TSR Duo Ready To Tackle USAC Action In Kansas and Indiana

NDIANAPOLIS (TSR) – Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) and drivers Levi Jones and Tracy Hines will make a whirlwind tour of the Midwest this week, as they’ll compete in USAC National Midget Series and Sprint Car Series in both Kansas and Indiana.

Kicking off this week’s action will be the 31st Annual Belleville Midget Nationals at the Belleville (Kan.) Highbanks on Aug. 1-2. On Sunday, after making a mad dash across the countryside, Jones and Hines will compete in the 49th Annual Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial event featuring the USAC Sprint Car Series at Salem (Ind.) Speedway.

Heading into this week’s Belleville Midget Nationals, Hines is currently ranked second in the USAC Midget Series standings. He is only three points behind series leader, Bobby East. Hines’ career has been decorated with many major USAC Midget Series victories but he’ll be seeking his first Belleville Midget Nationals triumph this weekend. In his last appearance in the event on July 30, 2005, Hines finished fifth.

Jones has also found success at the historical facility, as he finished second in last year’s Belleville Midget Nationals feature event on July 28, 2007. Heading into this Sunday’s USAC Sprint Series event at Salem Speedway, Jones leads the championship standings by 47 points. Jones has three Sprint car victories to his credit thus far in 2008, and he’ll also be looking to earn his first USAC Midget Series win this week. He is currently ranked sixth in the USAC Midget Series standings.

For Hines, this Sunday’s race at Salem Speedway will be an opportunity for him to earn his second James/O’Conner Memorial title. Hines won the event in 2001. The two-time USAC Sprint Series champion has already won two feature events this season, having picked up two victories at team owner Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Hines enters this week ranked third in the USAC Sprint Series standings.

Gates will open to the public at the Belleville Highbanks on Friday and Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CDT. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with racing set to start at 7:30 p.m. Race fans can purchase general admission tickets at the gate each day or reserved tickets by calling 785-527-2713. The official Web site of the Belleville Highbanks is www.highbanks.org.

On Sunday, gates will open to the public at 1:30 p.m. EDT at Salem Speedway. USAC Sprint Series practice is set to begin at 4 p.m. with the first heat race scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or by calling 812-883-6504 or 888-246-7223. The official Web site of Salem Speedway is www.salemspeedway.com.

Levi Jones, driver of the No. 20 TSR/Chevy/Spike – USAC National Midget Car Series
No. 20 TSR/Chevy/BEAST – USAC National Sprint Car Series (Pavement)

You finished second in last year’s Belleville Midget Nationals finale. Was that a turning point for the No. 20 midget program?

“It really was. It seemed like from Belleville forward we were really on our game in the midgets, especially on the dirt. It wasn’t too long after our run at Belleville that we got our first USAC Midget Series win in Wisconsin. I began to get more confident in the midget at that point and now I really enjoy competing in them. I have always liked the bigger tracks and Belleville is definitely one of the fastest we race at all season. Hopefully, we’ll be able to put together a great weekend again this year and put the No. 20 Chevy midget in winner’s circle and not just the podium this time around.”

What is your favorite part of the Belleville Midget Nationals event?

“The town of Belleville really opens its arms up to all of the teams and fans during the nationals. It’s really cool to see how much the town puts into the event as a whole. There are race transporters lining the streets and crews working on cars almost everywhere we go all weekend. The fair really adds a lot to the week too, we always try to spend some time at the fairgrounds as well. The midget nationals is one of the must fun weekends we have all season.”

Coming off a top-five finish on the pavement as you head into Sunday’s USAC Sprint Series event at Salem Speedway, how is your confidence level?

“This season has really been good for us on the pavement. We’ve had good cars and been in contention to win at each pavement race. I think that both Tracy (Hines, teammate) and I have a great chance of putting Chevy and Bass Pro Shops in the winner’s circle on Sunday. Tracy has won this event before and he’s been a huge help to our team in working with our pavement program this season. I also enjoy racing at Salem Speedway, it’s a really fast track and usually provides us with great racing. I think the fans will be in for a great show this Sunday.”

Tracy Hines, driver of the No. 21 TSR/Chevy/Spike – USAC National Midget Car Series
No. 21 TSR/Chevy/BEAST – USAC National Sprint Car Series (Pavement)

How large of a role does qualifying play into the outcome of the Belleville Midget Nationals?

“Qualifying doesn’t play as much of a role as you might think at Belleville. The midget nationals have such a different format than a normal race that transfer spots are determined more by where you finish in the heat race. The goal is to qualify well but finish in the front of the heat. The different format makes for great racing for the fans and a lot of drama leading up to Saturday night’s feature.”

