By Tony Veneziano
Rossburg, OH-May 6, 2010- Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, Sammy Swindell and Danny Lasoski have won races from coast-to-coast at countless tracks during their storied careers, and while many of those victories have run together over time, their triumphs at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio always stand out and are some of the victories that will always hold a special place to them long after their driving days are over.
The four drivers, who account for 27 World of Outlaws titles and over 1,000 combined A-Feature wins with the series, will all be in action this weekend at Eldora Speedway on Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8 for Outlaw Thunder by Goodyear, as they look to add to their career marks at the high-banked half-mile.
Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, has won nearly 40 times with the series at the half-mile during his illustrious career. Overall, he has won over 50 times at Eldora Speedway dating back to 1978. He scored his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature win at Eldora during the series inaugural season and has since gone on to win 553 more A-Feature events over the last 30-plus years.
“It’s always a fun race track to race at and I always look forward to going to Eldora,” Kinser said. “It’s no different that anywhere else. You have to come in with a good car and be prepared and ready. It is a track we normally run pretty good on.”
Donny Schatz, the four-time and defending series champion, who drives for Eldora Speedway owner Tony Stewart and is Kinser’s teammate in 2010, made his first trip to the half-mile in 1996, finishing a very solid eighth in the Kings Royal, an event he has since gone on to win twice. The North Dakota native has won in the spring in each of the last two seasons at the half-mile aboard the Armor All/STP J&J. Following each of those wins, he took the lead in the series standings en route to winning titles. He has five career wins with the World of Outlaws at Eldora.
“It’s always a place we look forward to going to,” shared Schatz. “It will be especially high on our list this time because we’ll actually be in one spot and racing for two nights in a row. I am looking forward to it and hopefully the rain stays away and we can have a great weekend and some good racing.”
Swindell made his debut at Eldora Speedway back in 1976, winning for the first time at the half-mile that same season. He scored his first World of Outlaws win at the track in 1979 and has been victorious in 23 different seasons at Eldora. He has 28 times in World of Outlaws events at the track and 35 times overall. The three-time series champion is currently filling in for the injured Terry McCarl aboard the Big Game Treestands No. 24.
“It’s always been good to me and I have won a lot of races there,” Swindell said. “It’s not an easy place to run fast and the places that are a challenge and difficult, are the ones I enjoy going to most. It puts more in the drivers hands rather than just being in the car. I like the higher speed places anyway and we have had success there over the years.”
Danny Lasoski, made his debut at Eldora in 1992. He won for the first time at the track in 1994 in an event with the All Star Circuit of Champions, while scoring his first World of Outlaws triumph at the legendary track in 2004. The 2001 World of Outlaws champion has over 60 career Top-10 finishes at the track, with nearly 40 of those being Top-Five performances. He is looking for his first win of 2010 in the Casey’s General Store JEI.
“We always look forward to going to Eldora,” said Lasoski. “What a facility it is and there are great fans out there. It’s a great place to race and we are looking forward to spending two days over there and trying to take some of Tony Stewart’s money home.”
Kinser heads to Eldora in the midst of his first season driving for Tony Stewart, who also owns the famed half-mile. The native of Bloomington, Indiana came within a couple of laps adding another win to his list at the track last season when something on his car broke. He looks to return to
Victory Lane
at Eldora this weekend for the first time since 2007, as he pilots the Bass Pro Shops Maxim in search of his record 21st title.
“It definitely is a special place a special track to win at,” stated Kinser. “We’ve had a lot of success over there and I’ve always enjoyed running there. Driving one of Tony’s (Stewart) cars will make it even more special to go there and run well.”
When the drivers roll through the gate this weekend a number of changes will be very evident at Eldora, most notably the addition of a Jumbotron for the fans. Also some new clay has been added to the surface of the high-banked half-mile. Each off-season that Tony Stewart has been in charge of Eldora, a number of additions have been made to the venerable track and facility.
“They’ve been doing a lot of upgrades to make it better for the racers and try to make it better for the fans and that is something that is great for the sport,” Schatz said of the staff of Eldora Speedway.
Lasoski, who is the winningest driver in the history of the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, enters this weekend sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings on the strength of seven Top-10 finishes. He finished on the podium last spring at Eldora and scored two Top-10 finishes at the half-mile.
“You always want to do well at the premier races tracks, like Eldora, Knoxville and Williams Grove,” noted the native of Dover, Missouri. “It is always something special when you win at a place like Eldora.”
As part of the Outlaw Thunder by Goodyear weekend, a special Pre-race pit party will be held on Saturday, May 8 from 3:30-5 p.m. Eastern, in the infield pit area. Fans with a general admission ticket will be allowed to cross the track at the flag stand and walk around the infield pit area to meet their favorite drivers.
For ticket information call Eldora Speedway at 937-338-3815 or visit www.eldoraspeedway.com.
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.