One Night with the Outlaws/ Mopar Backs 4 Crown/ Round and Around/ IRL Update
One Night with the Outlaws
Batesville, Arkansas - The closest the World of Outlaws Sprint Series will come to me this year is Batesville, Arkansas, some 3.5 hours away from the house. How could I consider myself and Open Wheeler if I didn’t see a WoO race this season?
So I loaded up the car and headed to the Ozarks. Batesville Speedway. The track dodged rain all afternoon but when I arrived the drivers and fans were ready to go. A good crowd was on hand along with a good car count.
It was good to see several people that I hadn’t seen since the 2005 Knoxville Nationals. All were extremely excited to get back to racing after a few weeks off. Dirt Motorsports have really stepped up their operations from a technology perspective. (More on this story later in the week.) Batesville Speedway is a short track where you are almost always turning. You never go straight.
The World of Outlaws Sprints are still the WoO and put on a fantastic program. Fellow University of North Dakota hockey fan, Donny Schatz won the event.
Overall, the program was as good as or better than the 2005 version. The program didn’t have Kinser or a few other regulars but it did have Swindell, Lasoski, Schatz and Dolansky as well as the other top “Mean 15” drivers. It was a good show and definitely worth the drive. Later this season, I will attend the National Sprint Tour’s stop at Cedar Lake Speedway and give you my review of the new series.
Check back with this website later this week for more images and stories from Batesville.
Mopar Gets Behind the Four Crown Nationals
TJ amd Marie Buffenbarger reported tonight on their live webcast from Eldora that Mopar will sponsor the Four Crown Nationals. According to the story on their website, each USAC division will be running for $25,000 to win. If a driver can win all three races, they will be paid a bonus of $100,000 from Mopar. If a driver can pull off what Jack Hewitt did and win in all four divisions on the same night, Mopar will kick in an additional $25,000, titled the Jack Hewitt Challenge.
Jerry Coons Wins at Eldora
Jerry Coons Jr. won the USAC National Sprint Series opener at Eldora tonight. According to the live webcast at http://www.tjslideways.com/, Coons started outside the pole and quickly passed Matt Neely for the lead. From there the Arizona native checked out until the final laps when teammate Tracy Hines battled with him for the lead. According to the report, Hines did a slide job on Coons but the full time Hoffman Auto Racing driver held off his teammate for an exciting win.
Around and Round
What goes around comes around and Open Wheel rookies were on the receiving end of helped spins today at Martinsville. Erin Crocker, Boston Reid and Kraig Kinser were all sent spinning by other competitors today. The rookies weren’t the only victims, veteran Terry Cook was sent spinning twice. A record, sixteen cautions plagued the event, mainly in turn 2. Bobby East went for a spin in turn two on lap 13. 62 laps later Kraig Kinser spun in turn 2. Boston Reid spun in turn two on lap 102.
Erin Crocker went around on lap 113 in turn two.
17 laps later, Kraig Kinser went around again with a little help in turn 2.
Veteran Terry Cook went around with a little help in turn 2 on lap 137. Cook again was a victim of other’s mistakes in 3 car pileup in turn 4 on lap 151. Kinser went around for the third and final time when he got together with Ragan in turn 4. Needless to say, our Open Wheelers are ready to move on to their next race in St. Louis.
David Starr won the event.
Open Wheeler Truck Results
1. (David Starr)
5. Mike Bliss
13. Bobby East
19. Terry Cook
23. Kyle Krisiloff
25. Erin Crocker
29. Kraig Kinser
31. Boston Reid
Open Wheelers Cup Lineup
1. (Jimmy Johnson)
3. Tony Stewart
4. Ryan Newman
5. Kasey Kahne
8. Jeff Gordon
14. Dave Blaney
15. Carl Edwards
18. Ken Schrader
19. JJ Yeley
27. Robby Gordon
32. Casey Mears
Mears gets new Crew Chief
Brad Parrott is the new crew chief for Casey Mears in the Busch Series. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates next Busch race for Mears is scheduled on April 8 at Texas.
