LAS VEGAS, Nevada — After opening the season earlier this month in Florida, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series heads west for a return to The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Thursday, February 26. The event will mark the series first visit to the half-mile since the 2006 season finale in which Donny Schatz picked up the win to cap off his first championship season with the series.
The World of Outlaws made their debut in Las Vegas in 1996 and have competed a total of 44 times at the track including preliminary features. Steve Kinser, the 20-time series champion and Danny Lasoski, the 2001 titlist have each won six times at the track, split evenly with three A-Feature wins and three preliminary feature triumphs, while Schatz has five A-Feature victories at the half-mile. Sammy Swindell, the three-time series champion has four wins at Las Vegas in his career. Jac Haudenschild also has an A-Feature win with the World of Outlaws at the track.
A total of nine drivers have scored A-Feature wins at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the course of the 11 seasons that the series has competed at the track. The event at Las Vegas, which is part of the tracks annual NASCAR weekend, will kick off a six race West Coast swing for the series which will take them to four different tracks in three states.
Among the strong field of cars that will be in attendance at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway are 17 drivers that will begin the 2009 season with the World of Outlaws. Of those drivers, 14 have competed at the half-mile in the past, including four current and present series champions, marking just the second time in the 31-year history of the series that four champions have started the year on the tour.
Heading into the World of Outlaws return to Las Vegas, Schatz currently has a 21 point lead over Kinser in championship standings, with Jason Sides third, Kraig Kinser sixth, Joey Saldana seventh, Jason Meyers ninth and Sammy Swindell 10th.
Slidejobs- The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Perfect Attendance: Donny Schatz, the three-time and defending World of Outlaws champion, has competed in all 44 events that the series has contested at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway between 1996 and 2006. He has 25 Top-10 finishes in those races, including 11 of his last 13 starts at the half-mile. He has five A-Feature wins at the track, including two most recently in 2006, which leads all current drivers.
“I’m really excited about having the chance to get back to Las Vegas,” said Schatz. “We’ve been pretty fortunate there in the past. It will always hold a special place for me. From winning the last World of Outlaws race of the millennium there in 1999, to winning the last race in 2006 and clinching my first Outlaws championship. It’s just one of those places where I’ve had some success.”
Top of the leaderboard: Steve Kinser, the 20-time series champion, leads all drivers at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with 31 Top-10 finishes in 39 starts. He has won six times in his career at the track, with three of those being A-Feature victories and three preliminary feature triumphs. The native of Bloomington, Indiana finished third in his last start at the track in 2005. He picked up three Top-10 finishes earlier this month at Volusia Speedway Park to kick off the 2009 World of Outlaws season. He is currently second in points, just 21 markers behind Schatz as he chases his record 21st title.
“I’m pretty happy with how things went,” said Kinser of the season opening event. “We had a fast race car almost every night. It is important to start good in Florida. It’s an important place to race and every race is important nowadays.”
Consistency is key: Sammy Swindell, the three-time World of Outlaws champion has four wins with the series at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, along with 28 Top-10 finishes of which 23 are Top-Fives. He was victorious with the series at the track in the spring of 2006. He also picked up a win in his most recent start at the half-mile in 2007 in a Midget. He picked up a couple of Top-10 finishes to open the season in Florida and also set fast time once during the event.
“We tried some things after that and learned a few more things,” said Swindell on the final night of the season opening event in Florida. “It’s just getting the thing smooth and getting all the parts working together. It’s not bad to go down t here with a whole new scenario and run in the Top-Five and Top-10 most of these nights. I think we are capable of being in the Top-10 each night.”
Steady & strong: Danny Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws champion, has six wins in his career at Las Vegas, split three and three between A-Feature events and preliminary features. He has 28 career Top-10 finishes at the half-mile. He is in the midst of his first season behind the wheel of the familiar No. 6 machine for veteran car owner Lonnie Parsons out of Iowa. Lasoski currently holds the track record of 13.719 seconds at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which he established in time trials on March 4, 2004.
“We found a few things in the Casey’s General Store car that will make us better for the whole year,” said Lasoski on the final night in Florida. “There were a couple of little things wrong and I think the last couple days down there we stumbled on to something. We dug ourselves a hole running the way we did the first two nights. We just have to win some races early to get back in this point deal.”
Looking for a win: Joey Saldana, who won during the season opening 38th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park earlier this month, has 27 career Top-10 finishes at Las Vegas as he looks for his first win at the track. He finished fourth in his last start at the track in 2006 and has four consecutive Top-10 finishes at the half-mile. His car owner Kasey Kahne will be in attendance at Las Vegas as he will be competing at the big track in the NASCAR events.
“It’s neat going to Las Vegas, because just like at Volusia you have your NASCAR Cup fans and you also have Kasey (Kasey) and Tony (Stewart) there getting to see their cars race and they don’t get to do that very often,” said Saldana. “For us to running Vegas is huge especially to have Kasey be a part of it.”
A fast start: Jason Sides got off to a fast start this season with two consecutive runner-up finishes at Volusia Speedway Park and is currently third in the series championship standings. In his first two starts at Las Vegas in 2003, the native of Bartlett, Tennessee finished third and fourth. He has six career Top-10 finishes at the half-mile.
