Saldana Soars at Eagle : Wins Eagle Nationals to Claim Seventh Win of 2007
Lincoln, NE—June 9, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director
Twice this season, Joey Saldana and his Kasey Kahne Racing team have welcomed new crew members to their team, and twice they have won in the debut race for the new crew members.
On Saturday at Eagle Raceway in the Eagle Nationals, they welcomed Kolten Gouse and Jared Ridge to the team. Both recently graduated high school and will take to the road full-time with the team for the remainder of the World of Outlaws season. Saldana welcomed the pair in style on Saturday night, as they got to celebrate in Victory Lane, as he won his seventh A-Feature event of the season.
Saldana powered his way to the lead on the eighth lap of the Eagle Nationals, charging under Brooke Tatnell on the back straightaway, and then holding off a furious charge from Jac Haudenschild over the last 10 laps of the race.
“It was a great night tonight,” said Saldana, driver of the Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI. “The team worked great collectively to win this race. We know that we have a team that is capable of winning each time we get to the track. We’ll just keep building on this. We set up a strong foundation for this team last season and we continue to build and grow. This win is huge for Kasey Kahne Racing.”
The race began with polesitter Brooke Tatnell jumping to the early lead over Steve Kinser and Haudenschild. It was slowed on the fourth lap when an accident involving several cars that were running in the Top-10 got together. Daryn Pittman got the worst of it getting upside, ending his night. Also, Steve Kinser’s night was over after the incident. The rest of the cars involved including current series point leader Donny Schatz were able to continue after going to the work area,
Saldana lined up sixth for the 40-lap event and gained a couple of spots on the opening lap. He moved into the third spot on the fourth lap when the accident occurred. On the ensuing restart, the native of Brownsburg, Indiana dove under Haudenschild coming off the fourth turn to claim the runner-up spot. He would then shadow Tatnell for three laps before making the pass for the lead and ultimately the win.
A number of caution flags slowed the race, and forced the cars to run a number of laps under the yellow flag. This had many of the teams worried about fuel and also if their tires would hold up. The only thing that slightly worried Saldana was a lapped car in front of him that lost power late in the race, bringing out a caution right in front of him exiting the fourth turn.
“I think the crew was worried about fuels and tires, but I wasn’t,” explained the winner. “I knew we had a lot of fuel to begin the race and we had a little bit harder of a tire on. We were fast down low and we could pass down there. We tried a few new things with shocks tonight and they worked.”
Haudenschild thrilled the crowd with his trademark aggressive driving style, as he tapped the wall several times as the laps wound down. He had a very entertaining battle with 2001 World of Outlaws Champion Danny Lasoski in the middle portion of the race. Haudenschild rode inches off the wall, while Lasoski was stuck to the bottom of the track. The pair traded the runner-up position a number of times. Late in the race, Haudenschild also battled with Tatnell for the second spot, as he continued to hug the wall.
“The car was pretty good tonight, and the crew did a good job,” said Haudenschild, driver of the Wright One Construction Maxim. “We got close to Joey (Saldana) at the end and just came up a little bit short. We gave it everything we had.”
The native of Wooster, Ohio made up ground in traffic as he chased Saldana, but each time he would close in on the leader, the yellow flag flew, sending all the lapped machines to the rear of the field. On the restarts in open track Saldana quickly jumped to a sizeable lead, leaving Haudenschild looking for traffic to close the gap.
“We didn’t need the yellows at the end,” said the runner-up. “We were very good in lapped traffic and that is where we made up ground running up top. If we would have gotten in traffic with 10 or 15 laps to go, we would have had a few more chances.”
Before the World of Outlaws heat races took to the high-banked 1/3-mile, the track crew along with officials from SLS Promotions reworked the track, which drew rave reviews from the drivers at the end of the night.
“The track was very racy tonight,” said Haudenschild, while signing autographs for a throng of fans in the pit area. “It helped when they worked on the track. We ran both the top and bottom.”
Tatnell matched his season-best finish as he was third in the Eagle Nationals, to earn his third straight Top-three finish at the track. After winning his first Crane Cams Dash of the season, he earned his first pole position and led his first laps of the 2007 campaign in A-Feature competition.
“It’s a happy/sad day,” said Tatnell, driver of the Volcano Joe’s Coffee Schnee. “It’s the best we have consistently been all year long, but it’s disappointing to lead and not win.”
