Outlaws to shoot it out in Spencer
By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer | Posted: Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Race fans, you don't need to make the journey to Knoxville, Iowa, the mecca of the sport, to watch world class sprint car racing.
Wednesday night in Spencer, the World of Outlaws visits the Clay County Fair for a greatest show of dirt event -- one of the rare Northwest Iowa appearances for the wild and wooly winged sprinters.
Sprint car racing's legendary drivers will vye for the $10,000 first-place purse.
The show will include current World of Outlaws champ Donny Schatz and Joey Saldana, who is fresh from winning $50,000 first-place money last weekend in the 54th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif.
Schatz has 14 A-feature wins this season and recently won his second straight Knoxville Nationals title. The Fargo, N.D., native holds a slim 19-point standings lead over Saldana.
Saldana, with 11 wins, including two on 3/8-mile tracks, finished second to Schatz at Knoxville last month.
Craig Dollansky, seventh in series points, has been instrumental in bringing the race to Spencer.
His wife, Julie, is a graduate of Spencer High School and the Elk River, Minn., native has put in countless hours helping Clay County Fair officials ready the reconfigured 3/8-mile track on the grounds of the world's largest county fair.
Dollansky has 39 top to finishes this season and has won three times, including a event at Skagit Speedway in Washington on Aug. 25 that paid $25,000 to win.
The field will also include elite drivers Danny Lasoski, Steve Kinser, Jac Haudenschild and Terry McCarl, the Altoona hotshoe who is the only fulltime World of Outlaws competitor from Iowa.
McCarl, a six-time track champ at Knoxville Raceway, won the first time on the Outlaws circuit earlier this summer on his home track.
At the Kansas City Raceway earlier this season, McCarl outdueled Schatz down the stretch to earn a feature win.
Kinser might be the most recognizable driver in sprint car racing.
He's won 20 World of Outlaws national driving titles and has nine feature wins this year to run his career total to a phenomenal 542. He's currently fourth in points, but is especially adept at handling sprinters on shorter 3/8-mile courses.
The Outlaws will be racing on a 3/8-mile track for the 19th time this season. The reworked Clay County oval has 15-degree banking.
Schatz is the leading money winner this season, earning $348,550, and Saldana, who resides in Brownsburg, Ind., is next with $307,475 in earnings.
Kinser, from Bloomington, Ind., is probably the most high-profile driver in sprint car racing.
He began his World of Outlaws career in 1978 and in 1987 won 46 features, including 12 in a row.
As a 28-year-old in 1981 the former Indiana state high school wrestling champion missed qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, but returned 16 years later to Indy and qualified 14th for the 1997 race and finished 14th as a 42-year-old rookie.
Adult reserved seat tickets for the event are $35 and general admission is $30. Complete ticket information can be obtained by telephoning 712-262-4740. Pit gates open Wednesday at 2 p.m. and hot laps begin at 6 p.m.
Wednesday night in Spencer, the World of Outlaws visits the Clay County Fair for a greatest show of dirt event -- one of the rare Northwest Iowa appearances for the wild and wooly winged sprinters.
Sprint car racing's legendary drivers will vye for the $10,000 first-place purse.
The show will include current World of Outlaws champ Donny Schatz and Joey Saldana, who is fresh from winning $50,000 first-place money last weekend in the 54th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif.
Schatz has 14 A-feature wins this season and recently won his second straight Knoxville Nationals title. The Fargo, N.D., native holds a slim 19-point standings lead over Saldana.
Saldana, with 11 wins, including two on 3/8-mile tracks, finished second to Schatz at Knoxville last month.
Craig Dollansky, seventh in series points, has been instrumental in bringing the race to Spencer.
His wife, Julie, is a graduate of Spencer High School and the Elk River, Minn., native has put in countless hours helping Clay County Fair officials ready the reconfigured 3/8-mile track on the grounds of the world's largest county fair.
Dollansky has 39 top to finishes this season and has won three times, including a event at Skagit Speedway in Washington on Aug. 25 that paid $25,000 to win.
The field will also include elite drivers Danny Lasoski, Steve Kinser, Jac Haudenschild and Terry McCarl, the Altoona hotshoe who is the only fulltime World of Outlaws competitor from Iowa.
McCarl, a six-time track champ at Knoxville Raceway, won the first time on the Outlaws circuit earlier this summer on his home track.
At the Kansas City Raceway earlier this season, McCarl outdueled Schatz down the stretch to earn a feature win.
Kinser might be the most recognizable driver in sprint car racing.
He's won 20 World of Outlaws national driving titles and has nine feature wins this year to run his career total to a phenomenal 542. He's currently fourth in points, but is especially adept at handling sprinters on shorter 3/8-mile courses.
The Outlaws will be racing on a 3/8-mile track for the 19th time this season. The reworked Clay County oval has 15-degree banking.
Schatz is the leading money winner this season, earning $348,550, and Saldana, who resides in Brownsburg, Ind., is next with $307,475 in earnings.
Kinser, from Bloomington, Ind., is probably the most high-profile driver in sprint car racing.
He began his World of Outlaws career in 1978 and in 1987 won 46 features, including 12 in a row.
As a 28-year-old in 1981 the former Indiana state high school wrestling champion missed qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, but returned 16 years later to Indy and qualified 14th for the 1997 race and finished 14th as a 42-year-old rookie.
Adult reserved seat tickets for the event are $35 and general admission is $30. Complete ticket information can be obtained by telephoning 712-262-4740. Pit gates open Wednesday at 2 p.m. and hot laps begin at 6 p.m.
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