Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Preview: Knoxville Raceway!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Preview: Knoxville Raceway
Knoxville, IA— June 3, 2008—Each and every time the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series competes at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, it’s a big event. The pair of races this weekend will have an added importance, because they will serve as the last two tune-ups that the series drivers will have for the 48th Annual Knoxville Nationals in August. On top of that, the cameras from SPEED will be rolling both nights this weekend to capture all of the action for broadcast on June 15 and June 21.
Donny Schatz, the two-time defending series champion and two-time defending Knoxville Nationals winner heads to half-mile with plenty of momentum. He has won the last two series events at Attica Raceway Park and Eldora Speedway and in the process took over the championship point lead from Jason Meyers. Schatz won in the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series first visit of the season to Knoxville Raceway on May 3, and has been victorious at the half-mile in each of the last three seasons. The North Dakota native is the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in all 14 events this season.
Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion is the winningest series driver at the track, with over 50 careers wins at the track, including 12 triumphs in the Knoxville Nationals. The native of Bloomington, Indiana led a number of laps at the track last month en route to a fourth-place finish. He has won twice this year, including on a half-mile at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania.
Terry McCarl has 45 career wins at Knoxville, including his first with the World of Outlaws last season. The six-time track champion has three Top-Five finishes in his last four starts with the series at his home track. The Iowa native is currently ninth in the series standings.
Jason Meyers, who is second in the series standings, won his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature at Knoxville in 2001. He is the only driver in the 30-year history of the series that has accomplished this feat. The California native finished fifth last month at the half-mile.
Craig Dollansky has 10 wins in his career at Knoxville, including one in a World of Outlaws A-Feature event. He was sixth last month at the half-mile and has three consecutive finishes of sixth or better at the track. The former World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion has won twice this season and is third in points.
Joey Saldana has three A-Feature wins at the famed ½-mile with the World of Outlaws, including in 2006. He finished second last month at the track, and in two starts last season, he finished second and sixth with the series. He also has two consecutive runner-up finishes in the Knoxville Nationals. He is currently fourth in points, just two markers out of the third spot.
Jac Haudenschild has 17 career wins at Knoxville. He finished third last month at the track and is currently fifth in series points, on the strength of seven Top-10 finishes. The veteran driver is in the midst of his first season driving for the Carnahan Motorsports team.
Kerry Madsen won the 2005 Knoxville Raceway championship driving for Vermeer Motorsports, the same team he is driving for this season. He has 14 career wins at the track and finished eighth last month with the World of Outlaws. He is seventh in series points currently, just 14 markers out of the Top-Five.
Chad Kemenah has 13 career Top-10 finishes at Knoxville, with nine of those being in the Top-Five. The 2006 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year is currently eighth in points on the strength of seven Top-10 finishes this season.
Shane Stewart won the Knoxville 360 Nationals last season. He has four career wins at the track, including a preliminary feature with the World of Outlaws in 2005. The native of Bixby, Oklahoma has Top-Five finishes in four of the last five World of Outlaws events and recently moved into the Top-10 in championship points.
Daryn Pittman has nearly 30 Top-10 finishes at Knoxville in his career, as he closes in on his first win at the legendary track. The native of Owasso, Oklahoma is just outside the Top-10 in points and is coming off a very strong fifth-place performance at Eldora Speedway last weekend.
Jason Sides, the 2003 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year with the World of Outlaws, has nine career Top-10 finishes at Knoxville. He has a couple of Top-10 finishes this season and is just outside of the Top-10 in points.
Sam Hafertepe Jr. finished 12th last month at Knoxville. His best career finish at the track came in 2006, when he was fifth in the Brodix Tournament of Champions for 360-sprint cars. The native of Sunnyvale, Texas picked up his fourth Top-10 finish of the season last Saturday night at Eldora Speedway.
Kraig Kinser has two career wins at Knoxville, including the 2005 Knoxville Nationals, which made him and his father Steve, the first father/son duo to win sprint car racing’s biggest event.
