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Eldora
Excellence: Dollansky Wins Knight Before the Kings
Royal
New
Craig
Dollansky showed he is one of the favorites for the 23rd Annual
Kings Royal Presented by Crown Royal, after picking up the Feature win on
Friday night. He took the lead on the fifth lap of the 30-lap Knight Before the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway. He started third
in the Karavan Trailers Maxim and moved to the lead after Kevin Swindell
flipped while leading in the York Excavating Maxim.
Dollansky
then withstood a late charge by Terry McCarl in the Big Game
“It
definitely feels good to get a few wins here this year,” said Dollansky. “We’ve
been close a few times, and didn’t get it done. This team is
a work in progress, and just keep at it every night. The car felt really
good, and it felt good last time we were here too. We have a good package here.
Hopefully we can put together again tomorrow.”
Dollansky
who started the feature in the third spot, worked his way second on the first
lap of the race. He then set his sights on Swindell who had built a sizeable
lead in only a couple of circuits. Dollansky used Swindell’s
misfortune for his advantage and showed that once he had an open track ahead of
him, he too could set a blistering pace.
“It’s
pretty tough when you run above the cushion like that,” said Dollansky. “The
cushion was pretty deep. I felt like we would have a good shot in lapped
traffic because he was good on the open track by himself. This car was running
good.”
Dollansky
endured a few late cautions and a red flag to pick up the $10,000 check in
“I felt
pretty comfortable in the car,” said Dollansky. “It definitely was hot. I
haven’t stopped sweating since I walked in the pit gate. It was hot and humid,
but that’s just the way it is out here. It’s great to be at Eldora and
winning.”
A late
afternoon rainstorm threw a curve at the competitors and staff at Eldora. Some
extra track preparation was needed to make sure a good surface was in place for
the drivers as they tuned up for tomorrow nights event.
“The track
was beautiful,” said Dollansky. “It’s kind of like the Eldora that use to be
here a few years ago. If they can work it again tomorrow like this with the hot
weather, it should be some great racing.”
Though he
was won at the legendary track twice this season already, Dollansky knows that
a whole new set of challenges will present themselves on Saturday night as the
best sprint car drives in the world battle for the $50,000 top prize.
“It’s going
to take a little bit of luck first of all,” Dollansky said. “The format is a
little bit different, so you have to get yourself in a position to win that
race. You have to make it happen in 40 laps. A lot can happen in a hurry.
One thing is for sure right now, that we are feeling really good and we will
give it everything we have.”
McCarl
lined up fourth after finishing in that same spot in the dash. He made his way
into the runner-up spot on lap 17. He got close a couple of times at the end to
Dollansky, but could not quite make the move for the lead.
“We wanted
to come in here and show these guys,” said McCarl. “Nobody considered us a
favorite. I’m hoping that we can finish this weekend off and impress them, and
go home with that crown. That’s what I want.”
McCarl was
fast all night long, as he turned the fourth quickest lap in qualifying with a
stellar 52 cars on hand. The
“My guys
give me a great car,” said McCarl. “This is a high-power track and we put a
fresh bullet in there from Wesmar. We have the most
quick times this year thanks to them and it makes me look good. I think we had
the fastest car. I kind of gave some up at the beginning of the race, trying to
set up for later. That red flag really hurt us. I think we were a little faster
than Craig at the end. Tomorrow night is a big night and hopefully we can pull
it out.”
McCarl is
confident for the Kings Royal Presented by Crown Royal, and listed just one key
to being successful at the track.
“You always
have to be fast at Eldora,” he said.
Tyler
Walker came home third in the Volcano Joe’s Coffee Maxim. Walker had missed a
couple weeks of racing as the team sorted out some engine issues. There bad
luck followed them in the dash as the native of Los Angeles had to pull into
the pit area with a problem under the hood. After an engine swap by the team,
he lined up 10th for the A-Feature and showed plenty of speed on the
always fast high-banked half-mile.
“We needed
some more laps and not to blow up in the dash,” Walker said. “It killed us to
start 10th. If I would have started in the top four or five, I would
have been battling Craig and Terry. We were right there anyway. We needed to
get into lapped traffic to be able to pass them or have them make a mistake.
Without traffic it was hard to do anything. It was a good race, and Guy (Forbrook) gave me a fast race car.”
Walker who
has been fast every race this season with the Forbrook
team feels very confident that he can battle the 50-plus other competitors and
be near the front at the end of the night, looking to wear the crown and robe.
“We’re
really excited for tomorrow,”
Dale Blaney
in the George Fisher Racing Maxim passed more cars than anyone on the night, as
he started scratch on the field and powered his way to a fourth place finish.
It took him
only 21 laps to work his way into the top-five.
