From WoO, Alan Holland Photo
BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 13, 2011 – An emotional Sunday night at Volusia Speedway Park in the Sprint Car finale of the 40th Annual DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio wrapped up with Jason Sides and his daughter celebrating in victory lane.
After splitting the first four nights, all eyes were on Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell to see if one of the legendary drivers could win for the third time in five nights. For Craig Dollansky, Sunday night was about redemption after going out three laps short of victory on Saturday. In the end, it was Sides who capped off a strong season-opening weekend with the ninth victory of his career in the Wetherington Tractor Services Maxim.
“This is a very special win for me,” said Sides, of Bartlett, Tenn. “It means the world to me that my family could be here. It’s the first time that my wife, daughter and parents were here to see me win a race.”
(Click to see an interview with Jason Sides following his victory.)
Like Saturday, Dollansky again was dominating the main event in his Big Game Treestands car. He charged out to a big lead and was holding off Kinser’s Bass Pro Shops Maxim when trouble began, and by Lap 24 he could no longer hold his ground at the front of the field.
“It felt like something broke, like a shock or something,” said a dejected Dollansky. “Come to find we had a bolt come loose on a left front radius rod so we were very lucky to make it around in once piece.”
Dollansky’s misfortune – he wound up fading to 11th – opened the door for Sides and Kinser. Sides, who started fourth, swept past Kinser into second, preventing the King of the Outlaws from sweeping the weekend.
“It was another great night for us in the Bass Pro Shops car,” Kinser said. “Coming out of here with the finishes that we’ve had is a good way to start the season off for the #11 team.”
Fred Rahmer was able to wheel his way to a third-place finish with Cody Darrah in the Great Clips car and defending series champion Jason Meyers in the All-Star Performance car rounding out the Top 5.
Joey Saldana raced his way to an 8th-place finish in his CARQUEST Maxim to win the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH Sprint Car Week championship second consecutive year.
“It’s great to win another golden eagle,” said Saldana, referencing the trophy given to winners and champions at the 40th Annual DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH. “It’s good to see that consistency start early for us and I hope we can maintain it throughout the season.”
As the Outlaws depart from Florida, Kinser is already off to an impressive start to 2011 with two wins and a runner-up finish. Sides hopes to build on his early season momentum as the series takes a week off and then roars to life at Pike County Raceway in Magnolia, Miss., on Friday, Feb. 25, and at Royal Purple Raceway (formerly Houston Raceway Park) in Baytown, Texas.
For more information on the World of Outlaws, go to http://www.WorldofOutlaws.com. For more on the DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio, visit http://www.DIRTcarNationals.com or follow the event on Twitter @DIRTcarNats.
DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH Notebook
KASEY KAHNE RACING QUICK AT VOLUSIA – Joey Saldana set quick time twice in three World of Outlaws nights at the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH while Paul McMahan was the fast timer on the other. During the course of the Sprint Car Week at Volusia, McMahan established a track record Wednesday on the half-mile oval when he turned a lap in 12.569 seconds at 143.209 mph. For comparison, the track record at half-mile Eldora Speedway is 12.707 seconds set by Craig Dollansky in 2002.
WINNERS – There have been three World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature events in 2011. The winners include Steve Kinser (2, Volusia Speedway Park) and Jason Sides (1, Volusia Speedway Park).
OUT FRONT – Craig Dollansky led 51 of the 60 laps over the final two nights of racing at Volusia Speedway Park, but issues with his car prevented him from winning. In comparison, Steve Kinser led a total of 33 laps and won two races while Jason Sides led only six laps yet won the finale.
NEW ONLINE HOME – Make sure to check out the all-new WorldofOutlaws.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com.
DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio Statistical Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla., Feb. 13, 2011
A-main (30 laps) – Starting Position [#] – 1) 7S-Jason Sides[4] [$10,000]; 2) 11-Steve Kinser[1] [$5,500]; 3) 51-Fred Rahmer[10] [$3,200]; 4) 91-Cody Darrah[6] [$2,800]; 5) 14-Jason Meyers[7] [$2,500]; 6) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[12] [$2,300]; 7) 33-Danny Lasoski[8] [$2,200]; 8) 9-Joey Saldana[5] [$2,100]; 9) 83X-Tim Shaffer[18] [$2,050]; 10) 63-Chad Kemenah[13] [$2,000]; 11) 7-Craig Dollansky[2] [$1,500]; 12) 49-Brad Sweet[14] [$1,200]; 13) 27-Daryn Pittman[15] [$1,100]; 14) 17-Tyler Walker[9] [$1,050]; 15) 30C-Lance Dewease[19] [$1,000]; 16) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[25] [$100]; 17) 15-Donny Schatz[20] [$800]; 18) 2-Dale Blaney[21] [$800]; 19) 1-Sammy Swindell[23] [$800]; 20) 6-Kraig Kinser[26] [$0]; 21) 1Z-Stevie Smith[3] [$800]; 22) 24-Terry McCarl[24] [$800]; 23) 2B-Ben Gregg[27] [$0]; 24) 1J-Bronson Maeschen[22] [$800]; 25) 83-Paul McMahan[17] [$800]; 26) 6R-Bill Rose[16] [$800]; 27) 22-Brian Ellenberger[11] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Craig Dollansky 1-24, Jason Sides 25-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: Tim Shaffer
Qualifying (Two laps) – 1) 9-Joey Saldana 13.488; 2) 22-Brian Ellenberger 13.536; 3) 1Z-Stevie Smith 13.557; 4) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 13.584; 5) 7-Craig Dollansky 13.589; 6) 11-Steve Kinser 13.598; 7) 63-Chad Kemenah 13.618; 8) 7S-Jason Sides 13.620 9) 49-Brad Sweet 13.679; 10) 27-Daryn Pittman 13.681; 11) 33-Danny Lasoski 13.683; 12) 91-Cody Darrah 13.697; 13) 51-Fred Rahmer 13.706; 14) 17-Tyler Walker 13.717; 15) 14-Jason Meyers 13.720 16) 6R-Bill Rose 13.765; 17) 14Z-Jessica Zemken 13.779; 18) 83-Paul McMahan 13.786; 19) 83X-Tim Shaffer 13.814; 20) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 13.831; 21) 80-Spud Gustin 13.861; 22) 30C-Lance Dewease 13.878; 23) 15-Donny Schatz 13.895; 24) 2-Dale Blaney 13.914; 25) 1J-Bronson Maeschen 13.934; 26) 1-Sammy Swindell 13.953; 27) 89G-David Gravel 13.981; 28) 6-Kraig Kinser 13.986; 29) 39-Greg Hodnett 14.078; 30) 24-Terry McCarl 14.132; 31) 55-Chad Layton 14.213; 32) 2B-Ben Gregg 14.350
Heat 1; (8; Laps, top 5; finishers transferred to A-feature) – 1) 7-Craig Dollansky[3]; 2) 51-Fred Rahmer[1]; 3) 49-Brad Sweet[2]; 4) 9-Joey Saldana[4]; 5) 1J-Bronson Maeschen[7]; 6) 14Z-Jessica Zemken[5]; 7) 80-Spud Gustin[6]; 8) 39-Greg Hodnett[8].
Heat 2; (8; Laps, top 5; finishers transferred to A-feature) – 1) 17-Tyler Walker[1]; 2) 11-Steve Kinser[3]; 3) 27-Daryn Pittman[2]; 4) 83-Paul McMahan[5]; 5) 30C-Lance Dewease[6]; 6) 22-Brian Ellenberger[4]; 7) 1-Sammy Swindell[7]; 8) 24-Terry McCarl[8].
Heat 3; (8; Laps, top 5; finishers transferred to A-feature) – 1) 14-Jason Meyers[1]; 2) 33-Danny Lasoski[2]; 3) 1Z-Stevie Smith[4]; 4) 63-Chad Kemenah[3]; 5) 15-Donny Schatz[6]; 6) 83X-Tim Shaffer[5]; 7) 55-Chad Layton[8]; 8) 89G-David Gravel[7].
