From Tony Veneziano, photo courtesy of Mike Campbell
Concord, NC— Jason Meyers did exactly what he needed to do on Friday night in the opening main event of the third annual World Finals at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, as he was victorious to keep pace with Donny Schatz in the closest points race in World of Outlaws history. With the triumph at the state-of-the-art four-tenths-mile, Meyers earned four more points than Schatz who finished second to move to within 25 markers of the three-time and defending series champion with just the finale of the World Finals remaining on Saturday night to determine the 2009 champion.
For Meyers it was his second career win at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway and his second during the World Finals, as he was victorious in the inaugural event back in 2007. It was his ninth A-Feature win of the season with the World of Outlaws and 10th overall triumph aboard the GLR Investments KPC.
“These guys did a great job tonight,” said Meyers. “We didn’t have the best of qualifying nights last night and that shows the kind of team we have right here. Nobody hung their heads and they were upset when they went to bed last night and they got up today and worked hard on this race car and gave me a great race car tonight. This entire team is doing a great job.”
Meyers started on the pole for the 30-lap contest, after winning the Crane Cams Dash. He led on the initial start, though the first caution of the night flew before that lap was in the books, leading to a complete restart. On the second start, Meyers again paced the field in turn one, only to have a red flag fly leading to a second complete restart. When the green flag flew for the third time on the opening lap, Meyers again shot to the lead over Dale Blaney.
Blaney took the lead on the second lap from Meyers and was out front for the next three laps, with Meyers retaking the top spot on the fifth circuit with Donny Schatz moving into second at the same time. Meyers would lead the rest of the way, enduring four more red flags and a yellow. He used strong restarts each time with Schatz lining up second to stay in front and best a very strong field of cars.
“It’s tough when you are leading on a restart,” explained the native of Clovis, California. “Leading on a restart is the toughest place to be in this business, especially with a guy like Donny Schatz behind you. I knew I just had to get off (turn) four clean and somewhat protect my line going into (turn) one and get a good run off of two, so he couldn’t pass me coming off three. One time during the race I saw Donny poke under me and it was a matter of getting off turn four as good as you could on each and every restart.”
Heading into the finale of the World Finals on Saturday night which will air live on SPEED beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern, Meyers leads the World of Outlaws with 54 Top-10 finishes as he chases his first series title. He won his series-best tenth Crane Cams Dash of the season as well on Friday night to earn the pole position for the 30-lap A-Feature.
“One more night to go,” noted Meyers. “I am proud of this entire team and everyone that works so hard on it. To get a win here at Lowe’s was great and come tomorrow night whether we win the championship or not, to get another win for this team is great. This team had a great year and we are really looking forward to 2010.”
Schatz, who began the third annual World Finals on Thursday night by setting fast time in both rounds of time trials, came home second on Friday night aboard the special edition STP J&J. It was his series-best 39th Top-Five finish of the season as he looks to make history on Saturday night if he wins the 2009 title, which would make him just the second driver ever to win more than three World of Outlaws titles.
“I was here to win the race and we had a way better car,” deadpanned Schatz. “We just ran second.”
Schatz lined up fourth in the first heat race on Friday night and quickly shot around Craig Dollansky, Bob Felmlee and Ed Lynch Jr. on the first lap of that eight-lap contest to take the lead and ultimately earn a convincing win and a spot in the Crane Cams Dash, where he finished third. A couple of times during the 30-lap main event Schatz looked under Meyers in both turns one and two and again in three and four, but was not able to make a pass.
“I’ve felt like we have had the best car here this weekend,” shard the North Dakota native. “I was fighting a little issue and was afraid I wasn’t going to finish. The throttle would stick when I shut the engine off, but didn’t have that problem when we were racing so that was a good thing. We’re definitely have good performance and it will just take a little bit better finish tomorrow.”
