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DUPONT/TYVEK KEYSTONE CUP OPENER FALLS TO DANNY LASOSKI OVER DONNY
SCHATZ IN LATE RACE THRILLER
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. . . . . . It's been said that driving a 410
sprint car at Grandview Speedway is like flying a jet fighter plane in a
high school gymnasium. Well Wednesday night at the Grandview Speedway,
there were thirty-nine jet fighters, all chasing just twenty-four
starting spots when the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing
Series presented the World of Outlaws in the Dupont/Tyvek Keystone Cup
Opener. A near "full house" was amazed when the four heat races, Dash
and "B" Main ran off non-stop. In the thirty-five lap feature, no one
left early as Danny Lasoski and Donny Schatz swapped the lead
back-and-forth numerous times with Lasoski nosing out Schatz by a
narrow margin of 0.036 seconds in a photo finish. For Lasoski of Dover,
MO, it was his first ever Thunder on the Hill victory and he was
thrilled as he walked back to the pits with his huge $10,000 check.
At the start of the thirty-five lap feature event, Donny Schatz of
Fargo, ND and the winner of the 2006 WoO event at Grandview was the
early leader. Schatz started on the pole and quickly ran to hide from
the rest of the field . Schatz set the pace with Lasoski moving into
second on lap four. There were a couple of early race caution flags,
one for Zach Chappell on lap four and Lucas Wolfe on lap eight. During
that time, twenty-time WoO Champion Steve Kinser retired to the pits.
When green flag racing resumed, Schatz was clearly the class of the
field as Lasoski, Daryn Pittman and Greg Hodnett followed in the chase.
On lap fourteen, the yellow was displayed for third place runner Daryn
Pittman who came to a stop in turn one.
On the restart, Lasoski dove low in turn one and pulled along side of
Schatz, but on the run down the backstretch, Schatz quickly regained
control of the lead. As the laps ticked by, Lasoski moved ever so close
to Schatz, then on lap twenty-two, Lasoski took the lead.
With the lead cars shuffling through lapped traffic, Lasoski did put
several car lengths between himself and Schatz. But don't count this a
win for Lasoski quite yet. Schatz was back in the hunt and all over the
leader. Not a fan in the stands left their seat as this one was
building for a great finish.
As the two laps to go sign was displayed, Schatz made a bid for the lead
but Lasoski closed the door. The next trip by the flag stand and with
the white flag waiving, Donny Schatz was credited with leading the lap.
Lasoski took back the lead and with lapped cars just ahead, the run
through turns three and four would determine the outcome.
Lasoski held the leading, getting to the finish line first by a margin
of 0.036 seconds, as recorded by the AMB scoring system. Schatz
finished second followed by Joey Saldana who finished third and started
twentieth. Making up the top five were Jason Sides and Paul McMahan.
Sixth through tenth were Fred Rahmer, Greg Hodnett, Jason Solwold, Tim
Shaffer and Jeremy Campbell.
As Lasoski climbed from his 410 sprint car in the Grandview victory
lane, Donny Schatz was there to congratulate the winner. It was a
thrilling race that kept the fans in their seats until the final was
made, announcing the winner of the photo finish event. For Lasoski, the
2001 WoO Champion, the Grandview Thunder Victory was his second win of
the season. There is good news for Donny Schatz as well. The solid
runner-up finish earns him a solid hold on the WoO 2007 point chase.
Joey Saldana earned the KSE Race Products Hard Charge Award, charging
from twentieth to third.
In the COMDIAL Telephone Communications Time Trials, Paul McMahan
collected a $200 cash bonus from sponsor Jim Gallagher for setting fast
time of 11.831, just shy of the Grandview Speedway track record of
11.553. Four heat race events were presented with victories going to
Daryn Pittman, Greg Hodnett, Jeremy Campbell and Zach Chappell. Local
favorite Fred Rahmer won the "B" main and went on to finish sixth after
starting fourteenth in the feature event. Donny Schatz was the winner
of Crane Cams Dash.
