Rahmer Conquers the Outlaws to Win the Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Mechanicsburg, PA - July 23, 2005 - By Chris Dolack, World of Outlaws Senior Writer ...When the World of Outlaws Sprint Series raced in late May at Williams Grove Speedway, Fred Rahmer was just a tick behind Steve Kinser, settling for a runner-up finish and setting his sights on the three-night Cleveland Brothers Summer Nationals. He made up for that second-place run in the finale Saturday night. With $20,000 on the line, Rahmer slipped past Kinser with 12 laps down, chased down leader Joey Saldana with eight to go and raced to the checkered flag to beat the Outlaws for the fourth time in his career. When you can beat these guys, you beat them for yourself," said Rahmer, the legendary leader of the Pennsylvania Posse who won for the 19th time this season. "You just feel so good. It's 30 years of racing to win one night, as far as I'm concerned. This is big for me, it's a big deal."
Kinser started on the pole for the 30-lap main event and got a huge jump off of Turn 4, beating Jac Haudenschild into the first corner. Saldana settled into third with opening-night winner Jason Johnson racing into fourth. Saldana darted past Haudenschild two laps later but it only took five circuits around the paperclip half-mile oval for Rahmer to pick off Johnson after starting 12th on the grid and one more time around for him to get Haudenschild. The top three were pulling away when Jason Solwold had motor trouble coming off of Turn 4, bringing out a caution with eight laps complete. On the restart, Kinser, Saldana and Rahmer shot out quickly, but Haudenschild raced out of line diving to the inside and passing cars before the field got to the flagstand, drawing a penalty that sent him to the rear of the field and turning the race into a three-way shootout with Kinser, Saldana and Rahmer. The three raced in the same low groove before Saldana slid up to the top of the track and carried his momentum off the corners. He slid past Kinser in Turns 3 and 4 with 10 laps down, putting him back ahead of Kinser just like last weekend in the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway. But like the Kings Royal, Saldana was a victim of being in front. Knowing he couldn't catch Saldana in the top groove, Rahmer dropped a couple of lines lower on the track and found some rubber in the corners.
On a restart after a caution on Lap 12, Rahmer darted around Kinser on the bottom in Turns 3 and 4 then methodically cut the gap to Saldana. Saldana's lead evaporated as Rahmer shot past him at the flagstand to complete Lap 22. But Rahmer was carrying so much speed into Turn 1 he allowed Saldana to slide back around him and into the lead off of Turn 2. But once again, Saldana went back to the top in Turns 3 and 4 while Rahmer found some bite in the rubber at the bottom and cut back to the lead for good off of Turn 4 and down the front stretch as the packed grandstands erupted in support of the local star.
"Being the leader was tough at that point because I showed [Saldana] the top on the one restart and the yellow came out," Rahmer said. "Then he rolled around Steve and I struggled to get by Steve. I was doing what [Saldana] was doing and I was only breaking even. I went back to the bottom and it had rubbered up and he didn't know it. Then I went in too hot down there and let him get back by me and I thought, 'Aww, I'm in trouble.' But he still didn't know it was rubbered up. I said this time I've got to make it stick."
Once in front with clear track ahead, Rahmer cruised to the checkered flag, winning an Outlaws race from the deepest starting position in the field this year. Saldana held on to finish second ahead of Kinser, Lance Dewease, Johnson, Craig Dollansky, Lucas Wolfe, Greg Hodnett, Don Kreitz Jr., and Jason Meyers.
"I was leading it and I was running the top off of Turn 4 and when he did pass me I passed him back and the next lap I went to the top again," said Saldana, a Mean 15 racer from Brownsburg, Ind. "I knew to go to the bottom, it's not the car's fault. Once I did go to the bottom I was nice. When he did pass me, I drove back by him and I went back to the top. You can't make mistakes. It's cost me two races, two big races."
Rahmer, who has more than 300 victories in his career, called the Summer Nationals win the biggest of his career. "Dollar-wise, which doesn't mean anything when you respect the competition, that determines how big a win it is," he said. "Good competition, good win. This is pretty cool, pretty cool."
After the caution with eight laps down, Kinser's car wouldn't handle like it had throughout the night, which included a victory in the Stacker 2® Dash. "I was pretty slow on the bottom," said Kinser, who increased his lead in the championship standings to 351 points in his quest for a 20th series title. "Once I had to get off the top I couldn't run the bottom very good. I was just spinning tires. "We would have liked to run a little better. We were just off tonight, that's all you can say. There weren't any motor problems, we were just off on the chassis a little bit and that was about it."
