New paint, same finish for Lasoski at Kings Speedway

By Craig Murphy

HANFORD, Calif. – Not far from car owner Dennis Roth’s Fresno home, Danny Lasoski ran a mostly black paint scheme Tuesday night Sept. 5 as a tribute to Roth’s father.

    New paint or not, the car looked much like it has lately: fast and out front.

    Lasoski easily claimed his 10th National Sprint Tour win of the year, this coming at Kings Speedway.

    Lasoski and fellow trophy dash winner Dean Jacobs started on the front row for the 30-lap main event, with Jacobs choosing to start on the outside.

    “I knew he picked the right line to start,” said Lasoski, who extended his points lead. “I figured I was in trouble.”

    Not for long.

    After the initial start was called off for Jonathan Allard’s turn 3 tumble, Jacobs took the lead but was hounded by Lasoski. Following a few attempts, Lasoski got by on lap 5 while Stevie Smith also getting by Jacobs to take second.

    While Lasoski cruised around the recently reopened 3/8-mile oval, there was plenty of action going on behind him to entertain the near-capacity crowd.

    Allard wasn’t the only NST California native having a tough night. Fellow Golden State drivers Jason Meyers and Tim Kaeding got a little close for comfort while battling for third place, with Meyers dropping back several spots. Kaeding dropped back further when he spun on lap 17.

    It was merely the latest saga of the night for Meyers, whose team promoted the race at his home track. He had to race a back-up car after hot laps, which were literally that as his primary car caught fire.

    Later, Meyers had to argue his case after finishing sixth in his heat race. Only the top five from the heats advanced to the A-Main, and one of those finishers in Meyers’ heat race, Peter Murphy, was disqualified for losing his muffler.

    Meyers was eventually moved up to the fifth and final transfer spot, which also allowed him to compete in the second trophy dash.

    “Sometimes the breaks go your way,” Meyers said.

    He finished second in that event, and came back to finish sixth in the main.

    “This place has always been a gremlin to me,” said the native of Clovis, Calif. “We had a fuel leak, and the car caught on fire so we had to go to the back-up car. That’s the first time that has ever happened to me.

    Meyers, who was glad to see the healthy turnout, placed blame for his main event incident on Kaeding.

    “He run into the back of me,” Meyers said. “But we had a good car. I got back through some of the traffic.”

    Having a better car was Lasoski, who has won three of the last four NST races following his sweep in Elma, Wash. late last month.

    “It’s because our guys are working hard, and because of our Kistler engine program,” said Lasoski, who was not seriously challenged once up front. “We come into every race with a good attitude.”

    That was especially the case Tuesday night, so close to the Roth home.

    “It’s fantastic,” Lasoski said. “This area is home to Dennis Roth. It’s great to come to the West Coast and run so well for him.”

    Even with the strong mount underneath him, Lasoski wasn’t comfortable following the final restart with 11 laps to go.

    “You’re always concerned when you’ve got NST guys behind you,” he said.

    Jason Solwold finished second with Smith, Steve Kinser and Kerry Madsen – returning his Knoxville patriotic paint scheme to the track near his Selma Shell Team’s home – rounding out the top-five.

    Rounding out the top-10 were Meyers, teammate Ronnie Day, Jacobs, Paul McMahan and Brian Paulus.

    “I was just patient enough to wait for a few of those guys to get out of the groove,” said Solwold, who gained a couple of spots when Meyers and Kaeding tangled. “We needed that run. We’ve struggled the last few weeks. We just weren’t racing that well, so second is a great finish.

    “We’ve been off on the car, and the driver has been a little off,” Solwold added. “I think we got back on track.”

    On more than one occasion, Solwold used the high line coming to restarts to gain positions.

    “That was working really well,” he said. “I could get a good run up there. Everyone was running the bottom.”

    Solwold felt Lasoski had the better car as the laps wound down.

    “If we had got a lot closer, maybe we could have done something with him in traffic,” Solwold said. “But we were a straightaway behind him. We didn’t have anything for him there, except for restarts.”

    Smith was willing to take third after intense battles on an evening when temperatures hovered around 100 degrees in the afternoon.

    “I tried everything I could, and I still came up short,” Smith said. “It seems like the harder I raced, the slower I went. There was a lot of pretty hard racing going on out there. We got a third, so it could be a lot worse.”

    Kinser finished fourth after a brief and tight battle with Smith on a restart.

    “It was just a so-so run, that’s all you can say,” Kinser said. “It wasn’t much of a battle. I just sort of hung in there.”

    Heat races were won by Robert Ballou, Brent Kaeding, McMahan and Paulus. Blake Robertson was the fastest of 35 qualifiers with a time of 12.769 seconds. The B-main was won by Peter Murphy.

    The NST next races Sept. 15-16 with a doubleheader at Sweetwater Speedway in Rock Springs, Wyo.

 

National Sprint Tour at Kings Speedway results

Hanford, Calif.

