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Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 15-Donny Schatz
2) 9-Joey Saldana
3) 83-Danny Lasoski
4) 2-Brooke Tatnell
5) 24-Terry McCarl
6) 3X-Chad Kemenah
7) 36-Jason Martin
8) 18-Brian Carlson
9) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11H-Kerry Madsen
2) 14-Jason Meyers
3) 35-Jac Haudenschild
4) 21-Daryn Pittman
5) 11-Steve Kinser
6) 7S-Jason Sides
7) 4-Danny Smith
8) 12-Kevin Nouse
9) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 1-Sammy Swindell
2) R19-Jason Solwold
3) 55-Billy Alley
4) 10C-Jeremy Campbell
5) 11D-Dion Hindi
6) 12M-James Mosher
7) 16-Lee Stark
8) 11K-Tim Kaeding
9) W20-Greg Wilson
Heat 4 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 6-Tim Shaffer
2) 5C-Chad Hillier
3) 7-Craig Dollansky
4) D1-Justin Henderson
5) 20-Paul McMahan
6) 8K-Zach Chappell
7) 1x-Randy Hannagan
8) 28-Brian Paulus
Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 14-Jason Meyers
2) 9-Joey Saldana
3) 15-Donny Schatz
4) R19-Jason Solwold
5) 1-Sammy Swindell
6) 5C-Chad Hillier
7) 35-Jac Haudenschild
8) 2-Brooke Tatnell
9) 6-Tim Shaffer
10) 11H-Kerry Madsen
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 4-Danny Smith
2) 8K-Zach Chappell
3) 11K-Tim Kaeding
4) 1x-Randy Hannagan
5) 36-Jason Martin [$200]
6) 7S-Jason Sides [$180]
7) 28-Brian Paulus [$175]
8) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. [$160]
9) 12-Kevin Nouse [$150]
10) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [$150]
11) W20-Greg Wilson [$150]
12) 18-Brian Carlson [$150]
13) 3X-Chad Kemenah [$150]
14) 12M-James Mosher [$150]
15) 16-Lee Stark [$150]
A-main (35 laps) – Finishing Position, Car No., Driver Name, Starting Position, Money Won
1) 9-Joey Saldana [2] [$10,000]
2) 6-Tim Shaffer [9] [$5,500]
3) 15-Donny Schatz [3] [$3,200]
4) 1-Sammy Swindell [5] [$2,800]
5) 21-Daryn Pittman [21] [$2,500]
6) 11K-Tim Kaeding [11] [$2,300]
7) 2-Brooke Tatnell [8] [$2,200]
8) 83-Danny Lasoski [14] [$2,100]
9) 20-Paul McMahan [20] [$2,050]
10) 7-Craig Dollansky [12] [$2,000]
11) 4-Danny Smith [13] [$1,500]
12) 1x-Randy Hannagan [24] [$1,200]
13) 5C-Chad Hillier [6] [$1,100]
14) 11-Steve Kinser [18] [$1,050]
15) 14-Jason Meyers [1] [$1,000]
16) 11H-Kerry Madsen [10] [$900]
17) D1-Justin Henderson [16] [$800]
18) 36-Jason Martin [26] [$0]
19) 7S-Jason Sides [25] [$0]
20) 8K-Zach Chappell [23] [$800]
21) R19-Jason Solwold [4] [$800]
22) 10C-Jeremy Campbell [19] [$800]
23) 55-Billy Alley [22] [$800]
24) 11D-Dion Hindi [15] [$800]
25) 24-Terry McCarl [17] [$800]
26) 35-Jac Haudenschild [7] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Jason Meyers 1-20; Joey Saldana 21-25, 27-35; Donny Schatz, 26
Note: Jason Sides and Jason Martin took provisionals to start the A-Feature.