Tim Shaffer has one career win at Knoxville Raceway, which is the home track for his car owner Lonnie Parsons.
Lucas Wolfe will make his fourth career start at the half-mile on Friday, June 6, as he continues his rookie season with the World of Outlaws. The native of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania has three Top-10 finishes this season.
Tony Bruce Jr. has four career Top-10 finishes at Knoxville Raceway in a limited number of starts. His best career finish at the track was a sixth in 2004, driving a 360-sprint car.
Chad Hillier continues his sophomore season with the World of Outlaws in 2008. He turned in a very solid seventh-place performance in time trials last weekend at Eldora. He has made a handful of starts at Knoxville in his young career.
2008 Race Recaps: Donny Schatz won his first World of Outlaws A-Feature event driving for Tony Stewart Racing on May 3 at Knoxville Raceway.
The two-time defending series champion took the lead on the 18th lap, powering his way past Steve Kinser on the high-side of the track exiting the fourth turn. One lap earlier he nearly took the lead at the same spot on the track with a similar move. He quickly opened an advantage en route to his 71st career Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature win, which moved him into the fifth spot on the all-time win list ahead of 1995 series champion Dave Blaney. He pocketed $10,000 for the win, which was the eighth of his career at Knoxville Raceway.
Schatz lined up third for the 25-lap event which took three full starts to get going due to a yellow flag and then a red flag for a Tim Shaffer flip. On the third start, Schatz quickly challenged Jac Haudenschild for the runner-up spot, passing him a couple of time coming off the fourth corner, only to have Haudenschild win a drag race down the front stretch. This allowed Kinser to open a sizeable lead. Schatz ran third for the first five laps, before getting around Haudenschild and setting his sights on Kinser. He used lapped traffic to his advantage as he chased down the 20-time series champion as the laps wound down.
After Schatz took the lead, Kinser had his hands full with a hard charging Joey Saldana, as the pair battled for the second position for five laps. At the same time, Haudenschild closed back in and slipped into the second spot with just two laps remaining. On the last lap, Saldana powered around him exiting the fourth turn to snare the runner-up spot.
Haudenschild finished third, with Kinser fourth and Jason Meyers fifth.
2008 A-Feature Results
Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series; Knoxville Raceway; May 3, 2008
A-main (25 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 15-Donny Schatz[3] [$10,000]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[4] [$5,500]
3) R19-Jac Haudenschild[2] [$3,200]
4) 11-Steve Kinser[1] [$2,800]
5) 14-Jason Meyers[8] [$2,500]
6) 2-Craig Dollansky[6] [$2,300]
7) 21-Daryn Pittman[5] [$2,200]
8) 55-Kerry Madsen[11] [$2,100]
9) 5-Danny Lasoski[9] [$2,050]
10) 19- Stevie Smith [12] [$2,000]
11) 8K-Chad Kemenah[7] [$1,500]
12) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[13] [$1,200]
13) 83-Shane Stewart[19] [$1,100]
14) 20-Kraig Kinser[25] [$250]
15) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[15] [$1,000]
16) 7S-Jason Sides[23] [$900]
17) 5Z-Dusty Zomer[14] [$800]
18) 2X-Skip Jackson[17] [$800]
19) 18-Tony Bruce Jr.[10] [$800]
20) 5C-Chad Hillier[24] [$800]
21) 22-Billy Alley[21] [$800]
22) D1-Justin Henderson[22] [$800]
23) 70-Calvin Landis[26] [$]
24) 24-Terry McCarl[18] [$800]
25) 6-Tim Shaffer[16] [$800]
26) 21X-Brian Brown[20] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Steve Kinser 1-17, Donny Schatz 18-25
Previous Winners
