Colorado Springs, CO — March 22, 2005 — By Chris Dolack, World of
Outlaws Senior Writer
WHAT
A very rare week off. That’s right, after racing in Australia, Florida,
California, Arizona, Nevada, Mississippi and Texas to start the season,
the World of Outlaws Sprint Series will take a much deserved week off
to allow its teams to regroup and restock for the grueling schedule
ahead.
WHEN & WHERE
• April 1 at Batesville Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark.
• April 2 at I-55 Speedway in Pevely, Mo.
• April 8-9 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
• April 16 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.
• April 22 at Outlaw Motor Speedway in Oktaha, Okla.
• April 23 at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., for the Wichita Twister
Showdown promoted by SLS Promotions.
• April 29-30 at Knoxville Raceway.
WEB SITES
• The World of Outlaws Sprint Series is at
http://www.theworldofoutlaws.com.
• Batesville Speedway is at http://www.batesvillespeedway.com.
• I-55 Raceway is at http://www.I55raceway.com.
• Eldora Speedway is at http://www.eldoraspeedway.com.
• Tri-State Speedway is at http://www.tristatespeedway.com.
• Outlaw Motor Speedway is at http://www.outlawmotorspeedway.com.
• 81 Speedway is at http://www.81speedway.org.
• Knoxville Raceway is at http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com.
• SLS Promotions is at http://www.slspromotions.com.
TELEVISION THIS WEEK
• At 8 p.m. ET Wednesday (March 23), The Outdoor Channel will begin its
broadcast coverage of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series J.D. Byrider
World of Outlaws Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Additional
coverage of the event will air March 30.
• At 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday (March 23), Dirtvision.com will run its
video cybercast of Steve Kinser’s victory after a late-lap battle with
Brooke Tatnell Friday night at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss.
Go to http://www.dirtvision.com for more information.
STANDINGS, through Houston Raceway Park (March 19, 2005)
Rank Driver Pts Pts Diff Pole Wins Top 5 Top 10 Prelim
1 Craig Dollansky 1231 — 1 0 6 7 1
2 Steve Kinser 1229 -2 2 1 6 8 0
3 Donny Schatz 1175 -56 3 1 5 6 0
4 Jason Meyers 1160 -71 0 0 2 7 0
5 Kraig Kinser 1156 -75 0 0 3 5 1
6 Danny Lasoski 1148 -83 0 0 3 5 1
7 Shane Stewart 1111 -120 0 1 1 6 0
8 Mark Kinser 1103 -128 0 0 1 4 0
9 Daryn Pittman 1083 -148 0 0 1 3 0
10 Joey Saldana 1076 -155 0 1 1 2 0
11 Paul McMahan 1045 -186 0 0 0 2 0
12 Tim Shaffer 1025 -206 1 0 2 3 0
13 Jason Sides 1006 -225 0 0 0 2 0
14 Randy Hannagan 981 -250 0 0 0 0 0
15 Tim Kaeding 978 -253 0 0 0 1 0
16 Terry McCarl 940 -291 0 0 0 2 0
17 Jason Solwold 932 -299 0 0 1 2 0
18 Brian Paulus 929 -302 0 0 0 1 0
19 Brandon Wimmer 849 -382 0 1 0 1 0
20 Sammy Swindell 790 -441 0 0 1 1 0
21 Kevin Swindell 699 -532 0 0 0 1 0
22 Brooke Tatnell 580 -651 0 1 1 1 0
23 Danny Smith 525 -706 0 0 1 2 0
24 Chad Kemenah 470 -761 0 0 0 2 0
25 Peter Murphy 388 -843 0 0 0 0 0
NEWS & NOTES
• On the point: Craig Dollansky went into last weekend’s races at Pike
County Speedway and Houston Raceway Park with a 14-point lead over
Steve Kinser. After Kinser's victory at Pike County and runner-up
finish at Houston, he cut Dollansky's advantage to 2 points
(1,231-1,229) when the series resumes racing April 1 at Batesville
Speedway. Dollansky finished two positions behind Kinser at Pike County
and one spot behind him at Houston, plus Dollansky’s advantage took an
additional hit when Kinser was credited with four bonus points for
leading the most laps at Pike County.
• Back in the saddle: Donny Schatz couldn’t have had more momentum to
start the season. He was coming off a season-ending victory at Las
Vegas and started 2005 by winning the Outlaws Down Under II event in
Australia. Now, after some struggles in Florida and California, Schatz
is surging through the standings. He won his series-leading third
feature of the season Saturday night at Houston Raceway Park, holding
off Steve Kinser by 0.27 seconds in a final-turn thriller only a week
after winning at Las Vegas for the second consecutive time. It marked
Schatz’s first victory at Houston after two near-misses, and the 30th
win in his Outlaws career. Together with a fifth-place run at Pike
County, Schatz finds himself third in points and carrying the most
momentum going into the weekend off.
• Rookie battles: Shane Stewart continues to lead the way among Kevin
Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award candidates, finishing seventh at Pike
County and fourth at Houston. His consistency has enabled him to move
to seventh in points. Tim Kaeding raced to a ninth-place finish at Pike
County and 16th at Houston, and he is now 15th in the standings.
