Joey Saldana wins, 04/22/03, World of Outlaws, sprint cars, hammerdown

Saldana Ends Frustration at Powercom Park By Richard Day BEAVER DAM, WI (April 22) – Until Tuesday at The Raceway at Powercom Park, Joey Saldana was frustrated with the O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series’ 25th Anniversary Season. The 1996 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year followed the advice of Lee Osborne, who won four "A" Features between 1980 and 1982, and drove the #17 Eagle Raceway MCI into victory lane for the first time this season.

"This feels awesome!" Saldana yelled to the capacity crowd. "I thought we had a race won in Magnolia (MS, Pike County Speedway), but the engine broke under caution. This year has been nothing but frustration so far. Maybe this is a sign that we’ve finally figured something out with this weight deal. We’ve seemed to struggle trying to get the car right. I called Lee Osborne this week, and he helped us out a lot with the car. I have to thank Lee and (crew chief) Davey Whitworth for listening to Lee. Eagle Raceway, HemSaw and Joe Saldana – that’s Saldana Motorsports, and that’s what keeps us out here."

Shane Stewart, who passed Brian Paulus for the lead during the 15th lap, slowed behind Greg Wilson seven laps later, allowing Saldana to pass him for the $10,000 victory. Saldana is the ninth driver to win an O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series main event this season. Saldana, the eighth-fastest qualifier in the 45-car field, earned the privilege of starting the 40-lap "A" Feature outside the third row by following Paulus and Stewart across the finish line in the Second Dash Race.

Paulus drove P and P Motorsports’ #28 Verdelli Farms Maxim past pole-sitter Kraig Kinser as the green flag fell in the main event. Stewart took the high line around Kinser in turn two several seconds later. Saldana used an inside move between the third and fourth corners to pass Kinser for third place late in lap six. Stewart and Saldana raced wheel-to-wheel with Paulus nine laps later, and Stewart drove the #4M MIN Motorsports MCI into the lead. Saldana passed Paulus for second place with an inside in turn four late in the 16th lap. Steve Kinser surrendered eighth place the next time around when he stopped his #11 Quaker State Maxim with a flat right rear tire.

Jac Haudenschild, who raced into sixth place from outside the ninth row during the first 15 laps, lost five positions when he lost traction in the second corner as the race resumed. Stewart was 15 car-lengths ahead of Saldana when he entered lapped traffic midway through the race. Saldana caught Stewart in dense traffic two laps later, however, and took the lead deep in turn three. Fuel line problems in the #11H Vivarin Maxim forced Jeff Shepard to stop in the first corner early in lap 23. Steve Meyer spun in turn two as the race resumed, bringing out the caution flag again.

Kraig Kinser lost third place late in the 24th lap as he spun in the fourth corner after debris injured his ankle. Kinser walked to the ambulance where the onsite safety crew treated him. "The Wild Child" started racing toward the front again following the caution period, passing Daryn Pittman and Paulus during the 25th and 26th laps to claim fourth place. Saldana was a straightaway ahead of Stewart when he caught the back-markers during lap 28. Stewart caught him in dense lapped traffic seven laps later, however.

Saldana extended his advantage to 10 car-lengths within two laps, and took the checkered flag with five car-lengths to spare. "We put on a little bigger tire, and when I got behind the slower cars I had to get out of the throttle because the car would get really tight," Saldana explained. "The last few laps I was just trying no to do anything stupid, but I could feel the car getting tighter and I knew someone would be coming. I knew I had a pretty good race car. Earlier in the race I tried moving around on the track and the car felt good anywhere I tried to put it, so I knew they’d have a tough time getting around me."

Craig Dollansky finished in third place, ahead of Haudenschild, Pittman, Shepard, Paulus, O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series points leader Danny Lasoski, 19th-starting Donny Schatz and Jason Sides. Randy Hannagan won the "B" Feature and drove TH Racing’s #1X K&C Drywall Rocket past 10 cars to finish 13th in the main event. Lasoski set quick time for the seventh time this season, driving defending NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart’s #20 J.D. Byrider Eagle around the high-banked, 1/3-mile oval in 12.240 seconds, an average speed of 98.039 M.P.H. WoO

2003 O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series The Raceway at Powercom Park, Beaver Dam, WI Tuesday, April 22, Feature Program #14

