Pevely, MO — July 9, 2005 — By Chris Dolack, World of Outlaws Senior
Writer
Car after car tried to knock down the wall in Turns 1 and 2 Saturday
night at I-55 Raceway, but the wall took a defiant stand and threw
every car back onto the track, some upright and some not.
Chad Kemenah and Donny Schatz didnÂ’t chance it. Instead, they set up
their cars to work on the bottom of the high-banked 1/3-mile oval.
While Shane Stewart started on the pole and powered his way along the
cushion, which in some spots was the concrete fence, Kemenah and Schatz
tip-toed along the very bottom and found themselves finishing first and
second.
For Kemenah, a three-time champion with the All Stars, it was the first
World of Outlaws Sprint Series victory in his career. Kemenah, Stewart
and Jason Solwold thrilled the packed stands with side-by-side,
back-and-forth duels before Stewart finally succumbed to the concrete,
flipping in Turn 2 with 12 laps to go.
Stewart tried to recover, especially to keep pace in the March to the
Mean 15, but one lap later he looped his car in Turn 2 just as Solwold
surged in front of Kemenah for the lead. With the lap not complete,
Solwold was moved back to second and on the restart Kemenah shot to the
front as a wild scramble for second ensued. Solwold fended off Schatz,
Steve Kinser and Brooke Tatnell, but the slicing and dicing never let
up.
Kemenah, who surprised everyone by going high on that final restart,
quickly moved back down when he realized the peril of challenging the
wall and began to pull away. Schatz raced his way along the bottom and
was strong enough to catch and pass Solwold for second. Then Tatnell
moved down to a middle groove and got Solwold for the third on the
final lap with Kinser hanging on for fifth in the 40-lap feature.
“This is probably my biggest win,” said Kemenah, who has been the
fastest qualifier on three nights this season with the Outlaws before
collecting $10,000 for winning Saturday night. “Knoxville was really
cool last year to run second, but when you can say you won your first
Outlaws race, thatÂ’s in the elite there.
“Me and Shane got going there for a while and it was really good for
the fans. I had to stay on the bottom because I didnÂ’t think I could
get around the outside of him. I saw him get tangled up with the fence.
I didnÂ’t want to see that. I wanted to try to beat him while he was
running but I’ll take it whenever I can get it.”
Nobody was more surprised than Schatz when Kemenah went high on the
final restart, but without any mirrors in a sprint car, Kemenah had no
idea who was running directly behind him, only knowing that most of the
cars were trying to get around on the top of the track.
“When you’re leading you don’t have any idea where you’re at,” said
Kemenah, of Findlay, Ohio. “I went up there just to try to get the car
as wide as I could. I donÂ’t care how it happened, I was the first one
to the checkered flag. IÂ’ve been so close, IÂ’m just tickled to death.
“We do concentrate on that All Star deal, but we like to come race with
these guys whenever we can because we feel it makes our whole team
better.
SchatzÂ’s second-place run, one night after winning at Route 66 Raceway,
signals that he definitely has his program turned around as the series
heads into the Month of Money.
“We just need to put up good finishes,” said Schatz, a four-time
feature winner this season. “I guess at the end we were there. There
were a lot of cars better than us, but they made mistakes on the last
couple of laps. I really thought I was going to get him there. With two
laps to go I got to second and started to catch him a little bit and he
got off the bottom and thatÂ’s where I was good. I just got overdriving
it, I guess. That happens from time to time.
What benefited Schatz the most is the knowledge he canÂ’t run on the top
at a track like I-55 Raceway. He never even considered running that
line during the night.
“I know I can’t run up there and do it smoothly on a track like this so
I just don’t do it,” said Schatz, a Mean 15 racer from Fargo, N.D. “I
guess a lot of those other guys are better at it. Ten years ago I
could, today I canÂ’t. ThatÂ’s just the way it is. If you know youÂ’re not
going to be any good there or itÂ’s going to jerk you around and youÂ’re
going to get in trouble, get away from it. I watched the modified race
and a lot of those guys got in trouble up there. ThatÂ’s not my kind of
racetrack anymore.”
By sneaking into third, Brooke Tatnell extended his advantage in the
March to the Mean 15, a five-race challenge to determine the newest
member of the Mean 15. Tatnell now owns a 16-point lead over Solwold, a
26-point lead on Stewart and a 32-point lead on Terry McCarl.
“It was cut and dice,” said Tatnell, a native of San Souci, New South
Wales, Australia, who moved into the Top 10 in points despite missing
four races in February. “It was one of those deals where you had to
keep moving around. I was good on the top and made a bad decision on
the restart to go to the bottom and lost three or four spots. I got
back on the top and had to work twice as hard to make up those three
spots we lost.