The Belleville Highbanks are an extremely high-banked, half-mile dirt oval. As a driver in the car, do you have a sense of how much speed you’re carrying?

“Early on the race, you really don’t pay attention to the speed. But as the cushion gets closer to the wall, you definitely begin to get a sense of how fast you’re moving around the track. The speed is what makes Belleville a lot of fun to compete on and I know that both TSR cars will have a good chance of putting Chevy and Bass Pro Shops in the winner’s circle this weekend.”

What part of the Belleville Midget Nationals weekend stands out the most?

“The atmosphere that surrounds the event is a lot of fun. It’s really cool to see how much the local race fans get behind the event and how much support they give to the event. The fact that the fair is part of the weekend also adds to the event. The race itself is a big deal but the fair really pumps it up even more and makes it an even larger event.”

Having won the Joe James/Pat O’Conner Memorial in 2001, are you looking forward returning to Salem Speedway on Sunday?

“Salem is a historical race track that is always an exciting place to race. Our goal will be to qualify well and transfer out of our heat race to hopefully put our team in a good position for the feature lineup. Our pavement sprint car program has been doing very well this year and I’m looking forward to getting back on the pavement this Sunday.”

Kraig Kinser on the Road to the Knoxville Nationals

INDIANAPOLIS (TSR) – Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Kraig Kinser and the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Series are in their final three-race stretch before next week’s Knoxville Nationals. Kinser and company kicked off the week at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, on Wednesday, and will continue at Wilmot (Wis.) Speedway and Charter Raceway Park (CRP) in Beaver Dam, Wis., on Friday and Saturday this week.

The WoO Sprint Series made its inaugural appearance at 34 Raceway last night, which hosts a 3/8-mile dirt oval. Kinser finished 13th in the A-main. His TSR teammate, Donny Schatz, finished seventh.

For Kinser, Friday’s race will also mark his first career appearance at Wilmot Speedway, which is also a 3/8-mile dirt track. Saturday’s race at CRP will see the WoO Sprint Series return to the 1/3-mile track for the first time this year. Kinser’s last appearance at the facility saw him earn an eighth-place finish on July 6, 2005.

Kinser enters this weekend’s racing action ranked 13h in the WoO Sprint Series Championship standings. He has made 33 series starts thus far in 2008, having earned two top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes.

Race fans unable to attend this week’s events can catch all of the action from 34 Raceway, Wilmot Speedway and CRP on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, “Voice of the Outlaws,” calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.

For Friday’s program at Wilmot Speedway, the pit gates will open at 2 p.m. CDT with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The official track Web site is www.wilmotspeedway.com. For ticket information, call (815) 344-2023, or visit www.slspromotions.com.

Pit gates will open at 2 p.m. CDT at  on Saturday. Grandstands will open at 4 p.m., and hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. The official track Web site is www.wismotorsports.net. For ticket information, call (815) 344-2023, or visit www.slspromotions.com.

Quotes from Kraig Kinser, driver of the No. 20 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/Maxim:

This week’s events at 34 Raceway and Wilmot Speedway will be the first time you’ve competed at either facility. Are you looking forward to visiting these two tracks?

“Racing at 34 Raceway and Wilmot Speedway should be fun. Not too many of the Outlaws have raced at 34 Raceway, so that always makes for an interesting night. It will be a situation where everyone is in the same boat in terms of figuring out the track and how to be fast. I’m also looking forward to heading to Wilmot. It’s always a challenge to get to race at a new track. Both tracks are 3/8-mile facilities but I’m sure they’ll be different. We’ll need to keep an eye on the track and adjust as we need to.”

This is the final stretch before the Knoxville Nationals. What is the focus for this week’s races?

“We want to keep learning about the race car and how things work, so we can try and get our car a little better for Knoxville. We’d like nothing more to get a win or have three solid races this week for Bass Pro Shops, Chevy and J.D. Byrider as we head into next week. As a team, we’d like to see this week go well. The nationals are such a key event and any feelings of doubt or uneasiness can make the week not run as smoothly as you might like it to. The days are going by pretty quickly and we’ve got a lot of work to do before we head back to Iowa.”

An Up and Down Week Closes A Busy Stretch of Action for Josh

SHINNSTON, WV. – Up. Down. Up. Down.

Josh Richards rode a rollercoaster for the final week of his busy July stretch of competition with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, culminating with an early-race tangle in Tuesday night’s Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., that ended his shot at a $40,000 victory.

During a swing that included four Alltel Ohio Speedweek events and the rescheduled Firecracker 100, the 20-year-old sensation from Shinnston, W.Va., recorded two solid top-five finishes but also saw three potentially strong runs dive-bombed by bad luck or incorrect decisions.

