From Kyle Ludders, image courtesy of Mike Campbell
ROSSBURG, Ohio – July 16, 2011 – Everything was going Sammy Swindell’s way on Saturday night in the $50,000-to-win Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway … until the final corner. Swindell had the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series crown jewel event locked up when suddenly his right rear tire went down as he exited Turn 4 en route to the checkered flag. The huge crowd was stunned as it watched Tyler Walker shoot past a helpless Swindell to win.
After winning his heat to land on the pole for the main event, then lead 39 of the 40 laps, Swindell managed to salvage second in the Big Game Treestands Maxim with Paul McMahan in third in the HR Cattle/Roth Motorsports Maxim, but it was little solace to the three-time World of Outlaws champion from Germantown, Tenn.
A wild finish led to an extremely wild post-race celebration. Walker crossed the scale to officially be declared the winner and was overcome with jubilance. He eventually made his way to victory lane where he was crowned by Earl Baltes, who built Eldora Speedway in 1954 and created the Kings Royal in 1984.
“I’ve lost so many in the last turn,” said Walker, of Los Angeles, Calif. “I was giving it about half throttle there at the end because I knew the tires were getting low. It just feels really good to be on the other side of that kind of deal. I’ve lost a lot of races like that so I know how it feels to be sitting there watching someone else takes the checkers. This is the biggest win of my career by far and I couldn’t have done it without the car owners and team that I have behind me.”
Sweetening the deal for Walker was that the race fell on his birthday. The driver of the Keen-owned Hunter Truck Sales/Peterbilt Maxim started the main event on the outside of the front row and was in command of second throughout the night.
Walker was trying to run down Swindell when a scary multi-car crash in Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 11 sent Ed Lynch Jr. in a flip after making hard contact with Joey Saldana’s Kasey Kahne Racing machine. Lynch walked away unharmed but Saldana was transported with what appeared to be an injured arm to a local hospital for observation. (For updates on Saldana when available, click WorldofOutlaws.com)
When the race got back under way, the intensity level raised with each passing lap. A late caution bunched the field one final time. Sensing tire wear could be a factor, McMahan did all he could to ensure his tires would last through to the end.
“I could see the tires were wearing pretty good so I tried to just ease off and maintain as best I could,” said McMahan, who made it back-to-back third-place finishes on the weekend. “We’re happy with another top-5 finish. Dennis and Theresa Roth really make this possible and I really owe them a lot for keeping me out here along with Kasey Kahne.”
The last lap show stopper capped off an exciting evening of racing that saw 2010 World of Outlaws champion Jason Meyers and 2004 Kings Royal winner Jason Sides battle their way through the Last Chance Showdown for starting spots in the feature. Four-time series champion Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet rounded out the top-5.
Now that the “Month of Money” is in full swing, the Outlaws head Tuesday to Lernerville Speedway for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twin 30s.
ELDORA SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK
QUICK TIME – Joey Saldana was the night’s fastest qualifier with a lap around the one half-mile oval in 13.497 seconds, earning five championship points. Paul McMahan, Daryn Pittman, Stevie Smith and Tyler Walker also earned qualifying points. It marked Saldana’s fifth Quick Time of the season.
TV – The Kings Royal was filmed to air on SPEED at 1 p.m. on July 30.
WINNERS – There have been 31 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events in 2011. The winners include: Craig Dollansky – 5 (Silver Dollar Speedway on March 12, Salina Highbanks Speedway on May 3, River Cities Speedway on June 17 and 18, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 1); Steve Kinser – 5 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 11 and 12, Pike County Raceway on Feb. 25, the Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 4, Lakeside Speedway on June 4); Sammy Swindell – 4 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 26, Merced Speedway on April 1, Tri-State Speedway on April 30, Knoxville Raceway on June 11); Joey Saldana – 4 (Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 3, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 19, Eldora Speedway on May 6, Beaver Dam Raceway on July 9); Jason Sides – 4 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Calistoga Speedway on April 2, I-96 Speedway on May 30, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 2); Donny Schatz – 3 (Attica Raceway Park on May 20, Princeton Speedway on June 25, Limaland Motorsports Park on July 13); Paul McMahan – 2 (the Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 28, Belleville Highbanks on June 3); Jason Meyers – 1 (Cedar Lake Speedway on July 8); Daryn Pittman – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 13); Tim Shaffer – 1 (Eldora Speedway on July 15); Tyler Walker – 1 (Eldora Speedway on July 16.)
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 .