Heat 4; (8; Laps, top 5; finishers transferred to A-feature) – 1) 7S-Jason Sides[3]; 2) 91-Cody Darrah[2]; 3) 6R-Bill Rose[1]; 4) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[4]; 5) 2-Dale Blaney[6]; 6) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[5]; 7) 6-Kraig Kinser[7]; 8) 2B-Ben Gregg[8].
Dash (6; laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – 1) 11-Steve Kinser[1]; 2) 7-Craig Dollansky[2]; 3) 1Z-Stevie Smith[3]; 4) 7S-Jason Sides[5]; 5) 9-Joey Saldana[4]; 6) 91-Cody Darrah[7]; 7) 14-Jason Meyers[10]; 8) 33-Danny Lasoski[6]; 9) 17-Tyler Walker[9]; 10) 51-Fred Rahmer[8].
B-main (12; laps, top 4; finishers transferred to A-feature) – 1) 22-Brian Ellenberger[1]; []; 2) 1-Sammy Swindell[6]; []; 3) 83X-Tim Shaffer[3]; []; 4) 24-Terry McCarl[9]; []; 5) 6-Kraig Kinser[8]; [$200]; 6) 55-Chad Layton[10]; [$180]; 7) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[4]; [$175]; 8) 80-Spud Gustin[5]; [$160]; 9) 14Z-Jessica Zemken[2]; [$150]; 10) 89G-David Gravel[7]; [$150]; 11) 2B-Ben Gregg[11]; [$150]; 12) 39-Greg Hodnett[12]; [$150].
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Driver Standings (Through Feb. 13, 2011)
Pos. Driver Total Diff Wins Top 5 Top 10 QT
1. Steve Kinser 446
2 3 3 0
2. Joey Saldana 433 -13 0 2 3 2
3. Tim Shaffer 414 -32 0 1 3 0
4. Jason Sides 410 -36 1 2 2 0
5. Jason Meyers 396 -50 0 1 2 0
6. Cody Darrah 386 -60 0 1 1 0
7. Brad Sweet 384 -62 0 0 1 0
8. Donny Schatz 382 -64 0 1 1 0
9. Danny Lasoski 381 -65 0 0 2 0
10. Paul McMahan 378 -68 0 1 1 1
11. Fred Rahmer 374 -72 0 1 1 0
12. Kraig Kinser 372 -74 0 1 1 0
13. Dale Blaney 370 -76 0 0 1 0
14. Chad Kemenah 370 -76 0 0 1 0
15. Sammy Swindell 364 -82 0 1 1 0
16. Daryn Pittman 364 -82 0 0 1 0
17. Lance Dewease 358 -88 0 0 1 0
18. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 354 -92 0 0 1 0
19. Stevie Smith 351 -95 0 0 1 0
20. Craig Dollansky 341 -105 0 0 0 0
21. Lucas Wolfe 338 -108 0 0 0 0
22. Terry McCarl 336 -110 0 0 0 0
23. Tyler Walker 329 -117 0 0 1 0
24. Ben Gregg 320 -126 0 0 0 0
25. Bill Rose 281 -165 0 0 0 0
26. Bronson Maeschen 281 -165 0 0 0 0
27. Gregg Hodnett 278 -168 0 0 0 0
28. David Gravel 262 -184 0 0 0 0
29. Brian Ellenberger 256 -190 0 0 0 0
30. Jessica Zemken 252 -194 0 0 0 0
31. Chad Layton 225 -221 0 0 0 0
32. Danny Smith 205 -241 0 0 1 0
33. Spud Gustin 150 -296 0 0 0 0
34. Greg Wilson 103 -343 0 0 0 0
35. Jeff Carlson 75 -371 0 0 0 0
36. Aaron Ott 75 -371 0 0 0 0
37. Brad Wickham 75 -371 0 0 0 0