“We just couldn’t put together good finishes back-to-back,” said Josh, who ended the five-race swing tied with Steve Francis for second in the WoO LMS points standings, 146 points behind leader Darrell Lanigan. “We were fast just about every night, but some stupid stuff just keeps happening to us.”

A silver lining for Josh: his top-five finishes earned him a spot in the ‘Alltel Ohio Speedweek All-Star’ contest. Each driver who scored a top-five finish in one of the Speedweek A-Mains is eligible for the contest, which boasts a $10,000 top prize for the racer who receives the most votes in on-line polling that began on Sunday at www.AlltelAllStar.com. Fans can vote once a day through Sept. 9.

“Hopefully all our fans and friends will go on-line and vote for us,” said Josh. “We would love to earn a $10,000 bonus from Alltel.”

Josh began Alltel Ohio Speedweek last Thursday night (July 24) with a disappointing 13th-place finish at Muskingum County Speedway in20Zanesville, Ohio. He entered the 40-lap A-Main with high hopes after winning a heat race and picking the fourth starting spot, but the wrong compound tires for the track conditions were bolted on his Josh’s Mark Richards Racing-owned Seubert Calf Ranches/Ace Metal Works/TSR-Tony Stewart Racing/Petroff Towing/MCB Motorsports/Ernie’s Auto & Hauling Rocket Chassis No. 1 and he faded dramatically.

‘Kid Rocket’ came back strong on Friday night at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, starting and finishing fourth in the ‘Subway 50.’ He briefly reached second place, but a lap-13 restart that saw him fall to back to fifth left him playing catch-up for the remainder of the distance.

Josh appeared headed toward a top-10 finish on Saturday night at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, until the final lap, when contact from Matt Miller sent him spinning in turn two as he battled for sixth place. He rebounded on Sunday night with a third-place finish in the 50-lapper at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa., after running as high as second.

Tuesday’s Firecracker 100, meanwhile, had the makings of a great night for Josh when he drew the pole position for the A-Main. But on lap 19, while battling for third place with Shane Clanton, the two WoO LMS regulars tangled in turn one and spun, effectively ended their hopes for victory.

Josh accepted responsibility for the incident, which came after Clanton had used a ‘slider’ to pull ahead of Josh in turn four. Josh came back to finish 12th in the Firecracker 100.

“It’s just something that’s sort of been going the last couple races with me and Clanton,” Josh said of the tangle. “I’m sure most of the time it wasn’t anything he did on purpose, but I guess I kind of over-reacted tonight. I meant to just bump him and let him know I didn’t appreciate (the slider in turn four), and I ended up taking us both out.

“I feel dumb for that part because I took us both of contention for the win. That was a rookie mistake, I guess you could say.

“I don’t know if our car was good enough to win the race, but I think we could’ve got a decent top-five finish.”

With Josh’s own team returning to the shop for the first time in three weeks to regroup, ‘Kid Rocket’ plans to stay active this weekend behind the wheel of the Ernie Davis-owned Rocket No. 25. He’ll run the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series tripleheader on Thursday night (July 31) at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway; Friday night (Aug. 1) at Winchester (Va.) Speedway; and Saturday night (Aug. 2) at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway.

Tony Stewart Racing’s World of Outlaws Team Visits Iowa

Tony Stewart Racing’s World of Outlaws Sprint teams finished July at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa tonight.   Tony Bruce Jr. got his first World of Outlaws win in the 35 lap feature and took home the $10,000 paycheck.

Here’s how the TSR guys did:

Kinser started 6th in heat #2 and finished 6th
Started 16th in the A Main and finished 13th

Schatz started 3rd in heat #3 and finished 4th
Started 11th in the A Main and finished 7

Like Beijing, Only Different

ATLANTA (JGR) – Just as Olympians are interested in the air quality in Beijing, site of the 2008 Summer Olympics, drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series are interested in the air quality in Long Pond, Pa., site of Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

And just like those throwing the javelin or running the marathon in search of Olympic gold in Beijing, drivers throwing their 3,400-pound race cars around the 2.5-mile oval for a marathon-like four hours want to compete in clean air.

Smog isn’t a worry at scenic Pocono, but when a driver is caught in the wake of another car’s turbulent or “dirty air” at around 200 mph, it makes for an ill-handling race car.

That won’t put a driver anywhere near the podium, never mind see the gold emblazoned on the winner’s trophy in Pocono’s victory lane. As a result, qualifying is of paramount importance, because if one starts up front, one has a better chance of staying up front. And in a field of 43 cars, that’s important.

For Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, he’d like to put down a qualifying lap at Pocono similar to the one he laid down in July 2000. He won the pole for that race, which was the third of his career, and has since picked up seven more, but none since setting fast time at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in October 2005 – a span of 97 races.

