Five drivers have earned A-Feature victories this season with the World of Outlaws as the series heads to the Arizona desert this weekend. The most recent winners last weekend at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., were Tim Kaeding and Joey Saldana. Donny Schatz opened the season with a win in the 36th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals.
Kerry Madsen, became only the second Australian born driver to win an A-Feature event with the World of Outlaws. The Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender was victorious at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida to join fellow countryman Brooke Tatnell as winners with the series. Daryn Pittman scored his first win of the season in the finale of three-day Florida DIRTcar Nationals.
Last season, Paul McMahan and Donny Schatz won at USA Race Park in Tucson, with Danny Lasoski and Daryn Pittman winning at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix. In total 16 different drivers won A-Feature events in 2006.
Penalties issued
Separate incidents during the World of Outlaws event on Saturday night at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., resulted in fines for two teams.
The Kasey Kahne Racing team was fined and put on probation for the remainder of the 2007 season when a crew member violated Rule 9. m and p in the World of Outlaws Sprint Series Rule Book by initiating a physical altercation on the track.
Additionally, TMAC Racing Inc. was fined and placed on probation for the remainder of the 2007 season for language in a post-race interview deemed inappropriate and detrimental to the sport of sprint car racing.
Both teams are eligible to appeal their penalties.
Traveling Man
Brooke Tatnell has done his fair share of traveling over the past couple of months. After a brief stint in his native Australia in November, he returned to the United States for the birth of his daughter Emma and remained for the Holiday’s.
Tatnell then returned Down Under and won a World Series Sprintcar (WSS) event, in his first race back. He is a five-time WSS Champion, and won the $20,000 finale for that series. He then finished fifth in the prestigious Australian Sprintcar Nationals before jetting back to open the season with the World of Outlaws at Volusia Speedway Park during the Florida DIRTcar Nationals.
After picking up two Top-10 finishes driving for Larry Woodward Racing, Tatnell was back on a plane to return home to contest for the Australian Sprint Car Title. He won that for the third straight year and thus earned the right to use the coveted number “A1†on his car.
After that, the always affable driver was back in the sky, as he returned to the U. S. as the World of Outlaws returned to Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., where he would pick up two more Top-10 finishes. This week, Tatnell had his shortest trip of the year as he headed south to the Arizona desert, where he picked up three Top-10 finishes last season, including two second-place efforts.
Quick Learners
Several of the contenders for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award this season have started the season off on high notes. Kerry Madsen of St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia, picked up the first World of Outlaws A-Feature victory of his career Feb. 10 at Volusia Speedway Park. He will make his first starts at the Arizona tracks this weekend.
Tony Bruce Jr. set fast time in the finale of the DIRTcar Nationals with a solid field of nearly 50 cars on hand. Fellow rookie Sam Hafertepe Jr. won his first career dash with the series on February 10 and started on the pole position in the A-Feature where he wound up fifth. Both Hafertepe and Bruce competed at USA Race Park and Manzanita last fall.
Fast Starters
Reigning series champion Donny Schatz has picked up four Top-10 finishes in the first five races of the season and holds a 25-point advantage in the season standings. Terry McCarl is second, and has also racked up four Top-10 finishes, highlighted by a secondplace effort last Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway. Joey Saldana has four Top10’s and is third in points, with Craig Dollansky in fourth, with three Top-10 finishes. Daryn Pittman rounds out the Top-Five in points heading to USA Race Park and Manzanita Speedway.
Fives are Wild
Through the first five events of the World of Outlaws season, there have been five different drivers to set fast time. Also, five drivers have won the dash to earn the same number of pole positions in A-Feature events. Lastly, five drivers have been victorious in the B-Main thus far in 2007.
First Timers
Five World of Outlaws drivers will make their inaugural visit to USA Race Park on Friday night, including Tim Kaeding, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser, Kerry Madsen, Jason Meyers, and Tim Shaffer.
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