Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director One of Terry McCarl’s goals when he first began racing sprint cars at Knoxville Raceway was to win a World of Outlaws event at his home track. After six track championships and 42 career A-Feature wins at the famed half-mile, he finally reached the winner’s circle in a World of Outlaws event at the famed track on Saturday night in the opener of the “SuperClean Summer of Money” on ESPN2.
After lining up third for the 25-lap contest, the native of Altoona, Iowa took the lead from polesitter Randy Hannagan in heavy lapped traffic on the 19th lap, and pulled away at the end to earn his first World of Outlaws A-Feature win of the season and fifth of his career. The event will air on Sunday morning at 11 a. m. Eastern, 10 a. m. Central on ESPN2, and will be the first of eight consecutive World of Outlaws races that will air on the network on Sunday’s.
“To get this win in front of the home town fans and on ESPN2 is pretty special, ” said McCarl, driver of the Big Game Treestands Eagle. “This is a good warm-up for the (Knoxville) Nationals we hope. It’s good to win for our sponsors on television as well. I am very excited. ”
Hannagan led from the outset of the race, and opened a couple of sizeable advantages that were negated each time by the caution flag. He kept his car glued to the bottom of the track as he searched for his first series win since 2001. He used strong restarts to maintain the lead in open racetrack, and got a little bottled up in traffic late in the event, giving McCarl the opening he needed on the high side of the track.
“We were good for 18 laps, ” said Hannagan, driver of the Penthouse Magazine Maxim. “I thought we would be good for 25. It’s a little bit easier when you are running second to push the envelope, because all eyes are on the leader. Nonetheless coming home second is better than coming home third. I’m glad to be back running up front. ”
Late in the race, Craig Dollansky shadowed Hannagan and McCarl and on a late restart used the middle to groove to make it three wide heading down the back straightaway as he battled for the lead. As the laps wound down, Dollansky moved to the top of track searching for the fastest line around the half-mile.
“It was close at the end, ” said Dollansky, driver of the Karavan Trailers Maxim. “We got a good run coming off turn two and there wasn’t a lot of room going back into turn three. I though we had a shot at getting the lead there. We had a good race car. We came from eighth in the dash and worked our way up. To run up front in the first ESPN show is very good. I am very encouraged by the job my crew is doing. ”
McCarl lined up for the A-Feature in the third spot and remained there until the ninth lap when Kerry Madsen lost a left rear tire while battling Hannagan for the lead. For the next nine laps, McCarl studied Hannagan’s every move and patiently waited until the pair encountered heavy lapped traffic with nine laps to go.
“Randy was so fast, ” noted McCarl. “At the start, he yarded us, and there wasn’t a whole lot we could do. I kept dialing my car in and tried to move around. I tried to pack that top in. There were a lot of marbles up there, and that was the only chance we had because he was so good where he was at. He did a great job in track and I kept building momentum on the top. Whenever there is a chance to run the top, you will see me up there, especially at Knoxville. ”
After enduring his fair share of back luck over the last month, McCarl was ecstatic to reward his team for all of their hard work with a victory. After a stretch of races that saw him suffer three broken shocks as well as three flat tires, McCarl is hoping his win on Saturday night is a sign of things to come.
“There has been a heck of a monkey on our back, ” he said. “I can’t thank our sponsors enough for sticking with us. It has been pretty tough. We have been struggling and it is no one’s fault, just a lot of bad luck. ”
With the win, McCarl gained a position in the World of Outlaws championship standings, moving into the 12th spot. With over half of the season left, he will have plenty of chances to improve on that. He is focused solely on winning races, and is excited for the next seven events of the “SuperClean Summer of Money” that will all be broadcast on ESPN2.
“It is so tough with the Outlaws this year, ” he said. “If you are just a little off, you will miss the show. It’s tough for everyone, not just me. We just keep buckling up each night and coming back confident. ”
Hannagan won his first Crane Cams Dash of the season to earn his first pole position. His runner-up finish was his third Top-10 finish of the season. With his team gaining momentum, he is excited for when the series returns to Knoxville in August for the Knoxville Nationals.
“We have a good baseline for when we come back for the Nationals and that is what matters right now, ” noted the 1995 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year. “It was good to run up front and get our sponsors some great exposure. Hopefully we’ll get some dividends out of that. ”
Hannagan who won his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature event on March 24, 2001 at I-55 Raceway in Missouri, was close to winning at Knoxville last season as well. He quietly has been one of the most consistent drivers over the last month of the season, climbing to the 14th spot in points.
