By Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director
Donny Schatz said on Thursday night after his win at Williams Grove Speedway that if he had a good qualifying effort and could start at the front of the field on Friday night, that he would be in contention for the win. He was true to his word, as he qualified a very solid 15th with 56 cars on hand, earning him the pole position for the third heat, which he won to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash.
The reigning World of Outlaws champion battled 2001 series titlist Danny Lasoski on Friday night at the half-mile for the $12,000 top prize. In the end, Schatz found his way to the winner’s circle, earning his 11th career win at the storied track and his series leading sixth win of 2007.
Lasoski used a strong start to charge into the first turn on the initial green flag, but a caution before the lap was completed led to a complete restart. On the second start Lasoski again shot to the lead and began to pull until a lap seven caution bunched the field.
Another strong restart kept Lasoski in the lead, but Schatz stayed with him and patiently waited for the pair to enter lapped traffic. On the 20th lap, they encountered heavy traffic and Schatz dove low and took the lead coming off the second turn. That lead was short lived as Lasoski powered back around coming off turns three and four. At the line, Lasoski was officially scored the leader. In a mirror image of the lap before, Schatz again dove low in the second turn and took the lead on the 21st lap and would not relinquish it the rest of the way.
“It was a great weekend at the Grove,” said Schatz, driver of the ParkerStore J&J. “The car was rolling good all weekend. I’m very happy with that. Obviously we got ourselves qualified well tonight. We went out late and we got a decent time. The heat race victory got us in that all important dash and we came from the fifth spot there.”
Adding even more luster to the win was the fact that the SPEED cameras were rolling during the event which will be broadcast on Sunday, June 3. In the first televised race of the season on April 13 at Eldora Speedway, Schatz finished second. With 18 more events to be broadcast on SPEED as well as ESPN2 as the season rolls on, Schatz will have plenty of opportunities to shine for the cameras.
“For our sponsors we want to do the best we can for them on television,” said the native of Fargo, North Dakota. “We don’t put any more emphasis on winning a TV show versus winning any other. It was very fortunate for us that it did fall on a TV show. We just had a good weekend. We got both nights of out here, and this is one of the toughest places in the country. There were a lot of good cars missing the show. It could have very easily been us. I’m glad to get the wins and we just have to keep piling them up, and keep getting better.”
After his win on Thursday night, Schatz predicted that the track would be slower on Friday night. With threatening weather in the area all afternoon and early evening the track crew worked extra hard to make sure the track was in good racing shape when the first cars hit the surface for hot laps. Schatz kept his car on the bottom of the track for most of the night.
“The track was a lot slower time-wise tonight,” Schatz said. “The cushion was really big and it would grab a hold of you pretty good. It pulled Steve (Kinser) up there in the dash and the 88 car (Todd Shaffer) in the feature, and when it pulled those guys up in there, that allowed me to get by on the bottom. I have trouble with those deals, so I try to stay away from them.”
Kinser who has 37 career wins at Williams Grove made a last lap pass of Lasoski to earn his 10th Top-Five finish of the season. After enduring a mechanical failure on Thursday night that made him race his way into the A-Feature by way of the B-main, Kinser was pleased with the performance of his car on Friday night.
“I thought I would have a chance there for a little bit, but it didn’t happen,” said Kinser driver of the Q Oil Maxim. “We can’t complain. I got better as the race went on, I just couldn’t run anywhere but the bottom. I couldn’t play with cushion. I think the car was geared a little too high, and it had a little stumble in the motor on the bottom. The track got a little bit faster at the end and I could keep some speed up.”
The native of Bloomington, Indiana began the night by turning the fifth fastest lap in time trials, which put him third starting spot in the first heat, which he would finish second in to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash. In the dash, he finished. A long green flag run to end the A-Feature was not what Kinser wanted to see.
“I was getting around pretty good,” he said. “Once I got into third I would have liked to have seen a yellow to get a clean race track. We weren’t too far off. We just need to do a little work.”