Qualifying: 1. Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20, 12.240; 2. Brian Paulus, P and P Motorsports 28, 12.324; 3. Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 12.618; 4. Kim Mock, Osborn/Mock 1M, 12.745; 5. Daryn Pittman, Sher-Don Motorsports 21, 12.880; 6. Shane Stewart, Chilcutt 4M, 13.173; 7. Craig Dollansky, Karavan Racing 7, 13.198; 8. Joey Saldana, Saldana 17, 13.220; 9. Scott Biertzer, Hass Racing 4, 13.237; 10. Kelly Kinser, Kinser 4K, 13.276; 11. Jeff Shepard, Helm 11H, 13.289; 12. Tom Busch, Busch 4B, 13.297; 13. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 13.320; 14. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 13.330; 15. Greg Wilson, Hampshire 63, 13.350; 16. Steve Meyer, Meyer 85M, 13.376; 17. Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 13.395; 18. Jac Haudenschild, Forbrook 5, 13.437; 19. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 13.487; 20. Brian Kristan, Kristan 5K, 13.551; 21. Jason Johnson, Johnson 4, 13.567; 22. Travis Whitney, Cowman 02, 13.593; 23. Bill Warren, Warren 95, 13.659; 24. Jonathan Allard, Wright 35W, 13.679; 25. Randy Hannagan, TH Racing 1X, 13.701; 26. Joe Roe, Roe 61, 13.721; 27. Dave Uttech, Uttech 68, 13.760; 28. Wayne Modjeski, NMZ Motorsports 77, 13.800; 29. Todd Hepfner, Hepfner 28, 13.830; 30. Mike Kertscher, Osborn 80K, 13.849; 31. Bob Bennett, Acme Trailers 3, 13.858; 32. Tim Vandervere, Vandervere 7V, 13.908; 33. John Haeni, King 21J, 13.933; 34. Scott Neitzel, Neitzel 2W, 14.047; 35. Kurt Winker, Hartnell 48, 14.053; 36. Dave Enders, ELKS Racing 51E, 14.059; 37. Ty Bartz, Snapper Motorsports 75, 14.090; 38. Bill Wirth, Wirth 53W, 14.128; 39. Todd King, King 97, 14.266; 40. Kurt Davis, Fattfro Racing 6K, 14.296; 41. John Edquist, Edquist 27, 14.473; 42. Scott Uttech, Uttech 7U, 14.545; 43. Tim Haddy, Haddy 21H, 14.858; 44. Dave Lisowe, Snapper Motorsports 76, 14.948; 45. Rusty Egan, Egan 50, 19.339.

First Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Jonathan Allard, 2. Jason Sides, 3. Scott Biertzer, 4. Danny Lasoski, 5. Joey Saldana, 6. Randy Hannagan, 7. Steve Meyer, 8. Todd Hepfner, 9. Ty Bartz, 10. John Edquist, 11. Rusty Egan, 12. John Haeni. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)

Second Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Jac Haudenschild, 2. Greg Wilson, 3. Brian Paulus, 4. Craig Dollansky, 5. Kelly Kinser, 6. Joe Roe, 7. Scott Neitzel, 8. Bill Warren, 9. Mike Kertscher, 10. Scott Uttech, 11. Bill Wirth. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)

Third Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Donny Schatz, 2. Jeff Shepard, 3. Steve Kinser, 4. Shane Stewart, 5. Kraig Kinser, 6. Travis Whitney, 7. Kurt Winker, 8. Dave Uttech, 9. Tim Haddy, 10. Todd King, 11. Bob Bennett. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)

Fourth Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Mark Kinser, 2. Daryn Pittman, 3. Tom Busch, 4. Brian Kristan, 5. Kim Mock, 6. Dave Enders, 7. Jason Johnson, 8. Tim Vandervere, 9. Wayne Modjeski, 10. Kurt Davis, 11. Dave Lisowe. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)

First Dash Race (seven laps): 1. Kraig Kinser, 2. Danny Lasoski, 3. Daryn Pittman, 4. Craig Dollansky, 5. Jeff Shepard, 6. Greg Wilson, 7. Mark Kinser, 8. Scott Biertzer. (finish determined the inside starting positions in the first eight rows in the "A" Feature lineup)

Second Dash (seven laps): 1. Brian Paulus, 2. Shane Stewart, 3. Joey Saldana, 4. Steve Kinser, 5. Kim Mock, 6. Kelly Kinser, 7. Jason Sides, 8. Tom Busch. (finish determined the outside starting positions in the first eight rows in the "A" Feature lineup)

C Feature (10 laps): 1. Kurt Winker, 2. Dave Enders, 3. Ty Bartz ($125); 4. Scott Uttech ($100); 5. Kurt Davis ($80); 6. Bill Wirth ($70); 7. John Edquist ($60); 8. Tim Haddy ($50); 9. Dave Lisowe ($40); 10. Rusty Egan ($35). (first two qualified for the "A" Feature)

B Feature (12 laps): 1. Randy Hannagan, 2. Travis Whitney, 3. Steve Meyer, 4. Joe Roe, 5. Todd Hepfner ($200); 6. Bob Bennett ($180); 7. Dave Uttech ($150); 8. Bill Warren ($120); 9. John Haeni ($100); 10. Mike Kertscher ($90); 11. Kurt Winker ($90); 12. Scott Neitzel ($60); 13. Dave Enders ($80); 14. Wayne Modjeski ($50); 15. Tim Vandervere ($50); 16. Jason Johnson ($50). (first four qualified for the "A" Feature)

A Feature (40 laps): 1. Joey Saldana [6] ($10,000); 2. Shane Stewart [4] ($5,500); 3. Craig Dollansky [7] ($3,200); 4. Jac Haudenschild [18] ($2,800); 5. Daryn Pittman [5] ($2,500); 6. Jeff Shepard [9] ($2,300); 7. Brian Paulus [2] ($2,200); 8. Danny Lasoski [3] ($2,100); 9. Donny Schatz [19] ($2,050); 10. Jason Sides [14] ($2,000); 11. Steve Kinser [8] ($1,500); 12. Mark Kinser [13] ($1,200); 13. Randy Hannagan [23] ($1,120); 14. Kelly Kinser [12] ($1,050); 15. Kim Mock [10] ($1,000); 16. Greg Wilson [11] ($800); 17. Travis Whitney [21] ($820); 18. Joe Roe [24] ($820); 19. Jonathan Allard [22] ($800); 20. Brian Kristan [20] ($800); 21. Scott Biertzer [15] ($800); 22. Kraig Kinser [1] ($800); 23. Steve Meyer [17] ($820); 24. Tom Busch [16] ($800). Lap leaders: Brian Paulus 1-14, Shane Stewart 15-21, Joey Saldana 22-40 WoO

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