer [$200]

6) 5W-Lucas Wolfe [$180]

7) 7S-Jason Sides [$175]

8) 18-Tony Bruce Jr. [$160]

9) 4G-Rod George [$150]

10) 25-Chad Layton [$150]

11) 1X-Randy Hannagan [$150]

12) 92V-Matthew Reed [$150]

13) 5C-Chad Hillier [$150]

14) 10-Carl Bowser [$150]

15) 83-Shane Stewart [$150]

16) 19-Stevie Smith [$150]

 

A-main (35 laps) – Starting Position [#]

1) 14-Jason Meyers[3] [$10,000]

2) 24-Terry McCarl[4] [$5,500]

3) 8K-Chad Kemenah[5] [$3,200]

4) 2B-Dale Blaney[2] [$2,800]

5) 2-Craig Dollansky[20] [$2,500]

6) 9-Joey Saldana[8] [$2,300]

7) 15-Donny Schatz[21] [$2,200]

8) 55-Kerry Madsen[6] [$2,100]

9) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[12] [$2,050]

10) 21-Daryn Pittman[7] [$2,000]

11) 30C-Lance Dewease[10] [$1,500]

12) R19-Jac Haudenschild[1] [$1,200]

13) 11-Steve Kinser[17] [$1,100]

14) O-Brandon Wimmer[14] [$1,050]

15) 22-Greg Hodnett[11] [$1,000]

16) 51-Fred Rahmer[16] [$900]

17) 20E-Brian Ellenberger[15] [$800]

18) 6F-Bob Felmlee[18] [$800]

19) 6-Tim Shaffer[25] [$0]

20) 13-Paul McMahan[23] [$800]

21) W20-Greg Wilson[24] [$800]

22) 33-Brent Matus[26] [$0]

23) 19E-Jason Johnson[19] [$800]

24) 10-Carl Bowser[28] [$0]

25) 5B-Chad Blonde[22] [$800]

26) 20-Kraig Kinser[27] [$0]

27) 8-Mike Lutz[13] [$800]

28) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[9] [$800]

 

Lap Leaders: Dale Blaney 1-8, Terry McCarl 9-17, Jason Meyers 18-35

 

Note: Tim Shaffer and Kraig Kinser used World of Outlaws provisionals to start the A-Feature. Brent Matus and Carl Bowser used Lernerville Speedway provisionals to start the A-Feature.

 

Chicken Hawk Hot Lap Award: Dale Blaney

Penske Power Position Award: Chad Kemenah

KSE Hard Charger Award: Craig Dollansky

 

 

2008 STAT ATTACK

There have been eight Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events this season.

 

A-Feature winners (4 Different Drivers) Driver, Hometown – Wins

1- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 4

2- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 2

3- Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1

Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1

 

Lap leaders, including A-features and preliminary features Car, driver, hometown – Total laps led (9 Drivers have led laps)

1- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 71 laps

2- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 61 laps

3- Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 30 laps

4- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 27 laps

5- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 20 laps

6- Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 17 laps

7- Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 9 laps

8- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio- 8 laps

9- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 7 laps

 

Time trial leaders (6 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Quick times

1- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota – 2

Shane Stewart, Bixby, Oklahoma- 2

3- Cody Darrah, Red Lion, Pennsylvania- 1

Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 1

Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio – 1

Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 1

 

Dash Winners (8 different winners) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Dash Wins

1- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 1

Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio- 1

Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 1

Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1

Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1

Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Oklahoma- 1

Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana – 1

Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1

 

Pole Positions (8 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Poles

1- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 1

Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio- 1

Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 1

Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1

Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1

Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Oklahoma- 1

 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana – 1

 Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1

 

B-main Winners (7 different winners) Rank – Driver, Hometown – B-Main Wins

1- Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas- 1

Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio- 1

Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 1

Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1

Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania- 1

Danny Smith, Danville, Indiana – 1

T.J. Stutts, Liverpool, Pennsylvania- 1

 

KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award

1- Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NWS- 2

2- Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania- 1

Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 1

Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1

Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 1

Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1

Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 1

 

Penske Power Position

1 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 2

2 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio- 1

Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 1

Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1

Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 1

Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee- 1

Shane Stewart, Bixby, Oklahoma- 1

 

Chicken Hawk Hot Lap

1- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 2

2- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio- 1

Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 1

Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1

Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1

Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 1

Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1

 

Top-10 in Championship Points

1. Jason Meyers 1173

2. Craig Dollansky 1172

3. Donny Schatz 1148

4. Joey Saldana 1114

5. Kerry Madsen 1050

6. Steve Kinser 1035

7. Terry McCarl 1022

8. Chad Kemenah 1019

9. Jac Haudenschild 1012

10. Daryn Pittman 997

 

Qwik Liner Cup Points through May 3

Craig Dollansky 22

Jason Meyers 15

Donny Schatz 10

Shane Stewart 10

Joey Saldana 8

Cody Darrah 7

Kerry Madsen 6

Jeff Shepard 6

Sam Hafertepe Jr. 5

Chad Kemenah 5

Ed Lunch Jr. 4

Steve Kinser 3

Danny Lasoski 3

Daryn Pittman 3

Sammy Swindell 3

Randy Hannagan 2

Jac Haudenschild 2

Greg Hodnett 2

Kraig Kinser 2

Jason Sides 2

 

Crane Cams Engine Builder Challenge

Shaver Specialties 33

Don Ott Engines 28 / -5

Speedway Engines 27 / -6

Kistler Engines 24 / -9

Chassis Builder Challenge

Maxim 38

J&J 34 / -4

Triple X Race Co. 15 / -23

 

 

Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts is the second-largest retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, based on store count and sales. As of October 6, 2007, the company operated 3,228 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The company serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets.

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