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 KNOXVILLE,
IA (August 13) -- Donny Schatz took over the race lead on the seventh
lap of the 25-lap opener of the O'Reilly World of Outlaws Series 43rd
annual Knoxville Nationals Wednesday en route to capturing the win.
The annual 4-day event was also dominated by the Hoosier brand with 46
of the 50 drivers competing on the opening night using Hoosier tires.
Those 46 drivers were rewarded in abundance with Team-Hoosier drivers
taking home over $72,000 in winnings, while the four remaining drivers
using competing tire brands only managed to collect a mere $905 for
their efforts while enjoying the feature from the stands. Following
Donny Schatz to the finish line was Danny Lasoski and Greg Hodnett.
Hoosier's Open Wheel Dirt Product Manager Neil Cowman is in Iowa
attending the Nationals and reported the details for this report.
Fifty cars were entered in opening night qualifying on
the Knoxville Raceway 1/2-mile track with 46 drivers on Hoosiers and
the remaining four drivers split among the other two competing tire
brands. Hoosier-shod drivers and the Hoosier D10 compound were in
abundance atop the leader board in time trials as Sammy Swindell
captured fast time honors with his lap of 15.286 seconds. Swindell was
followed by Paul McMahan, Donny Schatz, Danny Lasoski and Erin Crocker
as the five fastest qualifiers. All told, Hoosier-shod drivers
captured the top 17 times in qualifying and 31 out of the 32 fastest
times.
There were five 10-lap heat races with all five races
won by drivers using a pair of Hoosier D10's. Greg Hodnett, Shane
Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Jason Sides and Danny Lasoski were the five heat
race winners.
The C-feature and B-feature were also won by
Hoosier-shod drivers with Toni Lutar capturing the C and Kraig Kinser
capturing the B. All transfer spots from both races were secured by
drivers using Hoosier tires setting up an all-Hoosier feature.
In the 25-lap feature, third starting Joey Saldana
took the lead on the opening lap. Saldana's lead lasted until the
seventh circuit when he was passed by sixth starting Donny Schatz.
Schatz, using a pair of D12's, led the remainder of the distance to
collect the opening night win and collect $12,125 for his night's
work. Fifth starting Danny Lasoski, also using a pair of D12's,
finished in second place while collecting $7,150. Greg Hodnett rounded
out the top three, while opting to run the 25-lap distance using a
Hoosier RD12/RD15 combination.
Shane Stewart, Paul McMahan, Sammy Swindell, Joey
Saldana, Mark Kinser, Brooke Tatnell and Jason Meyers rounded out the
top ten, while Jaymie Moyle, Jason Sides, Skip Jackson, Jeremy
Campbell, Erin Crocker, Ed Lynch, Jr., Kraig Kinser, Eric Vanderploeg,
Lance Dewease, Calvin Landis, Kevin Frey, Chad Kemenah, Jesse Hockett
and Kasey Kahne completed the list of drivers finishing 11th through
24th, respectively.
The 1-2-3 finish by Hoosier-shod cars was the 54th
podium sweep of the season in 62 nights of racing. Team-Hoosier is
seeking its record fourth consecutive championship in the World of
Outlaws Series. Amazingly, Hoosier tires have been used by 59 of the
62 race winners this year in the World of Outlaws Series, while the
top six drivers in the standings currently ride on Hoosiers.
Racing resumes Thursday night, August 14, with more
drivers getting their chance to conquer Knoxville Raceway. The event
will continue on Friday and conclude on Saturday.
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