Series North Dakota wrap-up 2009-08-23

World of Outlaws Wrap-Up: River Cities Speedway & Dacotah Speedway
Concord, NC--August 23, 2009

A strong rebound: After getting caught up in a first lap incident on Friday night at River Cities Speedway Jason Meyers rebounded on Saturday at Dacotah Speedway running in the Top-Five all night and battling for the lead a couple of times. He wound up third to earn his series-best 40th Top-10 finish of the season. He remains second in the World of Outlaws championship standings with about 20 nights of racing remaining in 2009 as he chases his first career title.

"I can't say enough about these guys on this team," said Meyers. "We had a rough night last night tore up some equipment and they slept for about four hours last night and got up this morning and built me a brand new race car. To come back and run in the Top-Three after that shows how good this team is. They do a great job and I'm very blessed to have them."

A new track record: Danny Lasoski shattered the existing track record at Dacotah Speedway on Saturday night in his first visit to the track located just outside of Bismarck, North Dakota, touring the high-banked 3/8-mile in 12.705 seconds at 106.257 miles per hour which knocked over two seconds off the mark that was set in the World of Outlaws debut at the track last season by Craig Dollansky. A total of 24 drivers broke the old mark on Saturday night.

"This is a pretty fast track," said Lasoski during the dash draw. "This is a very nice facility and the fans up here are great. I'm glad to be up here racing."

Continuing to learn the tracks: Brian Ellenberger, the leading contender for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award this season, raced his way into the Crane Cams Dash in his first ever visit to Dacotah Speedway on Saturday night. He finished a very solid 12th in the 35-lap A-Feature as he continues to gain priceless experience in his first full year on the road with the World of Outlaws.

"This is a very nice track and I'm glad to be here," said Ellenberger during the dash draw on Saturday night. "Anytime we can make the dash is great and that always helps build the confidence. My team is working hard and we keep learning more and more as we go."

Turning the corner: Sam Hafertepe Jr. won the Crane Cams Dash on Saturday night in his second visit to Dacotah Speedway to start on the pole for the 35-lap main event. The 23-year old from Sunnyvale, Texas took the lead from 2001 World of Outlaws champion Danny Lasoski on the 16th lap of the A-feature and battled a couple of times down the stretch for the top spot, before setting for a fourth-place finish which was his fifth Top-Five of the year with the World of Outlaws as he closes in on his first career win.

"We have Charlie Fisher building our engines now and that has been a huge deal for our program," shared Hafertepe. "We are running Maxim cars right now and they really seem to be working good for us. We have gotten to where we are comfortable and that means a lot out here. No matter what track conditions are, when you are comfortable, you can perform and that is what we have been doing."

Two more top-fives: Joey Saldana drew the nine pill for the Crane Cams Dash both nights this past weekend, and wound up working his way into the Top-Five both nights and was in contention for two wins. In the opener at River Cities Speedway he tracked down his Kasey Kahne Racing teammate Craig Dollansky late in the going nearly stealing a win from him, finishing second. In the finale at Dacotah Speedway, he again moved up in the dash and was up to third in the A-Feature when he went over the banking on the back straighthaway. He kept the car rolling and came back on the track in eighth and would eventually work his way up to finish fifth. He remains third in the series championship standings.

"It was a ninth to a second which with these guys is sometimes impossible," said Saldana after the race on Friday night. "It was a good run, especially on a track that was very tough to pass on."

Northern tour title: Chris Shirek earned the most points of the NOSA (Northern Outlaw Sprint Association) drivers that competed in the five-race Northern Tour Mini-Series which was comprised of the five World of Outlaws races in the state of North Dakota this season which were all put on by SLS Promotions. Eligible drivers earned points in qualifying, heat races and feature events. Shirek, picked up his best career finish with the World of Outlaws along with earning the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award at River Cities Speedway last Friday night coming all the way from 18th to finish seventh at the high-banked three-tenths-mile bullring. Greg Nikitenko finished second in the overall standings for the Northern Tour, with Bob Martin third. Nine drivers that race regularly with NOSA competed in all five Northern Tour events with the World of Outlaws.

Blazing fast: Jason Meyers set a new track record on Friday night at River Cities Speedway turning a blistering lap of 9.269 seconds at an average speed of 116.517 mph. That easily set the mark as the quickest lap turned on any track on the World of Outlaws circuit. River Cities Speedway remains one of just three tracks on the 2009 schedule that boasts a single digit track record. In total, 18 cars broke the existing track record of 9.66 second which had stood since 2007.

A yeoman's effort: The track crew at River Cities Speedway along with SLS Promotions did everything they could to make sure last Friday's night event happened. After heavy overnight rain on Thursday, the pit area was a quagmire, and with no sun or wind to help dry it on Friday, rigs were forced to pit outside in the parking lot as the pit area was run in enough to get the cars from the parking lot to the track. After a couple of hours of work, the pit area, a path was made for the cars to hit the track and despite starting a couple of hours late, the rest of the night of racing went off without a hitch with a very big crowd in attendance on a very chilly night.

Making the trip west: Erin Crocker, who is back behind the wheel of a sprint car for the first time since 2005, made the trip west to River Cities Speedway and Dacotah Speedway driving for veteran crew chief and car owner Mike Woodring. She finished 11th in her debut at River Cities Speedway. Chad Kemenah, who won earlier this season with the World of Outlaws at the famed Manzanita Speedway in Arizona, also made the trip west after competing in the Midwest for the last few weeks.

Up next: The World of Outlaws return to action with the third annual Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29.

-credit: WoO