The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, California on Friday, October 17 for the first time since 2002. Three different drivers have been victorious at the ¼-mile in the three races that the series has contested at the track. Joey Saldana is the only current World of Outlaws driver that has won at Ocean Speedway, taking the checkered flag first in the series inaugural visit to the track in 2000.
Just three drivers have competed in all three of the series stops at the track. Along with Saldana, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser and two-time defending series champion Donny Schatz have raced at the track a trio of times.
Kinser enters the event this weekend with 549 career A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws and is closing in on 100 career wins in the state of California. He has 98 victories in the Golden State dating back to 1978, including preliminary feature wins. He has won six times this season and just moved into the third spot in points. He picked up a Top-10 finish in his last start at Ocean Speedway in 2002.
Saldana won the inaugural World of Outlaws race at the track in 2000, after trading the lead a couple of times with Tim Shaffer. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana has two podium finishes in three starts at the track. Driving for Kasey Kahne Racing, Saldana has won five times this season. He has seven career wins in California, and is currently fourth in points, just one marker behind Kinser as the battle for the third position.
Donny Schatz finished third in his debut at Ocean Speedway in 2000. He leads the World of Outlaws with 16 A-Feature wins this season as he closes in on his third consecutive series title. He has won six times in his career in California. He has won three times this season on ¼-mile tracks, with the most recent coming at Princeton Speedway on October 4. He also was victorious on Sunday at Hollywood Hills Speedway in New Mexico, and looks to extend his winning streak to three races this weekend.
Jason Meyers, who hails from Clovis, California, has six career Top-10 finishes at Ocean Speedway. He was fourth in the World of Outlaws last visit to the track in 2002. As he chases his first series title, Meyers has nine total wins this season, including one in his home state on the second night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. He currently leads the series in laps led, Top-Five finishes and fast time honors in qualifying.
Jac Haudenschild has finished fourth and seventh in two career starts at Ocean Speedway. The veteran driver has won four times this season, including on a ¼-mile at Silver Dollar Speedway in California in the finale of the Gold Cup Race of Champions. He has 29 career wins in the Golden State. He was second on Sunday at Hollywood Hills Speedway which helped him move into fifth in the series standings.
Craig Dollansky, who is currently sixth in points, will miss the event as he continues to recover from surgery on his right arm after sustaining a compound fracture on September 19 at Eldora Speedway.
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