Rain Forces Orange County Fair Speedway Event to Monday

Rain Forces Orange County Fair Speedway Event to Monday

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars Return to Middletown Delayed One Day

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — May 19, 2013 — World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series and Orange County Fair Speedway officials were forced to postpone Sunday’s event after a steady rain pushed through the area and drenched the track. With more rain in the forecast on Sunday, officials decided to delay the event to Monday.

All event times remain the same for Monday. Spectator gates are scheduled to open at 4 p.m. with racing on track set to begin at 6 p.m.

Entering Monday’s action, Daryn Pittman sits atop the championship point standings with 3,263 points and holds a 145-point lead over Paul McMahan. Donny Schatz’s season seems to have turned a corner as a string of strong finishes, including a thrilling victory Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway, has launched him up the standings and now trails McMahan by just 5 points.

Tuesday night the World of Oultaws STP Sprint Car Series invades New Egypt (N.J.) Speedway for the NAPA Auto Parts Outlaw Classic before heading into the heart of NASCAR country on Friday for the Circle K/NOS Energy Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

BOWERSOCK COMPLETES ELDORA 3-2-1 COUNTDOWN

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOWERSOCK COMPLETES ELDORA 3-2-1 COUNTDOWN 

Mobil 1 Family Fun Night Doubleheader Action Entertains Huge Crowd as Fireworks Fill the Skies

 

ROSSBURG, OH (May 18) – While Jerry Bowersock (UMP DIRTcar Modified) completed his 3-2-1 countdown, Barney Craig (Stock Car) remained stuck on number 1 in Saturday’s Mobil 1 Family Fun Night feature race action at Eldora Speedway.

 

In the three Modified events this season, veteran Bowersock (Wapakoneta, OH) finished third on opening night, second two weeks ago and then this week was the top of the class as the 25-car field went non-stop for 18 laps around the .500-mile clay oval.   The checkered flag marked victory number 25 for Bowersock, moving him into third behind Scott Orr (34) and Brian Ruhlman (28).

 

Brent Hole charged from his outside pole position at the green flag to take the early lead, while pole-sitter Zach Schroeder followed in close pursuit.   Before two laps could be completed, Bowersock had already moved from seventh to runner-up.  Keeping him within site was opening night feature winner Brian Post as he chose the same line around the lightning quick track.

 

As Hole continued to rule top spot, Bowersock and Post soon found a new player, as quick qualifier of the night, Matt Westfall joined in to create a trio of challengers for Hole.

 

Lap after lap, Hole maintained control; until the half-way mark on lap nine, as Bowersock pulled off the pass that would take him to the checkered flag.  One lap later Westfall inched ahead of Post, and then two laps after that got by Hole for second, but by that time Bowersock had built up an insurmountable lead; especially with no caution flag periods to slow the pace.

 

Bowersock used his knowledge of Eldora to master the lapped traffic, which placed three cars between himself and Westfall coming down for the checkered flag.   Following them across the line were Post and Aaron Orr, who came on strong in the closing laps.  Schroeder hung on for a top five finish, while Hole slipped back to sixth.

 

Attrition was the keyword in the Stock Car finale as only eleven of the 21 starters were around at the finish.   Seven caution flags slowed the pace.

 

Those yellow flags may have slowed up the race, but it had no slowing effect on Craig (Lima, OH) who made it three-for-three in feature race action on the young season.

 

The first yellow came out before one lap could be completed, as a spin up in front of the field created a chain reaction that collected a total of seven cars.   As the green unfurled one more time, it was lights out for the balance of the field, as third-place starter Craig got by Earnie Woodard and Jordan Conover down the back stretch to take the lead that he held to the finish.

 

Lady luck finally dealt Woodard a good hand this week.   He found himself on the top end of a five-car battle that had the huge crowd cheering.

 

While Craig was out creating a new zip code for himself, Woodard, Jordan Conover, Jeremy Creech, Shawn Phillippi and Paul Pardo waged a wild race to determine who would follow Craig and in what order.   Woodard hung on to finish ahead of Creech and Conover, as Phillippi and Pardo completed the top six.

 

Bowersock and Craig shared their celebration as a tremendous fireworks extravaganza filled the skies in an annual Family Fun Night tradition.

 

Eldora returns back to action with a rare Sunday night showing next weekend (May 26) for the four-division Johnny Appleseed Classic by Miller Lite.   Tickets for that event, or any of the other remaining Eldora contests, along with campsites, may be purchased online around the clock at www.EldoraSpeedway.com or during normal business hours by calling the track office (937)338-3815.

 

                                                                                                -E-

Event: MOBIL 1 FAMILY FUN NIGHT Date: May 18, 2013 UMP DIRTcar MODIFIED

TIME TRIALS – 1. 54-Matt Westfall [17.309]; 2. 5JB-Jerry Bowersock [17.697]; 3. 188-Aaron Orr [17.717]; 4. 15-Nick Katterhenry [17.777]; 5. 45P-Brian Post [17.782]; 6. 18-Ryan Sutter [17.787]; 7. 0-Brent Hole [17.833]; 8. 55S-Zach Schroeder [17.886]; 9. 00-Dave Daughtery [17.895]; 10. 23J-Jon Henry [17.936]; 11. 36-Brandon Vaughan [18.003]; 12. 31J-John Brooks [18.081]; 13. 1SB-Steve Billenstein [18.123]; 14. 26-Mike Dirksen [18.129]; 15. 4J-David Treon, Jr [18.159]; 16. 1SW-Scott Williams [18.168]; 17. 5X-Tim Richardson [18.279]; 18. 05-David Smith [18.280]; 19. 20-Josh Morton [18.308]; 20. 52-John Phlipot, Jr [18.312]; 21. 18L-Randy Lines [18.579]; 22. 79-Shane Unger [18.788]; 23. 35-Tim Cornett [18.886]; 24. 21M-Donnie Miller [18.967]; 25. 28P-Nick Price [99.999];

HEAT 1 – 1. 54-Matt Westfall [5]; 2. 1SB-Steve Billenstein [2]; 3. 45P-Brian Post [4]; 4. 00-Dave Daughtery [3]; 5. 18L-Randy Lines [6]; 6. 28P-Nick Price [7]; 7. 5X-Tim Richardson [DNF];

HEAT 2 – 1. 5JB-Jerry Bowersock [5]; 2. 05-David Smith [1]; 3. 23J-Jon Henry [3]; 4. 26-Mike Dirksen [2]; 5. 79-Shane Unger [6]; 6. 18-Ryan Sutter [4];

HEAT 3 – 1. 4J-David Treon, Jr [2]; 2. 20-Josh Morton [1]; 3. 0-Brent Hole [4]; 4. 188-Aaron Orr [5]; 5. 35-Tim Cornett [6]; 6. 36-Brandon Vaughan [3];

HEAT 4 – 1. 1SW-Scott Williams [2]; 2. 55S-Zach Schroeder [4]; 3. 52-John Phlipot, Jr [1]; 4. 15-Nick Katterhenry [5]; 5. 31J-John Brooks [3]; 6. 21M-Donnie Miller [6];

A FEATURE – 1. 5JB-Jerry Bowersock [7]; 2. 54-Matt Westfall [8]; 3. 45P-Brian Post [4]; 4. 188-Aaron Orr [6]; 5. 55S-Zach Schroeder [1]; 6. 0-Brent Hole [2]; 7. 18-Ryan Sutter [3]; 8. 15-Nick Katterhenry [5]; 9. 23J-Jon Henry [10]; 10. 1SW-Scott Williams [16]; 11. 00-Dave Daughtery [9]; 12. 31J-John Brooks [12]; 13. 18L-Randy Lines [20]; 14. 05-David Smith [17]; 15. 20-Josh Morton [18]; 16. 1SB-Steve Billenstein [13]; 17. 36-Brandon Vaughan [11]; 18. 26-Mike Dirksen [14]; 19. 52-John Phlipot, Jr [19]; 20. 4J-David Treon, Jr [15]; 21. 5X-Tim Richardson [25]; 22. 21M-Donnie Miller [23]; 23. 79-Shane Unger [21]; 24. 35-Tim Cornett [DNF]; 25. 28P-Nick Price [DNF];

