Ever since the 2008 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series schedule was announced most of the drivers had Friday, June 27 circled on their calendars. That’s because the series will make their second consecutive visit to the blazing fast, high-banked, River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The track is one of just three tracks on the schedule where the drivers flirt with sub-10-second laps. The race will serve as the opener of the 2008 Gerdau Ameristeel Northern Tour, which will encompass four tracks in the state of North Dakota beginning this weekend and wrapping up in August.
Donny Schatz, the two-time defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws champion who hails from North Dakota, has one career win at River Cities Speedway, with that coming in 1995. He finished third in the World of Outlaws debut at the track last season. He currently leads the series with seven A-Feature wins, including in the series most recent event at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas. Schatz leads the championship standings by 55 markers over Jason Meyers, and is the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in all 22 events this season.
Jason Meyers has three career Top-10 finishes at River Cities Speedway, including a runner-up performance in 2000 in a World of Outlaws Gumout Series event at the track. The native of Clovis, California leads the series with 18 Top-Five finishes in 2008, as he continues to chase his first World of Outlaws title. He has won five A-Feature wins this season.
Craig Dollansky is a former winner at River Cities Speedway, taking the checkered flag in 2000 holding off Meyers in that World of Outlaws Gumout Series event. In three starts at the high-banked three-tenths mile, he has three finishes of eighth or better. The Minnesota native has four A-Feature wins this season, to go along with 21 Top-10 finishes in 22 starts. He is currently third in the championship point standings.
Joey Saldana turned in an impressive performance in his debut at River Cities Speedway last season. Having never seen the track until the afternoon of the race, he proceeded to set fast time in time trials, win a heat race, win the Crane Cams Dash and then win the A-Feature, leading all 40 laps. The second generation driver recently won his first event of the season at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas. He is fourth in points on the strength of 19 Top-10 finishes.
Jac Haudenschild won in his debut at River Cities Speedway in 1999, holding off fellow World of Outlaws driver Craig Dollansky for the triumph in weekly competition. In four career starts at the three-tenths mile track, he has four finishes of seventh or better, with three of those being in the Top-Three. He made a late charge on Saldana last season to make a bid for the win, coming up just inches short at the line in a photo finish that had the capacity crowd on their feet.
Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion has made three starts in his career at the track, earning two Top-10 finishes, including a third in 2006 with the National Sprint Tour. Kinser has two A-Feature wins this season and is just six points out of the Top-Five in the standings, on the strength of 12 Top-10 finishes.
Kerry Madsen, the reigning Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award winner finished fifth at River Cities Speedway last season. He has two Top-10 finishes in three career starts at the high-banked track. The native of St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia has 14 Top-10 finishes this season and is seventh in points.
Shane Stewart has made nine career starts at River Cities Speedway, earning two wins in 2001 with the World of Outlaws Gumout Series. He has seven career Top-10 finishes at the track and was fifth in his last visit there in 2006. He has won once this year and is currently eight in points on the strength of 12 Top-10 finishes driving for the Roth Motorsports team.
Chad Kemenah made his first career start at River Cities Speedway last season. The 2006 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year is currently ninth in points, with 10 Top-10 finishes. He finished fourth last Friday night at Dodge City Raceway Park.
Terry McCarl has won twice at River Cities Speedway during his career. The first win for the veteran driver was in 1999 and he followed that up with another triumph in 2003. He has six career Top-10 finishes at the high-banked track. The native of Altoona, Iowa has nine Top-10 finishes this season as he is 10th in points.
Daryn Pittman has made three starts in his career at the three-tenths mile, earning finishes of sixth or better in each of those events. He recently matched his season best performance with a runner-up finish at Dodge City Raceway Park. The native of Owasso, Oklahoma is just outside of the Top-10 in points.
Sam Hafertepe Jr. made his first career start at the track last season. The sophomore driver from Sunnyvale, Texas earned two Top-10 finishes last weekend at Dodge City Raceway Park and has eight on the season, as he continues to close in on the Top-10 in points.
Kraig Kinser, the 2004 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has four career starts at River Cities Speedway and has finished in the Top-Five in all of those. His best finish of the lot was in 2001, when he was second in a World of Outlaws Gumout Series race at the track. He recently picked up his fifth Top-10 finishes of the season.
Jason Sides has five Top-10 finishes at River Cities Speedway in his career. He finished third in his debut at the track back in 1999. The 2003 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has four Top-10 finishes this season.
Tim Shaffer made his first career start at the track last season, finishing just outside of the Top-10. The 1999 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has four Top-10 finishes this season, with two of those being in the Top-Five.
Tony Bruce Jr. made his first start at River Cities Speedway last season during his rookie campaign with the World of Outlaws. The native of Liberal, Kansas picked up a Top-Five finish at the famed Knoxville Raceway a couple of weeks ago.
Chad Hillier, who continues his sophomore season with the World of Outlaws also made his debut at River Cities Speedway last season. The Washington native earned a Top-10 finish at Tri-City Speedway earlier this month and has been running very consistent the last few weeks.
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