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 OKLAHOMA
CITY, OK (October 30) -- Oklahoma's Danny Wood captured his third
Pennzoil World of Outlaws A-main win of the season in front a hometown
crowd of fans at State Fair Speedway Tuesday night. Wood battled
fellow Team Hoosier driver, Johnny Herrera, the last 15 laps before
Wood made a last lap pass en route to the thrilling victory. The night
was yet another in a season filled with Hoosier sprint tire
domination. Amazingly, for the second event in a row, the top seven
race finishers were riding on USA-made Hoosier tires. Wood's victory
also extended Team Hoosier's recent hot streak to seven wins in a row
and 13 wins in the last 16 events. This was also the fourth
consecutive 1-2-3 Hoosier finish in Pennzoil World of Outlaws
competition.
Thirty-four cars were on hand at State Fair Speedway
for qualifying, as P.J. Chesson set fast time of the night after
circling the 1/2-mile dirt oval in 15.820 seconds. Chesson was closely
followed by Danny Lasoski who posted a 15.834 second lap and Joey
Saldana at 15.901 seconds, as Team Hoosier swept the top three
qualifying times. All four 8-lap O'Reilly Auto Parts heat races were
also won by drivers using Hoosier tires. Danny Wood, Brad Furr, Johnny
Herrera, and recently crowned Gumout champion, Daryn Pittman, each won
their respective heat races. The stellar heat race and qualifying
efforts of Team Hoosier placed nine drivers into the ten member
Channellock Dash race. Team Hoosier went on to sweep the top six
places in the 8-lap Dash. Johnny Herrera took the win followed by
Danny Wood, Brad Furr, Daryn Pittman, Danny Lasoski and Jason Meyers,
in second through sixth place repectively. In the 30-lap A-main,
Johnny Herrera used his inside position to get the jump over fellow
front row starter, Danny Wood, to take the race lead when the green
flag dropped. Both Herrera and Wood were using a Hoosier RD12(left
rear)/D12(right rear) tire combination. Wood began a fierce
challenge for the race lead on lap 16, and continued to pursue Herrera
relentlessly until the final lap, when Wood was finally able to take
the race lead in turn 4, by way of a slide job, to capture the
thrilling win in front of his cheering hometown fans. Johnny Herrera
took runner-up honors, while Jason Meyers, using a Hoosier D10/D12
combination, finished in third place. Brad Furr, Danny Lasoski,
Andy Hillenburg and Joey Saldana finished in fourth through seventh
place giving Team Hoosier it's second consecutive 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 finish
in Outlaw competition. Daryn Pittman wound up ninth and Steve Kinser
in tenth which also provided Team Hoosier claim to nine of the top ten
finishers. This was also the second consecutive Outlaw race that feat
was accomplished as well by teams using Hoosier tires. Danny Wood
commented after his thrilling victory, "I wanted one in front of
my hometown fans so bad--Johnny ran a great race, and he gave me all I
could handle. I thought I got him there the one time, and he turned it
back underneath me and showed me what he's made of. I hope everyone up
there in the stands enjoyed that one, because that's what World of
Outlaws racing is all about! I can't say enough for Wesmar engines,
Avenger chassis and Hoosier tires. This Wesmar engine is something new
that we've been trying and it ran great tonight. Rob (Hart) and Cathy
(Barrows) gave me a good car to race tonight. I think I've been racing
here since before I was born, and to get a win here in front of my car
owners and everyone, it just means so much. Donnie and Sherrie
(Woodburn) and Hop-n-Sac have supported me in this deal, and I can't
say enough about them. I asked the Lord to bless this race, and for a
good safe race, and I owe this one to Him--he was riding with me the
whole way." Danny Lasoski, with his fifth place finish,
extended his slim series point lead over Mark Kinser to 21 points
after Kinser finished 12th. The Pennzoil World of Outlaws
series will conclude it's grueling, 99 nights of racing, schedule this
Friday and Saturday, November 2-3, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The
last time the circuit was in Las Vegas in March for three nights of
racing, all three nights were won by drivers on the Hoosier brand.
Andy Hillenburg won the opener, while Danny Wood won the second night,
leading a Hoosier 1-2-3 finish. Danny Lasoski captured the win on the
final night and also led a 1-2-3 Hoosier finish at the stripe. Team
Hoosier has now amassed an astounding 32, 1-2-3 finishes in 97 nights
of Outlaw racing during the 2001 season. Neil Cowman had this to say
before leaving to attend the final two races which will determine this
year's series champion, "This is the culmination of many years of
product development and the hard work by so many people within the
Team Hoosier family. From the people at the factory who meticulously
make the tires, to the warehouse people who transport the tires, to
the compounders, engineers, track personnel, and to the many teams and
drivers who have supported us by way of their loyal use and trust of
our products." All Hoosier tires are proudly made by
Americans in the USA! |