“It’s a big curve for us this year having 25 guys versus the 15 we had last year, ” he shared. “It makes better racing for everyone all the way through. That is what we need right now, good racing and good attendance. We seem to be doing that here lately. ” Dollansky lined up for the A-Feature in sixth, and gained two spots on the opening circuit. He also was a benefactor of Madsen’s bad luck inheriting a spot when the Australian lost his tire. He was near the front all night and if either of the leaders would have slipped up, he would have been there to pounce on the opening. “I was good early and got a little loose late, ” he said. “I knew I would be in trouble late in the race. I would have liked to have started the race out a little different with the car. Compared to the last month that we have had, I saw some good progress in our race team tonight. That is what we need to do, just take one race at a time and get back to where we need to be. ”
After winning the third heat, Dollansky and a number of other drivers had a chance to meet with fans in front of the main grandstand, as the track crew reworked the track for about 45 minutes to provide a better surface for the Crane Cams Dash and feature events. “Without a doubt, reworking the track was the right call to provide some good racing for the fans, ” said the former World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion. “If they wouldn’t have done that, you wouldn’t have seen some of the racing that you saw. These guys do a good job and work hard here. ”
Danny Lasoski, the winningest driver in the history of Knoxville Raceway charged from the 11th start spot to finish fourth in the Roth Motorsports JEI. He gained a position on each of the first two laps and steadily worked his way toward the Top-Five. He moved into fifth on the 15th lap and just two laps later worked his way into fifth.
Donny Schatz, the current World of Outlaws championship point leader finished fifth on Saturday night aboard the ParkerStore J&J. He sustained damage to his nose wing early in the race and after falling back to 13th early in the event, steadily worked his way back into the Top-10 and ultimately the Top-Five. He now has 29 Top-10 finishes in the 32 events that have been contested this season.
Joey Saldana put on a show for the fans, passing more cars than anyone on the track, to earn the KSE Race Products Hard Charger Award, after lining up 23rd and finishing sixth in the Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI.
Stevie Smith made the long trip to Knoxville from Pennsylvania to turn a few laps before the Knoxville Nationals in August. The trip paid off, as he finished seventh in the Race Against the Abuse of Children Everywhere (R. A.C. E.) J&J.
Tim Shaffer finished eighth in the Casey’s General Store Maxim, with Jason Meyers ninth in the Primerica Financial Maxim and Justin Henderson 10th in the Dan Dan the Sonic Man Rocket.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Wednesday, June 20 at Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Missouri.
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY NOTEBOOK
• FAST QUALIFIER: Stevie Smith paced the 46 cars that took time with an AMB i. t. timed lap around the semi-banked half-mile oval in 15.858 seconds at 113.500 mph. For his qualifying effort, Smith eared five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Jason Meyers (4), Danny Lasoski (3), Donny Schatz (2) and Paul McMahan (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Kerry Madsen, Justin Henderson, Craig Dollansky and Steve Kinser won heat races… Tony Bruce Jr. won the C-Main… Sam Hafertepe Jr. won the B-Main… Randy Hannagan won the Crane Cams dash.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 32 World of Outlaws A-Feature events held in 2007. The win list includes: Joey Saldana (February 23 at Thunderbowl Raceway, March 17 at Pike County Speedway, March 24 at Volunteer Speedway, March 31 at Dixie Speedway, April 20 at Attica Raceway Park, June 5 at Kokomo Speedway and June 9 at Eagle Raceway), Donny Schatz (February 9 at Volusia Speedway Park, March 3 at Manzanita Speedway, March 16 at Houston Raceway Park, April 28 at Knoxville Raceway, May 17 at Williams Grove Speedway, May 18 at Williams Grove Speedway and May 25 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway), Steve Kinser (March 2 at USA Race Park, April 21 at Tri-State Speedway, May 15 at Lernerville Speedway, May 20 at New Egypt Speedway, May 28 at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park and June 1 at Sharon Speedway), Danny Lasoski (April 6 at Paducah International Raceway, May 23 at Grandview Speedway and June 14 at Tri-City Speedway), Jason Meyers (April 13 at Eldora Speedway and May 11 at U. S. 36 Raceway), Daryn Pittman (February 11 at Volusia Speedway Park and May 5 at Riverside International Speedway), Craig Dollansky (May 12 at Lake Ozark Speedway), Tim Kaeding (February 24 at Thunderbowl Raceway), Kerry Madsen (February 10 at Volusia Speedway Park), Terry McCarl (June 16 at Knoxville Raceway) and Paul McMahan (June 2 at Eldora Speedway).
• Knoxville Raceway is a semi-banked half-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced 11 times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Donny Schatz (February 9 at Volusia Speedway Park March 3 at Manzanita Speedway, April 28 at Knoxville Raceway, May 17 at Williams Grove Speedway and May 18 at Williams Grove Speedway), Steve Kinser (May 20 at New Egypt Speedway), Kerry Madsen (February 10 at Volusia Speedway Park), Terry McCarl (June 16 at Knoxville Raceway), Paul McMahan (June 2 at Eldora Speedway), Jason Meyers (April 13 at Eldora Speedway) and Daryn Pittman (February 11 at Volusia Speedway Park).
• UP NEXT: A visit to Missouri State Fair Speedway on Wednesday, June 20.
• UPCOMING EVENTS: A pair of events at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas, dot the schedule on Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23. A stop at Black Hills Speedway on Monday, June 25 follows. World of Outlaws Statistical Report; Knoxville Raceway; Knoxville, IA; June, 16, 2007 Qualifying
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