Paulus Cruises To First ’05 Victory In World of Outlaws Feature At Rolling Wheels Raceway Park

Elbridge, NY — June 1, 2005 — By Chris Dolack, World of Outlaws Senior Writer

Brian Paulus became the 10th different feature winner on the World of Outlaws Sprint Series tour this season when he led all 25 laps Wednesday night in front of packed grandstands at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park.

Using a line around the big 5/8-mile oval he worked on through hot laps, heats and the Dash, Paulus started on the pole and was untouchable as he ran the bottom in Turns 1 and 2 and the middle in Turns 3 and 4.

Lance Dewease raced into second on the first lap and held his ground as Jason Meyers came from eighth to finish third, with Craig Dollansky and Cody Geldart rounding out the top five.

“We had a good start in the feature and I concentrated just on hitting my marks on every lap,” said Paulus, a native of Mechanicsburg, Pa., who won for the third time in his Outlaws career. “If somebody was going to be better, they were going to be better and beat us. Tonight I wasn’t racing against 24 other cars, I was racing against myself and trying to put the car where it was supposed to be.

“I love being able to put wins on the scoreboard. This is definitely for our team, for our car owners, for our sponsors, for everybody involved including me. I’m focused right now on staying consistently in the top five, worst-case scenario in the top 10. The whole Pennsylvania Swing we had a top-five car every night and we kept having little problems develop. We left Pennsylvania knowing we had a fast car and didn’t get a chance to showcase it. For our whole team, we really needed a run like this.”

For the second time since the Outlaws began their East Coast tour in mid-May, Pennsylvania Posse standout Dewease raced to a second-place finish. He also was the runner-up in the Preliminary Feature at Williams Grove Speedway.

“We’ve kind of been struggling back home in Pennsylvania and when they came through town we picked our pace up,” said Dewease, of Fayetteville, Pa. “We’ve had two seconds, two fourths and a seventh against them. Hopefully we’ll carry the momentum when we get back home.

“We kind of followed Brian around the whole time. We gained a little bit on him at times and we’d lose a little bit of ground, but I’m happy with the car. We made a lot of changes after the Dash because the car wasn’t any good and the car responded to it.”

Meyers was one of the few cars in the top 10 capable of closing the gap on Paulus. As the field began to string out, Meyers’ car seemed to come in about 10 laps into the feature. Starting eighth, he worked the bottom in Turns 3 and 4 to slide into fifth and smoothly negotiated traffic race all the way to third for his seventh top-five finish of the season.

“This was the best car I’ve ever had at Rolling Wheels,” said Meyers, a native of Clovis, Calif., who is third in points. “I have to hand it all to [crew chief] Steve Swenson. I know he’s been good here in the past and we went off a lot of his knowledge tonight and I gave him some feedback of what I felt the racecar was doing and they made the right changes. The nice thing was that we got to run the Dash tonight so we got to try a little something there and found something that worked and something that didn’t work so we got the tune-up for the feature.

“It was just a great job by the entire Elite Racing Team and everybody who is supporting us. Our car owner, Guy Stockbridge, was out here tonight so to run third in front of him is exciting to me. That’s the first time he’s been out on the road with us all year and we just had a great racecar. Being able to pass cars like that is what happens when your motor runs, your car works, your tires work and your team works. The team worked really well tonight, and that’s why we ran so well.”

Dollansky gained ground in the overall standings with his third top-five finish in the past four features. He now trails leader Steve Kinser, who finished 10th, by 193 points as the series shifts Friday to Sharon Speedway and Saturday to Eldora Speedway.

“We started off loose and continued to get loose as the race wore on,” said Dollansky, of Elk River, Minn. “Brian did a real good job and it was a good win for him and we’ll roll onto Sharon.”

In the Stacker 2® Dash, Paulus got the jump in Turn 4 and stretched out his lead to take the checkered flag and the pole position in the feature ahead of Tim Kaeding, Chad Kemenah, Brooke Tatnell, Danny Lasoski and Chad Layton.

In the second Dash, Cody Geldart started on the pole after the inversion and never looked back. Geldart captured the checkered flag with Dewease running second. Behind the two leaders was a thrilling side-by-side battle featuring some of the top racers on the circuit. Dollansky wound up third with Meyers slipping past Sammy Swindell and Steve Kinser at the last minute.

