By Kyle Luetters
Defending series champion closes to within one point of Schatz for overall lead in standings
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — July 23, 2011 — Jason Meyers had 48 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series main event victories in his career entering Saturday night’s $20,000-to-win Summer Nationals finale at Williams Grove Speedway, a track where he has so desperately wanted a win, a track where every Outlaw was eager to end the victory lane drought. Sure, Sammy Swindell captured the National Open last fall, but no regularly touring member of the series had won an A-main at the historic half-mile since July 19, 2008.
That all changed Saturday night when Meyers finally earned his first victory at Williams Grove, which is a stone’s throw from his engine builder Charlie Garrett’s shop. With a lightning fast DDNi/Allstar Performance/Media Tile KPC, Meyers was the class of the 45-car field, holding off Stevie Smith on two late cautions to break a 13-race World of Outlaws winless streak at the track and close to within one point of series leader Donny Schatz in the overall standings.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Meyers, the defending World of Outlaws champion from Clovis, Calif. “We really wanted one here for Charlie Garrett. He’s the reason why we won the championship last year. We never fell out of a race due to motor issues. It’s also great to have (car co-owner) Chris Luck out here and everyone behind us. Williams Grove is really a special place and we just had an amazing car all night long.”
(Click here for an interview with Meyers)
Smith, of Broken Arrow, Okla., seemed to be the only driver to have anything for Meyers during the 30-lap feature. Smith’s Zemco Racing Equipment Maxim set Quick Time in qualifying and closed in on Meyers several times throughout the race but just couldn’t make a pass for the lead.
“I was waiting for Jason to make one mistake and he never did,” said Smith, who has teamed with Meyers at a couple of World of Outlaws events earlier in the season. “We’re pretty happy with second place though. A few more adjustments and we are there with this car. It was really fast all night long but just needs a little bit extra work.”
Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender Cody Darrah gave Meyers a run for his money early on but a broken drive shaft sent his #91 Kasey Kahne Racing Great Clips Maxim to pits. Darrah’s teammate, Paul McMahan, also experienced trouble with a scary second-lap flip down the frontstretch. McMahan’s Roth Motorsports crew led by Justin Adams was able to get McMahan back out onto the track during the next yellow flag.
Tony Stewart Racing’s Schatz, the last touring World of Outlaws racer to win at Williams Grove, finished third and now has a slim one-point lead over Meyers in the championship standings with 20-time champion Steve Kinser, who finished sixth on Saturday, lurking in third only 55 markers behind.
Friday night winner Greg Hodnett finished fourth and last year’s National Open winner, Sammy Swindell, was fifth.
The Outlaws continue their East Coast Swing on Sunday (July 24) with their annual event at Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y., before invading Canada for three races next week — Ohsweken Speedway on Wednesday, Brockville Ontario Speedway on Friday and Autodrome Drummond on Saturday.
WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK
QUICK TIME – Stevie Smith was the night’s fastest qualifier with a lap around the half-mile oval in 17.139 seconds, earning five championship points. Kasey Kahne, Craig Dollansky, Brian Leppo and Lance Dewease also earned qualifying points. It marked Smith’s third Quick Time of the season.
KAHNE’S WILD RIDE — Before Kasey Kahne was a NASCAR superstar, he was a Sprint Car racing standout so it’s no surprise that he owns a couple of World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series teams and it’s not uncommon for him to get behind the wheel from time to time. However, Friday night, Kahne took a scary ride in a heat race when he and Craig Dollansky made contact, sending Kahne flipping over the Turn 4 wall at Williams Grove. The York Daily Record captured the incident through video and by Saturday morning the flip was all over ESPN’s SportsCenter news and highlight show. Said Kahne, “I saw Craig start to drift up towards me. He did something similar to me at Limaland (Motorsports Park) and I was able to get on the brakes. It still put me up into the wall and messed with us a bit. There wasn’t anything I was able to do this time around though. I got wrecked and that happens sometimes in racing. I’m alright but I haven’t flipped in a race car like that in awhile.” Kahne stepped into Fred Rahmer’s car on Saturday night and finished 17th in the main event. A link to the SportsCenter highlight can be found by clicking WorldofOutlaws.com.