Dario Franchitti on IRL Pole
Dario Franchitti set a new track record today and claimed pole position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Tony Kanaan who will start second is looking to rebound after accidentially taking himself our of the race last weekend by hitting pit wall.
IRL IndyCar Lineup
1 Dario Franchitti (27)
2 Tony Kanaan (11)
3 Sam Hornish Jr (6)
4 Scott Dixon (9)
5 Helio Castroneves (3)
6 Bryan Herta (7)
7 Buddy Rice (15)
8 Tomas Scheckter (2)
9 Kosuke Matsuura (55)
10 Marco Andretti (26)
11 Roberto Moreno (20)
12 Vitor Meira (4)
13 Dan Wheldon (10)
14 Danica Patrick (16)
15 Scott Sharp (8)
16 Felipe Giaffone (14)
17 Eddie Cheever Jr (51)
18 Buddy Lazier (5)
19 PJ Chesson (91)
Paul Dana Tribute
Several drivers will honor Paul Dana during the race tomorrow. Some have his initials DP or number 17 on their cars or person.
Simmons may drive No. 17
ESPN and Trackside Online www.tracksideonline.com is reporting that Indy Pro Series driver Jeff Simmons may drive the No. 17 as soon as Motegi. TSO reports that Simmons has signed with Rahal Letterman.
Newcomer Wins IPS Race
2005 Star Mazda series champion Raphael Matos won the Indy Pro Series race today at St. Pete. The series will run again tomorrow prior to the IndyCar Series.
TV Schedule
Sunday12:30 pm Formula One Australian Grand Prix SPEED
12:30 pm Pre-Race Martinsville FOX
1:00 pm Nextel Cup Race Martinsville FOX
2:30 pm Indy Car St Petersburg FL ESPN
7:00 pm Speed News SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED
To see images that go along with this update, please visit out sister site http://openwheeler.blogspot.com/. The website will also have updates throughout the weekend.
Still photo images courtesy of R.E. Technologies, SPEED and NASCAR Digital Entertainment.
Batesville, Arkansas - The closest the World of Outlaws Sprint Series will come to me this year is Batesville, Arkansas, some 3.5 hours away from the house. How could I consider myself and Open Wheeler if I didn’t see a WoO race this season?
So I loaded up the car and headed to the Ozarks. Batesville Speedway. The track dodged rain all afternoon but when I arrived the drivers and fans were ready to go. A good crowd was on hand along with a good car count.
It was good to see several people that I hadn’t seen since the 2005 Knoxville Nationals. All were extremely excited to get back to racing after a few weeks off. Dirt Motorsports have really stepped up their operations from a technology perspective. (More on this story later in the week.) Batesville Speedway is a short track where you are almost always turning. You never go straight.
The World of Outlaws Sprints are still the WoO and put on a fantastic program. Fellow University of North Dakota hockey fan, Donny Schatz won the event.
Overall, the program was as good as or better than the 2005 version. The program didn’t have Kinser or a few other regulars but it did have Swindell, Lasoski, Schatz and Dolansky as well as the other top “Mean 15” drivers. It was a good show and definitely worth the drive. Later this season, I will attend the National Sprint Tour’s stop at Cedar Lake Speedway and give you my review of the new series.
Check back with this website later this week for more images and stories from Batesville.
Mopar Gets Behind the Four Crown Nationals
TJ amd Marie Buffenbarger reported tonight on their live webcast from Eldora that Mopar will sponsor the Four Crown Nationals. According to the story on their website, each USAC division will be running for $25,000 to win. If a driver can win all three races, they will be paid a bonus of $100,000 from Mopar. If a driver can pull off what Jack Hewitt did and win in all four divisions on the same night, Mopar will kick in an additional $25,000, titled the Jack Hewitt Challenge.