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Eldora Speedway; Rossburg, Ohio; July 16, 2011
A-Main – (40 Laps) – 1. 17-Tyler Walker [2] [$50,000]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell [1] [$12,500]; 3. 83-Paul McMahan [8] [$7,500]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [7] [$5,500]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [5] [$4,500]; 6. 7-Craig Dollansky [16] [$3,800]; 7. OO-Jim Nier [23] [$3,300]; 8. 91-Cody Darrah [3] [$2,800]; 9. 92-Kerry Madsen [15] [$2,650]; 10. 14S-Tony Stewart [14] [$2,550]; 11. 11-Steve Kinser [4] [$2,250]; 12. 39-Greg Hodnett [22] [$2,100]; 13. 22H-Randy Hannagan [17] [$2,050]; 14. 14-Jason Meyers [21] [$2,000]; 15. 7S-Jason Sides [24] [$1,950]; 16. 2-Dale Blaney [11] [$1,900]; 17. W20-Greg Wilson [18] [$1,850]; 18. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [10] [$1,800]; 19. 1ZX-Stevie Smith [20] [$1,750]; 20. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. [6] [$1,700]; 21. 9-Joey Saldana [19] [$1,650]; 22. 83X-Tim Shaffer [13] [$1,625]; 23. 27-Daryn Pittman [9] [$1,600]; 24. 63-Chad Kemenah [12] [$1,550]. Lap Leaders: Sammy Swindell 1-39, Tyler Walker 40. KSE Hard Charger Award: OO-Jim Nier [+16].
Qualifying – 1. 9-Joey Saldana, 13.497; 2. 83-Paul McMahan, 13.527; 3. 27-Daryn Pittman, 13.532; 4. 1ZX-Stevie Smith, 13.547; 5. 17-Tyler Walker, 13.609; 6. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.610; 7. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr., 13.622; 8. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.631; 9. 92-Kerry Madsen, 13.635; 10. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.636; 11. 22H-Randy Hannagan, 13.646; 12. 1-Sammy Swindell, 13.668; 13. 14-Jason Meyers, 13.673; 14. 14S-Tony Stewart, 13.713; 15. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.721; 16. 91-Cody Darrah, 13.730; 17. 2M-Dustin Daggett, 13.752; 18. 2B-Ben Gregg, 13.759; 19. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.759; 20. 6-Kraig Kinser, 13.776; 21. 6M-Jac Haudenschild, 13.798; 22. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 13.816; 23. 39-Greg Hodnett, 13.816; 24. 7K-Kyle Sauder, 13.833; 25. 83X-Tim Shaffer, 13.840; 26. 89G-David Gravel, 13.859; 27. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.861; 28. 7-Craig Dollansky, 13.871; 29. 2-Dale Blaney, 13.876; 30. OO-Jim Nier, 13.878; 31. 44W-Austin Wheatley, 13.918; 32. 6R-Bill Rose, 13.929; 33. 7L-Darren Long, 13.953; 34. 1H-Brandon Wimmer, 13.954; 35. 78-Todd Kane, 13.958; 36. O9-Craig Mintz, 14.030; 37. 4-Danny Smith, 14.034; 38. 53-Phil Gressman, 14.046; 39. 7C-Tim Hunter, 14.072; 40. 1Z-Jessica Zemken, 14.137; 41. 97-Dean Jacobs, 14.147; 42. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 14.216; 43. 96AU-Bruce White, 14.424; 44. 60-Kory Crabtree, 14.494; 45. 17M-Marty Perovich, 14.520; 46. 1A-Mark Aldrich, 15.076; 47. 3F-Rick Fraley, 15.876; 48. W20-Greg Wilson, nt; 49. 45-Rob Chaney, nt.
Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. [2]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 3. 83X-Tim Shaffer [5]; 4. 14-Jason Meyers [1]; 5. 44W-Austin Wheatley [6]; 6. 9-Joey Saldana [3]; 7. 4-Danny Smith [7]; 8. 96AU-Bruce White [8]; 9. 45-Rob Chaney [9]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 2. 83-Paul McMahan [3]; 3. 14S-Tony Stewart [1]; 4. 6-Kraig Kinser [4]; 5. 89G-David Gravel [5]; 6. 53-Phil Gressman [7]; 7. 6R-Bill Rose [6]; 8. 60-Kory Crabtree [8]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 11-Steve Kinser [1]; 2. 27-Daryn Pittman [3]; 3. 92-Kerry Madsen [2]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 5. 7L-Darren Long [6]; 6. 7C-Tim Hunter [7]; 7. 17M-Marty Perovich [8]; 8. 6M-Jac Haudenschild [4]
Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 91-Cody Darrah [1]; 2. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [2]; 3. 7-Craig Dollansky [5]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [4]; 5. 1ZX-Stevie Smith [3]; 6. 1Z-Jessica Zemken [7]; 7. 1H-Brandon Wimmer [6]; 8. 1A-Mark Aldrich [8]
Heat 5 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 17-Tyler Walker [3]; 2. 2-Dale Blaney [5]; 3. 22H-Randy Hannagan [2]; 4. 39-Greg Hodnett [4]; 5. 78-Todd Kane [6]; 6. 97-Dean Jacobs [7]; 7. 3F-Rick Fraley [8]; 8. 2M-Dustin Daggett [1]
Heat 6 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 1-Sammy Swindell [2]; 2. 63-Chad Kemenah [3]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson [8]; 4. 2B-Ben Gregg [1]; 5. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [7]; 6. OO-Jim Nier [5]; 7. O9-Craig Mintz [6]; 8. 7K-Kyle Sauder [4]
C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature) – 1. 6M-Jac Haudenschild [2] [-]; 2. 6R-Bill Rose [4] [-]; 3. O9-Craig Mintz [5] [$200]; 4. 96AU-Bruce White [6] [$190]; 5. 1A-Mark Aldrich [9] [$180]; 6. 60-Kory Crabtree [7] [$170]; 7. 3F-Rick Fraley [10] [$160]; 8. 17M-Marty Perovich [8] [$150]; 9. 2M-Dustin Daggett [1] [$150]; 10. 7K-Kyle Sauder [3] [$150]; 11. 45-Rob Chaney [11] [$125]
B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 14-Jason Meyers [1] [-]; 2. 39-Greg Hodnett [6] [-]; 3. OO-Jim Nier [9] [-]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [8] [-]; 5. 97-Dean Jacobs [20] [$500]; 6. 78-Todd Kane [14] [$450]; 7. 1Z-Jessica Zemken [19] [$400]; 8. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [21] [$350]; 9. 44W-Austin Wheatley [10] [$300]; 10. O9-Craig Mintz [15] [$250]; 11. 4-Danny Smith [16] [$200]; 12. 7C-Tim Hunter [18] [$200]; 13. 2B-Ben Gregg [2] [$200]; 14. 96AU-Bruce White [22] [$200]; 15. 7L-Darren Long [12] [$200]; 16. 53-Phil Gressman [17] [$200]; 17. 6-Kraig Kinser [3] [$200]; 18. 6M-Jac Haudenschild [4] [$200]; 19. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [5] [$200]; 20. 89G-David Gravel [7] [$200]; 21. 6R-Bill Rose [11] [$200]; 22. 1H-Brandon Wimmer [13] [$200].
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Points Standings, through July 16:
| Pos. | Driver |
Total |
Diff |
W |
T5 |
T10 |
QT |
| 1. | Jason Meyers |
4234 |
0 |
1 |
17 |
26 |
3 |
| 2. | Donny Schatz |
4221 |
-13 |
3 |
15 |
24 |
2 |
| 3. | Joey Saldana |
4203 |
-31 |
4 |
16 |
23 |
5 |
| 4. | Steve Kinser |
4172 |
-62 |
5 |
14 |
24 |
1 |
| 5. | Craig Dollansky |
4137 |
-97 |
5 |
14 |
21 |
1 |
| 6. | Jason Sides |
4137 |
-97 |
4 |
13 |
22 |
3 |
| 7. | Paul McMahan |
4074 |
-160 |
2 |
9 |
20 |
8 |
| 8. | Cody Darrah |
3823 |
-411 |
0 |
5 |
11 |
0 |
| 9. | Sammy Swindell |
3801 |
-433 |
4 |
12 |
18 |
4 |
| 10. | Chad Kemenah |
3745 |
-489 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
2 |
| 11. | Lucas Wolfe |
3731 |
-503 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
0 |
| 12. | Kraig Kinser |
3694 |
-540 |
0 |
2 |
10 |
0 |
| 13. | Bill Rose |
3453 |
-781 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
| 14. | Kerry Madsen |
2545 |
-1689 |
0 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
| 15. | Ben Gregg |
2384 |
-1850 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| 16. | Brad Sweet |
1750 |
-2484 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
| 17. | Sam Hafertepe Jr. |
1354 |
-2880 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
| 18. | Jac Haudenschild |
1243 |
-2991 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
| 19. | Daryn Pittman |
1073 |
-3161 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
| 20. | Terry McCarl |
1043 |
-3191 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
NOTE – Tie between Dollansky and Sides for fifth/sixth is broken by total wins. Dollansky has five wins to Sides’ four victories.
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