Huset race report 2006-05-07

Brooke Tatnell Charges To His First World of Outlaws Victory In 2006

Brandon, SD -- May 7, 2006 -- Brooke Tatnell held off a furious charge by Terry McCarl over the final three laps to capture his first World of Outlaws Sprint Series feature victory of the season on Sunday night at Huset's Speedway.

Tatnell, a native of San Souci, New South Wales, Australia, started on the pole for the second time this season and managed to lead all 30 laps in the Race Outfitters/Garlic Jim's Pizza Eagle, but to do so he had to survive a series of restarts and McCarl's surging Big Game Treestands Eagle.

"We needed it as a team," Tatnell said. "We were on a winless run for a while, since Princeton last year actually. This whole team has been working together. We just needed something to pick it up."

A caution set up a three-lap shootout to the checkered flag, but Tatnell's Rush Racing machine was strong enough to power to the RacinSoles Victory Lane and become the ninth different winner in 12 World of Outlaws A-feature events this season.

"I think we had a pretty dominant car," said Tatnell, who won the fourth A-feature event of his career in addition to a preliminary feature victory last season in Princeton, Minn. "The red flag helped McCarl more than it helped us. He had a problem and got that fixed. If the red flag was anything, it was a hindrance to us. When you have a run like we had tonight, I can joke with Terry. We both ran each other very hard."

Tatnell entered the race riding a streak of seven consecutive top-10 finishes. After the World of Outlaws event scheduled for Saturday at 81 Speedway was postponed, he also shattered the track record on Saturday night Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway (14.407 seconds) before heading to Huset's Speedway in Brandon, S.D.

Tatnell's entire team, led by crew chief Troy Renfro, has been working countless hours the whole season so it is especially gratifying to earn that elusive first win of the season with the World of Outlaws.

"There's never a monkey (on the back), but sometimes a gorilla," a smiling Tatnell said as he signed autographs after the race. "You just have to keep plugging away at the whole thing and let's just hope we can get on a roll. We've been hit and miss. We just have to get the program and stay there now."

Tyler Walker, driving the Mopar-powered Jackpot Junction Casino Maxim was third followed by Joey Saldana's Mopar-powered Kasey Kahne Racing Dodge/Curb Records JEI and Jason Solwold's City Wide Insulation Maxim.

Danny Lasoski was sixth in the Roth Motorsports Eagle followed by Jeremy Campbell in the Americas Best Value Inn Maxim, Jason Solwold in the City Wide Insulation Maxim, Paul McMahan in the Bass Pro Shops Eagle and Chad Kemenah in the Underground Utilities Inc. Eagle. Current championship points leader Donny Schatz was 11th, and now leads the standings by only 38 points over McCarl with fifth-place Tatnell only 51 points behind Schatz in the tight race for the champion's share of the $850,000-season ending point fund.

McCarl, a six-time champion at Huset's Speedway, had the fans on their feet for much of the evening. A native of Altoona, Iowa, McCarl holds the record at Huset's having captured 76 checkered flags at the 3/8-mile high-banked oval. After a scrape with the wall on the first lap of the race, McCarl used the extended red flag to his advantage.

"I broke the Jacob's ladder off on the first lap and had to change the car around quite a bit to get it to roll around out there," McCarl said. "We were waiting for traffic and it never really materialized. I think we had a really good car before the track laid rubber, and after it did we just held on to make sure we did not blow a tire. We fixed the Jacob's ladder during the open red flag. After that I didn't know what car I would have. The car was great all night. It's unfortunate we didn't get to race a little further, but Brooke did a great job."

McCarl, who finished third on Friday at U.S. 36 Raceway, had a throng of fans lined up at his trailer after his runner-up finish and signed countless autographs and took some photos with some of the younger fans.

"We have a lot of good fans up here in Sioux Falls," McCarl said. "They are big sprint car fans, some of the best in the country."

Walker who made his second sprint car start of the weekend for Guy Forbrook, is reacclimating himself with the winged warriors after driving in some NASCAR Busch Series races last season.

"I'm having a blast," said Walker, who set quick time of the night during time trials. "I really enjoy it. I can't even describe how much I am enjoying it right now."

For Walker, the other drivers and the fans, what was shaping up to be a quick night's work was extended during a long red flag for a non-racing-related medical emergency outside the track that required the attention of the safety crews as well as a medical helicopter, which landed just outside the pit gates.

"After the long red, it took so much rubber," Walker said. "I felt the tire start to wobble and I thought I was out of tire, more than I was. That's just from being out of sprint cars for a while. Guy gave me a great racecar tonight and it feels good to have some fun. Whoever gets to drive this thing, it's definitely a treat."

Daryn Pittman, was a man on a charge, slicing his way up to third after starting eighth before tire trouble with three laps to go ended his hopes of challenging for the win.

