By Bill Klingbeil
INDIANAPOLIS (July 25, 2012) – There are few boundaries when it comes to the excitement the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series offers on any given night. For the sixth consecutive season, the Outlaws will travel into Canada and stage international events to close a busy July. Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz have been very successful north of the border the last few seasons and both hope that continues during the four-race run through Quebec and Ontario.
The action begins Friday when the Outlaws make their debut at Autodrome Granby (Quebec), a half-mile dirt oval located near Montreal. Saturday, the series will make its third appearance at Autodromme Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec. The barnstorming Canadian tour continues Sunday at another new facility for the Outlaws when they venture to Cornwall (Ontario) Motor Speedway. The “North of the Border” tour will conclude Tuesday at Ohsweken (Ontario) Speedway.
Kinser will drive the TSR No. 11 Bass Pro Shops/J.D. Byrider/ Chevrolet Maxim and look to add Autodrome Granby to the list of tracks where he’s scored the Outlaws’ inaugural victory. In 2010, “The King of the Outlaws” was the winner at Autodrome Drummond after passing Schatz six laps into the 35-lap race. Last July, Kinser finished second in Drummondville and he’ll look to continue his podium runs with another solid finish Saturday. Kinser has finished inside the top-10 in all six WoO events at Ohsweken. His best finish came in 2010 when he was third.
Schatz, pilot of the TSR No. 15 STP/Armor All/Chevrolet J&J, has enjoyed racing in Canada with the Outlaws during the past six seasons. His consistency at Ohsweken has been incredible. He finished second in his first three starts before coming in third in the opener in 2010. The following night, he led all 30 laps to win his first A-Feature at Ohsweken. Last season, he started 20th and charged up to sixth while Tony Stewart raced to his first career WoO A-Feature triumph.
If the first 43 races this season are any indication, this four-race run through eastern Canada should only make the championship standings even tighter. Kinser has led the standings since his victory at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., in May, but has been tied by Schatz for the lead, held slight advantages over Sammy Swindell, and now Craig Dollansky. Kinser enters Canada with an 11-point advantage over Dollansky with Schatz 23 points back. The remarkable thing is that neither Kinser nor Schatz have topped the charts in qualifying this season, yet Swindell and Dollansky have earned top qualifying honors, and valuable points, eight and seven times, respectively.
With 43 of the 72 scheduled nights of racing completed, Kinser has earned 5,633 points, won three A-Features, finished inside the top-five 18 times and has earned 31 top-10 finishes. Schatz has remained within striking distance despite his struggles qualifying. The four-time WoO champion has earned 5,610 points, won three A-Features, picked up 15 top-fives, and scored a series-best 33 top-10s.
The tour begins Friday at Autodrome Granby, where the pit gates will open at 2 p.m. EDT and the grandstands opening at 4:30 p.m. Racing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. More details are available by visiting www.autodromegranby.com.
Saturday at Autodrome Drummond, the pit gates will open at 2 p.m. EDT with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Time trials are scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. More details are available by visiting www.autodrome-drummond.com.
Sunday at Cornwall Motor Speedway, the pit gates will open at 3:30 p.m. EDT with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Time trials are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. For ticket information, visit www.cornwallspeedway.com.
For the Canada Challenge finale at Ohsweken Speedway, the pit gates will open at 2 p.m. EDT with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. More details are available by calling Ohsweken Speedway at (888) 720-7223, or by visiting www.ohswekenspeedway.com.
Race fans unable to attend these races can catch all of the action on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, “Voice of the Outlaws,” calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.
Steve Kinser, Driver of the No. 11 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/J.D. Byrider/Chevrolet Maxim:
For the sixth consecutive year, the Outlaws will return to eastern Canada. What are your thoughts heading north of the border?