Jerry Coons Wins at Eldora
Jerry Coons Jr. won the USAC National Sprint Series opener at Eldora tonight. According to the live webcast at http://www.tjslideways.com/, Coons started outside the pole and quickly passed Matt Neely for the lead. From there the Arizona native checked out until the final laps when teammate Tracy Hines battled with him for the lead. According to the report, Hines did a slide job on Coons but the full time Hoffman Auto Racing driver held off his teammate for an exciting win.
Around and Round
What goes around comes around and Open Wheel rookies were on the receiving end of helped spins today at Martinsville. Erin Crocker, Boston Reid and Kraig Kinser were all sent spinning by other competitors today. The rookies weren’t the only victims, veteran Terry Cook was sent spinning twice. A record, sixteen cautions plagued the event, mainly in turn 2. Bobby East went for a spin in turn two on lap 13. 62 laps later Kraig Kinser spun in turn 2. Boston Reid spun in turn two on lap 102.
Erin Crocker went around on lap 113 in turn two.
17 laps later, Kraig Kinser went around again with a little help in turn 2.
Veteran Terry Cook went around with a little help in turn 2 on lap 137. Cook again was a victim of other’s mistakes in 3 car pileup in turn 4 on lap 151. Kinser went around for the third and final time when he got together with Ragan in turn 4. Needless to say, our Open Wheelers are ready to move on to their next race in St. Louis.
David Starr won the event.
Open Wheeler Truck Results
1. (David Starr)
5. Mike Bliss
13. Bobby East
19. Terry Cook
23. Kyle Krisiloff
25. Erin Crocker
29. Kraig Kinser
31. Boston Reid
Open Wheelers Cup Lineup
1. (Jimmy Johnson)
3. Tony Stewart
4. Ryan Newman
5. Kasey Kahne
8. Jeff Gordon
14. Dave Blaney
15. Carl Edwards
18. Ken Schrader
19. JJ Yeley
27. Robby Gordon
32. Casey Mears
Mears gets new Crew Chief
Brad Parrott is the new crew chief for Casey Mears in the Busch Series. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates next Busch race for Mears is scheduled on April 8 at Texas.
Dario Franchitti on IRL Pole
Dario Franchitti set a new track record today and claimed pole position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Tony Kanaan who will start second is looking to rebound after accidentially taking himself our of the race last weekend by hitting pit wall.
IRL IndyCar Lineup
1 Dario Franchitti (27)
2 Tony Kanaan (11)
3 Sam Hornish Jr (6)
4 Scott Dixon (9)
5 Helio Castroneves (3)
6 Bryan Herta (7)
7 Buddy Rice (15)
8 Tomas Scheckter (2)
9 Kosuke Matsuura (55)
10 Marco Andretti (26)
11 Roberto Moreno (20)
12 Vitor Meira (4)
13 Dan Wheldon (10)
14 Danica Patrick (16)
15 Scott Sharp (8)
16 Felipe Giaffone (14)
17 Eddie Cheever Jr (51)
18 Buddy Lazier (5)
19 PJ Chesson (91)
Paul Dana Tribute
Several drivers will honor Paul Dana during the race tomorrow. Some have his initials DP or number 17 on their cars or person.
Simmons may drive No. 17
ESPN and Trackside Online www.tracksideonline.com is reporting that Indy Pro Series driver Jeff Simmons may drive the No. 17 as soon as Motegi. TSO reports that Simmons has signed with Rahal Letterman.
Newcomer Wins IPS Race
2005 Star Mazda series champion Raphael Matos won the Indy Pro Series race today at St. Pete. The series will run again tomorrow prior to the IndyCar Series.
TV Schedule
Sunday12:30 pm Formula One Australian Grand Prix SPEED
12:30 pm Pre-Race Martinsville FOX
1:00 pm Nextel Cup Race Martinsville FOX
2:30 pm Indy Car St Petersburg FL ESPN
7:00 pm Speed News SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED
To see images that go along with this update, please visit out sister site http://openwheeler.blogspot.com/. The website will also have updates throughout the weekend.
Still photo images courtesy of R.E. Technologies, SPEED and NASCAR Digital Entertainment.
posted by Blake Johnson at 9:37 PM
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