Meyers Powers to World of Outlaws Win at Autodrome Drummond

Meyers Powers to World of Outlaws Win at Autodrome Drummond

Points leader earns third victory as Kinser, Wolfe battle for second in closing laps

 

DRUMMONDVILLE, Quebec — July 30, 2011 — Jason Meyers has been a man on a mission in July, closing out the month Saturday night at Autodrome Drummond with his third World of Outlaws victory of the season. Since taking the checkers on July 7 at Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin, Meyers and his Elite Racing Team have posted 11 Top 5 finishes in 14 events, including his three wins, to vault himself to the top of the championship standings.

 The month of July has just been awesome for us, and so has Canada,” said Meyers, of Clovis, Calif., who earned the 50^th victory in his World of Outlaws career. “We almost got the win last night at Brockville (Ontario Speedway) but broke through tonight. We need to dedicate this one to Shane Bowers though. He’s new to our team this year and his grandfather was having some issues so Shane flew back to be with him during the Ohsweken (Speedway) race. We’re happy to say that Shane is with us here tonight and Grandpa is doing much better.”

 Meyers started the night on the pole after winning the dash but it was Lucas Wolfe on the charge early as he took aim at his first win by leading the first five circuits before Meyers’ preferred line worked itself in.

“They watered the low groove so it took some time in the feature to get it worked in,” Meyers said. “Once it did and we got the wing pulled back and the fuel load off, the car was simply amazing.”

While Meyers ran away with the victory, the battle for second intensified as Steve Kinser began to challenge Lucas Wolfe in the latter stages of the 35-lap event. Kinser, a 20-time champion and last year’s winner at Autodrome Drummond, used lapped traffic to his advantage to work past Wolfe.

“Lucas and I had a pretty good little battle there going on,” said Kinser, of Bloomington, Ind. “Lapped traffic was key to getting around him. He had a good car tonight. We did too but the result wasn’t as good as last year’s.”Wolfe remained upbeat after the race despite settling for the third-place finish.

“We have been running better as of late so to come home third is pretty good,” said Wolfe, the 2008 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year from Mechanicsburg, Pa. “We just want to keep building some momentum and the good finishes will hopefully continue.”

 The night’s fastest qualifier and new track-record holder, Brad Sweet, raced his way to a fourth-place finish in relief of Joey Saldana. Brockville Ontario Speedway winner Paul McMahan rounded out the Top 5. After experiencing mechanical issues in time trials and his heat race, Craig Dollansky raced his way from 19^th to 10^th to earn the KSE Hard Charger Award.The Outlaws next head south to Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway on Friday, Aug. 5, and then to I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., on Saturday, Aug. 6, for the Ironman 55, the most grueling event on the series schedule.

AUTODROME DRUMMOND NOTEBOOK

SALDANA UPDATE – Joey Saldana, who sustained a broken right arm, broken ribs and a punctured lung in a crash during the Kings Royal continues to recover at his suburban Indianapolis home. He expects this week to have the cast removed that goes from his right hand to his shoulder. Later in August his ribs and lung will be re-evaluated. “I can’t really do too much of anything,” Saldana said. “My arm, I’m foreseeing it wouldn’t be an issue, you could probably race through the pain. But they won’t let me fly, I can’t do anything with my lung until they clear me on that. … It seems like every time things get rolling something stupid happens. You can’t just fix a lung. I’ve never been in this position. You usually break something and you fix it and go on. Well, you can’t just fix what I broke. I’m kind of in a weird situation.” Saldana is hoping to be at Bloomington Speedway on Friday night to watch his Kasey Kahne Racing team in action.

 QUICK TIME – Brad Sweet was the night’s fastest qualifier with a lap around the 4/10^th’s mile oval in 13.606 seconds, earning five championship points. Sammy Swindell, Donny Schatz, Cody Darrah and Steve Kinser also earned qualifying points. It marked Meyer’s fifth Quick Time of the season.

 

World of Outlaws Autodrome Results

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Autodrome Drummond; Drummondville, Quebec; July 30, 2011

A-Main — (35 Laps) — 1. 14-Jason Meyers [1] [$10,000]; 2. 11-Steve Kinser [3] [$5,500]; 3. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [2] [$3,200]; 4. 9-Brad Sweet [6] [$2,800]; 5. 83-Paul McMahan [4] [$2,500]; 6. 1-Sammy Swindell [8] [$2,300]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [5] [$2,200]; 8. 7S-Jason Sides [9] [$2,100]; 9. 91-Cody Darrah [7] [$2,050]; 10. 7-Craig Dollansky [19] [$2,000]; 11. 63-Chad Kemenah [11] [$1,500]; 12. 6R-Bill Rose [12] [$1,200]; 13. 6-Kraig Kinser [13] [$1,100]; 14. 1Z-Jessica Zemken [10] [$1,050]; 15. 15C-Anthony Cain [16] [$1,000]; 16. 24K-Devin Caron [15] [$900]; 17. 3-Dale Gosselin [20] [$800]; 18. 8B-Alain Borgeron [14] [$800]; 19. X2-Curt Bradshaw [18] [$800]; 20. 8L-Benoit Lafleur [21] [$800]; 21. 29-Dick Spadaro [17] [$800]; 22. 11X-Jake Langlois [22] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Lucas Wolfe 1-5, Jason Meyers 6-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 7-Craig Dollansky [+9].

