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Lasoski wins NST show in Fonda

By Craig Murphy

   With Danny Lasoski starting so close to the front, competing National Sprint Tour drivers should have known they were in trouble Tuesday night at Fonda Speedway in Fonda, New York.

   The last two races, Lasoski had to restart at the rear following a first lap crash, and came back to finish sixth. Last race out, Lasoski started 15th and stormed through the field to finish second.

   So when Lasoski started eighth on July 18, piece of cake, right?

   Pretty much, yes.

   “That’s halfway from where I’ve been (starting),” Lasoski joked afterwards.

   The NST point leader rocketed to fourth on the opening lap while Jason Sides led. Lasoski was third on lap 2, and second on lap 3. On lap 7, Lasoski got by Sides for a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.

   “I was just going to go where they weren’t,” Lasoski said of his strategy in the opening laps. “Dennis Roth gave us a great team. However hard we need to work, that’s what we do. We really believe in each other. You need to believe in each other to do well.”

   While Lasoski was cruising up front, the now-regular battle of the Jasons – Sides, Solwold, and Meyers – played out in the battle for second, which was also contested by Steve Kinser.

   Solwold took the high line around Sides for second on lap 11, with Meyers also getting by Sides a lap later. Sides tangled with a lapped car on lap 15, bringing out the first yellow of the 25-lap race.

   Lasoski got a good jump on the restart to pull away from Solwold, who slowed to a stop on lap 19 with a broken torque tube. Lasoski wasn’t even aware of Solwold’s problems.

   “I had never seen anybody the whole race,” ‘The Dude’ said.

   On the final restart, Lasoski once again pulled away as Meyers and Kinser fought for second. Despite getting bogged down behind a lapped car on the final lap, Meyers was able to claim the spot.

   “Another second,” lamented Meyers, whose car owner Guy Stockbridge is a new co-owner of the NST. “We had a great car. The guys are getting a handle on things. I should have gone up top at the start. That was my mistake. Danny went up top and got around us. If I had gone up there first, things would probably have been different.”

   Meyers, who said more help with lapped traffic was his only hope for passing Lasoski, enjoyed the battle for second throughout the race.

   “We were side-by-side with the battle for second,” he said. “One of us would get it, then someone else would get it the next turn. It was great racing. We’ve had great racing all year. You know you can race hard with those guys.”

   Kinser kept trying to find a faster way to get by the Jasons.

   “It was fair,” Kinser said of his race. “I was trying to slip by them, but we were all the same speed. I was trying to get the low groove to work. We were just too even. I needed more traffic.”

   Kinser believes Tuesday’s show was another positive for the series, started last winter by Fred Brownfield, who tragically passed away last month. Kinser is one of the new co-owners.

   “We have good shows, and good crowds,” said Kinser, a longtime friend of the Brownfield family. “That’s all you can ask for. I never was one to be much in ownership, but I didn’t want Debbie Brownfield to have to deal with it either.”

   Behind the front three, a couple of local drivers had strong runs. Craig Keel finished fourth while Jessica Zemken was fifth.

   “It’s not like winning,” Keel said. “I got close to Steve. Sometimes lapped traffic helps you, sometimes it don’t. We got a top-five, so that’s good.”

   Zemken, relatively new to 410 Sprint cars, started fourth and hung out near the front the whole race.

   “I definitely surprised myself,” said Zemken, who signed autographs for a huge throng of fans. “I had guys like Kinser and Lasoski behind me at the start. It was very intimidating. Once in lapped traffic, those guys took my line away.”

   Zemken admitted to being star struck at one point in the evening.

   “Lasoski came up to me after the dashes and asked about my tires,” she recalled. “I almost fell over.”

   Trophy dashes were won by Brian Paulus and Sides, with Paulus choosing to start on the inside pole for the 25-lap main event.

   Heat races were won by Shane Stewart, Kerry Madsen and Tim Kaeding. Paul McMahan was the fastest of 25 qualifiers with a time of 15.663 seconds, his fourth fast time of the year.

   The National Sprint Tour next races Friday, July 21 at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio.