“The cushion was the fence. It was a foot-wide cushion and if you hit
it wrong it would suck the front end into the fence. You couldnÂ’t
really slide up and hit it. You sort of had to be on it or just below
it, but you couldnÂ’t slide up to it. I feel bad for Shane because he
had a good run going.”
Solwold posted his most impressive run since he finished second in a
preliminary feature in April at Eldora Speedway. Solwold was clearly
determined to push his to the front, and had the cautions not worked
against him, he might have been the one celebrating his first Outlaws
victory. Instead, Solwold will settle for knowing that he jumped from
fourth to second in the March to the Mean 15 with three races to go.
“That last yellow with 11 to go, I was actually catching up to Kemenah
and I had a pretty good rhythm going,” said Solwold, a former track
champion at Skagit Speedway and native of Mt. Vernon, Wash. “Then we
had the restart and I drove it in hard a couple of times trying to
catch him and backed up to fourth, but that was the closest we felt to
winning all year. I felt we had something for him. I liked the feeling
so hopefully it will come back around.
“The cushion was hard. If you didn’t hit it just right, something was
going to happen to you. YouÂ’d bounce the front end over and into the
wall. I got a little antsy after that last yellow. But we made it home
in fourth. ItÂ’s another good top 10 finish and thatÂ’s what we need
right now.”
Points-leader Steve Kinser earned his 28th top-five finish this season,
riding the cushion and surviving the wild finish.
“It had a real bad cushion on it,” said Kinser, a Mean 15 racer from
Bloomington, Ind. “It was grabbing everybody. It was so slick to it,
you just slide to it and hit it. If you ran in there too hard and hit
it you could get upside down real easy. IÂ’d run in there hard enough
where I could hit it but it wouldnÂ’t upset but it wasnÂ’t going to turn
me over. IÂ’d like to run a little bit harder, but I wasnÂ’t working that
good and I had a little too hard of a tire on.”
The Outlaws have a few days to catch their breath before the intensity
picks up with the Brad Doty Classic on Wednesday at Attica Raceway Park
and then the KingÂ’s Royal festivities next weekend at Eldora Speedway.
THE MARCH TO THE MEAN 15
On the second night of the March to the Mean 15 featuring Brooke
Tatnell, Shane Stewart, Terry McCarl and Jason Solwold, Tatnell just
edged Solwold at the line to grab third. Stewart led the most laps in
the A-main and stood to gain the most ground until he took a wild
tumble in Turn 2, one of many drivers to bounce around on the high
side. Stewart wound up 17th with McCarl also taking on the wall in
Turns 1 and 2 and finishing 14th.
The remaining three races to determine the newest member of the Mean 15
are the Brad Doty Classic Wednesday at Attica Raceway Park, the Knight
Before the KingÂ’s Royal July 15 at Eldora Speedway, and the Don Martin
Memorial July 19 at Lernerville Speedway.
March to the Mean 15 Standings, through second of five races
I-55 RACEWAY NOTEBOOK
• I-55 Raceway is a 1/3-mile oval. Last night’s race was the 10th this
season on a track that size, including preliminaries, with five
different winners. Chad Kemenah earned the first World of Outlaws
victory in his career Saturday night. Steve Kinser won twice at Eagle
Raceway and at Grandview Speedway, Tim Shaffer captured A-mains May 6
at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo., and Feb. 25 at Thunderbowl
Raceway in Tulare, Calif. Craig Dollansky won at July 6 at Powercom
Park and Feb. 26 at Bakersfield Speedway near Bakersfield, Calif. On
April 2, Kraig Kinser won at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.
• When Chad Kemenah took the checkered flag Saturday night at I-55
Raceway, he became the 13th different winner this season on the Outlaws
circuit. Steve Kinser leads the way with 12 victories, most recently
winning June 18 at Eagle Raceway in the 22nd Annual Eagle Nationals.
Kraig Kinser won his fourth A-feature of the season in June at
Knoxville Raceway. He also has a preliminary feature win at Las Vegas.