“GATEWAY FORD” ASA SUPER LATE MODEL (40 laps … $2,000-to-win)
1) Jimmy Owens #20; 2) Vic Hill #1; 3) Jeff Maupin #0; 4) Mike Smith #4; 5) Rick Rogers #44; 6) Steve Smith #3; 7) Mike Weeks #22; 8) Kerry Jones #6; 9) Bobby Giffin #97; 10) Tommy Kerr #4T; 11) Michael Jackson #Q; 12) Troy Eads #04j; 13) Randy Davidson #28; 14) Dan Tipton #12; 15) Chris Meadows #33; 16) Tony Schrimsher #12; 17) Rodney Kiker #25; 18) Mark Douglas #52; 19) Shane Roberts #32w; 20) Brandon Kinser #18; 21) Tommy Bailey #11; 22) Roger Best #007; 23) Jason Sizemore #22; 24) Todd Morrow #T1; 25) Stephen Rogers #144; 26) Herman Goddard #22 – Did Not Start: Anthony White #2x
“RAMEY FORD” CRATE LATE MODEL (25 laps)
1) Dale Ball #2; 2) Brad Hall #47; 3) Kenny Peeples Jr. #22; 4) Jerry Broyles #72; 5) Bobby Mays #19; 6) Austin Dillon #3; 7) Allen Champ #11c; 8) Shane Roberts #17s; 9) John King Jr. #11k; 10) Clint Solomon #36; 11) Warren McMahan #33; 12) Todd Brooks #T1; 13) Tony Trent #18; 14) Josh Henry #B00; 15) Luke Laney #9; 16) Brandon Taylor #55; 17) Van Lester #50; 18) Bill Tesch #300; 19) Joey Steele #97; 20) Logan Hickey #16; 21) Hugh “Wishbone” Scalf #56; 22) Joe “Dirt” Good #911; 23) Matt Long #25; 24) James Cole #5; 25) Brad Kenyon #98; 26) Kelly Glass #01
“LAWSON CHEVROLET” OPEN WHEEL MODIFIED (25 laps)
1) Chad Ogle #10; 2) Jerry Broyles #72; 3) Stanley Donahoo #00; 4) Robert Skinner #33; 5) Brad Dyer #34; 6) Larry James #j2; 7) Wayne James #4; 8) Aaron Ogle #181; 9) Billy Palmer #36; 10) Danny James #j4
“RUSTY WALLACE TOYOTA” HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)
1) Jesse Helton #28; 2) Phillip Nichols #33; 3) Dustin Shaver #7; 4) Robbie Jones #29; 5) Terry Stone #34; 6) Mike Kelley #8; 7) Robbie Woods #16; 8) Patrick Flannery #38; 9) Lester Massey #L1; 10) Dennis Metcalf #7; 11) Jason Light #5; 12) Ray Jarnigan #31; 13) Matt Letterman #49; 14) Robert “Monk” Ledford #41; 15) Roger Hunter #7-11; 16) Dale Reed #52; 17) Jon Cook #0z; 18) Mike Hodges #m2; 19) Jesse Wilder #79; 20) Jamie Whitt #1 – DNS: Chuck Johnson #17
“MASENGILL-MCCRARY CENTURY 21 REALTORS” MINI STOCK (20 laps)
1) Kevin Atwell #95; 2) Randy Lane #5; 3) Brent Hensley #70; 4) Kenny Absher #11; 5) Toby Jones #66; 6) Joey Allen #A00; 7) Jamie James #j5; 8) Nick Cole #63; 9) Steve Wykle #97; 10) Jonathan Ward #77; 11) Terry James #100; 12) Runah Henry #0; 13) Wayne Woodward #1; 14) Chuck McMahan #99; 15) Kurt Owens #7up – DNS: Shawn Henry #B00
Volunteer Speedway: (423) 235-5020
Track Office (Volunteer Tire): (423) 378-5942
Robert Walden-Public Relations Director: (423) 928-9644 [email protected]
Saldana flies to thrilling Volunteer Speedway World of Outlaws victory
By Robert Walden and Tony Veneziano (WoO PR)
BULLS GAP, Tenn. — “The Greatest Show On Dirt” brought fans out in record numbers Saturday night at Volunteer Speedway when Wild Wilma’s Fireworks presented the first-ever appearance at the track by the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. Associate sponsors of the inaugural visit by the World of Outlaws sprint cars were the Kingsport Times-News, Rusty Wallace Automotive Group, Pizza Plus and Young Oil Corp.
Joey Saldana of Brownsburg, Ind., thrilled the standing-room-only crowd during qualifying by running a fast lap of 11.696 seconds at 123.119 mph to establish a new overall track qualifying record. Thirteen of the 35 cars that timed-in dropped into the 11-second bracket.
The fans at “The Gap” had been waiting a long time for a World of Outlaws event. They received one on Saturday night, and it was one of the best races in the history of the track as Saldana picked up his second straight win and third of the season in a thrilling battle with Tim Shaffer and Donny Schatz.
Saldana inched out Shaffer at the finish line, as the pair exchanged slide jobs over the last several circuits of the 35-lap A-main. With the pair battling back and forth, the capacity crowd was on their feet as the veteran drivers each sought the top spot, with Schatz just inches behind.
Saldana took the white flag in the lead with Shaffer closely shadowing him. Saldana was committed to the top side of the track, while Shaffer made up plenty of ground on the bottom. Coming off the third and fourth turns, Shaffer inched ahead of Saldana, but with the momentum he had coming off the 32-degree banking in turn four, Saldana was able to win by 0.199 seconds and take home the $10,000 payday.
“That was a great race,” said Saldana, driver of the Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI. “I started running the top and stayed with it and it paid off. I may not have been the fastest car at the end, but I think I was the fastest car throughout the race. It was a good run for the team.”
The race began with Jason Meyers starting from the pole, leading the first 20 laps. On the 21st circuit, contact between Meyers and Schatz, as the latter went for the lead, forced Meyers to the infield pit work area, thus relinquishing the lead to Saldana. Schatz did a 360 but was able to keep going, and retained his spot in the running order after an inadvertent yellow flag was waved.
