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Tatnell Tames Knoxville: Scores First World of Outlaws Win
Since 2008 in Opener of Mediacom Shootout
KNOXVILLE, IA (June 3, 2010) - All Brooke Tatnell could think about as the
laps wound down on Thursday night was when he was leading the Mediacom
Shootout in 2008 with the World of Outlaws at Knoxville Raceway, only to
lose an engine with a handful of laps remaining. His car ran flawless this
time around as he wired the field and held off a very hard charging Jason
Meyers and Sammy Swindell at the end of the 25-lapper to score his first
World of Outlaws win since 2008 and make up for his near miss at Knoxville
two years ago.
Tatnell started on the pole after winning the dash with Meyers alongside
him. Tatnell got the jump at the start to lead the field into turn one,
though the only caution of the night flew before that lap was in the books,
leading to a complete restart. On the second start Tatnell again paced the
field into turn one and quickly opened a lead at the famed half-mile. On the
white flag lap Meyers dove under Tatnell in turn one, but could not quite
get enough of a run to make the pass and tried again in turn two. Tatnell
wound up winning by a mere 0.761 seconds.
"It was definitely a good run and I'm really really proud of all of these
guys," said Tatnell in Victory Lane. "We are a little team and anytime that
a team that doesn't run week in and week out with the Outlaws gets up for a
victory is pretty special."
The $10,000 win for Tatnell was the 10th of his career with the World of
Outlaws, making him the 23rd driver in the 30-plus year history of the
series to score double digit wins. It was his fourth career win at
Knoxville, where he is also the track record holder in time trials, setting
that mark in 2006.
"Pretty much what we learned in the first heat race is what it boiled down
to and was similar," he noted of the start and complete restart on the
opening lap. "The inside row won every start all night long and I had to
make sure I got a good start. Jason (Meyers) is a good guy to race with and
we just happened to run in there hard and slide across in front of him at
the start."
By virtue of his win, Tatnell will start near the back of the field in
Friday night's Hall of Fame Classic Presented by Mediacom which will feature
an inversion of the Top-20 finishers from Thursday night, with $10,000 again
awaiting the winner.
"It's going to be a lot tougher, that's for sure," stated the winner when
asked about Friday's race. "I'll have to see what those guys behind us were
doing, because they were chopping and dicing and passing all over the place.
I started my career at the back of the field, because in Australia they
started the fastest cars at the back. I got good laps in passing cars. We'll
have to have our car good, because there will be no easy roads tomorrow
night."
Meyers, who scored his first career World of Outlaws, win at Knoxville back
in 2001 ended up second on Thursday night in the GLR Investments KPC. It was
the 12th Top-Five finish of the season for Meyers and helped him move back
into the second spot in the series championship standings as he chases his
first title.
"Too little too late," said Meyers. "I found a little something there on the
bottom in (turns) one and two. I went in there on that last lap with a shot
at Brooke (Tatnell) and just didn't have enough angle on the corner to get
it done. It was a good run for us tonight and we learned a few things and
learned a few things for tomorrow night. We'll be starting deep in the field
and will have to pass some race cars."
Sammy Swindell, who won a couple of weeks ago at Knoxville Raceway, finished
third in the Big Game Treestands Maxim. The three-time World of Outlaws
champion used a strong initial start to come from fourth to second and
challenge Tatnell before the only caution of the night flew prior to that
circuit being completed. On the complete restart, Swindell again got to
second, but was not close enough to Tatnell to get a run on him.
"We kind of had a chance to win, but it didn't work out that way. I was
really gaining on Brooke (Tatnell) and had to fend off Jason (Meyers),"
stated Swindell. "Had we had that first start, the whole race would have
been different. I showed him how to start it and it kind of hurt me a little
bit. We had a car that could, but that's racing. We'll work on it and try to
make it a little better."
Following the opening lap caution, the rest of the race ran non-stop in just
a tick over seven-and-a-half minutes from green to checker. It was the
second consecutive race for the World of Outlaws that saw 25 straight green
flag laps, which didn't really surprise Meyers, who did everything he could
late in the going to catch and pass Tatnell.