WINNERS – There have been 35 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 – 2 (Cedar Lake Speedway on July 8, Williams Grove Speedway on July 23); Tim Shaffer – 2 (Eldora Speedway on July 15, Lernerville Speedway on July 19); Dale Blaney – 1 (Lernerville Speedway on July 19); Greg Hodnett – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 22); Daryn Pittman – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 13); 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; Williams Grove Speedway; Mechanicsburg, Pa.; July 23, 2011
A-Main — (30 Laps) — 1. 14-Jason Meyers [1] [$20,000]; 2. 1Z-Stevie Smith [4] [$12,000]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [6] [$6,000]; 4. 39-Greg Hodnett [15] [$5,250]; 5. 1-Sammy Swindell [5] [$4,500]; 6. 11-Steve Kinser [8] [$4,000]; 7. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [7] [$3,500]; 8. 48-Danny Dietrich [23] [$3,000]; 9. 7-Craig Dollansky [9] [$2,750]; 10. 71-Brian Leppo [12] [$2,500]; 11. 63-Chad Kemenah [14] [$2,300]; 12. 93-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [10] [$2,250]; 13. 27-Daryn Pittman [18] [$2,000]; 14. 30C-Lance Dewease [13] [$1,600]; 15. 77-Aaron Ott [20] [$1,500]; 16. 9-Brad Sweet [17] [$1,300]; 17. 51-Kasey Kahne [11] [$1,250]; 18. 17-Tyler Walker [22] [$1,050]; 19. 7L-Chad Layton [28] [$]; 20. 35-Justin Henderson [19] [$1,000]; 21. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [21] [$1,000]; 22. 6-Kraig Kinser [25] [$]; 23. 6R-Bill Rose [27] [$]; 24. 7S-Jason Sides [16] [$1,000]; 25. 83-Paul McMahan [3] [$1,000]; 26. 11C-Cory Haas [24] [$1,000]; 27. 21-Brian Montieth [26] [$]; 28. 91-Cody Darrah [2] [$1,000].
Lap Leaders: Jason Meyers 1-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 48-Danny Dietrich [+15]
Qualifying — 1. 1Z-Stevie Smith, 17.139; 2. 51-Kasey Kahne, 17.165; 3. 7-Craig Dollansky, 17.168; 4. 71-Brian Leppo, 17.184; 5. 30C-Lance Dewease, 17.214; 6. 63-Chad Kemenah, 17.219; 7. 15-Donny Schatz, 17.225; 8. 39-Greg Hodnett, 17.240; 9. 83-Paul McMahan, 17.279; 10. 14-Jason Meyers, 17.281; 11. 91-Cody Darrah, 17.283; 12. 1-Sammy Swindell, 17.291; 13. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 17.299; 14. 93-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 17.301; 15. 87-Alan Krimes, 17.307; 16. 11-Steve Kinser, 17.334; 17. 7S-Jason Sides, 17.350; 18. 9-Brad Sweet, 17.359; 19. 27-Daryn Pittman, 17.364; 20. 35-Justin Henderson, 17.390; 21. 77-Aaron Ott, 17.413; 22. 30-Doug Esh, 17.432; 23. 6R-Bill Rose, 17.433; 24. 19M-Brent Marks, 17.478; 25. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, 17.480; 26. 17-Tyler Walker, 17.487; 27. 69K-Donald Kreitz Jr., 17.494; 28. 48-Danny Dietrich, 17.502; 29. 16-Gerard McIntyre, 17.529; 30. 15A-Adam Wilt, 17.542; 31. 11C-Cory Haas, 17.556; 32. 59-Jim Siegel, 17.561; 33. 21-Brian Montieth, 17.566; 34. 7L-Chad Layton, 17.605; 35. 6-Kraig Kinser, 17.619; 36. 44W-Austen Wheatley, 17.625; 37. 11E-Mike Erdley, 17.719; 38. 2B-Ben Gregg, 17.831; 39. 75-Nicole Bower, 17.852; 40. 44-Frank Cozze, 17.871; 41. 2-Ryan Bohlke, 17.965; 42. 12W-Troy Fraker, 18.315; 43. 49H-Bob Howrad, 18.676; 44. 92-Kerry Madsen, -.—; 45. 20S-Derek Sell, -.—.
Heat 1 — (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) — 1. 83-Paul McMahan [2]; 2. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [1]; 3. 30C-Lance Dewease [3]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 5. 1Z-Stevie Smith [4]; 6. 21-Brian Montieth [9]; 7. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [7]; 8. 16-Gerard McIntyre [8]; 9. 2-Ryan Bohlke [11]; 10. 77-Aaron Ott [6]; 11. 11E-Mike Erdley [10]; 12. 20S-Derek Sell [12].
Heat 2 — (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) — 1. 14-Jason Meyers [2]; 2. 93-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [1]; 3. 63-Chad Kemenah [3]; 4. 9-Brad Sweet [5]; 5. 17-Tyler Walker [7]; 6. 51-Kasey Kahne [4]; 7. 15A-Adam Wilt [8]; 8. 7L-Chad Layton [9]; 9. 12W-Troy Fraker [11]; 10. 2B-Ben Gregg [10]; 11. 30-Doug Esh [6].
