Redemption for Meyers at Ohsweken: Wins Opener of Six Nations Showdown
The last time that Jason Meyers raced at Ohsweken Speedway in Canada in 2007, he saw his night come to an end on the third lap of the A-Feature when a hard wreck in turn one destroyed his car. Meyers looked to get redemption in 2008, only to have Mother Nature win both nights. He made up for all of that on Tuesday night, picking up the win in the opener of the Six Nations Showdown at Ohsweken.
Meyers took the lead on a restart from Jason Sides in turn three on the 10th lap and would pace the field for the remainder of the 30-lap contest to score his fifth A-Feature win of the season and the 31st of his career with the World of Outlaws.
“To say this place owed me one is an understatement,” said Meyers. “To come back this way and be able to win is great. It’s tough to win any World of Outlaws race. They did a great job with the race track tonight. I have to congratulate them for getting out here and working it and giving us a race track. We’ve been in a little bit of a slump lately and it’s been a while. To come out here and get this win is a great building block for the big races that are coming up.”
The race began with Craig Dollansky leading the field into turn one, with Jason Sides charging by him on the high side of turn two and quickly opening a four-car length advantage, after falling to third as the field entered the first turn.
The first caution of the night came on the fifth lap, by which time Sides had begun to pull away. He lead on the restart, with Meyers looking high in turn one and inching ahead, only to power his way back in turn two to retain the top spot. On the next lap, Sides, Meyers and Donny Schatz went three wide into turn two with Sides keeping the lead as he charged his way down the back straightaway.
Sides began to pull away on the eighth lap, as he entered lapped traffic. On the ninth lap, Meyers nearly took the lead in turn two as a lapped machine stopped in front of Sides, bringing out another caution.
On the restart on the 10th, Meyers again went high in turns one and two and pulled even with Sides, with the latter again leading down the back straightaway. As they entered turn three Meyers took the lead with Sides quickly battling back.
“I was good around the top on the restarts,” stated Meyers. “That’s the hard part about leading, because you don’t know where the guy behind you is going. I had a great car that could pretty much go anywhere. It was good in lapped traffic. To come out and race against the best in the business is awesome.”
Meyers began to pull away from Sides a little bit on the 12th lap, when a caution came out for an accident involving Tom Huppencen. Sides, who was running second, ran over a piece of debris from the accident leading to a flat tire which sent him to the work area while running second.
Meyers would lead on the ensuing restart with Donny Schatz chasing him. He began to extend his lead near the halfway point of the race as he worked his way up to lapped traffic. The native of Clovis, California found himself in traffic on the 18th lap and Schatz gained a little ground at this point. The final caution of the night flew on the 20th lap. A strong restart would help him open a slight lead on Schatz as the laps wound down.
With three laps left, the leaders were again in traffic and Schatz began to close in. Meyers was held up a little bit on the final go-around by a couple of lapped cars allowing Schatz to really close the gap. The pair had a drag race off turn four, with Meyers winning by less than three-tenths of a second aboard the GLR Investments KPC.
For Meyers, who has won in Australia during his career along with numerous wins in the United States, winning at Ohsweken added Canada to the list of countries he has won in.
“I guess that makes us worldwide,” quipped the winner. “The World of Outlaws have taken us all over. To come up here and see all of these great fans and for them to see us race is great. We wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Four cautions on the night kept the leaders in open track for much of the 30-lap distance. Schatz was able to gain ground late in the race in light lapped traffic and was hoping for a longer green flag run to be in heavier traffic.
“You like to keep going and when the going gets tough, the tough get going,” noted Schatz. “The cautions kind of break that momentum a little bit. It’s pretty tough when all of these guys have good race cars and you just get strung out. It’s tough to pass unless you get to lapped traffic and that’s what we look for.”
Schatz wound up second in the Armor All J&J to score his series leading 26th Top-Five finish of the season. He began the night by turning the third fastest lap in time trials charged all the way from the 10th starting spot to third in the Crane Cams Dash to start on the second row of the A-Feature.
“We’re learning a lot about this race car and we’ll keep tuning on it and it gets a little better,” noted Schatz. “That was my fault there. I didn’t do the right things at the right times. I didn’t want to be out front too soon and I just waited too long. I guess that’s what cost us.”
Craig Dollansky, who won on Sunday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway started second and led the field into turn one. He fell back to fourth on the second lap and ran in that position for a number of laps. He battled Donny Schatz for third during the early part of the race and then battled him for second late in the going.
“We had a good starting spot tonight and had a good car, just not good enough. Jason (Meyers) was strong and Donny (Schatz) was strong and so was (Jason) Sides there until he had that flat tire. We were right there and anything below the cushion felt like I was struggling a bit. Justin (Adams), Rob (Beattie) and Lester (Groves) are doing a great job with this Kasey Kahne Racing team. We’ll just keep plugging away. As long as you are in the front like that and in the hunt, the wins will come.”