Brandon Wimmer had a rough go of it at Pike County, getting caught in
other racers’ troubles, but made up for it in Houston when he won the
pole for the first time in his World of Outlaws career and led the
first 12-laps of the feature, where he eventually finished 10th to move
to 19th in points.
• Aussie power: Brooke Tatnell continues to be impressive since
returning to the World of Outlaws Sprint Series with Rush Racing.
Tatnell, an Australia native who fought through red tape to re-enter
the United States, finished fifth in the preliminary earlier this month
at Manzanita Speedway only a few hours after arriving at the track
following a 14-hour flight from Australia to Phoenix by way of Los
Angeles. Now settled a bit more, Tatnell turned in his best run of the
season with the Outlaws Friday night at Pike County. He and Steve
Kinser exchanged the lead as laps counted down. Kinser was able to
slide back in front with three to go and hold off Tatnell by 0.8
seconds. Still, for a virtually new team that has used two different
drivers while waiting for Tatnell to be cleared to enter the United
States, its success no doubt will only increase with Tatnell, who made
use of his waiting period by winning the Australian Sprintcar
Championship.
• Elite performances: Jason Meyers continued his strong start to the
season with a sixth-place run at Pike County. Meyers, of Clovis,
Calif., has his Elite Racing Team machine sitting fourth in the
standings with seven top-10 finishes.
• Rising son: Kraig Kinser, last season’s top rookie from Bloomington,
Ind., has stepped into the spotlight this season. He’s fifth in points
and nearly pulled off a sweep of the two-night Las Vegas event earlier
this month. Kraig, the son of 19-time champion Steve, survived a dust
storm in Turns 3 and 4 at Las Vegas to win the preliminary and fought
hard to the finish in the main event, eventually wrapping up
second-place. “He’s into his second season and it looks like he’s come
out running good this year,” Steve Kinser said. “I think he’s going to
be OK.”
• The Mean 15: The impressive 2005 edition of the World of Outlaws
Sprint Series’ Mean 15 racers includes Craig Dollansky (No. 7 owned by
Karavan Motorsports), Tim Kaeding (No. 83 owned by Dennis Roth), Kraig
Kinser (No. 11k owned by Steve Kinser Racing), Mark Kinser (No. 35
owned by Rick Wright), Steve Kinser (No. 11 owned by Steve Kinser
Racing), Danny Lasoski (No. 20 owned by Tony Stewart Motorsports), Paul
McMahan (No. 11h owned by David Helm), Jason Meyers (No. 14 owned by
the Elite Racing Team), Brian Paulus (No. 28 owned by Pender
Motorsports), Daryn Pittman (No. 21 owned by Titan Racing), Joey
Saldana (No. 2 owned by Woodward Racing), Donny Schatz (No. 15 owned by
Schatz Motorsports), Tim Shaffer (No. 6 owned by Parsons Motorsports),
Jason Sides (No. 7s owned by Sides Motorsports), and Brandon Wimmer
(No. 7tw owned by Wimmer-Luck Racing).
• On tour, too: Several other drivers have committed to running the
bulk of the schedule with the World of Outlaws Sprint Series in 2005
with hopes of earning a spot in a future Mean 15. Australian Brooke
Tatnell is back in the series with the newly formed Rush Racing team;
Terry McCarl, who has won the past six 410 sprint championships at
Knoxville Raceway; Shane Stewart, the current leader in the battle for
the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year title; Randy Hannagan, a
long-time Outlaws competitor is running with the series again; Sammy
Swindell, a sprint car legend and three-time Outlaws champion; and
Kevin Swindell, a recently turned 16-year-old who became the youngest
driver to finish in the top 10 with the Outlaws when finished sixth in
the feature at Parramatta City Raceway in January.
• Early season winners: Donny Schatz is the series’ first three-time
winner this year after winning the Texas Shootout Saturday night at
Houston Raceway Park. He also took the checked flag in the J.D. Byrider
World of Outlaws Nationals at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway and in the season opening Outlaws Down Under II event in
Australia. Other winners this season include Jeff Shepard and Steve
Kinser at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.; Tim Shaffer at
Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.; Craig Dollansky at Bakersfield
Speedway in Oildale, Calif., and Steve Kinser at Pike County Speedway
in Magnolia, Miss. Dollansky also won the Cactus Classic preliminary
A-main at Manzanita Speedway before the feature was postponed by rain
to Oct. 11, 2005.
• Tune into the Web: If fans can’t get to Pike County Speedway or
Houston Raceway Park to see the racing Friday and Saturday, they can
experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series live on
Dirtvision.com through the DIRT Radio Network, where announcer John
Gibson keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the event. 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. Companies who
are interested in advertising on the new DIRT Radio Network should
contact Mark Noble, DIRT MotorSports VP Sales and Marketing, at
719-884-2141. For technical support or questions, e-mail
webmaster@dirtvision.com.