Career pole No. 11 could come at no better place than Pocono, because even though a pole pays no points and zero money, it could pave the way for a big point tally and a hefty payday with a win in Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing:

When you tested at Pocono in late May and again when you raced there in June, it appeared that racing in clean air was of paramount importance. Why?

“It just seems like these cars are more aero-dependent than what we’ve had in the past. Pocono is just one of those places that’s not high-banked, so it doesn’t have a lot of different grooves. Anytime you have one groove in one particular corner, it just makes it where you’re stuck following guys. And anytime you’re following, you can’t move around on the race track, and that makes it hard to pass. With the new car and everybody still trying to figure out what we have to do to make these things great, that’s what’s going to make it worse than normal. We just can’t get around each other.”

Since being in clean air will be so important, have you put a higher emphasis on qualifying at Pocono?

“We’re going to take the opportunity that Friday’s practice gives us to try to get track position at the beginning of the race with a good qualifying run. Qualifying is more important now than ever.”

As a driver, is there anything you do differently when you make a mock qualifying run compared to when you make a race run?

“The car just goes faster. You set it up to go fast for one lap, not 40 laps. You can use all the good out of it in one lap versus trying to spread it out over 40 laps.”

Has the current-generation race car altered the line you run around Pocono?

“They repaved one strip of the asphalt in (turns) three and four and that’s where everybody runs. You might see guys pull slide jobs off the corner, but that’s going to be quite a bit different because everybody’s going to be hunting for one lane that’s two-thirds of the way up the race track. But that’s where everybody ended up during the test and when we raced there back in June. Anytime you repave a spot on the race track, it becomes the fast spot.”

Explain a lap around Pocono.

“Turn one is probably the easiest of the three – you drive it in kind of deep and then try to float the car through the corner. You go down the backstretch and into the tunnel turn and it’s basically one lane. It’s flat and very line-sensitive. You’ve got to make sure you’re right on your marks every lap when you go through there. Then you’ve got a short chute into turn three. It’s a big, long corner and it too is very line-sensitive. With it being line-sensitive and the fact that we’ve got a straightaway that’s three-quarters of a mile long after that, it’s very important that you get through the last corner well. You need to come off the corner quickly so that you’re not bogged down when you start down that long straightaway. Each corner has its challenges, and each one tends to present a different set of circumstances with each lap you make.”

From a driver’s standpoint, what’s your biggest challenge at Pocono?

“All three corners are different – that’s the most challenging part. It seems like you can always get your car good in two of the three corners, but the guys who are contending for the win are the guys who can get their car good for all three corners. That’s a very hard thing to do – get your car good through all three sections of the race track.”

Since Pocono has three distinct corners, where do you start with your race setup?

“We always go out and figure where I feel like I’m struggling the most, because that’s where I feel like I’m going to make up the most time. It seems like if we can get our car to go through the tunnel turn well, then we’re normally able to get The Home Depot Toyota to go through the rest of the race track well. The tunnel turn seems to be our toughest turn on the race track. Getting through turn two and the last corner of the race track that’s flat, long and sweeping – those seem to be the toughest two corners to get through. And if you’re a little bit off, you’re a bunch off. If there’s a guy who can get all three of those corners right, then that’s the guy who’s going to win the race.”

Greg Zipadelli, crew chief of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing:

Since being in clean air is so important at Pocono, do you put a higher emphasis on qualifying?

“Yeah, just like we did back in June, we’re going to show up in qualifying trim as long as the weather looks good. If the weather looks even questionable we’ll make at least one race run in that first practice on Friday, because when rain sets in there, it can be there for a couple of days. We’ve seen that before. Right now, we’re planning on going there in qualifying trim and making four or five qualifying runs to see where we’re at.”

How different is a qualifying setup from a race setup?

“You put more nose weight in, you go up on your air pressure, you have a lot more tape on the nose, and when you do that you get your aero balance shifted toward the front. You have to do some things with shocks and springs and nose weight to compensate for that aero balance. When you go to Loudon (N.H.) and places of that nature, they’re not huge differences. But when you get to a track like Pocono, it’s a big difference because of the amount of speed you’re carrying down into the corners.”

What is making this current-generation car so aero-dependant at Pocono?

“I think it’s just the characteristic of the race track. There’s no banking. In turns one and two there is some banking and you see people running two lanes – some high, some down on the bottom and you see them pass off of turn two. The tunnel turn is fast through the center of the corner and there’s not a lot of banking. Same thing with turn three – there’s nothing to hold the cars down on the track. And the track is fast. It’s a real fast place. You don’t slow down a lot.”