Jason Meyers earned his fourth win of the season July 2 at Red River
Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D. Donny Schatz also has four
A-feature victories, at Parramatta, Las Vegas and Houston and Joliet,
Ill. Brian Paulus won Tuesday night at HusetÂ’s Speedway for his second
victory of the season. He also won June 1 at Rolling Wheels Raceway
Park. Tim Shaffer picked up his second win of the season May 6 at Lake
Ozark Speedway. Sammy Swindell won his second A-feature victory of the
season June 4 at Eldora Speedway. Swindell also has a preliminary
feature win April 8 at Eldora. Tim Kaeding earned a World of Outlaws
Sprint Series victory June 11 at Sheboygan County Fair Park. Brian
Paulus raced to a victory June 1 at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park. Daryn
Pittman was the winner April 23 at 81 Speedway in Wichita. Craig
Dollansky has won two features, most recently at Powercom Park, and a
preliminary, while Brooke Tatnell won a feature at Cedar Lake Speedway
and Jeff Shepard won a feature at Volusia Speedway Park. In Preliminary
Features, Danny Lasoski has won twice and Joey Saldana has won once.
• In the Stacker 2® Dash to set the inside top six rows of the A-main,
three of the drivers in the March to the Mean 15 took the green flag,
but for the second night in a row Shane Stewart took the checkered flag
to earn the pole for the feature. Jason Solwold was second, followed by
Chad Kemenah, Brian Paulus, Brooke Tatnell and Steve Kinser.
• In the second Dash that set the outside top six rows of the A-main,
Kraig Kinser began his quest for a repeat at I-55 by easily taking the
checkered flag. Craig Dollansky, a feature winner on Wednesday at
Powercom Park, finished second, followed by Danny Lasoski, Friday night
winner Donny Schatz, Daryn Pittman and Paul McMahan.
• In the B-main, fast-qualifier Joey Saldana quickly powered to the
lead as Jesse Hockett cut into second. Saldana was too strong for the
field, motoring back into the lead after three cautions. Hockett held
onto second with Terry McCarl settling for third and Jimmy Hurley
earning the final transfer spot to the feature.
• In the first heat, Jac Haudenschild raced the Dennis Roth-owned No.
83jr to the front in Turn 2 and held off Jason Sides to the checkered
flag. Kraig Kinser cruised to the finish in third with Shane Stewart in
fourth. The race for the fifth and final transfer spot was intense as
Joey Moughan fought off the nightÂ’s fastest qualifier, Joey Saldana.
• In the second heat, Tim Shaffer shot to the front as Steve Kinser
dove from fourth to second. Pole-sitter Jesse Hockett then blew a
motor, moving Chad Kemenah up a spot. On the restart, Shaffer rushed
back to the lead and held off Kinser as the field raced the rest of the
way single-file. Wimmer finished third, Danny Lasoski was fourth and
Kemenah fifth.
• In the third heat, Jason Meyers and Tim Kaeding raced side-by-side
into the first turn before Meyers slid in front down the backstretch.
Meyers, Kaeding, Donny Schatz and Jason Solwold pulled in front leaving
Paul McMahan and Terry McCarl to fight for the final transfer spot.
With McCarl on the cushion, McMahan powered through the low groove. The
two were side-by-side coming off of the final turn with McMahan blowing
a motor but still barely holding off McCarl at the checkered flag.
• In the fourth heat, Jeff Shepard and Brian Paulus raced to the front
as Brooke Tatnell, Daryn Pittman and Craig Dollansky went three-wide
down the backstretch. Paulus edged in front on Lap 4 and drove to the
checkered flag. Tatnell was second, followed by Hockett, Dollansky and
Pittman.
• Joey Saldana paced the 32 cars that went through time trials with a
lap around the 1/3-mile oval in 10.509 seconds at 114.187 mph. Stevie
Smith owns the track record in an Outlaws event after turning a
10.189-second lap on March 30, 2002.
“It’s good because our motor still isn’t running very good,” Saldana
said. “I know we qualified fast time, but I don’t think Pevely is a
track where you know if your motor really runs. We just ran a nice
clean lap and we went out early, but I think weÂ’re still fighting some
motor issues and hopefully we can get it figured out before Eldora.”
• The Outlaws next head July 13 to the Brad Doty Classic at Attica
Raceway Park and then next weekend to Eldora Speedway for the
prestigious Knight Before the KingÂ’s Royal and the KingÂ’s Royal.
• The Outdoor Channel will air at 8 p.m. (ET) on July 13 the Duel in
the Dakotas from Rede River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D.
• Dirtvision will offer July 13 On-Demand coverage of the World of
Outlaws Sprint Series race run Friday at Route 66 Raceway and July 14
the race run Saturday at I-55 Raceway. For more information, go to
www.dirtvision.com.
• If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience
the excitement of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series live on
Dirtvision.com through 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.
