,
By Susan Arnold
HAUBSTADT, Ind. (May 10, 2014) – By virtue of a second place finish last night at Wilmot, Wis., Joey Saldana and the Motter Equipment HE&M Saw Beltline Body Shop 71M team once again took command of the World of Outlaws point standings.
Tonight they were focused on backing up that performance with another strong, consistent showing at Tri-State Speedway.
Saldana had three second-place finishes at this track and numerous top 5s before tonight’s World of Outlaws event.
“I started racing here a long time ago back when we used to pit in the infield,” reminisced Saldana. “A lot of great Indiana racers have raced here including Jeff Gordon. I was lucky enough to be born in Indiana. My Dad was a race car driver and I was lucky to be a second-generation driver. I really like this track.”
Saldana was the No. 3 qualifier in tonight’s field, lapping the high-banked quarter-mile oval in 12.303 seconds.
His qualifying position translated to a fourth place starting berth in the third heat. When the green was initially thrown there were two independent driver spins at the opposite end of the track. One was Kerry Madsen who started on the outside of the front row.
For the restart, Madsen was moved to the back and Saldana was moved up to the outside pole. The next time by the green, polesitter Robert Ballou took the early lead with Saldana glued behind him, nose to tail, racing for the lead. Saldana began to work the high side and continued to pressure Ballou lap after lap. Cody Darrah also joined the battle. Saldana’s pursuit paid off when he was able to turn under Ballou to take the lead. The Brownsburg Bullet held on to capture the heat victory and a spot in the dash.
The inversion draw was a ‘4’ tonight, which placed Saldana on the outside of the front row for the start of the dash. When the green flag waved, polesitter Steve Kinser darted to the lead with Saldana behind. Sammy Swindell, in third, was working on Saldana and finally made a successful pass on the inside to snatch second. Kinser crossed the finish line first followed by Swindell and Saldana. The way they finished was the way they started the 40-lap feature.
For the 33rd time in World of Outlaws history, competitors took the A-Main green flag at Tri-State Speedway. Sammy Swindell, Steve Kinser and Saldana engaged in a three-wide drag race for the lead. When they spread out it was Swindell with the lead, Kinser in second and then Saldana. By lap five, the leaders were running in traffic. Sammy Swindell was racing to put a lap on his brother Jeff, when they collided, collecting Saldana in the melee. The 71M suffered a damaged nose wing and was taken to the work area as was Swindell’s more extensively wounded car. The Motter team put a fresh nose wing on the 71M and sent it back into battle. Swindell’s team was unable to make repairs. Saldana would restart at the back of the pack in 20th position.
Now, a man on a mission, Saldana began to line’em up and knock’em down, methodically picking off one driver after another. When the yellow came out with 29 laps complete, Saldana had worked his way up to 11th. Four laps later another yellow and the Brownsburg Bullet restarted 10th. The last yellow slowed the competition with five laps to go. On the final restart, Saldana was fifth trying to run down fourth place David Gravel while trying to fend off Donny Schatz. At the checkered flag it was Paul McMahan with the victory, Steve Kinser second and Kerry Madsen third.
Saldana had made an incredible rebound to finish fifth!
“Joey really earned my respect tonight with his determination and his driving skill,” said team owner Dan Motter. “That performance is how you win a championship. Joey didn’t quit and drove his heart out to get a top 5 after being forced to restart 20th.
“His hard charging intensity preserved the point lead for us as well. Bravo!”
Next on the agenda: Mother’s Day! We wish all the Moms a fantastic day!
And next week we head into Posse territory with a Wed., May 14 show in Lincoln, Pa.