“I’m looking forward to getting back on the track. We didn’t finish the week so well at Lebanon Valley, so the sooner we can get back on the track the better. I have enjoyed going up to Canada the last five years. We’ve been pretty good at Drummondville and decent at Ohsweken. We’ve never been to Granby or Cornwall, but the Bass Pro Shops crew always seems to put a good car underneath me. It’s sort of a wide-open deal when you go to a track for the first time. Our experience from all the years of racing typically helps us out.”
When you go to a track for the first time, is there a particular strategy you follow?
“The biggest thing is being close when you first go out and hot lap the car. Like I said, we have a lot of experience from what seems like a thousand tracks. You just try to guess what sort of track it reminds you of from the past and start with a similar combination. You then just head out on the track and see where you are. Any time you are at a track for the first time, it’s also important to keep up with the changes. Watching how the times change and where guys are running as the night goes on. It’s a lot of fun. We’ve got two new tracks this weekend and, hopefully, we’ll have them figured out by the end of the night.”
Donny Schatz, Driver of the No. 15 TSR/STP/Armor All/Chevrolet J&J:
The four-race run through Canada starts at a track where you’ve never been and ends at a track where you’ve been extremely successful. What is your game plan heading into this four-race tour?
“We just have to get better early in the night. Autodrome Granby is a place that I’ve never been to, but they say it’s a half-mile and we’ve been able to race pretty well on tracks of that size this year. Hopefully, we’ll be able to qualify in the top-10 and have a better shot at being in the dash. We’ve proven that we can race from the back of the pack. I’d sure like to be starting up front all four nights. As far as the two places where we have raced (Drummond and Ohsweken), I feel pretty good about our chances. Two years ago, we led the first part of the race (at Drummond) and were in a pretty good battle with Steve (Kinser) until we had an ignition problem. Ohsweken seems to be one of those places we’re always pretty good. We finished second there the first three races there and finally won one there a couple of years ago. Last year, it was just qualifying that took us out of having a chance to win. We started deep in the heat and just about got to second and then, in the main event, we raced from 20th to sixth.”
The Canadian tour closes the month of July and everybody knows what is coming in August. How important is it to gain some consistency as you close out July?
“There isn’t some switch we turn when the calendar changes to August. I’d say this weekend is really important if we’re going to be serious contenders for anything the rest of the year. We have four races and likely we’ll be battling just the guys who follow the tour. If we can’t qualify better and race for wins, I’m not sure how anyone could consider us title contenders. This is a chance for us to improve some things and, at the same time, get better every time we hit the track.”
About Armored AutoGroup
Armored AutoGroup Inc., headquartered in Danbury, CT, is primarily comprised of the Armor All® and STP® brands. Armor All’s® current product line of protectants, wipes, tire and wheel care products, glass cleaners, leather care products and washes is designed to clean, shine and protect interior and exterior automobile surfaces. STP’s® offering of oil and fuel additives, functional fluids and automotive appearance products has a broad customer base ranging from professional racers to car enthusiasts and ‘‘Do-it-Yourselfers’’. The company has a diversified geographic footprint with direct operations in the United States, Canada, Australia and the U.K. and distributor relationships in approximately 50 countries. For more information, please visit www.armorall.com and www.stp.com.
About Bass Pro Shops Group
Bass Pro Shops – 58 retail stores in 26 states and Canada visited by over 113 million people annually, international catalog and internet retailing, American Rod & Gun wholesale division selling to over 7,000 independently owned retail stores worldwide, Outdoor World Incentives also selling Bass Pro Shops gift cards through over 150,000 retail outlets across America and a restaurant division with 26 locations. For more information regarding Bass Pro Shops store locations, products or special events, please visit www.basspro.com. To request a free catalog call 1-800-BASS PRO.
Tracker Marine Group – Manufactures and sells Tracker, Nitro, SunTracker, Tahoe, Grizzly and Mako boats through Bass Pro Shops retail stores and over 400 dealers worldwide.
Visit www.trackerboats.com
Resort Group – Big Cedar Lodge and other resort properties including restaurants and golf course. Visit www.bigcedar.com for more information.