Heartbreak for Wolfe who led 26 laps; Schatz charges from 18th to second

SALINA, Okla. – May 3, 2011 – Craig Dollansky made the most of Lucas Wolfe’s misfortune on Tuesday night in the Battle of the Highbanks at Salina Highbanks Speedway to earn his second World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of the season.

Wolfe, who led the first 26 laps and was holding off Steve Kinser and Daryn Pittman, had a left rear tire go down four laps from the checkered flag and the first World of Outlaws victory of his career. Dollansky had been working his way to the front and was one spot behind Pittman after Wolfe’s bad luck. On the double-file restart Dollansky surged to the lead in his Big Game Treestands Maxim as the two headed down the backstretch while the battle for second was on, with Donny Schatz finishing off an incredible run from 18^th to the runner-up position as Kinser held on for third.

(CLICK HERE TO SEE CRAIG DOLLANSKY’S POST-RACE INTERVIEW.)

“We had a fantastic night here at Salina,” said Dollansky, a native of Elk River, Minn., whose own bad luck has prevented him from three other victories this season. “Tonight we set quick time, made up some spots in the dash and just kept ourselves in contention and happened to be there when Lucas had trouble.”

The Outlaws were finally able to make their debut Tuesday night at Salina after event was postponed from its originally scheduled date, April 23. The delay didn’t hinder Dollansky as he put his Maxim in the outside groove all night and was never outside the top five in the A-main.

Wolfe started on the pole and had battled back and forth with Oklahoma’s Pittman and 20-time champion Steve Kinser, having to fend them off on four restarts before his tire gave up, spinning him toward the infield.

“Our car was great tonight, we could run away from them a little bit,” said a dejected Wolfe, of Mechanicsburg, Pa. “Unfortunately, we had some issues but there’s always the next race.”

On the restart following Wolfe’s troubles, Dollansky charged forward, going three-wide with Pittman and Kinser. Once Dollansky was solidly in front, Pittman and Kinser continued to tangle, which left the door open for Schatz and his #15 STP/Armor All/Chevrolet J&J.

“We needed this run tonight,” said Schatz, of Fargo, N.D., a four-time series champion who moved to third in the points standings after the race. “Obviously we would’ve liked a win but to come from where we did and finish this well makes me feel good and it makes to team feel good as well.”

Kinser brought his #11 Bass Pro Shops/J.D. Byrider/Chevrolet Maxim home in third with Pittman and Dollansky’s Big Game Treestands teammate, Sammy Swindell, rounding out the Top 5.

Tony Stewart, a two-time NASCAR champion and owner of Schatz’s and Kinser’s cars, battled with the Outlaws, finishing 20^th in the A-main.

Series points leader Joey Saldana wound up and leads Steve Kinser by 9 points as the series heads this Friday and Saturday to the Outlaw Thunder Weekend Presented By Goodyear at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

SALINA HIGHBANKS SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK

QUICK TIME – Craig Dollansky was the night’s fastest qualifier with a lap around the 3.8-mile oval in 12.874 seconds at 105.271 mph, earning five more championship points and establishing a track record. Paul McMahan, Jason Sides, Sammy Swindell and Chad Kemenah also earned qualifying points.

WINNERS – There have been thirteen World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events in 2011. The winners include: Steve Kinser – 4 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 11 and 12, Pike County Raceway on Feb. 25, the Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 4); Sammy Swindell – 3 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 26, Merced Speedway on April 1, Tri-State Speedway on April 30); Craig Dollansky – 2 (Silver Dollar Speedway on March 12, Salina Highbanks Speedway on May 3); Joey Saldana – 2 (Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 3, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 19); Jason Sides – 2 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Calistoga Speedway on April 2).

NEW ONLINE HOME – Make sure to check out the all-new WorldofOutlaws.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com .