After enduring some bad luck the last couple of weeks, the strong run lifted the team’s spirit as they continue to close in on their first win of the season. Early in the race, he pulled away before a caution negated the lead he built up, and putting Saldana and Haudenschild right on his tail tank.
“We found a few things during the week and those helped us,” said the native of San Souci, NSW, Australia. “I was searching the track for the rubber. It was good to lead laps and run up front.”
The always optimistic driver has always enjoyed racing at Eagle, and admits that even when things aren’t going great, he can usually turn things around at Eagle.
“It’s good bullring racing here, like what I grew up doing,” explained the multi-time champion in Australia. “You have to get your elbows up and manhandle the car. We’ve always had good results here, no matter what car I have been in. It’s a good confidence boost for the team.”
Danny Lasoski finished fourth in the Roth Motorsports Eagle to vault into the third spot in the championship point standings. The native of Dover, Missouri lined up 12th for the 40-lap event, and steadily worked his way to the front. He gained two spots on the opening lap, and was a benefactor of the lap-4 red flag, moving from 10th to fifth. From there, he worked on Jason Sides for the fourth spot, and then got around Haudenschild for second, before battling Tatnell late in the race for the third spot.
Jason Meyers lined up 16th in the Eagle Nationals, and also had a very consistent night aboard the Primerica Financial Maxim. He gained a couple spots on the opening lap and also was a benefactor of the lap-4 incident, gaining five positions. He worked his way into fifth on the 28th-lap. It was his 13th Top-Five finish of the season and it moved up into the fifth spot in points.
Chad Kemenah earned his sixth Top-10 finish of the season, as he was sixth in the Hampshire Racing Engines Maxim. Kerry Madsen earned the KSE Race Products Hard Charger Award after starting 23rd and finishing seventh in the Selma Shell Maxim. Paul McMahan was eighth in the Bass Pro Shops Eagle. Tim Shaffer was ninth in the Casey’s General Stores Maxim.
Current World of Outlaws championship point leader Donny Schatz finished 10th in the Snap-on Tools J&J after getting caught up in the lap 4 accident and having to go to the work area and restart at the read of the field. It was his 27th Top-10 finish in 30 events.
The night began with Saldana turning the quickest lap in time trials for the sixth time this season. He also added to the number of laps that he has led on the season, crossing the 200-lap marker which is best in the series. In addition to this, he took over the lead in money earned after picking up $10,000 for his seventh A-Feature triumph of the season.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Thursday, June 14 at the recently reconfigured Tri-City Speedway in Illinois, for an event that postponed by weather in April.
EAGLE RACEWAY NOTEBOOK
• FAST QUALIFIER: Joey Saldana paced the 27 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked 1/3-mile oval in 12.456 seconds at 96.243 mph. For his qualifying effort, Saldana eared five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Jason Solwold (4), Paul McMahan (3), Daryn Pittman (2) and Donny Schatz (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Brooke Tatnell, Chad Kemenah and Jason Sides won heat races… Terry McCarl won the B-Main… Brooke Tatnell won the Crane Cams dash.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 30 World of Outlaws A-Feature events held in 2007. The win list includes: Joey Saldana (February 23 at Thunderbowl Raceway, March 17 at Pike County Speedway, March 24 at Volunteer Speedway, March 31 at Dixie Speedway, April 20 at Attica Raceway Park, June 5 at Kokomo Speedway and June 9 at Eagle Raceway), Donny Schatz (February 9 at Volusia Speedway Park, March 3 at Manzanita Speedway, March 16 at Houston Raceway Park, April 28 at Knoxville Raceway, May 17 at Williams Grove Speedway, May 18 at Williams Grove Speedway and May 25 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway), Steve Kinser (March 2 at USA Race Park, April 21 at Tri-State Speedway, May 15 at Lernerville Speedway, May 20 at New Egypt Speedway, May 28 at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park and June 1 at Sharon Speedway), Danny Lasoski (April 6 at Paducah International Raceway and May 23 at Grandview Speedway), Jason Meyers (April 13 at Eldora Speedway and May 11 at U.S. 36 Raceway), Daryn Pittman (February 11 at Volusia Speedway Park and May 5 at Riverside International Speedway), Craig Dollansky (May 12 at Lake Ozark Speedway), Tim Kaeding (February 24 at Thunderbowl Raceway), Kerry Madsen (February 10 at Volusia Speedway Park) and Paul McMahan (June 2 at Eldora Speedway).
