Jason Sides was determined to win something with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series at I-96 Speedway on Monday night. The driver from Bartlett, Tenn., had purchased a body’s length of 50-50 tickets for the night’s draw and came up just short in his bid to win the $900 pot. Instead, Sides pocketed $10,000 as he took the checkered flag for the third time this season after outlasting the field on a night of attrition.
“We had to endure a lot tonight,” said an exhausted Sides, after holding off Jason Meyers to finally win on the fourth attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. “We lost some water out of the radiator during one of the red flag periods so that worried us. Bill Rose also got a good jump on us but we were able to track him back down.”
Rose, racing for his first World of Outlaws victory, appeared to be playing the role of the spoiler on the night. The rookie from Plainfield, Ind., started the night’s main event on the pole and didn’t even make it all the way down the backstretch when the first red flag flew. An eight-car incident on the front straightaway halted the race and had serious implications on the points battle as 20-time champion Steve Kinser went end-over-end in a violent wreck that also involved Kerry Madsen, Lucas Wolfe and more. Kinser eventually emerged from the wreckage and walked back to the pit area under his own power. Madsen also was unharmed and helped track officials clean up the mess.
“It was a whole bunch of guys going for the same real estate and there wasn’t much to be had,” said Madsen, the Australian driver of the #92 P.I.H.A KPC. “I honestly could see what all was going on but it was extremely unfortunate that our night had to end before it ever really got started.”
Throughout the first third of the race, Sides and Rose traded the top spot with Rose using a great restart to run away from Sides. Eventually, Sides moved back in front and held on throughout the end of the race. As the laps began to wind down, two-time I-96 Speedway winner Meyers charged through the field in his #14 Allstar Performance/DDNI/GLR Investments KPC and appeared to be closing in on Sides as Rose ran out of fuel with only a handful of laps to go.
“I wanted the three-peat here at I-96 (Speedway) but to come from 10th to second tonight was still a great run,” said Meyers, the 2010 World of Outlaws champion. “It’s something we are really proud of and we can get rolling now. We can’t wait to be back at the track.”
Another hard charger was Craig Dollansky in the #7 Big Game Treestands Maxim. Dollansky used the outside line to pick off his competitors as the laps wore down.
“We were pretty good as the laps clicked by,” said Dollanksy, of Elk River, Minn. “We ran a little bit harder tire than some of the other teams and it really brought out the best in our car towards the end.”
Meyers and Dollansky each got one chance as the final red flag period of the night saw Paul McMahan flip in nearly the same spot as Kinser and Madsen at the beginning of the race. McMahan climbed from his battered machine and walked away from the scene. Using an impressive jump at the end, Sides drove off from the field with Meyers second, Dollansky third, Donny Schatz fourth and the night’s fastest qualifier, Chad Kemenah, rounding out the Top 5.
Further back in the pack, points leader Joey Saldana was involved in two separate accidents but still managed a Top-10 finish to wind up extending his lead to 12 points over second place which is now held by Schatz. Kinser dropped to third with Meyers and Sides completing the top 5 that’s only separated by 69 points.
The Outlaws now head for the heartland with visits to the Bellville (Kan.) Highbanks on Friday, June 3, and Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. on Saturday, June 4.
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