08.29.10: An Even Dozen
After having some bad luck on Friday night in the opener of the Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway, and losing a significant amount of points in the battle for the World of Outlaws championship, Joey Saldana looked to rebound in the finale of the two-day event at the Canadian oval. He did exactly that, getting back on track in impression fashion winning a thrilling race on Saturday night over Donny Schatz and Sam Hafertepe Jr. that saw the trio trade countless slide jobs in lapped traffic.
Saldana slid Hafertepe in turn four in lapped traffic on the 30th lap to take the lead, after nearly taking the top spot a few laps earlier. The second generation driver would lead the remainder of the distance to earn his series leading 12th A-Feature win of the season and his third in his last four starts at Castrol Raceway. The victory for Saldana was his 71st with the World of Outlaws, moving him ahead of Dave Blaney for seventh on the all-time win list.
“That was an amazing race,” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “I hope everyone here enjoyed it tonight. I had to really get my elbows up tonight. We had a great car and we had a great car last night and just got caught up in someone else’s mistake. Tonight it showed how good of a car we had. We are doing the best we can and everyone on this team is working hard. We have had no luck this year and sooner or later it’s got to turn around.”
Saldana lined up eighth and methodically worked his way to the front. He used a strong restart on the ninth-lap to move into the Top-Five. A double file restart on the 13th go-around helped him move into the third spot, where he then set his sights on Schatz. Saldana moved into second aboard the Budweiser Maxim just before the halfway point of the 35-lap contest with a perfectly executed slide job on Schatz in turns one and two. The pair would continue a torrid battle for the runner-up spot before they caught Hafertepe in lapped traffic.
“When Donny (Schatz) showed me his nose, I definitely knew that I had to get going or I was going to get beat,” admitted Saldana. “He was going to go by both of us. We were all running as hard as we could lap after lap. It was just a good race and I can’t say enough about my team.”
Saldana, the current World of Outlaws championship point leader, gained 18 points on Steve Kinser, who finished seventh on Saturday night and now has a 26-point advantage over the 20-time series champion. He also picked up 10 makers on Jason Meyers, who is finished fourth on Saturday night. Meyers remains third in the standings, and is now 38 points back. Saldana overcame a flat tire in his heat race to finish sixth to earn a spot in the dash by way of being second quick in time trials. He then had to give up the fifth starting spot in the dash and start at the tail by way of World of Outlaws rules for having to change a tire in a heat race.
“We are trying to win a championship and you can’t win championships when you are falling out of races,” deadpanned Saldana, who is a native of Brownsburg, Indiana. “We know we have a great car and are doing great things, we just get caught up in silly stuff and that’s just racing. Sooner or later it will turn around.”
What a Finish: Joey Saldana Edges Steve Kinser by 0.018 Seconds in Opener of the Magic City Showdown at Nodak Speedway
Minot, ND—August 20, 2010—To say the racing this season with the World of Outlaws has been close would be an understatement. Following what was the closest race of the season in the series last event on August 7, an even closer finish was in store on Friday night in the opener of the Gerdau Ameristeel Magic City Showdown Presented by Sleep Inn & Suites, as Joey Saldana inched out Steve Kinser in a Photo-Finish by just 0.018 seconds to score his series leading 11th A-Feature win of the season and his first victory at Nodak Speedway in Minot, North Dakota.
Saldana led on the white flag lap, with Kinser sliding him coming off turn four to take the top spot. The pair then drag raced down the front straightaway in front of the brand new state-of-the-art grandstand at the high-banked 3/8-mile, with Saldana winning by mere inches over the 20-time series champion. For Saldana, it was his 70th career World of Outlaws A-Feature win, tying him with Dave Blaney for seventh on the series all-time win list.
“That was amazing,” said Saldana. “I wasn’t getting through those lapped cars too good and didn’t want to change anything up and he almost beat me. I thought I had just lost the race. He was sliding across there and there was no grip across the middle and I just got lucky and got back underneath him and got the win. That was crazy with all the yellows and the double file restarts. It definitely makes it nerve wracking for a driver.”
With about 10 laps remaining, Kinser caught Saldana in lapped traffic and tried everything he could to get a run on him, finally achieving that on the final lap. The runner-up finish was his series leading 32nd Top-Five of the season, as he and Saldana battle at the top of the standings. The different between the two is now 13 markers with Saldana leading heading into the finale of the Magic City Showdown on Saturday night. Jason Meyers, who is currently third in points, began the night by setting fast time to earn five bonus points in the standings and ended up 11th in the main event in the GLR Investments KPC and is now 63 points out of the lead.
“I got it so sideways off of (turn) four that I just couldn’t get it gathered back up and get the car back under me,” Kinser said of the last lap duel. “I then spun all the way down the front chute and Joey (Saldana) chopped back under me. I didn’t get the job done, that’s all I can say.”
Saldana took the lead at the drop of the green from Kraig Kinser who started on the pole. While out front, the second generation driver endured five cautions, of which four led to double file restarts. He chose the high side of the track each and every time on the restarts en route to the win aboard the Budweiser Maxim.
“The bottom was good and I actually did think about going down there, but the leader gets to control the start so I figured if I had control I would be ok up top,” explained the winner. “A couple of times it got pretty close there. It worked out. I just got lucky tonight.”
Saldana had come close to winning a couple of times at Nodak Speedway the last few years, only to have bad luck befall him. He led a majority of the race last season before finishing second and also led a number of laps at the track two years ago in the Magic City Showdown.
“In 2008 we had a really good car and a lapped car spun out and I hit him and popped my left rear tire,” noted Saldana. “We were leading when then happened and then last year, we were leading and we broke an oil line off pretty late in the race. We had definitely been close here, so it feels good to get one.”
Halfway There: Joey Saldana Picks up Goodyear Mid-Season Championship as He Seeks His First World of Outlaws Title
Concord, NC—July 22, 2010—After winning a career-high 20 A-Feature events and 21 times overall last year, Joey Saldana has one goal this season and that is to win his first World of Outlaws championship. He is halfway to achieving that feat, as a very strong first half of the 2010 season has him on top of the series championship standings on the strength of 10 wins along with 25 Top-Five finishes and 30 Top-10’s. For his efforts through the first half of the 2010 campaign, he was named the Goodyear Mid-Season Champion on Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway, collecting $10,000 for being on top of the standings.
“It feels pretty good to pick up this bonus,” said Saldana. “I think it’s awesome that Goodyear is putting up the money and did something like this. It’s great that Goodyear stepped up and wanted to be part of our series. That in itself is huge for the World of Outlaws that Goodyear wanted to be involved with the series. To have them give us a Mid-Season point fund is great.”
Saldana quickly got up to speed with the new tires from Goodyear this season, finishing eighth or better in each of the first eight races of the season and taking the point lead for the first time following the fifth race of the year. He leads the series in laps led, as well as money earned and is tied with Steve Kinser for the most Top-Five finishes on the circuit.
“They have built us a great tire and are doing a great job,” shared the second generation driver when asked about Goodyear. “They just really got back into the sport with how long they had been gone. I think everything has been great. Goodyear is doing a great job and I appreciate their point fund. Hopefully we can win the whole deal at the end of the year.”
Saldana currently holds a 25-point lead over 20-time series champion Steve Kinser, as he chases his first series title. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana finished second in points in 2007 and has been third twice in his World of Outlaws career. In the 30-plus year history of the series, only seven drivers have won titles, with Steve Kinser leading the way with 20, Donny Schatz with four, Sammy Swindell with three, Mark Kinser with two, while Dave Blaney, Bobby Davis Jr. and Danny Lasoski each have one title.
Saldana has led the World of Outlaws championship standings for longer than any of the other three drivers that have sat atop the leader board this season, holding the top spot for a total of 28 races, despite suffering a significant hand injury back in March that required extensive surgery. There have already been eight lead changes at the top of the standings this season through the first 40 races.
“I’ve never really been in this position or in the position where I’ve had a legitimate shot at the championship,” explained Saldana. “We’ll just keep doing what we are doing. We are winning races, though when we are not winning, we are having terrible nights. The thing that is saving us right now is that we have won a lot of races and more than the next guys in points. We can’t fall out of races to stay in this thing. We’ll definitely keep working hard and hopefully we can win a championship for Kasey Kahne Racing.”
Joey Saldana Splits Twin 30’s and Wins Mid-Season Championship
Sarver, PA — Lance Dewease and Joey Saldana won the battles on Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway in the Twin 30’s, while it was Donny Schatz, who won the war, claiming the overall title in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup before a very large crowd at the historic high-banked four-tenths-mile. Schatz won the Silver Cup in 2006 and 2007, making him just the third driver to win the Silver Cup three times.
Saldana’s win, also earned him $15,000, and was his series leading 10th of the season and the 69th of his career, putting him just one victory shy of becoming the eighth driver all-time to win at least 70 A-Feature events.
“I’ll take it,” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “We started fourth and got the win. This is a track we have usually struggled at and to have two decent runs was pretty good. We should have had a Top-Five in the first one and got spun out and came back to 11th.”
The second Twin-30 saw Tyler Walked lead the first five laps from the drop of the green, before he spun on the sixth lap. Brian Ellenberger restarted on the pole, with Saldana diving under him entering turn one. The current World of Outlaws point leader, who earned the Goodyear Mid-season championship on Tuesday night, would lead the remainder of the 30-lapper. He chose the high side each and every time on the four double file restarts that ensued while he was out front in the Budweiser Maxim.
“We tightened the car up quite a bit from the first one and were still quite a bit loose,” Saldana said after winning the finale. “We just worked on the car and got a good result. The crew worked hard as always.”
Craig Dollansky came home second in the finale, with Meyers third, Schatz fourth and McMahan fifth. Jason Sides was sixth with Sammy Swindell one spot behind him. Sam Hafertepe Jr. was eighth in the second Twin-30 to score his second Top-10 finish of the night, with Dewease ninth and Kraig Kinser rounding out the Top-10 in the Quaker State Maxim.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, July 23 and Saturday, July 24 at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania for the Summer Nationals, which will pay $20,000 to win the finale.
Back on Top: Joey Saldana Wins Knight Before Kings Royal & Retakes World of Outlaws Point Lead
After a couple of frustrating races that saw him have some bad luck and fall to second in the World of Outlaws championship standings, Joey Saldana got back on track in a big way on Friday night, scoring the win in the Knight Before the Kings Royal at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio and retaking the top spot in the standings as well.
The $10,000 win was Saldana’s series leading ninth of the 2010 campaign and his 18th career triumph at Eldora, with nine of those coming in World of Outlaws events. With the victory, Saldana moved into sole possession of eighth-place on the all-time World of Outlaws win list with 68 A-Feature wins.
Saldana lined up second with Lucas Wolfe leading the field into turn one, before he blasted around the high side of turn two to take the top spot and quickly jumped out to a comfortable lead in the Budweiser Maxim.
“We worked hard and it was a great effort by everyone,” said Saldana. “This is the motor we should have won Lakeside (Speedway) with and I destroyed it. Rick Long with Speedway Engines worked really hard to get it back to us. There are a lot of people that helped us to get this motor back for this weekend and I can’t thank them enough for getting us an engine that can compete and win these races.”
Saldana was out front during two yellow flag and one red flag period on Friday night. He chose the high side of the track on each restart and charged into turns one and two to quickly open a lead. He would pace all 30 circuits to score his second win of the season at Eldora Speedway.
“I’ve seen this place so many times throughout the years just from watching and the top is faster,” shared the winner. “It seems like if you can get momentum faster than the next guy you’ll be ok. This track is definitely a momentum place and its fun when it’s like that, but it’s still pretty tough to drive.”
During a long green flag stretch that lasted 25 laps, following a third lap caution, Saldana set a blistering pace around the high side of the legendary high-banked half-mile and wound up lapping up to the 12th-place finisher. He looks for the track to be a little bit different tomorrow for the 27th Annual Kings Royal, an even he has won twice in his career.
“The track was pretty treacherous on the cushion tonight and I don’t think they’ll let it be like that tomorrow,” noted Saldana. “They’ll probably make it slicker so it’s more even for everybody. I was told there were a lot of lapped cars between us tonight. We’ll just have to wait and see. We learned a lot tonight and I know that lapped traffic will be very tough tomorrow. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Two in a Row: Joey Saldana Comes Out on Top of Jim Boyd “JB” Memorial at Beaver Dam Raceway
Beaver Dam, WI— July 10, 2010— Joey Saldana has said a number of times this season that you need a little luck on your side when racing with the World of Outlaws, and he has had a couple of potential wins slip through his fingers by circumstances out of his control and by having some bad luck. He certainly had good luck on his side on Saturday night as he was victorious at Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin in the Jim Boyd “JB” Memorial, despite having a rapidly deflating right rear tire during the waning laps at the high-banked 1/3-mile bullring.
Saldana had his Kasey Kahne Racing teammate Paul McMahan battle with him down the stretch, including on a couple of double file restarts. He held off McMahan to earn his series leading eighth A-Feature win of the season. The $10,000 victory for the second generation driver was the 67th of his World of Outlaws career which ties him with Stevie Smith for eighth on the all-time win list.
“We’ve given a few races away this year and in a situation like that, it’s out of your control and I thought we were going to give another one away tonight,” said Saldana in Victory Lane, when asked about his right rear tire. “We were able to hang in there and win the race. The crew definitely deserves to win with how hard they work day in and day out.”
Saldana was out front on six double file restarting, choosing the low line twice and the high line four times, including on the final double file restart with three laps to go. Following that restart, the red flag waved for a three-car incident involving Jason Meyers, Jac Haudenschild and Tim Kaeding before a lap had been completed, leading to a single file restart by way of rules.
“I was running better on the top and wanted to make that work up there,” explained the winner. “My car was good and it was a demanding race. Lapped traffic was pretty tough. You didn’t know where they were going to go. You just had to try and not make too many mistakes and luckily tonight we didn’t make too many.”
Saldana used the win to extend his lead in the World of Outlaws championship standings to 32 markers over 20-time series champion Steve Kinser as he chases his first title. In addition to leading the series in wins with eight, Saldana tops the leader board in Top-Five finishes with 23 aboard the Budweiser Maxim.
“We’re just doing the best we can do and I think we are better than what we are showing,” stated the native of Brownsburg, Indiana. “We’ve had a lot of situations that have been out of our control that have knocked us out of races. It was good to tonight. You have to have luck with these guys and tonight we had it.”