Danny Lasoski finished third on Friday night aboard the Casey’s General Store JEI to earn his 41st Top-10 finish of the season. Craig Dollansky came from the 11th starting spot to finish fourth in his first start in the Big Game Treestands Maxim. Fred Rahmer was fifth in the Miller Brothers machine, with Jason Sides sixth aboard the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim. Brad Sweet came all the way from 22nd to finish seventh in the Budweiser Maxim, with Lucas Wolfe coming home eighth in the Allebach Racing Maxim. Kraig Kinser was ninth in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim, with Brian Montieth rounding out the Top-10 in the Premiere Auto Works Maxim.
Joey Saldana who is third in points on the strength of a series-best 19 A-Feature wins and 20 overall victories this season, wound up 15th on Friday night after falling out of the race on the 14th lap and is now 82 points out of the lead, which mathematically eliminate him from the battle for the title.
The 2009 World of Outlaws season wraps up on Saturday night with the finale of the third annual World Finals from The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which will air live on SPEED beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern.
WORLD FINAL NIGHT #2 NOTES
•FAST QUALIFIER: Donny Schatz paced the 57 cars that took time for Friday’s portion of the World Finals which was held on November 5 with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked four-tenths-mile oval at 13.794 seconds at 104.393 mph. For his qualifying effort, Schatz earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Jason Sides (4), Dale Blaney (3), Steve Kinser (2) and Craig Dollansky (1).
• WORLD FINALS NIGHT #2 QUALIFYING WINNERS: Donny Schatz, Jason Meyers, Terry McCarl and Danny Lasoski won heat races. Jason Meyers won the Crane Cams Dash. Justin Henderson won the B-Main. Don Droud Jr. won the C-Main.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There has been 64 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature event held in 2009. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Silver Dollar Speedway-twice, Thunderbowl Raceway, Lone Star Speedway–twice, Houston Raceway Park, The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Virginia Motor Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice, U.S. 36 Raceway, 34 Raceway, I-55 Raceway, Castrol Raceway-twice, Skagit Speedway and Deer Creek Speedway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, River Cities Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Eldora Speedway, K-C Raceway and Dacotah Speedway), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, I-96 Speedway, Red River Valley Speedway, Ohsweken Speedway, Skagit Speedway, Cottage Grove Speedway, Clay County Fair Speedway and The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway, Nodak Speedway, Eagle Raceway, Charter Raceway Park and Lernerville Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Lebanon Valley Speedway, I-55 Raceway and River Cities Speedway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway-three times), Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway and Limaland Motorsports Park), Terry McCarl (Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway), Jason Sides (Ohsweken Speedway and Eldora Speedway), Dale Blaney (Attica Raceway Park), Cody Darrah (Williams Grove Speedway), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway),Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway), Tim Shaffer (Rolling Wheels Raceway Park) and Stevie Smith (Lernerville Speedway).
• PRELIMINARY FEATURE WINNERS: There has been two World of Outlaws preliminary features this season. The winners include: Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway) and Joey Saldana (Silver Dollar Speedway).