How important was it to finally test at Pocono?

“It was important to test because of the Car of Tomorrow’s bump stops and things of that nature. It’s a completely different car with different springs and shocks and bump rubbers and with the way that race track is with the bumps, it’s a lot different than Indy. At Indy, it’s one of the hardest places we go to make a car handle, but there’s no huge bumps that upset the car. Pocono, my gosh, that place is so cool because all three corners are different. The track surface is different in one than it is in two than it is in three. It’s a very challenging place.”

Because of that challenge, do you enjoy Pocono? Some people curse the place, but you seem to look forward to it to see if you can beat it. Is that accurate?

“Yeah, I think anytime you go to a place that’s different – the driver has to be on, the car has to be on and the pit stops have to be on because track position is so important. When you do well there, it makes you feel good about your efforts.”

Are there things that you learned from the June race at Pocono that you can apply to your return visit?

“It gives us a starting point, but that’s about it. That place gives up so much grip after two-and-a-half months of the sun beating down on that race track. Your car won’t turn as good and it won’t go forward. So, I think the second race there is more difficult than the first one. But you never know, we might get one of those crazy cool overcast weekends that’ll change that too. That’s what’s so cool about that place, you don’t know what to expect for weather.”

Pocono has been mentioned as a track that could be purchased and/or lose its Sprint Cup races. What do you think of that?

“I’m not a big fan of getting rid of race tracks. I do think race tracks need to be proactive in making improvements, be it with SAFER Barriers, garages that are safe to get in and out of, pit roads that are safer to get on and off or whatever they can do to make improvements. You look at the smallest track we go to in Martinsville (Va.) and see what they’ve done over the last few years of just doing what they could to make it a better place to race. Every track needs to do whatever they can to make themselves better and safer, with safety being the biggest thing.

“I like going to Pocono. I grew up in that area. I worked on Modifieds and raced there 20-25 years ago. So to me, going to Pocono is kind of like going to Loudon. They’re a couple of the coolest race tracks we go to. They have their own personality and their own characteristics. Every corner is different at Pocono, and that’s what makes it challenging. You’ve got to have a driver that’s up to the challenge, a crew that’s willing to be open-minded and think about things a little differently than you do at other places, and you need good pit stops. To me, Pocono is a fun race track. It’s kind of like a road course. I like those kinds of challenges more than those cookie-cutter mile-and-a-halves that we seem to race everywhere.”

Talk about your time working on Modifieds and racing at Pocono.

“There was a three-quarter mile oval inside the track. For us at that time, going there and going to Martinsville – those were really big and prestigious races for the Modified Tour. It was fun. I had the opportunity to win there with Brett Bodine in 1985. At Pocono and Oswego (N.Y.) you used to get beer for leading laps, and we got a lot of beer. You’d get a case of beer for leading laps, and those were big races, so you could leave there with 40, 50 or 100 cases of beer to put on your trailer. At that time, we didn’t have any money. That was absolutely huge. It wasn’t the beer we used to drink, but we could take it to a place and we’d give them two cases and they’d give us back what we actually drank. It’s little things like that you remember from back in the day. It was cool, and every time you go back to places like that, it’s special. It’s where I came from. To be there that long ago and to be back there racing again in the Sprint Cup Series and having been able to win there in Modifieds and again in Sprint Cup is pretty cool.”

Schatz Maintaining His Focus on The Race in Front of Him

INDIANAPOLIS (TSR) – Keeping his attention on the next race has proven to be a successful strategy for Sprint car standout Donny Schatz the past three seasons. The two-time defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series champion continues to set a blistering pace in his quest for a third consecutive WoO crown. This week, Schatz will focus on three single-night WoO events beginning Wednesday at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, Friday at Wilmot (Wis.) Speedway and Saturday at Charter Raceway Park in Beaver Dam, Wis., before he turns his attention toward next week’s Knoxville Nationals.

Since May 30, Schatz has turned the heat up on the competition behind the wheel of the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) No. 15 Armor All/Chevy/ParkerStore J&J. In the 24 WoO outings since his victory at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park, Schatz has won 10 of the 23 races and finished second on six occasions. Last weekend, he finished second on Friday night at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich., and won his 12th WoO feature event of the season on Saturday at K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio. This week’s challenge includes christening a new venue (34 Raceway), a second-ever visit to another (Wilmot Speedway) and an annual stop in Beaver Dam.

Schatz will start the week by making his debut at 34 Raceway, a high-banked 3/8-mile dirt oval located just west of the Mississippi River Valley. The event will be the ninth this season on a 3/8-mile track. Schatz has won four of the first eight, including Saturday’s triumph at K-C.