McMahan started fourth and got around Jason Meyers on the fifth lap for third and then worked his way by Lucas Wolfe on the 10th lap to set his sights on his teammate. McMahan was able to track Saldana down in traffic a couple of times, but was not quite able to make a pass. He fell back to third just past the halfway point of the 40-lap contest and again battled Wolfe for the runner-up spot before retaking it with 11 laps to go. The veteran would end up in the runner-up spot in the Great Clips Maxim.
“Joey (Saldana) had a tire going down and that was my only shot at getting by him since we weren’t going to get back into lapped traffic,” McMahan shared. “It was another good night for the Kasey Kahne Racing coming home first and second. My crew worked hard as always and it’s great to get good finishes for all of the people involved in this and who believe in me.”
Joey Saldana Reigns Supreme in Kasey’s King of LaSalle
LaSalle, IL— July 8, 2010—Joey Saldana opened the Showdown for the Bud Crown with a win back in March and he wrapped up the four-race mini-series in the exact same way on Thursday night, picking up the victory over his teammate Paul McMahan at LaSalle Speedway in Illinois during Kasey’s King of LaSalle Presented By Budweiser.
Saldana started sixth and quickly moved to the front. He challenged McMahan on a number of double file restarts, taking the top spot on a lap-22 restart. He charge into the lead in turn one, with McMahan battling back and taking the lead down the backstretch, with Saldana powering off turn four to move in front again. He would lead the remaining 14 laps en route to his seventh A-Feature win of the season and his first career triumph at LaSalle Speedway.
“It was a great effort,” said Saldana. “We drew dead last (for time trials) and qualified 10th. We started ninth in the dash and moved up to sixth and then went from sixth to win, that was a great effort. They can’t say that we started on the front row and they gave us that one. We worked for everything the whole night. We worked with our car and the whole crew did a really good job.”
Saldana was out front with two laps remaining when the third and final red flag of the night flew, setting up a double file restart and a two-lap shootout for the $10,000 top prize. Saldana chose the high side of the high-banked ¼-mile for the restart, which marked the only time of the six double file restarts on the night that the leader chose the high side of the track. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana used a strong restart to jump out to a couple of car lengths lead and was able to open a slight gap on the final lap on the way to his 66th career World of Outlaws A-Feature win, which put him just one behind Stevie Smith who is eighth on the all-time series win list.
“I knew it was better and my car was working better on the top,” shared the winner of his choice of the high side of the track on the double file restart. “I think the only reason Paul (McMahan) went up there was that I showed him my nose too soon and he felt like he felt like he was getting a good run up off the bottom. On initial starts, the bottom is definitely better, but on the double file restarts, the leader sets the pace, so to me the top was clearly better.”
For Saldana, it was his second win this season aboard the Budweiser Maxim with his car owner in attendance, both coming during events that were part of the Showdown for the Bud Crown which was promoted by Kasey Kahne along with the World Racing Group.
“He’s put a lot into the World of Outlaws and I just hope everyone appreciates what he’s doing,” said Saldana of his car owner. “I know we do and Budweiser does. He not only has these cars out here racing, but he takes time out of his very busy schedule to try and promote the World of Outlaws. That’s why he wanted to put this series on and come to these tracks that we hadn’t been to in a while and he got us back to these places. The crowds have been tremendous and the racing has been awesome.”
McMahan led the first 21 laps on Thursday night after starting on the pole. He was challenge by Lucas Wolfe early in the race and then Jac Haudenschild. Each time he was leading under caution, the veteran chose the low line in the Great Clips Maxim on the double file restarts. He came into the night second in the Bud Crown standings and wound up just four points behind Jason Meyers who claimed the title for the four-race mini-series.
“I knew if Joey (Saldana) got out front he would be hard to catch,” said McMahan. “He cleared me one time and I got back underneath him and we went back ahead and I just couldn’t clear him. It was a great effort by the whole KKR team to come home first and second. We tried to come in and win this Bud Crown tonight and came up just a few points short. We did everything we had to do. We out qualified Jason (Meyers). We matched him in the heat race and outran him in the main event. We just came up a few points short.”
Saldana Storms to Victory at Eldora Speedway: Scores Fourth Win of 2010
Rossburg, OH— May 7, 2010—Joey Saldana felt like a win slipped away from him last weekend at Jackson Speedway when he suffered a flat tire late in the going and he made up for it on Friday, as he was victorious in the opener of Outlaw Thunder by Goodyear for the World of Outlaws at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio, despite significant damage to the left sideboard of his top wing.
For Saldana, it was his fourth A-Feature win of the season, which ties him with current point leader Jason Meyers atop the win list. Saldana lined up sixth and gained two spot on the opening lap and was up to third on the second circuit. He got around Donny Schatz for second on the 11th lap and took the lead from Lucas Wolfe in turns three and four on the following circuit and would pace the remainder of the distance aboard the Budweiser Maxim.
“We had an awesome car tonight,” said Saldana. “That’s the way it was in ‘08 when we won a couple races here and were leading the others and blew tires. We kind of strayed away from that and last year we really struggled here. We went back tonight to how we ran our car in ‘08 and I can’t say enough about my guys. They did a great job.”
The first caution of the night flew on the 13th lap with Saldana choosing the high line to restart in, on the double file restart. He charged into turn one, with Schatz and Wolfe battling for the second spot. Saldana would open a big lead as the laps wound down, hitting lapped traffic again on the 19th go-around.
“At Eldora with how the track gets and my car was running very well on the top, so that was where I was going,” shared Saldana of the double file restart. “Even if I was on the bottom, I was going to the top. It was a really good night for us and we’ll come back tomorrow and hopefully we can duplicate this performance.”
The race was scheduled for 30 laps, but was declared official after a lap-25 caution when rain began to pour down. The final caution of the night flew for four-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz, who had a flat tire while running second. He ended up 18th as the final car on the lead lap.
For Saldana, the win was his eighth with the World of Outlaws at Eldora In his career at the famed half-mile with the series he has nearly 50 Top-10 finishes. Winning at Eldora is always extra special for Saldana, as his father Joe won a number of races at the track as well during his career.
“When my dad raced, this was actually one of the few tracks that I got to watch him race at,” explained the second generation driver. “It really hasn’t changed that much since then. Tony (Stewart) took it over and he kind of changed it a little bit, but now it’s back to the way it was when my dad raced here. When it’s like this, it’s such a fun track to drive. I love it and enjoy it. I respect it as well, because I know it can bite you. I just love racing here.”
Hard Charger: Joey Saldana Comes from 13th to Win at I-55 Raceway
Pevely, MO— April 17, 2010—Joey Saldana has earned some hard fought wins over
the years, but his victory on Saturday night at I-55 Raceway, was one of the
toughest and most demanding of his career, as he raced for the third time since
having 10 screws and a plate inserted into his broken left hand. He lined up
13th at the high-banked 1/3-mile bullring before a huge crowd and took the lead
on a double file restart with just five laps remaining.
It was Saldana’s second consecutive win at I-55 Raceway and his third career at
the track with the World of Outlaws. He now has three A-Feature wins this season
and is currently second in points, just 17 markers behind current leader Jason
Meyers, as each chases their first World of Outlaws title. Along with winning,
Saldana also earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award for passing the
most cars during the A-Feature.
“That was a great race car and a great race,” said Saldana. “The entire team put
in an amazing effort. I don’t know what to say. I’m glad to be in Victory Lane.”
Saldana took the lead on a lap-36 double file restart as he lined up on the low
side of the track after leader Craig Dollansky chose the high side. One final
restarted awaited Saldana on the next lap, which saw him choose the low line for
that restart aboard the Budweiser Maxim, making him the only driver all night
that chose to restart down low on a double file restart of which there were a
total of four.
“It was really tough running the cushion and I didn’t want to wear myself out,”
Saldana noted. “The car was working very good on the bottom and I just wanted to
stick with it.”
He was victorious last season at I-55 Raceway in the inaugural Ironman 55 which
returns again in 2010 on August 6-7. Saldana and his Kasey Kahne Racing team
look to use some of what worked on Saturday night when they return for the
Ironman in the heat of the summer.
“We’re definitely always trying things and learning new things, so hopefully it
does help when we come back here in August,” he stated. “The Ironman was a great
event last year and I’m really looking forward to it again this year. I always
enjoy racing at I-55. Everyone here does a great job.
Opening with a Bang: Joey Saldana Wins First Night of Kasey’s King of Bulls Gap
Presented By Budweiser
Bulls Gap, TN— March 19, 2010—Joey Saldana isn’t quite sure what it is about
Volunteer Speedway in Bull Gap, Tenn., but every time he has raced at the
blazing fast ultra high-banked four-tenths-mile he has been in contention for a
win. He extended that streak on Friday as he opened Kasey’s King of Bulls Gap
Presented By Budweiser on Friday night with a victory.
Saldana picked up his second consecutive win with the World of Outlaws at
Volunteer Speedway and the third victory of his career at the track in the event
which was co-sanctioned with the All Star Circuit of Champions. Saldana was
challenged throughout the race by 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser
and used a strong restart with five laps remaining to seal the win.
“It feels good to win again,” said Saldana. “Track position was key for me
tonight. I felt like we had a really good car on the long runs, but not on the
restarts. I definitely have to figure out these double file restarts, because
they haven’t helped me yet. I almost gave the race away on that one with Steve
(Kinser), but I’ll take it and we’ll come back tomorrow.”
For Saldana the win was his second of 2010 aboard the Budweiser Maxim and he did
it with car owner and NASCAR star Kasey Kahne in attendance. In addition to
promoting Kasey’s King of Bulls Gap Presented By Budweiser, which was the first
race of the Showdown for the Bud Crown four-race mini-series, Kahne also
competed on Friday night, fielding a total of four cars.
“It’s special anytime for a driver when an owner can see what you accomplish on
the race track,” noted Saldana. “It’s so hard for him with his schedule to be
able to make it to our races and see what we do week in and week out, but he
understands it. It’s nice when he is around to see it and appreciate it to run
well. He knows what he is doing for us is paying off. He does a lot behind the
scenes to make this deal happen. It’s gratifying to run well when he is here.”
Saldana led from the pole and jumped out to an early lead, hitting traffic just
five laps into the 35-lapper. He withstood five yellow flags and a red flag,
leading each time on the restart. Each time there was a double file restart, he
chose the low line and had Steve Kinser try a couple of slide jobs heading into
turns one and two in a bid for the lead.
“It would have been a shame if we had lost the race, because I felt like we were
getting through lapped traffic really good and were moving around good,” shared
Saldana. “Our car was really good. In sprint car racing anything can happen and
we almost gave it away tonight.”
A Winning Combination
Kasey Kahne Racing’s Joey Saldana Leads World of Outlaws Into Kasey’s King of Bulls Gap March 19-20 at Volunteer Speedway
Bulls Gap, TN—March 18, 2010—Even though it’s still very early in the 2010 campaign, Joey Saldana heads into Kasey’s King of Bulls Gap at Volunteer Speedway this weekend in a very good position, as he is the current World of Outlaws championship point leader on the strength of seven finishes of sixth or better in the first seven races of the season, with six of those being Top-Five runs including a win as he chases his first World of Outlaws championship.
Saldana looks to continue his strong start to the season this weekend as the World of Outlaws return to Volunteer Speedway for Kasey’s King of Bulls Gap Presented By Budweiser on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20. The two-day event is being promoted by Saldana’s car owner, NASCAR star Kasey Kahne. In addition to promoting, Kahne will also take part race at the high-banked four-tenths-mile, which is being co-sanctioned with the All Star Circuit of Champions.
“That is a neat track,” said Saldana who is in his fifth year driving for Kasey Kahne Racing. “Having it on the Cup weekend and Kasey (Kahne) promoting it, it’s going to be a huge event. Hopefully we can put on as good of a show as we did last time we were there. It’s a great place and a very unique race track. You never know what to expect, so hopefully we are at the front for both of the races.”
Saldana was victorious in the World of Outlaws debut at Volunteer Speedway in 2007 in a thriller over Tim Shaffer by just 0.199 seconds which was just a couple of feet on the track. Saldana has two career wins at Volunteer Speedway as he was also victorious at the track with the All Stars in 1993. The second generation driver has finished on the podium in all three of his career starts at the ultra high-banked and blazing fast four-tenths-mile which is just down the road from Bristol off I-81.
“That was an awesome race,” said Saldana recently when asked about the event at Bulls Gap in 2007. “It’s great to go back. We had a good turnout of fans the last time we were there. I have to thank Kasey (Kahne) for sticking his neck out and getting us two more races at this time of the year. It’s tough to get races at this time of the year because of the weather. Hopefully we get a good turnout and a lot of the folks who are up at Bristol come over to see some good short track racing.”
In addition to having his car owner on hand for the event, Saldana is looking forward to a number of other visitors from the NASCAR garage that will take in the action at Volunteer Speedway, in addition to fans that will make the trek over to the dirt track, which is one of the highest banked in the country and easily the highest banked the World of Outlaws compete on all season.
“It’s a very cool track and with the (NASCAR) Cup guys up the road 50 miles at Bristol, there will be a lot of people there that normally don’t get to see us race,” stated the native of Brownsburg, Ind. “It’s going to be a great turnout. The racing we had there last time was awesome and we were lucky enough to get the win and hopefully we can do the same thing this year.”
Kasey’s King of Bulls Gap will be the first two of a four race mini-series that the NASCAR star will be promoting in partnership with the World Racing Group. Points will be earned each night at Volunteer Speedway and following an event on June 16 at Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo., a race that Kahne will also compete in and a race on July 8 in the Chicago area, the final Kasey’s King event, an overall mini-series champion will be crowned in what is being dubbed at the Showdown for the Bud Crown.
“It’s nice to see that Kasey (Kahne) is supporting the World of Outlaws and all of the drivers, not just his own teams,” shared Saldana. “Going out and promoting races shows that it’s not all about him and his race teams, but it’s about everyone and making this sport succeed. He’s doing a great job with that.”
Saldana, who has been driving for Kasey Kahne racing since 2006, has Budweiser on his No. 9 machine for the third consecutive season and the brewer will be the title sponsor of the Kasey’s King four-race mini-series, providing $15,000 for the Top-Three in the final standings after the four races.
“Budweiser is not only supporting our car, but everyone’s cars with this deal with the point fund (for the four race mini-series) and hopefully we can go out and get some more of their money for the No. 9 car by winning a few of these races,” Saldana said with a smile.