• The World of Outlaws Sprint Series is brought to the fans across the
country by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors
Hoosier Racing Tire, Stacker 2®, and The Outdoor Channel. Promotional
Partners include AMB i.t., RACEceiver, HUMMERSGONEWILD.COM, Zippo
Lighters, The University of Northwestern Ohio, Timberwolf, and Race
Punk apparel. Slick 50 is an Associate Program Sponsor and Contingency
sponsors include DART Machinery, MSD Ignitions, and Wrisco Industries.
World of Outlaws Statistical Report; I-55 Raceway; July 9, 2005
Qualifying
1) Joey Saldana, Woodward 2, 10.509
2) Chad Kemenah, Harble 15K, 10.618
3) Paul McMahan, Helm 11H, 10.646
4) Brooke Tatnell, Rush Racing 8, 10.729
5) Craig Dollansky, Karavan 7, 10.753
6) Jason Solwold, Carnahan R19, 10.766
7) Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20, 10.791
8) Shane Stewart, Rudeen Racing 26, 10.798
9) Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 10.806
10) Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 10.808
11) Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 10.819
12) Daryn Pittman, Titan Racing USA 21, 10.869
13) Brian Paulus, Pender 28, 10.869
14) Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 10.881
15) Brandon Wimmer, Two Winners Racing 7TW, 10.899
16) Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 10.903
17) Jac Haudenschild, Roth 83JR, 10.930
18) Tim Shaffer, Parsons 6, 10.946
19) Jason Meyers, Elite Racing Team 14, 10.951
20) Jeff Shepard, Kahne 9, 10.999
21) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Fast Effects 40R, 11.071
22) Tim Kaeding, Roth 83, 11.116
23) Jesse Hockett, Hockett 77, 11.128
24) Joey Moughan, Moughan 2M, 11.256
25) Lance Gullo, Gullo 3G, 11.341
26) Jimmy Hurley, Hurley 35, 11.603
27) Jason Keith, Keith 28X, 11.677
28) Daniel Adler, Adler 50, 11.782
29) Chris Sloan, Sloan D12, 12.005
30) Adam Jones, Jones 1A, 12.160
31) Jimmy Brayton, Jr., Brayton 3, 12.274
32) Kent Buckley, Buckley 1, 12.442
First Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Jac Haudenschild
2) Jason Sides
3) Kraig Kinser
4) Shane Stewart
5) Joey Moughan
6) Joey Saldana
7) Lance Gullo
8) Chris Sloan
Second Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Tim Shaffer
2) Steve Kinser
3) Brandon Wimmer
4) Danny Lasoski
5) Chad Kemenah
6) Jimmy Hurley
7) Adam Jones
8) Jesse Hockett
Third Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Jason Meyers
2) Tim Kaeding
3) Donny Schatz
4) Jason Solwold
5) Paul McMahan
6) Terry McCarl
7) Jason Keith
8) Jimmy Brayton, Jr.
Fourth Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Brian Paulus
2) Brooke Tatnell
3) Jeff Shepard
4) Craig Dollansky
5) Daryn Pittman
6) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
7) Daniel Adler
8) Kent Buckley
Stacker 2 Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined inside first 6 rows
of A-feature)
1) Shane Stewart
2) Jason Solwold
3) Chad Kemenah
4) Brooke Tatnell
5) Brian Paulus
6) Steve Kinser
Second Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined outside first 6 rows of
A-feature)
1) Kraig Kinser
2) Craig Dollansky
3) Danny Lasoski
4) Donny Schatz
5) Daryn Pittman
6) Paul McMahan
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Joey Saldana [$20]
2) Jesse Hockett [$20]
3) Terry McCarl [$20]
4) Jimmy Hurley [$20]
5) Daniel Adler [$200]
6) Jimmy Brayton, Jr. [$180]
7) Chris Sloan [$175]
8) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.[$160]
9) Jason Keith [$150]
10) Lance Gullo [$150]
11) Adam Jones [$150]
12) Kent Buckley (DNS) [$150]
A-main (40 laps)
1) Chad Kemenah [$10,000]
2) Donny Schatz [$5,750]
3) Brooke Tatnell [$3,500]
4) Jason Solwold [$3,000]
5) Steve Kinser [$2,750]
6) Daryn Pittman [$2,500]
7) Tim Shaffer [$2,300]
8) Joey Saldana [$2,250]
9) Danny Lasoski [$2,150]
10) Paul McMahan [$2,100]
11) Jason Meyers [$1,700]
12) Craig Dollansky [$1,400]
13) Jason Sides [$1,300]
14) Terry McCarl [$1,200]
15) Tim Kaeding [$1,000]
16) Jeff Shepard [$1,000]
17) Shane Stewart [$1,000]
18) Brandon Wimmer [$900]
19) Jimmy Hurley [$900]
20) Joey Moughan [$900]
21) Brian Paulus [$900]
22) Jac Haudenschild [$900]
23) Kraig Kinser [$900]
24) Jesse Hockett [$900]
Lap leaders: Shane Stewart 1-15, 21-28; Chad Kemenah 16-20, 29-40
Notes: Jesse Hockett was running 3rd in heat race #2 when he stopped in
turn 3.
