HammerDownUSA.com
Schatz at Lernerville – By Tony Veneziano.
Schatz
started the 40 lap A-Feature in the 6th spot and powered his way to
runner-up position by the 10th lap. He gained a spot each of the
first three laps of the race, by running the high grove. The native of
He closed
to within a couple of car lengths countless times but wisely backed off as
there was not quite enough room to make the pass. Schatz bided his time and
shadowed Lynch waiting to make a well calculated move.
That move
came on the lap 33 as he looked low, to see if there was an opening. On the
following circuit, Schatz used a power move to the high side of the track to
take the lead and ultimately the win. His trip to
Lynch led
the most laps on the night and came home second in the Howard Concrete J&J.
Daryn Pittman ran in the top-five all night and finished third in the Titan
Garages/Hop-n-Sack Convenience Stores Maxim.
Craig
Dollansky finished fourth in the Karavan Trailers Maxim after lining up 11th
for the A-Feature, after he won the B-Main to transfer to the Don Martin
Memorial Silver Cup. Lance Dewease in the Hamm Maxim rounded out the top-five.
“We really
did want this one,” said Schatz. “I thought we would beat Ed (Lynch Jr.) a few
years ago. I drove every inch of this thing that I could. We were good the last
couple of laps. It was a handful at the beginning and in the middle.”
Schatz set
himself up for success early in the night, by turning the fastest lap in
qualifying. A solid finish in his heat race put him in the dash, where he
finished sixth to earn that same starting spot in the 40 lap A-Feature.
“My guys
did a great job and put the right tires on,” said Schatz. “We didn’t second
guess ourselves tonight. We did everything right.”
Schatz
respects the great amount of success that Lynch has had at Lernerville, and
knew that by following him around for part of the race, he would learn a thing
or two, that he could later use as he searched to find the right line on the
track.
“I wanted
him to see me, so he would get off the top a little,” said Schatz. “He did and
he did exactly what I wanted him to do. He started moving around the racetrack,
and second guessed where he was running. When I got close enough to him in
traffic, he slowed down and I was able to go by him. It was like flipping a
switch when I went by. The car started sticking real well on the top and I got
up there and ran it.”
A red flag
halfway through the event, allowed the teams to make a few adjustments on their
machines. Schatz and his team normally do not change anything under an open red
flag, but decided to make a few adjustments to see if they could make the car a
little faster for the second half of the race.
“We changed
one shock and it was nothing drastic,” said Schatz. “We just wanted to try
something because when you are in second, you are in the catbird’s seat. You
have the opportunity to see what is going on and you have nothing to lose for
trying. Ed was a little bit faster at that point, and I didn’t know we would
get that much faster at the end of the race. The car was awesome at the end and
we are happy to be up here in victory lane.”
The current
series point leader used traffic to his advantage, but did have one anxious
moment as a lapped car spun in front of him on lap 26. Quick reflexes steered
him clear of any trouble and set the stage for the late race shootout with
Lynch.
“We were
very good (in traffic),” Schatz said. “I know that Kenny Jacobs is good around
here and I was able to come around the top and drive around him, and you are
doing things right when you can do that. The car was good the last 10 laps.”
Schatz and
his crew were all smiles in victory lane as he thanked the staff at Lernerville
for putting on the annual event that bears the name of a man who gave more to
the sport than can ever be measured.
Lynch took
the initial lead from his outside front row starting spot, as he kept pace with
Joey Saldana. The crowd favorite dove to the low side and swept pass Saldana,
who was coming off his second Kings Royal win, over the weekend. Lynch would
stay out front for the first 33 laps, and built a sizeable lead with open track
in front of him. He was setting a very quick pace and encountered lapped
traffic and that allowed Schatz to reel him in.
“We tried
out best and you always want to win,” said Lynch. “Finishing second with these
guys is a big honor. We planned on winning it and didn’t pull it off. We’ll
keep going. We had a pretty good week.”
Lynch knows
Lernervile like the back of his hand, as he has won four track champions,
including the last three, and is the current point leader in weekly
competition. He also won the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup in 2002.