• Hear it firsthand: RACEceiver is the Official Driver Communicator of
DIRT MotorSports. A compact radio receiver that conveniently fits into
a driver’s pocket, a RACEceiver allows each driver to hear directions
from series officials, which greatly enhances the safety and timeliness
of events. A similar version available to fans will allow RACEceiver
users to hear what information series officials are relaying to the
drivers. For more information about RACEceiver, visit
www.raceceiver.com, call 866-301-7223, or look for their sales trailers
at various events.
QUOTABLE
Craig Dollansky, World of Outlaws Sprint Series points leader and
driver of the No. 7 Karavan Motorsports machine
• On the week off: “We’ve been traveling quite a bit. We were gone to
Australia for a month and there’s some things that we need to get
caught up on just back home to get prepared for the long season ahead
of us, getting the motor home ready and the apparel trailer and
different things like that. We just have to get prepared to run the
entire season.”
Donny Schatz, driver of the No. 15 Parker Stores car and winner of a
series high three features in 2005
• On having a week without racing: “It’s not really a week off. It just
allows us to get home and finish up the stuff we missed out on in the
winter. If we’re going to change anything after running for a month we
know what’s going to work and what isn’t. It gives us a chance to catch
up and get a little more organized and get ready for when we leave this
time because we’ll be gone for a while. More or less, we’ll finish
everything we didn’t do in the winter and make sure we’ve got enough
stuff to go quite a while.”
Jason Meyers, driver of the No. 14 Elite Racing machine who is fourth
in points
• On having a week off: “It’s Easter weekend so it’s kind of nice that
they’ve given us that weekend off so we can go home and be with our
families. For the past two years I’ve spent Easter on the road so it’s
nice to be home. It’s a nice family time. Me personally, we’re moving
out of our home right now so we’re going to be home and be busy that
week. It gives us a time to catch up on our personal life a little bit.
We work so hard during the winter to get the season started. The first
part of the season we’ve traveled so much to Florida and back to the
West Coast and Australia and all that. I think it’s probably going to
give everybody a nice time to go home and catch up. Maybe you’ve worked
out a few things with your team and found some things you liked or
didn’t like and you can go home and maybe get rid of the things you
didn’t like and add to the things you liked. I think it’s a nice
gesture, both personally and from a business standpoint to have that
weekend off.”
Tim Kaeding, driver of the No. 83 Beef Packers car who is second in the
race for top rookie honors
• On what to do with a week off: “Absolutely nothing. I just go home to
California, hang out with my friends and stuff, go quad riding and keep
my energy up. It’s just little stuff, be a goofball, clean the house.
It’s nice to go home and relax for a couple of weeks and then hit it
full bore after that. I probably won’t be home for about three months
after that so it’s kind of hard, but you get over it. When you get
lonely you just go out and have fun and try to meet as many people as
you can.”
Mark Kinser, a two-time World of Outlaws Sprint Series champion from
Oolitic, Ind., and driver of the No. 35 Wright One Construction car
• On the series returning east and having a weekend off: “I’m a lot
closer to home. I got a lucky break because we got a weekend off and
that happens to be my boy’s spring break from school so we’ll make the
most of that, too.”
Tim Shaffer, driver of the No. 6 Casey’s General Stores car and a
winner this season at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.
• On having a week off: “I get to go home and spend time with my boy.
I’ve got a 4-year-old now [Timmy Jr.] and just to be home with a
weekend off is going to feel like I’m doing something wrong, but I’ll
get to spend time with the family and that’s very important because we
don’t get to do that too often.”
Danny Lasoski, driver of the Tony Stewart Motorsports No. 20 Bass Pro
Shops car
• On how he’ll spend the week off: “We have to go back and regroup. We
tore up a lot of stuff prior to Vegas. We’ll go back and regroup a
little bit and get stocked up because after that we don’t have a break
for a while so we got to be ready to go.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
After a well-deserved week off, the World of Outlaws Sprint Series
heads April 1 to Batesville Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark.; April 2 to
I-55 Speedway in Pevely, Mo.; and April 8-9 to Eldora Speedway in
Rossburg, Ohio.