STOCK CAR

TIME TRIALS – 1. 71C-Barney Craig [19.816]; 2. 01-Earnie Woodard [19.931]; 3. 7-Jordan Conover [19.960]; 4. 00-Dean Pitts [20.002]; 5. 410-Paul Pardo [20.047]; 6. 61-Rob Trent [20.174]; 7. 8C-Brad Conover [20.453]; 8. 17-Jeremy Creech [20.505]; 9. 5G-Anthony Goode [20.615]; 10. 36-Adam Schaeff [20.880]; 11. 20-Shawn Phillipi [20.946]; 12. 51-Cody Timmerman [21.140]; 13. 23-Casey Barr [21.257]; 14. 27-Frank Paladino [21.451]; 15. 19-Wayne Williams [21.844]; 16. 65-Rodney Lacey [22.285]; 17. 7D-Dan Wooten [99.999]; 18. 53-Jan Launder [99.999]; 19. 1W-Mark Wooten [99.999]; 20. 49-Eric Sandlin [99.999]; 21. 77-Corey Wooten [99.999]; 22. 82-Chris Douglas [99.999]; 23. 58-Alex Peace [99.999];

HEAT 1 – 1. 71C-Barney Craig [5]; 2. 00-Dean Pitts [4]; 3. 36-Adam Schaeff [2]; 4. 82-Chris Douglas [8]; 5. 23-Casey Barr [1]; 6. 65-Rodney Lacey [6]; 7. 8C-Brad Conover [DNF]; 8. 1W-Mark Wooten [DNS];

HEAT 2 – 1. 20-Shawn Phillipi [2]; 2. 410-Paul Pardo [4]; 3. 7D-Dan Wooten [6]; 4. 01-Earnie Woodard [5]; 5. 27-Frank Paladino [1]; 6. 17-Jeremy Creech [3]; 7. 58-Alex Peace [DNF]; 8. 49-Eric Sandlin [DNS];

HEAT 3 – 1. 5G-Anthony Goode [3]; 2. 61-Rob Trent [4]; 3. 7-Jordan Conover [5]; 4. 19-Wayne Williams [1]; 5. 51-Cody Timmerman [DNF]; 6. 77-Corey Wooten [DNF]; 7. 53-Jan Launder [DNS];

A FEATURE – 1. 71C-Barney Craig [4]; 2. 01-Earnie Woodard [3]; 3. 17-Jeremy Creech [7]; 4. 7-Jordan Conover [2]; 5. 20-Shawn Phillipi [10]; 6. 410-Paul Pardo [5]; 7. 00-Dean Pitts [1]; 8. 82-Chris Douglas [16]; 9. 23-Casey Barr [11]; 10. 19-Wayne Williams [13]; 11. 5G-Anthony Goode [DNF]; 12. 61-Rob Trent [DNF]; 13. 65-Rodney Lacey [DNF]; 14. 58-Alex Peace [DNF]; 15. 53-Jan Launder [DNF]; 16. 36-Adam Schaeff [DNF]; 17. 27-Frank Paladino [DNF]; 18. 77-Corey Wooten [DNF]; 19. 8C-Brad Conover [DNF]; 20. 7D-Dan Wooten [DNF]; 21. 51-Cody Timmerman [DNF]; 22. 1W-Mark Wooten [DNS]; 23. 49-Eric Sandlin [DNS];

 

Rain Cuts Short World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars in Pennsylvania

Rain Cuts Short World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars in Pennsylvania

Morgan Cup Trophy event moved to July 20 at Williams Grove Speedway

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – May 18, 2013 – World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series and Williams Grove Speedway officials were forced to cancel Saturday’s Morgan Cup event after late afternoon rain came through the area and drenched the track. Crews worked for several hours to try to prep the historic half-mile oval, but the conditions prevented it from being race-ready.

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series returns to Williams Grove Speedway on July 19 and 20. The Morgan Cup, a traveling trophy that resides with either the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series or Williams Grove Speedway, will now be up for grabs on Saturday, July 20. In the event the A-main winner on July 20 is not a full-time Outlaw or member of the PA Posse, the winner will decide in victory lane which side will be awarded the trophy.

Friday night’s thriller won by Donny Schatz will mark the end of the spring event at Williams Grove, and the Friday purse will be adjusted upwards, which increases each position including first place from $8,000 to $10,000.

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series is back in action Sunday at Orange Country Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y., where the drivers meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. followed by hot laps and racing. On Tuesday the series invades New Egypt (N.J.) Speedway for the NAPA Auto Parts Outlaw Classic.

For more information, visit http://www.WorldofOutlaws.com, or follow on Twitter @WorldofOutlaws.

FRIDAY’S ADJUSTED World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Williams Grove Speedway; Mechanicsburg, Pa.; May 17, 2013

A-Main – (25 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz [12] [$10,000]; 2. 39-Greg Hodnett [3] [$5,500]; 3. 20S-Fred Rahmer [2] [$3,200]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [4] [$2,800]; 5. 51-Paul McMahan [1] [$2,500]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [5] [$2,300]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7] [$2,200]; 8. 7-Craig Dollansky [8] [$2,100]; 9. 19M-Brent Marks [10] [$2,050]; 10. 1-Sammy Swindell [11] [$2,000]; 11. 1K-Kyle Larson [9] [$1,500]; 12. 71M-Joey Saldana [6] [$1,200]; 13. 11-Steve Kinser [24] [$1,100]; 14. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr [13] [$1,050]; 15. 21-Brian Montieth [14] [$1,000]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart [21] [$900]; 17. 6-David Gravel [19] [$800]; 18. 4-Cody Darrah [25] [$]; 19. 7M-Chad Layton [16] [$800]; 20. 19-Stevie Smith [23] [$800]; 21. 48-Danny Dietrich [26] [$]; 22. 3-Pat Cannon [22] [$800]; 23. 69-Ryan Smith [20] [$800]; 24. 83-Tim Kaeding [15] [$800]; 25. 63-Chad Kemenah [18] [$800]; 26. 14M-Gerard McIntyre [17] [$800]; 27. 747-Davey Sammons [28] [$]; 28. 29-Kerry Madsen [27] [$]. Lap Leaders: Paul McMahan 1-10, Greg Hodnett 11-24, Donny Schatz 25. KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz [+11]

Qualifying: 1. 9-Daryn Pittman, 16.534; 2. 71M-Joey Saldana, 16.565; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell, 16.643; 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 16.714; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 16.774; 6. 21-Brian Montieth, 16.792; 7. 83-Tim Kaeding, 16.799; 8. 39-Greg Hodnett, 16.847; 9. 51-Paul McMahan, 16.871; 10. 20S-Fred Rahmer, 16.906; 11. 49-Brad Sweet, 16.920; 12. 7M-Chad Layton, 16.953; 13. 7-Craig Dollansky, 16.966; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.977; 15. 1K-Kyle Larson, 16.978; 16. 19M-Brent Marks, 17.000; 17. 14M-Gerard McIntyre, 17.024; 18. 63-Chad Kemenah, 17.044; 19. 87-Alan Krimes, 17.064; 20. 6-David Gravel, 17.098; 21. 69-Ryan Smith, 17.102; 22. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 17.106; 23. 747-Davey Sammons, 17.122; 24. 27H-Mark Smith, 17.129; 25. 3-Pat Cannon, 17.133; 26. 19-Stevie Smith, 17.145; 27. 11C-Cory Haas, 17.162; 28. 7S-Jason Sides, 17.164; 29. 15A-Adam Wilt, 17.165; 30. 4-Cody Darrah, 17.170; 31. 11-Steve Kinser, 17.232; 32. 48-Danny Dietrich, 17.242; 33. 29-Kerry Madsen, 17.244; 34. 27-Lance Dewease, 17.285; 35. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr, 17.312; 36. 2-Jim Siegel, 17.313; 37. 59-Jac Haudenschild, 17.334; 38. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, 17.337; 39. 1Z-Danny Lasoski, 17.362; 40. 6R-Bill Rose, 17.433; 41. 75-Nicole Bower, 17.458; 42. 99M-Kyle Moody, 17.482; 43. 13-Jason Leffler, 17.601; 44. 20-Ryan Taylor, 17.606; 45. 1A-Jacob Allen, 17.697; 46. 12W-Troy Fraker, 17.881