• 1/3-MILE WINNERS: Eagle Raceway is a 1/3-mile semi-banked oval. The World of Outlaws have raced six times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Thunderbowl Raceway, Attica Raceway Park and Eagle Raceway), Craig Dollansky (Lake Ozark Speedway), Tim Kaeding (Thunderbowl Raceway) and Danny Lasoski (Grandview Speedway).
•ON TELEVISION: The World of Outlaws will be televised 20 times this season on ESPN2 and SPEED while the World of Outlaws Late Model Series is set for six appearances on SPEED. The one-hour broadcasts will air on Sundays from May 13 to Nov. 4, when the series champions will be crowned during the World Finals from The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
• ON THE WEB: The Official World of Outlaws Web site is at http://www.worldofoutlaws.com. Among the features are updated driver biographies with individual statistics and pictures, race-by-race statistics, detailed track information and race coverage, series news and team press releases. Also, links to the Media Guide and 2007 Official Rulebook can be found at the bottom of the home page.
• LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws live through the DIRTVision.com Cybercast and on the DIRT Radio Network. To listen to the audio broadcasts, log on to www.DIRTVision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo. Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail webmaster@DIRTVision.com.
• UP NEXT: The series will return to the recently reconfigured Tri-City Speedway in Illinois on Thursday, June 14, for an event that was postponed by weather in April.
• UPCOMING EVENTS: On Saturday, June 16th a stop at Knoxville Raceway dots the schedule, for the first event of the “SuperClean Summer of Money” to be broadcast for eight consecutive Sunday’s on ESPN2. On Wednesday, June 20, the World of Outlaws return to State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Missouri.
World of Outlaws Statistical Report; Eagle Nationals at Eagle Raceway; Lincoln, NE.; June, 9, 2007
Qualifying
Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 2-Brooke Tatnell
2) 21-Daryn Pittman
3) 1X-Randy Hannagan
4) 9-Joey Saldana
5) 14-Jason Meyers
6) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.
7) 24-Terry McCarl
8) D1-Justin Henderson
9) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 3X-Chad Kemenah
2) 35-Jac Haudenschild
3) R19-Jason Solwold
4) 5C-Chad Hillier
5) 15-Donny Schatz
6) 6-Tim Shaffer
7) 11H-Kerry Madsen
8) 11D-Dion Hindi
9) 4W-Matt Wasmund
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 7S-Jason Sides
2) 11-Steve Kinser
3) 83-Danny Lasoski
4) 7-Craig Dollansky
5) 20-Paul McMahan
6) 8K-Zach Chappell
7) 36-Jason Martin
8) 10C-Jeremy Campbell
9) 13-Seth Brahmer
Crane Cams Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 2-Brooke Tatnell
2) 11-Steve Kinser
3) 21-Daryn Pittman
4) 35-Jac Haudenschild
5) R19-Jason Solwold
6) 9-Joey Saldana
7) 7S-Jason Sides
8) 15-Donny Schatz
9) 3X-Chad Kemenah
10) 20-Paul McMahan
B-main (10 laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 24-Terry McCarl
2) 10C-Jeremy Campbell
3) 36-Jason Martin
4) 11D-Dion Hindi
5) 11H-Kerry Madsen
6) D1-Justin Henderson
7) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [$200]
8) 13-Seth Brahmer [$180]
9) 4W-Matt Wasmund [$175]
A-main (40 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 9-Joey Saldana[6] [$10,000]
2) 35-Jac Haudenschild[4] [$5,500]
3) 2-Brooke Tatnell[1] [$3,200]
4) 83-Danny Lasoski[12] [$2,800]
5) 14-Jason Meyers[16] [$2,500]
6) 3X-Chad Kemenah[9] [$2,300]
7) 11H-Kerry Madsen[23] [$2,200]
8) 20-Paul McMahan[10] [$2,100]
9) 6-Tim Shaffer[14] [$2,050]
10) 15-Donny Schatz[8] [$2,000]
11) 7S-Jason Sides[7] [$1,500]
12) 1X-Randy Hannagan[11] [$1,200]
13) 8K-Zach Chappell[22] [$1,100]
14) 36-Jason Martin[18] [$1,050]
15) 7-Craig Dollansky[21] [$1,000]
16) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.[19] [$900]
17) 10C-Jeremy Campbell[15] [$800]
18) D1-Justin Henderson[24] [$800]
19) 11D-Dion Hindi[20] [$800]
20) 5C-Chad Hillier[17] [$800]
21) R19-Jason Solwold[5] [$800]
22) 24-Terry McCarl[13] [$800]
23) 11-Steve Kinser[2] [$800]
24) 21-Daryn Pittman[3] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Brooke Tatnell 1-7, Joey Saldana 8-40
KSE Hard Charger Award: Kerry Madsen
2007 STAT ATTACK
There have been 30 World of Outlaws A-Feature events this season.
