Cactus Classic finale moved to October date

Rain Pushes Finale of World of Outlaws Sprint Series Cactus Classic to October

Phoenix -- March 6, 2005 -- Severe thunderstorms Saturday night and overnight rain into Sunday forced the already delayed conclusion of the $12,000-to-win World of Outlaws Sprint Series Cactus Classic at Manzanita Speedway to be rescheduled to Oct. 11, 2005.

With preliminary action already in the book, Friday night winner Craig Dollansky, Danny Lasoski, Steve Kinser and Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year leader Shane Stewart are locked into the dash when the series returns to Phoenix in the fall between racing in Dodge City, Kan., and Tulare, Calif.

The series now shifts from Phoenix to Las Vegas, where it will compete Thursday and Friday in the J.D. Byrider World of Outlaws Nationals at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway leading into the facility's NASCAR weekend.

No one was more disappointed for the postponement of the Cactus Classic than Danny Lasoski. With a guaranteed starting spot on the outside of the front row in the dash, he was having his best qualifying event since the series opened the season in Australia.

"We've got a rain date and it's rescheduled, but we were all geared up and ready to go," said Lasoski, the 2001 series champion. "Now we just have to look toward Vegas, where it's basically the same type of racetrack so the cars will be basically the same.

"I just hate it for Scott Boyd and the SLS Promotions group. They did a lot of work to prepare the racetrack but Mother Nature took over and sometimes that wins over anything else. We had a perfect starting position on the outside of the front row. We thought we had a really good shot of winning. We'll just have to carry this momentum over to Vegas and see what that brings."

Following the event in Las Vegas, the series will roll March 18 to Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss., and March 19 to Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.

-woo-