Lasoski led the first 20 laps of the event en route to his 15th Top-10 finish of the year as he came home third. He opened leads of nearly a half straightaway during the first 10 laps of the 30-lap event.
“I ran the tires off the car too early,” said Lasoski, driver of the Roth Motorsports Eagle. The bottom line is that I got loose and Donny got by me. I was trying to get around a lapped car and I should have not fooled with him. It’s just disappointing, because we had a really good race car. I am proud of my guys and Dennis Roth for giving us a good opportunity.”
Paul McMahan came home a very solid fourth to earn his eighth Top-10 finish of the season. He finished second in the third heat to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash. A very consistent last month and a half have vaulted him solidly into the Top-10 in points.
“We were good last night and we were good tonight,” said McMahan, driver of the Bass Pro Shops Eagle. “We had a little bad luck last night in the heat race and knocked the whole front end off and that put us behind for tonight. My guys worked real and got the car back together for me and gave me a great car. To come home in the Top-Four any night is good, especially at the Grove.”
Todd Shaffer ran in the Top-Five all night and finished fifth after starting second in the McCoy Bros. Construction JEI.
Mike Erdley finished sixth in the Lisi Shell Maxim, with Jason Meyers earning the KSE Hard Charger Award after working his way from the 22nd starting spot to finish seventh aboard the Primerica Financial Maxim. Stevie Smith was eighth in the Race Against the Abuse of Children Everywhere J&J. Daryn Pittman was ninth in the Titan Garages Maxim, and Jeff Shepard was 10th in the Zemko Tool and Die Maxim.
The World of Outlaws continue their stretch of five races in six days on Saturday night as they invade the sprawling 5/8-mile Orange County Fair Speedway in New York.
WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK
• FAST QUALIFIER: Chris Meleason paced the 55 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked half-mile oval in 16.802 seconds at 107.130 mph. For his qualifying effort, Meleason eared five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Tim Shaffer (4) Kenny Jacobs (3), Mike Erdley (2) and Steve Kinser (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Lucas Wolfe, Danny Lasoski, Donny Schatz and Jeff Shepard won heat races… Doug Esh won the C-Main… Greg Hodnett won the B-Main… Danny Lasoski won the Crane Cams dash.
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• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 22 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, April 28 at Knoxville Raceway, May 17 at Williams Grove Speedway and May 18 at Williams Grove Speedway), 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).
• HALF-MILE WINNERS: Williams Grove Speedway is a half-mile semi-banked oval. The World of Outlaws have raced eight times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Donny Schatz (February 9 at Volusia Speedway Park March 3 at Manzanita Speedway, April 28 at Knoxville Raceway, May 17 at Williams Grove Speedway and May 18 at Williams Grove Speedway), Kerry Madsen (February 10 at Volusia Speedway Park), Jason Meyers (April 13 at Eldora Speedway) and Daryn Pittman (February 11 at Volusia Speedway Park).
•ON TELEVISION: The World of Outlaws event at Williams Grove Speedway from Friday, night was 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.