Earlier in the evening, the second preliminary feature events delayed from Friday were completed with Paul McMahan racing to Victory Lane for the first time this season. The B- and A-mains were pushed back to Saturday when a heavy rain and lightning rolled over Williams Grove after the Dashes were completed Friday night. Following the completion of the second preliminary events, qualifying points were tallied with Kinser, Saldana, Johnson and McMahan earning the most points and filling out the top four positions in the Stacker 2® Dash. The Outlaws head north for a one-night event July 25 at Fulton Speedway in Fulton, N.Y., then return to Michigan for an SLS Promotions race July 27 at Hartford Speedway Park, before heading to Minnesota for the July 29-30 SLS Promotions' Princeton National.
SUMMER NATIONALS NIGHT THREE NOTEBOOK o A three-night event requires a unique scoring system. Teams earn qualifying points during the first two programs, with the top four in qualifying points after the second preliminary feature locked into the first four starting positions of Saturday's Stacker 2® Dash. The remainder of the field was placed into heat races, lined up according to qualifying points with no inversion. Of the heat race cars, the highest two in qualifying points that transferred from the heats (Jac Haudenschild and Terry McCarl) started fifth and sixth in the Stacker 2® Dash. Starting positions 7-24 in the A-feature were lined up according to qualifying points from the two preliminary events. Also, teams were not allowed to use provisionals in either of the preliminary features, but Danny Lasoski used his fifth provisional and Brian Paulus used his seconds provisional to start the A-feature.
Since returning to action at the beginning of the July following a serious head injury in a three-car crash during a heat race in June at Eagle Raceway, Joey Saldana has finished in the top 10 five times, including second-place runs in two of the three highest-paying events this season at Eldora and Williams Grove. "I'm just glad I'm racing right now," said Saldana, who is looking forward to the Knoxville Nationals on a track where in April he set the single-lap record. "I'm racing a sprint car and I'm having fun but we're here to win and it just seems like every time we're right there to win something happens."
In the Stacker 2® Dash, Steve Kinser charged into the lead but contact between Terry McCarl and Paul McMahan brought out a quick caution. On the restart, Kinser shot back to the lead and drove off with the pole in the feature for the eighth time this season. Jac Haudenschild held on to finish second, followed by Joey Saldana, Jason Johnson and Terry McCarl. McMahan's car had too much front-end damage to continue and he was credited with finishing sixth.
In the B-main, Lucas Wolfe and Shane Stewart both raced to the high side of the track as the green flag waved. Before they could exit Turn 2, Brian Leppo slid to the inside of Stewart to steal second. Wolfe continued to drive away, having little trouble with clear track in front of him. Leppo finished in second as both Donny Schatz and Tim Shaffer raced into the final transfer spots to the main event.
In the first heat, Craig Dollansky raced high into Turn 1 and charged into the lead ahead of Fred Rahmer and Jac Haudenschild. With two laps down, Rahmer tried to slip past Dollansky on the exit of Turn 4 but Dollansky held him off. But with three to go, Rahmer finally used his Williams Grove experience slide by Dollansky going into Turn 3 and make it stick on the exit of Turn 4 for the victory. Dollansky held on for second as Jac Haudenshild and Brooke Tatnell earned the final transfer positions to the main event.
In the second heat, Terry McCarl powered to an easy victory while the field behind him scattered high and low trying to pick up the other three transfer spots. Daryn Pittman edged ahead and finished second as Lance Dewease and Kraig Kinser picked up the final positions.
In the third heat, Chad Layton and Mark Smith raced side-by-side into Turns 1 and 2 before Smith pulled ahead and raced to the checkered flag. Layton held off the hard-charging Jason Meyers to finish second as Meyers settled for third and Todd Hestor came to the checkered flag in the fourth and final transfer spot.
In the fourth heat, Greg Hodnett and Jason Solwold shot to the high side of the track in Turns 1 and 2 as Alan Cole, Craig Keel and Donny Schatz went three-wide into the first corner. Cole wound up with the advantage and raced into third as the two leaders drove away from the pack. Don Kreitz Jr. held on for the final transfer position to the feature.
Fred Rahmer's victory made him the 15th different World of Outlaws A-feature winner this season, and the 19th different winner including preliminary events.
