World of Outlaws

Route 66: Race report

Lasoski wins Good Friday Race at Joplin 66 JOPLIN, MO (March 29) -- Danny Lasoski almost always races well in his home state, and on Good Friday he was at his best when the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series returned to Missouri. "The Dude" closed ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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Lasoski wins Good Friday Race at Joplin 66

JOPLIN, MO (March 29) -- Danny Lasoski almost always races well in his home state, and on Good Friday he was at his best when the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series returned to Missouri.

"The Dude" closed to within four points of series points leader Mark Kinser after passing pole-sitter Tyler Walker with 10 ¼ laps remaining and claiming the $10,000 first prize in the "A" Feature at Joplin 66 Speedway.

"This J.D. Byrider Hamm America car worked great all night long," Lasoski said following his third main event victory of the year. "I could put it just about anywhere I wanted to on the track. Jimmy Carr and my entire crew gives me a great race car, and I'm just the lucky guy who gets to drive it."

Lasoski, who also won the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series' inaugural race at Joplin 66 on March 25, 2000, was the fourth fastest of 23 drivers breaking the previous single-lap record in time trials. He finished fifth in the Fourth Heat Race and earned the right to start the 30-lap "A" Feature outside the third row by finishing third in the Second O'Reilly Auto Parts Dash.

Walker burst into the lead as the green flag fell in the main event, and was a straightaway ahead of outside pole-sitter Brad Furr when he entered lapped traffic five laps into the race.

Jason Sides took the leaders out of lapped traffic the next time around, however. The 2001 Rookie of the Knoxville Nationals was trying to pass Terry McCarl for fourth place high in turn four when McCarl slid in front of Sides and caused him to spin.

Lasoski passed the defending Knoxville Raceway champion for fourth place in the high groove between the first and second corners as the green flag replaced the yellow. Jac Haudenschild and Joplin 66 Speedway's new single-lap record holder, Stevie Smith, used similar moves to pass McCarl for fifth and sixth place early in lap eight.

Zach Chappell and Fourth Heat Race winner Michael Dupuy collided and flipped in turn two early in the ninth lap, bringing out the red flag.

Steve Kinser, who started outside the ninth row, passed cousin Mark Kinser for ninth place with an inside move through the first and second corners as the race resumed. Smith raced into fifth place several seconds later, steering the #11H Vivarin Maxim into the lowest point in turn four to pass "The Wild Child."

Craig Dollansky and Lasoski passed Furr for third and fourth place with similar inside moves between the third and fourth corners during the 10th and 11th laps.

Walker was a straightaway ahead of his closest pursuers when he caught the back-markers during lap 13. Dollansky and "The Dude" caught Walker four laps later, however, and raced nose-to-tail with him in dense lapped traffic.

Lasoski, who feels more comfortable racing in the low groove, steered the J.D. Byrider Eagle around Dollansky high in turn four late in the 18th lap. He continued his run to the front with an identical move in the same spot two laps later. Dollansky followed "The Dude" past Walker exiting the fourth corner to claim the runner-up spot.

"It seemed like when we got to traffic everybody went to the bottom, so I decided to try the top and just hoped I didn't get a nosebleed," Lasoski said of his move into the high groove.

Steve Kinser and Randy Hannagan raced past Furr for fifth and sixth place during the 21st and 22nd laps. "The King of the Outlaws" drove his #11 Quaker State Maxim past Smith deep in the turn two to take over fourth place the next time around.

Lasoski enjoyed a 15-car-length advantage when he entered lapped traffic again with 5 ½ laps remaining. A clear track awaited him two laps later, however, after Steve Kinser's right rear wheel broke, causing him to hit the wall in the second corner and flip.

Haudenschild, Hannagan and Tim Shaffer passed Smith for fourth, fifth and sixth place during the final three laps. Lasoski controlled the final restart and won by half a straightaway.

Dollansky finished second, ahead of Walker, Haudenschild, Hannagan, Shaffer, Smith, Furr, 17th-starting Joey Saldana and Brooke Tatnell.

Brian Paulus was running third in the "B" Feature when a broken brake caliper caused him to spin in the fourth corner. The Verdelli Farms crew repaired the problem, but Paulus finished in eighth place, four positions from transferring for the main event.

-WoO-

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