Kahne, who cut his teeth racing winged sprint cars in the Pacific Northwest and on the West Coast, continues to be very hands on in helping spread the word about the World of Outlaws and sprint car racing in general, which Saldana sees as being nothing but a positive for the sport, with the name recognition that Kahne has.
“There’s more to it than most people see and it’s neat to see Kasey doing more than just people see with the No. 9 and (No.) 91 and (No.) 49,” explained Saldana. “There’s more going on that just that and that is what this sport needs to continue to grow and succeed.”
After leading the World of Outlaws with 20 A-Feature wins and 21 overall triumphs in 2009, Saldana and his team have one goal this season and that is to claim their first World of Outlaws championship. He is one of just three drivers that has finished in the Top-10 in each and every race this season. Last Friday night at Lone Star Speedway, he charged all the way from the 17th starting spot to finish third. Then the following night despite having some engine trouble at Houston Raceway Park, Saldana was able to nurse the car home to a fourth-place finish to keep his streak of finishes of sixth or better on the season intact.
“Last year our big goal was to win races,” explained Saldana. “Last year we won, but we didn’t get the points. This year we know we can win races so our objective is to be more consistent and run every lap and be on the race track. This year when we were at (Las) Vegas we had some tire trouble, but still were able to salvage a sixth-place finish. Last time that happened there we had a 20th place finish. I think that’s the goal in winning a championship, is that on your bad nights to still finish as strong as you can and run every lap. The competition is so tough with the World of Outlaws. You have to win races, and you have to run up front all the time. That’s a hard objective to do, but that’s our goal this year, to finish every lap and try to get the best finishes we can.”
On Friday, March 19 at Volunteer Speedway, reserved tickets will be $29 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race. General admission tickets for adults will be $29 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race, with general admission tickets for youth (ages 11-15) $15, with children 10-under admitted free of charge in the general admission section. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling the World of Outlaws at: 704-795-7223 or online at http://dirtcar.ticketforce.com.
On Saturday, March 20 at Volunteer Speedway, reserved tickets will be $29 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race. General admission tickets for adults will be $29 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race, with general admission tickets for youth (ages 11-15) $15, with children 10-under admitted free of charge in the general admission section. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling the World of Outlaws at: 704-795-7223 or online at http://dirtcar.ticketforce.com.
Second No More: Joey Saldana Scores First Win of 2010 at Thunderbowl Raceway
Tulare, CA— March 6, 2010—For many drivers, picking up the first win of a new season is one of the toughest feats to accomplish in racing. After being victorious 21 times overall last season with the World of Outlaws, Joey Saldana certainly knew the way to the winner’s circle heading into 2010. He came close to winning each of the first four races this season, finishing in the runner-up spot in three of those.
Saldana broke though in a big way on Saturday night at Groppetti Automotive Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California before a huge crowd to score his first A-Feature win of the season to earn $10,000 in the 35-lap contest aboard the Budweiser Maxim. It was the 60th A-Feature triumph of his career with the World of Outlaws.
“It was a great effort by my team,” said Saldana. “We blew up in the dash and they worked hard to get the motor changed, so we really didn’t get to work on our car too much. My car was pretty good for 35 laps and the motor held in there. It was a total team effort by everyone involved.”
For Saldana, the win was his third at Thunderbowl Raceway with the World of Outlaws, which is the most of any driver dating back to the series debut at the track in 2003. The second generation driver scored his first victory at the track in 2007 and followed that up with a triumph last season at the high-banked 1/3-mile. He used a couple of strong starts to jump to the lead over pole sitter Tim Kaeding.
“It’s very hard to win out here,” shared Saldana. “Last year we won the second race of the season and it just rolled. Once you win one, it seems like it comes easier and easier. It seems like you are not thinking about winning as much and worrying about racing. Now, we can focus on racing and hopefully win some more.”
In addition to winning on Saturday night, Saldana took over the top spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings after four-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz had some trouble and wound up 20th after making a couple of trips to the work area after earlier contact led to him getting upside down. Schatz was tied with Steve Kinser entering the event. Kinser came all the way from 21st to finish sixth, though fell a couple of spots in the standings to third. Saldana has a seven point lead over Jason Meyers, and is nine markers ahead of Kinser.
“When I’m leading in October, then I’d be happy,” Saldana stated when asked about leading the points. “This is so early in the year that points don’t matter yet. We just want to win races and keep our sponsors happy. As long as we are doing good and keeping everyone happy, I can continue to race and that’s my goal.”
Joey Saldana Wins 2010 DIRTcar Nationals Title: Looks to Carry Momentum to Las Vegas
Barberville, FL—February 9, 2010—Joey Saldana didn’t really know what to expect heading into the 39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio at Volusia Speedway Park, as he normally races for most of the off-season and arrives in the Sunshine State in mid-season form. The new tires from Goodyear, as well as some rule, format and procedural changes were on tap for the 2010 campaign as well.
None of that seem to affect Saldana and his Kasey Kahne Racing team, as they picked up a win and three second-place finishes to earn the 2010 DIRTcar Nationals title over the Tony Stewart Racing duo of 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser and four-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz.
“I was kind of worried,” shared Saldana of not racing in the off-season. “It’s been eight years where I have races all year round. This year I stayed home and I was worried about it, but I was able to prepare myself mentally and physically a lot more than I have ever. My guys gave me a great car and we came out strong and didn’t do anything different and came out the first night and ran second and had a shot at winning. Being out of the seat didn’t slow us down too much.”
Saldana began the DIRTcar Nationals with a runner-up finish in an event under the All Star Circuit of Champions banner. He followed that up with a win the next day after turning the second-fastest lap in time trials. He opened the World of Outlaws season with a second-place finish and was also second quick in time trials in that race. He wrapped up the four days of racing with another runner-up finish to score the most event points, which drivers earned each time they took to the track for time trials, heat races and feature events.
“It was a great effort for our entire Budweiser team,” he said of winning the DIRTcar Nationals overall title. “We worked hard all winter. To come out and pick up a win and run second three times is a great accomplishment. It was a good start to the season.”
Saldana, aboard the Budweiser Maxim, was one of just two drivers to finish in the Top-Five in all four races of the sprint car portion of the DIRTcar Nationals, with Steve Kinser being the other. Saldana leaves the Sunshine State tied for second in the World of Outlaws championship standings, just three markers behind Donny Schatz as he chases his first World of Outlaws title.
“Florida can make or break your season,” noted the native of Brownsburg, Ind. “When you work hard to gear up for a season with the World of Outlaws and you come to Florida and run well, it definitely sets a tone for the whole season. The guys put in so much effort over the winter and to come down here and see a good result keeps them pumped up and ready to drive to the West Coast and prepare for the rest of the season.”
Saldana and the rest of the World of Outlaws have a couple of weeks to regroup after the season opening DIRTcar Nationals, with the next event on the schedule set for Friday, February 26 at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Saldana has 22 career Top-10 finishes at Las Vegas as he chases his first career win at the half-mile in the desert.
“I go to the trainer (today) and then again on Thursday like I have been doing and try to keep doing what I’ve been doing,” he said, when asked how to keep the momentum going. “It’s worked for the two months that I have not been racing. I’ll just continue that for the next two weeks and head over to Vegas and hopefully we can keep our No. 9 up front.”
Joey Saldana Geared up for Run at Title in 2010
Concord, NC—January 29, 2010—Joey Saldana is more prepared for the 2010 World of
Outlaws season than any other one in his career. Rather than competing in
Australia for an extended period of time like he normally does in the winter, he
raced just once in New Zealand, where claimed a $20,000 triumph to score his
23rd and final win of 2009. He spent the rest of the off-season gearing up for
the 2010 campaign, both physically and mentally.
“I’m definitely ready,” said Saldana. “This is the first season in eight years
that I have not raced through Christmas. Usually I’ll race there and then have a
couple of weeks off before the season. My last race this year was around
Thanksgiving. I’ve had a lot of time off and am ready now to get back racing.”
Saldana will open the year in the 39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by the
University of Northwestern Ohio at Volusia Speedway Park, February 5-7. He has
won during the season opening event twice in his career with the World of
Outlaws including last year with a last lap pass of Jason Sides coming off the
fourth turn. It was the second time in his career he used a last lap pass to win
at the half-mile in a World of Outlaws event, as he also turned the trick in
2006 to inch out Jac Haudenschild.
“You definitely have to go in there and be on your game and it sets a tone for
the whole season,” noted the second generation driver of the DIRTcar Nationals.
“When you go down there and run well you kind of roll into the next race and the
race after that. It just makes the season seem like it goes a lot smoother. It’s
kind of like going to the (Knoxville) Nationals or the Kings Royal or Chico
(Gold Cup Race of Champions). There are a lot of good cars and you have to
qualify well and you have to race extremely well. It makes it tough. There are a
lot of people there watching.”
Saldana competed in the DIRTcar Nationals for the first time in 1994, finishing
third in an event with the All Star Circuit of Champions. He won for the first
time at the half-mile in 2001 and has since won in six different seasons during
the event. He was victorious for the first time with the World of Outlaws at
Volusia in 2006 in a last lap thriller over Jac Haudenschild, winning a drag
race down the front straightaway. Saldana has eight career wins in the DIRTcar
Nationals which is the second most of any driver competing full-time with the
World of Outlaws in 2010.
“We struggled qualifying-wise down there (last year) and were able to sneak out
with a win, by getting in the Top-Two of our heat race,” he shared of his win at
Volusia in 2009. “I think the biggest thing is that you can’t give up, you have
to keep digging. We could have been in the B-Main and walked into that race, but
we worked hard to get in the top two spots of the heat race and that was our
whole night there.”
Saldana will begin his fifth consecutive year driving for Kasey Kahne Racing in
2010, and looks to build on the ultra successful season the team had in 2009,
which saw them win 20 A-Feature events and 21 times overall. After finishing
third in points in the closest three-way point race in series history, Saldana
looks to contend again for a title in 2010. He has won 45 races since joining
Kasey Kahne Racing in 2006.
“I know we can win races and I know we can win big races,” said Saldana. “The
only thing that keeps us from winning a championship or a Knoxville Nationals is
DNF’s (Did not finish) or parts failure. A lot of the time it’s out of our
control. Being the age that I am, I understand that now and there’s nothing I
can do. As long as I am giving 100 percent, my guys see that and I’ll have a
ride. I do the best I can and try the best I can and as a driver’s that all I
can do and hopefully things falls into place and we can win a championship and a
Knoxville Nationals. I know that’s everyone’s goal. We don’t have either one of
them and those are two things I am looking forward to getting. It will take a
lot of hard work and dedication and we definitely put that in. We’ll try hard to
achieve that goal this year.”
Saldana will have Willie Kahne as his crew chief again this coming season. The
pair first worked together in 2006, which was Saldana’s first year driving for
Kasey Kahne Racing, owned by the NASCAR star. Saldana and Willie Kahne have
combined to win 27 races together and have finished third in points each of the
two seasons they have been paired up. Kale Kahne and Kolton Gouse will also be
back again in 2010 turning the wrenches, which gives Saldana the exact same crew
as he had last year.
“Willie, Kale, Kolton and myself work very well together,” shared Saldana. “For
myself this is my first year that I am coming into a season having the same crew
two years in a row. I’m looking forward to having guys that have worked with me
for a year and know me as a driver. Hopefully we can duplicate what we did last
year and win races and that’s our goal.”
After racking up a career high number of wins with the World of Outlaws in 2009
on a variety of tracks, Saldana feels that his team is a contender every time
they roll through the pit gate. One of his main focuses is making sure they
finish races and are consistent night in and night out to be in contention for a
title.
“I always wanted to win 15 races with the Outlaws and I went in ’08 wanting to
win 15,” he stated “I didn’t achieve that goal in ’08 so I went into ’09 wanting
to win 15 races. We definitely achieved it in ’09. I know how tough it is to win
20 races and only four guys prior to me had done it, so it doesn’t happen very
often. That’s definitely a goal. I want to go in there and win 25 races. I want
to do better than I did last year. I realize it doesn’t happen very often, but
my team is capable of doing it and we have the equipment to do it and have done
it. We just need to go out and duplicate what we did.”
Saldana points out a couple of key components that he believes are essential to
contending for a title in 2010. While he led more laps and won more races than
any other driver in the series last year, he was fourth in Top-10 finishes, with
each of the drivers that finished ahead of him in points earning more Top-10’s
as well as gaining more bonus points in time trials. He looks to gain
consistency as he chases his first World of Outlaws title, having finished
second in points in 2007, as well as third both last season and in 2006.
“We just have to work hard and try to put our car in position to win every night
and eliminate the DNF’s,” said the native of Brownsburg, Indiana. “I don’t know
how you do that, but we’ll have to try and figure it out and just continue what
we’re doing. We have a team that wants to win and has shown they can do it night
in and night out. We just have to do it again this year and when we have a bad
night, we have to still be out on the race track making laps and get the best
finish that we can.”
Donny Schatz & Joey Saldana Honored by North American 410 Sprint Car Poll
Concord, NC—January 14, 2010—With 2010 here and the season opening 39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park just about three weeks away, Donny Schatz and Joey Saldana are still being lauded for their strong 2009 campaigns, as both were honored today by the North American 410 Sprint Car Poll.
Schatz, who claimed his fourth consecutive World of Outlaws title last year, was voted the “Driver of the Year” by the North American 410 Sprint Car Poll for the fourth straight year. Saldana, who finished second in the “Driver of the Year” voting, received the “Wild Car Award” for his exciting performance in 2009 that saw him win a series-best 21 times overall with the World of Outlaws.
Schatz won 12 times on the World of Outlaws trail in 2009, collecting a series-best 39 Top-Five finishes along the way en route to claiming the title. Among his wins, were his second Kings Royal and also the 100th A-Feature victory of his career with the World of Outlaws, which came at Dacotah Speedway in his home state of North Dakota, making him just the fifth driver in the series 30-plus year history to cross the century mark. Schatz also claimed his fourth consecutive Knoxville Nationals, making him the only driver other than 20-time series champion Steve Kinser to accomplish that feat.
Saldana added his name to an illustrious list of drivers that have claimed 20 or more A-Feature wins in a single season with the World of Outlaws, joining Kinser, along with three-time series champion Sammy Swindell, two-time titlist Mark Kinser and Hall of Famer Doug Wolfgang. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana finished third in points on the strength of 48 Top-10 finishes in what was the closest three-way race in series history, coming up just 70 markers shy of his first title. Saldana’s team, Kasey Kahne Racing, was voted the 2009 “Team of the Year” as well by the North American 410 Sprint Car Poll for their performance over the course of the always grueling World of Outlaws season.
