With the first East Coast swing of the season now in the books, the World of Outlaws return to the Midwest for a busy stretch of races as the schedule really begins to pick up with the heat of the summer just around the corner. The series makes its annual stop in the state of Michigan this weekend for a full night of racing at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa on Saturday, May 30 with $10,000 waiting for the winner.
The World of Outlaws first competed at I-96 Speedway in 1995, with Joey Saldana scoring his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature win in that race. Steve Kinser is the defending winner at the half-mile and had four career victories at the track to lead all drivers. He nearly had a perfect night at the track last season, setting a new track record in time trials, finishing second in a heat race, winning the dash and leading all but one lap of the main event. The Indiana native has won four of the last six visits the series has made to I-96.
The World of Outlaws have competed a total of eight times at I-96 Speedway, with five drivers having scored wins in those events. In addition to Kinser and Saldana, Craig Dollansky, three-time series champion Sammy Swindell and Stevie Smith have all won with the series at the half-mile.
Entering this weekend’s pair of events, three-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz leads Kinser by 53 points in the championship standings, with Saldana just 10 markers behind Kinser. Jason Meyers is fourth in points, with Dollansky rounding out the Top-Five.
Slidejobs- I-96 Speedway:
Always up front in Michigan: Steve Kinser has made 25 career starts in the state of Michigan and has finished in the Top-10 in all but one of those events, with 20 of the finishes being Top-Fives, including 12 wins. The 20-time series champion has visited Victory Lane four times at I-96 Speedway to lead the series. Kinser is currently second in the series championship standings on the strength of a series-best 18 Top-10 finishes with 12 of those being Top-Fives.
Looking to add another track to the list: Donny Schatz, the three-time and defending series champion, has never won a race at I-96 Speedway. He finished second at the half-mile last season and has already won six times this season on tracks that size as he chases his fourth consecutive title. The North Dakota native leads the series standings and has 12 Top-Five finishes this season. Schatz heads to I-96 Speedway fresh off a win on Memorial Day in New York.
“Any time you go to a place where you haven’t won, there’s motivation,” he shared. “That’s why we race, to win. The conditions are never exactly the same at particular place, so the challenge is always there to figure out a way to be the best when it matters. Wins motivate everyone, and that’s why winning the way we did last Monday keeps everyone at Tony Stewart Racing striving for more. We want to try and go back out there and do it again and again. This a great time of the year and we want to take full advantage of the opportunities we have.”
One to remember: Joey Saldana scored the first win of his World of Outlaws career at I-96 Speedway in 1995. He has won a couple of times in his career at the track and has a total of nine wins over the years in the state of Michigan. The second generation driver was victorious twice last weekend to bring his series leading total to seven this year. He is currently third in points as he chases his first career World of Outlaws title.
Closing in on a win: Jason Meyers, who is currently fourth, in the World of Outlaws standings, has finished seventh of better in all four of his career starts at I-96 Speedway. The California native has won twice this season and has racked up 14 Top-10 finishes in the first 21 events of the year. He has finished third in each of the last two seasons at I-96 Speedway.
A past winner: Craig Dollansky won at I-96 Speedway in 2007 and has three career wins in the state of Michigan. In his first season driving for Kasey Kahne Racing, the native of Elk River, Minnesota is currently fifth in points on the strength of 13 Top-10 finishes. In his career at I-96 Speedway, Dollansky has five Top-10 finishes.
A couple of starts: Jason Sides made his debut at I-96 Speedway in 2004 and picked up a Top-10 finish. The 2003 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has 14 Top-10 finishes this season and is just 10 markers out of the fifth spot in the championship standings as he continues his strong start to the 2009 campaign.
Looking for redemption: Danny Lasoski led the first 15 laps at I-96 Speedway in his last visit to the track in 2007 before finishing second to Craig Dollansky. The 2001 series champion looks for his second career win at the half-mile this weekend. He won in his debut at the track in 1996. The native of Dover, Missouri won his first race of the season a couple weeks ago on a half-mile in Delaware. He is currently seventh in points on the strength of 12 Top-10 finishes, with nine of those being Top-Five performances.