2005 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Race Track City, ST TV Date Winner
January 13 Outlaws Down Under Parramatta City Raceway Sydney,
AUS Kerry Madsen (P)
January 14 Outlaws Down Under Parramatta City Raceway Sydney,
AUS Danny Lasoski (P)
January 15 Outlaws Down Under Parramatta City Raceway Sydney,
AUS Donny Schatz
February 11 Volusia Speedway Barberville, FL Jeff Shepard
February 13 Volusia Speedway Barberville, FL March 2 Steve Kinser
February 25 Thunderbowl Raceway Tulare, CA March 9 Tim Shaffer
February 26 Bakersfield Speedway Bakersfield, CA March 16 Craig
Dollansky
March 4 Cactus Classic Manzanita Speedway Phoenix, AZ C. Dollansky (P)
March 5 Cactus Classic Manzanita Speedway Phoenix, AZ PPD to Oct. 11
March 10 J.D. Byrider World of Outlaws Nationals Las Vegas Motor
Speedway Las Vegas, NV March 23 Kraig Kinser (P)
March 11 J.D. Byrider World of Outlaws Nationals Las Vegas Motor
Speedway Las Vegas, NV March 30 Donny Schatz (2)
March 18 Pike County Speedway Magnolia, MS Steve Kinser (2)
March 19 The Texas Shootout Houston Raceway Park Baytown, TX April
6 Donny Schatz (3)
April 1 Batesville Speedway Batesville, AR
April 2 I-55 Speedway Pevely, MO April 13
April 8 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH
April 9 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH April 20
April 16 Tri-State Speedway Haubstadt, IN April 27
April 22 Outlaw Speedway Muskogee, OK
April 23 The Twister Showdown 81 Speedway Wichita, KS May 4
April 29 Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
April 30 Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA May 11
May 6 Lake Ozark Speedway Eldon, MO
May 7 Tri-City Speedway Granite City, IL May 18
May 10 TBA TBA
May 13 TBA TBA
May 14 K-C Raceway Chillicothe, OH May 25
May 20 Commonwealth Clash Lernerville Speedway Sarver, PA
May 21 Commonwealth Clash Lernerville Speedway Sarver, PA June 1
May 24 Grandview Raceway Bechtelsville, PA
May 26 Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA
May 27 Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA June 8
May 28 Hagerstown Speedway Hagerstown, MD
May 30 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon, NY
June 1 Rolling Wheels Elbridge, NY June 15
June 3 Sharon Speedway Sharon, OH
June 4 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH June 22
June 9 I-96 Speedway Lake Odessa, MI June 29
June 11 Sheboygan County Fair Park Plymouth, WI
June 14 Kokomo Speedway Kokomo, IN
June 17 Eagle Nationals Eagle Raceway Eagle, NE
June 18 Eagle Nationals Eagle Raceway Eagle, NE July 6
June 22 State Fair Motor Speedway Sedalia, MO
June 24 NAPA Classic Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
June 25 NAPA Classic Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA July 13
June 28 Husets Speedway Brandon, SD
July 1 Duel in the Dakotas Red River Valley Speedway West Fargo, ND
July 2 Duel in the Dakotas Red River Valley Speedway West Fargo,
ND July 20
July 4 Cedar Lake Speedway Somerset, WI
July 6 Power Com Park Beaver Dam, WI
July 8 Route 66 Raceway Joliet, IL
July 9 I-55 Speedway Pevely, MO
July 13 Brad Doty Classic Attica Raceway Attica, OH July 27
July 15 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH
July 16 Kings Royal Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH August 3
July 19 Don Martin Memorial Lernerville Speedway Sarver, PA August 10
July 21 Summer Nationals Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA
July 22 Summer Nationals Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA
July 23 Summer Nationals Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg,
PA August 17
July 25 Fulton Speedway Fulton, NY
July 27 Hartford Raceway Hartford, MI
July 29 The Princeton National Princeton Speedway Princeton, MN
July 30 The Princeton National Princeton Speedway Princeton, MN August
24
August 3 Lawrenceburg Speedway Lawrenceburg, IN
August 5 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH
August 10 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
August 11 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
August 12 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
August 13 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
August 16 Red River Valley Speedway West Fargo, ND
August 19 Billings Speedway Billings, MT
August 20 Billings Speedway Billings, MT August 31
August 26 Grays Harbor Raceway Park Elma, WA
August 27 Grays Harbor Raceway Park Elma, WA September 7
August 30 Cottage Grove Speedway Cottage Grove, OR
September 2 Harvest Classic Calistoga Speedway Calistoga, CA
September 3 Harvest Classic Calistoga Speedway Calistoga, CA
September 4 Harvest Classic Calistoga Speedway Calistoga, CA September
14
September 8 Gold Cup Silver Dollar Speedway Chico, CA
September 9 Gold Cup Silver Dollar Speedway Chico, CA
September 10 Gold Cup Silver Dollar Speedway Chico, CA September 21
September 13 Rocky Mountain Speedway Denver, CO
September 16 1/3 Mile Championship Eagle Raceway Eagle, NE
September 17 1/3 Mile Championship Eagle Raceway Eagle, NE September 28
September 23 Jackson Speedway Jackson, MN
September 24 Power Com Park Beaver Dam, WI October 5
September 27 K-C Raceway Chillicothe, OH
September 30 Nationals Open Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA
October 1 Nationals Open Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg,
PA October 12
October 3 Lernerville Speedway Sarver, PA
October 7 Dodge City Raceway Dodge City, KS
October 8 Dodge City Raceway Dodge City, KS October 19
October 11 Cactus Classic (from March 5) Manzanita Speedway Phoenix,
AZ
October 14 Thunderbowl Raceway Tulare, CA
October 15 Thunderbowl Raceway Tulare, CA October 26
October 21 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV
October 22 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV November 2
P-Preliminary feature win
(#)-Indicates drivers’ total victories.
WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT SERIES SPONSORS
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, VP Racing Fuels, and The Outdoor Channel.
Promotional Partners include AMB i.t., RACEceiver, HUMMERSGONEWILD.COM,
Zippo Lighters, The University of Northwestern Ohio, and Timberwolf.
Slick 50 is an Associate Program Sponsor and Contingency sponsors
include DART Machinery, MSD Ignitions, and Wrisco Industries.
