Magnolia preview

Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Preview: Pike County Speedway

With the season opening 37th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park now in the books, the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will set their sights on Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Mississippi for an event on Saturday, February 16. The series has competed at the high-banked 3/8-mile 12 times dating back to 1994, with seven different drivers earning A-Feature wins. Drivers that will be in action this weekend that have won at the track include: Jac Haudenschild, Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski and Joey Saldana.

2007 Event Recap:

Joey Saldana dominated the event from the first instant the cars hit the track in hot laps. He opened the evening by turning the fastest lap in practice, and be bettered that even more in time trials, as he was quickest of the 30 cars to take to the clock. He finished second in the first heat to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash, where he started on the pole and won. This in turn lined him up in the top spot of the 35-lap A-Feature, where he would lead every lap en route to his second Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature win of the season and earning the $10,000 lion's share of the purse.

Steve Kinser started on the pole and led on the opening start, but the caution waved before that lap was complete. By way of World of Outlaws rules due to a full lap not being turned, a complete restart was in order. Saldana charged to the lead in turn one on the second green flag, with Steve Kinser in toe.

Saldana was able to pull away after a couple of mid-race cautions bunched the field. At one instant the caution flag came out for a car spinning right in front of Saldana and Donny Schatz who had moved into the runner-up, in the second turn. The pair was quickly on the brakes and took evasive action to not get caught up in the incident. Saldana turned the fastest lap of the race shortly thereafter, as only he and Schatz turned sub-15 second laps in the event.

Schatz, the two-time defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion, battled Saldana throughout the 30-lap contest. He make a couple of strong moves on Saldana, and inched ahead of him on the eighth lap as they charged down the front straightaway, but at the line Saldana was officially scored the leader, by mere fractions of a second. Late in the going, Saldana got a little bottled up in traffic, and again Schatz closed in, but he faced heavy traffic as well. The native of Fargo, North Dakota began the night by winning the second heat, and wrapped it up with in the runner-up position.

Kinser battled with Schatz early, before going wheel to wheel with Danny Lasoski, and would wind up finishing in the third position. He started the night by claiming the victory in the first heat and wound up third in the A-Feature.

Danny Lasoski was fourth at the track where he won in 1995. The native of Dover, Missouri lined up on the outside of the second row for the 35-lap event, and staged a very entertaining battle with Kinser during the first half of the event. He also won a heat race earlier in the night to earn a spot in the dash.

Jason Meyers had a very solid night, as he came home fifth. He moved around Daryn Pittman on the 12th lap to break into the Top-Five.

The rest of the Top-10 was Daryn Pittman in sixth, Terry McCarl in seventh, Craig Dollansky in eighth, Tim Kaeding in ninth and Tim Kaeding and Jason Sides rallied for a 10th-place run after winning the B-Main to race his way into the A-Feature, after getting upside down in the second heat.

What to look for this year at Pike County Speedway:

* Seven drivers have claimed A-Feature wins with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series at the track since 1994

* Three different drivers have reached the winner's circle in the first three events of this season, along with three different drivers setting fast time, as well as winning the Crane Cams Dash to earn pole positions

* Craig Dollansky, the current series point leader along with Jason Meyers, are the only two drivers that have finished in the Top-Five in all three A-Feature events this season

* Four drivers currently competing with the series full-time have won at Pike County- Jac Haudenschild, Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski and Joey Saldana. Only Kinser has won more than once at the track

*2001 World of Outlaws champion Danny Lasoski is the only driver that has competed in all 12 previous events for the series at the high-banked 3/8-mile

* Steve Kinser has eight Top-10 finishes in 11 starts at the track, including wins in 1997 and 2005

* Kraig Kinser and Shane Stewart will be making their first starts at Pike County Speedway since 2005

* Lucas Wolfe, a contender for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award, will be making his first start in the state of Mississippi on February 16

* The series competed 20 times on 3/8-mile tracks in 2007, with 10 different drivers picking up victories led by two-time defending series champion Donny Schatz with five triumphs on that size track

* Six drivers picked up multiple wins on 3/8-mile tracks last season: Schatz, Steve Kinser, Jason Meyers, Danny Lasoski, Daryn Pittman and Joey Saldana

By the Numbers- Pike County Speedway

0.375- Miles around Pike County Speedway

1- Win at the track for Jac Haudenschild; Victory for Danny Lasoski at Pike County; Triumph at the 3/8-mile for Joey Saldana; Lap led by Haudenschild when he won in 1996 at the track; Driver that has competed in every series event at Pike County- Danny Lasoski

2- Wins at the track for 20-time Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Steve Kinser

3- Drives that have won A-Feature events with the series thus far in 2008

5- Drivers that have led laps in feature racing competition this season

8- Winners in World of Outlaws events at the track; Top-Five finishes for Steve Kinser at the track to lead all drivers; Former Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award Winners that will be in action on Saturday, February 13

10- Drivers that claimed A-Feature wins on 3/8-mile tracks last season

12- Races held by the series at Pike County Speedway dating back to 1994

13.391- Track record at Pike County Speedway set by Jason Johnson in 2003

17- Current World of Outlaws drivers that competed with the series at the track in 2007

20- Races contested on 3/8-mile tracks by the series in 2007

23- Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series titles claimed by drivers that are entered in the event this weekend

30- Drivers that competed at Pike County Speedway last season with the series

70- Laps led by Steve Kinser at Pike County since 1995; Laps led by Danny Lasoski at the track since 1995

676- Miles from Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida where the World of Outlaws last competed to Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Mississippi

1994-Year the World of Outlaws first raced at the track

10,000- Dollars that the winner receive on February 16

Next Up:

A trip to the West Coast for a pair of races at the high-banked 1/3-mile Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California on Friday, February 22 and Saturday, February 23.

-credit: woo