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 7-Craig Dollansky [1] 2. 51-Paul McMahan [2] 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [4] 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr [3] 5. 3-Pat Cannon [7] 6. 14M-Gerard McIntyre [5] 7. 69-Ryan Smith [6] 8. 29-Kerry Madsen [9] 9. 59-Jac Haudenschild [10] 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [12] 11. 75-Nicole Bower [11] 12. 15A-Adam Wilt [8]

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [1] 2. 20S-Fred Rahmer [2] 3. 21-Brian Montieth [3] 4. 19-Stevie Smith [7] 5. 71M-Joey Saldana [4] 6. 63-Chad Kemenah [5] 7. 27-Lance Dewease [9] 8. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [10] 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6] 10. 12W-Troy Fraker [12] 11. 4-Cody Darrah [8] 12. 99M-Kyle Moody [11]

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 1K-Kyle Larson [1] 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2] 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [4] 4. 11-Steve Kinser [8] 5. 83-Tim Kaeding [3] 6. 747-Davey Sammons [6] 7. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr [9] 8. 11C-Cory Haas [7] 9. 87-Alan Krimes [5] 10. 13-Jason Leffler [11] 11. 1Z-Danny Lasoski [10]

Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 19M-Brent Marks [1] 2. 39-Greg Hodnett [3] 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4] 4. 7M-Chad Layton [2] 5. 6-David Gravel [5] 6. 27H-Mark Smith [6] 7. 7S-Jason Sides [7] 8. 48-Danny Dietrich [8] 9. 20-Ryan Taylor [11] 10. 2-Jim Siegel [9] 11. 6R-Bill Rose [10]

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature): 1. 51-Paul McMahan [3] 2. 20S-Fred Rahmer [2] 3. 39-Greg Hodnett [4] 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [6] 5. 49-Brad Sweet [1] 6. 71M-Joey Saldana [5] 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [8] 8. 7-Craig Dollansky [7] 9. 1K-Kyle Larson [9] 10. 19M-Brent Marks [10]

C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature): 1. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr [1] [-]; 2. 59-Jac Haudenschild [3] [-]; 3. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [4] [$125]; 4. 2-Jim Siegel [2] [$125]; 5. 20-Ryan Taylor [8] [$125]; 6. 12W-Troy Fraker [10] [$100]; 7. 75-Nicole Bower [7] [$100]; 8. 6R-Bill Rose [6] [$100]; 9. 1Z-Danny Lasoski [5] [$100]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [9] [$100]; 11. 99M-Kyle Moody [11] [$100]; 12. 13-Jason Leffler [12] [$100]

Last Chance Showdown – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 63-Chad Kemenah [2] [-]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5] [-]; 3. 14M-Gerard McIntyre [1] [-]; 4. 69-Ryan Smith [4] [-]; 5. 4-Cody Darrah [11] [$200]; 6. 27H-Mark Smith [7] [$180]; 7. 747-Davey Sammons [6] [$175]; 8. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr [15] [$160]; 9. 48-Danny Dietrich [12] [$150]; 10. 15A-Adam Wilt [10] [$150]; 11. 11C-Cory Haas [8] [$150]; 12. 27-Lance Dewease [14] [$150]; 13. 29-Kerry Madsen [13] [$150]; 14. 59-Jac Haudenschild [16] [$150]; 15. 7S-Jason Sides [9] [$150]; 16. 87-Alan Krimes [3] [$150]

25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals : John Force Racing

25^th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals

Heartland Park Topeka

Topeka, KS
May 17-19, 2013

 

* * * *

JOHN FORCE LEADS 1-2-3 QUAL EFFORT AT KANSAS NATIONALS

TOPEKA, KS (May 18, 2013) – It was a banner day for John Force Racing as qualifying for the 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals concluded with all three JFR Ford Mustangs atop the Funny Car qualifying order. On Friday it was Robert Hight and Courtney Force sitting at the top the provisional order but today 9-time NHRA Kansas Nationals winner John Force ran 4.043 setting the track ET record en route to his 11th No.1 qualifying effort at Heartland Park Topeka. It was the 141st No. 1 of Force’s illustrious career and the first of the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing season.

 “It was so smooth on that run I told (crew chief Mike) Neff we could go harder. He said OK but we have to race tomorrow. He slowed it down on that run and it still spun at the other end. When I went past the lights I almost got into the wall down there. When I hit the chutes it sucked me over. Neff is a real sharp cookie but I knew that. With his driving ability and what he has done as a crew chief,” said Force after his final run of the day a 4.077 second pass.

 The last time Force was No. 1 was the Chicago NHRA event in 2012. Force has won the NHRA Kansas Nationals six times from the top spot. In the first round he will face former teammate and two-time Funny Car world champion Tony Pedregon. Force holds a commanding 57-26 win record against Pedregon.

 “It was 125-126 degrees yesterday and I said that was awful hot. It ran that 4.11 which was pretty good (for the second session). Then my daughter and Robert both run in the 4.0s and I thought geez. We have been working on different chassis and they are starting to run for us. I told Neff this morning if I knew what was going on then I wouldn’t need to pay all these crew chiefs. We are a good team because we work together and we communicate. Even with all my experience I sometimes still struggle with the driving and Neff can talk to me and ask me why I am doing something in the car.”

 Force raced around his daughter, Courtney Force, and son-in-law, Hight, on the way to the top of the Funny Car field. This was the 11th time John Force Racing was 1-2-3 in Funny Car qualifying. The last time JFR achieved this feat was Houston 2010 when Force was No. 1 followed by Ashley Force Hood, then Robert Hight.

 “We are 1-2-3 and for Ford, Castrol, Traxxas, Auto Club, this means a lot. It shows that John Force still knows what to do. I surround myself with good people. I would like to take credit but credit goes to the people that give you the power. It starts at Mike Neff and then right down the line. All our crew chiefs work together from Jimmy Prock to Dean Antonelli to Ron Douglas,” said Force. “That is what it is all about. We have been struggling and I have done media stories about that. My dad always taught me when you are struggling don’t change in the middle of the stream and don’t forget which way you are going. Don’t swim backwards. The guys believe in me and I believe in them. They turned my cars around.”

Force’s on-track success meant that Arlie Ryan from Solomon, Kansas won a washer and dryer set thanks to BrandSource and the Win with Force promotion. If a JFR driver wins the race tomorrow a different lucky fan will win a 55” flat screen TV.

When qualifying was said and done, Courtney Force drove her Traxxas Ford Mustang straight down the track and claimed the No. 2 spot right. She will take on the No. 15 qualified car, that of Dale Creasy Jr., on race day. Force had an identical ET to teammate Hight but by virtue of her faster 315.56 mph she was awarded the second spot

 The 24-year-old blonde from Yorba Linda, Calif. picked up four qualifying bonus points on Friday alone, and added 2 bonus points from her fourth and final round of qualifying today at Heartland Park Topeka.

 “It feels great to come out here and make consistent runs each pass. We were trying something different on the third qualifying shot, trying to get it to go quicker down there. The track ended up being a little bit better than we expected on that run, but we came back up and improved our time. We tried to go for that top spot and we were just a little off. I wanted to steal it away from my dad and take that track record away from him, but I’m very proud of my Traxxas Ford Mustang team. I’m proud of my teammates; my dad going to the top and Robert in the No. 3 spot. It’s pretty amazing that we’ve all been running so strong out here during qualifying at Heartland Park Topeka,” said Force.

 Force has never raced Dale Creasy Jr. in previous events. Last year in 2012, Force’s rookie year, she qualified No. 8 here at Heartland Park Topeka and lost to Robert Hight in the first round.

“I’m excited to go into tomorrow. It’s going to be interesting. It’s the first time I’ll be running Dale Creasy Jr. and my brother-in-law, Danny, his dad works on that team. It’s going to be a lot of fun to be out there with my family. I’m just excited that our three John Force Racing Funny Car teams are back on top,” said Force.