Saldana held the point for the next five laps, before Schatz charged around him at the start/finish line on lap 26. By the time the pair entered the second turn, Saldana had again surged back around the reigning series champion.
While they battled at the front, Shaffer, in the Casey’s General Stores Maxim powered his way from the ninth starting spot into the top-three. He patiently closed in on the duo in traffic.
“That was a blast,” said Shaffer, a native of Aliquippa, Penn. “We had a great race car and everything worked great. Everything seemed to go right tonight and it was a lot of fun.”
Schatz came home in the third spot, to earn his ninth top-five finish in the first 10 races of the season. He continues to lead the series championship standings, as he chases his second World of Outlaws crown.
“We had all of our chances, we just didn’t get long enough runs,” said Schatz, driver of the Parker Store J&J. “We needed to hit lapped traffic. And for whatever reason this new format doesn’t let us get to lapped traffic without having yellows. It’s just the time of the year when we are not getting long enough runs and not really hitting lapped traffic so we can race guys. It’s been kind of wide open race tracks. We just keep plugging away at it.”
Saldana tried some different lines early in the race, as he ran in the second spot. He found a very strong line toward the middle of the race that helped propel him to his second win at Volunteer Speedway. He won an event with the All Star Circuit of Champions at the high-banked oval in 1993.
“I think the traffic was good,” said Saldana. “The other guys were rolling through the middle well, and they were not running the top as well as me. It helped me get around the top and the lapped cars slowed those guys down some.”
On a night when his car owner, NASCAR star Kasey Kahne was the Grand Marshall of the event, Saldana made sure to send his owner home with a smile on his face, along with every fan that was in the crowd and witnessed the thrilling race.
“If they didn’t enjoy that one, they will never enjoy a sprint car race,” he commented. “Everyone was trying hard, and you did not know what would happen. That was definitely a ‘full-on’ sprint car race. Hopefully they all enjoyed it. From where I was sitting it was a blast.”
For Shaffer, his runner-up finish was his fourth top-five finish of the season. He got around Sammy Swindell on lap 17 to break into the top-five. From there, he gained another spot when Jason Solwold suffered a flat tire, and he then battled with Schatz for the second spot
“There was some great racing tonight and I am proud to be part of it,” said the 1999 series Rookie of the Year. “The car was great and that is what we need to keep going as the season progresses.”
While he wanted to be in the winner’s circle, Schatz was able to take solace in the fact that he was part of a historic night at Volunteer Speedway, as the World of Outlaws made their debut at the ultra-fast 4/10-mile oval before the largest crowd in the 30-plus year history of the facility.
“This is a pretty nice little place,” said the native of Fargo, N.D. “It was fun to be here and fun to race here, and what a crowd that was gathered here tonight. I just wish we would have finished a little better, but we’ll take our third-place effort because it’s still a good points finish for us.”
Three-time World of Outlaws champion Sammy Swindell finished a very solid fourth, in a home state race for the native of Germantown, Tenn. He began the night by turning in the seventh quickest lap in time trials, in only his second start of the season. He followed that up with a heat race win to earn a spot in the dash where he finished fifth.
Daryn Pittman passed more cars than anyone on the night, as he charged from 21st to fifth in the Titan Garages & Carports Maxim. In the early going he charged around Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski, before breaking into the top 10 and then the top-five. For the native of Owasso, Okla., it was his third top-five finish of the year, as he is currently third in points.
The rest of the top-10 was Tim Kaeding in sixth in the Steve Kinser Racing Maxim. Brooke Tatnell was seventh in the Volcano Joe’s Coffee Schnee. Danny Lasoski was eighth in the Roth Motorsports Eagle. Paul McMahan was ninth in the Bass Pro Shops Eagle, and Craig Dollansky was 10th in the Karavan Trailers Maxim.
In qualifying for the “Gateway Ford” ASA Super Late Model feature, Vic “The Thrill” Hill narrowly edged out Newport’s Jimmy Owens for the pole position. Hill ran a fast-lap of 12.492-seconds (115.274 mph) to Owens’ quick time of 12.493.
With 26 cars starting the 40 lap, $2,000-to-win feature … Hill and Owens ran side-by-side down the front straightaway at the drop of the green. But Owens rode the high-line around turns one and two and carrying the momentum off the second turn, he powered into the lead over Hill, with Mike Smith, Tommy Kerr and Jeff Maupin in tow.
Mike Weeks dropped under Maupin racing off turn two on the third lap to take away the fifth spot. With the front duo of Owens and Hill quickly closing in on the tail of the field to begin dropping cars down a lap, Hill pulled alongside of Owens on several occasions as they raced off the corners.
While Owens and Hill were mixing it up, Kerr was challenging Mike Smith for third in the running order. Racing off turn two on lap 11, Kerr sped past Mike Smith into the third spot, and in just a couple of laps he closed right on the rear bumper of Hill, who was shadowing the race leader Owens.
After falling back to sixth, Maupin began mounting a charge back towards the front as he got around Weeks to move into fifth on lap 12. Just one circuit later riding the high-groove around turns three and four, Maupin advanced one more position into fourth-place as he passed Mike Smith.
