By Tony Veneziano
Sarver, PA-July 20, 2010- Lance Dewease and Joey Saldana won the battles on Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway in the Twin 30’s, while it was Donny Schatz, who won the war, claiming the overall title in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup before a very large crowd at the historic high-banked four-tenths-mile. Schatz won the Silver Cup in 2006 and 2007, making him just the third driver to win the Silver Cup three times.
For Dewease, the win marked his first at Lernerville Speedway, while for Saldana it was his second career triumph at the track. Dewease made his debut at Lernerville in 1988 and had made nearly 30 starts at the track entering the Silver Cup, with his previous best finish being a runner-up performance with the World of Outlaws in 2003. The $15,000 win made Dewease the 14th different driver to score a victory in a main event with the World of Outlaws this season and was the sixth of his career with the series.
“I’m so happy to finally win at Lernerville,” shared Dewease. “Don Martin was one of the best promoter’s ever and to win his race means a lot to me. We always enjoy coming over and have had some good runs before and some not so good. I’m just proud of my entire team. This feels great.”
Saldana’s win, also earned him $15,000, and was his series leading 10th of the season and the 69th of his career, putting him just one victory shy of becoming the eighth driver all-time to win at least 70 A-Feature events.
“I’ll take it,” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “We started fourth and got the win. This is a track we have usually struggled at and to have two decent runs was pretty good. We should have had a Top-Five in the first one and got spun out and came back to 11th.”
Schatz used a runner-up finish in the first Twin-30 coupled with a fourth-place effort in the finale, coming from the 13th starting spot to claim the overall event title, which went to the driver that had the best average finish in the two features. The four-time and defending series champion was one of just two drivers that finished in the Top-Five in both events, with Jason Meyers being the other. Schatz started 13th in the second race and charged into the Top-Five by the 12th lap of the 30-lap contest. He earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award in the finale.
“It’s always special to win anything out here, whether it’s a race or a title or an event title like this tonight,” noted the North Dakota native. “It’s good to know that we were in contention in both race and able to run strong enough in them to pick this up. We always enjoy coming to Lernerville and usually run pretty decent here as well.”
Dewease started fourth on Tuesday night in the first Twin-30 aboard the Advanced Development Services Maxim and jumped into second on the opening lap, following a yellow and a red flag that led to two complete restarts to open the race. After pole sitter Dale Blaney opened an early lead, Dewease tracked him back down as the pair was in heavy lapped traffic on the eighth circuit. He took the lead for the first time on the 11th lap, diving under Blaney coming off turn four. Blaney charged back by on the very next lap on the high side of turn four to reclaim the top spot.
On the 24th lap Dewease again used the low side of turn four to get by Blaney for the lead and ultimately the win. Blaney would end up pulling off the track while running second with two laps to go after running out of fuel. Dewease began the night by turning the quickest lap of the 38 cars that to the speedway.
“We could run all over the place in the first feature,” explained Dewease. “We started running the middle and shortened up the track on Dale (Blaney) a bit and was really able to get off (the corner). We passed him three different times and that didn’t last because the caution came out put him in front of me. He’s a very good competitor and gets going good when it gets slick. I’m just happy we had a good race car all night.”
The final two laps of the race saw a red flag and four cautions, with two consecutive green flag laps needed by way of rules to end the race, thus extending it to 32 circuits. Donny Schatz used a strong restart on the third-to-last restart to get around Jason Sides for second. He would finish in the runner-up position in the Armor All/STP J&J.
Sides ended up third in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim, with Paul McMahan fourth in the Great Clips Maxim. Jason Meyers came from 11 th to finish fifth in the GLR Investments KPC, with Craig Dollansky sixth in the Big Game Treestands Maxim. Sam Hafertepe Jr. was seventh in the Lone Star Speedway Maxim, with Danny Lasoski eighth, piloting the Casey’s General Stores JEI. Sammy Swindell was ninth in the Big Game Treestands Maxim with Tim Shaffer rounding out the Top-10 aboard the Kistler Engines J&J.
The second Twin-30 saw Tyler Walked lead the first five laps from the drop of the green, before he spun on the sixth lap. Brian Ellenberger restarted on the pole, with Saldana diving under him entering turn one. The current World of Outlaws point leader, who earned the Goodyear Mid-season championship on Tuesday night, would lead the remainder of the 30-lapper. He chose the high side each and every time on the four double file restarts that ensued while he was out front in the Budweiser Maxim.
“We tightened the car up quite a bit from the first one and were still quite a bit loose,” Saldana said after winning the finale. “We just worked on the car and got a good result. The crew worked hard as always.”
Craig Dollansky came home second in the finale, with Meyers third, Schatz fourth and McMahan fifth. Jason Sides was sixth with Sammy Swindell one spot behind him. Sam Hafertepe Jr. was eighth in the second Twin-30 to score his second Top-10 finish of the night, with Dewease ninth and Kraig Kinser rounding out the Top-10 in the Quaker State Maxim.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, July 23 and Saturday, July 24 at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania for the Summer Nationals, which will pay $20,000 to win the finale.