Showing once again how competitive the Outlaws circuit has been this season, the B-main was packed with top drivers. On a restart after a caution with three laps to go, Kraig Kinser shot to the lead, but Terry McCarl powered to the high side in Turns 1 and 2, then low in 3 and 4 before sliding past Kinser along the bottom of Turn 2. Finishing behind McCarl and Kinser were Joey Saldana and Dale Blaney.

In the first heat race, Dollansky slid inside pole-sitter Craig Keel as they came off of Turn 4 to complete the third lap. Dollansky drove off with the win while Dewease, fast-qualifier Chad Kemenah, Erin Crocker and Chad Layton also transferred to the A-main. For Crocker, it was her first appearance with the Outlaws since the stateside opening of the season in February at Volusia Speedway Park.

“When you’re not running out here full-time, you feel like you might have lost your edge or something so it takes a few laps in hot laps to get back into it,” said Crocker, who will drive for Evernham Motorsports in the ARCA race June 17 at Michigan International Speedway. “It was nice to come forward in the heat race and make it in.”

In the second heat, Meyers and Jason Solwold raced side-by-side off of Turn 2 on the first lap before Meyers slipped in front off of Turn 4 and drove to the checkered flag. Also transferring were Solwold, Danny Lasoski, Steve Kinser and Tim Shaffer.

In the third heat, Donny Schatz continued the momentum from his strong run Monday at Lebanon Valley to drive off with the victory. Also qualifying for the feature were Ryan Coniam, Brooke Tatnell, Daryn Pittman and Tim Kaeding, who made a final turn move on the high side of Turn 4 to make the feature. Pittman raced his way in from the back of the pack after he was collected in Turn 1 incident on the first lap with Travis Rilat.

In the fourth heat, Paul McMahan grabbed the lead at the start in Turn 1 as Kevin Swindell, Sammy Swindell, Paulus and Geldart also reached the feature.

Chad Kemenah, the All Star Circuit of Champions series defending champion, paced the 33-car field in time trials with a lap around the 5/8-mile oval in 17.402 seconds at 129.295 mph. Craig Dollansky owns the single-lap record with a 15.952-second lap set on June 2, 2004.

“Hopefully we can take advantage of it,” said Kemenah, who also was the fastest qualifier in the World of Outlaws Preliminary Feature April 8 at Eldora Speedway. “We raced [Monday] at Lebanon Valley and just didn’t get qualified at all. It feels a little better to come out here and at least be competitive on the qualifying end of it.”

The World of Outlaws Sprint Series heads Friday to Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, and Saturday to Eldora Speedway, before racing June 9 at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich.

At 8 p.m. ET on June 8, The Outdoor Channel will broadcast all the action from last Thursday and Friday’s race at Williams Grove. The race from Rolling Wheels Raceway Park will air on The Outdoor Channel at 8 p.m. on June 15.

If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series live on Dirtvision.com through the DIRT Radio Network. To listen to the audio broadcasts, log on to www.dirtvision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo. Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. Companies interested in advertising on the new DIRT Radio Network should contact Mark Noble, DIRT MotorSports VP Sales and Marketing, at 719-884-2141. For technical support or questions, e-mail webmaster@dirtvision.com.

The World of Outlaws Sprint Series is brought to the fans across the country by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire, Stacker 2®, and The Outdoor Channel. Promotional Partners include AMB i.t., RACEceiver, HUMMERSGONEWILD.COM, Zippo Lighters, The University of Northwestern Ohio, Timberwolf, and Race Punk apparel. Slick 50 is an Associate Program Sponsor and Contingency sponsors include DART Machinery, MSD Ignitions, and Wrisco Industries.