Friday night’s event will begin two nights of racing in Wisconsin. In October 2006, Schatz was closing in on his first WoO championship when the Outlaws made their debut at Wilmot Speedway. Schatz finished sixth after qualifying second-fastest in the field of 43 entrants.

Last August at Charter Raceway Park, Schatz had a memorable night charging from his 17th starting position to finish fourth. Twice he was involved in crashes, but his crew continued to make repairs enabling him to capture the top-five finish. The Fargo, N.D., resident returned to the track in September to score a second-place finish. On July 10, 2002, Schatz led all 40 laps of the feature to score his only victory at the track. Saturday’s race will be his 14th WoO event at the facility.

Following Monday night’s event at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway, Schatz remains on top of the season standings with 5,207 points, 143 ahead of Jason Meyers. He also leads the series in total victories (12), top-fives (29), and he’s the only driver to finish inside the top-10 in all 36 events.

Race fans unable to attend this week’s events can catch all of the action from 34 Raceway, Wilmot Speedway and Charter Raceway Park on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, “Voice of the Outlaws,” calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.

On Wednesday, the pit gates at 34 Raceway will open at 2 p.m. CDT with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The official track Web site is www.34raceway.com. For ticket information, call (815) 344-2023, or visit www.slspromotions.com.

For Friday’s program at Wilmot Speedway, the pit gates will open at 2 p.m. CDT with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The official track Web site is www.wilmotspeedway.com. For ticket information, call (815) 344-2023, or visit www.slspromotions.com.

Pit gates will open at 2 p.m. CDT at Charter Raceway Park on Saturday. Grandstands will open at 4 p.m., and hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. The official track Web site is www.wismotorsports.net. For ticket information, call (815) 344-2023, or visit www.slspromotions.com.

Donny Schatz, driver of the No. 15 TSR/Armor All/Chevy/ParkerStore J&J:

Wednesday night will be your first time at 34 Raceway. What challenges are there when you go to a new track?

“It’s always kind of fun to go to a new place. There’s the challenge of trying to figure out what the track will do throughout the night. We usually just try to compare it to some place where we’ve been before and start fresh in hot laps.

“The good thing about going to a new track also means that hopefully we’ll have some new fans. We have to keep building our fan base and going to new tracks is important. Putting on a good show is essential. If everything goes well, we can keep coming back to these places again in the future.”

Two races in Wisconsin over the weekend will lead up the to Knoxville Nationals. Will it be hard to focus on those nights and not be thinking about next week’s Nationals?

“You can only worry about the night in front of you and nothing more. Knoxville is on your mind from the time the checkered flag falls the previous year. The key is to keep it in mind in your preparation, but once you get to a track, you have to concentrate on getting your car better and better on that night. Wisconsin has a lot of good Sprint car racers, so we’ll have strong fields both nights. Those tracks have had some really good races in the past, so we’ll need everyone on the Tony Stewart Racing team focused on the task at hand and that’s getting another win in the Armor All, Chevy, ParkerStore No. 15.”

For complete Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series results, log on to www.worldofoutlaws.com. For information regarding TSR, Schatz, Armor All, Chevy, or ParkerStore, log on to www.tonystewartracing.com, www.donnyschatz.com, www.aa-ownercenter.com, www.chevrolet.com, or www.parkerstore.com.

Birkhofer Overtakes Lanigan To Pocket $41,419 Firecracker 100 Victory At Lernerville Speedway

By Kevin Kovac

Sarver, PA — Brian Birkhofer might hail from Iowa, but he had plenty of like-minded individuals to celebrate with after winning Tuesday night’s second annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com at Lernerville Speedway.

The four-tenths-mile oval in western Pennsylvania, after all, is always crawling with Pittsburgh Steelers fans – and no one loves the NFL team more than Birkhofer, whose black racing helmet sports the familiar Steelers logo.

“This is a big deal for me,” said Birkhofer, who pocketed $41,419 (including lap money) for his first-ever victory at a track that’s located a short drive from the Steel City. “I’ve won big races before, but this one has some extra special meaning because this place is so close to Pittsburgh. I usually come out here a couple times a year to see Steelers home games, so it’s cool to finally win a big race out in this area.

“The only thing that could’ve topped off tonight was if somehow Troy Polomalu (the Steelers’ star safety) was here to present me the trophy,” he added with a smile – not long after waving a Steelers ‘Terrible Towel’ in Victory Lane.

Birkhofer, 36, of Muscatine, Iowa, employed a patient approach to capture the postponed World of Outlaws Late Model Series event, which had its final night of action rained out on both June 28 and 29. He calmly filled the role of pursuer until turning up the wick halfway through the A-Main, passing defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., for second on lap 50 and points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., for the lead on lap 70.

