Craig Dollansky had been knocking on the door all season of picking up his first win since joining Kasey Kahne Racing and he broke through on Sunday night, dominating the event at Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York to score his first win of the season and his first victory since joining the team owned by the NASCAR star.
For Dollansky, it was the 29th A-Feature win of his career with the World of Outlaws and the first triumph of his career in the state of New York. He has now won A-Feature events in 18 different states with the series.
“It’s great to be back in Victory Lane,” said Dollansky. “My crew has been working so hard, I am so happy to win this one for them. Kasey Kahne Racing is a great organization. We made some changes that seem to be suiting me better. These guys work hard as does everyone that stands behind this team. I am just so glad that we got our first win.”
Dollansky started second in the DirecTV Maxim and shot to the lead on the high side of the track heading into turns one and two with Steve Kinser who started on the pole in tow. The only yellow flag of the night flew on the opening lap when Jac Haudenschild and Brian Ellenberger got tangled up, leading to a complete restart. On the second start, Dollansky again jumped to a quick lead over Kinser as he powered his way down the front straightaway into turns one and two.
“I felt pretty good,” he shared when asked about the second start. “That car was a joy to drive. It’s been a while since I had a race car like that and again it goes back to some of the changes that we made and I am really happy with it. Speedway Motors does a great job with our engines. This whole team works hard. I am so happy for everyone that supports this team and my family and fans. I couldn’t be happier for all of them.”
After the first lap caution, the remainder of the race went non-stop and Dollansky encountered lapped traffic for the first time on the seventh lap on the blazing fast half-mile. He would be in traffic for the majority of the race. The native of Elk River, Minnesota worked his way through heavy traffic just past the halfway point of the race and cleared those machines by the 17th go-around. With three laps to go, he again encountered very heavy traffic, and worked his way through those cars and wound up winning by nearly three seconds.
“The car felt really good in traffic,” noted the winner. “I was just trying to pick my way through it. I was attacking it pretty aggressive. I didn’t know how close those guys behind me were, but you have to run like they are right on you. I just kept pushing it. It’s great to get this first win of the season.”
Steve Kinser started on the pole after winning the Crane Cams Dash and ran second for the entirety of the 25-lap contest. After working on Dollansky for the first couple of laps, he had his hands full with Danny Lasoski who was all over him. The 20-time series champion held him off en route to his 22nd Top-Five finish of the season aboard the Quaker State Maxim.
Lasoski battled Kinser for the runner-up spot for a number of laps in the first half of the race. On the third circuit, he nearly got around Kinser as dove under him in turns one and two and slid up the track, giving Kinser a chance to stay on the throttle and keep the spot as the pair charged down the back straightaway. For Lasoski, the third-place finish was his 17th Top-Five of the year in the Casey’s General Store Maxim.
“I’m really proud of this team and everyone did a great job tonight,” said Lasoski. “Tonight was like always, when you can start in the front row is pretty good. The (No.) 19 car has been knocking on the door of getting a win and my hat is off to them and ‘The King’ (Kinser) is always tough. We’ll go on to Canada and see if we can win there.”
Lasoski kept pace with Kinser early in the 25-lap contest in open track and lost some ground in lapped traffic as he contended with a number of slower machines. The native of Dover, Missouri made up some ground on Kinser on the 17th lap in heavy traffic, but was held up by a couple of cars late in the going.
“You come up on them really fast and they didn’t know where we were at, so it’s not their fault,” explained the 2001 series champion. “You have to really pay attention when you come up on them.”
Donny Schatz finished fourth in the Armor All J&J to extend his lead in the World of Outlaws championship standings to 51 points over Jason Meyers. The three-time and defending series champion began the night by turning the fastest lap in time trials for the 10th time this season.
Jason Meyers finished fifth in the GLR Investments KPC, with Joey Saldana sixth in the Budweiser Maxim. Jason Sides was seventh in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim, with Lucas Wolfe eighth in the Allebach Racing Maxim. Chad Kemenah came home in the ninth, with Kraig Kinser rounding out the Top-10 in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Tuesday, July 28 at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario, Canada for two full nights of racing.
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