A-Feature winners (10 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Wins
1- #9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 7
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND - 7
3- #11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN - 6
4- #83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO - 2
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA - 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK - 2
7- #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN - 1
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA - 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW – 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN - 1
Lap leaders, including A-features and preliminary features Car, driver, hometown - Total laps led (17 different drivers have led a lap)
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN. – 214 laps
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 138 laps
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. – 133 laps
#7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 89 laps
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 84 laps
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 63 laps
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 46 laps
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 41 laps
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA – 40 laps
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 33 laps
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA- 31 laps
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 24 laps
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA – 22 laps
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW – 22 laps
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD – 14 laps
#2 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW – 7 laps
#2L Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo, PA – 3 laps
Time trial leaders (17 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Quick times
1 - #9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN - 6
2 – #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA - 4
3- #20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN - 3
4 - #10C Jeremy Campbell, Monroe, MI - 2
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND - 2
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA - 2
7- #18T Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS - 1
#8K Zach Chappell, Talala, OK - 1
#89 Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA – 1
#7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN - 1
#5C Chad Hillier, Burlington, WA – 1
#3X Chad Kemenah, Findlay, OH - 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW – 1
#36 Jason Martin, Liberal, KS - 1
#8MChris Meleason, Carlisle, PA - 1
#6T Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#5W Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA - 1
Track records established during 2007 World of Outlaws events (5)
* Craig Dollansky, March 2, United Sports Arizona Race Park (3/8-mile), Tucson, AZ, 12.624 seconds at 106.939 mph.
* Kerry Madsen, March 3, Manzanita Speedway (1/2-mile), Phoenix, AZ, 15.255 seconds at 118.149 mph.
* Joey Saldana, March 16, Houston Raceway Park (1/4-mile) Baytown, TX, 11.996 seconds at 75.025 mph.
* Joey Saldana, March 24, Volunteer Speedway (4/10-mile) Bulls Gap, TN, 11.696 second at 123.119 mph.
* Jason Solwold, May 5, Riverside International Speedway (1/4-mile) West Memphis, AR, 11.060 seconds at 81.374 mph.
Crane Cams Dash Winners (17 different winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Dash Wins
1- #21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK - 4
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 4
3- #83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO - 3
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA - 3
5- #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN - 2
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN - 2
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN - 2
8 – #15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX - 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH - 1
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD - 1
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA - 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN - 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA - 1
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN - 1
#4 Danny Smith, Danville, IN - 1
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA - 1
#2 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW - 1
Pole Positions (17 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Poles
1- #21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK - 4
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 4
3- #83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO - 3
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA - 3
5- #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN - 2
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN - 2
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN - 2
8- #15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX - 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD - 1
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA - 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN - 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA - 1
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 1
#4 Danny Smith, Danville, IN - 1
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA - 1
#2 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW- 1
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger (8 drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown
1 - #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA - 2
2 - #35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH - 1
#5C Chad Hillier, Burlington, WA - 1
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW - 1
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK - 1
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownburg, IN – 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA - 1
B-main Winners (22different winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - "B" Wins
1 – #24 Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA - 4
2 - #D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD - 2
#11D Dion Hindi, Albuquerque, NM – 2
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND - 2
#4 Danny Smith, Danville, IN - 2
6 -#18T Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS - 1
#10C Jeremy Campbell, Monroe, MI - 1
#24H- Rob Chaney, Wooster, OH - 1
#15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX -1
#1X Randy Hannagan, San Jose – 1
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA - 1
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose - 1
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN - 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW – 1
#36 Jason Martin, Liberal, KS - 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN - 1
#51 Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, PA - 1
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA - 1
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN - 1
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA - 1
#2 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW – 1