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By Colby Gorniewicz
SOMERTON, AZ – April 7, 2017 – Brian Brown ousted the field in the Yuma Valley Showdown at Cocopah Speedway for his first World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series win in over three years. It was a race where track position was key and Brown had just that by starting on the pole of the 30-lap Feature event. Donny Schatz grabbed his tenth top-five of the season with a runner-up finish.
By winning the Craftsman Club® Dash, Brian Brown was awarded the pole position – a starting position that proved to be invaluable. At the drop of the green flag, the Grain Valley, MO-driver quickly jumped out to an early lead over the 24-car field.
“This is awesome, we’ve had a rough couple of nights,” said Brian Brown. “It’s been an awesome start to the year, but the last couple of nights haven’t been good. The [crew] had a talk before the race and decided to hit the reset button. We’ve been in position to win some of these races this year, we just haven’t capitalized. To beat these guys is an honor and we’re excited to get to [Arizona Speedway] tomorrow. I can’t thank Casey General Stores, FVP and my crew enough for this.”
With Jason Sides settling into the second position from the get go, Sheldon Haudenschild tried to strike early at advancing his position with a slide job on Sides. The aggressive move didn’t stick however, proving costly as Schatz took advantage and vaulted into the fourth position.
The field started to search for more moisture on the track and eventually saw the groove move from the top of the 3/8th-mile oval down to the bottom. With leaders quickly approaching lap traffic, Schatz who was running third was able to get by Sides to move him into the runner-up position.
“We had a decent enough car to win but the way the track played out we had to be another row forward,” said Donny Schatz. “Everyone’s tires were bald and it was one groove in Turns 1 and 2 but Turn 3 and 4 had two grooves, we just used so much tires at the end. Just happy to salvage a second-place finish.”
The only slow down on the day for World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series came on lap 25 of the 30-lap Feature event. The No. 13 of Clyde Knipp and Shane Stewart tangled in Turn 4; Stewart was able to rejoin the field, while Knipp’s night was done early as he got a tow to the infield.
On the ensuing single-file restart Brown got off to a quick restart and jumped out to a five car-length lead over the No. 15 Arctic Cat machine of Donny Schatz. Making one last-ditch effort at Brown, Schatz came up unsuccessful allowing Brown to cruise to his first win of the 2017 season and his third career World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series win.
After experiencing motor issues during qualifying, Daryn Pittman and the No. 9 Great Clips Kasey Kahne Racing team changed power plants before the heat race. Pittman was able to qualify into the Feature event through the Last Chance Showdown to start 22nd on the field. The KSE Hard Charger gained positions during the feature to finish 14th.
The World of Outlaws head east for a stop at the Arizona Speedway for the Arizona Desert Showdown on Saturday, April 8th to wrap up the Western Spring swing before making their way back to Texas for a make-up show at Gator Motorplex on Thursday, April 13th and Devil’s Bowl for a two-night event on April 14 and 15. For tickets visit WorldofOutlaws.com/Tickets or call 844-DIRT-TIX.
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Cocopah Speedway Notebook
SEASON WINNERS:
Donny Schatz – 6 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, LoneStar Speedway on March 3, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 10, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 18 ); David Gravel – 3 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 17, Placerville Speedway on March 29, Perris Auto Speedway on April 1); Jason Johnson – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17); Brad Sweet – 1 (Stockton Dirt Track on March 25), Logan Schuchart – 1 (Keller Auto Speedway), Brian Brown – 1 (Cocopah Speedway).
World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Cocopah Speedway, AZ. April 7, 2017
Feature (30 Laps) :
1. 21-Brian Brown [1][$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [3][$5,500]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [5][$3,200]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [2][$2,800]; 5. 4-Paul McMahan [6][$2,500]; 6. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [4][$2,300]; 7. 5-David Gravel [10][$2,200]; 8. 18-Ian Madsen [7][$2,100]; 9. 2X-Parker Price-Miller [8][$2,050]; 10. 24-Rico Abreu [12][$2,000]; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart [13][$1,500]; 12. 41-Jason Johnson [11][$1,200]; 13. 17-Joey Saldana [15][$1,100]; 14. 9-Daryn Pittman [22][$1,050]; 15. W20-Greg Wilson [14][$1,000]; 16. 11K-Kraig Kinser [17][$900]; 17. 2-Shane Stewart [9][$800]; 18. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [18][$800]; 19. 19-Brent Marks [19][$800]; 20. 5C-Billy Chester [21][$800]; 21. 82-Stevie Sussex [16][$800]; 22. 2A-Austin Pierce [23][$800]; 23. 13-Clyde Knipp [24][$800]; 24. 1A-Jacob Allen [20][$800] Lap Leaders: Brian Brown 1-30; KSE Hard Charger Award: 9-Daryn Pittman[+8]
 Qualifying :
1. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.529; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.67; 3. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.778; 4. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.907; 5. 4-Paul McMahan, 13.909; 6. 21-Brian Brown, 13.926; 7. 5-David Gravel, 13.948; 8. 2X-Parker Price-Miller, 14; 9. 2-Shane Stewart, 14.001; 10. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.047; 11. 41-Jason Johnson, 14.129; 12. 17-Joey Saldana, 14.161; 13. 82-Stevie Sussex, 14.167; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.218; 15. 24-Rico Abreu, 14.333; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 14.421; 17. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.459; 18. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 14.469; 19. 19-Brent Marks, 14.737; 20. 2A-Austin Pierce, 14.768; 21. 5C-Billy Chester, 14.878; 22. 13-Clyde Knipp, 14.906; 23. 1A-Jacob Allen, 14.924; 24. 22-Cori Andrews, 14.968; 25. 9-Daryn Pittman, NT
Heat #1 (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer to Feature:
1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 4. 5-David Gravel [3]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 6. 82-Stevie Sussex [5]; 7. 19-Brent Marks [7]; 8. 9-Daryn Pittman [9]; 9. 13-Clyde Knipp [8]
Heat #2 (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer to Feature:
1. 4-Paul McMahan [2]; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 3. 2X-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 4. 41-Jason Johnson [4]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [8]; 8. 2A-Austin Pierce [7]
Heat #3 (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer to Feature:
1. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [2]; 3. 2-Shane Stewart [3]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [5]; 5. 17-Joey Saldana [4]; 6. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [6]; 7. 5C-Billy Chester [7]; 8. 22-Cori Andrews [8]
Craftsman Club Dash (6 Laps):
1. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [4]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 4. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 6. 4-Paul McMahan [5]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) :
Top 6 Transfer to Feature: 1. 19-Brent Marks [1][-]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [5][-]; 3. 5C-Billy Chester [3][-]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [7][-]; 5. 2A-Austin Pierce [2][-]; 6. 13-Clyde Knipp [4][-]; 7. 22-Cori Andrews [6][$300]
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