“We feel
real good about this time of the year,” said Lynch. “I feel real competitive,
and racy. The car is racy. The guys in the shop are doing everything possible,
and in all this heat we don’t have a crew as big as everyone else. We don’t
have the biggest bank account either, but we try to do the best with what we
have.”
Daryn
Pittman turned in a solid effort to pick up his 14th top-five finish
of the season as he crossed the line in third. He started in fifth and ran in
the lead pack the entire night. He started the night out by posting the second
fastest lap in qualifying to earn himself four bonus points.
“We had a
good car and didn’t take advantage of it. Schatz was better than we were,” said
Pittman. “I thought all three of us were about the same pace in the open track.
It’s kind of easy to be good when you can pick where you want to go. When we
got in traffic, Donny showed he had the best race car. I’m happy with it. I’m
frustrated because we had a good car and finished third. It’s a lot better than
knowing we were hanging on for third. I thought we were racing hard and right
on pace, and I don’t think we have been that way for the last couple weeks.
It’s definitely a good positive going into Williams Grove.”
Craig
Dollansky had a tough start to his night as he just missed transferring to the
A-Feature through his heat race and had to run the B-Main. He made the most of
the extra track time and easily won the “B” to earn the 11th
starting spot in the feature due to his strong qualifying effort of fourth.
“We put
ourselves in a hole by not getting out of the heat race,” Dollansky said. “We
changed things up and had a good race car for the B-Main. That gave us a good
read for the feature. We got up to fourth, but it would have been nice to have
started a few rows up, and I think we would have been right up there in the
hunt.”
Dollansky
was hoping for the race to go green from flag-to-flag and had to change his
strategy during the race, as a couple of cautions flags and one red flag flew.
“We didn’t
need that red,” said Dollansky. “I think before it was out best shot, to get up
there and challenge for the lead. To start where we did and to get up to
fourth, it was a decent run.”
After
winning the Knight Before the Kings Royal last Friday for his third win of the
year, the
“Williams
Grove has become one of my favorite tracks, and I enjoy going there and
racing,” he said. “You have to be on top of your game with all the great local
competition. We’ll go there and see what we can do.”
Lance
Dewease made the trip to the Western half of the Keystone state on Tuesday
night worth his while, as he turned in one of the most solid runs of the 39
cars on hand. He started the A-Feature in the 16th spot, and rolled
all the way through the field up to the fifth position when the checkered flag
flew.
“We race
real good every time we come out here,” said Dewease. “We just don’t qualify
well, and that put us behind the eight ball. We actually had a problem with the
car that may have cost us in time trials, but we’ll get those fixed. We were
decent in the feature, but didn’t need the cautions. They came out at the wrong
times, but we got a fifth and we are happy with that.”
The rest of
the top-10 was pole-sitter Joey Saldana in the Mopar-powered Dodge/Curb Records
JEI in sixth. Terry McCarl was 7th in the Big Game
The Mean 15
head to Williams Grove Speedway on Thursday for the Summer Nationals and three
of the most intense nights of racing on the season.
DON
MARTIN MEMORIAL SILVER CUP NOTEBOOK
• FAST
QUALIFIER: Donny
Schatz paced the 39 cars in time trials with an AMB i.t.-timed lapped around
the 4/10-mile high-banked oval at 13.049 seconds at 124.147 mph. For his qualifying effort, Schatz earned five bonus points. The
next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including Daryn Pittman
(4), Randy Hannagan (3), Craig Dollansky (2), and Terry McCarl (1). Joey
Saldana holds the track record of 12.334 seconds set on May 15, 2002.
• QUALIFYING EVENT WINNERS: Heat race winners included: Mean 15 driver
Dion Hindi, as well as Dale Blaney, Lance Dewease and Bob Felmlee. …
Craig Dollansky won the B-Main. … Joey Saldana picked up the win in the
dash.