Heat 3 — (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) — 1. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 2. 91-Cody Darrah [2]; 3. 7-Craig Dollansky [4]; 4. 27-Daryn Pittman [5]; 5. 11C-Cory Haas [8]; 6. 69K-Donald Kreitz Jr. [7]; 7. 6-Kraig Kinser [9]; 8. 6R-Bill Rose [6]; 9. 49H-Bob Howrad [11]; 10. 87-Alan Krimes [1]; 11. 75-Nicole Bower [10].
Heat 4 — (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) — 1. 11-Steve Kinser [1]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell [2]; 3. 39-Greg Hodnett [3]; 4. 71-Brian Leppo [4]; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 6. 35-Justin Henderson [5]; 7. 19M-Brent Marks [6]; 8. 44-Frank Cozze [10]; 9. 92-Kerry Madsen [11]; 10. 59-Jim Siegel [8]; 11. 44W-Austen Wheatley [9].
Dash — (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) — 1. 14-Jason Meyers [2]; 2. 91-Cody Darrah [1]; 3. 83-Paul McMahan [3]; 4. 1Z-Stevie Smith [6]; 5. 1-Sammy Swindell [7]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 7. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [8]; 8. 11-Steve Kinser [10]; 9. 7-Craig Dollansky [5]; 10. 93-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [9].
C-Main — (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature) — 1. 2B-Ben Gregg [1] [-]; 2. 92-Kerry Madsen [7] [-]; 3. 44-Frank Cozze [3] [$125]; 4. 2-Ryan Bohlke [4] [$125]; 5. 49H-Bob Howrad [6] [$125]; 6. 12W-Troy Fraker [5] [$100]; 7. 11E-Mike Erdley [10] [$100]; 8. 75-Nicole Bower [2] [$100]; 9. 20S-Derek Sell [11] [$100]; 10. 30-Doug Esh [8] [$100]; 11. 87-Alan Krimes [9] [$100].
B-Main — (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) — 1. 51-Kasey Kahne [1] [-]; 2. 35-Justin Henderson [2] [-]; 3. 77-Aaron Ott [3] [-]; 4. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [6] [-]; 5. 19M-Brent Marks [5] [$200]; 6. 6-Kraig Kinser [13] [$180]; 7. 6R-Bill Rose [4] [$175]; 8. 92-Kerry Madsen [16] [$160]; 9. 7L-Chad Layton [12] [$150]; 10. 21-Brian Montieth [11] [$150]; 11. 59-Jim Siegel [10] [$150]; 12. 44W-Austen Wheatley [14] [$150]; 13. 16-Gerard McIntyre [8] [$150]; 14. 2B-Ben Gregg [15] [$150]; 15. 15A-Adam Wilt [9] [$150]; 16. 69K-Donald Kreitz Jr. [7] [$150].
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Championship Standings; through July 23 at Williams Grove Speedway
Pos.
Driver
Total
Diff
Wins
Top 5
Top 10
QT
1.
Donny Schatz
4637
3
16
27
2
2.
Jason Meyers
4636
-1
2
19
28
3
3.
Steve Kinser
4582
-55
5
15
26
1
4.
Craig Dollansky
4530
-107
5
15
23
1
5.
Jason Sides
4473
-164
4
13
23
3
6.
Paul McMahan
4433
-204
2
9
21
8
7.
Joey Saldana
4428
-209
4
16
23
5
8.
Sammy Swindell
4205
-432
4
14
20
4
9.
Cody Darrah
4141
-496
0
5
11
0
10.
Lucas Wolfe
4101
-536
0
1
11
0
11.
Chad Kemenah
4082
-555
0
2
8
3
12.
Kraig Kinser
4016
-621
0
2
10
0
13.
Bill Rose
3707
-930
0
1
2
0
14.
Kerry Madsen
2828
-1809
0
2
9
0
15.
Ben Gregg
2648
-1989
0
1
1
0
16.
Brad Sweet
2120
-2517
0
3
7
1
17.
Sam Hafertepe Jr.
1740
-2897
0
3
7
0
18.
Daryn Pittman
1455
-3182
1
3
5
0
19.
Lance Dewease
1367
-3270
0
0
3
0
20.
Stevie Smith
1301
-3336
0
2
3
1
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), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), Chizmark & Larson Insurance , Factory Motor Parts, VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel), Vicci (Official Apparel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, RacingJunk.com KSE Race Products, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo and R2C Performance; 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.