 As excited as the Forces were about their respective qualifying efforts, the biggest smiles in the JFR pit area belonged to the Auto Club Mustang crewmen, crew chiefs and driver Robert Hight. Since the end of last season the team has been searching for a consistent tune-up and in the past two days the team feels like they have a good handle on one.

 “I am thrilled. This is the best four runs we’ve put together. We had the fastest car out here early on. We’ve been trying to search for that for three years. Right now, there is nobody out here that has a car as fast as us at the beginning part of the track. I’m excited and to be one, two and three with our Ford Mustangs as bad as we’ve been struggling this is a great start to the season for us,” said Hight.

 Hight is 9-1 versus veteran Jeff Arend in first round match-ups. Tomorrow will be the sixteenth meeting between Hight and Arend with Hight only having losses to the Jim Dunn backed driver.

  “When you qualify well, you know you get an easier pick. We’ll have to bring our ‘A’ game for sure but I’m excited. We do everything right, we ought to be deep in this deal and maybe meet one of my teammates in the final,” added Hight.

Hight’s Auto Club Ford Mustang earned eight qualifying bonus points this weekend. The last time they earned that many bonus points in one event was over a year ago at the spring NHRA event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His qualifying struggles have been well chronicled but to put this weekend’s turn around in perspective from the Sonoma event in July until the end of the season Hight’s team only earned seven qualifying bonus points.

 The Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster had a pressure filled day with overcast skies threatening all day and a few brief showers halting racing action they were trying to post a time quick enough to qualify for the race. At the end of Friday’s qualifying session they were the 13^th quicket Top Fuel dragster and did not carry a time over to Saturday.

 In the first session the Dean Antonelli and Eric Lane tuned dragster went right down the track and solidified rookie Brittany Force’s position in the field. Conditions afforded the team the chance to put a little more into the tune up and with each run of the first three runs the Castrol EDGE dragster improved. In the final session the team was pressing and slowed a bit to 3.856 seconds but the pass was straight and heading into the first round Force is confident in her chances.

 “We’ve been running a pretty consistent car. We ran a 3.856 in the last run and a 3.846 in the previous run. We’re in the show and we ended up 13th. The Castrol EDGE team gets to run tomorrow so we’re pretty excited about that. We get Khalid alBalooshi in the first round and I’ve never run him before so I’m excited and looking forward to tomorrow,” said Force, who is writing a daily diary for the Topeka Capital Journal newspaper.

“I really like Khalid. I’ve talked to him quite a few times. He’s always offered help and advice if I ever needed any. He’s a great guy and I’m excited to be in the lane next to him tomorrow.”

 Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

THE DRIVERS

 JOHN FORCE, 64, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang

Final Qualifying: 1^st at 4.043 seconds, 313.22 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: +4 (quickest of Q3 and 3^rd quickest of Q4)

First Round Opponent (W-L): Tony Pedregon (57-26)

 ROBERT HIGHT, 43, Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang
Final Qualifying: 3^rd at 4.050 seconds at 315.12 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +8 (Quickest of Q1 and Q2; 2^nd quickest of Q3)

First Round Opponent (W-L): Jeff Arend (13-2)

 COURTNEY FORCE, 24, Traxxas Ford Mustang
Final Qualifying: 2^nd at 4.050 seconds, 315.56 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +7 (2^nd quickest of Q1 and Q2; quickest of Q4)

First Round Opponent (W-L): Dale Creasy Jr. (0-0)

 BRITTANY FORCE, 26, Castrol EDGE Top Fuel Dragster

Final Qualifying: 13^th at 3.846, 320.89 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

First Round Opponent (W-L): Khalid alBalooshi (0-0)

 RACE SCHEDULE:

 Sunday, May 19

 Final Eliminations                      11 a.m.

 

Landmark 500th elimination round win for Coughlin could happen Sunday

Landmark 500th elimination round win for Coughlin could happen Sunday

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 18) – Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger has consistently been one of the top cars in Pro Stock this season and the team’s fourth-place qualifying effort at the NHRA Kansas Nationals proved the point yet again.

 

“It feels real good right now,” Coughlin said. “We’ve been working on our total package, trying to put it all together: from the pits to the racetrack to the driving to qualifying to turning the win light on Sundays.”

 

Coughlin had a best pass of 6.633 seconds at 208.46 mph, missing on third place by just a fraction of his top speed as teammate Allen Johnson had an identical ET but got the third position thanks to a mph of 208.62.

 

“I’m happy with the way we’ve started here at Heartland Park,” Coughlin said. “We were second in the first session and fourth the other three runs. I’m real confident the car is going to continue to perform well, and I feel great behind the wheel. I like the total package we’ve brought to the track this weekend.

 

“We’re really not changing a whole lot on the car. It’s got some small inefficiencies we’re just trying to tweak, but we don’t want to upset the apple cart. We really feel like we’ve got a car that can go the distance.”

 

Coughlin squares off against No. 13 qualifier Greg Stanfield in the first round of eliminations Sunday morning. Coughlin and Stanfield both have reputations for having some of the best reaction times in the class, and Coughlin said he’ll be ready for a strong test from his friend.

 

“You know deep down you have to be on your best behavior,” Coughlin said. “Ultimately you have to stick to your game plan. I feel like I’ve got a pretty good game plan with the JEGS/Mopar Dodge for tomorrow and that round in particular. We’ll give it a go and see how we do.”

 

With two round wins on Sunday Coughlin will hit 500 Pro Stock rounds wins for his illustrious career.

 

“You try not to look too far ahead because when you do it can often get you into trouble,” Coughlin said. “I hope that milestone happens tomorrow, and I also hope it’s a milestone on the way to our first win of the season.”

 

Eliminations for Sunday’s NHRA Kansas Nationals get under way at 11 a.m. CDT from Heartland Park Topeka.

 

Schatz Slips Past Hodnett in Final Corner, Wins Williams Grove Thriller

Schatz Slips Past Hodnett in Final Corner, Wins Williams Grove Thriller

Defending champ drives to fourth World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Victory of ’13

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – May 17, 2013 – Donny Schatz caught and passed Greg Hodnett in the final corner on Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway to win his fourth World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event of the season in thrilling fashion.

Schatz, who started 12th, picked off series points leader Daryn Pittman and two of Pennsylvania’s fiercest competitors, Fred Rahmer and Hodnett, over the final three laps to win at the historic central Pennsylvania venue for the 17th time in his career.

The lead was never safe in the 25-lap feature event. Paul McMahan started on the pole and led the first 10 laps before Hodnett worked his way to the front to complete Lap 11 just as caution came out. Hodnett tried to pull away on the restart but McMahan, Rahmer and Pittman stayed in close pursuit. It looked as if the vaunted PA Posse with Hodnett and Rahmer was going to deal the Outlaws their second consecutive defeat in as many nights before Schatz ran them both down on the last lap, surprising Rahmer by going to the outside in turns 1 and 2, then setting up Hodnett in turn 3, passing under him in turn 4 and charging down the long front stretch to absolutely stun the huge crowd.

“Man to lead the last lap is important and I got Greg at just the right time, he went to the bottom to protect it and I wasn’t about to lose that way,” said Schatz, driver of the Tony Stewart Racing STP/Armor All J&J. “I gave it everything I had tonight, it worked. A lot of nights it doesn’t.”

It definitely was working for Schatz, who has now finished first or second in each of the past three World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series events as he chases his sixth series championship.

“When my tires were cold I thought I could keep momentum around the top, then those guys showed me the bottom,” said Hodnett, driver of the Trone Outdoor Maxim. “I knew I needed to slow down and put the right rear back under the wing and hopefully it rotated and got a decent shot off. Donny was just able to run way harder than we were so, you know, just chalk it up to experience.”

Rahmer, the legendary leader of the PA Posse who is experiencing a bit of a resurgence on the Pennsylvania dirt tracks this season, looked at times as if he was going to be the man to beat, but Pittman, Hodnett and eventually Schatz were able to do just enough to hold him back.

“Our car wasn’t as good as it needed to be, you can’t drop the ball at all with these guys,” said Rahmer, driver of the Truline Contractors XXX machine. “We came home third and hopefully we can come back and just make the show [on Saturday] to start and just get a little better, I’ve got to drive a little better, the guys did a good job on the car, just a little off and you can’t do that on a show like this.”