• FEATURE WINNERS: Donny Schatz’s win on
Tuesday night at
• PRELIMINARY FEATURE WINNERS: There have been four
preliminary features run this season by the
• 4/10-MILE WINNERS:
• ON
TELEVISION: The Outdoor Channel will air at 8 p.m. (ET) on July 19 the 18th
Annual
• 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: The Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Speedway. The Mean 15
will battle the Pennsylvania Posse for three straight nights
(Thursday-Saturday) with the winner of the A-Feature on Saturday night, taking
home $20,000. The series then rolls into the Empire State for a pair of races.
On July 23 the
• SPONSOR SUPPORT: The
July 18,
2006
Qualifying
1) Donny
Schatz, Schatz 15, 13.049
2) Daryn
Pittman, Titan Racing USA 21, 13.086
3) Randy
Hannagan, TH Racing 1X, 13.119
4) Craig
Dollansky, Karavan 7, 13.134
5) Terry
McCarl, McCarl 24, 13.140
6) Ed
Lynch, Jr., Lynch 2L, 13.175
7) Joey
Saldana, Kahne-Curb 9, 13.187
8) Fred
Rahmer, Kline 22, 13.199
9) Stevie
Smith, Smith 19S, 13.209
10) Kevin
Swindell, Swindell 1, 13.219
11) Kenny
Jacobs, Jackson 8J, 13.225
12) Brooke
Tatnell, Rush Racing 8, 13.247
13) Rob
Eyler, Eyler 5A, 13.327
14) Justin
Henderson, Oswalt D1, 13.327
15) Arnie
Kent, Dionese 15A, 13.334
16) Jac
Haudenschild, Wright 35, 13.340
17) Lance
Dewease, Postupack 25, 13.534
18) Chad
Kemenah, Kemenah 15K, 13.355
19) Bob
Felmlee, Felmlee 6, 13.374
20) Dale
Blaney, Fisher 2, 13.384
21) Tim
Hunter, Hunter 2H, 13.400
22) Brent
Covell, Covell 81, 13.420
23) Dion
Hindi, Hindi 11D, 13.431
24) Scott
Priester, Priester 11, 13.432
25) Greg
Wilson, Warnimont 20W, 13.433
26) Jeremy
Campbell, Campbell 10C, 13.480
27) Becca
Anderson, Woodring 19, 13.604
28) Kevin
Schaeffer, Schaeffer 9S, 13.616
29) Jason
Martin, Martin 36, 13.658
30)
31) Rod
George, George 4G, 13.817
32) Carl
Bowser, Bowser 10, 13.894
33) Dan
Shetler, Chiapelli 98, 13.911
34) Danny
Holtgraver, Holtgraver D4, 13.956
35) Cory
Good, Good X, 14.224
36) Brent
Matus, Matus 33, 14.401
37) Bill
Kiley, Kiley 4K, 14.910
38) Joe
Butera, Matus 33M, 15.267
39) Scott
Bonnell, Bonnell 3B, No time
First Heat
Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Lance
Dewease
2) Jac Haudenschild
3) Stevie
Smith
4) Donny
Schatz
5) Fred
Rahmer
6) Greg
Wilson
7) Scott
Priester
8) Jason
Martin
9) Dan
Shetler
10) Bill
Kiley
Second Heat
Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Dion
Hindi
2) Chad
Kemenah
3) Kevin
Swindell
4) Daryn
Pittman
5) Joey
Saldana
6) Jeremy
Campbell
7)
8) Arnie
Kent
9) Danny
Holtgraver
10) Joe
Butera
Third Heat
Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Bob
Felmlee
2) Ed
Lynch, Jr.
3) Brent
Covell
4) Justin
Henderson
5) Randy
Hannagan
6) Rod
George
7) Becca
Anderson
8) Kenny
Jacobs
9) Cory
Good (DNS)
10) Scott
Bonnell (DNS)
Fourth Heat
Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Dale
Blaney
2) Tim
Hunter
3) Terry
McCarl
4) Brooke
Tatnell
5) Rob
Eyler
6) Craig
Dollansky
7) Kevin
Schaeffer
8) Carl
Bowser
9) Brent
Matus
Dash (6
laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) Joey
Saldana
2) Ed Lynch,
Jr.
