RIP Rocket

Yesterday: May 26th, 2010, racing lost one of its best and most unique drivers, Jesse Hockett while working on his trailer at his shop getting ready for huge Memorial Day racing weekend.

I never got meet him face-to-face and only got to see a handful of races with him in it, but there is no doubt that he was one of most respected men in racing.  He truly was one of the most down-to-earth guys in the pit area before, during, and after the races.  He swept the local racing scene in Mizzou on his last weekend with us going 3 for 3, and that is one hell of a way to go out - on top.

I still can't believe the news and was shocked when I read it online.  God needed another shoe, and you know him and his cousin Daniel (who also died way too early) are up there getting a car ready for the races this weekend up in the Heavens.

RIP Jesse, you were truly one of a kind, and will be missed my more than many people.

Meyers and Saldana Tame Tulare

( Photos by: www.JohnsRacingPhotos.com)

Jason Meyers grabbed the win on Friday night at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA to notch his 1st career WoO win which he considers his home track.  The win paid 10 grand and also was his 37th career A Feature win with the Outlaws.  The win came infront of all his sponsors and fellow co-owners which saw Tim Kaeding break Terry McCarl's year-old track record in time trials with a time of 12.651 around the 1/4 mile.  Joey Saldana continued his hot streak to start the year to finish second ahead of Jac Haudenschild and his messed up wing (pictured top left) which saw him finish third somehow.  Point leader Donny Schatz came from 13th to finish fourth while Steve Kinser recovered from an early spin to round out the top five.  Full results of the night can be found here.  Schatz and Kinser found themselves tied atop the point lead following the first night of action.

Joey Saldana got the monkey off his back to grab his first win of the year, and his 60th of his career, with the Outlaws.  The win also vaulted him into the point lead as co-point leaders Donny Schatz DNF'd due to a flip with Tim Kaeding and Steve Kinser finished 6th on the night.  Jason Meyers followed up Friday's win with a runner-up finish as he and Saldana switched finishing positions from Friday.  PA Posse member Fred Rahmer had the drive of the weekend has he came from 14th to finish 3rd due to the help of fellow Hall of Famer Brent Kaeding turning the wrenches on the Clemens #51.  Kraig Kinser and Jason Sides rounded out the top five which saw a ton of equipment get torn up on Saturday night.  The scariest of which saw Tim Shaffer in the Roth #83JR and Jonathan Allard in the Williams #0 (bottom left up top) get upside down during the third heat in a vicious wreck down the frontstretch.  The video was posted today by Dean Mills on Youtube, thanks to him for the great video which saw both drivers checked out from the hospital later that night with no significant injures.

Following Saturday night's race, Saldana inherited the point lead and stretched his lead to 7 points over Meyers, 9 over Kinser, and 36 over Schatz after his skirmish with TK. The top 20 in points are listed on the right side of the blog.

The Outlaws head to Texas this weekend with a stop at Lonestar Speedway, owned by the Hafertepe family, on Friday night and then they head southeast to just east of Houston in Baytown for the finale at Houston Raceway Park.  Along with the 18 current full-time WoO drivers there will be a contingent of both Knoxville and Pennsylvania drivers in attendance that include: Rahmer, Daryn Pittman, and Lance Dewease from PA; and Johnny Herrera, Brian Brown, Lynton Jeffrey, and Bronson Maeschen from Knoxville.  Tony Bruce Jr. will also be making his 2010 debut with the Outlaws this weekend.

Again, sorry for the lengthy delay but it has been a zoo with Spring Break and trying to get on the computer to update the blog.  The points are updated to the right, and will be again following Saturday's race.  Should be a great weekend of racing!

Finally, the news of Jackson Speedway landing an Outlaw race for 2010 was leaked today and will be held on Saturday, May 1st.  It may be a bit nipply for this race, but this should be a fun outing if we are able to get this guy in.  It kinda sucks that this is also the Opening Night at Knoxville as that should take away some quality local cars, but its hard to complain when there is a WoO race to open the year around here!

