Watsonville Ocean Speedway preview

Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Preview: Ocean Speedway

Watsonville, CA-- October 14, 2008--The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, California on Friday, October 17 for the first time since 2002. Three different drivers have been victorious at the ¼-mile in the three races that the series has contested at the track. Joey Saldana is the only current World of Outlaws driver that has won at Ocean Speedway, taking the checkered flag first in the series inaugural visit to the track in 2000.

Just three drivers have competed in all three of the series stops at the track. Along with Saldana, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser and two-time defending series champion Donny Schatz have raced at the track a trio of times.

Kinser enters the event this weekend with 549 career A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws and is closing in on 100 career wins in the state of California. He has 98 victories in the Golden State dating back to 1978, including preliminary feature wins. He has won six times this season and just moved into the third spot in points. He picked up a Top-10 finish in his last start at Ocean Speedway in 2002.

Saldana won the inaugural World of Outlaws race at the track in 2000, after trading the lead a couple of times with Tim Shaffer. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana has two podium finishes in three starts at the track. Driving for Kasey Kahne Racing, Saldana has won five times this season. He has seven career wins in California, and is currently fourth in points, just one marker behind Kinser as the battle for the third position.

Donny Schatz finished third in his debut at Ocean Speedway in 2000. He leads the World of Outlaws with 16 A-Feature wins this season as he closes in on his third consecutive series title. He has won six times in his career in California. He has won three times this season on ¼-mile tracks, with the most recent coming at Princeton Speedway on October 4. He also was victorious on Sunday at Hollywood Hills Speedway in New Mexico, and looks to extend his winning streak to three races this weekend.

Jason Meyers, who hails from Clovis, California, has six career Top-10 finishes at Ocean Speedway. He was fourth in the World of Outlaws last visit to the track in 2002. As he chases his first series title, Meyers has nine total wins this season, including one in his home state on the second night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. He currently leads the series in laps led, Top-Five finishes and fast time honors in qualifying.

Jac Haudenschild has finished fourth and seventh in two career starts at Ocean Speedway. The veteran driver has won four times this season, including on a ¼-mile at Silver Dollar Speedway in California in the finale of the Gold Cup Race of Champions. He has 29 career wins in the Golden State. He was second on Sunday at Hollywood Hills Speedway which helped him move into fifth in the series standings.

Craig Dollansky, who is currently sixth in points, will miss the event as he continues to recover from surgery on his right arm after sustaining a compound fracture on September 19 at Eldora Speedway.

Kerry Madsen, the reigning Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, will be making his debut at Ocean Speedway on October 17. The native of St. Mary's, NSW, Australia won his first race in California last season at Perris Auto Speedway. He currently is seventh in points on the strength of 36 Top-10 finishes as he closes in on his first win of 2008.

Chad Kemenah ran strong earlier this season in California during the Gold Cup, picking up a third-place finish on the opening night and also had a Top-10 run in the finale. The 2006 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has 36 Top-10 finishes in 2008, as he also closes in on his first victory. He is just three points behind Madsen in the standings, as they battle for the seventh spot.

Terry McCarl won at Ocean Speedway back in 1991. He competed three times that season at the ¼-mile and picked up Top-10 finishes in all of those events. He recently won his first race of 2008 at Orange County Fair Speedway in New York and is in the midst of a streak that has seen him pick up four straight Top-Five finishes and eight consecutive Top-10 runs.

Daryn Pittman finished ninth in his second career start at Ocean Speedway in 2002. The native of Owasso, Oklahoma has won four times this season and is solidly in the Top-10 in the series championship standings. He has won four times in his career in California.

Kraig Kinser, who recently picked up his second win of the season, will make his debut at Ocean Speedway this weekend. He has eight career Top-10 finishes in California. He recently moved into the 11th spot in points, on the strength of 17 Top-10 finishes.

Sam Hafertepe Jr. competed in California for the first time in 2007 as a rookie with the World of Outlaws. The native of Sunnyvale, Texas has racked up 16 Top-10 finishes this season as he chases his first career series win.

Jason Sides, the 2003 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, will be making his debut at Ocean Speedway on October 17. He has 15 career Top-10 finishes in the Golden State. He has finished in the Top-10 17 times this season as he looks for his first win of the year.