The third-place run for Dollansky in the DirecTV Maxim was his 29th Top-10 finish of the season, as he continues his first year behind the wheel for Kasey Kahne Racing. He tried a couple of different lines throughout the 30-lap contest as he searched for where his car would work best.
“It seemed liked before that last yellow that was our best shot there,” he said. “We got back by Donny (Schatz) on that restart to get to third. When I dropped down and tried to go below the cushion it was not working so well for me. We are making progress with the car and we are happy with things and we’ll just keep working hard.”
Steve Kinser finished fourth in the Quaker State Maxim, with Jac Haudenschild rounding out the Top-Five in the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Maxim.
Joey Saldana came from 19th to finish sixth in the Budweiser Maxim. Jessica Zemken came all the way from 24th to finish seventh, to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award after having to run the C and B-Mains. Jason Sides worked his way back to eighth in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim after having the flat tire on the 12th lap. Justin Barger was ninth in the Cortland Auto Body Maxim. Danny Lasoski rounded out the Top-10 in the Casey’s General Store Maxim.
The World of Outlaws wrap-up their second East Coast swing of the season at Ohsweken Speedway on Wednesday, July 29 with the finale of the Six Nations Showdown.
OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY NIGHT #1 NOTES
• FAST QUALIFIER: Jason Sides paced the 40 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked 3/8-mile oval at 14.695 seconds at 91.688 mph. For his qualifying effort, Sides earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Jason Meyers (4), Donny Schatz (3), Daryn Pittman (2), and Cody Darrah (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Kraig Kinser, Jason Meyers, Donny Schatz and Justin Barger won heat races. Jason Sides won the Crane Cams Dash. Wayne Johnson won the B-Main. Jessica Zemken won the C-Main.
There has been 44 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature event held in 2009. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Silver Dollar Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway, Lone Star Speedway, Houston Raceway Park, The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Virginia Motor Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice, U.S. 36 Raceway and 34 Raceway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, River Cities Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway and Eldora Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway, Nodak Speedway, Eagle Raceway, Charter Raceway Park and Lernerville Speedway), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, I-96 Speedway, Red River Valley Speedway and Ohsweken Speedway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway-twice), Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway and Limaland Motorsports Park), Terry McCarl (Knoxville Raceway and Eldora Speedway), Dale Blaney (Attica Raceway Park), Craig Dollansky (Lebanon Valley Speedway), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway),Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway) and Stevie Smith (Lernerville Speedway).
• 3/8-MILE WINNERS: Ohsweken Speedway is a semi-banked 3/8-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced 10 times on a track that size this season. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice, U.S. 36 Raceway and 34 Raceway), Jason Meyers (Paducah International Raceway and Ohsweken Speedway), Donny Schatz (Lawrenceburg Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway) and Danny Lasoski (Nodak Speedway).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report Ohsweken Speedway; Ohsweken, ON; July, 28, 2009
Qualifying
1) 7S-Jason Sides 14.695
2) 14-Jason Meyers 14.787
3) 15-Donny Schatz 14.879
4) 17-Dayrn Pittman 14.933
5) 89-Cody Darrah 15.087
6) 19-Craig Dollansky 15.090
7) 6-Danny Lasoski 15.129
8) O7X-Wayne Johnson 15.140
9) 11-Steve Kinser 15.276
10) 77X-Ryan Hunsinger 15.298
11) 22-Brian Ellenberger 15.324
12) 32-Justin Barger 15.410
13) 20-Kraig Kinser 15.446
