Sweet captures World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series opener, Dillon holds off his brother to grab DIRTcar UMP Modified feature
BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Brad Sweet powered his Kasey Kahne Racing car to victory in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series season opener on Friday night at the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park while Ty Dillon held off his brother, Austin, over the final three laps to win the DIRTcar UMP Modified feature.
Sweet, who is going to race full-time with the Outlaws in 2014, showed he’ll be a championship contender by surging past Paul McMahan in the first corner with two laps to go for the victory after McMahan and Tim Shaffer battled each other for the first 28 laps in the 30-lap A-main. Australian Kerry Madsen joined the mix and finished third behind Sweet and McMahan.
“It’s always good to start off with a win,” said Sweet, of Grass Valley, Calif. “These races are tough to win. I mean you can win the first race out and not win another one the rest of the year, to get the first one under our belt this quick and feel this good with our car and get a new team together like this and be fast out of the gate quick is a good sign. You always want to start the year out strong. It’s a bit more important this year to be consistent where last few years we would race with these guys and if we had a bad night it was just a bad night, it didn’t hurt us in the points. Now we’ve got to pay attention to that a little bit and be a little more consistent.”
In the DIRTcar UMP Modified main event, Ty Dillon had the field covered until his brother started closing in. On a restart with three laps to go, Ty Dillon charged out to the lead but was forced to hold off Austin Dillon to the checkered flag.
“I really appreciate all the hard work that goes into these cars,” said Ty Dillon, of Welcome, N.C. “A lot of people don’t know, we had to thrash for about a week straight, all-nighters, to get these cars together. The only problem we’ve had is being in the same heat with each other, but tonight we were able to prove what we had. Hopefully it’s what we have for the rest of the week with these guys.”
The Dillon brothers have become fixtures at the DIRTcar Nationals in recent years, especially in victory lane at Volusia Speedway Park.
“What we love about this is we get to come out here, break the rust off and run seven or eight races, have a little fun getting into our race scenarios and getting our minds going for the NASCAR season,” Ty Dillon said. “On top of that, we love dirt racing and this is what we love to do. We’re just having a blast.”
Nightly doubleheaders at Volusia run Saturday through Saturday, Feb. 22. Friday night is the season opener for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, which will compete in conjunction with the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds.
For more information and updates on the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment, clickDIRTcarNationals.com or follow on Twitter at Twitter.com/DIRTcarNats.
DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment Statistical Report; Feb. 14, 2014; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla.
DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
A-Main (20 Laps) – 1. (41) Ty Dillon ($1,000), 2. (3) Austin Dillon, 3. (49) Brian Ruhlman, 4. (2) Nick Hoffman, 5. (7B) Jeff Babcock, 6. (9M) Dale Mathison, 7. (54) Matt Westfall, 8. (28) Paul Miles, 9. (32Z) Nate Zimmer, 10. (1G) Devin Gilpin, 11. (10) Austin Arneson, 12. (25) Tyler Nicely, 13. (36) Kenny Wallace, 14. (K9) Will Krup, 15. (O5) Dave Wiethholder, 16. (1) Dwight Niehoff, 17. (2G) Troy Girolamo, 18. (88) Matt Crafton, 19. (9) Kenny Schrader, 20. (17JE) Jack Steilder, 21. (79) Nick Kurtz, 22. (64JR) Billy Workman Jr, 23. (8) Kyle Strickler, 24. (85) Kent Robinson.