Lanigan, who led laps 1-69 after starting from the outside pole, finished a distant 4.226 seconds behind Birkhofer in second place. Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., advanced from the 13th starting spot to place third, with Francis settling for fourth and three-time WoO LMS titlist Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., placing fifth after overtaking Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., on lap 97.

Four caution flags slowed the event, including a lap-19 incident that effectively ended the hopes of pre-race favorites Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.

Richards, who started from the pole position, made contact with Clanton in turn one as the pair battled for third place. The two cars hooked together and slid to a stop at the top of the track.

Clanton, who had just pulled a ‘slider’ on Richards in turn four to nose ahead for a moment, angrily climbed out of his car at the accident scene and leaned into Richards’s cockpit to offer his thoughts about the tangle. The two drivers exchanged words again after Richards exited his car.

“I wanted to bump him in the back and just let him know I didn’t appreciate (the ‘slider’),” admitted the 20-year-old Richards. “But my right-front wheel just caught his left-rear tire. It climbed up the side of his car and couldn’t come back down off it, and I ended up taking us both out.”

Richards continued to finish 12th, while Clanton raced on with left-side bodywork damage until retiring on lap 61 after he rode the homestretch wall.

Clanton, 32, refused to comment on the tangle or his discussion with Richards.

“Up until the accident I had a real good car,” said Clanton, who started fifth. “Then I hit the fence and took myself out. I was trying too hard.”

A huge crowd turned out for the completion of the Firecracker 100 weekend, which began on June 27 with a thrilling night of heat-race competition for 62 cars.

After contesting 13 events in eight states and one Canadian province over the past 20 days, the WoO LMS will be idle for more than two weeks. The tour’s next action is a Southeast doubleheader on Aug. 15 at Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Aug. 16 at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga.

WoO LMS Adds Best Western Illinois Fall Nationals On Sept. 14 At La Salle Speedway

By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

La Salle, IL - The 17th annual Best Western Illinois Fall Nationals on Sun., Sept. 14, at La Salle Speedway will return to the World of Outlaws Late Model Series schedule in 2008, tour and Track Enterprises Inc. officials have announced.

A fixture on the dirt Late Model scene in the ‘Land of Lincoln’ for nearly two decades, the Illinois Fall Nationals will be run over the 40-lap distance and offer a $7,000 top prize.

The La Salle date will create a WoO LMS doubleheader with I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., which is scheduled to run its annual Pepsi Nationals under the national tour’s banner on Sat., Sept. 13.

“Making the Illinois Fall Nationals part of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series sets up a great weekend in the Midwest for fans and racers,” said Bob Sargent, whose Macon, Ill.-based Track Enterprises Inc. will continue its longtime promotion of the event. “Last year’s race at La Salle produced a great field and exciting racing on an action-packed bullring, and we’ll use the same formula again on September 14.”

Following a 15-year run at the one-mile Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill., Sargent moved the Illinois Fall Nationals to the quarter-mile La Salle oval for the first time last season. It served as the first-ever WoO LMS event at La Salle Speedway.

Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., made history in last year’s event, becoming the first driver from the Wolverine State to capture the Illinois Fall Nationals. It was also his first career WoO LMS A-Main triumph.

VanWormer joined an all-star list of drivers who have won the prestigious Illinois Fall Nationals since 1992, including 2005 WoO LMS champion Billy Moyer (four times), Brian Birkhofer (three times), 2004 WoO LMS titlist Scott Bloomquist (twice), John Mason (twice), Charlie Swartz, Shannon Babb, Darrell Lanigan and Darren Miller.

On Sept. 14, La Salle’s pit gates will open at 2 p.m. and the grandstand gates will be unlocked at 4 p.m. Practice is scheduled to get the green flag at 5 p.m., followed by WoO LMS time trials at 5:30 p.m. and racing action at 6 p.m.

For more details, including ticket information, about La Salle’s Illinois Fall Nationals, contact Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200 or visit www.trackenterprises.com.

La Salle Speedway is centrally located on US Rt. 6 in La Salle, Ill., 60 miles west of Joliet, 60 miles north of Bloomington, 70 miles south of Rockford and 80 miles east of the Quad Cities.

USAC fines Tony Stewart $10,000 for midget race incident

INDIANAPOLIS - USAC team owner Tony Stewart has been fined $10,000 and Tony Stewart Racing has been placed on probation for the balance of the 2008 USAC racing season following an incident on pit road during Thursday night’s USAC National Midget race at O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP) in Indianapolis.

Stewart was fined for violation of USAC competition rules 10.28 (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) and 10.32 (Conduct Detrimental to Racing) after his interaction with USAC race officials following an on-track incident involving one of his Midgets driven by Tracy Hines. Hines had scraped the wall and pitted for a tire change, but his car was not deemed ready to re-enter the race in time to rejoin the field for the restart.