Friday's A-main (35 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 14-Jason Meyers[2] [$10,000]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[5] [$5,000]
3) R19-Jac Haudenschild[3] [$3,000]
4) 15-Donny Schatz[13] [$2,700]
5) 11-Steve Kinser[8] [$2,500]
6) 51-Fred Rahmer[1] [$2,200]
7) 63-Chad Kemenah[17] [$2,000]
8) 11K-Kraig Kinser[15] [$1,800]
9) 7-Craig Dollansky[9] [$1,600]
10) 7S-Jason Sides[21] [$1,450]
11) 6-Danny Lasoski[11] [$1,300]
12) 17-Daryn Pittman[19] [$1,200]
13) 33E-Evan Suggs[14] [$1,100]
14) 55-Brandon Carey[22] [$1,000]
15) 44W-Austen Wheatley[16] [$950]
16) 2B-Ben Gregg[20] [$900]
17) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[4] [$850]
18) 83-Tim Kaeding[6] [$750]
19) 91-Paul McMahan[7] [$725]
20) 24-Terry McCarl[12] [$700]
21) 21-Tommy Tarlton[18] [$700]
22) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[24] [$700]
23) OO-Cory Eliason[23] [$700]
24) O-Jonathan Allard[10] [$700]

Lap Leaders: Jason Meyers 1-35
KSE Hard Charger Award: Chad Kemenah

Saturday's A-main (35 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 9-Joey Saldana[2] [$10,000]
2) 14-Jason Meyers[8] [$5,000]
3) 51-Fred Rahmer[14] [$3,000]
4) 11K-Kraig Kinser[7] [$2,700]
5) 7S-Jason Sides[9] [$2,500]
6) 11-Steve Kinser[21] [$2,200]
7) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[16] [$2,000]
8) 91-Paul McMahan[11] [$1,800]
9) 21-Tommy Tarlton[12] [$1,600]
10) 17-Daryn Pittman[20] [$1,450]
11) 2B-Ben Gregg[17] [$1,300]
12) 24-Terry McCarl[10] [$1,200]
13) 33E-Evan Suggs[15] [$1,100]
14) 94-Zach Zimmerly[18] [$1,000]
15) 6-Danny Lasoski[13] [$950]
16) R19-Jac Haudenschild[6] [$900]
17) 10-Anthony Simone[24] [$850]
18) 63-Chad Kemenah[22] [$750]
19) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[5] [$725]
20) 15-Donny Schatz[3] [$700]
21) OO-Cory Eliason[19] [$700]
22) 83-Tim Kaeding[1] [$700]
23) 4X-Toni Lutar[23] [$700]
24) 7-Craig Dollansky[4] [$700]

Lap Leaders: Joey Saldana 1-35
KSE Hard Charger Award: Steve Kinser

Schatz and Kinser Grab WoO Wins

(Paul Arch Photo)

Going to try to keep this short and sweet since its back to school right now and I'm a few days behind in updating this joint.

Donny Schatz grabbed the opening night of the 2010 WoO season after dueling early on with Tim Shaffer.  The win was worth $10,000 and was his 101st WoO win and the first since August of 2009 when he won in his home state of North Dakota to hit triple digits. 37 cars signed in for the opening night, while full results can be found on the WoO site here.

Then Steve Kinser went out and won the second night of the WoO half at Volusia after a battle with his former SKR driver Tim Kaeding.  Kinser won for the first time aboard the TSR Bass Pro Shops #11 and was his 553rd career WoO A Main win (WOW).  It was a great battle with TK for awhile before a caution in lapped traffic stopped it.  This win was only worth $8,000, but I'm glad to see Steve back in victory lane this early in the season.  Sure hope he continues it up throughout the entire season as well!  Full results can be found here for the 2nd night.  The top 20 in the WoO points can all be found to the right of my blog below the poll.