"Here at Knoxville you get that quite often and you get good race car
drivers and a nice wide track where you can stay out of trouble," explained
the native of Clovis, California. "It wasn't too surprising, but these cars
were tough up around the cushion tonight and we were able to see who stayed
in the seat and who didn't."
The leaders found themselves in lapped traffic for most of the race, with
Tatnell keeping a lapped car between him and the runner-up on numerous
occasions as he was able to charge around the high side of the track to
clear the slower machines. Early in the race Swindell was able to catch
Tatnell in traffic, though he had an epic battle with Meyers and Joey
Saldana later in the contest, which allowed Tatnell to pull away each time.
"It was just traffic tonight and if I could have had eight feet, I could
have gotten by him clean and had a big run and I don't think those other
guys would have had a chance to get up there and pass me," Swindell
explained. "Most of the time in the race we had to play a little defense and
I couldn't just run my offense, but that's the way it goes."
Jason Sides followed up his win last Sunday night in Pennsylvania with a
fourth-place finish aboard the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim to score
his ninth Top-Five finish of the season and move into the fourth spot in
points in the process.
Joey Saldana, the current World of Outlaws point leader, finished fifth in
the Budweiser Maxim to earn his series leading 16th Top-Five finish of the
season.
Steve Kinser came home sixth in the Bass Prop Shops Maxim to score his
series leading 21st Top-10 finish, with Danny Lasoski seventh aboard the
Casey's General Store JEI. Lance Dewease was eighth in the Advanced
Development Services J&J. Kerry Madsen was ninth piloting the Halls Haulage
KPC. Craig Dollansky came all the way from 24th to 10th after switching to a
backup car before the main event to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard
Charger Award in the Big Game Treestands Maxim.
The Hall of Fame Classic Presented by Mediacom is on-tap on Friday, June 4
which will consist of an inverted feature of the Top-20 finishers from
Thursday night's race.
MEDIACOM SHOOTOUT NOTES
•FAST QUALIFIER: Danny Lasoski paced the 45 cars that took time with an AMB
i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked half-mile oval at 14.924 seconds at
120.611 mph. For his qualifying effort, Lasoski earned five bonus points.
The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Joey
Saldana (4), Paul McMahan (3), Steve Kinser (2) and Kerry Madsen (1).
•KNOXVILLE RACEWAY QUALIFYING WINNERS: Jason Meyers, Brooke Tatnell, Ed
Lynch Jr. and Lance Dewease won heat races. Brooke Tatnell won the dash.
Brian Brown won the Last Chance Showdown.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 22 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series
A-Feature events held in 2010. The winners include: Jason Meyers (The Dirt
Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway, Volunteer Speedway,
Tri-State (Okla.) Speedway, Virginia Motor Speedway and I-96 Speedway), Joey
Saldana (Thunderbowl Raceway, Volunteer Speedway, I-55 Raceway and Eldora
Speedway), Steve Kinser (Volusia Speedway Park and Jackson Speedway), Donny
Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park and The Dirt Track at Charlotte), Jason Sides
(Houston Raceway Park and Tri-City Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Lone Star
Speedway), Jac Haudenschild (Paducah International Raceway), Chad Layton
(Williams Grove Speedway), Paul McMahan (Eldora Speedway), Fred Rahmer
(Williams Grove Speedway) and Brooke Tatnell (Knoxville Raceway).
