While the World of Outlaws have competed at Lawrenceburg Speedway six times over the years, this weekend’s visit to the track will seem like a first time visit for most of the drivers competing with the series, as it will their first time at the facility since the track was reconfigured from a tight ¼-mile to a bigger 3/8-mile, along with other vast renovations to the entire grounds of the track. The two-night event on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6 will pay $10,000 to win each night and be two complete nights of racing.
The World of Outlaws visited Lawrenceburg Speedway for the first time in 1979 with 20-time series champion and Indiana native Steve Kinser picking up the win in that event. The series returned two years later with three-time series titlist Sammy Swindell picking up the victory.
After a 20-plus year absence, the series then returned to Lawrenceburg Speedway in 2003, with Paul McMahan picking up a win. Danny Smith, one of the original Outlaws won in 2004. Kraig Kinser was victorious at the track in his home state in 2005. Jac Haudenschild won a thriller over Joey Saldana and Craig Dollansky in 2006, the last time the series visited the track.
Of the 12 drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws this season, rookie contender Brian Ellenberger is the only one who has competed at Lawrenceburg since the reconfiguration. Steve Kinser has three career wins on the former ¼-mile to lead all drivers, while Jac Haudenschild and Kraig Kinser each have two victories, while Danny Lasoski has one.
Slidejobs- Lawrenceburg Speedway:
Batting. 500: Steve Kinser has three career wins in six starts at Lawrenceburg Speedway. He was victorious in the World of Outlaws debut at the track in 1979 and won in each of this first three starts there. He most recently competed at the track in 2005. The 20-time series champion is currently second in points on the strength of a series leading 20 Top-10 finishes with 13 of those being Top-Fives.
Close a couple of times: Donny Schatz finished fourth in his most recent start at Lawrenceburg Speedway in 2006. He was third in his debut at the track in 2004. The three-time and defending series champion has never won in the state of Indiana during his career with the World of Outlaws. He has won six times this season and is the current series point leader by 14 markers over Steve Kinser. After getting tangled up with a lapped car while leading last Friday night, Schatz salvaged an eighth-place run the following night after a spin while running third. He looks to put that behind him this weekend.
“The good news is that we’ll come back at it this week with a new opportunity to start a new streak of success,” he said. “Last year in June, we really turned the corner and hopefully we can do that again this year.”
One more spot: Joey Saldana led most of the race in 2006 when the World of Outlaws last visited Lawrenceburg Speedway. He has 11 career Top-Five finishes at the track in his home state as he looks to visit the winner’s circle there for the first time. He leads the series with seven A-Feature wins this season and is currently third in points, just 29 markers out of the lead. The second generation driver competed at Lawrenceburg Speedway for the first time back in 1989 and finished fourth in that race.
Better and better: Jason Meyers finished fifth in his debut at Lawrenceburg Speedway in 2004 and was third the following year. He recently picked up his third win of the 2009 season and is the only driver that has won a 3/8-mile track this season with that coming at Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky last month.
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