“I didn’t
need the red with ten to go,” said Blaney. “The last nine laps I kind of
struggled. I could see McCarl and Walker and who knows where we could have
ended up. The way the track was, it was hard to pass anyone. Everyone tried to
run around the curb. Starting 24th we took a chance and ran the
bottom. We started going good out there and stayed out there. We kept rolling.”
Kenny
Jacobs in the JEI Performance JEI rounded out the top-five.
The rest of
the top-10 was Chad Kemenah in sixth in the Racinsoles.com/Underground
Utilities Inc. Eagle.
The
ELDORA
• FAST QUALIFIER: Brooke Tatnell paced the 52 cars in time trials with an AMB i.t.-timed lapped around the 1/2-mile high-banked oval at
13.200 seconds at 136.364 mph. For his qualifying effort,
Tatnell earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned
bonus points, including Stevie Smith (4), Danny Lasoski (3), Terry McCarl (2),
and Dion Hindi (1). Craig Dollansky holds the
track record of 12.707 seconds established on
• QUALIFYING EVENT WINNERS: Heat race winners included: Mean 15 driver
Justin Henderson, and Donny Schatz, as well as Tim Kaeding, Jason Solwold. … Paul May won the C-Main. … Stevie Smith won the
B-Main… Kevin Swindell picked up the win in the dash.
• FEATURE WINNERS: Craig Dollansky’s win on Friday night at Eldora Speedway was his
third
• PRELIMINARY FEATURE WINNERS: There have been four
preliminary features run this season by the
• HALF-MILE WINNERS: Eldora Speedway is a high-banked, half-mile
oval. The
• ON
TELEVISION: The Outdoor Channel will air at
• ON THE WEB: The Official
• LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they
can experience the excitement of the
• UP NEXT: On Saturday, it’s the 23rd Annual Kings Royal
Presented by Crown Royal that will pay $50,000 to the winner, to kick off the
“Month of Money.” Then the
• SPONSOR SUPPORT: The
Knight Before the Kings Royal
Eldora
Speedway
July 14,
2006
Qualifying
1) Brooke
Tatnell, Rush Racing 8, 13.200
2) Stevie
Smith, Smith 19S, 13.201
3) Danny
Lasoski, Roth 83, 13.219
4) Terry
McCarl, McCarl 24, 13.236
5) Dion Hindi, Hindi 11D, 13.253
6) Craig
Dollansky, Karavan 7, 13.255
7) Kenny
Jacobs, Jackson 8J, 13.258
8) Joey
Saldana, Kahne-Curb 9, 13.300
9) Tyler
Walker, Forbrook 5, 13.317
10) Kevin
Swindell, Swindell 1, 13.330
11) Daryn
Pittman, Titan Racing USA 21, 13.335
12) Danny
Smith, Smith 4, 13.351
13)
14) Butch
Schroeder, Jessup 7K, 13.369
15) Chad
Kemenah, Kemenah 15K, 13.377
16) Jac
Haudenschild, Wright 35, 13.380
17) Jason Solwold, Carnahan R19, 13.381
18) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Buckner 40R, 13.394
19) Justin
Henderson, Oswalt D1, 13.397
20) Donny
Schatz, Schatz 15, 13.402
21) Brock
Mayes, Mayes 11B, 13.431
22) Tim
Hunter, Hunter 2H, 13.445
23) Tim
Kaeding, Kinser 11K, 13.472
24) Bill
Rose, Rose 6, 13.476
25) Jason
Martin, Martin 36, 13.490
26) Lucas
Wolfe, Allebach 5W, 13.510
27) Steve
Kinser, Kinser 11, 13.511
28) Dale
Blaney, Fisher 2, 13.513
29) Becca Anderson, Woodring 19, 13.514
30) Paul
McMahan, Stewart 20, 13.562
31) Kevin
Huntley, Busch 4B, 13.578
32)
33) Randy
Hannagan, TH Racing 1X, 13.588
34) Greg
Wilson, Warnimont 20W, 13.592
35) Kerry Madsen , Helm 11H, 13.603
36)
37) Jeremy
Campbell, Campbell 10C, 13.605
38) Paul
May, May 71M, 13.624
39) Shane
Stewart, Rudeen Racing 26, 13.629
40) Brandon
Martin, Martin 11M, 13.640
41) James
Mosher, Mosher 12M, 13.673
42) Chad
Blonde, Blonde 5B, 13.680
43)
44) Neil
Shepherd, Shepherd 4N, 13.703
45) Barry
Ruble, Ruble 63, 13.711
46)
47) Ryan
Myers, Myers 56R, 13.819
48) Cory Bevard, Bevard 8X, 14.032
49)
50) Jeff
Rankin, Zabonick 40Z, 14.199
51) Adam Zabonick, Zabonick 0Z,
14.276
52) Lee
Stark, Stark 16, 14.378
First Heat
Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Jason Solwold
2) Jac
Haudenschild
3) Tyler
Walker
4) Brooke
Tatnell
5) Jason
Martin
6) Randy
Hannagan
7) Becca Anderson
8) Jeremy
Campbell
9) Bill
Rose
10) James
Mosher
11) Barry
Ruble
12)