Outlaws Senior Writer
WHAT
A very rare week off. That’s right, after racing in Australia, Florida,
California, Arizona, Nevada, Mississippi and Texas to start the season,
the World of Outlaws Sprint Series will take a much deserved week off
to allow its teams to regroup and restock for the grueling schedule
ahead.
WHEN & WHERE
• April 1 at Batesville Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark.
• April 2 at I-55 Speedway in Pevely, Mo.
• April 8-9 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
• April 16 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.
• April 22 at Outlaw Motor Speedway in Oktaha, Okla.
• April 23 at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., for the Wichita Twister
Showdown promoted by SLS Promotions.
• April 29-30 at Knoxville Raceway.
WEB SITES
• The World of Outlaws Sprint Series is at
http://www.theworldofoutlaws.com.
• Batesville Speedway is at http://www.batesvillespeedway.com.
• I-55 Raceway is at http://www.I55raceway.com.
• Eldora Speedway is at http://www.eldoraspeedway.com.
• Tri-State Speedway is at http://www.tristatespeedway.com.
• Outlaw Motor Speedway is at http://www.outlawmotorspeedway.com.
• 81 Speedway is at http://www.81speedway.org.
• Knoxville Raceway is at http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com.
• SLS Promotions is at http://www.slspromotions.com.
TELEVISION THIS WEEK
• At 8 p.m. ET Wednesday (March 23), The Outdoor Channel will begin its
broadcast coverage of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series J.D. Byrider
World of Outlaws Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Additional
coverage of the event will air March 30.
• At 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday (March 23), Dirtvision.com will run its
video cybercast of Steve Kinser’s victory after a late-lap battle with
Brooke Tatnell Friday night at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss.
Go to http://www.dirtvision.com for more information.
STANDINGS, through Houston Raceway Park (March 19, 2005)
Rank Driver Pts Pts Diff Pole Wins Top 5 Top 10 Prelim
1 Craig Dollansky 1231 — 1 0 6 7 1
2 Steve Kinser 1229 -2 2 1 6 8 0
3 Donny Schatz 1175 -56 3 1 5 6 0
4 Jason Meyers 1160 -71 0 0 2 7 0
5 Kraig Kinser 1156 -75 0 0 3 5 1
6 Danny Lasoski 1148 -83 0 0 3 5 1
7 Shane Stewart 1111 -120 0 1 1 6 0
8 Mark Kinser 1103 -128 0 0 1 4 0
9 Daryn Pittman 1083 -148 0 0 1 3 0
10 Joey Saldana 1076 -155 0 1 1 2 0
11 Paul McMahan 1045 -186 0 0 0 2 0
12 Tim Shaffer 1025 -206 1 0 2 3 0
13 Jason Sides 1006 -225 0 0 0 2 0
14 Randy Hannagan 981 -250 0 0 0 0 0
15 Tim Kaeding 978 -253 0 0 0 1 0
16 Terry McCarl 940 -291 0 0 0 2 0
17 Jason Solwold 932 -299 0 0 1 2 0
18 Brian Paulus 929 -302 0 0 0 1 0
19 Brandon Wimmer 849 -382 0 1 0 1 0
20 Sammy Swindell 790 -441 0 0 1 1 0
21 Kevin Swindell 699 -532 0 0 0 1 0
22 Brooke Tatnell 580 -651 0 1 1 1 0
23 Danny Smith 525 -706 0 0 1 2 0
24 Chad Kemenah 470 -761 0 0 0 2 0
25 Peter Murphy 388 -843 0 0 0 0 0
NEWS & NOTES
• On the point: Craig Dollansky went into last weekend’s races at Pike
County Speedway and Houston Raceway Park with a 14-point lead over
Steve Kinser. After Kinser's victory at Pike County and runner-up
finish at Houston, he cut Dollansky's advantage to 2 points
(1,231-1,229) when the series resumes racing April 1 at Batesville
Speedway. Dollansky finished two positions behind Kinser at Pike County
and one spot behind him at Houston, plus Dollansky’s advantage took an
additional hit when Kinser was credited with four bonus points for
leading the most laps at Pike County.
• Back in the saddle: Donny Schatz couldn’t have had more momentum to
start the season. He was coming off a season-ending victory at Las
Vegas and started 2005 by winning the Outlaws Down Under II event in
Australia. Now, after some struggles in Florida and California, Schatz
is surging through the standings. He won his series-leading third
feature of the season Saturday night at Houston Raceway Park, holding
off Steve Kinser by 0.27 seconds in a final-turn thriller only a week
after winning at Las Vegas for the second consecutive time. It marked
Schatz’s first victory at Houston after two near-misses, and the 30th
win in his Outlaws career. Together with a fifth-place run at Pike
County, Schatz finds himself third in points and carrying the most
momentum going into the weekend off.
• Rookie battles: Shane Stewart continues to lead the way among Kevin
Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award candidates, finishing seventh at Pike
County and fourth at Houston. His consistency has enabled him to move
to seventh in points. Tim Kaeding raced to a ninth-place finish at Pike
County and 16th at Houston, and he is now 15th in the standings.