• FOUR-TENTHS-MILE WINNERS: The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway is a high-banked four-tenths-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced four times this season on a track that size. The winners included: Danny Lasoski (Lernerville Speedway), Jason Meyers (The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway), Joey Saldana (The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway) and Stevie Smith (Lernerville Speedway).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; World Finals Night #2; Concord, NC; November 6, 2009
Qualifying (Held on November 5)
1) 15-Donny Schatz 13.794
2) 7S-Jason Sides 13.837
3) 2-Dale Blaney 13.861
4) 11-Steve Kinser 13.869
5) 7-Craig Dollansky 13.903
6) 3C-Cale Conley 13.915
7) 51-Fred Rahmer 13.941
8) 22H-Greg Hodnett 13.956
9) 6F-Bob Felmlee 13.958
10) 14-Jason Meyers 13.984
11) 24-Terry McCarl 14.036
12) 19-Cody Darrah 14.052
13) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. 14.059
14) G1-Jeremy Campbell 14.070
15) 21-Brian Montieth 14.086
16) 6-Danny Lasoski 14.095
17) 22B-Ben Gregg 14.126
18) 9-Joey Saldana 14.139
19) 35-Justin Henderson 14.180
20) 43-Doug Dodson 14.201
21) 83X-Tim Shaffer 14.230
22) 20-Kraig Kinser 14.237
23) R19-Jac Haudenschild 14.262
24) 30C-Lance Dewease 14.269
25) 22-Brian Ellenberger 14.276
26) 17-Daryn Pittman 14.305
27) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 14.311
28) 91-Brad Sweet 14.315
29) 7M-Mark Smith 14.343
30) 27-Curt Michael 14.368
31) O7X-Brandon Wimmer 14.374
32) 25-Brooke Tatnell 14.397
33) 93-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 14.398
34) 55-Chad Layton 14.401
35) 1Z-Jessica Zemken 14.411
36) 63-Chad Kemenah 14.441
37) 1-Chris Shirek 14.445
38) 13-Don Droud Jr 14.473
39) 83-Tim Kaeding 14.479
40) 94-Zach Zimmerly 14.523
41) 1B-Keith Baxter 14.545
42) 81-Craig Folmar 14.564
43) O-Glenn Styres 14.621
44) 15X-Adam Wilt 14.650
45) 49-Bob Howard 14.725
46) 89-Robbie Stillwaggon 14.759
47) 28-Todd Kane 14.792
48) 63J-Josh Weller 14.813
49) 4K-Kris Spitz 14.874
50) 5-John Smith 14.881
51) D4-Danny Holtgraver 14.934
52) 13X-Kramer Williamson 14.941
53) 60C-Kory Crabtree 15.086
54) 6W-Brad Wickham 15.151
55) 19K-Kyle Pruitt 15.390
56) 6X-Mark Cole 15.407
57) 23-Todd Zinn 15.730
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 15-Donny Schatz
2) 6F-Bob Felmlee
3) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.
4) 7-Craig Dollansky
5) 22-Brian Ellenberger
6) 83X-Tim Shaffer
7) 93-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
8) 7M-Mark Smith
9) 22B-Ben Gregg
10) 1B-Keith Baxter
11) 1-Chris Shirek
12) 49-Bob Howard
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 14-Jason Meyers
2) 7S-Jason Sides
3) 9-Joey Saldana
4) G1-Jeremy Campbell
5) 17-Daryn Pittman
6) 3C-Cale Conley
7) 55-Chad Layton
8) 27-Curt Michael
9) 13-Don Droud Jr.
10) 89-Robbie Stillwaggon
11) 81-Craig Folmar
12) 20-Kraig Kinser
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 24-Terry McCarl
2) 51-Fred Rahmer
3) 2-Dale Blaney
4) 21-Brian Montieth
5) O7X-Brandon Wimmer
6) 83-Tim Kaeding
7) R19-Jac Haudenschild
8) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
9) 1Z-Jessica Zemken
10) O-Glenn Styres
11) 28-Todd Kane
12) 35-Justin Henderson
Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 6-Danny Lasoski