 

Qualifying Results

Pos   First   Last  No.   Best Tm
1   PAUL McMAHAN 20   15.663
2   Lucas Wolfe 5W     15.780
3   STEVE KINSER 11     15.815
4   DANNY LASOSKI 83     15.924
5   Justin Barger 32         15.990
6   JASON SOLWOLD R19  16.050
7   BRIAN PAULUS 28     16.081
Jesica Zemken 1Z     16.151
9   Craig Keel 9          16.387
10   JASON SIDES 7S     16.411
11   JASON MEYERS 14      16.476
12   DEAN JACOBS 6    16.544
13   Blake Breen 8           16.783
14   KERRY MADSEN 11H     16.837
15   TIM KAEDING 11K      16.864
16   SHANE STEWART 26       16.921
17   Lance Younge 17J     17.046
18   John Karklin 69K      17.098
19   John Smith 22E       17.324
20   Blase Regina 45        17.613
21   Warren Alexson 3A    17.739
22   Riki Likowski 7R      17.860
23   Bobby Breen 9B      17.963
24   Mike Stelter 36        18.151
25   Dick Spadaro 29      18.418

 

Heat One Line-Up  
26   -  8
7S   -  28
83   -  20
22E -  7R
29  

 

Heat One Finish

1   SHANE STEWART 26
2   BRIAN PAULUS 28
3   DANNY LASOSKI 83
4   JASON SIDES 7S
5   Blake Breen 8
6   PAUL McMAHAN 20
7   John Smith 22E
8   Riki Likowski 7R
9   Dick Spadaro 29

 

Heat Two Line-Up  
17J  -  11H
14   -  1Z
32   -  5W
45   -  9B

 

Heat Two Finish
1   KERRY MADSEN 11H
2   JASON MEYERS 14
3   Lance Younge 17J
4   Jesica Zemken 1Z
5   Justin Barger 32
6   Lucas Wolfe 5W
7   Blase 
Regina 45
8   Bobby Breen 9B


Heat Three Line-Up  
69K -  11K
6     -  9
R19 -  11
3A   -  36

 

Heat Three Finish
1   TIM KAEDING 11K
2   Craig Keel 9
3   STEVE KINSER 11
4   DEAN JACOBS 6
5   JASON SOLWOLD R19
6   John Karklin 69K
7   Mike Stelter 36
8  
Warren Alexson 3A
 

Dash One Line-Up  
28  -  32
11  -  14
9    -  20

 

Dash One Finish

1   BRIAN PAULUS 28
2   Justin Barger 32
3   JASON MEYERS 14
4   STEVE KINSER 11
5   Craig Keel 9
6   PAUL McMAHAN 20

Dash Two Line-Up  
7S  -  6
83  -  R19
1Z  -  5W

 

Dash Two Finish

1   JASON SIDES 7S
2   Jesica Zemken 1Z
3   JASON SOLWOLD R19
4   DANNY LASOSKI 83
5   DEAN JACOBS 6
6   Lucas Wolfe 5W

** Brian Paulus has lane choice.

     He chose the inside.

 

A-Feature Line- Up  - 25 LAPS
28   -  7S
32   -  1Z
14   -  R19
11   -  83
9     -  6
20   -  5W
8     -  11H
11K -  26
17J  -  69K
22E -   45
3A   -  7R
9B   -  36
29  

A-Feature Finish

1 DANNY LASOSKI 83
2 JASON MEYERS 14
3 STEVE KINSER 11
4 Craig Keel 9
5 Jesica Zemken 1Z
6 BRIAN PAULUS 28
7 Justin Barger 32
8 DEAN JACOBS 6
9 PAUL McMAHAN 20
10 TIM KAEDING 11K
11 Lucas Wolfe 5W
12 SHANE STEWART 26
13 KERRY MADSEN 11H
14 JASON SIDES 7S
15 John Smith 22E
16 Blake Breen 8
17 John Karklin 69K
18 Mike Stelter 36
19 Warren Alexson 3A
20 Riki Likowski 7R
21 JASON SOLWOLD R19
22 Lance Younge 17J
23 Blase Regina 45
24 Richard Spadaro 29

 

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