By Tony Veneziano
Haubstadt, IN- October 16, 2010- Craig Dollansky and Tri-State Speedway go hand- in-hand. The 1/4-mile high-banked bullring is one of the most thrilling tracks on the circuit, just as the veteran is one of the most exciting driver’s on the tour with his all out driving style. Entering the event on Saturday night, Dollansky had won two of the previous four races that the World of Outlaws had contested at the track in Southwestern Indiana.
The native of Elk River, Minnesota continued his winning ways at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday night, winning a thriller over Joey Saldana to score his third career win at the track. For Dollansky the $10,000 win was his fourth of the season and the 35th of his career with the series. He is one of just two active World of Outlaws drivers that have won at the track, as he and 20-time series champion Steve Kinser have alternated wins at Haubstadt in each of the last six years.
“I just love racing this track,” said Dollansky in Victory Lane. “It’s so much fun. They do such a good job preparing the track and put on a good show for the fans. There are great fans here and this turnout tonight says it all with this packed house. I’m so happy for this team. It’s always a total team effort and everyone is working very hard.”
Dollansky took the lead from Donny Schatz on the 22nd lap on the low side of turns one and two, with Joey Saldana moving into second at the same time as the leaders negotiated lapped traffic. Saldana would chase Dollansky for the remainder of the 40-lap contest, taking the lead on a lap-38 double file restart, with the caution coming out before that lap was completed leading to another double file restart.
Dollansky chose the low line of the track and led on the restart, with the caution coming out on the 39th lap, setting up a two-lap shootout. On the following restart Saldana took the lead in turns one and two with Dollansky battling back with yet another caution flying, this time for a crash which by way of rules led to a single file restart.
On the final restart of the night, Dollansky would bring the field to the green with Saldana looking to the high side of turns one and two and then diving low in turns three and four to take the lead, with Dollansky battling back on the front straightaway to surge back ahead as the pair took the white flag. Saldana used the high side of the track coming off turns three and four as the duo charged to checkered flag, with Dollansky winning by just 0.123 seconds.
“Joey (Saldana) was throwing a lot at us on those last few restarts,” said Dollansky. “I just had to adjust my line a little bit. I felt like I was getting through lapped traffic pretty good. You have to race hard and to win races out here, you have to give it everything you got.”
Dollansky, who recently teamed up with veteran crew chief D.J. Lindsey with whom he worked earlier in his career, has won four times this season and is currently seventh in points driving the Big Game Treestands Maxim. He began the night by turning the fastest lap in qualifying to earn his first fast time honor of the season.
“I’m happy with the end of the season we’ve been having,” he shared. “We’re just working on some things and getting ready for next year and I am excited about it. I feel real good about this team right now.”
Saldana started third and moved up to second on the opening lap and quickly set his sights on Donny Schatz, who led the first 21 laps of the race. The second generation driver pounded the high side of the track en route to his second consecutive runner-up finish at the high-banked ¼-mile in his home state.
“I got beat in lapped traffic racing Donny (Schatz) and that’s how Craig (Dollansky) got us,” said Saldana. “I didn’t like seeing all those restarts. I just really wanted to win. My wife is sick right now and I wanted to win for her. We’re just trying to get back on track and race like we should race. We’ve been struggling here lately and came up a little short.”
Paul McMahan started sixth and steadily worked his way to the front on his way to a third-place finish, which was his 30th Top-Five of the season. He lined up on the low side of the track on each of the final couple of double file restarts aboard the Great Clips Maxim.
“It was another great run, but I have to get these guys a win,” deadpanned McMahan.
“They bust their butt’s every single day and I am consistently on the podium. I love this place. I just wish I was in Victory Lane. I didn’t need the cautions at the end. My car was good on the long runs, but that’s part of racing.”
Donny Schatz led the first 21 laps of the main event and ended up fourth aboard the Armor All/STP J&J to move into the second spot in the series standings with two races remaining.
Dale Blaney, who started on the pole, came home fifth in the Ti-22 Performance machine, with Jac Haudenschild sixth aboard the Owens-Corning Fiberglass XXX. Jason Sides was seventh piloting the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim, with Kraig Kinser eighth in the Quaker State Maxim.