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. The Eckerd Outlaw Showdown on Friday, May 25 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
World of Outlaws Statistical Report; Williams Grove Speedway; Mechanicsburg, PA.; May 18, 2007
Qualifying
1) 8M-Chris Meleason 16.802
2) 6-Tim Shaffer 16.822
3) 29-Kenny Jacobs 16.870
4) 11E-Mike Erdley 16.874
5) 11-Steve Kinser 16.907
6) 19-Stevie Smith 16.913 7)
17B-Steven Buckwalter 16.913
8) 71-Brian Leppo 16.922
9) R19-Jason Solwold 16.925
10) 83-Danny Lasoski 16.959
11) 20-Paul McMahan 16.973
12) 1-Jeff Shepard 16.980
13) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 16.991
14) 39-TJ Stutts 16.997
15) 15-Donny Schatz 17.001
16) 88-Todd Shaffer 17.016
17) 9K-Craig Keel 17.028
18) D1-Justin Henderson 17.034
19) 8K-Zach Chappell 17.041
20) 87-Alan Krimes 17.043
21) 25-Lance Dewease 17.051
22) 21-Daryn Pittman 17.065
23) 24-Terry McCarl 17.068
24) O7-Mark Smith 17.077
25) 22-Greg Hodnett 17.087
26) 2-Tim Kaeding 17.097
27) 59-Jim Siegel 17.122
28) 14-Jason Meyers 17.132
29) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 17.134
30) U1-Chad Layton 17.149
31) 21P-Brian Montieth 17.154
32) 7S-Jason Sides 17.156
33) 69K-Donnie Kreitz Jr. 17.158
34) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. 17.166
35) 30-Doug Esh 17.179
36) 1X-Randy Hannagan 17.186
37) 89-Cody Darrah 17.199
38) 51-Fred Rahmer 17.202
39) 11H-Kerry Madsen 17.204
40) 10C-Jeremy Campbell 17.218
41) 35-Jac Haudenschild 17.227
42) 3X-Chad Kemenah 17.245
43) 7K-Keith Kauffman 17.268
44) 36-Jason Martin 17.275
45) 9-Joey Saldana 17.277
46) 11D-Dion Hindi 17.282
47) O-Rick Lafferty 17.323
48) 35A-Alan Cole 17.324
49) 7-Craig Dollansky 17.378
50) 18X-Ryan Bohkle 17.398
51) 22Z-Michael Carber 17.428
52) 5C-Chad Hillier 17.555
53) 30C-Steve Claybaugh 17.651
54) 10N-Niki Young 17.842
55) 47-Billy Kimmel 18.038
56) 45-AJ Michael -.—
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
2) 11-Steve Kinser
3) 25-Lance Dewease
4) 35-Jac Haudenschild
5) R19-Jason Solwold
6) 8M-Chris Meleason
7) 22-Greg Hodnett
8) 89-Cody Darrah
9) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
10) 9K-Craig Keel
11) 69K-Donnie Kreitz Jr.
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 83-Danny Lasoski
2) 39-TJ Stutts
3) 19-Stevie Smith
4) 21-Daryn Pittman
5) 6-Tim Shaffer
6) D1-Justin Henderson
7) 2-Tim Kaeding
8) U1-Chad Layton
9) 51-Fred Rahmer
10) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.
11) 3X-Chad Kemenah
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 15-Donny Schatz
2) 20-Paul McMahan
3) 29-Kenny Jacobs
4) 24-Terry McCarl
5) 21P-Brian Montieth
6) 8K-Zach Chappell
7) 30-Doug Esh
8) 11H-Kerry Madsen
9) 59-Jim Siegel
10) 7K-Keith Kauffman
11) 17B-Steven Buckwalter
Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 1-Jeff Shepard
2) 88-Todd Shaffer
3) 11E-Mike Erdley
4) O7-Mark Smith
5) 71-Brian Leppo
6) 10C-Jeremy Campbell
7) 14-Jason Meyers
8) 7S-Jason Sides
9) 87-Alan Krimes
10) 36-Jason Martin
11) 1X-Randy Hannagan
Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 83-Danny Lasoski
2) 88-Todd Shaffer
3) 15-Donny Schatz
4) 11-Steve Kinser
5) 20-Paul McMahan
6) 39-TJ Stutts
7) 1-Jeff Shepard
8) 6-Tim Shaffer
9) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
10) 29-Kenny Jacobs
D-main (8 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to C-main)
1) 9-Joey Saldana
2) 11D-Dion Hindi
3) 10N-Niki Young [$100]
4) 5C-Chad Hillier [$100]
5) 30C-Steve Claybaugh [$100]
6) 47-Billy Kimmel [$100]
7) 35A-Alan Cole [$100]
8) 45-AJ Michael [$100]
9) 7-Craig Dollansky [$100]
10) O-Rick Lafferty [$100]
11) 18X-Ryan Bohkle [$100]
12) 22Z-Michael Carber [$100]
C-main (10 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) 30-Doug Esh
2) 51-Fred Rahmer
3) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. [$125]
4) 1X-Randy Hannagan [$125]
5) 11H-Kerry Madsen [$125]
6) 7K-Keith Kauffman [$100]
7) 9-Joey Saldana [$100]
8) 11D-Dion Hindi [$100]
9) 36-Jason Martin [$100]
10) 89-Cody Darrah [$100]