The North American 410 Sprint Car Poll is an annual awards program of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. Voting is conducted among a panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers. All awards will be distributed in the spring of 2010 at tracks throughout North America.
Schatz and Saldana will also be honored this Saturday night during the annual American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association All-America Team Banquet in Brownsburg, Indiana. Schatz was named to the First Team for the fourth consecutive year, while Saldana garnered Second Team honors for the second time in his career.
The 2010 World of Outlaws season kicks off with the 39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park February 5-7. For tickets visit: http://www.DIRTcarNationals.com or call 386-985-4402. Each ticket purchased is also a free fan pit pass.
Joey Saldana Finalist for SPEED Performer of the Year Award
Concord, NC—December 10, 2009—Joey Saldana is among the finalists, representing 10 different series for the 2009 SPEED Performer of the Year Award, which will be announced at the 4th Annual SPEED Performance Awards in February.
Saldana led the World of Outlaws in 2009 with 21 overall wins, with 20 of those being A-Feature triumphs, making him just the fifth driver ever to accomplish that feat, joining Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Doug Wolfgang and Mark Kinser. He wound up third in the series standings in the closest-ever three-way points race with Donny Schatz and Jason Meyers.
Saldana was victorious four times in 2009 in events that were televised on SPEED. The first of those came live on May 22 in the Outlaws Showdown at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway with his car owner, NASCAR star Kasey Kahne in attendance. Saldana used an impressive pass of Schatz in lapped traffic to take the lead and ultimately the win. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana claimed both nights of the Boot Hill Showdown at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas in June, with the cameras from SPEED capturing all of the action. He capped off the best season of his World of Outlaws career by winning the finale of the World Finals at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in November, again live on SPEED.
Among his wins in 2009, Saldana picked up his second career $50,000 Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway in California, as well as pocketing $20,000 for his triumph in the inaugural Ironman 55 at I-55 Raceway in Missouri. The second generation driver won at 15 different tracks in World of Outlaws action and recently put an exclamation point on his 2009 campaign, winning the $20,000 International Sprint Car event at Springs Speedway in New Zealand to score his 23rd overall victory of the year.
The 2009 SPEED Performer of the Year will be selected by a panel including Mario Andretti, “Wind Tunnel” host Dave Despain, veteran broadcasters Bob Varsha and Ralph Sheheen, SPEEDtv.com writers Robin Miller and Tom Jensen, versatile racers Tommy Kendall and Dorsey Schroeder and a select group of SPEED motor sports producers. The winner receives the Mario Andretti Trophy, created by bronze artist Elie Hazak.
Nine additional “Fan chosen” SPEED Performance Awards are open for voting at www.speedperformanceawards.com through Dec. 20, with winners being announced as part of a one-hour television special in February.
Other finalists for the 2009 SPEED Performer of the Year include: David Brabham (ALMS), Kyle Busch (NASCAR), Jenson Button (Formula One), Scott Dixon (IndyCar), Dario Franchitti (IndyCar), Alex Gurney/Jon Fogarty (Grand-Am), Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR), Mark Martin (NASCAR), Valentino Rossi (MotoGP), Donny Schatz (World of Outlaws) James Stewart (Supercross), Tony Schumacher (NHRA), Ben Spies (World Superbike) and Sebastian Vettel (Formula One).
Joey and teamates after their win at the International Sprint Car Classic.
Joey Saldana Named to AARWBA All-America Team
Concord, NC—December 1, 2009—Joey Saldana wrapped up a very successful 2009 season recently by being named to the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association Al-America Auto Racing Team. For Saldana, who led the World of Outlaws with 21 overall wins this past season, it was the second time in his career that he has been named to the Second Team in the “Short Track” category. Each of the two times that he has been on the voting ballot, he has made the All-America Team.
Saldana led the World of Outlaws in wins, laps led and money earned en route to a third-place finish in points in 2009, in what wound up being the closest-ever three-way battle for the title with eventual champion Donny Schatz and runner-up Jason Meyers. Saldana highlighted the season by winning his second $50,000 Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in California in 2009, along with the $20,000 inaugural Ironman 55 at I-55 Raceway in Missouri.
Victories also came for him at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, both of which were televised live on SPEED, along with winning both nights of the Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton and both nights of the Boot Hill Showdown at Dodge City Raceway Park, again with the SPEED cameras capturing all the action.
The second generation driver also was victorious twice at Lone Star Speedway and added single wins at Volusia Speedway Park, Thunderbowl Raceway, Silver Dollar Speedway in the Mini Gold Cup, Virginia Motor Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, U.S. 36 Raceway, Skagit Speedway and Deer Creek Speedway. Those wins helped Saldana move into ninth on the World of Outlaws all-time win list with 59 A-Feature triumphs, and he became just one of 10 drivers in the 30-plus year history of the series to win at least 50 A-Feature events.
“It’s definitely an honor,” said Saldana of being named to the All-America Team. “The biggest thing for me is that the World of Outlaws get recognized being on a team like that. That’s huge for our sport to receive that. We had a really good year in ’07 and made the team and I felt like this year we had a really good year too. You definitely have to run well to be recognized and we have done that in two years and hopefully we can continue to run that well in the next few years.”
Saldana recently wrapped up his season in New Zealand, winning the $20,000 International Sprint Car Classic at Springs Speedway over fellow World of Outlaws driver Craig Dollansky. Saldana finished 2009 with a total of 23 overall victories, which was a career high.
The AARWBA has been naming an All-America Auto Racing Team since 1970, and since the Outlaws Sprint Car Series was founded in 1978, the series has been represented in 29 of those years, with nine different drivers sharing those honors, including Saldana twice.
Joey's new off season helmet.
Saldana Wins Finale of World Finals While Schatz Wins 4th Straight Title
Posted Sunday, Nov 08, 2009
Concord, NC —
A Historic Night: Saldana Wins 20th Race of 2009 While Donny Schatz Captures Fourth Consecutive Title
A couple pieces of history were made on Saturday night live on SPEED in the finale of the World Finals at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway before a standing room only crowd as Joey Saldana became just the fifth driver in the 30-plus year history of the series to win at least 20 A-Feature events in a single season, while Donny Schatz became just the second driver ever to win four consecutive World of Outlaws titles.
Saldana’s win was his second of the season at the state-of-the-art four-tenths-mile and he joins an illustrious list of drivers that have won 20 or more A-Feature events in a season with the World of Outlaws, as only 20-time series champion Steve Kinser, three-time titlist Sammy Swindell, two-time champ Mark Kinser and Doug Wolfgang have accomplished that feat prior to Saturday night. Including a preliminary feature win during the Gold Cup Race of Champions in September, Saldana finished the year with 21 overall triumphs.
“This is great,” said Saldana. “In my mind I had won 20 (races), but it’s not official until you have that 2-0 and we did it. Not many men have done that and it’s a pretty tough feat to accomplish. It means our team is going in the right direction and we know we can do it. We definitely have the package to win races, we just have to work on the package to finish races and finishing respectable every night.”
Saldana lined up on the outside of the front row in the Budweiser Maxim on Saturday night, with pole sitter Dale Blaney taking the lead at the start and pacing the field for the 14 laps. The leaders found themselves in lapped traffic on the sixth go-around with Saldana closing back in after Blaney had opened a sizeable lead. Saldana went to the high side of turn four on the seventh lap, nearly taking the lead and then dove under Blaney in turns one and two on the next circuit again nearly taking the top spot. For the next four laps a couple of slower machines separated the pair with Saldana closing back in on the 14th lap. On the 15th lap Saldana charged to the high side in turns one and two and took the lead from Blaney and would go on to pace the field for the remainder of the 30-lapper.
“We put a little harder of a tire on and I didn’t know if he had a softer one, so I wasn’t pushing it,” notes the winner. “He just told me that he had the same tire I had on. With 30 laps, it will be a pretty fast pace and I didn’t want to do anything stupid. As soon as we got to lapped traffic and got moving around, that’s when I got him. We had a great car and just worked hard on it.”
The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway is the home track for Saldana’s Kasey Kahne Racing team, which is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. In addition to Donny Schatz, Saldana is the only driver that has competed in all 23 of the previous World of Outlaws races at the track.
Hoping you might add this to the WoO Media photos from Lone Star Speedway.
My little boy Sam Peck is a special needs little fella and Joey is his favorite driver.
Joey let him sit with him while he signed autographs before the races.
We are so glad to have WoO back in Northern Texas.
thanks,
Jeff Peck
Wichita Falls, TX
Texas Two-Step: Joey Saldana Wins Again at Lone Star Speedway to Claim Inaugural WoO Fest
Kilgore, TX— October 24, 2009—Not that Joey Saldana really needed a good luck charm with how strong he has been running this season, but just in case, he had one for the inaugural WoO Fest at Lone Star Speedway as his son Reece, who was on fall break from school, made the trip south from Indiana. Saldana won earlier this season at the half-mile located in Kilgore, Texas and also was victorious in Texas at Houston Raceway Park, both of which races his son was his in attendance for.
Saldana made it three-for-three in the state of Texas after wiring the field on Saturday night at Lone Star Speedway to score his series leading 19th A-Feature win of the season with the World of Outlaws and his career-high 20th overall victory with the series.
Saldana earned $12,000 for the win, which was the 58th of his World of Outlaw career as he continues to close in on Stevie Smith who is eighth on the all-time win list with 67 triumphs. For the native of Brownsburg, Indiana it was his fourth win of the season on a half-mile track aboard the Budweiser Maxim.
“This is another great win,” said Saldana. “I can’t thank Willie (Kahne), Kolten (Gouse) and Kale (Kahne) enough. They work really hard. Our shop is based out of Charlotte and they have to do a lot of extra driving to get this car to the race track. It was a great effort by this whole Budweiser team. We qualified in the Top-Five as well, so thanks to Speedway Engines.”
Saldana won the Crane Cams Dash to start on the pole for the 30-lapper with Sam Hafertepe Jr. getting the jump at the start and leading the field into turn one with Saldana moving in front in turn two. Hafertepe kept pace with him throughout the race in lapped traffic and closed to within a few cars lengths a couple of times when Saldana was not able to get around a lapped car. The only caution of the night flew on the 23rd lap, putting the leaders back in open track.
“The clear track definitely helped with how the track was, but my car was really good,” noted Saldana in Victory Lane. “The lapped cars were tough and the track was really fast and I didn’t want to do anything stupid. A couple of times I had to lift and just let the lap car go and get him back in the next corner. It was a great race and our car was great all night.”
The victory was Saldana’s third consecutive in the state of Texas and was the fifth win of his career in the Lone Star State. He has finished ninth or better in 10 of his last 11 starts in Texas and was quick to credit the vast number of starts he has in the state over the years to his success there the last few seasons.
“It’s a lot of time behind the wheels of one of these cars,” explained Saldana when asked what makes his so good in Texas as of late. “The pill draw definitely helped tonight, but you have to be fast all 30 laps. We just made the right adjustments on our car It was another great effort by my team.”
Another Super Finish: Joey Saldana Wins Thriller over Donny Schatz at Deer Creek Speedway in the Sprint for a Cure Summer Clash
Spring Valley, MN— September 19, 2009— Joey Saldana came out on the short end of a late race battle just a few days ago at Clay County Fair Speedway losing the lead on the final lap to Jason Meyers and he made up for that on Saturday night in the Sprint for a Cure Summer Clash at Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota, winning a late race duel with three-time and defending series champion Donny Schaz to pick up his series leading 18th A-Feature win of the season in the series inaugural visit to the immaculate 3/8-mile before a standing room only crowd in an event which was postponed by rain last month.
Saldana used a slide job in turn four on the 33rd lap to take the lead, though he drifted high exiting that turn with Schatz charging down the front straightaway to officially keep the top spot at the line. On the next lap, Saldana inched by Schatz again coming off turn four to take the point and officially be scored the leader at the line, with Schatz battling back and regaining the lead as the pair headed into turn one. Saldana ran the extreme high side of the track in turn two on the last lap and was able to charge around Schatz exiting that corner to take the lead and wound up winning by just a mere 0.273 seconds aboard the Budweiser Maxim.
“It was a great run, what can I say,” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “That was awesome. Hopefully my wife and son were listening to that one online, because it was pretty spectacular.”
Saldana moved into the second spot on the ninth lap and quickly began to close in on Schatz. On the 11th lap he was all over the leader and nearly took the lead coming off turn four. Saldana again made a bid for the lead on the 16th go-around with the caution coming out on the next lap. Following a caution on the 17th lap, the remainder of the 35-lapper would go non-stop putting the leader in traffic for a majority of the second half of the race.
“I was racing a really good driver and he was not going to make any mistakes,” noted the winner. “I was just doing whatever I could, because I knew I had to get in front of him. Jason (Meyers) got by me there and I got him back. It’s just really good hard racing. I wish some of the other guys would watch guys like Donny Schatz race, because he is probably the best guy you can race with. There are some guys that need to learn from him and I know that I need to learn from him. It definitely makes me better racing a guy like that.”
For Saldana it was his 18th A-Feature win and 19th overall triumph on the World of Outlaws circuit this season as he continues to add what has been a career year. It was his 57th career A-Feature win with the series as he continues to close in on Stevie Smith who is eighth on the all-time list.
“They are all special,” noted Saldana of his wins this season. “To win a World of Outlaws race these days is pretty tough. I don’t think people realize how tough the schedule is and then you have to race let alone the schedule. You just have to stick to what you are doing. I’m lucky to have Kasey Kahne Racing behind me. This is my fourth year with them and you normally don’t see that in sprint car racing. Owners want results and it’s tough to do. They’ve definitely been patient with me and we are doing well now.”
Saldana Wins 56th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions
Posted Saturday, Sep 12, 2009
Chico, CA — Solid Gold: Saldana Wins 56th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions
As Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and that mantra served true for Joey Saldana on Saturday night in the finale of the 56th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California, as he led just the final ¼-of a lap of the 40-lap contest to pick up a thrilling $50,000 win over Jason Sides.
Saldana ran second for the first 39 lap of the race and used lapped traffic on the final circuit to get a strong run on Sides in turn three and charged around him on the high side of turn four to take the lead and earn his second consecutive and third overall win of the season at Silver Dollar Speedway. For Saldana, it was his series leading 17th A-Feature win of the season and the 56th of his World of Outlaws career.
