Jason Meyers Returns to Form, Earns Second Gold Cup Win

Jason Meyers. - Steve Lafond / Tear Off Heaven Fotos
Jason Meyers. - Steve Lafond / Tear Off Heaven Fotos
Jason Meyers. – Steve Lafond / Tear Off Heaven Fotos

From the World of Outlaws

Chico, CA — (September 7, 2013) — Two-time World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series champion Jason Meyers hadn’t been in a racecar since June 15, but no one would’ve guessed it on Saturday night after he made a mid-race pass for the lead and drove to victory in the 60th Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway.

Meyers captured two championships before announcing his retirement from the series in 2012 and has been on limited duty in sprint car racing in his native California since then, but on Saturday night he was in prime shape, capturing the lead and the victory after passing current championship leader Daryn Pittman on a lap 21 restart to lead a California sweep of the podium.

Andy Forsberg, who finished third in Friday night’s feature, bettered that performance on Saturday night with a second-place run. Jonathan Allard finished third, one spot ahead of Kyle Larson. Pittman finished fifth to and was the highest finishing World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series driver.

Pittman jumped out to the early lead and led the first half of the race of the 40-lap feature. His lead began slipping on lap 16 after a caution bunched the field back together. Allard was the first challenger, and the crowd erupted as he pulled around Pittman on the backstretch on lap 18, but Pittman again held the position at the flagstand.

On a lap 20 restart following an open red flag, it was Meyers who jumped around Pittman from the third spot to take the lead. After Meyers moved in front he pulled away from the field and cruised to the win.

“It means a lot to come up here, we haven’t had an opportunity to run a race car the whole summer and Tommy Tarlton gave me the opportunity to come up here and run this weekend,” said Meyers, of Clovis, Calif. “To come up here to get my second Gold Cup win, but more importantly for Tom and Tommy to get this win and get all the sponsors on this car this win.”

Forsberg had to make a last-lap pass on Allard for the runner-up position.
“We’ve struggled the last couple of years at this race with the same car and the same motor,” said Forsberg, of Auburn, Calif. “Last winter we made the decision to get a different car and the new engine builder and we had our ducks in a row and obviously things went our way. I’ll take it and we definitely had a good weekend.”

Allard, a Chico native, challenged for the lead on several laps mid-race and rounded out the podium.

“I made a big mistake, I committed to the top and we were real good and we made some big gains on Jason, but he started to pull away from me and I knew I was slowing down,” Allard said. “Andy slipped by and that was all she wrote. We were going for the win so we were searching around and trying to get there.”

A wild qualifying session ended with several local drivers with strong qualifying efforts. Leading the way was Colby Copeland, who qualified with a best lap of 12.362 seconds around the high banked quarter-mile oval.

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship leader Pittman extended his points lead with the fifth-place finish while rival Donny Schatz was 11th. The finish gives Pittman another 12 points in the championship and he now leads by 70 points going into the Gold Rush Tour finale Sunday night at Antioch Speedway, which will bring a conclusion to a swing of eight races in the past 10 days.

 

SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK

NOTES – Colby Copeland was the fastest qualifier around the high-banked 1/4-mile oval with a time of 12.362 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Joey Saldana (4 points), Brandon Wimmer (3), Sammy Swindell (2) and Kyle Larson(1). … Shane Stewart, Craig Stidham, Jason Toft, Carson Macedo and Jonathan Allard won heat races. … The dash draw was a 4 for the 15th time this year… Joey Saldana won the dash for the fourth time this year.

CONTINGENCY WINNERS – MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Paul McMahan; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Jonathan Allard; STP ($50 cash): Jonathan Allard;Bruce High Performance Transporters ($50 cash): Jonathan Allard; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Joey Saldana UNOH ($50 cash): Tim Kaeding; American Racing Custom Wheels ($50 cash): Tim Kaeding; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Tim Kaeding; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Sammy Swindell; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Steve Kinser;Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Jason Statler; Superflow ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; KSE Racing Products ($100 certificate): Donny Schatz; Penske Shocks ($100 certificate): Bill Rose; Armor All (case of product): Jonathan Allard.; Comp Cams ($50 certificate): Jonathan Allard; Bruce High Performance Transporters ($200 certificates):Jonathan Allard, Jason Statler, Paul McMahan ; JE Pistons (set of rings): Bill Rose and Paul McMahan

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Silver Dollar Speedway; Chico, Calif.; Sept. 7, 2013