Saturday A-main (30 laps) - Starting Position [#]

1) 15-Donny Schatz[3] [$10,000]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[7] [$5,500]
3) 11-Steve Kinser[4] [$3,200]
4) 14-Jason Meyers[2] [$2,800]
5) 83-Tim Shaffer[1] [$2,500]
6) 11K-Kraig Kinser[9] [$2,300]
7) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[22] [$2,200]
8) 30C-Lance Dewease[18] [$2,100]
9) 7S-Jason Sides[6] [$2,050]
10) 7M-Mark Smith[5] [$2,000]
11) R19-Jac Haudenschild[14] [$1,500]
12) 6-Danny Lasoski[12] [$1,200]
13) 51-Fred Rahmer[8] [$1,100]
14) 91-Brad Sweet[21] [$1,050]
15) 83JR-Tim Kaeding[16] [$1,000]
16) 7-Craig Dollansky[15] [$900]
17) 3C-Cale Conley[11] [$800]
18) 39-Doug Esh[24] [$800]
19) 2-Dale Blaney[20] [$800]
20) 22-Brian Ellenberger[23] [$800]
21) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[10] [$800]
22) 24-Terry McCarl[13] [$800]
23) 22H-Greg Hodnett[17] [$800]
24) 1-Stevie Smith[19] [$800]

Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1, 12-30; Tim Shaffer 2-11
KSE Hard Charger Award: Lucas Wolfe
Penske Power Position Award: Mark Smith



Sunday A-main (30 laps) - Starting Position [#]

1) 11-Steve Kinser[2] [$8,000]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[8] [$4,500]
3) 6-Danny Lasoski[14] [$3,000]
4) 15-Donny Schatz[6] [$2,700]
5) 83-Tim Kaeding[1] [$2,400]
6) 14-Jason Meyers[13] [$2,200]
7) 7-Craig Dollansky[3] [$2,100]
8) 24-Terry McCarl[15] [$2,000]
9) 7S-Jason Sides[9] [$1,800]
10) 13-Paul McMahan[4] [$1,600]
11) 91-Brad Sweet[19] [$1,400]
12) 30C-Lance Dewease[23] [$1,100]
13) 11K-Kraig Kinser[22] [$1,000]
14) R19-Jac Haudenschild[21] [$950]
15) 83X-Tim Shaffer[17] [$900]
16) 22H-Greg Hodnett[11] [$800]
17) 7M-Mark Smith[7] [$700]
18) 1-Stevie Smith[18] [$700]
19) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[20] [$700]
20) 3C-Cale Conley[12] [$700]
21) 63-Chad Kemenah[16] [$700]
22) 22-Brian Ellenberger[25] [$0]
23) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[5] [$700]
24) 1J-Bronson Maeshen[10] [$700]
25) 39-Doug Esh[24] [$700]

Lap Leaders: Tim Kaeding 1-11, 16-17; Steve Kinser 12-15, 18-30
KSE Hard Charger Award: Danny Lasoski
Penske Power Position Award: Mark Smith
Note- Brian Ellenberger used a World of Outlaws Provisional to start the A-Feature.

2010 WoO Predictions

Didn't quite get to my predictions for the upcoming year yesterday as it was a busy day with school and trying to get home for some extracurricular activities.  Anyways, my predictions aren't tainted by a night of WoO action as the first night was a wash.  I'm going to make my predictions based on the idea that Cody Darrah was going to compete the whole year, but today's news of an automobile accident on the way to Daytona for Bud Pole Qualifying has shelved him for awhile with a possible broken leg.  Brad Sweet is in the 91 tonight and probably until Cody is fully healed I bet.  So Darrah's name in my predictions will be the predictions for the points of the 91 car, if you understand that.  Keep the Darrah's in your prayers.

I'm not one of those guys that doesn't like Donny Schatz as I think there are other people on tour who are bigger pricks and don't drive with respect the way that Schatz does.  I wouldn't consider myself as a 'fan' of his, but I definitely respect what the man has done over the last 4 years on tour and at Knoxville.  Would it be nice to see someone else win the title and the Nationals?  You bet, and I think this is the year it gets done...

.. So for my 2010 prediction I am taking the Budweiser #9 Maxim driven by Joey Saldana in the Kasey Kahne Racing stable.  What I've seen out of him the last two racing nights at Volusia has changed my initial thought of Schatz getting a 5-peat.  I think this year will come down to the final night of the year again in Charlotte with Saldana picking up the championship.  So nonetheless, here are my predictions for the 2010 season and I am also basing the thought that Tim Kaeding will do the whole tour.