Hockett was unable to restart. Â… Paul McMahan changed engines after his
heat race. Â… Daryn Pittman changed engines after his heat race.
———————————————————————————————————————
Pevely, MO (July 9, 2005) Tom Ratajczyk of Columbia, IL roared to his second feature win of 2005 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, MO. Ratajczyk found a fast line around the very bottom of the track while most of the leaders were fighting it out around the high side. Ratajczyk slipped past early leader Mark Miner at about the half way point and fought off challenges for the remainder of the event from Brian Worley, Ray Walsh and Miner. Walsh moved to the low side in the closing laps and slipped past Worley to take the second spot. Worley crossed the line in third with Leon Rakers right on his bumper in the fourth spot. Rakers started in the ninteenth starting position and blazed through the field to battle for the lead late in the main event. Miner held on to the fifth spot with B.J. Seets, Rick Conoyer, Dennis Richards, Scott Weber and Rich Whaley completing the top ten.
UMP Modifieds – 37 Entries
Heat 1
1. 7 Mark Miner
2. 444 Matt Simpson
3. 67 BJ Seets
4. 14 Billy Smith
5. 13 Timmy Hill
6. 41 Larry Hull
7. 7z Matt Zimmerly
8. c4 Chris Soutia
9. 11g Matt Goulden
10. 16 Tommie Seets Jr.
Heat 2
1. 14 Rick Conoyer
2. 1w Ray Walsh
3. c6 Ray Wagner
4. 1f Mike Francis
5. 10m Todd McGraw
6. 78 Paul Belken
7. 44 Jared Kneemiller
8. 31 Mitch Parmeley
9. 21 Adam Parmeley
Heat 3
1. 21 Dennis Richards
2. 31 Ricky Horton
3. 8x James Reed
4. 15 Jerry Grither
5. 3r Leon Rakers
6. 2 Todd Ferber
7. 88 Joe Puricelli
8. 46 Dave Wibbenmeyer
9. 89 Bobby Bittle
Heat 4
1. 166 Brian Worley
2. 12 Tom Ratajczyk
3. 59 Rich Whaley
4. 78 Allen Conner
5. 18 Jeremy Greenwalt
6. 21a Karl Adams
7. 18 Brent Thompson
8. 9w Doug Wood
9. 4j Scott Weber
Dash
1. 7 Mark Miner
2. 21 Dennis Richards
3. 1w Ray Walsh
4. 166 Brian Worley
5. 12 Tom Ratajczyk
6. 444 Matt Simpson
7. 14 Rick Conoyer
8. 31 Ricky Horton
Semi 1 Top 2 advance
1. 78 Paul Belken
2. 16 Tommie Seets Jr.
3. 11g Matt Goulden
4. c4 Chris Soutia
5. 41 Larry Hull
6. 21 Adam Parmeley
7. 44 Jared Kneemiller
8. 7z Matt Zimmerly
9. 31 Mitch Parmeley
Semi 2 Top 2 advance
1. 4j Scott Weber
2. 18 Brett Thompson
3. 88 Joe Purcelli
4. 21 Karl Adams
DNS Doug Wood, Todd Ferber. Dave Wibbenmeyer, and Bobby Bittle
Feature
1. 12 Tom Ratajczyk
2. 1w Ray Walsh
3. 166 Brian Worley
4. 3r Leon Rakers
5. 7 Mark Miner
6. 67 BJ Seets
7. 14 Rick Conoyer
8. 21 Dennis Richards
9. 4j Scott Weber
10. 59 Rich Whaley
11. 444 Matt Simpson
12. c6 Ray Wagner
13. 16 Tommie Seets Jr.
14. 18 Brett Thompson
15. 78 Paul Belken
16. 15 Jerry Grither
17. 31 Ricky Horton
18. 18x Jeremy Greenwalt
19. 10m Todd McGraw
20. 8x James Reed
21. 1f Mike Francis
22. 14 Billy Smith
23. 78 Alan Conner
24. 13 Timmy Hill