A-Main – (40 Laps): 1. 21M-Jason Meyers [5] [$12,000]; 2. 92-Andy Forsberg [2] [$5,700]; 3. O-Jonathan Allard [7] [$3,500]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [14] [$3,000]; 5. 9-Daryn Pittman [1] [$2,600]; 6. 3-Craig Stidham [10] [$2,400]; 7. 83-Tim Kaeding [15] [$2,300]; 8. 1-Sammy Swindell [3] [$2,200]; 9. 71M-Joey Saldana [4] [$2,150]; 10. 11-Steve Kinser [23] [$2,100]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz [25] [$800]; 12. 25-Bobby McMahan [8] [$1,350]; 13. OO-Jason Statler [19] [$1,300]; 14. 7-Craig Dollansky [26] [$400]; 15. 33E-Evan Suggs [12] [$1,100]; 16. 6-Bill Rose [16] [$1,000]; 17. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18] [$900]; 18. 4-Cody Darrah [6] [$850]; 19. 21X-Carson Macedo [9] [$800]; 20. 53-Andy Gregg [24] [$800]; 21. 77-Shane Stewart [11] [$800]; 22. 19-Keith Bloom [20] [$800]; 23. 2F-Brad Furr [17] [$800]; 24. 51-Paul McMahan [22] [$800]; 25. 9W-Brandon Wimmer [13] [$800]; 26. 83JR-Kyle Hirst [21] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Daryn Pittman 1-21, Jason Meyers 22-40. KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz [+14].

Qualifying: 1. 23-Colby Copeland, 12.362; 2. 71M-Joey Saldana, 12.429; 3. 9W-Brandon Wimmer, 12.453; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell, 12.469; 5. 57-Kyle Larson, 12.491; 6. 83-Tim Kaeding, 12.499; 7. 6-Bill Rose, 12.510; 8. 2F-Brad Furr, 12.552; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.559; 10. 9-Daryn Pittman, 12.566; 11. 92-Andy Forsberg, 12.575; 12. 21M-Jason Meyers, 12.589; 13. 21X-Carson Macedo, 12.599; 14. 25-Bobby McMahan, 12.611; 15. OO-Jason Statler, 12.628; 16. O-Jonathan Allard, 12.653; 17. 3-Craig Stidham, 12.690; 18. 33E-Evan Suggs, 12.707; 19. 4-Cody Darrah, 12.811; 20. 77-Shane Stewart, 12.833; 21. 19-Keith Bloom, 12.848; 22. 83JR-Kyle Hirst, 12.864; 23. 51-Paul McMahan, 12.869; 24. 11-Steve Kinser, 12.890; 25. 53-Andy Gregg, 12.891; 26. 2J-Jonathan Jorgenson, 12.893; 27. 52-David Lindt, 12.915; 28. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.924; 29. 26M-Sean McMahan, 12.927; 30. 2W-Todd Wanless, 12.928; 31. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.951; 32. 3C-Willie Croft, 12.962; 33. 29-Kerry Madsen, 12.982; 34. 55-Bud Walberg, 13.005; 35. 27-Sean Becker, 13.018; 36. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.060; 37. 88X-Brad Bumgarner, 13.080; 38. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.136; 39. 35-Michael Tarter, 13.141; 40. 41-Dominic Scelzi, 13.173; 41. 88N-DJ Netto, 13.226; 42. 7-Craig Dollansky, 13.265; 43. 3T-Nick Ringo, 13.328; 44. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.340; 45. 7J-Justin Sanders, 13.392; 46. 27T-Jason Toft, 13.416; 47. 28B-Adam Brenton, 13.516; 48. 89-Branden Mansfield, 13.676; 49. 15H-Pat Harvey Jr., 13.693; 50. 88-Koen Shaw, 13.814; 51. 5-Brian Boswell, 14.198; 52. 11X-Nick Rescino, 18.070; 53. 2-B.J. Martin, nt.

Heat 1 – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. O-Jonathan Allard [1]; 2. 92-Andy Forsberg [2]; 3. 83-Tim Kaeding [3]; 4. 19-Keith Bloom [5]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto [9]; 7. 23-Colby Copeland [4]; 8. 27T-Jason Toft [10]; 9. 24-Rico Abreu [8]; 10. 2J-Jonathan Jorgenson [6]; 11. 5-Brian Boswell [11].

Heat 2 – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 3-Craig Stidham [1]; 2. 21M-Jason Meyers [2]; 3. 71M-Joey Saldana [4]; 4. 83JR-Kyle Hirst [5]; 5. 3C-Willie Croft [7]; 6. 7-Craig Dollansky [9]; 7. 6-Bill Rose [3]; 8. 88X-Brad Bumgarner [8]; 9. 28B-Adam Brenton [10]; 10. 52-David Lindt [6]; 11. 11X-Nick Rescino [11].

