Joey Saldana
Hometown: Brownsburg, IN
Resides: Pittsboro, IN
Birthday: March 14, 1972
Car: No. 9
Chassis: JEI
Car Owner: Kasey Kahne & Mike Curb
Web site: http://www.joeysaldana.com
2007 Season Review: Finished 2nd in championship points
Joey Saldana’s main goals for 2007 were to win more races than he did in 2006, as well as to finish higher in the championship standings than he did last year, and to contend for the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series title. He accomplished all three of these goals in 2007 en route to winning a career high 13 times and finishing a career-best second in points.
“It was a great season,” said Saldana, driver of the Open Joist JEI. “Last year we won seven races and ran third in points and felt like we kind of gave second away. This year my goal was to do better than I did last year. With the competition the way it was this year that was hard to do. We came out and we focused on racing the car and racing the tracks and not worrying about anything else.”
The native of Brownsburg, Indiana reached the winner’s circle for the first time in 2007 at Thunderbowl Raceway in California in February. A string of nine consecutive Top-Six finishes, including three consecutive wins in March vaulted him into the championship points lead and set the lines for a battle with Donny Schatz all season long for the title. In March, Saldana won at Pike County Speedway in Mississippi and at Volunteer Speedway in Tennessee, holding off a hard charging Tim Shaffer in both events. Saldana completed the hat trick at Attica Raceway Park in Ohio, winning on the tight high-banked 1/3-mile. He accomplished all of this while the team shuffled around some personnel, including promoting long time crew member Justin Adams to the role of crew chief.
“We came out of the box and had confidence and showed that we could be competitive,” said the native of Brownsburg, Indiana. “I think when our team has the changes, I think everyone said we were done for the year and would not accomplish anymore than we had. We came out strong and knocked 100 points off out Donny Schatz’s lead, by doing what we know, and that is to come out and race hard.”
The 2007 season marked the second year for Saldana behind the wheel for the Kasey Kahne Racing team, and it marked the first year that they had Open Joist on board as a sponsor. Saldana was very proud of what the team was able to accomplish for Open Joist and all of their sponsors.
“It’s huge to have Open Joist on the car,” he explained. “They had never been in motorsports before and to have them involved with Kasey Kahne Racing and the World of Outlaws was great. To be able to run strong to where they want to come back is a testament to what we did as a team, and what is out here for the World of Outlaws.”
With a record number of drivers competing with the World of Outlaws this season, time trials played a vital role in determining how many nights of racing would go. Saldana led the series with 11 quick time honors in qualifying, including setting new track records at Houston Raceway Park in Texas, Volunteer Speedway in Tennessee and at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon, where he turned a sub-10 second lap, making it only the second track on the World of Outlaws schedule with a single digit track record. He also won the Crane Cams Dash six times to earn the same number of pole positions.
“I haven’t been out here as long as other guys, but I have been out here long enough to see how tough it was,” he commented. “When I came out in my first year and had my own team, there were eight teams out here and I thought, ‘This is not a good year to come out and compete with these guys.’ This year having over 25 teams start the season and over 20 finish, this has been by far the toughest series that I have ever been a part of.”
Prior to winning the Gold Cup Race of Champions for the first time in his career, it was announced that Saldana had signed a contract extension with Kasey Kahne Racing to remain the driver of the No. 9 car. Saldana is very grateful for the opportunity and rewarded the team with their most successful season ever. He encourages all young sprint car drivers to work hard and be patient like he was early in his career.
“It’s good to see that guys want to come out here and make a name for themselves like I did,” said the 1996 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year. “A lot of people think that you have to go and run a stock car to be successful. Sprint car racing is not too bad and not too shabby. Steve Kinser has made a pretty good living this way. I wish more younger guys would look at it that way and realize that they don’t’ have to run a stock car to be another Kasey Kahne or Steve Kinser. It’s an awesome sport to be a part of.”
Saldana’s team is the only team based out of the great Charlotte area in North Carolina, which makes getting back to the shop difficult for them during the season. He credits his crew which consisted of Justin Adams, Kale Kahne, Kolton Gouse and Jared Ridge for their endless work to make sure the team competes at the highest level they are capable of.
“These guys sacrifice a lot of time with their families to be out here,” said Saldana. “To be in Charlotte is huge for our team.”
Saldana wrapped up his season in the United States by competing in the Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California where he won on the opening night and finished fourth in the finale to earn the second most overall points, which were used to determine the overall winner of the event on the high-banked 1/3-mile.
2007 Season Stats
Driver Pts. $Earned Wins Top 5 Top 10
Joey Saldana 10373 $348,875 13 42 66
World of Outlaws history: 1996- 11th in points… 1997- 18th in points… 1999- 19th in points… 2000- 6th in points- 3 wins… 7th in points- 1 win… 2002-4th in points- 5 wins… 2003-3rd in points- 2 wins… 2004-6th in points- 3 wins… 2005- 13th in points… 2006-3rd in points- 7 wins… 2007- 2nd in points- 13 total wins
Previous Racing History: 1992- All Star Circuit of Champions- 9th in points- Co-Rookie of the Year … 1993- All Star Circuit of Champions- 3rd in points… 1994- All Star Circuit of Champions- 3rd in points… 1995- All Star Circuit of Champions- 5th in points… 1998- All Star Circuit of Champions- 2nd in points… 1999- All Star Circuit of Champions- 5th in points…
Interesting Facts: Won first World of Outlaws Race on July 25, 1995 at I-96 (Mich.) Speedway…Nickname is “The Brownsburg Bullet”… Father Joe won the 1970 Knoxville Nationals… Drives for NASCAR star Kasey Kahne.