COMDIAL Telephone Communications Time Trials
1) 20-Paul McMahan 11.831
2) 7S-Jason Sides 11.876
3) R19-Jason Solwold 11.910
4) 11-Steve Kinser 11.913
5) 21-Daryn Pittman 11.928
6) 83-Danny Lasoski 11.954
7) 14-Jason Meyers 11.957
8) 51-Fred Rahmer 12.007
9) D1-Justin Henderson 12.018
10) 87-Alan Krimes 12.020
11) 15-Donny Schatz 12.025
12) 8K-Zach Chappell 12.046
13) 7K-Keith Kauffman 12.059
14) 22-Greg Hodnett 12.063
15) 10C-Jeremy Campbell 12.079
16) 7-Craig Dollansky 12.087
17) 6-Tim Shaffer 12.120
18) 1X-Randy Hannagan 12.132
19) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 12.134
20) 9-Joey Saldana 12.135
21) 36-Jason Martin 12.136
22) 55-Mark Smith 12.140
23) 35-Jac Haudenschild 12.146
24) 25P-Billy Pauch 12.158
25) 3X-Chad Kemenah 12.174
26) 24-Terry McCarl 12.181
27) 11H-Kerry Madsen 12.189
28) 5C-Chad Hillier 12.210
29) 19-Stevie Smith 12.228
30) 25-Lance Dewease 12.230
31) 39-TJ Stutts 12.261
32) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. 12.322
33) 71-Brian Leppo 12.354
34) 11D-Dion Hindi 12.434
35) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 12.447
36) 35A-Alan Cole 12.483
37) 93-Jonathan Eriksen 12.998
38) 20T-Ryan Taylor -.---
39) 2-Tim Kaeding -.---
A-main (35 laps)
Finish/Car#/Driver-Start/Earnings
1) 83-Danny Lasoski[5] [$10,000]
2) 15-Donny Schatz[1] [$5,500]
3) 9-Joey Saldana[20] [$3,200]
4) 7S-Jason Sides[8] [$2,800]
5) 20-Paul McMahan[9] [$2,500]
6) 51-Fred Rahmer[14] [$2,300]
7) 22-Greg Hodnett[6] [$2,200]
8) R19-Jason Solwold[11] [$2,100]
9) 6-Tim Shaffer[17] [$2,050]
10) 10C-Jeremy Campbell[7] [$2,000]
11) 35-Jac Haudenschild[22] [$1,500]
12) 1X-Randy Hannagan[18] [$1,200]
13) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[19] [$1,100]
14) 7-Craig Dollansky[10] [$1,050]
15) 14-Jason Meyers[13] [$1,000]
16) 21-Daryn Pittman[3] [$900]
17) D1-Justin Henderson[4] [$800]
18) 36-Jason Martin[21] [$800]
19) 7K-Kieth Kauffman[16] [$800]
20) 5C-Chad Hillier[24] [$800]
21) 87-Alan Krimes[15] [$800]
22) 8K-Zach Chappell[2] [$800]
23) 25P-Billy Pauch[23] [$800]
24) 11-Steve Kinser[12] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-21, 34; Danny Lasoski 22-33, 35
Thunder Series Continues . . . . . . .
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT TOUR HEADS EAST TO GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY WEDNESDAY
NIGHT, JUNE 6
Wingless sprint car racing heads East to Pennsylvania and Maryland as
the USAC National Sprint Tour invade the Grandview, Big Diamond and
Hagerstown Speedway. The opening event is set for Wednesday night, June
6 as the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series continues at
Bruce Rogers Grandview Speedway. This will be the first ever
appearance by the USAC wingless sprints at the high-banked one-third
mile oval on the "hill". Expected USAC stars include Tracy Hines, Dave
Darland, Kevin Swindell, Levi Jones, Damion Gardner and Darren Hagen.
USAC plans to announce a full roster shortly. Also on the program will
be qualifying and a twenty lap feature for the ARDC Wingless Midgets,
making their only appearance of the year at Grandview. Race time is
7:30 PM.
The following night, Thursday, June 7, the USAC National Sprint Tour and
the ARDC Wingless Midgets will present a double-header event at the Big
Diamond Raceway in Minersville, PA. For more information, please visit
www.bigdiamondraceway.com.
The USAC sprints will then invade Frank Plessinger's Hagerstown
Speedway in Hagerstown, MD on Saturday night, June 9. Hagerstown will
be the final eastern tour stop for USAC as they return to the West.
Also on the program will be the late models with race time set for 7 PM.
For all the details, please visit www.hagerstownspeedway.com.
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