Pittman, the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship leader, etched his 15th top-five finish this season with his fourth-place run after setting quick time.

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series returns Saturday night to Williams Grove Speedway where the feature event will determine where the Morgan Cup trophy will reside the remainder of 2013. The traveling trophy goes to the organization represented by the highest finishing Outlaw or PA Posse racer in Saturday’s A-main. The past two seasons, a dash determined the Morgan Cup winner, with Jason Sides and Steve Kinser earning victories that let the trophy find a home in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series office in North Carolina.

 

WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK

 

NOTES – Daryn Pittman set quick time in qualifying at the paper clip shaped 1/2-mile in 16.534 seconds. … Craig Dollansky, Kraig Kinser, Kyle Larson, and Brent Marks won heat races. … The dash draw was a 6 for the 13th time this year. … Paul McMahan won the dash for the second time this year.

WINNERS – Daryn Pittman – 4 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 13, Tucson International Raceway on March 9, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15 and Eldora Speedway on May 4); Tim Kaeding – 4 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 15, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 7, Tri-State Speedway on April 20 and Elko Speedway on May 10); Donny Schatz – 4 (Kings Speedway on April 12, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 6, Knoxville Raceway on May 11, and Williams Grove on May 17); Craig Dollansky – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and Salina Highbanks Speedway on April 27);Shane Golobic – 1 (Antioch Speedway on April 5); Kyle Larson – 1 (Stockton 99 Dirt Track on March 22);Danny Lasoski – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17); Paul McMahan – 1 (Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23);Terry McCarl – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 16), Sammy Swindell – 1 (Merced Speedway on March 29),Steve Kinser – 1 (El Paso Speedway Park on April 16), Kerry Madsen – 1 (Eldora Speedway on May 3) Danny Dietrich – 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 16).

 

QUALIFYING – Daryn Pittman was the fastest qualifier around the paperclip half-mile with a time of 16.534 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Joey Saldana (4 points), Sammy Swindell (3), Donny Schatz (2) and Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1).

 

WE’RE ONLINE – Make sure to check out WoOsprint.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com .

CONTINGENCY WINNERS – MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Tim Kaeding; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; STP ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Bruce High Performance Transporters ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; UNOH ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; American Racing Custom Wheels ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Brent Marks; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Sammy Swindell; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; Superflow ($50 cash): David Gravel; Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash): David Gravel;KSE Racing Products ($100 certificate): Donny Schatz; Penske Shocks ($100 certificate): Joey Saldana;Armor All (case of product): Brent Marks; Comp Cams ($50 certificate); Donny Schatz; Bruce High Performance Transporters ($200 certificates): Paul McMahan, David Gravel, Tim Kaeding; JE Pistons (set of rings): David Gravel and Tim Kaeding.

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Williams Grove Speedway; Mechanicsburg, Pa.; May 17, 2013

A-Main – (25 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz [12] [$8,000]; 2. 39-Greg Hodnett [3] [$4,000]; 3. 20S-Fred Rahmer [2] [$2,500]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [4] [$2,200]; 5. 51-Paul McMahan [1] [$2,100]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [5] [$2,000]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7] [$1,800]; 8. 7-Craig Dollansky [8] [$1,600]; 9. 19M-Brent Marks [10] [$1,500]; 10. 1-Sammy Swindell [11] [$1,300]; 11. 1K-Kyle Larson [9] [$1,200]; 12. 71M-Joey Saldana [6] [$1,100]; 13. 11-Steve Kinser [24] [$1,000]; 14. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr [13] [$700]; 15. 21-Brian Montieth [14] [$600]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart [21] [$600]; 17. 6-David Gravel [19] [$600]; 18. 4-Cody Darrah [25] [$]; 19. 7M-Chad Layton [16] [$600]; 20. 19-Stevie Smith [23] [$600]; 21. 48-Danny Dietrich [26] [$]; 22. 3-Pat Cannon [22] [$600]; 23. 69-Ryan Smith [20] [$600]; 24. 83-Tim Kaeding [15] [$600]; 25. 63-Chad Kemenah [18] [$600]; 26. 14M-Gerard McIntyre [17] [$600]; 27. 747-Davey Sammons [28] [$]; 28. 29-Kerry Madsen [27] [$0]. Lap Leaders: Paul McMahan 1-10, Greg Hodnett 11-24, Donny Schatz 25. KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz [+11].

Qualifying: 1. 9-Daryn Pittman, 16.534; 2. 71M-Joey Saldana, 16.565; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell, 16.643; 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 16.714; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 16.774; 6. 21-Brian Montieth, 16.792; 7. 83-Tim Kaeding, 16.799; 8. 39-Greg Hodnett, 16.847; 9. 51-Paul McMahan, 16.871; 10. 20S-Fred Rahmer, 16.906; 11. 49-Brad Sweet, 16.920; 12. 7M-Chad Layton, 16.953; 13. 7-Craig Dollansky, 16.966; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.977; 15. 1K-Kyle Larson, 16.978; 16. 19M-Brent Marks, 17.000; 17. 14M-Gerard McIntyre, 17.024; 18. 63-Chad Kemenah, 17.044; 19. 87-Alan Krimes, 17.064; 20. 6-David Gravel, 17.098; 21. 69-Ryan Smith, 17.102; 22. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 17.106; 23. 747-Davey Sammons, 17.122; 24. 27H-Mark Smith, 17.129; 25. 3-Pat Cannon, 17.133; 26. 19-Stevie Smith, 17.145; 27. 11C-Cory Haas, 17.162; 28. 7S-Jason Sides, 17.164; 29. 15A-Adam Wilt, 17.165; 30. 4-Cody Darrah, 17.170; 31. 11-Steve Kinser, 17.232; 32. 48-Danny Dietrich, 17.242; 33. 29-Kerry Madsen, 17.244; 34. 27-Lance Dewease, 17.285; 35. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr, 17.312; 36. 2-Jim Siegel, 17.313; 37. 59-Jac Haudenschild, 17.334; 38. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, 17.337; 39. 1Z-Danny Lasoski, 17.362; 40. 6R-Bill Rose, 17.433; 41. 75-Nicole Bower, 17.458; 42. 99M-Kyle Moody, 17.482; 43. 13-Jason Leffler, 17.601; 44. 20-Ryan Taylor, 17.606; 45. 1A-Jacob Allen, 17.697; 46. 12W-Troy Fraker, 17.881.

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 7-Craig Dollansky [1]; 2. 51-Paul McMahan [2]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [4]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr [3]; 5. 3-Pat Cannon [7]; 6. 14M-Gerard McIntyre [5]; 7. 69-Ryan Smith [6]; 8. 29-Kerry Madsen [9]; 9. 59-Jac Haudenschild [10]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [12]; 11. 75-Nicole Bower [11]; 12. 15A-Adam Wilt [8].

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [1]; 2. 20S-Fred Rahmer [2]; 3. 21-Brian Montieth [3]; 4. 19-Stevie Smith [7]; 5. 71M-Joey Saldana [4]; 6. 63-Chad Kemenah [5]; 7. 27-Lance Dewease [9]; 8. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [10]; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 10. 12W-Troy Fraker [12]; 11. 4-Cody Darrah [8]; 12. 99M-Kyle Moody [11].

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 1K-Kyle Larson [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 4. 11-Steve Kinser [8]; 5. 83-Tim Kaeding [3]; 6. 747-Davey Sammons [6]; 7. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr [9]; 8. 11C-Cory Haas [7]; 9. 87-Alan Krimes [5]; 10. 13-Jason Leffler [11]; 11. 1Z-Danny Lasoski [10].

Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 19M-Brent Marks [1]; 2. 39-Greg Hodnett [3]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 7M-Chad Layton [2]; 5. 6-David Gravel [5]; 6. 27H-Mark Smith [6]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [7]; 8. 48-Danny Dietrich [8]; 9. 20-Ryan Taylor [11]; 10. 2-Jim Siegel [9]; 11. 6R-Bill Rose [10].

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature): 1. 51-Paul McMahan [3]; 2. 20S-Fred Rahmer [2]; 3. 39-Greg Hodnett [4]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [6]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 6. 71M-Joey Saldana [5]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [8]; 8. 7-Craig Dollansky [7]; 9. 1K-Kyle Larson [9]; 10. 19M-Brent Marks [10].