Qualifying — 1. 9-Brad Sweet, 13.606; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell, 13.739; 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.849; 4. 91-Cody Darrah, 13.875; 5. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.890; 6. 83-Paul McMahan, 13.912; 7. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.972; 8. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 14.058; 9. 6R-Bill Rose, 14.085; 10. 14-Jason Meyers, 14.162; 11. 7S-Jason Sides, 14.287; 12. 1Z-Jessica Zemken, 14.355; 13. 6-Kraig Kinser, 14.453; 14. 8B-Alain Borgeron, 14.559; 15. 24K-Devin Caron, 14.966; 16. 15C-Anthony Cain, 15.012; 17. 29-Dick Spadaro, 16.092; 18. X2-Curt Bradshaw, 16.623; 19. 7-Craig Dollansky, -.—; 20. 3-Dale Gosselin, 15.784; 21. 8L-Benoit Lafleur, 16.572; 22. 11X-Jake Langlois, -.—

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) — 1. 14-Jason Meyers [1]; 2. 9-Brad Sweet [4]; 3. 63-Chad Kemenah [2]; 4. 91-Cody Darrah [3]; 5. 6-Kraig Kinser [5]; 6. 15C-Anthony Cain [6]; 7. 11X-Jake Langlois [8]; 8. 7-Craig Dollansky [7]

 Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) — 1. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [2]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 3. 11-Steve Kinser [3]; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 5. 8B-Alain Borgeron [5]; 6. 29-Dick Spadaro [6]; 7. 3-Dale Gosselin [7]

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) — 1. 1Z-Jessica Zemken [1]; 2. 83-Paul McMahan [3]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 6R-Bill Rose [2]; 5. 24K-Devin Caron [5]; 6. X2-Curt Bradshaw [6]; 7. 8L-Benoit Lafleur [7]

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) — 1. 14-Jason Meyers [1]; 2. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [2]; 3. 11-Steve Kinser [4]; 4. 83-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 6. 9-Brad Sweet [8]; 7. 91-Cody Darrah [5]; 8. 1-Sammy Swindell [7]; 9. 7S-Jason Sides [9]; 10. 1Z-Jessica Zemken [10].

Courtney Force Face of Ford Driving Skills

Courtney Force New Face of Ford Driving Skills for Life, Ford Motor Company Fund’s Teen Outreach Program

 ·       DSFL helps young drivers improve their skills in four key areas: 1) Hazard Recognition; 2) Vehicle Handling; 3) Speed Management; and 4) Space Management. It’s a perfect fit for Courtney, who has logged plenty of hours behind the wheel of her Ford Mustang and Ford Mustang Funny Car – both of which demand skill in those four areas.

        DSFL was established by Ford Motor Company Fund, the Governors Highway Safety Association and a panel of safety experts in 2003 to teach newly licensed teens the necessary skills for safe driving beyond what they learn in standard driver education programs.

        Vehicle crashes are the No. 1 killer of teenagers in America. Nearly 5,000 teens die annually in such accidents, according to the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Statistics demonstrate that teen involvement in crashes declines considerably as young drivers gain experience. Teens can study up at www.drivingskillsforlife.com.

DEARBORN, Mich., July 30, 2011 – When Courtney Force was 15 and learning to drive, her parents John and Laurie – especially Laurie – taught her to drive slowly. Slowly as in speed, of course. But they also slowly took her through basic driving skills that helped the Southern California teenager learn her car and the ways of the road by heart, internalizing driving skills mandatory for navigating the mega-highways of Los Angeles and Orange County.

 Now Courtney, 23, of Yorba Linda, Calif. hopes to teach those same skills she learned from her parents years ago to teenagers around the United States as the new face of Ford Motor Company Fund’s Driving Skills for Life (DSFL).Established in 2003, DSFL was established by Ford Motor Company Fund, the Governors Highway Safety Association and a panel of safety experts to teach newly licensed teens the necessary skills for safe driving beyond what they learn in standard driver education programs.

Courtney, who has also taken baby steps through the ranks of professional drag racing and hopes to follow her father and sister Ashley into the NHRA Full Throttle Series Funny Car category, is excited to be an ambassador for the cause. Especially since her mom gave her such great advice.“She taught me how to drive her Ford Excursion,” Courtney said. “It was a larger car than most of my friends were learning to drive in. I was 15 trying to park my mom’s Ford Excursion and driving around town. But she was the one that got me learning the basics. I was actually glad that she put me in a larger car. I think learning in a larger car; it was easy to drive anything else after that.”Vehicle crashes are the No. 1 killer of teenagers in America. Nearly 5,000 teens die annually in such accidents, according to the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Because of inexperience, many teens lack the skills and knowledge required to be safe drivers. Statistics demonstrate that teen involvement in crashes declines considerably as young drivers gain experience.

DSFL helps young drivers improve their skills in four key areas: 1) Hazard Recognition; 2) Vehicle Handling; 3) Speed Management; and 4) Space Management. The program is a perfect fit for Courtney, who has logged plenty of hours behind the wheel of her Ford Mustang and Ford Mustang Funny Car, both of which require skill and experience in those four areas.“We at Ford Driving Skills for Life are pleased to partner with Courtney Force in our joint effort to spread the word on teen safe driving,” said Jim Graham, Manager, Ford Driving Skills for Life. “Ford has had a long relationship with the Force family and this addition just furthers that partnership. We could not be more pleased to have such a talented driver as Courtney joining our team.”