Jason Meyers, the current World of Outlaws point leader finished ninth in the GLR Investments KPC as he continues to chase his first series title. He has a 96-point lead on Schatz and a 100-point advantage on Steve Kinser.
Kinser came home tenth in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim after getting caught up in a four-car accident with two laps remaining.
Danny Lasoski, who is ninth in points, was on hand for the event, but was not able to race after his team’s truck and trailer broke down en route to the race track. The 2001 series champion earned 75 “Hardship” points, with the team receiving 50 points by way of rules for extenuating circumstances.
The World of Outlaws return to action with the season ending World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, November 4-6.
TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY NOTES
•FAST QUALIFIER: Craig Dollansky paced the 31 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked 1/4-mile oval at 11.616 seconds at 77.479 miles per hour. For his qualifying effort Dollansky earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Jac Haudenschild (4), Paul McMahan (3), Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2) and Joey Saldana (1).
•TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY QUALIFYING WINNERS: Jason Meyers, Jason Sides, Chad Kemenah and Kraig Kinser won heat races. Dale Blaney won the Dash. Ben Gregg won the Last Chance Showdown.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 67 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, Lernerville Speedway, Nodak Speedway, Castrol Raceway and Deer Creek 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, North Central Speedway, I-55 Raceway, Castrol Raceway and Silver Dollar Speedway), Steve Kinser (Volusia Speedway Park, Jackson Speedway, River Cities Speedway, Lakeside Speedway, Eldora Speedway, Autodrome Drummond, Fulton Speedway, Skagit Speedway and Rolling Wheels Raceway Park), Jac Haudenschild (Paducah International Raceway, Knoxville Raceway, Skagit Speedway, Clay County Fair Speedway and Eldora Speedway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park, The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Ohsweken Speedway, Silver Dollar Speedway and Lernerville Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Lone Star Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Nodak Speedway and Tri-State Speedway), Jason Sides (Houston Raceway Park, Tri-City Speedway, Missouri State Fair Speedway and Ohsweken Speedway), Sammy Swindell (Dodge City Raceway, Huset’s Speedway, Silver Dollar Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway), Lance Dewease (Lernerville Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway-twice), Brooke Tatnell (Knoxville Raceway and Junction Motor Speedway), Dale Blaney (Limaland Motorsports Park), Doug Esh (Lebanon Valley Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Cottage Grove Speedway), Chad Layton (Williams Grove Speedway), Paul McMahan (Eldora Speedway), Fred Rahmer (Williams Grove Speedway) and Tim Shaffer (I-55 Raceway).
•1/4-MILE-WINNERS: Tri-State Speedway is a high-banked 1/4-mile. The World of Outlaws have raced seven times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Joey Saldana (River Cities Speedway and LaSalle Speedway), Dale Blaney (Limaland Motorsports Park), Craig Dollansky (Tri-State Speedway), Steve Kinser (River Cities Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Cottage Grove Speedway) and Jason Sides (Houston Raceway Park).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Tri-State Speedway; Haubstadt, IN; October 16, 2010
Qualifying
1) 7-Craig Dollansky 11.616
2) R19-Jac Haudenschild 11.627
3) 91-Paul McMahan 11.666
4) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 11.851
5) 9-Joey Saldana 11.852
6) 2-Dale Blaney 11.868
7) 11-Steve Kinser 11.909
8) 15-Donny Schatz 11.935