World of Outlaws Sprint Series Statistical Report; Rolling Wheels Raceway Park; June 1, 2005
Qualifying
1) Chad Kemenah, Harble 15K, 17.402
2) Steve Kinser, Kiner 11, 17.669
3) Brooke Tatnell, Rush Racing 8, 17.754
4) Sammy Swindell, Forbrook 5, 17.799
5) Brian Paulus, Pender 28, 17.812
6) Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 17.819
7) Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 17.895
8) Joey Saldana, Woodward 2, 17.904
9) Lance Dewease, Postupack 25, 17.949
10) Dale Blaney, Elden Racing 22, 17.950
11) Tim Kaeding, Roth 83, 17.974
12) Lucas Wolfe, Allebach 5W, 17.996
13) Cody Geldart, Geldart 6G, 17.996
14) Shane Stewart, Rudeen Racing 26, 18.005
15) Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20, 18.084
16) Craig Dollansky, Karavan 7, 18.086
17) Chad Layton, Wholesale Auto U1, 18.107
18) Jason Meyers, Elite Racing Team 14, 18.193
19) Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 18.214
20) Paul McMahan, Helm 11H, 18.218
21) Kevin Swindell, Swindell 1, 18.255
22) Ryan Coniam, Bancon Racing 46, 18.256
23) Jason Solwold, Carnahan R19, 18.268
24) Craig Keel, Pottorff 9, 18.289
25) Erin Crocker, Woodring 16, 18.448
26) Tim Shaffer, Parsons 6, 18.492
27) Daryn Pittman, Titan Racing USA 21, 18.493
28) Trevor Lewis, Kennedy 56, 18.562
29) Brandon Wimmer, Two Winners Racing 7TW, 18.644
30) Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 18.670
31) Travis Rilat, Wright 35, 18.838
32) Jared Zimbardi, Zimbardi 35X, 19.074
33) Phil Mott, Mott 5M, 19.179

First Heat Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Craig Dollansky
2) Lance Dewease
3) Chad Kemenah
4) Erin Crocker
5) Chad Layton
6) Joey Saldana
7) Craig Keel
8) Brandon Wimmer
9) Phil Mott

Second Heat Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Jason Meyers
2) Jason Solwold
3) Danny Lasoski
4) Steve Kinser
5) Tim Shaffer
6) Dale Blaney
7) Jason Sides
8) Terry McCarl

Third Heat Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Donny Schatz
2) Ryan Coniam
3) Brooke Tatnell
4) Daryn Pittman
5) Tim Kaeding
6) Shane Stewart
7) Kraig Kinser
8) Travis Rilat

Fourth Heat Race (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Paul McMahan
2) Kevin Swindell
3) Sammy Swindell
4) Brian Paulus
5) Cody Geldart
6) Lucas Wolfe
7) Trevor Lewis
8) Jared Zimbardi

Stacker 2® Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined inside first 6 rows of A-feature)
1) Brian Paulus
2) Tim Kaeding
3) Chad Kemenah
4) Brooke Tatnell
5) Danny Lasoski
6) Chad Layton

Second Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined outside first 6 rows of A-feature)
1) Cody Geldart
2) Lance Dewease
3) Craig Dollansky
4) Jason Meyers
5) Sammy Swindell
6) Steve Kinser

B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Terry McCarl [$20]
2) Kraig Kinser [$20]
3) Joey Saldana [$20]
4) Dale Blaney [$20]
5) Shane Stewart [$200]
6) Jason Sides [$180]
7) Lucas Wolfe [$175]
8) Brandon Wimmer [$160]
9) Craig Keel [$150]
10) Travis Rilat [$150]
11) Trevor Lewis [$150]
12) Jared Zimbardi [$150]
13) Phil Mott [$150]

A-main (25 laps)
1) Brian Paulus [$10,000]
2) Lance Dewease [$5,500]
3) Jason Meyers [$3,200]
4) Craig Dollansky [$2,800]
5) Cody Geldart [$2,500]
6) Tim Kaeding [$2,300]
7) Brooke Tatnell [$2,200]
8) Sammy Swindell [$2,100]
9) Danny Lasoski [$2,050]
10) Steve Kinser [$2,000]
11) Terry McCarl [$1,500]
12) Chad Layton [$1,200]
13) Chad Kemenah [$1,100]
14) Tim Shaffer [$1,050]
15) Kraig Kinser [$1,000]
16) Donny Schatz [$900]
17) Joey Saldana [$800]
18) Kevin Swindell [$800]
19) Dale Blaney [$800]
20) Daryn Pittman [$800]
21) Shane Stewart [$800]
22) Jason Sides [$800]
23) Paul McMahan [$800]
24) Ryan Coniam [$800]
25) Jason Solwold [$800]
26) Erin Crocker [$800]
Lap leaders: Brian Paulus 1-25

Notes: There were 33 cars signed in for time trials. … Daryn Pittman and Travis Rilat tangled in turn one at the start of the third heat race. Only Pittman was able to restart. … Shane Stewart and Jason Sides used provisionals to start the A-main.