From CDR
The 50th Annual National Open finale rolled off on Saturday for Craig Dollansky and the Big Game Treestands #7 team as they laid eyes on the $50,000 top prize. The prestigious event at Williams Grove Speedway also marked the final event of September for the World of Outlaws.
With another great field of 54 sprinters signed in for competition, Dollansky began the night by posting the 11th fastest time in qualifying around the paper clip ½-mile. Starting outside pole of heat #1, the MobileStar Maxim put on a great battle with Stevie Smith for the heat victory but finished a close 2nd to still earn a spot in the dash. After the eight pill was drawn for the inversion, ‘The Crowd Pleaser’ finished 5th in the 6-lap dash.
In the 40-lap A-Main the Aggressive Hydraulics #7 started inside row three. When third place Dale Blaney stopped on the frontstretch and Cody Darrah was called for jumping the following start, ‘The Crowd Pleaser’ inherited the pole position. After a few more yellows halted action, the main event went green with Dollansky powering out to the lead. As Donny Schatz closed on the Eaton’s Aeroquip Performance Products backed sprinter to lead lap 14, Dollansky motored back into the top spot the following circuit and then opened up his advantage as the feature worked past lap 20. Unfortunately just after the halfway point on lap 25 misfortune struck when the #7 was working through lapped traffic a car spun right in front of Dollansky leaving him no way to go.
Forced to the pit area, the Big Game Treestands #7 crew of DJ Lindsey, Luke Dollansky, and Sean Michael made repairs to rejoin the field. In the remaining laps Dollansky worked his way up to 16th capping a strong night that had a heartbreaking outcome.
“It was a race our team knows we should have won,” commented the driver of the #7. “We were getting through lap traffic well, unfortunately we got to the 87 car at the wrong time. There is nothing we can do about it now. We will put it behind us and focus on our next race.”
Racing continues this Saturday, October 6th, at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in New York.