3) Terry
McCarl
4) Daryn
Pittman
5) Randy
Hannagan
6) Donny
Schatz
7) Fred
Rahmer
8) Stevie
Smith
9)
Brooke Tatnell
10) Kevin
Swindell
B-main (12
laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Craig
Dollansky
2) Greg
Wilson
3) Jeremy
Campbell
4)
Kenny Jacobs
5) Rod
George [$200]
6) Dan
Shetler [$180]
7) Arnie
Kent [$175]
8) Jason
Martin [$160]
9) Becca
Anderson [$150]
10) Scott
Priester [$150]
11) Carl
Bowser [$150]
12) Brent
Matus [$150]
13) Joe
Butera [$150]
14) Bill
Kiley [$150]
15) Kevin
Schaeffer [$150]
16) Danny
Holtgraver [$150]
17)
18) Cory
Good (DNS) [$150]
19) Scott
Bonnell (DNS) [$150]
A-main (40
laps)
1) Donny
Schatz [$30,000]
2) Ed Lynch,
Jr. [$15,000]
3) Daryn
Pittman [$6,500]
4) Craig
Dollansky [$5,000]
5) Lance
Dewease [$4,500]
6) Joey
Saldana [$4,000]
7) Terry
McCarl [$3,500]
8) Brooke
Tatnell [$3,000]
9) Jac
Haudenschild [$2,500]
10) Greg
Wilson [$2,250]
11) Dale
Blaney [$2,000]
12) Jeremy
Campbell [$1,800]
13) Randy
Hannagan [$1,500]
14) Justin
Henderson [$1,250]
15) Kenny
Jacobs [$1,100]
16) Kevin
Swindell [$1,100]
17) Rod
George [$1,100]
18) Rob
Eyler [$1,100]
19) Kevin
Schaeffer [$1,100]
20) Bob
Felmlee [$1,100]
21) Dion
Hindi [$1,100]
22) Brent
Covell [$1,050]
23) Chad
Kemenah [$1,000]
24) Stevie
Smith [$1,000]
25) Fred
Rahmer [$1000]
26) Tim
Hunter [$1000]
Lap
leaders: Ed Lynch, Jr. 1-33, Donny Schatz 34-40
Driver
/ Driver Pts. / Team Pts. /
$ / Team Diff. / Wins /
Top 5 / Top 10
1
/ Donny Schatz / 4906 / 4906 /
$227,000 / 0 / 8 / 24 / 28
2
/ Joey Saldana / 4717 / 4717 /
$182,400 / -189 / 6 / 17 / 29
3
/ Craig Dollansky / 4639 / 4639 /
$119,860 / -267 / 3 / 16 / 28
4
/ Jac Haudenschild / 4533 / 4533 /
$107,950 / -373 / 4 / 14 / 24
5
/ Daryn Pittman / 4532 / 4532 /
$101,450 / -374 / 1 / 14 / 23
6
/ Brooke Tatnell / 4529 / 4529 /
$112,150 / -377 / 3 / 15 / 23
7
/ Chad Kemenah / 4343 / 4343 /
$75,850 / -563 / 1 / 6 / 18
8
/ Jeremy Campbell / 4088 / 4088 /
$54,700 / -818 / 0 / 2 / 11
9
/ Justin Henderson / 3966 / 3966 /
$43,580 / -940 / 0 / 1 / 9
10
/ Randy Hannagan / 3771 / 4130 /
$52,810 / -776 / 0 / 5 / 12
11
/ Terry McCarl / 3769 / 4593 /
$110,850 / -313 / 2 / 17 / 25
12
/ Dion Hindi / 3528 / 3528 /
$30,950 / -1378 / 0 / 0 / 5
13
/
14
/ Becca Anderson / 3196 / 3196 /
$20,120 / -1710 / 0 / 0 / 2
15
/ Bill Rose / 3103 / 3103 /
$17,995 / -1803 / 0 / 0 / 0
16
/ Jason Martin / 3022 / 3725 /
$34,190 / -1181 / 0 / 2 / 4
17
/ Greg Wilson / 2303 / 2303 /
$24,580 / -2603 / 0 / 1 / 6
18
/ Jason Solwold / 2090 / 2090 /
$39,500 / -2816 / 0 / 5 / 9
19
/ Danny Lasoski / 2075 / 2075 /
$52,350 / -2831 / 1 / 8 / 11
20
/ Kevin Swindell / 1858 / 1858 /
$35,600 / -3048 / 1 / 2 / 7
STAT
ATTACK, through July 18 at
There have
been 34
A-Feature
winners (14 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Wins
1 -
#15 Donny Schatz,
2 -
#9 Joey Saldana,
3 -
#35 Jac Haudenschild,
4-
#7 Craig Dollansky,