As the race reached the halfway point Owens had a rearview mirror full of Hill, with Kerr closely trailing in third, followed by Maupin and Mike Smith.
With the front-running trio of Owens, Hill and Kerr threatening to turn the race into a three-car runaway, from sixth back through 11th the battle between Weeks, Mark Douglas, Steve Smith, Rick Rogers, Kerry Jones and Bobby Giffin produced good, hard racing. Steve Smith was apply the heat on Douglas for the seventh position and, contact in turn four on lap 31 sent Douglas spinning and brought out the caution.
With a clear track ahead on the restart, Owens dropped the hammer on Hill when the race went back green, but Hill quickly closed the gap to remain in contention for the victory. With Kerr experiencing problems with just three laps to go, he first lost third to Maupin, then he started sliding even further back through the field.
But out front it was all Owens, as he held off Hill for the $2,000 victory. Finishing third through fifth, respectively, were Maupin, Mike Smith and Rogers.
Completing the top-10 at the checkers were Steve Smith, Weeks, Jones, Giffin and Kerr.
Brad Hall paced a stellar 26-car field of “Ramey Ford” Crate Late Model competitors in qualifying to earn the pole position for the 25-lap feature, but it was Dale Ball of Johnson City who proved to be the class of the field for the second straight race. From the outside of row one on the start, Ball rode the cushion up high around turns one and two and grabbed the lead from Hall, with Kenny Peeples Jr., Warren McMahan and Allen Champ rounding out the top five in the running order completing the opening lap.
On the second lap racing off the fourth turn, Champ worked below McMahan to take away the fourth spot. But three circuits later McMahan battled back to reclaim the position, also bringing along for the ride Jerry Broyles who moved into fifth place, dropping Champ back to sixth. With Ball flexing his muscle out front, back through the field behind the race leader the action was “fast and furious.”
Broyles was pressuring McMahan for fourth, while the battle from sixth back to 12th involving Champ, Bobby Mays, Austin Dillon, Shane Roberts Tony Trent and Todd Brooks was intense. On the ninth lap racing off turn two, Broyles got a strong run off the bottom to move past McMahan into fourth.
Ball withstood several restarts following cautions for spins and debris on the track to capture his second consecutive feature win, with Hall, Peeples Jr., Broyles and Mays rounding out the top five finishers.
Veteran racer Billy Palmer led the “Lawson Chevrolet” Open Wheel Modified field to the green flag from the pole position, with Jerry Broyles on the outside of row one. Palmer showed the way out front for the first six circuits before being passed between turns three and four by Broyles for the point. Palmer, Broyles and Wayne James on several occasions raced three-wide off the turns. But Palmer’s night ended early when he spun on lap 7, making contact with the outside wall entering the first turn.
Back under green a fierce battle was brewing among the top five of Broyles, Wayne James, Danny James, Stanley Donahoo and Chad Ogle. Ogle, from Sevierville – winner of the season-opener, was moving forward following a bad qualifying run which relegated him to starting last in the field.
Danny James got high on the track racing off the fourth turn and smacked the wall, causing enough damage to his car to send him into the pits for the remainder of the race. Just past halfway in the 25-lap event, Wayne James headed to the pits with mechanical problems to also end his night early and hopes of recording the feature win.
With Ogle getting around Donahoo to move into the runner-up position, his sights were set on the race leader Broyles. After knocking on the door on several occasions as they raced off the turns, finally on lap 17 Ogle got a strong run to power past Broyles into the lead.
Chasing Ogle to the checkers were Broyles, Donahoo, Robert Skinner (who was making his first-ever start at “The Gap”) and Brad Dyer.
After capturing his first-ever “Rusty Wallace Toyota” Hobby Stock feature win on opening night the first weekend in March, 17-year-old Cherokee High School senior Jesse Helton of Bulls Gap decided to double his pleasure and win two-in-a-row. Helton started on the outside of row one beside pole-sitter Dale Reed.
Reed jumped into the early lead and looked like he might be headed to his first career win, but unfortunately his hopes of victory went up in smoke when he was black-flagged while leading the race after his car began to dump fluid on the track. Helton assumed the lead near the mid-point in the 20-lapper, and although he was pressured until the checkered flag, the hard-charging “young gun” held off Phillip Nichols, defending divisional champion Dustin Shaver, Robbie Jones and Terry Stone for his second consecutive victory.
Rural Retreat, Va.’s Kevin Atwell posted a runner-up finish in the final point standings a couple of years ago while competing at Volunteer Speedway in the “Masengill-McCrary Century 21 Realtors” Mini Stock division, but until tonight he never earned a trip to victory lane. Atwell started the 20-lap feature from the inside of the second row, behind pole-sitter Randy Lane and outside front row starter Kurt Owens.
Atwell moved into the lead on the fifth lap and once out front he never looked back en route to capturing his first-ever feature win over Lane, Brent Hensley, Kenny Absher and Toby Jones.