2) 19-Cody Darrah
3) 11-Steve Kinser
4) 22H-Greg Hodnett
5) 91-Brad Sweet
6) 30C-Lance Dewease
7) 25-Brook Tatnell
8) 63-Chad Kemenah
9) 15X-Adam Wilt
10) 63J-Josh Weller
11) 94-Zach Zimmerly
12) 43-Doug Dodson
Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 14-Jason Meyers
2) 2-Dale Blaney
3) 15-Donny Schatz
4) 24-Terry McCarl
5) 7S-Jason Sides
6) 51-Fred Rahmer
7) 11-Steve Kinser
8) 19-Cody Darrah
9) 6-Danny Lasoski
10) 6F-Bob Felmlee
D-main (8 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to C-main)
1) D4-Danny Holtgraver
2) 19K-Kyle Pruitt
3) 13X-Kramer Williamson [$100]
4) 6X-Mark Cole [$100]
5) 23-Todd Zinn [$100]
6) 4K-Kris Spitz [$100]
7) 60C-Kory Crabtree [$100]
8) 6W-Brad Wickham [$100]
9) 5-John Smith [$100]
C-main (10 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) 13-Don Droud Jr
2) 94-Zach Zimmerly
3) 81-Craig Folmar [$125]
4) D4-Danny Holtgraver [$125]
5) 63J-Josh Weller [$125]
6) 1B-Keith Baxter [$100]
7) 19K-Kyle Pruitt [$100]
8) O-Glenn Styres [$100]
9) 49-Bob Howard [$100]
10) 89-Robbie Stillwaggon [$100]
11) 83-Tim Kaeding [$100]
12) 1-Chris Shirek [$100]
13) 15X-Adam Wilt [$100]
14) 28-Todd Kane [$100]
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 35-Justin Henderson
2) 20-Kraig Kinser
3) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
4) 25-Brook Tatnell
5) 83X-Tim Shaffer [$200]
6) 7M-Mark Smith [$180]
7) 93-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [$175]
8) 43-Doug Dodson [$160]
9) 55-Chad Layton [$150]
10) 1Z-Jessica Zemken [$150]
11) 94-Zach Zimmerly [$150]
12) 63-Chad Kemenah [$150]
13) 27-Curt Michael [$150]
14) 3C-Cale Conley [$150]
15) 13-Don Droud Jr. [$150]
16) 30C-Lance Dewease [$150]
17) 22B-Ben Gregg [$150]
18) R19-Jac Haudenschild [$150]
A-main (30 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 14-Jason Meyers[1] [$10,000]
2) 15-Donny Schatz[3] [$5,500]
3) 6-Danny Lasoski[9] [$3,200]
4) 7-Craig Dollansky[11] [$2,800]
5) 51-Fred Rahmer[6] [$2,500]
6) 7S-Jason Sides[5] [$2,300]
7) 91-Brad Sweet[22] [$2,200]
8) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[21] [$2,100]
9) 20-Kraig Kinser[18] [$2,050]
10) 21-Brian Montieth[15] [$2,000]
11) 17-Daryn Pittman[20] [$1,500]
12) G1-Jeremy Campbell[14] [$1,200]
13) 25-Brooke Tatnell[24] [$1,100]
14) 2-Dale Blaney[2] [$1,050]
15) 9-Joey Saldana[16] [$1,000]
16) 24-Terry McCarl[4] [$900]
17) 11-Steve Kinser[7] [$800]
18) R19-Jac Haudenschild[25] [$0]
19) O7X-Brandon Wimmer[23] [$800]
20) 35-Justin Henderson[17] [$800]
21) 22-Brian Ellenberger[19] [$800]
22) 6F-Bob Felmlee[10] [$800]
23) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[13] [$800]
24) 19-Cody Darrah[8] [$800]
25) 22H-Greg Hodnett[12] [$800]
Note: Jac Haudenschild used a World of Outlaws Provisional to start the A-Feature.
Lap Leaders: Jason Meyers 1, 5-30; Dale Blaney 2-4
SuperClean Start of the Night Award: Tim Kaeding
Penske Power Position Award: Danny Lasoski
KSE Hard Charger Award: Brad Sweet
World of Outlaws Championship Standings Through November 6
1. Donny Schatz 8770
2. Jason Meyers 8745 -25
3. Joey Saldana 8688 -82
4. Steve Kinser 8524 -246
5. Jason Sides 8415 -355
6. Danny Lasoski 8295 -475
7. Craig Dollansky 7995 -775
8. Kraig Kinser 7962 -808
9. Jac Haudenschild 7901 -869
10. Lucas Wolfe 7554 -1216