By Tony Veneziano
Edmonton, AB-August 26, 2010- It’s not very often anymore that the same driver wins both ends of a two-night event with the World of Outlaws. In fact, it’s only happened three times in the last four seasons, with Joey Saldana achieving the feat twice, with the most recent being in the Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada last year, where he was victorious in dominate fashion, leading all 70 laps of feature racing competition.
Saldana will return to Castrol Raceway this coming weekend on Friday, August 27 and Saturday, August 28 for the Fourth Annual Oil City Cup, looking to win his third straight at the always racy 3/8-mile, with $10,000 awaiting the winner each night. The second generation driver has five Top-Five finishes in six career starts at Castrol Raceway.
“From the first time I went there, I really enjoyed racing there,” shared Saldana. “Edmonton is a track that really suits our program and my driving style. It usually gets slick to a cushion and its fun racing there. Hopefully we can do what we did last year this year up there. We seem to do well on most of the track on the West Coast swing.”
The Oil City Cup will mark the final two races of the season for the World of Outlaws in Canada and the series only stop in the western half of the country in 2010. The series competed for the first time at Castrol Raceway in 2007 and have raced at two tracks in Canada this season, with stops at Autodrome Drummond in Quebec and Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario. 2010 marks the first time ever that the World of Outlaws have competed at three tracks north of the border in the same season.
“It’s great to get to race in Canada in front of fans that are so excited to see us,” Saldana noted. “They definitely support the race and have some great fans up there. We’ve done well there before and hopefully can run up front again this year.”
Saldana won his series leading 11th A-Feature of the season aboard the Budweiser Maxim last weekend in the opener of the Magic City Showdown at Nodak Speedway in North Dakota, edging Steve Kinser by a mere 0.018 seconds, which was the closest finish of the season. The win was the 70 th of Saldana’s career with the World of Outlaws, making him just the eighth driver in the 30-plus year history of the series to win at least 70 A-Feature events. He is currently tied for seventh on the series all-time win list with 1995 series champion Dave Blaney.
“I never thought I would get 70 wins,” admitted Saldana. “I was just telling Kolten (Gouse) one of my crew members about that. Dave Blaney was and the guy that I looked up to in my career along with Jac Haudenschild and their style of racing. To be able to say that you have won as many races as Jac Haudenschild or now Dave Blaney, that’s pretty special and huge to me. Hopefully we can continue to run strong and win races and be part of Kasey Kahne Racing for a while.”
The Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway continues the 11-race Gold Rush Tour for the World of Outlaws and Saldana has had a lot of success over the years during the trek out west. He has been victorious at five of the six tracks that comprise the swing this season. He has won a total of 13 times during the Gold Rush Tour in his career, including the prestigious Gold Cup Race of Champions twice. He opened the mini-series on a very strong note last weekend by winning the opener at Nodak Speedway and following it up with a fourth-place effort in the finale.
“For me, I really enjoy the West Coast swing,” stated Saldana. “In 2000 when I came out here with my own team, I had been having a decent year and then when we hit the West Coast, I won three races. I have just always enjoyed coming out here and always look forward to it. The tracks really suit how I drive and we have a really strong program right now for those types of tracks.”
Including the two-day event this weekend at Castrol Raceway, a total of 19 races remain on the 2010 World of Outlaws schedule, with just about half of those being part of the Gold Rush Tour. Saldana enters this weekend with a 25-point lead over 20-time series champion Steve Kinser in the standings, as he chases his first series title.
“For me mentally, I have to run as strong when I leave the West Coast as I do on the West Coast, especially when we go to the East Coast,” Saldana explained. “I have said since day one, that’s why Donny (Schatz) has been so tough in the points, because he is so good on the East Coast. That pretty much determines who wins the points and we have to run strong these last 20 or so races and the East Coast is part of that.”
Saldana has been on top of the World of Outlaws standings after 38 of the 51 races this season, to lead all drivers, with his largest lead being 62 markers back on June 25. In addition to leading the series in wins, he is on top of the leader board in laps led. He has racked up 40 Top-10 finishes and 31 Top-Fives, which is second only to Kinser in both of those departments.
“I think it gets to the point where you do look at points, but really you have to just go out and do the best job you can do,” he shared. “I have never been in this position. Last year I won a lot of races and ran third in points. I don’t know how you do it or feel it or mentally prepare for it. Obviously Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser have done it and have been the dominant cars out here for a number of years, so for us to be in a position now is huge. We just have to keep doing what we are doing. I think if we keep winning races, we’ll be fine in the points. Winning races with the Outlaws is tough though, but if we keep doing what we are doing, I think we’ll be fine.”
On Friday, August 27 at Castrol Raceway, adult general admission will be $40, with general admission tickets for youth (ages 6-12) $15, with kids 5-under admitted free of charge in the general admission section. Adult reserved tickets will be $50, with reserved ticket for youth (ages 6-12) $25. Two-day tickets are also available. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.CastrolRaceway.com or by calling 780-468-3278.
On Saturday, August 28 at Castrol Raceway, adult general admission will be $40, with general admission tickets for youth (ages 6-12) $15, with kids 5-under admitted free of charge in the general admission section. Adult reserved tickets will be $50, with reserved ticket for youth (ages 6-12) $25. Two-day tickets are also available. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.CastrolRaceway.com or by calling 780-468-3278.
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 , R2C Performance, 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.