13) Joey
Saldana
Second Heat
Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Tim
Kaeding
2) Chad
Kemenah
3) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
4) Kevin
Swindell
5) Kenny
Jacobs
6) Stevie
Smith
7) Paul
McMahan
8) Paul
May
9) Chad
Blonde
10) Lucas
Wolfe
11) Greg
Wilson
12)
13) Jeff
Rankin
Third Heat
Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Justin
Henderson
2)
Danny Lasoski
3) Tim
Hunter
4) Butch
Schroeder
5) Craig
Dollansky
6) Steve
Kinser
7)
8) Shane
Stewart
9) Daryn
Pittman
10) Kerry
Madsen
11) Kevin
Huntley
12) Ryan
Myers
13) Adam Zabonick
Fourth Heat
Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Donny
Schatz
2) Terry
McCarl
3)
4) Brock
Mayes
5) Dale
Blaney
6)
7) Dion Hindi
8) Brandon
Martin
9) Neil
Shepherd
10)
11) Cory Bevard
12) Danny
Smith
13) Lee
Stark
C-main (10
laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1)
Paul May
2)
Chad Blonde
3) Brandon
Martin [$125]
4) Neil
Shepherd [$100]
5) James
Mosher [$100]
6) Ryan
Myers [$100]
7)
Cory Bevard [$100]
8) Lee
Stark [$100]
9) Adam Zabonick [$100]
10) Lee
Stark [$100]
11) Shane
Stewart [$100]
12)
13) Jeremy
Campbell [$100]
14) Barry
Ruble [$100]
15)
16) Jeff
Rankin (DNS) [$100]
Dash (6
laps to determine the top ten starting spots in the A-Feature)
1) Kevin
Swindell
2)
3) Craig
Dollansky
4) Terry
McCarl
5) Kenny
Jacobs
6) Danny
Lasoski
7) Brooke
Tatnell
8) Chad
Kemenah
9) Butch
Schroeder
10) Tyler
Walker
B-main (12
laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1)
Stevie Smith
2)
Joey Saldana
3) Dion Hindi
4)
Daryn Pittman
5) Paul
McMahan [$200]
6) Steve
Kinser [$180]
7)
8) Lucas
Wolfe [$160]
9) Becca Anderson [$150]
10) Danny
Smith [$150]
11) Greg
Wilson [$150]
12) Kevin
Huntley [$150]
13) Randy
Hannagan [$150]
14) Chad
Blonde [$150]
15) Bill
Rose [$150]
16) Paul
May [$150]
17) Kerry
Madsen [$150]
18)
A-main (30 laps)
1) Craig Dollansky
[$10,000]
2) Terry McCarl [$5,500]
3) Tyler Walker [$3,200]
4) Dale Blaney
[$2,800]
5) Kenny Jacobs
[$2,500]
6) Chad Kemenah
[$2,300]
7)
8) Joey Saldana [$2,100]
9) Daryn Pittman
[$2,050]
10) Brooke Tatnell
[$2,000]
11) Donny Schatz
[$1,500]
12) Ricky Stenhouse,
Jr. [$1,200]
13) Stevie Smith
[$1,100]
14) Jac Haudenschild [$1,050]
15) Brock Mayes [$1,000]
16) Butch Schroeder [$900]
17) Justin Henderson
[$800]
18) Dion
Hindi [$800]
19) Tim Kaeding
[$800]
20) Tim Hunter
[$800]
21) Kevin Swindell
[$800]
22) Danny Lasoski [$800]
23) Jason Martin
[$800]
24) Jason Solwold [$800]
Lap
leaders: Kevin Swindell 1-4, Craig Dollansky 5-30
STAT
ATTACK, through July 14 at Eldora Speedway
There have
been 32
A-Feature
winners (14 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Wins
1 -
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. - 7
2 - #9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Ind. - 5
3 -
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio – 4
4- #7
Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minn. - 3
#8 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Australia -3
6- #5
Sammy Swindell, Germantown, Tenn. - 2
#8 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Australia – 2
8 -
#24
#15K Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio - 1
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, Mo. - 1
#24 Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa - 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville - 1
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Okla. - 1
#22 Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pa. - 1
#1 Kevin Swindell, Germantown, Tenn. - 1
Deepest
starting position to win A-feature Car, driver, hometown - Starting position
#15
Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. - 7th (March 9 @ Las Vegas; May 16 @ Grandview)
Preliminary
Feature winners (4)
1 - #5
Sammy Swindell, Germantown, Tenn. - 1 (April 7,
Eldora)
#22 Fred Rahmer, Salfordville,
Pa. - 1 (May 26, Williams Grove)
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Okla. - 1 (June 9, Eagle)
