Skagit preview

Gold Rush Tour Continues at Skagit Speedway for World of Outlaws

The Gold Rush Tour continues for the World of Outlaws this weekend at Skagit Speedway in Washington, with a pair of events. The finale on Saturday night will pay $25,000 to the winner for the second consecutive year.

Two drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws hail from the state of Washington and are past track champions at Skagit Speedway. They are Jason Solwold, who calls Mt. Vernon, Washington home and Chad Hillier from Burlington, Washington.

Solwold is a three-time track champion at Skagit. He won the 360-sprint car championship in 2002 and 2003. He also was the title winner in the Sportsman-sprint car division in 1994. He is a three-time winner of the 360 Nationals at the track. Solwold earned his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature win earlier this month at Charter Raceway Park in Wisconsin and is solidly in the Top-10 in championship points.

Hillier is the only driver to win a track championship in all three sprint car divisions at Skagit Speedway. He won the 410-sprint car title in 2001. He won the 360-sprint car championship in 1998 and was the Sportsman-sprint car title winner in 1995 and 1996, as well as being victorious in the 360 Nationals in 2001 at the track. He currently is second in the battle for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award with the World of Outlaws.

Donny Schatz, who recently won his second consecutive Knoxville Nationals, leads the way to Skagit Speedway, fresh off a win in the Oil City Cup Castrol Raceway in Canada last weekend. The reigning World of Outlaws champion won the preliminary feature last season at Skagit leading 29 of the 30 laps, and he followed that up with a second-place finish in the finale. This season, he has 14 A-Feature wins to go along with 50 Top-10 finishes in 56 events. He leads the series in not only wins, but also Top-Five finishes, Top-10 finishes, laps led, Crane Cams Dash wins and pole positions. He currently has a 74-point lead in the championship standings as he chases his second consecutive title.

Joey Saldana's Kasey Kahne Racing team is based in Washington and Saldana is a past winner at the track. He was victorious in 2002 at Skagit and finished sixth in the finale last season. His car owner (Kasey Kahne) is the current track record hold, with a lap of 11.118 seconds set in 2003. Saldana enters the event with nine A-Feature wins on the season. He earned two Top-Five finishes last weekend in Canada to bring his total for the season to 47, as he continues to chase his first World of Outlaws title.

Danny Lasoski enters the events this weekend third in championship points with three A-Feature wins on the season. He last competed at Skagit Speedway in 2002 with the World of Outlaws. The 2001 series champion has 40 Top-10 finishes on the season.

Steve Kinser moved into the fourth spot in championship points after his win last weekend in Canada. The 20-time World of Outlaws champion last competed at Skagit in 2002 and finished fifth in that event. He has raced with the series eight times at the high-banked 3/10-mile in his career. The native of Bloomington, Indiana has 38 Top-10 finishes on the season, and has won the Crane Cams Dash five times to earn the same number of pole positions in 2007.

Daryn Pittman finished fourth in both events at Skagit Speedway last season. The native of Owasso, Oklahoma won his fourth A-Feature event of the season last week at Nodak Speedway in North Dakota, which is a high-banked track similar to Skagit. He also won on a tight quarter-mile at Riverside International Speedway in Arkansas earlier this season. The former World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion is fifth in points with 38 Top-10 finishes.

Jason Meyers competed at Skagit in 2002, winning the Crane Cams Dash to earn the pole position in that event. This season, the native of Clovis, California has four A-Feature wins on the season and is just three points out of the Top-Five in the championship standings, on the strength of 36 Top-10 finishes.

Craig Dollansky finished third both nights last season at Skagit and has three consecutive Top-10 finishes at the high-banked track. He used a strong weekend in Canada to move into the seventh spot in championship points. The native of Elk River, Minnesota has two A-Feature wins on the season.

Paul McMahan heads to Skagit Speedway solidly in the Top-10 in championship points. The California native, who now calls Nashville, Tennessee home, has two A-Feature wins on the season, including at his car owner Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway. He also has set fast time on seven occasions this season in time trials.

Tim Shaffer finished sixth in his last visit to Skagit in 2002. The 1999 World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has three straight finishes of sixth or better, including two runner-up performances in the last week, as he closes in on his first win of the season. He has 26 Top-10 finishes on the season.

Jac Haudenschild finished sixth and seventh in two events at the high-banked 3/10-mile last season. He has two A-Feature wins on the season and is just 19 points out of the Top-10 in the championship standings. He has 26 Top-10 finishes on the season entering this weekend.

Terry McCarl finished 10th in the opener at Skagit last season. The six-time Knoxville Raceway track champion has won twice this season with the World of Outlaws. He has 25 Top-10 finishes on the season.

Jason Sides will make his first start at Skagit Speedway this weekend. The 2003 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year won earlier this season at Ohsweken Speedway in Canada in the series first event north of the border in over 25 years. Sides, a native of Bartlett, Tennessee has 18 Top-10 finishes on the season.

Kerry Madsen, the current leader in the battle for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award will make his first start at Skagit this week. The native of St. Mary's, NSW, Australia won earlier this season at Volusia Speedway Park as part of the Florida DIRTcar Nationals. He has 12 Top-10 finishes on the season, as he continues his first full season on the road.

Randy Hannagan finished eighth in the finale at the track last season. The 1995 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has finished in the Top-15 in his last three World of Outlaws starts at Skagit. He has six Top-10 finishes this season and led a number of laps at Knoxville Raceway earlier this season en route to a season-best second-place finish.

Justin Henderson competed at Skagit Speedway for the first time in his career last season and finished seventh and ninth. He also set fast time in the opener with a very solid field of 41 cars signed in. This season, the native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota has 12 Top-10 finishes.

Jeremy Campbell finished 10th last season in the finale at Skagit in his first visit to the high-banked track. He has six Top-10 finishes this season and led a number of laps at K-C Raceway in Ohio last month. The second-year driver from Monroe, Michigan is solidly in the Top-20 in championship points.

Chad Kemenah finished fifth in both events at Skagit last season. The reigning Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has missed the last three races after sustaining a concussion in the Knoxville Nationals, but will return to action at Skagit. He has 10 Top-10 finishes on the season.

Sam Hafertepe Jr. will make his first visit to the Pacific Northwest this weekend. The reigning American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) Sooner Region champion earned his second Top-10 finish of the season last weekend at Castrol Raceway in Canada.

Tony Bruce Jr., another of the rookie contenders, competed at Skagit last season with the World of Outlaws. With a solid field of 40-plus cars in attendance each night, he made both A-Feature events in his first trip to the track. He was a very solid 13th in the finale. He enters the event this season with two Top-Five finishes.

On Friday, August 24 at Skagit Speedway, adult tickets will be $35, with tickets for Military personnel as well as juniors and seniors, $25, with children 7-under $10.

On Saturday, August 25 at Skagit Speedway, On Friday, adult tickets will be $35, with tickets for Military personnel as well as juniors and seniors, $25, with children 7-under $10.

-credit: woo