World of Outlaws Sprint Series A-Feature winners at Knoxville Raceway include:
2008- Donny Schatz on May 3
2007- Donny Schatz on April 28, Terry McCarl on June 16
2006- Joey Saldana on June 23, Donny Schatz on Oct. 7
2005 – Kraig Kinser on June 24, Steve Kinser on April 30
2004 – Craig Dollansky on June 26, Mark Kinser on May 1
2003 – Danny Lasoski on April 26, Danny Lasoski on July 5
2002 – Steve Kinser on April 26, Danny Lasoski on June 29
2001 – Danny Lasoski on April 28, Stevie Smith on June 30, Jason Meyers on July 16 2000 – Danny Lasoski on April 29, Stevie Smith on July 1, Steve Kinser on July 19
1999 – Sammy Swindell on May 1, Danny Lasoski on July 3, Danny Lasoski on July 21 1998 – Jac Haudenschild on May 2, Jac Haudenschild on July 4, Jac Haudenschild on July 22
1997 – Mark Kinser on April 26, Jac Haudenschild on July 5, Mark Kinser on July 23
1996 – Mark Kinser on April 27, Mark Kinser on June 22, Mark Kinser on July 24
1995 – Mark Kinser on May 6, Mark Kinser on June 24, Steve Kinser on July 19, Mark Kinser on Sept. 27
1994 – Dave Blaney on April 29, Steve Kinser on June 25, Steve Kinser on July 20, Jac Haudenschild on Sept. 23
1993 – Danny Lasoski on April 30, Mark Kinser on June 27, Stevie Smith on Sept. 24; 1992 – Sammy Swindell on April 26, Steve Kinser on June 20, Steve Kinser on July 22, Steve Kinser on Sept. 26
1991 – Steve Kinser on April 27, Doug Wolfgang on June 22, Steve Kinser on July 24 1990 – Doug Wolfgang on April 29, Steve Kinser on June 23, Sammy Swindell on July 25
1989 – Sammy Swindell on April 29, Doug Wolfgang on June 24
1988 – Steve Kinser on April 30, Steve Kinser on June 22
1987 – Steve Kinser on April 25, Steve Kinser on June 22
1986 – Sammy Swindell on April 26, Steve Kinser on June 25, Steve Kinser on July 23
1985 – Sammy Swindell on April 28, Doug Wolfgang on Oct. 6
1984 – Sammy Swindell on July 25
1983 – Sammy Swindell on April 16, Sammy Swindell on July 27, Sammy Swindell on Oct. 16
1982 – Doug Wolfgang on April 17, Danny Smith on July 21
1981 – Steve Kinser on April 18, Doug Wolfgang on May 22, Sammy Swindell on May 23, Sammy Swindell on July 22, Doug Wolfgang on Sept. 12
1980 – Steve Kinser on April 19, Steve Kinser on April 20, Doug Wolfgang on May 31, Tim Green on Sept. 20
1979 – Sammy Swindell on April 21
Current Top-10 in Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Points
1. Donny Schatz 2016
2. Jason Meyers 1993
3. Craig Dollansky 1958
4. Joey Saldana 1956
5. Jac Haudenschild 1843
6. Steve Kinser 1836
7. Kerry Madsen 1829
8. Chad Kemenah 1787
9. Terry McCarl 1739
10. Shane Stewart 1704
What to look for at Knoxville Raceway:
* Donny Schatz, the two-time defending series champion, has won five events over the last two seasons at the famed half-mile, including the series first event this season at the track on May 3, in addition to the last two Knoxville Nationals. He has six consecutive Top-Five finishes in World of Outlaws events at the track.
* Steve Kinser, has over 50 career wins at Knoxville Raceway, including 12 victories in the Knoxville Nationals. He led a number of laps at the track last month en route to a fourth-place finish.
* Terry McCarl has 45 career wins at Knoxville, including his first with the World of Outlaws last season. The six-time track champion has three Top-Five finishes in his last four starts with the series at the half-mile in his home state.
* Jason Meyers won his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature event at Knoxville in 2001, becoming the first driver in series history to accomplish that feat. He finished fifth at the track last month.
* Craig Dollansky has 10 wins in his career at Knoxville, including one in a World of Outlaws A-Feature. He was sixth last month at the half-mile and has three consecutive finishes of sixth or better at the track.