1) 15-Donny Schatz
2) 9-Joey Saldana
3) 83-Danny Lasoski
4) 2-Brooke Tatnell
5) 24-Terry McCarl
6) 3X-Chad Kemenah
7) 36-Jason Martin
8) 18-Brian Carlson
9) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11H-Kerry Madsen
2) 14-Jason Meyers
3) 35-Jac Haudenschild
4) 21-Daryn Pittman
5) 11-Steve Kinser
6) 7S-Jason Sides
7) 4-Danny Smith
8) 12-Kevin Nouse
9) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 1-Sammy Swindell
2) R19-Jason Solwold
3) 55-Billy Alley
4) 10C-Jeremy Campbell
5) 11D-Dion Hindi
6) 12M-James Mosher
7) 16-Lee Stark
8) 11K-Tim Kaeding
9) W20-Greg Wilson
Heat 4 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 6-Tim Shaffer
2) 5C-Chad Hillier
3) 7-Craig Dollansky
4) D1-Justin Henderson
5) 20-Paul McMahan
6) 8K-Zach Chappell
7) 1x-Randy Hannagan
8) 28-Brian Paulus
Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 14-Jason Meyers
2) 9-Joey Saldana
3) 15-Donny Schatz
4) R19-Jason Solwold
5) 1-Sammy Swindell
6) 5C-Chad Hillier
7) 35-Jac Haudenschild
8) 2-Brooke Tatnell
9) 6-Tim Shaffer
10) 11H-Kerry Madsen
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 4-Danny Smith
2) 8K-Zach Chappell
3) 11K-Tim Kaeding
4) 1x-Randy Hannagan
5) 36-Jason Martin [$200]
6) 7S-Jason Sides [$180]
7) 28-Brian Paulus [$175]
8) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. [$160]
9) 12-Kevin Nouse [$150]
10) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [$150]
11) W20-Greg Wilson [$150]
12) 18-Brian Carlson [$150]
13) 3X-Chad Kemenah [$150]
14) 12M-James Mosher [$150]
15) 16-Lee Stark [$150]
A-main (35 laps) – Finishing Position, Car No., Driver Name, Starting Position, Money Won
1) 9-Joey Saldana [2] [$10,000]
2) 6-Tim Shaffer [9] [$5,500]
3) 15-Donny Schatz [3] [$3,200]
4) 1-Sammy Swindell [5] [$2,800]
5) 21-Daryn Pittman [21] [$2,500]
6) 11K-Tim Kaeding [11] [$2,300]
7) 2-Brooke Tatnell [8] [$2,200]
8) 83-Danny Lasoski [14] [$2,100]
9) 20-Paul McMahan [20] [$2,050]
10) 7-Craig Dollansky [12] [$2,000]
11) 4-Danny Smith [13] [$1,500]
12) 1x-Randy Hannagan [24] [$1,200]
13) 5C-Chad Hillier [6] [$1,100]
14) 11-Steve Kinser [18] [$1,050]
15) 14-Jason Meyers [1] [$1,000]
16) 11H-Kerry Madsen [10] [$900]
17) D1-Justin Henderson [16] [$800]
18) 36-Jason Martin [26] [$0]
19) 7S-Jason Sides [25] [$0]
20) 8K-Zach Chappell [23] [$800]
21) R19-Jason Solwold [4] [$800]
22) 10C-Jeremy Campbell [19] [$800]
23) 55-Billy Alley [22] [$800]
24) 11D-Dion Hindi [15] [$800]
25) 24-Terry McCarl [17] [$800]
26) 35-Jac Haudenschild [7] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Jason Meyers 1-20; Joey Saldana 21-25, 27-35; Donny Schatz, 26
Note: Jason Sides and Jason Martin took provisionals to start the A-Feature.