“This is definitely a race you want to win,” said Saldana. “The money is good, but it’s about the prestige. This is a great race. It has a lot of history and sprint car drivers want to win races like these. It’s really not about the money, but the history. It’s pretty neat to have won it twice. The first one makes you realize that you can win big races and this one is just as special.”
Saldana started on the outside of the front row in the Budweiser Maxim, with Jason Sides who started on the pole quickly jumping out to a lead. Sides had opened a sizeable lead when the first caution of the night flew on the fourth lap. Just two laps later the red flag would fly after Sides again used a strong restart to jump out to a comfortable lead.
After another restart, Sides worked his way into lapped traffic for the first time on the 12th lap, with Saldana gaining ground at this point. Side was using the low side of the track on the 13th go-around with Saldana right on him up high. For the next three laps, Sides was held up by a couple of lapped machines allowing Saldana to look both high and low for a way around him. The caution flew again on the 17th lap as the leaders were in very heavy lapped traffic.
“We had him there about halfway through and the yellow came out and that was the only way I was really going to get him,” noted the winner. “He was really good in the open. If the yellows would have kept coming out, I probably would not have gotten him. Luckily we got in lapped traffic and got him to move around and once he moved off the top there going into (turn) three we got a good run and got by.”
On the restart after the lap-17 caution, Sides again pulled away with Jason Meyers battling Saldana for the runner-up spot. At the halfway point of the 40-lapper, Sides was in open track and had a sizeable lead when the caution flew. A strong restart helped him jump to another large lead, though he would be in lapped traffic on the 25th lap when the caution would fly again. After another strong restart saw pull away, the caution flew on the 27th lap. After getting two more laps in after the restart, a red flag flew, leading to an open red which gave the teams a chance to work on their machine.
“We actually did change something,” said Saldana of the open red flag. “The night before we won, but I felt like we needed the car to be tighter. When the yellow came out and we didn’t get by him, I felt like everyone else’s cars were freeing up, so we moved our tire in and tightened the car up. I knew if I could get to him I could move around better than he could. I think that’s what helped at the end. Being more tight, you can run your car harder through those holes. It was a good choice by Willie (Kahne) to move that wheel in because that’s what probably won us the race.”
The final two cautions of the night both flew on the 29th lap, leading to an 11-lap shootout between Sides and Saldana for the $50,000 top prize. With eight laps to go the leader found themselves in lapped traffic with Saldana gained a significant amount of ground to close right in on Sides. On lap-35, Saldana looked high off turn four and then low in one and two on the following lap as he made a bid for the lead. Sides cleared the lapped cars with three to go, while Saldana still had a couple to negotiate.
With two laps left, Saldana cleared the slower machines and was right back on Sides’ rear bumper. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana went high off turn four on the last lap and shot around Sides and powered his way to the start/finish line to earn his second title in the Gold Cup Race of Champions.
A Clean Sweep: Saldana Wins Opener at Skagit Speedway
Alger, WA. September 4, 2009
One of the toughest things to achieve on the World of Outlaws circuit is to sweep an entire racing program. For the third consecutive season, Joey Saldana accomplished this feat as he set fast time on Friday night in the opener at Skagit Speedway, won the first heat race, was victorious in the Crane Cams Dash and took the checkered flag in the 30-lap A-Feature event at the high-banked bullring.
Saldana took the lead from Jason Sides on the fourth lap of the 30 - lap event and would lead the remainder of the race to push his season total of laps led to over 400. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana endured four red flags and three yellows over the course of the race en route to the win.
"It's a great accomplishment," said Saldana of his clean sweep. "It's so tough to do that out. Last year it was the first time that Donny Schatz had ever done it (in his career). That's how tough the competition is here. Like I've said, on any given night we are as good as anybody, it's just putting the whole thing together through the whole season. We've show that we are good enough to accomplish that feat. We have about 16 more races and I don't wish any bad luck on anyone. We just have to keep doing what we are doing and hopefully we are right there at the end."
For Saldana it was his third career win at Skagit Speedway, which is one of the home tracks of his car owner Kasey Kahne, who grew up cutting his teeth on the high-banked bullring. The victory was Saldana's 16th of the season aboard the Budweiser Maxim and the 55th of his World of Outlaws career.
"Kasey gives me a bonus when we win up here," quipped Saldana. "It's great to win here in Washington. The whole West Coast swing has always been pretty cool. My wife (Shannon) has always enjoyed coming out here. Growing up in Indiana, you don't get states and environments like this out here. I know that if I wasn't racing, I would never get to see places like this. It's cool coming out here."
The race began on Friday night with Jason Sides getting the jump on Saldana who started on the pole and led the field into turns one and two, only to have the first red flag of the night fly. On the complete restart, Sides again led the field on the low side of the track with Saldana moving up top. For the next three laps, Saldana was all over Sides and dove under him in turns one and two to take the lead on the fourth lap. The very next lap he hit traffic for the first time on the night and was working his way through the slower machines when a caution flew on the seventh lap.
The remainder of the race was interrupted by a number of cautions and red flags, though Saldana used strong restarts each time to quickly open a lead on Sides. With two laps to go, the final caution of the night flew and Saldana used another strong restart to pull over the final two laps and took the checkered flag by over a second on Jason Sides.
World Traveler: Saldana Wins Opener of Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway
Heading into the 2009 season, Joey Saldana had won sprint car races in Australia, New Zealand and numerous ones in the United States, though one place missing from that list was Canada, where the World of Outlaws have competed a total of eight times over the last three years. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana changed that on Friday night in the opener of the third annual Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, picking up the win to add a win north of the border on Canada to the list of countries he has won in.
For Saldana, it was his series leading 14th A-Feature of the season and the 53rd of his World of Outlaws career. He has now won six times on 3/8-mile tracks this season to lead the series aboard the Budweiser Maxim.
“It’s huge to win here,” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “This is a long trip up here and to come and race at a facility like this is nice. I wish there was more tracks like this and people that support 410’s (sprint cars). If you want to see good racing, this what it is, the World of Outlaws.”
Saldana lined up second and blasted his way into the lead on the high side of the track in turn two after Danny Lasoski led the field into turn one after starting on the pole. He quickly jumped to a big lead as Donny Schatz moved into second with Lasoski retaking that spot on the third lap, setting up a battle between Schatz and Kinser for the third position.
The leaders found themselves in lapped traffic for the first time on the sixth lap with Saldana continuing to use the high side of the track, as he worked through heavy traffic for the next eight laps before the first caution of the night flew on the 14th go-around. Saldana would endure five cautions over the course of the 35-lap contest with 20-time series champion Steve Kinser lining up second on each of the subsequent restarts.
“It was definitely better the longer the runs went,” noted Saldana of his car. “I saw Steve (Kinser) down there on the bottom a couple of times and I think that the longer we ran the better we got. I felt really good and I thought we may have put a little too soft of a tire on and if we had put a little bit harder tire on we would have been really good. It was a great effort by the team.”
Saldana used the high side of the track on each restart, with Kinser looking low entering turns one and two each time. On a restart on the 19th lap Kinser nearly got even with Saldana heading into turns three and four. Saldana used strong restarts each time to maintain his lead, including on the final restart of the night with just two laps remaining.
“It was a great race for us tonight and a great track,” Saldana stated. “It was awesome, I like tracks like that. It was a good run for the entire team. We worked hard all night. We drew the 10 (in the dash) and won the race. That’s hard to do with these guys.”
Sweeping through the Great White North: Saldana Wins Finale of Oil City Cup
Edmonton, AB— August 29, 2009—After becoming the first driver this season to win both ends of a two-day event with the World of Outlaws, back in June at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas, Joey Saldana remained the only driver to accomplish this feat when he did it for the second time of the year on Saturday night, taking the checkered flag in the finale of the third annual Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
He dominated the weekend at the 3/8-mile leading all 70 of the laps of the two A-Feature events to pick up a total of $20,000 as the Gold Rush Tour for 2009 continues. For Saldana, it was his series leading 15th A-Feature win of the season and the 54th of his World of Outlaws career.
“My crew works so hard and they definitely deserve to win these races,” said Saldana. “They give me a great car every night and it’s up to me to get the job done. It was a great weekend for this entire team and a great effort both nights.”
The race began with Jason Meyers leading the field into turn one with Saldana challenging him on the high side of turn two, with a red flag flying before they got to turn three. On the complete restart, Meyers again led the field into turns one and two, with Saldana blasting into the lead on the high side of turns three and four.
Saldana jumped to a quick lead and was just about to encounter lapped traffic on the fifth lap when the caution flag flew. A strong restart saw him quickly dart to a sizeable lead. He was working his way through lapped traffic on the eighth lap when he got into the wall in turn two, though he gathered it back up and retained the top spot over Jason Meyers.
The native of Brownsburg, Indiana continued to work his way through traffic aboard the Budweiser Maxim toward the halfway point of the 35-lap race. By the 20th lap he had over a two second lead as he weaved his way through the slower machines, when the second red flag of the night flew.
Meyers kept pace with Saldana on the ensuing restart and took the lead from him on the low side of turn three on the 22nd lap, when the red flag flew, before the lap was completed, thus giving the lead back to Saldana on the restart.
“It’s definitely better to be lucky that good,” the winner said with a smile. “We needed that yellow and I could kind of see how the lapped cars were getting faster on the bottom and it began to take rubber and Jason (Meyers) showed me that.”
Saldana would use a strong restart on the bottom of the track with 13 laps remaining to open a comfortable lead as the laps wound down. He worked his way through traffic over the final eight laps of the race and wound up winning by nearly four seconds.
Saldana endured a total of three red flags and a yellow en route to winning. Two of the red flags were opened up, allowing the crews to work on their machines.
“It was pretty good on the restarts, I just didn’t find that rubber on the bottom of (turn) two fast enough and that could have cost me the race,” he explained. “Once we got to the rubber we had a good car, on the top or wherever we were. They said we pulled away.”
Man of Steel: Saldana Wins Inaugural Ironman 55 at I-55 Raceway
Pevely, MO— August 8, 2009—Joey Saldana made history in a couple of ways on Saturday night winning the inaugural Ironman 55 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely Missouri before a huge crowd, to take home the $20,000 top prize. In addition to putting his name in the record books as the first ever victor in the Ironman 55, he also scored his 13th triumph of the season which set a new career high for him with the World of Outlaws.
For Saldana the win on Saturday night at I-55 Raceway in the inaugural Ironman 55 was the 52nd of his World of Outlaws career, moving him to ninth on the all-time list one ahead current fellow driver Jac Haudenschild. It was his first victory since July 8, which was a span of 13 races, the longest he had gone this season without a win.
“This is a very important race,” said Saldana. “It’s the first one and nobody ever forgets who won the first one. Thanks to everyone for going through all of the hard work to make this event and the track preparation that’s what made it a great race tonight. Thanks to the fans that stuck with us and made it happen.”
Saldana started fourth in the Budweiser Maxim and moved into second on the opening lap and quickly began to chase his teammate Craig Dollansky for the lead. Dollansky entered traffic for the first time on the sixth lap and Saldana kept pace with him as they weaved their way through the slower machines. Dollansky was really held up on the 18th lap, allowing Saldana to close right in on him. On the next lap, Saldana used a textbook slide job coming off turn four to take the top spot. He would pace the field for the remaining 37 circuits enduring one more caution and negotiating traffic for most of the remainder of the 55-lapper which was co-sanctioned with the All Star Circuit of Champions.
“It was a good run for us,” shared the winner. “We got a flat tire there and luckily we held on. We lost a race and a whole race car at Paducah (International Raceway in Kentucky) earlier this season because we blew a tire in the same situation. I’m glad it held air here tonight.”
The race began with Jason Meyers leading into turns one and two. A caution on the opening lap for Lance Dewease slowing on the track led to a complete restart. After a trip to the work area, Dewease who was scheduled to start on the pole had to tag the tail of the field moving third started Craig Dollansky to the pole position. He would lead from the outset with his teammate Saldana quickly moving into second.
A caution on the 30th lap led to a fuel stop, as the drivers were right up against the determined number of laps they would be able to complete counting both the green flag and yellow flag laps.
Saldana has to nurse his car late in the going as he his right rear tire had a hole in it and was going down. For the majority of the race, the second generation driver used the high side of the track just inches off the wall.
“I felt good on the bottom when I got Craig (Dollansky) there in lapped traffic,” noted the winner. “With a flat tire, anything could happen. I just wanted to keep it spinning and keep it going. At the end getting into (turn) one I was getting real tight and almost threw it away there a couple of times.”
After winning the opener of the Ironman 55 weekend on Friday night, Craig Dollansky led the first 18 laps of the main event on Saturday night and wound up finishing second in the DirecTV Maxim to earn his fifth podium finish in the last six races.
“It was a great run for Kasey Kahne Racing to have both cars one and two in a big race, it’s pretty neat,” Dollansky said. “It was a good effort by both race teams. Joey (Saldana) and I were nose to tail there all the way through the race. He got me there on the bottom in (turns) three and four and it looked like the bottom was good at that point of the race. I just was on top running up there and he just snuck by us.”
The World of Outlaws return to action on Wednesday, August 19 at Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota for their inaugural visit to the immaculate 3/8-mile.
Saldana is on drive for Outlaws Championship
Wins (11 this year) keep coming for sprint car driver
By Al Stilley / Star correspondent
Posted: July 9, 2009
World of Outlaws veteran competitor Joey Saldana is on the verge of surpassing his personal record for season wins.
Saldana, known as the Brownsburg Bullet, has 11 wins in 33 starts in the No. 9 Budweiser winged sprint car owned by NASCAR Sprint Cup veteran Kasey Kahne. Saldana had a personal-best 13 wins for a different team in 2006. He has the most wins and has led the most laps (248) of any driver this season.
"It would be my best season (wins), but I'm more concerned about avoiding DNFs (did not finish) because that can kill your chances for the championship," Saldana said. "I have no doubts about winning races."
Wins have not eluded Saldana, but the series championship has.
In 2007, Saldana was 19 points away from it with just a few races left before fading against eventual champion Donny Schatz. Saldana has been among the top five in points in five of the past seven years. He has three straight top-four rankings.
"If we can win the most races and Donny has more trouble, then we can be in position (for t
he championship," Saldana said, "but we have a lot of races left and anything can happen."
Saldana took advantage of a rare opportunity last weekend in the Eagle Nationals by placing third while Schatz, the points leader who races for Tony Stewart Racing, failed to finish. Saldana cut Schatz's points lead from 76 points to 32.