* Joey Saldana has three A-Feature wins at the famed ½-mile with the World of Outlaws, including in 2006. He finished second last month at the track, and in two starts last season, he finished second and sixth in two events with the series. He also has two consecutive runner-up finishes in the Knoxville Nationals.
* Kerry Madsen won the 2005 Knoxville Raceway championship driving for Vermeer Motorsports, the same team he is driving for this season. He has 14 career wins at the track and finished eighth last month with the World of Outlaws.
* Kraig Kinser has two career wins at Knoxville, including the 2005 Knoxville Nationals, which made him and his father Steve, the first father/son duo to win sprint car racing’s biggest event.
* Shane Stewart won the Knoxville 360 Nationals last season. He has four career wins at the track, including a preliminary feature with the World of Outlaws in 2005. The native of Bixby, Oklahoma has Top-Five finishes in four of the last five World of Outlaws events and recently moved into the Top-10 in championship points.
By the Numbers- Knoxville Raceway:
0.5- Miles around Knoxville Raceway
5- Drivers that have won A-Feature events on half-mile tracks this season with the World of Outlaws
6- Track championships at Knoxville Raceway for Terry McCarl; Drivers that have won a World of Outlaws A-Feature event this season
7- Laps led by Donny Schatz en route to winning at the half-mile with the World of Outlaws on May 3; Drivers currently competing full-time with the World of Outlaws that have won A-Feature events with the series at the track
8- Degrees of banking in the turns at Knoxville Raceway
9- A-Feature events contested by the World of Outlaws on half-mile tracks this season
12- Wins in the SuperClean Knoxville Nationals for Steve Kinser
13- Drivers that have led laps in A-Feature competition this season with the World of Outlaws
14.407- Track record established by Brooke Tatnell on May 6, 2006 in time trials
15- Drivers that have won a World of Outlaws A-Feature event at Knoxville Raceway dating back to 1979 (excluding the Knoxville Nationals)
17-Career wins for Jac Haudenschild at Knoxville Raceway; Laps led by Steve Kinser on May 3 at the track
21- A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws at Knoxville Raceway for Steve Kinser (excluding the Knoxville Nationals)
42- Career wins at Knoxville for Terry McCarl of Altoona, Iowa
45- Drivers that competed with the World of Outlaws at Knoxville Raceway on May 3
58- Career wins at Knoxville for Steve Kinser, including preliminary feature wins and SuperClean Knoxville Nationals titles
60- Number of feet wide that the back straightaway is at Knoxville Raceway
70- Number of feet wide that the turns are at the half-mile
78- A-Feature events contested by the World of Outlaws at Knoxville excluding the Knoxville Nationals, dating back to 1979
80- Number of feet wide that the front straightaway is at the half-mile
114- Laps led by Jason Meyers in A-Feature events to lead the World of Outlaws through May 31
500-Seats at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum at Knoxville
1954- Year that weekly racing began at Knoxville Raceway
1979- Year that the World of Outlaws first raced at Knoxville Raceway
7,383- Seats in the back grandstand at the track
16,289- Seats in the main grandstand at Knoxville Raceway
24,172- Total seats at Knoxville Raceway.
Tickets: On Friday, June 6 at Knoxville Raceway, general admission tickets for adults will be $25, with general admission tickets for children $12.50. Reserved tickets for adults will be $27, with reserved tickets for children $13.50.
On Saturday, June 7 at Knoxville Raceway, general admission tickets for adults will be $25, with general admission tickets for children $12.50. Reserved tickets for adults will be $27, with reserved tickets for children $13.50. For ticket information visit http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com or call (641) 842-5431.
There will be an autograph session featuring World of Outlaws drivers each night at 5 p.m. Central under the grandstand by the main entrance gate.
Next Up: The series annual event at Sedalia’s State Fair Speedway in Missouri, which benefits the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation on Wednesday, June 11.
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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