•HALF-MILE WINNERS: Knoxville Raceway is a semi-banked half-mile oval. The
World of Outlaws have raced 13 times at a track that size in 2010. The
winners include: Jason Meyers (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,
Virginia Motor Speedway and I-96 Speedway), Steve Kinser (Volusia Speedway
Park and Jackson Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Lone Star Speedway), Chad
Layton (Williams Grove Speedway), Paul McMahan (Eldora Speedway), Joey
Saldana (Eldora Speedway), Jason Sides (Tri-City Speedway), Fred Rahmer
(Williams Grove Speedway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park) and Brooke
Tatnell (Knoxville Raceway).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Mediacom Shootout;
Knoxville, IA; June 3, 2010
Qualifying
1) 6-Danny Lasoski 14.924
2) 9-Joey Saldana 14.989
3) 91-Paul McMahan 14.991
4) 11-Steve Kinser 15.031
5) 3-Kerry Madsen 15.095
6) 21-Brian Brown 15.099
7) 7S-Jason Sides 15.112
8) 1-Sammy Swindell 15.119
9) 14-Jason Meyers 15.153
10) 91X-Dusty Zomer 15.183
11) 13-Daryn Pittman 15.193
12) 63-Chad Kemenah 15.270
13) 2-Skip Jackson 15.318
14) 59-Brooke Tatnell 15.321
15) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. 15.338
16) 30C-Lance Dewease 15.354
17) 7-Craig Dollansky 15.357
18) 17-Tyler Walker 15.425
19) 15X-Adam Wilt 15.484
20) 22-Brian Ellenberger 15.495
21) 7K-Robby Wolfgang 15.500
22) 49J-Josh Schneiderman 15.520
23) 47-Don Droud Jr. 15.525
24) 49-Brad Sweet 15.531
25) 72-Mike Deavers 15.541
26) 10-Rager Phillips 15.566
27) 15-Donny Schatz 15.573
28) 12-Lynton Jeffrey 15.577
29) 6R-Ryan Bunton 15.591
30) 1X-Randy Hannagan 15.607
31) R19-Jac Haudenschild 15.615
32) 17A-Austin McCarl 15.631
33) 1J-Bronson Maeschen 15.648
34) 98-Erin Crocker 15.683
35) 3C-Cale Conley 15.763
36) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 15.779
37) 4X-Toni Lutar 15.792
38) 2W-Johnny Herrera 15.823
39) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 15.850
40) 11K-Kraig Kinser 15.855
41) 13L-Mark Dobmeier 15.895
42) 55-Ian Madsen 15.915
43) 2B-Ben Gregg 15.986
44) 69-Mike Moore 16.075
45) 7X-Sid Blandford 16.605
46) 56-Davey Heskin -.---
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) - Starting
Position [#]
1) 14-Jason Meyers[2]
2) 7-Craig Dollansky[5]
3) 3-Kerry Madsen[3]
4) 6-Danny Lasoski[4]
5) 4X-Toni Lutar[10]
6) 13L-Mark Dobmeier[11]
7) 7K-Robby Wolfgang[6]
8) 1J-Bronson Maeschen[9]
9) 6R-Ryan Bunton[8]
10) 72-Mike Deavers[7]
11) 2-Skip Jackson[1]
12) 7X-Sid Blandford[12]
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) - Starting
Position [#]
1) 59-Brooke Tatnell[1]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[4]
3) 91X-Dusty Zomer[2]
4) 17-Tyler Walker[5]
5) 49J-Josh Schneiderman[6]
6) 55-Ian Madsen[11]
7) 2W-Johnny Herrera[10]
8) 21-Brian Brown[3]
9) 98-Erin Crocker[9]
10) 1X-Randy Hannagan[8]
11) 10-Rager Phillips[7]
12) 56-Davey Heskin[12]
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) - Starting
Position [#]
1) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[1]
2) 7S-Jason Sides[3]
3) 13-Daryn Pittman[2]
4) 15-Donny Schatz[7]
5) 91-Paul McMahan[4]
6) 47-Don Droud Jr.[6]
7) 15X-Adam Wilt[5]
8) R19-Jac Haudenschild[8]
9) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[10]
10) 3C-Cale Conley[9]
11) 2B-Ben Gregg[11]
Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature) - Starting
Position [#]
1) 30C-Lance Dewease[1]
2) 1-Sammy Swindell[3]
3) 11-Steve Kinser[4]
4) 63-Chad Kemenah[2]
5) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[9]
6) 22-Brian Ellenberger[5]
7) 49-Brad Sweet[6]
8) 17A-Austin McCarl[8]
9) 11K-Kraig Kinser[10]
