Aiming to Win in 2011
When the dirt settled on November 6th at the World Finals in Charlotte to mark the end of the 2010 World of Outlaws season, November 7th signified day one of a new season for Craig Dollansky and the Big Game Treestands #7 team as they traveled north to the frigid Upper Midwest and Princeton, Minnesota to prepare for 2011.
After the team arrived back at the shop, the hauler was completely emptied and inventory was taken on remaining parts. Floor space started to decrease at the shop over the next couple months as numerous parts arrived to build five brand new cars. Led by crew chief DJ Lindsey, countless hours were put in by the #7 team to assemble the cars, put new graphics on the car, shine the hauler up, and many other tasks required to be ready for the upcoming season. With everything all loaded and ready to go, the team of Lindsey, Luke Dollansky, and Troy Dollansky departed last Friday for Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida.
Before leaving for Florida to join the team, I caught up with the driver of the Aggressive Hydraulics backed #7 and asked some questions about the upcoming season and the strong team they’ve assembled.
Reid: What are you looking forward to most this season?
Craig: I’m looking forward to getting the season started. I feel our team is very well prepared, there’s been a lot of long hours and hard work that’s went on during the offseason with DJ, Luke, and Troy. I feel good about this team and look forward to getting it started this week. We’re as prepared as we can be with a strong motor program, great equipment and great sponsors. This is our second season with Big Game Treestands and we continue to have great support from Karavan Trailers and Aggressive Hyraulics and just recently added Eaton’s Aeroquip Performance Products.
Reid: How important is being strong right out of the box at Volusia?
Craig: Getting a strong start is very important. I like Volusia and running fives nights in a row at the same place. I feel good and I know my team is ready.
Reid: You have DJ Lindsey back as your crew chief this year, how has it been working with him again?
Craig: It’s been great to be back with DJ. He’s a great guy and been working hard. We’ve been successful in the past and already had some success this time around toward the end of last year. I’m very encouraged by the way things are going. He’s got a great work ethic and he’s passing that on to my son Luke who has been there helping him and some others that have been helping out as well. With him at the head of everything it’s been going good and he turned a lot of long hours this off-season. We’re looking forward to getting the season started and going from there.
Reid: You mentioned your son Luke working on the crew, what’s it been like having him on the road with you?
Craig: Well it’s been great to have Luke on the road, it gives him an opportunity to learn a lot. It was one of the highlights of my season last year to have my son out there with me and let him learn that part of racing. He has the ambition of racing as well but right now I think it’s good for him to learn and try to get a good feel for the race cars from the crew side of the fence. That will help to make his job easier when he gets to do his own racing; it’s definitely been awesome to have him be a part of this team and a learning experience for him. He’s still learning but he’s got a good guy in DJ teaching him. He’s really looking forward to this season like the rest of us.
Reid: What goals do you have for this year?
Craig: We know we are capable of being in the hunt for the championship and we’re going out there this year to get a strong start to the season and work to keep it that way all the way through the year. It’s a long season, we won four World of Outlaws races last year and ten wins total for the 2010 racing season including the Premier Chevy Dealers World Challenge. We know that we can and that we need to win more races and the points will take care of themselves.
—
The opener of the 40th Annual DIRTcar Nationals gets underway tomorrow night with the first of two nights with the All Star Circuit of Champions before the World of Outlaws storm Volusia Speedway Park for a three day show. Stay connected with Craig Dollansky Racing and all the action in Florida on Facebook at facebook.com/DollanskyRacing, and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/DollanskyRacing.
