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Chesson Thrills Home Fans at New Egypt By Richard Day NEW EGYPT, NJ (July 29) – P.J. Chesson couldn’t have written a better script for his first Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series "A" Feature victory. The 23-year-old driver from Far Hills, NJ, started on the pole and led all 30 laps to the delight of his home fans Monday at New Egypt Speedway. "This is great!" Chesson yelled to the partisan crowd after turning doughnuts and climbing the fence on the front straightaway. "This is New Jersey. This is my home. These are my fans. We own this place! My guys – Matt Anderson and Scott Vogelsong – work really hard and they gave me a great car tonight. When the car’s as good as it was tonight, it’s pretty easy to drive – even I can win a race. I’m just glad to get a win here with my family here, and all of my friends. It doesn’t get any better. Now we’ll go to Eldora and try to win another Big One."
Chesson, the seventh-fastest qualifier, finished third in the First Heat Race and earned the right to start the main event on the pole by winning the First O’Reilly Auto Parts Dash. He drove his family’s #76 Automotive Service Centers Eagle into the lead as the green flag fell in the "A" Feature. Tim Shaffer steered the #83 Beef Packers Eagle around fast-qualifier Craig Dollansky in the high groove between turns one and two for third place as Chesson raced away from the field during the second lap. Donny Schatz, who won the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series’ inaugural race at New Egypt last July 30th, started inside the seventh row.
The 1997 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year drove his #15 Parker Stores J&J past Second Heat Race winner Fred Rahmer for 10th place in the high groove in turn one early in the fourth lap. Chesson was 2.3 seconds ahead of Second O’Reilly Auto Parts Dash winner Daryn Pittman when he entered lapped traffic during the sixth lap. The defending World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion closed to within .5 seconds of the leader within five laps, only to have Chesson burst through traffic and open a 3.5-second advantage midway through the race. Schatz won a front-straightaway drag race with Danny Wood for ninth place early in the 18th lap. Pittman was only .3 seconds behind Chesson when Jason Hagenbuch and Randy West crashed in the third corner late in lap 22.
Mark Kinser, who suffered a blown engine during the qualifying session, started at the rear of the field and raced past nine cars in the first 17 laps. He drove the #5M Mopar Maxim into the low groove between turns three and four to pass Wood for 12th place late in lap 25.
Chesson was 1.8 seconds ahead of Pittman when he caught the back-markers with four laps remaining. A daring move between Hagenbuch and Trevor Lewis in the fourth corner the next time around gave Chesson a 2.2-second lead. Chesson, who won the Preliminary Feature during the Duel in Dakotas at Red River Valley Speedway July 5th, took the checkered flag with 1.8 seconds to spare. He is the 14th driver to win a Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series main event this year. Shaffer finished in third place, ahead of Dollansky, Randy Hannagan, Brad Furr, Johnny Herrera, Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series point standings leader Steve Kinser, Schatz and Rahmer.
Dollansky set quick time for the fifth time this season, circling the slightly-banked, 4/10-mile oval in 16.359 seconds, an average speed of 88.025 M.P.H. Herrera drove the #20 J.D. Byrider Eagle for the injured Danny Lasoski for the second straight race.
WoO 2002 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series New Egypt Speedway, New Egypt, NJ Monday, July 29, Feature Program #46 Qualifications: 1. Craig Dollansky, Karavan Racing 7, 16.359; 2. Brad Furr, Furr 2, 16.715; 3. Johnny Herrera, Stewart 20, 16.732; 4. Danny Wood, Parsons 6, 16.767; 5. Randy Hannagan, TH Racing 1x, 16.831; 6. Tim Shaffer, Roth 83, 16.906; 7. P.J. Chesson, Chesson 76, 17.033; 8. Daryn Pittman, Sher-Don Motorsports 21, 17.087; 9. Stevie Smith, Helm 11H, 17.188; 10. Joey Saldana, Saldana 17, 17.250; 11. Fred Rahmer, Harz 88, 17.362; 12. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 17.390; 13. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 17.575; 14. Brandon Wimmer, Two Winners Racing 7TW, 17.740; 15. Smokey Snellbaker, Performance Restoration 7E, 18.295; 16. Jason Hagenbuch, Hagenbuch 17H, 18.320; 17. Trevor Lewis, McMichael 15T, 18.605; 18. Randy West, Anfuso 3, 18.681; 19. Ian Borden, Borden 7B, 19.033; 20. Jeff Mueller, Mueller 3J, 20.371; 21. John Salvatore, Salvatore 20S, 20.581; 22. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, no time.
First Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Donny Schatz, 2. Craig Dollansky, 3. P.J. Chesson, 4. Tim Shaffer, 5. Randy West, 6. Steve Kinser, 7. Ian Borden. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature)
Second Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Fred Rahmer, 2. Randy Hannagan, 3. Daryn Pittman, 4. Brad Furr, 5. Mark Kinser, 6. Brandon Wimmer, 7. Trevor Lewis, 8. Jeff Mueller. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature)
Third Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Joey Saldana, 2. Stevie Smith, 3. Smokey Snellbaker, 4. Danny Wood, 5. Johnny Herrera, 6. Jason Hagenbuch, 7. John Salvatore. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature)
First O'Reilly Auto Parts Dash (five laps): 1. P.J. Chesson, 2. Craig Dollansky, 3. Randy Hannagan, 4. Johnny Herrera, 5. Fred Rahmer, 6. Stevie Smith, 7. Donny Schatz, 8. Smokey Snellbaker. (finish determined the inside starting positions in the first eight rows in the "A" Feature)
Second O'Reilly Auto Parts Dash (five laps): 1. Daryn Pittman, 2. Tim Shaffer, 3. Danny Wood, 4. Brad Furr, 5. Steve Kinser, 6. Joey Saldana, 7. Brandon Wimmer, 8. Jason Hagenbuch. (finish determined the outside starting positions in the first eight rows in the "A" Feature)
A Feature (30 laps): 1. P.J. Chesson [1] (10,000); 2. Daryn Pittman [2] ($5,500); 3. Tim Shaffer [4] ($3,200); 4. Craig Dollansky [3] ($2,800); 5. Randy Hannagan [5] ($2,500); 6. Brad Furr [8] ($2,300); 7. Johnny Herrera [7] ($2,200); 8. Steve Kinser [10] ($2,100); 9. Donny Schatz [13] ($2,050); 10. Fred Rahmer [9] ($2,000); 11. Joey Saldana [12] ($1,500); 12. Mark Kinser [22] ($1,200); 13. Danny Wood [6] ($1,100); 14. Smokey Snellbaker [15] ($1,050); 15. Stevie Smith [11] ($1,000); 16. Brandon Wimmer [14] ($800); 17. Jason Hagenbuch [16] ($800); 18. Trevor Lewis [17] ($800); 19. Randy West [18] ($800); 20. Jeff Mueller [20] ($800); 21. Ian Borden [19] ($800); 22. John Salvatore [21] ($800).
Lap leader: P.J. Chesson 1-30
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