Tim Shaffer had a nearly unbeatable car for most of the Knight Before the Kings Royal Friday at famed Eldora Speedway. In the final World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event before the huge $50,000-to-win Kings Royal, Shaffer started from the pole, slid backwards then dueled with Jason Meyers until Shaffer finally pulled away down the stretch.
Shaffer, of Aliquippa, Pa., captured the dash and worked around Meyers, the defending World of Outlaws champion, on Lap 15 of the 30-lap A-main. The two drivers then thrilled the packed grandstands with a daring and breathtaking show for the fans.
“Jason and I raced each other clean and that’s what made it great,” said Shaffer, who won a World of Outlaws race at Eldora for the third time in his career and the first time since 2000. “The top line was the place to be and we could get such a run going up there. We were good both on and off the cushion and we could move around a lot so that helps us tremendously. Tomorrow night is a different race and we could be racing or we could be sitting but we feel like we have a strong car for that big pay day.”
Meyers was chasing his second win of the 2011 campaign in the DDNI/Allstar Performance KPC and appeared to be the only sprinter capable of keeping up with Shaffer, the winner of the 50th Goodyear Knoxville Nationals. With a couple of well timed slide jobs, Meyers was in the heat of it right to the end.
“It’s been one of those years,” said Meyers, when referencing a pass he made for the lead right as the yellow flag flew for an incident involving the #7k of Kyle Sauder and #49 of Brad Sweet. “Right as we get the lead the yellow comes out, which put us back to second. On the flip side, that was probably the best car I have had here at Eldora in three years. My guys put a great car under me tonight. It was fast and comfortable all night.
Overall it was a good points night for us. We’ve got a good car to come back here with tomorrow night and hopefully avoid those yellow flags.”
With his runner-up finish, Meyers regained the series points lead over four-time champion Donny Schatz, who finished 10th in the STP/Armor All/Chevrolet. Paul McMahan continued his string of top-5 finishes with a 3rd-place run as quick-timer Joey Saldana and Steve Kinser rounded out the Top Five. Craig Dollansky, a five-time winner this season from Elk River, Minn., overcame a wreck in the first heat to finish eighth in the A-main and win the KSE Hard Charger Award.
A scary moment of the evening came in the third heat when the #5W of Lucas Wolfe caught fire in turn two as the checkered flag waved. The 2008 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year hustled out of the flames with what appeared to be only a minor burn on his hand, but parked his car for the evening.
“I’m alright,” said Wolfe, of Mechanicsburg, Pa. “Just a scary ordeal, but it’s racing and those kinds of things happen.”
With the Knight Before the Kings Royal in the books, the Outlaws set their sights on one of the biggest paydays of the season on Saturday night, the 28 th Annual Kings Royal. With $50,000 to the winner, each and every driver will bring their best to claim the crown.
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