B-main 1 (10 laps, two advance) – 1. (2G) Troy Girolamo, 2. (9) Kenny Schrader, 3. (145) Jason Davis, 4. (51) Justin Allgaier, 5. (35) David Stremme, 6. (4) Cody Bauman, 7. (10M) Scott Mooers, 8. (10G) Jim Gillenwater, 9. (O7) Jeff Thomas, 10. (OJ) Bryce Jewell, 11. (54B) Larry Burkins, 12. (D4) Dave Jamison, 13. (33) Jeff Mathews
B-main 2 (10 laps, two advance) – 1. (36) Kenny Wallace, 2. (8) Kyle Strickler, 3. (40B) Kyle Bronson, 4. (47) Collin Thirlby, 5. (67) Garret Stewart, 6. (20) Kody Weisner, 7. (66) Justin Marks, 8. (15) Hunter Gustafson, 9. (24JR) Jeffrey Lien Jr, 10. (82N) Nick Tharp, 11. (18I) Jason Intoppa, 12. (O8) Jake Griffin, 13. (Ok) Kent Corbin
B-main 3 (10 laps, two advance) – 1. (17JE) Jack Steilder, 2. (25) Tyler Nicely, 3. (36H) Jacob Poel, 4. (90) Jason Beaulieu, 5. (5B) Steven Brooks, 6. (52) Jordan Bailey, 7. (O1) Mitch O’Patik, 8. (26) Bobby Gierke, 9. (89W) Rick Weitekamp, 10. (O9) Rob Underwood, 11. (44) Bob Johnson, 12. (71) Joel Ortberg
Heat race 1 (8 laps, three advance) – 1. (2) Nick Hoffman, 2. (7B) Jeff Babcock, 3. (K9) Will Krup, 4. (4) Cody Bauman, 5. (2G) Troy Girolamo, 6. (9) Kenny Schrader, 7. (54B) Larry Burkins, 8. (D4) Dave Jamison, 9. (10G) Jim Gillenwater, 10. (33) Jeff Mathews
Heat race 2 (8 laps, three advance) – 1. (85) Kent Robinson, 2. (O5) Dave Wiethholder, 3. (32Z) Nate Zimmer, 4. (OJ) Bryce Jewell, 5. (35) David Stremme, 6. (145) Jason Davis, 7. (O7) Jeff Thomas, 8. (10M) Scott Mooers, 9. (51) Justin Allgaier
Heat race 3 (8 laps, three advance) – 1. (9M) Dale Mathison, 2. (1) Dwight Niehoff, 3. (1G) Devin Gilpin, 4. (8) Kyle Strickler, 5. (47) Collin Thirlby, 6. (82N) Nick Tharp, 7. (18I) Jason Intoppa, 8. (40B) Kyle Bronson, 9. (O8) Jake Griffin
Heat race 4 (8 laps, three advance) – 1. (28) Paul Miles, 2. (64JR) Billy Workman Jr, 3. (10) Austin Arneson, 4. (36) Kenny Wallace, 5. (67) Garret Stewart, 6. (20) Kody Weisner, 7. (66) Justin Marks, 8. (24JR) Jeffrey Lien Jr, 9. (15) Hunter Gustafson, 10. (Ok) Kent Corbin
Heat race 5 (8 laps, three advance) – 1. (41) Ty Dillon, 2. (88) Matt Crafton, 3. (79) Nick Kurtz, 4. (5B) Steven Brooks, 5. (26) Bobby Gierke, 6. (90) Jason Beaulieu, 7. (89W) Rick Weitekamp, 8. (O9) Rob Underwood, 9. (44) Bob Johnson
Heat race 6 (8 laps, three advance) – 1. (49) Brian Ruhlman, 2. (3) Austin Dillon, 3. (54) Matt Westfall, 4. (17JE) Jack Steilder, 5. (36H) Jacob Poel, 6. (25) Tyler Nicely, 7. (O1) Mitch O’Patik, 8. (52) Jordan Bailey, 9. (71) Joel Ortberg,
World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
A-Main (30 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [3] [$10,000]; 2. 51-Paul McMahan [2] [$5,500]; 3. 29-Kerry Madsen [7] [$3,200]; 4. 45-Tim Shaffer [1] [$2,800]; 5. 14K-Dale Blaney [5] [$2,500]; 6. 83-Tim Kaeding [11] [$2,300]; 7. 9-Daryn Pittman [6] [$2,200]; 8. 24-Terry McCarl [8] [$2,100]; 9. 7S-Jason Sides [15] [$2,050]; 10. 4-Cody Darrah [14] [$2,000]; 11. 11-Steve Kinser [4] [$1,500]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz [20] [$1,200]; 13. 71M-Joey Saldana [18] [$1,100]; 14. 33-Danny Lasoski [24] [$1,050]; 15. 10H-Danny Holtgraver [12] [$1,000]; 16. 63-Chad Kemenah [17] [$900]; 17. 11K-Kraig Kinser [23] [$800]; 18. 98H-Dave Blaney [10] [$800]; 19. HO7-Justin Henderson [19] [$800]; 20. 1S-Logan Schuchart [22] [$800]; 21. 1-Sammy Swindell [21] [$800]; 22. 24A-Rico Abreu [9] [$800]; 23. 96-Bronson Maeschen [16] [$800]; 24. 1Z-Lucas Wolfe [13] [$800]; 25. 6-Bill Rose [25] [$] Lap Leaders: Tim Shaffer 1-16, 18-27; Paul McMahan 17, 28; Brad Sweet 29-30 KSE Hard Charger Award: 33-Danny Lasoski [+10].
