By Tony Veneziano
Haubstadt, IN-April 21, 2010- Only a handful of states have hosted the World of Outlaws each and every year since the series inaugural 1978 campaign, with Indiana being among that prestigious list. The Hoosier State will again play host to the World of Outlaws this weekend with the series traditional stop at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt on Saturday, April 24. The always racy ¼-mile continues a stretch of events on high-banked Midwestern bullrings for the series.
Jason Meyers leads the series into Tri-State Speedway on the strength of a series-best four A-Feature wins and 12 Top-10 finishes in the first 12 races of the season as he chases his first series title. The California native currently holds a 17-point lead over Joey Saldana in the championship standings and is the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in each and every race.
Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, was victorious at Tri-State Speedway last season to earn his eighth career win with the series at the track, despite substantial damage to his left rear wheel late in the race. The 20-time series champion has 22 overall career triumphs at the ¼-mile in his home state.
The World of Outlaws raced for the first time at Tri-State Speedway in 1979 and have contested 28 A-Feature events over the years with 13 drivers picking up wins over that span. Three drivers currently competing full-time with the series have been victorious at the track, with Craig Dollansky and Tim Kaeding joining Steve Kinser on the win list.
Three drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws in 2010 hail from Indiana, with Kraig Kinser and Joey Saldana joining Steve Kinser as Indiana natives on the road this season.
The Buzz-
* Steve Kinser looks to add to his impressive record at Tri-State Speedway. He has 22 career wins at the ¼-mile, with eight of those coming in World of Outlaws events. He has 23 Top-10 finishes in 26 starts with the World of Outlaws at the track, with 20 of those being Top-Five performance. Kinser’s average finish with the series at the track is 4.8, the best of all current drivers. He has won three of his last four starts at the track and finished second in the other.
* Joey Saldana looks for his first World of Outlaws win at the track in his home state. He finished second at Haubstadt last year after a fifth-place run in 2008.
* Jason Meyers, who leads the World of Outlaws championship standings, is seeking his first win at Tri-State Speedway. He finished a career-best third in 2007 and has three career Top-10 finishes in five starts. Meyers leads the World of Outlaws with four wins this season and is the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in each and every race.
* Donny Schatz, the four-time and defending World of Outlaws champion, also is looking for his first win at Tri-State Speedway and his first trip to Victory Lane since the season opener on February 5 in Florida. The North Dakota native has eight career Top-10 finishes at Haubstadt, with a best finish of third in 2007.
* Jason Sides charged all the way from 15th to finish third last weekend at I-55 Raceway and looks to carry that momentum to Tri-State Speedway where he picked up a career-best third-place finish last season. He won earlier this season on a ¼-mile at Houston Raceway Park.
* Danny Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws champion, is seeking his first win of 2010 and also his first victory at Tri-State Speedway this weekend. He finished second in his second career start at the track in 1992, which to date is his best finish at the always racy bullring.
* Craig Dollansky has a very strong track record at Tri-State Speedway, having won twice in the last four races at the track. He has six career Top-10 finishes in eight starts at the track and ran very strong last weekend at I-55 Raceway, leading a number of laps before finishing second.
*Jac Haudenschild, who picked up his first win of the season last weekend in addition to finishing fourth, carries plenty of momentum to Tri-State Speedway this weekend as he too looks for his first World of Outlaws win at the track. The Hall of Famer has nine career Top-10 finishes with the series at the track, with a runner-up performance in 2007 the best of the lot.
* Tim Kaeding won in his debut at Tri-State Speedway in 2004 and finished fourth the following year. He is currently 10th in points as he looks for his first victory of 2010.
* Paul McMahan has had a good amount of success in a limited number of starts at Haubstadt. He has finished sixth or better in three of his last four starts at the track, with one of those being a podium run. He will be making his first start at the track since 2008 this weekend
* Mike Larson from Chizmark & Larson Insurance will be on-hand at Tri-State Speedway and will present the $100 Chizmark & Larson Hard Luck Award for the second consecutive week. Danny Lasoski picked up the cash bonus last weekend.
Sound Bites
Joey Saldana
“It’s a cool track and the racing is always awesome there. I think the double files restarts this year will make Haubstadt pretty interesting. We’ll just have to see how goes. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun and it’s good to run in Indiana.”
Jason Sides
“We had some good luck there last year. I believe we ran third there last year. It’s another little racy track that usually has a top and a bottom. Hopefully we can get another Top-Five.”
Kraig Kinser
“I got to race there a lot when I was younger. I always feel right at home when we get back to Indiana for some racing.”
Sam Hafertepe Jr.
“It’s a changeup type of track and is way different than what we are used to. It’s a fun joint to race at. It’s a short track with tight corners. It gets pretty interesting there with side-by-side racing. They keep the track in pretty good shape for us. It’s just a fun place to go to.”
By the numbers- Tri-State Speedway
0.25- Miles around Tri-State Speedway
1- Race in the state of Indiana for the World of Outlaws this season; Driver that has finished in the Top-10 in all 12 races this season- Jason Meyers
3- Drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws in 2010 that have won at the track during their career; Drivers that led laps in the feature event at Tri-State Speedway last season; Laps led by Steve Kinser en route to winning at the track last season
4- Wins for Jason Meyers this season to lead all drivers
4.8- Average finish for Steve Kinser at Tri-State Speedway in World of Outlaws events in his career at Tri-State Speedway
7- Drivers that have won A-Feature events this season
8- Wins for Steve Kinser in World of Outlaws events at the track over the years
9- Drivers that have been fastest in time trials this season; Drivers that have won a dash to earn a pole position in 2010
11- Drivers that have led laps in feature events this season
11.110- Track record at Tri-State Speedway established by Sammy Swindell in 2004
12- Races so far in 2010 for the World of Outlaws
13- Drivers that have won A-Feature events with the World of Outlaws at Tri-State Speedway
17- Points that currently separate leader Jason Meyers and Joey Saldana in the standings
20- Seasons in which the series has competed at Tri-State Speedway
22- Total wins for Steve Kinser in his career at Tri-State Speedway
33- Drivers that competed at Tri-State Speedway with the series last season
76- Laps led by Joey Saldana in feature events this season to lead all drivers
1979- Year the World of Outlaws first competed at Tri-State Speedway
10,000- Dollars the winner will receive on Saturday, April 24
51,690- Dollars in the total purse on Saturday, April 24
Tickets
On Saturday, April 24 at Tri-State Speedway, adult general admission tickets will be $30, with general admission tickets for children (ages 6-12) $15, with kids 5-under admitted free of charge in the general admission section. Adult reserved tickets (ages 13-over) will be $35 and reserved tickets for children will be $25. Tickets for this event can be purchased at the track on Friday, April 23 from 12- 6 p.m. Central or by calling (812) 768-6025- Monday – Friday. General Admission tickets will also be available at the ticket booths on the day of the race starting at 4 p.m. Central.
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Chizmark & Larson Insurance , Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, KSE Race Products, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo; Engine Builder’s Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines, Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis Builder’s Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company.