Brandon Wimmer had a rough go of it at Pike County, getting caught in
other racers’ troubles, but made up for it in Houston when he won the
pole for the first time in his World of Outlaws career and led the
first 12-laps of the feature, where he eventually finished 10th to move
to 19th in points.
• Aussie power: Brooke Tatnell continues to be impressive since
returning to the World of Outlaws Sprint Series with Rush Racing.
Tatnell, an Australia native who fought through red tape to re-enter
the United States, finished fifth in the preliminary earlier this month
at Manzanita Speedway only a few hours after arriving at the track
following a 14-hour flight from Australia to Phoenix by way of Los
Angeles. Now settled a bit more, Tatnell turned in his best run of the
season with the Outlaws Friday night at Pike County. He and Steve
Kinser exchanged the lead as laps counted down. Kinser was able to
slide back in front with three to go and hold off Tatnell by 0.8
seconds. Still, for a virtually new team that has used two different
drivers while waiting for Tatnell to be cleared to enter the United
States, its success no doubt will only increase with Tatnell, who made
use of his waiting period by winning the Australian Sprintcar
Championship.
• Elite performances: Jason Meyers continued his strong start to the
season with a sixth-place run at Pike County. Meyers, of Clovis,
Calif., has his Elite Racing Team machine sitting fourth in the
standings with seven top-10 finishes.
• Rising son: Kraig Kinser, last season’s top rookie from Bloomington,
Ind., has stepped into the spotlight this season. He’s fifth in points
and nearly pulled off a sweep of the two-night Las Vegas event earlier
this month. Kraig, the son of 19-time champion Steve, survived a dust
storm in Turns 3 and 4 at Las Vegas to win the preliminary and fought
hard to the finish in the main event, eventually wrapping up
second-place. “He’s into his second season and it looks like he’s come
out running good this year,” Steve Kinser said. “I think he’s going to
be OK.”
• The Mean 15: The impressive 2005 edition of the World of Outlaws
Sprint Series’ Mean 15 racers includes Craig Dollansky (No. 7 owned by
Karavan Motorsports), Tim Kaeding (No. 83 owned by Dennis Roth), Kraig
Kinser (No. 11k owned by Steve Kinser Racing), Mark Kinser (No. 35
owned by Rick Wright), Steve Kinser (No. 11 owned by Steve Kinser
Racing), Danny Lasoski (No. 20 owned by Tony Stewart Motorsports), Paul
McMahan (No. 11h owned by David Helm), Jason Meyers (No. 14 owned by
the Elite Racing Team), Brian Paulus (No. 28 owned by Pender
Motorsports), Daryn Pittman (No. 21 owned by Titan Racing), Joey
Saldana (No. 2 owned by Woodward Racing), Donny Schatz (No. 15 owned by
Schatz Motorsports), Tim Shaffer (No. 6 owned by Parsons Motorsports),
Jason Sides (No. 7s owned by Sides Motorsports), and Brandon Wimmer
(No. 7tw owned by Wimmer-Luck Racing).
• On tour, too: Several other drivers have committed to running the
bulk of the schedule with the World of Outlaws Sprint Series in 2005
with hopes of earning a spot in a future Mean 15. Australian Brooke
Tatnell is back in the series with the newly formed Rush Racing team;
Terry McCarl, who has won the past six 410 sprint championships at
Knoxville Raceway; Shane Stewart, the current leader in the battle for
the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year title; Randy Hannagan, a
long-time Outlaws competitor is running with the series again; Sammy
Swindell, a sprint car legend and three-time Outlaws champion; and
Kevin Swindell, a recently turned 16-year-old who became the youngest
driver to finish in the top 10 with the Outlaws when finished sixth in
the feature at Parramatta City Raceway in January.
• Early season winners: Donny Schatz is the series’ first three-time
winner this year after winning the Texas Shootout Saturday night at
Houston Raceway Park. He also took the checked flag in the J.D. Byrider
World of Outlaws Nationals at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway and in the season opening Outlaws Down Under II event in
Australia. Other winners this season include Jeff Shepard and Steve
Kinser at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.; Tim Shaffer at
Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.; Craig Dollansky at Bakersfield
Speedway in Oildale, Calif., and Steve Kinser at Pike County Speedway
in Magnolia, Miss. Dollansky also won the Cactus Classic preliminary
A-main at Manzanita Speedway before the feature was postponed by rain
to Oct. 11, 2005.
• Tune into the Web: If fans can’t get to Pike County Speedway or
Houston Raceway Park to see the racing Friday and Saturday, they can
experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series live on
Dirtvision.com through the DIRT Radio Network, where announcer John
Gibson keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the event. 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. Companies who
are interested in advertising on the new DIRT Radio Network should
contact Mark Noble, DIRT MotorSports VP Sales and Marketing, at
719-884-2141. For technical support or questions, e-mail
webmaster@dirtvision.com.
• Hear it firsthand: RACEceiver is the Official Driver Communicator of
DIRT MotorSports. A compact radio receiver that conveniently fits into
a driver’s pocket, a RACEceiver allows each driver to hear directions
from series officials, which greatly enhances the safety and timeliness
of events. A similar version available to fans will allow RACEceiver
users to hear what information series officials are relaying to the
drivers. For more information about RACEceiver, visit
www.raceceiver.com, call 866-301-7223, or look for their sales trailers
at various events.