DON MARTIN MEMORIAL SILVER CUP NOTES
•FAST QUALIFIER: Lance Dewease paced the 38 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked four-tenths-mile oval at 12.619 seconds at 128.378 mph. For his qualifying effort, Dewease earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Donny Schatz (4), Jason Meyers (3), Paul McMahan (2) and Joey Saldana (1).
•DON MARTIN MEMORIAL SILVER CUP QUALIFYING WINNERS: Kerry Madsen, Steve Kinser, and Adam Wilt won heat races. Dale Blaney won the Dash. Tim Shaffer won the Last Chance Showdown.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 40 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events held in 2010. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Thunderbowl Raceway, Volunteer Speedway, I-55 Raceway, Eldora Speedway-twice, Dodge City Raceway Park, River Cities Speedway, LaSalle Speedway, Beaver Dam Raceway and Lernerville Speedway), Jason Meyers (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway, Volunteer Speedway, Tri-State (Okla.) Speedway, Virginia Motor Speedway, I-96 Speedway and North Central Speedway), Steve Kinser (Volusia Speedway Park, Jackson Speedway, River Cities Speedway, Lakeside Speedway and Eldora Speedway), Jason Sides (Houston Raceway Park , Tri-City Speedway and Missouri State Fair Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Lone Star Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway), Jac Haudenschild (Paducah International Raceway and Knoxville Raceway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park and The Dirt Track at Charlotte), Sammy Swindell (Dodge City Raceway and Huset’s Speedway), Brooke Tatnell (Knoxville Raceway and Junction Motor Speedway), Dale Blaney (Limaland Motorsports Park), Lance Dewease (Lernerville Speedway), Chad Layton (Williams Grove Speedway), Paul McMahan (Eldora Speedway) and Fred Rahmer (Williams Grove Speedway).
•FOUR-TENTHS-MILE-WINNERS: Lernerville Speedway is a high-banked four-tenths-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced five times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volunteer Speedway and Lernerville Speedway), Lance Dewease (Lernerville Speedway) Jason Meyers (Volunteer Speedway),) and Donny Schatz (The Dirt Track at Charlotte).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Lernerville Speedway; Sarver, PA; July 20, 2010
Qualifying
1) 30C-Lance Dewease 12.619
2) 15-Donny Schatz 12.758
3) 14-Jason Meyers 12.798
4) 91-Paul McMahan 12.843
5) 9-Joey Saldana 12.846
6) 1Z-Stevie Smith 12.850
7) 7-Craig Dollansky 12.877
8) 15X-Adam Wilt 12.882
9) 3-Kerry Madsen 12.882
10) 2-Dale Blaney 12.894
11) 7S-Jason Sides 12.898
12) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 12.899
13) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 12.915
14) 11-Steve Kinser 12.970
15) D4-Danny Holtgraver 12.973
16) 8-Mike Lutz 12.973
17) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. 12.994
18) 51-Fred Rahmer 12.999
19) 6-Danny Lasoski 12.999
20) 70-Steven Lines 13.003
21) 1-Sammy Swindell 13.010
22) 17-Tyler Walker 13.016
23) 11K-Kraig Kinser 13.017
24) 27-Daryn Pittman 13.019
25) 83X-Tim Shaffer 13.028
26) 94-Jack Sodeman 13.055
27) O-Jonathan Allard 13.077
28) 63-Chad Kemenah 13.119
29) R19-Jac Haudenschild 13.188
30) 19M-Brent Marks 13.221
31) 4X-Toni Lutar 13.241
32) 2B-Ben Gregg 13.304
33) O8-Dan Kuriger 13.314
34) 22-Brian Ellenberger 13.341
35) 96-Lindsay Enscoe 13.506
36) 33-Brent Matus 13.911
37) 72-Dave Delisle 14.472
38) 24S-Brian Steinman 14.493
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 3-Kerry Madsen
2) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
3) 9-Joey Saldana
4) 1-Sammy Swindell
5) 30C-Lance Dewease
6) 83X-Tim Shaffer
7) R19-Jac Haudenschild
8) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.
