World of Outlaws

Cottage Grove: Race report

Lasoski returns to victory lane at Cottage Grove. COTTAGE GROVE, OR (August 27) ^Ã– It was only a matter of time before Danny Lasoski returned to victory lane. "The Dude" raced into the top four in four of his first five races since returning to ...

Edited: Aug 30, 2002, 2:14 AM

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Lasoski returns to victory lane at Cottage Grove.

COTTAGE GROVE, OR (August 27) ^Ö It was only a matter of time before Danny Lasoski returned to victory lane. "The Dude" raced into the top four in four of his first five races since returning to the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series after being injured in a crash during the Cleveland Brothers Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Speedway July 26th.

The defending Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series champion led the final 25 laps Tuesday to win his 12th "A" Feature of the season as Cottage Grove Speedway hosted the Wild, Wild Northwest Tour finale.

"It^Òs great to get back to victory lane," said Lasoski, who also won at Cottage Grove Speedway on August 23, 1999. "I owe it all to my crew chief, Jimmy Carr. He^Òs the best in the business. I^Òve been letting my guys down lately, and tonight I finally was able to drive the car like I should.

"I^Òm just glad the track was smooth. Fred Brownfield^Òs done a great job at all these race tracks out here, and I certainly appreciate it. We were able to just drive this J.D. Byrider car anywhere tonight and, with all the lapped traffic at this place, that means a lot. Jerry Russell at Eagle Chassis builds a great car and Kistler Engines, Hoosier Tires, they all make it happen."

Lasoski put himself in position to "make it happen" by winning the Second O^ÒReilly Auto Parts Dash. His 16th dash victory of the season put him outside the front row in the "A" Feature lineup.

Donny Schatz, a main event winner at Cottage Grove Speedway on August 24, 1998, earned the right to start the "A" Feature on the pole by winning the First O^ÒReilly Auto Parts Dash. He drove his #15 Parker Stores J&J into the lead as the green flag fell in the 40-lap feature. Third Heat Race winner P.J. Chesson raced into fifth place during the opening lap, passing Tim Shaffer, Jac Haudenschild and Danny Wood.

Fast qualifier Joey Saldana passed Lasoski for second place with an inside move in turn two early in the fifth lap. Schatz was 1.5 seconds ahead of his closest pursuers when he entered lapped traffic several seconds later.

Shawna Wilskey brought out the caution flag late in lap 11 when she spun in the third corner. Schatz surrendered the lead to Saldana a split second later, stopping in turn four with a broken camshaft.

Shaffer, who passed Wood before the caution, took fourth place from Chesson with a high move through the third and fourth corners late in the 14th lap.

Lasoski won a back-straightaway drag race with Saldana to take the lead the next time around. "The Dude" was racing away from the field one lap later when Daryn Pittman stopped the #21 Hop & Sac J&J on the front stretch with a broken left front radius rod. Shaffer lost fourth place during the caution period when his crew replaced his flat right rear tire.

Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series points leader Steve Kinser passed Wood in the low groove between turns one and two for sixth place as the green flag replaced the yellow.

Stevie Smith, who started outside the 11th row, drove the #11H Vivarin Maxim past 10 cars during the first 15 laps. He took the high line through the third and fourth corners to pass Randy Hannagan for eighth place late in lap 21.

Chesson raced into second place during the race^Òs middle stages, passing Haudenschild and Saldana. Kinser passed "The Wild Child" late in the 23rd lap, then exchanged the runner-up spot with Chesson three times during the next five laps.

Lasoski was 2.4 seconds ahead of "The King of the Outlaws" with 11 laps remaining. After Haudenschild and Wood passed Chesson during laps 31 and 32, the #76 Automotive Service Centers Eagle slid over the bank in the first corner causing him to fall back to 12th place.

Jason Meyers, who started inside the sixth row, took the low line through turn four to pass "The Wild Child" for fourth place with 2 ¼ laps remaining.

Lasoski coasted to the 49th victory of his Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series career, taking the checkered flag 6.5 seconds ahead of Kinser, who finished in the top five in his seventh straight main event.

Wood^Òs third-place finish was his third in the top five this year. Meyers finished fourth, ahead of Craig Dollansky, Brad Furr, Hannagan, Smith, Haudenschild and 17th-starting Mark Kinser.

Saldana, who leads the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series with 15 fast times, paced the qualifying session with a 12.337-second lap around the semi-banked, 1/4-mile oval.

-WoO-

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