C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature): 1. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr [1] [-]; 2. 59-Jac Haudenschild [3] [-]; 3. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [4] [$125]; 4. 2-Jim Siegel [2] [$125]; 5. 20-Ryan Taylor [8] [$125]; 6. 12W-Troy Fraker [10] [$100]; 7. 75-Nicole Bower [7] [$100]; 8. 6R-Bill Rose [6] [$100]; 9. 1Z-Danny Lasoski [5] [$100]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [9] [$100]; 11. 99M-Kyle Moody [11] [$100]; 12. 13-Jason Leffler [12] [$100].

Last Chance Showdown – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 63-Chad Kemenah [2] [-]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5] [-]; 3. 14M-Gerard McIntyre [1] [-]; 4. 69-Ryan Smith [4] [-]; 5. 4-Cody Darrah [11] [$200]; 6. 27H-Mark Smith [7] [$180]; 7. 747-Davey Sammons [6] [$175]; 8. 69K-Don Kreitz Jr [15] [$160]; 9. 48-Danny Dietrich [12] [$150]; 10. 15A-Adam Wilt [10] [$150]; 11. 11C-Cory Haas [8] [$150]; 12. 27-Lance Dewease [14] [$150]; 13. 29-Kerry Madsen [13] [$150]; 14. 59-Jac Haudenschild [16] [$150]; 15. 7S-Jason Sides [9] [$150]; 16. 87-Alan Krimes [3] [$150].

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	Top 5′s	Top 10′s	QT
1	Daryn Pittman	3263	0	4	15	20	4
2	Paul McMahan	3118	-145	1	11	15	5
3	Donny Schatz	3113	-150	4	10	17	0
4	Sammy Swindell	3025	-238	1	5	13	2
5	Joey Saldana	3018	-245	0	5	13	3
6	Craig Dollansky	2999	-264	2	6	13	1
7	David Gravel	2949	-314	0	4	10	1
8	Cody Darrah	2914	-349	0	2	9	1
9	Chad Kemenah	2843	-420	0	6	8	2
10	Steve Kinser	2826	-437	1	1	7	0
11	Kerry Madsen	2775	-488	1	5	10	0
12	Kraig Kinser	2701	-562	0	3	9	0
13	Jason Sides	2564	-699	0	2	7	0
14	Tim Kaeding	2429	-834	4	11	13	0
15	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	2019	-1244	0	0	3	1
16	Brian Brown	1852	-1411	0	3	6	0
17	Greg Wilson	1714	-1549	0	0	1	0
18	Jac Haudenschild	1546	-1717	0	4	5	0
19	Terry McCarl	1436	-1827	1	1	1	0
20	Lucas Wolfe	1403	-1860	0	1	6	2

25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals :John Force Racing

John Force Racing

Heartland Park Topeka

Topeka, KS
May 17-19, 2013

HIGHT AND C. FORCE DOMINATE KANSAS NATIONALS ON FRIDAY

 TOPEKA, KS (May 17, 2013) – It is only the first day of the NHRA Kansas Nationals but it was a great day for Robert Hight and Courtney Force who finished each qualifying session 1-2 in the Funny Car category. It was the first time all season Hight’s Auto Club Ford Mustang has been the quickest of the first two sessions and the two-time Kansas Nationals winner was pleased with his first day effort. Hight gave a lot of the credit to his crew chief Jimmy Prock and his pre-race decision to try a new tune-up.

 “For some reason we always do good here in Topeka. We have qualified well but here lately we have been struggling and we’ve been working on the early part of the run. We definitely got it today being low ET of both sessions. It has been ages since we did that.  The back half of both of those runs weren’t very good. If we could have finished those out this thing would have really run,” said Hight. “It put a couple cylinders out. The reason it put cylinders out is it wore the clutch out and it didn’t lock up. We definitely fixed what we have been looking for what seems like a year. You see these other guys out there running these low numbers to the 330 (ft. mark) and you just can’t be giving that away. It has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of testing. Jimmy Prock just hit it right out of the box.”

 Hight and the Auto Club Mustang have been inconsistent throughout the start of the season earning one No. 1 qualifier in Las Vegas. The rest of the season Hight has struggled to put two or three runs in a row together. A combination of lack of testing and poor weather during races has hurt the team’s ability to gather data

 “Mother Nature hasn’t allowed us to test much. That is the biggest problem. We are missing twelve runs that we would have had from testing in Las Vegas, Charlotte or Houston. We have lost six qualifying runs we have missed because of weather. That has really hurt us but obviously it is the same for everybody. Jimmy just made a decision to come in here with a new set-up. We just really hoped we would get some data that first run. Luckily he hit it right on the head in that first run,” said Hight.

It has been a complete team effort to get a workable tune-up for the Auto Club Mustang that can be transferred to all the JFR Funny Cars.

“We always work together. It got us back on track be were struggling. It still didn’t get us quick enough in the ET department where we can make up some of that ET on the back half but as Jimmy has been looking at it we have some hot races coming up and summer is here. It will be tough to make that up if you give that much away early. You just can’t get that time back,” said Hight.  “We definitely found it today I know it is only two runs, what we have been missing. If we can get the back end right we’ll be in good shape. That run was pretty hairy because it had at least two cylinders out. I have looked at the computer data yet. It was dragging me over towards the wall. If we could have finished that off and run 270 (mph) at half-track this thing would have run 4.03 easily.”

 Courtney Force, driver of the Traxxas Ford Mustang, made two great passes today to kick-off the weekend and qualify in the provisional No. 2 spot.

 The 24-year-old ran a 4.133 ET at 307.16 mph, followed by a 4.068 ET at 312.86 mph in the second session which sent her to the top of the pack. Force stayed No. 1 until the next pair of cars including Robert Hight made their last pass. Hight beat out Force for the top spot by .001 seconds.

 “It feels great coming out to Topeka and being able to make two great passes. We went to the top of the field only to be bumped down to the No. 2 spot by .001 of a second by my teammate and brother-in-law Robert Hight. I guess if I had to be bumped by anyone, I’m glad it’s someone on our team. I’m proud of my guys. They have been working hard. We really needed those runs for ourselves. We collected some points and to try to creep our way back up to the top. But, you know what we’re out here to have fun. It’s great to be back here at Heartland Park Topeka,” said Force.

 Nine-time NHRA Kansas Nationals winner John Force stepped up in the second qualifying session posting a solid 4.117 second pass at 309.27 mph. He will go into Saturday’s final day of qualifying as the provisional No. 8 qualifier.

 “We got all three Funny Cars in the show and Robert got low ET and that’s big. Courtney is right up there with him. I was No. 8 and we’re testing this new chassis. This is only its second run. It’s hard to tell what is going to happen tomorrow because we were 1, 2 and 3 after the first session in Atlanta. What matters is if we get to race tomorrow, I think we will be okay,” said Force.

 In the first session the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang shook the tires loose but crew chief Mike Neff stepped up in the night session and got Force down the track with a good run as one of the early pairs.

 The Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster piloted by Brittany Force made to good runs and the rookie driver was the quickest Top Fueler to not carry a time over into Saturday. The twelve quickest race cars post a time but on Saturday the Yorba Linda, California driver will have two opportunities to grab a spot in the top sixteen.

 In the first session Force had a respectable 3.884 second pass that was good enough to be in the top half. Her Dean Antonelli and Eric Lane tuned dragster improved in the second session to a 3.847 second run at 319.52 mph but many of the teams stepped up as conditions improved.

 “I’ve always loved coming to Topeka, so I’m excited to be here. We had two qualifying runs today and ended up 13th. We were hoping to improve on that last run, but we still get two more rounds tomorrow so that’s what we’re banking on and hoping to get us in the top half of the field and race on Sunday,” said Force.

