From Susan Arnold
Tucson, AZ — (March 8, 2014) — Joey Saldana returned to the cockpit of the Motter Equipment HE&M Saw Beltline Body Shop 71M tonight for the NAPA Auto Parts Wildcat Shootout.
The Brownsburg Bullet suffered an injury to his right arm when a piece of race track debris crashed through the 71M’s right side arm guard during Thursday night’s dash at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Saldana was taken to a Las Vegas hospital and released later that night following x-rays and treatment for a hematoma.
Saldana was disappointed not to have been able to compete in the A-Main Thursday in Vegas, but he was race ready for tonight’s dirt track battle.
Saldana qualified the signature yellow 71M in the 11th position with a 12.832-second lap around the 3/8 mile dirt oval.
Starting on the pole of the second heat, Saldana was able to claim the lead when the green flag flew and took an impressive wire-to-wire victory, earning his first heat victory of the season, as well as a coveted position in the night’s dash.
Prior to the dash, strong winds began to pick up. Saldana, who started ninth, did a masterful job of missing a third lap four-car collision while also avoiding flying and bouncing race car parts. After a lengthy open red flag period, racing resumed and the Brownsburg Bullet finished sixth and would start on the outside of the third row in the A-Main.
When the green dropped to unleash the field for the 25-lap feature, Kerry Madsen took the lead while Saldana maintained his sixth place starting position. Brad Sweet ran Madsen down and took the lead on lap four, while the Brownsburg Bullet stayed busy trying to hold off a hard-charging Donny Schatz. Saldana kept his momentum riding the high side, protecting his position until the caution came out for Sam Hafertepe who slowed on the track. Due to the extreme wind, Outlaws officials called for a single file restart.
When racing resumed, Schatz was able to sneak by Saldana. The Brownsburg Bullet then had his hands full trying to fend off Kraig Kinser. After swapping places a few times, Saldana found a groove that allowed him to race hard while protecting his position from Kinser.
Saldana brought the Motter Equipment HE&M Saw Beltline Body Shop 71M home in sixth place.
The race was won by Brad Sweet, second was Kerry Madsen and rounding out the podium was Steve Kinser.
“Joey did a great job driving tonight,” said team owner Dan Motter. “Though I suspect his arm was somewhat sore, he was able to concentrate on the race and drive hard.
His arm will have some time to rest and continue to heal before the next race in Tulare, Calif. March 14.
“There was a record crowd tonight and we especially want to thank the fans for sticking with us through the excessive winds that came up about halfway through the night.
“Our team is upbeat and ready to get to California to continue Spring Break.”