Running up front: Kraig Kinser, the 2004 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, won a preliminary feature at Las Vegas in 2005 and has four consecutive Top-10 finishes at the track. He is just three points out of the Top-Five in the series championship standings heading into the event as he continues his second season at Tony Stewart Racing as a teammate to Donny Schatz. Kinser will have the chance to compete with his car owner, two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart in attendance who will be in action at the big track at Las Vegas over the weekend.
“It always helps when you’ve won somewhere before, but I’m just excited about getting back to Las Vegas. It’s a big week for TSR (Tony Stewart Racing). On Wednesday night, both TSR USAC teams will be racing at the track, so it’s a great opportunity for all four of the TSR teams to do well. I just hope things play out similarly to the way they did back in 2005. I battled Donny (Schatz) for the victory out there, and I know all the TSR guys have been working really hard to give us some good cars. The fact that our event is tied into the NASCAR weekend activities also helps because it gives us a great chance to get Bass Pro Shops, Chevy and J.D. Byrider some great exposure, as well.”
West coast invasion: Jason Meyers from Clovis, California competed at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1997. He has 13 career Top-10 finishes at the track as he looks for his first win in the desert. He is one of just three drivers that finished in the Top-10 in all three events at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida to open the season. Meyers led the series in Top-Five finishes last season en route to a runner-up finish in the championship standings. He is just 13 points out of the Top-Five in standings after three races this season.
Gaining momentum: Chad Kemenah, the 2006 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, made his first trip to Las Vegas during his rookie season on tour with the World of Outlaws and picked up three Top-10 finishes in four starts. He wrapped up the 38th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida earlier this month with a very strong third-place performance.
The high groove: Jac Haudenschild won for the first time at Las Vegas in 2001. He has 21 career Top-10 finishes at the track. The veteran driver from Wooster, Ohio picked up a couple of Top-10 finishes to start the season in Florida and is just outside of the Top-10 in the championship standings.
A familiar place: Craig Dollansky has competed in 40 events with the World of Outlaws at Las Vegas dating back to 1996. He has 19 Top-10 finishes in those races, with 12 of those being Top-Five performances as he chases his first win at the half-mile. He is in the midst of his first season behind the wheel for Kasey Kahne Racing as a teammate to Joey Saldana.
Two race, two strong runs: Tony Bruce Jr. made the first two starts of his career at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2006 and finished sixth in one and 12th in the other. At the time of his sixth-place run, that was his best career finish with the World of Outlaws. He has since bettered that a number of times, including picking up his first career win with the series in 2008 at 34 Raceway in Iowa.
Head West young men: Lucas Wolfe, the reigning Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, and Sam Hafertepe Jr. will both be making their first trip to Las Vegas this week. Wolfe at 22 years of age and Hafertepe at 23 years of age are the youngest two drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws and combined for 27 Top-10 finishes last season.
First time visitor: Brian Ellenberger, a contender for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award in 2009, will make his first visit to The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week.
Alltel DIRTcar All-Star Voting: Voting continues through Saturday, February 28 for the 2009 Alltel DIRTcar All-Star. Each driver that wins an A-Feature event during the 38th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park earlier this month is eligible, with the top vote getter on February 28 receiving $10,000. New this year, the top vote getter in each of the four divisions will receive $1,000. World of Outlaws drivers that are eligible include Joey Saldana and Donny Schatz. Also eligible in the sprint car category is Stevie Smith. Fans can vote via text message or online.
Voting is being conducted online at http://www.alltelallstar.com and also via text message at 247253 with the corresponding letter for their driver of choice which can be also be found at http://www.alltelallstar.com.
By the Numbers: The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
0.5- Miles around The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
1- Driver that has competed in every World of Outlaws event at the track dating back to 1996, Donny Schatz
3- Events so far this season for the World of Outlaws on half-mile tracks; Drivers that have been quickest in time trials this season; Drivers that have won a Crane Cams Dash this season to earn a pole position
4- Former and current series champions that are starting the season with the World of Outlaws; Drivers that have led laps in A-Feature events this season
5-A-Feature wins for three-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz at Las Vegas
6- Total wins for 20-time series champion Steve Kinser and 2001 titlist Danny Lasoski at the track, split evenly between three A-Feature triumphs and three preliminary feature victories
13.719- Track record established by Danny Lasoski on March 4, 2004
14- Drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws that have competed at Las Vegas in the past
17- Drivers beginning the season full-time with the World of Outlaws
21- Points that separate Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser atop the World of Outlaws championship standings
22- A-Feature events that the World of Outlaws have contested at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway dating back to 1996
27- World of Outlaws championships accounted for by Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Donny Schatz and Danny Lasoski
31- Top-10 finishes for Steve Kinser in his career at Las Vegas
44- Total races that the World of Outlaws have contested at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway dating back to 1996 including preliminary features
45- Drivers that competed with the series in 2006 at Las Vegas
49- Laps led by Donny Schatz this season to lead the series
1996- Year the World of Outlaws made their debut at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
2006- Year the World of Outlaws last competed in Las Vegas
2300- Miles from Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida where the World of Outlaws opened the 2009 season to The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
10,000- Dollars the winner will receive on Thursday, February 26
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy Boost (Official Energy Boost), Quaker State (Official Motor Oil), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, KSE Race Products, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo; Engine Builder's Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines, Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis Builder’s Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company.
