ALLSTAR: Salina Report

All Star Sprint Results - Salina KS - Wed 8/18/99

Saldana Evens the Score for the All Stars - By David Smith, Jr. SALINA, KS (August. 18) - In the first outlaw sprint race in the tracks' history, Brownsburg, Indiana driver Joey Saldana found the top groove before anyone else and held off several mid race challenges to win the second night of the fifth annual Thunder Through the Plains tour race as the O'Reilly Auto Parts National Championship Racing Association Outlaw Sprint Series and the All Star Circuit of Champions visited Salina Speedway Wednesday night.

The largest crowd in the tracks history saw Paul McMahan and Kelly Kinser on the front row of the thirty lap feature with McMahan putting his Stealth/Gaerte sprinter into the lead as the green flag waved. Fourth starting Danny Wood, Saldana, fifth starting Kasey Kahne and current NCRA points leader Gary Wright all gave chase on the dry slick three eights mile oval running the bottom of the track. Saldana and his Fisher-Chevrolet powered Steve Mox owned sprinter tried the top groove and found it to his liking and began to make his run for the lead from his third starting position and passed Kinser for second on lap seven then begin to close in on the leader as McMahan began to enter lapped traffic. Behind him sixth starting Wright was making his way to the front, moving his F&J Construction/CompUSA sprinter into third by lap ten making it a three car battle for the lead. McMahan held off repeated attempts by Saldana for several laps before finally relinquishing the lead on lap twelve when Saldana moved his Stealth sprinter around the leader on the back stretch.

It stayed a three car battle throughout the race's midway point while behind them, Kahne, Kinser, fourteenth starting Rodney Duncan and Wood all waged battle for position. At the half way point Dean Jacobs was up to eighth from his thirteenth starting spot and was also battling with the second group of cars. Back up front Saldana was still working his way through traffic with ten laps to go allowing McMahan and Wright to cut his lead down to two car lengths. McMahan was on the leader's bumper and was looking to retake the lead before the night's first caution flag waved on lap twenty-six when Jimmy Lambert Jr. spun to a stop in turn four. One lap after the restart the night's second and final caution waved when John Blurton spun in turn two.

The final restart saw a clear track for Saldana allowing him to run the cushion and opening up a comfortable lead and he led the rest of the way unchallenged to win his sixth All Star feature of the season, the fifty-third of his series career. McMahan and his Warren Johnson owned sprinter held on for second, six car lengths behind at the finish. Wright kept his Maxim/Salina sprinter home a close third with the Maxim/Don Ott powered sprinter of Kahne finishing fourth. Dean.Jacobs continued to pass cars late and ended up bringing his Junior Holbrook Eagle/Gaerte sprinter home for a fifth place finish.

Wright set a new track record in qualifying, earning the Red Devil Brakes fast time of the night with a 14.255. Heat races for the thirty car field were won by Greg Wilson, John Bankston, Steven King and Danny Smith. Kenny Jacobs led wire to wire the four lap Commercial Truck and Trailer Dash while Kahne led wire to wire the twelve lap United Expressline B feature. Kinser, Shane Carson and John Blurton also transferred to the feature event.

Time Trials - 1) 9 Gary Wright 14.255   2) 23k Kasey Kahne 14.285  3) 21w 
Danny Wood 14.345  4) 17 Joey Saldana 14.349  5) 4k Kelly Kinser 14.427 6) U2 
Paul McMahan 14.465  7) 6 Kenny Jacobs 14.500  8) 51 Jarrod Hull 14.506  9) 
23s Frankie Kerr 14.543  10) 66 Aaron Berryhill 14.552  11) 9s Shane Stewart 
14.572  12) 3 Mike Goodman 14.580   13) 8 Dean Jacobs 14.585  14) 22 Rodney 
Duncan 14.673 15) 28 Brian Paulus 14.918 16) 49 John Blurton 14.978  17) 20 
Brian Ellenburger 15.022  18) 18 Brian Carlson   19) 29n Larry Neighbors    
20) 93 Jimmy Lambert Jr   21) 12s Shane Carson   22) 63 Greg Wilson   23) 8b 
John Bankston  24) 88 Steven King   25) 92 Danny Smith   26) 7 Jason Sides 
15.421  27) 45x C.J.Johson 15.604  28) 92j J.R Topper 15.717  29) 61 Earnest 
Jennings 16.062  30) 6s Shelby Steenson 16.065

COMMERCIAL TRUCK & TRAILER DASH - 1, Kenny Jacobs. UNITED EXPRESSLINE HEAT 1 (8 laps) - Greg Wilson, Dean Jacobs, Gary Wright, Brian Ellenberger, Frankie Kerr, Kelly Kinser, Shane Carson, Earnest Jennings. SOUTHWEST EXPRESSLINE HEAT 2 (8 Laps) - John Burton, Aaron Berryhill, Paul McMahan, Rodney Duncan, Jason Sides, Kasey Kahne, Shelby Steenson, Brian Carlson. UNITED SPECIALTIES HEAT 3 (8 laps) - Steve King, Shane Stewart, Kenny Jacobs, Larry Neighbors, Danny Wood, C.J. Johnson, Brian Paulus. SOUTHWEST GLASS HEAT 4 (8 laps) - Danny Smith, Jimmy Lambert, Joey Saldana, Mike Goodman, Jerrod Hull, John Blurton, J.R. Topper. UNITED EXPRESSLINE B MAIN (12 laps) - 1, Kasey Kahne. 2, Kelly Kinser. 3, Shane Carson. 4, John Blurton. 5, Brian Carlson. 6, J.R. Topper. 7, Earnest Jennings. 8, Shelby Steenson. 9, C.J. Johnson. A FEATURE (30 laps) - 1, Joey Saldana. 2, Paul McMahan. 3, Gary Wright. 4, Kasey Kahne. 5, Dean Jacobs. 6, Rodney Duncan. 7, Danny Wood. 8, Kenny Jacobs. 9, Kelly Kinser. 10, Frankie Kerr. 11, Jerrod Hull. 12, Mike Goodman. 13, Shane Stewart. 14, Aaron Berryhill. 15, Danny Smith. 16, Jimmy Lambert. 17, Greg Wilson. 18, Brian Ellenberger. 19, Shane Carson. 20, Larry Neighbors. 21, John Blurton. 22, Steve King. 23, Jason Sides. 24, John Burton.