2010 WoO Predictions (Wins)
1. Joey Saldana (18)
2. Donny Schatz (12)
3. Steve Kinser (6)
4. Jason Meyers (8)
5. Craig Dollansky (7)
6. Danny Lasoski (5)
7. Jason Sides (1)
8. Tim Kaeding (3)
9. Kraig Kinser (1)
10. Jac Haudenschild (2)
11. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (1)
12. Chad Kemenah (0)
13. Lucas Wolfe (1)
14. Cody Darrah - #91 car (1)
15. Brian Ellenberger (0)
16. Ben Gregg (0)
17. Toni Lutar (0)
18. Terry McCarl (3)
19. Daryn Pittman (0)
20. Brad Sweet - #49 car if it gets filled (0)

Saldana Wins ASCoC Finale at Volusia

                       (Hoseheads Photo)

Joey Saldana grabbed the lead, from his 5th position starting spot, on the second go-around from Greg Hodnett and wouldn't look back after that as he went on to win the All Stars finale at Volusia Speedway Park on Thursday night.  It was a long 30 lapper as there were numerous cautions, while a few of them were for tire failures from the new tread of Goodyear. 

The win was Saldana's 65th career win with the All Stars and was his 8th career triumph at Volusia.  He also did it with his car owner, Kasey Kahne, in the house as he took the short drive ove from Daytona following practice today.  Saldana started 6th in the 2nd heat after setting the 2nd quick time of the night and went on to dominate his heat in an impressive performance.

The track widened out compared to the night before as Tim Kaeding set quick time of the night in the low 14 second bracket.  The heats were awesome to watch as the track had a top and a bottom to work with in the heats.  The bottom would fade away come feature time as the primary way around was up on the cushion and the way to pass was via slidejob.  Also, I will be posting my WoO predictions later on tonight or in the morning tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping in.

O’Reilly Auto Parts A Main – 30 Laps

1. 9 Joey Saldana (5)
2. 7 Craig Dollansky (1)
3. 11 Steve Kinser (9)
4. 5w Lucas Wolfe (10)
5. 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr. (3)
6. 1 Stevie Smith (7)
7. 6 Danny Lasoski (8)
8. 14 Jason Myers (11)
9. 83jr Tim Kaeding (4)
10. 2 Dale Blaney (22)
11. 13 Paul McMahan (13)
12. 49 Brad Sweet (14)
13. w20 Greg Wilson (18)
14. 11k Kraig Kinser (12)
15. 3c Cale Conley (16)
16. 24 Terry McCarl (19)
17. 22e Brian Ellenberger (15)
18. r19 Jac Haudenschild (20)
19. 30c Lance Dewease (23)
20. 7m Mark Smith (21)
21. 39 Doug Esh (24)
22. 22 Greg Hodnett (2)
23. 15 Donny Schatz (6)
24. 97 Dean Jacobs (17)

Dollansky Grabs Volusia ASCoC Opener

                      (Hoseheads Photo)

Craig Dollansky set quick time to start the night and never looked back as he led from his pole position to grab the opener of Night #1 of the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park. The win paid $5,000 and was under the sanction of the All Stars and this was his 10th career All Star win and his 3rd career win at Volusia.

The track stayed heavy all night as it was best to go out late in qualifying. Jason Sides was running 2nd in lapped traffic and had a run going on the Big Game Treestands #7 but couldn't get it done and would later have something break that would make him drop out. I didn't get to catch the race due to work, but it sound like Tim Kaeding took one helluva a ride with a few laps to go in his Roth Motorsports #83 and was able to escape from the totalled car without injury, thankfully.

41 Cars signed in while Kraig Kinser didnt' get a lap in for time trials as they had to change an engine after hot laps.  Some cars scratched from the B due to a bad starting position and/or the heavy, lightning fast track.  Full Results can be found on the All Star website.