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. - 1 (June 16, Red River Valley)
Lap
leaders, including A-features and preliminary features Car, driver, hometown -
Total laps led (18 different drivers have led a lap)
#15
Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. - 207 laps
#9
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Ind. – 152 laps
#8
Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Australia – 133 laps
#35
Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 100 laps
#21
Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Okla. - 95 laps
#7
Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minn. – 94 laps
#5
Sammy Swindell, Germantown, Tenn. - 75 laps
#22
Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pa. - 32 laps
#20
Paul McMahan, Nashville - 30 laps
#1
Kevin Swindell, Germantown, Tenn – 29 laps
#24
#5
Tyler Walker, Los Angeles - 27 laps
#15K
Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio - 25 laps
#24
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa - 25 laps
#83
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Mo. - 24 laps
#10C
Jeremy Campbell, Monroe, Mich. - 15 laps
#17G
#36
Rob Chaney, Wooster, Ohio - 9 laps
#10
Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma City, Okla. - 7 laps
Time trial
leaders (19 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Quick times
1 - #24
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa - 4
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. - 4
#8 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Australia -
4
4 - #7
Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minn. - 2
#11D Dion Hindi,
#1X Randy Hannagan, San Jose - 2
#15K
#20 Paul McMahan,
#9 Joey Saldana,
#R19 Jason Solwold,
#24 Sammy Swindell,
#35 Jac Haudenschild,
#1X Randy Hannagan, San Jose - 1
#D1 Justin Henderson,
#9K Craig Keel,
#4K Kelly Kinser,
#83 Danny Lasoski,
#19S Stevie Smith, New
#5 Tyler Walker,
Track
records established in 2006
* Terry
McCarl, March 4, United Sports Arizona Race Park (3/8-mile), Tucson, Ariz.,
13.127 seconds at 102.481 mph.
*
Paul McMahan, May 5, U.S. 36 Raceway (3/8-mile), Osborn, Mo., 9.846 seconds at
135.36 mph.
* Donny Schatz, May 29, Orange County Fair Speedway (5/8-mile),
Dash
Winners (24 different winners)*
There have
been 46 dash races this season Rank - Driver, Hometown - Dash Wins
1 -
#35 Jac Haudenschild,
#21 Daryn Pittman,
#8 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW,
4 -
#24 Terry McCarl,
#22 Fred Rahmer,
#15 Donny Schatz,
#7 Craig Dollansky,
#83 Danny Lasoski,
#R19 Jason Solwold,
#1 Kevin Swimdell,
#5 Sammy Swindell,
#5 Tyler Walker,
13 - #17G
#19 Becca Anderson,
#10C Jeremy Campbell,
#1X Randy Hannagan, San Jose - 1
#45x Johnny Herrera,
#11D Dion Hindi, Albuquerque - 1
#24
#15K
#11 Kraig Kinser,
#12
#20 Paul McMahan,
*-Single 10-car dash started on May 20. Previously there had
been two six-car dashes for single-day events.
Pole
Positions (19 different drivers)
Rank -
Driver, Hometown - Poles
1 -
#8 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW,
2-
#21 Daryn Pittman,
3 -
#35 Jac Haudenschild,
4 -
#24 Terry McCarl,
#5 Sammy Swindell,
#22 Fred Rahmer,
#15 Donny Schatz,
#R19 Jason Solwold,
#1 Kevin Swindell,
9 - #17G
#10C Jeremy Campbell,
#36 Rob Chaney,
#7 Craig Dollansky,
#1X Randy Hannagan, San Jose - 1
#45x Johnny Herrera,
#11D Dion Hindi, Albuquerque - 1
#24
#15K
#11 Kraig Kinser,
#5 Tyler Walker,
B-main
Winners (22 different winners)
Rank -
Driver, Hometown - "B" Wins
1 - #24
Terry McCarl,
#15 Donny Schatz,
#15K
3 - #11D Dion Hindi,
#36 Jason Martin, Liberal, KS - 2
#20 Paul McMahan,
#1 Kevin Swindell,
#2B Dale Blaney,
#21X
#10C Jeremy Campbell,
#44G Kaley Gharst,
#D1 Justin Henderson,
#24
#9K Craig Keel,
#2L Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo,
#21 Daryn Pittman,
#44 Ned Powers,
#9 Joey Saldana,
#19S Stevie Smith, New
#R19 Jason Solwold,
#24 Sammy Swindell,
#20W Greg Wilson,
#9W Gary Wright, Hooks,