“GATEWAY FORD” ASA SUPER LATE MODEL (40 laps … $2,000-to-win)
1) Jimmy Owens #20; 2) Vic Hill #1; 3) Jeff Maupin #0; 4) Mike Smith #4; 5) Rick Rogers #44; 6) Steve Smith #3; 7) Mike Weeks #22; 8) Kerry Jones #6; 9) Bobby Giffin #97; 10) Tommy Kerr #4T; 11) Michael Jackson #Q; 12) Troy Eads #04j; 13) Randy Davidson #28; 14) Dan Tipton #12; 15) Chris Meadows #33; 16) Tony Schrimsher #12; 17) Rodney Kiker #25; 18) Mark Douglas #52; 19) Shane Roberts #32w; 20) Brandon Kinser #18; 21) Tommy Bailey #11; 22) Roger Best #007; 23) Jason Sizemore #22; 24) Todd Morrow #T1; 25) Stephen Rogers #144; 26) Herman Goddard #22 – Did Not Start: Anthony White #2x
“RAMEY FORD” CRATE LATE MODEL (25 laps)
1) Dale Ball #2; 2) Brad Hall #47; 3) Kenny Peeples Jr. #22; 4) Jerry Broyles #72; 5) Bobby Mays #19; 6) Austin Dillon #3; 7) Allen Champ #11c; 8) Shane Roberts #17s; 9) John King Jr. #11k; 10) Clint Solomon #36; 11) Warren McMahan #33; 12) Todd Brooks #T1; 13) Tony Trent #18; 14) Josh Henry #B00; 15) Luke Laney #9; 16) Brandon Taylor #55; 17) Van Lester #50; 18) Bill Tesch #300; 19) Joey Steele #97; 20) Logan Hickey #16; 21) Hugh “Wishbone” Scalf #56; 22) Joe “Dirt” Good #911; 23) Matt Long #25; 24) James Cole #5; 25) Brad Kenyon #98; 26) Kelly Glass #01
“LAWSON CHEVROLET” OPEN WHEEL MODIFIED (25 laps)
1) Chad Ogle #10; 2) Jerry Broyles #72; 3) Stanley Donahoo #00; 4) Robert Skinner #33; 5) Brad Dyer #34; 6) Larry James #j2; 7) Wayne James #4; 8) Aaron Ogle #181; 9) Billy Palmer #36; 10) Danny James #j4
“RUSTY WALLACE TOYOTA” HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)
1) Jesse Helton #28; 2) Phillip Nichols #33; 3) Dustin Shaver #7; 4) Robbie Jones #29; 5) Terry Stone #34; 6) Mike Kelley #8; 7) Robbie Woods #16; 8) Patrick Flannery #38; 9) Lester Massey #L1; 10) Dennis Metcalf #7; 11) Jason Light #5; 12) Ray Jarnigan #31; 13) Matt Letterman #49; 14) Robert “Monk” Ledford #41; 15) Roger Hunter #7-11; 16) Dale Reed #52; 17) Jon Cook #0z; 18) Mike Hodges #m2; 19) Jesse Wilder #79; 20) Jamie Whitt #1 – DNS: Chuck Johnson #17
“MASENGILL-MCCRARY CENTURY 21 REALTORS” MINI STOCK (20 laps)
1) Kevin Atwell #95; 2) Randy Lane #5; 3) Brent Hensley #70; 4) Kenny Absher #11; 5) Toby Jones #66; 6) Joey Allen #A00; 7) Jamie James #j5; 8) Nick Cole #63; 9) Steve Wykle #97; 10) Jonathan Ward #77; 11) Terry James #100; 12) Runah Henry #0; 13) Wayne Woodward #1; 14) Chuck McMahan #99; 15) Kurt Owens #7up – DNS: Shawn Henry #B00
Volunteer Speedway: (423) 235-5020
Track Office (Volunteer Tire): (423) 378-5942
Robert Walden-Public Relations Director: (423) 928-9644 [email protected]
Saldana flies to thrilling Volunteer Speedway World of Outlaws victory
By Robert Walden and Tony Veneziano (WoO PR)
BULLS GAP, Tenn. — “The Greatest Show On Dirt” brought fans out in record numbers Saturday night at Volunteer Speedway when Wild Wilma’s Fireworks presented the first-ever appearance at the track by the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. Associate sponsors of the inaugural visit by the World of Outlaws sprint cars were the Kingsport Times-News, Rusty Wallace Automotive Group, Pizza Plus and Young Oil Corp.
Joey Saldana of Brownsburg, Ind., thrilled the standing-room-only crowd during qualifying by running a fast lap of 11.696 seconds at 123.119 mph to establish a new overall track qualifying record. Thirteen of the 35 cars that timed-in dropped into the 11-second bracket.
The fans at “The Gap” had been waiting a long time for a World of Outlaws event. They received one on Saturday night, and it was one of the best races in the history of the track as Saldana picked up his second straight win and third of the season in a thrilling battle with Tim Shaffer and Donny Schatz.
Saldana inched out Shaffer at the finish line, as the pair exchanged slide jobs over the last several circuits of the 35-lap A-main. With the pair battling back and forth, the capacity crowd was on their feet as the veteran drivers each sought the top spot, with Schatz just inches behind.
Saldana took the white flag in the lead with Shaffer closely shadowing him. Saldana was committed to the top side of the track, while Shaffer made up plenty of ground on the bottom. Coming off the third and fourth turns, Shaffer inched ahead of Saldana, but with the momentum he had coming off the 32-degree banking in turn four, Saldana was able to win by 0.199 seconds and take home the $10,000 payday.
“That was a great race,” said Saldana, driver of the Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI. “I started running the top and stayed with it and it paid off. I may not have been the fastest car at the end, but I think I was the fastest car throughout the race. It was a good run for the team.”
The race began with Jason Meyers starting from the pole, leading the first 20 laps. On the 21st circuit, contact between Meyers and Schatz, as the latter went for the lead, forced Meyers to the infield pit work area, thus relinquishing the lead to Saldana. Schatz did a 360 but was able to keep going, and retained his spot in the running order after an inadvertent yellow flag was waved.