O’Reilly Auto Parts A Main – 30 Laps

1. 7 Craig Dollansky (1)
2. 9 Joey Saldana (8)
3. 15 Donny Schatz (3)
4. 11 Steve Kinser (6)
5. 1 Stevie Smith (5)
6. r19 Lucas Wolfe (4)
7. 17 Daryn Pittman (11)
8. 14 Jason Myers (9)
9. 30c Lance Dewease (13)
10. 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr. (17)
11. 24 Terry McCarl (20)
12. 3c Cale Conley (7)
13. 51 Freddie Rahmer (22)
14. 6 Danny Lasoski (12)
15. 83 Tim Shaffer (10)
16. 49 Brad Sweet (14)
17. 6f Bob Felmlee (15)
18. 2b Ben Gregg (24)
19. 83jr Tim Kaeding (23)
20. 7s Jason Sides (2)
21. 91 Cody Darrah (19)
22. 0s Glen Styres (18)
23. 39 Dough Esh (21)
24. 0 Brandon Wimmer (16)

Dude Grabs ASCoC Opener

(Hoseheads Photo)

Danny Lasoski got a little lucky on Friday night after the guys in the top two spots took each other out on the last lap of the last corner at Ocala Speedway. The top two guys of Cale Conley and Brad Sweet made contact while battling for the win and would knock both of them out of the event. The Dude cruised to the win after the green-white-checker finish as he grabbed his 33rd career All-Star victory. Tim Shaffer, Dale Blaney, Fred Rahmer, and Tim Kaeding rounded out the top five. Complete story and results can be found HERE. Pictures of the nights action can be found on Hoseheads Live as well as on their Speedshotz page. Conley led all 24 laps until getting on his lid while Lasoski led laps 25 and 26. Terry McCarl set the quick time of the night at 12.813 seconds.

Tonights scheduled race at Ocala has been called off due to rain and will not be made up. The next sprint car action will be on Wednesday at Volusia for 2 more nights of All Star action before the WoO season gets started on Friday night February 5th.

O'Reilly Auto Parts 'A' Main - 25 Laps

1. Danny Lasoski (7)

2. Tim Shaffer (8)

3. Dale Blaney (4)

4. Fred Rahmer (10)

5. Tim Kaeding (12)

6. Bob Felmlee (3)

7. Jac Haudenschild (15)

8. Terry McCarl (6)

9. Donny Schatz (11)

10. Stevie Smith (19)

11. Jason Meyers (14)

12. Chad Kemenah (21)

13. Doug Esh (24)

14. Greg Wilson (23)

15. Cody Darrah (18)

16. Mark Smith (16)

17. Daryn Pittman (20)

18. Greg Hodnett (5)

19. Cap Henry (22)

20. Cale Conley (2)

21. Brad Sweet (1)

22. Paul McMahan (13)

23. David Gravel (17)

24. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (9)

The Season is Here!

Well, wouldn't you know it, the 2010 US dirt track racing season is going to kick off later tonight at Ocala Speedway in Ocala, FL under the sanction of the All Stars. This year is only a two day show at the track compared to the three scheduled last year with one of those getting rained out. Tim Shaffer and Terry McCarl won those two races last year.

It should be interesting to see who shows up for these two nights before the action heads south to Volusia Speedway outside of Barberville, which is just outside of Daytona. I did see that Donny Schatz and the KKR teams will be at Ocala to shake their cars down before the WoO openers. One thing I always look forward to at the beginning of the season is the new paint schemes the teams debut. Car counts should be ginormous at Ocala and then at Volusia for those five nights of racing there. The All Stars then pick action up again the following week at East Bay Raceway Park for three more nights outside of Tampa.

Speaking of T-Mac, how 'bout picking up his first victory of the season the other night in Aussie-land on their national holiday of Australia Day. Americans brought home the top 4 spots on their prestigious day so that was pretty cool. Still looking to see what T-Mac's schedule will look like throughout the year, but hopefully he can break the 20 win plateau this year as he was only one win short of that last year. We can only pray he races around the midwest at Knoxville/Huset's as much as last year.

As the days get closer I will release my predictions for the Outlaw season before they get their three nights started next week. I will continue to try to keep this baby updated for awhile as we kind of fell off pace following the Nationals last year; I just fizzled out as I usually do after Knoxville and not getting to see the 40 lap A Main made it sting a little more than usual. Come back and check us out during the Speedweeks in Florida!