By Tony Veneziano
Syracuse, NY-October 8, 2010- The World of Outlaws Sprint Cars returned to the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse for the first time in well over a decade on Friday for the King of the Mile, with Jason Sides, Lucas Wolfe, Chad Kemenah and Keith Dempster turning laps on the “Moody Mile.”
The traditional Four-Wide Salute to the Fans thrilled the crowd with the “Voice of the Outlaws” Johnny Gibson on the call, with the green flag following and the four drivers completing five laps on the historic one-mile track at speed.
Lucas Wolfe, whose dad Randy, had raced at the New York State Fairgrounds 11 times over the years, turned the first laps of his career on a mile track. The 2008 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, who is currently eighth in the World of Outlaws championship standings, piloted the familiar Allebach Racing Maxim.
“This is pretty cool,” said Wolfe after he climbed out of his machine. “There is a lot of history up here and it’s great to be part of Super DIRT Week. I’m glad I was able to have the opportunity to come here. My dad raced here a number of times. It’s definitely a fast track and you can tell that by the gear ratio you run. It was a little breezy today so we didn’t really get up to speed all the way. It was fun and I’m glad they included me in this.”
Sides, who is currently fifth in the World of Outlaws standings, and has won a career-high four A-Feature events in 2010, also made his first appearance on a mile track. The veteran turned the fastest lap of the day at 28.058 seconds at 128.319 miles per hour. After taking the checkered flag, he thrilled the crowd with a set of donuts along the front straightaway aboard the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim.
“You can feel the speed for sure,” stated Sides. “The car was darting left and right. You notice the wind when you come out from behind the grandstand off turn four. Going that speed, it makes it really too fast.”
Chad Kemenah, whose father-in-law, Hall of Famer Bob Hampshire, fielded cars at Syracuse in the 1980’s in World of Outlaws events, also made his debut on a mile. The Ohio native, who is a four-time All Star Circuit of Champions, piloted the Golden Flavor Sesame Sticks Maxim.
“It’s definitely a fast place,” shared Kemenah. “You have to do some homework when you come here. You are going at such a clip that the race cars feel out of control at that speed. It’s definitely different, that’s for sure.”
Dempster, who finished second in points with the Southern Ontario Sprints this season, added an international flavor to the King of the Mile as he hails from Alton, Ontario, Canada. The veteran, who competed with the World of Outlaws earlier this season, drove a car fielded by Ohsweken Speedway owner Glenn Styres in the King of the Mile.
“Man, this place is big and fast,” said Dempster with a smile. “There were a few big holes so you kind of had to drive around them. The wind really made the cars dance around. This was a great opportunity to come and run a mile. I had never been on a track this big and it’s something. Hopefully someday we’ll race here.”
Work ‘N Woody, the Official Push Truck & Safety Vehicle of the World of Outlaws also returned to the New York State Fairgrounds as well for the King of the Mile to push off the cars. Work ‘N Woody pushed off countless cars over the years at the Moody Mile, with second generation pusher Eric Malies making his first appearance on the historic track on Friday.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Saturday, October 9 at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in Elbridge, New York as part of Super DIRT Week XXXIX.
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.