Heat 3 – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 21X-Carson Macedo [2]; 2. 33E-Evan Suggs [1]; 3. 2F-Brad Furr [3]; 4. 51-Paul McMahan [5]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 6. 9W-Brandon Wimmer [4]; 7. 29-Kerry Madsen [7]; 8. 49-Brad Sweet [8]; 9. 3T-Nick Ringo [9]; 10. 89-Branden Mansfield [10]; 11. 2-B.J. Martin [11].

Heat 4 – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 4-Cody Darrah [1]; 2. 25-Bobby McMahan [2]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 5. 11-Steve Kinser [5]; 6. 26M-Sean McMahan [6]; 7. 35-Michael Tarter [8]; 8. 55-Bud Walberg [7]; 9. 63-Chad Kemenah [9]; 10. 15H-Pat Harvey Jr. [10].

Heat 5 – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 77-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [3]; 3. OO-Jason Statler [2]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 5. 53-Andy Gregg [5]; 6. 27-Sean Becker [7]; 7. 41-Dominic Scelzi [8]; 8. 2W-Todd Wanless [6]; 9. 88-Koen Shaw [10]; 10. 7J-Justin Sanders [9].

Dash – (8 Laps, finishing order determined first 12 starting positions of A-feature): 1. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 2. 92-Andy Forsberg [1]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [3]; 4. 71M-Joey Saldana [4]; 5. 21M-Jason Meyers [5]; 6. 4-Cody Darrah [11]; 7. O-Jonathan Allard [8]; 8. 25-Bobby McMahan [7]; 9. 21X-Carson Macedo [6]; 10. 3-Craig Stidham [9]; 11. 77-Shane Stewart [12]; 12. 33E-Evan Suggs [10].

C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature): 1. 27-Sean Becker [1] [-]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [2] [-]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [4] [$125]; 4. 41-Dominic Scelzi [6] [$125]; 5. 88N-DJ Netto [7] [$125]; 6. 7-Craig Dollansky [8] [$100]; 7. 3T-Nick Ringo [9] [$100]; 8. 88X-Brad Bumgarner [3] [$100]; 9. 27T-Jason Toft [11] [$100]; 10. 35-Michael Tarter [5] [$100]; 11. 63-Chad Kemenah [10] [$100]; 12. 7J-Justin Sanders [12] [$100]; 13. 88-Koen Shaw [16] [$100]; 14. 89-Branden Mansfield [14] [$100]; 15. 15H-Pat Harvey Jr. [15] [$100]; 16. 28B-Adam Brenton [13] [$100]; 17. 5-Brian Boswell [17] [$100]; 18. 11X-Nick Rescino [18] [$100]; 19. 2-B.J. Martin [19] [$100].

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 9W-Brandon Wimmer [2] [-]; 2. 11-Steve Kinser [4] [-]; 3. 53-Andy Gregg [5] [-]; 4. 6-Bill Rose [3] [-]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [11] [$200]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu [16] [$180]; 7. 23-Colby Copeland [1] [$175]; 8. 29-Kerry Madsen [13] [$160]; 9. 52-David Lindt [7] [$150]; 10. 2J-Jonathan Jorgenson [6] [$150]; 11. 55-Bud Walberg [14] [$150]; 12. 3C-Willie Croft [12] [$150]; 13. 26M-Sean McMahan [9] [$150]; 14. 27-Sean Becker [15] [$150]; 15. 2W-Todd Wanless [10] [$150]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [8] [$150].

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Championship Standings

Pos. Driver

Total

Diff

Wins

T-5

T-10

QT

1 Daryn Pittman

8881

0

8

41

53

13

2 Donny Schatz

8811

-70

19

40

53

3

3 Paul McMahan

8547

-334

3

28

47

14

4 Craig Dollansky

8305

-576

6

17

36

1

5 Joey Saldana

8294

-587

1

18

38

5

6 Sammy Swindell

8289

-592

3

16

40

4

7 Cody Darrah

8007

-874

2

12

25

2

8 Steve Kinser

7918

-963

2

8

29

0

9 Kerry Madsen

7846

-1035

3

14

32

1

10 Jason Sides

7766

-1115

0

11

30

1

11 Chad Kemenah

7761

-1120

0

12

22

2

12 Kraig Kinser

7743

-1138

1

8

29

1

13 David Gravel

6749

-2132

1

7

24

1

14 Tim Kaeding

6497

-2384

9

25

33

0

15 Bill Rose

4311

-4570

0

0

2

0

16 Brad Sweet

3694

-5187

1

10

13

2

17 Sam Hafertepe Jr.

3598

-5283

0

1

7

1

18 Brian Brown

3136

-5745

0

5

12

0

19 Greg Wilson

2842

-6039

0

1

3

0

20 Wayne Johnson

2617

-6264

0

0

2

0