World of Outlaws Statistical Report; Summer Nationals A-feature; Williams Grove Speedway; July 23, 2005
Qualifying points (Accumulated over first two preliminary programs. Top 4 in qualifying points locked into first 4 positions of Stacker 2® Dash) 1) Steve Kinser, Kiner 11, 1060 2) Jason Johnson, Kline 22, 997 3) Joey Saldana, Woodward 2, 996 4) Paul McMahan, Helm 11H, 990 5) Jac Haudenschild, Roth 83, 985 6) Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 978 7) Mark Smith, Zemco 1Z, 969 8) Greg Hodnett, Hamilton 77, 951 9) Craig Dollansky, Karavan 7, 942 10) Lucas Wolfe, Allebach 5W, 932 11) Jason Meyers, Elite Racing Team 929 12) Shane Stewart, Rudeen Racing 26, 923 13) Fred Rahmer, Harz 88H, 922 14) Daryn Pittman, Titan Racing USA 21, 911 15) Todd Hestor, Jenkins 55, 900 16) Alan Cole, Sorokach 35, 897 17) Tim Shaffer, Parsons 6, 893 18) Lance Dewease, Postupack 25, 891 19) Chad Layton, Wholesale Auto U1, 880 20) Jason Solwold, Carnahan R19, 879 21) Brian Leppo, Apple 12, 873 22) Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 862 23) T.J. Stutts, Bender 11T, 860 24) Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 854 25) Brooke Tatnell, Rush Racing 8, 816 26) Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 773 27) Josh Wells, Wells Bros. 6W, 765 28) Don Kreitz, Jr., Kreitz 69K, 761 29) Justin Collett, Collett 69, 727 30) Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20, 712 31) Brandon Wimmer, Two Winners Racing 7TW, 684 32) Doug Esh, Leach Bros. 30, 674 33) Brian Paulus, Pender 28, 668 34) Mike Erdley, Lisi 11E, 664 35) Niki Young, Neiderer 10N, 655 36) Craig Keel, Pottorff 9, 617 37) Mike Dillman, Dillman Bros. 8D,
First Heat Race (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature) 1) Fred Rahmer 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Jac Haudenschild 4) Brooke Tatnell 5) Brian Paulus 6) Tim Shaffer 7) Brian Leppo 8) Justin Collett 9) Mike Dillman
Second Heat Race (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature) 1) Terry McCarl 2) Daryn Pittman 3) Lance Dewease 4) Kraig Kinser 5) Lucas Wolfe 6) Jason Sides 7) Mike Erdley 8) Danny Lasoski
Third Heat Race (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature) 1) Mark Smith 2) Chad Layton 3) Jason Meyers 4) Todd Hestor 5) Josh Wells 6) T.J. Stutts 7) Brandon Wimmer 8) Niki Young
Fourth Heat Race (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature) 1) Greg Hodnett 2) Jason Solwold 3) Alan Cole 4) Don Kreitz, Jr. 5) Donny Schatz 6) Doug Esh 7) Shane Stewart 8) Craig Keel
Stacker 2® Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature) 1) Steve Kinser 2) Jac Haudenschild 3) Joey Saldana 4) Jason Johnson 5) Terry McCarl 6) Paul McMahan
B-main (12 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) 1) Brian Leppo [$20] 2) Lucas Wolfe [$20] 3) Donny Schatz [$20] 4) Tim Shaffer [$20] 5) Shane Stewart [$200] 6) Brian Paulus [$180] 7) Jason Sides [$175] 8) Doug Esh [$160] 9) Josh Wells [$150] 10) Danny Lasoski [$150] 11) Mike Erdley [$150] 12) Brandon Wimmer [$150] 13) T.J. Stutts [$150] 14) Justin Collett [$150] 15) Mike Dillman [$150] 16) Craig Keel [$150] 17) Niki Young [$150]
A-main (30 laps) 1) Fred Rahmer [$20,000] 2) Joey Saldana [$11,000] 3) Steve Kinser [$5,500] 4) Lance Dewease [$4,700] 5) Jason Johnson [$4,000] 6) Craig Dollansky [$3,200] 7) Lucas Wolfe [$3,000] 8) Greg Hodnett [$2,500] 9) Don Kreitz, Jr. [$2,200] 10) Jason Meyers [$2,100] 11) Terry McCarl [$2,050] 12) Tim Shaffer [$2,000] 13) Alan Cole [$1,500] 14) Daryn Pittman [$1,400] 15) Chad Layton [$1,200] 16) Paul McMahan [$1,100] 17) Mike Erdley [$1,050] 18) Brooke Tatnell [$800] 19) Brian Paulus [$800] 20) Doug Esh [$800] 21) Kraig Kinser [$800] 22) Donny Schatz [$800] 23) Jason Solwold [$800] 24) Brian Leppo [$800] 25) Jac Haudenschild [$800] 26) Todd Hestor [$800] 27) Danny Lasoski [$800] 28) Mark Smith [$800] Lap leaders: Steve Kinser 1-9, Joey Saldana 10-21, Fred Rahmer 22-30
Notes: Danny Lasoski and Brian Paulus used World of Outlaws provisionals to start the A-feature. For Lasoski, it was his fifth provisional of the season and cost him 20 points in the championship standings. … Doug Esh and Mike Erdley used Williams Grove Speedway provisionals.