After the largest crowd in the history of River Cities Speedway saw the World of Outlaws do battle at the high-banked bullring last season, more history will be made in 2009, as the series will pay two separate visits to the track, with the first of those coming this Friday, June 19 as part of the annual Duel in the Dakotas.
Donny Schatz, the three-time and defending series champion and North Dakota native, won at River Cities Speedway last season for the first time with the World of Outlaws, after Jason Meyers and Kerry Madsen got tangled up battling for the lead. Schatz inherited the lead at this point, which was lap 36. On the restart, he was passed by Craig Dollansky exiting turn four. He quickly battled back and on the very next lap shot around Dollansky coming off the second turn to take the lead and ultimately the win This all came after he recovered after a heat race accident relegated him to the B-Main after beginning the night by setting fast time. He won the B-Main handily and lined up 11th in the A-Feature event. Schatz enters this weekend’s event with seven wins on the season and is the current series point leader.
Joey Saldana who leads the World of Outlaws with 10 A-Feature wins this season was victorious at River Cities Speedway in the series debut at the track in 2007. He followed that up with a third-place performance last season.
Danny Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws champion, is a former winner at River Cities Speedway, as is Jac Haudenschild, who was recently inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
The Duel in the Dakotas will kick off on Thursday, June 18 with a Meet & Greet at the Canad Inns hotel located at 1000 South 42nd Street in Grand Forks, North Dakota from 6-8 p.m. Central. Drivers will be on-hand signing autographs and meeting with fans. Also, a number of the driver’s merchandise trailers will be open for fans to purchase souvenirs.
Slidejobs- River Cities Speedway:
Native son: Donny Schatz, who hails from North Dakota, has won twice in his career at River Cities Speedway, with his win last year being his first with the World of Outlaws at the track. He was quickest in the time trials at the track last season turning a sub 10-second lap. He is the current series point leader as he chases his fourth consecutive title. He has 15 career wins in his home state entering this weekend’s trio of races.
“Grand Forks is a small track with high banking and a lot of excitement,” said Schatz. “It’s pretty intense at that place. We had a pretty good run there last year.
On the podium: After winning in the World of Outlaws debut at River Cities Speedway in 2007, with a clean sweep of the racing program, setting fast time, winning a heat and winning the dash, Joey Saldana backed that up with another podium performance at the track last season, finishing third. The second generation driver leads the World of Outlaws with 10 A-Feature wins this season including two last weekend as he chases his first series title. He is currently second in points, 50 markers behind Schatz.
Not far behind: Steve Kinser, the 20-time series title winner is currently third in points, 23 markers behind Saldana and leads the series with 22 Top-10 finishes and is tied for the series lead with 15 Top-Fives. He finished ninth at River Cities Speedway last season.
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