9) 14-Jason Meyers 11.965
10) 7S-Jason Sides 12.083
11) 63-Chad Kemenah 12.130
12) 11K-Kraig Kinser 12.146
13) 93-Sheldon Haudenschild 12.161
14) 4K-Kody Kinser 12.235
15) 4X-Toni Lutar 12.258
16) 71M-Paul May 12.259
17) 1X-Randy Hannagan 12.345
18) 89G-David Gravel 12.351
19) 2B-Ben Gregg 12.372
20) 88-Tommy Worley 12.375
21) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 12.400
22) 7K-Kyle Sauder 12.440
23) 21X-Joey Moughan 12.453
24) 14Z-Jessica Zemken 12.481
25) 12-Jared Ridge 12.536
26) 4-Chase Briscoe 12.537
27) 3B-Brad Greer 12.695
28) 3X-Mark Shirshekan 12.790
29) 3-Pete Miller III 13.235
30) 7B-Brian Lake 13.429
31) 39W-Shane Wade 13.630
32) 6R-Bill Rose -.—
Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 14-Jason Meyers[2]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[3]
3) 1X-Randy Hannagan[5]
4) 7-Craig Dollansky[4]
5) 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[1]
6) 12-Jared Ridge[7]
7) 3-Pete Miller III[8]
8) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[6]
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 7S-Jason Sides[2]
2) 2-Dale Blaney[3]
3) R19-Jac Haudenschild[4]
4) 7K-Kyle Sauder[6]
5) 89G-David Gravel[5]
6) 4-Chase Briscoe[7]
7) 7B-Brian Lake[8]
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 63-Chad Kemenah[2]
2) 91-Paul McMahan[4]
3) 4X-Toni Lutar[1]
4) 11-Steve Kinser[3]
5) 21X-Joey Moughan[6]
6) 2B-Ben Gregg[5]
7) 3B-Brad Greer[7]
8) 39W-Shane Wade[8]
Heat 4 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 11K-Kraig Kinser[2]
2) 15-Donny Schatz[3]
3) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[4]
4) 71M-Paul May[1]
5) 3X-Mark Shirshekan[7]
6) 14Z-Jessica Zemken[6]
7) 88-Tommy Worley[5]
Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 2-Dale Blaney[2]
2) 15-Donny Schatz[1]
3) 9-Joey Saldana[3]
4) 7-Craig Dollansky[6]
5) R19-Jac Haudenschild[5]
6) 91-Paul McMahan[4]
7) 14-Jason Meyers[7]
8) 11K-Kraig Kinser[10]
9) 63-Chad Kemenah[9]
10) 7S-Jason Sides[8]
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature) – Starting Position [#]
1) 2B-Ben Gregg[2]
2) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[4]
3) 4K-Kody Kinser[1]
4) 14Z-Jessica Zemken[5]
5) 4-Chase Briscoe[7] [$200]
6) 3B-Brad Greer[8] [$180]
7) 12-Jared Ridge[6] [$175]
8) 7B-Brian Lake[10] [$160]
9) 3-Pete Miller III[9] [$150]
10) 39W-Shane Wade[11] [$150]
11) 88-Tommy Worley[3] [$150]
12) 6R-Bill Rose[12] [$150]
A-main (40 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 7-Craig Dollansky[4] [$10,000]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[3] [$5,500]
3) 91-Paul McMahan[6] [$3,200]
4) 15-Donny Schatz[2] [$2,800]
5) 2-Dale Blaney[1] [$2,500]
6) R19-Jac Haudenschild[5] [$2,300]
7) 7S-Jason Sides[10] [$2,200]
8) 11K-Kraig Kinser[8] [$2,100]
9) 14-Jason Meyers[7] [$2,050]
10) 11-Steve Kinser[12] [$2,000]
11) 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[13] [$1,500]
12) 89G-David Gravel[18] [$1,200]
13) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[11] [$1,100]
14) 4X-Toni Lutar[15] [$1,050]
15) 2B-Ben Gregg[19] [$1,000]
16) 71M-Paul May[16] [$900]
17) 7K-Kyle Sauder[21] [$800]
18) 63-Chad Kemenah[9] [$800]
19) 3X-Mark Shirshekan[24] [$800]
20) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[20] [$800]
21) 4K-Kody Kinser[14] [$800]
22) 1X-Randy Hannagan[17] [$800]
23) 21X-Joey Moughan[22] [$800]
24) 14Z-Jessica Zemken[23] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-21, Craig Dollansky 22-40
KSE Hard Charger Award: David Gravel
Penske Power Position Award: Craig Dollansky
Chizmark Larson Hard Luck Award: Randy Hannagan
World of Outlaws Championship Standings through October 16
1. Jason Meyers 9019
2. Donny Schatz 8923 -96
3. Steve Kinser 8919 -100
4. Joey Saldana 8901 -118
5. Jason Sides 8776 -251
6. Paul McMahan 8768 -679
7. Craig Dollansky 8340 -813
8. Lucas Wolfe 8206 -851
9. Danny Lasoski 8168 -898
10. Kraig Kinser 8121 -1182