#8 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW,
6-
#5 Sammy Swindell,
7 -
#24
#15K
#83 Danny Lasoski,
#24 Terry McCarl,
#20 Paul McMahan,
#21 Daryn Pittman,
#22 Fred Rahmer,
#1 Kevin Swindell,
Deepest
starting position to win A-feature Car, driver, hometown - Starting position
#15
Donny Schatz,
Preliminary
Feature winners (4)
1 - #5
Sammy Swindell,
#22 Fred Rahmer,
#21 Daryn Pittman,
#15 Donny Schatz,
Lap
leaders, including A-features and preliminary features Car, driver, hometown -
Total laps led (20 different drivers have led a lap)
#15
Donny Schatz,
#9
Joey Saldana,
#8
Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW,
#35
Jac Haudenschild,
#21
Daryn Pittman,
#7
Craig Dollansky,
#5
Sammy Swindell,
#83
Danny Lasoski,
#2L
Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo,
#22
Fred Rahmer,
#20
Paul McMahan,
#1
Kevin Swindell,
#24
#5
Tyler Walker,
#15K
#24
Terry McCarl,
#10C
Jeremy Campbell,
#17G
#36
Rob Chaney,
#10
Time trial
leaders (21 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Quick times
1 - #15
Donny Schatz,
2- #24
Terry McCarl,
#8 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW,
4 - #7
Craig Dollansky,
#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,
#2L Ed Lynch Jr.,
#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 (25 different winners)*
There have
been 46 dash races this season Rank - Driver, Hometown - Dash Wins
1 -
#35 Jac Haudenschild,
2 -
#21 Daryn Pittman,
3- #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,
14 - #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,
#9 Joey Saldana,
*-Single 10-car dash started on May 20. Previously there had
been two six-car dashes for single-day events.
Pole
Positions (21 different drivers)
Rank -
Driver, Hometown - Poles
1 -
#8 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW,
2-
#21 Daryn Pittman,
#35 Jac Haudenschild,
4 -
#24 Terry McCarl,
#5 Sammy Swindell,
#22 Fred Rahmer,
#15 Donny Schatz,
#R19 Jason Solwold,
#1 Kevin Swindell,
10-
#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,
#9 Joey Saldana,
#5 Tyler Walker,
B-main
Winners (25 different winners)
Rank -
Driver, Hometown - "B" Wins
1 - #24
Terry McCarl,
#15 Donny Schatz,
#15K
4 - #11D
Dion Hindi,
#36 Jason Martin, Liberal, KS - 2
#20 Paul McMahan,
#21 Daryn Pittman,
#1 Kevin Swindell,
#2B Dale Blaney,
#21X
#7 Craig Dollansky,
#10C Jeremy Campbell,
#44G Kaley Gharst,
#D1 Justin Henderson,
#24
#9K Craig Keel,
#2L Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo,
#44 Ned Powers,
#9 Joey Saldana,
#19S Stevie Smith, New
#R19 Jason Solwold,
#24 Sammy Swindell,
#20W Greg Wilson,
#9W Gary Wright, Hooks,
Kevin
Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award Presented by Maxim Racing and ButlerBuilt
Jeremy
Campbell / 4088 / -255
Justin
Henderson / 3966 / -377
Becca
Anderson / 3196 / -1147
Bill Rose
/ 3103 / -1240
Jason
Martin / 3022 / -1321