9) 72-Dave Delisle
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 11-Steve Kinser
2) 2-Dale Blaney
3) 15-Donny Schatz
4) 1Z-Stevie Smith
5) 17-Tyler Walker
6) 22-Brian Ellenberger
7) 94-Jack Sodeman
8) 51-Fred Rahmer
9) 19M-Brent Marks
10) 24S-Brian Steinman
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 7S-Jason Sides
2) D4-Danny Holtgraver
3) 14-Jason Meyers
4) 11K-Kraig Kinser
5) 7-Craig Dollansky
6) 6-Danny Lasoski
7) O-Jonathan Allard
8) 4X-Toni Lutar
9) 96-Lindsay Enscoe
Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 15X-Adam Wilt
2) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
3) 91-Paul McMahan
4) 8-Mike Lutz
5) 27-Daryn Pittman
6) 70-Steven Lines
7) 63-Chad Kemenah
8) 2B-Ben Gregg
9) 33-Brent Matus
Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 2-Dale Blaney
2) 7S-Jason Sides
3) 3-Kerry Madsen
4) 30C-Lance Dewease
5) 15-Donny Schatz
6) 15X-Adam Wilt
7) 11-Steve Kinser
8) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
9) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
10) D4-Danny Holtgraver
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 83X-Tim Shaffer
2) 6-Danny Lasoski
3) 70-Steven Lines
4) R19-Jac Haudenschild
5) O-Jonathan Allard [$200]
6) 22-Brian Ellenberger [$180]
7) 51-Fred Rahmer [$175]
8) 63-Chad Kemenah [$160]
9) 4X-Toni Lutar [$150]
10) 2B-Ben Gregg [$150]
11) 96-Lindsay Enscoe [$150]
12) 24S-Brian Steinman [$150]
13) 94-Jack Sodeman [$150]
14) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. [$150]
15) 72-Dave Delisle [$150]
16) 19M-Brent Marks [$150]
17) 33-Brent Matus [$150]
18) O8-Dan Kuriger [$150]
First A-main (30 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 30C-Lance Dewease[4] [$15,000]
2) 15-Donny Schatz[5] [$5,500]
3) 7S-Jason Sides[2] [$3,200]
4) 91-Paul McMahan[12] [$2,800]
5) 14-Jason Meyers[11] [$2,500]
6) 7-Craig Dollansky[15] [$2,300]
7) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[9] [$2,200]
8) 6-Danny Lasoski[17] [$2,100]
9) 1-Sammy Swindell[19] [$2,050]
10) 83X-Tim Shaffer[23] [$2,000]
11) 9-Joey Saldana[13] [$1,500]
12) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[8] [$1,200]
13) 22-Brian Ellenberger[25] [$300]
14) 17-Tyler Walker[20] [$1,050]
15) 11K-Kraig Kinser[21] [$1,000]
16) 2-Dale Blaney[1] [$900]
17) 11-Steve Kinser[7] [$800]
18) 15X-Adam Wilt[6] [$800]
19) D4-Danny Holtgraver[10] [$800]
20) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[26] [$0]
21) 3-Kerry Madsen[3] [$800]
22) 70-Steven Lines[18] [$800]
23) 8-Mike Lutz[16] [$800]
24) 33-Brent Matus[27] [$0]
25) 1Z-Stevie Smith[14] [$800]
26) 27-Daryn Pittman[22] [$800]
27) R19-Jac Haudenschild[24] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Dale Blaney 1-10, 12-23; Lance Dewease 11, 24-32
KSE Hard Charger Award: Brian Ellenberger
Note: Brian Ellenberger used a World of Outlaws Provisional to start the A-Feature. Ed Lynch Jr. and Brent Matus used Lernerville Speedway Provisionals to start the A-Feature.
Second A-main (30 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 9-Joey Saldana[4] [$15,000]
2) 7-Craig Dollansky[9] [$5,500]
3) 14-Jason Meyers[10] [$3,200]
4) 15-Donny Schatz[13] [$2,800]
5) 91-Paul McMahan[11] [$2,500]
6) 7S-Jason Sides[12] [$2,300]
7) 1-Sammy Swindell[6] [$2,200]
8) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[8] [$2,100]
9) 30C-Lance Dewease[14] [$2,050]
10) 11K-Kraig Kinser[15] [$2,000]
11) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[3] [$1,500]
12) 22-Brian Ellenberger[2] [$400]
13) 6-Danny Lasoski[7] [$1100]
14) D4-Danny Holtgraver[19] [$1,050]
15) 2-Dale Blaney[16] [$1,000]
16) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[20] [$100]
17) 33-Brent Matus[22] [$0]
18) O-Jonathan Allard[24] [$800]
19) 15X-Adam Wilt[18] [$800]
20) 17-Tyler Walker[1] [$800]
21) 83X-Tim Shaffer[5] [$800]
22) 8-Mike Lutz[21] [$800]
23) 11-Steve Kinser[17] [$800]
24) 27-Daryn Pittman[23] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Tyler Walker 1-5, Joey Saldana 6-30
KSE Hard Charger Award: Donny Schatz
Note: Jonathan Allard started the second A-Feature as the alternate when Steven Lines had a mechanical problem and was not able to start the race.
World of Outlaws Championship Standings through July 20
1. Joey Saldana 5366
2. Steve Kinser 5341 -25
3. Jason Meyers 5310 -56
4. Donny Schatz 5196 -170
5. Jason Sides 5150 -216
6. Paul McMahan 5081 -285
7. Lucas Wolfe 5003 -363
8. Craig Dollansky 4915 -451
9. Jac Haudenschild 4851 -515
10. Kraig Kinser 4836 -530