By Susan Arnold
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. (May 20, 2013)—After a one night rain delay the World of Outlaws hit the clay at Orange County Fair Speedway, the oldest continuously operating dirt track in the United States.
Team owner Dan Motter drew the No. 1 pill, positioning Joey Saldana in the first hot lap session and the first out for qualifying. Saldana drove the Motter Equipment Fatheadz Eyewear 71M to the No. 3 qualifying spot, turning his quick lap at 17.265 seconds.
The No. 1 qualifier was NASCAR star Tony Stewart (17.027) who was celebrating his 42nd birthday driving with the Outlaws.
Saldana’s Orange County Fair Speedway track record of 16.083 seconds set Sept. 24, 2008 remained intact.
In heat racing, Saldana rolled off fourth in the third group. Shortly after the green flag waved, pole sitter Justin Henderson got sideways and Saldana who was close behind, had a close call, but reacted quickly and was able to gather the 71M sprint car up to capture second position, avoiding contact with Henderson. Saldana maintained second place to the checkered flag and transferred to the dash.
“We had a solid finish in the heat and we were pleased with that. We hope to do well in the dash,” said Saldana. “Last year the feature was wild with several drivers blowing tires so we’ll see what the A-Main brings.”
After the dash inversion draw, Saldana was assigned the fourth starting position. During the six-lap dash, Tony Stewart was able to muscle his way around Saldana and the Brownsburg Bullet finished fifth and would therefore start fifth in the A-Main.
It was a drag race down the front straight when the green flag flew in the A-Main. Kraig Kinser jumped to the lead with Chad Kemenah in second. Tony Stewart and team driver Donny Schatz entertained the fans for the majority of the race, in a no surrender contest for third place. They swapped positions numerous times before the checkered flag flew.
Saldana, meanwhile got a bad start and lost three positions early. Though he was running fast and strong, the inside bottom of the track was where the passing action played out. Saldana was able to gain ground on some of the strong Outlaw contingent running behind him, but was unable to get a good run on the cars in front of him.
The event was won by Kraig Kinser, Chad Kemenah was second and the birthday boy, Tony Stewart, finished third.
Saldana finished eighth.
The Outlaws move on to New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey tomorrow night. During the dash draw, 71M sponsor Fatheadz will give a pair of eye glasses away to a lucky fan.