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Salina (Okla.) Highbanks Speedway; May 3, 2011

A-Main – (30 Laps) – 1. 7-Craig Dollansky [4] [$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [18] [$5,500]; 3. 11-Steve Kinser [3] [$3,200]; 4. 27-Daryn Pittman [2] [$2,800]; 5. 1-Sammy Swindell [6] [$2,500]; 6. 9-Joey Saldana [10] [$2,300]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [5] [$2,200]; 8. 63-Chad Kemenah [7] [$2,100]; 9. 14-Jason Meyers [13] [$2,050]; 10. 91-Cody Darrah [9] [$2,000]; 11. 14S-Stevie Smith [24] [$1,500]; 12. 49-Brad Sweet [16] [$1,200]; 13. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer [20] [$1,100]; 14. 6R-Bill Rose [19] [$1,050]; 15. 21-Brian Brown [14] [$1,000]; 16. 6-Kraig Kinser [17] [$900]; 17. 33-Danny Lasoski [15] [$800]; 18. 41-Jason Johnson [12] [$800]; 19. 83-Paul McMahan [8] [$800]; 20. 14T-Tony Stewart [21] [$800]; 21. 2-Dustin Morgan [22] [$800]; 22. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [1] [$800]; 23. 57-Shane Stewart [11] [$800]; 24. 99-Brady Bacon [23] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Lucas Wolfe 1-26, Craig Dollansky 27-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz [+16].

Qualifying – 1. 7-Craig Dollansky, 12.824; 2. 83-Paul McMahan, 12.915; 3. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.932; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell, 12.967; 5. 63-Chad Kemenah, 12.984; 6. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.092; 7. 27-Daryn Pittman, 13.149; 8. 57-Shane Stewart, 13.173; 9. 41-Jason Johnson, 13.183; 10. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.203; 11. 91-Cody Darrah, 13.214; 12. 9-Joey Saldana, 13.227; 13. 14-Jason Meyers, 13.241; 14. 21-Brian Brown, 13.307; 15. 33-Danny Lasoski, 13.376; 16. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.415; 17. 6-Kraig Kinser, 13.458; 18. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.473; 19. 2B-Ben Gregg, 13.559; 20. 6R-Bill Rose, 13.595; 21. 18-Tony Bruce Jr, 13.741; 22. 1M-Sean McClelland, 13.754; 23. 2-Dustin Morgan, 13.755; 24. 99-Brady Bacon, 13.778; 25. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer, 13.822; 26. 14T-Tony Stewart, 13.825; 27. 14S-Stevie Smith, 13.342.

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 27-Daryn Pittman [2]; 2. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [1]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [3]; 4. 7-Craig Dollansky [4]; 5. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer [9]; 6. 14-Jason Meyers [5]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 8. 2B-Ben Gregg [7]; 9. 1M-Sean McClelland [8].

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 63-Chad Kemenah [3]; 2. 91-Cody Darrah [1]; 3. 57-Shane Stewart [2]; 4. 83-Paul McMahan [4]; 5. 6R-Bill Rose [7]; 6. 14T-Tony Stewart [9]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [5]; 8. 6-Kraig Kinser [6]; 9. 2-Dustin Morgan [8].

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 9-Joey Saldana [1]; 2. 11-Steve Kinser [3]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [4]; 4. 41-Jason Johnson [2]; 5. 33-Danny Lasoski [5]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 7. 14S-Stevie Smith [9]; 8. 99-Brady Bacon [8]; 9. 18-Tony Bruce Jr [7].

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [1]; 2. 27-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 11-Steve Kinser [3]; 4. 7-Craig Dollansky [8]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 6. 1-Sammy Swindell [5]; 7. 63-Chad Kemenah [4]; 8. 83-Paul McMahan [7]; 9. 91-Cody Darrah [9]; 10. 9-Joey Saldana [10].

B-Main – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 6-Kraig Kinser [3]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 14S-Stevie Smith [9]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 5. 2-Dustin Morgan [7]; 6. 99-Brady Bacon [8]; 7. 18-Tony Bruce Jr [5] [$200]; 8. 2B-Ben Gregg [4] [$180]; 9. 1M-Sean McClelland [6] [$175].

2011 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (Through May 3, 2011)

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), Chizmark & Larson Insurance, Factory Motor Parts, VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel), Vicci (Official Apparel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, RacingJunk.com KSE Race Products, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo; Engine Builder’s Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines, Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis Builder’s Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company.