Saldana held the point for the next five laps, before Schatz charged around him at the start/finish line on lap 26. By the time the pair entered the second turn, Saldana had again surged back around the reigning series champion.
While they battled at the front, Shaffer, in the Casey’s General Stores Maxim powered his way from the ninth starting spot into the top-three. He patiently closed in on the duo in traffic.
“That was a blast,” said Shaffer, a native of Aliquippa, Penn. “We had a great race car and everything worked great. Everything seemed to go right tonight and it was a lot of fun.”
Schatz came home in the third spot, to earn his ninth top-five finish in the first 10 races of the season. He continues to lead the series championship standings, as he chases his second World of Outlaws crown.
“We had all of our chances, we just didn’t get long enough runs,” said Schatz, driver of the Parker Store J&J. “We needed to hit lapped traffic. And for whatever reason this new format doesn’t let us get to lapped traffic without having yellows. It’s just the time of the year when we are not getting long enough runs and not really hitting lapped traffic so we can race guys. It’s been kind of wide open race tracks. We just keep plugging away at it.”
Saldana tried some different lines early in the race, as he ran in the second spot. He found a very strong line toward the middle of the race that helped propel him to his second win at Volunteer Speedway. He won an event with the All Star Circuit of Champions at the high-banked oval in 1993.
“I think the traffic was good,” said Saldana. “The other guys were rolling through the middle well, and they were not running the top as well as me. It helped me get around the top and the lapped cars slowed those guys down some.”
On a night when his car owner, NASCAR star Kasey Kahne was the Grand Marshall of the event, Saldana made sure to send his owner home with a smile on his face, along with every fan that was in the crowd and witnessed the thrilling race.
“If they didn’t enjoy that one, they will never enjoy a sprint car race,” he commented. “Everyone was trying hard, and you did not know what would happen. That was definitely a ‘full-on’ sprint car race. Hopefully they all enjoyed it. From where I was sitting it was a blast.”
For Shaffer, his runner-up finish was his fourth top-five finish of the season. He got around Sammy Swindell on lap 17 to break into the top-five. From there, he gained another spot when Jason Solwold suffered a flat tire, and he then battled with Schatz for the second spot
“There was some great racing tonight and I am proud to be part of it,” said the 1999 series Rookie of the Year. “The car was great and that is what we need to keep going as the season progresses.”
While he wanted to be in the winner’s circle, Schatz was able to take solace in the fact that he was part of a historic night at Volunteer Speedway, as the World of Outlaws made their debut at the ultra-fast 4/10-mile oval before the largest crowd in the 30-plus year history of the facility.
“This is a pretty nice little place,” said the native of Fargo, N.D. “It was fun to be here and fun to race here, and what a crowd that was gathered here tonight. I just wish we would have finished a little better, but we’ll take our third-place effort because it’s still a good points finish for us.”
Three-time World of Outlaws champion Sammy Swindell finished a very solid fourth, in a home state race for the native of Germantown, Tenn. He began the night by turning in the seventh quickest lap in time trials, in only his second start of the season. He followed that up with a heat race win to earn a spot in the dash where he finished fifth.
Daryn Pittman passed more cars than anyone on the night, as he charged from 21st to fifth in the Titan Garages & Carports Maxim. In the early going he charged around Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski, before breaking into the top 10 and then the top-five. For the native of Owasso, Okla., it was his third top-five finish of the year, as he is currently third in points.
The rest of the top-10 was Tim Kaeding in sixth in the Steve Kinser Racing Maxim. Brooke Tatnell was seventh in the Volcano Joe’s Coffee Schnee. Danny Lasoski was eighth in the Roth Motorsports Eagle. Paul McMahan was ninth in the Bass Pro Shops Eagle, and Craig Dollansky was 10th in the Karavan Trailers Maxim.
In qualifying for the “Gateway Ford” ASA Super Late Model feature, Vic “The Thrill” Hill narrowly edged out Newport’s Jimmy Owens for the pole position. Hill ran a fast-lap of 12.492-seconds (115.274 mph) to Owens’ quick time of 12.493.
With 26 cars starting the 40 lap, $2,000-to-win feature … Hill and Owens ran side-by-side down the front straightaway at the drop of the green. But Owens rode the high-line around turns one and two and carrying the momentum off the second turn, he powered into the lead over Hill, with Mike Smith, Tommy Kerr and Jeff Maupin in tow.
Mike Weeks dropped under Maupin racing off turn two on the third lap to take away the fifth spot. With the front duo of Owens and Hill quickly closing in on the tail of the field to begin dropping cars down a lap, Hill pulled alongside of Owens on several occasions as they raced off the corners.
While Owens and Hill were mixing it up, Kerr was challenging Mike Smith for third in the running order. Racing off turn two on lap 11, Kerr sped past Mike Smith into the third spot, and in just a couple of laps he closed right on the rear bumper of Hill, who was shadowing the race leader Owens.
After falling back to sixth, Maupin began mounting a charge back towards the front as he got around Weeks to move into fifth on lap 12. Just one circuit later riding the high-groove around turns three and four, Maupin advanced one more position into fourth-place as he passed Mike Smith.