THE DRIVERS

JOHN FORCE, 64, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang

Qualifying: 8^th at 4.117 seconds, 309.27 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

 ROBERT HIGHT, 43, Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang
Qualifying: 1^st at 4.067 seconds at 302.62 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +6 (Quickest of Q1 and Q2)

COURTNEY FORCE, 24, Traxxas Ford Mustang
Qualifying: 2^nd at 4.068 seconds, 312.86 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +4 (2^nd quickest of Q1 and Q2)

BRITTANY FORCE, 26, Castrol EDGE Top Fuel Dragster

Qualifying: 13^th quickest at 3.847, 319.52 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

 RACE SCHEDULE:

 Saturday, May 18

 Nitro qualifying                                     1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

 Sunday, May 19

 Final Eliminations                      11 a.m.

 

Dietrich Downs Outlaws Again, Repeats in Gettysburg Clash at Lincoln

Dietrich Downs Outlaws Again, Repeats in Gettysburg Clash at Lincoln

PA Posse racer tops World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car stars for second year in a row

ABOTTSTOWN, Pa. – May 16, 2013 – A year after being schooled by the vaunted Pennsylvania Posse at Lincoln Speedway, the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series racers made great strides but still came up short as local star Danny Dietrich powered to victory in the Gettysburg Clash for the second consecutive season.

Last year it was hard to find an Outlaw in the top 10 at Lincoln, this time around Donny Schatz pressured Dietrich for the entire 35 laps before settling for second by about a car length at the checkered flag. Sammy Swindell, Tim Kaeding and Brad Sweet rounded out the top five on the first of four consecutive nights of action for the Outlaws.

Dietrich remained faithful to the bottom of the race track, making Schatz have to use the high side to get around him. Schatz kept pace using the high side early on, but as the bottom proved to be the preferred line he moved down and tried to force Dietrich into a making mistake.

“Just was determined to get the jump on every restart, I screwed up a couple of times, but was able to recover from it,” said Dietrich, of Aspers, Pa. “I saw his nose probably half a dozen times, I was just trying to hit my marks, I figured if I could just hit my marks everything would probably be OK. It just feels real good to beat the best of the best guys in the world.”

Dietrich wound up leading all 35 laps in his Sandoes Fruit Market Maxim, and the capacity crowd went crazy as the PA Posse member pulled into victory lane.

“I tried everything, tried pulling the wing back, putting it forward,” said Schatz, driver of the Tony Stewart Racing STP/Armor All J&J from Fargo, N.D. “The guys did a tremendous job, you come out here there is some pretty stiff competition, we’re not happy with second, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.”

Also for the second consecutive year at Lincoln, Sammy Swindell qualified at the top of the charts in the Big Game Treestands Eagle and was able to earn a position in the dash. An unlucky dash draw of eight, though, shifted Swindell from the front to row to the fourth row, where he eventually worked his way back to a podium finish by the end of the night.

“The last couple of weeks have been really bad for us, and so it’s good to come here and get a third,” said Sammy Swindell, of Germantown, Tenn. “We were a little scared to go too far. Everything we did the first part of the year seemed to be wrong. To come here and get a third is just great.”

Sixth-place finishing Brent Marks was the next PA Posse driver in the finishing order, one spot ahead of World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship point leader Daryn Pittman.

The night did not go so well for one of the PA Posse’s biggest stars, Greg Hodnett, from Thomasville, Pa. He went out late in time trials and qualified an impressive eighth, when few drivers were moving up in the qualifying order. But Hodnett’s night would end there, as a mechanical failure would keep the car off of the track for the rest of the event.

Kerry Madsen managed to save what could have been a rough night. The Aussie qualified a dismal 40th but he was able to work his way up to the third position in his heat race, and was racing for a spot in the dash. He would not be able to take the dash spot away from Hafertepe Jr., but he would go to the feature. Madsen started 24th in the feature due to his qualifying position, but picked up eight spots to finish 16th.

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series heads to Williams Grove Speedway on Friday and Saturday, with Saturday night’s feature now the determining event for where the Morgan Cup trophy will reside the remainder of 2013. The traveling trophy goes to the organization represented by the highest finishing Outlaw or PA Posse racer in Saturday’s A-main. The past two seasons, a dash determined the Morgan Cup winner, with Jason Sides and Steve Kinser earning victories that let the trophy find a home in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series office in North Carolina.

LINCOLN SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK

 

NOTES – Sammy Swindell set quick time in qualifying at the paper clip shaped 3/8-mile in 13.617 seconds. … Tim Kaeding, Danny Dietrich, Donny Schatz, and Brent Marks won heat races. … The dash draw was an 8 for the 7th time this year. … Danny Dietrich won the dash for the first time this year.

WINNERS – Daryn Pittman – 4 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 13, Tucson International Raceway on March 9, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15 and Eldora Speedway on May 4); Tim Kaeding – 4 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 15, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 7, Tri-State Speedway on April 20 and Elko Speedway on May 10); Donny Schatz – 3 (Kings Speedway on April 12, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 6 and Knoxville Raceway on May 11); Craig Dollansky – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and Salina Highbanks Speedway on April 27); Shane Golobic – 1 (Antioch Speedway on April 5); Kyle Larson – 1 (Stockton 99 Dirt Track on March 22); Danny Lasoski – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17); Paul McMahan – 1 (Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23); Terry McCarl – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 16), Sammy Swindell – 1 (Merced Speedway on March 29), Steve Kinser – 1 (El Paso Speedway Park on April 16), Kerry Madsen – 1 (Eldora Speedway on May 3) Danny Dietrich – 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 16).

 

QUALIFYING – Sammy Swindell was the fastest qualifier around the 3/8-mile oval with a time of 13.617 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Brian Montieth (4 points), Fred Rahmer (3), Chad Kemenah (2) and Joey Saldana (1).

WE’RE ONLINE – Make sure to check out WoOsprint.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com .

CONTINGENCY WINNERS – MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Joey Saldana; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; STP ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky;Bruce High Performance Transporters ($50 cash): Sammy Swindell; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; UNOH ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; American Racing Custom Wheels ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Cody Darrah; Superflow ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash): David Gravel; KSE Racing Products ($100 certificate): Daryn Pittman; Penske Shocks ($100 certificate): Brent Marks; Armor All (case of product): Tim Kaeding; Comp Cams ($50 certificate); Donny Schatz; Bruce High Performance Transporters ($200 certificates): Sammy Swindell, Chad Kemenah, Craig Dollansky; JE Pistons (set of rings): Kerry Madsen and Craig Dollansky.

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Lincoln Speedway; Abbottstown, Pa.; May 16, 2013

A-Main – (35 Laps): 1. 48-Danny Dietrich [1] [$6,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [3] [$3,500]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [6] [$2,000]; 4. 83-Tim Kaeding [2] [$1,800]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [4] [$1,500]; 6. 19M-Brent Marks [8] [$1,400]; 7. 9-Daryn Pittman [17] [$1,350]; 8. 20S-Fred Rahmer [11] [$1,300]; 9. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr [7] [$1,250]; 10. 21-Brian Montieth [5] [$1,200]; 11. 51-Paul McMahan [9] [$900]; 12. 4-Cody Darrah [10] [$800]; 13. 63-Chad Kemenah [12] [$700]; 14. 14M-Gerard McIntyre [18] [$650]; 15. 1K-Kyle Larson [20] [$600]; 16. 29-Kerry Madsen [24] [$550]; 17. 6-David Gravel [15] [$500]; 18. 19-Stevie Smith [22] [$500]; 19. 11-Steve Kinser [19] [$500]; 20. O7-Justin Henderson [14] [$500]; 21. 5L-Chad Layton [23] [$500]; 22. 27-Lance Dewease [21] [$500]; 23. 7-Craig Dollansky [16] [$500]; 24. 15A-Adam Wilt [25] [$]; 25. 71M-Joey Saldana [13] [$500]. Lap Leaders: Danny Dietrich 1-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 9-Daryn Pittman [+10].