“USAC immediately assessed the incident and it was determined that unacceptable behavior detrimental to the sport had occurred, and that the professionalism and the integrity of the series and its promoters had been severely compromised,” stated Jason Smith, Vice President of Racing Operations for USAC. “While we respect the passion of our teams in the spirit of competition, we regret this incident occurred and are dedicated to averting a recurrence in the future.”

“I apologize to USAC and their fans for my behavior last week at ORP. My own misinterpretation of USAC policies in place at the time led to confusion and elevated emotions,” Stewart said. “I’m very passionate about my race team and will stand up for them when I think something isn’t right. Obviously, I handled this particular situation the wrong way, and if I had to do it over again, it never would’ve happened.”

In addition to the fine and his race team being placed on probation through the 2008 season, Stewart will also pay for the costs of new radios and uniforms for USAC officials.

“Tony offered to go beyond the penalties USAC assessed him because he wanted to do something positive that would have specific impact for our officials,” said Kevin Miller, CEO and President of USAC. “While what took place at ORP last week was unfortunate, we applaud Tony’s commitment to bettering USAC and for providing additional equipment officials use week in and week out.”

Here’s a video of the incident:

Competition Yellow 400 Wears Stewart Out

Face it, todays race from Indianapolis was a disaster.  Despite what the ESPN announcers and the NASCAR hacks on Victory Lane say, this event sucked.  I won’t even bother calling it a race since almost a third of it, 52 of 160 laps, was run under the yellow.  As hard as it may be to believe, the triumvarite of IMS, Goodyear and NASCAR took what is normally an uneventful snoozer of a race and made it even worse.

Here’s the spin that Joe Gibbs Racing put on this disaster.

Indianapolis (JGR) - Tony Stewart’s 10th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was nothing like his previous nine races at the historic 2.5-mile oval.

The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) came into this year’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard as the two-time and reigning champion of the event, as well as having only one finish outside the top-12.

But on a spectacular summer day where excessive tire wear trumped any other newsworthy notes, Stewart struggled with an ill-handling race car and limped home to a 23rd-place finish.

“Just a tough day,” said Stewart, who enjoyed polar opposite days at Indianapolis when we won in 2005 and again in 2007. “There are really no other words to describe it. Just an unbelievably tough day.”

Tough and unprecedented, as there were competition yellows – NASCAR-mandated caution periods – about every 10-12 laps of the 160-lap race to check the excessive tire wear.

Tires, specifically right-side tires, were worn down to the cords and even deflating once 10 or more laps were put on them. The result was a race-record 11 caution periods for 52 laps, six of which were “competition yellows.”

Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli attempted to persevere through it all, rising from their 14th-place starting spot to fifth after taking only right-side tires following a lap 82 pit stop.

The sharp called gained the No. 20 team some much needed track position, and with their left-side tire wear being minimal, other teams picked up on the two-tire strategy.

Yet even with the smart pit calls, Stewart’s Home Depot Toyota was a handful. “Loose” was the word most often heard over the team’s radio frequency, and Zipadelli threw a series of track bar, wedge, spring rubber and air pressure adjustments at the car in an attempt to get it to handle as well as it could on the tires provided by Goodyear.

While the car never became perfect, that was the case for all the competitors in Sunday’s race. Still, Zipadelli’s constant chassis tinkering, along with another two-tire pit stop on lap 139, allowed Stewart to drive his Home Depot machine to as high as fourth when the race restarted on lap 141.

But that would also be the highlight of the No. 20 team’s day.

With other teams on a four-tire strategy, Stewart quickly drifted backward, falling to 10th by lap 144 and 16th when the final caution flag of day waved on lap 150.

His loose race car necessitated a four-tire change on the ensuing pit stop, which dropped Stewart to 27th when the race resumed on lap 154. Only four spots could be reclaimed before the checkered flag mercifully dropped on the three-hour and 28-minute affair.

Stewart’s JGR teammates – Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch – finished third and 15th, respectively.

Busch remains the lead JGR driver in the championship point race. He continues to be the series’ point leader, and extended his lead to 253 markers over second-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hamlin and Stewart occupy the eighth and 10th slots, respectively. Hamlin gained four positions while Stewart maintained his position. Hamlin is 551 points behind Busch while Stewart sits 605 points arrears Busch.

Jimmie Johnson won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard to score his 35th career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his second at Indianapolis. Carl Edwards, Hamlin, Elliott Sadler and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five. Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton and A.J. Allmendinger comprised the remainder of the top-10.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Aug. 3 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live, high-definition coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.