Qualifying – 1. 9-Daryn Pittman, 13.068; 2. 29-Kerry Madsen, 13.133; 3. 14K-Dale Blaney, 13.144; 4. 24A-Rico Abreu, 13.171; 5. 83-Tim Kaeding, 13.174; 6. 10H-Danny Holtgraver, 13.179; 7. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.185; 8. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.214; 9. 45-Tim Shaffer, 13.223; 10. 51-Paul McMahan, 13.244; 11. 1Z-Lucas Wolfe, 13.255; 12. 24-Terry McCarl, 13.260; 13. 98H-Dave Blaney, 13.263; 14. 4-Cody Darrah, 13.272; 15. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 13.275; 16. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.298; 17. 96-Bronson Maeschen, 13.298; 18. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.318; 19. 71M-Joey Saldana, 13.356; 20. HO7-Justin Henderson, 13.362; 21. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.364; 22. 1-Sammy Swindell, 13.369; 23. 9W-Jac Haudenschild, 13.370; 24. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.380; 25. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.408; 26. 59-David Gravel, 13.437; 27. 33-Danny Lasoski, 13.481; 28. 77X-Wayne Johnson, 13.514; 29. 6-Bill Rose, 13.524; 30. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.547; 31. 83X-Christopher Bell, 13.579; 32. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, 13.591; 33. 19M-Brent Marks, 13.600; 34. 80-Trey Gustin, 13.759; 35. 27-Greg Hodnett, 13.779; 36. 1A-Rodney Westhafer, 14.004; 37. 94-Brandon Thone, 14.250; 38. 19-Klint Angelette, nt; 39. 48-Danny Dietrich, nt
Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 98H-Dave Blaney [1]; 2. 45-Tim Shaffer [2]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [4]; 4. 83-Tim Kaeding [3]; 5. 96-Bronson Maeschen [5]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 8. 19M-Brent Marks [9]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [8]; 10. 94-Brandon Thone [10]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 29-Kerry Madsen [4]; 2. 51-Paul McMahan [2]; 3. 4-Cody Darrah [1]; 4. 63-Chad Kemenah [5]; 5. 10H-Danny Holtgraver [3]; 6. 1-Sammy Swindell [6]; 7. 59-David Gravel [7]; 8. 80-Trey Gustin [9]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [8]; 10. 19-Klint Angelette [10]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 2. 14K-Dale Blaney [4]; 3. 1Z-Lucas Wolfe [2]; 4. 71M-Joey Saldana [5]; 5. 33-Danny Lasoski [7]; 6. 9W-Jac Haudenschild [6]; 7. 27-Greg Hodnett [9]; 8. 83X-Christopher Bell [8]; 9. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr [1]
Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 11-Steve Kinser [3]; 2. 24-Terry McCarl [2]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 4. HO7-Justin Henderson [5]; 5. 24A-Rico Abreu [4]; 6. 77X-Wayne Johnson [7]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 8. 1A-Rodney Westhafer [9]; 9. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [8]
Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature 1. 45-Tim Shaffer [2]; 2. 51-Paul McMahan [1]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 4. 11-Steve Kinser [3]; 5. 14K-Dale Blaney [6]; 6. 9-Daryn Pittman [8]; 7. 29-Kerry Madsen [7]; 8. 24-Terry McCarl [9]; 9. 24A-Rico Abreu [5]; 10. 98H-Dave Blaney [10]
B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 1-Sammy Swindell [2] [-]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4] [-]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [1] [-]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5] [-]; 5. 83X-Christopher Bell [10] [$200]; 6. 59-David Gravel [6] [$180]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [9] [$175]; 8. 27-Greg Hodnett [14] [$160]; 9. 1A-Rodney Westhafer [15] [$150]; 10. 80-Trey Gustin [13] [$150]; 11. 6-Bill Rose [8] [$150]; 12. 19-Klint Angelette [17] [$150]; 13. 9W-Jac Haudenschild [3] [$150]; 14. 94-Brandon Thone [16] [$150]; 15. 77X-Wayne Johnson [7] [$150]; 16. 19M-Brent Marks [12] [$150]; 17. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr [18] [$150]; 18. 48-Danny Dietrich [19] [$150]; 19. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [11] [$150].