As the race reached the halfway point Owens had a rearview mirror full of Hill, with Kerr closely trailing in third, followed by Maupin and Mike Smith.
With the front-running trio of Owens, Hill and Kerr threatening to turn the race into a three-car runaway, from sixth back through 11th the battle between Weeks, Mark Douglas, Steve Smith, Rick Rogers, Kerry Jones and Bobby Giffin produced good, hard racing. Steve Smith was apply the heat on Douglas for the seventh position and, contact in turn four on lap 31 sent Douglas spinning and brought out the caution.
With a clear track ahead on the restart, Owens dropped the hammer on Hill when the race went back green, but Hill quickly closed the gap to remain in contention for the victory. With Kerr experiencing problems with just three laps to go, he first lost third to Maupin, then he started sliding even further back through the field.
But out front it was all Owens, as he held off Hill for the $2,000 victory. Finishing third through fifth, respectively, were Maupin, Mike Smith and Rogers.
Completing the top-10 at the checkers were Steve Smith, Weeks, Jones, Giffin and Kerr.
Brad Hall paced a stellar 26-car field of “Ramey Ford” Crate Late Model competitors in qualifying to earn the pole position for the 25-lap feature, but it was Dale Ball of Johnson City who proved to be the class of the field for the second straight race. From the outside of row one on the start, Ball rode the cushion up high around turns one and two and grabbed the lead from Hall, with Kenny Peeples Jr., Warren McMahan and Allen Champ rounding out the top five in the running order completing the opening lap.
On the second lap racing off the fourth turn, Champ worked below McMahan to take away the fourth spot. But three circuits later McMahan battled back to reclaim the position, also bringing along for the ride Jerry Broyles who moved into fifth place, dropping Champ back to sixth. With Ball flexing his muscle out front, back through the field behind the race leader the action was “fast and furious.”
Broyles was pressuring McMahan for fourth, while the battle from sixth back to 12th involving Champ, Bobby Mays, Austin Dillon, Shane Roberts Tony Trent and Todd Brooks was intense. On the ninth lap racing off turn two, Broyles got a strong run off the bottom to move past McMahan into fourth.
Ball withstood several restarts following cautions for spins and debris on the track to capture his second consecutive feature win, with Hall, Peeples Jr., Broyles and Mays rounding out the top five finishers.
Veteran racer Billy Palmer led the “Lawson Chevrolet” Open Wheel Modified field to the green flag from the pole position, with Jerry Broyles on the outside of row one. Palmer showed the way out front for the first six circuits before being passed between turns three and four by Broyles for the point. Palmer, Broyles and Wayne James on several occasions raced three-wide off the turns. But Palmer’s night ended early when he spun on lap 7, making contact with the outside wall entering the first turn.
Back under green a fierce battle was brewing among the top five of Broyles, Wayne James, Danny James, Stanley Donahoo and Chad Ogle. Ogle, from Sevierville – winner of the season-opener, was moving forward following a bad qualifying run which relegated him to starting last in the field.
Danny James got high on the track racing off the fourth turn and smacked the wall, causing enough damage to his car to send him into the pits for the remainder of the race. Just past halfway in the 25-lap event, Wayne James headed to the pits with mechanical problems to also end his night early and hopes of recording the feature win.
With Ogle getting around Donahoo to move into the runner-up position, his sights were set on the race leader Broyles. After knocking on the door on several occasions as they raced off the turns, finally on lap 17 Ogle got a strong run to power past Broyles into the lead.
Chasing Ogle to the checkers were Broyles, Donahoo, Robert Skinner (who was making his first-ever start at “The Gap”) and Brad Dyer.
After capturing his first-ever “Rusty Wallace Toyota” Hobby Stock feature win on opening night the first weekend in March, 17-year-old Cherokee High School senior Jesse Helton of Bulls Gap decided to double his pleasure and win two-in-a-row. Helton started on the outside of row one beside pole-sitter Dale Reed.
Reed jumped into the early lead and looked like he might be headed to his first career win, but unfortunately his hopes of victory went up in smoke when he was black-flagged while leading the race after his car began to dump fluid on the track. Helton assumed the lead near the mid-point in the 20-lapper, and although he was pressured until the checkered flag, the hard-charging “young gun” held off Phillip Nichols, defending divisional champion Dustin Shaver, Robbie Jones and Terry Stone for his second consecutive victory.
Rural Retreat, Va.’s Kevin Atwell posted a runner-up finish in the final point standings a couple of years ago while competing at Volunteer Speedway in the “Masengill-McCrary Century 21 Realtors” Mini Stock division, but until tonight he never earned a trip to victory lane. Atwell started the 20-lap feature from the inside of the second row, behind pole-sitter Randy Lane and outside front row starter Kurt Owens.
Atwell moved into the lead on the fifth lap and once out front he never looked back en route to capturing his first-ever feature win over Lane, Brent Hensley, Kenny Absher and Toby Jones.