The World of Outlaws schedule consists of 74 races on dirt tracks throughout the U.S. The series had a race scheduled for Wednesday night in Burlington, Iowa. Up next are races Saturday at Beaver Dam, Wis., and Sunday in New Richmond, Ohio.
Saldana, 37, went to Lincoln, Neb., this week between races to visit family and friends. He is traveling for several weeks with his wife, Shannon, and son Reece.
Saldana and team owner Kahne are trying to avoid DNFs. They have only four this season, caused by a u-joint failure, an accident and two punctured tires.
Experience keeps him from being frustrated at not winning the championship.
"If I were 25, I'd probably not adjust to it very well, but we have a top-five car everywhere we go," Saldana said. "We have to stay up there and stay in control of our situation."
Among his most prestigious wins are triumphs at Concord, N.C., in late May after an open house at Kasey Kahne Racing in nearby Mooresville, N.C.; at Lawrenceburg, where he dedicated his win to the late Larry Rice; and his 50th career win in early June at Dodge City, Kan. His 11 wins are spread among eight states.
The team had to survive the elimination of money from Chrysler Corp. this season, although MoPar still provides parts, and a cutback in funding by Dodge.
Speedway Engineering on Indianapolis' Westside builds and services the team's engines.
Saldana praised Rick Long of Speedway Engineering; however, Saldana cautioned that less funding means less research and development.
"We've not had an engine failure," Saldana said. "We are fast, but it's more important that we are consistent in our engine performance, and that's where we have made progress since last season."
Saldana is a Brownsburg native who lives in Pittsboro. His wife is a Brownsburg High School graduate.
An Even Dozen: Saldana Wins at 34 Raceway to Earn 12th Victory of 2009
West Burlington, IA— July 8, 2009—Joey Saldana set a career high in 2007 with the World of Outlaws winning 12 A-Feature events over the course of that nearly 80-race season. The second generation driver matched that mark on Wednesday night at 34 Raceway in Iowa, winning for the 12th time in 2009 in just the 34th race of the season as he looks to eclipse his career high for victories with the series this season.
Saldana started on the pole and led the first 11 laps before Donny Schatz got around him on the 12th lap and would pace the next 20 circuits. After a thrilling battle in traffic that saw Saldana continually use the high side of the track before ducking under Schatz to take the lead on the 32nd lap. A late caution set up a green-white-checker finish that saw the race extended an extra go-around to 36 laps.
The win for Saldana aboard the Budweiser Maxim was the 51st of his World of Outlaws career, which moved him into a tie for ninth on the All-time list with recent Hall of Fame inductee Jac Haudenschild.
“That was an awesome race,” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “To be able to race Donny Schatz like that was great. I don’t know what to say. I think he had a better car than me, but I just didn’t want to give up.”
The race began with Saldana leading from the pole with Terry McCarl in second. Saldana began to pull away early in the race as McCarl has his hands full with Schatz.
The first caution of the night flew on the eighth lap, by which time Schatz was up to second and put him right on Saldana for the restart. He looked low in turns one and two and again in three and four in a bid for the top spot. On the 11th lap, Schatz looked under Saldana in turns three and four and the pair ran side-by-side with Saldana retaining the top spot.
On the very next lap Schatz went low again in turns one and two and took the lead from Saldana. As the pair worked their way through heavy lapped traffic, Saldana moved to the extreme high side of the track as he kept pace with Schatz. On the 14th lap nearly took the lead in turns one and two when Schatz was held up by a lapped car.
This battle continued for a number of laps in heavy traffic, with Schatz continuing to hold on to the lead. A caution would fly on the 24th lap giving the leaders clean track to work with. Schatz led on the restart with Saldana again going way up the track in turns one and two and getting a strong run down the back straightway. With seven laps to go, the lead pair was in heavy traffic and Saldana had closed right back up on Schatz again.
Saldana used the low side of the track in turns three and on the 32nd lap to take the lead back from Schatz, with the latter pulling back even in turns one and two. Saldana would lead down the backstretch and took the white flag as the leader with Schatz right on him when the final caution of the night flew, setting up a two-lap shootout by way of World of Outlaws rules that a race must end under two consecutive green flag laps. A strong restart helped propel Saldana, who led 15 laps on the night to the victory.
“I was just hanging with him and as soon as we got to lapped traffic he started moving and that helped me out,” noted the native of Brownsburg, Indiana. “I ran the top in (turns) one and two the whole race and it kind of cleaned off and started taking a little rubber off of two. He passed me early on the bottom and he never knew that was there. Luckily we got him back.”
Saldana won the Crane Cams Dash to earn the pole position for the 35-lap A-Feature, though he had some smoke coming from his car during the dash and immediately took it back to the pit area to have his crew tend to it. After making some repairs, they had the machine ready to go well in advance of the main event.
“We had an oil leak and they had to work on the valve cover and some stuff,” shared the winner. “There is nothing wrong with our Mopar. The engine ran great, it was just something that came loose. That’s the way it goes.”
Saldana is in the midst of his fourth season driving for Kasey Kahne Racing and has won 36 World of Outlaws A-Feature events since joining the team owned by the NASCAR star, who was in attendance for the win on Wednesday night.
“It’s exciting for this whole team,” said Kahne. “They have done a great job all season. To see a race like that with Joey and Donny like that was unreal. That was awesome to be here and be a fan and get to watch it. I am glad all you fans were able to see an awesome sprint car race tonight.”
The World of Outlaws return to action on Saturday, July 11 at Charter Raceway Park in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
Bullring Blitz: Saldana Looks to Continue 2009 Success on Short Tracks
Brandon, SD—July 1, 2009—For the last couple of years, Joey Saldana has been a master of the big, fast half-mile tracks that the World of Outlaws visit. This season he and his team are showing their versatility by winning a number of times on short tracks, those 3/8-mile and shorter. Of his 11 wins this season, seven have come on short tracks.
This weekend he’ll have a chance to compete twice more on high-banked bullrings, as the World of Outlaws open the Independence Day weekend on Friday, July 3 at Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota, followed by a stop at Eagle Raceway in Nebraska on Saturday, July 4. He was victorious last weekend on a tight, high-banked short track at U.S. 36 Raceway in Missouri.
“We’ve been pretty good on the short tracks this year,” said Saldana. “Hopefully we can continue that at Sioux Falls (Huset’s Speedway) and Eagle (Raceway). If we can continue to improve on our qualifying positions, then we’ll put ourselves in a position to win. That’s what you need to do out here is be in a position to win each night.”
Saldana is chasing his first career win at Huset’s, while he was victorious for the first time at Eagle Raceway in 2007, after making nearly 30 starts at the track. That win was a special one for him, as he had a number of family members from the Lincoln, Nebraska area in attendance. He is looking forward to going to Eagle this weekend, as a number of family members will again be in attendance.
“My grandma still lives there I have a couple of aunts and uncles that live there, so it’s pretty neat to be able to race there,” he shared. “They normally don’t go to the races in general. For me to be able to race there and them be able to come out and see what I do and be part of it is really neat. My dad grew up racing there so that makes it really neat. It’s a hard place to win at so hopefully we can do it again.”
Saldana is on pace to win a career high number of races this season with the World of Outlaws aboard the Budweiser Maxim for Kasey Kahne Racing, he is just two shy of tying his mark in 2006 when he won 13 events. He has had his wife Shannon and son Reece on the road with him for most of the summer, which helps him relax when he is not in the race car. With the always demanding schedule the World of Outlaws contest in the summer months, Saldana is glad that his family is able to travel with him from race to race during the heart of the summer.
“I think it really helps,” stated Saldana. “Last year they didn’t really come out that much and this year they have been coming to quite a few races. It just makes it nice when you have people there that aren’t concerned about how you are racing. They just want to be your wife and your son and enjoy being with you. It definitely makes it easier and takes the pressure of racing totally out of it.”
The month of July will be a busy one for Saldana and his fellow competitors, as they will take to the track 14 times in a 26-day period. A vast mixture of tracks will test the driver’s versatility from tight ¼-mile to a couple of ultra fast half-mile on the East Coast and tracks at all sizes in between. As a driver, this is the time of the year that Saldana looks forward to when he is able to race three and four times a week and stay sharp.
“I’d race every night of the week if I could, that’s the luxury of being a race car driver that gets paid to do it,” he noted. “For me that’s how I make my money, so to get to race is great. It’s just tough on the teams and financially on the teams with the travel expense. It’s tough on the crew always working on the race car and it seems like you don’t get any breaks. Hopefully we can get through July with a good month. The last few months have been good to us and hopefully we can carry that into July.”
Saldana enters this weekend’s pair of events second in the World of Outlaws championship standings on the strength of his 11 wins, along with 22 Top-10 finishes of which 17 are Top-Fives. He has led the most laps this season in A-Feature competition, pacing the field for almost 250 circuits. He also has won the Crane Cams Dash twice this season to earn pole positions in A-Feature events and has been quickest in time trials twice, as he chases his first ever series title.
“Right now our biggest thing is DNF’s (did not finish),” he said. “We have had four races this year that have really taken us out of the mix. We just need to eliminate situations like that, and it’s nothing we are doing as a team, it’s just part failures or flat tires, just racing circumstances that you have no control over. We just need to eliminate those and when you have a bad night, it’s not a 15th-place finish, but a fifth or a sixth or a seventh. We just need to continue to be consistent. If we do what we are doing now and lose the championship, at least we did the best we could do. It’s tough and it’s a long season and you really don’t know what to expect. We are not even halfway yet. We have a few more races until halfway and we have a lot to go before the end of the year.”
On Friday, July 3 at Huset’s Speedway all seats will be general admission and will be available beginning the day of the race, with adult tickets $35, with tickets for juniors (ages 8-14) still just $5 and kids ages 7-under will be admitted free of charge. For ticket information call the track at 605-582-3536 or visit http://www.husets-speedway.com.
On Saturday, July 4 at Eagle Raceway, adult reserved tickets will be $30 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race, with tickets for children ages 6-12 just $10 and kids 5-under will be admitted free of charge. Pit combos are also available for an extra $5 with a reserved ticket and include a reserved seat and a pit pass. Adult general admission tickets will be $30 if purchased in advance and $35 the day of the race, with tickets for children ages 6-12 just $10 and kids 5-under will be admitted free of charge. For tickets call the track at 402-238-2595. For more information visit: http://www.slspromotions.com.
Down to the Wire: Saldana Wins Thriller over Johnny Herrera at U.S. 36 Raceway on Last Lap
Osborn, MO— June 26, 2009—Officially Joey Saldana only led three times for three single laps on Friday night in the Missouri High-Banked Nationals at U.S. 36 Raceway, but he traded the top spot with Johnny Herrera countless times over the course of the 40-lap event, sometimes multiple times on the same lap, as the pair battled tooth and nail in heavy lapped traffic on the high-banked bullring.
Saldana would go on to lead the most important lap, the final one en route to picking up his 11th A-Feature win of the season and the 50th of his World of Outlaws career, making him just the 10th driver in the 30-plus year history of the series to accomplish the feat.
Saldana was running second coming to the white flag lap as the pair charged into turn one with a lap machine on the high side of the track. Herrera was bottled up for just a split second with the slower machine, giving Saldana the opening he needed as the pair headed for turn two. Saldana took the lead and would stay out front for the final half a lap.
“I don’t know what to say” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “I’m very proud of this team and this is a great team. It’s great to win. My dad just got inducted into the BCRA (Big Car Racing Association) Hall of Fame today so it’s pretty cool to win here tonight.”
Saldana started fourth and quickly got to third with Terry McCarl leading from the pole, but a caution came out before that lap was completed leading to a complete restart. On the second start, he again got to third after battling with Jason Meyers and he then got under McCarl in turn four to take the runner-up spot.
At this point, Herrera, who took the top spot on the opening lap of the second start from McCarl, opened a comfortable lead as he worked his way up to lapped traffic. Saldana closed in as the pair negotiated the slower machines, with a red flag flying on the seventh lap and giving them clean track to work with.
Herrera used a strong restart to quickly jump to a lead while Saldana had his hands full with Jason Meyers who was battling him for the second position. As Herrera got to traffic again, Saldana was able to gain ground and get right back up on him.
The World of Outlaws DODGE CITY event that was pre-empted on Saturday, June 20th, will now air on Saturday, June 27th, taking place of the second Dodge City show at 3 p.m. ET. That telecast will now occur on Sunday, July 5th at 2 p.m. ET.
Joey Saldana, family and KKR would like to express our deepest condolences for the family of Brian Healey who passed away on Thursday,
June 18, 2009.
Brian who was involved in ownership and promoting Parramatta City Raceway in Australia was also instrumental in importing American drivers and teams to travel to Australia during the winter months to race. Joey and his family were fortunate enough to be included in this several times during the past few years.
Our hearts are saddened by his passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to Sherri and family. We will always remember Brian and his funny sayings and ways. We are truly grateful for the opportunities Brian gave to us and we are thankful to have known him.
May your spirit rest in peace Brian.
Worth the Wait: Saldana Wins at Dodge City after Three Hour Rain Delay
Dodge City, KS— June 13, 2009—Mother Nature tried her best to slow down Joey Saldana after his win on Friday night, as heavy rain led to a three delay on Saturday night after the first seven laps of the A-Feature were in the books for the World of Outlaws at Dodge City Raceway Park. Saldana was out front when the rains hit and he and his team overcame a blown engine during hot laps leading up to the resumption of the race, to lead the remaining laps to sweep the Boot Hill Showdown with the cameras from SPEED capturing all the action.
Saldana has four career wins at Dodge City to lead all drivers and also leads the series this season with 10 A-Feature wins in 2009. He used the victory in the finale of the Boot Hill Showdown to move into the second spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings as he chases his first career title aboard the Budweiser Maxim.
“My guys did an awesome job,” said Saldana. “We blew up in hot laps and made a pretty quick motor change. We didn’t get to work on our car and definitely didn’t have the best car. I guess we led the lap that mattered most. My guys did a tremendous job tonight. I don’t know too many teams that could have pulled that off. This all goes out to them.”
Saldana started second and charged to the lead with Donny Schatz chasing him in the early going. The first stoppage of the night occurred on the fifth lap when the red flag flew for a Ben Gregg flip and was followed a lap later with another red for a hard accident involving Jason Meyers, who was running fourth and had something break on the car sending him into the turn four wall. Just one lap later, the red flag flew again, this time for rain.