11) 3X-Chad Kemenah [$100]
12) 10C-Jeremy Campbell [$100]
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 22-Greg Hodnett
2) 9K-Craig Keel
3) 2-Tim Kaeding
4) 14-Jason Meyers
5) 7S-Jason Sides [$200]
6) 87-Alan Krimes [$180]
7) 59-Jim Siegel [$175]
8) U1-Chad Layton [$160]
9) 51-Fred Rahmer [$150]
10) 69K-Donnie Kreitz Jr [$150]
11) 8M-Chris Meleason [$150]
12) D1-Justin Henderson [$150]
13) 17B-Steven Buckwalter [$150]
14) 8K-Zach Chappell [$150]
15) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [$150]
16) 30-Doug Esh [$150]
A-main (30 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 15-Donny Schatz[3] [$12,000]
2) 11-Steve Kinser[4] [$5,500]
3) 83-Danny Lasoski[1] [$4,000]
4) 20-Paul McMahan[5] [$3,000]
5) 88-Todd Shaffer[2] [$2,700]
6) 11E-Mike Erdley[11] [$2,400]
7) 14-Jason Meyers[22] [$2,100]
8) 19-Stevie Smith[12] [$2,000]
9) 21-Daryn Pittman[17] [$1,900]
10) 1-Jeff Shepard[7] [$1,800]
11) O7-Mark Smith[19] [$1,700]
12) 25-Lance Dewease[16] [$1,600]
13) 35-Jac Haudenschild[24] [$1,500]
14) 39-TJ Stutts[6] [$1,200]
15) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[9] [$1,100]
16) 22-Greg Hodnett[20] [$1,000]
17) 9-Joey Saldana[25] [$100]
18) 6-Tim Shaffer[8] [$850]
19) 71-Brian Leppo[13] [$800]
20) 51-Fred Rahmer[28] [$0]
21) 24-Terry McCarl[18] [$800]
22) 2-Tim Kaeding[21] [$800]
23) R19-Jason Solwold[14] [$800]
24) 29-Kenny Jacobs[10] [$800]
25) 11H-Kerry Madsen[27] [$0]
26) 9K-Craig Keel[15] [$800]
27) 21P-Brian Montieth[23] [$800]
28) 30-Doug Esh[26] [$0]
Lap Leaders: Danny Lasoski 1-20, Donny Schatz 21-30
KSE Hard Charger Award: Jason Meyers
Notes: Joey Saldana and Kerry Madsen used World of Outlaws provisionals to start the A-Feature. Doug Esh and Fred Rahmer used Williams Grove track provisionals to start the A-Feature.
2007 STAT ATTACK
There have been 22 World of Outlaws A-Feature events this season.
A-Feature winners (9 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Wins
1- #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 6
2- #9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 5
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
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. – 100 laps
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 99 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
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 27 laps
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA – 22 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
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 6 laps
Time trial leaders (13 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
#8MChris Meleason, Carlisle, PA – 1
#6T Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#5W Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, 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 (15 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
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 2
6 – #15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX – 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA – 1
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 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 (15 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
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 2
6- #15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX – 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA – 1
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 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
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger ( drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown
1- #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 1
B-main Winners (18 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
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA – 1
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose – 1
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 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