Sept. 5, 2006

Qualifying Results

1   Blake Robertson 15X   12.769
2   TIM KAEDING 11K   12.861
3   JASON SOLWOLD R19   12.890
4   JONATHAN ALLARD 0   12.896
5   STEVIE SMITH 19   12.904
6   CHAD HILLIER 5   13.006
7   STEVE KINSER 11   13.023
8   JASON MEYERS 14   13.039
9   Andy Gregg 46   13.052
10   JASON SIDES 7S   13.057
11   Ricci Faria 89   13.066
12   DEAN JACOBS 6   13.074
13   DANNY LASOSKI 83    13.078
14   KERRY MADSEN 11H   13.132
15   SHANE STEWART 26   13.140
16   Ronnie Day 1   13.145
17  
Robert Ballou 12    13.170
18   Brent Kaeding 69   13.175
19   PAUL McMAHAN 20   13.203
20   BRIAN PAULUS 28   13.212
21  
Tommy Tarlton 21   13.266
22  
Brian Coelho 5C    13.371
23  
Craig Stidham 3    13.391
24   Peter Murphy 1K   13.428
25   Garrett Ishii 71G    13.541
26   Jon Maiwald 6M    13.588
27   Danny Faria Jr 17V    13.725
28   Matt Shelton 44    13.729
29   TRAVIS RILAT 29    13.805
30   Mark Workentine 6W    13.985
31   Geoff Duppman 96    14.075
32   Mike Stallings 83M     14.091
33   Mark Barroso 78     14.563
34   Rick McCormick 98X     14.644
35   Brandon Wimmer 15     No Time

 

Heat One Finish

1  Robert Ballou, 12

2  Tommy Tarlton, 21 

3  DANNY LASOSKI, 83

4  Blake Robertson, 15X

5  STEVIE SMITH, 19

6  Andy Gregg, 46

7  Garrett Ishii, 71G

8  Mark Barroso, 78

9  TRAVIS RILAT, 29

 

Heat Two Finish

1  Brent Kaeding, 69

2  TIM KAEDING, 11K

3  JASON SIDES, 7S

4  KERRY MADSEN, 11H

5  CHAD HILLIER, 5

6  Brian Coehlo, 5C

7  Jon Maiwald, 6M

8  Rick McCormick, 96X

9  Mark Workentine, 6W

 

Heat Three Finish

1  PAUL McMAHAN, 20

2  Craig Stidham, 3

3  SHANE STEWART, 26

4  JASON SOLWOLD, R19

5  STEVE KINSER, 11

6  Ricci Faria, 89

7  Danny Faria Jr., 17V

8  Geoff Duppman, 96

 

Heat Four Finish

1  BRIAN PAULUS, 28

2  DEAN JACOBS, 6

3  Ronnie Day, 1

4  JONATHAN ALLARD, 0

5  JASON MEYERS, 14

6  Matt Shelton, 44

7  Mike Stallings, 83M

8  Peter Murphy, 1K

 

** 1K is disqualified for losing his muffler during the heat, a mandatory rule in the state of California

 

Dash One Line-Up

7S   -  83

15X -  19

11   -  R19

 

Dash One Finish

1  DANNY LASOSKI, 83

2  STEVIE SMITH, 19

3  JASON SOLWOLD, R19

4  JASON SIDES, 7S

5  STEVE KINSER, 11

6  Blake Robertson, 15X

 

Dash Two Line-Up

0     -  6

5     -  14

11H -  11K

 

Dash Two Finish

1  DEAN JACOBS, 6

2  JASON MEYERS, 14

3  JONATHAN ALLARD, 0

4  TIM KAEDING, 11K

5  CHAD HILLIER, 5

6  KERRY MADSEN, 11H

 

B-Main Finish

1  Peter Murphy, 1K
2  TRAVIS RILAT, 29
3  Garrett Ishii, 71G
4  Andy Gregg, 46
5  Danny Faria Jr, 17V
6  
Brian Coelho, 5C
7  Geoff Duppman, 96
8  Jon Maiwald, 6M
9  Mark Barraso, 78
10  Matt Shelton, 44
11  Rick McCormick, 96X
12  Mark Workentine, 6W
13  Mike Stallings, 83M

 

A-Feature Line-up

83   -  6

19   -  14

R19 -  0

7S   -  11K

11   -  5

15X -  11H

46   -  26

1     -  12

69   -  20

28   -  21

3     -  1K

71G -  29

 

A-Feature Finish

1 DANNY LASOSKI 83
2 JASON SOLWOLD R19
3 STEVIE SMITH 19
4 STEVE KINSER 11
5 KERRY MADSEN 11H
6 JASON MEYERS 14
7 Ronnie Day 1
8 DEAN JACOBS 6
9 PAUL McMAHAN 20
10 BRIAN PAULUS 28
11 JASON SIDES 7S
12 TIM KAEDING 11K
13 SHANE STEWART 26
14 Brent Kaeding 69
15 
Tommy Tarlton 21
16 CHAD HILLIER 5
17 
Robert Ballou 12
18 TRAVIS RILAT 29
19 
Blake Robertson 15X
20 
Craig Stidham 3
21 Peter Murphy 1K
22 Andy Gregg 46
23 Garrett Ishii 71G
24 JONATHAN ALLARD 0