Qualifying: 1. 1-Sammy Swindell, 13.617; 2. 21-Brian Montieth, 13.695; 3. 20S-Fred Rahmer, 13.721; 4. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.723; 5. 71M-Joey Saldana, 13.739; 6. 51-Paul McMahan, 13.779; 7. O7-Justin Henderson, 13.810; 8. 39-Greg Hodnett, 13.818; 9. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.821; 10. 6-David Gravel, 13.831; 11. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.844; 12. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 13.873; 13. 83-Tim Kaeding, 13.888; 14. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.918; 15. 4-Cody Darrah, 13.928; 16. 19M-Brent Marks, 13.950; 17. 7-Craig Dollansky, 13.959; 18. 9-Daryn Pittman, 13.970; 19. 71X-Bill Stine, 13.978; 20. 14M-Gerard McIntyre, 13.982; 21. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.994; 22. 1K-Kyle Larson, 13.998; 23. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 14.001; 24. 55K-Robbie Kendall, 14.040; 25. 92-Ryan Smith, 14.053; 26. 27-Lance Dewease, 14.094; 27. 19-Stevie Smith, 14.104; 28. 87-Alan Krimes, 14.193; 29. 11C-Cory Haas, 14.209; 30. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.220; 31. B52-Scott Geesey, 14.244; 32. 15A-Adam Wilt, 14.255; 33. 25-Aaron Ott, 14.259; 34. 59J-Jim Siegel, 14.268; 35. 13-Jason Leffler, 14.277; 36. 5L-Chad Layton, 14.292; 37. 7S-Jason Sides, 14.323; 38. 1A-Jacob Allen, 14.369; 39. 6R-Bill Rose, 14.467; 40. 29-Kerry Madsen, 14.516; 41. 29W-Ryan Wilson, 14.570; 42. 59-Jac Haudenschild, 20.766.

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 83-Tim Kaeding [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 7-Craig Dollansky [5]; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 5. 71M-Joey Saldana [3]; 6. 11-Steve Kinser [6]; 7. 11C-Cory Haas [8]; 8. 92-Ryan Smith [7]; 9. 7S-Jason Sides [10]; 10. 25-Aaron Ott [9]; 11. 29W-Ryan Wilson [11].

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 48-Danny Dietrich [1]; 2. 51-Paul McMahan [3]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [5]; 4. 21-Brian Montieth [4]; 5. 27-Lance Dewease [7]; 6. 1K-Kyle Larson [6]; 7. 6-David Gravel [2]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [8]; 9. 59J-Jim Siegel [9]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [10]; 11. 59-Jac Haudenschild [11].

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 4-Cody Darrah [1]; 3. 20S-Fred Rahmer [4]; 4. 19-Stevie Smith [7]; 5. O7-Justin Henderson [3]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 7. 71X-Bill Stine [5]; 8. B52-Scott Geesey [8]; 9. 13-Jason Leffler [9]; 10. 6R-Bill Rose [10].

Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 19M-Brent Marks [1]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr [2]; 3. 29-Kerry Madsen [10]; 4. 63-Chad Kemenah [4]; 5. 5L-Chad Layton [9]; 6. 55K-Robbie Kendall [6]; 7. 14M-Gerard McIntyre [5]; 8. 15A-Adam Wilt [8]; 9. 87-Alan Krimes [7].

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature): 1. 48-Danny Dietrich [1]; 2. 83-Tim Kaeding [2]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 5. 21-Brian Montieth [7]; 6. 1-Sammy Swindell [8]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr [3]; 8. 19M-Brent Marks [10]; 9. 51-Paul McMahan [6]; 10. 4-Cody Darrah [9].

C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature): 1. 7S-Jason Sides [3] [-]; 2. 59J-Jim Siegel [1] [-]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [4] [$125]; 4. 29W-Ryan Wilson [6] [$125]; 5. 6R-Bill Rose [5] [$125]; 6. 59-Jac Haudenschild [7] [$100]; 7. 13-Jason Leffler [2] [$100]; 8. 39-Greg Hodnett [8] [$100].

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature): 1. 6-David Gravel [1] [-]; 2. 11-Steve Kinser [4] [-]; 3. 1K-Kyle Larson [5] [-]; 4. 14M-Gerard McIntyre [3] [-]; 5. 87-Alan Krimes [9] [$200]; 6. 55K-Robbie Kendall [7] [$180]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6] [$175]; 8. 15A-Adam Wilt [13] [$160]; 9. 92-Ryan Smith [8] [$150]; 10. 59J-Jim Siegel [15] [$150]; 11. 11C-Cory Haas [10] [$150]; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser [11] [$150]; 13. 71X-Bill Stine [2] [$150]; 14. B52-Scott Geesey [12] [$150]; 15. 7S-Jason Sides [16] [$150]; 16. 25-Aaron Ott [14] [$150].

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	T-5	T-10	QT
1	Daryn Pittman	3116	0	4	14	19	3
2	Paul McMahan	2978	-138	1	10	14	5
3	Donny Schatz	2961	-155	3	9	16	0
4	Sammy Swindell	2892	-224	1	5	12	2
5	Joey Saldana	2888	-228	0	5	13	3
6	Craig Dollansky	2865	-251	2	6	12	1
7	David Gravel	2833	-283	0	4	10	1
8	Cody Darrah	2800	-316	0	2	9	1
9	Chad Kemenah	2741	-375	0	6	8	2
10	Steve Kinser	2702	-414	1	1	7	0
11	Kerry Madsen	2673	-443	1	5	10	0
12	Kraig Kinser	2565	-551	0	3	8	0
13	Jason Sides	2489	-627	0	2	7	0
14	Tim Kaeding	2327	-789	4	11	13	0
15	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	1896	-1220	0	0	3	1
16	Brian Brown	1852	-1264	0	3	6	0
17	Greg Wilson	1714	-1402	0	0	1	0
18	Jac Haudenschild	1471	-1645	0	4	5	0
19	Terry McCarl	1436	-1680	1	1	1	0
20	Lucas Wolfe	1403	-1713	0	1	6	2

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing returns to Topeka

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing returns to Topeka

The spectacular high-speed racing excitement of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series thunders into Heartland Park Topeka for the 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals May 17-19.

The eighth event of the 24-race season will feature competition in the Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock categories. NHRA is providing a great opportunity for Kansas families to get up close and personal with the NHRA's personable drivers and experience the amazing sensory adventure of watching their favorite race cars on the track with a special ticket offer: Children 12 and younger will be admitted free into general-admission areas at the NHRA Kansas Nationals when accompanied by a paid adult. All of the biggest stars in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will be revved up to compete at the site of many record-breaking performances throughout NHRA history. The 2012 winners of this event were David Grubnic (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car), and Allen Johnson (Pro Stock).

The 97th Indianapolis 500 Race Notes:

Race Notes:
The 97th Indianapolis 500 is the 18th IZOD IndyCar Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Since
1911, the Indianapolis 500 winner has gone on to win the series championship 34 times, most recently in
2010 with Dario Franchitti.
Since the inception of the IZOD IndyCar Series in 1996, Scott Dixon (2008) and Sam Hornish Jr. (2006)
are the only Indianapolis pole winners who went on to win the season championship.
The event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the fifth race on the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series
schedule. Since 1993, the winner of the fifth race of the season has gone on to win the series
championship 11 times. The drivers are: Scott Dixon (2008 – Indianapolis), Dario Franchitti (2007 –
Indianapolis), Dan Wheldon (2005 – Indianapolis), Sebastien Bourdais (2004 – Cleveland), Tony Kanaan
(2004 – Texas 1), Cristiano da Matta (2002 – Laguna Seca), Gil de Ferran (2000 – Nazareth), Greg Ray
(1999 – Pikes Peak), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999 – Rio de Janeiro), Al Unser Jr. (1994 – Milwaukee) and
Nigel Mansell (1993 – Milwaukee).
There are four former Indianapolis 500 winners entered: Buddy Lazier (1996), Helio Castroneves (2001,
2002, 2009), Scott Dixon (2008) and Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010, 2012). Between them, they have
eight victories. The record for most former winners in the field is 10, in 1992. The fewest, other than the
inaugural race in 1911, is zero in 1912.
There are four Chase Rookie of the Year candidates entered. This year’s rookies: AJ Allmendinger, Conor
Daly, Carlos Munoz and Tristan Vautier. Last year there were eight
rookies in the field.
Scott Dixon has led 346 laps in the Indianapolis 500, more than any other driver entered in this year’s
field. Other drivers in the field who have led more than 200 laps are Dario Franchitti (329), Helio
Castroneves (231) and Tony Kanaan (221).