“I watched a little TV and was hoping we would get it in,” said the winner of what he did during the delay. “This is a great facility and it would have been a shame to have lost it to rain, so I am glad we got it in.”
When the race resumed, some three hours and 22 minutes later, Saldana quickly pulled out to a sizeable lead over Schatz. The pair got to lapped traffic late in the race, with Schatz gaining ground over the last few laps. With just two laps to go, Schatz ran side-by-side with Saldana through turns one and two, with the latter pulling away on the back straightaway. On the final lap, Schatz went high off turn four and came up just 18-thousandths of a second short at the line.
“That was the only chance I really had, when we got to a little traffic,” said Schatz. “It was just one of those nights.”
Schatz wound up second in the Armor All J&J and retained the lead in the World of Outlaws championship standings.
A standing room only crowd was on hand for the event, with a hearty bunch waiting out the rain delay to see Saldana pick up the 49th win of his World of Outlaws career. He is now just two behind Jac Haudenschild for eighth on the all-time list.
“Thank you guys for staying,” said the second generation driver to the diehard fans that stuck out the delay. “It sure was some crazy weather tonight. This is a great facility and you are lucky to have it, so support it every week. Hopefully we’ll get to come back next year.”
Ninth Wonder of the World of Outlaws: Saldana Wins at Dodge City Raceway Park
Dodge City, KS— June 12, 2009—Joey Saldana has always enjoyed racing at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas and has always been fast at the track as well. After becoming the first World of Outlaws driver to win two career A-Feature events at the track last season, he picked up his third victory at the pristine 3/8-mile on Friday night, after taking the lead from Jason Meyers on a restart on the eighth lap, pacing the field the rest of the way, with the cameras from SPEED capturing all of the action for future broadcast.
For Saldana, the $10,000 triumph was his ninth win of the season, which matches his car number. He now has 48 career World of Outlaws wins and is just three victories out of the eighth spot on the all-time win list and two short of 50 A-Feature victories.
“That was a great car tonight,” said Saldana. “I can’t say enough for my team. They did an awesome job. We were running so good up top. The longer I ran, the better I got. The lapped car were pretty tough. They didn’t realize you were running the top. It was a great run for us.”
On the seventh lap, Saldana caught Jason Meyers and ran side-by-side with him down the back straightaway. He looked high in turns three and four and then dove under Meyers as the pair charged into turns one and two on the next lap, nearly taking the lead. The caution then came out and on the restart, Saldana went to the high side in turns one and two and powered his way around Meyers. He would go on to lead the final 23 laps of the 30-lap contest aboard the Budweiser Maxim for Kasey Kahne Racing.
“I had him passed and he kind of chopped me going down into one,” Saldana noted. “I thought I had a bunch of mud in my left front and I thought that may have cost me the race. I knew once I could get him, I was pretty good, so I wasn’t very worried.”
Saldana began the night by turning the 16th fastest lap in time trials, which put him on the pole for the fourth heat race which he won to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash where he finished sixth. He moved up to fourth on the second lap and just two laps later was in third. He took the runner-up spot from Brian Ellenberger on the fifth go-around and set his sights on Meyers.
“It seems like all year we have struggled in qualifying and with our car all night, until we push off for the feature and we have hit on something,” explained the winner. “We just have to qualify better and get our qualifying package better. I don’t know if it’s me or what, but someone has to do a better job and it’s probably me. That win right there shows, that’s a good car.”
Home State Hero: Saldana Wins at Lawrenceburg
Lawrenceburg, IN— June 5 2009—Growing up around sprint car racing in the state of Indiana, Lawrenceburg Speedway has always been hallowed ground for Joey Saldana and a track that he had come close to winning at a couple of times with the World of Outlaws, including in his last start at the former ¼-mile configuration in 2006. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana found Victory Lane at the reconfigured high-banked and blazing fast 3/8-mile in his home state on Friday night, besting Terry McCarl to pick up his series leading eighth World of Outlaws A-Feature win of the season and the first of his career at Lawrenceburg.
Saldana took the lead on the 20th lap from McCarl in lapped traffic exiting the fourth turn and would lead the remainder of the 35-lap contest to pick up the $10,000 top prize aboard the Budweiser Maxim. It was Saldana’s 47th career World of Outlaws win which puts him in sole possession of 10th on the all-time list.
“This is huge,” said Saldana. “This is one of the tracks that I grew up at. Obviously it’s a different track now than what it was when I started. I’ve never won a race here before, so that is a great effort for myself. When you grow up racing these tracks, you want to win on them. It’s always special to win at home. My dad was here tonight and doesn’t normally come to the races, so that was huge for him to get to see me win.”
With the win, Saldana moved into the second spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings and trails three-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz by just 25 points as he chases his first career series title.
“To get our eighth win is great,” said the second generation driver. “Last year, going into Dodge City (next week’s race) was the first race that I won all season. To be able to say that I have won eight before we go to Dodge City goes to show that our team worked hard all winter. We have a long season and we have to keep it up.”
McCarl led from the pole position, with Saldana taking the second spot from Jason Sides on the opening lap. McCarl opened a slight lead during the first few laps, before the first caution flag of the night flew on the third lap for Steve Kinser, who came to a stop on the front straightaway, while running eighth. He went to the work area and came back out, but his car would not fire, thus ending his night.
McCarl led on the restart and again quickly opened a lead on Saldana. Just three laps later, the leaders were in lapped traffic, with McCarl slicing his way through the slower machines. The caution flag flew again while the leaders were in traffic, giving them a clear tack to work with.
McCarl used another strong restart to pull away from Saldana, though a couple laps later they were in traffic again and Saldana began to track the leader down. Just past the halfway point of the race, Saldana was right on McCarl. He made the pass for the lead and ultimately the win on the bottom of turn four on the 20th lap, sliding in front of McCarl.
“He was really getting antsy with it (lapped traffic) and I was running him down fast,” explained Saldana. “I was hoping he would do something and when he did, I capitalized on it,” noted the winner. “Once I got the lead, I just kind of hung with them and made sure I didn’t do anything stupid. I’d go to the bottom and make sure I could get a good clean slide back to the cushion.”
A fitting tribute: Joey Saldana won the Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway live on SPEED on Friday night and dedicated the win to Hall of Fame driver and longtime broadcaster Larry Rice, who passed away earlier in the week. Saldana grew up watching Rice compete against his father Joe and also took in many of the races that Rice was part of the television coverage of. Rice was a three-time USAC (United States Automobile Club) champion and won numerous races across the country in non-wing sprint cars, midgets and Silver Crown cars. He competed twice in his career with the World of Outlaws, with both of those starts coming at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse in 1978 in twin feature events, finishing eighth in the opener.
“For all of us sprint car guys, he was the person you looked to when it came to sprint car racing on television, when sprint car racing was first on TV. Most of us were fans of the Thursday Night Thunder races and Larry was a big part of that. I have a lot of great memories of him when he raced against my dad. It felt like he was with us here in this win.”
Moving on up: Saldana Breaks into Top-10 on All-time Win List after Paul Sawyer Memorial Victory
Jamaica, VA— May 23, 2009—Joey Saldana joined an elite group of drivers on Saturday night, after winning the Paul Sawyer Memorial at Virginia Motor Speedway to break into the Top-10 on the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series all-time win list. The $10,000 victory was the 46th of his career and places him in a tie with former series champion Bobby Davis Jr. for 10th all time.
Saldana started on the pole and dominated the event from start to finish, lapping all the way up to the 13th-place finisher in an event that went non-stop green to checker, after an opening lap red flag led to a compete restart.
“This was a complete team effort again tonight,” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “My crew just kept plugging away. This is a very special win as well being my 46th. I looked up to Bobby Davis and I actually got to work on his car a few times and that was pretty cool. Hopefully we can get the next guy and get up there with guys like Doug Wolfgang and Donny Schatz.”
Saldana’s team worked feverously to change an engine after time trials in preparation for the third heat race, in which he would finish second to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash. He won the dash to earn the pole for the 30-lap main event with Sam Hafertepe Jr. starting next to him on the front row at the state-of-the-art half-mile.
“We were pretty good on the top or the bottom,” Saldana stated. “These cars with the new wings, you have to chase your car all night. You can’t give up on what you have. We qualified 12th and put ourselves in the right position and came out with a win. We did the same thing last night (at Charlotte). My team doesn’t give up.”
Saldana leads the World of Outlaws with seven wins this season, already surpassing his win total from last year by two victories. He has won at seven different tracks ranging in size from a ¼-mile bullring to the big half-mile at Virginia Motor Speedway in the Budweiser Maxim. Saldana looks to extend his win streak to three on Monday as a busy Memorial Day weekend wraps up for the World of Outlaws at Canadaigua Speedway in New York.
“Now we have to go on to the next race and it’s hard to stay on top with these guys,” noted the second generation driver. “It seems right now like it’s easy to win, but it’s not. It’s a great team effort. I can’t thank Kasey (Kahne) and Budweiser and everyone enough for all that they do.”
Extra Special Win for Saldana: Wins Live on SPEED with Kasey Kahne in Attendance
Concord, NC— May 22, 2009—It was a big week for Joey Saldana and his Kasey Kahne Racing team. After opening a brand new shop just down the road from The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the Charlotte area, Saldana was able to race in front of his car owner on Friday night in the Outlaw Showdown at the four-tenths mile, in an event that was also broadcast live on SPEED. Saldana made the most of the opportunity, winning for Kahne at what is considered the team’s home track in front of a huge crowd.
Saldana passed three-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz in lapped traffic on the 20th lap and led the rest of the way to score his series leading sixth win of the season and the 45th of his career with the series, which moves him to just one spot out of the Top-10 on the all-time list.
“Tonight was a great night,” said Saldana. “I am so proud of this entire team. Kasey (Kahne) expects us to get results with all that he does, so this was a great one to get for him. It was a great effort by everyone involved here tonight.”
Saldana lined up second and ran side by side with Schatz in turns one and two on the opening start, with Schatz surging ahead down the back straightaway. Schatz began to pull away on the third lap when the first caution of the night flew. He led on the restart and within four laps was again in heavy lapped traffic.
Saldana was held up a bit in traffic allowing Schatz to pad his lead. Schatz then got held up by the slower machines giving Saldana another chance to close in. On the 20th lap in traffic, Saldana made the pass for the lead and ultimately the $12,000 win aboard the Budweiser Maxim going under Schatz in turn two.
“For me as a driver to be able pass Donny Schatz in lapped traffic and set him up to do it, is huge,” shared Saldana. “That is what he always does and he is the best at. Maybe I am learning from what he does to us. It was definitely a great run for us.”
For Saldana, the win bested his entire win total for the 2008 season. It was his first victory in May, after winning five times in the first 11 races of the season. He started the night by timing in seventh in time trials, though only was able to finish fifth in the third heat race. That time from the beginning of the night was good enough to get him in the Crane Cams Dash, where he would finish second to earn a front row starting spot for the 30-lap contest.
KASEY KAHNE RACING GRAND OPENING
Wednesday, May 20th, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM. Be part of the action…join Kasey and Kasey Kahne Racing’s World of Outlaw Drivers, Joey Saldana and Craig Dollansky in celebrating the new Kasey Kahne Racing Headquarters. Don’t miss your chance to WIN Lowe’s Motor Speedway Coca Cola 600 and WoO race tickets, merchandise and other cool prizes PLUS have the opportunity to get driver autographs! Autographs are limited to 200 people.. Wristbands will be available through the Mooresville Kasey Kahne Store on the 20th. First come, first served. Please note one band per person, one autograph per person.
Grand Opening Wednesday, May 20th Schedule*
9:00 AM -Kasey Kahne Store Opens
4:00 PM -KKR GRAND OPENING KICKOFF, hosted by ESPN’s Marty Smith
- Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
- Q&A with Kasey and WoO Drivers, Joey Saldana and Craig Dollansky
- Autograph Session inside KKR shop**
6:00 PM -Event Concludes
7:00 PM -Kasey Kahne Store Closes
Address: 265 Cayuga Drive, Mooresville, NC 28117
Directions: Take I-77 Exit 36 (Mooresville), East on Hwy 150, turn left on Talbert Road, turn left on Byers Creek Rd, turn right on Cedar Pointe Dr., turn right on Cayuga Dr. follow to 265 Cayuga Dr.
* schedule is subject to change
** come to the Mooresville Kasey Kahne Store on the 20th to get your wristband (200 available). First come, first served. Please note one band per person, one autograph per person.
Joey racing in Bloomington, IN back in 1999. Joey is in the 17 car.
Texas Two-Step: Saldana Wins Texas Shootout at Houston Raceway Park
Baytown, TX— April 11, 2009—It had been a couple of years since Joey Saldana had raced in Texas prior to this weekend, but he quickly remembered how much he enjoys racing in the state after winning on Friday night in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series return to Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore and he backed that up with a victory to cap off the weekend in the Texas Shootout at Houston Raceway Park on Saturday night. It was his first win at the track located in Baytown in his 14th start at the facility.
“It was a great weekend in Texas for sure,” said Saldana. “I can’t wait to come back here again and the fans saw a good show tonight. I can’t thank Budweiser and Kasey enough for what they do. I’m very proud of this entire team right now. All of the hard work is really paying off.”
The $10,000 triumph at the high-banked ¼-mile was Saldana’s series leading fifth aboard the Budweiser Maxim to start the 2009 season. He also moved to within just four points of 20-time series champion Steve Kinser, who is second in the series championship standings as they chase three-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz. Saldana now has 44 career World of Outlaws A-Feature wins and is just two shy of Bobby Davis Jr., who is 10th on the all-time win list.
The race began on Saturday night with a quick caution that led to a complete restart that saw Jac Haudenschild lead the field into turns one and two, with Johnny Herrera coming all the way from fourth to sweep past Steve Kinser, Joey Saldana and Haudenschild who had started on the pole. Saldana started fourth and moved to third on the opening lap. He moved into second the following lap and took the lead on the third circuit, using the high side of turns three and four to power his way past Herrera.
Saldana quickly began to pull away as the battled for second raged as first it was Kinser tracking down Herrera and then Haudenschild. For most of the race, the second spot provided the best battle on the track, with eight different drivers trading the runner-up spot over the course of the 40-lap event using every inch of the racing surface. In open race track, Saldana had a couple of very sizeable advantages, though in lapped traffic the other frontrunners were able to close the gap.
“We were chasing our car all night and the crew: Willie (Kahne) Kolten (Gouse) and Kale (Kahne) worked hard all night,” shared the winner. “Kale changed a lot of torsion bars and we got a lot better feeling car toward the feature. I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know if I should go to the bottom or the top.”