QUOTABLE
Craig Dollansky, World of Outlaws Sprint Series points leader and
driver of the No. 7 Karavan Motorsports machine
• On the week off: “We’ve been traveling quite a bit. We were gone to
Australia for a month and there’s some things that we need to get
caught up on just back home to get prepared for the long season ahead
of us, getting the motor home ready and the apparel trailer and
different things like that. We just have to get prepared to run the
entire season.”
Donny Schatz, driver of the No. 15 Parker Stores car and winner of a
series high three features in 2005
• On having a week without racing: “It’s not really a week off. It just
allows us to get home and finish up the stuff we missed out on in the
winter. If we’re going to change anything after running for a month we
know what’s going to work and what isn’t. It gives us a chance to catch
up and get a little more organized and get ready for when we leave this
time because we’ll be gone for a while. More or less, we’ll finish
everything we didn’t do in the winter and make sure we’ve got enough
stuff to go quite a while.”
Jason Meyers, driver of the No. 14 Elite Racing machine who is fourth
in points
• On having a week off: “It’s Easter weekend so it’s kind of nice that
they’ve given us that weekend off so we can go home and be with our
families. For the past two years I’ve spent Easter on the road so it’s
nice to be home. It’s a nice family time. Me personally, we’re moving
out of our home right now so we’re going to be home and be busy that
week. It gives us a time to catch up on our personal life a little bit.
We work so hard during the winter to get the season started. The first
part of the season we’ve traveled so much to Florida and back to the
West Coast and Australia and all that. I think it’s probably going to
give everybody a nice time to go home and catch up. Maybe you’ve worked
out a few things with your team and found some things you liked or
didn’t like and you can go home and maybe get rid of the things you
didn’t like and add to the things you liked. I think it’s a nice
gesture, both personally and from a business standpoint to have that
weekend off.”
Tim Kaeding, driver of the No. 83 Beef Packers car who is second in the
race for top rookie honors
• On what to do with a week off: “Absolutely nothing. I just go home to
California, hang out with my friends and stuff, go quad riding and keep
my energy up. It’s just little stuff, be a goofball, clean the house.
It’s nice to go home and relax for a couple of weeks and then hit it
full bore after that. I probably won’t be home for about three months
after that so it’s kind of hard, but you get over it. When you get
lonely you just go out and have fun and try to meet as many people as
you can.”
Mark Kinser, a two-time World of Outlaws Sprint Series champion from
Oolitic, Ind., and driver of the No. 35 Wright One Construction car
• On the series returning east and having a weekend off: “I’m a lot
closer to home. I got a lucky break because we got a weekend off and
that happens to be my boy’s spring break from school so we’ll make the
most of that, too.”
Tim Shaffer, driver of the No. 6 Casey’s General Stores car and a
winner this season at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.
• On having a week off: “I get to go home and spend time with my boy.
I’ve got a 4-year-old now [Timmy Jr.] and just to be home with a
weekend off is going to feel like I’m doing something wrong, but I’ll
get to spend time with the family and that’s very important because we
don’t get to do that too often.”
Danny Lasoski, driver of the Tony Stewart Motorsports No. 20 Bass Pro
Shops car
• On how he’ll spend the week off: “We have to go back and regroup. We
tore up a lot of stuff prior to Vegas. We’ll go back and regroup a
little bit and get stocked up because after that we don’t have a break
for a while so we got to be ready to go.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
After a well-deserved week off, the World of Outlaws Sprint Series
heads April 1 to Batesville Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark.; April 2 to
I-55 Speedway in Pevely, Mo.; and April 8-9 to Eldora Speedway in
Rossburg, Ohio.