Tony Bruce Jr. also will be visiting Ocean Speedway for the first time. He won earlier this season in his first visit to 34 Raceway in Iowa, as he continues his sophomore season with the World of Outlaws.

Chad Hillier picked up a Top-10 run earlier this season in California, on the second night of the Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway finishing seventh. He has five Top-10 finishes in his sophomore season with the World of Outlaws and recently moved into the Top-15 in points.

Lucas Wolfe, the leading contender for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award, will make his debut at Ocean Speedway this weekend and his first trip to California since 2006. He recently picked up his second runner-up finish of the season as he chases his first career series win.

Paul McMahan has four career Top-10 finishes at Ocean Speedway. He finished fifth with the World of Outlaws at the track in 2001. He has 16 Top-10 finishes this season as he closes in on his first win of the year.

Brooke Tatnell, who continues to fill in for the injured Craig Dollansky will be making his debut at Ocean Speedway this weekend. He has 15 career Top-10 finishes in California.

What to look for at Ocean Speedway:

*Three drivers have competed in all three series events at the track, Steve Kinser, Joey Saldana and Donny Schatz. The race this weekend will be the series first visit to the track since 2002.

*Joey Saldana is the only current World of Outlaws driver that has led laps and won at the track. He led 28 laps en route to winning the series debut at the track in 2000.

*Jason Meyers, who hails from California, has six career Top-10 finishes at Ocean Speedway. He is currently second in points and has won nine times this year as he chases his first series title.

*Jac Haudenschild won the last World of Outlaws event in California on a ¼-mile with that coming in the $50,000-to win Gold Cup Race of Champions in early September.

*Donny Schatz leads the series with three wins on ¼-mile tracks this season, including the series most recent stop at one on October 4 at Princeton Speedway in Minnesota. He leads the series with 16 A-Feature wins this season, including in the last two races.

*Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, is closing in on 100 career wins in the state of California. He has won 98 times in the Golden State during his career.

*Terry McCarl looks to extend his streak of Top-Five and Top-10 finishes at Ocean Speedway. He has picked up Top-Five finishes in four consecutive World of Outlaws events and Top-10's in eight straight.

*Paul McMahan who grew up racing on the short tracks of his home state of California has four career Top-10 finishes. He finished fifth with the series at the track in 2001.

By the Numbers- Ocean Speedway:

0.25- Miles around Ocean Speedway

3- Drivers that have set fast time with the World of Outlaws at the track; Drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws this season that have raced in all three events for the series at the track: Steve Kinser, Joey Saldana and Donny Schatz

4- Drivers that have won a Crane Cams Dash with the series at the track; Drivers that have led laps in A-Feature competition with the series at the track; Drivers that have won on ¼-mile tracks with the series this season

5- Events for the World of Outlaws in California this season

8- Events contested on ¼-mile tracks by the World of Outlaws this season

10.949- Track record set by Mark Kinser on September 9, 2000

12- Drivers that have won heat races at Ocean Speedway with the World of Outlaws

14- Drivers that have won A-Feature events with the World of Outlaws this season

17- Drivers currently competing full-time with the World of Outlaws

28- Laps led by Joey Saldana en route to winning at the track in 2000

39- Average car count in three events for the World of Outlaws at the track

45- Top-Five finishes for Jason Meyers to lead the series

58- A-Feature events contested by the World of Outlaws through October 12

98- Career wins for Steve Kinser in the state of California, including preliminary features

138- Points that separate Donny Schatz and Jason Meyers atop the World of Outlaws championship standings

377- Laps led by Jason Meyers this season to lead the series

1,035- Miles from Hollywood Hills Speedway in Albuquerque, New Mexico where the World of Outlaws competed on October 12 to Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, California

2000- Year that the series first raced at Ocean Speedway

2002- Year that the series most recently competed at the track

10,000- Dollars the winner will receive on Friday, October 17

327,385- Dollars won by Donny Schatz through October 12 to lead the series

Tickets: All tickets for the event at Ocean Speedway on Friday, October 17 will be $45. For ticket information call: (831) 464-1500 ext 222.

Next Up: The final race of the season in the state of California for the World of Outlaws, with a stop at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare on Saturday, October 18.

-credit: woo