June 21, 2008
by Mike Weber

Tricia Brittain of St. Helens and Dan Fox of Warren both capitalized on their pole position starts to notch wins in the Wilcox & Flegel stock car races Saturday at River City Speedway in St. Helens.

Brittain led the Reser's Fine Foods Sportsman 40 lap main from start-to-finish with her Fast Racing/Rose Valley Market Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Fox led all the way with his Driveline Service of Portland open-wheel style racer and took the checkered flag to capture the modified 40 lap main event. more»

Busch Loudon Rain Man
RacingOne Report

Kurt Busch used late race pit strategy and got an assist from Mother Nature when rain ended Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Lenox Industrial Tools 301 early to win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Busch and crew chief Pat Tryson rolled the dice on what turned out to be the final pit stop of the day when a caution on lap 271 was brought out when Jamie McMurray ran into the back of Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the entrance to pit road. Tryson kept the No. 2 Dodge on the track and into the lead, while the leaders, which included Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon pitted.

That decision turned into gold when rain, which was predicted all day, finally hit the speedway on lap 284. NASCAR red flagged the race and after about a 15 minute wait finally called the race official handing Busch his first win of 2008.

"Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good," Busch said. "We were on more of a fuel strategy. We might not have been the fastest car but the record books will show that we won."

"These guys made an awesome call. Sometimes you just don't win 'em the right way, I think we can honestly say that, but we had a lot of work and a lot of effort put in today and we'll take it.''

Michael Waltrip and J.J. Yeley were also the benefactors of using the same pit strategy to finish second and third with Martin Truex Jr. and Elliott Sadler rounding out the top five.

Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Bobby Labonte completed the first 10 finishers.

Stewart had dominated the race and lead 132 laps but the late race pit strategy and weather doomed the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota to a 13th-place finish.

"It had been just the oddest year I have ever seen for this race team," said Stewart, who has had a string of bad luck this season that has taken several opportunities for wins away. It's just frustrating. If there was something we could about it, we'd change it."

"None of the results this year is due to lack of effort. There's a percentage in this industry that's called luck and there's nothing we can do is change it. ...You have to have some of it on your side and we just haven't had it this year."

Series point leader Kyle Busch was caught up in a late race scuffle with Juan Pablo Montoya and ended up finishing 24th.

The two made contact while racing through a Sam Hornish Jr.-Clint Bowyer spin in Turn 3 that brought out what turned out to be the race's final yellow.

As the duo headed down the frontstretch they made contact and as they were about to enter turn one, Montoya drove into the side of Busch's car and they both spun out.

"I don't appreciate it when people race me like that," Montoya said "There's a fine line and he crossed it. I hit him the same way he hit me."

Busch was not sure what caused Montoya's response.

"I don't know what his beef is," Busch said.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series now heads to Daytona International Speedway for next Saturday night's Coke Zero 400.

Schatz Takes Duel Opener
RacingOne Report

On the second lap of the first heat race on Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Donny Schatz’s night took an unexpected turn, which could have been disastrous. After setting fast time and lining up fourth in the heat race, he was battling for the lead when Jac Haudenschild spun, leaving him no place to go and severely damaging the front end of his car.

The two-time defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion was forced to race his way into the A-Feature by way of the B-Main, which he handily won. He used a little luck late in the 40-lap A-Feature to inherit the lead when Jason Meyers and Kerry Madsen got together, while they were battling for the lead. He had a late battle with Craig Dollansky to pick up his series leading eighth A-Feature win of the 2008 season, in the opener of the 2008 Gerdau Ameristeel Northern Tour which also served as the opener of the Duel in the Dakotas.

“It was a good night,” said the winner after conquering the high-banked three-tenths mile. “The car really came on at the end and we had a very good car late in the race. We could roll through the middle in (turns) one and two. We need lapped traffic and we got it. That allowed us to get some spots and watch the battle-fest with the 14 (Jason Meyers) and 55 (Kerry Madsen).”

The race began with Meyers leading from the pole position with Madsen chasing him. Sam Hafertepe Jr. moved up to third on the opening lap. Just five laps into the 40-lap event, Meyers was already in lapped traffic. The traffic became heavier, with Madsen able to close in a little bit, as he looked to the low side of the track on several occasions early in the race as he tried to track down Meyers.

The first yellow flag of the race flew on the 11th lap giving the leaders open race track to work with. Meyers used a strong restart to maintain his lead, as several battled ensued behind him, including Hafertepe and Mark Dobmeier jockeying for the third position. Just a couple of laps later, Dollansky was able to get a strong run to take the third position from Dobmeier.

The second caution of the night came on the 19th lap just as the leaders were about to enter traffic. Meyers used another strong restart to maintain his lead. At this same time, Jac Haudenschild began to close on the leader as he was running fourth.

