'Wild Child' to drive Beef Packers Sprinter

             'Wild Child' to Drive Beef Packers Sprinter

                            By Richard Day

FRESNO, CA (November 16) -- The "silly season" the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series steered around during the racing season has hit the premier sprint car racing organization. Danny Lasoski joining Tony Stewart's new sprint car racing team in early November created a vacancy in Dennis Roth's #83 Beef Packers Eagle. Jac Haudenschild, one of several applicants for the position, will drive the car when the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series opens the 2001 season. Haudenschild, whose daring racing style prompted fans to nickname him "The Wild Child," drove Jack Elden's cars for nine years before leaving the #22 fetchOmatic Maxim. "Mr. Elden doesn't know what he's going to do next year," Haudenschild said. "He told me to find another ride. We left on good terms and I got hooked up with Dennis Roth. "It was great racing for Mr. Elden. He and I got along good. We still get along good. Hopefully, he'll stay in racing and get a good driver and do well." Elden Racing started the 2000 season without a sponsor, but Haudenschild kept the team in the top 10 in the point standings throughout the year. He won the Silver State Shootout at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March in typical "Wild Child" style, pulling off a last-lap pass for the $20,000 victory. A broken radius rod is all that kept him from winning all three Harvest Classic features at Calistoga Speedway. Haudenschild also won a Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series "A" Feature at I-55 Raceway after acquiring sponsorship from fetchOmatic, an Internet search engine. Haudenschild and Elden finished in the top 10 in the point standings eight of their nine years together. The only exception was 1999, when "The Wild Child" missed quite a few races due to an injury. Haudenschild is eager to get started with the Beef Packers team. "We're going to race at Tulare and Bakersfield to get a head start on next year," Haudenschild said. "Mark (Ellis) and the crew have already started putting cars together for next year." Roth is looking forward to the 2001 season with "The Wild Child" in the #83. The Beef Packers team finished among the top five in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series point standings the last three years, and came within 71 points of winning the 1999 championship. "The Dude" won 25 "A" Features in the last three years, including the 1998 Amoco Knoxville Nationals. "We were very successful the way we were," Roth said. "Jac's a good driver, so I'm hoping the change will be good for him. We have a really good team and that should help him, too. "It could be difficult early in the season. Jac's a totally different driver than Danny. Our team has to get used to that. We're going to get the guys together for a couple of open races in the next couple of weeks to see what Jac likes. "I think we're going to be fine. If we can get off to a good start, the transition will be smooth. We have a good, stable team. It's not like we're changing a whole lot. "My relationship with Danny was very good. I hated to see him leave. Personally, I think he made a mistake. He had probably the best deal on the tour, except for guys who have major sponsors and have owned their own teams for a couple of years. He just got in the car and didn't have to worry about anything." Lasoski will drive the #20 JD Byrider/Hamm America car and manage the team owned by Stewart, the NASCAR Winston Cup standout. Don't be surprised to see "The Dude" and "The Wild Child" battling for the 2001 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series championship. WoO