2005 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Race Track City, ST TV Date Winner
January 13 Outlaws Down Under Parramatta City Raceway Sydney,
AUS Kerry Madsen (P)
January 14 Outlaws Down Under Parramatta City Raceway Sydney,
AUS Danny Lasoski (P)
January 15 Outlaws Down Under Parramatta City Raceway Sydney,
AUS Donny Schatz
February 11 Volusia Speedway Barberville, FL Jeff Shepard
February 13 Volusia Speedway Barberville, FL March 2 Steve Kinser
February 25 Thunderbowl Raceway Tulare, CA March 9 Tim Shaffer
February 26 Bakersfield Speedway Bakersfield, CA March 16 Craig
Dollansky
March 4 Cactus Classic Manzanita Speedway Phoenix, AZ C. Dollansky (P)
March 5 Cactus Classic Manzanita Speedway Phoenix, AZ PPD to Oct. 11
March 10 J.D. Byrider World of Outlaws Nationals Las Vegas Motor
Speedway Las Vegas, NV March 23 Kraig Kinser (P)
March 11 J.D. Byrider World of Outlaws Nationals Las Vegas Motor
Speedway Las Vegas, NV March 30 Donny Schatz (2)
March 18 Pike County Speedway Magnolia, MS Steve Kinser (2)
March 19 The Texas Shootout Houston Raceway Park Baytown, TX April
6 Donny Schatz (3)
April 1 Batesville Speedway Batesville, AR
April 2 I-55 Speedway Pevely, MO April 13
April 8 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH
April 9 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH April 20
April 16 Tri-State Speedway Haubstadt, IN April 27
April 22 Outlaw Speedway Muskogee, OK
April 23 The Twister Showdown 81 Speedway Wichita, KS May 4
April 29 Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
April 30 Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA May 11
May 6 Lake Ozark Speedway Eldon, MO
May 7 Tri-City Speedway Granite City, IL May 18
May 10 TBA TBA
May 13 TBA TBA
May 14 K-C Raceway Chillicothe, OH May 25
May 20 Commonwealth Clash Lernerville Speedway Sarver, PA
May 21 Commonwealth Clash Lernerville Speedway Sarver, PA June 1
May 24 Grandview Raceway Bechtelsville, PA
May 26 Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA
May 27 Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA June 8
May 28 Hagerstown Speedway Hagerstown, MD
May 30 Lebanon Valley Speedway West Lebanon, NY
June 1 Rolling Wheels Elbridge, NY June 15
June 3 Sharon Speedway Sharon, OH
June 4 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH June 22
June 9 I-96 Speedway Lake Odessa, MI June 29
June 11 Sheboygan County Fair Park Plymouth, WI
June 14 Kokomo Speedway Kokomo, IN
June 17 Eagle Nationals Eagle Raceway Eagle, NE
June 18 Eagle Nationals Eagle Raceway Eagle, NE July 6
June 22 State Fair Motor Speedway Sedalia, MO
June 24 NAPA Classic Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
June 25 NAPA Classic Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA July 13
June 28 Husets Speedway Brandon, SD
July 1 Duel in the Dakotas Red River Valley Speedway West Fargo, ND
July 2 Duel in the Dakotas Red River Valley Speedway West Fargo,
ND July 20
July 4 Cedar Lake Speedway Somerset, WI
July 6 Power Com Park Beaver Dam, WI
July 8 Route 66 Raceway Joliet, IL
July 9 I-55 Speedway Pevely, MO
July 13 Brad Doty Classic Attica Raceway Attica, OH July 27
July 15 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH
July 16 Kings Royal Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH August 3
July 19 Don Martin Memorial Lernerville Speedway Sarver, PA August 10
July 21 Summer Nationals Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA
July 22 Summer Nationals Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA
July 23 Summer Nationals Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg,
PA August 17
July 25 Fulton Speedway Fulton, NY
July 27 Hartford Raceway Hartford, MI
July 29 The Princeton National Princeton Speedway Princeton, MN
July 30 The Princeton National Princeton Speedway Princeton, MN August
24
August 3 Lawrenceburg Speedway Lawrenceburg, IN
August 5 Eldora Speedway Rossburg, OH
August 10 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
August 11 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
August 12 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
August 13 Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA
August 16 Red River Valley Speedway West Fargo, ND
August 19 Billings Speedway Billings, MT
August 20 Billings Speedway Billings, MT August 31
August 26 Grays Harbor Raceway Park Elma, WA
August 27 Grays Harbor Raceway Park Elma, WA September 7
August 30 Cottage Grove Speedway Cottage Grove, OR
September 2 Harvest Classic Calistoga Speedway Calistoga, CA
September 3 Harvest Classic Calistoga Speedway Calistoga, CA
September 4 Harvest Classic Calistoga Speedway Calistoga, CA September
14
September 8 Gold Cup Silver Dollar Speedway Chico, CA
September 9 Gold Cup Silver Dollar Speedway Chico, CA
September 10 Gold Cup Silver Dollar Speedway Chico, CA September 21
September 13 Rocky Mountain Speedway Denver, CO
September 16 1/3 Mile Championship Eagle Raceway Eagle, NE
September 17 1/3 Mile Championship Eagle Raceway Eagle, NE September 28
September 23 Jackson Speedway Jackson, MN
September 24 Power Com Park Beaver Dam, WI October 5
September 27 K-C Raceway Chillicothe, OH
September 30 Nationals Open Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, PA
October 1 Nationals Open Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg,
PA October 12
October 3 Lernerville Speedway Sarver, PA
October 7 Dodge City Raceway Dodge City, KS
October 8 Dodge City Raceway Dodge City, KS October 19
October 11 Cactus Classic (from March 5) Manzanita Speedway Phoenix,
AZ
October 14 Thunderbowl Raceway Tulare, CA
October 15 Thunderbowl Raceway Tulare, CA October 26
October 21 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV
October 22 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV November 2
P-Preliminary feature win
(#)-Indicates drivers’ total victories.
WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT SERIES SPONSORS
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, VP Racing Fuels, and The Outdoor Channel.
Promotional Partners include AMB i.t., RACEceiver, HUMMERSGONEWILD.COM,
Zippo Lighters, The University of Northwestern Ohio, and Timberwolf.
Slick 50 is an Associate Program Sponsor and Contingency sponsors
include DART Machinery, MSD Ignitions, and Wrisco Industries.