With 15 laps remaining, Meyers was utilizing the high side of the track to stay ahead of Madsen. The caution flew again on the 29th lap. On the restart, it was Haudenschild and Madsen battling side-by-side for the second spot for a number of laps. With five laps to go, Haudenschild drove deep into the third and fourth turns, with contact ensuing which caused him to go off the track, though he kept the car running and despite losing a few positions, he motored on.

At the very same moment that Haudenschild had his off-track excursion, Madsen made contact with Meyers in turns one and two as he made a bid for the lead. This caused Meyers to spin, with Madsen then running into him. Both cars went to the work area and returned at the tail end of the lead lap on the restart. Madsen would finish 14th, while Meyers who led the first 35 laps of the race wound up 16th.

Schatz inherited the lead at this point, which was the 36th lap, though on the restart he was passed by Craig Dollansky exiting the fourth turn. He quickly battled back and on the very next lap shot around Dollansky coming off the second turn to take the lead and ultimately the $10,000 win.

“I was kind of playing it cool,” Schatz explained of the late restart. “I didn’t know what he was going to do on the restart. He got a run on me. He was running the top and slid me and I just had to be calm and cool and get back by him, which I did. It was a good race. He raced us clean and we had a good time. I’m glad we came out on top.”

Schatz, driving the Armor All J&J for Tony Stewart Racing, became the first driver this season to come from the B-Main to win an A-Feature event, earning the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award in the process. His 11th-place start in the main event is the farthest back any winner has come from this season. He remains the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in each and every event in 2008, as he continues to chase his third consecutive title.

“Everything happens for a reason and we had to run the B (Main),” Schatz said. “To come from 11th to win, I am happy for these guys. They dug down deep. It goes to show how good these guys are in adversity. We’ll come back tomorrow night and try to do it again.”

Schatz received the winner’s trophy from Kevin Hanson of Gerdau Ameristeel in Victory Lane, which was his 78th career Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature victory. He is just three wins shy of breaking into the Top-Five on the all-time wins list. It was his second career win at River Cities Speedway and first with the World of Outlaws at the track in his home state.

“It was awesome tonight,” said Schatz. “The stands were full. I think this was one of the best crowd we have seen all season tonight. I’m glad to see that for the folks here and they got to see a good race. They can’t say there wasn’t any passing, because the guy who started 11th won. I’m glad to have that.”

Schatz patiently worked his way to the front after starting 11th. He moved into 10th on the fourth lap and then began a steady march to the front. After battling Shane Stewart for a few laps, he got around him and then Jason Sides, before working on Joey Saldana. He then set his sights on Sam Hafertepe Jr. and fellow North Dakotan Mark Dobmeier. With 11 laps to go, Schatz found himself in the Top-Five. He powered his way past Dollansky on the next lap, before gaining a spot on the 35th lap when Jac Haudenschild had his off-track excursion exiting the third and fourth turns. This put him in third, behind Meyers and Madsen.

Dollansky led the 36th lap and would up second in a specially painted Aggressive Hydraulics Maxim, after starting fifth. It was his 22nd Top-10 finish in 23 events this season as he continues to chase Schatz and Meyers in the standings.

“It would have been nice to have been one more spot better, but we were struggling,” said Dollansky. “The car wasn’t what we were looking for in the feature. We made a few changes that did not work out too well. It was a good second-place effort. Donny (Schatz) did a good job and they had a good race car. We had the Aggressive Hydraulics car tonight and it would have been nice to win for them.”

Joey Saldana started seventh aboard the Budweiser/Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI and after losing a couple of spots early, he too steadily worked his way to the front. He also was a benefactor after the contact between Madsen and Meyers.

“It was a good finish,” noted Saldana. “We struggled all night and fell back to ninth. We kept sticking with it. The top paid off for me at the end. I think the bottom slicked off for those guys and I just stayed on the top. I don’t know what happened at the end with (Jason) Meyers and (Kerry) Madsen, but it put us in position to run in the Top-Three. It was a good night for us.”

Sam Hafertepe Jr. had another strong night in the G.H. Plumbing J&J, as he finished fourth. The sophomore driver has nine Top-10 finishes this season as he continues to close in on his first win of the season, as well as closing in on the Top-10 in the championship standings.

“We are really pleased with tonight,” said the native of Sunnyvale, Texas. “If the car hadn’t been so tight, we might have had a better shot at the win. We’ll take a fourth. It was a really good win for the team. We are just performing so well right now. The motors are running good and we are excited for the races coming up.”

Daryn Pittman was fifth in the Titan Garages Maxim, with Haudenschild in sixth in the Owerns-Corning Fiberglass Maxim. Mark Dobmeier, a native of Grand Forks was seventh in the Senske & Son J&J. Chad Kemenah was eighth in the Kantor Oil Company Maxim, with Steve Kinser in the Q Oil Maxim ninth and Jason Sides in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim rounded out the Top-10.

The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series wraps up the Duel in the Dakotas on Saturday night at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, in the second event of the Gerdau Ameristeel Northern Tour.