Lasoski returns to Knoxville for Sprint win
Saturday, May 16, 2009
By Bob Wilson
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 16) Danny Lasoski made an appearance at Knoxville Raceway after taking a break from the touring World of Outlaws and made it payoff as he captured his 93rd career feature event at this Central Iowa racing facility. Ryan Roberts led the distance in capturing his 2nd career win in the 360 division.
The 20-lap feature had a difficult time getting the go as Tony Bruce, Jr. did a couple of rollovers against the turn one fence while trying to avoid another car on the initial start. Brian Brown then came to the working area with a malfunctioning sprinter and failed to make it back to the track in time to catch the second start.
Pole sitter Lynton Jeffrey grabbed the lead when the green flew the second time. He was chased for two laps by Chris Morgan, Mark Dobmeier and Dusty Zomer. Right after Jeffrey took lap two, the red was shown for Tim Shaffer who took a flip and landed on all fours in turn three. He was unable to restart.
When the race went green again, Dobmeier slid Jeffrey in turns one and two to take the lead then grabbed it for good when he ducked low in turns three and four. Jeffrey was unable to stay with him as Dobmeier began to build a sizable lead.
Lap seven saw Dobmeier change his line as he suddenly went to the bottom of the track instead of the cushion. He also began to slow. It took Jeffrey just two laps to chase him down and retake the lead as finally Dobmeier slowed and pulled onto the berm in turn four in an attempt to pull into the pits. His efforts were ill fated as he spun at the pit entrance bring out the final yellow.
On a track which had faced strong winds all day long, there was not a lot of “racey” grooves at this point in the evening. The final restart saw leader Jeffrey go to the top which had a cushion just feet away in the turns from Knoxville’s tall, white fences. Danny Lasoski, who started ninth, stayed with him on that line for one lap and then dropped to the bottom for a challenge.
Lap sixteen saw “The Dude” try a slider that worked in turns one and two as he took the lead for good. Behind him a lot of action was occurring as several drivers who had started mid-pack or worse had worked their ways toward the front. Tonight they would not catch Lasoski as he began to put a great deal of track between himself and them.
As the checkers fell for Lasoski, second place Terry McCarl (started 10th) had just exited turn four of Knoxville’s big half-mile oval. Jeffrey held for third while Kerry Madsen posted a fourth having started 19th. Brooke Tatnell finished fifth. Rounding out the top ten were Johnny Herrera (started 15th), Billy Alley, Bob Weuve, Don Droud, Jr. (started 18th) and Dusty Zomer. 32 cars competed on the evening.
Ryan Roberts utilized his front row starting position to grab the lead and keep it in the 360 sprint division. Only two yellows slowed the event and on each restart Roberts held his spot. He was trailed the entire way by Bryan Dobesh who finished in that spot. Those two cars pulled away from the most interesting race, that being a lap after lap contest between Joe Beaver, Dustin Selvage and Lee Grosz as that threesome fought for the third place spot for most of the 15-lap distance. Clint Garner waited right behind them should they faulter.
In the end it was Robert and Dobesh taking the top two spots as Selvage, Grosz and Beaver claimed the top five finishers. Garner, Johnny Anderson, Mike Houseman, Jr., Jonathan Cornell (from 20th) and Matt Morro (from 17th) completed the top ten finishers. 40 cars competed in this division.
Complete Results on "Results" page...
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