By Tony Veneziano
SALINA, OKLA. — April 27, 2016 — Daryn Pittman has won with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series in 20 different states and one Canadian province. One state he has never won in, though, is his home state of Oklahoma. The native of Owasso looks to change that this week as the series visits Salina Highbanks Speedway for their one and only visit to the Sooner State in 2016 on Friday, April 29.
Pittman, the 2013 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series champion, finished third for the second time in his career at the track last year. In four starts with the series at Salina Highbanks Speedway, the veteran driver has an average finish of 4.2, which is best among the drivers competing full-time with the series.
“I always enjoy racing in the Tulsa area,” said Pittman, who drives the Great Clips machine. “I’ve been close to winning that race a couple of times and haven’t gotten it done. Salina is a neat race track, especially when the surface is racy. There are a lot of people from around home that come out and Tulsa is a big racing town. It’s been pretty well-supported from the fans the handful of times we’ve gone there.”
Driving for Kasey Kahne Racing, Pittman has had a very strong start to the 2016 campaign. He has won three times, including two straight to wrap up the recent West Coast Swing for the Series. Pittman is one of just three drivers to have more than two wins this season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series, joining his teammate Brad Sweet and seven-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz in that department. Pittman won for the first time this season at Royal Purple Raceway in Texas at the end of February. Pittman returned to victory lane in April at Perris Auto Speedway in California and USA Raceway in Arizona.
“Our car has been fast all year,” said Pittman. “I’d like to have a few more wins. We’ve been close. The last seven or eight nights we’ve either been battling for a win, ran first or second or had some kind of bad luck that knocks us out of the race. This is probably the best car I have ever had in my career. It’s fun to show up and drive every night when it’s like that. I’m excited for what the rest of the year holds.”
Heading into action this week, Pittman is fifth in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series standings on the strength of 14 top-10 finishes, with 11 of those being top-five performances. He is near the top of the leaderboard in a number of statistical categories thus far in 2016. Pittman leads the series in laps led in A-Feature events and is tied for the top spot in fast time awards in time trials. He has started on the pole a series-best six times in A-Feature events.
Pittman nearly picked up his fourth win of the season this past Saturday night at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Texas, as he was leading, when a flat tire forced him to the work area with just seven laps remaining. He would work his way back up to 12th. Pittman finished third on Tuesday night at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., to earn his 12 top-five finish of the season.
“Devil’s Bowl is pretty close to home as well and that was a tough defeat we had there,” he noted. “You never want to lose a race, especially when you are as fast as we were. Losing tires is part of racing and you just have to put it behind you and move on, which we did. We were able to get back up from at Little Rock (I-30 Speedway), which shows how strong of a team we have.”
In his career with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series Pittman has raced at a handful of tracks in his home state of Oklahoma, with the majority of those coming at the former State Fair Speedway in Oklahoma City. Along with racing at Salina Highbanks Speedway the last few years, Pittman also has been a stalwart at the Chili Bowl in Tulsa. This year he raced his way into the main event, with another 330-plus car field on hand.
“At Salina, you really have to keep up with the track,” said Pittman. “It can be pretty wet, but it also can be super dry there. The place is fast, even when it’s slick, so you have to have a good engine. We’ve only raced there a few times, but I’ve always felt comfortable there.”
Tickets for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series event at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, Okla., on Friday, April 29 can be purchased online at slspromotions.ticketforce.com or at the track on race day.
Discount General Admission tickets can also be purchased at participating O’Reilly Auto Parts stores. Each General Admission ticket purchased at an O’Reilly Auto Parts location will feature a special $5 discount. Tickets buyers will exchange their O’Reilly receipt for tickets at the Main Grandstand ticket booth on race day.
For more information on tickets, visit slspromotions.ticketforce.com.
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