10) 69-Mike Moore[11]
Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of
A-feature)
1) 59-Brooke Tatnell[2]
2) 14-Jason Meyers[3]
3) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[1]
4) 1-Sammy Swindell[4]
5) 6-Danny Lasoski[8]
6) 9-Joey Saldana[7]
7) 7S-Jason Sides[5]
8) 91-Paul McMahan[6]
9) 30C-Lance Dewease[9]
10) 7-Craig Dollansky[10]
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature) - Starting
Position [#]
1) 21-Brian Brown[1]
2) R19-Jac Haudenschild[10]
3) 15X-Adam Wilt[2]
4) 49-Brad Sweet[6]
5) 13L-Mark Dobmeier[17] [$200]
6) 1X-Randy Hannagan[9] [$180]
7) 17A-Austin McCarl[11] [$175]
8) 22-Brian Ellenberger[3] [$160]
9) 47-Don Droud Jr.[5] [$150]
10) 11K-Kraig Kinser[16] [$150]
11) 1J-Bronson Maeschen[12] [$150]
12) 7K-Robby Wolfgang[4] [$150]
13) 2W-Johnny Herrera[14] [$150]
14) 56-Davey Heskin[21] [$150]
15) 69-Mike Moore[20] [$150]
16) 6R-Ryan Bunton[8] [$150]
17) 3C-Cale Conley[13] [$150]
18) 55-Ian Madsen[18] [$150]
19) 72-Mike Deavers[7] [$150]
20) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[15] [$150]
21) 2B-Ben Gregg[19] [$150]
22) 2-Skip Jackson[22] [$150]
23) 10-Rager Phillips[23] [$150]
24) 12-Lynton Jeffrey[24] [$150]
25) 98-Erin Crocker[25] [$150]
26) 7X-Sid Blandford[26] [$150]
A-main (25 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 59-Brooke Tatnell[1] [$10,000]
2) 14-Jason Meyers[2] [$5,000]
3) 1-Sammy Swindell[4] [$3,000]
4) 7S-Jason Sides[7] [$2,700]
5) 9-Joey Saldana[6] [$2,500]
6) 11-Steve Kinser[10] [$2,200]
7) 6-Danny Lasoski[5] [$2,000]
8) 30C-Lance Dewease[9] [$1,800]
9) 3-Kerry Madsen[11] [$1,600]
10) 7-Craig Dollansky[24] [$1,450]
11) 91-Paul McMahan[8] [$1,300]
12) 49-Brad Sweet[19] [$1,200]
13) 15-Donny Schatz[20] [$1,100]
14) 63-Chad Kemenah[15] [$1,000]
15) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[22] [$950]
16) 17-Tyler Walker[16] [$900]
17) 11K-Kraig Kinser[25] [$150]
18) 13L-Mark Dobmeier[26] [$50]
19) 21-Brian Brown[12] [$725]
20) R19-Jac Haudenschild[21] [$700]
21) 49J-Josh Schneiderman[18] [$700]
22) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[27] [$0]
23) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.[3] [$700]
24) 15X-Adam Wilt[17] [$700]
25) 4X-Toni Lutar[23] [$700]
26) 91X-Dusty Zomer[13] [$700]
27) 13-Daryn Pittman[14] [$700]
Lap Leaders: Brooke Tatnell 1-25
KSE Hard Charger Award: Craig Dollansky
Penske Power Position Award: Toni Lutar
Notes: Kraig Kinser and Sam Hafertepe Jr. used World of Outlaws Provisionals
to start the A-
Feature. Mark Dobmeier used a Knoxville Raceway Provisional to start the
A-Feature. Craig Dollansky switched to a backup car prior to the A-Feature
and started 24th.
World of Outlaws Championship Standings through June 3
1. Joey Saldana 3127
2. Jason Meyers 3108 -19
3. Steve Kinser 3105 -22
4. Jason Sides 2971 -156
5. Donny Schatz 2964 -163
6. Paul McMahan 2832 -295
7. Lucas Wolfe 2820 -307
8. Danny Lasoski 2817 -310
9. Jac Haudenschild 2793 -334
10. Craig Dollansky 2787 -340
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country
by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car
Care Products), Chizmark & Larson Insurance , Goodyear Tires (Official
Tire), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing
Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake's Custom Golf Carts, KSE
Race Products, Penske Shocks , R2C Performance, Racing Electronics, S&S
Volvo; Engine Builder's Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines,
Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis
Builder's Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race
Company.
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