14) 36-Mike Stelter 15.466
15) R19-Jac Haudenschild 15.517
16) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 15.652
17) O5-Keith Dempster 15.673
18) 63-Chad Kemenah 15.685
19) 14H-Tom Huppuncen 15.730
20) 9-Joey Saldana 15.747
21) 5D-Dave Dykstra 15.811
22) 17T-Jeff Taylor 15.922
23) O-Glenn Styres 16.081
24) 71-Travis Cunningham 16.137
25) AU77-Brett Milburn 16.153
26) 21X-Kevin Job 16.306
27) 3T-Tony Beaber 16.357
28) 30-Dain Naida 16.393
29) 59-Erin Crocker 16.410
30) 71C-Jack Helget 16.424
31) O1-Mikey Kruchka 16.533
32) 27-Jamie Collard 16.559
33) 5M-Brad Malloy 16.694
34) 21J-John Burbridge 16.833
35) 83W-James Whittaker 17.095
36) 18-Kevin Loveys 19.915
37) 1Z-Jessica Zemken 22.911
38) 7M-Justin Martin 16.182
39) F37-Jim Porter 16.603
40) 67-Chris Durand 16.930
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 20-Kraig Kinser
2) 11-Steve Kinser
3) 7S-Jason Sides
4) 89-Cody Darrah
5) 5D-Dave Dykstra
6) AU77-Brett Milburn
7) 59-Erin Crocker
8) O5-Keith Dempster
9) 1Z-Jessica Zemken
10) 5M-Brad Malloy
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 14-Jason Meyers
2) 19-Craig Dollansky
3) 77X-Ryan Hunsinger
4) 63-Chad Kemenah
5) 17T-Jeff Taylor
6) 21X-Kevin Job
7) 36-Mike Stelter
8) 71C-Jack Helget
9) 7M-Justin Martin
10) 21J-John Burbridge
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 15-Donny Schatz
2) R19-Jac Haudenschild
3) 6-Danny Lasoski
4) 22-Brian Ellenberger
5) O-Glenn Styres
6) 14H-Tom Huppuncen
7) O1-Mikey Kruchka
8) 3T-Tony Beaber
9) 83W-James Whittaker
10) F37-Jim Porter
Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 32-Justin Barger
2) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
3) 17-Dayrn Pittman
4) 9-Joey Saldana
5) 30-Dain Naida
6) O7X-Wayne Johnson
7) 27-Jamie Collard
8) 71-Travis Cunningham
9) 67-Chris Durand
10) 18-Kevin Loveys
Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 7S-Jason Sides
2) 19-Craig Dollansky
3) 15-Donny Schatz
4) 14-Jason Meyers
5) 11-Steve Kinser
6) 32-Justin Barger
7) R19-Jac Haudenschild
8) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
9) 17-Dayrn Pittman
10) 20-Kraig Kinser
C-main (8 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) 1Z-Jessica Zemken
2) 5M-Brad Malloy
3) 18-Kevin Loveys [$125]
4) 83W-James Whittaker [$125]
5) 21J-John Burbridge [$125]
6) F37-Jim Porter [$100]
7) 67-Chris Durand [$100]
8) 7M-Justin Martin [$100]
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) O7X-Wayne Johnson
2) 14H-Tom Huppuncen
3) O5-Keith Dempster
4) 1Z-Jessica Zemken
5) 59-Erin Crocker [$200]
6) 36-Mike Stelter [$180]
7) 71C-Jack Helget [$175]
8) 3T-Tony Beaber [$160]
9) O1-Mikey Kruchka [$150]
10) AU77-Brett Milburn [$150]
11) 21X-Kevin Job [$150]
12) 27-Jamie Collard [$150]
13) 71-Travis Cunningham [$150]
14) 5M-Brad Malloy [$150]
A-main (30 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 14-Jason Meyers[4] [$10,000]
2) 15-Donny Schatz[3] [$5,000]
3) 19-Craig Dollansky[2] [$3,000]
4) 11-Steve Kinser[5] [$2,700]
5) R19-Jac Haudenschild[7] [$2,500]
6) 9-Joey Saldana[19] [$2,200]
7) 1Z-Jessica Zemken[24] [$2,000]
8) 7S-Jason Sides[1] [$1,800]
9) 32-Justin Barger[6] [$1,600]
10) 6-Danny Lasoski[12] [$1,450]
11) 20-Kraig Kinser[10] [$1,300]
12) O7X-Wayne Johnson[13] [$1,200]
13) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[8] [$1,100]
14) 22-Brian Ellenberger[15] [$1,000]
15) 5D-Dave Dykstra[20] [$950]
16) O5-Keith Dempster[16] [$900]
17) O-Glenn Styres[22] [$850]
18) 77X-Ryan Hunsinger[14] [$750]
19) 63-Chad Kemenah[17] [$725]
20) 14H-Tom Huppuncen[18] [$700]
21) 30-Dain Naida[23] [$700]
22) 17T-Jeff Taylor[21] [$700]
23) 89-Cody Darrah[11] [$700]
24) 17-Dayrn Pittman[9] [$700]
Lap Leaders: Jason Sides 1-9, Jason Meyers 10-30
SuperClean Start of the Night Award: Jessica Zemken
Penske Power Position Award: Craig Dollansky
KSE Hard Charger Award: Jessica Zemken
World of Outlaws Championship Standings through July 28
1. Donny Schatz 5912
2. Jason Meyers 5866 -46
3. Joey Saldana 5808 -104
4. Steve Kinser 5803 -109
5. Danny Lasoski 5652 -260
6. Jason Sides 5642 -270
7. Craig Dollansky 5554 -358
8. Jac Haudenschild 5452 -460
9. Kraig Kinser 5388 -524
10. Lucas Wolfe 5043 -870
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.