With just two laps to go, Craig Dollansky passed his teammate Saldana in turn two in lapped traffic, but Saldana was able to retake the lead on the back straightaway as Dollansky was bottled up a little bit by a lapped car and also was nursing a left rear tire that had a puncture in it. Saldana powered his way back in front and was able to extend that margin at the checkered flag, as Dollansky had his hands full with Donny Schatz who worked his way from the 14th starting spot in the Top-Three.
“It was a good race and had to hit your marks,” noted Saldana. “Craig (Dollansky) tried to get by me there coming off of (turn) two and I just stopped and got a good run off the bottom. It was a great win for us.”
A welcome return: Saldana wins at Lone Star Speedway in Texas
Kilgore, TX— April 10, 2009—Joey Saldana picked up a birthday gift for himself last month by winning on the opening night of the Mini Gold Cup in at Silver Dollar Speedway in California and he followed that up by scoring a victory at Lone Star Speedway in Texas for his car owner Kasey Kahne who celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday.
Saldana led all 30 laps in the World of Outlaws return to high-speed, high-banked half-mile oval in Kilgore to pick up the $10,000 top prize. It was his fourth A-Feature victory of the season, which is the most of any driver and it was also the 43rd of his World of Outlaws career, which puts him just three wins out of the Top-10 on the all-time series win list.
“This is awesome,” said Saldana in Victory Lane. “That was a great effort by our team. We were strong in qualifying, the heat race, the dash and the feature. Last year we won five races and we struggled. We had a good car and just didn’t finish races. This year at least we are finishing races. All of the hard work is paying off this year.”
Saldana used strong starts on eight occasions aboard the Budweiser Maxim on Friday night, as caution flags plagued the 30-lap contest. The yellow flew three times before a single lap was in the books, leading to a complete restart each time. On all of those starts, Saldana who lined up on the outside of the front row found himself in the lead by the time the field entered turns one and two. He battled Jac Haudenschild on the initial two starts and then Wayne Johnson on the third one, after Haudenschild was penalized one row for a crew member working on the car during the fuel stop that followed the third caution prior to the first lap being completed.
“You never really know who is behind you and I knew that Haud (Jac Haudenschild) would be tough on the top,” noted Saldana. “You just have to stay focused and hit your marks and try not to screw up. It was a good night for me.”
The race on Friday night was the first for the World of Outlaws at Lone Star Speedway since 2004 and a huge crowd welcomed the series back to the blazing fast track, which is owned and operated by the family of World of Outlaws driver Sam Hafertepe Jr. Saldana now has three career wins in the state of Texas.
“I’m so happy to be racing in Texas, especially Kilgore,” Saldana said. “This is a beautiful facility. I’m glad all the fans came out and supported this. We need to be back in this state racing. The Outlaws belong in Texas. Hopefully the fans will want to come back next year.”
Saldana Wins at Thunderbowl Raceway
Posted Saturday, Mar 21, 2009
Tulare, CA —
Last year Joey Saldana didn’t pick up his third World of Outlaws win of the season until August, which was 43 races and seven-plus months after the year started. Saldana is five months ahead of last year’s pace, as he was victorious for the third time in 2009 on Saturday night in the finale at Thunderbowl Raceway over Terry McCarl, whom he traded the lead with officially once, but unofficially a number of times as the pair jockeyed for the top spot on the high-banked bullring before a packed grandstand, en route to claiming the $10,000 top prize.
Saldana moved to within four victories of moving into the Top-10 all-time with the World of Outlaws, after scoring the win at Thunderbowl Raceway to bring his career total with the series to 42. He now has three career wins at the track, with two of those coming in World of Outlaws effort aboard the Budweiser Maxim for Kasey Kahne Racing.
“It was a great effort for the team,” said Saldana. “We made all the right adjustments all night long. We were good in the heat, the dash and the feature. That is all you can ask for out of your crew and your car. Hopefully we can win some more. Three is a good start to the season.”
The race began with Terry McCarl and Sammy Swindell battling for the lead in turns one and two with McCarl getting the initial jump and Swindell battling back to lead down the back straightaway.
While they jockeyed for the top spot in the early going, Saldana patiently waited in the wings until the trio got to lapped traffic before making his moves.
Saldana lined up third in the 35-lap contest on Saturday night and worked his way into second on the 10th lap, getting around Swindell, who led the first seven laps of the main event. After using a textbook slide job to move into second, Saldana looked to track down Terry McCarl.
Saldana was able to reel McCarl in when the leaders hit heavy lapped traffic around the 10th lap. By laps 12 and 13 he was even with McCarl and took the lead a couple of times unofficially, with McCarl inching back ahead each time at the line to be scored the leader. On the 14th lap, Saldana was able to slide past McCarl as they exited the fourth turn and then won a drag race down the front straightway to lead into turns one and two.
Once out front, Saldana weaved and sliced his way through traffic, with McCarl waiting to pounce at the slightest of opportunities. He was held up once which allowed McCarl to quickly close back in on him.
“My car was working really good,” noted the winner. “I know that Terry (McCarl) got to me and when I got to Haud (Jac Haudenschild), I didn’t know what he was really going to do, so I slowed myself down because I didn’t want to do anything stupid in lapped traffic. The track was pretty tough with the cushion right around the fence and I hit the wall a couple times and didn’t want to knock my front end out.”
The entire 35-lap event went from green to checkers, non-stop, providing plenty of lapped traffic for the front runners to negotiate on the high-banked bullring. Saldana was able to slice his way through traffic using both the high and low side of the track. McCarl was able to close back in on Saldana in the late going when the pair was mired in heavy traffic, but each time he got a run he was not quite able to get around Saldana.
“It was surprising, but this is the World of Outlaws and these guys are professionals and we are supposed to put on a good show for the fans and go non-stop,” shared Saldana. “I think the fans saw a great race and there was plenty of good racing out there. I’m fortunate to get to drive this car and get another victory.”
Saldana Shines at Silver Dollar Speedway: Wins Opening Night of Mini Gold Cup
Chico, CA— March 13, 2009— Over the years, Joey Saldana has learned that patience is a vital aspect of sprint car racing, especially on bullrings where lapped traffic always comes into play. Saldana used plenty of patience on Friday night in the opener of the 23rd Annual Mini Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California to pick up the $10,000 win over Jason Meyers and Terry McCarl.
Saldana began the night by setting a new track record in time trials, charging around the high-banked ¼-mile in 10.918 seconds, becoming the first driver ever to eclipse the 11-second barrier in the 50-plus year history of the track. He then got around teammate Craig Dollansky in lapped traffic on the 26th lap of the 40-lap event and would lead the remainder of the way, enduring a number of late cautions.
“It feels great,” said Saldana. “This is a great effort for Kasey Kahne Racing. We had a very good car. I can’t thank Budweiser and Kasey enough for the opportunity that they have given me.”
Saldana started fifth in the Budweiser Maxim and got around Jonathan Allard on the opening lap, before charging past Donny Schatz on the second circuit. He then shadowed Terry McCarl for a number of laps as the pair tried to track down Craig Dollansky. Saldana was able to get by McCarl on the seventh lap and then set his sights on his Kasey Kahne Racing teammate. He would catch Dollansky in traffic on the 26th lap as he was held up by a couple of slower machines, giving Saldana the perfect opening he needed to charger under him on the low side of the track on the front straightaway and quickly open a sizeable advantage.
“My car was so good the longer that we ran in open track,” he explained. “I was keeping up with Craig (Dollansky) and waiting for lapped traffic to come to us. I kept moving around the track so I would be ready for that.”
Rolling the dice: Saldana chases first win in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV— February 25, 2009—Joey Saldana doesn’t get to race in front of his car owner Kasey Kahne very often, but when he does get the opportunity, it is something that he greatly enjoys. Though the NASCAR star is competing on most of the same days as Saldana, he is able to keep up with all of the action from the World of Outlaws online via DIRTvision.com. For the second consecutive event to open the 2009 season, Kahne will be in the pits as Saldana takes to the track on Thursday, February 26 for the series return to The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“It’s neat going there just like at Volusia (Speedway Park in Florida), because you have your NASCAR Cup fans and you also have Kasey (Kahne) and Tony (Stewart) getting to see their cars race and they don’t get to do that very often,” shared Saldana. “For us to run Vegas is huge especially to have Kasey be a part of it.”
Saldana has 22 Top-10 finishes in his career at Las Vegas, including in each of the four events in 2006, the last year that the series visited the half-mile. The second generation driver has finished second at the track three times in his career as he looks to pick up his first win there.
Saldana and the entire Kasey Kahne Racing team look to build on the solid foundation they established earlier this month during the season opening events, after an off-season switch to Maxim chassis. Also new this season, Saldana has been reunited with crew chief Willie Kahne, Kasey’s cousin, who served as his crew chief in 2006, his first year with the team. In addition Saldana has a teammate in veteran Craig Dollansky who part of a two-car effort for Kasey Kahne Racing in 2009.
“The team did a great job working over the winter and made the transition easy on me,” Saldana noted. “I had runs Maxim’s in the past, about four or five years ago and they always seem to build great race cars. Steve Kinser is a testament to that. He has won a lot of races and championships with Maxim. I think our transition has been pretty smooth.”
After competing for six consecutive nights on the half-mile at Volusia Speedway Park, Saldana and his team had a couple of weeks off to prepare for the World of Outlaws return to The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While the tracks are both half-mile they have many different characteristics, but Saldana is quick to point out one thing that is essential to running well on big, fast, high speed tracks.
“You have to have a motor that runs very good,” noted the driver of the Budweiser Maxim. “It’s good that we had a couple of weekends off to go back to our engine shop and go through out notes. Hopefully we’ll go there with our motors running strong.”
Saldana won on the second night of the 38th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH earlier this month at Volusia Speedway Park to pick up his first win of the new season. Last year he won his first race on June 20 at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas, which was the 21st race of the season. He enters competition this week with 40 career World of Outlaws A-Feature wins, which has him just six wins out of the Top-10 on the series all-time win list.
“I think it does take some pressure off,” admitted Saldana of winning right out of the box in Florida. “You can now worry about racing and out here, it’s so tough to win races. There is so much pressure to win races especially for your sponsors. It’s tough to be out here financially so it’s huge for us to have Budweiser on our car and have Kasey Kahne as the owner being pretty high profile. To get that first win out of the way, hopefully will make the rest of the year a little smoother.”
With four current and former series champions among the 17 drivers starting the year full-time with the series, 2009 shapes up to be one of the most competitive seasons in the 31 year history of the World of Outlaws. Saldana, the 1996 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, looks forward to the competition and knows that he and his team have to be on their game every night to be in contention.
“Anytime you want to participate with the World of Outlaws you had better have a good car and do a great job as a driver, because it’s tough,” he explained. “The first few nights (in Florida) were a testament to that. Jason Sides was the guy to beat and he didn’t win a race last year. I won last year and Donny (Schatz) had won, but he had two second place finishes and he was the guy to beat in Florida. It’s tough to win races and the competition through the entire field is amazing.”
After winning at Volusia earlier in the month, Saldana points out that it will take the same consistency to run up front at Las Vegas. Earning a spot in the Crane Cams Dash is also very important, as Saldana was able to put a disappointing qualifying run behind him back on February 7 and charged from sixth to finish second in his heat race to earn a spot in the dash.
“We qualified 24th the night we won and most teams would have thought they were done after qualifying there,” he said. “We ended up putting ourselves in a position to win and we capitalized on being in a spot to win. You have to put yourself in a good position and if we do that at Vegas, then we should have a good run.”
On Thursday, February 26 at The Dirt Track @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway, tickets will be $29. For tickets for the World of Outlaws return to The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Thursday, February 26 visit http://www.lvms.com or call 1-800-644-4444.
Down to the wire: Saldana Wins Thriller over Sides at Volusia on last lap
Barberville, FL— February 7, 2009—Joey Saldana did not lead the most laps on Saturday night during the 38th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park, but he led the last few hundred feet of the most important one, the last one to edge Jason Sides by just 0.138 seconds to earn his 40th career World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature win.
Saldana led four times for seven laps in a race that saw him, Sides and Cody Darrah trade the top spot on six occasions. The win for the second generation driver was worth $10,000 and was his second with the World of Outlaws at Volusia Speedway Park.
“It feels great to win this early in the season,” said Saldana. “We put ourselves in position to win. That is what you have to do with these guys to win races. Tonight we did it. We could have given up after a 24th place qualifying effort, but we stuck with it and got the win.”
Saldana led from the pole aboard the Budweiser Maxim after winning the Crane Cams Dash with Cody Darrah nearly taking the lead on each of the first two laps. Darrah did take the lead on the third lap and quickly began to open a sizeable advantage on Saldana in the early stages of the 30-lap contest.
The leaders found traffic on the sixth circuit, which allowed Saldana to move in on Darrah. As Saldana did his best to track down the young Pennsylvania driver, Sides who started eighth steadily powered his way into the Top-three using the high side of the half-mile.
Sides got around Stevie Smith on the fourth lap, before quickly charging around Daryn Pittman and Chad Layton to move into the Top-Five. He went from fifth to third on the 11th lap, motoring by Greg Hodnett and Jac Haudenschild to set his sights on Saldana.
Saldana took the lead back on the 17th lap using the low side of turns one and two. Sides, the 2003 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, moved into second on the very next lap. Darrah saw his night come to an end on the 20th lap as he lost power in his machine while running third, after leading 15 laps earlier in the race.
“We had a good car,” said Saldana. “We stuck with the top and Cody (Darrah) showed me the bottom. In lapped traffic I thought the top would be better, but the middle and bottom actually got better. I got a good run off (turn) two coming for the checker and had a good run on him and got the win.”
Sides continued his charge to the front as he tracked down Saldana on the 21st lap and took the lead, only to have Saldana reclaim it on the very next lap. After running side by side for the better part of two laps, Sides retook the lead as he powered his way around the high side of Saldana coming off turn four on the 23rd lap.
Sides began to pull away when the first caution of the season flew for a stalled car on the front straightaway, setting up a five lap shootout. Sides used a strong start to quickly pull away as he continued to use the top side of the track. With three laps to go, Saldana pull right behind Sides and shadowed him for the final couple laps. He looked low in turns one and two and the pair had a drag race down the backstretch with Sides retaining the lead at the line. On the final lap, Saldana dove under Sides as they came off the fourth turn to inch him out at the line.
