Series Chico Saturday event report 2010-09-11

Simply Golden: Jason Meyers Wins $50,000 Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway

Chico, CA-September 11, 2010- Growing up in California, the Gold Cup Race of Champions has always been a special event for Jason Meyers and one that he has wanted to win since the first time he climbed into a sprint car in 1996, the same year he raced in the legendary classic at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico for the first time. Entering the 57th Annual Gold Cup this season he had been close on a couple of occasions to picking up the big check and standing atop the podium. The native of Clovis, California kept the Gold Cup in his home state on Saturday night, as he added his name to the illustrious list of winners, scoring the $50,000 top prize to earn the biggest win of his career.

Meyers lined up on the pole and had fellow Californian Paul McMahan battling him for the top spot for most of the 40-lap contest. Meyers used a strong double file restart with two laps remaining en route to the win, to become just the third driver from the state of California to win the Gold Cup since the World of Outlaws began sanctioning the event in 1978. For Meyers, it was his 10th A-Feature win of the season which marks a new career high for him with the World of Outlaws aboard the GLR Investments KPC.

"To win the Gold Cup is absolutely awesome," said Meyers. "To be on the list of drivers that have won this prestigious race over the years is pretty incredible. Growing up out here, I won my first ever sprint car race at this race track in the Mini Gold Cup. We finally have the Gold Cup. This is amazing. This entire team is doing a fantastic job. We are having fun right now and winning races and that's what it's all about. I can't say enough about this team and am excited for what we are capable of the rest of the year."

Early in the race Meyers jumped out to a quick lead over Jason Sides and McMahan, before encountering lapped traffic for the first time on the ninth lap, allowing McMahan to close in. The pair had a spirited battle in traffic, with McMahan nearly taking the lead a couple of times on the high side of turn four. Meyers masterfully worked his way through traffic to keep McMahan at bay.

"Just race the race track," stated the winner when asked about all the cautions. "You can't worry about who is behind you or next to you. You just have to put down the best laps that you can. We had a great car tonight and it was a pleasure to drive and that always helps you stay focused as well when the car is that good."

Meyers chose the low line on each of the six double file restarts with McMahan lining up to his outside each and every time. He used strong restarts to quickly jump to a lead in open track. Meyers would pace all 40 laps en route to the win, which was the 45th of his career with the World of Outlaws, putting him just one win shy of moving into 11th on the series all-time win list.

"You leave yourself open too much on the top here and really need to go for the bottom and get the jump off the corner," explained the veteran driver of his choice of the low line on the double file restarts. "The car was fantastic on the restarts tonight and we were able to get great starts each and every time."

Steve Kinser came all the way from the 18th starting spot to finish second aboard the Bass Pro Shops Maxim after racing his way into the main event through the Last Chance Showdown to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award. Kinser was leading the opener on Thursday night when he suffered a broken right rear hub which ended his night and then had some more bad luck on Friday night as he was involved in an accident on the final lap. He methodically worked his way to the front on Saturday night and came up just less than second short of the win.

"It was a good run," said Kinser. "This place over the years, I have either been really good here or had a tough time like the other night. We were leading and broke the wheel and had to battle back from there. To come from where we did to finish second, you can't complain. I just couldn't quite get up there enough to get a run on him."

McMahan started third and battled Jason Sides in the early going for the runner-up spot. He lined up on the outside of the front row on the final double file restart of the night with two laps remaining. Kinser got around him on the restart and he ended up coming home third, which matched his best finish in the main event of the Gold Cup at his home track.

"To have two straight podium finishes and three Top-10 finishes in three nights is great, but this one hurts," admitted McMahan. "This is home and I have been coming to this race since 1978 and it's one of those races I really want to win. To be that close and have that good of a race car really hurts."

Jac Haudenschild, who is a three-time winner of the Gold Cup, came from the 15th starting spot to finish fourth in the Owens-Corning XXX, with Donny Schatz fifth in the Armor All/STP J&J.

Kyle Larson scored his best career World of Outlaws finish coming home sixth in the Stadlehoffer Construction Maxim. The reigning champion of the Golden State Challenge Series finished in the Top-10 on all three nights of the Gold Cup.

Joey Saldana, the current World of Outlaws point leader recovered from a trip to the work area on the 27th lap to change a right rear tire that was going down to finish seventh aboard the Budweiser Maxim. Since the finale of the Gold Cup utilized a different format than a standard World of Outlaws event, each competitor earned 75 "Show-up" points, with Saldana retaining the lead by just two points over Meyers with 10 races remaining in 2010.

Bud Kaeding picked up his second career Top-10 finish in the Gold Cup coming home eighth in the Alviso Rock Maxim, with Jonathan Allard ninth in the Red Line Oil A.R.T. Sammy Swindell who won on Friday night rounded out the Top-10 in the Big Game Treestands Maxim.

The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, September 17 at Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa.

GOLD CUP RACE OF CHAMPIONS NIGHT #3 NOTES

* SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY QUALIFYING WINNERS: Sean McMahan won the C-Main. Evan Suggs won the first Last Chance Showdown. Danny Lasoski won the second Last Chance Showdown,

* FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 59 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events held in 2010. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Thunderbowl Raceway, Volunteer Speedway, I-55 Raceway, Eldora Speedway-twice, Dodge City Raceway Park, River Cities Speedway, LaSalle Speedway, Beaver Dam Raceway, Lernerville Speedway, Nodak Speedway and Castrol Raceway), Jason Meyers (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway, Volunteer Speedway, Tri-State (Okla.) Speedway, Virginia Motor Speedway, I-96 Speedway, North Central Speedway, I-55 Raceway, Castrol Raceway and Silver Dollar Speedway), Steve Kinser (Volusia Speedway Park, Jackson Speedway, River Cities Speedway, Lakeside Speedway, Eldora Speedway, Autodrome Drummond, Fulton Speedway and Skagit Speedway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park, The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Ohsweken Speedway and Silver Dollar Speedway), Jason Sides (Houston Raceway Park , Tri-City Speedway, Missouri State Fair Speedway and Ohsweken Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Lone Star Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway and Nodak Speedway), Jac Haudenschild (Paducah International Raceway, Knoxville Raceway and Skagit Speedway), Sammy Swindell (Dodge City Raceway, Huset's Speedway and Silver Dollar Speedway), Lance Dewease (Lernerville Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway), Brooke Tatnell (Knoxville Raceway and Junction Motor Speedway), Dale Blaney (Limaland Motorsports Park), Doug Esh (Lebanon Valley Speedway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Cottage Grove Speedway), Chad Layton (Williams Grove Speedway), Paul McMahan (Eldora Speedway), Fred Rahmer (Williams Grove Speedway) and Tim Shaffer (I-55 Raceway).

* 1/4-MILE-WINNERS: Silver Dollar Speedway is a high-banked 1/4-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced eight times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Joey Saldana (River Cities Speedway and LaSalle Speedway), Dale Blaney (Limaland Motorsports Park), Steve Kinser (River Cities Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Cottage Grove Speedway), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway), Donny Schatz (Silver Dollar Speedway), Jason Sides (Houston Raceway Park) and Sammy Swindell (Silver Dollar Speedway).

-source: WoO