One benefactor of Pittman's misfortune was Saldana, who also was worried about a tire going down late in the race. Saldana notched a third-place run.

"My tire was going down there, so I was just hanging on," Saldana said. "When I got to fourth, I was hoping those guys would go to the top on the last restart, but they went to the bottom. I got a little tight. Luckily we came home with a good finish after falling out of the dash."

Following the event at Huset's Speedway, the World of Outlaws Sprint Series begins its first Eastern Swing with events May 12 at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio, and the Ohio Challenge II on May 13 at K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio. The series then rolls into Pennsylvania Posse Country for the first time in 2006 for Thunder on the Hill May 16 at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa. before heading to Western Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth Clash on May 19 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., that sets the stage for the $50,000 Challenge on May 20 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.

The World of Outlaws Sprint Series is brought to the fans across the country by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire and The Outdoor Channel. Promotional Partners include AMB i.t. and The University of Northwestern Ohio. Associate sponsors are ButlerBuilt Motorsports Equipment, Maxim Racing, RacinSoles and Snap-on. Contingency sponsors include DART Machinery, MSD Ignitions and Wrisco Industries.

HUSET'S SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK

* PARADE LAP: Before rolling to the track on Sunday night, several members from the World of Outlaws traveling team took part in Brandon's annual Loyalty Day parade, including the World of Outlaws merchandise truck and trailer driven by Mark Wallace and Tammy Rose as well as fan favorite safety vehicle and push truck Work'n Woody with Art and Carol Malies on board.

* FAST QUALIFIER: Tyler Walker paced the 32-car field in Jackpot Junction Casino Maxim with a lap around the 3/8-mile oval in 10.995 seconds at 122.783 mph. For his qualifying effort, Walker earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including Brian Carlson (4), Chad Kemenah (3), Jeremy Campbell (2) and Jason Solwold (1). Huset's Speedway is a high-banked 3/8 mile oval where Terry McCarl holds the track record of 10.528 seconds.

* QUALIFYING RACES: Jac Haudenschild won the first heat, local standout Greg Bakker won the second heat, it was Bill Rose in the third heat and Craig Dollansky won the final heat. -- In the dashes, Jac Haudenschild and Brooke Tatnell picked up wins. -- In the B-main, it was Donny Schatz crossing the line first.

* MAIN-EVENT WINNERS: Brooke Tatnell's win Sunday night at Huset's Speedway was his first World of Outlaws A-feature victory this season. There have been nine different winners in 13 race nights to visit the RacinSoles Victory Lane with the World of Outlaws this season. The win list also includes Jac Haudenschild (May 6 at U.S. 36 Raceway), Sammy Swindell (April 8 at Eldora Speedway and March 10 at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as well as a preliminary victory April 7 at Eldora), Donny Schatz (March 9 at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 31 at Batesville Speedway and April 1 at I-55 Raceway), Craig Dollansky (April 15 at Tri-State Speedway), Paul McMahan (March 4 at USA Race Park), Danny Lasoski (March 3 at Manzanita), Joey Saldana (Feb. 10 at Volusia) and Chad Kemenah (Feb. 9 at Volusia).

* 3/8-MILE WINNERS: Huset's Speedway is a 3/8-mile oval. The series has now raced four times this season on a track that size. Winners include: Brooke Tatnell (Huset's Spedway), Jac Haudenschild (U.S. 36 Raceway), Donny Schatz (Batesville) and Paul McMahan (USA Race Park).

* ON TELEVISION: The Outdoor Channel will air at 8 p.m. (ET) on May 10 the World of Outlaws event from U.S. 36 Raceway. The Outdoor Channel is available nationwide through the DISH Network (Channel 153) and DIRECTV (Channel 606).

* ON THE WEB: The Official World of Outlaws Sprint Series Web site is at www.dirtmotorsports.com/sprint. Among the features are updated driver biographies with individual statistics and pictures, race-by-race statistics, detailed track information and race coverage, series news and team press releases. Also, links to the Media Guide and 2006 Official Rulebook can be found at the bottom of the home page.

* LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can't get to a track to see the series, they can experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series live on Dirtvision.com through the DIRT Radio Network. To listen to the audio broadcasts, log on to www.dirtvision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo. Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail webmaster@dirtvision.com.

* UP NEXT: Following the event at Huset's Speedway, the World of Outlaws Sprint Series begins its first Eastern Swing with events May 12 at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio, and the Ohio Challenge II on May 13 at K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio. The series then rolls into Pennsylvania Posse Country for the first time in 2006 for Thunder on the Hill May 16 at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa. before heading to Western Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth Clash on May 19 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., that sets the stage for the $50,000 Challenge on May 20 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.

-woo-